Chapter 9

Ellie

Gabriel settled me on his lap, gently drying me off with a towel. I was frozen, silent. My mind was consumed by the thought of my hair being cut.

After my time in the punishment block, it had taken forever for my hair to grow back. Everyone knew where I’d been. Only the punished kids had hair that short.

Most people steered clear of me, not wanting to be labeled a troublemaker. The only exception was Jackson.

My attention was pulled towards the door as it creaked open. Jasmine walked in.

I tensed up. She was the one who’d threatened to cut my hair.

I’d been so deep in my thoughts that I hadn’t noticed Gabriel’s eyes changing color. He must’ve communicated with her telepathically.

She entered, carrying some fresh clothes.

I squinted at her. Did they change their clothes every day too?

She flashed a smile at me.

“Don’t look so scared, pup. I just brought you some clean clothes. Once you’re dressed, I’ll take a look at your hair.”

Tears welled up in my eyes. I squeezed them shut, willing the tears not to spill over.

Then I felt her hand on my shoulder. I looked up.

“Ellie, I promise I won’t cut it any shorter than necessary,” she reassured me.

After Jasmine left the bathroom, Gabriel set me back on the floor. I was dry now, just needed to slip into the clothes Jasmine had brought.

Gabriel gave me a warm smile.

“Ready to get dressed, little pup?”

I scowled.

“I can dress myself. I may be small, but I’m not a child,” I retorted.

I wasn’t sure where this sudden courage had come from, but after the bath turned out to be just a bath, I started to believe that maybe Gabriel was telling the truth. That he wouldn’t hurt me.

Not like they had.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

“Not a child?” he echoed.

He held up a hand towel.

“Tell me, what color is this?” he asked.

I frowned, not understanding his point.

Gabriel tilted his head, “Alright, let’s try something else. If I have a box and put two apples in it, then add another two apples, how many apples will be in the box?”

I pouted and shrugged.

“You see, Ellie, you may not think you’re a child, but you are. Our pups know these things by the time they’re about five years old. So, to me, you are a child.”

I clenched my jaw, “A child doesn’t work twelve hours a day, breaking stones or hauling logs. Just because I don’t know stuff doesn’t make me a child.”

Gabriel stared at me for a moment.

“Just because they made you work doesn’t mean you’re not a child. But I’ll tell you what,” he started, “you tell me why you were so scared of a bath, and I’ll let you dress yourself. Deal?”

I stared at him, a lump forming in my throat. I couldn’t tell anyone. I hadn’t even told my brother.

I shook my head and looked down at the floor, needing to break the eye contact.

“Then I guess you’ll have to get used to being a child,” he replied.

He stood up and walked towards me. I wanted to resist him, but it was pointless. He was so much bigger than me. Bigger and stronger. Everyone was bigger and stronger.

That didn’t mean I would make it easy. I stood there, refusing to move, forcing him to wrestle me into the clothes.

Every now and then, he would let out a huff or a sigh.

The clothes he put on me were similar to what I had woken up in. Shorts and a T-shirt. They were a bit too big, which was slightly annoying, making me feel even smaller.

Once he was done, he held out his hand.

“Come on, pup. Let’s see what we can do with your hair.”

I glared at him and crossed my arms over my chest.

“No!” I protested.

He looked at me and shook his head.

“You’re going to have to learn to follow instructions or there will be consequences,” he warned.

Then he scooped me up and tucked me under his arm, carrying me by my waist.

I was scared I might fall. It seemed a long way down.

I quickly unfolded my arms and clung to his shirt.

Gabriel rolled his eyes and smirked. I clenched my jaw and glared at him.

Gabriel carried me into the kitchen without ceremony. As we entered, Jasmine was already there, armed with a pair of scissors.

She frowned, “What’s happening?” she asked, sounding slightly concerned.

Gabriel chuckled, “Our young pup here decided to test the boundaries.”

Jasmine smiled and raised her eyebrows.

“That was quick, all things considered,” she smirked.

Their conversation over my head only fueled my anger. Before I could say anything, Gabriel swiftly lifted me onto a stool next to a high table.

“Now sit still, pup. You don’t want to fall,” he ordered.

I looked down at the floor; it was very high. If I fell badly, I could hurt myself.

I was tempted to hold on to the edge of the seat, but before I could, Gabriel had spun the stool around so he was standing in front of me.

I quickly glanced over my shoulder to see Jasmine approaching from behind with the scissors.

I covered my head with my hands.

“No!” I screamed, “You can’t cut it off!”

If I had hoped that would stop her, I was wrong. I realized now that what I wanted didn’t matter. Like the men in the punishment block, they were bigger and stronger.

I could never win.

I realized that when Gabriel grabbed my arms and held them to my sides so I couldn’t move. I was tempted to shake my head, but I wasn’t stupid. I would only end up getting hurt.

Despite what Gabriel had said, I didn’t believe them that they wouldn’t hurt me. Not anymore.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I listened to the snip-snip of the scissors. I watched helplessly as large chunks of my long hair fell to the floor.

I tried to wrestle my arms free from Gabriel’s grip, but he held me tight.

I couldn’t tell how long Jasmine’s haircut lasted. It felt like forever, but it probably wasn’t that long.

Finally, she stopped snipping with the scissors, and she tousled my hair. Then she walked across to the other side of the kitchen and picked up a mirror.

“Look at you, Ellie. It’s not so bad, right?” Jasmine said cheerfully.

I looked at my reflection. She had promised she wouldn’t cut it too short. But she had. It was so short it made me look like a boy.

I glared at her.

“You promised,” I sobbed, “you cut it all off, I hate you. I hate all of you,” I screamed as tears streamed down my face.

Gabriel released my hands. As soon as he did, I clenched them into a fist and tried to punch him.

His chest was solid, my fist didn’t make a dent.

Jasmine looked shocked. Maybe they thought I was weak and pathetic. I might have been, but not when I was angry.

Before I could hit him again, he grabbed my wrists and lifted me off the stool so I was standing on the kitchen floor. He looked furious.

“You were warned about consequences, pup,” he growled as he practically dragged me into the living room.”

I panicked and tried to pull away.

“Let go of me!” I screamed.

Once he had dragged me into the living room, he took me to one of the corners.

“Kneel,” he growled, pushing me to my knees, “hands on your head, you can stay there for five minutes. Think about your actions.”

I started to shake, my breaths coming in short gasps as my heart pounded. All I could see in front of me were the stone walls of the punishment block.

“S...Sorry,” I stuttered over and over, in between gasps.

^~FLASHBACK~^

After nearly drowning, I had been taken to a small cell. Just big enough for a thin mattress. They’d thrown me on it and left me.

I must have slept because I woke to the sound of the door opening. Two large guards smirked at me, then dragged me from the mattress and down a long corridor.

I wasn’t really aware of my surroundings. Everything still seemed unreal. A nightmare. But it wasn’t. It was real.

They dragged me into a room, then I saw him again. He was the one in charge.

“Well little rebel, time to teach you that disobedience isn’t an option,” he smirked.

The two guards dragged me to the center of the room and forced me to kneel.

“Hands on your head,” one of them growled.

I immediately obeyed. After being hit in the face, and nearly drowned, I knew better than to resist.

I knelt on the hard floor, my whole body trembling. Not knowing what was to come.

Then he came and stood in front of me.

“Do you know what this is?” He smirked.

I nodded. They hadn’t taught us much, but they had taught us about the consequences of breaking the rules. They’d shown us a whip. I’d seen another girl in the showers once.

She’d been punished. I saw the scars on her back.

He walked behind me, then gently let the whip stroke my bare skin. I arched my back. Then the sensation was gone.

Then I heard a loud crack, and he flicked the whip back on itself in the air.

I whimpered, and felt fluid dribble down the inside of my leg, pooling on the hard ground.

I heard him laugh. A cruel, humorless laugh.

“Poor little Rebel,” he smirked, “she’s wet herself.”

I heard the other guards laugh.

Then I heard a swish.

I screamed as pain engulfed my back, I felt something wet on my back, trickling down.

Then I realized it was blood.

I heard the whip crack in the air again. I couldn’t help but flinch and whimper.

Then I felt his hand touch my shoulder.

“Each strike you apologize, say sorry, do you understand, rebel?” he hissed.

I nodded, “y...yes s...sir. S...sorry,” I croaked, my throat still sore from coughing up the bathwater.

I heard the swish through the air again, I screamed again as it struck, my back on fire, barely able to mouth the words I had been ordered to say.

^~END OF FLASHBACK~^