Disclaimer: No, even though I write as though I do, I don't own any of the characters in this story, except for Alana/Reika, or whatever you want to call her. Please, don't suu.
Chapter 1
She took a deep breath, and again tried to free herself from her bindings. The leather was tied so tight around her wrists, the smell was emanating to her nose, so all she could smell when she breathed was the leather straps. She had managed to get the leather from her mouth and get the full use of her lungs. Her heart was beating so fast that she couldn't get a grasp on herself and think logically—but she had to. She had to remember what she had learned—no goals would be achieved until she could grasp her thoughts. And she couldn't die here in this frenzy.
"You must calm yourself, Alana, that you must," she heard her brother's voice murmur in her head. "You can't—"
"I know! I know I can't do anything!" She yelled back, and broke down, about to cry. No, she couldn't. She had to get to her brother and prove him wrong. She had to show him that she was every bit as good as him.
"What will you do for me if I let you go?" Her captor's voice came. He was behind her, speaking as smoothly, as if he had captured her just to release her.
"I don't want to do anything for you," she whispered, surprised to hear her voice after so many days without talking.
"Do you want to be free? To do what you want, say what you want… Instead of being confined to his dirty cell which will only lead you to Hell?"
"Sire," she didn't know why she treated him with such respect, "I only wish to leave. I have things to do."
"Which are?"
"I don't think that's any of your business."
"Silence! I have heard enough. How skilled are you in the kitchen?"
"I was considered one of the best before I was captured. But I don't see why-"
"Good. I indeed have been looking for a qualified cook. Will you join me? Maybe you'll have a change of heart somewhere along the way."
"Sire, if you please—"
"It would be wrong of you to refuse me. I will send you to hell." She felt him kneel next to her, and he began to cut her bindings. When the bindings fell, he placed his rough, bandaged hands on hers. "Now, are you ready to join me?"
She sighed, and her brother's smiling face popped into her head. Oh, how she loathed that face. If her captor could help her with her revenge, then…"Yes, Lord Shishio, I will join you."