Thank you for reading.

I hope you enjoy it.

Sorry for any mistakes.

Small time jump here.

Chapter 3

Jasper knew that Maria wasn't please with how long it took, but he finally got the hang of fighting. Nobody could best him now, and if they did, they didn't live long enough to celebrate it. Maria wouldn't have anybody better than her second-in-command. That's what he was now. She'd promoted him shortly after he had proven that he could hold his own. Not to mention, his returning grasp on his strategic skill was definitely proving useful.

Jasper liked being second-in-command. Having clear goals and rules. Knowing his place and where he stood. It's what he was used to. And it's what he thrived on. He wasn't too fond of Maria's habit of punishing him when the newborns proved to be too unruly for her liking, however. He did the best he could - he used his gift to keep them calm, to keep them under control; he used fear to get them to follow his instructions without question. But the more newborns Maria added, the harder they were to control.

Which is exactly why he was hovering outside of Maria's quarters, waiting anxiously to see her, to explain why he had needed to kill one of her newborns. To explain why his training had failed and why he hadn't been able to control him.

Jasper jumped when his name was suddenly shouted and he battled to reign in his anxiety so that she couldn't feel it. It was a new trick of his, learning how to monitor his own emotions so that others couldn't feel them. He found it came in very useful.

He took the, admittedly unwanted, invitation and followed the voice. Once in her immediate vicinity, he lowered himself down to one knee, bowing his head as he did so. He tilted it to the side slightly so that she had easy access to his neck. The ultimate sign of respect. A submission.

"Which one?"

Maria's voice was low and dangerous and Jasper already knew that he was going to regret his decision to kill.

"Jerry, ma'am." Jasper answered, keeping his gaze trained on her feet. "Jerry Emery."

"Why?"

"He was belligerent, ma'am. Disobedient. Rude. He would fight my influence. Fight with the others when I averted my gaze for a moment. He was unruly. No amount of trying could get him under control." Jasper paused for a moment, and when Maria didn't speak he continued with the speech he had grown used to delivering. "I failed. My training and my ability wasn't enough to break him. I had to end him instead. I'm sorry, ma'am. I failed."

Maria let out a low growl and Jasper had to force himself not to flinch. He gasped as her hands gripped onto his hair, pulling his head up so fast that he was surprised it hadn't been removed from his body. Her hand came into contact with his cheek as she delivered a sharp slap and Jasper immediately apologised again, attempting to make himself seem smaller, contrite. Hoping to appease her, hoping against hope that she wouldn't-...

Jasper let out a yell as Maria followed her usual routine, snapping his fingers and his wrists before pushing him forwards so he was forced to put his hands out to keep from head butting the ground. His full weight combined with her strength landed onto his broken bones.

"I'm sorry!" He yelped as she placed her foot in the centre of his back, stopping him from standing up, stopping him from escaping. He tried to fight the tears as they came, but he was unable to. He felt Maria grab his leg just beneath the knee and held his breath, knowing exactly what was coming.

"Stop that snivelling." Maria snapped.

The next thing Jasper was aware of was the all-too-familiar burn of a limb being ripped from his body.

A silence overcame him and it took him a moment to realise that Maria had left. He let out a small sigh of relief that quickly transitioned into a sob as he wondered how he was supposed to reattach his leg with a broken wrist and broken fingers that were rapidly healing at the wrong angles.

Thank you for reading.

I hope you enjoyed it.

These are just really to show how horrible Maria is...

I'd like 2 reviews before the next update, please.

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