Where the Sidewalk Ends
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Kristen, my very own, customize as you wish character.
Chapter Fifteen: Midnight Madness
((Wow chapter 14 got like over 15 reviews…awesome! Well here's the next chapter, as I promised. Since it's taken me like a week to update, I promise this one is good. Promise!))
It had been 4 days since she'd been brought to Baldur's camp after her accident on the forest floor. Everything had been going smoothly, or at least she thought. He completely bought her fake I-have-no-effin-idea-where-the-heck-I-am act and she charmed the pants off of everyone around her. But on her third night she'd been taken in her sleep and knocked out with a potion. When she awoke, she had been stripped down to her black spandex shorts and tank top and was hanging by her arms from the ceiling. Immediately she went into a struggle and her body whipped around violently, trying to break free from the grasp of the scratchy rope that was digging into her wrists. After a few seconds she succumbed to the barely phased rope and hung her head down in fatigue. She felt hungry and thirsty, and when she coughed she coughed up blood and saliva and that's when she realized how bad she really was.
Her memory had been almost entirely wiped from the night's events, but she remembered being taken from her bed in the dead of midnight. The pain of her bruises and injuries set in and soon enough, everything started to come back to her. He had tortured her into confession and she divulged everything to him, including the fact that she was a Queen of Narnia. He had used a leather whip on her back; he'd smacked her and kicked her until she passed out in pain. The last thing she remembered before passing out was his cruel, brutal laughter of joy in her pain. He was a sick and disgusting display for a being.
The room was damp, dark and dingy, stone forming a small room in which Kristen was hanging from the ceiling. The floor was made up of large cobblestones, discoloured by previously shed blood and water. A door open and she brought her head up to try and make out the entering figure, which could barely be recognized by the candlelight. A cruel, brutal laugh rang off the walls and he came closer to her and in seconds, he had come to stand straight in front of her. He looked at her pained expressional face for a second and then made a movement towards her stomach and punched it hard. She let out a cry of pain and surprise, her body recoiling from the blow.
"You're such an idiot. Why did you ever think you could do this? In what crazy, weird, sadistic world did you ever believe your plan would actually work?" he screamed at her as her head lolled to the side. Tears were rolling from her brown eyes down her cheeks, splattering on the floor. Her arms hung together above her head. Her head hung down, her nose almost touching her chest.
"I...I...I" she started, her tongue to heavy, her throat to scratch, her body in so much pain she couldn't even think. She heard the man laugh a cold, evil laugh and he scuffed his feet on the cold, damp, stone floor of the dungeon. He went behind her and grabbed some of her brown hair and wretched it backwards. She let out a torturing scream and her head jolted backwards, following her hair. Her head his the man's shoulder and she breathed heavily in pain, his scruffy face brushing against her neck. His hot breath hit her cold skin like a jolt of lighting and she recoiled in disgust, but he held her head in place.
"I...I...I" he said childishly, mimicking her inability to speak. He laughed loudly, his voice echoing horribly throughout the stone chamber. He brought his empty hand up and ran it down her neck slowly and continued downwards, his hands lingering too long on her chest. Instinctively, she brought her feet up (which were tied together) and swung them at him, hitting him thankfully in his groin area. He recoiled instantly and she laughed this time, bringing her head up to look at her kidnapper He doubled over in pain and after a few short seconds, he stood back up and brought his left hand up, slapping her strongly across the face with the back of his hand. Her head hung to the side out of shame and pain and she spat some blood out of her mouth, feeling a bruise slowly forming on her cheek. He came forward to her and pressed her face against his, his beard brushing roughly against her skin. He was breathing short but heavily, his hot air expelling onto her shoulder. He muttered a few words before saying what he meant to say, his words cutting through her like a knife.
"You will never seen the light of day again"
Kristen's breathing got faster and her hair was now plastered all over her face with sweat. In her head, this would be the time where Peter would come charging in and save her. In all the fairy tales she had ever read, the Prince always saved the Princess. She didn't know how much more torturing she could take and she was waiting painful second after second until Peter came through the door to save her. That second never came.
"He's not coming. He doesn't know you're here. I intend to keep it that way as well" he whispered into her ear. He ran his nose down her cheek and then thrusted something into her stomach, in the same area where she had been cut by the rocks and only minutes ago been punched by him. Her brown eyes widened and she opened her mouth to let out a scream but all that came out was a gurgle and scratching noise. Warm liquid was now trickling down her legs and he backed up to survey his work. He laughed one last time and retreated into the darkness, leaving her alone.
Her head hung down as a numb feeling overcame her. Plain in view, a small dagger stuck out of her stomach, her read blood dripping onto the cobblestones and down her legs, sopping off her toes. She couldn't feel any pain. All she could see was the knife in her and the beating of her heart in her ears. Never once when she thought about her place in Narnia did she ever think things would end up like this. If she died in Narnia, she could never go back home. She'd vanish off the face of the earth while her body decomposed in Narnia. Never did the thought occur to her that she might die in the land she now called home. But now that death was knocking on her door, the reality of it all started to finally set in. She'd never seen Lucy or Susan again. She'd never seen Edmund or Aslan again. She'd never get the chance to see Peter again and maybe tell him how much she had missed him when she had run away. She'd never get to do anything again.
He woke up with a sharp twinge in his stomach. He sucked in a breath in pain and waited for it to pass but when it didn't, he threw the covers off of himself and pulled up the shirt of his pyjamas to examine the area of pain. A large red patch marked the spot on his stomach where he was getting the pain and he sat up in confusion. Had he hurt himself while sleeping?
"You have a very special connection to Kristen, Peter" Aslan said as the lion strode into the room. Startled, Peter quickly got up and put on his robe before walking over and lighting some candles so he could see around his bedroom.
"What do you mean Aslan? I've done what you've asked. I stayed when I should have gone. Don't drop something like that and not expect to explain yourself" Peter spat bitterly at the lion. His feelings towards Aslan at the moment were anything but tolerant. It had been Aslan who had told him to stand down and not go after Kristen. Peter would have used everything he could to get her back if he could now. But it was too late.
"You woke up in fright from a dream. And correct me if I'm wrong but you have been waking up at the same time every night from other feelings? Of coldness when really you're quite warm. Of sleeplessness when you are severely tired. Of pain when you are generally healthy. All these things are what is happening to her. You have a special type of connection to her Peter" Aslan explained thoroughly.
Peter stood there, a look of sternness yet confusion on his face. Then his jaw dropped suddenly and his face turned to sadness as he pulled up his pyjama shirt and examined the red mark on his stomach. He looked back at Aslan and then scoffed a laugh.
"So what she had a giant red mark on her too?" the elder King asked, his tone slightly sarcastic. Aslan remained silent and Peter's suspicions grew. After a few seconds of a deafening silence, the lion spoke.
"Only much, much worse"
((Author's Note: Ducks random objects FINALLY A NEW CHAPTER EH? Took me long enough, don't you think? Here it is. No comments from me because it speaks for itself. Thanks for all the reviews on chapter 14 ) ))