Chapter 23: Little Bird
She had awoken naked with her arms chained above her head as she lay slumped on cold hard stone. It was a tiny, dark cell something akin to the cells she passed in that one slaver cave. Was this the same cave that she had watched Hadriana die in? She couldn't tell but she would have found it ironic and laughed if her face didn't feel raw. It felt like the whole one side of her face was bruised, and it probably was. It still felt like a moment ago that she was slammed against the floor. She lay there awkwardly as her eyes searched her surroundings, there was nothing to gather. She heard movements outside of her cell before the door opened letting torch light in. It was that elf, Fenris' sister. She could see the girl's fear in her eyes as she looked down at her. Maybe she was just embarrassed at looking at Hawke naked, but she had a feeling that this woman was the one who had taken her clothes off.
"Master, she is awake." Hawke shivered involuntarily. It disgusted her to hear someone be called master and have them mean it. She had almost broken Orana of that habit, and now what? She was going to be the one having to say master. She heard mumblings outside, too quiet for her to hear before she heard Danarius walk into her cell. She refused to look at him, she wouldn't give him that. She wouldn't give him anything he wanted.
"Quite the disobedient one, I am sorry to tell you, Hawke.. that I have dealt with much worse than you…" He was crouched over her but she didn't move an inch, she laid there like a corpse as he talked to her. "It is just that you interest me so much… and you are quiet the beauty. I can see why my little wolf fell for you. He is not yours however, and you are not his. You are mine now, little bird." He was running his fingers through her hair, inspecting her, petting her like she was a pet. "I am sure you will survive this process. You are much stronger than Fenris was, I just worry.. what if you die? Then I will be left with nothing." His hands found their way to her chin to lift her face up so he could stare into her eyes. "I will go easy on you, little bird. I will take my time and you will be my masterpiece, then when we go to Tevinter you will become my bride." She found his smile sick as she tried to look elsewhere than his eyes. "… and then… well with you, little bird.. the Champion of Kirkwall… I will take over Tevinter."
She was mistaken as to why she was naked, she thought it had been just for him to see what he was attaining… That had been part of it, but rather she was naked because he was going to carve her open like Fenris. She wondered if she would forget everything, would she become the killer Fenris had been? She couldn't find herself being obedient, even if her mind was erased. It made her sick to think of herself being his pet, being obedient to this cruel man. He was going to torture her for his own gain, to make her the thing he wanted. She wanted to tell him exactly what she thought, that Tevinter could go fuck itself, he could go fuck himself, and that she was going to rip his heart out when she was free. He must have seen the anger on her face and he laughed at her before letting go of her face.
"You will break, and you will break hard when it occurs." He stood up, turning to walk out to Variana who stood in the doorway. "We are going to go ahead with the plan, I want her moved to the main room."
"…Yes, Master… It's just… What if they find us?" She could hear the fear in Variana's voice. She hoped her friends would come but she didn't see that happening anytime soon. She had no idea where she was or how long she had been out. She could be in another country, but she found that unlikely. Danarius was a cocky man, he was probably right next to her mansion in all likeliness.
"They won't." The cell door shut and she was in darkness again. She let herself lapse into sleep until they came for her again. She had a lot of fighting ahead of her.