Swallow your pride

Torture

Yarra opened her eyes with difficulty. She fought back, so they bound her with enchanted chains that blocked her ancient magic. She didn't know how long she had been in this cell. All she wanted was to die. In addition to torturing her prisoners, she was actually tormented by her conscience. She no longer had anything to live for, she destroyed everything. She lay on the cold, hard ground, the chains around her wrists and ankles biting into her skin. The physical pain was nothing compared to the aching in her chest. She was broken, hollow, filled with nothing but guilt, grief, and a despair so deep she couldn't see a way out. Her mind flitted to Sebastian, Ominis, the life she had lost, the love she had destroyed. She deserved this pain, this empty existence, for what she had done.

The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor. She braced herself, her body tensing, her mind racing. The footsteps stopped outside her cell, and the door creaked open. Bright torchlight streamed in, momentarily blinding her. A figure stepped into the cell, and she squinted, trying to make out their features. It was Liam carrying a tray of food which he placed next to the other which Yarra didn't even touch.
"Goddamit, what's wrong with you? You have to eat. You've been here for weeks and you've barely touched anything." Liam's voice was stern, his face a mix of annoyance and frustration. He knelt down next to her, holding a piece of cold, unidentifiable meat in his hand. He held it up to her mouth, his eyes hard and demanding. "You have to eat. You need your strength."

Yarra turned her head away, her stomach turning at the sight and smell of the food. She didn't want to eat, she didn't want anything that they were feeding her. "No," she said, her voice hoarse from disuse. "I'm not eating that." Liam stood over her, ducked and slapped her.
His ring split her lip, blood running down her chin. She looked up at him and boldly asked, "Are you bipolar?" Liam stared down at her, a mix of anger and bewilderment on his face. He clenched his jaw, his hand still raised, looking as if he was ready to hit her again. Then, after a moment, he lowered his hand, his expression shifting to a bemused sort of anger.
" I just...you're just...damn it," he exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. "Why are you being so stubborn?"
"Why are you doing this, Liam? You said you didn't agree with your father's idea." she asked him, with a small naive hope that he would set her free.

Liam's expression hardened at her question. He stood there for a moment, his jaw clenching and his eyes narrowing. "It doesn't matter what I think," he finally said, his voice cold. "It doesn't matter what anyone thinks. This is my father's decision, and he's not changing his mind. You're staying here, period. And you'll do exactly what we say, including eating the food we give you." Yarra felt a spike of frustration and defiance at Liam's words, her eyes narrowing as she glared up at him.
"I'm not eating anything you give me," she repeated defiantly. "And I'd rather die than be a puppet for your father's twisted plans."
Liam's face darkened with anger, his jaw clenching tightly. He took a step closer, his hand itching to reach out and grab her. "You think you have a choice? You think you can defy us? You're here because we let you. You're alive because we let you. You don't get to make these decisions. You will eat what we give you, and you will do as you are told. Do you really want to test me on this?" His voice was low and menacing, his eyes burning into hers.

Liam's words were like a bucket of ice water, a reminder of her current situation and the complete lack of control she had over anything. But that didn't stop her defiance, her determination to hold onto her last shred of autonomy. She tilted her chin up defiantly, looking him right in the eye. "Test me all you want," she shot back, her voice filled with as much bravado as she could muster, "but I'm still not eating."
Liam pulled out his wand, pointed it at her, "Imperio!" He exclaimed, cursing in frustration as Yarra resisted the spell, the magic of the Imperius curse barely even brushing against her mind. Thanks to Ominis' lessons, she was more prepared for such magic than she would have been a few months ago. She looked up and met Liam's gaze defiantly, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips. "You really thought that would work, huh?"
Liam's anger flared even higher at her smirk, his face contorting with a mix of fury and disbelief. His wand arm shook visibly as he pointed it at her again.
"You think your little resistance makes any difference? You think you have any power here?" he demanded, his voice growing louder.
"You're a prisoner. You're at our mercy. And if you don't start cooperating, you'll find out just how cruel our mercy can be."