Heaven's Kingdom Ch. 02

Staring up at the top, the top few floors of the tower stood above even the summit of the mountain it was built upon. Climbing it would not be easy but not impossible. But first, she would need to make it across the chasm.

***

Tali held her breath, waiting for the red-haired girl to pass. Of course, just her luck the red head would walk past the nearby window as she clung to the edge of the tower. Her wraps, though enchanted, would only last so long before she needed to pump more magic into them for this particular skill.

Thankfully, the girl moved by without incident, seemingly distracted by some happy fortune in her own life. Tali spared a glance at her and breathed a sigh of relief as she disappeared down the stairs. Armored just like the others. Had she noticed her, Tali's death would have been as assured as the rising of the sun the next day.

She stared up. Only a few more floors until she reached the balcony that led into the prince's room. She grit her teeth palmed the face of the tower, peeling her other hand off and continuing the climb. Like a gecko, she moved up one limb at a time. Compared to her climbing claws, the pace was slow going but no metal claws would even be able to penetrate the surface of the spire. Exhausting as it was, she still reached the top, gripping the edge of the balcony and peering over.

The balcony doors appeared open, the curtains drifting about in the wind. Inside, the room was dark, only lit by the faintest of candles on the far side. In one corner, a figure sat by the light, his back to her, seemingly reading over something on some unseen table.

Target found.

Slowly and gently, she climbed over the side, pulling her short sword out of its sheath. Silently, she crept inside, making her way to the boy.

The prince's room was messy. Bed off to one side, along with numerous artisan stations and materials scattered along the walls. A table in the middle of the room sat accompanied by a cart. In the corner, a suit of armor slumped over on its stand. No doubt the prince got bored in his exile above the clouds.

Fortunately for him, his boredom was about to end.

She raised her weapon to strike.

"I was beginning to think you'd gotten lost."

She paused, no, stopped entirely. A chill ran down her spine.

"Though I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. It is a bit of a hike to get up to the castle, let alone to where I live. Still, I'm impressed by your dedication and determination."

She wanted to strike, to slash across his neck and be done with it. Her mind ordered her limbs to move, yet they failed to obey. She remained locked in place, unable to lower her weapon and unable to use it. Mere inches from her target and she couldn't follow through. Something was dreadfully wrong.

Slowly, the prince turned around. What little color remained, immediately fled her face. His irises glowed blue. That was it! Everything revealed itself in one horrifyingly late revelation.

It wasn't just that he was the only son of the queen. It was that he was the only sorcerer in the entire royal family! All her scouting and research revealed nothing of that! She wanted to beat herself for being so stupid. Of course, all the extra security was for the gods' blood that ran through his veins.

Just like her.

Unlike her, a lot more of it seemed to run through him. She felt the beginnings of her own magic spring to life inside her only to be immediately forced back down by her target.

"You are a very rare bird, aren't you? Strong," he noted standing up, "But not strong enough. You know, plenty of people around me told me this would be a bad idea. Especially this one."

From the shadows, the suit of armor sprung to life, stepping into the light of candle. The helmet's visor/faceplate pulled up as the entire helmet folded away, revealing the glaring face of a white-haired woman. A pit opened in Tali's stomach.

Now she was dead.

The woman pulled a titanic sword from her back, moving it with unnatural speed and precision as she leveled it at her paralyzed form. The prince's personal bodyguard.

"Ah-ah-ah, River. Be nice to our guest here," the prince said, wagging a finger.

The bodyguard, River, lowered her sword, "Yes, my lord."

"Grab the cuffs."

"Of course, my lord."

Cuffs? Tali swallowed. The prince raised a hand and gave a small flick of his finger. Immediately her sword clattered to the floor as her grip opened of its own free will. Slowly she hovered through the air until she found herself being placed against the padded surface of the table in the center of the room.

The clicking of cuffs on her wrists and ankles signaled her fate. In a few short minutes she'd gone from would be assassin and killer to prisoner. It was over for her. She'd failed. Even if she were able to return to the nest, returning would be worse than death.

"Disarm her please," the prince asked.

River placed her sword back on her back, moving to confiscate Tali's equipment, removing her sickles, knives, smoke bombs, and entire utility belt, leaving her only her clothes. She swallowed, taking a deep breath and forcing herself to remember her Bene Dai training. If she was to be prisoner, nothing would be tortured out of her. Like all Bene Dai, she came trained with special techniques, both magical and otherwise to resist any form of interrogation. If there was one thing her captor should know, it would be how little interrogation and torture would work on her. She steeled herself for her fate.

"I won't talk," she finally said, "Torture me all you want. You'll get nothing out of me."

The prince yawned, his attention on the cart near the table, scanning over some collection of unseen tools.

"Yes, yes, I'm quite aware. Try to escape all you want too, magic or otherwise, you'll find those cuffs impossible to break out of."

She frowned, reaching out with her sorcery. Sure enough, nothing. She glanced up at the metal bands around her wrists. The faintest of glowing lines ran across the metal. The more she attempted to use her magics, the stronger the cuff's nullification effect grew. Ironically, the lower one's affinity for magic, the less effective the cuffs would be. Still, metal was metal and without magic, no one could snap steel with their bare hands.

Least of all, her.

"Now I would suppose to suggest that the cell you crawled out of will be expecting your return at some point soon. If you fail to appear, they'll suspect your capture, defection, or death. All things considered; I would guess I have at most a few days before someone somewhere notices you've gone missing."

"I'm well versed in pain," she said, waiting for the inevitable, "Hurt me all you want. I won't reveal anything."

"No, of course you won't. At least via torture. You're a Bene Dai, I could stand here over the next few weeks and slowly chop pieces of you away one by one and your training would keep you from feeling the pain, let alone talking."

In the corner, River frowned. Barely perceptible but still a frown.

"My lord-"

"Fill this with warm water, please," the prince said, hovering a small bowl in front of his guard.

She closed her mouth, bowing and moving to complete the task. The prince sighed and rubbed his head. His eyes had stopped glowing the moment he tied her down. He glanced at the cart and produced a shinning razor. Tali swallowed, mentally calling her training to mind.

"Go ahead, cut me open. Just get this over with," she sneered, closing her eyes, preparing for the inevitable.

"As tempting as that is, no. I won't. I need you alive so killing you will be of no use to me. And with how isolated I am these days, no one will be coming to interrupt either. But you and your sisters have caused me quite a headache these last several months. I can't leave this place under the threat of you or someone like you potentially killing me. Quite annoying. Cabin fever really starts to set in after the first few months. I get bored quite easily."

River returned, bowl of water in hand, placing it on the cart.

"No... I'm more interested in the people who commissioned you. The nobility everywhere is being threatened by, of course, other nobles. With so few men, war can't exactly be conducted the same way it used to. So... someone commissioned the Bene Dai to assassinate me, to help cripple my country some years down the line. I want to know who, and you are going to help me find out who did it."

"Even if I did know, you know I wouldn't tell you. You can't pull anything out of me through interrogation."

"You may not know, but I'll bet you know who does. And you have a way into the Bene Dai which I need."

"I won't talk."

The prince brandished the razor, lightly running a sharpening block along the edge, "Oh my dear, that's where you're wrong. You see, Tali, I think you will talk. And not only will you talk, you will do so voluntarily of your own free will."

A cold chill ran through her body. If any color remained in her face it was gone now. He knew her name! Which meant he knew a lot more than he was letting on. Which meant her mission was doomed form the start! What before had been fear now burst out into full blown terror. He knew too much.

"Yes, I know who you are. I may be confined to this place, but the eyes of this tower are not blind. You are not just any ordinary Bene Dai. There's something different about you. Which leads me to think you'll cooperate."

"How do you know my name?"

"I knew you were coming to kill me tonight, give me some credit."

Beside him, River shifted nervously.

"But where are my manners?" he continued, "I know your name, but you don't know mine. You can call me Jax."

"What are you going to do to me?"

He smiled, "I may have you captive here, and you may have attempted to kill me, but I don't think we can't be civil or at least be friendly. A bit odd I know but, I don't really have too many friends these days, so I hope you'll indulge me."

"What are you going to do?" She repeated.

"Nothing too terrible. I'm not going to brain wash you or anything, your training assures that wouldn't go well. No, I'm going to do something else to you. Your training gives you incredible resistance to pain and brain washing, making interrogating a Bene Dai a fool's errand. Impressive really. One could set you on fire and you would still die before talking. However, ... I've studied everything I could get my hands on related to your order and your training has one rather interestingly glaring hole in it."

Tali cocked her head, "W-what?"

"Quite fascinating really, once I realized it. No real way to know if it's an exploitable weakness but either way, I plan on finding out."

Tali closed her eyes, attempting to resign herself to what fate handed her, "If you know so much about me, you'll know I'll withstand any torture you send my way. Even if you found an exploit in our conditioning, I won't talk to a target."

"Good. Because by the end of this whole ordeal, I hope won't see me as just another target. Hopefully, everything that happens here will incentivize you into talking. Among other things."

Beside him, River's eyes noticeably widened as a blush formed on her face. Clearly, she was out of the loop.

"Go ahead. Make my night," she sneered defiantly.

"You really don't know do you? You Bene Dai spend so much time on pain and torture and interrogation I'm shocked you haven't thought of this sooner."

"What you think you've found my weakness?"

"I think I've found something," he said, walking around the table, looking her prone form.

"Oh, I'll bet."

"I don't think you understand. I have you for as long as I want. No one knows you're missing, and no one knows you're even here. I have all the time in the world."

"Then get on with it."

"Oh, I will. But first, we need to get you out of those clothes. I would prefer not to have to cut them off you so some cooperation would be greatly appreciated."

She rolled her eyes, "I doubt you'll unchain me so the best I can do I no resistance. Go ahead, strip me nude. I'm already dead anyway."

Jax turned to River, "Darling, why don't you strip out of that armor for now?"

"My lord, I-"

"She's chained to a table, River. I don't think she's going anywhere. I'll just be one room over if I need anything. Go on and get into something more comfortable."

She sighed, "Yes, my lord. Just... be careful, please."

"Of course."

River bowed and strolled into the bathroom, keeping a stern gaze on Tali, still restrained on the table. Slowly she closed the door behind her as she moved about the task of removing her suit. Some small comforts, though still small. Even without her armor, Tali held little doubt River could crush her skull with her bare hands. The woman was tall and built like a sculpted piece of marble. Up close, she was strangely beautiful.

Jax stared after her before turning his attention to herself. His eyes began to glow again as he began to channel his magic. Around her, Tali's clothes began to glow a similar shade of blue as they slowly began to dissolve away from her body in a cloud of blue smoke, quietly reappearing in a neatly folded pile on the bed. Even from her current position, it was an impressive feat.

He yawned, "Well that was easy."

Now she lay as naked as the day she was born on the table. The sudden absence of her outfit left her feeling a bit chilly as the winds blew through the curtains, gently caressing her exposed skin. The goosebumps came easily, and nipples began to harden in the cool night air.

"Impressive. Never seen anyone do that before."

"You'll find there are a lot of things I can do. I'm hoping that at end of all of this, you'll have a change of heart."

Tali scoffed, "Just kill me already."

"No. I'm serious."

"A change of heart about what, exactly?"

He held up the razor, staring at the edge of the blade, "Your current associations."

Tali shifted on the table, finding it strangely comfortable, even with her arms and legs bound, "The Bene Dai are my family. You're delusional if you think I'll betray them for you."

"I don't think you'll betray them. Betrayal requires trust. You don't trust them just as they don't trust you."

"They sent me here to kill you."

"Yeah and look where that go you. Strapped to a table about to be brutally tortured for information by your would-be victim. Yes, the universe does seem to have a strange sense of humor."

She glanced at the blade in his hand. So, this is how it would be. Slowly sliced to death over the course of the night, probably even longer. The words returned to her.

I am already dead

I go into the night to reclaim my life

In doing so I am of service

I serve at the will of the Bene Dai

I fear no pain, no death, no fate worse

When I have died, my body will be gone

My possession scattered, my word in the wind

Only my actions shall live on

And thus, I will still remain

She was ready. The torture could begin.

Jax glanced down at her naked form, "You have an exceptionally pretty body."

"Shame you'll have to destroy it, then isn't it?"

"Oh, not at all. Those tattoos are particularly lovely. I've always found dragons to be quite fascinating creatures."

Tali glanced at the sleeve running down her arm. Most of the tattoo remained hidden on her back, leaving only the head of the wise serpent visible. He'd see the rest soon enough.

"Just get on with it," she sneered.

"Very well, if you insist."

He moved to the cart, producing a small jar of some unknown substance. She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable burning sensation or whatever it was designed to do, waiting for her conditioning to kick in and pull her mind out of her body the moment the pain began. Waiting for the pain to start was almost a form of torture itself and-

A warm sensation spread over her mons. She opened her eyes. The lack of any pain came as larger shock than anything else. In fact, it felt strangely nice. She glanced down to see a small mass of white foam covering the tuft of pubic hair above her entrance. Immediately she blushed, no conditioning existing to save her from her own embarrassment.

"Apologies if it's a little hot. I've still yet to completely master temperatures. Strangely difficult, even for me."

"What-what are you doing?" Tali asked.

Jax smiled, "Curious, aren't we? Should be obvious; I'm going to shave you."

"What?"

"I hope you don't mind too much."

"You mean... you're not going to cut me open with that razor?"

"No. No I'm not. I'm a man of my word. But I would like you clean shaven before we continue. And I'd like the blade to be sharp, so I don't accidently nick something sensitive down there."

"Aren't you going to torture me to death?"

"Uh... no. I told you I found a weakness in your training, but I didn't think I found a weakness in your thought patterns as well."

The door to the bathroom opened and River stepped out into the bedroom. Her armor was gone, suit included, replaced by a loose-fitting nightgown and trousers. She was barefooted. Still, she kept her sword close, leaning it against the nearby wall.

"I see you've started without me," she commented.

"Had to start sometime. And as you can see, I'm still alive and uninjured," Jax said.

"Thankfully. What do you need me to do?"

"Uh, let see, uh... can you work on preparing the... let's call it the seal for now. You should find everything you need on the bottom shelf of the cart."

"Of course, my lord," she said bowing, moving to collect her items. What exactly she was collecting, remained obscured from Tali's limited perspective.

Jax raised the razor blade in one hand, moving to spread the foam over the small area of her pelvis with the other. Her jaw clamped down, her mind attempting to find the sensation as anything but enjoyable. Still, strapped to the table, her body slowly moved against her. A warm heat began to burn across her cheeks.

"Enjoying yourself?" Jax commented.

"S-shut up!"

"It's perfectly fine. Perfectly natural. There's nothing to be ashamed of. There will be no judgement here."

"Speak for yourself, my lord," River deadpanned.

"Well... we'll work on her later," Jax said, "But if you want to moan or cry out, feel free. The only people who will hear you are in this room."

The warmth of the foam was disturbingly comfortable. She failed to notice her hips moving in time with his motions as he continued to massage her mound. He'd not even touched her lower lips yet, and already she could feel the first wet hints of arousal. Was this what he meant by weakness?

"There we go. Though I will need a bit more access if I'm going to do this properly."

"The hell are you talking about?" Tali sputtered.

"Spread your legs please."

"You have me chained to a fucking table."

"Magic chains. You can spread them if you want, you just can't go anywhere. I can spread them for you or have River do it. But I'd prefer if you did it yourself. Just make things easier."

"I'm not cooperating with you."

"I'm not asking you to tell me anything yet. I'm not interrogating you. Just asking you to give me easier access so I can continue. Up to you, though I suspect I know what you'll do considering how aroused you are right now."

Tali's eyes widened, "I'm not aroused! Like hell this would turn me on!"

"Well... it has. Again, no shame in it."

Tali swallowed. Fuck, he could read her like a book! How? How could he know her like this already? She'd just met him today! Here she was, held prisoner by the very man she was supposed to kill tonight, naked with him moving to shave her and she was getting turned on by it! The lather on her loins was not the only thing heating her up now. Curse him he was right.