The Abused.
Warnings: Violence, feeding, foul language, erotic content.
"Would you love a Monster-man, could you understand beauty of the beast?" – Lordi Would you love a Monster-man.
Timing: sometime after Wraith premature awakening – season 2.
Rating: M.
Pairing: Billy the Wraith and Eliana (OC).
Disclaimer: Stargate Atlantis © Hasbro. Story's plot and Eliana © me.
Wraith that after few years would be known as Billy sat on a bench in the middle of average looking village on some usual looking planet in the middle of his hive's territory. Just another boring culling filled with screams and whatnot. His thoughts were back on the Hive with his little son.
Billy could be descripted as a widower, not that he cared much. The female that mothered his son was fairly young and wanted to become Queen as fast as possible, she found her interest in promising officer and decided that perhaps it would be easier to achieve her goal if she had a male to appoint as her commander as soon as she would obtain a Hive of her own. It was logical and she was attractive so Billy quickly found himself dominated by this female. She dominated him so effectively that after few rather passionate "nights" he found that his future Queen was carrying his offspring. Much to her displeasure, but she decided that perhaps it would be to her advantage.
She could choose one of two paths leading to becoming Queen. She could grow her own Hive – it was route that would take longer but it was also safer. She could also just kill a Queen and take her place – this route was instant and dangerous. Unfortunately – yet again – some human moron managed to kill equally moronic Keeper and everyone woke, which led them to food shortage. If anyone bothered to ask Billy, he would simply say that both the Keeper and her human murderer were worth each other.
And thus his mate decided to kill another Queen as soon as she would give birth to her unplanned child. Her plan failed, the Queen that she wanted to replace was rather good in hand to hand combat and his mate ended up stabbed multiple times and decapitated. Billy saw her body when the Queen returned it to him and his mate's mother. He wasn't shocked, he had bad feeling about that entire idea, but his mate wouldn't listen. Billy took everything rather well, he never was in love with his mate, it was all business mixed with pleasure. But he was a little bit sad, he rather liked the female. That was one standard year ago.
His musings were brutally interrupted with blood chilling scream. The main part of culling was finished and now was the time that he waited. After his mate death he moved to Hive ruled by Queen that shared the same mother as his mate. She recently decided that he should have a worshiper that would help him with his child. Today was the day that he would pick himself suitable worshiper.
He got up and walked calmly to the village's main square; there in the village hall remaining humans were gathered. Drones made sure that they would not escape. Billy was only Wraith to pick his worshiper during that culling so he would just walk in, take a good look at the women and choose one for himself.
The morning light shined bright through opened windows of the village hall when Billy entered the main room. There was small crowd gathered there, stench of fear made the air thick. Humans trembled as he walked by, men tried to look calm but he smelled their sweat soaking their shirts. Women tried to hide their faces and look small and insignificant. Some child was sobbing silently in the middle of the crowd. Billy had no idea how to find himself a worshiper. Then suddenly an idea occurred to him.
"Do you have a midwife here? Handle her over to me and you will be spared!" He said. Midwife would be good candidate, she knew how to take care of small children, she delivered them after all.
There was stir; some voice begged for mercy, someone barked something and a violently shaking form were shoved in his general direction. It was woman, he could tell, she wore long, ugly looking, brown dress. Her shoulders and head were covered with triangular scarf. She stared at the floor but made no noise. Billy didn't care much, he needed a caretaker for his son, whoever this woman was would do it. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the door. She yelped but followed him obediently. Too obediently in fact. Midwifes were usually strong women, they had to be to lead female through labour. He knew that for a fact, human midwife led his mate through pains of childbirth.
Billy led his new worshiper to the middle of the village square and stopped. He took the scarf off the head of his worshiper. The first thing he noticed was brilliant, wavy, auburn hair. He lifted woman's face higher to take closer look. Streaks of tears marked her cheeks but he focused on her lower lip, it was burst, the scab looked fresh, maybe a day old.
"Are you a midwife? Tell me now, I will find out eventually. It is better for you not to lie to me."
"Yes." The voice was quiet but pleasant. It had low, sensual timber, but she was scared and it shook slightly.
He could tell now that it wasn't fear, or to be more exact – not fear of him. Her mind was strange, full of anxiety; the woman was scared for a long time. There, hidden underneath all that was her strength, but something intimidated her strongly enough to render her subdued to the point where she didn't even fought for her life. The he remembered that he yelped when he grabbed her. He knew that he didn't do it too forcefully; his grasp was strong enough to hold her but light enough not to harm her. And she yelped with pain. A strange suspicion formed in his mind. He grabbed the scarf and ripped it off the woman's shoulders, then he took the sleeve of her brown dress (she won't need it anyway, she'll get new clothes as worshipper) and tore it clean off. His eyes widened for a moment. The arm was bruised; it was purple with yellow places.
Billy wasn't shocked; he saw many things in his life. But he was angry. He was a Wraith; he came from society where matriarchy was build deep into the very core of existence of its every single member. A female was sacred being that brought life and death. Even human females were considered creatures of certain stance. They were needed to bring new generations so they were usually spared during cullings. They were certainly valued much higher than males and reached top stances among worshipers. And here was a woman, beautiful one too, that faced abuse. But who abused her?
"Who did this?" Billy asked. The woman said nothing. Billy wasn't stupid or naïve. He took different approach. "Do you have a family?" A slight nod was all he got. "Tell me about them. If you won't I will have your village burned to the ground and all its inhabitants, your family included, fed on the spot. Before your very eyes."
"Please no." The woman honoured him with scared glance. Her eyes were warm brown shade with few golden freckles. They were scared but very soft.
"Your family. Tell me."
"I… I… Have a daughter… fourteen years old… and husband…"
There it was. He probed her mind, he couldn't do it with Wraith female, but human women were easier, though more difficult than men. There was deep love for her daughter, need of protection and will to sacrifice herself if it would keep her child safe. But when she spoke of her husband it was fear. Everything was clear now. He summoned one of junior officers.
"Stay with her. Make sure she stays here, I will be back shortly."
Billy walked back to the village hall, there was one thing he wanted to do, one thing he had to do, if only for his own peace of mind. He could not stand the thought of mistreating of female. Any female. Even if it was human woman being beaten by her human mate. Many human societies in the galaxy were matriarchal, maybe not as deeply as Wraith, but still. Patriarchal ones were rare but males were generally decent enough not to use violence to their women. With few exceptions. And he just found one.
Billy himself never stroked a female. He wouldn't dare to hit a Wraith female. And he loathed even the idea of hitting human woman – because she was a female just like his Queen. Most Wraith males sneered, hissed and acted with superiority toward women, but they never caused them deliberate harm, safe for feeding and converting them but it was inevitable. Billy understood that. But certain things were unacceptable.
The crowd was just as intimidated as before, he gave them few moments to notice him, whispers and noises ceased immediately. He was angry and he wanted them to see it.
"Family of the midwife. Now!"
Whispers. Curses. Growls. Pained yelp. And two figures were tossed at his feet. The child didn't fight. She was small and dressed just as her mother, minus the scarf. The colour was the same but the hair was curly not wavy, the face was more triangle in shape and her eyes were different in shape and had perhaps a little more golden freckles.
The man tried to resist but he was just one against many. He was as tall as Billy, muscled with black hair. Billy hated him from the first sight. He would hate him even if the man would cherish the ground his wife would walk. Billy felt jealous.
"Child. Go to your mother."
Girl gave him startled look and bolted to the doors seemingly without bothering to get up. She moved quickly. Probably had experience in running away.
Billy focused in the man. The man focused on Billy. Both men watched each other in silence for long moment. Billy hissed and grabbed human's throat hoisting him up, then he threw him out the doors not caring that they were half closed.
Mother and daughter watched with dread as a lone figure was tossed out. It flew few feet and then landed, rolled few times and came to a halt. The man moaned and cursed as he tried to get up with as much dignity as he had left. He didn't managed much as very angry looking Wraith male ran out of the building with all the grace of a wild cat, got to the man and then lifted him up only to toss him in direction of the two females. This time the man landed face first and now was on all four, making attempts at getting to his hind legs. The Wraith wouldn't have any of this. The man was pulled by his hair into kneeling position.
"Is this your wife?" The Wraith spoke to the man's ear. There was an affirmative sound. "Are those bruises your handiwork?" Billy looked up at the midwife. "He did this to you?"
The woman looked with terrified eyes at her husband but said nothing. It was her daughter who spoke.
"Yes. It was him. Ever since I remember he was beating mother for any good reason. Sometimes even because the weather was bad! And he was beating me too!"
The Wraith growled gutturally and moved to stand in from of the kneeling man who finally realised just how deep screwed he was.
"Let me enlighten you." Billy began. "Wraith are matriarchal and I feel personally offended by scum like you holding any claims over fine female like your wife. I wasn't going to do anything in the matter even if she was married to some lowly human. In few years the problem would solve itself with her mate dying of an old age. But for you I will make an exception and end this accursed marriage right here and right now…"
And just like that, Billy smashed his feeding hand against the man's chest and began to feed. Slowly. The man was screaming as he aged, that attracted attention of crowd gathered in the village hall. Who could watch through the windows. Much too fast for Billy's liking the man was dead, his dried husk hit the ground with barely any noise.
"And this is how I treat lowlife cowards who can't manage their own problems other than venting them on their mates and children!" That was said for the benefit of watchers.
Billy gave mother and a daughter a close look, then he made a snap decision – he would take them both, he would deal with Queen's displeasure later. He climbed to his Dart, beamed his worshipers and flew to the Hive. Their lives on this world ended, now they would serve their new masters.
The Queen sat in her throne, on her left stood her faithful First Commander and mate. They made odd couple, he was massive and bold, looking like he missed being a Drone by millimetres; she was tiny, fragile and full of grace. But they were well matched couple. So well matched that in fact she never took secondary mate, and she could have as many as she wished.
Billy didn't dare to look at her. He was disobedient officer; he took two females instead of just one. Queen's irritation was easy to detect, she radiated it.
"Just tell me why? We will spare ourselves angry yells and just move to the main part – your explanations."
"My Queen. Please forgive me." He bowed lower. "It was an impulse, you received my report, it was…"
"Yes. An abusive mate and sire. But after you finished with him the child was safe. So why?"
She rose and slowly walked to him. He prayed to any ancestor of his that would be listening so she wouldn't finish him like he did with that human.
"They seemed so close. I didn't know what impact the separation would have on my worshiper. I need a stable woman to take care of my son."
The Queen stood there in silence for a moment. She was thinking.
"Midwife you say?" She changed the subject. "We lacked one before; a midwife is a good addition to our little herd of humans. She may train her offspring to serve us as midwife as well. The daughter is too young to be claimed as someone's personal worshiper though… You may keep them both then. Take the mother as your personal worshiper, you do need a woman, let her teach her daughter how to take care of children, the daughter will be your son's caretaker until he'll reach an age when he will no longer require guardian. Then the daughter will be given to another Wraith as personal worshiper."
Behind the door a woman and a girl stood guarded by a single Drone. Both were scared but full of hope. Perhaps this would be better life? Maybe they would be safer here than back on their home world?