THIS COMES WITH A TRIGGER WARNING - If you are easily triggered by scenes of pain and agony, there's a line that signals where the worst of it is. There will be another line to signal when it is done.
If I can just stay awake long enough to do anything, that would be wonderful. I grumble as I wake up. I look down into my arms. There's no one there, so at least the little girl is alive. I feel the wood from above start to crush me, so I start crawling out from underneath the wreckage. I manage to wiggle my way out as the last of the house crumbles. I let myself collapse, exhausted and just feel pain all over.
"Starshadow?" I call out weakly. There's no response. I shiver and force myself to stand up. "Starshadow?" I yell. There's people looking at me like I'm insane, but they stay away. I push myself into a walk and hobble down the street. Everything is so green and dark compared to Ionia and Targon. I shiver, feeling like I was being watched. It feels so cold and scary in this place. Still, I have to find Starshadow. I guess that one of the children that I woke up to the first time stole him. Just great. On top of being trapped here, I don't have my best friend. That didn't take long to lose him.
"Somethin' botherin' ya?" A deep twang rings next to my head. I turn and shriek. A catfish on legs is standing in front of me. He's got a jacket and a gold chain going to a pocket. "You seem lost. How might I, Tahm Kench, help a damsel like you?" He tips his hat to me.
"Um, I, uh." I don't know how to respond. While it's nice that someone is offering to help me, I don't like the feeling of this Tahm Kench.
"Oh, darlin', you can tell Ol' Tahm anythang. I won't hurt ya." He coaxes. I stare at his jagged teeth and just creep backwards.
"Um, thank you for the offer, but I think I'd be better off on my own." I burst away. His laugh echoes down the street.
"You'll come back to me, dear. The desperate always do." His voice chuckles. I race into a busy ship port and gasp for breath. I lean against the side of a stand. I've never seen anything like that thing. And I really hope I won't see him again.
"Get off, you bastard!" A cracky vendor shoos me off. I flinch back. This place is certainly more aggressive than what I'm used to. I take a moment and look around, hoping that I could spot something familiar. Everyone's so busy walking around me. I fall against a wall and try to make sense of what is happening. All I know is that I lost Starshadow, saved a girl from being burned to a crisp, and Tahm Kench is creepy. I don't even know where I am.
"Are you alright?" Someone asks me. I'm so deep in thought that she scares me. I shriek and turn to see a lady in rags looking at me. "Do you have a bit of coin for the weary, miss?" She walks towards me. I back up a bit.
"N-n-no, I don't." I tell her. She sighs.
"That's too bad. I need some gold. Perhaps your eye will fetch a pretty price." She pulls out a knife and swings it at me. I yelp and dodge. "Help an old lady out, won't you?" She cackles as she continues to swipe for my face. I keep backing up and trying to avoid getting hurt. She gets my face and arms a few times, but I manage to stay safe. She tires herself out a bit and starts to panic.
"No. I need your eye. Give me your eye! I need it!" She looks at the water fearfully. "GIVE ME YOUR EYE!" She makes one last desperate attempt on my face. It slices cleanly through my right eyelid and eye. I scream in agony as my eye pops. She races up to my face and forces the eyelid open. She curses at seeing the mess of my face before she flees back down the alley. I struggle to keep breathing through the pain as I sob. Everyone else mills around like everything is normal. I'm in so much pain I feel dizzy.
Starshadow. Yone. Someone. Help me. I cry, one side of my face a river of blood. My tears fall into my mouth, tasting of salt and blood. I struggle to just calm down. Please, just somebody help me! I sob to myself. The pain in my eye just builds and builds. I force myself to stay conscious. The agony is blinding.
Eventually, I get used to the pain. Instead of an all encompassing pain, it's a pulsing ache. I take a deep breath and start to walk down the street, holding a hand over my eye. I try to find Starshadow, but with one eye slashed through, I struggle to not bump into people.
"I'm sorry, sorry." I mutter to each person I bump into. Some curse me. Some look at me in annoyance. Some in curiosity. I don't care all that much. I need to find Starshadow. I walk all around the pier all day. A few kids come close and try to pickpocket me. It would have worked if I had pockets. In the middle of the day, I still haven't found Starshadow. I'm sitting on the edge of a dock. "Starshadow!" I scream.
"Who you lookin' for?" I jump and turn to see a normal man. Well, he looks normal enough to me. He's wearing some rags, but he might help me. I get up to look at him right in his face.
"I'm looking for a snake. Have you seen a black snake with a red dot on his head?" I ask.
"Sorry darlin', but I'm all out of sea snakes." He says. "Now get lost!" He backhands me. I fall to the ground. I'm really scared now. Where is my best friend?
"Starshadow!" I keep calling out for my friend. Everyone continues to watch me until they get used to my yelling. I yell until my throat croaks. Even then, I can't give up.
"Starshadow." I rasp. I'm utterly exhausted. My stomach growls, reminding me that I haven't eaten since I was with Yone. Yone. What would he do in this case? Well, he'd have a sword to defend himself. He'd also stay calm, even if his eye is currently out of use. He'd try to find some shelter. Or maybe some food?
I spot a vendor selling some really crappy fish. The vender looks like he's in a panic. I walk over to him.
"Are you ok?" I ask.
"Get away from my catch, you damned bastard!" He snarls at me. I back away quickly.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not here to steal! I'd just like some food." I plead. He scoffs and moves to slap me. I try to dodge, but with only one eye I don't quite get out of the way in time. I'm slapped to the ground for a second time.
"Get away from my shop, you filthy piece of shit!" He curses me. I flinch and run away. All this aggression, this anger, it makes me feel very uneasy. I wish Starshadow was here with me, he'd help. At least, I think he would.
The day passes by in a blur. I keep asking shopkeepers if they had any food to spare. Some just shooed me away. Others pulled out a weird contraption that made a loud sound. I stayed clear of those with the weird things. I finally found a vendor that would let me have a little bread. She felt bad seeing one of my eyes slashed through. It also helped that I offered my services into her shop. I had actually performed a little illusion magic, making the shop seem a little brighter. People came flocking over. She gives me an impressed look and throws me some food.
"You earned your pay, you bastard child. Now get out of here." She snaps. I nod my head and run away with my small meager bit of bread in my hands. It's not much, but it's something. I move to hide in an alleyway and eat my bread in peace. I'm about to start eating when someone says they're looking to return a snake. I bounce up and race over to the people.
"Did you say you found a snake with a red dot on his head?" I ask eagerly.
"We did, in fact. Boys?" He looks over my shoulder. That's the last thing I see before something whacks me hard across my head.
-SCENE STARTS HERE-
"Wake up, whore!" Someone yells. I smack my head into some metal. In pain and missing half my vision, I realize that I'm in a cage. I shiver and back myself into the corner away from everyone in my cell room. Some of the men laugh darkly. The man in front of me, I guess is the leader, carries a bag on his waist. "The girl's scared!" A man sneers and kneels to look at me right in the eye. "Oh, lookie here boys! I don't remember being able to see that eye so clearly before!" I press my hand to my injured eye. There's no massive ache. When I let go and open that eye, I realize that everything is blurry. Thank goodness for the advanced healing. At least my eye won't be permanently gone. "Gerry said he found the girl yesterday with half her face covered in blood. Hair's a pretty thing, so I thought I'd take her with me. Now lookie at them eyes. They are unusual, aren't they boys?" The man bangs his hand against the bars. I flinch and curl farther away. "Wouldn't she fetch a pretty price with the boss?" Everyone cheers and laughs. I curl into a ball, crying again. "I want them eyes. Them heal fast, don't they?" I start to hyperventilate as the man opens the cage doors and comes towards me with a knife. "Don't worry little girl. It'll grow back. I just want that pretty red and black eye of yorn." He shifts his dagger into a stabbing position. I start to scream. He stabs it into my eye socket and cuts my eye out. I feel pain blossom quickly. He takes his time, slowly peeling out my eye and cutting the nerves behind it. I don't stop screaming and thrashing. He doesn't do it quickly. I can feel every single nick and cut the dagger makes. After what feels like an eternity, he finally stops and pulls out my eye. He holds it triumphantly above his head as I slump from the pain. The slash from before is nothing compared to loosing the whole eye. Still, I can feel the location start to heal from the cut. The man grabs my hair and forces my head back. He pulls open my eyelid and whistles.
"Lookie here, boys! It's already done bleedin'!" He laughs.
-Worst of the scene is done-
"Where's the snake?" I plead. The man just turns and kicks me back. I pull away, scared.
"The snake's right in front of you, missy. Oh, wait. One eye's healin', the other's gone, so I guess you can't see. Here you go." He pulls out something. It's too blurry for me to make out what it is. I can hear something thrashing inside.
When I get out of here, I'm going to hunt your ass down and twist it out of this realm!
Starshadow? I whimper.
Leilah! Is that you? Starshadow calls out to me. I sob in relief, knowing that Starshadow's ok.
Yeah, I'm ok. What is happening?
I don't know. What happened with you? Starshadow explains.
They took my eye. The left one.
THEY DID WHAT?
It hurts, Starshadow. I want to leave.
I know, we'll get out of here, I promise.
How? We can't wait for an emergency. We need to leave now! I protest.
I agree. Good news, I think the next time we change locations, we aren't going to be here. Starshadow tries to cheer me up.
Until then, I'm going to be in agony. I may even be blind! It sounds like they want to pull my eye out!
Just, Stay calm. I'll get out of this bag and we can leave for a while. We'll find a way out, I promise. That's all the time we have for a conversation before the man pulls the bag away.
"Gangplank's gonna want to see her. He'll pay a pretty penny for the girl, won't you think? Until then, when her eye heals, cut it out, got it?" The leader snaps. I shiver and realize that this is torture. I don't know how long it will be before I give out.
Days pass. I'm given food and water. Surprisingly enough, the eye that was taken out actually grew back. I don't know how. My captors were delighted to hear this and proceed to cut my eyes out each time they heal or reform.
"Thank you, little one. Your eyes are certainly valuable."
"How?" I rasp.
"We got some cultists around that enjoy the rare eyes you have and use 'em for potions. Weird ones, but money is where money is. Now, how's the pretty blue-green eye of yours doing? Healing up ok?" He taps his dagger against my cheek. I flinch and try to pull away.
"Please stop." I beg.
"Naw, see, you and the snake, now I never seen anything like you two, and you certainly are pretty little thangs. Maybe I'll sell the two of ya. More cash. Besides, you are worth quite a bit of money on your own."
"Leave me alone." I whisper and huddle into a corner. The man laughs. He walks away. I hear the door slam and I relax. It's quiet and I'm alone for a moment. There's silence in the room for a moment. The door creaks open, quieter than before. I sit up and blink rapidly, desperately wishing that I could clearly see who it is.
"Here." A boy pulls a little meager piece of bread down. I feel my way to it and hungrily scarf it down. The only sound I hear is my chewing and eating. He walks out the door and closes it quietly behind him. I sigh as my stomach feels mildly better.
"Well, now, little lady. You seem to be in quite a pickle. Would you like to make a deal?" The familiar drawls of Tahm Kench fill my ears. I squeak and pull away.
"What kind of deal?" I ask hopefully.
"I can get you out of here for the cost of one limb." He offers. I flinch, feeling the agony of loosing an eye switch to a limb.
"No. I'm not that desperate." I stammer.
"Oh? Now what could possibly be so important that you wouldn't take Ol' Tahm offer?" He sneers. Thankfully, my eye finally clears enough to see Tahm Kench's face twisted in interest.
"I'm not telling you. You won't set your sights on him." I refuse.
"A him? Well now, that is interesting. Tell you what, for the cost of your arms and legs, I'll get both you and him outta here. How's that?" Tahm Kench makes another offer.
"No. He'll escape and help me. He promised…" I whisper.
"Very well. It seems like a deal is not going to be made today. I'll come back. Maybe someday, you'll take my deal." He laughs as he dives into the ground like it's water. I shiver and pull away. The door slams open again. The man that has Starshadow saunters over to me. I pull away.
Leilah, I need you to trust me. I'm going to use your magic.
What? Why?
I can't hear you scream anymore. Starshadow cries in my head. I feel tears peak at the corner of my eyes. Starshadow was next to me every single time they pulled out my eyes. He's in just as much pain as I am.
Do it. I tell him. I immediately feel bone tired as Starsahdow uses my magic. The man walks over to my right and makes some motions that he clearly believes is him digging his knife into my face. I sob in relief that he took our bait and I'm not hurting anymore. He holds the fake eye in triumph and smirks at the illusion Starshadow made.
"Thank ya very kindly for your contribution, miss." He cackles as he walks away. I slump down and finally get some sleep.
Thanks to Starshadow and I sharing magic, he's been able to keep the illusion going. I'm not sure if I would have come up with the idea of using my magic if it wasn't for Starshadow. As it was, I'm barely able to stay awake. My eyes have fully healed, so I've been trying to figure out how to get out my cage. I couldn't teleport without Starshadow nearby. I cough harshly for a long time, struggling to breath. After days of being held in a dingy cage, I caught a very nasty cold. Still, I keep trying to figure out a means of escape that would let me grab Starshadow and we can book it outta here. I can't give up. That would be the death of us.
"You look like you're on the edge of death, girl. Won't you give me, a humble man, a deal to break you free? The only cost of that is your magic." Tahm Kench tries to tempt me. He comes every few days when no one watches and makes an offer to get myself and Starshadow out. Each time, he asks for something more than I was willing to consider before. Before, he wanted an eye as it was healing. I couldn't stand willingly putting myself through that pain, so I declined. Now, I would have gladly given it to him, but he wants my magic now, and I really can't part with that.
"I… don't want… to…" I gasp.
"Girl, you are more stubborn than gum on a shoe. You think your partner can live like this? You think you can live with a sickness?" He argues.
"I… don't… want… your… help." Tahm shakes his head at my refusal once again.
"Would you really rather face death than let me help ya?"
"You aren't… taking… my magic… I was...trusted with it… If you want… anything else… fine. But my magic… is off the...table." I slump over. Tahm starts to laugh.
"You'd let me take your life, your soul, but not your magic? You are certainly the most interestin' girl I've ever met."
"Interestingly enough… You haven't agreed… So… no… deal." I croak. Tahm makes a small noise of frustration.
"I'll come back for ya one more time with an offa you can't refuse." He promises before he dives into the floorboards. Blissful silence stays in my room for minutes before the door bangs open. I don't even have the energy to flinch. I just stare through barely open eyes. I see an outline of a man kneel down and look at me.
"The girl's supposed to be in good condition." He barks. I just blink.
"She is! There's not a single scratch on her, boss. And we've tried. See?" The leader pulls out a knife and swipes it into my arms. I've grown so used to the pain I don't twitch or fight anymore. Or maybe it's because of my illness?
"This is not good condition. And the snake, you give me a rope?" The boss roars. He throws a bag to the ground. The opening aat the top loosens. I see Starshadow slither sluggishly out. He truly is just skin and bones, same as me. I try to reach for him. He wiggles into my cage and coils around my wrist.
"Give the merchandise back, girl!" The leader from before notices and pulls out a whip. I look down to my feet and smile. Once, I would have been afraid of the dark ooze. Now, I'm grateful for it. The darkness shifts up our bodies quickly. I feel Starshadow pull himself into an upright position and laugh. Both men freeze.
"You should have never let us reunite." He laughs out. The ooze covers the both of us and we teleport somewhere once more. I struggle to stay conscious the entire time we travel. This time, we bump into someone as we exit out the ooze..
"Wha-" The poor man can't even finish a sentence before I can't stay awake anymore.
I gasp and look around. I don't feel so ill anymore. I see my body has recovered quite a bit. I sigh and get up. It's about time that I'm not sick and having to recover. Though, what am I recovering from?
"LOOK LAMB. SHE IS HERE." A deep voice growls. I jump and whip around. Before me stands a wolf head circling a lamb. The lamb holds a bow and arrow. I back away, afraid.
"Wolf, you are frightening her." She scolds the wolf before turning to me. "What about you? Will you stay-"
"OR WILL YOU RUN? PLEASE RUN! WOLF LIKES WHEN PREY RUNS!" The wolf interrupts. I shriek and fall onto my butt.
"Where am I?" I ask. Both Lamb and Wolf look surprised.
"You are dead. We are here to send you to the next life." Lamb replies. I hyperventilate. I'm dead?
"I can't be dead. My family, my friends, Starshadow! They wouldn't let me die!" I cry.
"You are dead. I am here to send you to your next life." Lamb tells me kindly. I just start to scream.
"NO! I want to go back!" I try to call my magic. It's not there anymore. I finally understand that I'm dead. I stare at the duo in fear. "No. No, I'm not ready! I can't go yet!" I yell before turning and running. I hear Wolf howl happily. I feel the need to duck and I dodge an arrow. I turn and see both Lamb and Wolf hunting me. I face forward and just keep on running. Eventually, I run into an edge. I turn and shiver, afraid when the Wolf emerges.
"FOUND YOU!" Wolf is about to take a huge bite out of me when I feel exhausted and just go to sleep.
I gasp awake. Three men are kneeling in front of me. One is the man that caught me from when we were on the move. The other two were looking at me in worry. I struggle to breath as I turn onto my side and throw up. One pats my back while I heave until I can't anymore. I cough and cry.
"Starshadow?" I rasp. "Where's Starshadow? Where's my snake?" I croak. I can't move, but I still want to know where he is.
"A black snake?" An older voice asks.
"Yes."
"I'm holding him. Though, he's not much of a snake. More of a dot." A different voice says. I force myself to move a little bit.
"You shouldn't be moving." A third voice protests. I just keep trying.
"I need him." I whisper. There's silence as I struggle to move until someone holds their hands in front of me. I look to see that he's right. There's a black dot in his hands. I try and reach out, afraid that he's gone.
Starshadow? I whisper in my mind. The black dot shivers after a tense moment.
Never… Die… on me… again… The dot shrinks. I relax, relieved to know that he's still alive. Someone picks me up. I struggle weakly against him.
"N-n-no. Please...n-no" I whimper. I feel some arms tighten around me. I start to panic. Are they holding me to get my eyes? Or something else on me?
"We will watch over you." The voice rumbles.
"W-w-where am I?" I refuse to stop struggling. I don't feel safe. I have to protect Starshadow while he recovers. I can't just let my guard down.
"Zhyun. You're on the island of Zhyun." The man tells me. I start to shake.
"Where's that?"
"Ionia." I cry in relief when he tells me where I am. Ionia is safe. "Sleep now. The Kinkou order will watch over you."
"Master, we can not wait for her to recover. We need to catch the Golden Demon." One of the man's companions says.
"Govos, can you not sense her potential? She wields such a small, yet important power. She's someone that our target may want to use. She comes with us." The second companion says.
"Well said, Shen. She has not died yet. Perhaps think of this as a break from our target." The man holding me says. I struggle to stay awake, but I can't anymore.
Am I truly safe with these people?
Oh boy, I'm sorry Leilah! She's a sweet girl that just visited Bildgewater to help out someone in need and she's dealing with this? Her looks are certainly getting attention, but Bildgewater was never the kind of place that I would imagine nice. I mean, Pyke came from there! At least she's going back to Ionia. She definitely needs to rest and recover from that. Though, the Golden Demon is certainly someone familiar, wouldn't you think?
To keep my story from being banished, I am changing the rating from T to M. No, there won't be any sex scenes, but Leilah is meeting people who don't care if she can't fight back, they will try to kill her. As such, I'd like to write out the scenes in more detail to give a better picture of how she will mature mentally from all the trauma.
Leave a review and follow if you'd like! I have an AO3 account now, so all these stories will be posted there too. The timeline will be the same, Sunday and Thursday, so don't think you get a sneak peak anytime soon! XD I'll be posting all the chapters I have already done there as well, so if you prefer Fanfiction or AO3, you won't be missing a thing, I promise. See you all Thursday!