I woke up with an arm resting above my stomach and a head snuggled at the crook of my neck.
Just kidding.
I woke up to the two bickering in the kitchen.
“I told you to peel half of the potatoes!” Aziel said, exasperated, looking like he’s done with Jayce.
“I just did! I see nothing wrong with that!” He said while gesturing at the pot, offended by the way Aziel’s treating him.
“I meant half of the number of potatoes that we have. Not literally half of each potato!” Aziel exclaimed while he pulled out a half-skinned potato. I let out a small chuckle at the scene I woke up to. They both turned their heads to me. I lowered my head immediately to hide my face. Sometimes I look good after waking up, and most of the time not. I’m not sure how I look today, but I ain’t risking it. This face is not really something you’d want to see first thing in the morning.
“Now you woke Maisi
“Have you seen a girl—” I didn’t need to hear the rest. Out of panic, I looked for a place where I could hide. The bathroom would be too obvious. The treasure chest is too shallow. I looked at the big ass jar in the room's corner. I opened the lid and saw that it was half filled with hay. This would do! I tried my best to reach the opening as the height of the jar is the same as mine. I closed the lid and dug through the hay until I buried myself at the bottom. Just then, I heard the door open. I tried to hold and even out my breath.“I told you officer; it would be impossible for a girl to live with us. That would be indecent,” I heard Aziel’s voice, along with multiple footsteps, entering the house. I heard the officer that tried to kill me scoff.“As if. It’s not like you low-life pigs would care for some decency. For all I know, you might hide her for yourselves to enjoy later. You do know that if we found out t
“Train me.”“No.”“Why not.”“Because you’re a girl.” I glared at him because of that. He seemed frightened for a second before composing himself and continued to feed the chickens they managed to keep.“Why,” I narrowed my eyes at him while he tried to busy himself with tending the animals.“You’re supposed to be protected.”“Why.”“You’re a lady. A lady must not lift a finger.”“Why.”“Because it’s the right thing!” Jayce exclaimed, growing exasperated.“Why,” He huffed and tried to escape. For my personality of the day, I was a needy b*tch that won’t stop until she gets what she wants. Usually, I would’ve stopped when he said his reason (probably because I’ll be too frustrated with the misogynistic thinking to continue pestering him). But f
<TW: Mild mention of death>I sat there for a while, rethinking my decisions. Regret, hurt, confusion, sadness, hate, deceived, cold. The coldness hurt. My whole body feels numb. It feels like I’ve been sitting here for hours. Maybe I am. The sun is no longer visible, and everything else is dark. The only light comes from their house.They must be comfortable there.Suddenly, all of my hurt and sadness were pushed back in the farthest corner of mine. Anger and hate replaced them. Even if they can’t see me, as if they’ll bother to check on me, I still glared at the house. Hoping that my glare would penetrate the door just to make them aware of how angry I am.I really hope they run out of water in the middle of taking a bath and soap got into their eyes. Oh wait, that would be impossible. They bathe in the rivers, damn it. I can't wish for rivers to run out!I just hope that... that a bed bug would b
“M-Maisie? Are you alright?” Suddenly, I heard Aziel outside. This snapped me out of my thoughts. I continued to twist and turn to my seat. That was the best way to get out of the rope. If you can, try to untie the knot.“Oh… O-okay… You were quiet for a while there…” This made me stop squirming and looked at the entrance of the house. How did he know?“Where you here the whole time?” I asked, immediately regretting speaking to him. Dang it. I broke the 'not talking to them to show how bad their actions affected me'streak. I heard him take a sharp inhale.“I—Ah—" He stuttered for a moment before letting out a deep breath. I heard a small thump on the wooden wall. He must’ve leaned or intentionally hit his head. I hoped for the latter one. I almost missed hearing when he let out a soft "Yes."“Why?” I didn’t mean to, but somehow, my voice came out small
I woke up, barely breathing. The first thing I saw as soon as I opened my eyes was a foot shamelessly resting on top of my chest. I glared at the foot, planning to tickle it, butI threw the idea away, seeing that the said foot is just inches away from my face. I don’t want to be kicked in the face first thing in the morning. I decided to pinch the foot, however; I regretted it the moment the foot suddenly jolted upwards, only to fall back on my chest again. This caused me to wheeze at the sudden impact.“What the actual fuck!” I can’t help but curse out loud. Aziel stirred from his sleep and tried to open his eyes, but failed and got back to sleep. I held Jayce’s ankle and roughly removed it from me. I threw his leg to the side and pushed him out of the bed. I heard a groan from him, but as quickly as his sleep was disturbed, his breathing went back to a steady pace- showing that he went back to sleep again. I sat up and stretched my sore a
I don’t know how long we’re traveling. But all I know is that it’s long enough to strain my neck and make my entire front bruised. If I dare relax my head, it will only hit the horse’s side. What’s the rush, anyway? Can’t he stop to rest? More likely, for my body to rest from the constant bruising this bloody horse causes.I was busy brooding that I can feel myself slipping away from the horse. I screamed in panic, hoping he would hear, but the cloth muffled it. I tried my best to curl up more, just to stay on the horse. Those were futile when the dick decided to abruptly stop the horse. I fell nonetheless. I groaned as I felt the pain in my ass.He’s a real pain in the ass. Literally! It’s not even funny!I glared at him as he hopped down from the horse. Again, as I was too busy with my emotions, I failed to notice our current location. It was already getting dark and we’re in front of a small cotta
The sun has risen, and yet I’m still wide awake. I spent the night thinking of my purpose in this world. Before I was teleported here, I just finished having an existential crisis. Now, I have to do it all over again. I can easily ignore it back in my world since I can just live my life in my own terms. Here, however, feels like my fate is planned. Situations like this only happen in books or movies.Looking at my captor, I can’t help but envy his sleeping state. It’s really unfair how he doesn’t look unflattering. He looks beautiful while sleeping, even much more when he wakes up!I rolled my eyes and let out a huff. Suddenly, he abruptly stood up, looking like a lost kid. The innocent look didn’t last when he finally noticed my free state. Without wasting time, he lunged at me. I barely avoided him. Scampering away, I immediately placed a distance between us.“WAIT! HEAR ME OUT FIRST!” I raised my hands to stop him fro
1ST PERSON’S POV: Everything was dark, with little vibrations from time to time. My face seems to hit something, and it irks me. The world seems to revolve a little faster today. I can feel swirls in my mind. I can actually feel my brain! “Slow down… the car…” I drawled. Bile is always waiting at my throat whenever I ride cars, especially cars with air deodorizer trees. The yellow tree nauseates me the worst. “I said slow—” I gagged when I tried speaking again. I slowly opened my eyes to see fur. Why is the car hairy?! Why can I see the road? Is my head outside the window?! I jolted my head upward to see where I was, but that was a big mistake. It made everything violently spin around, making me gag. This time, I felt the acidic liquid reach my tongue. “Oh, HELL NO!” a deep voice boomed, and the nauseating motion came to an abrupt stop. Everything was slow to register in my hazy mind. The next thing I saw was the sky.
Vaughn’s news last night didn’t let me sleep. The word ‘scouting’ and ‘rival’ doesn’t sound good together in one sentence. For all I know, we would be scouting the kingdom where the soldiers there are out to kill me. Couldn’t they just pick another kingdom to scout?! I also can’t ignore the underlying morals I have to brush off. That ethical dilemma where you’re also contributing to possible deaths of innocent people by participating in the scouting. But doing nothing whilst knowing the possible outcomes of their plans to scout is the same as just watching a crime unfold in front of you. AM I A HORRIBLE PERSON?! These thoughts squeezed tightly around my head. The nerves on my head pounded the longer I thought of my likely future. I pushed my head hard to the pole in hopes of relieving the ache. I let my head hang and tried to clear my brain. There’s only one solution to my current dilemma. I took a deep breath before shouting at the top of my lungs. Just like in cartoons, there
Vaughn showed up the night I surpassed the longest record of being tied down on that damn pole. I know it’s Vaughn, despite my poor vision, because he’s the only person who walks that path in the woods. He looks like he was carrying logs in one of his arms and something in the other. It was a satchel. He stopped his tracks halfway towards me, then motioned his head to leave the field after seeing my free state. I felt like a newborn deer when walking towards him. I stopped a few times to stretch my wobbly legs. He stared at my face for a while the moment I’m in front of him before walking away. I rushed to his side and matched his pace. He kept on glancing at my face the whole time we walked towards some place. Tonight, the dimly lit moon made it harder for us to navigate through the thick piled-up snow. The soldiers had to rake the snow off once every 1 to 2 hours to even out onto the field. However, they leave the snow to pile up 2 hours before their training ends. Some soldiers
Everything became bland again when morning came. It’s as if no one tried to kill me last night. I haven’t seen Vaughn yet after he left with my attacker. Riain still stopped by a while ago to rant about how his servants ruined his morning. Apparently, he wanted a vanilla bath, but they gave him a rose and milk bath. Having to endure hearing him rant about baths, I became hyperaware of how I badly needed one. Minutes after he left, the mean prince and his troops came. We held eye contact for a while before I broke it and glared some place else. I really hope he can feel my hatred from miles away. Seriously? Can’t he be brave and kill me head on? He really had to order someone to do dirty jobs for him. There must have been an event today at the palace since everyone left earlier than usual. That means I can loosen the ropes and stretch for a bit. I guess I’m really back to this routine again. Well, until I complained about everything going back to normal. Today, I had an unusual
Once again, I was left alone with my thoughts and cramped body. I wiggle occasionally to prevent further muscle and joint damage from my body being inactive for days. Being tied up for a long period has taken a toll on my body. The ropes are now looser and gave me more space to bend my joints a little. To add more pain and discomfort, I also have a clogged nose. The restraints, cold weather, stress, and starvation weakened my immune system. Every minute movement I do made it a little hard for my brain to catch up. The world spinned as soon as I move my head. Don’t even get me started with how I pee. The urge to be swallowed by the ground every night whenever Vaughn rescues me from marinating myself in pee. I closed my eyes and diverted my thoughts from my struggles. Listing them down won’t do me any good. But… I have to endure 3 more days to be free? IF they were to let me go. On a more pressing thought, I still don’t know that guy’s name.
1ST PERSON’S POV: I lost track of time. I don’t know how long I’ve been in this world. Though I’m sure that I’ve been tied to this rope for a day already. It was hard to sleep consistently in my current situation. I could only take a few naps before waking up because of the cold or something itches that I can’t scratch. Amid the miserable things that continue to happen in my life, watching the winter sunrise erases all the negative feelings I have for a moment. I would like to hold on to that moment of peace, even if it’s just for a bit. Gazing at the sky eventually led me to be blinded by its brightness. I looked down and blinked multiple times, hoping to remove the dizzying effect of staring at the sun. After getting my sight back to normal, I saw Vaughn walking through the forest while carrying a wheelbarrow. He looks so tiny from afar. With my poor eyesight, I wouldn’t have recognized him if not for
1ST PERSON’S POV: I knew the guards dragged me to who knows where, but I slept halfway through it. My eyes closed as soon as I tried to open it. The mental and physical exhaustion I experienced yesterday still drained the life out of me. Though I peeked at where I was and saw the field. My senses slowly crawled their way towards me until it finally registered in my brain that they rigidly tied me to a pole slightly thinner than me. This pulled my shoulders back awkwardly. I can only dread the upcoming soreness later- if they were to free me. My teeth were already chattering while the harsh coldness of winter gnawed at my face. I forced my eyes to open to have a better view of my current situation. The angry face of the mean prince first entered my sight. His whole body was stiff, with some veins bulging on his neck. ‘Heh… Bulging…’ I do not know how he scowls every second of the day without gett
1ST PERSON’S POV: “I… I can’t… I know you’re mad—” “VERY FRUSTRATED.” He cut me off before looking away and exhaled deeply through his nose. He’s sulking… Like a child… I tried to control my facial expressions to avoid pissing him off. Though my heart felt warm with this new side I’m witnessing. I wanted to explain myself, but words refused to come out and my mouth ended up awkwardly ajar. Silence became louder as we stayed still in our spot. He sat there with his arms crossed while I stood in front of him with a dripping cloth in my hand. My eyes locked on a certain spot before zoning out. Everything felt surreal. I survived a riot without killing someone (hopefully), and two attacks! “A-a… o…” I stopped zoning out when I heard sounds coming out of his mouth that I cannot understand. He’s barfing the words that want to be puked out. I watched him squirm on his sit as he struggled to form a coherent sent
Meanwhile, Maisie’s panic grew as she went deeper inside the woods. She might’ve survived from those guards, but she knows she can’t survive alone in the woods. That’s a problem she left for her future self to worry about because she needs to survive first right now. She never looked back and continued to run. That was a vital mistake she made. While not looking back won’t slow her down or cause her to panic, she failed to notice that the two guards have split up. She was too focused on her unknown destination that she didn’t notice another body rushing towards her. It was too late for her to avoid as the body collided with her and crushed her to the ground. She wheezed at the sudden impact on her lungs. She swatted the person above her repeatedly while pulling his hair out of fear. The poor person had to shout to gain her attention, but Maisie didn’t stop. Vaughn ran out of patience and held both of her wrists and pinned her down on the ground. Maisi
After we crossed the bridge, another obstacle tested my courage. The bridge only connected to the side of the other cliff, only giving a small space to stand after crossing the bridge. Then the only way up to a stable ground was through the narrow pathway stuck on the wall. It was so narrow that you have to walk sideways and pray. The best part? It doesn’t have safety railings or nets to catch you if you fall to your death! Ok! I give up! Just leave me here! Vaughn took the hint of my surrender, so he pushed me to the narrow pathway and blocked me from going back to the small safe space. 3RD PERSON’S POV: Vaughn and Maisie weren’t even halfway through their journey up the cliff, but Maisie continued shouting while passing the narrow path. She held to the wall with her dear life while she walked like an awkward crab with trembling limbs and her bottom stuck out, as if she were stuck midway