First escape

Chapter 7

First escape

SERAPHINA

Long after Leone left, I sat on the bed, still holding my neck. His fingers weren’t around it anymore, but it still felt like they were. I could feel his breath in my ear, his voice inside my head. Every word he said, every threat, it stayed with me. It was like poison, sinking deeper and deeper into my bones.

He really hated me. I knew it before, but now I could feel it in every part of me. Maybe he'd kill me and send my dead body to my father, or maybe I'd live the rest of my life in this palace in fear. 

He had left an hour ago, but my heart still beat too fast for what had transpired. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to breathe slowly. I wanted to cry, but the tears had dried up days ago.

I couldn’t stay here anymore. It was a bad decision to accept to do this in a brave way. I needed to leave.

But where would I go? The question tormented me, but one thing I knew I was never going to return to my father. My father was the one who gave me away. He was the one who put me in Leone’s hands. I wouldn’t crawl back to him like a lost child, giving him the opportunity to bundle me up and toss me back into Leone's hands.

No, I would go somewhere far. “Maybe a quiet place. I'd vanish and start again. I needed money, but freedom was the most important thing now. A place faraway where no one would ever find me.” I muttered, staring at the room I'd painstakingly clean up.

The thought gave me a little strength. A strange kind of hope suddenly rose in me like a small, weak light in the middle of all this darkness. I sat up. My legs still felt weak, but I stood because this was my freedom I was talking about. I looked around the room. I don't have much, but that didn’t matter. I would leave tonight when it was dark and no one was looking.

When Leone was too busy to notice.

I waited for hours, listening. The palace grew quieter with each hour that passed. There were no voices, footsteps, or guards talking as they passed by. It was quiet as a graveyard. 

"Sera, it's time to act.” My subconscious mind yelled at me as I remained still on the bed and staring at the door. My heart was thudding wildly now that I'm in my ears.

I got out of the room and moved slowly to the maid's quarter. I had passed a room earlier where I saw many maid uniforms. That was my plan. I got to the room and looked around for anyone to stop me, but none did. I slipped into the shadows and locked the door. I settled on checking out the clothes. After twenty minutes, I found one that fitted me perfectly. It was a little short that a considerable amount of my thighs were out in show. As I bent to fix my shoes, the buttons at the top loosed. I tried fixing it, but it won't get into the damn hole. I looked in the mirror and blinked; my cleavage was on show.

"I looked like a maid whore.” I chuckled and moved to fix my hair. I tied it into a ponytail and rolled the end into a bun. I wiped my face. Satisfied with my reflection on the mirror, I opened the door carefully and peeked out; the hallway was empty. 

I took one step, then another. I kept my head low, my arms tight to my sides, as I had seen the other maids do. My room was far from the others, and that helped. Fewer eyes.

I passed a few closed doors. One of them was Leone’s. No, it was the bedroom we were supposed to be staying in together. As I made it to walk by, I heard the sound of moans.

"Ahhh… wreck me, baby le.” I froze as the woman’s voice came out in a soft, breathless shrill.

My hands curled into fists as I stared at the door. I could almost see them through the wood. Leone slamming hard into her, her eyes rolling into the back of her head and hands gripping his waist.

"Ohhh shit, Sera, get a grip of yourself.” 

Was it the same woman from the night before? Or a new one? Did it matter?

I didn’t want to know.

I clenched my jaw and turned away, my lips pressed tight. I wanted to scream, but there was no point. Instead, disgust twisted in my stomach.

He was too busy to notice me now. This was the only chance I had.

I turned and kept walking faster now. The walls began to look more familiar. I had studied the way out. I knew where the servant halls led. I knew which path went toward the gates.

I reached the back courtyard, saw the outer wall, and my lips curled into a smile.

"A few miles to freedom, Sera. We're crushing it.” I thought, grinning wildly from ear to ear.

I walked past the stables, and surprisingly, no one looked twice. I kept my face down. And then I saw the gate.

"Just a few steps and I would be gone and free.”

I hurried my steps to the gate.

"Going somewhere?”

I froze as I heard a voice that sounded too familiar. I turned slowly.

It was Philip.

He stood in the shadows, arms crossed, eyes cold. He took a step closer, his mouth twisting into a smirk.

“Well, well… what do we have here?”

Holy shit! My mind mentally screamed at me. Sera, you're fucked up.

His eyes narrowed as he peered down at my face, but I didn't miss his eyes sparkling as they rested on my breast. Monster! “I thought something was off when I saw a maid walking around at this hour; I knew something was fishy.” He stepped even closer. “Should’ve known it was you.”

I took a step back, and he grinned menacingly at me.

“Running away, are we werewolf?”

That was all I could think of. I turned and ran. I didn’t think so. I just moved out of instinct. My feet hit the stone hard. I didn’t know where I was running But he was fast.

I felt his hand grab my arm. He pulled me back hard. I stumbled and fell against him. He twisted my wrist, forcing me to stop.

“Let me go!” I shouted, struggling.

“Did you really think you could escape?” he asked, his voice close to my ear.

I tried to pull away, but he held tighter. I kicked his leg, but he didn’t let go.

“Help! Let me go!”

“No one’s going to help you,” he said, laughing. “Not here. Not tonight.”

I clawed at his hand, but he didn’t let go. He dragged me down the hall, back into the house.

“You must be stupid,” he shot back at me. “Or desperate.”

I didn’t speak. I just kept trying to break free.

He laughed. “Oh, I can’t wait to tell him.”

“No…” I breathed. “Please…”

He yanked my arm hard. “You’re done.”

I kept fighting. “Please, Philip. Don’t take me back. Please.”

He dragged me across the courtyard, chuckling darkly. My feet scraped against the ground. I tried to dig my shoes in. I tried to pull away, but it was useless. The guards saw us but said nothing. They looked away. No one helped. No one stopped him.

“Let go of me,” I cried. “Please!”

But his mind was made up. I could tell he was enjoying this as much as it was hurting me.

“You think Leone’s going to go easy on you after this?” Philip said, still pulling me along. “He’ll love this.”

He stopped near the entrance to the palace. He shoved me against the wall.

“Wait here,” he ordered sternly. “Don’t move.”

He stared at me hard.

“Or I’ll make you wish you hadn’t been born.”

And then he left. He walked off, back toward the east wing.

Back to tell Leone.

I stood there, my back against the cold wall, breathing fast.

My disguise was ruined. My plan had failed.

I could still feel Philip’s hand on my arm. The ache in my wrist.

What would Leone do now?

I had seen his anger as I felt it around my throat.

But this time, he had a reason to be furious.