OH MY GOD SHE POSTED AGAIN! AAAAAAHHHH!
Hey everyone, what's up! Indy here, giving you chapter 2 to Ever After. I was quite surprised by the reviews this thing got. All I have to say is wow.
Just giving you a heads up. I will try to finish this story ASAP, but I can't guarantee it will be completed right away. While I do have access to the internet, it's pretty expensive for me and I can't access computers that have A drives for me to log my stories into FF.Net. So, if I don't put up another part tomorrow, don't expect another part until sometime in April.
Oh, and it's the strangest thing, but I seem to be more motivated to write when people give ideas of what they want to see next. I love giving the reader what he/she wants (and sometimes not just to piss'em off! Hee hee hee.) so I love to hear guesses or ideas for what should come next. So reviews are most welcome!
Ok here's the next part. I hope it is to your liking. I'm having a bit of trouble figuring where to go with this, and I'm experimenting with characters. So if they seem… out of character… just apply an open mind. If it really REALLY bugs you, let me know, and I'll work around it. Thanks for all the support, guys! I may be a bit more disconnected, but the creative juices are still flowing. MK FAN FICTION FOREVER!!!
The banquet ended all too soon. The food was appetizing and lush, served on steaming plates in abundance like at the tournament. Fleetingly, Sonya wondered where all the food was produced. Then Tsung took her hand and placed her in the loving care of her deformed servants to be swept off for another bath and to prepare her for his presence that night. Deep inside her a voice screamed for her to run, run far and fast and get away as soon as humanely possible… but reality silenced that voice with brutal truth. So many lives were dependant upon her now…
The blonde warrior paled. She'd held up her end of the bargain, she'd gone through the marriage. Now he had to keep his end, and let her rule over Earth as she desired. Chills ran through her. Could she really do such a thing? The military she'd worked so hard in was a dictatorship, she knew that. She knew how the system worked. One leader, thousands of followers, and a thin line of respect that when crossed could lead to dismissal, or worse, death. Could she handle being that person on top? How would those underneath her react to her position? How would the surviving citizens of Earth react?
But wait. What if Tsung were to come to her room and tell her the truth that it had all been a lie, a foolish hope to make her his wife? Sonya frowned. Was it so hard to believe that he would lie to get his way? He forced her into that final battle, he manipulated her and her friends so this would end as he constructed it. Why would things be any different with her?
…he had looked upon her with something that resembled sympathy…
…he had questioned her well being, with something that she could call nothing other than concern…
Was it possible Tsung wanted her to be more than a silent sex slave to rule by his side?
Sonya was jolted from her thoughts as her maids closed the door to her room that she hadn't realized they'd entered. Carefully they began removing her dress and pulling her hair from its stylish bun. For a moment, Sonya broke from her dazed trance and snapped at the servants, proclaiming she could strip herself. All the contact was quite uncomfortable for her; she'd never cared much for contact with anyone after her partner's death. And she certainly didn't like being treated like a fragile object.
But her objections fell on deaf ears to the ladies that served her. They striped her completely and led her to a steaming bath with candles and oils. It was meant to be relaxing, yet too many questions worried her. What would happen tonight? What would become of her friends, her people? Where were her parents? Sonya's chest tightened. God, how could she have not thought about them until that moment? Memories flooded her mind and she was suddenly the twelve year old girl who climbed trees and scraped knees, then she was sixteen and captain of the volleyball team, then she was signing up for Officer's Candidate School, and then, oh God, Danny was missing for months, and her father returned from identifying the body, and how her mother cried-
The plug was yanked from the porcelain tub and Sonya was again being pampered with sweet smelling powders and soft, so soft silk outfits that were incredibly revealing. A glance in the mirror showed off her beautiful skin, surrounded by the thin material of her night gown. For a lover, she may have looked exquisite. For Shang Tsung, she believed herself to look nothing more than a whore.
Sonya never felt so sickened in her life. This was what she was destined to be until her dying day, perhaps even longer than that, if Tsung took her soul? He owned her in every other way, why not own her spirit as well?
She shook her head with vehemence. He would never own her spirit. Would never own it or break it. She would resist him as much as she could until she could find a way to end everything. Life in slavery was never meant for her, a prisoner of war was never set in her destiny. Shang Tsung would never win this battle.
The defiance in her eyes melted as she stared at herself while the maids finished their preparations and quietly slipped out. To her bandaged palm her gaze fell, and her heart constricted again. The cut had been deep. It would leave a scar. This was her wedding ring. A scar that would never fade. A permanent reminder of the terrible event that took place not hours ago, and the nightmare that her life was soon to become.
She was overwhelmed. In a rare moment of panic, she felt suffocated. Her breathing became rapid, her eyes widened in the looking glass. Like a frightened deer she suddenly turned and bolted from the room, away from the bed she didn't want to lie in, away from the future wardrobe she didn't want to wear, away from the destiny she wanted no part of. With all her weight, she threw herself against the door, swung around it as it opened, and tore off down the hallway. She didn't know where she was going, and honestly she didn't care, as long as it was away, far away…
She only got as far as the first stairwell before she was lifted many feet into the air and held there as glowing red eyes stared at her in question and mild amusement.
"Is there a problem, your highness?"
Sonya's traumatized brain couldn't produce an answer fast enough, causing Motaro to chuckle at her speechless state.
"Muteness in a wife is a treasured quality among my kind. Tsung will be quite pleased to see you practicing it already."
The ex-lieutenant's tongue snapped back into action as quickly as her military bearing. "A person married to someone as dumb as you would need to be mute just so you don't get confused when she opens her mouth."
A slight chuckle, more of a scoff, was Motaro's initial reply. "You should learn, and learn quickly, to give respect where respect is due, human. You are still nothing more than a pathetic mortal with no powers, and a tongue like yours will get you killed quicker than you think. You are not immune."
Memories of being put down in the military because she was a woman flooded her veins with anger and her fear was washed away instantly. The panic induced state forgotten, Sonya's eyes became crisp and her voice harder than cold steel. "You are in no position to talk, mule. You addressed me as highness. That name still stays, mortal or not. And you will obey my orders. Now, put. Me. Down."
Temptation to defy made the creature hesitate.
"Do as you are told, soldier. Or I will see you dealt with for disobeying a superior's order."
With a growl, he complied.
"And never threaten me like that again. I doubt you are immune, either."
His eyes blazed brighter and he snarled at her. "I still don't understand what Tsung sees in you unless it is the pleasure of seeing you broken in, something I would love to do myself."
Sonya stiffened but didn't let her steady glare falter. "It couldn't be more pleasurable than when he broke you in, something I would have loved to do myself."
Motaro's arm lifted high above her, brandished as if to strike, but it merely smoothed through his hair as he chuckled softly. "You're not as brave as you act, female. Tsung will see your true colors soon, and then you will be tossed aside to servant or slave, and it will be my will you bend to, not the other way around."
Sonya laughed. "A rubber band couldn't bend to your will, let alone me."
"We shall see."
"See what?"
Both turned at the new voice. Against a pillar, the sorcerer leaned causally, although there was a stiffness in his shoulders. His eyes revealed nothing, but waves of displeasure rolled from him.
Motaro immediately stepped back with a bow and kept his eyes lowered. "Sorcerer Tsung."
Sonya watched the centaur's reverence with mild surprise. In mere seconds, he changed from a threatening beast to a quite pet. Tsung really was a powerful man to be able to pull such devotion from a creature as vicious and destructive looking as a half horse half man beast.
"What are you doing out here, my dear? I expected you to wait for me in our room."
"I--" Blankness drew in her mind. Fear was why she had run, wasn't it? She couldn't tell him that, especially with that beast silently listening. Already she knew they would be butting heads from now on. His manners and his intimidating appearance drew an instant dislike from her. But those thoughts still didn't answer Tsung's question. "I'm not a prisoner here, I will move round as I please."
"She was sprinting through the hallway, lordship." Motaro was unmoved by her icy glare.
"Really?" Tsung's eyebrows rose in amusement. "Wanting a bit of exercise, I presume? There are places for such activity, though I'm sure you'd rather save your energy for now. If exercise is what you want, I can promise you'll be getting plenty of it tonight." Tsung's smile spoke a thousand words.
Sonya's blood froze as she translated every one of them.
"Motaro, return to your post. See to it that everything is secured in the palace. We don't want to be disturbed tonight." The centaur nodded and began to move off. "And make sure to practice the proper respect to be given to my wife. If you ever treat her in such a way again, you shall pay back homage to her in your blood."
Motaro stiffened slightly, clearly not pleased with the sorcerer's words. However, he made no voice of his thoughts, bowed again and complied with Tsung's wishes by paying Sonya a respectful apology and goodnight before stomping off.
"You must excuse his rude behavior. He is usually very calm with everyone, except for enemies. He just has a strong dislike for humans." Tsung smiled slightly. "He will get over that, though, or I will deal with him on a level he would be sure to understand."
The lieutenant wanted to shiver at the ice in his gaze. His voice was just as hard as those near black eyes. There was no mistaking the menace in his voice. But despite the obvious threats, the lingering dangers, the bad blood in the air, Sonya was just as stunned as Motaro was angry at Tsung's reaction to their conversation. He had been incredibly protective of her, had seemed to have been that way all night. It left Sonya feeling odd, unbalanced in her stomach.
Tsung's cold gaze disappeared, and he smiled. "You don't need to be frightened of me."
Despite herself, Sonya couldn't help bristling a bit. "Don't flatter yourself."
"Then why did you leave the room?" Tsung tossed back casually.
"I am not a caged animal. I will walk where I please," she replied arrogantly.
"You may do a lot of things here, Sonya. You have been granted more power than you can possibly fathom right now." He stepped closer, into her personal space, gripped her elbow firmly to keep her from moving and lowered his lips to inches from her ear. "But lying to me, defying and running from me will not be tolerated. You are bound to me and to my rules, and you will obey them."
"And if I don't?"
Tsung pulled back to look into her unimpressed blue eyes. His lips curled in a small smile. "Shall we return to our room, love?"
But before Sonya could answer, they were already there, and without a warning he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. Even more suddenly than that, he turned and walked into the connecting sitting room adjeacent from their bed. Sonya was left, frozen to the spot, heart pounding beneath her pale skin, eyes roaming with disgust at the place she had earlier tried to retreat from.
I have to keep it together. I can't let him win. Sonya turned away from the bed and walked over to the dresser, placed her hands upon the top and leaned slightly forward to look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were wide, cheeks flushed in anger, her hands white at the knuckles. What had she gotten herself into? How could she get out? What would he do to her if she kept fighting him?
Don't sleep with him, Sonya. Don't play his game, she argued back to the doubting questions arisen by her consciousness.
I don't want to die here.
Don't stop fighting him.
I can't fight forever.
Don't dishonor your friends.
Surprised to see the sudden dampness in her eyes, Sonya shifted her gaze from the mirror to the table top. Crying was a weakness she couldn't afford to be seen having.
I let them down. They trusted me, and I failed them.
And she had no clue what happened to them after the wedding. They were taken away and not seen again. A fear ran through her. Were they dead? Tsung wanted them killed from the start of the tournament, Liu especially, and Kitana, the secret savior of Outworld and plotter against Tsung, wouldn't be given a very forgiving fate either. Despair rose up in her soul, brought on by the doubt that suddenly weighed in her heart. They were the bargaining chip in the marriage. Tsung got what he wanted. Their use was no longer needed.
Johnny was beheaded. Kitana was tortured. Liu was burned to death. All their souls were stolen by Tsung. These images kept flashing through her mind, moving like a river of blood and endless pain. Sonya's eyes closed tight, trying to black them out, trying not to believe, but the hurt and the anger, the injustice and the jealousy, it was too much, too much, why did she have to lose that final fucking kombat?!
"You are distraught."
Sonya turned sharply, gripping the table behind her to keep her balance. Tsung stood in the doorway, holding two black goblets and watching her with a calm expression, indifferent eyes. Though, hidden in those black depths, beneath the flames that flickered deep inside, Sonya could see lust, and she was suddenly more infuriated than she could ever remember.
"I'm married to a demon who's ordered the destruction of my world, forgive me for not being in the best of spirits right now!" she spat. "No, on second thought, fuck you, I don't need your forgiveness for a goddamn thing!"
Tsung's eyebrow arched and he smiled lightly, clearly unaffected by her outburst. "I love your spirit. Few women and even fewer men can compare to your bravery. It was the one thing, aside from your unearthly beauty, that so captivated me." He stepped forward into the room.
"Sweet talk will get you nowhere," she growled.
"You make the assumption I'm trying to change you. I'm not."
"No, you just want to break and enslave me. You will do neither."
"Of course not," he replied smoothly, as smoothly as he walked up to her and held out a goblet filled with dark liquid. "Those things do not interest me. I only want you to rule by my side, and to give you everything you desire."
Sonya regarded him disdainfully. "Why do you threaten me one moment and worship me the next?"
Tsung stopped a few paces from her and set the goblets on the bed side table. "You are a difficult creature to get along with. You have been a challenge from the start, and will remain one for many days to come. Being a very pampered human from Earth, you will have much to learn in ways of respect for myself and others in the council you will be a part of. I do not want to hurt you in any way, but I may be forced to inflict discipline if you cannot conform to the new lifestyle you belong to. And if you must be set as an example, I will not hesitate to do so. You may be my wife, but you are still a female, and do not have nearly as much importance or power as I." Tsung chuckled softly. "Many have questioned my choice and I will agree with them that you do not seem the type appropriate for such a position of power or place. However, there are things about you that have enticed me so that I am willing to set aside your less appreciated points for the greater picture. You are a woman worth fighting for, and I am an excellent fighter. I could teach you so much, I could give you everything, everything you ever wanted and needed, if you'd let me."
Sonya leaned against the dresser with a disgusted sigh and crossed arms, insulted at the discipline and 'women are less than me' parts of his eloquent speech, and didn't bother hiding her lack of belief in his words. "Do you think I'm too blonde to know that it's all lies and games?"
"The only lies and games involved are the ones you are supplying yourself. I can see into your heart, I know you hate and fear me and dispise our marriage. But this union is complete, and will reamain that way forever. You are mine, and I am yours."
"What would a soulless creature like you know about love?"
Tsung gave a half smile with a tilt of his head. "I never mentioned love, because it is something I don't want. I want power and position, and trust, which you will come to find, is a rare thing in these new worlds you will see."
Sonya scoffed. "Trust, Sorcerer? Is that what you want? Then you have married the wrong woman. I trusted no one before, I will trust no one now. Especially not you."
"In only the space of a few days, you came to trust your fellow combatants; you came to trust them so much that you truly believed they would come and save you at the black tower. I saw it in you. You trusted them." He traced a finger along her jaw. "I know that only with a matter of time you will trust me as well; which is why I will not force you into consummating our marriage tonight. You are so concerned about me breaking you and your spirit. This is my way of proving to you that I hold you in higher regards than you think. I will respect your space and give you time to adjust to your new marital status." Sonya's very questioning and unconvinced look did not go unobserved by the sorcerer. "This is not a trick, Sonya. I do want your trust, and I will wait for it. I can be patient. For someone as powerful and challenging and," his eyes roamed over her quickly, "seductive as you, I will wait."
"Then I hope you don't mind waiting forever and a day."
Tsung laughed softly and again picked up the two goblets, carefully pressing one into her hand. "Not at all. Our marriage will last much longer than that, I assure you." He raised his goblet a bit into the air. "A toast to our union, my lady, and to the trust that will grow into our bond." He clinked his glass to hers and drank.
Sonya did not. Instead, she remained stoic and silent, not even protesting as he took her free hand and kissed the knuckles.
"Good night, my Sonya. Sleep well." He turned.
"Where are they?"
Tsung continued walking, opened the door, stepped out into the hall.
"Trust works both ways, Tsung."
The closing of the door paused.
"You want to earn my trust by giving me time. But I need your trust so you don't take advantage of me."
Moments passed in silence, the door or the figure behind not moving at all. Then, "They are still here, awaiting their fate that remains undecided."
Sonya's breath caught, a spark flew through her veins, but she didn't let the thrill show through. She wasn't finished, after all. "Whatever fate you decide for them, my dear husband," she replied in a sarcastic drawl, "I will bestow upon myself." She paused to let the words sink in. "And you don't need to worry about a lie in those words."
"I will be sleeping in the east wing. Call for your servants if you need me, and they will show you the way." The door closed without another word from the demon. Thoughts raced through Sonya's mind, hopes and plans and a sudden rush of determination, a will she thought she had abandoned hours before when Tsung kissed her as his wife. Her friends were alive. They were still alive. And that gave her reason to hope. If she could get to them, find them and free them, they could work as a team to bring Tsung down, and all of this would be only a horrible dream.
Sonya set to searching the room for paper and a writing instrument. She had work to do.
