Bonds By Raye DeLumina Terror. Or was it? That was what confused me at that moment, when I awoke. I remember I woke to meet the gaze of a man much younger than me, standing at the foot of my bed. He watched me squint as the light of the nearby candles invaded my eyes. As I reached to rub my aching face, I found that I was unable to move my arms more than a few inches in my direction... The clink of chains rung in my ears as I struggled to get myself free, to no avail. My eyes focused upon my legs, which were chained to the bedposts at the corners of my bed. I tried to remember the night before, wondering how I could have gotten into this position. I remembered sitting quietly, reading. The air was cold and damp, as usual in this castle. Yet strangely, I had a sense of something that didn't belong. I could have sworn I saw shadows looming around my home on several occasions during that night, but I simply shrugged them off. Many had the urge to gain revenge against me, but none were swift or clever enough to ever escape me in my own home. They wouldn't dare it. It was with that that I had decided I needed to relax. I remembered grabbing a bottle of a finely aged red wine from a bottle in my cabinet. I remembered that the cork was strangely easy to remove. I remembered that the wine didn't taste as it should have. It was bland. And I was stupid, downing a whole two glasses of it. The last thing I remembered before waking up was the feel of the cold, damp ground scratching my face. "Bonds, Magus." The man had said, pushing a green lock of curls away from the side of his face. So there was someone clever enough get past me in my own home. I watched as his curls fell over his shoulders, casting shadows over the silky white cloth he had on as a shirt. It seemed a worthless frock to enrobe, barely enough to cover the muscles of his chest that lye under it. His eyes were cold with hatred as they looked upon me, as I lay defenseless, chained against my own mattress. I could barely believe that he had managed to regain his human form. "You cast upon me the bonds of a grotesque body, Magus. Tis time the bonds were placed against you!" My heart was pounding with anger and fear as my mind tried to collect itself. Not a spell could be cast. It was as if something he had placed in the wine prevented me from focusing the power of the elements around me into magic. He knew it. He had planned it. Damn him for being so clever. He paced around the bedside menacingly, his eyes looking over me, eyeing me like prey he had spent all his life to catch. As he rounded the corner of the bed and walked toward me, I could sense his need to torture me, to quench his thirst for revenge against me. And his goal was to do it slowly, and painfully, to let me know just how deep his hatred went, as if I didn't already know. "Look at ye, mage. You think you'd never be in this position, eh, Magus? You've got nothing to say." I didn't. I refused him the honor of hearing me suffer. Never did I know how hard it would be. He tore my clothes away, removing every last thread from my body, leaving me completely nude. He grinned at the sight of me. I was truly defenseless at that point, and I could see the joy in Glenn's eyes as he prepared to do his worst. He giggled, pounding his fists into my chest and stomach playfully, trying to get a response. He started to pinch my skin, twisting it. I gave no reply. His pounds became harder, to the point where each punch was supposed to leave me winded. I still gave no reply. He wanted to humiliate me, to make it seem like he overpowered me, but I wouldn't allow it. No matter how hard he attacked me with his fists, or how painful it was when he beat me with the flat side of his broadsword, I would not reply. His beatings took their toll upon me, leaving red, tender areas where I knew blue bruises would form, tarnishing my purely white skin. I still gave no hint of pain. I could see the anger in Glenn as he found his efforts useless. Glenn got up on the bed, straddling my chest, drawing his fingers up and down the side of my face as he looked into my eyes with a menacing glee. "You know, Magus, thine spells caused me great discomfort... one would think a Frog could breathe while under the water..." He forced both his hands around my throat and proceeded to choke me, squeezing my neck without remorse. "But no, you must deny me even the simplest functions of an average amphibian... and almost leave me to choke to death beneath the waves!" He squeezed my throat harder... I could feel my body weakening as I had no oxygen. My eyes would have been wide with surprise had I not forced myself to shut them. He squeezed harder. I grit my teeth. My head was aching, my body yearning to struggle, but I didn't move. I felt myself drawing nearer and nearer to the point of suffocation as he choked me. And then, he stopped. "God damn it, Mage, dost thou not respond when thou art near death? I can kill you now if I feel!" I looked him in the eye and smiled, retaining my haughty nature. "So kill me then, Glenn. Take your revenge on me. Just remember that you can never make me scream. I will never allow you the pleasure of humiliating me." I said. His eyes grew wide with rage as he sat on my chest, his hands trailing down my neck onto my shoulders. I watched as a tear fell from his eye and rolled down his cheek. "Humiliation!?! As if thee couldst ever imagine humiliation... having to walk through thine home town, the eyes of the residents upon thee, looking down upon thee like a mutant... thou couldst never know humiliation like I hath known..." The tears from his eyes fell upon my face and neck, as he wiped them with his fingers, caressing my skin strangely, as he became engrossed in his painful memories... "I've never even known love, Magus... I've never known the love of a woman, never felt her touch... never felt her kiss..." He came down upon my face, as he opened his mouth, his tongue caressing my lips. I couldn't move. I had never actually been frightened in this way before, and yet, as he pushed his tongue between my lips, I realized that I too had never felt the love of a woman, or the touch of a kiss..... and the softness of his lips felt more incredible than I had ever known, as I opened my mouth to greet him... As he pulled away from me, he tore off his shirt and grabbed my face, as he unbuttoned his pants. "It's because of ye that I lack this knowledge, and ye shall pay for it!" He tore off his trousers within a few seconds. I had barely a glimpse of him before he forced himself into my mouth, thrusting in and out toward the back of my throat. I could feel his stiffness in my throat as he went deeper, pushing into me without remorse. I started to gag as he pushed all the way back, crushing my face with his weight as he thrust harder. It was an insane action, and a violation I could not stand, as I suffocated because of him pushing into my mouth. I could feel my stomach churning, knowing that I might throw up if he continued. He started to pull at my hair and skin, the stubs of his nails trying to cut my skin, without result. But the pain alone was enough to make me lose control, as I started to scream muffled cries for help. Never, ever had I ever been in so much pain. I couldn't breathe... if I did, I would have literally breathed in his pubic hair into my nose, as he continued pushing to the back of my throat. I tried to reach and grab, to push him off, but my arms met their limit with the dangling chains..... And suddenly, he stopped, and pulled himself out of my mouth, glistening with my saliva. He didn't hesitate to move lower... I knew what he was about to do, and I knew that I had never been more frightened in my life... Within seconds he was inside me, forcing himself deeper within me, as I screamed and yelped and cried... not since I was a mere child had I ever shed tears, and they fell like raindrops, streams of water running down the sides of my face, making the bruises on my skin sizzle. I watched him as he put every effort into thrusting inside me there, holding my hips in place as he made those rough movements inside me... I used every muscle in my body to hold him out, but he was too strong. Too full of anger.... too full of lust... And I gave in. I let him go inside me, as I lay there, crying, and yet, taking pleasure from his deeds... feeling the violation, feeling the humiliation, and yet feeling sensations deep within me as Glenn punished me until I exploded into a wave of sensation I had never known... I remember waking up the next morning, as Glenn lye naked in my chest, his arms wrapped around me... I remember the warmth of his body holding me in my drafty castle, and I remember wanting to wrap my arms around him, but being unable to because of my bonds... And mostly, I remember watching him as he awoke, his green eyes glistening, and finding that I had a strange understanding of his humility, and an understanding of what I'd done to him... and I was ready and willing to take what was coming to me. "Glenn," I said, to him, as he looked up at me. "I'm ready to pay for my sins."