Chapter 9 #2
Everyone disappeared from the balcony, leaving Eveline alone with Tae.
With a shaking hand, he reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
The tender gesture sent a wave of longing through Eveline.
For half of her life, she had been deprived of love, and it was her dearest desire to receive it from Tae.
But, until he heard all the disgusting details of the last ten years, she couldn't ask it of him.
When he leaned in to place a kiss on her lips, she turned her head, and it landed on the corner of her mouth.
Tae frowned and said, "Forgive me. I am being too forward. Obviously, you do not feel what I feel."
"Don't apologize. The problem is with me.
I do have feelings for you; however, I can't lead you on or let you believe there can be something more between us.
Tonight, I will relate the story of my imprisonment, and it may cause you to feel differently.
I don't want you to be obligated to me in any way.
After you hear, then you can honestly choose whether you care for me or not. "
"My feelings will not change," Tae defiantly replied.
"I sincerely hope not," Eveline said to herself.
Dinner was a quiet affair, with everyone dreading the truth of Eveline's imprisonment. She barely ate, and her nerves were reflected in the others' attitudes. The table was cleared, Keshel put to bed, and everyone gathered in the living area .
"Would you mind if we recorded your statement? I did it for Michelle, and it went a long way in reducing her time with the king. In your case it might suffice to satisfy him so you never need to face him," Kelan asked.
"Yes, please. If there's a chance I can skip speaking to your king, I gladly take it."
Kelan moved to the monitor and pushed several buttons. Eveline was displayed on the screen, but she wouldn't look at it. Michelle took her hand, as encouragement.
"Let me get it all out before you ask questions.
If I am stopped, I don't think I'll be able to start again," Eveline admitted.
"When I was ten, my family went on a vacation.
I don't remember where we were going, but part of the trip was in a desert.
My mother saw a rock formation she just had to take pictures of, so we stopped.
My brother and I wandered around, and I saw a bunch of large lizards following a trail between boulders.
I touched one, and it jumped. I guess I found it funny because I went after it and continued making it jump.
The trail went on forever, winding through sand dunes and rocks as tall as skyscrapers.
I became lost. Suddenly, the lizards turned as one and hissed at me.
I ran, but a scaly hand grabbed me. I saw the creature's face and screamed.
I guess no one heard. He dragged me to a ship that was practically invisible in the sand.
The large lizards came too, and smaller ones were left behind. "
Daer handed her a glass of water without saying a word.
Eveline sipped it and continued, "I screamed and cried for hours until I lost my voice and ultimately passed out.
Every day I begged to go home. It often earned me a slap in the face.
Once we reached Savra, I became a slave.
A very old woman showed me how to clean and even cook.
She made sure I had food and cared for the cuts I sustained when the men knocked me across the room, which occurred on a daily basis.
She died when I was thirteen. The men noticed that I no longer resembled a child and soon they were grabbing me as I walked by.
One pulled me onto his lap, groping and kissing me.
I kicked, hit, and eventually bit his tongue.
That's when they put on the collar and chains. "
Tae clasped her free hand, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles.
With a torrent of tears running down her face, Eveline went on, "One night a Savra male came to my prison.
He held me down, stripped off my clothes, and was about to take me when a female came out of the darkness.
I assume she was his wife. She killed him.
The men got the message, and none ever tried it again.
However, the real torture started as a consequence of that night.
I was chained in the full sun until blisters covered my body.
The blisters were peeled to examine the fluid inside.
Despite the bloody scabs, I had to scrub the floors, and I was chained with their pets, who licked at the wounds.
I fought with the animals for scraps of food.
Once they kept water from me for days. I think they wondered if I could last as long as I did without it.
When I was too weak to move, they poured it down my throat.
It came right back up. The collar grew too small, but they wouldn't replace it.
They dragged me around with the chain, letting the collar cut into my neck every day.
My prison room was my sanctuary. I could cry freely, rest, and mark the days on the wall. "
She was silent for so long after that statement that Tae ventured to ask, "How did your leg get broken?"
"The women hid from you by my prison cell. When the soldier came for me, the women kicked me as he dragged me out. They broke it."
The recitation had exhausted and deflated everyone. Tae pulled Eveline onto his lap and held her tight, letting her cry herself to sleep. The others left them alone. They had heard more than enough.