Hi all, in case you are wondering why this chapter is called part 2, despite there being no part 1 - that is because I split the chapter. The first part would have violated quite a few ff dot net guidelines, methinks ;) Basically, Bishop is back in the cage, after Jaluth spent some... private time with him, and he mulls over what happened. It's not pretty, and probably not to everyone's tastes, too. In the end Bishop is determined not to let it break him though. So, that's the short version. If you still want to read what my brain cooked up, it's over on my account on AO3. If not, you did not miss anything relevant to the story and can just jump ahead and read part 2.
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Hours later, the door opened, and Jaluth entered, dressed in nothing more than a short, transparent black negligee, held up by thin straps, revealing a lot of bare skin and leaving nothing to imagination.
He knew exactly why she was wearing this.
So he could see that no trace was left of his attack earlier. No bite mark, no bruise, nothing. To show him how powerless he was, that nothing he did could affect her.
As if he needed to be shown.
He sat up, his back against the wall of the cage, and smiled at her lazily, when in fact his heart was hammering away with rising panic.
What did she want?
"Could not keep away from me?", he drawled, his eyebrows drawn up mockingly.
She laughed with delight. "That's why I love playing with you, little one. You're so witty. In fact, I brought you something to eat. We need to preserve your strength, no?"
She threw a bundle through the bars, wrapped up in cloth.
"Could not get one of your lackeys to do the job?", he asked, seemingly unfazed.
She smiled. "I certainly could. But there's something I wanted to show you. A reward, if you will. Since you've been such a good boy."
"I'm not interested in anything you've got to show me", he said offhandedly, without getting up from the ground. He knew she could smell his fear, it was an eerie gift of hers. She always had been able to literally sniff the emotions of those around her, but the negative emotions, like fear, anger or hate, seemed to be like an elixir for her.
She smiled again, slow, catlike. "Bishop", she said sweetly, "you don't want to force me to get into that cage for you."
He shuddered inwardly. It was true. He really did not want that.
So he shrugged nonchalantly, and got to his feet. "Well then", he said, as carelessly as he could manage, "show me what you've got."
She smiled, and he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. "Don't you worry, little one", she said just as sweetly. "One day I will show you what I've got. I doubt you'll like it, though. For now, come here."
He swallowed, but knew it was wiser to obey. For now, at least, he told himself. So he stepped up to her and grabbed the bars of the cage with both hands.
"Now what?" he asked with more than a hint of defiance.
She laughed and reached through the bars, stroking his cheek. "My little one", she said, nearly tenderly. "So afraid, and still you won't let your fear get the better of you. That's why you're such a fun toy. And now, hold still."
Both her hands suddenly touched his temples, and for a moment, everything got dark. Then an image flashed before his eyes.
He saw himself, sitting in the same cage as now. Sitting with his back to the wall, arms around his legs, and his face buried on his knees. A woman was kneeling in front of him, a worried expression on her face. She was small and slender, with her red locks braided on her back. The Knight Captain? Jaluth had called her kitten. What was she doing with him in that cage? Had she really been here?
She ran her fingers through his hair, and he nearly gasped with surprise at the sight. Then he saw himself lift his head and say something to her, the desperation on his own face so palpable. She hugged him then, and he drew her to the ground, drew her against him, into a tight embrace, and clung to her like a child seeking comfort. She stroked his hair, and then they talked a bit, and then… he saw himself stare at her, and slowly bend his neck, to cover her mouth with his. She seemed startled first, but then she returned the kiss, burying her hands in his hair.
This time, he could not repress his gasp, and jerked his head back, away from Jaluth's touch. The room reappeared before his eyes, and he saw her smile at him maliciously.
"Surprised?", she asked. "I told you it was touching. She seemed to care a lot for you. Astonishing, after all you did to her, don't you think?"
He could not even get angry at the way she gloated. He just stumbled back until he hit the wall, and then he stared at her, still not believing what he had "seen".
A trick? Was she leading him on?
Was it true?
Was that why the Captain had acted so strangely after he found himself with her at Crossroad Keep? Had they… had they…
"Well, I'll leave you to contemplate that, my little one", Jaluth said, seemingly satisfied with the result of her demonstration. "You look white as a sheet, poor boy. And no wonder. Just think of how different things could have been."
She suddenly gripped the cage and pushed her face through the bars. "I nearly had her, but then you screwed up, little one. I was not happy about that. And in case you wondered: I still have my plans with her. So, in addition to being my toy, you're also bait. You will be the lure that will draw her into my trap. And there's nothing you can do." She smiled her glittery smile again, and stepped back. "Think on that tonight, when you can't sleep.", she added, and turned to leave.
Her laughter still rang in his ears, long after the door had closed behind her.
Bishop sank to the floor of the cage and buried his hands in his hair, gripping it tightly. What was it that he had seen? Truth? Lie? Fact? Deception? Something in between?
And if it was the truth, what did it mean? There never had been any love lost between him and the Knight Captain, not in all the years he called himself one of her troupe. Oh, she had been somewhat attractive, admittedly, but...
So attractive you tried to run off with her, twice.
Fine, then. Very attractive. She was no beauty, but she was strong, and she had a temper that promised a lot of fun between the sheets. As fiery as the color of her hair. He would have loved to find out just how fiery.
But she only had eyes for the tin can, ever. And while he was far from being in love with her, it still stung his pride that she never even seemed to consider a toss with him. What did that blustery paladin have that he did not?
So in the end, it had been hurt pride just as much as common sense that led to him betraying her.
Not so much common sense as gross miscalculation, considering the outcome of the fight with the King of Shadows.
Well, yes, all right. So he had thought she would lose, and he had been wrong. Luckily he had had the good sense to run before the fight, at least, or his own bones would be buried under the Vale of Merdelain right now like so many others'.
And then… what had happened then? How did they end up on the bottom of the cage, kissing? What had changed? Why had she not told him after he regained his memory - and lost those of their encounter instead?
He remembered his fist connecting with her chin, and her going down like a sack of flour. Oh. Well. Yes, that might have been one of the reasons.
And what did Jaluth want her for? Nothing good, that much was sure. And he should be the bait in her trap? Ridiculous idea. The Captain would never risk anything to get him out of…
The image of him and her, kissing, in the very cage he was in now, reappeared before his inner eye. And then the resolve on her face, when she tried to free him from Jaluth's bounds. The exhaustion and fear on her face, and on that of the snivelly elf mage, after the ritual, the terrible risk they had taken then.
He swallowed. Or would she?
Would his presence here serve to lure the Captain back into Jaluth's clutches? What would happen if it did?
He found he did not want that to happen at all. The thought brought a feeling of deep discomfort, and he winced.
Of course I don't like that idea. I really don't want Jaluth's plans to succeed. Whatever they are, I bet they don't bode well for me.
His eyes narrowed to slits, he contemplated his options. They were precious few, he had to admit. But he'd be damned to let himself be used for one of that bitch's nefarious plots, without so much as trying to put a spoke into her wheel.
For now, he could only wait until an opportunity presented itself. And if it did, he would be ready.
He picked up the bundle and unwrapped it, finding it contained some bread and a chunk of cheese. Despite the ill feeling in his stomach he started to eat. Because Jaluth was right. He needed to preserve his strength.
But for other reasons than those she thought of.
