The Return pt.02
Awakening to the moon appearing like an emerald floating high in the sky, Morrigan finds herself trapped and restrained inside of a small cage made of wood planks and metal bars. Struggling with as much strength as she can muster, Morrigan finds her restraints cannot be moved but she must keep trying.
A lone voice soon breaks the noise of Morrigan’s struggles “Give it up. You have no chance of escape now.” Morrigan snaps her gaze towards the voice and terrifies the beautiful woman who had just spoken with the look in her eyes alone. Snarling through her teeth Morrigan tells the woman “Shut your mouth whore. I will escape.”
With her eyes rising to look through the bars above her, Morrigan begins chanting as her gaze fixes on the large moon above. The cage and her restraints respond themselves to Morrigan’s chanting, hitting her with thunderous lightning magic causing her to scream out in pain, temporarily causing her to abandon her efforts.
Snorting at Morrigan’s effort the same woman speaks up again “I told you.” The look upon Morrigan’s face when her eyes returned to the woman could have killed any legendary beast. As the woman tries to recoil in horror Morrigan tells her through bared teeth “I said to shut your mouth whore.”
In vain Morrigan continues her desperate struggles to escape as her mind races through numerous ideas trying to find the right one. As this continues, one of her captors walks up to the cage eating on some meat. The man leans onto the cage as he continues eating and watches Morrigan for a few moments with a smile. “You should feel lucky girl. You caught the eye of a powerful noble. I hear he takes real great care of his possessions so I’m sure you’ll enjoy your life.”
A murderous gaze was returned to him as Morrigan spits in his face. “I already serve a great lord and will not serve anyone else. Especially a lowly human duke.” Morrigan’s fury and snarling words would have terrified most but this man was a well experienced mercenary and saw himself as great, so was not terrified of her in the slightest as he wiped his face clean; though the same could not be said for the women in the other cages.
“Now let me so I can kill you and that bastard that dares to call himself a duke.”
Laughing at these words the man stands straight “No thanks slave. You’ll soon break like the rest, though I’m surprised you already know who wants you.” Vile curses fly in his direction from Morrigan’s lips as he turns and walks away continuing to eat while she struggles in vain.
Several days pass and Morrigan continues to struggle through exhaustion, hunger and thirst, as her captors had only been giving her enough to survive not thrive. Despite her condition Morrigan’s face still showed her resolve to fight unlike everyone else in the cages who had already given up and resigned themselves to their fate.
As she continues to struggle Morrigan watches as a large group of armed men approach the cluster of cages. Once they are close enough, she can see that they are protecting a rather rotund man who was clearly very, very well fed and dressed well enough despite his larger size. This was clearly the Duke Castellen who wanted her, and he was here for more than just talks.
This Duke Castellen approached with his well combed blonde hair sitting upon his head and a friendly smile beaming at her from behind the fat in his face and neck. Defiance was what he saw when Morrigan looked up at him and it was a determined defiance clearly indicating she was not yet broken.
“She still shows some attitude.” These words out of the Duke’s mouth angered Morrigan who began struggling against her binds even more fiercely as her breath quickened with harshness.
A well armored man who was clearly a leader amongst the mercenaries walked up telling the duke “She refuses to give at all. All she does is keep trying to escape no matter how much pain she suffers.” Morrigan did not recognize this man in dark plate armor, but he was clearly important enough but if she knew he was the one to have knocked her unconscious she would have tried to kill him there, someway, somehow.
“What about apothecarial means?”
The armored man just shakes his head as he says “Resistant to all of them. Hells we even tried shit that could drop a vierodon. Nothing worked on her.” The duke is clearly displeased yet impressed by what he hears before he tells them “Well then I will have her handled by my people then.”
It was at this moment the man who had taunted Morrigan days prior walked up with a piece of roasted meat in one hand and a cup of water in the other. With a smile he asks Duke Castellen “Would you like to see her out of the cage?” A calm nod of his head was how the duke answered him.
The gate for the cage was opened as the now partially unrestrained Morrigan continued to struggle. Several men reach into the cage and grab her before they finished unshackling her from the cage itself. She resisted with as much strength and ferocity as she could muster, but it was not enough. Without her magic and weapons there was not much she could do as the five men drug her out of the cage and moved her to the ground in front of the duke to be inspected. And she was not yet ready to waste the small amount of poison she managed to keep hidden in a small vial in her mouth.
Done with eyeing Morrigan, Duke Castellen tells her “Bow to me.” Hate filled eyes stared back at him as Morrigan refuses to do as he had told her, angering him greatly. “I said to kneel before me!” His tone had changed greatly as he shouted at her, but Morrigan did not seem bothered. No, her response was to spit at his feet before looking him in the eyes telling him with all seriousness and contempt possible “I kneel before no human. My lord is greater than any of you petty lowlifes could dream of being. He is the only one I will kneel before, and you aren’t even man enough to be his footrest.”
Enraged by her comment, Duke Castellen backhands her as hard as he can with his ring laden right hand. “I am your lord whether you like it or not and you will obey me and show me the proper respect that I rightfully deserve. My will be done slave by you and everyone else.” His contempt for everyone he viewed as beneath him could not be masked as his eyes and nostrils flared in anger over Morrigan’s behavior towards him.
Morrigan does her best to lunge at the duke causing him to take a step back even though she was going nowhere with those five men holding her back. Unable to reach him in her fury Morrigan spits blood in his face, making sure that it misted onto him. Even after he backhanded her once more Morrigan kept staring at him with a glare of death.
Having recoiled again from the blood she spat at him and feeling disgusted over it, his rage grew further so he ordered them to force Morrigan to her knees. Even this does not dampen her spirits as she looks up in defiance at the duke. “I think your posture needs some work.” With those words the men holding Morrigan force her face down into the ground to where she could taste the dirt and stone beneath her. “That’s much better. I hope you learned that this is the only appropriate way to acknowledge me.”
Snapping back in anger Morrigan shouts at him “Rot you bastard.” The men holding her are forced to grab her head as she tried biting at the duke’s foot.
Stepping on Morrigan’s head Duke Castellen tells her “When we fix that nasty attitude of yours, you will be the perfect addition to my harem. That is the only place you are meant to be.”
Her struggling becomes much more intense now nearly causing the duke to lose his balance as Morrigan begins screaming out as she fights back. This surprises everyone as Duke Castellen asks, “What’s happening?” One of the men holding her down says “It’s likely got something to do with her magic brand. It’s glowing at the moment”
Confused as to why she still has a magic brand the duke asks, “You didn’t remove it?”
“We couldn’t it was impossible for us.”
The man who initially captured Morrigan looks to the taunting and asked, “George why wasn’t I told about this?”
“Relax Charles. It wasn’t important enough to worry about.”
“I beg to differ.”
Duke Castellen then interrupts them asking “Why not request help from the priests then?” George looks the duke in the eyes and tells him with all calmness in his voice and a threatening look on his face “We did. I told you it was impossible.”
“Unbelievable,” was all the duke could mutter to himself before ordering the men holding Morrigan to stand her up to stand her up. Continuing to hold onto her with all their might, the men carefully lift her from the ground before one carefully pulls down the rags she was wearing just slightly, revealing the brand. With all of his focus the duke inspects the brand with his eyes before running his finger over it and tracing it carefully with his fingers. Soon though he begins laughing as he says, “She comes from those barren wastelands.”
The men holding Morrigan freeze in place as they see Charles’ face grow cold and hollow from terror. Having never seen him show fear at all they were stunned and felt it creeping into them as well. “Are you telling me her lord is that damned creature?”
“You’re not scared of that legend, are you? Please that man couldn’t possibly exist. Why would someone so powerful hideaway like that? It makes no sense. Besides it only makes her that much more valuable. I just added a unique piece in my collection.”
Charles did not appreciate Duke Castellen’s snideness nor his smile but asked through his fear “You just said yourself she’s from the wastelands, what other lord is there she could possibly serve?”
Duke Castellen rolled his eyes saying “Please you’re embarrassing yourself. That creature of legend doesn’t exist. I know the mark because I’ve had dealing with people from the east with it. They always try to correct me when I refer to their mark as being one of the eastern kingdoms. Their attitudes will eventually have them groveling before me.”
With great fear still holding him Charles steps closer to the duke saying “Ser my family still possesses the armor of an ancestor who met that creature in direct combat. The breastplate was caved in crushing his chest. That creature is very much real, and I will not follow in my ancestor’s footsteps to death. I want you to get her away from here.” Charles could then only watch as the duke rolled his eyes once more before ordering his men to take Morrigan from them.
Pulling his comrade aside, George tells Charles “What in the hells are you doing Charles? You’re chasing away our biggest client for some irrational fear.” Not wanting to deal with this matter anymore Charles lowers his voice before saying “This is more trouble than it’s worth George. We should want nothing more than to get away from Salver, NOW.”
Everyone is disturbed by Morrigan as she started laughing maniacally as she struggled against the duke’s men. As fear began to creep into the duke’s men Morrigan loudly proclaimed “You’re right to be scared. My lord will come for me, and he will kill every one of you. This city is now at his mercy, so flee as you wish but he will find you eventually and you will regret crossing him. You cannot escape his wrath forever.” She then begins chanting for her magic, but it quickly hit in the face by one of the guards before being tossed away.
Her chance had arrived and Morrigan did not let it slip. She began trying to escape once more but was quickly caught by Duke Castellen’s men. Her head smashed against the ground as she was taken down and was left dazed and bleeding. The duke’s men then grabbed her more securely and began taking her away.
Watching the duke’s guards drag Morrigan Charles loudly tells the duke “Don’t ever bother contacting us again. You’re now far too risky for our business now.” Duke Castellen just rolled his eyes while agreeing to the demand. After all it didn’t hurt him in any way; he had more than enough people willing to work for him.
George pushes Charles shouting at him “What in the hells Charles? Why?”
Shoving his finger into his comrade’s breastplate, Charles tells him “This city is too dangerous to stay in now. I want a damn mountain range in-between me and Salver by the time that creature arrives here.” He then motions to his men, and they quickly begin to gather their things and their other products as he shouts out further instructions. George can only stand there angered by this but knows for now he must go along with it.
Duke Castellen is following his men that are carrying his new purchase when he says, “Take her to my estate and make sure she is ready for me.” With a quick nod of their heads the men offer a brief salute before they begin moving much faster leaving half their troop with the duke as he continues venturing around his city.
A resisting Morrigan is dragged through the city of Salver by the duke’s men. They are doing everything in their power to control her as she refuses to give in. Many people look on at what is happening but very few stare for long as they are aware of whom these men work for and just what is in store for Morrigan. Never does Morrigan cease her struggles against the four men carrying her or the several escorting them, even in front of so many. There were no pleas for aid just fierce resistance against her captors as the onlookers watched in fear at the struggling woman throwing curses about like wildfire.
Quickly did the men carrying a struggling Morrigan develop a system for handling her struggles. If she began chanting for magic the two holding her by the shoulders would drop her, allowing her face to smash into the ground. If that did not render her dazed or unconscious, the two holding her legs would release her as well before one of the men treated her savagely. One man even tried threatening her life with a sword, only for her to nearly shock him with her magical restraints.
Several times did she use her chances to escape on foot, but each time resulted in failure. Every time they quickly grabbed hold of her again and each time they made pay for it. So much so as by the time they arrived at Duke Castellen’s estate Morrigan resembled an unidentifiable torture victim. Her skin was covered in lacerations and bruises; bones were broken and teeth missing but none of it seemed to bother her as she kept on resisting as much as possible. If she was going to be forced into slavery she was going to make it completely untenable for everyone else.
With her eyes swollen shut from the repeated beatings Morrigan could only rely on the voices of those around her and the sound of a moving gate to determine that they had made it to the estate. The sounds of footsteps never changed much until they had entered the estate proper and no longer able to resist Morrigan just had to accept this temporary defeat as she heard a man say “Let’s have a look at her.”
Her knees hit the ground hard as a cool spindly hand grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at someone, she was incapable of seeing. There was a click of the tongue before the man said, “We’ll have to wait for the head priest to arrive before we can do anything with her.” Morrigan tried jerking away but found every grip holding her was secure and tightly held keeping her from moving more than a few unbin.
After having an armored fist slam into the side of her head Morrigan through her daze heard the man who had just hit her ask “Why can’t Darroll heal her?”
“Because she is missing several teeth and has numerous broken bones. Her organs are very likely damaged and Darroll does not possess the skills in healing necessary for this. The only one in Salver that does and is willing to aid Duke Castellen is the head priest.”
“What do we do with her until then?”
“Have her bathed and prepared for him. She’s too unsightly for him to lay eyes upon.”
Morrigan could not see the nod of his head from the guard but knew they were taking her elsewhere in the estate when they picked her up and began carrying her once more. As usual she made it difficult on them, but it did not matter. If she did escape now, she would have to fight her way out while being unable to use her magic, unable to see, unarmed and with a broken body.
It did not take long before the sounds of running water reached Morrigan’s ears and a strange heat surrounded her. But these pleasant feelings did not last long as she was dropped to the cooler wet stone floor. Air escaped her lungs in a groan as the men clearly were chaining her restraints to something. She was then forced to her knees and restrained into that position as softer footsteps approached.
“Is this really her?” Morrigan could hear contempt and disgust in the voice of the woman who said that.
“Yes it is. She’s quite the wild one. Apparently, she killed several mercenaries that tried capturing her.”
Listening to them talk about her was disturbing to Morrigan as she worked her tongue in her mouth hoping her hidden vial was still intact.
“Hells she kept resisting the whole time. That’s why she looks like this now. Not even restraints with anti-magic curses placed upon them kept her from trying.”
The woman must have been impressed given her vocal response, but Morrigan was trying to ignore them for now. She had found the vial where one of her teeth used to be and was trying to work it out for use later.
Jewelry could be heard shaking as the woman said, “What in the hells could our lord see in a wild beast like this?”
The guard scoffed at her before walking off saying “She’s your problem now, whore.” The other guards followed closely behind the first, leaving Morrigan to her new host, who was less than thrilled about it.
A click of the tongue could be heard from the woman in front of Morrigan before she turns and shouts “Krystyna come here now!” Hurried footsteps could be heard across wet stone before a clearly scared woman stopped nearby and said, “Yes Mistress Livia, you summoned me.”
“She’s yours to handle. Clean her up before the head priest arrives to fix her.” Morrigan could not see the face of the woman talking about her with such contempt, but it was obvious in her tone. And Morrigan could only avoid gritting her teeth or potentially waste the last weapon she currently possessed.
Krystyna would lower her head as she said, “Yes Mistress,” as Livia walked away. Through the corner of her eyes, Krystyna watched as Livia had the other women continue preparing the bath for their lord.
With a sigh Krystyna kneeled down next to Morrigan softly saying into her ear “I’m sorry you have to go through this, but you should feel a little better once we get you cleaned up.” No response came from Morrigan, annoying Krystyna who had left to get a bucket of warm water, as she was still trying to work the vial out of the hole left by her missing tooth. But when Krystyna returned Morrigan took a brief pause and through her broken jaw and swollen face mumbled out a barely understandable word of gratitude before returning her attention to the vial.
The bath itself was pleasant enough for Morrigan but her hatred for her captors only grew. Her mind raced as Krystyna kept up a one-sided conversation about whatever came to mind and what life at the estate was like. At one-point Morrigan had an idea and tried to ask for her brows to be cut, releasing the blood and allowing her to see but Krystyna was unable to understand and so was unable to help her with this plan.
Eventually through Krystyna’s efforts Morrigan began to feel relaxed and her mind began to think much more clearly. Continuing with her work Krystyna gently bathed Morrigan so she could at least be clean and managed to slip in an apology for only having warm water. And as the minutes began to pass like this Morrigan came to have an idea and turned her still swollen face to the woman helping her.
Krystyna was surprised by this as before Morrigan did not seem to care much but soon she understood. Morrigan was holding her mouth open as wide as she could despite the obvious pain she felt and was trying to get Krystyna to find something in there. Further shock filled Krystyna as she looked into Morrigan’s mouth and saw many missing teeth and nearly as many broken with blood pouring freely from the many holes and lacerations. But through all the blood Krystyna thought she saw what Morrigan was wishing for her to notice.
Though eyeing it carefully Krystyna could barely make out what looked like glass in Morrigan’s mouth. “Do you want me to get that out?” A nod of the head was all Morrigan could give for an answer and so with great care Krystyna reached into Morrigan’s mouth and began trying to pry the vial free using her fingers.
Several agonizing minutes pass as Krystyna does her best to get it out while Morrigan is forced to endure great pain despite best efforts. Eventually though Morrigan can feel the vial being pulled free as Krystyna excitedly claims, “Got it.”
Before it could be pulled out from her mouth, Morrigan lightly placed her teeth on Krystyna’s fingers causing her to pause. “What are you doing? Please stop that.” Despite Krystyna’s plea, Morrigan did not remove her teeth even as Krystyna tried to continue removing the vial.
Now angered Krystyna told her “Stop and let me remove it.” Morrigan shook her head no and kept her teeth on Krystyna’s fingers as she pulled them free. With Krystyna pulling free, Morrigan could feel the vial hit her teeth as she tried to stop it but was unable to without breaking it.
With her fingers now free from a desperate Morrigan’s mouth, the angered Krystyna inspected what she had removed. Her shock would have been noticeable if Morrigan could see or if she wasn’t facing away from the rest of the women in the bath. Morrigan feels fear for the first time as she hesitates and shrinks away from Krystyna.
“What in the hells is this?” This was the first thing to quietly come out of Krystyna’s mouth once she began to process her thoughts more clearly. She then looks back to Morrigan who is now leaning as close as she can trying desperately to get the item back. Morrigan’s mouth is wide open despite the pain as she makes quiet sounds towards Krystyna. Clearly, she was begging causing Krystyna to ask, “You want me to put it back in your mouth?” Morrigan could only repeatedly nod her head in response.
“What is it?” Trying to answer the question Morrigan had to repeatedly mumble her answer until Krystyna could understand a single word, victory.
The vial would quickly be shoved back into Morrigan’s mouth as the sound of footsteps quickly approached. “What’s going on over here Krystyna?”
Using her tongue Morrigan hid the vial once more as Krystyna answered, “She wanted me to clean her mouth out.”
Morrigan could tell the new woman was unsure as a “huh” came from her before telling Krystyna “The Mistress wants you to hurry up with the new girl. Said you’re taking to long.”
In an effort to help out her one saving grace in this situation Morrigan leaned forward slightly and let her head hang. The blood pooling in her moth was allowed to pour freely to the floor causing the new woman disgust before she said, “Hells I will ask the Mistress to let you sit here with her instead.” As the woman walked off, she was heard saying “Last thing we need is blood ruining the duke’s bath.”
Krystyna leaned into Morrigan and whispered in her ear “Thanks for the help. But please don’t use whatever that was to kill yourself. I’d like to have at least one person here who’s not a total loss.” Trying her best to smile Morrigan began to pull on her chains causing Krystyna to grin as she began to clean up the blood Morrigan had spilled onto the floor.
It would be several hours and the comings and goings of many before a male voice echoed into the bath “You are now in the presence of Head Priest Petor Gravilo.” The women all stand and politely bow their heads to the old priest as he walks into the bath.
With lecherous eyes the old priest looks around at the women all dressed in the finest of clothes and jewels except for one, who was still chained down and in very rough shape. A characteristic laugh came from the priest before he told them “You all look wonderful as always. Makes me wish I had some more time free. I would ask the good Duke Castellen if some of you would be willing to entertain me.”
The sound of chains restraining movement could be heard causing Head Priest Petor to look down at the badly damaged Morrigan. She could hear his tongue click before offering half-hearted lamentations “It’s a shame to see such a sight. Who could do this to themselves?” The comment angered Morrigan and she jerked her chains causing the old priest to laugh at her struggles before adding “We’ll see how grateful you can be once I have given you my blessings.”
Morrigan tried pulling away as she heard the old priest and his walking stick move in front of her. She then had to resist biting him as she felt his old, silk smooth palm caress her face as he began chanting what he was calling a prayer to the god Syver. Revulsion was all she could feel at being healed by this priest and Syver’s magic, but she had to accept it for now as she played around with the vial in her mouth.
In seconds the beautiful appearance of Morrigan had begun to return and those poisonous green eyes were able to look around freely. The vial safely glided over her teeth as new ones filled in the holes left by those previously lost while her bones set and began to heal together perfectly. It was not long before a smile appeared across her face as she began to think up many escape plans and on how to enact her revenge.
Lecherous gazes were all Morrigan could see as she looked around the bath at everyone. All of the women with their well decorated eyes had gathered in the bath once more just to see what Morrigan looked like without all of the swelling and bruising. That particularly lecherous old priest was smiling down at her as he said “You clean up real well young one. How do you feel now after being healed by a Priest of Syver?”
“I feel disgusted having been healed by a priest of that hypocrite.”
A smile had crept across her face before she answered, but in return Petor quickly slapped her before raising his voice, shouting at her “Syver is a great god. He is not a hypocrite, you ingrate blasphemer.”
Seeing an opportunity Morrigan broke the vial in her mouth and spit the shards out at the head priest’s feet. Then with a smile she worked her tongue around her mouth coating her teeth with poison.
“May The Children of Moriena trample your rotting corpse underfoot.”
This declaration by Morrigan resulted in her being slapped once more before Head Priest Petor shook his head asking, “What would a young peasant girl like you know about that trickster Moriena or his so called children?”
Now irked Morrigan tells the priest “Moriena is not a trickster. Moriena is a god of honor, priest.” That last word from her lips, priest, was filled with such a venom as it came snarling out of her mouth that a snake would have been impressed. She would then continue with much less venom and more eye rolling annoyance to her words “Unlike that hypocrite you serve, priest.”
Another much harder slap was delivered to Morrigan’s face as the old priest turned red shouting “That trickster turned Goddess Vyria away from her twin Ry’ges and her lover Syver before tossing her away. Because of him she can never return to the heavens to be with her love and brother. How is he not a trickster?”
Morrigan laughed in their face before saying with a smile “Moriena did not trick Vyria nor was Syver her lover, priest. But seeing as how you serve a god of deceit, I can understand why you spread such lies.”
She was slapped once more before continuing “Vyria fell in love with Moriena and left of her own accord. Moriena only pushed her away to avoid destroying everything they worked so hard on in a war amongst the gods. She chose to stay here and take Vyrna as her domain rather than return to Meso to be with her brother. Syver though, could never let go of the fact that Vyria continued to rebuff his advances and loved Moriena instead. But what would a priest of that hypocrite know about the gods?”
Greatly angered Head Priest Petor Gravilo loudly declared “This woman is obviously a filthy worshiper of that vile demon trickster Moriena. How dare she keep denigrating the great god Syver for the ruler of the sixth hell!”
Rolling her eyes Morrigan countered once more “How deceitful of you priest to call a god like Moriena a vile demon trickster. But since you’re so good at it, it makes sense you’d fall into that hypocrite’s temple.” She then looked up at the priest and with a hostile tone added “Go ahead and keep insulting Moriena, priest and watch what misfortunes befall you. His children are known all and are sure to come for you.”
“I will not engage with your vile heresies any longer harlot. I only hope that the good duke will help you see the light and you come to accept the gods of the seven heavens.”
Shaking his head, Head Priest Petor would now storm out of the bath with his guard. Shortly after laughter could be heard coming from down the hall as the priest’s voice carried into the bath “Children of Moriena, ha! What legend did she crawl out of to believe in them? As if disgusting, lowly vampires could truly become strong or cared for their demonic creator. Besides it’s only a matter of time before we humans remove them from our glorious world for good. Then she will see just how strong we true believers are.”
All Morrigan could do was shout back at the top of her lungs “My lord with come for you priest and you will see just how real Moriena’s children are,” though she knew he wouldn’t hear her. What was most displeasing to Morrigan at the moment was how the people seemed to view her lord and his king. She had known that the people of Rylocke viewed them as legends and weak propagandists, but she did not quite understand the arrogance many felt towards the immortals of the east till now.
Wanting a better look at the healed Morrigan the women of Duke Castellen’s slave harem surrounded her and began talking amongst themselves. Despite the multitude of conversations going on at once Morrigan could understand most of them discussing her appearance and her future place amongst them. It was all disgusting to the prideful Morrigan and made her struggle against her chains testing them for the first time in a while.
As she worked the chains Morrigan heard a voice in her ear say “Don’t let them get to you too much. Most of them enjoy their life here and expect others to do so as well.”
Quickly Morrigan looked to her right and found a somewhat tall and beautiful woman with long curled blonde hair winking those violet eyes at her as the woman stood and walked off. The curvaceous woman must have been Krystyna and Morrigan was in awe of her beauty. As Morrigan watched Krystyna walk away she noticed the other women around her making room for someone approaching her.
Out from the crowd comes a beautiful middle-aged woman, who carried herself with elegance, pride, power and sexuality. Her extremely long hair was clearly well taken care of and dyed as it appeared to be a nearly black shade of violet. Her dark eyes quickly inspected Morrigan as she closed in before saying in a seductive voice “Well I see why the duke obtained you. For a wild one you do possess a certain beauty about you.”
Hatred was all Morrigan could feel towards this woman talking to her now. Her comments boiled Morrigan’s blood and all she wanted to do in this moment was kill this woman. With her anger rising Morrigan tried lunging at the woman while chanting. Her attempt was to no avail as the chains held her in place as the magic cast upon her restraints struck her with lightning causing her to scream out in pain.
“I hope you learned your lesson wild one. There will be no magic used here in Duke Castellen’s residence.”
The sound of the chains restraining Morrigan could be heard once more as she struggled to reach for the woman before her with bared teeth. A sigh escaped the older woman as she adjusted her revealing dress and kneeled down next to Morrigan, whose body was smoking from the lightning. “Where does a woman such as yourself learn such hostility and wild behavior? I do not understand how one can willingly act in this manner.”
The woman’s voice continued to be seductive throughout her time speaking to Morrigan and as she asked, “Just what are you wild one?”
A smirk formed on Morrigan’s face before answering “I’m a Dharan from Syrndharas and personal servant to King Lucien Salvatal the Third.”
Silence hangs in the air as the woman ponders her next move. Morrigan meanwhile continues struggling and once more tries to use her magic to now familiar results.
Sighing the woman says, “You must be desperate to see Moriena wild one.”
Morrigan laughs at this before telling her “Unfortunately for me, I will not be seeing Moriena when I die. I’m not one of his children. No, my soul will go to the halls of my people in Gerlornus. There I will join my kin alongside our horses and be free to ride like the wind.”
Livia seemed disgusted as she asked “That horse god? Your people worship him? That seems awful.”
Eyes flared with fury, Morrigan stares at the woman kneeling before her, telling her “Panno is a goddess not a god. Do not risk her wrath with insults like that.”
“I don’t understand you. Panno is the god of horses and not much else. Why are you calling him a goddess? That seems more like an insult to me.”
Morrigan wished she could just reach Livia and strangle her. Any true Dharan would feel the same impulse. “Panno is the mother goddess of the Dharan people and gave birth to us, so that we may watch over and protect her horses here on Vyrna.”
Confusion filled the woman kneeling before Morrigan and she could see it. “She gave us hunting. She gave us war. She gave us her eagles to live alongside. And she gave us her horses to serve as not only our charges but our partners in life. Do not insult her again. Her wrath is like that of a sudden powerful and destructive storm. You should never risk angering the goddess of storms or she may send storms of wind, rain and Dharans down upon you.”
Loud boisterous laughter broke out from Livia as many of the other girls joined in her laughter. To Morrigan it seemed to go on forever before Livia wiped tears away from her eyes saying “That was an excellent joke girl. Everyone knows Panno is a recluse and does nothing besides roam his realm alongside his horses.”
Several more moments would pass before Livia fully calmed herself and told Morrigan “Next time you wish to invoke a god’s wrath make it more believable than that recluse Panno. I don’t know where you got your beliefs from, but they are strange and completely wrong. The priests of every cult teach us that Panno is a recluse to his realm and that the rulers of the six hells are evil beings that should not be trusted.” She then thinks for a moment before adding “Though you do seem weirdly attached to horses so there could be some truth to your words or you’re just crazed. I am going to say it’s the latter though.”
A look of confusion mixed with fury shown on Morrigan’s face causing many to laugh further and mock her. But she did not hear them as she said “I have slept atop them, beside them in stables and while traveling. It makes me feel closer to them…closer to Panno and to my Dharan blood. I feel one with the horse beneath me as I ride and one with our mother Panno. My words reach the horse, and the horse follows my will for it knows I bring safety and will protect it with my life as any Dharan would, as any Dharan should. The horse trusts me because we are both born of the same mother and are to live alongside one another until our mortal bodies perish and our spirits are reunited in Kurrgan.”
A scoff was heard coming from Livia before Morrigan continued “You and others may not feel Panno’s presence in the world anymore but that’s because she has no need for non Dharans and she never has. Moriena may be my principal god, and my blood may not be as thick with the old bloodlines as compared to my forefathers, but I still feel her touch…her presence at times. It still guides us remaining Dharans and our horses to our intended purpose.” Then with venom in her voice Morrigan tries standing, only to be held down by her confines, as she shouts through her teeth in rage “SHE HAS NOT ABANDONED VYRNA JUST YOU!”
Livia now stood as she said “Enough. You certainly have interesting beliefs, and I can see horses mean a lot to you. I can arrange for you to care for the horses if you wish but I’m not sure Duke Castellen would want one of his girls smelling like a stable at all times.”
Her rage had begun to calm down as Morrigan replies “Enough with your attempts at manipulation bitch. I serve only one man, my king Lucein Salvatal the Third and no one else. So, you should just hang yourself with that poisonous tongue.”
A calm and cold fury stared down at the defiant Morrigan from Livia. She had enough of Morrigan’s attitude and simply told her “The hard way it is then.” And as she left added “I will be back in a few moments to begin your training slave. I have a few things I need to settle before I begin with you.”
With Livia gone Morrigan looked around at the other women and sneered “A bitch in heat.”
The other women stared wide eyed at her unable to believe she would say such a thing out loud. None of them would ever dare to say such a thing about their mistress Livia, as they would quickly be punished for it. Her ears seemed privy to everything that went on in the estate and Morrigan could tell from their looks alone that must be the case.
In the shadows of the bath leaned up against a column, Krystyna quietly smiled happily to herself. She was excited to have been correct in her guess that Morrigan could potentially be entertaining. Most of the other women here were docile and easily broken, so they made for poor entertainment. But Krystyna would not participate in the entertainment herself. No, she was far good for that in her mind. She would simply sit back and be entertained as she watched the others continue to take care of the wild Morrigan.
As long as another was suffering similarly and provided sufficient entertainment Krystyna did not care. There was no chance of escaping and none of the guards or visitors seemed to take to her, aside from her body that is. So, she was stuck here in the slave harem of some duke in the middle of a city she detested, inside of a kingdom that was not the one she called home. As she began to bite her lower lip, she knew that the only things that kept her sane and from becoming too much like the others was the times like this, when a new girl came in to be trained.
Knowing no one here was going to help her, Morrigan continued to pull against her restraints with all her might. The padding on the restraints kept her from cutting or tearing her skin with them but Morrigan still felt pain as she kept being struck by lightning magic every time she began to attempt to use her own magic to escape.
Her screams of pain and hatred roared into the bath as the other girls continued to sit around watching. They all wanted to see wat would happen to the wild Morrigan when Livia returned, some for better reasons than the others. But nothing here could deter Morrigan from her attempts.
The returning Livia is greeted by the sounds of Morrigan’s screams of pain, anger and hatred as she is continuously being shocked by her magically enchanted restraints. With an arrogant grin on her face, Livia approaches Morrigan and finds her breathing heavily while her body lightly smokes from the lightning burning her skin.
“I’d hoped you would have learned your lesson by now.”
Morrigan does her best to lunge at Livia as she stares her down with genocidal intent. Livia only shakes her head before saying “Well, I see you intend to make this fun for me then.” She would then strike Morrigan hard in the face with the back of her hand.
“Learn your place girl. I am your new mistress, and you will do everything I tell you to.”
Livia’s attitude was annoying to Morrigan and her arrogance almost nauseating. “Now bow your head to me and reply with, Yes Mistress.”
Unwilling to accept this, Morrigan spit out some blood onto Livia’s right foot, before looking up at her with a defiant smirk.
Angered by the provocation, Livia responded quickly by kicking Morrigan in the jaw with the very foot she had spat on. Livia then tries to force Morrigan’s head down only to learn just how strong Morrigan really was.
The wild Morrigan could not be budged at all as she began chanting but Livia was quick to remove her foot as to avoid being struck by the anti-magic lightning as well. Once more Morrigan screams out in agony as she is struck by magic meant to persuade one from attempting to the use of magic themselves.
Laughter and giggling rings out into the bath as some women watch on in glee at the new girl, while others watch on in horror. The only one to seemingly understand what just happened was Livia. She understood very well that Morrigan just tried to attack her with the anti-magic restraints.
Off in the shadows of the columns stood Krystyna, smiling happily as she watched the chaos unfolding in the baths.
In a newfound fury, Livia proceeds to savagely beat Morrigan. When she finally finished her vicious assault, Livia moves around Morrigan and adjusts the chains on her restraints, forcing her to bend backwards, keeping her head high as her chest sticks out and her arms stretched out behind her. With Morrigan now restrained in a better position for her, Livia resumes her vicious beating of Morrigan for several uninterrupted minutes.
When she finally finishes the beating, Livia barks out to the other women “Get her cleaned up again. I need to see if we should call Darrol.”
The women quickly get to work as several begin gathering rags and soaps, while others take buckets full of warm water and toss it onto Morrigan. Soon after the women that had gathered the materials needed for bathing stepped over and began bathing her.
Morrigan does not struggle during the bath, as it is a rather pleasant experience and she can easily tell that many of the girls bathing her are terrified of both, her and Livia. With the beatings and magic lightning beginning to take a toll on her, Morrigan just relaxed there as she smiled up at Livia, angering her. But Livia did not make a move on Morrigan and simply allowed the other women to finish bathing her.
After the women finished with Morrigan’s skin, several bruises and lacerations could be seen from the beating, but they were easily fixable. The women would then quietly begin working on Morrigan’s hair with some of the oils. This task was relatively easy given the shortness of it compared to everyone else in the duke’s harem. And Morrigan just sat there, restrained in an awkward position, enjoying the bath as she felt some of her strength returning to her.
Now finished with their work, the women quickly stand and walk away as Livia approaches Morrigan with a smile once again. “See you can be a good girl if you want.”
“Whore.”
Morrigan’s one word response came quickly from her mouth and incensed Livia, who shouts back “Better to be called a whore and be living well, than barely survive in peasantry.”
“Having no integrity or honor means you’re nothing. Besides, I’m not a peasant. I’m a servant to a king. Not some pathetic creature who could sail a ship with his clothes.”
Livia slaps Morrigan for those words, telling her “Mind your tongue.” In response, Morrigan lunges at her despite being restrained. The sounds of chain links rubbing against each other can be heard as Livia instinctively takes a step back from Morrigan in fear, before recovering herself and quickly kicking her once more.
As Morrigan stares back at Livia with hatred in her eyes, Livia just smiles at her. Seeing her smile, Morrigan decides to threaten to threaten Livia “Just you wait bitch. I’ll make you pay.”
Livia’s eyes and nostrils flare in rage as she rears back and uses her full strength to strike Morrigan in the face. She then hits Morrigan several more times before launching into a full on beating of Morrigan.
This beating had lasted until Livia had exhausted herself. She disappears behind a pillar to change clothes as the other women clean her of her sweat and Morrigan’s blood. As the other women take care while cleaning her, Livia grinds her teeth while recovering her breath. Then, once she is finally presentable again, Livia approaches the target of her fury once more with a satisfied smile.
In Livia’s eyes the woman before her was nearly broken by the beatings, so she walks up very close and holds her ringed fingers in front Morrigan’s face.
“Kiss them as an apology.”
Morrigan’s mouth slowly opens much to Livia’s delight as several of the women look away, unwilling to watch another woman being broken in this place and even more watch on in glee. Livia’s delight grows more and more as the battered Morrigan slowly moves her mouth closer and closer. Morrigan’s warm breath feels pleasant on Livia’s bare skin and as her mouth closes in Livia’s delight nearly reaches its peak. But the feeling of Morrigan’s lips actually touching her skin is almost enough to send Livia over the edge.
Watching on, Livia notices Morrigan hesitate for a moment. “Go on,” was all Livia said to the kneeling Morrigan.
But in the moment after her words left her mouth, Livia watched as Morrigan’s face changed greatly. Her lips curled into a wicked grin and her eyes filled with hatred and spite. Her mouth seemed to open and become that of Draekia’s wolves before biting down, hard, into Livia’s hand.
As screams of pain ring out from Livia’s mouth, she begins hitting Morrigan as hard as she can, trying, desperately to free herself from that terrible grasp. Several of the other women were quick to rush to her aid and worked to help her escape Morrigan’s wolflike hold on Livia’s flesh.
Watching from the columns’ shadows in horror at the event unfolding before her, Krystyna knew Morrigan’s presence would bring terrifying encounters to them. But she was fine with that. Livia was getting what she deserved, in her eyes and maybe, just maybe this would give her the chance to actually free herself from this hell. And if Morrigan had to suffer more because of that, then so be it.
Finally free of Morrigan’s jaws, Livia falls over backwards, holding onto herself as she was bleeding profusely. Morrigan meanwhile, spits out pieces of Livia’s flesh from her mouth, as she smiles widely and watches Livia lay on the ground, crying out in agony.
Watching this cause Morrigan to begin laughing maniacally as she tries her best to stand and break the mechanism holding her down. The chains themselves could wait until she could move a little more freely.
As Morrigan continued to laugh the other women watched her struggling against her restraints and as one approached, she found herself nearly being struck by the lightning meant to prevent Morrigan from casting magic herself.
Poor Morrigan screams out in agony once more but this time she does not let it stop her from using her magic. Her chanting continues, even as she is continuously struck by lightning neither her, nor the lightning would stop until she had blacked out from the pain.
Sometime later Morrigan finally comes to and finds that Livia had been carried out of the bath and that she was now surrounded by several of the women, who were accompanied by armed guards. The guards themselves could not believe the problems this woman had already caused as the other women hesitantly stand there alongside them in fear of both Morrigan and the duke.
As Morrigan’s senses come back to her, she notices the bastard Duke Castellen walking up behind her. Despite sensing him, Morrigan was unable to react as the duke struck her several times from behind, screaming “HOW DARE YOU POISON MY PROPERTY,” before moving to stand in front of her.
His face is red and looks like he could drop dead at any moment, but he manages to calm himself before continuing “You belong to me and will do as I will or you will suffer a much harsher fate than you gave her.”
Morrigan pulls on her chains as she moves back to her knees and finds herself smiling uncontrollably, the chains were loose. Looking up at the duke as he is about to say more, Morrigan stands proudly while grinning like a madman.
“Bring her back down.”
The duke’s order was quickly followed but the guards found a problem and tell him “We can’t the mechanism is destroyed.”
Everyone understands they are now, very much in trouble as she leaps out and wraps herself around Duke Castellen and begins casting magic. He tries to get away but is unable to break her grip even with help from several of his guards as the women were quick to flee.
With the climax of her chanting closing in, Morrigan’s grin becomes maniacal. Duke Castellen screams and shouts out in fear as the leader of his guards makes a decisive decision and walks up to Morrigan, smashing the pommel of his sword into the back of her head.
Her unconscious body crumbles to the floor and her head smashes into the floor with a crack. Duke Castellen collapses backwards from the unconscious Morrigan in fear before saying “I want her crucified in the main hall. This wench needs to be punished and taught her place.”
Most of the guards present quickly drag the unconscious and bleeding Morrigan out of the bath, leaving everyone else behind them. The duke then looks around at several of the other women, who quickly understand what they are supposed to do and move closer to begin making him feel better.
Krystyna, who had still been watching from the shadows, quietly slipped out of the bath with a smile on her face. She was certainly going to enjoy the coming months.
When Morrigan finally regains consciousness, she wakes to a massive ache in her head but even through her clouded thoughts and vision she knows the feeling of being tightly restrained and of a strange man tracing his fingers along her body. Instinctively she lunges at the man who just smiles at her and says, “Nice to see you’re rejoining us.”
To most, the man’s smile would have been seen as charming but even with her muddled mind Morrigan knew better as she looked at his scruffy, tanned face and dirty blonde hair through her clouded vision. His voice would have been considered charming as well, when he said “Easy now girl. You can’t hurt me, and you should be thankful of me. I kept you from dying and I’m still healing you right now.”
Morrigan’s clouded eyes were wild with rage as she struggled against her binds while telling him “You’re lucky I’m restrained otherwise I’d be ripping your throat out for touching me, you parasite.”
The man smiled as he said back to her “That hurts you know.”
“Only one man is allowed to touch my body and you’re not him, so unhand me now.”
He did not unhand her, instead he continued tracing his fingers across her body as he said, “Duke Castellen doesn’t mind sharing some of his girls with the rest of us.”
Instinctively the man fell backwards and away from her as Morrigan snapped her teeth at him like a rabid wolf and snarled at him “That swine is just as unworthy as you parasite, so I suggest you stop touching me.”
Morrigan’s head was now much clearer thanks to the healing magic, but she would never show appreciation to any of these men.
But as the man healing her sat himself back up, laughter from the other guards directed at him could be heard, though he did not let it bother him. Maintaining that charming smile of his, he told Morrigan “You really shouldn’t be calling your lord swine you know.” He would then mumble to himself “Even if he does resemble one.”
The tall, spindly man standing behind him was quick to admonish him “You should not say such things either, or would you prefer I inform the duke of your opinion of him?”
“No, you don’t have to tell the duke.” The healer’s apology came quick as he looked back towards the tall, spindly man before returning his attention to Morrigan.
“My name is…” The man could not finish introducing himself as Morrigan interrupted him saying “Darroll. I know who you are. I’ve already heard so much about you.” She then nods her head to the man who had admonished him and said “I know that spindly creature behind you as well. I may not have been able to see him, but I know spindly hands when I see or feel them.”
The spindly man would offer a polite bow as he says “I am glad to be remembered from such a short encounter my dear. My name is Sebastian of Baston, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
This Sebastian was by far the most terrifying presence here. Not even Duke Castellen could equal this man in sheer force of presence. Morrigan felt like this man was a demon, but she decided to respond to his courtesy with her own “Morrigan Ziudra of Syrndharas, servant and personal assistant to the King of Arlorne and Chief of the Dharans, Lucien Salvatal the Third.”
The spindly Sebastian’s polite smile was almost crooked as he replies, “I am unfamiliar with such titles or name, but you are no longer a servant of this King Lucien but a member of Duke Castellen’s household and should address yourself as such.”
Morrigan spit at Sebastian before telling him “I’d rather be fed to Draekia’s wolves than serve that swine.”
None of the people there, aside from Morrigan, understood just how important her declaration was. To the Dharans, Draekia is the epitome of evil and her wolves were the biggest threat to them and the horses placed under their protection by the goddess Panno. The wolves and Draekia were so detested that the Dharans cremated most of their dead and allowed the wind to spread their ashes. One of the few exceptions to this was traitors to the Dharan people. Their corpses were left to the wolves as the ultimate disgrace.
Shaking his head Sebastian asked Darroll “Are you finished yet?”
“Just about,” was all the answer Darroll could be bothered to give as his hands begin exploring Morrigan’s body once more.
During this time, Morrigan found her new restraints were much better than her previous ones and were secured snuggly to the cross she was one. “I see you changed my restraints.”
Darroll was the one to answer “You destroyed that last set. It’s only natural we apply better ones this time.”
Morrigan scoffed at him as she fruitlessly kept trying to kill him, much to his own amusment. But no one in the room was taking her lightly as they now knew just how dangerous she could be. No one had believed she would be willing to suffer so much pain in attempts to escape but now they knew she would have to be broken completely and so they were careful around her at all times.
When Darroll was finished healing Morrigan, his fingers had traced most of Morrigan’s body and she had sworn to herself that she would kill him personally.
While she was staring like death at Darroll, Sebastian motioned to some of the guards and ordered them “Begin hoisting her into position.”
Several of the guards then picked up Morrigan and her cross and carried her to the nearby wall. There they hold her up as a separate set of guards connect the chains to her cross. Once the chains are properly connected and secured, the guards signal a third set who began working the mechanism to hoist her and the cross she is on, up into the air.
As she is being hoisted up with her cross Morrigan can see Duke Castellen enter the hall with an escort of guards and women on each of his arms. Morrigan sneers at him as he looks up at her saying “If only you’d behave like these lovely ladies.”
Their giggling at the supposed compliment made Morrigan nauseous as she said, “I’d rather be had by Draekia’s wolves than allow your hands to touch me in such a way.”
Smugly he says to her “We’ll see how you feel after spending some time up there.”
Feeling her crucifix drop into its final resting place high up on the wall, Morrigan sneers at the smug duke “Quit your squealing at me swine.”
The duke’s face burned red with his rage as he shouts up to Morrigan “I am a rather wealthy and handsome man, so your comment means nothing to me. And soon you will be joining the rest in singing my praises.”
Morrigan scoffs at his words as she smiles mockingly at him. “No, it means you’re a disgusting glutton who has to enslave women and forcefully train them to lie to you. If not, not one woman would dare say such words to a disgusting gluttonous swine like yourself.”
She then became quite dismissive of him and said, “Now go eat yourself to death already you swine.”
All pretenses were dropped by Duke Castellen as he shoves the women away from him and screams out at Morrigan “Damn you! You filthy ingrate of a woman. You should be thanking me and pleasing me as I wish for saving you from peasantry and that gods damned sunless wasteland. But you can’t even do that.”
Everyone in the room was staring at the duke, some in fear and others in contempt, as he continued screaming up at Morrigan “You should start by learning how to show your betters some respect. I expect you to show some gratitude for me allowing you to live in such pleasant conditions. Harlots like you normally get tossed away to be used by anyone with a few pulsern.”
Morrigan’s disgust was obvious as she said “Is that how you break all the rebellious ones? By allowing your guards and anyone else who wants to contribute a chance to break her? I knew you were disgusting swine but now I know you’re lower than shit.” Her eyes stared directly into his as she finished with the utmost contempt “You are such shit that not even a starving wolf would touch your rotting carcass.”
Duke Castellen’s face could be used to boil water as many of his guards stare at him in shock. The verbal sparring was entertaining and funny for a time, as Morrigan was clearly the superior but now they all began to wonder just how far she could push him before he truly snapped.
It took some time before he was able to calm down enough to say anything “I had thought of making you suffer that fate but now I have something different in mind.” He then looks into her eyes as he says through his teeth “I think I will break you personally. I will have you screaming and begging me for more.”
She scoffs at this idea before saying “If you can even find underneath your disgusting stomach. Even then it’s probably no bigger than a blade of grass and just as flimsy. Boneless men like you should just keep their mouths shut and let me return to my lord.”
If looks could kill, then Morrigan would be a rotting carcass as the duke immediately says back “Keep talking and I will let you rot as a toy for the public.”
“If you had the guts, Boneless.”
Her response was quick and immediate as all but Morigan and a few others are terrified by Duke Castellen’s rage. She had decided to continue believing in her lord and would continue to resist until her rescue or death.
“She only gets the bare minimum of food and water. We’ll see just how long she can keep this attitude up.”
The still furious duke glances back up to Morrigan, trying to show a face of confidence and daring but Morrigan is unimpressed and immediately responds “Run off to your sty already Boneless.”
Duke Castellen grabs a nearby bottle of wine from a table and throws it at Morrigan as everyone watches as it breaks against her head.
Her blood quickly mixes with the red wine soaking her hair and covering her body after having been cut by the bottle. Nevertheless, though she continues to smile mockingly at Duke Castellen as he shouts go Darroll while storming out of the hall “Darroll make sure she doesn’t scar.”
“Yes sir,” is all Darroll dares to say as the guards are left silently shaking their heads in disbelief before quickly following the duke out of the hall. None of them want anything to do with Morrigan as she is quite the provocateur.
After several minutes of healing Morrigan, Darroll is walking out of the hall when he hears in a low singsong voice “Darroll.” He turns to look at Morrigan whose eyes look like death as she stares at him with a frightening smile.
“Watch yourself Darroll. The first chance I get, I’m going to remove those vile hands from your body before I fix you and leave your body to the wolves.”
Her singsong threats were terrifying, even to him but he put on a brave face and smiled at her before walking away.
The in the same threatening singsong voice he heard as he left the hall “Don’t let your false bravado get you killed before I have my chance, Darroll.” The singsong voice then quit as her voice became much more sinister “I’ll curse your spirit so you can never rest in peace.”
