A Bird Among Serpants

1.11

The guard presses the searing metal into my flesh, myself struggling to hell at a desperate attempt to break out of the restraints. Unluckily for me, he thought of this, and my body is pinned down to the chair with iron cuffs. It hurts so bad, my body feels as if it's being skinned. Why is this happening now? What did I do to deserve this? I thought I had befriended both Tyria and Percy enough for them not to tell. Why would they cause me this pain intentionally?

The piece of metal is removed as my body collapses at the lack of pain. This is different even from the first day. It was obvious that before this he was trying to make sure I stayed sane so I could keep being fun for him. What changed? Why now am I being left with permanent scarring?

I hear the door open and close followed by the uniquely terrifying voice of the emperor, "Poor thing, you haven't even stopped shivering. Did that hurt?"

"Of course it fucking did you cunt." I think to myself before pulling against the restraints once again. He just laughs and pulls off the bag covering my head aswell as the gag in my mouth. He looks as if he wants me to say something, but I don't know what to say. What could he possibly expect me to say in this situation?

I look down at my outer thigh to see a snake, the house sigil of the emperor. What could compell him to do this I wonder. Was it Tel maybe? Maybe this is his way of expressing ownership after I fucked him. Or was it that remark I made about him caring about me? It did seem like I struck a nerve, maybe it was more severe than I thought.

The emperor lightly traces his hand over my burned skin as I find myself shivering lightly. I don't know what to do, my brain is stumped. I want to cry, but I don't want to look weak. I want to yell at him, but that could lead to my death or even my servant's deaths. I could use this situation to manipulate him further, but thinking about how his sigil will be on me for the rest of my life stops me from saying anything of positivity to him. I can't do it. I was on the edge beforehand, but I really can't do it now. I don't care if it's extremely painful, I want to die. I refuse to live with this thing on me.

He stands up and tilts my head up to face his, looking rather confused at my expression, "Nothing? No tears, no anger, or lust even. Just nothing."

When I don't respond he smirks at an attempt to get me angry, "You know, it was Percy who told me. He had good intentions. I told him to report back to me anything that he found out about you and Tel's meeting so I could, 'See their relationship and make adjustments accordingly.' I have no doubt that you did a few little meetings with him at an attempt to get him to do the exact opposite of that, but when push comes to shove, I really do have more of an impact than you'll ever have in this city."

Well, that answers the question on who told. I can't exactly bring myself to be angry, but I can't feel anything right now so we'll see how it is after my mind's cleared. That is, if my mind ever clears. I may just stay like this or die down here.

The emperor rolls his eyes looking bored, "Oh come on.. You're supposed to be my pet. So you know, entertain me!"

I close my eyes, unable to erase the annoyance from my voice, "And how would you like me to entertain you, master?"

His eyes widen as he lets go of my chin and steps away, a bit of fear now lacing his expression as I glance at him. The emperor quickly gets over himself and slaps me across the face, the guards around me flinching as the sound echoes across the room, "Don't mess with me, you brat. This is your punishment. You keeping this persona won't change anything."

I stay quiet, doing my best to concentrate on the pain coming from my leg. I can tell just by looking at him that he's starting to regret what he did. I doubt it's out of empathy, it's probably more from fear that this might've pushed me past the point of return for good this time. I know of course that I'm not broken, I'm more just questioning whether it's even worth it to keep myself alive anymore. I guess that could mean I'm broken depending on your definition.

He puts a hand around my neck softly, slamming my body back against the chair, "Knock it off, I know you. I know when you're just playing tricks with my head."

I find myself unable to hold in a laugh as I look down. He doesn't have it in him to do shit right now. Maybe if I beg for my life and cry he'll do it, but if I keep acting like I don't care he'll back down. I glance at his face, attempting to cover his fear with anger, and speak in an exasperated tone, "And what do I have to loose, Oh glorious leader of Quena? Tell me, I'm curious."

"You're life."

"Are you going to pretend like I didn't try to kill myself last week? The entire reason I'm alive is because of you. But by all means, kill me. Do it. I want you to."

The emperor takes his hand off of my neck and turns around, running his fingers through his hair out of what I presume to be stress, "YOU A-Are.."

I catch the guards glancing at him then quickly turning away. I'm not sure if it's from the shock of hearing why I'm still alive or the fact that he just studdered, but they're all obviously confused.

The emperor pauses and takes a breath, "Untie him and take him to my quarters. Make sure he's unbound, but take away all forms of weaponry."

The guards comply as the emperor stays, myself practically being dragged out of the room at the quickest rate the guards can muster. Once we're out of the room they slow down, getting slower and slower until we reach a door which I assume is the emperor's chambers and a few of them go in to clear out the room. I can tell that they are all wanting to ask me something, but the pain in my leg stops me from thinking more about it. I don't know how long I can keep standing for. How long does cleaning out a damn room take?

After a few minutes of me suffering in silence the guards leave with a small amount of mostly decorative weapons, myself going to open the door immediately. Relief floods into my system as I see the bed, but, of course, a guard places a hand on my shoulder before I can go inside and collapse utop it. I briefly consider punching him then take a breath and calm myself, looking at him quietly and speaking with as much patience as I have, "What?"

"Have mercy on the kid."

"Excuse me?"

"Percy, the guard in your care, don't hurt him. He admires you, he was speaking about you so kindly when he came back to the sleeping chambers yesterday. Don't take out what the emperor did on him."

I sigh, suddenly realizing that the change in the room wasn't them being confused with the actions of the emperor and instead starting to becoming afraid for Percy's sake. I am slightly surprised though, I assumed that Percy disliked me at least somewhat. They probably are telling me that just as a way to keep him safe. It's smart I have to admit, "Believe me, the most of my worries that concern the child happen to be that you savages let him fight at 14. He's too young to have learned how to kill or to be willing to die for a cause. I am and will continue to let him be the fucking kid that he is for as long as he is in my care whether he bloody well likes it or not."

The guard smiles as a few others stifle a laugh. To my surprise, none of them seem adverse to this. If anything, they seem happy as they all leave the room. Upon getting the chance, I slam the door and collapse upon the bed. My longing for relief finally being fulfilled. I can't resist the urge and pull the covers over myself, falling asleep as quickly as I can. What harm could it do? I doubt my day could get any worse.