B E N E F A C T I O N

E Q U A L I T Y

My bare feet take me up to my room is a flash.

"She's wrong." A soft airy voice seems to flow pass my ear like a calm gush of wind.

I stumble over my own feet at the sound of the male voice that I've never heard before. Turning, I expect to see someone standing at my door, but I don't.

"Whose here?" My voice comes out unsure. No one answers and I immediately feel crazy. I sit down on the end of my bed and bury my face in my hands. Marlie was right. I've only been in the mansion for a day and a half, and I'm acting as though I've been here my whole life. I should be submitting to anyone who speaks to me, learning my place among people who have lived their whole lives like this. Yet I sit at the table with the King, presenting myself like a whore.

I look up when my door opens, revealing Enoch, Tevilla, and Steex. They all step in and close the door behind them.

"I-"

"If you say you don't belong here, I'll rip your arm from you shoulder." Enoch says as he takes a seat backwards on my vanity chair. Steex sits down in front of me with his beautiful legs crossed, while Tevilla sits beside me. She has a small black bag in her hand. I watch as she opens it and pulls out a thermometer and a needle.

"I need your temp and I need to draw blood." Tevilla says and I nod silently.

"Marlie is an evil woman." Enoch begins as he rests his chin on his arm that sits on the back of the chair. "She knows what to say to get under anyone's skin, but you can't feed into it. If you do, she'll win."

"But she's right." I say with a grimace as Tevilla sticks the needle in my arm to draw blood.

"About what exactly?" Steex asks while placing a soothing hand on my knee.

"I've forgotten about my family, my people." My voice is a soft whisper.

"No, you have not hunny. You're living the life that your mother and father wanted for you. You shouldn't grieve that, because I'm sure they aren't." He says as he pats my knee.

"How do I know that they aren't grieving me. I mean do they even know I'm alive?"

"Yes." All three of them say in unison.

"They get a weekly update on you." Tevilla says as she withdraws the need from my arm and packs her stuff away. "Your parents know you are alive and thriving, but they don't know that you've been changed. We can't let them know that for......reasons. They always say to tell you that they love you, but this is the first time I've been able to."

I burst into tears immediately after hearing that. My mother was always my rock. My father was a hard ass but I loved him still. I sob until I begin to hiccup and the three people before me allow me to do so. Once I can control my breathing again, Tevilla speaks.

"I want you to listen to me Constance." She says as she turns my chin so that I can look at her. "You storming out at breakfast showed that you have a weakness when it comes to words. Marlie will not forget that. She did what she had to do to get what she wanted."

"What do you mean?" I sniffle.

"After you left, she took place in the Kings lap, something she has never done before. Marlie has always thought that PDA was tacky and a King and Queen should not partake in it. She's never fed the King and he's never fed her, but after seeing how much he enjoyed you doing it, I have no doubt you'll have to fight for his lap now."

"Not only that, but she proceeded to turn him on to the point he kicked us all out, and is no doubt fucking her on the table as we speak." Steex groans as he makes a fake gagging noise. I feel my heart sink to my stomach at his words, but I can't get mad.