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Caught Fire
Part 6
By Dari
I stared straight into his eyes, looking as defiant as I could manage. He looked
back, rage boiling in his gaze. A drop of sweat ran down into my eye, making me
blink and drawing tears with the burning sensation of the salt, but I did my
best to hold his gaze. I would not back down. He wouldn't, either.
Sweat ran down his face and bare torso, and odd splatters of blood were visible
over the tattoos. Splatters of my blood, to be precise. There was still more on
the whip that quivered in his hand, and a lot more on my naked body, yet much
too few to let me pass out of loss of blood. He would never let me escape so
easily.
My heavy panting slowed a bit when I was able to calm down. I had tried
hyperventilating before, but that had only resulting in him whipping me so long
and so hard until I had lost control of my breathing rhythms completely, only
being able to gasp enough air to keep screaming, and I didn't want to go through
that ever again.
I didn't look down on myself, maybe couldn't even with the way my body was
suspended form the ceiling. My feet barely touched the ground and the agony that
came from my shoulders was beyond telling, as they supported my whole weight
with my arms being bound above my head and secured to one of the rafters of the
ceiling. If I didn't stretch to keep contact with the floor it only worsened when his
lashes made me swing around. I was too tired and too hurt to struggle on, the only
thing I could do was gather the last bits of my strength and try to stare him down.
Wand to take a guess who won that duel?
Today was the third day after returning from the tests of challenge, my third
day without sleep, without food, without being allowed to just flop down on the
floor and rest my aching muscles, without being allowed the dignity to squat
down outside the hut to pee on my own. At first he had even been so angry with
me that he had just whipped me until I had lost control of my bladder and soiled
myself. Now he was gracious enough to let me down a bit so I could balance
properly on my feet and spread my legs far enough to let him hold a bucket
between them. I still couldn't understand why he did that apart from humiliating
me, but I reckoned that that was reason enough. He didn't mind the stench, and I
was too hurt to mind some petty details like that.
My body was covered in welts, some of them little open cuts that stung all the
more with my sweat dripping into them. My face felt bruised and my jaw was
swollen beyond the point where I could talk without problems. The only mercy he
granted me was giving me plenty of water, but that only resulted in me having to
urinate all the more, so it was a rather two-sided sword. He had only stopped
twice to get some sleep on his own, leaving me suspended in the air but gagged
so I wouldn't scream too much for him to be able to fall asleep. I didn't know
what was worse, hanging alone in the dark, gagged and in pain, or having him
around, whipping and hurting me.
The only up I could find about all of this was that I ached too much all over
that my mind could concentrate on the pain that came form my pierced clit. It
sometimes even seemed as if my clit were the only place on my body that hurt
less. He had been very intent in not touching my clit even once, paying special
attention when whipping my pussy to stay clear of it. He always knew how far he
could go to keep me just from fainting, making all even worse by this.
My eyes drooped closed before I could stare him down or having to look away.
Pure exhaustion made my mind override my thoughts, and for the third time today
I nearly fell asleep despite the position I was in. The sharp bite of the whip
over my breasts brought me wide awake once more, drawing a whimpering scream
from my lips. Tane just stared at me with a baleful expression on his face, and
we resumed staring into each other's eyes. Where I found that much defiance left
I could only marvel about.
For another long moment he continued staring at me, then something in his gaze
softened and he made one step forward. "Just say you're sorry and I'll let you
down, carry you to the bed and let you sleep as long as you want to. Just whine
for mercy." It was just too tempting. Still I couldn't bring myself to do it. I
hadn't held myself together for three whole days to back down now. So I just
glared at him, concentrating on nothing else but this.
A slight smile began to build up on Tane's face and he advanced another step
towards me, now standing directly in front of me. "Do you know that sometimes
you are just a stupid, annoying bitch?" I had to draw two ragged breaths before
I could reply, and my voice was only barely more than a hoarse whisper. "I keep
trying to aggravate that." He blinked, but then his smile returned, and he
brought his hand up to gently trace two fingers over my dry, broken lips. If I
had had the strength left I might have considered biting him, but I needed the
rest of my energy to keep looking at him, even having to work hard on
concentrating enough to stay focused.
Slowly he moved his fingers from the corner of my mouth up over my cheek to wipe
sweat and blood off my face. For a moment he looked down on his wet fingers,
then his gaze went up to meet mine once more. A strange kind of determination
seemed to glow in his eyes. That, and satisfaction, something I couldn't quite
understand.
"So you won't back down and beg for release, even if you are on the brink of
falling asleep while hanging from the ceiling?" I just nodded once, knowing that
this would be enough for an answer. He haltered again, and turned around to grab
something. A sponge as I realized when he began to softly wipe my face with it.
The cool water felt good on the feverish skin of my face, and invigorated me
just a bit. When he was satisfied with the results of the rudimentary cleaning
operation he dropped the sponge and brought both of his hands up to gently
cradle my face. "And now tell me why, or you'll hang here until hell freezes
over." His voice was soft and had a familiar seducing tone in it, yet his
fingers suddenly tightened on my skin so that his grip was nearly painful.
For a moment I just stared at him, but then decided that it wasn't worth it.
Maybe this had gotten boring for him and he might release me if I answered him.
Still I didn't mind if the answers I provided would be the ones he wanted to
hear. As long as my resolve existed I wouldn't back down. This thought had
brought me to this point, giving me strength where I hadn't known any to be
there anymore, so I would hold on to it as long as possible.
"I won't beg. Not now, not ever again." Tane only frowned, but it was a mocking
gesture without the malice that had prevailed in him for the last days. Before
he could prove me wrong I went on. "And I won't apologize, at least until you
apologize for what you've done." I was nearly too drained to speak, but he
waited patiently until I found the breath to venture on. "You'll have to break
me completely if you want either. But if that's what you want, you'll have to
work much harder to accomplish it."
I could see by the smirk on his face that he knew exactly how worn down my will
was, and that it wouldn't take him long to make me back down, but something else
came seeping into his gaze, next to that strange satisfaction. It was a kind of
acceptance and maybe even a tad bit of pride. Or maybe I was just imagining
things, which was just as likely.
Instead of answering he loosened his grip on my face a bit and then leaned into
me, sending my tormented shoulders screaming once more, and kissed me. I was so
baffled that I let him fare for a while, yet just when I had gathered enough
resolve to decide to not give in but instead try to bite him for real he
withdrew as if he had seen this coming. Could it have been from the baleful
quality of my gaze?
I expected rage and hate to return on his face, but Tane looked as calm as ever
when he finally let go of me again. "Well, well, that fire really is hard to
douse. Do you think you can manage to stand if I let you down now?" I was a bit
bewildered by the question, but the hope that instantly rose inside of me gave
me the strength to reply. "Honestly, no." He smiled and reached up to the tarred
ropes that were wound tightly around my wrists. Normal ropes I might have burnt
through even as he had shielded me the whole time. I had tried, and even managed
to get some of the tar hot enough to drop down on the back of one hand - don't
ask, after that I hadn't made any further attempts.
"Lean against me while I undo these, I won't be able to hold you up and free you
all at once." He produced a knife seemingly out of nowhere and began to saw
through the ropes. Still it took him quite some time until the first of the
ropes was cut and I sagged down from my toes to my feet, instinctively falling
against him. It hurt when my bruised skin connected with his, but I bit down
hard on my lower lip and waited patiently for him to loosen the rest of the
ropes.
The next awful thing was when my hands were finally free and he slowly brought
my arms down from above my head to my sides. The strained and cramped muscles in
my shoulders protested so much that he had to knead and massage my flesh for a
while before he could force my limbs to obey. Somewhere during that the last bit
of my strength seemed to seep away, and although I tried to keep it back I began
to cry and heave soundlessly. He ignored the tears that ran in trickles down my
face and kept on until my hands flopped lifelessly against my thighs.
For just a moment he let go of me and I nearly slid down to the floor. With a
muffled oath he caught me again and lifted me in his arms as if I weighted
nothing at all. My crying only worsened when he pressed me against him while
carrying me out of the room and into the unoccupied room next to the bedroom.
There he laid me on the bed and fastened normal leather restraints around my
ankles, wrists and around my neck. As if I had had the strength to even roll out
of the bed and flop down in the floor. I didn't complain or test my bonds, but
from what I saw he left me enough room to even move around a bit, and the
restraints didn't even bite into my swollen flesh. After a last glance down at
my body he got up again and left the room. I had fallen asleep before the door
swung shut.
____________
Conscience came back awfully slowly, and with it came the pain. By the time I
was awake enough to open my eyes I wished to be able to fall asleep again, but
some masochistic part of my brain seemed to think that I should stay awake to
relish the aches all over my body, so staying awake it was.
For a moment I thought I had woken simply because my discomfort had finally
ruled over the exhaustion, but then I heard someone, most likely Tane, rummaging
around in the corridor outside the room. Slowly I stretched my head to look up
to the single window in the wall behind me. My shoulders protested even with my
arms down at my side and I groaned, but I was able to finish the motion. Outside
the sky was streaked with red and yellow, indicating the early hours of the day.
I thought that I had fallen asleep in the afternoon so I had slept more than
half a day. Judging from the pain that radiated from nearly all places of my
body that hadn't been enough by far. Yet my mind was clear enough to work again
so there was some visible progress to mention. I didn't know if I should be
happy about that.
The door slowly creaked open and I nearly jumped at the sound. That minute
motion was enough to send pangs of pain through my body and made me groan again.
Still, groaning was better than whimpering I told myself, so not everything was
lost there. When I could get the better of myself I managed to open my eyes
again to look at the source of the opening door, as if there were that many
possibilities.
I was not really surprised to find Tane standing in the open door, leaning
against the doorframe. The first light of day that came streaming inside cast
eerie shadows on him and made his nude body look all the more impressive. A
strange kind of longing awoke deep inside of me when my gaze slowly travelled
over his body. The last three days should have taught me something else, yet my
body yearned for his caress and my mind for his embrace. Only barely my ruffled
ego got the better of me and nearly forced a scowl on my face. Better a scowl
than a hungry leer.
Either he knew exactly what was going on inside of me, or I had let my gaze
linger on him for too long, but a disarming smile spread on his features that
unravelled all the lies I might have had in stock for my defence. His grin only
broadened when my scowl deepened at being stripped of any intended schemes.
"I see a major battle dawning behind that cute forehead of yours. Maybe I should
just let you rot in here for a day or two to let you to your brooding?" That
didn't deserve an answer so he got none from me, which of course only added to
his amusement. If there even was a way apart from kicking him hard where it hurt
the most to anger him I hadn't yet found it. Right now I wasn't in any way able
to give it another try so I let it stay with furrowing my brow and keeping
silent.
When he saw that I wasn't going to rise to the bait he just crossed his arms
over his chest and resumed mustering my body. "You really look kind of awful,
you know?" Now that was as far as my self-restraint went, and with my awakening
temper my tongue slipped before I could reign it in. "You should know best, it's
your work that you are admiring." As always he ignored my acidic tone and just
grinned as if I had complemented him on something. Maybe I even had. "I know,
and that makes it all the better."
Then he abruptly sobered and a slight frown turned up on his face. "Feeling
ready for a venture to the pool next to the waterfall? I'm too lazy to carry you
there so you have to manage on your own. The alternative would be tying you to
the rafters outside and dowsing you with several buckets of cold water." Now
that wicked grin of his returned. "I guess that would especially entice your
shoulder muscles." I just glared while he snickered about his own joke. When I
still didn't flare at his words he pouted for a moment. "Come on; don't go all
silent on me. Your body should have gathered enough energy by now for your
temper to run loose as always, and don't tell me you've learnt to keep it in
check. You'd rather learn to master the five elements than that. So, what do you
say? If you stay still any longer I take that for a no."
He always had a way of bringing my best sides out of their hiding place. With a
sneer on my lips I lifted my upped body as much as possible, forcing unwilling
muscles to contract and work, and even managed to bring myself into a nearly
sitting position with my hurting back pressed against the headboard of the bed.
My bonds didn't allow me to move further, but I regarded that much already as a
great victory. "I'd rather crawl outside and drown myself in the pool than let
you suspend me from any ceiling ever again!" Tane only smiled in a benign way
that nearly sent me cursing him aloud.
For another moment he looked down on me, but before I could really loose my
temper and start something stupid that I would surely regret dearly all too soon
he went over to me, sitting down on the bed next to my hips. He studied my face
intently, and then sighed. "Perhaps I'm making a mistake in untying you, but I
gather that you are still too weak to cause any havoc. See it as a token of my
good will that I loosened my grip on your magic. The moment you even think about
incinerating me you're back hanging form the rafters." Even as his tone was calm
and measured I knew that he meant every word and hurried to nod when his brows
began to draw together once again. After seeing the acknowledgement in my eyes
he leaned over me, bringing his hands down to rest on my shoulders. I inhaled
sharply when his fingers dug into my hurting muscles, and from the way his smile
darkened I guessed that he relished my pain.
When he heightened the pressure I let him press me down with my back on the
mattress once again, bringing up next to no resistance. When I was again lying
on my back staring up at him he planted his arms right and left of my face and
got up to straddle my body with his legs, until his weight was resting on his
forearms and shins alone. The way he stretched his body his loins came to rest
approximately above mine. I gazed down briefly, noticing that he wasn't even
partly erect, yet somehow he made a strange kind of fright rise up inside of me.
"Look up at me. Look into my eyes." His tone was low and had a certain
commanding quality to it. I complied after a moment's worth of hesitation,
bringing my eyes to gaze into his. Even while I tried to fight down the dawning
panic I could see that he read all the fright in my face, and at least some part
of him loved it.
I basically dreaded for him to inch his knees between mine and force my legs
apart to give him free excess to my sex but he didn't move, not even blink. I
started to tremble slightly, only partly from my strained muscles. When he
noticed that a smirk turned one corner of his mouth up. He let me see it, then
lowered his head to begin to gently kiss the side of my neck. I stiffened even
more, not allowing myself to relish the sensations that he caused. I knew that
he knew how much I loved for him to kiss my neck, but I also knew why he did it
now.
When his kisses grew more insistent I groaned, but it was no sound of pleasure.
"Please stop. You promised to wait at least a week; it's only been three or four
days now." My voice sounded so weak and helpless that I nearly choked on the
words, and the defiant little voice in my head shouted at me to rather let him
fuck me while my whole pussy was sore enough to hurt even when he didn't touch
me and bear the consequences than come so close to begging, yet I couldn't
recall my words or think of anything to make them sound less frantic.
Tane didn't even stop kissing my neck, but after a couple of heartbeats steered
his lips up over my jaw to my lips. The last kiss landed on my mouth, soft as a
feather's caress, before he drew his head back and looked straight into my wide
eyes. His face was calm and gathered, but something lurked behind his eyes. He
licked his lips before answering, and for just a moment I thought it looked as
if he was a bit at a loss here, yet his voice was strong and confident as
always. "I know." Tane shifted so that his penis came to rest between my thighs,
but as my legs were nearly shut he didn't even come close to my pussy. He waited
for another moment, letting everything settle in before continuing.
"Choose. Either let me fuck you now, or wait a full month. It won't be enough to
just lie on your back and let me do the work, no, I want you to put your whole
effort into it, even if it nearly kills you. But choose wisely, no one knows
what can happen in one month, maybe I'll lose interest and won't fuck you ever
again. So what do you say?" Maybe the answer should have been clear with my
flesh being bruised, swollen, and aching, and with the added knowledge that
having sex now might even do permanent damage to my clit, yet I hesitated. The
fright seemed to lash out at my low self-esteem, making me nearly more afraid
that he might stick to his word and never touch me again if I defied him now.
Until this very moment I hadn't realized how much I craved for his touch, even
after really torturing me over the last days. All his whipping and punching me
hadn't even begun to break me, but that simple threat nearly did it.
I swallowed hard, having to fight both my rising panic and the tears threatening
to well up in my eyes. I was about to tell him to take me now, to spread my legs
and rise up to meet him halfway, when something inside of me came awake and
inwardly snapped me around. It was pure defiance with no thoughts of hate or
vengeance, only the urge to withstand him just for the sake of it. I held on
tightly to that feeling, letting it course through my mind, fighting the panic
and carrying it away. When I was sure of my decision I rose up to briefly brush
my lips against his before forcing my shoulders back against the mattress. The
pain helped to further clear my mind.
For a moment I saw the satisfaction that came from having won in his eyes, yet
before he could open his mouth I answered. "See it as a kiss of farewell, for at
least a month, forever in the worst case. And now get off me and undo the
restraints so I can get up to get out to clean myself and keep going on with my
life." My voice was low but clear, and I instantly grew proud of myself at the
sure tone of it. The brief look of defeat on his features was enough to heighten
my mood, chasing away the last of my fear.
The next moment Tane rose up, and without another look at my face he untied me
with odd, jerky moves, making the leather straps bite into my flesh, but for
once I was sure that it was not intently. I had just bruised his ego, swifter
and deeper than when I had kicked him in the nuts. Maybe I had just sealed my
own doom, or at least unhappiness, for the rest of my time with him, but the
sense of loss that I was waiting for never arrived.
After having removed all the restraints Tane downright fled from the room,
banging the door shut. I heard him running into the bedroom and soon moving into
the living room. The outer door was shut in a rush, and then silence settled
over the hut. I stayed still for another minute, listening intently. The strange
whooshing sound of a portal being opened reaffirmed my guess that he left me
here for good at least for now. I couldn't say that I was particularly unhappy
about this, now that I had defied him.
When I was sure that he was gone I slowly scrambled out of the bed, forcing my
wobbly legs to carry my weight. As there was no need to rush I took my time to
relearn to walk. By the time I had made it into the front room it was rather the
pain that kept me from walking than the inability of my feet, and that kind of
relieved me, even as awful as it was on it's own. With pain I could deal, it
would soon subside. I had only been afraid of some kind of permanent damage that
would disable me in some way.
The cold water of the river burnt on my skin but numbed my nerves fast enough to
finally allow me to wade out into the pool and kneel down to wash my whole body.
Only before I was about to freeze I gathered the courage to move my shaking
fingers down to my pierced clit. It hurt, but I couldn't keep it at just a
tentative touch. With gritted teeth I moved both my hands down to my pussy,
spreading my labia with my left hand and slowly stroking over my bud with the
right. When the pain wasn't too much to stand I felt around the puncture marks,
noticing with relieve that the flesh was only tender but didn't seem to be
inflamed. I even thought about gently tugging at the ring to see how much pain
that would inflict or if it would move, but I refrained from that as my whole
body was shivering too much from the cold water around me so that such slight
manoeuvres might be out off my reach. With another series of groans I got up
once more and waded out of the water. The dripping curtain of my long wet hair
made me shiver all the more, but it was simply impossible to hurry over to the
house.
The first thing I did when I was inside once again was to drape a blanket around
my shoulders. When I tried to rub myself dry it hurt enough to make me gasp.
Groaning I sat down in front of the fireplace and focused my mind to let the
logs inside burst into a near bonfire. Heat washed over my shivering body, and
soon I was dry enough to feel comfortable again.
I stayed sitting cross-legged on the floor for some time, telling myself that
there was no sense in dressing until my hair was dry. Only when sweat began to
break out on my skin that stung in the welts I tuned down the fire, letting it
crackle all on it's own. Only then I realized that I had kept it soaring for
about half an hour without even concentrating on that. Exhaustion sometimes made
my control slip, but until now that had always resulted in devastation, never in
anything useful. I thought about that for another minute and decided that maybe,
just maybe, the earned second grade had more backing than I was ready to admit.
With a slight smile playing on my lips I got up from the floor and went on the
hunt for clothes.
I couldn't see any items of clothing lying around in the front room, same as in
the room I had spent the last night in, so the bedroom was my best guess. While
I ventured in there I wondered if that night had been the prelude for what was
about to come if he really intended to keep his hands off me for a month, or for
the next year. At the thought of being reduced to just his student my throat
tightened for a moment but I forced myself to see the ups of that. No more being
tied for hours, no more pain to be endured at least every second day, no more
waking to his snoring in the middle of the night, or returning to him being
awake and full of mischief should I have to relieve my bladder before morning
dawned. All these arguments seemed quite hollow even to me, yet it was the only
thing I had left, so I held on to it.
The bedroom was a mess, so to say. Everything we had taken with us for our
journey lay on floor and bed, and the sheets were rumpled, with one pillow and a
blanket lying on the far side of the room under one of the windows. I didn't
even think about cleaning up, just bend down to fetch one of the new garments he
had purchased for me. It was a grey tunic-like dress, reminding me of the other
one I had already worn, only that it had short sleeves and was of a thicker
fabric. It was still too thin to wear outside at this time of the year, but
considering the heat that had built up in the front room I opted for wearing it
rather than one of my old dresses. Before putting it on I struggled into one of
my bodices that had the strings up in front so I didn't have to strain my aching
shoulders any more than absolutely necessary.
Next was the slip, but when I pushed it up to my crotch my pussy began to hurt
even more. I thought about that for a moment, then slipped out of the panties
and dropped them on the floor, wriggling into the dress without wearing my
underwear. There would be no one to appreciate it anyway, and if it spared me
some pain I could well do without it.
I was about to go back to the front room when my eyes fell on the chest where he
kept all his paraphernalia in. The lid stood partly open, and a length of
discarded rope hung out. In all the time I had been with Tane he had always kept
the chest locked so I had never had the possibility of getting a good look at
it. As he had never been shy about using a lot of things on me I reckoned that
there couldn't be much that I didn't know of, but my curiosity was up
nevertheless. It couldn't hurt to reaffirm my guesses.
I looked around cautiously, listening to any sounds hinting at his return, but
didn't hear or see anything, and wouldn't for hours, as I added to myself. With
two swift steps I was in front of the chest and slowly knelt down to keep my
balance as good as possible with a minimum of pain. The chest swung open without
a sound when I pushed back the heavy lid.
Inside I found meters of rope and leather straps heaped in a tangle. As there
was blood on the ropes I reckoned that at least some of it had been in use in
the last days. Without fidgeting with the knots I reached down into the chest
and heaved the whole bundle of restraints out to let it flop down on the floor
beside me. As there was no apparent order in it he would never realize that I
had shifted his priced possessions around. Underneath lay the three smaller
whips and the two floggers, next to his two wooden pricks. Apart from that the
chest was empty.
I hadn't really thought to find something new, yet it still disappointed me. He
could at least have done me the favour of hiding something from me. I was about
to return the ropes to the chest and close it again when something caught my
eye. The floor board of the chest was not a plane, but had a piece missing at
one corner. I hunched down over the chest to get a better look. Indeed, in one
corner there was a hole, but I couldn't see the planks of the floor through it.
It was just dark there. With growing anticipation I reached down and slid two
fingers through the hole, gently tugging at the boards. For a moment nothing
happened, then the wood slid away without much effort.
Instantly I was excited about that hidden compartment but forced myself to calm
down again. With slow and deliberate movements I picked up the things that lay
above the false floor board and laid them to my right before reaching down once
more to withdraw the false floor. What lay underneath made me furrow my brows
for a moment.
Inside were several items, but from the look of the broken leather and the dull
wood they had to be much older than the other things. I slowly trailed my
fingers over the thing that lay on top, a leather collar with four rings
attached at the outside, three in the middle and one near the buckle. Hesitantly
I picked it up to examine it closer. The marks in the leather indicated where
the buckle had closed the collar, and when I clipped it shut for a moment I was
astonished at the girth that the loop provided. Next I checked the two wrist
cuffs that were of equally old but still intact thick leather. They also showed
signs of heavy use but were big enough that I could move my fist through them
without problems even when closed at the tightest hole.
Still I couldn't make much sense of all this, so I laid the cuffs down next to
me and withdrew the last item. It was a kind of leather harness, consisting of
several adjustable straps with a really huge cock made of light wood, adorned
with vicious knobs, attached at the front. Contrary to the collar and cuffs the
straps of the harness seemed to provide for someone of rather my size. And then
it hit me what all of this meant.
For a moment I stared down at the thing in my hand, nearly having to fight the
urge to throw it back into the chest. The harness was evidently sized to fit
around a woman's thighs and behind, while the cuffs and collar were made for a
man who was well above average body size. If you added the apparent age of these
things there was only one solution. The only thing that bugged me a bit was the
fact that Tane had kept all these things.
I tried to think of the few things he had told be about his past, before he had
been free to venture on his own. More specific the time he had spent at the
mercy of the caring Lathea and that second woman whose name I didn't even know.
I had always thought that he had attained his bulk of muscle afterwards, but
judging from the size of the restraints I began to doubt that. I knew fully well
what kind of side effects even Tane's admittedly tame methods had on my body, so
it was possible that his body had evolved from the lean boy to the muscled man
during that time if only encouraged a bit. I didn't know much about Lathea, but
she looked like a woman who appreciated a firm, well-trained body under her
hands. But that still didn't explain why he kept all this. Maybe some weird
sense of nostalgia?
Once more I looked at the harness that still rested in my hands. I didn't even
want to think about what such a monster of a prick could cause. Even without the
adornments it would have been far too big for my vagina, let alone my ass, but
from the signs of wear it must have been an often used toy. I could only shudder
with the thoughts of that. A strange kind of sympathy began to well up inside of
me, accompanied by understanding. At least it explained some things, if not all.
Apart from the fact that he still kept these souvenirs of the time where he had
been solely on the receiving end of inflicting pain, but I chose to ignore that
question, at least for now. I knew that I would never ask him about what I had
discovered here, as I was sure that he wouldn't be comfortable at all with me
knowing about it. With a last sigh I began to replace everything, paying
attention to return everything to its proper place. There was no use in letting
him know that I had been a bit too curious.
___________
The rest of the day I spent in the living room, sitting in one of the padded
chairs and reading in one of his books. At first I had never paid much attention
to the books as they seemed all so useless, but during the long nights of winter
I had discovered that there were some useful details written down in them. Tane
had recommended me a bunch of them, even stacking them on a separate shelf so I
wouldn't have to search for them if interest struck me. Over the last weeks I
had even been able to learn some things for practical use out of the yellowed
pages. For today I settled on a tractate about the fine use of fire if
controlled properly, although my first guess had been the one about attack and
active defence, yet I didn't want to threaten the precarious peace that had
settled over the hut again.
Tane didn't show up until late in the evening, just when I was about to go to
bed. He went straight by me without even ignoring my presence and disappeared
into the bedroom. I only frowned but thought it wise to retreat to my lone room
to be out of his range if he chose to come to his senses. I was just about to
fall asleep when the door to my room was forcefully opened and he looked inside,
seemingly taken aback by my early retreat to bed. The next moment any puzzlement
was gone, and instead a certain kind of glee settled on his features.
"Take a guess what I've been doing all day long?" Judging from the way he smelt,
of ale and sweat, I would have judged the place he had done whatever to be the
inside an old barrel of liquor, but I chose to only gaze at him in bewilderment. "I
have no cue, but I guess you're about to enlighten me?" His grin only broadened
while he gripped on hard to the doorframe for support. "Remember the two girls
from the tavern we were staying in?" I just nodded, not wanting to encourage his
tale, yet somehow already knowing what was to come. "I fucked them. Both. Several
times. The whole day through. And they begged me not to leave them, but I had to,
telling them that my worthless student would sooner or later torch everything as she
was too useless for anything, even letting me fuck her."
He might have expected this to hurt me, but the way he was behaving I was only
too grateful to have him out of my bed for the night. Of course I felt a certain
kind of pain, maybe even a bit of jealousy, but I was not about to dwell on
these feelings. Instead I just smiled, hoping that in his state he wouldn't be
able to judge if the smile was true or not. "Good to hear that you've had a nice
day. Planning on visiting them soon, again? Maybe you could bring them some
gifts, you know, some girls just love to receive gifts."
He just stared at me, now with open surprise and not trying to hide it. That of
all things told me how off he really was. "You're not jealous?" I shook my head,
now really being able to grin in earnest. "No, really not. I'm happy that you've
had a nice day out, relishing the finer things of life. Those girls were surely
more experienced than I in providing for your pleasure." Still he didn't get the
hint, so I gave up. If he didn't understand me telling him to his face that I
didn't care if he frequented the services of two whores there was nothing left
to say.
Apparently he came to the same decision, if from another angle, and only nodded,
looking quite dumbfounded. "If you think so ... rest well." With that he left,
and I was kind of relieved to be on my own again. If this went on like that I
would have to look for a solution, but somehow I had the impression that he had
only done that to bug me. Or at least that had been a minor motif. If he had
done it just to satisfy his lust he wouldn't have drunk so much, and wouldn't
have told me. Hopefully he would cease with that soon, but somehow I doubted it.
The next day he spent the time until midday in his room, and when he finally did
come out he seemed to be battling a major hangover. Although he interrupted my
brooding with his presence I put the best mood I could muster on display and
cheerfully chatted about this and that, succeeding only in driving him off the
hut once more, most likely into the willing arms of his two southern whores.
Just as well for me, at least then I had the house for myself and him not there
to constantly remind him why sitting down was still a matter of gritting my
teeth and biting down on my lip.
He didn't return until the evening of the next day, shortly after sundown. I had
already started to worry by then, but when he finally came in I scolded myself
for these useless thoughts. He was perfectly capable of looking out for himself,
same as me. There was food for about two weeks in the hut, and if things really
got bad I could always journey to the next village, or even make my way back to
the Academy in Midriver.
Once again he told me about his hours with the girls, this time more detailed
and with less ale slurring his speech, but I didn't pay his words much heed. He
tried to vex me, and for once I wouldn't let him have the better of me. With the
pain still adamant whenever I moved it was not too hard to swallow the bile that
was about to rise in my throat and just keep on smiling. He even let me the
satisfaction of showing me how much it vexed him that I seemingly didn't mind.
Yet I was sure that he would think of something else until finding something
with which I couldn't live.
On the forth morning of your new arrangements we both had breakfast together,
and even talked about some trivial matters. He stayed as calm and frozen as I
tried to be, so there was not much of a conversation running, but I had the
certain feeling that things were about to slowly settle back to normal.
After cleaning up he bade me a good day, adding that he was going once more to
Mendala, but this time to settle things at the training facility of the mages,
where I had been for the testing only one week ago. I wondered what these things
could possibly be, but didn't ask, as he seemed intent on leaving as soon as
possible.
In his absence I began my study of the book concerning the possible uses of
elemental fire magic in combat. He hadn't shown any interest in what I did
during the day, so I reckoned that he wouldn't mind if I read that particular
book. Unlike many of the others it offered quite concrete ideas how to manage
several of the spells described over the pages, but I decided to wait for Tane
to return before I began to study these in earnest. There was simply no sense in
burning down everything around me without having someone handy who might
put the flames out again.
It was already late afternoon when I was about to tear myself from my reading
and make some supper when I heard something outside, a strange sound that
somehow unnerved me, but I couldn't put a finger on what it was. Then it sounded
again. A woman's laughter.
I was scowling before I could get a better hold on my temper and tried to calm
down once more. Was he now bringing his whores up to his bedroom, or did we have
a guest? Either notion seemed likely, and I didn't know which I'd prefer. Yet
before I could decide how to react should either possibility turn out true the
door opened and let Tane and the source of that laughter in. One look was enough
to discard the idea of her being one of the mages, but I wasn't sure if that
meant for her to be a whore.
She was a bit younger as I myself, with long silken blond hair cascading down her
chest and back and a body most women, maybe myself included, would kill to have.
Yet the look she shot me out of her baby blue eyes was one of such innocence
that I instantly doubted that she had even once thought about offering her
favours for money. So who was she, and what was she doing here?
While she smiled at me Tane shut the door behind her and smirked. That
alone told me more than most tales might have, and I instantly blanked out any
emotions that might have been showing on my face and forced a polite smile on my
lips. The girl stepped towards me but hesitated a moment when I slowly rose to
my feet. "Chelsea, this is my other student, Jeanne. Jeanne, this is Chelsea."
Other student? What the heck was this all about?
Before I could think about that in earnest Chelsea basically launched herself at
me, hugging me in an embrace as if we had been friends for life. "I'm so glad to
finally meet you, Tane has told me a lot about you, and I'm really happy to
learn with someone who has already accomplished that much as you have." She
beamed at me, and now it was really hard not to frown. I couldn't tell for sure,
but from the genuine way she smiled and talked it slowly dawned on me that our
little Chelsea wasn't the brightest cup in the board. Still I smiled and offered a
polite "Nice to meet you, too." before I was the one who seemed a bit dim.
After that brief introduction that didn't tell me a thing Tane set about the
task of showing Chelsea around. I bothered myself with beginning to prepare the
supper I had intended to cook before the two had shown up. His voice was muffled
when they moved to the back rooms of the house, but Tane made quite sure that I
could hear him explaining about "Jeanne's room" and "the bedroom". About that
time I decided for myself that Chelsea wasn't here to learn, just to be his toy
and a constant reminder for myself of what I missed. I somehow began to pity
her, yet that was not enough to let me like her. For all my life I had hated
girls like her, so just knowing what might be in store for her didn't change
that.
During supper my worst suspicion turned out to be true. Chelsea was as dim as a
piece of wood and ever so cheerful that my dislike for her only worsened. She
tried to strike up a conversation with me, but I simply couldn't force myself to
smile at her all the time and do more than nod at her stupid comments. Still it
was enough to make her happy. All the while Tane regarded me with a constant
smirk on his face that only turned into a benevolent smile when Chelsea looked
at him. I might have been naive when I came up here, but she was beyond that by
far.
After finishing the meal Tane began to gently coax her towards the bedroom, and
I just wished them both a good night. I stayed up for another hour or so, trying
to concentrate on my reading, but it was simply not possible. Finally I gave up
and went to bed. No suspicious noises came out of the next room, but I guessed
that the hour had been enough to exhaust the girl beyond all limits. I somehow
felt pity for her again, but it was her problem, not mine. I had already been
through all of this.
In the morning I was up early as I could no longer stand to stay in bed. A
certain kind of anxiety had taken hold of me and I simply couldn't stay lying
down in bed. I even went so far to clean the kitchen because of lack of anything
else to do. Soon I heard someone going around the back rooms, and in no time
Tane and Chelsea turned up. I had expected her to look at me in a queer fashion
at least, and be somehow limited in her abilities to move, but the contrary
seemed to be fact. During breakfast I got a good look on her wrists and bare
ankles under the table. No signs of anything. There were also no other signs of
abuse or exhaustion on her, and that made me wonder a lot. What had they been
doing in the bedroom? Until now there had barely a day passed without me
carrying something with me out of the feathers. Still I didn't ask or mention
anything, and did my best to ignore Tane's smirks.
As soon as I had finished my bread I went outside to resume reading lying in the
lengthening grass and letting the warm sun beat down on my body. This time of
the year it was still a bit chilly but freezing outside was still better than
having to bear that stupid bitch.
I hadn't been able to read more than two pages when Tane and his new pet came
outside and went for the caves. After deciding that he had only been lenient the
first night I tried to reassure myself that she would get exactly the same
treatment as I had half a year ago, and that this was none of my business. Still
I was quite disappointed when they came back two hours later, both laughing and
chatting amiably, to go back inside. As the front room was unoccupied ten
minutes later I reckoned that they had retired again. Now she would be in for
some serious trouble.
In the evening I was forced to postpone my observations for another day -
Chelsea was still in too good a mood. Once again I stayed up late, but this time
couldn't hold my curiosity back. When I went outside to relief my bladder for
the night I silently went around the house to get a peek inside the bedroom from
outside. Mind me, I'm really not the type to just watch, but I simply had to
know what was going on here. Maybe she was so into it that she didn't mind
hurting all over the next day?
As I had feared my suspicions were only confirmed by what I saw. Oh, they did
have sex, alright, and he did his best to bounce her around with her atop him,
but there were no conspiratory straps or ropes lying around, and the candles all
looked freshly ignited with no spilled wax anywhere. I was quite disappointed
and my ego got a mighty damper. Just because she was having the body of a
goddess she deserved to be treated like a normal human being, while I had to be
tied up every night and tortured more often than not? Something was awfully
wrong around here.
I couldn't get much sleep that night because of my railing mind. I was just
happy that I had still many hours to go until morning or I would have been at
Tane's throat the moment his smirk fell on me. So I just stared up at the
ceiling and fumed. This all had to be the next part of his plan to humiliate me
and make me back down. He must be guessing on me observing them and did his best
to show me how well he could behave. Even the knowledge of what lay in the
hidden compartment of the chest couldn't change my mood to the better. Right now
I really loathed him.
The second reason why I couldn't fall asleep where the healing welts on my body.
I was used to sleeping naked, but alone without someone to cuddle with it got
quite cold during the night, so I had tried to sleep with my clothes on, but
that had only made me itch far too much to get some rest. When I finally
undressed I flopped down on the bed to force my body to prepare for the night,
but somehow I couldn't keep my hands still.
As I had nothing better to do apart from fuming, which could be done at the same
time, I once more explored my body, gently feeling around for still sore places
on my skin. I wasn't used to welts staying for that long a time, but that had to
result from not being exposed to his healing touch. Right now my wounded pride
was rather comfortable with the ache if that meant staying away from Tane, but
it was simply inconvenient.
Far too soon I had prodded nearly every welt I could find and I had to admit
that in a day or two they all would be gone without leaving a trace. The
branding mark on my arm had also quieted down and only hurt when my touch got a
bit too insistent, and if the skin where it had been tattooed had ever itched or
pricked I had never known it, thanks to Tane's care. So there was only my clit
left, the only source of discomfort I could clearly define.
Softly I let my fingers wander over my outer pussy lips, stroking the flesh as
if that could distract me form what there was to come. When I put a hesitant
finger over my clit, feeling along the exit marks of the ring I inhaled sharply.
It was not that excruciating pain that I had felt before, but it still hurt. The
flesh around felt a bit puffy although I wasn't aroused, but only hurt when I
tried to move the ring a bit. Not wanting to torment myself without good reason
I stopped, returning with my finger to gently stroke over my clit. A weird
sensation began to bundle up in my lower reaches when I continued stroking. It
hurt, but it was an enticing kind of hurt, and soon pleasure began to seep in.
My arousal began to rise, but then fell again, for a moment making it impossible
to touch my clit. It had become oversensitive as if manipulated for quite a long
time, yet I only felt frustration welling up inside. It shouldn't be this way.
The pain I could block out, but I should be able to make myself cum without
problems when I stroked my clit.
For a moment tears welled up in my eyes and I had to fight them down. I still
didn't know why exactly he had done that to me. I guess I could have found out
by now if I hadn't kicked him in the first place, but as that was only
rhetorical thinking I tried to push these thoughts out of my head. Maybe it was
just temporarily, and would return to normal all too soon if I could just wait.
Oh please.
_________________
I got grumpier as the days wore on. After one week of having Chelsea around and
still not finding any hints at Tane playing anything but Tane I quit eating my
meals with the two of them and spent most of my time outside or in my room.
Chelsea was too dumb to take that for unusual behaviour, and Tane seemed to
think it a sort of victory. I chose to ignore both, and instead practiced how to
conjure up greater balls of fire with better aim that could well be used as
means for mass destruction, if used properly. Most of the time I got so angry
that instead of flames only small puffs appeared in the air, but I still kept
trying.
It was a rather cloudy day, and I was just about to let a new fire ball flop
from my palm when a familiar whooshing sounded over the meadow behind me. A bit
surprised I turned around, flames still dancing over my hand, to see a lone
figure step through a portal that promptly closed itself after admitting her
here. Only when she walked up towards me I recognized Lathea.
For once the woman was wearing a rather normal outfit if considered by her
standards, as she was clad in a man's shirt and pants, with sturdy boots to
complete the outfit. A bright smile danced over her face and made me a bit
suspicious. If I didn't know who she was I would have said she was happy to see
me, but knowing her background and past I couldn't fight down the uneasy feeling
that began to re-establish itself in my stomach. It cost me a lot to let go of
the flames and extinguish the fire that was dancing above my palm.
Lathea stopped a good distance away from me, near enough to make conversation
easy, yet giving me enough space not to feel crowded. Now I saw that she carried
a package in one hand, but I forced my eyes to stay at her face as a kind of
precaution. This way I could at least tell myself that I would see it coming if
she decided to do something to threaten me.
Although she must have seen my unease the woman continued to smile, not a
malicious grin but the kind of smile you directed at a good friend. "It's good
to see you, Jeanne. How are you doing?" Her tone was friendly and open, same as
her body language, but that somehow only made me even tenser. My reply came out
quite clipped. "Just fine, and you?" For a moment there was something in her
eyes, but it disappeared before I could decipher its meaning. "I can't complain.
Thanks for asking."
For a moment I considered if that had been irony or if there was more behind it,
but I couldn't think of any hidden meanings. So I just looked at her, with
Lathea smiling back. After about ten seconds I was tense as a strung bowstring
and couldn't hold it any longer. "What are you doing here? You of all people?" I
sounded suspicious but also bewildered, and the sincerity of that near-outburst
widened Lathea's smile.
"I'm just here for a short talk, and as I'm considered dispensable in the
training grounds, so they sent me. Maybe also because I know Tane and my mere
presence makes him go nearly insane, but that was merely a side effect." She
grinned for a moment, then sobered when I continued frowning.
"Here, that's for you. Elana sent me to bring it here to hand it to you." I just
stared at the small package she offered me, then took it and removed the paper
wrapping around it. Inside was a small leather-bound book, filled with the neat
handwriting of a woman. "Who's Elana?" Slowly my curiosity began to overwhelm my
fear, and I even dared to briefly skim through the pages of the book. Long
passages were interspaced with illustrations that didn't make any sense at the
first gaze.
Lathea blinked for a moment as if it amazed her that I didn't know who said
Elana was. "She's a mage down at the training grounds. You met her at the tests.
She was the one to fetch you for the duel. A bit older, gaunt, with long greying
hair, easy smile." Now I remembered the woman, and chided myself for not even
asking her of her name. When Lathea saw the recognition in my eyes she
continued. "She was amazed about your potential and wanted to ask if you were
interested in learning some things additional to your primary abilities.
Although she's a mage she has quite some knowledge equal the one of a
sorcerer, and she's a good friend of mine. Don't let that bug you, she's also a
good friend of Tane, I should add. She told me that she researched some things
and wrote them down for you, to raise your interest. She also added a tutorial
in how to teleport yourself from here down to Mendala, or any other place you've
already been to. She reckoned that Tane wouldn't show you until later in your
studies. She would be happy to at least talk to you, even if you refused her
help. She's really a nice person."
I was quite taken aback by Lathea's explanation and just stared down on the
book. I hadn't thought that anyone would care that much about me. When I looked
up at Lathea once more she had resumed her smile. Somehow I began to suspect
that it was real. Feeling like a dumb ox to only stand there and stare at her I
sighed briefly and shook my head. "Thank you, I'll consider it." Then I stopped
to think once more. It would surely bug Tane if I ventured away on my own, even
if it was just for a nice chat with Elana. "Forget that, I'll drop by as soon as
I get a feel on how this teleporting works." That only earned me an even brighter
smile.
Then something else occurred to me, and the frown returned to my forehead.
"Please excuse my curiosity, but are you able to use magic on your own?" Lathea
only smiled at my disbelieving tone. "No, as far as magic goes I'm as unable to
work with it as the next stone. Elana provided me with this." She showed me a
small stone that was covered with strange symbols. "I don't know what it really
is, but it's some kind of enchantment that enables me to teleport between here
and the training grounds. She wisely gave it to me as she thought that Tane
might not be too enticed with the idea of opening a portal for me." Lathea
grinned briefly, and I nearly returned that gesture at her mocking tone. Could
it be possible that I began to like her?
Before silence could settle once more between us, she went on. "Speaking of him,
where is Tane anyway?" My mood dropped instantly, and it must have shown on my
face because Lathea's brows began to rise a bit. "Having trouble with him?" Her
tone puzzled me a bit, mainly because she sounded concerned. I hurried to wipe
any emotions from my face and shook my head. "No trouble. He's in the house."
Just that moment, as if fate had decided to work against me, Chelsea cried out
inside the bedroom, making me first flinch and then sigh, with my hand rubbing
over my eyes in a weary gesture. When I opened them once more I saw Lathea
frowning in the general direction of the house. After a slightly irritated blink
her gaze went back to me. "Chelsea?"
I nodded, only then wondering if it was common knowledge what was going on here.
"Do you know her?" Lathea shook her head but still looked a bit confused. "Know
would be too much, I saw her back at the training grounds last week. Is she
really that stupid as she seems?" The sheer disbelief in the woman's voice made
me grin in spite of myself, and somehow like her even more. "She's worse. I
would have killed her by now if I had to have to be around here more often. But
I don't get to see her much, same as I don't have to grovel in Tane's all so
mighty presence."
Lathea returned my grin at the irony in my words. She really seemed quite
amused. "You don't strike me as one to do much grovelling. At least not without
kicking him the moment he lets his guards down." Her smile was just too knowing,
and I felt a mixture of frustration and shame rise up inside of me. "So that's
common knowledge by now?"
The woman hurried to remove the beginning smirk from her face and shook her
head. "No. But I had a talk with Lezaro today when he got wind of me getting up
here." She paused a moment, evidently giving me the time to think of the
implication of that. I waited for her to make some acidic remarks, but was being
disappointed when a look of real concern manifested itself on her features. "Are
you still hurting?" I thought about that and decided to deny it. Yet when I
shook my head Lathea frowned. "Don't lie to me, I can see that you still tread
rather lightly." Bile rose in my throat, mainly because I once again got angry
with what Tane had done to me, but before some of that could show on my face I
cleared my throat. "I meant that the consequences I had to suffer from the kick
don't ale me any longer."
Lathea blinked again, seemingly a bit taken aback at getting a clear answer from
me. Then her easy smile returned. "You also don't strike me as the woman to
dwell on things she's gotten over with. Excuse my tactlessness, but I've been in
the business a bit too long not to see when someone is in pain." For a moment
her smile got a darker quality, but when she went on it was normal again.
"Lezaro bid me to express his sincere regret for what he did. He just didn't
dare speak up to one of the most dangerous sorcerers that keep visiting our
grounds." I just nodded. "Tell him to forget it, I don't bear him a grudge. I
know who's to blame for my discomforts. I guess I should rather be grateful for
him knowing his work the way he does."
Again Lathea seemed to hesitate, and the thought crossed my mind that just maybe
she was about to rethink her opinion about me, the same as I did with her.
Still, her next sentence made me wonder. "Yet if you think that there might
arise some complications like inflammation or something, don't hesitate to drop
by me when you come to Mendala. I know quite a lot about any kinds of wounds,
and about anatomy, too. Comes with the job I reckon." In spite of myself I had
to smile again, and seeing her looking a bit relieved only deepened it. "Thanks
for the offer; I might get back to it." Lathea just nodded, evidently pleased
with me acting sensibly.
I sighed once again and decided to test just how reasonable my attempt at
rethinking my attitude towards her was. "Can I ask you something?" Lathea
nodded, looking quite interested. "Are you only acting right now to later get a
better chance to somehow get back at Tane, or just plain annoy or hurt me, or
are you really not all that ... horrible?" I waited for her to at least reel at
that, but Lathea only smiled in a rather affectionate way, as if I had just
complemented her on something. Maybe I had.
"I don't know how much Tane ever told you about me, but I guess he was not too
fond about getting into detail. But I never had any intentions about hurting him
in any way after our ways parted. And although it might sound strange, I think
that deep down inside of him he doesn't hate me all that much. He's mainly
putting on a show for the audience whenever we meet. Unlike his attitude towards
Drake, that's pure and real hate. I don't know if you believe me, but I somehow
like you; you are a young confident woman who has a lot of courage and strength
of character, and I value that in others. I would understand it if you were not
to trust me because of my occasional pastimes, but I regard you as someone
capable of standing above such unimportant details."
Now I didn't know if I'd ever be able to regard torturing someone as an
unimportant detail, because that had to be the pastime activity she talked
about, but there was something in her that made me believe her. Only then I
realized that in some ways Lathea and Tane were a bit alike. Perhaps her way of
handling things had rubbed off on him; they both seemed to value truth over
tactful excuses. Even if I sometimes hated Tane for never even bending reality
to be nice I began to value that trait, too. So I just nodded, and even managed
a smile, slight yet sincere. "I don't know if I'll manage just that, but I have
a high tolerance of ignorance. Although certain people are developing a
magnificent ability of wearing that down." I just glanced at the house behind
me, but that was enough to send Lathea snickering.
When she sobered again a slight twinkle stayed in her eyes. "Just don't let him
bug you too much. I know Tane quite well, and even if he has changed over the
last ten years, I'm sure that he just wants to irritate you, maybe even drive
you insane, but the way he behaved when I saw the two of you together told me
that he really likes you. He wouldn't really try to mentally destroy you, that's
just not like him."
I just wished I had her confidence, and when she heard me sigh again Lathea
frowned. "You not convinced of that?" For a moment I thought about making an
excuse, but then I decided to give trusting her a try. There couldn't go much
wrong, and suddenly I felt the need to simply voice my concerns.
"I know, this might sound stupid, but somehow ... I don't know how much you know
about his habits regarding sex. Maybe I shouldn't even talk about it to you, but
can I trust you keeping this confidential?" Lathea nodded without hesitation. "I
won't tell anyone if you want it to stay secret, and I won't even use it against
him." I nodded, and then talked on. "You know, he simply loves to tie me down.
It can get quite rough between us, sometimes, and more than once I thought I
couldn't stand him any longer, but somehow I like it." I waited for her to make
a stupid comment, or just smirk, but Lathea stayed neutral. Yet she seemed to
realize the reason for my pause and just shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with
liking that. I of all people should understand that. I surely am at least
halfway blameable for his tastes."
I don't know why, but her answer kind of made me relax again, and so I went on.
"Now since after I kicked him we didn't have sex anymore, and that's just okay
with me. I'm still too sore and don't want to risk anything." Lathea seemed to
understand exactly what I meant and just waited for me to continue. "I don't
mind him sleeping with other women, what he did for two days. But with Chelsea
all of this is different ..." I let that hang in the air, thinking about how to
explain it.
"Jealous?" Lathea's tone was somewhere between amiable and ironic, yet
good-natured, and made me grin while I shook my head. "No, not really. I know
that she's just here because he thinks he can annoy the hell out of me with her
presence, and although I hate to admit it, it works. But not because he seems to
fuck with her two thirds of the day, but because that's all he does, nothing
more." Lathea eyed me askance, and after another sigh I explained. "He just
fucks her, but never ties her up, never whips her, he doesn't even seem to get
rough with her, the way she moves afterwards."
For a moment Lathea looked a bit taken aback, then her smile returned. "You
checked on them?" Instantly colour began to rise in my cheeks, and I couldn't
fight the embarrassment down. "Only once, to be sure. But don't get this wrong,
I'm not the kind to ..." Lathea stopped me with a full-hearted laugh. "Stop
defending yourself, I really don't mind. I just couldn't resist that." Another
thing Tane seemed to have adopted from her. Knowing fully well that it would
only get worse if I tried to explain again I let it at that. "And this really
bugs me. It's not as if I would hate her that much to wish her to be tormented
the same way as I, and I'm sure that what I liked deep down inside would just be
torture for her. But it somehow bothers me. With me he couldn't even once
refrain from it, and with her it doesn't matter?"
More frustration leaked into my voice than I had intended, but Lathea chose to
ignore that for my benefit. "I guess he knows that you know that?" I just
nodded. "So it's just another thing to get you mad at him. I wouldn't bother too
much if I were you, even although I know how stupid that sounds. Sooner or later
he will get so bored that he can't go along with that any longer, and in no time
he'll be in your bed again." I shared a knowing smile with Lathea, and for the
first time since Chelsea had come here I felt calm again.
With that settled I honestly didn't know what to say anymore, and chose to get
back to my initial question, her reasons for coming here. "Shall I fetch Tane?
I'm sure he'll be outside in under ten seconds when I tell him that you're
here." Lathea laughed but shook her head. "No need for that. Just tell him I
said hello, that will surely vex him enough."
While I thought of something else to say Lathea briefly studied the position of
the sun in the sky. "I'll better go now. I'll have a lesson soon, and I don't
want to keep my pupils waiting for too long." When she saw my astonished look
she explained. "I'm in charge of teaching a class of fighters how to get the
better of their opponents in a hand-to-hand fight. It's basically watching a
horde of young athletic men beat at each other while sweating from the heat and
exhaustion. Just too delicious." She smirked for a moment. "You're invited to
drop by when you get down for a talk with Elana. I'm sure you'd also appreciate
that sight." I allowed myself a smile, and then nodded. "Maybe I'll get back to
that, too."
Lathea then took her leave, and after saying good bye I turned to go up to the
hut once more. Even before I heard the portal swoosh closed behind her the door
opened and Tane, only clad in his pants, looked out at the meadow. I guess he
didn't get a look at Lathea herself, but he evidently noticed the portal, and
his eyes narrowed instantly. When his gaze dropped to me I was all jovial
innocence, what didn't exactly lighten his mood. "Someone was here?"
I couldn't keep a slight smirk off my face, mainly because I suddenly felt the
desperation and frustration of the last days being lifted from me. So it was not
too hard to look happy. "Yes." He apparently waited for me to go on, but I just
looked at him, until he nearly went for my throat. "And who was it, if you'd be
so kind to tell me?" I made a show of averting my eyes but had to keep a tight
control on the upraising laugh inside of me. "Lathea dropped by for a chat."
Tane's eyes widened, yet instead of getting angry he paled visibly. It somehow
confirmed a thing or two Lathea had told me. It took him about five seconds to
regain his bearings, and when his eyes focused on me again the anger came
seeping in. "And why didn't you fetch me, then?" Now my smirk couldn't be
mistaken for anything else. "Did I say she was here to see you?" Before he could
reel at that I added a curt, "And you've been quite busy anyway, at least it
sounded as if you were." That stopped him cold in his tracks, another reaction I
hadn't anticipated. Maybe I should invite Lathea up here more often if she
really proved to be sensible.
Before either Tane or I could talk on, Chelsea appeared behind him, only clad in
a sheet she had wrapped around her body. Once again I gave her a fast all-over
to check for any suspicious marks, but her flesh was still unblemished. For once
that didn't even bother me all that much, and I began to believe that the short
conversation with Lathea had done a great deal to nullify Tane's latest effort
to get back at me. It really amazed me how fast things could change.
Even someone as stupid as Chelsea must have been able to sense the tension in
the air, because she eyed me quite quizzically. "Is something not okay? I
thought I heard shouting out here." That girl really didn't know what shouting
meant if she regarded our conversation as just that. We hadn't even had time to
build up the required rage to start getting ugly. As always I just smiled at her
bleakly, and went inside. Tane didn't move a muscle to hinder me, but when I
settled down on the table he and Chelsea went out towards the caves. This was
just as well with me as that would mean at least one hour of not being disturbed
by either of them.
Later that evening Tane still treaded lightly around me, or rather didn't coax
me every moment we were in the same room. I didn't really try to test if that
was true or if he was just plain tired, and hurried to retire to my room to get
on reading Elana's notes. Lathea's brief visit had shown me that I didn't need
much to regain my senses, only some time off from wondering what Tane and
Chelsea were doing at this very moment. If I really managed to learn how to
teleport myself to Mendala I would find lots of possibilities for distraction,
only another reason to look forward to get done with reading. Maybe I wouldn't
be able to learn much from the mages down there, but it at least offered some
kind of distraction, and I was intent to use everything what I could get my
hands on. The fact that it would vex Tane immensely only added up to everything.
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