by Ther Renard
"Let's talk business," Kira said cheerfully, blithely oblivious to the tension in the room. "You had a girl for sale, didn't you?"
"I was mistaken," Ayla said frostily. "There's no-one suitable here."
"Was she the one you had in mind?" Kira pointed at Atrocious.
"She's not suitable," Ayla replied. "She lacks discipline."
"I'm not for sale," Atrocious interjected, earning herself hard looks from both women. "I'm just saying, I'm not," she said with an overly casual shrug given the gravity of the situation.
"You will be whatever we tell you to be," Ayla said imperiously.
Atrocious suddenly felt much better about having hit her, but she pushed down the urge to gloat in favor of yet another attempt at talking the problem away. "Look," she said, her voice coming out all squeaky and strange as she tried to be rational in the face of almost insurmountable odds. "I'm not a slave, I'm a...."
"Thief," Ayla interjected.
"Traveler," Atrocious finished her sentence. "This has all been one big misunderstanding. Can't we just let it go? Call it even?"
Kira's low chuckle told her that her little speech had failed. "She genuinely believes what she's saying, doesn't she?"
"Oh yes, she has no comprehension of the situation she finds herself in," Ayla replied.
"Well at least I know when people are in a room and I don't talk about them like they're not there," Atrocious snapped. Unwelcome tears were beginning to prick behind her eyelids. She just wanted to be free, but all she got was trouble, trouble and more trouble. Why wouldn't they just let her go? She wiped her eyes roughly with the back of her sleeve, trying to hide her emotion.
She was tired, so tired, she wanted to lie down in a bed of her own and not be lectured or punished. But that clearly wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Kira and Ayla were still discussing her as if she weren't there.
"She will slow you down, be a liability. I cannot sell her in good conscience," Ayla was saying.
"She can carry some gear. She might be less trouble if she's properly worn out by real work," Kira replied.
Atrocious covered her head with her hands. She didn't know which path she would be prodded down, but she didn't have high hopes for either of the futures being debated. Whether she stayed with Ayla, or went with Kira, she would still be treated like property, and that was almost more than she could bear.
~~~
The sullen stand-off continued inside the witch's hut for what seemed like hours. Ayla was soon entirely physically recovered from the blow, but her bruised ego was not so easily magicked away. She sat bolt upright on the bed, glaring at Atrocious in a menacing fashion. Atrocious remained slouched down against the far wall, her arms wrapped around her knees. Eyes filled with uncertainty flicked watchfully between Ayla and Kira as she chewed on a ragged fingernail. Only the warrior seemed unaffected by all the drama. She lounged in the chair she'd rescued after its tumble with Ayla, smiling quite merrily.
"Oh cheer up," she said eventually. "You both look like someone told you the sky is falling."
"I will be much better the moment I switch her behind red," Ayla said, her voice as crisp and cold as the winter wind.
"Easy there," Kira said, holding a hand up. "It's not going to improve matters."
"It will improve matters for me," Ayla insisted.
"Will it? If you beat her for hitting you, what will she do next? You think she will suddenly become obedient?" Kira laughed a short laugh, letting the dimples in her cheeks come out to play. "Ayla, you have to know better than that."
"I will not stand to be hit," Ayla replied indignantly. She drew her elegant frame up from the bed, precipitating a brisk shuffle across the wall to the corner on Atrocious' part.
"Nor apparently, will Atrocious," Kira said with a flicker of a wink at Atrocious. The thief smiled a small, tentative smile in response. Her hands were on the floor beside her, ready to propel her up if she had to make a quick break for it. Kira was holding Ayla off, but only just.
"You know you don't have a leg to stand on Ayla, you've kidnapped her," Kira continued the argument.
"The fates..."
"Oh don't give me that nonsense," the warrior waved her strong hand in a gesture of light dismissal. "You and your fates. Funny how the fates always seem to want what you want, isn't it?"
Ayla's eyes narrowed at Kira. "So I'm supposed to let her go with you am I? Are you going to give her freedom?"
Atrocious remained silent, but her gaze was focused on Kira equally as intently.
"I might," Kira shrugged.
"You will not," Ayla laughed a bitter laugh. "You forget, I know you as well as you know me. What happened to the last wench you took away from here?"
"Well," Kira said, looking rather cagey. "She, er, found other employment."
Ayla cocked her head and smirked unpleasantly. "You sold her."
"I had mead debts," Kira shrugged again.
Atrocious' mouth fell open at the revelation. Really, one was just as bad as the other. She was caught between a rock and a hard place, between the frying pan and the fire. The slim hope of freedom was growing smaller by the moment, giving her little to cling to.
"Oh yes, pretty one," Ayla said with more than a little spite. "You think Kira argues for you because she cares. She's just taking advantage of an opportunity, as she always does."
"Keep talking like that and I might get offended." Kira spoke lightly, but there was steel in her voice, a steel Atrocious recognized and recoiled from. The warrior was toned from shoulders to calves, her musculature sleek but powerful. Atrocious didn't want to know what havoc would be wreaked if Kira lost her temper.
Ayla was not nearly so concerned. "I think you should take your leave," she said with icy politeness. "I have a disobedient apprentice to deal with."
Kira raised a skeptical brow. "Are you truly offering her an apprenticeship?"
"I am," Ayla said. "I give my word."
"What if I were to do the same?"
"Then she would have a choice, wouldn't she," Ayla said. "Apprenticeships are not forced."
Ayla and Kira turned to Atrocious, each with an expectant look in their eyes. "Well girl, it is time to choose your Mistress," Kira said. "You should bear in mind, Mistress Ayla will most certainly whip you if you choose her."
"And Mistress Kira will probably swap you for a chicken meal at her earliest convenience.”
With her belly churning, Atrocious looked first at one woman, then the other. It seemed inevitable that she would fall under the control of one of them, but which one?
Caught up in helpless misery, Atrocious whimpered. "I... want to be free."
"Freedom is overrated," Kira winked.
Ayla did not reply, she just rolled her eyes and shook her head. She stood with her arms folded under her bosom, an elegant long finger tapping an impatient tattoo on her arm.
"I don't think so," Atrocious argued bravely. "I don't see what claim either of you have to me."
"You're getting a chance to have a say in your destiny," Ayla cut in abruptly. "Don't talk your way out of it."
Atrocious didn't know whether to cry or beg or yell. The situation she found herself in was so untenable, so unfair she could barely stand it. Neither of the two women seemed to be a particularly good choice. Ayla was an oversexed witch with control issues, and Kira, well Atrocious was pretty sure Kira's charm would soon fade.
"Tick tock, girl," Kira said, glancing over Atrocious' head out the window. Her eyes narrowed slightly, as if she saw something she didn't like at all.
"Fine," Atrocious glowered. "I choose ..."
"Shhhh!" Kira's hiss cut Atrocious' announcement short. The warrior held a finger up to her lips and pointed out the window. Ayla followed her line of sight, but Atrocious was unable to see what was going on at all.
"Soldiers," Ayla noted in icy tones. "Friends of yours, Kira?"
"Not mine," Kira whispered. "I don't know those Imperials."
"Imperial
s?" The word squeaked out of Atrocious, drawing malevolent looks from both Ayla and Kira.
"Of course this has something to do with you,” Ayla snapped. She closed her eyes and began muttering words far too fast and foreign for Atrocious to understand. The air in the cottage seemed to shimmer for a second, then cleared as Ayla opened her eyes once more. "We have two minutes, maybe less if they have a mage with them."
"Imperials don't use mages," Kira said, glowering at Atrocious. "What do they want you for?"
"Nothing," Atrocious lied.
Kira moved fast. One moment she was standing several feet away, the next she had Atrocious grabbed up by the front of her tunic as she hauled her off the ground. "Don't lie to me," she ground out, her dark eyes boring into Atrocious. "Not over this."
Caught up like a kitten, Atrocious whimpered. "I didn't do anything. I promise."
"You're lying," Kira growled. "You're going to regret that."
"Kira. Stop. We don't have time to deal with her."
Ayla was moving about the room, packing items into a small brown satchel. Still caught in Kira's grip, Atrocious watched with wonder as Ayla put scrolls, potions, even a pan into a bag no bigger than a man's head. No matter how much Ayla stuffed inside the receptacle, the sides never bulged and it never became full.
Kira released Atrocious with rough disregard. Caught by surprise, Atrocious stumbled back a few steps, ultimately landing on her backside.
"Get up," Kira ordered in harsh, clipped tones. The easygoing facade had fallen away entirely and in its place was the demeanor of someone who expected to be obeyed immediately and without question.
Atrocious heeded the warning and scrambled to her feet. Without another word being spoken, the trio made their way out the back door at a quick run. They were still within earshot of the cottage when the soldiers began shouting and demanding entry to the now empty home. The angry voices spurred all three of the women on as they made good their escape.
Atrocious soon realized that an opportunity for escape was upon her too. Ayla and Kira were far more spooked by the soldiers than she was. Maybe they wouldn't care if she made a break for it. At the next fork in the forest trail she darted down the opposite path from Ayla and Kira.
It didn't work out.
The moment she deviated from the path, Kira's hand grabbed the back of her tunic and hauled her back none too gently, making her feet skim across the dirt.
"Don't."
It was one word, one little word and yet there was so much menace in it. Atrocious swallowed, nodded and didn't make the smallest sound of complaint when Kira pushed her ahead.
Chapter Five
Hours later, Kira's palm came down hard across a bouncing red rear amidst incoherent yowls that could have been pleas for clemency, dire threats or anything in between. The warrior was sitting on a fallen tree. She had Atrocious held firmly over her lap, one iron banded arm wrapped around the thief's waist as she belabored her bottom with impressive punitive enthusiasm.
Taking no part in the punishment, Ayla stood a short distance away, scanning the surrounding area for soldiers, bandits and other nasties that inhabited the region. Her expression was impassive. In spite of the blow she'd taken to the jaw earlier she seemed to be taking no joy in what was happening to Atrocious.
“You do not lie to me!” Kira emphasized every word with another slap to the bright red rear caught over her thigh. Whether the lesson was taking was debatable, but whether she was making an impression was not. Atrocious was wailing, a steady cry that had started several minutes earlier and showed no signs of stopping.
“You could have gotten us all killed, you know that?” The warrior's muscular arm swept down in a punitive arc, catching the lower rise of Atrocious' round rear with a loud cracking blow that echoed around the clearing. Atrocious' shrieks rose to a new pitch as she kicked her legs frantically.
“Kira...” Ayla's voice floated low on the twilight breeze. “She's had enough.”
“She's had enough when I say she's had enough,” Kira replied, grimly, applying another slap to Atrocious' behind.
“Kira...”
The witch and the warrior's eyes met, Kira's flashing with anger, Ayla's cool and collected. A silent argument was conducted in their gazes, an argument Atrocious weighed in on with inconsolable sobs.
“Fine,” Kira growled, setting Atrocious on her feet. “Let her get away with it then.”
Suddenly freed, Atrocious stumbled away from the warrior clutching her bare bottom. Her britches were around her knees and she was entirely exposed to both Ayla and Kira, but she didn't care about that, she only cared about rubbing the unholy sting out of her behind. Tears continued to rush down her cheeks, tears she hated but could not control. Kira hadn't even given her a chance to explain. The moment they'd been sure the soldiers had not followed them, Kira had grabbed her and started whacking away.
What Kira probably hadn't counted on was the fact that Atrocious wasn't cowed by what had happened to her. On the contrary, the assault on her bottom had done nothing but enrage her. When she regained a modicum of self-possession, she yanked her pants up roughly, wincing as the rough material slid over her swollen behind.
"How dare you?" She bit the words out when the tears abated enough to allow her to do so.
Kira smirked unpleasantly. "Easily. Open your mouth again and I'll show you exactly how much I dare."
Atrocious began to reply, but Ayla cut in. "Enough," she said, taking Atrocious by the hand and drawing her away from the warrior. "Enough from both of you."
"She still hasn't told us why they wanted her," Kira pointed out.
"I don't have to tell you anything," Atrocious said, her eyes glistening with tears and rage. "I told you to let me go. I told you. But no, you wanted to keep me like a pet and now there's trouble you're blaming me. Well it's your own stupid fault."
There was a heavy silence as Atrocious glared at Ayla and Kira. They made no reply. What reply could they make? She was right, they had treated her as less than human and they had paid the price for doing so.
"Does anyone have any objection to me leaving now?" Atrocious growled the sentence as she yanked her hand out of Ayla's grasp. "No? I didn't think so."
With as much dignity as she could muster, Atrocious pulled herself up to her full height and strode out of the clearing without a second look back at the women who'd squabbled over her like two overgrown brats fighting for a prize doll. So much for Mistresses.
She strode into the forest, rendered fearless with festering anger that had finally burst free. Her captivity had gone on long enough. It was time to continue making her mark in the world.
There was a loud noise, then the ground suddenly rushed towards her as she fell, tackled around the waist by a large, muscular mass of woman. She got a mouthful of moss before she was yanked over onto her back and pinned by Kira.
"Listen, whelp," the warrior growled. "You don't walk away from me. Not ever."
"I'll walk away from you if I want to," Atrocious said rebelliously. "I don't care if you hit me. I'm tired of this shit."
"Oh you're tired of it are you?" Kira's smirk was dark. "If you think you're tired of it now, think about this." She leaned forwards until her sensual lips were just inches away from Atrocious' face. "I haven't even begun to torment you. Tell me why those soldiers were after you."
"I don't know."
"You know."
"I don't know."
"Tell me."
"No."
"Will this be going somewhere anytime soon?" Ayla could not be seen in the shadows, but her voice carried easily in the clear night.
Kira sat back up and looked over her shoulder in the direction of the voice. "She's going to tell me."
"No I'm not."
Kira glared down at Atrocious. "Yes you are."
"I ask," Ayla said quite calmly, "because there are several bandits headed this way. Probably alerted by all that hitting and screaming I was telling you to stop."
Kira was off Atrocious in an instant. Atrocious could only watch wide-eyed as the warrior drew the short sword at her side and crouched down in the dark shadow of a nearby tree. The brigands were close enough to be heard, their stolen armor clanking as they rushed towards the three women.
"You picked a bad night to get lost in the woods!"
A brigand burst through the undergrowth. He was a fearsome man, large and broad, his a bare chest covered with hair so thick and dark it could almost have been called a pelt. He was wielding a war ax, the blade stained with old blood. Ayla was the most obvious target standing tall and pale in the moonlight, her beautiful face impassive. He made for her with an awful cry, a brutal barbaric sound that made Atrocious shiver where she lay.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The curved blade swung down towards Ayla's head, propelled by burly arms. It seemed as though the ax would surely split her skull, but the witch raised her hand towards the brigand. There was a spark which quickly grew into a ball of fire, rolling and boiling against her palm. The brigand saw the flame, but it was too late. He had committed to the attack and his momentum carried him into the path of the fireball. It burst against his chest, hurling him backwards. His cry of pain was as short lived as he was. He landed heavily in the scrub and lay unmoving as the hair on his chest blackened and burned. A horrible acrid stench of charred flesh rose into the air. Atrocious gagged with disgust and fear. With nothing more than a gesture from the witch, that bandit had been cooked from the inside out.
Three other brigands remained. One woman and two men. They did not seem perturbed by their leader's demise. "Die spell-caster," the female shrieked, rushing Ayla with a large curved knife. She was wild with rage, foaming spittle at the corners of her mouth as she waved the blade in a repetitive stabbing motion.
Ayla did not have to defend herself, for Kira was on the woman before she got into range. The warrior's blade sliced through the air, catching the woman's shoulder and cutting down towards her midsection. Atrocious shut her eyes and covered her ears, trying to drown out the screams as the brigand died at Kira's hand. It was all so quick, so bloody, so utterly brutal and inhumane.