When Calista came to, she was lying on a thin mattress, springs digging into her back. Her arms were pinned above her head, and she couldn't see. Her sight was obscured by some kind of burlap.
Her mouth was chalky, as if she had just ate a mouthful of dust. She thrashed her head, violently trying to rid herself of that awful taste. Pulling at her arms in a vain attempt to scrape it off her tongue, the sound of metal clanking reverberated in the air.
"Aw kitten, what's the matter? It doesn't like my present? How selfish."
Her blood ran cold at the sound of his haunting voice, it was unpleasantly grating against her ears. Even with her vision gone, she could tell that he was on the right side of her. Judging by the pitch in his voice, he wasn't that far away.
She had been ready for it, for him, but the preparation wasn't enough for the real thing. It still brought her back. Choosing to focus on his odd choice of words instead of the panic rising in her chest, she found herself zeroing in on one thing.
Present, what does he mean 'present'? The restraints or this powdered chalk in my mouth? It tastes like dust...
She spat out as much as she could, but if it was a paralyzing agent, she was sure she would've felt its effects by now.
Her measured thoughts enabled her to clear the anxiety induced haze. For now.
Calista whimpered, curling her body in a ball on the bed that she was currently on. Flashbacks that she had no context or memory of were plaguing her mind. When she tried to instinctively move her hands, they were stopped once again. They were restrained above her head, the irons around her wrists cuffed to the headboard.
She started to hyperventilate as she realized she was immobilized with nowhere to go, in a room where she was completely at his mercy. Her panic wasn't fake, but she was both suppressing it and channeling it in steady bursts for her own benefit, all the while appearing as though she was a victim; caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Calista knew she was playing with fire, but it was the only way to convince him. Fear couldn't be replicated, it had to be authentic to some degree. With any luck, the man wouldn't know the difference.
Kum-ji grinned sadistically at the sight of her trembling before him. The power that came with forcing a woman to submit was like no other, and he was pleased to see her broken. "I see you remember our last encounter. Good, good, maybe I'll make you mine then after all seeing as how Lord Soo-won dumped you once he became king."
That's not how it happened!! Calista wanted to scream at him before she remembered she had nothing to prove to him.
She was there for one reason and one reason only: to be a distraction so Yoon and Yona had enough time to set off the firework.
Counting in her mind to calm herself down as she felt herself lose a bit of control, she blocked out his voice focusing on her breathing. It steadied in a couple moments, but her short-lived peace was broken by a harsh command.
"Get up."
Something whacked her flank and she flinched, trying to move away from it. He hit her again, and she cried out, the bruises still fresh from the other day.
His dark chuckle made her knees knock together. Rough fingers snatched the blindfold away. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she was finally able to make out his figure. She squeezed her eyes shut.
Besides him, there was nothing else in the room and the cot she was on. The place looked startling similar to the dungeon he had her in before, but there was no way she could be back down there.
He clearly recognized her, and the fact that he hadn't put her below the pavement meant that he was going to move her.
Her thoughts were bombarded with the unwelcome iron cell and shackles, shoulders thrusting forward without permission as the whip he held cut into her relentlessly. The scars on her back burned as a reminder.
No, I can't think about that right now.
Calista let herself fall into a practiced mindset, the high stakes somehow making the transition easier. It was like she subconsciously knew what she stood to lose if she failed, and that was enough to pull her through the panic.
She maintained her ragged breathing, but this time it was purely for show. Slowly maneuvering herself upright, she winced as she felt her ribs shift uncomfortably, stabbing pain jolting throughout her.
Can't catch a break, huh?
Deep down, she knew it was her own fault. If she was a more passive person, this probably wouldn't happen so often. But she couldn't stand down.
I have the opportunity to do something, to change this place. I'm going to take it.
"Tongue-tied kitten?" Kum-ji snarled, ticking off his fingers. "You were brought here by, heh, let's just say he's a friend of mine... and you never thought once to hide from me? Maybe you wanted me to find you."
Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, she played him by darting her gaze away for a second before glancing up at him. The sly smile that spread across his face made her sick.
Appearing demure and brainwashed, she tapped into the foggy haze edging the rational part of her brain, utilizing only the bare minimum of anxiety to get her through this. The whimper that left her lips sounded completely pathetic to her ears, but this was the only time she was proud of it.
Until it started to blur together, alarm bells going off in her head, warning her of the danger zone. If she slipped under now, everything would be in jeopardy.
He reached out for her, and the predatory shine in his eyes immediately made her recoil. As soon as he touched her legs, he was flying clear across the room.
She had lashed out, and her kicks had caught him in the jaw. Too bad it wasn't hard enough to render him unconscious.
Kum-ji advanced twice as fast, anger swirling in his eyes.
"Get away from me." She hissed, but he just laughed in her face.
He let up, but not because of her. Wood splintered as he broke the headboard with his bare hands, sliding her handcuffs up and over the now freed column it had been chained to. His grip was like steel around her upper arm as he hauled her to her feet.
Calista did everything she could think of to free herself from his grasp, but nothing worked. She was close to tears.
"No, no, no, no!!"
She dug in her heels as it came in sight, the despair kicking in. He put her inside the cage like some kind of animal. Shrinking back as his malicious intentions were revealed, she didn't make it one step before she was shoved in like some animal. The cage was smaller than she remembered, and she snarled at him as he locked it.
It was the same one cage that Soo-won had her transported in on that mission. This didn't stir up good memories.
Calista pressed herself up against the steel bars, trying to put as much distance between her and him as she could.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, kitten."
She sprung back as sparks flew, a sword striking the bars and a low hum emitted as the metal vibrated.
"I hear that you're harboring a little girl..."
She froze.
"Light hair, brilliant green eyes, yes? I remember her... she was the one you freed, you vermin. You know how much money you lost me?!"
He was spitting straight poison, and she fought to keep a neutral expression, keeping the pride at bay knowing that she had struck a chord within him.
Serves him right.
"Maybe I'll take her myself. She was quite pretty, wasn't she?"
Calista launched herself at him, grabbing the front of his robe and smashing his head into the iron bars. He screamed out in pain as he collided with the metal, crushing a hand to his head in a futile attempt to get it to stop throbbing.
He violently yanked open the door, dragging her out by her hair.
She shrieked, until fingers closed around her neck, unable to take in air. Her nails scratched at his arm weakly, trying to pry him off of her, but to no avail.
Her eyes were starting to roll in the back of her skull at the lack of oxygen, and her bonded arms fell back down to her stomach.
Kum-ji chuckled ominously, shaking her around like a rag doll a few times just for fun before throwing her carelessly aside.
Calista rolled as much as she could with the impact to lessen the blow.
But there was a fire that was lit inside of her and could never be put out. The damage done was irreversible. He had threatened one of the kids she had taken under her wing, Hani was a part of her family.
This man was going to wish he never even uttered her name.
Calista's silver eyes were nearly black with rage, the shackles that bound her wrists together creaking as she pulled her arms apart as far as they would go. Her muscles bulged with the effort fueled by protective rage and instinct.
A deafening snap echoed throughout the room and she pounced on him as the chain holding her cuffs together broke, knocking him down in a flash despite the difference in size. She aimed for his head.
He went down hard, yelling as her fists made contact with his face, before his air supply was cut off.
Poetic karma.
Calista's foot was braced against the ground, and the other one was crushing his neck. He gripped her leg, but she didn't let up, intent on suffocating him. She crouched over him, letting him see the result of what his words had instilled in her, making sure he didn't look away.
Two men dressed in uniform burst in the door, manhandling her off of him. Kum-ji stood up, not even bothering to wipe off the blood trickling down his nose as he fixated on her with a snarl.
"Put her with the others!!" He ordered as the officers blinded her eyesight once more. "And keep her in there!!"
Instantly, one moved to obey, but the other paused. "My Lord, why not just kill her? She's already close to death."
"You think I will kill her without getting some money out of it first?! You fool!!" Kum-ji spat venomously, slapping the one who talked back. "You idiot, you don't do anything that won't gain some kind of profit."
As she was taken away, the man followed to ensure that the girl didn't escape, instructing them to tie her wrists back together.
He would make sure that she was sold for more than what she was worth, unwilling to leave her to die. Sure, it was tempting after all she had put him through, but he would much rather kill her after his pockets were lined with gold.
Calista hands were bound behind her with some rope and she stumbled into a hold that smelled distinctly of fish and saltwater. The floor was slimy beneath her, and she thought she heard murmurs. She automatically reached out to feel her surroundings, but forgot that her hands were restrained.
The dark chuckle that floated through the air had her growling aimlessly, unable to see.
"Oh, what do we have here? She's a gem..."
Calista braced herself for his revolting grip, but instead was shocked as she heard a familiar voice yell out for another girl that Kum-ji had set his eyes on. She suppressed the instinctive urge to go over there and end this all right now, knowing that her heroic intentions wouldn't mean a thing if they failed to launch that firework.
The luck that she was feeling as she recognized Yoon and Yona's voices faded. Finding them by chance wouldn't mean anything if they couldn't save those girls.
She couldn't see the others, but she could sense them. With her sense of sight taken away from her, her other senses were sharper. Her ears honed in on the other bodies crammed in the area. There were at least a dozen girls aside from her, Yona and Yoon.
The man let out a low bark, and Calista heard Yona shuffle away from him. She had to give it to her, for her first operation, the princess was holding up phenomenally.
Still didn't make her want to kill Kum-ji any less, but she didn't dwell on it. After all, she made a promise to the captain.
The pause between him and Yona invited opportunity, and she took it.
Calista jumped to her feet, headbutting him hard. Able to finally pinpoint his location thanks to her ears, there was a low thump as he crashed into a wall. By the sound of his groaning, she had knocked him back further than she thought.
Oops. She grinned to herself, shifting so that her body was angled towards them, where she expected the light was streaming from. She shielded Yona from their view, no doubt that her expression communicated her message clear enough.
Even without her eyes, she was sure they could discern the warning snarl curling at the corner of her mouth.
Calista didn't say anything, knowing that if she were to threaten him, unresolved emotion would trickle in her voice and he would know that Yona was precious specifically to her.
No, it was too risky. They couldn't afford him finding out. It was better to keep him in the dark.
Keeping Yona's real identity a secret was key to this whole thing. He couldn't find out who she was, let alone the connection to her. The door finally slammed closed, and as it locked, it set dread in her heart. They would have to figure out a way to get out of here and on the deck.
She twisted her body defensively as she sensed someone approach her.
"It's just me, Calista."
She breathed a small sigh of relief as his nimble fingertips untied the blindfold with the utmost care.
Yoon's eyes widened as he took in the sight before him.
The raven-haired fighter had never looked worse.
Her clothes were shredded, more so than they already were since her tunic was already destroyed. She had several new bruises all across her arms, and the cut on her cheek, which he suspected had just barely healed, had reopened. The slashes on her arm from that day they found her confronting the rogues had since scarred over, leaving jagged and haphazard vermilion in its wake.
The handcuffs on her wrists made him grind his teeth. The sight of it on her was more unpleasant than Hak and Yona's infuriating back and forth flirting.
But the bruises were what alarmed him the most. They were starting to turn purple due to the massive internal bleeding, and he was sure if he didn't treat her soon, she would pass out.
"What happened?!?!" His tone rose in volume, and she quickly shushed him, catching wind of Yona's inspirational speech to the other disheartened girls around them to take back control and do what they could to make a difference. She didn't want to stomp on her moment.
With her blindfold gone, she saw how the light in their eyes was slowly coming back. A light that Kum-ji had forcibly torn out of them.
Calista opened her mouth to reassure Yoon, but nothing came out. The iron around her wrist jangled harshly, but she could barely feel it as her hand reached up to skim across the expanse of her neck.
She winced as it pressed the tender skin, smiling sheepishly at Yoon, whose gaze had gone dark as he followed her movements.
Yoon, wait— She wanted to say, but couldn't. This might be a slight problem...
Lord Yang Kum-ji had crushed her vocal chords.