On Trial

The Sharp, Painful Truth

Trigger Warning: This chapter contains: Alchol abuse, violent/abusive behaviour, reader discression is advised.

The title for this chapter was made up by my friend, Jess! Thank you, Jess!

The hatch opened, and Mr Trellis stumbled into the attic, followed by several other men, Cassandra recognised from the boat, but didn't know their names.

She backed herself into the corner and held her breath.

"Come here, girlie," Trellis chuckled, "come on, come here."

What was she, a dog?!

Cassandra shook her head, frowning at the old creep.

"Come here!"

Cassandra flinched at the raised voice, hugging her knees. She could feel her heart pounding against her ribs.

Mr Trellis growled, before marching over to her. He seized her by the wrist and yanked her to her trembling feet.

"YOU BELONG TO ME!" He bellowed, "THAT MEANS YOU OBEY ME!"

He threw her to the floor and kicked her side.

"I say we teach her a little lesson?" He smirked, "what do you say, boys?"

"N-no!" Cassandra winced, trying to stand up, before Trellis' boot shoved her back down.

Her hair was yanked, causing a small clump to be torn out.

Cassandra felt tears spill down her cheeks.

She screamed as one of them twisted her arm, dangerously close to snapping point.

She began kicking as much as she could, trying to aim for at least one of them, but she was too weak to make it last, her legs fell to the floor, pathetically.

"You're cute when you struggle," Mr Trellis grinned, leaning right into her face. She smelt his breath, it smelt of alcohol. Strong alcohol.

"Y-you're drunk!" Cassandra cried, trying to twist herself out of the man's grip as he started pulling something out of his back pocket.

Cassandra took a sharp intake of breath, when she saw what it was.

A knife.

Mr Trellis chuckled, and ran the knife between his hands, gleefully taking advantage of how terrified his captive was.

Cassandra let out a pained yelp as one of the other men kicked her right leg. She shrieked as the other one grabbed her hair and slammed her head into the wooden floor.

She barely noticed as Mr Trellis knelt down beside her and raised the point of his knife over her throat.

"Would you like a nice stab wound in your neck to match your other bruises and cuts?" He grinned.

Terrified, Cassandra tried grasping the knife's handle with her trembling hands and pulling it away from her neck.

"Ooh! The little slag is feeling brave tonight, is she?!"

He unpicked her fingers from the handle, with a smirk, and started to lower the blade, further and further towards her neck.

She froze in terror, and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the pain.

"Oi, Trellis!" One of the other drunken men called out, "I thought that guy from Calpress wanted her?! If you kill her, you won't get the money and that guy's bloody loaded!"

Trellis sighed and slowly pulled away from the shaking Cassandra. He stuffed the knife back into his pocket.

"I was joking," he slurred, standing up, "I wouldn't kill you, I need the money, you'll bring in! I just wanted to scare you for disobeying me!"

The men roared with laughter.

"Come on, we got some booze downstairs, we haven't finished yet!"

And with that, they left, slamming and locking the hatch, behind them, once again.

Cassandra just lay there, still and silent. She could hear the obnoxious bellowing of the drunkards, downstairs, making her flinch.

Her chest was aching with every shaky breath she took. Her legs and head were throbbing, and her heart was leaping.

After a while, she sat up.

She noticed that Madeleine's handkerchief had fallen out of her pocket, in all the chaos.

She picked it up from the dusky floor and held it in her trembling hands.

What she'd give to have Madeline here, holding her hands, stroking her hair, assuring her that she was going to be alright.

She also really wanted one of her dad's hugs, one of Owl's hoots, some of Rapunzel's kind and optimistic words, even some of Eugene's jokes. Anything to lighten the mood and make her feel loved, again.

She burst into tears before she could stop herself.

She felt weak. She felt worthless. She felt sick.

She couldn't sleep the rest of that night, still shaken up and on edge.

In an attempt to calm herself down, she tried to think back to happier memories of simpler times.

She thought back to: when her dad read her bedtime stories, when she would play made-up games with her dolls, when she would play hide and seek with her dad in the palace gardens, on his days off, when her dad first taught her to ride a horse, when he trained her to sword fight, and when he dropped her off to school for the first time.

However, thinking of those memories, only made her feel worse. It only reminded her of what she had lost.

"W-why did I do it?!" She asked no one, "why did I take that stupid moonstone?! Why did I listen to Zhan Tiri, why, why, why?!!"

Her voice was hoarse, and her words were interrupted by several nasty coughs.

She sobbed into her pillow, pounding her fists against the mattress. She was so angry with herself. It was her fault, that she was there, in that horrible attic, suffering all this abuse and misery!

Her chest protested to her cries, and her temperature only rose from the stress.

Eventually, she fell into a dreamless sleep, from complete and utter exhaustion, only to wake, hours later, to the sound of birds chirping, outside her window.