Caidoz

Chapter 41

    The sound of the whip's lashes rang out, echoing through the entire area. Each time it connected with skin, there was nothing but a silence. Aquarius didn't flinch when the whip ripped into him, tearing into his flesh with each flick of the gloved hand. Warm liquid dripped down his back, dripping onto his hands, blotting his garments with new stains.

   A harder lash than he had anticipated knocked the wind out of him, his teeth grinding. Tears of pain flung to his eyes, but he did not let them fall. They wanted him to suffer and cry out for them to stop. What kind of leader would he be for them if he did? For his sister? For Capri? But they would never hear him beg for mercy. No matter how painful the lashings, or how horrible the treatment he was given, he would not speak.

   However, Aquarius couldn't plea even if his life depended on it, as it so often did. At birth, he had been dropped by his wet nurse who had screamed in horror upon discovering a little black tongue protruding from his mouth. His tongue was soon discovered as a disability when Aquarius realized that he couldn't say a word, no matter how much effort he put into trying to mimic words he heard around him. This lead him soon to the discovery that he could only make small squeaks, choked noises, and gags. 

   At first, he had been devastated by this conclusion, understanding that he would never be able to communicate with others through this means. He also couldn't write, nor he couldn't read the strange symbols of the Simehian language, even if he tried to, without proper instruction. However, Aquarius quickly learned that his disability had given him also a blessing in a disfigured disguise. That his weakness had given a shield. He still could cry out in pain and agony, but Aquarius knew that words, while they were a thing he longed desperately for and he desired to display his outrage, could be used to drag a person only deeper into the depths of danger.

    Aquarius could feel his willpower to stay alive flickering in his chest, his body's strength failing him miserably. The glowing he had felt inside was long gone. He had felt it before -- it had always been there -- but this time, something had been different. Much different. 

   The glow had always been warm, like a flame, filing him with courage and rage to stay and slay his enemies, one by one. However, the newfound inner resolve always would depart very fleetingly, like a small fire, flicking in the breeze. The moment the glow would die, he would feel a giant rush of adrenaline fueled by terror, fury, and an undeniable sense of loneliness before being left behind to fend to the best of his usual abilities.

   That wasn't what had happened this time. Closing his eyes shut firmly, Aquarius felt another crack of the whip, the sensation similar to the sting of a thousand angry hornets. Forcefully, he dictated himself to think back. This time, the glow had not been warm in the slightest of measures. No. It had been cold. Like a freezing droplet of water upon his skin, splashing on his very being. There was no adrenaline, no terror, no rage. But the loneliness had been there all the same. Something had been most certainly had different this time. Aquarius had felt it.

   A halt in the torture inflicted on his body made Aquarius come numbly to his senses. Faintly, he could make out the sounds of a conversation happening behind him.
   "Caph. That's enough. Any more and you may potentially kill him."

   The second voice was as sharp as a blade, smooth, but yet, undeniably similar to the clank of turning gears. "But Cih, He Hasn't Even Cried Out In Pain From Any Of My Inflicted Blows-- It's Quite Obvious To Me That He Hasn't Learned His Lesson And That He Needs More Pain."

"May as that be, the Caidozian is done; he simply will not survive another lash. Try to keep it in your wired brain that the prisoners must be keep alive."
   Aquarius' body trembled, shaking horribly in rage. He slowly tried to push himself up, but a furious kick to his ribs had him doubling over, falling to the hard floors. A wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm his senses, his back now sticky with blood.

   The room had started to spin, his focus becoming disorientated before sparks of pain ran through his body. He had inhaled sharply, forced to become face to face with the most powerful soldier in the entire royal guard and army.