Viella struggled against her two brothers, wrestling her way out of their grip at every moment. However, it seemed the more she fought them, the more they found pleasure in dragging her body through the courtyard and into the palace.
Only when she saw where they were going did Viella stop struggling, curiously glancing at her half-brothers as they looked on guiltily.
They even loosened their grip as they walked up the stairs and into Safana's bedroom.
Viella held her breath when they opened the door without knocking.
No one entered the Crown Princess's room without knocking—it was unheard of. But it seemed the two brothers knew the Crown Princess was not there, as the room was completely empty.
"Why would you bring me here?" Viella asked suspiciously.
Finn stood behind her, holding her still as Jasper found something behind a wall-sized tapestry. Viella wasn't sure what he did, but the wall started to move like a door.
Behind it, a hidden space illuminated by torches greeted them. Viella frowned as a sinking feeling in her chest sent shivers down her spine.
She had been cleaning this room almost all her life, and yet she had never known there was a hidden space in Safana's room. What was she keeping in there?
"Move! B*****!" Finn yelled.
Viella felt his hand so hard against her back that she nearly tripped on the stone floor, catching Jasper's vest to keep herself up.
Jasper ignored it, helping her before the three of them faced a spiral stairway that seemed to go on forever. Slowly, she noticed the small windows disappearing along the way.
At the bottom was a wooden door illuminated by a single candle held by a wall sconce. Its flame burned steadily, casting shadows around the rugged walls.
"Get ready for your birthday gift," Finn said excitedly, then shoved Viella inside. The two followed right behind her.
All the way down here was what she could only describe as a beautifully decorated resting room. Everything followed the color palette of soft pink, yellow, and white.
In the middle, set on a large bear fur, was a beautiful settee decorated with colorful cushions.
Her three sisters sat there, each with a cup of tea, giggling among themselves, their evening gowns so delicate they were almost transparent. This would explain why her two brothers looked extremely uncomfortable, their faces downcast like scolded children.
"Ah, Viella! You look so pale. Whatever is the matter?" Safana asked, her long blonde hair falling over her shoulders like woven silk.
Next to her, Princess Catrina, who had a darker shade of blonde, looked at her with a sour expression.
"Is that how you greet the Crown Princess? No wonder Mother was not so kind to you," she said, her eyes narrowing at Jasper, who, without direct orders, pushed Viella.
"Greet the Crown Princess properly!" he exclaimed, though halfheartedly.
Viella did as she was told, meaning to give Jasper a break. Of all her siblings, Jasper was always the kindest. It was only over the years, as they grew, that he felt the need to follow in their footsteps of being unnecessarily cruel.
"Why did you bring me here?" Viella asked once she'd risen from her respectful bow.
"Why? We wanted to help you, of course," said Tara, who sat on the other side of Safana. Of the five siblings, only she took after their father, with copper hair just like his.
Viella's face softened with curiosity. "You want to help me?" It was an unexpected turn of events, but a pleasant one. "Are you going to speak to Mother on my behalf?" she asked.
Safana smiled sweetly. "Of course. But first, we need to prove to her that you are worth more as a herbalist than as just a rich man's wife," she said meaningfully.
Viella put both hands together in gratitude, though it was tainted by guilt. By the next moon, she would be gone forever, and all of their efforts would be for nothing. Still, Viella would leave knowing they did care, albeit a little.
"What should I do?" Viella asked, her heart pounding in excitement. There was nothing like standing in the greenhouse and studying all the benefits a leaf might offer.
It was so much more rewarding when someone was cured by her potions.
"Heal yourself," Safana said, still smiling. But this time, it did not reach her eyes. Her two sisters sat beside her, holding the same cold gaze that sent a heavy, unsettling feeling into Viella's chest.
She gripped the fabric of her skirt as she listened to Jasper and Finn grunting behind her.
The two boys placed a pillory in front of her and then opened it.
Viella's breath caught. "How long will you keep me here?" she asked, fearing she would not make it to the docks by midnight.
The three sisters giggled, delighted by the paleness of her face, which Viella could feel physically as the blood drained from her.
"Dear sister, if I may?" It was Finn. Viella glanced at him, her breath starting to quicken, uneven and frantic, fearing what he would say. No one had told them yet what she was doing.
While they were all distracted, Viella carefully took the ring from her finger and placed it in her pocket. Beside her, Jasper glanced at her hand, his piercing eyes heavy upon her. Viella stared, begging him to keep it quiet.
"Is that so?" Safana said, almost with amusement. "Our dear Viella has found herself a lover!" She clapped enthusiastically.
Both Catrina and Tara clapped as well, though none of them seemed amused. Rather, there was something else there—jealousy? Viella thought, confused.
"Have you lain with him?" Tara asked curtly. It was such a vulgar and intrusive question, nothing a princess would ever ask, that Viella found herself taken aback. Answering that would also be as vulgar and unladylike.
"Well? Have you?" Catrina pressed.
"It's hardly any of your concern what I do in my privacy," Viella answered defiantly.
It must have struck a raw chord in Safana, for at that, she dropped all pleasantry. Her face soured as she snapped her fingers.
Like soldiers, both Jasper and Finn moved, their grip like iron as they held her down. Viella started to cry, realizing they didn't only want to trap her in the pillory but to strip her as well. She begged Safana, crying for mercy as the coldness of the room kissed her bare back. It spread to her side and then to her bare chest.
Jasper threw her on the ground, then placed her in the pillory. It kept her head and hands in place as she knelt on the cold stone floor.
Viella looked up, "Crown Princess, please, find mercy in your heart! I am your sister, just as they are!"
"How dare you stain our existence with yours!" Catrina cried. "Your birth was a curse; it took your mother's life. How can you put yourself on the same standing as us?"
"I did not ask to be born. If I could take it back, I would," Viella said, tears streaming from her eyes.
Jasper knelt beside Viella. She felt a soft, warm fabric placed on her bare back as he spoke. "Dear sister, please. This is unnecessary," he pleaded.
Safana ignored him. "Finn, bring me my case," she said with a spoiled tone, like a girl asking for a box of sweets.
Finn presented the leather box in front of Safana, revealing multiple whips with different heads. At that moment, Viella could see even he did not find it amusing. He stepped back then, his gaze falling.
"Safana!" Jasper exclaimed, surprising everyone in the room. "This is too far! You're doing this out of cruelty, not because you want to help Viella. You were never going to speak to Mother, so please spare her!"
Safana, who had never been spoken to like that, leaned back as if physically pushed. Her bottom lip started to shake, but not long after, she regained her composure. A greater darkness glinted in her eyes.
"I never knew you held such affection for Viella. I'm sorry, dear brother; I should have listened to you. But now that I've gone this far, I will see to it that I get my way," Safana said with a soft, caring tone, her gentleness deceiving.
"I'm going to do what I want while I can. Considering I'm not yet an adult, I'll be pardoned for my transgressions. Well, no one would care if I transgressed against her, but at least I can skip a day locked in my room." Safana glanced left and right at both Catrina and Tara, her sisters returning her look with one of agreeable amusement.
"So, you know what, I've made up my mind. I know what you can do to help Viella," Safana said, striking fear in her heart.
Viella looked over to Jasper, begging him. Their gazes met in understanding. He would do what he could to help her.
"Very well, sister, tell me. What can I do?"
Safana looked annoyed at Jasper. She must have expected him not to agree. His words lingered in the air as they all stayed in silence, waiting to see exactly what Jasper could do to appease Safana.
She played with a loose thread from her dress, then sighed. "Do you know what this means to me, Jasper?" Safana demanded. Viella swallowed, worried for her brother.
"That I've betrayed you. But it is not a betrayal to save you from yourself. You will hate yourself for this cruelty; I am sparing you from it," Jasper said, then raised his hand towards Finn, who had Viella's dress tucked into his leather belt.
"Give it to me," Jasper said.
Finn handed it over to his twin brother. Catrina and Tara had lost interest, leaning against the cushions, annoyed at the fact that they had come for a show that would never happen.
"I'll be the judge of that," Safana said curtly. She folded her arms in front of her chest. "Well, I still haven't said what you can do to help Viella."
"I'm waiting," Jasper said.
"See if she's lain with her lover or not," Safana said, unbothered by the resounding gasps from all her siblings, including Viella.
Viella looked at Safana, disgusted. "What does that mean? How does one see if such a thing is true or not?" she demanded.
Beside her, Jasper was stunned. Her dress fell to the floor as he stared in shock at what he heard. "You don't mean that," he said.
"But I do. That thin fabric isn't that hard to discard, is it? Do it, right here, right now. We'll see whether she is or isn't." Safana smiled, malice in her eyes as the two siblings stared at each other in silent conversation.
Both Tara and Finn looked deeply disturbed, while Catrina looked surprisingly pleased.
"I think it's a wonderful idea. That way we can get an answer, and our sweet Jasper can learn to express his love for Viella—in a way that doesn't stand in our way. Brilliant." Catrina poured herself and Safana another cup of tea, each with one spoon of sugar.
"I knew you would like it. You've always understood me," Safana remarked.
"No, you have always understood me," Catrina replied. The two clinked their cups gently before sitting back, waiting for the show.
Viella's breath was short and sharp. Even if he did it with an object, she would rather be whipped. Angry and afraid, Viella let her mouth run in sync with her heart.
"Just whip me and get it over with. Follow your original plan, Safana. You can do what you want; you always do," Viella said bitterly, almost spitting.
Jasper looked over to her, then went to retrieve a doctor's bag. The sound of glass bottles clinking against one another was loud as he placed it on the ground.
"These are the potions Safana wanted you to make ointments from," Finn explained in place of his brother, who was still in shock. Jasper stood farther away from his siblings, almost leaning on the wall.
"Oh, very well. But all of this excitement has made my original plan rather boring. What do you think?" Safana asked, specifically to Catrina.
Next to them, whatever glee Tara had had vanished with what Safana had offered. She looked rather pale and sick.
"Uhm, I don't want to be rude, but I need some fresh air," Tara said, her voice weak.
Safana looked disappointed. "No! Stay! You're going to miss the best part."
"I think my bowels disagree with the duck meat. I really should go. I'm sorry, dear sister. But you can tell me all about it tomorrow," Tara said, setting her empty cup down before Safana could stop her.
As if being thrown a bone, Jasper leaped at the opportunity. "Actually, I think that duck meat was too spicy. I'm going to make sure it doesn't happen again."
The two siblings left the room before anyone could say anything. From the tempo of their footsteps, Viella could tell they were almost running.
The door slammed behind them, sinking the room into silence. With this, Viella hoped Safana would lose interest, but she looked angry.
"Oh, those two babies. Finn! Turn the pillory around; I'd rather her lay on her back," Safana said. Finn didn't protest. Instead of releasing Viella so that he could turn it easily, he brutally turned it without letting her go.
Viella felt the heaviness of the wood pull at her neck, twisting her backbone as she adjusted herself, instinctively trying to cover her bare bosom but unable to.
"This one," Safana said. She offered a three-headed whip to Finn, who took it like the trained soldier that he was. "Don't forget to burn the tips of it," she said.
Unconsciously, Viella shook her head. She stared at Finn as he drenched the whip with oil, then lit it on fire with a candle, exposing the burning wire at the end.
Viella held her breath, determined not to give Safana or Catrina the satisfaction.
But the first touch of the whip on her chest made her squeak.
The second one made her squirm on the floor, and the third one made her recoil.
What followed was a brutal series of burning whips, like knives cutting through the delicate skin of her breasts.
"I've always been jealous of her because of that. Aim better, Finn; how are you going to be a knight if you can't aim this close in front of you?"
"Finn, no! No! Finn, please stop! Finn! No! No! NOOOO! NOOO!" Viella cried as her skin began to part open, leaving a deep wound that bled warm blood against her skin.
Her back was drenched in the liquid, the air smelled of copper, and her forehead was drenched in sweat.
"All right, enough. Let her go," Safana said.
Viella was half-unconscious when her head hit the floor. She heard both Safana and Catrina whispering among themselves, now contemplating whether they had gone too far.
But Viella felt they should have known; fresh tears left her eyes at the thought of what Gideon would think when he saw her scarred chest.
"Well, since you're so confident in your skill as a herbalist, make an ointment for yourself," Safana said cruelly.
They all knew it was an impossible task. Viella was much too hurt and weak to even move. Having lost a lot of blood, Finn knelt next to her to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
"I think it's a good time for us to take her to the healer. Blood loss can easily kill," Finn said. Right then, she felt her feet and hands turn cold, shivers starting to shake her body.
"Actually, if you don't want her to die, you need to take her there now," Finn said.
"Me? I can't take her there; her blood would dirty my dress," Safana said, almost angry at the suggestion. Catrina nodded in agreement. Finn sighed, momentarily confused as to how he was going to cover Viella without causing her any more pain.
Viella started to lose consciousness when she heard multiple heavy footsteps running down the stairs toward the room.
She heard them asking one another who it could be, who had ratted them out by the time the door swung open aggressively and slammed against the wall.
King Peter, her father, stood at the door, his eyes widened at the sight before him—at his children, the pillory on the floor, at Finn stained with blood, and at Viella, naked and whipped bloody. His chest heaved in anger.
"Children! What have you done?!" he screamed from the bottom of his stomach, almost like an animal.
Safana, Catrina, and Finn started to move behind the settees. Around her, Viella felt eyes staring down at her, shadows of people who whispered concern.
Jasper and Tara apologized profusely for not being fast enough, and for failing her.
"How could he do this much damage? We weren't gone that long," Tara said to Jasper, who sounded disappointed in himself.
"We couldn't find them, remember?" he said.
"Children, step back. This is no place to argue. We must hurry," Raden said.
His soothing voice was gentle but still strong against the roaring anger of the king on the other side of the room. He whispered words that, if not for the results, would have simply sounded like gibberish.
Viella felt a warmth enveloping her like a silk cocoon. It covered the nakedness of her body as she was lifted off the ground, floating in the air.
Both Jasper and Tara voiced their amazement and wonder at the sight of such visual magic, but also their need for urgency to take Viella to the healer.
Now that Viella was sure she would be taken care of, she let herself drift away to sleep, where she dreamed of a fierce dragon rising from an ocean of flames.
Hello everyone!
Thank you that you've read this far and for being patient with how I build the story.
Don't forget to add it to your library for future updates. Leave a review or comment to cheer me up!
Anyway, fun fact, sofa is a modern term, and this familiar soft lounging chair we've all come to have in our living rooms only started to gain popularity in the 18th century!
Of course, many names and styles depend on where it was made, but in medieval Europe, sofas were referred to as settees. They weren't even made for relaxing, but rather formal encounters.
So yeah! Now you know.
:D