“Look at me.”

Nira looked up. His eyes were distant, and it became painfully obvious what her future held. From nowhere, a hard strike stung her left cheek, leaving a searing mark, but she resisted the temptation of falling to the floor.

“Happy thoughts, think about those happy th-”

Turning her head back to Sir Varus, she felt a bony fist dig into her gut, her breath completely escaping as she gasped just to survive. With each breath she strained, heavy and sluggish. Her arms wrapped around her stomach, covering the ache, while her knees, somehow still holding on to some resistance, buckled slightly. Resistance that was short lived, since another blow came to her shoulders, causing them to finally fail. Collapsing, her body lit up in pain, as alarm bells rang loudly in her head. She quickly curled up, preparing for more blows… but nothing came.

“Stand up again.”

She peeked out from her defensive curl to see a crazed Sir Varus peering over her. No more solemness or sorrow, just a fierce storm.

“Stand up again, or I will make this harder than it needs to be.”

She slowly unfurled herself and got up, feeling a small but fleeting hope that he would be kind. But halfway up, a boot swept through her feet and she fell again to the ground.

“Did I say you could sit? Stand up woman!”

Again she tried to get up, only to be met with a boot in the face, knocking her to the floor. She brought out her arms to brace. However, as a result, she suffered splinters in her hand as her sharp descent forced her hand against the rough floor. She tried to examine her pain, but felt another kick in her stomach. A cry left her as she released the agony, her arms moving to protect her stomach out of instinct. In doing so, she exposed the rest of her body, an opportunity Sir Varus took full advantage of to great effect. On all fours, she tried scrambling away from the monster, but haplessly, as her hands and feet slipped on the floor. Her face hitting the ground as she fell again. Desperate for any escape, she crawled. But Sir Varus just walked with her, striking her whenever he saw fit. After several more kicks to her back, legs, arms, her aggressor finally seemed to get tired of the simplicity of the duel.

“Up one more time.”

“N-n-no. Please sir. It wasn’t-”

He crouched down to become somewhat level with her, and yanked her head up by her hair. She looked into those fierce, and saw nothing but a sea of misery awaiting her. Was this really the man who had spoken of saving the world?

“Does your simple, lowborn mind not understand the situation you are in? You don’t talk unless I say you can, understood?” Without waiting for an answer, he pulled her up, using her hair as a leash. “C’mon, a few more times, before I’ll let you rest… for today”