High School Diaries (A Throne of Glass Fanfiction)

Chapter 45

It should be around one week since she had been kidnapped, if Elide’s calculations were correct.

The window was thrown open for her to see the winter sun, but there was no way for her to know how much time had passed since she drifted in and out of consciousness. True to Perrington’s words , no one had come into the school, no one heard her screams of help, which the other 3 people ignored. Or when it got too much, they stuffed a cloth in her mouth to shut her up, taken out only to feed her.

It had been 2 days since she stopped shouting for help.

The cloth around her mouth was loosened, but unlike Kaltain, the ropes on her hands still bound her to the chair. Kaltain’s shackles were mental, she knew it. But the look on the girl’s face, hopeless and bleak made her shut. She had been here, tortured and what not for more than a month before Elide even came into the picture. And if somehow, Elide got Kaltain hopeful, the girl had no energy to fight back anyway.

Even now, Elide could hear the gross sounds coming from downstairs, Perrington’s grunts in working Kaltain to the bone. No sound came from her. Not even a wince. Whenever she climbed up the stairs, limping, to sit back in the chair on her own, her eyes were just so… lightless. Perrington or Vernon didn’t even bother to bring her above, but she followed anyway. When she could easily, very easily climb downstairs instead of upstairs, back into her prison.

Maybe Vernon was right. When she didn’t have hope, physical shackles held nothing over the mental ones.

Perhaps that was what he wanted to do to her as well. Except the rape part. Strip her down of any hope, slowly chipping her of any identity, till she was a walking doll like Kaltain. He wanted her to feel the way he had in prison. Was this what Aelin had felt in prison?

Aelin.

Aelin. Aedion. Lysandra. Evangeline. Lorcan. 

She mentally recited the names again, like she did every day, whenever she felt her sanity slipping away. She heard the footsteps, Vernon disappearing from her view and coming back with 2 plates of porridge. The ropes on her hands opened, with a gruff, Eat. Seems like even Vernon was bored of slow torturing her. She circled the porridge with the spoon when she heard soft footsteps padding across the floor. Kaltain with her unbound hair, bruises on her wrist and faraway look in her eyes. She sat on the chair beside Elide, silently diving into the food. As Kaltain sat with a thump, one of the straps of her flimsy dress slipped down her shoulder, her breast in full view. Elide’s eyes went straight to Vernon. He was staring, like a hungry beast starved of prey in a long time. Elide swallowed her food down her throat with difficulty and with one hand she adjusted Kaltain’s dress. She removed her own jacket, and draped it around Kaltain.

“M' not gonna give you another cloth against the cold. It’s your choice to give her and suffer in a brittle cold yourself.” Elide ignored Vernon’s words, continuing to eat. She knew about the cold, she was directly in front of the window, first hit with the icy wind. But she couldn’t see Kaltain this way. Soon the plates were licked clean, taken away and she was tied again. At least Kaltain was eating now. In the early days, she didn't even touch the plate, probably hoping to starve herself to death. But now maybe she had lost even the hopes of death. Vernon was in the bathroom when a small whisper made way to her ears. 

“Thank you.” Elide whipped her head towards Kaltain, but she was not looking at her. It was the first time she had heard her speak, other than her pleas. She had worn Elide’s jacket now, properly and was sitting on the chair, legs tucked in. 

Elide must have imagined it. She  whispered back, your welcome, nonetheless, before drifting off again. 

***