"17..." I gasped, bracing myself for the familiar feeling of the whip slicing into my back and the explosion of pain. 

"18..." My vision turned white at the edges and my back gained yet another laceration to join the network of scars. 

"19..." I managed to croak out as my whole body shuddered, before finally succumbing to the fire that raged in my spine and flattening on the floor. 

"20!"  Agony exploded through my skin one last time, leaving me heaving on the ground, taking deep breaths to collect myself. It was finally over, for now. It would be stupidly optimistic to say it was over forever. I knew they would be back next week. Possibly even sooner if they lost track of time. 

The Ice Guard stepped back, lowered the whip, and looked down at me, his face twisting into an expression of shock and admiration. He was probably new, since he was clearly expecting me to scream, cry, or at least have some kind of reaction. What he didn't know was that I didn't do that anymore. I was too used to this. 

I looked up at the hundreds of scratches that covered my cell's walls, my only way of marking time in this desolate place. It always looked and felt like night in Saralee's dungeons. I had been imprisoned when I was twelve, and now, at least according to the scratches, I was twenty. It was a bit hard to believe that I'd been in this accursed hole for eight years. 

Dropping the whip with a dull thump onto the cold prison floor, the Ice Guard pulled a small green device out of his pocket. Looking around the cell, he located the security camera before placing the device on its lens. The camera beeped, and the feed disappeared. 

Turning back to me, he yanked off his grimy helmet with his gloved hands. I narrowed my eyes in confusion. Wasn't it against protocol for Ice Guards to take off their helmets while on duty? But then again, he probably turned off the security camera for a reason...

"I hate to do this to you, you know, Princess Tara," he sighed, hanging his head in remorse. "I hate to watch you suffer like this, I really do."

"Why are you telling me? Tell your captain and quit your job," I said icily. Even though his sad expression seemed genuine, I knew better than to trust anyone who wore my mother's insignia. Ice Guards were usually great actors. For all I knew, she could have ordered him to do this just to see my reaction. It wouldn't be the first time she played sick games like that. 

"No," he shook his head. "Because then, they would just get someone else to do it. It wouldn't change anything. Just apologize, please."

"To who?"

"To Queen Saralee, of course. She asks you every single week! If you could just say sorry, she'd let you out. You could live like a Princess ought to again. Just one measly little word, and you'd be free! Most prisoners don't have that luxury," his eyes darkened.

"She doesn't deserve an apology," I spat. "She's a monster! Don't you see what I'm doing? I'm adding fuel to the fire! Every time I'm beaten, the people get angrier at her. Every time I'm publicly burned or cut or scarred, the White Hot Flame watches, and the fight within them grows. Someday, it's going to boil over," I grinned victoriously.

"Someday, they aren't going to be able to watch this anymore! You see, I'm the face of all the innocent people she's tortured and killed. I'm the face of the villages she's destroyed and the water sources she's poisoned, and I'm going to use that! I'm going to see her brought to justice!"

"Listen, Princess," the Ice Guard pursed his lips. "I'm not a normal Ice Guard, I'm a Flame operative. I joined the Ice Guards to gain more information about how the Queen runs things. I have a message from Eleanna Myers herself. She wants you to apologize. The Flame wants you to apologize."

"That can't be true," I shook my head. 

"It is," the Ice Guard nodded. "Whether Queen Saralee is willing to accept it or not, you are the heir to the throne. If you keep living like this, you'll die. Without you, the Flame wouldn't have anything left to fight for. There would be no hope for a better tomorrow. Lady Myers wants you to apologize now. You can fight the Queen later, when the time is right, when your sister returns."

"Vivi's alive?" I gasped with joy. 

"She is," the Ice Guard nodded. "It was confirmed by a fellow Flame agent, Teren Faerlen." 

"Is it true that she's as powerful as Mom?" I asked.

"Yes," the Ice Guard smiled. "Though it appears that, at the moment, she isn't very familiar with how to...use that power." 

"She'll learn," I nodded confidently. "She's a very fast learner."

"Yes," the Ice Guard agreed. "But please, at least for her sake, apologize to the Queen," he pleaded. "Remember how much you cried when she was banished. She would feel the same pain if she returned to see you in this state. It would keep her from being able to concentrate on channeling her Aural power to know that every second she was safe at the Flame base, her sister was being tortured." 

"Vivi is strong, she'd understand," I said firmly. "I'm never going to apologize. I'm never going to give Mom the pleasure of knowing she's broken me! Even if I did go back, it wouldn't be the same. I know the Icehearts, once you lose their trust, you never get it back. They'd do everything to make sure I knew I didn't belong." 

"But the Flame-" 

"I am an Arystenn," I stated coldly. "I owe no allegiance to the Flame, and have no obligations to fulfill their will.

"Fair enough," the Ice Guard pursed his lips. "Hopefully Princess Viviana will be more cooperative." 

He gave me a long look before putting back on his helmet, picking up the whip, and carefully taking his little green node off of the camera and walking out, shutting the iron cell door with a clang.