Natalie was in a fetal position, rocking back and forth in a corner as tears streamed down her face. Her Nirvana hung on chains from the ceiling, just out of her reach.

The unspeakable horror happened again...and this time tenfold.

She jinxed it. Nobody was to blame but herself.

The room was lit by a single torch, nailed to the wall opposite of the door. The glow of the flame was very faint, barely illuminating the room and the mage's form.

The door flung open, revealing a winged shadow that stretched over the wall but thinned out if you got closer to the source. A royal voice belonging only to a tyrant chuckled menacingly.

Who's this jerk? Natalie thought, not daring to look over her shoulder.

"Natalie...I assume?" Asked the voice.

Natalie nearly jumped, her form shifting slightly from the sudden shock.

"Natalie. Turn yourself around this instant!" Roared the voice.

Reluctantly, the poor mage did as she was told...and put her hands over her mouth to shush a scream.

The creature was a head shorter than Celestia, ash-brown wings spread wider than the average pony. It had an eagle's head, a fine mane of feathers shrouding his shoulders. He had a crown on his head as well as a cloak of scarlet velvet with white fluff and black dots making the trimming. He had golden claws which dulled with age, and his beak barely able to chew mushy food from the looks of it. His menacing violet eyes made all who stared into them long enough obey without question. The crown was nothing like that of Celestia's, covering almost all of his head as if it were a war helmet.

He took a step forward as the door closed behind him, the flame making his form far more sinister.

He took a few more steps, his stone-cold glare unwavering.

Natalie started to hyperventilate, the slave dress she'd been thrown in not helping the situation for even a second.

"Tell me what you know!" Bellowed the Gryphon. "TELL ME EVERYTHING!"

Natalie was at a complete loss for words, tears once more escaping her ducts and streaming down her face. Her breathing hastened as her hands frantically scanned the walls behind her hoping for some way out. There was none to be had as the Gryphon slapped her with a talon.

The mage felt blood trickle down her neck as her cheek bled in pain. "Wh-What do you want?! What do you want me to say?!" She shrieked as her eyes dilated.

"Tell me everything about your friends so I can eliminate them," Started the Gryphon, "or you will end up as a royal consort. It's your choice, Natalie. I can sit here all day!"

"Why would you want to marry a human?! Wouldn't that disgrace the entire Gryphon race as a whole?!" Natalie caterwauled.

"What say you if I said mother was a manticore?" Replied the Gryphon.

"It doesn't matter--you're still a worthless prick who has no sense of self-worth! That's why you made the Kingdom a fucking wreck!" Natalie retorted.

That comment earned her another slap to the face, which only widened the scars already present. More blood oozed from the wounds on her cheek.

"Last chance. Tell me or marry!" Bellowed the Gryphon, who was losing his temper already.

Natalie did not respond at all. Her right eye was scrunched and vision in her left was blurry. She grit her teeth just knowing a wedding would come either way.

"Fine, be that way." The Gryphon huffed before turning to leave the dungeon cell. "Guards, prepare her for the wedding! It will be held a week from this day!"

That monster left the cell, light casting his shadow only briefly before the door slammed.

A faint light of fire continued to flicker.

"Someone get here, please...." Natalie silently pleaded to herself as she continued to weep just knowing this didn't bode well at all.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes became hours. There were bags under her bloodshot eyes; her hair was a wreck beyond all comprehension; her body ached with pains of the unspeakable horror done to her by what, twenty Beholders now? Thirty? She'd lost count! She tried to lull herself into la-la land, but the second her eyes closed the images of the horror flashed into her mind and she was thus forced to stay awake. Sleep be damned.

Soon, her mind was numb. Completely and utterly numb. Even when the torch-fire had died out, she didn't notice nor care. Her eyes took on a soulless look...they looked glazed over. She looked like she was dead.

Her body gave in to her need to sleep. She didn't dream. There were no nightmares present.

Darkness was all that was there for her. The darkness was horrid and yet blissful--full of both fear and hope. It was rightfully so, because she knew times now were uncertain. Looking too much into the future was rumored to be a bad thing.

Silence. So eerily quiet. She heard nothing. A blissful terror seemed to have been lurking about, but Natalie took no such notice of anything, really.

Then, she heard a sound. A voice.

"Up....get....up.....get up, you stupid wench!"

Slowly opening her dead-looking eyes and blinking as though time were fleeting, she found herself staring at a wall. A clawed hand....no, a talon was waving itself in front of her face.

"Get up, bitch!" Called the voice once more.

Natalie complied, albeit with a snail's pace. She still felt weak.

No, she felt meek and powerless. Sitting upright and rubbing her eyes subconsciously, a few tears slid down her cheeks.

"Eat your food." Said the guard as he walked out the room and slammed the door shut.

More darkness. The torch had been replaced, thus re-illuminating the room beyond previous boundaries. On a plate was a stale loaf of bread, a bucket of water, and...a dead rat.

Her mind was too numb to accept reality anymore. She downed the food before returning to an uncomfortable sleep.