1ST PERSON’S POV:
I knew the guards dragged me to who knows where, but I slept halfway through it. My eyes closed as soon as I tried to open it. The mental and physical exhaustion I experienced yesterday still drained the life out of me. Though I peeked at where I was and saw the field.
My senses slowly crawled their way towards me until it finally registered in my brain that they rigidly tied me to a pole slightly thinner than me. This pulled my shoulders back awkwardly. I can only dread the upcoming soreness later- if they were to free me.
My teeth were already chattering while the harsh coldness of winter gnawed at my face. I forced my eyes to open to have a better view of my current situation. The angry face of the mean prince first entered my sight. His whole body was stiff, with some veins bulging on his neck.
‘Heh… Bulging…’
I do not know how he scowls every second of the day without getting tired. The longer I looked at him, I feel like he’s aging rapidly. Since god is unfair, he gave him the good genes and let him age like a fine wine.
Though he can’t have everything. He’s still mean.
I’m still disoriented from reality. My head spun a little, but I already have a grasp on my situation. It doesn’t take much to realize being tied up and an angry prince with a glare that curses every inch of your soul is not a wonderful situation to be in.
I can feel the hatred radiating off him as he slowly approached me. Recently, I’m becoming braver with his anger issues. It’s tiring to always be at the receiving end of his mean capabilities. His emotion—his bullying doesn’t faze me anymore. He can trip me all he wants or give me heavy workloads; I will just move on with my life.
Yeah. Me is sTrOnG.
He never broke his deadly glare at me after he stopped a few inches away. His blazing gaze should be enough to warm my whole body. Damn—He got a lot of hatred buried in his body. He only stood there, still glaring at me, but closer. I pursed my lips while I fiddled with my fingers because of the discomfort I always felt from being stared at.
The next thing I saw was the forest on my left side. It confused me at first before it registered in my brain the sting on my cheek. He slapped me with his backhand. Too bad for him, I can’t feel that much. My face feels a little numb because of the weather.
“Serves you right,” was all he said before walking away. All the guards followed him, leaving me alone in the field. I forced myself to look behind me just to make sure that I’m really alone. With that, I cried.
I am alone.
Simple sniffs turned to loud cries. All the stress and frustration I experienced came crashing all at once. My throat felt thick, while uncontrollable sobs poured out of my mouth until I started hyperventilating. My arms and face numbed as I try to ground myself.
‘Ok… There are trees… birds… snow… my clothes… the rope is rough…’
Even as I cried, all the heavy weight stored in my chest never lightened. It only became heavier as reality loved to prove how lonely I truly was.
However, I am much more alone in my world compared to this world. I have friends whom I can’t even reach out to in my world because I find it unfair for them to carry my burdens, too. That’s what makes it even lonelier. The knowledge of being able to reach out and get help hurts me more as I know I can never do that- it’s hard for me to do that.
Now, I really have no one by my side. At least I wouldn’t be disappointed if no one saved me from myself.
As much as I try to brush everything off, I can’t help but let it get to me. I’ve been on a fight-or-flight response the whole time I was in this world that every task is overwhelming. I felt trap with this cycle of uncertainty that clouded my life. When will they come back to kill me? What will the mean prince do today to make me feel worthless? When is my next meal? Can I talk to Vaughn or will he snap at me again?
The pressure of walking on a loose rope without falling into the pit of fire suffocates my entire being that I just wanted to sleep. I want to rest… Maybe, if I could just sleep and never wake up, then that would be nice.
The entire field was quieter, with me being the only person here. I kind of regret crying as my tears mixed with snot streamed down to my mouth. I really hope no one will come here.
The amount of awareness I had with my current situation is enough to tone down my cries.
The cold weather easily dried my tears. It made everything more uncomfortable now that I feel sticky every time I move my face. It’s hard to breathe with my clogged nose. I could breathe through my mouth, but that means the snot can get inside. As much as blowing out all the snot sounds wonderful, that would only make my face stickier.
With nothing else to do, I screamed my lungs out. They said you could feel lighter after shouting your frustrations. It did, just a little.
They dragged me here in the morning and it’s slowly getting dark. My fear drastically escalated when I remembered every horror video I watched. A mirror swallowed me; the chances of a slender man being real in this world is high.
I let my head hang while I adjust my weight. Every muscle in my body feels cramped. I kept on readjusting my position until I remembered Aziel’s lessons. Why didn’t I think of that sooner?
Taking a deep breath, I mustered all the energy left in me to squirm. I wiggled my shoulders forward and backward while I struggled to move my torso to the sides. Amid my struggles, I heard the scrunch of snow somewhere behind me.
My entire being froze with the amount of possibilities that it could be the slender man. I was sweating, but my body was cold. All the hairs on my arms and back stood up as I trembled in fear of what’s coming next.
I could hear it slowly drag every other step as it approached me. An image of a bloody lady wearing a shredded white dress walking while dragging her chained leg popped into my head.
‘Damn those scary stories told in my school!’
I tried to shout for help, even if it’s futile at this point. However, I had trouble opening my mouth. My jaw felt heavy, like someone is pushing my chin up to close it. I’m tearing up again and all the snot from my dripping nose traveled down to my neck.
Disgust and terror fought over on which should be my focus right now. All the icky and frightening feelings I had vanished as soon as a hand landed on my shoulder. That single touch took my soul away.
I squeezed my eyes shut while I shout my lungs out. My shout ranged from screams to shrieks then to yell while I violently shrugged the hand off my shoulder.
‘I JUST WANT TO GO HOME! MOM! I PROMISE, I WON’T PROCRASTINATE AGAIN! I DON’T LIKE THIS ANYMORE! PLEASE WAKE ME UP!’ I plead in my head.
I continued bawling until someone slapped me twice… The audacity…
“For Pete’s sake, calm down!” That voice sounds familiar… I blinked my tears away until my vision became clear, only to get blurry again once I recognized the person in front of me.
“Vaughn!” I wailed on his face. He heaves a sigh before I heard the clinks of a bottle and the rustle of cloth.
“Stop crying. You look like a fish out of water.” It was hard to tone down my cries as I continue to sob uncontrollably. He clicked his tongue before he reached for my face. I can see him wiping my face with the cloth, but I can’t feel it. I can barely feel anything right now.
It took me minutes to calm down until I got my senses back. I felt cleaner now that my face and neck is free of tears and snot. I couldn’t look at Vaughn because I know how ugly of a crier I am. He only stood in front of me, and we stayed silent for a few seconds. Unspoken thoughts and feelings filled the atmosphere. I badly wanted to thank his presence, but I lost all my energy to my crying.
After a while, he walked around me and loosened the rope before walking to my front again.
“I can’t untie you, or your punishment will be much worse,” his words weighed heavier than I would like. I panicked when he turned around to leave, but he stopped to tell me he’ll be hiding somewhere near me.
“But it’s cold! G-go back to our room…” I stuttered, trying to change his mind. He only continued to limp away until he disappeared in the darkness.
“Tsk… What a tsundere…”