Insanity Stains Red

five

I decided on remaining where we were, as if we had every right to be there – we did, but many of my father’s men often chose to ignore that fact if it suited their needs. But if we had been caught in a panicked scramble; that would not go down well, even if we were not anywhere we weren’t allowed to be. I tensed as the footsteps became louder, until they were right outside the door – and then continued on past it, down the hall. I sighed, my body relaxing once more, and decided that it would be best for Rose and I to move upstairs into my room, just in case.

I pulled the two meagre blankets off my mattress and laid them on the floor for Rose. I would have preferred to let her lay on the bed with me, but my father would not approve of such consideration, and we would both be punished for it; it was not worth the small comfort to have my father angry at me. Rose would be okay on the floor – at least she had something reasonably soft to sit on, and could lean her back against the wall. I watched as she lowered herself down gingerly and leant back, closing her eyes and resting. I couldn’t let her sleep with a concussion, I knew that – but I could let her rest for a while, at least.

I sat on the bed and began rifling through my backpack – luckily nothing had been damaged in the scuffle; most likely thanks to Rose’s possessiveness of it. I pulled out a notebook and pen and stretched out on the bare mattress to doodle. I had several hours to kill, and unless I wanted to do my homework- ‘Not a chance in hell. Why can’t they even give us something fun to do for homework? Dissect a frog, research how quickly you can make someone lose their temper, kill a small child… You know – fun stuff.’ Somehow I think I was in the wrong sort of school to participate in those last two – though the first could be done in biology class; one of the few classes I actually enjoyed attending. I pushed back the thoughts and started drawing – nothing specific, just random patterns.

That was how my father found us two hours later. I hadn’t expected him so soon, and must have zoned out to some degree, because I hadn’t heard him enter the study let alone come up stairs. He was suddenly just standing over me, looking down at me with scornful eyes. I scrambled to my feet, knocking my notebook to the floor in my haste. The sound startled Rose back to full consciousness and her gaze immediately locked onto my father; blood draining from her face in fear.

Rose like many of the other girls, didn’t cross paths with my father often, and I knew they were thankful for that. He never pretended to be anything other than a monster – for some reason that made him the scariest to them; I personally just found it refreshing, but I’d been raised by him, so what do I know – right? Except it wasn’t the honest monsters you had to watch out for, it was the ones that hid behind their pretty little lies, gentle voices and fake smiles. I couldn’t understand how the girls could fear a man like the one lording it before me, and not a man that whispered sweet nothings in their ears while they fucked – conveniently overlooking the fact that those gentle men were in on the whole secret that was our existence here. Those ones I knew had something seriously wrong in the head. I hated being around them.

Thankfully my father didn’t seem to have the slightest interest in Rose. He treated her as if she were a cockroach scurrying in the corner of the basement – insignificant and well beneath his notice. His stormy grey eyes, a perfect match for my own, were trained sorely on me; his gaze cool and guarded. ‘Check it out Red; he’s in a good mood for a change. Don’t do anything to screw it up, ‘kay?’ No duh. As if I would willingly bring his anger upon myself – okay, so maybe I had done that before, but there had been a legitimate reason each time. I wasn’t a masochist.

“I’m hosting a gathering tonight to introduce some new guests to our sect. I expect you’ll be presentable and waiting in the coliseum at seven pm.” He wrinkled his nose in distaste, no doubt at the crumpled state of my school uniform – I should probably have changed out of it, but it was too late now. His gaze lingered on my cheek for several long moments, and I knew he was going to ask me about it – I didn’t know what I’d tell him; if I said the wrong thing, the girls would die for it. But he said nothing more, instead turning on his heel and strolling from the room with all the arrogance he could muster. Believe me, that was a whole lot of arrogance.

Rose and I stared at each other across the length of the room, stunned. ‘Uh, Red- It’s already 5:30” Shit! I swung my legs off the bed and stood –too fast. I stumbled, catching my knee on the rather solid bedside table where the clock was located – apparently my subconscious could see things even when I wasn’t looking at them; cool trick. I’d have to keep that in mind. But right now, I had to shower and get myself presentable, and I’d need Rose’s help for that. The question was, whether or not she would be up to it – I shuddered at the thought of having to get one of those other girls to help me; that was just too intimate, considering I was trying to keep my distance from them.

Apparently Rose’s rest had done her good. That, or the fear she felt at the thought of disappointing her captors helped push her pain back enough to be useful. Either way, fifteen minutes before I was supposed to be in the coliseum, she pulled the laces of my dress shut – an old fashioned idea yes, but father had always seemed to like the style, and I liked to keep my father happy, so I’d gotten used to wearing them. The makeup was the final touch, delicate and understated; and then I was ready to go. Thankfully Rose had a legitimate excuse to sit this one out, and I knew that she would be safe in my room for the night. That went a long way to keeping me calm – I was always calm on the outside anyway, but this way I could be calmer on the inside also.

I had just enough time to get to the coliseum if I walked with haste, but I wasn’t late enough to have to run and risk either messing my outfit, or falling prey to my natural clumsiness and embarrassing both myself and, by default, my father. The coliseum was a large indoor arena. It was used for many different purposes – our annual gathering of the factions, the big and all-important rituals and sessions of worship, battle games to test the strength of the initiates and other members of the sect… It was a large list. This night however, it was being used as a kind of ballroom to welcome a visiting guest – or possibly a new transfer from high-up in the ranks. My father hadn’t been too clear on that fact; but there was one way to find out.

I reached out with both hands to the double doors in front of me, having to use a considerable amount of strength to swing them open. A party meant that it was going to be a long, interesting night – only time would tell if it was going to be the good kind, or the bad. ‘Let’s get this party started…’