The Silk Trap. A Novel in 43 Chapters
Chapter 24: The Queen and her concubines
“It was cruel. Like opening a birdcage to let the bird fly out, whilst all the while it’s tethered by the leg, and freedom is only an illusion.” ― Laini Taylor, Strange the Dreamer
Lara lay lifeless on the hospital bed with a syringe attached to a saline drip on the one hand and a handcuff on the other. She was a prisoner of someone called ‘the Queen’ who was about to visit her at any moment.
Lara was still coming to terms with what had just happened to her in the last few minutes. She had woken up to the shocking realization that she had been drugged, kidnapped, and was handcuffed to a bed awaiting an audience with her captor. She had no idea for how long she had been unconscious or where she was! She had just met her Trans nurse/guard, who had teased her about how she had almost died of a drug overdose during the journey.
Lara could not stop crying. She had not told Michel where she was going that night after their fight over dinner. He had no idea where she was. She still had her gold chain and her earrings, but her watch was missing. Her clothes were nowhere in the room.
The room was windowless, cold, and had a single naked bulb hanging from the high ceiling covered with old and new spider webs. The room smelt damp and stale, and the toilet bowl under her bed smelt of urine. The walls had an old wallpaper of cribs, babies, and fairies that was slowly peeling off and, in some places, had been painted over with white paint.
Lara tried to sit up, but the handcuffs made it difficult. She managed to sit up by propping herself on one elbow. The saline drip attached to the back of her hands was aching and make her hands swell up. Whoever had administered the needle into her hand was not an expert at the job. There was blood on the bandage that had dried by now.
Lara still felt extremely tired and weak. It's as if she was still heavily sedated. She could hardly move her mouth. Her tongue felt like sandpaper, and her mouth was like an ashtray. Lara needed to find out more about what had happened and who these people were, but somehow she could not concentrate on anything for too long, and she kept feeling like she was going to lose her consciousness any minute. She had to stay awake to meet this Queen and try to reason with her to let her go. There must have been a mistake, Lara thought. She was not supposed to be here.
This could not be happening. Not to her!
As Lara tried to gain her composure, she heard a sound outside the door.
It was someone knocking on the door.
“Can I come in, darling?” came the sound of a woman’s voice from the other side of the door.
The key in the lock turned, and what Lara saw shocked her. Surrounded by a halo of harsh white light was a woman wearing a silver mask dressed in a flowing white kaftan. She entered the room with a little hesitation, asking for permission and not wishing to disturb Lara. She seemed almost shy.
She was a petite slim woman with dark long hair loosely tied in a ponytail. The mask was made of ceramic-type material and looked like marble. Lara could only see the woman's dark eyes looking at her with a strange sort of kindness and compassion. Lara tried to sit up straight in bed to speak to her and make sense of her situation.
“Don’t move, my dear,” the woman spoke in a caring tone and a strong English accent. “You have been through hell!” she began. “I was so worried about you!” You almost died getting here. This is terrible. I was so angry when I heard about the way they treated you. It's terrible…terrible.” It’s never happened like this before. I am sorry that you had to suffer,” she said, standing over Lara and gazing lovingly at Lara’s scared, confused eyes.
Lara could scarcely speak. Overcome with fear and confusion at the woman's attire and bizarre fake compassionate behavior, Lara could only mumble, “Who are you, and what do you want?”
The woman stopped and stepped back a little from Lara and sat down on the chair next to Lara’s bed. “ I am sorry for being so rude…frankly speaking, I am a bit nervous about meeting you, darling.” She paused and took a deep breath, and said,
“Let me introduce myself. My name is Queen, and I am your new mother. And you are my concubine.”
She stopped and looked at Lara for a reaction. Lara was too shocked for words and did not know where to begin. But before Lara could say a word, `Queen’ looked towards the open door and nodded her head at the nurse who stood guard, who bowed and moved aside to let three young women enter the room. Queen continued to speak.
“You have been brought here because it is your destiny to become part of my big happy family. The girls here have been with me a long time, and they will tell you how wonderful a mother I am and how much I love them all. Isn’t that true, girls?” Queen looked across at the girls who now stood on the other side of Lara’s bed, gazing at Lara lovingly.
The three girls, all of them in their late teens and early ’20s, looked at Queen and said in unison, “Yes, mother, and we love you too.”
The Queen smiled through her mask and then looked back at Lara, “We need to pamper you after your long trip. Girls, give her a nice hot bath and make sure she gets the best room in the hotel. And I think she will look nice in blue, don't you think?” she asked as she inspected Lara’s slim boyish body from under her covers.
“Yes, mother,” replied one of the girls.
The Queen got up and said as she blew Lara a kiss, “You are so beautiful, and I am so lucky to have you.”
“You can’t do this to me,” said Lara with all the strength she could salvage from her parched throat and lips.
The Queen turned, crossed her arms, and, dropping her voice into a low growl, said, “I can do what I want to you now, my dear.”