The Death of Hope

Chapter Eleven

The despair and hysteria that had been building up over the eternity she had been held captive finally escaped. The tidal wave of emotion wracked her body in a silent scream. She wept as quietly as possible. She wept for Chance, and his excruciatingly short life. For Amber, stripped of her hope. For Rip, all alone. For herself, chained like an animal, The Leader's doll. Surrounded by a lavish prison ruled by the Devil himself.
She cried out all her frustrations, sadness terror, love, hope, and determination. Giving up a little bit of her resolve, one teardrop at a time. she wept until she had no more tears, no more emotions to give away to the still darkness around her. Victoria slowly straightened, her shoulders screaming in pain from being twisted behind her back for far too long. Her damp dress clung to her skin as her tired eyes searching the dark. He would be there soon.
The sharp footsteps echoed down the hall. She tried to convince herself she didn't care, but she slowly squared her jaw and remembered Eloise. Her sweet words to him, whatever trick she fell for to make her like, to make her love him. Victoria's hatred returned, slowly, her determination tagging on behind it.
"Good morning, my pet." His voice whispered in the dark, eerily soft, mocking her.
"What do you want," Victoria snapped. The darkness swallowed her voice. The open blackness around her hid him, falling like water, taking her breath away in panicked gasps.
"Is that the way you greet your Master, Victoria?"
She could hear him circling, taunting her in the darkness. Her anger boiled down to intense fear. Her breath shuddered out of her lungs, shivering in the cold darkness.
"What do you want?" She said, defeat dripping from her words. Her cowardice scared her, she would have never given up so easily. I'm not giving up, I'm protecting others.
"I want to clear things up with you." His coarse chuckle answered her.
"You want no such thing. You want me to submit to you, and if not, you want to make me pay for it." Victoria's voice was blunt, cutting through the darkness.
The lights flipped on, momentarily blinding her. When the spots faded from her vision he was there. His hand snaked around and rested on her hip. She was dragged upright, her muscles aching. He pulled her to his side, dragging her away from the empty room.
Victoria didn't bother to resist as he pulled her down hall after hall. It was surprisingly loud, louder than it had ever been at the Palace. The eerie silence was replaced with the hushed chatter of Upperclassmen. The silent servants and slaves remained, cleaning, decorating, never speaking.
The Leader dragged her into an unfamiliar room, shoving her roughly onto the ground.
"I want to make things clear, Victoria, just like I said. I want to make it crystal clear that if you don't obey, Eloise will die, and Rip, and Amber. I will burn down the entire Lower City, just to make a point. Killing a few people, none too gently is a simple enough task." He quivered in anger, spitting every word out like a curse. "Do you understand?"
"Yes," Victoria's words caught in her throat as if trying to stop her, "Sir."
​A sneer spread across The Leader's face.
​Victoria's stomach knotted in fear of what he would do to her. In disgust at having to willingly serve him.
​"You will be present at the Gala tonight,"
Victoria stiffened as he leaned close, his lips brushing over her cheek.
"I'll see you then." His long fingers clipped the metal cuff around her wrists, then he snaked out of the room. Victoria sagged in relief as his footsteps faded down the twisting halls. She sat, awaiting the moment when he would return. Dreading his touch on her skin, his taunting gaze, his mocking smirk.
Time passed by slowly as Victoria's mind built stories of what he would do to her, once he returned. Her heart raced in panic at the horrors her mind weaved, copying the past, creating the torturous future. She pushed them out of her mind, covering them up with memories.
Lilith smiled up at her, giggling as she crawled out from under the low bed.
"You found me, Vicky," she laughed. "Now it's my turn to count, go hide!" she flopped down on the bed, burying her face in the single pillow.
"It's time for bed, Lilith." Victoria was bone tired, barely able to stay upright from exhaustion.
"Will you be gone tomorrow?" Her blue eyes stared at Victoria, so delicate, so innocent, so sweet.
"Yeah, I'll be gone." Victoria dreaded the morning, the darkness, the Factory.
She left Lilith on the bed, cuddled into the threadbare blanket wrapped around both her and Sandra. She pulled herself up and walked towards the small kitchen, and the awaiting pile of pots and pans that needed cleaning. The silence was a relief, no churning machines, no façade of happiness needed. She worked as she always did, for as long as it took to get things done.
At first, she didn't hear him coming. When he slammed through the door she spun around, grabbing the nearest sharp object, a kitchen knife. Her hands shook as she slowly slid towards her father.
"Daddy, please, Lilith and Sandra are sleeping." Her voice trembled as she faced him. He chuckled, his words slurring from the alcohol.
"Get over here, Darlin'." Victoria made no move to obey but tightened her grip on the knife. Sandra and Lilith woke up, both began to cry. Sandra buried her face in the pillow, Lilith covered her face with her hands, trying to be quiet. He turned towards the little girls, grinning like a maniac.
"Leave them alone, Daddy." Victoria shuddered as his matte gray eyes turned to her. "Please, let them sleep."
He stalked towards her, his lumbering gait pounding on the thin floors.
"Drop the knife, Victoria." He growled, his greasy hair slapping his forehead.
"No." Victoria's determination left her as soon as she murmured those quiet words.
He lunged forward, grabbing Victoria's slim wrists, and twisting them behind her back.
"Don't hurt her, Daddy, please," Sandra pleaded from the bed. The knife dropped from Victoria's hand, clattering onto the floor. His hands left her wrists for a split second to reach down and grab the knife before they held her still again.
"Don't tell me 'no' Victoria," the knife grazed her jawline, following it up around her ear, to her hairline. "Never tell me no."
The knife cut was deep, cutting down through her skin. He didn't stop when she screamed. No one listened. No one would care. Thousands of women screamed without being heard in the Lower City. She screamed over and over, waiting for the pain to end.
"Victoria, wake up!" Martha knelt over her, trying to wake her. When her eyes fluttered open Victoria's heart was thudding. She looked around, panicked.
"Where is he, is he here? Please, he isn't here?" She struggled to talk clearly, her mind still trying to regain consciousness.
"Hush, it was just a dream, it's all going to be all right." Martha looked down, concerned. "Martha, nothing is all right. It never will be." Victoria shoved herself up into a sitting
position, her head still spinning.
"Victoria, things will always be worse than they are if you give up hope." Her dark brown eyes seemed to ache as she looked at Victoria. "We need to get started, come on Victoria."
"What are we doing?"
"It's time to get ready for the Gala," Martha replied.
Victoria followed along as she was led through the many twists and turns of the Palace. She no longer tried to memorize the halls, or finish the Palace map in her head. Before pulling her through one of the many doors lining the hall, Martha stopped.
"Victoria, listen to me, please." Desperation edged Martha's voice. "You can't give up, do you hear me? It won't do anyone any good."
"It will do Eloise good, Martha, and Rip, and you. If I don't give up, you all will die, and it will be my fault." Tears spilled out of Victoria's eyes as her heart yearned to fight back. "I want to fight back more than you could ever know, but I can't. Not if I want to keep everyone alive." 
"Victoria, just because you don't resist, doesn't mean you have given up, it just means you're biding your time. You can plan, you can escape, and take Eloise with you." Martha looked Victoria straight in the eyes. "You could take me with you, and Rip. We could escape over the wall, leave this wretched Palace behind."
A small smile spread over Victoria's face. "We could save Amber also, get her out of here."
Martha closed her eyes. "Victoria, Amber is... different."
"What do you mean?"
"Follow me." Martha led her across the hall to another door and pulled her through.
Amber sat in the middle of the room, staring at nothing. Her shoulders shook gently, her foot tapped softly on the stone.
"Amber?" Victoria walked softly towards her. "It's me, Victoria."
Amber didn't make any move when she heard Victoria's voice.
"Please, Amber. Talk to me, please." Victoria was desperate. "Amber, he can't take you from me to. Please, just say something."
"She's been like this since Chance, I'm sorry Victoria."
"No, she can't. She said herself that we can't give up hope, she told me!"
"Chance was her hope, Victoria."
"I did this to her, didn't I?"
"He did, Victoria. He killed what kept Amber alive."
Victoria turned, a renewed anger burning through her chest.
"I will escape. I am going to get Eloise out of here, I am going to get everyone out. Or I'll die trying."