The life of a captured rose
Chapter 1
'Urgh… what on earth happened?'
One minute she was relaxing in her garden, the next… darkness. She tried making heads of tails of her situation, using all her senses. The first thing she noticed was the smell. Garlic… that explained the blackout, she had been knocked out. Trying to raise her hands she was rewarded with resistance and the sound of chains. Well that certainly wasn't reassuring.
Slowly she opened up her eyes, scarlet irises scanning her surroundings. She was in a cage. She was sitting on a wooden bench leaned up against the wall of a cage. Her arms were chained to each other via a bigger chain fastened to a ring at the floor.
A heavy cold feeling around her neck alerted her to a second chain, fastened to a collar around her neck, anchored to the cage wall behind her. Blinking she looked to the door of the cage, seeing a shining chain fastened with a padlock. She snorted in amusement.
Silver… as if she was a werewolf. Outside the cage she saw wooden benches and more chains, as well as rope and barrels. Her nose picked up the scent of salt and her ears the sound of seagulls and water, as well as the pacing of boots. She was in the hull of a ship.
'Let's see, kidnapping, ship, cage… two plus two is four.'
"I'm on a slave ship."
Saying the obvious out loud made the situation less bizarre... or at least seem that way. All right, time to find out how to get out. Teleportation would be a bad idea, without knowing precisely where she was she could risk harming herself getting from point A to point B.
First thing she needed to do was to get out of the… her train of thought was disrupted as a door crept open.
She winched as a stray ray of sun hit her cheek, stinging as if someone held burning coal up to her face. She took a second to realize what that meant. Her enchantments and protection spells which she used to be able to walk outside had worn off… she had been knocked out for quite a long time.
Feigning unconsciousness she hung her head, listening in as her senses started working. Male, heavyset by the sound of his footsteps as well as his blood pressure. Blood type A and… surprise, surprise, virgin too.
"OI PRINCESS WAKE UP!"
A wave of cold water being thrown into one's face would have made even the calmest person gasp, splutter or lose their cool. She simply opened her eyes, glaring at the man outside the cage holding the bucket with deep crimson eyes as she shook her head in annoyance trying to get her pigtails dry.
"Had a nice nap sweetie?"
She didn't respond. She didn't see the point, simply glaring at the fat man in front of her.
"What? Got nothing to say? No words of outrage, cries of help?"
She looked at him and then down to his belt, where a whip was tied together at his hip. She needed to get out of these chains… a boost was needed it seemed… all right, nothing else to do… this would hurt.
"I am sorry I don't live up to your expectations… virgin."
The look on his face was priceless, and if she had had any less of an upbringing than she had, she'd laugh. Instead she simply smiled and took a deep sniff, using old talents and instincts she usually hated and rarely accepted existed, forcing her fangs to elongate, her eyes to glow and her fingernails to stretch out like claws. She grinned, fangs bared.
"You really think you can hold me virgin?"
The man's shocked face turned into one of outrage.
"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH BITCH OR I WILL END YOU."
She scoffed. "Oh please try… I haven't had a good laugh in ages… how long do you think you'll last against a nostefrau virgin?"
The man growled and grabbed his whip. "I SAID SHUT UP."
He lashed out, hitting her on the cheek. She turned her head back to look into his, blood dripping down her cheek.
"Thank you kindly" she said.
The man cursed as he realized what he had done, as she reached out a tongue and started licking at the blood she could reach.
"Very well… let's have some fun."
She rose from the wooden bench, ripping loose both the chain holding her arms as well as the collar around her neck. No sooner had the man taken a step back as she reached him, reaching out between the bars to grab him by the neck, lifting him off the ground. A shot rang out, making her look to her left. The man looking back at her held a shotgun rifle in his arms.
"Hi there miss… I need you to put Clinton back on the ground and let him go."
She turned her head to the side and hummed as if she thought it over.
"You know… I don't think I should."
"I think you do" the man said holding up a shotgun holster. "You see this? This bullet here has been doused in holy water… if you don't let down my friend Clinton here by the time I count to 5 I will shoot you in the arm."
She huffed, turning back to Clinton. "Lucky day for you virgin you get to live another day."
She let the man go, making him back up from the cage.
"Thanks Lou" he grunted.
"Don't thank me stupid, I told you to stay away from that thing."
"We have dealt with vampires before" Clinton objected.
"We've dealt with medians… this one is a nostefrau, she was born, not bitten; she is in a whole other ballgame."
"How astute of you to notice she said, fangs still out for intimidation factor. And yet you make the mistake of putting a silver chain on the cage door."
"We use that chain for both vampires and lycans girlie… that chain used to be 7 silver crosses, donated from the old churches in the pre rift era. Now before you do something stupid we are about 3 hours out from shore, mid day, without a cloud in the sky. Step outside from this hull and you will be barbeque. Clinton, go and get some more chains… the sturdy one's this time."
Clinton didn't need to be asked twice and ran off, leaving the other two to their staring contest.
Lou held up his shotgun. "Now then… teeth back in your mouth and stay still."
"Or else what?"
Her question was answered as Lou showed off the inside of his jacket; which held enough garlic to make her raise her hand to her nose to hold out the stink.
"I'll say it again. Teeth back and stay still. You will be worth a lot of coin and I'd rather you didn't force me to harm you."
She simply raised an eyebrow. Did this human really think she'd back down that easily… well he was about to get a real eye opener. True she couldn't teleport back home… but she could teleport out of this cage.
And with that cheery thought she vanished. Lou blinked and just a moment to late noticed the sound coming from behind him. He reached inside his jacket as four long nails scratched his face, blood falling down his cheek.
"YOU FUCKING BITCH I'LL SELL YOUR ASS AS A FUCKING CONCUBINE."
She went for another attack as the intense smell of garlic filled her nostrils… and then everything went black.