Beth was awakened when something metallic rattled. Her eyes felt heavy, as did her body, but she quickly felt herself live up when she realized she was pressed against a cold floor. The rattling sound continued, and as she managed to open her heavy lids, she felt her throat close.

Next to her on the ground laid Caydrick with his face pressed against the floor like hers, shades pushed ajar. About four large guards sat on top of him to keep him down. They had shackled his wrists behind his back, but that did not seem to stop him from fighting vigorously against the four of them. When they punched him square in the jaw, Bethia automatically whimpered, which immediately made Caydrick stop struggling.

"Bethia," He said through gritted teeth, as the men nearly suffocated him with their weight. "You are awake."

"W-where are we?" She stuttered. She could hardly see anything from where she was lying, her vision being limited by her inability to move. A guard was keeping her pinned on the floor too, and made it impossible for her to turn her head.

Caydrick clenched his jaw and for some reason rubbed his cheek against the marbled floor, before sniffing it. "We are in the Queen's private chambers."

Bethia opened her mouth to speak, but another voice beat her to it.

"Very good, Cage. Very impressive."

That voice. How light, how smooth. How cold. Bethia felt chills run up her spine as a light clicking against the marbled floor begun, the sound of heels tapping against the floor coming closer.

It could not be possible, Beth thought. She was in the presence of her majesty, the Queen.

Caydrick growled on the floor, but the next moment, the four guards pulled him to his feet, and the single guard holding Beth did the same thing. Caydrick begun fighting the guards again, but they kept him in check. Bethia could not move, even if she wanted to.

The Queen of Verona and Venice City walked up to the two of them, her ebony black hair falling down her shoulders and back, and her piercing gray eyes focused on Caydrick. She wore a beautiful, handwoven red robe, which looked like the purest silk. Bethia could not help but gape.

"Well-well," The Queen chuckled, the small clucks sending chills up Beth's neck. "Good to see you again, Cage."

"Bloody Snake," Caydrick hissed and curled his lip at her. He turned his face towards her, glaring at her through his shades. If Bethia could have seen his eyes, she was certain they would have been ice cold.

The Queen chuckled again and shook her head. "How naughty you have been, running away like that. Was it fun being free for two seconds?"

Caydrick jerked in the guards hold, clearly trying to bite after her. The guards simply pulled him back, like a dog on a leash, and the Queen laughed.

Bethia felt a cold sensation in her stomach. Why were they talking like that? Like they were old friends or on a first name basis? Caydrick said so himself; He had defied the Queen and she did not like it... So why was she acting so overly friendly, then? Surely it was not just for Bethia's benefit.

The Queen then turned her eyes to Bethia and made her blood run cold. The Queen's smile dropped as she gave her a slow glance up and down. "I see you picked up a souvenir. Beautiful, do you not think so?"

For some reason Caydrick growled, and a venomous smirk grew on the Queen's lips. "Let her go, Yridessa, she is not worth anything to you. You got me - release her."

Beth's heart was pounding in her chest. He just used her first name. No formality, no nothing, and the Queen did not respond to it. In fact, she looked rather amused, like she liked it.

"Let her go?" The Queen queried and rose a brow. "I think not. Do you not remember what I told you, Cage?"

"Damn it, let her go!" Caydrick suddenly roared, startling Bethia. "She has done nothing wrong, she is innocent!"

"Innocent?" The Queen flatly echoed. "You cannot fool me, Caydrick. She is as innocent as you."

Bethia started breathing heavily. She felt like she could not swallow, the lump in her throat was too big. She could not understand what was happening.

"Let. Her. Go." Caydrick said, each syllable sharp as a knife. "She knows nothing, I did not tell her your secrets. She is innocent."

The Queen watched Caydrick for a long moment, before she simply took a step closer to him. When he did not move, but simply worked a muscle in his jaw, she smirked and crossed her arms. "But I wonder... did you tell her your secrets?"

Caydrick jerked again, roaring at her, while she broke out into laughter. He kept struggling against the guards, trying to free himself. You could tell the guards had to use their every ounce of strength to keep him confined, but non the less, they succeeded. "You will keep your mouth shut, Snake!"

The Queen ignored him and simply just glanced over at Beth, giving her a vixen grin. "How much has he told you about himself?"

"Do not reply, Bethia," Caydrick snapped, before she had a chance to open her mouth.

"I am your Queen and you will answer my question!"

"Bethia, no, please."

Beth glanced between the Queen and Caydrick, scared of what she should do. She was the Queen, after all. "N-not much, your Majesty."

The Queen smiled satisfied, and Caydrick exhaled deeply. "Do not address her like that Bethia, she does not deserve it."

"Yes she will," The Queen snapped at him. "You might have given up on formalities years ago, but I will have my subjects address me with the title that suits me."

"Then she should call you a devilish bitch," Caydrick snarled back, spitting on the floor in front of her.

The Queen immediately growled, walking up to him. "How dare you, slave!"

Caydrick roared at her, thrashing, biting after her, shouting profanities. But Beth knew why this time.

Slave. She had called him a slave. The truth was slowly dawning on her.

"Oh, look. I guess you did not tell her that," The Queen darkly chuckled, enjoying the look of shock on her face. "What else might you not have told her?"

Caydrick finally sagged, tired from fighting. He breathed heavily, pressing his lips tightly together. "Bethia..."

"You were a slave?" Bethia said, sucking in a strangled breath. It begun to make sense now. His manners... his cooking skills... everything. He had been taught to be humble and appreciative of people above him. That was why he treated her so nicely, always kept his head bowed.

"Were?" The Queen scoffed, unaffected by Bethia's pale face. "He still is, you foolish girl. Did you not see the mark on his chest?"

Without any warning, she grasped the fabric of his tunic and tore it apart. Caydrick roared at her, but finally as she exposed his chest, Bethia laid eyes on the healing wound on his chest. Could it be--

"What did you do to your label?" The Queen snapped running a hand over the calloused skin. "Well, you really have been busy. Too bad, now we must refresh it."

"Go to hell," Caydrick growled.

Bethia begun hyperventilating; So much information, everything she knew about him changed within the timespan of ten minutes. He was a slave... but... did that mean he had not really been a soldier? She did not know what was real anymore.

"Oh, poor girl," The Queen fakely cooed at Beth. "She looks so distressed, do you not you think so, Cage?"

"Do not talk to her," Caydrick said, directing his words at Beth. "Do not answer her questions."

"You are right," The Queen said, tilting her head slightly. "Why do you not answer the questions, Cage? She deserves to know. After all, you did share yourself with her."

"I do not know what you are talking about."

"Do not lie to me!" The Queen screamed at him. "You shared yourself with this woman, she had you! I told you, you were mine and mine alone! You defied my commands!"

Caydrick roared, and finally, a guard was forced to punch him in his stomach to make him hunch over and weaken him. Bethia screamed when they kept on pounding him, hurting him so badly, his legs sagged.

"STOP!" She screamed, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. "God, stop, do not hurt him, please!"

The Queen snapped her fingers and immediately the guard stopped, and Caydrick exhaled harshly. He spat out blood on the floor, before sucking in a pained breath. His stomach already looked bruised.

The Queen turned to Beth, pursing her lips as she watched her. "Bethia, was it not?"

Beth nodded, tasting her tears on her lips. "P-please... Please do not hurt him..."

"Bethia..." The Queen cooed again, lifting a brow. "How common. Do you think this is hurting him? Cage, does this hurt?"

Caydrick did not reply, he simply just breathed, his head hanging in exhaustion.

"Trust me when I say, he has had it a lot worse," The Queen smiled. "I have made sure of that."

"Devil..." Caydrick whispered, pressing his lips together. "I will kill you..."

"I tortured him for years as a slave," She continued unfazed, her words dripping with venom. "I made him work harder than every soldier. I then took him as my own personal slave and claimed him as mine. I whipped him with my own whip, touched him places were only I was meant to."

"YOU BITCH!" Caydrick roared, finding his strength again to fight the guards. It only resulted in one of them punching him in his chest, knocking the air out of him.

Beth could not breathe either. It was like her heart stopped beating and her lungs stopped working all together. Her blood froze solid, but her stomach flipped. She felt like she had to puke.

He was... her sexslave. The Queen had enslaved him as her personal toy, her personal little plaything... She had... taken him against his will and used him.

It all made so much sense now.

I am not a virgin, but I do not know how to make love.

"Oh my God," Bethia croaked, the words barely passing her lips.

"Bethia," Caydrick said, breathing heavily. "Bethia, I am so sorry..."

"Is it true?" She whispered. She wished this was all a lie, or maybe even just an awful dream. That if she pinched herself, she would wake up and find herself lying in the arms of Caydrick again, back in her bed, in her bakery. That he would still be nuzzling her hair, kissing it, stroking her arm and whispering sweet words to her.

- But life was waking her up.

Caydrick just pressed his lips together, his head hanging tiredly against his chest. But that was all the confirmation she needed. He was her sexslave and the mark he had sliced up on his chest was his label. His brand.

"I do not understand," She whispered, looking at the Queen. "Sexslaves are outlawed, they are—"

"Shut up, you silly girl," The Queen growled, sticking her jaw out. "I make the laws. Cage is mine, and you touched him." Beth flinched at her words, and that made the Queen snarl at her. "You had him. Too bad he will never know how you look, you ugly dullard."

"SHUT UP!" Caydrick shouted. "Do not talk to her like that, she is more beautiful than you will ever be!"

"And how would you know?" She laughed.

Bethia was confused again. The Queen and him had so many implicit conversations, she could not keep up.

Caydrick just breathed angrily, gritting his teeth. When he did not reply, the Queen chuckled.

"What a-are you t-talking about?" Bethia shakily asked. She was not sure she could handle more unveiled secrets, but she was also certain that the Queen would reveal them no matter what.

The Queen quirked a brow, an actual confused one. "Do you not know? Does she not know, Cage? How is that possible?"

"Shut up," Caydrick whispered. "Tell her my secret, and I will tell her yours."

"I do not think you will," The Queen chuckled, a new light shining in her eyes. "You know very well if she knows, I will have her executed in the most painful way possible. And you do not want to see that, do you?"

"I said, shut up!" He shouted.

"Caydrick, I want to know," Bethia whispered. "Just tell me."

"No, Bethia..." He whispered back. "You will never look at me the same way again..."

"Why should you care?" The Queen grinned.

"Whatever it is, it cannot be worse than what has already been said!" Beth cried, ignoring the Queen for once. "Just tell me, please."

When Caydrick simply just opened and closed his mouth a few times, the Queen sighed impatiently. "Allow me to say it then, or better yet – let me show you."

Without hesitation, she ripped the black shades off his face and caused Beth to gasp. Caydrick jerked his head away, pressing his lips tightly together.

"Show her!" The Queen growled. "You wanted to touch her, to lay with her, why do you not show her your eyes, too? Show her what I did to you!"

Bethia was hyperventilating again. Caydrick blew out a shaking breath, before he slowly turned his head towards her. "I am sorry, Bethia."

At that, Beth dropped her jaw. Caydrick's face sunk, but slowly, he parted his eyelids.

Eyes as green as grass and as beautiful as emeralds shun at her. There was just the problem that they were not looking at her. They were not looking at anything. They stared blankly ahead into the distance, flat, lifeless and... dead.

Bethia's heart broke into a thousand pieces over and over again as she kept looking at them. The whole truth was finally out, but she did not understand. If he was blind, then... How could he do the things he could do? Walk? Reach for things? Aim? It did not make sense. The confusion over what he was able to do was much bigger than the hurt of finding out he was blind and had not felt he could share it with her. After all they had done together...

"Caydrick..." She whispered, immediately regretting it when she saw his face shatter with shame. Was it her voice? Had it changed now that she knew? "Caydrick, you are—"

"Enough," The Queen harshly interfered. She turned around and walked up to a jug of wine. "There has been enough talking, it is time for punishment. Remember there was a time where I told you, you were mine and mine alone, Cage?"

Caydrick gritted his teeth, but did not reply.

But the Queen did not need one. She just calmly poured herself a goblet of wine and continued to speak. "Well... It has been established here tonight that you touched this puny peasant and therefor you must... pay."

Caydrick immediately whipped his head up and started wrestling the guards so much two more had to step in. "NO! You bitch! You FUCKING bitch! I will kill you!"

The Queen all but laughed at his futile attempt of escaping and glanced at Bethia with a sinister grin. "He always threatens me when he knows he cannot win. Sorry, Cage. Your threats do not work on me. Guards, if you please..."

"NO!" Caydrick roared thrashing in the guards grip. Six guards were now constraining him, and Bethia still could not understand why he was fighting so strongly. What did he know that she did not?

"Oh yes," The Queen countered, the smirk dropping from her lips. Her face turned stone cold and her voice started dripping with venom. "You knew the consequences of your doings. I told you from the start that you were mine. You touched that child of a woman, and now you must pay the price. Oh how I will enjoy this..."

She snapped her fingers and the guards obeyed like trained dogs. They started pulling him towards her bed, and that was when it finally clicked for Bethia.

"Oh God, no, please!" She pleaded, horror striking her. Tears started rolling down her cheeks like a waterfall, as Caydrick kept writhing and trashing in his restrains. "Please, please, do not do this! I beg you!"

The Queen gave her a cold look, as the guards forced Caydrick down on the bed, taking his hands and locking them against the headboard. She walked up to Bethia. "You did this to him. You are responsible for what he must suffer. You should not have touched him." She glared deadly at her, before she snapped to her guards, "Take her downstairs."

"No! God no, Caydrick!" Bethia screamed, as he kept struggling, roaring at everyone who touched him.

"Get your hands off! Bethia! Bethia!" Caydrick called, but his words got muffled by the gag the guards forced into his mouth. He struggled against their grips, but six against one was even too much for him. The last Beth saw, before the wooden doors got closed, was how they shackled him down on the Queen's bed - actually having to lay on top of him to restrain him - and then he was gone. The door got shut and they pulled her away as the roars begun.