Darkness into Light - Espresseleine

Chapter Thirty Two ~ In the Belly of the Beast

Tw: Blood, violence and minor panic attack mention

The two were carelessly shoved to the floor, faces meeting the tiles that held no evidence of ever being warm. Affogato knew to be careful with the precious trinkets they'd picked up from the gravel and dirt, oh but maybe not so much Madeleine. Espresso was who he had to play around with in such a manner that he is torn to shreds but not so that he is physically harmed.

A tough feat, Affogato will admit, he is used to toying with his victims until he can get a firm grip on them until they snap. In this case, the orders that Dark Enchantress had sent him away with. Of course, he had to listen to her, it was life or death under the command of the Enchantress herself. But obeying would be like stepping inside a dark room possessing anything but a torch. So perhaps he would... escalate it a little further. After all, he surely must allow himself to sprinkle just a pinch of fun into the mix.

From when they'd loaded the two unconscious bodies into the back of the cart, Affogato was exhausted out of his mind from how long they'd been trying to track down the pair who unexpectedly travelled quickly without leaving a recognisable track behind. It made for a difficult chase indeed.. and for all the trouble Affogato and his henchmen were put through, a little 'excitement' wouldn't hurt.

Affogato clapped his hands together, dangling earrings bouncing around at the sudden motion.
"Chop, chop my loyal pets! We must make haste back to our centre of operations," he crooned, soon letting out a disgusted groan as he shimmied through the bushes, "This heat is ruining my make-up!"

His henchmen grunted and started off towards the path with the cart dragging behind them, eyes darting around cautiously. Affogato was well prepared, planning their silent entrance into the Cacao Kingdom with heavy insight on where exactly each post guard and knight would be standing and when. They had to sneak their new prisoners in quickly, without a single stare of suspicion burning into their backs as they crept the streets.

And so they succeeded. They dragged whom they held hostage inside the Citadel Fore-room where Affogato could begin the little game he'd been waiting hours to commence. A smug grin crept upon his lips as he watched his henchmen dump the bodies onto the floor without a tug of remorse.

He tutted, waving his elegant hand at them, "Easy now, don't be too rough on our guests."

The word rolled off his tongue like a drop of acid, voice stinging with a ruthless desire. The henchmen huffed in annoyance, quickly receding when the two began to slowly float back up and out of the pool of unconsciousness.

Espresso made a small noise, indicating that he was the first to slip back into the present. His eyes remained squeezed shut as a headache pounded at his skull like a jackhammer. Everything hurt, why was it so cold? The mage pried his eyes open, blinking away the blurriness in his vision. Luckily, it appeared his glasses remained safely propped upon his nose so he wouldn't be as helpless and blind as a bat.

But soon his senses came flooding back to him, realising that his face was currently pressed against an icy cold tiled floor. It was a obsidian black, allowing no reflections to enter it's premise. Around him was the subtle smell off... cacao beans? With just a tint of lavender amongst it, the atmosphere smelled like a local coffee shop. Except in this coffee shop the drinks would most definitely hold poison.

As the ringing in his ears lessened, it allowed Espresso to hear the faint footsteps that vibrated against the floor around him. He wasn't alone. Their captors were still with them. But where is Madeleine?

He attempted to sit up, struggling as he felt his arms pulled behind his back and rub against the rough surface of a..

Espresso groaned quietly at the realisation. Of course his hands were tied up with a good ol' fashioned rope.
It's not like he could use his magic anyway. But he wishes he weren't so useless right now.