Chapter 1: Beauty is the Beast (Part 2)

Read Part 1  here: http://slavestheseries.blogspot.com/2011/12/beauty-is-beast-part-1.html

[CONTD.]

1000 YEARS AGO, MEDEIVAL INDIA

Shackles of iron dangling, and dripping a trail of blood, the ugly woman was being paraded to the pedestal where she was to be executed. The death sentence came without delay. She was ugly, she was old, she cured a few poor peasants, and she never interfered in anybody’s affairs. She was the perfect candidate for the witch hunting scheme the king had introduced. Catch a witch and get a reward of a handful of gold coins. Three witches had already been burnt alive and now it was her turn. She never got the chance to plead mercy; she was captured in her home while she was sleeping, her hut burnt in front of her eyes, beat badly and chains were put around her so the weak frail woman would not run away from twenty able bodied soldiers who had come to capture her.

“Witch! What’s your name?” screamed one of the soldiers as she was a few steps away from the pedestal of doom.

“Hema!” she cried, her voice breaking.

Hema was made to climb the pedestal made of logs and was chained to a wooden block. She looked around and saw that a crowd had gathered to witness her slaughtering.

“The witch who calls herself Hema shall be executed as per the orders of our King,” announced someone which was greeted by a cheer from the crowd.

“The King arrives,” another announcement was made, which was followed by more cheering.

Hema looked around with whatever power she had and with her blurred vision she saw the figure of their new king approach the pedestal. Probably he would set the fire himself.

“No! No! Mother!” someone screamed from the crowd.

Hema looked and saw her daughter run towards the pedestal through the crowd. She screamed, “Aruna! No! Go away from here!” She knew it was not safe for a witch’s daughter to be around the king and his soldiers.

Shabbily dressed Aruna reached the clearing in front of the pedestal and looked up at her mother. She was greeted with a collective gasp from the crowd:

“Oh, my God! Did you see her face?”

“She’s a monster!”

“Kill her! Kill her!”

Aruna was not the most beautiful girl in the kingdom. She had the ugliest face anyone there had ever seen. She had a patch of baldness on her head, her limbs were deformed and she smelled horribly. She looked up at her mother and cried, “Mother, no... Come down from there...”

Hema looked down at her and said, “You shouldn’t be here, Aruna... Go! Run! They will kill you.”

The king looked at the girl and gestured at his soldiers who immediately advanced towards her but hesitated a while with disgust.

Aruna looked up and said, “Why are you allowing this, Mother? You can just walk down...”

Hema said in a hoarse voice, “I can’t, Aruna! They have my hands tied behind my back... But you must go...”

Aruna looked around and saw the king’s soldiers slowly surrounding her but no one dared to come close yet.

She extended her right hand towards her mother and shut her eyes. Then she began chanting a spell which was immediately met with cries of horror from the crowd:

“She’s a witch too!”

“Kill her!”

“She’s chanting a spell!”

“Stop her!”

[TO BE CONTINUED...]

Does anyone stop Aruna? Read Part 3  here: http://slavestheseries.blogspot.com/2012/01/beauty-is-beast-part-3.html

Chapter 1: Beauty is the Beast (Part 1)

It was 31st December and as far as Devika was concerned this was the last New Year on earth for the world was coming to an end. Not that she was very serious about it; on the contrary, she gave a damn about the world around her. An aspiring model, she left home at the age of 17 and came to Mumbai to try her luck in the industry. Four years passed since; several ramp walks, fashion shows, print and television advertisements later, she was now about to be the winner in the upcoming Fabulous Face Beauty Contest where she would compete with aspiring models from all over the world. She had made sure she left no stone unturned in making her progress and eventual victory certain. For, all it needed was giving her much sought company to a few men who were in control and managed the internal goings-on in the glamour industry.

Much to her aversion, the world-famous fashion designer, 45-year-old Siddharth Saxena, sought her company on the evening of the 31^st night. Post lunch, he took her to a 5-star hotel, booked a honeymoon suite, and made her satisfy his carnal cravings. Devika was not fond of him, but nevertheless fulfilled his pervert wishes only because he was one of the important judges in the beauty pageant. She was in no mood to spend the day with him for she had already promised her friends she would be with them till late night and celebrate.

When Siddharth finally dropped Devika at the corner of a deserted street, she heaved a sigh of relief. She kissed him goodbye, promised to see him again soon, and quickly turned her back to leave. As she heard the noise of Siddharth’s car fading away, she cursed him and glanced at her watch. It was already 8 PM. She was supposed to be with her friends at a nearby night-club. Her phone rang suddenly and she received the call while half running.

“Hello... yeah, yeah, I’m so sorry... Oh, don’t ask... I’ll be there in five minutes... Five minutes, I promise... Yes, see ya!”

She hastily grabbed her handbag and groped for something inside but could not find it.

“Oh no, come on...” she mumbled.

She noticed that the road was rather deserted and a distant disco music could be heard. She finally found a lipstick and applied it on her lips while still searching for something in her bag.

“Where the hell is the mirror?”

Suddenly, she paused. She turned back quickly. But there was no one. She could have sworn she heard someone behind her.

She put the lipstick back in her bag and began walking. She ran her fingers through her hair as she walked confidently towards the night club. She needed a drink now. She also smiled as she walked in practise of the fake smile she needed to put up once she was in company.

But her smile disappeared and she halted abruptly at the sound she heard. It was a strange sucking noise and it came from directly behind her back. She cautiously took out the pepper spray from her bag and turned back like a bolt of lightning. At what she saw, her bag and pepper spray both fell from her hands.

[TO BE CONTINUED...]

What happens next? Read Part 2 here: http://slavestheseries.blogspot.com/2011/12/beauty-is-beast-part-2.html