possible evils

"...you still don't get it, do you, Ignis?" Audrey asked, staring at the man in the prison cell with cold eyes. "I'm not, and I never will, go back with you. You might think your kidnapping other girls and changing them to your sick image will summon the green-eyed monster, or whatever, but no matter what you think, I'm trying to /help/ them, to get them away from /you/. Because they don't deserve to go through what I did with you."

She got up close, standing directly in front of the bars as she stared him down. "So let me engrave this in that thick skull of yours: I. Am. Through with you. You can't even break me, not while I can't be touched by your magic."

For the longest while, Ignis stared back at his little dreamer, that smug smirk never leaving his face even as she told him off. As the words continued, his smile widened, a soft chuckle rising from his throat. He stood from the chair then, approaching the bars that separated them. Even if he could teleport himself to the other side, he chose not to, remaining on his side while he spoke with his prisoner.

"Do you forget, my dear?" he began, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "Even without my magic, I have other ways of controlling you."

"And I told you before that I'm beyond sweet lies and beatings--"

"You may say that, but you have no idea what I could do to you right now, what I /have/ done to you before." His grin turned dark, malevolence dripping from his voice like poison. "Do you even remember, Audrey?"

She was ready to argue back, call him on whatever delusions he still held onto. Yet, the moment he asked her that, her breath was caught in her throat, a chill running down her spine. Something about the way he said that... "What are you talking about?"

"So even that's been blocked from your minuscule mind. Very well, allow me to remind you." He leaned in close, prompting her to recoil at his proximity, his gaze like a predator cornering a small, helpless animal. "That night, the fog rolling against the windows, black feathers dancing in the wind outside. You were frustrated, even as I attempted to quell your anger."

That was most nights when she was with him, she wanted so badly to tell him. But now that he had her attention, she stood silently, listening to his every word like she did before. Like the stupid little girl she was then...

"'I'm sick of this bulls**t,' you said to me, 'you told me you'd get us out of here, but we're still in this stupid town doing nothing.' I reminded you that it takes more than storming the streets to find a way out, but you wouldn't have any of it. You insisted on going back out there to escape yourself. No matter what I tried to tell you, even accusing you of leaving me behind, you were just about ready to rush out the doors."

"...." It was coming back to her. One of those arguments, one of those moments where she tried to stand up to herself, only for him to bring her back down either with harsh words or another bruise. But this one...her body shook, her arms beginning to wrap around herself. The memory beginning to snake its way back into her mind. "No..."

"You're starting to remember, then?" He gripped the cell's bars, his smooth voice devolving into a rasp. "How I grabbed your arm tightly, yanked you right back even as you struggled, pushed and kicked against me. How I shoved against one of the mirrors; the shattering is still fresh in my mind."

Hers as well, the pain slicing into her back as it did before. "No...no..."

"Ah, but what about what happened next? While you cried, tried to take back what you just said to me, do you remember? Stay with me, Audrey, this is important!"

"Please stop...just stop..."

"Yes, that's exactly what you said to me...right after I threw you to the floor and held you down."

She was holding her head, desperately trying to block out the flashes in her mind, her voice barely a whimper. "No, no, no, don't take me back there!"

"Why stop now? We're just getting to the best part!" He was /laughing/ at her, a sick enjoyment in watching her squirm like this. "As you struggled to push away, as you begged and cried...to stop? Or...to continue?"

"Shut up! Just shut up!"

"Your blouse came undone then--"

"No! You sick f***!"

"You were a child. You still are, mentally." The cat had caught the mouse. "But I remember...you had the body of a /woman/."

"SHUT UP!!!" She had snapped. One moment, she had her head in her hands, and in the next, she slammed against the bars, her rapier held against his throat. Her teeth were bared like a provoked wolf, her glare sharp and her breath heavy. He was right in front of her...just inches away...

And yet, in spite of...no, /because/ of her threat, he didn't move an inch, that sick grin never leaving his face. He knew...he /goaded/ her into it. "You /despise/ me, don't you? You want nothing more than to kill me where I stand."

She said nothing, did nothing even though she wanted to drive that blade in so badly. Even if he would come back from it...even if it wouldn't solve a thing...

"What's holding you back, my love? Go on, put the blade through my neck. Do to me like you've done to those hapless cultists in Yamatai, or those poor nobles in Dunwall. You're no stranger to /murder/ for petty reasons!"

"...." She was just about ready to, without a second thought. But...she didn't give him any further satisfaction. She just pushed away from the cell, from /him/, her gaze filled with contempt and disgust. She wanted to say more, her mouth opening as she tried to find the last word in. However, she just couldn't. She just turned away, storming out of the room, leaving the supposed prisoner behind.

Or...was she the prisoner, faced with a sick-minded captor? Who was really held against their will here?

"Just as I thought, my dear little Audrey. You haven't changed a bit."