Pain. Hot, searing pain. Ripping away at her body, tearing away at her flesh with its bare teeth. There was a scream. Such a scream that its echoes rippled through the newly deserted village.
Then nothing.
Silence
As if nothing had ever happened.
T...
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Her entire body felt as though it were on fire. It was screaming at her. But that was to be expected. She knew what to expect as punishment for attempted escape. After all, she'd gone through this many a time. But knowing what was going to happen didn't lessen the effect of three weeks of torture.
Gene had taken great pleasure in punishing her. Of course, he did. One didn't become the leader of dozens of Shadow Knight forces without finding enjoyment in the harm of others. But Gene liked Ariella in particular. He loved the way her expression would twist as he broke her bones. Every time her mouth would open in a scream that would never come. It wasn't just the physical pain. It was the frustration and anger of being unable to even cry properly.
Her only moments of peace had been when he'd attempt his magicks. See, Gene was in possession of a very interesting power. The power to manipulate memories. The problem was, that they didn't seem to work on Ariella. So he always took the opportunity to try again. And what scared her the most was that they seemed to be getting stronger.
When she had first been brought to the Nether, nothing he tried would affect her. But now, his power had found a grip on her mind. Sometimes it lasted only a few minutes; sometimes an hour; sometimes an entire day. And that scared her. She was scared that one day she'd lose herself entirely. That the new memories he liked to put in her mind would change her, and make her give herself over to them, as so many others had done.
She tensed as she heard the door to the room open. She couldn't see who it was from her position, but she eased as a familiar voice called out.
"Calm down doll, it's just me." The voice of Sasha came closer, and her face entered Ariella's peripherals. She was a beautiful woman, with stark white hair that trailed down her back, and purple eyes that reminded Ariella of the portal she had tried to cross those few weeks ago.
"Time's up. Gene's not happy about it, but it is what it is. Don't suppose you've changed your mind yet, have you?" Ariella glared and stuck her middle finger up at Sasha. The white-haired woman simply rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that doll. It was worth a try"
She leaned over the restrained girl and began unbuckling the leather cords that strapped Ariella's hands to the table she was lying on. She sat up and rubbed at the angry red welts that had formed on her wrists as Sasha began working on the chords around her ankles.
When all her constraints were released, Sasha lugged the brunette's arm over her shoulder and supported her weight as Ariella tried to stand. Her legs buckled from under her and she almost brought Sasha down with her with the unexpected weight. In addition to the physical pain shooting through her body, her pride got hurt in that moment too as Sasha used her strength to pull her back to her feet.
