A/n: Well, the angst is certainly building. Just to warn you all, this chapter will not be a comfortable one to read. However, I believe you all can handle it because the movie itself isn't comfortable to watch either. Please remember to review after reading. Kirsten

The first night as prisoners wasn't comfortable for both San and Ashitaka. It was way too warm in the tents they had been forced into, the samurai kept gloating over their victory, and worst of all, both knew that they were trapped and they couldn't get help for themselves or from anyone else. The men looked at San in ways that betrayed lustful thoughts, but they weren't allowed to touch her. Before Lord Asano went to take over Lady Eboshi's house in the town, he told the guards that San and Ashitaka were to be left alone. He wanted them to be strong enough to withstand the torture he had planned. Even though they were given enough, San and Ashitaka didn't have much of an appetite when it came time for the evening meal. They mostly just sat in contemplative silence while the men around them laughed and talked way too loudly. All they could do was look at each other from across the fire. When it came time for the first evening watch, they were walked to their tents and a samurai was assigned to stand guard at all times outside of both their tents. When Ashitaka was alone in his tent, he sat down on the bedroll and buried his face in his hands. He didn't cry, but he couldn't stop feeling completely defeated.

It's my fault that San is going to be tortured by Asano! She should be free and running away from all this with her brothers. But I don't know how to get her out of here. She won't abandon me, no matter how much I plead with her. I should have just let the curse that Nago placed on me kill me like it was meant to!

Ashitaka took his face out of his hands and took off his tunic and shirt sleeves. He crawled into the bedroll and fell into a fitful, dreamless sleep.

San paced around in her small tent. She was too agitated for sleep. It was only yesterday that she had calmed Ashitaka from his worries about the town being attacked, but it felt like ages ago and it turned out that his worries had been real. She hadn't been trying to downplay or discredit his feelings, but she loved him and she wanted to help ease his mind. San eventually got tired of pacing and sat down with a huff on her bedroll. She leaned back against the wall of the tent, but she was alert to everything around her. Her ears picked up the sounds of the wind soughing through the treetops, the voices of the samurai on guard duty, the crackle of the campfire, and the noises from the town of the people and the samurai guarding them. Her eyes noted the glow of the moon through the tent walls, the lights from the campfire, and the silhouettes of the guard standing outside of her tent and the ones standing around the camp on sentry duty. Even though she couldn't sense her brothers tonight, San knew that they would be close by soon and that they would howl to her if they had anything planned. She hoped that they would take the time to heal from their wounds before they came near enough for her to hear them. After they let her know what was going on, she had to find some way of telling Ashitaka. San knew the forest almost as well as the animals living in it. She would find something that would give her at least a few hours to speak to him. With that in mind, San began to feel a little bit better and her agitated feelings slowly calmed. When she felt relaxed enough for sleep, she slid into the bedroll. San closed her eyes and eased her breathing, knowing that it was useless to fret over what the next day might bring.

Lord Asano had a complication on his hands. He had been hoping to capture the wolf girl and quickly take her back to his lands to torture and eventually kill her while his samurai bullied the people to start digging for iron again. However, that boy who had been cursed was in love with her and she with him. Lord Asano hadn't expected that to throw a wrinkle into his plans and neither had he expected to find the two of them defending the town. Well, at least he thought he was certain about how the wolf girl felt and thought about the humans. It turned out that he had been wrong. Not only did she fight against his samurai, she also seemed to have a few friends amongst the townspeople from what his spies reported during the afternoon watch. Not as many as the boy, but if the people became angry enough while he was away, they would rebel and he didn't have enough samurai to contain them. Plus, he wanted to be here to command them to start digging for iron again. Lord Asano let out a resigned sigh. He would have to carry out the tortures here. However, there wasn't enough land to build a prison in the town. Lord Asano left Lady Eboshi's house and made his way to the walkway. He climbed up and looked out over the wall. The stars and moonlight were enough for him to quickly spot a mountain peak that would be visible from outside of the town and it was also close enough that the screams of the wolf girl and the boy would be heard by the townspeople.

I don't want any of the townspeople near my prisoners when I force them to build their own torture chamber. Having those two ally with the people I just conquered is very dangerous. However, if they don't fear me, then they won't dig for the iron. Luckily, I still have enough samurai to put to work and they will begin cutting down trees first thing tomorrow morning. That hole in the gate also needs to be fixed, but the townspeople can take care of that task. After I kill the wolf girl and her lover, we shouldn't have any trouble getting at the iron.

Lord Asano gave the mountain peak one last look before turning down the stairs and walking back to the house.

San awoke to the sounds of the forest crying out in pain. Humans wouldn't hear it under the loud crashes of the trees being felled, but she could hear the quiet screams. She was quick to scramble from her bedroll and push aside the flap of the tent. She completely forgot about the guard outside when she tried to run towards the samurai chopping the trees down. A tight grip on her shoulder stopped her and she turned to look up at the guard glaring down at her.

"Just where do you think you're running off to, wolf-girl?" he asked with a sneer. San tried to fight his grip, but he only squeezed harder. She almost doubled over from the pain. When she stopped resisting, he eased the pressure from his hand and she straightened up, gasping.

"Nowhere," she finally said.

"That's right. You can't save your little animal friends now. Those trees will be used to build a prison and torture chamber for you and your lover. And the two of you will get to help with that," the guard told her mockingly. He thrust her back into the tent and closed the flap. San massaged her aching shoulder gently as she thought over the guard's words. Her stomach clenched as she remembered that she and Ashitaka were going to be forced to build their own torture chamber. It was a very sick and twisted thing to do. San stopped rubbing her shoulder when she realized that this was the first step Lord Asano was going to take to break her and Ashitaka. She had to emotionally distance herself from the unpleasant task that they were going to be forced to carry out and she hoped Ashitaka would do the same.

It took five weeks for the prison and torture chamber to be halfway done. Every day, San and Ashitaka worked in complete silence, allowing no emotion to show. Lord Asano seemed annoyed by their absolute refusal to not display any anger or fear. He mostly ignored them, but when he looked their way, they could see the irritation in his eyes. San was carrying a beam when she suddenly sensed her brothers close by. She didn't stop, but she listened for any of their howls. They howled low enough for her to just hear that they were fine and that they would stay nearby, hidden from Lord Asano and his samurai. They also told her that the gods and spirits were coming up with a strategy to stop the forest from being cut down, but it would take some time. San nodded when she got the message and her brothers found a place to lay low. She needed to find some way of telling Ashitaka. San set the beam down and looked around. The water bucket that the guards used to refill their canteens before going on night duty was completely dry. They would need to fill it with water in a few hours. San moved sluggishly during the rest of the afternoon. The samurai yelled at her for being slow, but she didn't pay them any attention. Their noise did attract Lord Asano's attention, though. He watched her for a bit before stopping her when she tried to bring a box of nails to the carpenters.

"What's the problem, wolf girl?" he asked. She noted Ashitaka edging close by with a hammer to listen to their conversation.

"It's the heat, sir. I'm slow today because it is way too hot," she answered. Ashitaka frowned at her in puzzlement, but she could see that he was quickly working out that she had a plan.

"You will address me as 'my lord', wolf girl. Not 'sir'. And it's too hot out here for you? I find that very hard to believe."

San suddenly doubled over and dropped the box of nails. She held her stomach like she was going to be sick and looked up at Lord Asano with large, pleading eyes.

"Please, my lord. Please let me refill the bucket that the guards use for their canteens before night duty. I would feel better if I could be in the shade. You want me to be strong when you torture me and if I get sick from all this heat, then your torturing will just be delayed."

Ashitaka was now gaping at her. San hoped that he trusted her enough to not say anything or to start pretending like the heat was also causing him problems. Lord Asano would suspect something if the man who loved her also tried to go into the woods.

"Oh, very well. Get up and one of my men will accompany you," Lord Asano said annoyed. San slowly rose to her feet. She looked towards Ashitaka and gave him just the tiniest nod when he raised the hammer to continue on working. He turned towards the wall he was working on and San followed the samurai with her. She picked up the bucket and walked with the guard to the woods. They entered the forest and it wasn't too long before they found a pond bubbling with cool water. A sudden roar from behind them made the guard jump and turn around with his sword drawn.

"Who's there?" the guard asked, his voice trembling a bit with fear. The gods and the spirits made all kinds of noises around the pond, but none of them ever came from San's direction, so the guard's attention wasn't on her. The distraction was long enough for San to quickly pick some herbs around the bank of the pond. She knew that if they were crushed together and mixed with water, they would make anyone who drank from the bucket fall asleep for at least a few hours. She tore and rubbed the herbs between her hands and dropped them into the bucket. They floated to the bottom and she turned it a little to mix the herbs with the water. The noises suddenly stopped and the guard turned back to San carrying the bucket in one hand. He didn't say anything to her as they walked back to the camp. San kept her face completely blank as she set the bucket down near the campfire and betrayed no emotion as she ate her evening meal, washed up her dishes, and went into her tent for bed. She saw Ashitaka going into his tent around the same time as things began to quiet down. The guards taking the first watch of the night all crowded around the bucket and refilled their canteens.

San waited for about an hour as the men standing guard talked and joked around. Their voices suddenly became completely silent. San slipped silently out of her tent and was relieved when she heard the man who was supposed to be guarding her snoring quite loudly. He was still standing up, but she figured that the samurai were trained to be able to fall asleep while standing in full armor during battle. She hurried as silent as the stars above to Ashitaka's tent. There was enough room for her to open the tent flap and edge past the guard outside. Ashitaka was asleep in his bedroll and San knelt down next to him.

"Ashitaka. Ashitaka, wake up," she said softly and gently shook his shoulder. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked in confusion when he saw her. He sat up and rubbed his eyes and gasped quite loudly when he saw that she was really there. San reached out and covered his mouth with her hand.

"Shhh. We can talk as long as we keep our voices low," she whispered. He nodded and she removed her hand. He sat still for a moment before suddenly embracing her and pulling her close to his chest. San didn't resist and they just sat in silence for a while, hands checking each other for any sign of injury or pain.

"How did you manage to get in here?" Ashitaka finally asked and loosened his grip on her a bit so she could sit up and tell him.

"I found herbs around one of the ponds when I went to refill the water bucket. They put the guards to sleep for a few hours."

"Won't Lord Asano become suspicious if there isn't any noise coming from the camp?"

"No. The guards quiet down eventually so that they can hear anything out of the ordinary. They just quieted down quicker than usual tonight."

Ashitaka gaped at her in amazement before giving her a beaming smile. He kissed her deeply and passionately. San returned his kiss and when they broke apart for air, he was still smiling at her.

"I love you," he said. San returned his smile and laid her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"I know. I love you too," she told him. He kissed the top of her head and kept his arms around her. They sat in complete content and bliss before reality was brought back to them and San remembered why she came to see Ashitaka. She moved so that she could see his face while they talked.

"I heard my brothers nearby for the first time today. They said that they were all right and that they would stay close to the camp. They can hide easily from the samurai and they also told me that it would take some time for them and the other gods and spirits to come up with another strategy."

Ashitaka nodded in understanding. He knew that both of them had the perfect opportunity to escape while the guards were asleep, but Lord Asano would continue to chop the trees down and that would eventually bring them out to fight him again. He would also take some of the townspeople to be tortured, if he couldn't have San and Ashitaka right away. Neither wanted to anyone else to get hurt, so they had to remain.

"I think you should go back to your tent now, San. I don't want you to be caught in here with me," Ashitaka told her. She sighed, but nodded her assent. After one last, long kiss, the lovers separated for the rest of the evening. San hurried to her tent and got in just before her guard woke up. She heard the men changing shifts before she fell asleep.

After another five weeks, the prison was complete and the gate to the town was completely repaired. It was a rather large building for just two people being held in it. The bottom level contained twenty or so cells. The doors were made from a thick wood and the locks were made from heavy iron brought by merchants. They were impossible to pick. The inside of the cells were dark and dank. They contained a sleeping mat, a bucket for human waste, and a pitcher of water on a table. The windows on the cell had iron bars on them that even a cat would have trouble squeezing through. The second level was just one large room full of torture devices and the windows were always kept open so that the screams of the victims could be clearly heard for miles. The third level consisted of the quarters and kitchens for the guards, torturers, healers, and the people who worked as cooks and cleaners. It was also the main entrance level. The fourth level was a storage area for weapons, food, healing herbs, and the larger torture devices. There were also watch towers and the roof was one flat area that the guards climbed a ladder to get to from the fourth level so that they could use it for sentry duty.

San and Ashitaka were separated again and placed in cells at opposite ends of the hallway. Food was brought for them on trays, but neither slept or ate. They were both too frightened of the unknown tortures that awaited them the next day. The sun was up for a few hours before guards came to walk them to the second floor. Lord Asano was waiting for them and his smile was the cruelest they had ever seen.

"Good morning. I can see that neither one of you slept nor ate. Well, this shouldn't take too long."

He nodded for the door to be opened. The guards threw open the heavy door and San and Ashitaka were pushed into the room after Lord Asano. The sunlight from the windows revealed a stone room with chains along the walls, ceiling, and floor. A table at one end of the room held whips, branding irons, thick, wooden sticks, and short swords and knives. A fire place was close to the table and it was out for the moment. Lord Asano sat down in the only chair, which was near the entrance. Ashitaka was pushed down by one of the guards to sit on the floor and he was chained at both ankles and wrists. San was dragged into the middle of the room. The guard suddenly let go of her as one of the torturers arrived. The torturer was a large man, but his size came from his muscles. He stopped just in front of San, towering over her. The guard left the middle of the room and took a post by the door.

"Begin," Lord Asano told the torturer. Without warning, San was punched in the gut. She doubled over from the blow, clutching her stomach. But, she didn't scream or throw up. She heard Ashitaka struggling against the chains that held him back. San straightened back up and the torturer punched her again. This time, she fell to her knees, gasping. The torturer kicked her legs with a foot clad in a heavy boot. San rolled away from him, but he grabbed her shoulder hard enough to bruise the skin and dragged her upright. The torturer looked to Lord Asano for instruction while San glanced at Ashitaka. She saw love, but also anger at being made completely helpless and forced to watch while she suffered. However, there was no fear. San was also angry, but it would take a lot more than being punched and kicked around to make her scream.

"Strip the girl down to the waist, chain her to the ceiling, and whip her. Twenty lashes should be a good start," Lord Asano finally told the torturer. Ashitaka looked away as the torturer yanked at San's clothes. It was humiliating enough that Lord Asano was watching her while she was half naked. She didn't need Ashitaka also watching. When Ashitaka looked up again, San was chained to a part of the ceiling near the fireplace, her bare back turned to him. The torturer was looking over the whips before finally selecting a long, thin one. He brought his wrist back and the whip hit San's skin. She winced at the sting. The second lash came and it hit a more tender area on her back. However, San didn't scream or even let out a cry of pain.

After twenty five lashes, San's back was torn and bleeding. The pain from the stings almost overwhelmed her, but she hadn't cried out. The torturer was breathing heavily behind her. He turned to Lord Asano.

"What shall I do, my lord? The girl isn't screaming," the man said in a completely emotionless tone. Lord Asano let out an irritated sigh. He didn't want to be stuck here all day, trying to see if the wolf girl would break. He was almost ready to have the prisoners dragged back to their cells when he noticed the hot, silent flow of tears coming out of Ashitaka's eyes. A much better plan came quickly to mind.

"Guards, take the girl back to her cell and have a healer tend to her wounds. Make sure that she rests for the remainder of today. We shall resume tomorrow morning," he commanded. The torturer unchained San and she dropped to the floor. She landed on her knees and slowly pulled her dress up. She almost cried when the cloth brushed against her back, but she wasn't about to be taken back to her cell half naked. The torturer threw her her vest and she was dragged to her feet by two of the guards and walked out of the room. San looked at Ashitaka as she passed him and the sight of tears on his face for her told her everything that he couldn't say with words. She flung her head up and left the room.

"Why treat San if you're only planning on torturing her the next day?" Ashitaka asked Lord Asano angrily. Lord Asano just smiled at him mockingly.

"I'm not telling you, boy. I am surprised though that you broke so easily. She was the one in pain. You're not worthy of loving her. Take him out of my sight."

Ashitaka wanted to yell something nasty at Lord Asano, but the guards were taking him out of the room before he could think of anything. He didn't fight them and just walked with them in silence. They unlocked his cell and threw him in. He hoped that San was being treated much more gently.

San laid face down on her sleeping mat as the healer, an elderly man with dry, cool hands gently laid cold, wet cloths across her back. She almost let out a sigh of relief as she felt the sting from the lashes begin to lessen. But, she knew that her behavior would be reported to Lord Asano and she wasn't about to feel any gratitude for having a healer. The healer began to gently clean the mutilated flesh on her back, but it took some time for him to apply a salve to keep out infection and a bandage. San kept still during the whole procedure, gritting her teeth against the pain. She heard something being uncorked and turned her head ever so slightly to see the healer placing an open bottle to her lips.

"This sleeping draught will let you rest until evening fall," he told her. San opened her mouth and kept her head elevated as the sleeping draught was poured down her throat. When the bottle was empty, she laid her head back down, her body already beginning to feel heavy. The healer pulled the blanket up to her waist before leaving with the guards. The last thing San was aware of was her cell door being closed and locked.

When San awoke, she was hungry. Luckily, there was a fresh tray of food on her table. She slowly sat up and pulled her dress up before tying her vest over it. While it hurt to move around too much, she was able to walk very slowly to the table and stand up while she ate her meal. San polished off the food in record time and could have gladly eaten more, but she knew that no more would be given. She looked up when she heard a distant howl. Making her way over to the window, she stood on tiptoe so that her brothers could sense that she was still alive. She also let them know that Ashitaka was alive. However, their howls became distraught and angry when they sensed that she was in pain from the torture. They told her that they would look for any secret entrances in the prison so that she and Ashitaka could escape when they got the chance. San went back to her sleeping mat and laid face down again. She was wide awake after sleeping most of the day.

So, Asano's plan is to physically torture me while also mentally torturing Ashitaka. And he wants us to scream so that the people of the town will hear and be afraid. We can't let that happen. If we give up, then they'll give up. I hope my brothers can find an escape route for us. It won't be long before Asano becomes tired of us not screaming and will try to kill us.

Down the hallway, Ashitaka was also wide awake. Every time he closed his eyes, he kept seeing San being tortured over and over again. He had napped on and off after being taken back to his cell, but true sleep wouldn't come to him. The only relief that he felt was the knowledge that San had been taken care of. It had taken him most of the afternoon and part of the night, but he finally figured out why Lord Asano had her wounds treated.

Asano wants to keep us from being aware of what is coming next. If he's too cruel, then we'll expect nothing but cruelty from him and because of that, he won't be able to break us since we already know that he is going to torture San and make me watch. If he isn't cruel enough, then we won't fear him and neither will the townspeople. So, he must be both cruel and "merciful" by turns so that we can't predict his next move. I don't know how much longer we'll live.

Ashitaka ate some of his evening meal, which was now cold. He paced around the cell for most of the night, only lying down to sleep just a few hours before dawn. He didn't dream, but he knew that if Asano continued to torture San, then nightmares weren't far away.

The next five days or so fell into pretty much the same pattern. San and Ashitaka were taken just a few hours after dawn to the torture chamber and Ashitaka was chained up and forced to watch as San was whipped, punched, kicked, hit, and had the flats of the swords and knives striking against her legs and back. The only reason that she wasn't branded with hot irons was because Ashitaka figured with it being so hot outside during most of the day, Lord Asano didn't want to have to smell burning flesh. Yet, neither one of them screamed, even though the torture sessions became longer and more intense. The only thing that kept San and Ashitaka from crying out was the look of love that passed between them each time San was taken back to her cell where a healer awaited her. The looks were quick, but enough to let each other know that they had to stay strong. Lord Asano became more and more frustrated with them not obliging him with the screams of pain and suffering that he wanted to hear. After San was taken away just before sunset on the seventh day, barely alive, Lord Asano carefully watched both her and Ashitaka. He saw the look pass between them. Suddenly, his frustration vanished as he quickly thought of a way to bring an end to these torture sessions that weren't going anywhere.

"Take the boy back to his cell, but bring the wolf girl to him just before midnight," he commanded before climbing the stairs to the storage rooms. Lord Asano was quick to find several herbs that would make a powerful hallucinogenic when combined together. He quickly ground them with a mortar and pestle.

I will put these herbs on her food, but the guards must put a black bag over her head as soon as she has ingested them. She'll start seeing monsters after not too long and she will try to kill them. If she kills the boy that she loves with her bare hands, then it will be much easier to break her after she becomes aware of what she has done. She won't have anything to live for without him and she will gladly ask me to kill her.

When Lord Asano was satisfied that the herbs were crushed sufficiently together, he took the bowl down to the kitchen. He sat down and waited. It would be some time before the girl would be awake from her healing and he didn't need to put the herbs on her food right away. It took a few hours for the hallucinogenic to work its way through the human body. Lord Asano ate his evening meal in the kitchen, laughing and joking with the men. When a guard reported that the girl was awake, her tray of food was placed before Lord Asano and sprinkled the herbs on. He told the guard to take another one along and to find a black bag to place over the girl's head as soon as she was done eating.

San wondered why the guards stayed in her cell while she ate. They had never done that before and neither had they left her door open. She meant to savor the meal because it tasted better than usual, but odd things were starting to happen with her vision. The last thing that seemed real was one of the guards placing a black bag over her head. After that, San struggled as she was walked by the guards to somewhere. She kept seeing flames before her eyes and they were too close. Everywhere she looked, fire seemed to be right in front of her face. San heard a door being unlocked and opened and a voice saying her name in a questioning tone. The fire was removed from San's vision and in its place; there was a monster with red eyes, black fangs, blue wings like a bat's, and furred, brown legs.

"San?" the monster questioned again and came towards her, wings stretching out and fangs being bared. She crouched low, ready to attack and kill the thing.

"Get away from me, demon!" she yelled and leaped at the monster, her hands closing around its throat.

Ashitaka felt his vision slowly turning black.