Blood Rebel [COMPLETED]

Chapter Twenty Seven - The Plan

"Stand there Selene, just to the left. Left, left. A bit more. Ok, stop." Harland dropped the hand that had directed her and nodded.

Selene moved exactly as he told her; she was good at taking direction, whether it be from Diana, or Hector or anyone else. It was what she had always done, and something she felt comfortable with.

"Jackie, tie her hands behind her back and bind her ankles."

Selene felt her hands being jerked behind her, more forcibly than was necessary. She gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the way Jackie pulled the rough rope around her skin.

"Is it really necessary for me to be tied up?" She asked.

"Selene, I know this is a role play, but I want you to know how it feels. I want you to experience this at least once before we put the plan into action."

They all stood, crammed into the sitting room, looking at Selene. She stood isolated against the wall near the bedroom, while the others stood against the opposite wall, behind Harland who occupied the middle ground.

"Michael will play my part. Go, Michael." Harland flicked the back of his hand and Michael moved across the room to stand by Selene. "It will look as though it is only the two of us when we meet Hector. Selene, you have to look scared, vulnerable." Harland stared, waiting for Selene to become the character he described. She shivered into herself, becoming smaller.

"Good. We need to get that dress washed. It's perfect, but not filthy like that. We can carry it through the sewers in a bag and you can get dressed again above ground."

"I think you should leave it dirty," interrupted Jackie, who had taken a seat on the sofa. "She has to look uncared for, bedraggled. Perhaps even physically beaten. He has to want to save her."

There were nods of approval and grumbles of agreement.

"Alright, keep it on. That'll save us having to find something else for you to wear in the meantime." Harland paused and stepped towards her. He touched the fabric of the sleeve of her dress. "I'm Hector. What do you do now Selene?" He took a step backwards and looked at her.

She stared at him, forcing Hector's features to float over his. Hector's pale skin grew over Harland's scar, his nose became more refined, his eyes darker, his cheekbones more prominent. She shook her head and the illusion disappeared.

"What do you do? Come on Selene, what are you going to do?"

Again she felt their expectation hanging over her head like a butcher's knife, ready to cut, chop, gut, splay.

"I don't know." She bit her lip. "Shouldn't someone else do something? Offer me to him? Or let him offer Xander first?"

"You have to plead with him. Make him think you want him to rescue you. Speak to him."

"Now?"

"Yes now. Imagine I am him, and you want me to take you from your evil captors. Pretend you hate them." He gestured to the others. "Make me feel that I have no choice but to save you from your misery."

"Please..." She began, but the rest of the sentence dried up in her mouth. A heavy pause followed.

"Is that it?"

"Um..."

"Come on, you have to convince me that you want me. You love me. You need me to take you in my arms and rescue you."

"It's not that far from the truth, is it?" Jackie snarled the words.

Selene felt her breathing quicken. Everything about the pretence felt doubly false. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and pinned them there for a moment. When she let them go she was ready.