"Mmm..." She pants, her eyes squeezed shut as she tries to focus on something - anything else. "Thank you... for doing that." Her voice comes out hoarse and breathless, her cheeks still flushed from embarrassment and desire.

Trembling with anticipation, she reaches down to buckle her newly reinforced armor into place, grateful for the protection it offers once more. "Now... can I go?" She asks tentatively, not meeting his gaze as she speaks.

With a shaky breath, Celeste nods and turns to leave the workshop, her heart racing in both anticipation and fear of what may come next. As she returns to her cell, she can't help but wonder if anything will ever be the same between them after this...

Her eyes widen as Jayden places a collar around her neck, its leather cold against her skin. The rope attached to it is even more alarming; she knows what Jayden has in mind for her now. "Please," she whispers, tears welling up once again. "Don't make me..."

But it's no use; there's nothing else she can say or do. As the rope is tied off and tugged tight, Celeste feels herself being dragged along behind Jayden like some sort of animal.

Her face burns with humiliation as she's dragged through the castle grounds, the collar around her neck chafing her skin and the rope pulling painfully at her shoulders. Jayden seems amused by her predicament, enjoying every moment of her degradation.

"Yes," Celeste manages to choke out between ragged breaths. "I understand."

But even as she says it, she wonders how much longer she can truly bear this.

It's dark when she wakes up this time, the only light provided by candles set around the cell in a haunting circle. She winces as light touches her sore body, feeling every ache and pain from the night before. She groans softly, trying to move her limbs but finding them too weak and tired to obey her.

"Where am I?" she whispers, her voice barely audible. "What happened?"

There's no answer;

Her eyes fly open wide as the memories come flooding back - the stables, the horses, jeppe fredrikson forcing her to service them one after another until she could barely remember her own name. A choked sob escapes her lips as she curls into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest as if she could somehow protect herself from the horror of what she'd experienced.

"Why did you do that to me?" she whimpers, though she knows there's no one here to hear her. "Why?"

Celeste's eyes widen in surprise as the oni praises her for being so well-trained. It's a backhanded compliment if ever there was one, but she takes it nonetheless, clinging to any sign of progress or hope. She blushes brightly, feeling her cheeks heat up beneath her fingertips as they smooth over her plump lips.

Slowly, reluctantly, Celeste begins to accept that this might be her new life. Her old one is gone;

Celeste's heart drops into her stomach as the oni commands her to forget everything she ever knew about being a knight. It feels like a part of herself is dying inside, but she obeys nonetheless, trying her best not to think about honor or justice or anything else that once defined her. Instead, she focuses on serving her new masters however they see fit.

It's the only way she can survive now.