The Lycan King's Puppet-Chapter 11: Escape

Chapter 11: Escape
The deaf maid brushed her hair out with practiced strokes. Her name was Seraphine.
In the few days they had endured each other, a rather awkward friendship bloomed.
But tonight, Claire didn’t want to talk to anybody. Not herself. Not her sister. Not Uncle Jarren. And, not the maid.
Once her hair was brushed, the woman moved to make the bed.
Claire followed her movements through the looking glass.
The woman was so detached - almost as if her ability to feel was taken with her hearing.
Thunder struck outside.
Afterwards, Seraphine nodded and left her alone.
She no longer felt like crying - she wanted to pound her fists into something so hard that it’ll bleed.
Claire tossed and turned in the bed, begging for a wink of sleep but receiving none.
Wind howled through the open curtain, putting out her two lit candles. All she could think of was Aurora at that moment.
Her sister was afraid of thunder and lightning.
But, Aurora had insisted on staying in her own room. She blamed herself for dragging Claire to the lake in the first place.
Claire winced at the thought of her sister punishing herself.
And... the kiss with Zach. It was nothing like the one with Yeren. It was different. Gentle. Kind.
She buried her face in the pillow.
Just then, the door creaked open. She had left it unlocked in case Aurora became too frightened to sleep alone.
The person carried no candle or lantern.
Claire sat up, pulling her hair behind her ears.
Bare feet slapped against the cold stone floor and the door clicked shut. A key scraped in the lock.
Her hand clutched the bed linen tightly.
It wasn’t Aurora.
The person in the shadows approached the bed. Through the dim light provided by the moonlit sky that illuminated the room, she recognized him.
"Uncle Jarren?" Her voice was small but heavy.
He sat at the edge of her bed. The bed creaked loudly under his weight. He was wearing a black night robe.
"Yes, my dear."
She gulped. "What are you doing here?"
He rubbed her leg through the fur of the duvet. She could still feel the heat of his touch.
"Shhh..." He placed a finger on her lips.
His hand slipped forward, caressing her stomach.
She tensed.
"I’ve noticed that you’ve been craving male attention, aye?"
Her throat tightened.
Suddenly, he pulled down the cover. She no longer had where to hide. Her first instinct was to jerk away but he held her down.
"If you want anything, you ask me. Even this." His hands moved to the juncture of her thighs.
A whimper escaped.
"Uncle, please."
Claire tightened her legs, refusing him.
Then, something glinted in the moonlight. A blade.
"Do you know what I do to women that refuse to be loyal to me?"
She turned her face away.
He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at his face.
"Answer me!" His voice whispered through gritted teeth.
She shook her head, her hair falling over her face from the gesture.
He used the edge of the knife and pulled her hair away from her face. A sob escaped her as the cold steel touched her skin.
He leaned in to whisper, "I take care of them in such a way that no other man would want them. And... they’ll learn to love only me."
Claire was trembling violently.
"Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you if you promise to be a good girl."
Uncle Jarren slid his knife along her face, down her neck and between her breasts.
Another sob.
"Do you know why I’m really here?"
She searched for his eyes in the darkness. They looked like two black voids.
His hand at the juncture of her thigh became more forceful. The blade danced along her skin.
"I don’t want you today, my love. But, I came to warn you."
His hand at her thigh moved to yank her hair backward.
"You and Arlan will deliver an invitation letter personally to the King." He gasped. "Or... should I say your new lover?"
Her lips thinned, her breathing ragged.
"I want no funny business between you two. If you think you can play me, I’ll know. You won’t want to know what I would do then."
Then, he leaned closer and kissed her cheek.
"Goodnight, my love."
She flinched.
Chuckling under his breath, he disappeared the same way he had come.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Claire sat up.
She felt numb - she couldn’t feel anything but hatred.
Her wrist was still bruised from where he held her, her left arm broken from when he tossed her.
"I can’t stay here."
A strangled sob escaped her. She clutched fistfuls of her hair as she pondered what to do. She felt dirty and defiled.
Then, it came.
Claire slipped from the bed and shrugged on a simple dress. Running from wolves is a big risk - one that she was willing to take.
She opened the door slowly, wincing when it creaked loudly.
She carried her leather boots in her hand and a shawl. It was still raining very heavily.
Her movement was as slick as a cat’s from years of sneaking down to her father’s study when it was past her bedtime.
Aurora’s door was unlocked.
She opened it as soundlessly as she could and slipped in. Her sister was buried under the sheets. Only her hair surfaced. Two candles were burning by her table.
Without wasting a second, Claire rushed to her side.
"Aurora." She tapped her lightly.
The little girl whimpered.
"No! I’m not leaving you, Claire. I’ll never leave you!" Aurora was saying in her dream.
Her heart clenched. She smoothed a stray strand of hair away from the little girl’s eyes.
"You’ll never leave me, I promise." Claire whispered.
Pulling the covers away, she pulled Aurora to a sitting position. The girl’s eyes opened slowly. Her breathing was ragged - almost as ragged as Claire’s own.
"They took me away." She murmured, shaking with a stifled sob.
Claire pulled her against herself and rubbed her back, making soothing noises.
"Who took you away?"
Silence.
"I didn’t see their faces. They were all wearing black hoods. They said I’ll never see you again."
Claire kissed her forehead. "It’s just a dream. Nothing would ever separate us." She said to her sister as much as herself.
They remained locked for a while. Then Claire rose up and dashed to her sister’s chest to fish out a dress and a shawl.
"Put this on."
Her sister moved without hesitation. When she had finished wearing the dress, she slid off the bed.
Claire grabbed a pair of boots.
"Don’t you mean to carry a cloak? It’s raining outside."
Claire stilled.
"Cloaks get very heavy when wet. They’ll slow down our movements."
"Are we running away?"
She nodded.
"Where are we going, Claire?"
"I don’t know. Far from here."
All she had carried was her father’s watch and her few gold accessories. It could buy them a place on a ship heading south.
She held out her hand and her sister took it immediately.
Together, they blew out the candles and left the room. The house was completely dark.
Only a few candles were lit but they would soon be put out by the wind raging through the open windows.
They slipped out of the house, shoes in hand.
Then, they started running. Claire didn’t let go of her sister’s hand. When she looked back, she saw light in the window of her room. They only stopped to slip on their boots.
Her stomach sank.
They could make it, she kept telling herself.
Aurora was doing her best to keep up, running despite the dress she wore.
The forest was endless and dark. But somehow, they weren’t afraid of it.
Until they heard the howl of a wolf. Another howl responded to it.
"No." She muttered to herself.
Their boots left prints as they ran but she prayed the rain would wash it away. Her hair clung to her skin, so did her dress.
"I want to stop, Claire. I can’t keep going."
Claire couldn’t stop. She knew what stopping would mean.
"Let me carry you."
"We can hide instead."
"They’re werewolves, Aurora. They will follow our scent."
The howls were growing closer. Her sister hopped on her back and they kept going.
She kept muttering a silent prayer.
They shouldn’t be caught.
But, the Moon Goddess wasn’t in a good mood that night.
A pair of red eyes stared back at her. The creature growled.
Other red eyes surrounded them. Aurora’s hands tightened around her neck.
"Just kill us." She pleaded, her voice a soft whisper.