Whumpuary 2026 Day 3
Prompt List | Masterpost
Beating the Babes Winter Woes Whump Day 3: Tree
Characters: Jasper Katherine
Prompts: can't speak | caught | broken glass
Word Count: 920
Tag List: @fourwingedsnake @whumperofworlds @pigeonwhumps @mr-orion @scaewolf
@the-ellia-west @melpomenelamusa @whumpuary
CW: captured, swearing, impulsive thoughts, threats
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It was warm.
Jas opened her eyes to a room lit by flickering candlelight. The walls were stone, like the shrine, but her bed was far softer than she remembered. And bigger.
And it had a canopy.
This wasn't the shrine.
Everything came flooding back in an instant.
Jas shot bolt upright, eyes darting around as she reached for the gag in her mouth---the gag was gone. Her hands were untied, her wrists bandaged around where the ropes had cut into her skin. And she was wearing a thin nightgown.
They took her fucking clothes.
A heavy wooden door caught her eye, and Jas sprang from the bed, nearly getting tangled in the blankets in her haste. The stone floor was freezing under her bare feet, but she didn't care, grasping the metal ring handle and pulling with all her strength.
It wouldn't budge.
Swearing under her breath, Jas dug in and yanked on the handle again. This time it moved slightly, but only a few centimeters.
Either it was incredibly heavy, or it was barred from the other side.
Possibly both.
Jas didn't have time to consider the possibilities. She needed to get out of here. Turning away in a huff, she bee-lined for the window instead. It was small, with an uneven glass pane that barely made a sound when she tapped on it. Thick glass. Tempered glass? It certainly wouldn't break easily, but that was an option.
She would have to make a rope from the blankets. The room she had been placed in was some distance from the ground.
But first, something to break the window.
Jas turned around, giving the entire room a cursory sweep for the first time since she woke up.
She wasn't alone.
A guard stood near the far wall, not far from the door, with chin-length brown hair and the minimal armor worn by the guards who had escorted Jas to Azura's throne room. Her arms were folded, and she watched Jas with a slightly amused expression. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to notice me."
Jas hissed through her teeth, her face burning as she stalked back to the expansive bed and plopped back down. Aside from the bed, the only furniture in the room was a heavy wooden table, a chair that appeared to be carved from one piece of wood, and a delicate nightstand. Jas eyed the intricate wooden legs. They would snap off easily.
The guard followed her gaze and smirked. "I'd like to see you try and escape with one of those as a weapon."
Jas glared at her. "I just might."
Shaking her head, the guard moved to the door and rapped sharply on its surface in a complicated pattern. An answering beat responded, and the guard returned to her position.
The seconds stretched into minutes, and Jas watched her as closely as she did. How had she managed to miss a whole other person? There was nowhere to hide. Jas must've been more disoriented than she realized.
Finally, more knocks sounded from the door. The guard immediately answered them, though she never fully turned away from Jas.
Something scraped noisily from the other side of the door, and the guard pulled it open to reveal a younger woman dressed in a simple yet brightly-colored dress and apron carrying a tray of food. She set it down on the table, nodded to the guard, and departed quickly, all but fleeing the room. She never even looked at Jas.
The guard shut the door and stood in front of it. "Eat."
"No."
"The lady commands it."
Hunger curled in Jas's stomach at the smell of the food, but she ignored it. "What if it's poisoned?"
The guard sighed. "If the lady wanted you dead, she would have done so last night. If the lady wanted you asleep, she would've kept you asleep. Eat, or I will force you."
Jas bit back a cutting remark. The guard was correct. Azura would not be keeping her like this if she wanted Jas dead. And if Jas starved herself, she wouldn't have the strength needed to escape when the opportunity arose.
When, not if.
Whatever Azura's intentions, Jas wanted no part.
She huffed sharply and rose, taking the seat at the table. The tray had been laid out for a proper breakfast, with a bowl full of some sort of grain gruel, a piece of bread, scrambled eggs, and even a delicate china cup full of steaming tea.
Jas immediately picked it up to examine it more closely. A tree had been painted on the thin surface, one with red blossoms. Someone had lovingly crafted this piece of china---could she even call it china in a world where China didn't exist?---and they were just giving it to her? A prisoner caught in a lavish cage for who-knows-what?
Frustration boiled in her chest, and Jas fought the urge to hurl the cup across the room to watch it dash into a thousand tiny shards.
"Don't."
The guard's sharp voice reminded Jas that she wasn't alone.
Gritting her teeth, Jas took a careful sip of tea. It tasted like plain black tea. She wasn't sure what she expected. Tea was an interesting choice of beverage to serve a prisoner.
Definitely better than being starved.
"Eat quickly," the guard said suddenly. "The lady will see you when you are finished."
Jas pursed her lips. "I'll keep that in mind," she replied, taking another long, slow sip of tea.












