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Her entire body felt as though it were on fire. It was screaming at her. But that was to be expected. She knew what to expect as punishment for attempted escape. After all, she'd gone through this many a time. But knowing what was going to happen didn't lessen the effect of three weeks of torture.
Gene had taken great pleasure in punishing her. Of course, he did. One didn't become the leader of dozens of Shadow Knight forces without finding enjoyment in the harm of others. But Gene liked Ariella in particular. He loved the way her expression would twist as he broke her bones. Every time her mouth would open in a scream that would never come. It wasn't just the physical pain. It was the frustration and anger of being unable to even cry properly.
Her only moments of peace had been when he'd attempt his magicks. See, Gene was in possession of a very interesting power. The power to manipulate memories. The problem was, that they didn't seem to work on Ariella. So he always took the opportunity to try again. And what scared her the most was that they seemed to be getting stronger.
When she had first been brought to the Nether, nothing he tried would affect her. But now, his power had found a grip on her mind. Sometimes it lasted only a few minutes; sometimes an hour; sometimes an entire day. And that scared her. She was scared that one day she'd lose herself entirely. That the new memories he liked to put in her mind would change her, and make her give herself over to them, as so many others had done.
She tensed as she heard the door to the room open. She couldn't see who it was from her position, but she eased as a familiar voice called out.
"Calm down doll, it's just me." The voice of Sasha came closer, and her face entered Ariella's peripherals. She was a beautiful woman, with stark white hair that trailed down her back, and purple eyes that reminded Ariella of the portal she had tried to cross those few weeks ago.
"Time's up. Gene's not happy about it, but it is what it is. Don't suppose you've changed your mind yet, have you?" Ariella glared and stuck her middle finger up at Sasha. The white-haired woman simply rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that doll. It was worth a try"
She leaned over the restrained girl and began unbuckling the leather cords that strapped Ariella's hands to the table she was lying on. She sat up and rubbed at the angry red welts that had formed on her wrists as Sasha began working on the chords around her ankles.
When all her constraints were released, Sasha lugged the brunette's arm over her shoulder and supported her weight as Ariella tried to stand. Her legs buckled from under her and she almost brought Sasha down with her with the unexpected weight. In addition to the physical pain shooting through her body, her pride got hurt in that moment too as Sasha used her strength to pull her back to her feet.
"Right, I think it's the mess hall for you doll. You need to get some strength back." he laughed a little, jostling Ariella as she did so. Ariella just glared back, thinking up many an obscenity that she wished she could say.
"Oh don't give me that look. This is your own fault you know. If you just accepted the power we've given you, you could leave whenever you wanted. You know you want to. I heard what happened the other week. You were close weren't you? Didn't it feel good?" Sasha was taunting her now. And the worst part was that Ariella couldn't dispute what she was saying.
It had felt good. The power surging through her body as she'd been consumed by her anger and the red had clouded her vision. She worried about what might have happened if the other guy, Laurence, hadn't broken her out of it. She'd spent years fighting back against the Shadow Knights. She wasn't about to give in now.
Sasha dropped her off in the back corner of the mess hall after the two had grabbed some food, then left without another word, clearly in a mood with Ariella. Not that the brunette cared all that much for how Sasha felt about her. She turned to her plate of food. Pork. It was always pork. The abundance of pigmen in the Nether made that easy. But how she longed for the homegrown vegetables of her parent's garden or the freshly baked bread from the local bakery.
As she began to eat, a plate was placed in front of her and someone sat down. Strange. The other Knights tended to avoid her, disgusted at the fact she refused to join their cause. Not that it mattered. They disgusted her for how easily they betrayed those around them for the simple sake of power.
Looking up at the person before her, she was surprised to see the semi-familiar face of Laurence. He looked awful. He'd lost a lot of weight already, and his pained eyes were accessorised with large bags. But she couldn't blame him, remembering vividly how she had felt when she too, had been turned into a Shadow Knight. She raised an eyebrow at him, continuing to cut into her pork. He seemed frustrated by this and got straight to the point.
"You're the one that helped us. Why?"
She gave him a soft smile instead of an answer, hoping to maybe ease the tension a little, but it seemed to have an adverse effect. He slammed his hands on the table, standing from his position.
"ANSWER ME!" He cried, his eyes flickering between red and blue. He grunted in pain, scrunching his eyes closed and holding his head in one of his hands. The room had gone quiet, and the other Shadow Knights had their hands on their weapons, ready for an outburst.
Ariella placed her hand on his shoulder, coaxing him to look at her. His eyes had calmed down, reverting back to a solid blue colour, but she had to get him away from everyone else. The smallest thing could trigger his transformation, and seeing everyone ready to take him down was definitely on that list.
She gestured for him to follow her and used the tables and walls to help her limp out of the mess hall, finding it more difficult without Sasha's aid. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion but followed her anyway.
Ariella led Laurence through the halls, to a secluded balcony around the back of the fortress. It looked over the Nether Wastes, and she could see the striders wandering across the large lake of lava below them. She sat down, letting her back lean against the bars of the railings and catching her breath for a moment. Laurence stood, looming over her.
"Now will you answer my questions?" He asked, hands clenched. She sighed, shaking her head a little and tapping at her throat, hoping to get her message across.
"You can't speak?" He cocked his head, confused. Ariella smiled and nodded, glad that he understood first try. She'd had many people in the past frustrate her with their lack of understanding.
Laurence sighed heavily and sat beside her. He thought for a second, then turned back to her.
"I can lip-read a little if that's any help?" He asked, "Not incredibly well, but I can probably make out short sentences?"
Ariella almost did a double take as a grin overtook her face. It wasn't often she encountered someone who could lip-read. She usually had to rely on writing her responses down, and she didn't have the equipment to do so at that moment.
"Really? Yes, please!" She mouthed, gesturing wildly with her hands, a habit she'd understandably picked up after years of using them to mime things out.
"Okay, then, let's try again. Why did you help us?"
"I wasn't going to. I was going to just leave you there. I just wanted to escape." She started, slowly, and taking breaks between her sentences to allow him to translate what she was saying, "But that shaman... his magicks would have been taken from him. And they would have gone towards strengthening the Shadow Lord. Irene knows that's not what I want."
"So, you're not one of them?"
"No more than you. They transformed me, but I still have my humanity."
"How... how long have you been here?" Laurence seemed hesitant to ask. She wanted to lie, but there wasn't much point. Her story was common knowledge among the Shadow Knights, and all he'd have to do was ask anyone else and he'd get the truth. She held up five fingers.
"Five months?" She shook her head at his guess, "Years?!" She nodded. He looked dejected but perked up a little at a sudden thought.
"Overworld or Nether years?" She hated to burst his bubble of hope, but she had to be honest with the man.
"Overworld." He slumped beside her once again.
They sat in silence for a while. Ariella had shifted her position so she had her legs through the balcony railings and hanging over the ledge as she watched the striders. She watched as two parents fiercely protected their youngling from a Nether scorpion that had attacked it. As they backed back into the lava, the scorpion seemed to lose interest, knowing that it wasn't as resistant to it as they were, and it backed off. The parents swaddled the child, bringing it further into their protection.
"I just realised..." Laurence's voice broke her from her thoughts. "I don't know your name."
She smiled, turning her head towards him so that he could see her lips.
"Ariella."
"That's a beautiful name. I'm Laurence." She knew that already but nodded regardless, accepting his introduction.
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After a while on the balcony, having the odd conversation with Laurence but mostly just existing in silence with one another, Ariella excused herself to make her way up to her room. It wasn't much, but it was her own. Not many Shadow Knights spent enough time in their Nether home to warrant having their own space. Just the leaders, and Ariella. She supposed it was their way of being hospitable, allowing her to have her own room, regardless of the bi-daily checks to ensure she wasn't harbouring any weapons.
It wasn't much. Just a small room. Unlike other Knights like Sasha, who could visit the Overworld and collect trinkets whenever they so pleased, she didn't have the luxury of decoration. She had a desk, a chest, and an armour stand - on which her armour had already been deposited by someone whilst she was under Gene's command. In the far corner, there was a small pile of various clothes and blankets bundled into a nest of sorts. While Shadow Knights didn't need sleep to survive, she liked to do so every now and again to regain any lost energy and to at least pretend she was still human. And, of course, beneath the pile was a floorboard she had pried open and hidden her prized possession.
Once upon a time, her parents had been scholars who studied the Divine Warriors and documented their findings for others to discover and learn. Underneath that floorboard was an old, faded book, filled with her parents' handwriting that detailed their research. And though she could recite every word, she still enjoyed pulling it from its hiding place and reading through. It sent her back to her childhood. Back to her lying in bed whilst her parents read to her, before kissing her forehead and tucking her in for the night.
She opened the book on the first, worn page, and sadly smiled, reading the faded words.
The Tales of Lady Irene
by Kelton and Rue Elmere
Dedicated To
our beautiful daughter, Ariella. For as long as the stars light the way, our love for you will never die
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ꜰɪɴɪꜱʜᴇᴅ: 28.10.2023
ᴇᴅɪᴛᴇᴅ: 29.10.2023
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