Sweet Felony

Game On

Being tied to a chair really sucked, as Aru found out soon enough. Even with her hands free, her abdomen and ankles still hurt from the chafing rope.

If there was one thing Aru hated in this world, it wasn't the Alus, or school, or even Justin Bieber's music. It was being restrained. She struggled against her bonds, to no avail. And when she dropped her book to the ground every so often, she couldn't even bend down far enough to pick it back up.

And forget about sleeping in this position. The constant soreness of her body made it almost impossible for Aru to get some shut-eye, and when she did manage to fall asleep, she had nightmares. She couldn't remember all of them, but one from a few nights ago was still stuck to the front of her mind: one about Kara and her father, standing in front of her while she lay paralyzed on the floor, calling her a traitor and a worthless child, before her father pulled a gun on her. When she woke up, often in cold sweats, her neck and shoulders were cramped, and the blood circulation had been cut off from her legs, leaving them cold and numb.

Twice a day they gave her food- nothing much, just a sandwich and a glass of water, but she had to admit it was better than what her father had fed Aiden during his captivity.

She'd long since lost track of how long she'd been here. Every time they sent her food, they'd try to ask her a little bit about the Ghatakas, but she stubbornly kept her mouth shut, retorting only in sarcastic comments. Sometimes, Mini dropped by to chat about the book. She'd noticed that Aru kept dropping it, so she brought down a tiny folding table, like the one Aru had in her basement, and let Aru use it for the book.

Mini wasn't terrible, Aru supposed, but she could never forget the fact that she was still being kept prisoner. Her guard was always up. She always expected someone to suddenly drive a knife through her throat.

Snapping back to the present, the door opened. Aru tensed. The gold-streaked-hair girl, Brynne, walked in. Her mace was nowhere in sight, but that didn't make Aru relax in the slightest.

"What do you want?" Aru snapped.

Brynne said nothing, only glared at her and pulled a knife from her boot.

Welp, this is it, Aru thought, before she felt her bonds loosen.

The ropes fell in a pile to her feet.

She looked up at Brynne in shock, "Why'd you do that?"

"Because Mini is too nice for her own good," Brynne growled. "Follow me. And no funny stuff."

Aru grabbed her book and reluctantly followed Brynne out of the room she'd been in for who-knows-how-long. It felt so weird but good to finally be standing again.

They climbed a staircase to a white painted door.

"Stop," Brynne ordered. From her pocket, she pulled a strip of black cloth. Aru barely had time to register what was happening before Brynne tied it tightly around Aru's face, rendering her blind.

"For security," Brynne said, yanking on the tie a little too tight, which Aru suspected she did on purpose. "We can't have a Ghataka seeing our base, can we?"

Then Brynne grabbed both of Aru's wrists and led her up. Aru almost dropped the book. They climbed up another two flights of stairs, then down what Aru guessed was a long hallway. Finally, they stopped. Aru heard a door swing open, its hinges creaking. Brynne shoved her inside, then slammed the door shut. The click of a lock was heard.

"Enjoy your stay at the Hotel Alu!" She heard Brynne shout from the other side.

Aru stumbled back a bit, then dropped the book to the floor and tugged the blindfold off her head.

She stood in a comfortable-looking but spartan bedroom. The walls were painted a light green. A twin bed with white sheets sat in one corner. An almost-empty bookshelf stood in another. A mirror was fastened to the back of the door. There was no clock, nothing hanging on the walls. A ceiling fan with a light at the center provided the only light. There was another door to what Aru guessed was a closet, but it was locked. Besides the bed, there was no furniture except for a small wooden table and chair that reminded her all too much of the on she'd been tied to. The windows were reinforced with iron bars, so there was no hope of escape from there.

Still, she supposed it was better than the cell she'd been in before.

Aru flopped onto the bed, causing the mattress to move a bit. Something poked at her side. She glanced down to see the dark-colored color of a piece of paper sticking out. She pulled it free and examined it. It was a small square glossy photograph, black-and-white, and a bit blurry.

With a start, she realized it was the same photo Aiden had shown her earlier. Her father's eyes and face were unmistakable. There was also Aru and Kara, both as little kids, maybe around five or six. One more figure stood in the frame. A tall woman, with dark hair and eyes, stood next to Suyodhana. His arm was around her shoulder, and her smile was as bright as the sun.

Aru squinted at the picture. Who was that? She seemed vaguely familiar...

The lock on the door clicked, and Aru dropped the photo, instinctively reaching for the knife she always kept on her belt.

Before she realized that the Alus had taken her weapons. She couldn't forget that she was still a hostage. The locked doors and barred windows only reminded her of that.

The door swung open, revealing Mini in all her glasses-y glory. She stepped in, closing the door behind her. Aru noted that the key was on a loop of her belt.

"Hi!" She said cheerfully. "How do you like your new quarters?"

Aru allowed herself a scowl. "Better. Although the escort could've been..."

"Never mind Brynne," Mini said. "She's just salty because you knocked her out and then kidnapped Aiden."

"I assume my schedule isn't going to change much," Aru said.

"Nope!" Mini said. "Although now, I can lend you more books."

Aru dropped the charade. "Alright already. What do you want? To chat me to death?"

Mini looked confused. "What?"

"I was born at night, but not last night," Aru snarled. "I know the tricks of the trade. You're trying to warm up to me so I'll give you whatever you need. Information, I bet."

Mini opened her mouth to say something, then apparently changed her mind and quickly left the room. Aru lunged for the door, but before she could reach it, it slammed shut and the lock clicked. She was tempted to punch it.

"Fine, Alus," she muttered. "If that's what's gonna happen, game on."