The Musical Future

[Hikari_Mamo]

Tyrion did his best to resist. He'd tried locking his legs, going limp, but every escape attempt ended with a strike to the face. His father didn't try to help. He was more of a sit back and watch kind of king. He knew his father hated him. But torture? Well. . .He knew how Kyria was when she had been returned. He should have expected no different for himself.

"Now, son. . ." The King sneered the last word. "Be a good boy. . ." He pulled out something that looked like a whip. "Tell me what you know."

Tyrion resisted any attempt to string him up. "Never!" He spat once he manoeuvred the gag from his mouth.  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Once the inhabitants of the castle of Karica began to stir, it wasn't long before they noticed that something was amiss. Kendall's father, the king of Karica, was enraged. The Permandran king had escaped the same night that same king's son went missing? It seemed too convenient to him, though Kendall insisted that was not the case. Kendall's father agreed to have troops searching for both the missing Permandrans, with the knights having the order to kill the opposing king on sight. The prince would be brought back and have his innocence or guilt determined by the royal court. Kendall was was agitated, and spent most of his time with Kyria, drawing peace, comfort, and patience from her presence. All the while, soothing her fears that the tyrant would return to harm her. He'd be sure to protect her.

Arisa, meanwhile, had her own doubts over whether or not Tyrion would backslide so terribly as to free his father from the dungeons. She knew Tyrion struggled with being a good person, but she doubted he'd risk the possibility of peace just to please his terrible father. She wandered the halls of the palace, lost in thought as she slowly moved the fingers on her left hand. Some feeling had returned, but it wasn't much. Still, it was better than the nothing that had been there before.
After a day with no progress and no clues, Arisa was growing restless. She needed something to distract herself. That was when she stumbled upon the music room. A small chamber with various instruments just waiting to be played. She sat down at a piano and allowed her right hand to meander familiarly across the keys. Thinking on Tyrion, allowing her mind to wander as her hand plucked out a tune . . . she was surprised when she fell into a vision.

The spies had not treated Tyrion kindly. They even stopped to allow the king to whip his son before bringing them to an underground river. The passage they would use to rejoin the other Permandrans that had encamped themselves in enemy territory. A small barge, but one large enough for the king to ride comfortably, was waiting, tied to a makeshift dock. Presumably, this was the same barge the spies had used to arrive here in the first place.
Tyrion was forced to board and was tied more firmly by the lithe spy. A more secure gag was forced upon the prince as well. Tyrion was forced to spend the next twenty-four hours tied to a post on the barge while his father was doted on, fed, given water. Tyrion was forgotten until they reached their destination.

Blurred faces called out a muffled jeer and cry as Tyrion was pulled from some sort of boat. His father stepping out triumphantly. "Fear not, this traitor will hang. But first he will tell us what our enemies know. He will break before his end." more muffled cheers as a blurred figure pushed Tyrion to the ground, the prince being mostly dragged inside a blurry structure. Tables. Cells? And . . .

Arisa gasped as she tried to decipher what she had just seen. It had been the least clear vision she'd ever had, but it was also the first she'd experienced without Kyria's help. "He's in trouble." she murmured. She knew that much at least. She fled the music room, hoping to find Kendall. They needed to speak with his father, now.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

The moment the news broke to Kyria that the king and his son were gone, the music flooded her. Aggressive, painful. She spoke in rapid incoherent words to Kendall who had tried to soothe her. She let him believe it was working. Instead, she turned toward humming the song she'd sung to the King before she was found.

The king himself, while enjoying the attention, had his mind wondering back to when he had one of the twins under his own personal care. Just when he'd thought he had broken her to his will, she'd began to sing, meaningless sounds. But the way her bruised eyes stared deep into his soul bothered him. Every time he looked at her. Sometimes, the servants would bring him out of it. He'd smile and tell them all was well, but the closer they had drawn to his home, the more irate, the more agitated and aggressive he became; turning to strike his son multiple times.  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Kendall was sitting next to Kyria, holding her injured hand gently in his. "Would massaging it help?" he asked softly, focusing his attention into helping his beloved recover since his father had made it difficult for him to do anything else that might be useful.

The spies dragged Tyrion into the old Karican prison, leading him to the holding cells they hadn't re-purposed for storage. He was thrown inside one and locked away. Meanwhile, the king was welcomed with joy. And among one of the Permandran troops, a man stepped forward. "My king!" he cried and knelt before Tyrion's father. "Please, allow me the honor of extracting the traitor's knowledge. I have studied the tools left by the Karicans in this location and I can put them to good use. In Permandra, I was able to make even the most foolhardy and stubborn Karican soldiers spill their secrets. Entrust his care to me, sire. I will not fail you." he declared. He was determined to be useful to his king.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

"Be warned." The king said sternly. "This one was set to be my new head of intelligence." He glared at Tyrion. "You will have to use all your skills to get what I want from him. Even if it means. . .Dismembering him." He gestured bellow. His eyes full of wicked hatred. "I'm sure he wishes to breed with his little seer. So he should spill the beans after a little mutilation to it."
Tyrion hissed through his gag. His eyes reflecting the hate.

Kyria turned her eyes to Kendall. The pain, and his voice blurred out the music. "Gently?" She replied. "I need Arisa to translate something that came to mind last night. I'm having trouble understanding the three parts."  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Kendall began to gently massage Kyria's hand, trying to relieve the pain as best he could. "Would you like me to get your sister?" he asked, though he needn't have bothered as Arisa came running into the room. Kendall's first instinct was to stand up, but he wasn't about to leave Kyria's side. Though he was concerned by how distressed she looked.

Arisa's eyes landed on the Karican prince and distress morphed into determination. "I need to speak with your father." she said, her voice surprisingly steady.

Kendall blinked and then looked to Kyria, making sure she was okay, before looking back to Arisa. "Of course. I can arrange for-"

"I need to speak with him immediately." she said, interrupting the prince. It was not something Arisa normally would do. But she didn't know how much time Tyrion had and it was important she spoke with the king as soon as possible.

The man bowed to Tyrion's father, acknowledging the warning, chuckling. "If it must go that far, I will do so. But Karica doesn't even know we're here. If reports are correct, the seer cannot play, and the writer cannot write. Even if they have the Solstice Twins, the two of them are useless." he then dared to look up and look the king in the eye. "We have all the time we need to make him scream." he said, smiling sadistically.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

The King nodded. "It will only be a matter of time." He noted. "Before they figure out a way to over come those obstacles." He smirked at the man. "Start with the nine tails first." He grinned. "Perhaps that will loosen his tongue."

Kyria looked up at her sister. She shared her own concern, but this was different, deeper. Had Arisa begun to feel things for Tyrion? Or was this something else? She wished she could write it down, she wanted answers. Her fingers still ached but she needed to write. No matter how much it hurt to do so. She needed to write! "Yes, please my love." Her voice shook. "We need to find Tyrion. We know he would never do something like this."  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Kendall sighed. "I know, kitten. I know. My father doesn't know Tyrion like we do though. He is . . ." paranoid, "cautious." he said, deciding not to use the first word that popped into his head. He then looked up at Arisa who was still staring at him with that fierce determination and sighed once more, standing up, pulling Kyria up gently beside him. "Let's find my father, shall we?" he asked with a wry smile. Something told him this would be an interesting audience they were about to have with the King.

The torturer bowed deeply and then straightened, looking over at a group of four of the Permandren's who had been listening to the conversation intently. "Room 3." he said, heading off in the direction of the last of the three torture rooms. Those who would be assisting him going to get Tyrion from his cell.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Kyria nodded quickly. But she seemed to be less, understanding. She stood by Kendall's side, stayed in step with him with every movement he made. Though she was still a little weak from her kidnapping, she pushed it down to try and appear strong so that her future father in law would be more receptive, or at least she hoped he would. She didn't know him. She pulled a hand free and dug into her bodice pulling out a folded up piece of paper. "Arisa," She said. "When you can, and are alone, play this. It's only for your eyes." She warned, making it sound very serious.

Tyrion hung from his shackles, his eyes filled with rage. When men entered to grab him, he fought back, only to be struck by a stick on his back and the backs of his legs. "Traitors don't get the luxury of standing." One of the men purred. He gave a sick slurp of his tongue over his lips. "What I wouldn't give to get a taste."  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Arisa nodded and shoved the paper into her bodice, keeping it safe as she followed her sister and Kendall. Her right hand floating over invisible piano keys in agitation as her left hand twitched in a motion somewhat resembling the right as she walked.

One of the men rolled his eyes, grabbing onto Tyrion, pulling him up roughly by the arm. "You can wait your turn. We have to bring him to room 3. Lowell is waiting." he said, and then, as another man grabbed Tyrion's other arm with the intention of dragging the prince if needed and the others went to undo his shackles from the wall, the man who first grabbed Tyrion squeezed his arm. It was a quick gesture, but it was there. The man, however, wasn't looking at Tyrion, he was staring out of the cell, towards the destination.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Tyrion stared at the ground. He had no intention of looking at anyone. Not until they got to his. . .torture chamber. How could these people be so blind? Had his brothers not seen? Not mounted a rebellion and taken the throne from his father? Or had they done that and these were the followers of his father who fled to keep the sick man safe? He supposed he'd have to find out the hard way.

Kyria's fingers trembled a little, still bruised, still injured. She too felt the agitation. But Kendall was keeping her a lot more grounded and therefore, thinking clearly. "I hope he'll help." She whispered to Kendall. Tyrion was their friend. She just hoped he'd see reason.  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Tyrion was taken to the third torture room, a room of chains, whips, meat hooks, and other horrors. Lowell grinned as he turned to see the prince being dragged in. "Excellent. Let's begin shall we. By order of the King, we'll start with the nine tails." he said, gesturing to some shackles on the wall. They were designed to keep the person's arms spread apart and were, in fact, embedded into the wall. Tyrion's captors pulled him over and cuffed him so he was facing the wall. The man who had squeezed Tyrion's arm, squeezed it once more before releasing it. A word was whispered. "Endure." And then Tyrion's wrist was trapped in the shackle and the man moved away, grinning with his compatriots.

Lowell chuckled and cracked the whip against the ground, just to get the proper feel for it.

"Hey, who gets him next?" one of the men called out in a jeering fashion.

"I claim the next turn." the man who had pulled Tyrion up in his cell said with a confidant air. There were some boos, but he just chuckled. "I defer to your wisdom, Lowell. But I'll make sure he knows just what is in store for him by the time I'm done with him." he proclaimed boastfully.

Lowell laughed. "Very well!" He then cracked the whip across Tyrion's back, vicious in his strike. "Once I'm done with this, Coryn can have his turn." he said, pulling the whip back, waiting. Letting anticipation help in his work.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Tyrion's eyes widened. Endure? He was supposed to be a master of pain. But how was he supposed to endure this? He could hear them talking. Cooing to each other. "If you're going to have an orgy. . ." He snarled. "Do it outside." He gritted his teeth against the pain. He shuddered against the pain, but couldn't help letting out a grunt as the last tail ripped from his back. "Is. . . Is that all you got?" He taunted. "Wow. Not convincing."

"Sir, perhaps we can scar his pretty face?" One of the others cooed. "I want to scar it."  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Lowell laughed as he cracked the whip across Tyrion's back again, deeper, with more force. "Scar him all you want. Just leave his eyes, ears, and tongue. We need to make him talk before the end." he said, as he pulled the whip back, leaving just enough time for Tyrion to become used to the previous lash's sting before striking him again.

"You can wait your turn though. I get him next." Coryn said, a scoff to his voice.

Kendall led Arisa and Kyria to the council room where his father was currently in a meeting with his advisors. "Father I-"

Arisa cut him off as she stepped forward brazenly. "Your Highness, forgive my interruption, but it's of grave importance. I had a vision. Of Tyrion." she declared. The king frowned but nodded, so she took that as her cue to continue. "He was a prisoner of his father. Due to my . . . injury . . . I'm afraid it wasn't a very clear vision, I couldn't see anyone else with any detail besides the two of them, but I could see their surroundings. Sire, Tyrion was bound and gagged and the place they were dragging him to . . . It . . ." she paused, pursing her lips with a frown, unsure of how to describe it. "It was a place out of nightmares. They moved him to some jail cells, but there were rooms which housed instruments of torture nearby. I can tell you with all honesty there is no love in the Permandren king's heart for Tyrion. I don't doubt he's planning on using those devices on his son." she said, her voice wavering at the end.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

The other male nodded. "Of course sir. I had always planned on leaving his tongue and eyes free." He laughed at the sound of the tails continued to their song.

Tyrion gritted his teeth. This was nothing, and yet at the same time, everything. He had to endure, so they wouldn't return their attention to Arisa and Kyria. He had to keep them more interested in him. Had to keep Arisa safe. Even if it meant his life.