Aku

How long has it been since I’ve entered this shack? Hours? Days? Years? My mind races, trying to decipher when exactly I entered this predicament. The woman stands in front of me for eternity, never doing so much as blinking since I first entered. No matter what I do, my body gets forced back into the carpet. In this very moment, I feel the exact same amount of frustration and confusion Mofu felt, this woman is my Olympia. She’s close, so close it’s humiliating. I’ve spent enough time in this house to lose track of it, and I’ve only gotten right in front of her. I can smell the perfume coming from her long legs, my body being forced to stare at her feet for what feels like millennia at a time. My body is hundreds of times as heavy as it was when I last got up, blood bubbling out of my mouth as I use every molecule of strength I have to push myself to my knees.

“You have some fight in you. I like that,” The woman mocks. “You look like a bug after being hit with a shoe, you're just struggling and squirming!” Her snickers only fuel my anger, the only reason I persist. I want to introduce her to my mace. I want her nose to be a mashed mess on the spikes. I want her to beg me for mercy as I stand above her, her blood splattered on my shirt. I want to bash her head in as she screams. I want her to struggle just as much as I am. No, I want her suffering to be much, much, MUCH worse. “Oh, you’re a violent one. You don’t even know why you’re in this situation right now, why so persistent? Just give up, you won’t beat me.” I’m barely able to push myself back to my knees, I’m so close my nose brushed her plump thighs. I rise to my feet, the woman shrinking as I return to my normal height, towering over her. She looks up at me, my blood smeared face reflecting in her eyes. I put my hand out to my side, my mace materializing. She slams me back into the ground, the impact harder than it was previously, and I’m right back to square one. “I don’t like looking up to people.” The fall shattered my will to get back up, my anger not enough to warrant this suffering. I lay flat, my blood staining the carpets. “Do you surrender yourself to me?”

“yes,” I mumble, shame building in my heart.

“I can’t hear you, speak up,” The woman demands, squatting down.

“Yes,” I repeat, my dry throat making it hard to talk.

“Then say it. Say you surrender yourself to me,” The woman commands.

“I surrender myself to you, damn,” I yell.

“Good. Now can I tell you why The Dictator gave you to me?” She asks. I nod my head, the dryness in my throat muting my voice box. “He sent you here to master something, something very difficult to master. Something you need to be completely obedient to survive, ok?” I nod again. “If you think of disobeying me or breaking my rules, think of this experience. Now pick yourself up, we’re getting you cleaned. My first rule is complete cleanliness, I have no patience for body odor or bodily fluids.” She grabs me by my shirt collar and drags me through several rooms before entering a long corridor, several doors decorating both sides of the marble tunnel. “Maids, clean him up and dress him in something presentable. Bring him to dinner when you finish.”

“Yes, Mother,” The maids reply, carrying me to the bathroom. The strip and toss me into a warm bath, the water immediately turning red. The four maids all work on different things, one brushing my teeth while another scrubs my body, the third washing my hair, and the fourth going through a closet full of suits. I’m too tired, too frustrated, too…lonely to be embarrassed, the maids explore my body lawlessly. Nothing they can do will get resistance from me. I just want to go to sleep. They pull me from the bath and dress me in a maroon butler suit and tie my hair back into a ponytail before shipping me off to the dining room where the woman sits, an arrangement of food sitting on the table. The maids place me in a chair before taking seats of their own, the woman sitting directly across from me.

“Did you enjoy your bath, Aku? You sure as hell smell and look much better,” The woman compliments, her gloved hands holding her head up. “Drink some water before you answer, I’m sure your throat is dry.” A maid fills a wine glass up with water before handing it to me. I hurriedly dump it all into my mouth, little streams running down my face, another maid holding a towel directly under my chin. A loud sigh of relief gets released from my newly hydrated body, the maid wiping my mouth with the towel.

“What is all this?” I ask.

“Rule number two, fully and truthfully answer any questions I ask you, and ask permission before asking your own, I know when you’re lying,” The woman corrects. “How was your bath, Aku?”

“Fucking heavenly,” I respond sarcastically. “Now what i-”

“Rule number three, profanity is prohibited inside this household,” The woman interrupts.

“Whatever, crazy lady. What i-,” I begin.

“Rule number four, you shall address me as Mother, and shall use ma’am,” Mother corrects.

“May I ask a question, ma’am,” I ask, biting my tongue out of frustration.

“Yes you may, what is it baby?”

“What is all this?”

“Why, it is simply dinner.”

“Ok but why is all this stu-”

“Rule number five, you shall speak properly and politely.”

“Why must all this food be here?”

“Would you like me to take away your options? We all have to eat, I thought you would enjoy some variety.”

“Ok,” I say. I reach for the meat before Mother slaps my hand back to my side.

“Rule number six, you will not get your plate of food until I have gotten mine,” Mother rectifies. “We’re not finished talking. I want you to tell me about how you arrived here.”

“Well, The Dictator walked me to your house.”

“No, how you got here, as in this city.”

“Well, I fell from the sky with my friends, and we got separated when the sky broke.” Mother laughs hysterically, her disbelief echoing through her cackles.

“Oh, baby, you mustn't tell such fantastical fables. Go on now, tell the truth.”

“I am. We were in The Beyond, and we fell through the floor and started freefalling from the sky just as it shattered, and I landed in a pile of trash.”

“Oh, you know about The Beyond?”

“Yes, I was there for a good amount of time.”

“So then you must be telling the truth, such an outlandish truth indeed. Tell me about these friends of yours,” Mother demands as she starts putting food on her plate.

“Ok, we’ll start with Amelia. She’s my oldest friend, we’ve known each other since we were young. She has a plan for everything, she really likes to follow the rules as well. Then there’s Mofu, he’s a real character. We haven’t known each other that long, but he’s already like the brother I’ve always wanted. Him and Amelia like each other, but won’t do anything about it. Sye is the newest to the group, and she’s, like, really good looking, even though she’s over 1000 years old.”

“That’s quite the dynamic. Where would they be right now?”

“I don’t know, I barely know where I am right now. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. You may assemble your plate now.” Another sigh of relief escapes my lips as I pile meat, potatoes, vegetables, and bread on top of each other.

“Rule number seven, you shall eat properly and neatly, no making messes,” Mother informs seconds before I dig into my crowded plate. “Pick up the fork and knife and be clean.” My hands grab the utensils despite my adamant disagreement. I place a fork full of food into my mouth as it explodes on my tongue. The flavors are indescribable, an experience I’ve never had before. The Mesa’s food tastes like unseasoned dirt compared to this, the taste bringing tears to my eyes. “I take it I did pretty well with dinner.”

“This is the best food I’ve ever had in my life,” I say, my head falling limp.

“If you surrendered yourself earlier, you could’ve had dessert too,” Mother says, a smirk emerging on her lips.

“There’s a dessert?” I ask.

“Only good boys get dessert, and you said you wanted to bash my face in,” Mother teases.

“Well, that was in a moment of frustration, I’ve completely changed my mind now,” I say, desperately trying to negotiate.

“I don’t know, what do you think, Nina?” Mother asks, turning towards one of the maids.

“He didn’t fight us in the bath, and is obeying the rules after you correct him, plus this is his first day. I’d say he can have a little bit of dessert,” Nina says.

“Thank you Nina!” I exclaim, shaking her hands intensely.

“Don’t get too worked up now. Nina, please serve him some brownie in a cloche,” Mother requests. Nina rises from her chair and walks over to a big box on a table in the corner of the room, revealing more sweets than I can name. Cake, chocolate, brownies, cookies, parfaits, milkshakes, pies, puddings, and more I’ve never seen before. Nina picks up a brownie and places it in the thing Mother said before placing it in front of me. “Now before you eat it, what do you say?”

“Thank you Nina,” I say, putting my hand on the top of the covering.

“Rule number eight, you shall say please and thank you to whoever is serving you as well as me,” Mother corrects.

“Right, thank you mother,” I spit out, my entire focus honed on this brownie. I rip the covering off, revealing three crumbs on a white plate. Mother’s boisterous laugh echoes through the room, the maids joining in with her. “What is this?!”

“Oh baby, I never said a whole brownie. I just said brownie,” Mother says, wiping tears from her eyes. I roll my eyes, slamming the covering back onto the plate. “It’s alright, if you obey me for this next activity, I’ll give you any sweet your little heart desires.”