Part 1: 𝔚𝔥𝔬 ℑ 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢
Tags: f!INFJ, m!ENTP, ft. m!ENTJ, ENTJ is an asshole in this one (sorry to all my ENTJ who are not machiavellian tyrants <3 love you all), lovers to enemies (kinda), kingdom setting, there’s an insurgence, kind of historical fiction (…I think? I’m not sure how this genre is called), angst, betrayal, threats of torture, threats of murder, mentions of murder, threats of rape (nothing explicit, I promise), mentions of violence, mentions of war, curse words are used, I’m bad at tagging, this was supposed to be a oneshot but I think it will end up having at least three parts :’) hurt no comfort (comfort in the next parts), I don’t know what else to add, please tell me if I should add anything else.
Summary: INFJ had been stupid enough to trust the wrong person, and now was paying the consequences. Not only was her life at risk, but also the entire cause she had been fighting for. All because she allowed herself to be fooled by someone’s lies… but, perhaps there had been some truth in them. For ENTP everything had gone according to his and ENTJ’s plan, except for the fact that he now regretted everything. Willing to right his wrongs, he decides to start a new, riskier plan.
(Part 2: 𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 ℑ 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔲𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢)
(Part 4: 𝔚𝔥𝔬 𝔴𝔢 𝔠𝔬𝔲𝔩𝔡 𝔟𝔢)
A/N: Ok, so this started as: “Oh, people suggests using the MBTI cognitive functions to built a more realistic character” went into “Haha some people has turned the MBTI stereotypes into characters; how cute”, then “And they ship them? I mean, weird ig, but ok…”, to “;-; why am I getting invested in these ships?” and somehow ended up here :D (Seriously after the biggest writer block of my life my brain decided to pull an allnighter to plan out and write THIS?) Just wanted to clarify that this is based on the MBTI stereotypes and tailored for the role I assigned them in this story, so please don’t feel offended if you happen to have the same MBTI as any of them but would never act like them. The same thing about shipping- I’m just shipping the stereotyped-characters. With all of that said… I have NO idea how I ended up with this angsty mess but… hope someone out there will like it I guess. English is not my first language so I apologize if anything sounds funny. Feel free to leave any feedback, as it is very appreciated.
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There she was. Vulnerable, defeated, humilliated, but above everything else: hurt.
As she laid in the cold floor forced to kneel to the king, she realized that she really did not care about the bruises on her body, nor the ones on her ego- but the ones on her heart seemed hard to ignore.
ENTJ laughed softly as he rosed from his throne, slowly approaching her “Are you sure that this one is the one who has been causing us so much trouble? She doesn’t really looks like it.”
To INFJ the voice that replied sounded as cold as the floor under her. “She is the one. I made sure to confirm it myself.” said ENTP; though she refused to raise her head to see him, she could hear the familiar smirk on his face.
Stupid. She had been so stupid. She had been the perfect spy because she was able to enter into any fortress while being a fortress herself; she gained anyone’s trust easily, but she trusted no one.
Except that she let him in. She trusted him.
For what? He played her at her own game and now…
Whatever had happened to her or would happen to her did not matter, not really, but the future of those who had depended upon her was at risk because she failed.
She would not fail them twice.
“How many days do you think it would get to break her?” asked ENTJ while she heard his steps getting closer “Two? Three days on the torture chamber?” ENTJ’s feet suddenly appeared in her eyesight and she lifted her head to look at him in the eye. Defiant. She felt pathetic, weak and dumb but as hell she would show it to him.
He laughed again, “Oh, she’s fierce nonetheless.” Taking her chin forcefully with his hand to look better at her face, he added “and pretty too. I could even think of different ways to make her scream other than torture.”
She swallowed hard and turned slightly paler at that last part; his grin widened “What is it, love? Are you more scared of the promise of pleasure than that of pain?” he chuckled letting go of her chin only to place his hand with more force on her neck “Perhaps we might actually consider a different form of interrogation for this one.”
INFJ felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She would rather death. She would rather the most painful torture than what this man infront of her was implying.
A sharp metal sound suddenly broke the silence, and though she could not move her head to see what had happened the voice ENTP quickly followed said sound.
“Pardon me. So unusual of me to be this clumsy.”
ENTJ eyes swiftly moved from her face towards the place where she knew ENTP stood. After what seemed to be a silent conversation between the two, the first one scoffed “Yeah; unusual” and let go of her neck, finally allowing her to breathe again. He had not been using enough force to block her airways, but pure terror had stopped her from breathing at all.
After the man returned to his throne, he looked at the girl on the ground once again. Despite of the slip of fear she had just had, she took once more the mask of cold defiance she had initially borne. ENTJ smiled almost sarcastically at that.
“We will attempt our usual route of interrogation first. If that doesn’t work… I might have to get creative.” this time she didn’t let it show how those words shook her to the core “Take her to the cells.”
And after that simple order two pair of hands that she had known to be behind her forced her to her feet and took her out of the room. As they did she cast one glance at the person who had put her on this position.
He looked back at her. Those eyes she had loved were now the most horrific sight she could find in this whole castle. She had truly believed that he loved her back, that he understood her as much as she had known him, that she had finally found someone to rely on. But now, she knew that he had lied, that she had not known him at all, and that she betrayed herself as much as he betrayed her by daring to let her guard down.
Her heart still ached, but it wasn’t because of his betrayal. It was because the person she had known, had loved, had given her trust to, was but a fantasy. This man that was looking at her, she did not know. She definetely didn’t love him, and now was wise enough to know better than to trust anyone. This man had handed her to her death, and perhaps worse things than death, as if she was nothing to him; but at least she could say that this stranger was nothing to her as well.
Once his face had been gone from her sight she repeated those last words as many times as she needed until every part of her body, mind and soul believed them.
That stranger was nothing to her.
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He was not used to the intoxicating sensation of fear.
He had felt fear in his life and for his life, of course, it was a common thing to have under the commands of people like general ENTJ. But for him, those were rare instances; as if he had always been too brave or too stupid, and had somehow become almost inmune to it.
“So, are you gonna explain yourself or do you want me to guess what was that back there?”
They were in ENTJ’s chamber. The royal chamber. Five years ago they had seized power from the last king (may he rest in pieces) as general ENTJ had convinced himself that he had not been fit for the throne and that what the nation needed was a stronger and ambitious leader who actually dared to be the change this nation needed. Many believed him to be right, ENTP being one of them. The financial situation from before was enough to move sufficient men and women towards their cause, which ultimately lead to their success.
But of course, there were those who were against this. Their motivations of various kinds. Many of them guided merely by the fact that this new political climate did not benefit them; very few others talked about justice and laws and actually meant it. Whether caused by the first or second group, the whispers that called ENTJ a tyrant began spreading soon enough. Nonetheless, it didn’t really matter, as it had been easy to keep them all under control, one way or another. At least, until a group of rebels began causing them trouble two years ago.
And that’s where ENTP’s and INFJ’s stories intertwined.
ENTP made sure to act as he usually did. Carefree, witty, slightly smug. And that was his exact expression when he answered to his commander and king “What? About my slippery hands?”
“As if I was stupid enough to fall for your bullshit.” Despite ENTJ’s calm expression he could tell he was not calm at all. “You dropped the same knife I gave you after slitting the old king’s throat. Tell me, honestly, could you really consider such thing as an accident?- Should I be worrying that one of my trusted circle is threatening me?” despite his tone remaining neutral, ENTP could hear the warning behind it, telling him to be careful of what he was about to say next.
ENTP chuckled softly and threw himself over one of the chairs of the room. Relaxed. He needed to be relaxed. “Fine. I admit it. I dropped the knife on purpose. Though it being that especific knife, was not.”
Now it was ENTJ’s turn to chuckle. Whether he believed that last part or not was out of ENTP’s knowledge. “So, I was right.” he uttered “Tell me, did you felt jealous of me touching your little pet?”
His expression remained as carefree as always, but ENTP could feel the ice slowly expanding through his chest. “You got me wrong, my friend.” He spat “It was not about who you were touching or who you were threatening. It was about what you were threatening her with.” ENTP sat a little straighter and allowed some of the ice within him to come out as he said “We are not the type to do such things. Have you forgotten? Or maybe power already started to mess with that head of yours?” Though a smile remained carefully placed in his face, there was nothing warm or friendly about it “Perhaps you are starting to believe those who call you a tyrant.”
“Perhaps you are forgetting who we are dealing with.” the King replied back as coolly. ENTJ turned his back to ENTP and began examining the papers that laid over his desk, “That girl has been informing about every move, every decision, every plan, that we have made for the last years. She is the reason we have been dealing with so many issues. She is the reason that pathetic group of insurgents became an actual threat to us. She is the reason we have been unable to move forwards with our plans of expansion. And she might be the cause of our downfall if we are not careful now.” His voice slowly grew more bitter as he spoke. “In case you also forgot, we might not be tyrants but we aren’t fond of playing by the rules; are we?” he asked rhetorically turning to face him once more, “Even when their little insurgence is not half as capable as they believe it to be, we still need the support of our neighbor nations if we want to keep our own afloat; at least, till we are strong enough. They might have not turn against us after we took the power, but if they realize that we are not as fond of following their dear proceedures and codes as they are, they might. If proof of some of our moves gets leaked, we are done. We cannot let that happen before we are ready.” He declared vigorously.
ENTP did not overlooked how ENTJ insisted on talking in plural. The message was clear: if ENTJ could be considered a tyrant, so could he. And if ENTJ would go down, so would him. “But you already got the girl locked up.” he pointed, attempting to return to his more casual attitude “She won’t be an issue any longer. There’s nothing to fear. So I still don’t understand the reasoning behind your threats.”
The commander actually laughed at that, though there was not any trace of joy found in it. “You, my friend, can be very smart. But sometimes you are just as stupid.” He proceeded to explain, “First, and the most obvious reason, is that she still holds valuable information. Information that not even you could get out of her. Names, hiding spots, plans, perhaps there might even be another rat between us; she will know all of that.”
“So your justification of becoming worse than an animal will be to get information out of her.” ENTP retorted; the same ice from before threatening to come out once more.
ENTJ almost laughed again, “You fool. It is not about what we actually do to someone. Is about what they fear we might do.” he smiled almost simpathetically to him “Don’t trouble your mind, I won’t lay a finger on her. But, I need her to fear I might if she refuses to cooperate during the interrogations.”
Whatever kind of relief the first part of that sentence might have given ENTP was quickly extinguished by the last. He knew what interrogations in this castle were. Even before they took power, their nation had always been known for the severety of its treatment towards those who dared to act out of line. That’s something that the revolution took advantage of when they first raised: they were the first group in decades that dared to publicly go against the crown despite of the possible consequences; in the eyes of the people they were brave and determined, and in the eyes of their enemies they were indomitable and impredictable. Once they had become the ones in power, ENTJ decided to use such reputation in his favor, so he continued with the tradition.
There were lines they won’t cross, of course, like what he had just been complaining about to ENTJ; but that didn’t mean that the route towards those lines was not a painful, bloody one.
And his imagination had already started to turn against him by imagining INFJ in each one of the probable scenarios he knew would happen. The same fear he had constantly been in since she had officially become a prisioner, slicing him inside out. Not even the times he had feared for his very own life could compare.
But, relaxed. He needed to appeared relaxed.
“Very well then, its good to know that my friend is still a man and not a beast.” He forced himself to appear curious rather than terrified “But what is the other reason?”
ENTJ smiled slightly more earnestly at him than he had been doing during their whole conversation “I need her to make an example out of her- and just killing her won’t be enough. Like I said in the throne room, I need her to break.” The commander approached a little chess set he had placed on a small table, and took one of its pieces in his hand. “She is the first important player we’ve caught from the insurgent group. You yourself know firsthand how much they relied on her. Even the leaders. If we just kill her, they will make her a martyr; that would be like adding fuel to a fire. But,” slowly he placed the piece back in its place “if we show them that we can turn one of their stronger players into a mere shell, ready to crack under any pressure,” he grinned and looked ENTP directly in the eyes “we will finally begin to crush that rebellion to death. If we manage to display her publicly in absolute despair, that same despair with spread across the other rebels and begin to kill their cause inside out. After that, we can kill her.”
'Make an example out her' he had said, but by that he had meant to make a show out of her misery.
Fear. He was still not used to this sensation and he hated it. Just like he had started hating the man infront of him with every particle of his body. Just like he had hated himself since he brought this upon her.
ENTP knew that he was no innocent; he had done as much if not more of the pulling of the strings behind the curtains during their rise to power. And ENTJ was right; they had not exactly been too ‘correct’ in their ways. But, he had always believed that the ends would justify the means. That what they have done wrong could be righted by the good that it would cause eventually. Nevertheless, time passed and ENTJ and the rest of his followers had just become more cold, more bold, more vengeful- at first justifying themselves saying that it was necessary measures to ensure respect, then blaming the insurgeance and the need to end it for their merciless acts.
And the worst part was… there were still no results. The economy remained in shambles, crime rates kept going up, the people was still miserable, and now more than ever fear ruled over everything. But either delusion or actual curruption kept them settled in their ways, while still predicating the same speech that had first convinced people to put their trust upon them.
He had remained blind to it all during most of it- or well, perhaps not blind but unwilling to see the truth. Unwilling to see what power was turning their cause into, a cause that he was sure had began with good intentions. He lied and convinced himself that eventually things would turn right.
But after getting to know someone from the other side- someone who taught him that fighting fire with fire would never not lead to just more smoke and ashes, and that the only way to right a wrong was to make it right to begin with… He could now see.
Yet, it had been too late at the moment to keep it all from coming to this. And he feared that if he took a misstep right now it might become to late to keep INFJ from encountering the fate ENTJ had just described for her.
After staring at ENTP for a few seconds ENTJ added “But… it seems I’ve misjudged how possessive you’ve become over the girl.”
Sometimes it surprised ENTP how easily his insides could go from iced bitterness to scorching rage. It also surprised him how good he could be at feigning indifference. He scoffed “As if. I already told you I don’t have any particular interest on her. She was fun to toy with, nothing else. She’s yours to do as you please.”
ENTJ continued staring him down, as if trying to get the truth out of him. But, after a while he simply nodded and said “Very well then. That’s good to hear, because I figured that she might be more compliant if you are in the room during tomorrow’s interrogation.”
His heart sunk in his chest, but he did his best to remain on his role “I doubt that’ll work. If anything her hate for me might make her harder to work with.”
The king sneered “Oh, does that means she is fond of me?”
ENTP replied “Her hate towards you is… general, my dear commander. As if she hates you, but not you, but rather the idea of you. But me,” he smiled smugly despite how those same words he was about to say cutted deeply through him “I am a personal issue.”
ENTJ turned to his desk once again, “Maybe you are right; but I’m actually relying on those strong feelings for you. Whether that’s love or hate or both, strong emotions always make someone easier to manipulate.” He moved his face only enough to look at his subordinate directly in the eyes as he said “You will be there tomorrow.” It was an order, not a suggestion, so ENTP knew better than to argue against it.
“Fine, we’ll see if your plan works tomorrow.” And with that he rose from his chair and turned to the door.
The only thing ENTJ said before ENTP could leave the room was “They always do.”
It was already nightfall when he finally found the opportunity to go into the cells without being noticed.
Since he had left his commander’s chambers he could barely think of anything besides the girl that was trapped inside those walls. He needed to come; to warn her of what would take place tomorrow, and what could come afterwards.
But also, because he needed to see her.
He saw her laying down on the floor; perhaps asleep, perhaps unconcious. Ice ran through his veins at the prospect of the second. He rushed to take out the keys he had stolen from the guards and went inside. The sound of the cell’s door opening immediately made her jump- so asleep it was then.
ENTP could tell that she recognized him as quickly as she saw him. She became almost unnaturally still, her eyes becoming stone cold, just as they had done the only time she had deigned to look at him in the throne room. He hated that look; he could have dealt with the expected looks of hatred, of anger, of betrayal, anything that indicated what she thought of him. Anything that could be taken as the residue of what she once felt for him.
But that look- it killed him. It was as if nothing had ever been there.
Though he admitted to himself that it would have been better for her if it had been that way.
He looked away from her eyes and dared to look at the rest of her. She lied on the floor, reclined against the same wall she was shackled to. Same clothes he had saw her wearing just yesterday's night, right before it all went to hell. But now they were torned, dirty- and bloodied. If he had to guess, she could barely keep herself up. Bruises covered her from head to toe. Despite that he had not been who caused them himself directly, he knew he was responsible for every one of them.
She had fight all the way into her capture. She only stopped fighting when she saw him standing side by side with the king, a fake grin on his face as the words left his mouth “Your Highness, I present to you: the spy”.
It pained him beyond anything he could express to see her like this. He was the first to move, advancing towards her to try to examine her wounds. But, of course, he should have thought better than to act without saying anything before, as she tensed and tried to move away from him before he could reach her.
For her, he was no longer someone she could trust. He was the enemy.
“I won’t hurt you” was the first words that he could think to say, raising his palms up as if that could somehow prove his words to be truthful.
She laughed bitterly “You expect me to believe you?”
Fair. It was fair from her, but right now there was no time to explain or argue with her. “No, but right now I just want to help, alright? Please let me-”
“Fuck off!” she yelled moving as far as she could “Help! Anyone hel-”
He launched himself towards her, pressing her against the wall as gently as he could while his hand covering her mouth to keep her from alerting the guards of his presence. If anyone realized he was here, all of their hopes would be lost.
INFJ began trembling, her eyes panicked while she struggled to push him away.
His heart sank in his chest. She was terrified of him. And she had every right to be. What used to be a playful act, a flirty situation, a moment of closeness, now could only be considered a threatening situation for her in every aspect.
ENTP backed away slightly, giving her as much space as he could without risking her to cause a scene.
“I won’t hurt you. I know you don’t have any reason to believe me, but please listen. Just once.”
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Part 2: 𝔚𝔥𝔞𝔱 ℑ 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝔲𝔰 𝔱𝔬 𝔟𝔢
