High School Diaries (A Throne of Glass Fanfiction)

Chapter 43

“Wake up, Elide. It’s dinner time.”

A voice, the most annoying voice whispered in her ear. Her eyes squinted open and she had to blink several times to get adjusted to the sudden burst of brightness. The warm tang hit her and her eyes widening with the delicious smell filling her nostrils.

“Red sauce pasta, your favorite.” Her mouth went slack when Vernon looked her in the eye and ate every single piece in the plate, savouring every bite and licked the plate dry. When he had fed her once in the past 2 days.

Her stomach was growling, her inner muscles contracting in her gut but there was nothing, nothing but agony and smell to fill her stomach. She had tried asking Kaltain when they gave her food but the girl just looked at her bleakly, devoid of any emotion. Her gaze didn’t change either when Elide occasionally gave shouts of help, often followed by Vernon’s boisterous laugh and some mocking comment.

“That was mouth watering. For you, Elide. All this time eating such delicacies when your uncle was starving in the prison.”

“Don’t fucking starve those girls! I can’t have any fun if she has no energy.” From somewhere in the tower, Perrington’s loud rumble echoed. Vernon rolled his eyes, walking to the kitchen to get Kaltain something. And her too, hopefully. 

She turned to Kaltain and noticed something.

Her hands and legs were open. There were no ropes.

“Kaltain,” she whispered, glancing at Vernon in the kitchen once. The girl didn’t look up. Elide repeated her name firmly again and she moved her head, as if in daze, trying to locate the source of the sound calling her name. Elide swallowed the tinge of pity she felt for the girl, focusing on the chance to get them both out. Kalatain’s eyes met hers.

“Your ropes are open.” Kaltain blinked slowly, as if processing her words.

“Your ropes are open. Untie me. We can get out. We can be free.” Elide turned behind cautiously once, Vernon was still in the kitchen. Kaltain shook her head at Elide when she gestured at her ropes. Kaltain looked behind her, but Elide nodded, as assuringly as possible. But Kaltain started shaking her head fervently, legs pulled up to the chair, arms hugging herself as she rocked herself back and forth, trying to calm herself, making herself small or even disappear.

“The illusion of trap. Crush any hope or resistance, and the person won’t even have the power to fight back even with any chance in front of them. Things you pick up in jail.” Vernon walked in, putting 2 plates of some soggy cereal in milk on the table. He pushed Kaltain’s chair next to the table and tried to pull hers.

“God, how heavy have you become. Perhaps I should take back this dinner.” Her uncle huffed, going behind her. She ignored the intense gratification that went through her, seeing the scar on Vernon's forearm. “I am opening your hand ropes, don’t you dare do anything funny.” Elide nodded, dragging her chair herself to the table, gave one sad glance to Kaltain and dived into her own food. As her stomach filled, her mind started to work a little.

None of them had called her friends or anyone for ransom, so this was purely for revenge purposes. Even though she had heard from Perrington about Maeve and Arobynn’s double edged sword plan to get her killed either way, she’d hoped. She had hoped that they would use her as some sort of leverage, or she could make them. But with Vernon in the picture, she was not getting out of here alive.

No, she could not completely lose hope. She had to stay alive. Her friends were looking for her, they were her family. She recited their names one by one, imagining their faces, their laughs, their smiles. The memories filled her with warmth, fanning the fire in the ember of hope, wishing Kaltain had some to not let the hope inside her extinguish.