Chapter Text
Chapter 1.
The clash of swords fills the air, then suddenly the quick exchanges the blows ceases. Backed against a wall, guard broken, the blade of my most hated enemy at my throat, and suddenly a fierce kiss. Stunned, I hear the fateful words,
"Kneel bitch"
I reach up with my free hand, eyes wide in shock, to feel the spot her lips just pressed upon my own. There's a pause before I remember the blade pressing ever so slightly into my neck, and my other hand drops the blade in my own. I move to my knees, raising my hands up, palms open forward and empty.
She steps back and the blade slides along the hollow created by my collar bone. "Good Bitch.”
Her words cause a mixed reaction, my shocked eyes harden a little and narrow. Brow furrowed in frustration. My cheeks, however, betray a different side, as they redden and flush. My breathing is also becoming a little more shallow.
She keeps her eyes on me and her blade at my throat. With the toe of her boot she flicks my sword up to grab it with her left hand and holds it relaxed at her side. "You have caused me a lot of trouble you know." She slaps my upper thigh with the flat of my own blade.
I grit my teeth and hold my gaze with her, sucking against my teeth as she taunts me now with my own blade "I'll cause much more once I get out of here..." My words defiant, but my blushed face and trembling shoulders betray it.
Ever so slightly she increases the pressure at my collar bone, but not enough to break the skin. With an evil twist to her lips she says, "I do like it when a challenge is feisty and makes me work for what I want. You might prove to be truly … diverting." My eyes quickly scan the ruins where she cornered me as I set my jaw, trying to find some hope but coming up with nothing. "Yes, I am sure you will come up with some brilliant escape plan at some point. But for now ... you are MINE."
The reddening spread across the entirety of my face and I lock my eyes on hers. The defiance is still there but lessening as I weigh up my options and feel the predatory weight of her words and gaze.
"Turn" With the tip of her sword lifting my chin, her other sword pushes lightly against my left shoulder, guiding me to follow her command. I begin to move just a little, but then refuse to go further, as if challenging her to make me. Not so easily bowing to her every whim just yet.
As I don't move the point of the sword continues pushing into my skin. Her eyes have a "try me expression". I know her cruel reputation, I know she won’t mind hurting me.
The blade presses just barely into my flesh causing my to reflexively turn and pull away from it, incidentally following her order begrudgingly obeying. My lips are pulled back exposing my gritted teeth, and my eyes avert from her.
Ignoring my defiance her blade follows the line of my neck as she moves around behind me. There is a brief pause before there is a hard kick to the middle of my back and I am roughly knocked to the floor. I scrambled to catch myself but my chest collides roughly with the dirty paving stones, knocking the wind out of me for a second and causing me to groan as I move to push myself back up.
I feel her foot planted immediately and firmly in my back and push me into the floor, then I feel a prick at the back of my neck as I hear her say, "Don’t struggle, you will only hurt yourself."
Fear begins to tremble through me as I feel the sharp sense of painful warning on my neck and I am held firmly down. But I grip my fists together for now and wait, laying prone and helpless for now, "What... are you planning... to do to me?"
She ignores my question and plants a knee on my shoulders. In one swift motion she sets the swords down out of my reach and pulls out my dagger to replace the sword point at my neck. With her other hand she starts binding my hands with rope she apparently has ready for this purpose.
I grunt as she roughly grabs and ties my hands behind my back, my lip trembles as I feel the smaller blade slide along my throat. A gentle burning as it begins to press dangerously close to cutting me if I move even a millimeter. My breathing is becoming more labored as I struggle to retain composure. The fear and anxiety reach a point that I can no longer hide them.
After she finishes tying my wrists together behind me I hear, "Look at you, we haven’t even started and you are already terrified. For someone who is the brave hero of the resistance I was expecting more from you."
"You just... caught me by surprise." I quickly retort, blushing again in response and a bit out of shame. "You'll see once I get free." The blade against my neck discourages any further physical reaction though, as I have no doubt of how quickly and efficiently she can end me if I do anything. She gently pats my cheek in mock sympathy, and starts tying my ankles together. I shift around subtly, not doing anything yet but definitely adjusting the positions of his hands.
There is a sharp slap upside my head "Fool with the knots and I will break your wrists." I suck against my teeth and am a little dazed by her not insubstantial blow to the head, my hands fall still for now but I glare back at her once my eyes refocus.
She smiles to herself at my renewed defiance and then ties my legs together at the knees. When she finished that the dagger is sheathed and I am searched for other weapons ... very thoroughly.
I squirm as she rifles through my clothes, feeling every crevice of me and searching a bit too forcefully at times which causes weird and soft noises. I blush but try to wipe the expression from my face. A pair of daggers are found in my boots and another strapped to a sheath under my waistband. She doesn't seem to find any of my picks but does find the two vials I kept for emergencies.
She takes the bottles and the knives with their sheaths, but leaves me with the picks and my pendant, which is a diamond shaped amulet with a ruby set in the middle on a silver chain . She will carefully inspect the amulet and tugs unnecessarily on the chain. "Pretty. Do you have a sweetheart pining for you to return?"
I looked pained as she takes the amulet from me and I struggle as if trying to get it back "Not exactly much time for sweet-ng-hearts while I'm out trying to stop you all the time. That was... given to me by a friend long ago. Now give. It. Back!" She roughly shoves it back into my shirt, amused at my vehemence.
With all that done she stows my captured gear and my own sword. Then I am lifted up onto her shoulder. I look down and the only thing you can see is her ass and the ground bobbing below me as she walks.
I am stunned by her compliance to let me keep the amulet and settle down enough for there to be no resistance at all to being tossed over her shoulder. I stare at the ground and try to avert my eyes further away and look around, not seeing anything useful so I lower my head, noticing her rear and muscled legs and start to fidget as these uncomfortable feelings well up inside me.
She casually walks with me over her shoulder; happy with her prize she whistles a jaunty tune. We walk away from the ruins I had been cornered in and back towards the castle of the king. I recognize the tune as one about hunting and bringing down the prey you seek.
I grumble to myself about just needing a little bit of time and fidget occasionally, it is uncomfortable being carried on someone's shoulder like this. As she continues, I try tracing the lines of my bindings with my fingers. Not manipulating them at all, however. Not yet.
When she feels me exploring the bindings, she will slap me hard on the ass "Watch it." I yelp and bounce on her shoulder, squirming a little afterwards. The juxtaposition is amusing, when on the field of battle and with weapon in hands, I have always been so confident. But around her, and especially without my weapon I seem like a completely different person. A frightened child trying to act out and yet falling silent in fear.
She is indeed amused by this somewhat pleasant surprise. As we walk I think about how I got caught, my mission was complete, and I just happened to see her office. I found important looking plans and ran with them. Someone must have seen me on the way out, because she cornered me not long after.
When we eventually get to the castle and she cheerfully waves at guards we pass, she is in a very good mood indeed. The guards laugh at my predicament, and make jokes, "He's in trouble now!" My face turns away from the guards we pass, only turning back upon hearing their words, I try to see their faces and shoot them a menacing look. Hoping to remember them for later. Which makes them laugh harder, it is really difficult to look menacing in your current position, but dammit I try. Shortly inside the gate she takes a turn and walks down some stairs. The décor is not promising for you getting out of this successfully.
As we walk down the stairs, there's a change that begins to occur. A thought that finally begins to creep it's way into my head. 'What if I... can't get out?' His body slackens a little as the depression of that thought comes, but it fades for now as I renew my determination to watch and wait.
We eventually reach a room that is way larger than a cell. The far wall is covered in tools and equipment laid out neatly on a peg board, a workbench with drawers sits below the peg board. There is a set of manacles hanging from the ceiling. The walls are lit by the steady glow of some sort of magic, I guess it makes sense that the head of the king's intelligence service can afford magical lights where she works. I hear her snap my fingers at someone, clearly an order to do something.
I try to turn my head around to see but can't bend far enough, and I hang my head back down low in resignation. It is imperceptible to outside observation, but you can feel the tiny tremors beginning in my body as the thought of how inescapable my situation might be rises some more. She sets you down on my feet, and steps back leveling her sword at my throat again. "Try anything and I will cut you." Then I feel someone behind me cutting the bindings off my wrists and fastening them to the manacles above my head.
My legs are a little shaky but I stabilize and force myself to glare up at her while my bonds are cut at my back. I turn my hands towards my back and ball them into a fist as someone else grabs my hands and binds them with the manacles above my head. Even standing feet away from me Mal towers over me. Her broad muscled frame is imposing and terrifying, but also exciting in a way that scares me. The blond stubble on her head is almost as striking as the scar that runs through her eyebrow and cuts off the top of her left ear.
She watches me with an amused and predatory expression, her sword continuing to rest on my collar bone as first one hand is chained and then the other.
My fists remain balled above my head as they're chained up. My eyes remain trained on her, nervousness creeping into even my face now, "Let's be honest, you're gonna cut me anyway." I try to still sound defiant, somehow.
"Mmmm" The blade makes the barest scratch along your skin "Perhaps." I suck against my teeth and suppress my shoulder, wincing at the pain.
There is a particular set of flicks of her fingers and the chain is pulled taught so that I am forced to stand on the balls of my feet while still wearing my boots. Then a black bag is shoved roughly over your head. Groans echo out in this dimly lit stone chamber as I am pulled taut in the chains, which becomes muffled by the hood shoved roughly over my face. I pull and strain against my bindings, trying to fight still as a small trickle of blood glides down my chest.
I hear her dagger leave its sheath and feel her grip the bottom of my shirt to start splitting it up the middle. I tilt my head back as I feel her start slicing up my shirt, tilting my head away as I gasp at the sudden feeling of air across my exposed skin. She starts humming that tune again as she slices through my clothes. I hear another snapping command and then footsteps leave the room. I am alone with her now.
As soon as the footsteps fade, and the only sounds in the chamber are her hums and the sound of my top being cut open, my composure fades a little more. Now that there's nothing and no one else to distract myself with. My thoughts can only remain on her and her actions, panic wells up once again. I struggle and writhe, my balled fists turning down and cover over the base of the manacles as I shake side to side against them. "What are you doing?" I demand shakily.
The reply is in a calm reasonable tone "Whatever I want." My shirt is now completely open and I can feel her hands running up and down my sides.
Her touch sends shivers down my spine, jangling my restraints and causing me to bite my lip “W-... wha?... “ I say almost in a daze, clearly not expecting or used to this kind of touch, especially not from her. The second time she seen him like this, first time being the stolen forceful kiss at blade’s edge. She continues caressing and confusing me. I can feel her breath hot on my neck. In an almost whisper she says "You will eventually tell me everything I want to know. Why not make it easy on yourself and give up now."
My body softens, you hear the metal of my manacles clinking as my hands sway ever so slightly. I shiver and breathe heavily through the hood, feeling my thoughts as if thinking through a fog. "N...no. I'll not give in to you."
"You know, I was honestly hoping you would say that." She steps back, grips my left nipple between my thumb and forefinger, pulling and twisting. My arms and legs contract and shake around, trying to pull my nipple out of your reach as you begin to tease and torture me. I gasp and shout through the fabric as pain shoots through me.
She continuing to torture you mercilessly and with her other hand lifts up the hood just enough to uncover my mouth and kiss you long and passionately. As you continue to assault my nipple, I gasp just as your mouth and tongue find mine. The noises I make now reverberating through both our moths, and slipping into confused and painful little moans. Not returning the kiss, but the force and persistence of your tongue grapples and plays with my mouth all the same.
It is obvious that she is kissing for her own pleasure, claiming me because she wants to. Eventually she breaks off, "Now Toy," the knife still held in her hand threatens to make designs in my skin as she toys with me, "Are you ready to tell me everything I want to know?"
As she pulls away I let out a long breath and my head continues to stare ahead, eyes unfocused and dazed under the hood. "No" I breathe, before continuing to pant heavily. Confused and helpless, her blade tracing my skin and causing shivers.
"Very good Toy, as I said before I would be disappointed if you gave up this easily. I am just trying to save you a lot of pain and suffering." At the word pain I feel the knife bite ever slightly deeper and cut into my skin, the shallow cut along my side feels like fire.
The pain snaps me back to reality and I tense my side, trying to muffle a shout against tensed teeth "Aaagghhh, fuck you... I retort." She wipes the blade off on my pants and laughs "No, you wont fuck me." I can feel a bit of blood dribbling down my side.
“Tch” I wince occasionally as I disturb the wound, jaw tensed firm, "As if... I'd want to..." I speak quickly, between pained breath. She snorts at my defiant declaration and rubs her thumb over the small shallow cut she has made, "In case you hadn't noticed, I don’t really care what you want." I have to bite my lip to stop from shouting out, instead just groaning loudly as her thumb works in my wound. I feel her pull back and cut the rest of your shirt to shreds.
I blush again under the hood, some colour coming back after the pain and fear drained the blood from my face. I turn my head away, trying to hide somehow, as if embarrassed to be showing off so much of himself to you. She smiles at my bashfulness even in this situation. Eventually I feel her pull the tatters of the shirt from me and toss them to the floor.
“This is going to be fun.” having just ripped the remains of the garment off me, she walks around me slowly, considering. Every once in a while she runs her hand over some part of my exposed torso. I am still blind and helpless, each time her hand finds my skin again I shiver and inhale sharply. But I keep my breathing slow and steady, even as I feel a slight bit of sweat dripping down my chin.
Suddenly there is a sucker punch to my abdomen, my feet leave the floor. Unable to see and prepare, the wind is instantly knocked out of me and causing me to spit small flecks of blood through my teeth, “O-o-o-ooowwww” I groan.
Something in my cry of pain sparks her suspicion. She pulls the hood off your head rapidly, and grabs my chin, forcing me to look into her light grey eyes. Her gaze is intense and searching.
I blink against the sudden re-addition of light to the party, tiredly focusing before realising how close we are and trying to turn my eyes away from hers. A blush begins to spread across my face, despite trying to hide from her.
She slaps me hard across the face and watches my reaction intensely as if confirming something. I gasp as your hand collides with my already red cheek and wince under her continued gaze. But hidden in there is definitely a different emotion. A guilty and shameful pleasure that ekes it's way into me. My eyes take a moment to refocus after the brief dazing, and again I try to look away from her.
She continues holding my chin and asks calmly but still way too close, "Toy, what mischief have you been up to?"
Her words hit me like rough velvet, shivering through me before I turn to try and meet her gaze. This action only serves to cause me to deepen my blush as I try to respond "Just... seeing the sights. You know... me."
"Yes, yes I do know you." The bag is again shoved roughly over my head, and after a pause I hear her leave the room and the door shut. I am so tired. I am so scared. And after about ten minutes I hear soft footsteps. A maid comes in, to remove the hood and then turns to leave.
As the hood comes off finally, I shake my head slowly and expect to see Mal. However, someone else stands there and I gasp suddenly, "Hey, you... Want to do something real easy that no one will even know you did? Just move something from my waistband to my hand. That's it. Please..." I beg quickly. My best chance before me.
She shakes her head sadly, "I'm sorry. It's not worth my life, and what will happen to me before I die." This small fragile looking maid trembles slightly at the idea of defying Mal. Some distantly analytical part of her brain notes that she is almost as short as me, very petite with delicate facial features.
My head hangs lower still, staring at the ground, an incredulous smirk on his face. I quietly say, "Tell me about it... Thanks anyway."
She reaches out to touch my cheek and at the last moment blushes and flees from the room. I am left alone, hanging in this terrifying room by myself.
I close my eyes and enjoy the final caring touch of the random maid I may never even see again. Maybe even the last person to see me alive if I don't come up with something. But... I'm so tired. My head hangs limp, eyes remaining closed, as soon as she turns to run off. I lose track of time as my mind tries to race through possible ways out, a final surge of adrenaline competing with the complete exhaustion that I've been coming up on. My mind can't focus, however. And none of my thoughts come together coherently. Eventually, darkness takes me fully. The last thing I think of as I fade out of consciousness is that predatory look she gave me moments before rehooding me and walking out the room. My cheeks blush, and I fall completely slack in my bindings. A small broken pick falling from a still-manacled hand.
************
I leave the room and shut the door, and flick my fingers for my assistant to follow me. Going down the hallway into my office.
“He was up to something and I am going to use the dogs to figure out what,” holding up the tattered shirt by way of explanation. My assistant nods understanding that I mean to use the castle dogs to trace his scent.
“In about ten minites go in and remove the hood. He is exhausted and will probably fall asleep shortly. If he tries to talk to you,” I will smirk, “they always try to bargain. You know what to do.”
My assistant smiles and nods understanding her role.
“Fetch me as soon as he is asleep.”
As I turn to leave my assistant changes into her maid outfit, ready to play her part in my game of theatre for an audience of one.
**********
The dogs bay and gallop around the castle, just as they lead me to the powder stores, I get a note from my assistant. It only says, “Asleep, apparently he had a pick clutched in his fist.”
After organizing the dismantling of the trap he layed, I will go back to set a trap of my own.
My assistant tells me of their conversation, and I nod approvingly. “We might use that angle, I don't know yet but it never hurts to lay foundations.”
Cat like I approach his sleeping form being extremely careful not to wake my prey. Grasping his charm lightly I will weave a spell and wrap the pendant and chain in magic. I mark his hidden picks at his waist and in his socks and shoes the same way. Thinking that if he is half as good as I know he is, he should be able to get out of this with the tools I will let him have.
After putting the broken pieces of the pick in my pocket, I sit down on a bench set against the wall to study his sleeping form as it dangles helplessly and determine my next move. His breathing is calm as his chest slowly rises and falls. Your head limp on your shoulder hanging loosely in front of you and moving slightly with every breath. I also admire your lean fighter's physique, much of which is currently on full display before me. That small body that is so good at getting where it is not supposed to be and hiding in plain sight. I know now that if he saw how intently I studied you, you would squirming and fidget before my gaze, and grin wolfishly.
I want to truly break him, and to do that he has to gain hope, then lose it … dramatically.