The Monster They Created -Chapter 21-23

I woke up pinned up against a wall two feet above the ground with the only thing I could move being my head. My breath once again shortened and my heart raced. I was in a cell with a metal door and stone walls. There was only one window with bars that let in a bit of light. I had no idea where I was. I was in a dark cell, alone, with water rising at a concerning rate.
The door swung open and there stood the King.
“You know I should really congratulate you on your escape plan. Your sad excuse of a father has had very many plans but that, ha, that was the most ambitious.” The King said.
“Where am I!” I yelled at him
He checked his nails while continuing, “In a cell under the tower. That gas that made you faint. We made it especially for you two. Your dad did not even think of it! Trying to protect his daughter without knowing we are smarter. Ha! There is a reason you never met him until now.”
“Well at least he did not kill me!” I scream.
The King rubbed his temples, “So he told you his story of that terrible day.”
“Yeah, Grandfather.”
“Well that story is not true, at least to the people. And that is what matters, Granddaughter. You will stay down here for a month. Then we will move you to a new location. I really hope you enjoy your stay and it teaches you a lesson.”
“And what’s that?”
He turned his head and stared square in my eyes, “Don’t mess with the man that holds your chains.”
After the King left I broke down. I was usually an introverted person but now being alone in a flooded cell made me want to be with someone. Three things became apparent. I was not strong, I would never see my dad again, and I was gonna die. There was no doubt. They probably now would not trust me and Dad together. I only wish I said farewell better and thanked him for everything. It was cruel to only spend a month with him.
I did not want to be the Arewed of Evle, Carlanna Demarken any more, I just want to be Olive Neara. I regretted any time I talked badly about my old life. It made me want to smack younger me across the face. She was arrogant and stupid for hating the easy life she had.
The first half of the month was wretched. I hung on the wall like a slab of meat for most of the time. It was hard to tell the time as the small window was soon covered by water. What I assumed to be half way through the day, I was let down to relieve myself and eat something. But those five minutes of peace I got were soon taken from me. After I ate, they dragged me down the long stone hallway, the candle light blinding me from seeing much. I only knew it was stone as it scraped my back. They dragged me to a room. It was like any other room on this island, made of stone and cracks. A little bar covered window was at the top of the room covering any source of light. But what was different about this room was rusty cuffs that hung from the ceiling and the drain directly underneath with the stone around it stained red.
“Undress!” The punisher demanded
I gave a nervous little laugh,”What?”
He hit the whip in his hands on the stones,”Did I not make myself clear? Undress, now!”
My hands shook as I reached for the bottom of my dress and pulled it up and over my head. I dropped it on the ground, leaving me in my most vulnerable state. But even now I could hear Dads voice. Keep your head up, don’t give them power over you. And even now, I listened.
The punisher smirked, showing all his yellow teeth and walked over to me,”That’s a Good girl.”
He reached out to grab me, to which my hand held his wrist. He looked up from my body to my face and growled,”You must do exactly as I say, don’t resist. If you don’t, I have ways to make girls docile.”
My breath hitched as I dropped his hand. He smiled again,”Good choice.”
The Punisher’s hand moved down my body, grazing my skin. I wanted to rip off any part that he had touched. The way he acted upon my body felt disgusting. With his wandering hands he made me feel like something far from a human.
“For I would much rather enjoy you myself,”He hissed, not removing his eyes from my lower half,”We must make you suffer.”
They way he said that, it was as if his touch on my skin wasn’t torturer enough, the fear of what he would do to me was tearing me apart the entire time. As he hooked my wrist to the cuffs all I felt was shame and unsafe.
He picked up the whip again and looked at me hanging from the ceiling. The punisher hit it against the floor, causing a jerking reaction from me as my eyes shut and turned away.
“Oh, this will be fun.” He said, that terrifying smile not leaving his face. He moved my back,”I will give you fifteen lashes, but the catch is you must count each hit, if you mess up, we redo that hit until you count correctly. Am I understood?”
“Yes, sir.” I whispered, tears of fear and pain falling from my face.
“What did you say?” He yelled
“Yes, Sir.” I replied, louder.
“Good girl.”
The whip rose and came crashing down on my back,
“One!” I screamed through the pain. My back burned, blood rushing down from the slash. It was agonizing. So were the other forty two.
I hung there after, blood covering my body and pooling beneath me, indescribable pain on every inch of my back. My breathing was short and jagged. The punisher stepped in front of me and grinned,”That wasn’t so bad, now was it.”
For as much as I wanted to move up my head and say something to defend myself, it was impossible to do so. I was defeated.
“But this,”He took a flask from his belt,”this will be.”
The man walked behind me again and poured the liquid down my back. It stung beyond belief, like lemon in a paper cut but instead, liquor on a whiplash. I squirmed as it rolled down my body, mingling with the blood and tears on the ground.
The guard undid my cuffs and let me fall into the liquid on the floor.
“Get up, whore!” He barked.
Using all my strength, I did so with my back hunched and head lowered. Like dad said, the chains will help with healing, but they will keep the pain.
The punisher poured a bucket of water down my body to wash away the blood, but I knew it would be all for not as I felt more bleeding from my back.
“For as much as I want to have fun with you, the King set certain restrictions when it comes to time in my room.”
My clothes were not given back to me, leaving me more defenseless then before.The guard grabbed the chain and hit them against the floor again,”Back in your cage we go,”
Each day something similar to that happened. Sometimes it was a harsh beating, kicking me to the point of unconsciousness. I lay on the ground, covered in my blood and vomit, my vision blurry, each day got worse and worse.
At a certain point they had to not hang me up as they believed it might actually kill me. There was nothing in the cell beside about six inches of water. It was just stone walls and floor. I longed to be able to look out the window that provided me with my little bit of light. I missed the air the tower used to bring in. The air in the cell was pungent and stiff.
Thought filled my head in the mornings after an uneasy sleep. Who I was, what I was, how I was going to live. I wanted to die. I thought I got rid of that feeling and left it in Troprin. Or at least I hoped so. To be clear I didn’t want to be killed by my cousin but I thought that it would just be easier if I was dead.
I tried to drown myself with the water on the floor a few times in an attempt to not let them have me and to finally end my suffering. But I could never go through with it. Part of me tried to stay afloat, to see the next day. I don’t know why that part always won. It was small and insignificant. But I do have to applaud its resistance, although it’s stupid. But those thoughts soon disappeared as I was beat senseless.
One morning I was awoken being dragged across the floor, more red blood leaving my body. They took me into the room covered in my bodily fluids and a couple teeth. I laid there, naked and weak as others came into the room. One took my wrist and slicked it with a knife, something I never had the courage to do so deeply. They cut my body repetitively, which was relatively tame over their previous punishments. But, of course there was more. Punching, kicking, stomping. It must have lasted for hours. But the guards were not pleased. They hung me up with the cuffs again. I could barely understand what they said before, but as the sharp pain of a needle pierced my skin, my hearing came back,
“Each question you get wrong, you get ten lashes plus the amount from the previous question. So if you get your second question wrong, you get twenty. Now lets begin. Did the King till his daughter?”
“Yes,”
I didn’t mean to say that, I was going to say no. Truth Serum they used truth serum.
“Do you believe you should be Queen?”
“Yes.”
“Do you love the King?”
“No,”
“Does your father only love you for your magic?”
“No.”
Each question brought more and more lashes across my skin. But one question they asked brought me some hope.
“Do you believe yourself to be a monster?”
“Yes.”
The Guards stood in a moment of silence. They had expected me to give the wrong answer. But out of seven questions, that was the only one I got right in their eyes.
With that one right, they decided to stop as King questions and just whip me until I became unconscious.

Chapter 22






When I awoke I was gasping for air. Cold hands lay at my throat. They let go just before I fell into darkness. I was laying on the floor of my cell, a cold feeling over Taking my body.
“You have five minutes.” Demanded a guard, closing the door.
I moved to sit up, but a hand stopped me,”Not now, child.” My eyes focus to see Yomata above me, a kind smile on his face, “I know it hurts, but I will help the best I can.
He only had a bowl of water and a cloth to clean up my bloodied body. He spoke no words as the cold cloth brushed against my skin. Through my cloudy vision, I could see him take a vial filled with a yellow liquid. He took of the cap with his teeth,
“Open up, child.”
I did as he told and felt the liquid run down the back of my throat, As it spread, I could feel the pain leaving my body, at-least it manageable. He was not supposed to do that, but I would not tell.
He stood up and sat next to me, “Get dressed, child, you can do this.”
I did as he instructed, although it cost me immense pain.
The guard burst through the door with chains in his hands, “Time to leave this place.”
Yomata helped me walk over to the guard. As the chains were placed upon me “Good bye, Dad.” I whispered, leaving behind the only family member I had who did not want me dead.
I felt a hard floor below me as the spell ended. The blind fold was taken off and the sight I thought I would never see again.
The tower in all of its stony and ruined glory. I heard the door close and before I could stand up Dad rushed towards me and embraced me in a hug. I was too weak to hug him back.Tears began to well in my eyes. I could feel the fresh air and it felt great.
“I thought you were taken to a different prison.” He weeped
“I thought I was going to be taken somewhere else too.”
“There is no way I could live alone again. I just can’t do that” He said, backing off, noticing the blood spewing from my body, “No, no, no, no, please don’t tell me they did that.Who the hell would harm a person like this?”
“It hurts.” I whispered
He faced me and placed my head into his hand,”I know Carl, I know. And I’m so sorry, you had to suffer through this. I placed my head on his shoulder and wept while he held my head, trying his best to soothe me. But to no avail. The pain was too much.
Muttering, I said “I’m gonna die and can’t do anything about it.”
“We will think of something,”
“But you know the worse part?” I asked,”I want to die.”
It was clear that dad did not know how to respond, instead he went over to his hay to dig out some food for me.
I looked at the chain on my ankle knowing it was the only thing keeping me alive. In that moment the urge to rip it from my body was overwhelming.
A sharp pain came from my thigh. To my amazement, it was a key. I put it into the hole of my ankle cuff, a click ringing. The cuff fell off. Using the rest of my energy, I went over to the hole in the wall, loo King out into the ocean below. My cuts began to bleed again and more pain rushed from my body. The cuts on my wrist opening up again, allowing blood to spill from them
“What are you doing?”Dad looked at me, horror in his eyes.
“I can’t live anymore,” I muttered, loo King down from the window into the land beneath,”I don’t want to suffer anymore.”
“Don’t say that, you must live for the Good of our people.”
“No one loves me.”
“I love you,”
“No, you only love the magic coursing through my veins. It was never my intent to be born, but it will be my intent to end it.”
I put my hand out to the hair below, it going through, a sensation I never would have imagined feeling.
“I know it may be-” Dad paused,”How are you doing that?”
I threw the now bloodied key at him, “That was in my dress.”
He picked it up,”Please, don’t do this.”
“I’m going to die anyway, why not die now! Take the key and leave, we can go our separate ways!”
“No, no, no, I’ve lost too many to death, I’m not losing you too!”
He tried to approach me but I kicked him back. I didn’t look at him, just the world. With a deep breath, I moved to step outside, but I was bounced back a little.
The coldest of the ankle chains,”What did you do!” I yelled at him
“I saved you!”
“NO, YOU DIDN’T!”
Using all my strength, I tried to take the key from his hand.
“I will protect you!” Dad threw the key through the hole.
A scream escaped my lips as I tried to reach for it, but dad held me in his arms. As I thrashed and yelled for him to let me go, as my wounds left, he held me. It is hard to recall how long before my screams turned into weeping. Even then, he still held me close.
My body wailed in agony, my throat was sore, it was hard to label only one part as painful.
“I’m so sorry,” Dad whispered,”I never should have suggested escaping.”
Silence came between us, it speaking louder than any words could. A realization that I am going to die, no matter my hand or another. For us much as I craved the cold embrace of death, but I feared it beyond must things.
“It’s not your fault,” I muttered, my throat raspy.
Dad began to cry, his tears mixing with mine,”I promised to protect you. I promised. But they took you from me, they lied to you, they hurt you. A father is supposed to keep his child safe, but I failed. Carl, I am so terribly sorry,”
He squeezed me closer in his arms like I was ten years younger. A feeling of safety rushed through me. I did not want to live, but I felt safer.
Dads head looked up and through the hole,”I may not have been there for you in the past, but I’ll be damned if I don’t start now.” He let me go and took my bloodied hand in his covered in years of grime. The silver eyes, identical to mine stared into my soul, The kind light they had become filled with determination of a man who had found a new hope, “There is one way to escape death by the sword and no, it’s not by killing yourself. When you get your powers, the previous person to possess them comes to you in almost a dream-like state. They give you wisdom and a power, unique to only you. There is a way to end this earlier and hence not here about your power.Along with this, more power is released, causing destruction and a long time for the onlookers to be unconscious.
" The only issue with this is that you must leave at the right time. If not, them your magic may be weak or you will die. There are five documented accounts of this being done. I’ve only heard it being successful once, by a Arewed of Evle of the ancient age. He ended up serving marvelously and becoming stronger. Carl, that could be you. But it would mean there is no other chance to escape. You must end the dream early to live. It is dangerous, but we have no other option.”
With my legs, shaking and burning with every movement, I stood up against the wall, loo King out the window. My blood dripped through the invisible wall that kept us here.
I turned to dad, “Do you think I can do it? Leave early, that is.”
“I do, but not because of your power, but because you are your mothers and my daughter.” He stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder ever so gently, “Please, never think again I only love you for your powers. I’ll be the first to admit that they will help our people. Many of them have lived as we do under the dictatorship of the Good. But I would love you just as deeply even if you had none.”
“The guards, they-”
He chortled,”Oh, Carl, don’t trust those fools in gold. So what do you say, will you do this”
My name is Carlanna Demarken. I am the daughter of Tonad and Gana Demarken. I am the first person in seven hundred years to be born as an Evle Arewed. Throughout my life, I have struggled with those who claim to be right. As I have grown, the more I have come to realize how wrong they ended up being. I need to stop them, and bring those who have suffered out of the slums and prisons they’ve been confined to.
“Yes, I will do this.”
I am Carlanna Demarken. I am the Arewed of Evle. I am not a monster. I will overcome this. I will escape. And I will be the Queen of Elira.
That is why I need to live.

Chapter 23




It was now the beginning of November and the tower began to get colder then one could imagine. And although I still had bad thoughts, they were a little milder and easier to handle. Just having someone there helped more than I would have guessed. Just like how G helped me in Troprin, Dad helps me now.
When Yomata came into the tower one morning he handed us each a thin blanket and a pair of cloth shoes.
“These are for the cold.” He handed us these items, the smell of mildew radiating off of both of them.
“Thanks ‘' I said and immediately wrapped the blanket around myself, using it as a shield from the freezing winds.
“Your bones are not used to the cold?” Dad asked as he put his shoes on.
“No. In Troprin there was always a mild climate. It never got this cold.”
“Well you might want to get your shoes on because it will only get colder.”
“I’m gonna be killed by the cold before my birthday. That is just a fact.”
“Stop being overdramatic, put on your shoes,and let’s finalize this plan.”
I took the shoe and put my foot through the hole at the top. The shoe felt weird and tight on my foot. I didn’t like it. But I did feel a bit warmer so I guess that was a benefit. I put on the other one, then came over to him.
“So we have three months until your birthday.” Dad said
“And my execution date?” I added
“Yeah. There are a few things to cover like history, potion, magic and I’m mostly going to throw in a sprinkling of extra knowledge. So each day I’ll teach you something after breakfast and before lunch. After lunch the time is yours to do whatever you want. Well, within the walls of this blasted tower. Does that work?”
“That sounds nice.”
Normally I would be annoyed by extra school, even though I was decent at it. But this was a new topic. A new teacher. Something I needed to know to escape. This would be as fun as school could get in a prison with a few months until you are scheduled to die.
Dad nodded, “Okay then, let’s get started.”
We reviewed history that first month. He taught me how my kind was created, how Elira came into existence, the government, my culture, anything that could have a past or story behind it. When the middle of the month came though, once more the Royals were at the tower. Yomata came in and then two guards. They grabbed my dad and did the process to take him from the tower. And he was gone. Yomata then did his normal routine.
“Why do we have to do this stuff with the royals?” I asked, under my breath
“I have no idea.” Yomata said after apparently hearing me,” I have never liked I but I get free food and board”
“Why don’t you like it?” I questioned
“Why would I? This system is wretched but an Eliran soldier- badly injured by war and now unable to go back- only has a few places to work.”
“I thought you were from Yemmion?”
He looked to the ceiling, “I was. But me and my family moved during the famine. I then joined the army so my parents wouldn’t have to worry about feeding another kid.”
“Oh.”
Just before he left I asked,
“I have a request.”
“And what is that?”
“My Dad’s birthday is in a couple months. He likes honey bread and I want to-”
He looked at me and smiled,”I understand, I’ll do what I can.”
Yomata left and I was alone. He was nicer than I would have thought. I guess you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Just like Dad. Or for the hell of it my old parents. ***
A few nights later when dad was talking to mom I decided to come out and talk with him.I must have scared him because he jumped a little,
“Carl, I had no idea you were awake.”
“I have been since the beginning.” I explained
“So you have heard everything I’ve said I presume.”
“Yes.”
“Well sit here, no need to hide anymore.”
We each dipped a piece of hay in the water and put it to our head, lips and chest. We each spoke a silent thing to mom then let our hay fly out the window together and watch them fall.
“I long for your mother. Her voice, her love, her in general. She died so young.”
I put my head on his shoulder and looked into the sky. The stars were so bright. They were beautiful.
“I wished I could have met her.”
“Me too, Carl.”