text: It was dark, cold, and empty. She didn't know how long she had lain there; wounded and bound like an animal about to be slaughtered. She who was once the most powerful queen on earth, now lay battered, silently praying for death. It wasn't an incident that happened through luck. Her enemies couldn't get her with that alone. So they used what would most likely cause her to surrender, her people. She tried opening her eyes, but it was useless. She couldn't see anything. No sound was heard, which caused her ears to tingle strangely, almost making her seem like she was deaf. Her eyes closed, and then she forced them open again. She didn't know how long she had been unconscious, but it would do her right to be wide awake, especially while in her enemy's lair. "You are finally awake." A voice called out from the still silence, causing her heart to jump in fear. She looked around, her eyes widened, trying to know where the sound came from. "There is no need to try to see." The voice said, this time much closer. "Your sight has been taken from you." Pain like she had never known tore through her chest. Her eyesight, the one thing that aided her powers, had been taken away from her. She had expected to be jailed, beaten. She accepted it. But removing her eyesight was never part of the deal. "Damn you." She whispered, her voice hoarse. "You really can't blame me for this, darling." The voice called out. "All these wouldn't have happened, had you just accepted to be my bride." "I would rather die than be eternally tied to you." She spat. "I do not know what's so wrong about that." The voice said, slowly getting angry. "I love you. Can't you see that?!" She knew the voice perfectly. Could recognize it even in her sleep. To that day, she still couldn't get over the fact that someone she was very close to, could become so devoured by the hate he once fought against while he was young. She never knew if she had loved him then, but she was very sure that she would never feel anything for him, apart from the very hate that was slowly growing in her. "That is not love." She whispered. "Whatever you have for me, is not love. It's greed, obsession. To take power away from my hands, and rule my land. Sadly, as long as I live, I would never allow my people to be under your tyrannical reign." "Don't you dare dictate my feelings!" The voice shouted, causing her to wince. "You fight for the same people that would betray you in a blink of an eye." "Whether they do or not, doesn't matter to me. My kingdom is now in safe hands, free from your greedy ones." "Admit it. Just admit it." The voice said, eerily quiet this time. "You surrendered yourself to me because deep down, you still feel something for me. You wish to change me, is it not?" "I wear these chains, so that my people may live a life without knowing how it feels to have steel tied around their wrists and hanging from their bones. Not because of some perverse love for you." She said, her voice though hoarse, dripping with determination. "And if I have to do it a hundred times," she continued, "you can be rest assured that I would do it again without hesitation.