Written In Your Heartbeat

"What is this pretty little thing?" A dark man asked mockingly. "Is she a little princess?"

Brenna found it hard to hold her head up with all those men staring down at her. She did her best to keep her voice in check and her heartbeat steady, but it was uncontrollable. She was trapped under their will.

The cool breeze never ceased to make its way up her back and tickle her spine, causing her involuntary shiver and a small sob exit her chapped lips. Never once would she cry. This was the only show of emotion she allowed the to observe.

Although the earth was cold around her, she could feel heat penetrating from her heart. It had been there ever since she was thrown into this wretched palace. It was as if after sixteen years, her heart was just now started to pulse the blood through her veins. As if now, she was finally alive.

But even though her body was now alive, her head felt dead. She couldn't think, couldn't eat. She even refused to interact with the other female slaves. Her heart knew she was alive, but her head died the day she was thrown down those marble stairs.

"Leave her alone, Angel," another man said; his accent was one of familiarity. She couldn't tell where he was standing, but she knew he was close.

Feet shuffled across the floor, and from their pattern, she could tell the man had a limp.

"What was that, Leon?" the man spat back at him.

When silence followed, she knew the other man backed down.

A man kneeled down in front of her and took her chin gracefully between his thumb and pointer finger. He brought her face level to his and seemed to examine her. Pleased with what he saw, he pulled her closer to his face; close enough to where all he had to do was pucker his lips to kiss her.

His eyes turned a startling black and a fire seemed to rise in them. His face wasn't one that was pleasurable to look at, but he held a certain dignity to him. The only things she felt worthy enough for her gaze were his eyes. They were aged at the prime you only see in a very wise man.

"Where did they find you?" He mumbled quietly to himself.

She quickly turned her face out of his reach and stared furiously at the ground. It was all she could do to keep her pride in check. In all of her life she had men swooning for her, but never once had she stooped to their level. These last days had taken her life in a whole other direction. One she never intended to go in.

"Don't be scared. You're only here 'till the commoners get bored with ya. They won't hurt ye' too bad. But you should keep your little temper in check. Most men would be happy to punish ye', little one." His breath was foul, and the voice calling to her wasn't a pleasant one.

He tried to gain her attention, but she never wavered. Finally giving up, he decided to leave, taking all of the other men with him.

"He's a good man, you know." Agele said from her corner of the prison. She slowly stood up and walked over to Brenna. "Lil' rough around the edges, but he'll never touch ye'. ‘Bout the only one who won't. You been gettin' lots of attention from those men."

As if she didn't already notice the hands on her, or the lingering looks. She knew how she appeared in the eyes of these men.

Throwing her pride into the water, she looked into the older woman's eyes. Agele had to be at least twenty years her senior. She didn't know why the men hadn't thrown her out already. Even with the small glimpse of Agele, Brenna knew she wasn't anything special to look at. She wasn't beautiful by any means. Her once black hair had many markings of age in it. The long legs that Brenna imagined must have been unimaginably beautiful once, were now torn and scarred with freckles of age covering all visible skin.

Although her body was nothing but imperfections, her face was one of worthy. She had a long German nose, but her eyes were almond-shaped and a perfect abnormal beige color. Her cheeks, although sunken, were rosy with color. And her lips were a beautiful thin that Brenna imagined would only compliment a face like hers.

Brenna took a deep breath and cleared her throat before speaking. "How long have you been here?" she said trying her best at English.

"You mean down in this tunnel with you?" When Brenna nodded Agele continued. "Oh not long. Just as long as you. They put me down here to watch you."

A hiccuped sob left Brenna's throat and to save her pride, she stared hatefully into the other woman's eyes.

"You really are something, darlin." Agele said half-heartedly. "They said you were high-class but I never imagined that O'Connor would steal a rich one's brat. Most women put down here would be at their best to follow orders and save their lives. But not you, little one."

"I'm Kaspar Quintin's only daughter." Brenna spat with all her will.

"And how old are you little one? Surely you're not old enough for a title of your own. You can't be older than sixteen."

Brenna stood up abruptly and stalked over to the woman. "I am sixteen and of more worth than you will ever be."

The other woman's hateful laugh caused Brenna to stare at her madness. "Oh I know that. Which is why you will be here longer than you can ever imagine. I imagine you'll be here in your afterlife also, which is closer than you could imagine."

“What do you mean?” she choked out.

But before Agele could answer, a man dressed in dark clothes stalked down the steps. Placing his hand warmly on Agele’s shoulder, he whispered in her ear. After he finished, she nodded and turned to Brenna.

“You are requested in the dining hall,” she said with no emotion at all. If Brenna didn’t know any better, she would say that Agele was jealous of her. But the older woman had no need of that. Brenna had no intention of cooperating with anything they commanded of her.

The man took a long look at Brenna and couldn’t help but smile. He saw a resemblance in her to a woman he hadn’t seen in ages. Brenna was a little short and her hair was a little lighter, but that didn’t effect the overall resemblance. It was almost startling how much she appeared like her.

Agele put her hand in the crook of the man’s arm. He seemed to like the attention, for he pulled her even closer. If they started doing the deed in front of her, Brenna was going to throw up. The last thing she wanted to see was Agele’s wrinkly body undressed. But that was the extent of their public display. They held on to one another for a small moment and he was gone the next, a cool breeze filling his place.

“Come, little one,” Agele said so Brenna holding a worn hand out. When Brenna didn’t take it Agele sighed. “You really are a stubborn little girl.” She grabbed her by the hand and led her up the steps and into a dimly lit room where the man was waiting.

Seeing her, the man smiled and bowed a little. “I’m George and I will be your escort through this..” he paused looking for the right word. “Castle.” With a small laugh he tucked Brenna’s hand into the crook of his arm and led her into a large throne room.

Everything was so dark; the windows were dark colored stained glass, which little light reflected through. Cold colored curtains lined the tall windows all the way to the floor. Streaming through the ceiling were chandeliers that looked hundreds of years in age. They no longer produced light, just stood for decoration.

A thin maroon carpet led the way to a small throne covered in gold plaited roses. They wove around the arms of the chairs and smoothed out elegantly on the seat. The main chair was covered in gold; more gold than Brenna had seen in all her life. While the smaller chair next to it was a plain bronze with black cushions.

“Marvelous, isn’t it?” George whispered into her ear. His warm breath lightly tickled her ear.

As she stepped a little out of George’s reach, she heard a voice. “Brenna…” The voice was rich and the most seductive thing she had ever heard. It caressed her neck and glided through her mind.

Brenna sighed softly and took her hand back from George’s arm. It felt wrong there, all of the sudden. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she knew that her hands belonged on somebody else.

“Welcome, my love,” the voice said.

She followed the voice to a small door. Her heart told her to take a huge leap and cross this small distance to this man’s arms, but her head held her feet in place. Deeply entranced in the deep voice’s womb, her feet slid across the floor. Slowly at first, but her steps became more urgent.

As her hand touched the doorknob, she felt two hands on her shoulders strongly pull her back and as far away from the door as the walls would allow.

“You must never go in there!” As Brenna looked back she noticed it wasn’t George’s arms that restrained her, it was another’s. She only got a small look at him before he stormed off, slamming the door behind him.

She barely noticed as George carefully steadied her and coaxed her towards another door.

“Be careful, little one,” he said looking intently into her eyes. His golden eyes were filled with fright. “There are things in this castle that you have never seen before. You have probably read or heard about them somewhere, but they are very real. Best to stay out of this room until you’re ready.” He turned her dutifully towards him and glared. “And never, ever follow that voice. You got it?”

Words wouldn’t form in her mouth, but her head nodded all the same. And with one last look at that small door, she carefully mirrored George’s footsteps out of the room.