The Tattooed Woman Pt. 04

Ashunara sighed but raised her face with an expression of resigned determination as she spoke loudly enough for all to hear, "Turn her Sergeant."

"Aye Captain!"

As Nyx moved to turn the woman Tallis sidled close to her commander, "Captain, there's no point to this, she's obviously not right in the head so..."

The young woman clearly expected her own head to be bitten off and she was surprised when Ashanaru spoke to her in a quiet, level tone, "You are out of line recruit, but nevertheless, this has to be done! She damned near killed Veroona. The slaves need to see it, and so do the Orcs."

"The Orcs? But wh..."

"Some think they're just brutes Tallis, but t'is not wholly so. They have their code, but it's not our code young one. They revere strength, but it's not just strength of the body, but also of the spirit. That woman struck one of my soldiers and they all saw it. Varoona hit her and she fought back. The Orcs will admire her spirit for that, but they know that everything comes at a cost. To them the woman earned this beating, it belongs to her, purchased by her defiance and her spirit. To deny her the beating would be to cheapen the act, it would cheat the woman's honour in their mind. They know she's just a slave, but they like guts and hate a coward. If I cheated her that way, they wouldn't just think me soft, which I could live with, but they'd think I feared her somehow, and they'd lose respect for me. They might still obey, but it would make things uncertain, and I can't afford that, not now, understand?"

Tallis swallowed, but nodded, "I'm sorry Captain."

"I don't like this any more than you Tallis, but it must be done, now get back into place, and Tallis?"

"Aye?"

"I like you girl, but next time you question me in front of everyone like this it'll be you hanging up there, understand?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Good lass."

When the woman had been turned the Captain cracked her whip and expertly landed another dozen hard strokes across the woman's front, striking her chest, breasts, abdomen and thighs. Again, each blow left a red stripe that marred her flesh and rocked her body, but otherwise, she simply hung there like a side of meat.

The Orcs had watched with a feral gleam in their yellow eyes, and they grunted and struck their weapons against their shields in time to each blow. The slaves whimpered and cried, more than one vomited and a couple fainted. Cassie sobbed uncontrollably.

At the back of the gathering, Varoona clutched her aching ribs and watched silently.

After it was done the Captain called Nyx to her side, "Feed the slaves, leave her hanging for them to see til they're fed and watered, then cut her down and bring her to my tent."

"If she can walk Captain."

Ashunara snarled, "If she can't walk fucking drag her! But I think she'll walk well enough."

It was more than an hour later before Nyx and an axe-carrying Orc lifted the flap of the Captain's tent and led the tattooed woman in. A light drizzle had descended from the mountains and the naked woman simply stood there, looking bedraggled, as Ashunara passed a steaming mug of hot chai to Nyx and then poured a goodly measure from her flask of potcheen into another cup, which she passed to the Orc. The green-skinned creature sniffed at the liquid for a moment and then knocked it back in a single swallow. It shuddered slightly before giving the Captain a feral grin and nodded.

Nyx grinned, "Well, that at least answers one question Captain."

Ashunara muttered, "One of many," as she casually tossed her flask to the Orc before stepping close to examine the captive. Patches of her skin were still blackened and the Captain could clearly see the marks left by the recent flogging. Angry red stripes crisscrossed her front and back, but Ashinaru's keen eyes thought that a couple of them at least had already faded a little and were more pink than red.

She nodded towards the wounds as she spoke to the Sergeant, "Look here Nyx, and here. The whip marks are healing already, I don't doubt they'll be all but gone by morn."

"That's fucking creepy," muttered the grizzled soldier.

Straightening the Captain turned to her subordinate, "How's Veroona?"

"Lucky to still be breathing methinks, but the potion and that wizard lad got her up on her feet, though she's going to be sore as fuck for a week at least."

"But she can move? Can she fight?"

"Move? Aye, after a fashion. Fight? Maybe, in a day or two perhaps."

"Shit, we'll have to leave her here and take Tallis then. I'll have to talk with her, make sure she knows what's expected. I want no repeat of what happened today."

"I understand Captain, but you know it's not..."

"I know, and I sympathise, but I can't afford to coddle her, she's needed."

Nyx subsided with a resigned sigh, "Fair enough."

"Think Elsadore can handle her if she gets in one of her tempers?"

The Sergeant laughed, "Elsadore? If Varoona gives her any lip that mad bitch will lay the cunt out in a fucking heartbeat. There's a damned good reason I was leery of telling her she was to be left behind you know."

"Good enough."

Turning to the whipped woman the Captain sighed, "What the fuck are we going to do with you then?"

The tattooed figure simply stood there, staring blankly at the back wall of the tent.

"What's it going to take to make you behave, eh? The flogging obviously didn't bother you in the slightest."

Nothing.

"I know you can hear me."

Nyx cuffed the woman on the back of the head, "Answer the Captain!"

The woman rocked slightly at the blow but never so much as blinked.

Ashunara walked around her and then stood directly before her, "You know, Varoona wants to flog little Cassie, as an example to the others, and as a lesson to you..."

The green eyes flicked to the Captain's dark orbs, "If she does, I'll kill her where she stands."

The words were spoken with such flat, deadly certainty that Ashunara had to stifle the involuntary shiver that tickled its way down her spine, and Nyx found herself moving her hand to rest on the hilt of her sword.

The Captain tilted her head to study the woman, who just stood there unmoving, chained with strong manacles, whipped, still wounded and hurt surely, but still...

"What's the girl to you? A friend?"

"I have no friends."

"She's surely not kin?"

"I have no kin."

"Then why do you care?"

The woman simply stared ahead.

The Captain grinned, "Well, she's your kin now lass!"

There was no reaction and Ashunara continued, "We don't separate siblings and family unless we have to, it makes them happier, and given they share each other's fate, it's easier for us to control them. So, she's your sister now as far as I'm concerned, congratulations! You want to look out for her that's fine by me, stay out of trouble and you'll both be treated well, but cause me more grief and things may become less... tolerable, for you, and also for her. Besides, the poor wee girl is frightened, she needs a big sister to look out for her, and you know what? I think you'll do admirably."

The woman ignored her.

The Captain considered her for a moment longer, apparently searching her eyes for something before nodding in seeming satisfaction, "Get her something to eat Sergeant and get us ready to move."

As Nyx made to lead the tattooed figure away Ashunara's grin turned into a feral smile, "You know; Veroona never wanted to flog the child at all, I said that to see if I could make you speak," the shark-like smile broadened, "and it worked."

For a heartbeat, the green eyes flicked to the Captain, and for just the briefest of instants, Ashunara thought the woman's lips might have twitched, maybe.

For the remainder of the day the company marched through the rain and cold fog, and Cassie watched fearfully when she saw Varoona hobbling along, obviously in great pain. Occasionally the Dark-Elf would look about her as she wiped the sweat from her brow, and the slave was almost sure she saw at least one tear trickle down her cheek as she stumbled in agony, but throughout the long day no-one heard her utter a word of complaint, nor did she ask for aid. She simply gritted her teeth and kept moving. One of the Orcs, mayhap sent by their devious Captain, marched alongside the hurt woman. It sometimes glanced at her, and occasionally nodded, or grunted mockingly at her efforts.

Varoona knew exactly why the greenskin was there, and she spent much of her day swearing at the uncaring monster. The Orc just grinned at her, occasionally laughing when she stumbled, or if she came up with a truly vile or inventive insult, and Varoona trudged on, seeing she was being manipulated, and yet still unable to be anything other than doggedly, stubbornly determined not to show weakness before the fucking thing.

It was fully dark when she stumbled into the campsite found by Azure. It was the remains of some old broch, long abandoned and fallen to ruin, but the crumbling walls provided good shelter from the wind, though they were still soaked by the falling rain. She gave an exhausted groan of pain as she slumped against a chunk of fallen masonry the size of a horse, and then jerked when the Orc slapped her backside and passed her a bowl of hot broth and a chunk of bread. She glared at it, "Bastard."

The creature grinned and lumbered off to join its kin.

Cassie sat in a darkened corner, partially protected from the elements by a stone overhang, perhaps all that remained of a stairwell, and tears trickled down her face as she spooned hot broth into the mouth of the tattooed woman sitting by her side. Seeing the marks of the whip on her chest the young girl finally broke down, burying her face in her hands as she wept, "I'm so sorry, it was all my fault. I was just soo tired, I didn't mean for you to get hurt, I..."

She was startled when a strong hand gripped her own, and she looked up into the green eyes of the woman sitting next to her. They were strange, those eyes, a deep emerald green, but Cassie thought she could see faint flecks of gold as well, and it was so easy to look into them, it was as if you could be drawn into their depths and never look away...

The quiet voice seemed to wake her, as if from a dream, "They didn't hurt me, Cassie. Rest now girl."

The young slave was so very tired, and her eyes would have closed as a wave of warmth seemed to encompass her, but she looked up lazily as a movement nearby drew her eye, and she drew a breath as fear gripped her.

Varoona shambled out of the dark to stand above them. The Dark Elf looked exhausted, with sweat beading her forehead, and she almost glared down at the slaves before drawing a deep shuddering breath and gazing out, and off into the darkness. She licked her lips nervously as if unsure of herself and there was an unfamiliar hesitance in her voice when she spoke.

"I... I did not intend for you to be flogged like that. I'm s..., " she drew another breath and her eyes squeezed shut, perhaps from her pain, perhaps from some memory, "I should not have struck you so, it's just... I get angry, with... with humans. I try, oh Gods how I try, but sometimes it just gets the better of me."

The tattooed woman stared towards the campfire and Cassie saw the flames reflected in her eyes. Her voice was a whisper, "I'm no stranger to fury."

The Dark Elf looked down at the slaves, "I wanted to... Well... Oh Hells teeth, here!"

Dropping a small bundle before the slaves the woman turned and hobbled back towards the campfire.

Cassie stared after her and then looked down at the small package she had left, timidly she reached out to pull aside the cloth that wrapped it revealing four thick squares of..."

"What is it?" she whispered.

"It's chocolate lass, Elven chocolate."

The voice came from nearby and the little slave looked up startled as Nyx emerged silently from the shadows, knife in one hand and an apple in the other. She knelt and touched the strange stuff with the tip of her blade, "Her mother makes it, sends her some every now and again. We don't trade it to humans much but sometimes a few bits can be found on the black market."

The Sergeant grinned, "Some idiot noble would pay a gold piece for each of those squares little Cassie."

Cassie drew her breath and looked at the chocolate in amazement, "I've never seen a gold piece. I seen a silver once, a merchant used it to pay for supper and a round, and the innkeeper showed it to me."

The Dark Elf grinned and tossed a coin at her, it glittered as it spun through the air before it landed in the folds of her skirt. It was almost an inch and a half across and surprisingly heavy. The yellow metal was beautifully engraved with the head of some monstrous creature on one side and a heraldic sigil on the other.

Cassie stared at it in wonder, turning the coin over in her hand, "T'is beautiful."

"We call that a gold dragon lass, sometimes it's called a crown or a sovereign in human lands. I think the Light Elves call them solars, while the Dwarves refer to it as a daric methinks, but I've not traded with Dwarves in a century or two so I could be misremembering."

The slave gazed at the coin for a few moments more before respectfully proffering it back towards the Dark Elf. Nyx grinned, "Keep it! If you gather a few more, you can maybe buy your freedom one day."

Cassie didn't know what to say and she blushed furiously, "Must I... Do I have to, well... You know, for the coin?"

Nyx laughed loudly, "Oh dear Gods you humans are hilarious! No lass, your virtue is safe for now. Call it a gift if you like."

"Th... thank you, ma'am."

The Sergeant smiled as she deftly peeled her apple with the razor-sharp blade in her hand, "Oh, it's not from me. Do you think I could afford to give away gold coins on a mere Sergeant's wage?"

The veteran looked back at the Captain's tent as she passed the girl one-half of the peeled fruit, "Soldiers spend their money on whores and booze lass, though they might sometimes waste some on food if they absolutely have to. No, it's not from me."

"But why...?"

"Oh, if I had to guess I might think that someone feels bad about a little thing like you getting smacked in the face for simply stumbling, course it's just a guess mind. Now eat your apple and get some sleep."

Cassie turned the coin in her hand, watching it glitter in the firelight, so she missed the strange gleam in the eyes of the tattooed woman as she stared at the coin.

Nyx stood and looked back at the campfire, "It's not her fault you know... She was taken by humans a while back and, well, it took time for the Captain to gather a ransom. Not for lack of trying mind! She damned near killed herself getting the coins. But the humans... they were not kind to Varoona, and it takes a while to get over that. I think the Captain feels... responsible."

The Sergeant sighed and went to go about her rounds, "Anyway, get some rest, we've another long march ahead of us tomorrow."

After supper Tallis sought out Lily and slipped her arms around her, drawing the girl to the darkened nook where she'd laid out her bedroll and holding her close. Nyx let them be, she'd seen the glowering looks the Sunkissed girl had cast towards Varoona after the flogging and having Tallis wrapped around her might just decrease the chances of the injured Dark Elf being mysteriously stabbed to death as she slept.

Sighing she completed her rounds before soundlessly looking into the Captain's tent. Ashunara lay atop her cot napping fitfully and Nyx slid forward to carefully ease the blanket over the sleeping woman before gliding from the tent as silently as she had come.

Finally heading back to her own bedroll, she found the swordsman sitting nearby, poking at the fire and staring into the glowing embers. He sighed, "A good Captain is worth their weight in gold no?"

Nyx slumped down next to him with a grin, "Almost as much as a good Sergeant I would say, almost. Tell me swordsman, did you ever serve?"

The man nodded as he remembered, "Ten years and more in the legions. I joined as a boy, half-starved and eager for adventure. Instead of glory, I got a decade and a half of border wars and bloodshed."

"Did you fight my kind, human?"

"You know the soldier's life. I fought whoever was put in front of me, be they bandits, rebels, pirates, foreign devils, orcs, goblins, even an undead horde once, and yes, I fought the Dark Eldar," he laughed, "how do you think I ended up in your bloody arena?"

"No hard feelings?"

He shrugged, "A good soldier knows the risks they take," he grinned at her, "if you can't take a joke you shouldn't pick up the sword they say. But I'm glad you've found a good commander Nyx, I've met my share of utter fucking fools, the kind who couldn't pour piss from a boot if the instructions were written on the heel, but she seems a decent sort, for an evil Darkling Witch of course."

"Oh, of course."

Nyx gave the man an appraising look, "You were an officer, weren't you?"

He favoured her with a fox-like smile, "Maybe."

"What rank?"

The man looked up from the fire and changed the subject, "You know, maybe I do have a few hard feelings," he slid an arm around her and cheekily squeezed her backside, "maybe you could help me out with them?"

Nyx shook her head with a grin, "Not in front of the troops human," she got up and sashayed to her bedroll, rolling her hips enticingly for the man to see, untying her hair with a flourish to let it pour down her back in a silver cascade, and pausing to stretch languidly like a cat, before looking back over her shoulder to give him a sly smile and a wink, "sweet dreams."

He hung his head with a theatrical groan.