With significant difficulty, the guards brought their charge into the room and tried to force him across to the centre of the room. Captive though he was, Lathan continued to struggle every step of the way, undeterred by the fact that he was making little to no progress. Eventually, they reached the thick stake in the middle of the room, though it took all three of them to get him tied to it securely. Lathan found himself unable to fight them any longer with both hands bound to the stake's sides, but he still tried. His efforts proved less effective than before, however, and the guards all maintained a safe distance from him until the Markman and his aide arrived.
"Looks like we've got a fighter first thing." The aide, Declan, stated as they entered the room. "Osias? Would you permit me to start this one off?"
The Markman glanced at the prisoner for a moment, then nodded. "Permission granted." He said in a deep voice as he turned to the fireplace. Lathan's eyes widened as Osias removed a branding iron from the flames and handed it to his aide. Declan turned, saw the look on his victim's face, and chuckled. "There's no way you didn't see this coming." He said as he walked over to the stake. "Seriously, that's more fear than I expected from the Allegiance's Number One." Glancing over at the guards, he asked, "You made sure those restraints were secure, right?"
One of the guards nodded. "No way he's going anywhere." He said. Osias nodded approvingly, then approached the stake as well. Lathan growled as the man drew near, and the Markman raised an eyebrow. "A fighter indeed." He said. His victim scowled, though he couldn't hide the alarm in his eyes as he watched Declan's every move. The aide grinned when he noticed Lathan's behavior. "I can tell you're looking forward to this. Ah, well. Probably should get this first part over with." He said as he raised the brand.
A sudden scream of pain ripped from Lathan's throat as the red-hot iron was pressed against his chest. Though still bound in place, he fought desperately to get away from the searing pain that flooded through him as the brand burned into his flesh. Standing to one side, Osias watched the young man struggle. Finally, he gestured for Declan to cease, and his aide withdrew the brand. Lathan let out a breathless gasp, leaning his head back against the stake as a sudden exhaustion overtook him.
"So, then." The Markman said slowly, walking over to stand next to his victim, "hopefully you now understand how serious we are about this." When Lathan didn't respond, he continued, walking back over to the fireplace as he did so. "You are going to help us. Why? Because, in reality..."
"...you never had any choice in the matter."
YOU ARE READING
Whumptober+ Short Stories - Volume 1
Historia CortaA collection of one-shot whump prompts. All characters belong to me, and I may or may not use them for books in future :) Warning for minor-to-major violence, depending on the prompt.
