My feet dangled over the edge of the roof as I looked down at the busy streets of the small town in France. Their voices floated up to me gossiping again. That's all you have to do in a small town like this is gossip about the people that don't fit in. I am one of their main topics of discussion, because my family besides my father, my brother, and I are dead.
My father, I hate him, he's a heartless bastard who takes pride in hitting me and pulling me down with his words. I'm like his punching bag, his stupid dummy that won't fight back when he beats me or when he calls me bad names. He uses me to get all his frustration out on and everybody in the town knows it. But they do nothing about it, assholes. All I want is for my prince charming to come and collect me and ride off into the sunset with me, forever protecting me from no harm and evil that has seemed to lurk within my life so far. Like that was gonna happen.
My brother, you guys are probably all wondering about left me to serve our country, sweet huh? Besides the fact that I might never get to see him again, it's all good right? No. no it's not he's the only one left in my family that I actually like, right now he's the only one that loves me for me, and that actually protects me.
My brother left to go find my horse that had run off into the woods two days ago, that's why I'm sitting on the roof right now. I'm seeing if there's any sign of him, because if there's not I'm going after him. I'm starting to get nervous it's not like my brother to be gone this long, if he couldn't find him by the first day he would have told me, and would have tried the next day, he's always home for supper. I know there is something wrong here, something very wrong.
I climbed back into my window slipping off my silk gown putting something more appropriate for public on. A red velvet long sleeved dress, my corset was tied tight giving me cleavage that I didn't know I even had. Not very appropriate for the woods I know, but it's the most casual thing I own. My family is kind of rich.
I walked out the front door trying not to wake my passed out father. I guess drugs and alcohol do that to you over time. Well they basically do it to him every night no problem right? At least I don't have to hear him bitch and moan about useless shit.
I slammed the front door laughing inwardly, he was awake now. It's not like he wasn't gonna just pass out again so what the hell it doesn't matter. I walked through the village ignoring the quiet murmurs that passed through the crowds of people, as I walked briskly through them. I looked down at my feet walking straight towards the forest, I needed to find him and fast he could be hurt.
A shadow stood tall in front of me indicating someone was blocking my path. I looked up and groaned inwardly at the sight before me. "Please move Gaston," I said trying to get around him, only to have him side step right into my path again.
"Angie, just imagine it," he said smiling triumphantly while I held back a gag "My latest kill brewing in the pot, six or seven of the little ones playing on the ground with the dogs, we will have dogs. My feet propped up after along days work, my beautiful wife massaging them, it's like a picture perfect fairytale," he said in his gruff voice that rattled in his chest and made it sound like he needed to cough or that he had just smoked a pack of cigarettes.
I was never one to talk back to men, especially big men who could do damage to my face if I did, but this was important. "Fuck off Gaston," I said loudly pushing past and heading to the woods more quickly than I had been before. Gaston yanked me back spinning me around to face him. Next thing I know my cheek is stinging and his chest is puffing up and down. That son of a bitch just hit me! Tears stung my eyes but I just shook my head and turned around walking into the entrance of the woods.
It was starting to get dark as I traveled deeper into the forest calling my brother's name every once in a while. My hope was dwindling like a candle that had been burned for a series of hours, my courage burning out of me like the wax burning on a hot candle.
I came to a large black rot Iron Gate that separated the woods from a very large castle that looked old and abandoned but very beautiful if it was fixed up and had a couple new coats of paint. Flowers were growing everywhere wrapping up the long walls of the castle and decorating it with colors, none of them dying despite the bitterly cold weather and the snow that had fallen these past few winter months.
I spotted a black pile on the ground with a lump of red on top; I squinted and leaned in trying to get a closer look at it. My brother's red winter hat lay on top of his black fuzzy blanket I had gotten him this year for Christmas; I do remember him taking these. They were torn and dirty, I jiggled the gates a little seeing if they were still unlocked he had to be in there, at least he had shelter away from this bitter cold, I could not lose him.
The gates opened with ease after I jiggled them around, I slid into the small space that it provided for me and walked up to large front door of the creepy castle, surely no one lived here anymore did they? I knocked on the front doors that were more like large chunks of wood taken from a mountainous building and carved into something beautiful. The second my knuckles hit the door it creaked open. Creepy. I took a deep breath before continuing on through the front door, it slammed behind me making me jump and spin around. My hands were shaking, my knees felt like jelly and I just want to cry, and I don't even know why. My courage had all melted away when I saw this creepy house. My footsteps echoed throughout the house making it seem like the sound the created when they hit the floor bounced off every object in this castle. I felt air swish past me and I looked to my side the tears leaking out of my eyes. "Patrick?" I called out to the surrounding darkness the only light coming from very dimply lit candles. I stopped in front of a large staircase taking a deep breath before gripping the banister walking up the stairs quickly.
"Patrick?" I called out louder hoping in the suppressing darkness a sound would lead me to him. Right now I was starting to think the worst…what if…he was…dead?
I was at the top of the stairs right or left? My eyes brows knitted together what if I choose the wrong way and don't get to him in time? My blood was pounding in my ears, my tears still falling steadily, my legs still numb; my breathing was as if I just ran around the whole world, my palms were sweating like a prostitute in church, and my shaking was as if I was having convulsions like the devil near holy water.
I saw a door swing open to my right and I scurried over to it opening it and slipping in my back leaning on the cold dead wood. "Is anyone here?" I called out my eyes still adjusting to the pitch black that the room had accompanied. I heard a groan echo from somewhere down the dark hall. My eyes widened and I stood up straight hoping I wasn't just hallucinating.
"Is anybody here?" I called out again traveling down the hall being able to make out the general shapes of objects.
"Angie?" the voice groaned again, I would know this voice anywhere given it was usually much stronger and confident, this one sounded weak and scary. I raced down the dark hallway coming to a dimply light room. I was in a dungeon right now. What the hell?
His face was pale and his usually lively eyes looked sunken in. I gasped and walked quickly over to him, taking his ice cold hand into mine. "Your hands, their frozen," I gasped blowing my breath on them and rubbing mine together with his in between.
"Angie you need to run from here run as fast as you can before he catches you," he said speaking urgently in a weak worried raspy voice. He erupted in a fit of coughing, he looked horrible and if I left him here he surely would die.
"Who did this to you?" I asked ignoring his statement he had told me.
"Who dares trust past on my property," A voice roared making me freeze in my place my hands no longer moving the shaking in them only getting worse.
"You have to let him go," I whimpered out realizing all this time the tears had never stopped coming down my face.
"He came on my property he's my prisoner now be gone!" the person screamed at me.
I crinkled my nose; one thing I hate is when people tell me what to do. "Angie, don't," Patrick whispered into my ear.
"What gives you the right to tell me what I can and can't do? He is my brother and I will NOT leave here without him got it?" I yelled at him standing up and looking at the general darkness where his voice had come from.
"He is my prisoner," the person growled from the darkness "Now be gone," he bellowed at me.
"Angie leave please I'll be alright," Patrick said. The person stood next to the staircase I had to go down to get here.
"He'll die if he stays here please I'm begging you he's all I have!" I said pleading holding my hands in a praying position while I sank to my knees kneeling my head down closing my eyes letting the tears slide down my cold and flushed cheeks.
"I don't care," he shouted at me venom and anger lacing his words as he spit them out at me.
"Take me instead," I said looking towards the stairs were the outline of his big figure stood.
"What?" both the man and Patrick said at the same time. I got up off my knees walking back towards my brother and taking his hand. His pale face was now flushed and tears eluded his beautiful blue eyes.
"Take me instead," I repeated.
"You would give up your life for him?" The man's smooth voice growled at me.
"No," Patrick shouted shaking his head frantically.
"Yes," I said lowly nodding my head. "But you have to promise to set him free," I said looking at the man whose mere figure radiated evil at me.
The man stepped over to the door while I moved out of the way "You're free to go," the man said unlocking the dungeon door. I still couldn't see the man's face just his outline but I could tell he was big and dangerous.
He shoved my brother's frail body up the stairs. "Wait!" I exclaimed my brother faced me. "Please don't die while fighting, I love you, thank you for protecting me from dad I would have never survived," I said chocking on more tears that wanted to be shed. I remembered my cleavage that was probably being bared right now as I was on my knees but I didn't care.
"I love you too," he whispered before the man pushed him the rest of the way up the stairs shutting the door behind them. I fell to the floor crying, but at least being here in the castle I couldn't be harmed as much as I would if I was out in the town. I would never get to see my brother ever again, the only one I cared about. I took my hair out of my bun letting it fall in it's lose curls. I fell back down crying into my arms my hair covering my face. The cool draft hit my tanned uncovered back; it wasn't the smartest choice to wear a low back dress that stopped before my lower back.
I heard footsteps echoing on the stairs, I buried my face deeper into my arms willing myself to die already. Hoping I would never have to see that horrendous beast. The footsteps stopped but the door never opened. Maybe there was another hallway I didn't see when I came through. I sat up wiping my runny nose with my sleeve, my eyes were red and puffy and they were hot at the touch. I sniffed my nose sounding stuffy when I did. I leaned back on one of the grungy dungeon walls running my hand through my hair and parting it to the side. My hair hit the floor of the dungeon floor because it was so long. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes the tears still falling down my cheeks, I wonder when they are going to stop, or if they will ever stop.