Warning: nudity, compromised minor, violence involving a minor
I’m sorry. I never finished telling how I tried to escape, did I? I got caught up in what happened to me that led up to the incident. To why I’m forced to wear a collar now. He promised to take it off later, that it’s for show until the Others’ anger cooled off and it is safe to move freely, at least in public. I’m included to believe…no. Inclined to believe him. I know, I don’t have much of a choice, but he does seem to care about me, and…lately, He’s been different. He’s been patient, gentler, somehow. He was always gentle when it came to manhandling me, but He’s been less forceful when it comes to doing what He wants.
He wants to teach me Latin. That’s odd enough, but it seems to be a halfway point between his alien tongue and my half-remembered Anglish…Ugh. ENGLISH.
I’m getting side-tricked again… Close enough.
So, shortly after the pit fight, after he healed and I guess, marked me as his, he brought me to this area where I saw lots of humans-pets, like me. Many who I discovered were in the exact same predicament Most had collars and sat with their…I am loaf…loathed to say it- Masters and Mistresses, quietly. They seemed either cowed into silence through memory erasure or by pure fear.
As I was free at the time to greet each one, I could feel the Great Elves, as I now call them, watching me, their impossible eyes boring through me with great interest, without malice. My natural instinct was to cry, but I sensed His wanting me to appear strong, though I am female. I rained? Reign. Reined it in, as best I could. It wasn’t easy. Some were nude, so that was uncomfortable. I showed them by my gestures that it bothered me.
I will credit Him on one thing: every time I showed discomfort, He conjured a soft, cozy robe that fit the person in question’s size perfectly, his deep tones seeming to explain my behavior. I heard some mild protests, especially from the female elves who, I can only assume, wanted to show off their mostly male pets’ bodies, but after I helped them put on their robes on, most hugged themselves and seemed quite relieved. One held my hand and pressed it into his chest, but he wouldn’t look at me. At a sound from above, he finally let go. A few even looked me in the eye and nodded, or spoke their thanks in several languages. Some I knew, like German, Japanese, Spanish. Others I can only guess.
The human women were much more vocal and emotional. One spoke quite elegantly, I think, in French, in strident tones. I could only feel the force of her frustration. I was equally disturbed. I was not the only one, then, whose mind wasn’t entirely erased. We gazed at each other, dismayed that we could understand, but not be understood. I could only clutch her hands and kneel with her, until her Mistress stole her away.
I wiped my eyes…I couldn’t help but feel empathy, and simply glared upwards with as much indignation as I could mustard…muster. I heard many condescending chuckles at that, as though I were a child that had done something adorable. Once that would have made me lose it, but I had learned.
However, when I reached the last human pet, I almost forgot how close we were to instant death.
The last was a child. A girl, not even a teenager, with long red hair carefully rolled in long curls.
And her Master left her naked.
Her mind…was all but gone. She didn’t behave like an infant, but the way she babbled and played, I could tell she had forgotten many things, like chastity, modesty and decency. Her innocence was painful. She didn’t know that to be stared at like that by strangers was something that should never be done, not by humans or elves.
It was all I could do not to scream. Instead, I removed my robe. The Others murmured amongst themselves. He was silent, but I knew he’d stopped breathing.
I knelt, and bade the child to come to me, with sounds and gestures, rather than words. I’d guessed correctly; she couldn’t speak, or didn’t know how, but when I shook out my blond hair to mimic hers, she giggled with delight and ran to me.
Does a hug come from Nature? Is it an instinct we have, like a weaver bird’s automatic know-how to build a nest? I don’t know, but the child fell into my arms quite easily. I wrapped her up and held her for dear life, squeezing her almost too hard, before remembering myself.
A chorus of crooning noises from above made me freeze. How had I almost forgotten our Captors?! I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want her Master to have her back. Everything in me demanded that I protect this child from all harm and danger. I don’t know why this feeling was so strong. I don’t remember being a mother. Was I? Had He torn me away from my family? Wasn’t I alone, in the forest, when He found me?
My mind began seeing snippets of The Arrival. I had been in the forest…but Why? And why were certain parts missing, like immediately after I’d sneezed?!
As I held the girl, I automatically began to hum. It was a lullaby, but the title was taken from me, like everything else. I began to sway back and forth. The girl clung to me. I could feel her staring, but she didn’t move.
His reaction was one of delighted…shock. Surprise is too tame. I heard him gasp, and he began to speak rapidly with the others. Surely my voice wasn’t that amazing, was It? Yet he acted like it was.
And then I realized: he’d never heard me sing before. Perhaps few had thought to retain such a skill in their pets.
It was a simple tune, plain really, but then another voice joined mine. Then another. And another. Soon most were singing something, both in tune and out; many sang their own song in their own tongue. It was at once cacophonous and angelic at the same time.
It was only then I raised my head and looked at them all. Most were openly weeping but singing their hearts out. A shuffle behind me told me He actually understood, at least in part.
For a brief, beautiful moment, we were equals.
The Frenchwoman began to scream. All Their eyes looked to her.
Well, we all did. I honestly don’t know if I started it, or if it was someone else.
God…and you, Dryadalis Dominus Griseo Magnus, which You told me means pretty much Lord Great Gray Elf, are not! But if there is a creator greater than our Captors, forgive us our insanity.
Very quickly a shout nearly deafened us all, and energy walls…like the boxes we were first held in, engaged. Several smashed into them, and some were subsequently crushed by those who came behind them. I was able to sidestep the worst of it, pulling her along, but it was futile.
We all knew it was, of course, but that didn’t stop us from trying. Punishment was swift. Many simply disappeared upwards, with thundering admonitions. More than a few screamed out in pain.
You…and that name is too long. Magnus? Dominus? Really, that’s not a name, but a title. Your eyes should be part of Your name. They’re always the first thing I see.
You picked up the both of us, gently but firmly. The Other One demanded something. He probably wanted her back. Your tone was curt, final.
If You hadn’t focused so much on me, you probably would have seen his punch coming. If You were human, I know you would have. It’s obvious You aren’t used to being attacked. I’m sure You now know how stupid that was.
The fall…oh, I had never felt such exhilarating terror. I cradled the girl as we felt Your hand convulse around us. You manage to hold us and cushion our landing, taking the brunt yourself. But Your hand opened, and we stood.
That was all the Other needed.
I held on until I realized that I was hurting her, but as I saw her sail away in her Captor’s fist, she uttered one word that froze my heart.
I am reminded once again how utterly helpless I am, as You hovered over me, suddenly booming orders, I can only guess. Guards surrounded the Other. With sheer disbelief, I recognized two of them: the obsidian one with amethyst eyes, and the bronze one with emerald eyes. I was struck by how similar an arrest must be, but the final horror crushed all of my hopes. As You began to…pronounce Your sentence, the Other fixed his eyes on me.
His eyes never left mine as he ate her.
I had no strength left for screaming, or anything.
You killed him right then and there.
Did you expect my gratitude?
