Caretaker and Captor

[Lira Dajenn]

Rahvin let out a grunt in response to his sister. He was fine, except for his broken pride. The young man didn't fear what was about to happen, he didn't fear Cerise or whatever punishment she would think up for him. To him, she was nothing but an animal, a stupid little brute who couldn't even understand the simplest of things.

He did not care for her, or about her.

Rahvin could handle anything she threw his way, whether it be pain, humiliation, or total disregard. Cerise was an idiot, and always would be to him. He let out a sight as one of the Sirens nudged him in the ribs. She frowned down at him, letting out a sigh as he raised himself to his feet.

They all knew what was about to happen


An hour later they stood within the courtyard of the palace. Rahvin had been placed between two stone posts with metal rings situated atop each, his clothing stripped except for his pants. On each side of him stood a single Siren, dozens more place around the courtyard as though he were a prisoner about to make a run for it. Rahvin had long ago stopped taking insult from such treatment.

Directly in front of him stood Cerise, fuming.

That made him smile.

“You stupid, selfish, arrogant little twit!”

She screeched at him like a harpy, her voice growing shrill and grating as she yelled more.

“Have you learned nothing!? Lesson after lesson you've had and you're still like this! Like her! Like a dog!”

His eyebrows raised at that, but not because of the name calling.

“It could have been different! It could have been different if it was me instead of her!”

What was she talking about? Rahvin cocked his head to the right slightly, his eyes growing slightly more narrow as he watched a blood vessel on Cerise' neck stand up. In the back of his mind he willed it to pop, but unfortunately his control of the force did not yet extend that far. Instead Cerise seemed to calm down, almost instantly in fact, as if she realized she had taken a misstep.

Her eyes narrowed, and her voice grew to a silent seethe.

“This time you'll learn. This time you wont forget.”

The creature made a motion to to the two Sirens standing to the sides of Rahvin. The women grasped both of his arms, and tied his wrists to the posts with a length of rope. One of them mirrored and earlier motion, forcing Rahvin to his knees. One of them flicked her fingers, a single word.

Sorry.

The young man nodded in response, but didn't say anything. Opening his mouth now would only further aggravate the creature, and that wouldn't aid him any further.

His eyes flickered to Cerise as she wandered around him, stopping as she moved behind him. He heard the uncurling of a whip, leather unwinding and striking against the hard limestone ground. His muscles tensed suddenly, arms flexing and back stiffening.

Rahvin felt the bite of the lash in an instant.

The leather cut into his skin and peeled away flesh. His eyes bulged open, and his jaw seized, but he did not cry out. Again and again the leather sliced into him, hurting him and causing an immense amount of pain. Three, four, five, he quickly lost count as Cerise lashed him over and over again, throughout it she could hear her voice, screeching at him and attempting to bring him down.

Rahvin didn't waiver however, his voice never being heard.

Around him the Sirens looked on in disgust, their eyes never turning away from the child or his Sister. They watched, as if it was a form of punishment for themselves, until finally Cerise dropped the lash to the floor. Her quick heeled steps wound their way around Rahvin.

She squatted before him, gripping his cheeks and scrunching them as she pointed his eyes to her own.

“Do not bring your sister into these games of yours. Or else next time you won't be so lucky.”

His head dropped, and Cerise began to walk from the courtyard, pointing Ilyena towards the door.

 

[Louise]

Yes, they all knew what was coming.

It made Ilyena think, what if it had been her idea? What if she had lead the escape? Silly thinking really. It would have all ended up just like this, with Rahvin at the centre of punishment. The girl was almost immune to this sort of treatment. Stop planting these ideas in your sister's head! That's what she'd say, as if she could do no wrong, as if she were perfect and he was a stain.

Her green eyes remained grim as she watched Cerise screech at her twin. Name calling as per usual. Twit? Sweet burn there, Cerise. Not genuine, that's an awful insult. You come from slave backgrounds, you can't use words like twit.

Like her.

Eyebrow pop, just like her brother before her. Like who? There it was again, her. Who? What was she nattering on about? Cerise had just let something slip and it was likely that neither sibling would let it go. No, no. This was important. In the height of frustration their ridiculous caretaker had revealed just that shred too much.

Helplessly Ilyena watched on as her brother was forced to his knees and tied to the posts. This wasn't right, this wasn't fair, she should have been there alongside him but she wasn't, she couldn't have been.

It was brutal.

The brunette didn't cry out for her brother, she didn't look distraught or even sad, but there was anger. There was a rage there that spread throughout her very core, eyes not moving from Cerise. Without even knowing it she found her fists clenched so tightly that her nails had long since pierced the skin upon her hands. Lash, after lash, after lash. No, no, this was too far, Cerise would pay for this.

When it was all said and done their ward directed her towards the door, and of course Ilyena wearing an expression of pure indignation completely ignored the trollop and made her way over to her brother's side. Who else would she side with?

“She won't get away with this,” Ilyena muttered into Rahvin's ear as she began to untie the rope from around his wrists, “I promise.”

 

[Lira Dajenn]

Rahvin let out a deep shuttering breath, it was ice cold.

He shook slightly, blood dripping out from the wounds on his back. His entire body seemed to be vibrating, shaking with intensity. The force flowed through him freely, the white of his eyes glowing with a soft blue light as his sister untied him from the posts. Again he shook, his body trying to suppress the feeling of utter pain that arched from his back.

For a moment the whisper of his sisters made his eyes flutter closed. He nodded, agreeing with her.

Yes, Cerise would pay for this.

They would bring her to heel. Something else however stuck out in his mind. Not the pain that flowed through him, not the hurt that arched throughout his entire body. Instead, it was the words of the creature that ran through his mind. She had spoken of someone, someone that hadn't been mentioned before.

Certainly it had not been there mother, Cerise would never have dared speak of Nemene in that way.

His eyes flickered to the runic tattoo burned on the underside of his forearm, and then to the similar mark that was burned with black ink in the same location on his sister. He frowned, and then forced himself to stand, leaning on his sister.

One of the Sirens jogged over and helped support him, despair on her face.

“I need...” He trailed off slightly as his vision blurred, his first step proving to be rather difficult. “...A bed.”

The world went black.

 

[Louise]

Natrually the moment she was snubbed for Rahvin, Cerise stormed off, no doubt to simmer on her own, perhaps have a private tantrum that things weren't quite going her way. If only the children knew that this petulant behaviour was very reminiscent of a young Nemene Talith, with the exception that Cerise lacked the power to do anything about her frustrations. Perhaps for the best.

They helped him to his feet, concern suddenly dawning upon the girl's face. She had really hurt him, his pride had made it seem as if the blows were nothing but in reality damage had been done.

Caught upon collapse, Ilyena looked to the Siren aiding her, brow furrowing slightly. “Take him, get him patched up, please.” Huh, a polite non-star devouring Talith, how about that. There was a brief moment of hand signals from the Siren and her twin came over rushing over to take Rahvin away for medical attention and rest. Drop of bacta and he'd be good as new.

Ilyena had other matters to attend to.

With nothing short of confidence in her step the adored child marched out of the courtyard and through the lavish halls of the palace. She knew where she was going, what she was doing, although rage had long since clouded her judgement.

Knock knock knock upon Cerise's chamber door, where the foul woman would likely still be seething away. Oh well, sometimes you've just got to be a little bit tricky. “Cerise,” she said through the door, voice calm and almost sultry, “I've come to apologise for my brother's behaviour.”

Okay, tricky was a light word for it, how about flat-out lying?

 

[Lira Dajenn]

Cerise was fuming.

She had gone back to her rooms stomping all the way.

She couldn't believe that boy. After all she had done for him, after all she had done to preserve him and bring him up right, he dared run away? And take his sister? The good one? The one that loved and adored her? The boy was out of his mind. She threw another book against the wall, the papers scattering and flying all around the room as she screamed in her rage.

Then suddenly, a knock distracted her. She let out an exasperated sigh, her heart thumping loudly and her face flush with the color of rage. It all disappeared when she heard her voice however, when her precious Ilyena spoke.

A smile broke her face, and she practically snag her response.

“Come in my dear. I hope he was serious this time.”

Cerise motioned to Ilyena as the door opened, signaling for the girl to come into the room. Her eyes fluttered slightly, and she looked at Ilyena as though she were a prized trophy.

 

[Louise]

By gum, Cerise really was deluded beyond all belief.

It was to be natural, really. She had loved Nemene, truly and without being mind controlled into it, to the slave mistress she really was a Goddess, after year upon year of hardships, slavery, abuse too horrible to mention here things were starting to look bright, have hope.

Evelynn had been defeated, was no more, the children had been born and her Mistress was more powerful than ever before and, and it had all just been taken away like that. All that happiness, gone. Cerise had never quite gotten over that.

She tried to pour her lost love into the legacies but it had failed. She could never truly love that blonde hair that remembered her of Evelynn so, and so the other had been given too much.

Both were left with resentment and she was blind to it.

Coming through the door the young woman made sure to shut it behind her, she might have locked it but that would have been far too obvious, even to a moron like Cerise. Just the way she looked at her made Ilyena feel ill, but she would push past it, offering her ward a serene smile in return.

“Of course,” she began, making her way right up to the woman and her still flustered cheeks, “he is so very sorry, Cerise. He informed me to tell you that he's learned his lesson and that he won't be trying to leave anymore,” Ilyena continued, completing the lie as she came to stand right before the woman.

Her right hand reached out, moving to caress the warm cheek of the enamoured woman. Her stomach almost lurched, bile lurking in her throat, the raven-haired beauty felt disgusted with what she was doing but still continued to do it, emerald eyes searching.

“But enough about him,” the girl smirked, “you mentioned somebody out there. A herr. If it was me instead of her. Cerise, who were you talking about?” A pause, but before she even gave the woman a chance to answer she made an addendum.

“Tell me.”

It was a demand.

 

[Lira Dajenn]

Cerise let Ilyena touch her, she even allowed her to cup her face, but at the demand, the woman recoiled.

For a moment it had felt like she had had her Nemene back, it had felt like she had had her Mistress returned to her. But that question, that question was enough to knock that illusion away. Her eyes opened wide, and she turned away from Ilyena, a look of disgust and hatred in her eyes. She focused her gaze over towards the bookshelf for a moment, only turning back to Ilyena once she was a few steps away from her.

“No one.”

Cerise spat towards Ilyena, before finally replying to her.

“No one important. A woman that didn't matter in the end.”

There was a bite to her words, an insult that wasn't meant for Ilyena, but someone else instead. The woman that was the bane of Cerise' existence, or had been when she was still alive. Now however it didn't matter, there was only Ilyena.

Rahvin completely skipped her mind.

 

[Louise]

Rats. She thought that would have been enough to get the information she wanted worming out, but evidently not.

This seemed to be the right path to getting what she wanted however, that look, for a moment Cerise had an expression on her face that could have only be described as incredible nostalgia, like stepping into your quaint little grandparent's village after years and still smelling the peat burning. It was just a moment, but then it was gone.

Their wretched caretaker didn't realise just how lucky she was, after all the young Talith had came with the intention of enacting revenge, but information could be just as good. After all the pair had been very intrigued by her outburst, they wouldn't let it slip.

“No no no,” she tutted, circling the woman like a predator, “this is clearly important.”

They knew how much she adored Nemene, and of course Ilyena had the very clear advantage of looking very much like the powerful Queen. It had caught Cerise for a moment and she would try again. Although, Nemene's mannerisms were almost past her, all they had was the holocron. It would either hit, or miss.

“You're upset,” Ilyena stated, coming round to the front of Cerise again, hand moved out again this time for the throat, fingernails gently prodding, running upwards and pushing the woman's chin up so she would look at her. It was as if she knew. “We can't have that now, can we?”

Once more, the demand was made.

“Tell me, Cerise.”

 

[Lira Dajenn]

“N-no.”

The words had to be stammered out. It was so tempting, like a dream. Cerise wanted it, but even her little mind knew what would happen if they learned about Evelynn, if Ilyena leared about Evelynn. She couldn't let it happen, she couldn't let them know about the pest that had plagued her life for so long. It would be too much.

She shook her head vigorously, and then spoke again, this time her tone was rushed.

“She was no one, nothing. Not at all worth talking about her.”

Cerise forced herself away from Ilyena, pulling away from her hand and walking over to to a nearby window. She stared out of it, her body shaking slightly. Cerise may not have been the most intelligent, she may not be clever or manipulative, but she knew how to hang onto the things that she wanted, she would do anything to keep the things most precious to her.

Shaking her head again Cerise turned to Ilyena.

“Don't worry yourself over her. She was just a slave of your mothers. Nothing more.”

There, that should placate the girl.

 

[Louise]

It did not placate the girl.

Again she was denied, further cementing the notion that whatever, whoever Cerise was hiding was important, and not only to the women herself but to the twins.

Her eyes followed the woman as she pushed herself away once again. No, no. Ilyena didn't have the patience for this, she was being left wanting and that was absolutely no good for a young woman who found herself equipped with quite the temper from time to time. She was after all, the daughter of Nemene Talith, who was rumoured to have beaten a woman half to death for touching her.

No, no, no. She would not keep this from them. This mysterious woman had clearly been more than just a slave, she had something to do with Rahvin, and perhaps even herself.

Once more Ilyena advanced upon Cerise, this time with a touch of malice in her step, hand striking out like a viper for the woman's throat, fingers enhanced ever-so-slightly by the Force wrapping around that neck and squeezing a little too tightly.

“Cerise,” she said in sing-song, growing darker by the second, “you're keeping secrets.”

Ilyena wasn't by default a malicious person, but one couldn't deny the potential that remained there, a certain edge of cruelty that would linger over her head likely forever. The grip grew tighter and tighter until she was actively choking the dull woman.

“It's upsetting me. Is that what you want? To upset me? I thought you loved me.”

 

[Lira Dajenn]

Cerise struggled against the grip, but there was nothing she could do. She was weak compared to even Ilyena, she did not have the force to aid her, the strength to fight against her.

But what she did have, was what Nemene had given her. In the palm of her fell a small device, a tiny black remote with only a single red button on it. Cerise jammed the thing over and over again, sending a signal to several of the Sirens. To her it was clear what was happening her, Ilyena was being controlled, manipulated by that stupid dog she had beaten in the courtyard. She would have to be restrained until she could remember who truly loved her.

“You've been listening to him again.”

She managed to cough out the words as a pair of Sirens burst through the door. They jumped almost immediately towards Ilyena, grappling her and pulling her away from Cerise. The caretaker fell to the ground, gasping for breath, struggling to get air into her lungs before raising herself and speaking.

“He will have to be beaten again, I will teach him not to manipulate you.”

Cerise spoke the words as the Sirens slowly began to drag Ilyena from the room. Her feet getting caught on several books and papers as she was slowly torn away from Cerise.

 

[Louise]

Ilyena did not notice the woman's panic button, completely unaware that the Sirens were now thundering through the halls on their way to Cerise's chambers. I suppose when you are nothing more than an empty-headed wretch you need that extra touch of protection.

Despite the fact that it was Ilyena's hand around Cerise's throat the woman still managed to blame it all on Rahvin. This of course exasperated the brunette beyond all belief. As if she couldn't make her own decisions, as if she only existed as a pawn in Rahvin and Cerise's game of loathing and neglect.

“Tell me!” Ilyena screeched as the Sirens burst into the room, the pair of them managing to wrestle the rather livid twin away. The struggle that she put up was ultimately futile with a woman on each arm to drag her away kicking and screaming. “I'm not being manipulated you worthless schutta!”

Then it hit her.

A wave grief and rage overcame the woman as her foot brushed against a black leather-bound book. Flashes of images. A blonde woman, wearing nothing more than rags writing in this book. Never before had she had never felt such sorrow, such hideous resentment, bile rose in her throat. Who was this woman? Was it her? Was this who Cerise so desperately tried to hide? The fact that the book had been kept and not discarded pointed towards a yes on that front.

They needed that book, and they needed to escape, that much was known.

 

[Louise]

Fin.