Work Text:
How much time had passed?
Four hours? More?
You weren't sure, you stopped trying to count pretty early on, and without a window giving giving you at least a hint by its light, it was impossible to know for sure.
Your arms were almost unbearably sore from being stuck in the same position for so long, having been shackled behind your back and chained to the ground, the length of your restraint allowing you only enough freedom to sit or lay down, but not stand.
It was a little cold... and damp. You felt hungry, but you tried not to think about that. Instead you let your thoughts wander... to your home, to Mondstadt, and your friends there.
You weren't a knight of favonius, but just like many others your age, you aspired to be. And the knights had always welcomed you, encouraged you. You even received smaller missions, perfect opportunities to prove yourself, never too dangerous for someone of your ranking.
And yet, here you were. Captured by the Fatui and stuck gods know where.
It was entirely your own fault, heading off too far from the knights' camp. It was a secret operation, and they trusted you enough to bring you along, but when you had spotted suspicious people nearby, you had all too eagerly wandered off on your own, and... well, now you reaped the consequences of that.
But you still felt hope. Things would work out, they somehow always did.
Maybe you should try sleeping... time would pass faster that way. The idea only had a moment to brush through your mind before the sound of hard footsteps echoing against the stone floor made every muscle in your body tense up.
You held your breath, listening carefully and sure enough, they were getting closer. Wetting your lips you calmed your nerves to the best of your efforts. You had to be strong for this, be cold and confident. Don't let them think for a second that they can break you.
The heavy iron door opened with a deafening creek and you had to squint as light gushed into the room, but it vanished just as quickly as the door closed again. There was a moment of heavy silence, and during it the only thing you could hear was your own heartbeat pounding against your ears.
A click, and a dim light filled the room from a single light bulb hanging lonely in the ceiling.
And you saw him.
A tall man standing in front of you, much closer than you had anticipated and it made your heart leap. He was dressed mostly in white, the color felt blinding to you even in this soft light. White pants, an unbuttoned white lab coat, his hands resting in its pockets... and under it, a dark vest and a white button up shirt.
But his most noticeable feature was his face, almost fully covered by a mask, save for the openings revealing half of an uncanny soft smile and two narrowed red eyes peering down at you.
You felt as if your blood had turned to ice. A Fatui Harbinger! You couldn't be more certain. The unusual mask, and the fact that he wasn't wearing any of the standard Fatui uniforms. But why go that far? Why for you?
"Well now..."
Realizing you've been staring at him you adverted your eyes downward, struggling to keep your stoic expression and feigned calm. In reality, you had never felt so small in your life.
"So you're the little mouse that got caught."
He had a voice that was low and deep, threatening in its calmness. Keeping your gaze down you could by his shoes see him begin to pace around you, steps slow and heavy, and you could feel his eyes drilling into you. And you felt shame, mixed in with fear, but also a sense of strength keeping you together.
Don't give in. Don't give them anything. They want information, and as long as you didn't speak, they had nothing.
The tip of his shoe suddenly came brushing in under your chin, raising your face up to meet his eyes again. You glared at him, and it made the smile on his face grow into a grin, revealing a set of inhumanly sharp teeth.
"I love that, the defiant look in your eyes. I think you and I will have a lot of fun together."
Then, pain.
Something struck hard against the side of your head, blowing it to the side, making your ears ring. And it took a second for your mind to click with what just happened.
He had kicked you.
Pupils blown wide in shock you stared back up at him again, just as the hard surface of his shoe slammed into your face again, connecting against your cheek. You felt something crush inside your mouth, and you could taste blood.
"Sto-" your voice was cut short as the next kick hit your stomach, stealing your breath from you and causing you bend over, coughing. You felt sick, panic and pain rushing through your body, your mind desperately trying to grasp the situation.
You could hear him chuckle, taking another few steps around you, circling you like a predator caught up with its prey. As you blinked your eyes open again you could see blood on the tip of his shoe, and you realized to your horror it was yours.
This was bad... really bad. The thought that the Fatui would actually hurt you had felt too unreal to grasp, too unfamiliar to take seriously. Or maybe your own fear had put you in a state of denial.
"You poor thing..." his tone was smooth and terrifyingly calm, seeping with amusement. "Where are your knights of favonius? They should be here any second to save you, right?"
Slowly, you tried to straighten yourself up, the pain in your gut barely allowing you to, but something hard began to push down against the top of your head, pushing your face all the way down against the cold, hard flooring. He was pressing his foot down against your head, adding more and more weight onto it. You could feel blood built up inside your nose and your skin grind against the small pebbles and dirt on the ground.
"Stop... stop!" you cried out, tears finally spilling from your eyes. You didn't want to give any of the Fatui scum the satisfaction of seeing you cry, but this was just too much.
Another chuckle, and the numbing pressure against your head finally eased up. You could sense him lean down over you but you didn't move another muscle, staying perfectly still. He grabbed onto the collar of your shirt, lifting you by it until you were sitting on your knees again.
He crouched down in front of you, one arm resting lazily against his knee, and with the other he reached a gloved hand under your face, raising it by tipping against your chin, guiding you to meet his gleaming red eyes again. He clicked his tounge, stroking your bruised cheek with his fingers.
"Come now, sweetheart. You're not done already, are you?"
He pulled back and you instinctively squeezed your eyes shut and held your breath, right before the back of his hand struck you hard against your face.
You whimpered, despising the sound for coming out of you. He stood up and you braced yourself. Again, another kick hit your side, landing against your ribs, and you couldn't keep your balance anymore, falling over quite easily.
He followed over to where you laid, using his foot to push you onto your back instead. You were exhausted, trembling a little. You looked up at him, and you knew that your tired eyes were pleading with him, and that he could see that.
"Why don't you try begging, hmm?" he said, positioning the sole of his shoe against your throat. "Go on, try it. I have a soft spot for that."
You closed your eyes, breathing heavily through your mouth while blood dripped out your clogged nose. The shame hurt, but the physical pain hurt so much more. Anything to make it stop.
"Please..."
"Mm." he hummed softly at you, seeming appeased. "That's a good pet. One more time."
"Ple-..."
The pressure against your throat suddenly increased, and you couldn't get the words out anymore, you breath cut short. You writhed, lips hanging wordlessly open, struggling as oxygen began to run thin through your body.
He smiled coldly, finally releasing the tension. He slid his foot down your chest, past your stomach, and much to your terror, stopped between your legs, putting pressure against your most sensitive spot, grinding against it slightly.
"My name is Dottore. Keep that on your lips from now on."
And it continued.
The kicks, the beatings... at some point he had grabbed you by your hair and slammed your face down on the ground again. You had bruises everywhere, bleeding from some of them, mostly around your face.
He didn't say much more during it all and neither did you, but you could hear how his breathing had changed, growing deeper and more excited, like he was getting a great deal of pleasure from doing this to you. And every now and then, he'd laugh at you. Sometimes softly, sometimes like a maniac, feral.
How much time... had passed?
It felt like an eternity. It couldn't have been that long, but by this point every part of you ached and your whole mind felt numb.
You didn't care anymore. You just couldn't. Not about anything. You weren't a knight, and right now you couldn't give a damn about becoming one. All you wanted was mercy.
"Dottore..." his name tasted sour on your lips and dry in your throat. "Please, sir... I'll tell you anything, just... please."
He seemed delighted by your desperation, and kneeled down before you again, placing the palm of his hand on top of your head, stroking it.
"You seem to have misunderstood the situation here, love."
You gazed up at him from where you sat, lids heavy over your tired eyes, giving him a confused look.
"I'm not here for information. I'm here for you."
... What?
Your mind was racing. So the camp... the knights... all of this had nothing to do with any of that? You couldn't make any sense of it.
Then what was the point of this? Why were you even here? Why you?
He had begun digging into one of the pockets on his lab coat and from it ha brought out a small vial. Then, a syringe, its silvery needle glowing in the soft light.
A new sense of panic filled your stomach with ice and dread, and you struggled a little, your exhausted body barely keeping up with your will anymore, but you scooted yourself away from him slightly.
"Now now..." he chuckled, pushing the needle through the cap of the vial and absorbing the clear liquid into it. "There's no need for that. Don't be afraid."
He reached out to grab your shoulder. His touch wasn't rough, yet you still flinched upon contact, unable to make any further distance from him.
You stared in horror as the needle sank into your skin, pushing the liquid inside of you. "You and me, we're gonna do a lot of work together."
And then...
What happened then...?
Your head was spinning and you could feel yourself falling, but... where? You couldn't tell what direction you were going, but you hit against something, and within the fog you realized it was the Harbinger, your forehead leaning against his chest.
He stroked his fingers through your hair and finally, there was no more pain. Your vision felt blurry, unfocused, but you still tried to look up at him.
He was smiling down at you, and... it was odd, but you felt a sense of peace. Without thinking, you reached towards his face... and you weren't sure when it had happened, but your shackles were undone, enabling you to do so. You touched against the revealed part of his cheek, and he leaned into your hand, placing his own against it, his touch soft and gentle.
And you wondered, as you slowly lost consciousness, why you had ever been afraid.