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Relena awoke, wincing and flinching automatically, afraid of what had awoken her this time. She glanced about, whimpering softly into absolute darkness. Were she not chained and hanging, she would have waved a hand before her eye to see if they were not closed. She instead blinked multiple times, her eyes darting with increasing panic about the room, or where she judged the corners of the room to be. There seemed to be no light in any direction she could face, but she knew, just knew that there would be something lurking within the folds of pure shadows that enveloped her. Or had they taken her other eye? Her eyelid replied that physically it was there, and there was no pain.
She drew breath, and began to analyse her situation then. Either she had been given a painkiller for some new damage, it must be local since she felt the pressure on her toes and from each cut acutely, or there was simple no light in the room. She opted to believe the latter, being more palatable. However, why then was she awake? What new terror had Duo convinced her beloved Heero to inflict upon her?
She shivered, trying not to imagine the monstrous events awaiting her in this new session. She put up a brave mask of self-sacrifice after a few minutes, preparing to look the martyr for Heero's hopeful realisation of his wrongdoing during the torture of the day. After about an hour of terrifying pauses of wild glances into pitch and self-righteous posturing, she shuddered, and believed herself alone fearfully.
She called out, then, "Heero? Maxwell?" She half-expected a familiar snarl or dark Shinigami chuckle to reply, but no sound emerged, not even an echo. She screamed, just to see if that would get a reaction. She assumed that Maxwell and Heero could have easily have kept their silence for many hours, if they were in the room, and were thus toying with her. She sniffled with great dignity, and declared to her hidden assailants, "I'm not giving in to your games!" She heard no retort.
She settled in, then, slumping to a more comfortable and less strenuous position for her weakened body. She named challenges to the empty air occaisionally, the fear in her mind entertaining awful new tortures after every miitary report she had heard of or dreamt. From her wicked imaginings, she shuddered violently as if chilled, but after a few hours began to shake constantly at the lack of sound. She could feel everything on her body, the drying pus, the scabbing blood, and perhaps she fancied that she could feel her cells regenerating and healing her. But after six hours of that dreadful, muffling silence, she began to scream.
Her shrieks did not echo, only were eaten up by the horrid silence that grated on her nerves with it's empty soldity. It seemed as if a great black, blank wall had formed about her, and surely her beloved captor was laughing outside at the behest of his wicked braided whore. She sniffed a little at the thought, but the memory of her humiliation at his feet was too fresh, and hammered upon the barrier of her belief in their love. She whimpered, and resolved not to think of it.
She fell asleep after twelve hours of wakeful torment, untouched and alone within her chamber, her throat sore but her cuts healing slowly. She felt distended before she slept, as her bladder slowly filled, and the remains of her food so many days previous accumulated, but she slept, unwilling to stain herself when Heero might be watching.
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"I hope she's doing quite well, Duo," Heero glared at his partner. Duo draped himself over Heero's shoulders, and pouted, "But I wanna see how she looks...if she's lost it yet." Heero screwed up his face, and snorted, "You're sick, Duo-kun." Duo shrugged, unconcerned at the insult, and pulled away from Heero. The Japanese youth growled lowly, and caught Duo's wrist. The American paused, then giggled maniacally as Heero tugged him down onto his lap.
"I never said I was complaining," Heero murmured, his hands winding into Duo's hair tightly. Duo nodded, then looked at him curiously as he continued, "I just want a masterpiece to be complete before I look at it." Duo nodded slowly, grinning.
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