—Talia—

I woke up with the world's worst headache and my body felt like it had just gone through hell and back. What did I do last night? I must have overworked my body again. I guess that would make it my own fault that I felt this way. Nothing left to do except take a warm shower to relax myself.
I tried to get up, and that's when the grim reality of my situation began to settle in.

I was chained to a wall, forced into a kneeling position with my hands secured above my head. Most of my clothing had been removed from my body, leaving me only in a pair of men's boxers and a sports bra. My hair hung around my face, smelling decent but looking a bit greasy. Whatever this situation was, it looked like I had gotten into it fairly recently. I was a captive. That must have meant my captor had to be somewhere nearby.

I racked my brain for any memories of how I had gotten here, but all I could think of was how much my head hurt. Flashbacks of a door being smashed and a man wrestling me began to greet me. I had been powerless to fight against him. I saw Kallan trying to come to my rescue. I had been knocked over the head and didn't remember anything after that.

Great. I, Metalia Stalin, had lost to a guy. That was going to do wonders for my ego.

Wait...Kallan. I looked around for any familiar trace of blonde hair. I grit my teeth. People could do whatever they wanted to me, but as soon as they touched Kallan, Adrian, Scarlett or anyone else that I cared about, I would have something to say about it.

I grunted and swung my legs forward in a kicking motion. If I could work up my magic enough, I might have been able to bend myself out of the handcuffs. I groaned and tried to cast my magic, but all that happened was a coin on the far side of the room erupted into a small spike of brass.

I scoffed. Of course. My captor probably knew of my abilities in Metal magic and used some sort of non-metal to keep me restrained. This person certainly wasn't an idiot, I'd give them that.

I growled and positioned myself back into a kneeling stance. At least this wouldn't be the most torturous position to be in. If only I had been more prepared, I wouldn't have gotten myself into this situation. I quickly pushed that thought out of my head. Now wasn't the time to blame myself. That was energy I could have been spending to plot my escape from this hell hole.

Just as I started to calm myself down, the door opened, two teenagers walking in. One was female, with a very slender waist and curvy hips, purple hair and lavender eyes. I resisted the urge to gasp as I got a look at the other figure. It was the guy that had grabbed me in the marketplace, then kidnapped me from the hotel. I bit my tongue and pretended to be asleep, listening in to their conversation.

"Good job, Kyle. You managed to do something right for once, you useless hunk of meat." The girl snapped, pulling out a compact mirror and applying some lip gloss. She spoke with a thick Australian accent and carried herself like someone that knew she had a higher social standing than the rest of the population.

The guy bit his lip and cursed under his breath in what I assumed was German. I could have been wrong, though. His face seemed to contort in pain with every word he said. "Don't act so surprised."

"Don't tell me what to do." The girl snapped. "You forget that the higher ups put me in charge of you, Jex and Nyx. You rub me the wrong way and I can send your disgusting body to be decomposed. Do you really want that?"

There was only silence.

"I thought so." She promptly closed her compact and placed a hand on her hip. "Now, all we gotta do is keep 'er alive. Once we get the Fertile Blossom, we'll send the bargaining chip back to her friends and we'll send the artifact back to Nanisa. Then we'll have two of these things secured for sure."

The guy groaned and ruffled his hair. He looked at the ground and seemed to be studying something that was written into the stone floor. The purple haired girl growled and backhanded the guy across the face.

"I told you to freakin' listen to me! God, I never had to deal with someone this mentally retarded in my life. Goddamn, you're the reason I had to cancel my shoots in Vegas this week. I have to babysit your sorry ass! If I wanted that I would have made my living as a nursery aide." She groaned and walked out of the room before saying, "Watch her. If she escapes, it's your head I'll be parading around on a damn stake."

The door then abruptly slammed shut, causing an echo in the small room. The boy's body posture gave away nothing as to what he was feeling. Next I would have normally observed his facial expressions, but with me being in the position I was and his head facing the floor, I couldn't exactly get a good look. I took a deep breath in, but still managed to keep it silent enough as to not draw attention to myself.

The boy suddenly lifted his head up in my direction. There was a small click as he rubbed the muscles around his jaw and swiped his tongue around his teeth. "I know you're awake." He said, his face no longer contorting in pain like it had before.

I bit my lip and tried to keep still. I didn't care what kind of person he was, I wanted nothing to do with him.

"Come on. I won't hurt you. I'm not allowed to anyways."

I still remained silent. I wasn't going to say a single word to him so long as I could help it.

"Look, I don't like this either, okay? I don't want to do this, but my life is on the line. If I screw up one more time, that's it for me."

I looked at him with narrowed eyes. "And I'm supposed to care because?"

"Means if I screw up I have all my DNA jumbled up til I turn into a lump of useless flesh and guts, then my position is given away to the next most promising candidate. Typical stuff, really."

I raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you blubbering on about?"

"You'll learn soon enough." He said nonchalantly. He smiled slightly and crossed his arms. "My name's Kyle. Kyle Schwartz."

"And you expect me to give you my name in return?" I asked rhetorically.

"Oh, no. I don't expect you to do anything at all." Kyle said. "See, everybody around here treats me like shit anyways, so I wouldn't expect you to do any different. Even the first time we met, I could tell you thought I was a retard like Steff does."

"Well, at least we know you can talk now, but personally I prefer you when you're silent." I snapped at him.

"Thing is, I'll admit I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I know how to take people out." He rambled on, ignoring my comment. "I know how to navigate back roads and alleyways like no one's business. Soon I got recruited as the ideal assassin. 'Course boss hated how much I talk so he put this weird mechanical muzzle on me. Makes it hurt like hell to talk. Higher ups have the ability to make me talk or shut up, but usually I only talk when I'm alone."

"Would someone turn that device back on for my sake?" I growled, pounding my fists against the  wall I was chained to. "If you were going to torture me, just give me shock therapy in a straightjacket, then put me in a white isolation room. I'd rather go insane from silence than your voice."

Kyle laughed, appearing not to take me seriously at all. "You're funny. You've got a weird sense of humor. I think I'll enjoy keeping you around. Maybe I can convince the boss to keep you."

I grit my teeth. "I'm not just something for you to "keep around". I have rights! You're taking them away and then some! I deserve to be free!"

"Rights? Free? Huh. I wonder what that's like." Kyle mused, looking up to the ceiling. "You see, I was born in a laboratory and raised on the streets. Freedom is a concept I've never really been able to comprehend. I've always had someone tell me what I can and can't do. I've never been allowed to make my own decisions. Just once I'd like to be able to act how I want. You're giving me that opportunity. I'd be stupid to just let you go. Not when you just got here."

I groaned and looked at the floor, purposely ignoring his face. I didn't know whether I felt pity or annoyance towards this kid. I sighed and spoke up. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Well, I know I'll never actually be free. My higher ups would never allow that. I'm always going to be told to act a certain way, dress a certain way, and even talk a certain way. It's enough to drive anyone crazy. Now that you're here, I have a bit of time to just be me! I don't have to worry about pissing off my bosses because you're not in charge of me! Plus you can't just get up and abandon me cuz you're a prisoner!"

Part of me wanted to punch him for that statement while the other part of me deeply sympathized with him. Growing up, my father had always told me how to act, how to present myself and even set me up on a strict training regimen. Growing up, I had no time for friends, but that didn't stop me from wanting them. I had a rather hard time talking to anyone because I was apparently "too intimidating". With that being said, my world was quite empty and lonely.

That was, until Kallan came into my life. My mother—who revealed that she was my biological mother and my father was not the man I lived with—adopted a Scottish girl who was two years younger than me. Her parents had apparently died in a fire caused by a thunderstorm while she had miraculously survived. Despite this tragedy, she was incredibly bubbly and friendly. I didn't know what to think of her, so I ignored her for a bit and tried to move on with my life.

However, this girl didn't give up. She often asked to play with me or if I wanted to engage in some other frivolous activity like drawing or knitting. As much as I wanted to, I didn't know how to do any of those things, so I pushed her away and went back to what I knew best: obeying my father. After all, I didn't want to discover something else I was incapable of doing.

It went on like that for a few months until I found Kallan in her room, crying into her arms. I didn't know what to do, so I found some tissues, threw them at her face, and then ran off as if I was being chased by a pack of wild dogs. I didn't think much of it at the time, but the next day, she had come to me with a huge smile on her face and handed me a present. When I had asked her why, she simply giggled and replied,

"It's your birthday, isn't it? July twenty-seventh. Isn't a friend supposed to give her friend a present on her birthday?"

I had been shocked and excited at her statement. I had never gotten a present from someone other than my mother on my birthday. I had carefully taken the box and untied the bow that had secured it shut. Once I opened it, I saw the most beautiful hair comb that I had ever seen. That was my most prized possession, and even now I was irritated that it wasn't anywhere in me. Of course, since it was metal, it could have been used as a tool to escape.

I sighed. He was like me. At least, he was like the person I once was. He was sick of following orders and needed someone to talk with to keep them same. I was his Kallan; or at least, that's what he wanted me to be.

I looked up at him and bit my tongue to try to keep myself from saying anything hurtful. I had to think through what I was about to say. I took a deep breath and let the tension that was building up in my chest flow out of my nose. "So, you're going to try to make friends with me even though we're enemies?"

He cocked his head and scratched the side of his jaw. "Does a prisoner of war count as an enemy?" Kyle asked, looking thoughtful. "I don't know. It just gets lonely. None of my teammates respect me and treat me like utter garbage. I guess I just want someone to talk to, you know?"

I sighed and made eye contact with him. "Very well. I suppose I'll allow you to talk to me for—"

Just then, the door opened, and a man in an official-looking suit came in, not saying anything. They just pointed to the cell and looked at Kyle threateningly. Kyle nodded and walked into the cell after it was opened for him by the man. The guard walked in and unlocked my chains after claiming some kind of collar around my neck that prevented me from moving on my own. He then walked out the door and locked it again, pressing some sort of button that allowed me to move again. I growled and tried to knock down the door. I pummeled my fists against it, but to no avail. I growled and scraped my nails against the glass wall.

"Vy? Vy are you here vith me?" I growled, my native accent becoming clear.

Kyle blushed and sheepishly looked at the floor. "Well, the higher ups decided they'd use you for another purpose as long as you're here."

"And that would be?"

He completely avoided looking at me. "Selective breeding."

My jaw dropped as I backed away from him slowly into a corner. "I swear to god, if you try anything..."

"Oh, no!" He quickly said. "I swear I won't lay a finger on you without your consent. I have enough common sense not to do that."

"And I'm supposed to trust you, because?" I growled, channeling a bit of my dragon so my teeth grew to a threatening length.

"I don't expect you to trust me. Just know that I would never hurt a beautiful woman like you in any way." He smiled. "I don't wanna do something like that just for the sake of creating super soldiers. I mean, if I was to do it, I'd wanna—"

"Shut. Up." I snarled. I walked over to one of the cots in the cell and curled up, closing my eyes. "Leave me alone and stay on the opposite side of the room."

"Okay"

I was beside myself with fury. Here I was in a strange place with no idea what was going on and stuck with a guy that was ordered to procreate with me all because of some mysterious, unnamed organization. I gave an irritated grunt and resisted the urge to scream. I hated this world.

BOOM BABY! Who's on the updating roll? This girl! Oh yeah. Well, next chapter is gonna be another long one, maybe twice the length of this one, so it'll be longer til I have this one typed up. (Spoiler it's Hazu's trial. Ooo~). I have a lot in store for my fans and I can't wait til everyone sees what happens! I've worked long and hard on chapter 16 and it's actually still in the process of being written. I promise that it will be uploaded sometime this week, though.

In other news, this marks the halfway point of Royal Storm! I'm so proud that I got this far and thankful to my fans who have given me the support and love that inspires me to keep writing. Of course, I probably would still keep writing, but it would still be in my notebooks and not on Wattpad. And that would be tragic. Seriously.

But anyways, enjoy this chapter and your wait! Any comments and or theories? I'd like to hear back from you guys. Until then!

Signing Off, Kiera Savage.