Lullaby

Chapter Two- Daughter

     I watched the clock hit 5:53, then I began walking out of the room. The dress they had me wear was scratchy and uncomfortable, but I will admit, it was pretty. I looked around for the dining area, seeing the woman from earlier preparing dinner. I walked in slowly, standing at the opening from the main area, to the dining room. The woman turned her head and then looked back to the meal. "Sit on the right of the head of the table. Father sits at the head, I sit on the left. Pull out his chair, hurry now." She said rapidly, the words spurring out of her mouth at 50 miles per hour. I didn't listen because I was stunned, then I felt leather pressing against my shoulder. "Now Adeline, don't disobey Mother." His hot breath creeped up my neck, sending tingles of fear down my spine. I didn't know how to respond, slowly realizing I was being kidnapped and held captive. His hand slid down my shoulder onto my spine, and I immediately pushed his hand off. "Do not touch me." I spoke quietly, looking up at him as I went to reach for his mask. He grabbed my wrist before slamming our hands down onto the table. I cried out in shock and pain once I felt my bone either sprain or break. "Do not speak to me like this young lady!" He shouted loudly in my ear, forcing tears to stream from my eyes. The man was close to my face, his mask practically pressed against my cheek. I took a deep breath, then looked over to the woman who was preparing the food as if nothing had just happened. "Dinner is ready, please sit down Adeline." She spoke casually and mother like, which seemed to have calmed down the man. "It looks amazing sweetie." He walked around me and my chair to sit in his, patiently waiting for the woman to serve him. I had still been crying, but I was silent. Neither of them must have noticed, because he began telling me the rules of the house as the woman gave us our plates. "Rule one, do not touch anything you are not told to touch. If anything moves even half a centimeter, you will be placed in the backroom overnight. Rule two, if you wish to go shopping with April every other Wednesday, you must have your chores finished on time everyday leading up to then." He explained thoroughly, giving me the impression he couldn't stand anything not how he wanted it. I had also learned the woman's name, but when he said April, she didn't perk up even a little. My name isn't Adeline, so I assumed he gave her a new name as well. "Rule three, do not talk when you are not spoken to. If April asks you to do something, simply say 'Yes, Mother' and continue the task. If I tell you to do something, say 'Yes, Father' and complete the task. Your list of chores are placed on your bed, you will see it when you go to shower for the night. Rule four, you are to change in your room. Do not stay in the bathroom for over seven minutes at a time, or else I will come upstairs and take you to the back room." Every time he mentioned the back room, I slowly started to put two and two together and realized that the room was like a torment area. "Rule five, this is the most important rule. Do not get out of line. Your name is now Adeline. You never had any name before then. The first month you will not be taken to the back room, simply so you can learn the way this family works. After that month is over, stay in your boundaries, or face the consequences. Now, let's eat!" He sounded excited, but it was hard to tell behind the mask. April looked at me, then handed me a clean towel. She had a matching one, which she wrapped around her eyes and tied behind her head. The man faced me, and watched as I tied mine around my eyes. I placed my hand on my lap, which I had noticed were trembling. I heard a soft tap on the table, then I heard a knife against a plate. It was dead silent aside from a chewing noise, which I believe to be the man. A little while later, there were more clanks against the plate, then a snap. Across the table a chair slid out, then high heels clicked against the ground as April walked to the left side of the table and grabbed the man's plate. There was more clacking from her heels when she walked to the sink, placed the dishes in them, and cleaned. "You may remove the blindfold." He spoke quietly, waiting impatiently for me to remove the rag off my face. I untied it carefully, almost too afraid to take off the rag to see I wasn't dreaming. I stared at the table, quaking at his words. "You're daddy's little princess, from now until the day you die."