Author's Edit: With a recent review and consideration, I think it's best if I should put up a warning. I don't make Author's Notes anymore because I like my readers to just dive right in, but based on the content in this chapter, it's needed. Please be warned that this is a brutal, heavy chapter. As always, thanks for reading -Celestial Nova
As Vincent and Tifa walks by in one of many corridors, several people nods in acknowledgment. Tifa's wine-colored eyes awes at the beauty of the courtyard. Several chocobos are coming and going inside the courtyard. Water shoots out of several fountains that are adorned nicely with the cobblestone walkways. Merchants and guards bustles about in an orderly manner. A baby chocobo with a pink ribbon tied around its neck catches Tifa's attention. She begins to run toward the stable, but then stops in mid stride. Cautiously looking up at Vincent, she points to the chocobo, while still looking at Vincent. When Vincent nods, she smiles gleefully and dashes toward the stable. She squeals in excitement as she knells next to the baby bird. Blue, night-like eyes looks at the young girl.
"You're so cute!" Tifa coos as she scratches the top of the chocobo's head.
The chocobo coos back as the young girl continues to scratch its head. A pair of black boots suddenly appears next to Tifa, causing her to flinch away from the chocobo and the man. The silver-haired man simply smiles.
"Do you wanna name it, Princess Tifa?" Sephiroth smiles a little to show the young child he isn't a threat to her. When she doesn't reply, Sephiroth spoke again. "It's a girl, hence the pink ribbon."
Tifa looks at the chocobo for a brief moment. "Ferrah." Tifa finally responds.
Sephiroth nods and smiles. "I think that's a beautiful name."
Tifa smiles back and resumes to scratching Ferrah's head. "Vincent, how is your morning so far?" Sephiroth asks as Vincent made it to the trio.
"Interesting."
Sephiroth nods, noticing the sarcasm in his prince's voice.
"Tifa, would you like to play with your new friend for a few moments further into the stable? I need to speak with Sephiroth." Vincent looks down at the young girl enjoying her new friend.
Tifa happily nods and stands up to hop over the wooden stable. She runs around the open area and Ferrah happily chases the girl, cooing in between the trots. Vincent looks at the pair as his previous thoughts begins to slowly creep into his mind. The innocence, the corruption, the kingdom, and his morals. A constant mental battle within his mind is brewing inside of him, and the raven-haired prince just doesn't know what to do.
"So, what sinister show did Grimoire put on for her?" Sephiroth asks, breaking Vincent away from his thoughts.
"The act of betrayal." Vincent bitterly replies. "The hypocrisy is so thick."
"So…..that's why Cissnei is in the dungeon."
Vincent turns to Sephiroth to give him his complete attention, a surprised expression displayed on his face. "You knew about this?"
"I was the one who put her there." Sephiroth hesitates. "Vincent, I was ordered to put her in the The Chains."
Vincent's eyes widens. "When is the sentence?"
"Later on today. I'm not sure the exact time."
Vincent sighs as he looks back at his young wife. So that's the game you're playing at, Father. Vincent doesn't understand. He always knew his father wasn't the greatest man in the world, but this level of cruelty he has never seen in his father until a few months ago.
"I need to prepare her." Vincent finally spoke.
"How? How do you prepare a child for that?!" Sephiroth frowns.
Silence is amongst the two men for a few moments. Finally Vincent waves for Tifa to come to him. She hops over the wooden stable and waves at Ferrah.
"Can I come back and feed her later, My Lord?"
Vincent nods. "As long as Sephiroth is with you."
"Thank you, My Lord." Without hesitation, Tifa happily wraps her arms around Vincent's waist. Vincent's body stiffens as the young princess squeals with joy. Vincent's eyes makes contact with Sephiroth's. The moment felt like minutes between the two of them.
"Ramuh and Sephiroth are the only two men I want you around. Do you understand?"
Tifa nods and smiles. "Yes, My Lord."
"Sephiroth is Edge's greatest knight and he is the commander of our army. Ramuh is full of wisdom. These are the only two men I can trust in this castle."
"Not even your mom and dad?" Tifa frowns.
"No and don't you go repeating that."
Tifa nods, a little taken back by Vincent's sternness. Vincent bids Sephiroth farewell and walks back to the castle.
"I'm going to take you to the library where Ramuh is at." Vincent states as the pair turned a corner. "I want him to help you with your teachings."
"Okay." Tifa is more than excited to continue her education. Reading is her strongest subject. She would spend hours in the library back at home. Thinking about Midgar makes the young princess feel sad. She misses Midgar, but she knew she couldn't go back. Not now, not ever. The royal pair made their way towards the library in silence.
Ramuh walks out of the library with a massive book in his hands. Ramuh smiles when he sees the young pair approaching him. He closes the book and tucks it between his right arm and hip.
"Ah! Prince Vincent and Princess Tifa! How is your morning so far?"
"Good!" Tifa happily replies. "I went to the chocobo stable today and made a new friend. Her name is Ferrah."
"Sounds exciting." Ramuh happily replies.
"My Lord is letting me go feed her later on today."
"Your Lord…." Ramuh trails off quietly looking up at the prince. The older man glares at the young prince. "How could you?" Ramuh quietly barks.
"Ramuh, show Tifa the library." Vincent barks back.
Ramuh's eyes never left Vincent's as he motions for Tifa to enter the library. Tifa screamed in joy as she awes at the view. Books are neatly placed on shelves and bookcases are stacked to the tall ceilings. Plenty of artwork of Edge's crest is scattered about on the walls. Ladders are on the edge of each bookcase to reach the higher books. Red and gold carpet adorns the library nicely with the white-gold marble floors. Tifa immediately runs to the second floor and grabs a book in the fairytale section.
"You're seriously going to break this child?" Ramuh asks in a concerned voice once Tifa was out of earshot.
"Do you honestly think I want to do this?" Vincent replies angrily but manages to keep his voice down so Tifa wouldn't hear him. "Father just smashed Cissnei's head in shortly after breakfast and sent her to The Chains."
Ramuh shakes his head in disbelief. "You know Father will demand my presence, along with Tifa's."
"Prince Vincent, you are the only one who can stop this terrible fate for this child."
Vincent sighs, feeling the tension in him slowly leaving his body. He wants to not do the unthinkable things to the child. He wants to spare her, runaway, and leave the vicious cycle behind him, but he couldn't. His obligations to his nation will always be his destiny. As long as Grimoire is the king of Edge, he is powerless. Sure, he's a prince and the heir to the throne, but Grimoire's commands overrides Vincent's, especially since the young prince isn't showing signs of a 'true' king. Anxiety and tension slowly fills Vincent again. His is heart racing fast as he lightly places his right hand on his heart.
"As long as Father is king, I must obey him, just like you."
Ramuh looks at his prince with despair in his eyes. "Do you want me to look after her for awhile?"
Being grateful that the elder man changed the subject, Vincent nods. "Bring her to my chambers in four hours."
Vincent turns and walks toward the exit of the library. "I hope it won't be too late before you overcome Grimoire." Ramuh calls out to the prince.
Vincent stood in place for a few moments before walking out the library completely and into the hallway. Ramuh quickly closes the doors behind him and locks the doors, while shaking his head in udder disappointment. If this girl is to have a chance in Edge, he would have to teach her to defend herself. The elder, wise man walks up the second floor and approaches the young girl, who is happily content with the book she's reading.
"Princess Tifa, I hear from Sir Sephiroth that you know how to use magic."
Tifa stops reading and gnaws on her inner cheek. She looks up at the older man, and though she doesn't detect any malice behind his eyes, she looks back down at her book. Vincent told her that Ramuh is one of the two people he trusts in the castle, but that doesn't mean Tifa does.
"N-no, sir."
Ramuh smiles a little. "It's okay to say if you do."
Tifa swallows away a lump. "Vincent said that I can trust you."
Ramuh is relieved when Tifa finally lets her guard down. His smiles widens a little and replies. "You can."
Tifa gnaws away at her inner cheek again. She gives the elder man her undivided attention. "I'm scared."
The shakiness in her voice could easily be picked up from a mere chocobo. The child sitting before him is struggling to keep it together, and unfortunately, Ramuh feels that things are only going to get worse from this point forward. Ramuh stands up, sits the book down that he was holding onto the floor, and extends his left hand.
"Come with me. We'll start with Fire."
Tifa looks up and grabs Ramuh's hand. The man guides the child to the grand stairs that leads to the third floor and makes a right to a dead end. He pauses for a moment and mouths to the child that this place is a secret. Waiting in anticipation, Tifa quickly nods and watches Ramuh lift his right hand on the marble wall.
"Dispell."
Moments later, a staircase has formed and the marble wall had disappeared. Ramuh motions for Tifa to go first and he cast Dispell again behind them to make the wall reappear again. When Tifa gets to the bottom of the small staircase, she couldn't believe how well the upkeep is to the small dungeon-like area. There are targets, books, and potions on a wooden table. There are mannequins that are made of wood and one is covered with knight's armor. The place is lightly dimmed and when she runs over to the window, she could see the adult chocobo stable yards away.
"I keep this place dimly lit in order to train without attracting any attention to this place. I prayed that this day would come. The day that things changes around here."
Tifa turns back to Ramuh, who is now flipping through a book looking for the Fire spell. "Do you train here often?" She asks.
"Yes. All the time." Ramuh answers as he hands Tifa the book.
She reads the pages, slowly going over each word.
"Magic is an emotional phenomenon. I pray that I see the day when this cruel pathology ends. Prince Vincent is stuck. Whatever happens, stick by him and aide him." When the child doesn't respond, he continues his encouragement. "I can only imagine what you've been through since you've been here, but make no mistake, it will get worse. I'm giving you the basics to defend yourself."
Tifa closes the book and rests it on the window pane. "I will practice as much as I can. I know I must keep it a secret."
"That's right."
Feeling a little more determined, Tifa cracks her knuckles. "Thank you, Mister Ramuh. Can we start now?"
Ramuh gives her a small smile. "Ramuh will do just fine, and yes, let's begin. Prince Vincent requests your presence in a few short hours."
Vincent's green cape fans out from behind him as he and Tifa are walking toward their destination. Since this morning, Vincent has been trying to figure out a way to tell Tifa the horrors that are about to unfold in front of her with her very eyes. How could he even start the conversation? Time is running out and they are slowly approaching their destination. They made a right and slowly walked down a small flight of stairs before stopping at a door made of black bars. Vincent reaches inside his right pocket to pull out a key and unlocks the black bar door. He pauses and turns to look at Tifa.
"What you are about to see...this could be you. Take heed. This show is my father's way of showing you your future if you don't comply to the rules here."
Tifa stares intensely at Vincent as she swallows away a lump in her throat. Without another word, Vincent walks through the doorway and hurries through the small corridor that leads to a dungeon. Sephiroth's emerald eyes meets Vincent's ruby eyes. The two men spoke through their eyes; Sephiroth eyes are warning the prince; Vincent takes heed to Sephiroth's unspoken words. Feeling satisfied, Sephiroth steps aside and opens one of the double doors, allowing Vincent and Tifa to enter.
The door closes behind the pair. There are three thrones with the backside facing Tifa, Vincent, and the two guards that are posted on the opposite end of the fiery, lit room. Katherine, who has a very smug look on her face, is sitting on her throne, and Grimoire is sitting on the middle throne. Vincent walks over to the throne on the right and greets his mother and father with a simple nod. Tifa stands silently on Vincent's right side. She turns toward Katherine and Grimoire and bows to them.
The guard that was standing post on the left hand side of the room walks inside the enormous cage that is in the center of the room. There is another guard that emerges from a door that's in the inside of the cage. The guard is carrying a leather, black contraption. With the help of the other guard, the two guards assembles, what looks like to Tifa, a chocobo saddle, but there are two big holes inside of it. Moments later, one of the guards pulls out a long, silver chain and hooks it around a small hook that's hanging from the ceiling, with the help from a small jump.
Tifa clutches onto Vincent. Chains, a leather saddle? What the hell is going on? His ruby eyes sees the worry and anxiety building up inside of her. He motions for her to sit on his lap. She happily obliges and as she gets comfortable in his lap, the guards returned to their original positions. The guard who was behind the door inside the cage, comes back inside the cage with a fighting Cissnei in his arms. Tifa gasps as she clasps her hands over her mouth. Vincent is frozen like a statue and Katherine smirks as she leans in closer and adjusts herself in her throne. Cissnei tries her best to break free from the guard's grasp but she's unsuccessful.
After a few more minutes have passed, Cissnei is strapped inside the black, leather saddle with her arms suspended from the ceiling where the silver chain hung. Her body is arched over slightly, exposing her from the waist down. Grimoire smiles wickedly as he got up from his throne and walks inside the cage from the front.
"You've made a fool of this nation, and most importantly, you made a fool of me."
Hot tears escapes from Cissnei's eyes. "Why are you doing this to me, Grimoire? You told me you loved me."
Cissnei's screech echoes as Grimoire smacks her backside. "How dare you speak lies to me?!" Grimoire's viscous voice echoes just as loud as Cissnei's screech.
"They're not lies! You told me! You told me you would leave Katherine!"
Another smack to her ass causes her to scream in pain again. Katherine let a chuckle escape her lips and sips her wine that a servant brought to her moments ago. Tifa, in utter disbelief, grips onto Vincent's cape for support. He feels the fear trembling out of the child's body. He places a hand on her arm and it calms her a little.
Not taking his eyes off of Cissnei, Grimoire snaps his fingers on his right hand as a motion for the guard to grab a whip. He wound the whip tightly in his hands and released it onto Cissnei's flesh. Katherine laughs, taking sips of her wine in between her chuckles, while Tifa flinches away into Vincent's cape. Vincent slightly turns his head away. He can't bare the scene unfolding in front of him. Cissnei's cries may have easily been heard by the other inhabitants of the castle if the dungeon isn't on the ground floor.
"Now why would I go for some whore like you over my queen?" Grimoire bitterly asks.
"Grimoire, you….you...you know I'm telling the truth!" She's whipped again. Determined to speak her truth, Cissnei continues. "You told me I was going to be royalty!"
"I never promised you such lies!" The whip cracks loudly against her flesh. He throws the whip on the ground, never taking his eyes off the sobbing woman. He grabs Cissnei by her hair and yanks her halfway off of the saddle.
"You stupid bitch! You're not even worthy of being my concubine!"
"That's a lie and you know it! I was promised if I served you as your concubine, you would behead Katherine, and let me be your queen because she didn't please you!"
Cissnei's words put Vincent at a pause. He looks over to Katherine, who sits on her throne comfortably as she shakes her head with a smile on her face and takes a sip of her wine. When will these concubines learn? Kings from all over have their concubines. Some even have their favorites, and every king, or man for that matter, would make empty promises to women just to shove their dicks inside of them, but never would a king leave his queen for such swine.
Grimoire slaps Cissnei in the face with his free hand and rips off her top. Her scarlet chest matches her face and eyes. Grimoire grabs her left nipple harshly and pulls and twist on it. Cissnei spits a mouthful of blood before speaking again.
"Say what you want, Grimoire! You know I'm not lying! When I realized that you weren't going to give me the throne, I slept around with men in Midgar."
"Fucking whore." Grimoire gnaws harshly at the same nipple while he twists and pulls on the other one, his right hand never leaving from her hair. The humiliation Cissnei is suffering makes Katherine burst into full laughter. She doubles over as her laughter got louder. Tifa has now completely wraps herself inside of Vincent's cape.
"So you think this is all fun and games, Katherine?!" Cissnei spits out a large amount of blood again. Grimoire pulls his mouth away from her nipple, leaving behind a small trail of blood. He slams her back into her original position.
"I may be a whore, but hell, at least I'm an honest whore! You think because you share his bed, you're safe?! That's not the case!"
Her speech becomes a slur as Grimoire rams his cock inside of her. Tifa takes a peak and looks at how the woman is displayed. Naked, abused, and called a liar in the eyes of the king. She sobs as she retreats back into Vincent's cape. Vincent, now looking down completely, swallows away a lump, unable to continue to watch the cruelty. This isn't necessary at all. Katherine's laughter subsides but her smile is still on her face. Grimoire pulls away, spits on his cock, and rams back inside of Cissnei.
Crying out again, Cissnei speaks again. "You reap what you sow you wicked bitch! You think that little peace treaty was to spare Midgar?! No! It was to get his filthy hands on that princess!"
Grimoire slaps her again, causing Cissnei to bite her tongue. Katherine's smile quickly fades. "Shut your damn mouth!" Grimoire yells harshly as he pushes deeper inside of her. Her walls begins to get wet the more he rammed into her.
"Make sure you look at me while your king is raping me of everything! Make sure you sit in that exact spot when your son rapes that little girl, and if it isn't your son it would be this son of a bitch raping that girl in due time!"
Vincent fells Tifa wrap her arms tightly around Vincent's stomach underneath the cape. Is this show for his mother or Tifa or both? He isn't so sure now. Katherine stands up from her throne in anger as she glares daggers at the bloody woman. Vincent whispers to Tifa to comfort her, and Grimoire continues his cruel actions.
He yanks Cissnei's hair again with his right hand as he quickens his pace with each thrust.
"Stop your fucking crying! Take responsibility for your lies!"
He pushes her head back and yanks it back again, never stopping his thrusts. His groans gets louder and louder until finally he pulls out as he shot his cum all over her ass. Once he's done, he pulls up his pants and observes the woman.
"Utterly pathetic." He grabs the whip from the ground and wails on her asked, vulnerable body, each cry louder than the previous hit. After the tenth time, he throws the whip back on the ground, exhausted from his actions. He grabs the chains that are hanging Cissnei's arms and she falls to the ground with a loud thud. Breathing heavily from her torture, she slowly looks up to Vincent, who is now standing up from his throne, with a sobbing Tifa standing next to him with fresh tears running from her eyes.
"Don't….don't….don't be a monster like your father." Cissnei is barely heard by the prince. Her voice is almost gone.
"You got one more time to speak out of line." Grimoire growls as he pulls a switch blade away from his pocket. Shaking her head, Cissnei continues. She's ready for her fate. "This will happen to that gi-"
Blood splatters across Grimoire's face as Cissnei's body went limp and her head hit the floor, with a fresh slash wound and blood now on her throat.
"No!"
Tifa runs out of the dungeon in tears. She ran. She doesn't know where exactly but she ran. Was it her fate? If Vincent won't do it, would it be Grimoire? The last two days in this hell hole makes Tifa sick to her stomach. She's only ten years old, and she has been exposed to such viciousness in such a short amount of time. She ran so much that she doesn't realize that she ran into Vincent's chambers. She slams her body onto the bed. She couldn't shake the blood, rape, and murder from her mind.
After sobbing for a few minutes, her head snaps in Vincent's direction. He closes the door behind him and locks it.
"No! Please!" Tifa runs off the bed and runs behind it. "No! Please Vincent! I beg you!"
Vincent quickly goes behind the bed where the crying child had went into a fetal position.
"I'll learn to serve and please you! I promise! I'll do anything for you!"
"Tifa, I'm not going to hurt you. Please, calm down."
He rests his right hand on her shoulder. She trembles at his touch and it saddens him deeply. After a few minutes of sniffling, Tifa looks up at Vincent, his crimson eyes are filled with nothing but concern. Tifa hugs Vincent tightly.
"I will never do that to you, nor will I allow that to happen. I promise." He whispers as he hugs the scared child back.