Beneath The Surface

Act 33 - Fluttering of her heart

Normal text
Thinking
Onomatopoeia

Astaroth's POV
"Stay here! Until you've learnt your lesson, you're not allowed to leave your room!"

After uttering those cruel words, Mommy resolutely turned her back and slammed the door shut, plunging Astaroth into pitch-black darkness. There was an audible click before footsteps left quickly. Despite the agony raking across her back, Astaroth scrambled up to the door, knocking it for dear life.

"Please. I'm sorry, Mommy... I didn't mean to steal—I will return it... I'm sorry... Mommy, open the door... Please... Don't throw me here..." Astaroth desperately apologised with tears running down her cheeks.

As proof, she even fished out a hextech cube from her pocket, offering it to her god, "Please. Mommy... I'm sorry. Don't lock me here..."

But silence met her pleas. There was no sound of footsteps on the other side. She only had the company of eternal darkness. More sobs and whimpers escaped her lips. Suddenly, as if struck by lightning, she quickly muffled her mouth, ceasing all incessant noises. Mommy hated hearing her cry. If she continued to annoy her, she might never open the door. In the cold lightless room, Astaroth hugged her left knee, sniffling uncontrollably. She didn't dare to touch her other leg with the conspicuous blue-black bruise. She feared she might end up screaming even louder.

Astaroth was panting hard. She couldn't breathe well in this dusty place. Those arrogant servants always skipped cleaning her room. So every time she's grounded, it's almost the same as suffocating her. Astaroth started coughing while hiccuping. She was heaving, trying to repress the panic from the lack of oxygen. Her chest felt tight and stuffy. She wanted to die. Even more so when she had somehow managed to anger her parents again. Why did she have to take that dumb toy? Why can't she just be good for once?

All the sobbing eventually died down when she ran out of air to cry. Astaroth choked. She felt light-headed. The room was spinning. Her arms fell feebly from her knee. The blasted cube rolled out of her small hand, making an ominous clinking sound as it scattered across the red wood flooring. Angry red marks scored her palms. Remnants left behind by her father's belt. If only she had confessed just now... But it was so painful that her mind went blank. She couldn't utter a single coherent word besides wailing from the pain. Her back stung with every trail of sweat and blood trickling down. Even more so when her shirt stuck to her back. The creases of the rough fabric only made her wince.

While gasping from the endless swirl of pain, Astaroth slowly crawled to the sole window in this dark room, dragging along a limp leg. Every inch was like hell for her. But if she didn't move, she would really die from suffocation. Through the glass panes, she could see the dark sky, her only source of light in this quagmire. Fumbling for the latch, she quickly pushed open the windows. Gust of cool air blew into her face, bringing along fresh oxygen. Moonlight illuminated the unsightly whip marks on her arms. Astaroth flushed with shame. Every gentle breeze that tickled her tender wounds almost made her faint. Tears welled up. The pain was too much. She felt like crying again.

In the midst of depression and sorrow, a pretty fox appeared in her mind. She wanted Ahri to hold her hand. She wanted to hear her waxy voice comforting her. She wanted her to pat her head. She wanted to sleep in fluffy warm tails...

All the sleepiness suddenly vanished as Astaroth jolted awake. Now that her brain was reinvigorated with oxygen, she finally realised a jarring problem—she hadn't met her friend for the past 3 days. Daddy and Mommy recently came back in a foul mood. So the punishments were a lot heavier than usual. Especially one of the nightmare sessions. It was terrifyingly vivid. Astaroth would never forget the pure agony ripping through her. They had hit her leg so hard that she ended up screaming till the whole mansion could hear her. She only remembered an excruciating twinge concentrated at her right shin. It was so unbearable that she fainted on the spot. When Astaroth woke up alone in her room the next day, she immediately started bawling for her parents because the pain was too much for her to bear. But in the end, no one, not even the servants, opened the door. It took all the effort for her to keep awake. And even more so for her to not howl for her parents' attention like an unreasonable brat.