A Court of Iron and Shadows

I Will Not Be Afraid.

I woke up to the clatter of boots on stone. The cold iron surrounding me bite into my skin, and I tried to shift but pain cascaded through me at the movement. My attempts were futile as the steps echo along the stone, coming closer and closer. 

Finally they stop near the coffin that held me captive. The top swings open and I squint against the harsh light above me. Cairn's wicked face replaces where the light was in my vision, his mouth tilted in a crooked smile. 

"Well hello, Aelin. Ready for a little fun?" He asks sadistically. My eyes widen at the mention of his 'fun', and I move backwards slightly--as far as I can move in the cramped box. His grin only widens at my attempts of escape, as useless as they are. 

I spit in his face, and his smile turns into a sneer, his face twisted in anger. "You bitch!" He yells at me, wiping the spit off his face. "That's an extra hour of fun--maybe I'll use that time to introduce you to your old friend." At the mention of a whip, my blood runs cold, and I can feel the blood drain from my face, my skin turning ashen. 

He scents the fear on me and lifts me out of the coffin. I struggle and fight the entire way, as much as I can with my weak limbs, before he sets me down on a stone block. He walks to tie my chains so that my body is spread out, my arms and legs held away from my body, my muscles stretching taut. 

I pull against the chain. "Tsk, tsk, tsk." he tuts. "Don't ruin my fun." or else, I think bitterly, the threat obviously implied, but he falls silent. He reaches out to his instruments once I'm tied up, unable to move as he brings them towards me. 

He grabs the whip. "What's the point of going slowly, why not just dive right in?" He asks happily, enjoying this. I prepare myself for the oncoming pain, remembering to breathe. 

My name is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, and I will not be afraid. My name is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, and I will not be afraid. My name is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, and I will not be afraid.

I repeat the phrase that holds stories of light and dark, whispering them faintly to myself, too softly for Cairn to hear. He brings the whip down onto my already ravaged back once, not giving me time to recover from the unrelenting pain that cascades through me before he lashes me again. I will not scream. I will not go down as a whimpering coward. The name Nehemia had called me many moons ago. Coward. The word rings through my head as he whips me. 

Again. 

Again. 

Again. 

Coward. 

He lashes me until I can barely breath. Then he stops. "Not going to give in Aelin? No screams for me?" I close my eyes, focusing on my breath. "Hmm..I guess I'll just have to try harder." he says wickedly before he brings the whip down on me again. 

I bite my lip and taste the metallic tang of my blood as he leaves no inch of skin undamaged. After what seems to be the thousandth time, although I know it can't be more than the 30th, I cry out, my body arching in pain--as much as it can with the iron chains binding my wrists and ankles. 

I scream and scream as the whip is brought down on me again and again. I lay there, bathing in my own blood, panting as the pain overcomes my senses. He moves onto his daggers that are arranged neatly on a table near him. He grabs the knife and brings it towards my leg. 

I feel a slicing pain across my foot and attempt to look towards the wound. I scream bloody murder, tears running down my face as he begins his evil torment. He extracts bones and pieces of me, then sows me back together. Like a rag doll, I think. 

He comes before me, kneeling down so that we're eye to eye. His grin is an ugly thing, twisting his features into a cruel look, on a face that some might have considered handsome. Not me. He doesn't say anything, just looks at me with a harsh look and a cold glint in his eyes before standing up, and walking to the door. 

"Stay here." he snaps at the white wolf who watched me. "The healers will be here soon. I'll see you tomorrow." he says, amusement lacing his voice. My body slumps into the stone and I look at Fenrys. 

Are you alright? He silently communicates, blinking three times. 

Yes, I blink once back

Liar, he blinks six times. He repeats his question with three blinks, Are you alright?

No, I blink twice

He doesn't hesitate to blink back at me four times, I am here, I am with you, he says. I nod slightly and turn away before the healers walk into the room in their usual white attire. They heal every inch of skin, every piece of me, a blank canvas ready to be painted. 

They send me into the darkness, where I dream. I dream of home. Terrasen. I dream of my court, of the place it was before it was destroyed, of the place it will be. When my eyes snap open and I'm once again awake, anger courses through my veins. 

At the back of my mind, something whispers, marks, use the marks. It clicks. Wyrdmarks! I inspect my body for any open wounds, any blood to draw with. My hope dims when i find none. One more day, I promise myself. One more day. And so, I begin to form a plot in my mind, scheming my escape. 

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Hope you liked this first chapter! I really hope this meets your expectations, I can't tell if I'm good or bad at writing torture scenes. Anyways, hope you enjoyed!! I'm going to write the next chapter right now, don't worry!! For those of you who haven't read my other stories, I have another acotar+tog fanfic set about 30-ish years after KOA, starring their kids. 

I also have a poetry and quotes book which is where I post poetry, quotes, essays, and papers for competitions, school, or just for fun, please check them out! I'll write the next chapter now, haha. 

Love, 

Hannah Elizabeth Rose