Chapter 8 Chapter 8
I could walk around the house; I spent all my time in his library. He never said anything, never gave me chores or tasks or anything. He just let me walk around and do whatever I wanted. He gave me a choice, and it was the first time in a long time I ever had a choice.
I had just gotten a book and was heading back up to my room when I passed his office. The door wasn't closed properly.
“So who’s the girl?” I heard a woman ask.
“Nobody, just trash that was dumped on me,” he replied.
“So why not get rid of the trash? Or are you interested in her?” She said it, and my heart started beating out of time.
“Interested. I could never be interested in broken things. She’s just here until I send her where she truly belongs,” he replied, and my heart sank.
“Really?” she asked.
“I don’t lie. She’s not to my liking. She isn't elegant, sophisticated, or even a socialit.” He said, and the woman laughed.
I continued walking. I didn't think or want him to care about me, but I had thought he would care even a bit, especially with the way he was treating me, but who was I kidding? I was broken and useless and had no place in anyone’s life. I was unwanted and would always be unwanted.
I made it back to my room; I stayed there the remainder of the night. I heard the door open but didn't turn around.
“Time for dinner,” he said.
During dinner I didn't eat much; for some reason I had lost my appetite.
“Maria?”
“Yes, sir?” Maria asked.
“The food is not to Ms. Rhodes’ liking; I’m making something else for her,” he said, not looking up.
“The food is fine, Maria. No need,” I said quietly.
“Then why aren't you eating?” he asked.
“I was sold to you, Mr. Nikolai. You are my owner; whatever you order me to do, I’ll do it. If this is not where I am destined to be. Please send me there. I am not used to kindness and don't expect anything from anyone. "I am broken and useless, so wherever I am supposed to go, please know that I can't do much about my uselessness," I said, my voice cracking on the last word.
He slammed his hands onto the table, making me flinch.
“You’ll be leaving soon,” he said with a growl.
“Yes, Mr. Nikolai. May I please be excused?” I asked. He didn't answer; he hit the dishes off the table before walking off. I sat there for a few seconds before standing up and picking up the broken dishes from the ground. Maria came out and tried to stop me, but I just kept picking them up.
For four days, I stayed out of his sight, or more to the point, he stayed out of mine. He never showed up for breakfast or dinner. I was sitting in the room staring out of the window, just sitting, when I heard the door open. When I turned around, he was standing there.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“Yes, Mr. Nikolai,” I replied, turning around.
I walked towards him. "Aren't you going to take your clothes?” he asked.
“They don’t belong to me. I have nothing in this world, only my name.”
He grabbed my hand, but I didn't put up a fight. He let go of me after a few minutes. I followed him out and into the car. When we got to the tarmac, there was a plane waiting. I followed him and got onto the place. I was terrified but didn't say a word. When the plane landed, another car was waiting. We got in and left. I saw the sign, Velisari. When the car stopped, we got out. It looked like a compound. He got out, and so did the security details. They pulled out five suitcases and walked in. He handed me a folder.
“I have no use for weak people. You’ll stay here and learn to become someone. It's all paid for. The director will give you your schedule. You do what Oris tells you to do. “That compound on the left,” he said, and I looked toward it. It was about fifteen feet high or more with barbed wire.
“You will be the only female let in. When you fall, you get back up. You don’t stay down,” he said in that same cold tone.
“Yes, Mr. Nikolai.”
I walked into the building and didn't turn around. He gave me a chance, and for that I was grateful. Yes, I was sold to him. I was the price of their loan, but he gave me a choice, and I would follow him wherever and obey his every command because I could never repay him for giving me my freedom.
When I walked into the room, the security details had just finished packing away everything. I stood in the room. There was a bed and a vanity with a mirror. Makeup and books stacked high on another desk. This was a school.
I heard a knock at the door; when I turned around, an older woman was standing there.
“Ms. Rhodes, I am Director Kasim. Mr. Ferro has already given me instructions,” he said.
I put on a brave front. “Hello, sir.”
“Hello. You will be earning your degrees in business, and you will learn domestic chores, etiquette, and foreign languages. These are your class schedules. You are in a room alone. These are the keys to your room. Cell phones aren't allowed; there are phones throughout the academy that you can use.” He said.
“Thank you.”
“Kindly follow me to the training ground,” he said. I followed him to the gate. A guard was standing there.
“Ms. Rhodes, Mr. Kasim,” he said, opening the gate. How did he know my name right away? I walked in with the director and stopped short. The space was huge. There was a huge tarmac in the middle of the yard. On the right and left there were small houses. On the other side under a shed, there were spheres, knives, and guns. Just where the hell did he send me?
A tall, strapping man walked over to us. “Ahh, Oris, Ms. Rhodes is here,” Mr. Kasim said.
“Ms. Rhodes, Mr. Ferro has already given his instructions. You are to be trained in hand-to-hand combat, martial arts, and how to wield a knife, a blade, and a spear. How to use a gun and disassemble and reassemble it,” he said, and I felt like I was being tossed into that basement again.
“Okay, Isla is okay; no need to call me Ms. Rhodes.”
“You’ll have one week to prepare yourself. Before training starts. And Isla, just remember, no one other than you knows what happens in this compound.” Oris said.
“And they won't," I replied.
When I got back to my room, I closed the door and stood there. On the desk was a brand-new laptop and a box on top of it. I opened the box; there was a note on top. "Noise-Canceling Headphones"