The trial of Brighid Fireheart

"Very good," You tell her as she accepts your authority over her, although you are careful to keep your tone of voice neutral.

"Now then, when we fought the Taig, you were captured, as were the rest of us, myself included. Did you try to break free from the vines which held us?"

"Yes, Master, of course!"

"And did you ask the Taig to touch you with its vines?"

"No, Master!" Her voice holds a clear note of revulsion.

"Did you want the vines to touch you intimately, even though you did not ask for it?"

"No!" She protests.

"So when the Taig's Dark Vines began to penetrate your anus and vagina, you did not want it to?"

"No! Never!"

"At that point, were you even feeling pleasure?"

"No, it was horrible and painful, Master, and not in the ways I like."

"And after the Taig coated your face with the pollen, did that change?"

Brighid sobs, but says, "Yes, Master. I'm so sorry!"

"Just the answers, please. Keep side comments to a minimum. Tell me how the pollen changed things."

Tears pour from her eyes as she says, "The pain went away instantly and it felt incredibly good. I could barely think because of how good it felt."

"And that happened instantly, as soon as the pollen touched you and you breathed it in?" She only nods in response.

"Before the pollen, if the vines holding you were withdrawn, would you have allowed continued penetration of your anus or vagina?"

"No!" She practically shouts.

"Would you, in fact, have fought against the vines and tried to free me or the others or attack the Taig?"

"Yes, of course!" Her voice has a desperate, pleading quality to it.

You nod. "When I cast Phoenix Pyre and the vines burned away, right at the start, were you still unable to think clearly?"

She hesitates, then nods and says, "Yes."

"Did that change at any point before the ritual completed?"

"Yes, Master."

"About how long did it take for your mind to clear?"

She considers, then answers tentatively, "Maybe two or three seconds? I am sorry, so much was happening all at once, I am not sure. But it was before you..." She blinks away tears and continues, "Before you burned away to ash and Cai came back to life."

You nod at her and say, "That is alright, just answer me to the best of your ability, I do not expect answers down to the millisecond. I just have one final question for you about what happened in the fight with the Taig. Once you were able to think clearly again, did you attempt to fight the Taig?"

She nods firmly and says, "There was not much left to fight at that point, but yes, Master."

"Thank you for answering my questions truthfully. That concludes my investigation into the incident with the Taig. There is a second matter before me today, however. Tell me again why you removed your collar."

She blinks at the sudden shift in context, then answers slowly, "Because I betrayed you and submitted to the Taig."

You shake your head at her and say sternly, "No, I believe that is two steps removed from your reason. Try again. Take your time and think it through."

She is silent for several seconds, then finally says, "Because I do not believe I have a right to wear your collar any more."

"Alright, that is close enough to the truth, I think. Very well, I have heard enough and am ready to present my findings of fact in these matters. Fact one: The accused, Brighid Fireheart, was captured and bound beyond her ability to resist by the Tannath Taig. Fact two: The accused was penetrated sexually without consent by the Tannath Taig. Fact three: The accused was subsequently infected with a disease called Mindfog Pollen Infection, which impaired her ability to think and changed the way her body reacted to stimuli. Fact four: Once the Mindfog Pollen Infection began, the accused was not mentally capable of consenting to sex." Brighid's eyes grow wide as you say that. You continue your judgment, "Fact five: As soon as the disease was cured, slightly over two seconds into the Phoenix Pyre, the accused resumed fighting against the Taig. Fact six: The accused stated that she 'was' my Soulmate; however, she is currently sitting in a place which only I am supposed to be able to enter." Brighid's eyes grow even wider. "Fact seven: The accused did take it upon herself to remove her collar, not because she wished to end our relationship, but to punish herself for being raped." With the final fact, you allow just a tiny hint of your anger to enter your voice. “Does the accused dispute any of these facts?”

Brighid stares at you for several long breaths, then wordlessly shakes her head in denial.

“Then we are in agreement on the facts in these matters.” At this point, you have all built all of the formal structure you need to enforce what you are going to say, so you allow a little levity. You turn to Riama, who followed you to the entrance of the canyon and has been sitting by your side while you spoke with Brighid, and ask her, “You have heard the same questions and answers as I and heard the facts. What is your judgment?”

The astral jaguar blinks her feline eyes at you slowly, then clearly and firmly says, “Mmmrow!” while sending a strong blast of <LOVE TRUST>.

You nod sagely to her and say, “My thoughts exactly.” You turn back to Brighid, catching her eyes with yours again and so demanding her attention. “We judge the accused innocent of the crime of betraying her Soulmate. She was captured and forcibly raped, then subjected to magic which took away her free will. In truth, she went beyond merely denying consent and actively fought against her captor as much as it was possible for her to do, doing her utmost to reject what was happening. The only guilty parties in that matter have already been tried, found guilty, and executed for their many, many crimes.” Brighid’s eyes once again fill with tears, and she starts to speak, but you snap at her, “The accused will be silent! This court will remind her that she freely and knowingly gave up her right to complain or appeal the verdict. Our judgment is final and any further disobedience will result in punishment.” Her mouth shuts with an audible click of her teeth and you continue with a more gentle tone, “We do, however, find the accused guilty of violating her Master’s exclusive right to punish her. The fact that she did nothing to deserve punishment only exacerbates this disobedience. This court will remind the accused again that while she wears his collar and does not violate any laws of the greater Realms, only her Master has the right to punish her. For this violation, the accused, Brighid Fireheart, is sentenced to one night of sleeping on the couch for each day she took it upon herself to decide upon and enact her own punishment.” You continue to stare into her eyes, seeing now a faint spark of hope, and tell her fiercely, “You are mine, flame of my heart, and do not forget it again.”

That finally shatters Brighid’s ability to deny herself what she has wanted all along, and she lunges forward, wrapping her arms around you and sobbing great, ugly sobs of mingled sorrow, relief, happiness, and anguish as she soaks your naked shoulder and chest in her tears. It takes her several minutes to regain even a semblance of composure, but eventually she asks, her voice raw with emotion but finally regaining some of the mischief which you have grown to love, “But, Master … I do not own a couch.”

You feign a look of surprise and say, with exaggerated gravity, “Why, you are right! That being the case, your sentence is suspended until such a time as a couch is available for you to sleep upon.” Brighid giggles and squeezes you even more tightly against her. The last little bit of tension which had crept its way up your spine releases at the sound.