Shuriki x Esteban Requests

Small Mercies

AU one shot set after the events of Elena and the Secret of Avalor where Shuriki doesn't fall off the bridge and is instead locked in a dungeon cell.
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Rated T for mentions of assault, attempted sexual assault and depictions of violence. Dark fanfic that wouldn't let me rest until it was written.
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Shuriki tensed the moment she heard footsteps. Not again, she thought. The guards had gotten in the habit of taking certain liberties with the sorceress from time to time since her imprisonment. Shuriki shuddered in revulsion at the memory of their last visit and curled herself into a ball on the cot that served as her bed, her heartbeat growing all the more erratic with every graceless thud of their heavy boots.

Unshed tears stung her eyes as she bit back a sob refusing to bow to their intimidation. She wouldn't give them what they wanted. They'd take it anyway as they had so many times before, but she wouldn't let them have it willingly. Shuriki Feodora Vorinin was neither a weakling nor a cowardess.

Her tormentors came into view-Avalorans-all four of them. No surprise there. Elena had switched out the servants and guards shortly after she'd taken the throne as crowned princess. The men were tall, burly beasts with dark eyes and hair. They quipped about the things they were going to do to her-and the things they'd already done-as if they were old friends playing a game of cards at a local tavern instead of about to take full advantage of a woman who couldn't even defend herself.

Shuriki was more or less helpless without her wand. She couldn't channel her magic and it wasn't as if she could get her hands on ingredients for any sort of potion. She pressed her back against the cold stone wall. Nights in Avalor were always much cooler than the days. She could feel the chill seep into her bones as she heard the click of the lock on her cell door.

Shuriki closed her eyes and took a deep breath knowing what kind of pain they were about to inflict upon her. All of Avalor would probably say she deserved it for the things she'd done, the crimes she'd committed. Maybe they were right. No one cared to hear her side of the story. No one knew what the 'benevolent' king Raul had done to her. He'd cost her everything. And all because he couldn't accept that his sister-in-law's death was an accident.

"Get up bruja," one of the guards snarled, closing the distance between himself and Shuriki. "Time to pay for your crimes."

Shuriki's stomach lurched at the hidden meaning behind those words. She forced the bile down and glared at the guard. "I think I've paid quite enough already. Go find some other prisoner to terrorize. I'm not in the mood."

THWACK!

Shuriki cried out despite herself as rough leather bit into the tender flesh of her legs, the silk of her dress doing little to ease the sudden, sharp sting spreading across her skin. She turned her head to glare at the guard holding the whip, pausing when she felt the kiss of cold steel as the third guard pressed his dagger against her throat.

The fourth towered over her easily the largest of the four and obviously their leader. He grabbed Shuriki by her neck and lifted her off the cot. She felt and looked like a rag doll in his hands as he threw her down onto the floor.

Shuriki landed hard on her belly which knocked the wind out of her. She felt the guard yanking the hem of her dress and a scream bubbled up in her throat only to die on her lips as she heard the expensive fabric tear. Tears fell unbidden as Shuriki managed to roll over and lash out with her feet, driving her high heel into the guard's groin causing him cry out in pain.

His companions advanced on her and she could tell by the looks on their faces and the hate burning in their eyes that she wasn't going to survive this time.