It hurt. The first one hurt the most. It was the first crack and he wasn't prepared for it. He wasn't prepared for it to hurt that much. It only lasted for a split second before it was pulled back but the pain was unbearable. And he had to do it thirty nine more times.

A cool red liquid drizzled down his back as he bit his lip, almost breaking skin. His hands gripped onto the ropes that had bind him. It wasn't a request by the woman but by him himself so he wouldn't back out. His fingers paled as his fingers gave the rope a death grip at the sound of a third crack of a whip. He could hear the cackling from the woman behind him and gasps from around him whenever the whip made contact with him. She had forced them to do it in one of the most populated cities in the country. The crowd that had gathered after the first snap was quite large and after each whip it got larger and larger. The prince actually got curious on how large it would be after the fortieth.

"Is that the prince?" He heard someone ask in astonishment. He didn't open his eyes to see who it was, squeezing them close as the next hit came. His teeth bit down harder on his lip until he felt blood dripping into his mouth. As the whip fell back, Zen took the time to spit out the blood so he didn't end up choking on it but the taste was already on his tongue.

"Yes. The second prince." Someone else answered them. The next hit came just after the spit so he didn't have time to close his mouth again. He let out a short and pained yell before he was able to close his mouth. Even without seeing them, he could feel Mitsuhide and Kiki flinching. He told them that they didn't have to be there if they didn't want to. They could leave. But they both insisted on being by his side.

"Is he being punished?" Someone else asked as well. Zen ended up biting onto his tongue next, not having enough time to actually get to his bottom lips. Biting his tongue hurt more than his lips and he was pretty sure that he cut it. The pain from the whips got his mind distracted from his cut tongue though. He wasn't grateful for it either.

"Maybe it's Izana? Is Izana punishing him?" The person close to the first speaker replied, guessing. Zen opened his eyes a little bit to stare in the direction of the person who suggested that idea. He couldn't say anything, he didn't have enough time to even if he was able to muster out some words. However, he hoped that the speaker was able to read his unspoken message. That Izana was not to blame.

Then his eyes closed again as the next hit came.

"No it wasn't." Someone else spoke up that time, loud enough for the whole crowd to hear, someone that sounded a little familiar. They were from the castle. They weren't Kiki or Mitsuhide, Zen instructed them not to speak during the time but they were definitely from someone in the castle.

"Zen is doing this to protect an innocent civilian who was kidnapped by the woman up there." Yes it was definitely a guard. Zen couldn't wrap his head around which one though. There wasn't a lot of time for his thoughts to be created. "The court herbalist was kidnapped. A kind and sweet girl that everyone loves. This woman kidnapped her and demanded for his sword and Izana's crown."

It must be a guard that was around a lot if they knew all of that. Or maybe they were eavesdroppers. Zen was having a hard time pinpointing who the person was without opening his eyes but it helped distract him from the pain so he was grateful for it.

"Was Izana too greedy to give it to them?" A person asked, cutting the guard off.

"No that wasn't it." He stated calmly, "Prince Izana did not wish to give into a terrorist's demands. Especially since if he had given them the items, they could've sold them for a high price and became stronger. They could've hurt more people that way. So Zen made a negotiation with the woman and agreed to this. He agreed to this so a stranger could come back home and live another day."

There was a pause as the crowd processed what he said. Even the woman stopped the whipping for a moment. Whether the guard genuinely thought they were strangers or if he was protecting her...Zen didn't care. He was grateful for it as well.

"They aren't strangers." The woman grumbled before sending the whip back to Zen, "They are lovers."

"...So?" Kiki spoke up this time despite Zen's orders. Her and Mitsuhide...they were the only ones that could get away with disobeying him on something important like this. It was probably just because the prince was scared of them though. "So what if they're lovers? She's still no different from the innocent people here. We found her running from someone who was out to get her and Zen protected her. He was under no obligation to protect her since she wasn't even from our country but he still did it. Just like he's doing now. Protecting her."

"Kiki..." Zen mumbled with a frown. He didn't like being talked about like that. It was embarrassing. Of course the last thing he should really have been thinking about was embarrassment but he just couldn't help it. Whether he knew it or not, the man was quite modest.

"I guarantee he would do the same if it happened to anyone in the castle. Even someone he didn't know." Mitsuhide added in.

Zen didn't like that promise. The woman had whipped him around ten times? That was only a quarter amount of the times he would be whipped. He knew that he did not ever want to experience it again. Truthfully, he didn't know if he would do this again or not if someone's life was in danger. He kind of hoped he would be able to do it but he really didn't know. It hurt a lot.

"Liar." The woman behind him grumbled before the whip made contact with his back again. Zen's teeth bit down harder on his lip at the pain of the whip. The liquid dripping down his back only got heavier and made its way to his pants. He was smart enough to take his shirt off but that didn't stop his pants from getting stained with his own blood.

Zen let his eyes close again as the whip was retracted. His tongue tasted the blood dripping down his lips as his teeth bit down hard again as the whip made contact. The pain extended itself in Zen's back as he ended up slumping over, losing strength that allowed him to keep sitting up straight. He was happy that they had outlawed this as a way to punish criminals or servants. He was extremely happy over that. He hoped no one would have to endure the pain he was feeling, the humiliation.

"Stop it!" Someone yelled, someone younger. Maybe around ten, Zen didn't see who. He kept his eyes close, not finding the strength to open them but the voice sounded young. There was no reply from the woman behind him and in the crowd in front stopped murmuring. He couldn't see the reaction that anyone had to the person yelling, but he did know that it took a few extra moments than normal for the whip to snap at his back.

"Yeah, stop it!" The voice was older, much older this time.

"Shut up." The woman from behind hissed but her voice was drowned out as more people started yelling. As the yelling got louder, the whipping stopped. Curiously, Zen forced his eyes open a little bit to see the crowd in front of him.

Rocks. They were pelting rocks at the woman behind him. They continued to yell as the rocks were thrown in the air, completely missing Zen. Forcing his head to turn, Zen looked back to see the woman holding her hands above her head to try and protect her head from the impact of the rocks. They were thrown over his head and a few would hit the woman. Some missed but none of them hit Zen. The whip was still in her hand as she protected herself and Mitsuhide and Kiki had perplexed expression on their faces. They didn't know what to do.

"Stop it!" The woman screamed at them as the rocks hit her.

Zen turned his head back to I'm front of him and stared at the crowd in front of him. "Stop.." He said in a weak voice to the group as the woman started to walk closer.

No one heard him, or they just ignored him because the rocks kept coming. The footsteps of the woman started to get closer and he glanced back again to see her coming towards him. No..She was going towards the crowd. One hand was still covering her head while the one holding the whip was by her side.

As she neared the group, she started to lift the whip up.

"STOP IT!" The woman screamed as she snapped the whip toward the crowd, but one person in particular. A child, a little girl at around ten years old. The girl didn't have any time to move or even realize what was happening, she could only widened her eyes as the whip came close to her.

But it never hit her.

Using the strength he didn't know he had left, Zen pushed himself off the ground. With his hands still attached to the thankfully long ropes, Zen flew up in the air and used himself as a human shield. The whip smashed into his back just before he fell to the ground. The pain ran through his veins as his shoulder slammed into the cobblestone before him. He was able to see the shocked expression on the little girl's face before his eyes closed and his conciousness was swept away.