Give In - A Lady D x Fem Reader Story

Chapter 14: Pet With A Gravestone

"Rise and shine, pet." My eyes snapped open at the greeting. I had hoped that it was all a dream I would soon awake from. Yet here I remained, hanging in the air by a thread. A strong wave of Bela's scent passed through my nostrils, her blonde hair flying past for a brief second. Despite the mess of blood across her face, she didn't smell horrible. In fact, she smelled a bit like caramel mocha. Bela was face to face with me now, her arm stretched out in the hold of something.

"How did you sleep?"

I mumbled something in response. 

"Use your words."

 "Pl-...please...let me...down..." I whispered through my hoarse,  dry throat.

She huffed. "You're welcome, by the way."

"For...what?"

"I could've told her to continue hurting you. But I didn't."

I swallowed before speaking. "Why didn't you...?"

"To let you know that I can be merciful when I want to be...and within reason, of course."

"What was the reason?" I asked.

"Cassandra was taking her issues out on you. We are not allowed to do that, Mother says. The enemy would find out our disadvantages that way."

"I'm not your enemy..."

"Ah, that's what I thought. The sword plus firearm did convincing." Bela responded in a sarcastic tone.

"They were only for self-defense... I just want to leave."

"You still don't seem to understand. You're not going to survive long if you proceed to convey the belief that you'll somehow be let out of this castle. You belong to us now. You belong to the Lady."

Bela reached down and picked something up from the floor, allowing me to see. It was my glasses. They must have fallen off after I passed out.

"Do you need these? They're close to being destroyed."

She was right. My already-cracked lens was on the verge of being shattered, the other lens slanted out of its socket, desperately asking to be ripped out.

I sighed. "I'll be fine."

Bela narrowed her eyes with a slight frown. "Let's get you on your feet then."

"Wait-"

She pulled the lever up with a sharp tug, the wooden device vibrating against the rope and upon my feet. Nothing happened for several seconds until the machine brought me closer to the ground with a loud snap. And another snap. And another. Was Bela cutting the-

I screamed as my body hit the ground, struggling to catch my breath. The ceiling was spinning like a carousel, slowly yet surely. I watched the ceiling spin for a while until it eventually stopped, then cast my glance toward the pulley, which was returning to its original position. Bela crouched down and, using her sickle, sliced through the rope tied around my ankles without trouble, tossing it to the side. 

"Can you stand?" She asked with an impatient tone, sheathing her weapon under that dark cloak of hers.

I blinked at a rapid pace, shaking my head with a blank expression. "I'm gonna throw up."

She shook her head, mumbling something in Romanian, then grabbed me off of the floor, pinning my wrists behind my back with her hand, the other securing my waist. "Save the ejection for another time. Walk, pet." She shoved me forward and I took it as a sign to proceed unless she said otherwise. I took back what I said before. Bela was the worst. There was something about her that radiated an honorary demand for respect. Unlike Cassandra, there was no doubt that Bela's bite was far worse than her bark. She was sensible and intelligent and did not need to assert her dominance. She represented herself well as the eldest sister.