It had been a few days since Bane had taken her in as his pet. They had fallen into a routine. Bane would leave sometime during the morning then return not long after lunch. Once he entered, he would observe Sophia for a moment before going to his folders. It had annoyed her at first, she didn't like him watching her, now she ignores him. She wondered what he was thinking, he hadn't done anything and she was starting to think he wasn't going to.
A ding sounded at the elevator. She and Bane turned to look. Bane stood quickly, apparently he wasn't expecting any visitors. As the doors slid open, Bane relaxed. Sophia leaned to the side, looking around Bane's massive body, before him stood the same man who had betrayed her.
"Barsad," Bane nodded to the man, "why are you here?"
Barsad nodded to Bane, "Sir, another rebellion has broken out. Most of them the same people who rebelled with her." His eyes shifted towards Sophia. She sat up a little straighter, now more interested in the conversation.
"How many?" Bane had turned, his eyes burning into Sophia.
"A little over a hundred, sir." Bane nodded at this. Sophia couldn't help but laugh.
"What do you find so amusing, little one?" He asked, a warning in his tone.
Sophia stood up, feeling a sense of power because even though she wasn't there, her rebellion raged on. "Don't you see? Even without me leading the rebellion, people don't like what you've done to the city. The people want their city back and you're the main thing keeping them from getting it. They hate you, they think you are a monster. A tyrant." As she spoke, Bane started slowly moving towards her but she didn't care.
A sharp pain exploded across the left side of her face, sending her to the floor. She crashed to the floor stunned, she hand cradling her face. It took her a moment to realize that Bane had hit her, slapped her. She looked up, Bane standing over her, anger burning in his eyes.
"You will not speak to me in such a tone. I have been lenient the past few days. Apparently I have been too kind. I will have to teach you your place."
Sophia glared at him, how dare he touch her, how dare he inflict pain upon her. She stood slowly, not backing away from the monster that stood before her, they stood there for a moment before Bane turned, walking towards the elevator.
"I will return soon, then you will be punished." With that, Bane left, leaving her standing in the living room, her cheek throbbing in pain. She knew it would bruise, it would probably still hurt tomorrow too, but if that's the worse he would do then she would be fine. She had a feeling that what was to come would be much worse, that Bane was a man of action rather than words.
She stood staring at the elevator before turning and walking to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror. Her cheek was red and it was beginning to swell slightly, a cold washcloth would fix that. She grabbed a hand towel from under the sink and rinsed it under the cold water, gently placing it against her face.
She stared in the mirror, looking at what she had become. She blonde hair was slightly messy, she ran her fingers through them, taking some of the knots out. Her eyes hadn't changed, which was a good thing, you could see everything in a persons eyes and she kept her eyes closed, no one was allowed to see in without her permission.
How had this happened? She use to be a quiet girl, a girl who did her work like she was suppose to, did what she was asked. She loved her parents, was always with her friends, but when the revolution happened, everything changed. Her friends went into hiding, her parents went missing, and she had started a rebellion, something she would have never done before. She was changing and she liked what she saw.
She went to the bedroom, the wet cloth still against her cheek, and laid down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Now, she waited.
Bane returned home around eight. It had been a long night, the rebels wouldn't stop fighting easily, but with some force, they backed down. He looked towards Sophia's room to see that her light was still on, he walked towards her room, thinking of a possible punishment.
Sophia heard the elevator ding, but didn't move. If he wanted her, he could come and get her. She continued staring at the ceiling, she had thrown the rag away long ago. She saw Bane walk in but refused to look at him. He stood there a moment before stepping forward.
"Stand." He said the word forcefully, he wanted her to do what he wanted, to follow orders. She wouldn't. As she lay there, Bane grew impatient, she would be a difficult one to break, but that made it more challenging, and he liked challenges. He reached forward, trying to grab her arm, but Sophia rolled away, landing in a crouch on the other side of the bed.
"You are trying my patience, little one." He moved around the bed, standing before the small girl before him. She stood, glaring up at the towering man. He quickly reached out, giving her no time to react. He grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her roughly towards him. He grabbed her chin and tilted her head back, looking her in the eyes.
"How could such a little thing inspire so many people?" He asked to no one in particular.
"Words are a powerful thing." Sophia spat, trying to wiggle free from him.
"Indeed, they are. Maybe I should just take the ability to speak away from you." His fingers tightened around her chin, making her jaw ache. "But what fun would that be? Your retorts amuse me."
He shoved her backwards, causing her to collide with the wall. Sophia's back arched in pain, a small whimper escaping her lips. He walked slowly towards her, reaching down and grabbing a fist full of hair then dragged her out of the room to the kitchen. Sophia grabbed at his hand, she could feel some of her hair being ripped out.
She looked towards the counter and saw a small wooden contraption with a hole through the middle and a screw through the top. She started to struggle more than ever, she had seen that contraption in her history classes when she was younger, it was used to punish slaves.
"Don't worry, my dear, it won't leave any permanent scars." His voice was grave, unwavering. Bane lifted Sophia so that she was standing on her feet, then wrapped his arm around hers, his other hand grabbing her small one.
"Bane no! Please, please don't do this." She was struggling harder than before, hitting Bane and trying to pull way, but nothing fazed him. Bane pulled her hand forward, placing her thumb into the contraption. With one hand he held her there and with the other, he began to tighten the screw.
It wasn't long before she felt a slight prick over her thumb nail. Her attempts to escape his grasp were useless, she wasn't strong enough to break free from him. As he continued to screw the nail in, the pain became more and more sharp. Soon, Sophia was screaming in pain as the screw pierced though her nail and into the sensitive flesh under her nail. Tears streamed down her face as she begged him to stop. The pain was unbearable and she wanted it to end.
Bane then stopped, unscrewing the nail from her thumb and releasing her hand. Sophia fell away from Bane, cradling her hand to her chest, watching as blood slowly flowed from the injury.
"You bastard." She growled, sliding across the floor away from the monster that stood before her.
"Have you not learned your lesson, little one?" He asked, taking a step towards her, Sophia slide faster across the floor.
"Don't you come near me!" She screamed, she back hitting a wall, she couldn't get any farther away from him.
She heard him chuckle slightly. "Your punishment is complete, I hope you have learned a valuable lesson." He walked away, leaving her on the floor. The tears had slowed but they hadn't stopped. She stood shakily and stumbled to the bathroom.
She finally looked down at her finger, there was a hole through her nail and thumb, it didn't go completely through, just half way. She turned on the sink and turned it as cold as it could possibly go. She hesitated a moment before shoving her finger under the water. Sophia hissed at the pain, allowing the water to wash away the blood. She bite her lip, willing herself not to scream. She looked it the cabinet above the sink and found some bandages. She grabbed a pack and gingerly wrapped her thumb.
She then stuck her head out of the bathroom, not seeing Bane, she ran across the hall to her room. She crawled into bed and continued to cradle her hand, silent tears streaming down her face.
This wouldn't break her. No. The experience would make her stronger. She wouldn't break so easily, she would fight. Bane would have his hands full with her.
She started to sing silently, something she did when she was younger when she was troubled or in pain. Her voice quietly filling the air around her.
"What a shame we all become,
such fragile, broken things
the memory remains,
just a tiny spark.
I give it all my oxygen,
so let the flames begin..."
She felt herself starting to calm, and slowly drifted to sleep.
Bane stood outside the girl's door, silently listening to her cries. He noticed when the tears stopped and the singing began.
"I give it all my oxygen,
So let the flames begin..."
He smiled at the pun. She was definitely interesting. This would be more entertaining than he had initially thought.
Author's Notes: The song is Let the flames Begin by Paramore. Please, let me know what you think and if you have any ideas that can help out the story or anything!