Please do tell me if you are comfortable with me taking the plot slow. Thanks for reading.

"You are pathetic, just look at you." Mark scoffed, Gracia's slouched form not making a single movement. Mark stepped in the cell, gripping Gracia's jaw, making her look up at him forcefully as he gazed into her broken gaze. "What happened to you Gracia hmm? I thought you were strong enough to not break from my punishments. Oh darling this is just the start." He spoke with such pride and mischief, making chills run down Gracia's spine as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp, letting out a small whimper of pain at Mark's strong grip on her.

He pushed her back harshly against the wall, letting go of her as he clapped his hands, startling one of the guards which immediately rushed in the cell since Mark was motioning him. He stayed quiet for a moment, a tense silence settling down as Mark thought for a moment.

"She is ready Marshal, take her to the lab and get her ready for the procedure. Lord Henry will be pleased to know that his weapon will be ready in a few hours." Mark spoke with excitement, his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm and a hint of insanity. The guard didn't waste any time as he unlocked the chains and pulled her harshly by her hair, forcing her to stand up. Mark was gone, making Gracia wonder if he had been really there. She didn't know what was real or not anymore, porbably due to dehydration and starvation.

She was guided through the maze of halls that had become her home now. They made many turns, and she tried to memorize them to when she went back to her cell to try and find an escape, but she soon lost concentration and got lost after the seventh turn around a corner.

They arrived at a white door in several minutes. The hall was empty besides that mysterious door and the both of them, making it more suspicious to Gracia about what procedure they were talking about specifically. "Where are we?" She managed to ask in a hushed tone, being received by a glare from the guard as he stood straight and knocked on the door loudly.

Several seconds passed by without an answer. Everything stay stilled before movement from the other side was heard, followed by hushed voices and the jimgles of keys. The door was unlocked and when it was opened, Gracia was received by a painfully blinding white light, making her try to shield her eyes weakly as her eyes remaining closed.

"Oh good lord, what happened to her? She is in perfect conditions for the procedure!" The voice exclaimed in an excited tone. Gracia couldn't help but open her eyes to see who was the owner of the voice. She wasn't at all surprised when she saw the scientist of the town, Ms. Kells. She was really known for her advance in technologies and the invention of weapons that had brought glory to many rulers around the world. Or so rumors were.

But the fact that she was known for making weapons made her wonder why was she even there in the first place. Ms. Kells worked with machinery and metal, not a human being. Not mentioning an alive human being.

"Strap her to the table, I'll go get the vials ready!" She exclaimed enthusiastically, clapping her hands as she walked past them, leaving the both alone. The guard wasted no time as he pushed her towards a table, standing close to her as he gripped her arm. "Lay down. And if you try anything, you'll get a punishment understood?"

Gracia gave a nod, moving so she was standing. She looked over at the metal table, her eyes narrowing at the sight of leather straps on the four corners of the table. She hesitantly climbed on it, moving so she was in a laying position. The guard took one of her arms, attaching a strap and adjusting so it would hold her tightly. Gracia squirmed at the uncomfortable sensation, watching as he adjusted the las strap on her left foot, leaving her unable to protect herself since her arms were now extended, her body looking like a star as she layed helplessly on it.

The room stayed quiet, the both not saying a word, making the atmosphere uncomfortable. Gracia heard as the door opened again, Ms. Kells walking back in holding several tubes with a strange liquid. She set them down on a table, besides other vials and papers which were pretty much scattered all around the lab.

She soon turned around and clapped her hands together, approaching the table as she started scribbling things on a paper, humming in thought every now and then. "Very well. You have done your job. You can leave now, I'll handle the rest." She spoke, never looking up from her papers. The guard merely nodded in respect and spon left the room, the door closing loudly, followed by it being locked.

Ms. Kells set the paper down, leaning up close to Gracia's face as she observed her. "You are a really unique person Gracia" She started, stepping away from the table as she turned towards the table with vials, grabbing two of the tubes and mixing them together, pouring the finished mixture in a syringe. She turned around, facing her with an almost craze expression. "Your DNA is quite interesting, it has genes that I didn't know existed until now." She gently tapped the upper part of the syringe. "And that intrigues me."

'This woman is crazy' Gracia immediately thought in her mind, watching as the mad scientist grabbed her hand forcefully, injecting the strange purple substance in her vein. She frowned slightly as she set the now empty syring on the table. "If ot weren't for Lord Henry wanting you, I would've expreimented on you already honey. It's a shame... we were going to have so much fun for sure!" She exclaimed, flicking several switches on the control panel on the wall to her right.

Extreme dizziness suddenly hit Gracia, her eyes widening as he eyesight blurred. Her world spun, making her close her eyes tightly, her heartbeat increasing and her breathing coming out in short desperate pants to get air in her lungs.

She started squirming in her restraints, her body un voluntarily convulsing. She could hear Ms. Kells speaking, but she couldn't understand at all what she was saying. An air mask was put on her face, an extremely blinding light filling her vision as her body convulsed one more time, her body falling back on the table with a thud, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she fell unconscious.

***

Gracia thought she would have a time to at least get away from her worries. She had no clue at all of what had happened to her. She wasn't sure if she was even alive still. Everything was confusing, she could hear voices around her yet she didn't recognize any of them. Suddenly images flashed in front of her eyes at an unimaginable speed, stopping every now and then to see the same two people every time.

The first one was a man. He was tall and built. His black short hair had several streaks of white hair covering it, having a neatly cut beard. His gray eyes were directed to his scar littered hands, an expression of frustration and sadness present on his face. The scene changed once again and the man was now standing besides a...woman?

It was hard to tell for Gracia since the woman had no hair. But what intrigued her the most was what they were doing in that moment. They were doing things she had never seen in her life before. They were facing each other, sitting down on the floor of a spacious area. The woman moved her hands together, pulling them apart only for a bright orange line present in mid air. They talked once again, the man motioning to himself and back at the woman, the both seeming to have rather an interesting conversation.

The last scene that came in front of her eyes definitely stayed in her memory. This time the man was engaged in a hand on hand combat. His enemy's eyes were dark, a malicious smirk on his face as he pushed the man back, both stumbling in right where she was. The man moved his arm back, launging forward to punch him. But before she could see what happened, the scene disappeared. The images starting flashing even faster than before, her eyes were trying to catch a glimpse of at least one of them but it was useless, they were moving at an impossible speed.

Pain coursed through her body as she was jerked forward, her body moving at nearly the same speed as the images, all of them seeming to head into a same direction.  She started falling, heading towards the darkness ahead of her. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to embrace for the impact that would never come to her. She screamed, her arms and legs moving frantically as she tried to grip of something, anything solid!

"It has worked!" A voice echoed loudly. Everything halted to a sudden stop, the images dissolving in the darkness, leaving her alone in her consciousness.  She looked around in confusion, her eyes wandered around the darkness as she searched for the person whom it belonged to.

An invisible force gripped her hands, pulling her forward. She squirmed, tugging at the force as she tried to free herself from the prison that was her mind now. One second she was in that dark place, the other she was in the lab she had been taken to. She was still squirming, the restraints holding her down tightly to the metal table.

Ms. Kells' face came to view, her crazed smile even wider than before. "Just look at you... it is amazing! Unbelievable darling. I just created the most powerful weapon in the world. All thanks to you and my skill in weaponry." She exclaimed, rolling the table to the other side of the room. She stood in front of the table, blocking what was behind her to Gracia as she put on her glasses.

"You'll like your new appearance! Just... take a look. You'll agree with me as soon as you see it." And with that said, she stepped aside. Gracia immediately stopped squirming as she saw the mirror that Ms. Kells was blocking just before. She stayed still for a moment, his eyes as wide as platters as she stared at her own reflection.

'No... impossible. That can't be me' She thought to herself, seeing her own cloak staring right at her. The cloak wasn't really staring since it had no eyes, only the hem and followed by the rest of the red fabric.

Gracia hesitantly lifted her arm, the side of the cloak moving upwards and folding in as Gracia did the same. She was definitely speechless, her mind was desperately trying to process what was happening right in that moment. Her thoughts were interrupted as she looked over to Ms. Kells, listening to what she started saying. "Isn't it great Gracia sweetheart? I borrowed your cloak if it isn't a problem. I just LOVED the fabric. And have you seen that amazing color? A true beauty from an artisian." She rambled on, continuing to stare at her with gleaming eyes. "Get ready Gracia honey, you are going to meet up with Lord Henry. He will be satisfied with the results!" She exclaimed as she removed the straps, letting her free from the tight restraints. Gracia wasted no time. squirming off the table as she tried to 'run' away from that crazed woman.

She suddenly froze in place, her body laying limp against the floor as Ms. Kells stepped in front of her. She leaned down and picked her up, looking at her with a smile. "Oh dear, it won't be that easy to escape. I made sure of that."

Gracia stared in horror, watching as the woman started walking, carrying her in her arms like an object, which in some sense she was. She couldn't believe it at all. Get beaten up daily is a thing, but now... She had been turned somehow into her own red cloak. That was the least of her worries in that moment. She was worried about what she was going to be used for not that she was a 'weapon'

She didn't like at all what was happening.