- Edited -
As usual, Rhythma was alone while the witches were at school. She didn't know what to do.
She couldn't attempt escape.
She couldn't really do anything but lay on her bed and stare at the ceiling.
With a sigh, Rhythma rolled over in her bed. For once, I wish the Trix were here. She thought. Then at least I wouldn't be so bored.
Rhythma stood up from her bed and walked toward the window, thinking.
If I jump now, the Trix wouldn't have time to catch me. She thought. Her mind pondered over the thought for a moment before dismissing it. There was no way they'd let her die so easily. Not after last time.
Suddenly, something shifted out of the corner of her eye. Rhythma turned to see what it was, but it was gone. A fearful feeling came to her gut. She was being watched like a piece of meat.
Something moved behind her.
She whirled around, eyes wide with horror.
Fangs as long as her finger lunged from the shadows. Rhythma screamed in terror and fell back as the creature revealed itself.
An enormous snake - about as long as a man - towered over her, its forked tongue flicking in and out of its mouth. Rhythma had never seen a snake so large. Never.
It opened its mouth in a strangled hiss and darted toward the fairy, it's fangs just barely missing her head. It took her a moment to realize that she was about to be eaten. She rolled out of the way.
It sprang and coiled itself around her legs, trapping her.
Using a move she had seen Icy demonstrate, Rhythma pushed the beast off of her and rolled to the side, landing in a defensive position. The snake went for her again and she managed - just barely - to punch it in the neck. It's head flew back with a sickening crunch.
Stunned, the snake froze, giving Rhythma a chance to run to the other side of the room and press her back against the wall.
There was nowhere left to go.
What do I do? She wondered fearfully. Without my fairy powers, I can't defend myself from it.
She paused.
But I can ask them to come help me.
It was something she would not have considered unless it was an absolute emergency. This snake was clearly poisonous, and extremely angry.
It turned its red eyes on her and spread its hood.
Rhythma closed her eyes. She had no choice. The young fairy knew she would hear about this for weeks.
Darcy! She thought frantically. Darcy! Help! She reached out to her mind link with Darcy, as once the witch read her mind the first time, they were connected forever. She had always thought of it as an invasion of privacy, but it came in handy every now and then.
Rhythma couldn't believe she was begging for help from a witch - let alone one of her tormentors - but there was no other choice. She would be eaten alive if she fought for much longer.
And suddenly, the snake lunged.
Darcy's POV
She got the call as she was finishing up her school work. Darcy! The voice of the wretch was full of panic. Darcy! Help!
She stood up. "Teacher, may we be excused?"
Once the teacher had given her approval, Darcy and her sisters teleported to their room, which was deathly silent.
"What happened here?" Icy wondered, walking toward the kitchen.
Darcy looked around. "Little fairy!" She called. "Where are you?"
No reply.
Icy glared around the room. "I swear if she's escaped somehow, I will tear off her wings." The threat was clear.
Somehow, Darcy knew that wasn't the case.
They headed toward the kitchen counter.
And then, there was a high-pitched scream of terror. The Trix whirled around to see that the little fairy was fighting a particularly-large snake close to Stormy's bed. Her fingers were wrapped around the thing's neck as it squirmed and thrashed, trying to reach her throat. Multiple puncture wounds were visible in her arms and head, but she seemed to be holding it off pretty well for a fairy.
Icy scowled. "How does she always manage to get into trouble while we're gone?" Then she blasted the snake with an ice ball, freezing it solid and shattering it.
But not before it had managed to sink its fangs into the wretch's arm.
Darcy stepped toward the limp fairy, convinced that she had been poisoned, and was shocked when the kid sat up with a groan and rubbed her head.
"So it seems that the thing didn't put any venom into that bite, hmmm?" Icy leaned against the wall behind her.
The wretch shook her head, eyes wide. She didn't dare turn to face the ice witch. If she did, Icy would punish her - as it was a rule. Don't face one of the witches unless told to do so. It was a way to mentally terrify the little fairy into submission.
And it worked.
Icy chuckled. "You're a very lucky little fairy, then." A wicked smile was plastered on her face, and Darcy saw that she was pleased.
Rhythma's POV
She looked down at her bloody arms and sighed as Icy said those words. I guess I am lucky that I didn't die. She thought sadly. But I kind of wish I had.
"Go clean yourself up." Icy ordered. Rhythma obediently stood and walked toward the bathroom where the napkins were kept, her eyes still cast downwards.
Once she had cleaned off the blood and somewhat bandaged her wounds, Rhythma left the bathroom and went back to her bed.
However, as she approached the mattress, she saw a tiny blue duckling curled up on her pillow.
Pipsqueak.
It had taken much convincing - and a particularly brutal beating - but Icy had finally allowed her to keep the little duck as her own - probably thinking that she couldn't get rid of her own. The purple duckling followed the ice witch everywhere.
Icy's duck was named Pepe, and Rhythma had named hers Pipsqueak - Pip for short.
The fairy sat down on her bed and was about to lay down again when one of the witches teleported behind her. In one swift movement, Stormy had wrapped one arm around Rhythma's neck, and the other around her midsection. The fairy squeaked in surprise when she suddenly squeezed the air from her lungs.
"Stormy," Icy was leaning against the doorframe and watching the little death-hug situation with amusement. "What in Magix are you doing?"
"Just wanted a hug." The witch squeezed her arms tighter around Rhythma as she said the last word.
Rhythma was running out of air and began to struggle against Stormy's grip with no avail.
The magenta witch chuckled and tightened her grip even more. It seemed like she was on the verge of strangling the fairy. "You're adorable when you struggle." Stormy laughed. "Makes me want to hug you even tighter." Once again, she squeezed.
Darcy walked in. "Oh, leave her alone."
Icy turned to the purple witch. "Why in the name of Magix would we do that?"
"She was nearly eaten by a snake." Darcy snapped. "Cut her some slack and wait until later to torment her." She glanced at Rhythma for less than a second before looking away.
At the last second, Stormy released her and stood up, grumbling under her breath about something Rhythma couldn't quite hear. She was just glad to be breathing again.
Icy flashed her a wicked grin before turning to her sisters. "Where is Knut?"
Rhythma caught Darcy's eye and turned toward a small closet. The witch followed her gaze and walked over. "Knut?"
The door of the closet opened a crack. "Can I come out yet?"
Icy rolled her eyes. "Tell him to get out here."
Suddenly, a horrible stench burned Rhythma's nostrils. She held her hand over her nose and saw Icy do the same. Knut chuckled nervously.
"Probably shouldn't have eaten those beans earlier." He said, rubbing the back of his head. Rhythma caught Icy rolling her eyes and winced again.
"Forget the beans, Knut," Darcy said. "You always smell bad."
Stormy chuckled. "We've got to find him a hiding spot with better ventilation."
Darcy ignored her. "You have to be more careful," she told the ogre. "You can't let anyone know you're here."
"The rules are clear about beasts and other pets that come into Cloudtower." Icy said with a glare at Pepe, who came running out of the closet.
"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" He ran up to the ice witch and grabbed her leg. Rhythma fought to hide a smile as she stroked Pip.
"As I was saying." Icy rolled her eyes and bent down and picked up Pepe by the throat before she spoke to Knut. "So, did you forget how to use telekinesis to send us a message?" She threw Pepe behind her and the poor duck hit a wall.
Rhythma didn't listen to the rest of the conversation - as it didn't concern her. Instead, she picked up Pip in her arms and went to go grab Pepe too before he annoyed Icy any more than he already had.
As she returned to her bed with both ducks, the three witches turned to her.
"We have to go out for a bit," Icy told her sternly. "You are to stay here and watch these stupid creatures. If you even attempt to leave this room, I will make sure to make the next Brain Blast extra painful and torturous."
Rhythma nodded frantically and hugged the two ducks close to her chest.
- Timeskip because I'm lazy -
The Trix returned a few hours later and looked quite pleased with themselves.
Rhythma was sitting on her bed, playing with Pip - as Pepe had run off somewhere and she couldn't go after him - when the witches walked in. They spoke in hushed tones as they entered the room.
"So how do we get that stupid ring from the fairy?" Stormy was asking. Rhythma looked up, mildly surprised at the question.
Icy turned to face the storm witch. "I have a idea that might work." She said. "But it will require some planning."
Rhythma stiffened as Darcy walked behind her and sat down. The fairy went to move away, but the witch grabbed her hair and yanked it painfully. "I think we can live with a bit of planning." She said. Don't move. The witch's voice throbbed in her head. Rhythma groaned and clutched her face.
The fairy went to move again anyway, but this time Icy turned to face her. "I wouldn't try anything, little wretch." She taunted. "Darcy might be tempted to pull out all that beautiful hair of yours if you don't sit still."
Beautiful? Rhythma blinked skeptically. That was the first compliment she had gotten in a while. Especially from Icy.
A dark chuckle came from Darcy and she pulled on Rhythma's hair once again. The fairy squeaked in pain. That distraction allowed for the witch to trap Rhythma with a spell that left her unable to move.
"What are you doing, sister?" Icy asked.
Darcy yanked on Rhythma's hair for the third time, wrenching her head back and almost breaking her neck. "Working on a containment spell."
And trying to break my neck? Rhythma thought bitterly. She regretted that as soon as Darcy bashed her in the back with her knee. The fairy had forgotten that Darcy could read her mind.
Icy grinned wickedly at the pained expression on the fairy's face.
"May I have a go?"
"Be my guest." Darcy's grip on her hair didn't lessen as Icy stepped directly in front of her. The ice witch shot a blast of icy energy at Rhythma, who screamed in panic as the ice turned into rings that wrapped around her body, once again preventing her from struggling. Darcy grinned. "Ooo nice."
Icy flashed another sickening grin at Rhythma before turning away. "I'll let you do what you want with the little wretch." She sneered. "I just got a brilliant plan."
Stormy walked up. "Wait." She grinned cruelly at Rhythma, before touching the new restraints and sending electricity through them. The fairy let out a scream of pain that was abruptly cut off as the magenta witch put one finger in between her eyes in warning.
Rhythma shut her mouth at let the tears of pain fall freely as electricity coursed through her entire body.
And then she left. Darcy snickered from her place behind Rhythma and tugged on her hair again. Rhythma whimpered, but kept Stormy's warning in mind and suffered her pain silently.
It took a bit, but Darcy finally finished what she was doing and stood up, chuckling. The energy rings evaporated from around Rhythma and she immediately put her hand on the back of her head, feeling for what the witch did.
"You look stunning, fairy." Darcy told her with a grin. The witch had put her hair into a braid, and Rhythma didn't want to admit that it felt kind of good.
At last. Her brain said. Something different than torture.
Rhythma had thought it felt like torture to her, but she didn't argue with herself and continued to watch the Trix discuss their plan.
A/N: So not a lot of torture in this chapter ;-; but I wanted do this for a while now. Be on guard for the next chapter!