The Sleeping Prison

Chapter 5

How dangerous, she thought, to finally have something worth losing. Her freedom.
She had never valued her freedom now as she did now. Of course she had been a prisoner to her father, her school, and knew she would soon belong to a man she had never met but she hadn't expected it so soon.
Just like that she felt her chest tighten as her last bit of freedom left. She would have to love this man, her freedom to love had been taken too.
"Your my WHAT?!?!" She screamed.
"Your betrothed, Hector McCean, can assure you I will take excellent care of you, but don't worry, you will have plenty to do around here. You no longer have to cook and clean since the slaves have arrived but you still must raise our children." His voice was raspy and now looking at him he was kind of dorky, but not in the good way. He was just weird.
He was the kind of man who you could tell got way ahead of himself. There also was a bit of pride in how he acted. The straightness of his back and the niceness of his shirt.
He was maybe 5 years older than her and was not handsome, beautiful, or cute. He was rich, that is why her father had chosen him.
She backed up, away from him in disgust.
"Oh don't you worry dear, you will get used to me and this life. I am truly sorry for this, you deserve someone as beautiful as you but of course there is no one like that. I am sorry." He paused. "Elizabeth, take her back to her room."
Too shocked to speak she turned and left. She arrived back at her room, pulled off the dress and pulled on a nightgown and fell in the bed. It didn't matter if she had been sleeping for days, the events of today we too much, Hannah, Luke, and now her betrothed, Hector.
She fell asleep in minutes.
•••
Luke didn't wake for hours, Hannah signed him short messages, almost invisible movements but the message was clear, wait.
Grace helped him with his now forming black eye and bruised cheek. James and Will sat together, having a silent game of tic-tac toe. James won every time, not a surprise.
Hannah then sat bolt right in her set as Luke began to stur. She silently trased words on his skin, he could communicate in many different ways, most of which without opening his eyes.
He gave the slightest nod and Julian got to his feet and moved to the window.
He turned his back to the window, his hands braced against the wall. He leaned back, gestured Hannah over to him, and signaled James to get Will and Grace to the window.
Hannah came and he whispered, "Tell Luke to wait, he will give the element of surprise. When I open the window Will and Grace will be out first. Then James, then, assuming that guards have come by then. Luke will hop up and you and him will help stop make sure the others get a head start. I know Luke isn't that experienced in fighting but I'll cover him. I won't leave until you both are out of the window, understand. Good luck. I hate making you the last person but you have to under—"
"What are you two talking about!?!" The guard screamed, beating his hand on her cell door, Julian's whispered conversation was cut short. Smart to not let your prisoners talk in private, too late, she already knew the plan.
"Oh, do you really want to hear me and my girlfriends conversation. I sure wouldn't." Him and Hannah exchanged a meaningful glance. He pulled her close to him, the way that couples do. "Your so beautiful, I'm sorry I can't get you all alone." Saying it loudly, so the guard could hear. The others looked amused but clearly got what was happening.
"What would you do if you could get me all alone?" She said clearly playing along.
"I-"
"I've heard enough." The guard was beat red. Everyone but the guard and Luke, who clearly couldn't hear what happened, snickered.
"Good thing Luke is deaf. I be in trouble wouldn't I?" He whispered over her shoulder.
She laughed, "you'd be lucky you're alive right now." She turned around to face him and pulled away.
"I'm already lucky to be alive right now, I would be for sure dead right now." Then he was suddenly sober, "Leo is suffering so I may live."
"Even if you had died she still would have been taken, she would still suffer. Actually she would be suffering even more, stop being so selfish Julian! Your so selfish to think that she would have had it better if you were dead!" She whisper yelled at him, take back by her statement he dropped the keys.
The clashed as they hit the ground.
Everyone in the prison looked at him, eyes prying into the fact that he had the key. He was doomed.
Now or never right? He nodded and everyone dove to the window, guards included.
•••
She woke from her sleep screaming, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her nightgown as wrinkled underneath her.
The clock said 3:45.
She sighed, she couldn't sleep now.
Her dream had been horrible, she was walking down the aisle, dressed in white, smile spread across her face. She was marrying the man she loved most.
Hannah and Luke were in the crowd, Hannah holding a beautiful baby in her arms. Will being a complete goofball, hopping up and down, singing a goofy song, while James tried without much success to calm him down.
Grace was leaning against a wall in the back looking dangerous but cool, she wore a black short dress and lots of eyeliner. It worked for her.
As she approached the altar, she looked up to see Julian's wonderful face smiling down at her, then red spilled down the front of him soaking his cloaths. He didn't seem scared, angry, or even scared but sad. His mouth formed a perfect O.
He collapsed.
"Hello my love!" Hector said all to perky, he had appeared behind Julian. "What do you think your doing?! Marrying another man? You can't!" He laughed evilly. "We are betrothed!"
She ran to Julian, cradling his head in her lap. He was breathing shallowly.
"Stay with me! Julian I forbid you to die!"
He laughed. "I don't think you have the power to do that. Just let me say my vows, I want to be married before I die."
"I will not be a widow! You will not die!" She was sobbing.
"I will, let me get through this..."
He said his vows and she said hers all while Hector screamed like a maniac "Your MINE!... Your father sold you!... No man but me will ever love you!... Your awful, no one will ever love you!... your a monster!"
Julian eyes fell closed at the end of it, dead.
His blood staining her dress.
That was when she woke.
Sobbing on the bed she felt someone sit next to her.
Eli. She hadn't heard her come in.
"Miss, I'm sorry, I didn't mean t intrude but I heard you screaming and I was concerned."
"Hey do you call me miss? You always seemed so feisty, at least in your sisters stories."
"I am not as careless as I used to be, you do not realize but you were asleep for a month. I was alone and they- they- they beat me when I did something wrong or failed something. I was so alone. My sister is dead, I have to be responsible for myself, my sister is not responsible for me anymore. There is only me."
"Oh, Eli... wait a month, a month! I was out for a month!" Shock set in as she realized how much could happen in a month.
"Do you realize how much could happen in a month! Julian could be dead, Grace, Will, or James. Oh if one of those two boys died I don't know what I would do."
"I already told you, they are all dead. They died escaping."
She remembered Eli telling her this before but it hadn't set in, her dear friends, best friends.
Eli looked on the verge of tears, Leo was too but she didn't dare show it. It was time to undo the damage these people had done to this poor girl.
She brought Eli in close to her, putting her face in her hair, despite it all it smelled of the cheep strawberry shampoo that Hannah used, and sang softly.
Eli was all she had left, her ray of sunshine.
"You are my sunshine,
My only sunshine,
You make me happy,
When skies are gray,
You don't know how much I love you," Her voice broke.
"Please don't take my sunshine away."
And she meant it.