Maledictus

Ch.38 - Elephants

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"I'M A WHAT?"

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Alice was thrown into a small room and she held her knees tight to her chest.

"What more could you ask of me!?" she cried.
David grabbed her by the collar and pulled her close to his face.
She could smell the awful smell of cigarettes and beer in his hideous breath.

"I have got plans for you girl" he sneered. "Just you wait"

Alice wished she hasn't spoken.
She wished she had never believed James.
She wished that she could turn back time.

She sat there in the small grey room, waiting for a hit or a spell, or something.
But no pain was thrown at her.

"You can help James" he said, pushing her forward and she began walking.

Surely it couldn't be that bad.
Could it?
Unfortunately it could.

She didn't belong to David.
She belonged to the Baxters.
And unfortunately for Alice, James was a Baxter and could do what he liked.

Every so often, David poked her in the back and Alice walked quicker trying to please him.

She was to help James clean up the elephant stables.
It was the last place anyone would want to be.

It wasn't just the awful, horrible, terrible smell of the dung and the animals itself, it was also the fact the roof could cave in any moment.

Oh, and there was also the slight change that you may be crushed by an elephant.
Yep, they were kept in the stalls while you were cleaning.
Fun.

"Let the mudblood do it" said David to James and pushing Alice forward.

James put down the shovel that he hadn't used, and smirked at Alice as he eyed the shovel.

Alice bent down and picked it up and began shovelling up the old hay to replace it with new hay.

"Don't be afraid to be physical if needs be" muttered David to James as smirks appeared on their faces.

With that, David slammed the door shut and James eyed Alice as she tried her hardest to hold the shovel.
The shovel was two feet taller than her, how could you blame her?

As she bent down to gather a pile of hay, James wandered over, and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to fall over and almost get squished by an elephant.

She quickly got to her feet, and continued her work, trying to finish her work as fast as possible.

After awhile, her arm was aching and her mouth felt like a desert.
She needed water.

"Why have you stopped?" James sneered, poking her with the shovel he was supposed to be using, but wasn't helping at all.

"Please, Mr. Baxter, I just need some water" she panted.

"Water?" he asked.

"Yes Mr. Baxter"

"Don't move, I'll get you some"

Alice could not believe her ears.
She never had actually tried asking, and obviously it worked.
But she was wrong.

Soon after, James came back with a bucket of water and Alice scrambled over to it just as he was placing it to the ground.

But he lifted it beyond her reach just as fast.
Alice looked at him, confused plastered all over her face.

"You asked for water, you never mentioned anything about drinking it" he sneered.

"Please"

"You may have it when I'm satisfied with your work"

Without hesitation, she began cleaning and running around elephants as if her life depended on it.
And in a way it did.

"I'm finished" she said, short of breath and her mouth as dry as ever.

James looked around.
Every corner, every crack and cranny, trying to find something to punish her for.

And that's when he saw it.
A whole pile of hay that wasn't changed and his thin lips curled into an evil smile.

"Not clean enough, you had your chance and you blew it!" he shouted, pushing over the bucket of the cool, ice cold water.

Alice tried to gather as much as she could in her small, dirty hands, but the fresh straw had soaked it up in seconds.

"You're a monster!" she shouted, getting to her feet.

"I'm a what?"he asked smugly.

"A monster!"

"Well, I best live up to the expectation of a monster" he sneered, taking his beloved whip from his belt.

"I didn't mean what I said" she whimpered, covering her head.

"It doesn't matter of you meant it or not, you said it!" he sneered, coming closer to Alice.

"Please-"

Crack.

She screamed in pain as the blood seeped

James grabbed her by her neck and slammed her against the wall, hitting her repeatedly on her back.

The tears were streaming down her face.

Once he was finally finished, he kicked her once more and left.

He left the door wide open, but Alice was too afraid to move.

She could feel the blood running down her back, and any movement made the gashes opened wider.

She hugged her knees close to her chest and she cried.
She was in this mess because she was an idiot and she would pay.
All she could hope was hope that her brother would not be treated the same.

The wind was howling outside and the doors were banging together making eerie shadows.
She knew they couldn't harm her, only one could.
Because it was the shadow of David Baxter.

"I heard you had a go with my son" he sneered, picking her up by her hair.

"What I said was the truth!" she shouted.

David threw her to the ground and a gash that had previously healed, reopened and caused blood to begin pouring out.

She heard shackles being passed around.
She didn't want to look up, but curiosity got the better of her.

They weren't ordinary shackles.
They were black with a small red light.
She didn't know what they were to be used for.
But she knew they wouldn't do her any good.

He fastened them to her small wrists and she felt the weight straight away.
They were like weights.

"These will tell me, where you are at all times" he said smirking, very proud of himself. "So if you escape again, I'll know where to look"

He left again, leaving her with the elephants for company.

She tugged at the shackles.
But it was no use.
They weren't moving.

When she escaped first, she thought she was free, but it just made everything worse.

At least at Malfoy Manor, she had Draco.

She wondered if he noticed she was gone.
He did say he would get her.

He wouldn't leave her.
Would he?

That was a question that only time could answer.