.•° ✿ °•.

"The King," Christain began, closing the door, "Has changed his mind. You will answer my questions or face the consequences, which, to you will be... Undesirable, to say the least."

"I won't answer any of your questions." I stated firmly, meeting Christian's gaze head-on.

"We'll see about that." he began, pulling out his rifle.

"You're going to shoot me? That seems a most ineffective way of getting what you want." I said, nervously glancing at it.

"No, you imbecile, it would make too much noise." he responded, flipping the weapon so that the butt of the rifle rested against my jaw, "Now, tell me, who among the King's men have been sent by the French? And don't say none, because I know they are here."

Dante, Josef, and Florance, but it was not as though I would give the information to him. I glared up at him, refusing to answer his question. My head spun as he struck my jaw with the end of his rifle, before he lowered his gaze to be level with mine.

"Now, I'm going to ask you again, who among us are spies?" he demanded, to which I responded again with silence.

I felt a sharp pain in the side of my head, as the end of his rifle struck it. This pattern continued again and again, and I struggled to remain conscious. I felt my vision failing, my head swam, and I could hardly think. All I knew was that I had to remain strong. Withhold the information, and above all else, do not cry. Crying was for the weakminded, Mrs. Dubois had taught me that, and I wouldn't forget it. She and I never saw eye to eye, but at the end of the day, she'd taught me some lessons that had quickly proved true the moment I'd set foot in the real world.

"Stubborn, are you? That's alright, I can do far worse than just hit you." he said, pulling out an object that glinted in the light of the candle, a knife.

"I will stop this as soon as you give me the answers I seek. Your struggles are futile, they won't get you anything but hurt." he said, tracing my throat with the blade.

"Just kill me." I spat.

"No, I don't think I would grant you the mercy." he began, "Answer my question, or you can have a taste of this blade."

"No." I struggled to stay strong.

On the outside I would appear indifferent, however, on the inside, I was concealing fear. A fear I hadn't ever felt before, one so deep I could hardly contain it. I was probably going to die, and no one would even miss me. To my surprise, my mind calmed as soon as that thought entered my mind. Nobody would miss me, my life was of little value, but that could change. My death could make a difference, could, no, would help my cause. At last at peace, I faced my fate head-on, refusing to look away from Christian, from the knife that would be my undoing.

"I'll give you one last chance. Who among the King's men are spies?" he repeated the same question, the knife still at my neck, it's sharpened tip threatening to draw blood.

Again, I refused to answer. In spite of my efforts, I could not conceal the pain I felt, letting out a scream, as he stabbed the knife deep into my thigh.

"Care to answer now?" he taunted.

Tears threatened to spill as I shook my head. I would remain strong, I wouldn't cry, and I would, above all else, keep the information a secret. I gasped as he twisted the knife in a circle, and like that, I blacked out.

"Rosalie," a sweet voice laughed, "You've got to be careful with the flour, it's really easy to make a mess of!"

"I-I'm really sorry Miss!" I said, quickly cleaning up the spilled flour, terrified that she might punish me like how they had at the other home.

"It's alright, don't be scared, Rose, I'm not angry." she tried to soothe me.

Her words did little to solace me, after all, my other home had started off nice too, until I'd made a mistake, they didn't take well to those. I shuddered as I recalled the merciless nature of their punishments, I remembered the bruises their hands would leave on my face. Miss Marie lifted her hand, and I flinched, expecting to be hit for my mistake. Her hand paused, noticing my fear, before gently touching my face, wiping away the flour smeared across it.

"Darling, you needn't fear the world, simply because you've seen its bad. It is full of wondrous things, and kind people, you need only look, and you'll find them." she smiled, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear before turning to the counter, "Now, where did we leave off?"

My eyes fluttered open, and the pain came flooding back. I shifted my head, it felt as though there was a hundred pounds weighing it down. Against the far wall, leant the guard, his arms crossed, glaring at me menacingly. I again shifted my gaze to my leg, to find the dagger still protruding from it.

"I was worried I'd killed you without getting anything out of you." he laughed, making his way over to me.

"Go to hell." I spat.

"After you, my lady." he mocked, grasping the handle of the knife and twisting it, causing a scream to ring out.

"Now that you're conscious and thinking, let us give this another go. Which of the King's men are spies?"

"Monsieur, I don't believe I've ever met anyone quite so stupid as you." I said through gritted teeth, trying to suppress another scream as he twisted the knife again.

"I suppose you're about ready to die then?" he said, slowly and painfully pulling the knife from my leg, and pointing its tip to my face.

My mind froze. Was he truly going to kill me? And was I still willing to die? I remembered what Marie had told me, to look for the good in the world, that it was there. I wanted, more than anything, to find that good. But how could I, when I was dead? Was this my fate? Was I doomed, with no hope of survival? A single tear escaped the corner of my eye, as I realized something. I wanted to live. My life didn't have a purpose, and so I had all the more reason to live. I had to find that purpose, find the good in the world.

"It would appear someone is rethinking their decision to die for their cause. And all you have to do to escape this is answer my questions." he said, tracing the knife along my cheekbone, with enough pressure to draw blood.

"I-I can't." I responded, my voice shaky, to which the guard scoffed, before hitting me over the head with his rifle that had been leaning against the chair.

My vision became hazy again, and I struggled to keep conscious. However, I still refused to speak. After all, as much as I wanted to live, I could not betray the three men who'd been sent as spies. They had as much reason as I to live, and revealing them would result in their deaths. I was stuck, without any way out.

"You can't, can you?" he asked after a short pause, before lowering his rifle to the ground, and putting the blade to my neck, "Well that's just too bad, isn't it?"

Just as his knife had begun to draw the faintest bit of blood from my neck, the door to the room we'd been in burst open, and I squinted my eyes against the light of a lantern, unable to see who was there.

"Christain?" a voice asked.

I worked hard to stay conscious, a task that proved daunting. My world spun. A few angry words that I couldn't make out were exchanged between the man and Christain, before Christain fled the room. The other man set down the lantern and my head lolled, hanging to the side. The man quickly undid the rope binding my legs and arms. My brows furrowed when I recognized his face. It was the King. Was I dreaming? Or perhaps hallucinating?

"I'm so sorry, my Rose." he said, his voice shaky, before lifting me into his arms.

As he carried me out of the room, I focused my gaze on his fearful expression. And that was the last thing I saw before my eyes flickered shut, allowing me to slowly slip out of consciousness.

°•. ✿ .•°