TRIGGER WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS, CHILD ABUSE, CHILD TORTURE, VOMIT AND BLOOD. PROCEED WITH CAUTION OR KINDLY MOVE ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER.
Ayziel
Three months
That was how long Ayziel had spent in the forte grieving his mother and the loss of his sister. He hated it. Every second spent away from the castle from his brothers, from his father. It was not because of love he had for them that he hated the time spent away from home.
No
It was mostly because of the gruesome torture he was subjected to everyday under Belizar's watchful gaze. The first day he had arrived at Taramov forte, he had been but a boy with scarce knowledge about what took place in the forte. He had heard of Belizar's experimental grounds many times but even those stories were not enough to prepare him for the true horrors that laid in wait for new visitors.
There was no rest for Ayziel. None at all. If Belizar's torment did not keep him sore during the day, the screams from the other children would keep him awake at night.
Ayziel straightened up in his seat as the small metal gate to the cell was pushed open. A man walked in. He shared the same appearance as the rest of Belizar's assistants. His head had been shaved bald, his face was ghostly pale and he wore a large brown hooded cloak that covered every inch of his skin except his face and neck.
His dark blue lips pulled up in a small smile as his beady black eyes rested on Ayziel.
"I hear there has been no progress made in your treatment,"
Ayziel swallowed. It was what all the other assistants said. Ayziel Zakari was untreatable.
"I'm trying my best sir," he squeaked. His voice came out small and dry, exactly how he was feeling. It had been three days since he last drunk any water and two since he had any food to eat. His bones poked out from his skin and he could count the number of ribs on his right side.
Ayziel winced, biting his lip as he shifted in the metal chair.
His father had sent him to the forte to get better and rejoin his family. He would be happy soon. He only had to keep trying.
"Hm" the assistant hummed, clasping the metal chains around Ayziel's hands and feet. Ayziel sat still during this time. The red welts on his back were a firm reminder of what would happen if he did not.
The door clanked shut and Ayziel flinched as Belizar walked in with the needles.
He gulped, tears filling his eyes in anticipation of his session.
"This is session number eighty and no progress?" Belizar questioned, his eyes never left Ayziel
"Yes master," the assistant responded, bowing his head and retreating into a dark corner of the room. The entire room was dark save for an extremely bright candle in the middle of the floor. The room itself was empty except for the chair Ayziel sat on as usual.
"Let us begin," Belizar sighed, picking up one of the needles from the glass case he held in his right hand.
A scream broke out somewhere in the castle. It was a girl.
Sweat beaded around Ayziel's lip as he began to shiver. His heart lurched harder against his rib cage with every step Belizar took closer to him.
"For father" Ayziel whispered to himself like he did before every session begun He allowed his tears to flow freely as he fought the urge to tug at the chains restraining him.
Belizar pushed the needle into the space beneath Ayziel's jaw until it had almost dissapeared. Ayziel bit his lip harder until the metalic taste of blood filled his mouth and his blood mixed with salt. When Belizar and his assistant pushed all nine needles into different parts of his body, they begun to mutter.
Ayziel trembled violently, chewing on his lips and sobbing as he restrained the beast in him. Black fur sprung up on his skin, claws broke free from his nails and his gums bled as fangs sprouted. When Belizar and his assistant poured the usual thick black elixar down his burning throat, Ayziel decided he could not take it anymore.
He let out a guttural scream and every other child in the forte screamed with him.
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By the time the session was over, blood and vomit covered the cold ground, sending a pungent smell through the already reeking cell room. Ayziel's vision was blinked, struggling to see through the blur formed in his eyes. He slumped in the chair as the last needle was pulled out of is skin.
"Dissapointing," Belizar tutted, handing the glass case over to his assistant as he stared down at Ayziel with disdain. With one last look at the boy, he walked out, his assiatant followed closely behind him.
The gate shut with a creak and Ayziel was left alone in the dark cell with nothing but the candle in the middle. Slowly, he gave in to the pull of darkness that had been beckoning him for hours.
Ayziel did not know how long it had been since he dozed off but he knew that he did not wake up by his own accord. He winced as someone shook him awake. The scent of alcohol wafted into his nose and he shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut as the sound of his chains falling to the ground echoed in the room.
Ayziel blinked at the assistant kneeling before him. This one looked just like all the others. The only thing different about him was that he did not have the same indifferent expressions the others did or the endless pools of darkness as eyes.
No
This one's eyes were a light blue colour. A little red from drinking too much wine Ayziel guessed.
However, the assistant's eyes reminded him of the clear skies he hadn't seen in months.
"What are you doing?" Ayziel muttered, straining to sit up as the weight of the chains around his ankle dissappeared..
The assistants throat moved as he swallowed, his eyes widened with what Ayziel recognized as fear and guilt.
"I'm cleaning up," he shook his head, gasping at the sight of the pool of blood and vomit next to Ayziel.
Ayziel followed his gaze, guilt rising in his chest at his session. "I failed my session again," he sniffled, holding back his tears. At this rate, he would never go home and his father would never see him as a son.
Only a monster.
The assistant rose to his feet quickly, cleaning up the floor and rusing out the gate as soon as he was done. Ayziel could not help but notice that he did not lock the gate or even bother to close it.
Ayziel stood to his feet, studying the dark corridor right outside the open gate. No one had ever left te gate open before. In fact, Ayziel had never been left alone in an unlocked room. He could seize the chance. He could leave, return home and let his father know about the torture Belizar put him and the other children through everyday.
His father would save him and the other children if he knew and together, they could look for another method of curing Ayziel--a less painful method.
Ayziel slipped out the door, manouvering blindly in the darkness. He climbed down endless staircases and made several wrong turns before he made it out into the yard where the sun blazed right above his head.
A small smile broke out on his cracked, bleeding lips.
If he run now, he would be free. He would come back for the other children later.
With that thought in mind, Ayziel run out of the yard, heading straight into the forest. He laughed as is bare feet felt the wet soil beneath them, as the tree brances and wet leaves brushed is skin when he ran..
He laughed at the taste of fresh air and freedom.
With no sense of direction and only one plan to make it to his father, Ayziel collapsed under a tree after what seemed to him like hours of running. He placed both hands beneath his head, squeezing his eyes shut and smiling the sunligt dancing on his face. He was going to rest for a while and then he would return home to his father and brothers.
He breathed deeply as the sound of birds lulled him to sleep.
Ayziel woke up with a fright. The sun was already setting and the weather had grown chillier but that was not what had woken him up. He sat up quickly, pushing back against the tree.
A girl stood over him, a frown on her face. She had long white hair that had been held up in a ponytail, her dark blue eyes matched the fine blue cloak she wore that had intricate white thread designs of snowflakes. The hood of her cloak even though she was not wearing it had a thick line of white fur around it.
Her appearance was normal but the white owl with large black eyes sitting on her shoulder was not.
"Who are you?" Ayziel questioned. His throat burned at the movement.
The girl huffed, fodling her arms and scowling at him.
"That's what I should be asking you," she shot back. "Who in the seven blazing hells are you and what are you doing in my forest?"