A/N: I've got two kind of samey chapters again, it's essentially the same time passing in both chapters, but from the different perspectives. This is Misaki's part, Usagi's part is in the next chapter. Also, WARNING! Misaki's going to undergo some rough treatment and the like, tread carefully!

Blood dripped from the ropes onto the floor. Misaki had long since stopped struggling, but his broken skin was still raw and oozing. It was cold, the air, the floor, everything. Was it so cold because he was losing blood? It didn't seem like that much, that couldn't be it. Still, the air around him, musty and stagnant, was starting to make him shiver. He couldn't even move around to warm himself up, as any motion would only aggravate his torn flesh. Shivering and struggling had depleted his energy, so he wondered if he would end up freezing to death alone in the dark like this.

The panic had started to fade into a dull buzz. There was no way to keep up that level of terror, it was too energy costly. Sure, fear still surged through him, but now he could think a little more clearly. He was tied in a cage, it was dark, there was a door somewhere at the top of a staircase, he was alone. If he were going to escape, he'd have to do it now. No doubt they would stop him if they were present, and unarmed as he was, there was no chance of him fighting them off. Of course, he'd have to find a way to at least untie his legs. Even if he somehow managed to escape, tied as he was, he wouldn't get far. He could worry about his arms later, if he could somehow free his legs, he might be able to run. Would it be possible for him to find something sharp? Would he be able to chew through the ropes if it came to that?

Misaki pushed himself up against the bars of his cage, assessing if he could slide through or not. He quickly realised that it would be impossible, they were too close together to even get a leg through. He knew he'd barely be able to fit his arm through, so getting his whole body through would be simply out of the question. Where was the door? Was it unlocked? That seemed unlikely, but if he could distinguish where the door was, he could at least try to force it open.

He struggled around, trying to find what he thought to be the door. The cold bars deterred him, but he didn't stop right away. If there was a chance of finding the door, he'd take it. Eventually he gave up, there didn't seem to be any distinction along those bars, and pressing his body against them only made him colder. In this situation, he knew he had to conserve as much of his body heat as possible. Giving up, he wormed his way back to a corner and pressed himself against it. It was cold at first, but he knew his body heat would eventually reflect back to him. This would be the best way to conserve energy.

Time passed, he wasn't sure how much. With no sun, he couldn't tell if it was day or night, and the stone felt the same, never changing. A sound could be heard, and a glint of light filtered down from above. Misaki was slightly relieved to know the direction of the door leading outside, but also terrified to know that someone was coming.

Torch light replaced daylight as the door to freedom closed. A single man humming some disjointed tune descended the staircase and placed his torch on a hook nearby. It was too dim to see anything other than the vague outline of the man, and Misaki tried his hardest to stay silent and out of sight. Only a tiny hint of light hit him, it was possible that he could be overlooked entirely if the mystery person wasn't paying attention.

The sound of something small hitting wood could be heard, then the sound of metal hitting the floor. Some of the torchlight reflected off of what Misaki assumed to be coins on a formless table. The mystery man chuckled to himself, and muttered something unintelligible. So far so good, Misaki was certain that this person was unaware of his existence. Misaki took this opportunity to gain as much information as he could, seeing if he could find the door to his cage, and maybe something sharp he could use to cut his bindings. The light was limited, but it was certainly better than the complete darkness he had become accustomed to.

His investigation was cut short when the mystery man glanced his way. Instantly he was paralysed with fear and tried to stay perfectly still, but it was too late. Somehow the man had noticed him, and now he could do nothing but hope he didn't care enough to hassle him.

The mystery man grabbed the torch and approached. His face seemed to light up once he could get a good look at the captive Misaki. "My, what do we have here?" He said, enthralled. "OOooo, my luck's just getting better and better!" At that, he pulled what looked like a shimmering key ring from his pocket and scrolled through the few keys present. At least Misaki now knew his cell was locked, and could abandon hope of sneaking out.

Seconds later the door became unlocked and pushed aside. The harsh noise of metal scratching stone permeated the small space and the princess flinched. The man closed the door behind him, it was unclear as to whether or not it locked again, and approached. Misaki's face was seized, and the man sized it up with a hungry look.

"Oh, you're a pretty one. That's for sure. What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?"

Misaki tried to pull away, but couldn't break that grip on his chin. "No, leave me alone." He said in a meek, terror stricken voice. He couldn't let this happen, he couldn't let himself be found out…

"Now now, no need to be like that." He said, his voice getting more and more threatening by the syllable. "I ain't gonna hurt ya, I'm gonna show you a good time."

"Don't touch me! Stop!" He struggled, but the biting pain in his wrists and ankles slowed his movements. His voice lacked conviction and he could feel tears welling up in his eyes again.

His words were ignored, and soon he felt a tongue on his neck again. The sensation was entirely disgusting and unpleasant, it made him cringe in horror. "I'm guessing you're some kind of reward from one of our customers? Oh, he must've been mighty generous to offer up someone like you."

In his wild thoughts, Misaki suddenly formulated a plan that might get him out of this situation. If he just told the truth as best he could, maybe he could be spared. "No, you've got it wrong, I'm not a present, I'm a commodity." As much as it pained him to refer to himself as such, if he could stop this from happening, he'd buy into that narrative fully.

The man pulled back with a sort of dissatisfied look on his face. "A commodity, you say…"

"Uh, yes, I'm being held here for one of your clients. He said specifically that I must be pure, or else you won't get paid."

"Heh, if someone comes here with the money and refuses to pay, we'll just slit his throat and take it anyway."

"You don't know if he'll have the money on him though." He was just saying whatever came to mind first. His desperation was obvious, and he was trying his hardest to come up with something to get him out of this. "He might want to inspect me first, to make sure you all did your job…"

"Eh, either way, you're a fine prize already. I'd rather have you than the gold."

"But, your crew…"

"Just as long as the boss doesn't find out, what do I care?" His tone had become highly dismissive, and it seemed like he wasn't going to be reasoned with on the subject. At that he hauled the princess onto his lap, and ran a hand across his chest. As disgusting as it was to be touched by this man, he was more worried that his lightly padded bra wouldn't be convincing enough. Luckily, that didn't seem to be the case.

He ground his hips against Misaki's back, and even through the many layers of clothing, he could feel something poking him. He felt himself gag at the thought of this man's intentions. "No, please…"

"What's wrong lady? Do you not like it?" His voice was not the slightest bit apologetic. Misaki could feel hands toying with the restraints on his dress, and squirmed frantically. He felt a smack to the back of his head then, not as hard as he experienced lately, but still hard enough to make him go complacent. "Yeah, you better be good. You wouldn't want to damage that pretty face of yours."

"Actually…" He started, though much less assured than before. "Whoever is buying me really likes my face, so it would probably be good to not be so violent." Misaki had never thought about acting so meekly. He had always been in a position of relative power. Now here he was, begging for his integrity while helpless.

"Well, I don't have to hurt your face, now do I?" He still seemed completely unhindered and pulled on the strings holding up the dress at his leisure. It didn't take too long for him to get bored of that, as it was harder and more tedious than he expected. So instead of trying to strip the princess of her dress, he ran a hand under the skirt. Misaki jolted up again, closing his legs as tightly as he could given his bindings and the odd position he was being held in.

"No, no-"

"You're not being very inviting. Try being a little more sexy, okay?" The man's hands continued to travel up Misaki's skirt. He was terror stricken and couldn't move. His whole body appeared to seize up, even though he felt nothing but revulsion. He ground his teeth as he felt his butt being fondled. If it was just this, he could take it, probably. Just as long as his identity wasn't revealed, he could deal with it. It was vile, he hated every second of it, but as long as his country wasn't ruined because of him, he'd deal with it.

A sudden sound stopped the treatment. The perpetrator turned his attention to the doorway, apparently afraid of what might happen. Misaki didn't know if that was a good thing or not. Light filtered down once more, and the sound of chatter could be heard. Misaki did the only thing he could think of and shouted, "Help!"

"Quiet you!" He said, though didn't make a move to release him.

His call managed to grab the attention of whoever was coming down those stairs. They carried with them only one extra torch, and rapidly approached. These were the men that attacked him in the mess hall, but at the very least one of them seemed concerned. Misaki didn't care if that concern came exclusively from the desire to optimise profits, he just wanted this unwarranted exploration of his body to stop.

"What are you doing?" The presumed leader said. Immediately the mystery man leap up, and Misaki limply slid out of his grasp. A sigh of relief built up in Misaki's throat.

"I was just sampling, isn't this okay?"

"Get out of there. Do you know how much we're getting paid?" The leader sighed then. "You can have her if the guy doesn't pay up. Until then, hands off."

"Fine, fine." The door was opened then, and Misaki was left alone as the group sat around the table, now mostly hidden from sight.

He was so grateful for that that he felt himself tear up. Though, his mind wandered to the buyer, apparently he was rich, so he also likely had power. How was Misaki supposed get out of this? With every new thing he learned, his situation became more and more hopeless.