isolation (pillar men x reader)

in the hall of the mountain king

for all like, 5 of you, i'm so sorry this chapter has so many straight up walls of text you can skim if you want it's a lot :(

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When you awoke again, the weight of the chains was gone. The cool bands of metal remained around your wrists, but at least you could walk freely. You heard someone shift across the room and sat up quickly, figuring you couldn't fake being asleep with these... creatures. Kars sat across from you, in a chair propped in front of the dresser, reading a book absently. He smiled when you sat up, that cruel, cold smile that made you wish you could be anywhere but in his line of sight. 

"You're finally awake," he said. 

You fought back a sharp response, unsure of what he would do if you were to upset him and not wanting to find out. So you said nothing, waiting for him to continue instead. Your mind was clearer now, slowly working through what had transpired. 

After a heavy pause, Kars continued, "You're in luck, I'm giving you the better half of this morning to clean yourself up. You've been in those clothes for four days, you must be dying for a chance to get out of them. So, once you've cleaned yourself up, there's a new outfit for you in the dresser. I expect to see you in no longer than two hours back in the dining hall."

He rose to exit, not waiting for you to reply. His hand paused on the door and he turned over his shoulder to add, "Trying to escape will be useless, someone will be watching you at all times." He smiled again, flicking his hair over his shoulder as he left you alone in your room. 

The nonchalant way he delivered his last statement sent a shock of rage and anger through you. He was so arrogant, so full of himself, as if the entire world should be bowing to him. How dare he? Your anger with Kars sparked defiance in you as you strode to the window, shoving the heavy blackout curtains out of the way. The actual window itself was boarded up, and you spent the better part of ten minutes trying in vain to pry the thick planks away. You finally slumped, defeated, once your fingers began to hurt from the effort. After the failed attempt, you decided to go along with what Kars demanded to buy yourself more time to escape. Your mind was clearer now, so you would take advantage of the walk to the dining hall to scout your location. 

You made your way to the dresser, opening the top drawer to find what you were supposed to wear. What you found somewhat shocked you, the outfit Kars had left you looked eerily similar to your competition dress. Your actual dress was modeled after the stereotypical "saloon girl" style, the top piece fashioned in a sort of faux corset and the bottom a wide, frilly skirt with fishnet tights underneath. The pieces of your competition dress had a purpose, the wide skirt to help keep at least a little distance and the tights reinforced to redirect any stray hamon. Turning the clothing over in your hands now, you figured Kars hadn't cared about purpose and didn't want you in any protective gear, what he had given you was all for show. Still, the way he had mimicked your competition dress made you shudder. How long had he been planning this? How long had he been watching you? Aside from your competition colors being purple and gold and the outfit in front of you being drab grays, purples, and blues, along with the skirt you held now being shorter than your actual one, the outfit was a dead ringer for what you wore. Similar, it appeared, even down to the sizing. You didn't want to think about how he had managed to get the sizing perfect. 

Throat dry, you snatched the outfit out of the drawer and headed into the bathroom. It was surprisingly spacious, the large mirror across one wall helping to make the room look bigger. You wondered briefly if Kars had set you up in the master bedroom of wherever you were, or if all the rooms looked like this. You was extremely relieved that the light in the bathroom was bright. The abundance of polished white marble accented with bright copper reflected light instead of absorbing it. The room had both a bath and a shower, separate, which you found strange. Though, that wasn't uncommon, was it? You gave up, figuring you were just being weird. It seemed wrong to devote so much energy to the layout of the bathroom when you had been missing for four days. Something clicked in your brain as you turned on the shower faucet, it was December twenty-first when you were taken. Four days later would make today Christmas.