8. The Punishment!

Emerald's POV

Fear will be an understatement to the feeling I have now. Last night, when I saw Egon in the mirror, it was just a hallucination, but now it's not. He is real because those grey orbs can't be just my imagination. And the chaos he has made in the room is the evidence. 

My body is frozen on the bed because he is lying next to me, shirtless and his chest is covered in blood! His head was resting on his hand, hovering exactly above my face, his elbow had dipped the pillow flat on the bed, and I could feel the heavy weight beside me. Chills ran down my spine when I realised he watched me like this while I was asleep. 

His smirk deepened when he saw the realisation on my face. 

The lump in my throat, which I was trying to gulp down, got prominent, and heat spread through my nose, eyes and ears. I could feel my eyes turning glossy, I wanted to speak, but what? I don't have anything to say and he is not going to listen. 

He is too close to let me breathe without shaking, hot tears escaped my eyes and I looked around. All my guards are lying dead, and blood is everywhere. My stomach churned when I thought of Celsius' death. He can't die, he is my only hope for freedom. I felt little relief somewhere when I didn't find Celsius in the piles of dead bodies, which means he is alive. He must have escaped. 

"How does it feel to sleep on the bed after so long, Emerald?"

Egon's mocking voice made me look at him again. 

My lips wobbled as I tried to speak, but couldn't. he is the only man who has made me fear speaking. 

He raised his eyebrows.

"Tell me, did you like the freedom of one night?"

His deep voice is not helping with the anxiety either. 

What freedom? How do I tell him that he was haunting me even when he was not there? He is scarier when he is not there. 

I wanted to look away but his eyes warned me, challenged me to look away and face the consequences.

"I___"

I tried but couldn't speak. No! What has happened to me? How can I forget speaking? This is not me, I should have died before becoming a fucking coward. This is so shameful. 

I opened my mouth again, but the same happened, I was stuck. A loud sob escaped my lips instead of words, and I turned on the bed, buried my face in the pillow and cried harder. Not because he is here, but because I have lost my powers and strengths. 

My body shook with the sobs, Egon's large and warm hand rested on my arm. He gently removed hair from my back, and his soft lips touched my ear, his deep breath inhaled near my skin like he was taking in my scent, but that's just my assumption. Egon would never!

"I can't hear you, Emerald... Be louder!"

He mocked me, of course, my tears make him happy and why not, he is right in his place. 

He grabbed my arm and gently turned me around. My vision was blurry due to tears, still, I was afraid to look at him because no matter how softly he threatened me now, he was going to bring hell on me for trying to escape. 

I placed my arm over my eyes, and loud sobs shook my body. Egon gently removed my hand, and his face was too close to my face. His weight shifted the bed when he hovered over me, those grey orbs wandered on my face like he was admiring me. 

"You look so beautiful when you cry"

For a second, I saw softness in his eyes, but a second later, it felt like a misunderstanding. 

Egon would never look at me with pity or softness. I am officially the most hated person on his list. 

My breath became shaky when he covered my body with his, his knees resting beside my calves. Right hand gently removed wild hair from my wet face, setting my skin on fire. Why does his touch feel so different even when we are enemies? 

His eyes stared deeply into mine, his lips were so close that I could feel his fresh breath, his broad chest touched mine, and as usual, one side of my dress was hanging on my shoulder. This has become a practice, my straps are never on my shoulder when he is near me. 

His thumb moved on my wobbly lips along with his eyes.

"You were so smart, what happened to you?"

He went down slowly.

"What made you think that you can escape from me, Emerald?..."

His face is not touching my body, but it still feels like he is touching me everywhere. 

I flinched when he touched my knees, and my heart started hammering when I realised that he was going to break my bones. 

"No!"

I cried harder and thrashed under him. Panic took over me completely. 

He got up when my knee almost hit his face when I was struggling. 

"Emerald!"

He warned while grabbing my ankle and dragging me close to him. 

I sat up and tried to get away but his hold was strong.

"Please, please, please... I am sorry, I won't do it again... Egon, Please!"

He kept his hold on my ankle tight, and his hard eyes didn't leave my face until I realised that he was not letting me go. 

I begged while placing my head on his chest, just the forehead was touching his chest because I am not allowed to touch him. 

"Please don't do this."

I felt his chest moving aggressively under my forehead like he was trying to hold himself back from doing something. We stayed like that for a good time. I was still begging, and he was still letting my forehead touch his chest. The little skin touch felt so deep.

He finally grabbed my hair and pulled my head back from his chest, making me hiss under his tight fist on my hair. 

"Scared that I'll break your bones?"

He gritted, looking at me hatefully. The playful mockingness was gone. 

"I hope you know that you have broken the bones of thousands of people."

I closed my eyes and let the tears flow.

"They asked for it."

I snapped back under the influence of my pain but I shouldn't have done that. The least I can do to save myself is, keep my smart mouth shut. 

Yes, I have tortured thousands of people in my basement; their screams fuelled my ego and power. I don't regret it, not even a second of it. 

That's me, the vicious queen they feared and still fear.

Egon gritted and grabbed my jaw in his tight grip. 

"Watch your little mouth when you open it in front of me."

He warned, he almost pulled out my soul with that scary look in his eyes. 

I whimpered under his tight hold on my jaw. 

"Yes, I want to break every single bone in your body." 

He spat madly while pulling me closer roughly by the waist. I was almost on his lap, almost!

"But your body doesn't deserve it, this fucked up mind deserves the punishment..."

He tapped on the side of my head, making me flinch. 

"You will lose yourself completely, this is just the beginning of it..."

He let go and I scooted back from him in fear. The dead bodies of my guards are still lying around my bed. 

Egon got up from the bed, making it shift visibly. He grabbed his shirt and smoothly slid it on his arms, which are covered in the blood of my men. 

He single-handedly killed all my men. What's the use of having an army? This man has a huge army, yet he is here all alone; he doesn't need his men to make him the king, and that's Egon Bismarck for everyone!

He looked at me while rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.

"You failed the first test, now it's time for the punishment."

I froze when he said that. 

How can I be so dumb to not realise that I can't escape from the castle so easily like I did yesterday. It was his set-up, and I managed to run away because he wanted me to. 

He probably wanted to find my loyals, and he did. I showed him the way... Fuck! I killed my men. 

He chuckled deeply when he saw that I realised what had happened to me. 

He shook his head mockingly while opening the drawer and my eyes widened when I saw that thing in his hand. 

No, he can't do that to me. I am not an animal. He threw it on the bed with a smirk, and I closed my eyes in defeat.