| Chapter Fourteen | Demons of Truth |

The jingle of skeleton keys in the iron lock echoes down the halls of the grey building. An orc staggers in, his steel-toed shoes clang on the floor loudly as he carries two small trays in his arms. He stands towards the door, waving the trays around as though to get their attention.

Adara's stomach clenched with pain as she looks up - the prince seemed to look past the orc. Adara's words from the night before echoed in his head. He wondered when he would want to die.

The orc grinned as he dumps the trays onto the floor, letting the cheap material shatter on the floor. The loud crash pierces their ears, a foreign noise considering the only noise they could hear was silence and sobbing. There was no food on the trays at all. An illusion, a sick and twisted game.

"Tal'anga said you would not eat till you were ready to speak," the orc laughed, creeping closer to Adara who still was chained to the floor. He bent down getting closer to her, laughing, "whenever you are ready to say the words, Jasper," he smiled.

"That is not my name," Adara hisses.

"It is your name," he smiled, "it has always been your name and it will forever continue to be your name." Just as he went to stand, she jerks her legs up around his neck. His half scream bursts out at once, but he quickly closes his mouth, gritting his teeth as he tries to pry her thighs from his windpipe.

She does not give him the chance, jerking her legs in an upward motion. An exaggerated snap cracks through the air, his body grows limp. She unwraps her legs hooks her feet around his thick waist. Though it was painful, she drags him slowly towards her, his body heavy and seemingly unmoving.

"Did you kill him?" The prince asks, quietly.

"I certainly did not give him a small bump on the head," Adara grimaces as she pulls harder with her legs, knocking him over. "Of course I killed him, he had to die," she whispers as she hooks one of her feet into his pocket, spilling the contents out into the floor.

"I thought you were getting the keys?"

"The keys are still in the door," Adara mutters, and sure enough, the array of keys hung from the lock that had only been unlocked moments ago. "I am making sure that I cannot feel what they are going to do to me," she says as she looks at the various pills on the floor.

"So we are not going to try to escape?"

"What would be the point?" Adara snaps, jerking her head up and making the chains rattle vigorously. "I am unsure as to if you understand what I mean when I said we will die here," she spits, "there is no escape from this place."

She leans down and picks up a few small pills the color of yellowing grass in the heat of a summers day. She swallows it whole, looking up at the prince. "The sooner you accept that this is the end, the easier it will be," she smiles as footsteps began to echo down the hallways.

"Do not give up," The prince whispers, but as he stared down at the woman who just killed an orc without using her hands, he began to feel a pit settling in his stomach that was screaming at him that he needed to wake up from that dream. The dream where they would survive. "We will get out of here," he says, with a little less hope.

The orcs walked slowly down the hallways, chatting quietly about the prisoners with no name. Out of the three, the stout fat one was the one to notice the open cell door. They run ahead and push it open, and instantly the other two run in, but the stout fat one just stood there.

The male prisoner remained dangling from the ceiling, his head had been hung low until their entry. The female prisoner was oddly alert, watching as they drag the body to the middle of the floor, checking for a pulse even though his head was twisted the wrong direction. His skin was so pale it was hardly green any longer.

"Stop," the stout fat one orders, "he is dead," he spits. "Just get Tal'anga, he will know what to do."

One of the smaller orcs rushes down the corridors, off to find Tal'anga. All they could hear was the loud, "No," echo down the halls. Footsteps next. Loud and heavy, stomping harshly to the cracked door, throwing it open. Large green hands grab Adara's chin.

"You dare kill my men," he shakes with rage, "In my domain?" He growls, squeezing harder, hard enough for her to groan. He grabs the metal tray from the floor and smacks it across her head, the loud bang seemed to bounce around in each of their skulls. She cries out, but her eyes seem to flicker as her eyelids drift closed, body stooping downward.

"Don't you dare touch her," the prince snarls suddenly, unable to control himself any longer. Two men, both who have claimed to be the sole enemies of Adara Nightsong. Two men from opposite kingdoms. Two men who wanted to see a new world.

"You found your tongue I suppose," Tal'anga smiles sickeningly. "What would you do if I touched her?" He laughs. "You are tied and have no power here, boy."

"What did she do?" The prince asks, raising his head slowly. "Why do you want her so badly?" He murmurs.

"Do you not know who she really is?" Tal'anga asks, smirking. He knew something that the prince did not, and it gave him power. His smile held a thousand truths and lies.

"She is Adara Nightsong," he whispers.

"Ha," Tal'anga cries out, laughing as hard as he could. His back arches as he bellows out long and drawn out laughs. "That is not her name," he prowls towards the prince, a gleam in his eye. "You are simply another soul twisted by her foul words."

"But-" the prince starts, but Tal'anga cuts him off.

"Get her out of here," he snarls, "I have work to do with her."

The orcs unchain Adara from the floor and drag her out of the room. "Do not listen to a wolves lies when they themselves run around in false wool," Tal'anga sighs as he pulls the cell door closed and locks it.

As they carry her down the hall, she is flooded with a headache. She groans as she throws her head back, squinting as she thought she saw her mother standing at the end of the hallway, her robes on fire, a pile of ash beside her.

"Mother," Adara whispers, only to have Tal'anga's face hurled beside her own.

"Now it is just you and me, Jasper," he smiles, "no mother here to save you."

She tried to move her arms and legs, but all of them are chained down, her body strapped down to a long table. Her flesh pushed against the cool metal made her shiver. She turned her head slowly to the door where her mother stood, tall and proud, except her eyes were gone. Melted from her face in the fires. The white ooze dripping down her pale cheeks that began to turn an ashy black color.

The skin peeling from her face; Her mouth cracked open into a scream.

Adara screamed as Tal'anga gripped her hand, jerking her head to face her own. Her eyes were cloudy and unfocused, seeing what he could not. She had taken the wrong pills from that guard she had slain. She had taken Xaranthian Teardrops. In low doses it was enough to ease an individual to sleep, but in high doses the person had a tendency to hallucinate and die because of it.

Tal'anga realized this at once.

"You are going to tell me everything, Jasper," he smiles, patting her gently on the face. He grinned down at her as he grabs her by the throat, pressing his lips against her own. She pulled on the restraints but she could do nothing against him. He smiled as he pulled away, tears run down her face like a waterfall on a crisp summer evening.

She coughs as he releases her throat, warm air fills her lungs as she squeezes her eyes closed. When she opens them, her mother was gone and replaced with the prince. "Get away from me," Adara whispers as she rolls her head to the side, away from him.

Again, Tal'anga grabs her face and sets it straight. The prince loomed over his shoulder, watching, those mismatched eyes glare into her soul. "You killed my men," the prince whispers, watching, staring. Adara could only stare as a cloth is shoved over her face.

Her hot breath flushed against her face as she struggles against it. Her breathing is ceased as water runs over her face, choking her. Her coughs turned to muffled screams as she tries to escape. Pulling weakly on the restraints. The water stops, the sopping wet cloth is pulled away.

"You have murdered innocent men," the prince murmurs.

"Tell me what I want to know," Tal'anga growls, but he could tell she was seeing someone else. Her eyes were dancing across the room, flittering from one space to another. He shoves the cloth back onto her face covering her nose and mouth as he begins to pour water down on her.

Her arms and legs strain against the restraints, her head jerking back and forth under him. He laughs. "My father knew you were trouble, but I had not believed him until now," Tal'anga laughs, but she could not hear him.

Her lungs began to burn as she swore she could see white stars clouding her dark vision, eyes clamped shut. The rag and hand were removed at once and her mouth opened for air but none came. His hand clamped back onto her face, sucking the oxygen away before she could have a taste.

Adara's eyes fly open, searching ahead, but she saw the prince standing over her, starving her, killing her. Her chest began to ache, her throat sore and her head felt fuzzy as he leaned closer. "You have been avoiding your destiny," the prince whispers as he releases the hand.

Adara chokes on the air, her chest burning as air fills her body. Breathing began to hurt as she lets her head slump to the side, her coughing was dry and she thought she could taste the iron blood with each cough.

"I am not who you want me to be," Adara chokes as she tugs on the restraints.

"Jasper," her mother whispers, standing beside her head. Her flesh was whole, her emerald eyes gaze into her own.

"That is not me," she croaks, moving her hand to try an touch her hand that lie limply at her side.

"You are Jasper," her mother snaps, "that is why I got rid of you, you were never Adara."

"No," Adara frowns, her stomach felt as though someone reached inside of her and twisted it in knots.

"Good morning mother," Adara smiled as she bounced out of their hut, a pail of corn in her hands. Dunking her five-year old hands in she brought out piles of the dusty corn and let it fall to the earth.

Chickens rushed over and began pecking, clucking small sounds of delight. Adara laughs as her father hoists her onto his shoulders, knocking the pail from her hands and into the dirt.

"Hows about we have a picnic?" Her father asked, slinging her into his arms, pressing his nose against her own. "Your mother and I will meet you down by the riverbed."

"Alright," Adara smiles and runs through the thick weeds, her red hair trails down her back in a thick mess of tangles. She giggles as she trips, falling into a pile of mud, her knees covered in a slick grey ooze.

Paying it no mind, she skipped towards the river, walking only when she could see the dock where she spent many a night listening to the frogs sing and the fireflies were her light as she skimmed through her father's journals.

She sat on the end of the creaking and wooden dock, her legs not yet long enough to touch the water. She watched the water bugs skim across the surface of the murky water, leaving small ripples behind them. A turtle stuck its head out from under the water ahead, sinking back under. She could watch its shell shape through the top of the water until it sunk deeper.

"Adara," Exris, her mother, smiled as she ran down the dock, hugging her daughter tightly. "I made pie, I figured that was better than nasty old sandwiches," her mother laughed as she pulled a small pie out of a wooden basket.

Adara took a slice into her hands, sinking her teeth into it when she saw over her mother and father's shoulders.

A troll stood there, watching carefully.

"Mama," Adara says, staring between her mom and dad. Her mother smiles, taking Adara's small hand in her own. Those large pools of green stare into her own, unblinking, filling with tears.

"You must be brave, my sweet wolf," A young Exris smiles, her skin flawless, and youthful. But her eyes were old and aged. Almost lifeless.

A hand grabs Adara's wrist — a troll. Adara stares at the man, his figure was taller than her fathers. He was a bluish green, his chest covered with a large metal plate, gold tipped tusks and spiked red hair. His left eye was a misty white. He wore large spears on his back, tattoos down his arms.

"Do not let him take me," Adara cries, staring at her mother, who turns the other way, embracing her husband. The troll grabs Adara and throws her over his hunched shoulder. Adara reaches out to her mother and father. Neither look back as she screams. She could only scream.

"No," Adara whispers.

"I let him take you because you are not my daughter," her mother spat. "You are a deplorable monster, I would never have raised such a beastly creature."

Adara's eyes stung with tears as she gazed up, but her mother was gone. In her place was Tal'anga. She gasped as she felt a hand on her inner thigh. Her head turns only to see the guard from the Keep. His sick eyes stare at her like she was nothing.

"Please," Adara's lip trembled as she choked on tears, "Please don't."

She cried out as a hand grabbed her chin, tilting it up as far as it could go, her world was flipped upside down. Despite this, she cane face to face with a little elven boy. Her eyes widen as suddenly sobs wrack her body as she feels pressure between her legs.

"We can escape this," the little boy smiled, "together," he grins. Adara screamed as she stared at him.

"No," she cried out, pulling hard on the restrains until blood began to drip down her arms and onto the floor as the metal bit into her skin. "Get away from me," she screams at the boy, but he was gone.

Her head is released and she is back, staring at the ceiling as a body sat atop her own. But as she looked ahead, she did not see her mother or tue prince or Tal'anga, or even the little elven boy. She stared into the eyes of King Dasheem.

A hand enclosed around her throat, but not enough to keep her from breathing. Just enough to keep her silent as tears leaked down her cheeks, sobs sitting behind the hand.

"Jasper," the King whispered, leaning closer to her face. "My, how I missed your red hair and pale skin," he laughs as he runs a finger down her cheek. Her heart was racing as her heart quickened its beats, beating so fast that she struggled to breathe.

"You cannot be here," she whispered.

"I am coming for you, Jasper," the King whispered back, grinning down at her as she cried out, a fiery pain sears down her arm, her hand aching. "To do what you wanted to do to me, onto you," he smiles. She glances back and the King was gone, everyone was gone but Tal'anga.

She couldn't say anything before he tied thick rope around her mouth, sealing her tongue. She was unchained, but she made no moves. She could feel someone shifting the waistband of her pants, back to where they belonged. Her mind flashed back vaguely to the dagger that was once there.

Adara felt someone lift her into their arms, but she made no effort to fight. She peeled her eyes open only to see her mother at the end of the hallway, glaring, her eyes dripping down her face, screaming.

She was carried back to her cell, the prince still chained to the ceiling. He heard her screams and her cries. She looked rough. Her hair was knotted and wet, as was her face. Blood ran down her wrists and ankles, bruises beneath. Her clothes were crooked and ripped in several places, but that was not what worried him. What worried him was the blank stare on her face. Like she could not see him.

"Jasper, come on," Tal'anga grips her hair tightly, giving it a pull. She was now chained to the ceiling across from the prince. Her shoulders burned as she was nowhere close to touching the floor, her body twisted as Tal'anga pulled her.

"That is not my name."

"You know damned well that it is," he growls.

Adara lets her head drop, tears threaten her again as she can see the little elven boy standing at her feet, his head upturned to face her. "Help me," he whispers, hugging her legs.

"Tell me why," Tal'anga growls, making her look up. The little elven boy was gone. He held a dagger in his hands, grabbing her around the waist, pulling her closer he pushed the tip gingerly into her skin over her stomach.

"I can't," Adara whimpers as she kicks her feet a bit, but it does nothing. He holds her still, pushing it in deeper, blood drips down her pale skin, staining her waistband of her pants a red crimson.

"Why what?" The prince asks.

Adara glances up at him, not shocked that he spoke. She figured he would at some point. Tal'anga is not stupid, she knew he would get them to tall eventually. He was good at that.

"Go ahead, Jasper," Tal'anga smiles, "let us first start with simple questions you can answer for us."

Adara glances up at the prince, her mother stood next to him, her skin was cracking off, but she was no longer screaming. Her skin glowed orange as she watched, her hair a glowing fiery blaze.

"How many innocent lives have you taken?" Tal'anga asks, recalling her attitude earlier when she was heavily affected by the drug.

Adara glances down to see the soldier who was crushed by the horse, blood bubbled from his mouth as he tries to speak, his armor bending as he tries to breathe. She saw the woman from Juula who she let die by the prince's men, simply because she could. The little elven boy stood at her feet, hugging her leg. She could see her mother, her father, so many people.

"Five," Adara whispers, "truly innocent lives."

"I was expecting higher," Tal'anga shrugs his shoulders as he unchains one of her hands, the one that was unbroken. He takes his dagger and begins to carve into her flesh. She grits her teeth together as blood drips onto the floor beneath her. The prince who was still chained, began to shout at Tal'anga.

"Leave her alone," the prince spits, "she told you what you wanted to know."

"Now now," Tal'anga hushed him. "We are nowhere near done here," he smiles as he carves five tally-marks into her skin. Sticky blood coated her hand as he chained it back to the ceiling. Adara's entire body shook as she hung there, her energy seeped out of her as he took her chin again to get her to see him.

"Tell me," Tal'anga smiles, "why come back to Bal'Sol after all these years?" He asks.

Adara glances over at the prince, her mother glared at her.

"I came here to put the past where it belongs," she chokes as he grabbed her cheeks. She bit her tongue as he shook her head.

"Now now, we both know you came here to finish what you started before."

"What are you speaking of?" The prince asks.

Adara yanks her head away, two hands grab her hips from behind. She grimaces as she stares the prince in the eyes.

"To kill the king," she whispers.

"And there we have it," Tal'anga shouts, squeezing her hip harder. She squeezes her eyes shut, opening them to see the blankness that is the prince's eyes. They looked at her but they did not see her.

"But why would you, Jasper, of all people closest to the king, want to kill him?" Tal'anga asks.

"You are close with the king?" The prince asks, but it was not a question.

"Jasper here was his most trusted companion," Tal'anga smiles, "one could even call them friends."

Adara spits blood onto the ground.

"Fuck the king," Adara growls as she brings her foot back into Tal'anga's gut, but he was not at hurt as she hoped. He smacked her roughly across the face before forcing her mouth open, pouring pills down her throat with a mixture of alcohol and water.

"Tomorrow you will tell me everything," Tal'anga smiles, "you die tomorrow, Jasper." Tal'anga laughs as he saunters away, slamming the door closed and locking it with those loud skeleton keys.

Adara blinks numbly as she stares at the prince who would not meet her eyes.

"Was he telling the truth?" The prince asks, and she did not need to question him. She knew what he meant.

"Yes," she whispers, spitting out some of the bitter alcohol onto the floor.

"We will get out of here and you can finish the job," he whispers, but Adara heard the doubt. He did not know who she was anymore. He never knew who she was at all.

As she hung there, her body aching, the little elven boy sat in front of her, staring at her, watching her cry. He never knew who she was at all either, and he wound up dead. His bright blue eyes haunt her as she hangs in the dark room, the only sound was distant screams and pain.