sᴇᴠᴇɴ ʏᴇᴀʀs || 𝙊𝙣 𝙃𝙤𝙡𝙙 ||

sᴇᴠᴇɴ ʏᴇᴀʀs, ᴘᴀʀᴛ ɪɪɪ

Fear.

Omorfiá feels absolute fear as she stands before Shredder, back in the room they were welcomed in, the tall Samurai flanked on both sides by her fellow prisoners. In her mind she trembles, although outwardly she is unmoving.

It's painful for her to look Shredder in the face; it's always been painful to do so. But she does, she stares into his cloudy eye, uncertain what he sees when he stares back. She wants him to see defiance, but she's certain he spies the glint of terror in her gaze.

"Explain to me what exactly happened between you and the first-son, Leonardo."

Everyone is watching her. The other girls are watching her, as cold and unfeeling as Shredder. Despite being enslaved, they are loyal. They follow his commands without question and frown upon the things that he deems unworthy and revolting. They have been trained and broken in a way Omorfiá can never be.

Omor knows they have never been her friends. She could wish that it was them against Shredder, but it was only her. She was the only one to push back, while they cowered in obedience.

Omor feels a phantom grip on her shoulders and a crawling, writhing disturbance in her gut. Her eyes flicker with an inhuman darkness and she has to squeeze her eyes shut to regain control. Shredder watches with a glare.

"..."

Omorfiá remains silent, breathing. Thinking.

As often as she wishes for it in moments of pain and sorrow, Omorfiá doesn't want to die. She wants to escape. She wants to live, free of his dark presence.

And she knows if she remains in Shredder's grip for any longer, her death will come soon.

"Think very carefully about your answer.." Leo's voice echoes in her ear.

She recalls the many times he looked her way. All throughout their meal, while they entered the gardens... as he lingered beside her in his bed. He had a plan, and he was asking her to trust in it. Trust in him.

But after years of trusting no one, of relying only on herself... she wonders, is it even possible for her to do so?

She opens her eyes to Shredder glaring down at her with impatience. Suddenly, Omorfiá feels control. Not just with herself and her powers, but with her very fate. Her answer will change her life, her captivity.

Whatever the first-son has planned, she would prefer it to this life.

"I admit, Sensei, that I was found in the first-son's... intimate embrace.." Omorfiá's voice flinches at the very words she utters, but she does not give Shredder the satisfaction of lowering her gaze. She does not cower.

Disgust is clear on Shredder's face. A growl rumbles from the back of his throat, and he steps forward as if to seize the girl before him by her hair. He is blocked, however, by the staff of Splinter and his courteous smile.

"Forgive me, Master Shredder, but in our village we have long-standing traditions and rules regarding such a situation," Splinter explains.

Behind him, Omorfiá stands frozen; guards move and circle around her.

"In the event of a guest's daughter, or female relative of the like being caught in an act of consensual, intimate relations, the host must take responsibility for cleansing her of such an act—"

"Was it?" Shredder's voice booms with threat, staring past Splinter at the girl who stands behind him. "... Was it consensual?"

Omorfiá meets his eyes out of reflex from his commanding voice. She hears the venom in his tone and the menace in his words; threatening her— intimidating her to return the control to him. She grips the chain that hangs from her collar, greeting his gaze with a challenge in hers.