She almost cried out at that revelation, for there was nothing natural about this man, this place or his purpose.
�My sweet. My dear girl. My lovely magician. Your inherent abilities are necessary for the next stage in our device.� He walked around out of view and she was unsure whether to be glad that she could no longer see him or terrified of not knowing what he was up to. She remained silent, unwilling or unable to speak.
He laughed suddenly, so close to her ears that she jumped inside. She could feel his putrid breath along her neck, feel his long, sleek, greasy hair caressing her shoulders and she felt sick to her stomach. She knew that had she been unbound, she could dispatch this madman with but a thought and her helplessness disgusted her. Her anger now began to grow steadily, though she held it at bay easily. She knew that he could sense her struggle.
�Yes my dear, I can. It� satisfies me, to say the least. Assuredly, you will help us. There is no other option in that regard. The choice is yours, however, to help us willingly or...� he giggled almost drunkardly, leaving the sentence unfinished.
He sauntered once again into view, turning his back to her as he strode over to a large screen monitor mounted onto the wall before her. It showed the inner rooms of the fortress in which she was currently held captive and he looked over each of the individual captions with much intent. It was all a ruse meant to break her resolve, and she pulled herself erect, defying his intent.
He tilted his head back to look at her, the smirk even more evident on his gruesome face, malintent radiating from his eyes. Almost gaily, he skipped over to her, laughing all the way and totally lost in his madness. Suddenly, rounding on her fiercely, he grabbed her head between his hands, pressing firmly against her temple, and all trace of his prior happiness was suddenly gone. Anger boiled and raged beneath the surface of his visage and his true, monstrous form erupted into plain view.
�You WILL submit to my command, half bred wench! Your insignificant life means little to me and my desires. I would have wiped you off the face of this planet eons ago had that fool of an Emperor not desperately needed your powers.�
His seething ire flared intensely for a few moments more and, as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone. His smirk returned as if it had never left the confines of his hateful face. He turned everything to poison, even a smile. Turning away from her yet again, he strode over to a nearby table upon which sat a small, metallic crown with small, black jewels embedded into it and which radiated an air of pure evil.
�Well, my queen, it seems we have finally reached the conclusion of these proceedings. Shall we?�
Time slowed, stretching the next few moments into an eternity of memory. She clawed at her bonds in her mind, frantically wanting to end the dream here, before he put the crown on her head.
She screamed openly in her waking body as the evil man turned towards her in lengthened motion. The vile slave crown slowly made its way across the room within his hands. His bellowing laughter filled her very soul with despair and, as he placed the crown upon her head, Terra knew that she was dead. Her emotions were drained from her, sucked into the black heart of the gems. Her will, her energy, her very lifeforce became empty. She shook her head in negation of this memory�
Lying in a crumpled heap on the floor of a dark cavern beyond the town of Narshe, a girl shook her scarred and bleeding head in small, insignificant motions while she slept. A banshee�s scream erupted from her, piercing the darkness of the cavern.
