Author's note: I forgot to mention in the first chapter that this story was the result of a prompt from one of my Tumblr followers asking for Sydrian's happy ending. Please let me know what you think. I'll try to post often.
Happy reading!
Chapter Two
Sydney was awakened abruptly. She was still groggy from all the drugs in her system. She looked around to see what had jarred her and saw a set of fresh clothes and a tray of food had been slid into the room via a slot under what had to be the door.
"Get dressed." The voice said. "Eat. You will shower and then we have things to accomplish."
"Like what?" She snapped.
"Get dressed. Eat." The voice repeated.
She stared at the things in the corner. She picked up the tray to find a stale piece of bread and a light broth that smelled like chicken. "You think I could get a cup of coffee?"
There was no answer.
She sighed. "Of course not." She drank the broth and chewed on the bread. It was hard and cut the inside of her mouth. At least it was something. She picked up the clothes. They were plain gray medical scrubs. "Sexy." She sighed. She pulled them on. They hung on her gaunt frame.
How long had it been since they gave her a proper meal? Why had she ever starved herself on purpose before? She knew if she was able to look in a mirror, she wouldn't recognize herself.
The light came on in the case that held her cross. "If you cooperate, you may have this back." The voice said.
"How long do I have to cooperate?" Sydney asked. "And what sort of atrocities do I have to go through?"
"Don't run." The voice warned. A door opened.
Standing outside were two familiar faces, her father and Zoe. Her sister smiled encouragingly.
Her father sneered. "Now, be a good girl, Sydney, and follow these nice women to the shower."
Behind him was a pair of women that looked as though they belonged at Court with tattoos on the backs of their necks rather than here with golden lilies on their cheeks. Another group stood behind them and it seemed much the same.
Sydney gave them a smirk. "Are you that scared of me?"
"Not scared of you." Jared said. "Not yet."
The women grabbed her by her arms and pulled her out of the room.
"You'll be okay, Sydney." Zoe encouraged from behind her.
She ignored her sister. She would never be okay as long as she was away from Adrian. Her mind was still too drug addled to even begin formulating a plan. She was pushed into a long room with several showerheads peeking out of the walls. There were no dividers. She was pushed forward.
"You have five minutes." One woman snapped.
"Soap?" She asked. "A towel?"
The first woman handed over a bar of soap. "We will provide a towel later."
"Strip." The second demanded.
"You've been waiting to say that from the moment you saw me, right?" Sydney said with a smirk to rival any Adrian had ever sent her way. She removed her clothes slowly and then stepped under the spray. She lathered the soap on slowly, keeping her eyes locked with the second woman. This was probably doing nothing to help her case, but she didn't care.
"You've got thirty seconds." The first one snapped.
Sydney sighed and went about rinsing off just as slowly as she'd applied the soap in the first place.
The water turned off abruptly and a towel was thrown in her face. "Finish up."
"There's still soap in my hair." She complained.
"Too bad."
She dried off and dressed and was taken by the arms once more. She was brought down several long halls and lost track of where she was. Those drugs were strong and still working their way through her system. She was brought into a room with a single chair that resembled one found in a dentist office. This was different, however. It had wrist and ankle straps.
After Sydney was put in the chair, she was injected with another drug. This one made her feel odd, but didn't knock her out. Everything was the same, just heightened, more vivid. And then a voice started speaking.
"Humans are the superior race. We are the pure race. Vampires, in all forms, are abominations. We aid the Moroi to keep them hidden. They mostly drink blood from willing donors. Dhampirs are the worst abomination of all. They are the unholy offspring of a union between vampires and humans. They are not to be trusted any more than the Moroi. The Strigoi are to be feared above all. They will not ask for consent. They will drain every drop from you."
The monologue was repeated as the new drugs continued to work in Sydney's brain. After every sentence, she screamed, "Moroi and dhampirs can be trusted."
This went on for what seemed like hours. She continued to scream until she had no more voice. She closed her eyes and continued to mumble her own mantra over and over. She wouldn't let them brainwash her this way. She wouldn't break. She'd never go back to the old ways.
She was exhausted by the end. They unhooked her from the chair and brought her to another room. She was injected with yet another drug.
"What are you people trying to do to me?" She demanded as the new needle was taken away.
"Trying to teach you what you've forgotten." The technician said.
This drug worked more slowly. She didn't even really feel much effect. Her head slowly started to clear. Her throat was still raw.
She asked, "Could I get some water?"
The technician opened his mouth, but he was stopped.
"Nothing for you, Miss Sage. You're going to watch a movie." It was the voice again.
Sydney snorted. "You should show yourself. Just speaking through a voice box really isn't a way to instill any sort of fraternity in me."
"Patience, Miss Sage." The technician said and then left.
The room went bright and then a screen came to life. It was a pure propaganda piece showing the evil side of the vampires. Fake Moroi flashed their fangs and then drank greedily from the feeders. Moroi and humans had explicit sex while the vampires drank. And then dhampirs were shown brutally beating up anyone that came into their path. There was no dialogue. There were all sorts of sensational scenes. It went on and on. There was no end.
It started over. Just like the monologue, it was on a loop. Sydney didn't know how many times it played. She lost count after twenty. It could have played a couple hundred for all she knew.
She tried to curl into a corner and sleep, but it didn't come. The drugs were keeping her awake. And when that started to fail, they flashed the lights and made the most awful alarms fill the room. She paced, talking to herself, telling herself she didn't believe the things playing out on the screen.
Finally the film shut off and the deafening silence hurt Sydney's ears more than the harsh alarms. The door opened and another set of guards appeared.
"What time is it?" She rasped.
They looked between each other a moment before one answered, "Three in the morning."
She gasped. It really had been hours. Both places. She was exhausted. But she could still feel the second injection working. She wouldn't be able to sleep even if she wanted to.
The door closed to her cell. She stepped over to her bed and found the necklace they had tantalized her with the previous morning.
"It can remain yours as long as you continue to cooperate." The voice said.
And then there was silence. Sydney put the necklace on. "What do you want?" She asked softly.
There was no answer.
She sighed and reclined on the cot. "You are all assholes. Take this away again if you want. I won't change."