"Victor's Piano solo"

"Tim Burton's Corpse Bride" —

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"You cannot free someone who is caged in their own mind."

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The silver chains held her against the wall. The constant dripping of water was enough to make anyone go insane. The lighting was dim, revealing the warm tones coming from a candle near the door. Her feet were covered in scars and burn marks, reminding her of my past failures. Her eyes continued to be stuck to the ground toying with the chain on her hands. Her nails ran along with the design on the chains; she bit her lip at the noise. She looked around her cell, admiring the glow of the walls. She pulled her knees against her chest hugging herself tightly. Her dress ripped shorter and stained from the filth in the cell. Her gown was a light pink tulle dress that was off the shoulders with slightly puffed sleeves. Her fragile body barely fits in the dress anymore. Her long knotty black hair with hints of gray tips on her bangs and the bottom of hair was down to her waist as her fingernails were short from her bitting them to gain control. She whimpered, sitting up properly, and jumped at the door opening. She stopped moving and only stared back at the ground. A taller guy who she has seen plenty of times since she's been in here opened the cell door and closed it behind him. He sat down on the ground in front of her. He snapped his fingers, she jumped and looked up at him.

The shadows covered his face; she could sense a wicked grin from his presence. He was in an unusually good mood for someone who was usually upset all the time. He would only really come in to pour his anger on her. He had his cloak covered around his outfit. She watched as he lifted his finger towards her face. She attempted to look away; he forcefully grabbed her chin to make her face him. She could feel his warm breath against her skin. Goosebumps appeared all over her body. Her hands twitched though she didn't dare touch him. She learned her lesson the last time she tried. She whimpered at the tightened grip he had on her. She held her breath trembling from head to toe. Closing her eyes, to her surprise, he didn't yell at her. He let go of her chin and sat in front of her. Her fear caused her body to shake more, fearful of what he had planned for her today. She made sure to keep her eyes down on the floor, tracing out something that catches her eye. Her eyes went to his hand; There was a crescent moon bite mark that looked like it aged. She always wondered where he got it, with his pride and temper, she could only imagine.

"I have a job for you," He said

His voice made her shiver. She's heard his voice for years; it was always disturbing. She scratched her hands and tried to make eye contact. His face was now visible in the candlelight. His piercing blue eyes, blonde hair, and crooked nose reminded her of how he carried himself. He was prideful. Too prideful in himself that he couldn't see the errors in his ways. She would hear the fighting and arguments he has had with the others. The confidence he had in his choices and his plannings were strong. He was blinded by his pride, that he brought the others down with him. It didn't take much to notice that from their fights. She once more attempted to look up at him, admiring his features. She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help it. He was good looking even if he had a crooked nose. His threatening aura gave her a sense of safety and fear. She knew he was messed up in his ways, but she had also seen another side of him. Little people have seen the protective side that she saw. She knew he had his reasons for being the person she was today though she always questioned it. Now that she knew he needed her, he would be patient and gentle with her until she messed up.

He took out a yellow bell from his pocket and shook it. The ringing of the bell echoed in the room.

"W-what is it?" She asked

Her voice came out in a stutter and a whisper. The guy grinned, knowing that he was in full control of her. She was a puppet to him. He pulled strings, and she followed. Moving and thinking about whatever he said for her to do or think. She wore what he told her to wear. I took a shower when he told her too. She ate when he gave her food. She only used her abilities only with permission. Stood quiet unless he rang the bell. Didn't move until he gave her a gesture. Her life was wrapped around his finger perfectly. Everything she's ever did was his decision. She was taught never to speak unless he rang the bell. It was the same bell that rang if she talked too much to force her to be quiet. He snapped his fingers to make her pay attention to him. Tapping plates of food twice to let her know to eat it. He would flash a light in her face to tell her to take a shower.

She was at his every wish. He had broken her in place too many times. She's learned her lessons from disobeying. She had scars, bruises, and cuts to remind her of that. He knew she couldn't run away even if she wanted too. Where would she go? She knew nothing about where they were. They moved locations often and put a bag over her head; to not show her where they were going. She didn't know anybody out there who could help her. She's been in her cell since she was 11. Everything passed 11 she couldn't remember. She's been in cells for months that gestures they made to her were ordinary. They were like family to her. They were family. They have taught her everything she knows about self-defense and her ability. They've trained her for days endlessly until she got it right. They did daily checkups and gave her something whenever something was wrong. He checked her mi

nd regularly, even though there wasn't much to see.

"Things haven't gone as planned, and I need you to fix it," He says

"Fix things?" she questioned mentally, not daring to say it aloud.

He was able to read the confusion off her face. "Let's just say I need you to get someone out of the way for me,"

She picked at her skin more. "Out of the way" repeated in her mind a couple of times. He growled and yanked her arm that she was scratching. She winced from him, pulling it towards him. The sounds of the chains echoed in the cell. She gasped as the chain around her neck, yanked her back from how far he pulled her towards him.

"What did I tell you about doing that?" He gritted his teeth "I asked you a question!" He yelled at her.

She whimpered and looked away from him. He growled and shoved her back to the wall. She gasped, being able to breathe again. She held the chain around her neck. She had forgotten he hated it when she scratched herself. The scratching would get bad to the point she would end up bleeding and leaving scars. He took out keys for her chains and unlocked her. He grabbed her arm and lifted her to her feet. He walked with his grip still on her arm. Slamming the cell door, he led her away from the room. She closed her eyes, remembering he didn't like her knowing where she was. After a long while of walking, he pinched her and shoved her into a new room. She opened her eyes and winced at how bright it was in there.

"Take a shower. The clothes are already in there and hurry up. We don't have time to waste," He said, closing the door behind him.

She flinched at the sound of the door slamming. She squinted her eyes from how bright it was.

She quickly took a shower and got dressed. It was nicer clothes than usual. It looked like something one of the others would wear. She quickly slipped it on and opened the door to leave. He was already waiting for her outside. His back was against the wall looking at a sheet of paper. His eyes went to hers, making her look down. She could feel the smile on his face.

"Follow me," He said

She followed him, keeping her eyes to the floor. His presence dominated hers entirely. If she was invisible, nobody could have noticed she was there. Her shoes clicked on the ground, which was unusual to her. She's never been given shoes before. They let her walk barefoot anywhere they went. She tried to keep up the pace, but he was walking faster and faster every second. She decided to keep walking and look down at her feet. She was staring at the shoes she slipped on. How comfortable they were on her.

"Oof," She said, slamming right into him.

She pulled back from him and looked down. She refused to make eye contact, not knowing if he was upset. "We're here," He spoke.

She looked up from her feet. Her mouth opened in shock, seeing the beauty of nature all around her. She breathed in the free air. Shivering at the breeze that passed through, she smiled softly. She loved the outdoors. The smell of the trees, soften by the feeling of the grass, the beauty of the flowers, and the lighting of the sky. It was all so pretty. She tugged a gray strand behind her ear. She snapped out of her thoughts when he handed her a sheet of paper. He told her to put it into her pocket and not open it. She did just that and looked around some more.

"You won't remember this, but your mission is to destroy the Black Swan. Find a girl name Sophie Foster and find out everything they are planning. Don't worry about finding me. I will be finding you. I need you to sidetrack whatever they are planning and bring them to a disadvantage," He explained.

She tried to process everything he just said to her. "Destroy the Black Swan," she repeated in her head. The name Sophie rung a bell to her. She couldn't put her tongue on it. She kept repeating the name Sophie Foster in her head over and over again. She blinked, realizing what he was going to do and what the paper's purpose was. She looked up at him as he gave her the gesture to talk.

"You're going to erase my memories?" She whispered

He nodded. "It's only temporary. I can't have them in your mind. I haven't taught you to block your mind hard enough to keep her out. And even if I did for you to get into her group, they would probably want to know more about you,"

"But...wouldn't they know what I'm up too even if I don't remember anything?" She asked softly

He shook his head and grinned, "Not if we play it properly. We are going to make it look like we took you and tortured you," He said

Before she could ask what he meant, he cut her off. "We know where they are headed next. We are going to make it look like we tortured up and drugged you up. When they find you when a ripped piece from one of our cloaks, they'll think we got to you. Since I can erase your memory, they won't question it and take you in for protection. Sophie will most likely check your mind to see if she finds something and when she doesn't, that's when I will need you to read the note in your dress. That note will tell you in code what you need to do. I'll find you and check your mind of everything that happened and erase your memory of me coming back,"

She listened to his plan. It could work, but there were many bad results if they found out. She bit her lip but didn't question his strategy. If that's what he happened, that's what she was going to do. He was more off than usual. In natural lighting, he looked exhausted and slightly crazy.

"How are you going to make it look like I was tortured?" She whispered, trembling.

He smiled at her. "Don't worry about it. Just remember your training," He said, snapping his fingers.

She gasped as she felt someone grabbed her from behind and pressed something to her face. She felt her body numb out and pass out, leaving her in internal darkness. After a couple of hours, she began to regain consciousness. Her breathing was ragged, and her body felt cold. She coughed up water from her throat, making her gasp for air. She was in too much pain to move too much. She squinted and tried looking around, seeing blurry figures walk around her. Their voices were too muffled to understand. She closed her eyes again, calming herself down from panic. She opened her eyes again, hearing their voices become easier to understand.

"Are you okay? Can you hear us?" A female voice said.

Her voice sounded panicked and strained. She opened her eyes and saw a girl with brown eyes. A sense of familiarity flashed through her, but she couldn't remember her name. Speaking of which she couldn't remember hers either.

"W-what?" She choked out

The brown-eyed girl repeated her question. Her eyes were looking all over her trying to analyze something. She helped her sit up only to make an unbearable pain hit her. She winced and cried out in pain.

"We're going to get you help. What's your name?" She asked her

The girl stood quiet. She looked down at the floor. "My name," She repeated and shook her head, pulling her hair in panic. "I don't remember," feeling herself get rushed over with emotion.

She was trying her hardest to remember, but she couldn't think. Her body was in too much pain. Her heart was racing, and she couldn't remember anything about herself. She began to cry and covered her face trembling.

She heard the other girl talking to her. "Hey, It's going to be okay. You're safe now. I'm going to help you," She said, trying to calm her.

She looked up to the brown-eyed girl. She hiccuped. "Really?" She choked out, letting her voice crack. She sniffled, "What's your name?" She whispered as tears streamed down her face.

The brown-eyed girl looked hesitant but pushed her unnerving feeling down. "Sophie, Sophie Foster,"