<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: teal">How could she let this happen so easily? How could she have been so careless? To let herself fall into such a predicament, it was unbelievable. Of all the worthless humans in this world, why did it have to be her? Why did <span style="font-style: italic">she</span> have to be turned into some stupid servant to this... thing? It was disgusting. Revolting, even. What made matters worse was now, she would not only be held down by the chains of the Warden, but by the chains of a Demon as well. Bound on both sides. Now her soul wouldn't even be free if this thing didn't let her go. And to be released, she'd have to obey his orders. She wondered next what those orders consisted of. He wouldn't have her going around doing anything illegal... right? She was in enough damn trouble as it was, without getting into other problems. <br/>Obedient. Doing what you're told. Submissive. Following orders. None of these things went well with Isra. For years she only thought of being obedient as acting like a dog- simply obeying your master's command. That sort of concept ticked her off, perhaps far more than any other thing. It was no one's place to give her instructions on what to do with her life. It was<span style="font-style: italic"> her</span> life. Not theirs. What authority did they have to decide her fate? Above all else, following the will of someone else... it was like she would no longer have a purpose. And without a purpose, what reason did one have to keep living? <br/><br/>Just when she thought she'd finally grasped onto some portion of the world, here she was, falling yet again. Her wings were now broken. But screw the wings, she thought. Screw flying away. Her life was destined to be imperfect, and she would always continue to fall whether she wanted to or not. Inwardly a voice screamed. It screamed many things. But overall, it told her how pathetic she was being at this moment. For even if there was no way to avoid the contract, even if she did have to listen to orders, why should she have to act submissive? She didn't have to change. She'd only have to do what he said to, but he never said 'service with a smile'. She could still be cold and do as he asked. Her soul could stay trapped in layers of cold stone walls, never to be tampered with. No, Isra was letting herself break far too easily. It was rather strange to her, how she'd gone from determined and brave, to afraid, and now she was intent of being frozen again. Maybe the Warden was right. Maybe she really did belong in a mental hospital. Or just maybe, she let certain things get to her too soon, before she could find other reasons. This wasn't over. Her life wasn't over, or her goals. <br/><span style="font-style: italic">'You may have won the battle for my service, demon,' </span>She thought darkly,<span style="font-style: italic"> 'But you won't win the war.'</span><br/><br/>With a new sense of determination to get out of this one way or another, her fear subsided a bit. If she was to truly act as though he had never shaken her up, she would need to conceal her fear again. Her will had to be strong. Otherwise she may slip up, not only humiliating herself, but putting the lives of the orphanage children at risk. That wouldn't ever happen. Not if she had any say in it. But as much as she tried to put it away, something within her couldn't seem to work right... the fear was still there. It taunted her and ate away at what little nerve she had left. Questions with undesirable answers echoed in the back of her mind. Why couldn't she put the fear away? Because this time, it was more real than anything she'd felt before. This would not be something she knew how to cope with easily...<br/><br/>~<br/><br/>Isra suddenly closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, wiping her conscious clear. To be quite honest, her unstable mind had gone off on a random current of thoughts. This was not the first time she drifted away without knowing it. Throughout her past, she'd been known to somehow drift away from reality and enter a state of mind similar to a mental paralysis. On the outside she would look frozen. But in her head she was elsewhere. In her mind- which had been steadily ruined as she grew older- she thought many things, all at once. And sometimes these things made no sense. Sometimes, they went from unhappy, to angry, to all sorts of other emotions. Possibly like that of an insane person. Various things would distract her and begin to tear her mental stability apart. She was more careful these days to try and not let her psychotic demeanor take control of her actions, for she feared what might happen if it took over. If she lost control of her thoughts and actions. Thanks to the Warden, such a task was always becoming more difficult. And now this. Luckily she had managed to latch on to Lancier's voice and listen as he asked her about religion and faith. She couldn't quite hear his words, she was too lost for that. But gradually her brain settled and the moment of insanity disappeared as if it never were. She let out a sigh of relief.<br/><br/>Finally she could focus back on the conversation, and not panic over mental health. Her eyes glinted with an unreadable emotion as he spoke about the bond forged between her soul and him, wondering why it even had to be called a 'bond'. It didn't seem like the right word. Not in human context, anyway. Contract sounded better. She was under a contract now. And no one would know it but her. That was a good thing- she didn't feel like explaining to the children where she'd gotten such a peculiar tattoo. The mark still bothered her, though. A glove. She would need a glove, to keep it out of her sight. <br/>Ignoring when he again describes her as cute, as repulsive as she found it, she watched him as he made some orphanage papers appear before her eyes. The documents listed details for the sending of a person to the orphanage. Although, with a bitter smile on the inside, she knew those documents weren't necessary... not at that orphanage. There was no paperwork, there. To the Warden, the kids were as real as anyone... but to the outside world, as far as society knew, Isra and the children did not even exist. For there were no papers which had their details in the database. That way, when someone died, only the ones there would know... but to the world... it was anonymous.<br/><br/>She recoils instantly when his finger makes contact with her chin and tilts it up, tossing her head to the side. A fierce scowl of disapproval now adorned her face. Any contact whatsoever made her uncomfortable- she couldn't stand being touched. Him grabbing her hand had been one thing. Touching her chin? That sent chills down her spine. <br/>After Lancier released her hand and backed away, she straightened up and fixed her right sleeve before pausing to take in the last few moments of her life. What the hell had just happened? Without really thinking, her hand reached down into her pocket and she fished around for her ipod along with the headphones she draped around her neck. She plugged them in and placed the ear buds into their positions.<br/><br/>She remembers a few of his words prior to giving her permission to leave.<span style="font-style: italic"> 'Enlightening friendship...'</span><br/>"I have no friends," She mutters in annoyance. With that she turns her back to him and continues on her way to the Graveyard. </span></div>