Chapter 3.
Lorien woke later that evening, her eyes taking in the darkened room and she froze as she saw Loki asleep on the bed. He was bare chested, and the moonlight bathed him in a silvery glow as she sat up further and let her eyes drift toward the doors. She looked at herself, finding no restraints and deliberated a moment if she could actually make it to the doors without waking him. She had a chance now, she could run and not look behind her, make her way to freedom and keep going. She would head North toward her home, find her brother and sister and return to them.
She slipped from the chaise, keeping her eyes on the sleeping Prince as she silently moved around the room toward the door. She held her breath as he shifted, rolling onto his side and she reached the handle with shaking fingers. It turned easily in her hand, and she closed her eyes as she pulled the heavy door open and saw nothing nor heard any sound. She slipped through the crack she made, closing the room off behind her and she quietly ghosted along the hall. She had no knowledge of where to go, so she walked away from the sound of people talking and she hid behind a pillar as Guards passed. She watched them, waiting for a few moments before walking along and she turned a corner to hear the sound of men laughing and a woman sobbing and crying out behind a door. She hid as the door opened, pressing herself into a small alcove and she saw the red haired girl from the cart in the room. She was nude and men were forcing themselves on her, her cries of pain ignored as she was flipped on her stomach and another man took his place behind her as he shoved her over a table. Their eyes locked for a moment as the door closed again, and she looked down at her dress and she felt guilt for being better treated than the poor woman behind the door. She steeled her courage though, waiting for the drunk man in the hall to pass and she hurried on and nearly started running toward a garden entrance when she saw the night beyond. She walked though, sneaking along and she was nearly to it when a hand found her wrist and she bit back a cry of pain. She was turned around forcefully, seeing one of the Noblemen from the Auction and he grinned at her.
"Well, what do we have here?" He asked her and she tried to pull away. His hand tightened on her wrist and she whimpered, he yanking her off balance and wrapping a hand around her throat. "A little Pleasure Slave in stolen clothes. Does your Master know you are running away?"
She trembled as his hand tightened, her breath being cut off and she fought the urge to cry. His hand tightened on her waist, and he leaned close enough for her to smell the mead and wine on his breath. She shivered again, his hand letting her go and trailing up her stomach and he grinned.
"We will have to teach you a lesson then. Your friend is back in the room with us, maybe you could join her in your pretty dress. Make all the men in there feel good, let them flip your skirts up and bend you over the table one at a time?" He said and she tried not to cry. "It will look so nice torn off you and thrown on the floor as we use you on top of it."
He leaned closer, his mouth opening and stopped and his eyes looked over his shoulder. Loki stood behind him, a knife just under his ear and Lorien tried to get out of his hands.
"I suggest you let my property go. It would be a shame to have to explain to Odin what happened to one of his Ambassadors." He said calmly, and she felt the grip on her neck loosen. She stepped to the side and saw the anger on Loki's face, her eyes widening in fear as he motioned her toward the other wall.
"I would have returned her to you when we finished." He said, putting his hands up and Loki stepped back. "She is just a Slave after all, and was trying to escape. Look at her, she stole clothes."
"I gave her that dress, and you would be good to keep your hands off my property." He said, taking her arm and leading her back to his rooms. She was too terrified to cry then, not knowing what was going to happen to her and she worried at her lower lip with her free hand. He opened the door, shoving her forward and she stumbled toward the floor by the bed. He walked toward her, and she edged away from him and he glared down at her. She knew it was time then, he standing over her and lifting her to her feet and throwing her back on the bed. She cried, his hand circling her ankle as she covered her face and she tried to wiggle free from his grip.
"Since you cannot be trusted to not run and find trouble, you leave me with no choice." He said and she felt something lock around her ankle, and she looked in horror as a golden chain connected the shackle around her leg to the bed. She kicked at him with her free foot, and he pinned her back against the mattress. She froze then, unable to move for his strength and he stared at her.
"You will sleep where you want, but expect the be locked this way until you can prove yourself worthy of your freedom." He warned her and stood back up, she lay still on her back and shook in fear. He mind coming slowly to terms that he was not about to do to her what was happening to the other girl. "You should count yourself lucky you are in the position you are. I believe you saw what happened to the less fortunate girls."
She slipped from the bed, finding the chain was long enough for her to return to the chaise and she sank to it. He stretched and a shimmer covering his body to change his clothes to a pair of linen pants. She sat silently, and she cried into her hands as she thought about what was happening to the other girl and she shook as she wrapped the fur around her. He lay back on his bed, looking at her and he snapped his fingers to get her attention.
"No gratitude for saving you? Do you truly wish to be treated as she was?" He asked her and she shook her head, finding her voice.
"No Sir. Th... thank you Sir." She said and he chuckled at her. She curled on her side and hid her face, trying to forget what she saw in the other room. Her fingers touched the soft fabric of the skirt, and she remembered how they were keeping the other girl nude to use for their entertainment. Her eyes closing and she shivered at the memory, praying that would not happen to her.
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She woke to see him sitting in a chair across from her, eating his morning meal and writing out a list on the paper in front of him. She sat up, getting his attention with her movement and he turned to look at her. She looked at the floor to see that the chain around her ankle was gone, and she blinked at the floor as she stood and obediently sat across from him at the table.
"I have things to do today, and was going to take you with me. But after your wanderings last night, I will be leaving you here as punishment." He said, finishing what he was writing and he fended her the page. "I will have you attend to a few chores, have them done by the time I return, be bathed and dressed properly, and I will take you for a walk through the Gardens before the Evening Meal. Do not think to leave these rooms, the door is now enchanted to keep you in. It will also not admit anyone who has evil intentions against you, am I understood?"
"Yes Sir." She said and read the list. It was only four chores, and they were easy tasks. Sorting the pile of books near his desk, dusting the mantle and shelves, and sweeping the hearth. Nothing she would break a sweat performing and she saw the broom left for her in the corner.
"I have also left a new dress and underclothes in the Bathing Chamber. A Maid will be in to make my bed and change the linens, and to take this tray away." He said, and she stared at her plate of porridge and sausages. He stood up, walking to the door and she began to eat silently. He opened it, letting the Maid pass and she gave him a curtsy as he left the rooms. Her pounding heart slowed, glad to be alone and she made short work of the food in front of her.
She took her list, picking up the books and she saw how he kept the books on the shelves in the sitting room arranged. The task was done in a few short minutes and she used a cloth to dust the shelves and moved on to the tables, she poured herself water from a pitcher on a stand and savored how good it tasted. She had only had well water in the past, and this was a far cry form the mineral taste of the water at home. She drained the cup, leaving it on the stand and returned to her dusting.
By the time she finished it, she began the sweeping and sipped more water from the pitcher on the stand. It amazed her that it was still cool, no matter how long it sat and she enjoyed the taste of it as she closed her eyes. She returned to her cleaning and swept the entirety of the rooms, pausing briefly to finish the water in the cup and then to look around for more to do when the Maid arrived to help her bathe.
"I have come to help you dress and wash. The Prince is detained in a task and will not join you for the Afternoon Meal." The Maid said with obvious distaste at the charge she was given. She motioned toward the Bathing Chambers, Lorien keeping her eyes down and she walked in front of the woman.
She watched her fill the tub, the large pool filling with water faster than she thought possible and she unlaced the back of the over skirt. Her fingers shook as she pulled at the ribbon and the woman sighed at her being slow and she yanked the garment off over her head and she yelped as it pulled her hair in the process. The woman made short work of undressing her, not being the least bit kind about it and she gestured to the filled tub of water and she hugged herself as she walked over to it. She dipped her toes into the water, the warmth amazing her and she stepped down into it and the woman cleared her throat sharply.
"Do not take too long, I have other work to do, and don't wish to waste my day on you." The woman snapped, Lorien nodding and she took a bottle of hair wash and began cleaning herself. She worked quickly, dunking her head under the water to rinse her hair and then using the soap to clean her skin. She saw the new dress sitting on a stool and she gazed at it. The emerald silk with a gold under skirt and golden embroidery on the sleeves and collar. She climbed from the tub, wrapping herself with a towel and drying her skin when the woman returned and drained the water from it. She picked up the cotton petticoat, yanking it roughly over her head and she struggled to dry her hair. The woman was rough, her hands calloused from work and she shoved Lorien around as she dressed her.
Lorien unwound the bandages from her wrists, trying not to complain at how tight the woman was making the corset. She blinked at amazement at the healed skin under the bindings, not a mark left by the medicine and she put them near the old dress to be taken away. The woman tied the under skirt around her, forcing her onto the stool and rolling the stockings up her legs. She yelped in pain at the forcing of her feet into the emerald heeled shoes, the woman not caring and she pulled her up by her arm to put the over skirt on her.
"I am a Maid, not a servant to you girl. You are below me, unpaid and only meant to spread your legs for the Prince. Get used to being ignored and hurt, that is your place." She said and laced the gold ribbon up her back to close the dress. She picked up the old clothes, bundling them and left Lorien standing in the Bathing Chamber. She fixed the skirts so they lay properly, picking up a comb and straightening her hair as she stared in the mirror. Next to the sink, she found a bottle of tooth cleaner and she poured a measure if it into the cup and moved it through her mouth and spit it back into the sink. She picked up the cold and emerald hair comb, pulling it across her hair to make herself presentable and she returned to the Bed Chambers.
She sat in front of the fire, watching it flicker and thought about the Maid's words. Her only purpose to be a whore to the man who owned her, the memory of the previous night coming back to her and she did her best not to weep again. She was alone for the time being, and it did not bother her. The silent room being a comfort as she sat and waited for Loki to return, she did not want to end up in his bed. Nor did she want to just a part of the furniture, she felt so confused as to what she was feeling that her head began to spin and her breath started to come in short pants. Her heart pounded and she felt the room get closer on her, her need for air growing and she ran to the windows to open them to get some of the breeze in the stillness. She trembled, fighting back the urge to try the door and put her face close to the open casement.
A knock startled her, and she turned to look at the door. It came again, and she walked toward it to open it and saw the Ambassador from the night before standing outside. She gasped, stepping back and he grinned at her like a predator.
"Well, a new dress for a slave, and where is your Master?" He asked her and she shook her head, he looked at her dress and licked his lips.
"I do not know Sir." She replied and his hand shot out to reach for her and it stopped, blocked by an invisible barrier. She remembered Loki's words, that the door had a spell on it to keep her in the Chambers and to keep anyone who wanted to hurt her out. She stepped back, and he blinked at the door, sneering and he glared daggers at Lorien.
"No matter, I hope he let's us use you when he is done." He hissed and he turned to walk away. She closed the door, leaning against it and she pressed her forehead to it and shook for a moment. She stepped back, and her body felt weary again after all she did and the little sleep that she got the night before. She looked at the bed, the pillows and silks on it looking so inviting, the temptation to lay on it and sleep drawing her to it. She let it draw her to it, lifting her skirts and slipping the shoes off as she put her knee up on the mattress and lay down. She felt as if she were laying on the softest cloud, the pillows greeting her head and she felt her eyes close. Her last thought was that she only wanted a short nap, the heavy velvet drapes closing around her and enveloping her in welcoming darkness.