Bound to You

Anastasia rasped for breaths this morning, still feeling the pain from her wounds she got last night. Although she was stitched up, she still lay in her room which she considered a prison. Her door opened again, and she flinched, not even lifting her eyes to see who it was.

“Ana,” the familiar gruffy voice sounded unhappy. He was one of the people in charge of watching her. One of her captors. “Seems like we’re finally gonna make use out of you.” His voice was laced with malice and a tinge of disgust at the mere fact he was ordered to talk to her. “As you might’ve heard, the King’s been missing for almost a year now. Although the royals have sent their best men to find him,” he smiled coyly, “It seems like they’re in need of more underhanded tactics.” The man named Vern, was referring to the fact that their little faction of thieves, murderers, and captors were being hired in order to find the king.

Anastasia took all the energy she had to glance over at Vern, his wolf form looking smug at the news. “That means the healer will finally see you today,” he explained. “I’ll let you know the mission in more detail once doc finally comes in to heal you.” His claws could be heard clacking against the floor as he turned to leave her room. “Oh,” he turned around with a twisted smile, “He has a lot of patients before he can come see you, try to hang in there, okay?” She could hear his demonic laughter as he walked out of her room.

She could finally be by herself again, in her own thoughts. There was a soft whine that came from her as she looked into the mirror across the room. There was dried blood on the bottom of per paws and badly stitched up wounds. Her black fur covered the bruises she could feel with every breath she took. The light in her eyes was dim, as she was on the fine line between life and death. They have brought her past the point of even pitying herself anymore. Anastasia wanted to be free again, the fox inside her was calling out… what could she do? She was a small fox, and they were wolves.

It felt like hours, but someone else entered her room eventually. It was the healer, as Vern said there would be. The healer was a wolf with blue fur, adorned in jewels and gems. Anastasia could feel the immense spiritual energy coming from the healer. Ana could barely keep her eyes open, they were so swollen. She could feel the healer’s touch, as her body slowly regenerated itself. The energy returned in her body, as she could finally move again. Ana glanced at the healer timidly.

“You should clean yourself up and make yourself presentable,” the healer advised coldly. “You’ll be under many watchful eyes.” With that, she left Anastasia in her room.

Ana took this time to follow the healer’s advice. She already knew the consequences if she didn’t. Plus, she wanted to bathe badly. There was a spiritual bath nearby that she decided to walk to. Her tail was matted and tangled, and her fur lacked the usual shine it had since she was captured a few months ago. Anastasia finally let her fox nature out of its shell, and she dove into the water. The feeling she got was so indescribable as she swam in the water. The spiritual essence of the water washed away the dirt and grime. Whenever she got out of the water, she glistened under the spirit moon. At this point she was able to groom her tail to detangle it. It was lush and thick; her tail was larger than her body. It felt so good to finally be clean. This was the first blessing she saw in a long time.

Whenever she returned to her room, the refreshed feeling she had dissipated. Vern was waiting for her, eyeing her once she entered the room. He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Look at you, all cleaned up are we?” He walked over, wanting to dominate her like he did so many times before. Ana’s ears folded to the back of her head, hearing more paw’s making their way over behind her. Two more wolves were now at the entrance of her room. They were Vern’s cronies, and Vern ordered her to follow him. As Vern led the way, Ana followed. The other two followed behind her.

“Since the royals finally caved in and asked for our services, they made a lot of requests.” He rolled his eyes as he got her caught up on what their mission was. Ana’s eyes roamed at the spirit world around them. They were spiritual descendants of Wendigos. There were many forms the spirit can take. Most common forms were wolves and elks. Then it would be horses and foxes. Ana still has yet to meet another fox spirit like her, so she doesn’t know if she is supposed to grow bigger and awaken like other spirits do. Spirit forms can vary from beautiful, haunting, captivating, and decaying. The spirit world consists mostly in darkness, as the spirit forms always had some sort of neon color. For Ana, it was purple. It streaked throughout her tail and her eyes glowed a vibrant purple.

“They requested someone specifically in an unawakened form, and that they are not a wolf,” Vern seemed offended by that. “Second, we are going into the physical realm in search of the King.” He eyed Ana, seeing her eyes widen in surprise. “It seems like they’ve pinpointed a location where they could last feel his presence. Sadly, the last place they expected him to go to was the physical realm.” Vern and his team arrived at a portal, revealing the physical world to all. “My team and I are assigned to make sure you follow orders, and don’t run away.” Vern’s eyes looked down at her threateningly. Ana cowered a bit, not wanting to get another beating. “Let’s go,” Vern didn’t hesitate to walk through the portal.

Ana hesitated though, unsure what would be waiting for them on the other side. The two cronies that stood behind her, however, nudged her forward forcefully. Anastasia closed her eyes as she eventually walked through the portal. She could feel her body change drastically. Whenever her eyes opened, she saw the physical world for the first time. A world that was illuminated under light. She stared at nature in fascination. Once she looked down at herself, she could see that she was standing on two legs, and had two hands. So this is what her physical form looked like? Anastasia thought that it was going to take her a while to learn how to walk in this form, but she had no problems whatsoever.

They had clothes stashed in some bushes nearby for them to wear while they were here. Ana was surprised how well the clothes fit considering she wasn’t sure what her physical body would look like. Everyone was dressed, as Vern continued to walk down a dirt path in the woodlands they teleported to. He cleared his throat, “Now, there’s only two things you really need to worry about once you enter the village.” He spoke directly to Ana now, instead of everyone. “Keep an eye on the blacksmith once you enter his store. Second is to take something from the store. We need to find any DNA on the stuff he has made to see if it matches the King’s DNA.” He turned and faced her, towering over her. “Do I make myself clear?”

Anastasia nodded, her hands shaking slightly as he approached her. He handed over a bag that slung over her shoulder. “Take this to hide whatever it is you’ll steal.” He smirked. “You are a fox after all, stealing should be easy for you right?” Ana was shocked at what he said. He didn’t like that she froze up. “Continue down this path, the village is ahead. We will stay back in the tree line. Can’t afford to have all of us spotted in case something goes awry.” He clicked his tongue at Ana, pushing her forward. “Don’t be shy, little fox,” he sneered.

Anastasia fumbled on her feet whenever he pushed her down the path. This was a whole new world, everywhere she looked somehow seemed so familiar. But it still was so new. There were different colors here than the spirit world. Instead of the trees and plants illuminating their own light like the spirit world, they soak in the light that they get from the sky. Ana took her first steps outside the tree line. The light blinded her temporarily as her hands reached to shield her eyes. Vern was right when he said that the village was not too far from the woodlands. But it still was going to be a good walk for her to get to.

Each step she took, she could feel her anxiety worsen. Ana didn’t belong in this world, she felt so lost and fascinated at the same time. She couldn’t smell or hear as well in her physical form. Instead of focusing on her anxiety, she took a look at her body again. What was the spirit’s name for this body? Human. Ana thinks she is now in a human form. The anxiety of the mission didn’t really hit her until she took her first step into the village.

There were many other humans who looked at her since she was new there, but they smiled at her. Anastasia didn’t know how to interact with them, but followed suit as to how they treated her, which was to smile back. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to understand their language nor read it. Surprisingly, none of those things were an issue for her. Perhaps it was because of her spirit’s expandable mind? Either way, it eased some of her worries.

The sign for the blacksmith was just ahead. Ana gulped. Her footsteps were silent as she entered the shop. There were a couple others looking around at the displayed weapons and armor. She could hear a clanking of a hammer hitting some metal. Beyond the front of the shop was the blacksmiths workshop. Ana’s orders were to keep an eye on him, but she found her eyes sticking to him regardless of the orders given to her. What was it about him that she couldn’t keep her eyes off of? She could feel her fox reacting to the sight of him as she watched him work. His face and arms glistened from the sweat. Ana glanced over his muscles, feeling a bit of a craving inside from her fox.

That confirmed for her that he was a spirit in the physical realm, but she can’t confirm if he’s the king or not. Not unless he willingly told her, which she doubted he would. Ana turned her attention to the swords on the wall. She has seen spirit blades before, but the physical realm’s swords also captivated her. The swords reflected the light that came across their blades. She could see her own face in its reflection, noticing her emerald eyes.

Ana shook her head as she focused back on her tasks. She did confirm that the blacksmith must’ve been a spirit. Now she needed to find a chance to steal something and have someone analyze any DNA that could belong to the king… but most everything in here was giant. Her crafty eyes laid upon the daggers that were laid out for display. Her hand was itching to take one.

Whenever she scanned her surroundings, everyone was distracted looking at other things. Ana laid her eyes on the blacksmith again. He was busy with the sword he was making, so she went for it. Silently, she slipped the dagger off the shelf and into the bag that Vern gave her. Her heart was beating wildly. Even though it was wrong to steal, this was the first time in a while she felt so alive. Ana wasn’t really given a time limit, but she didn’t want to stay any longer and risk getting caught.

As she turned around though, there was a man standing in her way of the door. His hands were on his hips, and she could see he had a badge on his shirt, indicating that he was the authority around here. Anastasia’s eyes grow wide, not expecting him to be there.

“Good day, miss,” he started off. “Mind if I check your bag really quick?” He gave her some knowing eyes. Guilt was written all over Ana’s face as she shamefully handed over the bag to the officer. He took the dagger from her back, looking it over and glancing back at Ana. “Did you pay for this, miss?” He asked. Ana felt so ashamed as she managed to shake her head, avoiding his gaze. He could see the guilt on her face. His tone softened a bit since it didn’t seem like she was stealing it for herself. Maybe someone put her up to this? Maybe she was in a bad spot in life? “So tell me, why did you steal this dagger? Was it for you?” Anastasia shook her head. The officer raised his eyebrow at her, “Do you talk, miss?”

Ana could feel her anxiety rising more and more. “A…” she cleared her throat. “A little…” her voice was soft and timid. She hadn’t talked for months, not finding the courage inside in order to.

“Why did you steal the dagger?” He pressed. Ana stayed quiet, since she knew she couldn’t answer that. The officer sighed with some frustration. “Did someone put you up to this?” That question got a reaction out of Ana as he noticed her tense up and her limbs began to shake and tremble. There was fear in her eyes and she was avoiding his gaze, her eyes fixated on her shoes. That was all the answer he needed. “Look,” he was about to place a hand on her shoulder.

Anastasia instinctively whimpered and flinched at the motion of his arm coming for her, expecting to be beaten. “I-I’m s-s-s-sorry.” Her whole body trembled.

The officer still continued forward, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Ana finally opened her eyes to confirm that the officer meant no harm. “Normally I’d take you in to stay overnight in jail but…” he glanced over to the owner of the place. “I think I’ll let Damien decide your punishment.” Ana gulped loudly whenever the officer called for Damien to come over.

The blacksmith stopped what he was doing, already basically finished with the sword at this point. He didn’t look happy to be called over, but he couldn’t say no to an officer. He was covered in sweat and soot. “What’s the matter, Gabe?” His eyes finally landed on Ana, making her stomach drop. Her heart began to beat rapidly. It was like he was looking right through her. Does he know she’s a spirit in disguise?

“Seems you have a little thief here,” the officer, Gabe, spoke with Damien. “Also seems like someone else put her up to it. I’m giving her a chance of redemption. What punishment do you deem fit?” Anastasia’s eyes shown with guilt and fear. The officer showed Damien the dagger which Ana was trying to steal.

Damien took the dagger and looked it over. “Hm…” he thought about it. “I think working to pay off this dagger should work.”

The officer smiled, “That works, how much is that dagger?”

“Usually it’s one gold, but just for you,” Damien’s eyes roamed back over to Anastasia. She quivered where she stood, her fox felt the power that he radiated. “I’ll make it five gold. You can earn one silver a day working here. Which would mean you’d work here for… a little more than a year.” His arms crossed over his chest, staring Ana down.

Damien had… a very powerful aura. Anastasia couldn’t really argue or refuse, not that she’d even dare to. But this does put her in a bad spot. Her captors would continuously try to take her away from Damien… Ana felt as if she were being transferred from one captor to another. Her fox could feel that Damien wasn’t someone who could be attacked easily. Since she wasn’t awakened, she couldn’t use any extra auras to figure out what kind of spirit he was, or if he was indeed the king.

She averted her eyes eventually, unable to handle the intense aura he was exerting. Gabe did talk with Damien off to the side. But her fox ears could hear all “Are you sure? She seems really scared… that punishment seems a bit harsh.”

“Yeah… you said someone put her up to it. I have a feeling if she returned empty handed it would end badly for her. At least if she has to work here, she can be safe for a little while,” Damien replied quietly. Gabe nodded once he understood.

“I’ll leave her in your hands then,” Gabe glanced back over to Anastasia before walking over to her. He gave her a smile, “Don’t worry too much about working for him. He’s a grump, but he’s a kind person.”

Ana watched as the officer left, dreading the fact that she was now in Damien’s hands. She could see out of the corner of her eye that he was approaching her. “What’s your name?” He asked her. His tone wasn’t quite as harsh as earlier, but it was still firm, as if he was commanding her to tell him.

“M-My name?” She asked anxiously. She was worried. Was it okay for him to know? The faction that she’s forced to work under, wouldn’t be happy if they knew that she was giving away all ‘their’ information.

“Do you not have a name?” He asked pointedly. He didn’t have the patience for her to make up a name.

“Anastasia…” she gripped onto the shirt she was wearing. Her body felt so tense, unsure what she should expect. But she felt so small.

“Anastasia…” he took his time with his pause before he held his hand out to her. It was wiped off of all sweat and grease from the forge. “My name is Damien.” He could see her hesitate. “I know Gabe introduced me earlier, but I like to give a proper introduction.” Ana warily took his hand. As they shook hands, he could feel how weak her body was compared to what it should be.

“Let me show you around the shop and the forge,” he turned his back to her, feeling her small fox follow behind him. Even though she was a scared little thing, she was still curious about this world all the same. He felt the same way whenever he first came here. He explained everything to her in great detail, since this was her first time seeing any of this. He could see the twinkle in her eyes as she took in all the information he was giving her.

“Your job,” he continued, “Is to interact with customers, organize and take commissions, and to check customers out if they’d like to purchase anything.” He glanced at Anastasia. “Which means you will need to learn a lot about each weapon. They’ll have questions, and you’ll need to have all the answers.” He could tell this was becoming overwhelming for her. “I’ll teach you everything. Ever heard of something called shadowing?” She shook her head whenever he asked her. “Basically you become someone’s ‘shadow’. You’d follow me around, I’ll explain to you how everything works and what to do for your job. After a certain amount of time I’ll leave you to do it on your own.”

Ana bit her lip as she was taking all this in. To be honest, she had no idea what was happening. All of this felt so unreal. She nodded once he finished what he was saying, to indicate she heard everything. He was nicer than her previous captors already. Whenever she was first captured, she was always trying to resist what they wanted. After months of beatings and downright torture… Ana was too scared to say or do anything. Was it okay for her to nod her head? Is it okay for her to talk? She remained silent as she continued to follow Damien. “Any questions?” He asked her.

Anastasia shook her head in response, still unable to look up at him. But it was a lie, she had so many questions. Where would she even start? Not to mention it’s not as if she could ask these questions with other humans around them. “Look at me, and use your voice to answer.” He commanded.

She flinched and caved into his commands as she looked at his face. “I’m s-sorry…” she managed to speak.

“Let me ask again, do you have any questions?” He looked at her intensely. Like he was trying to find the answer in her eyes.

“N-n-no…” she wanted to look away again. The intense stare from him softened.

“You’re free to speak your mind, Anastasia. No one here will hurt you. I won’t hurt you.” This fox has undergone a lot of abuse from the wolve’s faction. But he could see the distrust in her eyes. She didn’t dare break away from looking at him even though she wanted to. Anastasia remained silent, her eyes glossing over as she wanted to believe his words, but couldn’t.

Damien sighed, “Follow me.” He walked to the back end of the shop, revealing a door she didn’t notice before. Whenever he opened it, there was a set of stairs. They both walked up together and Ana couldn’t help but have her anxiety grow, fragments of old memories coming to mind. Was he going to hurt her now that there weren’t any eyes on them? Once they made it to the top, she saw a quaint living area. It had a small kitchen to the left, and a living area to the right. If she turned the corner she would’ve seen beyond the living area there was a small balcony which overlooked the village. There were a couple of other doors, one of which she assumed was the bedroom.

“We are by ourselves now,” he said while turning to look at her once more. “You don’t need to hide anything since the humans can’t hear.” Ana was surprised he said this. So he knew she was a spirit, and he was willing to reveal that he was one too? “What questions do you really have?”

Her breaths were shaky, as she looked at Damien. “Where am I?”

The question was so broad Damien couldn’t tell how specific he needed to answer. “We are both in the physical realm.”

“But where in the physical realm?” She whispered.

“We’re in a little village named Sunfall.” He allowed his spirit to exude an aura of calm and safety. Anastasia was feeling the effects, as he noticed her muscles relax.

Ana gulped hard before asking her next question, “Who are you?”

Damien shifted his weight, which caused her nervousness to rise. “Damien,” he answered sarcastically with a side smile.

“You know that’s not what I mean…” she watched him carefully. Was she angering him? What kind of response should she expect?

“Did your captors not inform you?” He raised an eyebrow.

Ana’s eyes widened in surprise. “How did you-?”

“I was sent by the King to stay in the physical realm while he went into hiding. He’s been trying for years to get rid of the wolf faction. This is the first step to taking them down, which is to get them to send someone out here but,” Damien looked over Anastasia’s frail body. “I was expecting them to send one of their agents, not one of their captives.” He admitted. What he said technically wasn’t a lie, but he couldn’t risk telling her that he was who they were looking for. “Will they come for you?”

Ana gripped onto her shirt again, her hands squeezing and releasing occasionally to help with the stress. “Yes… since I failed to finish the mission they will send people to come get me.” Her voice was soft.

“What was your mission?” He asked. Anastasia tensed up again. She made a mistake by mentioning anything about her mission. Whenever she didn’t answer, Damien took a step toward her, using his spirit to order her to tell him. “What was your mission, Anastasia?” He reiterated.

Her fox could feel the order, and she could not resist it. “My m-mission was to come to this village. To come to this store… keep an eye on you and take something they could use to find any DNA of the King on it.” It all came out of her mouth despite her fear of the consequences. Damien was just another strong spirit who will use his power over her to get the answers. She wasn’t awakened, and couldn’t resist his commands. Ana felt so helpless. Whatever happened to her free spirit?

“I see,” he looked pensive after she told him everything. He eventually looked at her again. “I will make sure the faction is disbanded and that they can’t take or hurt any spirits anymore.” It sounded like he was making a promise to her. “You can rest easy now, Anastasia.”

Ana wasn’t sure how to feel about his words. She wanted to accept the comfort and safety that comes with it, but she’s been deceived so many times it’s hard to even wrap her head around him being kind to her. How many times was she beaten? How many times was she told she deserved it? And why did Ana believe them? Why can’t she believe Damien? The conflict was written all over her face. Damien cleared his throat and rummaged in the kitchen. “This is your first day in the physical realm?”

Ana nodded before realizing he can’t see her. “Y-yes.” She replied.

He took out some bread and cheese for her to eat. “Your physical body will need food and rest while you stay here, unlike the spirit realm. There’s a lot of different needs you’ll feel eventually that you’ll need to get used to.” He walked back over to her and handed the bread and cheese over. “This will hold you over until I can cook for us tonight. I assume you don’t have anywhere to stay?” Ana shook her head as a reply.

He showed her the bed in case she needed to rest. Damien also showed Ana where the bathroom was. “You can take a bath, and use the toilet when your body tells you that you need to go.” It was a bit awkward explaining the physical needs. But it seemed like Ana caught on really quick. “After you eat you should rest in bed. I need to go back to the shop and tend to it. But I’ll be back up here later tonight,” Damien explained.

Ana could only nod again once all is said and done. The food of this realm felt interesting to say the least. She sniffed it instinctively. Damian smiled a little while watching her try to understand this world. She took a bite of the bread first, as it’s smell wasn’t as strong as the cheese. It was pleasantly soft on the inside, while it had a nice crunch to the outside. She hesitated before eating some of the cheese. She wasn’t sure how to describe it, all she knew was that the taste was stronger. Something about it was so distinct and delectable. Her fascination showed on her face. Damien walked past her and returned to work as she enjoyed the food of this world. Little did she know just how much she could have.