Prologue

Three days. That's how long he had been here...at least, that's how long he thought he'd been here. Pain tended to blur memories, after all. He bit his lip, swallowing back a whine as his mind regained consciousness. His entire body throbbed...but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. It wasn't as bad as it had been before. He could take it, just like always.

For a moment, his mind brought up a memory, one that he didn't really want to relive, and he let out a hiss. The memory of the pain that had blossomed in his stomach when that blasted knife had lodged itself in him was just as vivid as it had been when it happened. Yeah, this pain was nothing like that. Still, it was enough to make his mind all fuzzy and he was finding it hard to focus on something for too long.

A door opened, and finally, someone entered the room. He opened his dark eyes, just barely. He'd been on the recieving end of kidnappers before. He knew how to act; as long as you look unconscious, they leave you alone.

"I thought you said we needed..." a nasally voice suddenly said. There was the sound of something metal being placed on a table, and a chuckle.

"I know what I said." another voice, much more calm and collected than the first. Footsteps echoed on the walls, indicating movement, and something flashed across his vision, but he couldn't tell what it was. "Think of it this way. Use a small fish to get the big fish. With this little minnow, we'll managed to land the big prize."

"The Commandant, right?" the first voice asked, an odd excitement evident in the voice.

He felt his blood run cold. They wanted Flynn?

"Oh, look who's awake~" the second voice suddenly said, and he realized his mistake too late as a hand buried itself in his hair, and forced his head back. His eyes flew open, and after a moment focused on the face in front of him, just as it had the times before.

"...W-What the hell do you want with me?!" he managed to force through closed teeth, feeling his dark eyes burn slightly as he glared at the man who held him.

"I've heard a lot about you." the man in front of him said, letting his hair go, and he forced his eyes to follow the man. "The rumors are that you're the strongest man on Terca Lumereis. Even a fall off of the highest point in the world didn't kill you. You get up again, and again..."

"...so what? You want a piece of me? Unhook these chains and I'll give it to you!" the man circling him laughed.

"I'm not that foolish, boy. It's just interesting to me. Your skill with a sword, your friendships with the Princess and Commandant..." the man muttered, going over to the table and picking something up. Returning, the man used what he had picked up to lift his head up, forcing the chained man to look him in the eyes. "Many claim that you're unbeatable. Unbreakable..."

"Unbreakable? Hah. I like the sou-" The knife suddenly cut into his skin, just under his chin, effectively cutting off what he had been saying. He let out a breath through his nose, dark eyes narrowing as the knife was pulled away. "...w-what the hell do you want with Flynn."

"Oooh, straight to the point, are we?" the man asked, a grin forming on a twisted face as the knife was placed on his arm. "Such a simple reason, really..."

He felt his eyes widen as the knife dug into his skin again, this time with much more force. He was forced to bite back a scream.

"I want to break the unbreakable." The man whispered in his ear, pulling away once again. "You claim to be unbeatable. He claims to be unbreakable. It's not hard to see that you feed off each other." the knife was brought across his face, opening a neat cut just under his eye. "So if I break one...the other will fall neatly in my hands..."

The pain began again, and the man said no more as he proceeded to assault his chained captive. Said captive bit back yet another scream, gritting his teeth. He could not give in...he had to keep it together. There was no way he would let this man break him, just to get to Flynn. He had to protect Flynn, that was what he did...Flynn had managed to accomplish so much in these past few years...There was no way he'd let this guy get...

In the end, it wasn't the pain that made his consciousness fade, but the loss of blood. He could feel the darkness tugging at the edges of his vision, finding it so hard to even focus on floor. He felt his head fall forward, the pain stopping as his vision swam. Something dyed red entered the blurred vision and lifted his head up. It took several moments for him to realize that it was the knife that had just been used to slice open his skin...but the thought faded quickly as he tried to focus on the face of his attacker, the man who seemed to only want to use him as a new toy. It was no use, his vision was too compromised, and all he could make out was a grin. His head was released, allowed to fall to his chest, and he barely heard the groan that left his throat as he clamped his eyes closed to avoid the swirling colors.

There was laughter as his consciousness faded even further, and he barely had the time to think 'bastard' before the darkness started claiming his thoughts. He barely heard the man speak one last time before he was completely lost.

"...You're mine, Lowell."