CW: Nudity, beating, swearing.
The next day Aether woke up outside of his little cell.
On feeling the chains strain on his wrists, his head shot up. He was blindfolded again, and naked. Completely naked. He thrashed around, trying to loosen his constraints.
He looked in the direction of the voice. He heard footsteps approaching, and soon the fabric covering his eyes was removed. He squinted his eyes shut at the intense abundance of warm light. Before him stood a man dressed in an unassuming robe, plain in fashion and gray in color. His features were delicate, with sharp, brown eyes hiding behind his glasses. He held a clipboard, although Aether could not see its content.
"Then let's begin." The man looked at Aether coldly, yet a hint of amusement could be found in his expression. "I will ask you a question, and you will answer. Or else this gentleman will encourage you to speak up. Are we clear?"
Aether scoffed, and looked the man straight in his eyes. "Depends on what you ask."
"How bold of you to name conditions here." The man set down his clipboard on a nearby old, wooden table. He then turned back to Aether and spoke, accenting the r again. "Your name. What is it?"
"It's none of your business." He narrowed his eyes. "Only my friends get to hear it."
"It is, Traveler. I've heard everyone call you that, but never have I heard anyone use your name." The interrogator approached the bound man, his face right up in his victim's. "I'm just curious."
Aether weighed his options. As much as telling the man his name would harm his pride, there would be nothing to gain from resisting. Because more questions, questions that he couldn't answer at any cost, would surely come. He sighed.
His captor only smiled, and nodded approvingly. "Aether… that's a nice name. It would be a real shame for your friends to see it engraved on a tombstone, yes?"
"And that's the difference between us." Aether never once took his eyes off of him. They glimmered with a spark of loathing. "Somebody will actually miss me."
"Us?" He laughed. "There is no us. We are not equal."
"You are nothing but 'material' here. I will extract information from you, however many broken bones and buckets of blood it will require." He grabbed Aether's hair tightly. "You are the instrument, I am the musician. Do not forget that."
Aether tightened his jaw, preventing himself from responding. Still, despite his anger and desire to bite back, sweat started gathering on his forehead.
"First question." His captor spoke with a calmer, yet even more decisive voice. "On your travels in Liyue, you have ascended to the Jade Chamber. Correct?"
"May have." It looks like the ransom is just a bonus for them, thought Aether.
"I know that getting there requires a password. I have intelligence confirming that you got there the normal way. Hence, you know the password." The man looked at Aether, eyes steady and determined underneath his glasses. "What is the password?"
Aether laughed. "I won't speak. That's gonna take more effort than just that, pal."
"As you wish." The man nodded to his underling. "Pull him up and give me ten."
While his interrogator tied the blindfold back on, a mechanism in the corner of the room creaked. Aether was slowly being lifted up by his arms, joints straining from the very first second since his feet lost support. The blonde's hands managed to grasp the chain and ease his discomfort a little. He heard the sound of wood dragging on the ground, a plank or rod by the sound of it. Aether's heart sped up, and he braced himself for what was about to come.
He winced when the first hit came crashing down on his back. The force made his body rock forward, right into the other blow, this time placed on his tailbone. The pain surged but he didn't have much time to dwell on it as more hits came. On his middle back, on his upper torso, making him gag and choke as air was forced out of him. The rod came down on him again and again, bringing tears to his eyes. But he kept himself from screaming. His hands still held the chain tightly despite the abuse. Aether knew that, if he were to let go for long, his arms would be forced out of their sockets. And that pain he knew he would struggle with.
"Ready to speak?" Said the man, readying his pencil.
Aether just smirked. "My sister hits harder than you, punk."
His captor smiled as well. "We'll see about that. Give me thirty, and go harder."
The brush moved, forming another black, perfect line on the paper. Adding a shorter line, Ayaka moved to admire the entirety of her work. The letter was penned in perfect columns, each kanji meticulously drawn by her own hand. She could use the help of the clan's scribe to write the letters, yes, but the calligraphy involved always calmed her mind. She placed down the brush when she heard quick footsteps behind her room's door. She got up just in time to see Thoma himself throw open the door. He was missing his red overcoat, now bundled in his arms.
"Lady Ayaka! Aether is missing!" He spoke loudly.
"H-how so?" She immediately furrowed her brows. Surely Aether was just lost, if anything. Thoma moved his bundled coat towards Ayaka, and she spotted Paimon's face nestled in the material. "Paimon? What happened?"
The little creature's teeth were chattering, her whole body trembling despite Thoma's attempts to warm her. Her face had barely any color. She barely spoke, voice trembling and very quiet.
"We… s-s-somebody a-ambushed u-us a-and P-Paimon fell a-asleep a-and…" Ayaka couldn't tell if those were tears or just salt water, but Paimon was most likely crying. "A-and w-when I w-woke u-u-up h-he w-was n-nowhere t-t-to b-be found…"
Ayaka placed her warm hands over Paimon's forehead. It was frigid and completely drenched. "H-he w-wouldn't l-l-leave P-Paimon l-like t-that r-right? S-something h-happened to h-him…"
Ayaka softly caressed her head, speaking gently. "Yes, I'm sure he wouldn't leave you. You are the best travel companion after all, right?" She smiled gently, earning the same from the chilled Paimon. She turned to Thoma. "Take care of her, and then let my brother know what happened. I will alert the Tenryu Commission."
Ayaka turned on her heel, and headed towards the exit.
Was she scared? Yes. But it was not the time for such emotions. Aether needed her, if Paimon was to be believed.
And she would not let him down.
Aether coughed blood. His battered lungs barely sucker in air and his throat burned from suppressing screams. His eyes were not covered by the tear-soaked blindfold anymore, but the darkness of his cell made it impossible to see. He could feel an unrelenting, piercing pain in his upper chest. Possibly a broken rib, but he would rather not find out. He rested on his back. It was the part that hurt the least, but not because his captors showed him mercy. It was just durable enough to withstand the injuries.
With his fingers Aether traced circles in the sand and dust covering the floor to distract himself from the pain. His new cell was warmer, but the floor was still filthy and cold. Despite this it was still somehow worse than his previous 'accommodation'. There the hay, as rotten and bug filled as it was, was somewhat soft. Here they just gave him a bamboo mat large enough to lie on.
It wasn't here to give him comfort, but to isolate him from the ground. To prevent him from getting sick and dying.
He drew a strained breath. He needed rest, and he knew that. He needed strength to endure whatever else they would throw at him. Today it was… a hundred? A hundred and ten hits? Something along those lines. He counted to keep his mind focused on something other than the pain. He could not let himself break. Who knew what those guys would do to Liyue, to Ningguang, Ganyu, Keqing if they had a way into the Jade Chamber. But on the other hand… his captors didn't look like any bunch of random bandits. This accent… sounded Shezhnayan.
He growled. Of course those were Fatui. Or their mercenaries, at least. That gave him all the more reason to hold on. Aether clenched his right fist.
Those fuckers would not get anything from him.
