Chapter 14
The door slamming reverberated through me. He just left me here. Tied to the bed and completely at anyone’s mercy. How was this for my own safety?
I ground my teeth and stalked to the bathroom, jerking on the vine as it tangled under my legs. I fumed the entire time I did my business and cleaned my face and teeth. Every ounce of me rebelled against the injustice Blackthorn had put upon me.
That stupid vampire was being completely unreasonable. He was the one who kidnapped me. I didn’t ask him to rescue me. I didn’t ask to be taken here. He had no right to assume I wanted out of the situation I was in.
Okay, so maybe from the outside looking in, it was obvious none of us who belonged to Rumple wanted to be there. The townspeople clearly could tell we were being used and abused; except they couldn’t do anything about it.
We belonged to Rumple by law. We signed the magically binding documents or in some unfortunate cases our parents did. Not even the royals could break those contracts, no matter how much they despised what Rumple was doing.
And I supposed, no one in their right mind would want to go back to their abuser. Maybe Blackthorn thought I was brainwashed or something. But I didn’t want to go back, I had to go back. Not only for my own survival but for the children who couldn’t stand up for themselves.
Blackthorn just didn’t understand.
I should just tell Blackthorn. I’ll tell him about the spell and then he’ll have to let me go. He said he wanted to protect me. By keeping me here, he was technically hurting me. So unbeknownst to him, he was breaking his own promise of protection.
Huffing, I threw myself down onto a nearby sofa.
The big question was, would Blackthorn even believe me? Or had I waited too long and now it seems like I was just trying to run back home to Rumple?
Ugh, I didn’t know what to do. No one prepared me for this kind of situation. I wasn’t meant to have to think beyond what orders had to be done that day. Trying to convince a decades or even centuries old vampire that he should let me go was not in my skill set.
I leaned forward, rubbing my hands over my face in frustration.
A knock sounded on the bedroom door before it cracked open. I glanced up to see Fran peering into the room, her face filled with concern. Once it landed on me, her eyes narrowed to slits.
Chin lifted, she shoved the door open with a tray in her hands. Fran didn’t look at me once as she strode through the room and sat the tray down so hard on the nearby table that the dishes clinked against each other.
My shoulders bunched together with each scrap and loud clack. I worried the dishes would break in her little display of displeasure.
Honestly, I couldn’t blame her. She and the others had been nothing but nice to me and the first chance I got, I tried to run.
They probably hadn’t seen a new person in decades and, from everything they’ve said and the way they talked about Blackthorn, they probably saw me as some crazy selfish person who didn’t see a good thing when she had it.
I waited until Fran finally stopped before turning in my seat to face her. “Fran, I just want to say—”
“Your breakfast, mistress.” Fran’s words were stilted as she curtsied to me, head bowed.
I closed my mouth and nodded, understanding her anger.
Moving from the sofa to the table, I sat down and looked over the food she had brought for me.
Unlike the first few times when it had been piled high with every type of meat and fruit imaginable, there was a bowl of lumpy porridge and a single piece of bacon that looked as if it had been forgotten in the pan with how black and charred it was.
So this would be my punishment for deceiving them. Well, it wasn’t any worse than what I was given every day at the factory. In fact, the bacon was more than I could have hoped for most days.
Still, I knew this was Fran and the others way of showing me they were upset with my actions. The least I could do was show how sorry I was.
Quietly, I picked up my spoon and scooped up a spoonful, shoving it into my mouth. Ice cold. I moved it around my mouth before swallowing it with a grimace. I picked up my cup and took a sip. Tepid water. No more fancy honeyed mead for me it seemed.
The entire time I sat there and ate, Fran never moved from her curtsy, her eyes on the ground the whole time. Only when I finished and pushed back from the chair did she lift her gaze to mine.
I locked eyes with hers, putting how sincerely sorry I felt into them as I said, “Thank you for breakfast.”
Fran’s face softened for a moment and then bunched up in annoyance. “You can’t even let me be mad at you without making me want to bundle you in my arms, can you, mistress?”
I didn’t answer, not knowing how she wanted me to respond.
She went about clearing the plates, muttering as she did. “I know this isn’t your home, and you were brought here without warning, but we really thought you would want to be here after a time. Do you know how beside himself Cookie was when he found out that you had tried to run away this morning?”
I winced, remembering how I’d run into the older cook last night while stealing from the kitchens.
“And don’t think he didn’t take stock of everything you took.” Fran gave me a pointed look. “Don’t worry, master brought it to me and returned the items to Cookie.”
I sat there and took her chastising, wringing my hands in my lap.
“I just don’t understand.” Fran shook her head. “Master said he saved you from a bad situation. Why would you want to go back there?”
I opened my mouth to tell her my prepared answer and then clipped it shut.
I didn’t want to lie to Fran. She’d been so kind to me, and I’d already broken her trust once.
Besides, it wasn’t like there was anything she could do with the information.
Blackthorn wouldn’t likely believe her any more than he’d believe me.
“I’m signed a contract,” I said truthfully.
“So? Contracts are meant to be broken, especially if you’re getting the raw end of the deal.”
I winced, shifting in place, trying to figure out how to explain. A spell that actively hurts you if you didn’t obey it sounded farfetched even to me. “Rumple put a —” I choked on the word spell, gagging as I fought to get the words out. Instead of saying what I wanted, I spit out, “banana.”
Fran’s brows furrowed. “A banana?”
I tried again. “A sp—butter squash. Damn it!” I pounded my fists on the couch beside me.
Of course Rumple would have a gag built into the spell. He couldn’t very well let others know that his contract would hurt you if you didn’t return to him. That might be too far even for the royals to ignore.
I growled my frustration.
Fran’s brows rose her mouth falling open as understanding came over her face. “Oh, I see what’s happening here.”
“You do?” I said hope filling my voice.
Nodding, Fran explained, “I know all about spells. I’ve seen this kind of spell before. Someone put a spell on you. Your old master, I’m assuming.” I nodded. “You can say you have a spell but not what kind of spell.”
I sighed. “Yes.”
“Maybe I can guess?”
I shrugged. It was worth a shot.
“This spell... it hurts you?”
I tried to tell her yes but I couldn’t get the words out, my tongue refusing to obey me. I let out a grunt instead.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Fran smiled sadly. “If it hurts you, then it’s probably because it’s trying to return you to your master.”
Again, I tried to tell her how right she was and once more I felt like I had something stuck in my throat.
Fran stared at me for a long moment before bursting into tears, her arms going around my shoulders. “Oh, you poor dear. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
I let her hug me, placing my hands on her back. “I didn’t realize exactly the extent of it until last night. I can’t even think about wanting to stay without — pickled frogs.” I groaned, lowering my head in shame.
Fran gave a watery chuckle. “At least it’s an entertaining —” Fran choked on her next words her eyes widened. “Well, shit.”
“Looks like it’s smarter than us.” I gave her a miserable smile.
Fran pulled back sniffing, her hands on my shoulders. “This does put a damper on things. But I don’t see how that should keep you from living here.” She offered me a sly grin. “I do know a thing or two about getting around magic. My grandmother was a witch, and it’s all about loopholes.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief. At least, she believed me. I didn’t want to be in pain if I didn’t have to be, which solved one of my problems. The other... I wasn’t sure if she could help me with.
“What’s wrong, mistress?” Fran’s eyes scanned my face. “Is there more to it?”
“I...” I began and then sighed, “I feel guilty about staying here because so many of the children that were tricked or sold to him don’t have anyone to look out for them now. A lot of them looked to me for help and with me being here...” I trailed off, willing her to understand my predicament.
Fran nodded fiercely. “I understand you completely. Even if you want to stay, your desire to help those smaller than you overrides your own needs. While that’s not a bad thing, mistress, it does make it harder for you to find your happiness, doesn’t it?”
I inclined my head solemnly.
“Well, then,” Fran clapped her hands together, “we’ll just have to figure out a way to break everyone’s contracts then!”
I blinked up at her, my mouth ajar. “Break their contracts? Can we do that?”
“Oh, posh.” Fran waved me off. “Your contracts are just spells and with the right words or ingredients any spell can be broken, even yours.”
Hope filled my chest, but I hesitated to let it linger. I had never in all my time at the factory thought that there was a way to break my contract with Rumple. For all of us to break our contracts.
But, if what Fran was saying was true, then it could be done, and that little flicker of hope grew a little bit more.