Suffering Builds Character

It was two weeks before Sidonie faced her new world again. She rarely left her room for anything other than showering and bathroom breaks. Her meals were sent to her, though she hardly touched her food. Those two weeks in seclusion were tough. She had a lot to sort out within herself during that time period, and even more to sort out still. She knew it wasn't going to be a fast process. She knew she would never be completely sane even when it was over.
She didn't quite know what to do once she was out of her room. While most other occupants of the building were working, Sidonie had no responsibilities or duties that needed attention. She was about to give up and head back into her room, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She flinched at the unexpected touch, and turned around to see Barsad standing before her.
"I was wondering if you were ever going to come out," he said, the grin on his lips reaching his lazy blue eyes. She only managed a small, uncertain shrug. She was sure he could see her shrinking into herself. "Well, if you aren't planning to go into hiding again, I will show you around. You might as well get used to your surroundings," he said. She was only half listening as the European man walked her around the huge, old warehouse. She knew Barsad meant well. He just wanted her to be comfortable, but it was all a lot to take in so suddenly.
She explored on her own the next few days. She wanted to know more about what Bane and his men did. It wasn't hard to see that they weren't good men to society's standards. They were far from it, actually. She couldn't find much as she explored, not anything that gave her useful information anyway. Only unlabeled blue prints and papers she didn't understand.
Sido didn't see much of Bane as the days passed. On the rare occasion that she did, she made no move to approach him, mostly because she didn't know whether or not she had angered him the day she stormed off in a fit of anger at his advice.
She made a point to avoid anyone she saw, even Barsad most times. Sido knew many of the men in the warehouse were curious about her, which only made her want to hide away even more. She could see it when she was passing through, and they would steal curious glances at her. Some of the men were a little more invasive in their looks. They would let their eyes linger hungrily on her, in which case she would slink back off to the safety of her small room.
The only thing keeping Sidonie safe was Bane's word. He had made it known throughout the compound that she wasn't to be bothered, and the men kept their distance. Barsad would keep an eye on her as well, just in case one of the men were keen on going against Bane's orders. He couldn't understand the foolishness of some of these men. It was quite astonishing.
Sido didn't know the effect she had on people. Especially those men that hadn't had a woman in a significant amount of time. She was pretty, in her own way. Her looks weren't exactly the conventional standard of what pretty was, but there was still something about the girl that made her strikingly pretty to many. Her long hair was fine, the limp waves blonde from all the time she spent under the sun. Her eyebrows gave away the natural color of her hair, the brown it had been when she was younger. She had rather intimidating, big blue eyes. That was probably the only intimidating part about her.
She was a small girl, thin and rather pale. To some of the men, she would be a very easy target. It wouldn't be hard to take her down if they wanted to risk it. With as skittish as she seemed, it didn't seem likely that she would run off and tell Bane anything, and it only made some of them more eager.
Sido was on her own after a day spent with Barsad. She needed some time to collect herself after spending the day with the European. It was exhausting, throwing herself into the social world when she had spent years avidly trying to avoid the very same. But she had to try, it was the only way to get better, and it was easier to try with Barsad. If there was anyone in the warehouse she was going to talk to, it was Barsad. She felt obligated to make that effort, when he made such an effort of his own to make the girl feel a little more comfortable. He could see that it wasn't easy, and she knew he could see it, and he was patient when she was having an obviously rough time. But she still needed time to herself, and she found that time outside late one evening, leisurely walking around the perimeter of the large building, wrapped in the jacket she had gotten from Bane.
As she turned the corner of the building, on the side opposite of Bane's secluded office, she stopped in her tracks cautiously as a man was walking toward her. She turned to go back the other way, but was blocked by another man who grabbed her by the shoulders to keep her from running. These two men must have been desperate for the attention they were seeking, enough to corner the girl in such a risky area. She knew Barsad often watched over her for this reason, but he was already asleep, and Sido was alone. But unlike last time, she had some strength, albeit, not enough to fend off two men significantly larger than her for long. But she was strong enough to buy herself some time. She wasn't going to give in so easily against these two men.
"There's no point in running, beautiful," the man behind her growled into her hair as his hands reached up to grasp her arms.
"It doesn't hurt to try," she muttered before suddenly acting. Her foot flew up harshly into the crotch of the man in front of her, and she easily slipped her arms out of the sleeves of her jacket to start running. She got just within eyesight of Bane's office before being tackled to the ground. She struggled as hard as she could against the mans grip, writhing around as the gravel and dirt dug into her skin through the old sweater. She struggled hard, to the point of the man tearing the fabric of the sweater, and she somehow managed to get to her feet again. Her whole shoulder was exposed now, and she felt the full effect of the biting cold against her skin. The man was struggling to stand up in his rush to get at the girl, and she took advantage of the situation with the hardest kick she could manage to the side of his head. The boot made a satisfying thud against the mans skull and he fell back to the ground in a daze.
She watched him for a moment before turning around to the sound of feet on gravel. The masked man was walking toward the girl from his office. She was suddenly afraid. She had hurt two of his men. That surely called for some unpleasant consequence. His hard eyes lingered on the crumpled man, before turning to her.
"What happened here?" the mechanized voice sounded.
"Two of your men attacked me. Again. I had to get away," she answered nervously.
"Where is the other?" he asked.
"The other side of the building." As if on cue, the other man stumbled out from the side of the building, but upon seeing Bane, he froze. Bane lifted a hand and gestured the man toward him, and the man hesitantly complied.
"Get up," he said to the man still lying on the ground. Clumsily, the man pulled himself up as his friend arrived. They both stood cowering in front of Bane. "It seems my orders were previously unclear. You all were told not to touch this girl," he chastised as if speaking to a pair of troublesome children. The men were quiet. Bane's eyes were suddenly back on Sidonie. "Sidonie, you may leave, if you wish. I'm not asking you to watch." She couldn't find it in herself to leave, despite the sinking feeling in her stomach. She knew what was going to happen, and she should have left as quickly as she could. But she was curious. She was angry at these men. They deserved whatever Bane had in store for them. When she said nothing, only casting the man a glance, Bane looked back at his men.
"Let this be a lesson to both of you," he said in the ever present tone of amusement, stepping forward. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Two loud pops sounded in short succession, and soon, Sidonie was looking at the two lifeless bodies on the ground.
She should have been scared. Terrified. Instead, what she felt was something she would never openly admit. She felt a sick sort of satisfaction that these men were dead. And she came to terms with it quite easily. These two men deserved to be dead after what they had just attempted to do, and she felt no remorse for thinking it. When the world had done her so wrong, there was no way she had a good grip on her sanity. This was her sanity, and she was coming closer to accepting it.