Go to Hell (on hold)

THREE

They made me follow them along a dirt path, twisting through the forest surrounding the lake. The occasional rock and twig bit into my bare feet, and the wind had my wet blouse stuck to me like a second, icy skin. But North and Silas paid me no mind. They remained stoic until we came across a maze. Its dense briar walls towered over Silas's head and sent a shiver down my spine. Silas glanced back at me, pursing his lips.

"You're just as bad as Kota," North grumbled at him. "There shouldn't be anyone in here today." I wanted to know what he meant, but was too terrified to ask. With a nod, Silas proceeded onward. My eyes widened when the walls of the maze opened up for him, allowing us to walk straight through. North chucked at my expression.

"What did you think was going to happen? This house knows who its masters are."

I ducked my head and followed Silas, all too aware of the maze walls closing behind the three of us, trapping me in. A stray thorn scraped my cheek, sending a drop of blood down my face like a tear. Finally, we made it to the other side. The exit of the maze gave way to a wild garden. Bushels of roses ran rampant, sporadically broken up by other flowers and trees. But the strangest thing was the color scheme. Every petal was either red, black, or white. My stomach clenched as the red flowers reminded me a bit too much of blood.

All too soon we arrived at the castle. It was even more intimidating up close. Gargoyles perched from the roof and stain glass windows depicted scenes of death and torture. I gulped. Silas held open a creaking door and I ducked through. The first thing I noticed was the music. Someone was playing a piano. North scoffed and nudged me ahead. We walked down a narrow hallway, until we reached a door. He pushed it open and I stepped into a drawing room. Maroon wallpaper with gold accents coated the walls. Dark wood floors were covered in Persian rugs. But what held me captive were the three men occupying the room. One had wavy brown hair and explosive brown eyes, reminding me of fire. He sat at a grand piano, his fingers flitting across the keys. Another was lean, with piercing blue eyes. He ran a hand through his russet and blonde streaked hair as he observed me. The third man had vibrant green eyes behind dark rimmed glasses. He stared at me with a barely controlled rage and his eyes bounced from my chest to my cheek, down to my feet.

"They should have sent you here for your fucking fashion sense alone," the blue eyed one snarled, disgusted. I tucked my chin into my chest and tried to cross my arms. I wanted to disappear.

"Gabriel," Green Eyes reprimanded. Gabriel simply rolled his eyes and returned to the book he'd been reading. "Hello, Sang. I understand this must be confusing for you. My name is Kota-"

"Hey, guys!" My attention was drawn to a blonde boys strutting into the room from a different entrance than the one I enter from. On each of his arms was a laughing woman. "Just wanted to let you know we are going to be using the hot tub for a few hours. So stay away."

A blush burst onto my cheeks. He was handsome, with long blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. The women were equally beautiful, and I was suddenly embarrassed to look as plain as I did.

"You must be Sang." My eyes shot up to meet the blonde boy's. He grinned and stalked over to me. His fingers grasped my chin gently, and he turned my head from side to side. "You would be an excellent addition to my collection."

"C-collection?" I stammered.

"He means another notch in his belt," Kota growled. "Luke, that is enough! Sang, come with me." Luke chuckled and released me. He sauntered back the women who were waiting with open arms.

Kota charged towards me and grabbed my arm. He yanked me through a narrow third door, and up a flight of stairs. We went through a labyrinth of passageways and stairs, until we arrived in front of a door. The hallway was drafty and frigid. Kota turned to me.

"This is your bedroom," he said. "You are to stay here until someone comes to collect you for dinner. Do not leave this room. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," I whispered, terrified. Kota had seemed calm and maybe even nice before. He opened the door and shoved me inside. I stumbled through and barely caught myself from falling. The door slammed behind me, sending a shiver down my spine. I raised myself up and studied my new bedroom. It was hardly an improvement from my last one. The walls were rough stone, and the floors a worn, creaky wood. The narrow bed had plain sheets and a couple threadbare blankets piled on top. A dresser was pushed up next to the bed, with a small, cracked mirror above it. The only natural light came from a window over the bed. Another door led to a dismal bathroom.

One tear slid down my cheek. Then another. And another. Soon I found myself huddled on the floor sobbing my eyes out. Mourning my own death and the death of familiarity. I didn't know where I was now or what would happen to me. At least when I was alive my life with my family was predictable. Now I was alone. And I had never been more afraid.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I cried for what felt like hours. Once I head men shouting below me, and once I looked out my window to see what kind of view I had. That was the only nice part of the room. I was above the garden.

I spun around as my door creaked open. It was Gabriel, and he had a dress bag in one hand and a small duffle bag in the other. I stared at him, red eyed and numb. And I wondered how much it would hurt if he decided to beat me.

"I'm here to get you ready for dinner," he told me. I nodded. He handed me the dress bag and a pair on nondescript bottles from the duffle bag. "Go shower and wash your hair with this. When you're done come back out."

I nodded again and went to do as he said, too terrified to protest. But when I went to turn on the shower, I froze. It was just a shower. There was no way for me to take a bath. Memories of my mother came rushing back. Her tying me up in the shower. Me screaming until she shoved leaving juice and vinegar down my throat. Finally the next morning my father realizing I was gone and found me in the bathroom. He hadn't tried to comfort me, even if I had been shaking and crying. He had simply grumbled about the water bill and left.

There was no way I could shower now. No way I could shower ever again. So I stripped off my clothes and wet a washcloth in the sink. I scrubbed myself raw, especially my blood-stained chest and under my red-caked feet. Washing my hair was trickier, but I managed. When I was finished, I unzipped the dress bag and nearly threw up. It was a short forest green dress. Through it had long sleeves and a high collar, there was a chest cut out that would reveal much more than I wanted to. I couldn't wear this.

"Sang, hurry the fuck up," Gabriel called from my bedroom. The last thing I wanted to do was make him-- or any of them-- angry. With shaking hands I maneuvered myself into the dress and tried desperately to make it cover as much skin as possible. I walked out of the bathroom felling miserable and humiliated. Gabriel raised an eyebrow at my entrance but otherwise was expressionless. He gestured for me to sit on my bed. I did and began to fiddle with the hem of my dress. I felt his fingers run through my hair, then a comb. He brushed and dried my hair with a hair dryer until it fell around my face in silky, straight locks.

"If nothing else you have nice hair," Gabriel muttered. He took two strands from either side of my face and secured them behind my head with a hair tie. Then he swiped mascara on my eyelashes and coated my lips in a light pink gloss. Finally Gabriel took out a pair of black pumps and placed them near my feet.

"I-I don't know how to walk in heels," I whispered.

"Then fucking learn." I slipped my feet into the surprisingly comfortable heels and looked Gabriel in the eye.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because Kota is a fucking idiot and deserves to be punished."

"What do I have to do with that?" A shadow crossed over his face.

"You'll see. Now come along. We don't want to be late for dinner."

With no choice and an empty stomach, I followed him out of my room. And I couldn't help but have a bad feeling about dinner.