Fledgling: Part 45

Greetings Readers

Just a heads up to the more sensitive readers. Dragon Kay's history is sad and full of abuse on varying levels. As a warning, it's best to skip these updates if you're not keen to be exposed to it. I will always have a warning up when it's time to talk about her past.

So, avoid reading this update if you don't want to read about child abuse and torture.

She wasn’t sure when her last tears had been shed. It had been a long time ago; she was sure of that. It didn’t matter how many times she had been hit, flat-handed or a fist, or limbs snapped, there were no tears anymore. What was the use? It didn’t stop what was being done to her, and no one cared.

People who had been close to her mother turned a blind eye to what was happening. Those who were more vocal would only tell her that her father was grieving and that she needed to be a good girl.

She had tried, really tried, but nothing she ever did seemed to please him. The house was never clean enough, the food never cooked to his preference, and she was never small enough or out of sight enough. Even when she did hide, he would seek her out, and then there would be hell to pay.

By the time she was 10, she knew there would be no escape, and he would eventually kill her. She became apathetic to everything. No one would save her, and she needed to accept that.

Then the rains came. The house, in complete disrepair after years of neglect, started to leak, ruining everything it touched. She hated it, but that had nothing on how her father handled it. He stood outside, screaming at the storm clouds. She never understood what he yelled after he had finished several of the bottles that smelled like strong spirits. She watched him slip in the mud as he continued to scream at the falling water.

She looked up at the heavens and felt something in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t know what it was at first until the corners of her mouth turned up. She was enjoying her father’s misery. He deserved this. He deserved everything that was happening.

“What the hell are you smiling at!” he screamed at her.

She had lost track of him, and that cost her as a glass bottle was broken across the right side of her face. While the blow knocked her from her feet, she made no sound. What would be the point? She lay on the hallway floor for a few minutes before she slowly got to her feet.

She rubbed at her cheek, not surprised to find blood there. She rolled her eyes and turned to look at her furious father. The man was heaving in fury, soaking wet, and covered in mud. His clothes would need several cycles of washing before they were fully clean. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing the pain she was feeling. She knew he thrived on it.

He sneered, “Go clean yourself up and then mop this blood up. We have guests coming.”

She nodded her head and skipped away to the bathroom. She was used to seeing the dark circles under her eyes since she was old enough to climb onto the sink and look into the mirror.

She had a fleeting memory of sitting on the sink and someone brushing her long hair. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared. She no longer had long hair. It was harshly cut, something she had done herself to make it more manageable with the few times she was allowed to bathe.

Sighing, she filled the sink with ice-cold water before opening the medicine cabinet to find her usual first-aid equipment. The only thing her father would buy her without complaint. Heaven forbid anyone knew what he was doing to her daily.

She poured a measure of disinfectant into the water and then started cleaning the cuts. One was deep enough that it should probably need a few stitches, but the hospital was starting to get suspicious, and her father couldn’t risk that.
She scrubbed at the injury, just so that she could feel something in her miserable life. Once she was sure there was no glass in the wound, she closed it as best she could with a few plasters. She had grown quite skillful at covering her injuries.

Once she was done, she cleaned the bathroom, knowing that this would be the one that the visitors would be using. There would be hell to pay if the guest said anything about visible blood.

Sighing once more, she closed the cabinet and made her way down to the kitchen, where the remaining cleaning supplies were. She started with the liquid soap followed by the cold water in the bucket. As she turned to find the mop, she was startled by seeing muddy footprints. It wasn’t the prints as much as how many of them there were.

Her father was an asshole, but he wouldn’t make her life more difficult by doing this. If guests were coming, he would have wanted less mess for his daughter to clean. Confused over the extra mess, a cold feeling overcame her. Had the guest already arrived? If they had, she was in deep trouble.

Then, there was a crash in the living room. Startled but curious, she crept forward until she could investigate the room without being noticed. Her father was on all fours, and something was kicking him until he collapsed.

Confused more than scared, she continued to look on. She noticed three more of the creatures, and they seemed to be egging on the other before joining in. She knew that this should have been cathartic to her but instead, she was captivated by the faces her father was making. His cries of pain were interjected by him begging for his life.

She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the scene. Was this what she looked like when he beat her to an inch of her life? That little grin was starting to play on her lips once more. Yet, not once did she think of running for her own safety. She wanted to see her father get his comeuppance. That was until one of the strangers turned around.

Just desserts came too late to save Kay from anything.

For those of you who have never heard of Fell Dragon you can find Book 1 here, Book 2 here, Book 3 here, and Book 4 here, Book 5 here, Book 6 here, Book 7 here, and Book 8 here
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I love discussing my books!
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
Saasha’s Direct Family
Saith Characters Recap
Human Characters Recap
Alternate Timeline Brucel
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Part 44>>You are Here>>Part 46
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