Dear readers,
This story primarily belonged to the Non-Consent/BDSM category, but this final Chapter I believe fits best in Romance category. Also, please read the other chapters first to be able to understand this chapter.
*****
Pankhudi woke up screaming. She opened her eyes to find Dahlia staring at her with wide open eyes full of concern.
"What happened dear?" Dahlia asked.
"He wants to kill me...he want to burn me alive!" Pankhudi screamed with her eyes red and tearful. She was trembling in terror. She was totally disoriented, she had totally lost track of time already and now even her perception of reality was badly distorted. She could still feel a lot of pain.
"Who wants to burn you? What happened? You were screaming like something was badly hurting you. What happened Pankhudi? I need to know." Dahlia asked authoritatively.
Pankhudi looked around. She was still lying on the floor with a bleeding wound on her head and welts of the whip on her body. There were no burns on her body, and she was alive. Perhaps when she fell unconscious by the whipping he left her.
"I don't know" Pankhudi said trembling with fear. "I had a bad dream, but it felt so real. When you are living a nightmare, it is hard to tell the difference between reality and bad dreams."
Dahlia helped her get up and gently led her to the bed.
"Calm down dear...please calm down. That much anxiety is not good for your health." she said fondling Pankhudi's head. She was still breathing heavily with red tearful eyes.
"I am scared Dahlia...I want to go home." Pankhudi begged.
Dahlia asked her to lie down and loaded a syringe. "This is an analgesic. It will ease your pain" she said with compassion.
Pankhudi allowed her to inject. Within a few minutes she began to feel the effect of the medicine, her pain indeed became less. Dahlia took her to the bathroom and gave her a gentle warm water bath. The she brought her back to the bed and began to dress her wounds. She was being so caring and gentle, like a motherly figure to Pankhudi.
"He was not always like that..." Dahlia spoke with a heavy heart, "He used to be a loving person, perhaps he still is deep within his heart. But the monster within him overshadows his mind most of the time."
Pankhudi looked at Dahlia as she spoke. She was surprised to know that she knew her tormentor so personally.
"Yes" said Dahlia looking at her, "I knew him since he was a child."
"What made him so bitter?" Pankhudi asked curiously.
"I can't tell you" Dahlia said, "But he has been through a lot more than you know."
Dahlia finished dressing Pankhudi's wounds. She held her Pankhudi's hands and looked straight into her eyes and said, "There is something about you Pankh that soothes him. I pity that ill-fated man. Something turned him into a monster, and I have seen him do horrible things since then. I have been a mute witness to the inhumanity of that human creature for years. There are things I can't speak of."
Dahlia paused for a while to wipe off her tears. "He has been relatively very calm since you came here. I have seen him stare at your pictures for hours together, with sad eyes. Perhaps you are special for him"
"It is so bad in here" Pankhudi said, "Why don't you leave?"
"I can't" Dahlia sighed, "He has taken my son away, only he knows where he is. He has asked me to keep doing my work here and he will keep my son alive. I can't bear to see the tortures he inflicts on his victims, but...I am helpless."
Dahlia began to weep silently. "I'd do anything to see my son again" she said.
Pankhudi hugged Dahlia and began to cry.
"For now I believe you need to rest" said Dahlia loading another syringe. "This will sedate you; your mind has got very agitated. You need to calm down dear."
Pankhudi felt the liquid flow into her vein through the puncture the needle made into her skin. Her eyelids began to feel heavy, Dahlia sat beside her holding her hand till she fell asleep. Pankhudi was in some kind of a trance, neither fully asleep, nor fully awake. She was not sure whether she was dreaming again, but she saw her Master walk into the room again.
"Is she alright now?" he asked Dahlia in a voice full of concern.
"Yes, she is better." Dahlia answered keeping her gaze downwards while speaking to him.
"Her screams got me worried" he said touching Pankhudi, "She is running a temperature."
"Yes" Dahlia replied, "She's got fever. She scared. She had a bad dream."
"Get a blanket for her" he ordered her. Dahlia did as she was told. She returned with a cosy blanket and covered Pankhudi with it. "Thanks, you may leave now" he told Dalia.