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Darkest Night [DragonSong] [M]

Started by Zero, March 30, 2017, 12:12:18 PM

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Zero

He hurried back to his tent, throwing his belongings together and packing them on one of the kaadir they'd gotten for the desert trek. Much more useful in this environment than horses.

Almost as soon as the last thing was loaded they moved out. The girls were herded by the guards, barking orders for them to march as they wrangled them with practiced efficiency. None of the other women or the few men tried to fight. They'd learned the hard way to obey.

To Zahra, Cole would have seemed to vanish, because from her position it would have been impossible to keep eyes on him among all the rest.

It was hours before they stopped to break, and it was only so that they could eat a little and drink some water. Guards moved among the slaves, offering a skin of water to each pair of lips, letting a little trickle into each mouth before moving on to the next. Cole moved stealthily up to Zahra, pressing a water skin gently to her lips as he looked down at her.

"Drink." It wasn't really a suggestion.

Her bow was strung across his back, and so was her pack. Cole had managed to retrieve it sometime between leaving her and returning.

"When we stop again it will be to make camp." He was whispering into her ear again, making sure that no one else could hear his quiet instructions. "As soon as the tents are pitched men will start dragging girls away to use for the night. I will come for you. Act afraid, that shouldn't be too hard. You'll sleep with me again tonight."

DragonSong

Zahra was shoved along with the rest as the caravan moved forward. She couldn't do much more than walk as she was told, and in the rare moments when she raised her head to try to get her bearings, she would catch a glimpse of a slaver's face and quickly duck her eyes again.

Her heart jumped up into her throat when Cole was suddenly holdin the water skin to her lips. Slowly, she swallowed a few mouthfuls and gave him a subtle nod.

Her eyes were fixed on the pack on his back. Had he...gone back for that?

Why?

Zero

Cole noticed where her eyes were drawn and he frowned softly. "I'm sorry, but I can't give it back to you. They'll just take it away. It'll be in my tent tonight, but you'll have to let me hang on to it. Maybe when you're sold your new master will let you have your things."

He looked around and realized that the guards were almost done watering the girls. "I have to go now. Just remember not to look at or talk to anyone."

With that he hurried back to take position. If he shirked his duties during the day they'd make him pay for it come nightfall, and if he was in trouble there was no way he could protect Zahra. So he was careful to do exactly as he was supposed to for the rest of the day's march.

By dusk the next oasis was in view and they began setting camp at the very edge. The slave women belonging to the group went to fetch more water, and the men started growing restless as soon as the tents were up. Zahra and the other slaves were all huddled in the center of camp under heavy guard. It took a very short amount of time before men started coming up and dragging girls off with them, to a chorus of wails and pleas not to hurt them any more.

Jarvis appeared and pulled Zahra to his chest, leaning down over her. He was a human, large and broad, much bigger than Cole was. "Hey there, baby. Remember me?"

He yelped and released her, clapping a hand to the side of his head. Cole was glaring at him, and already had another small rock in his hand. Jarvis snarled threateningly. "Fuck off, Cole. You don't get any dibs on a girl tonight. I've had every cunt in this camp at least once and you're not hogging the fresh meat."

Despite Cole being much smaller, he moved towards Jarvis menacingly. "Wanna run that by me again, fuckface? If I fucking say I want this one again, then I am taking her again and if you don't like it we can settle it like men."

For a moment the men glared at each other, but Jarvis held up his hands in surrender and stepped back, turning to grab another girl by the hair and drag her off.

Cole let out a breath and came over, grabbing her roughly by the arm and looking not at all friendly. He couldn't coddle her out here, not in the slightest. With a grunt he shoved her towards his tent. "Come on, girl. I'm going to teach you a new trick tonight."

DragonSong

She nodded at his words and soon enough she was back in the dejected huddle of women, eyes downcast. The day passed in a blur, and much sooner than she was ready for it they were making camp again. She closed her eyes tightly, as though that might shut out the sounds of misery and pain.

But then Jarvis had drawn her against his chest and her eyes flew open with a gasp. She swallowed, an icy thrill of fear running down her spine. Don't touch me, let go let go let go, don't touch me, please, let go-

But none of the words made it passed her lips, russet eyes wide as she just stared at him.

Then Cole was there, and for a moment she actually felt a flash of relief. It was not difficult to act the terrified victim when the drow grabbed her arm and dragged her to the tent, drawing another soft whimper from her throat that was only half forced.

"Please, please don't hurt me," she begged as she stumbled into the tent. Yes, she was acting- but only barely. Who knew when Cole would suddenly change his mind about her?

Zero

As soon as they were inside the tent, Cole turned to make sure the tent was securely closed, then he grabbed her hands and unbound her wrists. "You did good. I'm sorry I didn't get to you first. Jarvis is eager to jump the gun, and he's got his eyes set on you now. You're a conquest. One he can't wait to conquer."

He sighed heavily and ran his hands through his hair.

Cole still had no idea how he was going to keep her safe for another four or five nights. Especially now that it was apparently Jarvis was like a fucking dog with a bone. He always did hate that fucker.

Putting aside the frustration of dealing with Jarvis, he pointed at the pack that had belonged to her. It had been easy to find, once he'd gone back to make sure he'd missed nothing. "You can have your things while in here, but they can't leave the tent or my possession. Sorry, it's the best I can do."

He shrugged and laid down. Tired and not really feeling like dealing with the whole situation.

DragonSong

As soon as she was sure they were hidden from sight and he'd dropped her pack, she dove for it, pulling the bag into her lap and untying the top so she could search inside.

With a quiet breath, she pulled her flute out, holding it to her chest. She looked up at Cole and nodded. "I understand."

She was quiet for a long moment, then murmured to his back, "....Thank you for going back for this."

Zero

Cole eyed the flute as she held it like something precious. "You can't play it, the noise will attract attention you don't want."

He shrugged a little uncomfortably at the thanks. It didn't matter what he did, none of it could be deserving of thanks from her. Not considering the circumstances. He shuddered softly thinking about what they still might do to such a small girl.

"I captured you, so anything you had on you is considered mine. It's part of my reward for bringing you in." His voice was quiet and he stared up at the ceiling of the tent. When they sold her she probably still wouldn't be able to keep her things. No master was going to let her have the bow, you didn't give slaves weapons unless they were gladiators or guards of some kind.

"Maybe it won't be so bad, when you're bought by some rich Essyrni man. I'm sure he'll be able to afford to take care of you, Zahra. I know it isn't what you wanted, but it doesn't have to be terrible." Cole was still trying to curb his guilt, and he knew it.

DragonSong

Slowly, Zahra lowered the flute to her lap. "You can't mean that," she whispered, staring at him. "I- I'd be owned. Property. It doesn't matter how I'd be treated, I'd still be...a slave."

She swallowed as she felt the threat of tears rising up again and turned her head. "Why couldn't you have just left me there?" she whispered, almost rhetorically. Logically, she knew if Cole hadn't found her one of the other men would have.

It didn't make the situation any easier to deal with, didn't make her wish things had been different any less.

Zero

"You act like being a slave would be the end of the world." Cole grumbled irritably. His mother was a slave, and she was coping just fine. Sure, she wasn't happy, but honestly things weren't that bad.

Yes, his father still had his way with her, but she wasn't treated like the girls they captured and sold. His mother did her chores and pleasured his father when it was required of her, and she was fed and clothed and protected from all the abuse the guys liked to dish out on the girls that weren't being kept for good.

Cole pressed his lips into a thin line. "If I didn't bring you back they would have found you, and they'd have known I either saw you and left you alone, or would assume that I had not scouted properly. Either way I would have been punished harshly and you would have been captured and raped. This isn't all my fault. I didn't want to hurt you. I did what I had to so that my own ass would be covered."

DragonSong

Ignoring his defense of his actions- it was what she'd expected, and on some level she thought she understood it- Zahra just stared at him for a long moment.

"How can you not understand?" she asked quietly after a moment. "I- everything I am, the fact that I'm a person...all of that would be stripped away in their eyes. Your eyes. How can you not understand, that's worse than death, than r-rape and torture. To look someone in the eyes and have them see right through you like you don't exist, like you're not even worth the sand you stand on."

Her voice was still soft, but somehow suddenly powerful. Slavery had been a part of her tribe's history for a long time, but two generations before her birth the practice had been abolished. She'd been raised to abhor it, and it was genuinely disturbing to her that this man could t seem to wrap his head around how awful it was.

Zero

"Not everyone thinks like that. I know slaves are still people. A lot of people know that slaves are still people. In Essyrn some slaves are treated very well. You could end up living a more comfortable life than I ever will. You'll probably eat better than I do. Sure, you'll have to work for it, but everyone works for things." Yes, Cole was terribly defensive about the issue. His father could have easily decided to sell him instead of raise him.

"You act like not being a slave means you're free and can make whatever choices you want. Nobody is really free. Do you think I like what I do? If I did you wouldn't be sitting in my tent back-talking to me, that's for sure." His tone and expression were dark as he glared at her. "If I let you go, do you know what would happen to me? My own father would either kill me or beat me to within an inch of my life and sell me with the rest of you lot. So if you think I am somehow magically a free man next to you, then grow up."

He rolled over so that his back was facing her. Cole huffed irritably and closed his eyes. Arguing with her was pointless.

DragonSong

A spark of defiance flashed in her eyes. "Better to live a short, painful life free than a long, easy one as property," she said, quiet but firm.

But she knew there was really no point in arguing. With a sigh, she rolled into her side as well, curling around the flute she clutched to her chest. Her fingers smoothed absently over the wood, over the patterns she'd slowly carved into the surface over the years, the painstakingly filigreed floral motifs around each hole.

Eventually, she started to drift off.

Zero

Cole sulked for over an hour in silence. Although noises from outside drifted in, much of it the same as the night before. It turned his stomach a bit, so he tuned it out the best he could.

Finally sleep overcame him to finish drowning out the sounds, although his rest was fitful.

Cole dreamed of cowering in a corner, covering his ears as his mother was beaten by his father for some infraction he couldn't remember. It had seemed to last forever back then, and was horrific to a small child. He remembered going to her afterwards, reaching out to her for comfort and reassurance, and being met with the same icy stare his father usually received. The child him recoiled as if struck and ran away.

The dreams were like jumbled memories. One moment his mother was the one being beaten and the next it was him. There were jeers and taunts from men who were obviously older than him as he tried to learn from his father. There were girls screaming in his grasp - those were the worst. He hated it so much.

By dawn he was jerking himself awake and huddling quietly on his bedroll, trying not to wake Zahra. They'd all have to get up and get moving soon enough. Best to let her rest while she could.

DragonSong

Zahra's dreams were...strange. Jumbled and confused, full of images she didn't understand but made her flinch and cover her ears, begging silently for the violence to stop.

A child. There was a child. Lost and alone and- she couldn't help herself, she moved toward him, hand outstretched, tried to call out to him-

Then the dream changed. The boy was older, though not by much, and someone was beating him, someone she thought she recognized... She tried to scream, to beg for it to just stop, but her throat made no sound, and she was trapped in place, unable to help as suddenly the dream changed yet again and the boy was a young man, a girl screaming and pleading-

She jolted awake with a quiet gasp and felt that her cheeks were wet, chest heaving as she choked down sobs.

What on earth was that?!

Zero

Cole heard her wake, moments after he did. He quickly rolled over as she began to choke on her own sobs.

"Hey, it's okay. It was just a bad dream." He reached a hand out, forgetting for a moment that this woman hated him as he placed a hand on her shoulder, and whispered softly to her. Cole couldn't have blamed her for having nightmares. Everything was a mess.

It was at least partially his fault. Maybe even mostly his fault.

DragonSong

She froze under his touch, trying to stifle her sobs, then slowly turned to face him.

For a moment, she saw a little boy, watching helplessly as his mother was beaten before his eyes.

She wanted to be angry. She wanted to hate him. She still didn't trust him. But it just wasn't in her nature to ignore a creature so obviously in pain.

"He hurt you," she whispered without thinking. "Why did they want to hurt you?"

Silence. Then she blinked and jerked away from him, sitting up. Where had that come from? She ran a hand through her hair and tugged at it, obviously distressed.

Zero

Cole hadn't expected her to turn towards him. His breath stopped when he saw the expression on her face. It wasn't quite what he was expecting, although he didn't really know what he was expecting, or how exactly to even decide what was going through her mind in that moment.

It was his turn to freeze at her whisper.

Where had that come from? She didn't know anything about him! How could she? No, it was just a coincidence. It meant nothing.

When she jerked away from him, that was more of what he was expecting. Finding himself able to move again he sat up hesitantly. Cole was so confused. Memories of his troubled dreams slipped away, leaving him with nothing more than a sense of unease.

"I should get you back to the other girls." He said lamely as he grabbed up the cord so he could tie her up again.

DragonSong

"R-right..." Zahra shook herself, then got slowly to her feet. Almost reverently, she placed the flute back in her pack and tied it shut, then straightened and held her hands out for him to bind her wrists.

Her eyes were downcast, a small frown furrowing her brow. She couldn't get the strange dream out of her mind.

She was positive that the little boy had been Cole. But why? And how? She'd heard once that you could only dream of things you'd actually seen- how could her subconscious had conjured such a clear image of a child she'd never met?

Zero

While he collected his thoughts and regained the hard front he tried to keep, Cole allowed her to tuck away her flute. When she held her hands out he bound them securely, now scowling softly as he took her by the arm and lead her from the tent.

No one paid them any attention as Cole dropped her off with the other women, once more whispering instructions in her ear. "Just like yesterday. You'll only have to keep this up for a few more days. Then we'll be at market and you can at least get away from us. Even if you don't think so, it'll be much better. Here you've got too many men watching you, wanting to hurt you."

Cole was still pissed about Jarvis laying his hands on her last night. He felt guilty for not getting back to her quicker, but he did have his own things to worry about. If he was too nice to her...

He shook his head and left her there with the other women. His tent had to be taken down and all the belongings packed onto a kaadir. Everyone else was doing the same. Except all the other women had been left with the guards the night before. Zahra was the only one that came to the group in the morning.

DragonSong

Zahra nodded subtly as he once again delivered his instruction, moving to take her place.

She suddenly realized she was the only girl who had returned to the group. Fear started clawing at her throat and without thinking she looked around for Cole.

When she realized what she was doing she froze, then dropped her head again. Her hands clenched into fists. No. No, she would not rely on him. Not for this, not for anything. She wouldn't allow herself to.

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