Chapter Five - Stain of Manhood
Uhm, this chapter contains a rape scene; it's far from explicit, but still, I'm giving you warning in case you want to skip this one.
Grand Stewart Le Sait was not a happy bunny, far from it. Reports had come in from his spies that Riot had been seen with that damned Inquisitor. They'd been too damned good with the training of that one, she questioned everything, including him and his motives... A nervous tic pulled the left side of his moustache upwards but he didn't notice it, or rather, he chose not to notice it. As many others in high positions of power such as he; their flaws become magnified and the suppression of these 'hiccups' was vital to keep respect and dignity. But when you have as much power as Le Sait did, why suppress yourself when you can suppress everyone else? Indeed, that was the Grand Stewarts solution to practically everything, though since the downscaling of the VKP operations and more specifically their visible violence, it had become more difficult to do. Now, all problems had to be kept hush-hush and when people went 'missing mysteriously', others would ask questions. This wasn't the VKP he had joined in his youth; no, it had evolved into a far more graceful yet paranoid beast.
He needed to know what Callo Merlose had told the Riskbreaker and whether she was now a threat to the operation, but how to get it? Torture was out of the question since the reformations and he'd always enjoyed that part of his job back when he was an inquisitor. Besides, Callo had gained a bit of status after returning alive from Leá Monde after 'rescuing' the Duke's son. Her disappearance would be to public in the workplace and chances were it would be traced back to him and then all hell would break loose. Hypnosis? He'd always looked down on the mystical mumbo-jumbo that some of his colleagues preferred but he grudgingly admitted that it did work occasionally. Maybe it was worth a try, but again it would require an absence, which had already been deemed impossible. No, a spy was the way to go, a close friend that could worm the truth out of her... but there was the problem. What friends? Inquisitor Callo Merlose was fresh faced in the VKP since she had only been a full agent for three months. Also, she had little battle experience which was the normal medium of bonding here. But there was a way to get someone in close... most definitely a way...
Le Sait snatched his official notepad, the cover embossed with the VKP symbol, and opened it up. Scribbling furiously, he wrote and signed the note, folding it up and putting it into an envelope. Reaching over, he took a knob of wax and a lit candle. Slowly, he melted the wax, letting it drip onto the envelope, sealing it. He virtually tore off the button on his lapel and pushed it into the liquid wax, imprinting it as a letter from the Grand Stewart. Laboriously printing a name on the front of the envelope, he slipped it into a tube. Closing the lid on the tube, he pushed it into the pipe that sent it to his secretary outside. He didn't know quite how the system worked but he had made sure that it contained no magic at all. No, he didn't want that loathsome desecration of the soul anywhere near his office, his true home. He hated using it even more but he recognised it as a useful tool in the right hands, but every time he issued forth some magical power, it felt like he slowly slipped further and further away from his real self. He knew it was addictive, that it could destroy and totally rebuild a persons psyche, just like that...
Outside the office, the tube took off from the secretary's desk as it left the pipe, sailing through the air and crashing into the ceiling, leaving yet another mark on the paintwork. As it fell down, she simply reached out her hand while sipping a cup of tea and it fell into her hand. It was obvious to see that she was now used to capsules flinging themselves across her office... Nimbly flipping the lid off, she shook it until the envelope slid out. Looking at the name on the front, she arched an eyebrow in surprise. A letter from the Grand Stewart to them? I thought they had been disgraced... Shaking her head, she opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out an arched sign reading 'Away On Business' and placed it on her desk. All letters from the Grand Stewart were to be hand-delivered by herself. Maybe he was just paranoid but with the shady past of the Valendian Knights of the Peace, she wouldn't be surprised if someone would try to intercept his mail. It was a shame that the 'foolproof' system was fatally flawed: someone had already read the note...
Twenty minutes later it had been delivered directly into the hands of the person named on the envelope and she felt a whole lot better about herself; mission accomplished without a hitch. Admittedly, it was a small and rather minor mission but it was still a special task that had been set by the Grand Stewart of the VKP. A small thrill ran through her body as she thought of how she may have saved the day by delivering that letter, not realising that the letter in question may have just doomed it instead...
So full of despair and apathy... and hatred of what he may be... and now he's considering martyring himself and me...
For what seemed like the millionth time that day, Callo Merlose's thoughts drifted to the keeper of Leá Monde. Not that there was anything better to do. All the current cases had already been handed out while she was there and now she was excluded from them. She was supposed to be tracking Ashley down but she was conflicted in that region. If he truly did intend to kill innocents then surely he should be stopped? But in their murder, countless millions would be saved... should she hand him over to be 'trained' and allow the VKP to gain supremacy in Valendia to save a few that may well lose their lives then? It was her duty to the people to stop that, she knew it in her heart and soul. That was why she had joined the VKP, to protect and serve. A high-minded and noble ideal sadly lost on much of the world. No, their motto was divide and conquer, or to put it in the words of one rioter: "Fuck you, fuck the VKP and fuck the parliament! I live for me and me only!" Humanity was probably a lost cause but she was determined that they would go down fighting... or not as the case may be.
No, she had to stop the council from getting access to Riskbreaker Riot but could she just stand idly by and watch him murder the innocent, including herself? No, but there was a third possibility...
Lost in thought over Ashley Riot for the millionth-and-first time that day, she didn't notice the figure loom over her desk. A polite cough caught her attention and she looked up, meeting the strangers eyes. That was something she always did; the eyes are the window of the soul they say but she was damned if she could see anything in them, but you never know... The eyes were blue-grey, complimenting the slightly drawn-out face of the figure before her: Inquisitor Dejamir Kalijan. His brown hair fell down to his shoulders normally but today he had it pulled back into a ponytail and unusually, his beard and moustache were neatly trimmed. It was obvious he'd had a big meeting today; otherwise his normal slightly dishevelled look would be on display.
"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly in the presence of Kalijan. He was a fairly big name in the department, some of his work now being reading material for trainees, not that he'd brag about it, that just wasn't his style... which is a misnomer when applied to Dejamir. Style was the very thing he railed against as could be seen in his attire: baggy black trousers, a white short-sleeved shirt with a black long-sleeved t-shirt underneath and a tie. Not exactly conventional dress but it didn't matter to him.
"Uhh... I was wondering if I could ask you something... err... somewhere a little bit more private."
Callo arched an eyebrow at the legend before her. Shyness? From him! "Sure... we'll use the office over there," she said, pointing across the room to an unused room.
Quickly shuffling some papers and slipping them into her desk, she got up and followed Dejamir into the abandoned room. "So, what did you want to ask me that needed us to be alone?"
Silence ensued, filled only with the embarrassed blushing from the male. "Will you go out with me?" he blurted out.
More silence.
Dejamir fiddling with his fingers.
A soft
sigh emerging from Callo's lips.
The creaking of a chair as a
load was borne upon it.
"It's not that I don't like you as a person Dejamir but..." she started from her seated position, looking down at the floor.
"Aww shit... I know where this is going..."
"I don't think you really do Dej... so if I may continue?" A listless nod from her counterpart. "It's not that I don't like you as a person, it's that I'm not attracted to men. I'm a lesbian."
Even more silence.
Severe bouts of blushing.
A short snort
as laughter is cut off.
Quiet sniggering followed by full-blown
laughing.
The two dissolved into a fit of laughter, Kalijan leading the way. In between sniggering fits and trying to catch his breath back, Dejamir managed to say something; "Trust me to ask out the friggin' dyke!"
A flying fist.
Pain blossoming.
Staggering backwards.
Blood slowly dripping to the floor.
"Never... ever... call me a dyke again Inquisitor Kalijan," her voice now as hard as stone.
"Sorry?" came a slightly confused and muffled reply from the floor, where Dejamir Kalijan clutched his broken nose. "It's not like I know a lot of lesbians... I'm sorry if I offended you."
Another sigh came from Callo as she shook her head. "No, don't apologise. I'm... just a little touchy about being called that since my trainee days..."
"What happened?"
Silence.
"Sorry... that was kinda personal. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to Merlose, but talking about these things help, even if they hurt in the short run. Trust me, this is something I know about..."
Silence.
A third sigh.
A hesitant breath.
The
divulgence of a long-held secret.
"It was at the training camp. As you know, they're segregated into male and female for the first half of the training. I was already aware of my sexuality and being surrounded by several women like me was bound to cause problems among the homophobic ones."
"So they found out and taunted you? Beatings and the like?" Dej questioned in the manner associated with being a VKP Inquisitor.
"No... it wasn't the others... I'd started a relationship with one of the other trainees when one of the instructors found out about it. Alex Drummond." Dejamir winced as he recognised the name... he was known to be especially hard on the trainees. He couldn't remember what Drummond was doing now, he seemed to remember hearing a story about him being murdered but he wasn't sure. Ignoring the faces her male counterpart was pulling, Merlose continued, "He'd had a small infatuation with me from the start but when he found out the truth about me, it piqued his interest..."
In her mind, she was walking over the field again, after a secret night of passion out in the forest with her lover...
/8\
A shadow emerged before her. As he stepped forward into the light, she recognised him as one of her instructors.
"What are you doing out here after curfew Miss Merlose?" his voice lined with authoritarian strictness.
Fear.
"I... uhh..." Callo stumbled for an excuse but came up dry.
"Don't bother coming up with an excuse, I know what you were doing."
Fear.
Panic.
"We can't allow a dyke into the VKP. It seems to me like a man is going to have to straighten you out... namely me."
Fear.
Panic.
Hatred.
"Uhh... no thanks sir."
"Is that a refusal?"
"Yessir, it is." Stand up to him. You will not allow this to continue! Act like the VKP agent you want to be! "If that's it sir, I'll be heading back to my bed and getting some sleep." As she strode past him, he reached out, grabbing her arm and pulling her to a stop.
"Where the hell do you think you're going!"
Fear.
Panic.
Hatred.
Disgust.
"Get off me!" she squealed, a mixture of emotions bubbling up through her blood. When she realised it wasn't going to happen, she opened her mouth and took a deep breath full of air and then began to scream.
Panicking at her unexpected response, Drummond slammed his fist into the side of her head, knocking her from her feet. The last thing she remembered was seeing the rock rushing towards her head...
Pain.
Darkness.
Nothingness...
Some time later she came to, feeling a little woozy. Looking around, she didn't recognise where she was. As she tried to get up, she found her hands and feet bound by rope to four iron loops firmly sunk into the floor. She tried to scream again but found her mouth was gagged.
Fear.
Her eyes shot around the room desperately, looking for some source of help. Instead, her eyes fixed on something moving in a dark corner. Something steel...
Fear.
Panic.
As her eyes became accustomed to the dim lighting of the room, she froze as she saw what was in the corner. Alex Drummond.
Fear.
Panic.
Hatred.
Then she realised he was naked and fondling himself, his erect penis twitching nervously as his hand played across it.
Fear.
Panic.
Hatred.
Disgust.
Slowly he rose from his seated position and walked over to her, his left hand holding himself and his right holding a steel sword. Slowly, he ran the tip of the sword across her body, it's edge tearing her clothes and occasionally nicking her skin. When he was satisfied he was done, he threw the sword aside and ripped her clothes from her body. Indignation lit up in Callo's eyes, unbelieving that this was actually happening to her.
Fear.
Panic.
Hatred.
Disgust.
Loathing.
Slowly but surely he lowered himself onto her so he straddled her waist. He leant over and tried to place a tender kiss on her lips, but she threw her head to the side. With a quick swing, he slapped her across the face, his whole body quivering with anger.
"You just can't let me have it dyke, can you? You won't let me have it? Well, that's don't matter... I'm gonna have you dyke, whether you like it or not, and by the end of the night, you'll be screaming my name, just you wait dyke."
He rearranged his legs so that they were now between hers. She could feel his engorged phallus pressing against the firm flesh of her belly. She struggled against her bonds but that only seemed to make the ropes cut into her wrists that little bit more. She thrashed about as hard as she could, trying to dislodge him from her but to no avail. Instead, it only excited him further. His lips worked over her body as he groped at her breasts. The first small whimper emerged from Merlose's lips, only to be muffled by the gag. The first of many to come...
Fear. Panic. Hatred. Disgust. Loathing.
He took her jaw in his hand and raised himself above her, forcing her to look into his eyes. She could see the lust coursing through his eyes and knew that there was no way out of this for her. She was doomed to whatever fate he held in store for her. Slowly, he guided himself in with his other hand and she felt the unclean item enter her. She could feel her vaginal walls clamp down onto it and she was shocked and ashamed at her body's natural reaction.
"You like that dyke, don't you? You know you do dyke!"
Fear. Panic. Hatred. Disgust. Loathing. Fear. Panic. Hatred. Disgust. Loathing.
Slowly at first, he ground his hips against hers, forcing himself deeper inside her. There was nothing she could do to stop him so she just gave in, lying their as limp as a ragdoll.
Fear. Panic. Hatred. Disgust. Loathing. Fear. Panic. Hatred. Disgust. Loathing. Fear. Panic. Hatred. Disgust. Loathing. Fear. Panic. Hatred. Disgust. Loathing.
Building up momentum, his thrusts became more and more violent, his fingers digging painfully into the flesh just above her hips. Sweat and saliva dripped from him onto her, each droplet tainting her just that one little bit further. She felt a feeling start to swell inside of her stomach and realising what it was, she fought against it heart and soul.
With every thrust inside of her, he cried out the same word; each time it cut just that bit deeper into her psyche, forever tarnishing her, to be indelibly painted across her mind.
"DYKE!" Fear. Panic. Hatred. Disgust. Loathing.
"DYKE!" Fear. Panic. Hatred. Disgust. Loathing.
"DYKE!" Fear. Panic. Hatred. Disgust. Loathing.
"DYKE!" Fear. Panic. Hatred. Disgust. Loathing.
He spasmed inside of her, and she felt him erupt into her, screaming out the word at the same time exquisite pain exploded throughout every vein in her body.
"DYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYKE!"
Fearpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfe
arpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfear
panichatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpa
nichatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpanic
hatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpanicha
treddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatre
ddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathingfearpanichatredd
isgustloathingfearpanichatreddisgustloathing...
Fear of the man collapsed atop of her, panting heavily.
Panic because of the act performed on her.
Hatred of what had been done.
Disgust of what she had done to herself.
Loathing of the word eternally carved into her mind; her taint.
Nothingness. Nothingness. Nothingness. Nothi--ngne--ss. No--t--h--i...
\8/
The tears wouldn't stop for Callo as she sat there. Her body was torn by her emotions as they exploded throughout her, beyond her control. Gently, Dejamir held her to him as she buried her head in his shoulder, a river of pain flowing from her eyes. Slowly he rocked her back and forth while quietly whispering.
"I'm so sorry... so sorry... I shouldn't have made you tell me... I'm so sorry..."
