"Get ready. Today's lesson will either strengthen you or have you buried six feet below."
Ella's mind blurred back to her first year of training at The Organization. After the final selection, she was sent to Level Two, under the cruel reign of the same woman who had walked among them that night. She and the others were instructed to stand at attention, hands behind their backs. Every eye watched as the woman walked in with a speech of horror, as always.
"Today's lesson: you're going to be tested on your ability to withstand torture. How long can you last while being drained of your blood?" the woman asked, her eyes glued to Ella, who stared back without flinching.
With more words of enlightenment, Ella felt a sudden loss of grip on her surroundings. Her vision blurred, but with trust in her instincts, she guided her feet through the darkness to a door she had seen earlier.
Within, a light came in her direction.
"What's The Organization?" a voice asked, creating a duplicate of itself.
"You'll win the game once you say what we want to hear. What's The Organization about?"
"I have zero clue of The Organization you speak of," Ella said, scanning her eyes for a way out of the room she had found herself in. She searched frantically, only to find the door she had walked through was gone.
The room was nothing more than a square box that gave nothing but darkness. With every passing second, she felt the weight of the walls crumbling in on each other, as was the roof that appeared to be falling. In haste, she searched for a clue or a button that could lead her out.
Seconds became minutes, and minutes turned into hours. With every struggling step she took, the walls closed in, and every panicked sound caused the roof to drop.
Her breath seized, her heart pounded against her chest, and her hands began to sweat from the terror of being squeezed to death.
"Just kill me, asshole," she barely managed to say, exiting the tormenting thoughts of her past. If there was one thing she had been taught, it was how to withstand every torture.
"Not yet, beauty. I have many plans for you," John said, his voice low and for her ears only. He gently scrubbed his fingers on her pale lips that had split from their perfection.
Her body trembled from the cold cubes that kept warmth from her, just like the ones from that night.
Just as she had thought her end was there, a light dropped on her face, rescuing her from her destructive thoughts. Her feet made their way to the open door that led to another room.
Within, she stood still, shaken by the previous torment. Without warning, her body was lashed against the wall. She turned to find a stream of water being flushed at her. Repeatedly, the men in masks had her drowning in water, and her head was dumped in a plastic bag with cubes of ice.
"Tell us, what's The Organization?" one asked after a punch to her face.
"Tell us and you'll be free," the other said, freeing her face from the plastic.
Her eyes had gone sore, and every touch on her skin felt electric. With a sour groan, she wiped her bleeding lips and edged her eyes at the two fools who stared at her.
"Go to hell," she said.
"Hey, beauty, take a look at this," John said, pulling her out of the slow death that was drowning her.
In a daze, she stared at him, watching as he waved a hammer the size of one used by geologists.
"Kill me already, or do you lack the balls?" Ella challenged, her voice a low taunt.
John flipped at her words, his jaw clenched as he stared at her chuckling, provoking face.
"Kill me, coward," she insisted.
His eyes darkened, mirroring the pale ocean's rage. His back tensed, a tearing sound echoing as his skin ripped, making way for bones that twisted with loud cracks. His ears grew inches longer, covered in dark fur, and his fingers elongated into claws. His body was transforming into a creature of the woods.
At first, Ella watched in detached fascination as fangs appeared, but as the monstrous form took shape, fear registered on her face. Her eyes, still on the beast, widened. Her lips parted, but no words came out. Her mind filled with questions, and her body shook with every paw-step the creature took closer to her. This wasn't part of her training. No one had told her creatures like this existed. Its size was twice that of any normal wolf she had ever seen.
What is he?
The wolf-creature lunged, its jaws aimed for her neck, determined to rip her head from her body. Its mouth spread wide, baring its fangs, and just as it was about to close its jaws on her skin, it was thrown back with immense force against the stone wall of the basement.
The beast groaned, struggling to get up for a second charge, only to be hit with a much more intense force that compelled it to submission. In a low growl, the beast lowered its head, its gaze fixed on its paws in recognition of the glow that emerged from her side.
"Your Highness," J stuttered, just before Ella's world dissolved into darkness.
A low groan escaped her lips as her eyelids fluttered open. Her body felt impossibly heavy, a dead weight against the smooth, cool silk of the sheets. The air, instead of smelling of blood and metal, carried the sweet, intoxicating scent of night-blooming flowers.
When her vision finally cleared, she was met with a ceiling unlike any she had ever seen. Stars and a crescent moon were carved into a deep, celestial-blue dome. A gigantic crystal chandelier hung at the center, its facets catching the light and sending rainbows dancing across the room with every gentle breeze that entered from open windows. On either side of her, massive pillows were piled high, and her body lay on a bed that could comfortably fit three people.
Cautious, she forced her weary body to rise, but it held no strength. Her muscles protested, and a wave of dizziness washed over her.
"Don't move, Your Highness, you're still unfit. The doctors advise you to take rest," a sudden voice said, and a woman's gentle hands aided her back down onto the bed.
Ella looked at her. The woman's appearance seemed to be from another time, her hair was concealed in a fine, semi-transparent cap, and her stout body was dressed in a long, pale-black pleated skirt and a high-necked top with sleeves that ended in crisp, white cuffs. Her face was round and chubby, with a kind expression that seemed to belong in this alien, peaceful place.
"You should be careful," the woman said with a straight face, her eyes fixed on a vase that stood a fraction of an inch out of line with the others. She walked to it in seconds, her movements precise as she straightened the vase to match the perfect order of its companions.
"Hold on, u...umm..." Ella stuttered, baffled at the turn of events.
Her last clear memory was of the cell she was tied in, the pain, the blackout, and the beast. Now, she was here.
Where was here?
What was going on?
Who was this woman?
Everything was unfamiliar. She tried to recall what happened, but the only blur she could recall was being caught with Mia after their attempt to steal the precious stone.
"Does Her Highness need anything?" the woman asked, noticing Ella's bewildered expression.
Ella stared at her, her thoughts racing.
What was with her dress code, and why did she keep addressing her as "Her Highness"?
One thing she knew for sure was that she was no royalty, not even by blood. But then again, she was an orphan who knew nothing of her family's history; the woman who raised her had claimed she was an unlucky child abandoned on her doorstep.
"Where am I?" Ella finally managed to ask.
The woman seemed baffled by the question but nevertheless obliged. "Her Highness is at the Cole Castle, in Wills Hills."