Chapter 14 - Beatrice Lace II

Ku Yong Underground Penitentiary

Beatrice had been isolated from the rest of her Branch members upon entering the Ku Yong Underground Penitentiary. Though Ostia and Claud sat only a few cells down the hall from her, she had not spoken to anyone since they'd been captured. Rai Jin filled the cells between them, each day that had gone by had only brought more unfortunate souls into captivity.

The first one brave enough to trade words with a Ku Yongi soldier had been brutally beaten for all amongst them to hear. After they had beaten the man, who only asked for water, they dragged him up and down the hall. She repeatedly heard the same warning.

"Speak to us, and this will be you."

The halls echoed only silence since. None among the Rai Jin captives on Beatrice's floor spoke, even to one another. Every now and again, Beatrice would hear a child or two quietly shed tears. It seemed the Ku Yongi did not concern themselves with age or sex. All Rai Jin they could find were brought to this prison.

As Beatrice laid in her cell, eyes closed, dreaming of a man dressed in black, her cell door abruptly burst open. Beatrice's eyes shot open, but knowing her circumstances, she made no attempt to move.

"Get up!!" A soldier, short and fat with a balding head stood above Beatrice's woolen cot. Beatrice slowly sat up, rubbing the fatigue from her eyes. Next to him stood small man, bifocals upon his face with ragged brown hair. His hands seemed to shake, as if something in the cell made him nervous. To the small man's other side stood another soldier, this one tall and muscular with long black hair.

"You are honored to be in the presence of the Right Hand of the great Emperor of Ku Yong, his eminence, Elsin Boul." The short man continued to shout, "you will kneel in gratitude."

Beatrice stood and faced the young man the fat soldier introduced. Measuring the man, he was barely taller than her. His posture was good, but still he continued to shake.

Beatrice was not impressed. More accurately, she was disappointed. Marris housed friends and family dear to her, and this excuse for a man had played a large role in the city's destruction. She expected more.

Beatrice refused to kneel for such a man. Her defiance was written on her face. Her fists curled, as she pursed her lips. The young man, Elsin, found her stance amusing, it seemed. The slight crack of a smile formed on his lips.

The guards however, were not amused. The taller of the two guards, unsheathed his sword, stepped forward, and thrust the butt of his weapon into her abdomen. The muscle on the man was none for show. Resilient as she was Beatrice felt the brunt of his attack. She doubled over, nearly hurling any food or drink she might've had stored in her stomach.

Still, Beatrice made no move to kneel. The large guard hit her again, this time bringing the butt of his sword across her face. It was a blow strong enough to knock her down. Blood spilled from her lips, spraying across the dungeon floor. A single knee hit the ground, but it was enough to goad a boast from the Emperor's Right Hand.

"Even gods bow before the might of Ku Yong." Elsin's tone was matched by his smirk, sinister and condescending. Only now that she was below him did he uncross his arms, and relax his posture. Beatrice spat blood from her mouth, wiped a trail of it from her chin and looked to Elsin Boul. Her stare was sharp, lines appearing on the bridge of her nose as she twisted her lips into a threatening scowl.

"You are a defiant one," Boul observed, only enraging Beatrice further.

"And you," Beatrice panted through her teeth, "Are a bitch."

The Emperor's right hand did not take kindly to her insult. He this time chose to strike Beatrice himself, slapping his palm across her face. A red mark the shape and size of Elsin's hand appeared on her cheek. The wound in her mouth poured more blood, spilling onto the floor once more.

If Nova were here… Beatrice reveled in the thought of what her Branch leader might do to Boul once he found out what he'd done here.

"Stand." The shorter guard growled at her. Slowly, Beatrice returned to her feet. Her face, red with anger. Her hands and legs, shaking from restraint. Once she reached eye level with the Emperor's right hand, the young man let out a boisterous laugh. She did not know what game he believed them to be playing, but Beatrice could see that Boul clearly thought he was winning it.

"Leave us." Boul waved his hands towards the soldiers designated to his guard, dismissing them. They glanced at one another, nervousness twitching their eyes and lips.

"Sir…" The short one began, only to be cut off sharply by Boul.

"I am not a child that I need protection from a powerless woman!" Boul snapped his fingers, as if he could magically make them disappear. "Go!" He barked, and the two soldiers mounted their weapons in their hands, and quickly left Beatrice's cell.

Boul waited until they were far down the hall and out of listening range to continue. Once the dungeon door shut behind them, Boul relaxed himself, sitting against Beatrice's cell door, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

Beatrice looked the man in his eyes. She saw little in them. A boy, she thought. A boy who has experienced nothing.

"Did you know, that the Ku Yongi believed your people to be gods at a point in our history?" Elsin Boul asked her. His tone was mocking. Patronizing, even. Beatrice's responded to his question with mere silence.

This did not deter him from speaking further.

"They say the first king of Argot, King Itos was the first of your kind to tell the truth of what he was. Before that, only those selected by your people were accepted." Beatrice found herself interested in what Boul had to say. Still, she refused to respond to him.

"Itos opened a door for mankind to discover whether they were worthy of the Rai Jin's Gift. For nearly one thousand years, man had knowledge of your kind." Elsin's eyebrows began to furrow, his confident, almost arrogant expression malformed into anger and disgust.

"Then suddenly, a century ago, man forgot." Boul crossed his arms, "We wrote the existence of creatures and people with godlike abilities as fairy tales and works of fiction."

Boul seemed to slip into a moment of calm reflection. His face went blank, then for a brief moment, Beatrice saw what looked like joy flash in his eyes. "Somehow though, I knew you were real." Boul leaned forward and reached out his hand to Beatrice's face. She found herself flinching away from him, fearful that he might strike her again. He instead gently caressed her face, as if she were a project of passion upon its completion.

"I remember my peers once teased me for believing in fairy tales." He continued speaking, never removing his hand from Beatrice's face. "I never stopped hunting for you though. I read every book that seemed like it might even be related to Rai Jin. I discovered the connection between your race and the Lilies that grows on Black Peak."

As he spoke his eyes continued to widen, his smile alongside them. "I went into higher education, so that I could reach a level of intellect that would allow me to harness your power for myself." Boul laughed aloud. It was a laughter that filled Beatrice with the most unsettling feeling. "Years! Years, I spent. Crawling through the dredges and muck, searching for clues and leads to you."

Beatrice's eyes began to quake. Her body shuddered. He's fucking crazy.

"And finally, fate delivers your kind to me."

Only after he had finished gloating did he let go of Beatrice's face. Free of his touch, she unfroze.

"What do you want from us?" Beatrice asked nervously. She expected no reasonable response. She only sought to keep him sated until he left her be.

"From you?" Boul seemed amused by her question. "Absolutely nothing."

There was little cause for relief in the man's word and tone.

"I only want to make Caust a better world." Boul said thoughtfully. "And, harnessing the Rai Jin's gift is the path I've chosen to do so."

"Then why are you here?" Beatrice was almost afraid to ask. Everything about this man, from his appearance to his manner of speech made her uneasy.

"In your cell you mean?" Elsin mused. "I'm here to make you an offer."

"What could you offer me?" Beatrice was not keen to his answer. A boy in her eyes held her prisoner and thought he could sway his way into her graces? She was offended.

"Freedom." Boul replied. His mocking grin made it difficult for her to believe he would give her such a thing. "Within the confines of Ku Yong Palace, of course, and under my direct command."

"You think my loyalty is so easily bought?" Beatrice asked through her teeth. Her skin turned red and her nostrils began to flare. "You've wasted your time and breath. I would never serve you."

"You must've mistaken me," Boul chuckled. "I call it an offer, because I'd rather you felt you had a choice in the matter. That is not the case, however."

The Emperor's Right Hand stood, and from his waistband, pulled a chain made of metal that gave no reflection from the finite amount of light available to it. "You will either come with me, or be dragged behind me. It makes no difference to me."

Beatrice stared at the chain, then a moment later looked to the man.

"Fuck you."

"Only should I command you to." Boul laughed at his distasteful joke. Still, Beatrice was sure it was only a joke in part.

"My last servant ran off just this morning while we returning to the city." Elsin wrapped the chain around her neck, then brought it down to bind her wrists "So, I had my men hunt her down and now I've decided to find myself someone more subservient." The length of the chain proved more than enough for him to bind her tightly and leave a length of the chain, that he would use as a leash.

"Come. I need to continue my work." Boul tugged at the chain pulling Beatrice to her feet. Reluctantly she followed him as he ushered her through the cell door and out of the dungeon hall. She silently walked past the cells of Rai Jin brought there after she'd been imprisoned.

The faces she saw ranged from childlike to elderly. Many of them shared cells, no more than four to one. Emotions on their faces ranged from anger to despair.

We'll get all of you out of here. She knew Nova would be working on a way to break them out of this prison. She had no way to contact him though. Superium prevented his telepathy and she was sure they had placed them on separate floors.

Besides, she thought, I have to get away from him. She looked back to see an enormous gloating grin on Boul's face.

"What's your name, by the way?" he asked her. The question was simple, but Beatrice was sure it was a taunt.

Still, she replied, "They call me Killer Bea."

"Is there a story behind that name Bea?"

"Yeah." Beatrice held little regard for the name. It was given to her as all Rai Jin names are. After a feat of heroism or villainy worthy of the attention of the Rai Jin community. "I might tell you one day.. your imminence."