Wilde at Heart (Completed)

Prologue

He was cold.

He was so very cold and it was dark.

Water dripped somewhere in the darkness, steadily pinging off the concrete floor. It had become soothing, in a way; almost like a lullaby to lull his tired aching body to sleep. He was so cold now, his teeth chattered and he was numb; no feeling at all in his hand that was handcuffed to a metal bar that ran along the concrete wall. At one end was the water that kept him alive. At the other end was where he was forced to answer nature's call. The room was cold and dark and smelled of urine now. His body was skinny after so many days without eating. He tried to remember how many. He'd lost track around four. To his childish mind it felt like forever. Tears leaked from his eyes and a whimper filled the otherwise relatively silent chamber. His father had told him it wasn't manly to weep.

"Mommy," he whimpered, "Mommy."

Mommy was gone. Sweet, kind mommy who was always ready with a hug and kisses for him was gone. She would always sit on the floor and play with him, even when she was so heavy with child she needed help to rise.

His eyes closed as he relived the last moments he had had with mommy. The back door had slammed open and two masked individuals had come into the room.They were big and scary and made mommy cry. She had tried to protect him, pushing him behind her body.

"Run!" she screamed, "Run!"

But he hadn't moved; just stood still in shock, his blue eyes wide as he watched them rip the clothes from his mother's body and shove her to the floor, doing strange things.

He was jerked from his thoughts as a door slammed open and light flooded the room. He blinked and curled even deeper into himself, away from the invading light. Tears created a grimy trail down his face as he silently shook with terror. His arm that wasn't held up by the handcuff wrapped around his knees as he tried to shield his bare body from their view. The people that had killed his mother and un-born sister had taken him. And now he was here.

A rough hand gripped on his frail wrist, closing around the skinny limb and jerking the poor boy to his feet. He cried out as his other wrist snapped against the handcuffs. White hot pain surged up his arm as it broke. The man cursed.

"Idiot, can you not remember that he's attached to that bar?" snarled the woman.

She reached over and un-handcuffed him roughly and the man started to pull him away from the wall. "No, no, no, no, no," screamed the boy, fighting to get back to the wall.

He sobbed uncontrollably. "Let me go," he screamed, "Let me go. Let me go. Let me go."

The man dropped him to the floor and the boy fell in a heap, landing on his injured arm and screaming with pain. "SHUT UP!" roared the man, kicking the boy's small body.

The force of the kick lifted the boy up and across the room and he slammed into the opposite wall before landing in a puddle of water under the dripping pipe. Gasping for breath, the boy clutched his ribs that had taken the brunt of the kick and tried to clear his blurry vision. The woman sighed and said, "Calm down. We need to get pictures of him to send to his father. If the boy is dead we don't get paid."

The man paused midstride and spat, "Well, it'll look more real if he's bleeding a little."

"Hurry up," said the woman impatiently, "I have to get back before he notices me missing."

The man grinned evilly before commenting, "Best idea you've ever had, by the way. He has no idea that you have kidnapped his son. We will be rich after all this."

The woman chuckled too and said, "He guesses I had something to do with the murder, but he's willing to look the other way. His wife was an unfaithful slut. He's in love with me."

The man nodded, his attention back on the boy and said, "Get the camera ready."

He uncurled the whip he carried in his hand and the boy skittered on hands and knees away from him, trying desperately to get away from the stinging lash.

"No, no, please," he whimpered, his eyes terrified.

The man only grinned as his arm raised and the whip snapped down. The boy's screams of pain echoed off the walls. But there was no one to hear his cries of pain except those who did not care.

Canon Wilde sat up in his bed, panting, still able to feel the lash wrapping across his back. His room was dark and the sheets were twisted around his bare legs. Twenty-years later and he was still haunted by his childhood. Untangling himself, he stood on unsteady feet and staggered to the bathroom by the moonlight flooding through his window. He wiped the sweat from his brow and cursed. Flipping on the light switch, he stumbled in the bathroom and stood in front of the mirror. His whole body was trembling uncontrollably. With another curse, he pulled his dark t-shirt over his head and glared with red-rimmed eyes at his body. Scarred, ridged patches of skin made from the cuts of a whip crossed his back in uneven patterns, lashing around his chest and shoulders. He felt his stomach heave and he fell to his knees by the toilet as he retched. When he was done, he fell back against the cool tile of the bathroom wall as his bedroom door opened. His eyes fell closed and then he felt a cool hand brush his forehead as the toilet flushed. "Canon," his housekeeper's voice was soft.

She took his hand and pulled. Canon's eyes opened and he looked into the warm brown eyes of Mary, his aged housekeeper. She swept a strand of silver hair behind her ear and said softly, "Let me help you, son."

He was silent as he got up and she led him back to his bed and pulled the duvet up over him like she did when he was a child. His head sank into the pillows exhausted and Mary smoothed his hair back from his forehead. She walked into the bathroom and a few seconds later came out with a wash-cloth and gently washed his face. He rolled over to his stomach too ashamed to face her, burying his face in his pillow. He hated being weak and the nightmare was a weakness. "Thanks Mary," he said roughly, "You can go back to bed now. I'm alright."

"Goodnight, son," said Mary softly, before leaving his room.

...........

Here's the Prologue back up for you guys. I was forced to move my edit update to today. I apologize. For those who read my last update, I said you would have ten days to read Wilde at Heart before I took it down. I'm sorry that is no longer the case. However, I promise, the new Wilde at Heart is much better; new and improved! I will try to update as many chapters as possible today. 

Please vote and comment. The prologue did not change much. However, be prepared. I love to hear feedback from you guys and when you hit that little vote button, it lets me know I'm doing something you like! 

XOXO,

Scarlett