Chapter 1. Taken.
She ran with her sister, laughing among the tall grass outside her village and little Inge running after her. Both girls dancing on the air and chasing butterflies that fluttered about, their giggles heard by the hunters returning with their next meal as they played. They both wore crowns of wildflowers, their feet bare and their hearts free and happy. Inge ran to catch up to her sister, their home far north of the Castle of Asgard and the settlement they grew up in peaceful. The taller girl, a pale, raven haired beauty with leaf green eyes that shone in happiness as she ran toward her father. Her skirts caught on the grass, the hem collecting seeds and stray prickles as she ran.
"Lorien! Look at our catch!" He said and she smiled widely at him in pride at the elk strung on a pole between them. Her Father opened his arms to her, and she ran to him and laughed.
"It is wonderful Papa! You will feed us well, thank you!" She said and he ruffled her long hair. She smiled at him sweetly, and he laughed as he scooped Inge up in his arms and hugged bis other daughter. Pern hugged both his older sister, grinning widely at them and he kissed her cheek.
"We will have to find Lorien a husband soon Father, she is now a woman and we had better make sure he deserves her." He said and she slapped at her brother's arm and scowled at him. He lunged at her to tease, and she flinched back and laughed.
"Don't tease your sister, she will find her own husband in time Pern." He replied and she laughed at him while sticking out her tounge. He groaned, and her Father's helpers laughed at them, always happy to see the family at their highest. The days had not been well for them as of late, their mother being called to Valhalla by the Norns after she caught a fever and taking the newborn boy with her. The funeral pyre and mourning lanterns had burned for days, their weeping heard over the moors as they prayed for their souls to be taken into the bosoms of the Fates.
"Norns be blessed, we will dine well. I expected less for your first hint Pern." She said and they began walking back to their farm together, the two girls singing songs and laughing as they skipped along the path. Lorien paused, her eyes on the woods and she frowned at them. She felt as if she were being watched, and her Father and Brother stopped as well.
"What is it Lorien?" Inge asked and she quieted the child, placing a hand over her small mouth. They stood still, prey under tha gaze of a predator and with no warning an arrow shot through the air and struck one of the hired men in the chest. The girls screamed, their father and brother drawing their swords and facing a group of men as they bolted from the trees.
"Pern! Take your sisters and run!" Her father shouted, getting ready to face the approaching riders and she felt her hand being pulled as he scooped Inge up in his arms and ran. Lorien ran, chasing after her brother as fast as she could and she turned back to see them pass her father and take his head with a single blow of a sword. She screamed, falling to the ground and scrambled back to her feet. They pounded into the grass under her and she followed after Pern, her breath catching in her chest as a net fell over her and tangled her in it as she fell. She screamed, Pern pausing and he turned to help her but it was too late. The men grabbed the bundle, and she screamed as she watched him run with her sister toward the woods on the other side of the clearing.
She screamed again, the men handling her roughly and one pulled her by her hair to show the men on the horses her face. One stepped down, his blonde hair neat and his clothes richly colored. He ran a thumb along her lower lip, smirking at her and she wanted to scream again at the touch.
"This one has some fire in her. It will be interesting to see who buys her at the auction, make sure she sleeps and don't damage her. We need her pretty, and to remain a virgin." He said and she cried out as a rag was pressed over her nose and mouth. Tears welling in her eyes and she wanted to get free, she knew what they meant, and she would rather die than become a Pleasure Slave to some Noble.
Her vision faded, and her eyes became heavy as her legs sagged under her. Never realizing when they threw her into a cart, nor when they slammed the doors shut to take her back to the City for processing.
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She woke, a burning thirst in her throat, and she sat up to see she was wearing a white shift instead of her dress. She felt light headed and she looked around her, squinting to see anything in the darkness. She could hear other girls weeping, all of them scared and one screamed as she was prodded with something that produced sparks. She covered her mouth to hide any sound that came from it, not wanting to attract any attention from her captors. With any luck, they would forget about her, leave her alone
The lights went up suddenly, and she blinked at the pain of sudden brightness. She looked around her, finding herself in a cage with only a small space to squat and move in. She itched under her arms, on her legs, and between them. She resisted the urge to scratch but looked anyways, noticing all her body hair had been removed, leaving her with smooth but irritated skin. She felt sick at the thought of anyone touching her body, remembering how the other girls talked about the lotions that Nobles used to ensure their bodies stayed hairless for life and how the men wanted all women to look like that. Her eyes darted around in realization then, praying that Inge got away with Pren and she felt relief at not seeing them.
"Now! All of you will shut up!" A fat man with a shaved head said, the prod in his hand as he placed back and forth. "Some of you will be going to the Palace tomorrow to be bought by Noblemen, and you only need to know one thing. Slaves like you have no name! Your Masters will be giving you the moniker you will go by, but when asked..." He said, pausing to put the stick into Lorien's side and shocking her until she screamed.
"I... I have no name." She stammered out, holding her side and he grinned at her. His droopy jowls were greasy with sweat and he licked his lips, his hand reaching through the bars and he lifted her chin.
"Good girl. You are going to be auctioned at the Palace tomorrow." He said and walked on. Lorien shivered, wanting to cry and a handler grabbed her out of the cage roughly and forced her too her feet. She screamed, thrashing against him and she was shocked again for her efforts. She fell to the ground, shaking and he shocked her, holding it in place while the pain held her at bay.
"Don't damage her!" The fat man screamed, walking toward the man. "Just make sure she is compliant, and understands her place it to be a sleeve for her Master's cock. She may learn to like it after a few years."
"Yes My Lord." The man said, lifting her back up and placing her on her feet. She was put in a larger cell, two other girls joining her and she shook as she sat through the night. Knowing that the following one, she would be owned by a man she did not know and raped. Her innocence torn from her as the Noble used her, not caring that she had wishes for her life. The other girls whimpered, falling into sleep but she stayed awake. She prayed that the Norns would show her some mercy, that they would have her sold to a house to work as a cleaner. She begged the Norns to let her Father meet her Mother in Valhalla, and she begged them to forgive her for not being faster as she ran and letting herself get caught.
She watched dawn break, and she sky through the barred window turn from gray to blue, her stomach sinking as she cried and the door was opened. The handler entered, placing three tubs of water on the floor and other men entering. The girls all stood, shaking and she did her best not to cry as they held the sticks. They paced over them, grinning and one laughed as they whimpered and cried.
"Wash! We want tou clean for your new Masters!" He said, and the girls walked forward slowly to take soap and a cloth to wash themselves in a tub. Lorien moved to slowly for their liking, and one grabbed her and shocked her for her hesitation. He threw her into the frigid water, and she cried out as he took the rag and started scrubbing her legs and arms. She shook as he threw the rag into the water in front of her and pointed at it, she taking it and the soap and she began washing. She was gentle for her abraded and bruised skin, fighting tears as they took the water away and tied them together at the wrists. She shook, walking behind with the other girls, and kept her eyes on the floor. Her mind shutting down, leaving her thoughts to her own.
"Move!" One handler screamed at them, shocking them and they were forced into a wagon and she cried. In order to break them more, they were shocked again at random as they traveled through the ctiy. Lorien screaming as she felt the pain arc through her body, and exhaustion making it hard for her to stand. Before long, they arrived at the Courtyard inside the Castle gates, all three of them being looked at by Noblemen as they huddled and clung to one another. One man waved her forward and she stayed very still, tears falling down her face and she was shocked to move forward. The man shook his head, pointing at the blonde girl and she sat back down. She barely registered a pale face with steely blue eyes looking at her and she was shocked again for hiding her face from the men, her hands shooting down and her eyes opening as she screamed with the pain. The man saw her, pitying her and he formed a plan in his mind. The woman with him saddened by their suffering, and she looked away from them for a moment. He studied her full lips, the beautiful color of her eyes and the soft, curved frame she possessed and knew he could save her from suffering.
"I like that one." He said to the blonde woman near him and she pressed her lips together. She did not approve of his wanting a Pleasure Slave, but after his release no other woman would go near him and he needed a maiden in his life. She nodded, watching the girl cry and try to get away from the handlers as they pulled her by the hair out of the cart and threw her to the ground. They pulled her by the hair again and she screamed, reaching up for the hands and standing on her toes. Her seeking to alleviate her pain earned her another shock and she cried out again, a voice and a hard strike on the man's wrist ending her pain. She fell to the ground, her shivering whimpers seeming to fall on deaf ears and she curled into a ball.
"She has been bought, stop beating her before her new Master takes his rage out on you. She belongs to the Prince, and he is going to make her scream so much louder." The fat man said and she saw someone walking toward her. She was forced to sit up, her heart sinking as she saw a man with dark hair that curled around his shoulders approach and the lead from her rope was handed to him with some papers. She wanted to scream, to try and run, but her will was broken and she followed him as they walked into the Castle with her head down.
"Be gentle to her, she has suffered enough." The woman in her finery said, and he looked back at the girl with her head down. Loki sighed, and he saw tears on the end of her nose as they fell to the ground. She shot him a glance, her eyes studied his clothes and she trembled in fear at him.
"Now Frigga, I am firm and fair. It is you who suggested I take one of these wretches, now you ask me to be kind to her?" Believe me, I shall be." He snapped at the woman, giving the rope a tug and walking on. She looked back at the woman, watching her wring her hands and she wanted to beg her to use her as a cleaning girl. Anything to avoid what was coming next, anything to keep the cruel fate from reaching out to her and taking her last dignity.
"Come along girl, don't make me say it again." He said and she followed him, the ropes cutting into her wrists and her bare feet slapping the floor. She cried, walking through the stone w
halls and coming to a door, he opening it and nearly dragging her through it. She whimpered, feeling him pull and her wrists became chafed further by the dry hemp against them. The red skin under them starting to turn raw and bloody, she shivered as she walked after him and she wanted to cry as he stood her in the middle of an opulent room. He walked a circle around her, she keeping her head down and he studied her pathetic state.
"Now, what to do with you." He said and touched her cheek, her response was fear and she screamed and began to thrash at the ropes on her wrists.