Audrey tried her best not to cry. She didn't want to show weakness, but it was hard not to. What on earth had happened? What had she done wrong? What did these people think they were doing? They couldn't keep her here forever!
She heard voices from the small balcony right above and tried shouting so they could hear her. However, that turned out to be other crew members. They simply dumped a lot of water from above, it smelled like the run-off from the dishwashing. So now she was wet and oily as well as uncomfortable. At least her tears weren't as visible when everything else was wet as well. Three times, the water was dumped on her. Did they do it on purpose to humiliate her for some reason, or did they not know she was here? She had a suspicion it was the first.
Everyone was leaving. Would any of them ask where she was? They probably had a story ready for that. This had a sense of planning to it; it probably wasn't the first time they had done this. What would happen now? How could she get out of here?
The sound of the last visitors passing made her feel even more desperate. Her vain attempts at screaming were drowned out by the noise from the water dumped from above. Maybe that was why they did it. Didn't any of the other visitors miss her? Hadn't she made any impression on them? She had been the one who lost the pillory challenge, that had been the only time she knew everyone had looked at her. Was that why they kept her here now? Or was it because she had stumbled and dirtied the dress? Or both? Audrey didn't understand and she wondered how she would get home.
After what felt like hours more, they removed the wall again. The sun had nearly set. Audrey tried once again to shout, to scream, to get some sort of reaction. But no one looked at her. It was as if they didn't even hear her.
"There's no need to struggle," the Lady said as she finally came towards her. "You will just end up injuring yourself." There was no friendliness in her voice now. If anything, she sounded like she enjoyed seeing her struggle.
"I can usually tell," she continued, "When someone is going to be staying behind. You broke a record. I had you pegged the moment you came in here, did you know that? The way you lit up, how you recognized everything. And then you managed to get yourself placed in the stretch-neck. I usually have to make up a reason to place my chosen ones there, but you did it all on your own. So, now, you will get your wish. You will be a part of the staff in a medieval castle. But now the real kind, not just the fluffy exterior the rest of the world focuses on. Prepare her."
Audrey didn't understand. What was the Lady saying? Had she planned this from the start? She was insane! She barely even had time to try to protest before the man that had been named as the castle barber, came up on the platform with a pair of crude scissors. With expert precision, and before she even had time to register what was happening, he had cut away most of her hair.
"Hair will just get in the way," the Lady said with a smile. "It gets tangled in everything and makes things even more painful than it needs to be."
Another guard came up and placed a metal collar of some sort around her neck. She had seen a few of the servants yesterday with smaller versions of these but had thought it just a part of the costume. It was quite heavy, made of metal and with two smaller metal bars on opposite sides of it. Chains were attached to each side of the bars before, finally, the pillory was opened, and her gag was removed. But she didn't get a chance to stretch her poor body or even say anything. She was dragged by the chains and pulled forward. They kicked her so she ended up in a kneeling position in front of the Lady. The Lady smiled at the sight, and it was not the pleasant smile she had greeted her with yesterday. This was more like the smile she had when they had all been in the pillories. A wicked smile, Audrey realized now. The Lady was enjoying this.
"That's better! You will soon learn how life truly was, for most people in this time period. Not just the romantic version of the upper class, but the people at the bottom of the barrel."
"You're not going to get away with this." Audrey said as she tried to keep tears away from her eyes. She didn't want to appear even weaker than she already did, on her knees in chains. They hadn't removed whatever restrained her feet either, which only made her stumble more. For the first time she admitted to herself that she was scared. These people were all insane, but it also sounded like they had done this many times before.
"My dear, I have already done this for years. No one will miss you. We have your phone. We will make everyone you are in contact with think you contracted some rare disease and got sent to a specialist hospital with no cell service and no visitors allowed. When no one hears from you, they will look for a hospital that doesn't exist, not a medieval castle."
Her phone? But that had a PIN-code and was shut off! How would they even know how to open it?
"Now, you have a choice. You can accept your fate and start working for me straight away. Or you can continue to protest and see what methods we use for those that do not know their place. Are you going to be difficult about this?"
Audrey felt like she couldn't breathe. What had she done wrong? How were they able to get away with kidnapping? It sounded like she was far from the first person they had done this to.
"Sounds like you need some more convincing." the Lady said with glee in her voice. "The executioner will be delighted. It has been many days since he last whipped someone."
Audrey was dragged over to the nearest pole, and her hands were chained to it and the chains on her neck were connected to her hands, making her mobility limited. She looked in horror as a man came up with an actual leather whip. This couldn't be happening!
The first crack of the whip on her back told her exactly how screwed she was. These people were dead serious. They weren't going to release her. The whip cracked again and again. Before her back had time to recover, she was dragged away from the pole over to the stretch-neck again. She understood why they called it that now, a much more descriptive name than pillory. She tried to resist placing her neck there, but they were too quick for her. With the chains, she really had no chance to move away. All she really managed was to get a quick glance at her feet. Right above the leather shoes were two sets of shackles, tying her legs to each other. Her hands were similarly tied, even as they were placed in the pillory. The top of the pillory smashed down on her neck again, spelling her doom. Her hands were tied to the end of the bottom part of the pillory, which wasn't necessary, but sent a very clear message. Even if the pillory was opened, she wouldn't be able to move away from it, until they released the shackles.
"I'll give you another chance tomorrow," the Lady said with a smile. Audrey couldn't help the tears that fell. One last flick of the whip left her reeling in shock at what had just happened. With the iron collar, the position was even more damaging for her poor neck. Now she was all alone again. They hadn't gagged her, yet she knew there was no point in shouting. There was no one left here that cared.
As the shadows grew longer her sense of dread increased. What had she done to deserve this?