Chapter #5Edelgard in a bind by: Arnsley   NOTE: This is a continuation of a branch in Slot 1
First chapter: https://www.writing.com/main/interactive...
Previous chapter: https://www.writing.com/main/interactive...
(Ending spoilers for Black Eagles/Crimson Flower)
When her vision returned, Edelgard caught a glimpse of her captor’s face. But only for a fleeting moment. A hard surface pressed in from below, her legs buckling before she could even begin to stand.
The surface of a table. Edelgard realized. The man spoke to one of his allies, words Edelgard did not understand. Then the light was blotted out by a huge hand. Hostile digits she was already sure she would never forget.
Edelgard attempted to scramble away, but her feet struggled to find purchase on the fabric. Her allies screamed in fear, but Edelgard did not add her voice to theirs. She was focused on trying to escape. Yet a huge, fleshy finger blocked her. She knew the thumb was coming but could not evade the digits that came in to sweep her up.
Trapped within the grasp of a hostile giant once more, Edelgard knew there was nothing she could do. Rather than attempt to save herself, she shouted for her allies.
“Try to escape! Now, while they’re preoccupied with me!” she told them. If the sides of the bag flopped down low enough, they might have been able to climb out.
Edelgard put in a token effort to resist, only to keep the men distracted from her allies. She squirmed, trying to slip her tiny body out of her captor’s powerful grip. He needed only a single finger to contain her, one massive digit to pin her down on his hand.
One of the others spoke. The third moved towards the bag. Edelgard knew then that the escape route had been cut off. None of her friends would get away on this attempt. She reminded herself that there would surely be other opportunities, even as the feeling of hopelessness washed over her like a wave of freezing water.
The man spoke to her. His intonation made it sound like a question. One of his allies answered, taking a step closer. Edelgard had to look up at an uncomfortable angle to see their faces. One had a long beard with greying hair, and bloodshot eyes a sickening shade of green. The other was bald, his face covered in stubble. They didn’t look too different from the bandits of Fodlan, causing her to wonder if their similarities went beyond appearance.
They spoke briefly to each other, a laugh or two exchanged between them. Then the bearded man’s eyes widened very slightly, and he said just one word to her.
“Emperor.”
Edelgard wasn’t surprised. She couldn’t stop herself from glaring at the men, even knowing she would likely only amuse them. The laughter that erupted shook through the man like an earthquake. Rough and rattling, it couldn’t be more different from the laughs she and Byleth had shared. She dearly wished she could be in his hand instead, cradled with love and care rather than pinned and helpless.
They exchanged more words. One took a breath of surprise and joy, a huge smile spreading across his lips as his eyes went wide. He shuffled away to another room while the man holding her grinned.
Where is he going? Edelgard wondered. Only now did she survey her surroundings beyond the giant holding her captive. Walls and ceiling made of dark wood, holes and missing planks providing a view of the sky above. Boarded up windows, a door that looked ready to fall off its hinges. Each distant thump made by the other man caused a rattle somewhere near the ground. The single table looked out of place, smooth and with rounded edges elevated only slightly. From her current vantage point, she couldn’t see the others, blocked by the hand that held her.
So many openings. Getting outside will not be difficult. She thought to herself. Her confidence began to return, the tiny woman telling herself that she stood a good chance of escaping.
A huge grin spread across the man’s face, giving her a sickening view of numerous enormous teeth. It felt to her like he had heard her thoughts and found them amusing.
The thumping stopped. There was what sounded like a distant chuckle, masked by thudding footsteps. The other man reappeared in the doorway. Dangling from finger and thumb was a thin thread.
Edelgard’s eyes widened in horror as she realized their intention—to bind her, rendering her completely immobile.
“No,” she breathed, her voice small and quiet. When he paced towards her, Edelgard started to writhe and thrash, doing whatever she could to escape the finger that pinned her.
She was released. Edelgard scrambled to her feet and bolted for the edge of the palm. But she was struck down by a fingertip and pinned on her back. Immense pressure from her chest to her abdomen rendered her unable to move. She seized hold of the digit with both hands and kicked at it with her legs.
That was when she felt the thread. Coarse against her skin, feeling more like a thick rope than thin thread to her shrunken form. It was looped around her bare thighs, restricting her movement as it tightened. She fought them every step of the way, but it was hopeless. In mere seconds, her legs were bound, her movements restricted to helpless wriggling.
Edelgard was released. Her first instinct was to go for her legs, to untie herself. But her body forced her to take a gulp of air. Before she could even reach for the thread, she was rolled onto her front and pinned again. She couldn’t stop them from grabbing her arms and tying them together, limbs bound from the elbow downwards. The indignity of it all made her want to scream, but she bit back the sound, refusing to give them the satisfaction.
Her captors released her again, but it didn’t make a difference. Every time she tried to move, the rough fibres of the thread dug into her exposed skin, a sharp reminder of her current helplessness. The other men who had captured her stood nearby, inspecting their handiwork with a smug satisfaction that made Edelgard’s blood boil. She could feel their eyes raking over her, drinking in every bit of her tiny, bound, swimsuit-clad form. Leering gazes that made her feel sick to her stomach. For a moment, she allowed herself a flicker of panic, the enormity of her situation crashing down on her like a wave. She was trapped, utterly powerless, and in the hands of enemies who would undoubtedly exploit her vulnerability.
Petra’s tiny voice came from below, momentarily distracting the men. Edelgard struggled against her bonds, her heart sinking as she realized the futility of her efforts. Her captors spoke to Petra without fear of her escape, for they too knew it was impossible.
Is there truly nothing I can do? It felt as though nothing had changed. Between this capture and the last, Edelgard didn’t think she had learned a thing. With grit teeth, she scoured her mind for something, anything, that could get her out of this awful situation…  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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