Rosalyn moved slowly down the row of cages—she wasn’t sure if there was anything left to see out here, but she wanted to get everything she possibly could before she was back behind bars.

“How long have they been doing the nasty?” she asked the servant demon, but they didn’t answer. “I guess you’re probably not supposed to talk to me, eh? I don’t want to get you in shit.” She paused for a moment, pursing her lips in thought. It seemed strange to see such a strong-looking demon in a position of servitude. She figured she might as well voice her thoughts out loud to get the viewers thinking. Monologuing came easy to her, though she wasn’t sure about doing it around others. The servant didn’t seem to want to talk to her all that much, though. “I wonder how you got this gig? Rhizi must pay well.”

They gave her the side-eye at that, but still didn’t say anything. She could almost sense the irritation rolling off of them in waves. Rosalyn waited for some kind of snarky remark, or a jerk of the chain, or any kind of outburst, but nothing.

“So you must not be allowed to hurt me either?” she continued. “I bet she gets pissy if anyone touches her precious pets but her. So easy job for you, then.”

They reached her cage and slid open the bars, letting them bang a little harder than was necessary.

“I’m not trying to be condescending, I’m just a little fucking annoyed to be leashed like a dog,” Rosalyn said as she obediently entered the cage. “It would be cool if somebody in this world didn’t want to imprison or kill me.”

The servant gripped both sides of the opening of the cage, leaning forward and opening their mouth in a snarl. Except it wasn’t to intimidate, it was for show. Because when Rosalyn came face-to-face with that large maw, she could clearly see a stump inside in place of a tongue.

“Ohmyfuckinggod,” she blurted, taking a step back, eyes wide as saucers.

The servant snapped their mouth shut and gave her a clear look of disdain, one that told her to shut up because she didn’t know what she was talking about.

“I’m sorry,” she stammered, against the smarter option to just keep her mouth shut. “Shit, did Rhizaid do that to you?”

They unclipped the leash from the collar and slammed the bars shut, without acknowledging her question, but Rosalyn was pretty sure she was right. They stared at each other for a beat, and then she opened her mouth to say something, anything to break the awkward silence, but before she could the servant whirled on their heel and stalked away.

She wanted to apologize again, wanted to scream at them to wait, but her voice failed her. Her stomach twisted in knots. If Rhizaid had done that...then that meant the servant was likely just as much a prisoner as she was. Or terrorized into their place, at least. If anything, there couldn’t be any love lost between them after something so horrific.

So the servant, or maybe more servants, if she had more tortured staff running around, could be her ticket out. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and all that? They’d have to figure out some way to communicate, though. They could listen and understand, but not give her any information in return.

Rosalyn’s gut churned when she realized that might be by design. Bile rose in her throat, sickly sweet, and when she recognized the taste of that sugary food on the back of her tongue mixed with burning stomach acid and she couldn’t hold it back. Gripping the bars in her fists, her palms screaming from the cuts, she heaved, bending down almost a ninety degree angle to avoid retching on herself.

After the lumps of demon fruit came up and out, she was left to dry heave for a while, unable to keep from imagining Rhizaid taking her tongue between her strong fingers and tearing it free with razor-sharp fingernails. Rosalyn gagged and sputtered, the heaves finally subsiding and leaving her gasping for terrified breath, clutching at her chest where the ghosts of Zal’s fiery ropes still constricted her. Her hands throbbed, and a sob shuddered through her.

“I’m so fucking scared, you guys,” she said hoarsely as she slid to the floor, leaning her back against the bars and closing her eyes. The chat wasn’t whipping by as fast as it had been, though she still had a hard time picking out individual messages, just words here or there. “I have been trying to be brave this whole time, be a badass, you know, but this is...a lot.” The whirling chat made her head spin, and as much as she hated to potentially miss a donation message, she had to open her eyes. “You play shooters and RPGs and like, any kind of game, and it lets you become that, but not really. Learning game mechanics is so different than this...how am I supposed to be good enough to survive at this?”

She looked to her right, where her neighbouring cage on that side was empty. Then to her left, at the scaly lump in the corner of that cage. She hadn’t seen that thing move on her tour, nor the times she’d glanced over at the cage. Rhizi had said that most of her pets didn’t communicate with words, so she didn’t think it mattered if any of the other creatures in here heard her yapping away to her stream.

Not like they’d understand what she was doing, anyway. She didn’t even really understand what she was doing.

“This isn’t like some fucking escape room.” She looked around at the sparkling bars, avoiding lingering too long on the puddle of gooey sick on the floor. “There’s no guaranteed answer. I don’t even know if I’m on a quest line in the game, or if I’m where I’m supposed to be. If this was a quest for sure, coded into the game, I’d have the comfort of knowing that there was going to be a way out, that I could ride this out and come out the other side. But I don’t even know what kind of game this is. If it’s not an RPG, and I’ve just been dropped into the world for shit to happen at will...”

Rosalyn took in a deep breath, fighting another gag. She wished she had water, or something to rinse her mouth. She chanced closing her eyes again, and with serendipitous timing too, because KC sent a donation message.

It might seem harder than learning a game but it’s almost the same, he sent, and she couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh at his optimism. You’ll learn skills as you go just like real life

“Yeah, I’ll be a sword-wielding warrior princess in no time,” she muttered.

If anyone can its you dude, KC said. I think the servants and pets will be on your side too you can get out of this

Rosalyn took a deep breath through her nose, trying to ignore the putrid tang on her tongue. He had come to the same conclusion she had, that she might have allies in those that Rhizaid had imprisoned and maimed.

“I hope so,” she said. “I need to close my eyes for a bit, guys, but like to actually rest. So if I don’t reply I’m sleeping, I guess? Does the screen just go black for you?” She straightened when she remembered what she’d been meaning to ask. “Oh, and is it my eyeballs that you see through? Or like, which way my face is pointing?”

Eyes, KC said. Try to rest we’re working on shit

“I don’t know how long it’s been for you.” Rosalyn leaned over, curling up on her side and wrapping an arm around her midsection. “But you need to rest too, eventually. There’s pizza in the freezer.” She moaned. “What I wouldn’t give for some pizza, fuck.” Despite her mouth tasting like shit, her stomach growled, and she hoped that once Rhizi was done with her fuckfest that she’d maybe bring her some food and water.

If KC replied, Rosalyn didn’t see it, because she fell asleep, the swirling words of the chat window lulling her.

It felt like seconds before a clanging sound roused her, and she knew she’d slept because her throat felt thick and she had to peel her eyes open.

“Wake-wake, little liar,” Rhizaid sang, though her voice had a hoarse edge to it.

Rosalyn groaned and shifted, pushing her body up so she was sitting again, her back against the bars. Rhizaid was on the opposite side facing her, standing in full nakedness with mussed hair.

Heat grew in Rosalyn’s cheeks--despite being a different species, the demon appeared to be anatomically humanoid, and she couldn’t deny that it was a pleasing sight. But between the rotten flesh taste in her mouth and her fear of her captor, she was able to stamp down any attraction and focus on the conversation at hand.

“What?” she asked through a yawn, stifling a gag.

Rhizaid’s nose wrinkled, and she glanced at the now-dry puddle of bile next to her pet. “Do all humans excrete so much?”

“I barely had anything to eat, I have no water in here, and I noticed your servant is missing a tongue, which was pretty terrifying and gross,” Rosalyn shot back. “I barfed. Hook me up with substantial food and water and I won’t excrete so much. From my mouth, anyway.”

“I will, once you tell me the truth,” the demon drawled, raising her chin. “You told Drakach that you got lost and you don’t know how you got here.”

Rosalyn’s gut tightened and sank like a stone. She tried to keep her face a passive mask, but she had a feeling she was failing horribly. She was so used to emoting and emoting big for the camera that having a poker face was foreign territory.

“But when I found you, you told me to leave you alone because you had a mission.” The words dripped from Rhizaid’s mouth like napalm, and Rosalyn wished she could take them back.

What a stupid thing to have done. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She’d been trying to intimidate a potential enemy, thinking she was like a bear or something that she could scare off. Instead she’d walked right into the demon’s trap, a demon with a great memory and attention to detail.

“So, what is your mission, tiny thing?” Rhizi continued. “And why didn’t you want the King to know about it?”

Rosalyn didn’t know what to say. But she didn’t think that contemplative silence was on the table here, considering Rhizaid hadn’t even bothered getting dressed or cleaning herself up after her session with the King before rushing in here to interrogate her.

King Drakach, she thought, filing that name away for later. It was a terrifying name, punchy and brutal, exactly how she’d viewed him when he was in her presence.

“I don’t know what to say,” she finally admitted. “I don’t know how to explain.”

Rhizaid narrowed her eyes. “Attempt to.”

Something niggled in the back of Rosalyn’s mind, and she pursed her lips, pressing them into a thin line as she bolstered her courage. “Why didn’t you bring it up? With the King?” She paused for dramatic effect. “When I said it, if you noticed, you didn’t call me out when he was there. Why don’t you want him to know?”

“That’s not the question,” Rhizi snapped.

“It kind of is,” Rosalyn pushed forward, fighting through all of the warning bells that trying to argue with this demon was a mistake. “It’s more relevant that you’re hiding something from your King when I’m a prisoner that you kidnapped from the woods. I don’t have to tell anyone anything if I don’t want to, but you’re all comfy cozy banging him, you probably shouldn’t be keeping secrets.”

For a long, tense moment, Rhizaid regarded her human pet, expression unchanging. Finally, she said, “You are more observant than I expected.” She stalked to the front of the cage with slow, deliberate steps. “I am not keeping secrets. I just like to know how things can benefit me before sharing.”

Rosalyn’s chest swelled with pride, that she’d managed to outwit the demon, or at least surprise her with an observation. If this were an RPG, she would have gotten points for Charisma on that for sure. “Maybe I do too,” she said.

“Except your benefits only come when you please me,” Rhizi cooed, reaching through the bars to lovingly stroke Rosalyn’s hair. “So you must tell me of this mission.”

Rosalyn didn’t know what to do, and her mind reeled. She didn’t think Rhizaid was aligned with Zalrimith, especially considering she’d stolen one of his monsters. So it probably wouldn’t hurt her if she knew that she’d had a run-in with him. And though she was doing the nasty with the King, she didn’t seem to trust him with her own goals and information...but where on that line would her loyalties lie for finding and handing over the heir? Clearly the King was looking for him, and Rhizaid had said something about ‘bugs’, so was she looking for the heir too? Would they be for or against Zal hunting the heir, and/or sending someone out to do it for him?

She didn’t know. She didn’t know if she should tell.

“I take very good care of my pets,” Rhizaid continued in that sweet kitten voice. “I won’t hurt you for telling me the truth, even if I don’t like it. You won’t be completing your mission anyway, because you’re with me now. Safe-safe.”

Rosalyn swallowed hard. Safe? She supposed she was safer here than she had been in the forest, comparatively speaking. She shuddered at the thought of the demon wrenching her tongue from her mouth, and her breath caught in her throat.

“The King took an interest in you,” Rhizi said, and the warning was clear in her tone despite it still sounding like she was speaking to a child. “He isn’t nice to his pets. As much as I would love to keep you as my own, if you don’t please me, I will gift you to him.” Her stroking was still feather-light, so soft, everything about her so warm and inviting despite the threats in her words. “He’ll make you beg him to end it. You think I am a cruel mistress for removing the tongues of my servants to ensure their compliance. For me it is not out of cruelty but out of logic. Drakach has no logic. He will take pleasure in your agony, bathe in your blood and revel in the euphony of your screams.” She leaned down, her mouth hovering through the bars, behind Rosalyn’s quivering form. “Are you willing to endure that for your mission?”