MAFIA BLOOD

Lavender’s point of view... “Come along Lavender. Our flight is leaving soon.” He said, but I just stood there watching dad leave the airport as a feeling of utter hate for him filled my heart. As soon as dad was out of sight I attempted to run, but before I even made it five feet I felt my hair being yanked back and Vladimir spun me around and gave me a slap in the face. “Don’t underestimate me, Lavender. I am not your father and I will not hesitate to brutally punish you if you don’t submit to me. So from now on you will do what I say, when I say it. Do you understand me?” Vladimir whispered in my ear. Frightened almost to death by his threats I immediately nodded my head and walked off with him. When we entered the aeroplane I saw nothing but luxury. I’m talking; reclining seats, cup holders, television monitors behind every seat and all sorts of glamorous things. I’ve never been on a plane before, but I didn’t need to be an aeroplane expert to know that this was a business class flight. We walked through the aisles until we made it to our two allocated window seats in the right row of the plane. Vladimir let me go first and I walked over to the seat nearest to the window. I stood near the seat just staring out the small round window. In that moment, I wished I had some sort of super power that could help me escape this horrible fate. I was snapped out of my thoughts when Vladimir cleared his throat. “Aren’t you going to sit down?” He asked me. He was already comfortably seated in his seat with his phone in hand. I stared at him blankly in reply, not bothering to answer him. Suddenly Vladimir grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me down on the seat. He then leaned towards me and whispered in my ear: “Here’s something I want you to understand from this moment onward. When I ask you a question I expect a nice and clear answer. If you ignore or fail to answer me next time there will be serve consequences. Got it?” He asked, his words full of venom. With tears clouding my vision, I answered him with a loud and clear “yes.” A few minutes after that, an air hostess stood in front of us and informed us all that the flight was about to begin. She then gave us a step by step guide on how to put on our safety belts. She then told us what to do if the plane hit turbulence and instructed us on what and what not to do during the flight. Once everything was said and done, the plane’s engine came to life for the take-off. I was staring at the television monitor attached to the seat in front of me when Vladimir placed his fingers on my cheeks and turned my head to face him. He wiped away the one lone tear that escaped my eye and said in a soft, calm voice: “Smile. The sooner you accept that this is happening, the better. I’m not as bad as you think. I’m actually a reasonable, caring man once you get to know me. I promise I’ll be a good husband to you if you obey me.” More tears escaped my eyes as Vladimir spoke and he wiped each and every one away with a sincere smile drawn on his face. He then looked deep into my eyes before pecking my right cheek with his soft lips. After a few minutes of texting on his phone, Vladimir switched it off and stuffed it into his jacket pocket. He then double checked that his safety belt was tied correctly, then he closed his eyes as if going into a state of meditation. As the plane drove down the runway and took flight, I stared out the window and waved goodbye to the place I called home, as warm tears trickled down my cheeks. A lot of hours later... 12:00 Midday, the next day... Arbat Moscow, Russia... “Ian. Bring the limousine around and pick me up at the airport. Lavender is finally home.” Vladimir said to the person on the other side and then hung up the call. “We’ll have to wait a while. This airport is a bit far from my home.” Vladimir informed me while we were walking to some chairs in the waiting area of the airport. About forty five minutes later, Vladimir received a call from Ian; informing him that he was outside. We immediately jumped to our feet and made our way out of the airport. A strong, cold gust of wind blew my hair everywhere as I stepped out of the airport doors. As we walked to the limo, I looked around at all the tall buildings surrounding the airport. They looked very beautiful and architecturally strong. The tar roads were no different. They were so clean and pothole free that you could swear that they were made yesterday. After looking around at all my surroundings I took notice of the weather. Dark clouds were starting to form all around and it looked like it was about to rain or snow. I guess this is Russia. I thought to myself. There was a man standing by the limo across the street. When we approached him, he opened the back door for us and took his hat off, bowing his head. “Welcome back sir. It’s good to have you back.” He said to Vladimir while keeping his gaze down out of respect. Vladimir merely nodded and then introduced me to the man. “Ian. This is my wife, Lavender. You are to treat her with respect, do you understand?” “Oh, yes sir.” He hurriedly replied and then turned his attention to me. He slowly lifted his eyes from the ground a little bit and looked me in the eye with a somewhat sympathetic look and then said; “It’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am. I’m the chauffer, Ian. Welcome to Russia.” He then gently took a hold of my hand and placed a gentle kiss on my knuckles. I flashed Ian one of my cutest smiles and said: “It’s nice to meet you too Ian.” “Ian. I’m fatigued from all this travelling and I’m sure Lavender is too. Please take us home.” Vladimir said in an annoyed tone. “Yes sir, right away.” He replied while still holding the door open. I slipped into the limo first and Vladimir followed, taking his seat opposite me. The limo interior was very luxurious and fancy, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. Living the rich and fancy life has been my forte since the age of three. It was a long drive, but the limo finally came to a stop in front of a simply gorgeous and elegant triple storey mansion that was painted in yellow. We drove through the gate and stopped right in front of the front door. Ian then came around the back of the limo and opened the door for us. Vladimir let me climb out first and then he followed. He then walked right past me and made his way to the small set of steps leading to the front door. Once at the top of the steps, Vladimir turned to me and gestured for me to follow him. He turned the knobs of the wooden double doors and pushed the doors open. He then walked inside and I followed suit. Just as expected; the entrance foyer was marvellously beautiful! There were two cases of stairs on opposite ends leading up to the second and third floor. The foyer itself was decorated with the finest pieces of furniture and the flooring was made of marble. Unfortunately though, Vladimir gave me very little time to marvel at his beautiful home as he called out for me to follow him. He then made a short right into a room which turned out to be the living room area. It was finely furnished with beautiful white leather couches. It had a large marble coffee table with a glass top dominating the centre of the room. There was an antic fireplace at the back of the room. In the far right corner stood a brand new snooker table. There were four large, lively looking plants in four huge flower pots on all four corners of the room. The walls of the room were painted in a slightly lighter yellow colour than the one that covers the outside walls of the house. There was a lady who looked to be in her late thirties dressed in a maids outfit in the room when we entered. She was wiping the coffee table when Vladimir walked past her and made his way to the three cushion couch on the left side of the room. When she saw Vladimir taking off his suit jacket, she rushed to help him. “Oh, my apologise sir. I didn’t see you come in. Welcome back, sir.” She explained; her voice full of fear. After she finished assisting Vladimir her attention diverted to me. “You must be Lavender. We have been awaiting your arrival for a very long time.” She said, as she strolled towards me. “I’m Inna.” She stuck her hand out for a handshake and I gladly accepted it. “Inna, I would like to have a word with Lavender alone. Perhaps you can continue your duties elsewhere and come back once we are finished here.” “Of course, sir.” She said with a nod. “It was nice meeting you Lavender, welcome.” After that, Inna hurriedly left the room. “Come sit, Lavender.” Vladimir said while patting the space next to him on the couch. He had loosened his tie and had a small glass of scotch in his hand. It was only then that I noticed the cabinet full of alcoholic beverages and drinking glasses to the left of the fireplace. I slowly made my way to Vladimir, not daring to disobey him this time. I sat a few inches away from him and stared at my sweaty palms on my lap. “Look at me.” He said coldly. I was too disgusted and terrified to look at him right now. When I didn’t look up, he dug his fingers roughly into my cheeks and forced me to look at him. Suddenly my head whipped to the side and I felt the stinging pain of his slap as he forced me to make eye contact again. “You will do what I say, when I say it!” He yelled in my face. “Do I make myself clear?!” His eyes were full of anger and dominance as he waited for my response. I just remained silent and nodded my head. Before I knew what was happening, he grabbed a fist full of my hair and yanked it causing me to yelp in pain. “I want you to tell me that you understand in words. Speak up!” “Yes. I understand.” I replied quickly. “Good.” He said with a satisfied smile. He then let go of my hair and placed his hand on my thigh. Fear immediately began to vibrate through my body as I thought about what he was going to do to me. “Don’t worry. I will not force you into fulfilling your wifely duty as of yet. You are still young and you need to grow before we do such things.” He said and slowly removed his hand from my thigh. Relief flushed through my body as he did so. “But, you will show me the respect a wife would her husband and you will behave like a proper lady. As you can see, I have a house staff to take care of everything here. Even with the house staff; you will learn to cook, clean and everything else a woman should know how to do. After your training you will be cooking me a meal and cleaning my room once a week. I expect it to be up to standard. Are we on the same page?” “I want to go home. I don’t want this, Vladimir!” I replied as a tear escaped my eye. “Oh Lavender. That is not happening. You belong to me. Your father sold you to me before you were even born, before he even raped your mother and that’s how it’s going to stay. So the sooner you forget your home and accept your fate here the better.” Vladimir said and wiped the tears from my eyes. Just then a young man wearing a grey suit walked into the room. “Sir, he’s here.” He said and Vladimir nodded. “I’m on my way.” He replied and the young man disappeared from the room. “I’m sorry dear wife, but I have some urgent work to attend to. Inna!!” Vladimir yelled. Not even a minute later, Inna poked her head into the room. “Yes, sir?” “Please show Lavender around the mansion and then take her up to her bedroom. Make sure she gets a nice shower and a change of clothes.” “Will do sir.” Vladimir then got up from the couch and put his suit jacket back on. He placed his scotch glass on the coffee table and turned to me. “Don’t do anything you shouldn’t. I have eyes and ears all over this mansion. I will be checking on you later.” He said. He then turned on his heels and exited the room. “Ready to go Miss?” Inna asked me. I simply nodded my head and stood up, slowly following Inna out of the room. Later that night, I was sitting on the edge of my unbelievably comfortable bed, staring out the window at the white blanket of snow that was now covering the ground outside. I was dressed in a warm winter pyjama jumpsuit and I had a pair of comfy warm socks on. My new bedroom was breath-taking! No words can describe how amazing it is. As I sat there deep in thought there was a soft knock at the door before Vladimir walked in. He was dressed in some sweatpants and a white T-shirt. He sat right beside me on the bed and I scooted away from him. He quickly scanned my body before saying: “This is your home now and I’m your husband. We won’t get legally married as of yet because you are still young, but the day I feel that you are old enough and I want to marry you, then I will. Even though we aren’t married now, I want you to give me your full respect and devotion. If you don’t, I will give your daddy a call and both he and I will put you back in line. Are we clear on this?” “Yes.” I replied, barely above a whisper. Vladimir then stood up and made his way to the door. Before opening it, he said: “Get some sleep. Tomorrow your training begins. You’ll need to be well rested. Goodnight dear wife.” With that said, Vladimir opened the door and left. I felt the warm tears coming up to the surface and I let them fall. “I miss you mom, I miss you so much! I want you to know that even though all of this bad stuff is happening to me, I will stay strong. I will keep on living for you until the day I make you proud by getting revenge for you. Rest in peace. I love you mommy.” I said thinking out loud.