A/N: Not much to say; it was real late when I started typing this so things may be a bit meh. Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy. Also, I apologize deeply if this chapter offends anyone who is within the LGBTQA community! I am in no way trying to offend you and I actually hold nothing against anyone in the LGBTQA community, I actually have friends who are Transsexual, Homosexual and Bisexual. Once again, I apologize!

Chapter Genre: General

Chapter Rating: T

Rating Content: Brief Coarse Language, Implications of Torture, Brief Mild Innuendo

Tahki hissed loudly, her hand clenching the bed sheets as the bullet was pulled from her hip. What kind of a gun had he used to make it go that deep?!

Jesse made a slight groan of disgust. "You better be glad there wasn't any shrapnel. It could've been a lot worse; I might have had to use the scalpel!"

"I've been through worse, Jess." She snapped. "This is nothing."

He sighed heavily and tossed the bullet into the waste basket, washing the tweezers in rubbing alcohol. "I know, KiKi. Girl, you need to learn that pain is natural; ain't no shame in saying something hurts." He then started patching the bullet wound up, carefully placing the gauze and bandages over it.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. This wasn't the first time Jesse has had to stitch her up. No, he's done this quite a few times. He was by no means a professional, but he knew enough medical procedures and treatments to keep them both alive if they got hurt. He knew how to clean wounds and stitch gashes. Of course, before he started treating her bullet wound, Jesse had put some fresh and clean bandages over her hand.

Some days, she swore that he was like a mother hen!

They heard a knock at the door as it opened. "Hello!" A sing-song voice called out.

Tahki grabbed a scalpel. "Get out!" She shouted, throwing the scalpel at the door.

Pagan halted in stepping into the room as the blade embedded into the wooden door frame with a dull thump. He sighed in annoyance. "You do realize how expensive that was..."

"Get out!" She repeated.

The King ignored the woman and stepped into the room. He was back in the ivory suit and he cleaned his face up. He was still wearing that damn makeup, though. "Sorry about all that mess. That Golden Path, those terrorists, they tend to barge in at the worst of times."

Tahki stood and rapidly pulled up her jeans. "Hm, I wonder why." She then held up her finger as if proving a point. "Ah, I think I know; their quote-on-quote 'king', is making their lives a living hell and they want him dead. That ever cross your mind?"

Jesse tapped her leg and shook his head, taking the medical supplies and taking them back into the bathroom. Tahki sighed and put her hand in her pocket. "Sorry..." She mumbled. "It's just been a long day for me. A really long day."

Pagan slowly approached the woman, his hands clasped together. "We all have those off days, I'm certain."

Some more than others, she thought. "Mhm."

He stopped so he was just in front of her, staring her down. "I came here just to tell you one thing; although you were incredibly fucking stupid in completely ignoring what I told you to do,"

She glared but he held two fingers to her lips. "You handled yourself quite well."

He heard her growl before she snapped at him. He barely got his fingers out of the way and her teeth clacked together harshly. He couldn't help but smile at the woman. "Brash and fiery. I like it."

Before she could say anything else to him, Pagan turned on his heel and left the room. "Sleep well!" He called back.

Tahki growled and clenched her fist. The nerve of that man!

Jesse just barely caught her vocalized frustration as he came out of the bathroom. "KiKi, what's wrong?" He asked.

"Is he gay?"

He quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head. "What?"

She turned to him, a venom in her eyes. "He wears a shit-ton of pink, wears makeup, wears v-necks, dyes his hair like a punk, the only thing he doesn't do is wear pink nail polish. Is he gay?"

Jesse shrugged slightly and made a face. "I mean, I'm gay, but I don't wear makeup or dye my hair. And I especially don't wear pink. And his attitude? I think he's just what you've called him; psychotic. I mean, he could be bisexual. Why, did he do anything?"

"He acts like you do around me; so casual, like any contact he makes isn't some sort of flirtatious or odd behaviour."

"So? Like you said, he acts like I do."

She sighed and plopped down onto the bed. "Yeah, but we've been friends for, what, twenty-three years? Hell, we've lived in the same house for most of the time we've known each other and we've slept on the couch together and it wasn't weird. I've barely known him for a half day and we've only had a half-dinner. He scares the shit out of me, man!"

"Maybe he doesn't have any social limits, KiKi. Or he doesn't consider himself as flirtatious unless he is acting flirty."

"I don't care, Jesse! It almost scares me!"

He opened his mouth, almost ready to make a sarcastic remark, until he looked at her face. Tears. Dear god, if she cries...

He immediately sat beside her and took her hand in his own. "Hey, hey, Tahki, he's a murderer, but I know for a fact that he wouldn't go as far as... that."

"How do you know?"

"Because if he does, I'll choke him with his own socks."

Tahki chuckled. "Are his socks pink, too?"

He laughed along with her. "Probably." He then gave her a quick hug. "You get some sleep, alright? Who knows what may come tomorrow."

"Hopefully some warm weather. It's a lot colder up here than I thought."

/ / /

She slowly wandered into the dining room, yawning loudly and stretching out her arm. She was barely presentable for being around other people, he thought. A pair of flats, plaid pajama pants with a loose-fitting long sleeved shirt. It hung off of her shoulder, but he could see a tank-top strap. Her hair most certainly wasn't brushed. Maybe with her nails, but not with a decent brush. She was also wearing one of her leather gloves.

At least she made an effort.

The soldier that escorted her, Ronin, now stood just near the door and Tahki plunked herself in the chair beside Jesse. He cleared his throat. "Good morning, KiKi."

She grumbled in response.

He pushed a mug towards her. "Here's some coffee. Sugar, no cream."

She gratefully took the mug and sipped at it, sighing almost in a content manner. "Who wakes up this early on a Sunday?" She slurred, yawning once more.

Jesse filled up another mug with coffee and sipped at it. "It's eight o'clock..."

"Exactly."

She took another sip of her coffee. This is how most Sunday's went for them, only, they wouldn't be up until much later. And they wouldn't be in a palace. And Tahki wouldn't have a healing bullet wound on her hip or a healing wound on her hand. The glove really helped with keeping her hand more protected, but she could still feel some pain if she put too much pressure on it.

That stupid man, she thought. He seemed to mean well with keeping them 'protected', but so far, he had done more harm than good. Pagan's men were the ones who caused their jeep to crash and caused her hand to be harmed in the first place. Although it wasn't his fault she got shot, he didn't give them any means of better treatment; they just found a first aid kit purely by chance in the bathroom!

"KiKi, you're getting angry." Jesse warned. "You're gripping the mug too hard."

She carefully placed the mug back down on the table and sighed. "I just don't get why we have to be here! We can handle the Golden Path!"

Because yesterday was an excellent example, he thought. He didn't say it aloud, though, lest her wounded pride bites back at him.

"I've lived here for two decades and I've been able to handle the Royal Army, who says I can't handle the Golden Path?!" She continued. "I'm scarier than any of Pagan's soldiers or Sabal's fighters!"

Jesse sighed quietly and set his own mug down. There was no sense in interrupting her; whenever she was on one of her rants, it was hard to get her to calm down.

"Besides, they aren't the law; they don't own me or rule over me!" She slammed her fist into the table, making the mugs and coffee pot jump and the silverware rattle. "I don't need protecting!"

"Now, you've already driven a knife through my table and a scalpel through my door frame," Pagan scolded her. "You don't need to go and destroy my table by running your fist through it."

Jesse immediately cringed and inched away from Tahki. Of all the people, why did it have to be him who had to be here?

Tahki's head snapped around. He was dressed differently today. Black pants and a maroon shirt. Still got one button down. And he still had makeup on. She didn't know why it bothered her so much, but it did. Or maybe it was just him who bothered her. Either way, it just, well, bothered her.

"Now, don't you worry your pretty little head, I won't be here long." He sat in a chair across from them. "Just, checking to see how you're doing." A little smile formed on his lips. It almost looked sarcastic.

She narrowed her eyes. "I'm shot, how do you think I'm doing?"

"Well, not entirely my fault you got shot, now is it?" Pagan grabbed a few grapes from the fruit bowl and popped one into his mouth. "Now, if you'd have just listened-"

"I don't answer to you, I only answer to the law!"

"Last I checked, I am King, Tahki. I am law."

"You are not my King. You're not even a King, you're a dictator!"

"Well, how else am I to keep those terrorists in line?"

Tahki stood from her chair and leaned in dangerously close to Pagan. She could see just a ghost of freckles on his face. "You murder innocent men, women and children, and all because you may think they support or aid the Golden Path. Your soldiers have bombed the homes of innocent people, forced men and women into prostitution, destroyed historic and religious temples and monuments, forced people into labour for your stupid little projects, tortured and raped people and you haven't done a damn thing about it! You use terror to keep your citizens in check; the only terrorist I see, here, is you."

At first, his expression didn't change. He had just stared at her, with his smug little grin. But then he looked almost confused. It wasn't until his expression turned angry that she realized her mistake. 'He has been a recluse for years,' she remembered Jesse telling her. 'And most of the soldiers out there aren't even his. He doesn't have much control over them.'.

She leaned back, the fire in her eyes dimmed, almost ready to apologize. "Oh, this isn't terror..." He growled. "This is."

Without warning, Pagan grabbed Tahki by her shoulders and slammed her down onto the table, making Jesse jump up in surprise. "Hey, don't you-!"

Another soldier had grabbed Jesse by his shoulder and had a gun to his skull, forcing him to sit back down.

Tahki struggled to get back up, but Pagan was a lot stronger than what she gave him credit for. He was only using one hand on her back and she still couldn't get up! He leaned down close to her ear. "You know, I have been going easy on you." His nails dug into her as she struggled. "I have been patient, but a man can only have so much of it. Now, you're just getting on my nerves..."

"Fuck you!" She spat.

He chuckled and looked up to Jesse, who still had a gun pointed to his skull. "Is she always like this?"

He didn't respond.

Pagan pulled out a knife from his pocket and looked back to Tahki. "You know, here, you're under my control." He placed the tip of the blade near Tahki's eye, making her still instantly. "I can do as I damn please. I can have you executed, or I can have you tortured." He dragged the tip of the knife over her cheek, digging in only slightly, not enough to draw blood, but enough to scare her. He smiled as her breath hitched, at the fear he saw in her eyes. "And you know what? I am so, very tempted to make you bleed..."

"You can make me bleed," She hissed, "but that never means I'm in pain."

"Oh, I can give you pain." He dragged the tip down towards her neck, almost tenderly. "I can give you sweet pain, the kind that would make you scream," he then twisted it, causing the blade to break her skin. "Or the pain that will make you beg for the death that would never come."

She craned her neck as best as she could, looking at the man straight into his eye. "It takes more than a blade to make me beg for my life."

"Tahki..." Jesse hissed, a warning, a plea for her to stay silent.

Pagan's lips curled into a wry smile and he leaned back down to her ear. "Trust me, I have many ways to make you beg..." He whispered. The implication in his voice was not missed, and, for whatever reason, it made Tahki shiver.

The knife was suddenly removed from her neck and his hand from her back and she shot up, quickly backing away from the man. Whatever rage he had expressed before, it was no longer there and he was as calm as ever. "Unfortunately, I have business that needs to be taken care of."

The soldier removed the gun from Jesse's head and he leapt up, closely inspecting her neck in case Pagan pierced anything vital. Pagan just scoffed. "By the time I get back, I am expecting the both of you to still be here. If you're not, there will be consequences."

He then left the room, taking the soldier who had pointed the gun at Jesse with him. Ronin remained at the door, ready to escort the both of them if they needed it.

"You're really fucking stupid today, KiKi." Jesse scolded. "He could have gutted you here and now!"

"But he didn't." She snapped.

Jesse spun her so she was facing him, grabbing her shoulders and shaking them. "When are you going to learn that whenever you escape death like that, it was merely you being lucky!?"

"Death doesn't scare me, Jess." Tahki countered. "I'm not getting any younger and, at this rate, it could be knocking on my door at any given moment. No sense in trying to avoid it."

He sighed and pulled her in for a fierce hug. "If you aren't going to avoid it for yourself, then avoid it for me, KiKi. You're like a sister to me; I don't know what I'd do if you left me..."

Tahki hesitantly hugged him back, her fingers clenching at his shirt. She was still grateful that he, in some ways, was still naive. She has done nothing but bluff her way through life, but never once had Jesse seen it or noticed it. Death was something that scared her, no, terrified her. But she couldn't let him see that. She couldn't let anyone see that. Because the one thing she feared more than death, was appearing weak to others.

That was the one thing she couldn't risk over anything else.

/ / /

Jesse had decided to go back to his room and watch a movie (after finding out that Pagan had given them TV's and some movies and TV Shows to entertain them while he was gone), but Tahki wanted a better look around Pagan's palace (after getting dressed, of course). There were a lot of candles in the darker corridors, and there was a lot of them! Lots of spare rooms, a living area (she guessed which used to be the throne room), of course the dining area, and the one corridor that Ronin wouldn't allow her to go down (and she guessed it was the corridor where Pagan's room was located).

Then there was outside. There was the courtyard, of course, but then there was a back yard. It was simply huge! However, despite its size, there was almost nothing filling it! There was a running fountain in the center of the yard and there was only a few trees outlining the fence and the 'garden' was completely void of life.

"Doesn't Pagan have any gardeners to take care of this place or something?" Tahki asked.

Ronin shrugged. "I'm just a soldier, so I wouldn't know. But I'm guessing not."

This made Tahki think. She could easily just head back to her room and gorge herself on her peanut butter while she watched Lie To Me, but that was just lazy. She needed something to do. And the outdoors was her favourite place to be in. "Is there a shed with garden supplies somewhere?"

Ronin led her past two trees that led to a path that went through the 'garden of death' (as she had just dubbed it) and there was a little shed. The paint had been peeling like crazy off of it and there was a hole in the roof. Something she could easily fix with the proper tools. Ronin opened the door for her and dust immediately flew into her face, making her cough loudly. "I think this solidifies your answer to my question!" She exclaimed.

Once the dust settled, Tahki saw that there was a large assortment of garden tools available for her to use. she smiled brightly and waved off Ronin. "I'll just be in the yard here whenever Pagan comes back. Tell him so he doesn't have a hissy-fit."

At first the soldier hesitated. There was nothing but cliffs past the back yard area, but that didn't mean she couldn't escape. However, the chances of it were unlikely if she didn't have a weapon; the bears would have her before she got too far. Nodding, Ronin left her to her own devices. She cracked her knuckles over her knee. "Let's get to work!" She said to herself.

/ / /

Pagan washed himself almost viciously, scraping the blood off of his skin. Those damn terrorists, always fucking things up!

He turned off the water and dried himself off. It had meant to be simple in taking Yuma's fortress back, but no, one of his men just had to miss the fucking shot and get them all noticed. That's when shit had really hit the fan, as they instantly called for reinforcements. Of course, they were able to take the fortress back, but they took a hard hit in numbers.

He dressed himself in more casual clothing and then used a blow dryer to dry off his hair. His stresses weren't entirely over, however. He still had to make sure that Jesse and that damned woman were still around. She was smart, but he wouldn't put it past her to try and run off.

He carefully applied the mascara to his lashes. She's a free spirit, he thought. Of course, it must have been just part of her heritage that made her such. She also had her father's temper. But she had an independent air about her as well. Strong willed, single minded, a personality that could rub off on people and looks that could make any man, or woman, swoon. But damn, if she wasn't simply infuriating, he didn't know what she was!

Pagan straightened out his shirt and sighed. Better go find the man in charge of his two guests. "RONIN!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

The soldier must have been around because by the time Pagan got out of his room, Ronin was already running down the hall. "Yes, sir?" He asked, already out of breath.

"Where might I find our two guests?" He asked.

"Harper is in his room, sir."

His eyebrows raised slightly. "And his friend is...?"

Ronin almost hesitated. "In the gardens, sir..."

The soldier backed up slightly as Pagan's eyes widened. "And you left her alone." He growled and charged down the hall, with Ronin in tow. "If she's not there, you better hope your death comes quickly!"

/ / /

Tahki wiped at her brow, a streak of dirt now across her forehead. It was a lot of hard work, but she truly enjoyed it.

She had gone rooting through the little garden shed and she had found a bunch of old flower seeds in packets that hadn't even been opened. There was a chance they may not grow, but it'd be worth trying. Of course, she had to pull out all of the weeds that had managed to take root in the large garden, and that had taken her the rest of her morning and some time in the afternoon. It also took time to get the wheelbarrow to the large pit she found, as she only had one arm to help her, but after some trial and error, she managed to make it work. Now, she was finally able to plant the flower seeds!

There were a few vegetable seeds as well, but she would plant those somewhere else. The garden itself was just going to be filled with flowers, and she would make another smaller garden for the vegetables. There were also watermelon seeds, but she didn't know how well they'd grow.

She looked at the one flower seed packet, almost wincing to see what the instructions were. "Damn my eyes..." She cursed.

Being half blind wasn't all that bad, but sometimes it could make reading almost difficult for her. And, technically, she only is about a quarter blind, because her sight in her left eye was only extremely blurry, and not completely dark, but people still tended to say she was half blind.

She opened the pack of seeds and made a small hole in the dirt. Just as she was about to put the first seed in, she heard a voice approaching her. "-if she's gone, it's your head, Ronin!"

She grimaced and groaned at the sound of his voice. He was either back earlier than she thought, or she just lost track of time altogether. Sighing, Tahki stood from the ground and wiped her glove-covered hand off on her jeans. "No need to threaten him, I'm right here!" She shouted, walking over to the almost-rampaging Pagan Min.

He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and waved off Ronin. "I'll deal with you later. Now, go on."

The soldier left the King and the woman alone, releasing a breath of his own.

"What are you doing out here?" The King asked.

She placed her hand on her hip. "What do you think I'm doing?"

"Rolling around in the dirt."

Tahki's brows furrowed and she looked down at herself. Okay, he wasn't wrong, she was dirty. A lot dirtier than she previously thought. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, pulling weeds can make you dirty, Pagan."

His own brows furrowed, then, and he looked around the gardens behind her. They were clean. Well, not clean, but they actually looked a lot better than the last time Pagan had taken a look at the garden. Weed-free. And the soil looked a lot darker; she must have used a rake or something to get the richer soil back to the surface.

Despite that he was impressed, he couldn't help but be a little irritated. "And who exactly told you to clean out the garden?"

She shrugged. "Nobody. That's why I did it." She gestured to the gardens behind her. "You have flower seeds, but no flowers. Maybe that's why you're such a prick all the time; you need something pretty in your life."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I don't need flowers."

She tilted her head. "No, maybe not, but your garden does. What good is a garden without some plant life? And trees. You need more trees."

"I don't 'need' anything out here."

"What you need is an attitude check."

"Oh, I'm the one who needs an attitude check? I haven't stabbed a table or door frame."

"No, but I haven't threatened to torture someone and then make a petty attempt at flirting!"

Pagan raised an eyebrow at her. "Did I flirt? I don't recall ever doing such a thing."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "'I have many ways to make you beg.'" She repeated his earlier words. "If it wasn't flirting, then I don't know what the hell it was!"

It was the dumbest and most childish argument she could come up with, but she was itching for a fight. Maybe not a physical one, but a verbal one at least. If she wanted a physical fight, she'd get one of the soldiers angry because she knew they wouldn't kill her. Rough her up, maybe, but not kill her.

His glare turned into a smirk. "Oh, you're wrong. That wasn't flirting." He took a step forward, making her instinctively take a step back. "That was the honest truth."

She squared her shoulders and tilted her chin up slightly. "So, what, you got a little torture room?"

Pagan bit back a smile. She was acting tough, but she was also feeding the fire. "Two, actually." He took another step forward, making her step back. "One is what I use for those who may be hiding something. You can never be too sure about who's being honest or not, these days."

She smiled sarcastically. "Mm, I'm certain."

He continued to walk forward, much like how a hungry tiger would walk towards their prey. Taunting them, eager for them to run so it could give chase. Or for them to get trapped in a corner. "The other, I use for more personal reasons."

She continued to back away from the man slowly. She was mentally screaming for her to stop, but the rest of her body refused to listen. "So, you actually torture them yourself, then? Or do you just watch?"

"Oh, I participate fully. A little one on one."

Tahki gasped silently as her back hit the trunk of a tree. Dammit, since when does she walk backwards on such an angle?! She swallowed a lump in her throat, but she kept her chin up, not daring to show him fear, to show him weakness.

Pagan didn't stop walking until there was barely any space between their bodies. "And by the time I'm through with them," he brought his face closer to hers, his light brown eyes never leaving her dark ones, until their lips almost touched. "I would have them screaming for mercy..."

She didn't look away, couldn't look away from his piercing gaze and a shiver ran down her spine. She should've kneed at his groin, or at least shoved him out of the way, but there was something in his eyes that kept her still. Was he trying to scare her? Or was he just bluffing; she couldn't tell.

He could see it in her, the little flicker of fear in her eyes. There was also something else, something he couldn't distinguish. Anxiety, perhaps? Her lips were parted, her breath warm against his own lips. The corner of his mouth quirked up and his eyebrows raised slightly. "Nothing to say, Gagné?"

She finally snapped back into reality and she fixed an icy glare on the King of Kyrat. "You know, whenever you talk to me like that, I can't tell if you're trying to scare me or trying to sleep with me."

Pagan scoffed and backed away from the woman. His fun had been ruined with that little sentence. "Oh, please, the very last thing I want to do is get in your pants."

With a short huff, he turned on his heel and left the yard, leaving behind an angry and confused Tahki Gagné. Did he have multiple personality disorder or something? First minute he's asking about what she's doing, just like any other regular human, and the next minute he's trying to threaten and intimidate her.

Well, then again, she technically brought it upon herself. She was itching for a fight. And now she was really itching for one!

Tahki shook her head and growled. Maybe after she was done with the garden, she could go and pick a fight with one of the soldiers. Or Jesse. Jesse would fight, but it was always friendly and he made sure not to hurt her.

Nah, she would go fight with a soldier. That way she knew they wouldn't be holding back.