Beneath his command

|| Elizabeth ||

Tick tock, tick tock…

The large clock, which hung on the cream-painted wall, chimed slowly but loud enough to be heard. There I was, sitting on my makeup chair and staring at the large mirror. There was a band wrapped around my right wrist as I struggled with my long, natural hair. My lips curved into a smile as I caught it and wrapped the band slowly around it. I aimed to tie it into a bun.

As I wrapped up the hair, my eyes dimmed as I reflected on the envious stares from most of my friends. They have often pried me to tell them the secret behind my long, dark brown hair. But seriously, there was no secret to tell. But my friends were ready to tow the ends of the earth to have my kind of hair. My slender hands reached into the drawer, and I pulled out my makeup kit.

Immediately, there was a knock on my door, and my phone started ringing. I stretched towards the end of the table and grabbed it. My eyes lit up at the caller, and a sigh escaped from my lips.

“Just in time,” I placed the phone back and swirled, facing the door, “Let yourself in…”

The knob was turned and a grey face popped in, face in and body still in the corridor, “Sorry, Lizzy”.

I folded my arms and stared at her with a questioning glance, “I almost did the makeup myself”.

She pushed the door fully and stepped in, “Thank God, you didn't. Your mom would have cooked me…literally.” She smiled nervously. “You remember my brother Ernest? He had a case in court outside town. I had to be there”.

I rolled my eyes. She was Mrs. Helena, my makeup artist. Lately, she has been coming late for my makeups, all because of a deadbeat brother who has refused to accept his fate and stay in jail. From what I could see, he's been a pain in Helena’s ass. Helena dropped her bag on the rug and grabbed my kits.

In less than thirty minutes, my face was perfect. My face glowed and my amber eyes lit up as I realised how beautiful I am. I know I'm beautiful, but I was just feeling another kind of beauty - one to the superlative degree.

“Here you go, girl. What dress are you wearing?” Helena asked; she also doubled as my wardrobe manager.

I slowly lifted myself, “Seriously, I do not know how to wear. And, I've been very lazy to shop lately”.

Helena reached for her purse and pulled out her medicated glasses. She fixed them on and walked towards my walk-in closet. Her mouth widened, and I was sure, it wasn’t because of my clothes collection. She had always recommended dresses for me to buy, pure luxury.

“Baby girl, you can't go wrong with this dress,” She pulled out a Yumi Katsura gold dress. I had gotten this in Dubai for about $8.5 million.

“I didn't think of this,” I got up and walked towards her. To be sincere, I never wore it since I bought it during my last shopping spree last year.

“Do you have those Debbie Wingham high heels?” She muttered in excitement.

“Which of them?” I lifted my gaze towards the top shelf of my closet.

“Elizabeth, oh God,” She squealed in excitement and reached out for the shoe. It was a handmade heel with a rare gemstone and platinum all around.

“You can never go wrong with these,” She smiled like she had won a gold medal.

Aunty Helena had always taken pride in styling me, and she did a great job of it. As I unbuttoned my teddy shirt, there was an abrupt knock, and the door gave way immediately. A sharp gasp escaped from my throat as I was almost naked.

I glared wildly at the person who stepped in, “John,” I rolled my eyes, “How many times have I told you to knock whenever you wish to enter my room?”.

He stared at me with a frown and brushed the shoulder of his Italian jacket, “We are running late, Princess”.

“What if I were nude?” I ignored his earlier remark.

“You are my little sister,” He shrugged, “You ran round these halls naked, a few years ago. What difference does it make?”

My elder brother wanted to rile me up, but I wasn't ready to give him that satisfaction.

“John, please, you'll have to excuse the ladies,” Helena said with a calm smile.

“No, it's fine. Let him stay. If he weren't jobless, he would have been out of here.” The sharp reply shook John, and he eyed me. His glare was cold, and I knew he was thinking of something harsh to say.

Then, a sinister smile spread on his face, “You're lucky that you're my little sister, my only sister. If not, I would have strung you on a pole and left you to hang,” He snarled.

“You know I respect you, big brother. But stop bursting into my room, you wanna catch my little titties or see how big my ass is?” I arced my brow.

His face crumpled in disgust, “Just know we are running late,” He said and left the room.

Aunty Helena just burst into laughter and sat on my bed, “You know, I've watched you two grow. I thought as adults, you both would outgrow a lot of attitude”.

Twenty minutes later, I was done dressing, and I walked towards the mirror. My amber eyes dimmed as I admired myself. The gown clung to my skin, exposing my perfect curves. Helena led me out of the room, and we walked through the hallway. The workers couldn't hide their admiration; I could hear their gasps and lingering stares.

As I stepped out, my Dad folded his hands as he leaned on his Rolls-Royce. He was in a deep conversation with his personal bodyguard. As he spotted me in the corner of his eye, he shifted his gaze towards me.

“My Princess,” He sighed, “You are as perfect and beautiful as the angels in the skies”.

My cheeks flushed, “Thank you, Dad. Do well to give Helena a raise. She's one of the reasons I'm glowing”.

John eyed me and continued tapping his screen. I inched closer to him, “You know none of your girlfriends is as pretty as I am”.

He shrugged, “It's the truth, but they respect me very much. Unlike you, little saucy girl”.

“Just tell me that you love me,” I winked.

He smiled, “You know, I love you, little sister”.

**

The drive to the event centre was a quiet one, my elder Brother and I in the back seat. My Dad on the second row while his personal bodyguard drove us. My mom was absent; she had travelled to Spain for a business meeting. She wanted to set up a new boutique there, so she needed to meet a few potential partners.

Twenty-five minutes later, we arrived at the luxury event centre in Mount Adams. John led me out of the car and held my hands.

“I'm your date tonight,” He winked at me.

I shook my head in disagreement, “No, I'm not that bland to have my brother as my date for the party”.

Nevertheless, John led me into the large hall. It was a masterclass in elegance. There were people clad in expensive dresses, glasses of wine in their hands. Some stood under the shaft of polished light, while some sat on plush velvet chairs. It was a party where all the mafia families were in attendance.

I walked towards one of the plush armchairs and lowered my ass, ready to watch a show. One of the waitresses walked towards me with a tray filled with champagne glasses. I got one, smiled at her and leaned back on the chair. As I took a sip, I noticed John walking towards me. He looked enraged like a bull, and I wondered what the issue was.

“We need to leave,” John muttered.

I tilted forward to be sure I heard him well, “What did you say?”

“We need to leave,” He reiterated.

“But we just got her,” I got up.

“Elizabeth, I don't want to repeat myself a second time,” He said and looked around, like he was running from something.

My heart skipped. John only called my whole name when there was a severe issue. Before I could even say anything, he yanked my wrist and dragged me out of the party. My Dad and the bodyguard were already in the car. We got in, and the driver stepped on the accelerator.

“Dad, what is happening?” I asked.

He took a deep breath and stared at me, his face was troubled, “Everything is fine, princess.” He chuckled, but his voice and face betrayed him.

Ten minutes into the journey, we noticed four men on the road. They were dressed like cops, and they signalled us to pull over and stop.

“I don't think those men are cops,” John said as he leaned forward.