She felt blessed, like the Stars themselves had granted her this. There was no limit, no rules or constraints. She was boundless; she was home, safe and secure in his unbreakable embrace.
~
Shackled in an abrupt and demanding upbringing, Althera is...
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One of the first things she noticed was the burning strain in her arms. They groaned with the effort as she tried to sit straight, despite the ropes that bound her in place.
The second thing that came into her mind was the devastating dryness of her throat. She gasped, longing for water to relieve her thirst. Black spots dotted her vision and she fought to blink them back, hopelessly gripping to the last strand of consciousness.
Being alone was a scary thing, and for the girl, it was something she had never experienced. Terrified, she tucked her legs under her shaking arms, trying her best to comfort herself. It didn't work, and her face grew pale, breaths coming out in gasps.
The old room, she made out with uncontrollable disgust, reeked of the smell of vomit and the metallic stench of blood. Covered in grime and soil were four stone walls that seemed to close in on her as every cursed minute ticked by.
A tapping sound filtered into her little cage, and the girl moaned. She would've heard the footsteps earlier if it hadn't been for the continuous ringing in her ears. She inclined her head, her breathing raspy. The man that came toward her had a lazy movement in his stride, unhurried about whatever he was to do next. Her terror was delayed for several seconds.
She backed up against the wall behind her as he crouched down and pushed a tray into the room. She glared at him with enough fire and hatred to send anyone fleeing for their worthless life - but he stayed motionless and surveyed her with a contemplative look in his glassy eyes. She was suddenly self-conscious under his watchful gaze, realizing she wore only a stained and violently damaged gown that had been torn apart at the knees. Her feet were bare and dirty and slightly damaged at the soles from all the running.
She whipped her head away, turning down any available urge to gulp down the cup of water. She didn't want to show him she was weak.
She didn't want them to think she couldn't handle it.
So, the girl cradled herself, murmuring indistinct words under her breath as the man scooted away.
Not far off behind the metal bars a second man joined the first. They conversed together, not paying attention to her. They were blurry figures in her eyes, quivering whenever she moved. Her pulse drummed in her ears, drowning out any sound in the cold, dark room she had been thrown into.
Once again, the man came toward her, hand outstretched. She jerked back and pressed herself even further into the corner of the cell. He hesitated for a moment before reaching for the lock of the door, prying it open.
The girl jumped up at the sound of creaking, rusted metal. The man stepped in, and her eyes adjusted to his face another time. Dark eyes inspected her carefully, testing her reaction. The thin line which was his mouth turned down. It was obvious he had been expecting her to immediately attack him once he stepped inside. But her entire body merely froze, and an unnerving chill crept down her spine.
His mouth moved to form words, but she didn't hear them. He was taking slow steps toward her, hands held out in front of him as a symbol of peace she did not believe in. The girl let out a shuddering breath, the heels of her feet colliding with the wall behind her. When he stopped, she closed her lungs, not daring to make a single noise. If he were to engage her in a struggle, she would be at a great disadvantage; her leg muscles ached like her arms, screaming with all the battling it took to stand upright. Her head spun, threatening to throw her off balance.
The other man he had been speaking with cried out something, but the male in front of her held up a hand behind his back, ordering him to back off. He didn't advance for some time, hoping not to alarm her. And though she desperately wanted to sit down - her legs shrieked for relief, she stayed motionless in her shadowy corner, her eyes never leaving the man, afraid that if they did, she would regret it until her dying breath.
It wasn't until he pulled out something that looked unmistakably like chains that she understood what the two men had been planning. Ropes weren't enough to keep her incapacitated. They needed something much stronger and sturdier to hold her down as they took full advantage of her, to bind her so that she was helpless against them. The girl's heart raced as she panicked, running through the different ways she could protect herself from them in her head. It was no use.
She watched in frantic, agonizing fear as the man came closer, the thick bundle of clanging chains dangling in his large hands.
