So, I updated because I love you. I don't have anymore chapters stored up, so review and I might write a new one.

Guess what? It's my birthday on the 27th~!

YAYE! I'll be 16~

But, I don't want to get old! :(

And I'm going to go see Catching Fire with my noob friend Rho!~ YAYE!

Rho's a noob! HAHAHA XD

Rho you noob~~.

Just kidding. I love you Rho~ Chu~

^_^ And if you review, I will love you tooooo~!

Oh, and I'm thinking about auditioning for X Factor 2014. Should I go for it? Or prepare for another year?

-Axle-

There is a grumble of general assent, the sound ricochets off the stone walls.

"Order!"

One after the other, the dragons-turned-human fall silent. The stone panel slides open and Shari steps in.

"She's getting suspicious. We can't afford to lose to her now." She slides the panel back in place. No-one speaks. Everyone here has witnessed Shari's skills firsthand and if you doubt her you'd be out on your scaly tail before you could protest. "This leaves us with no choice. If you can't control your thoughts well enough, you'll have to stay as far away from the monster as possible." She pulls out a silk bag with a drawstring. And pulls out a single purple berry. "Don't lose this. It's your way out." She gives the bag to a girl with red hair. "Take one out and pass the bag on. Drop it and I'll kill you." She says it jokingly, but here, death is a very real thing for all of us. "This grain of rice is deadly. Take it, crush it between your back teeth and it'll kill you instantly. Just in case she catches you doing something you shouldn't be."

Eventually the bag reaches me. But it's empty. I look at her suspiciously but she doesn't even blink.

"That's all for today."

The room empties and soon it's only us left.

"You'll be fine." She says without looking at me.

"Give me yours."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"You won't get found out. She already suspects me." I reach for it but she moves away.

"You're lying to me again."

"I'm not."

"Shari."

"I don't want you to have one."

"Why?"

She turns away but I can feel her embarrassment.

"Why?"

"It's none of your business." She snaps.

I jump on her back and turn her over so she can see me. I pin her arms over her head, the berry in one hand.

"Axle…"

"Why?" I bend down and kiss her neck. She freezes but I can smell her lust. "Why do you try to protect me?"

"I don't want you to die that way. If it comes to it, I will take her on so you can get away."

I trail kisses up her neck to her ear. "Don't be silly. I won't let you fight her on your own."

"I won't be alone."

I pull back and look into her eyes.

"Do you really think you can kill mother?"

Her eyes are frightened but determined.

"Yes."

I lean closer.

"That's why I love you."

I capture her lips and for a moment, everything is perfect, I had Shari, Shari didn't know my plan, mother didn't know about us, or the plan to kill her and the flying cat was on our side. Everything was fine, perfect really. Except, things are only ever perfect for a moment before reality comes crashing down.

"Well. What do we have here? A pair of traitors I see." I jump away from Shari, pulling her behind me, out of sight from mother, she clutches my shoulder in fright. Beside mother is the red headed girl from earlier.

"You traitor!" Shari screams.

"Silence!" Mother raises her hand and flicks it across the room. Shari is sent flying and her back cracks against the stone wall. The blood drains from her face and she doesn't move.

"Shari!" I race over to her but a wall of fire descends on me.

"Girl stop. We want him alive."

The fire vanishes, but I don't dare take a step closer to Shari.

"I'll make you a deal, Axle." She tacks my 'name' on the end of the sentence as if she's trying to sound civilized. "You work for me, no resistance, kill when and who I tell you too, and at the end of the war, you'll get a nice chunk of island and this girl."

I glare at her. "You're a lier."

She waves her hand at Shari, not using magic this time, but in a gesture. "You can go to her if you like."

I glance over at Shari, I'm close enough to her now that I can tell she's alive, but I won't know the extent of her injuries until I'm beside her. I take a step, then when there's no retaliation, I run to her side.

"Shari?"

Nothing, not a shaken breath, not my name, not a flutter of her lashes or a twitch of her eyebrow.

"Well?"
"Can we leave? You can erase our memories, we won't know anything. Please?"
"Nice try kid. But that's my only offer and it won't be there for long. Take it or I'll kill her. She's crippled now. I have no use for a dragon who can't fly. Waste of resources if you ask me."

I lift Shari up from the ground and see that she's right. The spot where Shari's wings usually are has been replaced by a long scar.

"What did you do to her?"

'Mother' smirks. "I removed her wings. She doesn't need them anymore."

"But…"

"Will you accept my terms? She'll be kept in confinement until the war is over."

"You'll treat her kindly?"

"As kind as I get boy."

I sit back on my haunches with an almost lifeless Shari in my arms. It's easy to promise things to a dead boy. 'Mother' wasn't known for keeping her word, but right now it's the only thing I had to keep Shari alive.

"I accept."

"Good boy." She nods to the red haired girl. The girl pulls Shari from my arms roughly and I try to protest or make a move to grab her back, but I can't move. My body is frozen and my tongue is heavy. She drags Shari out by her hair and I can't even protest against the cruelty. Though, I did see the boys take the Lucy girl away the same way.

"I bound you. Just in case you got any funny ideas. Since you like this room so much, it can be your new living quarters. I'll send for you when I need to use you." 'Mother' walks forwards, her heels tapping on the stone. She grabs the front of my shirt and presses her nose to mine. With Shari it was a gesture of affection, with this monster it was a direct threat. The monster was so close, if Shari wasn't her prisoner, and if I wasn't bound, I could kill her easily. "If you even think about betraying me boy, I'll rip her heart out and eat it." I shudder. That wasn't an empty threat. She releases me and steps back. She saunters out, but at the doorway she stops and turns to me. "And I'll make you watch."

She leaves and the stone slides back in place. After a few minutes I collapse on the stone floor, the spell broken. Hot tears well behind my eyes but I refuse to let them fall I won't give her that satisfaction. Instead I get up off the ground and fully take in my surroundings. Without all the 'people' in here it was quite large, metal bars hung horizontally across the celling which was fairly high to be honest. The walls weren't smooth but had rock jutting out from random angles. Good for climbing. The room was also long, about a hundred meters. I raise an eyebrow. If I was going to be trapped, this would be a good place to serve my time. I walk over to the wall and find a handhold. I grip tightly and pull myself up. If I was going to kill that bitch, I needed to be strong. I was going to rescue Shari if my life depended on it.