The small clock on the bedside table showed that it was just after six when I heard movement outside the door. I woke up to the sound of someone speaking, no doubt it was Zacarias.
The room was cold and dark. The ceiling lamp had been turned off and the room was dark. From the crack under the door, light peeked through.
I sat up on the bed and quickly picked up my coat. It had been draped over the foot of the bed, where I had left it. I slipped it on and then climbed out the bed. I drew back the curtain for a second to see what the outside looked like. The sky was still dark.
I let the curtain fall back into place and then rubbed my eyes. I was tired, exceptionally tired. I guess that was my own fault considering I stayed up half the night in case Zacarias had come into the room.
Step. Step. Step.
"—I'll be leaving within the next ten minutes. I've repacked the car. All that's left to do is drop the keys off at the front desk and wake Zelena."
I stepped closer to the car and pressed my ear against it. There was a pause for several seconds before he began speaking again.
"In a bit o' a state...nothing at all, but that's just a matter for her state o' mind. It will probably fade when we get back."
Another pause.
"Agamemnon probably wouldnne' have if he was looking. If we have no' heard anything from or about him, then I doubt anyone else will."
Another pause.
Agamemnon? Who the hell was Agamemnon? No doubt that person's parents must have liked the stories of Helen of Troy and the Trojan war. God, but this was getting weirder and weirder.
"I understand. I won't let ye' down, Maximus. Thrive fare."
I stood up straight when he no longer spoke. I heard his footsteps moved around quickly, but it wasn't until he approached the door did I move away quickly.
All at once, a strike of panic and adrenaline pulsed within me.
I darted to the opposite side of the room and grabbed the lamp from the bedside table. I pulled the lamp shade from the post and tossed it on the bed. As Zacarias inserted the key into the door, I pulled the lamp cord from the wall and then ripped it out the lamp. It would just get in my way if I didn't.
The door clicked as Zacarias unlocked it.
I moved behind the closet so quickly that it left an acceleration in my heart beat. I held the lamp tightly within both my hands and breathed softly.
The door creaked as it opened and light filled the room.
"Zelena," Zacarias said. "Wake-up, Love."
The ceiling light turned on.
"Zelena?"
I peeked out from behind the closet. Zacarias looked down at the plate on the floor. The sandwich was left untouched. He then turned and stomped over to the bathroom. He walked inside it and looked around.
"Zelena!"
I stepped out from behind the closet and charged. As I made my way towards the bathroom door, I lifted the lamp up and brought it down towards Zacarias' head as he stepped out.
"Oi!" he gasped as he reached out and grabbed the lamp before it could hit his head. He pulled the lamp swiftly from my hands and tossed it aside. Before I knew it, he had me against the wall, his hands pinning me back by my shoulders.
He breathed out a sigh and furrowed his eyebrows at me. He frowned deeply and then shook his head.
"Are you daft?" he demanded. "I could have hurt ye'!"
I frowned up at him. I didn't exactly see why he would care if he hurt me. He already kidnapped me and locked me up.
He let me go and then stepped back. As he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger, I stayed still and stared at him. Weirder and weirder. Was it me or did he look...pained? Why though? Why did he looked pained over what just happened?
I blinked and cleared my throat.
Zacarias sighed and then reached out again. I gasped as he grabbed a hold of my arm and pulled me forward.
"Let's go," he snapped.
"You never give up, do you?" I snapped as he pulled me through the door.
"No," he said and hurried me through to the next room. "Now, move."
I breathed in deeply and moved with him.
When we left the motel, Zacarias dropped off the keys at the front desk and then lead me back to his car. By now, the cold morning air was only a little less freezing and the morning was beginning to lighten. The place was deserted of all people except for us.
As we approached the car, Zacarias pushed me, a tad too roughly, towards the it.
"Stop pushing me around!" I snapped as I shoved him back from me. "I can walk by myself!"
"Get in the car!" he snapped at me, sounding as though he was in no mood for any kind of discussion.
I furrowed my eyebrows at him and crossed my arms against my chest.
"No," I said.
He turned to face me and glared.
"Get in the car, Zelena!" he snapped at me.
I rolled my eyes and looked away. I honestly had no desire to do what he said. In fact, I was rather glad to be giving him a hard time.
"Pity for ye' that you donne' remember what I'm like," he said as he walked over and wrapped his arm around my waist.
"Stop!" I said and thrust my arms back and forth in protest. "What are you doing?"
"Like it or no', lass," he snapped at me as he hauled me over to the back of his car. "Yer' going te' Woodbridge, even if I have te' drag ye' by the hair!"
He opened the boot of the bar and lifted it up. Panic filled me to a horrific level.
"Are you insane?" I demanded as I moved away. Zacarias pulled me back to his side and then picked me up. With an effortless amount of strength, he dumped me inside the boot and then shut the door.
I lift my hands up and smacked the top of the boot door.
"Zacarias!" I shouted. "Let me out! Hey! I can't stay in here!"
Breathlessness seemed to strike me instantly. I forced myself to steady my breathing as I listened to him get into the front seat. As the engine started, the car vibrated smoothly. Within seconds, the car moved and rather quickly.
A soft material object slipped against my side. I could only assume that it was a backpack.
"Zacarias!" I shouted as I threw my hands against the boot above me. "I can't breathe! Stop the car!"
There was no response.
I breathed in deeply and a sob escaped me.
"Let me out!" I cried. "I can't...br-breathe!"
I turned onto my side and brought my knees up against my chest. I closed my eyes and tried to keep myself calm. I breathed sharply, listening to the sound of the car as it drove along the tar road.
Tears escaped my eyes and flowed so freely that it made me feel as though I was a running tap. I covered my head with my arms and sobbed. I couldn't even begin to count the time as it passed. With every ticking second, I became more and more uncomfortable and panicked. The feeling of closeness, of being trapped, it was terrible – and becoming worse. It felt like hours, days, that I was locked inside the boot, trapped in its tight darkness.
Time itself seemed to stand still – right until the point of me being unable to move. I gave up on speaking, gave up on escaping, and gave up on hoping for a chance of getting away. All I could do was stay frozen within my tight prison.
"Zacarias!" I cried when I couldn't take the tightness anymore. "Please! I'll co-operate! Just let me out!"
When the car finally stopped, I opened my eyes and dried away the tears on my face. I listened carefully as the engine cut and car door opened. When Zacarias climbed out the car, I felt it lift from under his weight.
The air around me seemed thick by now. God, what was he stopping for? The longer it took him to take me wherever it was we were going, the longer it would take to get me out of this boot. It was getting harder to breathe the same air.
I blinked my eyes and breathed steadily, trying to keep myself as calm as possible.
The boot above me clicked and rose up. Orange light shone down on me, hurting my eyes and I covered them with my hands.
Zacarias reached into the boot and grabbed a hold of my arms. He easily pulled me up and helped me out. I stood on my own two feet, breathing in the cold fresh air of the winter's morning. I opened my eyes to the morning sunrise and crossed my arms.
Zacarias closed the boot and then turned to me. He raised a hand towards my massive mess of hair and I stepped back. When he processed the rejection quickly, he lowered his hand.
"I donne' recall yer fear o' tight spaces ever being this bad," he said to me.
I glared at him and then turned away. I moved quickly, walking up to the passenger side of the car.
Zacarias moved over quickly, pulling me away from the front seat by my arm.
"Backseat," he said.
I sighed, allowing him to pull me around.
"What for?" I demanded as he opened the back seat door.
"Child-locks," he simply answered. "I trust that you will try your luck at some point again.
I got into the back seat and he closed the door beside me.
I slouched in my seat and folded my arms tightly to my chest. Tears were still wetting the corners of my eyes. I dried the corners with my sleeve and then sat quietly, feeling sorry for myself.
Zacarias climbed in behind the wheel once again, locked the doors and started the engine. The car vibrated to life and slowly moved back onto the road.
The clock on the dashboard of the car showed me that I had only been in the boot for just over 30 minutes. I was rather surprised. It had felt like hours to me.
For some time I stayed quiet in the backseat of the car, staring at my knees or looking out my window. When the clock on the dashboard showed that it was after nine, my stomach began to growl rather ravenously.
I pretended no to be bothered by it, or to have even noticed it. Zacarias on the other hand looked at me through his rear-view mirror every single time. Eventually, when the noises were growing much louder he sighed and then slowed the car down. He turned the car into the next off ramp and headed towards what looked like a pit stop petrol station with two or three fast food outlets.
"Where are you taking me?" I suddenly spoke. "And why?" I did not dare look at Zacarias' eyes through the rear-view mirror.
"I already told ye' ," he replied. "I'm taking ye' back te' yer' parents in Woodbridge."
I sighed.
"That's insane," I muttered. "My parents abandoned me fifteen years ago— where the hell is Woodbridge? I need real answers!"
"They are real answers!" Zacarias quickly responded, frustration spiking his tone. "Ye' just donne' remember."
I sighed in frustration.
"Never mind," he then said. "It will make sense when we get there."
Once again, my stomach growled loudly.
I pressed my arm against my belly and pretended like I heard nothing.
"Ye' should have eaten last night," Zacarias said, sounding disapproving.
I narrowed my eyes.
"I can't eat at a time like this!" I snapped. "You just kidnapped me!"
"Like I said before, lass," he began. "T'is no' how I see it. Call it bounty hunting. I was just sent te' get ye' and bring ye' back te' Woodbridge."
"By who?" I demanded.
"I'm no' going te' answer that again," he snapped. "Ye' need te' eat something."
Zacarias pulled the car in to the petrol station and made a round towards the drive-through of a MacDonald's. The place was rather empty; but what could one expect at nine in the morning?
I sat in silence as Zacarias ordered something from the breakfast menu, paid for it and then collected the packet of food several minutes after. He turned back and put the packet on my lap.
With every fiber of my being, I wanted what was in there. However, the circumstances left me too uncomfortable to eat anything. I lifted the packet and put it on the seat beside me, as far away as possible.
Zacarias sighed once again.
"Ye' ken, I really do remember ye' having one hell o' a healthy appetite, Zelena."
I did not reply.
Zacarias drove out the drive through and moved the car towards the petrol station pumps. He stopped the car beside one of the pumps and then cut the engine.
As one of the petrol attendants walked over, Zacarias buttoned his duster and then climbed out the car. He gave the keys to the attendant and requested a full tank of 93 unleaded petrol.
With Zacarias out of the car, I felt somewhat less uncomfortable. I gave in to my hunger and grabbed the MacDonald's bag off the seat. Inside it was two wrapped up breakfast things. I didn't know what the hell they were, but it contained eggs and chicken. I opened one and took a bite. Almost too unbelievable, it was amazing.
While Zacarias stood beside the hood of the car, the attendant continued to fill the car with the requested amount of petrol. While this was going on, I ate quickly; finishing the first thing and then the second.
Just as I was eating the last of my food, Zacarias lifted a ringing cell phone to his ear and spoke into it. At first, I wasn't interested. Then he started to speak about locking me up in the boot of the car and I almost immediately became interested.
While talking on the phone, he took the keys from the attendant and paid his the amount due.
"Whatever it did, she's co-operating now," he said as he paced beside the car. "I almost regret doing it." His eyes met mine through the car window. "Almost."
I furrowed my eyebrows and then sat back with my arms folded against my chest.
"Still no' willing," he continued to speak. After a few seconds, he continued, "Not far; perhaps an hour more – no' more than one and a half."
I became bored with his conversation very quickly. I had something else on my mind instead; a growing need to use the pink room.
I sat forward and then squeezed through the opening between the two front seats. I climbed into the front passenger seat and then opened the car door.
"Alright," he continued to speak, ending the conversation rather quickly. "Thrive fare—oi! What do ye' think yer' doing?" Zacarias rushed around the car as I climbed out. He slapped the phone shut and then pushed me back against the side of the car seat.
"Chill out!" I snapped at him, forcing his arm back from me. "I have to use the loo."
I pushed past him and began walking towards the sign that directed me towards the pit stop toilets.
"Fine," he said as he followed behind me. "But I'm guarding the door."
I rolled my eyes and rushed towards the door towards the pit stop shop. The toilets were inside, just past the shop counter selling hot beverages and meat-pies.
I continued towards the next sign that directed me towards the toilets. I passed a large map station and then stepped into the ladies toilets. I didn't care to wait for Zacarias to take his guard at the door.
I went straight into the closest cubicle and locked myself inside. My sight fell upon the window above the toilet and a plan of escape rushed into my mind. Rather quickly, I abandoned it. What was the point of trying to get away if I didn't know where I was or where I needed to go to get back to my home?
I sighed and then continued to do what I had come in to do. I quickly passed my full bladder and then flushed the toilet. As I exited the cubicle, I adjusted my clothes and pulled my coat tighter over me. It was rather cold in here.
I stepped over to the basins and stared at my reflection in the mirror. God, but I looked like a mess. My hazel eyes seemed large and tired. My olive toned skin seemed pale and my long spiral curls looked like one dark tangled mess. I longed to run a comb through it, to untangle the knots from the spirals or at least find a hair-tie to braid it back.
I touched the top of my mess and ran my hands down its length to my waist. I often wondered how it looked straight. It would probably look longer too.
I abandoned the wonders of my hair and washed my hands. When I was done, I dried my hands on a few paper towels and disposed of them.
Two women walked into the bathroom just as I turned around. One of them sent a look towards me and I could only imagine that it was because of the mess that was my hair.
I walked towards the door and then exited the bathroom. Zacarias wasn't by the door, but several feet away where he was talking to an older man with a balding grey head.
I stepped over to the map station while he was preoccupied. With my limited free time, I decided to try make some sense of this road trip. The large chart on the wall showed me a map of South Africa, as well as a map of the area. Each map had a small red dot, within the Western Cape with the words you are here.
I looked at the closer map of the Western Cape, almost too shocked to believe that's where I was. The Western Cape! That was at least twelve hours from Pretoria!
I ran my fingers along my hairline and then rubbed my eyes. God, this was getting a lot more difficult with every passing second. Twelve hours! How did we travel sixteen hours by this morning if we stopped for the night? Right...the poppies had me knocked out the whole of yesterday.
I stared at the map closely, trying to pinpoint where on the Western Cape map we currently were. We were rather close to the sea side, just entering the province by the looks of it. Knysna wasn't far from here, but what I failed to see was one thing in particular. This so-called Woodbridge was nowhere to be seen – which meant that I had no idea as to where we were heading exactly.
"Ye' wont'ne find it on the map."
I leaned back and looked up as Zacarias stood beside me.
"Woodbridge is a hidden Kingdom," he continued, staring up at the map chart.
"Could this possibly get any weirder?" I muttered to myself as I shook my head.
From the corner of my eyes, I saw him turn his head towards me. I looked up at him and found him staring down at me again; in that odd way.
"We need te' get back on the road," he then said, stepping back.
"Or," I said. He paused and looked back. "You can take me back to my home and I will consider not pressing charges."
He narrowed his eyes at me, stepped back over and grabbed my wrist.
"Ye', lass," he said and pushed me towards the shop doors. "Donne' get te' negotiate...unless ye'd like te' go back in the boot."
I folded my arms as he lead me out the shop and back towards the petrol station. I stomped over to the car and then forced him to let go of my arm. I could walk just fine on my own!
I got into the front passenger side of the car and slammed my door shut. I was not going to sit in the back like a criminal in the perp-cage of a police car. Zacarias seemed to not irritate that decision. He left me and got in behind the wheel.
"Seat belt," he simply said as he started the car.
With a groan, I fastened my seat belt across my chest.
Zacarias moved the car around the petrol station and turned back onto the road. Within one minute, we were back on the highway, speeding up quickly.