Chapter 41 – Kill the Time
[Name]'s eyes opened wide. He immediately lost all train of thought after Esdeath said what she did. She'd closed her eyes momentarily, then opened them again but did so with a focused glare. Now, eye to eye, [Name] swallowed as he began to shiver slightly.
Esdeath: When did you plan on telling me that you were working for a group of terrorists?
[Name]'s body froze, and his blood ran cold. He couldn't find an immediate answer for her question so in desperation he redirected her question with one of his own.
[Name]: Who told you that?! I would never-
Esdeath: [Name], I'm no fool.
[Name]'s gut nearly caved inwards with an explosive knee from Esdeath! She still had his head clinched, but [Name] was finished. He gripped his stomach and went down. [Name] tried to stay alert but couldn't, the power of the blow was so enormous that he believed that she might've done fatal damage to his organs.
Sometime Later – Imperial Dungeons
[Name] had awoken in a darkened room. The floor, stone. The room he could tell is quite large but without windows. His shoulders were suspended above him chained to the ceiling as he dangled. His legs chained to the ground with significant weights that were underneath the stone flooring. He'd been completely stripped nude and was being stretched. This had gone on for a long time. A very long time. [Name] without any perception of time had assumed he'd been here for the night.
Over a longer period, he would be fed horrifyingly stale pieces of bread, cold soups, and for a drink, he'd be given cups of either vinegar or water with granules of dirt. He could tell that he was being severely drugged and wasn't able to use anything to escape. Those who would feed him were hulking soldiers of the empire. Most of them if not the same person were far over 6 feet of height and he could tell were dangerous. However, none of them mishandled him or harmed him in any way. None spoke to him or answered any of his questions until one finally did.
Imperial Guard: Aren't you General Esdeath's pet?
[Name]: No...Last time I checked I wasn't anyone's. Where am I?!
Imperial Guard: In the doghouse of course. I figured you would've known since you are a traitor to the empire. The emperor is most displeased with any sense of insubordination of any kind. Now, you're where you belong.
He was also made to use the bathroom on himself and at times he drifted to sleep and woke up sporadically. He was cleaned off with a hose which felt amazing but enjoying that extremely difficult. After a while, [Name]'s shoulders had both dislocated and his muscles burned.
The guard made a few more visits but one last time, a single remark that he made caught [Name]'s attention.
Imperial Guard: Aye, looks like your day in the sun is over.
[Name]: Is that supposed to be a joke?
Imperial Guard: We've just seen the General enter another mans cell. It's another revolutionary bloke, I think his name is Tatsumi.
[Name]: Tastumi?!
Hours Earlier - Imperial Dungeon Bowels
The Nightraid assault had resulted in Tatsumi and Lubbocks's capture. No key imperial was killed, and the revolution had lost a good some of the troops. The war, for the most part, is essentially over with the final sect of the revolution still at an unknown location. The Nightraid's membership is three down and the cleansing of the third ring, the squalor district has begun. In the room he sat in Tatsumi had no way of escape with Esdeath standing directly in front of him.
Esdeath: Tasumi, you fool. I allowed you to serve under me and be my lover. But you threw that away in favor of small resistance. I always knew that fate would bring us together again, Tatsumi.
Tatsumi: So then, if you're not going to kill me now then what are you getting at? If you're going to offer me to me with you then no! I already have someone that I want to be with, someone who loves me for who I am.
Esdeath: No, I'm afraid that offer's been expired for some time. What I'm referring to is a chance for your friend to live. Tell me what I wish to know, or I'll bring him before you and torture him until you talk.
Tatsumi: Lubbock and [Name]. . .. I can't. . .
Esdeath: Then you leave me with no choice.
Tatsumi: NO! Okay. Okay! I'll tell you where the base is.
Esdeath blushed and closed her eyes as she looked at Tatsumi, the one she formerly loved.
Esdeath: I thought it'd more to make you the submissive type. Had I known that you'd crack so easily I probably wouldn't have fallen for you so easily.
[Name]: I don't care about any of that!
Esdeath: Of course, you wouldn't. You already have someone you want to be with.
Many Hours Later – Imperial Dungeon Bowels
He seemed to always be tired and never felt like himself. He was always seemingly without energy. The drugs were extremely potent, and they were taking their toll. It was here in this room where he learned that Esdeath had probably gone back to Tatsumi. Then it happened; he heard the loud screech of the heavily rusted metal door sing. He heard heels clicking against the hard flooring.
Esdeath: Are you awake?
[Name]: Get out.
She continued to walk forward to his silhouetted frame strung up from the ceiling. She'd put something down in the shadows as she continued forward.
She'd gotten close enough to see [Name]'s now gaunt appearance. He's been starved and kept in terrible conditions under her orders as punishment for his treason. Even Tatsumi had received better treatment. Once she placed her hands upon his face to which he immediately jerked away.
[Name]: Don't... .you touch me.
Esdeath rather than heeding his demands cocked back and struck [Name] directly in the face. It wasn't a slap either, she'd hit him hard and with malicious intent.
Esdeath: You're lucky that I haven't kill you for your actions.
[Name]: What gave it away?
He struggled to ask.
Esdeath: It was Normandy. While she is a fool, she's a useful one. She saw you stealing records that didn't belong to you from the mailroom and with you being missing, I'd have to be a fool to not know it was you giving the Nightraid the information.
[Name]: The revolution will win, with or without me. . .
Esdeath: Just know that your sneak attack failed. The revolutionary's forces are decimated and we're currently looking for the remainder of the faction.
[Name]: Decimated? Wait... How long have I been here?!
He asked in urgency and concern rather than anger.
Esdeath: One week.
[Name]'s eyes shot open. As it turned out, she must've been right. The revolution had failed in its final all-out assault. With Najenda being unsuccessful in convincing sister factions from the other nations, the revolution has mostly been wiped out.
Esdeath's gaze stayed on [Name]'s glazed-over eyes. She had no expression on her face whatsoever. She was listening intently.
[Name]: I'd thought you'd changed. I thought that maybe after we had that night together that you were going to change. I knew it wasn't going to be an overnight thing, but I at least thought there would be something. But the next morning, you wipe out an entire village. An entire village...Filled with people who couldn't defend themselves against someone like you. You probably had fun too. You're still the same bloodthirsty, psychopathic monster from before. I could never fall in love with someone like that! You can go back to Tatsumi for all I care! It's not like he'd want you either.
Esdeath's face had flushed red with anger. [Name] could almost feel her pain as she grimaced at him. Not even seconds later, Esdeath put a hand over her face and looked upwards. [Name] heard a lite noise come from Esdeath, that noise had gotten louder and louder. That noise ended up being giggles. She was giggling and it seemed as though she was trying not to, but she couldn't help herself. It turned into a full-blown burst of uncontrollable laughter on Esdeath's part!
[Name] was extremely perplexed and bothered by this. Had anything he'd said got through to her at all? Had she gone completely insane? He had no idea what to think.
[Name]: Why the hell are you laughing?!
She didn't stop and kept going. She even tried to steady herself using her kneecaps. Whatever was so funny had left her hysterical and that bothered [Name].
Esdeath: It appears you still don't understand your situation!
She stated while now being one hundred percent serious and having no signs of fading laughter. She'd stopped as soon as she started and now, she's mad.
Esdeath: If you honestly believe that then you're more of a fool than I thought.
She grabbed his jaw and stared directly into his face.
Esdeath: You will be the one who will change for ME! Not the other way around! I will never bend to the whims of those can't gain through force if necessary. You for one, are one of those people. You're nowhere near powerful enough to make me do anything.
[Name]: LISTEN!
He managed to yell out.
[Name]: It's not about what I want! It's about what's right!
Esdeath: And who are you to determine what is right?!
[Name]:…. A guy who'll do anything for the people he loves.
Esdeath's face contorted into a frown. Her shoulders sunk and her demeanor shifted downwards.
Esdeath: So…you hadn't loved me?
She asked with a saddened tone.
[Name] didn't answer right away in fear of angering Esdeath any further. After looking away for a moment, he returned her gaze and answered with his true feelings.
[Name]: I told you already. I can't fall for someone who's... like you.
Esdeath lowered her head and clenched her fists tight. So much so that blood began to trickle through her nails and out of her palms. However, she raised her head to face [Name] once more. This time her face not red with anger, nor shaped by sadness. [Name] could not read her.
Esdeath: That doesn't matter right now.
She turned her back to [Name] and went further into the shadows. Not to leave, but to retrieve something. And that she did, she had picked up a tool of sorts from what [Name] could see.
Esdeath: What does matter; is that you accept your fate. And to accept who your rightful owner is.
She emerged from the shadows with a long, dark, and customized whip. The tail stretched for several yards, it slithered across the floor like a snake as his captor walked behind him. As the whip slid, he could hear the screech of the sharp edges on the weapon on the floor. The long dark tool disappeared into the darkness behind him as his torture began.
Esdeath: Now, repeat after me. "I am yours and yours alone".
THWAK!
The whip slashed into [Name]'s flesh deep! [Name] gritted his teeth at the searing pain.
[Name]: No.
THWAK!
Again, the whip carved itself deep into [Name]'s soft flesh. The skin from his back being cut upon contact.
[Name]: N-
Before he finished, he heard another THAWK! This time the pain was so intense that it only registered in his brain a few seconds late!
[Name]: YOU BITCH!
THWAK!
Another and another! She didn't say a word. She only continued as [Name]'s choked whimpers escaped into the stone room. [Name] can feel his warm blood flowing free from his back. He did everything in his power to hold in his instinctual tears from the extreme pain.
She paused and allowed [Name] to attempt to struggle to break free. He couldn't as his shoulders have been dislocated for some time from being strung up for so long. He still tried but had failed. She resumed the torture, she whipped and whipped as he yelped with every crack. Then it happened.
THWAK!
The whip came down with extreme might! The hardest crack she'd possibly ever used made [Name] scream in absolute agony! He'd yelled uncontrollably from the pain of the attack. The stinging was incredible, and his flesh was torn cleanly away. He now in tears, hollered unlike he'd ever done before.
Esdeath: SAAY IIT!
She screamed as a retort to [Name]'s wales of pain. Her voice had cracked from the emotional anguish having to torture the man she loves. [Name] had ceased yelling as he tried to choke it inwards. She had begun to laugh as tears ran down her face with a twisted smile. His trickling blood on the flooring made leaking noises as Esdeath spoke once more.
Esdeath: CAN'T YOU TELL HOW MUCH I'M ENJOYING THIS?!
Again, she whipped [Name]'s back! He yelled more as the razors cut deep into his flesh. He gritted his teeth even more and his face grew into a sadistic smile of his own.
[Name]: More!
Esdeath's eyes shot open at his demand. In anger, she obliged
Esdeath: MORE?!
Another crack landed on [Name]'s bloodied back. [Name] desperately tried to break free as she hit him with another! Esdeath had begun to cackle insanely as tears flowed from her eyes and snot ran unhindered from her nose.
At last, [Name]'s screams stopped and so did any of his movements. [Name] had fallen completely limp, motionless. Esdeath stopped, quickly dropping the whip to check his pulse to which she sighed. [Name] had gone unconscious from the pain.
She went to the front of him and held his face. Clasping his wet cheeks with her bloodied hands, she placed her forehead on his. She gently cleaned his dirtied face and kissed the cheek that she wiped clean.
Esdeath: Not giving up even in the slightest. You are strong, that's why my love for you runs deeper than any mere cut. It's your unwillingness to be controlled; like myself.
She'd then cut the restraints keeping him suspended. She held him in her arms and laid him out on the cold stone floor. She lied beside him in the opposite direction but did so to have their faces still touch.
Esdeath: Perhaps if you had given in to me; I might've begun to lose interest in you. I figure that you must've known that. That must mean you didn't want that to happen.
She caressed his face and continued.
Esdeath: Now I know; that you do love me too.