Boris had no choice but to agree with Wilhelm and thus agree with Alric. Wilhelm had taken Boris to the main house, deserting him in an empty room completely filled with blackness as thick as ink. This room was quite familiar to Boris—it was the same room Alric utilized for his torturing.
A shudder ran across Boris’s entire body.
“What is it that you do to her?” asked Alric, hidden somewhere amongst the shadows. His voice echoed in every corner of the room. “When you abuse her,” Alric said with a wicked smile, “what do you do?”
Boris felt relieved—pleased he wasn’t in trouble. “I threw her out the window one time,” Boris said, a little enthusiastic to share his “work” with another like him. Boris enjoyed the comfort of having Alric take a liking to him. It almost made him feel cherished.
“Oh? How hurt was she?”
Boris sneered with pride. “A broken leg, minor cuts and bruises. The doctors didn’t suspect a thing. They even labeled her as a suicidal.” Boris laughed manically.
“In this house,” Alric said, stopping Boris’s laughter painfully dead in his throat. “I deal the punishments. I am the head of this family. Punishing or abusing someone should be brought to me. You had no right to deal abuse to the girl.
“For such an action I have no other choice, Boris. You should have known better.” Alric’s icy cold breath tickled the back of Boris’s neck and raising his hair on end.
Boris’s entire body stiffened at the touch of Alric’s gentle hands on his shoulders. “Sir?” he whispered.
“Sleep well,” Alric replied. “Sleep deeply.”
CHAPTER 7
Nieves sat up and took glances about the room. She knew immediately it was Alric’s room. Perhaps most likely because he was sitting on the floor, drinking at the short legged kontatsu table. She noticed the entire main house was based on oriental architecture.
Nieves slid her feet over the edge of the bed. A heavy metal was clasped around her right ankle. She glanced at it then lifted the long chain to follow the oval links until they stopped at the bedpost where they were locked tightly.
“Why am I chained to the bed?”
Alric sipped his tea with tranquility and ignored Nieves. His eyes slid closed at the taste of sweetness in each sip.
“Well!” Nieves shouted. She was so preoccupied with the chain and Alric’s smooth, careless expression that she didn’t notice her change of clothes. She was dressed in a white traditional yukata that flowed like moonlight over a valley.
His lips moved into a smile as he set his empty cup down onto the table. “I would hate to have you run off before I get my pleasure.”
Nieves stood up. “Why are you doing this to me?” She had spoken so bravely but it slowly began to fade away. Gently she cooed, “Let me go, please.” She walked over to the kontatsu where Alric sat neatly at the end, facing her.
He smirked with devilish arrogance.
“Tell me why,” Nieves whispered. She plopped down onto the zabuton pillow adjacent to him. “Alric, tell me why you won’t let me go?”
Alric simply took hold of his cup and walked away.
Never in her life had she felt so inferior. Chained down like a dog and soon to be beaten for nothing at all. She couldn’t understand it.
Why did he hate her so?
Nieves lifted her eyes to the most beautiful flower she had ever seen. It was just beginning to bloom. At that moment it was stuck in a tear drop shape much larger than her hand.
“Such a beautiful flower.” Nieves reached up to stroke the smooth pedals.
Alric’s hand caught hers. His warmth pressed against the back of her body while his breathing tickled her nape. “I wouldn’t touch that,” he suggested in a mellow tone.
Nieves moved her head to peer over her shoulder.
Alric was sitting neatly behind her, a leg propped up and another leg stretched out on the other side of her. His thumb surreptitiously took in the softness of the top of her hand. “We wouldn’t want such delicate skin to get scathed.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
He moved his free hand to the table where a small narrow drawer had been hidden. He pulled out a small rectangular prism and lifted the lid. Never once did his right hand let go of Nieves’s.
“What’s that?” asked Nieves who was again over looked.
He pulled from the drawer a pair of tweezers. “Take this,” Alric told her.
Nieves shakily took hold of the metal.
“Now,” Alric said, taking hold of her hand. “Gather the piece of meat.” He lowered her hand to pinch the cube of white with the metal. Alric moved that hand over to the plant, drawing it closer very slowly.
In a quick flash of energy, the flower bloomed open to a snake like creature that snapped up the white meat like a gingerbread man.
Nieves gave a screech, tossing the tweezers in nowhere in particular.
Just as quick as it opened, the flower was closing.
“What is it?” asked Nieves.
Alric reached across the floor for the tweezers. “It is a species similar to the Venus flytrap.” His thumb continued to rub her skin while feeding the plant another chunk of meat. He wanted desperately to dig his nails into her skin, to feel the warm blood that might soak his fingers.
Nieves was highly intrigued with the plant’s fast reflexes.
“It must do what it can to survive,” Alric stated. “In the wild it would devour any creature that settled upon it. Including birds.”
“Birds?” asked Nieves excitedly. “Is that why I can’t touch it?”
Alric tucked away the box and tweezers into the drawer. He made no effort to reply; it was something Nieves was getting used to.
He slid his right hand down her arm while standing. “I’m going for a walk.” He didn’t tell that to her any more than he was telling that to himself.
“Let me go,” Nieves called out. “Let me walk with you, at least.”
Alric looked over his shoulder at her. “Where will you go when you are free?”
“My sister… she’ll take me in.”
Alric’s sinister smile made her stomach cringe. “She’s dead.”
“I didn’t mean what I said,” Nieves argued. “She is my sister… I know somewhere in her heart she is still alive. I just know it. Let me go to Erika!”
“She’s dead,” Alric repeated. “I killed her.”
Nieves’ eyes widened with shock. Her words were like air and inaudible to the entire world. Alric had dealt a blow right to her heart—a wicked arrow piercing deep and true. “Erika…”
Alric smiled at the girl’s pain and left quite happy with himself. His day had suddenly become rather bright.
†
“She’s so pretty,” whispered a small innocent voice.
A small child bobbed his head in a nod of agreement.
The girl’s voice giggled. “I want to play with her when she wakes up.”
Once again the head bobbed.
“I wonder why she’s in Alric’s room,” the girl questioned, turning her attention to the boy next to her. “Jacob, she’s asleep. You can still talk to me.”
Jacob shook his head, swishing his hair back and forth. His round childish face looked positively frightened and yet completely unaware of harm.
“Fine,” Eliza sighed. “But I’m sure she is real nice. I can tell.”
Jacob’s mouth opened a small fraction and mumbled, “Not if she’s in here.” To most people it would have sounded like, “Nuff sheven her.” Eliza on the other hand understood all of Jacob’s mumbles and mutters; she’d gather the second language over time.
“Maybe Alric’s holding her hostage.” Eliza smiled widely with sparks in her eyes. “If that’s the case then we need to rescue her from the evil king. We can be her princes in shining armor.”
Jacob shook his head—his shyness far too grand. He was curled on the floor next to Eliza who was leaning on Alric’s bed where the strange girl lay. Jacob mumble
d, “Alric would be angry.”
Eliza laughed childishly and got to her feet. “It’ll be just like the story.”
“I don’t want to,” Jacob mumbled.
“What are you two up to?” asked Wilhelm who was sliding open the shoji doors of Alric’s room. “Eliza. Jacob.”
Eliza spun around with a large triumphant smile. “Jacob and I are princes who will save the princess from the evil dragon. We’ll take her away to an enchanted palace. Do you want to help us, Wilhelm?”
Wilhelm gave a lighthearted smile. “I’m afraid this princess can’t be saved by the two of you.”
“Why not?” asked Eliza, her voice on the edge of whining.
Wilhelm walked across the room and set his things down onto the bed. “This story is slightly different. You see, the dragon is really a prince in disguise. This time the princess has to save the dragon from an evil curse.”
Eliza gasped with excitement.
Even Jacob perked his head up to listen to Wilhelm.
“Then they live happily ever after?” asked Eliza.
Wilhelm took a look at Nieves. “Perhaps. We shall just have to see.”
Eliza gave a rather heavy sigh throwing her head back. “I don’t want to wait, Wilhelm. I want to know the end of the story.”
Jacob tugged on the edge of Wilhelm’s shirt as a sign that he too wanted to know.
“Well,” Wilhelm began. “I promise to tell you the story tonight.”
“Promise,” demanded Eliza.
“Promise,” replied Wilhelm who was patting Jacob’s head. “Now,” Wilhelm interjected, “I have to make sure the princess gets healthy so that she can have enough strength to save the prince.”
Eliza nodded her head with a beaming smile. “C’mon, Jacob. Let’s go play with the kitchen chef. He always has candy hidden away for us.”
Candy, Wilhelm noted, was hidden from them by Alric. Anything that brought joy to someone was either taken away or destroyed before their very eyes. Wilhelm’s thoughts began to slip towards Rusuto. He quickly slapped himself mentally and turned to the medical bag.
He opened it wide, pulling out various objects of necessity. He rose to his knees and took her very warm arm into his icy hand. Nieves gave a moan in her sleep before prying open her eyes.
Wilhelm waited until she stopped glancing around the room and to look at him. “Wilhelm.” She noted his presence then glanced around. “Alric’s not here?”
“He’s in the parlor.”
Nieves quickly sat up and turned to Wilhelm. “Help me leave. Please help me leave. He killed my sister, Wilhelm. I never want to look at him again. I want to kill him! I want to kill him more than any person in the world!”
“Calm down,” the doctor said patiently. “I’m sure…” No, Wilhelm thought, stopping himself. Alric didn’t kill Erika for a reason. He did it because he was either bored or irritated. Wilhelm hadn’t even seen Erika or knew what she looked like. For all Wilhelm knew, Erika really was dead.
Nieves sobbed, leaning forward until her head pressed against the doctor’s shoulder. She let out a disheartened hiccup-sob before saying, “I need your help.”
Wilhelm had heard that many times. He could give a list of all the people who had asked for his help from the horrid abuse of the curse. Yet, every time he never bothered to lift a finger to stop the agony. At least not until now.
He desperately wanted to help Nieves escape.
“I’m sorry,” Wilhelm quickly stated, forcing Nieves to sit up right. “Your sister, I’m sure is perfectly safe.” Wilhelm knew that Erika had to be dead. “I saw her the other day shopping. She is absolutely safe. Now, I need to examine your head wound.”
“Erika is alive?” asked Nieves, quickly grasping the string of hope.
Wilhelm nodded—pulling the lie off easily.
Nieves lifted her hands and wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. “Why would Alric lie to me like that?” She glanced down at her attire and blushed remembering that her clothes had been changed. “What am I wearing?”
Wilhelm took a look at the yukata. “It’s a cotton kimono. Your clothes were soiled with blood and sand.”
Nieves blushed. Alric had he seen her naked?
Wilhelm gave a humble laugh. “Do not worry; he had a maid dress you.”
Nieves nearly groaned at the idea; she was not too thrilled at the thought of being undressed and dressed again during sleep. How had he accomplished that in the first place? Was he drugging her?
Wilhelm dug around the contents of his bag and pulled out a syringe and a vile of clear liquid. Nieves’s eyes widened before she said shakily, “You don’t have to give me a shot, do you?”
“It won’t hurt,” Wilhelm told her encouragingly. “I promise.”
Nieves nodded her head and put out her left arm. She turned her head away, waiting for the sting but it felt like forever. She turned to Wilhelm who was now putting a cotton ball onto the bend of her arm.
“Alright,” Wilhelm informed, “Get some sleep.”
“That’s it?” asked Nieves.
Wilhelm snapped his medical bag closed after throwing away the used needle. “Yes, that was it. Some things in life appear to be difficult but in actuality they are much easier.”
Nieves slowly nodded her head. “Like, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ type deal?”
“Exactly.” Wilhelm patted her hair into place. He seemed to think of her as a daughter—a young child losing her way amongst the dark secrets of the Macter family. He desperately hoped Nieves would make it out alive.
Just before he could leave her, Nieves said, “Have you talked to Rusuto?”
Rusuto’s best friend turned around and stared at her for a moment. “No, I haven’t spoken with him. He’s doing fine if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Nieves shook her head. “I meant: Have you tried to spend time with him?”
“That’s,” Wilhelm began to say but stopped. He sat down onto the bed next to Nieves and looked her in the eye. “Alric will not allow me to see Rusuto. I’m not allowed to see him. If you tell Alric then Rusuto or I will die...”
“What? Why?”
Wilhelm shook his head. “It’s… Alric does not like happiness.”
“Go see Rusuto,” demanded Nieves. “It’s not fair for Alric to take away your happiness. Just go see him.”
Wilhelm smiled, pleased to hear the idea. “I’m afraid it is not that easy.”
“Don’t you want?”
“We both declared that it would be against Macter law.” Wilhelm rose to his feet, taking the medical bag in hand. He went to leave but Nieves placed a hand on his arm.
“Friendship never ends,” she whispered. “It shall last forever. Love too.”
Wilhelm slowly began sit down, keeping his back to her. “I know that. It truly isn’t a big deal. We were close in childhood but now…” Wilhelm shook his head. “Truly, none of this matters.”
“Alric doesn’t have to know,” Nieves suggested the unthinkable.
Wilhelm looked over his shoulder at her. “Promise me—”
“Scandalous,” said a cold voice. “Absolutely. Every time I turn my back someone is telling her something about me.”
Wilhelm’s expression froze in its place, starring emptily at Nieves. She noticed the dullness that suddenly covered his eyes—to her, it was like starring into the eyes of a painting. It was after years of practicing to keep his emotions concealed from the abusive Head Macter.
“I never thought it’d be you, Wilhelm,” Alric said with displeasure. “Perhaps I didn’t abuse you enough. I feel quite taken aback to know that you have betrayed me for a worthless girl who is not even a part of this family.”
Wilhelm turned to Alric with an expressionless face. “I would never betray you.”
Alric slid his eyes closed. “Liar. Liar.”
“I will never do anything to harm you,” Wilhelm assured.
“Get out,” Alric hissed with pure
malice.
Wilhelm rose to his feet taking the medical bag into hand. Just as he had trained himself to do, Wilhelm stoically walked to the door past Alric. Never once did Wilhelm give a sliver of fear. Alric of course never enjoyed such a fearless behavior—he wanted the entire Macter family quivering at the site of him.
“You will wait for me,” Alric ordered his doctor. “Wait in the room.”
The shoji door slid shut with a hush.
“The room” seemed like some cursed thing especially the way Alric had muttered about it and the way it froze Wilhelm in his tracks simply for a millisecond.
What would Alric do to Wilhelm in “the room”?
“Nieves,” Alric spoke sweetly while crossing the room to his bed. “Do not influence my people to disobey me.”
Nieves gave a hard scowl. “You don’t own them.”
“What?” Alric lost all false-sweetness for hatred. “What do you know? You have no idea what is happening here with this family.”
Nieves swallowed a deep breath of air and quickly blurted, “Leave Wilhelm and Rusuto alone.”
Alric quickly raised his hand, ready to strike her. Nieves in flinched defense, raising her arms as any person would. He grabbed hold of her wrist tightly and yelled, “How dare you speak to me like that!”
Nieves gave a screech as he pulled her from the bed and onto the floor. “You are not god, Alric! Stop controlling their lives!”
Snow Heart Page 5