Pidge spent several hours tracing the wounds on her stomach and chest. She dry heaved earlier in the same corner her breakfast sat. The room ranked with the smell of acid. She positioned herself as far away from the mess as she could.
Her thoughts tormented her. The hazy nightmare repeated itself despite her best efforts to ignore it. Sleeping without visions of the druids hovering over her was impossible.
The door opened. She didn't bother looking to see who arrived. The hiss of the door closing followed the sound of footsteps. Two people had joined her.
The hem of a cloak entered Pidge's field of vision. A foreign hand descended onto her head and stroked her hair back. She shrank further into herself, unable to evade the unwelcome visitor.
"My Paladin," Haggar hummed. "Why do you shrink?"
Pidge refused to answer.
"Come, now." Her hand migrated to Pidge's chin and tilted her head up. She was crouching next to Pidge, and something in her countenance made her almost motherly. It was disgusting. "I do not wish to harm you."
"I find that hard to believe," Pidge hissed.
"Don't tempt me, girl." Haggar moved her hand to caress the side of Pidge's face, her thumb massaging her temple. Pidge flinched away, her heart picking up speed. Haggar's other hand grabbed the other side of Pidge's head.
"Tell me, Paladin," Haggar mused, "do you really have so much faith, that they will come to save you?"
Haggar ran her fingers through Pidge's hair, curling them around the sandy brown locks. Pidge's brain felt...fizzy? Like carbonated soda. She found that her eyes were forced to meet Haggar's. "Yes," she growled.
"Why?"
"Because they're my friends," Pidge sputtered.
"They abandoned you."
"They wouldn't."
"And why is that?"
"Because they're my friends," she repeated.
"Is that all?"
Of course not. There was more to it than that. They needed her. She was the Green Paladin. She was an important part of their team, right? They wouldn't just leave her. But then again...she tried to leave the team before. And Shiro would have let her go. Maybe she's not as important to the team as she thought...
A coy grin spread across Haggar's face. "The Paladins would already be here if you meant anything. To them, you have no purpose."
"H-how—" Pidge tore herself away from Haggar's grasp and scuttled back into a corner. This woman—this witch was trying to control her. She could sense Pidge's thoughts and drag them to her front of her conscious. "S-stay away."
A wry smile spread across Haggar's lips. "You belong to me now, Paladin. I will never leave you." She rose to her full height and strode towards Pidge.
Pidge would not let this witch invade her mind. She eyed the Galran standing by the door. He was large and burly, likely to be slower, so she could probably outrun him. If not, she could climb onto his back and knock him out. Her tiny fists wouldn't do much, but the cell was too small for the Galra to successfully counter her. She just had to get past this—this monster.
Pidge's legs shook as she raised herself to the balls of her feet. She launched herself at the witch. Smoke filled her vision and she hit the ground. Her lungs spasmed as they tried to find oxygen. The hum of a charging blaster shook the air. A wave of heat seared the ground next to her, missing her arm by a few inches. She pushed herself away from the spot and rolled onto her back, coughing until she tasted blood.
"Foolish child."
Purple and white light consumed her. Electricity shot through her, scorching her skin. She couldn't think, she just wanted it to stop, wanted everything to stop and go back to normal. Pain, pain, pain that refused to leave her. The lightning stopped, but her convulsions didn't. She remained on the ground. Wailing. Sobbing. Screaming.
Haggar glared down at the tiny form before her. This human required behavioral correction. She must be broken for the Galra to use her well.
The witch knelt next to her, pulling the child's head into her lap. Pidge was unaware of the contact, continuing to flinch and shake and kick. Haggar's hand hovered over Pidge's face. She made an odd gesture and put her thumbs on top of Pidge's eyes, producing a low purple glow. When she was satisfied, she stood up and left the room with the Galran commander.