Just to let you know, I don't support the consumption of alcohol, but in this case alone… I do. LOL

Thank you for reading my fanfic! ALL of you! I love you guys so much!

KalmeKalica

Taken down to the lowest, coldest, dirtiest dungeon cell, Zidane was thrown in and left there for a few minutes. A doctor (if she could be called that) came down to inspect him. She took a long look at his tail, and then gently handed the dying genome a small glass. "It's alcohol," she said, "Something to dull the pain and keep you alive for the next few days." She stayed with him as he drank it slowly and gratefully. "I'm sorry that this is all I can do for you right now. If I had my way, I'd take you to an infirmary and get you better, but…seeing as though I'm only here to get you healthy enough so that you don't die prematurely, there isn't much else I can do."

Zidane sighed softly. "Thank you," he whispered quietly.

The doctor was right; the alcohol did help. It dulled the pain to the point where Zidane could lay down and sleep. The doctor stayed with him, until he fell asleep. She left him in the cell, forcing herself to lock the door behind her.

It is a shame, she thought quietly, that such a beautiful creature like he is being executed in such a cruel manner.

I0I0I0I0I

Kylima went down to retrieve Zidane. He had been left alone for a good five hours; she hoped he hadn't died in that amount of time. She could only imagine Kalika's reaction if she learned that Zidane had died prematurely.

She opened the door to his cell. He was asleep; the doctor had given him a little taste of alcohol. She looked down upon him. The alcohol had had a definite healing property to it; Zidane was breathing easily; his tail wasn't bleeding so heavily any longer; and he was sleeping soundly.

Kylima lifted Zidane up and back into consciousness. He moaned softly, but didn't protest. Kylima whispered, "KalmeKalika wishes to see you." It was all she said. Zidane didn't struggle as he was brought up to Kalika's quarters, thrown in, and the door closed behind him.

He could see her, in all of her beauty, on her bed. He could only see her silhouette; for the sheers were still up. "Are you feeling better, my dear sweet Zidane?" Oh, the ice in that voice!

Zidane allowed himself to think. He was feeling better; however, the knowledge that he was to die within a few days was almost too much for him to bear. Yet if Kalika was anything like her mother, he needed to show his strongest side to her, lest she seek out and exploit his weakness.

"Yes, a little," he whispered. Kalika pulled back the sheers to look at him. She slowly rose from her bed, in a way not that foreign to a cat. She lazily walked over to Zidane, and knelt beside him. "How is your tail feeling?" she asked in that cruel, icy tone.

Trap. Don't answer that one, Zidane! Zidane stared at her, motionless for a moment. She reached behind him to get to his tail. He panicked, and jolted away from her. Fury flashed in her lavender eyes. She pushed him flat against the ground. "You've been surprisingly compliant up until now," she whispered against his ear, pressing him firmly against the ground. "Don't ruin it. You know how I get when you struggle," she warned.

"No, I don't." Truly, Zidane didn't. He had never been in this position with her before, so he really didn't know. She leaned in close to his ear. "Yes, you do. I'm not unlike my mother, Zidane." That thought sent a jolt of fear up his spine. "Yield to me, and I might find it in my heart to forgive you."

Zidane relaxed slightly, laying flat against the ground. He stayed as quiet as possible as Kalika lifted his tail. She didn't hurt him at all, she just let him hang there, terrified. She gently placed his tail down on the ground again. Zidane sighed in immense relief.

Kalika slipped into the back. Zidane stayed still, just as she had left him, flat against the floor, in too much terror to do much on anything else. When Kalika came back out, Zidane gasped softly. She wore a pure white night gown; it clung to her in all the right places, and showed off her perfectly shaped body. Zidane realized that he was panting softly, and stopped.

She lifted him up and shackled his wrists behind his back. "It's late," she said leading him over to the other side of the room, "and I need my rest." She placed a collar around his neck and chained him to the wall, a little too tightly. She didn't care. She went over to her bed, blew the candle out, and fell fast asleep.

AN/ Awww…in the den of the lioness! R&R! I'll update another chapter too, so this isn't it for today!