RAGE.

DAWN S POV.

Forcefully, my face swung the opposite way, my neck twisting painfully, seemingly almost snapping from the immense force of Scarlett's punch.

My hands clenched, and unconsciously, I began to shiver, my legs wobbling like jelly.

Fear engulfed me instantly.

Slowly, I raised my gaze towards my assailant, who glared back at me, her eyes brimming with intense hatred.

For the first time ever since I arrived at this school, I had been physically assaulted.

'was this bullying going to get worse?' I wondered with a pounding heart.

I felt useless and disgusted with myself, knowing even though things would eventually turn out as I feared, I was too weak to go against them and put an end to their antics.

" Know your place bitch or I'll put you in it." Scarlett threatened angrily, her beautiful face scrunched up into a horrible frown, that made her look like the she-devil she indeed was.

Inadvertently, I shrunk back, intimidated and scared to my marrow.

Scarlett smirked at this, relishing in the displays of fear she brought out of me.

I felt immensely frightened, to the point that I couldn't even muster the boldness to look her straight in the eye.

I turned my head downwards, and began to play with my fingers, inwardly trying to regain my calmness and return stability to my trembling body.

" As expected, bow before us like the filth you are," Charlie said cockily and I felt a familiar stinging pain sear through my heart once again.

I still couldn't get over the realization that she had betrayed me.

' But how, Why, Where did it all go wrong?' I was still confused as to why she had approached me in the first place with a proposal of friendship when she actually wasn't interested in being my friend.

Was it all a ploy just to gain some sort of amusement or self-gratification?

My heart felt like it was being pulverised.

" I guess pretending to accept her into our clique has gotten into her head, making her forget her miserable place" Lisa commented, the other girls chipping in as well, however their words all fell to deaf ears .

Frustration was brewing in me and I just wanted to put an immediate end to this intimidation and abuse.

I once again tried to build up some courage within myself but my efforts turned up fruitless as I was still unable to look them in their eyes.

I felt like my stomach had dropped, beads of sweat forming and drizzling down my forehead.

" Please just stop it." I whispered instead, feeling much too afraid to speak louder and risk incurring their wrath.

" I can't believe she still has the guts to talk back at us" Daisy growled.

' How was asking them to let me be talking back at them?' I wondered.

Just then I saw Charlie stand up, and walk up to me majestically.

First confused by her sudden advancement towards me, my confusion abruptly turned into agony, as her arm bored into my stomach.

I coughed up a mouthful of blood, as I collapsed to the floor with a weak groan.

" Know your place peasant." She warned,  spitefully glaring down at me as I lay there on the floor, weeping silently, still unable to grapple with the fact that it was Charlie, my supposed friend doing all of this to me.

My breath came in short gasps, my fingers drummed nervously on the floor as I just lay there, a look of hurt etched onto my face as I raised my face, fixing my gaze on Charlie, multiple questions desperately awaiting answers in my eyes.

She scoffed proudly, her chin and shoulders cockily raised.

" Stop looking at me like that you wench. You deserve everything you're getting. You want to know what is going on?" She questioned with an evil smirk.

Lightly, I nodded, knowing well that all she had to say would definitely hurt me.

" You see when we found out you were a commoner, I was just as disgusted as they all were" Charlie began.

I shut my eyes, initially engulfed by numbness, just until the pain of her words hit me like a train, my heart feeling like it was being crushed under the weight of sorrow.

" At first I did feel sorry was you in the hall when Lisa and the rest were bullying you which was why I stood up for your sorry ass. Nothing else

.

But then I thought things through and recollected that you are but a mere commoner, an unprivileged, so I and the girls made a plan.

I pretended to be your friend and fool you, while they continued bullying but the plan soon changed when Scarlett intentionally made you trip and fall before the triplets so you would be humiliated.

Unfortunately, like I did at first, they took pity on you which was why they didn't retaliate, not that they liked you or anything," She paused while I just laid there, silently on the floor, tears streaming down my cheeks. My entire body trembles in disbelief and despair.

I kept my eyes fixed to the ground, unwilling to look anywhere in her direction, as she continued to probe on my stupidity.

" Scarlett here thought it meant something because the triplets are indeed terrors. One time, a girl just collided with them mistakenly, and she was flogged to death.

You barely escaped their wrath so Scarlett thought she'd use you as a means to get closer to the triplets but we were unsure about her place, so we decided to put the possibility to test." Charlie concluded as I broke down into a weeping mess, tears streaming down my face uncontrollably, all my efforts to stop it rendered fruitless by the immense sorrow engulfing me.

" Just so you know. We never accepted you into our clique or as one of us. We just lied to you and used you like the maid you are so you should be feeling honored" Lisa said as she approached me, and struck me on my leg harshly.

My face immediately scrunched up from the pain. She had definitely left a bruise.

' It hurts' I whimpered, the feeling of helplessness and despair anchored to my being.

" Let's teach her a lesson guys so she will know her place next time" Scarlett's words echoed across the room.

I froze, petrified, my heart racing in trepidation.

'What lesson?' I pondered amidst anxious breaths.

In the twinkle of an eye they all descended upon me, and began to beat me to a pulp.

All I did was lay there, weak and helpless as usual, crying and letting out  wails of pain.

" P-p-please s-st-st-stop" I pleaded, my breath ragged, my voice breaking and trembling.

My pleas clearly fell to deaf ears as hits relentlessly continued to rain upon me.

I felt so dejected and isolated, like my entire world was crumbling and crashing down to the ground.

I wished someone, anyone could step in and just save me from the hands of my tormentors, but who was I kidding?

I chuckled bitterly, amidst the aches and painful spasms reverberating through every inch of my body.

Scarlett and her gang soon left afterwards, but not before wetting my face with their saliva.

I lay there quietly on the floor, roughed up, mangled and battered.

My uniform was visibly torn, luckily it wasn't my only piece. I had one more extra.

My entire body ached, as though it had undergone an acupuncture of a thousand needles, and my head throbbed violently, a searing migraine coursing through my crown.

I was covered in wounds and bruises, and had been rendered immobile, by the immense fatigue and aches engulfing my being.

But I couldn't just remain on the floor, fixed to a spot, could I?

I knew Moon would be unconscious at the moment. Scarlett and her minions had beaten the consciousness out of her.

We were weaklings, and thus it would take ages for us to recover from the brutal beating we had been dealt— It would take ages before I could ever talk to her again.

A tear seeped out of my eye, running down my cheek, at the thought of not being able to speak to Moon for months.

She was the only one I had left, the only one who cared. The stronger and braver one out of us.

" I am so going to miss her," I thought, my heart aching.

I sniffled and struggled, enduring the aches and pain coursing through my body, as I turned upwards, facing the room ceiling.

I knew the moon goddess was probably watching everything, how I was being bullied, maltreated, mangled— everything.

" But she never did anything" my subconscious whispered and my lips curved into a smile— a pained, embittered smile.

I nevertheless continued to have hopes that she would put an end to all of these miseries and travails someday.

'I hope she will send a mate our way to protect us, I and moon. One who would not reject us but cherish us instead, and perhaps help us to become strong.' I thought with a tightness in my chest and heaviness in my limbs.

Overtaken by sorrow, I began to weep again, each breath of mine a gasp for air as my sobs echoed through the room.

Scarlett and Charlie never returned to the hostel that night, and I couldn't be more relieved as I cried myself to sleep.

-

The blinding light coming from the open window awoke me from my slumber, my eyes fluttering open, ushering me into the new day.

I was first confused as to why I was lying on the floor and tried getting up, however the immense pain and aches coursing through every inch of my body sent me back to the floor with a loud thud.

I lay there for a while and memories of last night came flooding into my head— the errand, the humiliation, the insults, the revelation and finally a beating of my life.

Just then, I recollected it was a Thursday.

Not only did I have a very early, involuntary class which missing would terribly affect my grades, but I also had to clean up after the triplets.

I should have woken up way earlier.

I immediately flew up, ignoring the immense headache and pains my abrupt movements dealt me, as I made my way to the mirror to check my awful condition.

Each step was slow and shuffling, a herculean task.

My body felt stiff and tense, my face was contorted in anguish.

I finally got to the mirror and was horrified by the image I was presented with.

My uniform was tattered and stained, my hair unkempt and untidy. 

That was not all.

As I had feared, my body was filled with bruises, cuts, and wounds— even my face was not spared, as it was filled with handprints.

"I have to get cleaned up and dressed."

I immediately dashed into the bathroom, freshened up, and put on my other pair of uniform.

It seemed I would have to wash this one almost every time as I had no money to get another pair, and there was no way I was going to disturb Mr. Jones, he had helped me enough.

With difficulty, I brushed my hair as my arms especially the elbows ached.

I had no ointment to put on my injuries so I simply grabbed my backpack and other essentials, and made my way to the door of the room, only to realize the door had been locked.

It was clear who was behind all this.

' Hadn't they tortured me enough? I wondered as I battled with the door.

" Hello, hello, please is anyone out there?" I yelled out, calling for help but got no answer.

For about an hour, I stood there, shouting for help, nearly at the brink of tears, knowing there was no hope of me meeting the class.

I also remembered the triplets and knew I was in serious trouble.

' Why was I falling from one problem to another?' I pondered and just then, there was a click.

I immediately rushed to the door again and opened it, turning to thank whosoever heard my call for help, as i made my way out but saw no one. 

I was puzzled.

Suddenly, my ears picked an infuriated growl.

" So you have been lazing off in there, making us wait our asses out for you "

I froze, immediately recognizing the owner of the voice.

I let out a frightened wince as I slowly turned.

Right there, before me, to my absolute devastation and horror, were the triplets.

They stared at me, annoyance brimming from their demeanor and mannerisms...