New Old Hell
Part 4
by Rondabunny
The guards dragged the general away and Denna remained in the room with Cara.
"Why did you do that, my Lady?" The blonde Mord'Sith asked the woman who few minutes ago made maybe the most gorgeous thing anybody had done to her at all. She protected her dignity.
"Denna, I'm not a lady for you. As I remember not long ago you gave me not so wonderful names. I'm Cara, your sister of the agiel and nobody can change that," responded lady Rahl.
She could see that Denna tried very hard to stand upright but Cara could notice slight shaking of woman's body because of pain and exhaustion she suffered during the day.
"He won't forgive you that," the Mord'Sith stated wrapping tightly the cloak around her trembling body.
"I don't need forgiveness. I want women to be respected. Especially those, who are more brilliant and artful in the battle than any man in that room."
"But he is our master and his word is a law."
"I know how you feel about him. It's a pity to see that, though he isn't worth your love because he's as cold as rock. He doesn't feel anything and I think today I'll find out that for sure. He traded me once now he betrayed you just to fulfill his rotten thirst for entertainment. I don't want that happen again, not till I'm breathing." Cara said.
"How can you say so about your husband and our Lord?" Denna shook her head.
"Denna, your love for him is so blind that you can't see what a monster he is. I would like you to be on my side rather than his. Time will show. Now, please, go and relax. Even the most powerful Mord'Siths are exhausted after a day of torture hanging from chains." She smiled at her and went to see how Dylan was doing.
It was late in the evening when Darken joined his wife in their chamber. She stood there in a night gown so fragile in the candle light and adorable at the same time. Cara heard him coming in. All her muscles stiffened as she turned to face him and suddenly got a hard, painful, unexpected slap. Her upper lip cracked and she could feel warm blood running down her chin. It wasn't much hurtful physically but emotionally she was suffering. The Mord'Sith knew what would come and mentally was prepared for it. Nevertheless, this took her aback. She was upset not because what had happened but because she was right about it. That hurt the most.
"How could you disgrace me in front of my servants?!" Darken Rahl shouted and slapped her again this time even harder.
Cara had to step back not to fall down. He made a motion to hit her again and his hand stopped in midair because she didn't deflect. She closed her eyes and froze like a statue made of marble. The woman was ready to embrace whatever might come. Darken looked at her strong and at the same time relaxed form. Blood was dropping from her chin on a white nightgown.
"You disappointed me today, Cara, don't try playing with me again because I smash you like a fly," he threw his dressing gown on a chair.
Cara took a handkerchief from the bedside table, moistened it in a bowl of water that was in the room and pressed to her sore lip.
"Why did you do that? Denna disobeyed my order for a Mord'Sith it means death," he asked staring at Cara who was now sitting at a bedside.
"I can ask you the same question. Why did you stop?" she demanded.
"…beating you? I can do it in other more pleasurable ways," he rolled on the bed sitting next to her and started kissing her neck. She also predicted that but hid that disgusting sigh deep inside. "Why did you do that, Cara? There was no reason for you to protect her. When she was in charge she made you miserable in many ways."
"Why do you always try to hurt her? She loves you." Cara looked him in the eyes.
"Don't know, torturing people is very exciting, don't you think?" He smiled wickedly, took away the handkerchief and kissed her hard making her lip bleed again.
"Darken, I thought you learned a lesson when you were in the Underworld. I believe I'm mistaken."
She stood up to moisten the handkerchief again and Darken relaxed on the pillows.
"No, I understood a lot. My first intention when I got here was to beat you to death. I would have done that if you had opposed me, but you didn't. It stopped me. From strategic point of view you're pretty smart. Mord'Siths are better soldiers than any men can be and they are loyal. If I treat them like whores other people would see them that way. So there will be no respect for me or for them. Earlier I thought that people respect you if you're powerful. When they're afraid of you they obey you, though my experience with Dracul and the Keeper proved me wrong. Maybe today you've done the right thing but you minded your Lord's demand you'll be punished for that."
This wasn't the explanation Cara wanted to hear. He still was a sociopathic maniac who was striving for dominance and power. She committed to this mission of making the world look better and she couldn't give up after a month of abuse relationship. She should go till the end and find out what might happen.
Cara woke up in the morning after the ruthless night with her husband. He made everything to make her feel miserable and mistreated. She was a Mord Sith. After a year spent in Denna's hands Cara felt that she could overcome anything. It was true but her sore body thought otherwise. Every inch of it was covered in bruises except her face. Only her cracked lips showed that something went wrong last night. The servant gasped as she saw Cara's body. Lady Rahl calmed the woman. She asked for the healer who came and treated her with some disgusting but helpful ointments. They didn't cover all the bruises but at least they slightly took away the pain. She dressed up in breeches, high boots, shirt with long sleeves and band collar to hide her marked neck. A vest and a jacket supplemented her costume.
Cara spent her morning with the toddler outside. She watched as his nanny walked him in the garden while she sat at the table in the arbour reading the reports and answering the requests of different communities they had in D'Hara. Denna was also here helping Lady Rahl with a pile of documents. Today she looked much better but far from being really in a good condition.
At lunch Cara addressed her husband: "I would like to go to Jondralin and find out how they implemented my new rules there."
"Why Jondralin? Serpentuum is not far from the People's palace you may see how things are there." Darken disagreed.
"No, the thing is that I want to make sure that even in Jondralin which is not very close to the capital they obeyed my orders." The queen insisted.
"Oh, good old Cara, do you want to return your long gone power over the Mord'Sith or is it an attempt to flee from your highly distinguished husband who didn't give you the possibility to sleep this night?" Rahl smirked and stretched out his hand to take some more lamb.
"Darken, after a year with Denna, tortures of Dracul and birth of the bess at my younger age the thing I experienced this night doesn't impress me much. Aisha once said 'I've died so many times that the souls in the Underworld greet me when I appear in front of them again and again.' Even things that kill me make me stronger. So, may I go to Jonrdalin?" She sipped some wine from her goblet.
"It is two weeks journey. Do you want me to sleep alone for so long? And Dylan. I thought you wanted to spend more time with him."
"All women of D'Hara are at your disposal. I'm sure you won't be alone. As for Dylan he's a toddler who just learned to walk and babble some unidentified sounds. There's not much I can do at such a gentle stage." The Mord Sith replied.
"Cara, what do I hear? You won't even be jealous if I take some strange woman in our sacred bed?" Rahl mocked taking a gulp from his goblet.
"If I counted all the women you've been with I should slaughter half of the D'Hara's population. I don't think it's fair. Besides, for many years I used to sleep alone and now the unnecessary man who steals my covers only irritates me." She grinned.
Darken knew that everything she said was true. She didn't feel for him as he didn't feel for her. No, he felt some kind of need. He longed for her to be near, longed to touch her, to kiss her but his emotions were perverted. The kiss should be followed by pain. It couldn't be changed. That was his nature. Though, these feeling he had only for Cara. Other women weren't so lucky. Torture, humiliation and unbearable pain that was all, that he could worship other women with.
"You may go to Fiordale. It is less than a brief moment in the portal but it is farther than Jondralin." Lord Rahl still refused to let her go without a fight.
"No, I want to travel for a while. I spent too much time in a cave hanging from the chains beaten by the agiel. I want to watch the changes happened during this year."
"You read the reports every day." He responded.
"Am I your captive or are you bold enough to trust me and give me a chance to do something alone? Maybe you won't even be too disappointed." She whispered cunningly in his ear.
"What are you up to, Carie?" Only he had a right to call her that.
"I want to disguise as a common woman and travel through small towns and villages. It's the best way to understand people's needs. I want to see if anything has changed after Dracul's death or my poor child died for nothing." She told sincerely looking sternly at her husband.
He frowned but didn't forbid: "Fine, but I won't let you go alone."
"I'll take Denna."
"Only two of you?" He was surprised, "Even when you travelled with the Seeker there were four of you and that wasn't safe."
"It was difficult time. Do you want to tell me that now it is the same?" She asked in disbelief. If that was right then all the reports were lies. "Two trained women won't survive a two week trip?"
"No, I didn't say that. Why do you trust Denna? There are other even better Mord'Siths than her. Taking into consideration that you told me about her feelings for me she can get rid of you on the way." Rahl suggested.
"Denna is very ambitious that's for sure. Nevertheless, she's a Mord'Sith. She's bound with you and obeys your orders. She made everything to make me comply because you ordered that. It's not her fault she failed. Now she's the best lady in waiting for me."
"Only when I'm near." He added.
"I don't think so."
"You may think as you wish. You won't go only with Denna."
"Darken, I'm a grown up woman, a Mord'Sith. I can handle anything. I'll take a journey book with me. I'll write every day for you to know where we are and what we're doing."
"Good, you may go tomorrow morning. Tonight you're all mine." He leaned closer and kissed her.
She interrupted the kiss: "Don't send spies after us. I'll kill them all."
He just smiled and kissed her even harder.
To be continued…
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