7 My Blinded Lady

"Cold. So cold." Soft whispers echoed throughout the darkness.

Stone cold hands gripped its shivering owner. The young woman tried to see through the darkness but to no avail. She could not see her own self nor her surroundings. All she could see was pitch black. She was sure she was not closing her eyes for she felt her eyelids open. She knew nothing covered her eyes for she felt nothing there. The maiden pinched herself as if she was dreaming and felt the sharp pain from her skin. She shook her head.

Something was wrong. This wasn't a normal dream. Was it a lie that you can't feel physical pain in dreams? The maiden could do nothing but hear her own breath and feel her surroundings.

"I see you are awake, fairest of ladies." A faint voice behind her called out.

The blinded lady whirled around but saw the same dark emptiness. Where was the voice coming from? Esthertia walked forward to where she thought the voice called from. Her hands outstretched in the void, hoping to grasp anything to balance her. A cold slender hand met her trembling one. Esthertia jolted back in surprise. The owner of the hand laughed softly at her reaction. Esthertia frowned at her laughter. A million question flooded to her head.

"Who....Who are you?! Why can't I see?? Where is this-" A finger was placed on her lips before she could continue. A soft shush whispered into her ear, making Esthertia shiver. "Now, now. Don't get ahead of yourself, darling. You can't ask the questions...here"

A strong force pushed her backwards. Esthertia fell on her back and felt the wind leave her lungs. She coughed and breathed for air. "What ...a-are ...you-" Esthertia wheezed again. A solid kick landed on the side of her chest.

"What...did I just say?" the woman spoke. She placed her foot on Esthertia's shoulder. Esthertia struggled and punched the shoes of the unknown woman. "Hah, quite disobedient, are we?" The woman said. She drove her shoe deeper into Esthertia's skin. Esthertia let out a yelp of pain and stopped struggling, breathless and tired.

"Good girl. You learn quickly. Anything else to say?" The woman teased coldly. Esthertia quickly shook her head in fear. There was a moment of silence for a while. Esthertia can feel the judging eyes of the mysterious woman before her. She could feel the icy cold smirk as she saw Esthertia in this state. "Alright. Play time's over. What do you people say to your spawn? Don't play with your food? Yes, I think that's the one." Esthertia followed the voice as it trailed around her. It babbled on and on about what humans say and what not. "Oh well, point is. That is a ridiculous saying. Time for more fun!"

The mysterious lady murmured something under her breath. Esthertia leaned in to hear more. Esthertia felt something heavy lifted off her eyes. The veil of darkness that was once on her eyes were no more. Esthertia blinked a couple time to adjust her vision. She saw the place she was in. Was this a small underground cave? It was murky and moldy stone walls and ceiling surrounded her wherever she looked. Stalactites formed from the ceiling and dripped endlessly with glowing green slime. Everything pointed to a natural underground cave except the ground below her. The ground beneath her was oddly smooth as if it was man-made. Esthertia looked around some more. There was no exit to be seen. A realization dawned on her. Where was her kidnapper? She looked around more frantically. Where was the voice coming from?

"Boo."

Esthertia stumbled away from the whisper. A familiar woman stood infront of her. "You..." Esthertia weakly croaked. The woman laughed and kicked her in the face. Esthertia stumbled flat on the floor. "Now, now, my lady. I said not to talk. Honestly, what do they teach royalty nowadays? To sip tea the right way? Preposterous! No wonder you couldn't even break a measly blinding spell!" The woman huffed.

"Amatora?", Esthertia asked weakly, slowly standing up. Ringing filled her ears just from the effort of talking. It felt like her jaw as about to come right off. Just as she was getting accustomed to the pain, Amatora kicked her in the stomach. Esthertia yelped as flashes of red filled her vision. The pain was unbearable. She felt herself slowly slip into unconsciousness. Lady Amatora bowed infront of the weak lady. "At your service, my lady." Amatora teased. She danced and twirled around Esthertia.

"Do stand, my lady. We have yet to begin the next lesson! How are you tired already?" She jeered as she continued to dance around her. The clip clopping of her heeled boots echoed throughout the cave and caused sharped pains in Esthertia head. She groaned at the pain and blinked out the black dots filling her vision.

Amatora grabbed Esthertia's face. "My lady..." Amatora paused. "Please do refrain from complaining. I can't teach you if you aren't determined to learn." She said in a listless tone. Her once teasing face turned into a contempt one. Esthertia felt Amatora's eyes scan hers as if she was searching for something. Amatora tsked and threw Esthertia's face away. "How unpleasant. Do heal up, my lady. It won't be fun to dance the next time. Don't worry, we have all the time of this eon. Do take your time." Amatora said as she walked away.

Esthertia extended a weak bruised arm to Amatora. "Why Amatora?..." Esthertia whimpered. Amatora stopped in her tracks. She looked back at the pathetic lady. "Why else? I am your appointed teacher. You must learn, should you not?" Amatora cackled and took a step toward Esthertia. She leaned in and put her hand up. "Have a good rest, my lady." She snapped her fingers and Esthertia's vision went black.

"Poor duchess....Sad duchess... Whatever will you do when you find out the harsh cold truth." Amatora's voice said as Esthertia slipped into unconsciousness.