Chapter 52: Clover's Gambit
Nick cuddled Jewel on the bed after an exhausting day.
"I don't deserve this," she said.
"But I need this. Your fur feels much better than fox fur against my body," Nick whispered. He savored the texture of her fur. He took deep whiffs of her scent despite her acts and behavior he still loved her.
"I'm just here because Jill's away."
"At least you know that much." He couldn't deny that if Jill was here, he wouldn't be cuddling Jewel right now.
"Would you do to me what you did to Clover?" Jewel asked. Clover's mouth remained sealed ever since he gave the order to duct tape it shut.
He whispered sinisterly, "If I ever feel like I need to do that to you, I guarantee your fate will be worse since I have higher standards for you. but you wouldn't make me go that far, would you?" He stared into her beautiful red eyes.
"Of course not." She sniffed his fur inhaling his scent.
They drifted off into a calm and peaceful sleep.
Nick felt the amazing touches of Jewel's tongue on his face. He purred from her delicate touches. "That's the spot," he whispered with his eyes still closed.
She kissed him on the lips. "Good morning."
Nick stared at her gorgeous eyes. "Why did I let this happen after all you've done?" He should have recoiled from her affection.
"Should I not have?" she asked.
"It's not that I don't enjoy it, the problem is that I do. You're a monster, and I'm in love with you."
"You could discipline me now instead of waiting till we get back to Zootopia."
"I'm worried that you'll betray me or cause more problems for me emotionally." He realized he blurted out the truth on accident.
"You think so little of me." Her ears pointed downwards but she smiled. "It's okay, I get it. I need to rebuild trust with you.
"Do you know what upsets me?" he asked even though she should know the answer. He needed to hear her for certainty.
"The joy I feel towards pain and suffering of others and because we're in Bunnyburrow, I keep trying to find ways to indulge myself."
"And what are you going to do going forward?"
"Avoid asking for permission to indulge. Ask to leave if I feel enjoyment from those activities and try to acquire new hobbies."
"Will you be able to do that?" he asked even though he heard exactly what he wanted from her.
"No," she replied. "I need your help. Keep me away from the depravity. I'm not strong enough to ask to leave every single time."
"You realize this is Bunnyburrow, don't you?"
"Of course, that's why I can't help but enjoy myself."
"Should we set her free now?" Blair pointed to Clover who remained bound in chains ever since last night.
Nick turned to address Blair. "Of course, keep her mouth shut though." Clover's mouth remained sealed by duct tape ever since he gave the order.
Blair set the white rabbit free who glared at them with hate-filled eyes.
"Nick, you should get dressed," Jewel said.
Nick blushed and quickly did as Jewel instructed. They both went to sleep naked as that was more comfortable.
"You didn't say anything," Nick complained.
"Well, I'm not the one to judge my saviors," Blair said. "This is still better than life in prison or being dead in cruel bunny games."
They walked to the dining table where Jewel went around hassling her siblings for blood. Nick needed blood to eat. She only took blood from three siblings before returning to him. "That's it?" he asked. The cup wasn't even half full.
"I'm not going to let you stay on this diet forever," Jewel said. "I want to return to the days when you groomed us while eating. So, this time, this is all you get and if you're not full, you can starve."
"Is this because you're upset with me?" Nick asked. He had blurted out the truth in the morning.
"Jill can and will agree with me. Despite everything that I've done, I'm still your mate and I still care about you. I won't deny that I will enjoy your suffering as you adapt to less and less blood per meal until we wean you off it completely."
"I'm scared of disciplining you because of what you just did," he said. She could take away his way of eating completely.
"Regardless, if you discipline me or not, the amount of blood will never increase from this amount," Jewel said. "This isn't out of malice, but concern."
Nick and Jewel moved to the kitchen where she stripped naked before asking Nick to cover her with food like he did sometimes in the past. He stared at Jewel completely covered in food. He could no longer see her black fur.
"Now, you still have that cup," Jewel said.
"But it's barely anything," Nick said.
"You can always starve."
He used the blood strategically to make food palatable. He savored every drop as he licked those places clean. He remained hungry after he used every drop of blood. A good portion of her body remained covered with food.
He tried to groom her like he did in the past without any blood at all.
"Nick, stop. You hurt me," she said.
It wasn't his intent to draw her own blood because there wasn't enough. "I'm sorry," he said.
"It's okay, Nick, just be careful next time. I'm going to clean up now."
"But I'm still hungry."
"Too bad."
"Can I help?" he asked.
"Are you sure you want this? You know it will likely lead to something more." She walked away without waiting for a reply.
Nick went to check on Blair and Clover. Blair ate while Clover's mouth remained sealed.
"Are you hungry?" Nick asked.
Clover shook her head as she couldn't speak.
"We should check on Jill and Josh," Blair said as he finished his breakfast. "None of the bunnies here care what we do to Clover. A few of them even asked to play with her."
"Who?" Nick asked. He glared around the room where multiple bunnies sat around a table.
"Me," a brown buck said. "I asked him if I could kick her in the stomach. She's clearly not important to you."
"Can I have your name?"
"Chris."
"Thank you." Nick bowed.
"Can I kick her now?"
"Why don't you come to my room? We can talk about your hobbies and interests, at the end of the conversation. You can have one kick." Nick wanted to know more about Chris.
"Nick, we should really check on Jill and Josh. We can't have you listen to Chris's story." Blair saved Clover from a kick.
"You're right," Nick said. "Sorry, we're a bit busy it seems."
"Can I come with you?" Chris asked.
"We don't need you."
Nick waited for Jewel to step out of the shower before leaving the warren with his group. They entered the car.
"Nick, I can't believe you try to make such a deal," Blair admonished. "You would gain Chris's hobbies and interests while Clover gets a kick to her stomach. That is wrong, and you know it."
"I thought it was important to gain information on Chris, that's all," Nick said.
Jewel took a deep breath. "So, it's okay if you do it?"
"It's not." Nick couldn't justify his own actions at the time.
"I'll keep track of everything cruel you do and there will be consequences for you, just like there will be for me. Here's one: Clover's mouth is still sealed by duct tape."
"But I don't want to hear her talk."
"I don't either, but it's still cruel to her."
Clover's mouth remained sealed all the way to her mansion. They arrived inside finding Jill and Josh surprisingly well rested and ready to greet them.
"Why is her mouth taped shut?" Jill tapped on the floor.
"She kept saying stuff we didn't want to hear and wouldn't stop," Nick replied.
"We just have to live with it." Jill removed the duct tape from Clover's mouth.
"Hmph," Clover uttered. "I suppose I should reward you all with the opportunity to leave Bunnyburrow early. Given my previous position, it's quite possible for you to depart before the appointed time. I'm impressed, Nick, you actually went that far."
"So, are we just free to go?" Nick asked.
Clover didn't reply. She walked slightly ahead of the group before dashing into a run in a hallway. She shouted, "Security." Metal portcullis fell from the ceiling blocking everyone off. "That felt good," Clover said. "Gather whatever you need to. You're going to be leaving tomorrow morning unless if you have a good reason why."
"What about my contract and my contract with you? That you signed."
"A slave's duty is to serve the master, and I'm serving you."
"Well, I demand you to let me through."
"I never said I was a completely obedient slave. I'll see you around. Stay here if you want, just know I have power over this place." She caused another portcullis to slam on the other side before retracting it. "Don't worry, I won't use it on you, just know that I can."
"You better not torture anyone in your collection."
"I guess you'll have to discipline this bad slave later." She smiled as she disappeared into parts unknown.
"We should go," Josh said. "I don't trust her at all."
"Those kits, where are they?" Nick asked.
"Where we can't reach," Jill said. "We should get out of here while we can. I'm sorry, Nick."
They escaped the deathtrap mansion. "You should check on Vivian incase Clover was serious," Jewel said.
Nick drove them to the hospital. He went inside just like before while they waited outside patiently for the news. He saw his mother waiting patiently in a hospital room with an immobilized rabbit. "How is she?" he asked. He noticed Ramsay waited in the same room too.
"We've been trying to convince her that life actually matters. Ramsay's well enough to move around for now," Vivian said.
"Can you leave Bunnyburrow by tomorrow? I think they might betray us and a lot has happened since then."
"We should check out of the hospital now. The bunny you saved is depressed still, but it seems like we're out of time."
"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not going to harm myself?" the bound doe said. Her brown fur was unkempt because of the ordeal.
"That's what you said every time before I left you alone."
"I don't even get to move for the past few hours."
"You lost the privilege, but it seems you get another chance."
"Everything's going to be okay," Ramsay said.
"My name is Arlene," the doe said.
"Well, you finally told me your name. I guess that's progress," Vivian said.
They walked out of the hospital together while Vivian kept a sharp eye and paw on Arlene. She held her paw as they walked. They ran into the issue of too many mammals to fit in one car. They split up as part of the group waited at the hospital while Nick and Vivian drove to arrange a rental.
Nick's cell phone buzzed. "You have all the important information with you, right?" Clover said.
"Yes."
"Information as in those flash drives you took from my mansion."
"Yes," Nick said again.
"Pity, I just convinced the Hopps to kill you on sight should you return. I just need some more time to convince everyone. It shouldn't take too long, you know how twisted bunnies are. I want to feel your fur around mine."
Nick panicked. "We're out of time. We have to leave Bunnyburrow now."
"I didn't trust the rabbits anyway," Vivian said.
They secured a rental they didn't plan to return. They drove to the hospital to pick up the rest of their group.
"We need to leave now," Nick said.
"Why?" Jewel asked.
"Clover convinced your family to kill us on sight."
"This camera is switched off," Jill noted. "This never happened before."
They entered the cars to leave Bunnyburrow. They saw a few corpses of bunnies lying around as they exited the place. He stopped the car to investigate the corpses. "Those were fresh," Nick said.
Vivian stepped out of her car as well. "We don't have time for this. We must leave. Now, get back in and drive."
He followed his mother's orders. They drove to the ZPD as quickly as they could.
"We need to talk to Bogo, it's urgent," Nick said.
Clawhauser let them all through immediately. They stood in Chief Bogo's office which now had maps circulating where bunnies lived. "We were forced to leave Bunnyburrow early," Nick said.
"What did you learn?" Chief Bogo asked.
"I did get these flash drives before they betrayed us and broke the contract. They have everything on everyone in Bunnyburrow itself." Nick passed eight flash drives to Bogo. "I never had the chance to view all the data."
"We'll be going now," Vivian said.
"Do you all need escorts?" Bogo asked.
"We'll be fine. It's not like escorts can do anything anyway."
Unfortunately, Chief Bogo didn't believe Vivian's reassurances. They waited hours until a military convoy was ready. The convoy escorted them all the way to Tundratown. They traveled in the center while the citizens around them displayed confusion.
"Look, we're very grateful for your support, but we're fine really," Nick said as they arrived at Mr. Big's mansion.
The leading rhino responded, "We're ordered to protect you."
"Can we please have privacy inside? We're well protected inside."
"Fine."
Nick walked past the polar bear guards. "Nick, you're back!" Judy dived at him which sent them tumbling to the floor.
"I missed you," he said.
Before they could get intimate shamelessly, a polar bear interrupted them. "Mr. Big wants to see you."
They led everyone to Mr. Big. Nick saw Clover bound and chained as well as the two traumatized kits he saw earlier who remained with her. The fifteen does were here as well.
"First order of business. Is she yours? This member of the industry claimed she switched sides. The fifteen does here recognize her as one of their captors. They want blood," Mr. Big said. "We found her hiding off the road with two kits."
Nick felt confusion and hate filling his being. "Yes," he said with gritted teeth.
Mr. Big gave orders to unbind her. She rushed to Nick's feet. She kissed his feet several times. "You can discipline me all you want now, master."
"I can't deal with her right now," Nick said. Clover was responsible for their hasty exit from Bunnyburrow. She was also here much to his surprise.
"I'll take her away," Janna volunteered.
"Just don't harm her… yet."
"Now, we have lots to discuss," Mr. Big said. "Change is coming and we must be ready."
A/N: They're back in Tundratown with military protecting them.
