The Dark Kingdom

Chapter 10

"Hello Princess Alexius, I'm Leutinet Hazguard. You may call me Haz," he said. Alexius examined him. He wore a dark cloak that covered most of his body besides his face. He was dark skined with hazel eyes and very short hair. Judging by his looks, he seemed to be not much older than Alexius, probably in his early twenties. "It's very simple, you tell us what we need to know, and you'll get treated to a much better room and even servants after this! Or you could lie and ignore my questions, and you'll stay in the cellar with nothing to do. I'm sure you were expecting pain, but we would simply never do such to a woman," Haz said, shuffling through the papers in his hand.

Alexius thought about the offer. To be honest, it was a good offer that would definitely get to her. Alexius hated the cold and hard cellar with nothing to do and she was pretty sure that her sanity was getting to her, she would most likely give up anything to get a decent meal and a comfortable bed. "That's a nice offer, Haz, but my duty as the princess of Carthya comes before my own wants or needs," Alexius said. Haz sighed, "I knew you weren't going to cooperate." Alexius nodded, "My parents have told me that more times than you would believe." Haz sighed again and set down the papers on the table. He then walked out of the room and spoke with someone. Her vigil then entered the room again and grabbed Alexius to bring her out of the room.

Alexius was glad that they had given up on her so easily and she would be going back to her cellar, away from strange people, but instead of going back to her cellar they were heading somewhere else. "Where are we going now, and didn't you say that my father would be there?" Alexius asked. Her vigil showed a wicked grin, "You'll see." The vigil led her down the cold and dark hallways to another room, but this time, the door was much larger. The doors were guarder, and when they saw Alexius, they opened the door. A group of what looked like their soldiers were gathered around something or someone in the middle.

Her vigil led her through the crowd to the middle, where Jaron was chained up to a pole. "Alexius!" Jaron cried, "You have to lea-." Azrael slapped Jaron across the face. Alexius was then chained up to the pole next to Jaron. "Dad! Are you okay!" Alexius cried. She noticed a bruise on his face and blood trailing from his mouth. "Now Jaron, you won't tell us through your own pain, but what about your daughter, hm?" Azrael asked. "You lay a finger on my daughter, and I'll give you a slow and painful death," Jaron cursed. The rage in his green eyes seemed to glow.

There was a man standing off to the side with a leather whip. Alexius was prepared to be kicked, slapped, and punched but not whipped. Her father once had told her how much he hated being whipped. He even showed her the scars it left him. Alexius stared at the whip, and she felt tears begin to fall down her face as she trembled. She had never felt fear like this before. The man flicked the whipped, and Alexius flinched at the loud sound. "NO!" Jaron shouted. Azrael laughed, menancingling, and glared evily at Jaron. "Then anzwer my question, will you hand over the land of Carthya to us?" Azrael asked with a wide grin. "Never," Jaron hissed. "Then so be it! You may start your work," Azrael said, stepping away from them.

"Don't touch her!" Jaron shouted, wiggling in the chains that were cuffed on him. The man flicked the whip as he approached Alexius, and she flinched. "Fine! I'll tell you what you want!" Jaron said. "No! I can take it, Dad! You've handled it so I can too," Alexius said, but to be honest, she wasn't sure how much of it she would be able to handle. "Alexius....I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let that happen to you," Jaron said. The man stared at them awkwardly, unsure what to do. He turned to face Azrael, who gave him a nod, and the man turned to face Alexius again. So Alexius prepared for the worst.

The man slashed the whip across Alexius's legs. She let out a deafening scream. She felt as the leather ridges ripped through her skin, and it hurt like the devils. Alexius turned to face her father and attempted to smile, but she failed to. Jaron's eyes were wide, and tears began to fall down his face as he mouthed a sorry. "Will you speak now?" Azrael asked. Jaron cursed under his breath and looked up at Azrael, meeting his eyes. "I will never, ever, give up my kingdom to the likes of you," Jaron spat. Azrael scoffed as he rolled his eyes, and with a flick of his hand, the man re-gripped the whip. This time, he slashed the whip across Alexius's chest and then her side where she had been stabbed a while back ago. Alexius cried in pain as she began to feel blood drip down from her side.

Alexius began to feel dizzy headed, and every part of her body had grown weak. It was hard to tell who was talking, but someone was shouting while someone else was crying for help. The doors to the chamber flew open, and Alexius lifted her head to try and see who it was, but her vision was blurred. All she heard before she blacked out was, "As the prince of the Kingdom of Eeburus, I command you to stop, or you will suffer the same fate as her!"