A Tale of Revenge Ch. 09-10

She opened her eyes to the darkness again, breathing hard. She hadn't realized the energy it took to focus so completely. If it was possible, she felt more tired than she had before.

"Anything?" Serena's voice came through the dark once more. Anna could hear the hope in her voice. The same hope that she had seen in the boy's eyes when he'd entered the room.

"Your net is tightly woven," Anna answered, immediately regretting placing the blame on this woman who endured so much more than she could even imagine. "I'm sorry, that was unkind."

"It is no more than I have said to myself thousands of times. If not for my magic and my gift of weaving spells, none of us would be here. And though I feel guilty, the fault lies with others. My guilt reminds me that I am human and feel for those around me while the ones who conspired to put us here are less than that, for they feel no compassion or remorse for their fellow man. That is their weakness, and one day it will lead them to their downfall."

"You sound so certain," Anna said after a moment.

"I am."

"I wish I could be."

"Have you never seen justice done? Those who would trample others brought to heel in the face of those they have injured?"

Anna stiffened at her words. Did she know what Anna had been doing?

"I have," she answered finally.

"Then we will see it again," Serena said with the same conviction.

***

Ch. 10

The women had spoken more throughout the night, neither able to sleep for any length of time in their chains, both physical and magical. Anna learned more about the situation in the capital, the tenuous hold the king had on the throne, and Evo's operation with the others. Finally, near morning, Anna drifted off again, her exhaustion overcoming the discomfort.

Anna woke up as the fire roared to life in the center of the room. She jerked her head back as Evo strode purposefully into the room, scanning the corners till his eyes fell on Serena. She was also shaking off remnants of an uncomfortable sleep. Her body had been compelled to sit by his last command and she had spent the night thus constrained to an upright position. His eyes gleamed.

"Tricky pet," his voice was oozing with self-satisfaction as her body unfolded and began its forced march across the room towards him. "Wanted me to forget you here so you could cozy up to the new girl?" He reached his fingers out and stroked her cheek. Anna couldn't see her expression but she saw Evo's smile widen. "Well, comfort her as you wish. I believe we have time for one more try before the king arrives. Let's see if you can't do better today."

Anna resigned herself to the inevitability of another futile attempt but the knowledge that he would be disappointed offered some comfort. He would fail, and she would find a way to access her magic once more and he would know justice. She watched the pair of them settle across from each other as they had worked yesterday. This one was taking much more time to prepare and Evo seemed to be rushing it in parts. The king was coming after all.

Anna shifted in her chains, clenching and unclenching her hands to try and get the sensation back. What would the king want from her? They had mentioned they wanted answers, but they had asked precious few questions. Orlith had wanted a chance to question her and Evo had stood in his way. She looked back at Evo, noting the sweat on his brow. Perhaps the king would be angry at his interference. She hoped he would be. Anything to cause that man a bit of hurt.

Evo finished and picked up the same cup he had made her drink from yesterday. Serena came up with him and stepped onto the platform first, an apology in her eye. Her hands came to grip Anna's head as Evo came up behind her with the cup. Anna began to thrash, anything to deny him the satisfaction of another try. Serena's grip was not as strong as Orlith's had been and she still found some leeway to twist away from the cup.

"Curse it, woman, hold her still!" Evo snapped at Serena. Instantly her grip cramped down with a strength Anna would not have expected. Evo maneuvered his way between the two of them and forced the liquid down her throat by holding her mouth and nose again. Even when he pulled back, Serena's grip remained, steel-like and unyielding. "Release her," Evo said after a moment, as if he'd forgotten that he was in control of her every move. Anna got the distinct impression he did this on purpose, some sick way of constantly reestablishing his dominance over the woman. Serena's arms fell and she visibly slumped, her arms hanging limply by her sides. Anna realized he could force them to expend energy they couldn't access on their own. Anna immediately remembered what Serena had said about the weapon, wondering how far he wanted to be able to push them.

But there was no time to dwell. Evo's potion was already working its way inside her.

This one felt familiar with the same icy stabbing sensations from the collar's original spell. Anna groaned in pain as the magic seemed to flow into the spell around her own magic and bolster the runes there. The spell grew, shielding her magic from her senses entirely. The runes swirled faster and the finely woven spell seemed to become disorganized and frantic. Anna's head fell back. It was as though ice ran through her veins.

Briefly it seemed like the spell would finish there as the sensations seemed to subside momentarily, but she was given no such mercy. The spell exploded inside of her, sending creeping, icy points throughout her body. She closed her eyes as the reeling sensation reached up her neck and into her head. Her fingers clenched and her muscles twitched. The pain was deep and irritating, she wanted to reach inside herself and tear her organs out. In the dark behind her eyelids she was lost in a maddening spiral of her ever worsening state.

She felt her right hand open of its own volition. Then it closed again. Her left hand did the same thing. Then her eyes opened and fixed themselves on Evo's grinning face. Through all the horrible sensations running through her, Anna was still able to feel the acute horror of the spell's success. Evo's lips moved but she couldn't seem to make out the words. Her ears were buzzing; the spell growing louder inside her head. The world she was looking at took on a strange unreality as the feelings inside of her sharpened to millions of points throughout her body. She was being pulled back, forced to experience each and every part of the spell burning against the tissue that made up her body.

Behind Evo the door opened and a large group entered. Anna found she couldn't focus on anything and her vision blurred, though her eyes stayed open. Her horror could not distract her enough. She was conscious only of the thought that if he left this spell in her she would go mad. Her body twisted in the chains and she whimpered. It kept worsening, deepening and pulling her further away from conscious thought.

Serena was still there, standing before her unfocused eyes. Evo was gone to greet whoever had come. Anna tried to call out to Serena, to tell her what was happening but she couldn't form the words. She felt an intense pressure in her head and suddenly a warm wetness began to flow from her nose. Another hazy form appeared next to Serena's and even in her misery Anna still recognized Orlith. Evo appeared and her eyes closed at his command.

A sharp pinch on her arm and a subsequent easing of the pain and pressure told her Evo was once again draining the spell from her blood. Slowly the world beyond her skin came back into focus. She could hear Evo's voice as he stuttered through an explanation. The fact that he seemed nervous and slightly afraid gave her the tiniest bit of satisfaction.

"...made progress. This is the closest we've come and it still needs some tinkering, obviously this was a bit too much. But I do believe I am close to bringing her under complete control," he was saying. He was overstating his progress but she also knew there was some truth to it. He hurried away from her, back towards his guests.

Anna slowly opened her eyes, feeling the world spin. Her head was slumped forward, so the first thing she saw was a bright red stain down the front of her dress. Her face and neck felt wet and cool in the chill of the room. Her tongue tasted blood on her lips and she realized her nose must have started bleeding due to the spell. She must look a fright. The thought amused her. She was to receive a king like this? Dirty and covered in blood? As her vision darkened again she couldn't help laugh inside her head. She could hear more voices but she found it difficult to care. She hovered there, on the edge of consciousness, lost in her disjointed thoughts, floating free of the room once again.

The next thing she fully comprehended was someone gently cleaning her face and neck with a wet cloth. As she stirred, the cloth disappeared and the rim of a cup was pressed to her lips. She drank reflexively, not thinking to fight before she realized it was only cool water. She drank it all, grateful for the first water she had been provided in two days. The cup empty, she felt the cloth back on her neck, the soft drag of the fabric reassuring and gentle. After so many days of pain and starvation she reached out towards that tiny comfort.

She could hear angry voices on the other side of the room but was having trouble understanding who was speaking. She opened her eyes again and pulled away immediately. Orlith's face filled her vision as he continued to clean the blood from her skin. What had felt comforting only moments before now reeked of menace. His eyes met hers as he squeezed the crimson rag over the drain and dipped it back in a rapidly reddening bowl of water next to him. He wrung the rag out again and brought it to her lips, slowly running it over her skin. He drew it down her jaw line and then her neck and chest until he came to the neckline of her dress. The whole time he looked into her eyes, his face inscrutable as he watched her. He dropped the cloth into the bowl and Anna saw Serena come to collect it. Orlith brought another cup to her lips and Anna found she was too weak to resist. Her body screamed for water and her pride was too well beaten to stop her. This time the water tasted of herbs that soothed her burning throat and help to clear her head. The gentleness with which Orlith tended to her was disconcerting and as soon as the cup was empty she pulled away. He reached out to her, ignoring her glare and attempts to avoid contact, and stroked her cheek.

"Enough!" A powerful voice can from beyond them. "You have had nearly two days and you have succeeded only in playing about with magic. I do not care if she is under your thumb or in a ditch, but I want answers." Orlith pulled away from her and stood next to the platform she was so intimately familiar with now. Before her a black-haired man approached, looking her over as one might inspect a dog they had kicked - would she snap or cower? She chose neither, finding her energy was dangerously low.

"What is your name?" the man said. Anna only looked at him.

"Your king has addressed you, witch," one of the well-adorned men behind him snapped at her. "Answer him!"

Anna was unmoved.

The king nodded to Orlith and in a flash the man was back at her side, running his fingers along the cut on her arm, which still oozed bright with blood. At first the touch was just a minor annoyance but quickly he pressed in, tearing the damaged flesh further as he pressed into her skin. Once again Anna found herself twisting in pain. She tried to keep her voice under control. Her torture-addled mind wondered how often a person could experience pain before it stopped affecting them. Whatever length of time that was, she was not there yet.

"Anna," she gasped. Orlith's grip disappeared though he remained next to her.

"See, Evo, it's not that difficult to get her talking," the king said over his shoulder to the sulking sorcerer. "You should heed Orlith's suggestions more promptly." He turned his gaze back to Anna and she met it this time. His eyes were so dark as to appear black and his face was cold, giving her the impression she was looking into deep pits. "So, Anna, why are you attacking my men?"

Anna considered her options quickly. Was there harm in telling him? It seemed a fairly easy conclusion to draw if they knew about the violence to her village, one that they could not help but make themselves, if they hadn't already. She could sense Orlith preparing to hurt her again and she made her decision. "They killed my family," she said simply.

"Did they now? What did your family do to bring them to this fate?" He asked cruelly. He was trying to anger her, but she lacked the energy to respond appropriately.

"We were simple farmers who were attacked without provocation by a band of soldiers."

"Where was this farm of yours?" the king asked, his interest sharpening.

For a moment Anna paused. She was now quite certain that the soldiers had been sent to her village in particular but was the king, the man who ruled her country and was meant to protect its citizens, ultimately responsible? Now that she knew of the perversions of magic and power taking place behind the wall of his palace, it seemed more likely than ever before.

"Ranpur," she whispered.

"Ranpur," he repeated back to her, eyes glittering. "I was assured by my men that there were no survivors in that village."

There it was; the king had ordered it. After all these months of wondering and questioning who was ultimately responsible for the death of her family, she found the confirmation of his culpability almost anti-climactic.

"You sent them," she said simply.

"I did," he confirmed.

"Why?" she asked before she could stop herself. Did it matter why? Did an explanation for such evil make it better or worse? Did she want to hear it? What possible reason could there be for the murder of an entire village? "They were your subjects. Why would you send soldiers to terrorize and butcher your own people who were no threat to you?" Her words were sharp but her tone lacked the outrage she couldn't seem to muster. The men behind him tensed and she felt Orlith move closer as if to silence her.

The king threw his head back and laughed, the sound bouncing around Anna's aching head and sounding as hollow as she felt. The others in the room seemed equally taken aback by his sudden reaction to her. He finally stopped and looked back at her, a very different look in his dark eyes.

"Do you not see the resemblance gentlemen?" he gestured towards Anna and turned to the rest of the room. "Did you miss the dark, black eyes? And what of her pale skin against the raven hair? Does it not remind you of someone?" He turned back towards her and her tired mind finally caught up with his words. He too bore the same coloring he described in her. Anna had never seen herself clearly—there were no mirrors where she was from and the exact color of her eyes was never discernible from reflective surfaces in water. She knew her eyes were dark only from what people told her. She looked at his black, glittering eyes. Did she truly have the same empty look to her? "And who can deny this beauty is not from royal blood? Look at her, gentlemen. Beneath the filth and common clothing there is the countenance of my dear great aunt."

It couldn't be. She? A descendant of the royal family?

"No," she whispered. "It's not possible."

"Oh yes, dear cousin, it certainly is."

Her eyes were locked on the king's and he gave her another ferocious grin. He stalked towards her, violence in every line of his body. Between her shock and the unreality of the moment, Anna forgot to stop herself as she pulled away from his approach. He put his foot up on the platform she was on, crossing his forearms across his knee casually.

"Have you not heard the ballads of the exiled princess? I hear they are quite popular now." She shook her head, still denying his assertion. "I've been looking for you, cousin." His voice was low, excluding those who stood behind him. "I will tell you why I sent my men, so you understand fully what it meant and what it will mean for you." Anna was no longer certain she wanted to hear this story but she had little choice.

"It seems that some years ago, one of the less content lords and his friends started digging around in the records and came across the infamous story of your great grandmother, firstborn and heiress to the empire her grandmother built. It seems she got herself pregnant out of wedlock before her dear father had the courtesy to depart this plane of existence." He reached out and took a lock of her hair between his fingers, twirling the inky strands.

"Her younger sister, seeing the opportunity, had her banished to birth her child far from these palace walls. But eventually their doting father, in his final days, rescinded the order and entailed the throne back to his eldest. But she could not be found and so her sister was to take over temporarily after his death until they found her." His smile was twisted. "Does it not make a good story?"

His grip on her hair became painful. "Now, in order to unseat me, this long since buried tale has been repurposed by my enemies, publicized and spread throughout the land. They sing of your great grandmother in the market places and they weave tales of her decedents coming back to unseat the tyrant you look upon now. So I sought out the offspring of my great aunt to silence the traitors before they had the chance to rally to their chosen champion.

"I had little more than a vague idea of where she might have gone but Evo here helped me narrow it down some. So I took it upon myself to rehabilitate some of our former military criminals and sent them out to make sure no trace of the line remained. Evo even helped me with the selection and to make sure their more vicious tendencies were stoked against your village. And now you, the last remnant, have done me the great service of showing up on my doorstep." His voice was thick with excitement. "Now we shall truly put an end to it."

He stepped up onto the platform and crouched down in front of her, his face no more than a few inches away. "Such a shame the reunion has to be so brief, but there are more pressing matters at hand." His fingers brushed the hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. "Nothing quite like royal blood, eh?" His tone was mocking but his gaze swept over her face and body heatedly. For a moment Anna was not sure if he was going to kill her or move in for a kiss. Her shock had not worn off and she managed only to stare back at him in horror. He didn't seem to notice.

With a flippant hop, he removed himself from her space and began to walk away from her. "Orlith," he said over her shoulder. "She dies now."

Anna couldn't breathe. Her brain raced around the words he so easily proclaimed. This was it? The end she had once so easily embraced? Yet now it seemed impossible. How could it just be over? How could he condemn her so easily?

Orlith's form filled her vision again and she recoiled in earnest this time. Dread poured through her like one of Evo's potions. Her eyes met Orlith's and his gaze seared into her with an intensity she was unprepared for. The others were conversing by the far side of the fire as if a life was not about to be extinguished a few paces away. Orlith's hand reached towards her face and she tried to back further into the wall but was forced to endure the blade of his finger running across her cheek.

"I wouldn't chose to do it this way either," Orlith said softly, almost conspiratorially, as if the two of them were hiding some private joke from the rest of the room. "But the king commands it, and so it must be done." He continued his soft touches as Anna began to breathe hard, her blood rushing in her ears, making it hard to hear him. "Death can be so beautiful. Seems such a waste," his hand moved to her neck.