Constance
I don't know what's wrong with me, but it's hard to want to talk; words feel like a whole other world away and I open my mouth, asking for another bite.
I bite my lip, thinking if I want more pancakes.
Pushing my legs together and bringing them up to my chest, I feel more comfortable. I feel smaller.
"What's wrong, little girl?" He asks, his forehead creased in worry.
I shake my head in order to tell him that it's nothing, then I open my mouth again, asking for more food.
After half of the pancakes are gone, I begin to shake my head when he offers a bite. He smiles in reaction when I do and places me on the floor, grabbing his own plate and starting to eat.
I grin when I notice the coloring books, sitting still on the table. My head tilts to the side as I look up at Ace and to the coloring books; basically asking for permission.
His form of punishment isn't that fun.
When he sees, he smiles again and nods, his mouth full of pancakes. I watch as he grabs the remote and puts on a Disney princess movie. Scooting over to the table, I grab the books and look at my findings.
One is a dinosaur book, another is an animal one (mostly cats!), and the third is a Hello Kitty book.
I look up at the TV as I reach for the crayons, smiling as I see that it's Beauty and The Beast; my favorite movie. My brain feels like it's split into pieces, ignoring everything around me and focusing on the TV and coloring, nothing else matters.
Soon enough, a liquid between my legs shocks me out of my zone. Anxiety and panic filter through my body, I had an accident.
I feel my cheeks and eyes get warm and tears drip to my chin. Springing to my feet, I run to the bathroom in my room, terrified that it'll already be bad.
"Where are you going?" Ace calls after me, quickly getting up to run after me. Doors slam shut behind me and the click of the lock seems to not only lock the door but lock in my brain what happened. I softly sob and sink to the floor, the iciness shaking me awake.
A gentle knock on the door scares me and I sob harder, shaking.
"Constance?" He says softly. "Please open the door."
"No," I whimper. I can hear him quietly sigh behind the door and my tears seem to come down even harder. "I can't, I jus can't!"
"Please, little girl. You just gotta grab the knob and open it," He gently probes, attempting to talk me into opening it myself.
"No!" I say louder, sobs following the same suit.
"Okay," He says a little firmer. "Either open the door for me, sweetie, or I'll open it for you."
I sniffle and reach up, twisting the door and pulling it open a little.
His hand pushes through frantically and he comes in, leaning down to where I am and looking me over for injuries.
"Oh," He mumbles gently. "Did you have an accident? It's okay if you did."
I look down, away from him, away from his authoritative eyes that make me feel like the truth will be yanked out of my throat, and shake my head in a lie.
His eyes darken, slight disappointment lining the pursing of his lips.
"Are you lying to me?" He questions.
Biting my lip, I take a deep breath and crumble into a small ball in front of him. He sighs and lifts me up, setting me on my feet.
I go along with his movements, him quickly stripping me and starting up the water. He leaves me in my panties and a shirt as he grabs a towel and other things.
When he's done and it's all stacked on the toilet, he bends back down in front of me.
"I'm going to give you one more chance, are you lying to me?" His voice is deeper, almost like he's daring me to lie again, he wants me to.
I look down in shame and nod my head slowly, you wouldn't even be able to tell if you weren't paying strict attention.
"Take the rest off, please," He mumbles shortly. I listen, quickly pulling my panties down my legs and unsnapping my bra from my back, covering myself with my hands when I finish.
"I don't like lying, little girl," He warns softly and lifts me, sitting me in the bathtub and placing some toys in the water with me.
I relax slightly, the feeling of danger pushed to the side temporarily. Sniffling, I curl up in the water to warm up. Goosebumps line my skin where the cold air stings.
A quiet rap on the door stills me, fear filling my spine as to who else will see me today.
I don't want anyone else in here, it doesn't feel safe as it is.
Ace reaches up and pulls the bath curtain over the opening, completely hiding me from view.
"Come in," I hear Ace's gruff voice say. Despite the drowning discomfort that he gives me, his voice is the most comforting thing I've ever heard before. The door squeaks as the man comes in.
"Sorry, sir!" He says abruptly. "I just wanted to know if everything was okay, I heard some noises."
"It's fine, Noah, we're fine..." They continue talking, their voices intermingling in my head as I get lost, looking down at the pink bubbles I didn't see before. They're fluffy, almost warm if they didn't give a cold shock when they pop on my skin.
My face is filled with a large grin, never experienced this amount of happiness from a tub filled with bubbles before. Soon enough, the distant sound of the door shutting clicks in my head and I look up just in time for Ace to pull the curtain back.
His face adorns my brain, my head empty except for him as I look into his eyes.
"You okay?" He questions, bending down. "It's about time to wash your hair."
His gentle voice pulls me back into the lull of emptiness, just enjoying the feeling of his hands dancing around my head, scrubbing and washing.
A washcloth runs down my arms and my body, he continues talking as he goes about; he doesn't want me uncomfortable.
It doesn't take long until I feel waves of water washing over my body, rinsing the soap off. He slowly pulls me up and covers me with a towel, not wanting to expose me without my permission. I fall into his arms, my head spacy and dizzy.
"I think it's time for a nap," He mumbles, picking me up and taking me into my room. My arms wrap around his neck as he carries me, taking me off to wherever he's wanting to go.
We get into the closet, and by surprise, I'm met with a good amount of clothes; including the ones I bought! He grabs some comfy clothes and takes me back into the bedroom, setting me on the bed and laying out the clothes.
It's pink and white thigh highs, a pair of panties, and a baby pink hoodie.
I smile and gently kick my feet, excited to be dressed. Ace rushes through it, still not meaning to make me uncomfortable.
When he finishes dressing me, he stands up and smiles gently.
"Do you want to take your nap in here, or in my bedroom? It's right beside my office." He asks, not an ounce of pressure in his tone.
I look down and rub my bed, trying to tell him I want to stay here. He smiles again and nods, rubbing my head, and tells me to have a good nap.
Ace
It doesn't take long for her to fall asleep, I went back in five minutes later to check on her and she was out like a light. A wide grin forms on my face as I think blissfully, she's so adorable when she's small.
I open the door to my office quietly, knowing that these hallways echo and I don't want to wake her up. Making my way to my desk, I sit down and pull up my laptop, looking around online to figure out what I should do next.
Her father is pissed, calling around all the neighboring mafias to see if they have her. It won't take very long for them to find out she's here and I need to figure out what to do when they do.
He doesn't know as of now, but I need to fight like hell to make sure that no one tells him. I need her here, with me, no matter what. She has to stay out of her father's grasp, I don't know how I would get her back.
I don't know what it is about her, she's just perfect. Everything about her screams at me, begging me to take her, to make her mine, to keep her away from all of the dangers in the world; even if she doesn't agree with how I do it. Someone like her needs to be protected no matter what.
Shaking my head, I continue my research. Her father is pretty popular.
I don't care if this crosses some kind of boundary, but I need to know why she was running away.
An article pops up and I quickly scan through it. Names flash through the paragraphs, Constance Aveilli, Marcus Delaiir, my eyes pause at the most important word: marriage.
Anger pulses through my body, my fists tightening on the table. He was going to marry her off.
He was going to marry her off to Marcus Delaiir, a soon-to-be-leader of the Yatoo Mafia; they're known especially for their ruthlessness and woman beating.
I'd kill myself before I'd ever let a girl like Constance go to a man like that, whether it's me or not.
A knock on my door shakes my brain out of its stupor. I pause.
"Come in," I say loud enough for them to hear. Noah walks in, a short man following behind him and looking like a dumpling.
"Hi, sir," Noah says, looking at me with bored eyes. "This man is refusing to leave unless he sees you, I'm sorry for the disturbance."
Noah is quick to turn around, his eyes flickering down to my clutched fists, and makes the wise decision to leave while he can.
"What do you want, Troy?" I sigh, glaring at him. His head shifts down to look at his feet as he holds his hands behind his back, a few beads of sweat dripping runs down his face as he stutters.
"I-I'm here to talk about the West Barrier," He mumbles anxiously.
"What about it?" I grumble. The sweat dribbles down his cheek and drips onto his suit jacket, leaving a fat mark.
"Um, well, sir, there have been a few um... members of the Clan Gang who have been trying to come into our area," He quietly says, you can almost hear his teeth chittering in anxiety.
"Have any succeeded?" I question, looking down at my phone and sending a message to a coworker.
"Yes, um-" I cut him off. "Damage?"
"There were quite a few, so a good bit of damage," He says, slowly getting more confident as he pulls out some papers and lowers his glasses. "There were at least 15 members who managed to get through, there are some laced drugs in the community, they busted in and got a couple of shipments of guns, and they murdered a high-tier family within our mafia."
"And why wasn't this brought to me sooner?" I growl, leaning forward in my seat and placing my hands on the table threateningly.
"Um, I'm-I'm not sure, sir! I just come when my orders are to come, I'm very sorry!" He whimpers, stepping back in slight fear.
"Leave," I order firmly, looking out my window to think. A few seconds after he leaves, I hear a crash across the hall.
Panic fills my chest, Constance.