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“Yes, Leon. Why is that such a shock to you?”
“Are you kidding me? Did you not see what he did to Twelve yesterday?”
“She broke the rules…” Six’s voice trails off as she chews on her lip. “Twelve knew what she was doing. Like I said, she’s been trying to get Konrad’s attention, and it worked, just not quite in the way she wanted it to.”
“That’s messed up,” I mumble, unable to fathom how she can be okay with this, how any of them can.
“When you accept your place here, you accept the rules. In return we get the freedom to express ourselves the way we choose with no judgement or limitations. It’s a good life,” Seven insists.
“Why Leon?” I ask Six. “Of the three, why was it him you thought you loved?”
“He broke me in,” she replies instantly.
“Broke you in? You make it sound like you were a horse and he’s a trainer.” Six chews on her lips, her cheeks flushing as she glances at Three and Seven. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
“It isn’t quite like that,” Three says.
“Notquitelike that? What did Leon do to you, Six?” I ask, my throat tightening at the look in her eyes. It’s as though she’s battling with herself, with the truth that hurts and the lies she’s told herself so she can accept what he did to her, and her life here.
“He broke me down, and then he built me back up into who I am today. I’mstrongerfor it. Each of the Numbers have had a similar experience, though not with the same master.”
“Were you not strong before?”
“No. I wasn’t.”
“Don’t you want to go home?” I whisper, looking between them all, wanting to shake some sense into them.
Seven grinds his teeth, squeezing Three tighter to his side. “No. This is our home, and the Numbers are our family, just like One said. It may not seem like it, but it’s true.”
“But The Masks are your masters, right? So does that make you their slaves?”
“I suppose you could see it like that,” Three says gently.
“I’m not certain how else I’m supposed to see it. As far as I can tell, this place works because they hold power over you. They’vebrokenyou, forced you into submission, and you’ve just accepted it.”
“You make it sound ugly, like we’ve given up part of ourselves,” Six says, a look of confusion on her face.
“But you have. You’ve given up yourfreedom. More than that,” I continue, gripping her arm and urging her to hear me, to understand.
“You’re wrong. I wasn’t free before I came here. I was trapped in a relationship with a man who owned me in the worst possible way. I wasdeadinside. The Collector took me from a loveless marriage and gave me a gift by bringing me here. I didn’t know it at the time, but I do now. I see,” Six protests.
“Do you hear yourself? The Collector took you which is just another word forstole. You said you were trapped in a marriage with a man whoownedyou. What’s the difference? You are no less owned now.”
“The difference is, I’mhappyhere, Zero. You will be too, if you just let yourself,” she says, frustration clear on her face.
“No, I won’t,” I retort, shaking my head and glancing over at One who’s currently talking with Four, Eight and the triplets, Nine, Ten and Eleven. “And One, how doesshefeel about it all, about me?” I find myself asking, her warning still ringing in my ears.
Three chews on her lip. “One has lived here the longest. This is her home, and The Menagerie is her life. She will do whatever Jakub asks. She always has. People come from all over the world to see us perform in The Menagerie. That’s down to her. She’s not only a gifted pianist but incredibly creative. It’s a spectacular show.”
“You respecther?” I ask, in astonishment.
“We all do,” Six agrees, not quite able to meet my gaze. “One’s priority has always been The Menagerie,us. We’re a family whether you choose to believe that or not. If you’re not a Number then you’re an outsider, and she doesn’t do well with outsiders, unless of course it’s a client and then she does whatever the hell they want. Even if you never like her, you’ll come to respect her like the rest of us, eventually.”
I shake my head. “I won’t, not ever. I’d sooner go home! All these problems I’m causing with The Masks, with the other Numbers, would be resolved so easily if they just let me go.”
“It doesn’t matter what you want,” Seven says, cutting straight to the point. “The Masks have already claimed you astheirs.”
“I don’t want to be theirs. I don’t want any of this!”
Six heaves out a sigh, squeezing my arm gently. “Do you honestly think that matters to them?”
“No, I don’t, but that doesn’t change the fact that it matters tome. I am not theirs. I never will be.”
