A/N: I thought this Juliet-centric episode was golden (though still not as good as the previous episode), and Ben had an excellent role in the flashbacks, so it inspired this. Reviews are adored :).
Slight spoilers for 4.06: "The Other Woman".
"You're mine."
The words, spat with cruel jealousy and rage, hurt more than her wounded pride and aching heart. It cut something, too deep down to really name, and Juliet knew she'd never be the same.
You're mine.
It was like a cruel mantra, repeating over and over, twisting and turning, tormenting her from the moment Ben uttered the words over Goodwin's cold body, nothing, not even sleep giving her a reprieve. You're mine, the words told her, taking Ben's voice and transmogrifying it, making the words harsher and eerier. You're mine, whether you like it or not. You're mine, Juliet; all of you.
She hated him. She loathed him with every fibre of her being. How dare he trick her into taking this position on the island- for that's what it was, really, tricking- coerce her into staying longer, drain her spirit with every hopeless death, send her lover to the wolves, and still expect her to be his, willingly. He continued to kill her even after her body was long dead.
You're mine.
And yet she continued to obey him. Every order was carried out with care, even if murderous and defiant thoughts were in her head the entire time. Ben was too powerful. He held too much control over her life for her to dare do anything out of line.
But then she tripped and fell over the proverbial line, stumbling into the reticent arms of the other Others- the survivors of 815. In their outward fear of her and her people, she helped gain her independence as she gained their trust. She tiptoed around orders, giving a little here, taking a little there, slowly becoming more and more outwardly rebellious.
You're mine.
The helicopter was the beginning of the end, really, and she knew she'd never be the same. Faraday, Charlotte, and whomever they had brought with them on their godforsaken boat were all out for Ben's blood, and Benjamin Linus was not the sort of man to take a threat sitting down.
It was the beginning of the end, and Juliet knew she couldn't do anything to stop it. In the end, after all, she was his.