You Are Made of Iron

Chspter VI pt. 5

She looked away and mumbled a number that sounded something like eleven, "What was that girl? And look me in the eye when you're speaking to me."
​"I said I've run away eleven times sir."
​For a few seconds Maeron did not react and Zeilla was left with an uncomfortable silence, then he burst out laughing, "Of course you have Zeilla, I should never have thought otherwise."
​"But... what?" she asked completely bemused and then covered her mouth. Once again Maeron seemed unfazed that she was speaking without his permission and Zeilla was getting more and more confused. She decided to ignore it.
​"Sir–" she started to ask hesitantly.
​"Yes girl?"
​"D-do you kn-know where sh-sh-she a-actu-" Zeilla closed her eyes for a second; beating herself up on the inside for stammering and after a deep breath she was able to speak clearly, "Do you know where she actually lives?"
​"Your mother?"
​She nodded.
​"Yes, I do know but I can't tell you."
​"W-why not?"
​"Because she forbade me from telling you."
​Zeillas eyes widened with eagerness, "she was talking about me?" the girl suddenly realized that she was breaking her promise to herself to not even think about her mother and closed her eyes again, "never mind," she said, "I don't care." And she tried to concentrate on something, anything really besides her mother. She muttered quietly to herself.
​This went on for a while and about two minutes later, Maeron who was already beginning to worry about how sane the girl actually was asked her,
​"Is everything alright?"
​"Yes."
​Maeron waited for an explanation and on not receiving one asked, "What's bothering you?" Instead of replying the girl kept on muttering to herself and staring into her lap. "Are you quite alright, Zeilla?" he asked.  Once again there was no reply and Maeron did not ask her any more questions.
​After a while Zeilla suddenly looked up and smiled at Maeron, "Today is a lovely day isn't it sir."
​"It's nighttime, girl."
​"Oh, right. I guess it is. Say, would you be kind enough to tell me where exactly we are going?"
​"I'm afraid that I cannot do that."
​"Oh, you told me that already didn't you."
​"Yes I did."
​"Forget what I said about my mother please, I don't really care about her it's just that sometimes I get a bit excited about the prospect of meeting her. Not that I would actually like to."
​"And why is that?"
​Zeillas eyebrows knit together, "Why is what?"
​"Why don't you want to meet your mother?"
​"Well... she did," The girl trailed off mumbling something.
​"What was that you said?"
​"I said that she did leave me at the mercy of His Majesty, who in turn left me at the mercy of my master. And that they're both um... that's all I said."
​"No it is not all you said. What did you just call your king and former master?" the way that Maeron asked it, it didn't seem to be in a threatening way. But Zeilla knew better than to tell him that she had just insulted two people who supposedly the people she respected the most.
​"Unless I want to be beaten to a bloody pulp." She thought. Her instincts told her that this man actually had no intention of hurting her, but she had long since stopped listening to her instincts. Her instinct was what told her that her mother wouldn't abandon her. And when she did Zeilla had no plan whatsoever. Her instincts then told her to run away and never stop until she was free. This resulted in her multiple beatings.
​Her instincts had even told her that the considerate boy, Fedyr would protect her if anything happened to her like he said he would and yet he had never come while her master was beating her. When he used his belt, well that was the worst. A memory of his metal loop cracking down on her back and face made her wince. He never knew that it was his belt that hurt most, if had then he would have used it even more, to hurt her even more–