[Nano] Torturing Celeste

Sorry Celeste, but I think this was worth it. 😛

The skies had opened up.

When the first drops of rain began falling, she could ignore them. Soon though, they seeped into her skin, and she could not ignore them any longer. Opening her eyes and looking feebly up, she could see a long road ahead of her, from her vantage point above the road. She thought she might be in some sort of fortification, for her view was partially obstructed by a stone wall.

She tried to get her hands in front of her so she could push herself up from the surface that held her, but she could not move her arms. Turning, she saw that her arms were bound to the wall, spread wide, one arm against each side. She could feel the ache of her legs, begging her to sit. It was then that she thought to look down to see what she was bending over for.

Beneath her, she saw that she had been laid over a wheel. The wheel had wicked spikes, and as the rain washed over her, she became aware that her blood was running down through the hole in her stomach. There must have been pain, but her mind would have blocked it out, she supposed, which was why she was bent over the wheel, probably stabbed through the other side, and her blood was still flowing after she had been here hours.

Or at least it felt like hours.

The rain stopped for a while, or rather, it stopped falling over her face. She blinked, and a creature in a dress was standing in front of her. The creature soon lowered itself so that she could stand face to face with her, and she saw it was a young woman who looked very familiar.

“So, you’re awake now, eh?” the girl smiled. She took in details of the girl; white hair, purple eyes, fair skin, and a demeanor that suggested she was probably in her early teens. Her clothes, the woman thought, was unsuited to this weather; she was wearing a poofy striped dress with ribbons on the hem and a pair of short, lady’s gloves.

“Who…?” the woman asked.

“Why why, Celeste! Have you forgotten me already? It’s Deb!” the young girl laughed maliciously.

The name Celeste was the trigger. Almost immediately, a flood of memories washed over Celeste’s mind, bringing back everything. Including the memories of what had happened during her captivity by Apollo. There was no other way to describe it; it was a forced capture, the Goddess though, for she had not wished to remain there and Apollo had made her a concoction that then kept her sleeping for hours.

Or by the reckoning of her children, years.

“You…!” Celeste tried to lunge at the construct, but NOW the pain had decided to make an appearance. Try as she might, she could not help but let out a scream of pain, one that lasted a long while. The scream was not just to express the physical pain she felt, but the emotional loss she felt from all those years.

“Scream all you want, Godling, but know that no one else can hear you,” Deb laughed again and began walking away.

With the fog finally lifted from her mind, Celeste could now look around her and discover just where she was. The knowledge both chilled her and terrified her.

She was on the fortress overlooking the Gates to Tartarus. With her blood dripping down, she could only surmise that the Locks were opened. No one though, could know the real truth behind the Locks unless they were Divine Beings; the blood of a Divine Being was both lubricant and hinder to a single Lock. To open the three Locks, you would need at least six different Divine Beings from different worlds to completely open the Locks. Looking around her, Celeste did not see any other on the ramparts but her own. It was small relief though. Her blood would drip as long as she was alive, and she would be alive as long as she had at least a single worshipper. As she was the personification of a concept, she could, conceivably, be here for quite some time.

Celeste did not relish the thought.