The only thing I could see was a stone floor. Then the drops of blood falling from my body, onto it. There was the dim light from a nearby torch, but other than that it was pretty dark. The old stone had some cracks in it but nothing significant enough to be replaced. I spent my entire time looking at these bloody stones in the ground.
Two hundred and seventy five fucking stone squares in the ground. That I could currently see at least. I was so bored. I never thought I'd be bored enough to count all the fucking stones in this dungeon.
"Can you please just kill me?" I groaned as I felt the razor cut into my back once more. My hands chained in silver to my sides as I lay on my stomach on a wooden table. My neck was also chained to the table forcing my chin down onto the edge of the table. Legs also bound as this torturer did his work.
He was rather bad at it though. I was supposed to be screaming, begging for mercy? Something along those lines but right now I was bored. The pain meant nothing. I've gone through worst mental pain then this. Physical pain was much more bearable than the demons in your head.
"Or get me something to read? I swear it's like you're trying to kill me with your silence. All I want is a good conversation" I asked the man who I knew heard me. I heard him speak only to the guards that came or the servants come to bring me food.
The knife cut deeper into my shoulder blade and I huffed. "You know if I ever get out of here, I'm turning you into a statue, but you will still be alive in that statute. Watching as life goes on around you. Then you will know my pain" I said and now decided to count the cracks in the stone. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...
... 9054, 9055. The metal door to my torturing room was opened and I lost count. "SON OF A WHORE! You made me lose count!" I shouted. I struggled against the restraint on the back of my neck to see who the hell it was.
I saw a women in armor come in. though I couldn't make out much with the angle. "Fateturl Raven-" she began with my full name which I huffed cutting off whatever else she would say. "Call me Fang please" I said and she glared at me as the torture drove his knife into my other shoulder blade. "Fang, the order has an offer for you" she said and I rose one eyebrow in question though I don't think she saw it. "And what offer is that? Can't you see I'm having so much fun here?" I asked as I looked back to the floor trying to figure out how many I was at.
"The order offers you freedom if you defeat the Rampids army" she said now I looked up again. "Rampids? The ghoul like creatures? Bleed black blood and no mind? Why the hell do you need me for that? They die easy enough without needing me to call the gods themselves down upon them?" I asked and now the torturer put down his knife and took the restraint off my neck. Then slowly went to my hands, then the chains on my waist. Now I sat up looking at her.
She turned red quickly and it was then I was reminded, I was shirtless but I still had pants on. I forgot what humility was like a long time ago so I didn't try to cover myself. "They have grown in mass; they have been taking over villages every day now. A hoard of millions stands to the North and the army we have, we fear cannot overcome it alone" she told me her eyes now glued to the floor I've been staring at most of my days.
Now getting a better look at this war maiden I noticed how pretty she was. Too pretty for war that is. She had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail and dark brown eyes. No scars on her face or on her armor. So I say she is either a noble or a new recruit.
"And if the horde is defeated I walk free?" I asked and she looked up at me again her face getting even redder then before. "Yes" she agreed and I nodded. "Now what if I don't defeat the horde? Your army falls and I just manage to escape?" I asked. Now she frowned but did so at the floor again. What did the stone ever do to her I wonder? "You are tasked with the duty of destroying the horde even if the first battle fails, if not the order will hunt you down again" she said and I rolled my eyes. Sure they would. With what army? Not to mention I would not be baited like that ever again.
"Fine, I'll join your battle for all the wonderful glory" I said and the torture removed the shackles on my feet. I looked at my silent 'friend'. He had a black sack over his head with two holes in it. He wore a brown apron over his clothing so he did not get blood on him. I smiled at the man. "Well Johnny it's been rather fun with you, but do remember what I said today. For it is the last day you walk" I told him and I could see the fear in his eyes. He knew who I was. He knew what I could do.
The most powerful witch of the north, the one who turned men to stone, made them explode with a thought, made the sky rain fire and thunder to the ground. Oh if only I had that power. I lost so much of my blood it will take a month to recover fully... or I find some magical stones to heal me. Which is like find a black pearl in a desert.
I got off the table and rolled back my shoulders. The torturer handed me a white shirt. As I put it on it was way too big for me. But I didn't really mind, I didn't feel weather that much and I was only wearing it for my new human traveling companion.
"Well I'm ready whenever you are manhands" I said. She frowned now looking me in the eyes. "Manhands?" She asked me and I shrugged "Judging by the sword on your back I say manhands" I said and walked around her out of my home for the last year.
I knew the way out of course, thought about escaping many times. Lady Manhands was right behind me watching me as if I might turn into a bird and fly away. Which I could do.... Just not now. I was too weak for much magic at the moment.
The courtyard I enter was buzzing with movement. The fort itself looked to have little men left actually. Barely enough men to man the gate. The remaining peasants in the fort were running around trying to get things packed into wagons.
Lady Manhands grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me over toward two soldiers who held horses behind them. "You could have just said follow me" I said as I pulled her armored hand away from, my so delegate skin. She glared at me once more and gestured for me to get on one of the horses. Let's see, black or white? I went with the black stallion and got onto the horse with ease ignoring the help the one soldier tried to give me. Even though I smelled his urination through his pants. It seemed everyone knew who I was.
I wasn't that different from everybody else. I had short black hair and dark red eyes. I was pretty tall and well muscled which scared a lot of men. I wasn't that noticeably different though.
Once Lady Manhands was mounted she led us out of the busy fort into the woods. We were on a very slow pace so I guessed where we were battling was close by. "So what your name Man Hands?" I asked and she didn't even look at me as I rode beside her. "You can call me Commander" she said and I laughed. Now she glared at me. "Commander? How is a skinny white girl like you Commander?" I asked. Oh if looks could kill I'd be very dead right now. "I'm the king's daughter" she said and now my eyebrow rose. "King's daughter? As in King Bethrups child? Why would he be letting his only heir join this battle if the odds are so down in our favor?" I asked her and now she looked back to the road with a grim face.
"He didn't have a choice in the matter, why are you asking so many questions? I'm not poking you for answers?" She asked turning the conversation to me. "Well what answers would you like?" I said which surprised her. I smirked as she was thinking of a question. "Why did your mother invade the Empire?" She asked.
I was expecting something about me, not my mother. Now figuring her out is like trying to solve one of those old Elvin puzzles. "Wanted something? Think she wanted more land or something" I said vaguely because I never really questioned my mother much about her motives. She was very manipulative and could get everyone around her fingers. Except me. Which aggravated her. I was a source of frustration most of the time. Whenever she wasn't manipulating me, she was yelling. Commanding. Why the hell did I even fight for her again?
"That's vague" The commander said and I rolled my eyes. "My mother is a snake, not even I know what she really wants" I told her and that seemed to annoy the commander. "What about Lazerous?" She asked. How did she know that name? I guess rumor flows when your bedding a witch considered to be god. "Haven't seen her in three years. I had to move away from her when the whispers started" I said and she nodded. Yet she had no idea what I was talking about. Not whispers as in rumors or gossip. Whispers as in the voices in my head telling me to squeeze my hand around her throat. To hit her. To cut my dagger into her flesh. I hit her once and I never returned for fear of her own safety with me. She was so soft, so breakable. I didn't want to hurt her the way I already had.
When I looked back up at the road I noticed the valley, a whole camp of soldiers, there were a lot of them. But not as many as in the invasion of this land. Half that. They replenished their ranks fast though, that's quite alarming actually. I remember killing a lot of them. Their whole army in fact. Did they just take the garrison of every one protecting the city's then?
"When is the horde arriving?" I asked the commander. "Tonight" she said. I rolled my eyes. Like I was supposed to do anything spectacular tonight. I had just stopped getting the blood drained out of me. One source of my power. So I'd be lucky if I can even turn into a raven and fly away from this mess.
"And you didn't think that, I don't know. Maybe, just maybe I would actually need to heal before I started my magic?" I asked her and that caused another short glare before turning back to the road. "We're not taking you just for your magic" she said.
I almost fell off the horse from such unexpected words. "What? You mean I actually have skills outside of magic?" I gasped at just the thought. Of course she was right. I was a military strategist. I almost conquered this empire with barely any magic needed. I only used it for one battle. The rest was all tactics. But no one knew that? I was just the witch of the north right?
"You were your mother's general, able to out maneuver the Rose Empire. Brought the whole empire to its knees in a month. Last time I check you only used your magic to scare people and when you knew you could not win" she stated.
"True enough, but how do you know this?"
"The spy told us everything about you" she said. That hurt. My heart broke at just the thought. The pain that women had brought me. This so called spy was my downfall. She wasn't a spy that I knew of at the time, she was my lover. I had her at my side as I conquered this empire. Lured me into a trap, distracting me as assassins came down from the trees and shot silver arrows into me.
At least Lazerous wasn't like that. I suppose she was my only true love. She didn't ask me questions unless they were of where I was.
"And I suppose she also told you about the sex we always had?" I asked trying to hide my pain from the subject with a smirk. It fooled the commander easily as she scowled. "She told us what was important, nothing else" she answered sternly. I rolled my eyes once more as we now were riding into the giant military camp.
The camp was crowded with many tents set up perfectly two feet from each other. Not enough space to stop a fire though if one tent was on fire. The rest would soon burn. These people were amateurs, no wonder I brought them down so easily.
Most of the men in their armor stopped what they were doing and stared as we came in. was it me or the commander they were looking at. I think it was me but many didn't know what I even looked like. "So you're taking me to the war tent then?" I asked her as we were in the direction of the other bigger tents that I could just imagine on fire right now. I could make a small spark with my hand right now, that would be enough to cause a big enough distraction as I ran for my life. Sounded like a flawless plan but then I saw the kennels to our right. They had over a hundred war hounds. This was just not my day.
"Yes, then you will be feed and allowed to rest till the battle" she told me like she had my life planned out. Did she really think she could control me? Even if she was physically stronger than me I could move pretty quick. Let's also add to the fact I was tortured for a full year, still bleeding on my back too. No doubt the blood seeped through the white shirt. I could still probably out run the men and beat the commander. The dogs? Not so much.
We stopped by a large tent that had two guards standing outside in full white armor. Some shiny knights of some honor or something. I remember killing a lot of them too...
The commander and I dismounted the horses and went towards the entrance. The men let us pass without a second glance. As we entered I noticed the large map on a round wooden table. There were a lot of men in fancy detailed armor that I could care less about. The men I had my eyes mostly trained on was the one at the head of the table. He had a wolf pelt attached to the back of his armor like a cape or something. The head right over his shoulder. This man already disgusted me.
He was old so I'm guessing the general. He was bald and had a long scar across his left eye. He must not have been able to see from that eye because it was white, his other eye blue. Clean military shave of the empire too.
"Fateturl has agreed to work with us" The commander announced as all these dirty old men and some young, looked at me. Some seemed to be in fear but the ones by the general tried to hide their fear with a glare. The general himself was not afraid of me. How strange.
I walked forward towards the table. The other men flinched jumping back with a hand on their sword hilt. The general raised his hand signaling for them to stay. "I hear you like to be called fang?" He asked. He had a strong voice for a old man. Yet his body structure also looked to muscular for a man of his age. I suppose this was a man to respect since he stayed in shape to fight. "Yes that's right, I suppose this is your battle plan then?" I asked him looking at the pawns he had set up. Already I knew this was going to be a disaster.