Wilhelmina A Novella Read Online Free PDF Page B

sniffed my hair. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his lips curl back until his pearl-white teeth were visible. ‘He may not forgive me, but an opportunity like this does not come along but once, maybe twice every long century.’
    I remember my last few frightened thoughts were of Charles. Somehow, deep down inside of me, I knew that I was going to die. But with the thought of Charles behind my eyes, I was comforted enough to know that I was loved by someone, anyone, in the empty shell that was the world.
    I closed my eyes as the stranger hissed, and then I felt his teeth on the soft, supple flesh beneath my jaw.
    ‘What are you doing in here?’
    The snarling hiss of the governess slithered through the room like shadowy imps, crawling along the walls pointing accusations. She sounded like a bobcat as she stormed into the den.
    ‘Forgive me, Elizabeth, but I could not help myself!’ The stranger apologized sheepishly, letting go of me and backing away.
    ‘Not you, her! ’ She growled.
    ‘Attempting to get into your letters, governess; I found her with this,’ he said, holding up the key to her drawer. I stared with utter disbelief - I couldn’t believe the lie that had slithered off of his tongue.
    ‘He had the key! He followed me here!’ I shouted, but the governess' ears were deaf to my pleas. She towered my side in the blink of an eye, gripping my wrist so hard that I was certain it would snap under the pressure.
    ‘You ungrateful little whore!’ The governess screeched. ‘To lay with a man just so you can defy me is lower than even the cheapest street walker could ever sink!’
    ‘Governess Bathory, I swear to you –’
    ‘You will not speak to me until I direct you to do so!’ She dragged me out of her den by my arm, the hard flakey nails digging their jagged edges into my skin. I stumbled down the stairs as I followed her out to the courtyard and into the garden where the slave’s sleeping quarters were. The small cottage door threw itself open by some invisible force, and the governess screamed like a banshee in the night.
    Minus appeared in the doorway, groggy eyed and fearful as he took in her anger, visible even through her black veil.
    ‘She is to be locked in the old shed until I say otherwise! Do not speak to her, do not feed her, do not even acknowledge her existence or else I will make sure that you disappear along with her - and I promise you, Minus, you and your family will not be missed.’
    The governess thrust me into Minus’ iron arms and vanished into the darkness. I watched her fiery red eye until it disappeared into the shadows. That night, I would learn what it truly meant to yearn and to mourn. I tasted defeat for the first time.
    I had no idea what was to become of me now that the governess was convinced that I was a loose floozy who would do whatever it took to undermine her. She would no doubt tell my sister, and my step-mother.
    I was ashamed, misunderstood, and alone in a nightmare that I wished so desperately to escape. Charles’ letters were the only hope that had kept me alive in this glorified dungeon these past few months, and the governess was sure to burn them now.
    Death at the hands of the stranger would have been a much less painful endeavor to endure, and if I had known back then what sort of hell awaited me after that night, I would have accepted death with a smile.

 

    3. Broken
     
    The night was so long, but the day was even longer. The sun soared high in the sky, but I was trapped in the shade, locked in the garden shed. I was locked inside of the small garden shed near the great willow, and though I desperately wanted to feel the sun on my skin, to get any kind of warmth in this cold empty space, there was nothing I could do but peak through the boards.
    There were marks in the planks, days counted off by other girls who had decided to have a standoff with the witch of the tower. They had carved their names in the wood, and as I ran my fingers across the