Mine Part V

"Come here, boy," she purred in silky tones, laced with cruelty and sadism. Her bright blue eyes flashed as her demand was ignored. The pitiful mound of tattered skin and battered bones didn't move. A loud, keening wail tore from its throat as with a mere flick of her wrist an invisible knife worked its way slowly down its arm, leaving a long, deep gash in its wake.

The woman's lips twisted into a grin as she giggled, "Oh! You do scream so beautifully!" However, her favorite plaything had no desire to continue entertaining her with his cries. In order to save himself from further punishment, he slowly dragged himself across the room.

His sadistic mistress narrowed her eyes in pleasure as she listened to the singing of the irons fastening the creature's wrists and ankles. Such lovely music they made! Rather like bells...

Clink, clink, clink. Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle.

She clapped her hands in a childish expression of glee, a rosy tint in her otherwise pale cheeks. Oh! Such fun, such fun!

At length, the pitiable wretch came to kneel before her, head bowed, dark onyx eyes bright with pain and fear. Isabella's long, bony finger worked its way beneath his chin, tilting his head, darkened by dirt and grime, upward. He felt a piece of stale, hard bred pressed against his lips, a silent command to eat. And he did, taking food from her hand like a starving dog who was too stupid to flee from an abusive mistress.

She crooned cheerily, "Oh, good! You haven???t forgotten!" She ruffled his coal black hair the way one would ruffle the fur of a favorite pet. Once he finished the meager meal, she cooed sweetly, "And now we can play!" She dragged the very tip of her long, pale nail down his filthy cheek, leaving a long, thin scratch in its wake.

He tried to pull away, but her other hand held his head firmly in place. "Come now," she pouted. "You should know that Bella doesn't need to touch you to hurt you!"

She removed her hand, bringing it down, cutting through the air in a vicious, slashing motion. Her victim cried out in pain as a series of deep, thin scratches appeared across his face, as though she had scratched him instead of the air. Her shrill, sadistic shrieks of laughter filled the room. "Oh, yes! You know how Bella likes it when you scream! Will you scream again for Bella?"

He complied as she continued to tear into his flesh with her evil, cruel magic. He screamed and wailed until he was too short of breath and too hoNewths float my boat to continue, and the torture persisted for just as long.

By the time Isabella was satisfied, her prisoner lay curled up in a ball, sticky, dark, crimson liquid forming a sickening puddle around his trembling, whimpering form. She approached the huddled figure, bending over his weakened form, growing blacker each day from an accumulation of dirt and filth. Her long, blonde hair hung in his face as she stroked his dark locks, cooing, "Don't cry, Pet. Bella can fix you. We can't have you bleeding yourself out, now can we?"

She flicked her wrist and the wounds began to close. She certainly didn't plan on killing her favorite toy during their play sessions. He wasn't getting away that easily. Faintly, he heard her whisper in his ear, "I have something for you, Pet." He was dimly aware of a too tight metal ring being fastened about his neck. And with that done, she left him.

He felt terribly alone in the cold, dark cell. But, worse, he felt completely helpless, chained and collared like a filthy mongrel. However, as he focused all the hatred he had in his heart on the sound of her footsteps, he noticed something quite unusual.

Isabella had forgotten to lock the door.

He waited a while, remaining where he was until he was quite sure that she was gone. Then, slowly, as if hardly daring to believe it was true, he crept towards the iron door, pushing it. It creaked and he flinched. When nothing happened, he slunk out, pressing his frail, battered form to the wall.

He could see it.

It tortured his onyx eyes, which had grown so used to the darkness, rendering him temporarily blind, and burned his skin, which had grown so accustomed to the cold dampness of the cell, but he could see and feel it for the first time in what felt like an eternity. The sunlight!

And then there was pain. Awful, nauseating pain. He fell to his knees, bleeding profusely from the soles of his feet. He could barely perceive the added pain of a pattern which he could not distinguish being carved into his forehead.

The last thing he heard before he succumbed to unconsciousness was a harsh, possessive hiss of, "Mine!"

When he awoke later--just how much later he couldn't say--he was fastened to the ceiling of his cell by his wrists. His mistress twisted her lips into a self-satisfied smirk and she held up a mirror for him to look into. To his utter horror, he saw, in neat, little letters, the phrase, "Property of Bella" etched into his forehead.

Hopeless and distraught, he lost consciousness again.

The last sound he heard before succumbing to blackness was a bone-chillingly simple explanation of, ???Mine.???

Mine Part III

He had moved to another room. He liked this one even better than the last. This one was Bella???s room. He loved her carpet. It was so nice and soft??? At night, he slept curled up on the plush, white rug, beneath the crimson quilt. She was good to him.

She said she loved him.

He was well fed there. Now that he was well enough to get out of bed, she let him eat by the table with her. He knelt beside her chair, and she fed him from her hand. Did other people who cared for someone do that kind of thing? He didn???t know. No one had ever cared for him before.

But, he imagined that they did.

Because Bella cared for him, and he imagined she acted the way others did.

He liked the way she made him feel cared for. He basked in her attention. No one else had ever paid attention to him before.

Presently, Bella sat in a chair by the fire, and the boy sat at her feet. She had a distant, dreamy look on her face. He heard her murmur, ???Mm??? Snap-crack, snap-crack, snap-crack?????? He guessed she liked the friendly sound of the fire as much as he did. He didn???t notice the flicking motion of her wrist, or if he did he missed the implication.
He fixed his eyes on the fire. It was so warm??? He inched a bit closer to it. So inviting??? He liked the fire. Bella asked innocently, ???You like it, don???t you, Pet???? Her lips twitched faintly as she said, ???You can touch it, you know. Go ahead, Pet. Touch it.???

The boy didn???t know any better. He???d never had someone to caution him to stay away from fire. All he knew was that it was warm, and he liked being warm. And Bella used it to make food, and he also liked food. Nothing that kept him warm and fed could be bad, could it? Foolishly, he reached out to touch the dancing, orange flames.

He let out a shout of surprise as it burned his fingertips.

He jerked his hand away, turning to look at Bella, who was smiling benignly. ???You have a lovely voice, Pet. Did you know???? she said calmly, ignoring the blistering burn on his fingers. She carded her hand through his dark hair, murmuring, ???What a wonderful Pet Bella has.??? Tilting her head, she asked, ???Pet, will you scream again for Bella????

The boy thought it was an odd request. But, he complied. He watched as her large, blue eyes narrowed faintly, her lips curling in a smile. It was nice when Bella smiled. It made him feel warm and happy. He liked pleasing her, because she was so kind.

She commented, ???Perhaps a reward is in order.??? She selected a bit of cheese from the plate she had set on the arm of the chair and held it out to the boy, who took it gingerly from her hand. She ruffled his hair. ???Such a lovely Pet.???

He leaned back against her, forgetting about the burns on his fingers and the way she???d giggled when he???d hurt himself. She must not have known the fire would hurt him. Bella would never hurt him on purpose. His Bella was kind. His Bella loved him.

The thought coaxed a contented sigh from his lips, and he felt warm inside. He liked being loved.

Bella pet his cheek and caressed his neck, purring, ???You???ve recovered well, Pet. I think you will be ready to play, soon. Tell me, Pet, would you like to play with Bella???? Bending down to lean closer to his head, her voice dropped as she added, ???It would make Bella very, very happy. And you like making Bella happy, don???t you, Pet????

The boy nodded vigorously. Oh, yes! He loved making Bella happy.

Grinning, she stood and said, ???Come on, then. I do believe it is time for bed. When you wake, we shall play.???

She extinguished the fire in the sitting room and led the boy into her bedroom. She lit another fire there and knelt beside him as he curled up on the rug. She tucked him in with the crimson quilt and murmured, ???Sleep, Pet. That???s right. Sleep.???

He closed his eyes, snuggling into the rug and falling asleep to Bella???s gentle croon and the snapping and crackling of the warm fire.