Wicked Hearts Of Stone

Chapter 5

Clanking in the distance. I was unable to fully arise to consciousness.
Probably rats in the ceiling I told myself, drifting back to sleep.

Wooden board creaking. The winds are strong, someone must of left a window open. No need to wake up.

A creak in the corner of the room. Its just the house settling. Turn over, back to sleep.

Footsteps thudding. "Dammit Luca, i was having such a good sle..." But I was cut off as a solid weight pounced on top of me, pinning me the bed. My eye shot open, but before I could say another word questioning what was going on, a dust old rag is stuffed in my mouth. I trash about in bed, trying to move the solid weight from above me, but hands dig into my holding holding me down. I blink a few times to get my eyes to adjust to the room when finally my father comes into focus. A wicked, sinister grin growing on his face. All my muscles tense up and I lock eyes with the man as he slowly cocks his head to the side, moving his eyes to different features on my face.
After what felt like minutes waiting for him to speak, to explain, he finally says "I've got a brilliant plan, Aeryn." My brows furrow and my stomach twists from my nauseating small of alcohol leeching from him, filling up every space of air around me.
"You're not going to like this, but you've left me with no choice." He says followed by a small chuckle.
He wraps his arms around my shoulders pinning my hands together and pulls me up to sit on the bed.
"You're coming with me." He slurs again, he must of had drank way to much that he in acting out in complete impulsiveness, not thinking straight at all. I tell myself just to go along with his plan, do what ever he needs me to do, where ever he wants me to go until he gets distracted by something else, or finally passes out.
We walk out the door with him behind me, gripping my hands together behind my back and pushing me towards the front door. I try to call out to Luca as we stumble past his room but I was barley able to muffle out any words from the rag staffed in my mouth, almost gagging from the taste of it.
We reach the front door and he quickly stops, grabbing a long rope. Twisting and wrapping it around my wrist too tight, flinching with every movement he made to make it tighter.
"Allright, out the door with you." Father says, opening the door quickly and pushing me out. The cold breeze nipping at my face and sending a shudder down my spine. I stumble a little bit but regain my composure, turning towards my father, increasingly worrying about what his plan is. I try to mumble out something, anything to make him realize what he is doing, snap back to reality.
"The more you thrash, the more you'll make this more difficult than it needs to be Aeryn." He says in a low voice, making sure nearby neighbors don't suspect anything.
Gripping my arm firmly, he walks me down the steps and takes a quick right up the path further away from the village center. My eyes dark left to right trying to find anyone to alert them i need help, but the sun was getting low already. Everyone was inside warming their house, preparing dinner.
I stumble more, almost tripping over from the trenched out path from people travels along it. Father just grips my arm tighter, pulled me back up. Grumbling something under his breath. At least there is more fresh air rather than being suffocated but his toxic fumes.

We walked for a few minutes. Father stopping abruptly. I could see the village lights and smoke from the chimneys behind him. We were out of our villages territory, no one around us.
"In there you go." He says, pointing to the side of the path lines with trees. I look at him confused, worried, but father just says "Don't make me get mad, Aeryn."
I look towards the trees, into the bush. There was hardly any light. I sigh briefly before taking a step off the path onto the grass where the tree line began.
Oh Crown, I plea to myself in my head, please let Luca be awake and realize we are gone.
The air is cooler, balancing my steps to not trip over the roots and broken branches. Twigs and bush scratching past my body. My stomach was sinking deeper and deeper, trying to figure out what fathers plan was.