Sneak Attack

Zara smiled and summoned the wand, holding it in her grip, before suddenly the girl was running at full speed towards the exit, attempting to squeeze past her. Zara shot out a hand and grabbed a hold of the girl's hair roughly. She spun her around and pinned her against a tree, her thin black wand pointed at the girl's neck roughly, the tip poking into the girl's skin. "Now why did you do that girl?" She asked, her voice losing all of the fake sweetness it once had. "I never hurt you, I just didn't like the way you were pointing your wand at me!" She said, moving her fingers to grip around the girl's throat.

"Now I see that you are afraid of me... and that is just..." Zara tilted her head to the side, and a small smile flickered across her lips. "Perfect.." She smiled lightly and kept her head tilted to the side. "I don't understand why you don't like me, I haven't hurt you." She said her voice back into it's sickly sweet sound again. "Yet.." She grinned evilly and pushed the wand up against her lower chin. Suddenly she moved back, so she was guarding the entrance to the clearing again. She threw the girl's wand at her, and then smiled. "I don't like hurting unprotected people, it's against my morals." She laughed at this statement and then pointed her wand at her.

"Let's... play." She said smiling evilly at her. "Crucio.." She whispered, pouring her hate towards the world into the spell, intent on causing pain, and intent on hearing this girl speak.

Salem felt a hand roughly seize her hair and she let out a cry of pain, her eyes watering as her skull screamed in protest. She was spun around and thrown against a tree, making her cry out again, the tree shaking behind her from their combined force. She looked down and saw a wand pointed at her throat and she whimpered. Now she was in trouble.

Zara continued talking in that low, dangerous voice, reiterating that she apparently had never planned to hurt her, which Salem still knew was a lie. If she had never wanted to hurt her, she would have let her go, kept the other wand for her own and pawned it to some hobo or something. No, all the woman had ever wanted to do was hurt her.

She again moved towards the exit and Salem stumbled forward, falling to one knee. She looked up to see her wand coming towards her and she scrabbled for it, fumbling to take it in her right hand. She stood, her legs shaking, her jeans torn. She knew her makeup must have begun to smear but she did not care. She was feeling more afraid than she was looking pathetic.

And then, she was hit with pain. A pain she could not silence, one she could not keep quiet. Her mouth opened and she let out a strangled scream, the noise coming in and out like an old radio. She fell to both knees this time and began to twitch and jerk, tears falling down her face involuntarily.

Finally it stopped, and she clutched her sides, wheezing for breath before stumbling to stand. Her knees knocked together and her arms felt like lead, her head was pounding. She raised her wand and pointed it at the woman's chest, thinking Stupefy! A jet of red shot towards the woman. It was fortunate she was excellent at nonverbal spells.

Zara smirked when finally she got out a noise from this girl. Even if it was odd and sounded like she was still trying to force the noise back into her throat. This girl was pretty insane if she thought that by keeping in her voice she could be happy. Obviously she wasn't, it was her inability to talk that had just gotten her in trouble with a dangerous woman. As soon as she let off the spell however, the girl was standing again, her wand pointed at Zara. Zara let out a laugh and said. "Protego", as a jet of red light flew at her. "Luv." She said with a smirk.

"I'm a professional borrower, or as in some people like to say.. though I find this offensive, thief... I have the reflexes of a Viper okay? Even without you talking, I could take you on, kill you even, without blinking an eye.. but I enjoy entertainment, so I'm going to torture you, and you are going to wish you were dead, but then, I'm going to leave you on the ground, and let you crawl back to the castle." She smirked and held out her wand again, flicking away the protego spell.

"Expelliarmus, Incarcerous, Confringo." she said and then smiled slightly watching the multicolored spells fly out of the tip of her pitch black wand. If hit with all three, not only would Salem lose her wand, but she'd be bound by ropes, and then blasted backwards. One or the other would be okay with her anyway. Though of course, some people didn't have the reflexes Zara had, which she was immensely proud of. She could have been a Seeker at school had she cared for popularity in any way shape or form. She threw up a protego again, just in case the girl decided to throw some more silent spells.

Salem's lips trembled again as the woman quickly deflected her spell and stared at her, taunting her with the word 'luv.' She could not help but pitifully and desperately think Why me? The question screamed through her head, as though on an intercom, as the little workers in her head tried to find any answer to the question that had none.

Salem listed to what the woman said. She was a common, lowly thief? Salem allowed for her lip to curl. She and her brother had been poor and she had never resorted to stealing unless she needed the food. People who made a lifestyle out of it... made her sick. But as Zara continued, her words pressed deeper and deeper into her skull and she realized she was in mortal danger here. Zara may leave her alive, but it did not mean Salem would stay that way.

Suddenly, the three spells were coming towards her. Salem refused to let her wand leave her grasp again. She spun out of the way of the Expelliarmus spell and felt a moment of victory. As though her wand could help her. Then she was bound with ropes, and the next second thrown violently against a tree. she would have screamed but she had no more air. She heard a clatter as her wand fell to the ground.

And in the move to save her wand, it seemed she had lost hope for her life... She slumped down the thee, roped holding her tight and blood beginning to creep to visibility on her head through her black mane. Blood smeared across her red lips, almost looking as though her lipstick had been smudged down the corners of her mouth. She squirmed until she was sitting against the tree and panted, staring up at Zara. She was at her mercy.

Zara walked over to the girl calmly, twirling her wand in her hand lightly as though she were enjoying an light lunch with a friend, who was sitting across the table with her. Zara didn't know how to express how happy she was to see the blood drip from her hairline. She crouched down in front of the immobilized figure and reached out, touching the blood on her forehead. She brought her finger back to her nose and inhaled the salty smell of the blood. She smiled and reached out, touching the girl's cheek lightly. "Are you in pain? I'm sorry, let me fix that." She said standing up and picking up the girl's wand that had fallen not to far from her. "I'll keep this, don't want another spell thrown at me do I? I gave you a chance to defend, obviously you aren't very good." She laughed lightly and pocketed the wand.

"So, you obviously want to fight, even though I did nothing to provoke such a thing. In fact, I was letting you leave!" She smiled and crouched down in front of her again. "But now.. now that I have been physically attacked, I feel it.... just to let my complaints be heard... I mean, obviously I speak, and you don't.. though you can, I heard you scream.. how about we test those vocal chords again eh?" She grinned and pointed her wand at Salem's heart.

"Which spell should I use first? I could make you climb a tree and jump with Imperio.. I could cause you immense pain, or put you out of your misery right now.. obviously I don't want to kill you, I did give you my word after all, but pain seems good." She grinned and shook her head. "you are so useless luv." She said standing up and keeping her wand pointed at her, moving from first her heart to her head, as though deciding which would hurt more. Finally her wand settled over her heart and she said, very softly. "Crucio." As though the word meant nothing to her.

Salem stared at Zara, wondering why she was saying the things she was saying. She was acting as though Salem had instigated the fight. She did not know how the situation could even be remotely considered at the fault of Salem. Yes, she had DEFENDED herself, but how could that be considered wrong. She had not fought, only sought to escape. The woman had blocked her enterance, not let her go free. Most certainly not.

But what could she now? The crazed woman was going to torture her; it did not seem to bother her that it would not even be fair or honorable. If anything, the woman was pleased with the ample opportunity to cause uninterrupted pain of a victim. Salem's eyes widened as she stared in shock and terror at the small, dangerous woman before her.

Salem wanted to yell at the woman when she called her useless. I may be useless, but I'm not a lowly little thief who causes pain for the sake of it! She fumed but the wand pointed at her face. She gulped and the wand traveled back down to her heart. The spell hit her again and she threw her head back in pain, her neck stretching as far as it went as a strangled scream hit her. Her bound body thrashed and then she fell over, slumped on the ground. Blood dripped from her nose to the ground. She felt vomit come up and her body was racked with her gagging. She coughed and spluttered and looked back up at Zara.

Zara watched as the girl writhed on the ground in front of her. "Oh come on Dearie.." She said crouching beside the fallen figure, as she gagged and coughed on the ground. "It doesn't make it any easier on you if you don't scream for me nice and good, I may even let you go if you give me a good long scream... or even get mad at me, I see a flash of anger in your eyes. I can see it, but I am not hearing it." She said and turned her ear towards the girl. "Let me know how you feel, you are not gagged in any way, except through your own stupidity." She laughed lightly.

"Scream for me, and I will let you go, it's a simple favor, I mean, how long do you want to go on being tortured?" She asked lightly, and then turned her wand on the girl again. But before she said anything, she moved it up and then smiled down at the girl. Careful aiming, she threw a kick into the girl's side. "Down and beaten..." She said shaking her head lightly. "Little prissies like you at your school are the people who make me, did you know that?" She asked smiling at the girl. "Obviously you aren't a Slytherin, because you wouldn't have let me do this in the first place, Slytherin's are mean, not stupid... You aren't a Gryffindor, because they are brave, and loyal, which obviously you aren't either." She said aiming another kick for the girl's stomach, her boots digging into her flesh every time. "Obviously you are stupid, making you either a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff, if you were a Hufflepuff I'm sure you'd have friends swarming you, because they are the friend makers are they not?" She smiled and then bent down by her face again. "So you are a Ravenclaw.. a stupid Ravenclaw.. but a Ravenclaw.. nodd if I'm right." She said running her fingers gently through the girl's hair.

Salem heard her words and groaned. She was not stifling her own screams. Her disorder made her voice disappear. It was a wonder the noises even escaped her small throat, that her vocal chords did not simply snap from the tension that her disorder was putting on them. She did not choose this. No one would choose this. Salem was stuck.

She felt a blow hit her side and she curled around it, letting out a cough and she gasped for air. Her lips were cracked and stained with blood. Her face was paler than usual, and leaves and twigs had worked their way into her hair, which was matted with blood. She shook and flopped over, her eyes closed. Teardrops worked their ways onto her face, dragging across her rings of mascara...

She was calling her weak, saying she was stupid and not brave nor loyal, though the fact that she had not given up was a lit candle in her hollow frame. She looked up. She needed to cooperate. No more of this darting for the exit or firing spells that would never hit their mark. Some light left her eyes and she responded, nodding her head to answer the woman.

"A.. a groan?" She asked tilting her head to the side again. The girl was completely useless, and it was apparent. The girl simply lay there, though she was happy that she had at least gasped, it wasn't enough for her. She needed to get something more out of this girl then a few tears and a gasp. It made her frustrations worse inside her and Zara kicked at her again, not really caring if it hit, but then started to pace. Pacing like a caged animal as she stared down at the girl tied before her. This wasn't working, she needed to see real pain. Fingering her wand, she thought for a moment. "Diffindo" She said, muttering the cutting curse. She knew there was a better one, but she didn't want to kill the girl. Hurting someone was fun, and even though she would have thoroughly enjoyed watching the light leave her eyes. For some reason Zara felt the need to meet this girl again, and maybe have a real duel, for Zara was slowly getting bored.

Shaking her head, she decided to go with it anyway, use a spell she had only ever heard of, and only once seen it in action, and seen how horribly painful it could be. Pointing her wand at the girl's back, she smiled and said softly. "Sectumsempra.." She watched a blind of light so bright she had to look away erupt from her wand like a whip. "Does that hurt luv? Does that make you want to talk? Blood is seeping out of your body, and you can't even say anything to stop it.." She smiled slightly. When she had cast Diffindo, the ropes had fallen off of the girl, leaving her on the ground, able to move, but probably in to much pain to do much else but lay there. Aiming a kick for the girl's head. "Well, sorry to hit and run.. but you have bored me, maybe we'll meet each other again." She said and leaned down, running her finger along the girl's cheek, she pulled it back to see blood on the tip.

Slowly, she put her finger into her mouth and smiled. "See ya around Ravvie." she said and spun on the spot, disappearing with a loud CRACK

Salem's eyes fluttered closed and she gasped for breath, feeling as though her ribs must have been bruised or something. She felt as though her entire body was collapsing on itself. She had always been small framed and had never suffered so much physical abuse. She had felt physical abuse, sure, but not so much in so small of a time.

Another spell hit her, and while it freed her from her bonds, it also grazed her arm. She winced but said nothing more, as a last act of defiance. This woman seemed to want noises out of her, and as much pleasure she could take from her. Salem would. She turned over, reaching hands up towards the tree, intending to drag herself up.

A spell hit her back and whit hot pain stretched from her left hip to her right shoulder, and she flung her head back and screamed. Blood seeped into her shirt and she fell over, looking up at the woman as blood stretched onto the ground. She looked up and saw a shoe coming towards her and she mustered another effort and moved up, managing to get kicked in the shoulder instead.

There was a crack and she was alone. Tears were pouring down her face, hot and thick and she trembled out of fear. She was warm from the blood seeping down her back but she seemed unable to do anything to save herself. Finally, she stumbled to her feet, throwing her arms around a tree. She swayed and her vision spotted.

"Help."

The softest of voices fell out of her lips, but there was no one to answer. She gulped and drew all of her strength before turning on the spot, disapparating for St. Mungos.