Beloved
Chapter 10 – The Hornet's Nest
Waking with a start, Bulma sat up unsteadily and looked around herself fearfully, the stark image of Vasa's fat, frightened face and Thandha's one of pure rage still burned vividly in her mind.
Realizing she was alone in her room, more specifically in her own bed, she wondered how she had got there, then more importantly, what had happened to Vasa. The last she had seen of him he had been undoubtedly about to meet his end at Thandha's hand...
She shivered at the rememberance of her Mistress' terrible fury. Indeed, it had felt like facing the might of a inferno, it had radiated from her like heat, her red blood-red eyes blazing with incandescant ire.
Bulma sincerely hoped to never, ever, be on the receiving end of such a look.
As it was she knew she'd never be able to forget it.
She relaxed back onto her pillow, willing some sense of calm to her agitated thoughts. Looking towards to sole shuttered window it was then that she noticed that it was now no longer daylight. The light of a single thick candle lit the cramped room with a warm glow.
How long have I been out? She wondered, rubbing her sore wrist. Maybe not too long, she thought, examining the only newly formed bruise on it. It would a nice addition, she mused sourly, to all the welts and lumps she had earned from Dayana and her wicked stick.
She now saw that, on the low table between her and Chichi's beds, was a cup of what appered to be water. Picking it up with a stiff arm, she downed the contents greedily. She hadn't realised just how thirsty she had been.
She vaguely registered a sweet aftertaste on her tounge, before she lay back down.
Sighing, she stretched out on her bed, placing a hand over her eyes from which tears had began to flow, and tried comfort herself.
Never had she felt so alone and scared for her future in her life. Always, in the past, things had had a way of working out for her, even in the most dire of circumstances, but now...
Now she knew that they were lost beyond redemption. Her friends, who had always protected her, were gone. Sent in all probability to their doom in the Mines.
No! She thought angrily, trying to rally her morale, they are strong! They always overcome the odds against them and win through at the end. It wouldn't be any different this time, they would survive the Mines, even if no-one else had before, and escape from them to rescue her...
She sighed again, realizing the complete futility of her hopeless situation. She would remain trapped in this place, regardless of her wishes, now that she was a possession of the enigmatic Lady Thandha.
She thought she heard the sound of footsteps in the hall outside her room. She listened intently...
There wasn't anyone there. I must be over-emotional, she thought, settling back into bed, yawning with an abrupt tiredness.
No. Gotta stay awake. She thought doggedly, attempting so sit, but finding her head heavy and her limbs unresponsive.
She fell back on her bed, wondering at sudden lethargy of her body and mind, realizing with some horror that it must have been that drink of water...
Again she tired to sit, finding that this time she couldn't lift even an arm from the bed. Her mind raced, her thoughts becoming slower with each passing minute. Poison! Her mind shrieked at her, willing her body to respond. She tried again to move something, anything, her brain clawing at consciousness...
Until, some few moments later, her eyes became unbearably heavy, her thoughts thick with sleep. As she drifted off into oblivion, the lone thought of this could be my final moments drifted to the surface before sleep claimed her.
Awakening again some time later, Bulma blinked her eyes, their vision blurred, and moved her head slightly. It felt as though she had a massive hangover.
Groaning she tried to sit up, and surprisingly, she found she could, though not without some difficutly.
She rested her heavy head in her hands, seeing the room swimming before her eyes.
Her thoughts were all jumbled. She faintly remembered being very afraid, some time ago...
It was useless, her memories would slip through her fingers as soon as they formed, leaving her confused. It all just left her with a sense of nameless fear, for she was sure she had a real reason to be afraid, she just simply couldn't recall it.
A noise from outside the room startled her out of her thoughts. It sounded like someone was appraoching from the hallway outside...
The unnamed fear came back, flooding her senses. With one hand involuntarily clutching at her heart, she fought vainly to regain control of her terror.
She was safe, well as safe as she could be, she tried to reason, in her room, where no-one could hurt her...
Just then the door to the room creaked open, and Bulma, jumping up in fright, nearly hit her head on the very low ceiling of the small, cramped space.
Entering, without needing to bow her head through the doorway, was Lady Thandha.
She smiled coolly at Bulma's obvious fear, but she indicated for Bulma to sit, with a wave of her jewelled hand.
When Bulma did as told, Thandha, surprisingly, went and sat on Chichi's bed, opposite her.
Sitting nervously under her Lady's searching red gaze, Bulma couldn't help but fidget, her hands picking at the threads of her long shirt, until Thandha spoke.
"It seems you are well. I am pleased. It means you can return to your training tomorrow."
"Yes, Mistress." Bulma said, bowing her head in a show of respect.
"That... Business... With Vasa was surely unpleasant for you, but it is something you will undoubtedly become used to, as you continue to work for me here."
At this Bulma's head shot up and she looked incredulously at Thandha.
"Surely you punished him for what he did to me?" Bulma wanted to scream this, but wisely managed to keep her voice in check.
Her eyes narrowing with anger, Thandha replied, "You would do well to remember not to question my actions, child, if you want to last long in my service."
And what if I don't want to be in your service? Bulma thought savagely, trying hard to keep her face neutral.
She must not have been entirely succsessful at it because Thandha then said, looking at her shrewdly, "And trust me, you will want to remain one of my girls. In case you didn't notice, on your journey here through the streets, Sitara is not a very friendly city to be a woman or a slave. Especially not a female slave."
"Is that why they wouldn't look at us?" Bulma asked her Mistress, "The men on the street?"
"They have funny notions here, when it comes to women, yes." Thandha said shifting her frame and staring her hands with interest. "Unfortunately, the powers that be, men one and all, decided some time ago that it was unseemly for a woman to travel the streets without a male escort. Even a woman of considerable power and influence in the highest of places, like myself, must veil her face in the prescence of men, except in her own home, of course. There is a woman's place of power, you will see, for within the realm of her own home a woman wields all the power of a Empress. Even the Raja of this pitiful place answers to me when in my home." She finished this last part with a smirk of naked ambition and sheer arrogance.
"Plus, there is the not so unfortunate amount of jewellery and coins that comes a woman's way, especially in my line of work... Yes, the home of the dancing women, the Kotha, is rather like a hornet's nest. Ruled with absolute power by a queen whose fellow females will devote their entire lives to carying out her will."
This sounded terrible to Bulma, who hung her head sadly, not yet ready to accept her fate.
Seeming to read her expression perfectly again, Thandha told her, not unkindly, "Don't fret too much, child, you will become used to this all soon enough. They say that ours is a life in a cage, one made of gold, no less. I say that ours is a life of true freedom. We can love who we want, when we want... Most women cannot claim that."
Bulma's mind whirled with the knowledge her Lady had just imparted on her. It sounded similar to something she had been told, while on Frieza's ship...
When Bulma didn't answer, too lost to her thoughts, Thandha stood drawing her shawl around herself, and began to leave the room.
As she reached the door she paused and, turning to face Bulma again, she said quietly, "Get some rest child... The after effects of the Ninda can be tiresome."
"Ninda?" Bulma said in confusion.
"A minor sleeping draught." Thandha explained. "It causes one to fall into a dreamless sleep, great for physical and emotional recovery. Only a drop is needed in most cases... But, as I said, it's not without it's repurcussions."
Bulma nodded mutely, knowing the error in accusing the mighty Thandha of having her drugged.
She thought it best to let it go, lest she face the same blazing rage that she had witnessed her Lady display earlier.
Nodding at Bulma's acceptance of this fact, Thandha left the room, in a rustle of fabric, leaving Bulma to her ruminations.
She was again wondering what the mysterious man, who had talked to her while being held captive on Frieza's ship, had meant when he had said that some lucky ones were able to escape their lives here...
If there was some way out Bulma was determined to find it!