by E L DuBois
The Princess looked up at her with big, sad eyes.
“I miss him, Mommy. I think about him every day. Do you think he misses me?”
Beauty wrapped her arms around the Princess and whispered into her hair.
“Oh baby, I know he misses you every day. I miss him too, baby. I miss him more than Mommy could put into words. But we cannot talk about him if Daddy is around. He will get very mad. Ok? Do you understand?”
The little girl pulled back from Beauty and looked at her with eyes far too knowing for a child of her age.
“I understand, Mommy. I promise.” Then, the little angel made a zipping motion across her lips with her fingers and Beauty had to laugh at how adorable she was.
This little girl was the only joy she had in life. The thought halted her laughter and made her still, with her arms around her daughter. Her thoughts froze her in fear. What if the Beast tried to take her again? Beauty inwardly cursed. She would die this time before that happened again. Just then, the Beast got back into the car.
“My girls ready to see their new home?”
The Princess smiled and clapped. “Yay!!!!”
Beauty met the Beast’s eyes in the rearview mirror and she pasted on a fake smile as she nodded in agreement to the Princess’s joyful response.
The Beast smiled back, and Beauty thought she caught a glint of victory in his cold blue eyes.
Chapter 39
A New House of Horrors
THE BEAST PULLED up to a tiny, shit brown, brick old house only about a block from his work. The proximity to his job was not lost on Beauty. She knew it was so he could keep a close eye on the house and her. When she stepped inside, she immediately noticed the darkness. There were black-out curtains on every window and sparse furniture. A tiny kitchen with old linoleum and wood paneled walls. The carpet was dingy and outdated. A futon in place of a couch. The hallway was long and dark with three doors. The first was a room decorated for the Princess. A tiny bed, TV, and few toys. The Beast had obviously done the decorating. Across from her room was an outdated bathroom. At the end of the hall was the darkest room. A mattress was laid out on the floor with the black-out curtains giving it the look of a dungeon or torture chamber. Beauty hated every inch of her new prison without visible bars. The security system and cameras seemed to have been the Beast’s most expensive purchases and additions to the old house. This fact was not lost on Beauty. When he was away he would be able to watch her... always.
On the journey to the new prison, he had made it a point to tell her that he had activated a security system on her vehicle. It enabled him to see where it was at all times. How far it had traveled and even shut it off remotely if he needed to. The Beast had covered everything. She would be a prisoner in this house and everything she did would be monitored. He even found delight in letting her know his vile sister could watch anytime she wanted. That revelation had made Beauty want to vomit. She was nothing more than a pawn to the sadistic pair. With all her contact to the outside world cut off, Beauty was alone with the Beast and his sadistic proclivities. She had been abandoned by Knight and her family. It hurt her to know they thought so little of her, and knew nothing of her true self, that they would give up on her so easily.
Beauty’s days became a routine of pain and loneliness. The Beast worked a night shift which meant he slept during the day. After Beauty got the Princess ready for school, he would drive her to school himself since Beauty was not allowed to drive anywhere. He would occasionally let Beauty ride with them, but she was never allowed to go anywhere on her own. In the mornings, he would torture her with whatever his desire was that day. Then, he would sleep. Beauty was expected to stay in bed with him and not move. He would hold her tightly and if she tried to move, he would wake and ask.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
She only left to go to the restroom and always returned immediately. If she took too long and he had to come looking for her, she would pay the price in blood and pain.
In the afternoons, she would wake him in time to pick up the Princess and then prepare dinner. During this time, she was expected to pretend they were a normal happy family. She was expected to mask the pain and the bruises.
The Beast had a very short temper. More so than before. His patience with the Princess was non-existent. He was treating her as if she had cheated on him as well. Being very passive-aggressive and ignoring her when she tried to speak to him. When he tried to punish the Princess, the punishments were very harsh. Beauty would get between the Beast and her daughter, placing the child in her room, and taking whatever beating he had planned for the little girl.
Beauty knew her daughter could hear him hurting her. Calling her a whore and punishing her. But she tried to shield her daughter as much as possible. It broke Beauty more and more as she watched the light die in her child’s eyes. The Princess was becoming like Beauty, living a life of fear. After months of this, Beauty worked up the courage to try and escape while the Beast was sleeping. It was early, around dawn on a weekend, and she quietly stole the keys and took the Princess out to the car. They were in the car and she had just started it up when her window was broken by the Beast’s fist. Beauty looked into his terrifying face and told the Princess to run. At first, the little girl had been too scared to leave her mother, but as the Beast flung open the driver’s side door and started punching Beauty, the little girl took off. Beauty fought back as the Beast tried to strangle her with the seat belt and continued to punch her with his iron fists. She somehow managed to break free of the seat belt and crawled toward the open passenger door. The Beast grabbed hold of one of her legs, but she kicked out as hard as she could with the other and managed to catch him in his balls. As he shrank back in pain, she stumbled from the car and stopped short when she saw the Princess standing there with tears running down her beautiful face. The little girl had witnessed the violence. Beauty rushed toward her daughter at a dead run, swooping her up into her arms and never stopping. She was running as fast as she could down a deserted street when she heard the revving of the engine behind her. She did not need to look over her shoulder. She knew the Beast was after them. She was trying to make it to the park at the end of the street before he caught up to them. She had to leap and roll on the grass, as the front bumper of his car narrowly missed her. He was trying to run her down while she was carrying their daughter. If he had hit them, it would have killed them. Beauty prayed someone would be awake and call the police. Beauty was trying to get up with her daughter still cradled in her arms, when she felt the Beast’s finger grab hold of the hair on the back of her head. She let out a cry of pain and clutched the Princess tighter. The little girl was still crying, and Beauty wished she could stop her from experiencing this trauma.
As the Beast dragged Beauty back to his vehicle, he screamed at the Princess to shut up. The little girl did her best to reduce her sobs to sniffles. The Beast put them both into his car and drove them home. Beauty saw no one on the street. It was still eerily quiet, and she knew that there would be no help for her or the Princess that day.
When they covered the short distance and arrived back at the prison, the Beast pointed at the house. No words needed to be said. Beauty exited the car and carried the Princess to her room. She placed the little girl on her bed and kissed her forehead. The Princess looked frightened, with tear-stained cheeks and red-rimmed eyes. Beauty caressed her face in a soothing manner and got the little girl’s favorite stuffed animal. She turned the TV on and turned the volume up. Before she left the room, she heard a tiny voice that broke her heart.
“Mommy, I’m scared.”
Beauty turned and walked over to her daughter.
“It’s ok, baby. Mommy is not going to let him hurt you.”
The little girl started shaking her head.
“No, Mommy, I’m scared for you.”
Beauty patted her daughter’s little belly and gave the best smile she could.
“Don’t worry about me, baby.
Mommy is tough, and I will be ok. Promise me, no matter what, you will not leave this room.”
The Princess gave Beauty a weary look, and Beauty gave her a light kiss on the nose.
“Promise me, baby.”
The Princess’s voice was a whisper as she clutched her stuffed animal.
“I promise, Mommy.”
Beauty left the room and allowed the tears she’d been holding back to fall. The Beast was waiting for her outside the door and merely pointed toward the other bedroom. Beauty obeyed and walked into the room. The Beast shut and locked the door with a quiet click. Then, the real torture began. Beauty never cried out for fear of the Princess hearing. She stayed silent as he beat and raped her violently. Her silence was the only thing she had control of anymore and so she suffered in that silence, praying her daughter could not hear.
Chapter 40
Can I get a witness?
THE ONLY GOOD thing to come out of Beauty’s escape attempt was the Beast started allowing the Queen to see the Princess. This was purely out of selfish reasons on his part. He wanted more time to torture her and realized he could not do that and keep up the façade of a perfect little family, if the Princess kept witnessing his violence. So, after the little girl was sworn to secrecy and threatened if she told, she was allowed to start spending nights and weekends with the Queen.
Beauty was happy her daughter was away from the Beast, but it hurt to be away from her child. Again, she suffered in silence and hid this pain to play the dutiful prisoner of the Beast. When Beauty did see the Princess, she seemed happier and less nervous. With time, Beauty thought she even saw some of the light come back into the girl’s eyes.
The Beast had not been able to plan for one thing and that was how much Beauty’s body could take. After the constant brutality, he was forced to let her be seen by a doctor. Forced because after one particularly brutal attack, Beauty passed out from the blood loss and pain. Unable to revive her and fearing he might be charged with murder, he quickly dressed himself and Beauty. He moved her to the driveway and called 911. He told the EMs that Beauty had doubled over in pain and collapsed. She was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with severe endometriosis, multiple ruptured cysts, and internal bleeding. The endometriosis was severe scarring of her uterus and other female parts. The Beast told the doctors that Beauty must have developed the scarring from all her cancer surgeries. When Beauty came to, the Beast was right there in her face, looming over her and gripping her hand so tightly that she knew not to say a word to anyone. Beauty’s brain was very foggy from all the drugs they had her on, so it took her a moment to recognize what the doctors were trying to tell her.
“With the severity of the endometriosis, internal bleeding, and history of cancer, it is our recommendation that you have a total hysterectomy.”
Beauty blinked at the doctors and tried to process what they were telling her.
“But, but I’m so young. I won’t be able to have any more children.”
Not that she wanted any more children with the Beast, but she didn’t want that option taken away from her.
One of the doctors placed a hand on her leg and gave her a sympathetic look.
“With the amount of damage, children are no longer possible for you.”
Beauty felt the tears as she heard the Beast use his fake charming voice. He was putting on a show for the doctors.
“Shhh, baby girl, don’t cry. I have you and our daughter. We don’t need any more children. Everything will be ok. We have each other and that’s all that matters.”
Beauty turned her face away from him as he and the doctors conversed. They were making decisions for her. They would be doing the surgery shortly and there was nothing she could do about it. The female doctor came over to her and Beauty recognized her. She knew the Queen. The doctor leaned down and whispered to Beauty.
“Do you want me to call your mother?”
Beauty gave a slight nod, hoping the Beast had not heard. She could feel him staring at her and the female doctor. Beauty let a moan of pain escape and the female doctor stood up.
“She needs more pain meds.”
A nurse rushed in then and stuck a surgeon into Beauty’s IV. As she watched the liquid snake up the clear tube and enter her hand, the world around Beauty grew fuzzy and she felt like she was floating. She drifted in and out of consciousness until they came to take her to surgery. She thought she saw her mother’s worried face as she briefly opened her eyes. The next thing she remembered was someone counting backwards and then darkness.
When Beauty awoke, the pain was intense and everywhere. She felt changed and different. She blinked her groggy eyes open and saw the Beast looking agitated at her side. When she scanned the room and caught sight of her mother, she almost cried. Her mother looked tired and irritated herself. Beauty knew the irritation was probably because of the Beast’s presence. She hoped it wasn’t because of her. Beauty’s throat was so dry, and she was barely able to croak out a request for water.
The Beast was there with a cup and straw. She winced as she sat up in the bed and the Beast handed her three pills to take.
Beauty had grown so accustomed to not questioning his actions that it wasn’t until her mother’s, voice boomed through the room and startled her that she looked at the pills. They were the same ones the Beast would give her after severe brutality.
“What the HELL do you think you are doing?”
The Queen’s eyes were locked on the Beast and Beauty was frozen, unsure if she had done something wrong.
“She’s still on IV pain medication and you’re trying to give her three pain pills that you got from god knows where. Are you trying to kill her?”
Beauty realized than that the Queen was talking to the Beast. She had already jumped from her seat and moved to take the pills from Beauty’s hand. Beauty looked up at her fierce mother with awe.
“My daughter is coming home with me to recover. I am sure you will insist to be right by her side, but I promise you that she is not leaving here without me.”
Beauty watched in stunned silence as the Beast and the Queen stared at each other. Pride swelled in her chest as the Beast was forced to back down. Beauty felt her mother take her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. Too frightened to look at the Beast, she stared at her mother and watched as her eyes softened. She had disappointed this woman so much, yet she was still there to stand up for Beauty.
Uncharacteristically, the Beast relented with a grumble.
“Fine, we will go to your house.”
Beauty could not believe the Beast was allowing this to happen, but she silently thanked God. She had a long recovery in front of her and with her family there, she would hopefully survive it.
Beauty was released from the hospital and told she had at least eight weeks of recovery in front of her. When she stepped into the old house of horrors, she did not feel the same dread she had before. Probably because the new house of horrors had surpassed and replaced what had been done to her in this home. Her mother, father, and brother were all attentive to her and she felt a love she had not felt in a very long time. She had grown so numb and blocked out so much that she no longer knew how to react to kindness. She could tell her mother was suspicious and wanted to ask questions, but the Beast was always around. Beauty could tell that he was coming unraveled at his loss of complete control over her. Having to keep himself in check and continuing the façade of normality was eating away at him with each passing day.
It only took twenty days for him to crack. Beauty was still weak and recovering slowly. It had been just over a year since she and the Princess had been taken from Knight, but she still thought of him daily. It was also her father’s birthday and a small celebration was planned. It was late afternoon and Beauty was resting before the celebration. She was suddenly awakened by an agonizing pain in her left side. She knew the feeling, it was one she was all too familiar with. Her ribs had been broken. The Beast had kicked her in the side while she was sleeping
. She cried out in pain as he loomed over her. There was that old rage in his eyes. With labored breaths, Beauty managed to roll from the bed and fall to the floor. The Beast was on her and jerking her up by the hair before she could get her feet. Another cry escaped her lips. The Beast leaned in close enough for her to smell the alcohol on his breath. This explained his total loss of control. His voice was a low menacing whisper.
“Shut your whore mouth, bitch.”
Beauty whimpered with pain from her injuries and the Beast threw her across the room as if she were a rag doll. Beauty lay panting on the floor as she heard him approaching. His steel-toed boots were all she saw before he had her jerked up again as he slammed her into a dresser so hard the wall shook. His hands wrapped around her throat as he leaned in close enough that his lips were almost at her ear.
“I planned this from the day I got you back. I took everything from you. Everything! I never wanted you. I never loved you. I can’t even stand you. You aren’t beautiful to me. You are pathetic, ugly, and fat. I hate your body especially those tiny titties. But I won, you stupid bitch. I won because I took you and I made sure that when I was done with you, you would never be able to bear another man’s child. No man will want a bitch who can’t have his babies. That is going to be my parting gift, if you survive. Maybe this time, I will just leave you for dead.”
Beauty could feel the darkness around her vision as she struggled for breath. Then, there was a loud bang and the Beast’s hands were gone from around her throat. She dropped to the ground like a stone, grasping for breath. Her ears were ringing and her vision blurry, but through narrow eyes, she saw her father and brother enraged and beating the Beast. Beauty had to blink several times because she could barely believe her eyes.
