For the third time in a little over a week, Jill woke up in a strange bed, naked. Her head was pounding, slightly blurring her vision. Rubbing her eyes didn't help, in fact the action only further blurred her eyes.
Sitting up, Jill tightly drew the lush sheets around her as she surveyed her new location.
The room was dark in general, thanks to think velvet curtains that covered the windows, Sunlight weakly leaked through the ends and middle part of the curtains giving the otherwise pitch black room an eerie glow. Decorated with darkly painted wood, the bed Jill was in was oversized and very plush. Her side of the bed was disturbed, yet the right side was still fairly orderly.
"Jack?" she called out tentatively, hoping they had just found an inn somewhere and he had gone to get something to eat.
"I don't know who this Jack fellow is but he isn't here," a familiar voice called from the shadows.
"Conn," Jill said, sliding out of bed, dragging the sheet with her.
"Got it in one." The voice was finally met with a face as Arthur Conn stepped out of the deep shadows. "You probably thought you'd never see me again. That once you were back in the market you'd washed your hands of Arthur Conn. I never gave up ownership, Jill. You're still mine," Conn said, creeping toward Jill.
He was finely dressed in a long navy colored jacket with bright brass buttons hanging off his narrow shoulders, covering his small thin frame. His hair was long and greasy, hanging past his shoulders, lifeless. Hollow eyes stared out at Jill from a thin face, haunted yet deep down they held a thin spark of life, despite the rest of his body.
"You no longer own me, Conn. I was bought by someone else just a few days ago," Jill retorted, struggling to keep her voice steady as she stupidly backed into a corner. Her hands began to dart around for something to use as a weapon if needed.
"This Jack you called for? He bought you illegally. You're mine."
Conn stepped within an arms reach of Jill and stopped. Jill stopped her vain search and bravely stared at Conn.
"You're mine," he whispered.
A scream escaped Jill's lips as Conn reached forward with both hands, grabbing Jill around the waist. Jill struggled, dropping the sheet favoring life over modesty, against Conn's surprisingly strong hold as he threw her around and violently pushed her back on the bed. Jill crawled backward a bit. Conn grabbed her ankles, stopping Jill's progress across the bed and flattening her against the sheet.
Mumbling incoherently, Conn began to climb on top of Jill, walking along on his knees while unbuttoning his pants. One fell swoop to the side of Jill's head rendered her silent as Conn fell on top of her without any more protest. Jill tried vainly to wiggle out from under his grip but he was too strong to budge in his craze.
Another short scream sounded over Conn's mumbling as Conn finally forced himself on Jill, his grip bruising anywhere it landed. Jill mustered enough strength to spit in Conn's face, hoping he'd stop. It succeeded in breaking his craze as he stopped mumbling.
"Bitch," he spat as his movements became rougher, his grip even tighter.
It was over fairly quickly but to Jill it felt like forever Conn sat up sharply, pressing Jill uncomfortably into the mattress.
"That's how it should be, wench," he sneered.
"I'm not your wench anymore, Conn. I belong to Jack."
And this Jack, can he give you everything? Everything you want? Everything you need?"
"And then some," Jill answered proudly through her swollen lip, unafraid.
Conn's fist connected with Jill's left temple, causing stars to appear as Jill's eyes floated shut.
"Ungrateful bitch," Conn mumbled.
Jill felt lighter as Conn slid backward off the bed, buttoning up his pants and straightening his jacket.
"Jack loves me," Jill said, eyes still shut, holding back the pain.
"Loves you? Loves you? Who could love an ungrateful, dirty slave?"
"He does. He'll come for me. I'm sure. All of Port Royal will come for me."
"I own Port Royal," Conn said slowly.
The cold tone in his voice made Jill shiver, despite the sweat beading on her body. Conn's eyes narrowed fiercely as rage began to build inside him. Jill found her body unable to respond to her order to get away as Conn had a firm grip on her ankles. Silently Jill pleaded with him to let her go, afraid of the anger building inside him.
It all seemed to happen in a quick blur. Conn pulled Jill off the high bed and she fell hard on the wood floor. IN her daze, she felt Conn tugging on her long hair, dragging her across the room on her hands and knees. ON the opposite side from the bed, Conn threw Jill into a tall bookcase, causing the structure to rock and the heavy books to drop on top of Jill. Jill found herself struggling to remain conscious as a heavy marble bookend fell on Jill's right shoulder, cutting a large gash that instantly began to seep blood.
Through the pike of books, Jill felt Conn's hand wrapping around her upper right arm, pulling her out of the rubble forcefully.
"If I can't have you, then no one can," he growled in her face.
Pushing Jill backward toward another wall, Conn grabbed an iron poker from the cold fireplace and brandished it as he advanced on Jill. She backed up roughly against a low dresser, realizing she was in a corner again. When Conn got close enough to strike, Jill gathered all her strength and quickly dodged the first blow, which lodged deeply into the wall. Jill couldn't get around Conn but she hid as far as she could as Conn struggled to remove the rod from the wall.
Finally, the rod was freed and Conn focused his attention back on Jill. She dodged one way on Conn faked her instincts and the pointed end of the rod pierced through her right shoulder. Jill screamed in pain as Conn pressed the rod further, tagging Jill to the wall.