God's Gaze

Part Two Chapter Eleven: Locked in a Cage

       Vivienne's eyes peeled open where she was faced with a dark, velvet canopy above her. She groaned as she sat up and took in her surroundings. Deep grey brick walls enclosed the space with a gigantic, singular window at one end of the room. The dark oak floor was covered in a fluffy carpet that matched the canopy and the window curtains. Paintings and mirrors lined the remainder of the walls; however, they were either ripped to shreds or smashed to bits. The debris was cleaned up. The queen-sized bed she laid on had layers upon layers of pillows towering at the head of the bed.

       Panic swept through her at the familiarity of the bedroom, and she hustled towards the window and slammed against it. Her widened eyes peered through the frosted over glass with her chilled breath fogged it up. Snowy mountains expanded the horizon; the sky clouded over. It was the middle of May, why is it...?

       She recalled back to what happened, but all she remembered was subduing a centaur and that was it. What happened after that? Did her classmates escape in time? Were Jean and Mr. Gaumont alright? Her blood went cold at the realization that she wasn't in Baesary anymore... She was in Rheinport.

       She darted for the bedroom door and frantically rattled the handle, but it was locked from the outside. She materialized her glaive and summoned her powers to freeze the door handle, however, it unlocked before she started. She stumbled back as the door swung open and a woman entered.

       Her serene smile sent shivers down Vivienne's spine. Her mother's icy blue eyes peered down on her daughter as she continued to advance upon her. Her mother opened her arms and attempted to hug her, but Vivienne took a shaky step back, which garnered a shocked expression from Constance.

       "Why do you choose to ignore me? I took time out of my day to come pick up my lovely daughter from school," Constance said with a frown, "do you not love your mother?"

       "Why would I love somebody that wants to kill me?!" Vivienne yelled; her glaive still gripped in her hands. She didn't dare point the blade towards the God.

       Her mother let out an offended gasp: "since when did I want you dead? I wouldn't dream of it!" There was a scarily long pause before she spoke again, her expression returned to that calm and loving state. "I just wanted my daughter to come home."

       "I never wanted to come back! I—" Vivienne retorted but cut herself off. She briefly remembered how she laid on the school's grass field with Mr. Gaumont in front of her, hissing. "What did you do to my teacher?"

       Constance towered over Vivienne; that smile became something sinister. She leaned over Vivienne and whispered: "the snake got in the way, so I dealt with him."

       Tears prickled the girl's eyes and she looked away from her mother's piercing gaze. "I want to be let out, please..." she pleaded, quietly.

       Constance sighed and turned around to head back to the door. "For running away all these years, you're hereby grounded until further notice. You'll be let out for meals, but you're to stay here until you've learned your lesson." Once in the hallway, she slowly closed the door with a smile as she said: "I love you, Vivienne."

       With the lock in place, Vivienne was left shocked and shivering in her freezing childhood bedroom. The glaive in her hands being nothing more than a silly prop.

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       Jean knelt on the throne room floor; his face pointed to the chilled marble. The throne room changed since the last time he was here a few months ago. The blue banisters were torn down, the intricately designed pillars had deep gashes in them- almost like claw marks, and the stain-glass window behind the throne was smashed, leaving the bone-chilling mountain air to sweep through the room.