Valkyrie's Judgment

Chapter 5

She woke up feeling like someone ran her over with a horse cart. Her head was throbbing with pain and she barely dared opening her eyes.

She felt a pair of warm hands envelope one of her own and she slowly opened her eyes to look at her visitor.

Atticus sat in a chair by her bedside, an anguished expression on his face. Aeliss squished his hand, hoping to reassure him.

“It’s not your fault.” She said quietly. “Wipe that look off your face.”

The look turned into a pained grimace. “I can’t do anything but watch as he hurts you… What good am I as a brother?”

“Stop torturing yourself. If you interfered he would just turn on you too…” She said. She knew how deeply it hurt him that he was unable to do anything to help her.

“Then our parents were killed, I promised to protect you. Looking at you know, it doesn’t seem like I’m doing a very good job at that.” He said pained. Aeliss looked down at her body. Her ribcage was bandaged, the same with her left arm. She faintly wondered how she had damaged her arm, but everything was too blurry. She had a feeling her face must look like a disaster.

It was not the first time he had hit her, but it was the first time he had actually beaten her till she passed out.

Ever since their parents had been murdered, her and her brother had been under their grandfather’s care. As the years went by, his methods had become more and more brutal. But for it to come to this…

“People from the Adler estate have arrived to help with the preparations.” Atticus said quietly, afraid of her reaction.

Aeliss watched him in silence. She wanted to feel indignant and furious, but all she felt was numb. She merely nodded, unable to summon up a reaction.

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It didn’t take long for her to recover. A few days in bed, and her bruised ribs were healed. Her head still hurt and she had to cover up her battered face with make-up, but she was up and walking.

Everywhere people were rushing around the mansion. Everyone was assaulting her with questions about dresses, flowers, guest lists and other things she couldn’t care less about.

They were in a hurry to get everything ready. Probably under her grandfather’s orders. He didn’t want to give her a change to screw anything up.

Aeliss sighed. She knew that the servants, who watched her everywhere she went, thought she hadn’t noticed them. They might as well have locked her in her room, and put bars for the windows.

A prisoner. That was all she was. It was all she had ever been in this house.

She barely noticed all the people coming up to her and congratulating her. She didn’t know if it was the concussion or the apathy that had taken over her, but everyone seemed so far away. She heard that they said, but didn’t register their words.

Everything seemed like a blurry dream. But she knew that as soon as she woke up, she would realize it was a nightmare.

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The dress was beautiful. The pure white cloth almost shimmered, and the long veil draped over it like it was embracing it.

It was beautiful, and still Aeliss had never seen anything so ugly.

She was supposed to be getting dressed. Soon the maids would come to help her get ready. Get ready to not only be locked in a cage, but to get her wings clipped.

She stared into the mirror before her. The bruises had disappeared from her face, without leaving a trace. Not a single mar.

A deep desire to take a knife and make deep scars in her pale, porcelain skin welled up in her.

It was that face, and her long, blond hair that Damien Adler wanted. It was those features that made her look like a delicate lady. Made her look like something she was not.

Her eyes fell on a scissor lying on the table. Should she do it? Without thinking further about it, she made a quick decision and picked up the scissor.

With resolution, she grabbed her long hair, and cut.