Desnuerhiel

Chapter 3

The room beyond the door was the biggest room I'd ever seen. The ceiling had to be at least eight stories high and the room itself was about one and a half football fields in length. Spanning the length of the dining hall was an enormous wooden table, probably large enough to seat over a hundred people comfortably. Holly gently jerks my arm, and I realize I had stopped following her. The crowd of girls around me thins as they begin to take their seats. No one speaks. I follow Holly an open space at the end of the table where Aliyah and Violet were already sitting. She silently sits down and gestures quickly for me to sit in the seat next to her. I look around me and see that almost all of the girls are already seated with their heads down. Holly quietly clears her throat to get my attention, so I quickly sit down next to her on a wooden bench. I lower my head like all the other girls, but I look around me out of the corners of my eyes.

The room was silent, as if everyone was waiting for something. I turn my head slightly to the left and observe the girls around me; Holly was chewing on her lip as if it was an old nervous habit. I look across the table at Violet and Aliyah. Violet was staring at an empty plate in front of her. Aliyah lifts her head slightly and sees me staring at her- she smiles slightly at me, as if encouraging me, then looks back down. The girl next to Violet managed to capture my attention. She is swaying side to side ever so slightly, her head only halfway lowered. I can't pinpoint what it is but something about her didn't seem right. She was very pretty, with long dark hair and a clear complexion. As I look at her face I realize what is wrong with her; her pupils are almost fully dilated, making the center of her eyes look almost fully black. It's creepy to look at so I turn away.

I almost lean over to ask Holly what is going on, but before I could I hear one of the giant wooden doors slam open. Following Holly's last minute advice I return my head to its downward position. I close my eyes and try not move as I hear heavy footsteps slowly walking alongside the table. I breathe a small sigh of relief when the steps pass me and keep moving towards the other end of the room. I turn my head ever so slightly to the right to see who it is that came through the door. Unfortunately, all I can see is the many other girls sitting at the table beside me. Irritated and fed up with no one telling me what is happening, I raise my head for a second to see for myself.

I catch sight of a tall figure walking along the length of the table, moving slow and deliberate as if to cause fear and panic. The figure keeps walking until he reaches a stone dais at the end of the room- on the dais is a very large, ornate, wooden throne. The man stops in front of the throne, then turns and sits on it. The room is silent as he leans forward, elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped, eyes scanning the room. I feel the room full of girls collectively stop breathing, waiting for whatever the man to do something.

"Number 100...come here" the man says suddenly.

My heart skips as I hear his words. Holly nudges me and I look over at her, incredulous at the fact that she wants me to go up there.

I hear a low growl as I turn to look towards the throne. "Now, number 100. I don't want to have to repeat myself!"

Despite the fact that I had no desire to go anywhere near there, I slowly rise from the bench. My long dress catches under my bare feet and I almost trip. I slowly walk down the aisle way towards the throne, not sure what is going to happen.

Looking up towards my destination, I can see the man more clearly. As I get closer I can see he is very attractive. His body was well toned, with shoulder length dark hair, perfectly chiseled facial features, and unnaturally bright silver eyes. Fortunately, I'm not one to be swayed by attractiveness.

He stands from his throne as I approach, a slight smirk on his face. I narrow my eyes and frown slightly. I stop directly in front of the steps leading to the throne, unsure of what to do next.