A thousand thanks to my faithful followers, I am happy that so many people like this twisted and cursed story. It's never easy to get a lot of readers with those kind of stories, but I don't do sunshine and rainbows. ;-)

Rather a short one again, since I had to take out some pages. PM me if you want to have the full version, with torture in detail and such…

Next one will be longer again. Enjoy!

Chapter 8

Domination

"Why are you screaming? I haven't even started yet..."
— Malekith Sythil, torturing an Imperial Guardsman

IT HAD BEEN a quiet and relaxing day for me, since I did not have to be in the throne room with my master. The Overlord had told me that nothing of importance was at hand today and therefore he was not in immediate need of my services. I always was happy when I did not have to be there, because on one hand, it was a tad too cold for me and on the other he was exquisitely cruel to me when we were there, to never show anybody that I was somewhat and somehow dear to him.

I spent my time reading, bathing and making me pretty for him, conserving my energy for when he came back, because he often enough desired a massage or sex and both of these things took a lot of my strength. I had developed quite the sense of time, though I had never seen a clock around here, and I knew when he would be back.

In general, I had started to adjust to my situation. I now was Vect's slave for quite the while – I figured that it was about three months now – and I had learnt a bit how to measure him up and sometimes I knew what to expect. He still was somewhat nice to me – it seemed as if I did my job quite well – but he also underlined time and again that his kindness would be gone in an instant if I dared to disappoint him. One did not disappoint Asdrubael Vect, slave or Archon alike.

I also handled his Circle better every time I saw them, on one hand, because of the things the slaves had told me, on the other because by now I had read the whole book on them, giving me some additional information on the Archons. It made it a lot easier to size them up, though all of them still were complex puzzles to me.

Thus, I danced on the rim of the volcano every day, hoping that it never would erupt.

Today, I expected the Overlord as usual at the same time, sitting on the bed, so that he did not have to make a detour when he was in the mood to have me. I also had found out by now that Dark Eldar never smelt bad, no matter how drenched in sweat they were or how long it had been since their last shower. It was a sharp scent, but still, it reminded me of a cat that had been a long time in the sun. These people were apex predators, with every ounce of their will and body.

And now, the oldest of those predators (Haemonculi excluded), whose personal slave I was, came dashing through the door.

His facial expression and his stance should have warned me, but by this time I felt quite safe and carelessly I said, "Someone looks like he had a really bad day and as if he needed a lot of care." I was allowed such jokes by now, therefore, I was somewhat insolent.

In a split-second, I knew that this statement had been a terrible mistake, for he was in front of me in one, lightning-fast movement and he backhanded me in the face with his right hand so hard, that I was vaulted from the bed onto the floor. I let out an agonised grunt, tasted blood and could just cower on the floor, my world almost going black from the pain and the concussion. But, of course, my master was not done with me. Again he was with me quickly, grabbed my throat and lifted me with just one arm to his eye level, so that my feet did no longer touch the floor. He strangled me, watched me a while as I smothered and squirmed in his grip, then said, "That might teach you never to forget how you should speak to me, slave!"

With a very thin voice (there was not much air left in my lungs), I gasped, "I beg… your forgiveness… my lord! It… wasn't… my… place…"

Vect let go of me as my sight grew dim. I fell onto the floor and just lay there, fighting for air, only now noticing the cuts I had sustained from his gauntlet. It took quite the while for me until I found my breath again, but he did not feed on that for long, rather went to the armour rack and just doffed helmet and sceptre. Then he came back to me, smiling maliciously, as I looked at him in icy fear while still panting. The Overlord grabbed me at my hair and hauled me across the room in this manner. I did not beg for mercy, because I knew on one hand that it was impossible to move him if he was set upon a certain thing, on the other, I was quite sure it only would have made him even angrier.

My master dragged me to the cage, as I had feared, but I could not see how he opened it as he never let go of me. Then, the Overlord also grabbed me at my hip, sinking the tips of his gauntlets deep into my skin, lifting me and throwing me quite unpleasantly into the cage, and whilst that I sustained some cuts from the tips of the bars. I knew better than to sit up again, but rather tried to make myself as small as possible, to dodge the barbs and spikes that were inside the cage, but now I had to see that my efforts were in vain, because the bars were variable, for he closed the cage so tightly that I still could feel the spikes and barbs slightly piercing my skin. One tiny movement and I would injure myself.

I could only look at him in horror as he crouched in front of me and looked deep and satisfied into my widened eyes. Then he said, "I guess, it is time to give you a lesson in humility, slave. You will stay in there until I come back. And I think that you will have learnt your lesson well when I do."

Vect got up again and left the quarters.

There I was now, in this cursed cage, not able to move even one millimetre without drawing terrible wounds. I never had him seen that impatient and ferocious, but this was the grave danger with Dark Eldar: every emotion they felt was a lot stronger than those of a human and with this, it could easily happen that they were absolutely uncontrolled while enraged, and Vect had just closely shown me what this meant. I was terribly aware that he was not done with me.

By now I could already feel that my muscles started to seize slightly, because they were extremely tense, but by the same token I was aware that it would take quite the while until he came back. I just hoped that I would somehow be able to maintain my composure and not give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry and beg for mercy, because I was sure that he would enjoy it even more if I behaved in this manner. Thus, I waited for him to come back.

I hated it to be right this time. Afterwards, I did not know how long I had been in this cursed cage, I just was sure that it had been hours and as I had expected it, my muscles had started to seize pretty quickly. I had not been able to do anything else but relaxing them a bit, shifting my position that tiny bit so that the spikes and barbs now were inserted into my flesh. I was shaking with agony and exertion by now, but I had maintained enough of my willpower not to beg him for mercy.

I could only hear that he came back, since it was impossible to see it from my position, and I also heard that he washed his hands in the basin beside the door. As he was done, he came to me. I felt that he was calmer than before, but when I could see him, I immediately recognised that the malicious sheen in his eyes was still there.

This was not over for me.

I swallowed.

As I now looked into his eyes, I for the first time felt the fear his slaves usually experienced when they dealt with him and I got a taste of what it would have been like for me if I had not been so well-taught. The feeling let me freeze all over, it seemed as even my blood turned to ice. What I also realised was that my well-being and how much I would keep from his favour would immensely depend on how I acted today whilst my punishment. I was not allowed to beg for the end, of that I was sure, but I also was very aware that maintaining this willpower would be one of the hardest things I had ever done in my life.

The Overlord again crouched in front of the cage, looking me deep in the eye for a while without saying a single word. In the second I was about to ask him what he was up to, he said with an inflexion that shot a cold shiver down my spine, "Good. I see that someone became a little more silent and humble. This suits you, my little one." Those words did somehow not bode well for me.

I let out a relieved gasp as he started to open the cage – but only for one second, because then the pain cut in. The only thing that kept me from screaming was the best breathing technique I had been taught, because opening the cage also meant that the spikes and barbs that had inserted themselves into my flesh were now pulled out, tearing even bigger wounds in the process. I was trembling all over, closed my eyes and I gritted my teeth. Though I was aware that I would scream today, no matter whether I wanted it or not, I did not want to give him the satisfaction that easily. In the same second, I realised that it would be wise not to overdo it with my toughness, otherwise he would torment me even harder to make me show my pain, because he wanted to see me suffer and I was to give this to him.

Oh, how I naïve I was to even think that I had the willpower and toughness to withstand him silently!

The Overlord then reached into the cage, grabbing my hair so firmly that I had to follow his movements if I did not want to scalp myself. Though it hurt terribly, I kept still as he lifted me out of the cage. I was glad that he put me down, but he did not let go, rather dragged me after him to the bed. Again I was reminded of his tremendous strength, because he had lifted me without any effort and he dragged me along like a toy.

I realised that, in a way, I was nothing more than that to him.

Vect threw me on the bed, facedown, nailed me down and bound my hands behind my back. As I was incapacitated like this, he just let me lie there, flashing a stare at me that told me not to budge and went to the armour rack to doff his armour. I noticed that his gauntlets were missing; I guessed that they still were lying in the torture chamber. I now realised why the basin was there, he possibly had washed his hands in there, cleaning them from the blood of an unfortunate slave who had to count the cost for his severe wrath.

As my master was done, now only wearing boxers, he came back to me. I flinched heavily as he let his fingers glide into my hair, but this time, he just stroked me gently. He laughed softly and evilly as he noticed my fright. Then he said, with an eerie and lowered voice, "You have to know, child, you still manage to surprise me, though you have angered me quite a lot. You are tough; I have to give you that. It has been a while since a slave did not scream when I took her out of the cage like this and did not beg me to do so in the first place. You also would have made a formidable torture slave." He took a deep, relished breath. "Since you still surprise me and entertain me so well, I have decided to be easier on you than I intended to be in the first place. You will still scream for me, though, because I demand it. You will learn this lesson – and you will learn it the hard way now."

Yes, I learned it the hard way, he made sure I did. I did not know how long he punished me, I only knew that I was not able to scream any longer in the end, because I simply had no strength and voice left. I was unbelievably grateful as I fell unconscious after hours of unspeakable pain…

Slowly and arduously I regained consciousness. As I opened my eyes for the first time, I was completely disoriented as everything spun around me and I closed them again with a groan. Hence, I needed a while to recover my senses and when I did, I noticed that I was lying in the bed, covered with one of the blankets, and I could feel and smell that I had been bathed and that the bed had been freshly covered.

After a while, I tried to open my eyes again and this time, I was relieved to find that I was only a bit dizzy, the world was not spinning like crazy as before. I looked around and again was eased as I saw that I apparently was alone, because I was quite sure that he only would have mocked me if he had been here. I stayed in bed for a while, still stabilising myself and I paused as I tried to palpate my wounds, because apparently, a Haemonculus had done his job, for all my wounds were sealed with gel pads and I gasped in surprise as I realised that the welts on my back were almost gone, only the bloody one was still there, but it also was halfway closed. Fearfully I asked myself how long I had been out.

I tried hard not to think about what he had done to me…

…but I had to.

I had not forgotten how much he had enjoyed it. Whipping me, cutting me, raping me whilst torturing me and in the end, he had shown me what the stimulation of the aforementioned dread-points meant.

Tears welled up in my eyes.

I could not help it, I started to cry. The physical torture had only been half the thing and if it only had been this alone, I was sure I would not lie here crying my heart out. What he had done to me mentally was much, much worse. His perfect taunting had almost driven me insane and he had me crying like a little child all the time, but especially when he had stimulated my dread-points and raped me at the same time. I would never forget this feeling, this utter helplessness and the notion of not being able to move because I was completely frozen in horror. It had been the uttermost terrible experience in my whole life and I prayed to whatever god may hear me in this universe that I never had to experience it again.

Oh, I had also screamed my skull out.

Yes, he had taught me never to be insolent again and hell, I would heed his 'advice'.

What also made me now die with shame was the fact that somehow, in an utterly twisted notion, I had enjoyed the sex, though it had clearly been rape. It was clear to me that he was an absolute master when it came to twisting mind and body. All I wanted was to curl up and die when thinking that he still had made me come. Whatever was happening in my head – I did not like it and I was terribly afraid. Had he already started bending me for his purposes? Was he already successfully brainwashing me? To not see or know this just wore me out.

I cried out in sheer mental agony, bolted upwards and punched one of the bedposts with all my might. Though I felt dazed once more, the physical pain somewhat pushed me back into reality and cleared my mind. That I now had some bleeding cuts on my knuckles did not bother me, physical pain seemed to be the only thing that kept me from snapping.

At least, I calmed down that much so I could remember what the Haemonculus had taught me. I assumed an Indian style sitting and started breathing deeply, focusing my mind once more. It took quite the while until I trusted myself to be calm enough again to face my master somewhat composed.

In this moment I also let the pain I was still feeling sink in and realised how incredibly thirsty and hungry I was.

Carefully I got out of bed, dressed with the dressing gown and went to the table; my throbbing head made this a somewhat complicated journey. With a gasp, I fell more than I sat onto one of the chairs, and reached for a pitcher, filled with water and a glass with shaking hands. The first sip I took was like the sweetest relief I had ever experienced in my life and water had never tasted that delicious to me. After I had almost chugged it down, I had to fight against my roiling stomach for a while – it truly seemed as if it had been a while since I had drunk anything – but afterwards I felt a bit better.

After quenching my thirst, I started eating, somewhat listless, though I was hungry. I just dreaded what my master would do to me when he came back and the thought chased away my appetite. Besides that, my body was throbbing all over, every single muscle was strained and my head was still killing me.

When I had finished eating, I felt a bit better, as the spinning had stopped altogether and I did not feel so cold anymore. The strength I had regained through nourishment had also given me some confidence again. My primary goal was not to be scared witless and start crying again when I saw my master again.

Unfortunately, the Overlord was not long in coming after I had regained my calmness again. When he walked through the door, I just had my face burrowed in my palms. I bolted upwards as I heard him enter. Angrily snarling on the inside, I heard his taunting laughter. Somehow, my pointless wrath gave me far more strength than I had been able to tease out of myself before. With the most scornful tone I had ever heard, he said, "Well, well, look who is awake! How do you feel, child?"

He went to the armour rack to take off his armour and I replied in a dragging manner, "I could say 'terrible', but that would not describe it sufficiently. Let me try it like that: I feel like having the worst hangover in my goddamn life and thinking it a good idea to run a marathon while still being drunk. That a good enough description for you, my lord?"

My master smirked and replied, "Very empurpled, my dear."

I looked at him in absolute bewilderment.

'Dear'?

Had he just really called me 'dear'?

What the hell was happening here?

Though utterly confused, I said carefully, "At least you seem to be in a great mood, my lord, if I may be so bold."

Vect paused, looked at me and said with an utterly strange inflexion, "You learn pretty fast, child. I like this tone of yours much better than the last time."

I shrugged, feeling somewhat empty inside, which was in a way better than to be scared witless, smiled in a tormented fashion and replied dutifully, "Well, you illustrated your point… how shall I say… extensively."

The Overlord laughed shortly as he slipped into one of his tunics. Then he looked at me and replied in an eerie tone, "Believe me, child, this was not extensively, just a short reminder who you are dealing with."

I swallowed and responded with a timid smile, "Then I never want to really piss you off."

He came to me, I flinched heavily as he stroked my hair, which deepened his horrid smile, and he said, "No, you do not, my child."

Vect seated himself beside me at his place at the head of the table and started eating. Meanwhile, he looked at me with narrowed eyes and tilted head. I really did not know what to make of this stare, and after a while, I asked, completely bewildered, "What did I do now?"

His lips curled into an utterly evil smile and he replied, "Nothing, actually. Still, this is peculiar. The normal reaction I get when one of my slaves faces me after I punished her, are tears, shock and crawling into the darkest corner she could find. Why are you so incredibly calm, I wonder?"

Now that he had said it, I noticed it even more than before. I felt empty, yes, but he was right too, I was far too calm. Somewhat caught I looked at him and responded, while shrugging helplessly, "Honestly, my lord, I don't know. You are right, the reaction you mentioned would be more appropriate; but… somehow, I am so calm, though I know I really should be scared out of my mind. I am clueless about it myself." The question kept nagging at me now that he had voiced it. On the other hand, I already had noticed that I had handled a lot of things around here a lot better than I should have. Yes, of course, I had been scared out of my skull and horrified, but I knew that I somehow took it all way better than I should have. I should not be able to face him so calmly, training or no, it simply should not be possible for my mind to face the man that had tortured the hell out of me the other day so calmly. The thought almost unsettled me more than my mental breakdown and acknowledgement of brainwashing earlier. I had the terrible feeling that at some point all of this would come back at me and I was not sure if I could stand it then.

Right now, I did not have the time for such thoughts. I had to face the here and now.

Pensively I added, "My best assumption would be that I am fully aware that you are still very kind to me. I mean, what you did to me wasn't fun at all for me, but still I know that it was one of the milder things you could do. At least it involved a great deal of passion. And for that, I am very grateful."

"Enlightened indeed, my child." Vect shook his head, making a musing sound. Still lost in thought, he said, "And just when I thought I had figured you out…" My master reached for my face; again I flinched as he did and I could see the malicious glee clearly in his eyes. This time, it was just a caress, though it made me tremble. I still had to process what had transpired. Without taking notice of my fear, he continued, "You entertain me a lot more than I had anticipated, you peculiar, little thing." I closed my eyes in horror as he ran his fingertips down my cheek, over my throat, my shoulder, my arm and to my fingertips. My master remained there, stroking my fingertips gently and I opened my eyes again in bewilderment and horror as he said, apparently completely distant, "Fingertips… such sensitive spots. I love to imagine the noises you would make if I introduced you to torture methods that are adjusted to these parts of your body…" Then, he paused, blinked a few times and seemed to find back into the present. These moments were those that scared the hell out of me. Sometimes he seemed to be completely lost in his thoughts and every time he was, I had to realise that I did not want to know what transpired in his head. Apparently, he had tortured me to death a million times in there.

Now completely out of sorts I said, "Seriously, what did I do now, my lord?" This time, I even had to gather myself not to jump away from his touch as he again softly stroked my cheek.

"You did nothing, my sweet child, as I said. I just love to… imagine things. But there is no real need to subject you to this kind of torture," he replied. His gaze now pierced me again intensely and I dropped mine. Vect did not seem to mind, because he got up and went to the sofa in front of the fireplace. My master seated himself, pointed beside him onto the couch and demanded, "Come here, child! Let me see your wounds."

I obeyed, but had to ask, confused, "You? But I…"

The Overlord cut me off, "You thought a Haemonculus looked after you?" I nodded. He took me at my left wrist and made me sit down beside him while I looked at him with wide eyes. Vect chuckled softly, caressed my hair – this time I was able to take it without flinching – and explained, "Do you really think I would be much of a torture master if I could not keep my subjects from dying?" He shook his head. "Believe me, I am at least as good as the average Haemonculus. So, hold still now, though this might hurt a bit."

I had to drop the dressing gown from my shoulders and he picked up the small ebony box, which had been lying on the coffee table. It reminded me of Vlokarion's and as he opened it, I could see that its contents were also the same. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth in advance as he detached the gel pads from my wounds. This did not hurt, though, the pain only started to cut in when he started cleaning my injuries. I wheezed and gasped in agony as he did this, because the disinfectant burned like fire and my wounds still were open a bit. He seemed to be satisfied, though, because he said, somewhat lost in thought again, "Good. Just some nicked muscle, nothing serious." Whilst working, he said to me, "You really cannot stand burning sensations, hmm?"

Through clenched teeth, I answered, "Yes, my lord."

With the trained senses of a seasoned torture master, he replied, "Good. Then this fits in with my observations. You know, you were quite calm whilst your punishment, apparently able to take a lot of sharp pain."

"Screaming and crying was calm in your opinion?"

He laughed – it was the most uncalled-for laugh I had ever heard – and replied, "Believe me, those were just small screams and little tears. And let us not forget one thing: you did not beg me to stop, which surprised me. But when it comes down to burning sensations, you seem to be unable to restrain yourself."

Again, he made me shiver in horror. I had screamed so hard that I had had no voice left in the end. I never wanted to find out what true screams were for him then, if those just had been 'small screams'.

My master cleaned and sealed all my wounds again, it was a truly unpleasant while for me. As he was done, he let his fingers slide into my hair, came close and whispered into my ear, "And you have been a very formidable victim for the dread-points. You felt absolutely marvellous under me."

Utterly bewildered because of his completely strange behaviour I replied, "I am glad you liked it, my lord?"

He laughed into my ear, kissed it tenderly and said, "Lie down, child. Though you were unconscious for three days, you still need to rest, I can feel that. I will be with you shortly." There was nothing in the world I loved to do more, just to get away from him, dropped the dressing gown beside the bed and put myself into it. At this point, he was already in the bathroom.

I was shocked because of his behaviour since he had returned; I had never seen him like this. His terrible, cruel tenderness, cold interest and horrible relish almost drove me insane, because I did not know whether he was having a cruel joke at my cost, he was about to rape me again, this whole thing just was another prelude for another torture session or if he just enjoyed it so much to think back at what he did to me whilst imagining new punishments and painful games for me. I did not like any of these options. But what was I to do against him?

My master came back again, as always naked after he had been showering, and he laid himself beside me. He drew me against him, so that my head rested on his shoulder and my body was pressed against his. I was relieved to find that his was cool, which excluded ecstasy. Vect closed his eyes, took a deep breath and said after a while, in which he just had held me, "You feel good, child, soft and warm. I like to hold you."

"But you also like to torture me," I said, again confused what he was up to now.

"Of course, this is what I am, that is what defines my kind. But you already knew that when you came here." I nodded slightly. My master laid his other hand under my chin and kissed me tenderly. Somehow this kiss reminded me of what he had done to me the last time while he had kissed me and my body revolted against his touch, everything in me repelling it. Of course, he noticed it, paused and drew his lips away from mine again, but still staying very close to me and he whispered, "Relax, child. Your tenseness is no good, it spoils my delight. Besides, I think I have made it clear that you have to fear no pain from me for today. However, if you keep wincing at my every touch, I swear I will get creative, and you do not want that, do you, hmm?"

I shook my head and replied, "Forgive me, my lord! I… I did not mean to…"

I fell silent as he laid one of his fingers upon my lips and said, "Shhh! I know, my child, I know you did not mean to do that. Of course, you did not, only a fool would dare me after being punished by my hand. Now, take it easy and give yourself to me. It will not hurt."

I pulled myself together with all my might, pushing all memories of my punishment into the far back of my mind and I tried to stay as calm and relaxed as possible. I tried to return his kiss, but still, I felt terrible. He kissed me for quite a while, also French-kissing me, but he stopped rather quickly. "Better, but I know that you can do even better. Well, never mind that now, you are still extremely young and new to this life, so I will temper justice with mercy this time. Now, close your eyes and sleep, my little one. You will need strength for tomorrow."

Now my master let go of me and let me choose my position. After I did, he still laid his hand upon me, which bothered me greatly today, though I was used to his caresses whilst I tried to fall asleep. I had a hard time forgetting what he did to me with these very hands the last time I had encountered him. Because of this horrible notion, it took me quite a while to fall asleep again, though I still was exhausted…

And, again, ladies and gents: REVIEWS and OPINIONS please, just one sentence to let me know whether you like it or not is fine. Or, if you don't feel comfortable with writing a review anybody can read, just PM me and let me know in this manner. Many thanks in advance, to all my readers, you rock!