1375
Anna.
I return with at least ten packages for the servants to carry up to my room – Vladimir is a generous man, and he is constantly showering me with little gifts and gold coins.
Though the outing was delightful, I am oddly anxious as I enter the house. Something is wrong.
And that is when the cook's blind son comes running down the hall, not crashing into anything, yelling for his mother to come see him.
The present in my hands falls to the floor with a sickening thud, and I am racing up flight after flight of stairs, frantically trying to slip into his mind.
"Vladimir! Vladimir! Open the door, you fool!" I shriek. There is no response. "Vladimir, I swear to you that I will kick my way inside if I have to!"
Locks unbolting.
"Fair Anna!" His smile is as big and innocent as a child's. "No need to be so dramatic, no, no need. No need at all. Unnecessary, yes, indeed."
"You are insane."
He laughs, condescending. "We are all insane, sweet one. No one alive is in their right mind. Otherwise they'd snatch a sword and finally end this sorry excuse for an existence."
I frown. "Do not speak like that."
"It is the truth!" He closes the door, then locks it. "In fact, I will tell you a great number of truths right now, if you wish me to."
"I wish for you to sit down and stop saying nonsense." I snap.
He ignores me. "Pies are my favorite food, I can make the blind see, and I am in love with Fyodor's Anna."
My heart sinks. I have wanted to hear him say that for so long, but not like this. "Be serious, Vladimir."
"I am." He says, and his face does not belie him. "I am very serious, Anna. My Anna."
He steps forward. I step backwards. And then he does it again, and again, until my body is pressed to the wall, his chest in front of my face.
"How can you not see that I want you?" He asks, pinning me to the wall, and I am terrified, frozen, undecided between want and terror.
"Vladimir, please."
His hand makes its way around my waist. I try to push him off me, but he is so heavy, and my arms have no room to move. "You are mine. Only mine."
I try to concentrate – an almost impossible feat when he is kissing my neck like that. This is wrong. It is not supposed to happen like this, not when his mind is filled with nauseating darkness.
I try to touch it…
I lose control.
Vladimir.
"Anna." She shakes violently, and I move away, not wanting to crush her more than I already have. "It is alright, now. I will not hurt you. The madness is gone."
Her eyes will not meet mine – they jump all over the room.
"I am sorry, Anna. I said some things… things I shouldn't have."
No response. Then, suddenly...
"Why do you never listen to me? Why? Is it because I am a woman? Do you think I am stupid, Vladimir? I have told you again and again that you should not practice your magic on humans. I leave, and what do you do? You. Practice. On. Humans." She yells, slamming her hand on my desk.
It's inside her. Heaven help us.
"I am sorry, I did not think –"
"That is right! You never think of me, you never consider what I tell you!" She looks at me with such hate that I cannot hold her gaze for more than a moment. "I detest you."
"No, you do not." And I know I am right, so I place a hand on her arm. "Anna. You can fight against this. You are stronger than this. Please."
She drops to the floor and throws something at the mirror, shattering it. "No, no, no, no, please…"
I kneel beside her, grasping her forearms. I shake her. Her nails dig into my skin. "You can do this, Anna. You can do it for me."
With a cry, she falls into me.