Stockholm Syndrome


A blonde haired girl opened her tired amber eyes and glanced around her surroundings, fear welling up inside of her. Where...am I? She asked herself, the freezing cold weather freezing her to the bone. She was sitting on the ground, in the middle of what looked like a dark, cold basement. How did I get here? Oh, right...the auction. She remembered, holding back her tears. The girl's long, slender legs were covered in dirt and were frozen solid. Her arms were completely numb from the cold, tied up by a rope. Suddenly, the sound of a heavy, metal door closing alerted the girl. She frantically searched around for the source of the noise, only to be greeted by a man with spiky blonde hair, and annoyed blue eyes.

"Get the fuck up!" The blonde Danish man shouted, pulling the blonde haired girl up by her hair. She shrieked horribly, as she tried to get away from him, her body beginning to spasm in weird ways as her body parts were coming to life. He pulled her over to a set of chains, which hung limply in front of the wall it was attached to. All the while, the Dane was struggling to keep the young girl still. He untied her arms, and was about to chain her to the wall but she suddenly slapped him, leaving a bright red mark on his left cheek. Anger surged through out his body as he hurriedly tied her up, and started punching and kicking her.

"Mathias!" A stern voice shouted. Mathias whipped around to be glared at by a large, Swedish man.
"B-Berwald! Hahahah!" He chuckled nervously before running out the basement. Berwald looked over at the young girl, who was sobbing profusely. He strode over to her and lifted her up by her waist, so she was sitting against the dirty wall.

"What's your name?" Berwald asked, watching her eyes widen immediately. She immediately recognized his accent, knowing it was Swedish.
"M-my name is A-Alice K ristœ." Alice answered, her voice shaking.
"Berwald." He replied curtly, kneeling in front of her. "I...apologise for Mathias's behaviour." He apologised, analysing Alice's face.
Alice's eyes were a deep chocolate color, that shone with unshed tears. Her hair was platinum blonde, but looked darker due to the thick layer of dirt on it. Berwald tucked some stray strands of hair behind Alice's ear. The kind gesture momentarily startled Alice, and she allowed a lone tear to escape. Berwald wiped away the tear and beckoned her to raise her face.

She glanced over at Berwald's eyes and could help but stare in awe. They are the most beautiful shade of blue I've ever seen. They remind me of my dear brother. How I wish he was here... She trailed off. Suddenly, a question popped into Alice's head.

"Berwald, why does that man beat me? I recalled you calling him Mathias?" Her small voice barely reached that taller man's ears, who sighed and decided to sit down next to her.
"Alice, to him you are nothing but a slave. He was the one who bought at the auction you were in. If I may ask, why were you there?" Berwald replied, cleaning his fogged-up glasses. She remained silent.
"..." "Do you not want to tell me?" "... It's an incredibly long story, I know you probably aren't interest in it." "I am. Please tell me."

"I've been an orphan for as long as I can remember. Mind you, I'm 16 years old. I was adopted just about two weeks, but a sinister couple. When I first met them, I was happy and excited. I couldn't believe my ears. Someone wanted to adopt me? Of all the children here, me? The third day I was there, the woman slapped me across the face. They forced me to basically become their slave. Then... the man."
Sobs wracked through her body.
"H-he, h-he-" Berwald wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder. "H-he started to s-sexually a-abuse m-me!" She buried her head into Berwald's chest.
"H-he was about to r-rape m-me, but then the woman came in. S-she blamed it on me, saying I was e-enticing him! She beat me until I was black and blue. I have scars covering my body. Yesterday, they forced me into the auction, wanting nothing more to do with me. And then, Mathias bought me."

Her breath hitched as Berwald's face came closer to her own, a light blush dusting her muddy cheeks. Despite her cheek covered in dirt, with a large red slap mark still there, Berwald tenderly kissed her cheek.
"Alice. I'll do my best to stop him from beating you." "Promise me, please Berwald. W-wait, I know we just met and you might not want to-"

"I promise."