Chapter 4.
By the time evening came, the lunch Bane had brought me had grown cold. I knew that because when I finally allowed myself to try it, it was cold as ice. I was still debating whether I would go and leave this room, or not. It felt like a trap, like he was waiting for me outside this very room to just backhand me back inside.
He had said nothing about not hurting me. He had simply not mentioned it at all. The only other room I had tried was the bathroom, which I could enter from this bedroom.
I was curious about Bane's motives and if the other girl was still around. I knew there was only one way to find out, but I could not bring myself to leave the room. I was scared.
When I heard footsteps in the hallway I froze and watched the door as if it would ignite any moment now. To my surprise there was a knocking on the door. And even when I didn't responded, the door remained closed.
'Anna?' came the voice of the men with the black beard I had seen this afternoon. I swallowed but kept quiet. What did he want from me?
"Anna, I am coming in.' At those words the door opened and the man entered, his eyes scanning the room until he saw me standing in the dark, by the window.
'Dinner is ready, we are waiting for you,' he said. He seemed not unfriendly at all. But his appearance frightened me nonetheless.
'I am not hungry.' My words sounded very soft comparing to his words, but I saw he had heard my words.
'We still want you to join us Anna,' he said patiently like he dealt with situations like this all the time.
'I am not feeling well,' I lied. I saw his mouth turn into a grin.
'You don't want me to hoist you over my shoulder, right?' he mocked before he opened the door wide and motioned for me to come. I still stood frozen.
'You are only making this harder on yourself girl, come and eat, then you can return to your room.' I thought his words over before I moved a few steps and saw how he walked out of the room, waiting for me to join him.
I waited for a second, not sure what to do. Would the other girl be there too?
My curiosity ruled my fears as I slowly but surely left my bedroom and followed the man outside. My bedroom seemed to be attached to a large hallway, which let to a living area, with a fireplace, 3 large sofa's and an enormous TV. I kept my distance, but followed the man through the living area until we reached a kitchen, where Bane sat at the table. I saw the other girl sitting across him at the table, her hair tied into a messy bun. The man who had collected me stopped and pulled the chair next to the girl out for me, waiting until I sat down. I took my time, but complied.
'Good evening Anna,' came Bane's deep voice. I only nodded and made sure to keep my eyes adverted. I heard another chair move and now was sure both men were seated before us.
'You two must be hungry,' the man next to Bane said, only now pulling my attention to the food before is. I shook my head, and watched beside me. The girl was shivering, her eyes red from crying, but she managed to nod.
'Good girl, here you go,' the man said, filing her plate with some potatoes and beans. I watched, until he reached for my plate.
'I'm really not hungry,' I said, this time meeting the man's eyes. He narrowed his eyes and despite my words filled my plate, although with a little less food then he had given the girl next to me.
'Eat.' I shoved the food around on my plate, too nervous to eat and too scared to watch the men in their eyes. What was the purpose of us living here? If they would only keep us for some kind of ransom they could just feed us in our rooms, right?
'Anna, eat,' came Bane's voice all of a sudden, waking me from my thoughts. The sudden words coming from him made me look up and meet his eyes.
'I will not have a sick guest in my house.' I huffed, realizing to late I was sitting close towards my kidnappers and they could hear me.
'Sophie, Anna here is very doubtful about our motives and our promises towards you. What do you think?' His words sounded truthful, but I knew he was up to something. What had he told the poor girl? Had he threatened her?
Sophie, as the girls named seemed to be, did not dare to meet his eyes and simply stared before her.
'I- I don't know,' she stammered. The man next to Bane shook his head.
'Two scared little girls, one even to scared to eat, the other too scared to look us in the eye.' The silence that followed made me watch them again, even lock eyes.
'I don't believe you are one to be easily intimidated, miss Helms. But maybe I did startle you yesterday and for that I apologize, even though it was necessary from my part at the time.' My eyes grew wider, was he truly apologizing to me?
I could not help but stare at him. He stared straight back into my eyes, his gaze tearing right through me.
'There are a few rules for you two. You are our guests, not our prisoners, that means you are to freely roam this house, as long as you stay inside. There will be punishments when you attempt to escape. There will be three meals a day, which you both will attend every day, no exceptions. Is that clear?' Bane asked. I saw Sophie nod, but I answered with a small yes.
'Very good. For tonight you two are dismissed. You may go back to your rooms, or remain here or in the other rooms. Suit yourself.' He did not have to mention that twice. I quickly stood and turned, leaving the table and removing myself away from them. I heard the other girl followed me, while the 2 men talked softly. I planned to just go back to my room, but halfway there I noticed the enormous bookcases and the big amount of books that were place in the racks.
'Don't stop!' Sophie said softly, almost crashing into me when I suddenly stopped walking.
I didn't answer her staring eyes, instead I walked past the shelves, reading the titles. It was not long before I heard heave footsteps approach and Sophie quickly left me.
'Are you a fan of reading Anna?' Bane asked me. I swallowed and nodded, watching him for a second before I brought my gaze back towards the books. I heard him come even closer.
'Perhaps you'd like to read a few while you are here?' he continued.
'No it's fine I-' before I could protest he pulled a large book from one of the top shelves, handing it to me.
'This one is very underappreciated, yet so enthralling.' The book was heavy in my hands, yet brought me some comfort. How could such old and simple things bring such solace?
'Go and read, sleep. I expect you at breakfast tomorrow morning miss Helms.' I nodded and muttered a soft thanks for the book he lend me and then I left for my room.
What was happening here?