Warning: this chapter and the ones following it has some violence and allusions to violence and crimes in them. I haven't written anything too graphic or explicit, but this is necessary for the story to continue.)

"The sinister, the terrible never deceive: the state in which they leave us is always one of enlightenment. And only this condition of vicious insight allows us a full grasp of the world, all things considered, just as a frigid melancholy grants us full possession of ourselves. We may hide from horror only in the heart of horror." - Thomas Ligotti

Metal grates on metal as a key turns in the rusted iron door. Lord Hoyt and four beefed-up men enter, making my cell seem smaller than a jewellery box.

"Lord Hoyt, you really are a son of a whore."

"Princess, you really have quite a foul mouth," he says dryly.

My fists curl up. Whatever clever retort I might have, gets stuck in my throat.

With a flick of his wrist, two of his men grab my arms - and I immediately imagine that my arms would grow purple patches before the change of the sun. His eyes narrow as he studies me, seemingly waiting to arrive at a decision. The ring of keys he produces from his pockets rattle as he unlocks my shackles.

Realising that a golden opportunity is within my reach, the shattering feeling of my shin connecting with his shoots up my leg.

Moron. Couldn't you rather kick him somewhere softer and higher up?

The guards at my side immediately burrow their meaty hands deeper into my arms. Those bruises will come even sooner.

"Lord Hoyt, I will kill you myself," I say as my feet drag and slam against the floor when they usher me out of the cell.

His hollow laugh echoes down the tunnel, giving it an even more eery quality. "Oh, little princess, you can try, but you will soon see that we are going to proceed on my terms and not yours."

Something in his voice while uttering his warning chills me to the bone.

I'm lead down an unlit tunnel with an uneven floor. Without light to how our way, I would've stumbled, but the creeps at my sides are clumsily pulling me forward through the tunnels they seem to know. A few turns, a long walk and an obvious descent later we find ourselves in front of an impenetrable wooden door, with two torches mounted on the walls on either side. The sturdy iron holding the door together seems strong enough to withstand even a dragon's breath.

Lord Hoyt snaps his fingers and a black key appears out of thin air. The unnatural midnight black metal seems to suck the faint candlelight towards it.

I gasp and then start coughing as the murky air of the tunnels enters my lungs. I've seen some of the things that elves can do with water, but I've never seen them conjure objects out of thin air.

Lord Hoyt is no simple foe, and whatever magic he is using is not of the Council. The elves used to whisper about magic stronger than the Council's - a magic dark and inexplicable. They always talked about it with fear - something the elves barely know the meaning of.

A feeling of despair takes root somewhere in the dark corners of my mind as I realise that I am at an obvious disadvantage.

The ancient door creaks open on its own accord. I enter a circular room chiselled out of the rock. The room is about the same as the hall in Raven's Peak. The ceiling domes up into darkness. A circular pit caves down in the centre of the room. A thick chain comes from somewhere in the darkness above and enters the middle of the pit.

I register a few strange devices that I haven't seen before as lord Hoyt clears his throat. I look him in the eye.

"Now Princess, I will only recite the rules to you once. Is that clear?"

My silent glare is the only answer he'll receive.

"Oh, don't worry you will comply in a moment." He nods to one of the men.

The men start pulling on a heavy chain at the side of the pit. Sweat beads on their foreheads as their muscles bulge in an attempt at pulling the chain. The slow rumble with intermittent screeches fills the cave. A metal cage, its silver polished and oiled, creeps up.

The dim light of the torches reveals a young man with torn clothes and patches of blood in his orange hair.

"Aelfraed!"

"Aebbé!" He coughs up my name - blood sputtering from his swollen face.

"Where are my manners! You can't see well in light this faint!" Another snap of Lord Hoyt's fingers causes the torches to flare up and brighten the cave.

The shock of recognising various torture devices scattered outweighs the realisation that he made the torches light up.

His men push two wooden beams through the pit's walls to stabilise the cage and pull it to the edge. He flicks his hand and another key appears from nowhere. The key doesn't seem tangible or real. A shiver crawls up my spine as I avoid looking at it for any longer. He traipses to the cage and unlocks it. After making his way back and handing the key to his men, they enter the cage.

I watch in apprehension as they unlock Aelfraed's shackles and take him out of the cage, shoving him to one of the walls. They shackle him to it – with his arms above his head.

Lord Hoyt approaches Aelfraed. He looks at me when he is within a hair's breadth from my nephew. "I have strict orders to not harm you physically unnecessarily, but those orders do not include your nephew's welfare. For that exact reason, he is here." Lord Hoyt punches Aelfraed in the stomach.

Aelfraed's shackles prevent him from crumbling to the ground, or else he would have.

"That is for the kick you gave me when I unlocked your shackles."

I immediately understand what Lord Hoyt meant when he said we will be proceeding on his terms: Aelfraed will be physically harmed for my insolence.

"Do you now understand the rules, Princess?"

I nod vigorously.

His fist connects with my nephew's stomach yet again, causing Aelfraed's eyes to tear up.

"Why did you punch him?" My nails burrow into my palms.

"I expect an answer when I ask you a question. Is that clear?"

"Yes, lord Hoyt. Crystal clear," I say through gritted teeth.

"Good." His steps echo as he makes his way toward me. "You and I are here for one reason only: to unlock your family legacy."

My eyes narrow: another reference to this legacy that I know nothing of.

"I have been sanctioned to release this by any means necessary. I cannot punish you with physical means, but your disobedience will be punished by measuring it out on the bastard. Those are the rules. Any questions?"

"Am I supposed to know what this legacy is that everyone speaks of?"

"You do not know, and that is why we are here. Your father neglected his duties toward you, and now you are worthless. What worth is Ardam's name if he didn't teach you your birthright? Your birthright as a Vaubadon is what allowed him everything!" The fanatic wildfire in his eyes scares me. Fanatical men know no bounds and abide by no rules.

Lord Hoyt knows some intimate details about my family that I do not know – assuming they are true. He must've learnt them from my brother or an enemy that knows my family well. My father made a lot of enemies conquering Ligtland, but he executed the traitors. The families left are the ones loyal to his cause: a united Ardam, or so I thought.

"Any other questions?"

"How must I unlock something that I don't know anything about?"

"Well, that is what we are going to figure out."

I give a despairing nod.

He punches Aelfraed again. Just thinking of the pain he is experiencing makes me crumble inside.

"Good. You understand the rules." He smiles – a grin utterly devoid of feeling. "Let us begin."

Aelfraed takes so many punches over the next few hours. My blood boils with every punch, and I swear that I will repay Alfraed's debt to lord Hoyt.

Lord Hoyt's ramblings make no sense to me as I try to focus on the flames and his order to 'feel the flames.'

When I know that Aelfraed won't be able to take any more punches, Lord Hoyt's men stop.

The impatient tapping of his foot hammers through my mind. "Princess, I do hope our future lessons will be more fruitful."

"And Ria?" I whimper when I finally get a chance to enquire after her welfare.

"Oh, my men are keeping her busy."

My fists ball. A tight band closes around my chest as I bite back the sob and tears forming behind my ears.

If I knew what he wanted, perhaps the situation would be different. But it seems to me as if this is all a purposeless display of cruelty.

Aelfraed is pushed back into the cage as I'm ushered back to my cell.

"I am not going to comply if I don't know that Ria won't be harmed further. You will torture Aelfraed no matter what I do, so this is all I have to bargain with. I want to see my friend."

"Perhaps tomorrow. She is probably on her back staring at the ceiling now."

My jaw clenches as the door slams in my face.