章 7: The Broken Doll

Anastasia thinks that she might've overdone the taunting a bit.

She wouldn't think so if it wasn't for this cascading chain of events, though.

After Zen left her in that enormous room that might as well be a deluxe suite with how grand and fancy it is, she finds herself contemplating her next course of actions. She did feel a bit guilty for riling him up to that extent, though to be fair, she didn't really expect that he'd blow a fuse.

Saying all that may be a little too insensitive as well, especially if he's indeed her lover.

"No. I'm just being cautious. I have to learn more about him if I want to make it out alive. It's also reckless to escape without knowing what's really going on around here. But I'll surely get out of this place someday."

For now, however, Anastasia decided to take baby steps, starting by looking around her room. Aside from the king bed, there are the incarnation pink wall interior with ornate details, a walk-in closet full of haute couture clothing that's mostly composed of dresses, and other opulent decorations.

What probably takes the whole cake is the bathroom, though.

She isn't only surprised by how luxurious it is, but also by all those pink rose petals in an empty bathtub and an exquisite emerald mermaid dress hanging inside a cabinet with glass doors. At these, she finds herself blinking in puzzlement, wondering just when they got there.

"Did he prepare these?"

Not even an hour later after declaring her ungrounded assumption that Zen could be one of those baddies who used her in the past, Anastasia is starting to have second thoughts. He sure knows how to be a considerate host, at least.

Not only did he already prepare the tub and her dress, he also seems to have arranged a whole set of feminine hygiene products.

"Wow, talk about thoughtful. He even has these. How in the world did he...?" Anastasia trailed off incredulously, face a bit flushed as she stared at an assortment of intimate cleansers and feminine washes.

"A-Anyway... Might as well take on his generosity."

After Anastasia pulls down her worn out garment, she suddenly freezes as soon as she lays eyes on her naked figure in a mirror. Veering stitches, scars and blemishes mark her entire body - an expected yet gruesome disfigurement of a typical zombie.

With eyes as wide as an owl's, she just continues gawking at herself in horror and disbelief. It takes a moment for the whole picture to sink in.

Now, she wonders which are from the experiment and which have been inflicted after she became a corpse.

"A lover, huh...? How preposterous. What kind of idiot would want such a filthy rubbish ?" Anastasia scoffed with a scowl, dead sapphire irises hooded with apathy.

Instead of enjoying her bath time, she only finds herself mentally re-living her abhorrent experiences. She silently soaks in a tub full of roses, desperately clinging to the warmth of the water and its solacing aroma as way to anchor herself in reality.

In the end, she finished earlier than she anticipated.

With that, she goes ahead to put on her clothes and wraps up the last touches. A moment later, someone knocks on her bedroom door.

A couple of hours already passed, and Zen had come back again.

"Sia, it's Zen. Are you all good now?" he greeted upon entering, only to halt on his tracks the instant he saw her sitting before a vanity mirror.

Visibly mesmerized, Zen only lets his eyes trail after her cascading curls that are as dark as the night sky, her delicate curves along with their elegant edges, and those celeste blue irises that seem to glisten warmly despite their persistent coldness.

Anastasia just blinks at him in confusion, wondering what got him tongue-tied all of the sudden. It takes a few seconds before he eventually snaps out of his trance and collects his cool again.

"You look beautiful, Sia. The dress suits you just like I knew it would," Zen started again as he made his way towards her.

Anastasia slightly blushes at this, unprepared to hear a compliment so out of the blue. Before he can see her reaction, though, she hastily looks away and faces the mirror again.

"Wait, let me do your hair," he suddenly offered, standing before her and reaching out for the hairbrush.

"H-Huh? It's fine! I can do it," she nervously chimed in.

"Don't worry. I used to tie it up for you. As far as I recall, you can't do a braid."

"I can't?"

"Yeah. You're not really into girly stuffs like this. Wanna see?"

Anastasia is a bit intrigued, thinking that doing so might help her learn more about herself. Though she decided to lower her guard down for now, she's still keeping an eye out.

It's better to play along than to bicker with Zen all the time. As long as he's only making her do a simple task such as tying one's hair, she can probably be at ease and think that he'll not pull any dirty trick.

But then, it didn't turn out to be simple after all.

"See? You always make a funny one like this," Zen teased after she finished braiding her hair.

Instead of a messy-chic look, it ends up into a jumbled mess. Disappointed, Anastasia tries to begin from scratch again, which carries on for a few more rounds until she finally gives in.

"Ugh...! How frustrating! Why are braids this complicated?!"

"Pfft...!"

Zen erupts into laughter at her outburst, clearly amused. Anastasia isn't a bit pleased at this, though she's also kind of surprised to find him acting this carefree and loose.

His guffaw sounds so genuine and almost infectious. He's thoroughly enjoying himself as he continues teasing her, much to her annoyance.

"Fine. Alright. I know, okay? I look stupid. You can pipe it down now," she deadpanned, rolling her eyes in miff.

"Nah~ You're cute," he chirped with a flirtatious wink.

Again, another direct attack.

Anastasia isn't getting a hang of it at all - not his sugarcoated remarks nor the way he looks so endearingly attractive when he says them so casually.

She doesn't know if he's playing around or not, and all it does is take her aback and confuse her more.

"You..." Anastasia trailed off, lips curling into a frown.

"Hmm~?" Zen hummed in a sing-song voice while gently combing her hair.

"You really like joking around, huh?"

"I wasn't, though? You think I'm lying?"

"There's nothing cute or beautiful about me. Have you even taken a good look at me?"

Zen abruptly pauses at how vehement her voice came out. A meaningful silence transpires right after while he only peers at her crestfallen reflection in the mirror.

At that moment, Anastasia recalls her unsightly figure earlier, thinking that he can only say all those things since he still hasn't seen how she looks underneath. Perhaps, if he manages to see even a single glimpse, he'll eventually drop the act.

"Well? Have you?" Anastasia muttered before turning to face him.

Contrary to her expectation, Zen doesn't seem to be fazed, and instead, he only switches back again into his trademark enigma, looking dead serious.

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