A Fairy Tale for Big Girls – 11. chapter

Mark said nothing. He only breathed hard. Lili closed the door, moved a little farther away, and remained standing.

What was happening? ran through her mind. Why hadn’t Sara said she hadn’t done it? What were they all afraid of? …what would happen if I told him the truth? He would probably punish Elena… Badly? He was frightening… But so what, she would survive two weeks in solitary. Elena definitely deserved it more than Sara.

“It wasn’t Sara,” Lili said resolutely.

He turned his head just a little, and his breathing slowed.

“It was Elena,” she finished.

Again, he clenched his hands into fists and began to turn toward her very slowly. She couldn’t swallow the tight knot in her throat. He looked at her with such fury that she had to fight the urge to step back. She only watched him as he walked to her. When he reached her, he took her wrist. Firmly, but not roughly. It didn’t hurt.

Then he opened the door and pulled her with him. She barely managed to keep up. He was clearly heading toward the eastern wing. She had never been there, like most inhabitants of the castle. Aside from the ladies, only selected servants and guards were allowed inside. They passed through a corridor and entered a large chamber. There were far more women there than she ever saw at breakfast. All of them looked relaxed, playing games, talking, some lying down.

The moment they saw Mark, they all stood at once. He released Lili and stepped a few paces forward. He said something to a guard who had rushed over. The man disappeared.

“Elena!” Mark roared into the room.

The woman hurried toward him almost at once from somewhere.

“Yes, my lord,” she bowed.

“Who pushed Lili to the ground?” His voice was hard, but he was not shouting.

“You were close by. You must know.”

Elena met his eyes and answered without blinking.

“Sara, my lord.”

From behind, Lili saw Mark’s shoulders lift and his fists tighten, but he said nothing. She turned her head toward the man dragging Sara by the shoulder. She could not fail to notice that the girl had been crying and could not take her frightened eyes off Mark. The guard shoved her roughly in front of the ruler and vanished.

Sara stood beside Elena and bowed deeply.

“Your Grace.”

“Rise!”

When she did, Mark looked hard into her eyes.

“Did you shove Lili?”

She hesitated, her gaze flicking toward Elena. Elena watched her intently. Strictly. The girl was thinking, looking desperate.

“…No, Your Majesty,” the answer finally came. Her voice made it clear she was swallowing tears.

“Why didn’t you say so?”

Confused, the girl’s gaze moved from him to Lili behind him, then back to him and down to the floor.

“…Your Grace didn’t ask,” she whispered.

He had to admit that.

“Who did it?”

The girl’s pupils widened. If the room had been silent before, now most of them did not seem to be breathing at all.

Lili stood frozen like the others, watching everything closely, aware of fear creeping into her. She didn’t know what she feared, but the fear and reverence on every face she saw clung to her too.

What will Mark do? What do these women know that I don’t?

Tears welled in Sara’s eyes.

“…Elena,” she finally forced out.

“YOU…!!!” Elena shrieked, but didn’t finish.

Lili understood without seeing it. Mark must have frozen her with a look.

“It was an accident, my lord!” Elena cried. “I swear, I’m not to blame! She tripped! It wasn’t…”

“Shut up!” Mark roared, making Lili jump. The terror on Elena’s face hinted at how much rage there was in Mark’s. He was clenching his fists.

“I have already given punishment for pushing Lili. I will not change it,” his voice was mercilessly hard. “But you lied to me. And you all know I don’t tolerate lies.”

Elena went pale.

“You’ll get ten lashes of the whip. And I’ll take care of it myself, right now,” he pronounced the sentence.

Lili’s terrified scream cut through the chamber. She covered her mouth with both hands at once.

Mark did not move. He refused to take her into account. If it were up to her, she would forgive everyone everything. But no one would lay a hand on her, and whoever tried would have trouble with him. He did not need Lili’s consent for that. She would obediently obey and endure his judgments.

“Mercy, my lord!!” Elena screamed as two guards appeared. One carried something like a table. Another seized her. She screamed and fought so fiercely that two more rushed to help. Mark watched it all without moving.

Lili felt as though she were trapped in a nightmare.

Please, God, no. I only fell. Nothing happened. Don’t hurt someone because of me. Please don’t show me that you can whip a woman.

She stared at Mark’s back. His shoulders. Those shoulders she knew so well.

He didn’t turn even toward the servant who handed him the coiled whip. He only held out his hand and waited for her to place it in his palm.

That warm, gentle hand that stroked her through whole nights. That same hand now held a whip.

The guards bound Elena bent forward, belly down, tying her hands and feet. They did not strip her completely, only enough to bare her backside. Mark gripped the handle of the whip, and it uncoiled onto the floor. Elena begged and kept lying. Then Mark drew back his arm. Lili grew dizzy.

The first strike whistled through the air and instantly left a dark purple line across Elena’s backside. Her own scream stopped her words. The second strike crossed the purple mark and split the skin. Lili saw a thin line of blood. The third. Elena screamed, and Mark waited for the cry to fade. The fourth strike, a scream, pleading for mercy. The fifth, sixth, and seventh came in quick succession. Shades of purple were covered by drops of blood. Elena was screaming without pause now. Eight. Nine. Ten. Elena stopped moving. She only cried and whimpered from the pain.

“Perhaps this will be enough of a reminder for all of you,” Mark said, “of how I punish lies!”

He dropped the whip to the floor and turned to leave. After a few steps, he caught Lili’s gaze, full of dread and endless horror. For a fraction of a second, he froze, but then continued firmly on his way out.

Lili couldn’t move. She stood as if scalded. After a moment, she felt a nudge and only dimly, as if in a dream, registered Sara.

“Go after him,” the girl whispered.

Lili could barely turn. She swayed and started forward, slowly at first, then broke into a run and followed him all the way back to his chamber.