It all Began and Ended with a Tree... Part 4

 Hold your horses! Have you read the first Chapter? No? Well here's the link: Chapter 1

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It all Began and Ended with a Tree...
Chapter 4

I tossed in my sleep. Or at least that’s what I think I am doing. The dream is too vivid, too real, too terrifying. I am at the island and the sky is dark. The pinpricks of light that were usually in the sky were gone. The wind was howling as I looked upon a tree bathed in the livid light of the moon. Invisible waves crashed upon an equally unseen shore.

The sand that I never set sight on shifted beneath my feet. My hair is tangled, disarrayed as I stand there, unmoving, a lone sentinel existing for no purpose. My mind has no thoughts running through it. Save, perhaps, for concern for what I was doing in the waking world.

Something gripped me. It chilled me to the bone. It overshadowed my every move. My feet were under a spell, they walk of their own accord. My heart almost stopped. The same force raises my hand in front of my face, clutched in it is a sharp stone. The unknown power takes me to the tree. Slowly, I realize that it is the tree where my initials and Elle’s were carved.

It took all my restraint to even try to stop myself from what I was about to do. Like magic, the force evaporated. I place the stone down at the foot of the tree, unused. I realize that this is no nightmare. It is simply the day’s events playing once more in my mind’s eye.

I take a deep breath as I am shocked back into the waking world. It is still dark, even if I left the island at near midnight. I think of Elle. Everything is so confusing. I felt as though I should have confessed but at the same time as though I shouldn’t have. I make up my mind quickly. I need to know her more. That was the last thought to enter my mind as I doze off once more.

When I awake, the sun is shining and the birds are singing. All of a sudden, in a miraculous moment, they stop. Two men appear before me, I manage to glare at them both before they take me by force.

I am carried by the two into a car. I am bound and gagged and taken from my home. There is only one thing that is on my mind. Elle, I could not bear the thought of not being able to meet her at the island. My thoughts were abuzz, the confusion was back. I was both repulsed and relieved by the fact that I probably won’t be at the island when Elle arrives. Repulsed because Elle would probably be wondering where I am, relieved because the events gave me more time to think about her.

Everything went topsy-turvy when I saw the mansion looming in the distance. Fear and anger wrap their thorny tendrils around my being. My eyes are glaring, I shout and I squirm. The ropes and the gag do their jobs well, I am completely powerless. I cannot do anything to avert what was about to happen.

The gates open soundlessly, the hinges are well oiled. I gaze at the familiar surroundings, feelings of nostalgia mixing in with the already chaotic emotions in my heart. The walls stretch all around the compound, white and pristine. The car enters and my captors remove the rope. They remove the gagging, but the moment I try to make a run for it, they take my arms in a strong grip. I cannot escape.

We enter the large doors made of mahogany. The knocker is metal coated with gold. Everything is crafted exquisitely, from the largest framework to the smallest detail. Inside, as we walk down the hall, a colonnade of marble marches on both sides. I attempt to struggle, but it is of no use. My captors are too strong.

We enter a large study. I take no stock of my surroundings any more. My temper flared the moment I set sight upon the two people waiting in the room. I grind my teeth together, frustrated at how helpless I am. The woman spoke, her voice musical and sweet. “Leave us.” is her command.

“What do you want?” Contempt fills my voice. An old loathing sparks inside me, my heart leaps. The creature inside me wants to lash out and rip the woman limb from limb.

“Now, now, is that the way to talk to your mother?” A smirk spreads across her face. The sweet, innocent and musical voice was just a façade for a rotten inside. My anger is at a dangerous all-time high. It took all my restraint to stop from clawing at her.

“Tell me what you want, hag!”

“I want to leave this place and begin anew elsewhere. The neighboring country is rich and majestic. We will move there.”

“Your ambitions are as high as before mother.”

“Of course. You were a disappointment, if I should say so myself.”

“A disappointment? I was just doing what was best for the people of this village. For us!” The accusation made my blood boil. Father is in a corner, quietly reading a book.

“Why? Was raising the tax thrice a year really a bad thing?”

“Why you…” I glare at the woman. It was then that I lash out at father. I point at him and begin shouting. “Of all people in this wretched household, you were the one I depended on! You were the one I hoped against all hope to see the folly of the witch’s ways! But what? The allure of fame and money got to you. It’s not even real! It’s a vision spun by this-this wretched hag! How could you turn your back to the town?” He just shrugged and returned to reading his book.

“You’re not going to go anywhere with that tone of voice Dave.”

I mock her voice and return the statement. “What do I have to do with this?”

“Well, we do not have the proper papers to move to the country next door…” she trails off and I begin suspecting a lot.

“What are you getting at?”

“Well, we had to bribe our way out of that rut. However the person we had to bribe didn’t take just any kind of bribe.”

“Where do I fit in with all of this?”

“That’s where you come in. They want a, how do you say this, slave. But it’s illegal, so they’ll pass you off as their daughter’s husband.”

“What?!”

“Oh and don’t worry about your girl on that island. My men took care of her.”

“What did they do?”

“They destroyed the carving and made it seem as though it was you who did it.”

“How did they get to the island?”

“We bought a boat. You see how important you are for us? We even bought a boat for that.”

“You witch!” My blood is really boiling now. I want nothing more in the world but to lash out and tear the miscreant limb from limb. I yearn to destroy the scoundrel. I yelled at the top of my lungs, tears were brimming in my eyes. “What kind of mother does this to her child?! Tell me! You’re a demon! An incubus! You’re no human!”

She waves off the allegation and walks right up to me. She takes my chin in between her thumb and forefinger and turns my face from side to side. By now I feel the hot trails of tears upon my cheeks. My heart is churning, it’s as though my whole world has been turned upside down.

She rings a silver bell and her men enter the room. “Take him to a secure chamber.” is her command.

I sneer at the hag and I yell “Your ambitions are high as ever! But mark my words; your enterprise will not succeed!”

“Cute, that’s even better. You’ll make a wonderful… husband… oh, wait, no… I mean Slave.” With that I am carried off into the distance. Her final words echoing in my mind…

“Slave… Slave… Slave… slave…”

But then, something else comes and it fills my heart with a greater terror than ever before. Only one thing is brought to my attention: Elle.

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Well... That was disturbing. On to the next chapter! I am Chilled to the Bone