All he felt was pain. So much pain. More than he ever had felt his whole life. More than he ever thought he could survive.
But here he was, lying in a filthy cell, the light knew where, turned into an Abomination, a Monster. Anduin couldn't remember how he came to be here, his memories were fractured, fogged. All he remembered was that he had been on his way to meet up with his father somewhere.
The next thing the prince recalled was waking up here, wings like that of a dragon bursting out from out of his back, ripping it open in the process. He had screamed his lungs out at this unbearable pain before falling unconscious Anduin was mostly awake, even if pain was his constant companion. He heard others, somewhere out there being tortured like him, whimpering, screaming, begging for mercy. And he had seen the person responsible for all this madness. A male, human warlock, an insane glow filling his eyes, rambling about helping his master by creating soldiers. For now the prince was his favorite plaything, mostly because he had survived this insanity so far and had changed to his liking.
Anduin had no way to see how much he had changed by now other than what he could see with his own eyes or feel with his own hands. His hands, that weren't human hands anymore but claws with razor sharp nails, the wings on his back, his canines that turned into fangs and his once blond hair that had become white during all of this. Not long ago today, he had been injected with yet another dose of what the mad warlock called demon essence and fell instantly sick. He felt like he was burning up from the inside and his head would explode any second now. Not for the first time since he woke up in this nightmare Anduin wished for death to come and claim him swiftly. He began to drift in and out of consciousness, his body shaking with an unnatural high fever. How much time had passed until he was aware of his surroundings again Anduin wasn't sure, but when the world came into focus once more, Spymaster Matthias Shaw was kneeling in front of him, carefully examining him and when he noticed that the prince was awake, he slowly got up and made a few, careful steps back. Anduin now saw that the Spymaster hadn't come alone, a handful of his men were standing nearby. And he realized something else.
It had become awfully quiet.
No more screams from the other poor souls that had been tortured here. Maybe they'd been finally released from this nightmare for good and now it was his turn to be put to rest. Anduin struggled to get up on his own two feet all the while wondering if any of these men in front of him still recognised him as their prince or only saw a monster now wearing a faint resemblance to the young man they once knew. Barefooted, tattered and filthy as he was.
"Do you think he's still somewhere in there, Master Shaw?" one of the Spymasters men asked and Anduins heart began to beat faster.
"I'm still me" he wanted to say but it came out horrible transformed into this deep, hollow demon tongue, Anduin was sure no one understood. The men before him tensed visibly, so unsure what they would do next he took a tentative step backwards.
"It's for the King to decide" Master Shaw answered seriously, not leaving Anduin out of his sight. "We'll take him with us. Give me the chains and take away the warlock for questioning." One of his men handed him the chains while others left the cell. Carefully the Spymaster stepped forward, keeping an eye on Anduins possible reactions, but the prince did not make a move and let Master Shaw attach the chains to his wrists and ankles unresisting. The second the shackles clicked shut Anduins vision clouded over and the little strength he had left was gone. The other man catched him before he hit the ground, wrapping him into a cloak and then carrying him out of this nightmare.
"I really hope you're still somewhere in there" Anduin heard Master Shaw say quietly while putting him into an ordinary looking carriage that was waiting outside. It was already dark so no one else could recognise him bundled up into the cloak. "There's no way to tell what the king, your father, will do, if he loses his son. The only family he has left." The magic of the chains made Anduin dazed and drowsy.
"I wish, I knew a way to make all of you see that I'm still me" he thought, the movement of the carriage lulling him to sleep.