A/N: Hey! I'm not dead! Neither is this story! I'm not abandoning it just yet. Or hopefully ever. Let me just say, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE FEEDBACK IT MAKES ME FEEL ALL WARM AND FUZZY I LOVE YOU ALL! You are what gave me motivation to keep writing this story despite all that's been going on lately (if you care about me or the explanation, see bottom A/N). I will not abandon this story, don't worry. It might take me a long time to update, but I will eventually update.
So, I feel the need to warn about this next chapter because we are definitely getting into the hurt and the whump and stuff. So Warning! Violence and also Angsty reference to Keith's tragic past bc I'm abused-orphan!Keith trash but IDK if it'll be bad for anyone to read so here is a warning in not bold so it'll stand out.I hope I don't overdo it and scare anyone off, or underdo it and rip you guys off, this is my first time writing this kind of hurt.
Thank you to Pluviophile15, Guest(1), dragoscilvio, Windrider340, Guest(2), KaylaTheRandomNerd, mikeyandpizza, ToMuchImagination, kelli.n.c, Guest(3), shan, trulu, george, and Mystery Name for commenting!
Thank you to jaymzNshed, Blackwolfhunting, heartbreakerninja, KaylaTheRandomNerd, ToMuchImagination, DayDreamerOfThePast, riverdaleliars, RiotInHaven, Roxy190, Ymiko333, Adara Ivory, Fantastic Nonsense, Sora Kim, SimmyNimmy, ElenaTheHyperactiveFangirl, aneccentricintrovert, JLfanficlover, stephnwf, Dreamer of Foolery, RJLadyA, FangirlShipper-45, Ansjdopqbs, Pink-Libra-Girl, ElliePlays2004, DoraFora, and RDx1998 for following!
Thank you to Blackwolfhunting, DayDreamerOfThePast, DoraFora, Dreamer of Foolery, ElenaTheHyperactiveFangirl14, ElliePlays2004, ilikevoltronandyj, sdkop21, heartbreakerninja, KaylaTheRandomNerd, ToMuchImagination, Yurrie, riverdaleliars, Roxy190, JulieRoonie, SimmyNimmy, kelli.n.c, elyannarosli, iloveyou-iknow, FangirlShipper-45, mystery writer5775, Pink-Libra-Girl, and Rdx1998 for favorite-ing!
As he struggled to regain his breath, Lance was helpless against the guards as they chained him to the wall at the edge of Keith's peripheral vision.
"Now, where to begin?" Haggar cackled.
Haggar slowly circled Keith like a predator circling its prey. "Should I start with the questions, or should I first make you understand what it means to be in pain?"
Keith could hear the sadism in her voice. He recognized it from too many different voices in his past. He knew what would come next, even if the tools used were different this time. He doubted Haggar would use a belt, if she even knew what one was. Keith took a slow breath to center himself and get ready to retreat into his mind. He regretted that Lance would have to watch. He had to hope that Lance was strong enough to hold out, no matter what happened to Keith.
Lance, however, still didn't fully understand the situation. He still thought that he could deter Haggar from her desire to hurt Keith by bringing her attention to himself. "Hey, witch! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
Haggar only laughed at Lance's outburst. "I see you are protective of your friend here. How adorable. This will be even more fun as you watch me break him." With that, she turned her attention back to Keith and a table of tools that had been wheeled in.
Lance could only look on with horror as Haggar selected her first method of torture, a wickedly sharp knife. The witch twirled the knife around in her fingers, moving in front of Keith to make sure that he could see exactly what was coming.
Keith watched her with a blank expression as the knife came closer to him. He needed to reassure Lance, make sure that he knew that Keith could take whatever the witch threw at him. "Lance, I'll be okay. Don't answer any questions. I'll be fi-"
Haggar cut him off by pressing the knife against his unprotected throat. She smirked and said, "Your efforts of reassurance will be in vain. I'll make you scream soon enough, and then you will be begging for a chance to answer my questions. First, though, we need to get this pesky armor off of you." She trailed the knife down to the edge of his under-armor, then dug the knife underneath the durable fabric. Keith bit off a yelp as the witch nicked his skin while she cut through the under-armor until the breastplate stopped the knife, freeing his neck and part of his collarbone. He could feel a small trail of blood follow the path of her knife. Lance was yanking at his own restraints, hating that he could do nothing.
Haggar clicked her tongue at the armor's resistance. "What a nuisance," she clucked as she drew the knife back. Keith only got a moment's respite before the witch stabbed the blade down with no warning. Augmented by her magic, the knife tore through the armor like paper, leaving shallow cuts in Keith's skin as well. He was able to keep his noises of pain down, but only just. He could hear Lance shouting, but it seemed so far away and out of focus as he concentrated on pushing the pain down. He couldn't cry out, couldn't give her the satisfaction.
Haggar let out a noise of frustration, saying, "You're a real stubborn one. But let's see how stubborn you remain after this!"
With those words, Haggar stabbed the knife into Keith's hand. Keith felt like screaming, but he kept it behind his teeth just barely. He couldn't help the breath that hissed between his clenched teeth, though. Haggar looked delighted at this small reaction.
"It will be a pleasure breaking you, boy."
A/N: Welp, there we go.
So, over the summer I had a job that was super exhausting, both physically and mentally. I was on my feet, outside, always paying attention for 8 hours straight with literally no breaks. That really sapped all my motivation to do anything but rest in my off hours. Then, school started and I thought it would be like any other semester, but nope! I went spiraling down into mild depression and couldn't take care of myself or get my work done, let alone write this. Then, right after Thanksgiving I decided I'd had enough and went to my school's psychological services and started seeing a therapist. Things definitely started improving and I was able to salvage at least some of my grades. However, since I was in the Honor's program, I was supposed to write my thesis proposal last semester, and that didn't happen, so I was given till the end of winter break. Unfortunately that also didn't happen and I got kicked out of the Honor's program. Part of me is sad, and disappointed, and angry at myself for failing like this, but honestly I mostly feel relief that I don't have to worry about it hanging over my head anymore. Anywho, now I might have time to write this a bit more, depending on my classes this semester.
Pluviophile15: I hope you are still interested :)
Guest(1): Thank you!
dragoscilvio: AHAHAHAHA! I hope this was worth the wait ;)
Windrider340: Thanks for waiting and understanding!
Guest(2): Thank you for the encouragement!
KaylaTheRandomNerd: 1) I'll try not to stress about writing, but I want to share the story with you guys. 2) oof looks like your gonna fight Haggar then lol
mikeyandpizza: Don't worry, I'll keep going till the end. It might take me a while, but I'll get there some day.
ToMuchImagination: Thanks! Here's more!
kelli.n.c: Don't worry, I'm trying my best!
Guest(3): Sorry for the wait, but here's the update.
shan: Thank you for reviewing! I won't give up on this story, no matter how long it takes me!
trulu: Thanks! Unfortunately I don't have a timeframe for this story because I don't actually have a plan for it. I write what I think of and as soon as I have enough to post, I post it. I don't even really edit lol.
george: Thank you! I tried super hard to make it flow because I hate fanfics where it doesn't. your review means a lot to me!
Mystery Name: Here is the chapter you were waiting for!
