FF: The Beautiful and the Condemned (Completed) - Page 8

She was unconscious when he tied her up in the cellar. Rudra chained her tightly to the wall and left her in the dark, waiting upstairs for her to gain consciousness. He wondered how much chloroform Bheema had used to keep her knocked out for so long. The woman mostly likely wouldn't awaken until later that night. Rudra sat on his bed and recalled how he was forced to kill his last prisoner quicker than planned for this new prisoner- what was her name, Parvati?- whom he wasn't allowed to kill. He had to keep this one alive for ransom, as motivation for Varun to pay Tejawat back.

Rudra had only had one woman prisoner before. Her name was Laila. She was a dancer that was brought in on celebratory occasions for the men's enjoyment. She was a conniving and cunning woman. Secretly, Laila had been giving information about Tejawat's purchases to his competition. When the thakur found out, Rudra was called in. Laila's death was different from all the rest he had committed in his cellar. She was the first woman he had killed. She fought against him like her other male prisoners at first. He spent days breaking her, cutting her, burning her, but he refused to give her death. The one thing he enjoyed most about Laila...were her ear-piercing screams. When he bestowed his punishment on her, she would scream like a dying banshee, begging for death. He had never heard someone so desperate to be killed, it wasn't just her words, but her cries as well that reverberated every inch of life she had left in her. When it was time to kill her, Rudra took the one thing Laila had left...her voice. He slit her throat, silencing her forever.

It was nearly dark. Parvati had to have been conscious by now. A full day had almost gone by. Rudra moved the rug and opened the doors to his basement cellar. He slowly walked down the steps, and upon noticing the darkness in the room, turned the lights back on. When he finally made it down the steps, Rudra was able to see Parvati huddled in the center of the room, scared of her new surroundings. She was taking every detail in at once, and it must've been overwhelming. It was then he was able to observe her more carefully.

She was wearing a yellow lengha with a white choli that had green parrots printed on it. Her blue dupatta remained tucked properly in place, even as she scuttled around on the ground like a crab. Simple clothes, similar to what all women in Birpur wore. She must be a local. Her back was facing him as she gazed at the blood-spattered wall behind her.

Rudra then spoke, "Look who's awake."

Her gaze shot around to look at him. Rudra memorized the details of her face. Her alabaster skin, the rosy lips that match the soft shade of pink on her cheeks, the long, brown hair, which was somewhat out of place, that cascaded on one side of her face. What caught his attention the most were her eyes. Those large spheres filled with hazel stared at him, expressing an overwhelming range of emotions that he had never seen all at once before. Her eyes locked with Rudra's. He saw hints of confusion, fear, anxiety, and curiosity. The curiosity is what struck him as odd. Here she was, a prisoner, and she was trying to figure him out, and in doing so, the fear momentarily disappeared from her eyes.

"Who...who are you?" she asked. "Where am I? Why am I here?"

Rudra didn't respond. He walked over to her and knelt down in front of her. He continued to stare at her while their eyes remained locked. The closer he got, the more uncomfortable she became. The fear then returned in her eyes, just the way it should be. She was the first to break eye contact. Rudra watched as she huddled into herself, trying to stay warm. The poor thing didn't even realise that this was something she was going to have to get used to. He continued to stare at her, even as he reached in his back pocket to retrieve the black cloth. He pulled it out and brought it into her line of sight. He watched her eyes widen.

"What is that?" Parvati asked. "What are you going to do with that? Who are you?"

Rudra ignored her questions as he began trying to tie the cloth around her mouth. However, she wasn't willing to give in so easily. She was pulling her head back as he tried tying it, causing the cloth to come loose. With the lengthy chains, she tried pushing him away. But her feebleness did nothing more than cause her to fall back. His rock chest barely felt her blows. Knowing that she was going to continue pushing him, Rudra got up and made his way to the hooks that constrained Parvati. He chained her tighter so that she was forced to sit against the wall, with her hands restrained above her head. Now her mobility was limited and she couldn't fight back anymore. She let out a small yelp as he roughly pulled the chains. Her pain fell on deaf ears.

Now that she was chained properly, Rudra knelt back down and resumed to putting the black cloth around her mouth. Parvati was still persistent. She shook her head and moved her face away. Now, Rudra was getting angry. He dropped the cloth and grabbed Parvati by the back of her neck, his long fingers entangling themselves in her hair. She let out a small yelp as he forcefully brought her face a few inches away from hers. Rudra glared into the eyes that stared fearfully back into his.

In a low, deep tone, he growled, "If you know what's good for you...you'll behave."

His threat managed to get through to her. Afterwards, Rudra was able to cover her mouth without her struggling. His next task was to send a picture of her to Tejawat. He pulled out his phone, clicked a picture, and sent it to the thakur. Then he called the thakur to let him know what was going on with the girl. Tejawat answered immediately.

"Hello?" Tejawat said.

"It's me," Rudra stated.

"Ah Rudra! How is everything holding up on your end?"

"I just sent you a photo of her."

There was a pause. Tejawat was checking the picture on his phone, "How is she now?"

"She's conscious."

"Good. Keep her that way. We'll need plenty more of these photos to assure Varun that we do indeed have her in our midst."

"I understand."

"Is she asking questions?"

"Yes."

"Let her. All her questions will be answered when the time is right. Remember Rudra, she needs to remain alive."

"I understand," Rudra hung up the phone.

He made his way over to Parvati and untied her mouth. She was still frightened; he could tell by the way she was searching for answers in his silence. She wasn't going to find anything. There was a moment of silence before she began asking questions again.

"Who are you?" she asked again. "Why did you bring me here?"

He finally had enough of her questioning, "Enough Parvati."

Rudra watched her stiffen as she asked, "How do you know my name?"

He certainly wasn't going to tell her that Tejawat told him because then she would realize who was in charge of her kidnapping. Under no circumstances did Rudra ever mention Tejawat's name. He owed the thakur that much. His loyalty to the man knew no bounds. After that incident eighteen years ago, Tejawat was the only person Rudra would protect. And telling her his name would possibly be a disadvantage in the near future. Parvati's questions were beginning to irritate him, so he decided to put an end to them.

With his fists clenched by his sides, Rudra spoke in the coldest tone possible, "You're going to be here for awhile. I suggest you do as I say, or else you will regret it. Now, stop talking."

His words were like a tranquilizer. They shut her up. She remained silent as he turned her back to her and went back up the stairs. Rudra shut and locked the doors and covered it back up with the rug. He made his way to his bed, and as he tossed himself on it, his hand unconsciously went to the rudraksh on his wrist, rubbing it as his mind wandered aimlessly back to the woman chained under the floorboards beneath him. He could tell that she wasn't going to be like Laila. She was going to be different.