Chapter 21: Captain

Emma was in a fog. There was a woman in the room she hadn't seen before. She tended to Emma's wounds. She pulled a new dress, this one light, silky, buttoning down the front, onto her and wiped some of the dirt off of her face.

The cell now had a plush bed, a new table, and three chairs. There was food on the table; it covered the table, but Emma couldn't see exactly what it was. Large bottles of some form of liquor sat in the center. More lanterns had been brought in, and a fire, somehow staying lit with magic, was burning in the corner. Guards shuffled in and out, carrying various things, muttering to themselves in jealousy. The place had to be acceptable for the Captain.

Emma sat still, letting herself be manipulated like a doll. She had everything taken from her, and she now was going to become the personal whore of the Captain of the Guard. The guards were vicious, vile, and cruel; their Captain was probably the worst of the lot. For the first time, Emma felt no need to fight. He could do what he wanted with her. She resigned herself to the fact that she was probably never getting out of here and never getting back to her home. Besides, after all that had happened, how could she return to a world that believed this one didn't exist?

One of the guards grabbed a fist full of Emma's hair and pulled.

"You better give the Captain a good time. He's the Wizard's favorite. If he doesn't like you, we will all be punished, and you will find yourself in a whole new realm of pain. He runs the show around here. He can order anything to happen to you…or Glinda….or your green counterpart. Give him a good time, or else your friends will suffer the consequences. "

Emma gulped.

Another guard poked his head in the door, and everyone left in a rush. The Captain was going to get his special prize.

Emma had felt dead inside, empty, but now the emptiness was filled with terror. The fear balled up inside of her, shooting through her limbs. She tried to suppress it, trying to feel nothing, to be emotionless, but it was too much. She found herself holding back the tears again. She wasn't just afraid of the Captain; she was absolutely terrified of him.

The door opened and closed in a hurry. The Captain, the man that had stood in front of her when she hid in the throne room, loomed above her. She only got to see him for a second before her eyes shot away from him, afraid. He stood there for a moment, just looking at her, before he moved towards her. She protectively curled up on herself. He stopped. She knew that he must be ogling her, that he was just thinking of all the creative ways he could break her soul.

You have to do something to help them. It doesn't matter what happens to you. There is nothing left for you.

Emma pulled herself up along the wall, making herself stand. She fought through the paralyzing fear. She starting undoing the buttons on the front of her dress, and bit her lip hard. She forced herself to make eye contact with the Captain, and she was surprised to see that he was not smiling.

She fumbled with the buttons on her dress, hands trembling. She wanted to be brave.

"Please…" she said, her voice trembling more than her hands. "Please….." She sounded soft and pleading. "I'll do what you want…" The tears she had been holding back were starting to emerge. She was about half way down her dress.

Suddenly the Captain was inches away from her. Fear took hold of Emma, seizing every part of her body. She was frozen, unable to move. This was it. She now belonged to him. She just hoped that it wouldn't hurt too badly.

The fear she felt came out in a whisper.

"Don't hurt me…please…"

The Captain reached for the buttons on her dress. Emma again resigned herself to her fate. She pulled the dress apart, exposing herself for him.

The Captain grabbed the sides of her dress and pulled them back together in one quick yank. His fingers moved furiously, closing every button back up, all the way up past her sternum. Emma was both confused and scared.

"What….what are you doing?"

The Captain's face was full of sadness.

"I can't do that."

Fear fluttered through Emma, remembering that guard's threat to her. If the Captain was unsatisfied with her, everyone would be punished, including Elphaba.

"Is…is there something wrong with me? Is there something you don't like?"

The Captain looked flabbergasted. "No, of course not, it's not like that."

Emma hiked up the hemline of her dress, exposing the tops of her thighs.

"I can please you, Captain. I can. I can do whatever you'd like."

The Captain stepped back. "Stop…that isn't what this is!"

Emma was now desperate. She did not want to be responsible for any more torture inflicted upon her friend. She had a taste of it, and now knew it was her turn to keep the ones she cared about safe. She had to protect them.

"Captain please," she pleaded. "I'll do whatever you want!" She tried not to cry. "You can do whatever you want, make me do whatever you want. Please! I belong to you now, I'm yours to take!

The Captain rested both hands on her shoulders. She trembled violently. He slowly moved his hands up and down, gently rubbing her shoulders.

"Stop…stop…" he said quietly. "You don't understand. I'm not here for that. I'm not taking anything from you."

"But—"

The Captain looked at her. He had the same golden-laced eyes, the same youthful face, but some wrinkles had appeared on his forehead and the sides of his eyes. The dark circles underneath them showed that he had not slept well in some time. His face was stubbly, not the usual sharp kemptness of a Captain. He still looked very sad.

"I want to help you."

Emma didn't believe it. It had to be a trap. "How can you help me?"

The Captain stepped back. He walked towards the table, grabbing a bowl off it. He surveyed the table, grabbing things here and there and dropping them into the bowl.

"When was the last time that you had anything to eat?" he asked.

Emma answered honestly, "I'm…not sure."

He gestured for her to come over to him. Still weak and shaky, she couldn't move off of the wall without stumbling. The Captain hurried over to her, wrapping his arm around her, helping her to stand. He walked her over to the table, and sat her down in one the chairs. He placed the bowl in front of her, full of food.

"Here, please eat something," he said kindly. "You're so weak that you can't even walk."

She looked at it, not sure whether to trust him or not. Her deeper survival instincts begged her to eat, but she didn't want to be poisoned.

"It's not poisoned," he said, almost reading her mind. "Please eat."

Emma tried to eat with some form of grace, but it had been so long that she almost turned animalistic. The Captain didn't seem to mind. He had poured himself a glass of some brown alcohol and took a sip. He didn't eat; he just took sips and kept an eye on her. When she was done, he stepped closer to her, reaching out a hand. She recoiled. He pulled his hand back, realizing his mistake.

"Come join me by the fire," he said. "I'm in my full uniform, and I'm freezing, so you must be cold."

Emma was in fact very cold. Again, she was torn between cautiousness and survival instincts. The man sat down next to the magical fireplace. He turned, beckoning her again with a twist of his hand.

Well, I might as well be warm.

Emma walked carefully, still feeling woozy. She sat down about an arm's length away, not taking her eyes away from him.

"Your name is Emma, right? And you are from the Wizard's world?"

She did not respond. She had no reason to trust him. She still believed that he would eventually give way and use her like the other men wanted to.

The Captain sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"My name is Finn Eroset. I joined the guard because I believed that we were just and honorable. I have now discovered that this is a lie. I had been lying to myself about it for some time, hearing and seeing things that seemed suspicious, but the day you showed up really rocked me to my core."

Emma was taken aback. That was not what she was expecting.

"I watched them beat you, merely a few feet away. I watched them drag you down to the Southstairs. I knew what was going to happen…" He caught his breath. "When the Wizard offered me one gift, anything I could possibly want, I knew that I could do something right, that I could help someone like I was supposed to be doing. I thought that if I claimed you as mine that no one else could harm you."

"So…" Emma was processing this. "You weren't here to-"

"No, no, of course not!" exclaimed the Captain. "These men might be barbarians, but I am not. The idea of forcing yourself on a woman makes me physically ill."

Emma felt a shiver come over her, the thin dress not holding in any warmth. Finn went to the table, bringing a blanket over and draping it over her shoulders. It was heavy and soft, warming her almost instantly.

"Is that better?"

She nodded.

"Since you officially 'belong' to me, I can stay here as long as I want." Emma felt her heart begin to race.

"So," continued the Captain. "I had a bed put in here so you would have somewhere comfortable to sleep. If I stay here, pretending that I had a grand old time, I'll be able to keep you safe throughout the night."

"Don't worry," he added. "I'll sleep on the floor. It won't be the first time."

The Captain surveyed the girl.

"Do you need anything else to eat? I'll get it for you."

Emma shook her head.

The Captain got up anyway. He walked past her, his hand accidentally brushing across Emma's neck. She shot back, eyes wide, suddenly very fearful. The Captain looked horrified.

"Oh my…Oh my Oz I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!"

Emma could barely hear him over her own heartbeat.

The Captain sat down, his golden eyes meeting her green ones.

"My Oz, what did they do to you?" The realization hit him pretty fast, answering his own question. His face hardened in a scowl.

"They broke the rules, didn't they?" he said, voice deepening. "They broke Morrible's order."

"Morrible rescinded her order," Emma said flatly. "Elphaba didn't give her what she wanted, so she handed me over to them."

Finn clenched and unclenched his fists.

"Those...pigs!" He was fuming so badly that he could barely form words. "I promise you, I had only heard rumors of what my men did down here. I didn't find it to be fact until very recently, or I would have put a stop to it much earlier."

"You left Elphaba down here," said Emma, feeling defensive. " You knew that she was down here for months. Your men did whatever they wanted to her. You did nothing."

"I swear to the Unnamed God that I did not know!" cried the Captain. "Men talk about all kinds of things that they haven't done in order to impress each other. I would have never in my wildest nightmares believed it to be true until I had no choice but to face it."

Emma was suddenly filled with fury.

"You could have done something! You could have shown up down here, or was Southstairs duty too below your high-ranking self?" The Captain was taken aback by her sudden fit of rage. "She was dying! She had to call out to me, worlds away, for help. I had to come help her. I gave up my world and my life to save her. You could have helped her! You could have helped me…"

Emma's voice caught in her throat.

"But that doesn't matter now, does it? I'm probably going to die here, Captain. Your kindness is only going to fill me with false hope. I can't help her. I can't help myself. I have nothing left."

Emma dropped the blanket off of her shoulders, and again pulled up the hem of her dress. The sadness filled her eyes.

"Just take it. Just get it over with. I won't fight, I promise," her voice went monotone, the same way the Elphaba's did when something horrible was happening. She pulled on the buttons of her dress, pretending to be coy.

"You're a man. You have needs. I can help."

"Please stop…" Finn pleaded.

"I'm the Captain's whore now, aren't I? I belong to you."

"STOP IT!"

Emma was suddenly in his arms. She went limp. Finn pulled her back to make her look at him.

"Stop this nonsense!" he barked. "I am not going to do that! I am not here for that. I'm going to help you, even if you don't want me to. Do you understand that?"

Emma could only nod. With one motion, Finn scooped her off of the ground. He carried her over the bed and sat her down, pulling the covers up around her. Finn sat down on the other side of the bed, crossing his legs.

"Let's try this again. Your name is Emma, right? And you are from the Wizard's World?"