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She struggled to summon her own strength, to fight back against this invasion, but something was damping all her energies, leaving her weak and powerless. Suddenly, she heard a voice that sounded vaguely familiar, though she could not remember from where.

"You may wish to cease your struggle, young one,” the voice growled. "You are by far way out matched. Your struggles will only serve to make things harder on you and more enjoyable for us.”

He stepped forward from the shadows, looked her in the eye. He was enormous, taller than she was and well fleshed. His eyes glowed with raw power and aggression. She felt a small pang of fear rising in her throat, but lifted her chin and looked him in the eye.

"Why are you here?” she demanded. "What are you doing to me?”

He laughed wickedly. "We are breaking you in, princess.”

"You will be very sorry when my father hears of this.”

He came forward until his hot breath was in her nostrils and grabbed her by one of her thick, curved horns, jerking her head back violently and forcing her eyes to meet directly with his. ”Who do you think sent us here?” he snarled.

His words hit her like she'd been punched in the gut. She could tell from his eyes that he was telling the truth, and felt a surge of anger rising at this act of brutal manipulation.

"He knows you intend to abandon our ways and live in peace with the humans. We are going to rob your eternal soul of that peace and fill you with the rage that will drive you back to your father's side. Unless you'd like to come with us willingly,” he said, leering.

The bonds were burning her flesh as the sickeningly sweet smell of his hot breath made her stomach churn. She jerked her head violently, yanking herself from his grip, turned to him and spat forcefully in his face.

Before she could blink, he raised his fist and hit her with a bolt of energy that fired every single pain receptor in her body. She struggled to use the power of her mind to shut them down, but the pain continued to cascade over her in violent waves.

"My, aren't you the little firebrand,” he growled, grabbing one burning breast with his sharp clawed fingers. "You surely have a good deal of your father within you. And soon you will have a good deal of all of us within you.” He laughed loudly at his own attempt at humor, which set up a chorus of guffaws and catcalls from the minions.

"It is a really such a shame. On most occasions, when I take a human female," he mused, hissing the word "human" like it was the most distasteful thing in the universe, "I enter her mind, as well as her body, and force her to enjoy it. You, princess, do not get that luxury. Your taking is going to be violent and painful, so as to inspire you to new depths of hatred and rage."

She fought to maintain control over her emotions, knowing their goal was to provoke her into losing it. It wasn't easy. She felt the rising anger boiling up under the fire of pain and knew they'd only just begun. The human part of her cried out inwardly, but the half of her that she wanted to deny pressed her to let go of her rage. The rage will save you, it whispered wickedly to her. It will increase your powers a hundredfold. She shivered as she battled within herself. No, I must not give in, she steeled herself, grasping desperately to her resolve.

Suddenly, as if he could tell she was somehow gaining ground in her fight for control, the demon began running his hands over her body. They burned her flesh like fire, bringing the pain to a new more focused threshold. Now her anger could have a tangible target. He grabbed her hair and forced her to bring his face into focus.

"Go ahead. Hate me, princess," he snarled. "You know you want to. Let yourself go over the edge." He cupped her face in his hands. He had to hand it to her father. She was indeed an exquisite creature. She was destined to lure the hearts of foolish men to their destruction, yet refused to fulfill that destiny.

He grabbed her breasts and kneaded them roughly, causing her to wince in pain. Reaching around to the back of her neck, he bit her hard. She felt his fangs break skin and a warm trickle of blood. Again and again, he nipped at her. The bleeding would drain the life force from her human side, making her weak and easier to push beyond her limits of self-control.

Pulling every bit of her willpower together, she steeled herself against the assault. As the human half of her began to respond to the pain, she fought the feeling that she was spiraling out of control. She began to separate herself from the part of her that was weak, hurting and on fire. Suddenly a voice within her screamed, "No, you must not let go. That is what they want you to do!"

She knew she could detach and leave them toying with an empty shell. But to do that, she would have to leave the realm of the humans, and if they destroyed the human part of her, she might never be able to go back. She thought of the ones she loved, and a deep pain stabbed through her tender heart. It fired her up with a fierce determination, and against the pain, she embraced her human form and held fast in the face of the attack.

He sensed her shift in resolve, and was enraged. Grabbing her by the hair, he released the bonds that had her pinned upright, and threw her to the floor like a rag doll. Stunned but desperate, she rolled over and leapt to her knees, attempting to stand. He stretched out his hand, and she was engulfed in ring of fire, which burned hotly against her flesh and weakened her. He stepped into the circle, and brought a swift kick up under her ribs, winding her and dropping her onto her face on the now burning hot rock of the cave floor.

His cruel laugh boomed in her ears, as she gasped and writhed in pain.

"Come on, princess. Surrender to your hatred. Let it eat at your soul. You know you want to give in," his voice echoed.

Sucking just enough air to hiss out her reply, she cried hoarsely, "Never!"

"Suit yourself, bitch, but this is going to hurt you infinitely more than it hurts me," he screamed, with lust in his voice.

She felt him land on her full force, and instantly she felt herself flipped to her back. Her head hit the hard floor and bounced hard, protected only by her thick horns. Screaming out in pain, she felt him tear her clothing from her like it was made of paper. Her senses were all overloaded with a feeling of hopelessness, and agony, as she struggled to summon the strength to fight back.

Roughly shoving a knee between her tightly clenched thighs, he brought it up hard. The impact on her most tender area made her breath catch. She tried to scream, but couldn't find her voice. Bearing down his weight, he made it nearly impossible for her to breathe as she writhed beneath him. He let out a sadistic laugh. Forcing both his knees between her legs, the pushed them apart and aligned himself to impale her.

She clenched her fists so hard she felt her nails dig into the flesh in the palm of her hands, tearing her own flesh. Grasping for the last shred of control she once again tried to invoke her inherent powers in an effort to fight back, but she just didn't have it left within her. The human half of her drained every bit of energy with its genetically programmed fight for survival. Closing her eyes tightly, she screamed inwardly as he drove himself without mercy into her untouched depths.

The initial pain was nothing compared to what she'd already been through, but for some reason it still brought tears stinging to her eyes. The urge to allow her anger and hatred to explode was strong. She was being weakened both emotionally and physically. How much longer can I hold this back, she asked herself.

In a quiet room, a small figure sat silently contemplating her current state of contentment. Her mate had come to her in the cool of the night, and she was sated and a bit sleepy. As she curled her legs up to her belly, the placid fog of sleep began to coddle her. She dozed, blissfully, until…

A shrill scream broke through her consciousness. She jumped to her feet, and looked around. She was still alone in her room. Perhaps she was just having a nightmare, but then again, for her it was never 'just a nightmare'. It was always a harbinger of some cataclysmic event. Then the scream ripped through her mind once more, and she realized the voice belonged to her sister.

Summoning energies from within, she tried to open the empathic link between her sister and her own mind, but only got a very hazy picture of what was going on. She felt dread fear, and intense pain. Tears stung her eyes. She tried to force her sister to open her eyes and look around, so that she could see through her eyes, but to no avail. A sudden white-hot flash of burning pain tore through the center of her being, and she knew at once what was happening.

She cried out in anguish, and called a name into the silent night air. A bright light filled the room and a stunning creature stood before her, nodding his head.

"You do not need to explain.' He raised his hands to her head, and then disappeared.

Under the brutal assault, the young female struggled to survive the forceful blows with which her captor struck her again and again, as he forced himself into her very aching body so deeply she felt he was assaulting her very soul. The cave floor had never felt so cruel and hard as it felt like she was being pounded down into it from within. Her eyes burned as they tried to cry tears that were not yet formed. Then everything went bright red, for she'd clamped her eyes shut tight, as a blinding light lit up the cavern.

She felt a wave of cool air rush over her flaming skin, and opened her eyes to see the most beautiful creature she'd ever seen standing over her. He spoke to her mind, without words. "They cannot see or hear me," he told her. "But I am here for you." She nodded wordlessly, unable to speak. Tears of gratitude suddenly flooded her eyes. The Guardian of her sister had been sent to protect her.

"I cannot prevent what they are doing, but I can mitigate the outcome of their deeds." He gazed into her eyes, which were dull and glazed from the constant pain. He placed his hand on her flaming forehead, and instantly she felt relief. Pressing her temples, he brought a soothing peace to her mind, and blocked the overwhelming pain.

The creature atop her felt her relax, and for a split second, he thought she'd fled her human body, and left it to die. Bending down, he bit her on her shoulder, and tasted a copious flow of fresh blood. Looking into her eyes, he saw they were half open, with an expression of calm, and realized something else was going on. His mission was failing. "She cannot withstand this on her own," he screamed, grunting his words, as he never ceased from driving violently into her limp form. "Someone is helping her!"

"Most likely the other child, m'lord," the closest minion hissed.

"Ahhh…the redeemed one, the child of the vow," he roared. "Quickly, go and find her."

With that, the room cleared out and it was just him, atop her, driving himself into her with such fury that it almost knocked the breath out of her with each brutal thrust. She drew a deep breath, and looked up at the Guardian. "You must return and protect her," she cried, knowing what this was going to mean for her, when he left. He locked eyes with hers, and spread his magnificent wings. He stretched out his hands, and looked skyward, and as a flash of white-hot light lit up the darkness of the cavern, he was gone.

Within seconds, her skin began to feel inflamed once more. She steeled her mind against the onslaught, as he stopped brutalizing her long enough to snarl, "They will find your sister, and when they do, it will make this look gentle by comparison. When they have finished making their sport of her, they will destroy her, for she is of no use to your father, and thus, is quite expendable." He raised his hand and brought the back of it crashing across her face, once again splattering her own blood as her lip split against her own sharp fangs.

Choking back the urge to cry out, she struggled to gain leverage. Pulling her feet up under her knees, she summoned all her remaining strength in an effort to throw him off. He lost his balance, momentarily, and they rolled to their sides, still tightly joined. Increasing his grip around her, he panted, "Oh, yes, fight me now. Does it not anger and frustrate you that you are unable to stop me?"

She felt the tears rising in proportion to the bile in her throat. She wanted to lash out at him, and his arrogance, and mostly at the undeserved pain he was inflicting. But she knew the moment she gave over to that desire, her fears and anger would rule her, and she would fall into his trap.

She silently prayed curse upon her father, who even from his dark prison was able to hurt and torment her by sending his underlings to do his vile work.

Her thoughts then turned to her sister. She tried to establish some small link but he'd drained her powers to almost nothing. A dread fear for the safety of her small, fragile sister rose within her, and renewed her strength and her resolve. If for no one other than her sister, she must remain loyal to the forces of good. She cried out, praying that the Guardian had made it back to her in time. He, of course, had the advantage of knowing where to find her, whereas her tormenters would have to search. This thought renewed her hope. Summoning every last bit of strength she had, she let it go in a burst of mental energy targeted at her sister, hoping to warn her before they could reach her.

Suddenly, the cavern lit up like daylight, and she realized the Guardian was back. She opened her eyes, and looked around, and with him were many others, and beside him was her diminutive sister. As her tormenter continued to drive himself into her with a fury, she felt him begin to swell within her, and hoped this meant it would be over soon.

But before he could fully finish what he'd started, he felt himself sucked up into the air by a violent force. He slammed against the ceiling, and dropped to the floor. Jumping to his feet, he spun around, as a host of Guardians manifested themselves before him. His eyes narrowed to glowing slits as he realized he was outnumbered. Screaming an oath into the damp air, he summoned back his minions. Within moments they began to materialize before him.

She gathered herself enough to crawl from beneath where he stood over to a dark corner. This was about to turn really ugly, and she was still weak from the assault. She fell on her face, and clutched her wounded side. Sensing a presence beside her, she opened her eyes to see her sister hovering over her.

"I am sorry," was all she could manage to exhale.

"No need to be sorry," her sister reassured her. "Our father is the one who brought this about. We cannot avenge you upon him, but we can surely get our vengeance out of these clowns."

Nodding, she almost smiled at her sister's unique way of phrasing things. Even in the darkest moment of battle, this small one's conversation was colorful, doubtless a nod to her human influence, and her human lifestyle.

Placing her hands on her wounded sister, she let her own forces cover her, renewing the young one's strength, and healing her pain. A few short yards from where she knelt over the child, a violent battle waged, as the Guardians brought judgment and vengeance down upon the tormentors.

"Perhaps if I had not returned to this place," she began, weakly, still drained from her ordeal.

Her sister shook her head, her long red hair falling across her face. With a small, childlike hand, she reached out and stroked her younger sibling's face gently. "It would not matter. Our father ordained this when you were born, should you accept the ways of the humans." She met her sister's eyes. "There is really nothing you could have done to prevent it."

"But I have put you, and those around you, in danger," she sobbed.

"No, my dear, they," she spat vehemently, nodding in the direction of the still raging fight, "tried to put us in danger. You seem to lack faith and trust. The One who protects me will not fail in the face of those who are merely created."

"I do not have such protection, my sister," the younger lamented, weakly. She lay her head in her sister's lap, and let her softly pull her wild mane out of her eyes.

"I will protect you, my baby sis," she smiled.

Just then, a blast of energy hit both of them, knocking them over against the wall. The elder girl looked up to see that obviously reinforcements had been summoned, on the part of the tormentors. She leapt to her feet, and snarled at the group that was now surrounding them. "Picking on children now?" she sneered. "I do not fear you. Leave her alone, and face me."

"We shall have both of you before this night ends," one of them answered.

"I think we shall see what you will have," she retorted.

Raising a hand, she cried out loudly, and a blast of current from her life force shot out in all directions, knocking them all away from her. She closed her eyes, and grabbed her sister by the hand, pulling her to her feet, no mean feat for someone of her size, considering the comparatively huge stature of the younger girl.

"Not so fast, ladies," a voice behind them boomed. They turned to face him, as he reached forward and grabbed the elder sister by her long, flame red hair. "You interrupted me at a most inopportune time. I'd say you owe me." He began to paw at her clothing, his razor sharp talons ripping long scratches in her skin. She spun and widened her stance, and brought her right arm up sharply, backhanding him and knocking him to the floor.

"I think you'd better recalculate. You were taking what belonged to someone else, and thus are owed nothing," she glared at him, in defiance. "I am not a mere child, and you will find me much more of a match. Bring it on, dog breath."

The younger sibling, still weak and sore from the previous assault, crept backwards until she reached a narrow opening in the rock. The opening was an illusion; there was nothing more that a small indentation, in the wall, but she wedged herself in as far as her large frame would allow. She would be pinned down in this position, if she were to come under attack, but for now it was her only option to avoid entering the brutal fray. She closed her eyes, and felt her body surrendering to the weakness of her human form.

She watched as her elder sister launched herself at her assailant, knocking him to the ground. He tried to roll away, but found himself unable to move beneath some unseen force that was pinning him in place. She leapt to her feet, raising both hands high above her head, and brought them crashing down in front of her, sending a percussion wave echoing throughout the cavern, as she screamed a single word toward the heavens.

Her desperate plea was answered instantly. A blinding flash of blue white flame licked up to the ceiling from the spot on the floor where he'd laid, and then, complete silence, as those who were following his lead stood astounded at the scene that just unfolded.

As suddenly as they appeared, they began to vaporize into the swirling mist. The group of Guardian's with whom they'd been engaged in battle gathered around the tall form that laid motionless in the tiny crevice.

Her sibling dropped to her knees and tenderly cradled her baby sister in her arms. The fight had left her drained of the positive energy she could have used to revive her young protégé.

Her Guardian stood over her, and smiled. She wanted to jump up and hug him, but knew the Guardians did not practice such human gestures. He knew her thoughts, and met her eyes with a knowing grin, having become used to her ebullient outbursts.

He hovered over the motionless body of the younger girl, and a cloud of warm vapor began to surround both of the girls. Feeling her strength begin to return, she tried to lift herself up, but her sister held her fast. "Relax," she said softly. "In a few moments you will feel as good as new."

She pondered the elder's words, and realized that she could never feel quite the same after what had happened. But she'd survived, and could still return to her place in the world of the humans. She smiled weakly, as she realized that was all she'd ever really wanted.

As her strength returned, she stumbled to regain her footing, rising to tower above her tiny sister. The Guardian smiled, and vanished, as quickly as he'd come.

"I must return. My mate awaits me," her sister said, softly. "You can always come with me."

"No," the younger one said slowly, "I must find my own way in this world. But thank you for saving me."

"It wasn't me," her sister said, quietly, flashing a smile towards the heavens.

The younger girl nodded, and felt a strange tug at her heart, as she watched her sister fade slowly from her sight. The feelings of emptiness and betrayal flooded over her like at tidal wave, mingling with a regret at what had just been forever taken from her, at the hands of her tormenter.

"I will not give in," she said, softly, to herself. "For the day I do, I will become as him, and as my father before him." She shuddered, suddenly feeling very cold and alone in her abode. Moving to the entrance, she slipped silently out into the warm sunlight, and knew that this day had changed her forever. Someday, she'd have to face that change, and the decisions that it would force, but today was not that day…