Blood dripped down the side of David’s head and pooled around his ear. He rubbed it against his shoulder, and with a curse realized that once again, he was bare chested. His arms were pinned above his head, and his bare feet, bloodied by his galavanting through the palace turned battlefield, had been wiped clean and bound to a set of padded stocks in front of him. He struggled, but found those attached to a cement brick.
Another fucking dungeon. David settled with a sigh. He wasn’t going anywhere.
A candle broke the dark around him. He squinted and made out the face of the guard who had caught him. David hissed. “Bastard.”
“You’re one to talk, orphan,” the guard retorted, stopping over his feet.
“Now what? More torture?” David forced a smile. “Cerces is already inside the castle. Your own guards have turned against you. What are you going to get out of this?”
“Where’s Elana?”
David’s facade broke. “Elana?”
“Our queen wants that traitor dead. The palace guards will never follow a rebel like you, General Cilen’s blessing or not. She’s going to take the throne, isn’t she? That’s the only way this thing is going to work.” He stepped closer. “So where’s the princess?”
“I don’t know,” David replied honestly. “Even if I did, like hell I’d tell you.” His voice cracked.
“Sounds like someone’s hiding something.” The guard smirked. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
He tipped the candle and let molten wax spill onto David’s chest. David grit his teeth and growled, but held his face deadpan as the wax dripped down his right side.
The guard raised his eyebrows, then dribbled it down his other side. This time David was ready, and kept eye contact with his torturer.
Another man reached out from the shadows and tapped the first’s shoulder. “From what I’ve heard, the boy only reacts to tickling.”
“Bullshit.” David spat. “And I’m not a boy, I’m of <i>aaahahageheheh!”</i>
The guard with the candle glanced back after an experimental scratch down David’s arches. “I think you’re right. Hey, I kind of made a mess of his chest. Why don’t you try to go clean it up?”
“I like the sound of that.” A different voice stepped into the ring of light as the first guard lit up another candle.
David’s eyes narrowed. “You.”
Astal’s captain of the guard smiled. “Me. Listen, why didn’t you tell me it was this easy to break you?” He reached in and scratched off a chunk of wax, glancing David’s underarm in the process.
David flinched. “I-it’s not.”
“Right.” His smile widened. “Look, David, your little trick obviously isn’t going to work anymore. So just spit it out.” The captain knelt by his side. “Where is Princess Elana?”
“I have no idea.” David spat in his face.
“Okay. At this point, this is your own fault.” He lunged over David’s lap. Before David could buck him off, he’d been belted to the seat of the chair.
David looked down, robbed of the only movement he had left. “Fuck you.”
“We haven’t started yet.” The captain drifted to David’s feet, with the two other guards floating up around his sides. “So where’s Elana?”
“You’re the resistance, aren’t you? The one who’s getting people killed? Just follow Cilen, she knows—<i> nahahaha HAHAHA!” </i>The captain dug into his feet, then the two guards started scratching the wax off his chest.
Gods, what Elana had been doing wasn’t torture. It never was.
His mind went blank trying to take everything in, then the ringing stopped. He lifted his head and locked eyes with the captain through sweaty blond hair. “You look proud of yourself.”
“I’ve never seen you like this.” The guard tipped his head. “I once oversaw you being run ragged in Dalle.”
“I remember.”
The captain turned away. “That doesn’t scare you straight. Look at you. You’re covered in reminders of your stupidity. And your plan for survival is to act like it doesn’t work.” He broke into a chuckle, stepping off into the darkness. “Of course someone tried using something you can’t resist.”
“You’re acting like a palace guard discovered this.”
That caught the captain’s attention. “Then who was it?”
“The traitor princess you’re so desperate to find.” David smirked. “She’s pretty good in bed.”
“You son of a bitch.” The guard leered over him. “If you hurt her—”
David closed his eyes as the captain peeled back his toes and tied them to the stocks. He’d signed his own death warrant, but the captain had been going somewhere, probably to lead his troops. If David kept the head of the snake in front of him, the rest would flail around until the rest of the forces disable it.
Elana would be able to take care of things.
The captain gestured, and a gauntlet emerged from the black to plant a bottle in his hand. “Here we are.” He slathered the cold oil over David’s feet, then tossed it over to the guards hovering over him. “Give this a shot.”
David flinched as the guards covered him in it. It smelled of a butcher shop— pigs’ fat, maybe. Foul stuff. “This is disgusting, you twisted—<i> nah!”</i>
A grin split the captain’s face as he dragged his nails down David’s feet again. “Disgusting it is, but effective.” He waved a hand. “Do as you please, you two. I’m going to make use of these.”
David could only stare at the captain in abject horror for a second before the other guards fell upon him. He loosed a howl in a pitch he didn’t know he could reach as one guard buried his thumbs into his pelvis, just below his scar. The other rubbed his armpits. David’s mouth hung wide, soundless, then his eyes focused for a split second and he lunged.
His forehead connected resoundingly with the temple of the guard closest to him. Not enough to knock either of them out, though. The other guard stopped, stunned, and the injured guard clutched his head.
The captain glanced at him. “Are you okay?” When the guard nodded, he turned to David. “That’s your last mistake, rebel.”
David panted as he rested his head against his bound arm. The cut under his tangled hair had reopened, and blood dripped onto his bare shoulder, mixed with the foul oil, and trailed toward the waist of his pants.
“You look terrible,” the captain said, as if just realizing it. “To think this is the only way anyone can get anything out of you.” He settled back in front of David’s feet. “Now where is the princess?”
“I don’t know. Do whatever you want to me, it’s not going to change my answer. <i>I don’t know.” </i>David closed his eyes. His head was spinning plenty. Maybe he could let himself float away.
“You’re not getting away that easy, rebel. We finally have you, and I can see the pain in your eyes.” The captain leaned on the stocks. “Because while you’re here, Cerces is being slaughtered by my guards. Maybe the army revolted, but how much of it? I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Cerces isn’t an army. It isn’t even a place. It’s an idea.” David spat blood at the captain. “Elana’s not the traitor. The queen is. She was the only one in contact with the king. Did anyone bother checking whether the king was murdered?” His eyes blazed. “Elana wants to ban the gladiator circuit. She wants to help people keep their farms. What does the queen stand for?”
“She’s the rightful ruler—”
“How do you know?!” Tears streamed down David’s cheeks. “All you have is her word! The king must’ve left some sort of will! Did any of you check?” He glanced between the guards. “My princess isn’t the traitor. I am! She’s the future queen. She’s going to fix this.”
“So she’s your princess.” The captain of the guard stood. David reddened, then closed his eyes. The captain turned to the guards surrounding David. “Maybe he really doesn’t know anything.” David sighed. “He’s still Prince of Cerces, though. Without him, they don’t have a figurehead.” The captain gestured as he stepped back into the darkness. “Have fun.”
David glanced between the four guards around him, then tested his bonds again. How would they start? Punching? Knives? Or would they jump straight to killing him?
<i>“Nah!”</i>
He jumped as one of them poked his oiled belly. The guard jumped himself, then traded knowing looks with his counterparts.
“No. No, no no no<i> nohoho!” </i>David struggled against the chair as the guards fell upon him. One scratched his armpits, another pinched the muscle at his hips, and the others took a foot apiece, each taking advantage of his oiled skin. David pulled with everything he had. His eyes rolled back with the force of the assault, his laugh dropping into mere wheezing.
The guards laughed amongst each other, rotating around his helpless form and testing new techniques that Elana hadn’t thought of even in her most sadistic moments. He lost track of how many times the foul oil had been reapplied to his chest. The cut on his head had long stopped bleeding.
“Hey, did you guys try this?” The brown-haired guard at his right foot raised a boot brush, polish still clinging to its bristles. The other guards hummed to each other, then each unhooked a brush of their own from their belts. David shrieked when the brown-haired guard touched his sole with the brush, then folded over as best he could as the other guards brushed his armpits, his screams going silent. At last blackness closed in on him as the polish stained his skin brown.
There was a horrible crash. Stone hit concrete and powder clouded the air.
“This is the last of the dungeons! Find everyone you can!” A figure stepped through the hole in the wall, coughing. His tanned skin was painted gray with dust. It salted his black hair, already powdered with the remains of other explosions.
The guards skittered back, then shared a look and rushed away as Cerces warriors spilled through the wall behind the man.
David pulled his head up. Sweat dripped down his bloodied hair into his eyes. “Sam.”
Samuel rushed over. “Dave! Gods, what did they do to you?”
Another fucking dungeon. David settled with a sigh. He wasn’t going anywhere.
A candle broke the dark around him. He squinted and made out the face of the guard who had caught him. David hissed. “Bastard.”
“You’re one to talk, orphan,” the guard retorted, stopping over his feet.
“Now what? More torture?” David forced a smile. “Cerces is already inside the castle. Your own guards have turned against you. What are you going to get out of this?”
“Where’s Elana?”
David’s facade broke. “Elana?”
“Our queen wants that traitor dead. The palace guards will never follow a rebel like you, General Cilen’s blessing or not. She’s going to take the throne, isn’t she? That’s the only way this thing is going to work.” He stepped closer. “So where’s the princess?”
“I don’t know,” David replied honestly. “Even if I did, like hell I’d tell you.” His voice cracked.
“Sounds like someone’s hiding something.” The guard smirked. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
He tipped the candle and let molten wax spill onto David’s chest. David grit his teeth and growled, but held his face deadpan as the wax dripped down his right side.
The guard raised his eyebrows, then dribbled it down his other side. This time David was ready, and kept eye contact with his torturer.
Another man reached out from the shadows and tapped the first’s shoulder. “From what I’ve heard, the boy only reacts to tickling.”
“Bullshit.” David spat. “And I’m not a boy, I’m of <i>aaahahageheheh!”</i>
The guard with the candle glanced back after an experimental scratch down David’s arches. “I think you’re right. Hey, I kind of made a mess of his chest. Why don’t you try to go clean it up?”
“I like the sound of that.” A different voice stepped into the ring of light as the first guard lit up another candle.
David’s eyes narrowed. “You.”
Astal’s captain of the guard smiled. “Me. Listen, why didn’t you tell me it was this easy to break you?” He reached in and scratched off a chunk of wax, glancing David’s underarm in the process.
David flinched. “I-it’s not.”
“Right.” His smile widened. “Look, David, your little trick obviously isn’t going to work anymore. So just spit it out.” The captain knelt by his side. “Where is Princess Elana?”
“I have no idea.” David spat in his face.
“Okay. At this point, this is your own fault.” He lunged over David’s lap. Before David could buck him off, he’d been belted to the seat of the chair.
David looked down, robbed of the only movement he had left. “Fuck you.”
“We haven’t started yet.” The captain drifted to David’s feet, with the two other guards floating up around his sides. “So where’s Elana?”
“You’re the resistance, aren’t you? The one who’s getting people killed? Just follow Cilen, she knows—<i> nahahaha HAHAHA!” </i>The captain dug into his feet, then the two guards started scratching the wax off his chest.
Gods, what Elana had been doing wasn’t torture. It never was.
His mind went blank trying to take everything in, then the ringing stopped. He lifted his head and locked eyes with the captain through sweaty blond hair. “You look proud of yourself.”
“I’ve never seen you like this.” The guard tipped his head. “I once oversaw you being run ragged in Dalle.”
“I remember.”
The captain turned away. “That doesn’t scare you straight. Look at you. You’re covered in reminders of your stupidity. And your plan for survival is to act like it doesn’t work.” He broke into a chuckle, stepping off into the darkness. “Of course someone tried using something you can’t resist.”
“You’re acting like a palace guard discovered this.”
That caught the captain’s attention. “Then who was it?”
“The traitor princess you’re so desperate to find.” David smirked. “She’s pretty good in bed.”
“You son of a bitch.” The guard leered over him. “If you hurt her—”
David closed his eyes as the captain peeled back his toes and tied them to the stocks. He’d signed his own death warrant, but the captain had been going somewhere, probably to lead his troops. If David kept the head of the snake in front of him, the rest would flail around until the rest of the forces disable it.
Elana would be able to take care of things.
The captain gestured, and a gauntlet emerged from the black to plant a bottle in his hand. “Here we are.” He slathered the cold oil over David’s feet, then tossed it over to the guards hovering over him. “Give this a shot.”
David flinched as the guards covered him in it. It smelled of a butcher shop— pigs’ fat, maybe. Foul stuff. “This is disgusting, you twisted—<i> nah!”</i>
A grin split the captain’s face as he dragged his nails down David’s feet again. “Disgusting it is, but effective.” He waved a hand. “Do as you please, you two. I’m going to make use of these.”
David could only stare at the captain in abject horror for a second before the other guards fell upon him. He loosed a howl in a pitch he didn’t know he could reach as one guard buried his thumbs into his pelvis, just below his scar. The other rubbed his armpits. David’s mouth hung wide, soundless, then his eyes focused for a split second and he lunged.
His forehead connected resoundingly with the temple of the guard closest to him. Not enough to knock either of them out, though. The other guard stopped, stunned, and the injured guard clutched his head.
The captain glanced at him. “Are you okay?” When the guard nodded, he turned to David. “That’s your last mistake, rebel.”
David panted as he rested his head against his bound arm. The cut under his tangled hair had reopened, and blood dripped onto his bare shoulder, mixed with the foul oil, and trailed toward the waist of his pants.
“You look terrible,” the captain said, as if just realizing it. “To think this is the only way anyone can get anything out of you.” He settled back in front of David’s feet. “Now where is the princess?”
“I don’t know. Do whatever you want to me, it’s not going to change my answer. <i>I don’t know.” </i>David closed his eyes. His head was spinning plenty. Maybe he could let himself float away.
“You’re not getting away that easy, rebel. We finally have you, and I can see the pain in your eyes.” The captain leaned on the stocks. “Because while you’re here, Cerces is being slaughtered by my guards. Maybe the army revolted, but how much of it? I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Cerces isn’t an army. It isn’t even a place. It’s an idea.” David spat blood at the captain. “Elana’s not the traitor. The queen is. She was the only one in contact with the king. Did anyone bother checking whether the king was murdered?” His eyes blazed. “Elana wants to ban the gladiator circuit. She wants to help people keep their farms. What does the queen stand for?”
“She’s the rightful ruler—”
“How do you know?!” Tears streamed down David’s cheeks. “All you have is her word! The king must’ve left some sort of will! Did any of you check?” He glanced between the guards. “My princess isn’t the traitor. I am! She’s the future queen. She’s going to fix this.”
“So she’s your princess.” The captain of the guard stood. David reddened, then closed his eyes. The captain turned to the guards surrounding David. “Maybe he really doesn’t know anything.” David sighed. “He’s still Prince of Cerces, though. Without him, they don’t have a figurehead.” The captain gestured as he stepped back into the darkness. “Have fun.”
David glanced between the four guards around him, then tested his bonds again. How would they start? Punching? Knives? Or would they jump straight to killing him?
<i>“Nah!”</i>
He jumped as one of them poked his oiled belly. The guard jumped himself, then traded knowing looks with his counterparts.
“No. No, no no no<i> nohoho!” </i>David struggled against the chair as the guards fell upon him. One scratched his armpits, another pinched the muscle at his hips, and the others took a foot apiece, each taking advantage of his oiled skin. David pulled with everything he had. His eyes rolled back with the force of the assault, his laugh dropping into mere wheezing.
The guards laughed amongst each other, rotating around his helpless form and testing new techniques that Elana hadn’t thought of even in her most sadistic moments. He lost track of how many times the foul oil had been reapplied to his chest. The cut on his head had long stopped bleeding.
“Hey, did you guys try this?” The brown-haired guard at his right foot raised a boot brush, polish still clinging to its bristles. The other guards hummed to each other, then each unhooked a brush of their own from their belts. David shrieked when the brown-haired guard touched his sole with the brush, then folded over as best he could as the other guards brushed his armpits, his screams going silent. At last blackness closed in on him as the polish stained his skin brown.
There was a horrible crash. Stone hit concrete and powder clouded the air.
“This is the last of the dungeons! Find everyone you can!” A figure stepped through the hole in the wall, coughing. His tanned skin was painted gray with dust. It salted his black hair, already powdered with the remains of other explosions.
The guards skittered back, then shared a look and rushed away as Cerces warriors spilled through the wall behind the man.
David pulled his head up. Sweat dripped down his bloodied hair into his eyes. “Sam.”
Samuel rushed over. “Dave! Gods, what did they do to you?”
