NOTE: New story time! This one is not gonna be plot focused at all, which means I get to have fun with it. If you're knowledgeable about both of these series, then I think you'll have even more fun.

There will be no shipping in this fic. All of the EIS girls will still hold their feelings for Cid/Shadow, but don't expect Princess to gain feelings for him.

Enjoy and Review!

Chapter 1: This is Torture?

"For as long as we could remember, the Kingdom of [REDACTED] have assisted the Cult of Diabolos in their research and quest for Immortality, in return they have provided the kingdom with military and political aid during its more turbulent times. And now with the rising threat of this Mysterious Shadow Garden attacking the cult, the King has promised to aid the cult in this secret war."

Within the confines of a base, hidden within the ancient capital of Alexandria, two prisoners of war remained locked away in a small concrete cell. A young woman with long soft blonde hair, dressed in a raggedy white dress with a comically large ball and chain locked around her neck. Next to her is her trusty weapon, stabbed into the floor to be allowed to stand.

"I, the kingdom's Holy Sword, Excalibur, and the Princess, the Captain of the Legion's Third Imperial Army, faced off against the forces of Shadow Garden. With the Princess' excellent leadership and our ferocious power, we were able to conquer many battles against the forces of Shadow Garden. Unfortunately, a sudden defeat against their more powerful members left us captured as prisoners of war. Who knows what despicable methods these monsters will use against us?"

The door to the cell opened, gaining the attention of the royal prisoners. Stepping into the room were two incredibly beautiful women. The first is a young elf with long golden-blonde hair and blue eyes. She's dressed in the familiar Shadow Garden attire, a customized ebony bodysuit ornamented with gold accents and a cutout-style chest design. A gold diamond is centered on the lower sternum, with two gold stripes descending below the chest cutout. Along her hips are ornate gold streaks, adorned with three belts that wrap around her hamstrings. Her feet are covered by block high heels with gold-edged collars. Dark braces covered in golden ornamentation protect her hands, and a pitch-black domino mask protects her face. This is Alpha, the co-Founter/Acting Leader of Shadow Garden.

The next woman is a beautiful human with dark brown hair and eyes of matching color. Her uniform adorns golden decorations and adornments that denote high ranking. Her torso carries the standard unitard center connecting the top with a jacket shouldering, with parallel gold trims ascending the center of her torso from her breasts to her pelvis. She has symmetrical detailing of three belts across both her thighs, and boots with gold trims along the joints and gold decoration at the pull loop just before the collar. She also adorns a black domino mask to hide her identity. This is Nu, a member of Shadow Garden.

"I see…so the Princess still refuses to speak? Won't you share your kingdom's secrets along with any plans of the cult?" Alpha requested with professional poise.

"It's useless." Ex replied. "Not only is the Princess the daughter of the king, but she is also the Captain of the Legion's Third Imperial Army. Escaping from what seems like certain death with countless triumphs to her name! It's obvious that she would never yield to such petty torture!" Ex declared with booming conviction. The Princess, silent as she observed the situation, glared at their enemies with clear aggression.

Alpha sighed, lowering her head. "I see… Well, I'm sorry that it's come to this, but…starting today I'll be conducting the real torture. Nu, bring it in."

"Yes, Lady Alpha." Nu bowed and exited the cell.

"No matter what you do the Princess shant falter! Bring your worst!" Ex declared. He watched as Nu wheeled in a cart, the top covered by a metal bowl to prevent the contents from being seen. The unknown energy of that cart sent a shiver down the sword's blade.

"Excalibur." He turned to see the Princess giving him a confident smile. "I'm fine."

"Princess…"

"Well then. Princess, tis time for torture." Alpha grabbed the top of the bowl, slowly removing it. As she did, a golden light illuminated from underneath, almost blinding the two prisoners. Suddenly, a delectable smell encapsulated the cell, entering the Princess' nose. Once they were able to see again, the two were greeted by the sight of a nice hot slice of toast with a small melting block of butter on top. Nu grabbed the plate with gloved hands to protect herself from getting burned. "Here is your toast."

If Ex could blink, he'd be doing it a lot right now. "Excuse me? What is that?"

"Toast." Alpha repeated.

"Toast? TOAST?! What are you going to do with a lousy piece of toast?! Trying to use food to lure the Princess as if she's just a kid-"

"Yummy…"

"Eh?" Ex turned to the Princess, who was staring at the bread with a dreamy expression. Drool slightly dripped from her mouth as her eyes examined every inch of that toasty piece of bread. "Princess?"

Realizing that her holy weapon just caught her, the Princess' mighty exterior broke. "E-Excalibur, don't get me wrong! I wasn't tempted by the toast in any way shape or form! I was just objectively stating that toast is delicious as would anybody…!"

"Then why were you drooling?"

"It was just for dramatic effect!" The Princess exclaimed with a blush. She turned back to the Shadow Garden women. "As a Princess, I do not fear hunger! I will never concede-"

CRUNCH!

Alpha broke the toast in two, allowing the Princess to see the warm crunchy insides.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH~!" The Princess exploded from the savory impulse. Drool pooling out of her mouth like a waterfall. Hearts and stars dancing within her irises as if she just won the lottery. "The overwhelming aroma of such sweet-smelling wheat! I could just see how soft yet crispy it is with my naked eye alone! Just the crispy sound of the toast being torn alone, so marvelous! EVEN MY EARS' HUNGER WAS SATED!"

"Princess?"

"Bastards… I'm the Captain of the Legion's Third Imperial Army! Using this level of torture… I WILL NEVER ADMIT DEFEAT!" The Princess declared as she was drenched in sweat. She was fighting every impulse within her body to devour that toast in front of her.

Alpha shook her head, crossing her arms underneath her breasts. "The torture is not yet finished."

"What?!"

Nu revealed another bowl, this one empty and covered in broth. Alpha took a piece of the toast and rubbed it across the bowl's innards. "This bowl contains the leftover broth from beef stew."

The Princess let out a horrific gasp. "Don't tell me…! You fiend!" She watched as Alpha lifted the piece to her mouth, taking a savory bite.

"THAT'S DEFINITELY SUPER TASTY!" The final wall of mental defense had crumpled to pieces. The Princess fell to her knees with tears in her eyes. "I… I give up."

"I see… I wasn't aware that the King's army had such a weakness." Alpha ordered Nu to write down the information.

The princess, clearly heaving from the guilt and hunger, pitifully looked up at Alpha. "I give up… I surrender to you…so please, let me have some of that toast! Just one… one slice is more than enough!"

"One slice? You've already given us the information that we desired. You're no longer useful to us." Alpha snapped her fingers, and Nu revealed an entire tray of freshly cooked toast to the Princess. "Therefore, cheer up and let us begin the toast party!"

"YEAH!" The Princess cheered happily. She raced towards the bread and began devouring the toast with renewed gusto. All while poor Ex watched, forgotten by everyone else in the cell.

Later in the evening, Alpha relaxed in her private quarters, dressed in a white towel after a hot shower. She stared down at the secret that the Princess had shared from today's torture and thought back to the meeting held between the Seven Shadows and their Lord. Back when the Princess had first been captured and brought to Alexandria.

Alpha, along with her fellow Seven Shadows and their top members, kneeled down in front of their Lord. "Lord Shadow, I am pleased to report that the Princess of the [REDACTED] Kingdom and her Holy weapon have been captured."

Sitting upon his dark golden throne, the leader of Shadow Garden observed his legion of women. He's dressed in an ebony slime bodysuit, styled like a popped collar overcoat. Gold and purple trim adorn a dark jacket, shirt, pants, and high boots. A long hood casts a shadow to hide the upper half of his face. The only discernible facial features are his mouth and the glow of his red eyes. "I see."

"With their capture we shall begin the torturing process to gain the information of the cult and her kingdom's secrets." Alpha explained.

"Halt."

"Hm?" The women all stared at their master with confusion.

"Perhaps there is no need for that."

"My Lord?" Alpha asks for clarification.

"Members of Shadow Garden, allow me to show you more of my wisdom." Shadow opens his palm, allowing his magic to encapsulate the throne room. All of the members felt privileged and ecstatic to bear witness to their Lord's wisdom."

Alpha finished drying off her hair, now dressed in a black nightgown, she stared at her Lord Shadow plushie that she keeps on her bed. The wisdom and insight on these new torture methods that their Lord has blessed them with have worked far better than she had expected. She would be lying if she said she didn't have initial doubts, but as always, her Lord was correct. The Princess had caved and revealed secrets, unfortunately their Lord didn't deem these ones necessary. Which means she will just have to do better in the next torture session to gain an even better secret from the Princess.

Sitting down on her bed with the plushie in her lap, Alpha stared at her ceiling. "Now…what meal should I prepare for the Princess next?"

Chapter End

NOTE: I hope you guys enjoyed! Do check out Tis Time for Torture Princess if you haven't, because it's a really fun story. A simple premise that never gets old and a cast of characters that you'll just love.

Alpha here takes the place of Tortura, who I feel is the best character for that role. I also love Alpha and want to keep writing more of her as this story continues. Other members of Shadow Garden and non-Shadow Garden girls will make their appearance eventually. Rose will be a member of SG for some portion of this fic, mostly because I love her little team.

If you've seen Tis Time for Torture Princess, then you can probably guess what role Cid/Shadow will play for the most part.

I hope you guys enjoy!