Chapter 8
Punishment
The girls had concluded that the only way to continue with their investigation was to trick information out of the girls in the west wing. Most of them went outside to begin immediately. Linkle stayed behind, while Falla planned to join the others after a restroom break.
"Excuse me," Linkle called just before Falla closed the door as she entered the bathroom.
"Well this is a first," she responded, genuinely surprised, "What is it?"
"Um...I just wanted to say thanks...for braiding my hair."
Falla smiled at her, "No problem! That's what best friends are for! ...Right?"
Linkle smiled back at her, "...Right..."
Falla shut the door after offering Linkle to join her outside after she was finished, which the girl accepted. The latter sighed as she waited.
"That's what best friends are for!"
Best friends...but would Falla still feel the same way after learning more about her?
Linkle was snatched from her thoughts by the sound of heavy footsteps. Startled, she turned to her left to see Oliver, the head of the security team at the estate. Both froze upon locking eyes with one another.
"...Hi..." Oliver waved as he stared.
"Hi..." Linkle answered back.
An awkward moment of silence passed by.
"I like your hair," Oliver told her.
Linkle's face lit up. "Thanks!" she said with a smile.
Oliver had only taken a single step towards the girl before Falla emerged from the restroom.
"Hey," she began, "so I was thinking-"
She paused abruptly, following Linkle's eyes to Oliver. She shot him a nasty grimmace before turning back to Linkle.
"Let's go, Linkle."
She took the girl's hand as she walked away, her speed just a notch below a jog.
Oliver watched the two, an irritated frown and a furrowed brow on his round face. It annoyed him that Falla looked at him that way, and even more so that she had taken Linkle away.
"Linkle..." he said to himself.
Falla's hasty retreat brought she and Linkle to the backyard, with the others.
"What's wrong?" Linkle asked Falla once the two were outside.
"Linkle," Falla began, her voice hardened into an uncharacteristic urgency.
"Yeah?"
"Don't talk to that guy anymore."
"...Why?"
"Before I was sold here, he was a guard at the last place I lived. He's a disgusting creep. Trust me, you don't want anything to do with him."
"Okay," Linkle said.
"Hey, you two."
Linkle and Falla turned their attention to Shyla, who was followed by most of the others.
"You haven't seen any of the older girls, have you?"
"No," Falla answered, "Have you?"
"No. There's nobody out here."
"It's unfortunate," Aesha cut in, "but it's not uncommon to not find any of them out here. We'll just have to check back another time."
Meanwhile, in the west wing of the residence...
"A letter came in today from Frederick," James announced to his workers, "He wants to visit and, in his words, 'test the quality of our goods'. He'll be here in two days."
"So what do you want us to do?" asked one of his workers.
"I want you all to make sure you're all on your best behaviors. If we can impress him, it'll go a long way towards fixing this place up. That's why, when he gets here, we have to pick who he spends his time here with for him."
"How are we gonna do that?" asked an employee.
"The way I see it," Charles cut in, "once the greetings are over, we should put on the 'humble' act, then present the girl to her."
"I see," James said, "Which one do we pick?"
"The one with the most positive reviews from the customers. I think her name was 'Morra'?"
"There's our plan." James concluded, "It's very important that we give Frederick the best experience possible. That's it for the meeting."
The next day...
Link stared through the dark, at the opening of the tarp-covered wagon he found himself in.
Earlier that morning, Link was bound by cuffs on his wrists and ankles as soon as he was woken up. He was loaded onto a wagon like cargo without any knowledge of where he was going.
After over an hour, Thomas appeared at the opening of the enclosure.
"Get out," he said.
Link couldn't help but wonder what was about to happen. The possibility that he was about to be sold or traded was the first to cross his mind. Perhaps Thomas had finally given up, and decided to trade him away. He could see when he was taken out of the tarp that he had been taken to a village. He was then situated beside a sort of booth, with Thomas and the Human he remembered as "Franklin" standing behind it.
"So why did we have to come here so early?" Franklin, asked.
"If we're going to advertise," Thomas answered, "we need it to reach as many ears as possible. I wanted us here before too many people leave for work."
"So what am I doing for today?"
Thomas slapped Link on the back of the head, "You'll be helping me keep this guy under control."
Link balled two trembling fists in an attempt to stiffle his anger.
"See what I mean?" Thomas continued, "The brat's out of control. Help me keep an eye on him."
The hours went by, and finally, the villagers began to leave to carry out their day's duties.
"What's this, now?" an older, scruffy, looking man asked as he approached.
"It's a challenge." Thomas answered, "I'm planning an event at the arena a few roads over where I'm gonna be taming a few Elves to advertise my school. But if you can tame this one here, you win...ten-thousand Rupees!"
"Ten-thousand?!" Franklin repeated, "I think I wanna turn, now!"
The older man rubbed his chin, "Ten-thousand you say..."
"Here's the whip you'll be using," Thomas told him as handed the man a whip from behind the booth, "Think you can pull it off?"
The man took the weapon, "Let's see if I still got it."
"Franklin," Thomas directed, "turn him around."
Link watched Franklin grab him by the shoulders with hesitation, the Human avoided his hateful glare.
"Your goal is to make him kiss your foot." Thomas instructed, "Start whenever you're ready."
Barely any time at all had passed before Link felt the bite of the whip on his back.
His face flinched into a frown. But any other hint of pain barely made itself visible.
The old man looked over at Thomas, his eyes wide in surprise, "He's pretty tough, isn't he?"
"That's the challenge." Thomas told him, "This Elf's tougher than any one you've ever seen."
The man chuckled, "We'll see about that."
The man beat Link again with the whip. He took no pause as he lashed him again, and again, and again.
The last lash sent Link to his knees. The old man watched in bewilderment as he rose to stand again.
"Well," he sighed, "it's like they say: a man should know when he's beat." He leaned forward, and placed his hands on his knees as he sighed again, "And boy am I beat!"
"Throwing in the towel?" asked Thomas.
"Yup!" the man panted, "That boy's tougher than well-done steak! Where'd you get 'im?"
"From a preacher in Faron. It's the funniest thing, too. I just happened upon him while shopping for slaves down there." He looked over at Link, "It's almost as if it was destiny."
"And you said you're gonna tame this boy?!"
"Yup!"
"Well, shit! I'd pay to see that!"
A confident smirk spread across Thomas's face, "Tickets are a hundred Rupees each!"
"A hundred Rupees, huh? I'll take two."
By now, Link's entire body was trembling with rage. He wouldn't act on his feelings, though. He swore that he would never submit to his owner, and that was a promise he intended on keeping until the day he drew his last breath. His resolve was strengthened by an iron will. However, the day's events made sure to put that to the test.
Throughout the entire day, passers-by would visit Thomas's booth, and did their best to bend Link's will, whether they whipped him, or beat him barehanded.
"Get up!" Thomas shouted at Link.
The boy fought through the pain bitterly as a trio of Human girls around his age approached him from the crowd that had formed around the booth.
"You're gonna do it?" one asked another.
"Yeah!" the girl confirmed, her giggling imbued with both nervousness and excitement, "I've never done anything like this before!"
"You ladies up for a try?" Thomas called.
"Go on!" the girl's friend urged, shoving her forward.
"Your goal here is to make him kiss your feet." Thomas told the volunteer as he handed her the whip.
"Ooo," one of her friends teased, "I didn't know you were into that kind of thing!"
"Sh-Shut up!" the girl shouted, her face red.
"Start whenever you're ready." Thomas told her.
The girl approached Link hesitantly, whip in hand, and a nervous smile etched on her face.
"Um...um..."
Suddenly, she launched a foot forward, and kicked Link between the legs. The boy went down immediately.
Thomas held in his laughter as his slave hissed from the pain of the low-blow.
Suddenly, Link jumped to his feet, and charged at the girl, announcing his intentions with a wordless scream of rage.
Franklin tackled the boy immediately, followed by several men in the crowd, outraged at Link trying to attack a girl.
Thomas watched on as the group of men stomped and kicked at Link for what he tried to do with a smirk.
This was going even better than he thought it would...
Linkle stared into the restroom mirror, twiddling a braid between her fingers.
"...quiet...but nice, pretty...and has a great best friend!"
What a nice contrast those words were from what she'd been told by the figure in her nightmares. Emotions clashed within her whenever she thought of them. She wanted to believe that she had a friend in Falla, truly, she did. But it would take more than her being "nice and pretty" for her brother to forgive her. She still felt that she had wronged him that day, because she still felt she kept him from escaping. And if he wouldn't forgive her for that, why would Falla?
Linkle shut the door as she re-entered the room. Aesha made sure to remind everyone to do so after an unknown culprit left it open the previous night. The room was lit only by the moonlight that filtered in through the window on the wall opposite the door.
"Hey," Falla greeted as Linkle neared her bed.
"...Hey." she greeted back after a moment of startled quiet.
Falla's head hung low as Linkle submerged herself beneath her sheets. The latter glanced over at her.
"Are you okay?" she asked after some hesitation.
"I'm worried about Epha," Falla said as she lied down, facing Linkle, "I know Aesha said there's nothing to worry about, but...I just have this feeling."
Just then, the door cracked opened.
Both girls froze. No one had left the room at all that night... So who was this coming in?
Falla was the first to see him. His large form moved as quietly as anyone of his size could. The girl's eyes widened a split second, then immediately closed until they were cracked, looking to give off the impression that she was sleep.
Linkle saw this reaction, and it only served to deepen both her curiosity and her tension. Whoever this person was, wasn't a friend of their's. She wanted to know who they were, but not so much that she wouldn't follow Falla's example and keep still.
Oliver crept closer to Linkle's bed, his gaze fixed on the girl as he approached like a predator stalking its prey.
The girl could hear his footsteps stop right behind her, her eyes wide open as his large shadow hung over her, adding to the already thick tension in the air.
Oliver reached down, and moved the blanket covering Linkle, so that her backside was exposed.
Falla opened her eyes slightly, making contact with her friend's as Oliver reached down, and placed his hand on Linkle's thigh. His other hand descended, vanishing behind the body in front of him, opening as if the grab something as the first hand rubbed the girl's leg. Falla could tell by the horrified look on Linkle's face that she had no idea what to do.
"HEY!" she screamed, sitting straight up, "LEAVE HER ALONE!"
Oliver jumped back, startled. He took several panicked glances around him as the other girls began to rouse due to the commotion, and bolted out of the room.
Falla chased him to the door, and watched as he fled into the foyer.
"What's going on?!" asked Aesha as she squinted into the darkness.
"That fat guy from security was in here!" Falla told her.
"What was he doing?" one girl asked.
"Being a pervert!"
"Everyone, calm down for a second!" Aesha called to her peers. She turned to look at Linkle, who, by now, was wrapped up to her neck in her blanket and curled into a ball as she sat in her bed. "Are you okay?" Aesha called to her.
"Yeah..." Linkle murmured.
"Alright... Falla. What happened?"
"That guy from security was here, and he was messing with Linkle!"
"...Well, what do we do?" asked Shyla after some moments of quiet.
Aesha thought to herself. "We should tell our caregivers tomorrow morning... I'm not sure what else to do..."
Most of the girls went back to sleep for the night. Linkle refused to so much as lie down, with Falla deciding to stay up with her, looking to make her feel better however she could, even if she was just keeping her company.
The morning came, and Falla made absolutely sure to tell the caregivers about what Oliver did the previous night. Immediately, they went to tell James what they were told. Wasting no time, James sent one of his employees to retreive him.
"You called for me?" Oliver asked, shutting the door behind him.
In the room, James's room, were James, his advisor Charles, and another employee.
"Yes," James answered seated on the side of his bed, "I heard from one of the caregivers in the east wing that you were bothering one of the girls there."
"...Yes." Oliver nodded hesitantly.
James sighed, "Look, I know you have urges. We all do. And I'm not angry at you for having them." James rose to his feet, "But do you know what we're doing here? This isn't just any old brothel, this is a project. I'm trying to get this estate back into working shape, not just for me, but for the family I had, who died working to earn enough money to get buy this estate back. Everything...everything hinges on those girls." James grabbed onto to Oliver's shoulders and squeezed as his temper came to a boil, "And you would put that at risk because you can't show any damned self-control?!"
"James!" Charles called, placing a calming hand on his shoulder, "Calm down. Frederick's supposed to be arriving today, and we've got to be there to greet him."
James released his head of security, "You're right," he said, "you're right... Oliver."
The large man, who had shrunk to half his size over his reprimanding, flinched at the lingering malice on the mention of his name.
"From now on," James said to him, "you can do whatever you want in your free time. But when you're here...I need you to show some restraint, and do your damn job. You may leave."
James's employee, who had been silent throughout this meeting, watched Oliver leave the room, and, again, shut the door behind him.
"Those girls in the east wing are like, fourteen, right? What kinda weirdo-"
"Let's not focus on that right now," Charles interrupted him, "we're expecting company."
"I'm just saying, having a guy like that around just seems counter-productive. Aren't we supposed to be making sure the girls are in good spirits?"
"We can't just fire him," James explained, "His father's the one who owns the security firm he's apart of. Firing him right now will just cause us more problems. It'll have to wait."
On the other side of the door, meanwhile, Oliver stood, his fists balled in a fit of silent rage.
How dare James speak him that way? As if he were a child?
It was all that girl's fault. The pipsqueak. She was the one who had taken Linkle away from him a few days ago as well. He sighed. There was nothing to do at this point other than follow his orders...for now. He still had another way to get what he was after. But for now...he needed to play it safe.
About an hour or so later, all the girls in the east wing had finally woken up, and discussion began on another planned attempt at tricking information out of the girls in the west wing.
"Hey," Falla called to the other others as she peered out of the window, "Isn't that James?"
A few of the girls joined their younger roommate at the window. Outside, James and a group of other Humans stood outside as a horse-drawn carriage entered through the front gate.
"That's strange," Aesha mused, "James never greets visitors outside..."
"So what do you think?" a girl asked.
"I'm not sure. We're not allowed out of this side of the house, so we can't go and eavesdrop."
"What about the back?" asked Falla, "We have free reign back there."
"Yeah... We can go out and see if anything's changed out there. Maybe we can get some information by listening to the guards."
Meanwhile, James and a group of his employees watched on as Frederick's carriage came to a complete halt. "Welcome!" he told the older, heavy-set man as he emerged.
Frederick glanced around at the buildings immediately surrounding them. "I guess it's true you just got started," he said.
"Yes," James nodded, "My primary goal here is to gather enough money to get this place back into working shape."
Frederick took another glance around the place, "I see, I see. Well, I'll have to test the quality of your 'goods' before I can decide to put money into this thing."
The group made their way inside. From the foyer, they made their way west, into a hall that, from where they stood, extended south a couple of yards, and north, where the hall turned east. In the center of the hall's total length was the door to the west wing. The room they made their way to was in a section of the hall that lied behind the stairwell - it was where customers were brought to, before they were to select which girl they wanted to spend their time with.
"However," James continued amidst his flattering of his guest, "I know a man like you wants nothing but the best. So we've chosen our best for you." James turned to an employee who stood by the door behind he and Frederick, motioning to go and retrieve Morra. Frederick watched the girl as she entered the room.
"Where are the others?"
James paused, "Er-...they're in their rooms."
"Bring them here."
"...Yes," James said as his employees exchanged glances, "of course." He turned to look at them, "Bring the others here."
The ages of the girls in the west wing at this point ranged from sixteen to about eighteen. By now, all of them, aside from Epha, had some form of experience in their work, though, aside from a few, none of them took any lasting pleasure from their tasks. One of the exceptions was Morra, which was why she was as popular as she was with the loyal customers.
With the exception of Epha, the girls were round up, and brought to the room, and lined up for Frederick to see.
"These are all the girls we have available," James explained.
Frederick began to pace, his eyes locking squarely on each girl he walked by, where his eyes would then roam intently. The girls he passed would either look him in the eye, or stare forward. That was when, halfway down the line, one girl met eyes with him, and immediately dropped her gaze to the floor.
Frederick smirked.
"This one."
James looked over at the girl as her eyes widened when they met Frederick's a second time. "Greet him."
"Er-, good evening sir! I mean, morning! M-My name's Rinea, and-, um..."
"She's still new to this," James told Frederick.
"Good," he said, his eyes still locked on her, "I prefer it that way."
The day was wasted - for the second day in a row now, not a single girl from the opposite wing was to be seen outside. There were even fewer guards abound.
"Is that carriage still outside?" asked Shyla.
"Yeah," a girl at the window answered as she shield her eyes from the late-afternoon sun. She looked over at Falla to her right. The girl was seated upward on her bed, her face stricken with worry. "What's wrong with you?" she asked.
"I'm scared," the little girl said, "What if that man being here has something to do with Epha?"
"...It's possible..." Aesha said, "I mean, with the timing of his visit, it'd make sense if he was here for her."
"So, what," Shyla spoke, "is James gonna sell her?"
"You said this could be some kind of breeding farm," one girl told Aesha, "What if Epha's supposed to have his baby?"
"I doubt that," the girl answered, "I don't think we can procreate with Humans, so there'd be no point. Besides, we can't ignore the possibility that this is all coincidence."
Falla lowered her head. She wasn't at all satisfied with that response.
"All we can do," Aesha continued, "is wait until tomorrow to see if any of the other girls are outside. And who knows? Maybe with that guy visiting, it'll be easier to get information from them."
The night came and went. And from what the girls could see, nothing had changed that would get them closer to any real progress. And as far as some of them were concerned, nothing was going to. One of those girls was Falla, who decided that whatever was happening was being intentionally kept from she and her peers. She felt that Aesha was being completely ignorant of the situation, and without her guidance, she knew that none of the other girls would be willing to take their efforts any further than what they were doing.
She needed to take matters into her own hands.
"Where are you going?" Aesha asked, startling her.
"I'm going to the bathroom." Falla lied as she stared through the open doorway into the hall.
"Remember to wipe your bottom until you don't see-"
Falla's voice lowered to a whisper, "Okay, Aesha! Geez!"
Upon leaving the room, the girl snuck her way toward the eastern hall of the foyer, where the entrance to the east wing was located.
The foyer...she hadn't been there since she was brought to that place... Remembering the layout was beyond her. The hall in which she emerged extended to both her left and right, with the entryway into the foyer's main body right in front of her. Upon approach, she scanned as much of the open space as she could from her vantage point.
No one was present...
This had to be because of the stranger's visit. The fact that will was very early in the morning helped as well. She emerged from the hall, and moved across the foyer as quickly and as quietly as possible.
But little did she know...she had already been spotted...
The security had been given the task of guarding the perimeter of the estate. Given Frederick's status as, not only a wealthy man, but an acquaintance of one of the Saints of Dragmire, it would makes sense that he would be a target for any opportunists roaming the countryside, who may have followed the man to his destination. Oliver had been given the task of assigning duties. In doing so, he had placed most of the security outside...
...and placed himself inside...
Oliver watched from behind a guardrail in one of the second floor halls as Falla rushed across the first, toward the west hall.
He smirked.
Of course, he could catch the girl now, and send her back to her room... But he was interested in what the girl was looking for in the west wing... He decided to tail her.
"Have you heard from Frederick?" James asked an employee.
"No. He's still in his room with Rinea."
James let out a sigh of impatient anticipation before his employee continued.
"So when did we start letting our customers spend the night?" he asked.
"I never thought anyone would," James admitted, "I can't really say I have a problem with it, though. I just want to know whether he'll be supporting us or not."
Meanwhile...
Frederick looked out the window at the rising sun. "Well," he spoke to Rinea, the girl he had chosen, as he rolled towards her in his assigned bed, "it's nearing time for me to go." He reached around the the girl, who's back was facing him, and placed a hand on her chest, where he squeezed and pinched, "You acted shy at first, but you certainly grew more enthusiastic once we got started."
Rinea shut her eyes in shame as Frederick continued.
"I'll definitely be coming back," he whispered near her ear, "And I might just ask for you again." He pulled his head away, though his hand continued to roam. "Look at me."
Rinea rolled onto her back, her head turning completely towards Frederick.
"Such a pretty face..." he said as he ran a hand up her cheek. His perverted smile widened as an idea sprung forth. "There's one more thing I want you to do." he said, "Think of it as a 'farewell gift'."
Falla had done it. She had finally entered the west wing. As far as appearance, everything was identical to that of the opposite wing, down to the design on the blue rug that stretched down the hall along the floor.
The only question now was...what next?
As Falla and her friends knew, the mansion had two floors. Considering the west wing was identical to the east wing in appearance, it would make sense that the girls on this side stayed in a room on the first floor as well. Which would mean James - and more importantly, the visitor from yesterday - were on the second floor.
Several times, the girls had concluded that those in the west wing were likely told to not tell them what they did for work. If Falla wanted to learn more about it herself, her chances would be better on the second floor, as Epha would probably not tell her anything.
On the other hand...
Should Falla continue on the first floor? If she did that, she could see Epha, verify her condition, and ease all of her nagging concerns of her well-being...
"All I'm saying..."
Falla froze. The voice came from the far end of the hall, possibly from the stairwell.
Two of James's workers emerged from around the corner.
"...is that maybe the queen had already been sleeping with him to pay him back for letting her live all those years ago. Why else would he let the princess-"
"Wait."
The two men stopped.
"What?"
"That door on the far end of the hall...I think I saw it move."
"You're probably seeing things. You should get more sleep."
"...I'll go check just in case."
Falla took a glance around the empty room she had sealed herself in. The second she heard approaching footsteps, her hand flew to her mouth, hoping to quiet even her quickening breaths.
"AAAAGH!"
The two men rushed away upon hearing the scream, allowing Falla to breath a sigh of relief.
What was that? she wondered. It was a man's scream, so it clearly wasn't Epha. It was then when she decided...though it'd be risky...she'd head to the second floor.
James rushed through the hall toward Frederick's room, from where the man emerged, hunched over as he limped, his hand grasping at his crotch area.
"That little bitch bit me!" he told James.
"What?!"
James looked past Frederick, into the room at Rinea, who stared back at him in shock with her hands over her mouth as she sat on the floor by the bed.
"Sir!" he called, chasing after Frederick, "Wait!"
"I'm never coming back!" Frederick shouted, "Not when you have girls who can't even satisfy a man right!"
"Wait!" James called again.
Due to the commotion, Falla was unable to so much as leave the room she had taken shelter in, let alone ascend to the second floor. It was unfortunate, but it looked as though she was going to be spending more time in the west wing then she had planned. She let out a sigh in an attempt to ease her encroaching anxiety, and then pressed her ear against the door and listened for any sound, hoping to assess the situation from there.
Yelling...it sounded distant, but it was definitely the sound of yelling she was hearing. She cracked the door, hoping to ascertain just how far away the sound was.
Down the hall...
Falla poked her head out of the door, sparing a glance in either direction to ensure she was alone. She proceeded down the hall, away from the door that lead to the foyer's western hall.
"Do you understand what you just did?!" she heard James yelling.
"I'm sorry!" a girl's voice responded, "I wasn't expecting him to make me swa-"
"I'm ruined! RUINED! AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
A period of silence...
"You're going to pay for this..."
Falla could hear several horrified shrieks ring out through the hall. They came from a cracked door further down still. She quickened her pace.
"PLEASE!" the girl sobbed, "PLEASE DO-"
BANG!
By now, Falla was looking through the small opening of the door. She had just seen James shoot the girl. Dead.
The other girls in the room all screamed, and scurried away, most of them retreating into a corner in the far side of the room, others hiding beneath their sheets, or their beds. The second the girl's body hit the floor, Falla bolted toward the door to the foyer, not even giving herself a moment to consider what she had seen. After hiding in one of the empty rooms for a little longer, she managed to make her way back into the east wing, running the rest of the way the second she thought she was in the clear.
"Where've you been?" Shyla asked as Falla burst into the room.
Just as soon as the girl entered, however, she dropped to her hands and knees in the center of the room, where she melted into a puddle tears and sobs.
"What's wrong?!" she was asked as a number of the other girls rushed to her side. Falla moved to open her mouth, but all she could muster was a mess of wimpering jargon.
"Guys!" Aesha called from her bed, "Giver her some space!"
Linkle watched on in shock as the girl who had given her strength just a few days before, now showed weakness herself.
"I saw-..." Falla sobbed, "I went to the other side of the building *sob*, and-"
"You what?."
"Shh!" Aesha cut in, "Let her talk!"
Falla continued, her voice still trembling, "I went there to see Epha...but then I saw James shoot one of the girls over there."
"...Was it Epha?" one girl asked.
Falla sniffled, "No, it wasn't her. It was someone else."
"Did you see Epha?"
"No..."
"Do you know why he did it?" Aesha asked.
"No... I heard yelling, so I went to see what was going on. That's when I saw him shoot her..."
"Did you hear what they were saying?"
Falla sniffed again, "I heard James say that he was 'ruined'...and that the girl had done something wrong."
The room fell into a contemplative silence. What exactly did this girl do that warranted her being killed?
"What do you think 'ruined' means?" one girl asked.
The continued silence was the answer to that question.
"It'd be easier to guess if only we knew all of what goes on here." Aesha said, "All we can really say is that maybe the girl did something that would effect the way money's made here."
"Money?"
"Well, yeah. If they're working on the other side of the building, then there's gotta be some type of business being ran here."
"Then I guess we won't have to worry too much." said Shyla, "If that girl really messed up as badly as you're saying, it should effect us, too, eventually, right?"
"Right..." Aesha agreed, "But question then is what'll happen to us when the time comes..."
"If there's no more money to be made here," one girl suggested, "wouldn't they sell us?"
The idea brought the conversation to a sudden halt. The girl was right - if James had no more money left to keep things up and running, the first thing he would do is sell them all, and start over. And since they weren't being used for work like the girls in the west wing, they would be the first to go. Which means...
"Does that mean we'll go back to being slaves?" one girl asked, her voice trembling at her own question.
"Most likely," Aesha admitted.
Linkle watched on, seated on the edge of her bed as the other girls continued. The idea of going back to a life of slavery was none too enticing, but perhaps it was the life she deserved.
Yes, she decided as her thoughts began to snowball, after what she did to her brother all those years ago, she deserved everything such a life would bring to her. All the horrid conditions, all the beatings...
But what about her friends?
"Friends"? What friends? These people would hate her if they knew what she did. They probably hate her now. Who wouldn't?
"A girl who's quiet...but nice, pretty...and has an awesome best friend!"
That was what Falla told her days ago. If she had truly hated her, would she have told her that? And what about the other girls? They gave her such positive reinforcements, just like Falla.
These people were her friends. Or at least they wanted to be. The only one stopping them... Was her...
James's rash decision threw the estate into pure chaos. Most of the security from all around the building rushed to where the sound of gunfire rang from, and the caregivers all rushed to ensure the safety of the children they were assigned to take care of. As for James himself, however, in an attempt to calm himself down, he went to his room and sat himself down on his bed.
"James!" Charles called as he came through the door, "What were you thinking?!"
"Charles," James sighed, "let me think! I-I need to think!"
"You should have did that before you decided to shoot that girl! What are we gonna do now?! We're supposed to keep the girls' morale high, but-"
"I know! I know!" James lowered his head into his hands, "Just-... Just give me-"
*knock, knock*
James and Charles both looked over at the door, where Oliver stood, his balled hand still inches away from the door he knocked on.
"What is it?" Charles asked.
"I have something to report," Oliver said, "I came over to this side of the building when I heard gunshots, but when I got here, I caught one of the girls from the east wing in the hallway."
"You what?!" James shouted, raising his head.
"I sent her back to her room," Oliver continued, hiding his scheming smirk, "I didn't think you would have wanted me near the east wing, so I only led her to the door leading there."
James rose to his feet, "Which one was it?!"
Linkle let out a sigh to ease her nerves. She had followed Falla out to the flower garden in the backyard, looking to talk to her in private. However, said nerves were getting the better of her. In her slow approach, she could see Falla twiddling a plucked flower in between her fingers.
"Excuse me," she called.
Falla turned to look at her. She decided not to address the way Linkle greeted she and the others for now. "What?" she asked.
"Um...I wanted to know if you were okay..."
Falla turned away for a moment to wipe away any residue from her breakdown earlier. When she turned completely to face Linkle, she wore a hollow smile. "Sure," she lied, "I'm still a bit shaken up, but I'll get by."
Linkle broke eye contact as she rubbed on her arm. "Well...I know what it's like to see something like that..."
Shock at what she heard enlarged Falla's eyes. "You do?" she asked before Linkle could continue.
Linkle nodded.
"D'you wanna talk about it?"
Linkle took a deep breath before she spoke - she had never spoken outwardly about the topic before. "It was my mom."
"...That's terrible... I couldn't imagine something like that happening to someone that close to you..."
Linkle nodded again, her eyes still shying away from meeting Falla's.
"...What about you?" Falla asked, "Are you okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... I appreciate you coming out here - especially since it's you - but it feels like you're forcing yourself. Is something the matter?"
Linkle glanced away again, "Well...uh..." She took a deep breath, "Do you hate me?"
The question seemed to snatch Falla from her previous worries. To her, it seemed beyond odd. "Of course not! Why would I?"
"...Um...I just thought you did is all."
"Linkle-...no, I don't hate you. None of us do. Is...that why you've been so quiet this whole time?"
Linkle nodded, "I'm...not a very good person... Even if you guys didn't hate me, I know you would if you ever got to know me. When you did my hair...and when you and everyone else told me how pretty I was...it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me, and-...it felt like I didn't deserve any of it..."
"...Well, like I said none of us hate you. As far as I'm concerned, I consider you a friend. And even if I didn't... Do you remember when I told you about my friend from before I was brought here? Nima?"
"Yeah..."
"You look just like her. You did even before I braided your hair. I'm actually surprised the two of you aren't related. When I see you, I think of her... So I couldn't bring myself to hate you." Falla continued after a moment of silence, "You said you were a bad person... You haven't done anything here that would make anyone think that, so it must have something to do with the place you lived at before you were brought here, right?"
Linkle felt her blood go cold. "Yeah..." she answered hesitantly.
"Well," Falla said, forcing a smile, "don't worry about it! We all have things we don't want other people to know." She lowered her head.
"We all do..."
She let out a sigh before she continued, "I don't care about what you did before, I care about who you are now. I told you before: you're quiet, but nice, pretty," she winked at Linkle, "and you have an awesome best friend!"
Flat out denial was all that was etched across Linkle's face. For nearly two years, she had thought herself to be so reprehensible an individual that no one would ever love her. To have someone so vehemently assert otherwise, and treat her with such kindness that she hadn't felt since the days of her mother was more than she could handle.
Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around Falla.
"Thank you!" she sobbed, "Thank yo-"
Falla shoved her away, sending the girl onto her rear. Linkle stared in shock into eyes that seemed terrified.
"Linkle!" Aesha suddenly called, startling the two.
"Are you okay?" she asked as she helped the girl to her feet.
"Yeah..." Linkle nodded.
Falla watched on as Aesha helped the girl up, her eyes filled with horror at the realization of what she had just done.
"Wait!" Aesha called to her, stopping her right as she dashed for the rear door of the building. Aesha turned to look at Linkle, "I was listening to you two. Falla's right, Linkle. None of us hate you. We all want to be your friend! Just like how you have things you don't wanna talk about, Falla does too." She turned to face the girl in question, "Right, Falla?"
Falla turned her head to look at the girls, "Right... Linkle...sorry I pushed you... I...just don't like for people to hug me..."
"She did the same thing to Epha a long time ago." Aesha explained, "It's not just you." the girl went over to Falla, and led her by the hand back to Linkle, "See?" she told the latter, "We can all be friends! Let's go back inside - it's almost time for dinner."
The three proceeded toward the back door, only to be stopped in their tracks by the sight of James, who bared their path as he shut said door behind him.
"You!" he shouted, a menacing finger pointed at Falla as he approached the girls, "What were you doing in the west wing?!"
Linkle and Aesha both peered over at the wide-eyed girl in question. Falla's mouth was ajar, but fear kept any words from passing through her lips.
"ANSWER ME!" James shouted. Falla stared up at the man, her body shaking like a leaf as he drew even closer. The image of him shooting the girl from the other side of the building dead played in her mind over and over.
"You were eavesdropping, weren't you?" James continued.
"NO!" Falla finally answered, the accusation having snatched her from her episode.
"Yes you were..." James's paranoid gaze moved to Linkle and Aesha "And you were in the middle of telling them about what you saw, weren't you?"
"That's not what we were talking about!" Aesha cut in.
"Shut up!" James snapped at her. He looked at Falla, "Come with me."
Falla froze, "But-..."
"I SAID COME WITH ME!"
James grabbed the girl by the front of her tunic.
"No!" Falla protested, "WAIT!"
"This is bad," Aesha said as her friend was dragged away. She turned to Linkle, "We've gotta tell the others!"
It had been hours since nighttime had fallen, but the girls still had yet to hear anything from Falla. Aesha and Linkle went to their friends in a panic, making sure to tell them about Falla's absence. Though it was quickly decided that there was nothing they could do, the decision did little to ease their worries over their friend.
Linkle hugged her knees as she hid under her blanket. She was little more than a pitiful pile under her sheets, one would surely say.
How did it come to this? Their lives had been nothing short of pleasant until recently, when Epha was taken from them, replaced by fear of the unknown; fear over her fate. And now this...
Why didn't she do anything? Why didn't she try to stop Falla from being carried off? She sighed, burying her face deeper into her forearms.
This was just like her life at her previous home, with her br-...
Her brother...
She did nothing to help him... She was never there for him... And even now, years later, she couldn't even be there for her friend... Surely now she hated her...just like her brother did...
The sound of an opening door caught her attention.
"FALLA!"
Linkle nearly threw her blanket from her bed as she emerged from underneath her sheet. From where she was, she could see the girl being led towards the moonlight that poured in through the window, surrounded by the bustling of her friends that died down the closer she came the light. It was then, when the light illuminated her features, when the room fell into dead silence...
Falla stared at the floor, one of her eyes bruised and swelled halfway shut, and the other bereft of the spark of her energetic personality. Her tunic was tattered and torn, and her arms and legs her discolored by numerous bruises that could also be seen on her face. What caught the girls' attention the most was the dried blood beneath her nose and mouth.
The silence continued; none of the girls could conjure a word in response to what they were seeing.
"Here," Aesha barely spoke, "let's get you some rest..." She grabbed Falla's hand to find that it was shaking. "...What is it?" Aesha asked with slight hesitation.
Falla said nothing, but her face was twisted in such a way that it may have been intended to speak for her. Her lip began to quiver as tears emerged from her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Aesha urged.
Slowly, as if still considering the action as it was being done, Falla opened her mouth. It was then when they saw...
Her tongue was gone...
Malon sat against the apple tree, her basket in her lap, as she admired the weather. She glanced upward, toward the sun, and smiled.
What a lovely day.
As the hours passed, though, the day grew darker, clouds filling the skyward gorge as they worked to remove all visual traces of the sun.
Good thing I brought my umbrella, Malon thought to herself.
Along with a visual bleakness, however, the clouds brought with them a familiar sight.
Malon's eyes widened with delight when she saw him. Though there were days like the previous when he withheld a visit, they were far and few in between - he had never been absent for so many day in a row. To deny that she missed him would be an outright lie. She rose to her feet, tearing her eyes off him to open her umbrella to shield from the gradual downpour of rain. When she looked at him again, he was a fair bit closer. And that's when she saw...
Link limped towards her, wearing a mask of intense pain adorned by bruises of varying shades. Blood stained his tan-colored tunic wherever tears and holes weren't prevalent.
The boy looked hurt; he looked as if even his slow approach was a taxing endeavor. He fell forward, landing face first onto the moistening ground beneath.
"LINK!" Malon shouted. She dropped her umbrella, and abandoned her basket as she began a full-speed run towards her friend in the midst of the now hammering shower.
The boy rose to a hunched position on his feet before his base gave way again. Malon lowered to her knees mid-sprint to catch him as he fell forward, getting mud on her skirt all the while.
"Are you okay?!" she asked him. As she placed her hands over each row of Link's ribs, she could feel how labored his breathing was.
The sound of heavy rain filled the scarce space between the two before Link spoke.
"Can you do something for me?"
Malon's heart fluttered to duel with the encroaching feeling of dread. Link had never asked her for anything before.
"Of course!" she told him. His pained grunt wounded her heart as he pulled himself a few inches away and looked her in the eye.
"...Kill me..."
To be Continued!