Watson:3

Mithra rode at the front on Blade, her face carefully calm as she watched the quiet road they traveled on, her thoughts swirling. Hopefully, the disrest could be solved quickly and easily. It was only some protests, people unhappy with their governor and his actions, but violence had broken out a few days ago, leaving several injured and one dead, plus rumors of that rebellion had been swirling. That meant that she needed to make an appearance. Hopefully, the presence of her and her hand-picked troop would calm things down quickly. She would also check in on the governor and his actions, make sure he wasn't doing anything that reflected badly on the empire. She planned on staying there three days at most. Two days to get there- one had already passed- three days in town, and then two days back. She should be going back home soon enough. Home…

Azrael. She sighed at the thought of him. Things were so… rough. He hated her, and so did Monkia. It was reasonable, but… it bothered her. They had been fighting so much. They had started to get along, but then he got poisoned, and that ruined everything. She probably shouldn’t have acted the way she did when they went on that ride, but she got scared, and she was right to be. If she hadn’t gotten him back quickly enough, he could have died. Then there was the problem of the physician. An investigation would draw too much attention, and she knew that more people would support the physician than not. So she did what she could and brought in someone that hated her, but that she could trust with him. With herself? She’d stick to the castle physician, but Azrael should have his own physician. But he was still so angry. It was frustrating, but she was trying to deal with it. It was her duty. This whole marriage was. This was her duty to the empire. And honorable sacrifice. This is what she had to do for the empire that she owed everything to, no matter if it made her uncomfortable. And it did. . Five years with a man she didn't even know the name of until the wedding, and she was expected to have a child with him, and that was terrifying. She could never tell anyone how much relief she felt when she found out about his knightly vows. She hated the marriage, but it was her duty. And her orders. Her hands clenched on the reins as she thought about what His Majesty had told her when he learned of his vows.

“You doing alright there general?” Mithra looked to her side as Dalton rode up beside her, looking at her the way he always did when he could tell something was wrong. Mithra sighed and said

“Yeah, just thinking.” Mithra ran a hand over her face, over the tattoo that she matched with most of this troop. 

“Stop frowning so hard then, or you’ll get frown lines like Lennon!” Rico called from behind her. Lennon promptly made an noise of annoyance, and a smile tugged at Mithra’s lips as she glanced back over her shoulder and said

“Stop teasing him, Rico.” Rico put a hand on his half armored chest and said

“Oh, but it’s so easy!” 

“Listen to the general” Allen called from the back. Devon, as usual, chimed in with

“Or do, it’d be funny!” Followed by Carter’s

“Don’t be dumbass.” Emilio called in their high voice

“But he’s always a dumbass! Don’t take away the only thing he has!” 

“I have more than dumbassery, I have my stunning looks! Don’t I Mithra?” Mithra rolled her eyes with an amused smile and said with teasing skepticism,

“Sure” Laughter broke out and Mithra relaxed, Dalton falling back again as her soldiers, her friend's conversation continued.

Here. This, this was what was comfortable, this is where she belonged, with her troop, leading and being useful. And sometimes, she could pretend she was a knight, honorable and noble. She was going to help keep the peace, keep unnecessary revolution down, and maybe root corruption out of this empire she owed everything to, including the friends that surrounded her now. She knew what she was doing here. People also listened to her, which was a plus. She loved her family, and she was always happy to serve them, but they were a little dismissive sometimes. Not that she'd ever complain. She owed them everything. Without them, she'd probably have starved on the streets after a childhood of abuse in the orphanage. She owed her family, and the empire everything. She owed them her life, so they could use her as they chose. She was happy to help them, despite the fact that this marriage and the child plan felt underhanded. The child would likely be raised in the empire, a great place to be raised, but may feel a sort of separation to the kingdom they had a claim to. Although it hadn't been discussed with her, it was easy to figure out that they planned to set the child as the ruler of Azrael’s kingdom, then peacefully absorb the kingdom into the empire that way. It was better for all of them that way though. Being a part of the empire was good for all citizens. Mithra and the army could protect them from outside threats, and trade would sweep through the area, making life better for the citizens. Problems only arise when the citizens get greedy, unrealistically idealistic, or if one person becomes corrupt. It was simple. Easy. She was doing the right thing. This was a noble sacrifice, for the sake of the empire and the people. The kingdom also had [Special metal] in plenty, and having them as part of the empire would be valuable. Her own sword was rare in the empire because it was made of it. It was a fantastic material for weapons and machinery. The empire needed it. It was just easier if they owned the place it was. It was for the greater good. 

Mithra sighed and turned her attention back to the road. They were taking a calmer shortcut through some forests, and the road was long, but it was better than going through so many towns and villages, and likely getting stopped in every one of them. She liked seeing the people, but it wasn't worth the extra time. 

Although, something was making her uneasy. Something about the shadows under the trees. Her gut said something was wrong, but her other senses weren't giving her any clues. Until they did. Allen’s voice cut through the conversation of the troop

“AMBUSH! LEFT FLANK!” Mithra's sword was drawn and she was off Blade in a moment as she raced towards the back. Shit.  Her soldiers were fighting people dressed in black, and those people were fighting well. They outnumbered the attackers easily, but that didn't mean she was going to let her soldiers fight alone, especially since she could take down these attackers with much more minor injuries, due to her full armor and better skill.  She rushed into the battle, easily letting her body fall into the familiar movements, concentrating as the attackers seemed to surround her, separating her from her soldiers, who started fighting to get to her. Then pain flared in her side and she let out a gasp, partially in surprise. How the hell had they stabbed her?! She glanced down and saw a knife sticking out from between plates of armor, a precise and well placed stab. She growled and went to attack, but then dizziness began to overcome her and she faltered, hissing in pain as another knife slashed her face. Both injures burned like fire, and as she saw the blade that had just got her face and saw some kind of shining black substance covering it. Shit. It had some kind of poison. The knife in her side needed to get out, now. She reached to grab it, but an attacker slammed into her, and as her mind spun, she fell off balance, falling to her side on the ground and driving the knife further in as she let out a yelp, her vision blotting out, her sword scattering from her hand. She tried to get up, but her body failed her and she collapsed. She heard Oskar yell

“MITHRA!” The sound of his booming voice felt like it was underwater as black figures swirled around her. Then a hand wrapped around her arm and she looked up, hoping it was a friend, but she could not be so lucky. Rather than a friend, it was another attacker that started dragging her as she struggled to pull away with her fading strength. She heard her name yelled, but couldn’t identify the voice as her head pounded. She glanced at the attackers again. They were… retreating. While bringing her with them. 

Shit. These were no robbers, this was no normal attack. This was a mission. She tried to yank against the person dragging her and another attacker snapped

“Damn it, just stab her again!” Pain screamed through her leg, and finally, unconsciousness overtook her, the sound of her friends screaming her name echoing through her mind.

Mithra awoke slowly, but stayed still, keeping her body limp. She had been captured. Alright, she had trained for this alongside the troops. 

Observe, figure out location, figure out captors, figure out what they want. Do not give them what they want, no matter what. Steel your mind, prepare for pain. Give them nothing. Find a way to contact your forces, if you can, wait for orders. If not, escape at the first possible opportunity, find the nearest civilization, make way to base or capital. 

She could do this. 

First, assess injuries and position. Her armor was gone, she was stripped to her base outfit, simple trousers and a tank top with her usual undergarments. No defense. The knives were gone, but the injuries weren't. 

Open stab wound on her right side, between her ribs, but it wasn't fatal. Another open stab wound on her calf. Speaking of her legs, she was on her knees, kneeling, in a horribly uncomfortable position. Her hands were chained behind her, forcing her torso to sit straight up. There was a chain around her neck as well, forcing her head up for the most part. There was chains keeping her ankles down. Clearly, she was not supposed to move at all. She was a prisoner, and this was a stress position. She tried to shift her hands, and barely managed to move her fingers. Not enough to even attempt picking locks, and the restraints were tight, almost, but not quite enough to cut off circulation. The one around her neck hurt. She could feel that her hair was undone, hanging over her face, annoying, but manageable. She took a breath, then slowly opened her eyes to… darkness. She lifted her head, the chain like a collar around her neck. The room was empty and very, very dark, no sign of anyone else. But there. There was a sliver of light. A crack under a door. She shifted slightly and paused as her chains clanked, the metallic noise ringing through the small empty room. Then, the door opened and she had to blink several times in reaction to the sudden light. She narrowed her eyes at the three men that came in. One of them walked over and immediately smacked her in the face. She didn't even flinch, keeping her head still as she glared at him. Because of the light, his face was in shadow, but he also wore a mask over the lower half of his face. But she could hear the damned smirk in his voice as he said

“Oh look, the bitch of the empire thinks she can show attitude!” She gave no reaction to the name she'd heard plenty of times before. Bitch, dog of the empire. That was commonly something people called her, due to how she followed orders so closely. It was especially present among those that were trying to form a rebellion. That was likely who she was dealing with now. The man grabbed her face and hissed

“We'll beat that out of you.” She looked at him calmly, keeping her mouth shut. He threw her head to the side and she calmly turned her head to look back at him again, keeping her face calm and impassive, as she had trained. Worry and fear were to stay out of her mind. The man growled slightly and suddenly kneed her in the stomach. She flinched slightly out of pain, but did not react. He man huffed, then turned and snapped 

“Lets get this fucking started.” Another of the men pulled out a knife and handed it to him. The leader of the men walked back to her and kneeled down, then stabbed her in the thigh, hissing 

“For the fucking prince, for making him marry a monster like you.” That made her flinch. For the prince? For Azrael? The man ripped the knife out and slashed her arm, making her hiss. The man shoved her chest back, and she had to fight to stay upright. She took a breath and quietly tucked her mind away into the same corner she did when she was training. She let the pain wash over her without reaction as the man attacked her over and over and over. Then the man started to speak

“Wow, they trained you well, didn't they? Of course they did. No reaction to pain, because you're nothing without their fucking orders. You're one of the worst things in this whole cursed empire. And now you've forced the prince to marry you. You forced an honorable man to marry you, a disgraceful excuse for a human being.” That hurt more than it should have. Azrael was honorable, he was a knight. And she was… whatever she was. Her face must've flinched because another of the men said

“Think you've hit a nerve, sir.” She settled her face again as the leader, Sir, looked at her, then laughed. He used the knife to lift her chin up and said

“Hey, Bitch. Wanna know why we're doing this?” He paused, but she gave him no reaction as the metal pressed into her chin. He spat

“Because of what you've done to the prince. This is because of him. You've been a menace on the lands for years. This is the last straw. Its time to humble the dog of the empire.” He lifted the knife sharply, cutting the underneath and a bit of the front of her chin, then he suddenly slammed his knee into her chest and she let out a yelp as she heard a sickening crack. The man only chuckled, then leaned in as she tried to get ahold of herself and asked

“Where are you keeping the prince, bitch?” She clenched her jaw, meeting his eyes with defiance. Telling them anything would give her nothing, and would only make her a traitor to her empire and family. Anger flared and the man punched her in the face. She tried to slip away into her mind, but he spoke again

“Anwser me, bitch. This is all your fault, you know. You're just an honorless trained dog that the empire sics on whoever causes them trouble. I'm not gonna kill you though. I think the prince, the knight, should get the honor of slaying the monster.” She flinched and the man laughed as a thought passed through her mind. 

Did, did Azrael call for this? Did she misplace the trust she had given him? Did he have an outside contact? Did it have to do with Monika? No, Monika definitely didn't have contact. Hardly anyone knew where she was going, and no one knew the path, wait, shit. She forgot to clean up the study, put the papers in the drawer. She had a map sitting out, her path drawn out on it, clear as day. Did, did Azrael look at that? Did he give the information to these people? Did he ask them to do this? To kidnap and torture her? They had been fighting, and she knew he hated her, but… did he hate her this much?

She was forced back into the present as the man looked up and said

“Get some guys in here, and we'll give her a beating for now.” She closed her eyes took a painful breath, trying to steel herself and place her mind into a quiet corner. Let the feelings, physical and emotional, fade away. She just needed to work through this. When she could be present, she had to watch for any escape. She-

The door opened and she opened her eyes. People in black masks, made into shadowy figures by the dark room, walked in. Shit. There were at least five new people, plus the three from before. Sir gestured at her and said

“Have at her. Keep her alive, don't unchain her. That's the only restriction. Oh, and don't debase yourselves.” Then he turned and left through the open door, leaving her looking up at the people that surrounded her.

Then it began. Pain shot through her over and over and over. Bones snapped. Skin bled. Eventually her will failed her and she started to yelp and scream, tears of pain began to stream down her face, mixing with blood. After what felt like eternity, her endurance gave out and everything went completely dark, her mind slipping.

She awoke to water being poured over her and she gasped, her eyes flashing open. Sir stood in front of her again and she glared as she looked up. He chuckled and said

“Finally.” He dropped the bucket and grabbed her face, saying

“We're done for today, bitch, but we're far from completely done. You'll get food and water tomorrow, before your session. But for now, I want you to sit in your pain and misery, and remember why we're doing this. You have hurt the people, you are  the attack dog of the empire. You serve only people that care for nothing but gaining riches and power for themselves. This was a long time coming, and now it's happening because you decided to go too far and force an honorable man to marry you, and no one will stand for it, least of all him. This is all because of your actions. This is all your fault.” He dropped her head and she simply stared at him with blank eyes, giving him nothing. He paused, then let out half a chuckle. He waved his hand and everyone left, closing the door and leaving her in darkness. She was quiet for a while, the pain rolling through her. 

It built up slowly, pain in her chest, her throat tightening, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Then, she let out a sob that racked her whole body, then another, and another. The tears came fast and furious. 

Shit, shit, shit. Everything hurt like hell, and her mind would just not shut up.

Were they right? Did Azrael call for this? She wasn't hurting the people, right? Did he hate her enough to call for this? Despite their fights, things weren’t horrible. Or maybe they were, maybe their fights had pushed him over the edge and he called for this, called for people to capture and torture her like this for making him marry her and essentially keep him prisoner. Wait, no, no, he couldn't have. He was a knight. He wouldn't have done this, right? But what if he hated her that much? She tried to push those thoughts out of her mind, but they were only replaced with new ones. 

When would this end? She was more than just a ‘dog’ of the imperial family, right? She was part of it, right? Right? She was serving the empire. Her family was good. Yeah, they took her in. She owed them everything. She was doing the right thing, right? 

Fuck, everything hurt. 

She tried to stop her sobs. She needed to stop feeling sorry for herself. Collect herself. Don't show weakness. This was pathetic. 

But then another thought rushed through her.

Her troop. What had happened to them? Were they here too? What if they were hurt? What if they died? What if she failed them? No, no, don’t think like that. These rebels were after her. Right? Yeah, yeah. 

But what if she never saw them again? If they weren’t dead, what if she never left this place? What if she died?

No. Do not think that way. Do not think that way. She couldn’t think that way. She had to survive this. The rebels didn’t plan on killing her anyway. As long as she stayed alive, she could fight. She could survive. Everything hurt, but she was alive. Everything hurt. Shit, don’t think about that. Don’t think about the blood that coated her skin, the constant dull pain, the sharp burning pain that flared every single name she shifted at all, at the strain on her muscles from holding this position, the way the chain around her neck, the collar, rubbed the skin raw, the way the chains were too tight. The way her broken ribs screamed with every breath. The blood trailing down her face, from her nose, her head pounding. Her eyelids felt heavy, despite her pain and discomfort, or maybe because of it. The adrenaline was wearing off, and she felt utterly exhausted and drained. Maybe remnants of the poison. She couldn’t do anything for her injures right now, they could even get infected, but there was nothing she could do. She was alone. Completely alone. With that, her eyes flickered closed and she slumped, sleep overtaking her.

Her eyes flashed open as the door slammed open. Sir, she recognized the gait and eyes, walked in and she looked up at him with a glare. He dropped a try in front of her and said

“Eat, bitch.” She glanced down. Some kind of mush and a small bowl of water. If she was willing to talk, she would have said ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ No utensils, and no move to undo the chains on her hands. They expected her to eat off it like this. She glared at Sir, and could see the smirk in his eyes as he said

“Well? Eat, like the dog you are.” Mithra glared at him. Sir lifted an eyebrow and asked

“Oh, not hungry? How about thirsty? Drink your water.” He pointed at the bowl, and she just kept glaring at him. He held up three fingers and slowly said

“One… two….. three.” He snapped and yelled

“Bring me a bucket of water.” He looked back at her and said

“You listen when I give you an order. Otherwise, there are consequences.” Sir kicked the tray away from her, and another man brought in a bucket of water. Sir placed it in front of her and said

“One last time, drink your water.” Mithra glared back, then gave a single shake of her head.

“Oh, too bad,” Sir said, “But more fun for me.” he suddenly grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head down, forcing her face into the ice cold water, and she barely had a chance to get a breath before she went under. She tried to lift her head, but the pain, exhaustion, and bad angle made it impossible as he held her head in the water. She tried to hold her breath as long as she could, but her lungs burned. Eventually, she slowly let out the breath through her nose. But she couldn't last much longer. Just has her body won against her mind and tried to take a breath, Sir yanked her head up and she gasped for air, letting out pained noises with every breath and thus stab in her chest. Then, just as she started to calm, Sir slammed her head down and under again. 

This repeated three times until he finally let go of her head as she threw up the water she swallowed, coughing and sputtering as she fought for consciousness. She felt like she couldn’t get enough air as she gasped for it, hanging her head as she tried to recover

“What’s wrong, bitch, had a little too much water?” She glared at Sir furiously and started to snap

“My name is-” He punched her, hard, hard enough to make her ears ring. She blinked as he retracted his hand and said

“I didn’t say you could talk, bitch.” She glared at him and opened her mouth to speak again, but he slammed his foot into her gut and she let out a yelp as pain exploded. He grabbed her face and said

“Dogs don’t speak, so neither do you. Don’t make me cut out your tongue.” Shit. She ripped her head away, but stayed silent. She needed to escape this place eventually, and getting her tongue cut out would be bad. Sir chuckled and said

“That’s more like it. Well, since you decided you weren’t hungry, we might as well get started quickly. Let’s rinse you off first.” He picked up the bucket and threw the freezing water onto her, leaving her sopping wet. She glared at him and he said

“Don’t give me that look, I was cleaning you off before we get started. Speaking of…” He snapped and more people came in, the same as yesterday, was it yesterday? How long had she been here? How long had she been out when she woke up? How long had she just slept? Wait, he had said she’d get food and water ‘tomorrow’ so she’d been here at least overnight. Would-

Pain exploded and she gave a little yelp as it started all over again, the people attacking again and again. 

The pain seeped through her entire being until it became too much and she passed out. She was awoken with a splash of water that only served to remind her of her near drowning earlier. She flinched awake and away from the water, blinking awake. A hand reached towards her, and before she thought, a growl escaped her throat. Sir’s hand stopped, and she flinched as his laughter filled the room. He grabbed her face and she glared at him as he laughed and looked down at her, saying

“Wow, you’re not even trying to act like you’re human. A growl, really?” She tried to rip her face away, but she was too weak, and he held her too tightly. He chuckled darkly and said

“You’re just the dog of the empire, bitch. And you deserve all of this.” Did she? No, don’t think that way. She glared at him, in too much pain to even try to speak. It was all she should do to keep from screaming or crying. He leaned in and said

“Aw, look. She’s crying.” Shit. She didn’t realize. She just glared back at him. It was all she could do. He threw her head aside and stepped away, saying

“Cry all you want bitch. It stops nothing. This won't end until you’re slain. Till we get the prince out of captivity and to us, where he can get his revenge against you.” She tensed. The more Sir talked about Azrael, the more it felt like Azrael might have been in on this. That he might have called for this to happen. Sir looked down at her and said

“This is merely punishment for a monster. You've been the empire's loyal attack dog for too long. I can't wait to see you put down, bitch.” Anger flared and Mithra started to snap again

“My name is-” she was cut off by her own shriek as Sir took out and stabbed a knife into her shoulder. He ripped it out and held the point to her neck, just under the metal of the collar, saying 

“Name? You don't get a name, bitch.” She hissed as the knife dug into her skin, a pinprick of blood forming as he said

“You are nothing but a dog trained to attack whoever you're told and rip them apart without mercy or remorse. You’re responsible for so much tragedy, and I wish you knew exactly-” He paused, then drew the knife away and said

“I have an idea, but I’ll wait till next time. We’re done here.” Sir turned on his heel and left suddenly and quickly with the rest of the people, leaving her alone in the darkness again, nothing to focus on but her pain. Her pain, and her emotions, namely anger. Mithra tried to pull against the chains, but that only served to make them bite into her skin, causing more pain that caused a whimper to emanate from her throat. She moved back to where the chains were keeping her too, and tried to look around the room, but she couldn’t see anything but the faint crack of light under the door. She had to do something.

But what? Could she even escape this place? What if she was trapped here until they got Azrael to kill her? That thought made her flinch. Would Azrael do that? 

He hated her.

But he was a good person. A knight. Everything she wished she was. He wouldn’t do this, right? He wouldn’t do this to another person. Sir’s words echoed in her head,

‘You are nothing but a dog’ ‘disgraceful excuse for a human being’ ‘not even trying to act like you’re human’ ‘You're just an honorless trained dog’ ‘Like the dog you are’ ‘This is merely punishment for a monster’

Sir did not see her as a person… what if Azrael didn’t either? No, no, of course he did. He had been kind to her. He didn’t see her the way Sir and these rebels did, right? Mithra shook her head, a mistake as pain flared on the scratch on her neck. Dammit, Sir had said he had had an idea, what could that be? Nothing good, that was for sure. But what could she do? She could barely move at all, and he wouldn’t even let her speak. He wouldn’t let her speak. Wouldn’t say her name. 

Why did that hurt so much? The dehumanization… it hurt more than the pain sometimes. She’d heard herself be called a dog, a monster, a bitch, a million times before by people who didn’t like her, from prisoners of war, from a rioting crowd. 

People who hated her found it easy to see her as inhuman, didn’t they? She hated that. She hated it when people would do that, but she was above paying attention to it. Right? Then why did it hurt so much? Why did tears fall from her eyes? She needed to be stronger than this if she was going to survive this place. Mithra took a breath and forced herself to speak

“My name is Mithra Reichel, formerly Mithra Lucier. I am the general of the empire’s entire military. I have worked to earn that position. I fight for the empire because it is my duty to do so and I owe them everything I have. I have achieved all the requirements to become a knight, but have chosen not to become one. I like training, and reading. I love my family. I love my friends, the troop I have spent years with, we got matching tattoos after-” She froze. Her troop, her friends. Were they ok? What if the rebels, no. The rebels were obviously there for her and her alone, and they retreated all together. She hadn’t noticed any serious injuries during the fight. Her friends were likely alright, and looking for her now. She took as deep of a breath that she could with her broken ribs. Her troop would be alright. They were almost certainly searching for her.

How long had it been since she left the castle? They’d traveled for a day and a half before the fight, and it felt like she had been out long enough for it to have been the next day when she woke up for the… first session. Sir had implied it was now the day after that first session. That put her at somewhere around three days or so. That left four days until she told her family and Azrael she’d be back. She was supposed to be at her destination right now, so her family was likely getting a little worried they hadn’t heard a report from her, but it was in the reasonable time period where the letter might have just been delayed. Tomorrow or the day after would be when they would start getting worried that something happened to her if one of her troop didn’t make it back to them. Alright, what could she do for now?

Not much. Nothing except sit here with her pain. Everything hurt. She sighed and hung her head, trying to shift into a more comfortable position. She might as well try to sleep. 

After what she estimated to be a couple hours or so, unconsciousness finally took over. 

Why did they have to wake her up with water every time? She jumped from the ice cold water that was splashed over her, her eyes flashing open to glare at the man who did it. Sir. She hated that she called him Sir in her head, but she had no other name to use. Sir chuckled and said

“Rise and shine, bitch. It’s time for something fun.” She narrowed her eyes as she lifted her head. He promptly punched her as he said

“Don’t give me that look, it’s annoying.” She rolled her eyes and he hit her again. She didn’t flinch. The hits did hurt, but not as much as her other injuries. Sir lifted an eyebrow and asked

“Oh, are you pretending that doesn’t phase you anymore? Well then, it’s good that i have something new today.” He reached forward and grabbed the metal collar, yanking her head forward as he pulled out a knife. He messed with something on the back of the collar and it loosened, not enough to let her go, but enough that he could slip his fingers between her neck and the collar. Good to note. She glared up at him, trying not to tense as he pulled out a knife. He chuckled darkly as he said

“You forget things too easily. You forget what you are, and you forget what you’ve done. I want to permanently remind you of both.” She tensed now. What was he planning? He hissed

“Don’t move, or I might cut deeper than I mean to.” Then, his knife was against her neck, carving three lines into it as he said

“This one is for the attack on [taken over kingdom]” Her first mission. There was nothing she could do as he finished the three small lines, crossing each other to create a simple star, then moved next to it and started again, saying

“This is for [idk]” This process continued over and over and over, as Sir listed attacks and battles and missions, sometimes adding details of what she’d done. But it was for the empire, for her family. It was her duty…she was doing what she had to. Then, as he neared the front, he hissed 

“Time for your recent offenses, bitch. For leading the invasion of [Azrael’s kingdom].” A star.

“For killing the people without mercy.” A star.

“For letting the idiot prince onto the battlefield, where he cut off the Prince’s arm.” A star, a twang of guilt. She shouldn’t have let her brother onto the field, but she did.

“For making that unbalanced treaty.” A star.

“For forcing an honorable man to marry a monster like you.” A star. The tears she’d barely been holding back fell. He was right… no, no, don’t think that-

“For keeping him prisoner without freedoms and away from his family and kingdom.” A star and a sob from her throat.

“For trying to make him break his knightly vows.” A star. 

“For that cruel plan we can all see will happen if a child comes of that cursed marriage.” A star, and a flinch from her. 

“For trying to go to an innocent town to threaten them because they pointed out the flaws in this corrupt empire.” A star. 

“For talking back to me” A star. He pulled away and said

“I will add another star for every offense you make from here on out.” She looked up at him through tear filled eyes. He pressed his knife to the blank center middle of her neck and she let out a whimper as he began to carve a large star into it, hissing

“This one, on display for all to see, is for how you serve the empire without question. How you perform cruelty and call it duty. For how you are an evil monster that pretends to be a person.” She folded over as he pulled away, trying and failing to stop the sobs racking her body. There were a long few moments where only her sobs filled the room. 

Shit. It hurt so much. All of it. Everything he had said. Everything she had done.

He grabbed her chin and lifted her face. His eyes were smug, triumphant at seeing her like this.

Anger flared as she looked back at him. How dare he? He called her cruel, yet he did this. She was going to escape this place, one way or another. 

She couldn’t let him break her.

She yelped as he tightened the collar again, the cold metal pressing against her bleeding neck. He stepped out, then came back with a bucket. He placed it in front of her and said

“Drink. Or else you may die of dehydration over the next couple of days. She glared up at him. But his threat could be true, he might very well not give her water for the next couple of days… she couldn’t risk it. Shame rushed through her as she lowered her head and tried to drink out of the bucket.

Like a dog. 

Sir laughed and said

“Good! You’re finally accepting what you really are. A dog.” She glared up at him, but she needed the water, so she drank as much as she could. Eventually, Sir grabbed the bucket away and said

“That’s all for today.” He turned and left, leaving her in silent darkness again. 

Hours passed. She fell asleep. She woke up. Time passed. She fell asleep. She woke up. Nothing happened. She was left in silence and darkness with nothing but her own mind and voice to keep her company. She talked to herself, repeating the stories of knights that she had read so many times that she memorized them. Things seemed to move in the darkness, but they were simply hallucinations her mind made up due to the isolation and lack of stimuli. But she used the pain that still throbbed through her entire body to keep her rooted in reality. She could not let herself slip into her mind. She may never come back. 

It was a relief when freezing water splashed over her again. Her eyes flashed open, and despite her relief, she knew who to blame. She glared at Sir and his people. Sir looked at her smugly and asked

“How was your alone time?” He didn’t bother to wait for an answer before he laughed and stepped forward and dropped a bucket and a tray in front of her, saying

“Eat and drink before you die of starvation.” She glared, but dipped her head. Shame be dammed, survival was more important. She ignored the laughter as best she could. She finished the food and drank the water till it was kicked away from her. She lifted her head and narrowed her eyes at the rebels. Sir looked back at her smugly, then reached towards her neck. Anger and fear exploded and she moved before she thought, attacking in the only way she could. She bit him. Sir let out a yelp as her teeth dug into his skin and blood hit her tongue. A kick landed in her stomach and she opened her mouth in surprise. Sir ripped his bleeding finger away as he snapped

“What the fuck!?!” The others looked to him with surprise on their faces, then they glared at her. She lifted her head as she glared back. She spit out the blood in her mouth onto Sir’s boot. Sir glared and hissed

“Oh, you bitch.” He paused, then laughed and said

“You know what? I’ve got the perfect plan to make you pay for that. Everyone out!” The others nodded and left. Sir followed, leaving her in darkness again. She sighed, her defiance and anger draining away. That had probably been a bad idea. She’d just made him angrier, and that would just make him more dangerous. Shit. She waited in silence for a while, not daring to fall back asleep. Just as her eyes started to seriously droop, the door opened and Sir came back in, holding something, his bitten finger bandaged. Sir lifted the thing and her eyes widened as he said

“Thank you for reminding me what a dangerous attack dog needs.”

A muzzle. Sir held a muzzle. It was clearly made for a human face. How had they gotten that so quickly? She didn’t have time to question before the other rebels rushed at her, grabbing her hair and lifting her head, keeping their hands away from her mouth. Someone tightened the collar until she found it choking her. She was gasping for air as Sir approached. When she opened her mouth, he shoved the muzzle at her, sticking a bar in her mouth as the metal bit into her chin, forcing her mouth to close around the bar as metal caged her in. Sir held it there as someone did the straps in the back, the rest keeping her immobilized. It was only after the muzzle was secure, the metal biting into the skin of her face, that someone loosened the collar and she sucked in as much air as she could, trying to breathe. Sir kneeled down to be face to face with her, saying

“I think this works great at keeping you silent and from biting anyone.” She tried to speak, but the position her face was held in made it impossible for the sound that left her throat to turn into any words. Sir laughed. 

~

Mithra rode at the front on Blade, her face carefully calm as she watched the quiet road they traveled on, her thoughts swirling. Hopefully, the disrest could be solved quickly and easily. It was only some protests, people unhappy with their governor and his actions, but violence had broken out a few days ago, leaving several injured and one dead, plus rumors of that rebellion had been swirling. That meant that she needed to make an appearance. Hopefully, the presence of her and her hand-picked troop would calm things down quickly. She would also check in on the governor and his actions, make sure he wasn't doing anything that reflected badly on the empire. She planned on staying there three days at most. Two days to get there- one had already passed- three days in town, and then two days back. She should be going back home soon enough. Home…

Azrael. She sighed at the thought of him. Things were so… rough. He hated her, and so did Monkia. It was reasonable, but… it bothered her. They had been fighting so much. They had started to get along, but then he got poisoned, and that ruined everything. She probably shouldn’t have acted the way she did when they went on that ride, but she got scared, and she was right to be. If she hadn’t gotten him back quickly enough, he could have died. Then there was the problem of the physician. An investigation would draw too much attention, and she knew that more people would support the physician than not. So she did what she could and brought in someone that hated her, but that she could trust with him. With herself? She’d stick to the castle physician, but Azrael should have his own physician. But he was still so angry. It was frustrating, but she was trying to deal with it. It was her duty. This whole marriage was. This was her duty to the empire. And honorable sacrifice. This is what she had to do for the empire that she owed everything to, no matter if it made her uncomfortable. And it did. . Five years with a man she didn't even know the name of until the wedding, and she was expected to have a child with him, and that was terrifying. She could never tell anyone how much relief she felt when she found out about his knightly vows. She hated the marriage, but it was her duty. And her orders. Her hands clenched on the reins as she thought about what His Majesty had told her when he learned of his vows.

“You doing alright there general?” Mithra looked to her side as Dalton rode up beside her, looking at her the way he always did when he could tell something was wrong. Mithra sighed and said

“Yeah, just thinking.” Mithra ran a hand over her face, over the tattoo that she matched with most of this troop. 

“Stop frowning so hard then, or you’ll get frown lines like Lennon!” Rico called from behind her. Lennon promptly made an noise of annoyance, and a smile tugged at Mithra’s lips as she glanced back over her shoulder and said

“Stop teasing him, Rico.” Rico put a hand on his half armored chest and said

“Oh, but it’s so easy!” 

“Listen to the general” Allen called from the back. Devon, as usual, chimed in with

“Or do, it’d be funny!” Followed by Carter’s

“Don’t be dumbass.” Emilio called in their high voice

“But he’s always a dumbass! Don’t take away the only thing he has!” 

“I have more than dumbassery, I have my stunning looks! Don’t I Mithra?” Mithra rolled her eyes with an amused smile and said with teasing skepticism,

“Sure” Laughter broke out and Mithra relaxed, Dalton falling back again as her soldiers, her friend's conversation continued.

Here. This, this was what was comfortable, this is where she belonged, with her troop, leading and being useful. And sometimes, she could pretend she was a knight, honorable and noble. She was going to help keep the peace, keep unnecessary revolution down, and maybe root corruption out of this empire she owed everything to, including the friends that surrounded her now. She knew what she was doing here. People also listened to her, which was a plus. She loved her family, and she was always happy to serve them, but they were a little dismissive sometimes. Not that she'd ever complain. She owed them everything. Without them, she'd probably have starved on the streets after a childhood of abuse in the orphanage. She owed her family, and the empire everything. She owed them her life, so they could use her as they chose. She was happy to help them, despite the fact that this marriage and the child plan felt underhanded. The child would likely be raised in the empire, a great place to be raised, but may feel a sort of separation to the kingdom they had a claim to. Although it hadn't been discussed with her, it was easy to figure out that they planned to set the child as the ruler of Azrael’s kingdom, then peacefully absorb the kingdom into the empire that way. It was better for all of them that way though. Being a part of the empire was good for all citizens. Mithra and the army could protect them from outside threats, and trade would sweep through the area, making life better for the citizens. Problems only arise when the citizens get greedy, unrealistically idealistic, or if one person becomes corrupt. It was simple. Easy. She was doing the right thing. This was a noble sacrifice, for the sake of the empire and the people. The kingdom also had [Special metal] in plenty, and having them as part of the empire would be valuable. Her own sword was rare in the empire because it was made of it. It was a fantastic material for weapons and machinery. The empire needed it. It was just easier if they owned the place it was. It was for the greater good. 

Mithra sighed and turned her attention back to the road. They were taking a calmer shortcut through some forests, and the road was long, but it was better than going through so many towns and villages, and likely getting stopped in every one of them. She liked seeing the people, but it wasn't worth the extra time. 

Although, something was making her uneasy. Something about the shadows under the trees. Her gut said something was wrong, but her other senses weren't giving her any clues. Until they did. Allen’s voice cut through the conversation of the troop

“AMBUSH! LEFT FLANK!” Mithra's sword was drawn and she was off Blade in a moment as she raced towards the back. Shit.  Her soldiers were fighting people dressed in black, and those people were fighting well. They outnumbered the attackers easily, but that didn't mean she was going to let her soldiers fight alone, especially since she could take down these attackers with much more minor injuries, due to her full armor and better skill.  She rushed into the battle, easily letting her body fall into the familiar movements, concentrating as the attackers seemed to surround her, separating her from her soldiers, who started fighting to get to her. Then pain flared in her side and she let out a gasp, partially in surprise. How the hell had they stabbed her?! She glanced down and saw a knife sticking out from between plates of armor, a precise and well placed stab. She growled and went to attack, but then dizziness began to overcome her and she faltered, hissing in pain as another knife slashed her face. Both injures burned like fire, and as she saw the blade that had just got her face and saw some kind of shining black substance covering it. Shit. It had some kind of poison. The knife in her side needed to get out, now. She reached to grab it, but an attacker slammed into her, and as her mind spun, she fell off balance, falling to her side on the ground and driving the knife further in as she let out a yelp, her vision blotting out, her sword scattering from her hand. She tried to get up, but her body failed her and she collapsed. She heard Oskar yell

“MITHRA!” The sound of his booming voice felt like it was underwater as black figures swirled around her. Then a hand wrapped around her arm and she looked up, hoping it was a friend, but she could not be so lucky. Rather than a friend, it was another attacker that started dragging her as she struggled to pull away with her fading strength. She heard her name yelled, but couldn’t identify the voice as her head pounded. She glanced at the attackers again. They were… retreating. While bringing her with them. 

Shit. These were no robbers, this was no normal attack. This was a mission. She tried to yank against the person dragging her and another attacker snapped

“Damn it, just stab her again!” Pain screamed through her leg, and finally, unconsciousness overtook her, the sound of her friends screaming her name echoing through her mind.

Mithra awoke slowly, but stayed still, keeping her body limp. She had been captured. Alright, she had trained for this alongside the troops. 

Observe, figure out location, figure out captors, figure out what they want. Do not give them what they want, no matter what. Steel your mind, prepare for pain. Give them nothing. Find a way to contact your forces, if you can, wait for orders. If not, escape at the first possible opportunity, find the nearest civilization, make way to base or capital. 

She could do this. 

First, assess injuries and position. Her armor was gone, she was stripped to her base outfit, simple trousers and a tank top with her usual undergarments. No defense. The knives were gone, but the injuries weren't. 

Open stab wound on her right side, between her ribs, but it wasn't fatal. Another open stab wound on her calf. Speaking of her legs, she was on her knees, kneeling, in a horribly uncomfortable position. Her hands were chained behind her, forcing her torso to sit straight up. There was a chain around her neck as well, forcing her head up for the most part. There was chains keeping her ankles down. Clearly, she was not supposed to move at all. She was a prisoner, and this was a stress position. She tried to shift her hands, and barely managed to move her fingers. Not enough to even attempt picking locks, and the restraints were tight, almost, but not quite enough to cut off circulation. The one around her neck hurt. She could feel that her hair was undone, hanging over her face, annoying, but manageable. She took a breath, then slowly opened her eyes to… darkness. She lifted her head, the chain like a collar around her neck. The room was empty and very, very dark, no sign of anyone else. But there. There was a sliver of light. A crack under a door. She shifted slightly and paused as her chains clanked, the metallic noise ringing through the small empty room. Then, the door opened and she had to blink several times in reaction to the sudden light. She narrowed her eyes at the three men that came in. One of them walked over and immediately smacked her in the face. She didn't even flinch, keeping her head still as she glared at him. Because of the light, his face was in shadow, but he also wore a mask over the lower half of his face. But she could hear the damned smirk in his voice as he said

“Oh look, the bitch of the empire thinks she can show attitude!” She gave no reaction to the name she'd heard plenty of times before. Bitch, dog of the empire. That was commonly something people called her, due to how she followed orders so closely. It was especially present among those that were trying to form a rebellion. That was likely who she was dealing with now. The man grabbed her face and hissed

“We'll beat that out of you.” She looked at him calmly, keeping her mouth shut. He threw her head to the side and she calmly turned her head to look back at him again, keeping her face calm and impassive, as she had trained. Worry and fear were to stay out of her mind. The man growled slightly and suddenly kneed her in the stomach. She flinched slightly out of pain, but did not react. He man huffed, then turned and snapped 

“Lets get this fucking started.” Another of the men pulled out a knife and handed it to him. The leader of the men walked back to her and kneeled down, then stabbed her in the thigh, hissing 

“For the fucking prince, for making him marry a monster like you.” That made her flinch. For the prince? For Azrael? The man ripped the knife out and slashed her arm, making her hiss. The man shoved her chest back, and she had to fight to stay upright. She took a breath and quietly tucked her mind away into the same corner she did when she was training. She let the pain wash over her without reaction as the man attacked her over and over and over. Then the man started to speak

“Wow, they trained you well, didn't they? Of course they did. No reaction to pain, because you're nothing without their fucking orders. You're one of the worst things in this whole cursed empire. And now you've forced the prince to marry you. You forced an honorable man to marry you, a disgraceful excuse for a human being.” That hurt more than it should have. Azrael was honorable, he was a knight. And she was… whatever she was. Her face must've flinched because another of the men said

“Think you've hit a nerve, sir.” She settled her face again as the leader, Sir, looked at her, then laughed. He used the knife to lift her chin up and said

“Hey, Bitch. Wanna know why we're doing this?” He paused, but she gave him no reaction as the metal pressed into her chin. He spat

“Because of what you've done to the prince. This is because of him. You've been a menace on the lands for years. This is the last straw. Its time to humble the dog of the empire.” He lifted the knife sharply, cutting the underneath and a bit of the front of her chin, then he suddenly slammed his knee into her chest and she let out a yelp as she heard a sickening crack. The man only chuckled, then leaned in as she tried to get ahold of herself and asked

“Where are you keeping the prince, bitch?” She clenched her jaw, meeting his eyes with defiance. Telling them anything would give her nothing, and would only make her a traitor to her empire and family. Anger flared and the man punched her in the face. She tried to slip away into her mind, but he spoke again

“Anwser me, bitch. This is all your fault, you know. You're just an honorless trained dog that the empire sics on whoever causes them trouble. I'm not gonna kill you though. I think the prince, the knight, should get the honor of slaying the monster.” She flinched and the man laughed as a thought passed through her mind. 

Did, did Azrael call for this? Did she misplace the trust she had given him? Did he have an outside contact? Did it have to do with Monika? No, Monika definitely didn't have contact. Hardly anyone knew where she was going, and no one knew the path, wait, shit. She forgot to clean up the study, put the papers in the drawer. She had a map sitting out, her path drawn out on it, clear as day. Did, did Azrael look at that? Did he give the information to these people? Did he ask them to do this? To kidnap and torture her? They had been fighting, and she knew he hated her, but… did he hate her this much?

She was forced back into the present as the man looked up and said

“Get some guys in here, and we'll give her a beating for now.” She closed her eyes took a painful breath, trying to steel herself and place her mind into a quiet corner. Let the feelings, physical and emotional, fade away. She just needed to work through this. When she could be present, she had to watch for any escape. She-

The door opened and she opened her eyes. People in black masks, made into shadowy figures by the dark room, walked in. Shit. There were at least five new people, plus the three from before. Sir gestured at her and said

“Have at her. Keep her alive, don't unchain her. That's the only restriction. Oh, and don't debase yourselves.” Then he turned and left through the open door, leaving her looking up at the people that surrounded her.

Then it began. Pain shot through her over and over and over. Bones snapped. Skin bled. Eventually her will failed her and she started to yelp and scream, tears of pain began to stream down her face, mixing with blood. After what felt like eternity, her endurance gave out and everything went completely dark, her mind slipping.

She awoke to water being poured over her and she gasped, her eyes flashing open. Sir stood in front of her again and she glared as she looked up. He chuckled and said

“Finally.” He dropped the bucket and grabbed her face, saying

“We're done for today, bitch, but we're far from completely done. You'll get food and water tomorrow, before your session. But for now, I want you to sit in your pain and misery, and remember why we're doing this. You have hurt the people, you are  the attack dog of the empire. You serve only people that care for nothing but gaining riches and power for themselves. This was a long time coming, and now it's happening because you decided to go too far and force an honorable man to marry you, and no one will stand for it, least of all him. This is all because of your actions. This is all your fault.” He dropped her head and she simply stared at him with blank eyes, giving him nothing. He paused, then let out half a chuckle. He waved his hand and everyone left, closing the door and leaving her in darkness. She was quiet for a while, the pain rolling through her. 

It built up slowly, pain in her chest, her throat tightening, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Then, she let out a sob that racked her whole body, then another, and another. The tears came fast and furious. 

Shit, shit, shit. Everything hurt like hell, and her mind would just not shut up.

Were they right? Did Azrael call for this? She wasn't hurting the people, right? Did he hate her enough to call for this? Despite their fights, things weren’t horrible. Or maybe they were, maybe their fights had pushed him over the edge and he called for this, called for people to capture and torture her like this for making him marry her and essentially keep him prisoner. Wait, no, no, he couldn't have. He was a knight. He wouldn't have done this, right? But what if he hated her that much? She tried to push those thoughts out of her mind, but they were only replaced with new ones. 

When would this end? She was more than just a ‘dog’ of the imperial family, right? She was part of it, right? Right? She was serving the empire. Her family was good. Yeah, they took her in. She owed them everything. She was doing the right thing, right? 

Fuck, everything hurt. 

She tried to stop her sobs. She needed to stop feeling sorry for herself. Collect herself. Don't show weakness. This was pathetic. 

But then another thought rushed through her.

Her troop. What had happened to them? Were they here too? What if they were hurt? What if they died? What if she failed them? No, no, don’t think like that. These rebels were after her. Right? Yeah, yeah. 

But what if she never saw them again? If they weren’t dead, what if she never left this place? What if she died?

No. Do not think that way. Do not think that way. She couldn’t think that way. She had to survive this. The rebels didn’t plan on killing her anyway. As long as she stayed alive, she could fight. She could survive. Everything hurt, but she was alive. Everything hurt. Shit, don’t think about that. Don’t think about the blood that coated her skin, the constant dull pain, the sharp burning pain that flared every single name she shifted at all, at the strain on her muscles from holding this position, the way the chain around her neck, the collar, rubbed the skin raw, the way the chains were too tight. The way her broken ribs screamed with every breath. The blood trailing down her face, from her nose, her head pounding. Her eyelids felt heavy, despite her pain and discomfort, or maybe because of it. The adrenaline was wearing off, and she felt utterly exhausted and drained. Maybe remnants of the poison. She couldn’t do anything for her injures right now, they could even get infected, but there was nothing she could do. She was alone. Completely alone. With that, her eyes flickered closed and she slumped, sleep overtaking her.

Her eyes flashed open as the door slammed open. Sir, she recognized the gait and eyes, walked in and she looked up at him with a glare. He dropped a try in front of her and said

“Eat, bitch.” She glanced down. Some kind of mush and a small bowl of water. If she was willing to talk, she would have said ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ No utensils, and no move to undo the chains on her hands. They expected her to eat off it like this. She glared at Sir, and could see the smirk in his eyes as he said

“Well? Eat, like the dog you are.” Mithra glared at him. Sir lifted an eyebrow and asked

“Oh, not hungry? How about thirsty? Drink your water.” He pointed at the bowl, and she just kept glaring at him. He held up three fingers and slowly said

“One… two….. three.” He snapped and yelled

“Bring me a bucket of water.” He looked back at her and said

“You listen when I give you an order. Otherwise, there are consequences.” Sir kicked the tray away from her, and another man brought in a bucket of water. Sir placed it in front of her and said

“One last time, drink your water.” Mithra glared back, then gave a single shake of her head.

“Oh, too bad,” Sir said, “But more fun for me.” he suddenly grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head down, forcing her face into the ice cold water, and she barely had a chance to get a breath before she went under. She tried to lift her head, but the pain, exhaustion, and bad angle made it impossible as he held her head in the water. She tried to hold her breath as long as she could, but her lungs burned. Eventually, she slowly let out the breath through her nose. But she couldn't last much longer. Just has her body won against her mind and tried to take a breath, Sir yanked her head up and she gasped for air, letting out pained noises with every breath and thus stab in her chest. Then, just as she started to calm, Sir slammed her head down and under again. 

This repeated three times until he finally let go of her head as she threw up the water she swallowed, coughing and sputtering as she fought for consciousness. She felt like she couldn’t get enough air as she gasped for it, hanging her head as she tried to recover

“What’s wrong, bitch, had a little too much water?” She glared at Sir furiously and started to snap

“My name is-” He punched her, hard, hard enough to make her ears ring. She blinked as he retracted his hand and said

“I didn’t say you could talk, bitch.” She glared at him and opened her mouth to speak again, but he slammed his foot into her gut and she let out a yelp as pain exploded. He grabbed her face and said

“Dogs don’t speak, so neither do you. Don’t make me cut out your tongue.” Shit. She ripped her head away, but stayed silent. She needed to escape this place eventually, and getting her tongue cut out would be bad. Sir chuckled and said

“That’s more like it. Well, since you decided you weren’t hungry, we might as well get started quickly. Let’s rinse you off first.” He picked up the bucket and threw the freezing water onto her, leaving her sopping wet. She glared at him and he said

“Don’t give me that look, I was cleaning you off before we get started. Speaking of…” He snapped and more people came in, the same as yesterday, was it yesterday? How long had she been here? How long had she been out when she woke up? How long had she just slept? Wait, he had said she’d get food and water ‘tomorrow’ so she’d been here at least overnight. Would-

Pain exploded and she gave a little yelp as it started all over again, the people attacking again and again. 

The pain seeped through her entire being until it became too much and she passed out. She was awoken with a splash of water that only served to remind her of her near drowning earlier. She flinched awake and away from the water, blinking awake. A hand reached towards her, and before she thought, a growl escaped her throat. Sir’s hand stopped, and she flinched as his laughter filled the room. He grabbed her face and she glared at him as he laughed and looked down at her, saying

“Wow, you’re not even trying to act like you’re human. A growl, really?” She tried to rip her face away, but she was too weak, and he held her too tightly. He chuckled darkly and said

“You’re just the dog of the empire, bitch. And you deserve all of this.” Did she? No, don’t think that way. She glared at him, in too much pain to even try to speak. It was all she should do to keep from screaming or crying. He leaned in and said

“Aw, look. She’s crying.” Shit. She didn’t realize. She just glared back at him. It was all she could do. He threw her head aside and stepped away, saying

“Cry all you want bitch. It stops nothing. This won't end until you’re slain. Till we get the prince out of captivity and to us, where he can get his revenge against you.” She tensed. The more Sir talked about Azrael, the more it felt like Azrael might have been in on this. That he might have called for this to happen. Sir looked down at her and said

“This is merely punishment for a monster. You've been the empire's loyal attack dog for too long. I can't wait to see you put down, bitch.” Anger flared and Mithra started to snap again

“My name is-” she was cut off by her own shriek as Sir took out and stabbed a knife into her shoulder. He ripped it out and held the point to her neck, just under the metal of the collar, saying 

“Name? You don't get a name, bitch.” She hissed as the knife dug into her skin, a pinprick of blood forming as he said

“You are nothing but a dog trained to attack whoever you're told and rip them apart without mercy or remorse. You’re responsible for so much tragedy, and I wish you knew exactly-” He paused, then drew the knife away and said

“I have an idea, but I’ll wait till next time. We’re done here.” Sir turned on his heel and left suddenly and quickly with the rest of the people, leaving her alone in the darkness again, nothing to focus on but her pain. Her pain, and her emotions, namely anger. Mithra tried to pull against the chains, but that only served to make them bite into her skin, causing more pain that caused a whimper to emanate from her throat. She moved back to where the chains were keeping her too, and tried to look around the room, but she couldn’t see anything but the faint crack of light under the door. She had to do something.

But what? Could she even escape this place? What if she was trapped here until they got Azrael to kill her? That thought made her flinch. Would Azrael do that? 

He hated her.

But he was a good person. A knight. Everything she wished she was. He wouldn’t do this, right? He wouldn’t do this to another person. Sir’s words echoed in her head,

‘You are nothing but a dog’ ‘disgraceful excuse for a human being’ ‘not even trying to act like you’re human’ ‘You're just an honorless trained dog’ ‘Like the dog you are’ ‘This is merely punishment for a monster’

Sir did not see her as a person… what if Azrael didn’t either? No, no, of course he did. He had been kind to her. He didn’t see her the way Sir and these rebels did, right? Mithra shook her head, a mistake as pain flared on the scratch on her neck. Dammit, Sir had said he had had an idea, what could that be? Nothing good, that was for sure. But what could she do? She could barely move at all, and he wouldn’t even let her speak. He wouldn’t let her speak. Wouldn’t say her name. 

Why did that hurt so much? The dehumanization… it hurt more than the pain sometimes. She’d heard herself be called a dog, a monster, a bitch, a million times before by people who didn’t like her, from prisoners of war, from a rioting crowd. 

People who hated her found it easy to see her as inhuman, didn’t they? She hated that. She hated it when people would do that, but she was above paying attention to it. Right? Then why did it hurt so much? Why did tears fall from her eyes? She needed to be stronger than this if she was going to survive this place. Mithra took a breath and forced herself to speak

“My name is Mithra Reichel, formerly Mithra Lucier. I am the general of the empire’s entire military. I have worked to earn that position. I fight for the empire because it is my duty to do so and I owe them everything I have. I have achieved all the requirements to become a knight, but have chosen not to become one. I like training, and reading. I love my family. I love my friends, the troop I have spent years with, we got matching tattoos after-” She froze. Her troop, her friends. Were they ok? What if the rebels, no. The rebels were obviously there for her and her alone, and they retreated all together. She hadn’t noticed any serious injuries during the fight. Her friends were likely alright, and looking for her now. She took as deep of a breath that she could with her broken ribs. Her troop would be alright. They were almost certainly searching for her.

How long had it been since she left the castle? They’d traveled for a day and a half before the fight, and it felt like she had been out long enough for it to have been the next day when she woke up for the… first session. Sir had implied it was now the day after that first session. That put her at somewhere around three days or so. That left four days until she told her family and Azrael she’d be back. She was supposed to be at her destination right now, so her family was likely getting a little worried they hadn’t heard a report from her, but it was in the reasonable time period where the letter might have just been delayed. Tomorrow or the day after would be when they would start getting worried that something happened to her if one of her troop didn’t make it back to them. Alright, what could she do for now?

Not much. Nothing except sit here with her pain. Everything hurt. She sighed and hung her head, trying to shift into a more comfortable position. She might as well try to sleep. 

After what she estimated to be a couple hours or so, unconsciousness finally took over. 

Why did they have to wake her up with water every time? She jumped from the ice cold water that was splashed over her, her eyes flashing open to glare at the man who did it. Sir. She hated that she called him Sir in her head, but she had no other name to use. Sir chuckled and said

“Rise and shine, bitch. It’s time for something fun.” She narrowed her eyes as she lifted her head. He promptly punched her as he said

“Don’t give me that look, it’s annoying.” She rolled her eyes and he hit her again. She didn’t flinch. The hits did hurt, but not as much as her other injuries. Sir lifted an eyebrow and asked

“Oh, are you pretending that doesn’t phase you anymore? Well then, it’s good that i have something new today.” He reached forward and grabbed the metal collar, yanking her head forward as he pulled out a knife. He messed with something on the back of the collar and it loosened, not enough to let her go, but enough that he could slip his fingers between her neck and the collar. Good to note. She glared up at him, trying not to tense as he pulled out a knife. He chuckled darkly as he said

“You forget things too easily. You forget what you are, and you forget what you’ve done. I want to permanently remind you of both.” She tensed now. What was he planning? He hissed

“Don’t move, or I might cut deeper than I mean to.” Then, his knife was against her neck, carving three lines into it as he said

“This one is for the attack on [taken over kingdom]” Her first mission. There was nothing she could do as he finished the three small lines, crossing each other to create a simple star, then moved next to it and started again, saying

“This is for [idk]” This process continued over and over and over, as Sir listed attacks and battles and missions, sometimes adding details of what she’d done. But it was for the empire, for her family. It was her duty…she was doing what she had to. Then, as he neared the front, he hissed 

“Time for your recent offenses, bitch. For leading the invasion of [Azrael’s kingdom].” A star.

“For killing the people without mercy.” A star.

“For letting the idiot prince onto the battlefield, where he cut off the Prince’s arm.” A star, a twang of guilt. She shouldn’t have let her brother onto the field, but she did.

“For making that unbalanced treaty.” A star.

“For forcing an honorable man to marry a monster like you.” A star. The tears she’d barely been holding back fell. He was right… no, no, don’t think that-

“For keeping him prisoner without freedoms and away from his family and kingdom.” A star and a sob from her throat.

“For trying to make him break his knightly vows.” A star. 

“For that cruel plan we can all see will happen if a child comes of that cursed marriage.” A star, and a flinch from her. 

“For trying to go to an innocent town to threaten them because they pointed out the flaws in this corrupt empire.” A star. 

“For talking back to me” A star. He pulled away and said

“I will add another star for every offense you make from here on out.” She looked up at him through tear filled eyes. He pressed his knife to the blank center middle of her neck and she let out a whimper as he began to carve a large star into it, hissing

“This one, on display for all to see, is for how you serve the empire without question. How you perform cruelty and call it duty. For how you are an evil monster that pretends to be a person.” She folded over as he pulled away, trying and failing to stop the sobs racking her body. There were a long few moments where only her sobs filled the room. 

Shit. It hurt so much. All of it. Everything he had said. Everything she had done.

He grabbed her chin and lifted her face. His eyes were smug, triumphant at seeing her like this.

Anger flared as she looked back at him. How dare he? He called her cruel, yet he did this. She was going to escape this place, one way or another. 

She couldn’t let him break her.

She yelped as he tightened the collar again, the cold metal pressing against her bleeding neck. He stepped out, then came back with a bucket. He placed it in front of her and said

“Drink. Or else you may die of dehydration over the next couple of days. She glared up at him. But his threat could be true, he might very well not give her water for the next couple of days… she couldn’t risk it. Shame rushed through her as she lowered her head and tried to drink out of the bucket.

Like a dog. 

Sir laughed and said

“Good! You’re finally accepting what you really are. A dog.” She glared up at him, but she needed the water, so she drank as much as she could. Eventually, Sir grabbed the bucket away and said

“That’s all for today.” He turned and left, leaving her in silent darkness again. 

Hours passed. She fell asleep. She woke up. Time passed. She fell asleep. She woke up. Nothing happened. She was left in silence and darkness with nothing but her own mind and voice to keep her company. She talked to herself, repeating the stories of knights that she had read so many times that she memorized them. Things seemed to move in the darkness, but they were simply hallucinations her mind made up due to the isolation and lack of stimuli. But she used the pain that still throbbed through her entire body to keep her rooted in reality. She could not let herself slip into her mind. She may never come back. 

It was a relief when freezing water splashed over her again. Her eyes flashed open, and despite her relief, she knew who to blame. She glared at Sir and his people. Sir looked at her smugly and asked

“How was your alone time?” He didn’t bother to wait for an answer before he laughed and stepped forward and dropped a bucket and a tray in front of her, saying

“Eat and drink before you die of starvation.” She glared, but dipped her head. Shame be dammed, survival was more important. She ignored the laughter as best she could. She finished the food and drank the water till it was kicked away from her. She lifted her head and narrowed her eyes at the rebels. Sir looked back at her smugly, then reached towards her neck. Anger and fear exploded and she moved before she thought, attacking in the only way she could. She bit him. Sir let out a yelp as her teeth dug into his skin and blood hit her tongue. A kick landed in her stomach and she opened her mouth in surprise. Sir ripped his bleeding finger away as he snapped

“What the fuck!?!” The others looked to him with surprise on their faces, then they glared at her. She lifted her head as she glared back. She spit out the blood in her mouth onto Sir’s boot. Sir glared and hissed

“Oh, you bitch.” He paused, then laughed and said

“You know what? I’ve got the perfect plan to make you pay for that. Everyone out!” The others nodded and left. Sir followed, leaving her in darkness again. She sighed, her defiance and anger draining away. That had probably been a bad idea. She’d just made him angrier, and that would just make him more dangerous. Shit. She waited in silence for a while, not daring to fall back asleep. Just as her eyes started to seriously droop, the door opened and Sir came back in, holding something, his bitten finger bandaged. Sir lifted the thing and her eyes widened as he said

“Thank you for reminding me what a dangerous attack dog needs.”

A muzzle. Sir held a muzzle. It was clearly made for a human face. How had they gotten that so quickly? She didn’t have time to question before the other rebels rushed at her, grabbing her hair and lifting her head, keeping their hands away from her mouth. Someone tightened the collar until she found it choking her. She was gasping for air as Sir approached. When she opened her mouth, he shoved the muzzle at her, sticking a bar in her mouth as the metal bit into her chin, forcing her mouth to close around the bar as metal caged her in. Sir held it there as someone did the straps in the back, the rest keeping her immobilized. It was only after the muzzle was secure, the metal biting into the skin of her face, that someone loosened the collar and she sucked in as much air as she could, trying to breathe. Sir kneeled down to be face to face with her, saying

“I think this works great at keeping you silent and from biting anyone.” She tried to speak, but the position her face was held in made it impossible for the sound that left her throat to turn into any words. Sir laughed. 

~

The blindfold was yanked off and Vixen was quite literally thrown into the cell, she turned her shoulder before she hit the wall with a heavy thud and slid to the ground. She looked up, making her face terrified, confused, and in pain. Not too far from reality, but exaggerated. Damian, that cursed sheriff, too smart, stood in the doorway of the dark cell looking down at her. Where was she? She didn't hear any other prisoners down here, and there were too many stairs and turns that she thought the jail had. Damian walked forward and she cowered, pleading

"Please, I don't understand! You must have the wrong person!" He left the cell door open. Idiot. He walked forward and she shrunk against the wall, trying to look terrified and innocent. He smirked and said

"Don't lie to me little fox. I know who you are." She opened her mouth to speak, but he was faster, his arm striking out like a snake to grab her injured arm. She let out a yelp of pain as his fingers touched her unprotected injury, pulling it up towards him and saying

"I inflicted this myself." She tried to pull away, but he held her arm tight. He brought his other hand to her arm and traced the injury just within the edges, causing her to take sharp breaths of pain as he said

"You feel the edges of this? My weapon did that." Real tears of pain welled up as she said

"Please! Let me go! I got it while running jobs!" He laughed and pressed on it, causing another yelp from her, before he let go, saying 

"Running jobs, huh? What a perfect cover. So many of the scum come to this quarter to run errands for pitances of coin, with no record, and with so many of you vermin running around, recognition is minimal." He reached out and grabbed her face, forcing her to look up at him as she tried to pull away. He narrowed his eyes and said

"It'd send you all over, and no one would notice if you were listening. Perfect for a spy." He let go and she shrunk away, letting out fake sobs and saying 

"Please, I just want to support my family! I haven't done anything wrong!" He sighed and moved away slightly. Perfect. First, cover her hands with an illusion, then get started at undoing the handcuffs. He sighed and asked

"How long are you going to keep up with this little fox?" She looked up at him and said

"Sheriff, please, I don't-"

"Stop lying to me. I know who you are. What is your name?"

"Elizabeth Lorton, please, I haven't done anything" Vixen lied as she caught the cuffs that came undone. Time for the hard part. She cast an Illusion of herself over herself, then kept her real self invisible as she stepped up, placing her feet quietly, moving away slowly as he sighed and said

"Elizabeth, I don't have the patience for this. You are one of the theives I've been hunting. Specifically the fox. You also spy for them. I know this, and so do you, so stop lying, and you'll come out of this easier." Vixen, invisible, smirked and rolled her eyes, then had her illusion answer desperately 

"I swear, I'm not. I don't understand, I don't know what you're talking about!” Vixen slipped out of the cell as Damian stepped closer to the illusion and snapped

“Stop lying girl!” Vixen had the illusion plead

“I'm not! Please sheriff! I'm innocent!” Then Vixen took off down the hallway, well, the part of it. She came to a spiral staircase and began climbing, running as fast as she could. After a second, she heard Damian laugh and call

“You can't escape, tricky fox!” Vixen ignored him and kept climbing, until she finally came to the door. She carefully pushed it open and looked outside.

Oh no. She was on a private estate. the door was at the end of a hall, with a window on one side, showing a courtyard. She checked for guards, and seeing none, She closed the door and raced down the hallway, trying every door and window she came across. All locked, and all would take too much time to pick with Damian chasing. She turned down a hallway, and found an unlocked door. She slipped in, only to see more hallways. 

Vixen kept running, getting completely lost after a few doors. She stopped at another one, catching her breath and looking back. She didn't see him, but she was lost, with no way out. Alright, she could get out, she just needed a window. Maybe through this door, and one more, on the right. She raced through and opened a door, only for her arm to be grabbed and lifted, hard enough it felt like it was being pulled out of its socket. She looked at her attacker and saw the smirking Damian, who said

“Oh, little fox. You thought you could escape, didn't you? But you only blew any claim of being innocent.” She struggled against him, kicking and thrashing. He smirked and went to speak, when she got a hit right in his gut. The moment her boot hit him, he threw her, sending her flying into a wall. Vixen hit the wall, and heard a sickening crack in her chest as she screamed in the sudden pain. She sunk to the ground and gasped to regain her breath, but a sharp pain stabbed through her. Oh no, she must have broken a rib. She tried to keep her breaths shallow as she went to get up, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. She looked up as Damian straightened up and looked at her. He walked over with a scowl and picked her up, grabbing her wrists and pulling her to her feet, saying 

“Don't try that again little fox.” She hissed at him and he chuckled, saying

“Not so upset now I see.” He grabbed her arm and yanked, causing a duel Pop and scream of pain. Vixen's knees buckled as her vision went spotty and he snapped

“Calm down little fox, it's just dislocated.” He dropped her and she took a sharp breath as she touched her shoulder. She tried to yank her feet away when she felt him touch them, but he grabbed them and she looked down to see him putting A pair of cuffs on them. He snapped

“I'll get better Things later, to keep you under control. A friend of mine has something that'll stop the illusions. Hands.” She yanked her hands away and he sighed, striking out and grabbing one wrist, then the one on her dislocated arm. He cuffed them as well, then picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder and walking To a door. She tried to kick and he snapped

“Do you want me to break your legs?” She froze and resigned herself to paying attention to where he went. Locked door. Hallway, 3rd locked door on the right. More hallway, lots Of twists and turns, more doors, and she was lost by the time he opened another door and she saw the hallway she started in. She looked out the window as the passed it. He paused in the sunlight, And said

“Enjoy the sunlight while I open this door. You won't be seeing it for a while.” She tried to jerk, but he steadied her on his shoulder with a chuckle. She heard him unlock the door and step forward, and she tried to jerk away again, but He put his arm over her and held her tight. He stepped in and locked the door behind them, saying 

“I guessed you may try to escape, so I left you a pathway of unlocked doors, while I went the faster way and caught you. You fell right into my trap, little fox.” She jerked and he let go, saying 

“I'd stop jerking. I might drop you down the stairs, and it's a long fall.” She paused. He did have a point. With her Feet and hands restrained, she would just fall, and break more things. She took a breath and flinched at the pain. He chuckled and she clenched her teeth. Well, he wasn't going to be nice to get information from her. Thank goodness she took so many precautions. She couldn’t give away their names Or describe their faces, no matter how much he Hurt her. Since Owl and Crow were the ones taking care of hiding loot before distribution, that Wasn't something she could give away either. Now, she just had to not die. Or… bite off her tongue and choke on the blood, but that was not an ideal solution. He walked down the stairs and took her off his shoulder when they reached the cell. He put her down and asked

“Are we going to make this easy or hard?” She glared at him and jerked away. He sighed and said

“Hard. Alright then.” He kneeled down and grabbed her arm, shoving it back into place. She let out another scream at the sudden pain, then tried to take a deep breath, but that caused another stab of pain. She swallowed a sob and glared at him. He grabbed her hand and asked

“What is your name? I know you were lying before.” She smirked and said

“Damian Harrington.” He glared at her and grabbed her hands, then grabbed one of her fingers and held it in a position that would make it easy to break her finger. He asked again

“What is your name?” Vixen took a deep breath, ignoring the pain, then said

“Vanessa Harrington.” From what she heard, that was his mother's name. She didn’t have time to be smug before pain erupted in her hand and she let out a scream. When the spots cleared from her blurry vision, she saw him staring back at her, asking

“Name? Real name.” She spat through the tears of pain

“Little fox-” He broke another finger and she yelled in pain, then took gasping breaths of pain as she sobbed from the pain. She couldn’t do that again. She couldn’t do that again. She couldn’t do that again. He grabbed another finger and started to ask

“What is your-” 

“Vixen!” She sobbed out. He started pressing and she made a gasping yelp and she snapped

“It’s Vixen! I swear! It’s why I chose Fox!” He let go and she pulled her hands to her chest, sobbing in pain. He asked

“Last name?” She looked up and flinched back, snapping

“My family has nothing to do with any of this! They don’t know!” He glared down at her and she flinched away, saying

“They don’t know. They don’t know. They don’t know. They don’t know.” He paused, then said

“Alright. I’ll believe you on that.” She let out a relieved breath. That was the one thing she knew when she first started, she would never drag them into danger. Never. He asked

“How many of you are there?” “Twenty.” She said. He frowned and raised an eyebrow and she said

“That was a lie, thirty.” He asked

“Do I need to break more fingers?”

“I will bite my tongue off.” He grabbed her hand and she struggled to pull away again, screeching

“No no no!”

“Then tell me the truth.” He said, before snapping another finger, on the other hand this time. She screamed and began sobbing again from the pain in her hands, chest, shoulder, and her arm. He grabbed another finger and she yelped, the words muddled through her sobs

“Four! There’s four, I don’t know their names!” He let go and she curled up, sobbing. He sighed and said

“I’ll be back tomorrow. You’re too much of a mess at the moment, little fox.” She flinched and sobbed onto the ground as he walked away, closed the cell door and locked it. 

This was bad. This was so bad. Vixen took a few shallow breaths, then looked down at her hands. Oh no. Vixen swallowed, then carefully used her thumb and pinky to move her fingers back into place, yelping with every movement. Ok. Two more. Two more. She slowly got started on the next one, sobbing. It hurt, it hurt so so so much. But she needed to, otherwise it would heal wrong. She was going to get out of here, she was going to get out of here. She knew that. She was sure of that. Right? Her friends, they’d come for her. They’d come for her. Right? But… they didn’t know where she was. She didn’t know where she was. She was in some prison tower, in a maze of a private estate. She was injured and cuffed, three of her fingers were broken, two on one hand, and one on the other, so she couldn’t even try to pick the lock. This was bad. He was getting information out of her too easily. She finished working on her fingers and gave up on doing anything but lying limp on the floor and sobbing in pain. Was she going to get out of here? What else might he do to her? How long would she be here? What could the others do? And after Damian was done… she would hang. That thought shook her. She would hang. She always knew that could happen if any of them got caught, but… she never thought they would get caught. She knew it was a danger that she was in the rich section so often, running jobs, but… the rich folks never cared enough to look at her too hard. She’d never gotten hurt before, been too quick. The old sheriff hadn’t ever been able to even touch them. 

Yet Damian had. He’d almost caught them his first night. He identified the masks of two of them. He’d figured out there was a spy. He nearly caught them at every turn. He’d given her an identifiable injury. He’d known to look out for someone listening in. He’d noticed her, and noticed the bandage on her arm. Then he got guards to sneak up on her without her noticing and captured her. What would her friends do if they noticed she was gone? No, they weren’t her family, when they noticed. Likely tonight when she didn’t show up to the meeting. Well, Owl would be panicking, Bunny would also be freaking out, and Crow would be determined to find her and get her out. Yeah, that sounded right. Then, once Crow got Owl and Bunny calmed down, they would make a plan. They would make a plan, find her, and get her out. Maybe even tonight. Or tomorrow night. She just needed to hold out. She’d be alright.

She just needed to stay strong. She'd prepared for this. She'd prepared For this possibility. She kept Information from herself so she wouldn't spill it. She'd already spilled too much. Not again. She'd said there were four. Now he knew that he'd Already taken down a fourth of them. He now knew that he only needed to find three more. Ok. That was bad, but not horrible.

As for her name… Hopefully he didn't hurt her family. Please don't let him hurt her family. Anything but that. 

Vixen closed her eyes and took a shallow breath. 

She'd be out of here soon. She just needed to survive. Keep her head up. Don't give up. Keep fighting. Lie, or stay silent. Don't let him win. Don't Let him win.

She slipped into sleep, exhausted.

Footsteps. Keys Clacking against each other.

Vixen's eyes snapped open and She carefully sat up. That must be Damian. She took shallow breaths, telling herself.

Head up. Don't let him win. Don't give the information he wants. Dont-

She gasped as a sort of sharp Pain went through her heart and head, then faded.

What was that? 

Vixen was distracted by her thoughts as she saw a faint glow come into the area in front of the cell. What was that? It wasn't sunlight. Her question was answered as Damian came into view, carrying a golden ring that felt… wrong. It glowed, but the glow was wrong. The glow was gold, yet cold. It lit up the cell dimly, hurting dully when it touched her, and it lit up Damian's triumphant Smirk. He gave her a look and said

“More resilient than you seem, aren't you?” She glared back and snapped in a voice that was horser than she wanted. 

“Yeah. I am.” He narrowed his eyes, then lifted the ring with a smirk and asked

“Any guesses what this is?” She put on a false smirk and said

“Yeah, useless.” He laughed and hung the ring on a small hook on the wall across from the cell. She looked at it, then quickly away. Looking at it directly hurt her head. He leaned on the bars and asked with a smirk

“Something wrong little fox?” She shot a glare at him, her eyes flicking to the keys at his belt, in full view. Maybe she could get up and take them. Try another illusion. Just enough to take the keys. Her legs were unharmed, hopefully she could move a little bit with the cuffs around her ankles. She tried to take a deep breath, but flinched at the pain in her chest. She leaned back against the wall, still glaring at him. She went to pull from that little feeling to cast an illusion, when her entire body was racked with sharp burning pain. She let out a scream and curled up. As the pain faded, she heard him laughing. When she looked back up at him, hot tears blurring her vision as her head and heart ached, he smirked and said

“Tried to use your illusions, didn’t you little fox.” She took a shallow breath and snapped

“What is that?” He smiled and pulled out one of the keys, starting to unlock the cell as he said

“It keeps you from using your magic.” He entered the cell and she couldn’t stop herself from shrinking against the wall, which made him smile more as he walked forward. She tried to move away, her heart beating fast as he kneeled down in front of her. His hand lashed out and grabbed her chin tightly, saying

“It has no effect on normal people like myself. But it restraints demons like you.” He tilted her head to look at it and flaring pain erupted in her mind again as she looked at it. She clenched her jaw and closed her eyes, but she could still see the glow through her eyelids, and it still hurt, just lesser. After a second, he let go and she quickly moved her face into the shadow he cast on her. Immediately, she felt relief. Then panic again as he grabbed her hands and frowned, saying

“You set them back into place.” She yanked her hands away and glared at him. He glared back at her and said

“The glaring was funny at first. Now it’s annoying.” She opened her mouth, and he hit her across the face, she fell to the side and hit the ground with a thud and a yelp of pain. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back up, leaning her against the wall in the light again, bringing the dull pain back. He snapped his fingers in front of her face, making her open her eyes and look at him as he leaned forward and asked

“How are we gonna do this today?” She gathered a ball of saliva, and spat in his face. He made a sound of disgust and wiped his face off. She clenched her jaw and got ready. Maybe he’d forget about any information he wanted if she made him mad. After a second, he glared at her and said

“Oh little fox, you don’t know all you’ve gotten into.” She glared at him and went to spit again when he grabbed her hair and slammed her head back into the wall. She let out an animalistic sound of pain, and a yelp when he slammed her head again. He slammed it a third time and her vision went black. 

“Wake up little fox. I can't have you passing out on me yet.” Oh, her head hurt. It hurt so much. She blearily opened her eyes with a small whimper. He lifted her chin as he carefully leaned her against the wall. He snapped his fingers in front of her face. She blinked to try and clear Her blurry vision, only to see his smirking face as he said

“You passed out for a second.” Anger flared up and she yelled

“Maybe because you slammed my head into the wall you-” He hit her again, the other side of her face this time. She let out a yelp and he caught her, setting her back up. He asked

“Do you have any more comments before we get started?” She glared at him and went to curse at him, earning another hit And he said

“Oh, little fox. Language.” Tears of pain ran hot down her face as she glared at him, but kept her mouth closed. He smiled and touched her leg, a jolt Of fear went through her and she tried to move away. Nonononono. He couldn't, he- 

Damian glanced at her face and laughed, moving His Hand to the floor and shifting his position. When he finished, he smirked and said

“Oh little Fox. You don't need to be scared of anything like that. I have honor.” He grabbed her throat and hissed

“Unlike thieves. Or spies.” He squeezed and she tried to gasp for air as he strangled her. As black entered her vision, he let go and she gasped for air, swallowing it. Then she took too deep of a breath and pain shot through her chest again. She let out a little whimper. He lifted her chin with a couple of fingers, making her look back at that bright painful light, and said

“The four of you chose to have masks disguising yourselves as animals. The more I think about it, the more it fits. You are an honorless animal, little fox.” She ripped her head away and he laughed, grabbing it and hissing in her face, 

“Something about animals. They can break. Then they’re docile. They give up. And so will you. You will give me what I want. You will answer my questions” She glared at him and snapped

“No I won’t. I’ll fight till I hang.” He smiled and said

“We’ll see about that.” He leaned forward and said quietly

“If you behave, do what I want you to, tell me all you know, you may live.” Vixen froze, then let out a bark of a laugh and looked at him, saying

“Damien, you’re not a good liar. Besides, I’ll never betray my friends.” He laughed and said

“We’ll see about that.” He paused, and she glared at him. After a moment, he smiled and asked

“You care more about them than you do yourself, don’t you?” She gave a small eyeroll, but kept her mouth shut. He hit her, hard, then grabbed her face and said in a sickly sweet voice

“That was a question. I expect an answer.” She forced a smile and said

“Well you’re not getting one. Same answer with-” He hit her again, sending her to the ground without catching her this time. Vixen closed her eyes and took steady breaths. She’d be ok. Just hold out. Stay defiant. Make him give up on getting information. 

She wouldn’t die here. If she was going to die, she was sure Damien would make sure it was a public hanging, as an example. She opened her eyes and looked up when she heard metal. 

He had a knife.

He had a knife.

He had a knife.

She struggled as he moved her back up. She lashed out with her legs and he grabbed them, tucking her lower legs under him, immobilizing them. He looked at the knife and said

“Alright. Let’s start with our first question. We’ll work on it as long as needed. If you answer me the first time, I won’t hurt you. Understood?” She glared at him and he pressed the knife to her arm, saying

“That was a question”

“And I chose not to awn-” He pressed the blade into her skin, pulling down slightly, separating the skin from her arm and she let out a scream of pain. When he was done, he said

“Little fox. You don’t get to choose. If you don’t answer, or you lie, you get hurt. Understood?” “Yes, yes.” She gasped out. He smiled and lifted the blade. She took a few deep breaths, trying to ignore the sharp Pain in her chest, and the burning pain in her arm. He snapped and she jumped, looking up Again. He smiled and said

“Good. Let's begin.” She glared at him and he smacked her, not as hard this time, then snapped to get her attention again as he said

“Try to be a little respectful, little fox. You're at my mercy.” She glared and snapped

“What mercy?” He grabbed her neck and slammed her back against the wall again, Getting in her face and Saying 

“I'm giving you the option to avoid pain. I'm not killing you now. I'm being more merciful than you deserve, little fox.” He tightened his grip and she struggled for air as he said

“Without being merciful, you'd already be a broken little fox.” He slammed her and said

“You're a traitorous thief and spy. If I didn't need the information you have, I would cut out That lying tongue And rip out those spying eyes.” She brought Her hands up and tried to pull his hand away from her throat, but he only squeezed tighter, her vision darkening, and he hissed

“If I wasn't merciful, your corpse would be hanging from the wall for all to see. For all to see what happens to spies and thieves.” As her vision went dark, he let go and she gasped for air, her vision returning, as he said

“But I am merciful.” He snapped and She flinched away, looking at him as he smiled and said

“So you're alive, and can avoid pain by answering My questions.” She looked down and touched her neck tenderly with her fingers. He snapped and she Looked up again. He grabbed her arm and said

“Let's start. Are you the only One of the four that has magic?” She clenched her jaw and prepared herself, glaring at him. He sighed and said

“And that's a simple question.” He pressed the knife to her skin and she let out a high pitched, breathy sound of pain as he slowly dragged it down her arm, peeling her skin off. She screamed and he paused, he snapped to make her look at her again as he asked

“Is there anyone else in the four that has magic? Who?” Vixen gathered her strength and snapped

“That’s two-” He started again and she let out another long scream. She devolved into sobs as he kept going, begging

“Stop! Stop! Stop please! Please!” He paused and said

“I will if you tell me. Do any of the other have magic?” She couldn’t betray Crow. If she said yes, he might use that ring, that continued to hurt her head and heart, against him too. She clenched her jaw and hissed

“I'm not telling you.” Then she screamed as he started again. After a second that lasted forever, she screamed a lie

“I don't know!” He pressed harder and yelled Over her scream

“Then you would have told me that earlier.” He continued, and her screams mixed with sobs. He paused and she tried to move away, clenching Her jaw. He sighed and removed the knife, saying 

“I only have so much time for you. So I'll stop this.” She Let out a sigh of relief and collapsed against the wall. He grabbed her arm and she was yanked back up with a yelp. He put the knife down and pulled out a needle and thread. He smiled and asked

“Do you know what I'm about to do?” She shrunk away. He yanked her back, tightening his hand on her arm. He asked

“Do you know? I Expect an answer.” She tried to move away as she squeaked 

“No” He smiled and lifted the already threaded needle and said

“I can't have you bleeding out, or an infection getting too bad. So I'll sew the skin back on.”

~