Lilith Talto

Ch. 4

Lilith came to in a strange environment. She was laying face down on a bed.

A bed? Since when did she own a bed? Who cared?

She tried to turn over but found that her hands were tied.

Oh well, she thought and promptly fell back asleep.

The next time she woke up, her eyes focused on the man, no, boy, she saw in the market.

Lilith groaned, "where am I?"

He didn't say anything, instead, walked over and untied her wrists and ankle.

"In my bedroom." He said. "And your name?"

She turned over and sat up gingerly, wincing as the lashes stretched and rubbing her tingling hands. "It doesn't matter." She whimpered when she saw her ruined dress.

"Who cut my dress?" she whispered as it fell off her shoulders in tatters 

My dress! It's ruined! She gasped, what about the stolen goods?

Lilith frantically searched around, looking for the objects. She heard a cough and quickly looked up to see the smirking boy holding up her stolen goods.

"Looking for these?" the gleam in his icy eyes said it all.

She winced, "I-I-I was going to return them! I found them on the ground?" She tried.

He looked at her skeptically. "sure." was his only reply.

She looked at her ruined dress again. A sigh of disappointment escaped her lips. She pushed her messy hair out of the way, shaking her hand as a few strands came loose.

"Here," the boy said, "wear these until I can get a dress tailored." He handed her a shirt and a pair of pants. "I expect you to be changed by the time a get back."

As he left the room, Lilith sighed yet again.

She stood up carefully, using the edge of the bed to prop herself up. She was so focused on her task that she didn't notice the prince had left the door open and was watching her quietly.

She looked at the shirt and huffed. She had been beaten before and knew the pains of trying to put on clothes the next day well.

How the hell am I supposed to put this on? She pondered.

She gave up after the fifth try. She ignored the boy coming back in.

He motioned for her to turn around and she did. "Ashton" he said in his beautiful voice.

She winced as he pulled the dress away from her ruined back. "Lilith Talto." She grimaced in response.

The blood had dried, making the dress stick to her back. She gasped as he pulled the last of it off.

He laughed darkly. "woman demon monster."

She lifted her head high with her hair a tangled mess, ruined back, and stark naked. She was proud of it all

"Stretch out your arms in front of yourself," Ashton instructed after shucking off her dress.

She raised her arms shakily and he slid the shirt up her arms, tying the strings in the back loosely.

"Sit."

Lilith sat.

"You know," he started as he slid her pants down, "it'll take a while before you fully recover." She bristled at his comment.

"This is not my first time receiving lashings as a punishment," Lilith noticed the perfection of his black hair and was overcome with the desire to set it aflame.

"Stand up"

Lilith stood.

"Use me to steady yourself."

She grasped his muscular shoulders as he pulled the pants over her hips. She hung her head, ashamed of not being able to dress herself.

Ashton sighed. "It took me three months." She snapped her head up but was already leaving the room.

He paused at the door. "First set of stairs, three floors down. First left, second right."

She scoffed as he left but smiled when she saw her shoes.

I guess somethings can turn out alright.

She slipped them on and put the heels into her hair, twisting up her hair so they would stay in place and followed his instructions.

She fumbled a bit going down the stairs but eventually made it into the huge room with platters upon platters of food. She stopped dead.

"You don't have to eat the flies. Shut your mouth and come sit."

The boy had changed clothes and was seated at the head of the table.

"What is this place?" She said in a whisper.

"A dining hall. Surely you've seen one before" He asked incredulously.

Her only answer was to shake her head.