Hey!

Back with this story! Sorry for the unexpected hiatus for Stolitz Week, to compensate I'll post another chapter in a few days to be back to usual.

Warning for torture for this chapter, but only the last one will be really graphic. Also, not healthy behaviors (lack of sleep and food).

Chapter 10 - Hell

For once, the beating focused on his head rather than avoiding it, and surely enough, Stolas could feel the difference. Unexpectedly, there were several positive outcomes out of this.

First, he was knocked unconscious way faster than the previous day, and Stella didn't wait for him to wake up and just left. That was still a small victory, in a way, since he didn't give a shit if he passed out quickly or not without her silly bets.

Second, it quelled the thoughts in his head without needing the alcohol. It was a headache instead, but he'd take it anyway. His sight had sadly taken several hits and he couldn't see right because of the swelling, but he knew it wouldn't last. He was glad he had done the essential in the morning, as for the rest, he didn't have any choice but to postpone, probably for tomorrow.

Of course, Via choose this moment to text him back. At least she didn't try to call, but managing to read her answer and write back was almost an ordeal on his own, especially with his renewed carefulness not to let out anything that would tip his daughter off.

He managed to take his pain medicine without switching it with his Happy Pills, and applied some ointment to reduce the swelling. No need to patch up his bruises and wounds, these would heal on their own. Now, all he had to do was wait and rest his eyes. Sadly, he couldn't read, which would have been great to distract himself, and he couldn't watch TV either. So he went to the living room and just played some music in the dark, laying on the couch.

The music was low and nice, easing his headache and other pains, and it felt good. It was the closest he felt of resting peacefully these last 48 hours, which… Well, was worrying, but at least it was something.

He simply wished the peace would have lasted longer. When his eyes were almost back to normal, he tried to resume his duties, opening a portal to the stars in the hope that it would help settling him down too, but it didn't. Quite the opposite, the bright lights of the stars were quick to grow an ocular migraine, and this time his brain wouldn't tolerate the music to smooth it, even in the dark.

That sucked.

He spent most of the night with this pain in his head, along with some dark thoughts because of course he had to deal with both at the same time, the aching wasn't stopping the depreciation and despair.

Stolas was aware it was unusual for him to feel so down, but really, it wasn't that much of a surprise. It was yet again another sleepless night, he didn't doze off much if at all, and the last thing he ate were snacks just before Blitz arrived so he could put on a better facade, which failed spectacularly by the way. On top of that was Stella's visit, Blitz's anger toward him, Octavia's absence, even if only temporary, and it only left him with guilt and self-depreciation.

He shouldn't let himself keep thinking that. He wouldn't be able to greet his daughter back like this, nor could he find a solution against Stella and think of a way to apologize to Blitz later. He probably would have to tell the imp why he wasn't able to be honest with him right now too, and that filled him with dread, in fear that would drive Blitz farther away, once he knew he had been in danger because of the prince. Sure, his job itself was dangerous, but this was different.

Stolas wanted to be close to Blitz, to built something with him. Relatives are supposed to offer love, affection, support, not bring danger!

He knew that, but still, it was difficult to find hope. He still managed to settle on a few things that were no solutions, but still could help some day, and that was all he'd been able to do. He finally left his bed before morning to get to work, since the migraine had finally calmed down, but once the light betrayed the hellsun's presence and the prince took that as his hint to go take care of his plants, he was met again with the swan in the middle of tending to the leaves and flowers around him.

Of course, she smashed pots in her way, asking the hellhounds to do the same, and Stolas balled his fist before forcing himself to calm down.

He just had to focus on his previous ideas to, maybe some day, hopefully soon, be able to stop these torture sessions and keep the red demon out of harm's way. Until then, he had to play it safe.

He had hoped his exhaustion would make him naturally compliant, but it was the opposite: it was harder to keep his anger at bay, and he had to refrain to talk back to Stella several times.

She had noticed his change in demeanor compared to yesterday, and took great pleasure playing with it, using her phone screen displaying the cameras on Blitz again, this time as he was alone in his office, barely visible behind the window's blinds, to reinforce her threats. She seemed to enjoy differently seeing him needing to physically prevent himself to answer too harshly. It was probably seeing them destroy his plants that had set up a different state of mind than usual, but even the feeling of the blessed cuffs on his wrists wasn't able to completely ground him and calm down his anger.

He should probably start working on that, and probably force himself to sleep at some point, because he really didn't want anything to happen to Blitz just because he wasn't in a good mood and had trouble concentrating enough not to mess up.

That whole session felt like an eternity. He didn't ended up as badly hurt as before his… Argument with Blitz, but it was still worst than yesterday, and she had asked plenty of things of him, probably to make him obedient again. It somewhat worked, by the end of it he was obeying without much thinking and without having to hold back his anger and fight and defensive instincts, but it took time, it was painful both physically and emotionally, and he ended up unconscious again.

It didn't help his plans at all, but he did what he could, and simply took pain medicine along with the happy pills he had forgotten, since he got up before the sun, before trying to get things done. But he was… Inefficient, to say the least. The headache coming back didn't really help.

Oh, yeah, he should probably drink at some point, even if it was simply water, or tea. That was everything he could get down his throat currently. Maybe he'd have more luck with sleep. Since Stella just left, she shouldn't come back today, but he was afraid she would tomorrow.

On top of everything else, he couldn't escape the world forever, and even if he gladly didn't need to go outside nor do any official apparition, he had some meetings and calls scheduled in a few days that may be a problem, especially if his state kept getting worst.

So, he had his servant buy sleeping pills, and stayed busy until the evening came to get back in a healthy rhythm… Or at least try to. Once it was a decent hour to go to bed, he couldn't bring himself to take the sleeping pills and make himself defenseless. Stella never came in the night, but he certainly wouldn't put it past her, and she probably knew where Blitz lived already, meaning she could also threaten him there, even if her phone had never showed the imp there yet.

Proof that he certainly wasn't at his brightest these days, he hadn't cast the protective spells on the windows and doors of Blitz's home, and with the tracking app on his phone, it was dangerous for him to go near the imp without a reason. He couldn't be sure she couldn't see nor hear from his phone now, but he knew he couldn't just leave it behind, or he'd have to be very careful about it.

Gosh, the end of the week was going to be awfully long. He needed to get a grip on himself now. So… He needed the sleeping pills.

"I hope you're not entering false meetings in your calendar to prevent me from coming at certain times and hurt you in certain ways", Stella chirped. "I won't do you the favor not to touch your face every time. That's what make up is for, right!"

They can't even reach my head when I stand, Stolas answered in his head, but he kept his lips carefully shut.

For once, there was only one hellhound with her. Probably that the three weren't available every time, especially since she came everyday this week, and Via was bound to come back soon.

Though, if one hellhound could hit his face without him needing to bend much, it would be the one present today, the watchdog breed. As the two royals entered the bedroom, he closed the door behind, and there was the familiar sound of the lock before he took the cuffs out.

Stolas was waiting not far from the door, hands behind his back after magically putting his phone away as soon as he entered the room, as Stella asked on the session she started by destroying his plants. She enjoyed seeing him go through these rules now, and it helped ground him despite the exhaustion, so he wasn't complaining. At least he had taken the habit to wear casual clothes in the palace, but he would quickly need to replenish his closet anyway.

Said clothes were covering enough not to let see the bandages he still had on, but the hellhound noticed while cuffing him, and made an acknowledgment sound.

"Still hurt from last time, again", he commented in a low voice.

That… Was probably the first time Stolas actually heard his tone. Or at least it was his first full sentence.

Stella shrugged as she observed them, sitting on the bed.

"I don't care. Let's say it's for all the times I won't be able to come next week."

She had a nasty smile on, and her formulation was worrying. She didn't say she wouldn't been able to come at all, and Stolas feared she had managed to install a similar app to his on their daughter's phone. It was obvious she didn't want to wait a full week before coming back, even if some of her visits this week were shorter than others.

The start was a simple beating. Since the watchdog was alone, he seemed to compensate with stronger punches. The owl had long abandoned any attempt at hiding his pain, but at least he wasn't asked anything yet. He had hoped he'd somewhat get accustomed to the torture, but sadly his condition didn't even allow him to fully recover, which rather had the opposite effect: even with the sleeping pills, the more the week advanced, the more everything hurt, the more exhausted he felt. Still not being able to eat certainly didn't help.

A kick swept his legs and Stolas fell with a surprised hoot. He half expected the next kick to target his head, it was usually how things went now that his face could be harmed, but to his surprise, the kick landed on his torso instead.

Hard.

Stolas let out a strangled sound, between a moan and a scream before more kicks followed, quickly making him unable to produce any more sound, his beak closing or opening instead along with his eyes to show his pain.

That is, until a loud crack resonated on one side of his ribs, and there was finally a break to let him suck short breaths in.

At this point, he was laying with his back against the wall, and while he recovered, the hellhound made him lie down with his head facing the other side of the room, and immediately resumed his beating, this time kicking the other side of his ribs until he could feel two more cracks under his feet.

The householder was reduced to small, pitiful sounds as the hellhound finally stepped back, gracious enough to grant him another break.

"Come on, bring him closer so I can appreciate the next part", Stella called from where she was still sitting on the bed. "Don't forget to get him ready."

The prince had no idea what she had planned next, but still forced himself to at least listen to what was being said. There was a chance the preparation would involve ordering him around, and Stella had made clear she didn't like repeating herself, but her orders usually didn't involve gestures, at least not when she wasn't sure he was looking.

Slowly, he managed to sit up with his back against the wall, but the hellhound wasn't in the mood to wait for him to recover enough to walk by himself and grabbed his collar to drag him where Stella had pointed earlier.

That was humiliating, but it wasn't the first and certainly not the last time they'd do something like this, so he simply focused back on his breathing when the hellhound released him. He didn't know if he should expect to be shoved against the floor or on the contrary, lifted to his feet. So when the watchdog reached for his cuffed wrists in his back, he blinked in surprise.

"Don't get your hopes up, it's not over", the swan confirmed with a knowing smile. "It will simply be easier that way."

Stolas was tempted to ask what would be easier, but it was a dangerous bet. Either Stella was pleased by him asking, either it annoyed her, and his breathing was still too hard and painful to be wasted on a question whose answer would surely be something along the line of "You'll find out soon enough".

His hands were cuffed before him instead, after he was asked to remove his shirt. His broken ribs didn't make the movement easy, but he complied anyway, throwing the clothe aside in the hope it wasn't too damaged yet.

He didn't have much time to wonder what exactly they wanted from there. Once his wrists were secured again, he was roughly pushed to the floor on his stomach, the hellhound straddling him, putting even more pressure on his freshly injured ribs, and Stolas groaned.

"Comfortable?" Stella asked with a grin.

Stolas' face was turned on the side where he could see both Stella and the hound without bothering to fully turn his head, because in all honesty he didn't really want to see her face, but he also knew she liked to see his, and it was best to keep her in his field of vision.

The hellhound went back a bit to sit above his stomach instead, and a knife appeared in his hand. Usually, it was held farther away from his eyes, but not today, and for the first time, Stolas noticed something glistening on the blade. He frowned as the weapon slowly neared his shoulder blades, the impression only growing stronger as the blade came more into view.

"Oh, you finally noticed?"

Stella's voice interrupted his musing, but before he could react, the knife began slicing his skin near his neck, and he simply gritted his beak.

Now, the end of the blade was smeared with his dark blood, but the wound was superficial and most of the blade still seemed covered in a kind of liquid. Stolas' eyes meet Stella's again and her smile widened.

"So, you hadn't noticed until now? I'm a bit disappointed."

"Is that why my healing abilities are slower?" The owl guessed.

"Bingo! It's funny to know you're still remembering me hours after our little meetings, but days? That would ruin the fun, that or you'd be insufferable saying people would notice or something. This is a nice compromise, don't you think? The more he hurts you with it, the more it's effective, that way you should remember me for a while until I can find a moment to come by next week."

Well, that explained why his healing abilities were oddly slow even from the start, and maybe even why his healing spells weren't working properly. Stolas did notice they seemed more efficient on the bruises and broken bones than on the wounds from said poisonous blade, which now made even more sense. Knowing that would definitely help treating himself.

He also had the confirmation he would probably see her during his week with Via, hopefully not too much. He wasn't going to keep his daughter close just to use her as a shield, but he did hope she wouldn't be as enthusiastic as this week. Surely she had other things to do than torment him, right?

It was a good thing to have that mystery partially solved, but Stella hasn't been entertained enough by his realization to stop what was happening, and Stolas didn't dare to think more about the substance used, though he already had some ideas of what it may be. He knew how he could be once his mind was on something, especially if he thought hard enough about it to ignore the pain, and it was better not to reach that point. The swan has gotten good at noticing when he was too lost in his thoughts to pay attention, and it was getting dangerous.

The hellhound didn't seem to mind, as he kept cutting his skin from the top to the bottom of his back. The wounds weren't deep, but there were still more than superficial cuts. If he was right, Stella probably had asked to put more of whatever product was used on the blade so he'd still be hurt after Via was back, which made it easier for him to spot it, but it also meant these numerous wounds were literally going to be a pain in his back for a while. It wasn't the worst place to hurt, sure, but no part of his body was truly ideal to be honest.

Of course, all cuts weren't the same depth, so he couldn't get accustomed to the pain. The hound also often put pressure on his upper back since he knew it would press on his injured ribs. By the time he was done with the top and middle and began working on his lower back, Stolas was panting again, and didn't dare looking too much at the bloody mess that were now his feathers and skin there.

That certainly explained the shirt off and why his hands had been bound in front of him instead of the usual, for better access. Sure, it was painful, but it was manageable compared to what he had to go through previously. This time, Stella's goal was obviously to give him injuries that would stay for a while rather than making him scream in pain. He had probably done enough of that the last times for her liking, and honestly, he was glad for the change.

Some cuts were made on old ones, barely healed, and when it happened, Stolas often let out a hoot that sounded oddly like a hiss. The pain manifestation was all he was allowed to do, and he was now certain they helped, even if he still didn't like showing his discomfort too openly.

Again, it felt like it lasted an eternity. When the hellhound finally got up, his whole back was on fire, flooded with pain and blood.

"Get up." Stella ordered.

Would he finish this session conscious? It rarely happened this week, but he would appreciate that change too, it would be useful for his plans.

Once standing, the swan smiled a devious smile at his hands.

"You don't need both hands to write, right? Let's give you one last souvenir!"

Seriously? Stolas internally sighed.

The hellhound took his bound wrists, and didn't even ask if he was right or left handed before he broke the fingers to one of his hands. Stolas winced, but noticed two things. First, either the hellhound had observed him, or Stella told him which hand he used, because he indeed targeted the hand he used less. Second, he also broke the two least needed fingers, which was, well… Better than if he had targeted the others.

"I know, I went a bit too easy today, but I can't let you get used to something or that wouldn't be fun", Stella commented as the watchdog removed the cuffs, therefore confirming it was the end of today's session. "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be able to find some new entertaining ideas for next time! Until then, don't do anything stupid, understood?"

Stolas nodded with a slight wince as he rubbed his wrists as he could without using his injured fingers.

Just like that, they left. It was weird to see them leave while he was still standing, and he wasn't even too out of breath. The hound hadn't even hit the wounds on his back. For sure, it was a change.

He had his own routine now to return to normal. The first step was to check on Blitz since his magic was back, along with a few other tracking activities. Once it was done, he retrieved his phone, and began to erase all evidence of Stella's presence. It usually involved warning a staff member to clean the bedroom, then locking himself in his bathroom to take his pain medicine and treat his injuries, then change and go back to his usual activities.

But today, he took way longer than usual. Not that he was very fast even with the past experiences. There were countless cuts on his back, he couldn't access them easily even with his magic, and the broken fingers were in the way. Stolas was tempted to just wrap bandages soaked in ointment around his whole torso and be done with it, but his broken ribs wouldn't appreciate being restricted that way. He didn't know if Stella had done it on purpose, but either way, it sucked.

At least his breathing wasn't too loud despite the pain, but as he was still racking his brain for a solution to tend to his wounds, his phone rang, the sound almost startling him.

Depending on who it was, he may have been inclined to ignore it or pick up and give an excuse to call back later, but he didn't even need to look at the screen to recognize this ringtone as Octavia's.

Without a second thought, Stolas grabbed his phone and pressed the button to accept the call.

21/04/2024

See you soon! ;)