Raehel- School Version

A loud crack rang through the air as the whip slammed down on my back. I used every ounce of strength I had to stop the cascading waterfalls of teardrops from bursting out of my gray-blue eyes. I wanted to scream in agony as the pain rocked my whole body and tore my heart in two.1

The rope came down again, and I bit my lip to keep from crying. Still, tears welled up in my eyes and I burst into muffled sobs.2

"You weakling," Galaedriel spat. I glanced at her as she lifted the whip higher, ready to strike it against my bare, scarred back and tear my life into a million pieces. Except that wouldn't be possible because my heart was already broken, my mind was already shattered, and my life was already torn.3

I couldn't take the anguish. I screamed. Galaedriel slammed her pudgy, forceful fingers over my mouth and muffled my ear-piercing wail.4

Lucos, who had been standing beside Galaedriel said, "Raehel, it is a disgrace to have you as a daughter." Galaedriel smiled and nodded in agreement.5

"You are to clean the entire banquet hall and the ballroom for my company tonight. Now. And while they are here..." she began.6

"I promise to stay out of the way so no one knows of my existence," I finished. Galaedriel nodded.7

I sobbed and sobbed. My skin was still burning from the sting of the whip. Many girls would give anything to spend a day in the mansion I call my home. And there definitely is a price for the life I am living. It's my sanity. My freedom. Possibly even my life.8

I continued to whimper as shimmering crystals rolled down my tearstained cheeks. "Raehel," Galaedriel fumed, "You are so weak. I am utterly ashamed to be your mother. Stop that crying this instant or I'll give you something real to cry about."9

"This is real!" I sobbed. How dare she treat this as a trivial occurrence. There were no words to describe this pain that I was experiencing.10

"Don't talk back to me!" Galaedriel boomed and raised her fist. I shrank into a corner and whimpered an apology. She didn't even nod to accept it, just lowered her fist and continued on. "You think this is pain? You don't even know what pain is. This is absolutely nothing compared to the pain you will experience if you talk back to me one more time."11

"What kind of pain could that be?" I whispered.12

There was an evil satisfaction in her eyes as she spoke five words that would change my life forever. "Raehel," she said, "that pain is death." 13

She stormed into the kitchen leaving me to stand there all alone, meditating on her words.14

"Clarina! How many times have I told you to fill the pot up with water and get it boiling! The food will never be ready by the time my company comes!" Galaedriel ordered. I heard the crack of the whip slamming against our cook's skin. I felt her pain, and as she cried out I remembered how often I was in her place.15

Galaedriel commanded Clarina to lift up her shirt and allow her back to be whipped. I wouldn't dream of saying no to that, but Clarina refused.16

"Well, I'll just have to whip you across the face then," Galaedriel retorted, and she lifted the rope.17

As Galaedriel began to strike Clarina across the face, Clarina stepped back. The whip swung through the air with out harming her. Instead, it swung back towards Galaedriel at full force, slashing against her own face. She winced and then acted as if nothing had happened.18

"Galaedriel," Clarina said, "you aren't going to hurt me for doing my job wrong. Because you know what? I quit." Galaedriel was stunned by Clarina's words.19

"You can't quit! This isn't the kind of job where you get that choice. It's an exchange: we care for you, and you do a little work for us.20

Clarina fumed, "Care for me? It's more like: I work and work and work for you and all the thanks I get is you beating me up. Look, I'm leaving. Find someone else to be your slave." She turned to leave.21

"You aren't leaving. We'll chase after you. You'll be beaten until you're dead."22

"Feel free," Clarina challenged, "I'd rather die knowing I was free for two seconds than live and work for you." And with that, she was gone.23

"Raehel, get some water boiling," Galaedriel commanded, "and tell Lucos I'll be back soon. This should only take a few minutes." She grabbed her whip, hitched up her frilly pink gown, and sprinted after Clarina.24

I pulled out the largest pot in the kitchen and began to fill it with three gallons of water. I watched the water gushing out of the tap and splashing into the metal pot. My anger was just the same way. All of this anger was splashing into my life, and one of these days, just one drop would cause me to overflow. Just like Clarina had.25

A little bit later, the doorbell rang. I knew it was one of Galaedriel's dinner guests. Lucos was upstairs getting ready, and, well, I wasn't going to let those poor people just stand there. Ignoring what I had promised Galaedriel earlier, I took a deep breath and opened the door.26

"You're not Galaedriel," a tall young man announced. It wasn't a question, but I shook my head anyway.27

"Where is she?" the young woman standing beside him questioned.28

"Um, mom is..." I began, unsure of what to reveal about Galaedriel's whereabouts.29

"She's your mom?" the man asked incredulously, "You're her daughter?" I nodded solemnly. The couple laughed long and hard and I had this sinking, guilty feeling that I said something I shouldn't have.30

"Imagine that! Queen Galaedriel's princess dressed in rags!" The woman laughed. I looked down at the rags that draped over my body and sighed.31

"Raehel! What do you think you're doing? Didn't you promise to stay hidden while Galaedriel's guests were here?" Lucos boomed. He grabbed me by the arm and dragged me into the kitchen, leaving the couple standing there on our porch.32

"How could you? How could you betray us like this? Raehel, this is the last straw. I'm sick of you disobeying me. It's time to teach you a lesson."33

He grabbed the pot of boiling water off the stove and took off the lid. Before I had time to understand what was happening, the three gallons of boiling water were rushing towards me in a steaming blur.34

My skin felt like it was burning. For all I knew, it was. All I could think about was the pain. I couldn't stand it.35

It wasn't until Lucos said, "Raehel, shut up!" that I realized I had been screaming. And Lucos's order wasn't enough to make me stop. Soon the water had formed a steaming pool at my feet. My rags, though, still absorbed the boiling water and clung to my skin. I fell to the floor in anguish and whimpered as I tried to roll out of the puddles of water. I pulled off my rags and burst into tears.36

"Raehel, you idiot! Shut your mouth! There are people in the other room!" Lucos shouted.37

"Well than don't beat me up," I challenged.38

"Don't talk back to me!"39

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do?"40

"What did Galaedriel tell you earlier? It's called death, Raehel."41

"You wouldn't really do that. You would lose your slave."42

"What do you think is happening to Clarina right now?"43

A sudden realization washed over me as I thought of Clarina's fate. "She's free," I said longingly.44

Lucos laughed, "More like she's dead. Which is exactly what you are about to become."45

"Clarina may be dead, but at least she died knowing she was free. That's something I could never do. I'll be stuck here until it is the death of me." Unless, I thought, I escaped. This was the last straw. I wouldn’t stand for this any longer. I could get out of here. Suddenly, Lucos's string of insults was almost nonexistent. I could get out of this place. I could run away and never look back towards the torturous life I live. I could escape in the heat of danger with a knapsack slung over one shoulder and confidence slung over the other. Just like Clarina had. I could set myself free.46

Galaedriel finally burst into the kitchen just before most of the guests arrived. Her frilly pink dress was torn and coated in mud, and her hair was toiling out of its perfect upsweep. The rope was no more bloodstained then before, and her eyes were creased into a deep, angry scowl.47

"She escaped," Galaedriel fumed. Clarina escaped. Clarina was free.48

That night, I lay on the few torn blankets that form my bed and thought about Clarina. I thought about what I had realized earlier: I could run away. In my mind, I began planning how I would escape. I would be sneaky, run away in the middle of the night so Galaedriel and Lucos wouldn't catch me.49

But... what if they did? I could just imagine the unbearable pain. It would be like the beating I got from Galaedriel that before the banquet, except it would never end. The whip would just come down and down again. Soon my body wouldn't be able to function from lack of blood. And then I would be no more.50

I couldn't stand it. That scene ran over and over again in my extremely imaginative mind. I couldn't run away. I wouldn't just be risking punishment. I would be risking my life.51

I wanted that freedom so badly. It hurt for me to push it away like this. I just was afraid. I wasn't brave enough. I wasn't strong enough. I was just a weak, timid girl who lived through a lifetime of abuse. And as much as I wanted it to, that abuse may never end. But then I thought of Clarina. She had escaped. She was free.52

Clarina had taken a risk. She had fought a war of freedom with Galaedriel. And through everything, she had won. If Clarina could win, I could do it too.53

The next morning began as all mornings do, with the sun stepping out into the pink-streaked sky and shimmering through my tiny window. It's blinding rays awakened me, begging me to arise and greet the new day. I pulled the covers over my head and wished I was still asleep.54

I always had liked sleeping. Although I had nightmares nearly every night, the pain wasn't real. I could just lie there peacefully, dreaming of my death, the time when I would be set free from all this pain.55

I heard Galaedriel's footsteps walking down the hallway towards my "room." I closed my eyes, and pretended to be asleep. Then the whip was slashing down on me. Although my few blankets protected me from the gashes the whip gave, the sting alone was enough to jerk me back into reality.56

"You won't be sleeping late anymore. You're the cook now, you know, now that Clarina is gone," she said.57

And then I remembered. I was no longer just Raehel, an abused, weak girl. I was a girl on a mission.58

Before I went into the kitchen, I grabbed one of the ratty blankets off my bed and slung it over my shoulder like a knapsack. I was going to run away tonight. I wasn't going to live through another day of this abuse. I didn't deserve it, and I would stand for it any longer.59

My knees were quivering by the time I got to the kitchen. I reached out and opened the cabinet. My palms were sweating like mad. This kitchen help a lifetime supply of food. Galaedriel would never notice if a couple things went missing, right?60

I chose carefully. I needed food that would last, food that needed no preparation, and food that would fill me up. I picked a loaf of wheat bread, a handful of granola bars, and some other miscellaneous food that I would bring with me on my journey. As I was putting a small jar of peanut butter in my knapsack, I heard footsteps.61

I wanted to use the few seconds that I had to put everything away and make things look normal. But I freaked out. My mind just completely shut down. Before I could react, Galaedriel was standing in the doorway. I had the knapsack in one hand and the peanut butter in the other. There was no way I could talk my way out of this. I was caught red-handed.62

She dragged me into the basement, so she could whip me without the neighbors watching through the windows. She yelled at me, and I didn't try to deny it. There wasn't any hope in that.63

The whip came down, down, down. It seemed as if my life was just a bad, violent movie that constantly got played over and over. The pain seemed to repeat itself, and with each repeat, it was at a much higher volume. I swallowed hard and tried not to cry.64

"You aren't going to be doing this anymore," I said. She looked at me with a confused expression. Just wait and see, Galaedriel, I thought, laughing to myself. Just wait and see.65

Or maybe she would. Maybe she would sin this whole battle. Maybe I would be stuck here forever. I had tried. And I had failed. 66

I hated failure. I mean, I doubt anyone really likes it, but I am the kind of person who absolutely despises it. I threw up my hands in disgust. I just couldn't escape. Why had I even bothered trying? It was worthless; I just couldn't do it. Galaedriel was just to strong, and I was just too weak.67

"Stop being such a baby, Raehel. Get out here and clean the kitchen," Galaedriel ordered from outside my door.68

"No!" I sobbed.69

"Excuse me?" Galaedriel said, barging into my room, "Did you just say no to me?" I just sobbed even harder.70

Galaedriel commanded me to lift up my shirt and allow her to whip me. I just gave up my fight and obeyed. I was done acting tough like Clarina had.71

The whip stung. It didn't just sting physically, it stung emotionally. It stung me at the most sensitive, vulnerable part of my heart. Rejection. It was hard on me, taking away the little hope that I had been clinging onto. Now there was nothing left for me to grasp. I was falling.72

Finally, the physical pain was over. But there was no end to the emotional pain. I had never wanted something this badly. I just felt crushed. I wasn't ready to continue fighting for my freedom. I would let Galaedriel win this war.73

I went to clean up the kitchen. Now that Galaedriel was out of sight, I could let myself go. I opened up the dam that kept the tears from continually falling. I was done holding it all inside.74

The crystal droplets trickled down my turgid cheeks, a babbling brook of tears. They rolled down without ceasing, a fluid, never ending stream. I cried. There was so much pressure that had been building up behind my dam. I had to open things up.75

Finally, when the tears had been cried, I realized I had to make a decision. I could give up, and just have more scars to prove my weakness. Or, I could escape, and wear those scars as badges of honor, badges of survival.76

I thought I was insane. I most likely was. But that didn't matter. I kept thinking of Clarina. She had escaped. 77

I was going to too.78

I hadn't had much experience out there in the "real world," but I knew enough to know that if you wanted to survive, you needed money. And I knew enough about this household to understand that money just wasn't handed over easily. Actually, it just wasn't handed over at all. Although my last episode had proved that I wasn't a criminal mastermind, I would have to do it. I was going to steal money.79

Galaedriel kept her purse in her bedroom closet. 80

That was probably the hardest place to sneak into.81

My heart pounded wildly as I climbed the stone spiral staircase to the third floor. Her bedroom was the one down on the end, with the beautiful stone engraving above the door that said “Do not enter.”82

Well that was exactly what I was going to do.83

As my lanky, thin legs quivered at the knees, I reached my sweaty palm out and opened the door.84

I opened the closet and dug through her big leather purse. I dug through the stacks of wadded bills. But then there it was: her credit card.85

It would buy me anything in the world. Anything. And charge Galaedriel's account. Forget the stacks of money. All I needed was this.86

An hour or two later, when the credit card was safely under the ratty blankets of my bed, I heard a voice from upstairs, "Lucos, where is my credit card?" It was Galaedriel. I guess it didn't take her long to figure out it was missing. And it wouldn't take her much longer to figure out who took it.87

I would have to leave tonight.88

The sun set behind the old pines in our backyard. The sky turned pink, then darkened to a misty black haze. It was nighttime. And tonight was the night.89

I wrapped myself in blankets and headed towards the door. My shaky knees were quivering more violently than when I stole the money and when I tried to steal food, combined. I could barely walk. My heart was pounding out of my chest so hard I could barely think. I was going to escape.90

I had always thought of this as such a far-fetched dream. And now I was really doing it, running away from this life of doom. Just like Clarina had.91

There it was: the door. The door of my cage, that held me locked inside these beautifully adorned walls.92

Not anymore.93

My hand reached out and grasped the brass doorknob. Just one twist. And then I'd be free.94

I twisted it. The door opened and I felt a rush of air. The great outdoors.95

There was a loud ringing in my ears. I thought it was from fear. Then I realized it was an alarm. I hear Galaedriel rousing upstairs. I would have to make a run for it.96

I closed the door behind me. I was free. I may not be free for long. I may die within the next two seconds. But I had experienced freedom. And nothing beats that.97

I looked up at the house and saw a light on in Galaedriel's room. She was awake.98

I ran.99

My bare feet slammed against the rough pavement. I was panting and out of breath. But I was running away. And I wasn't looking back.100

I heard footsteps behind me. And I knew all to well that it wasn't some stranger taking a midnight stroll. She was gaining on me.101

My life was on the line.102

I could die any minute now.103

I wouldn't let that happened. This freedom was better than anything I had ever experienced. Even better than going one whole day without getting whipped. Because this freedom was going a lifetime without those beatings.104

I wouldn't die.105

I wouldn't let myself.106

I sprinted. My arms pumped back and forth furiously. My feet slammed against the cold pavement. I felt like my heart was going to explode from exhaustion. But that was better than getting murdered by my own mother. I didn't give up.107

This is what they meant when they said "run for your life."108

I was running.109

I heard Galaedriel panting behind me. I could sense her closeness, almost feel her breathing on my sweaty back. I probably had about 30 seconds to live.110

At most.111

I whirled around in my tracks. Galaedriel saw me stop, and lifted the whip.112

"You're not going to kill me," I said.113

"What makes you think I'm not?" Galaedriel retorted.114

"You'll regret it," I threatened.115

"Oh yeah? You don't have the guts to do anything seriously bad," she laughed.116

Well I can tell you one thing. She was wrong about that. And I was going to prove it.117

Before I knew what I was doing, my five callused fingers were forming a fist and flying towards Galaedriel's face at all due speed. My fist collided with her fat nose, and Galaedriel screamed in agony. She would recover soon, but I had temporarily stunned her.118

I took up the opportunity of my enemy being wounded. I sprinted away. Freedom.119

I never saw Galaedriel again.120

Ever.121