1: THE BEAST 🩶
1875 Words
...1...
THE BEAST 🩶
The lights ahead made her mission more complicated and frustrating.
She knew just how well the empire was guarded, yet, she was risking her long graceful neck to be doing this.
Now wasn't the time to praise her neck, was it?
Well her pretty neck was not ignorable.
She moved forward, surreptitiously as she did not want to be caught.
She knew the repercussions of such an act.
But she was not scared.
There was not an iota of fear that rose in her.
She had had enough of her captor, the beast.
She had had enough of the lame confinement that he had deemed her fit for, wanting out.
The rules and punishments that he issued to her was hugely traumatizing enough to keep her trying instead of stopping.
She couldn't give up, wouldn't give in, cave in to his dominance, controlled by him.
She would rather get caught, and then punished.
She'd rather cry, drink water and definitely try again.
She entered the flower maze, navigating through it in the dark like some self assured pro.
This was obviously not the first time that she was attempting this, judging from her expertise.
She must have done this lots of time to be adequately and fully acquainted with it all.
She knew every twist, every turn, every bend and every path.
Well, it was infact the fifth time she was doing this.
That first four -especially the first- had been a complete disaster.
It had been unsuccessful, thanks to none other than her captor, the beast as she liked to call him.
But this time, the fifth, she was bound to succeed having planned it for so long, meticulously.
She mapped it all straight down to the minutes and even the seconds details.
She was not taking any chances.
She was sure she would scale through, successfully.
She walked stealthily out of the maze and into the garden.
The smell of likeable flowers tickled her nostrils.
She stopped to inhale them for a moment before she resumed her journey.
She walked till she reached the fountain of water cascading down with a lot of noise.
She stopped and scooped some into her cupped palms.
She paused to take a drink of the refreshing liquid and continued on her wendy.
She moved stealthily to the stone pathway.
The stone pathway was beautiful with archaic gargoyles lining each side and leading out of her captor's manor.
She ducked onto the shadows as she neared the end.
A small sound caught her attention and she halted.
She realized that they came from the patrol guards.
The manor was heavily guarded, especially at night.
She carried on, eluding the patrol guards, sneaking out noiselessly.
She cautiously walked along the edge of the pathway.
It was then she saw the three guards on standby.
She sighed frustratedly in her head despite the fact that she was even well prepared for them.
She withdrew a small explosive from her bag.
She opened the pouch and added a portion of a liquid, then threw it in the opposite direction.
She didn't hear it land.
She inhaled and counted to five with her ears covered.
She jumped when the loud 'Bang' sound of the explosive came, loud and surprising even though she had been expecting it.
The guards rushed towards it, deserting their posts.
She made her escape then, running quickly to safety.
She ran across the small wooden bridge that spanned the small stream and stopped upfront.
She had now completely left her captor's manor.
Well, she had yet to leave his terrain and all the lands she walked on belonged to him for he was The Emperor of this Empire, The Linamine Empire.
She hurried towards the first gate.
Yes, it was the first gate.
His fortified Palace had three gates that led into his well fortified vast empire.
She had seen this on a map she had found in his study.
That was his fault because in his manor he gave her the freedom she needed, allowing her to go wherever she pleased in it.
She had no idea where this empire was located or how far it was from the home that she vaguely remembered.
Yes, she could only vaguely remember it.
She wondered why.
Her memory was a little fuzzy.
There were times when she remembered things and times when she did not.
She knew she had a family, a sister especially.
She tried in vain to remember more but failed.
But still, she would first leave and then find them when she had her freedom.
They were the ones who could answer all her unanswered questions.
She remembered being taken, kidnapped, by the Beast.
She remembered him with silver hair and silver eyes while holding a sword to her neck.
She recalled a handsome man named Trevor, one who seemed like he was her lover, her amour.
She remembered being chased, running away from someone, fire blazing in the background.
She assumed that she must have been running away from the beast who had her now.
It must have been then he had taken her.
It might have been her home burning, but she knew not.
She suddenly wondered what he had done to her family.
Had he killed them, or left them to burn to their demise?
She also knew not.
She didn't have enough time to ponder much for a another sound drew her attention.
She quickly stole into the shadows, internally cursing herself for losing focus.
The sound turned out to be another of the guards.
She watched his pass her before she sighed inaudibly in relief.
When she was sure that he was gone, she then delved into phase two of her plan.
She needed a horse.
She knew where she would get one, at the Riding arena.
It was not far from his manor.
She had seen it on the map that she had memorized.
She moved in that direction, her eyes out for a prey, a patrol guard.
She found another about few minutes later, alone.
She retreated behind a tree and watched him.
She sized him up before she stole up to him and knocked him out with one hit to the meridian.
He passed out instantly.
She felt bad but she did it anyways, undressed him.
She stole his outer clothes, his patrol uniform and left him in his inner wears.
She easily dragged him to an inauspicious spot and tied his hands, legs and mouth lest he awaken and alert the others.
She made sure he was well positioned and breathing fine before continuing on her way.
His clothes that she wore smelt like stale pineapples.
It made her feel queasy.
She went to the stables with his name card.
Earlier she had tied her hair up masculine style and worn the guard's patrol cap over it.
She greeted the man in charge of the stable and then requested for one of the horses.
Her request was quickly met.
She acknowledged the man with a respectful bow as a substitute for appropriate pleasantries.
The brown horse that he had provided for her looked agile.
She mounted and rode away after a wave of farewell.
Joy erupted in her as she rode, faster, a notch above a canter.
She felt happy, free.
She approached the first gate after about twenty minutes of riding.
She produced the patrol guard's stolen pass and showed it to the guards at the gate, all the while keeping her face slightly lowered.
The head of the guards studied it while her heart palpitated madly in her chest.
She was even on the verge of convincing herself that everyone could hear it -her heart- when the guard gave the signal for her to pass through, returning her pass to her.
Hope soared in her chest, filling it as she gave a slight nod of gratitude.
She moved on, realizing then, only then that her hands were shaking, her fingers fidgeting.
She went on, riding her horse slowly until she was out of sight.
Then she urged the horse into a full gallop.
From her study of the map, she tried to find the second gate.
It took almost forty minutes to do so after straight riding and two corners.
She stopped far from it and rode her horse slightly into the pretty forest.
She needed a change of identity.
She took off the clothes that still smelt like stale pineapple and wore the clothes that she had stashed away in her bag.
It belonged to Xiera.
She was about to impersonate one of the guards that the beast had assigned to her.
She re-mounted her horse and rode towards the gate.
But her roaring heart threatening to disorganize her.
She mustered all her scattered confidence and beaten courage, moving on at a fast trot, not wanting to be caught.
'Who may you be?' The head guard demanded from her.
She came to a halt.
'I'm Xiera, First Military division,' she answered. 'I bear a message for the Emperor,' she imitated the lady's voice.
'Where shall you be delivering the message?'
'It is one for the head guard of the third gate.'
'Ah, I see. Be on your way then,' he urged.
The gates began to open.
She began to move forward.
'Wait!'
The order causes her heart to still and her blood to congeal.
She had been caught, she was so sure of it.
'What?' She managed to push out of her sealed mouth.
'Where is your hair?' He questioned her. Relief washed over her.
'Ah, that.'
She took of her hat and out tumbled her oxblood plaits.
She hoped that in the dark they'd mistake it for red like Xiera's.
'There,' she said. 'Are you satisfied?'
'Go,' was his only reply.
She needed no other prompting to go into a fast trot.
She dared to laugh as she rode.
This freedom, it felt fulfilling.
After a while, her heartbeat slowly returned to normal as she rode down the stone pathway.
She would soon arrive at the third and last gate.
The pathway stretched on for what seemed like forever whereby it was only about seventeen minutes.
The gates were brightly lit, crowded with guards and busy when she arrived.
The palace garrison occupied the side of the castle.
She dismounted from her horse and joined the short queue with her being the third person.
'Name?' The head guard asked when it was her turn.
'Xiera, First Military Division,' she gave away.
'Pass?'
She gave it to him.
The royal pass was all the same except the ones belonging to the Royals.
He studied it and then handed it back to her.
'Go through,' he permitted.
She held the reins and made to remount when a masculine hand suddenly encircled her small waist, bringing her back against his chest.
There was an angry curse at the edge of her lips when that scent hit her.
She did not need anyone to tell her who it was.
That overpowering mollifying scent, his impenetrable aura and the eerie silence that followed his presence said it all.
His aura was too overwhelming to be mistaken.
It was him.
It was the Beast.
...OmaPhinaPhire🔥
- Writer
