*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* Incessant banging had awoken the exhausted damsel. Disorientated, Lalzari woke up in a flash, touching her body in shock that her clothes were yet still on. "No one came to my room in the middle of the night? This isn't how it usually goes" the perplexed vixen muttered under her breath.
"Lalzari! The king is asking for you!" Someone from the other side clamoured like a yapping parrot.
Asking for me? Maybe he just had mercy last night... Don't get your hopes up child, a monster will always remain a monster. Lalzari conversed with herself.
The young damsel was so enthralled in the sea of her thoughts, so detached from reality that she hadn't noticed the servant from behind the door bursting in. "Are you deaf!!" The servant bellowed. The servants had been gossiping about this new girl that king had bought all night and began disliking her without knowing anything about her. Lalzari shook her head in response to his condescending words.
Before she died, Melaniee had told Lalzari that every word you say comes back to you, and always emphasised to keep her mouth shut. She had grabbed Lalzari's arm, as the brave vixen was about to confront Melaniee's abuser and said "Only speak if they ask you otherwise you'll end up with a cut off tongue bleeding on the sidewalk not able to scream because you're choking on your own blood". Lalzari believed every word she said, therefore she doesn't speak.
"Bought by the king and now you think you're royalty huh? Just go to the king!" The servant continued unsatisfied with no reply. Lalzari nodded, covering herself as she waited for the servant to leave. But the servant just stood staring at her, as if she was an animal in a zoo. Lalzari didn't speak but stared right back at him with her subdued expression.
"She's so strange" the servant said as he shook his head and finally walked out of the room.
"I should probably brush my hair and wash my face. The king looks like he's someone who likes his women presentable" Lalzari said as she slipped on the new dress that had been laid out for her. She stood and stared at her reflection in the mirror for a while, gazing upon her long royal dress with sleeves that didnt't even reach her elbows, and she couldn't help but notice the emptiness in her eyes. A hollow void. Perhaps the drought is nearer to the fragile femme fetal, than she thought. What have I become?, she muttered in her thoughts.
The castle was huge, lined with big fancy doors wrapped in golden glitter and rubies, hallways that stretch as far as the prosperous deserts, floors as clear as glass with rich water flowing beneath them. The castle could have been so beautiful if it was in the hands of someone good.
Lalzari had no idea what room the king might have been in, but she was searching for a good portrait of the king for he must be in a room painted with himself. Lalzari began to prepare herself for whatever the king desired, going through each scenario one at a time. Then she saw it, the big pathetic self portrait and knew the king must have been waiting in there.
As she opened the large, wide doors everyone turned their heads to see her. The servants, the maids, the king and his men. I feel almost powerful... The femme fatale thought to herself as she was presented like the last ruby in the kingdom.
Suddenly, someone yanked her arm shouting "how dare you enter without a knock!" Lalzari stared at the maid in sheer panic. Had she messed this up? Was she done for? The king was going to finish her off now, all because she forgot to knock.
"LET! HER! GO!" The king roared with his hazy sharp voice that rang the unknown clocks of time. The maid let go immediately. The whole room went quite as the king continued
"My sweetest Lalzari, come... Come here". He stood with arms wide open, Lalzari walked over to be greeted by an embrace. His slender figure letting her feel every single bone in his body. I can't stand this scent, he reeks of cigars, the favoured girl thought to herself. He let go and started to lead Lalzari to the room next door.
"My sweetest Lalzari, you know I see you as my daughter and anything that is mine deserves to be painted in gold. Suits your name too" the king slithered. As Lalzari sat down a swarm of maids gathered around her, pulling and touching her face, attacking it with makeup. Simply masking the young girl. The king is creepy... No father wants his daughter to look desirable to him, I have absolutely no say in whom I belong to. I was merely just created for the pleasure of my masters. She cried to herself as her face became a canvas for hands that had no care for her hues.
"Wow I was right. You really are my gold ruby!!" The king exclaimed lusting for her jeweled face. The glittering gold eye shadow blurred Lalzari's vision and the thick lashes weighed down her eyelids. The maids left the room leaving only the king and Lalzari alone.
"It's only me and you now... Why don't you... Speak" the king demanded as his face came closer to hers. Lalzari looked up in confusion to the king's request. Lalzari's thoughts flashed with the things she wished she could say like "free me" "let me go".
"Okay shy girl. Let me make it easier for you, what's your favourite colour?" the king continued. Colour? Is freedom a colour? Probably not. She sarcastically thought to herself before answering
"Umm, purple sir"
"Your voice... It's sweeter than I imagined Lalzari!!!" the king exclaimed in ecstasy! Yeah... he totally sees me as a daughter, the bedazzled beauty replied to the king in her head. As the king was talking, Lalzari was no longer paying attention. She kept thinking of the power she had already gained and she pondered over what she could possibly do with it. Simply just by walking into the king's lair she had become prestigious. And after he shouted at the maid for touching her, she wondered, is she untouchable now? The king pulled out a flaxan box, and took out a gold pendant with his slender fingers twirling around the jewel like a spindly spider legs weaving a web.
"This Lalzari, is for you, my love. Tell me Lalzari, do you believe in Gods?" the king muttered. In that moment, the brave Lalzari decided to reveal but a taste of her true thoughts, her raw personality, her undeniable firm values.
"Gods? I believe there's only one, master. I believe there can only be one. Everything else is just man-made" the king stared at her as if he hadn't expected her to say what she did. His smile indicating that they've started some sort of game that Lalzari didn't know the rules of yet. The king put the pendant over her head letting it dangle past her chest as he continued
"This will surely change your mind Lalzari, this will protect you".
"It's a piece of gold. If I were to throw it away it wouldn't be able to protect itself, so how can it protect me?" the astute maiden answered whilst the king laughed manically. His dead hands defiled her soft face with their disgusting, cold and intrusive touch.
"My love, oh Lalzari, go to the basement of this castle and see for yourself" the king stated, his words leaving his lips like a snake's darting tongue. The king handed Lalzari a key and stood waiting for her to leave.
The basement wasn't like the rest of the castle. It was narrow, dark and a repugnant, putrid odour galavanted through the air, even the dead would gag from such an assault on the senses. She placed the key in the chains and unlocked the heavy metal doors. The guards on both sides watched her closely as she walked down the hall of the basement, until she heard helpless whimpering. Something inside of Lalzari hesitated, making her want to run back immediately, but morbid intrigue compelled her forwards.
That's when she saw it, Women, men, children, and babies... Tied up, chained, malnourished. It stank like feces, and blood. The prisoners weren't even looking at her for they were so lost in their own torturous anguish. She walked closer to one of the rooms with sealed off bars and sat down in front of an old man, two women, and a baby. The baby did not cry nor move, who knows where it's soul had long departed...
"What happened to you?" the frightened vixen asked in a whisper, scared that the walls might overhear her. One of the women looked up and crawled over to the bars with great agitation.
"284 days!!! I've been counting!! The king... He does this... He's looking for the special one. Am I the special one? Has he chosen me?"
Lalzari slowly stepped away and proceeded to the next room without a word. There she saw a young girl sitting close to the bars. As Lalzari sat down the girl looked up at her with tearful eyes.
"I want to go home" she whimpered.
"Where's home?" Lalzari asked before the girl started crying her eyes.
"I hear you. I see you. It's going to be okay" the maiden comforted, as the girl grabbed her hand through the bars and sobbed right into it.
"Please save me" she whispered. Tears started flowing from Lalzari's eyes too as she sat and shared her pain.
"Look at Javariya. She was so hungry she ate her mom..." the little girl confessed, and with a pit drop in her stomach, Lalzari turned around to see the young girl pointing at a child covered in blood. She...ate.. her mom?... Lalzari panicked in her thoughts.
"It's not her fault she was hungry" the young girl defended. Immediately, Lalzari let go of the young girl's hand and started running out. With a great sickness crawling up her throat, she fell to the ground outside the gates and started throwing up, gagging continuously until it felt like her throat had become the desert itself.
"I'm so disgusted with this king!! He's sick! This world!! Everything is evil!! I can't stand it anymore!! I've seen too much when will the suffering stop?! How can I make it stop?..." Lalzari whimpered before her thoughts immediately ceased and she paused for a second.
"Me. I'll make it stop" the femme fatale declared!
She violently swung the doors wide open to the king's lair and strode proudly up to him as he stood smiling knowing exactly what he had done. Knowing the sight she had witnessed. Knowing the game they were playing. Little did he know, the warrior had decided she wouldn't be a victim of his kingdom, she would be his worst nightmare and biggest mistake.
"Sleeves!" She commanded firmly with eyes so intense the king felt her soul pierce through him. Yet his twisted lust for her only grew as his eyes dilated with desire.
"I, want dresses with sleeves!" Lalzari demanded.