The Vampire's Reluctant Bride

The Vampire's Reluctant Bride: chapter-14

Chapter-14

 The sound of the dripping water was about the only variable in her life. She stared at the unadorned walls, trying not to scream... Again.

After her meeting with Lord Romanowsky, she had been taken to a room conspicuous for its absence of comforts. She had spent the night on the narrow cot, sleeping fitfully - anxious about what morning would bring. On hindsight, the lack of embellishments... or company had been a sign of the things to come.

Andre had arrived at the crack of dawn. She had stared at him, willing him to break the unbearable silence. She could not put a finger on it, but something in his cornflower-blue eyes had changed.

At long last, when she was practically ready to howl with frustration; he spoke.

“You know, I really wish you had not given me this chance, Nina.”

Amelia looked at him in surprise, his face held genuine regret. “Why?” she whispered.

Andre laughed. “You still don’t get it, do you?” He shook his head, “I couldn’t care less about what happens to you, Amelia… My brother, on the other hand, is a whole different story. I wish there was a way to carry this out without hurting him.”

The flick of his wrist brought two men who escorted her outside. Andre moved aside for them to pass, but said nothing. She looked over her shoulder to find him regarding their departure solemnly, his face blank- completely devoid of emotions. And then they were turning a corner and he was lost from view.

The men took her along endless corridors and myriad flights of stairs till she had no clue which way they were headed, or even whether they were moving up or down. She was almost glad when they reached her final destination. And she had not ventured out since.

 The room was small; with no windows and the walls a curious shade of mottled-green that succeeded in making you feel nauseas when you stared at it too long. She herself was bound on a wood and steel contraption which held her upright in the classic pentagram spread. Pinned firmly between the hinges of the contraption, Amelia could do little more than move her head from side to side.

Initially, the hinges had been relatively loose- not allowing her escape, but not crushing her either. She had been left hanging like that, waiting for whatever they had planned. It was only later that she realized that that was it. Nothing else would be done to her.  Not that anything else needed to be done.

The dripping water? It acted as a weight. The more the water collected, the tighter the hinges closed. Effectively crushing her between them.

 She didn’t mind the pain as much as she hated the silence. Left to be crushed by the machine, no one bothered her. She didn’t even know how long she had been there anymore – the absence of windows combined with the perpetual dim light made guessing time impossible. Someone came in periodically to feed her a tasteless paste, but obviously they were under strict instructions not to interact with her. She had hoped to be released, at least temporarily, when she needed to answer nature’s call, but she was sadly mistaken. Humiliatingly, a bucket had been placed between her feet for whenever she needed to relieve herself. Although there was no one to watch her and she was afforded complete privacy; waves of embarrassment washed over her whenever she needed its use.

She had learnt early on that screaming did not help. Either her voice did not penetrate the heavy doors, or else no one cared enough to find out who was screaming. The tears streaming down her face had dried too. She had no hope of rescue... Or relief.

The long hours of solitude had her envisioning the different scenarios her life could have taken. But knowing herself; given another chance, she would still end up repeating the same mistakes.

As if the physical isolation was not enough, the silence in her mind was deafening. She remembered asking Lucius not to intrude her mind before she left. Apparently, he had chosen to honour her wishes to the letter. She idly wondered if she should try to reach out to him with her mind... see if he could somehow spring her from this prison, but ultimately she decided against it... it would be unfair to expect him to save her after what had happened.

Did she regret her actions?

 To her own amazement, she did. Although she had agreed to go on a date with Carlitos, she had not expected him to kiss her. And while she could not have imagined the repercussions of that kiss in her wildest dreams; she knew that it was a kiss she could have lived without.

Unghhh!

The water had reached another mark, tightening the already tight beams further. The last move itself had made the hinges painfully taut; this additional movement caused her body to erupt in a world of pain. She screamed, knowing no one would come and then passed into blissful unconsciousness.

Her entire body ached when she came to her senses. She desperately wanted to stretch her muscles... to massage the kinks in her shoulders and back, but that was a dream she could not realize.

The door opened, startling her.

Food.

 She welcomed the initial bites ravenously, but the tasteless fare soon killed her appetite. She shook her head, trying to escape the spoon which continued to come at her in regular intervals, not caring whether she was ready or not. Only when she could not fit more of the white paste inside her oral cavity, did the man pause.

She somehow managed to gulp it down before gasping for breath. A tumbler of cool water was held at her lips and she drank greedily. Soon, however; the spoon replaced it again.

“Please, no more...” She gasped.

The man shook his head, “You must finish this.” She stared at the giant bowl in his hands- she had not even finished half of it, yet!

She began to sob, but he was insistent, pushing in spoon after spoon into her mouth.

“Stop, please...No more!”She begged.

The man paused. Imagining her pleas had somehow stalled him- even momentarily, she repeated, “Please... no more. “

The man shook his head, scooping up another spoonful and raised it to her mouth.

Enough! You heard the Lady.

 

Amelia wondered for an instant if she was dreaming. But, the expression on the guards face confirmed that she had heard correctly.

Lucius was here!