'Seed of Chaos' System

When Alesha woke up, she discovered that she was shackled to an uncomfortable wooden table in a poorly-lit, damp room. She could smell the sharp twang of unfamiliar chemicals. Where was she? Why was she here? The last thing she could remember clearly was her embarrassment at the idea of biting Han (or was it Friedrich?), and it got hazy after that. There was something about a golden light and a delicious taste, then an alluring lullaby? Had she been captured?

That didn't make sense; she was by the King at the time. If there was anywhere in the Kingdom that would be well protected, it would be by his side. So why was she imprisoned in this spooky, dark cell?

[Lalalala, la la laaa,] Rogork was singing softly in the back of her mind. She snorted in disgust. Rogork had become so incredibly useless lately. When would it go back to normal? Would it ever go back to normal?

A few minutes of interminable boredom later, she heard a door open and confident footsteps approach. "Hey!" She said. "What's going on? Who are --"

Her words cut off as a familiar person came into her view. No, it couldn't be! But why?? It was definitely him!

"Hero Alesha," the King said in solemn tones, "I have come to apologize."

"...Apologize?" She asked, a pit of dread forming in her stomach.

He nodded gravely. "I apologize for what I am about to do to you. In no way do you deserve this. Your heart is genuine, and your efforts to this point have been admirable. Captain Swallow has kept me informed as to how your training has been going, and though you have no talent, your heart is where it should be. I almost wish you weren't so pure a person," he added, chuckling darkly.

Fear built up in Alesha's mind and chest at these words. "What? What do you mean, what are you going to do to me? I don't understand!" She struggled against her restraints, feeling a sense of foreboding that told her that if she didn't escape now, she would never be able to. Was she about to die??

"I apologize, Alesha Williams; you are an innocent Hero, closer to a bystander than anything else. It is your unfortunate luck that makes you the most suitable for this. I am so sorry that this is necessary."

"Wait! Please explain! What do you mean, what am I most suitable for?!" Alesha shouted as the king took off an outer coat, rolling up his sleeves and walking out of sight off to her left. Her head was securely restrained facing the ceiling, so she couldn't turn it to look at what he was doing. She kicked and moved her arms to no avail. The restraints were too strong. Even though it was probably still night, when she wasn't cursed with weakness, she was helpless.

From her right, a man clad in black clothing approached, grabbed her jaw and forced it open, pinching her nose. She tried to close her mouth but his grip was too strong. The King returned, holding a clear flask full of some kind of foggy liquid that she couldn't observe clearly due to the low lighting. While pouring the liquid into her mouth, the King nodded to the other man, who kept her mouth open, not allowing her to move her jaw at all.

The liquid was bitter, viscous and somewhat gritty, yet because she couldn't move her jaw, she had no way to attempt to get rid of it. Her nose was still plugged as well. The seconds passed and she couldn't breathe. Eventually, she was forced to swallow in order to clear a path for air; yet because she was nearly horizontal and couldn't move her jaw, she couldn't swallow properly, and some of the gritty, viscous liquid went down her air pipe, choking her. She coughed several times, spewing a fair amount of the liquid back out. 

"You jerks!" She cursed as the King brought another vial of the same stuff towards her. "I'll drink it, just don't touch my face!!" 

She hated the taste of the stuff and knew something bad would probably happen if she drank it, but she hated the sensation of choking on it more than the idea of drinking it. 

[BLAHHHHHH] the System shouted in her mind, continuing its unintelligible babbling. [~Kinginging, BLACK TRUCK-kun, isekai, banana man go boo! Drinking icky goo! Tell the ghosts, go shoo! La la la la BOOM!]

Shut up, shut up, shut up!! She yelled internally at the System, irritated and afraid. 

Meanwhile, the King looked surprised, as if he had expected her to resist. She rolled her eyes. Of course a King would be used to having to deal with trained, loyal assassins or enemy soldiers, so maybe it hadn't occurred to him that she'd be weak to discomfort. But she was no hardened assassin. She was a normal girl from a soft, safe world. She had no way to escape, no one who would come to her rescue, and perhaps most importantly, no reason to make whatever he was going to do to her more miserable than it had to be.

Was she weak? Maybe. However, was there a point in resisting? Not that she could see.

She hated whatever this was going to be. She hated that the King had chosen to do whatever this was to her. However, she knew full well that she was powerless in this situation. There was simply nothing she could do. Why suffer any more than she had to?

The King fed her two more flasks of the same bitter, gritty liquid, and she choked it down -- just because she could control her jaw now didn't make drinking from a nearly horizontal position any easier. 

"Out of curiosity," the King asked in his deceptively kind voice, "Why aren't you resisting?"

Alesha snorted. "You care? If I had to say, it's because I know it's hopeless.You're the King. I'm the 'Useless Hero.' If you want to do something to me, there's no way I can avoid it. Especially not when you've already caught me."

She could see a sad smile on his face in the corner of her eye. "I see. Well, that is true enough, I suppose. Again, I apologize for this. I and my Kingdom will be forever in your debt."

Snarling, Alesha snapped, "Sure you are. I'm sure you're SOOO sorry. But you're not sorry enough to let me go, now are you?"

The King shook his head. "No, I am not," he said softly.

A sudden wave of anger hit Alesha. That soft voice, that seemingly kind, gentle voice, had comforted her, soothing her out of a panic attack just hours ago. How dare he use that voice to apologize! "Either let me go or stop apologizing!" She shouted angrily. "You're a damn hypocrite!"

"I know," the King said, "I know."