Emily's jaw dropped, and then she screamed.
The next moment, she was up on her feet and running with the little strength she had left as her mind replayed his words.
It is time to come home, princess.
She wasn't a princess, and she didn't have a home. Her mother was dead. The very one that took her in had forsaken her, and when she thought she could make one of her own, he also betrayed her.
What home was he talking about?
Emily didn't get too far as a hand shot out to close around her wrist.
She let out a surprised shriek. "Please let me go." She struggled but to no avail.
She was helpless against the two men who dragged her back towards the unknown man, and she cowered back in fear, her wild eyes meeting his cold, uninterested ones.
"Be quiet!" He ordered, and her whimpers instantly died.
Was this the end? Were they going to kill her?
He raised her chin and peered down at her with narrowed eyes.
"I was going to leave you alone like your mother wanted, but I see that you can't manage on your own."
Her mother? Did he know her mother? Emily wondered, but before she could speak, he continued.
"You're coming home with me, and you'd do that quietly. Am I understood?" He boomed, and she hesitantly nodded.
It wasn't like she had a choice.
"Use your words!" He ordered once again, and as Emily opened her mouth to speak, a wave of dizziness hit; her body suddenly felt heavy, and her head slumped to the front as she passed out.
****
By the time she came to, she was on a bed and felt completely different. Her body felt strangely tired; better than she'd ever felt in a long while, but tired.
Emily's eyes glanced around the room, and she took in the pink-themed decorations and princess graphics; it had every feature a girl child would wish for in her dream room.
What was she doing in a child's room?
The only thing she found weird was the presence of two of the same beds.
Did the owner plan to sleep on two beds at once?
The thought itself caused a small laugh to burst from her mouth, but it quickly evolved into a fit of cough. Her throat felt scratchy.
Getting off the bed, she headed out of the room in search of a glass of water, and the moment she stepped into the hallway, a stunned gasp escaped her mouth.
The home was enormous, and every one of its features screamed luxury. She didn't know where to start from. Surely it wouldn't take her a minute to get lost.
Emily wondered who the owner of the home was and why they had brought her there. She tried recollecting what happened before she passed out, but it only gave her a headache.
Deciding it was better to think about it later when she was no longer parched, she turned to the next room, pulled open the door, and went in.
It was a study. Like the rest of the house, it was luxurious, and Emily couldn't help but take an appreciative look. Her eyes caught sight of a jug of water on the table, and she walked towards it to get herself a glass. She had just raised the glass to her lips and was about to take a huge drink when her eyes met the picture on the desk.
It was a picture of her mother and a man, smiling brightly at the camera with two baby girls wrapped in pink blankets.
Her memory returned instantly, and the glass in her hand crashed to the ground.
Wasn't that the man who kidnapped her in the picture? Was this his house? Why was her mother in the picture?
Emily didn't want to wait to find out; she hurriedly turned towards the door, but before she could take a step forward, the sound of a door sliding filled the room, and Emily looked back just in time to see the bookcase sliding open and the very man himself walking out of a secret room.
He regarded her with a slight curl of his lips, but his eyes were lifeless.
"I see you've familiarized yourself with your new home, Emilia."
Emily stumbled back in shell shock.
"What is going on? Who are you?" She whispered and he chuckled darkly
"That's no way to talk to your father, princess."
