Click here for page 1 of Aphria.
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“Where is it?” One of then growled. She could smell the liquor on his breath and almost gagged.
“Where is what?” She retorted back reaching up to the growing bump on the back of her head. It ached just to touch it.
“She’s not going to admit anything.” The thinner of the three spoke. The other two were pretty large, but one was tall and the other shorter. “Might as well just kill her now and save the time.”
Aphria should’ve been more frightened at the moment but was probably just numb. Not to mention their slurring speech inhibited their intimidation. “Fine. Kill me.” She shrugged. She’d rather them do that then anything else to her. But the looks in their eyes said they had other plans. Fear finally crept in. What were they going to do with her?
“She still needs to be punished.” The tall one seemed to speak with amusement. “Do we have the horsewhip?”
The others laughed as she felt the color drain from her face. They seemed to pull the whip from the air. What else did they bring in to torture her with? It was a better time more than ever to be brave. As fast as she could, she kicked the closest one to the ground before jumping up to run. But like the last time, they were too fast for her. The tallest one grabbed her by the shirt ripping it off her back. He held her arms in front of her so tightly she couldn’t move. It was then she heard the crack and the stinging pain on her back. She let out a loud cry. “Hush your mouth.” She short one tied a bandana around her mouth muffling her noise. The lashings continued each one with more force than the last. Tears were streaming down her face. When the cracks stopped, she was pushed to the ground again. She was too weak to get up. All she could do was shake. She wasn’t sure if it was her body’s reaction to pain, or anger or fear. Maybe all three.
She felt herself being forced on her wounded back and her pants coming off. She tried to cry out again, but the bandana held her muffles. They each took their turn with her, violating any dignity she had left. And when they were finished, the bandana was slipped from her mouth down to her neck. She was too dazed to cry out at all. Not that she could, she felt all the air being withheld from her. She couldn’t breathe. They were strangling her. With one last effort, she tried to break free, but found herself so weak. She just heard their evil chuckles as the white light spilled in front of her eyes. Her last thought was that she wished she didn’t wish for death. But at least she would be with her brother.
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White light. It filled her sight again when she thought she felt her eyes open. This didn’t feel like death. Wait. Yes it did. Her body was in nothing but pain. She couldn’t help but cry out. “Aphria.” She felt a touch on her shoulder. She retracted back. Being touched was not something she wanted right now. She felt so dirty. “Fri.. princess…”
That voice. She loved that voice. It melted the frozen fear within her. All she could do was just cry. “Dev.. They.. They..”
“I know what they did.” She could hear a dark tone in his voice. “And they’ll pay for their actions.”
“I thought I was dead.” It seemed a little too hard for her to speak. Breathing was difficult.
“You almost were.“ She finally looked up at him and the rest of the room. She was at the medic. His eyes seemed full of the pain she was in. Her head ached so much and she felt dizzy. Her back was burning. Her legs were throbbing. She felt the tears fall down her face. “Why don’t you just sleep.”
Aphria shook her head. “I don’t want to sleep.” She didn’t know what she wanted to do. Exasperated, she let out a loud scoff. “This is by far the worst two days ever.” The appropriate actions would’ve been folding her arms in a toddler manner, but her body did nothing but cause her pain. The slightest movement made her want to whimper. But she held it in.
Dev let out a small laugh. Guilt immediately field his eyes, but he quickly hid it away. “I am just glad you are alright.”
Aphria’s forehead wrinkled. “How am I alive?”
Dev gave her a kind smile, but she knew that behind it, he wanted to scold her. “I walked in on the guards. Another minute and you would’ve been dead.”
She still remained confused, but let it go. Thinking hurt her head. “Thank you.” She never felt so much gratitude for him before. She didn’t even ask why he came to her cabin. Probably to try and resolve the argument she started. Or give her the potatoes back.
Dev took a deep breath in. “Now you can never say I haven’t done anything for you.”
Was he serious? She couldn’t tell if he was just teasing or if he was throwing a statement back in her face. He must’ve been really hurt by her words earlier. She was not in the mood for this, but if he wanted to continue the discussion or argument or whatever they had, she would do so. “Dev..”
The man gently kissed her forehead. She didn‘t protest, but she did feel a slight sense of claustrophobia when he was near her “Get some rest. Tomorrow, the doctor will give you some antibiotics. And a complete check up.” He looked her up and down. She shuddered inside thinking of what kind of diseases they could have. When he turned to leave, claustrophobia turned into abandonment.
“Don’t leave.” She cried. “I’m so sorry.” She knew him well enough to decipher his mixed emotions. There was definite anger inside those eyes. “Please yell at me. I deserve it.”
“I think you were punished enough for one day.” Punished. That word sickened her. The guard used it. She just stared at him waiting for more. “Gods, Fri.” He scoffed and sat back down. “I just lost your brother, and almost lost you. I know you think I’ve done you wrong, but do you really think I deserve this? Why didn’t you wait for me to help you with the thieving?”
She swallowed back the lump in her throat. He did want to continue this. Maybe arguing wasn‘t the best idea at the moment. She admitted to herself she was too weak and tired and even vulnerable to fight. She felt the tears start dripping from her eyes. Where did they come from? Maybe she felt pathetic, but she didn‘t want to look it. “I should’ve thought of you. It was just a spontaneous idea. I wasn’t thinking.”
He took her hand and kissed it. “I can’t lose you.” He looked into her eyes. It was full of such heartbreak. She melted inside. He had to go for the eyes. She knew he could sense her loss for words, so he changed the subject. “How about I stay here until you fall asleep.”
She wanted to tell him she didn’t want to sleep, but refused to argue anymore and just nodded. “How did you fight off the guards?”
A slight smile appeared on his face but vanished as fast as it showed up as if he were trying to hide it. “I only fight if someone else fights me first.” It was all he said. “Now please get some rest.” Aphria rolled her eyes. She had no other choice but to give in. She did feel weak and slightly tired. And very dirty. When she gets released from the medic, she was going to give herself a long bath. He bent down to kiss her forehead again. Her heart did that flutter she hated. “Close your eyes.” He whispered. “I’ll be right here.” Her eyelids fell on command as she heard him sit down in the chair. She was glad he was there with her. Something inside her told her she was safe with him. She decided not to focus on the years of logic against the concept and just feel at peace. At least as much as possible. She couldn’t stop the visions of each guard on top of her. The tears began to fall again. She felt Dev gently take hold of her hand. He was all she had left now.
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