Immunity, page 8
I don’t know what they used. It wasn’t a hand or a whip. It felt like a narrow stick. And then all I could feel was pain, and pain, and pain.
I eventually fell limp. There were several more strikes, and I tried to scream from each one and had been crying for some time besides.
And then there was a pause.
“Are you going to fight us?” I shook my head frantically.
They didn’t pull me from the bench. They released my hands, but someone kept her hand on my neck, pinning me in place. They pulled the dress from me, leaving me entirely naked, then tied my arms and legs again.
“I warned you,” said the woman. “The rules here are simple. You will obey them, or you will be punished. The humans who ruled here ahead of us were quite creative. If we run out of their ideas, we have plenty of our own. Rule one. You will obey every order you receive. Two. You will keep yourself clean and attractive at all times, with some leeway for periods of exercise. Three. These quarters are kept pristine, and you will do your share. Four. You will make no attempt to teach the other girls here any language they don’t already know. These aren’t rules, but you can guess what happens if you are found somewhere you aren’t expected. You can guess what happens if you are disrespectful or deemed to have a poor attitude. The girls here help each other, but do not assume you have allies. They are well-trained to report transgressions. The last rule. Your old name and titles are rescinded. You are now called Snow Dove. You will learn to answer to it. Furthermore, if the muting spell is cancelled, and someone asks your name, that is the only answer you will provide. I hope you’ve been paying attention, as reminders of the rules will be accompanied by similar treatment.”
And then she left me there, still bound in place, crying.
* * * *
The doors closed. There was only a brief pause, and then I heard fresh movement. A gentle, accented voice said, “Snow Dove.” There was a hand on my shoulder, the touch moving to the sack over my head. She removed it gently, kneeling down in front of me.
“Shh,” she said, looking into my eyes. She said a word and held out her hand. One of the other women handed her a bottle, which she showed me.
Then, without releasing me, she stood and moved to my side. I couldn’t see what she was doing, but then her hands were on my inflamed bottom. She was gentle at first, and I realized the bottle held some sort of soothing lotion. She took her time, the pain fading under her touch. I would remain uncomfortable for some time, but it was no longer blinding pain.
It wasn’t until she was done that she moved back to my head. She set her hands at my wrist. “Snow Dove.” She waited until I looked at her and nodded.
Three other women hurried to me, each untying one limb. And then they helped me climb down.
I began sobbing again. They clustered around me, the woman who had helped me pulling me into her arms. I cried onto her shoulder as they made soothing noises to me.
It took time to calm down. Once I had, she pulled me to a bathroom. I cleaned a little myself, and then they clustered around me, cleaning up my appearance further. There was little to be done about the puffy eyes, but I was no longer a wreck by the time they led me back to the main room.
I got a look around. I’ll start from the entrance, a pair of doors opening inward leading into a modest foyer. The opening from the foyer to the main room was flanked by two floor-to-ceiling, wood carved panels. Think of lattice panels, but instead of a simple lattice, they were carved leaves. The work was exquisite.
The main room was dimly lit, but sufficient, and divided into sections by more of the panels. From the foyer, one entered the main room at the top of a T-shape, and it was to the right that the punishment bench stood. It somewhat resembled a vault horse used in human gymnastics, but with a variety of straps. Mounted on the wall behind it were several striking instruments. I knew one of them had been used on me.
Leaving it there was grim reminder of what happened to transgressors.
From the main room, there were several arched openings, each with a similar panel as the ones from the foyer, but this time acting as a door. There was no true privacy anywhere. Past the bathroom at the bottom of the T was a bathing chamber, and past that was the exercise room. I wouldn’t see that until later.
Counting me, there were ten of us. Our ages ranged from perhaps twenty to as old as fifty, but all of them were deeply attractive. They were dressed in a similar style, which I’ll get to shortly.
The kind woman from earlier set her hand on my arm. “Snow Dove.” I turned to her. “Snow Dove,” she repeated. Then she touched fingers to her own chest and said, “Otter”. It was in Elvish. I wondered if she knew what it meant.
I learned the rest of their names, although for the next few days, they would each make a point to remind me. Otter appeared to be 25 years old with long, dark hair. They all had long hair, braided in complicated fashions. Most of them had brown or black hair. I met Sweet Voice. Red Locks had beautiful, red hair. There was Velvet and Tiny Toes, and when I looked, yes, she had exceptionally petite toes. Dark Eyes earned her name. Whisper had blond hair. Brush was perhaps the youngest. Glisten, also blond, was the oldest, I thought.
Otter took both my hands then walked backwards, leading me to one of the doorways. Beyond were sleeping quarters. The bed was a space on the floor with room for two, but I would learn the mats were well-padded, the sheets soft.
There was clothing for me – if that’s what we’re calling it. There were underthings that barely disguised anything. The tunic and leggings were loose-fitting and sheer. The tunic was cut very low in front and nearly entirely backless, with a thin, leather belt.
The leggings were just as sheer, and Otter had to help me. There was another, loose belt that the silk hung from, but both on the inside and outside of my legs, it was largely open, bound together in several places by laces tied in bows. The leggings didn’t do anything to cover my crotch, and the only privacy there at all was afforded by the underclothes.
We looked like a fantasy painting of harem girls minus the veils. The clothing wasn’t designed to offer any sort of modesty, but instead to highlight our figures.
I wasn’t an idiot. The human men ruling Algonae had made this place. The elves continued the laws, but I thought there was an untold story. I couldn’t guess whether my current outfit was leftover from the men or an invention of the elves, but I thought it likely they’d made no changes.
Rhosani had been very welcoming until the meeting this morning. Was it previously all an act? Or had I offended her in some way? I didn’t know if I were being punished, or if this was diplomatic posturing at my expense.
Either way, I wasn’t at all amused.
Otter finished dressing me. Then she led me the short distance to the bed and pulled me down. I sat, and she moved behind me to begin working on my hair. I let her do what she wanted. Some of the other woman also sat, but not on the bed, and they talked. I didn’t understand a word, of course, and I couldn’t voice any sounds of my own.
I let Otter do what she wanted.
* * * *
Bored. And angry. Angry and bored.
Otter had long finished with my hair. It wasn’t remotely long enough for some of the things she’d wanted to do. Ultimately, she braided it as best she could, using a variety of dark ties to hold the braids. She brought me to a mirror, and I nodded. She gave me a brief hug.
They collected in the main room and talked. I sat. Bored. Angry. And scared.
What had become of Hillary and Aniyah? Did they know what Rhosani had done to me?
Was this just a power game, and she’d pull me from the room after she felt I was cowed and easier to negotiate with?
I ran scenario after scenario through my head. I didn’t like any of them.
* * * *
The outer doors opened. All the women ran forward and knelt, their heads to the floor like the servants had. I stood and glared at the guards. Otter looked back at me, got up and ran to me, then pulled me forward. She tried to pull me down. I shrugged her off but pushed her back into place. Then I straightened and glared at the guards.
I knew I was daring another beating, or possibly worse. I hoped my belligerence wouldn’t result in anyone else being punished.
The guards appeared to ignore me. One spoke, and then all but Otter stood up, heads bowed, and were escorted from the room. Otter waited until the doors were closed then stood and faced me. She spoke, although she knew I wouldn’t understand. She pointed to the floor, and I simply shook my head. But I took her hand and squeezed it. This wasn’t about her, and I wasn’t rejecting her friendship.
I hoped she understood.
She said something else and then took my hand and led me back to the seating area. She talked to me. I didn’t understand a word.
* * * *
The women came back somewhat later. Otter didn’t try to hurry and kneel, and the guards didn’t linger. All the women gathered together, chatting. I heard my new name once or twice.
And then there was a single chime. They all stood. Otter took my hand and pulled me to our feet.
The other women moved about the room, turning down all the lamps, leaving just a few on a very dull glow. Otter led me to our shared bedroom, and once there, she undressed, hanging her clothing on a rack designed for the purpose, a sort of manikin, I suppose.
She turned to me and then started on my clothing. I paused before helping her, and she showed me how to hang the clothing. Then she took my hand and led me to the bed, both of us entirely naked.
I wondered if she was about to attempt to seduce me. She was lovely, but I wasn’t remotely interested. It was somewhat later that I remembered the laws, changed only this afternoon. There would be no hanky and no panky perpetrated in these quarters, not at all the entire time I was housed there. Otter and I would become friends and roommates, but nothing more.
She got me settled before turning down the last lamp, then settled herself beside me. We both lay on our backs, and she took my hand.
For a long time, I stared into the near-absolute dark.
* * * *
I woke, disoriented. “Snow Dove. Snow Dove.” I turned. Otter was kneeling beside me. She took my hand and tugged. I let her pull me up, and then to my feet. Still naked, she led me to the bathroom. We each saw to things and then a brief moment of cleaning up, and then she led me through the bathing chamber, and that was when I first saw the exercise area. All the other women were already there.
There was no equipment, but there were mats and places to move around. Glisten said a few words sounding like an order. Otter led me to the exercise mats, and then Glisten led us in stretches, Otter and Brush helping guide me into the right positions.
I didn’t fight them. Stretching felt good.
However, they weren’t actually very good at it. Glisten called an end to stretching. Everyone else got up. I didn’t. I began a series of simple yoga poses, beginning with a simple reclining twist. I didn’t hold the poses as long as I might normally. I did the reclining twist then transitioned into cat and cow. I ran through about eight of the simplest poses as around me, the women spoke. I didn’t try their patience, only spending a few minutes total instead of the forty-five I might have otherwise. And then I stood, smiled, and turned to face Glisten.
She nodded and spoke, first to me, then to everyone.
Dark Eyes retrieved two balls. She tossed them to two of the women. And then everyone spread out, playing catch. It took about ten seconds to realize they were playing keep away, Dark Eyes trying to catch one of the balls and the other women making it difficult. They didn’t include me, not immediately.
Tiny Toes made a bad throw, which Dark Eyes caught. Tiny Toes moved into the center of the room, and Dark Eyes threw the ball. Ten seconds later, Otter called my name before throwing a ball to me. I caught it and threw it to Glisten. Thirty seconds later, I fumbled a catch, and Tiny Toes scooped it up, laughing. I traded places with her.
We played for a while. It was far from strenuous, but it wasn’t a horrible way to start the day. I spent my share of time as It, caught sometimes when I failed a catch, but more likely when one of my throws was intercepted.
They didn’t play aggressively. If there was a formal rule, I didn’t learn it, but they didn’t crowd a thrower or a catcher. There was exceedingly little contact beyond an intentional pat on a shoulder when trading places with someone.
I didn’t rock the boat.
I don’t know what signal was exchanged, but Glisten called an end to the game. We all turned to the bathing chambers. There was some amount of helping each other, but for the most part, they were efficient, and our period of soaking was about a minute and a half. I thought it was simply to dip us in the lightly-scented water.
We dressed, and just as we finished, breakfast arrived.
* * * *
Bored, angry, and scared.
Not necessarily in that order.
* * * *
It was some time after a midday meal that the guards arrived. The women scrambled to kneel. I stood and glared. Otter tugged on me once but it was perhaps simply so the guards knew my behavior wasn’t her fault.
“Snow Dove,” said one of the guards. “Come here.” I glared for a moment, but I stepped forward. They didn’t threaten me, but they did pull the bag over my head, tightening the laces, although not severely. They took my arms.
They let me walk forward this time, and as long as I scrambled a little, they kept a pace I could maintain. But several times they turned me completely around, and it was impossible to tell what turns we made. They would do that every time they took me to or from the harem, and I never learned the path.
They brought me somewhere, steadied me, then removed the hood. A moment later, they were gone.
We were in a library. Rhosani was facing me. She folded her arms, waiting. I glared at her. Finally, she said, “You are a smart woman. You have this one meeting to decide how you wish to behave. I will simply give you a few things to think about. Do you believe the previous rulers didn’t know how to thoroughly break a willful woman’s spirit? Do you believe we didn’t learn those lessons? And we have methods that weren’t available to them. Do you believe I won’t use them out of some sense of diplomacy?”
I looked into her eyes. I saw nothing resembling compassion or weakness. I believed the implied threat.
Slowly, I knelt, lowering my head until my forehead touched the floor.
“Good choice,” she said. She stepped closer then slid a sandal-clad foot under my head. It took me only a moment to realize what she wanted. I slightly lifted my head and kissed. “Good choice,” she repeated. “The toes, and don’t stop until I withdraw.”
I did as she indicated, sick to my stomach. She let me kiss for a half minute before pulling away. Then she knelt as well, a hand on my back to hold me in position. She leaned over me. “Perhaps it would be kinder to break your spirit.” I shook my head. “Perhaps I should invite a harpy here. She can bite you. The effect builds. This might be kinder.” I shook my head again.
“This is the only time I am offering those choices, Snow Dove,” she said. “I think you understand what happens if you defy us. Shall I summon a harpy?” I shook my head. “So be it.”
She stood. “I will be sending a message to your president. I know you have questions. Maybe someday I’ll give your voice back. Maybe someday I’ll answer your questions. Maybe someday I’ll tell you why I brought you here and why you won’t be leaving. I will not be granting your president’s request, and she will not be sending another emissary.”
She moved away, taking a seat. “I make very few promises today. I’ll make this one. I won’t allow any males to have you. You may take a minute to select a book, and then the guards are waiting for you in the hall. You are dismissed, Snow Dove.”
I looked up. She picked up her own book, although I’m sure she was actually watching me. I rose slowly, watching her, but then I turned to the bookcases.
“You may select any book,” she said. “But you may prefer one bookcase to your right.”
I took her advice, selecting a book at random and glancing at it just long enough to ensure I could read it. “Ensuring it’s Elvish?” I nodded. “They all are. You can imagine what we did to the books that used to be housed here.” She lifted her book, and I hurried to the door.
Servant
The door opened. The women scrambled into place, kneeling. I found my place beside Otter. She looked over at me and flashed a smile, then squeezed my hand.
“Well, there goes our fun,” said one of the guards. “Snow Dove, come here.”
I didn’t know if I was supposed to crawl. I didn’t. I stood, but I kept my head down, coming to a stop before one of the elves. Two of them pulled the sack over my head. And then they spoke in Persian for a minute.
Holding my arms, they led me from the room. I could hear the other women following behind. A moment later, the guard spoke briefly. And then we began a sort of dance. They turned me one way, but around us, I heard the women also moving, turning a larger circle around our smaller one.
I wouldn’t be able to judge turns based on where they stood while I was turned. And that was how we navigated our way through the hallways. I thought it was ridiculous, but in the realm of ridiculous, it was near the bottom.
But from that point forward, that was how I was treated. As I said earlier, I never learned the path.
They brought us to the dining room. By the time the sack was removed from my head, the other women were kneeling. I took my place.
Someone called names and spoke in Persian. Mine was called with Otter’s. A moment later, she stood and pulled me with her. She used gestures to tell me what we were to do; I followed her around, carrying a tray of drinks. We were there as servants.
I hadn’t seen these women in the previous meals. The other servants were dressed in far less revealing fashions. Rhosani had kept this from us. I wondered if she was ashamed; she should have been.
