Chapter 16: A Second Encounter with the Beast

Well, it had been quite expected, but all the same, as I turned around to face one of the few men I truly feared with all my heart, I couldn't help but to be a bit surprised, "Hello, my dear," he whispered, steadily approaching me, and then seizing me by the arm once again, and twisting it, until he was satisfied with my cry of pain, "Missed me?" he asked, intensifying the twist, and then dropping my arm to let it dangle, "I can't believe that you honestly thought that you could escape me," he hissed. It was nearing dawn; I could see the light of the sun through the trees… I probably won't live to see another day, I thought, frightened, "I must say that the girls in modern times are much more-- foolish than they were when I was a youth," he brought his lips close to me-- nearly kissing me, but I was able to back away just in time, only catching the pungent odor that I quickly recognized.

His breath smelt strongly of the whiskey he had been drinking, and there was a wild mad look in his eyes that filled me with utter dread-- they hungered for me, and he knew that I sensed this, "I bet you thought you were awful clever," he whispered, knocking the ax I held from out of my hands, and onto the damp ground, "They always do, after all," and then, to my surprise, he threw me down onto the ground beside the axe, pinning me down with his weight.

"Why don't you leave me the fuck alone?" I hissed through my teeth as my vision swam before my eyes dotted with small, painful stars, "I've done nothing to you that you didn't deserve. I had to get away from you because you're a threat to me and my baby."

"Baby?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"Yes, I'm pregnant. And, if you jeopardize its life--"

"You needn't worry about its life, Beatrice. It can't feel-- it can't see-- I'd worry more about myself if I were you. Only you will feel the pain today."

"Get the fuck off of me, and leave me be."

He laughed, "Begging will get you nowhere, Beatrice… You should know that by now. You're old enough to know that, aren't you?" and I began to scream, as I felt his hands slide up my back, and begin to unzip the back of the strange shirt I had been given by REHtoMna, "Please," I begged, now completely frightened of the agonizing pain that was clearly ahead, "Don't do this… Don't do this…"

I shivered, gently, feeling my bare exposed back in the cold air; goose bumps immediately formed, and I knew that the worse had not yet passed. I continued to scream as he continued to laugh at my fright; I had read about rape-- seen it in film and on television, but it couldn't happen-- it simply couldn't happen to me. I wouldn't let it. I wouldn't let it damage my life. I wouldn't let it cause me more grief than I already felt, "Please get away from me," I whispered, as he continued to tear at my shirt, until he had successfully gotten it off of me, "You don't want to do this to me-- You do not want to do this to me…"

"That's where you're wrong, Beatrice. I do want to do this to you, and I will do this to you. I am of Royal Blood, and I always get what I want-- I want to make you hurt. I want to make you scream-- just like all the others."

"So, this is what you do to people…? This is what you honestly enjoy, you sick bastard?"

He didn't respond, but instead continued with his story as if he had not heard me speak, "That girl-- Jesse, was that it? Not the prettiest thing-- not you, of course… It was easy to persuade her to get her to help me find you again-- not that I didn't know where you were, but as I'm sure you've noticed, I'm not the quickest man alive, and I needed assistance in that department. She told me that she had sworn to that bitch, Elaine that she wouldn't betray you, but after I promised her the heavy gold ring on my finger, after having slept with her to seal the deal, she promised me that if I trailed behind her, she would have caught up with you in a few hours or so, and would hold you up in one spot so that I could take you as soon as she left."

"I see that you and that backstabbing bitch, Jessica are more or less the same… It figures that she could be so easily swayed by her own greed."

"Stop talking, you fucking whore… And stop squirming-- I promise I'll make it a little easier if you don't struggle as much-- maybe it won't hurt as much."

"I doubt that my struggling has anything to do with it… I won't let you do this to me. I won't…"

"Why?" he asked, leering at me, "Will you tell her? Will you tell my featherbrained aunts what I've done to you…? I don't think they'd believe you-- I don't think they'd want to believe you, Beatrice-- do you think that--"

"Get off of me, and let me go. I won't tell anyone. I swear to--"

"Do you think I'd fall for that, Beatrice? I'm not that naïve. I'm going to fuck you, and then I'm going to kill you, because I know your type. I know that you'll go blabbing to everyone if I let you go-- or let you survive. I'm not taking the chance. I have a reputation in this world, and I intend to keep it."

"You're so full of yourself. Your reputation shouldn't matter-- What should matter is that you are breaking someone's spirit-- if you kill me, you'll be ending two lives as well. I won't let you do this to me and my child. I won't let you get away with shit."

And, suddenly, feeling a surge of energy, I was able to maneuver myself so that I could kick him right in his ass. He fell on his side, moaning-- as I had aimed quite a kick, and I was able to push the remainder of his body off from me, and stand up again, free of his sweating, vile filth, "I don't know how long it will take for me," I hissed, pausing to bring a blow to the back of his head while he was still down and as vulnerable as I had been, "but, eventually, I will make sure you suffer for all of this. So, I suggest you get as far away from me as possible, so that I don't change my mind, and kill you instead of letting you live, because people like Elaine and REHtoMna will believe me, and this entire world will want you to pay for your crimes. So, I suggest that once you can stand again, you start running-- make it a little more difficult for us to track you down, because we eventually will, and your privileged life will come to an end-- as it should."

He continued to moan at my feet. Angered by this sound, I aimed a second kick-- this time at his groin. That shut him up but good, "Don't forget my advice-- take it. And I'm pretty sure the next time I see you, it'll be in a prison cell."

With that, I turned my back on him as he struggled to stand, and steadily began to walk away, knowing that this time, there was no way in hell he'd come after me.