The Return pt.03
Two weeks had passed since Morrigan had been crucified in the great hall of Duke Castellen’s estate in the city of Salver. In those two weeks she had been given the bare minimum of water and bread to starve her in an attempt to break her. The guards and women of the duke’s slave harem often took advantage to abuse her as she hung there on her crucifix.
Morrigan’s body had begun to show signs of starvation as she became even more irritable to be around for those in the duke’s service. If one thought her verbal tongue lashings before were impressive they had not yet experienced her while starving.
But this was nothing to Morrigan. Life in Syrndharas was harsh and she had been raised to be a proud and hardy Dharan just like her ancestors. And she was determined to keep being a true Dharan until the end of her life.
The peace and silence Morrigan was enjoying, as she hung with her crucifix from the wall, was disturbed by Duke Castellen entering the hall, surrounded by his usual escort of guards and members of his slave harem hanging onto his arms like lovers.
“How do you feel now that you are starving? Are you willing to see the benefits of serving me?”
Morrigan quickly looked around the hall before saying with feigned panic “Guards I think of the swine got into the hall. I’m hearing squealing all of a sudden.”
She then looked at the duke before feigning surprise and continued “Oh never mind guards.” A smile then formed on her face as she kept delivering insults “It’s just you boneless. I’m sorry for my mistake but I’m sure you understand how I could make such a mistake.”
Duke Castellen is frozen in silent rage as Morrigan decides to get a few more verbal barbs in “I thought you had died by how silent and pleasant smelling it had become but now I see that’s not the truth.”
Fury had filled the duke, but a smirk had grown across his face as his mind thought of something. “You must be coming around a little. Where’d all the magic and escape attempts go to?”
Looking at the duke as if he was mentally challenged, Morrigan says “I have no intention of making it easier on you. I’ll be dead soon enough by your command.”
The look on her face changed to one of contempt as she said, “Besides I still have my loyalty to my lord and pride in my service to him and in our people, something you know very little about.”
Duke Castellen’s face shows his anger once more as he threatens through his teeth “Keep it up harlot and I will find a whip for you.” He then straightened himself out as he says with some anger still in his voice “You should consider yourself fortunate that I don’t restrict your bread and water to nothing. I still want you alive.”
A scoff comes from Morrigna’s lips before she says, “It’s almost adorable how Boneless thinks everyone needs to eat as much as he does to survive.” She then stares the duke in the eyes as she continues “I’m from the wastes of Arlorne. Lack of food is something I’ve experienced before. Unlike you, I don’t need to live like a swine and eat everything before me to survive and be happy.”
Following Morrigan’s newest insults, Duke Castellen nearly orders his men to kill her there on the spot but restrains himself. But in the moments following his restraint, his mind works out a devious plan and he smiles a wicked smile of his own.
“We shall hold a three-day feast here in this hall. All the most important people of Salver shall be invited and will experience the best food and drink in all of Reval.” His posture had become almost noble like, as he stood there detailing his plan to his guards and Morrigan. “We’ll see just how long you can truly hold out.”
A smile comes across Morrigan’s face as she begins mocking the duke “Awww Boneless thinks he’s terrifying. It’d be adorable if it wasn’t so disgusting.”
Anger flared in his eyes again as he barely restrains himself “I am most certain you will enjoy my parties and come around to seeing things my way.”
The guards were all smiling as they knew just what Duke Castellen’s parties and feasts entailed. But Morrigan just rolls her eyes as she says “Boneless is just a swine with the mentality of a child. Throws a tantrum whenever he doesn’t get his way.”
Duke Castellen’s face was easily read in his fury, but he refused to give into Morrigan’s temptations as he turned to walk out of the hall. As he walks out, Duke Castellen makes sure to tell his girls “I want her properly cleaned up before my guests arrive.” The girls were quick to agree saying “Yes my lord.”
While nearly all leave the hall with the duke, Morrigan notices only one man remains behind. This armored man walks up to her asking “Do you have to make things so hard on yourself? You could be living well if you would just swallow your pride and accept him.”
Contempt fills her eyes as Morrigan tells the man “You may accept serving a gluttonous little swine like Boneless but not me. Only two may command me, my mother goddess Panno and my king. All others are to be ignored unless authority is transferred to them by one of the two.”
The man before her sighs before asking “I thought you worshiped Moriena? Why do you keep mentioning Panno and Draekia if you follow Moriena?”
Looking into the middle-aged man’s eyes Morrigan answers “Moriena is my principal god of worship yes. But Panno is the mother goddess to my people. She gave birth to the Dharans and so we revere her as such and listen to all she commands. Draekia and her wolves are the enemies of my people and Panno, but we also pray to her to keep her wolves at bay and for aid in times of war.”
The man is clearly following along but asks “How does Moriena fit into your beliefs then?”
A smile comes across Morrigan’s face as she explains “Our current king, Lucien, is one of Moriena’s chosen warriors and made into one of his children, as Moriena favored him as a skilled warrior. I choose to pray to Moriena in hopes of being with my king forever, in this world and in the afterlife. But I do not follow Moriena’s orders as he issues none. Followers of Moriena simply obey his children as if they were him.”
The man before her was clearly thinking things over as he mumbled “Those are certainly some interesting beliefs you carry.” But Morrigan did not care what he or anyone outside of Syrndharas thought of her beliefs. She would stay loyal to her gods and to Lucien no matter what may come her way.
Soon however, the man looks back to her asking “Why do you serve your king so loyally when he is not coming for you?” Morrigan’s gaze falls to the ground beneath her as she answers “He is the most fair being in this world to me and the picture of true strength and justice. He is the one person I would gladly sacrifice all I have for and the one I want to be with.”
She then looks towards the man and continues “He is the man I love and the only man deserving of my loyalty. I will never betray him or his beliefs and only he shall command me until my death.” Her gaze would harden as she finished her main thoughts “I will never serve someone like Boneless and will continue to hold out hope for my lord to come rescue me until my death, though I know it will likely never come. But I am fine with that.”
With her gaze falling away from the man, Morrigan would quietly say to herself, though the man below heard every word “My one regret will be that I left him thinking I abandoned him like so many others. If only I could let him know the truth of my disappearance, then I could die with no regrets.”
Tears began to fill her eyes as the man looked up at her as she wallowed in her own thoughts. “Then why not dedicate yourself to a new lord and master instead of wallowing in despair and self-pity?”
It is in this moment with tears streaming down her face that Morrigan, with death hilling her eyes, glares at the man and tells him “My family has served my king for over two millennia and his family generations before he was born. We fought alongside his family and him in many of their campaigns. We shed blood for them, and we died for them. We have never once turned our backs on him or his family and have served him loyally for his entire lifetime. I will not be the one to break that tradition, even as the last of my line. I would gladly become food for the rats and have my body buried in gutters if it meant I stayed a loyal servant to my lord, MY KING. But a sell sword like you wouldn’t understand any of that.”
The guard smiles up at her as he crosses his arms. “You’re right. I wouldn’t know anything about it. I also wouldn’t know anything about a once proud and aspiring knight serving a lord, whom he thought honorable.
“A knight who manages to make a small name for himself, only to one day find that he is left to die by his lord, who had betrayed him to a more prominent knight that happened to be jealous of his rise. A knight that manages to survive and escape this death trap set for him by his former lord.
“A knight, that as he moves from battlefield to battlefield, collects a small group of soldiers willing to follow him as he searches for himself. A knight that finds that he rather likes fighting and enjoys the attention he gets from being so skilled.
“One who enjoys the coin he gets from employing his skills and uses to build up his power base in hopes of eliminating his former lord.”
His voice changed, becoming hardened as he finished “You’re right though, I wouldn’t know a damned thing about that.”
Subtlety was clearly not his specialty as he not so subtly retold his life story to Morrigan, leaving her with curiosity “Why him then?”
With a shrug, the leader of the guards answers “He is certainly contemptable but he’s honest. He’s never lied about who he is or what he does. He always pays on time and is appreciative of my skill and work.”
“What if someone paid more?” This one question was all Morrigan could come up with and upon asking it she watched as a sly grin appeared on the guard’s face.
“Do I really need to say?”
Morrigan has her answers and shakes her head no. She fully understands he would kill Duke Castellen if he was paid enough to.
Before leaving Morrigan to her thoughts, as she hung from the wall still tied to her crucifix, the guard told her “My name is Gregory of Mooreden and my little company likes to be called The Mooreden Avengers.”
A large smile came across his face as he says while leaving through the doors with a wave of his hand “If you ever somehow come up with enough coin or something else that makes it worth our time, we’d be happy to contract with you for any job you wish.”
Morrigan could barely hear his true devious nature slip as he finished speaking to her with “But I doubt you’ll ever achieve that, you loyal harlot.”
A few more days would pass as Morrigan hung from her crucifix before Duke Castellen received a visit from a differing noble within the kingdom.
“What is this party you’re hosting about Duke Castellen?” This new noble walked straight up to the duke, who was resting on a daybed surrounded by members of his harem.
Duke Castellen points up to Morrigan while happily answering “I am hosting a celebration for my newest acquisition. She is struggling to accept her new lot in life and so needs some…motivation.” The duke was clearly trying to sound more proper than normal with this new noble here and it caused Morrigan to smirk.
When this new noble looks up at Morrigan, his face loses all its color and his skin grows cold. Her smirk and eyes filled with resolve was all that showed she was still strong, as her body showed the treatment she had been receiving. Her skin had begun to tighten around her body and revealed most of the muscles and bones in her body, due to the dehydration and starvation she was being subjected to.
Fear had filled the guest as he asks “What’s a wastelander doing here Castellen? Why do you have one of that monster’s people crucified on your wall?”
His gaze had settled on the mark on her shoulder that was just visible from beneath her rags and remained there as he asked his questions. This noble’s voice was full of fear and anger as he questioned the duke on why Morrigan was here and crucified on the wall.
Duke Castellen scoffs at this before he flippantly says “Count Draeken, you can’t possibly be afraid of those damned legends. They’re just stories meant to scare the youth. There’s no possible way a creature that powerful actually exists.”
Count Draeken jerks his gaze over to the duke and steps closer before grabbing him by the clothes “You know damn well what the king’s policy is towards the wasteland and the east. Why in the six hells are you even tempting death by messing with that creature’s people?”
Rolling his eyes, the duke removes the count’s hands from his clothes while saying “He’s just using those so called policies as cowardly excuses to avoid going to war and conquering the east like he should.”
Angered by the duke’s attitude and disrespect, Count Draeken angrily shouts “You know damn well humanity barely survived The Great Terror when that monster destroyed all of Rylocke the last time someone harmed his people and yet you do this to one of them. How daft are you, you damned bastard?”
Duke Castellen openly laughs in Count Draeken’s face as he says “I do not believe in such fictitious stories and neither should you Count Draeken. The fact that you take such stories seriously shows how cowardly, weak and immature you are. There’s not a creature alive that can stand up to the might of Reval.”
It had been over eight centuries since Lucien had returned to his castle in Syrndharas from his last campaign and in that time humanity had come to mostly forget him. He had become a legend, one that only the nobility, highly educated scholars, and certain sects of priests and knightly orders knew the truth behind. But with no sign of his armies marching westward from the wastelands, even they began to believe he may not exist and that he was just that, a legend.
The Kingdom of Reval in recent times had become divided as the current king continued to rule his kingdom under the belief that the east was not to be bothered, angering those amongst the nobility that believed those were mere legends and stories, nothing more. And so the nobility and power structure became divided between two factions, those that believed in the old stories and those that didn’t.
Every year the power of the dissenting nobles became strong and stronger but those that held the legends as truth maintained a much stronger base of support. They prepared for a war of survival against powerful monsters as the first kingdom in their warpath, while the others prepared for a war of conquest against their fellow humans and creatures they viewed as no different from weak and cowardly beings. As such the military power balance remained heavily in favor of the king and his men.
Count Draeken was unable to comprehend the duke’s attitude and forced himself to hold back as his mind pictured the hell that Reval might become because of this man’s arrogance. Once he steadied his breath, the count said “His majesty is not going to like this Castellen and none of the royal family will be willing to attend your gathering once word of this reaches them. You will not get away with this unpunished.”
With those words Count Draeken turned to leave but was surprised to hear Morrigan’s voice speak up “Don’t worry too much Draeken. I’ve met rocks with more intelligence than Boneless.”
He turned to face her wanting to ask, who was boneless, but he stopped when he saw her smile. “I’m sure my lord would be forgiving to those that aided him in my rescue.”
She was unable to speak another word as a wine bottle crashed into her head and shattered. As blood and red wine poured down her face and body Morrigan continued to smile as Draeken nodded his head and quickly left the duke’s estate mumbling to himself “I must hurry to Eeclear and inform his majesty. We have to move quickly or this could be horrible.”
As the duke’s servants shut the doors behind Count Draeken, Duke Castellen throws his glass of wine across the hall towards the door in frustration. Where in the hells does that lowly count get the idea that I, a duke, have to answer to him? Just because you’re the king’s right hand doesn’t mean you can order me around, you damned coward.”
His breathing was heavy as he fell back onto his daybed before one of the girls reached over and began rubbing him to help alleviate his frustrations. “I have more power than that damned king. If I wanted to, I could seize the crown for my own and bring this kingdom into its true glory.”
Morrigan is unable to hold back her laughter at this as she says, “The only thing you can lead is your mouth to your next meal Boneless.”
A second bottle of wine quickly finds her head, forcing her to close her eyes as it shatters against her. Her confidence in rescue had greatly increased after she was able to speak to the count. She was now certain her lord would learn the truth of the matter and so she would put up more resistance than before.
“Just you wait swine. I’ll see you butchered for your treatment of me.”
Her teeth were bared as she spoke these words and it greatly angered the duke who countered “We will see harlot. I am confident you will be begging for me during the party. After all I now have something prepared just for you.”
Morrigan scoffed at him before saying “You can try all you want Boneless, I will not break, and your punishment will only get worse.”
Angered flared across his face but he had ways to relieve himself of his anger and quickly had one of his girls begin massaging him. A smile then formed on his face as he looked up at Morrigna who simply retorted with a crooked grin “Use more nails girl. You’ll make Boneless there squeal in joy.”
Duke Castellen wanted to hit Morrigan again but did not want to waste another bottle of wine and so just laid there accepting of the insult as she looked away. After all he was certain he was soon to be enjoying Morrigan in the same way.
As the first day of Duke Castellen’s celebratory feast arrives, Morrigan is brought down with her crucifix just hours before everything was set to begin. The girls have the guards take her off the crucifix and drag her to the baths so they can clean her to the duke’s preferences. The whole way Morrigan offers resistance, but it didn’t mean much to the guards dragging her with them.
Inside the bath, the guards were quick to restrain her in the newly rebuilt mechanism that had been destroyed by Morrigan previously. It had since been modified to prevent anything like the last time from happening again. And they were certain it would not break again.
With Morrigan restrained the guards leave her in the care of the two girls, who were volunteered to clean her by the others.
Not wanting to waste time testing her new restraints, Morrigan looks up at the petite brown-haired girl standing before her. The girl smiles at Morrigan as she sheepishly says, “I promise I won’t hurt you, so can you please don’t try to kill me?”
Her voice hid no deception, and her smile was honest as Morrigan could instinctively tell she was not one to bring harm to anyone. Understanding this, Morrigan nodded her head in agreement but thought of how this girl must be terrifying to the others when she is angered.
Accepting of Morrigan’s word, the girl turns to look further into the bath and shouts “Krystyna get in here. I’m not doing it all myself.”
A groan could be heard as the gorgeous Krystyna walked into the baths while saying “Let me go Elizabeth. You can handle this on your own.”
Elizabeth stood there with her arms crossed as she looked at Krystyna while saying “No, I’m not going to be the only one. You were told to do this with me, so get over here.” A further groan would follow as Krystyna walked up to Morrigan while fixing her fine clothes as to avoid getting them too wet.
“What are you going to do to me?”
Krystyna rolls her eyes as she kneels to fill a bucket with warm water, while Elizabeth answers “Duke Castellen likes everyone attending his feasts to be clean, and well-groomed.”
The confusion Morrigan was experiencing caused Krystyna to stand and pose with her hands on her hips as she said with annoyance filling her voice “You daft woman.”
With the realization now coming over her, Morrigan asked as she looked at Krystyna “Why?”
Rolling her eyes once more Krystyna tells her “Because it looks better and feels better. You may be different, but most don’t want to resemble wild beasts.”
Morrigan’s expression was enough to anger Krystyna as it clearly showed her feelings on it. “That’s foolish. You shouldn’t care about such things. We Dharans don’t.”
Still angered Krystyna wanted to hit Morrigan but decided to put a little pressure on her instead “Apparently you care enough. You kept your hair short instead of just letting it grow wild.”
“We Dharan women don’t grow our hair long until we’re pregnant and then we let it grow until our child can ride a horse on their own.”
Krystyna was shocked into silence by this as was Elizabeth, who was the one to ask, “What happens if you get pregnant again before the first child can ride a horse?”
Morrigan’s gaze falls onto the petite Elizabeth before answering “Then we don’t cut our hair until the second, or third, or forth child can a horse. It isn’t not that hard to grasp.”
Anger flared once more in Krystyna as she stepped forward saying “Watch yourself around Elizabeth you bitch. She’s just being polite to you.”
As quickly as her angered had flared causing her to defend the smaller woman, it disappeared in embarrassment that turned Krystyna’s red as she looked away from the both of them.
Elizabeth was as surprised as Morrigan was at Krystyna’s outburst in her defense. She even walked over and hugged Krystyna, thanking her for it but the embarrassed blonde pushed the smaller woman away saying “That’s enough. We should get to work before the duke sends someone to come looking for us.”
She then turned her attention towards Morrigan and said, “Don’t worry you’ll feel a lot better after we’re done.”
Unable to resist Morrigan was once more subjected to a thorough bath and grooming Krystyna. Elizabeth would help Krystyna, who had the more steady hands, in cleaning Morrigan. Slowly they worked from Morrigan’s feet up to her head. The whole time the two women talked to each other and Morrigan, with Krystyna making many complaints about how wild Morrigan was and wondering out loud just how she could enjoy living like that.
Once they were through with their work and had redressed Morrigan in her rags, the two women stepped back from Morrigan and began to inspect their work. As they did so Krystyna would ask “How do you feel now?”
Her question was full of confidence but that quickly fell apart when a groan escaped Morrigan as she answered “Cold. And more bare than before. I don’t see how you enjoy being barren like this.”
“You’ll come around.”
Krystyna’s response was quick, decisive and filled with annoyance as Elizabeth went to the bath door to call for the guards. When she came back Elizabeth would say to Morrigan “I’m sorry for what’s about to happen to you. I hope you can withstand it.”
Morrigan was not a foolish woman and looks to Elizabeth asking, “What’s going to happen?”
Krystyna would speak up and answer for the smaller woman “The duke and his guests enjoy the burning of stimulates during their feasts.” Once the question was answered a look of disgust came over the blonde’s face as she continued “I’m just glad we don’t have to participate this time. I hate having to partake in his feasts. I always feel disgusted, used and filthy for a month afterwards.”
“Why don’t you have to participate?”
Elizabeth would smile an apologetic smile as she answered “Sorry but we used you for our selfish means. By taking care of you, we could avoid attending this feast at all. We get to relax in our quarters or do as we wish until it’s all over.”
After eyeing the two women carefully, Morrigan smiled as she closed her eyes and allowed her head to hang low. “I don’t blame you for that decision. It was certainly the right one.” She then looked up with a look of complete confidence on her face as she told them “But don’t worry about me. I’m confident I’ll come out of this completely intact.”
Elizabeth seemed extremely grateful for Morrigan’s words, but Krystyna’s face was different. Hers was one full of barely hidden excitement and Morrigan could read it clearly. Krystyna was excited to see if Morrigan’s words were just arrogant boasts or proud truths.
Morrigan was happy to have Elizabeth’s kind and encouraging smile but felt disdain and fury towards the blonde woman before her. She finally understood just what type of person Krystyna was.
“Thank you for your kindness and worries for me Elizabeth.”
More words were unable to be exchanged as a guard walked into the baths asking, “Is this her?”
Elizabeth stepped away from everyone as Krystyna spoke up answering “Yes Tomas, this is her. But why are you the only one here?”
A groan could be heard from the unseen guard by Morrigan before he answered, “The feast started early.”
Sighs could be heard from both Elizabeth and Krystyna before the latter asked, “Is Bethany partaking?”
Morrigan could hear his armor shrug as he answered, “I don’t have the heart to look.”
Krystyna would walk up to the man and place a hand on his shoulder while saying “Look Tomas, you’re too nice of a guy to be working for the duke and much too nice for her. You should not trust her so much.”
Tomas would push Krystyna away as he loudly said “Don’t speak bad about her Krystyna. She’s not a bad person like you.”
Stepping away, Krystyna would say “Fine Tomas, don’t listen to my warnings then. See if I care.”
Morrigan would then feel the chains holding her restraints be released and a gloved hand help her to her feet. “Come on, let’s get you to the feast before Duke Castellen comes looking for you. We’d all be in trouble then.”
As she was pushed out through the door Morrigan could hear Elizabeth cheering for her “Good luck, I hope you make it.” Without needing to look Morrigan knew Krystyna had that confident near sadistic smile of hers on her face.
While being pushed through the estate Morrigan tells Tomas “She’s probably right about this Bethany girl.”
“Shut your mouth, you don’t even know her.”
Morrigan smiled as she countered “No, but I’ve met plenty of others who work for Boneless already and so far, you and Elizabeth are the only two I would consider good people.” She could see him grimacing at her remark as she looked over her right shoulder at him.
The man known as Tomas appeared young except for his dark hair already greying and the old scar running across the left half of his face and stops on his nose. The stress and thoughts he carried were clearly heavy on him and showed not only on his face, in his appearance but in the way he carried himself and the air about him.
But that was not enough to deter Morrigan, who had now found a prime opportunity to escape and carefully looked out the windows as they walked past. She had already found the restraints on her legs allowed for a good range of motion and so waited for that prime and perfect opportunity.
When she found the opportunity in a window that led directly to a gate, Morrigan smiled and apologized “I’m sorry for this Tomas but I can’t stay here.”
Before he could respond, Morrigan had leapt into the air and spun around before extending both legs and kicking Tomas in the face with both of her feet. Landing hard on her back did not slow her down as she quickly kicked herself up to her feet and lunged for the window hoping to jump though it and escape into the city. But Tomas was quick to recover and tackled her to the ground as she tried to leap through the window.
Morrigan began laughing with her attempt at escape failing but Tomas was not amused and hit her several times as he asked, “Are you trying to get me killed you bitch?”
“I’d rather you die than me spend another moment here.”
Sighing loudly, Tomas drug her back to her feet as he said “I should have known but you’re not the only one that doesn’t like it here. We all have to do things we don’t like to survive so just stop resisting already.”
She smiles over her shoulder at him again as he forces her forward once more. “You really are too good of a man to be working with Boneless you know.”
“Who in the hells is Boneless? Are you referring to Duke Castellen?”
Continuing to smile Morrigan tries to jump again wanting take advantage of his confusion, but Tomas quickly steps onto the chains connecting her ankles and stops her from doing so. Looking over her shoulder at him, Morrigan says “You learn quickly. Boneless could stand to listen to you. He might actually improve to be a person instead of continuing to wallow as swine.”
No wanting to hear another word, Tomas hurries Morrigan forward as he mumbles “I’ll forget you said any of that.”
Morrigan would continue to smile at him as she said “You should probably clean your nose. Looks like I broke it.”
“I can tell. It’s not the first time my nose has been injured. I know the feeling.” Tomas would then look away as he mumbled “But thanks for your concern. I hope you can get your freedom from this place.”
Morrigan knows it’s too late to escape now as she can see the doors to the main hall before her with two guards standing guard. But she tells Tomas anyways “I will. That count Draeken will likely tell my lord of what’s happened, and he will come and enact a bloody rescue of me. You should escape yourself while you can.”
Tomas can’t respond to this as one of the two guards at the door asks, “What took you so long to bring one woman here Tomas?”
A wide confident smile is on Morrigan’s face as Tomas keeps pushing her forward “Well if I would have had help she wouldn’t have been able to make an escape attempt and kick me in the face.”
The guards begin laughing and mocking Tomas “What, you can’t handle one little girl? And you call yourself a man?”
Without needing to look Morrigan could sense Tomas’s anger flaring up behind her as he said, “Just open the damned door,” through his teeth.”
Suddenly all laughter was ceased as the second guard spoke “Don’t you dare order us around Tomas. You’re an outsider here and you aren’t in charge here. I won’t be this kind if you try it a second time.”
With an opportunity to enact some early vengeance of her own Morrigan’s smile became sly as she leapt into the air once more. This time her feet connected with the faces of the two guards causing them to fall backwards into the closed doors. Tomas, however, reacted quickly and prevented himself from being knocked over by Morrigan falling into him. He quickly regained control of Morrigan and forced her down to her knees as the other two recovered from their surprise and found their noses now matched Tomas’s.
“You bitch,” was how the first guard responded as he held his nose while standing up. Tomas was quick to say, “Help me adjust the restraints around her feet then.”
Quickly the two guards hold Morrigan down, allowing Tomas to adjust the chains on her ankle restraints. She smiles up at them and spits further angering them but they were quick to smile in excitement. “We’ll enjoy watching you lose yourself in the hall.”
Once Tomas had finished adjusting her restraints he pulled Morrigan back to her feet and pushed her forward “Hurry up inside. I don’t want to be in the hall longer than I have to.” The other two guards were quick to mock him for that, but they opened the doors for him and let them through.
As the doors to the main hall opened Morrigan was hit by a pink mist bursting forth from the hall. Instantly the almost sickeningly sweet smell was easily recognizable by even the most daft person as a very strong stimulant. Morrigan wanted to get sick from the smell alone but held it back as she was forced further into the hall by Tomas, who was mumbling his own complaints.
Moving deeper and deeper into the hall, the pink mist becomes almost suffocating with how thick it hangs in the air. It appeared to have settled nearer to the ground as it cooled but with the constant burning of the stimulant, even the air higher up in the hall was thick with the nauseating smell.
Everywhere Morrigan looked through the pink mist as Tomas pushed her forward, she found people engaged in gluttonous and depraved acts of nearly all kinds. Men and women from all ranks of the nobility in the city of Salver, the Kingdom of Reval and even foreign kingdoms were enjoying the company of each other. Priests, Morrigan recognized from her first day as the duke’s slave were in the company of men and women alike, as was many of the duke’s guards and much of his harem. There were even gladiator fights happening off in one corner with cheering from the wealthy elite watching on.
Tomas did his best to only look at Morrigan’s back as he pushed her towards the crucifix she was to be hung from once again. He was clearly worried about seeing the woman named Bethany here and so ignored Morrigan restraining herself and her own breathing.
With Tomas pushing Morrigan closer to the crucifix, Duke Castellen left the women he was with and approached Morrigan. Looking at the duke’s fine clothes struggling to contain is very overweight body, Morrigan smirked in disgust and mockery. His face seemed full of confidence as he started to speak but he was interrupted by Morrigan spitting at his feet.
He would slap her in response before she looked at him in defiance, clearly confident in her victory. All it did was further anger the duke, but he finally managed to calm himself down before speaking “You will fall today girl and I eagerly look forward to you begging for me.”
Morrigan rolled her eyes as Tomas strapped her to the cross. “I don’t know why you’re acting like you’re some sort of god. You couldn’t even find anything around your stomach if you tried a decade Boneless.”
Anger filled the duke’s face as he stared at Morrigan. He wanted to punish her, but he decided to touch her instead. Hopefully the stimulant was already working on her as intended.
Duke Castellen walked up to Morrigan as Tomas finished strapping her to the cross and cupped his hand against her cheek and said “You almost look civilized and proper now.”
But he was to learn a valuable lesson as Morrigan headbutted him hard with her head and caused him to stumble back away from her before falling to the ground. He reached up to his nose and found it bleeding profusely, having been broken by Morrigan. Many rush to his side as he looks up to Morrigan cursing her but the fury in her eyes froze him. “Touch me again you rotten bastard and I will rip your damn throat out with my teeth if I have to. You damned lowlife swine.”
Head Priest Petor Gravilo quickly approached and began healing the duke’s nose as Morrigan was lifted into the air. Tomas had signaled the guards manning the mechanism and soon she would be hanging in place high up on the wall once again.
One of the slave girls approached Tomas asking “Are you staying this time Tomas?”
He looked at her and reached up to his nose “I got to find Darroll. She broke my nose and the noses of the two guarding the door. The head priest is busy tending to Duke Castellen.” And with that he quickly excused himself from the hall and left to find the missing Darroll.
Hanging from her cross, Morrigan looked down as a group of wealthy and powerful humans gathered around Duke Castellen and gawked up at her. When the duke was fully healed, he finally stood up as Morrigan’s eyes looked around at everyone in the hall. “You will pay for that bitch.”
No one knew what to think about Morrigan, but they could all see her eyes looking over them as they discussed her. Head Priest Petor would speak up to Duke Castellen “My friend, I’m sure my fellow priests of Syver could change her mind with our magic if you would wish it.”
“No need. She’ll break eventually Petor.”
A scoff was heard from Morrigan before she told them “You will never break me Boneless.”
With Duke Castellen grumbling between clenched teeth, one of the more important looking guests asked, “Then what are you doing now?” Then with a smile he continued “You seem to be squirming. It seems to me that you’re just being stubborn but with enough of the stimulants, I’m certain you’ll feel better. After all no one can be immune to it.”
Morrigan looks down at the man speaking to her and tells him “What I’m doing is memorizing everyone’s faces so that when my lord arrives to rescue me, I can inform him of everyone that has wronged me.”
Laughter could be heard from the group as one woman says, “Duke Castellen would never.”
The mocking laughter annoyed Morrigan but she held strong as she said “Boneless will never be my lord. I’d die before that.
“No, my lord is the King of Arlorne, King Lucien Salvatal the Third and he does not forgive those that bring harm to his fellow Dharans.”
Then through her teeth Morrigan threatened them “And his arrival shall fill this hall with the blood of everyone present. Not one of you will be allowed to live. We will track you down to the edges of the world and slaughter you for your transgressions.”
Mocking laughter continued as the people below her openly mocked her and derided her but Morrigan just smiled and spit at them. She was not going to let them break her and if given the chance she would begin enacting her own revenge on them.
The group soon dispersed and returned to their daybeds and tables to continue their enjoyment of this feast. Duke Castellen stayed close and would occasionally look up to Morrigan and taunt her “I can see that you’re being affected by it bitch. All you have to do to feel relief is to beg me.” Every time he taunted her, Morrigan responded by spitting at him before mocking and threatening him.
Since the time she was four and her father Allistar moved her and her mother to his home in Syrndharas, Morrigan had been trained to be an assassin by her master. As tradition all servants of the King of Arlorne were trained fighters. There was no royal guard inside the palace as the servants filled that roll and did so in secret.
Being trained as an assassin in the service of the king meant she had been exposed to various poisons and drugs daily since she was a small child. Doing this had allowed Morrigan to develop a tolerance and immunity to some of the most deadly, dangerous and vile poisons and drugs throughout the world. This aphrodisiac was no different.
But as the hours pass Morrigan could certainly feel the stimulants begin to affect her despite everything, as her body began to feel hot but nothing more. She was most thankful for her training and knew it was what was saving her. And she would remain loyal to that training and her lord as her body slowly adapted to this new stimulant coursing through her.
