Davina

Victoria walked into my room with a glass of juice and a biscuit on a small porcelain plate. I had barely eaten since leaving my parents home because of my nerves. I was terrified. The moment I woke up, I felt nauseated because of the dreams I had. I looked over at Victoria as she rummaged through my closet and chose my outfit for the day. “Victoria?" I questioned, “How long will I be here?” “For as long as you need to be. I cannot answer you with an exact number because we do not know the extent of the danger you’re in”, she responded. She grabbed the brush off the vanity and motioned for me to sit on the chair that was in front of her.

As she brushed my hair I sat thinking about what my family was doing at that very moment. They were probably sitting at the breakfast table gossiping about what each of them would do for the day. I felt as though if they were looking for me they would have found me already. They probably didn’t even know I was gone until I didn’t show up for the wedding that was planned for me. I am sure the Verlice family has already started demanding the money be given back to them. Either that or demanding that I am found immediately.

“Now let’s do your makeup”, Victoria said, snapping me back into reality. She spun me away from the vanity mirror so she could see my face. I usually hated my makeup being done. My mother used to cake it on my face and made me look like a clown most days. Victoria didn’t do that. She seemed to apply the makeup in a gentle manner. My face felt light. “Ta-da”, she exclaimed. I could tell that she was beyond excited to have someone there to do this for. I smiled as I admired myself in the mirror. I could still recognize myself. It was new to me. Usually when my makeup is done I cannot look at myself in the mirror.

“Why am I getting dressed up today?”, I asked. Victoria smiled big and replied “you call this dressed up? You’re going to have to get used to this, Clara.” Realizing what she had just called me she quickly turned. I felt as though she thought I didn’t notice. “Who is Clara?”, I asked. Victoria hesitated before answering me. “Nobody”, she snapped. “Get dressed and meet me downstairs. We have a lot that we have to do today.” She grabbed the empty glass and plate and headed out of my room. I began to get dressed, deep in thought yet again.

Once I was dressed I walked out of my room and headed down the hallway. As I walked down the hallway the art on the walls caught my attention. These pictures were mainly family paintings made to look like portraits. One of the portraits caught my attention more than the others. This painting had three men and two women. It looked to be the Solace family and their sister or mother. Maybe this is Clara. I took the painting off of the wall and looked at it closer. There was writing on the back that said “Solace Children: 1843”. 1843? That must have been a mistake or the price of the painting. I placed the painting back on the wall and headed downstairs.

As I descended the stairs, everyone’s eyes were glued on me. I froze in place and asked “What? Is there something on me?”. “No, you’d think these men have never seen a woman before”, Victoria laughed. I giggled. I would have said something similar about my brothers just to tease them. Henry motioned for me to sit next to him on the beautiful leather couch. “How did you sleep?”, Thomas asked. “What a demeaning question to ask”, Victoria said, pushing Thomas. “It isn’t demeaning. I slept fine, thank you for asking”, I replied. “Stop with the lies. We heard your screams.”, Henry snapped. He continued, “If you want our help you have to tell the truth.” I looked down, embarrassed at the fact that they could hear me screaming in my sleep. “I had nightmares about the Verlice family finding me.”, I said. “Leave her alone”, Blaze said looking at his siblings. He looked over at me, “You don’t have to answer them anymore. You and Victoria should be going. You have some shopping to do”.

I didn’t like to shop but Victoria and I went anyway. I didn’t want to argue with them because they had been so nice to me. While we were out shopping we talked about everything under the sun. It felt like we had known each other our whole lives. Victoria didn’t leave my side for a moment. We had gone into numerous different shops and bought a lot of clothes. She seemed to take protecting me seriously. She didn’t let anyone get too close to me and she didn’t let me out of her sight for a moment. I was okay with that, though, because I knew that she was just trying to make sure that I was okay.

“Davina, have you ever been shopping with your little sister?”, she asked. I felt a severe sadness tug at my chest. “No”, I said. Looking down and trying to figure out what to change the discussion to. “Can you tell me more about Blaze?”, I asked. Quickly changing the conversation to someone other than me. Before she could answer, a woman’s voice appeared behind her. “Blaze? I haven’t heard that name in ages!” the woman said. Victoria quickly turned to look behind her. The woman had long black hair and wore dark makeup and dark clothing. “Alexandria, what are you doing in town?" Victoria quickly asked. She looked at me with fear in her eyes. It was almost as if she were telling me to run. I didn’t run, though. I stayed in place. “Family business. Tell me, how is Blaze doing these days? He’s so handsome.” Alexandria responded, modeling a devious smile. Victoria didn’t seem pleased at all. “Blaze is fine.”, she responded, staring at the two men behind Alexandria.

One of the men behind Alexandria walked over to me and caressed my cheek. “Who is your adorable friend?” he asked. His hands were freezing and I felt my stomach turn. I jerked my face away. “She’s a feisty one it looks like.”, Alexandria said. “Stay away from women until we find your fiancé”, she continued. At that moment I knew the man standing in front of me. I knew it was Mikel Verlice and I knew this was his family. Mikel stepped away from me but his eyes never left me. I felt chills running down my spine.

Victoria watched the entire encounter between the two of us and pulled me closer to herself. “What family business are you in town for?” She asked Alexandria. “Seems that Mikel cannot keep ahold of his bride to be. We have to find her.” the man standing behind her said. “Ezekiel, I haven’t met my bride. Let’s not lay the blame on me. We can blame her wretched family for not watching her.”, Mikel responded. I felt my blood boiling. How dare he speak of my family that way. Victoria squeezed my arm. She could tell that I was angry. She was warning me not to say a word. “It was nice chatting with you. We must be going”, she said, pulling me out to the car.

As we headed back to Solace Manor she seemed to drive faster than normal. She stayed silent although I questioned how she knew the Verlice family and if her brothers called them to come get me. She seemed to get angry with me but she stayed quiet. She wouldn’t so much as look at me. I kept questioning whether they recognized me and if they were toying with me. I felt that I needed to start running again but I knew that with them being so close they would find me. I knew I couldn’t keep running from my problems and that it was time to deal with them head on.

As we pulled up to the Manor, the men were waiting outside for us. Blaze opened my door while Thomas and Henry started gathering the shopping bags from the trunk of the car. I was led inside. When I got inside I noticed the beautiful scent of freshly baked bread and fruit. They made a beautiful brunch for all of us while we were away. We all sat and began eating. Victoria finally looked at me. She put her glass down and cleared her throat. All three men looked at her while I shook my head. I didn’t want her worrying them with the news that the Verlice family was in town looking for me. She ignored my silent pleas and stated “I have to tell you guys something.” Everyone, still looking at her, put down their glasses and forks focusing their full attention on her. “The Verlice’s are in town. We encountered them while shopping.” The room went silent until there was a knock at the door.

Blaze and Victoria stayed with me at the table while Henry and Thomas checked to see who was there. We all stayed quiet and heard Thomas tell the visitors to come in and join us. The two men joined us and behind them was the Verlice family. My eyes went wide. Mikel Verlice’s eyes were stuck on me again. I could feel the room closing in on me and I could tell that Blaze was getting angry. “What a pleasant surprise.” Blaze said, trying to smile. He stood up to greet our guests. “Let’s not small talk and just cut to the chase”, Ezekiel said with a stern voice. “Okay, what are you doing here?” Victoria asked. She seemed nervous. “We want the girl”, Mikel said, walking toward me.

Blaze stood between us. “Why do you want her?”, he asked. “Because we need a stand-in bride. Your friend looks similar to her. The bride is more beautiful but this girl will do for now.”, Mikel said, trying to touch me. They did not realize that I was the bride. My parents must have shown them one of my pageant photos. Those were the only photos that they had of me, thankfully. “She cannot be your stand-in bride”, Victoria said, pulling Mikel’s hand away from me. “Why not?” Alexandria asked. I could tell that she was growing annoyed by standing in the same room as Victoria. It seemed as though there was a long history between them. “Because she is our new maid and has a ton of tasks to get done. Do you want the news getting out that one of the Verlice sons married a maid?” Thomas asked. Everyone was trying to protect me and my identity as best they could.

The Verlice siblings seemed annoyed but agreed that it would not be good for their image if the news had gotten out. “Will you please keep a lookout for the actual bride?” Ezekiel asked. Blaze looked at me, still standing between me and Mikel Verlice. He nodded and led me out of the room and up the stairs to my bedroom. Once we were in my room, he made sure I stayed quiet. We listened quietly until the Verlice’s left. Once they left, he walked out of my room, leaving me there with my thoughts. Hours had gone by and I could hear them discussing the plan to protect me from the Verlice family, although I couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying. As I was listening to their conversation I heard a noise and looked over at my window. I saw someone getting ready to climb inside. I ran over to try to lock it and tried to scream for help but it was too late. Mikel Verlice was already in my room and he had my mouth covered so nobody could hear me.