A Hero's Protection

Control

Caroline was put back into the white room after being blindfolded once again. She lost track of time and feared what methods her father was going to use next. He had changed so much since she had seen him, but she had too.

Caroline looked at herself in the mirror, imagining her father looking at her through the glass. He was so business-like, so serious. Caroline remembered the joy in his eyes and remembered her own feelings of happiness as she saw his face.

No, she needs to forget it. He wanted to show his love by making her the center of attention, but Caroline didn't want that. Did he even care about what she wanted? It's her life, she should be making the decisions.

It was only a few days later that she was taken back out. This time Ronin was not the one to guide her, but a man who introduced himself as Ethan. Ethan had not put the blindfold on right and Caroline was able to see her feet slightly.

Carolien focused on the ground, trying to figure out where they were going. She tried to remember the path they took. Left, right, straight down a narrow hallway, but Ethan took her much farther than she thought.

"Now to turn around," Ethan mumbled, but Caroline caught it. They did an about-face and turned in the other direction. Caroline realized they were trying to throw her off and stopped remembering the directions at once. Why would they go through so much trouble to keep her here?

"Here she is," Ethan announced proudly as he entered a new room. The talking stopped and Caroline wondered who else was in the room. "I did exactly what you told me to do."

"Thank you," Mr. Garse said. "You may leave now."

"Yes sir," Ethan said, letting go of Caroline's wrists. Caroline gave a huff. Was it some great honor to lead her around the halls like an animal?

The blindfold was slid off her eyes and Caroline found herself staring straight into her father's eyes. Glancing behind him she saw Ronan smiling behind him. "Hi my little elemental master," Mr. Garse said.

"What made you change so much?" Caroline asked. She took a step backward but found herself against the closed door. She reached back to try and open it and Mr. Garse grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward.

"You won't listen to me like a daughter should listen," Mr. Garse explained. "So, my friend here has found something that will make you listen."

"It worked on the test animal, so I'm not sure what it will do to her," Ronin explained. "But you paid the price, I was pleasantly surprised honestly."

"What did you give him," Carolien growled at him as she struggled to get out of her father's grasp. She had half a mind to kick him, but she knew firsthand how good his fighting skills were.

He placed her in a chair and clasped her wrists to the chair and put a chain on the vengestone collar to keep her body still. Something grabbed onto her ankles, and she was trapped. "I want to explain to you what's going to happen," Mr. Garse stood in front of Caroline, pacing up and down.

"Ronin found something that will help me control you, completely." Mr. Garse pointed to his left arm. "I already have the controlling liquid coursing through my veins and I could control a rat with my mind. I had that killed so I could control you."

"So I will be forced to serve you," Caroline said through clenched teeth.

"Exactly," Mr. Garse nodded. "You're a smart girl. Of course, I will give you another chance to be by my side. By your own free will and choice. What do you say?"

Carolien thought about it. If she still had control she could still knock some sense into her father. "Okay," Caroline said, head bowed. "I don't feel like being controlled for the rest of my life."

"I knew you would say that," Mr. Garse said, almost joyfully. "And that's why I will still go ahead with my plan." Caroline looked up, alarmed. Was her father really going to do this?

"But I will never be like your daughter again," Caroline argued. "I will never have a choice in anything ever again."

"Oh, Ronin will find the counter liquid, won't you?" Mr. Garse looked at Ronin expectantly.

"Everything has a price," Ronin replied.

"But I gave you everything I had for this," Mr. Garse motioned towards a table where Caroline noticed something lying. From her position, Caroline couldn't quite tell what it was. "It was a packaged deal."

"Did I say that?" Ronin said, tapping his chin. "Well, everyone's got something. If you don't have anything I'll be on my way." Mr. Garse looked outraged.

"I," He tried to argue but had no words. Caroline suddenly had hope. Ronin would stop her father from using the, whatever it was, and she would be able to escape.

"I'm outta here," Ronin said with a smirk. He left the room and Mr. Garse made no motion to stop him. His back was turned to Caroline and she couldn't tell what he was doing. He turned to the table and leaned on it, deep in thought.

"Don't let your greed get the best of you," Caroline said. She tried to have a comforting and convincing voice. "This isn't the only way. We can work together, make something work."

"No," Mr. Garse picked up the item on the table. "It's the only way. I lost everything for it." He turned around and walked towards Caroline and she inspected the object. It wasn't very big, but Caroline knew it was a needle. Inside, the liquid swirled with a dark blue, almost black, color.

"Don't do this," Caroline yelled frantically. She tried to move against the binds, trying to kick her legs and pull her arms out. The vengestone pulled uncomfortably on her neck and Mr. Garse watched helplessly.

"Relax, struggling will make it hurt more," Mr. Garse tried to calm her down. Caroline hoped to show him how much pain she would be in if he did this. She tightened her muscles and braced for pain as he came to her side and grabbed at her arm.

His fingers were cold and Carolien struggled against his strong grip. Pain shot through her arm as the needle was driven through her skin and she screamed. She felt the liquid leaving the needle and flowing into her arm.

Caroline fought for control as the foreign liquid entered her system. It felt like a living thing as it began to take over her body. Carolien didn't know how long she sat there, how long she fought.

Slowly she felt herself lose control. She was unable to move her arms or legs. Slowly she was unable to move anything. She couldn't even scream anymore. She became a prisoner in her own body as her father took off the binds holding her to the chair, even took off the vengestone collar.

"Rise," Mr. Garse ordered, and Carolien stood, however hard she tried not to. She couldn't even blink or move her eyes. She was forced to stare at her father's tear-stained face as he told her body what to do.