Bastian

Odette looked down at the table with a heavy heart. There was a meagre pile of banknotes, coins and other precious belongings. The pile certainly looked sorry for itself and Odette looked about the room, desperate to find anything else that could be considered valuable.

   She had given most of her savings from the last two years to Tira, in a bid to get her out of the city and to safety, which hadn’t left much for herself in her escape plan. She turned the study over, searching every little nook and came up with a fountain pen with her initials on it and a silver inkwell box.

   Once Tira left and was finally safe, Odette planned on making her escape too. With determination, Odette repacked her savings pot. It was sufficient enough right now to hide out somewhere just beyond the border.

   There was no way she could stay, knowing Bastian’s intentions to have her father his child. He showed absolutely no regard for her, in his relentless advances, he had become blinded in his endeavour to sire a child.

   She sobbed every time, before losing consciousness, only to come back to reality with his weight pressing down on her. It went on for days, his animalistic mating.

   Odette scrubbed the thought from her mind as she placed the savings box in its hiding place, in a secret compartment at the bottom of a locked drawer. She kept the key in the poetry book on the shelf.

   With her anxious heart calmed, Odette went to the window, where the evening moonlight splashed across the driveway. The urge to escape there and then rose in her as strong as ever, she had to restrain herself. Bastian was too aware of her actions and she didn’t want to spoil her plans with recklessness.

For now, the estate was the safest place. Odette opened the window, allowing the fragrant scent of blooming heath flowers, suggested by Count Xanders, to waft in.

   If you ever need help, feel free to ask. Count Xanders had told her, but that hope was fleeting and had melted away into the night. How could she ask him for help, to escape a husband that demands a child from her for betraying him, and all to protect her sister who had crippled their father?

   There was no one else she could ask for help, she was utterly alone. The truth prickled like thorns in her chest.

   A dog’s deep barking broke Odette out of her thoughts. Margrethe had been napping by the fireplace, when she got up and approached Odette with her tail wagging. Odette hugged Margrethe.

   “It’s okay Meg.”

   She gave Meg a kiss on the top of her head. Enjoying the small comfort Margrethe provided, Odette looked back out to the evening landscape, shrouded in fading twilight which reduced what she could see to barely passed the window and she saw the twinkle of a car coming down the driveway.

The night was coming…. 

Odette realised all too quickly, as the car came down the drive, stopping at the front entrance where she could not see. She didn’t need to see to know who it was.

   Feeling shaky, Odette let go of Margrethe and closed the windows. It was going to be a long night.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

“Muller’s letter has arrived, sir, it came with the evening post.”

The butler’s voice, giving a report, was heard between their rough breaths and moans that were growing faster and faster. 

   Bastian paused in his thrusting and looked at the bedroom door. It must be important for Lovis not to wait for a more appropriate time. Odette stopped writing on the bed as he pulled out and stood up straight.

   “Understood,” Bastian said to the bedroom door.

   Bastian looked down at Odette, whimpering on the bed. It was no secret to all servants that he loved to spend as much time with his wife as he could, it served to quell the rumours of discord in their marriage. Above all, Bastian enjoyed the fact that Odette found such rumours humiliating.

Bastian’s gaze shifted downwards, observing Odette’s trembling body as she was gasping for breath.  “Put the letter in my room, I will be there shortly.” He grabbed Odette’s waist firmly, climbed on top and planted himself back inside her.

   This could not be called love-making, there was no love in it, more like going through the necessary motions to get what he wants. His breaths quickened, yet his face remained calm as he gazed at Odette’s pale back swaying beneath him. As tears streamed down her face, his passion surged, and with a groan he squeezed Odette’s waist as he felt the climax and her gasping in pain was icing on the cake. 

   The smell of sex in the room, was more like the stench of self loathing and disgust, took another round. In the dressing table mirror, Bastian caught sight of their intimate encounter, making him to close his eyes, battling his  uncontrollable passion. When he opened them, he met Odette’s tear-filled turquoise gaze through the mirror. She looked right back at him, her eyes were vacant and her expression placid like still of water.

Bastian’s eyes flickered briefly, and then he gazed into the darkness before refocusing on the bed. He didn’t let Odette rest, swiftly resuming his passionate thrusts, an ecstasy that bordered on pain.

 He might have enjoyed it a little too much, but seeing Odette’s tears soak the bed sheet only served to make him finish in her quicker.

She let out a cry of pain and with the last pulse of orgasm, he let her drop to the bed, her hips marred with fresh bruises. The mixture of satisfaction and pity swirled within him as he felt the desperation emanating from her trembling form.

Bastian took a moment to catch his breath. He looked cold and callous, stark contrast to the passion he had shown before. He wanted to go again. The timid little woman on the bed, too weak to prevent her fate, made him more excited as he looked at her trembling body, but he had business to attend to. 

As Odette lay unconscious, struggling to breathe and unable to muster the strength to move a finger, Bastian turned away and left the bed behind. After emptied the glass filled with water on the vanity table, he put on his dress and checked himself over in the mirror. There was no trace of the madman that had driven Odette to despair and he smiled at himself.

   Bastian walked to his own room without ever looking back. From the partially open door, Odette heard the butler’s patient voice, and Bastian replied briefly. Although she couldn’t catch their conversation, it seemed that Müller’s emissary was awaiting a response from Bastian. As he prioritised the company’s work above all else, their night might end here.

With a glimmer of hope, Odette summoned the strength to lift her weary body. As the butler departed, a silence enveloped the room.

Bastian appeared fully focused on his work. In that moment, Odette entered the bathroom and stepped into the shower. The sound of rushing water echoed through the silent darkness.

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

It was late by the time Bastian returned. The bed was empty. Bastian did not worry as he closed the door, Odette was always so predictable.

   He walked across the room, taking a seat by the fireplace to light a cigarette. He could hear the harsh sounds of running water, the shower. As he smoked, he looked at the documents Muller had sent him.

   The railway concession linking Felia and Belof was supposed to be contracted to a family with ties to both royal families, but there was a problem and everyone was being dragged into a bidding war, even his father’s company.

   Bastian saw this as an opportunity to rectify a two year old mistake and the board agreed. His father was aiming to use the Count Ellis connection to become a father-in-law and if he succeeded, everything would fall into place like dominoes.

   Bastian threw the proposal into the fireplace and despite his cigarette burning down to the nub, Odette still had not come out of the shower.

   He pulled out another cigarette and headed over to the bathroom door. There was no other noise but the sound of the shower. Bastian pushed open the door and was not expecting to be greeted by utter darkness, so he reached in and turned on the light, bathing the bathroom in a warm glow.

   He smiled as he saw Odette curled up in the bathtub, hugging her knees and her skin a sickly pale blue pallor. 

How long had she been sitting under the freezing cold water?

   Odette did not look up until Bastian turned off the water. Then, their eyes met,  each carrying a different temperature.