Fic: Unforseen Consequences (3/27)
Mar. 27th, 2007 03:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalIn which Maria takes out her frustrations on nearby objects (and elves).
Note: PG-13 for violence.
Maria woke up with a splitting headache and shortness of breath, plus a dull ache in her stomach and chest where Tez had punched her. Her arms were pulled uncomfortably over her head, and she took in a sharp, pained breath as she realized she was chained hand-and-foot to Tez’s bed, down in his basement cell. The mage light was dimmed, but she would have recognized it even in total darkness, going by just the familiar clammy smell and the closeness of the walls. She’d lived in it herself for over ten years of her life.
And now you do again, she thought her, her heart despairing. Tez had betrayed her, with no more remorse than that of a teamster beating his horses. I thought… I thought he wanted to be with me. Hadn’t he sworn to protect and raise any children he sired within her? Had that been a lie, to gain his eventual freedom from his Beast-Kin owner? Evidentially.
She felt the bile rise in her throat, as her stomach began to rebel. Maria swallowed it down with an effort, closing her eyes tightly. She had to think. I gained my freedom once, I can do it again. Even if it means running away. But where would she go? Her jewelry had been stripped from her, and her other monies and valuables were in a lock box in her room. Perhaps she could take, steal now, her mare, Sleepy Nell, but could she outrun the news of her escape? Depends on how far I can run.
Depends on whether I should. In the marchioness’ eyes, she was no better than a cow, or at least no better than that poor Beast-Kin servant of hers, with his dull cat’s eyes. Where could she go, that she would not be seen as a made thing, and be left free to make her own decisions? She’d thought she’d made a place for herself on this manor, in the town beyond. Or had that just been the result of her master’s money that she had thrown about, providing the town with the boon of a major temple and the attendant jobs created by its construction? If not for that… She didn’t try to finish the thought.
I will not be a slave. I will not wear chains, not ever again. She had to get away, Maria decided. Better to be hunted down like an animal and killed, then bend her neck and be made to wear a collar again. Never again.
How?
The bed first, she told herself. The rest will come in time. Take the problems as you face them. Maria gripped the chains of her wrist shackles and began to pull. The bed began to creak alarmingly and she pulled harder, feeling her leg irons dig deep into the flesh of her bare ankles. After nearly a minutes effort she let got, falling limp against the mattress. They’re too strong.
“No!” Maria said aloud. This set of shackles were forged to hold me when I was twelve, when I did not have the strength of an adult. I am stronger now! She pulled again, and once again heard the bed creak, felt the headboard and footboard bend towards each other, before she was forced to let go again. It was no good.
“I need my strength,” she said to the ceiling. “I am Beast-Kin, I need the strength of my anger, my…” What was the word Tez had used? Stress atavism. Her elf-lover’s face crossed her vision, and she felt her blood begin to burn. I trusted him. I loved him. I gave myself to him, and he betrayed me. Her vision began to turn red again as her heart began to pound. She took hold of her chains again and began to heave in earnest, arm muscles bunching, lungs burning as she tightened her grip, the wooden slats of the bed groaning and creaking in protest. She felt a sharp, awful pain in her left ankle which only served to strengthen her rage. With one final effort she pulled, and suddenly there was loud snapping sound as headboard tore loose from frame, flying over Maria’s head and pulling her arms with it as it landed in her lap among the collapsed ruins of the bed.
She reached over and pulled at the chains holding her ankles to the foot of the bed. With both hands it was easy work to yank the rings themselves from the wood. Then she braced her right foot over the headboard, pulling out her wrist chains in turn, leaving the ends hanging. Maria bit down on her lip in pain as she tried to stand and fell down on her knees. Her left ankle was sprained, maybe even broken, and would not support her weight. She stood up anyway, leaning up against the wall for support. Hopping over to the door, she was unsurprised to find it was locked from the outside.
Right. Now, how to get the door open? Actually, the simplest solution would probably be best. Unless Amelia intended to starve her into submission, or perhaps just starve, someone was going to have open the door sometime to feed her, expecting to find her securely chained to the bed.
She froze as she heard the outer cell door unlock. Outside, she heard the low voice of the Marchioness’ Beast-Kin servant asking, “What is it? I don’t hear her say…” followed by the sound of something heavy dropping to floor. There was a rattling of keys and then the door’s lock clicked open. Maria bent her good leg, aiming herself at the door. She would only get this one chance, and if she missed the chains she would bear afterward might be beyond her ability to break.
The door opened…
…and Tez was revealed.
Maria leaped, body slamming the traitorous elf as he tried to dodge. She landed on top of him as he fell to the floor, shoving a knee into his gut to force the air from his lung. He grabbed for her arms as she wrapped the end of one of wrist chains around his throat, pulling it tight. Tez’s face grew a very pleasing shade of red as he made pained choking noises. He gave up on trying pulls her hands off him and flailed wildly.
“Did it amuse you, Tez?” she hissed in his face. “Did you think it was funny, leading me on, pretending you cared?” She felt hot tears begin to run down her face, dripping onto his cheeks. “I wanted to share my life with you. I wanted you to be the father of my children. And you were lying to me the whole time, just waiting until you could get away.”
Tez made more gurgling noises, his face turning purple as he slapped the stone floor, waving at something off to Maria’s left. She tightened her grip on the chain (choke chain, she thought for a wild moment) and looked up. Lying off to one side was the cat-like Beast-Kin of the Marchioness, face down on the floor and unmoving. “Tez, what is this?” she demanded. He opened his mouth soundlessly, eyes beginning roll into the back of his head, and she loosened her grip slightly, allowing him to take a breath.
“Haa… hiii… hit him…” he finally managed to gasp out, voice squeaking.
“Hit him? Why?” Maria demanded.
Tez reached over to slap weakly at her leg, and Maria belatedly removed her knee from his stomach. “Hrrr… re…cue.”
“What?”
Tez rolled his eyes, then pushed himself to a sitting position, pointing behind Maria to a set of keys lying on the floor. He swallowed and took another breath. “Res-cu-ing you.”
Maria snatched up the keys and began unlocking the cuffs still attached to her wrists and ankles. “Rescuing me? You’re the reason I was locked down here in the first place!” Tez winced and pointed towards the ceiling, so she lowered her voice. “What by the Most Merciful is your game?”
He glared her and swallowed again, speaking in a rasping whisper. “You were going to attack a noblewoman. That would have gotten you hanged or beheaded, no matter how right your cause. So I...” Tez suddenly started coughing.
“...diverted my course?” Maria finished, once he'd regained his breath.
“Ahem, something like that.” He waved vaguely in the direction of the unconscious cat Beast. “Shall we put this fellow away?”
“Certainly,” she agreed, using the wall to stand up and take hold of the fellow's neck. Tez looked at her mangled ankle with alarm as she dragged him into her old cell. “That's going to slow us down.”
“What do you mean? I'm not running,” she declared, pressing the door shut and sliding back down against the wall to sit on the ground. “This is my home, not that witch's.”
“Not run away, make a tactical retreat. Here, we are isolated. If we head into town, we'll have more options.”
Maria shook her head, trying not to give into the impulse to cry. “What options? The town fathers won't want to interfere with a noblewoman either. I may as well just find a nice blacksmith so I can at least put my collar back on myself.”
“I don't think you're giving enough credit to them, or that temple you intend to build. When it's finally put up, this town is going to become a major stopping point for Death Worshippers across the continent. You do realize that don't you? If you're taken away from them, so goes the temple, and the town's chance to become a city.”
Maria blinked. “Could that be one of the reasons why Most Merciful Alfred accompanied the Marchioness? With the temple being such a significant draw to worshippers...”
“...they're going to be coming from someone else's temple, yes,” Tez finished.
“Ah.” For a moment she felt dizzy, giddy, pain and possibilities swirling about her. “Oh, he's got a reason to be scared of me.”
“Quite,” Tez agreed. “Let's give him a few more, eh?”
TBC
Note: PG-13 for violence.
Maria woke up with a splitting headache and shortness of breath, plus a dull ache in her stomach and chest where Tez had punched her. Her arms were pulled uncomfortably over her head, and she took in a sharp, pained breath as she realized she was chained hand-and-foot to Tez’s bed, down in his basement cell. The mage light was dimmed, but she would have recognized it even in total darkness, going by just the familiar clammy smell and the closeness of the walls. She’d lived in it herself for over ten years of her life.
And now you do again, she thought her, her heart despairing. Tez had betrayed her, with no more remorse than that of a teamster beating his horses. I thought… I thought he wanted to be with me. Hadn’t he sworn to protect and raise any children he sired within her? Had that been a lie, to gain his eventual freedom from his Beast-Kin owner? Evidentially.
She felt the bile rise in her throat, as her stomach began to rebel. Maria swallowed it down with an effort, closing her eyes tightly. She had to think. I gained my freedom once, I can do it again. Even if it means running away. But where would she go? Her jewelry had been stripped from her, and her other monies and valuables were in a lock box in her room. Perhaps she could take, steal now, her mare, Sleepy Nell, but could she outrun the news of her escape? Depends on how far I can run.
Depends on whether I should. In the marchioness’ eyes, she was no better than a cow, or at least no better than that poor Beast-Kin servant of hers, with his dull cat’s eyes. Where could she go, that she would not be seen as a made thing, and be left free to make her own decisions? She’d thought she’d made a place for herself on this manor, in the town beyond. Or had that just been the result of her master’s money that she had thrown about, providing the town with the boon of a major temple and the attendant jobs created by its construction? If not for that… She didn’t try to finish the thought.
I will not be a slave. I will not wear chains, not ever again. She had to get away, Maria decided. Better to be hunted down like an animal and killed, then bend her neck and be made to wear a collar again. Never again.
How?
The bed first, she told herself. The rest will come in time. Take the problems as you face them. Maria gripped the chains of her wrist shackles and began to pull. The bed began to creak alarmingly and she pulled harder, feeling her leg irons dig deep into the flesh of her bare ankles. After nearly a minutes effort she let got, falling limp against the mattress. They’re too strong.
“No!” Maria said aloud. This set of shackles were forged to hold me when I was twelve, when I did not have the strength of an adult. I am stronger now! She pulled again, and once again heard the bed creak, felt the headboard and footboard bend towards each other, before she was forced to let go again. It was no good.
“I need my strength,” she said to the ceiling. “I am Beast-Kin, I need the strength of my anger, my…” What was the word Tez had used? Stress atavism. Her elf-lover’s face crossed her vision, and she felt her blood begin to burn. I trusted him. I loved him. I gave myself to him, and he betrayed me. Her vision began to turn red again as her heart began to pound. She took hold of her chains again and began to heave in earnest, arm muscles bunching, lungs burning as she tightened her grip, the wooden slats of the bed groaning and creaking in protest. She felt a sharp, awful pain in her left ankle which only served to strengthen her rage. With one final effort she pulled, and suddenly there was loud snapping sound as headboard tore loose from frame, flying over Maria’s head and pulling her arms with it as it landed in her lap among the collapsed ruins of the bed.
She reached over and pulled at the chains holding her ankles to the foot of the bed. With both hands it was easy work to yank the rings themselves from the wood. Then she braced her right foot over the headboard, pulling out her wrist chains in turn, leaving the ends hanging. Maria bit down on her lip in pain as she tried to stand and fell down on her knees. Her left ankle was sprained, maybe even broken, and would not support her weight. She stood up anyway, leaning up against the wall for support. Hopping over to the door, she was unsurprised to find it was locked from the outside.
Right. Now, how to get the door open? Actually, the simplest solution would probably be best. Unless Amelia intended to starve her into submission, or perhaps just starve, someone was going to have open the door sometime to feed her, expecting to find her securely chained to the bed.
She froze as she heard the outer cell door unlock. Outside, she heard the low voice of the Marchioness’ Beast-Kin servant asking, “What is it? I don’t hear her say…” followed by the sound of something heavy dropping to floor. There was a rattling of keys and then the door’s lock clicked open. Maria bent her good leg, aiming herself at the door. She would only get this one chance, and if she missed the chains she would bear afterward might be beyond her ability to break.
The door opened…
…and Tez was revealed.
Maria leaped, body slamming the traitorous elf as he tried to dodge. She landed on top of him as he fell to the floor, shoving a knee into his gut to force the air from his lung. He grabbed for her arms as she wrapped the end of one of wrist chains around his throat, pulling it tight. Tez’s face grew a very pleasing shade of red as he made pained choking noises. He gave up on trying pulls her hands off him and flailed wildly.
“Did it amuse you, Tez?” she hissed in his face. “Did you think it was funny, leading me on, pretending you cared?” She felt hot tears begin to run down her face, dripping onto his cheeks. “I wanted to share my life with you. I wanted you to be the father of my children. And you were lying to me the whole time, just waiting until you could get away.”
Tez made more gurgling noises, his face turning purple as he slapped the stone floor, waving at something off to Maria’s left. She tightened her grip on the chain (choke chain, she thought for a wild moment) and looked up. Lying off to one side was the cat-like Beast-Kin of the Marchioness, face down on the floor and unmoving. “Tez, what is this?” she demanded. He opened his mouth soundlessly, eyes beginning roll into the back of his head, and she loosened her grip slightly, allowing him to take a breath.
“Haa… hiii… hit him…” he finally managed to gasp out, voice squeaking.
“Hit him? Why?” Maria demanded.
Tez reached over to slap weakly at her leg, and Maria belatedly removed her knee from his stomach. “Hrrr… re…cue.”
“What?”
Tez rolled his eyes, then pushed himself to a sitting position, pointing behind Maria to a set of keys lying on the floor. He swallowed and took another breath. “Res-cu-ing you.”
Maria snatched up the keys and began unlocking the cuffs still attached to her wrists and ankles. “Rescuing me? You’re the reason I was locked down here in the first place!” Tez winced and pointed towards the ceiling, so she lowered her voice. “What by the Most Merciful is your game?”
He glared her and swallowed again, speaking in a rasping whisper. “You were going to attack a noblewoman. That would have gotten you hanged or beheaded, no matter how right your cause. So I...” Tez suddenly started coughing.
“...diverted my course?” Maria finished, once he'd regained his breath.
“Ahem, something like that.” He waved vaguely in the direction of the unconscious cat Beast. “Shall we put this fellow away?”
“Certainly,” she agreed, using the wall to stand up and take hold of the fellow's neck. Tez looked at her mangled ankle with alarm as she dragged him into her old cell. “That's going to slow us down.”
“What do you mean? I'm not running,” she declared, pressing the door shut and sliding back down against the wall to sit on the ground. “This is my home, not that witch's.”
“Not run away, make a tactical retreat. Here, we are isolated. If we head into town, we'll have more options.”
Maria shook her head, trying not to give into the impulse to cry. “What options? The town fathers won't want to interfere with a noblewoman either. I may as well just find a nice blacksmith so I can at least put my collar back on myself.”
“I don't think you're giving enough credit to them, or that temple you intend to build. When it's finally put up, this town is going to become a major stopping point for Death Worshippers across the continent. You do realize that don't you? If you're taken away from them, so goes the temple, and the town's chance to become a city.”
Maria blinked. “Could that be one of the reasons why Most Merciful Alfred accompanied the Marchioness? With the temple being such a significant draw to worshippers...”
“...they're going to be coming from someone else's temple, yes,” Tez finished.
“Ah.” For a moment she felt dizzy, giddy, pain and possibilities swirling about her. “Oh, he's got a reason to be scared of me.”
“Quite,” Tez agreed. “Let's give him a few more, eh?”
TBC
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-03-27 08:45 am (UTC)Good... I like the way this is going. Stirring in a bit of politics in - always a good way to get support. *grins* niice!
*wanders off to actually do some beta-ing...*
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Date: 2007-03-27 09:04 am (UTC)