Silence Tells the Cruelest of Lies

Matt closed his black eyes, his chest moving up and down as he took a few deep breaths. I smiled down at him. After several minutes of silence, Matt's eyelids slid open and he said, "That was nice. Do you think I could wake up that way more often?"

I mimed laughing at him and swung my leg over his body so that I no longer straddled him, and sat next to him on the bed. His arm crept around my waist and pulled me close. He rested his head on my stomach. "Calyx, I'm certainly glad the medication is working. It's nice to have you so…cooperative."

What are we going to do today?, I asked him, running my fingers through his short, dark hair.

"Well dear, I have a few things to take care of around the Realm, but you're welcome to do as you wish," he answered with a chuckle. "Provided you stay in the castle, of course."

I frowned. I hated how Matt kept me trapped inside the castle on a constant basis. I had lived in this Realm for three years, and still I had seen nothing outside these castle walls. I made the mental decision that I too would travel the Realm today, without Matt's knowledge, of course. After Matt departed to take care of whatever business he had to deal with, I readied myself for my own departure.

Once I had dressed, I began to dig through my bedside drawer, searching for my amber necklace. Towards the back of the drawer, my fingertips brushed against the slick edge of a picture, and I closed my fingers over it. Upon pulling it out, I studied it. I was in the photo, but other than myself, there was no one else in the picture that I recognized. There was a man in the photo, and he had his arm wrapped snuggly around my shoulder. I scrunched up my nose. Perhaps he was an old boyfriend? Ah, well then I had no need for this photo. Leaning over, I dropped it and let it float through the air into the garbage.

On a whim, I decided I would bring along Aileen. When I arrived in her nursery to fetch her, a young female servant was tending to her. Aileen smiled that delightful baby smile at me, and she laughed. I took her from the servant, along with her travel bag, and headed for the door. 

"Miss Calyx?" a small voice said. I turned around and saw that the young female servant who had tending to my daughter was attempting to gain my attention. "Where are you going? If you don't mind my asking."

I am going to do a little traveling around the Realm, I answered without hesitation.

The girl's face paled significantly. "Oh no, Miss Calyx. You're not allowed to leave the castle. Mister Matthew said-"

Matt will get over it, I told her, and then I left the room.

Surprisingly enough, the Realm of Monsters was scarcely different from the human world. The only difference I could find was the color of the inhabitants' eyes. In the human world, a person's irises could range from blue to brown to green, and everything in between. Here, they were only one color: black. 

With Aileen on my hip, I wandered aimlessly around the downtown area of the Realm of Monsters, which appeared to be arranged in a way that mirror a large, metropolitan city. I wasn't really out to see anything specific, I just needed to break beyond the walls of my castle prison. I'm sure Matt wouldn't be too angry. 

Not watching where I was going, I bumped into someone, recoiling back quite a bit. "Oh, I'm sorry," a male voice said. I froze. That voice sounded very familiar, yet I couldn't pair it with a face. So I stole a quick glance at this stranger, and felt my stomach drop to my knees. It was Brian, my therapist from the facility. He studied my face for a few moments, then said, "Calyx, what are you doing outside the castle?"

I-, I started, then I bolted.

Unfortunately, I didn't make it very far before I felt Brian's hand close around my upper arm. Aileen shrieked as Brian yanked me towards him, squeezing her between our bodies. "You're not supposed to leave the castle," he said, his voice low. "Or do you just not like to listen to your king?"

Let go of me, I pleaded, attempting to pull my arm from Brian.

His grip did not falter. "Come now, Calyx," he gritted. "It's time you returned to the castle. Matt will be very upset when he learns that you left."

Once we were back at the castle, Brian pushed me into the room I shared with Matt and left, locking the door behind himself. Matt had not returned from his business that day, and I was beginning to fear that when he did, he would be angry with me for disobeying his most important order. I knew instantly when Matt had returned; I could easily hear him stomping up the hall. I shrunk when the bedroom door slammed open, revealing a livid Matt.

"Why did you leave the castle?" he roared, advancing on me. His face was a deep rouge, and his black eyes sparkled with his intense anger. "Did you think you could get away with disobeying me? Or are you simply stupid?"

I'm not stupid, I whispered, shrinking even further into myself.

"Really now?" Matt scoffed. "Because I beg to differ." He gripped my chin tightly in his hand and wrenched my head around so that our gazes met. "Calyx, I want you to listen to me, and I want you to listen very closely. When I said you were not to leave this castle, I meant ever. If you ever leave this castle again, for whatever reason, there will be extremely dire consequences. Do you understand me?"

Y-Yes, I stuttered, beginning to cry.

Matt let his hand drop from my chin, then moved it up to stroke my cheek. "Good. Now that we're on the same page, I believe it's time for bed." His eyes softened when he noticed that I had continued to cry. "Oh Calyx, there's no reason for you to cry. But the sooner you understand the rules here, the easier your life will be. And then there will be no more tears."