Tipping the Scale (Dark Romance, Dragons, Nonbinary, Now Posting)

Eat

Sleep comes whether I want it to or not. I had hoped I would just lay down for a short while, replenishing whatever energy I had lost from the night prior. I barely noticed that I drifted off at all until a loud knock came rapping against my door. When did I close it? When did I slide under the blankets? My eyelids stick together with sleep as I slowly return to consciousness. Did I dream? Was there someone here delivering food or my mail?

This room isn't mine, I realize, and once again, the truth slaps me in the face. As I stare across the bed at the barred window ahead of me, I am reminded of the events of last night, and early this morning. I am still in the mansion some cult must run; I am still a captive against my will. The knock repeats, stirring me from my groggy, sleepy thoughts.

"You will come down to breakfast now. Become decent and join the others in the lounge." A voice calls from just outside the door. A male voice, similar to the one that had instructed me to shower hours prior. Not the same voice, though, I don't think. It's hard to tell. I yawn and push the plush comforter off of me and slid my legs over the edge of the bed to the floor. Looking down, I see I am still wearing the same plain, modest black dress I chose after my shower. Thank the Gods, I think, as I think that means I was unbothered in my sleep, despite being tucked in.

Now there are shoes by the wardrobe, but once again, I sigh at the sight of them. Each was a heel of some kind, a stiletto, a pump, a platform, a wedge. One pair had straps that wrapped high up the calf to the knee. Considering some of the dress styles in this wardrobe, I am surprised these shoes exist here at all. Though I may no longer dress in a feminine manner, I know enough to know when a shoe matches a dress. None of these were suited for the dresses I had seen.

By now, I realize that the greatest crime committed here would not be that my shoes don't match my clothes. I am still a victim of cultish captivity, forced to perform a gender I left behind me years ago. Reluctantly, I slide my bare feet into the wedges and make my way to the designated location, which I assume to be the lounge area before the hallway.

As I step out of my room, I hear voices down the hall. Feminine, masculine, all sorts of voices, all hushed yet audible. I decide this must be when I meet my fellow captives, and possible more of the odd guardsmen that hauled us all from the van outside into that downstairs room. Once I step into view, everyone turns to look at me; the same faces I saw passed out when they were brought in behind me. All of them seemed just as scared and surprised as I was, to be here at all instead of a mess of blood and flesh on the floor of that apartment.

I wince, again, recalling the sight of it. How their necks ballooned with light before they burst, how many of the guests clawed at themselves and their friends before their fates were abruptly sealed. As I join the others on one of the rounded couches, they shift to make room for me, and go quiet once I sit.

We all sort of look at each other without looking. See each other without seeing. It was clear where we all came from, but now, none of us knew where we were. I place my hands together in my lap and wait for further instruction.

"I'm Eliza." One of the women beside me says softly with a hand extended my way. I look at her and grin, taking her hand softly in my own.

"Sage." I reply, withholding the common follow up of 'nice to meet you'. While it was nice to be on named terms with these strangers, the situation at hand was anything but.

"Sage, this is Matt, Donner, and Samira." Eliza gestures to the others seated around me on the same curved couch. I grin and wave briefly to each of them as they nod back and acknowledge me as one of them. Given the circumstances, the others seemed rather calm compared to what I thought they might be. All of them were freshly showered and wearing clean clothes, so I could only assume they've recently all met one another after experiencing what I had hours prior.