A Gilded Cage Ch. 04

Most of what she was screaming was incoherent gibberish, but there were pleas in there and screams for help, screams for release. He didn't entirely know what to do. He put his arms around her as gently as he could and spoke softly in her ear. He told her she was safe and that he had her - that he would protect her and she didn't need to be afraid. Her skin felt clammy and cold, almost feverish. She struggled away with strength he didn't know she had but he held her and didn't stop trying to sooth her. He felt her soften, her movements were less frantic. After perhaps ten minutes she broke down and cried, every muscle sagging and collapsing. He stroked her hair and told her that she was safe until she seemed, finally, to have used the last of her energy.

Uncuffing her, he wasn't entirely surprised to see that her wrists and ankles were a mess. The cuffs he had used weren't particularly unpleasant, but her manic thrashing had caused them to cut and tear her skin and there were deep welts that would soon turn into ugly bruises. He had clearly hit upon something concerning. As he laid her gently in his bed his mind wandered back to all of the times she had been distressed. She had tried to get away from him sure, but she always opted for corners and dimly lit spaces under furniture, even if they left her trapped. She liked to hide from his view when he threatened her and found safety in small dark spaces. He would have to be careful of this.

He took his laptop to bed and worked from there, resting her head in his lap, thinking it best not to leave her alone. She shook and twitched in her sleep, murmuring into his thigh and giving little starts whenever there was a noise or when he adjusted his position.

Dinner arrived. He was loath to wake her but she had to eat. He woke her as gently as he could but she jolted away from him, rolling from the bed and making for a corner. He caught her and held her, soothing her again.

"So many eyes." She sobbed, allowing herself to be held. "So many eyes and I can't get away. They can see what I am. Dirty traitor slut and the eyes they know, they know..." She babbled incoherently until she seemed to notice that he was there. She looked up with a start and whispered "save me from them. They see me. They see what I have done."

"Shhh pet it is alright. I've got you safe here, nobody can get to you while you're here. You're safe from them here. I won't let them touch you. I'll kill anyone that tries."

That last comment seemed to bring her round a bit, she was calmer, and after a few minutes she grew more coherent, and seemed more aware of her surroundings. He carried her back to the bed and fed her from his plate as he ate, numbly accepting what she was offered.

"Sleep, girl, go to sleep. You're ok, you are safe here."

"I've lost them all..."

"No, not tonight, we'll talk in the morning, but you have to sleep now. I won't let anyone harm you."

After muttering for a little longer, she drifted off. He was sure she was no threat at all for the evening but collared her to the bed just in case. He managed three more hours of work before falling asleep next to her, wrapping her trembling body in strong limbs.

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He woke before dawn, her fidgeting bringing him out of a shallow and troubled sleep.

"Shhhh, it's ok, you're still safe, I've got you." He murmured softly. To his surprise she rolled over to face him, nuzzling into his chest. He held her tight and stroked her hair. Unbidden and no doubt aided by her delicate body pressed so alluringly against his, he felt his trousers grow tighter around his groin. He was still mostly dressed from the night before and was glad of it – now was hardly the time.

The general twisted his hips away from her, holding her against his chest, comforting her as best he could while so distracted, but he longed to be inside her. She was fighting back in her sleep now, trying in vain to wiggle away, squirming and writhing. God this was hot, he wanted her, he wanted to spread her legs and push inside the squeezing warmth.

"Wake up pet, stop it. Be still. If you keep moving like that I'm going to have to fuck you, understand?" Her eyes flickered open, bleary and confused. For a moment her struggles intensified, but she remembered herself and her situation. She was still, but tense and uneasy.

"How are you this morning? Better? You had a fright last night. Do you remember?" She thought for a moment, her mind clouded by sleep.

"I couldn't get away. I can't get away. I'm a whore and they know it. They hate me for it. I have nothing."

"You have me, pretty thing. There's no pain if you are obedient. Be good and you may be comfortable. It is a good life I can offer you here. You must only submit to me."

"Is that all it will cost me? What do you want of me lord."

"Your body, when I desire it and your obedience at all times."

She nodded mutely, accepting his rules for now, biding her time until she had the strength and opportunity to escape him.

His eyes were on her body now, wandering down to her breasts where they emerged from the covers. "Mmmm, what a sweet thing you are. Do you know how your body excites men?"

"I have only ever known you, my lord, no other."

He threw back the sheets and admired all of her, enjoying the curve of her outline as she lay on her side. "That is not what I meant, pretty thing. A body like this has an effect on men. It is a delicious thing. Do you know that? Do you know that you are beautiful? Do you know that most men who see you wish that they could have you in their beds?"

"No lord. I have never considered that others might be attracted to me."

"No man has looked a little longer than perhaps he should? Or told you that he desires you? I struggle to believe it. Stop with this false modesty. Tell me the truth."

"But lord I do not lie! I am a modest creature. No man, aside from you and, before you, Telor, said any such thing. And none looked that I noticed. I am the daughter of a king - chosen by the Spirits of Earth to rule – none looked."

"Your Spirits are false gods and your peasant land is nothing but the newest addition to my holdings. You are mine, and I look now. I look and I see a graceful beauty, narrow and slender, yet curved and womanly, made all the sweeter by the fact that you are mine." His hand was on her, stroking from thigh to waist, fingers taking in every subtle nuance.

"I am sorry lord, I never meant..."

"Why did you never consummate your relationship with the boy?" he cut across. "You were more than of age when you came to me, yet untouched, and innocent."

"We were to be married, lord. When we were married we would have shared a bed, but not before. It is most improper lord. Surely that is true here too?" He ignored this last part and carried on with his line of questioning, still stroking her.

"Did you ever think about it? Did you want to? Did you lust for him, or for another?"

"No, lord, never. I knew too little to desire it. Apprehensive, perhaps. There was no lust, none of the desire I see in you. Beauty of the body is second to the refinement of the mind. We shared words not touch." She noticed that he was no longer listening, but absent mindedly fondling her, his trousers still bulging insistently.

He sighed and pulled away, longing to bury himself in her, but certain that it would be counterproductive. For today he needed he obedience more than her body. He left her without a word, heading to the shower.