Silas gentle reassurance was back, and he gently rubbed my back. "Are you okay? That was intense" I nodded. I was sulky and angry with him. but I was elated at finally getting out of this claustrophobic confines of this space. It was hard to walk because of the chain on my legs they also felt weak from the shocks they had received.
I passed through the first door. I wavered at the second. I had been in that basement for months a piece of me was afraid of leaving it. But I took a deep breath. You've done this before; there's nothing here for you. I stumble and trip, trying to climb the stairs, my weakened legs trembling. Silas gently picked me up, hugging me close to his chest. He carried me up the stairs when I passed through the normal door at the top of the stairs. I took in a modern style kitchen. Of stainless steel appliances with stone slab countertops and walls painted in soft tones of blue and green. His house was enormous; I could spend hours wondering the halls and never see all the rooms.
I saw the fading rays of the evening sun through large windows on ether side of a thick wooden door. I noticed extra pad locks at the top of the door, out of reach of my barely five-foot stature. The furniture consisted of simple but ornate wooden structures. A brick fireplace was in the center of the far wall in the living room, with book-lined shelves on either side of it. I took a deep sniff smelling fresh air pouring out from under the door. The smell of soot from the fire place the hints of leather in far off rooms beyond my purview.
no scent of another soul for miles, I struggle a little in Silas's arms. I wanted desperately to catch some of the last rays of sun peeking through the windows. that looked out on bushes of flowers that were wilting in the first frost hedges of evergreens with their sharp scent. well-maintained green lawns laden with sparkling dew, and finally an ancient brick wall with a pristine iron gate at the end of the paved drive. I noticed all the windows had thin bars over them.
Silas tightened his grip and said, "Behave" in a clipped voice. He set me down on the couch "now, Sarah, since you demonstrated you need a firmer hand with your stunt with the bathroom. I will give you rules that must be honored. Is that clear?? His voice had a trace of menace. I nodded. "1 you will always be naked; your body is for my gaze and pleasure. 2 You will address me as sir. 3 you cannot go outside until I say so, I must also accompany you outside when I do. 4 you will obey me entirely and fully. What I say goes. I decide your life. Is that clear, Sarah?" His eyes baring down upon me I could feel their oppressive weight. I bow my head,
"Yes, sir" I said
he gently palmed my cheek. "Come; I'll show you your room and my study" I tried to nestle up next to him when I stood up, hoping he would carry me some more. He just smirked as we crossed the cold hardwood floors to an elegant flight of stairs in the main entrance way. There, he swept me off my feet and carried me up the stairs, where he gently put me down on my feet. I padded along after him he tightly gripped the leash to my collar. As I cautiously padded after him, he opened the first door on the right we passed.
" This is my study" he said "it's where I work and spend much of my free time" I gingerly padded after him into the room a large computer desk with two monitors placed atop it. a shelf lined with some more books and some graphic novels; some video game cases lined the bottom row of the shelf.
I cocked my head at Silas. "You never professed to me you played video games."
Silas shrugged. "I play with friends sometimes." I looked more around the room on the far end of Silas desk in a small glass dome was the flowers I had made him. next to a family picture of what I presumed were Silas brothers and parents and a picture of a pretty lady. With long raven colored hair and green eyes, she had a mischievous smile.
I nodded to the photos. "Are those your parents and siblings?"
"Yes" he said
"you never mentioned having a sister" I said curiously.
Silas looked at the frame of the smiling woman and said softly "She isn't my sister; she was my fiancΓ©" I heard the pain he tried to conceal in his voice.
I matched his soft tone. "You never mentioned you were engaged. What happened?" Silas refused to answer, looking far away. I scanned more of the room and noticed the sun slowly creeping away on the floor and a large window, which allowed it in. I trotted towards it, and I felt the suffocating pull of the leash on my collar. I felt a spike of emotion rise, and I fell to my knees on the floor, half strangling myself, pulling all I could towards the light. Silas stalked over to me, winding the lead around his hand as he went; his eyes narrowed his tones clipped. "Sarah, what are you doing?"
"Light." I choked out. Silas looked at the rays of sun casting it's light on the floor. A few feet away from my straining form, he let go of the lead. I fell forward, unbalanced. He gently caught me, and I shuffled forward, feeling the first kiss of sun upon my flesh for the first time in months. my eyes having to adjust to natural light, I didn't care about the hard wood floor. As I pressed my prostrate from onto it, a few tears slid down my face as I felt it warm my skin.
I tried to hide my face from him. Silas stiff in his movements. His face hard, looking out the window, he stroked my back gently as I lay in the pool of light till the sun faded. "Come now" he said, gently clearing his throat. I struggled to my feet, and with his help, he guided me to the end of the hall, where an identical door stood. He opened it, and a simply furnished room greeted me: hardwood floors, a large four poster bed, a plush rug in the middle of the room, and a wooden ornate dresser in the corner.