A Little Bit Different

~King Milroy~

My feet are bleeding due to the sharp stones on the floor. No matter how hard I try to avoid the ones that hurt the most, Drake is not slowing down so I just need to endure it. It isn't that far anymore, I can do it. It's a mantra that I repeat in my head. I can do it, it isn't that far anymore. I can do it... I look up at Drake who still holds my arm firmly. He has an evil smile on his face and I wish I didn't look up. That smile never means anything good. I clench my jaw, close my eyes but keep walking, or something that looks like it. I won't let them get to me, never. Even if I have nothing to fight for, I won't give in. When Drake stops for a massive black wooden door I keep my chin high. He pushes the door open with his free hand and throws me inside the room. I fall on the floor which causes some abrasions on my hand and elbows. So far my confident entrance. I get up as fast as I can, but my muscles still refuse to work properly. I'm a little bit shaky when I stand on my feet again, but I try to make my face look confident. My torn, filthy, and b****y clothes are not helping with that. I force my feet to move forward while I look at the people gathered in the hall. When my eyes land on those of the king I freeze on the spot.

If eyes could kill, I would be dead on the spot. It's like there is a fire inside them, that can break out any moment. He is furious about something and I'm gonna pay for it. 'You wanted to see me, King Milroy? ', I say in a mocking tone. A voice inside my head tells me it's not a good idea to piss him off. And then there is that other voice that says I have nothing to lose. It's an easy choice, I go for option two. It's kind of fun to piss off my father. I lost respect from him from the moment he treated me like a laboratory rat. I was 12 and he locked me up in a cage when he knew there was something different about me. I'm just his fourth child, so why would he feel bad about me. I suppress the memories of my family and try to keep my face neutral, but I'm pretty sure the fear and anger are there as well. It is silent for a long moment. You just can feel the tension in the air. The king snaps his fingers and two guards are now walking in my direction. They take me by my arms, carry me forward so that I am closer to the throne of my father, and push me on my knees.

Lord Milroy clears his throat and starts speaking with a loud and clear voice: 'I heard that there were some problems with our research yesterday.' I give no reaction. He is right, I made it impossible to continue the research. Yelling and screaming so that the researchers couldn't concentrate and hitting or kicking everything I could reach. That included the shins of the researchers and guards. They punished me for that. Punching, kicking, and hitting me wherever possible. It ended by sending me back to my dungeon and lock me back up. It was painful, my nose was bleeding, I had a broken rib and lots of new bruises, but it was worth the effort. It was an important day for the research and I can't help but smirk because of that memory. I needed some time to recuperate from that but the nice thing about my body is that it needs less time to heal than the body of an average human. I need 3 hours for a bruise, a normal person needs 5 days or something like that. I don't know if you can call it a gift. It's still painful to get those injuries, they only disappear quicker. That's why they research me. Taking blood, cutting in my arms and legs, ignoring my screams of pain. They just want a new medicine for the rich people.

I'm still smirking when the king realizes I won't say anything. His eyes are getting even eviler if that's even possible. "Drake, teach her a lesson. And don't stop 'till she apologizes for her behavior." My body starts trembling with fear. I know what will come next and I know it will hurt. I look around and see Drake coming my way with the usual whip. The whip is from dark brown leather. The guards grab me by my arms again en pull me up to my feet. They don't release me this time. They will keep me in place till I have no strength left to run away from my punishment. I can't see Drake anymore, but I know he is behind me. Then his hands tear open my shirt. My back is uncovered and that means it will hurt even more. I don't know what to do. If I apologize now, he has no right to hurt me. If I don't say what my father wants to hear, he will beat me until I pass out. I don't want to be weak, so I won't say what he wants. I think he would punish me anyway, no matter what I say. The only thing I can do is close my eyes and try to prepare myself mentally for the pain that has to come. Without any warning, Drake hits me with the whip. I clench my jaw to suppress the scream. Without giving me time to process it, he hits me again. I try to encourage myself by repeating the same sentences over and over. I need to be strong. I will recover from this. I need to be strong. I will recover from this. While saying this in my head he hits me a third and a fourth time. I can't help but scream out of pain when he hits me the fifth time. I feel that my back is already bleeding and it hurts so much. The tears are building up in my eyes, I won't be able to suppress them for much longer. I scream every time he hits me now. The tears are streaming down my face. I need to be strong. I will survive. After the sixteenth time, the pain decreases. I'm still crying but the screams did stop. I feel that I'm floating out of my body. Just a little longer, then it will all be over. After the twentieth time, the guards let me fall to the ground. I'm not even trying to ease my fall which causes me to fall right on my head. Just a little while longer .Drake hits me again and I lose consciousness.