Share
The gardens of Xen
Related chapters
The Bargain An odd meeting
Racheal shook the thoughts away from her head. He would not dare. What would he tell his parents?She turned in resignation to return to the hall. If she could not find him, she would ask the guards to take her home alone. They would not refuse her. At least she doubted they would. She suddenly stopped, there was another staircase she hadn't noticed before that led down some other part of the building. She was immediately consumed by dreadful excitement. She was nervous about what she would find. She looked around to make sure no one was following her, then she slowly walked towards the staircase and went down the steps slowly. She was grateful that there was a carpet that muffled the sound of her clicking heels.She then walked down a tiny hallway till she got to a door that was slightly ajar. She held her breath and peered in.She saw men from around Steffann's age and older, all seated around a huge table. Oddly, they had on the same shade of black suit. The only thing that wo
The Bargain A mystery package for Racheal
She spent the entire morning in anxiety the next day. She knew this was not good for her health but she could not stop.She was worried. When she finally stepped out this morning, her maids had informed her that Steffan called last night but turned away after he heard her instructions about not wanting to be disturbed. At first, it had pleased her, she had turned the president’s son away. He had respected her wishes and left her alone. But as the day progressed, it began to bother her. It appeared to her that he did not care, why had he not tried even a little harder. Now, it was almost noon, he had not come to check on her to see how she was doing. She shook her head in self pity. She would never learn. Why was she suddenly so invested in this man and his actions towards her. She should be focusing her energy on other things. Making friends for one. Danna Sherrod had accused her of trying to buy allies so she would be untouchable. She might as well truly do that. She needed al
The Bargain Racheal confronts Steffan
All three young women froze. They somehow knew there would be unsavoury consequences if anyone saw these things here. Luna was the first to react. She dove for the basket, but she was not quick enough. Before she had even completely lifted it off the table, the door opened and Steffan walked in.Leah melted away, while Luna held the basket suspended in the air, her eyes bulging at having been caught.Racheal sighed. “You can take it later Luna.” There was no saving this, Steffan had already seen it. Luna slowly dropped the basket and exited the living room to the balcony. Racheal smiled weakly at Steffan but he did not return her smile.“You were missing from the party twice yesterday.” He said without preamble, walking further into the room.Racheal sighed. So she was been watched after all. She decided the best course of action was to tell the truth. “Yes.”“I cannot even trust you to behave for one minute in my absence?” He asked through gritted teeth. Racheal flinched. He wa
The Bargain A harrowing experience
“Where were you at 11:40 pm Friday 9th April 2021” Racheal heard a voice from the wall ask.She was startled, and frantically looked around. Where did the clear voice come from? She was the only one in the room.“Please answer the question.” The voice said. Racheal looked behind her, she could hear the voice even from behind. The voice came from everywhere. Did these people intend to frighten her? How could she hear them when there were no speakers in sight?As if reading her mind, the voice said. “The speakers are installed in the walls. Now please concentrate on the question.”“I was preparing for bed.” She said finally.“Any witness to this?”“My personal maids.” Racheal said. There was silence for a few minutes and then the voice shouted. “Liar!” Racheal jumped, startled, knocking her seat over. She looked around in alarm. This was intimidating. They could see her but she could not see them. She was put in here like a hamster on a treadmill for entertainment. She could not se
The Bargain Still a captive
About one hour later, the door suddenly swung open and the cop who had led her in earlier, stepped into the room. Racheal quickly bounded up from the floor where she had been crumpled crying. Has someone come to save her? Was it over?The cop moved to the side and ushered in a younger looking cop who had a bag of fast food in hand. She broke down again in tears. Food? What did she need food for? She wanted to go back home, to her cosy quarters at the villa no matter how oppressive the walls seemed sometimes. The young cop placed the bag and what looked like a cup of iced tea on the table. Both cops hurriedly left, shutting the door behind them. She looked at the greasy bag in disgust and moved it to the far end of the table before she sat down.She was still in her seat when she heard the voice again. As usual, it was a completely new voice. “Are you ready to speak now?”“There is nothing to say.” She responded tiredly. There was silence and she thought they had left, when the
The Bargain A French Knight
The next two days passed the same way for Racheal. She was questioned every couple of hours. She could not track the time properly because she did not have her wristwatch, and there was no wall clock in the room either.She only knew when it was sunrise or sundown because of the window in the bathroom.The cops asked her the same question over and over, till she was screaming because she was exausted from having to repeat herself. Her hair was a mess, she was hungry and sleep deprived. The few bathroom breaks she had were short, but at least she could look up at the bathroom window. This helped her keep track of the days. The breaks also helped her clean her body. She used wipes to clean up as much as she could. Although she was not stinking up the whole place, she did not feel clean either. Anytime the cops led her down the dimly lit passageway that connected the restroom to the bright, bright interrogation room, she struggled with the urge to fight. On the third morning thoug
The Bargain A fresh start
Delbert helped Racheal into the back seat of his roll-royce phantom. He walked around the car and eased in through the other door.She knitted her hands together nervously. My God, how she must stink!Delbert patted the back of the chauffeur’s seat, commanding him to move. She looked back and noticed theirs was the only car moving. No convoy. It felt refreshing. She wondered what it would be like living a life like this. Not burdened by having to take a trope of bodyguards everywhere. She cleared her throat, and when he looked at her with all the kindness in the world evident in his eyes, she wanted to cry.“Thank you. Thank you for saving me.” She told him.His lips pressed together as he nodded. It appeared he was thinking of something, something that annoyed him. She could only guess that that they were thinking about the same thing. That saving her was Steffan’s job, Steffan was supposed to have been here to save her. But was it truly his job? It would be if they were real h
The Bargain Homecoming
Racheal finally stepped onto the landing of her apartment floor. She walked slowly towards the huge front door of her apartment. There was not a single guard waiting out here.Racheal smiled sadly, they truly were not expecting her back, or at least so soon. She inhaled to steady herself, and then opened the door.She met her maids sitting in the living room. They turned in surprise at the sound of the door opening. When they saw her, they flew off their seats to hug her.Racheal had to steady herself as they almost knocked her down. Leah was sobbing and when Luna stepped back to look at her, her eyes looked moist too.“I'm so sorry. I was cornered, they questioned me harshly.” Leah said. “They threatened to take me too if I did not say all I knew.”Racheal hugged the girl closer, hoping her heat and stench was not unbearable from not having had a proper bath in days. “It's fine. You told the truth.” She consoled her. She could not blame her, if she was this helpless in the face of
Latest chapter
