Captured Witch

XI. A Magical Curiosity

    When I woke up, I was in a very comfortable bed. Someone’s arm was draped across my stomach, making it nearly impossible to get up. I attempted to wiggle out but was met with him squeezing me closer to him. I tried lifting the arm off of me, but nothing worked. I laid still for a few more minutes before he spoke. ,

            “Don’t you sleep in?” His deep, groggy voice said.

            “Force of habit. I’m used to being awake early, you know outrunning your men and such.”

            He sighed releasing me from his arm and sat up. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and sighed. I still felt so exhausted, but who could blame me. The last few days seemed like they had been years. Just a week ago I was cheering at school, I had friends, a seemingly normal life. Now I was a prisoner here.

            “I’ve had some clothes put into the closet over there for you.” He motioned over a closet on the other side of the room before he left out another door.

            I stood up when I realized I wasn’t in the clothes I was wearing the night before. I had on a long silk nightgown. I gasped and wondered who had dressed me. I walked quickly to the closet, which turned out to be much bigger than I expected. The clothes were similar to the ones I wore yesterday but more colorful, and the skirts seemed a bit fuller. How had they gotten all of these clothes so quickly? I walked through the closet, not wanting to put any of them on. I heard someone lightly snicker and I turned around and saw Daniel leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. I shifted my weight on one foot and crossed my arms, staring at him. He sighed, shaking his head slightly. “You just can’t let go of your own stubbornness, can you?”

            I shook my head. “I’m not wearing these.”

            “You will wear these, that’s what is worn here by women.” He said, walking and grabbing a royal blue skirt off the rack and handing it to me. He walked over to the chest of drawers and grabbed a white button-down blouse. “Get dressed.” He ordered

            I sighed and started to walk out with the clothes in my hands when he blocked my way. “Where do you think you’re going?” He asked.

            “Bathroom? I need a shower and I need to change.” He laughed and motioned for me to follow him. He showed me to a grand bathroom, but there wasn’t a shower. Only a large bathtub that had been filled, steam coming off the water. Daniel came up behind me, placing his hands around my waist. “I thought you might need a bath, so I had one drawn up for you,” He whispered in my ear. I gasped as he pulled me closer to him, “Don’t take too long” He whispered again, pulling away and shutting the door as he left.

            I shuddered, staring at the bath still. I set the clothes on a stool near the counter and stripped off the nightgown. Slowly stepping in the bath, I felt my muscles begin to relax as I sank further into the water. I laid in the bath for a bit just relaxing until I brought myself to wash. I grabbed the glass bottle labeled shampoo and began to wash my hair. Once I finished with my hair, I washed my body then stepped out of the bath, draining the water behind me. I put on a full-body slip and the skirt and blouse. I hated these outfits. The skirt was fuller than the ones I had worn at the school or the one I was given when I got here. It flared out a bit more like a ballgown skirt. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like someone out of the Victorian Era. I made a face of disgust. “Perfect.”

            The voice from behind me startled me as I jumped and turned around. Daniel walked toward me, but I instinctively stepped back. He sighed, closing the space between us and cupping his hands on my cheeks. I wanted to step away, but his grip was too tight, so I was left squirming, grasping at his hands on my face, trying to get away. “Stop trying to get away.” My hands dropped down to my side as I stilled, realizing it was pointless to fight this. I knew I needed to conserve my energy.

            Daniel released me from his grasp causing me to stumble a bit. I caught my breath and regained my composure. “I hate you.” I managed to get out, though it came out more of a whisper.

            “I’m so hurt,” He said, placing his hand over his heart as if he had been shot then rolling his eyes. He held his hand out for me to grab it, but I didn’t move. He sighed again. “Adalaide, things would be so much easier if you would just do as I ask.” He reached down and grabbed my wrist, pulling me behind him. “Where are we going?” I asked. I was met with no response. I attempted to stop walking in protest, but his grip was so tight that he ended pulling me along anyways. He noticed my resistance and pulled harder. “Where are we going?” I asked louder, I was starting to feel the rage build back up inside of me. I pulled back against his grip and he looked shocked that I would do so. He stopped walking and we stared at each other, both of us had rage in our eyes. “You can’t make anything easy, can you?” He dropped my wrist.

            I let out a small laugh and shook my head. “Why would I? I don’t have Stockholm syndrome, you idiot.” I continued to laugh until he slapped me.

            I put my hand on my cheek, shocked. He smiled and leaned down to whisper in my ear. “The harder you make this, the more painful it is for you.” He grabbed my wrist again, but I pulled it out of his hand. This made him even angrier, but I was just as pissed. “Where. Are. We. Going.” I said, my body starting to shake slightly.

            “You want to throw a tantrum? Go ahead, scare everyone else here. You don’t frighten me one bit.” He said teasingly. I screamed in anger. It seemed to echo through the halls just as loud.

            “Take this damn cuff off and you wouldn’t be saying that asshole,” I yelled, shoving my hands in his chest pushing him back.

            “Why would I do that if it means I have control of you?” He said pushing me back.

            “What? Is this how it’s going to be? You piss me off,” I shoved my hands into his chest again, “I get angry and my powers take over,” I said shoving him again, “And then you get pissed at me for going too far?” I shoved my hands in his chest a final time before dropping them staring at him. My anger had partially subsided and the chaos around me settled. I hadn’t noticed the violent wind blowing through the enclosed hall and the sounds of glass shattering in the distance. Daniel closed the space between us with one step and pulled my face up to his. “Are you done now?” I sighed defeatedly and nodded my head. “Good. Now we are going to meet someone who can get us answers as to why your tantrums are happening with the cuff on. Are you going to behave and walk alongside me or am I going to have to drag you again?” He let go of my chin and turned around. I walked to get beside him and saw the corner of his lip turn up in a smirk. “Good girl.” I made a face of disgust that he ignored. We walked for a while until we got to where he wanted to be. It seemed to be a lab of some sort. I didn’t want to go in, but I knew he would make me. He stepped aside, gesturing for me to go in. Just to save an argument I obliged him and went in. “Wow, no argument?”

            “Would you prefer I argue about it because I certainly can. The thought crossed my mind.”

            Our slight quarrel was interrupted by a man in a lab coat entering the room. “Oh, your majesty I wasn’t expecting you today. How can I help you?” He bowed his head as he spoke. I couldn’t help but laugh. I swear I’m stuck in some alternate universe. Daniel elbowed me in my side before he spoke.

            “I’m here about a medical curiosity.” Daniel pushed me toward a hospital-type bed. “Sit” He ordered. I rolled my eyes and hopped up on the bed. Daniel stepped away and he and the man in the lab coat started whispering. He kept looking over at me puzzled, then would go back to look at Daniel. Once they were done talking, the man went over and pulled a syringe and needle out of a drawer. I shook my head. No way was these assholes getting my blood.

            I went to hop off the bed but was pushed back down my Daniel. “You aren’t getting my blood, f**k off.”

            “I will sedate you if need be, but I prefer not to. Now be a good girl so we can go eat breakfast.” He said holding down my arm and pushing up my sleeve. The man came over and prepped my skin with an alcohol pad. He plunged the syringe into my vein and withdrew blood into a tube. “There, we should have results by the end of the day, your majesty.” He said as he placed a bandage on my arm.

            “Thank you, Christopher. Now,” he said walking toward the door, “Let’s go eat breakfast.”

            I sighed and got up to follow him out, not going to argue about it. I was hungry and goodness knows how long it has been since I ate. As much as I hated him, but for some reason, I couldn’t resist him. We walked for ages down to the dining hall that was empty. Daniel sat down at the head of the table and motioned for me to sit next to him. I sat down and watched as at least 20 other men joined us. After everyone sat, what I can assume are servants, hopefully, they aren’t slaves, began serving breakfast. One of them set some fruit on my plate. “Thank you,” I said. Those sitting around me looked shocked. Daniel laughed and stared at me. “You really are on a warpath to disrupt our normal lives.” He said.

            “I—” He stuck his hand out to stop me.

            “Women aren’t supposed to speak at the table unless they’ve been asked to.” He whispered to me. I opened my mouth to say something else but the look in his eyes told me it was best to stop. I guess I could cause a commotion though. I thought about it while I was eating. All these people in one place, I bet I could do some real damage. I softly chuckled at the thought. Daniel stopped eating his food and stared at me. “Is something funny?” He asked in a low tone.

            I shook my head, smiling, and continued eating. No one else seemed to pay attention to our silent conversation. “So, your majesty, how has your newest capture been. I hope she is worth it after all the years we spent chasing her!” Some of the other men laughed.

            “She’s been a real pain in the ass, honestly. Though, I suppose I’ll break her of her insubordinate ways soon.” I snapped my head up at him and Daniel laughed. “Edwin, please regale us with your story of capture!”

            Edwin, who was sitting closer to the other end of the table spoke up. “Which capture, your majesty. There were a few.” He chuckled. “She is quite a crafty girl sir.”

            I hated that word. Girl. It felt so demeaning. I felt rage begin to build up inside of me but Daniel didn’t notice. It’s funny, for someone who wanted to keep me from exploding, he sure did seem to poke the bear of rage inside of me. Edwin continued. “She really is very stupid though. She practically led us straight to a community of her type of witches, I suppose she was just too weak to be on her own. That’s how we got her. We trapped her, and she was dumb enough to fall for it.” That was the one that did it. I dropped my silverware, but the fork remained in the air, although I was so busy staring daggers at Edwin I didn’t notice. I barely noticed all the eyes on me as I thrust the fork forward with my mind, sending it flying toward Edwin. He hadn’t had time to move so it landed in his shoulder, deep in his shoulder.

            Daniel grabbed my wrist and pulled my attention back to him. He didn’t seem angry, but he was curious. I realized the cuff that was once on my wrist had actually shattered onto the table. Before I had time to react, I felt the syringe needle plunge into my arm. “You bastard” I whispered before falling out of my chair into his prepared arms. Before I fell under, I heard the panicked whispers around me and smiled. They had no idea what was happening. Neither did I but, I clearly held the advantage. “Now who’s scared?” I whispered before falling under completely.