Chapter 2: "maybe if I hide under the covers I will go unnoticed"
1936 Words
Chapter 2: "maybe if I hide under the covers I will go unnoticed"
Remorse(n): a gnawing distress arising from a sense of guilt for past wrongs.
William was not sure if it was remorse that he felt or just the fresh shock from seeing the words on the letter, but what remained was a longing feeling that things would suddenly become normal and his daughter would not have to go through what he signed for her to go through.
It pained him to think of the terror she might be about to endure in a matter of minutes. He could only pray that the 'assessment' would be made while she peacefully laid in slumber.
But nothing was under his control, no one could tell the devil what to do, and as he tried to envision how his life would be if he never traded with the demon king, he came back blank. On that note, he realised it was pointless to wonder if he could've hit a jackpot in a lottery draw or found a decent job that would still be adequate for his family, there was no going back. Waiting was all that could be done.
A few minutes of thought had almost led him to forgetting the most important thing that was on the note. He needed to ensure that Lorraine would not be with a person when her uninvited guest did decide to make an appearance.
As soon as his memory hit, William dashed to her room where he had just come from moments ago. After two knocks on the door, Mara's face emerged from the doorway and as soon as she realised who it was she immediately bowed and sang praises to the king.
On any other day, Orsbont would drag out the time that the not so youthful lady would have her knees on the hard floor, but today time was of the essence and he needed to make the woman disappear.
"I need you gone from that room as in 10 minutes ago. Do whatever it is you need to do and head out. You can call it a day." William demanded, making Mara feel unsettled. The same discomfort that came with not knowing what insult was to be thrown at her, which she felt every time she communicated with the king.
"I understand my king, I shall defy you not. Your word is honoured, your wish is my command." She sang the same old line that her and all the other royal servants were made to chant upon receiving an order before giving a final bow.
Lorraine had overheard the conversation and her heart ached for Mara. She was the nicest person she knew and seeing how her father treated her made her feel sad for her.
Her frightened face appeared from the door and no words left her mouth as she took the dress that Lorraine had worn that day and switched off her regular lights to turn on her pink nightlight.
Lorraine could read "goodnight" from her lips as she hurried out and left her all alone.
She now felt a little angry at how her dad did not consider what they could've been doing before chasing her out. She hadn't even finished telling Mara about the incident with her father concerning Benjamin but she was gone already. Thanks to the monster of the house.
William did not bother to go in and see her either. He imagined that she could still be angry from earlier and seeing her would also ignite more hate for himself. So he just left her to stay in there by herself.
A loud sigh left Lorraine's lips as she grabbed her laptop from her desk to check her messages. The last time Benjamin messaged her they were discussing a theme and he was excited. It pained her to even imagine where she would begin to tell him that he was no longer invited and that he had just had a suit tailored for nothing.
As she sat on her covers, she kept clicking through the pictures that Ben had sent her. He was a fairly good looking young man and Lorriane believed she was experiencing what her friends kept calling a crush. She had a crush on the prince and she was now distraught knowing she wouldn't get to meet him.
Deciding she was too sad to reply to any of her messages, she set her laptop down on the carpet on the left side of the bed. She figured it was more convenient since she usually landed on the right side whenever she got off the bed.
Before she could get up from her scrounged position after setting the laptop down, an eerie sound of heavy breathing...beastly breathing made the strands of hair on her body stand. The sound seemed to be coming from outside her window and it only took great courage for her to get up and turn her head to face the direction of the noise.
She let out a breath of relief when she noticed nothing off-putting from the window. With slow quiet steps, she headed for the window to go close the curtains and as soon as her hand landed on the fabric, the window handle moved on its own, frightening her to the maximum.
Her eyes grew wide as she backed away quickly, running straight into the covers like a little girl.
"Maybe if I stand still beneath the covers it won't notice me" she thought. But she was anything but concealed under that blanket. Her heavy breathing and shivers could be picked up from a mile away, her heart pouncing hard in her chest, almost as though its beating echoed in the room.
As if she wasn't frightened enough, the sound of the window opening gave her final jolts of shivers and chills throughout her whole body. A strong wind followed the noise and Amber could feel the exposed sheets below her moving from the currents.
The wind blew sharply for about half a minute before the window closed shut and the handle squeaked from lack of grease to signal that whatever or whoever it was, was meticulously and consciously closing it. All she could do was continue to tremble in fear and drench her sheets and covers in sweat.
The wait felt long as the room went silent. If the thing was going to attack her she preferred it doing so hastily and spare her more time in terror. But as the heavy breathing started once more, even stronger and more audible she wanted to go back on her wish, her hands tucking the covers under her head and her feet pulling them under them to seal herself tightly in her temporary fortress.
As the trembles and heavy heartbeats continued together with the heavy breathing, a strong, out of this world force grabbed the blankets and swiftly, roughly pulled them off her body. A strong pain travelled through her body as one of her gel nails on her left middle finger partly detached from the nail bed as the strong hold her hands had on the covers met the aggressive pull.
She immediately tried to scream but seemed unable to do so, her voice refused to come out, almost as though she was incapable of producing sound. Her eyes remained shut, her head turned away from the beastly breathing as she did not want to see the paranormal being that was responsible for the pants and hellish power.
The being once again proved it's strength as it forcefully tilted her head, making her face in its direction with rough scaly palms. Even then she refused to allow her lids to part and reveal her attacker to her. Tears were streaming out of the closed eyes as her body remained stiff. She was internally sobbing in horror.
Sparing her no time to think, the perpetrator ran a sharp claw on her cheek and parted her lips. Her instincts kept telling her to get off the bed and dash for the door but that meant she'd have to open her eyes to see where she was going and in turn get an image of the beast that was near her. It was something she was willing to avoid at all costs. She knew she'd never get over the trauma of whatever her gaze would meet and it would be stuck with her for a lifetime.
If she could never endure scenes from horror movies that were obviously acted out and fake then she knew she'd just die if her eyes came in contact with a horrid sight that was right next to her, touching her.
So she decided to wait till her guest was done with his plans for the night, which she prayed did not include slashing her throat and slicing her into pieces, worse still, having her for dinner. It definitely sounded like whatever was in her room could and would make a meal out of her. Her biggest bet at survival would be its random disappearance that resembled how it suddenly came.
Things however, did not seem to be going according to her desire. The sharp object that was previously stroking her cheek now moved on her stomach, her muscles contracting in fear of being stabbed on the delicate area.
From inside her closed eyes, Lorriane noticed a dark shadow seemingly cover her, and soon felt the presence of whatever was in her room above her. Before she could even try to scream her lungs out it was gone. The shadow disappeared and the heavy breathing stopped. The room just went silent with only her pouncing heart and hitched breaths.
She had to wait a good minute or two before moving or attempting to open her eyes so as to confirm that she was the only living thing in the room.
As soon as her eyes opened, she noticed that the room remained the same, except for a scratch that was near the window. It seemed to have inscribed a message on the cream paint but it was hard for her to read.
Deciding that she would waste no more time staying in there alone, her feet immediately rushed her to her door and the first thing she noticed was the silhouette of Ragus in the dark hallway, right next to her door. He did not look startled by the sudden opening of the door, but just stood still like a mannequin at the front of a store, displaying his black suit like there were searching customers.
As much as he did scare Lorraine, she worked up the courage to ask him to call her father for her and let him know that it was urgent. After he looked at her for a good few seconds with a blank expression, he gave a half smile before walking down in the direction of her father's office.
In her solitude, Lorraine turned on her main lights as well as the hallway light so she could feel secure as she impatiently waited for Ragus to appear with her father. She noticed that her middle finger was bleeding where the nail had detached and she pressed on it with her nightgown, wincing in pain. That was the biggest proof that the entire ordeal was no nightmare, but a reality. A reality she didn't know at the moment she'd have to face each day for a long time.
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-xoxo, Devious
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