IceAndWave/BestServedCold

Best Served Cold

In which Essence is stolen, an unwilling journey taken, and a heartfelt vow is made...

The 1st Day of Ascending Air, Realm Year 764

The clear night sky has probably never looked quite as good to Venia as it does tonight. It's late (or early) on the first day of the year and, slightly tipsy, she heads back to her room for a long sleep - blessedly free of bone thorns poking through her flesh.

Venia refrains from dancing in the streets, though does have a spring in her step, mind aglow with the new possibilities now that she's lived through this. It has to have made up for all the bad she's done, right? Right... now she can get to being productive. Maybe even get to go home soon... She finds a blanket for the secretary she's hired, who's passed out on the couch.

The young woman, obviously stressed by the last five days (and probably partied out now), shifts slightly under the blanket, bunching it up around her shoulders and sighing happily.

Venia kisses her cheek, amused. The trouble is that she herself is too excited to sleep as of yet, so she decides to hunt down an extra bit of a nightcap, if anything's still around after said partying. Luckily, a bottle of a fine Realm vintage that she managed to salvage from her home prior to leaving the Blessed Isle has remained untouched by the partying, drinking mobs.

What better time than now to crack it open? She doesn't bother with a corkscrew, tugging the cork free with her teeth and hunting down a glass. Several crystal glasses remain untouched in a cabinet downstairs. The innkeeper lies snoring on the bar beside it, dribbling onto the polished wood.

Venia isn't that kind, picking one of the glasses at random and tiptoeing back to her room, flopping down on the bed and pouring herself some wine, swirling it a little to let it aerate before sipping. The wine tastes good, better than almost any wine she has ever had, in fact. The euphoria probably has something to do with that. Probably. Even so, she makes a note to try to secure some more of this for export. There have to be some places in the frozen north it'd sell, and she could skim a little... mmm... corruption.

A sudden searing pain strikes Venia in her left eye. By reflex she clasps her hand to her eye and it comes away bloody, and the room begins to swirl around her... the walls... blur...

She tries to stand, bringing the bottle up as an improvised weapon to defend herself from her attacker, looking around blearily for the person throwing needles at her.

The floor seems to twist, and Venia falls hard to the floor. Somewhere distant she hears the sounds of breaking glass, while her limbs refuse to obey. Everything blends into everything else... walls shifting into blackness... and then nothing.

She hears voices.

"...ke soon?"

"... the eye? You sa..."

"... it's secure."

"... k out, she's moving."

A fat hand slaps her face hard, jarring her fuzz-shrouded thoughts, "Wake up, bitch."

Venia does some bleary geometry, opening up the right eye to stare at the arrogant fool. She wants to say something cutting, but just hisses, baring her teeth.

The first thing she sees is the unwelcome, leering, fat face of V'Neef Gosul, "So. You're awake, then. Good."

"Even nightmares shouldn't be this bad. Hit me again, maybe I'll wake up."

Gosul obliges, a jeweled ring cutting her cheek, "You won't be arrogant for much longer." He leans over Venia, "Do you know what you cost me? My life! My fortune! I can't even return home, thanks to you!" He slaps her again, harder.

Venia snaps her head back to stare balefully at him, as if she was trying to simply kill him with her gaze.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Gosul leers, "To be unable to do anything to prevent what you know is going to happen?" He reaches down to Venia, grabs a nipple and pinches it viciously, twisting. "We Exalted are not supposed to be made helpless."

"Not... helpless." She doesn't move, managing to keep the pain from her face. "I'll be out of these ropes soon enough..."

"Yes, you will" Gosul lets go, trailing his fingers over Venia's body, "We've had you fitted for manacles. Even without your Essence, you've proven yourself to be dangerous."

Venia narrows her eyes. "Without my Essence."

"Oh, didn't you notice the collar? Such a lovely device, and very expensive, but completely worth it." He leans forwards, his eyes slightly mad as he glares at Venia, "I would wish you enjoyment in your new life, but I really doubt you'll have any enjoyment at all." He cups Venia's chin, turning her head from side to side, "Which is all to the good."

"You sack of shit... You deserved it all. Even I wouldn't interfere with the blessing of the Dragons."

Gosul's face hardens, and he gives Venia a vicious backhanded swipe, "Shut up. You're not here to talk." He drools slightly, not bothering to wipe his face, "You're a lot older than I normally like them but, for you, I think I'll make an exception." Gosul clambers onto the bed, heaving his bulk on top of Venia's naked body.

Venia shudders at this, twisting beneath him. She finally wrenches her body in unnatural directions to rise up off the bed, enough to press her lips to his for only a moment before the jarring pain of her teeth shredding his flesh shocks him. When he's blinked, she's back down on the bed with a large chunk of his lip in her mouth, which she spits out onto her chest.

"Bitch!" he smacks her hard, his rings cutting deep into her cheek and filling her mouth with her own blood, before he holds his hand to his lip. A few seconds later and the wound has closed, although his lip is still missing a piece, "You fink fat ith going to help you?" he lisps. "Gag her," he nods to one of his men, and a leather strap is forced into her mouth, and tied around her head.

Venia still manages to smile at that, her eyes promising far, far worse as soon as she is free, and oh, she will be free.

Adjusting his huge bulk, Gosul lifts his up a bit, and then forces himself into Venia, hard and without ceremony. "I thaw you, when you were a girl," he hisses, "I fought you were pretty, but your family wath too throng." He thrusts again, "Fey're not here now."

Venia just snarls wordlessly, staring at the ceiling. She could kill him so easily if she had just one hand free.... just one... She unconsciously runs her fingernails against the ropes, trying to tune out the violation.

Gosul slobbers over Venia as he rapes her, drooling on her face, before viciously biting her nipples. The sounds of heavy breathing from beyond Venia's field of view suggest an appreciative audience. Fucking harder, Gosul wheezes slightly, "When I'm done, it'th feir turn."

Venia just shrugs coldly. If he thinks this will break her, he's sorely mistaken. She's a bloody Cynis, her body is a tool for her pleasure and her duty. It helps to think about that against the oncoming realization these ropes refuse to fray, and she isn't waking up any time soon.

Finally, he shudders, groaning against her as he climaxes. Apparently for good measure he smacks her again, "Well, I haf to get going. When my friendth here are done wif you, you'll begin your new life ath a whore - far from here, I am afraid." He clambers off Venia, rolling out of the bed, "Take your time," he says to the first one before closing the door.

Venia doesn't bother staring at the celing now. For these sort of people, the resistance is all part of the fun. Right? Maybe they'll get tired of her...

The first one leans over her, and she realises that it is one of the men she beat during the riots. "I ain't never fucked a Dragon-Blood before," he smirks, "And I owe you one." With that he punches her in the face, his knuckles bruising bone and tearing flesh, before climbing onto her and forcing his way into Venia's helpless body.

That gets a reaction out of her, a faint grunt and a single tear leaking out before she returns to her passive state, mind whirring as she tries to find some justification for this, some way to avoid the rest of the pain. Yes, she killed people. Yes, she's stolen, done bad things. But she doesn't deserve this, no Blooded deserves this...

The 5th Day of Ascending Air, Realm Year 764

*smack!* Another fist slams into Venia's belly, the sailors on this Hell-boat having decided to spend some time "softening up" their cargo, prior to another round of rapes. "Oi tink she's startin' to loik it," one of them says to his comrades.

Venia spits up blood in response, staring blankly at the ceiling. As if this wasn't enough, it had to be a boat...

The sailor clambers on top of Venia, is inside her without ceremony and begins pumping away to the jeers and encouragement of the audience. "Look at me, bitch," he snarls, twisting Venia's head up to look at him while he violates her.

Venia's face doesn't really seem to register the change, staring as blankly at his reddened face as she did the ceiling. It is somewhat disconcerting, as if she was already dead. Probably not enough, though.

"Ungh!" he grunts and shudders, his turn with their Exalted whore over. He slides out and off of Venia, turns and spits in her face before leaving to go back on deck, and then another seaman begins the process all over again.

Venia would mark time by their three minute exhibitions, but doesn't really care enough to bother, head simply falling back and remaining where it lands.

The length of her journey is much the same, ten more days of being beaten and raped, spat upon and used. The surprising depth of hate for the Dragon-Blooded that the sailors carry makes the journey seem far longer than its 12 days. The only real clue for Venia about their arrival is a break in the crews' "attentions", since they want their cargo to appear healthy.

Venia isn't surprised, and doesn't really forgive any of them a whit, reminding herself every few hours to get a look at the ship from outside so she knows which one to burn. Pushed into a crate, still tied to the small and increasingly dirty bed, Venia is hoisted out of the dingy hold and up onto the docks of the city. Smells and sounds, although muffled, assault her.

Venia doesn't wretch, having enough discomfort without adding more herself.

Carted through the city, Venia catches snippets of the place through cracks in the crate. Buyers and sellers, thieves and merchants, all flicker past her view. And then she sees what is unmistakably a Realm mon outside a coffee-house, a Cathak scion... Her mind slows to a crawl, faint disbelief and warring urges in her mind... but even if she did cry out for help, he'd never help, would he?

The moment passes, the mon banner recedes from view. The journey ends with a descent into darkness, cart going down a ramp and out of the light of outside. Dancing shadows around her feet tell of torchlight up ahead, and then, with a hard thump, the crate is pushed off the cart and falls, hard, onto the ground.

Venia is vaguely glad she didn't bite her tongue in the fall, tugging hard on each manacle in turn just in case anything got jostled loose.

Crowbars are applied from outside, and the crate is quickly ripped open. In the light of a dozen torches stands a short, ugly man with a repeatedly broken nose, and surrounded by several large muscular men. "So," the small man begins, "You're the hoity-toity Exalt that Gosul the Pig sent me? You're gonna make me a lot of money." He turns to the men, "Hold her hard when you untie her. Gosul said she's a vicious fighter... don't laugh."

Venia just waits limply, hoping for a moment to strike.

Four large men each grip one of Venia's limbs and then a fifth, nervous, takes a key to her manacles, undoing them when each of the captors gives the nod. Her voice is hoarse as she condemns them for cowards and fools, hoping at least one will raise a hand to strike her, though kept off her face, still blank and impassive.

"Ignore her, lads," the proprietor says, "Carry her upstairs and you can all have a turn with her once she's in her new bed." The men harden their faces, although lust does creep into their expressions as eyes wander over her naked and abused body.

Venia smirks, eyes coming alive as she looks over to the proprietor. "Is all this really necessary? It's not as if I can use my Charms anymore..."

"I'm not taking any chances with you, whore," he says, "You cost me a lot, and you're going to make me far more. 'Fuck a Dynast for half an obol!' They'll come from miles around." He smirks back, "Welcome to your new life."

"It won't last. It never does. Just remember, one slip, and I'll be chewing on your heart while you watch. Maybe I'll even put in back in your corpse when I'm done, if you're nice." Venia takes a short breath, slumping back into her passive state.

"We'll see if you're still so strong after you've been working here for a couple of weeks." He gestures, "Carry her up, now. I'm bored of her already."

The men obey, lugging Venia up from the basement to the third floor of the whorehouse. They carry her past thin, frightened looking women, one is roughly yanked into a room and the door slammed, grunting sounds ensue soon after.

Venia just bides her time. For a moment or two, she feels vaguely sorry for them before the ice encasing her heart returns. For a moment, before she returns to planning how to kill every person on this journey who's touched her with her bare hands. It is quite the logistical problem!

Her new bed is somewhat larger than the dingy one she has spent the last fortnight in, but the sound of manacles being locked around her wrists and ankles has a distressing tinge of finality. From outside, the proprietor's voice, "OK. She's your responsibility now. Feed her, clean her, help her with her toilet. Do well and you'll be put on the slow list, do badly and..." the threat in his voice is dire.

The door opens and there is a gasp as the girl looks at the captive, "Lady Venia?"

Venia blinks, trying to remember her name. "Oriel? Yes, though I think Lady is no longer appropriate."

"How? Why?" Oriel blinks, her eyes tearing up. The door opens, the proprietor walks in, "You two already know each other? How trite." He sits on the bed next to Venia and fondles her roughly while talking, "Just to explain a few things: No-one here will help you escape. Tell her why, Oriel."

Oriel whispers, "If any girl escapes, he kills one of us at random, and then recaptures the girl."

"And with you," the ugly man continues, "It'll be two girls. They won't dare to help you, you see?"

Venia shrugs. "Karma, sir. It comes back to get us all. Are you quite done?"

"Feisty. I wonder how much longer that will last." He gets up, "You start earning your keep tonight, so get used to this bed. You're going to be in it for some time."

Oriel kneels next to Venia after he leaves, tears in her eyes, "I'm so sorry, Lady Venia. He's a monster."

"Of course. They thrive in this sort of environment. Do not worry about me. How are you holding together here?"

"I... I..." she cries, "After you left, the soldiers... they burned my home. They rap... raped me for hours. The general had the smith's son til he died." Tears stream down her face, "Why did they do that?"

"Perhaps their time in the Underworld drove them slightly mad. It is unexplainable... I am sorry."

Oriel sighs, "I want to escape, but... the last girl who tried, when they got her back, he threw her in with the others." She cries again, "They cut off her nose and now she's used by the diseased people. I don't want that to happen to me."

"It won't. Trust me. It will not happen to you."

Oriel nods, "I... I used to think that Sian would come and rescue me. It's been so long, though..." She sniffs, wipes her eyes and sets her face, "Do you want anything to eat or drink, Lady Venia?"

"No, but thank you. I am already fighting the urge to throw up."

Oriel wipes Venia's face with a damp cloth, and blinks, "What happened to your eye?"

"Poison. They couldn't take me down face to face, so they had to poison me." She laughs bitterly. "My own favorite trick."

Oriel finds a scrap of mirror and shows Venia her face, slightly puffy from all of the abuse, and her left eye - now a bright crimson.

Venia blinks, trying to move around the spot in the mirror. "Oh. Oh." She closes them, shivering. "I should have just died then."

"Oh, no," Oriel puts the mirror down, "Don't say that."

Venia shrugs. "Then I won't... Oriel? You will still get out of here. Remember that. Nothing is forever..."

"It just seems that way," Oriel whispers, and then continues to wipe Venia down. "I can't let you go, Lady Venia. I don't have the keys, so if you need to... do anything, you have to let me know."

Venia nods. "I expected as much. I take it pissing on the customers is not allowed, unless they pay for it."

Oriel snorts slightly, "Thank you, Lady Venia," she says, "I haven't laughed in months."

Venia smiles a little. "It helps to have a sense of humor. All in all, the whole thing is a comedy of errors, on everyone's part. If you can't laugh, it just hurts... Go get the keys, dear."

"I can't... He has them." Oriel closes her eyes, "He doesn't use any of the girls, he just likes to hurt them sometimes."

Venia sighs. "Then get him. This bed is stained enough. I'll probably be his favorite for a while, but I heal fast, so don't worry."

Oriel blinks, but stands up and leaves the room. A few minutes later the ugly proprietor walks in, "Bitch said you wanted me. Are all Exalted so dumb? Normally I'd wait 'til you fuck up before visiting."

"I suspect you want to save some money, and I haven't exactly eaten well. So can I at least get to a chamberpot, or should I just shit the bed?"

He smacks Oriel across the face, hard, "Get the pot! Slide it under her after I loosen the chains." He allows some slack into Venia's manacles, grins, "You don't get out of the bed. Just do it into the pot and she'll wipe you when you're done."

Venia raises an eyebrow. "I'm not that flexible. A little more."

A few more links are let out. "That's all you're getting."

Venia makes it apparent that she has difficulty getting into position, doing some estimation on whether or not she could flick a heel around his neck. "I take it she's able to loosen the chains, then?"

"No. I just figure that the customers will prefer a girl who can move while they fuck her. Necrophilia is something I don't cater to."

"Surprising, since it seems to be what most of Gosul's associates favor." Venia sneers, "Must be another pedophile, then."

He darts forwards, his face close to Venia's. His hand snakes out and he crushes a nipple between two of the many rings on his fingers, "Trust me, you don't want me to visit you when I'm horny. Ask her," he waves at Oriel.

Venia doesn't want to play her hand so soon, so makes an appropriately pained face. "Later. I'm trying to relieve myself here. Or is that what turns you on?"

"Watching you break is going to be fun," he squeezes harder and then lets go. "Do what you need to do. Your big debut is coming up, and I already have a list a hundred names long."

"Sounds like a party at home. Get going, I'm done with you."

He shakes his head and leaves. Oriel's eyes are wide, her cheek bruised, "Are you mad?" she hisses.

"No. But he is. And he'll stay that way. Three links, maybe four... it's all I need."

Oriel slides the pot under Venia as directed, "What do you mean?"

Venia displays just a little of her flexibility. "Now look away. We're not that friendly."

Oriel grimaces and does so. "I'm sorry about this, Lady Venia."

"It's not your fault." Venia closes her eyes. "When I get out of here, I'll take you with me... three links, maybe four." She shrugs. "Maybe a week for each."

Oriel sighs, "I'm not sure I believe I will ever get out of here."

"Believe it. For me?"

She turns and half-smiles. "I'll try."

"Good. It will give me something else to think about."