Page 17 of Deadwood
“If you’ll excuse me,” I said, moving to walk around him. He stayed in place a moment before continuing the next few feet to turn into the meeting room.
Glancing around to be sure no one was in the hall, I pivoted, heading back to the door he disappeared into. Pressing an ear to the wood, I listened as muffled voices filtered through. Who did he think he was to waltz into that room like he was important enough to be a part of whatever discussion my father was having?
“Bowen.” My father’s voice carried through the door. He sounded surprised, which was strange, as he typically knew everything. “We were not expecting you.”
Somehow, the name fit the stranger.
“It’s rude not to invite all of us, isn’t it?” Bowen asked, cockiness evident in his tone. The rasp had left, his words flowing together almost flawlessly.
I silently mouthed his name, testing the feel of it on my lips.
“Yes, of course. My invitation must have gotten lost on the wind,” my father supplied.
“Those stubborn messenger hawks, always losing their parchments,” another voice added, somewhere farther into the room. I couldn’t make out who it was.
“Yes,” Bowen drawled, boredom clinging to the word. “Those hawks. Maybe it was the same one I found downed in the desert. Though, that one was very clearly on its way to Feldspar, if the letter was any indication. Without its injury, I reckon I would’ve never known this meeting was taking place.”
I could practically hear my father attempt to swallow his nerves.
A smile crept up on my face at the knowledge that this Bowen guy made him uncomfortable.
What about him made him so uneasy? Why did he not want him here?
Did my father know Bowen was in attendance at the masquerade ball the other night?
The fact that my father wasn’t pleased with his appearance intrigued me when it shouldn’t.
“What are you doing?” a deep, feminine voice asked, clearer than the ones in the room.
I spun to find Heidi flanked by three guards standing mere feet from me. “I’m heading to my room.” It wasn’tentirelya lie.
“And made a quick stop to press your ear to a door you have no business being near?” she questioned. I didn’t miss the satisfaction shining bright on her face at catching me.
“I—” But I had no excuse, no explanation.
“Guards,” she snapped, then immediately turned, heading in the opposite direction in which she came. One followed on her heels while the other two grabbed my arms.
“Wait, no. Please. I wasn’t listening,” I begged, but their hold was firm, their fingers digging in hard enough to bruise, as they forced me to trail Heidi. I was well aware of what was to come, my back already flinching with the phantom pain.
With my spent energy, it was useless to struggle against their grips. After a series of turns and a set of stairs that led below ground, we approached the room I knew too well. If there was one place I could erase from my mind, it’d be this one.
As the guard opened the double doors for my stepmother, the trapped screams echoed through my mind as memories all too real took hold. They were ingrained in me, etched into my brain. For being the protected daughter of King Tenere, pain was an all too familiar friend of mine thanks to this chamber.
“In the chair,” Heidi instructed, waving a casual hand over her shoulder as she grabbed a vial of fire magic off the small wooden table in the corner. There were no windows in here, and the doors sealed seamlessly, keeping any sounds contained within the walls.
There was no use in begging anymore. It’d only drive the pleasure she got from doing this. Queen Tenere was a bored woman, and I was her toy. She had no ties to me other than marrying my father, and even so, he would never banish her for how she treated me. Anyone who knew kept her secret, turning a blind eye, and if I spoke a word of it, she’d surely burn off my tongue. By all means, she was protected in harming me, but in the end, I thanked the gods that it was me who endured her affliction and not some other innocent person.
Heidi never went as far as to render me useless with my wounds. My father needed me, and while she wasn’t privy as to why, she was well aware that he’d lose his mind if something serious happened to me. While King Tenere was the shiny prize she somehow won in marriage, I was the golden egg he’d protect with his life, even if he didn’t always treat me well in return. The power I held was too great a loss for him to risk, and it was no secret that elicited rage-inducing jealousy in her.
The guards shoved me into the chair, the top of the back slamming into my shoulder blades. They’d bruise, but it’d be nothing compared to what was to come. I welcomed the bite, as it only prepared my body to numb itself. To shut down from feeling, as it had become so well-versed in doing. From a young age, she’d been doing this, and eventually, my mind learned to find peace in a setting that offered none.
The back of the rickety chair was left purposefully open, no slats of wood or fancy intricate design. It provided perfect access to my back, and I always wondered if she designed it specifically for this. For me.
The sentiment was bittersweet.
Like usual, my wrists were tied to the armrests with leather straps that bit into my skin.
“When will you learn?” Heidi asked, uncorking the vial. The amber liquid bubbled at the top, begging for use. Purpose. That I might have been the one to fill that vial was…unfortunate.
