Aftermath of Blue-Rock - Day 2

Zarin

I woke the next day; my body was killing me. The cuts and the broken bone had been healed but the bruising still remained, and I had rolled onto my arm during my slumber. I groaned into my pillow and moved to sit up, wincing at a pain in my chest. I staggered towards my wardrobe and opened the doors, examining the array of garments displayed before me. I chose the usual white colours that I wore and struggled to pull on a pair of pants with one hand. I pulled out a shirt and looked at it in distaste. I let out a suffering sigh and threw it on over my head, struggling and cursing when I pressed against the bruising of my arm.

I felt like giving up as I was pulling the shirt on, but at last I managed to get my arm through the sleeve and placed it into my sling, letting it relax once more. More than once the thought of returning to Carlot to finish my healing had crossed my mind but I wanted Elsie to see me struggling through my pain, to see what Aucus had done to me. His pain in the future would be worth a little of mine now.

Now that I was dressed, I stepped over to the door leading to the room Elsie had slept in. I gently squeezed the handle and slowly pushed the door open. I looked into the room, the curtains were still drawn, and the room was dark. I saw the red-haired girl sleeping in bed, her body slowly rising and falling in rhythm with her breathing. I couldn’t help myself.

I stepped into the room, careful not to make a sound and walked over to her body, sitting next to her as she slept. She really was quite pretty, no wonder Aucus had liked her. I watched her for a moment and ran a hand through her hair. She continued sleeping. I moved my hand down her body, slid it under her nightshirt and caressed her breasts. They were large and soft, I smiled to myself as I ran my thumb over her nipple. She let out a moan in her sleep and I grinned. Her eyes started to flutter open, I removed my hand from her body. I ran it through her hair again, moving it from her face as I looked down to her.

“Morning sleepy” I said to her gently, giving her a smile “I’m sorry for waking you but you should probably be getting up now”

“Oh, that’s alright” she let out a long yawn as she sat up in the bed, “I think it was just a bit too comfortable” she stretched her body out and cleared the sleep from her eyes. “What should I be doing today”

“I’m going to be speaking with my father, but I think you should get dressed and then see Theodora, she’s the head of the household staff. She’ll tell you what you should do” I tell her as I stroke her hair absently.

“Oh, okay. Well, thank you again Zarin” she looked around the room and blushed, “Uhm, I should probably get dressed”

I look at her and pause for a moment. When she doesn’t move, I stand up from the bed and go to clap my hands together before I remember the sling. She notices the motion and gives me a sympathetic look. “I should leave then, when I speak to my father I’ll see if I can get you assigned to my staff. I can make sure you aren’t worked too hard. If you want, I mean” I say

She smiles at me and nods her head as I stand by the door with my hand around the handle. “Yes, thank you Zarin” she says. I turn my back and close the door behind me, a genuine smile falling onto my lips.

I exit my rooms and descend the staircase to my father’s office. The doors are closed as usual, but his servant does not try to prevent my entry this time. I walk in and see him in his usual position behind his desk. For someone who values strength so much he leads a rather sedentary lifestyle, not that it has affected his physique much.

“Where is he then?!” I demand, Aucus hadn’t been brought to the manor and I was sure that he would’ve mentioned if he had been killed. “I have plans for him. Most of them require him to actually fucking be here”

He growls at me as he lowers his pen and gives me his glare. “No, he isn’t here” he says slowly, “we went to the house yesterday, but it seemed he had already left. That’ll help that ridiculous story you spun. For the girl’s sake I presume”

I nod my head to him, “Mostly yes, I expect it will spread into the village too, Clen will be sure to back it up. You may not have noticed it father, but not being hated by everyone does have its advantages” he smirked in response to me.

“Yes, I thought that when I was your age. It’s too bothersome for me” he mutters as he scribbles something from the page in front of me.

“What do you plan on doing about it then, Aucus, he’s not getting away” I argue

He shakes his head, “Believe it or not boy but I have more at stake here than you. It’ll be an embarrassment if the boy who broke your bones gets away from me. I have sent men to search the roads, and I intend to bleed the village until they give him up. I’m cutting off their work, their defences, and their so-called freedoms. I expect he has fled to the capital, but it doesn’t hurt to make them suffer for him”

I nod my head in acceptance of his decision. “You had better get him before he gets to Alynthir. That bitch in the citadel wouldn’t give him up if he becomes an adventurer”

He makes a harumph sound, “No she would not. This is why the crown should have male-preference primogeniture, women don’t know how to rule properly. They’re good for one thing and it isn’t in their heads”

I chuckle at that, “Speaking of which, I want you to give me the new slave”

He looked up from his papers and stared at me for a moment, his eyes penetrating me. “Fine, she doesn’t seem good for much anyway. Maybe you can at least get a good fuck out of her. I’ll keep her for a couple of days first; I’ll have her worked hard and she’ll be more grateful to you” he says, folding a sheet of paper into an envelope. “And yes, you can make me out to be the villain. I know how much you love that”

I smirk at him, “you fit the character so well” I say lightly as I strum my fingers across his desk, “Well I’ll leave you to find Aucus, you look exhausted sitting there” my voice drips sarcasm as I move to the door and leave his office.

I look around the expanse of the room as I step out of the office and into the entry-way. I think about what I should do now, typically I would train with my sword but considering my arm, that is not an option. I stand for a moment and think before I make my mind and walk towards the harem.

Sephenia

Last night, Rosaria had come to my house. Having been released from Motten’s dungeon she didn’t know what to do and had gone into the village where she had spoken with some people, she found that Mia and Elsie were staying with me. My house was a mess still, the door broken in and the blood from two dead men staining my floor. Motten and his men had carried off their dead compatriot and I had moved Canis outside so that Mia wouldn’t have to see him. I had made her dinner and put her to bed before curling up on my floor and crying, he had been such a good man.

I had seen Rosaria standing in my doorway and my blood ran cold, realising at last where Elsie had gone. I didn’t have the heart to tell the woman then, even after only a few days in the dungeon she was gaunt and looked so tired. I had welcomed her in and shown her where Mia was sleeping, allowing her to get into bed with her daughter. With her in bed I had stepped outside and began to dig a hole in the field outside of my house, a hole that was six feet deep. I lowered Canis into it and said my goodbyes, shedding tears for him all the while as I shovelled dirt onto him.

It was morning now; I had slept in Aucus’ room. Something about it had felt wrong, as though by using his bed it was admitting that he wasn’t coming back to me. I rose early and struggled downstairs, I was bruised and bloodied from the beating I had received. My lip was split, my eyes blackened, and welts were beginning to swell almost everywhere, I was a far cry from the beauty I had been in my youth.

I went to the kitchen in my shift and looked into the pantry for something to eat, fortunately Motten had not removed the food from my house. I took out some of the leftover rabbit meat that I had cooked a few days ago, the remnants of a loaf of bread, a hunk of cheese and some fruit. I warmed the meat atop a fire that had been going all night and I had to apply another log to, stoking the flames to keep it going. I laid the food out on the table and began to eat, my body’s healing seemed to have opened a hole in my stomach that I desperately needed to fill.

The house was cold from the broken door, the fire in the hearth the only thing that was keeping me from curling up in a pile of furs. Whilst the others remained in bed, getting the rest they needed I went out through the back door. My breath caught in my mouth, and I struggled to swallow as I saw the freshly dug soil of Canis’ grave. I just stood there for a while, looking at it before I recovered myself and took the tools from the shed. Canis had always been the one to use these tools, coming to the house even when we were on bad terms to fix whatever needed fixing. I felt tears welling in my eyes again but shut them tightly, forcing them to retreat.

I went inside and examined the door that was laying on the floor, fortunately it was still in one piece and had just been forced from the hinges. I removed the hinges and swapped them for new ones, with the door attached to the frame I pushed it open and closed, testing my work. Satisfied with my performance, I had put the tools back into their box and looked up to see Rosaria holding Mia’s hand as they came downstairs.

We sat at the kitchen table and ate the food I had laid out with me taking a second portion, Mia seemed in good spirits at having her mother back with her. “How are you, Rosaria? He didn’t treat you too badly in that dungeon of his, did he?”

She looked down at her bowl for a moment, clearly uncomfortable with the subject, “I’m well to be out of there, it’s best not to dwell on the past” she says nonconfrontationally. I sigh at the response, knowing that she doesn’t want me to get angrier with the man

“Where is Aucus, Sephi? Is he with Elsie? The two of them are adorable together, aren’t they” she says, its my turn to go quiet now. A part of me had hoped that she would have known, or at least guessed what happened.

“No, no they’re not together” I say at last, my voice cracking from the nerves. “Aucus got into a fight with Motten’s son, he hurt him quite badly, so I told him to run to Alynthir” I say. Rosaria gives me a concerned look

“Oh, that’s awful Sephi. I know how much you have done for my girls, if there’s anything I can do to help with Aucus, just let me know” she says, giving Mia’s hand a little squeeze as she looks at her lovingly, “So where is Elsie then?” she asks at last

“She- she’s… I think she’s at the manor” I say, Rosaria flinches at the mention of the place and she opens her mouth to say something, but I continue. “When we went to the manor to try and get him to release you, he mentioned two options. We could pay him twenty gold or Elsie could sign a slave contract to him. I don’t think she found the gold”

Rosaria pales as I tell her what must have happened to her daughter, “No” she whispered, “No, not Elsie” I could see tears forming in her eyes

I reached out my hand to squeeze hers, “I’m sorry Rosaria. I told her it wasn’t an option, but she just wasn’t here when I got back. I didn’t know”

A tear trickled down her cheek as she nodded her head, “I know Sephi, I know you wouldn’t let her. Tell me it’ll be okay” Mia put down her food and looked at her mother as she wept.

I gave her hand another squeeze, “It’ll be okay Ro, if I find out he’s touched a hair on her head, I’ll burn the manor to the fucking ground”

“Thank you” she sobbed, apparently breakfast was over.

After breakfast I had changed into my old adventuring clothes, I had worn these to hunt the monsters around the village and to protect the residents. However, with Motten no longer paying me for the task, I had to find another way to provide. Rosaria and Mia sill needed me to look after them, she had no work at the moment and would struggle to find any with Motten obstructing her path. Hunting monsters was not viable anymore, but years as an adventurer had not left me without any skills.

Canis was dead now, and I had to accept that soon, that meant that someone had to hunt the game in the woods. I wasn’t anywhere near as proficient at tracking animals or using a bow as Canis had been, but I had my experiences.

I went to Canis’ home, the hut near the edge of the town towards the woods. I took in a breath and went inside his house; goddesses it smelled like him in here I couldn’t help but think as I forced each heavy step forwards. Everything here reminded me of him, I couldn’t stand it. I began to clear away his things, keeping a few items set aside to remember him by. A shirt that held his scent, the wooden carving of a dog that he had made and was always so proud of, his spare eyepatch. I wasn’t ready for them now, but I knew that I would regret it if I allowed him to be forgotten. Going through his belongings, I also found a pouch of money. A part of me felt that it was wrong to take it from his home, but in truth I needed it a lot more than he did right now.

Having dealt with the inside of his house, I stepped out for the reason I had came here. His bow was a beautiful piece, crafted by master makers in the capital when he was an adventurer, over the years he had added to the brilliance of the weapon by making carvings of his own and little notches to remember things that only he could say. I looked around and at last opened a chest that contained his arrows, I took a quiver and filled it, knocking another on the bowstring.

I looked back at his house before I jumped over his fence, wincing from the pain in my stomach as I landed and delved into the woods.

Elsie

As Zarin left my room, or his room I supposed, I rose from the soft bed with great difficulty. Even when I had been living in the manor, our room had never had such comfortable furniture. He seemed to be a good person, he had been nothing but kind to me since he and his father arrived at the manor, and he acknowledged how despicable that man was. I opened the closet in the room and looked at the clothes hung up within; most of them were men’s clothing with suits and shirts on hangers. Of course there were no servants clothing, this was the room of a lord’s son after all.

After some consideration, I picked out the simplest clothing that I could see, a white shirt and black pants. The material didn’t feel rich so I hoped that it wouldn’t be commented on, the shirt was a little small for my figure and I had some difficulty buttoning it over my chest area but at last I was dressed. I slid on my shoes that I had worn the previous day and left the rooms, going downstairs to the entryway of the manor.

I saw someone dressed in the servant attire of the manor and asked her where I could find Theodora, she directed me to a dilapidated room in the manor where an elderly woman was shouting at a woman wearing a maid uniform. I felt uncomfortable standing there as she shouted, and I knew that I didn’t want to end on the wrong side of her wrath.

I cleared my throat, and she spun around to glower at me “What! Who are you girl?” she spat at me.

I could feel myself shrinking under the weight of her glare, “Er, I’m Elsie” I said quietly, “I signed the slave contract yesterday, Zarin mentioned I should see Theodora” I said nervously, looking at the maid who had been shouted at. She was now giving me a pitiful look

I felt the elderly woman’s hand hit across my cheek, the flesh stinging from the impact, “You are a slave of the Motten household, you will use appropriate respect in your address. It is Lord Zarin to you, and you will address me as _Mistress _Theodora” she hissed at me, the wrinkles in her features looking more like battle scars this closely.

I feel tears welling in my eyes, the pain of my cheek and the ferocity of her voice compounding on me. I nod my head to her, “Yes mistress Theodora” I said quietly.

She gave me an appraising look and makes a satisfied grunting sound, “Perhaps you can be trained then” she paused for a moment as though in thought, though her glare didn’t shift from me. “I think you can work in the kitchens for now, I will be watching you closely and so will the other girls. Don’t think that you can slack off” she said at last.

She turned around and saw the maid she had been shouting at, “What are you still doing here?!” she yelled at her, “Get to work or I’ll have you strapped!” the maid bowed her head and quickly left the room. She turned back to me, “Come with me girl” she barked, I followed behind her as she left the room, walking at a speed that couldn’t be natural for a woman her age. I picked up my pace and hurried behind her.

As she led me to the kitchens, I noticed something that I hadn’t in my previous visits to the manor since Lord Motten arrive. Where Lord Beckront had a diverse array of staff for his household needs, it seemed that for duties where strength was not a prerequisite, Lord Motten almost exclusively hired women and pretty ones at that, with obvious exceptions such as Theodora. The thought of why that may be disturbed me to no end.

The kitchen was a mess of rushing servants moving from countertop to countertop as they prepared food, Theodora saw me watching and brought her open hand against the back of my head. “Don’t gawp girl” she muttered. “Brienne!” she called, causing a woman to rush over and bow her head

“Yes, mistress Theodora?” she asked, her apron splattered with an assortment of undiscernible substances.

“This is the new slave; I want you to put her to work. I don’t think she has any particular talents so just give her some grunt work” she said with disdain. The woman bowed her head again.

“Yes, mistress. Come on girl, you can chop some vegetables” she said, grabbing my arm and leading me over to a countertop where a knife lay with two bowls, one empty and the other full of a variety of vegetables. The sight made my stomach growl as I realised just how hungry I was.

I spent the next hour peeling, slicing, and dicing the food before me. I was yelled at more than once by Theodora for being too slow and was forced to pick up the pace, causing myself to nick my fingers with the knife occasionally. By the time one of the cooks came to take the bowl that I had filled, my wrists felt sore and the muscles in my arm ached from the repetitive motions I had been making. I was looking forward to taking a rest.

Instead of a rest, Theodora came over to me and instructed me to begin washing the pots that had been dirtied by the cooks. I made an attempt to protest and ask for a break first but that only received a backhanded slap to my cheek. After that I obeyed and went to a station that had a large bucket of cold water and suds. After more than a minute of my hands in the water, I could barely feel them anymore, but I could not dry them off or warm them up in fear of Theodora.

I scrubbed hard at the plates and utensils, having some difficulty with the oils of the pans. I could barely feel my hands when I was halfway through the pile of dishes. I was scrubbing a plate with a worn sponge when I took it out to hang on the drying rack. My hands were shaking with the cold, and I dropped the ceramic onto the floor, I shrieked as it shattered with a loud crash.

Theodora’s fury charged me, she stormed over and gave me a hard slap across my face. “You stupid girl!” she shouted, my cheek red from where she had been hitting me all day.

“I’m sorry mistress Theodora. It won’t happen again” I said meekly, my hands beginning to warm up now that they were out of the water.

She glared at me, “No, it won’t. You will learn your lesson” she hissed as she grabbed me by my ear. I squealed at the pain and was forced to follow her where she led me, “Brienne! Have someone else clean the pots, this one needs an education” she shouted to the woman who had been managing the kitchen staff.

Theodora led me from the kitchens to the room that I had found her in earlier that day. At last, she finally released my ear, I had tears in my eyes and was rubbing at my ear to console it. The elderly woman pointed to a table in the room, “Bend over that” she barked the order at me.

I obeyed meekly, not wanting to disobey this harridan. She pulled something that I couldn’t see out of a cupboard and walked behind me. “Pants” I heard her mutter, “We’ll have you in uniform tomorrow.” Her hands viscously jerked down my pants, I tried to object to the humiliation, but she persisted until they were down to my ankles, and I was in my underwear

*smack”

A heavy leather strap was brought down hard against my buttocks, I yelled in pain. A throbbing, stinging sensation ran through the flesh and tears filled my eyes. “Ahh! Please sto-“ I tried to say but it was brought down again and again. The sound of leather meeting flesh echoed through the room and pain coursed throughout my body as tears trickled down my cheeks.

After the fifteenth strap I was prepared for more, my body flinching in anticipation, but it didn’t come. “Stand up girl, dress yourself. You look like a whore” she barked at me. I wiped the tears away from my eyes as I turned around and pulled the pants up to my waist. My backside was stinging from the feeling of the cloth hugging it, I kept my head bowed so that I wouldn’t have to meet Theodora’s gaze. “Well? Don’t you have something to say?” she grabbed my head in her hand and jerked my face up to look at her.

I looked at her in confusion, what does she want I was thinking. She was clearly expecting me to say something, but I didn’t want to anger her further, so I remained silent.

She tugged on my hair, making me cry out again. “Aren’t you grateful for the lesson you received?” she demanded, tightening her grip on my hair as she sneered at me

I nodded my head as best I could with her grip on my hair, “Yes, mistress Theodora” I choked off a cry as it came from my throat, “Thank you mistress Theodora”

She released her grip and gave my head a pat. “Good girl, I knew there was hope for you” she opened the cupboard and placed the strap back inside. “Your work isn’t done yet; you still have a day of labours ahead of you” she finished as she looked me up and down.

For the rest of the day I was given what I thought were the most demeaning jobs that Theodora could muster for me, after my beating I was instructed to clean out the stables, then I was asked to remove weeds from the garden which was particularly difficult as every time I lowered myself to the ground the pain in my rear sent jolts of agony throughout my body. After that I had clothes to wash and with the last of my labours completed, I was taken to a woman who took my measurements so that she could prepare a uniform for me to wear.

I had been fed a little throughout the day and as I was done, I walked through the entry-way, hoping to see Zarin again. I was grateful to him for looking out for me last night, and after the day I had had with Theodora, I was hoping that he would be able to get me assigned to his staff, anything to avoid more time with that woman. It didn’t hurt that he was handsome either.

As I passed through the entry-way I saw Lord Motten leaving his office and I stopped in my tracks, lowering my head in an attempt to avert his attention. He saw me and I heard him sneer before walking up the stairs. There were two of the women who didn’t seem to have a role in the manor waiting for him, his guests perhaps, he took them into on of the rooms and disappeared from my view. I followed his tracks up the stairs and turned towards Zarin’s rooms

I knocked on his door and waited, eventually hearing him call out for me to enter. I pushed the door open and saw him sat on his bed shirtless. I couldn’t help but blush at the sight of him, he had such a muscular body, even bruised it was an attractive sight. He was rubbing an ointment over his injured arm; the flesh turned a greenish hue.

“Elsie, come in” he said with that smile of his as I stood in the hallway. He looked down at his shirtless chest, “ah, it’s okay. I’m just redoing my bandage, come have a seat” he added, gesturing to his bed.

I nodded my head and came into the room, lowering myself to sit on the mattress. As my bottom touched the bed, I felt a fresh pang of pain run through my body, making me flinch and lift myself back up. “Ahem, it’s okay. I think I’ll stand” I say

He narrowed his gaze as he looked at me, “Is everything okay Elsie? I know what Theodora can be like, she didn’t hurt you did she?” his voice is filled with concern. It almost makes me break into tears

“Well… she did… uhm, punish me” I muttered, not wanting to relive the humiliation that I had suffered.

He frowns again and shakes his head, “the strap?” he asks, apparently my face confirms the question. He sighs, “I’ll speak to Theodora, make sure that she doesn’t do it again” he pauses as he looks at me, “I spoke to my father today. I’m sorry but I think it might be a bit of time before I can convince him to place you in my service” he adds apologetically.

I see how sad he is to see me in pain, and how hurt he is to have been unable to help me. “Thank you Zarin, it’s really not too bad. I’m sure you did everything you could” I tell him as I try to sit down again but wince at the pain.

He finishes applying the ointment of his to his arm as he looks at me, “this should be able to help with the pain, if you want” he says, holding up the jar he had been using. “I could apply it to you, it works wonders on my arm”

I think for a moment, the thought of Zarin rubbing the ointment on my cheeks makes me blush and look away from him. However, the thought of laying in bed with this pain is even worse and I concede. “Yes, please. That’s very kind of you” I say at last.

“Come on, it’ll probably be best if you lie on your front “ he says, I can’t help but agree and move onto my front on the bed, I blush and hesitate but know what I have to do. I pull my pants down to display my cheeks to him, I feel uncomfortable, but he doesn’t act inappropriately to my actions.

I can feel his gaze on my buttocks, bright red and covered in welts from my punishment. He clears his throat, “Is it okay if I pull these down a little? So I can get to the sore area” he says and I feel his touch on my underwear.

I flush and make an attempt to cover my face in my hands, “Uh, yes. Yes, I suppose if you need to” I say, just wanting to vanish from the embarrassment that I was feeling. I heard the sound of him gathering the ointment on his fingers and then felt the cold touch as he applied it. My cheeks blazed as I felt his hand move over it, but it only seemed to touch the harmed areas.

“Is that okay?” he says at last. He had ceased touching me and I could feel the places that the strap had struck me beginning to cool from their previous fiery temper. It still hurt, but where before it was the pain of burnt flesh, now it was as though that pain had been comforted by cold water.

I nod my head as I move to stand up and raise my underwear, feeling the ointment stain it. “Yes, thank you. It feels much better” I see him smile at me again and I can’t help but return it. I look down at myself with my pants still pulled down, I can’t pull them up without rubbing the ointment off. I clear my throat, “Uhm, thank you. Can I…” I trail off and gesture to the door of the room I had slept in last night.

He gets up from the bed and walks over, opening the door for me. “Yes, of course. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you” I quickly walk into the room, wanting to find a pillow and scream into it. I step into the room and here his voice again, “Oh, Elsie”

I turn around to look at him, goddesses, that chest, “yes? I ask

“Good night” he says with that beautiful smile of his