20

ELEANOR

I clenched my teeth as the whip made contact with my already raw skin again. I had no idea what number of hits that was, having lost count, sometimes around forty. When Zane said to make sure the punishment would be one we would never forget, his guards took his words with every seriousness.

Never in all my years of life have I been subjected to this level of humiliation, as I was immediately been stripped naked, uncaring of the rapidly growing crowd at the scene, and was dragged away in ropes tied to my hands and legs all while having sneers and insults hurled at us as one of the guards continued to yell the word 'Traitor'.

I whimpered in pain as the guard pulled the rope harshly and I could feel my skin sting at each pull. I was sure my wrists would be unimaginably red at that point.

I wondered why he was doing this, what exactly did I do to be called a traitor and paraded as one.

“Get moving, you fvcking cunt," the voice of one of the guards pulled my attention to where it