Unbound: The Iron Maiden

Unbound: The Iron Maiden - PART 5

CHAPTER 14

The Maiden looked herself over in the mirror, not sure what to make of the woman staring back…

The dark-haired man had dressed her in a collared white shirt, buttoned to the top and tied with a pink ribbon.  It was plain, but the fabric felt nice against her skin.  She plucked at the bottoms she wore; “jeans” the man had called them.  They were dark blue and hugged her tiny frame all the way down to her delicate ankles.  He’d even brushed her hair and tied it back with another pink ribbon. 

To be honest, the image was… was…  Well, she didn’t entirely know what it was, or how it made her feel, but she liked the way the dark-haired man admired her when he thought she wasn’t looking.  It made her feel powerful, but in a different way than she was used to.  He walked towards her; a pair of black flats in his hands.

“You look perfectly normal.”  He said, kneeling before her and slipping the shoes onto her feet.  “I know this must be strange for you, but once we get somewhere safe, we’ll get you back into your normal clothes.”  He stood, cupping her face and gently brushing his thumb across her cheek bone.  “You needn’t worry about anything.  I will protect you.  I promise.”

“Promise.”  She repeated.

His smile turned to a frown as he looked down at her.  “You feel a bit warm.”  He pressed a hand to her forehead.  “Hadrian, go down stairs and pour a cool glass of water for the Maiden.”

Hadrian sat in on one of Jestoni’s chairs, two pieces of tissue stuck in each nostril and fanning his flushed face.  The Divina was lost in thought; not realizing his Master was speaking.

“Hadrian!”

The Divina shot out of the chair, snatching the tissue from his now. “Yes, Master.”

“Please go and fetch a glass of water for the Maiden.  Lots of ice.”

“A-as you wish master.”  Hadrian bowed, swaying slightly when he rose again.

“Take your time.”  Jestoni added with a quiet chuckle.  “A cold glass of water might do you some good as well.” 

The Divina smiled weakly then slowly left the room.

“How do you feel?”  Jestoni asked her quietly.  “Are you okay?”

His words were starting to make sense, but she couldn’t quite piece them all together.  When he spoke, her mind was desperate understand, so she dug deep into her memory, trying to recall another time she’d heard words similar to his. 

 “Okay.”  She repeated, hoping her answer would suffice.

He smiled at her again; the expression causing her tummy to do that strange fluttery thing it did when she was around him.  “You mustn’t hurt anyone else, okay?  Hands to yourself from now on, understand?”

He made a funny gesture with his arms, sticking them out then pulling them tightly against his sides.  She didn’t know what it meant, so she simply mimicked his actions. 

He laughed, taking hold of her arms and pinning them to her body.  “You have no idea what I’m saying, do you?”

She cocked her head to the side, repeating his words in her head while she searched for their meaning.  Had she done something wrong?  Though she wasn’t well versed in human emotions, the Maiden knew enough to tell which ones were positive and which were negative.  His appeared positive, so she decided that she’d done something good.

He sighed heavily, patting her gently on the head.  “We’ll get there one day.  For now, let’s get the rest of our things packed.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, there was a loud knocking sound coming from somewhere outside the door.  The Maiden jumped into his arms, holding him tightly.