Freak is an Ugly Word

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Awake and bored, Princess sat upon the bed and stared at the wall. Joker had burst into the room hours ago and woken her up, throwing clothes in her face. He tended to throw things at her. She was just glad that it was objects made out of fabric and not flesh and bone or harder. Cloth she could handle, it did not harm her. Well, the zipper of the skirt he had thrown at her caught the right side of her lower lip and cut it, but she did not mind. It was not that bad. A busted lip was something she had grown accustomed to.

When he had not apologized and slammed the door laughing at her, Princess had grown angry. So angry, she wanted to hit him. But all was forgiven when she spotted a pair of plain white cotton panties. She had not seen a pair of those in years. There was no bra, but she was fine with that. Her breasts were small enough that they were perky and she had no use for a one. The rest of the clothing was not to her taste. The skirt was a strange shad of gray, longer than she was used to coming to mid thigh, and hung on her waist instead of her hips like she was used to, she had decided to roll it over until it touched her hips. The shirt was in a tank top fashioned and was a dark blue in color. Neither the skirt nor the shirt fit her properly and hung loosely on her. If she had not rolled the skirt down, it would have fallen off of her.

She was sad when she saw he had not thought about footwear. She was going to be stuck wearing the thigh high leather boots that she loathed so much. For now, she decided against wearing them. They hurt her feet and she was inside. Wearing shoes inside was optional. At least, she hoped so. She had not dared venture out of the room, Joker had told her to stay put, and she had not seen if the other men wore shoes in there or not.

A bored sigh left her. There was absolutely nothing for her to do in the room. She had stared at the walls for so long that she counted the cracks that marred their smooth structure. Thirty-seven. Thirty-seven cracks of different sizes and shapes. She had even picked out a favorite. It was the largest in the room and on the wall to her left. The shape of it had reminded her of something, but she could not recall what. It had to be something from her past. The past her mind was now blocking out.

She could remember only certain things about her past. Who and what she was still remained, it was the people that had disappeared. All of them, even the ones she cared about, were nothing but blurred form in her head. Even their names had slipped into the deep crevice of her mind, disappearing into the dark void. All that remained was Joker. He stood out in her mind like a sore thumb. The most prominent and clear being in her mind.

Princess shifted uncomfortably. She had to use the restroom, but did not want to disobey Joker and leave the room. She could remember what he did to the man whose name she could not recall. He had chopped off his fingers. Princess liked to keep her fingers attached to her hands. And she wanted to stay on Joker’s good side. Fear that he would throw her back on the streets kept her from leaving that room.

After another half an hour past, Princess could no longer take it. If she did not go to the restroom soon, she was going to pee herself. The thought of doing so disgusted her. Only little kids did that, and she was no longer a little kid. Not to mention the mess she would have to clean up. Her bed would be ruined, and it was the only bed that she had.

Now determined, she stood up and exited the room. Her bare feet pattered on the cold concrete floor. Though the floor was very cold, it was still better than wearing those boots. When she came to the room where she had first been introduced to Joker’s men, she peered around. Sitting alone on an old orange couch that appeared to have been ripped from the seventies was a man. He had hair so dark that it appeared black, high cheek bones, full lips, and had a nose that was not too thin or too big. Perfect. Pretty boy some would call him. Princess just thought perfect was more fitting.

As quietly as she could, she walked up to him. He sat on the couch, legs crossed Indian style but his posture perfect, watching the television without the sound on. “’Scuse me,” she called softly to him when she was close enough.

The man turned to her hazel eyes shining brightly. A million dollar smile that would melt the knees of any woman caressed his face. A smile that made Princess blush. “Well, hello,” he said to her his voice low and gentle. His voice was naturally seductive and sounded like sex on a hard wood floor. “What can I do for you?” With a voice like his, the question seemingly suggested other things making Princess blush brighter.

“Um.” She was having a hard time remembering why she had come into the room in the first place. “C-can ya show me where the bathroom is?” she asked in a hush tone, embarrassed.

“Sure.” He stood up. “Just follow me,” he told her waving his hand in a gesture that suggested she do the same he said. And follow him she did.

As they walked down a corridor, Princess gazed about her. She was not paying attention to where she was going, and never realized that her speed had increased. It was only when she bumped into the man’s back did she snap back into reality. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
The million dollar smile replaced itself on his lips. “It’s okay. Just pay attention to where you are going,” he told her. “The name’s Greg Johnson, but here they call me Doc.”

“Why Doc?” curiosity forced her to ask.

“I used to be in medical school. Was going to be a doctor, but didn’t like it very much. So, I dropped out.” They continued walking down the corridor, this time Princess was walking next to him instead of behind. “How old are you?” he asked taking a quick glance at her.

“Why?”

“Just curious.”

“Nineteen.”

Doc looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. He had had her pegged for someone a little younger. She appeared no older than sixteen. Her small boney frame and round face was part the reasoning behind that. The simplistic mind she had was the main reason he had thought her younger. He knew nothing about the girls past, but came to the conclusion that it was a rough one for her to end up how she was.

Her speech pointed to someone that was not educated. To him, that meant that she had been a prostitute before she had finished school. He had so many questions to ask her, but decided against it. If he inquired too much into the girl’s past, he might ruin what Joker had started. That was one thing he did not want to do. It would anger the man, and Doc did not want to be at the receiving end of his wrath.

“Well, here it is,” Doc stated stopping in front of a door. “I trust you can find your way back.”

Princess nodded. “Thank you.” It earned her another smile from Doc. As he walked off, Princess watched him go. He had to be the most attractive man she had ever seen. And he was nice to boot. Princess decided that she liked him. He seemed like someone that she could get along with. The other men were still questionable, considering she had not spent anytime with the others.

As she walked into the bathroom, she briefly wondered where they and the Joker could have gone. Joker had told her that he was going to be in the building, but she had not seen him in the living room, nor while her and Doc were walking to the bathroom. She shrugged it off. The building was large and they had not walked very far into it. There were many places the man could be lurking.

After finishing her business in the bathroom and flushing the toilet, Princess walked up to the long mirror that took up a good portion of the wall. She gazed at her reflection for the first time in a long while. Her face was completely void of any makeup; she hadn’t seen herself that way in a while. Her eyes were blood shot from the lack of sleep. She wanted badly to take a nap, but Joker had ordered her to stay awake. She did not know why he wanted her to, but she figured she should listen to him. He seemed to know best.

Walking out of the bathroom, Princess started to head to her room. Screams erupted from the opposite direction she was headed. They sounded horrible and pain filled. The loud agonizing screams frightened her, but curiosity was drawing her to them. Her feet headed in the direction the screams were coming from before she could even think to tell them to stop.

She came to a metal door that the screams were the loudest. The door suddenly opened, and the screams intensified causing Princess to jump. One of Joker’s men stood before her staring down her with a look of curiosity on his face. He turned to the side looking back in the room, giving Princess a full view of who the screams were coming from.

Joker was kneeling in front of a man, carving a man’s face in the same everlasting smile that he had. As the man screamed the small incisions on his face ripped wider spreading them nearly to his ears. Dark red blood pooled from the wounds into the back of his throat. The screams were turning into gargling noises as he slowly drowned in his own blood, all the while Joker’s insane laughter filled the room.

A high pitched scream tore Joker from his work. He glanced up and spotted Princess. The girl had not even realized that she had screamed until Joker stared at her. His charcoal surrounded eyes narrowed at her. Standing, he took a step toward her. Before his foot even fell to the ground, Princess ran. Ran like the frightened little bunny rabbit she was.

Joker’s eye twitched in annoyance. He had told her to stay in the room. What the hell was she doing out? That was no good. No good at all. She was being a very naughty puppy and would have to be punished.

Turning to the man standing at the door, Joker’s eye twitched once again. “You know what to do with that!” he harshly said to the man pointing at the nearly dead man dressed as Batman.

“Sure Boss,” the man answered making room for the fuming Joker to exit the room.

As he walked, horrible thoughts came to Joker. He thought of the horrible things he could do to Princess as punishment for disobeying him. Joker was a simple man. He just asked of her two things. No questions, and to obey. That’s all. That’s all he expected from her. But she had not obeyed. Naughty puppies had to be punished.

When he made it to her door, he slammed it open. He spotted her huddling in the far corner of the room, her face in her knees. When she looked up at him, tears streaked her face and her eyes were wide in fright. A thrill went through him at the sight of her eyes.

He slammed the door shut and locked it, smearing blood over them in the process. “Come here,” he commanded the frightened girl when he turned back to look at her.

She obeyed without thought. Crawled to him on all fours like a dog, her head downcast. When she reached the center of the bed she stopped and sat on her knees. His heavy footfalls echoed across the room and she sobbed, but never looked up at him. Kneeling down, he tightly gripped her neck with his right hand. She felt the now cold and slimy blood rub off on her flesh, and a whimper escaped her throat.

He raised his hand, ready to strike her. “I’m sorry,” she wailed causing him to stop. “I wanted to listen to ya, but I had to go to the bathroom. There ain’t a bathroom in here. When I got out, I heard the screams. Before I knew it, that man opened the door and I saw what ya were doin’,” she explained quickly. “I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt me.”

Joker smiled. That’s right. He wasn’t supposed to hurt her. He was supposed to be different from the men that she had come into contact with before. His plans had nearly been ruined. With that one hit, all of his “hard” work when have been swept away. Good thing she said something before he got carried away. He didn’t want to have to start his experiment all over again.

Princess was shocked when his hand fell on her face not in a slap, but caressing it.
“Sshh,” he whispered to her gently. “Didn’t Joker tell Princess that he wouldn’t hurt her? That he was going to protect her?” The grip he had on her throat slackened and he pulled her to him resting her head on his chest. “I wouldn’t dare hurt my pretty little Princess.”

Soon, the tears stopped and Princess was left sniffling, cuddled into his chest. Blood was getting smeared all over her, but she did not mind. Everything was alright now. He wasn’t going to hurt her. Just him yelling at her had taught her her lesson. No longer would she dare disobey him. If he wished for her to stay in her room, she was going to stay there until he allowed her to come out.

“Is he dead?” Princess asked sniffling.

There was no need for Joker to ask who she was referring to. It was obvious. It was a question he had expected her to ask. “Yeah,” he answered simply.

“Why?”

He already had the perfect answer in his mind. Some other way to break her simple little mind. “He was a bad man. Very bad man.”

“How?”

“He was workin’ for the Batman. Princess knows who the Batman works for, doesn’t she?” She shook her head. “He works for the cops. Cops are evil men, just like the mob.”

She lifted her head off of his chest and looked at him in confusion. Cops were supposed to be the good guys, right? That’s why they were there. To protect and serve. She could not grasp the concept of how they were evil.

Joker fought back a malicious smile. “Princess’ father was a cop, wasn’t he?” She nodded, not knowing how he knew that. She did not recall telling him that. “And he gave Princess to the mob. They did such bad things to the little Princess, didn’t they?” Another nod. “Does Princess remember the first night we met?” A small smile played on her lips. Of course, she remembered that night. How could she forget? “Then, she remembers that cop that took her to the station. The one that rapped her.”

She started to realize where he was taking everything. She remembered the way that the cop’s hands had roamed her body, seemingly doing a search for weapons and drugs. How his breath had stank of alcohol. How he had laughed at her afterwards, calling her names. But wait, wasn’t her brother a cop. She remembered little of him now, so very little. The only thing she could recall was that he was nice to her. Had always taken care of her. She explained that to Joker.

He sighed and shook his head at her. “Poor, poor Princess. Doesn’t remember anything. Her simple little mind must have blocked all of it out. But he did such naughty things to her. Joker can see why she would try to forget.”

“What do ya mean?” she asked her voice cracking. Tears were threatening to spill forth from her eyes once again. She did not understand what he was saying. What did her brother do to her?

“Sshh, don’t cry Princess.” He cradled her to his chest once again. “Joker doesn’t want to tell Princess all the horrible things her brother did to her. It would hurt her to remember. Joker doesn’t want to hurt his Princess.”

Joker knew that he was lying. Her brother probably did nothing to her. He really did not know he had never heard word of him until Princess had just said something. He was just making up things as he went. Princess mind was so confused and muddled that any little suggestion would seem to be the truth. Keeping her exhausted had helped in the matter. Her mind could hardly tell up from down at the moment.

Curling herself into a tiny ball, Princess desperately attached herself to Joker. Now, she could see why he had killed the man. That man had been bad. Very bad. He deserved what he had gotten. Joker was good, and his kill had been righteous. What he had done was for the better. It was just one less bad man on the street. One less man that could hurt her.

“Now,” Joker started and she looked up at him, “does Princess understand why he killed that man?”

She nodded. “Yeah. He was a bad man.” She replaced her head on his chest. “He deserved to die.”

It was getting harder and harder for Joker to fight back the ecstatic giggles he felt coming on. “That’s right! He was a very bad man. Bad men get only death in the end. Princess is such a smart girl.” She gazed up and smiled at him. “Such a good girl, Princess is.”

When Joker reached his hand forward to stroke her cheek, Princess grabbed his wrist stopping him. She brought his hand to her lips and licked a line of blood off of his gloved fingers. The blood was cold but still retained its salty metallic taste. The few droplets that she had collected off of Joker’s finger, Princess swished around her mouth like a connoisseur tastes wine. After being satisfied with the taste, she swallowed and worked on the next finger.

A sadistic smile played across Joker’s face as he stared down at Princess. Watching her small tongue flick across his fingers lapping up the blood from his gloves was enjoyable. When she was done with his fingers, she moved to the palm of his hand.

“Princess like the taste of blood, doesn’t she?” The question earned no reply from her, just the continuation of her licking the blood clean off of his gloved hand.

When the glove was clean of blood, she sat up on her knees coming face to face with Joker. Her small skinny fingers ran through his greasy green hair and her long nails caught his scalp, scratching it ever so slightly. She bit her lower lip and her eyes shifted from side to side as if thinking of what she should do next. The answer came to her and she crashed her lips upon his.

Pulling her bony frame closer to him, Joker forced his tongue into her mouth. She responded eagerly, ready to please. There was no fighting for dominance, both knew who was the dominate one. Who was the master and who was the pet. Princess would do anything to please the man. He had been so nice and kind to her and deserved what ever she could give him. If he so asked it, she would give him mind, body, and soul.

A load ravenous growl issued itself from Princess’ stomach and she pulled away in embarrassment. Joker cackled at the sight of her dark red cheeks. “Sounds like Princess is hungry.”

“Yeah. I haven’ eaten in two days,” she replied. She had completely forgotten about her lack of nourishment. Strange how something so important could slip her mind.

“Well, we better get some food in Princess’ little belly. Can’t have her starve to death.” Releasing her, he stood up quickly and went to the door. After unlocking it, he swung it open dramatically and walked out.

Reaching the living room, he stared about it. Most of the men had returned and were staring mindlessly at the screen of the television. Doc had to have been in control of the remote for the sound was shut off. It would appear that the men did not mind that fact. They still watched the moving pictures with interest.

Joker loudly cleared his throat, gaining the attention of all in the room. They stared at him with the same interest as the object they had been previously gazing at. There was only one difference. Most of their eyes were eager, ready to go out and have some fun.

“You,” he shouted pointing his finger at Doc. “Um,” he could not seem to remember his name. “Doc,” he proclaimed when it finally came to him. “I want you to take Princess out and get her something to eat. In fact, you’re in charge of her from now on. Make sure she’s entertained and doesn’t roam around the building. Don’t want her to see something she’s not supposed to. Again.”

“Sure thing, Boss,” Doc responded. The task Joker had given him sounded simple enough. Princess was simple minded and it would be easy to keep her entertained. He knew that it meant that he wouldn’t be going out with the group any longer, but he was fine with that. Totting around a gun and waving it in people’s faces just wasn’t his forte.
Without another word, Joker left the men to go back staring mindless at the television. He never understood what people found so entertaining about those things. Why sit staring at a box when there was a whole world to watch burn? Now, that’s what Joker called entertainment.

When he reentered the room, Princess was still sitting on her knees on the bed. She had been waiting for him patiently, never moving from the bed. He had not given her orders to stay in the room, but she had thought it best. If she stayed in the room, she would not end up in trouble. She did not want to make Joker angry again. His blunt furry had frightened her so much.

Joker gazed down at Princess blood streaked form and clicked his tongue. Shaking his head he said, “This won’t do. No, not at all. Princess can’t go out with blood all over her. She’s going to have to get herself cleaned up. Time for Princess to take a shower.”
With a simple gesture, he ordered her to stand and follow him. She did so immediately.
Once again, the pattering of her tiny feet rebounded across the walls of the corridor as she followed closely behind him. They made it to the shower room. Princess was thankful that this time it was absent of the presence of strange naked men.

“Hurry up and get clean!” commanded Joker leaving her alone in the room.

After picking out a random shower, Princess made her way to it. Turning on the water, she stuck her hand under the cascading droplets to make sure it was the correct temperature. She did not want another repeat of the boiling hot shower Joker had made her take previously.

Once the water was to her liking, she stripped herself. Now bare of all clothing, she stepped under the water. Not being provided with a rag or soap, she was left to stand under the water and watch it flow down the drain. The water was light pink in color and bubbled before it was forever lost in the endless sewer systems of Gotham.

Just as the water bubbled, Princess started to giggle. She imagined that the pink water was giggling with her. Every time one of the bubbles popped, she giggled hysterically. The sight of blood used to sicken her, now she found it fascinating and funny. She wondered why it used to make her queasy. The red stuff tasted so good. She had acquired a taste for the salty metallic stuff. It was like licking a bar of silver.

Another bubble popped and Princess giggled louder. The sound of her wind chime laughter hit Joker’s ears and he stood in the doorway, towel on his arm, watching her with interest. The girl was definitely a strange one. But he could not condemn her. Hadn’t he done something similar? Laughed at the sight of blood as it bubbled and popped.

Another pop and another bubbling giggle from Princess. Giggling blood, she named it. That’s what it was doing. Giggling. Giggling as it left the world and plunged into darkness. It was just like her, though she had not come to realize it.

She liked it. Liked the giggling blood.

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Another chapter finished. I hope that you guys liked it. Let me know, please! Not my best chapter, but I hope you like it none the less. Rate and review.