Lyra Throne

✦ C H A P T E R - O N E ✦

I was paralyzed.

What am I supposed to do at this moment? Who is hugging me? What's happening?

Those were the thoughts that kept running through my brain.

But what scared me more was why?

Why was I being embraced like this? Who would even care to hug me?

I just sat there stiff, not moving or making any sound.

"Hey little girl" I heard a deep voice say.

I flinched at the sound of a man.

Men.

The word itself gives me pain. I have experienced something that I wish nobody will go through in their lives.

That's when I realized the person who was hugging me was also a man.

I was terrified realizing that.

I started to breathe loudly, my hands shook wildly, and my head hurt as if something was banging continuously.

I knew what it was, and I knew there was no way to stop it.

Sobs racked through me once again, my throat hurt, and it burned.

I could hear faint voices trying to calm me down but I just flinched at every contact with that person.

I just wanted to be left alone, and that's when I heard someone scream at them to get away from me.

I heard a soothing voice, I knew that voice.

It was Rose, my caretaker—the only person who cares about me.

She ran her hand through my hair and hugged me softly as she sang that beautiful song.

I calmed down slowly, and my breathing turned normal again.

I moved my hand so it held her face and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek expressing my gratitude.

I could feel her smile at the gesture, and she kissed my forehead in return.

I heard someone cough and I jolted away.

"Sorry," I heard the same person who coughed say.

I heard more footsteps come into my room, by this time I was frightened if not terrified.

I tried to think of something other than that incident to calm myself down.

Maybe they won't harm me? Maybe they are trying to help me out?

But who are these people? And what are they doing here??

"Hey little flower, we are not trying to hurt you. I know you might not trust us at all, but we just want to help you out" I heard someone say in a deep voice.

I shook my head frantically and tried to escape them, but I felt someone grab me.

It wasn't painful but gentle.

I flinched when they came toward me and I guess they noticed it because they stopped holding me.

"Alright, why don't we introduce ourselves little one?" I heard one of them say

I nodded.

"Alright we are the Lombardino brothers," he said and paused as if expecting a reaction out of me.

"Do you know who we are?" I heard the same person ask me again.

I shook my head. How was I supposed to know who they are?