“The king made him fly across the walls, you should have heard the bones cracking. Over and over, squashed like the dirty bug that he is,” Crypto’s voice glittered with satisfaction.
I hadn't realised my bones were broken, I only felt sharp and pinging pain, but it made sense, considering I could not move a muscle and had to be dragged back. They hadn’t even bothered with iron chains, which proved the pinnacle of my weakness.
“Damn, I missed all the fun,” Serpium growled in annoyance and started putting his knives away with deep sighs.
Meanwhile, I remained on the floor, bleeding all over the dark and stained carpet, among what seemed to be a conglomerate of dried blood stains. Trying to move or shift into a more comfortable position turned out to be only a blissful wish, every time I tried to send commands to my body parts, they did not create any connections, and when Marreth placed the side of me that he had dragged on the floor, I remained a pile of limbs.
Unmoving. Unable. Waiting for the end.
“Anything else you need from us? I want to get some wine in this belly and some cunt around this cock before I have to return to digging again. Maybe the queen will have me, she clearly had plans with this one,” Crypto kicked my body for emphasis, just out of pleasure and because he could. “Got him all shiny and clean, she wanted to learn how the tree people do it, ha?”
He kicked me again, which caused Serpium joy and they both started laughing at my expense.
Not that I cared, I barely kept any awareness at this point and struggled to gather all the beautiful memories I ever experienced before they were gone, turned into a pile of smoke.
I wished my life flashed before my eyes, it would have been much easier tosee all the people I loved at once. Instead, I had to think of every one, barely having the energy to remember and focus on what we had lived together instead of the gripping pain that grew with each passing second. Probably the last drop of adrenaline decided to leave my body too before Serpium had a chance to start playing.
“Nah, go dig into something warm brother, I’ll deal with this,” the second commander’s voice sounded from far away.
I felt a pat on my back and a voice that whispered a last encouragement. “Don’t fight it, prince. There is no use.”
Moments later, the door creaked and a slamming sound spun across the room, announcing the departure of the two males. For a long while, the second commander continued putting his knives away and taking a long time to clean each one, to show me what he had preferred to do to me instead of what had been demanded to.
Through it all, I remained on the ground, thinking about my family and my mate, the sunlight and the breeze, the tower where we hid before dinner, and father’s forgiveness.
All things that I tried to keep locked inside my mind, trying to find a corner or some kind of synapsis that would prove stronger than whatever they wanted to do to me. There had to be a way.
“Right, let’s get you situated, dear guest,” Serpium turned to me and gave me his full attention, once his knives found their home inside drawers and shelves. “I don’t know how much they told you, but we’re going to be buddies after this. The best of buddies,” he mocked with an excited smile and grabbed my body off the ground to place me in a leather elongated chair that looked more like a sofa with straps.
He connected each one with minutious patience until my body remained fixated in place and I couldn’t even move my neck. I had become a stretch of nothing and Serpium had the power to do whatever he pleased with my body.
“Please...” All of a sudden I felt scared. Terrified of what could happen to me and any dash of pride vanished from mind, forcing me to beg to a fireling.
His expression dropped at the word, the one he struggled to hear from my mouth for months and his features adopted a pleased movement, as though what I had just said felt like divine music to his ears. Serpium inhaled deeply and absorbed the plea, wanting to keep this moment stored in the drawers of his memories, to be able to retrieve and enjoy at a later date.
“Say it again, prince,” he whispered as to a lover, since the sound I had released probably felt like a joyous mating moment to his sick mind. “Beg me again.”
I did not hold pride or ego any longer, so I did. I begged. A prince of the Earth Kingdom, trained in enduring pain and torture of any kind, pleading for his end. Pleading for his memories. I begged and cried, releasing tears that shed the last remnants of my identity and for a few moments, Serpium only looked at me, surprise and shock covering his face, expression changing along with my words.
For a moment, there was hope, or at least I tried to force it into me, hoping that my words would touch something inside him and make him have mercy.
“Thank you, your highness,” the commander said reverently and his voice truly echoed gratitude.
He had struggled to have this effect on me since he started the torture sessions short after my arrival and not once had I given him the satisfaction of begging, of pleading, or trying to make things better for myself.
“Are you going to kill me?” I used the last strands of energy to ask.
“Orders are orders, my prince,” Serpium suddenly found his respect for me. As though proving that I could be broken had connected us somehow.
“Please kill me, Serpium. Don’t let them turn me into something I am not. It is much worse than death,” I started pleading again. Wanting to have it all over with, fearing a life without memories, where I could be used to attack and kill innocent females and children.
“Please!” I began again.
“You see, prince, this is why I can’t do it. This is what the king himself wants, that honour of yours.” He stopped and threw me a proud and slightly empathic smile. “How many males would beg for death, in a position like yours, do you think?”
“All,” I said without a second thought. “Every sane male would gladly give up their life instead of being turned into an executioner,” I heard my voice resonate with a decision I did not know I still had.
“None,” Serpium retorted. “All males would choose life. It is only the ones with kind hearts and loyalty towards life that would beg for their own end. And that unquenchable allegiance is worth more to the king than a thousand lives. Maybe one day you will even take my job,” he huffed and turned back towards the drawers to find whatever tools he needed for what he was about to do to my body.
