Chains of terror
AN: First fic of mine in this fandom... let's see how it goes, yeah? This is a two-shot and the second chapter will be published sometime in the next few days, most likely. The "inspiration" (I don't know what else to call it *shrugs*) for this story comes from five sources, and I'd like to extend a thank you to all of them, regardless of whether or not they actually read this story.
Sereni T. Vendrakaia. crazyLantern. Wild But Innocent. short muses. I thank all of you for providing good Thresh stories in this very much Thresh-lacking corner of FF. It saddens me to see that both Vendra and Wild have removed their stories, but I'll make sure to remember them. They're far to well written to be forgotten.
I "dedicate" this story to you five and I hope I've written Thresh as well as you all have. I considered writing about one of the pairings you all like, but I decided against it in the end. I didn't want to infringe or your territories after all~.
Now, without further adieu, please enjoy.
The sound of metal chains being dragged across a stone floor was what finally roused Leblanc from her slumber, her eyes shooting open as she instinctively tried to move her limbs, only to find her arms completely immobilized by the cold iron chain wrapped around her wrists. Her legs were free, but she could hardly move them either as she was nearly suspended in the air by the chains, forcing her to stand on her toes lest she risk pulling her arms out of their sockets.
Blinking away any tiredness out of her newly opened eyes, the deceiver looked around the room she was located in, trying to figure out just where the hell she was. The first thing she noted was the spartan appearance of it, with little in the way of furniture or color. Matted, gray stone met her gaze from both the ceiling, walls, and floor, the only excuse for a window in the room being a small square hole high on the wall to her left, barred by iron poles. On the furniture front, the only thing she could see was an ancient looking, wooden slab attached to the wall, presumably what was supposed to pass for a bed.
'A cell...' Leblanc thought grimly as tried to look behind herself, stretching her neck out until it began to hurt. There she was met with a heavy looking iron door, just a slightest shade lighter than the walls it was inserted in. A sigh passed through her soft, purple colored lips, her limbs going limp as she forced herself to relax. There was no point in exhausting what strength she had in them after all. Leblanc knew she would need it all if she were too escape this situation.
The chains on her wrist, she could tell, were enchanted somehow, cutting off her connection to her magic, meaning that trying to teleport out of her restraints like she had done so many times before would be impossible. The chains also felt like they were slowly draining away what strength she had in her body, if the cold, numbing feeling spreading through her arms was anything to go by. Even though she loathed to admit it, the deceiver knew she was trapped, and quite securely at that, so she had little choice but to resign to her fate at the moment and relax her tired limbs as she thought of an escape plan.
However, just as her body had begun to unwind slightly, Leblanc suddenly felt her blood run cold as the sounds of chains once again filled the small cell, only becoming louder and louder until they stopped momentarily, becoming replaced by the sound of the iron door leading into her cell being opened and subsequently closed. The scraping of the chains she had heard before was now changed to clirring as the owner of said chains slowly moved about the room until the deceiver could finally lay her eyes on them.
There was only one person, or being rather, that Leblanc knew of who loved chains, as well as the only one who might have easy access to enchanted, strength and soul leeching ones. It was someone anyone with any shred of sanity feared, and someone Leblanc hoped she would never have to meet outside the fields of justice.
"Thresh..." Leblanc bit out through clenched teeth, feeling confident she buried any trace of fear in her voice. "What is the meaning of this? Why have you taken me here? Where am I?"
The deceiver's questions were met with nothing more but a dark, maniacal chuckle at first as the chain warden himself continued to walk around the small cell he had been generous enough to provide for her, his every movement causing the chains covering his form to clirr against one another.
"Oh you'll know soon enough, my dear, but let's not get too hasty here. Before I answer any question of yours, you'll be answering some of mine, whether you want to or not." Thresh's tone was just as haunting as Leblanc remembered it, the cold echo within it causing cold shivers to ascend her spine.
She wanted to refuse any demand of his and not give away anything, but she knew that was a futile effort. It was like he had said, Thresh was going to find out everything about her even if she never breathed a word to him, regardless of what torture devices he used on her. The deceiver knew her mental fortitude was strong enough to withstand any physical torture method ever devised by man, she wouldn't have been Noxus' most experienced spymistress otherwise, but Thresh was no man. He was a spectre who loved everything about seeing his victims writhe in agony beneath his steel. He was a master at the art of breaking people. He was unmatched in getting everything he wanted out of a person. And, finally, he was a soul collector.
That's why Leblanc knew that she wouldn't be able to stay silent. If Thresh ripped the soul from her body, he would learn every single thing about her. About the things not even Swain himself knew. While she knew she could control her tongue, the deceiver doubted her soul would stay as silent.
With a pained and defeated sigh, Leblanc hung her head, feeling nothing but contempt for the spectral reaper standing behind her. "What... do you want to know...?"
What passed for a smile made its way onto Thresh's skeletal features, and another dark chuckle made its way out of his non-existent throat. "There, isn't that better? Things are so much easier when everyone cooperates, don't you think, my dear? Significantly less fun for me, of course, but easier nonetheless."
Letting his scythe fall into his waiting palm, Thresh made his way around the room so he once more faced the dark haired spymistress, giving her scantly clad form a long look. He could guess Leblanc's chosen attire was used quite often against more hotblooded people to great effect, but against him it was useless. He was long past the point of being swayed against his own will by a busty wench and her alluring charms, though he made no effort to hide that he could very much appreciate the frankly gorgeous woman chained up before him.
While Thresh never let any of his more base or downright carnal desires drive and control him, he still had them, and the phenomenons of arousal or attraction were not lost on him. Leblanc was an exceedingly beautiful woman, much like the other two renowned, female denizens of the Shadow Isles, the spider queen Elise and Evelynn the widowmaker, both of whom he had at many points met up with for pleasurable encounters, and Thresh had nothing against acknowledging that. Both in life and undeath, he was a man who appreciated beauty in all forms, and Leblanc's curvacious, purple lace clad body was one of the very definitions of the word beauty in his mind.
Another sigh emerged from in between Leblanc's lips as she lifted her head slightly to send a hateful glare at Thresh. "What. Do. You. Want." She bit out slowly but impatiently, fighting against the frustration and anger coursing through her veins. She needed to stay calm if she planned on actually surviving this encounter with the chain warden-!
Without warning, Leblanc felt her chin be grabbed tightly and her head was forced to tilt upwards, even as the hand on her chin pulled her forward slightly. She was now face to face with the skeletal mask Thresh used for a face, and the green flames enveloping it lapped against her pale, unmarred skin.
The ghostly fire didn't burn however, it merely caused her to feel even more uneasy, like something was eating away at her very being. Thresh's features were seemingly smiling, but the aura Leblanc could feel expelling off of him was anything but happy or friendly.
"My dear, what did I just say about being hasty? And where is that tone of yours coming from? Right now, you are in no position to be making any sort of demands, and if I hear anything but politeness or screaming out of you I'm going to make sure you regret it. Dearly." The absolutely murderous tone echoed within Thresh's voice made a cold, terrified shiver pass up the deceiver's spine, genuine fear creeping into every fiber of her being, and the cold steel of the scythe-blade pressed against her midsection did nothing to help either. "I've already been generous by not killing you or begun torturing you, but do not test me. I can, and will, show you pain like you never thought possible if you don't keep that tongue of yours in check. Have I made myself clear?"
"Y-yes... I understand..." Leblanc stammered out slowly, nodding her head as best she could in Thresh's cold grip. She was a proud woman, one of the most feared people in all of Noxus, the leader of the Black Rose, but even as prestigious as she was, Leblanc knew when to listen and not question. Her pride could get herself killed and most likely worse, and, although her real age was far older than her appearance suggested, Leblanc felt no desire to tempt fate in a situation like this.
A new, slightly less sadistic smile emerged on Thresh's features and he released his grip on Leblanc's throat, taking a small step back, returning his scythe to the sheath on his side with some form of mystical power as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Good. Now then, lets get started with some questions, shall we? I will ask you one question, which you will answer truthfully," the threat 'hidden' within his words was not one that Leblanc missed, and while she was an expert at lying, she doubted heavily she could get anything past Thresh at this point, "And then you may ask one yourself. Does that sound good to you, my dear?"
Leblanc began to part her lips to speak up, but Thresh merely kept going like he hadn't asked something of her at all. "Splendid. My first question is quite simple; what is your current reason for visiting the Shadow Isles? Or, if you would prefer to answer it this way; what is your current mission?"
For a moment, Leblanc said nothing, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, before meeting Thresh's expectant gaze. "I am here on orders from the grand general of Noxus to scout out a possible mounting point for a potential invasion. I was to gather as much intelligence as possible, either by simply investigate the terrain of the coastline or by interrogating any of the residents here."
Now it was Thresh's turn to be quiet, his features becoming neutral as he apparently mulled over the information he had just received. It didn't last long, though, and, when he spoke up again, Leblanc couldn't hear any discernible shift in his tone.
"Interesting. Very interesting. Mordekaiser will surely want to hear this, though whether or not I will tell him is a completely different matter."
A beat of silence passed between the two beings after Thresh finished thinking out loud, the quiet only being broken slightly by the unnatural sounds coming from both inside the very fortress they were in and seemingly from the Isles themselves.
After almost two full minutes had passed, the quiet was broken fully by Thresh sighing before conjuring a throne of an uncountable number of chains held together with a dimly glowing, green light which he sat down on, resting his arms on the armrests while he leaned back.
"My dear, this is the part where you may ask me a question. I don't have all day, so please don't waste my time. You don't want to be around me should I become bored."
Once more, the threat within the reaper's words was noted by Leblanc. "Why am I being held captive if you're not planning on warning Mordekaiser about the possible invasion?"
"Ah, the answer to that is a simple one," Thresh started with a chuckle. "I enjoy having you as one of my wards. You're a very interesting woman, my dear, even more so than even your fellow mages, so I decided to collect you when you were foolish enough to set foot on these Isles." The tone in which the spectre spoke was calm and collected, but still it managed to make Leblanc feel uncomfortable. From what she had heard, those who Thresh considered persons of interest didn't tend to live very happy lives. Or live at all for that matter.
Tales of how the chain warden stalked those who he found interesting until they were driven mad with fear, at which point he killed them and took their souls were told all of over Runeterra, and Leblanc was no stranger to them.
However, considering that she was still very much alive and breathing, along with almost unharmed, the deceiver allowed herself a small, almost microscopic amount of hope that she might survive this encounter.
"Second question; what does Swain, or Noxus as a whole, want with the Shadow Isles?" The quiet, rhythmic clicking of his gauntleted fingers hitting his chain-throne heralded Thresh's next question. Unfortunately though, it was one Leblanc couldn't answer.
"I don't know."
One of the eyebrows on Thresh's mask like face rose slightly, prompting Leblanc to expand on her answer.
"None of the generals or Swain have told me the reason for why I was sent here beyond that I was searching for information for an invasion, and my spies haven't been able to find anything on the subject either. At the moment, I know as much about this invasion plan as you do."
Just like before, Thresh went silent momentarily, letting the unsettling feeling already engulfing Leblanc to fester a little longer as she had no idea whether or not the reaper would actually accept her answer.
"If anything, that makes matters even more interesting..." he muttered quietly after a while as he gestured with his hand for Leblanc to ask her own question.
"Why are you interested in me? Do you intend to use me as leverage against Noxus?" As soon as her inquiry registered within his maddened mind, Thresh's features shifted into a grin once again and he began cackling while he stood up from his seat.
Suggesting that he would use someone as intriguing, beautiful, and special as Leblanc for something as pitiful as leverage was downright laughable to Thresh. It would almost be a crime to let someone like her go now that she was in his clutches, and Thresh was anything but a lowly criminal scum.
Still chuckling, the reaper walked slowly around his newest ward, letting his 'eyes' roam all over the incredibly generous amount of delicate looking skin Leblanc's outfit showed off, his mind taking particular notice of her luscious, toned thighs. He wasn't planning on touching Leblanc in such a way, for even he, a spectral reaper, had boundaries, but he still milked all the enjoyment he could get out of the view before he spoke up again.
"Heh, listing all the things that make you fascinating would take far too long, but something in particular about you that I find both entertaining and almost endearing, my dearest Evaine, are your attempts at secrecy and how big of an enigma you have become... in the eyes of everyone but me..."
The sound of her real name being uttered, and so casually at that, made Leblanc, or, more accurately; Evaine's entire body freeze up and her eyes to widen noticeably. It had been years since she heard anyone say her name, and yet here Thresh was, using it with a tone so dripping with enjoyment Evaine almost found it funny how he wasn't stiff as a rod.
"Yes, my dear Evaine, I know your real name... and I know the name of the previous deceiver too... I met with sweet Emilia in person even, before she died..." the spectre entered her view again and, despite her best efforts, Evaine couldn't keep the surprise off her face. "I've been around for far longer than you can imagine, Evaine. For centuries I've wandered Runeterra, expanding my collection of interesting subjects one by one, and during that time I've learned many things about this world we, or at least you live in... souls cannot lie after all..."
Each and every time Thresh mentioned her name, Evaine felt a strange, unnerving feeling pass through her body, and considering that she'd been feeling unnerved ever since she woke up, that was really saying something.
"I... it's your turn to ask a question..." Evaine mumbled meekly, finding that the knowledge of Thresh's insight into not just her life but also the life of her predecessor was harder to swallow than she could have ever predicted.
The reaper hummed in clearly pleased way at her words, his hand reaching out to gently cup her chin. The touch wasn't harming, but Evaine still instinctively shied away from it, both the feeling and mere presence of Thresh's cold, gauntleted palm creating a distinct leeching sensation within her. She looked up at spectre once her eyes refocused on what was actually happening before her, citrine meeting ghostly emerald.
"Thank you for reminding me, my dear. As it turns out, I only have one question left for you before we move on, and it's a very simple one: Are. You. Afraid. Of. Me...?" With every word that left his skull mask's ghostly 'lips', Thresh leaned slightly more forward, narrow an inch separating his 'face' from Evaine's as he finished, his hand now resting lightly on the delicate, pale skin of her cheek.
The answer to his question was easy, at least to Evaine, but she didn't want to admit it to him. She didn't want him to know just how much his very presence disturbed and unnerved her. She didn't want him to have the upper hand in this.
'Though, he already has... and both of you know this... he's been in control ever since you set foot on these cursed Isles...' "Yes... you frighten me.." Evaine whispered as she looked away from Thresh's haunting gaze, cursing everything about her current situation.
"Really?" The spectre asked in a faux shocked voice, making Evaine purse her lips in frustration as she gathered up as much of her pride as she could before staunchly meeting his humored gaze once more.
"You said yourself that I couldn't lie to you..."
Her words brought an amused snort from Thresh's 'lips', his fingers still dancing gently over her cheek in a manner that seemed almost affectionate or even intimate to the deceiver.
"I did say that, didn't I? I'm glad you remember all the rules of our little relationship. However, I'm not satisfied with your answer. I want more details... just what about me is it that instills terror into your heart, my dear...?"
Thanks to him being this close, Evaine could actually feel the spectre's breath ghost against her lips, and, without her consent, her tongue emerged from in between them for the smallest of moments, moistening the slowly drying flesh. It was a small relief to her that Thresh's breath didn't seem to have an ascertainable smell.
"Your appearance... and your reputation... those are the things about you that frighten me the most..." Evaine finally managed to mutter out, feeling the warden's spectral gaze delve deep within her own honeyed orbs, his intent surely being to see if she was lying or not. She didn't like having to cooperate with her 'caretaker' in any way, but considering how the situation looked at the moment, Evaine felt she had no choice in the matter. It was either heed Thresh's words, or she would be tortured until her soul willingly left her body.
"My appearance, huh? Do I really look that monstrous?" Thresh cackled lightly as he finally let go of her cheek and stepped back, Evaine being able to easily feel the absence of his hand. "If that's the case, why don't I make myself look more... presentable? I wouldn't want you to get uncomfortable after all, my dear." With those words, the flames dancing behind the skull mask Thresh considered his 'face' began burning brighter than ever before, completely enveloping his features in a ghostly inferno.
Evaine couldn't do more than merely stare at the phenomenon occurring in front of her, absolute confusion reigning within her mind. Right before her eyes, Thresh's features completely vanished, and the previously raging fires around his collar began moving as if it was a thick substance, creating a new 'face' for the reaper.
Gone were the skeletal, almost static features of his mask, the flames coalescing into a seemingly human head with almost ashen skin and long, bone white hair done up in three separate ponytails. Striking, angular features and a sharp jawline took the place of the skull mask, multiple, prominent scars being the only thing that broke up the, at least in Evaine's mind, 'attractive normalcy' of Thresh's visage.
As the transformation finished, Evaine stared wide-eyed at the now human looking spectre, feeling a tingle of something shoot up her spine when his brilliantly shining, immeasurably dangerous looking, emerald eyes opened and met hers.
"Now then," Thresh started once his face's 'configuration' was fully complete, his voice no longer possessing that ghostly echo it had before, instead sounding as smooth as silk, yet still as sharp as the scythe he carried. It too, just like his eyes, sent a tingling jolt up Evaine's spine as she couldn't help but stare in both wonder and awe at the 'new' reaper. "Would you say you prefer this form to my other one, my dear Evaine? Or should I change back?"
The deceiver, for the first time in what seemed like forever to her, was completely speechless. She had had no idea that Thresh possessed an ability such as this, or that any undead could even possess it. It seemed that he too was a shapeshifter in some aspects, just like her.
It took a moment before Thresh's question registered in her mind, and when it did, Evaine schooled her features to return to the neutral expression she was so used to upholding. "This one is far more pleasing to the eyes, that's for sure."
"Flatterer," Thresh chuckled, the small laugh sounding far less evil to Evaine's ears now that the dark echoing within it had seemingly vanished. "It has been quite some time since I last donned this appearance, at least around someone not a resident of the Isles. Fifteen years, give or take a few months, if my memory serves correct. Though, the last time I did look like this, I ended up slaughtering the entire population of a remote Ionian village, so I think you should consider yourself lucky, my dear, that you might be one of the few beings who have seen this side of me and lived... for longer than a day, at least."
Without the dark echo and the constantly glowing flames surrounding him, Evaine found it noticeably easier to stay calm in Thresh's presence. She didn't think for a second that she wasn't still in mortal danger, but with the reaper's guise turning more human it made the whole situation become more manageable in a way. And Evaine wouldn't deny that Thresh was most certainly an attractive man, or at least had been if this was how he had looked when alive.
Just like it had before, a silence began to fall over the two of them, Evaine finding the way Thresh was gazing down at her with those absolutely piercing emerald eyes of his more than a little distracting, especially considering her state of dress and the position in which she was detained in. She could feel the way his eyes roamed over her, taking in every minute detail that her curvacious, toned body showed off, but now that he looked so much more like an actual human, and a dangerously handsome on at that, Evaine couldn't help but feel that Thresh's gaze was more... lecherous than before.
Now, thanks to her many years as a spymistress and seductress, Evaine was in no regard a stranger to lustful looks and lascivious offers, but the way that Thresh looked at her, like he was staring right through her almost permanent disguise and through the very flesh on her body, right at her soul... it wasn't like anything she had experienced before.
"What... what's going to happen to me? If you're not planning on using me against Noxus and just want to keep me here in your fortress, then what will happen? We both know I can't do anything about my fate at the moment, so I merely wish to know what's in store for me." Evaine finally asked, her voice calm and steady after they had spent some time silently gazing at one another.
Thresh chuckled again, albeit louder than before, as he moved up to stand just before his prisoner once more, his hand returning to her cheek for a moment before moving down to her chin and then her unmarred, almost inviting neck.
"I seem to recall having told you that you shouldn't be hasty, my dear Evaine, two times in fact. I have many things planned out for you, and they shall all be revealed in due time, but until then you're going to have to remain patient. Can you do that for me?"
'Do I even have a choice anymore...?' Evaine asked herself bitterly within her mind, though she already knew the answer to the question. "Yes..."
"Good..." Thresh practically sang before snapping his fingers dramatically, causing the chains bound around her wrists to untangle themselves and recede into the roof of the cell.
Evaine barely had enough time to register what was going on before the cold stone floor rushed to meet her, and with her already sapped strength she would have surely bruised herself had it not been for the strong, yet cold arm wrapping around her waist. With a jolt, her swift descent was halted, and a huff of air escaped the deceiver's lungs as her breath left her momentarily.
It wasn't until now that Evaine realized just how much those leeching chains had taken out of her. Her whole body felt like it was twice as heavy as before and the sudden downward movement she had just faced left her weakened mind with a sense of vertigo. She almost didn't even have the strength to turn her gaze upwards to her smugly smiling 'savior'.
"It seems my chains have taken their toll on you, my dear. Let's get you to your new quarters before you collapse completely, shall we?" Thresh's abysmally gleeful voice only grated on Evaine's nerves, but with every second that passed she felt more and more strength leave her body, her muscles and brain catching up to the leeching done to her over the past few hours... or was it days? She didn't even know anymore.
The last thing the deceiver registered before her mind blanked out was the feeling of being lifted up, something supporting both her knees and her upper back, and the feeling of a surprisingly soft fabric pushed against one of her sides.
Along with a chilling, dual toned laugh...
XXX
Looking at herself in the large, full-body mirror before her, Evaine felt her head become filled with more questions than she could possibly hope to answer. She had awoken, again, in a large, immensely soft bed not long ago, but still she hadn't been able to figure out just what the hell had happened to her. Or for how long she had been unconscious for that matter.
The last thing she remembered was being picked up by someone after Thresh's power leeching chains had left her on the verge of collapsing, and then there was nothing. She had passed out, and the next thing she knew she had woken up in the aforementioned soft bed in a room as far from the prison cell she'd been talking to Thresh in as possible in terms of class.
The room she was in right now reminded her of what she'd seen inside rich Demacian noblemen's homes and Evaine couldn't help but wonder if she was even still on the Shadow Isles at all. Red and gold clad the walls, with furniture as lascivious as the color scheme being placed everywhere. The things that stood out to her the most was the full-body mirror she was currently standing in front of, on the left side of her bed, and the ornate oak desk at the end of the very same bed.
With no way to accurately tell the time, Evaine wasn't completely sure how much time had passed since she had woken up, but her best guess was somewhere around 20 minutes, of which she had spent most of examining the room she was now located in, and the rest gazing at herself in the mirror. Because she was no longer in her standard, skin showing, purple outfit.
Someone, or something, had dressed her in something new sometime while she had been unconscious, clearly having undressed her fully if the new, black lace set of undergarments she was wearing was anything to go by, and that thought alone made Evaine feel disturbed. She knew her body was desirable and that many wanted to see her bared, but never had something like this happened before in her life as a spymistress. When she had seduced someone in the past to get information, it had always been on her terms. That wasn't the case here.
She had had no control over what had happened to her body while she was unconscious, and Evaine hoped dearly that other than changing her out of her clothes, nothing had happened to her.
Though... even with the circumstances, she wouldn't deny that the elegant, flowing dress she was now clad in was exquisitely beautiful, both in appearance and craftsmanship. Its color matched that of her old lingerie-esque outfit; a deep violet with silver and golden accents strewn about, the shade of the violet complementing her pale complexion almost perfectly. All along her leg, up to her thigh, was a long slit, showing off a generous amount of skin if she stood in a certain way, but otherwise the dress was actually quite modest, with a neckline that barely passed her collarbones as well as cloth flowing all the way down her arms, leaving the top of her shoulders exposed but nothing more.
Finishing off the outfit were the black stockings her legs were 'hidden' within, the material still thin enough to look very appealing to almost any eye that may gaze upon it.
Evaine couldn't help but feel that she looked truly regal in the dress, though she was happy it was only in the appearance department. She had worn ballgowns many times before and she had detested every single instance of it happening thanks to how constrained she felt her movement became. That was not the case with this dress. It felt free and flowing, like it was a just a thin layer of air laid gently upon her skin.
The sound of the door to 'her' room being opened broke Evaine out of her reverie and she watched carefully as Thresh himself, his features still human, stepped through the doorway, his eyes locking with hers in the mirror. They were still just as striking as before.
"Thresh," she stated evenly, hopefully showing no signs of the fear and confusion coursing within her body and mind.
"Evaine," Thresh replied right back as he began making his way across the room, letting his fingers drag gently along the oak desk, creating a shallow furrow in it for a moment before it disappeared completely. "Did you enjoy your... let's call it a nap, shall we?"
Evaine fought back a biting reply, deciding that she was still completely at the spectre's mercy and that merely playing along with him would make sure that her stay in his fortress was less life-threatening. "I did, in fact. It was rejuvenating."
Her answer seemed to please Thresh, at least outwardly, and a smirk broke out across his ashen features. "Good, I'm glad you think so. Is this room to your liking, or would you prefer to return to your cell?"
Bit by bit, try as she might to stop it, Evaine started to feel her conviction crumble thanks to the immense confusion she felt. She was used to dealing with tough targets, people who were hard to crack, but Thresh was like no one she had ever met before. The way he carried himself and spoke in such a condescending, yet charming and casual way was, even if she knew he wasn't strictly human anymore, absolutely unreal. Evaine really had no idea just how to deal with the situation she was put in, or how to deal with Thresh himself. He was an unknown, in every sense of the word. She knew nothing about him aside from the stories she'd heard, nothing about his past or really anything about his personality, and, as far as she could see, he didn't have any strings she could pull either. Or at least not strings that would let her control him rather than the opposite.
"Just what do you want from me, Thresh? Why are you keeping me here? Why am I alive for that matter and what the hell is this room?" Evaine finally managed to ask, ignoring the reaper's question completely, her teeth grinding together as more and more questions made themselves known to her, each of them feeling like taunts from Thresh himself that he planted within her mind.
"My oh my, we really are impatient, aren't we, my dear? I've told you time and time again that you'll get your answers in due time, but it seems you have a real hard time getting that into your head," Thresh chuckled as he fully closed the distance between himself and the deceiver, his hands landing gently on the exposed flesh in between her neck and shoulders as he stood seemingly towering behind her, his emerald gaze drilling deeply into her own increasingly distressed and confused amber eyes. "However, since we both know just how charitable and providing of a host I am, I'm going to throw you a bone, so to speak."
Instinctively, just like before, Evaine felt the urge to shy away from the reaper's cold touch, but she couldn't this time. Something was stopping her, though what exactly this something was, the deceiver couldn't be sure of. Maybe it was as simple as curiosity, morbid or not, or just an immense thirst for any form of answer to her innumerable questions. Nevertheless, Evaine let Thresh's hands remain on her shoulders, his touch sending cold tingles of discomfort throughout her body just like it had before, trying to not give him any reason to not tell her about his own reasoning.
"The main reason of why I've taken such an interest in you, Evaine, is simply because you're a fascinating creature. Both as a mage and as a person." Thresh began, his eyes remaining locked with hers in the mirror as his hands danced lightly over her exposed shoulders. "The souls of mages from all corners of Runeterra are things I search for every time I leave these isles, the magic sparking within their very essence being an addition to my collection that I just cannot ignore even if I wanted to. And you, Evaine, have magic within you that is as intriguing and alluring as the flesh that contains it, and at the moment I do not wish to harm that magic by destroying its vessel; you. That's why I haven't killed you. Yet." The warden's smirk grew slightly wider and his eyes sparkled with obvious amusement. "And I do have a certain fondness for truly beautiful things, like you can see from your lovely dress. As for what exactly I want from you... that remains to be seen. You might be useful in a way that I haven't yet thought of, but until then I am content just keeping you here on the isles as my plaything..."
Pearly white teeth bit down upon a soft, pink lip as Evaine felt a shudder pass up her spine at Thresh's words. The many suggestions his words held truly scared her in a way that she never thought possible. This wasn't at all like the mortal danger she put herself into every time she ventured out on a mission for the Black Rose, she had no control what so ever here. Her life, body, and soul truly was in Thresh's undead grasp until she found a way to escape. The thought alone almost made her panic.
"I-if you touch me in any way, or if I don't report in, Noxus will come for you and the Shadow Isles. I'm too important to abandon, both you and Swain know this... you'll have an army at your gates within days..."
Her words were intended to be threatening, but Evaine knew that her tone had not been nearly confident enough to bring out anything even remotely close to worry the warden. In fact, it had the opposite effect, as Thresh's smirk only grew until a maddened grin had completely twisted his once handsome features.
"Oh, I know. I know Swain would never want to lose someone as remarkable as you, my dear, but you see, if Noxus were to invade my home, then every man and woman among them would die. Screaming. While experiencing agony in ways they never knew existed." His tone was dark, truly menacing, and Evaine couldn't help it. She was terrified. "We who live on these isles are undead after all, my dear, and the only people who can as much as hurt us are those with sorcerers' powers running through their veins, but even then they'll never truly banish us. For that you would need purifiers. Hundreds of them. And there aren't even that many left. I've personally seen to that." Thresh's grip on her shoulders tightened as he spoke, and Evaine had to bite back a yelp of pain when he didn't stop.
"If I wanted to, I could have you embrace death as happily as you would a loved one after I'm done with you, never forget that. You have nothing at the moment, my dear, and I do not enjoy being threatened. I'm keeping you alive because I want to, not need to, so this will be your last chance to keep that tongue of your under control. Otherwise I will make sure you lose it, along with some more things." If he kept going, Evaine was starting to fear that Thresh might actually crush her collarbones outright, so she nodded quickly to signify that she had fully understood him, like she had done before, and just like that, Thresh's grip loosened significantly.
His hands relaxed upon her shoulders again, merely gently resting atop them, and Evaine wasn't sure whether or not she actually found this gentle Thresh to be more or less disturbing than his torturous, sadistic counterpart.
Questions about what he was planning on doing to her, or just why she was here again danced on the deceiver tongue, but she didn't dare ask them. Not now. Any answer she got would most likely only make her even more unsettled, if such a thing was possible, and right now, Evaine really didn't think Thresh was in a mood where he'd gladly repeat himself. So she decided to ask another question, one that she had pondered just as long as all the others in her head.
"Where are my old clothes? Why did you put me in this dress?" What had once been a proud, confident tone sounded meek even to Evaine herself, and she almost felt ashamed that it came from between her own lips.
Thresh smiled at her question, and for once it wasn't as cruel as usual.
"Your old unsightly excuse for an outfit has been disposed of, my dear. I just couldn't tolerate someone as beautiful as yourself walking around in something that gaudy, so I decided to have you dressed in something more fitting for a woman of your elegance. Personally, I think you look downright breathtaking in that dress. It's been far too long since it saw use, and I can't think of someone it would suit better than you, my dear." He said honestly, visibly letting his eyes take in every minute detail and curve of her reflection in the mirror, though the manner in which he did it didn't feel perverted or lustful to Evaine, while one of his hands descended down her side until it reached her hip, making a new kind of tingle jolt through her already 'damaged' system. "Why, do you not like it?"
"No... it's... it's very beautiful..." Evaine too replied honestly, shaking her head slightly. The way Thresh called her beautiful was new to her, it sounded more... sincere than she'd ever heard before, even if his tone wasn't what one would describe as caring. "I just... never expected you of all people to own something like this.
A small laugh emerged from the humanoid spectre's upturned lips, though it didn't sound as cold or dark has his previous ones, at least not to the deceiver. "I have a fondness for beauty, like I said before, and this dress is one that I've had in my possession for longer than you've probably been alive. It belonged to a Noxian like you, actually, if my memory serves me right, and I can't possibly count how many times I've found the vampire or she-spider in my home trying to steal it for themselves. Though they never succeeded, as you can guess."
"I see... were you the one who put it on me?"
"Do not worry, my dear, no one has touched you in the manner I imagine you fear," Thresh scoffed lightly, his hands finally leaving her body completely as he took a step back, letting Evaine turn and face him. "One of my souls took care of it, and they are as unfazed by desire as a being can be."
Relief flooded Evaine's body once those words had left Thresh's lips, and she couldn't help but let out a small sigh. "Thank you for that..."
Whatever expression Evaine might have expected Thresh to be wearing, the one that met her amber eyes when she looked up at him was certainly not it. His eyes had hardened, but not in a way that she would deem sadistic or even darkâthey had become serious.
"Evaine," he started after a heartbeat of silence had passed between them, his voice as serious as his eyes, "I am many things, almost none of them good, but even a sadistic madman like myself has limits to what he'll do. You're right in fearing me, for I am nothing short of a monster, but I would never lay a hand on a person in that way. I will never do anything to you or your body in such a manner, that, if anything, you truly have my word on."
"Really? Why? You enjoy suffering and pain, don't you? Why would something like rape of all things stop you?" The deceiver felt even more confused than before, if that was even possible.
Thresh didn't even attempt to suppress the snort that flew from his nostrils at her question, though he could understand just why she would be confused by such a thing.
"Breaking a mind, or a body, or a souls especially is a task I enjoy fully, yes, but I take no pleasure in engaging in such a depraved act as rape, my dear. I am not immune to carnal desires like lust, even as an undead, but to enjoy the act of sex I truly need to know my partner too is enjoying themselves, otherwise the exercise becomes pointless to me. It's a principle I've stood by ever since I was alive, and, truly, I do not recall the origins of it. Though I stand by it nonetheless. I can give no better answer than that, so you're going to have to settle should it leave you dissatisfied." The explanation was long-winded, even he himself could admit that, but on this matter Thresh didn't care. He wanted people to fear him for what he could, and would do, no what he wouldn't.
It took effort for Evaine to not let her mouth fall open, the warden's answer not being what she had expected at all. She was truly speechless for once, and not out of fear this time. Deep inside her heart, a small spark of something akin to respect actually shone for Thresh, Evaine noted even as she stayed silent, meeting the spectre's gaze with little issue. He still instilled immense fear and outright terror within her, that hadn't changed at all, but this the deceiver felt she could actually respect, or even admire about him.
It was almost noble in a way, especially considering that Thresh could without a doubt do whatever he wanted to a person once they were a ward of his. He still had some morals, or something similar to morals, it seemed.
Evaine wanted to reply to him with something after his answer, but she didn't have a chance as Thresh suddenly stepped forward until he was practically chest-to-chest with her. He said nothing at first, instead conjuring something in his palm that Evaine didn't have the chance to identify before she felt it clasp gently around her throat.
It was a choker, she realized quickly, and an ornately detailed one at that as she could feel once her hands rose up to touch it. It was dark gray, almost black in color, Evaine noted as she turned her head to peer over her shoulder at the new addition to her person in the mirror behind her, with dimly glowing, ghostly chains being the only things to break up the otherwise singular color scheme.
"What? What is this, Thresh?" She asked as soon as she recognized the object as a choker, meeting Thresh's gaze once more as he smirked down at her.
"Just something for both our conveniences, my dear," he replied simply enough, the seriousness in his tone having been replaced with his normal, condescending yet somehow charming one.
Evaine merely raised an eyebrow in question this time as he fingers continued to trace the carvings on the choker.
Then, without warming, she suddenly felt a tug in both the choker and her very soul, urging her to move forward towards the reaper even more, her eyes quickly zeroing in on the spectral chain now connecting her neck to Thresh's gauntlet clad hand. She tried to grab onto the chain, but her hands just passed right through it, prompting a laugh from her captor.
"Don't bother, only those who can handle souls can touch these chains, and despite how in tune you are with your magic, my dear, you're not at that level just yet. And don't be worried, all I've done is make sure I can always find you, should you try to hide, and make sure you'll always know if I'm coming. It's a win for us both, don't you think?" Thresh laughed as he let the chain fade away into nothingness, making the tugging sensation in Evaine's chest thankfully disappear.
She hated to admit it, but the spectre was right. This would help her if what he was saying was the truth and it would let her know when he was coming. It would let her, if nothing else, lessen her worries about what happened to her body when she was not awake.
"I suppose you're right..." Evaine was forced to concede as she lightly touched the choker once again, noting that touching the chains around it made a strange sensation erupt in the center of her chest.
Thresh smiled down at her once again, his emerald eyes holding that 'normal' glint of maddened enjoyment she had almost become used to. The thought alone made Evaine's whole body shiver.
'Becoming used to Thresh is not normal. It's not even sane! Snap out of it, Evaine!' She mentally berated herself for a moment before the tug in her chest made a return and she had to fight the urge to run head-long towards the door leading into 'her' room where Thresh now stood, ethereal chain in hand.
"I'm afraid that I must bid you adieu, my dear Evaine, I have some matters I need to attend to." He said as he tugged oh so gently on the chain, making the deceiver take a few shuddering steps forward, her clear confusion about what was going on making him smile even wider. "I suggest you get some more rest, my chains did drain a lot of your magic and strength before, and we wouldn't want you tired after all."
He turned to walk out the door, letting the chain fade away, his mind already starting to wander to what Elise could want with him this time, but before Thresh could close his hand around the handle, Evaine's voice stopped him.
"What is this chain? How is it... doing this to me?"
"A soul shackle, that's what the sages who invented it long ago called," Thresh started, still facing away from the deceiver, "The magic involved in its creation and use are unimportant details, so, simply put, it's a tether that binds your soul to me while still letting its vessel, you my dear, live. When I tug at that chain, I am literally pulling at your very being. Does that answer your question?"
Thresh took Evaine's silence as a yes as he exited the room and closed the door behind him, leaving her to mull over all the new pieces of information she had obtained during their chat on her own.
As well as figuring out just how the hell she should feel about the ghostly reaper who now held her leach, both figuratively and literally. Because Evaine really didn't know right now.
AN: Chapter two coming soon. Please leave a review to tell me how amazingly or horribly I pulled of this idea!