After that, she had no idea how long she had been here. And it wasn't all that bad, she supposed. The king reminded her of that every time he came to make sure she was alive.
She was treated better than most people in this kingdom. Her room was luxurious. Sure, there weren't any windows. But the floors were covered with plush carpeting, there was always a fire in the fireplace, and she was adorned with jewelry and clothing that few could even dream of.
But all of that wasn't for her, and she knew that. It was all for the men who came to see her. To play with her. A little doll that they could pick up and do whatever they wanted to with.
Because her magic wouldn't let her see any of it. King James was still fascinated by her powers, even years later. He didn't watch, or at least, he said he didn't. He stayed only to see her disappear from her body, as though there wasn’t a person inside her form at all. A husk, that was all they ever wanted, anyway.
Apparently she was always pliable when she was in that state. She would do whatever she was ordered to do, as if there was something of her still in her body to be ordered around. But she remembered nothing that happened.
Rose only had to deal with the aftermath. The pain. The bruises. The knowledge that she had been used and abused for years without a single glimpse of the sun.
All while being told she should be grateful for where she was.
Biting her lip, she sat on the edge of the massive sunken tub in the corner of her single room. She'd already completed her one hundred circuits of the room because moving was the only way her mind calmed. If she stopped moving, she started thinking. And thinking led to madness.
Nowhere was safe for her. There weren’t even people who would save her.
She was locked in this labyrinth with many, many levels. People thought this entire place was just a gladiatorial ring, but no. It was entertainment. Every part of this place, every level, was designed to keep evil men busy. And they were. With her. With the fights. With hunts of exotic animals brought in from all corners of this realm.
The men who visited her talked too much. They told her every horrible thing that existed in this place, and she had to endure knowing all of it. Her mind kept her safe from most punishment, but not from everything.
Such dark thoughts today. If she wasn’t careful, they were going to consume her.
The door opened right on time. The man she had expected walked through with a gleam in his eyes she knew didn't mean well for her. Usually she got a break for a week when he came in though, and that was something she looked forward to.
Rose lived in this world and one that wasn't real. Or at least, she didn't think it was real. And this man knew how to send her to that not-real world better than most.
"Hello Rose," he said, already stripping off his shirt as the door closed behind him. "How have you been?"
He didn't care. Not really. He was about to make her next week one focused on healing.
She trailed her fingers through the warm water of the bath. The king had insisted she wear a particular garment that always told her this man was coming. With his bulging muscles and scarred body, she knew he had to be some kind of fighter. Maybe he was a personal guard. Maybe he was a gladiator. She didn't know or care.
But the glass beads that decorated this dress were pretty. They'd been stitched to look like water drops dripping down her torso. The sheer material beneath was the same color as her skin, so it looked like she was covered in water that clung to her skin.
"Rose?" the man said again, his voice now with a hard edge. "I asked you a question."
"I've been fine," she replied. Serene, Rose reminded herself. He enjoyed it too much when she cried. She'd learned a long time ago not to do that anymore. "How are you?"
Sometimes she dreamt about going back to the other priestesses. She thought about her sister, but that stung too much. Mostly she thought of the High Priestess and the little girl who should have listened to her warning. The little girl Rose had once been.
His hand ringed her throat, and she had the belated thought that his touch was already bruising her before the world just... faded away.
It was always the same place. A meadow, green and unending as it unfurled before her. Rose thought it was similar to the meadow she and her sister used to play in when they’d been children. Hundreds of flowers dotted nearly every inch, and it gave her a few moments of false freedom. When she'd first fallen here, she'd curled up in these flowers and fallen asleep.
Resting gave her mind some peace. She was safe. No one could touch her in this world she'd made up in her own head, and that meant she could fall asleep without someone waking her up with bruising hands that terrified her.
But now, years later, she wandered. She liked to walk. Moving helped. Every step brought her a little clarity in a world that seemed to work against her.
She didn't talk to herself or pick any of the flowers, although she'd done that, too. Now, she walked for hours on end until the men were done, and that gave her all the time in the world to exist in a world that wasn't theirs.
They could keep her body for as long as they wanted. She didn't really care for it anyway. It was weak, sick, fragile. They bruised it so easily, and she didn't know how to fight back. The disconnect between her physical form and her mind had only grown wider over the years.
Brushing her hands down her plain linen skirt, she headed out. Sometimes she tried to count the flowers, but today she felt a pull forward. Like she was meant to go a little farther than she usually did.
The sun burned overhead, and the bird song filled her ears. So pretty, she thought as she skated her fingers over the velvet petals. She never knew where the birds came from, or wherethey even were. It wasn't like she could see any of them flying around.
But now there was something different about the meadow. A stream ran through it. Light and flowing quietly, it added a new sound that wasn't usually here.
