Dancing Blades

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        Her ears were ringing; hear head pounding, feeling nothing but pain all over her body. Kiara’s arms were chained up above her head, her feet chained to the floor as she was forced to stand. She’d long since lost feeling in her arms and everything still felt numb. It wasn’t the first time she’d woken up, but it was the first time she actually remembered what happened. Kiara didn’t know how long she’d been imprisoned it could be hours, days, maybe even weeks. Every time she slipped out of consciousness Kiara had to relive the events of that day; the day her peaceful world came to an end.

When she woke there was beating, cuts that would never fully heal littered her body, broken ribs, bruised bones, mental torture from magic, burns, and blood; so much blood. It was dried and caked onto her skin and the remains of her clothes, splattered on the cell walls and floor. The sight would make any normal human being feel ill, but the men tasked with Kiara had long since lost their sanity. They felt some kind of twisted pleasure from cutting and breaking her, that’s what was truly sickening.

Kiara had long since stopped resisting; everything seemed like a blur, every wound felt less and less real. She was slowly losing her grip on her own sanity; the men she’d grown up with and trusted completely had turned on her, the only people she’d ever cared about were killed right in front of her, her kingdom was ravaged, her people most likely slaughtered. Kiara no longer had any will to fight, no reason to fight. She flinched as the dim light from a candle grew visible on the wall in front of her cell.

Another beating, another torture, Kiara shrunk back against the wall, dragging the chains attached to her ankles along the floor. Her body shook, from head to toe as the guards stopped in front of the cell. She squeezed her eyes shut as they opened the cell door, the metal screeching as it swung open. Alyn walked into the cell, freezing and swallowing hard when he saw her. A small whimper escaped Kiara’s lips as he walked up to her and knelt in front of her. 

        “What the hell did they do to you,” Alyn whispered to himself, gently brushing some of her hair out of her face. 

        Kiara’s eyes flew open as the shackles on her arms were let down, Alyn gently resting her arms in her lap, still chained together. Their eyes met as he began to repair her broken bones, his hands glowing a light blue as he held them over her healing ribs. They weren’t completely healed, but healed enough to be able to move without keeling over. Alyn pulled Kiara up and forced her to stand, pushing her forward towards the guards. She stumbled forward, but quickly regained her balance, her bare feet gripping the rough stone floor.

        She didn’t ask where they were taking her and honestly she didn’t care, anything was better than that hell. Alyn walked beside her as the guards surrounded her, preventing any chance of escape. Kiara tripped many times as the effects of starvation were taking its toll on her weak muscles. The guards stopped and waited for her to stand, but none of them helped her; Alyn began to move every time she started to fall but quickly stopped himself from doing so. Kiara’s hands and knees were scrapped almost raw by the time they reached the steel door leading out of the prison. Her hands flew in front of her eyes, shielding them from the blinding light of late morning pouring in through the crack in the door as it opened.

        Alyn grabbed onto Kiara’s arm and led her out of the door, not letting go until they reached a building not too far away. Even though the light in the building was dimmer than outside it was still incredibly hard to see, Kiara’s eyes watering a little. Alyn kept guiding her through the halls until they reached a large wooden door, the guards continuing on their way as Alyn and Kiara entered. The door behind them closed with a soft click, Kiara looking around at the small bedroom, her eyes finally adjusting to the light. She watched as Alyn walked over to a bucket of water in the corner and soaked a cloth in it, wringing it out and going back to Kiara. He lightly brought the damp cloth to her cheek and began to gently wash the blood covering her face.

        Kiara didn’t fight it, she just stood there as Alyn worked; she watched him as he went to wring out the cloth multiple times in the bucket before her face was clean. “Why are you doing this,” Kiara asked, her voice soft and cracking. 

        “You honestly shouldn’t even be here right now.” Alyn replied, leaving the cloth hung on the rim of the bucket. “You shouldn’t be a prisoner; I should be dead right now.”

        “Who said I was going to kill you?” Her voice stronger as she continued, “Everyone seems to think I’m some heartless and ruthless murderer. Every fight you have doesn’t have to be one to the death. My goal was to protect my King and Queen, not to slaughter a whole army.”

        Alyn turned back to Rose, looking into her dull grey eyes. “You still shouldn’t be here.”

        “Yet I am. I almost killed your King, that reason enough is why I should be here. Now stop looking at me like I’m some wounded animal.”

        Alyn turned away, his eyebrows furrowed. “What they did to you was cruel, no one disserved to be treated that way. I don’t care if they are a prisoner of war or someone who attempted to kill the ruler of my Kingdom.”

        “Why do you care so much? I am your enemy and I’m dangerous.”

        “In your condition you aren’t dangerous at all. You still can’t properly move your left arm, your muscles are weak because of lack of use and starvation, you have broken bones all over your body that I didn’t completely heal, and you are suffering from brain trauma and mental torture.” Alyn walked back over to Kiara, pulling out a key and unlocking the shackles on her wrists, watching as they fell to the floor. He knelt and unlocked the ones on her feet as he continued, “Besides, you aren’t dumb enough to try knowing the situation you’re in.”

        Kiara looked away as Alyn stood in front of her. She didn’t know what to say, this man that she barely even knew had read her like a book. It irritated her more than anything, but she thought it best to keep quiet. Alyn moved closer to Kiara as she turned, their eyes meeting again. She wanted to turn away, but she didn’t have time.

        “I’m sorry,” Alyn murmured as he took her chin in one hand, holding it in place. He brought his lips to hers softly, Kiara freezing where she stood. Her cheeks heated up, her heart beating hard in her chest, as Alyn pulled her closer, his other hand on the small of her back. Before she could fully register what was happening, pain washed over her.

        Her screams were muffled by Alyn’s mouth over hers, she tried to pull away from him but her strength was fading quickly. It felt like every ounce of strength she had was being pulled out of her body and flowing into Alyn. He held her firmly with the hand on her back, it glowing a faint shade of red as he sealed away her strength. As he pulled away, the pain subsiding Kiara started to fall, Alyn catching her in his arms. Alyn gently set her down on the bed, his eyes turned cold as he released her.

        “You are now a slave to the Kingdom of Haeas. You will work for the royal family until the day you die. You are not to speak to anyone unless you are spoken to and you will do all of your work without complaint each day. If you are ordered to do something you will do it regardless of what it is. If you fail to do these things or cause trouble you will be sent back to prison and tortured for the rest of your life.” Alyn stated coldly, the whole air about him changing in an instant. “The seal I placed on your back seals your strength so you can only use as much needed for your daily work. I will know where you are at all times and what you are doing, so don’t slip up. A servant will get you tomorrow morning to show you your daily tasks.”

With that Alyn left the room, leaving Kiara weak and shaking on her bed. Her mind was blank. She didn’t know what to think or what to feel, she just felt cold and confused. A dull pain still flowed through her veins and to the small of her back where the seal was. Her eyes flashed a deep shade of green as her King’s final order echoed in her head: “Live”. Rage washed over her as she stared at her shaking hands. She couldn’t protect the thing most important to her, she had let her kingdom fall and crumble in the blink of an eye. She felt so weak and defenseless, a feeling she wasn’t ever used to.

         Once a proud Knight of Dwealia, turned into a half dead slave for the Kingdom of Haeas in a matter of days.