My bones ached and my teeth chattered. My stomach knawed and my throat burned. I had woken up in a cold, lightless room that smelled of feces and urine. Crawling around the room, I explored the darkness.
The room wasn't too big. From what I could feel, The floor was concrete, the kind you'd find in a basement. The walls were made of cinder blocks. On one wall, there was what felt like a toilet and a sink. There was a cold, slightly rusted metal door on another wall. When I moved across to the other side of the room, I found a mattress on the floor with an old quilt on it.
Frantically, I wrapped myself in the quilt. I had to get warm. Soon, my teeth weren't chattering and I could think. Okay, Melody, assess the situation. You got caught. Don't let them get to you. Just make it out.
Just then, a slot opened at the bottom of the door, sending blinding light into the cell. A platter of food and a cup were slid into the cell.
"Please! Where am I? What time is it? What day is it?" I called frantically. There was no answer. The slot slammed shut and blackness surrounded me again. I made my way over to the platter and devoured the food. The water slid down my aching throat, soothing the burning.
What seemed like decades later, I heard a loud voice outside my cell.
"Lights out!" It called. Realizing what it meant, I curled up on the bed. Sleep came to me easily that night, even though my body was wracking with anxiety. A nightmare plagued night was ahead of me, and I woke in total fear everytime.
A bright light shone in my eyes, waking me.
"Rise and shine sweetie, we've got a big day ahead of us." A female voice chirped. I was no longer on the hard mattress, but strapped to an examination chair. Groggily, I scanned the room. A tall blonde woman in a black pencil skirt smiled at me.
"Well, let's get started, shall we?" She exclaimed. She scanned a clipboard in her hand and muttered to herself. "No name changes, no appearance changes, just basic conditioning. Brand on right wrist, chip in arm, and contraception." I stared at her.
"So I've already been bought?" I guessed. She glanced at me.
"You were never bought, you were sent here for training." She set the clipboard on a table, sat in a rolling chair, and rolled over to me. "I just need to run a few tests. Why don't you answer a few questions for me in the meantime?"
She put on a pair of rubber gloves and began to poke and prod me. I noticed I was wearing a plain white dress.
"Alright now, what is your name?" She questioned.
"I think you would know." I replied. I felt a shooting pain up my arm.
"Sarcasm will not be tolerated. You are to respect your owners." The lady scolded sternly. "Now try again. What is your name?"
"Melody Sigyn." I swallowed.
"You are just Melody from now on." The lady ordered. "Understand?" I nodded. "Good, now when were you born?" On and on the questions went, and if I gave an answer she didn't like, I wound up in pain.
"Things will go smoother if you cooperate." The woman explained. "Your owner wants you as soon as possible."
"But I don't want to go to them as soon as possible." I muttered. That earned me another pain. I groaned, my body seeming to turn against itself. "Who is this person anyways?" Another pain was sent up my leg.
"Slaves do not ask questions, you only do what you are told without hesitation." The woman stated firmly. I rolled my eyes and yet again, I writhed in pain.
The rest of the day I was in pain, trying not to surrender. Whoever wanted me, wasn't going to get me without a fight.
Part of me wishes now that I had just surrendered. I would have had part of me left by the end of it all if I had just given up earlier. But I didn't. I fought back and eventually lost everything that I was.
~~~~~~~~Four Months Later~~~~~~~
I sat on the cell floor, shaking with cold and anxiety. My dress was torn, blood and vomit stained. My hair was in a greasy mess in my face. Hugging my knees to my chest, I stared at the feet of The Matron, who sat in a chair across from me.
Her questions were repetitive, but effective. I lived in fear of her wrath.
"All we need to do is clean you up. Then we'll take you to him." The Matron explained coldly.
I nodded, empty inside. I flinched at the slightest noise and movement. Stripped of everything, I had become a shell. Somewhere deep down, I was still there. The sarcastic, creative, caring girl, was still there, but she couldn't come out. Melody was just a name for a body. That's all I had become, a name, and I didn't even own that name.
When I was brought out of that filthy cell, it felt like a breath of fresh air. Though the bleak grey walls gave off not even a taste of joy, I felt happy just to see something other than the stained walls of my cell. Then I remembered that I was going home with my new owner, and fear greeted me like an old friend.
The Matron led me down the hallway to a staircase which led down to the bathrooms. Handing me over to an attendant, The Matron hurried back upstairs. The attendant took me over to a private room and had me strip. She locked me in the shower stall and turned the water onto a lukewarm temperature.
"You have forty-five minutes." She stated. For a minute, I let the water run over me, rinsing off the blood and grime. The water on the floor of the shower turned a pale mahogany.
I cleansed my hair, stripping the oil and vomit. The hair on my legs had not been shaved in almost a month, but I tried to shave them as quickly as I could. After I scrubbed the rest of the blood and grime off of my body, the water turned off. I quickly wrapped the towel around me and the attendant opened the door.
"Sit down in the chair." The attendant ordered. She wrapped my hair in a towel and began to work on my body. She cleaned up the spots I had missed on my legs and lotioned them.
She manicured my nails and painted them with a clear lacquer. She combed through my tangled hair and put some type of cream in it. Immediately, my hair began to spring back into its natural curls.
When the attendant finished, she laid out a black dress for me to wear. I changed into it, admiring the softer than a cloud fabric. I twirled in it for a second, taking a small bit of joy in the flowing skirt before the attendant shot me a harsh glare.
With the addition of a pair of flat shoes, I was dressed. The attendant pulled my curls back into a bun and gently tucked a small silver flower pin into it. She added some simple makeup and I was finished.
The Matron returned with a tray. On the tray sat a small gun like object. She picked the gun up and held it against the inside of my arm. I felt a sharp pain and when she pulled the gun away, a small dribble of blood ran down my arm. The attendant wiped it away.
"It's time to go." The Matron stated, pulling me out of the chair.
I followed her back upstairs, down another hallway, to an elevator. The ride was short and when the doors opened, they opened to a long hallway.
As the Matron led me down the pristine hallway. I glanced at the brand on my right arm. Two cursive 'L's were tattooed on my wrist along with a seal of some kind. I had seen it somewhere before.
The Matron snapped her fingers and I hurried up behind her. The stiff, grey haired, French woman could strike fear in the heart of a demon. I did not want to get another beating, even though I knew I wouldn't.
"You will remember everything you have been taught. Your master spent good money on you, so make it worth his while." The Matron warned. I nodded. I tried to frantically run through all that had been ingrained in my memory. That's when I remembered where I had seen the seal before, and realized whose initials were marked on my wrist. A familiar tightness in my chest took hold of me as the doors to a reception room opened.
Across the room, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, was a tall man with long, raven hair and green and black armor. I knew his face all too well.
I forced myself to walk into the room and stand at attention. Panic and chaos reigned in my mind as I stared at the floor, fearing for my life. I heard people talking, but I couldn't bring myself to understand the conversation. A pair of black boots walked into my vision and a gentle hand lifted my chin, causing my eyes to meet his.
"Hello, Melody." He smiled. There was something in that smile, a flavor of triumph that sent shivers up my spine. The very man I feared most in the world owned me: Loki.
The girl laid in the corner of the cell, shaking in fear. It had been almost three months since she had arrived in hell.
One of the attendants had just injected hallucinogenic drugs into the girl after two weeks of solitary confinement. Not that the drugs would cause hallucinations. No, she already had them. The drugs only made them worse.
The girl waited in sheer terror for the nightmares to take hold. There were voices outside in the hallway, but she wasn't sure they were real. The cell door opened, casting light on her. Then, he walked in the cell.
The girl thought her hallucinations had begun and she tried to push herself further into the corner. Why else would her worst nightmare be standing before her?
The king walked over to the girl, crouching to get a closer look at her. The girl stared at him, fear drenching her eyes. He gently reached out, wiping away one of the tears that had just emerged from her eyes. She flinched away from him, whimpering.
"You'll warm up." He mumbled, standing. The girl simply closed her eyes, curling up tighter. "I'll be back in a month to get you."
The king walked out of the cell. As he walked down the hallway, he heard the screams of the girl. The hallucinations had begun. For a moment, he pitied her. He wanted to go back and help her, but it wasn't time yet.
"I'll be back in a month. Go a little easier on her till then. I don't want her completely gone." He ordered the staff. As he walked away, he stopped and turned around. "Give her a bath. She needs it."