The Demonic Pirate

Chapter 15

P. O. V. Ella

After we exited the throne room I let the guards drag me through hallway after hallway till we arrived at a set of stairs which they paused at allowing me to get to my feet and walk down the stairs into darkness the only light given off coming from the torch that the guard in front of me. When we arrived at the end of the stairs I hesitated unsure where to go but the guard behind me pushed me forward saying "Keep moving."
Which I did following the guard in front of me to a room with double doors and chains keeping the doors shut which the guard unlocked with a set of keys he held then before he opened the door he said "I wish you the best of luck in there Jaron is the least friendly of us."
I gulped audibly as he pushed the door open then shoved me through and I stood frozen in the doorway as the door slammed shut behind me leaving me with what little light was provided inside the room by the single torch in there and I heard the jingle of keys as the guards locked the doors. Then I heard a cough from beside me and I turned and saw a large shadow which approached me slowly and I panicked backing away from the shadow as it got closer and closer till eventually I hit a wall causing me to stop in my tracks as the shadow continued to get closer. then when it was close enough I could see that the thing which I had at first perceived as a shadow was actually a man dressed all in black and with his head hidden in the shadow of his hood he reached out and grabbed my hands picking me up off the ground with ease as he said "So your the newbie? Huh not much to work with but your due for a few days down here so maybe we can make something happen."
Then he dropped me and I hit the ground with a clatter as he lowered his hood revealing a strong jawline and sharp piercing blue eyes. The guard immediately unchained my hands then moved away out of my line of sight and I heard the jingle of chains and a clatter of tools before he appeared again and he grabbed the front of my shirt dragging me to the middle of the room then still holding the front of my shirt he reached above his head and pulled down a pair of chains which he then used to chain my wrists with and his eyes never left me as he worked then when he was finished he left again and I heard a grunt and I was yanked upward by the chains till I was standing upright my feet barely on the ground. Then the guard came into view again this time he had a clipboard with him which he read from "Alright looks like the information I'll be getting from you is your name and it looks like the king wants specifically for you to be flogged. Alright then." Then he threw the clipboard over his shoulder casually where it disappeared from view with a clatter as he said "Let's get this done with," then he grabbed a whip from a table beside him and he didn't look at me as he started unwinding it saying "So here's how this is going to work I ask you the question and you choose either to answer the question or you get whipped and this will continue until either you give me the answer or night has fallen so first things," and for the first time he looked at me as he said "What is your name?" Instead of giving him an answer I stared straight ahead ignoring him and he said "Ah we got the silent type excellent I love breaking them." As he walked behind me and I heard him snap the whip once in the air causing me to flinch from the sound and he laughed then said "This is fun for me already." Before I felt the burning pain of the whip hit my back tearing through the fabric of my shirt but I refused to cry out having been through worse pain then this before and he said "You're stronger than I took you for but it still does you no good so what's your name little girl?" But I continued to stare ahead as I felt and heard the snap of the whip once more.
The day continued on like this and by the end of it my back had gone numb as the guard cracked the whip on me again and I hung loose on the chains at this point held up only by their support as the guard said "Well I'm impressed not one word from you today not even a scream you really are strong but you won't last all three days down here you will break that I promise."
Then he left my view and I thought he was going to leave me hanging all night long but then I heard a grunt and the support of the chains went limp causing me to fall to the ground as the guard came over again. my instincts told me to run and hide from him but I was too weak to do either. as he grabbed my wrists unlocking the chains around them and dragged me over to a wall chaining them there. Then he released me saying "You're just lucky the king wants you alive." Before he left me there. Soon after I heard the door open and close and I knew he had left only then did I start to cry softly trying not to be heard. Then I quickly calmed myself and using the small amount of power that I had gained from my brief contact with Tad I healed myself but doing so left me drained and exhausted and I quickly fell into an uneasy sleep...
I woke up sometime in the middle of the night to hunger pains in my stomach but somehow I knew I wouldn't get much food while I was down here so I ignored it but the pains kept me awake for the rest of the night...
This process continued on for the next three days but I never told him anything, and on the fourth day something different happened. I was sitting on the floor with my knees held up to my chest and hoping that he wouldn't be here today but I had no such luck and when I heard the door open and footsteps approach me I backed away as far as I could get which was completely useless as the guard pulled me by to my feet by my wrists which were still bruised from hanging by them yesterday. Then he unlocked the chains around them and I resisted not wanting to be whipped again but he was a lot stronger than me and pulled me along easily but when he passed the spot where he normally would have stopped I became curious as to what was going on as he continued on to the doors and he opened them. Dragging me through them he threw me to the guards who had been waiting at the foot of the stairs for me and one of the guards caught me and as Jaron turned to leave the guard said "Jaron!" Causing Jaron to pause and turn toward him as the guard continued "Where are her chains?"
Jaron said "She is too weak to need them." Then before the guard could say anything else Jaron turned and ran down the hallway ignoring the others as they called out for him. Eventually they started dragging me upstairs for I was too weak to stand, they dragged me all the way to the throne room where they stopped in the middle forcing me to my knees as one held my arms behind me. I looked up and saw Tad sitting on his throne glaring at me and I quickly lowered my gaze as Tad said "Let her go I want to see what she does." the guard released my arms and stood back as I rubbed my shoulders remaining on my knees as Tad stood and said "Well I see your a lot humbler than before," and he walked closer to me circling me as he said "Now I wonder..." I glared at him as he stopped in front of me and bent down to my level saying "Will you tell me your name?" he paused but I gave him no answer that is until he said "Or should I send you back?"
I felt fear flash through me at the thought of going back as I said "Please don't."
he got right in my face as he said "Then tell me your name!"
I flinched at the volume of his voice as I said "It's Ella now please leave me alone!"
I saw recognition flash in his eyes at my name but all he did was stand saying "There now that wasn't so bad was it?"
But before I could answer the doors to the throne room burst open and I heard a guard say "Sire! The prisoner has escaped!"
Tad immediately turned on him and grabbed him by the front of his uniform as he said "What! Send out a search party get him back!" Before throwing him toward the doors.
the guard scrambled to his feet and said "Yes sir but there is one more thing."
Tad growled "It better be important."
the guard seemed hesitant as he said "Sire a man has requested to see you on a matter of importance!" 
Tad sneered as he turned back to me and said "You think I care?"
The guard hesitated slightly before saying "It's the demon hunter Sire."
Causing Tad to whip around and face the guard as he said quietly "Show them in but first take her to the dungeon I'm not finished with her yet."
the guard saluted and grabbing me left the room and I was then thrown into a cell that was cold dark and damp. Where I stayed for only a few minutes before the guard came back only this time he was out of breath as he fumbled with his keys struggling to unlock the cell door as he mumbled "Come on come on!" Then when he finally got the gate open he grabbed my wrists tying them together before dragging me back to the throne room where he dropped me in the middle where I sat my legs bent awkwardly under me to tired and weak to move as I spotted an unfamiliar person standing in the middle of the throne room and he had graying hair and brown eyes that peered at me from over thick glasses. The man then said "That's her then?"
I heard Tad from behind him say "Yes This is her."
the old man walked around me examining every inch of my body and as he did so I tried to readjust my legs to a more comfortable position but they simply wouldn't move so I quickly gave up as the man stopped again in front of me and he turned facing Tad and said "She's absolutely perfect for the job."
Tad said "And when your finished with her I get her back correct?"
the man nodded and said "Definitely."
Tad shot the next question at the man with a quickness that surprised me "And there won't be a scratch on her."
the man replied with equal quickness "If my theories are correct she should return to you in better shape then she is now."
Tad was quiet for a moment before asking "And this will only take one day?" the man nodded as Tad pondered this then he said "Then take her away."
the man bowed toward Tad then forced me to my feet and pushed me out of the room and I let him not having the strength or care to resist him as he led me out of the castle and to a pair of horses and he said "Can you ride?" And when I shook my head he said "Then we won't need this one." and he slapped one of the horses on the butt causing it to rear and gallop off into the distance as the man helped me to mount the other horse then immediately climbed on behind me kicking the horse into a slow trot but as we got further away from the castle the man kicked the horse into a full on gallop pushing it to its limits as we rode.
We continued on like that for the better part of an hour before we came to a rickety old house which he stopped in front of and dismounted but before I could follow suit he said "Stay here or you'll regret it." I nodded too tired to argue as he went inside the house leaving me there alone and all I wanted to do was sleep at that point. Sleep and heal and I felt my eyes begin to close as I sat on the horse and soon I was fast asleep...