Within the Walls [NEW VERSION]

Chapter 15

Sweat soaks into the sheet. It coats my forehead, and a metallic tang clings to my tongue. A raw wound aches on the inside of my cheek and my throat stings from the screaming. I slept in fits. Monsters swathed my nightmares with teeth dripping blood. Unseeing eyes of their victims burn through my skull, their final screams before falling into death's beckoning arms rattling back and forth within my bones. Would the men fight? Or would they let the monsters kill them, knowing they didn't stand a chance?

The pillows caught my sobs all night. The bedroom walls protected me from the prying ears of anyone in the hallway. All I want, is to fall into my sister's arms. But I am trapped in the snare of my most bone-chilling nightmare.

My numb fingers sting as I grind the faucet in the opposite direction. Water gushes from the tap, filling the tub. I sink into the tub. The hot water soaks into my skin and I sigh as I scrub my skin with a sponge, creating soap bubbles. I dunk my hair under the water, rinsing away all the mud, dirt, and blood. A hair cleanser helps remove all the gunk and leaves the curls smelling like vanilla. When I rise from the tub and wrap a towel around my body, my skin has become wrinkled from the water. The sun peaks over the horizon, sending tendrils of yellow light across the kingdom. Ice creeps up the windowpane and I shudder.

I pad barefooted to the bed, wearing nothing but a linen dressing robe. As I peel the sweaty sheets from the mattress, a knock sounds through the door. My eyes close and my jaw tightens. Sparks of fire flicker through my bloodstream. Dark crimson and hot, burning my skin.

"Elle?" Ruben calls, his voice infuriatingly gentle.

"I do not want to talk to you, Ruben," I snap, tossing a bundle of sheets into a basket. A silence follows, and I nod, assuming he left. With a huff, I dress into my tunic and pants and grab the basket handles. As I open the door, Ruben's eyes send me reeling back. I curse. "Did you not hear me?"

He shrugs. "I thought you might want to talk about what happened yesterday."

A wildfire billows through my chest. "You are the last person I want to talk to. The last person I want to look at," I say through gritted teeth.

He opens his mouth to respond but I roll my eyes and shoulder past him, anyway, stomping down the marble hallway. Tears blur my vision and I blink them away, biting my lip to keep from screaming at him.

"Elle!"

I shake my head, navigating my way to the servants' quarters. His incessant footsteps follow. A vulture circling its prey. I march into the laundry room, and a couple of servants ogle at us. Instead of handing my basket to them, I tip my sheets into the large sink and turn the faucet on. I pour some fabric soap into the sink and grab the cleaning stick.

"You are upset with me," Ruben says. From the peripherals of my vision, I see him chewing his lips and I resist the urge to slap him.

"Oh?" I say, as lavender aromas fill my nose. Water splashes up my front as I stir the sheets in the sink.

"Do you think I am responsible for what happened yesterday?"

My hands tremble and I whack the stick against my clothing. "You just stood there," I say, my voice cracking but low enough to avoid drawing the servant's attention. "You stood there like an idle fool while I exiled two men. You stood there while his blood splattered my face and hair."

His face transcends various hues of pink and a storm rages behind those eyes. "I didn't have a choice, Elle."

"You could save me, Prince Talin," I spit his title like poison, stirring the water and beating the sheets. "But you couldn't save them. Yet you just stood there while I shoved them out! What kind of prince are you?"