Alright, here is the next chapter. It gave me a little bit of a problem, but ultimately, I'm happy with it. My muse came back for a few days and I was able to knock this out. I do apologize if it feels a bit choppy, or if the grammar isn't 100% perfect.
Thank you for all the follows, favorites, and reviews that you guys gave me after the last chapter, it means a lot to me that you guys are enjoying this story as much as I am writing it. As for all the questions, no spoilers, but some of you guys are sorta kinda heading in the right direction, keep it up. Oh, I feel I should mention that there this chapter begins with a bit of a time jump, but should be easy enough to follow.
Warning: *Steps up on pedestal.* This story is rated M for a reason, and it will get worse before it gets better. There are a lot of triggers in this fic, so for my fellow survivors, tread carefully. I do not want to be the cause of anyone losing any kind of progress they have made in their own healing journeys.
Disclaimer: The only ones that are mine are the ones you haven't heard of.
Now, without further ado...
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Chapter Nine:
"Again." The ever-familiar British voice called out in an almost bored tone, and Stephanie was barely able to contain the cry of pain that threatened to escape from her throat. Lifting her eyes, she tried to find the man giving the orders, and it only took a few moments before she located him leaning against the wall a few feet from her. Her view of him was slightly blurred by the number of tears that had filled her blue eyes, and she let out a soft whimper, no longer caring about how weak she sounded.
She just wanted the pain to end.
Stephanie wasn't entirely sure how long he had kept her in what she now knew was his torture chamber, but she could guess that it had been a few weeks, or maybe a couple of months. He had kept her in the room, letting the men under his control hurt her in different ways. First it had just been a few punches here and there, then it swiftly escalated to using her back and legs as a whipping post, and now he was letting them take turns using different instruments to invade her body. Some of the men liked using larger instruments than she could handle, and it seemed to please the British guy when they hurt her. She tried to lift her head but found that she lacked the energy to do so and let out a loud sob.
"Stop." The owner of the voice stepped away from the wall and made his way over to her, coming to stop and squat down near her head. He placed a deceptively gentle hand on her cheek and caressed her. "Had enough, have you?" He asked in a calm and soft voice. Stephanie couldn't find the energy to answer him, but she was sure he could see her resolve melt away. "I should say so, it's been nearly four months since you were acquired. I must say, I commend you on the effort, but everyone breaks in the end."
Stephanie watched through pain filled eyes as her tormentor stood to his full height and gave a wave of his hand, and almost instantly, the men surrounding her stepped away from the table they had her strapped to. Laying on her stomach, she was unable to see exactly what was happening around her, and she hoped that they hadn't just left to grab another set of toys to hurt her with.
"Call the boss and let him know that we will have his prize ready for him by the end of the month." Stephanie felt a chill shoot up her spine at the command, and she knew she should be afraid, but a larger part of her argued that nothing could be worse then the hell she had already been through. Logically, she knew that she should still be trying to fight, but after weeks of being tortured, she no longer had the energy.
Stephanie felt her eyes begin to close and she silently hoped that they would let her sleep, but just as she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness, she felt a hand swiftly slap her across the face. Instantly, her eyes shot open and she found herself looking up at the Brit once again.
"Not yet, sweet, I'm sure you would rather join the others than stay in here."
Before Stephanie could respond, she was lifted by one of the men and carried out of the torture chamber for the first time in only god knew how long, the Brit leading them. As she was being carried, Stephanie tried not to cry out in pain as the pressure on the injuries on her back was almost unbearable. As they walked, she felt like a rag doll and let her head fall back, hoping she would pass out before they got where ever they were headed.
It was only a few minutes before the man carrying her stopped and she heard a door open. As the Brit opened the door, she heard several voices stop talking and the man holding her stepped forward.
"Ladies, I have another one for you. This lovely tart will be staying with us for a bit and I need you to show her the ropes. " The change in his tone nearly made Stephanie jump out of her skin. It was the opposite of what she had experienced so far, and the tiny part of her mind that still held some form of sarcasm wanted to make a comment, but she knows the result wouldn't be worth the pain she would endure.
Keeping her mouth closed, Stephanie turned her head to look at the room they had walked into. The first thing she noticed was how large the room was, it looked like it had been a living room. Along one side of the room was a collection of large couches and small tables, and Stephanie tried not to think about why the couches looked so worn down. The walls were plain in color and she noted that there was only one window, but it looked far too small for a person to crawl through.
Before her eyes could gather anymore details about the room, a woman about her age came into her line of sight. The woman's eyes were a dull green, which stood out against her pale skin and red hair. She looked like she was shorter than Stephanie, but from she was being held, it was hard for her to say.
"Of course, Sir, we will make sure she is ready by the time she is needed." Her voice was soft and quiet as she came to stop beside the man holding her.
"That's my good girl." The Brit stated, moving to the side so that the man holding her could enter the room. Feeling the last of her energy leave her, Stephanie let her head fall back completely as the darkness enveloped her.
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The sound of soft voices slowly brought Stephanie back to the world of consciousness, and she slowly opened her eyes. Her body felt heavy as she laid on her stomach, and she knew that if she had been on her back, she would have woken up long before. Carefully, as if testing the strength of her muscles, Stephanie turned her head and tried to take in her surroundings. Beside her, she saw small coffee table, with different colored mugs covering the surface. At first glance she counted six, but after listening for a moment, she realized she heard at least seven different voices.
"Don't let the Sir hear you say that, he wouldn't like it." She heard one voice whisper nearby.
"Yeah, I heard what he did to the last girl that tried to do that." Another one responded. Stephanie could only assume they were talking about the Brit, and she groaned softly.
The moment the sound left her mouth, the voices in the room stopped and she heard bodies moving closer to her. A moment later, she felt part of the cushion she was laying on dip and could only assume that someone had sat next to her feet.
"Oh good, you're awake." The voice that spoke was one that Stephanie recognized as the same one that had spoken the night before when she had been brought in. "We were beginning to worry."
Stephanie's response was a soft grunt as she tried to sit up, and almost instantly, there were six pairs of hands helping her into a sitting position.
"Would you like some tea?" One of the women asked softly. Stephanie looked up at the woman that had asked the question and saw that there was an older teenager sitting on the table in front of her. The girl's shoulder length hair was strawberry blonde and pale skin made her look so much younger and Stephanie was instantly reminded of Trista. Tears filled her eyes and she slammed them shut. The women around her saw her tears and immediately tried to make her feel better.
"Oh no, don't cry, we promise it will get better." One of them said as their arms encircled her.
"We know it's hard at first, but once you get settle everything will be okay."
"Back…hurts is all." Was all she was able to say though her tears. She tried to smile at the young girl that had offered her tea. "I would, in fact, like some tea, thank you."
With a wide smile, the girl got up and headed towards one side of the room. Stephanie saw a small box mounted on the wall, covered in buttons and with what looked like a speaker. The girl pushed one of the buttons and spoke softly into the speaker. A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door before it was opened by an older man carrying a dark purple coffee mug in one hand and a plate of fruit in the other.
"Tea, and a treat." He said as he entered the room. He was at least sixty and wore a black polo shirt tucked into a pair of black slacks. What little hair he had on his head was combed back and his back had a slight hunch as he walked towards the group of women. He smiled kindly at them and placed the plate on the table before setting the mug in front of Stephanie. "The Sir thought your girls deserved something sweet for being so well behaved over the past few weeks."
"Be sure to let him know that we are grateful, Alfred." One of the other women stated as she reached for what looked like a piece of watermelon.
"Of course, Violet, if you need anything else just buzz me." Alfred said as he made his way towards the door and left without looking back.
Violet smiled and sat back against the couch. Her skin was sun-kissed, and her hair was dark, which made Stephanie wonder if she was mixed, and she looked like she was in late 20s.
"You must think us absolutely manner less." The woman who seemed to be the voice of the group spoke up after a moment of silence and Stephanie turned to look at her. She gestured to herself, and for the first time Stephanie got a real look at her. Her dark red hair was thick and fell in waves past her shoulders, which made her pale skin stand out even more, and she was curvy. "I am Rose."
She gestured to the woman to her right; a young woman with short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The woman was shorter than the rest, with a slender build, and she looked like she was in her early 20s. "This is Lily."
Pointing to a woman sitting off to Stephanie's right, Rose continued. The woman had black hair and was probably the palest person Stephanie had seen, her eyes were so dark that they looked black and for a moment Stephanie wondered if she was even real. Stephanie noticed that the woman looked slightly more muscular than the rest and wondered to herself what she had done before she found herself here. "That is Aster." Stephanie gave the woman a weak wave before she turned her attention to the next woman in line to be introduced.
Her eyes fell on a woman who looked like she in her 30s. The woman's chocolate colored hair was tied up in little balls on the top of her head, and her green eyes studied Stephanie for a moment before she nodded her greeting. The woman was thin and lean, but nothing about her seemed to stand out. "Here we have Poppy."
The next girl in to be introduced to Stephanie was the strawberry blonde that had offered her tea, and she saw the girl smile sweetly at her. Her hair framed her face, and her eyes held an innocence in them that had made Stephanie emotional earlier. Looking more closely at the girl, she saw that she was not only taller than Stephanie was, but was built like a swimmer, toned and thin. The girl lifted one hand and gave Stephanie a wave, which made Stephanie silently question her sanity. "I'm Clover." She told her enthusiastically, and then instantly covered her mouth, looking at Rose, apologetically. "Sorry…"
The older woman gave her a slightly reproaching glance before she continued to the next woman in the room, and Stephanie saw a thin young woman in her early to late teens with pale skin and hair that reached her shoulders in a curtain of deep purple. Stephanie noticed that the girl's light-colored skin did nothing to hide the dark bags under her eyes, or the subtle bruises around her neck. Stephanie couldn't help but look her over, seeing fading bruises peeking out from under her shirt collar and sleeves. Stephanie looked into the girl's eyes for a moment and saw a tiny little spark of defiance, as if she had not fully accepted her new life, and she quickly concluded that this young girl was the newest member of whatever group these women were apart of. "That one there is Camellia."
"That's not my name." The girl spoke in a soft, but firm tone, and glared at Rose.
"What is your name?" Stephanie asked quickly, ignoring the shocked looks from the other women.
"It's Stella." She answered with force as she glared at the four other women in the room. Stella turned her gaze back on Stephanie, her back straight, as if daring her to contradict her in any way.
"It's nice to meet you, Stella, I'm Stephanie." Stephanie smiled at the girl.
"I wouldn't get used to that name, since it's likely to change." Rose comment dryly. Stephanie turned to look at Rose and tilted her head slightly. Rose, seeing her silent question, answered. "It's common for the people who use the Sir's services to rename those under them as a reward for being obedient." She gestured to the other women in the room. "We are the Sir's personal harem of sorts, so he chose each of our names once we learned to follow the rules. I was his first, and his most beloved, so he gave me the name Rose."
"So what? I just wait for him to give me a new name?" Stephanie asked in disbelief. As the question left her lips, she saw the women surrounding her, save for Stella, look down or avoid her gaze. She sat up straighter, and looked at each of them, willing herself not to panic. "What? What am I missing?"
"He isn't keeping you. Apparently, he's being paid to prepare you for someone else." Stephanie's eyes darted to meet Stella's as she answered her. The young girl was looking her straight in the eye, unflinching and honest. "I overheard him talking about it."
"Camellia, hush." Poppy spoke up, glaring at the girl like one would glare at a child when they do something wrong.
"What? Just because you guys buy into this whole thing doesn't mean we are going to." Stella snapped as she continued to look at Stephanie.
"It will be easier if you do." Aster whispered.
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Well, there is it. I hoped you enjoyed it, and that it wasn't too confusing. I'll be flat out honest, it's hard to write about the constant mental torture of a beloved character so I figured I would start this chapter at the end of her experience, but if you guys would like a flashback at some point, be sure to let me know in a review and I will do my best to put it in a future chapter.
Be sure to tell me what you guys think, any conspiracy theories you have about who's behind it all, or anything you would like to see happen to the people hurting our Wonder Woman. Until next time guys :)
