Run VII

Aaron took her to a lounge a few hallways away and told her to wait there. The lounge was beautiful. It had four sets of cream colored sofas, two long ones on opposite sides of each other and two smaller ones on the other ends. There was a rectangle glass coffee table in the center. The back was not a wall but an open panel of windows. A total of five live plants were spread out by the windows. To the left and right side of the walls were a set of double wooden doors with eccentric designs. It must lead to either someone's bedroom or their office. On the side where she came in had several paintings of a family. About mid-way through from looking at the paintings, the little boy soon looked familiar. She couldn't put her finger on it but she felt like she had seen him before. Each painting from the left to the right were old to new. She stopped at the last one and stared at the painting. It's the Boss! He looked much gentler then, kind and fun. She nearly couldn't recognize him! She looked at the previous ones and compared them. He really has changed. He was happy in each painting.

'What happened to him for him to change from this fun kid to a mean adult?' May couldn't help but pity the boy.

"Fascinated by the portraits, I see." A voice behind her filled the silent room. May was startled and turned to see the boss walking towards her. "Time flies. I used to know this kid. He's gone now." His eyes were full of sadness and regret.

"What happened?" She asked looking back at the portraits.

"Life is what happened," he responded while looking at the last painting.

A moment of silence filled the air as May didn't know what else to ask, knowing the rich life is hard. As she looked back and forth between the portrait of this young boy and the now adult in front of her, she could see that he hasn't aged much.

"How old were you when this was painted?" She finally asked.

He bent down towards her and took a step forward. "Interested in me, are you?" The corner of his lips turned up into a malicious smirk.

"No, I'm not." May took a few steps back to get out of his reach but ended up hitting the wall instead. "But it just seems like either this was painted a few years ago or you haven't really aged since your teens." He closed in on her.

"You're a curious one, aren't you? I was 18. It's been seven years and I still look the same. Have you fallen for my looks?" He lifted her chin and turned it back towards him as she turned her head to the right to look away and find an excuse to leave. "Hmm?"

His face was getting closer and closer to hers. May's heart was beating really fast. Who wouldn't fall for someone this handsome and this rich? She knew she was excluded from this list as she was becoming more and more scared of what he'll do to her if she angered him. But she just couldn't help thinking if her beating heart was really because she was scared, or was it due to his charming looks?

"Curious, yes, falling for you, no. Not in this lifetime, sir." She looked him in the eye and said sternly, but her heart wouldn't stop beating fast. If he leaned just a bit closer, he could hear how rapidly it was thumping. "I'm sorry to disappoint you but I must leave. I don't belong in this kind of place," May said as she slowly started sinking further down the wall as both his arms came up to her face. He leaned his arms against the wall and pressed his forehead against hers in an attempt to stop her from sinking further. She looked away in shock and embarrassment. Her hands pressed firmly against his chest.

"A tough woman, just how I like it."

May froze in panic, not a single word or breath came out of her mouth. Her face flushed as she could feel his warmth. Her mind started running millions of thoughts of what was happening and how to get out of there. She gave a push to his chest but that didn't do anything. Either his forehead adsorbed most of her strength or he got increasingly heavier. She didn't have time to think which was the right answer. All she knew was that this was becoming a dangerous situation. She tried to slide down and break free from his head but he was putting a firm pressure against hers, making her head scrape the wall in pain each time she moved. It didn't help that her hair was still quite damp.

"Let go, please, sir," she said shakily.

"No, I like this spot," He softly said as he lowered his face to be parallel to hers.

May's heart beat faster and faster as each second passed. Her face was no longer flushed but red as a tomato. She avoided all eye contact but could feel his stare. Her body started to shake as she was losing energy to fight against him. In a moment of thoughts to do, her shaky right leg suddenly swung up between them and, given just enough space and force, kicked him hard in the stomach to push him back a few steps. She fell down immediately once the pressure on her forehead was lifted. She landed with a thud and with a sudden chill all around her, she was reminded that her clothes are damp and cold. Weak everywhere, she stayed where she was at trying to gather strength. Never before has anyone done this to her. She was quite shocked.

"That leg of yours sure loves to kick. Maybe I should teach it a lesson." He said as he got himself steady. He straightened himself and walked over. May looked up at him. His cold face returned. Her heart sank as she imagined the worst to happen next.

"Why didn't you wear any of the dresses I picked out for you?" He asked.

A bit taken aback at the question of all things, she answered, "I don't like dresses. If you've dug up my background and history, you should've known that in the past 22 years of my life, I have never bought a dress for myself." She could feel her strength coming back but continued to stay on the ground and only shifted herself to have a better defending position.

"It doesn't matter if you like dresses or not. You are to wear what I have given you. You should feel special to have me pick those outfits. I don't do it just for anyone," He conceitedly said.

"Oh yeah, I feel special alright. I get stalked, then kidnapped, then forced to bathe and wear clothes I don't even like… Yeah, I feel special. You need a new hobby. Find someone else to follow your biddings," she responded as she got to her feet. "You're acting like I belong to you when I don't even know you. We don't know each other. I can sue you for kidnapping and harming my mental health."

"Oh, but we do know each other. You lied to me and even kicked me twice. That sue will do you no good as no one will listen to a mere human girl talk nonsense."

"What do you want then? You can't keep me here forever," May angrily said.

"I want your body." His face didn't change from before - cold and evil all in one.

She looked at him in disbelief. "What's so special about my body? There are plenty of better looking bodies than mine."

"You'll find out later. Come and meet your new family. You're my wife as of today." He grabbed her left arm and pulled her out the door with him.

"Wait, wait, wait. Your wife?! I never consented to this! Let go of me bastard!" May struggled to break free and could only walk towards wherever he was headed to. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of a big golden door somewhere in the mansion. He pushed the door open and in that room stood many creatures who were busy at work moving things around, talking on the phone, talking to others - humans and non-humans.

Fox ears and tails along with wolves and cats and dogs and every other animal! Wings! Talons! Scaled skin! Different colored skin! Fur! Floating creatures, blobs, every night and day creature of mythical beings one could think of was here.

May gasped at the sight in bewilderment. She grabbed the Boss's right arm and pulled him down a bit without looking at him. "Are these real or are they cosplaying?" She quietly asked excitedly.

His expression seemed to have softened, and he chuckled before answering, "They are real. Real as real can be. Watch yourself or you may get hurt."

"This is so COOL!! I knew they existed! I knew they were real! DUDE… This is awesome!!!" May squealed as quietly as she could. 'I can now die in peace knowing they truly exist!!! How amazing are they?!'

He chuckled some more and said, "Don't you feel under-dressed now? Want to go and change your outfit?"

"Nope! I get to see them in my most comfortable outfit! I like this better. But why is there like a clear bubble or something around here? This isn't a screen… This a portal!?" May turned and smiled big at him only to suddenly gasp. She looked at him from head to toe. His skin is somewhat pale blue and his ears were pointy. His eyes glowed bright red. His short, jet black hair grew longer, down to his waist, and two black horns grew on his head. His hand suddenly became bigger but his height and body remained the same.

'Whoa! I have never seen a creature like him before!'

The smile that had disappeared before came back even bigger. May took his hand off her arm and compared it with hers. It is twice as big. She clenched his hands with hers but could barely squeeze it down. She then touched his wrist and arm to feel the smooth skin. Next she touched his face, pulling and squeezing his cheeks. His eyes narrowed in annoyance. She just laughed before pulling him down some more to touch his ears and horns. His ears were warm and a bit pinkish like he was embarrassed. How cute! The horns were rigid but felt smooth like an elephant's tusk.

'How cool is this?! I get to actually touch someone that is not a human!!! Waaaaaaaaa! So awesome!!! >0<'

She was so mesmerized by his sudden appearance that she forgot they were standing by the door. He grabbed her wrist from his horns with his big hands and said bashfully, "Do you want to fondle me in front of so many people? As my wife, shouldn't you be ashamed of yourself?"

Her smile disappeared again. She turned and looked at the portal in confusion. She thought this was a portal so the other side can't see them anyways? No one had even turned to look at them. She looked back at him in confusion when a sudden warmth rose on her face as she realized what had just happened. She turned to him and said embarrassingly, "You never told me about this so I was just shocked, and I am not your wife!" She took back her wrist from his hands and turned to look at the portal again.

The boss chuckled and did something behind her because the portal changed and a buzz could be heard forming around when it stopped changing. The portal showed an empty room with sofas and a fireplace. May turned to face him in confusion and he just smiled and walked forward. He grabbed her hand and she followed without a fuss into the portal. As she walked past the border where the portal is into this new place, it felt like she was dipping herself into a body of water but without getting wet. A strange feeling for sure. After a short walk to the other side of the room, the boss opened the door and she saw other folks who looked similar to him. They were chatting but when they entered, everyone went silent and stared at them. 'This is his family.'

"Mother and father, I present to you my wife." He held May's waist and pointed to her. His mother is very pretty and appeared to be young. She didn't look any older than 35 years old. His father, on the other hand, looked older but still handsome and well-built for someone well over 45 years old. Their horns were almost identical to the Boss's except the father's was longer and the mother's was slender. Their pale complexion was the same, and their hands were bigger than the average human's hands as well. May couldn't help but look in awe at them before she realized what he said.

"I am not his wife. I was kidnapped here!" May quickly said. She pushed him away and took several steps to her right to create some distance.

His parents just looked at May up and down before saying anything.

"This is the chosen human? Not very classy at all. What happened to the other woman? And the ones before her?" His mother said looking very sternly at her son. May could tell there were other meanings behind that look as if she knew what had happened.

May's ears perked up at the mention of other women. 'He has other women?! I'm not needed here then!!! (ಠ益ಠ)'

"He has other women so I can go right? I'd love to see more of this world of yours but I probably shouldn't since humans don't really mix in well with other races of creatures." She glanced around at the non-human creatures. A total of nine non-human folks, three of them seemed to be servants. The other five consisted of his mother and father, an elder who could be their grandma, and a girl and boy who seems to be in their teens. There is also him to make it nine.

"She is wise for a human. She may be a good fit after all," the father spoke up.

"No, no, no. I am merely passing by and will return soon to the other side. Not a word will be spoken of this place," May hurried to say before the boss could say anything. "Please just lead me out and I'll be perfectly fine finding my way."

The boss suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. "She is the one. The others are failures but I can feel that she is the one. She's different from them. You can tell just by looking at her. You can feel it too, can't you, mother?" He said in a serious tone.

May's mind started to run as she thought of what he meant. 'What am I supposed to be? How can other women fail? What did they fail on?'

The mother took a few steps forward and sniffed the air around May before grabbing her hand. Her slender fingers ran along from the wrist to the palm, sending May shivers each passing second. She waved her hand to someone and they brought her a small knife.