5

5

Kaya’s POV.

I wake up to my senses informing my brain of a pain in my neck as I ruffle on a strange bed that I can’t remember when I climbed.

It is indeed morning, and the sun has settled into the room, beaming in heat, causing me to yank off the duvet from my body.

And just then, my brain reels back to what happened yesterday.

I gasp as my face lights up in fear and my body involuntarily falls off the bed. It is as though time stopped for a second, ensuring that I remembered the horrors I’ve faced so far in this place.

Grabbing myself with my palms to sit up, my eyes wander around the room, finding it all strange and simple.

The interior decor isn’t anything too fancy, seeming like that of a dormitory for the royal college Werewolf kids.

Standing in the middle of the room, accessing all that my eyes can scan, the hair at the back of my head stand at the sudden sound of the door opening.

Snapping my head there, my breathing hitches as a figure walks in but when I see that it’s Melissa, head of the maids, I calm a bit.

“Hello.” While I try to start up a conversation to ask her where I am, she behaves like I am nonexistent, as if she’s the only one in this room.

My hands fidget to touch her, so I can grasp her attention while I watch as she drops a polythene containing a dress on the bed. Then, she walks over to another door inside the room, which leads to the bathroom. Now that she opens it, she turns on the faucet above the tub for a bath.

Then, when she gets back to the room, her eyes land on me, and she speaks. “Do I have to get you the towel from the rack too?”

Her tone is precise and she’s not even facing me, as though I am something to be irritated of, or unworthy of her attention. It leaves me more confused than before.

My fingers entwine, pinching the skin of my hands. “I don’t understand. What’s happening? Where is this?”

“A stubborn girl you are indeed. I see why the triplets dealt with you. I’ve told you. Asking questions would only lead you to an early demise.” When she finishes speaking, my thoughts run through her words.

An early demise?

Is that supposed to make me feel better? She’s obviously telling me that whether I do as told or not, I’ll still be doomed.

Dread seeps into the pores of my skin, and I force out a few words, partly swallowing a lump in my throat. “Please tell me something. It won’t hurt, will it?”

I share her pleading look, to which she rolls her eyes and beckons me to come with her to the bathroom.

Entering there, she sits me down at the edge of the bathtub. “This is a perilous place you’ve been captured, Kaya. My advice is that, as early as possible, you can accept your fate, would things be a little less painful for you.” She pauses to check the water in the tub. “It’s warm enough.” Then she resumes her lecture. “Now, the brothers want you to get dressed up. I have no idea why, but that’s enough information.”

I nod my head in response to her words, even though she hasn’t asked me a question. As well, I’m trying my best to grasp every words, so I can learn more about where I am...and just maybe then, I can be smart about my actions.

My legs take me to the rack to pick up the towel. Laying it next to the tub, I turn my back for Melissa to unzip my dress; it now looks tattered from all the distress.

“Thank you, Melissa.” I say, and she pats my shoulder.

“It would be safe if we hurried up.”

Melissa directs me into the water, and sitting in it, I feel a bit of comfort. Even though I know she doesn’t like me at all, I still appreciate that she isn’t as harsh as the brothers.

While she scrubs my body, I ask. “May I ask a question?”

“You may not.” Her tone is cold, dangerously cold.”

My conscience won’t allow me, so I proceed. “Why isn’t anyone trying to escape?”

“What do you mean?”

“If the brothers are so cold-hearted, sadistic, brutal, and many more, why isn’t anyone trying to escape them? I plan to.” The moment I add that, I know I have made a mistake.

Melissa chuckles, raising suspicion in me. My eyes follow her walk and when she throws me the towel, I grab it.

We head to the dresser where she’s picked out the gown and hung it next to us.

There’s an awkward silence in the air. Through the reflection, my ocean blue eyes watch her.

“What horror have you faced yet because of the triplets? Tell me.” Interrogates Melissa. That isn’t her style, but I answer anyway.

“It’s sensitive.” I am not ready to talk about the deaths of my father and my brother. The dread remains within my heart, unnursed.

“Did they kill someone that you love?”

I nod my head as my face falls.

“That is only the tip of the iceberg. There are more punishments that the triplets have up their sleeves. They’d make your life miserable so much you’d wish something far greater than death could grab you, but do you want to know what’s worse?” As Melissa speaks, my stomach churns at my imagination. It is like she is speaking from experience. My eyeball has turned red, and she’s looking into the distance.

“Nothing of those would come, not even death, leaving you to forever live in the thoughts of blaming yourself for the deaths.” Her eyes glances at me for a moment. “There’s no escape, newcomer.”

Melissa continues to brush my hair like nothing strange has occurred just now. Her lips are pressed into a thin line before she tells me that she has finished perfecting my face for those three monsters.

I wonder what I have done to deserve such punishment from fate.

Life would have allowed us to continue to live in that small cottage at the edge of the town, away from everyone else, and we’d be happy for the little that we have. And I could have envision a perfect life from the books that I read and be happy that I have my family with me, but that isn’t what was planned for me.

No, we aren’t meant to live with any joy for long.

“You look just as the triplets want. My work is done here.” Melissa tells me with a small smile on her face.

I watch my own reflection. My hair is box-braided into a French plait with some strands left to stroke down the left side of my forehead. And down my cleavage is the black gown, slightly covering my bossom but bringing out my shape.

I never imagined myself this beautiful with small makeup plastered onto the skin of my face, and I love it, except this isn’t a situation that guarantees me to appreciate the look.

Finally, I put on a matching black heel, finishing the look, but my heart pounds hard within my chest.

Melissa is about to walk away when the entrance door opens for the allowance of another maid. “The triplets demand your presence. Now.”

Something about the way the other maids spoke travels chills down my spine.

She means the last word. I know I cannot go alone, so I ask Melissa to follow me. Of course, she resisted, but when I begged, she accepted with a huff, promising that if I mess anything up, she wouldn’t take account for it.

My head goes haywire with thousands of thoughts scrambling around, scared of what is to happen.