Wow. I'm alive! I started writing another birthday piece for PrismRain13, but I got caught up with college, and finding a job after graduation, mental health problems, and I just forgot all about this piece. Prism's birthday was last month, so at least it can still be her birthday gift for this year. I hope you like it!

Warning: There is a lot of lime, and some torture in this chapter.

Lyle heaved a sigh and flopped onto his bed. He was sore, tired, and sweaty; he'd been training since the sun came up, and had scarcely eaten all day. His mother had tried hard to persuade him to eat some dinner, but he had no appetite. How could he when he had let Avalon down so badly? She was with that freak because he'd been too slow.

'Avalon…I'm sorry. It's my fault…' Lyle felt his eyes welling up; it was his own bedroom, so he felt no shame in letting some tears out. He barely looked up when he heard his bedroom door opening.

"Mom, I told you I'm not hungry."

"I know that, Lyle. I just came in to talk."

That got the young man's attention. He looked up to see his father standing at the foot of the bed.

"Dad…what's up?"

Riku sighed, unsure how to go about this. "Lyle…I do know how you feel."

"Do you?" The younger man wasn't buying it at all. "Did you get your best friend kidnapped by a monster who just wants to…" Lyle stopped himself. He didn't even want to think about that.

"Well, not exactly," Riku confessed, "but what I did was probably just as bad, if not much worse. I…wasn't always happy living on these islands."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. And one day…I had the chance to get off them."

~.~.~.~.~

"Oh, princess…"

Avalon cringed when she heard that sing-song tone. She did not want to come out from behind the screen.

"Your prince is getting cold, all alone in his bed."

"Do I really have to wear this?"

"Oh, I suppose I could let you wear something else," Tenebrae replied, pretending to be flexible. "Like that kitten costume I showed you, the uniform I had you clean the palace in-"

"Okay, okay, I'll wear this!" Avalon hated herself for giving in so easily, but she had no choice; she did not want to find out what other punishments he might have in store. Taking a deep breath, she stepped outside the screen, trying very hard to be as un-sexy as possible in the black lingerie dress he'd given her to wear to bed.

"Oh," Tenebrae took in the sight of his princess, a lecherous smirk on his face. Avalon forced herself not to look as she approached the large bed. "I made the right choice, kitten. That little piece hugs your curves quite nicely."

Avalon tried not to throw up as she crawled into bed, making sure to stay as far away from Tenebrae as possible. She shuddered when he reached over and pulled her closer anyway.

"Now, isn't this nice," Tenebrae purred, inhaling Avalon's tropical scent. "I cannot wait for the wedding. Because after the wedding comes the honeymoon…"

"Th-the honeymoon?" Avalon tried not to sound scared, but her voice came out as a squeak.

"Of course. What world should we go to, kitten? How about Atlantica? It would be so romantic to spend our vacation under the sea, with our own private suite in Morgana's palace. I know I'd love to see what you look like as a sweet little mermaid." Tenebrae grinned darkly as he tucked a loose strand of spiky auburn hair behind her ear.

Avalon cringed at his touch, it made her sick just to be near him. Tenebrae kept stroking her hair as he continued. "Of course, we'll have the former heroes of Altantica bowing to us and waiting on us hand and fin, just like every other world I claim."

Avalon shuddered; being in an arctic fortress in the home of a sea witch wasn't her idea of romantic.

"Or how about Neverland? Just the two of us in a large, gorgeous cabin on a magical pirate ship. Of course we'd have to find some way to keep that brat, Peter Pan tied to the ship to serve us. Clip his wings if you will."

"No, leave my friends out of this!" Avalon shook herself free from his arms and sat up, looking Tenebrae in the eye. "You can't put them through that! None of my friends deserve to be your slaves!"

"Why not?" Tenebrae pushed himself up a little with his arms, sneering at her. "My castle is frightfully understaffed. Surely you don't want to be responsible for cleaning every room? That maid outfit is still in your wardrobe…"

Avalon glared in disgust at his callousness. "You're horrible!"

"I know." With that, the dark prince lowered himself onto his pillow once again, a heartless grin on his face. Avalon sighed in despair.

"Why do you insist on making me your bride?! Why can't you just let me go and leave me alone?! What makes me so special, anyway?! I'm hardly the only woman who can use a Keyblade!"

"Now, don't sell yourself short, sweetheart. You're radiant. Every time I look at you, I want to claim you as my own." Tenebrae tenderly stroked Avalon's cheek, causing her to shudder in disgust.

"I'll never be your bride. Never!"

Tenebrae clearly didn't believe her. He behaved as though Avalon were a toddler having a tantrum. "Oh, come now, my princess. We've been over this." He grasped Avalon's chin, pulling her way too close for comfort. "You're going to be my bride. One way…or another." Tenebrae pulled Avalon in for a kiss, wanting to feel her soft lips pressed against his.

Instead, he was met with an open palm striking his cheek.

"You can keep me here all you want. You can get me a wedding dress, threaten me, torture me, anything you can think of. But I will never say 'I do.'"

Recovering from the shock, Tenebrae felt his cheek where Avalon had slapped him. It stung a little and he could feel that it was warm. He felt his anger flaring as he raised his hand in return. But before Avalon could even flinch, he thought better of it, lowering his arm.

"Very well, sweetheart. I won't pressure you anymore tonight."

"You…you won't?"

"No. Now settle in, kitten." The sickly-sweet grin returned to Tenebrae's face, as if she hadn't slapped him in the first place. "You need your beauty sleep, and I know you must be exhausted after cleaning the entire palace."

Avalon stared at him suspiciously. Tenebrae would never just cool off with that if he didn't have something planned for revenge. "What are you-"

"Shhh…" Tenebrae placed a finger over her lips. "Go to sleep, my little princess. Everything will be all right."

That smirk told Avalon that everything would not be all right.

~.~.~.~.~

Lyle lay alone in his bed staring up at the ceiling finding it impossible to sleep. The talk with his dad had made him feel a little better, but he was still worried sick for Avalon. After all, she was still in the clutches of that demonic prince. The silver-haired teen sighed, feeling burned out.

'Dad's right. I won't solve anything by lying here awake.' He rolled over, trying to get comfortable. Slowly, he closed his eyes and tried to think of peaceful times in order to relax. Words could not describe how much he wanted Avalon back home so they could go back to those peaceful times.

Just then, the entire room turned cold.

Lyle hissed, shivering from the sudden icy blast. "What the-?!"

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a corridor of darkness appear in the middle of the room. Lyle shot up at the sight, his blood running cold when a figure stepped out.

"Sorry to disturb you, pretty boy." The prince of darkness grinned down at him darkly.

A thousand thoughts raced through Lyle's head; he wanted to call for his parents, but his voice was lost in his throat. Tenebrae chuckled at the expression on Lyle's face.

"Speechless, are we? I do tend to have that effect on people. And I wouldn't waste my energy calling for Mommy and Daddy – I've put a little spell on this room, and they can't hear a thing. They won't even know what's happening until it's too late."

Lyle's speechlessness was replaced with anger as he jumped out of bed, summoning his Keyblade and pointing it at Tenebrae. "What are you doing here?! Where's Avalon?!"

"In a safe place, pretty boy. You don't need to worry."

"I seriously doubt that," Lyle growled, ignoring the fact that he was still wearing his T-shirt and boxers. He was fully prepared to destroy the room if it meant defeating the dark prince. Except Tenebrae had yet to make any move to attack Lyle.

Tenebrae simply chuckled at him and snapped his fingers. Instantly, Lyle's wrist became surrounded by black shadows until it solidified into a black bracelet. Once it was on, his Keyblade vanished.

"What the-?!" Lyle grabbed the bracelet and tried to pry it off.

Tenebrae smirked as he sauntered toward the sixteen year old. "It's no use, little knight," he crooned in that sickly-sweet, condescending tone, "my magic is far superior to what you could ever imagine."

"Take this off!" In the back of Lyle's mind, he knew something wasn't right; why weren't his parents coming? He knew he was shouting loudly enough, so why weren't they rushing upstairs?

"What did you do to my parents? Tell me!"

"My, so many demands for such a weak pretty boy," Tenebrae laughed. "You can relax about your parents. All I did was a little…soundproofing to this room."

Lyle glared at Tenebrae as he tried to pull the bracelet off. At least he hadn't harmed them. "Why are you here?!"

"Well, you see, pretty boy, my princess hasn't been very…cooperative as of late. So she needs a little persuasion."

"Persuasion…? What are you talking about…?"

When Lyle looked up, Tenebrae was standing inches from him, roughly grabbing his arm. "Oh, I think I know what you mean, little knight. Come along, now. Let's not keep my princess waiting."

"What?! Let go of me!" Lyle yanked his arm and kicked Tenebrae in the shin. He didn't waste a moment rushing to his window, hoping that he could get away. The boy's hopes were dashed as he found his window barricaded by darkness as well.

"Cute little escape attempt, pretty boy," Tenebrae quickly closed the distance between them, pinning Lyle to the wall before he could attempt to run around the dark prince, "but just not good enough." Tenebrae laughed as he grabbed Lyle's shoulder and threw him to the floor. "Now, let's get going before I lose my patience."

"What?! NO-" Lyle didn't even have time to struggle as he felt himself being engulfed by darkness, pulling him down like black quicksand. He couldn't move an inch.

"Don't fight it, little knight. You should know by now that you can't escape the darkness."

The last thing Lyle saw was the bloodthirsty grin on Tenebrae's face staring down at him.

~.~.~.~.~

No matter how many times Avalon tossed and turned she couldn't get comfortable in Tenebrae's large bed. The combination of the prince's words, the cold air and the revealing nightgown she was wearing was a recipe to keep her awake. Finally giving up on sleep, Avalon pushed herself up, hugged her knees to her chest and allowed her hair to fall into her face.

The young blue-eyed girl released a sigh as she glanced down at the black anti-magic bracelet on her wrist. Why did Tenebrae have such an active interest in her? What was his true goal? He was just such a mystery. Why her of all people? Not that she would wish this fate on anyone else, but why was he so attracted to her? What made her so special? As she'd told him numerous times, Avalon was hardly the only girl in all the worlds capable of using magic of the Keyblade.

Was it because Sora was her father? No, that couldn't be the only reason. There had to be some other reason besides her lineage. Deciding to stretch her legs, Avalon moved off the bed and stretched her arms over her head. She walked over to the window and unlocked the latch; fresh air might help to clear her head. The air did make the room feel much colder than before and the view of the ruined city wasn't a pretty sight. If she could still use her magic, scaling the castle's rooftops to freedom wouldn't be a problem at all. The view might have been amazing, but the scenery was just too dark, grotesque, and creepy to make it worth looking at for long. Avalon sighed in despair.

It was at that moment that a pair of icy hands took hold of her shoulders from behind her. With a cry of surprise, Avalon reacted on instinct, throwing her fist at her assailant's face with all her might, only for it to be seized tightly.

"Cute, sweetheart. Really cute." Tenebrae chuckled as he pulled her against his chest. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed, kitten? My princess needs her beauty rest." Snarling quietly, Avalon pushed herself out of his hold.

"Like anyone could get any sleep in that ice cave you call a bedroom." She retorted, storming past him. Undeterred, Tenebrae simply followed her.

"Where are you going, Princess? Don't you want to know where I've been?"

"No."

"Oh, come now, princess, don't be like that. I think you'll want to know where I've been."

"Not. Interested."

Tenebrae only smirked, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"What if I told you I was visiting your islands?"

Those words were all it took for Avalon's eyes to widen in horror. "You...what?"

"I thought that would get your attention." The dark male tickled Avalon's chin with a condescending grin.

"What were you doing there?! What did you do to my family?!"

"My, so many questions."

"No more games Tenebrae!" Spat Avalon. "Why were you there?! What did you do?!"

"You know, I could tell you, but I think it would be more fun to show you."

Avalon flinched when Tenebrae roughly grabbed her wrist.

"Come along, now."

"What? Where are you taking me?!" Avalon demanded as she tried to wriggle out of his strong grip. "Let go of me!"

"Hush, kitten. I think you'll...enjoy the surprise." Tenebrae said nothing more as he dragged her back into the room and through a dark corridor. The next moment Avalon opened her eyes, they were in the dungeon.

"Oh, pretty boy. My princess is here to see you."

Avalon gasped in shock; there was only one person Tenebrae called by that name.

"Lyle?!"

Sure enough when Tenebrae opened the cell door, the silver-haired teen was laying there with the same bracelet on his wrist. His wrists and ankles were in thick shackles, and it looked like he'd taken a beating.

"Lyle!" Avalon shouted in absolute terror as she tried to run to him but Tenebrae held her back.

"No, no, little princess."

"What did you do to him?! Why'd you bring him here?!" Avalon thrashed against the prince's strong arms, to no avail.

"I'm so glad you asked," Tenebrae purred, striding over to Lyle. He grabbed the silverette's arm to lift him off the ground. "Hey, it's time to wake up, pretty boy."

Lyle released a groan as he slowly opened his eyes. "W-What? Where?" His head was pounding and he ached all over; his vision was blurry but was slowly starting to refocus. In front of him he could see a familiar figure with reddish-brown hair in a short black nightgown. "A-Avalon!"

In a blind frenzy, Lyle thrashed to free his arm and run to his long-lost friend. But before he could even take a step, black tendrils coiled around his legs.

"Ah, ah! You're not getting any closer to her, pretty boy!"

"Tenebrae stop it!" Avalon exclaimed as she stood between her childhood friend and the dark prince. "Why'd you bring him here? Why is he in this condition?!"

"You see, sweetheart, I've not been pleased with your behavior towards me as of late. You pout, you won't kiss me, you won't even hold my hand while I walk through the castle gardens with you."

Avalon did not like where this was going. "What are you getting at?"

"You've been a very uncooperative and disobedient fiancé. So I brought this little warrior wannabe in as a means of encouraging better behavior from you."

Lyle's eyes shot open at Tenebrae's words. "Fiancé? You've got to be kidding me. Are you really that pathetic, Tenebrae? Avalon would never marry you!"

Avalon gave a short nod. "It doesn't matter what you do to me, Tenebrae. I'll never marry you!"

"Oh? I think you'll change your mind." Tenebrae turned to Lyle, a smug expression on his face. "After all, it's not what I'm going to do to you if you don't shape up."

Just by the way Tenebrae was looking at him, Lyle knew what was coming. "Avalon don't look! Don't worry about me!"

"I'll be fine!"

"Yes, he will," Tenebrae purred. "As long as my kitten behaves herself."

"You wouldn't..." Avalon was starting to panic. Tenebrae wouldn't really kill Lyle just to spite her...would he?

"Oh, wouldn't I?" Tenebrae snickered. "I wouldn't bet on that, sweetheart."

Lyle suddenly cried out in pain.

Tenebrae released a dark, cruel, insane cackle as he summoned a black whip into his hand. "Now that is music to my ears."

Avalon could not believe what she was seeing. She felt bile rising in her throat as she watched Tenebrae stalk towards Lyle.

"NO!" She tried to rush to Lyle's aid, only to be held back by some unseen force. Avalon looked behind her and gasped when she saw tendrils of darkness had sprung out of the dungeon floor and had wrapped tightly around her wrists. "Hey! What is this?!" The girl pulled with all her might, but the bonds would not give. "Let GO of me!"

"No, Princess, I want you to watch this."

Lyle wanted to look brave for Avalon as Tenebrae raised the whip. But he couldn't stop his heart from racing in fear. He doubted he was fooling her, anyway.

And he was right; Avalon felt her heart shatter at the terror in his aqua eyes. Unfortunately, Tenebrae could sense his prisoner's fear as well, prompting him to bring the whip down as hard as his body could muster. He was filled with sick pleasure when Lyle let out an agonized scream.

"That's right. Scream for me, pretty boy."

CRACK

Avalon couldn't bear to listen to Lyle's tortured screams. "Tenebrae, stop! Please! I'll do anything you want!"

Tenebrae stopped in his tracks, turning back to his captive princess. "Anything, you say?"

Avalon gulped as the realization of what she'd said hit her like a ton of bricks. But it was too late to take it back now. "Y-Yes, please! Just don't hurt Lyle anymore!"

Tears streamed down Avalon's face as she looked back at Lyle's form. His chest rose and fell quickly as he cast a pleading look at Avalon.

"N-No…Avalon…you can't…"

A smirk crossed Tenebrae's face. He knew he had won.

"Very well, kitten." The whip vanished in a flash of darkness. Avalon fell to her knees, releasing a big sigh of relief that she hadn't realized she was holding. Snapping his fingers, Tenebrae released Avalon from her dark bonds. He glared at her when she gave him a hopeful look.

"Two minutes," he snarled. "That's all I'll give you two. And I'll be standing right here."

Avalon didn't wait for further warnings. She scrambled to her feet and darted over to Lyle's bound form on the dungeon floor.

"Lyle!" The young woman grasped his face in both hands, still terrified that this was a dream; that Lyle would vanish into thin air if she let go of him. Then again, that would mean that he would be free from this monster's clutches. "Are you all right?! Did he hurt you?!" Avalon frantically scanned over Lyle's body, looking for signs of more serious injuries.

"I'm…fine, Avalon," the silverette rasped, still panting heavily. "Just…flesh wounds."

"What happened?! How did you come to this world?! How did you find me here?!"

"Well, I didn't…he brought me here from the islands. He showed up in my room and kidnapped me."

Avalon felt her heart drop upon hearing that. Did that mean Tenebrae could go and attack her family any time he wanted?

"Listen to me, Lyle. We'll get out of here. I won't leave you, I promise! I'll come down and visit-"

"Time's up, princess." Tenebrae snatched Avalon's wrist and pulled her away. "And let me be clear, I have no intention of leaving my bride alone with this…peasant, period." Waving his hand, a dark corridor opened behind the pair. "Now come, it's time for us to go to bed…together."

That lustful smirk made Avalon want to break Tenebrae's nose, but she feared the dark prince's wrath towards both her and Lyle if she resisted. With Tenebrae's arm around her waist, Avalon cast one more look at Lyle as the darkness swallowed them whole.

'I'm sorry, Lyle. I promise, I'll get us out of here.'