The Empty Mirror

Chapter 43: Infamy

Dougal and Hilda forged a despicable pact to perpetuate their depraved encounters in the woods, in order to satisfy a woman's darkest carnal desires. Those impure desires, when indulged, caused her to fail in her role as a mother and mother-in-law, plunging her into an abyss of forbidden passion and moral damnation.

"Dougal! If you persist in this infamous path, I demand that you forsake my daughter. You are a damned wild man, without restraint or measure. I will not tolerate you inflicting more suffering on my daughter. Therefore, cease with her and withdraw! When we leave this forest, I will depart with my daughter and you will vanish from our lives. That will settle this matter. This will be my compensation, this is how I will repay you for your protection towards us" - Hilda exclaimed, with the last glimmer of sensibility in her overflowing lust.

"You dare not abandon me in this manner! You dare not impose conditions on me! Without me, you would have already been devoured by the dark hand of the mafia. You owe me an unpayable debt. I have the absolute right to do with you whatever I desire, you whores" - Dougal replied with excitement, as if each word uttered by Hilda fueled his lust even more intensely.

Hilda glared at him with an icy stare, as sharp as a frost in the dead of winter, as she said, "You have outraged my trust, you have taken over my body, you have taken advantage of me and my daughter. All this after I considered you a son".

"Don't pretend to be pure and innocent. You were a prostitute in the temple of God, you received your payments from the priests. Do not try to justify your misfortune, for you were a mistress of the father of the church without compensation. You cannot deny it, you enjoyed it. You indulged in lust and reveled in voluptuousness. You are a whore, yes, but one of those who do it for pure pleasure, expecting no retribution other than the satisfaction itself. Surely you were even more aroused when I whipped you, and yet you still consider me a son" - Dougal declared insolently, raising his fist in threat.

"Please, conclude only with my daughter and I will accede to your darkest desires. Do with me as you wish, but don't hurt her, don't hurt me. Just let her go when it is safe, and then I will consider how to give myself completely to you” - Hilda pleaded fearfully, aware that Dougal was an insatiable man, greedy for pleasure. She knew they had no recourse against him, being helpless women before a man drunk with dominance. She only wished she could appease the beast with those words and find some way to release her daughter from her grief.

But most wicked of all, deep inside Hilda, there was also an insatiable fire of pleasure burning. She was aroused and enjoyed every moment. She longed to continue to give herself to her son-in-law, and in a morbid way, it excited her even more that it was precisely him, her own son-in-law. So they came to an agreement to give themselves to each other, leaving Esme out of this dark passion.

"It is settled, we will relegate Esme from this injury, and we will persist in guilty delight, giving ourselves unreservedly to our darkest and most lustful impulses, but harbour no illusion that your daughter is a docile lamb; she too cultivates perverse delights. Nevertheless, I will concede to your dictates" - Dougal spat with a masquerade that veiled his sordid machinations and fallacies, while Hilda was gripped by fears and bewilderment at her daughter's fetishes.

In a secluded area of the forest.

Esme and I embarked on the task of gathering mushrooms suitable for the palate. From the outset, Esme displayed a facade of courtesy, yet after her fleeting act, her true nature emerged insolently. Reluctantly, I conceded to her accompanying me, as she revealed her true intentions through indiscretions that required no interpretation. Despite my initial exile, my presence intrigued her once again, leaving me with no option but to withdraw.

For the second time, I yearned for salvation from the mysterious forest, but its enigma turned against me, denying me the desired escape. My superficial attempt at evasion was punished, plunging me into a slavery imposed by Esme. Despite her provocative insinuations, I maintained my composure, while she plotted her conspiracy with unwavering determination.

Upon returning to the cabin, we were greeted by Dougal and Hilda, indicating that our excursion through the forest had been extensive. However, an unusual atmosphere lingered in the air; Dougal, almost jubilant, seemed to rejoice while Hilda, with a dull and somber expression, evidenced deep regret. Esme and I noticed the change but chose to remain silent, acting with apparent normality as they did the same, secretly veiling the tensions.

Although Hilda showed signs of injury, I remained silent in the face of her subsequent reproach: "Do not misunderstand, I do not tolerate you by choice. If it were up to me, I would have expelled you long ago. But unfortunately, you possess some fleeting utility." Her revelation bewildered me; although her initial attitude was accommodating, her subsequent manipulation relegated me to a role of servitude, forcing me to risk venturing into the forest alone. Despite her abrasive behavior, I decided not to confront her directly, as Hilda was not my main concern.

The days passed slowly as my ankle, seemingly on the path to recovery, revealed the depth of its injury. The idea of prolonged disability shook me, not because of the loss of mobility, but because of the impossibility of escaping from that oppressive environment.

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Now, if anyone believed that harassment came solely from Esme, they gravely erred in their judgment. Dougal, in his supposed therapeutic attentions, massaged and bandaged my battered ankle. Although his actions seemed harmless at first, they soon revealed his true intention. In a moment of depravity, he slid my bare foot onto his erect member, feigning indifference to my disturbance.

However, the true atrocity unfolded when Esme, without allowing room for resistance, indulged in lasciviousness, shamelessly licking the sole of my foot and its toes, fueling the fire of her depravity. The idea of becoming an object of her arousal almost drove me to faint, aware that my fate in the hands of these perverts would be dire.

I watched as, on select occasions, Dougal and Esme retreated into the lushness of the forest to indulge in their most intimate desires. Although my virtue urged me to repudiate such encounters, I could not consider them as acts without redemption. Nevertheless, my unease heightened when Dougal and Hilda followed the same path.

Not only that, but I perceived, though I did not witness the act itself, an exciting fervor in their desire to be watched, prompting me to avert my gaze. Their actions became even more lascivious, more sinful, suggesting a carnal complicity that left me stunned. The degeneration of the situation plunged me into confusion, fearing the imminent consequences, while my injured ankle remained unhealed, adding an additional weight to my concern.

Hilda, with voluptuous ardour, surreptitiously insinuated herself into her son-in-law, intertwining the threads of lust in an intriguing game of seduction. Certainly, they consummated their carnal desires after he had satiated his appetite with his own bride, thus weaving a dark trio of forbidden passions.

The two females, mother and daughter, whose very existence aroused in me a revolting contempt, though I was uncertain whether Esme shared my perception of this abomination, and confident that even she would not indulge in such detestable acts, I was compelled to show Esme the iniquity and restore to her the scant vestige of decency to put an end to the depravity that was hovering between her mother and her lover.

Once, as I was scheming how to reveal my situation to Esme without her mistakenly suspecting any deception, I was surprised when she herself urged me to strip off my dress. For an instant, I feared their morbid intrigue, but to my relief, it was simply that Esme was offering me a dress.

This shabby-looking garment was a yellow dress in a classic style, made of a delicate satin fabric that must have once radiated splendour, but now showed signs of decrepitude. The puffed sleeves and fitted bodice were adorned with frayed lace and patches of floral fabric, each telling their own stories of the past. The long, elegant skirt flared out gracefully, revealing finely embroidered patches that added a nostalgic charm to the garment.

"Acquire this dress once you have stripped your body of what currently adorns it. While your previous garment surpasses this piece in quality, it has unfortunately succumbed to the deterioration of time. It urgently needs to be washed. For now, cover yourself with it alone. We cannot tolerate your nakedness, precious child. I have meditated on your situation and have taken action. This dress used to be mine in my younger years, and my mother bequeathed it to me for you. With my own hands, I have restored it exclusively for your use and delight" - Esme articulated her words.

Although I was comforted by the exclusivity of our presence in the hut, an uneasiness crept over me at the possibility of Dougal bursting in and catching me in a near-stripped state. Hilda's absence, possibly in his company, heightened my sense of vulnerability. Paradoxically, my confidence in safety with Esme outweighed my confidence with Dougal. Sadly, I was beginning to feel afraid of him. At least with Esme, a woman, I could conceive of the possibility of defence or reasoning in the event of coercion, a prospect that was perhaps not on the horizon with Dougal. Yet somehow, somehow, my effort to guide Esme to virtue persisted.

My faith in redemption and subsequent opportunities was shaken by the present situation. After dressing me in the amber yellow gown, Esme, with defiant subtlety, began to brush my hair from behind, whispering "Our child" in a barely perceptible cadence, the same one she used to induce me to share her bed, her pink lips exuding an aura of wicked tenderness. She carefully tied a ribbon of the same shade as the dress, a little yellow bow, which, holding my hands, she intended to forge the illusion of an intimate camaraderie between us.

In the splendour of my yellow attire, I impatiently awaited the restoration of my black dress, only to realize that Esme, all this while, had been dedicated to crafting the child's dress she wore. Her effort, though commendable, did not escape my keen observation. Amidst this situation, in the days to come, Hilda threw a sharp remark my way: "Your mere presence here stands as a monument to my wasted generosity. Strive, at least, to be less useless than you appear”.

Unable to contain my indignation, I decided to set my stratagem in motion, thus instigating conflict between them before they could unleash their frustration upon me. "What do you mean, madam? It was your own daughter who persuaded me to stay. I will leave as soon as I have the chance. But if you wish to pass judgment, why don't we talk about you and Dougal?" - my words erupted boldly, though my throat was constricted with fear.

"Foolish girl, you are ignorant of the dangers that lurk. If you wish to preserve your integrity, I advise you to confine yourself to silent observation" - Hilda snapped, with a flash of anger in her eyes that I had never witnessed before. I feared for my safety in the face of her wrath, yet my determination did not waver.

"No, reveal what's going on with Dougal. If you do not wish Esme to discover the truth, I suggest you tell me now. I know of your carnal encounters, which have been going on for days" - I proclaimed aloud, aware that both Dougal and Esme had temporarily left the hut, engaged, surely, in more intimate pursuits.

"Your intrusion is insidious and misplaced. I act out of necessity, not choice. You must understand, insignificant child, that men are not concerned with any other kind of retribution. If a man performs an act on your behalf, do not expect a simple 'thank you' to be enough, even vile metal is not enough. You must offer them your body and give yourself to their lust. I am only repaying my son-in-law with my own flesh, to settle the debt that I and my daughter have contracted with him" - proclaimed Hilda, wrapped in the deepest despair.

"If truth adorns your words, I find myself compelled to agree with them. Are you indeed constrained by the whims of that vile degenerate? Undoubtedly, his influence ensnares you in an undesirable bond, from which you cannot extricate yourself. Is it not evident that his unrestrained lasciviousness leads them to the darkest corners of the forest, where they engage in acts that defy decency itself? Why then, do you persist in your complacency, knowing that it dishonours your own daughter with his wanton lust?" - I interrogated fervently, in an attempt to uncover the hidden truth. This moment, undoubtedly, represented the opportune chance to expose her to Dougal's disdain, in order to safeguard the scant virtue that could still subsist in their corrupted souls.

But what ensued next was a veritable nightmare, a Stygian torment to which I found myself subjected by the vile triumvirate of wrongdoers…