Disclaimer: Isn't life lovely? Look at the sky… No, no, not at the sun. That will burn your eyes out. Okay, anyway, Briar and Rosethorn aren't mine. The others are. Hajra isn't mine… Yadda yadda yadda. You get the picture. On with the story, then! Oh, before I forget, there's something I gotta tell you. Briar and Arwen are not going to fall in love with each other. There will be a romantic interest later on, but it will not, repeat, will not be Briar. For some reason, the idea of them together makes me all… disgusted. Don't ask why, just does. Er… Oh! And Arwen's character changes a bit in this chapter. She wasn't herself the last chapter because… Well, you'll see soon enough. So, that cleared up, on with the story, then!
Snakes and Slime By Eveiveneg
Arwen gazed unseeingly ahead of her. It was very quiet, though that was to be expected, since it was early morning, before the sun rose. She was sitting in one of the large bushes in the inner garden of Duke Kass's townhouse. She had curled into a ball there many hours ago, hiding from the guards. Unwilling to give up the freedom of being outside, she hidden herself in the large and leafy bush. She hadn't slept all night, just sat there, watching the small space in front of her.
It was at the false dawn that she finally realized that she had to get up and leave. Sighing, she made to stand, only to fall down. As her body twisted to lessen the impact of the fall, pain hit her, and she gasped. She fell flat on her side, causing the plant's leaves to shake noisily. She lay there for a second, waiting to see if anyone would find her. No one came.
Slowly, she sat up. She carefully felt along her back, wincing as she did so. When she pulled it back, she looked down at her hand. It was streaked with red. She bit her lip and poked her head out of the bush. No one was there. Taking a deep breath, she burst out of the leaves.
As she ran, she desperately tried to ignore the sharp cracking pain of the scabs reopening. When she finally reached the doors to the house, blood was dripping down her back. She hurried in and sprinted down to the dancer's quarters. The door was unlocked, and when she came in, there was only silence. She spotted her clothes, scooped them up, and got out before anyone realized she was there.
A few minutes later she was back outside and at the edge of the small pond she'd sat at all those hours ago. She knelt at the water's edge, cupped her hands, and put her hands in. It was horrendously cold, and it was hard to ignore how it numbed her hands to a point beyond feeling. She bent over and, contorting her arms in an extremely uncomfortable position, and let the water fall down from her fingers. She hissed as it splashed on her back. It hurt, but it was better to clean it somewhat rather than just leave it there, dirty. Who knew what was on that whip?
After doing this a few times, she stopped and straightened herself out. Though it still crackled a bit when she moved, it felt a lot better. She pulled off the dancer's outfit and dressed in her normal clothes. She was about to slide on her shirt when she stopped. The cloth, undoubtedly, would rub against the cuts on her back, causing her even more pain. Her gaze fell on the crimson colored skirt. It, along with the other parts, probably belonged to Lena. And if she didn't have it, she would have trouble getting ready for a performance. It was small and petty of her to take it just for that reason. But, well, the girl had gotten her in serious trouble, tricking her so she could go off and do what she pleased. Even this would be at least some payback.
She dipped it in and then squeezed the excess water out of it. Gently, she began to wrap it around her middle, covering the wounds entirely. It stung a bit, but at least it wouldn't get aggravated. She got into her shirt, tied the rope around her waist, then got up and made her way back to the manor.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Arwen leaned against a wall and sighed, running her fingers through her hair. Then she realized that she couldn't get her fingers through. Uh-oh. That wasn't good. She tugged her hand and held in a yelp as it pulled her hair. She slowly untangled it and by the time she was done all of her hair was out of the braid it had originally been in.
Well, wasn't this perfect? Her day was not going well. Yesterday had just been depressing. She'd been wallowing around in self-pity, acting so differently than she normally did. But there was a reason. She had heard the date and realized it was the Anniversary. Not of marriage. Not of a birthday. No, it was the Anniversary of the day she'd been sold to the house. Gods, really bad day, that was…
And now the Head Cook had told her she was to serve the Duke in his private quarters. That didn't bode well. She'd heard enough stories to know what he did to his servants. Though she wasn't one, she didn't think that would matter. He would… Oh, Mila, she didn't even want to think about it. He liked to sexually harass the women that came in and out of his rooms.
She heard a screech and hurried back into the kitchen, braiding her hair back again haphazardly. Bloody woman was always screaming about something…
A few minutes later she was in front of the door to the Duke's rooms. Though she wasn't the only one there to help serve, she didn't want to go in there. Oh, what, are you scared? A voice in the back of her head taunted. No, She proclaimed, I'm not.
Then deal with it.
She glared at the wall in front of her. Nobody noticed, thankfully, as she was at the back of the group. Someone, Serra, maybe, knocked on the door.
"Come in!" A voice called from inside. Steeling herself, she walked in with the rest of the slaves and servants. It seemed that the Duke wasn't eating alone; a small group was there, seated on the lounges in the parlor, including his young children.
"It's about time." She glanced over to the speaker. It was the Duchess Marilyn. A small and proud woman, Arwen had always thought she resembled a giraffe, with her long neck and large ears, high on her head. But whereas giraffes were sweet and, for the most part, gentle creatures, the Duchess had a rather demeaning personality. She'd made her point quite clear that she was above the servers early on.
She bit her tongue to keep herself from saying anything. She knew what happened when you sassed the heads of the house: Whippings, and plenty of them. She settled for a subtle glare at the woman, who was currently drumming her fingers on the arm of the sofa.
"Well?" She demanded. "Are you just going to stand there?"
They quickly came forward and set the table in front of them. Though she was sure people were watching her, she ignored them and placed plates down in front of everyone.
She thought back to the night before instead. Lena. Her blood boiled when the name came to mind. She'd used her to her own ends and gotten her in trouble for something she shouldn't have. She wanted to make that girl pay, but there was no real way to do it, if she didn't want the beatings she'd surely get if she did so.
When she was done she pulled back and joined the others. As always, they retreated to the other side of the room, in the shadows. Someone always had to be there in case the family members or their guests wanted something. She felt the others scoot away from her slightly. She smiled wryly to herself. She'd always been known as something of an oddball ever since she came here. Go figure why.
Suddenly she heard a shrill shriek and snapped her head up. It was the Duchess, screaming over something or other. She'd always been amazed at how long the woman could hold the squeal, especially at such a high pitch. At first she thought it'd just been a bird outside the window, or a fly, perhaps, that Duke's wife had screeched at. But glancing at the other breakfast companions, she found that they had rather shocked, even terrified, expressions on their faces. A few of the servants came forward to see what was the matter, only to hurriedly come back to the wall. Frowning, she made her way forward.
A snake was on one of the trays. Someone must have picked up the cover and found it there. Obviously the Duchess had begun screaming. She felt rather sorry for it. It was frantically looking for a way to get out, swinging its long, dark neck around as it did so. Poor thing, she thought. It doesn't deserve to be there in the middle of this.
She was brought out of her reverie by a shout.
"Get the vile thing!" Duke Kass yelled. He had a knife in his hand and was approaching the snake. She realized what he was going to do in an instant.
Before she could think, she'd dashed forward and shouted, "Stop!" He stopped and looked over at her.
"What?" He asked bewilderedly. Then he shook his head angrily and kept going. She didn't have time to warn him again before he tripped over the footstool that lay haphazardly in his way.
It's his own fault that he didn't listen to me. She held in a snicker. At least he didn't stab himself. She was in the midst of the breakfast group now, so she halted and looked down at the bemused man below her.
"S'cuse meh sir," She told him, bowing slightly. "I didn' mean ta startle ya. I was on'y tryin' to keep ya from harmin' tha snake."
"And why would you do that?" He snarled, still having difficulty getting back up.
"A' cuz," She said, surprised. "That'd be harmin' another bein'. You aren' s'posed ta do that 'less you're provoked. 'Sides," She continued with a careless shrug. " 'T'asn't harmed no one yet. Fact, iss probly more scared 'a you 'n you are of it."
She looked over at the snake. "Lookit tha poor thing." She cooed. "Scared out 'a iss wits, 'tis."
"And how would you know that?" The man snapped.
She raised an eyebrow. "Look 'tit. Wavin' iss head 'round. Iss lookin' fer a way ta git out. Doesn' want ta hurt nobody."
She turned over to the snake and crouched down at its eye level. "Don't ya worry, laddy." She extended an arm. "Climb aboard." He tilted his head, seeming to ask why he should.
"Cuz," She said quietly, so as not to scare the others. "I'll git ya out." He seemed to brighten at this and nodded his head eagerly. She smiled as he slithered over to her and wound himself onto her arm. He coiled himself around her lower arm, his head a few inches above her wrist.
"There ya go." She stood up and looked around at the mess of people sitting there. "I'll take 'im out, Your Grace." He was watching her apprehensively and nodded his head uncertainly. He still seemed angry about her informal way of treating him, nearly insulting him, in fact, but was at a loss for words at the moment. She cast her gaze around, examining each person closely. They all seemed fine, but were watching her with a confused look, maybe even scared. She was puzzled. Why were they staring at her so? Then she shook her head. No time to ponder that now. She had to help her new friend get back outside.
She trotted to the exit and everyone moved out of her way. She looked back at them a moment, face expressionless, then shut the door with a soft click.
She walked along the halls, making sure to take the long way around. Though it would take much, much, much longer, it also was safe from prying eyes. Now she didn't have to worry about anyone else seeing her and staring at her oddly.
"So," She started. "What exactly were ya doin' in the nobles' breakfast, hmm?" He shrugged, muscle rippling along his body.
"Come on." She coaxed. "Tell meh the truth." He seemed to squirm uncomfortably, then nod. She could just hear what he would be saying.
-Fine. I'll tell you.- He paused, as if a little unsure. –Well, I was just out, sunning on a rock outside, when something came down over me and blocked the sun. I don't know what it was, but it scooped me up and carried me somewhere. I heard some shouting and was thrown down. Before I could get out, I was dumped onto something very hard, very cold, and, for a split second, everything was bright. Then it all went dark again and I was picked up and taken off somewhere. Then the woman screeched and now I'm here.- He stopped. –Do all humans scream like the giraffe woman?-
She laughed. "No, no." She explained. "Jus' that one." She paused for a second, then added, "Well, that I know of."
She realized that some boy had caught the poor snake and then left it carelessly on a tray when he went to do chores.
They continued on in this fashion until she reached the door outside. Opening it, she felt the snake sigh in relief. –I thought I'd never see the light of day again.- She giggled and walked over to a suitable rock. Setting him down, she suddenly thought of something.
"Whass yerr name, anyway?" He looked up at her and tilted his head.
-It's Jett.- She smile and stroked his scales one last time.
"G'bye, then, Jett. Ta' care not ta get caught by iny little boys again."
-So that's what it was?- He seemed surprised. –I thought for sure that it was pure evil that had gotten me.-
She chuckled. "Soomtimes people compare tha two as tha same." He gave her a snake smile then slithered away, off to find a good rock to sun on.
She strolled back in, heading back to the Duke's quarters, when someone seized her hand. Whipping her head around, she saw a man, much taller than she was, smiling at her drunkenly. She looked at him in disgust.
"What's a pretty girl like you doing out here in a place like this?" He drawled slowly. "How 'bout you keep me some company, eh?" She snorted derisively.
"Please." She answered. "I wouln't toush you by choice with a thirty mehter pole." He growled and the grip on her wrist became tighter.
"You think you're better 'n me?" He demanded. "You're nothin' but a slave! I'll teach you to mess with me!" He began to drag her off, pinning her arms together so she couldn't hit him. She growled and began struggling.
"Ya let me go righ' now!" She yelled. He smacked her hard on the back. She barely kept in a scream as she felt her wounds burn ferociously.
"Shu'up!" He snarled. She kicked out behind her. When she felt her connect with his knee, he shouted and squeezed her tighter. They came to a door and he flung int open and pulled her in. Throwing her down on the bed, he began tearing at her buttons.
She slammed her heel into his face and was satisfied to hear the crunching of broken bones. She pushed the temporarily subdued drunk off of her and scrambled out of the bed. She sprinted for the door.
"You slut!" The man's voice was muffled from the injury she'd inflicted on him. "Get back here!"
Oh, yes. She thought, rolling her eyes. I'm going to go back there so you can rape me and more than likely get me pregnant and in trouble with the Steward, Duke, and Duchess. I think I'll just keep going, that all right pumpkin?
It wasn't until she was almost out of the room when something flew into her back and shattered. She held back a piercing scream and fell down. Shards of clay scattered across the floor as she landed. Hearing a roar of fury, she staggered up and started running. She felt the sharp edges of pottery biting into the soles of her feet as she loped down the hall. When she reached a corner, she slipped and nearly landed on her back, but managed to keep herself up and keep going.
She couldn't think about anything except the knife-like pain that shot up her legs every time her foot touched the ground. It was because of this that she didn't realize how tired she was getting and how much she was bleeding. By the time she stopped, she was nearly ready to collapse.
Looking around, she blinked. She had, at some point or other, gotten outside. She looked up at the sky and narrowed her eyes against the sun.
"It's really hot…" She muttered. Her legs suddenly felt watery. Dropping down on her knees, she stared blearily ahead of her.
"I shou' probly get inta tha shade…" Her vision wavered and started to blur.
"Whoa," She said dazedly. "Thass not good." The pain in her feet and back had traveled around her body, making it all feel like someone was pouring hot wax over her body.
"I'll jus' close meh eyes fer a sec'…" The world around her swam for a moment. She vaguely recalled falling over as the world around her went dark.
