When I came to, every part of me ached. One pain that stood out more than the others was the pain in my shoulder. Even though my arms were above my head, I could tell that my right shoulder wasn't in its normal place.
"I think you overdid it a bit. I asked you to break her spirit, not beat her till she was senseless." I saw the Lord scolding Itsuki.
"Sorry, Boss."
"'Sorry', doesn't fix our situation! We have to move. If we keep her tied up like this she's just going to get worse. Prince Izana might not agree to our deal if she looks like this. Take a horse, go into town and kidnap a physician. Bring them to site B so they can fix her up there."
"Yes, sir."
I tried to say something, but I was in too much pain to really say anything.
"I see you're awake. Good."
I tried to curse at him, but again nothing came out.
"Men! Get in here!"
Instantly, two men appeared from around the corner.
"Untie her and take her to my horse. We're moving to site B."
The men quickly did as they were told and it was no time before I was lying on my stomach, draped over the back of the horse. It was night time, as we traveled, which made it difficult to see where we were headed. By about lunch time, the next day, we had arrived at an old mansion.
I was then dragged into one of the rooms and flopped on the large bed. Each of my hands and feet were tied to a corner of the bed frame. I was completely helpless. I felt myself pass out from the pain.
I awoke again and cried out in pain when my shoulder was put back into place. I clenched my eyes shut from the pain. I then felt a hand touch my side. Not only was there pain, but I assumed the worst and tried to move the hand away. Unfortunately, my good arm was still restrained.
"Be still, Lady Rin, I'm just checking your ribs."
I managed to open my eyes and was happily surprised to see the physician that had examined me for Prince Izana. I relaxed a bit.
"I'll need you to leave for the next part of the exam." he said to the Lord.
"I'm fine right here."
"I need to make sure she wasn't soiled by your men."
"Oh… okay, let me know when it's done." The Lord quickly exited the room.
I tensed a bit, I didn't want that exam again.
"It's alright, Lady Rin. I'm not going to do it, I just needed to get rid of them, but please tell me, have they done anything like that to you?"
I shook my head.
"Good…"
"Shirayuki…?" I managed to get out.
"She's fine. I examined her yesterday when Prince Zen brought her back to the castle. Prince Izana is still out looking for you."
I relaxed again. I knew Prince Izana was smart, so hopefully he would be able to follow the tracks made by the horses they used to get here.
"I've got some medicine to help with your pain."
He helped me take the medicine, then helped me drink some water to wash it down.
"Thank… you…"
"Anything I can do to help."
"What's…"
"Please don't try and talk, Lady Rin. You have five broken ribs, three on your right side and two on your left."
I gave a slight nod, so he knew I agreed not to talk.
"Now, I have to tell them the exam is done. If I don't they might get suspicious."
I gave him another nod. He rose and opened the door to the room. I just listened, as they had their conversation.
"Well? How long will it take to heal?" The Lord demanded.
"A dislocated shoulder takes around three months to heal. Her broken ribs, along with the moderate internal bleeding, should take about a month or two."
"That's too long. Can't you do anything, to make the healing go faster?"
"I've already given her some pain medication, but that's all I can do."
"There's gotta be something more you can do to help the healing!" The Lord growled.
"If you wanted her in good condition, then maybe you shouldn't have let your man beat her in the first place."
"Watch your tone doctor! Or you will be the next one, who needs treating."
"Forgive me, Lord of Sui, but if you have no further need of me, then I'll be going."
"You won't be going anywhere. You are going to stay here till I'm done with you. Until then, You are going to stay in this room and make sure her health stays on the uprise." The Lord closed the door then locked it from the outside.
"Well, it looks like I get the pleasure of your company a bit longer, Lady Rin."
A few days went by and I was still stuck in the bed. I was getting sick of being defenseless, but there was nothing I could do. Today however I was paid a special visit. It was only me in the bedroom. The physician had been moved to another room.
"Lady Rin." came a whispered voice.
I turned my head to the window where I had heard the voice coming from, it was Prince Zen.
"Prince Zen, what are you doing here? Where's Prince Izana?"
"I'm here to let you know that we're working on a plan. There's too many of them to sneak you out now… You've been hurt…"
"Yes, some broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder. They kidnapped a physician to heal me. It's the same one Prince Izana asked for. I think they intend to kill him once I'm well."
"That makes things more difficult but as it stands right now, we are planning to rescue you when we meet for the exchange in a month."
"Is there anything I can do to help you from in here?"
"With your injuries, I wouldn't risk it."
"Alright, you should go now. I wouldn't want them to catch you."
"Okay, I'll see you in a month."
A month passed more quickly than I expected. I was getting excited to see Prince Izana again. My hands were tied behind my back and I was roughly led out to where the former Lord had mounted a horse.
They draped me over the back of the horse like I was just a grain or something that wasn't worth it's own horse and they placed a sack over my head. This, of course, didn't help my right shoulder trying to heal from being dislocated.
After about a half a day, we finally stopped. The bag was removed from my head and I was pulled off the horse. My bonds were kept in place, probably because they knew I could wield a sword and I would try to escape. The Lord firmly grabbed my arm.
We waited about a half an hour and then Prince Izana and Prince Zen arrived. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. I knew that Prince Izana would fight for me. Not just because he was courting me, but also because it was the right thing to do. The Lord tightened his grip on my arm.
"Hand her over." Prince Izana demanded in a cool voice.
"Not until I see the money and the papers saying that I'm reinstated!"
"It's cute how you still think you're in control." Prince Zen poked fun.
Suddenly, an arrow shot one of the Lord's men.
"Attack! Kill The Princes!" The Lord shouted and his men went into full action.
Swords clashed. A few more arrows hit their mark. Prince Izana and Prince Zen were completely owning the Lord's men. You'd think they were one person with how well they fought together. There were several opponents so that's why it was taking them awhile.
I felt the Lord pull me close to him and place his sword against my throat.
"Prince Izana!" he demanded the Prince's attention.
Prince Izana cut down the last man and turned his attention towards me and the Lord.
"Let her go!" It was an order.
"NO! I need you to suffer!"
Fear was coursing through my body. He was going to kill me, I knew it.
"I'm keeping her with me until you agree to my terms!" The Lord continued to ramble. "You're going to let me leave! And I'm taking her with me!" He began to back up and take me with him. Izana, Please Stop Him!
He continued to drag me back then threw me over the horse, quickly and tightly secured me with rope, then took off.
"Izana!" I called out in panic. I was completely unable to defend myself.
"Quite!"
No! I was not going to be quiet! "IZA…!"
I felt pain in my head then everything went black.
When I woke again, I was on my side, my hands were still tied behind my back, and my feet were tied too. I struggled against the ropes.
"Don't even bother. I know how to tie a knot sweetheart. There's no way you're getting out of those."
I looked and saw the Lord sitting by a campfire. I took a better look around and saw that I was in a cave. Nothing looked familiar.
"Is a title really so important to you?" I asked boldly.
"Of course it is! My wife ran off with another man after we lost our wealth! I lost the love of my life so the least I can do is make him suffer. I don't care what that costs me!"
I remembered feeling like that. When I killed the men that slaughtered my mom and my sister, I felt like I accomplished something great or like I was a wielder of justice. In the end, however, I felt awful for ending the lives of those men.
"Revenge isn't going to make you feel better." I stated.
"What do you know about revenge?!"
I decided to open up and maybe he would see reason. "More than you realize. My mother and sister were killed in front of me when I was a child. I..."
"Shut up!"
So much for that idea.
"You just don't want to hear what I have to say because you know that I'm right."
I got a slap across my face.
"I said, shut up!"
I decided it would be best to be silent now. I heard the Lord start to mumble to himself. I couldn't make anything out but it sounded like he was going crazy.
"That's it…" he said loud enough for me to hear. "That's the perfect way to get back at the Prince!"
I quickly became paralyzed with fear. Was this man going to kill me? He pushed me onto my back and positioned himself on top of me, which was uncomfortable because my hands were tied and with the way I was laying now, pain was escalating in my shoulder.
He placed his face uncomfortably close to mine and gave me an evil grin. He gently grabbed some of my hair and smelt it.
"W-What do you plan to do?" I trembled.
"I'm going to make it so that Prince Izana won't ever come near you." He gave me a firm and very unwanted kiss.
When the kiss broke, I spat in his face. "If you think you can take me that easy, you'd better guess again you pig faced baboon!"
I got another slap across the face.
"I'm not going to try it now. I'm going to wait until we cross the border. Then Prince Izana won't be able to chase after you." He got off of me and went back to his place by the fire. "Get some sleep. We have a long trip ahead of us."
The next day, he sat me on the horse and then he mounted in front of me. We took off full speed. I was actually happy for the quick pace because that meant more obvious tracks for Prince Izana to follow. Unfortunately, that meant that we would reach the border faster too.
Night fell and we just crossed the border and were now entering a town. We arrived at the nearest brothel and the Lord knocked on the door. A woman with hazelnut hair and green eyes answered the door. She was dressed for her profession.
"I brought the girl." he said simply.
"Come in, m'lord." She ushered us in and led us to a secluded room.
"So will you give me the price I asked for?"
"Calm down, I have to look at her first and for crying out loud, man! Untie her!"
The Lord did as he was told. The woman looked me over.
"Let me see you. Take off your clothes."
I froze. "I-I…"
"I didn't ask you to speak, I asked you to remove your clothes. Now are you going to do it? Or do I have to do it for you?"
I didn't have a choice. I slowly removed all of my clothing but then I tried to cover myself.
"Arms by your sides and stand up straight!" the woman ordered.
I sheepishly did as she commanded. She studied me. It felt like I was under a microscope. The former Lord was leaning against the wall and had a evil smirk on his face as he also gawked at my body. I felt like a piece of meat on auction or something. If I'd had a sword, then I could try and free myself from this situation, but there was no way I could. Even if I had a sword, I doubt I would have been able to lift it because of my shoulder.
"So? Will you give me the asking price?" the Lord asked anxiously.
"Yes, I think she's worth what you're asking." the woman replied.
"There is one more thing…"
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"I would like to be the first to have her. I don't need her trained, I just want to be the first."
"Then I'll give you a little less to cover the cost of you using a room."
"Done."
This could not be happening to me! I was just sold to work as a whore… I didn't see a way out of this. Prince Izana would probably hesitate once he saw we went across the border. I didn't know if I was ever going to see him again. I felt a tear leak out of my eye.
"Come back tomorrow night and I'll make sure she's ready for you."
"I'll be here." The Lord said as he walked out of the room.
"You can get dressed now." The woman informed.
I quickly got dressed but I still felt like I was naked.
"Now! I'm going to tell you the rules, so pay attention because I will not repeat myself. Number One, you will address me as Mistress or Ma'am. Number Two, you will take any man who comes to you looking for service, whether here or out on the road. If he pays then you give it. And Number Three, if you break these rules then you answer to me."
I was unclear about what she meant by the last one but I was sure that I didn't want to find out. I simply nodded to her so she knew that I heard her.
"Come with me." She ordered.
I listened and we made our way upstairs and entered a room where one of the working girls and her client were just finishing getting re-clothed.
"Out!" The Mistress ordered the man.
He quickly ran off.
"Kimi, this is a new girl. Show her as much as you can in one night, she has a client booked for tomorrow."
"Yes, Mistress."
The Mistress turned around and left, closing the door behind her.
"So, what's your name new girl?"
"R-Rin." I couldn't believe I was in this mess. I didn't want to be here. I wanted to wake up like I did from my nightmares and see Prince Izana there or to have my father hold me in his arms. I didn't want anything to do with this.
I began to cry. I wanted to maintain my composure but I just didn't have the strength to do it anymore.
"Rin?"
I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I looked up at the blonde-haired and brown eyed woman.
"Rin, are you here against your will?"
I nodded as I continued to cry.
"Okay… Listen to me…My friends and I have created a team that helps women who don't want to be here, get out… We'll get you out, I promise."
I started to cry harder. It wasn't from pain it was from relief. This woman was going to help me. I felt her arms wrap around me in a hug. I began to feel like there was hope again.
