Author's note: If you haven't read the first twelve chapters, you might be slightly lost. My apologies. Mostly, I am looking for character reviews, like, what you think of them and whatnot, especially from those who have read quite a bit of this story. I am especially concerned that Sadie's father is not in character. Look and check, please?

Chapter 13

True to Elsa’s promise, the lock never clicked.

The freak sat down hard and stared. She felt numb, as if Sadie had betrayed her. She knew Sadie hadn’t, of course. Sadie was her mistress and the freak had to accept her decisions with grace.

But it wasn’t fair.

She shuddered and stood up, walking to the glass door. There were birds all around, flapping off and on the balcony. They were hungry and she was supposed to feed them all. Her head thumped on the glass.

“Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?”

She stopped once she heard her voice. It didn’t sound right to her.

The birds were getting more restless and the freak quickly tore up the bread, tossing the crumbs out. The birds drew back when they saw her arm, but the food was much too tempting and they scrambled, fighting over the little breadcrumbs they could see. The freak watched them blankly.

“Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full. One for my master...”

After the birds were done eating, the freak wandered around the room, finally settling in front of the door that led outside to the rest of the house. She played with the carpet, drawing intricate designs into the lilac forest before erasing them with a brush of her hand. It was another hour before she finally had the courage to stand up and open the door. A blast of cool air hit her and, slowly, she stepped out.

The door clicked shut.

The freak wasn’t sure what to do next. When she snuck out for the first time, she only wanted to get out, to go outside. But this time was different. She closed her eyes tightly and licked the sweat hanging over her lip. “The master said,” she murmured, opening her eyes, but the house hushed her. Sounds of servants echoed from the walls.

She had to meet them.

She turned right, then left, then right again where she thought she heard the sounds. But though she heard noises everywhere, she didn’t see any servants. Instead, there was furniture scattered throughout the house, littering the hallways and corridors. She saw a nightstand, a chair, and a half-finished table shoved in one part of the hallway.

Then she saw the wardrobe.

The freak almost laughed when she saw it. It looked so out of place, in an empty hallway when it should have been in a lovely room. On its front doors, a woman was carved, her breasts bared and her arms outstretched. A look of ecstasy filled her face, her eyes closed with joy, and her lips parted, just barely. She was free.

The freak looked around carefully before walking up to the wardrobe, her eyes glued to the woman. They weren’t arms, the freak quickly realized. Her fingers were long and delicate, too long to be fingers. They were wings.

“It’s a freak,” she whispered, her eyes growing wide. “And she’s flying!” She brought her hand out and caressed the wings. And then the freak frowned, drawing back her hand. “She’s sad.”

And suddenly, the ecstasy on the woman’s face disappeared and pain filled it instead. Her lips were parted, yes, but as the freak stared, she realized it was not for joy. Instead, she was trying to scream...

The freak shrieked and bolted down the hall.

When she stopped, she had no idea where she was. There were no fancy drawings or furniture anywhere and for a moment, she thought that perhaps this was an unused portion of the house. But then she spotted a leafy green plant on a pedestal. Though one side of the plant was starting to wilt, the plant looked watered. Someone had been taking care of it.

A couple of more steps and she saw downstairs the room she had first gone through, clothed in its soft blankets and beautiful pictures of antique airplanes. She crept towards it when a flurry of footsteps came from behind her. She rushed towards a corner and hid.

Sadie’s father came out, looking more sick and anxious than the freak had ever seen him.

He wasn’t dressed like he usually was. Instead of wearing a suit, he wore a wrinkled white shirt and some disheveled dress slacks. And he was so close to the freak that she could smell his breath. He smelled like flowers.

For a moment, she was afraid that he knew about her leaving, and she froze, melting into an armchair that happened to be there. But he didn’t seem to be in hurry. In fact, he seemed to be waiting for something. He leaned back on the wall and looked expectantly at a door.

A moment later, Carolina came out.

He smoothed out his hair with his hand when he saw her. “Good morning,” he said politely.

Carolina stopped and froze. For a second, the freak thought she had seen her, but her eyes grew large and panicked. “I thought you left already,” she said.

“I took the day off today.”

“Oh.”

There was an awkward pause. Sadie’s father shifted his weight to his other foot. “Are you doing anything special today?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Another silence. Sadie’s father looked even more nervous. He tried to smile reassuringly, but the smile looked more forced than anything. “What is it?” Carolina asked.

He shook his head. “It’s just--“ He walked over and embraced her.

At first, Carolina looked surprised, but a moment later her face visibly relaxed. She let out a soft moan and then tilted her head towards him. They kissed.

For a minute, they just stood there, kissing, her arms snaking around the curves of his back, his bringing her closer. Finally, she stopped. Her hands reached up to caress his hair and she nuzzled her head in the nape of his neck.

“Oh, why can’t you be like this more often?” she murmured, letting her hands slip to play with his ear.

He kissed her hair gently. “Come with me.”

“Where to?”

“Somewhere. Anywhere. I have a bottle of the best champagne around. We can dance and get drunk, and then who knows what will happen?”

She suddenly pushed him away. “But I can’t!”

He tried to hold her back. “Why not?”

“Because I have something else I have to do.”

“But you said--”

“Forget it! There’s another party and--oh, don’t look at me that way. If I don’t go, then everyone’s going to get suspicious. And what will they say then?”

“It doesn’t matter. You’ll be here with me. Nothing can happen to us here.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous.”

He stepped up to her again, his hands gently pulling her towards him. He tried to kiss her, but she squirmed out of his grasp.

“Carolina...”

“I’m leaving. I really have to go now if I don’t want to be late.”

“But Carolina!”

“Goodbye.” She walked quickly away from him, her footsteps echoing against the walls.

He stared at her. Then, as she disappeared from his view, he cursed loudly and kicked the pedestal. The plant crashed onto the floor. He stalked into a room Carolina had come out of and slammed the door hard.

It was a long time before the freak dared to move after that. Her heart felt like it was going to burst and she sat on the floor, wrapping her necklace so tightly around her hands that she wondered if her hands would simply fall off. She stared at her left pinky, the one that condemned her to be a freak. If her hands fell off, would that mean she wouldn’t be a freak? After all, the headmistress said...

She stood up.

She would get it cut off. After all, Elsa said something about knives and she might as well be punished in a productive way. Carefully, she snuck out of her hiding spot and crept into the living room. There, she found one servant with a red ribbon tying back her long brown hair organizing the blankets.

“Good morning, Miss,” the freak said, curtseying politely. The servant spun around, surprised.

“What do you want?”

The freak had expected that as soon as a servant looked at her, that servant would start beating her. This question threw the freak off guard. She curtseyed again. “I am a freak.”

“So?”

The freak began to feel nervous. She curtseyed once more. “Please Miss, can you take me to the kitchen?”

“Why?”

“The master wants me there, Miss.” In a more quiet voice, she said, “I think he wants to punish me.”

The servant snorted. “The master’s not in the kitchen.”

“No Miss, but the other servants are there.”

“So?”

“They can punish me instead, Miss.”

The servant frowned again. “If he wants to punish you, he can do that himself. I’m not going to touch a freak.” She turned her back to the freak and began folding blankets again.

“Miss?” the freak asked politely. The servant ignored her. “Miss?”

Finally, the servant spun around. “My name’s not Miss. It’s Jennifer. Miss Jennifer to you and soon to be Missus Jennifer once I marry Henry. Then I can leave this place and not worry about freaks wandering around free. Speaking of which, aren’t you supposed to be locked up in your room?”

The freak curtseyed nervously. “I’m supposed to go to the kitchen. Master’s orders. Elsa told me so.” When Jennifer stared at her, she added, “I think I am supposed to have my hands gone.”

“Your hands? Gone?”

The freak nodded. “It’s my hands that make me a freak. A fire comes out of my left pinky.” She held this finger up cautiously.

“So you want us to chop it off in the kitchen?” The freak nodded. Jennifer looked sick. “Then why aren’t you in the kitchen?”

“I don’t know where it is.”

“You mean Elsa didn’t show you?”

“Elsa had to do something else and I got lost.”

“Oh.” Jennifer thought about this for a moment and shuddered, setting the blanket down. “All right, I’ll show you where it is. Come on.”

It was quiet as they walked. Jennifer would not talk to the freak and every so often, if the freak was too quiet, she would cast a nervous look over her shoulder.

It took several minutes, but finally, Jennifer slowed her pace. She looked over her shoulder again before marching to a swinging door. “The kitchen’s here,” she said nervously. “I guess you can come in and I can introduce you.”

“Thank you,” the freak said politely. She curtseyed.

Jennifer swung the door open.

This room was a little different from the rest. It was not filled with comfortable furniture and instead of the walls being lightened with colorful paint or wood paneling, they were covered in a glossy white tile. In the center was a large marble island, and surrounding this were at least twenty servants, each of them doing a specific task. But they moved so gracefully that it seemed less like work and more like a colorful flurry of aprons.

Jennifer coughed. “Presenting the freak,” she said loudly.

The servants looked up.

They did not look happy. Several looked completely outraged and were miming that the freak needed to go at once. But the majority were not angry with her, the freak noticed. Annoyed, disgusted, and very confused, yes, but not angry.

The freak stepped forward and gave them a polite curtsey.

“What’s she doing here?” a particularly heavyset servant finally asked. Jennifer shrugged.

“I don’t know. Apparently, she’s supposed to be punished. Although, please let me leave before you do. She’s supposed to get her hands chopped off.”

“What?” Several servants looked bewildered. The freak guessed they would come at her at once, but they only looked at each other with funny expressions on their faces.

“Yeah,” Jennifer added. “Master’s orders.”

“Master’s orders?”

“And which master is this?”

Sadie’s father stepped in.

The freak gasped and tried to run away from him. For a moment she almost succeeded, but just as she burst through the swinging door, several servants sprinted after her. In a minute, she was caught and dragged back to the kitchen. Sadie’s father quickly stepped forward and shoved the freak on the hard tiled floor. Then he turned around to Jennifer.

“What is going on?”

Jennifer snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. “I knew you wouldn’t do something as barbaric as that. You’re too much of a gentleman.”

“Never mind that, please, what happened?”

“She came to me in the sitting room and said that you wanted us to punish her. She said something about chopping off her hands.”

“Really?” His eyes flashed across the servants’ faces. “So does anybody else know something about this?” Nobody said a word. “What about you, Freak?” All the eyes turned towards her.

She whimpered and curled up into a ball.

Sadie’s father glanced at her for a moment before turning to the servants. “Very well then,” he said. “Miss Jennifer, thank you for bringing this to my attention, and thank you especially for treating my purchase as well as you have. I know that your family has been personally affected by a couple of freaks--“

“That’s an understatement,” a servant murmured. Jennifer blushed.

“It’s okay, sir,” she said. “I know you wouldn’t let any crazy ones in.”

He grinned. “I’m sorry to have to let you go in four weeks, it’s been a true pleasure having you around. Henry is indeed a lucky man.” Jennifer blushed even more and Sadie’s father laughed.

“Ladies, please continue your usual fine work in the kitchen. Remember, I pay extra for baking, not beating. In the meantime, the freak and I have somewhere very special to go together. Right Freak?” He clamped his hand on her wrist so hard it hurt and pulled her out of the room.

“Oh please sir!” she cried after he dragged her out for a ways. “Don’t hurt me, please.”

His smile was gone. “I thought you wanted to be hurt. Or have you changed your mind?”

“I didn’t mean it. But Elsa said...” A look on his face stopped her.

“Elsa? So she’s behind this, isn’t she?”

“She only unlocked the door.”

“And told you to go out. So you went out. You went out, despite what I said. You could have been killed, do you realize that? I told you not to go out, but you did it anyway. And what if something else happened?”

“But you were there, so it doesn’t matter. You’re nice and you saved me.”

“What do you think I do? Run around all day trying to save your life? I’m busier than that. What happens if I’m held up and can’t be with you when you need it most? What are you going to do then?”

“Then I’ll be sent away.”

This made him twitch and he deliberately looked away. His grip became tighter and the freak whimpered.

“Please sir,” she said. Her arm ached.

“What now?”

“My hand feels prickly.”

“A minute ago, you wanted it chopped off, and now you want it back?”

The freak blinked back tears. “Please sir!”

He didn’t let up. “Tell me, Freak,” he said briskly, stopping, his hand still clamped down hard on her arm. “Why did you go out this time? I can understand the last time. You wanted to be outside on a beautiful day. I can respect that. But this time, you deliberately put yourself into danger, regardless of the consequences. Why is that?”

The freak tried to hide from him, but he just jerked her chin up so she was staring at his face. She closed her eyes tightly. “I didn’t mean it, sir.”

“Didn’t mean what?” She desperately tried to look away, but he just held her chin tighter. “The quicker you talk, the quicker this torture ends,” he said coolly. “Look me in the face and tell me why you did it.”

One of her eyes opened. He didn’t look angry, really. He looked more upset and frustrated. And his eyes were so brown...

“I was lonely sir,” she finally murmured. “I--your daughter, I upset her and Elsa told me to leave so I could make things right again. And because of my pinky--” Her voice faded away.

He let go of her chin, still clutching her arm.

“Who is the master?” he said quietly.

“You are.”

“Very good. Remember that. When you have a problem and you don’t know where to turn to, you come to me, do you understand? I cannot promise to solve it, but I will listen to you and we can try to come up with a solution together. And I will never send you away.”

“I appreciate that sir,” she said quickly. “I’ll make sure I do that the next time.” She looked back to her right. There was the staircase that led to Sadie’s room. “Can we go back? I promise to be good.”

He ignored her and turned left, still holding her arm tightly. She gasped and followed him. “Sir, shouldn’t we go the other way?”

“No. You’re coming with me.”

“But I didn’t mean it!”

“So you said.” She tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he just held her tighter.

“Where are we going?”

The freak was trembling and Sadie’s father was not letting her go. “I found you where you weren’t supposed to be. Now you’re my slave for the rest of the day. Unless you die first. Now walk faster.”

“Sir, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again. Promise.”

“I hope not.”

Even so, Sadie’s father did not let her go, or at least he didn’t until he reached a room. He shoved the freak in hard before walking in himself, carefully shutting the door and locking it. The freak peered across the room and cried out.

There were dozens of knives covering the walls.