ABN (Very Bad do not read this!!) (NANOWRIMO 2013)

Chapter 9

I walked down the hallway and we walked right past the ballroom, the lights were all off but the heavy tangy smell of blood still clung to the air.

I heard Notari gag a little behind us as we passed it heading straight for the other hallway on the other side.

We turned right down a hallway and walked past several red doors in the long white hallway. At the end were two double doors, eerie and creepy instrumental music drifted out from behind them as we neared the heavy wooden doors.      

“Dinner is this way.” He said opening the door for me and Notari.

She stepped up to my side linking her arm in mine as we both took a tentative step into the room.

Round tables were set up all over the place, most sitting close to the ground, large pillows were set up as chairs.  There were red velour curtains dangling from the dark low ceiling.

A heavy cloud soft smoke filled the upper layer of air. Instantly I started coughing and wheezing, I was allergic to smoke, everybody was but mine was a little more severe.

“What’s wrong with her?” The man asked walking up beside me.

My face had probably gone all red from lack of oxygen. My hands wrapped around my throat as I began to cough and sputter what little air I was sucking in.

“The smoke, she can’t handle smoke. Her lungs seize up.” Notari explained quickly rubbing my back.

“It’s a good thing you’re eating outside. Humans what a bother.” He sighed walking away into the crowd.

“Damnit.” Notari spat and began to follow him dragging me along, I felt so useless I hadn’t been of any use at all.

Notari led me out onto a patio with a stone veranda, there was a low dark ebony wood table settled close to the ground, lush red and gold pillows were set around backed by a piece of stone so they sat like chairs almost.

“This is where you will be dinning tonight. Do enjoy, we’ll be moving a few short hours.”

Notari snapped her head to glare at him, “Are you serious, you think we’ll just go along with you?” She shouted at him.

“Ari… he’ll kill us.” I whispered pulling on her arm.

He looked down at me with darkening green eyes, “No, like I’ve said I’ll kill her, you Lamb I have to keep around.” He smiled and clapped his hands together in front of him.

Two men dressed in casual suits came out from behind the red curtain to my left pushing it aside. In their white gloved hands they each held a silver platter with a dome lid atop it.

The smell of pasta wafted out to me and my stomach growled softly, the green eyed man looked at me curiously and then back to the food.

I hadn’t eaten since yesterday afternoon, I was starving. As they set the food down on the table and removed the lids a very dramatic fashion my eyes grew wide as I stared down at two bowls of spaghetti Alfredo, and a nice chicken Caesar salad sides.

Glancing back at Notari hoping for some reassurance but she was busy glaring at the man. Wait, what was his name again? I still didn’t know his name… wow.

I looked at him and eyed him trying to think of a name to call him, I needed something anything really.

He looked like an Adam maybe, or even a Blake something strong and intelligent but could also be evil. He glanced at me and scowled his eyebrows furrowing together.

He had tied his brown hair back in a drooping pony tail that lay down his back, I envied that ability to have his hair not curl and knot as mine did.

“Is something the matter?” He asked politely his voice terse and possible angry as he stared back at me.

“Other than the fact that I’m being kidnapped, and looking at a future as a sex slave?” I asked him hoping to antagonize him, I wanted his lips to loosen so when I asked for his name I would get it, “Then no everything is just peachy.” I gave a leisurely shrug of my shoulders and moved to the table siting down sideways so I could bend my knee’s to the side.

Notari moved with me sitting to my left, I passed her a bowl of the pasta and the salad along with eating utensils that were so cleverly wrapped in white napkins.

“Do you have a problem with your future?” He growled crouching down on my right.

He looked calm on the surface but he was raging internally at me, which was all fine and dandy. Except that I needed him to crack so I could get in and dig around. The only downside to being the weaker one in this argument.

“Oh no, I’m sure it will be nice. Being owned by an arrogant prick seems like a lovely way to live, I mean I’m already used to being overshadowed by somebody so full of themselves that they can’t see five feet in front of them.” I shrugged grabbing a piece of chicken and popping it in my mouth.

It was still warm and the warm Cajun spices were delicious.

“What do you mean arrogant! I am not full of myself.” He snapped slamming his palm onto the table top.

“Really? Then what are you? Certainly not a gentleman, that’s painfully obvious. But don’t worry I’m good at fluffing egos, yours will be no trouble.” I sighed lifting up my napkin and laying it in my lap.

I went to dig into my pasta when he slammed the lid over only my food.

“I am a gentleman, I saved your friend. I’m allowing her to live currently. I’m not dressing you as the whore you’ll become, personally I am treating you with respect.”

I turned slowly to look at him narrowing my eyes, “Oh really? A real Gentleman would have introduced himself before having sex. The fact is painfully obvious, you aren’t treating me with respect because I still don’t know your name.” I said lifting his hand from the lid and removing it.

He gawked at me, obviously he wasn’t expecting this. I was leader of the debate team at my school, not only that but in the History club I was the general when we had our mock battles.

I had found something I was good at, finally a nerd quality that would pay off, I knew wartime strategy and interrogation techniques.

Of course using it in a real situation was tougher because there were no set parameters and I didn’t know how he would react most of the time. Still I had a leg up.

“You are very right Ashleigha, I have neglected to tell you my name. Hm, I seemed to have assumed that the other Ashlaya was still you and she would know my name. My apologies.” He rose and walked away.

Angrily I stabbed the thick noodles with my fork and began to eat, I still didn’t have his name.

But I was figuring out what I could and couldn’t do and right now that was almost as important as the actual doing part. Notari stared at me her fork in her mouth, a bit of lettuce sticking out from the corner.

Slowly she began to chew on it swallowing far before she was down chewing.

“What the hell was that Ash?” She growled at me.

“I’m adapting, there isn’t much I’m good at. But I can argue one hell of a debate. Thanks to dealing with Laya for all my life, I know how to handle him.”

Notari nodded, “True they are a lot alike.”

“I know, it’s no wonder she didn’t want to get stuck with him. They would have killed each other by now…” My voice faded away.

Notari leaned across the table and wrapped her arms around me, “We’ll get through this Ash, I know we will. And when we do, we’ll kick Layas ass” I laughed nodding my head and hugging her back.