Oh wow Croatoan, I love your work on DeviantArt - didn't expect to see you here. Okay.

A major reoccurring issue for me is keeping characters in character. Or more accurately, just deciding what the hell I want my characters to be in the first place. I'll try to work on that in coming segments.

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Katarina had, without warning, carelessly let Lissandra drop to the ground. With no limbs to break her fall with, Lissandra's rump took the full impact, hitting the cold, stony ground first and therefore hardest. She felt the bruise forming there as the rest of her body followed suit to slump over on the floor. Being so accustomed to moving freely all her life, Lissandra had to make a conscious effort to not start wriggling away like some unearthed inchworm. She wouldn't give her onlookers reason to make light of her limbless dilemma.

Ashe bent over, hands on her hips as she stared straight down at the pitiful sight beneath her. With the pointed toe of her boot, she poked once at Lissandra's side. Lissandra loathed this feeling of being looked over, poked and prodded at as if she were nothing more than a piece of meat. Especially because, well, that's really about all she was now. Ashe cocked her head to the side ever so slightly, and grinned challengingly at her former strongest rival.

"Hello again, Lissandra. You seem to have lost some weight since the last time we met."

The whole situation was so insulting and condescending that Lissandra was left lying there, speechless and flush with embarrassment. She considered herself quite a thick skinned individual, able to brush off even the hardest-hitting verbal abuse. But now, she was there solely as the butt of the jokes. She was the punching bag. And as the punching bag, there would be no punching back, because she'd just get hit back harder and a hundred times more. So Lissandra had to swallow her pride and take the hit.

But when Lissandra saw the smug look on Ashe's face, saw how she searched her own for any reaction, she knew she had to try throwing at least one punch.

"And you seem to have gained some, my plump queen."

The combination of Katarina's unrestrained guffaws and the shocked disbelief so clearly painted on Ashe's face distracted Lissandra from the danger she'd put herself in. The satisfaction earned from such a fine comeback was, she thought, more than worth whatever punishment she would receive. After all, she had nothing more to lose. She wondered now what she'd been so terrified of that made her cower so pathetically from Katarina on the journey here.

She was then reminded.

Ashe delivered a swift, powerful kick to Lissandra's ribcage, driving her right into the unforgiving hard stone of the wall. Sickening cracks of bone could be heard both on contact of Ashe's boot with Lissandra's side, and her other side with the wall. The sound echoed prominently in Lissandra's ears, so she only faintly heard her own low moans of pain. The sharp aches she felt all over almost had her begging for mercy, but after the strong front she'd just put on, she couldn't back down now. Lissandra thought again of Ashe's both shocked and insulted expression, and forced a smile.

Ashe bent down before the ice witch, grabbing her chin and twisting it towards her with a painful brutality. "Always so combative," Ashe whispered, drawing her words out slowly - a common technique of inspiring fear that Lissandra instantly recognized. She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes, not wanting to push her luck and wind up on the receiving end of another deadly kick. Ashe continued, "How much would you drop, do you think, if you were to lose the weight of your tongue?"

Riding a high of bravery, Lissandra ignored the threat completely and fired back with a fresh retort, "A far greater deal than you, if you were unburdened by the weight of your mind."

Ashe smiled now. Though it wasn't as amusing a response as her original burst of anger, it had Lissandra inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. "But I don't suppose it was a great deal for which you've traded your body," Ashe taunted, running the back of her hand along the limbless woman's exposed shoulder stump.

"You may be right," Lissandra tilted her head upwards to face Ashe directly. "It is you who happens to have the most expertise in trading your body.

The young archer's smile faded quickly. Lissandra had always won these little wars of words, and that hadn't changed today. She had lost her limbs, not her wits. And it was comforting to know that no matter how severe her physical limitations has become, there were still ways of besting her opponents. The anger welling up inside Ashe was easily noticeable, despite her efforts to hide it. But Lissandra felt no fear; instead, she believed it was her turn to look down on her rival, having defeated her so brilliantly.

That belief was short lived. The fed-up Ashe yanked Lissandra's unresisting torso out from her position against the wall. The defenceless ice witch let out an agonized yelp in response, but to no avail. Like Katarina had done, she was grabbed by the ponytail and dragged down the hall. Her helpless body was then uncaringly tossed into what appeared to be an elevator of sorts.

The rough landing magnified the pain of her numerous fractures and bruises a hundred fold. Excruciating stings and aches had left Lissandra woozy and disconnected from reality. She barely noticed Ashe getting on the elevator with her as they rode down.

Lissandra knew it was time to stop playing tough. It was fun while it lasted, but it wouldn't get her anywhere in this new life of hers. "Ashe..." she croaked, "If you could be a dear, and... just take it easy on me, please..."

Ashe had turned her head to indicate she was listening, but gave no real response. It pissed off Lissandra just enough to give her the strength she needed to say, "Ah, well, that's fair... When your king takes his... anger out on you, I suppose you need an outlet as well."

Still nothing. Lissandra had to give her credit; she had amazing willpower.

The elevator arrived. Her torso was, again, dragged along against her will out of the lift. Neither woman said a word. They'd been taken down to some underground facility. The walls, floor, and ceiling all featured the same unfriendly stone. The thin hallway was dimly lit with a single array of lightbulbs, and door-less doorways lead into dark, empty rooms. Ashe turned in to the first room on their left, pulling her captive along with a brute efficiency.

Lissandra didn't admit it, but she was absolutely terrified. As they entered the room, they were enveloped in darkness. She felt the grip on her hair loosen, and once more did she smack face first into the ground, as if her already-beaten and battered body hadn't endured enough. Though she waited for a light to flicker on, none came. Instead, she felt herself lifted up into the air by the waist.

With her torso being carried around by some invisible force, it was the first time Lissandra expressed the discomfort of her helplessness. Being unable to see or do anything about the danger she was about to be subjected to was too much; she had to at least attempt to escape. She wriggled and squirmed with great intensity and vigor, but to no effect.

It was then that the ice witch felt the underside of her chin make contact with what was probably stone. Had she been placed on the ground? Without sight, it was hard to tell. Then, Ashe's arms -if it had actually been Ashe- seemed to leave her waist. For maybe the first couple of seconds, it was a relief. But quickly, Lissandra realized that she was suspended midair, save for the little piece of stone her chin had been placed on. She now wiggled the remainder of her lower body as much as she could, looking for some ground on which she could place herself.

All of a sudden, Lissandra heard Ashe's harsh whisper in her right ear, "Relax, Lissandra. You're not so far above the ground." Foolishly, Lissandra was comforted by her words for a moment, until she continued, "Just be careful of the knife that's been placed facing upwards right underneath you. All you have to do is hang on."

Lissandra couldnt stop herself from gasping in horror, in which she could have sworn elicited a light giggle from her captor. "I'll see you in the morning, sweetie." And all Lissandra could do was listen to Ashe's footsteps as she exited the room. With her chin being the only thing holding her up, she couldn't even turn her head to watch her go.

Immediately, Lissandra began to panic. She was to support her whole torso on only her chin for hours on end. Already she was straining to not slip off, having to make little shrugging movements with her sagging, limbless body. There was no way to reset or readjust herself without arms or legs. How could she do this without receiving a knife up the ass?

She wondered then, if she had just submitted fully to her new disability, would this still be happening? If she just sucked up and accepted all the abuse, would Ashe have instead taken pity on her limbless state, as opposed to subjecting her to this terrible torture?

It was a painful thing to ponder. Lissandra couldn't bear to think about it now. She had to focus on getting out of this ordeal unscathed, or at least alive. But there was nothing to help her but her own limbless body.

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I kinda rushed the last bit. Hope this part wasn't too cheesy. Enjoy!