The house was as grand as Alexis had imagined it would be as she followed Ren and Geoffrey down the staircase and into a large hall. It looked like the type of setting you might see in a Disney movie when the princess is escorted to a ball at a large palace.
Is this really to be my new home? she wondered, fear of what was to be expected of her overshadowing any excitement that she felt.
A low murmur of men's voices interrupted her thoughts as they neared a room at the far side of the hall, and both Geoffrey and Ren stopped and turned to her before opening the door.
"You should call the boss Mr Bowman for now unless he tells you otherwise," Ren instructed before adding. "But for the most part, don't be afraid, okay?"
Sure, that's easy for you to say, Alexis thought, but simply nodded and felt her heart go into overdrive when the door opened and revealed six similarly suited men standing in a small gathering in the centre of a large lounge with one man seated nearer the door.
Alexis took in a slow, deep breath as that particular man turned to look at her with a small scowl on his face.
"This is the rest of the crew," Geoffrey said as they entered. "I'll introduce you to everyone after you meet with the boss."
He didn't give any further information after that, but it wasn't hard for her to decipher which of the men the boss was.
He was at the far side of the gathering and was clearly the focus of the men who stood around him, with Thomas standing to his right. Thomas' gaze also locked with Alexis' when she entered the room.
The lone man who sat near the entrance watched silently as Alexis passed, and a sharp chill ran through her as she took in his rugged features which boasted a scar that ran through his paled, right eye - an eye that seemed to have lost its life when compared to his brilliant blue left eye. He was by far the scariest looking man she had seen that day, perhaps in her whole life, and his lack of a smile only emphasised his mean appearance.
She glanced over the other men before her gaze fixed on Vincent, and a sudden heaviness filled her legs, welding her feet to the floor.
The room had long become quiet, and now, as she stood only footsteps away from Vincent, with her heart echoing in her ears the only sound she could hear.
His black hair was perfectly parted on one side and then combed over neatly despite the waves that elicited a flow-like look to how it fell over the side of his head. He was watching her, just as the other men were, but his almost black eyes burrowed deeply into her and reached the depths of her stomach creating an internal flutter that raged almost out of control, weakening her at the knees until she wished she had a chair or table she could hold from fear of falling over.
He was, quite simply, the most terrifyingly beautiful, or beautifully terrifying man she had ever seen.
His mouth turned up into a small, soft smile as he watched her, and then he spoke in a smooth, liquid voice.
"Hello there, you must be Alexis."
Alexis' mouth dropped as she thought the words she wanted to return, but found no voice to return them with.
He took a step closer to her and leaned forward a little. "You know, it's good manners to respond when an adult speaks to you."
"Oh," she uttered before taking a visible gulp as she built the courage to speak. "Yes, sir. And you're Mr Bowman?"
"Right," he said with a small smile. "But my friends and family call me Vincent. So, I hope you feel free to call me Vincent too."
Subconsciously, the corners of Alexis' mouth curled until she wore a faint smile.
Terrifyingly beautiful, she confirmed to herself deciding that, despite the frightening aura he gave off, there was no way someone whose voice was as sweet as warm honey could be all bad.
She'd met many bad people, and try as they might to feign friendliness, it was almost always tainted. There seemed to be no insincerity in his voice, or crookedness in his smile.
Maybe he truly wants to be friends, she told herself. However, there was still the issue of why she was there with them and how she had been brought there.
"That's much better," Vincent said on seeing her smile. "How are you finding your new home, Alexis?"
"I don't know," Alexis answered truthfully which received a slight frown from Thomas. "Why am I here?" she asked.
Vincent's smile dropped for a moment. "Quite frankly, it seems that your father hasn't been honouring his duty and taking care of you. So, as a former friend of your mother, I decided that I would do it."
"So, my dad's not in any trouble?" she asked.
"Would it bother you if he were?"
Alexis remained silent in thought before uttering a simple. "No."
Her answer seemed to please Vincent, who, in turn, smiled, somewhat larger than he had been smiling previously. "I like honest people," he said.
He had a pleasant smile which he held comfortably as he turned to ask Ren about dinner preparations and then instructed Alexis to follow him through to the dining room along with the rest of the men.
The dining room housed a large dining table decorated with vases and laid with plates and cutlery, and the walls were lined with serving tables where men were currently laying with food. Once again, the room and atmosphere were reminiscent of a movie based on a royal family.
Vincent walked to the end of the table where he pulled out a chair on the left side of the head of the table and gestured for Alexis to sit down. He pushed her chair back under the table and then took a seat at the head of the table. Thomas then took his seat opposite Alexis, to the right of Vincent.
Then, the men who were laying the food out began taking rounds and ensuring that all of the plates on the table were filled. Alexis looked hungrily at the food on her plate but hesitated, fearing what the price of food could be, based on her experiences from the past.
"Are you not hungry?" Vincent asked.
"No," Alexis lied.
"When did you eat last?"
In truth, she couldn't even remember. Surely she'd had something to eat that morning, all the same, she lied again. "Not long before I was taken."
"Alexis," Vincent said, his voice sharper than before. "Remember what I said about honest people," he continued, holding her gaze with his as he spoke. "If we're going to get along, you need to be that kind of person. Do you understand?"
Alexis' face contorted for a moment. His words almost seemed like a threat though no animosity was present in his voice. She wanted to ask exactly what would happen if they didn't get along - would it be worse than she could imagine or not as bad? But she already knew that tempting someone's hand often worked out against you rather than in your favour, so, instead, she simply nodded.
"Good," he said plainly. "What is it that you were doing before you were taken?"
She gave a light sigh and wondered exactly how many more questions he would fire at her.
"The usual," she replied.
Vincent's eyelids narrowed slightly at her answer, prompting her to quickly add.
"Hiding," a single word that came out as a whisper.
"You usually hide?" he asked, to which Alexis nodded.
"From what?"
Alexis could feel the eyes of the other men on her as Vincent questioned her. Her fists tightened beneath the table as considered what he was asking her to speak about.
Dropping her eyes from his gaze, she gave a small shake of her head.
"Alexis," Vincent said, "Nobody here is going to hurt you, you know that right?"
"Stop saying that," Alexis argued after having heard that same sentence more times than she was comfortable with. "That's what people say when they are going to hurt you."
That is how it was. They spoke nicely and lured you into a sense of security, promising gifts and kindness, and then when you believed you were safe they hurt you.
Vincent's jaw tightened as he watched her stare back at him with tear-filled eyes.
"Did somebody hurt you, Alexis?"
Alexis' lips trembled as her only reply.
"Who ..." Vincent's voice broke slightly, and he drew in a deep breath.
He was angry, that was clear. His calm demeanour was now lined with something fierce which screamed out from the depths of his eyes and sent a million chills coursing through Alexis' body.
She shuffled awkwardly in her seat as the silence filled the room. She wanted to get out of there, to run and to hide, but where could she go? She didn't even know where she was.
At least if anything, I could find somewhere to hide, she wondered before pushing her chair out and jumping from the seat.
Vincent didn't move as she quickly backed away from the table except to raise his hand slightly to someone she hadn't seen behind her, and soon his arm had gripped her around her waist and was lifting her from the ground.
"No," she screamed, kicking wildly at the man who was holding her until his hand pressed down over her mouth. His hands were heavy, and her body restricted enough to make wriggling difficult, and it was only for the painful piercing of the piece of mirror she had tucked in her crop top that gave her the insane hope that she might get free.
She reached up and grabbed at her chest, making her best effort to release her makeshift dagger, but she was easy work in the arms of the man who was holding her, and he quickly lowered her and secured her legs below his, and then her arms tightly against her chest.
It hurt.
The squeeze of his hand against her mouth and the pressure of his grip against her arms which pressed down on the broken mirror piece inside her crop top. Alexis couldn't do anything except to close her eyes and hold her tears.
"What the hell, Mamax?" Geoffrey said, rushing over to the man's side. "Ease up."
"I was trying to calm her," the man named, Mamax said.
Geoffrey's hands grasped at Mamax and loosened his grip from her before turning her towards him.
"She's a little girl, not a rabid dog," he snapped and then his voice softened as he spoke to Alexis. "Are you ok, princess?"
"I ... I don't ..." Alexis stammered, all the while pulling away from Geoffrey and fighting her best to restrain her tears.
"It's okay, it's okay," Geoffrey said, loosening his grip but not removing it.
Wide-eyed Alexis glared at Mamax comparing the force he'd used to the men's repetition of 'nobody will hurt you'. But then she had been lashing out, and he was a giant. That much she had surmised when he glowered over Thomas and Vincent, who had now come to stand by him, the scar that ran across his eye compounding the giant look.
Thomas' frown seemed to have softened as he approached with Vincent, while Vincent's face was expressionless as he walked over and crouched beside Geoffrey.
"I'm sorry," Alexis said in a rush, unsure if he was angry or not.
"No, no. I'm sorry," Vincent said and raised his hand to pat her head before stopping abruptly at the sight of her flinching. "Did I scare you just now?" he asked.
Alexis' eyes dropped to the floor. She wasn't exactly scared, she just wasn't sure if she felt safe.
"We keep telling you, princess," Geoffrey said. "You're safe here, and it's not just words."
Alexis nodded.
The men had all been as open as she could have expected since she'd arrived and had displayed nothing but friendliness, although in her experience it didn't always mean much.
It was just that niggling feeling of vulnerability that she always felt around strange men, that threw her off. And now there was that painful sting in her chest that she had felt since being grabbed by Mamax.
She pressed her hand against the area where the broken piece of glass was held and let out a wince as the pain surged through her.
"What happened?" Vincent asked, pulling her hand away from her chest at which his eyes widened slightly as red liquid seeped from under her dress.