The Cradle Will Rock

Summary: Sofia is abducted in the dead of night by none other than Greeneyes, an evil enchantress who has plans for the princess's unborn child.

Disclaimer: I own the villain Greeneyes, Angel, Corban, and Alamea (whether or not they end up being mentioned in here). Nana and Tanya belong to MarionetteJ2X.

A/N: *WARNING* This is where some of the very dark stuff happens, and that is not an exaggeration. I'm talking physical, mental, and emotional trauma. Again, take heed and decide for yourself if you can handle this. This chapter will be very dark and graphic.

Chapter 3: Barren

"Mm…" Bleary blue eyes opened, gazing around at the surroundings. Sofia was chained to the wall in a dank, dimly lit cell, complete with some pungent rotting corpses and decrepit skeletons lining the small area. Some of the corpses were probably only a few days old, considering their bloated but still intact states. One of the newer corpses was of a disheveled woman with thinning hair, her teeth having rotted out of her skull, and her skin filled with lesions and decay. Others looked as though they'd been there for much longer, with the remnants of the human flesh just barely clinging to the bones of the poor souls who'd once been within the confines of this same cell. Sofia felt her stomach churning as her eyes settled on those, and she instantly realized she absolutely preferred morning sickness to…this. She'd never be able to get that horrible odor out of her memory. "W-Where am I?"

She looked around her, noticing that there were several other cells in the unit where she was being held, and in those cells were…many other pregnant women like herself. However, most of them looked far dirtier and more bruised and cut up than she was. From what she could tell, many of their faces were sunken in and ashen. If she had to guess, she'd probably say that these women hadn't slept or eaten in days. Their clothing was practically nothing but rags, either loosely clinging to their deteriorating forms or torn away altogether, exposing them in ways that made the princess uncomfortable for them. Glancing down, she noticed that her own white pajamas were horribly dirty and dingy, and even ripped in a few places, but at least the fabric was relatively intact.

'I wonder what happened to them,' she thought as she heard a door clang open from a far side of the room. 'I wonder…what happened to me… Where am I? Where's Cedric?'

She was wrenched from her thoughts when she heard a clinking of keys hitting the iron cell door, and she looked up to see two unknown figures, heavily cloaked in dark brown robes and hoods, entering. She gasped as they roughly hauled her to her feet, unlocking the chains from her wrists and ankles, and unceremoniously dragged her out of the cell unit.

Eventually, the figures made their way to a large empty room, even more dimly lit than the cell unit. In a weird twist of disheartening agony, Sofia actually wished she was back in that cell… At least there, she'd been left alone and had the 'company' of other pregnant women… As if that were any way of looking at things, right?

The figures picked up the princess and placed her into a chair, strapping her in at the hips and upper chest and binding her arms and hands to the chair arms and her legs to the end of the chair. Without so much as a word to her, they finished their task and left her alone.

For what felt like hours, but was in reality perhaps only five or ten minutes, Sofia sat in that darkness by herself, her mind reeling with terrible images. Surely this was another one of her nightmares… Maybe she could wake herself up, and Cedric would reach over and comfort her like he always did… Rubbing her back, kissing her cheek, pressing his forehead to hers… Whispering that everything was—

"Is anyone there?" Sofia finally called out, realizing that this wasn't a nightmare and that she wasn't waking up. Her heart was beating alarmingly fast, and she could feel the blood rushing through her veins. She felt hot (possibly from a fever) yet cold (from the exposure to the elements) at the same time. She knew she was getting sick, and that would be bad news for the baby. She'd taken such good care of herself, too… She'd gone through great lengths to keep herself healthy so that their baby would be healthy…

Growing angry that she was in this situation, and that no one was answering her, and that she'd been abducted from her own bed in the middle of the night, the princess narrowed her eyes and yelled out, "Whoever you are, show yourself! What do you want with me?!"

A soft yet blood-chilling chuckle echoed in the darkness. The light just above Sofia was still rather dim, but it afforded her at least the tiniest bit of a field of vision. She couldn't quite make out the owner of the voice just yet, but she could tell it was a woman.

The woman in question stepped closer to the chair and out of the darkness, her hypnotic green eyes shimmering, and a wicked smirk on her dark lips. Her skin was pale, and there were mild dark circles surrounding her eyes. Her jet-black hair fell in layers down her midback, a swoop of bangs falling mostly around her left eye. She wore a midnight black skin-tight dress that hugged her curves and fanned out around her feet, moving gracefully as she walked, her sharp black heels peeping out beneath the hem every now and again. The sleeves were split at the elbow, falling around her arms and hands like lazy waterfalls. In her right ear only, she wore a rather large golden hoop earring, which matched the curvy gold necklace with black onyx gems that dangled from the chains. Amidst all the darkness in her clothing, hair, and makeup, the thing that stood out the most to Sofia were those horrid and terrifying green eyes, which practically bore through her as she set her gaze on her.

The moment Sofia laid eyes on her, she nearly doubled over in pain, her neck suddenly searing, like she was being branded. And then it hit her—the ORS (Oblivo Realm Symbol)… It had been seared into her skin so long ago now, back when the Elementals were a threat, that she'd nearly forgotten about it. In fact, very rarely had she even felt it, so over time, the symbol had faded from her memory. Maybe that's what they'd wanted…

"Now, now, Princess… Pay attention…"

Aerlo smirked as he watched his partner work, placing Sofia into some sort of trance as he spoke to her in their own Elemental language. He growled as he heard a shuffling nearby, and he narrowed his eyes toward Tanya and Zinnia. "Hey! They're supposed to be trapped with the others!"

"Run, Zinnia!" Ivy called.

"Tanya, be careful!" Cedric echoed. He looked toward Zemeo, who had placed his hand over Sofia's eyes. "Let her go!"

Zemeo snickered as he released Sofia, watching her hover midair before them, her eyes blank. "I seem to recall hearing those exact words not too long ago… Is it my fault the princess is so easily captured?"

Everyone witnessed as Sofia's eyes faded from their usual blue to completely black, the symbol that was on the wall behind them now in her own irises.

"What have you done to her?" Calista demanded.

"She's under the effects of the ORS now," Aerlo explained with a cackle as he used his air powers to cause both Tanya and Zinnia to hover near him. "The Oblivo Realm Symbol. It represents the Big Three, or the Triad of Evil, if you will. You've heard of Malum In Se… No doubt you also know of Master Extorio as well. And the third-"

"—will come in time," the other man interrupted, glaring at Aerlo. "And this symbol? A nicely antiquated but still relevant form of mind control, if you will. With Princess Sofia under our control, she will do our bidding. Won't that bode well for the so-called Protector of the Ever Realm?" He reached behind her, gently caressing her neck a few times, before snarling as he pressed his fingers into her flesh, a distinct searing sound heard, garnering a scream from her.

Sofia barely recalled hearing Zemeo and Aerlo talking of the 'third' member of the Big Three, but given that Malum In Se and Master Extorio had been defeated… She stared at the woman in dismay while panting, trying to recover from the burning sensation in her neck. "Y-You… You're the l-last member of the Big Three, aren't you?"

"Most people just call me Greeneyes," the woman cooed, reaching behind the princess's neck and gently stroking the dark symbol, smirking as Sofia seemed to feel a bit of relief as the mistress of darkness pulled some of the negative energy away. "I find it humorous that those fools thought you'd so easily fall under mind control. You're a difficult one to manipulate, Princess Sofia…" She pulled her hand away, hovering it over Sofia's abdomen instead. "Someone so strong-willed and clear-headed is very hard to control, but I'm a patient woman. After all…" She reached down and gently stroked the princess's abdomen. "I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time…"

"What are you talking ab—aaahhh!" Sofia screamed in a deafening cry of agony as she felt like her body was being ripped apart from the inside out. The dark magic that was coursing through her was very likely lethal, and she knew it. It was like poison, or acid, flooding her to the point where she felt like she was drowning and burning alive at the same time. It was a physical pain she'd never felt before in her entire life, and at that moment, she felt like death would be a better fate than experiencing this torment right now.

"You know, the two who brought you in here are part of my Replanting Committee. Basically, what happens is… Those women you saw in the unit? They provide the babies. I extract them when it's time to harvest. And then my committee…replants…more seeds…" She smirked as Sofia somehow found the strength to offer the woman a disgusted and even cold stare. The audacity… "I take it you're not interested in being…replanted?"

Sofia turned her head away, trying to will away the intense pain she was feeling, not to mention mentally block out the abhorrent images this evil woman had put into her mind.

"Very well." Greeneyes showed no emotion as she sliced through the princess's pajama shirt just above her stomach and then placed her hand directly over Sofia's abdomen where the baby currently resided. With a simple snap of her fingers on her other hand, part of that same dark magic that was coursing through Sofia tore her abdomen apart, some of her vital organs becoming exposed and blood pooling around her and darkening those once pure white pajamas. Any normal person would have likely died already, but the princess wasn't just any person, and they both knew it. She was protected by Light Magic, even though it couldn't save her from being literally ripped apart. As Sofia sobbed and screamed, her body still bound to the chair, helpless to move, Greeneyes sneered as her eyes landed on the object of her desire.

There, still encased in a protective sac, was the unborn child of Princess Sofia and Cedric the Sensational. Greeneyes used her magic to levitate the baby, coating her in a glowing orb for the time being, like a dark magic shield. As her dark magic lessened its effects on Sofia's broken body, she observed the young princess with glittering green eyes. She could tell that Sofia was fading, bleeding out from the sudden intrusive injury and unfathomable amount of dark magic that had probably permanently damaged some of her internal organs, and most likely countered that precious Light Magic the Reimagians always boasted about her possessing. The woman chuckled, "You're not as strong as they make you out to be…" She reached down, swiping one finger through the princess's blood, and promptly placed her finger in her mouth, humming in approval at the gentle yet coppery taste. "A great deal sweeter than most of my other victims, as would be expected of a Light Magic Wielder, but still human, magic or not."

"W-Why are…y-you doing th-this to m-my b-baby?" Sofia managed, still sobbing and nearly to the point of passing out from shock.

"Because your baby is the source of the most powerful magic in all the realms combined…" She smirked at the somewhat surprised expression on the girl's face, but it was hard to distinguish given the amount of anguish and pain she was experiencing. "I'll extract the magic from the child first, harvesting it for myself. And then, because it is required in the case of the Oblivo Realm…" She shrugged, carelessly tossing the encased baby as if she were bouncing a ball up and down in her hand. "I'll sacrifice the child, and then… I'll handle you. Two sacrifices for the price of one." She chuckled wickedly as Sofia coughed up some blood, which was now trickling down her chin, as tears fell down her face, the salty moisture on her heated skin adding even more discomfort to her situation.

Too weak to respond, the shock from the news caused Sofia to pass out. Left untreated, she was sure to die soon, and if what this woman said came to pass… She was as good as gone anyway.

Greeneyes laughed lowly as she held the glowing orb to herself. "Now then, little one…" She stared at the baby's orb almost fondly, albeit in a rather twisted and perverse manner. "Let me tend to you…" Without another word, she vanished into thin air, leaving Sofia alone to die.

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Unbound