1913, Monaco - Lopez Manor
Thursday 15th April. 09:59am
Isabella sat at the end of her bed, her hands flat against her knees. The only movements she made was the slight breathes she made every few seconds. Her foot hesitated to tap on the floor, frightened of the consequences that may come if she leaves her positions.
10:00am
The doors to her room burst open, a maid stood at the door with a stern look plastered across her face.
"Your father wishes to speak with you before your Russian Language Class Miss Lopez." she said. Her eyes never moved from the the top of the window, which was straight in front of her door.
Isabella rose from her seat and began to walk out of her room. She followed the spiral staircase around. The urge to slide down the railing was difficult, yet she once again complied with the strict rules which she was obliged to follow.
These rules were not the simple normalities which any other parent would give their child. These were much more extreme and perhaps unfair to the 4 year old Isabella.
1, Swearing and inappropriate language is prohibited at all times.
2, I must speak in only a formal manner to everyone at all times.
3, Only speak when spoken to.
4, Behave in a polite manner, do not run or play playground games.
5, Follow my schedule with no exceptions for illness or lateness.
6, Do not disobey any instructions.
7, Failure to comply with these rules will result in punishment chosen by Mr Lopez.
As well as having to comply with these rules, Isabella had to spend an hour each week writing up these rules over and over again. She learnt how to write at almost 3 years old and since then she had filled up 5 books of the rules.
She waited outside her fathers office door and a butler knocked on it twice.
"Enter." her fathers voice shouted from the inside.
The butler pushed open the two doors and stood to the left.
"Mr Lopez, your daughter is ready to be spoken to." he spoke. His eyes never moved once and he stayed in a still position. Perhaps frightened to look at her father.
Mr Lopez looked up towards his daughter and nodded towards a seat in front of his desk. Isabella walked in and sat upon the seat, once again placing her hands on her knees.
The butler nodded towards Mr Lopez and walked out of the room, closing both doors behind him.
"I am aware it is your birthday in a weeks time. To celebrate the occasion I will grant you with a new tutor so you can begin to learn Psychology." he said. His eyes never left his paper and his hand continued to scribble notes across the page.
"Father, may I have a small party to celebrate my fourth birthday. Perhaps just a few of your friends and their children could attend?" Isabella said before she was rudely interrupted.
"Must I ask for you to recite rule number 3 Miss Lopez?" his voice raised slightly. However he was quite shocked. This was the first time Isabella had ever spoken up to anyone and as much as it disappointed him, it also angered him. He felt as if he hadn't done his job right. His parenting hadn't gone to plan.
Isabella looked towards her feet, they began to swing up and down and she liked the feeling. It was giving her something to do, instead of living with the boredom which she had to put up with most days.
"I am fully aware of each rule which you have given me. Yet I think a small gathering would not harm anyone and it's a great opportunity for me to create friendships." Isabella replied. She held her head high. She wasn't afraid nor was she panicked about the outcome of her actions.
Mr Lopez now had a dark frown across his face. His wrinkles tensed and his grip on his pen made his knuckled turn white. He closed his eyes for a few short seconds before standing up immediately.
"Did I ask for you to speak?" his voice was much louder now, making Isabella flinch slightly. However she wasn't bothered, but she should've been. If only Isabella knew to stop now, to apologise to her father and to carry on with her schedule as normal.
She would've been instructed to return to her Russian Language lesson and carry on with the rules she must follow. But Isabella is a courages girl, who never knew her limits.
Her fathers shouting only made her adrenaline rush more. But oh boy was she loving it. She arose from her seat and stood up straight to face him properly.
"The rules are obscured. As of now I will respect you but only if you respect me. You must learn that I am only just a child." Isabella did not raise her voice, only trying to get her message across to her father.
He stormed around the desk and grabbed both of Isabella's arms tightly. His fingers dug into her skin and he pulled her up so that her feet were only slightly on the floor.
"You listen to me girl. You are making this worse for yourself and your purpose if it obey me." he growled. Isabella didn't know what to do at this moment. It was the closest that her and her father had ever been. The only time she had ever felt his skin on hers and it was nothing like she imagined.
She thought it would be soft. It was the complete opposite. It was rough, as if he was made completely of sandpaper. It was not the feeling which she had hoped to experience.
"пошел на хуй"
"fuck you"
Isabella sneered back at him. He immediately dropped her back to the floor. His hand gripped onto the back of her neck, making her scream out in pain. He dragged her out of the room, making all the staff stare in shock. Some gasped, some shook their heads and some of them even sighed in disappointment.
He dragged the poor girl out the Lopez manor, grabbing the door to their taxi and pushing her into the backseat. He climbed in himself and slammed the door closed.
"Take us to the L'Istituto Italiano per i Pazzi Mentali. And drive fast." his voice was stern and cold which sent cold shivers down the back of Isabella's spine. She had never learnt Italian, which Isabella felt was rather peculiar given that Monaco is neighbouring the country. However she never once questioned it. At this point she wish she did though, she was curious to know the destination of her fathers choice.
10:49am
The journey felt long. Longer than Isabella had expected, she had never been this far from home before and it was unnerving to her.
She finally picked up the courage to ask her father where they were going.
"Where are you taking me?" she muttered. Her throat was raw from screaming, the pain in her voice was visible to the driver which made him grip the steering wheel tightly.
"The Italian Institution for the Mentally Insane. It's about time you learnt some manners." he looked ahead. Turning his head the the side a few times looking across the road. The car slowed down and drove around the corner, going through a broken gate covered in rust and overgrown plants. A grin spread across Mr Lopez' face, making Isabella gulp.
A larger house was visible, two larger doors at the front, with numerous windows all in a symmetrical order. It wasn't welcoming at all. If anything it made Isabella's stomach turn.
The car came to a halt in front of the doors and a man with a long beard approached. Mr Lopez opened the door and pulled Isabella out. He had a strong grip on her shoulder and he faced her in front of the man.
"I need you to knock some sense into this girl, she has adopted a tendency to disobey simple orders and is disrespectful to her father." Mr Lopez spoke. He seemed to become a different person whilst in front of this strange man.
"How long until you collect her?" he asked. His voice was loud and clear, with a strong Russian accent.
"I'd say a day is enough to bring her to her sense. But I'll be back in around a month, I have business to attend to in Spain."
Mr Lopez pushed Isabella towards the man, who caught her in his arms. He held onto the side of her arm gently.
"Lets go inside, shall we?" he smiled at her. She nodded at the man, afraid to give him the wrong impression on her.
He guided Isabella towards the door, only the sound of Mr Lopez' car rushing off was heard. The door was pushed open and she was guided down a long corridor covered in grey walls. Doors were all the way down the corridor, each of them labelled with different names.
They began to walk up a flight of stairs, only now could Isabella hear the small screams which were coming down the second floor corridor. She stopped walking and her eyes widened.
"Come on, another flight of stairs to go up." he smiled at her. She couldn't tell if it was a nice smile or not. Which made her feel scared to go any further on. So she shook her head. The man picked her up, carrying her up the stairs. "Come on, we need to start your tests immediately."
He began to pick up his pace, practically jogging down the corridor. Before he came to a halt and pushed open a door.
There was a bed in the middle of the room. But not the bed which you would normally see, one which was high up in the air with brown leather straps at each corner.
There was machinery and tools located all over the room.
The man took her across to the bed and laid her down.
"Don't worry Miss Lopez, my name is Doctor Albero." as he spoke, he began to tie Isabella's arms to the table. She began to kick and scream, afraid of what was yet to come. "Stop it Miss Lopez."
Tears dropped down her cheeks, making her chin tremble slowly. A number of women entered, all of them were nurses wearing long dresses and hats.
Her arms and legs were now tied down, leaving Isabella in a star like position.
Dr Albero picked up a long silver stick, which had a wire attached to a machine on his right. One nurse stood next to the machine, beginning to turn the dial slightly making a sharp buzzing noise.
"This is one of the very first electronic devices. It conducts electricity throughout anything which it touches," a nurse began to cut Isabella's dress into two, so that her entire body was visible to the people around her "I am going to tap it against your skin slightly, it will send a slight pins and needly feeling to your brain but there will be no pain."
Isabella shook her head abruptly. Tears poured down her cheeks and fell onto the sheets beneath her.
A few nurses held up a pen and paper in front of them, some of them already writing down notes.
Dr Albero placed the stick onto the middle of Isabella's stomach, making her scream out in pain.
"Stop please." she wailed. A nurse placed down her notepad and placed a towel in-between Isabella's mouth. The pain shook Isabella's body, making her stomach do flips.
He began to prod her skin with the device, each time more painful and shocking to Isabella.
All of a sudden, Dr Albero stopped. He frowned down at Isabella's skin and grazed his finger across it slowly.
"No one else has ever had physical reactions to this experiment," the nurses began to scribble down notes faster and faster. Isabella remained crying, sweat dripping down her face, "make an incision, we need to check her healing process."
A nurse picked up a knife, pushing it down into her skin just below her shoulder, she made a circle shape and then went around again. Digging deeper with the knife. Blood poured down Isabella's body. She continued to cry out for help, begging for her father to come back and take her away from this horrible place.
Isabella should've known not to disobey or disrespect her father. This institution was dangerous and the month she spent there felt like a lifetime. Each day was more or less the same, but there was a few days which she would be left alone. Bedridden. In darkness. In pain.
The month she spent there felt worse than hell. She didn't speak for almost a year after, but no one questioned it. Her tutors lied to her father, saying she was making great progress. Yet she simply stared down to the blank paper in front of her. Everyone in the household was scared for the poor girl.
They were aware of the effect which the Institution could have on people, and to see the effect in real life was fascinating but also petrifying for everyone.
It was only when Mr Lopez realised he never heard Isabella speak to anyone, this led to every maid, butler, tutor and cleaner in the household to be fired. Those who stood up for Isabella were shot. Only the kitchen staff remained.
But soon enough, more staff were hired around the household. All of them were instructed to strict ruled and none of them ever stepped a foot out of line.
It was that long month in Isabella's life which changed her forever. Leaving her with nothing but those 7 rules. Those 7 rules of hell, corruption and above all, trauma.