The Tattooed Woman Pt. 18

Falsara grinned, "Ha! In your dreams, lad, but thank you, t'is a kind offer, mayhap your wife is not so daft as I thought in her choice of menfolk after all, but I'll be fine. As I say, t'is not the first time I've slept by my fire, and not in my bed."

"As you will, the offer stands if you need it," he gave the woman an amiable nod, "night boss."

The overseer went back inside and wrapping a blanket around herself she poked at the fire a bit before settling herself back in her chair. The sound of Muriah snoring from the bedroom made her chuckle as she poured herself another drink.

...

It was near enough noon when Gorsini slumped down next to the well in the corner of the dusty courtyard with a small groan of relief. He looked about the slave-castle, almost instinctively taking in the barred doors and the placement and numbers of the guards with practised eyes. A woman in mail and carrying a fighting spear was slogging around the courtyard, and he chuckled darkly. She moved like a recruit, clumsily, unused to the weight of armour and weapons, and he recalled his own training, "Gods, how many years ago was it? Fuck I feel old."

As he watched the end of the spear tangled in her feet and she went down face-first into the dirt with a thud, "Yup, definitely a new recruit."

He sniffed and splashed water on his face. The swelling around his eyes had receded somewhat but his visage was still a mass of lurid bruises. The pain was irritating, but he'd been a swordsman and a warrior for most of his life, it wasn't the first time he'd been hurt and he'd endured a broken nose more than once in the past, so he more or less dismissed the discomfort from his mind and ignored it.

Magda looked at him and sighed, "You're a fucking idiot."

Taking a cloth casually offered by the guard she dipped it in the water and began cleaning the man up, "Why did you do it?"

He grunted, "Didn't want you to get hurt, and couldn't think of a better plan."

She grinned, "How's it working out so far?"

The man chuckled and winced as she cleaned a cut above his eye, "Well, as horrible a boast as this might sound, I've had worse, and my devious and cunning scheme worked for the most part."

The woman chuckled, "They beat the shit out of you."

"Meh, better than all three of us getting killed."

Magda grinned, "Well, I hope your face heals quickly."

"You miss my good looks?"

She paused and looked into his eyes, "No, when it does I'm going to break your nose all over again. I make my own fucking choices, you don't get to take that from me you arrogant prick. But," she smiled, "thanks anyway."

"Oh well, something to look forward to I suppose," he took hold of her hand and squinted at her as she washed his face, "if you promise to kiss it better afterwards I'd even think it worth the pain."

"What happened to all that horseshit about not fraternising with those under your command then?"

He shrugged with a smile, "Well, you're no longer under my command, are you? We're all slaves together now. So, mayhap I can be forgiven for finally saying you are perhaps the most desirable women I've ever met."

She gave a disgusted snort, "Your timing is fucking terrible, do you know that?"

Magda sniffed and looked at their other companion, the young Half-Elf had been morose since their capture, and she sat in the shade with her arms wrapped around her knees, looking miserable. "You need to talk to her, she's upset."

He sighed, "What do I say? Sorry, I betrayed you, but I did it with the best of intentions."

"That would do to start with, " she grinned, "if you truly want that kiss, then putting things right with her might, just might, move me towards some tiny display of tenderness towards you."

"Fuck."

"Only if you're very lucky."

Muriah pulled herself to her feet and wrenched the never to be sufficiently cursed helm off. She could barely see a fucking thing with that damnable chamber pot strapped to her head. Stretching her back and taking in a breath she looked about. There appeared to be a handful of new prisoners taking water at the well and she sighed as she contemplated their fate, "Poor bastards, they'll be paraded on an action block soon enou..." her thoughts froze for a moment as she finally took in what she was seeing.

Gorsini watched as Magda refilled the bucket from the well, "I'll talk to her I promi..."

The thumping of running footsteps interrupted his thoughts and he turned. Just in time to catch a glimpse of the armoured figure as she launched herself at him with a shriek of rage. The crunching impact as she smashed bodily into him drove the air from his lungs and was hard enough to send him sprawling. As he fell backwards he crashed into Magda who was pitched face-first into the well with a splash, "What the fu..."

A fist crashed against his jaw, stars filled his vision and he heard an enraged cry, "You BASTARD!"

Blows rained down on him as he lay wheezing, but he was no novice and his surprise faded quickly, he put his foot against his attacker's gut and heaved, sending the lighter woman hurtling backwards.

He rolled to his feet and took in the demented guardswoman who was already coming back at him, "Wait, isn't that?"

A handful of flung dirt took him in the face and he spluttered and blinked, just long enough for the enraged Dark Elf to kick him between the legs. "Oh! Fuck, my balls!"

Magda pulled herself from the well and spat a mouthful of water as she looked about in sodden bewilderment, "Wha?"

Muriah's wicked left hook cracked against her jaw and sent her face-first back into the well.

Gorsini staggered as Muriah turned back towards him with a snarl, "You fucking whoreson!"

She threw herself at the man in a fury but strong arms grappled her and she felt herself being thrown to the ground. Spitting dirt she rolled to her feet, only to be shoved back down again. This time a heavy boot came down hard on her chest pinning her and she looked up into Falsara's face. The Overseer's voice was angry, "You best stay down girl."

Snarling furiously she tried unsuccessfully to shove the woman off, and Falsara bellowed, "Fucking behave! Or do you need a lesson at the whipping post to teach you discipline, you mad bitch?"

Limping, Gorsini leaned against the wall with a moan of pain. Looking down at Dana he muttered accusingly, "Well, you were a lot of help."

The woman had finally managed to stop laughing long enough to wipe the tears from her eyes, but seeing him groaning and clutching at his testicles set her off again before she could reply.

Other guards had appeared with cudgels at the ready, but seeing the fight was over Falsara waved them back. She looked down at Muriah, "I'm going to take my boot off you, but if you do anything daft I fucking guarantee you won't like what happens next, understood?"

The woman on the ground drew a shuddering breath before nodding angrily.

Falsara removed her boot and extended a hand. Muriah stared at it for a moment before blowing out an annoyed breath and accepting the offer of help.

The Overseer looked about before turning back to the Dark Elf, "What the fuck was that about?"

Muriah muttered and Falsara all but snarled, "Speak up! And it better be good or I'll run your arse about this courtyard until you fucking wish you were dead!"

"He's the man who enslaved me."

Falsara turned to look at Gorsini incredulously, "Seriously?"

Magda shook the water from her hair and nursed her bloody lip, looking at the man as she muttered in disgust, "I think that Dark Elf who caught us was right. You really are fucking cursed."

...

Muriah's arms were so weary she could barely hold the spear as she made the thrusts into the heavy wooden post. Falsara had laughed her ass off when she had told the story of her capture and had literally almost fallen off her chair at supper with tears streaming down her cheeks for laughing so hard when the younger woman angrily complained about how the bastard human had stripped and hogtied her simply because she stabbed one of his men!

Eventually, the Overseer managed to breathe enough to wheeze out a few words in between fits of giggles, "Oh sweet merciful Gods! Fucking stop! What are you trying to do, give an old woman a bloody heart attack?"

She tried to take a drink from the pitcher but saw the aggrieved look on Muriah's face, and that set her to laughing again.

The woman's good humour hadn't stopped her from allocating punishment though, "A soldier needs discipline girl. Lose your temper on a battlefield and you'll not only get yourself killed but mayhap a few of your friends as well. Besides slaves brawling is against the rules. You should get a flogging, but the story was so fucking funny I'm inclined to go easy this time. So after supper, you take your spear, hold it over your head and run round the courtyard until you drop. Then do a couple of hours of thrust practice against the post. That should tire you out a bit and mayhap set you to thinking first the next time you fancy a fight," she smirked, "of course, if you think it too much you can just quit and I'll send you back to Captain Ashunara."

Muriah grumbled as she did the drill. Her legs burned as badly as her arms, her back ached and sweat streamed down her face, but she would be fucking damned before she gave up!

"You lean too far forward, and it's upsetting your balance."

Magda had been refilling the bucket of water for the cell she shared with a group of frightened slaves and had paused to watch the girl training before curiosity got the better of her and she drifted closer.

Muriah paused and looked at the woman, "You had a spear, I remember. Were you any good with it?"

The northerner grinned, "Depends on whom you ask I suppose. I like to think I had some skill."

The Dark Elf offered the spear she held, "Show me."

The nearby guard moved his hand to the pommel of his sword but otherwise said nothing.

The woman's manacles clinked and she gave a regretful sigh as she took hold of the spear, "Where I come from t'is a shameful thing for a warrior to die in their sleep or without a weapon to hand."

Muriah's eyes narrowed, "Show me what was wrong with my balance."

"You need to bend your knees a little more, centre your body so you do not lean forward so much, lest your opponent grab the end of your spear, tug you off balance and onto their blade."

The Dark Elf grunted and pointed at the post.

Magda looked at the manacles she wore and shrugged, "As you wish."

She eyed the post, gripped the spear as best she could and drew a breath as she concentrated. A moment passed and the woman was as still as a stone. Then, with a cry, she exploded forward in a blur of movement and thrust with the spear. The blade punched into the heavy wooden post and with a sharp "Crack!" it burst clean through the other side of the beam in a spray of splinters.

Muriah stared dumbfounded.

The human woman grinned, "Bit like that I suppose."

"Your footwork was off."

Falsara stepped from the shadows and casually sipped from the tankard she was holding. She looked at the ruined post and shook her head with a chuckle, "Not a bad thrust, but you turned your foot just a little before you moved. It spoke to your intention. A skilled enemy might have seen this and anticipated the strike."

"The manacles put me off!"

The older Dark Elf shrugged, "Maybe," she pointed at the post, "good enough for boar hunting mayhap, but in a battle, if you embed your spear in a foe in such a way then like as not one of his mates will skewer you before you can free the bloody thing from their corpse, but still," she mused, "it wasn't bad for all that."

Magda turned to pick up her bucket and go but the Overseer's words stopped her, "You fancy lending a hand then?"

"What?"

"Tomorrow, after breakfast, you come here and help Muriah train. It gets you out of the cells and into the sun, and we eat from the guard's scullery and not the slave kitchens, so the food will be a bit better," she pointed at the manacles the woman wore, "and it gets you out of them for a while at least. You interested?"

Magda frowned, "If I do will you send someone to help with Gorsini's face?"

Falsara grinned, "Aint nothing can be done for that ugly bastard."

"You know what I mean... Please."

The Overseer scratched her hair and nodded, "Seems fair, I'll see to it," she glanced at the younger Dark Elf, "I think you've done enough for one day Muriah, best get yourself abed. As for you Human, you should get yon water back to your fellow slaves. I'll see you here after breakfast on the morrow."

...

The overseer went to make arrangements for a healer to check on the battered human and then made a round of the guards as she sometimes did. Finding nought amiss she wearily returned to her quarters. As she entered she heard the buzzsaw of the younger woman snoring in her bed again and couldn't help but shake her head with a resigned chuckle, "Oh, for fucks sake, it's like adopting a bloody cat."

...

Cassie was humming a happy little tune as she swept the floor in her new skirt. It was the first garment she had ever bought, and though Mistress Narissa had given her a small pouch of coins for the purchase the young woman had delighted in actually using her own money. It had taken her years of work to save up even a handful of silver and copper coins and she'd lost them all when she'd been taken from the inn after the raid, but now she had a dozen heavy gold pieces. It was more money than even the innkeeper himself had owned, and in truth, she had no idea what to do with it.

Of course, she knew Maggie would give her good advice, as she always had, and the old cook had marvelled at the amount when Cassie had shyly shown her the heavy purse, "Dear Gods girl, t'is more money than I've ever seen."

The older woman took one of the coins and ran her fingers over it, marvelling at its lustre and weight, before pressing the thing back into Cassie's hand, and her lined face broke into a wide smile, "If'n you want my advice I would mayhap save most of these, perhaps Mistress Narissa would keep them for ye. But I think there wouldn't be no harm in maybe spending one girl. You deserve to treat yerself methinks, and I see no ill in it."

Cassie grinned, "But what would I buy Maggie? I've never had much in the way of money before and the only thing I ever bought was a candy apple at the fair and that bit of ribbon I got you for your birthday that year."

The cook smiled sadly, "I was fond of that ribbon, I kept it for tying my hair on festival days," she sighed, "I suppose it's still in me room back at the inn. I hopes some pretty lass finds it and gets good use of it, I'd like that I think."

When Cassie had shown the gold coins to her Mistress, the Dark Elf laughed, "Keep this up and soon enough you'll have more gold than me. Here, I'll put it in my strongbox for you if that's your wish. Just let me know when you want it back."

Looking at the young slave Narissa chuckled, "Are you saving to buy your freedom girl?"

Cassie had blushed and shrugged, which made the Dark Elf smile all the more, "Like it here do ye?"

The young woman looked about, "I... I don't know. I was very frightened when I was taken. I had nightmares of beatings and rape, but none of it ever happened. I had no family save Maggie, and she's here so I ain't lost as much as some might, and your ma... er, Mistress Nyx, was kindly to me," she smiled, "in a terrifying sort of way that is."

Narissa laughed and poured them both a drink, "Well, she was pretty much the same with me."

The Dark Elf sobered, "In truth Cassie, it has never sat well with me that we steal folks from their homes like vile kidnappers, but t'is the way things have always been and in all honesty, I do not know if changing it would be for the good. Like as not such a change would mean the end of my kind," she sighed, "all I can do is try and be as fair as I can be. I'm no angel or saint, but I'll keep my word to you and Maggie and I'll treat you right."

The woman laughed, "Besides! Your sister scares the shit out of me."

Cassie giggled and tried to protest, "But she's kind, she just has strange... ways."

Narissa gave the girl a disbelieving look, "Cassie, I saw her throw a Half-Orc thirty feet across a room with one hand. And you can tell at a glance she only wears that collar because she cares about it so little that she's never thought to rip the thing off. I'd prefer to keep my limbs attached if it please you, and I'm not sure pissing her off would lend itself to that desire."

The younger woman laughed and was about to protest further when the Dark Elven couple entered the inn. They were richly dressed and paused in the doorway looking about. The Dökkálfar woman was tall, and when she drew back the embroidered hood of the fine cloak she wore she revealed striking aquiline features. Her hair was long, silver and intricately braided and her eyes were like deep dark pools. She nodded to her companion who led her to a table and deferentially pulled a chair out for her. He waited until the woman graciously and elegantly sat before he took a chair at her side.

At a nod from Narissa, Cassie moved to the table and smiled brightly in welcome, "Good day to you gentlefolk, welcome to our inn, how might I be of service?"

For just a moment the Dark Elven woman seemed to sniff the air as if detecting some peculiar scent before she turned her attention to the young slave and Cassie drew a breath as the full power of the woman's brilliant smile struck her like a physical thing, "Good day to you young lady, my friend and I were passing by when I detected a most delicious scent, and it drew me to your fine establishment."

Cassie nodded, "Aye, that would be Maggie's doing, she's a grand cook. Can I fetch you some supper perhaps?"

The woman's lips curled, but both her voice and her broad smile seemed to contain some secret humour, "Doubtless, that must be it. And yes, fetch us your best if you will, and I would like some wine I think."

"Well, I'll fetch your drinks and then go see what Maggie has in store for you. She does some very good fried potatoes, and they're very popular."

The woman tilted her head, "You are a very kind and most attentive young woman, but I think I would prefer something with more meat, please."

"We have some splendid smoked steak that I know Maggie has been preparing for a feast we were planning. I'm sure we can offer you that and replace it in time. Would that suffice?"

"You are too kind, that would be wonderful, I'm sure."

The young woman smiled happily, "If I might make so bold to ask, how do you like it cooked?"

The Dark Elf smiled, and her eyes glinted, "Bloody."

Cassie went off to place the order and when she came back she found that Narissa had unstoppered a flask of excellent red wine and fetched a pair of good goblets. She flashed the young woman a grin, "Here you go, lass. T'is the best I've got, stole it from my ma a few years back."

The young slave giggled and wagged an admonishing finger at her Mistress before taking the tray back to the table.

The Dark Elves were looking about and the woman smiled again as she sipped the drink, "T'is a fine beverage young lady, it will suit us nicely, well-chosen."

As the two waited for their meal the woman seemed to watch Cassie as she worked, occasionally tapping her long fingernails absently upon the table. Eventually, the young servant brought their food to the table and smiled again as she set out the boards and plates. As always Maggie had done them proud and the meat was cooked to perfection. There was fresh bread and bowls of fried potatoes and other vegetables, but strangely the Dark Elves seemed to ignore these sundries, though they feasted well upon the steak before them, carving the bloody, succulent meat with the beautiful bejewelled daggers they both wore.