Closed [Guest ST][Shiress] Without a Quicker Blood

[Philomena]

//Ah Petch, stupid bitch.//

Lona reflected, as her body took over with the automatic movements of a lifetime spent on the streets of Sunberth, that she wasn't sure if she was calling herself stupid or the girl. Probably herself. She'd assumed the girl would take the threat of bodily harm to the prone woman seriously enough to behave for a moment. She'd thought that maybe the girl would look at the situation as she did - unfortunate, buy best resolved with a minimum of blood.

Apparently not. She should have taken the time to tie the girl up.

Delineating the contours of this conversation, perhaps give's the impression that she sat musing for a few moments. On the contrary, by the time the last of these thoughts ticked through her brain, her action was well-advanced. She'd pushed hard off her knee, not to stand, but to smack hard against the door frame with her shoulder, just as the girl passed before it. It swung forward, striking the girl hard enough, hopefully, to knock the breath out of her while throwing her off balance, giving Lona a chance to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her to the floor, clamping the knifeless hand over her mouth, the knife swinging next to the girl's throat.

She panted, catching her breath.

"Now. Girl. I tried bein' reasonable."

And she swung the pommel of the dagger smacking against Shiress's temple.

It wasn't enough to make the girl unconscious, just enough to daze her for a few moments, long enough for Lona to tie her hands and feet and gag her mouth. When she was done, she stood again, frustrated. But her voice remained cool and quiet, and cold.

"Now, let's try this again, girl. Look at it this way. You aren't getting away, now, are you? You run out the front door, you ain't free anyway - Tuiler is outside, and he don't really care if you look pretty when you get to my employer, you're better off working with me. So. You gonna end up there, one way or the other. You want to get away, sure. But you ain't going to, now, and getting beat up now ain't gonna do either one of us no good, is it? You been listening to too many stories, Shiress. You been thinking you need to be a hero. You know what saves your friend here? What helps your friend not be dead is you, shutting the petch up and listening close to instructions. Trying to be clever ain't gonna help either one of you. Savvy? Nod if you understand that, and if you'll keep your mouth shut now, if I take this gag off. 'Cause I can leave it on if I need to, but we both gonna find this easier if you cooperate."

[Shiress]

She failed and failed miserably. It was obvious Shiress didn't know who she was dealing with. Before the girl had a chance to take a breath, the woman had made sure she wasn't going anywhere. If the door itself didn't knock the girl in a good enough daze, the dagger end to her head did. Im sorry Hadyn. Shiress remained still as her hands and feet were bound, the swirling pain in her head convincing her to do so. The woman grabbed Shiress' arms sitting her up, leaning her back against the bed as she placed a cloth tightly around the girls mouth. Still dazed, Shiress struggled to remain upright, but the spinning room caused her to slump forward, sending a stream of warm liquid running down her cheek, but as the woman spoke she forced her body up again, her head falling back against the bed as her eyes gradually opened to focus blurred vision on the woman. My gods she knows my name Her eyes widened as she lifted herself up, leaving blood stained sheets in her wake as she glanced to Hadyn, lying motionless at her feet. Her eyes then moved slowly to the woman's as tears streamed down her face. Her body began to tremble as she nodded her understanding of the woman's warning.

[Philomena]

Lona watched the woman stare at her prostrate friend, watched her obvious emotion, then watched as the woman looked up to meet Lona's eyes. Lona's face burnt, and she looked away, eyes unwilling to meet Shiress's.

"Look, woman, neither one of us likes this. Life is gonna shyke on you now. I ain't lookin' to be no monster, no more 'n you are."

She unknots the gag, slowly.

"Now, don't make me regret this, girl." her brow was furrowed, "Look... I don't have any truck with your friend, beyond making sure I don't get caught. And I only got to follow the letter of the law with you - Take you back to your master, unarmed and bound. You tell me what to do with your friend that she won't call no Knights out on me, I don't give a damn. And you keep your mouth shut, you can drop off your things, and I can keep you safe until you get there. Your Elijah is a prick and a half. IF he gets them, you won't be seeing them again. After you arrive, I..." she turned away, and said, "I'm sorry. I can't do much for you then."

She pulled loose the gag, now, and frowned at the woman. She was close in age, she could have been a sister or a playmate in her youth.

"Petch Dira's teats. I hate this. Now keep your voice down. I ain't got no more pity for troublemaking."

[Shiress]

Her heart felt cold and still as terror flooded her chest then crept slowly up to form the expression on her face. The spinning room around her suddenly became still as her blurred sight was forced clear and locked on the woman in a glare of disbelief. Shiress was to be delivered to her master. To Elijah Jordan. Shiress' eyes creased in a voiceless plea as the gag around her mouth was loosened, drawing in a shaky breath as it was pulled away. "No..no..please don't do this, please let me go." She pleaded, tilting to her head trying to meet with the woman's eyes. "You don't understand the evil in this man. Please?" Her eyes fell away, desperately scanning around the tiny room. "Please listen to me, I will give you anything, I'll pay you anything just please don't do this." Shiress looked again to the woman, her voice becoming a whisper. "Please don't take my freedom from me again." She looked away hopelessly, the woman seemed unmoved by her pleas. There was nothing Shiress could do to free herself of the ropes, she had no weapon nor any will left to fight. With the late bell, the city streets would be empty, and if the wind still raced about as it did half a bell earlier, half the city's street torches will have been blown out leaving a shadowed path leading all the way to the gates. Seems fate has cleared a path that would return Shiress to the nightmare she had not longed escaped. Hadyn Her eyes lowered to the blacksmith laying in front of her. The thought of Hadyn falling prey to the beast Elijah Jordan caused her stomach to turn sick. If she couldn't save herself, at the very least, she would do what she could to save the life and the freedom of the woman she thought of as a sister. "Do with me what you must." She said looking up. "But please, don't hurt her. She has done nothing against you, she's not seen your face. Please let her go."

[Philomena]

The woman frowns. Says nothing a moment, her face roiling with frustration. Then she says quiet, "You ain't the only one with troubles, girl. You ask two things for your friend? I'll give you one. I ain't gonna leave her here, don't care if she's seen me. She knows someone conked her in your flat. I don't need none of your damn knights looking into me. But... I ain't got no reason to hurt this girl. I'll keep her out o' harms way if she lets me."

She bends, now, frisks the prone Haddy, without any particular admissions to inexperience or propriety. She pulls out the contents of the woman's pockets - a ring, a dagger, a purse of mizas... The dagger she slides into her own boot. The rest she leaves in a heap.

"Now. Take 'at. And take anything o' your own." she pulls leans the girl forward and slices through the knjots at her wrists, then her ankles, "Stick it in your drawer. I'll tell your girl here to come looking for it once I can let her go, you give me your house key. In return, you're gonna take one of her arms, keep your mouth shut, and help me manhandle her out t'door to the street, eh?"

She eyes the woman and says more quietly, "And I'm sorry y'have troubles. Life's a bitch, but you ain't gonna make it a lapdog by whining at it. If you... if you decide what you'd rather have Dira than Jordan..." she nods, looking down, "You let me know. I'll see what I can do. I can't offer you more than that. I have my own problems."

[Shiress]

Shiress done as she was told. Under the glaring eye of the woman, she leaned down and gently pulled Hadyn's hand up and slid a silver ring from her finger, picked up her coin purse and placed it along side her own in the small top drawer of her trunk. Holding her trembling hand out in front of her she pulled her mothers golden band from her own index finger and place it to in the drawer. As she slid the drawer closed, she stood in place pondering the the option's presented to her by the woman. Death or slavery "If I choose death, you would still give me to Jordan. Wouldn't you?" She asked as she tuned herself to face the intruder. "Slavery is death in its self. You have been employed to return me to my own death, it would be no different and you can not face Elijah Jordan empty handed with just the body of a slave or you would have already murdered me." She stepped slowly forward. " You offer me death and I would take it in place of enslavement, but I wont tempt Dira with words when I truly have no options" Shiress came around her bed and placed her knee along side the motionless blacksmith, placing her hand around the woman's prone shoulder, ready to lift the unconscious Hadyn to her feet. "You are taking me to Jordan, therefore, you have chosen for me." She stated, looking up through tears. "How do you breath when you have no heart."

[Philomena]

For most of the speech, Lona busied herself around the body on the floor, then hefted it up pulling one of the woman's arms over her own shoulders, with an oomph. Not as thin, Lona thought, as she would have liked, this one.

//The girl had to be friends with a petching blacksmith?//

The girl finished her long speech and Lona turned furiously to her, her face flushed under the skin, her eyes narrow and angry. She simply stared at the frightened woman for a moment, then her voice took on a deadly, angry growl.

"Go petch yourself, girl."

She reached up, then, with her free hand, and yanked hard on the collar of her blouse. It pulled down, tearing one button, to reveal most of her right breast. Its was scarred in a hideous criss cross of whipmarks, and in the middle, like like a hideous seal of approval, was a scarred, poorly applied slave's brand.

"I just risked my petching life and my mothers to give you some petching comfort. Don't you dare petching talk to me about where my heart is, you presumptive bitch. Now, get the petch over here, and take her other arm. If anyone says anything, you shut the petch up. She's drunk. We're taking her home. That's the story. If she dies, its becuase you thought you'd play the petching high and mighty heroine to my depraved little petching heart."

She spit the last word out furiously, and she let go of the blouse, then, with the cold dignity of a free-woman, and stared hard at the girl, waiting for her to obey.

[Shiress]

Shiress had no reaction to the woman's words, Staying true to form she closed her eyes as the woman yanked her forward. When the woman released her blouse she straightened herself. Never looking back to the woman's face, her arm wrapped around Hadyn's slender waist as the other pulled the blacksmiths arm around her own shoulder. Her only hope of escaping this impending nightmare was to remain calm. Shiress had experience with the like company as this woman. She knew, now, this woman had no regard for her life and that cooperating would keep her at least less beaten and injured, leaving her able bodied for an escape as she was taken back to Sunberth. It was, after all, a long journey and the many nights ahead surely would bring the opportunity of escape. At least the many days that lay ahead are between her and the face of her master. This gave her a bit of hope.

[Philomena]

The next part went simply enough. Lona sloughed the unconscious woman along as well as she could, out the door, giving Shiress a moment to look the door, then taking the key, reachign inside the unconscious woman's girdle, and putting it under her breast in a business-like way, making sure it wouldn't fall out. She looked impassively at Shiress, and said, "There you are. Your girl'll get your little sweetheart ring or whatever it is."

She withdrew her hand then, signaling silence, and stumped the woman down the passageway, down to the street. IT was largely empty. The morning was going into its wee hours, when the drinking was over and the market carts just beginning to arrive. There was just enough bustle to blend in, but not so much that the knights were at their sharpest. She stopped by one cart, where a large, dour-faced man stood in the bed, unloading bloody sides of pork to a man beneath.

"Marriph! Nearly unloaded, eh?"

The man looked down with the dullness of an animal mind, and frowned hard at the the group of three women, "What's this, then, Lona?"

Lona looked at the great hulk of a man with warning in her eyes, "Well, you know, three of us had a few drinks, and apparently, Missy here had a few too many! Give us a lift, eh? Little pig's blood ain't gonna do us no harm!"

The man looked unhappy, but nodded, throwing the last of the fatbacks down to a man who started toward the castle gates to thread them down to the Bazaar to be butchered and sold. Marriph leapt down, the springs of the cart wheels bouncing unpleasantly with the movement, then with no gentleness at all, lifted the unconscious woman, sloughing her onto the cart's bed, with all the delicacy of another side of meat. Lona looked meaningfully at Shiress with a warning frown, climbing behind her - and to her credit, taking a moment to at least settle the unconscious woman less uncomfortably on the bed. Marriph said nothing at all, but climbed up on the seat of the gig and clucked the horses on, grumbling.

They drove through the streets of the city, until they were far from the castle entrance, under the overhang of an empty rain-shelter. Quickly, then, Lona leapt into action. She moved the blacksmith's body, and jerked at the boards of the bed, popping up trapdoor in the high cart, with a wooden chamber beneath. She looked hard at Shiress then, and took from the compartment some rope, and a few handkerchiefs, and set to work binding her hands and feet, hoodwinking her eyes and gagging her mouth.

"What the petch is this, Lona? One girl! One girl, and you got two1"

"You shut your face, Marriph. You ain't on this trip for your petching math skills. Shut your face and turn forwards."

She looked hard at Shiress, but her eyes… were guilty, almost pleading, "Look… just… let me get through this quick, its gonna be easier for everyone."

[Shiress]

Shiress cringed as the sound of Hadyn's motionless body fell against the carts floor, echoing through the silent street. She climbed slowly up herself, watching as the woman followed. A hopeless feeling settled into her chest as the cart lurched forward. The closer the cart drew close to the city gates the more the feeling strengthened and she yielded to it. Shiress glared at the woman before drawing in a breath to speak. "I saw your marks. I know you have felt the stinging bite of a whip and the torturous burn of iron against your skin. How can one bring another back to the fate that you, yourself knows death to be fairer?" Nothing there after was heard but the screeching cart and the clopping footsteps of it's bearer as the cart carried Shiress nearer the edge of town, this sound, along with her hands and feet being bound again, caused her heart to sink, leaving an empty, sick hole in her chest. If Hadyn was to alert the knights of her capture, how far would they go to search for a mere girl? A girl who meant little to nothing to the city. A slave girl being returned to her rightful place. She new of one squire who would have given her captures a royal escort back to Sunberth. Her body felt numb with no desire to fight, no desire to escape even. She felt only a slight hope that the knights guarding the city gates would give their attention to a familiar, unconscious blacksmith being taken from the city, but this was too easy though, too foolish of a mistake for an obvious well planned, thought out capture. Her face lowered and tears streamed from beneath her covered eyes. Dira please hear my plea. Let my death come swiftly now before the chains return to tighten around my wrist.