Council

The ride went on for hours before we drove into an archaic looking estate. The buildings we passed by were built from solid concrete and looked like they hadn’t been inhabited in ages.

The car came to a stop in front of a giant building with a large, empty compound. Immediately it did, my abductors came to a stop and filed out of the car. I didn’t wait for them to tell me to before I followed suit. They surrounded me like a human forte– all six of them– as they led me into the compound.

I couldn’t really see where I was heading to because of their tall, built frames so I blindly followed. We came to an abrupt pause in front of two elderly looking men and the leader of the men stepped forward.

“We’ve retrieved her from Lord Perez’s residence,” he stated, bowing slightly afterwards.

One of the men gestured for the men to step aside, and when they did, he gestured for me to come forward.

With careful steps, I moved forward. The man who looked to be in his mid sixties thereabout had a heavy aristocratic aura about him. A silent air that must have been built through the years. He adjusted his glasses in the bridge of his nose as he raked my frame.

I lowered my eyes, feeling a bit uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

“She’s a sight, yes, but why the stress over her. They have many more whores at their disposal,” he said over his shoulder before turning to face his partner.

The other elderly looking man who had been watching me silently all the while looked at his partner.

“If there’s one thing I know about those two boys is that they bicker over anything and everything, and looks like she is no exception.”

“I suppose you’re right. Even though they are almost technically brothers, they never seem to get along.” He then directed his gaze towards my escorts.

“Take her to the waiting chambers,” he dismissed with a slight flick of his wrist.

“Yes, Sir,” they all affirmed simultaneously and began leading me into the building.

Two men dressed in an English Royal guard attire open the door for us to step in. The men lead me into dark room that smelled like it hadn’t been stepped into in ages.

My lungs almost collapsed from the dust that flew straight into my nostrils as soon as I stepped in. The men all filed out one by one and the last one locked the door after him immediately he stepped out.

I waited to ensure that they had walked a good distance away from the door before I tried opening it, but it was sealed shut. I should have figured.

My gaze to the room and I noticed how abandoned it looked. Everything about this place seems so old and frozen, like it hadn’t been touched in years.

I slowly walked towards the sofa and sat down, awaiting whatever fate had in store for me.

Time passed by really slowly and I didn’t know what time it was, or how long I had stayed in the room. All I knew was the sun was high in the sky when I got here, but now it was almost nowhere to be found. Shadows began streaming into the room and brought my childhood fears along with it.

When twilight fully set in, my paranoia followed. My hands began trembling uncontrollably, and my breathing became even more burdened with each passing second. One thing kept ringing in my mind; I have to get out of here and fast. I ran towards the door just before I could bang on it and scream for them to let me out, it slid open.

The men from earlier were standing outside, still dressed in the same suit they were in earlier today.

“Your presence is requested for, Miss Lyubov,” their leader stated and stepped aside for me.

My brows furrowed in confusion.

“Who?” I asked, but no one spared me an answer so I continued following them silently. I guess I just had to wait till find out.

We went up the stairs and came to stop at the second floor. Before we could continue down the hallway of the second floor, one of the men told me to stop and when I did, I failed something being draped against my eyes. They were blindfolding me.

I didn’t argue with them. I stayed still. I let them do what they were doing. It wasn’t that I had a choice in anything that happened in my life anymore.

When they were done, one of them held me by the hand and led me down the hall. The slight creaking of the door told me that I might have reached my destination.

Almost as soon as I stepped my feet into the room, the hair, my neck stood erect against my skin. I could sense multiple presence in the room, and it seemed they were waiting for me. It looked like I had stepped into a council of judges or something like that.

“Is she the cause of the pandemonium?” A foreign voice somewhere in the room asked.

“Apparently,” another responded, a note of disgust dripping from his tone. “Let’s begin so we can get done with it already.”

“Nikolai Ruslan and Stephan Perez. We need you both to state your cases.”

I heard a chair scratch against the ground as someone stood up. He cleared his throat and began.

“Thank you all for obliging my invitation. I wouldn’t waste much of your time. Stephan here took something that belongs to me, breaching the code by which this society operates by trespassing my territory. All I want is to get her back and for the stipulated punishment to be meted out to him. Thank you.”

I could recognize that anywhere; it was Lord Ruslan. He arranged for all this just so he could get me back. Why exactly is he obsessed with owning me?

Silence stretched its arm over the room for a few seconds after he spoke. Then the thick voice from earlier spoke up.

“Is that it?”

“Yes,” he said, impatience heavy in his tone.

“What do you have to say about this, Stephan?”

A low chuckle reverberated through the room.

“Well,” Stephan started. “He called it trespassing, I call it taking back my property. After all, trespassed my turf once. I’m only doing a payback.”

“Liar!” Lord Ruslan screamed.

“Am I really?” Stephan responded, and I could hear the chuckle in his tone. “Seventh of October, two years ago. Russy here crossed the line of truce by infiltrating into my ranks, delivering cheap drugs that almost sabotaged everything I worked for.”

“He’s lying,” Lord Ruslan roared.

“You know I’m not,” Stephan countered.

“You—”

“Enough,” the mediator commanded. “Stephan, do you have evidence to back up these claims?

“Why yes, I happened to have them here,” he said I could hear the tease in his voice.

I heard footsteps afterwards, followed by brief silence.

“This looks legit.”

“Don’t buy his lies,” Lord Ruslan countered.

“His lies have already been bought. He keeps the whore,” the mediator said in a tone of finality. I flinched at the word ‘whore.’ Even though that’s my new reality, I’m still unable to come to terms with it.

I could imagine the faces on both men right now. Stephan beaming with victory– or probably expressionless, and Lord Ruslan boiling with anger.

“The case has been dismissed,” the mediator concluded.

Another voice spoke up.“ Also, a case like this shouldn’t be brought to us next time. Settle your shit among ourselves.”

“Thank you for your time.”

The man grabbed my arm and let me out of the room. After walking the few steps, they took the blindfold off of me. Then I saw him, Stephan, walking out of the room with a little smirk on his face.

He approached me, then whispered into my ears. “Let’s go home.”

Just as we were descending the stairs, Lord Ruslan walked towards us and obstructed our path.

“Just so you know, that drug ring won’t be the only thing I’ll be sabotaging.” He walked past us briefly after that.

“Empty threats,” Stephan scoffed as we continue down the stairs.

When we go to the car, I sighted Lord Ruslan’s car driving off with careless speed.

For some reason, I could tell that this was the beginning of a very long feud, and I was at the center of it.