*DISTURBING SCENES*
<YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED>
I R A C E B E T H
Most days in my life, usually include me taking a tour in the dungeons, but today I was ashamed. I had let a man of the magic clan escape like an idiot right under my eyes, not to forget him taking off with my scroll.
My eyes fluttered open, as I found my servant standing above my bed holding a glass of water.
I sat up on my bed and stared at her.
"Good morning your Highness." she greeted me.
"It's not a good morning." I snorted in annoyance.
"But it is a good morning, the weather is beautiful, everything is per-"
"STOP!" I yelled knocking off the glass of water in annoyance. The water spilt all over my night gown and my bedsheets.
My nostrils flared and the servant cowered and stuttered, trying to apologise.
"I'm s-sorry."
"You're sorry, huh? I'll truly make you sorry! You shall-"
"I'm so sorry your Highness! Please, Please forgive me." she begged as she wiped her tears away.
I took a deep breath. She dared to interrupt the Queen. Nobody gets away with insulting the Queen. Nobody.
"You dare to interrupt the Queen. You shall take twenty five whips and-"
"Please, please your Highness." she cowered at my feet.
"AGAIN! You shall take fifty whips now, and you shall have to do the laundry for the whole palace for three hundred and fifty moons."
She got up on her feet and waded her way out.
"COME HERE!" I yelled infuriated at the way she had left.
She slowly walked back in.
"You have not bowed, or apologised to the Queen. HOW DARE YOU! You shall be whipped fifty times everyday for three fifty moons, while you do the laundry for seven hundred moons."
"Sorry, your Highness!" she bowed and ran quickly out the door, sniffing furiously.
I hated these servants! Always spoiling my mornings!
I stood up from my bed and walked to the mirror. I looked beautiful, as usual. I slowly took off my night gown in front of the mirror as I stared at my beautiful curvy body. I felt like having a bath first thing in the morning today.
I walked up slowly to the other side of the room and opened my closet. I walked up to the side where my bathrobes are kept and picked the juicy red one for today. I slowly let the silk bathrobe slide onto my soft white skin and walked up to the mirror and admired my beautiful self.
Honestly, me torturing that lady who the magic mirror claimed as most beautiful, indeed was the best decision of my life. I chuckled at the thought.
I was so furious that day, when the soldiers brought the woman along, I had drawn my dagger eagerly and ran it across her face so many times, her face was almost unrecognisable. I smiled at the thought of her ugly face.
She dared to cry out in pain, as I tore her face apart, so I got her gagged and hung the disgraceful being in front of the palace for the whole kingdom to see.
If I'm right her mate came over to the palace and tried insulting me, and he followed her fate.
They both surprisingly survived for six months straight, hanging there, until they died of starvation.
I chuckled at the thought and summoned the servant but no reply came. I yelled louder, and a guard came in her place.
"Where's that servant?"
"She is being whipped your Highness."
"Good. I want you to summon a new servant for me and make her run a hot bath for me." I said.
"Yes, your Highness" he bowed and left.
I sat at my bed and poured myself a glass of wine and slowly sipped it.
Drops of it wet my bathrobe and I groaned in frustration. I took off my bathrobe and dropped it next to my night gown and wore my velvet red bathrobe.
I placed myself back on the bed and sipped more wine as the guard returned.
"Your bath is ready." he announced as I walked out of my bedroom.
As I stepped out I noticed the servant from the morning limply walking to my room. As she neared me, I whispered into her ears, "Don't forget to clean my night gown, bathrobe and the sheets."
She nodded and walked as I noticed her dress torn in the back showing her freshly burned scars.
I walked up to my bath and undid my bathrobe as it slipped down, soothing my skin.
I slipped into the tub and felt my whole body relax. Gosh, it truly is difficult running a kingdom.
After about an hour I was ready, and slowly walked to my courtroom.
I sat at my throne and closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
When I opened my eyes back, I noticed a guard standing in front of me. He was holding a man who had been gagged, by his hair, who was kneeling in front of me with tears excessively rolling down his eyes.
"What has this man done?" I questioned.
"We found him entering the old barn where you were uhh.."
"Hmm." I nodded
I stood up from my throne and walked up to the man. I dismissed the guard, and my courtiers , who immediately left the room. I was left in solitude to handle this sinner.
I went up close to his ear and whispered, "You have made a grave mistake, young man."
The man let out a muffle and let more tears stain his cheeks.
I grabbed him by his hair and flung him down to the floor. He let out loud muffled cries and my temper flew out of control.
I dragged the man up to my throne and flung him down to the floor again.
He broke into an uncontrollable sob, and his whole body was shaking.
"Stand." I ordered and he slowly leapt on his feet.
I drew my dagger and run it along his gag, undoing it. A few drops of blood trickled down from his cheek, from my dagger also cutting his skin.
The man stood shivering and more tears ran down, a few also mingling with blood from his cheek.
"Do you know what happened in that barn?" I asked him.
"N-No."
"No, your Highness." I corrected him.
He repeated my words and dabbed at his tears a little.
"Well then, it's story time. You listen to my story without interrupting me, okay?"
He nodded.
"I'll let you in on a secret." I sighed.
"My biggest fear..," I said lifting my gown up a little and cleaning my dagger with it, "..is being tied up."
"It all started with my friend telling me a story. It was a normal one." I said dropping my gown and holding the dagger tightly.
"It was the story of a kidnapping. Just some story she probably made up." I said walking closer to him.
"A very good narrator she was, but one part,- one part she gave me extra details. Can you guess which part?" I asked lifting one eyebrow up.
"B-Being tied up?" he stuttered.
"Tch tch tch tch." I nodded my head as though pitying him.
"Remember? I said no interrupting?" I said raising my dagger a little.
"S-Sorry, your Highness." he mouthed.
"I'm sorry too." I said ripping a little cloth off my gown with my dagger.
I picked up the cloth and stuffed it into his face, and pushed him onto the ground.
I bend down to him and run my dagger across his arm, as a streak of blood pops out, and slowly slides down to my carpet staining it redder than its original hue.
He tried crying out in pain but nothing came out except for muffled noises.
"So, fast forward a little. I am the Queen of Grimwale and all. One morning I wake up, and realise I've had a very disturbing dream." I say running my dagger along his skin another time. More blood trickles and stains my carpet into a hue darker than the red it already is. Drops of blood also settle on my dress.
"The whole day goes by and I realise I'm not at peace even then. One courtier, suddenly suggests I go on a walk to calm my nerves a bit. I think it's a great idea and slip into my favourite velvet night gown and go out for a walk in the palace gardens." Now, I realise my carpet has a huge blot of stain because of cutting his arm continually.
"Was that a good idea?" I ask standing up. "No! It was a bad idea. It's a moonless night and I've walked around the palace gardens for about five times now and I'm feeling a lot better, surprisingly." I say bending down near his face.
"And then BAM! I'm blacking out and the whole world crumbles into black." I say getting excited as I cut a hard long line across his cheek.
"I wake up and I'm in this old deserted barn. My feet are dangling from above the ground. My hands are tied tightly to a hook and are numb. My legs are so tightly bound I could already see my skin getting pale near my ankles. I'm gagged and the only things I can move are my hips." I say cutting more at his face in agony. The last time I cut so madly at someone's face was of that woman's face who was supposedly more beautiful than me.
"Being tied up is one thing, and being suspended from the ceiling with nothing to move except your hips is another. Let me tell you, how painful it was. I couldn't wriggle my hands or legs and if I did, I felt like my feet and hands were being torn apart." I said breathing deeply.
I stood up and dropped my dagger. I went close up to his face which was now stained red completely.
"The worst part was.." I said drawing a quick breath. "..my nightgown was no longer on my body, but on the floor."
Despite his face being bloodied and unrecognisable, I could see an expression of horror cross his face.
"Eleven days. I was like that for eleven days. Hanging from the ceiling, tied up and naked for eleven days." My body was shaking uncontrollably in anger.
I undid his gag and whispered to him, "From that day onwards, anybody who had entered that barn faced this fate."
"How did you escape?" the man asked with shaky breath.
"A guard of mine found me naked, tied and gagged in a barn."
The man slightly flinched.
I stood up and ordered a guard to take the man to the dungeons.
I lead the way and reached the largest cell. I opened the door and the man gasped.
The cell was filled with people tied and gagged the same way I was.
"All those who entered the barn, shall receive the same treatment as me." I stated as the man got stripped by my soldier.
"You just got paid back for your years of sinning." the man mouthed, as he got tied up.
I simply smiled and left.
"You shall die a death of pure torture." he cursed.