Lillian was staring out the peep hole that she had made in the window blinds to spy on the commotion down below. From where her cell was located, she could see the overly lit driveway that went on for miles and all the important people exiting their vehicles, conversating amongst each other as they headed down the red carpet that covered the (admittedly) gorgeous marble path that lead to the gianormous snow white doors that would dump them into the atrium where he would be waiting.
Lillian had to admit that Talion knew how to make people feel special.
Small, or big. Man, or woman. He somehow always knew what they wanted, what they were thinking, and what to say to get what he wanted from them, but just like anyone else with that much power and influence, he had a chink in his armor. He hated ugly people.
Not only did he hate them, but he also hunted them for sport with some of his rich, beautiful friends. He only associates with the beautiful, and that was a quote directly from him. They were always beautiful, some were even stunning, or drop dead gorgeous. They were also stupid rich, and they were all currently marching towards his house, accompanied by their presents, their lies, and their agendas.
Sebastian had allowed her to lift up the window just a smidgen and the sound of a nasty growl had pulled her attention to one of the newly arrived groups. Somebody had brought two aggressive looking tigers.
Lillian had become used to the absurd gifts that the rich brought to these dinners, but even after six years of this, she had found that the more normal gifts were always the most interesting.
"What will Talion do with the tigers? He already has the dogs." She asked, still looking out her peep hole.
When no response came, she finally let go of the blinds and faced her butler Sebastian, who was reading that same stupid book that he was always reading. "Beyond Solaris: Journey To The Blue Planet."
"You know that book inside and out. There's no way you don't." She said as she tried her best to glide across the room like Sebastian had been beating into her for the last week, in her long flowing swan white dress, with matching heels that Talion had picked out for her.
"It makes you look more mature." She shivered at the thought of Talions look of hunger after he had first seen her in the dress. She had been afraid that his diminishing restraint over the years had finally run its course, and he was going to take what he thought was his. He didn't thankfully, and he hadn't done anything too bad to her yet just pinning her to a bed or a wall, and getting all up and close until his breath was on her cheek, and he'd whisper things dark, disgusting things into her ear. Things that he wanted to do to her. Things that she pretended not to be afraid of, but she had cried herself to sleep every night that past week, and her appetite was shot. Even now, with the promise of all kinds of exquisite fish, beef, and other foods, her stomach was threatening a coup that she couldn't afford. She was already nervous about what she had to do later, and seeing as Talion wasn't the type to be satisfied with anything but perfection, she couldn't see how vomiting all over his rich friends during a twirl would turn out positive in her favor.
He turned the page and didn't even bother to look up before saying. "That dress makes you look malnourished. You should've used those wicked powers of persuasion of yours to have had the master buy you something that doesn't make your skin look like melted candle wax."
She swiped at the book, wanting to punish that egregious mouth of his, but with speed belonging to a trained soldier, he avoided her attempts with ease.
"Uck, you're so freaking annoying." She exclaimed, giving up on the book. She walked over to the standing mirror on the other side of her bed and checked herself out in it.
Lillian wasn't just white. She was, burn in the sun if exposed for longer than a minute, white, but this dress was something else. Not even her skin matched it. It wasn't as bad as that jerk Sebastian was trying to lead her to believe, but now...
He sighed dramatically and loudly before locking eyes with her in the mirror. "Don't start freaking out on me. You look... nice, I guess."
She rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself. You're stupid, and incorrect jokes aren't enough to shake my confidence. Actually, I've already forgotten what you said, so... There, you ready?" She said, stomping towards the door.
"You're such a child." He yawned, opening the door for her, and then fell into line beside her purposely, slowing his pace to match her own.
She scoffed and stared daggers into his stupid smirking face. "Oh right, I'm the child. Have you met you? You're always one second away from making an inappropriate comment, like a child."
He met her wrath with cold arrogance, smiling smugly at her. "Maybe you're just too easy to provoke."
"Bite me."
"I'd do anything for the health and well- being of my mistress." He mocked.
The sounds of people grew near as they turned a corner into another empty corridor. The mansion was lit up like the tree they have on tv on Christmas day, and yet it's large, decorated halls felt as lonely as ever.
She had walked on the unnervingly soft brown bear rug carpet that ran throughout the fifth floor of the mansion, only a handful of times. Talion didn't like for her to leave the room if not ordered to by him, but sometimes when he was away for business, and with the right guard on duty, she was able to convince Sebastian to convince the guard to let her out on the floor for a few minutes, and even though she knew that it meant nothing. It was the little moments just like that one that had been slowing her deteriorating state of mind and allowed for the small air bubble of hope that she had hidden deep in the back of her heart.
The entire floor was completely void of any personality besides the rug however. The walls were all painted white, no pictures had been hung, and there were only one two doors on the entire floor. One was the door at the end of this hall that Lillian had been calling the inescapable door, and the other one belonged to her room.
"The inescapable door" was designed for the specific purpose of keeping her locked away. It had a Retinal scanner, it was key activated, and you needed a thumb print from Talion, two different passwords, one being vocal, (the other not) and all of that was just to open the door. The door opened up to an elevator that only goes to floor four, and that entire floor was filled to the brink with his guards, and inside the elevator there were four cameras, giving zero blind spots, and the cameras were monitored, and the elevator only went anywhere if whoever was in the control center gave the ok.
Sebastian threw out his arm to stop Lillian's advance. The guard on duty today was the same sadistic bastard who locks himself in her room any time he was on duty, which was conveniently always whenever Sebastian wasn't. He would say such evil things just to humiliate her, to hurt her... to break her.
He smiled. "You look stunning, my lady. Did the master pick that out for you?"
Lillian's blood heated, but before she could find the words, Sebastian spoke. "A little less gawking a little more doing your job like the trained monkey you are Baxter."
Lillian let out a dark laugh. Baxter smiled darkly and turned his attention on Sebastian.
"I'd be careful if I were you butler. The hallways around here get dark, and people sometimes... go poof! But you should already know that. You've been here longer than anybody."
"Oh, I thought I told you to do your job, but I must've not been clear."
They stood there staring for a moment, neither willing to back down, and Lillian thought that neither would, but finally Baxter backed off.
"Okay." He walked over to the door and started the process of opening it.
Sebastian smiled smugly and opened his book back up, but before he began to read, he said. "See that, the guard dog knows his place."
Lillian didn't try to fight her amusement as she followed Sebastian into the now open elevator and passed Baxter, who was smiling so tight that his skin looked as if it would split. He'd make her pay for this, probably spew a bunch of crap about how she was nothing more than a gutter whore, or how pathetic she was, or this or that, but it didn't matter right now, and if she got anything from today's party, that look on his face would be gift enough.
******
"I hear that the soldiers your brother sent to crush the unrest in Figor have come back without the desired results. Now, I'm not insinuating that the soldiers he employs are not some of the best money could buy, but I've got connections in..." Arrogant, corrupt, rich, politician number... lost track of the count, dragged on trying to impress the extravagantly dressed Talion Atriuem.
The lengthy Fae Prince was easily the standout of the party, even at his ripe old age of over 300 (His exact age is unknown). The velvet red suit he wore hugged his lean body just right, and his grey tie held multiple medium-sized black diamonds. His smile was both inviting and yet somehow also said to make way. He looked young and healthy, but his eyes spoke of ancient secrets and dark ambitions.
That thought was the same as when they had first met, and of course, just like the cliché cartoon villain he is, he has continued to live up to the stereotype without fail. However, Lillian had discovered a few of his little secrets during her stay here.
Talion looked his nose down at the man who stopped mid sentence. Talions large stature and imposing demeanor, always made people shut up whenever he gave them too much attention. She had yet to see him ever need to verbally tell somebody to be quiet. He holds all the power in the conversations he participates in, and if he didn't before he entered the conversation, he definitely does by the end.
"Are you calling my brother incompetent of picking his own men?" Every word surged with a non magical kind of power. His voice was icey, cold, and rough, but he articulated himself better than anybody around.
"No, urm, I'm sorry," the man nervously chuckled, and Lillian couldn't help but feel bad for the guy, "I would never do something like that I just..."
Talion lifted up a hand, and the man fell silent, and so did everybody else in the party as they watched like vultures to see the man's fate.
How disgusting, and yet Lillian found herself hanging in suspense right there with them, hoping that a complete stranger was punished like an animal.
How disgusting.
They were outside in the courtyard at the back of the mansion. The moon was out, but it wasn't late. The sunset was at 4 pm today, which was normal only for this specific place on all of Solaris. At least, that's what Talion had told her. It had something to do with a spell placed on the area by an ancient witch that had tried to "turn off the world's color" whatever that meant. It had apparently almost worked, and Talion's great grandfather had been a part of the group that killed her and put a stop to it, but she was a powerful witch and the damage of her spells were not completely reversible. NightFall and The Bleeding Sea are apparently the last two places in the world with any influence left over from the spells, but they aren't the only places still affected by the witch. Even in death, she has many followers spread all throughout Solaris, and they even have a church dedicated to her, like some kind of deity. There was the Pumi desert...
Talion smiled, apparently satisfied with the atmosphere, and finally broke the silence. "I'm just messing with you! Go on, drink, and chat, have some fun everyone, this is a party, not a funeral, after all, lighten up everyone!"
And as if on queue, the string quartet began playing, and people began laughing and cheering. The mood had changed so fast that Lillian had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things.. She wasn't. Even the guy who was the center of all of the attention was relaxed and smiling.
Were they really this... blind? Or were they intentionally being dim? Everybody went back to having a good time and partying except for Lillian, who, after doing better than she expected on the new dance Talion had forced her to perform, and suffering through a few compliments and a brief conversation with a female leopard shifter, Laura Brook, who was apparently a famous actress that one of these perverted old men were... Lillian made an excuse to leave early and was escorted back to her room by Sebastian in silence.
Sebastian stopped at the foot of her doorway as she entered. Worry leaked from every pore in his body, and he was obviously biting his tongue... Hard.
He knew just as she did what would happen later. Not much later. Just after all the people downstairs went home, and when the cleaning crew started doing their jobs. Maybe it would happen when she was asleep, or maybe the anxiety pumping in her system would make it so she'd be awake for the start.
When it was going to happen, she didn't know, but what she did know was just because Talion didn't explode in public. Didn't mean he was going to explode, and Lillian would be his target.
She mustered up a small sad smile for Sebastian and slowly began to shut the door.
He tensed up, and she could see the war raging in his eyes, but she also knew he was loyal to a fault, and as the door inched closer and closer until... click.
He didn't stop her. She pressed her ear to the door lightly and listened for his retreating footsteps until she could no longer hear them.
She let her body sag to the ground and made herself as small as possible before she began quietly sobbing and praying to Zedith to protect her from what was coming.