Prevail - [Charles Leclerc]

Trente-Sept

WARNINGS: violence, (mild) touching without consent, use of weapons, bad language, death, blood (and worst of all: google translated French and Spanish (feel free to correct))

Sara was barely able to lift her face and open her eyes, shivering in the dark of the basement. There was a faint light on at the door, but it did nothing for her to even see what was around her. How did she get here? Right, her father saw right through her desperate lies and now used her to lure Charles to him. Sara fought the urge to scream, however, she couldn't scream anyway. Tape shut off her mouth, her wrists were bound together behind her back, and the dull, pulsing pain of the rope cutting into her skin continued now she was awake. Her hair was still damp, and the dark spot around her chair reminded her that a bucket of ice-cold water was dumped over her when she was put here. While the winters in Valencia were never harsh, it was still freezing for her, only dressed in the linen shirt she went to bed in last night. Sara held her breath when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs, voices, barely audible, but they were outside the door and talking to each other. She had never seen the guard before, the one who took her last night.

"Vale, vale," one of the voices sound as it moves closer. The door opens, and two men stand in the doorway. Sara doesn't make a sound as she looks up at them, unsure of what they are going to do. "Raul, retire la cinta de su boca," [Get the tape from her mouth]. Sara whined as Raul peeled the end of the tape loose before pulling it off her mouth in one go. "Do you want this?" He asked, dangling a bottle of water in front of her face. "Use your words, princess. You're always so mouthy, from what I've heard," he snarls. "Yes, I would like the water, Raul," her voice rasps, a hint of sarcasm, earning her a slap in the face. "Raul," the other one hissed. "What is it? You're not allowed to hurt me?" Sara spoke up, causing them to exchange a glance. "Unfortunately not," Raul growled, a hand twisting in her hair and pulling her head back. "Matteo needs you to look unharmed for the deal," he said. "What deal?" Sara asked, trying to turn her head away as Raul grabbed her jaw, he poured the water into her mouth, but of course, she was nearly choking on it halfway, making her look at him with an angry look in her eyes.

"Apparently your sweet husband is arriving in four hours," Raul sighed. Sara looked at the other guard, whose name she still didn't know. He was standing at the door as if Raul had something in mind, and he had to stand on the lookout. "What is the deal?" Sara rose her voice. "Ai, mamita," Raul tssked. "Demands now, huh?" He continued. "But if you insist," he sighed, trailing his fingers over her collarbones and down the damp fabric of her linen shirt, making her turn her body away. She never felt so disgusted by the touch of a man before. "His life for yours, of course," Raul said. Sara was probably already pale, but Raul's words caused all colour to drain from her face. She was already cold, but now she was freezing from the inside. She stared at the floor as Raul draped a blanket around her. "Don't be sad," he cooed, his fingers caressing her face, making her turn away from him again. "He was a worthless piece of shit anyway," Raul said, coaxing a response out of her, but she didn't say anything. Charles wouldn't just come here without a plan. He wouldn't just arrive here, unarmed, not ready for a battle.

Four hours. In four hours he would be here, near her, ending it all. "Where is Dennis?" Sara heard herself asking. Yesterday, she had been ready to kill the man with her bare hands, but now she was wondering what her father would do to him. Raul laughed at her question. "That's nothing you have to worry about," he continued, giving her a sweet smile. After that, Raul and the other guard left, closing the door behind them. At least she could breathe a bit better now the tape was removed from her mouth. The blanket helped a little bit, but because she didn't have her hands free to properly wrap it around her, she was still shivering as the fabric fell open and nearly down her shoulders. Her teeth started to clatter not much later, her legs trembling. Sara bit her lip as she fought the urge to cry, but she couldn't stop the hot tears from escaping the corners of her eyes. She stretched her fingers behind her back, trying to cut the rope by sliding it up and down the chair she was tied to, but the rope was too thick, and she couldn't find the strength in her arms to try anything else.