The Tattooed Woman Pt. 21

She sighed again, "For what little it must be worth to you, I am sorry for the hurt you have suffered, and for the death of your... friend. If I could set it right, I would."

"You could let me go!"

The voice sounded resigned, "Alas, I cannot. I did not kidnap you on a whim child and the reasons for my actions yet remain. But perhaps I can at least offer some explanation for the deed. I wish to ask you questions regarding your... 'sister'? Perhaps, if you like, we could satisfy each other's curiosity, for if you answer my questions, it is only fair, I answer yours."

Cassie stared into the shadows and the voice chuckled, "Think of it as a game, and if you agree to play, I will offer you the first query."

"You could force me to tell you what you wanted to know, couldn't you?"

"I could, but while I admit to having all manner of villainous habits, I do not think of myself as unnecessarily cruel, though I am vindictive I suppose, especially with my enemies. If that was your first question you could have chosen better, I think."

"But wait..."

The voice laughed, "Oh no little mouse. The rules were clear, you asked your question now I ask mine, yes?"

Cassie grinned, "You said "Yes?" that's a question, and so I reply, "Yes!" The rules were clear."

"Oh bugger... Very well, ask your next question."

Cassie thought hard before replying, "Who is Adair, and what is this all about?"

Chuckling the voice responded, "That is two questions you cunning little cheat, but I shall be generous and try to answer them both, for it will save time later I think."

There was a long pause before Shalidar spoke again, "Long ago, back when the world was yet young, there came to this realm a group of creatures and they were called the Danu. As to how and why they came there are many legends. Some say they fell from the Heavens, and some say they were cast down by their own Gods or creators, while others speak of them being travellers or exiles from some distant place. But what is certainly true is that they were possessed of powerful, immortal spirits and were both cunning and wise. They looked at these new lands, and the primitive folk who dwelled here and they began to teach them, imparting all manner of knowledge and crafts, and they displayed their power to heal the sick and to even change their form at will, so the common folk began to worship them as Gods.

"Now while it is true these creatures were wise; they were also very prideful and soon enough, as was their wont, they sought to rule. To that end they created servants, to be their steeds, their dogs of war, and their slaves. These were the great winged serpents that you might call 'Dragons'.

Cassie spoke up, "They created you?"

"Indeed, they did, but that is another question. My turn, I think, "Tell me what you know of this woman you call your sister?"

The younger woman frowned, "I don't want to tell you things she might not wish revealed though, it doesn't feel right."

"I will not press you, child. Keep her secrets if you wish but tell me what you know of her."

"Well, she's kind, and she says she is my sister now, and she's very strong. The Dark Elves found her lying burned by the side of the road when they were taking us back to the Fae. They helped treat her wounds, but they also put a collar around her neck and took her as a slave in payment for their aid."

"Anything else?"

Cassie thought, "She seemed lost at first, and somehow quite sad I think, and for the most part, she went about as though in a dwam, but then one day she awoke."

"What woke her?"

"Er... That's another question, isn't it?"

The rumbling sound of laughter seemed to rock the hall, "Truly Cassie, I begin to see why my daughter likes you so for you are a precocious little thing. But I can hardly complain if you remind me of the rules of my own game. Tell me what it is you wish to know."

"I'd like you to tell me the rest of the story, please."

Shalidar drew a deep breath and her eyes glowed, "Well, since you asked so prettily, I can hardly refuse. So, the Danu created us as their slaves, and we did their bidding. But they were wise and knowing they had forged such powerful servants, that might one day defy their will, they bound us to them in such ways and with such sorceries that we were unable to disobey their commands.

Eventually, of course, they warred with one another, and my kind became their living weapons and we fought and died at their whim."

Cassie spoke up, "That's terrible, to be so used."

"Indeed. You wear a collar Cassie, but while your servitude among the Dark Elves might last a decade or two, ours would have lasted an eternity."

"What happened?"

"My turn. What woke your sister?"

Blushing the young woman looked at the floor, "I stumbled and one of the Dark Elves struck me. I cried out in fear, and she awoke and told my captor to leave me be. The Dark Elf struck her on the face and told her to be quiet and my sister responded by kicking the woman hard enough to hurl her away and break her bones."

Shalidar spoke in wonder, "She struck her, yet the Dark Elf lived? You saw this?"

"I did. Why is it so strange she lived?"

"Let us just say your sister is... stronger than she looks."

Tears formed in Cassie's eyes at the memory, "They flogged her for it. They made us watch, it was all my fault, and it was... horrible. Why do you laugh?!"

Shalidar's mirth shook the hall, "Oh Cassie, she could likely have torn them all asunder in the blink of an eye, and I would doubt they had any weapon that would so much as give her pause. I would not concern yourself over their whips, for she probably didn't even feel them."

"Truly?"

"If she is what I think she is then they are fortunate indeed to have survived after offering such offence, certainly one of my own kin would not have been so forgiving."

Cassie stared and licked her lips nervously, "Please tell me about her."

"Very well, I shall continue my tale. The Danu warred among each other, but they are immortal and so there was never an end in sight. But one of the oldest, and most wicked among them was a creature called The Morrigan, spoken of by some as "The Phantom Queen", or "The Queen of Night". She bent her will to the problem and by some strange craft or application of her arts she slew another of the Danu.

"Such a thing was forbidden by the greatest of powers and in punishment for their hubris, and for The Morrigan's fell deed the Danu were exiled. But the Morrigan was crafty, she had already long discerned that this was the most likely outcome, so she schemed.

"First, she seduced one of the other Danu. He was called The Dagda and was one of the greatest and mightiest among them, and in secret, she bore his child and named her Adair. Knowing that Adair was one of the Danu and would also be cast into exile she then stole the girl's immortality and left her in the care of another. Thus, Adair was spared the fate that befell her mother and remained here, in the mortal world."

"Is that why she remembers so little of her mother?"

Sudden realisation made Cassie stagger, "Wait! Waitwaitwait! Are you saying Adair is The Morrigan's daughter?!"

"I think so, Cassie. Her mind and her spirit were... 'lessened' by the theft, but The Morrigan made it so she would, in time, slowly recover her strength and I think that is what is happening. She is a child of the Danu, and the daughter of the "Queen of Night."

"Holy shit!"

Shalidar gave a dark chuckle, "Exactly."

Cassie thought hard and bit her lip in concentration, "Is that why you kidnapped me? Do you fear she will enslave you again?"

"No Cassie, it is my hope she will free us."

"What?"

Shalidar sighed, "There is so much more to tell you Cassie, so many threads to this tapestry, that we could be ensconced in this chamber a year and still we would not have spoken of them all. But let us cut to the quick. Once the Danu had gone into exile my kin and I were freed from their enslavement. We went about our long lives doing what we wished, and in time and like the Danu before us, we sought to create. Now we were not so powerful as the Danu, we could not simply make things anew, but we could meddle with what was already there, and so we did. From the Elves we crafted the Dökkálfar, and from the Firbolg, we made the Orcs, and thereafter we molded all manner of other creature. We even thought to create servants for ourselves as the Danu did, though in this we were far less skilful and the result was the wyvern, poor dumb brutes that we had once hoped to be almost our equals."

"And throughout all those long ages, Adair and Eber lived and loved, hidden away and troubling no one."

"Did you make the Fae?"

"No Cassie, that is where the Danu resided, and they created the Veil to protect their realm. In their absence, the mist eventually became passable, after a fashion, and we put our creations there to shield them from Humans as best we could.

"But as I said already, the Danu are immortal, and eventually, the spirit of the one slain by The Morrigan returned and it awoke. It called out and we were bound to obey, so once again we were enslaved."

Shalidars voice grew hoarse, "Only one among us resisted, and not because of any great strength on his part, for strong as he was, he was not that strong, but because he had already been given a command by another of the Danu, and one cannot faithfully serve two masters. The Morrigan had commanded him to care for her daughter and so when the call came, he had the power to choose which command to follow, and he chose his beloved over his kin, for he was wise."

Cassie's brow furrowed and she looked towards the voice, "Is this the nature of your interest in Adair? You think she can free you to choose because she is also of the Danu?"

"An intriguing thought Cassie, but I had a more direct solution in mind. I want her to kill our Master... again."

"WHAT?!"

"And that is not all Cassie, for there is another matter that requires addressing, one more urgent, and even closer to my heart."

In a burst of clarity that shook her Cassie blurted out, "Ellén! This is about Ellén. She went on about how she was secluded and lonely. You hid her away, didn't you?"

Shalidar's voice was sibilant, and the huge shadow shifted in the murk, "Clever girl. Like The Morrigan and The Dagda before me, I had her in secret, and though I told her of her father Typhonus, I did not tell him of her. And it is not my wish that she become a slave to fight in some mad God's war. My Master has never laid eyes upon her, nor does he know of her existence and so has not called her to his side. But now his spy has learned of her, though he will certainly not live long enough to tell what he knows."

Cassie stammered, "B-but why did you not just ask this of Adair? She might have helped you anyway! I told you, she's kind."

A sad laugh came from the darkness, "No Cassie, for like as not Adair would kill me on sight."

"Why?"

"Because it was I who found the hiding place where she and Eber lived and revealed it to my Master."

"Oh... fuck."

...

The wardens came in the morning after breakfast. There were two of them, both hard looking and grim-faced, wearing a carapace of boiled leather armour and with cudgel and whip attached to their belts. One, a tall Half-Orcish woman, carried the leg irons over her shoulder but surprisingly they were content to wait at least a few moments as Dana said her sad farewells to Orsini and Magda. When she finally broke away from their embraces Dana managed to walk away with her head held high even as she sniffed back tears.

Once away from the cells, the older of the wardens turned to her and nodded to the manacles carried by his companion, "The Overseer says that you might be good for your word. So, if you tell me you'll make no trouble I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now and lay off with the leg irons. It's no skin off my nose, some feel they need the irons to be true to themselves, and there's no shame in it. But if you give me your word and then break it then you'll be getting your arse royally kicked and then you'll be appearing before your new master worse for wear and covered in bruises, fair enough?"

Dana nodded, "I'll give you no trouble," she paused before adding, "if you get the chance, you might thank the Overseer for me."

The warden's eyebrow lifted at her words, and he nodded, "Good enough, let's be off then."

The Half-Elf walked beside the older warden while the younger followed warily. She glanced sideways at the man and gauged him as a retired soldier of some kind, a veteran by the look of him, "Do you know who bought me?"

He shook his head, "No lass, they only provided me with directions for a time and place to take you to them," he shrugged, "I do not think it one of the great Houses though for the place we are going is one of more modest dwellings and not rich mansions."

A cart was waiting on the road outside the slave castle. It was a sturdy wooden thing drawn by a pair of ponies and Dana could see the large iron cage it carried. The warden looked at her, "You can go in the cage where there's room to stretch out or ride up front with us, up to you."

"I'd prefer to ride with you, it makes no difference in the long run I suppose, but at least it feels a little more dignified."

"Fair enough."

Since her arrival in the city Dana had spent her time being locked away in the slave castle so this was the first time, she had seen the city proper and she took the opportunity to gawk around, peering at the many people walking and going about their business. She had seen Dark Elves before, but never in such numbers and she marvelled at their strange grace, dark eyes and shark-like smiles as they watched her go by. There were many stalls with brightly coloured canopies selling all manner of goods, some familiar, but many that were strange and esoteric.

Freeborn Humans, as well as indentured servants, thronged the streets, side by side with Dwarven artisans, Half-Orcs in the livery of their Houses and here and there she saw collared slaves, some following their Mistresses and others engaged in whatever errand or task they had been set to.

She watched curiously as the warden at her side tossed a couple of copper coins to a young lad loitering nearby. The boy grinned and fetched the bucket and spade hanging from the back of the cart and followed as they made their way through the cobbled streets.

The driver saw her glance and chuckled, "The Dark Elves are a fastidious bunch, and they don't like mucky streets, so you'll always find youngsters eager to earn a few coppers by picking up the horseshit we leave in our wake."

The man took time to eye the Half-Elf and take in her morose expression as she stared down at the manacles on her wrists, "You know it won't be forever."

She looked up at him, "Huh?"

He grinned, "I wore a collar for ten years, but eventually I saved up my slave-tithe and bought my freedom."

"You were enslaved?"

"Aye, I was a Legion deserter and a bandit in my time and got caught by the Dark Elves as I skulked about near the border, that must be near eighteen years ago."

"What happened?"

"Same thing as happened to you, I got sold and worked for a Mistress. I wasn't worth much to be honest, not having my letters and not being able to speak the lingo, but I was strong enough, handy with my fists and decent enough with a blade, so I got a job as a bodyguard. It didn't pay much until I made up for the deficiencies in my education, but it wasn't that bad," he laughed, "the food was good, and there were other advantages."

The other warden looked across at the man with a chuckle, "That was with Mistress Shade-Tara, wasn't it? I can imagine what those other advantages might be."

The man winked, "Well, she was a most generous employer in that regard shall we say, but flighty. She bought another likely lad eventually, and he was prettier than me so after I purchased my freedom I took work elsewhere, but I do still frequent the tavern she owns occasionally. How bout you Barissa?"

The Half-Orc woman sniffed dismissively, "Took me six years, and I didn't have my letters neither, though I could speak the language. I was freeborn but got enslaved on account of my habit of getting into drunken brawls and breaking people's bones. The magistratus sentenced me to five years of penal slavery after appearing before her once too often."

Dana butted in, "Sorry, I thought you said you were enslaved for six years, but you were sentenced to only five?"

The woman grinned, "Well, I was working for a family and the overseer had a habit of slapping my arse or grabbing at my tits when I was working so one day, I broke his face. Got sentenced to another year for that."

The driver looked at her curiously, "Only a year for striking a free person? That seems unduly lenient."

"Oh no, the sentence was more for not telling the Mistress what the bastard was up to and trying to sort it out myself, not for me battering him. She didn't like the idea of the bugger making free with her property, so all I got was another twelve months in the collar instead of twelve years, and to be fair she did let me administer the two dozen lashes he earned for his proclivities, so that was rather amusing."

The driver turned back to Dana, "I guess what I'm saying is that unless you kill someone or somesuch, you won't be enslaved forever, sooner or later you'll be able to buy your freedom, that's how things work here. I mean I'm not saying you should be happy about what's happened or anything daft like that, but things could be worse I suppose."

The one called Barissa looked at her, "Can you speak the language or anything?"

Dana grinned, "I can read and write in the common tongue, and I think I know the Dark Elf words for "Bastard" and "Bitch", but that's it."

The driver laughed, "Well I'd keep your linguistic talents to yourself if I was you lass."

On the whole, Dana thought the journey through the streets was almost pleasant. She had no doubts her captors would cheerfully beat the shit out of her without a second thought if they felt the need, but as long as she didn't give them cause they were actually not that bad company, they didn't take the piss, and at least they tried to make her feel a bit better about what was happening. They pointed out a few landmarks on the way and the driver even shared some jerky with her and gave her a swig of his beer.

But eventually, like all good things she supposed, her journey came to its end as he pulled the cart to a halt outside a modest house on the outskirts of the city. The two wardens looked about before stepping from the wagon and the driver surprised her again by extending a hand to help her as he spoke, "According to the bill of sale this is the place, best hop down lass."

He stayed with her while his companion went and knocked on the door of the house. Dana looked about, seeing the well-kept garden, with its flower beds and what looked very much like a hand-made birdhouse and she shook her head in bewilderment, for the place did not appear to suit that of someone who might need a military slave, a gardener perhaps, but not a scout.

The door opened and a voice called them to enter. Within she saw a small hallway leading to a homely and comfortable sitting room, with modest furniture, and walls decorated by embroidered tapestries and paintings of trees, birds and landscapes. An easel had been set up in the light by the open window where a canvas showed a half-finished portrait of some royal caladrius bird, with its snow-white plumage.

A Dark Elf wearing a paint-smudged apron over her hand-sewn dress smiled and passed each of the wardens a few coins for their trouble and Dana frowned, for she looked passing familiar.