A little something I found on my USB that was for an assignment yet somehow fits Joeri.

Not yet powerless

MY EYES ARE ACCUSTOMED TO THE DARK. It was the first thing I opened to in this twisted world. My dear mother too ashamed to see the abomination she birthed. She pushed me out and left a babe without any swaddling clothes at nature's mercy.

Is my dear mother still alive?

Maybe yes. She made it back to her home town and lived the proper life of a housewife. No cursed child to worry about. No second thoughts spared for the babe she abandoned.

But then again, the wolves could have gotten her. Smelled the afterbirth and bleeding and found easy prey. Wailing and crying as sharp teeth dug into her flesh, gnawing at her bones until she was no different than an old corpse.

It's a fun thought to entertain, Mother Nature taking a mother that left her child to the elements, but then there was that boy. That damned reflection.

My hands rub against cold stone, cooling my temper. No need to drift to those thoughts, not when I've shattered that reflection permanently.

There's a rattle of steel as someone unlocks my cell, the sound bouncing off empty walls and lingering. This is one of the more annoying things about a big empty room. Not like my old cell, so small that I had to hug my knees to fit. It had been cramped but I hadn't mind. Smiling straight into those 'brave' guards and watching them tremble had been so much fun.

The footsteps are loud and echoy, ridiculously exaggerated. Great, this fool again?

The guard stamps across my cell, making as much noise as possible in a futile attempt at intimidation. He drops something in front of me and it clatters against the stone floor.

'Dinner, blood-guzzler.' He says, all high mighty and arrogant. 'Enjoy it while you can. It'll be your last.'

'My last meal you say…' I inspect the contents of the tray. One thing is crusty and lumpy and rock-hard. A stale bread loaf. The other feels gritty and there are craters over its three faces. Cheese…maybe. I take a bite out of the 'cheese'…and immediately spit it out. Bleh. Whatever that stuff is it's definitely not cheese. It makes me almost afraid to try the 'bread'.

The guard snickers. Ah, so the fool thought it would be amusing to poison me?

I throw the 'food' back onto the tray and kick it away. It skids across the stone with enough force to cause the guard to yelp when it crashed into his boots. Pathetic.

'This is disgusting.' I say. 'Isn't a prisoner's last meal something of their choice?'

'Y-you are in n-no position to m-make any d-d-demands!' He squeaks. I can practically smell the fear rolling off him yet he still tries to assert control. How cute.

'Poor Mr. Guard, is little old me scaring you?' He's backing away now, small footsteps towards the entrance. 'I'm so sorry about that but you see, it's been so long since I've had anything decent to eat…'

'St-stay away from me!' Fool, have you forgotten I'm chained to a wall?

'I bet you would be tasty. Do you think I could take a bite, Mr. Guard?'

The guard flees my cell, slamming the door and running back into the light as fast as his clunky boots can carry him. Good. He still remembers who's the hunter and who's the prey.

Sometime later the sound of a key slitting into a lock once again greets my ears. It could have been a couple of minutes after my last meal, or maybe even a couple of months. Who knows? Time is blurred in the dark. Everything is fluid while waiting for death.

There are two people there. One is the guard with his heavy boots and false bravado while the other one is…

Oh.

My lips twitch upwards and I look directly where I know my visitor is standing. 'Birdie-boy! What a pleasant surprise. How's life been?'

'Shut it bastard.' He growls. Ah yes. He's always been the more fun to rile up, so easily too.

'What? Don't like the sound of my voice?' I can practically see his face contort in anger despite the lack of visibility. The guard probably sensed the raw rage and backs away, his footsteps still heavy and clunky. 'Your sister said it was quite melodic, said it sounded a lot… like…'

I draw out my taunts, expecting him to lunge at me, but he doesn't. Instead there's a click and a stream of light assaults my face.

I howl at the sudden departure of darkness, at the burning of my eyes.

'Tch, you're nothing to fear.' He says, so smug and self-righteous.

'So you claim…' I pant. He doesn't turn the flashlight off but my eyes refuse to adjust to the light. They never have and never will.

I manage to turn my pants into curt chuckles. If he thinks bringing this monster to light makes it any less scary, then he's wrong.

'Where is she?' he demands, directing the light at my face.

I wonder what he sees, what I look like. Ragged prison clothes would never be as stunning as my old purple robes. The food here is terrible. My cheeks have probably hollowed out by now. Maybe it has been long enough for my skin to cling to bone.

Vulnerable.

Weak.

Powerless.

And in perfect control.

So I smile up at him, a gentle quirk of lips with a soft innocence. I know exactly who he sees with that smile: the damn reflection that dear mother chose to keep over me.

'She's perfectly safe.' I say in a faint raspy voice. Just like how the reflection used to speak, before his speech devolved into cries of pain and pitiful whimpers. 'Untouchable. Nothing will ever hurt her again, not a single thing will.'

There's a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes. He's not seeing at me anymore. The fool takes a step closer, begging for more information. The hand around the flashlight loosens.

I smirk and strike at him. The chains rattle and stretch but they can't hold me back. He's already within my range.

I knock the flashlight out of his hand. The bulb shatters and darkness, sweet sweet darkness, returns.

I grab his arm and pull him down to my level. 'She was quite delicious.' I whisper into his ear then I take a large bite and rip it off.

There is another click and the entire cell floods with light.

No! Too soon!

Don't take the darkness away!

Someone restrains me from behind and pushes me to the ground

Through blotchy vision I see the heavy-footed guard leads birdie-boy away. Blood is streaming from the left side of his head and the floor is dyed red.

I smirk. He's never going to forget me. Even when the memory of his sister and the reflection fade away, he'll always have a reminder of me.

And despite the burning light and the weakness of my flesh, I laugh.