When Laen awoke again with a groan, she felt little different than she had the previous time: disoriented, hurt, and alone. She tasted blood in her mouth and her breath came in agonizing gasps, each inhale causing pain to stab through her chest. She was no longer bound to a chair but instead chained to the floor, her muscles no longer numb from the cold but from the agonizing position she was being held in. The hood remained, robbing her of her sight. 

She was not certain how long she had been unconscious, or what exactly had transpired since her latest beating. Hours had passed possibly...days even? She wasn’t even certain how long she had been awake before she finally became aware of her surroundings, or as aware as she could be in her current situation, through the aching and discomfort. 

She heard something beside her, a quiet sound of someone stirring, the quiet clinking of chains, shallow breathing. She was not alone as she had thought. Then there were voices, not like the voice though, the one that had questioned her. These sounded confused, angry, pained like her. Perhaps they were others in her own situation, captured by some unknown foe, or perhaps this was just some game by her captors to torment and confuse her. She remained silent as she had before, neither finding the words to say nor the strength to open her mouth and speak.