The birthday gift

[Ycharley]

There was a sharp knock on the unfamiliar door of an even more unfamiliar bed chamber. Sarah was covered in a heavy, nearly suffocating cloak, which complete concealed her from anyone's sight. The guard who brought her there was already getting tired of her, the shackles she wore had already bruised and chaffed her ankles and wrist. The guard had a tight grip on her shoulder, making sure she could not go any where.

[Rhindeer]

It had been a good day.

A normal day.

Too normal.

His birthday feast had gone smoothly and, somehow, his brother had managed not to embarrass him terribly, despite the amount of wine he'd consumed. That should have been a good thing. The day had passed, night had fallen, and in just a few hours it would be a fresh new day and nothing had gone wrong. He should have been thankful, relaxed. After all, what could happen in a couple hours? How much damage could his brother cause on such short notice? Not much, right?

Yet as he retired to his chambers, he couldn't help feeling that the other shoe had yet to drop, and when he opened the door, he half-expected to find some horrific surprise awaiting him. It would have almost been better if there was, for when he arrived to an empty room, the sense of anxiety and impending doom only multiplied.

It was far too suspicious.

He had just let his hair down and was stripping down to his nightclothes when a knock at the door made him jump. With a glance its way, he pulled his shirt back on, squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and braced himself as he went to answer.

Here we go.

He swung the door open--and then tilted his head in surprise and confusion.

A guard was there and someone else, cloaked head to toe.

Eh?

Looking from the guard to the cloaked figure and back, Ruaidhrí arched an eyebrow. "What's this?"

[Ycharley]

"your birthday gift Sir, from your brother, and if I might say, a rather fiesty one at that," the guard said in a deep husky voice. He then handed a key to Sarah's new master.

"She is all yours," he said as he reached into his pocket, handing Rowan a folded and sealed piece of parchment.

[Rhindeer]

"I...come again?" Ruaidhrí stared at the key and parchment in his hand, then at the cloaked figure, and then he had to bite his tongue so he didn't curse aloud as realization dawned. 'A rather feisty one', huh? 'She'?

Dammit, Tovan!

He'd done it after all, and this time he'd really outdone himself. Gods be damned, of all the ways in which Tovan had tried to help him, this was an area in which he really didn't appreciate 'help'.

He gave an agitated sigh and rubbed his temples, and was mortified to find that his face was blazing with heat like some blushing virgin. That didn't help his mood.

"Never mind. Leave us," he said, giving the guard a dismissive wave without looking at him. He put his free hand on the cloaked figure's back and ushered her inside, closed the door, and leaned against it. Dammit. It wasn't like he could very well refuse his gift, not unless he wanted to never hear the end of it--and not unless he wanted to send this slave off to who knows what sort of fate.

[Ycharley]

Sarah dropped the cloak, not really because she wanted to but because she couldn't really breath. So she stood there, wearing nothing but shackles. "Can I have some cloths or something... Master?" She didn't look up, her cheeks slowly starting to match her bright red hair.

[Rhindeer]

The cloak dropped, revealing a naked woman, and Ruaidhrí made a noise that sounded suspiciously close to a strangled, choking sound. Once again, he cursed his brother.

He spun on his heel, putting his back to her. "Ah. Yes. Of course. And don't call me that." There was something about a naked, chained woman calling him 'master' that felt incredibly...gross. Awkward. Pathetic, even. Some men might be into that, might like having that sort of power over another person, but gods, he could find absolutely nothing erotic about it.

And what was his brother trying to say about him here, anyway?

Striding over to his bed, he picked up the tunic he'd been wearing earlier and then headed back toward her, eyes fixed firmly on a point just above her head. He dangled it out to her, along with the keys. "Here. Hurry up, now."

[Ycharley]

"Then what shall I call you?" She asked, her face growing more red with each passing second. "It would be easier for me to put that on if you uncuffed me," she mentioned, looking at the floor.

[Rhindeer]

Ruaidhrí sighed, and quickly turned the key in the lock. Once the cuffs came undone, he dropped the tunic over her head to cover her.

The cuffs he dropped onto a table by the door, frowning down at them. They did not look very comfortable at all. And that she had been brought to his bed tied? He shuddered. It wasn't that a woman had been brought to his room, for he had had plenty of women here before. It was that she had been brought here unwillingly.

What was wrong with his brother?

"You can call me Ruaidhrí," he said to answer her question as he began to pace the room.

[ooc: Ahaha, sorry, changed his name. xD; But this is a permanent one!]

[Ycharley]

Sarah looked down at her bruised wrist, frowning at the dark purple color they had turned. A part of her was afraid, the man seemed nice but his brother had been adamant, if he didn't think she was being properly used he would take her back and use her himself.

She shuttered at the thought, then turned her back to the man. She looked around, his room was nice, nicer then any room she had been in before. Sarah looked down, fear, embarrassment, and bitterness rage inside her small body like a violent storm over the ocean.

She walked to the window, a thought half crossed her mind, she could simply fling herself out of it, then there would be nothing to worry about. Finally Sarah turned to Ruaidhri, "You should read the note that the guard gave you."

[Rhindeer]

"Note?" Ruaidhrí blinked, then recalled the letter the guard had handed him--which was still clutched in his hand. He had forgotten all about it. Naked women had that effect on him.

Breaking the seal, he scanned the note, and a sort of slow-dawning horror built within him with each passing word. When he was done, he crumpled it in his fist and tossed it onto the table with the cuffs. Dammit. Toven couldn't be serious--except he knew the man didn't have a funny bone in his body.

"Well. That was certainly...illuminating," he said, looking up to find the girl standing by the window, watching him. He let out a sigh. The poor thing looked terrified, and he couldn't hardly blame her. "But never mind that. Relax, girl. I'm not going to, ah...'use' you. I'm not going to let you be 'used', either."

Fishing around in his wardrobe, he pulled out a pair of leggings. They would be loose on her, no doubt, but at least she would be covered. "Here. Put these on. And while you're at it, why don't you tell me your name?"

[Ycharley]

"How can you assure that you will stop him from using me? It must be so easy for you to say," she stated softly before taking the leggings from him. She quickly pulled them up, relieved to feel covered. She was terrified, the man the stood in front of seemed nice enough, but his brother, that was a different story. Ruaidhri's brother was a monster in sheep skins. She turned back to the window, her head laid gently against the cool stone.

"My name is Sarah," she spoke softly, her arms crossed in front of her. This was the third worst day of her laugh. The only days topping it, we're the two days before. Everything that was going on were so exhausting in every single way possie that she was contemplating taking a nap.

[Rhindeer]

"Well, Sarah," Ruaidhrí began, taking a seat on the edge of his bed and watching her with his head tilted in thought. "According to the letter, it's only a problem if he thinks his 'gift' is going to waste, correct?"

He shrugged. "So I'll just have to make sure he doesn't think that."

[Ycharley]

"How do you plan on that huh? You know he will be spying as best as he can," she replied, not moving or turning to look at him. She was nervous, she could feel it in the pit of her stomach. She shook her head, trying to clear it of the words that she had been told a few hours earlier, more threats then words.

Ruaidhri's brother had made himself very clear, she was suppose to throw herself at him, act as a desperate little thing, though she had a feeling the he knew she wouldn't. She looked back at the bruises on her wrist, reminding her of the time she spent with Ruaidhri's brother. Though it was only two days and a half, it felt like a week.

[Rhindeer]

"What?" Ruaidhrí's brow creased, and he had a sick, sinking feeling in his belly as he began to wonder just how well he knew his brother. They had never been especially close and didn't get along most of the time, and his brother's sense of humor generally came at the expense of others. Ruaidhrí had never really thought of him as cruel, though he toed the line at times. And he knew his brother enjoyed his decadence and whores, but he had never pried too deeply into his business.

If this girl was telling the truth, it seemed there was more to him than he knew.

"Spying, hm? That's...rather extreme." And disturbing. He rubbed his temples, feeling suddenly tired. "I'm getting the feeling there's something you're not saying. What do you know of my brother?"

[Ycharley]

"All I know is he is sick and cruel, he thinks I'm extremely valuable and if you don't use me the way he thanks you should, he wasted hard work and effort, so he will take me back and use me instead," she spoke, her words cold and distant. It was clear this man knew very little about his brother. "He made it a point to keep reminding me that we would be keeping a very close eye on us, I was too valuable to be wasted," she spat out, she hated how that man, if you could call him that, made her feel like a piece of meat, an object.

"It's clear your brother has been keeping his true nature from you, he is a wolf and a vulture. Do you know how many girls he kidnaps and enslaves? I'm not the first and most certainly won't be the last!"

[Rhindeer]

Standing up, Ruaidhrí strode over to the window and drew the curtains shut. While they were upstairs and he had no fear of anyone peeking in--how could they? Unless the climbed the wall, and that was just creepy--he felt uneasy now and wanted to rule out the possibility. Her words left a sick, heavy feeling in his stomach, like he had eaten rotten meat, and it took a conscious effort to keep it all down.

No. He'd had no idea. He'd always thought the women his brother took were whores, not slaves, people whose services he paid for, not people he had forced into servitude. Even if the girl was lying about the scope, one girl was one too many and she was proof that his brother had gone too far. One unwilling, enslaved, kidnapped girl was more than enough.

The nausea soon gave way to anger as that realization sank in, and he took a deep breath to control himself, hands curled into fists.

"Where do you live?" he asked at last, still staring at the closed curtains. "I'll return you at once."

[Ycharley]

She glared at him, "Do you not think your brother also knows where I live, and if he hears that I have returned home," she started, shaking her head, her voice a forced whisper. "Do you know the things he will do to me," She stated simply. She shook her head, he was so simple he thought like a child, he was going to end up getting her hurt.

She stepped close to him, her hand laying gently on his chest. "Now listen to me," She started looking him dead in the eye. "Out in public you will treat me like I am your slave, and I will act the part. In private you don't have to treat me harshly but every now and them we will have to make noises to at least give a hint, to make them think you are using me. It's the only way. If we don't your brother is going to take me and.. and" She turned her back to him. "Well there will be no acting there," She spoke softly.

[Rhindeer]

Dammit. Of course there was a catch. Of course it wouldn't be that easy.

And he could tell already that this wouldn't be easy, that he would hate every moment of this. He had never kept slaves before, never had any plans on it when servants did fine, and even if it was pretend, he didn't know how comfortable he was treating someone as a slave. And 'making noises'...? Ah, Kia.

This was going to be fun.

Hopefully in the meantime he could figure out some sort of solution, but for now...?

He let out a low sigh. Maybe he could talk with his brother later, see if he could clear this mess up? But even as he thought it, he cast the option away. No, his brother only heard what he wanted to hear and did exactly what he wanted to do. When he got into a mood, little could sway him. If anything, it would only exacerbate the situation--and if she was to believed, it would end with her getting badly hurt.

Pacing the room, he ended by the bed and took a seat again, letting out a sigh. "We'll figure something out," he said at last, raking a hand through his hair. "Later. In the meantime..."

He pat the bed. "May as well 'consummate' this thing, I suppose."

[Ycharley]

Sarah hesitated. Slowly though, she moved to sit beside him. Her heartbeat picked up slightly. She looked over and up at him, noting his height. She looked over his features for the first time, they were surprisingly different then his brothers.

"How do you suggest we do that," She spoke, her voice smooth like honey. She would have to fool anyone that might be listening. She had to make it appear to any prowling ear that she was completely submissive to any will that Ruaidhrí had.

She looked up at him, her jaw set, she didn't know what he had planned, but she hoped that it was something good. Something convincing. Maybe he wasn't as simple as he appeared at first. Maybe he was just in shock from the news she had delivered. Maybe, just maybe, his brother really did have the wool pulled over Ruaidhri's eyes.

[Rhindeer]

This was so unbelievably ridiculous. But fine. Tonight he'd play this game, just in case, to set her mind at ease since she really seemed worried about this. And tomorrow? Well, tomorrow he would just have to talk to his brother. Because if what she was saying was the honest to Kia truth?

Well. That was just flat-out creepy.

He pointedly avoided Sarah's eyes. Maybe this was all some huge, cosmic joke. Maybe she was pulling his leg. Ugh.

He lifted a hand and made a vague motion. "Uh, I guess...get acting," he said. "You know. Moan a little."