Tempering The Blade

She didn't know what was happening. Oh no, she knew. But she didn't know if she'd come out of this alive.

Voices spoken near her person were all muffled. By what, she wondered? Her fear-addled mind have made her feel anxious and expectant at the same time. Wave after random wave of emotions splashed over her. It was anxiety with the first splash when she saw them foregoing the use of anesthetics. It had been explained to her the process could possibly be hindered. Now, she wondered if they were just being sadistic and how crazy she was to accept it. Perhaps, deep inside, she knew that her pain was her payment for power. She was powerless and what else could she offer to the strong other than her pathetic self?

The girl tried to keep herself together. But no amount of preparation could ever have her ready when that scalpel first drew blood. None of it could ever possibly get her ready when they probed through her flesh with their stainless tools. The snow white operating room soon found itself filled with a screaming soprano. In the midst of this bloody concert, the young child was the star of this show.

Look At Your Own Discretion:

The doctors that stood by her supine and contorting form were the accompaniment. They were silent, yet their presence were easy to note by their non-existent audience. Each delicate sawing and picking at her sinews and organs ignored at her growing protests. The girl projected herself in wordless scream. Whether her words were the songs of angels to these medically-garbed men and women, she wouldn't know. They were only silent craftsmen of their art of butchery. Their syringes sank into her skin with plungers descending almost as if in tandem with each convulsion, eking out even more of a reaction from the child.

Look At Your Own Discretion:

Even despite these screams, the girl knew she deserved it. Not only because she accepted this path. But because of the family she adored and cared for couldn't be protected. This was only just retribution for her powerlessness. But before she knew it, fortunately, all turned over to darkness...





What seemed like years of excruciating pain, was a mere day. She had time for bed rest and recovery. Yet, she was listless and stood like a statue in her light blue patient gown.


The woman at the desk folded her hands on top of each other as she examined the girl for a moment. Finally, she drew out a manila folder from a nearby drawer in her table and started to read through it. Or more like she scanned through it for any last minute details. "You were lucky that we had that lying around when we found you. Now, your life is linked to it. How does that feel?"

No answer. The girl just stood there, eyes unfocused and glassy. The woman shrugged and then closed the folder before setting it aside. She made a thin smile, "You know, it's not all bad. After all, you now have the potential to fight those demons. That's what you wanted, right? An enhanced body and a weapon that can actually harm those monsters... a lot of people would pay a lot of money to have the opportunity that you have. It's not exactly cheap. Though I guess on the kindness of our hearts, we could just... let you go. Maybe forget all of this, if you don't mind carrying that thing with you. What do you say?"


She was silent. No way. There was no way they would just let her go with something like this. It was an expensive undertaking no doubt. Yet, there was something honest about this woman as she spoke. Maybe, the girl could start over. Have a normal life, or close to it. Maybe that's what her family would've wanted her to have. But...


A Cheshire smile started to form on the woman's lips, pleased at the response. "No, Maria. You are our Queen's tool."