The Beauty In The Nightmare

3

Britha sighed softly as she turned the water off and opened the shower door, grabbing the towel and wrapping it around herself. Her pink orbs traced the room, finding everything in place but her dress. She made her way into the bedroom, hesitation and caution in her steps.

"Ello? Degan?" She spoke softly, her voice cracked slightly as she spoke. Once fully into the bedroom, she realized he wasn't there but her dress was. She quickly slipped into her dress then took the towel and made way out of the bedroom and into the wide, long hallways, Her ear twitched as voices echoed  from downstairs, which she approached.

 "Tyler brought back a Nightmare?" 

"I thought they were extinct..." 

"It might be the last one alive.." Britha recognized this voice, it was Angela, the other two were new to her.

"I know Degan has an interest in Fauns, but why would he keep such a dark, troubled creature? Can it even talk?"

"Maybe he'll experiment on it, or use it for target practice. That'll be fun to watch." The female spoke with a giggle and Angela interrupted.

Experiment?! Target practice?!

"It's blood is black...It's pretty too..." Angela paused and Britha stopped at the top of the steps, doing her best so her presence wasn't know.

"The word nightmare is in its title, it can't be that pretty..." One scoffed. Britha couldn't take anymore, she sighed and made her way down the stairs.

"Excuse meh, Angela wus et....Where du Ah put dis?" She held up the damp towel, watching as the other girls widened their eyes and gasped softly 

"She'll take that for you, Britha..." Degan's voice echoed out from the hallway, as did his footsteps. Angela gently took the towel from Britha's hand and turned, making her way into the door on the side of the right staircase. The other girls then looked down, remaining silent. "Ladies, I believe you have a house to dust and polish. Oh, and tell Mac to meet me on the deck." Degan smiled and the girls wandered off. "Don't mind them. Care for a coffee or some tea?"

Britha nodded and followed behind him as he made way don the hall and into the large white marble kitchen. He then made his way over to the stove, turned on a burner and placed a kettle on the burner. Degan then turned and slid open a glass sliding door, which led to a large grey painted deck, furnished with white cushioned chairs and a small couch. "Go ahead and take a seat, I'll be out in a minuet, just gotta get your tea." He then turned and went back to the kettle, Britha made her way out on the deck as he did so.

A few moments later Degan came out onto the deck, a mug in hand, a tea bag bobbed in the hot water as he walked. "Here you go. Just be car-" He stopped himself with a chuckle. "I forgot you cant feel pain, so go ahead and drink up. I added some sugar and honey to it too."

She took the mug from his hands and hesitantly brought it to her black painted  lips, sniffing it before taking a sip and smiling. "Dank yeh..." Britha spoke soft and faintly. She then looked up from where she sat Indian style on the left side of the small white couch, her pink orbs locking with his caramel hues, laced with curiosity. "What are yeh go'n teh du wit'meh?" This time she spoke up, and clearly without hesitation as the words of the girls ran through her mind.

Degan sighed softly and sat beside her, leaving 3 to 4 inches between them. He crossed his right foot over his left knee and leaned back, resting his right arm on the arm of the couch and his left across the back, behind Britha. "That depends on you, doll. If you act like the other girls, you'll be treated like them, running around, doing my errands, my housework, and so on." He paused and looked over at Britha as she sipped on her tea, a smile grazing his lips. "But if you act differently, you'll be treated differently. Then it depends on if I like how you act or not." He slid his hand onto her shoulder. "I've studied Fauns most of my life, started when I was 8. I studied your species for 7 years. I gave up because the Nightmare I had encountered when I was 17 managed to kill my father, and left me with this." Degan then tilted his head and gently pulled down the collar of his shirt, showing her the wide scar, about 4 to 5 inches long which crossed his right clavicle. "That day I learned how right the books and stories about Nightmare Fauns truly are. There aren't many left, maybe 10 or 15, and they're extremely dangerous. Yet so far, you're proving the books and stories wrong." He spoke with a smirk as he covered the scar back up and put his hand back on the arm of the couch.

Britha's talon like, black nails tapped against the sides of the mug as she listened to his story. "What du yeh mean?"

Degan's smirk faded to a smile as he moved closer to Britha, his hand still on her shoulder as he rested his other on her thigh, causing her to flinch. "Chris told me that you simply ran and hid earlier, then in the bedroom you just struggled. I think you trust me so far, but you know what I'm capable of and that's what scares you, isn't it?"

Britha nodded, she knew that it didn't matter how powerful her magic was, he had the ability to overpower her in any and every way, that's just what his kind was know for. "There's nu point en fighten' eh loosin' battle." She finished her tea then looked over at him, mesmerizer by  his perfect smile and beautiful  hues.

Degan's smile twisted into a sadistic grin as his hand slid off her shoulder and into her hair, turning her head and gently but forcefully pulling her closer. He lowered his voice to a whisper, "Like all the other girls you are a pet, nothing more than a toy, but unlike them, you are my pet, my toy. No one else is to touch you. If any of the boys try to touch you, and you don't fight them, which I know you're fully capable of and I don't care if you shoot them. You let them touch you and I swear on my life, you're going to wish Tyler had shot you in the head back in the forest, do you understand?" His words were harsh, yet sincere and honest.

Britha swallowed her fear with a nod, "Yes..." She calmed down once he moved his hand from her hair and now caressed her cheek as he pulled a metal bracelet from his pocket and clipped it around her wrist. "What es et?" Her pink orbs fell onto the odd bracelet that needed some sort of key to remove.

"It's a tracker, lets me know where you're at. It won't hurt you and I'll take it off once you earn enough of my trust." As Degan spoke a man came up the stairs that led to the massive yard. The males tan cargo pants and white sleeveless shirt was covered in multicolored paint stains. His thin lips held a smile as his soft green orbs locked onto Degan.

"Hey there, boss." The mans voice was tacky and to Britha, obnoxious. His eyes quickly fell off of Degan and onto Britha, quickly filling with awe.

"Britha, go and play, wander around, do as you please. But stay inside the fence and keep in mind what I said earlier." Degan scratched the hair in his chin a he took the mug from her hands and stood up. "Oh, and if you find yourself in the house, stay off the fourth floor, okay?" Like many times before, he spoke a demand and not an offer or a question.

Britha nodded and stood with a stretch. She then made her way down the same stairs the male had came up and into the yard.