The Dragon Lord's Wish

Ep 3: Help

“Aagh!” He chokes out before I use my knee to thrust into his mid-section bringing him to his knees. He lets go of my chain and I begin to run. The floor beneath me is slippery and the damp, stagnant air makes me sick to breathe.

I hear gasps of surprise as I run by the other prisoners. I make it to the stairs, and I must focus hard to keep my balance as my hands are still bound behind my back. I try to pick the less worn parts of the stone to step on so I have traction. I manage to only slip once and regain my lost ground easily. My throat and chest burn as I make it to the top. I burst through the doorway looking for the exit.

I run through the brothel common room, dodging confused stares and mouths agape in shock. I leap over two men wrestling on the floor almost slipping when I land in a puddle of unknown liquid. The smell of wine, s*x, and sweat saturated the air.

The front door opens, and tears run down my face as I sprint to my freedom. There are people on the street outside, maybe someone will help me.

A blast of cold hits me as I run towards the door. It’s so close I can almost taste the air outside. Something jerks me back by my neck.

“Oomf!” escapes my lips, my breath leaving me as I hit the ground. Hands reach around my neck pulling me off the floor until I’m suspended in the air. I can’t breathe. I squirm and I thrash, but it’s no use.

I look down to see a man who stood at least a head higher than everyone else in the room. Long, stringy dark hair frames his square face, his chest comparable in size to a wine barrel. I thrash my legs back and forth, but he never moves.

My lungs feel as though they may burst. The man only stares at me never blinking. His black eyes are cold and unforgiving. His hands tighten around my neck. I try to kick him, but every time I make contact, there’s no reaction from him. I can’t get him to loosen his grip at all.

I stop moving when I hear a laugh behind me.

“Ho- ho, a fiery one we have here,” Monsieur Chappon struts into my line of vision to stand in front of the man choking me, I assume the man to be one of his personal escorts, “and I thought that was just a myth about red heads.”

He takes my loose, dirty ringlet into his hand, taking a deep sniff before bringing his eyes back to me. His eyes are a dull gray and blue and are void of any kindness or remorse. I can see that I had split the skin over his right eyebrow open and bloodied his nose. I smirk.

“You’ll be such a grand time, I love a girl with some spirit. Makes me have to work harder to break you,” a wide, menacing grin growing across his face.

There is a ringing in my ears, my vision is starting to gray and I’m starting to feel myself slip as I go limp. I don’t want to give him any satisfaction that he has control over me. I narrow my eyes to focus on Chappon, take the last bit of energy I have, and I spit in his face.

“Ugh!” he screams as he wipes my saliva from his cheek, cutting his eyes and hardening his already sinister face, “Drop her!”

I crumple onto the floor and air floods my lungs. I gasp, cough, and heave to attempt to catch my breath. I start to try to crawl when I hear footsteps coming towards me.

I raise my head to look at him and he slaps me. My head spins and my ears ring as I hit the floor.

“You wretched b***h,” he growls as he bends down grabbing a handful of my hair to pull it back to face him, “I’ll show you what happens when you dare to spit in my face in my establishment!”

He throws me down to the floor again. I see his cane rise and it comes down swiftly across the back of my head sending me into darkness.

“Drag her downstairs to her cell,” I hear him order before slipping into unconsciousness. Rough hands slip beneath my back and my world falls silent as I’m dragged across the floor.

When I awake, I’m seated in a chair. The iron clasp is still around my neck and still burns for some reason. I wouldn’t put it past Chappon to lace his chains with something, maybe its acidic in nature.

My arms are still bound and numb. There are chains going across my body and my skin is on fire. I can see the burned skin underneath them. The torch light hurts to look at and my vision is blurred at first.

How f*****g hard did he hit me? I’m just starting to get my bearings when I hear a chuckle come from the other side of the room. There is a dark figure leaned against the cross bars.

“Well good morning my fair redhead, or shall I say afternoon? I must say you have kept us in suspense. You’ve been out for a day and a half.” The smile that is plastered on his face is the epitome of sleaze and it makes me see red. I go to stand but the chain around my neck stops me at a crouched position.

“Mmmm yes, you seem to be in a vulnerable predicament. Here, darling, let me help.” Chappon takes me by the neck and presses my face against the wall. With his hand firmly on the back of my head he starts to lift my skirts.

“No! No! No! Stop! Please stop! Just tell me what you want you sick freak!” I scream as I try to fight against him. His grip becomes firmer on the back of my head, and he snakes an arm around my waist to press the bulge in his pants firmly against my bare privates.

“Oh shh, there there my pet,” he purrs in my ear, “What I want is simple really. I don’t know what you are because you don’t smell like a witch or a human. But I know you will be the best new toy to add to my collection.”

He laughs in my ear and flicks his tongue across my ear lobe, making me shiver with disgust. This only excites him more. Why is he so obsessed with how I smell?

“I want you to submit yourself completely to me to be at my beck and call. If I say you’re pleasuring me to completion before breakfast, I want you to say, ‘yes, monsieur.’ If I say you’re performing on stage for the royal court, I want you to say, ‘yes, monsieur.’ If I say you’re laying with everyone in the brothel I want you to say, ‘yes, monsieur.’ Is that clear?”

“All of this for a bowl of soup and a bed? Chappon, that seems unfair even for you.” I sneer at him.

“Oh no pet, not only that, but I took you off the street. This could be a place where you can stay, develop some… talents, so to speak. That is what I’m offering you. A life of being wanted and off the street. Don’t you want to be wanted?” He starts to run his hand up and down my thighs, getting closer to my bare slit.

My breathing quickens as I try not to panic and cry. All I’ve ever wanted is to be someone’s love, to be wanted by someone, to belong. But even as naïve as I am I know the difference between love and lust.

I pick up one of my feet and I feel his excitement growing as he presses against me, and he moans as he thinks I am submitting to him.

“Good girl,” he whispers. I bring the heel of my foot down on his instep with all the force I could muster.

“Never! I will never be one of your toys!”

He falls backwards and begins to shout.

“Oh Gods, you ignorant fool, oh you worthless slut!” he cries as he holds his foot.

I stand up as far as I can, and my skirts fall back down to cover me.

“You’re going to regret that Jacqueline, you stupid girl!” He cries through gritted teeth.

I smile, knowing I would indeed regret it, but I would have regretted giving up more.

“I’ll make sure you’ll regret that. Louis!” He yells through the bars. The large man who strangled me came into the light. “Take her chair, blindfold her and gag her. Make sure no one brings her food or water. She’ll either give in to me or she will die.”

Louis nods and walks over to me. He takes the chair, places a piece of cloth in my mouth, ties it in place and then ties another piece of cloth around my eyes.

The cloth tastes like sweat and old food makes me gag. I try to roll my tongue back, but it doesn’t help. I can’t see anything, so every little sound has me on edge. Without the chair, I can’t sit or stand as the chain attached to the wall isn’t long enough to allow me to do either.

I feel someone come close to me and take a deep breath smelling my hair.

That rotten bastard.

“Here is the deal, ma chére. You can only keep your position for so long. You’ll start to grow tired, and you will beg for this to end. I will come down here every hour to give you a chance to change your mind. Try to persuade you to see it my way. And if you don’t change your mind... well,” he says with a laugh, “I guess we will throw your body into the pit once you succumb to your fatigue.”

I hear him walk away and the door to my cell open and shut.

“We will be back darling. I hope we find you in a better mood. If not, then you’ll be sorry.” He is almost singing the words. Gods, he makes my skin crawl.

Their footsteps pad down the hallway and fade.

I crouch against the wall attempting to find a comfortable position to accept my now silent, dark, and uncomfortable world for however long I can stand it.

My legs begin to ache. I start to cry as I accept that I will certainly die down here never seeing daylight again. My life may have never been much, but I was free out there.

My sobs echo in the dark cell. My foot slips and the clasp choke me as I try to get my footing. I manage to stand in a crouched position and catch my breath.

“Madame?”