(COMPLETED) The Lunar Chronicles - Winter's Summer

Part 27

It had been eight hours since the pack had taken her, and Scarlet already missed daylight.

She had been blindfolded for the last leg of the journey, to keep their location a secret from her, so she had no idea if they were even in the EF, although she was almost positive that they got on a boat at some point. And the scum had stolen her portscreen so she couldn't find out the time or where she was.

Well, they were professionals. Scarlet knew that this wasn't their first kidnapping.

When the hover had stopped, Scarlet had been escorted out by Wynn, who then took her up several flights of stairs. He held her hands behind her back with one enormous hand while keeping one hand on her waist. It had been resting there ever since she had gotten in the hover, and Scarlet had already pictured forty nine different ways to remove it from his body.

She heard twin pairs of screams as she was led up the stairs, and she whipped her head in their direction, trying in vain to find out where the danger was coming from. She received a reminder that the answer was all around her when Wynn tightened his grip, holding her firmly against him.

"It is not for you to be concerned about. We're merely dismissing the house staff."

Scarlet's stomach dropped. There was no way for her to be surprised at the brutality and cruelty of the soldiers, but she was still disgusted by them. They would get what they deserved.

Wynn took her up to the top floor, where he led her into a room. She heard a door slam behind her and flinched before having her blindfold removed.

She was in a bedroom. It was smaller than her bedroom at home, barely able to accommodate the size of the king size bed pressed against the wall. The walls were a deep red, the exact colour of blood. She finally sympathized with Winter. The walls were bleeding. She was drowning in blood.

Wynn moved behind her so that his chest was pressed into her back, both of his hands on her waist. Scarlet felt his warm breaths tickling her ear, and shuddered. Her heart began to beat fast, a sudden wave of terror rushing through her. Having Wynn so close to her, in the red room, the bed...

It was all real. Scarlet had been able to keep from crying in the hover by telling herself that it wasn't real, Wolf would find her, she was asleep. But now, she was faced with reality. Wynn was going to have his way.

"Don't," was the only word she could form. Her whole body was trembling, and all Wynn was doing was holding her. She was scared.

He didn't respond. The only thing that happened was his hands moved from waist to hips, dangerously low. She would have slapped him despite the consequences, she was so afraid. She could have her hand cut off, it didn't matter, she just needed him to stop touching her, now!

"Shut up. Don't act like what you want or think matters in any way. You don't matter. You belong to me. You do as I say."

Scarlet whimpered.

"We have some business with some political leaders here. We'll be staying for two weeks, and during that time, you'll be a servant and a companion." Wynn released her, and she fell forward, not realizing how weak she had been, how she depended on him to stand. She landed awkwardly on her elbows, biting back a cry of pain.

"Get dressed. You'll be serving drinks. You'll be watched by Troya while you do, so don't try anything funny. It'll hurt you more than you'll get to hurt them."

Scarlet didn't have any words. And if she did, she wouldn't have shared them for fear of Wynn punishing her. She nodded, tight lipped, hair flying. She was waiting for him to show her what she would be changing into and leave.

But he remained just standing over her, watching her with his arms crossed over his chest. After a few moments, he seemed to realize that she wasn't moving, then said "Ah" and walked towards a closet that Scarlet hadn't noticed before, and pulled out a small tube of black fabric.

He threw it at her, and she caught it with one hand, fist crumpling the material. She held it out in front of her with both hands, looking at the dress. It was so small, Scarlet wasn't sure that she would be able to fit in it. She turned to Wynn, eyebrows raised.

That was as far as she was willing to push the limits. She wouldn't open her mouth, but she protested in her own silent way. Wynn responded with his own raised eyebrows.

"What? If it's too small, we'll just lock you in here for a week. Skinny you up."

With a furrowed brow, Scarlet waited for Wynn to leave the room, but when it became clear he didn't have any plans on moving anytime soon, she gestured for him to leave with her hand, shooing him out the door.

For the first time, he laughed in a way that didn't sound like it was faked or meant to intimidate. It still did, but it felt entirely real. He knelt over, slapping his thigh, his thunderous voice booming in Scarlet's ears. Scarlet silently begged him to just leave, while also wishing to know what she had done that had been so funny.

He backed up towards the door, his face red with amusement. With one hand on the doorknob, he said "You're going to need to get used to it, darling. I won't be so nice next time."

And he left, slamming and locking the door behind him. Scarlet heaved a sigh of relief before hearing him call from the stairs "I'll be back in five minutes". The sound of his voice made her tense up, fear coursing through her body.

She stood up, quickly changing out of her comfortable jeans and sweater and into the garment Wynn had pulled out of the closet.

Scarlet was completely furious with it. It was the most revealing thing she had ever worn, and she felt ashamed for seeing it on her body. Another thing she felt ashamed of was that she liked the way it looked. If she had the opportunity to wear this outfit, if it was only a little longer, she wouldn't hesitate to put it on.

It hugged her curves, exaggerating her hourglass figure. The black colour contrasted with her pale skin nicely, but the thing she hated most about it was the fact that it had been here, waiting for her.

They knew that she would be coming in Wolf's place. It made Scarlet wonder if Wolf was who they were after in the first place, or if he was just some form of bait.

She was still fuming when Wynn came back, as promised, exactly five minutes later.

"Come." He opened the door wide, and Scarlet walked through it, gritting her teeth when Wynn slapped her ass.

She would do nothing. She would say nothing. But just for now. She knew that there was no way on Earth or Luna she would be leaving without her revenge.