Tears burned like fire in her eyes, streaming down her cheeks as they dragged her away, leading her down halls she did not know. All the way she could hear muffled roars, until finally, even his voice got swallowed by the castle walls. They led her down a set of stairs below the castle. Soon, she found herself in a underground dungeon where they tossed her inside a small ironbar cell. There were not any other prisoners but her, despite the fact that there was an adjoining cell just across from her. They shackled her with her arms up against the wall, and once they stepped out, Bethia finally sagged in tears.

Images of Caydrick's traumatized face - the angry, yet crestfallen look as they had forced him down on that bed stuck like tree sap to her memory. Everything he had done – every different, inexplicable reaction he had given to things they had done together now all finally made sense. It all led back to this; his life as a sexslave to the Queen of Venice and Verona City.

New tears started spilling down Beth's cheeks and she pulled up her knees to her forehead. Silently sobbing, she tried not to imagine what was happening to him right now. How the Queen was using him – torturing him. Raping him.

And he was blind! She could not believe it, and yet somehow it all did not seem as surprising. It had crossed her mind. She would have been foolish not to at least consider it. But the way he moved, the way he so casually handled things around him and just knew things... It had pushed the idea right out of her head again. How could a man with that much coordination be blind? She still did not understand it and yet it was true. She had seen his green eyes staring dead ahead into the vast, empty distance. Oh, but how beautiful his eyes had been. Dead or not.

Exhaustion started to take hold of her body – both mental and physical, yet she could not sleep. Not while knowing what was happening to Caydrick. Not while her heart was bleeding for him, not until she knew he was alright.

But you will probably never see him again, a little voice in her head said.

Nevertheless, Bethia stayed stone cold in her seated position on the burly, cobbled floor, silent tears streaming down her face. For hours, all she did was pray for the life of the man she loved, while forcing herself to stay awake.

-*-

Hours later, Bethia had nearly fallen asleep. Her head had tilted down to her chest but jerked up when the sound of something happening in the hall awoke her. She sharpened her ears and heard something dragging against the floor, metal jingling. Chains.

Then, she saw how four guards dragged the giant beast that was Caydrick, whose unconscious body was covered in sweat, scrapes, and even blood. Bethia immediately sat up and choked on a cry as they opened the cell next to her and tossed him down on the ground with no care whatsoever, despite surely knowing what he had just endured. He only wore a pair of thin breeches, and now in the accentuating shadows, Bethia could see the marks and bruises from where the Queen had abused him. Raw red flesh and gnaw marks colored his wrists and ankles, but at least she could see no new whip marks.

Caydrick groaned when the guards yanked him up by his hair and pushed him up against the wall, into a sitting position, and shackled him up too, perfectly across from where Bethia was sitting; Close together, but unable to touch one another. This was obviously the Queen's own sick form of retaliation. Bethia could sit there and see what she had done to him, while Caydrick equally could sit and listen to her sob.

If that is the case, then she would not cry, Bethia thought to herself. She would be strong. For him.

The guards slammed the cell door shut and locked it up. After that, they took a stand outside the cell, guarding them without giving them as much as a glance, especially him. He was worthless to them – just like a true slave.

"Bethia..."

His voice startled her, and Bethia instinctively jumped but got restrained by the cuffs that chained her to the wall. She therefore swallowed and looked at him with blurry eyes. "I am here. I am in a cell across from you, I-I cannot—"

"I know." Caydrick's voice was raw and even the slightest movement caused him pain and made him wince. His lids were closed and a tiny patch of dried blood stained the corner of his mouth. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, but then quickly remembered he could not tell. "I-I am fine."

"Bethia," He whispered. He winced again as he tried to move his legs. A sharp hiss followed by a pained groan escaped him. "B-bethia, I am so sorry."

"What?" She whispered, feeling choked. Was he saying sorry? "Caydrick, you... what happened to you... what she did to you," Her voice broke by the mere mention of his horrible torture, "It is not your fault, and never has been. You are the victim and—"

"I know that, but that is not what I am apologizing for. I am apologizing for... for bringing you into my mess," He said, just above a whisper. "For not telling you. You were never supposed to be a part of this. This was what I was trying to prevent. I am so sorry..."

He paused, and to Bethia's amazement opened his eyes, the emerald green eyes blank but blazing with emotions. He looked shattered. "Oh, Caydrick..."

"You deserved to know," He continued. "After everything you did to help me... and what we did... I have betrayed you, mislead you. You did not know the truth about me and what I am, and despite that, I still... I still took you to bed."

"Caydrick..." Bethia whispered, desperately holding back the tears that threatened to fall. A lump the size of a fist was lodged in her throat. His secrets had bothered her at the time, but now knowing the whole truth... she honestly could not blame him for lying. He was deeply ashamed of himself, a man of his size should not have been able to be dominated and abused by a mere woman. She understood his shame and why he felt it was his cross to bear alone. But she did not understand why he had not told her he was blind. "Caydrick, I--"

"No, you must let me speak," He pleaded and tried to sit up again, but failed miserably and settled for leaning against the cold stone wall. "I should have told you everything, but I grew so scared."

"Scared?"

Caydrick looked up, trying to focus on the sound of her voice, aiming his eyes at her the best he could. She felt her throat close up completely. "Of losing you. The more you took care of me, the more I loved you. I had no idea I would end up falling in love with you, so I saw no need to tell you when we first met. But then as things went along... you served me breakfast..." He choked on his words and pressed his lips together. "Nobody has ever prepared me breakfast my whole life, Bethia. I have received obligatory meals when I served as a slave in the castle and I once got a loaf of bread when I was in an infirmary as a young boy. But I fell in love with you in that moment you came up and... offered me your food, your warm home. I was an intruder and you graciously opened your arms for me. I have never known such compassion, such kindness, Bethia. I could not fathom it.

"There were so many things I wanted to tell you, so many times. Like when you came up to me and told me to bathe, and you helped me wash and shave... when you looked at my body with fearfulness but never fright. I wanted to tell you I would never inflict the same harm on another person I had been balmed in myself. You, especially. That every time you touched me, I only flinched because touching usually always meant pain, not because you repelled me. And you were so gentle. So sweet. So tentative," Caydrick blinked and looked down. "So innocent and pure, the two things I took from you with my own selfishness."

"Caydrick--"

"I am not done," He said. "Please, there are so many things I must say to you," He whispered, his voice hoarse. "I do not know if I will ever get another chance to, so please let me speak."

Beth pressed her lips tightly together, but then nodded - and then remembered he could not see. "All right."

"I was scared to lose you, Beth," He then continued. "Scared that you would be revolted by who I really was if I told you what... what I had been exposed to every day for the past three years," His head lowered, shamefully. "I was a selfish coward who did not have the proper heart to tell you all that you deserved to know, before I... I claimed what was never mine to take. I feel so guilty for taking your innocence, Bethia," He looked up again and focused in her general direction. "Know that I am sorry, and even more sorry for my next words, for as much as I want to regret doing what I did, I do not. I cherished each moment with you, so let it condemn me to Hell. I do not care."

Bethia was speechless, had no words. Her heart was melting and her entire body started shaking. She wanted to hold him. To touch him, to embrace him and tell him she did not- and could not ever regret doing what they did, despite what she now knew of him. He might have been a slave his whole life and had a mark on his chest that labeled him, but that label did not touch his heart. After everything he had been through, he was still a good man, and what he had chosen to do with her was never a thing she could not hold against him. Not when she had begged him to, not when she had wanted to as much as he did.

"I want you to know," Caydrick silently continued. "That everything I did tell... it was the truth. I have never lied to you with spoken words, only by omission. I know that does not change that I lied still, but I simply wanted you to know I meant every word I said. I do love you, sweet Bethia. With God as my witness, I tell you that I love you and I always will."

She could not hold the tears back anymore. "Oh, Caydrick," Bethia sobbed. She involuntarily pulled at her shackles, wanting nothing more in this world than to hug him. "I love you too. Know that. I do," She vowed and sat up straighter, looking directly at him, though he could not tell. "Blind or not, Slave or not, I love you. God as my witness."

Caydrick let out something choked and then bend his head down, pressed his lips and eyes tightly together. For once, he did not hide away how he was truly feeling inside, but let it show on his beautiful features. "Sweet Bethia. Why? After everything you know about me now... how can you still..."

"Love knows no boundaries," Bethia replied. "That is a thing my parents marriage has taught me. My father loved my mother beyond the heavens when she died, as I love them both now and you. What has happened to you was never your choice and therefore cannot be used to judge your character. What you have done despite of what happened to you... that's where my love lies, Caydrick. That's where you lie."

Caydrick was now the one who was beyond words. He was shaking his head silently as if the words did not make sense to him, as if he could not believe a word she said. Even so, Bethia knew he believed her.

In his silence while he collected himself, Bethia's eyes could not help but fall to his chest where she again saw the damage the Queen had done. Long scrapes in shapes of nails, clawed a path down his pectorals to his stomach, where the blood drips had stopped and now dried. In her head, fantasy scenarios of the Queen clawing her nails down his chest, while he was forced to endure whatever harm or pain she afflicted him now started to flash before her eyes, taint her memory with images she never wanted to imagine. She could picture the Queen's evil grin as Caydrick laid helplessly beneath her, suspended because of whatever law he had broken inside her head.

Beth squeezed her eyes shut and tried to rid herself of the images. Unbelievable hurt followed with those images, pain that ripped through her heart and tore it to pieces. She could not bear to think of the Queen having touched him as so, had had his member inside of her as she--

"I swore the first time she took me that I would kill her," Caydrick suddenly darkly whispered, as if having read her mind. "The pain she has caused, not only me, but the entire country and the people..." He paused and clenched his jaw. "I will kill her, and I will do it as slowly and painfully as she has been killing me. I will wrench her heart out and hear her take her last poisonous—" he stopped himself and Bethia suspected it had something to so with the fact that she had stopped breathing. He pressed his lips tightly together, then cursed and looked down. "Forgive me. I did not mean to—"

"You have so much rage built up inside you," Bethia quietly whispered. "So much rancor."

"Let us not talk about her." Caydrick pleaded and sat up, then winced a little and drew his lip back in a soundless groan.

Beth swallowed heavily. "H-how are you?"

Caydrick shook his head. "No. Do not think about that either."

"I-I cannot, Caydrick, what she—what she did to you—"

"Bethia, please. Stop," He begged her. He softly leaned his head back against the wall, sagging in exhaustion. "Do not think of that. What is done is done. I will get my revenge, rest assured, but do not cry for me anymore, please. Reserve your tears for better causes."

She understood that he did not want her pity, yet she could not help but give it to him. What he endured was beyond horrible, especially in this day and age where men— wait, how had he know she had been crying? As much as she felt agony for him, her tears had fallen silently. So how did he know she had been crying? She asked him just that.

"I tasted salt in the air."

"You... what?" Bethia blinked, shocked. "You tasted salt? How—I do not understand—"

"When she took my sight, a lot of things changed for me," He told, grimacing as he tried to sit up more. "I realized I had to find a way to live with it, so I strengthened myself. That included the strength of my senses."

"I still do not understand," Bethia frowned, looking at him with hurt, as he clearly was in horrible pain. "What did she do to you?"

"I will tell you everything at the right time, but it is not here yet," He said, glancing down. "For the sake of both our safety, I must keep the secret of my way of seeing hidden for you and for... them," He glanced sideways to the guards who had listened in on their conversation while guarding.

Bethia sighed, understandingly. "You know, of all the things that got revealed today, your blindness was the only thing that truly surprised me. You managed to keep it hidden so well."

"That was essential. If you saw my eyes, you would have known."

"I do not necessarily think so," Beth argued. "They are so emerald green that if you managed to glance my way—"

"What?" Caydrick looked up at her, brows deeply creased.

Beth on the other hand rose hers. "Your eyes. They are so green they could pass for—"

"But that is not possible," Caydrick said, interrupting her again. If possible, his brows furrowed deeper. "It has been three years, they should have turned white by now."

Now Beth frowned too. "They have not. They are still green as Eden. What does this mean, Caydrick?"

Caydrick clenched his jaw firmly but then glanced sideways, just as footsteps sounded from down the hall. "We might find out now."

A dark bald man accompanied by two more guards showed up outside their cells. The dark man had two belts slung across his shoulders with a variety of knives attached to them, along with a saber at his left side and a ominously red whip on the left.

Caydrick sniffed the air, then flattened his face into a stone cold expression. "Eore. Come to see your favorite slave?"

The dark man's expression did not change but matched Caydrick's. "Shut your mouth, slave." He snapped his fingers and then all of the guards went into action, walking up to his cell, unlocking it. When they went inside and unlocked his cuffs, then yanked him to their feet, Beth gasped.

"W-what is going on? C-Caydrick?"

"Do not worry, Bethia," Caydrick said, sounding tired but assured. "If they were here to take me away for the Queen's pleasure, I would already be drugged by now. No, she wants to talk to me."

"Grab the girl too," The dark man by the name Eore barked and shot a worthless glance at her. "The Queen wishes to speak to her too."

Caydrick groaned in pain when the guards handling him shoved him up against the wall, back first. Then grabbing his wrists and his feet, they shackled them both with chains.

A guard came inside Bethia's cell as well and did the same, only they did not shackle her feet. Perhaps they did not deem her a real threat of escaping.

Grunting as they yanked him out Caydrick began walking in a slow pace, restrained by the cuffs on his ankles. The brown man Eore pulled a dagger from his belt and then held it up to Caydrick's back. "Move," He ordered.

Caydrick did as told and Bethia got pushed in line behind him, walking behind the terrifying man Eore. His back shun with sweat, but also scars and old cuts.

Their sad parade was silent as they walked to wherever the Queen wished to talk to them. Caydrick seemed calm which calmed her down too. If he was not afraid, maybe that meant there was no danger. She had feared when the guards showed up, that they were there to take him away again to be raped.

But Caydrick walked calmly, almost jolly as they strolled down different corridors, up to the ground floor again. He began clicking his tongue, inappropriate as always, and that did not sit well with Eore.

"Stop it," He snapped and bashed him over the head with a rough hand. "Keep quiet."

Even after the bash that looked painful, Caydrick did not stop clicking. If anything, he only clicked louder.

"I said quiet, slave," Eore seethed again, now pressing the very tip of his blade against his back. "The Queen requested us to bring you and the girl alive, but she did not stress in what condition."

"Your threats do not scare me anymore, Eore," Caydrick replied back, calm as he were. "Years of your torture made me immune. But tell me, have you missed me? Missed having my back to whip?"

Eore now grabbed the back of his head, yanking at his hair and pressed the flat of the blade fully against Caydrick's. Growling, he leaned in to his ear. "You feel that blade? Feel it."

When he slid the blade up and down Caydrick's back, drawing a crimson line of red, Caydrick's face hardened. "I feel it."

"Good. Know that I will use it on you if you do not shut your mouth. Or better yet, do you want me to use it on her?"

Caydrick kept quiet, pressed his lips together.

Eore scoffed, satisfied. "That is what I thought. Now walk, faster."

Bethia looked from Eore to Caydrick and judged that these two men knew each other. From what Caydrick had said, perhaps Eore had been a slave-master to him before he became a sexslave. That would surely explain their way of speaking to each other; natural enemies.

They continued walking in silence again, the silence now only broken by the clattering of their metal chains. Finally, Bethia saw a big giant door up ahead, a door she knew that led to the throne room.

With a braced heart, Bethia gulped down and tried to stay calm.