The Bride

Chapter 14//: Behave

♕✿~♕✿~Chapter 14//: Behave♕✿~♕✿~

(A/N: Just a pre-chapter warning, Nathan is the epitome of pure evil in this chapter)

Madison's POV

As if having Nathan visit me isn't enough, two other Rogue Dawn members come to visit me later on.

One of them is Lucas, while the other is a female with a brutal scar running down her face from eyebrow to cheek. I try to catch Lucas' eyes, but he doesn't spare me a glance as the female tightly wraps a blindfold around me.

I'm roughly pulled out of my cell, causing me to stumble slightly before I'm able to right myself. I feel a prod at my backside and I take the message, starting to walk. The female's grip on my right arm is so tight that it makes me squirm uncomfortably while another, much softer, grip is on my other arm. Lucas.

My pulse starts to race as I recall the last time I was blindfolded and taken to Nathan. That wasn't an experience I wanted to go through again. Although I hated it, fear was pumping through me as I climbed up familiar steps and stepped out into chilly air. With the oncoming month of December, the air was starting to get harsh and cold. My feet inside of the socks prickled uncomfortably as I kept walking, the ground underneath chilling.

I hear the squeal of a door, and then I'm being shoved into a room with relative warmth compared to the outdoors. Suddenly, I feel more hands on me. Someone is tying some material around my wrists, keeping my hands together while others are pushing me somewhere. Another pair of hands is stuffing another fabric in my mouth, gagging me. The blindfold is ripped off from my face, leaving me blinking rapidly at the sudden brightness blinding me from the bright lights hanging around the room. I let my eyes roam, taking in the room and trying to figure out why I was here.

The room was a small one. There were maybe seven Rogue Dawn members in the room. Up on the ceiling, bright, florescent lights illuminated the room. There was no furniture in the room, only a camera pointed right at me and a bucket in the corner with something sticking out of it. My stomach twisted at the sight of it. What are they planning on doing with me? I didn't want to know.

The Rogue Dawn members tie black cloths with the symbol of the Rogue Dawn on it around the bottom half of their face, obscuring their identities. I watch as Lucas does so, who was still avoiding my gaze with a pained expression. Whatever was going to happen to me, he knew about.

I feel a presence come from behind me, and then there is someone breathing into my ear. An involuntary shiver goes through me as Nathan starts to whisper in my ear. "Behave for this video or I won't hesitate to bring Ahren and your family here and kill them right in front of you," he threatens me quietly. "Understand?" he purrs. I can only shakily nod my head once, though I still have no idea what is going to happen to me.

Suddenly, Nathan painfully grabs my hair and pulls my head back. I clamp down on my tongue to keep from crying out at the pain, blood swelling in my mouth from the action. I stare into the camera focused on me, and in that moment, I become aware with what is going to happen. Nathan is going to send this video somewhere, most likely to the palace.

"Hello, those in the palace, and a special greeting to Prince Ahren. Or I guess I should soon call him King Ahren since his parents are dead. Courtesy of me," Nathan says cruelly. "You may not realize yet what you have done, prince, but you soon will. And I'm sure you recognize Madison." I feel cold metal caress my cheek, then go to my neck. My heart pounds against my chest at the contact, my skin shivering at the feel of a knife. A strangled sob escapes me at the frightening situation I was in, the sound muffled by the gag. "I will make sure you pay for the things you've done to ruin my life. And the first part of your payment will be paid through the death of those dear to you, just like how you and your family did to me."

My eyes widen at the words Nathan utters. A thought runs through me: Is this where he kills me? The thought of death was not too terrifying for me, but the thought of leaving everyone behind did scare me. Mom, dad, Sydney, Ahren, Damon. I couldn't, didn't, want to leave them yet. I start to pull my head away from Nathan, desperate to get away and not have to deal with any more pain, but he only tightens his fingers in my hair, pulling back so sharply that I am left staring up at the florescent lights, my neck hurting now.

Nathan lets out a chuckle at my efforts. He turns back to the camera. "But in Madi's case, I won't give a quick death for her. No, she needs to suffer because you care about her so dearly. She will pay for the mistakes you and your family made." Nathan gestures to another Rogue Dawn member standing nearby, who comes over to me and grabs my arms, keeping me still. Nathan walks to the bucket and pulls out the item that is sticking out of it. I start to thrash in the man's arms as I realize what will happen to me. And how painful it will be.

The man holding me pushes me to the ground, smashing my face onto the hard floor. There's a thud that sounds from the impact. The man straddles my back, pinning me down with his weight. At this point, I am panicking and thrashing wildly, desperate to escape what awaits me. A few tears of frustration and absolute fear slip from my eyes, falling to the floor as hands grab my arms, pulling the sleeves of my clothes up, exposing skin. The same hands trap my arms to the floor, keeping them still with the palms of my hands exposed.

Nathan shakes the excess water off of the whip, testing it by slashing it through the air. The whoosh sound accompanying it makes me tremble even more as I try to get out of this situation. But the man on top of me won't let me escape. Nathan's shoes finally come to rest in front of me, the whip in one hand. I want this to end, I want this to be a nightmare that I'll wake up from. Please let this not be real. I don't want to feel the pain, I want to get away from here. Help me, help me, help me, I think in my head shakily as Nathan positions himself so that the whip will hit me.

"I've heard that you've played the viola for many years and are talented at it. And that you really love playing the instrument," Nathan comments lightly, but his words cut into me even though the whip physically hasn't. Will he whip my hands so much that I will never be able to do anything with them, including play the viola, without the help of a healer? An even more horrifying thought comes to me. Will he destroy my hands so badly that a healer will never be able to heal them fully?

"Feel free to scream as loud as you want," Nathan tells me, his eyes void of any emotion, as he pulls his arm back.

The whip comes down.

♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~♕✿~

I have made Nathan so evil and heartless...but it's important to make everybody hate his guts in this book. As I'm sure you all hate his guts as well.

Hopefully, this wasn't too disturbing to you guys. I mean, just writing this gave me some chills. Apologies to anyone who was seriously affected by this chapter.

I hope you all have a good week

Glass_Sword