Anne Paused and absorbed this. Theo Prince. The Prince.

For a long moment she considered this. Perhaps...

Perhaps she was in the wrong? What if she did hurt Theo Prince? But if she did... Could it mean that she was actually insane? That the hallways that had felt so safe were just a delusion? That she had attacked a doctor?

It didn't seem right somehow. She had always prided herself in knowing who she was and having a certain idea of where she stood and this doctor was saying that she was insane...

But if she was insane where had all the memories come from? The years after that rape that were normal? Endless councillors that didn't really care? Parents that really didn't care beyond that she wasn't going to do anything daft? The school, Shokushu that she had been enrolled in by her mother to "Let her heal"?

The thought of her parents triggered another realisations. Her parents never really cared about her. She was more a status symbol to them than a child they loved and cared for. This meant that this doctor was lying to her! But why? Why was this doctor lying to her about her parents?

Realising that she had let the silence drag on she looked back at the doctor. She could feel tension building in the air almost like a tangible force. It was thick, almost thick enough that she was suprised it congealing in the corner to jump out.

As it built Anne was sure that time slowed for her, and she realised she stood at a crossroads. She could either let this continue or stand. Solitary? Ha! The notion actually had appeal for her! Either she was crazy and she needed help. Or... Or she was still dreaming.

But she knew one thing. She wasn't powerless.

"I'm sorry doctor Brandt, but you are lying to me." She said in completely reasonable tones.

Quite deliberately leaving out what she knew he was lying about Anne was quite eager to hear what the good doctor would come up with.

"Of course" a small part of her mused quietly in the back of her head "If this IS a dream, then he's going to come up with the perfect answer"

Dr. Brandt merely stared at Anne, as if he were pondering her remark. Then, with a sigh, the doctor shook his head. "I really wish you'd realize how paranoid you've been, all these accusations lately. Thinking Theodore's stalking you, screaming bloody murder whenever mister Reus so much as glance at you, and now, I'm lying. Really, Anne... You're never going to get healthy if you treat everyone as an enemy."

Had he come up with a perfect excuse for her accusation, it'd certainly have been a sign but... With Lujuria present, it had been so easy to circumvent the girl's silly plan and go off in a new direction instead. Yes, keep shaking things up, keep her off her toes, and she'd just fall deeper into the trap.

This was all too much fun for the nefarious Lujuria who continued to watch gleefully as the scene unfolded before him.

Gesturing for the orderly to proceed, the doctor returned his attention to the reports he had been given and made his way out of the room, just as the ordinary-looking Prince approached Anne. Gently, as if he was really nothing more than an orderly that had been hired on the basis of taking care of patients, the man picked up Anne in his arms and set her down into a gurney. "There we go." Then it was as of everything went out of focus, as if she had been dropped into a pit of tar, every movement slow and every thought muddled. Lujuria smiled yet again as he made use of his abilities to keep the girl from fighting back.

This enabled the Prince to tie her limbs down by strapping her wrists and ankles into harnesses, securing them in place. Once she was unable to escape and they were both alone, the Prince peered down at her, this time smiling rather mischievously. "Pity he didn't listen to you at all, eh? But that's okay, now we can get real intimate again, right?" The Prince grinned as he pulled out a piece of cloth and forcibly gagged it into Anne's mouth, taking advantage of her bonds that prevented her from fighting back at all. With a blindfold, the orderly then covered the 'patient's eyes and left her in darkness as he began pushing the gurney.

There was no sense of time nor motion as Anne was moved somewhere else by the orderly, who remained as silent as ever. Only once did she finally feel herself being moved, and had it not been for the 'jarring experience' she had just gone through, leaving her disoriented both mentally and now physically; the girl was entirely at the orderly's mercy as he extracted her off the gurney and up against something, which felt strangely like a number of small poles or... bars.

There was also the faint sensation of having her hands pulled up and then cold metal clasped around her wrists, much like- "Handcuffs, these should keep you out of trouble." The Prince smiled as he pulled off the blindfold and extracted the gag, allowing Anne the freedom to see that she was now stuck up against bars, unable to do anything but have her back presented to the orderly, trapped in place by the handcuffs that prevented her from twisting around or pulling away. "Go ahead, scream all you want... This wing is still under renovation but the crews aren't in today so, we got the place all to ourselves."

The Prince chuckled as he began sliding a hand up and down her back, almost as if she was naught but a toy for his perverse desires. "You're going to fucking pay for hurting me, bitch. Unfortunately for you, I took all the shifts for you the entire night, so no one's gonna know you're in trouble..."

Anne listened to the doctors words and her mind turned inwards as she processed them, tensing like a board but not resisting as Theo picked her up and laid her on the Gurney. Ok... Lets give this a go she thought to herse...

[CRACK]

With a sound that was incredibly reminiscent of the house collapsing about her she felt herself lurch sideways and everything went out of focus for a breath of a second, then it snapped into place.

Blinking suddenly to re-orientate herself she tried to sit upright and found she couldn't rise. Not understanding for a moment she tried again realising that suddenly her hands were tied to the gurney. Looking up she saw Theo... The prince? looking at her with a smile she decided that she definitely did not like. "Wha.." She began to say and was promptly cut off as Theo spoke

"Pity he didn't listen to you at all, eh? But that's okay, now we can get real intimate again, right?"

Anne's eyes widened and her mouth opened in an O of shock as the intent of his words hit. She most definitely wasn't crazy after all! The relief broke over her as unexpected as it was wonderful, like drawing in a breath of clean air when you didn't realise you were holding it. Unfortunately opening her mouth at all proved to be a mistake and for her troubles the prince jammed a bit of cloth deep in her mouth causing her to gag slightly as her throat fought to keep itself clear. Turning her head slightly she leveled the best glare she could at The prince, willing him to die a thousand painful deaths. This was the last act of defiance she could manage though as from another pocket the prince produced a long strip of cloth and deftly but firmly tied it around her head causing everything to go black.

Gritting her teeth she narrowed her bound eyes and shaped her mouth to spit out the ra...

[CRACK]

Another lurch, this one making her feel like she had just been thrown sideways off the gurney and into a wall... Head first.

Mind swimming from what she could only imagine was a massive impact she tried to sit up again, but couldn't. "Mpph" She said, shaping a word completely muffled by a rag in her mouth.

Why was it dark?

What was.. Why can't I see?

Blinking to try and see anything she felt her hands being raised and tied against something. Strange. Why are my hands being moved she wondered.

"Handcuffs, these should keep you out of trouble." a voice said just off the side.

Surprised she turned to look, but couldn't see anything. Why can't I see anything? Theres got to be something there?

Shaking her head to try and clear it she tried to pull herself up and slumped back down.

Suddenly there was light, and a face smiling at her.

The prince.

The name flashed through her mind and took the groggyness away with it.

"Go ahead, scream all you want... This wing is still under renovation but the crews aren't in today so, we got the place all to ourselves." he said as he removed her gag.

Gritting her teeth she started to rage at herself. Hospital? Hah! some bloody hospital! How the hell did I let myself get tied up like this? When I get out of these handcuffs I’m going to kick him right in the balls! Leveling a glare that would have wilted mountains she said nothing, his touch causing her skin to prickle and her back to stiffen out of reflex.

"You're going to fucking pay for hurting me, bitch. Unfortunately for you, I took all the shifts for you the entire night, so no one's gonna know you're in trouble..."

"And if you continue touching me I’m going to do far worse than slam a chair into your head" Anne snarled.

Where had that come from?

Suddenly images of the scream and the chair tumbling end over end as it flew straight and clear down that hallway were clear in her head. As was her house. The house she was safe in. HER house. The doctor had said that she was crazy and kept imagining things but here she was being cuffed and touched by an orderly. If she /was/ crazy then any idiot doctor would know better than to do things like this! She might be imagining the situation but she sure as hell wasn't imagining the cuffs! With that she tried to pull her hands away from above her head only to be met with the sound of metal on metal as the handcuffs prevented it.

Yep! Definitely real!

What was it about this place? As The prince... Not Theo. For some reason every time she thought of him as Theo her mind rebelled swelling with what she could only define as a WRONG feeling, as if giving him a name that wasn't abstract defied some basic law of creation. But as the prince continued to stroke her back, his hands moving to undo her medical gown causing Anne to grit her teeth her mind started to remember things again. The storyteller appearing like that. The inkpool and the feeling of victory. As before she was confident that her mind was intact and these doctors were wrong but there was still a "What if" problem. How could she be sure? She was dreaming before but she had felt pain had she not? Then she woke up here after that terrible cracking noise and the house fell apart like it had been hit by some ungodly force... The same crack that caused her to be tied up?

That thought was important she realized, but at the same time the prince moved suddenly and tore off her gown leaving her naked and suddenly shivering in the less than warm room, with just a small pair of white knickers on. Her nipples hardened at the temperature and shivered suddenly as she realized that she was a lot colder than before. Or was that fear?

By reflex Anne tried to bring her arms down and legs up to her chest to cover herself but only managed the latter as The prince stood over her smirking at her nudity and failed attempts to cover herself. Anne blinked quickly to prevent crying as she felt a sudden wave of fear and hopelessness wash over her before she managed to master herself. No. This was wrong! She can’t be scared here!

Why did she think that? She thought to herself

“I told you before Prince. Touch me again and I’ll do more than slam a chair over your head.”

Anne glared at The Prince with her green eyes narrowed to slits as that feeling of wrongness echoed in her mind almost like she was repeating the word to herself. It /was/ wrong! Why the heck did everything feel wrong?! The feeling gave her confidence that she was doing the right thing.

With that thought still whirring in her brain she looked up at The prince who was stood there gazing at her body with an amused smirk and almost growled. “I said, let me go and I won’t have to do something to you that you will regret”

A sneer spread over the Prince's face as he stared at Anne, clearly amused by her demands. Then, in a mocking tone, he spoke. "Let me go! Let me go! Honestly, you whine too much for a crazy bitch whose mommy and daddy didn't care enough about her and just threw her into this fucking place." The Prince, instead of doing as Anne had demanded, had simply slapped her across the face. "That's for the chair, though. Throw another one at me, and I'll fucking kill you."

Lujuria smirked, amused. Sometimes it was really more entertaining to allow your creations to run amok and do whatever the fuck they wanted. More often than not, they were sure to do and say things that they wouldn't have otherwise.

Ah, well, time to get to work. The monster brought forth his powers again and struck out against Anne, disorienting her once again and making it damn difficult to get a handle on her powers. It was as if the world wobbled all too wildly, unable to stay still for the student. And they just kept on coming, getting in the way every time she tried to focus.

"Miserable little bitch." The Prince chuckled. "You can't do shit here, anyhow. You're just one of the goddamn crazies. Although, I'll give you this, you are pretty fucking cute..." The villainous orderly smirked as he slid his hand over her crotch, two fingers suddenly plunging into her pussy, forcibly stirring around as if he was trying to get her wet. "Me, regret? Honey, I don't do regret. Instead, it looks like you're the one who's gonna fucking regret. Fore the night's out, I'm gonna make you cry real good!" The Prince added as he added a third finger, now roughly pumping his digits in and out of Anne...

The noise from the slap echoed loudly around the room and Anne's cheek stung from the impact. Annes eyes blazed with anger and she inhaled to issue another stinging threat, or possibly kick this evil man.

[CRACK]

The world lurched sideways yet again, her vision splitting into three, almost like she was drunk. She blinked rapidly trying to find some sort of focus but it was all she could do to remain upright.

"What?" She said in a suprisingly clear voice as she blinked again. It was almost like that slap had dislodged something in her mind. No. That wasn't it. What was it? What kept doing this?

She dimly heard The prince talking but she was still trying to re-orient herself to pay close attention to what he was saying. It was really hard to concentrate when nothing was in one image! Taking another look at the prince she almost jumped out of her skin as she saw his face leering what seemed like inches away, the 3 heads she could see sporting an identical smirk

"fucking cute..." she heard him say and then she gasped in shock and pain as she felt what must have been a log force its way straight into her pussy. Tears sprang into her eyes at the pain of the sudden intrusion and she looked down to see him forcing another finger to join what already felt like his entire fist.

Shutting her eyes to block out the image of those fingers sliding into her (in triplicate no less) she tried again to marshal herself. through the pain and humilation of what was happening she couldn't let herself succumb to it. She couldn't and wouldn't!

Tutting, Lujuria grinned as he reached into Anne once again and used his powers to give her mind yet another disorienting shake, determined to get in her way as much as he could until the fun begin to wear off. Until then, he wanted to watch the student suffer at the Prince's hands just as she had made him suffer.

There was no point in anything if one couldn't pursue revenge, after all. It was what made things fun! And fun was what Lujuria craved most above all else!

The Prince made a snorting laugh, as if to mock Anne's attempt to steel herself. Withdrawing his fingers, the Prince settled down onto his knees, pushing Anne's legs apart further. "Aw, did it hurt the wittle little brat? Well, how about we make you feel some shame instead?" The twisted orderly pushed Anne's legs up until her cunt was in view, the sadistic man's tongue suddenly attacking Anne's as it invaded her pussy, intending to get the 'patient' to moan out whenever she wanted to or not...

[CRACK]

Even with her eyes shut she felt the world lurch around her shifting her mind to a timeless place for what felt like an instant. Unfortunately The Prince had made plenty of progress in the time and the first sensation she felt was some sort of warm wet pressure on her crotch. Puzzled for a moment she lay still as she felt it move and heard a harsh dry panting accompany the feeling even as she felt something move between her lips and force itself into her... and suddenly she realised what it was! The filthy, disgusting Prince had his head between her legs!

With a shriek she brought her legs together with all the force she could. Powered by suprise and fear her thighs bunched and overwhelmed the grip that was trying to keep them apart, snapping closed around her rapists head, trapping him there, imobile.

Looking down her body she saw him there, his head still buried between her thighs but where he had once held her eyes with a leering intensity now there was only a look of worry as he realised that he began to try to force her legs back open.

Anne, realising that she had power here after all smiled. A bitter, angry smile.

"I've been raped before" She almost spat at him "And you aren't a patch on even those scum"

With that she began to squeeze her thighs shut, memories of her past mingling with the look of fear on the Princes face as he felt increasing pressure around his head. Tears formed in Annes eyes as she squeezed tighter and tighter. She could feel the Princes hot breath begin to falter clamped as it was to her pussy and it was just her emotions and memories flashing by her eyes that gave her the strength to continue and not release him.

Her smile, as hard as steel remained fixed as she squeezed.

She was a victim once she reminded herself, even as she felt her tears start running down her cheeks, her smile hard not faltering. She wouldn't be a victim like that again.

Pathetic, the monster thought to himself as he watched the Prince caught in yet another trap of Anne's, more assured in where she was and what power she held at her fingertips - or thighs. Then again, he had not devised the Prince to be intelligent and calculating. No, he had made him into a sociopathic bastard without the ability to feel true remorse. In retrospect, an excellent villain for any naive girl lost in the labyrinthine shadows of her nightmares, unable to make head nor tail out of anything.

But no, Anne had to be capable. Moreso than the Prince.

It was there that he watched, abandoning the Prince once again as the imaginary being struggled in between her thighs, suddenly fearful of meeting his own end once again. Even if this was a different dream, the Prince had not forgotten his earlier demise. Sighing, Lujuria made a quick gesture with his hand, sending the Prince into even deeper pits of despair and terror, and in doing so led to the Prince inadvertently snapping his own neck, slumping down onto the floor and against Anne.

As if trapped in fast-forward, the Prince's body began to decompose, his flesh shriveling away to reveal bare bones, only to be grounded into dust before that too faded away, leaving no sign of her tormentor being present...

Still unable to be heard by Anne, even as close as they were, Lujuria smiled as he snapped his fingers once again. "Think we're so clever, aren't we? Well, that's fine, little girl. So this dream didn't work, just means I need to dig deeper..." The monster spoke quietly as Anne's 'reality' began to collapse all around her, the walls cracking apart as the hallways had done earlier, the ground below her shuddering before crumbling away, revealing a pitch-black abyss, gaping before her like a maw beckoning for another bit of morsel to swallow up.

The bars she was cuffed to crumbled away as well, reduced to naught but dust blown away by supernatural forces, sending Anne falling down into the darkness once more, where she'd find herself still falling and falling, seemingly without the ground ever rushing up to greet her. Standing still in front of her, and still invisible to her senses, Lujuria smiled as he slowly began to conjure up the designs of his next dream for dear little Anne, deciding this time to plunge her into a straight fantasy, as a 'heroine' as the Storyteller had named her.

And he was far from finished with the Prince. No, this time... The Prince would be a much more formidable opponent. Perhaps too formidable for little Anne, but what did that matter. He simply wished to see her squirm and struggle before ultimately being crushed.


It was then that the darkness overtook her vision, blackening Anne out-

"-ady, are yo-"

The voice was just a jumble, impossible to dissect at first. But then it grew more clearer, more understandable until... Anne found herself safely nestled within the folds of a comfortable and warm bed, an elderly man beside her with a look of worry upon his face.

"Milady! Please, are you well?"

A glance around the room would reveal the interior of an cottage, plain and simple, but well-lived in and homely. A far cry from the asy- From the... No memories remained of the horrible hospital where she had been subjected to recently, nothing to remind her of the doctor she had spoken with, nothing beyond the uneasy feeling that followed in the wake of a horrible nightmare that one's just had but cannot remember anything about.

Lujuria smiled. Just how he wanted it. A fresh slate. Here, he'd allow her to develop her dream powers, free of the influences of the Prince's blunders.

"Milady, if you are well, we must move on! The Prince's men won't be fooled for too long and we still must reach the safety of Larkshire! The people cannot stand against him without their heroine, milady!"

As Anne’s vision cleared she tried to get her bearings. Everything was confused and she saw three worlds overlap. One, a young black haired student fast asleep, dreaming of different worlds after a long day, but one with something stood over her even as she slumbered. The second, the same young girl trapped in an asylum, tears pouring down her face as watched dust blow away on an invisible breeze and the last, herself, battered and worn lying in a plain bed trying to catch a few hours rest after a long gruelling ride.

The shaking caused the other two worlds to fragment and blow away as if they were just a dream and she sat up, wiping her eyes and trying to recall what those other worlds were.

“Milay, if you are well, we must move on! The Prince’s men won’t be fooled for too long and we still must reach the safety of Larkshire! The people cannot stand against him without their heroine, milady!”

The shaking from her good friend and retainer (although he hated being called a friend!) Alf ruined her thoughts and she refocused her mind back to what was going on. It all came back to her although it felt strange somehow, like the memories were too recent. Like they were pages from a book as opposed to something she had lived. Shaking her head once again she held up her hand to quell Alf’s worried babbling.

“Ok! I’m up! Lets get going although I still don’t think that Larkshire is going to offer us any safety. The prince needs someone far stronger than I and despite these “powers” you keep telling me about there is no way that I’m any leader or even slightly capable of taking someone like him on! Hell – before you decided to drop the heroine crap on me I was enjoying a nice quiet life, where people most people didn’t know my name, let alone knew it and wanted to kill me!"

As she spoke she got out of bed, pushing her long midnight hair back and tying it with quick, practised strokes “Right. Since we have to get moving don’t you think we should?”

As she pulled on her heavy leather boots she was greatful that she had fallen asleep still wearing her dress. From how Alf was reacting she didn’t have long. It was strange that certain things seemed out of place in her mind, but she couldn’t quite place why. She hoped she would have a free moment to try to figure out as it felt important but she wasn’t entirely hopeful. She could almost feel a presence pushing at her, driving her on and she hoped that the Prince wasn’t as close as she feared.

"A wise decision, milady. Larkshire isn't far, and the peasants here say it would only be about a hour's ride by horse." Alf bowed as he began retreating from the room, stopping at the door for a moment, "I shall inform the driver to prepare the carriage for travel again."

With that, Anne was left to herself once more, but she was not entirely alone. Not with Lujuria still nearby, watching silently from a separate realm, the two of them kept apart by a veil of dreams. The monster merely smiled as he watched her being left alone. "Struggle all you want, but in the end... you will run into the Prince. The heroine must always do battle with the villain, after all! Alas, for this heroine..."

He then stepped away from the cottage, moving across what seemed like a vast distance of nothingness until he reached another place, stepping into the sight of a great hall of immaculate marble, tapestries and paintings hung about along the walls as he trod along the fine carpet that led him along the hall, straight into...

The Prince.

Now dressed in luxurious finery and clad in protective armaments, he was the spitting image of the shining knight in armor. Except, in this shining knight laid a heart darker than any other.

"There you are," Lujuria smiled as he made himself 'real' before the Prince, catching his attention. "How goes it, I must ask...?"

The Prince sniffed disdainfully at the presence of Lujuria, offended by his outlandish appearance. "Quite well, demon. The capital has fallen into my hands, with the Duke's loyalists being hunted down now. My forces are already on the march westward, to-"

"Larkshire."

"Yes, Larkshire. The Duke's daughter escaped, unfortunately. No doubt she seeks to rally loyalists west of here into stopping my advance. Futile, however! I will have her, regardless of how hard she resist me." The Prince smiled darkly, relaxing against the Duke's usurped throne as he clenched an armored hand. "In the end, she will belong to me, as will all the land."

"Very good, my friend... I have no doubt that you shall succeed in your endeavours."

"Naturally, it is my birthright, after al- Hnnngh! This damn neck has been bothering me...!"

Lujuria merely smiled, amused by this. "Oh, I wonder why..."

"Its not really a decision I had any part in, and you know it" Anne smiled wryly as Alf left the room. Finishing lacing up her boots she stood and walked across to the small mirror on the dressing table. The eyes that looked back looked tired, but retained a fierceness that didn't look like it was going to be broken any time soon. They looked out from a slightly grimy face, a small nose and lips that should probably be classed as inviting if they weren't pressed hard against each other. Her unkempt black hair framed her face, slightly spikey from her all too short sleep. All in all, her face.

As she turned the mirror caught a stray peice of light and blinded her. In that moment of blindless a different vision caught her eyes. A grandeous throneroom, complete with an armoured knight on the throne in mid conversation with something in garishly appointed clothes. She instantly knew what she was looking at. Her fathers hall and the man that was hunting her but the man he was speaking too was unknown to her. Unknown but INCREDIBLY familiar, like he was more important than the Prince on the throne but despite that she couldn't place why she felt that way.

As quick as it came the vision faded leaving her with a sense of disquiet. Bloody visions! They always seemed to show something but nothing at the same time! Turning quickly she picked up her bag and walked briskly to the door. Stepping outside she was gifted with a brilliant sunrise, the light stretching over the surrounding hills and bathing the little cottage and its well worked gardens, making it seem perfectly idillic and somewhere, had things been different Anne would have happilly wiled away years. Unfortunately things weren't different and she had to ride.

It seemed that she was running early though. The carriage that had brought her this far was still sitting unharnessed and Alf was trying to lead one of the stallions to it. "Look, we've lugged that thing from pillar to post and i'm sick of riding in the back of it. why don't we just ride the rest of it? You taught me how to and you know i'm not going to kill myself despite our lack of tack"

It was true. There were saddles but no decent harness and no stirrups. Anne had always loved riding though and despite Alf's cautious nature she was quite ready to leave that rickety carriage behind. After all, most of their supplies were gone and they were already so close to the border. Stepping into the carriage she pulled out the final roll she still carried, most of her other possesions having being discarded already. The most important thing there was her father sword. It was a wonderfully made blade although she was no master swordswoman. Competent yes, but against anyone that really knew what they were doing... Well.. Lets just say it would be better not to get into THAT situation. It rested on a suit of very finely made leather armour, cut to her own figure. A present from the master of arms. Her face flashed across her mind briefly - Red hair cascading down her shoulders and deep brown eyes that measured each step that was taken. She had taught Anne quietly and she had taken to the lessons, the armour being in part a training aide, but also something that actually suited her well. The Armswomans name came unbidden to Annes lips as she knew she wouldn't see her again. Maylie.

Moving quickly, in part to stop any tears gathering at the loss of a friend she started to strap the armour on over her dress, brushing off Alf's worried comments simply saying with a smile "Aren't I supposed to be the bloody heroine? I should be in golden armour with a flaming sword with a mighty host behind me. Since we don't have any of that this will have to do! Now get those saddles on will you?"

Fastening the straps on her vambraces on she looked around and Alf was stood behind her, looking worried as ever but with two saddled horses behind him. She vaulted up onto one, almost overbalancing but quickly righting herself. Guiding the horse with her knees she leant down and started to coax the horse in the way of Larkshire.

The ride to Larkshire, given the circumstances, was pleasant enough especially when compared to the harrowing escape from the capital and her family's ancestral home. Even more when contrasted against the sight of the villainous Prince's black-hearted troops sacking the palace and razing down buildings and terrorizing the commoners.

Compared to that, the lush and idyllic countryside appeared by far peaceful. Though that, any could would have been able to tell, would change once the Prince and his army began their drive westward, from the capital to Larkshire, and then from there to the border towns that separated the dukedom of Anne's father from another fief.

Not much was known, but even the nobility were afforded more than what commoners knew. The King, beloved by everybody in the realm, had been slain. He had not fallen honorably on the field of battle but instead had been laid low by treachery, his life cut down by the rapier of his own youngest son, the Prince that now chased Anne.

The Prince, however, had demonstrated a ruthlessness that complemented his seditious heart, having already won over much of the kingdom's army through the use of his charisma and large prizes, along with the support of traitorous noble houses that had thrown their lot in with him. Now largely unopposed, the Prince swarmed across his father's realm, swallowing up lesser states by force and imposing his tyrannical rule through fear and oppression. Those that stood against him, he massacred without mercy. Those that defied him, he executed along with their families and friends.

Nothing was spared, nor was anyone else. Treasuries were emptied, armories ransacked, his armies swelled with every victory, the beaten defenders forced to be conscripted into the Prince's forces or else their families would perish.

And yet, the tragedies and miseries continued to pile on. The villainous Prince had proven himself, in the span of only several months, to be the single greatest threat to the realm, sowing chaos everywhere he could, keeping potential enemies divided by keeping them tied down with fear and a sudden flood of refugees.

Lujuria smiled as he now soared in the sky, watching Anne make her journey west. "Flee as far as you wish, little Anne. You'll never run far enough to escape the Prince... Just like this." The monster grinned as he added in a new piece to the unfolding tale, the bellowing roar of a great beast from behind the two riders.

A glance backward would reveal the sight of a mighty dragon flying lower toward the ground, unleashing a mighty stream of flames along the trees that lined the road, purposefully missing the riders. The monstrous beast soon stopped in front, cutting them off as it peered around to stare at them, a rider upon its back as well.

Clad in black armor, even from the back of a dragon, it was clear that he was a giant of a man. A familiar figure to both Alf and the heroine, for he was the one that had led the assault on the capital, had broken through the Duke's stalwart defenders through sheer force.

Alf, stopping in front of Anne as if to shield her from harm, withdrew his sword. Even if he was an elderly man, an aged retainer in the service of the Duke, it did not change the fact that he was one of the Duke's most renowned generals in addition to being a loyal adviser and guardian. He merely growled one thing out:

"Sir Reus, the Giantslayer."

Ignoring the old fool of a knight before him, the man in black armor merely gestured toward Anne, before speaking in a deep voice, "Milady, you should not have fled. My master has need of your noble blood... Surrender now and serve as his consort. Refuse, and my mount shall feast upon your follower, and the horses too, I suspect."

The monstrous dragon growled, as if to back up the threat.

Once the cottage was out of sight the landscaped blurred as the miles passed. It seemed like a dream to young Anne somehow. The sounds of fighting, the flight from the castle, the seemingly impossible things that had occurred... As they rode images came to her. Images of her childhood, running like the wind through fields. Her father reading books of heroes and heroines. Her mother smiling warmly at her as she ran around (normally barefoot). Images of her own wide green eyes when she saw her first ever wisp-dragon. A much smaller version than the great beasts of the East that had lived in peace for so many years, it had looped and swirled around her head, blasting little gouts of flame as it chased the insects of the field that they had been camping in.

More and more memories flashed through her mind. She saw herself grow into the young woman she was now. She saw her first vision – two grey eyes staring into her soul. And then, all too quickly she saw her last vision before her flight. She had been at one of her many schools, being trained to manage estates and how to command subjects. She had been walking through a forest with Alf and her vision swam. She saw her father, dead. The Princes sword transfixing him to the bookcase, his lifeblood pooling the ground around him and his killer, the Prince walking slowly towards his mother, his nudity both wonderful and repellent. Her mother, being pinned by a huge partly armoured bear of a man as she struggled to no avail to escape. Her vision held long enough to see the Prince force his cock deep into her, his cry of victory mingling with her scream.

The scream that Anne made in the forest convinced Alf faster than her sobbed words and he had moved rapidly to confirm what had occurred and so the race had started. To begin with Anne only thought that, as the Kings daughter she was going to be used as a pawn to solidify the Princes power. That was repellent enough given what she had seen, but it became apparent that there was other reasons she was being hunted. Almost before they had gotten to their room to collect Anne’s supplies they had found five men, all armed with wicked looking blades and even worse smiles. They had told her what was going to be expected of her and her body. Even as they attacked, Alf standing in front of her, his sword drawn she screamed with rage and leapt at the men, past Alf who held an almost comical look of surprise at her action. Her scream though wasn’t comical at all. It tore out of her, spreading out around her with a ring of pure power, which, when it touched the men they were flung backwards with such force that four of them died instantly from smashing into the stonework, bones crushed from the sheer force. The final one survived somehow but Alf killed him before he could stand. Anne herself however collapsed to the ground and the next thing she knew was being in the carriage running for their lives. Alf had said after she had collapsed he had put her into the carriage and fled. It seemed that she was important for more than her blood or body.

And so, here they were, heading to one of the last supposed bastions of resistance. Somehow Larkshire had survived this long by both having little in the way of anything that people wanted. It had enough land to feed itself with only a little surplus. No exports of imports worth mentioning while at the same time also boasting strong natural defences. Larkshire was a land of rivers, valleys and hills, with the capital being an ancient ruin that historians once thought was a prison. It had since been converted into a rather bleak city but one that was incredibly defensible. Ultimately, it was a paradise for those that wished to defend but an utter nightmare for those that wished to invade. Its citizenry, while lacking the formal training of the Princes army had two massive advantages. One, they knew the land. Every ambush spot, every way to bog down an army, every dirty trick was known by the plucky troops that Larkshire maintained. Its other main defence was the very nature of the inhabitants themselves.

In an odd contrast Larkshire was an utterly beautiful country with fertile ground and stunning vistas but its inhabitants were bastards. Not the “Sell their own mother for a Sheckle” kind of bastards, but those that trusted anyone that they didn’t know about as far as they could throw their corpse on a rainy day. For some reason the land attracted those that had no-where else to go and assimilated them into itself. Almost each and every inhabitant knew or had close relatives that knew what it was like to be driven from their home. Some because of their own actions, some because of others but Larkshire accepted them all with the exception of those that actively sought harm on another. Those tended to find their own way out of Larkshire be it running for their lives, or floating facedown through one of its rivers.

As the Prince took power Larkshire did what it had always done and remained quiet, unnoticed while arming itself for the fight that it knew would come one day. The Prince himself viewed Larkshire as a worthless little hole not worth his time. Until now.

All of that said, it looked a little unlikely that Anne would even make it across the border to her safe haven.

Anne stopped in shock and almost fell of her horse as the dragon landed. Her heart started beating rapidly. The shock of a dragon and warrior of such renown making her want to run and hide. Her horse was apparently thinking exactly the same thing and it was all she could do to hold herself on the saddle. Fortunately the horse calmed rapidly, somehow soothed by Anne and she again looked to the Knight. As Anne had been fighting for balance Alf had moved to stand in front of her with his sword drawn. No!

The Giant Sir Reus’s words caused her vision to fall on the huge dark knight sat atop the dragon and for a moment she recognised him. Not just from the stories she had heard but that she had actually seen him once before. The armour and size was identical to the man that had held down her mother in her vision.

That thought alone was enough to freeze the fear in her veins and anger started boiling through her. “Your Master? Is this all that the great Sir Reus is? The Giantslayer? The Rider of the Black? The scourge of the Alrai? Are you merely a feeble boy who does whatever his Master says!?” Anne shouted back, her temper making her voice as clear as a whipcrack “What does he offer you? The chance to hold down innocent women as he rapes them?”

As Anne shouted she moved her horse forward past Alf who looked on, his face frozen once again with amazement and incredulity as he watched Anne advance towards the Dragon with its fearsome rider. Her temper had gotten the better of her and she was almost vibrating from rage and loss. The image of him holding down her mother was superimposing itself over her eyes and she continued to shout at the huge knight, using vocabulary that amazed her own ears. “Perhaps he even let you suck his cock clean afterwards! Is this your payment? Are you looking forward to that peice of offal doing the same to me while you watch? You think I would accept that? You make me laugh! The Great Sir Reus! Feared yet respected and now you serve someone that should be your lackey! You must cry yourself to bed every night! What happened to your idea of honor? Did your manhood shrivel and fall off when you agreed to serve Him?” As she advanced she could feel a pressure building in front of her eyes and the air around her charged with her fury.

For Anne herself, if she saw herself from the outside she would have been as shocked as Alf was. Advancing like this was a completely stupid thing to do and hundreds had already died trying to hold the line against Sir Rahs. Anne however found that as she closed her belief that what she was doing was /right/ only increased. Rather than fearing for her life she stood, tall and proud like a heroine of the story should and dared the universe to stand in front of her or stand behind her.

Given the charge building in the air around her as she advanced it seemed that for once, this particular universe was going to fall in behind her.

Easing himself down until he stood just beside his creation, the Giant, Lujuria watched with amusement as the scene unfolded. It was so entertaining to see such a transformation in Anne, from a scampering little creature, frightened by monsters, to a defiant woman that wouldn't bend the knee even before a dragon.

Sir Reus showed no sign of being shaken by her words. If anything, he did not seem to even care. Even as the imposing creature growled at Anne's outburst, the only thing the knight in black had done was rein him back in. Something that shouldn't have been an easy feat, truthfully, but not many were aware that such an intelligent creature had been forcibly enslaved by dark sorcery, its power bent to Sir Reus' will, even though it constantly railed against the magic binding its body to the armored rider. If it could only free itself, it would surely have thrown Sir Reus off and devoured the man itself.

If only.

Lujuria smiled. So it was anger that fueled her in the dream realm. In such a way, she could fight back, even unconsciously, against his power. Such an interesting revelation but one ultimately worthless for no one had ever managed to fully defy him.

The dragon roared once again as it attempt to face Anne and her charging mount, perhaps in order to feast upon them or to smash them aside, except Sir Reus once again prevented the beast from doing so, forcing the dragon to behave as he withdrew his blade from its scabbard, the weapon pulsating with foul magic. "I ask you again, surrender and dismount! Or I will strike you down!"

"Surrender? You ASK for me to SURRENDER?" Annes voice cracked through the air as she raged at the giant Sir Reus. "With everything you have done and you DARE?"

Anne lost herself in her fury. Sir Reus's face overlapped her vision with her mother and the prince and the world stopped for a heartbeat.

The storm that was crackling around Anne broke, sending a silent shockwave rolling along the ground, flattening the grass and kicking up dirt as it passed. Alf was engulved by the dust and debris almost instantly as it expanded faster than anyone could move.

As the ring reached the dragon and its enormous rider, the ripple of power slid over the dragons head like a giant blanket, sliding up its neck and over its flank til it touched Sir Reus.

The explosion when it connected wasn't silent. The thunderclap at its arrival would have been heard from miles around and the results were no less impressive. The explosion rippled outward from where it touched and it launched Sir Reus off the dragons back effortlessly, taking him cleanly over the dragons back and landing him hard in the dirt. The explosion had enough force to spread away from the point of impact into the Dragon itself, slamming the huge creatures head into the ground like someone had petted it too hard, dazing it for a moment, the remainder of the force forcing it to a lying position.

Unknown to Anne, her power didn't stop there. Whether due to the connection between creator and creation, or a direct representation of Annes own will working directly against Lujuria a thin tendril, invisble aside a faint shimmer in the air leapt from the first explosion and connected squarely with the invisible storyteller who was watching the scene.

The second thunderclap occured a fraction of a second after the first, sounding much like an echo to anyone who was listening.

Anne didn't hear the second thunderclap as she was trying not to black out. Darkness dececended on her and she almost fell from her horse, keeping upright through more luck than judgement. For a moment, under her eyelids there were again three copies of her, each surrounded with a faint glow. The version of herself in the asylumn glowed with a faint red hue, while the one in the room had a distinct grey tinge. It was all she saw before the white flecks of light that sparked around the edges of the vision resolved around her back into the land that she knew.

With a deep shuddering inhalation she looked around. As she looked she saw the dragon, its eyes seeming clearer as it blinked those huge silver orbs. It seemed dazed but amazingly not hostile, almost like having its head slammed into the ground had knocked some sense into it. As it wasn't moving for the moment Anne took the oppertunity to look around for the knight himself.

Sir Reus was a little harder to spot, but could be seen by a trail of his shed armour from where he had flown. It looked like he had been almost completely stripped from his heavy plate armour. His armour had been liberally strewn over the area when he flew and fell as it had been literally torn from his body leaving bloody red marks. His breasplate was still on although it had a huge dent in the centre which looked like it must have crushed more than a few ribs. His helm had been ripped off leaving his nose a bloody mess and his sword was no-where to be seen.

He wasn't moving for a moment and Anne used the moment of stillness to take another deep breath. The air felt crisp and clear in the wake of her fury. She felt... satisfied somehow. Not drained which is what she really expected but like she had passed an unexpected test. It was a profundly odd feeling to have as she surveyed the damage that she had caused, her bright green eyes wide. Her muscles felt a little stiff but that was it. It was a far cry from her blacking out before, and, for a moment she really wondered what was going on, and where such power came from. It was unheard of!

She almost started when Alf, entirely unharmed placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Turning slightly she saw that he was a little dirt covered ("if he was covered in dirt.. how bad must I look?!" she wondered) but, to her relief, otherwise unharmed.