Song: Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons
Author's Note: I hope you like my story! Feel free to voice your opinion, ask any questions and point out any mistakes I make.
Nia's POV
I feel totally helpless. I can do nothing but watch my blood slowly drop off of my body, leaving trails down my clothes and skin, adding to the growing pool on and around my bare feet.
I shiver as a dark tendril brushes past my bare arms. I feel like I've been in this room for weeks, months even, but it probably has only been a couple days since I was brought here from my cell. There is simply no way to pass time, for no light shines in the room.
Unless she's here.
Unless my Aunt Cora is here to push Darkness into my body, mind and soul to corrupt me and unleash my hidden power for controlling the elements of the Darkness and the Earth.
It's not just physical torture. That's what she started it as, but sometimes she shoves tendrils of Darkness into my body to roam around, infecting my mind and my very being. I don't know how long I can last this, whether I'll go insane from the pain of Darkness being shoved into my mind and corrupting my soul, or die from blood loss from the physical torture, or die from starvation or dehydration, or my mind will slip and I'll become my aunt's perfect heir. Whichever comes first, I suppose.
"You're forgetting an option." I hear in my mind. My heart fills with happiness and hope at the voice I hear, tears brimming in my eyes and rolling down my face, mixing with my blood.
"Saber." I whisper out loud and in my head in relief. But then, fear clutches my heart and I start to hyperventilate. "Saber, no. Sh..she told me that we can't communicate across realm barriers yet, our bond isn't that strong, and even if you were in the same realm, you'd have to be relatively close! What are you doing here! You need to leave before she finds you and you end up in the same situation as me!"
"Nia, calm down I'm perfectly fine, but what has the Queen done to you?" Saber asks. I shiver, unable to answer. Memories of the extreme pain fly through my head, and I am unable to stop them, unable to stop Saber from feeling it, seeing what I have seen, hearing what I have heard, everything that has happened. He is deathly silent, and I am scared that he has left me, or something happened to him.
"Saber, are you still there?" The hope that was gathering in my body starts to slowly leave the longer he doesn't reply, until I finally hear him snarl
"I'm here. I'm going to kill her for hurting you. I'm sorry Nia but I honestly don't care that she's your aunt, I will see to it that she dies."
"Saber, she can't die." I start to cry harder, full sobs shaking my body, causing me a lot of pain.
"What? What do you mean? Everyone can die." Saber states, very confused. I explain through our connection.
"At one point, she was trying to convince me that what she was doing to unlock the supposed power I have is a good thing for me, because I can take over her role as queen. She was saying all of the assets to being the Dark Earth Queen, and one of them is only your successor can kill you by taking your power and therefore your life force and bringing it into their own body. That's how the Queen changes. She can only die if I replace her, and take her power." Saber replies, his voice filled with pain and denial
"No. Nia, there has to be another way, we will find another way together, but to do that, we have to get you out of there. Don't worry, we'll be in to get you tomorrow."
"Wait Saber, how many days has it been?" I shakily ask.
"As of tomorrow, it would have been 4 days since you were taken." He sighs. "I do really have to go now, but don't worry we'll get you out. I love you."
"I love you too." I murmur as I feel his mind slip away. When Saber goes, I start to sob uncontrollably again, feeling utterly alone. A chilling laugh fills the room, announcing that I am actually not alone, but now I wish I was.
"Don't cry! How many times have I told you not to scream or cry? Queens have to be strong, I will not have a weak heir." Cora scolds me, and walks forward, leaning in close to my face to whisper "It seems you have forgotten my lesson, and so you have to be punished." I don't react to her words, she hurts me more if I react.
Sometimes she doesn't even use the whip, instead she has the Darkness enhance her kicks and punches to shatter my bones and bruise my body all over. I'm sure I look absolutely horrendous, with basically no clothes left on my body since they fell off in shreds from the whip the first time. My body neck down won't have barely any, if any at all, undamaged skin. Cuts or bruises cover my body like a patchwork blanket, yet my face is untouched. She says that I have to have a beautiful face so I can get a husband and carry on the kingdom, but someone worthy of me, unlike Saber in her opinion. She sees him as scum, and it makes me extremely angry.
My ribs hurt. I'm pretty sure a few are broken, which makes it hard to breathe. She either dislocated or broke my right shoulder with a punch, and shattered my left knee from a lot of kicks to that area.
I bet my hair is a total mess.
I hope Saber will rescue me soon, no matter what he said I can't last the pain much longer. I don't want to sleep, because I am honestly petrified that I won't wake up.
Ivy's POV
"Saber!" I yell in shock. I might not like him, but my sister does, so seeing him unconscious in the back yard worries me. I heard roaring and came out to investigate, and found him like this. Somebody taps me on the shoulder and I turn around to see Sophia. She grins at me and says
"He did it." My eyes widen in surprise.
"Really? How can you tell?" I ask. Sophia explains
"I can smell a chimera. It was brief, but he did it." I smile, and hope that I can do the same. My attempts throughout the afternoon were all unsuccessful, but it seems like Saber was out here all night trying.
"Come on, let's take him inside." I sigh, and go to pick up Saber's arms while Sophia grabs his legs. We take him inside and place him on the couch, not wanting to try and climb the stairs with him. He's too heavy for that. I go into my room and collapse back on my bed, wanting to get some more sleep before trying to turn again all day today. Yesterday was crazy, with Nia's capture and Jake's premonition, and I definitely need the extra rest.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I wake up to someone screaming out in pain, and I immediately recognize the voice.
Saber.
I run downstairs and see him crouching on the floor of the living room, bent over in pain.
"Nia!" He shouts, then growls and stomps to the front door. I step in his path, blocking the door.
"Saber, where do you think you're going?" I ask. He glares at me and snarls
"To go murder the Dark Earth Queen for causing such sev..." His words are cut off as he falls to the ground and screams in utter agony yet again. "Nia is being tortured! I need to go save her!"
"Saber think rationally! If you go alone, then you'll be captured, and the Dark Earth Queen will torture you as well, adding your pain to Nia's! We need a concrete plan, we need two teams, one that will storm the castle and one that will be outside as backup if it's necessary." I holler at Saber, trying to snap him out of his crazy plan.
"I agree Ivy, but you have work to do. Saber, go rest and Ivy keep trying to turn, the rest of us will divide all of us into teams." Molly says from behind Saber. Saber marches forward and towers over Molly's much smaller frame, and growls
"I am going into that castle, no matter what any of you say."
"I was planning on it. You're the best person to find Nia." Molly states. Saber nods and bolts up the stairs, probably going to Nia's room to try and contact her again. I sigh and follow Molly's orders, going to the back yard to try and turn into a chimera again, and I won't stop until I'm successful.
At some point in the evening, I am finally successful, and I roar triumphantly, then shift back into my human form.
"Oh, crap." I mutter, feeling dizzy. All of my limbs ache, and my legs collapse under me as my vision goes black.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Author's Note:
Hi guys! Who else hates Cora? I know, I know, she's totally evil. But you can't have a good story without an equally good villain! You always need someone to hate. That's my opinion anyway. I feel like fantasy stories would be way less interesting and awesome if there wasn't a character that I totally despise and makes me rage. Anyway, question time!
Question:
Before Cora was introduced, who was your least favorite character?
Personally, I don't have one before Cora! I like all of my characters.
~Cat Queen