She stood behind her master's chair, holding a jug of wine and doing her best to keep her terror from showing on her face. She had to look beautiful, desirable. Well, she was a bedslave. She had learned from a young age how to appear alluring when you wanted nothing more than to run and hide.
Her master held up his empty goblet, and she moved quickly to fill it. "My brother shall be here shortly, my pet." He did not look at her as he spoke, and for that she was grateful. His blue lips were curled up in their usual smirk. "Are you excited to meet him?" Her nod in response was too quick, too fake looking, but it didn't really matter. He was looking forward, and she was on the side with the eye patch. He could not see her. "Follow his commands as if he were me. If you do well, I shall see that you are well rewarded. If you do not…" He let the statement hang in the air, and she shivered in spite of herself.
"Your Grace." A thrall poked his head through the door. "The Lord Captain is here to see you."
"Excellent." Her master grinned. "Send him in." The thrall nodded and retreated. A moment later, a giant of a man entered the room. He did not look at all how she had expected him to. Though she had been told her was her master's younger brother, he looked to be older by many years, with white streaks breaking the deep black of his hair and beard. Tall and muscular, he had the look of a man who had seen more than his fair share of battlefields, and was hoping to see many more before he died. The look he gave her master was one of poorly concealed loathing, tinged with more than a little fear, though he was doing his best to merely appear irritated. So even a man such as this had reason to fear the Crow's Eye.
"What is it you want from me, brother?" His voice was gruff, and he sounded impatient. He obviously did not want to be there. "I should be with my men, preparing to sail for the Shield Islands tomorrow. Or have you forgotten?"
"Why, that is why I sent for you!" Her master's grin widened. "To wish you good fortune in the battles to come. Woman!" He turned to her suddenly, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Pour my brother some wine, quickly. Drink with me, Victarion." It was a command, not a request. She brought the wine over, and the big man eyed her suspiciously, but accepted the cup she held out to him. He sniffed at the cup cautiously before taking a sip. Her master's good eye seemed to shine with amusement as he drank deeply from his own cup.
"This is all well and good, brother." Victarion said finally, after realising her master was not going to speak. "But if that is all you wished of me, then I shall take my leave. I have far more important matters to attend to." He set his cup down noisily on her master's table, and turned to leave.
"That was not all, no." Her master said, examining the nails on his right hand. Victarion looked back, and annoyed expression on his face. "I have a gift for you, my dearest brother."
"A gift?" Victarion said incredulously. He turned back to face her master fully, his expression that of a man who expected he was about to be tricked. "What sort of gift? And why?"
"Why?" Her master stood up. "Can a man not give his own dear brother a gift without it being called suspicious?" He walked around the table, grabbed her arm, and pulled her forward. "Here is your gift, brother. Is she not lovely?"
She did her best to look lovely, smiling in what she prayed was a suitably seductive manner. Victarion looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her breasts for a moment, but his expression remained hard. "I want none of your leavings, brother. " He said, scowling. "If I had wanted a bedwarmer, I would have gotten one myself. Now, if there is nothing else."
"Is that so? Such a pity. I picked her out just for you." He ran a hand through her hair, and it was all she could do not to jerk away from his touch. "I ran into a slave ship from Lys. You know how well their whores are trained. And she even speaks – well…" He smirked. "Understands the common tongue. Isn't that right?" She nodded, her mind racing. Victarion would not take her? But then, what would happen to her?
"If she is so wonderful, keep her to warm your own bed." Victarion said. "I am not interested."
Her master shrugged. "I have no need for another whore on my ship. If you do not want her, then I shall just have her drowned." He spoke casually. It was not a threat.
"That…" Victarion frowned. "That is unnecessary. There is no need to kill her simply because I do not want her."
"She was intended to be your bedwarmer. If she cannot do that, then I really see no reason to keep her alive." Her master shrugged again. She looked up at him, confused. Was he really just going to kill her? After everything that had been done to prepare for this? "Don't look at me that way." He said, waving a hand towards Victarion. "My brother is the one who doesn't want you."
"Could you not give her to one of your men?" He actually sounded troubled by the fate that awaited her, which was a surprise. He had not struck her as the type to care.
"My men have already taken their pick from the women on that ship. Besides, choosing who to give her to would be more trouble than it's worth. Killing her is so much easier, don't you think?" He smiled at Victarion, who clenched his jaw. "Well, that was all I wanted from you, brother. You had best go prepare for tomorrow." He grabbed her arm and started to head to the adjoining room.
Victarion stood silently for a moment, his jaw clenched. He looked like he was thinking. They were almost to the door when he finally spoke. "Wait." Her master paused. She could see he was smirking, though it was hidden from his younger brother. "It would be a waste to just kill her. If no one else will have her, I suppose I will."
"Are you sure?" Her master turned back to look at him. "You don't have to, you know. I have no problem drowning her, it's really no trouble."
"I said I would take her." Victarion snapped. He strode across the room and grabbed her arm, roughly pulling her out of her master's grasp. She stumbled slightly, but his grip kept her from falling. 'What is your name, woman?" She stared at him blankly. Did he actually expect her to answer him? Apparently he did, as he was staring at her, glowering, waiting for her reply. Unsure of what else to do, she opened her mouth so he could see that her tongue had been removed. His look of disgust should not have hurt her as much as it did. "You took her tongue?" He sounded annoyed.
"I did do that, yes. Just a habit. I hope you don't mind." Her master grinned, and the empty spot in her mouth throbbed with the memory of the pain. It was fine until she thought about it. "She can still please you well enough without it, I assure you."
"What is her name."
"I never asked." He shrugged. "I've just been calling her 'woman'. She has yet to object." She wished he had asked. It was stupid, but she wished he had. Now no one would ever call her by her name again. Was it even her name if no one used it? She was just 'woman'. The thought made her sad.
"I see." Tightening his grip on her arm, Victarion turned towards the door. "I shall take my leave now." He didn't wait for his brother's response, he just dragged her out of the room. His grip on her arm was hurting her. She glanced back before the door shut to see her master watching her. His smirk was gone, and his gaze filled her with terror. As she followed Victarion to his chambers, though, she realised that the terror was being replaced with a sense of relief. She was away from him, at least for the time being. This man would most likely hurt her, but that didn't really matter. He would never be as scary as his brother. She found herself praying as she walked. Praying to any gods that would listen that she would never have to see her master again.