The Thorn in My Shed-Chapter 32: Let Her Live

Marix reached his hand out to remove the tomato from Eilownia’s mouth but as he reached for it, Eilownia flinched and let out a startled whimper.

His eyebrows twitched as he hesitated.

Tears rolled down her face and her body trembled as if an earthquake was rolling through her.

He slowly tilted his head to the side as he examined her face. Her cheeks were more sunken in than the last time he saw her and the finger shaped bruises on her chin and jawline stood out against her pale complexion.

Marix knelt in front of her as his eyes trailed down arms, body and legs. There were dried up tomato seeds on fabric of her shirt. Her sleeves had some sort of dried pulp as well.

"Little Flower. Whin. You are okay now."

He stood up and reached out for a second time, slower than he did before.

Still, her reaction matched that of a wild animal.

Her body tensed, her shoulders came up to her ears as she turned her head away, letting out a fearful squeak.

Marix grasped her chin as gently as he could and turned her head to face him. He reached in her mouth and pulled the tomato out.

"AUUGHHH!!!!" She cried, her chest heaved as she gasped for air.

As she did so, he leaned closer, examining her further.

"Shhh. Whin. You’re going to be okay." He whispered quietly to her.

Her lips were practically whiter than a ghost. They were so chapped that they had cracked, split and scabbed over.

The inside of her mouth also showed signs of abrasions and other injuries as well as what looked to be a burn on her tongue.

He remembered all of the times he’d ’tortured’ her, how she’d shown barely any reaction. The way she acted like she was staying at nothing more than an inn.

"Please let me stay!" She had begged.

It was all falling into place now.

Marix shut his eyes tight and furrowed his eyebrows as he listened to her cry, his fist clenching around the tomato. Its juice and seeds dripped onto the floor from his hand.

She’d never cried.

In all of that time, the one thing she hadn’t done was cry. Yet, here she was. Crying so hard he was sure she would faint.

He threw the tomato to the side of the room as Lord Evans burst inside, his cane clacking on the stone floor.

After him were the Viraaz soldiers and Lieutenant General Briggs, who all gasped in horror at the sight of Eilownia.

"How dare you! I’ve already sent word to the King about you just baring in here, General Marix. You WILL be dealt with. Say goodbye to your precious little Viraaz! Sola will destroy it for your gross indiscretions!"

Marix turned to face him and scoffed at the sight of Lord Evans standing there tall, his posture straight and his chest puffed out, his chin tilted upwards. Both of his hands were placed on his cane and leaning it outward in a regal sort of stance.

"You will not make threats to me, Evans. Do whatever you want in terms of your reports and your paperwork. It makes no difference to me." His voice was laced with contempt and hatred.

Lord Evans’ mouth fell open for a split moment, but he quickly regained his composure. "Leave here at once, I command you! What happens at my property is none of your concern! I am not under your orders, I am a citizen of Sola!"

He slammed his cane onto the floor, causing Eilownia to shriek.

Lord Evans then lunged forward, trying to get in between Marix and Eilownia. Eilownia flinched and braced herself while Marix grabbed him by the back of his jacket and flung him back towards his soldiers.

Marix then lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers. Without hesitation, his men apprehended Lord Evans, with two holding each of his arms.

Lord Evans continued to protest but Marix was no longer listening.

Marix reached out and gently brushed a tear from Eilownia’s face.

"Untie her...NOW!" Marix commanded as he took a step back to give them room, his eyes never leaving her face.

Two of his men immediately rushed forward and began the task of undoing the chains that bound her to that wretched chair. They metal clinked together as they worked.

Between them moving to work on Eilownia and Lord Evans protesting like a disobedient child, the light that was barely illuminating the room, shifted with the shadows.

It was then that something glittering in the corner caught his eye.

Marix turned his head to look but it was too dark.

"Someone bring me a torch!" He commanded as he held his hand out, waiting for the requested item to be placed.

"Yes sir!"

A few moments later, another soldier handed him a torch, which lit up the room further.

Marix walked over to where he’d seen the sparkle, waving the torch slowly as he did so to also try to investigate the rest of the dungeon.

Shackles hung from the walls, and there was another large wooden containment object that was taller than even Marix.

He got closer to the glittering object and stared down as he held the torch closer. A scowl appeared over his face as his mind processed what the item....or...items...were.

Broken shards of alcohol bottles had caused the sparkling effect with the light, but next to them were also lemons that had been squeezed of all their juice and tomatoes with fungus starting to grow on them.

"Tch." He picked up one of the lemons. It’s pulp matched the ones on her sleeves. He threw it to the side in disgust.

Then, he noticed something very out of place. His eyebrow ticked upward as he squatted down to confirm what it was he was seeing.

He reached down and picked it up. He held it in his palm and stared down at it, rolling it a bit before standing up as he raised his eyebrow.

"How interesting." He said with a taunting laugh, "A finger bone."

Marix walked back over to Eilownia and glanced down at her fingers.

All in tact.

His gaze then turned towards Lord Evans.

"I have already pointed out to you that I am not a citizen of Viraaz! You ALL will be punished for this. The consequences will be dire! I will not rest until every single one of you face repercussions! It’s heresy!"

He tried to fight against the soldier’s grasp but it was no use, they held fast.

"I forsee you will be very exhausted in the future then, Evans. Clearly this didn’t come from your daughter. I wonder who else has seen their final days here." Marix’s tone left no room for debate.

Marix nodded at one of his men who then pulled out a small pouch.

Lord Evans scoffed, "You think I’d kill my own daughter?"

Marix dropped the finger bone into the pouch without looking at Lord Evans, "Worse. I believe you’d let her live."

He finished tying the pouch after placing the bone inside and then handed it back to the soldier, "Keep that safe."

"There is no gre-!"

Marix held his hand up to silence him.

"Lord Evans. I am confused. Now that you mention it, didn’t you say before you had no daughter? Funny, I could’ve sworn this was a maid." Marix’s voice was laced with sarcasm as his men finished up freeing Eilownia.

"You! General, you are twisting my words and making things up! I will not stand for it!"

Marix ignored him as he turned his attention back to Eilownia.

He gently wrapped an arm around her waist, "Can you walk?"

She didn’t answer, her eyes were fluttering as tears poured out of them. It was then that he realized her eyes were practically swollen shut.

"Tsk."

He lifted her to her feet, but she immediately collapsed. He was quick to slide his hands underneath her knees and scoop her up into his arms.

She hardly weighed a thing.

"Have water prepared in the carriage and be ready to apply first aid." He commanded, and with that, his men that weren’t preoccupied with Lord Evans, were off.

Marix clenched his jaw as he looked at the remaining two and Briggs, "Seize him and..." He glanced at the chains that had bound Eilownia. They were rusted and covered with her blood, "Since he’s a high noble, let’s use his own objects."

Briggs smirked and saluted.

"You heard the man. Let’s get Lord Evans comfortable in his luxurious restraints."

As they worked to bind Evans, who was still protesting, Marix began to carry Eilownia out.

In all of the commotion, he hadn’t yet seen the illuminated torture devices. He stopped dead in his tracks as a pit formed in his stomach.

"How filthy."

He whispered as he looked down at Eilownia, whose head was resting against his shoulder, her eyes shut.

Marix gritted his teeth, then turned to Briggs and the others.

"Tie him to the back of the carriage. He’ll walk behind it."

"Yes sir!"