BIRD CAGE
by: Sasuga Riko
WARNING
This story contains character death/s, sexual themes, graphic violence, swearing, trigger themes and psychological themes.
Please read at your own discretion
SYNOPSIS
After the Kozmotis Royalty took over the Kingdom of Northuldra, their beloved first princess, Elsa Ameline di Arendelle is exiled and is sold to the King's loyal vassal, Viscount Hans Westergard. She sends letters to her married younger sister in hopes to ask for help to free her from the controlling and abusive hands of her buyer. But her letters are never sent.
When Anna decides to visit her older sister, she was met with a horrifying truth. Elsa had been living a life far from what she had told her in her letters. She saves her older sister but the damage had been done—Elsa no longer spoke and was only a shell of what she used to be. Despaired over her sister's condition, Anna does everything in her power to cure her. But despite her sister's slow but healthy recovery, she still refused to speak to anybody except the esteemed and well-respected Duke of the Empire, Jackson Overland.
Anna, delighted with her sister's improvement, begs the Duke to help with her sister's recovery. The bruised and battered, most vulnerable part of Elsa only speaks to no one but him. And the Duke enjoys her company and starts to think more about her. But the Duke is to be wed in six months. And now he is forced to choose between leaving her for his duty as a fiancé, or doing whatever it takes to protect and heal her broken version.
This story is set in middle times (although not accurate) but with a fantastical twist. Time in this story flows differently, thus the pacing will be fast.
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FIRST CHAPTER
"She's only a Shell"
29 Juno, 391
North Pacifica, Southern Isles
Viscount Westergard Mansion
Letter from Lady Elsa to Madam Bjorgman
Dearest Anna,
I am writing this letter to you in hopes to ask for your help. I can no longer stand his cruelty. I am scared of him. He does not permit me to go anywhere except my room and the garden. He visits my chambers whenever he pleases and he raises his hands to abuses me in front of the maids, but none of them say anything. He is the Lord of the house and I am nothing more than just a mere exiled princess, sold to a lowly Viscount household.
I am aware of where I stand in this house. I have no authority nor do I have the power to save myself from this terrifying nightmare. I fear that I may not be able to see you when you get married to your fiancé. Although it pains me to say that I might not have a lot of time left. This man keeps me confined in my room and monitors my every move. He does not trust me even if I become submissive to him. My letters will be checked before they are sent, so I am sending this to you secretly using outside power.
Please help me my dear sister. I do not wish to die from the hands of this man.
Best Regards,
Elsa
The gentle breeze weaved its way into the corridor of the Bjorgman Estate. But despite the beauty of the day, the atmosphere in the East Wing of the Estate was glum. There was no sound to be heard, not even a chirp of a blue bird. The servants remained silent and walked carefully, making sure they don't bother the woman cherished by the madam of the mansion.
"Is she in there?" A woman with strawberry blonde hair and soft blue eyes asked the butler in a low voice.
"Yes, madam."
The woman's heart twisted as she looked at the white door with uncertainty. She reached out to push the door open but her hand hovered over the doorknob. It seems like she is still unready to see her sister. She gave the butler a sideward glance and he nodded as if telling her there was nothing to be worried about.
She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her beating heart down and pushed the door open. In the far end of the room, just near the big window, sat a woman whose beauty was that of a doll's. She had straight platinum blonde hair that draped on her shoulder and the same soft blue eyes; only hers were more distant and unfocused.
Her white dress hugged her petit body making it known that this woman was frail and can be easily hurt. She looked like she was staring at something outside the window, but nobody ever knew what exactly she was looking at.
"Elsa, I'm here," she tried but the woman did not respond.
Honeymaren, the maid who had been taking care of the woman, looked at the heart wrenching reunion with tears threatening to fall form her eyes. Her mistress, Lady Elsa Arendelle, has been like this ever since she arrived into the Marquis' Estate. She did not speak nor interact with anybody else. The lady was void of any emotions and for most of the day; she only sits beside the window, gazing outside blankly without moving. The only activities she engages with are reading and embroidery.
It was painful seeing the beautiful lady be reduced to this. The servants of the house were taught not to ask questions about what Lady Elsa had been through for her to stop speaking completely. The Madam of the house, Lady Elsa's younger sister, Madam Anna, specifically instructed not to let anybody ask anything regarding her mistress. But in the servant's chambers, questions and speculations brewed ever so quietly as they attempt to figure out what had happened to the fairy-like woman.
Anna slowly approached her elder sister and gazed at her with an expression full of pain. She reached for her sister's hand and squeezed it gently. This very small gesture gave her a reaction from her sister. Elsa turned her head and stared at her with empty eyes; and Anna's heart clenched.
The bastard who did this to her sister—he shall pay with his life.
"Have you eaten yet, sister?" Anna asked, slightly hoping to get any answer from her. But it had only been a month since Elsa was retrieved from that terrifying hell house she was placed into.
Anna remembered it very clearly.
The sight of her sister lying unconscious in her husband's arms, her body filled with fresh wounds and bruises, and the smell of burnt wood mixed with flesh filled the air made her feel uncomfortable.
She wondered what had happened in that house for Elsa to be like this.
Anna's face contorted as she tried her best to hold back her tears. It was difficult looking at her sister's emotionless state. It felt like the brightest parts of her older sister disappeared and only a mere shell remained.
The house physician stood beside her sister's maid, watching the sad one-sided interaction beside the two sisters. Anna beckoned for him to come closer and asked how her sister was faring.
"Her ladyship's physical status has been quickly improving, however, I cannot say the same for her mental state."
Anna's heart dropped.
Was her sister's condition so serious that not even their best physician could cure it? Since they were children, Elsa had been the strongest person she ever knew. But seeing her sister in such a vulnerable state, unspeaking and unfocused made her heart throb with pain and anger. Pain because she would never get to hear her sister's voice and anger because of the bastard who took her sister away from her.
"We will just have to wait and see if she does recover." He continued. "For now, I advise you to give her some sunlight and some occasional walks in the garden if possible."
Anna whipped her head toward the physician and glared at him. Everybody knew how much Elsa disliked going outside. The last time they took her out for a walk, she had difficulty in breathing and collapsed. She ended up unconscious for three more days and that made Anna worried for her sister's life.
"I'm pretty sure I told everybody in this mansion never to mention the outside to my sister." She warned.
The physician bowed his head. "Yes, I am truly sorry Madam."
Anna gazed at her unfazed sister once again and held her hand. "But it would be beneficial for Lady Elsa if she has walks once in a while."
"Get out."
"But Madam—"
Anna turned her attention to the physician and frowned. "I said get out." Her voice was low, almost like a whisper but there was authority behind it. The people in the mansion know how much their Mistress cherishes her sister and they know that it would be very bad if you were to anger her.
Anna scowled. "Get him out of here. He's disturbing my sister's rest."
The butler walked inside the room and tapped the Physician's shoulder to escort him outside. Anna caressed her sister's soft hair and felt her heart tighten a bit more. She felt guilty for her sister's experience. It felt like it was her fault for leaving her sister alone. She felt like it was her responsibility for making her sister live in that nightmare.
But more than everything, she wanted to castrate and execute the bastard who abused her sister.
"I have escorted the Physician outside. What do you want me to do with him, Madam?" the butler asked in a respectful tone.
Anna gazed at her sister's unsuspecting self and sighed. "Give him his pay and tell him he is no longer needed."
"Understood, Madam. Anything else?"
"Find a new Physician. If possible, bring the best in the empire. I don't want quacks who cannot heal my sister."
The butler hesitated for a moment and shifted his attention to Lady Elsa. "Understood, madam."