Pain. That was the first thing that Nathalie felt upon awakening. Something was hurting her leg, periodically impacting it roughly.

Despite that, she didn't want to wake up and fought against whatever was trying to force her awake with all of her might. Even if she had wanted to wake up, she wasn't entirely convinced that she would be able to. The woman could scarcely move. It was as if something had drained all of her strength. At most, she was able to shift awkwardly. Even her head rolled uselessly, her neck refusing to bear its weight. The most she could manage was to open one of her eyes a crack. The right only, for some reason, the left was decidedly unresponsive. What little she could see was to faint and blurry to make out. Everything would spin, forcing her to shut it once more so as to block out the confusion.

Still, the pain in her leg was a nagging one and because it was coming from an external source as opposed to being her body, she found herself compelled to make the effort to see just what was tormenting her. Although at this point, she was rather resigned to the fact that she couldn't do anything about it.

"Wake up!"

If she was entertaining any notion of trying to find some more rest which she desperately needed, it was quickly dismissed by the harsh tone of whoever was there with her. Groaning, she forced her eyes open. Without her glasses, much of the world was blurry. She could make out the form of a young man. Golden hair and green eyes, she recognized him instantly. For a few moments, she forgot about him, closing her eyes and beginning to slip away once more. It was Adrien… Just Adrien.

A sharper kick brought her to once more, causing her to gasp in pain. She looked to him, not understanding. Whilst her eyes might not be up to the challenge, she was able to pick up on the amused hum that the man let out and everything came back to her. It was terror which she felt as she found herself brutally thrown back into last night. She remembered each of the blows, reminding herself of just how she had come to be in such a state. In a flash, the pain on the side of her face came back, violent as ever.

"Back with me?" Came the taunting voice of Kahn.

She can't answer him.

Her mouth is dry and her face too painful to move, specifically the left side of it. Instead, she lets out a weak groan. She's powerless to prevent it. It's a desperate request for water. The young man approached. Staring down at her with a bemused expression, she actually heard him snicker. In response, she tried to move. Her right arm was handcuffed to the radiator, ensuring that she couldn't possibly escape. Not that she was in any state to do so. She wants to curse him, to let him know just what she's going through right now. Only a few vague mutterings make it past her lips.

The man unlocked her shackles freeing her. Her gaze flicked around, trying to find any clue as to just where she was. To her surprise, it was somewhere familiar. Adrien's bedroom to be specific. She struggles to remember just what had happened and how she had ended up her.

Her thoughts were disrupted by the young man slipping an arm around her shoulders so as to pull her to her feet. She couldn't fight or even protest, finding herself too weak. Had he released her, she would likely have fallen to the ground, her legs unable to bear her own weight. As it was, he guided her through the room and into the bathroom. There, he released her once more. She had just enough time to catch herself on the sink. Using it to brace herself. The woman turned to face Adrien, teeth gritted to ensure that she didn't let out any more complaints.

"Get yourself cleaned up and then meet me downstairs." He instructed coldly. "You have fifteen minutes."

Another thing that she didn't have was a choice… The woman nodded a few times. Struggling to catch her breath.

She could have collapsed after he closed the door. Her body wasn't ready to start moving around just yet. Maybe after a century's worth of rest, then she might be more open to it. Reminding herself that it wasn't Adrien but rather Kahn who had presented her with the demand in the first place, she decided against any notion of being brave and defiant. Instead, limping her way into the shower. She did her best to wash away the traces of the night before. Whilst the blood might drain away, the wounds remained. None of them were terribly serious or particularly endangered her life but they would definitely cause her to suffer for some time.

She did all that she could to treat them. Without her glasses, she couldn't make them out all that well. Some, she didn't particularly want to. The series of cuts running across her face were grizzly, a quick glance lets her know that they won't be healing any time soon. She'll be scarred, disfigured. There's no doubt about that much. The woman tries to console herself about that fact by telling herself that she's fortunate to still have her eye. The wounds, she suspected will likely only be a temporary nuisance. Given who she was now sharing a house with, she had largely resigned herself to the fact that she couldn't expect to live much longer.

The fact that he hadn't killed her last night is a mixture of a surprise and a concern to her. What could he possibly still want?

Dressing herself, the assistant made her way back towards the lounge. She was forced to brace herself on the wall as she went, using it for much needed support. She'd landed on her side during the – it wasn't really a fight, more of a beating – last night. It made walking a difficult task. Her weakness is such that even the relatively short distance separating Adrien's room from where she needs to be proved to be something of an endurance test.

She entered the room apprehensively. It was almost impossible to guess just what might be waiting for her. It was far from impossible that Kahn or whoever he was might simply be lying in wait, prepared to strike her down. She tried to be brave. Forcing herself tentatively through the threshold.

"Ah! Nathalie! Come, do sit down." The young man was sitting on the couch and patted the seat next to him invitingly. "How's the eye?"

In truth, it wasn't much worse than the other one. Without her glasses, her vision was sub-par to say the least. She wasn't too sure why he'd taken them from her. To ensure that she didn't pose a threat at all or perhaps to ensure that they weren't damaged during the thrashing? She wasn't about to question him. Choosing instead to remain quiet. Even straying away from the wall was something of a challenge in her mind. She hesitated, torn between obeying the man's command and her instinct demanding that she keep a distance.

Finally, it was the pain in her leg which prompted her to take a chance. She couldn't stand for much longer. So it was that she sat next to her enemy. Her body was tense. There was little that she would be able to do if he abruptly turned on her. Last night had been proof of that. Her only consolation was that he would likely have attacked her before now if he intended to either inflict more pain or to kill her.

Her unease must have been evident. It was hard to conceive of her being anything other than concerned by the turn of events. As she heard the man next to her chuckle lowly. He took a sick pleasure in dragging all of the uncertainty out. Whatever her fate was to be, Nathalie would much rather have been informed of it here and now as opposed to being left to wonder. Maybe that was the intention, to terrify her.

"Are you scared?"

"Of you? Yes of course I am."

She saw no point in lying or trying to pretend that she was any braver than she was. She wasn't that sort of person at any rate and wasn't about to give him a reason to test her assertions.

Adrien smirked but didn't comment. Plagg was nearby. Silent as ever. His new master must have banned him from speaking. Nathalie knew well that kwami's couldn't go against those who held their jewels. She'd witnessed it first hand with Gabriel and Nooroo and then subjected Duusuu to something similar. It wasn't something she was all that proud of. Now, she was fully aware that the creature was little more than a spectator. He could do nothing more than watch. Nobody would rescue her.

"I think its important that you and I know where to stand in regards to one another." The man declared after a few moments.

"You almost killed me." She reminded him. "I know where I stand."

"Don't exaggerate!" It was an almost playful rebuff. "If I wanted to "almost kill" you, you my dear, wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation with me. Keep that in mind."

Adrien's voice. Not his words.

She didn't know what to say. Remaining silent seemed like the best option. She wasn't about to try and negotiate, given that she plainly didn't have a leg to stand on. If Kahn wanted her dead, he could and would kill her. Right now, he didn't seem intent on spilling any more of her blood. She wasn't entirely sure just what he was playing at but was quite keen not to provoke him. There was little doubt in her mind that this was being tone to torment her, allowing her to wonder just what he was intending.

As the silence drew out however. She found herself struggling to bear it. At times, Nathalie had liked to think of herself as being relatively brave, at the very least fatalistic. Truth be told, she'd rather been expecting him to cut her down as soon as he'd learned of her betrayal. Instead, for some unknown reason, she found herself still alive. Battered, cut and bruised but still alive.

"So what are you going to do with me?" She asked eventually, unable to conceal her worry.

"You? You're going to do whatever I tell you to." He pauses for a few moments, letting it set in. "If I tell you to mop the floors, you mop the floors. If I want you to make my dinner, you make my dinner. Simple enough, right?"

She bit her lower lip, not attempting to shield her discomfort with the situation. Albeit, she fancied that things could have been worse. He could have intended to kill her. No doubt that wasn't entirely off of the cards. What else could she do but agree? At this point, she didn't have a leg to stand on. More or less literally, her limb hurt so badly, even the fabric of her jeans resting against her bruised and tender flesh caused her teeth to grind together.

There was no argument to be given. No refusal or defiance left for her to master. All she can do is sit there and try and make some sort of sense of it all. Kahn waited patiently, lying back in the couch, relaxed. He seemed to be waiting for something, some sort of acknowledgement perhaps?

"So..." She couldn't quite keep the disgust out of her voice. "I'm to be your slave then?"

"Slave. Pet. Play thing..." A cruel smile distorted his features, a glint the likes of which Nathalie had never before seen even in Gabriel Agreste's maddest moments had made its home behind his eyes. "Does it really matter? They're just words."

She felt her stomach turn at the prospect. For a moment, she contemplated rebellion. He could kill her in a heartbeat. Maybe that would be better. She wouldn't be a hostage, someone to hide behind. No doubt that was one of the main reasons for not ending her life. He didn't really need someone to do his bidding. Was this intended to humiliate her? She wasn't about to ask.

The strain of trying to focus on the rest of the world without her glasses caused her to wince. She wanted to rub her eyes and briefly attempted to do so. The stinging of her face was enough to promptly discourage her from doing so. She remained silent, waiting for whatever was to come next. It seemed unlikely that she would have any say in the matter. Adrien/Kahn would likely have a plan of some sort. One which of course she wouldn't be privy to. At this point, at best, she could hope to be left alone. At worst… Well, in all likelihood, she was still to discover that much.

"Why not just kill me?" It's a question which she felt compelled to ask.

"Oh. I might yet." He assured her, with a charming smile. "Adrien however seems to think that you were useful. If you were useful to him, why not to me? After all, you have experience with this sort of thing, don't you?"

"You know the answer to that..." Her eyes narrowed themselves in response.

He drew in closer all of a sudden, a clear threat. Nathalie was quick to pull back, falling off of the couch in the process. It didn't matter if she came across as a coward. Last night had been a demonstration both of what he could do to her and how merciless he would be. Perhaps worse, it had shown her that the young man that she knew and trusted wasn't in control. If he was still in there somewhere, he couldn't do anything to prevent whoever was now in possession of his body from inflicting pain. As such, her natural reaction when she came anywhere near him was to retreat as much as possible.

He heard him laugh. Her leg was playing up, making it difficult for her to get to her feet. He got up himself, kneeling down in front of her. He reached out, grabbing her cheeks, forcing the woman to look at him. Ignoring her gasps of pain as he applied pressure to the sensitive and damaged skin:

"As of right now, your life doesn't belong to you any more. You so much as breathe in a way that dissatisfies me and you will wish I had killed you last night." He reached down to get something out of his pocket, bring it close to her face. "Please me on the other hand and you might just come out of this better off."

To her surprise, he placed her glasses back on her nose for her. The world became clearer. She could make out the face of the young man. Instinctively, she found herself searching for any sort of distinguishing traits which would immediately give away the fact that this wasn't actually Adrien. Asides from the cruel smirk, which strangely he wasn't wearing at this point, he didn't look any different. In fact, he offered her a wonderful smile and for a moment, it almost felt as if she was fixed with the young man once more.

She wanted to flee. Her instinct demanded that she get to her feet and run. Unfortunately, her leg wouldn't allow it. She was terrified but powerless to flee. It caused the young man to laugh as he caught on to her fear. It was joyful, enthusiastic. As if this was all some sort of a joke. He released her, causing her head to roll somewhat. She was dazed, confused. Unsure just what was going to happen.

Instead, Adrien offered or rather took her hand, helping her to her feet. She managed to stand, albeit unsteadily, her legs were shaking as she managed to stand. She turned somewhat helplessly to the man by her side. He leered down at her, taunting and cruel:

"You are mine Nathalie Sancoeur."

A shiver of terror ran down her spine and abruptly, she found herself abandoned, left to stand by herself. She winced, gasping for breath. She couldn't tear her eyes off of the young man. The way he looked at her was different. No longer teasing. It would seem that he was about done with tormenting her for the time being. Now, he was far sterner. He was actually expecting something from her. She opted however to remain quiet. He was the one in charge and therefore giving out the orders. She would wait for them in silence.

"Find me the bug!"

A clipped order but not one which she had no choice but to obey. She nodded. Eager to exit the room, she attempted to do so with about as much dignity as she had left. Forcing herself to walk as straight and proper as possible. It was impossible not to limp, carrying her leg behind her but she at least managed to make her way outside. There, out of sight, she allowed herself to brace herself on the wall, using it for support as she made her way along. She had a job to do, just how she would go about it she didn't know but one thing was clear in her mind, she couldn't refuse, it would cost her her life.

Like it or not. She was now going to be working against the very group who would no doubt be trying to rescue her. Life, the woman reasoned, could be unbelievably cruel sometimes when it came to irony.

/

Really sorry for the delay! I promise to try and keep them coming more quickly in the future.