*I hit the bucket frantically, follishly hoping I could break it strong wooden body. The other man, kicked me severally on my knees as my head was under water.*
*The kicks landed with brutal precision, each blow a dull thud that radiated up my legs, making my kneecaps scream in protest. My fists hammered uselessly against the thick wooden bucket, the impact sending jolts of pain through my wrists. Water rushed into my nose, my throat, and the world dissolved into a haze of black spots and searing agony.*
*Through the murky water, I saw a flicker of movement. Not the guards, not the leader. Something else—something silver, glinting in the dim light. The three-eyed beast. It was perched on the edge of the archway, its massive wings folded tight, its three eyes fixed on me with an unnerving, intelligent stare. For a split second, our gazes locked, and I swear I saw a flash of something like anger in its gaze.*
*Then, just as suddenly as before, the leader yanked my head up. I coughed violently, spewing water and bile onto the stone floor, my body trembling uncontrollably.*
*I didnt know whether to beg or to curse at him.*
"Have you learnt your lesson little bitch?, "
*He asked. instead of saying yes and pleading. My stobburness overtook me. I managed a chocked laugh.*
"It is you who deserves a lesson."
*I spat out. Enraged, the leader yanked my head back with more force back into the water. You fucking slut. I will teach you how to beg, he growled angrily pressing.my head into the water*
*The world shrank to the burn of water in my lungs, the relentless pressure of his hand on my skull. Through the murk, I saw it again—the silver flash of the beast's feathers, closer this time. Its three eyes blazed with a fierce, golden light, and I felt a strange, thrumming energy in my chest, like a chord being plucked deep within my soul.*
*Then, a sound that cut through the water's roar—a low, rumbling growl, so deep it vibrated in my bones. The leader's grip faltered for a fraction of a second, and I saw his eyes widen in terror as he looked past me, at the beast. It had spread its wings, a magnificent, terrifying wall of silver and muscle, and its beak was open, revealing rows of needle-sharp teeth.*
*With a deafening shriek, the beast launched itself from the archway. I felt a rush of wind as it swooped down, and then the leader's hand was gone from my hair.*
*But before it could reach him, the leader brought out a whistle from his sack. He nodded at his men to press my head into the water still, before played a sound that sent chills through my veins. Immediately the beast shrieked. it was not a shriek of a beast attacking but one suffering in pain. The beast stumbled backwards, as it tried to use its wings to cover its ears.*
*The whistle's sound was a physical blow—high-pitched, grating, like shards of glass scraping against my very soul. The beast's shriek of agony cut through the water, and even under the surface, I felt its pain as a sharp, echoing throb in my chest. My hands, which had been feebly clawing at the bucket's edge, stilled as a new, fiercer fire ignited in my gut.*