Future
{Natalya's POV}
I realized from the first time I had to work with Jane for longer than ten minutes that I did not much care for her nor did I intend on being close acquaintances with her either. To say her mind was a bit fractured and that she was a bit daffy was putting it nicely. That little blonde headed midget went beyond psychotic, she was more like padded and padlocked room material.
Of course, I spent the first six months of my life as Volturi having no choice in whom I associated with or shadowed as I was unable to even voice my opinions or anything else for that matter. The only way newborns are allowed to feed is via a bag attached to a tube that is inserted in the artery at the base of the neck. They continue to be force fed in this manner until they are deemed able to follow commands and take orders without complaint or outright rebellion. That's why it took me six months to become trustworthy enough to lose my newborn status and thereby lose the gag that prevented me from giving Jane a verbal what for, and the semi-permanent set of chains and manacles that prevented me from going unnoticed for even a few seconds.
In that six month time span, the high ranking members of the Volturi, especially Aro and his brothers, learned just exactly how much spunk and spirit I really had as they each found out one by one that I was far from scared of any of them. It was more like; I wanted to destroy all of them from the very beginning even though I was now one of them.
It was that egotistical asshole known as Caius that had to put himself in the middle of a full-blown, knock down drag out, hair pulling, fist fight between Jane and I just to keep me from actually destroying her. It was at that moment, only a mere two weeks after I had been deemed trustworthy enough to at least lose the gag, that they all realized that to put us in the same room even for brief periods was asking for a nuclear bomb to go off on that blonde bitch's pretty little head.
"Hey, enough! You two are going to have to learn to get along," He hissed lifting us both off the floor by our hair and carrying us into one of the empty rooms that Master Aro frequently used to contain newborns.
"Put me down Master Caius, she started it," Jane whined, one of the many traits that I absolutely despised about her. And the bad part was the way she whined, in that glorified, ass kissing voice that she used when she wanted to be in the right or get her way: which was most of the time.
"Shut up Jane," Caius ordered locking her to one of the iron panels along the wall of the room. "I don't care who started it, you both are going to learn to coexist one way or another even if that means that you spend a few days together in confinement." He locked me to one of the other panels on the opposite wall but not before I let his manhood have a good bashing with my knees just for good measure.
It wasn't by my own choice that I became a Volturi, I was turned against my own will and it was my intention to make it very well known as to how I felt about the situation. I pulled violently against the confinement as dark-headed Marcus knelt to finish locking my feet and legs to the panel. He shook his head at me as he finished one leg and began on the other. His attitude was annoying and the fact that he was acting like Jane only fueled my irritation. I brought my knee up, with sufficient velocity to catch him square in the mouth. It was enough that he almost lost his balance and landed on his ass in front of me.
He rose to his feet, putting his hand around my throat and locking his gaze with mine. "You are quite the hellion, do you wish to be confined permanently, as I'm sure Master Aro would be more than willing to arrange it." He gruffly raked the hair back from my cheeks with one finger, and just his hand against my face sent angry tendrils of fire coursing through my blood.
My response—I spat a large wad of phlegm into his face. The warm slimy surprise hitting him square between the eyes was enough that he took at least two steps backward, immediately taking his hand from my neck. I glared at him, then Caius and if looks could have killed, they both would have been burnt to a cinder. If that response wasn't enough to answer his question then it was obvious that Aro had sucked his brain out through a straw.
"Master Caius, I told you she was the instigator," Jane interrupted, her tone insistent behind that irritating whine. She pulled against her bonds. "Let me go!" Oh, so now she was being demanding, which only made her sound more and more like a four year old child that needed a good spanking.
"Did your mother forget to change your diaper, Jane?" I hissed feeling my dislike of her boil over inside. She focused on me then only to find that I was either quite immune to her measly little gift or I had one hell of a tolerance for pain. "Oh I'm sorry, four year old gifts don't work on me, and sniveling brats make me want to puke."
"Enough!" Caius' voice echoed along the walls of the room and just the force of it was sufficient to stop the bickering between Jane and I. He turned to Marcus who had finally managed to wipe the spit from his face. "Both of them are to be subjected to 50 lashes and full confinement in the same room for a minimum of three days. Gag them both and should they cause further problems the confinement can be extended times three days until they learn to coexist." He turned then and struck Jane firmly across the cheek with his hand before moving over to do the same to me.
"Caius, what about feedings, they must…" Marcus' question trailed as the wave of anger radiating from Caius hit him square in the chest.
"If they wish to act like newborns then they will be treated as such." He answered, the hint of a smile creasing his features at the appalled glare he received from Jane. "Don't push your luck, Jane, I could always deny you sustenance for the time of your confinement." It was obvious by the way she diverted her gaze then that the threat was enough to squelch any argument she might have been about to throw at him.
"Don't you think the lashings are a bit much, I mean…" Marcus' objection died before he finished as Caius leveled a stony, ice cold glare upon him. He watched as Caius roughly fitted and secured Jane's gag, having to force her head still just to be able to put it in her mouth.
"They must learn to coexist, Marcus," He reminded handing Marcus another gag for use on me. "It is a lesson that apparently will need reinforcement with these two on a regular basis. I'm sure the lashes will be plenty of reinforcement as neither of them has ever been subjected to such severe punishment." He watched as Marcus fitted and secured my gag, getting his fingers bitten in the process before he finally managed to fully secure it.
Marcus snarled in response to the pain of getting bitten before raking my face hard with the back of his hand. He leaned in close, "You would be wise not to cause any further trouble. As you are about to find out, lashings are a severe form of punishment that will certainly break your rebellious streak."
Since I couldn't verbally respond, I merely did the next best thing. I flew him the bird in stereo with the volume cranked up full blast. My darkening gaze, a trait that I had acquired as a child from my mother, whom every time she became angry her eye color changed from a soft hazel to almost black, was enough to at least get him to leave me alone. 'That shows what you know.' I thought to myself, 'Smarter and stronger than you have already tried breaking me. They ended up in the ground'
"Come along Marcus," Caius finished giving Jane several swift rakes to the face with his hand before turning to exit the room. "Enjoy the brief respite before your punishment for afterward you will be in too much pain to continue your rebellious ways." He dimmed the lighting so that Jane and I could just barely see each other from our confined positions on opposite walls. I listened as the door boomed shut followed by a raspy hiss as the lock was engaged from the outside. It was as if an alarm had been sounded and even though I was unsure of my own future after this punishment, deep down I was giddy with amusement and pleasure knowing that the little blonde wench was going to get her just desserts.
"You take Natalya and I'll take Jane," Marcus ordered lighting the room enough so that they could see.
Demetri gave a nod and moved to prepare to escort me to the room where Jane and I would receive our punishment. I watched Marcus attach a length of pipe to the manacles at Jane's wrists, making sure that they were shackled securely near its ends. He looped a chain around her waist, pulling it snug and locking it in place before releasing her arms from the panel and securing the center of the pipe with a short length of chain to what was now a secure belt at her waist. The weight of the pipe and the fact that the center chain wasn't pulled snug forced Jane's arms down into a locked, splayed position. He released her lower body, attaching a chain to the center of the manacles on her ankles and attaching it's free end to center of the pipe, pulling out most of the slack and preventing her from even attempting to lift the pipe to bend her arms.
Jane glared at him struggling uselessly throughout the entire process. She was unable to get free and her combative posture only worked to anger Marcus. "I can always make 50 lashes into 75, I'm sure Caius would not be opposed to that if he were to hear of your belligerence." The threat merely caused Jane's glare to grow even colder as Marcus slipped a thick black canvas hood over her head and secured it at her neck. By the time he had finished with Jane, Demetri had finished the same chaining procedure with me and even though my gaze could have drilled holes through steel, he didn't seem the least bit phased and I decided not to be so combative at least not until he went to cover my face with the hood.
No, not the blackness, no! I tried futilely to scream, the sound barely a strangled squeak as the realization that I would be blinded sent a wave of panic coursing through my body. My fight or flight instinct had, at that moment been engaged as fear overwhelmed any rational thought—a fear that was laced with anger.
It was at that moment, Demetri found out just how I felt about being Volturi. I fought him, catching him twice in the abdomen with one end of the pipe that held my arms. "Damn you!" He hissed grabbing a fist full of my hair in an effort to force me into submission. I shook my head violently, not caring that the motion was most likely jerking out my hair by the handful. It wasn't until he locked his hand around my throat and tightened his grip that I gave in to his insistence, not really wanting to die before I had the chance to exact my revenge on Aro for turning me into a creature that I found more and more despicable by the minute. "I should destroy you right here and if it weren't for the fact that you're about to understand the meaning of punishment…" He yanked the hood down over my face, before releasing his grip on my throat and backhanding me hard across the jaw…
If I had been wondering why the manacles on my wrists were attached to the length of pipe, the answer came almost instantly even though I couldn't see what was happening. The pipe was released from my waist, lifted above my head and locked into place. Moments later, I could feel myself being lifted from the floor, the weight of my body stretching me into a vertical prone position; arms locked straight and splayed above me. A heavy length of chain was secured across my hips, the weight holding me against what felt like a concrete slab. There was weight then at my feet as chains were attached to each of the manacles on my ankles and all the slack retracted from each chain into what I assumed were pulleys recessed into the floor. I moaned in discomfort, the sound merely a strangled mumble, as my body was pulled in opposing directions to a point just beyond its limits, locking my position so that I was unable to even flinch. My robe was cut away exposing the flesh of my back and legs. I smiled inside as I knew that they were doing the same with Jane
That smile was short lived as I heard the loud crack only a split second before burning lightning pulsed across my back, sending spikes of intense heated pain coursing through my body. The crack came again and I could tell by the direction of the sound that it was Jane who would now feel the pain of punishment…
"Make certain that the last forty leave permanent marks," Caius reminded as Felix continued the torturous punishment.
"Once I put fire to the grooved edges of the bone slivers attached to the knots; the cuts will be branded permanently into their flesh and the marks will remain even after the flesh heals."
Caius gave a nod as he watched Felix swing, with deadly precision, the modified cat-o-nine tails. The thick leather whip had been specially created for just this purpose and at 8 feet in length with nine knotted ends fitted with sharp, grooved bone barbs; each strike did considerable damage to exposed flesh. "When you have completed their lashing, leave them in their current positions until the lacerations have dried completely then return them to their previous confinement in new robes. Marcus, you mentioned to me that you had some problems with belligerence as you were preparing to bring them here?"
"Yes, mostly with Jane but Natalya did give Demetri trouble when he went to hood her." Marcus answered making certain that his voice was loud enough for both Jane and I to hear over the crack of the whip and our mounting physical torment.
You fucking asshole, I thought to myself before the pain of a strike overrode any sort of concentrated mental activity. Your ass is so going to be mine when I get free from this hell…
"Hhmm," There was a rather stale silence as Caius processed what Marcus had told him, of course the pause in conversation had no affect on the process of applying the 50 lashes to Jane and I, but the prospect of having the punishment extended did manage to catch my attention; when I could get my mind to focus through the increasing pain enough to listen to what was being said. "Extend the confinement by three days and take away their ability to see for three of the six days. Aro is expected to return during the final part of that time frame and I am certain that he will wish to speak with them while they are still in a cooperative state."
'No, oh god please no,' Fear began to well up around the brutal pain that was now threatening to overtake my mental capacity to the point that I bordered on slipping into semi-conscious stupor. The idea of being subjected to never-ending blackness for three days was almost more than I could bear. It was the one thing I absolutely feared more than even being tortured with this horrible whipping. To be blinded was the epitome of will-breaking torment. It was the one phobia that even to this day I could not shake and I had only my father to blame for its origin.
Marcus nodded in response to Caius' new orders, watching as Felix set fire to the edges of the bone barbs at the end of each of the knots in the whip. The edges would remain aflame even as he wielded it to finish out the last 40 lashes. They had been coated in a highly flammable tar-like substance. It not only burned at a temperature hot enough to brand flesh but the residue it left in the wound tracks had the added bonus of setting the nerves in the outer layers of skin and flesh on fire, creating a nasty stinging sensation that would linger with flame like intensity for several days.
Forty lashes later, the punishment ended and Jane and I were left alone to suffer with our wounds and the torment of our vertically prone, stretched positions. When the last whip strike was administered, the pulleys controlling the chains at my feet were once again retracted, removing all the excess slack and forcing the bruised and lacerated flesh on my back and legs to stretch, opening the masses of long, deep cuts even further; increasing the horrible, unrelenting burning pain past the point where it was even bearable. My awareness gradually drifted, and even though I fought against it, my mind sank into a heavy stupor all but paralyzing my muscles and shutting down all forms of concentrated, coherent thought...
The brutal pain that had sank me into an incoherent daze lingered even after Jane and I were returned to our original confinement. Before we were released from the position we had been placed in for punishment our bruised and lacerated backs and legs had been coated with a thick tarry substance. It did not rub off when we were forced into new robes and confined once more in a spread-eagle position to the iron panels where we had been previously. The cuts had dried and the repositioning only served to reopen them allowing the tarry substance to aggravate and slow the healing process, increasing the brutal, fiery pain by tenfold. For two days after the punishment we were not allowed sustenance which only worked to deepen the profound delirium and exacerbate the continuous pain…