{TITLE} Pt. 2

Part Two.

              Keela tried her best to sleep, especially when she knew what was going to happen the next morning. Yet, though her headache subsided and eyes grew heavy with sleep, she simply watched the moonlight creeping through her small window turn to thin rays of gold. The roaring silence in the still air of her cell she had become accustomed to, as well as the anticipation of the guard coming through the door; but the prospect of being tortured with no sleep, she was not looking forward to.

         It was just around sunrise—she guessed—when the door to her cell swung open. The echoing bang that disturbed the unmoving air around her didn't startle her, it simply made her sigh. She slowly sat up, her movements cracking the mud caked on her body from the night before and turned her back to the guard with her hands behind her. Keela heard his thumping footsteps approach her and she was roughly pulled up into a standing position. Her hands became tied by a thick rope and she was forced to turn around and was pushed forward out of the cell.

         The hall she walked down had muddy brown walls spattered with the occasional deep red splotch and the air was filled with the stench of rotting flesh and disease. Several black doors lined the left wall, and the first door with a window made Keela smile—at least there was one good thing about this hell hole.

         As she approached the door with the guard behind her, she shouted at the rusty hunk of metal, “Hey, Elli!”

         there was a slight rustling from inside the cell and soon an old, sickly face with patches of dirt appeared behind the bars.

         “Keela!” the old man said in surprise. “I didn't think I'd see you again!”

         The guard pushed Keela forward but she continued to speak to her old friend. “Oh, you know I'll always come back for you, Elli.”

         The old man chuckled, “Well it certainly is good to have you back, Keela.”

         “It's wonderful to be back,” she said, louder now as she was pushed down another hall. “Really, I'm thrilled!”

         She heard Elli laugh softly, cough violently, and then snicker before she was too far away to hear him. At least she had her moment of joy before the main event of the day.

         The hall she was now in was very dark and cold, yet again one of the things in this place she was used to. The hair on her arms did not stand up with the sudden chill and her eyes adjusted quickly to the lighting—or lack thereof. Keela counted the steps she took, knowing that step number 36 would bring her to another door.

         Twenty-one...twenty-two...twenty-three, she counted in her mind. The scars on her back tingled and the cloth that wrapped around her chest underneath her thin, dirt brown shirt constricted as she breathed heavily, preparing herself for that thirty-sixth step.

         Thirty-four...thirty-five...thirty-six. The guard grabbed her shoulder to make her stop, though she had already halted. The door was opened and a room, not much bigger than her own cell, was dimly lit by a small kerosene lamp in one corner. From the ceiling hung shackles and directly below them lay two more shackles attached to the wall. The heavy chains seemed new to Keela, probably since she ripped the last ones from the ceiling and completely knocked out everyone in the room with the weak and rusty chains during her last escape.

         As she stared at the knew links of metal, already imagining the pain in her wrists, the guard shut the door and united the rope around her hands. He firmly grasped her wrists and pulled her over to stand underneath the chains. There he forced her hands above her head to lock them within the shackles and then bent down and chained her ankles—the same routine. Keela took one last deep breath before the guard unbuttoned the back of her shit, exposing her cloth wrap and several tally-mark-like scars.

         The door again opened and three figures now had their faces glowing in the light of the lamp; two guards and one face that stimulated hate in Keela's heart.

         “Hello Audivae,” she said, looking straight into the girl's eyes, staring deep within her cold and empty black heart. “And how is your father, Tyrant Shanmorc?” she asked.

         “He's doing just fine, Keela,” the Shanmorc daughter replied, walking into the room with the two guards close behind her. “Though I can't say the same for you.”

         As Audivae walked close to the light Keela noticed a large gash on her forehead and a smirk played upon her face.

         “How is that cut doing?” she asked, knowing that prodding around in this area would really make the princess' blood boil. “I didn't mean to give you that scar with those chains, Princess,” she said with a sneer. “Maybe next time I should just kill you.”

         Even in such dim light Keela could see Audivae's cheeks turn red and the smirk turned into a wide grin.

         Audivae simply took her eyes away from Keela's and nodded to the guard behind her. She barely had time to prepare herself again when a slicing blow the her back made her wince with pain, but it soon passed. The whip continued to rip open the already raw skin, yet after several blows Keela did not react to each deafening crack—she merely stared into Audivae's eyes, showing no signs of weakness.

         “Stop,” the princess said, and immediately the torture ceased. Keela could now feel small trickles of blood running down her spine.

         Audivae walked up to her prisoner until their noses were almost touching. Keela took a closer look at the girl she hated:

         The princess' long, straight, jet black hair was in a high ponytail and it stretched to her lower back. Dark brown eyes seemed endless as she looked at them, yet Keela knew the only reflected the pit that is her heart. The pale face glowed in the soft light from the lamp and greatly contrasted her deep red shirt that clung to her thin body and the black, straight, constricting pants. She looked at Keela with the same angry stare as she always had. Yet there was something different about her expression—she seemed more annoyed or bothered by something that had nothing to do with the current situation.

         “Are you going to talk today?” Audivae asked in a steely voice.

         Keela was prepared for this question, having heard in countless times. “Talk about what, Princess?” she asked as innocently as possible.

         Audivae looked again to the guard and he repeated the cracking of the whip against Keela's spine, yet she did not even blink. Clearly this wasn't the reaction Princess Audivae was looking for—she lunged forward and firmly took hold of Keela's throat, squeezing hard.

         Keela had trouble breathing, but wasn't about to die; she should change that.

         “Go ahead,” she rasped, Audivae's grip fixed on her neck, “do it. You're on such a short fuse today and I'm pretty beat myself.” Keela took in as much air as she could with hands around her throat. “Why not take advantage of my present situation?”

         The princess' hold didn't change but a light seemed to turn on in her head and her eyes became ablaze.

         Keela decided to press on, “You've wanted to kill me for so...long...” she whispered. This was it, this was her moment, the day she had waited for. “Just do it...I'm not afraid of you, or your father...I'm not afraid of death.” Her throat became more constricted but she wanted the pain. “I welcome it...with open arms,” she breathed. “I've wanted it for...fifteen...years.”

         Audivae's eyes were shining and Keela's surroundings started to fade to black. 

         A loud bang, the flow of air rushing back into her lungs and the soft lamplight returning to her eyes. It took Keela a moment to realize what had happened and when she did she hung her head low; she was so close.

         “What's going on?” came an unfamiliar voice from the door. It wasn't too low, but she could tell it was a man's voice, probably someone around her own age. She didn't have the energy to look up as Audivae spoke.

         She sighed, “Hello, Rylan. Glad to have you home.”

         Keela almost smiled at Audivae's words—she was very good at torturing and intimidating but acting was not one of her strong points. Clearly this Rylan person was the one that made her so annoyed today.

         “How was your trip from Montreal?” she asked as footsteps could be heard entering the room and the door was shut again.

         “Fine,” he said, “but what are you—”

         “And I take it everything is fine in the Northern Kingdom?” she cut him off.

         Keela nearly wretched—one of the things she hated most about the Shanmorc Kingdom is it's control over the former Canada, Mexico and South America, now known as the Northern, Central and Southern Kingdoms.

         “Yes, everything is fine,” he said, “but what's going on in here?”

         “Oh, just the usual torturing session,” Audivae said. “You really should get used to this kind of thing Rylan. Just because you've been away for the past four years doesn't mean you won't be seeing a lot of this in the near future.”

         Now Keela decided to look up. This man looked to be about eighteen years old and had the same facial features as Audivae. His hair was the same jet black as well, but his eyes were a light blue that—even in the dim light—were as brilliant as the summer sky. Keela guessed that this man—Rylan—and Audivae were siblings and she instantly hated him; it was in her nature to hate anyone from the Shanmorc family.

         “Rylan, you go stand over there,” Audivae said while gesturing to the far corner. “Keela and I have some unfinished business.”

         Keela looked into her eyes, knowing exactly what she was talking about—one of the only things that could make her scream. The usual tools were brought out: the knife and the metal rod glowing with heat. Keela didn't even bother preparing herself for the pain since she knew it wouldn't help.

         “You know what's coming next, don't you Keela?” Audivae asked, a smirk on her face.

         Keela looked at her, hate filling her eyes. “Of course I do. How many is it now? Fifteen? Sixteen?”

         “How many what?” Rylan asked from the corner.

         “How many times I've escaped this damn place,” Keela replied, not looking at him.

         “More like how many times she's been caught,” Audivae said. “We keep track of how often we've brought her back by giving her another scar—cutting into her back and then sealing the broken skin with a burning metal rod.”

         She said it with a sinister grin on her face and Keela couldn't help but shudder at her words; this would not be fun.

         “So let's see,” the princess said, “how many times has it been?” She approached Rylan who was still standing in the corner. “Well, brother,” she said to him, “will you do the honors?”

         Rylan gave his sister a look but after a moment he walked over to stand behind the restrained girl. She could hear his breathing and though he was behind her she could just imagine his face, all twisted and pale at the sight of her grotesque back.

         “Go on, new guy,” Keela said, turning her head slightly to address him, “count the tally marks. They're pretty clear among the numerous other scars, it should be easy. Or can you even count? I wouldn't be surprised if you were just another stupid, useless Shanmorc, like your father.”

         Audivae stepped forward and slapped Keela hard across the face. “This new guy happens to be my older brother and the Prince of the Kingdom,” she shouted. “And although he is constantly a pain in my neck, the least you will do is show him respect!”

         Keela merely laughed, “Please, Audivae, you of all people should know I don't respect anyone from the Kingdom.” She lifted her head to look at the girl she despised. “Especially royal Kingdom scum, like you.”

         Audivae simply returned Keela's hateful stare and she smirked, knowing the princess had nothing more to say.

         “So, Rylan,” she continued, again turning her head, “how many is it? My guess is sixteen.”

         “Eighteen,” he said after a moment with a surprisingly calm voice.

         “Ah, yes. I guess I lost count somewhere around my third year here,” she said with a sigh. “Anyway, let's just get on with it.”

         Now Audivae smiled as she nodded to one of the guards. Keela felt another shiver down her spine and Rylan went back to the far corner. The guard stood behind her, tools in hand, and Keela felt as though she should struggle or attempt to get away, but she knew it was hopeless and she was helpless.

         The cold metal of the knife touched her back and began to dig deep into her skin. Keela winced, knowing this was not the worst part of it all. When the cutting had ceased she took a deep breath, trying her best to stay calm. The sizzling rod could be heard behind her and once it touched her skin Keela yelped and Audivae grinned; Rylan, however, had no expression at all.

         As the burning metal moved down her back and along her cut, the mixture of blood with heat caused more sizzles and cracks to echo around the room, but they weren't nearly as loud as Keela's screams. Her own cries reverberated to her ears and the exploding pain was so immense she was sure she would pass out. The seven seconds it took to seal the skin from the cut seemed like hours to Keela, but the intense pain eventually stopped. Now waves of agony rippled through her body, so much that she was shaking and rattling the chains.

         Again Audivae motioned for a guard who walked over to Keela and released her wrists from the shackles. She fell to the floor, still shaking and twitching in pain as her ankles were also unchained. The princess came over to Keela and pulled her up by her tangled and matted hair.

         “You will tell me what information you've been giving to the Nation,” she said, her voice dripping with venom. “I will make sure that you suffer here everyday until you talk or I will kill you.”

         Keela's breathing was sharp and heavy but she still answered, “Perfect.”

         Audivae threw her back to the ground and went to stand with her brother.

         “Take her back to her cell,” she ordered to the guards and they picked her up by her upper arms. “And today she doesn't get her ration or her burn cleaned—she can suffer from infection for all I care.”

         With that, the guards dragged Keela through the dirty hallway and back to her cell where she was too weak and too tired to care about anything.