C8: Losing hope

Meela slowly walked forward, stalking towards her and clicking her heels on the floor.

The woman was beautiful. But within her deep, brown eyes, Aida could see pure malice. Cold and something dark.

The two guards held Aida's arms so she wouldn't fall and so Meela could get a good look at her face.

"And who is this?" She came to stand in front of them, looking down at Aida with interest.

"Friend of the O'Connells. She wouldn't let go of the boy, so I had to bring her," one of the guards answered, "she kept him quiet for the boat ride."

"Ah, the nanny?" Meela's hand came to rest on Aida's cheek and stroked it, almost as though she were a cat, "I hope you won't be a problem. You and the little boy need to be on your best behavior. I don't want to have to break any of his fingers."

She couldn't help herself. She knew she would get punished for it and she knew she would regret it, but the way this woman was touching her and promising to hurt Alex.

"YOU DARE HURT HIM," she spat out, purposefully getting spittle on Meela's face, "I WILL KILL YOU! IF YOU HARM ONE HAIR ON HIS HEAD, I SWEAR I'LL-"

One of the guards shifted her weight and she would have ignored it, except he silenced her rant by swiftly punching her in the gut.

She groaned and would have fallen onto her knees had it not been for them keeping her up.

Meela's 'affectionate' patting turned viciously, and she grabbed Aida's jaw tightly, forcing her to investigate her face.

"Such a shame. You're a pretty little thing," she looked at her guards and nodded her head, "try not to hurt her too much."

The very words Aida had feared. One of the men turned her about and she was forced to look at the other. She tried to fight but was held tight as his hand came out and slapped her once around the face.

She hissed in pain but tried not to cry out. She knew that was what they wanted. Her determination not to make a noise quickly went away when she was punched in the stomach again and this time, the man behind her let go.

She fell to the floor, but barely had time to brace herself before they began to kick at her. They would pause and wait for her as she attempted to retreat into herself, protecting her body from their blows before aiming kicks at her side, back and stomach.

During all this, she heard the door open but would not have paid attention had it not been for the cry of fear.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, GET OFF HER!"

She looked up in horror when she saw that Alex had been brought back in to watch. Along with Imhotep, Baltus Hafez, and Lock-Nah. Both men were looking down at her with sickly pleasure at her torment, but Imhotep wore a mask to conceal his features. Yet, she could tell he enjoyed watching her torture also.

"Alex-" a boot was pressed down against her neck and she gasped and choked for air. Alex was screaming, begging them to stop.

She heard Baltus and Imhotep talk about killing her, but Meela was the one who suggested keeping her alive.

"She'll be fun," she snapped her fingers and the boot was gone from Aida's neck, "and wonderful incentive for you to behave."

Aida wheezed and coughed, her eyes brimming with unshed tears as she looked desperately at Alex. Meela was 'tenderly' stroking his hair and he nodded solemnly, looking like he was ready to cry.

"Alex," she said hoarsely, "don't…don't give up hope."

"Come on. We'll leave her to get some rest," Meela led Alex out with a smile, winking at Aida as she left, "she'll need it."

One by one, everyone left, giving Aida the same, devilish grin. Only Alex looked away and she could see his hope was slowly disappearing.

And as the door shut behind them, she let her own slip away. Finally, able to let out her verbalizations, she cried and wept at the pain searing through her body. But she cried more for Alex. She hadn't been able to keep him safe and worse, she was being used to keep him behaving.

She knew they would keep her separate from him and if they really wanted to, they'd kill her in an instance. They'd kill her and make Alex watch and…she felt hopeless.

She thought of her predicament and sobbed. She thought of her friends and sobbed. And then, she thought of her daughter. Her daughter who she may never see again and whom she'd broken her promise to.

"Amina," she turned her face to the floor and wept, repeating her daughter's name over and over, "Amina…Amina…I'm sorry…Amina!"