The Everlands Chronicles: The Truth

by A. J. Bell

  Then, without warning, he dug his sharp fingernails into my skin and ran them down my back, shredding my already scarred skin with them.

  He stepped back and took a bowl of liquid from the table next to me. That table had multiple torture instruments. I would’ve never guessed that a torture chamber existed in the Everlands, but it did, and I was in it.

  Eleazar threw the clear liquid onto my back. Only it wasn’t water like I thought, it was vinegar. I had been telling myself I wouldn’t pleasure him with my screams and that I would hold in my voice and die in silence, but I wasn’t expecting the double stinging sensation from my wounds, and then the vinegar on my irritated skin.

  I thought I knew pain. I was wrong, dead wrong. When the first lash touched my skin, I screamed so loud that I was sure everyone in the dungeons would’ve heard me. I had taken nine from Richard before, so I knew I could take at least that many, but now that I felt the stinging of the first one Eleazar gave me, I doubted that I’d last even one more.

  His lash had multiple ends, and at the tip of each one of them was a spur now soaked in my blood. He took time in between lashes, letting my breathing come back to normal and my body to stop trembling before he would unleash his fury on me with renewed pleasure.

  He continued on and on and my screams eventually died, not because I felt no pain, but because my life was draining out. Every so often, I would fall unconscious for a few minutes. He would then throw more vinegar on my wounds to wake me again.

  On one of those instances while crossing between the realm of unconsciousness and my awaken state, I thought I heard somebody else come into the chamber. I heard the laughter of a woman in there, a familiar voice, someone who had come in to see me die – the Queen.

  “How much longer will she last, My Love?” She asked him. She called him My Love ; could it be? Or was it just my imagination?

  “Not sure, she’s tough. I like it, because the longer it takes, the longer the fun lasts,” he said with an evil chuckle. I heard again the unmistakable noises of a couple of lovers enjoying each other’s company, each other’s touch. “Why don’t you try it?” he said.

  I was sure she did, because the next hit wasn’t as strong as the others I had already received. Yet, it didn’t make much difference, since they were taking breaks to enjoy each other while also taking turns to punish me.

  After what seemed like hours, I heard rumbling outside the chamber.

  “I command you to open the door!” I thought I heard the Prince yelling.

  My eyes closed. I was trying to stay awake, but my body was ready to give in.

  “Arrest her!” somebody yelled, but I didn’t recognize the voice as my consciousness was abandoning me.

  I felt my numbed and tired limbs set free, and the words, “Oh Heavens, no! Dear Lord, do not take her away! Please, Elle, stay with me. Stay awake!” echoed in my mind over and over as someone’s arms held me softly.

  My teeth were clenched as I felt my skin burning, as if fire was consuming what was left of my torn body. Would the pain end soon? I begged for the end to come. The pain was too agonizing, and too much to bear. I just wanted my suffering to end! I screamed constantly. Every time the wind would blow, it would increase the flame that was consuming my flesh and also my despair with it. Every time his hand would touch me, another scream would escape.

  My hair was dripping wet and the rest of my body was drenched in sweat as I struggled to set myself free. My hands and feet were bound to prevent me from running away as I had already tried to escape once. I was lying down on a bed, instead of hanging from the ceiling in shackles, but the experience was just as terrifying. Even though, instead of Eleazar receiving pleasure for my pain, it was Doctor Stern who was punishing me by suturing my wounds, trying to sew me back together like an old rag doll mutilated by wolves.

  My limbs had to be bound because nobody had the guts to pin me down on the bed while Doctor Stern did his work with me screaming like a pig in the slaughter’s yard.

  I bit my pillow, trying to muffle the sounds, but they still managed to escape. Eventually, after so much torment, I passed out.

  Chapter 31

  The rays of dawn crawled into my eyes, blinding me. I blinked the light away quickly, trying to concentrate on breathing slowly. Every breath took such a big effort to produce, not to mention the pain that it sent throughout my body. I whimpered whenever I tried to move and clenched my hands on my pillow. I felt a hand caressing my hair, soft and gentle, comforting and loving.

  “Mother?” I asked softly.

  “Yes, I’m here, Elle. Don’t try to get up again. It would only make it harder for you to heal. How’s the pain now?” Her hand met mine, and I squeezed hers tight. Then I began sobbing, which made me hurt even more. “I thought so,” she said. “I ran out of my herbs already. Orman went to Stoneburg with Sir Richard to bring back what was left from the garden there. They should be back by tomorrow evening,” she said calmly.

  “When did you get here?”

  “Four days ago. We left Andora as soon as Orman arrived with the summon.”

  “Where’s Father?”

  “He stayed behind.” Without me asking, she explained why. “Andora has been ransacked by Gypsies. We’re doing what we can to prevent a fight, but some of our people at the edge of the city have been beaten almost to death, and some of the women have gone missing. The people of Andora need protection. Robert is helping the king’s troops in coordinating the defenses of our city. The people are inquiring about your whereabouts, since you hold the Lordship over Andora.” So that’s what they did not want me to know; the Gypsies’ attacks had been near Andora.

  “Then we need to stop them from asking more questions, and we must return to Andora,” I said.

  “You’re not in a condition to travel. You must rest!” said Mother.

  “I’ll rest when I’m laid in my grave. Right now, there’s work to be done.” I got up, trembling and my knees shaking from the pain that was trying to overcome my will. I bit my lip and started to get dressed. Mother pleaded with me to stop, but I wasn’t having it. Andora needed me. All those people that had pledged themselves to my service were now expecting me to be true to my word. Mother ran out of the room and came back with reinforcements. The Prince came with her, followed by Princess Camilla, plus Dorian and Daniel, who apparently weren’t far from my chambers either.

  “Your Highnesses,” I bowed, grunting as I did and breathing heavily to bear the pain. “I must go to my father–”

  “Get back in that bed!” Prince Victor ordered. His command rekindled the anger in me. I didn’t even think my words through before they escaped my mouth.

  “Or what? Will His Excellency make sure my neck hangs this time, or would His Highness rather take part in another torture like the one Princess Camilla and Queen Umah planned for me?” He said nothing. “Forty-three, Your Highness,” I said sourly. “That’s how many lashes I counted before I passed out – forty-three. You Majesties may consider that in your calculations for next time.” The Princess began sobbing while clinging to her husband’s arm.

  “Give us a moment,” said the Prince. “Camilla, please wait outside,” he said, kissing her forehead and wiping her tears. Then he shut the door behind them. “I want you to know,” he began, “that Camilla wasn’t involved. This has been my fault from the beginning. It was my idea for you to become her lady-in-waiting. I was also the one who wanted you to remain in the Everlands. That’s why finding out you were so against it made me angry, because in a way, I was keeping you here against your will. When Camilla heard about me wanting to marry you in the past, jealousy filled her mind. Umah poisoned her against you. There wasn’t much I could do to avoid her questions about us. She wanted me to send you away, but I didn’t. I was being selfish, and my selfishness almost got you killed. It won’t happen again. Ever again!” There was so much remorse in his words, sincere remorse, but it took forty-three lashes for him to come back to his senses. The trust had b
een severed, and I didn’t think Doctor Stern could fix that with all the thread in the world. “Will you forgive me?” he said, kneeling down. By the look on my face, he realized what I was thinking. “I was wrong, and my pride wouldn’t let me accept that. I knew I had hurt you, but I couldn’t humble myself to ask you for your forgiveness… Is this low enough to show how sorrowful I am?” he asked.

  “Your Excellency is humiliating himself in front of a peasant. That’s got to be pretty low, but it won’t take away the scars that will be left on my back,” I said coldly. “Release me so I can go home, My Prince,” I said. “I don’t belong here. I never did.”

  He got up and left the room without another word, leaving the door wide open. I walked towards the window that faced the gardens. I had been so consumed in my pain that I hadn’t realized that I was back in Queen Kyra’s chambers.

  The wind blowing softly on my face helped me to keep my balance. The gardens looked beautiful, even though almost all the flowers were just now beginning to blossom. I leaned my head against the window frame. Mother was right. I wasn’t strong enough. I already felt dizzy, and I hadn’t been up more than a few minutes.

  “You need to rest.” Dorian said. He must have come when the Prince left without me noticing it. He placed his hand on mine, pulled it around his shoulders, and helped me walk to the bed, slowly – almost counting the steps to get there. He sat me down, and then sat next to me. “You’re a strong woman, but sometimes even the strongest need to let others care for them. Allow the doctor to look after you. Stay in the palace until you’ve recovered, I beg you. Don’t cause yourself more unnecessary pain.”

  I leaned my face on his shoulder and closed my eyes. “I wish it was you… the one who would care for me,” I whispered.

  “I wish that too,” he said. But we both knew that wasn’t going to happen, since he belonged to somebody else. “I think she’s with child.” I looked up, but he was hiding his gaze as if he was embarrassed by saying such thing out loud.

  “Jane’s pregnant?” I stuttered a little as the words escaped my mouth. He nodded. “You should be with your wife now, instead of wasting time with me, My Lord. You’re going to be a great father. Congratulations. I mean it, Dorian.” I was truly happy for him. For a moment, the pain in my back fell into the background. Dorian would have a little child to call his own. His family would be complete with such blessing. “It was the right choice. As much as it hurts me to accept it, you did marry the right woman.”

  “It doesn’t seem that way whenever I look at you or when I’m next to you.”

  I lowered my gaze, angry at myself for making him feel that way. “It seems like that right now, My Lord. But when you hold that baby in your arms, all doubts will go away, and you’ll barely have enough love for your wife once your child has taken a hold of your heart. There will be no room left for me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead softly. “Soon I’ll be nothing but a memory in your past life.”

  “No one can take your place, My Lady,” he whispered. “No one.” He began to walk towards the door.

  “My Lord, you never told me how we met.”

  “You were only a tiny baby when I first held you in my arms – a beautiful baby.”

  “Unlike the mess I’ve become.”

  “Since that day, it was always you. I’ve never doubted it.”

  “It doesn’t change anything, My Lord. You’re a married man and soon to be a father. Your life is complete, and the sooner we both accept that, the better it’ll be for those who love us.”

  “I know,” he said. “We’ll leave in the morning. It’ll be easier if I don’t see you… again.”

  “Farewell, My Lord.” I watched him go away before I lay back down on my stomach, fighting off the sleepiness that was coming over me along with the hurt of his goodbye.

  My dreams were bittersweet. A playful Dorian was running around with a bunch of lads armed with wooden swords, including the boy I had seen in my dreams before, the scared young boy in his mother’s arms as I watched through the window; the same boy that had been coming into many of my dreams.

  The kids were chasing Dorian, and their laughter was contagious. I had a basket in my arm, full of what looked like Ghost berries. Dorian came running towards me and hid behind me, holding me by my waist.

  “Save me! Beautiful maiden! Save me from these savages,” he said, continuing to hide behind me. The young lads were thrilled by his reaction. The one boy came at me with his wooden sword and spilled my berries on the ground. Then Dorian tried to pick them up in a hurry but the little boy hit him with the edge of his wooden sword right above his right eyebrow, causing blood to flow down the side of his face almost instantly. The blood that was dripping onto his shirt took a particular pattern that I recognized as the engravings I had made on Heaven, my sword, a few years back. I kept dreaming of him, or better said, them – Dorian and the boy who I now recognized as Dorian’s squire, the same young boy I left to care for a wounded Dorian back in the Gardenhills. I knew that boy too, but somehow, just like it was with Dorian, I couldn’t fully remember him.

  It took almost a week before I was able to hold down food, but what surprised me the most was that Mother was not the only one looking after me. Princess Camilla became my mother’s shadow, and she helped feed me. No matter how many times I told her it wasn’t necessary, she wasn’t going to give in. She had to prove to her only friend how terribly sorry she was for what had happened.

  The Prince didn’t come back, though. He kept his distance, either because I hadn’t forgiven him when he asked or because he hadn’t forgiven himself. In regards to Dorian, I felt at peace knowing he was happy and hoped that his happiness never ended.

  It wasn’t long before I got bored staying in bed, eating and sleeping, but as soon as I tried to stand up, the pain would instantly bring me down. Princess Camilla would read me stories, but I still was restless. Sometimes her soothing voice would lull me to sleep, but at other times, not even her voice or Mother’s gentle touch would calm the stinging of my back. That pain would only seem to dissipate after I had cried myself to sleep.

  On one of those occasions, I woke up to the snores of a very tired Richard holding my hand as he slept on a chair next to my bed. I squeezed his hand to wake him up.

  “You don’t look comfortable, My Lord, won’t you go and seek the comfort of your own chambers?” I asked as he opened his eyes. He straightened up his shoulders and ignored my question.

  “I sure don’t look as uncomfortable as you,” he said, in full seriousness staring at my back.

  “Can’t imagine how disgusting it looks,” I muttered as I tried to cover myself in vain.

  “I don’t worry about how it looks, but how it felt when you got them,” he replied taking my hand in his as he noticed the pain such subtle movement caused me. “How did you do it?”

  “It wasn’t easy. It felt like Death was knocking at my door, and I foolishly opened it for her without looking first to see who was out there.”

  He smiled faintly. “Next time Death comes knocking, Elle, you send her straight to me and I’ll take care of it, agreed?”

  I nodded. “When did you get back, My Lord?” I asked.

  “Not long ago. I had to first make sure Stoneburg was safe. I’ve sent part of my men to Andora already, so you don’t have to worry about the safety of your home. All you have to worry about is how to get better; otherwise, how can I grant your wish of wrapping you in my arms when it would only hurt you?”

  I smiled. He was back at his game. “And who says I’m desperate to be in your arms, My Lord?” I said, tracing little circles with my fingers in his hand.

  “I can read your mind and your body,” he said. I laughed, but a wave of pain ran from the tip of my head to my toes, making me groan and hold onto his hand tightly. My eyes closed as I choked a scream. “Right now, your body tells me you’re in extreme pain though.” Our smiles died as I tried to recover m
y spirits.

  “What does Lord Gilbert–?”

  “I’m not talking about my father tonight. Besides, I took him back home,” he said. Then he leaned his head against mine until his soft lips found their way to mine. His kiss was comforting and soothing to my soul.

  “Sir Richard! I don’t appreciate you being alone with my daughter when she’s so defenseless and half-undressed,” said Mother, standing by the door. Richard gave her a little nod.

  “Is that why you kept your daughter hidden from me all these years, so that I don’t ambush her like a hungry animal?”

  Did she tell him the truth?

  “You guessed it!” said Mother coldly. “My Lord, I need to bathe my daughter. Why don’t you go and have some rest in your own chambers!”

  “If you insist, Mother Greta, but I could help you bathe her if you want me to.” Mother’s jaw dropped. “I didn’t think you would want me to, but it doesn’t hurt to ask,” he said candidly. I laughed, remembering when I said the same thing about bathing Richard back in Andora to her. “I’ll come back and see you later. Don’t get in trouble while I am away.” He kissed my lips softly but passionately again. The sweetness of his kiss gave me hope that things might get better. I was sure he wouldn’t have stopped if Mother hadn’t grabbed him by the shoulder and escorted him out of the room. Standing at the door, he smiled and whispered, “I’ll be back later, My Lady,” and then left the room.

  He was so intense that being close to him kept me on the edge of my emotions. I didn’t feel as confused as I once was, since my last conversation with Dorian made it clear that no matter what we felt, our roads were just meant to roll parallel to each other and not ever come together. Now Richard, on the other hand, was set in his mind that our roads were already crossed, and we just needed to follow them. I desperately wanted to believe it was like that, now more than ever, because being by his side appeased my troubled heart. My wish did not go unnoticed by Mother.