The Art of Subconscious Illusion

Aaron watched him the entire time, not enjoying it but not hating it either. He knew it was not over, Felix would make sure of that. He loved what he was doing, every second of it, and Aaron loved how much he loved it. This was not his style, that much was clear, but sometimes one had to do things they did not enjoy in order to get something important to them. Zara was expendable, so was Felix for that matter, just not yet.

Felix used the curse and Aaron knew what was coming. He felt nothing at her screams, nothing, and that was when he realized he truly did not care about anyone. He had always said it to himself, promised himself he would never get involved because it was all a waste. Then, the only girl who he had really grown close to, was laying on a table screaming in pain and Aaron felt nothing.

In the back of his mind, he wanted to feel something. Maybe some sliver of his humanity was actually left in him. Maybe he would have realized the error in his ways, stood up and defended Zara, and then lived a happy life with her for the rest of his days. That was not the reality though. The reality was, that as Felix stared Aaron in his eyes, Aaron did not flinch. All he did was stare back, a blank and emotionless look on his face.

He did feel sorry for Zara, the poor thing did nothing but worship him. This was the price she had to pay though, and he took a note in his head, she would not have to deal with anything for awhile. While he knew that this moment would live with her forever, he also knew she would forgive him. He wanted to smirk at the horrible irony, but he did not, instead he held Felix's gaze making sure that Felix knew how for real Aaron was.

Felix smirked at the emotionless expression Aaron had. It was then he knew that the man truly did intend to keep his word. He didn't care about his lover on the table. He didn't care that she was screaming in pain.. he didn't care that it was her blood, and his own, mixed on his hands as he had punched her without mercy for several minutes. No.. he didn't care, and Felix liked that, it was the kind of man he was willing to be loyal to. Fact of the matter was, Grindelwald's days were going to be over soon, and when they were.. Felix would go with it. And Felix was not ready to give up his power yet.. oh no... he was far from ready for that.

Felix cut the spell off, and Zara lay gasping and sobbing on the table. Felix moved over to her and whispered in her ear, quiet enough that it seemed private between the two, but loud enough so that Aaron could hear. "Shhh.... It hurts.. doesn't it..." He whispered, his hand moving to her hair again and he stroked it gently, his lips near her ear as he spoke. "It hurts.. but it's punishment.. you've done bad things in the past.. and it is time you paid.. once you have paid... it will all go away.. of course, unless Aaron has other ideas... and wishes for me to see you again.. if you are naughty." He reached out, and carefully picked up a knife from the table beside him. Moving around so that Aaron could see what he was doing, but he had an easy reach. "Scream it out girl... but hold in your tears... it's a sign of weakness... and it's time to be strong." He whispered, and then stabbed the knife through her hand.

She let out an ear-splitting shriek, but her tears had stopped, it was as though she has willed them to do so, show to Aaron that she was strong. Show to him that she would make him proud. "Mm... good girl." He whispered, and then pulled the knife out, she let out another loud whimper, and then Felix gestured Aaron over to him. "I wish for you to do something for me.. I usually do this myself... but as I don't intend to torture this girl again.. I want you to have the honors.." He said and turned his eyes to Aaron. The glint of madness was there, but it hadn't opened all the way yet, he was still controlled. "Cut your hand... and then hold hers... let your blood mix... and then I will bandage you both up... I like to think of it as a bond that you are there for each other.. I have only done it once... and let me say.. she has been my most enjoyable pet.." He said holding the knife out to Aaron.

The man was brutal and straight to the point, Aaron would give him that. Aaron almost flinched when he watched the knife go through her hand. He had never watched anything so brutal before but he both enjoyed it and hated it at the same time. Aaron was a firm believer in trying his hardest to avoid violence. The way he saw it, getting into duels all of the time was a one way ticket to death. The best way to invoke fear is to have an aura that makes people too afraid to actually duel you in the first place.

When Felix asked him to cut his own hand, Aaron arched an eyebrow at him. He brought his hands up to his chin and wondered how he was going to play this one. "The deal was for you to torture her to your liking." Aaron said, putting an air of authority in his voice. He did not want to seem too blunt, but he also did not want demands being thrown in his direction. Especially ones that would scar him. Scars made it easier to be identified, and Aaron did not want to be identified.

"You can do whatever you wish with her, but keep me out of it."

Felix raised an eyebrow at the man, it was obvious that he didn't want to do what Felix requested, and Felix waited a beat, staring at him before he put his knife down to his own hand and sliced it open. He didn't so much as flinch, but he grabbed the girl's hand, and held onto it for good measure, letting the blood mix for a long moment. "Hmm..." He said and bandaged up her hand and then did the same to his. "You see... I feel as though that will be our little.. bond... something you won't forget.." He said gently to the whimpering Zara, who was trying hard to control her tears.

Felix smirked down at her, and then glanced at Aaron. He knew where to reserve himself now, he knew Aaron meant to be the high power, and if Felix was to get some of that power.. he had to respect the man. So no cutting of Aaron was allowed... that was fine.. he would just keep this pretty little princess all to himself. "I intend to make a follow up appointment with her of course.. make sure she's healing properly.." He said with a mocking grin. Any followup appointment made by him would result in more torture, and now that he was bonded with the woman, he felt it only fair to treat her as any other woman he tortured. Another of his pets.. something he was growing fond of lately.

Turning to Aaron, he looked at him for a long moment, before he turned to his table and picked up a long, sharp, metal rod. It was about as thick around as his pinky, but had a deadly sharp end to it. "I made this one up myself.. after... extensive research into the human anatomy.. I discovered the exact place on the body.. that causes the most pain... and doesn't hit any major organs on the way through.." He said softly, his smile growing wider, as he went to Zara, and carefully placed the rod on different areas of her body. After a long moment, he placed the rod against her shoulder, just below her shoulder blade, angled towards her stomach. "Don't worry..." He whispered to the now whimpering Zara, who was fighting off sobs as though it was her job. "This will hurt.. I will even forgive you if a few tears come out.. this one always was pretty bad." He whispered and stabbed down with the rod. It hit the table on the other side of her shoulder with a dull smack, as it buried itself deep into her flesh.

Zara let out a scream, and she started to sob. "Make him stop! Please Aaron! Please! Make it stop! I'd rather die! Please!" She couldn't hold back the tears anymore, and Felix was secretly glad. Leaving the rod in her shoulder, he smacked her hard across the face, leaving her reeling as she attempted to gain control of herself again. Felix grabbed her chin, and then looked back at Aaron. "I hope you don't mind.." He whispered, and then kissed Zara hard on the lips. She let out a muffled yelp and suddenly she was holding back a scream into the kiss as he gently started to rotate the rod in her shoulder. She was shaking hard, but the restraints kept her down, and now Felix's kiss kept her from even crying properly. When he was done, he yanked the rod out and gently started to wipe it off. Blood was spurting out of her shoulder, but he ignored it as he turned to Aaron. "When you are playing with children.. you miss getting to do that during sessions." He said, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, and seeing blood there.

He looked back at the girl and realized she had lost some teeth from the first punching sessions with Aaron. "Hmm.." he said and smirked, before he very gently placed a finger on the wound gushing on her shoulder. Holding up the blood covered finger for Aaron to see, he smirked and gently drew it into his mouth, sucking the salty liquid off before he smiled at Aaron, blood staining his teeth. "You may have a rod if you like.. if she acts up against your orders... I find there are many places to put them.." He said moving back to Zara with the rod. "Here.." He stabbed her calf, getting another round of screaming, before he pulled it out.

"Here.." He jammed it into her other shoulder, blood spurting forth and hitting his face. "But the most fun..." Setting aside the rod, he picked up a mean looking knife. "Is the scar each person who I torture has... a scar that is my signature in fact.." He went to Zara, and pulled her shirt up so her stomach showed, and carefully, he ran his fingers over the smooth skin, before he pushed the blade into her skin gently, getting a round of screams, which he ignored as he wiped off the rod, sucking on the metal to clean it off. "Mmmm... that should be about it." He said and pulled the knife out, leaving Zara screaming in pain, before he picked up his wand one last time. "One last thing.." He said and pointed his wand directly at her stomach. "Crucio.." The word left his lips, but Zara was already screaming, it went on and on, as he watched her writhe, blood spurting from her wounds, before he ended it, healed up the major wounds, making sure to leave behind good sized scars, before he turned to Aaron. "That is all.." He said and waved his wand at Zara, letting her up from her bond, he pulled her off the table and flung her at Aaron, which she stumbled to weakly and fell to her knees.

"I have other business to attend to, I hope you don't mind." He said carefully, his eyes on the sobbing woman at Aaron's feet as he waved his wand at the things in the room and it all disappeared, leaving behind the scent of blood, which was still coated on him and Zara, and his teeth still shone red from the multiple times he had tasted her blood. "I appreciate letting me use her as I did... It's been a long time since I've seen a real woman... Keep this." He placed the rod on the table, still slightly stained with blood before he ran his wand over his clothes and the blood siphoned off, before he rolled down his sleeves, pulled his robe back on and looked at Aaron, waiting to be dismissed properly.

The last bit of the session was as brutal as Aaron could imagine. He instantly felt sorry for anyone who had ever come across this man. Aaron thought it through and made a note to himself to dispose of Felix himself when the time came. Right now, the fear that Felix brought to the table was needed by Aaron. Normally, he would not condone the type of behavior he showed, but in these times it was needed.

When everything was done, Aaron stood to his feet and he finally looked at Zara who was in shambles. She was in much worse condition than Aaron ever thought imaginable, and he almost wished Felix had just killed her. Now he had to deal with her like this, and it was not going to be fun. Oh well, he did not have much else to do.

"Before you go, I have something I need you to do." Aaron reached into his pocket and he pulled out a notebook. He tossed it at Felix and then spoke. "I need names, all the names, of the people Grindlewald keeps close. I also want to know what he does and when he does it. Be diligent and figure out everything you can. Anything and everything is important." Aaron nodded his head at Felix, excited that he would soon know more about Grindlewald than he ever dreamed. "We will meet back here in two weeks at the same time. Do not try and contact me or Zara at any point until the two weeks are up."

He walked over to Zara and he stood over her. He gazed down and he truly felt sorry for what she had been through. He wanted to just end it for her, let it all be over with, but she did this for a reason. At least she could see everything through to the end. "And Felix.... I am sure it goes without saying but just in case. We've never met." With that, he gave a motion saying that he could go now. He was no longer needed, Aaron needed him to keep an eye out.

"And as for you, we need to get you home." He reached down, grabbed her by the waist, and pulled his wand out. Without another word, he apparated away from the scene and back to his shop in Diagon.

Zara had never been in so much pain. Her voice was hoarse from screaming, she had lost teeth, her eyes were black and swollen. Every part of her body Barker had touched was on fire, and she was sobbing softly on the ground as Aaron spoke to Felix after the session was done. When Aaron dismissed him, the man walked out without a single word, and Zara slowly looked up at Aaron as he hoisted her to her feet. She cried out in pain and felt him turn on the spot, apparating them to his shop.

When they arrived, Zara couldn't keep herself up, she felt her knees collapse and she wanted nothing more then to lay down and die. "Why.. "She whispered, in a hoarse, cracked voice. "Why.. would you make him do that?" She could feel tears on her cheeks, she felt hurt, betrayed, and worst of all, she felt like she had done something to disappoint Aaron. She had obviously done something to deserve that torture session, but she couldn't for the life of her figure it out. She had done what he wished, everything, and anything.. and he had just let Barker slap her on a table and torture her until she had been pretty sure she would never feel happy again.

She let herself sink to the floor and she wrapped her arms around herself, sobbing softly. "Don't touch me..." She whispered, turning her face away from him, hair falling in her eyes, blood on her clothes, her hand was throbbing, he had left it un-healed, and it was throbbing, the blood seeping through the bandage, but she knew that his blood was in her.. forever. It made her sick, and she felt dirty, wrong... tainted. Her lips were swollen from his kiss, and she spat on the floor, watching a bloody tooth hit it. "Give me my wand back." She said in a weak whisper, her eyes trained on Aaron as she slowly held out her hand for her wand.

Aaron gently carried her up the steps to his bed. He would not be sleeping tonight, the excitement of his gaining of Barker was too much for him. He would be downstairs in is office the entire night putting other plans into place. But for now, he had to tend to Zara. She was, for good reason, feeling terribly betrayed and hurt. Her wounds were near fatal and if Aaron did not tend to them, she would be scarred for life.

Why.

It was the word that resounded from her mouth over and over again. He understood but the cruelty of the world prevented her from ever getting why he did the things he did. It was lonely living in his mind, but he preferred it that way. He could not just up and tell her that he did it because he did not care for her. That was not the way to play it. Her loyalty to him depended on her believing that it went both ways when the reality was: she was his pawn.

She flinched away from him and demanded he not touch her. He put on a face of sorrow and he sat next to her gently. This was going to take some work. He gently placed his hand on her cheek and whispered "Zara... I am deeply sorry." His words were remorseful and she would believe it. He stroked her cheek and moved a strand of bloody hair from her face. "What happened to you... what I did to you... it was horrible. I hated every second of it." He pulled out his wand and he began to mutter spells over her wounds. He was not a great healer, but he could at least ease the pain.

"You must understand that Felix is vital to our goal. To get so much power.... so much respect.... it requires sacrifice beyond both of our wildest imaginations." He stopped for a second, reaching her shoulder wounds. They were deep and he would not be able to do much to them. He put as much effort into healing them as he could, they would take a few days. "I can never repay you for what you did tonight and I could never word exactly how grateful I am.... but I can promise you one thing." He finished up the healing as best as he could and he walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a few potions. They were for healing quicker, growing her teeth back, and making sure nothing would get infected.

"I will get you your revenge on Felix Barker. Unlike you, he is expendable, and once we are finished with him." He finished giving her the potions and he lay next to her again. He would lay with her until she fell asleep, which would not be long. "I promise I will kill him. I will torture him right in front of you. He will pay for what he has done to my love." He had to say it. He hated it, but he had to. After tonight, she would be forever loyal to him.

His hand on her cheek forced her to look at him, and she could feel the tears sprinkling down her face. He said he was sorry, he said things.. oh he said things, he sugar coated everything, and then threw her to the dogs! Zara wasn't an idiot! She knew how games of power worked... but she wanted so much for him to love her, she wanted to know that she could be loved with every ounce of her soul, and she also knew that he didn't. But what else was there to lose? He could pretend he loved her all he wanted, he could pretend whatever the hell he wanted, she wasn't fooled.

But she also knew that she had no choice. Because she DID love him... she did, and she hated that she did. And love made people do stupid things, like laying down on a table, and letting a man torture you so that your lover would get more power. He spoke kind words, and as his wand went over her wounds, the pain eased some, he gave her potions which she drank, he said beautiful things, and laid down next to her as she curled up on the bed.

He called her his love.. and she knew it was a lie. He was a good liar, yes.. but Zara wasn't a love sick puppy... not after that display, she knew what she could lose in this battle, and she no longer had the will to fight it. She sniffed softly and curled up closer to him, the potions starting to affect her. "I love you.." She whispered, truthfully, and knew even if he said it back... it was a lie, and she was beyond caring, all she needed was to hear the words, and know that he valued her. She would act as though she didn't know.. and Zara was a good actress... but she knew... no man punched the living daylights out of someone unless they had no compassion for them.. and Aaron had proved to her, and to Barker, that he didn't care.

"Please.. don't leave." She whispered and curled up against him, the potions lulling her into a sense of security, the last thing she remembered was taking hold of his shirt and gripping it carefully, inhaling his scent, and pretending that she was a lovely bride, in the home of her husband, and she had just had her first child, or something equally painful, which would account for the pain she was feeling. But she was happy in this dream... she was so amazingly happy, because she loved him, and he loved her. And they would be okay... Zara knew it wasn't true, but she let these happy thoughts lull her to sleep, a small smile on her face.