Chained

Part Three

by Kimra

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Daine had not moved, her arm pulled from the angle the chain still wrapped about the bed leg forced it to. But she dared not untangle the mess she had made. It was stupid of her to be so careless. However long she had been trapped here, she knew it was long enough to know better, yet still she had made a mistake. Leaving the safety of her bed had been mistake enough, but the chain could be her easy undoing.

If she could count time as she used to it would have been very little time that she had spent crouched awkward under her bed, but to her adrenaline pumped body and mind it felt like many strenuous hours had passed.

The man made another noise, a sort of disgruntled sigh. These days she understood noises better then words but fragments of memories told her there had been other times before, how long ago that had been she could not tell.

She heard the soft scuffling feet of the short red head who always tended her room. Knew from the feel of the building around her, the buzz four story's below in the kitchen, and the scuffle of servants in the court yard that it was now a meal time. Today she was not guaranteed a meal however so she did not let the anticipation of a poor meal get to her.

There was a soft knock to the door, a murmur of annoyance from the girl on the other side as pottery rattled against each other. The bed creaked as the man rose from it, unfolding his length with a murmured oath before the clatter of keys sounded and he approached the door.

Daine watched everything she could see from her skewed position under the bed. Hunting him as she tried to hunt them all. Tried to find the weakness that would eventually set her free. She had made only three attempts at escape in her time, each had failed worse then the previous one, but she refused to stop trying yet. And hunting the prey was the beginning of any ambush.

The door opened slowly and a strained silence filtered through the air. Perhaps the red head expected him to say something first, perhaps she was in awe of him and had forgotten her usual greeting, perhaps he was giving her such a threatening look she was reconsidering her approach. What ever it was the girl overcame it only after the silence had been stretched to breaking point.

"Oh umm…" The girl fumbled, the rattle of pottery and metal filled the air. "Ops!" There was another clutter of noise and once more silence reigned.

Daine inched closer to view the scene, careful to keep her chain silent.

The customer had caught the red heads tray and was holding it easily still. Other then the motion that he must have made to steady the tray he seemed unmoving. The red head flushed brightly.

"Right." She muttered to herself more then him. "This is food, for yourself and umm…" she waved a hand quickly towards Daine and Daine retreated a little in case his eyes skipped to her. But he still remained unmoving. "Well, that is if you want her to eat. It's the general rule, as long as she's alive by the end of your stay and your willing to pay the healing bill you can do as you please."

"What if she's not alive?" His silky voice was a dead whisper of ice and Daine couldn't help but pull back from the meeting, no longer wanting to watch it, threads of fear telling her she was not going to be alive for long. The red head shifted her feet for a few seconds, nervous or uncertain.

"Umm… I don't know. I'll ask the boss."

"Don't bother. Money, I've found, can buy anything. If it comes to it I'm sure your boss and I will be able to come to some sort of arrangement."

"She's pretty expensive." The red head interjected quickly, thoughtlessly. "I mean… umm… well she's kind of a favourite with some of our more umm… exotically tasted customers."

"Exotic?"

"Well umm… she's so young and all, I mean her figures not very developed… and well I'm told the more some fight the more some enjoy it." Thickness filled the air, a deadly thickness Daine could feel in her bones and it came not from her. "And she always fights." The red head murmured, a tinge of pity etched into the words, and the girl seemed to realise what she had done because she reverted back to the cherry red head she always seemed to be. "Anyway!" She almost bounced with the sudden energy in her voice. "I'm here to show you around the cabinets and the like. There are several interesting potions at your disposal that do work on her, though I warn you getting her to take them can be a process of weeks and weeks of starvation. Usually the chains are preferred, and I'd be willing to-"

"Go away." He ordered in a heavy voice. The red head stopped immediately her breath drawn in sharply.

"Umm…" she seemed lost in her daze again. "Well if you need any assistance with anything, the summons stones are on the desk over there. And anyone is of service to you. If you need someone to hold her down-"

"Did I not just tell you to go away?" He interrupted the beginnings of rage in his voice. The hair at the back of Daine's neck was on end, and she wondered if the girl would be smart enough to run while she could. If chains had not prevented it Daine knew she would not have been in the room.

"Yes my lord, I'm sorry for the intrusion." The red head whispered submissively and made a quick and wise retreat, the door closing behind her and the man once more twisted the key in the lock. He sighed again, and Daine recognised it as resignation.

Then he turned towards her bed and took the first dangerous step closer.

Automatically she growled, a low throated growl, the kind of growl that in the wild any creature of intelligence would run at. He paused, and the rattle of the tray sounded once more.

"Don't worry little cat, I'm not going to hurt you."

She could see it clearly, the line in her mind that told her how far her chains could reach how far she could reach for the door, for the escape or anything. Her life set out by a line only she seemed to understand the exact limits of. He stepped over that line carelessly and she readied herself for the fight that would ensue.

Her finger nails dug into the wood, in and out reflexively. Her eyes adjusted perfectly to the light, her hearing strained for the slightest sound of a blade or weapon that he might have so far concealed. Nothing came but the rattle of the tray as he balanced it carefully.

He came closer, still slowly, saying things she wasn't listening to, wasn't able to understand as the fear inside her increased. He had asked if he could kill her, asked what would happen if he did, and although she had feared for her life many times since she came here, she truly believed this man had the power to destroy her. Her low growl got louder, making certain he could hear it. The warnings of a trapped animal, ready to embark on it's greatest victory or it's last stand.

Still slowly he approached, unperturbed by the noise's she made or the threat that hung in the air so obviously. Again she modulated the growl, it came out harsher, tighter, louder and more brutal but his feet did not waver. At the end of her bed, when his feet stopped she prepared herself to attack, allowing memory's of freedom to fuel her anger, memory's of friends to sharpen her wits. But she still did not pounce, a reluctance to enter her perhaps final battle leaving her attack till the last second.

He drew no closer then the end of the bed, although she was not fooled and knew he had perfect access to the chain she still had wrapped securely around the bed leg. Then confusing her, he calmly placed the tray at his feet and walked away.

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Daine didn't touch the food, couldn't bring herself to move towards the food for hours. And all the time she spent deliberating over the meal that had been placed at the end of her bed she listened to the man who had put it there.

There was not silence but it was close enough. His clam soothing breaths where even and sleep like, though she argued with herself that she had thought him asleep last time and he had woken. Not that he was asleep now, there where no snores, no light shifts on the bed. The lack of movement was deliberate and offsetting.

She bit down into her lower lip her nose flaring as she took in the scents of the meal before her.

She did not fear poison as much as normal. He had not had time to retrieve any of the cabinets poisons and she had learnt over time that the poisons men carried with them where rarely powerful enough to effect her. So she shifted a little closer, taking deep breaths, hungry but willing to ignore the food at the first sign of taint in it.

She kept her eyes on the bed he was on as she approached the tray, wearily careful, waiting for that first sign to show her if he was a threat or if he truly had placed the food there without ulterior motives.

When she saw him, she couldn't help but frown a little. He was sitting on the bed, his legs crossed his eyes closed and a perfect stillness about him that suggested his attention lay more in thoughts then in what lay around him. Slowly, eyes locked on his still figure she slipped past the food, away from the bed and with a skill of silence that was her nature she unravelled the chain she had carelessly tangled.

Then before any trap could be set scuttled back to her sanctuary, drawing the tray after her. And eyes still fixed on the bed, she began to nibble carefully at the edges of the meal, testing for danger.

"Better." Was murmured by the man, but it was so soft she did not flinch at the noise.

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