Introductions

Your legs suddenly feel stiff and heavy, making each step difficult and drawn out. As the large doors shut behind you, so does your last chance of freedom. Given the several men surrounding the room, you know there is no chance of escape. You've just begun resigning yourself to your fate when a man appears from behind the glass protected counter.

"O'Reilly, welcome back." The man greets your captor, his hooded eyes turning to gaze at you. "And what's this?"

"My boys caught her out in the woods." The man you know to be O'Reilly replies, taking an almost protective step between you and the speaker.

"I see." A flash of surprisingly white teeth show briefly when the man smiles widely. "She appears quite young."

"She's of age." O'Reilly confirmed before repeating your birth year to the man.

He nods in understanding before his dark gaze turns back to you, causing a shiver to run down your spine. His angular face appears to be that way naturally instead of due to a lack of food. A dark coiffe of hair is slicked back and his skin appears surprisingly pale. You quickly decide you don't care for the man and are actually relieved to have the large man before you.

"You couldn't have cleaned her up beforehand?" The man tsks under his breath before glancing over his shoulder. "You know how Kessler can be..."

The man's voice trails off as he looks at O'Reilly expectantly. The man before you shows no signs of remorse or apology as his steely gaze meets the man. It suddenly occurs to you that O'Reilly isn't the leader, far from it, he's likely not even second in command. Of course the leader of the entire settlement wouldn't bother himself with the dirty work of collecting new captures. Thankfully, you get the sense the bony man looking around anxiously is not the leader either.

"Very well, I'll let him know of your arrival." The man flashes another unnerving smile before disappearing behind the door leading behind the counter.

The man before you shifts his weight slightly, seeming slightly uneasy. This hardly bodes as reassuring to you, still not knowing the identity of the leader. Keeping your gaze down, you attempted to dismiss the obvious stares from the men around. It seems it's been a considerable time since a new addition had been added to their fold. It certainly had been a long time since you had the misfortune of viewing such hungry and gazes. Eventually, you hear the door reopen but can't bring yourself to look up. The heavy sound of footsteps approaching causes you to wince visibly as you can only imagine the large, grotesque figure that surely awaits your sight.

"Here it is, Sir." You hear the man from before speak, commenting about you as though you were nothing more than an object.

You feel your cheeks grow red from anger as your fists clench at your sides. Still unable to yourself to look up, you listen in humiliation as the conversation around you continues. You notice the man before you take another step to the side, presumably obscuring you further from view. You quickly realize that he hopes to keep you for himself. It would explain why he had taken you to the leader in your current state rather than allowing you to bathe or at least change.

"She's pretty beaten up." You hear O'Reilly speak up, confirming your suspicions. "The pits work but at what cost I wonder."

"She looks fine to me." You hear a new voice speak, not sounding at all how you had imagined.

The deep, warm baritone that seems to hint at relative youth as opposed to gluttony or age gently coaxes your eyes into raising. They immediately widen in surprise at the sight before you. The man is considerably younger than you had expected, appearing closer to you in age than the others. A thick crop of slightly wavy, dark blond hair covers his large head and you're surprised to see his face is clean shaven. His warm eyes appear to hold just a hint of green to them, mixed in with rich colors of honey and copper. You suddenly feel very small and frail in comparison to his large, well-built frame. Despite his comparative youth, it was no surprise why this man would hold the place as leader. The unrelenting look in his eyes and hard expression seem to bore into your very being. Swallowing dryly, you suddenly find yourself nervous for a whole new set of reasons. While the idea of submitting to anyone by isn't appealing, you hadn't expected the perpetrator to be so aesthetically pleasing nor so completely terrifying.

The man takes a step around O'Reilly to get a better look, sending an instant shiver down your spine as his full gaze lands upon you. You feel as though no amount of clothes, nor dirt or grime would be enough to block his unremitting gaze. It's as though he's completely sized you up and seen every inch of your naked being in that moment. Almost reflexively, you take a step back behind O'Reilly. Though you're hardly willing to fall under his authority either, he's suddenly less intimidating than the man before you.

"Have her cleaned then sent back to me."

"Are you sure?" O'Reilly takes a quick step forward, hoping for any chance the leader might change his mind.

The man's sharp gaze quickly assesses the elder before him haughtily, seeming offended at the challenge. His eyes briefly slip back in your direction before his lips curl into a coy smile.

"I'm quite sure." He replies before gesturing to the men guarding the room.

You're too stunned to protest when they step forward and move to lead you further into the building. Glancing back you see O'Reilly staring at the ground in disappointment. He's hardly prince charming but you had hoped he might have made some ploy. The distraction of a fight could have been enough for you to slip out unnoticed. Instead, you're now being led deeper into a new pit, one who's end or beginning you've yet to see.