Talita fisted the left side of her white dress skirt up to her hip and in her right hand held the breast dagger her father gave her. She panted and her lovely golden hair was messy, as the ordeal caused strands to escape her normally neat plait. She wished she could have stayed with the others but then they would have been caught for sure. Safety in numbers only works if you are fighting. Not a group of hysterical young women with little to no focus. She followed her mother’s advice and headed on her own. She darted her green eyes to the side when she recognized a travel stone to show she was close to the merchants’ path, and turned right into the thick of the forest.
“AAAAH!” The right of her skirt snagged on a thorny branch and sent her down to the ground. Oh no! I screamed! Someone will have heard that. I need to get up and run. Talita scrambled up from the mud, which smeared the front of her dress, arms, and hands, and threw herself into a run. The sound of heavy footfalls behind her made her heart beat so fast against her ribs she thought the sound of her pulse in her ears would burst her eardrums at any moment.
“It’s Talita! This way!” To her horror more than one ‘good Doumian men’ were on her tail. Being the chieftain’s daughter made her a prize as it was. Being pretty was an added bonus. Maker protect me. If I’m caught by a group they will take turns trying to impregnate me for the chance to become my husband when the babe is born and holds their likeness. Talita swallowed the beginning of panicked tears and instead darted off into a thick growth of wild Hawthorn. The dense hedging scratched at her hands as she pushed her way through the thick layers of leaves. Once through the branches twapped shut behind her to hide her escape route. She couldn’t see through it, so she hoped they couldn’t either. Bile stirred within the chieftain’s daughter and Talita held her dagger before her. She probably could have looked threatening if she wasn’t trembling from head to foot. A few leaves were caught in her hair and her lovely white gown was muddy from her earlier fall. If I can just calm my breathing and keep both quiet and still then they might go straight past me. Talita scanned her green eyes around her and found that she was shielded at all sides by the dense Hawthorn. Her feet barely planted themselves at either side of an old tree stump. This must be why there is an open space in the center of it. The Maker must have guided me here to keep me safe. Praise to the Maker.
Talita licked her dry lips and felt her panting cease in favor of steady breaths. Her pulse returned to normal and she strained hard to pick up even the softest of noises.
“Where did Talita go?” She held her left hand over her mouth, smearing mud there, and felt her blood pressure spike once more.
“I thought I saw her run this way.”
“Maker’s balls, we lost the best one! I couldn’t wait to get my cock in her.”
“You’re not allowed remember? The demon lord forbids sex with the unmarried.”
“To keep them virgins right? He said nothing about her sweet ass.”
“Remember I drew the long straw so I get to play with her first!”
Talita bit her lips behind her cupped hand and tears welled in her eyes. She could pick out at least three voices. People she passed in the street and spoke to every day were joking and bickering over sodomizing her and taking turns. My own people…Maker please protect me. “Hay, there’s a path up ahead. Maybe she went that way?”
“Well she isn’t here so we better get looking. Every moment we waste is another moment some other lucky bastard is porking the chief’s daughter.”
The trio sniggered and jeered with mirth. She heard their banter and footsteps getting softer as they got further away. Talita sighed and lowered her hands to her sides. Thank the Maker. They’re gone. But so many more still roam the forest. I doubt any of them would be kind and do anything different than those others were about to. I’ll just stay here. I could probably sit down on this stump so I don’t get a bad back or sore feet. I’ll wait here until morning. I hope the others all found good hiding-
“AAAH!” Talita screamed when all the Hawthorn shrank suddenly down into the ground. She was left exposed astride the tree stump and flung her dagger up to protect herself. What she saw scared her more than her fellow Doumians.
Turuk stood like a specter of death. His long hooded cloak shrouded him in darkness and the ragged ends felt at the soil around him. Gleaming fiery eyes bore into her soul and his shoulders started to bounce with a deep chuckle.
“Come now Talita. That little prick won’t help you.” One of his hands slipped out of his cloak and with a flick of his wrist her breast dagger flew out of her grasp. It impaled a nearby tree right to the hilt.
“Oh sweet Maker. P-please don’t-”
“Before you insult me Talita, please hold your tongue.” Turuk opened his arms and bowed before her. This revealed a buff grey torso, a belt made of human bones to match a low hanging necklace, and armored boots that covered the shins of his black leather trousers. “I am here to save you.”
“Y-you are?”
“Well, I could save you Talita.” His
arms returned to the folds of his cloak which caused it to close over him. “If
you are prepared to make a deal with a demon, that is.” Talita’s skin paled and
she held herself as the lord of shadow began cackling with glee. She knew what
he was about to say even before the words reached her ears. “Agree to give
yourself to me. Become my property, and I will ensure you arrive on the other
side of Fødsel unmarred and untouched. You will become one of mine to do with
as I see fit. Such as, become my wife if I want it. You would do this willingly
of course.” Talita felt the tears go down her cheeks but she didn’t dare look
away from the walking talking nightmare. “If you agree and receive my protection
only to refuse to come with me when the time comes I will take your life, and
the life of every Bryne living. Slowly and painfully, of course.” She took a
step back, his dark tone having winded her. “And I’ll start with your little
brother.”
“No please don’t-”
“But if you simply refuse my offer entirely then I will personally hand you over to the largest group of drooling Doumian ingrates I can find and spell your clothes away. They will have my blessing to do whatever they wish as you will have refused to be mine and therefore I won’t care what state you’re in.” The nonchalant shrug of his shoulders made her feel physically sick.
Oh sweet Maker. If I refuse I’ll be gang raped. If I agree and then refuse he’ll torture and kill my family. If I make the agreement and honor it I become his property. There really wasn’t a good option here. Just the least traumatic option. “I will give you 2 minutes to decide.” Turuk turned his head to look deeper into the forest, like he was watching something intently. “Hmm, interesting. Anor has found Valdis and is tearing her clothes off. He intends to rape her despite my warning. If you make your decision in the next 30 seconds I can pull him off her and make Valdis the same offer.”
Talita wobbled forward, clearing where the hedges once stood and shook before him.
“S-save her.”
“I have yet to hear your decision Talita.” He still stared off into the distance, so he didn’t see the look of panic on her face.
“Y-yes I agree! Hurry please don’t let Anor force himself on-”
“I will have your blood.” Talita yelped as he suddenly lashed out and clawed at her neck. With the metal talon of his gauntlet he cut a thin slice and before she could scream his hooded head was in the crook of her neck. She felt lips seal around the cut and his tongue swipe heavily over the cut. Talita gurgled a scream and stepped back from his sucking mouth. “There. I have your blood. Our agreement is now binding. You are my property. Go with my familiars. They will take you to my home and you will remain there, safe, until the morning.”
Talita opened her mouth, to say what she wasn’t sure, but stopped as Turuk turned into a colony of bats. They screeched as the swarm hurtled in the same direction Turuk had been staring, leaving Talita alone in the forest. A heavy hand dropped onto her shoulder, making the blonde woman scream so loudly she could feel the pressure of it in her ears. Another hand grabbed her other shoulder, then another grabbed her left thigh, and another her right. She thrashed at first, until her whole body was lifted off the ground. Oh no no NO I’ve been found! I’m going to be raped! No Maker no! Talita twisted against her restraints and looked behind her as she was carried through the forest. What she saw was so horrifying she went limp and fainted. A creature that moved like living shadow, with two heads and four arms, hollow eyes and blurry outline stared back at her. She didn’t even get chance to realise that this was the familiar Turuk spoke of before she fell unconscious.
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