can you do something about how the hero gets kidnapped and they ask the villain to let them go but the villain makes them beg for it?
"Do you ever go fishing?" the villain asked.
"I - what?" The question threw the hero off enough for the snarl to die on their lips.
"Do you ever go fishing?"
"People don't normally fish," the villain swaggered a step closer, smiling, "just to toss the fish back. That sort of defeats the purpose of capturing the fish in the first place."
The villain's smile grew. "No." They sounded amused. "You're not. But the point stands, doesn't it? Why should I let you go after all the effort, patience and skill it took to catch you?"
The hero swallowed. Their mind reeled. "Because-" They floundered.
The hero glared at the villain again. "Because keeping a person is a lot more hard work."
"So I should just kill you?"
"No!" The hero's stomach lurched. "No - I didn't mean - "
The villain laughed. They reached out a hand, trailing their finger up along the soft curve of the hero's belly, over their chest. "Gut you. Salt you. Serve you on a platter to someone willing to pay?"
The villain nudged the hero's chin, playfully. "Go on."
"Because-" Well, when they'd demanded that the villain let them go, it had been more defiance and the hope of intimidation, than any expectation that the villain would do it. "You'll regret if you don't let me go."
"I'm more trouble than I'm worth. I'll make you pay for it."
"So." The villain leaned in, closing their fingers gently around the hero's throat. "I should just kill you? Before you get the chance."
The hero closed their eyes briefly. They shook their head. If they'd had their powers, maybe the panic wouldn't have snatched in their throat quite so viciously, but...but the villain's set up didn't allow for powers. The hero was helpless. Well and truly on the hook, so to speak.
"Why did you take me?" the hero managed, a rasp.
"Now that's a better question."
"Are you going to answer it?"
"Are you going to give me what I want?"
"Depends on what you want. I guess if I say no, you'll say, 'should I just kill you?'"
"It's certainly always a question worth asking, isn't it?"
"No," the hero snapped. "It isn't. It should never be!"
The villain laughed again, soft. They squeezed the hero's throat, just once, before letting their hand fall. They stepped back.
"I suppose I want you to know that this is my city." The laughter vanished as if it had never been there. There was no trace of the smile. No humour or kindness in the villain's eyes. "I want you to know that you're safe only because I allow it. I want you to know that I can take you any time I like, do anything I like to you, and there is absolutely nothing that that you can do about it."
The hero stared. Horror coiled, nested, inside them and made a home.
The villain tilted their head. "Do you suppose that message is sinking in? Or do I need to up the stakes in this practical demonstration?"
The hero opened their mouth, closed it, opened it again. They clenched their jaw.
"Judging by the lack of witty, foolish bravado," the villain murmured, "I think it's starting to. Good."
"So you're...this is a warning. You're going to let me go?"
"You still haven't answered my question."
The villain's smile returned, slow and mocking. "Fish, little hero."
The hero swallowed again, but there was still a thick lump of ever-growing fear in their throat. "Killing me would be a lot more effort. Messy."
The villain flicked their eyes down to the drain at the hero's feet, raising a brow.
"Because-" The hero tried, desperately, to think. They couldn't think of a single reason why the villain might leave them alive, actually. Not if they weren't a creature that believed in basic things like second chances and people's right not to be murdered and hurt. "I won't be any bother. To you." The shame of it burned. Scorched them. The words were barely a whisper.
"You've been a bit of a bother though, haven't you?" The villain's voice was almost kind. Like they were talking to a small child.
The hero's stomach lurched again.
A moment of silence passed between them, before the villain laughed again. They stepped forward once more, and the hero tensed. The villain patted them on their cheek, before seizing a savage fistful of their hair, tugging. "Panic makes you pretty and dumb, huh, babe?"
"I've never - I'm not -" The hero wasn't actually trying to irritate the villain further.
The villain sighed, catching the look on their face. Their grip gentled again, stroking the hero's hair back from their clammy forehead.
"O-oh." Beneath the shame, there was a worse relief. The reassurance of clear objectives. "Please," they said. "Please let me go."
"Is that really the best you can do?"
"...I've never begged before. What more do you want? I can't get on my knees, I'm tied up."
The villain snorted, clearly clocking that it was, actually, a genuine question by then. "Don't worry, you'll learn. I can teach you before you go. I'm nice like that."
The hero's eyes widened, because while they'd never begged before, they could still recognise a threat when they heard one. Mostly. "No - that's not - please don't. I'll beg better. I'll be - be good. No bother. I'm sure you're very busy. You have much better things to be doing. Please."
"Mm." The villain considered them. "A small improvement. I still think you can do better though, can't you?"
They let the hero go nearly three hours later.
The hero couldn't say the word please anymore after that.
