THE UNCALLED

chapter 5

"Sir!” She mumbles through her stitched lips, not moving an inch from her stance. The deepest part of her heart wished she hadn't misheard him.

"I'm sure you heard me right, get the fuck out of here without your clothes on," he yelled again, lighting a cigarette and taking a long sip before extinguishing the smoke.

"Please, I can't go out like this; the maid and guards can't see me naked, and no one should see me naked, please," she pleaded, kneeling now, her already rough-looking hair dancing around her face, forcing her to make small attempts to push them back.

"There is nothing like mercy in my dictionary; I pity no one; my rule stays."

"I swear I told you, but you didn't listen." "I informed you I was a virgin; I never meant to stain your bed sheet with my blood; it wasn't intentionally done," she pleaded further, hoping he would lend a listening ear to her, but he drew close to her, puffing out smoke directly into her face and watching as she scrambled for breath. She is allergic to direct smoke.

"Please stop it, or else you choke me to death," she stammers in between stiff breaths, holding her throat while clutching the ground.

"Don't you like that?" "Aren't you enjoying it?" He emphasized his red eyes dancing around her, as the cigarette had already taken effect.

"Get lost, just get lost," he adds, pulling away from her and sitting yet again.

"Put on your clothes and get the fuck out of here," he utters suddenly, refusing to stare at the surprise in her face now. She finds it really hard to believe, but without waiting for another word from him, she does as he says, scrambling out in a hurry to avoid hearing another word from him.

She breathes out as soon as she closes the door, resting her back on the wall. She stands with her hands clutched to her chest in an attempt to stop her fast breathing.

Maids walk to and fro, their eyes dancing around her awkwardly. "Why are you all staring?" She barks as the stares are already becoming too much; she hates attention.

She walked down the stairs slowly, and after catching her breath, she decided to return to spend time with the herbalist, as she had nowhere to go and no one to talk to. With some extra guidance, she found the herbalist's room, and after a light knock, the herbalist replied.

"Who is there?" she asks, prompting Sarah to respond quickly.

"It's me," she says, turning her head.

"Come in," the herbalist replied even without knowing who was talking, and slowly Sarah cracked the door open and walked in.

"Oh, dear. "It's you again," the herbalist muttered excitedly upon sighting her, finding a companion in her already.

"Yes. Happy to see you again," she responds, taking a seat close to the herbalist.

"I can see your wound is already healing," she adds as her eye stays on Sarah, who just nods, letting out a light smile.

"I saw the way you walked in, dear. "Are your legs hurting?" she asks abruptly, watching as Sarah's eyes well up with tears and threaten to drop.

"He made me have sex with him," she whispers in between sobs, watching as the herbalist's eyes fly open in shock, but it disappears immediately.

"I am not surprised; I am not even surprised he brought you in as his new wife; I knew it would come to this; his father has been on his neck for a long time now," she spills, watching Sarah, who was once sad and teary-eyed, surprise her ears and have her itching for more.

"Why aren't you surprised, and what do you mean his parents are the cause of this?" "He forced me into having sex." "Are his parents the cause of that also?" She already has an angry look on her face.

"Sarah, calm down because I wouldn't want you grabbing anyone else's attention, so I'll pause what I am about to say to you," she stated, watching as Sarah gave her a quick but calm stare and, after a little nod, rested her butt on her seat once again.

"Dear, I just want you to listen to me attentively," the herbalist mumbles, drawing closer, her eyes dancing around Sarah for a while before deciding to carry on with her speech.

"His father, the king of the other world, is in his final days, and a week ago he called Mr. Nathaniel and asked for a grandson before a year or watch his young brother dominate over him, and he has been restless since then; he explains the whole situation to me because he sees me as a mother, in case you must know."

"Since then, he has been looking for a bride to present to his parents and who will then bear him a son as his father instructs. The day he first saw you, he informed me. According to him, she saw you through your window, where you stood staring at everything your eye could find. He has made findings about you and got to know that you have been locked in your house for 10 years now," she paused, her eye dancing around Sarah, who refused to render a speech.

"So he married me for contract sake?" so he married me to bore him a child so he could secure a fucking throne? "He wants to waste me for his own sake," she says after a while, tears streaming down her face.

"Not so dear, but I just wish you understand him and know how to control him."

"Understand and control him?" for what fucking sake, huh?

"Sarah, there is more to Nathaniel than you know, and as time goes on, you will know better."

"There is no fucking thing to know, but I want you to believe me instead: I won't get married to him because I can't control him; this marriage isn't holding," she snarls, walking away from the herbalist before she could render another speech.