Caged [BNHA]

Chapter Six

~Enya's POV~

I let out a soft hiss of pain as my mother ordered one of the maids to tighten the corset lacing on the fancy ballgown I was being forced to wear for a charity ball we all had to attend. Being filthy rich, my parents often attended charity balls with the other filthy rich to pretend they actually cared about other people as they tried to outbid one another to see who was the most altruistic. It was pretty pathetic and disgusting. To them throwing thousands of dollars away at a charity was just losing some spare change. They had the power to make a real difference with little impact to themselves but none of them ever would because they didn't actually care about anyone but themselves, their money and their image.

"Don't make such an ugly expression." Mother scolded me as I winced in pain, it was starting to dig into my skin. She shoved the maid out of the way and took over tightening the laces even more until it was hard to breathe. Once she was satisfied and I was wondering if I was starting to turn blue, she ordered one of the maids to fix my hair as she set to work on my makeup.

After another twenty minutes of torture, I was deemed presentable enough by my mother to be seen in public. She steered me out of my room. I threw one last look back at the cape tucked under my pillow and found the will to smile as I thought of the silly hero who had given it to me.

Enji and father were waiting by the front door dressed in expensive tuxedos. Father was tapping his foot in annoyance while looking at his pocket watch. Enji looked about as uncomfortable as I felt. He smiled when he spotted me and offered me his arm once mother stopped shoving me.

I giggled, though it hurt a lot, and placed my arm in his, "you look handsome, Nii-sama."

He smiled and tucked my arm in his, "and you look like a princess." I felt like I looked more like a trophy in the gold ballgown with diamonds woven into the bodice. It had a giant skirt that weighed a lot and was very hard to move in.

Mother struck a very subtle regal pose fishing for a compliment. Father said nothing and headed for the awaiting car. Mother shot a glare in our direction, taking her rejection out on us.

"Hurry up, you two, stop dawdling!" She snapped before following father.

Enji rolled his eyes and walked me to the car. He frowned as he realized I was moving slower. The lacings on my dress were too tight, I felt like I couldn't breathe and there was a sharp pain in my sides where the material was starting to dig into my skin. "You okay?"

I managed a nod, if mother heard me complaining she'd tell father and I'd be punished for it later. The car ride to the charity ball was painfully silent. Mother had tried talking about the designer who designed our dresses in an attempt to get father to compliment her but after that failed, she gave up. I felt Enji give me a gentle squeeze as we drove past the accident site, where Yuki had died as my body instinctively tensed.

We arrived at a super fancy banquet hall where the charity event was being held. There were paparazzi everywhere and they'd rolled out a red carpet for the event. I grew nervous as the car came to a stop and the driver opened the door. Father stepped out first and politely offered Mother a hand to help escort her from the car. The flash of camera lights made me feel dizzy and I hesitated as Enji moved for the door.

"Enya?" Enji looked to me worriedly.

"I don't want to go." I squeaked.

"Come on, it won't be so bad, your big brother will be right by your side to keep you safe." He smiled reassuringly.

I nodded meekly and he stepped out of the car before extending his hand to me to help me out of the car.

Shakily, I placed my hand in his and let him pull me from the car. As I stepped out of the car there were more flashes and I heard some of the attending paparazzi let out an 'aw' a few others exclaimed 'she's so cute' and there were a few that called me a princess. I felt nervous in the spotlight but knew I couldn't do anything to make a scene.