Three

The danger is almost always invisible to your eyes, like the devil hiding behind the shadows of the apple tree.

"What if I don't want to sign?" I asked in a tepid voice. I was growing afraid of the situation in front of me. It was far from what I was expecting and it slowly planted a seed of doubt for the training I had undergone. What if I fail?

Though pain and torture were included in my unusual upbringing there was some weird inclining in the pieces of paper in my hands. The words that were mystically encrypted in it, it seemed like a glowing warning in my very own eyes. And, afraid I was but I got no choice other than to fall with the obvious trap. 

There was no way around it. 

"You just have to give me back my money," answered Yulian.

"That's it? After seeing your face and this place?" I raised both shoulders with a slow gaze around the vast room.

"Yes, that. Is. It.”

"No other consequences?" I inhaled deeply, crossing both arms feeling a sudden sweep of cold air.

Yulian cocked his head to the side, looking at me pointedly. "Of course, there is, the money? What would a young girl like you be doing there if you're not desperately in need of a big sum?" He tipped my chin, forcing me to look at him as I tried to diverge my sight at the empty wall behind him. "Tell me, Mi Eliza? What is exactly you want?"

I almost trembled, getting caught with a lie. "I-I... I yes, I need the money and nothing more." I removed his hand from my chin and went over with the paper once more. Without further reading the whole lot of twenty pages, I signed each one at the right bottom corner.

"Stop." Yulian grabbed my hand, making me stop amid the ninth page. "Read them carefully. Carefully," he said stressing on his last word.

"What for? It's to sign or not to sign. You need my signature, right? Now you can have it." I paused snatching my hand from his, then my eyes traveled from the hand to his stormy eyes. "I'm not a little girl, I fully understand the game I agreed to participate in. I know all the consequences long before I stepped my feet on that podium. As you stated I am a desperate person." I said it all with a newfound steady voice, a sudden burst of bravery though truly my heart was pumping angrily with nervousness. I cast my eyes down and continued signing the remaining of the contract. 

"I like her already. You have to tell me where to get one Yulian," chimed in Miguel which was answered by a glare from my buyer.

"Here," I presented the signed contract to the two men.

"Good," simply answered Yulian who fished out a cellphone from his back pocket and dialed a number. "She's ready, get here now."

Not a minute longer a lady much older than Katerina but with the same features and uniform arrived in the study. 

"Young master?" greeted the lady.

"Eliza this is Maria; she is going to be your governess. Teaching you all that you need to know. Maria, this is Eliza your new Mistress, please take care of her. There's something I need to go right now, come on Miguel."

"What? We are leaving already? You're one cold man!" exclaimed Miguel in a somewhat hushed voice. 

"Maria can take care of her. Right, Maria?" With a nod from Maria, he pushed his chair backward and made a leave without even much a glance in my direction. 

"Good luck," mouthed Miguel to me with playful a wink.

Stunned at Yulian's action. I closed my eyes and breathed out heavily. I shouldn't think of him as some kind of a savior. He was not going to help me, he was only going to use me, going to use my body for whatever service he could think of. It would never be on my side, no one would.

"Let's go," beckoned Maria interrupting my melancholia. She held, opening the big wooden door for me.

"Where?" I asked in a tired voice.

"To your room."

 "My room? Okay." I nodded and made my way to follow her tracks.

We walked side to side in an eerie silence. The only sound that could be heard was the click-clacking of her shoes on the tiled floor. I was too expired to be friendly and engage in a conversation, I felt detached from the world. Being alone was never a foreign thing to me, but that moment made the definition of alone a lot different from what I thought it would be. It was surprisingly sadder.

"Here," announced Maria. 

I didn't even know how the hell we get there. My brain had spaced out the entire walk. Maria reached for something in her pocket. A set of heavy metal keys. One she fitted on the wooden door that would serve as my room. With a tick, the door opened up to the most stunning room I had ever seen.

"I'm not going to stay in Yulian's room?" the question that I kept holding, slipped out from my lips. It was too feminine from his room in the private plane. The old rose-colored tapestry of the four-poster bed screamed. Even all the spewed furniture inside was too feminine-- the white vanity mirror on the side, the assortment of cabinets and sofas were out of style for him. Though I wouldn't mind having a separate room from his, it was actually to my advantage.

"Yes, you would have your own room. You would only enter and stay in the Young Master's room if and only when he wants it. I hope you read the contract well enough."

"Ow," was the only thing I could muster. I didn't read the damn contract. I balled both hands and slightly shook my head in dismay. I often do things out of sheer stupidity.

"This is not a child's play my dear." I gaped at my governess's direction but closed it as soon as I saw the old woman's pity. "I'll leave you for now to take some rest. I'll send Katerina later to bring you food and maybe early morning, I could introduce you to all the attendants and your teachers. Welcome to Crestwood mansion Young Mistress." With that she left swiftly, closing the door behind her.

"Ugh!" I sighed, slumping my body faced down on the cottony bed. It smelled like roses and I wondered how many girls had used the same room before me. How many girls has he used, disposed of, and forgotten after he was done with them? What was my number?

My head ached tenfold and I lulled myself to sleep.

"Mommy! mommy! mommy! Don't leave me! No! no!" I cried endlessly pumping my small fists on the glass as the retreating back of my mother became blurry with the mist and the addition of the heavy rain. It was becoming hard to see her red camisole. I tried hard though, squinting my eyes. I have to see her, memorize her. "Mommy! mommy..." I cried until my voice became hoarse and sounds refused to come out of my mouth.

"Stop crying!" the man that mommy said was my dad shouted angrily. "I don't own a weak daughter. Now stop crying and let me see your face." he tilted my chin upward and examined my features. "You are one beautiful little girl. Now, what is your name little un?"

My body shook on its own, the man was giving me creeps. "I want my mommy back!" I shouted angrily as hot tears flooded down my face once more. "Give me my mommy back!" I kicked the man between his legs. Mommy taught me how to do it.

"Chinga tu madre!" the man cursed in Spanish which angered me more.

"Maldito monstruo. Mi mamá no es una puta. ¡Tomar de nuevo!" I spurted back at him pumping my tiny fists in the air, my mommy was not a bitch or anything like that. He was the monster taking me away from her.

The man raised up his right hand and was about to hit me. But immediately held back as soon as my words penetrated his ears. A loud clucking erupted from the man. My tears brimmed at the corner of my eyes and I grew more afraid of him. 

"You are definitely mine! How old are you darling?" he asked in a calmed excited voice. I pursed my lips not wanting to answer. "Cat got your tongue" He grabbed my shoulder and squeezed tightly.

I stifled a cry. "I am three now, I’ll be four in seven months."

"Do you go to school?" 

I shook my head adamantly. "No. Momma said am too young but she promised I could go next school year. I know how to read and write already, she said am smart, like my daddy..." My last words came out as a whisper.

"Of course, you are! Let me present you to dad! He would be ecstatic." He grabbed both my shoulders, turning me the other way, and pushed me like some kind of a trolley to the maze-like hallway of the big mansion. 

"Where are we going? I need my mommy! I don't like you!" I thrashed wildly but he kept me on hold. "Usted no es mi papá, usted es un monstruo feo! Feo!" We stopped abruptly; a big hand connected to my face.

"Stop it, child! Behave at once! We don't tolerate that kind of attitude here. Do you want to sleep outside? tell me!"

A clap of loud thunder echoed and the rain outside continued to pour violently. "No!" I squeaked out.

"Then act like it. Walk like a perfectly good kid."

"Okay," I submitted feeling defeated for the first time.

We walked quietly into a dimmer portion of the hallway. It was a scary place like in the movies, it felt like big hairy spiders would come out any second to swallow me whole.

"Dad!" knocked my so-called Father on a closed door.

"Yes, Young Master?" A lady in white clothes answered the door. "Your dad is retiring Young Master; how may I help you?"

"I'm going to introduce my daughter to dad," announced him, pushing me to the slightly open door.

"What is it Carmen?" a husky voice asked inside the room.

"Young Master is here, sir."

"What does the bastard need?"

"I'm going to show her to you dad! She's the perfect little kid!" shouted dad through the half open door. He was forcing it fully wide while Carmen was keeping it as it was.

"Let them in Carmen."

As soon as the door opened up, father pushed me inside the room and behind a blue curtain where a bed was situated, a huge beeping machine was beside it. The room was washed off of colors that looked almost like a hospital room. The scary kind in horror movies with a real-life monster!

"Get me out of here." I hid in my father’s back, shaking with fear of the man that rose from the bed. A tube was in his throat connected to a weird machine. His skin on his face was so wrinkled that it sagged. He got dark irises with matching dark bags underneath. 

"She's a weakling like you bastard!" thundered the man to my dad furiously. The lines in his neck were all protruding and spit was running the side of his mouth. "Stupide comme son père et une pute comme sa mère. Cet enfant est sûr est!"

I pushed my father aside. Tears were brimming in my eyes. "I am not stupid! Momma said I am smart! And she is a very decent woman unlike you two who judges her. She's my momma and she loves me very much unlike you two!"

The old man's mouth gaped open with amazement and he laughed heartily like a snorting pig. "How old are you kid? How many tongues do you speak?"

I snarled at him but father urged me to answer, "Five and I could write in a couple."

"Of course, you are not stupid because you are not like your dad. Let me take a look at her." My father pushed me further to the monster. Scared, I didn't dare to move a muscle as he examined me, prodding at my face like I was some kind of a science experiment. He pinched my nose, forced me to open my mouth, and even tugged on my hair.

"Ouch!" I shouted as it became harsher. "Ouch!"

"Young miss...young miss...Young miss." I pride my eyes open; my arms felt a burning sensation. "I am sorry Young miss. But Maria wants you down, I've been trying to wake you up for a good ten minutes now."

I roused from the bed, putting my feet down on the cold tiles. I inhaled deeply trying to detach myself from the horrid dream. It was one of the memories, I was trying to erase from my head, for as long as I could remember but couldn’t. "It's okay, you don't have to worry," I finally answered.

"Can we go now?"

I looked at the young girl, she was about my age with a long dark mane with equally dark eyes. and the same uniform as Maria and Katerina. "Ah, yes. I'm sorry. I was kind of preoccupied with thoughts." I stood up and noticed the dress I was wearing. "Who dressed me?" 

"I did. I am Korina, I will be your personal maid from now on. You were too gone last night, I'm sorry Young miss."

"Ow, Nah it's okay."

I didn't get to wash my face or brush my teeth before Korina dragged me into the hallway. We walked down the corridor and being tired from the night, I haven't had a clue if I were in the same way from before. The place was massive with hundreds of different passageways. "Here." We stopped at once in front of a closed door.

"The governess is waiting inside."

I opened the door with reluctance and stepped inside leaving Korina behind.

"Sit down," ordered Maria. 

Having been trained to follow orders, I sat. Facing me were three women not including Maria.

"Good morning," I greeted with a smile.

"Good morning too, sorry we don't have time for your breakfast. I'll let Korina in later but for now, I will introduce you to your teachers. Morgana, on the left, will teach you geography, ethics, and politics. Thespine, at the center, will teach you the language. Being Master Yulian's wife you have to know more than just English...you have to learn Spanish, French, Chinese, and Russian. Lastly..." Maria paced going to the side of the last teacher, "Venicia will teach you seduction. Everything you need to know to please a guy..." 

Her words sunk deep in the folds of my brain. A certain feeling surged within me, I never felt that at home before. It was like a broken record playing on repeat.