The Princess's Swordsman

Tortured

Chapter 13

It was ten o'clock, Robin excitedly opened the window of her bedroom. She waited, looking out into the night. She wanted to see him come. When she heard something she would search, but it would always turn out to be a bird and a nocturnal creature. After a while she gave up, and waited for him on her bed. A frown had appeared on her pretty face. Where was he? He left without saying anything that morning. And now he wasn't showing up. She sighed. Suddenly, there was a knock on her door, "Princess! Oh Princess are you in there?!" It was Mattie and she seemed to be in a hurry.

"Come in Mattie," she moaned. The fat maid barged in.

"Oh Princess! I just heard the terrible news! That must have been terrifying! What an evil man! Oh if I could get my hands on him I'd-"

"Wait, wait Mattie please!" Robin put her hands up to stop the woman, "What man? What was terrifying?"

"Oh must you be so formal Miss? Why, the green haired lad! How dare he hurt you! You must have been so SCARED when he forced you all across Lougetown!" Robin's eyes shook madly. She grabbed her skirts and ran out the doors.

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MEAN WHILE...

Well, here he was. In a dark, wet, and cold dungeon. His swords were taken somewhere he did not know. They stripped him of most of his clothing. And his arms were held in place, up in the air, by chains. He kept his head down, eyes closed. He heard footsteps coming down some stairs. It was Pratus. He looked darker than ever.

"What do we have here, hmm?"

"We tied up the prisoner like you ordered King Pratus," one of the big dark guards said, even his voice was dark.

"Excellent." Pratus stepped before the sword-less swordsman, "Look at me," he demanded. But the prisoner would not, "Look at me I said!" Slowly, the green haired man lifted his head, then cocked it to one side, "So your King Pratus," he said with a smirk on his face, "Yeah, I've heard about you. You're that dumbass king who's cruel to his people. I remember there was an assassination job out there for your head! I never took it though. You seemed like a waste of my time! Ha! Ha! H-" Pratus grabbed the young man's throat.

"You listen to me you pathetic worm! Things were going wonderfully, just as I planned. Until you showed up, and messed around with the Princess! Now I have to dispose of you, you're a thorn in my side." Pratus took a step back, releasing his throat. As Zoro coughed a bit he continued, "You love her don't you?... The Princess?" Zoro's head shot up, "I know you do. There's no denying it! You... are a young man in love."

"That's right. And it's a pity, she'll never love you." Pratus wiped the smile off of Zoro's face with a loud slap that rang in everyone's ears.

"I don't care if she loves me or not..." Pratus put his face close to his, his evil smile appearing on his face once again, "You know, I'll tell you what I'll do." He backed away and started to walk in circles around his tied prisoner, "Once I become king over all this land, I will be so cruel to it's people they all will wish they were dead! I will make sure they suffer greatly!" He laughed wickedly, "But! You know who will suffer most of all?" Pratus stopped in front of the bounty hunter, "Your little Princess!" Zoro's eyes grew wide, "She will be mine and mine alone! You will never see her again!" Zoro's teeth were clenched, "She will be my slave!" Zoro's voice boomed out with rage.

"I WILL KILL YOU BEFORE YOU TOUCH HER!"

"I doubt that greatly you insolent fool!" He threw his head back and laughed. After his laughing he calmed himself, "I want you... to say her name." Pratus stood tall, "It will be the last you ever hear of it!"

Suddenly, a sharp, merciless pain struck his bare back. His head shot back, but he kept his scream in his throat. Another sharp pain came, then another, and another. The sound of a whip cracking could be heard as well. After every crack, there came a sharp pain, after that came blood, and after that was a scream. A few seconds latter, Pratus held up his hand and guards ceased their torture. Zoro gasped for air, "That it?" Pratus chuckled.

"Oh no boy, this is just the beginning..." there was a pause, "You know... I think you're going to wish you took that assassination assignment..." The whipping started up again unexpectedly. Zoro's yells filled the dark room once again. Pratus shouted over his screams, "Tell me! What is the name of your lover?!" He looked like he belonged in an asylum, he was pure evil. The swordsman pulled his head up, "Her name is Robin..." Pratus laughed.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! He doesn't even know the name of his lover! How pathetic!" The guards laughed with him.

"That's the name I gave her." This didn't help, it only made them laugh even harder.

"Looks boys, he even gave her a pet name! Ha! Ha! So you do treat her like your pet! How sad!" They crackled wildly, as if they would never stop.

Crack! Pratus laughed as Zoro yelled. The pain increased. His shouts increased. He wanted more than anything for them to stop, "Robin," he whimpered. As the whipping continued he began to yell out her name, "Robin!"

"Let me tell you something you stupid brat! She will never love you! She never did love you! It was just a fantasy in that stupid head of yours!"

"Robin!"

"You're a fool for believing in such a thing as love! Love is useless! Ha! Ha! Power! That's all you really need in this world!"

"Robin!" Zoro's body jolted back and forth as the whip made contact with his breaking body. It was tearing him apart.

"And let me tell you anther thing, BOY! She's a Princess! You're a no good bounty hunter from God knows where! She will never fall for you, no matter how hard you try! She'll never want to see your face again! SHE HATES YOU!"

"AAAAHHH!!!!" Zoro yelled at the top of his lungs. His mussels grew as he pulled with all is might on the chains that bind him, as he grabbed them and pulled them down. The guards stepped back in fright. Pratus's eyes trembled, his expression changed to horror. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!" he yelled with rage. The chains collapsed. But so did the ceiling around them! Everyone got out of the way except Zoro. The heavy rocks of the ceiling crashed down upon him.

The dust cleared, "You okay sire?" asked one of the guards.

"Yes I'm fine!" he snapped. He wore an annoyed expression on his face, "Fool, he most-likely just killed himself!" The two huge men started to remove the rubble off of the body, "Well?"

"He's alive sire!" Pratus headed for the stairs, "What do we do with him?" one guard questioned.

"Wake him up!" he answered without turning to face them.

"Th-then what?" one asked stupidly. Pratus halted on the steps.

"Isn't it obvious?" he turned to reveal yet another hideous grin, "Beat him..."

A/N: I hope Zoro is gonna kill Pratus in the end! Who can I speak too about that?! Oh... wait...