Property of Kimra Lelanst, do not duplicate without consent.
Her second time in the bar and nobody looked up. She scanned for a second, knew she wouldn’t reach the exit if she tried for it, so instead fixed her angry attention on the man who had once more left her in chains for a time she couldn’t begin to count.
She stormed across the room at him, his back was too her, the woman opposite him at the table only cast a glance her way before looking back to the cards scattered across the wooden surface. Rieishel gripped his hard shoulder and swung him around forcefully, and the next moment although she didn’t recall even making the decision to, she had swung her fist at him. It struck squarely across his jaw and silence flooded the bar. She ignored it, her breathing was harsh, her hand was throbbing and Foreitiket was staring at her with an expression she could not decipher.
His hand rose slowly, touching at his abused jaw for a second before raising his eyes to meet hers. “Good arm you’ve got there.” He complimented and a smile came to his lips even as he rubbed at the spot.
Confused she took a step away, forfeiting contact of any kind. She didn’t know for sure but something seemed wrong with his reaction, she had almost expected to be meet with anger.
He cringed unexpectedly, and slipped his thumb into his mouth probing. When he withdrew it his thumb had a thick coating of blood. “Good arm indeed.” He muttered and wiped the blood off onto his dark brown pants.
The full impact of what she had just done came to her in a flash, her stomach clenching her body rebelling. She’d struck him, she’d drawn blood and there was something so unnaturally wrong with it, so disturbing she felt nothing but horror towards herself. She backed another step, her eyes wide tears of shame starting to form and she saw him rise frowning at her.
There had been no cause, no reason for anything so violent and she shouldn’t have done it. She stumbled a few more steps back wishing she could hide, wishing nobody had seen it. She chocked back a sob shaking her traitorous hand as she continued to back away.
Foreitiket followed her, his frown confused. He was also moving faster then her because he had caught her arm in seconds, stopping her gradual escape.
“I’m so sorry,” She began in a quick babbling voice “I shouldn’t have done- I shouldn’t have hit you!” She was crying now. Crying like a child who had erred and only just realised the repercussions that would exist.
“Hey that’s okay.” He was full of light humour still. “You hit like a girl anyway.” He admitted conspiratorly, then motioned his head to a group of men staring at them. “If one of these lug’s had done it I’d have a broken jaw!” He was trying to be so nice, and she didn’t deserve it.
“But your bleeding!” She gasped, touching at the side of his check where her fist had landed the blow with tender care.
He gave a laugh at that. “Oh come on Rieishel, it’s not like I’ve never bleed before.”
“But I made you bleed!” She couldn’t understand why he didn’t see the true atrociousness of her actions, why he was treating it like nothing when it was everything.
“Your not the first.” He tried to sooth, seeing her distress, still sounding mildly amused.
“That’s no excuse!” She cried.
“No…” He seemed unsure of how to placate her, but was trying. “But I deserved it.” He was frowning a little at her.
“No! How can anyon-“
“I provoked you!” He interrupted looking a little frustrated the frown deepening.
“It was n-“
“Drop it Rieishel!” He seemed out of patience, and his voice was for the first time angry. She froze in the face of his anger. She had struck him, injured him and he hadn’t responded with anything but wry amusement but her protesting her apologies had driven him to anger.
“I’m sorry.” She mumbled, her eyes going to the floor in submission. She counted breaths, waiting for the outcome to appear. It was he who had to decide.
Foreitiket groaned, his hand caught her arm and before she could look up properly he had started to drag her back to his table. “You are the strangest creature.” He muttered before pushing her into the chair beside the one he re-took.
“Quite the little pacifist isn’t she?” The woman across the table enquired in a quick voice, looking across at Rieishel with a raised brow. Rieishel didn’t reply to the expression aimed at her, she was staring at her hands as they shook in her lap. Why hadn’t he let her apologise? Why hadn’t he reacted in some way, any way that she would understand.
“It would seem so.” Foreitiket replied dryly and Rieishel bit back the tears that wanted to flow again. He was unhappy with her but it wasn’t because she had struck him. She didn’t understand, couldn’t understand and all she knew was she had made him angry and she wished she hadn’t because he shouldn’t have been angry.
“Chin up Fore! At least she wont kill you in your sleep.”
Rieishel gasped at the suggestion, her eyes swinging up in indignant rage to meet the blue eyes of the woman across the table. “I would never!” Rieishel began but the woman interrupted her with a smile.
“But she’s got spirit in her.” The woman’s smile was a mix between pleasant and unholy interest and Rieishel felt uncomfortable under it.
“She’s got something in her.” Foreitiket muttered thinking himself unheard before a thoughtful expression crossed his features and he turned to her. “Hey.” He began carefully, as if unsure of how she would respond. “Why’d you hit me?” he asked it lightly and she held back any apologise that wanted to rise knowing he would not appreciate them.
“I don’t like chains.” She replied as honestly as she could and his smile was understanding.
“Isn’t that all the more reason to learn how to escape them?” He titled his head at her, looking pensive.
“Why not just show me?” She asked softly, confused. If he was locking her in so she learnt how to get out a demonstration would be easier.
“Because locks change and I could teach you how to open any lock I’ve come across but you’ll never learn how to find the escape on your own. And that’s what you need.” He gave a charming grin, turned his attention away from her and to the woman across the table. “Isn’t that right Urii?” He seemed to have forgotten his anger and the woman, Urii looked at him sceptically.
“Fore, you’ve known since we met I never agree with you.” She sounded dead serious.
“Yeah but that’s just principal,” he waves off lightly “you know deep down inside that I’m always right.”
“I knew deep down inside your always a child, but I’m beginning to think your also delusional.” Urii retorted her frown not as harsh as it was intended to be.
“Hmm… your probably right. But don’t tell anyone else. I think I can fool them for a while longer.” Foreitiket replied not in the least insulted by the words. Urii lost her battle to remain angry as laugher escaped her
“Will you do it again tonight?” Rieishel asked him while the woman was distracted. She was worried unsure if she could cope with imprisonment again. When he looked at her puzzled she pushed on. “Will you chain me?” She demanded and he smiled a pleasant smile.
“I promise I wont chain you up tonight.” He was being earnest again and she felt the relief in her at his words.
“Thank you.” She whispered.
“You’ve done good Rieishel and you’ll do better.” He smiled at her and lay an arm around her shoulders. “Now. I’ll teach you how to beat Urii at this wonderful game of cards she’s been waiting, very patiently, to continue.” He was jolly in a way and even Urii’s retort that he had never beaten her didn’t take the mood from him. Even, in fact, when he lost the hand in a pathetic display of incompetence he didn’t care and Rieishel had to guess he had known all along he wasn’t going to win.
* * * * *
She slept the night through peacefully, subconsciously aware even through dreams that she was not imprisoned. She couldn’t leave without him noticing, he had even branded his name on her shoulder so she would belong to him but it didn’t feel like imprisonment.
Mezikal had not been so light hearted, had not smiled at her or even paid much attention to her beyond those first few minutes.
Her experience’s where short, her knowledge limited by that small span of memory she had. From waking on Mezikals stone floor, to falling asleep on a bed in Foreitikets room she had not seen much, she knew it, but she felt safe, secure and she was willing to trust her instincts because it was almost all she had.
* * * * *
“Wake up.” Was whispered from somewhere above her. She fought the idea, sleep tugging at her senses and mind. Something shook her and violently she was ripped from her dreams.
“Wah?” She mumbled incoherently trying to focus her eyes in the darkness around. She saw Foreitiket leaning over her first, looking intently at her with a frown on his usually mirthful expression. She thought she was dreaming because she couldn’t figure out what was happening but the sick swirling in her stomach countered the thought as he jerked her up into a sitting position. “Stop it.” She managed to mumbled and he hushed her quickly.
Confused and surprised by the intensity of his actions she fell into immediate silence and scanned the room to see what had brought on the change.
Nothing. There was nothing out of the ordinary that she could see but he still seemed to be reacting to something.
“Put your clothes on.” He ordered in a whisper and threw something at her. She caught it and frowned at him, ignoring what ever she held.
“I’m wearing my clothes.” She corrected feeling a little bemused but still very confused.
“No no.” He corrected pacing away from her to the door where he seemed to pause to listen intently. “Your clothes, what you had on when I stole you.”
She was confused for a minute, wondering where those clothes had gone before remembering she was holding something soft. She glanced and found the stunning red and blacks of the clothes Mezikal had given her on that first morning.
She shuffled quickly to obey his quite commands, trying to change and conceal what modesty she might have had left. He didn’t look at her once and as she pulled the- her clothes on she noticed for the first time he was wielding a weapon. She paused and he glanced then his eyes skimming over her quickly and with the slightest signs of interest.
“Put the other stuff on over it.” He motioned to other clothes she hadn’t seen that waited on her bed for her. She scurried to comply a thread of adrenaline pumping through her. He was on edge and she hadn’t seen that so she was scared, just a little, but a little was enough to make her alert and fidgety. She pulled the looser clothes on over her own ignoring the itchy quality of the fabric as it rubbed at her skin. He glanced again only when she stopped moving and gave a nod.
She watched in fascination as he slid the short sword into his belt and picked up a heavy looking backpack.
“Yours is by the bed.” He instructed and she obeyed the unspoken order by picking the pack up and slinging it on over her shoulders. Something was terribly wrong here she knew it even if she had little to draw the experiences from. The room was dark, the air was cold and there was no noise coming from beyond the room. She tried to make the bag on her comfortable but didn’t have any time before Foreitiket pulled the door open, grabbed her hand and pulled her through it.
He gave her hand one quick squeeze but did not release her. She was glad for that because she could not tell were they where going once he started to move. She was effectively blind in this environment and she wondered just how well he could see.
There was noise ahead as they moved, getting louder and she focused on it. She felt Foreitiket tense as they began to slow and realised she was meant to be quite. Softly she tried to walk in silence as he seemed to be doing with skill. She wasn’t very good at it, she could hear her heart pounding in her chest, the tight breaths she was drawing in and the scuffle of her bare feet against the stone floors. Her clothes too seemed unwilling to remain silence as they swished about her in a noisy dance.
The noise became clearer and she could make out voices just as they turned the corner that lead, she realised, into the bar. People where talking inside, an archway of light reaching out from it to touch the empty and otherwise dark corridor. Foreitiket was slower now, almost not moving as he approached, he released her hand and lent in near the door, but even she could hear the words without trying.
“Fore.” Was whispered behind them and Rieishel jumped in fear, she managed to notice as she spun around to glare at the intruder that Foreitiket was not responding or had anticipated the noise. She came face to face with Carhyl and was surprised by the gravity of the woman’s expression. She made a motion away from the archway, a motion to follow as Rieishel translated it and when Foreitiket pushed her quickly in the direction indicated she followed without hesitation.
Carhyl led them into a room at the end of the corridor and closed the door securely behind them.
“Fore-“ Carhyl began the moment the locks where in place, her voice warning.
“I know.” He snapped back sharply his eyes trained on something else. Rieishel looked and found an obscure image of the bar was visible through several of the rooms bricks.
“They got here about an hour ago. They haven’t budged since-“ What ever else Carhyl said Rieishel didn’t hear as her attention focused on the bar as the room allowed her to see it.
She moved closer, paying strict attention to the scene before her and her heart palpitated for a moment. She could see quite clearly through these invisible, strangely present bricks, the image of Mezikal. It walked, it gestured and it moved and she realised that it wasn’t an image but standing in the bar she had become mildly acquainted with was standing her owner.
Panic set in, confusion quick behind it. She was meant to be in there, he was looking for her and she had been stolen from him. But parts of her didn’t let her move, parts of her where trying to understand what was happening. Obviously Foreitiket was protecting his theft, as she had heard herself called several times. Mezikal was looking for her though and she held some sort of obligation to the man who had looked after her.
She went to move to the door and was detained.
“I have to-“ She stopped when she met Foreitiket’s blue eyes. He was looking almost compassionate for a moment.
“No you don’t.” He told her sternly and she rebelled. She went to pull back but he wouldn’t let her go. He didn’t know anything, and she couldn’t expect him to know anything. But she belonged to Mezikal, she should have been out there apologising for disappearing begging some sort of forgiveness.
“Let me-“ she stopped short again, her eyes not engaged in a battle with Foreitiket’s but focused suddenly on the bar as she could see it.
More people have moved into sight.
“What’s going on?” Foreitiket asked a little louder then anyone else had spoken and a second latter more of the bricks had faded out giving a clearer view of what was happening.
Mezikal was pacing about the bar, looking at people, assessing. She couldn’t read his thoughts, she barely knew him but he was calculating what ever else he may have been thinking. He wasn’t alone either, there was a group of fourteen or so other’s behind him that where out of place amongst the rough bar patrons. These fourteen where assessing and armed. She realised that last piece of information with worry. They all had been adorned with a variety of expensive weapons that looked more used then not. And their eyes where hunting the people around them, flicking when something moved, hands flinching towards the weapons when a noise was made.
Rieishel felt herself shudder at the possibility of anyone using such weapons when everything broke apart.
What ever conversation had been going on between the people the bar and Mezikal’s group broke into chaos when his weapon swung out, slicing cleanly at the nearest man.
“Shit Fore!” Carhyl gasped but before the sound had even had time to register Rieishel was being pulled away from the horrifying vision. She felt the blood in her turn cold even as Foreitiket pushed her out a different door, felt bile rise in her throat as she realised that he was dead, who ever that man had been, Mezikal had killed him. She didn’t know what to do, how to help, and Foreitiket was still moving her.
She paid attention for a moment, watched as he pushed against one of the room’s loose stones and another door ground open, a hidden one. He guided her through it and she allowed it to happen her mind going into shock, her body only a step behind.
He didn’t let her stop or think though, he was hurrying where ever he was going and he was taking her with him.
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Property of Kimra Lelanst, do not duplicate without consent. |
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