Chapter 9-Behind closed Doors[Game of Thrones]

Chapter 9: Behind Closed Doors
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The meeting was over. It was finally over. And now, I felt I was in a much worse predicament than I was before the meeting. Maybe I shouldn't have wanted it to come so badly. It hardly cleared up my questions, and instead, it gave me some cruel and unusual work. The universe is really against me, isn't it?
"Well, come on, let's go inside," Akin called to me, already halfway to the door.
"Sure… Just a second…"
I stepped idly along the rose-lined path back into the mansion, glad to finally be able to see it from the outside. It was really... spectacular. The walls were flat and painted a simple, but perfect Chantilly cream white. Long, narrow glass windows clear as water were stacked row upon row with thick, purple drapes over each, smothering light from the outside world. The low, flat auburn rooftop carried some chipping bricks that were crumbling onto the grass below. I surveyed my eyes over the greenery and spotted small chips of brown. Was this place that old? But it still looked classic and beautiful, like an old, Italian villa—the kind the nobles would have. I caught my jaw at my chest and pushed it back up.
Then, from the corner of my vision, I spied an oddity—a window that seemed out of place from the elegant simplicity of the mansion. At the corner furthest from me, there was glass stained with all sorts of vibrant neon colors, bright and reflective and shimmery like a church window. The fact that it was separate from the rest and so dissimilar… It must've been the Queen's room.
"Alice!"
That whine swayed me from my thoughts and seized my attention.
"Yes, Akin?"
"Come on, let's go! Everyone's already inside!"
I nodded and followed after him, stepping through the door and standing back behind mansion walls. There was the dark, unwelcoming interior I remembered! Truly, from the outside, no one would know what kind of sick things and sick people there were in here. It was true. The world was always different behind closed doors.
I gasped sharply.
"N-No…"
"Huh?" Akin turned back at my grimacing face. A surge of sharp pain had rushed through my head and weakened my stance. I groaned, clutching at my temples, and practically tipped over until Akin took me in his protective arms.
"It…"
"What happened, Alice? Alice!" Akin pulled me to my feet and held my body close to his chest. I trembled, eyes shut tight and whimpering like a lost puppy. The pain wouldn't go away. It felt like a compactor was unrelentingly driving itself down onto my head. I was about to explode. I dug my fingers into his soft, cotton shirt and practically tore it to shreds trying to stop the pain, but nothing happened. It was just darkness and agony.
"Stop…" I whispered, feeling the strength of my convulsions cause Akin to stagger.
"Alice! Alice!"
My head crunched. As the pain escalated, I screamed into his chest and felt my tears suddenly pouring down my cheeks and soaking through his shirt. The sinewy threads of his shirt began unweaving under my fingers. It hurt so badly… I just wanted it to stop. Anything to make it stop… If it continued, my body would certainly split in two.
Then, suddenly, a flash of blinding white light came. There were voices… Loud, resonating voices. And a faint image in my tightened eyes. A girl with soft, blonde hair…
"Stop, stop!"
The voice… It didn't sound quite like mine, but…
"You stay away from her!"
It was soft. It was safe.
"Do whatever you want to me, but don't touch her!"
The pain was beginning to subside.
"You Naughty Lady! I told you to move already!"

I could feel Akins’s arms tighten around me.
"Stop! Don't! Don't!"
My tears slowed.
"Get away!"

There was suddenly a bright flash of red over my eyes and then, everything stopped. The pain had disappeared and my tears had dried, almost like… Like none of it even happened. Akin frantically pushed me back a little and stared into my bloodshot, sea blue eyes.
"What happened?" he asked, his voice not much above a soft whimper.
"I… I don't know…" I mumbled back.
"Are you okay?"
"Y-Yes…"
He quickly yanked me back into his arms and squeezed me like I was a stuffed animal. For a moment, I nuzzled my face against his damp chest and sighed. What the hell was that? It definitely wasn't normal… I wasn't one to suffer from migraines, but that thing was looking migraine in the rear view mirror. It was a sort of unimaginable pain… The kind that could be described to you, but that you'd never really understand until you felt it. It just shut down all my senses and overrode them with pure, writhing agony.
"Alice? Are you alright now?"
"Yes," I whispered, pulling out of his arms weakly. I glanced over his panicked visage and then down at his chest. "I'm sorry. I messed up your shirt."
"That's not important!"
I cracked a small smile and stumbled my way to the closest door. Seeing my struggle, Akin swiftly rushed to my side and seized my arms with his rough hands.
"Let me walk you up."
I nodded and whispered a small word of thanks as he led me back up the stairs and to my room. Standing at the threshold and leaning against the door frame, I looked up at Akin with my glassy, bloodstained eyes.
"You can go, okay?"
"But Alice…"
"Just relax. Let me rest a little."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! Just go take a nap or something, okay?"
He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, shutting his eyes and sticking his chin up at me indignantly. "No. If you want me to sleep, I'll have to sleep here with you!"
"What's your obsession with sleeping next to me?" I asked, rolling my eyes wearily.
"I never said sleeping next to you. I said sleeping with you," he clarified.
I gulped a flush of carnation pink rising to my cheekbones. "W-What… does that mean?"
A smirk danced on his smooth lips as he took my chin between his fingers and leaned in close—so close I could feel his breath tickling my delicate skin. "You'll see," he whispered softly.

"G-Get out of here. I sleep alone."
"You should break that habit." He grinned cheekily as I balled up my fist, dug it into his cheek, and shoved his face away from mine.
"It's not a habit. It's a code I live by." Grumbling, I unfurled my hand and rested it against my side. "Thanks for helping me back there. And I guess… Good night."
"You'll really be okay?"
"Yes!" I yelled, breaking into a small smile. "Don't worry about it, okay? I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"Okay…" he muttered reluctantly, "Good night, Alice."

With a wave of his hand, he stepped sprightly to his bedroom a few feet down the hall. Sighing, I entered my bedroom and shut the door behind me. My eyes immediately locked onto the bed and decided it as my next destination. Crashing onto the mattress and hugging the pillow close to my body, I shuddered as I recalled what happened. That pain… It was like someone plugged a bullet into my head, and I lived through it just to

feel the torture.
It was unforgettable, frightening. But there was nothing I could do now. It was done and over with. I just prayed it wouldn't happen again.

I rolled over onto my back and glanced over at the large window to my left. Though the same purple curtain was draped over it, I could still see the slight rays of warm sunlight peeking through the sheer fabric. It was still bright out, much too early to be sleeping; it couldn't have been later than 5:00 p.m., but after that whole incident… I was exhausted and sore. I needed to regain energy with a good power nap.

So, I did. I gently lay my head on the cold pillow beside me and clutched onto the cotton, shutting my eyes and quickly drifting off to a deep, forgiving sleep.

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Morning came quickly. Too quickly.
Even through my dense state of dreamless slumber, I sensed the oncoming invasion. There was a barrage of voices pounding at my ears and encroaching in my mind, subconsciously stirring my body into small, twitching movements. I gradually flit my eyes open and brought my hands up to break away the thin layer of crust that had formed during the night. My hazy vision produced two indistinct figures—one the silhouette of a man and the other a woman. Then, suddenly, the voices came again and struck me like a bat against a baseball.

"Alice, wake up!" the male voice whined. That was definitely Akin.
"Come on, I want to get you ready for your first day!" the girl shouted, giggling. That shrill, bubbly tone certainly belonged to Eri.

Moaning, I rolled over in my bed, spotted a small clock on the bedside table, and squinted to make out the time. I wanted to punch them. What the hell were they doing, waking me this early? It was barely 4:00 a.m. They were sweet, but if they touched me right now, I'd bite their hands off in a heartbeat.

"Alice!" Eri screeched, reaching down to touch my arm. I immediately shirked away to ensure she didn't lose her hand and glared up at them.

"Piss off. Both of you."

"But Alice…" Akin whimpered.
"I said piss off," I hissed more menacingly.
"She's grumpy when she wakes up, isn't she?" Eri giggled.
"Shut up. Don't talk about me like I'm not here. You want to do that? Go somewhere else!" I screamed at them, pulling the covers over my head and shutting my eyes again.
"Maybe we should leave…" Akin whispered softly, "And wake her up later. She doesn't need to come out yet."
"No, I want to do it now!"
"Listen to Akin and get the hell out of my room!" I shouted in a muffled voice under the pillow.
"You mean your storage closet?" Eri added teasingly.
"Yes! Get out of my damn storage closet and go back to bed!" The sun wasn't even up yet. Why did Eri need me now?
"Come on, come on!"
"Ah, wait—" Akin started, but it was too late. Eri seized my arm through the blanket and dragged me down to the floor.

Thump.
I crashed onto the carpet and, fed up with this, furiously kicked away my white comforter and slammed my heels into the ground.
Fine! Damn it, fine! I'll get up already!" I groaned, curling my body up and dragging myself away from the bed. Eri laughed again as though she were pleased with her success. Then, before Akin led us completely out of the room, I lifted the counter from its blood red box, threw it over my neck, and took a final peek at my bed. I whimpered. I would miss her. I already missed her. But then, the door shut behind us, and she was gone.

"Um… Good morning, Alice," Akin said cautiously.
"Good morning," I snapped back sarcastically.
"Come on, don't be so grouchy!" Eri shouted, hopping around the hallway like the little ball of sunshine she was.
"How can I not be grouchy? It's not even 4 a.m., dammit."
"Just stop complaining! We've had to wake up way earlier than this to go out! You're lucky," she argued stubbornly.

Practically growling through my teeth, I crossed my arms over my chest and followed them blindly to another room in the house. The door slowly creaked open, and I was… appalled. The walls were a soft, sunshine yellow with a grand queen sized bed situated horizontally across the center of the room. There were white curtains cascading over the maroon frame that rose high above the mattress, much like the bed of a princess. There was a creamy white desk adorned with nothing but a few picture frames and vases upon vases of blossoms and roses, all varying shades of pink. She had a grand sliding door at the back that led out to a small balcony. (Damn, I wanted a balcony!) And lastly, my eyes caught sight of the enormous self-portrait at the leftmost wall, indicating the room was Eri's—although I was sure I could've figured that out just with all the warm colors around. She really was a little ball of sunshine and happiness… It made me grateful to have my storage closet of a room. Simple and blue—nothing like this mush of blinding color. But, it suited her personality, so I guess I could tolerate it.

"Come on in!" she instructed excitedly.

We obeyed and made ourselves comfortable in her bedroom. Immediately, Eri slid aside a large mirror to reveal a massive walk-in closet and immediately shuffled through her unreasonably boundless selection of clothing. I propped myself up on the edge of her bed and sighed, prying my fingers into the cold metal railing beside me. Akin stood directly in front of me, standing and staring me down like I was his prey.

"What?" I asked wearily.
"Are you feeling better?"

I assumed he was referring to yesterday's incident and nodded. His shoulders loosened a bit and he smiled, relieved.

"I can't find it!" Eri cried from behind her closet doors.
"What?" I called out.

I had a super cute dress for you to wear, but it's gone!" she whimpered pathetically, stepping out from her personal shopping center and coming back to us. I rolled my eyes.
"What do I need a dress for?"
"Well, look at you. You're going out in… Well, that."
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

I looked down at the black leggings I'd retrieved from my dresser drawer and black jacket Akin had lent me. I was sleeping in that? I sighed. I must've forgotten to return his jacket, so in the spur of the moment, I tossed it over my head and handed it back to him. Now, I had the simple jade tee and could only hope she'd let it go. I didn't need to be dressed up like a doll.

"There, better?"
"Alice!" she exclaimed in a panic. "What happened to you?"
"What?"

I followed her gaze and in a flurry, slapped my hands to my arms and winced in pain. The silly bruises and lacerations were visible, clear as day on my skin and now, I'd inadvertently let Eri in on the "secret." God, I was such an ; that was the point of the jacket—to hide the injuries! I didn't even know where the hell these came from, but everyone was finding out about them!

"Great…" I grumbled, shifting my eyes to their corners to avert Akin and Eri's prying gazes.
"What happened?" she screeched unpleasantly.
"I don't know. They were here when I woke up a couple days ago."
"Well, we've got to treat you right now!" Eri pivoted her head around as she attempted to recall the location of her first aid kit. She then noticed Akins’s remarkably tranquil attitude. "Why aren't you doing anything? Help me look already!"
"It's fine. They're already healing. Nothing's going to happen if you try treating it now."
Eri bore her teeth at him. "Why are you just standing there though? Why aren't you more worried about her?"
"He already knew," I explained for his defense.
"Y-You… knew? Why didn't you do anything about it earlier?" she screamed.
"I just found out yesterday! There was nothing I could do!"
"You could've—"
"We had to go to the meeting, okay? And then I came up and went to sleep. It's not his fault," I whispered reassuringly. "I'm fine, so don't worry about it."
"But Alice…" she protested weakly.
"Come on, I'm fine. Besides, you guys just met me. What're you so worried about?"
"Didn't I already explain that to you?" Akin slipped in slyly, smirking down at me with his hands resting behind his neck.

I did my best to suppress the blood flow to my cheeks, if that was even possible. As an outsider, as a person, and as a girl, you interest me. I held my breath for a moment to slow my rapidly increasing heartbeat and brushed off the statement coolly. "Well, you guys have no need to worry. I can handle myself."

"I don't think so," a voice spoke from a short distance away, ringing even colder than the early morning chill.
I immediately shot my eyes towards the source of the voice, and standing in the threshold of Eri's bedroom door…
God, really?
What the hell?