A Night's Submission

As promised, when Karis awoke, she was alone in the cellar, her bonds still present but noticeably loosened. She could smell her own arousal that had dried on her face, the aroma bring back shameful memories. A part of her had hoped that her ordeal would turn out to be a twisted, elaborate nightmare, but there was no denying that she had been so thoroughly violated. Karis squirmed sluggishly, still fighting off whatever soporific had been used to subdue her. Judging by the golden light streaming in through the flood window, a new day had dawned outside.

Eventually and with no small amount of effort, she managed to slip her bonds. The collar about her neck had been locked, frustrating her further. Kicking the ropes away and curling up against the wall to sob quietly, Karis came to grips with the reality of her situation. She was naked and alone with no idea where she'd been taken, but that could be remedied easily enough... depending on where exactly she was. It was entirely possible that she hadn't been left in friendly territory, or that the first locals she encountered would react kindly to a naked woman stumbling about with a collar around her neck.

If she was extremely unfortunate, she might be mistaken for a runaway slave and taken by slavers before her previous captor had a chance to come for her again as he promised. It was no comfort to her.

Steeling herself and wiping her eyes, Karis set about completing her escape. She searched the crates in the cellar, but found nothing of use; it looked to be excess storage of farming tools and equipment. She took a trowel to defend herself with before climbing the stairs to investigate further. The door at the top of the stairs was old and squealed on rusted hinges, banishing any semblance of stealth she might have entertained. Should she try to call out for help, or announce herself further? With the way she'd been screaming in pain and pleasure last night, she assumed the building must have been abandoned.

That soon proved to be the right assumption after all. She was greeted by dust filtering through the sunlight, which peeked between the cracks of boarded up windows with moldering drapes. The place looked like it had been looted for anything of value long ago. The only trace of life were smears in the dust leading to the open doorway leading outside, no doubt the tracks of her captor, perhaps some her own, had she been dragged.

Swallowing her pride and dignity, Karis emerged into the harsh light of day outside, dreading her first fateful encounter with civilization.

It was several hours of hiking through abandoned fields and wilderness alongside the only road she'd seen before she finally found a village. The quarter mile of open ground to the nearest building was a daunting concept, but an unavoidable one; the air was chilly and, although she recognized where she was, she knew she wasn't safe on her own in such a state. Valastead was beholden to her home state of Bernaan, but it was a border holding with the rival and hostile clans of orcs.

She was very fortunate she hadn't crossed paths with any of the hulking greenskinned monsters on her trek through the forest. Karis wagered they were the ones that had looted the abandoned farm she had left behind, if not bandits or brigands displaced along the border from one of many common skirmishes.

As dusk began to settle, she finally emerged from the trees, keeping low as she cross the plain of tall grass between her and Valastead. It scraped and irritated her exposed skin, and it was all Karis could do to keep it together as she raced for the nearest building. She didn't see anyone nearby, and somewhere a dog had begun to bark; hopefully it wasn't because it had detected her.

Karis scanned the clothesline, breaking from behind a bush to snatch a shirt and pair of breeches, rushing back into cover to dress. Both articles were too large for her, but it was better than nothing.

"Oi!" Someone cried from inside the house, a man's voice. "Damn thief, come back here!"

Karis cursed; she didn't think she'd been spotted, and tried to run. Her stolen pants caught on a root and tore, even as it tripped her and sent her sprawling. Before she could scramble back to her feet, someone barreled into her from behind, crushing her under their weight.

"Got you! Bloody thief, quit stealing my---" The man trailed off when he managed to turn Karis over onto her back, blinking at her dirt smeared face. "A woman?"

Karis spat in his face and drove a knee between the man's legs, shoving him off with desperate strength. To the man's credit, he recovered quick enough to grab her by the ankles.

"Wait, girl--"

"Let go of me!" Karis cried, kicking frantically as she tried scrabbling away from him.

"Just hold on now!" He barked, pulling her closer. "I ain't gonna hurt you, just calm down!"

"Let go!" She demanded again, reaching for the rusty trowel she'd taken from the cellar.

To her surprise, he did as she asked. "Alright! Just don't run, okay? I ain't gonna hurt you!"

Karis lay there panting, looking at the man as she pulled out of his reach. His face was lined with age, but he had the body of a man well into his prime, built for the farm. He had his hands raised towards her so she could see he was unarmed. They sat there for a tense moment, waiting for the other to move first.

"What's yer name, girl?" He said, keeping his attention fixed on her face. "I'm Lorath, this here's my property and them's my clothes yer wearing."

Karis flushed, more ashamed now that she'd been caught than she had been in the act of stealing. "Forgive me, sir, but I had no choice." She glanced around, worried that she might have called unwanted attention on herself. Weighing her options, she decided she would try giving this stranger her trust. She could always run if it proved to be folly. "I... I need help. Please."

Lorath bobbed his head. "Aye, I can see that plain enough. You get away from the Orcs, then? We ain't keep slaves here."

Karis shook her head, confused for a moment until she remembered the collar locked about her neck. "No, I... I am no slave, I swear it, this was forced upon me by an elf."

That brought a bark of surprised laughter. "An elf, eh? Now there's a story I wouldn't believe." Chuckling, he rose to his feet and dusted his pants off before offering her a hand up. "Makes no matter, girl, it ain't my business. If it's help you want, then I'll do as I can. Come on now."

Praying she hadn't made a grave error, Karis too Lorath's hand, letting him help her up. She fixed her stolen shirt and held the breeches up with her free hand. "I do not suppose you have something else I might wear?"

Lorath sized her up and shook his head. "Afraid I don't, but don't worry about that. Might be I could make an arrangement or two with me neighbors. Come inside, eh? Just sat down for supper."

Karis followed him inside, checking over her shoulder as she entered. Lorath's kitchen was a humble affair, one counter laden with the detritus of his meal making, another taken up by a wash basin. The table was small, intended for only one or two. Lorath pulled out the only chair for Karis to sit before he moved a barrel over to use for himself. He pushed a steaming bowl towards her.

"Sir, I cannot, this is your food." Karis said, trying to push it back in spite of her protesting stomach. He stopped the bowl with a shake of his head, nudging it back.

"You look like ye've had an ordeal, girl. I'll fix meself something after ye've told me why yer stealing clothes twice yer size."

Reluctantly, Karis took the food, trying not to eat too fast. Lorath provided her a mug of water to go with the stew, sitting back to listen to her tale. Between sips and spoonfuls, Karis detailed how she had been on her way to Galen's Crossing, another day west of Valastead by foot, with the intent of helping the people their with bandits. How her memory failed her just before her arrival, and explained some of her captivity.

"I fear I cannot say much of it." She admitted. "I barely glimpsed his face, and would not even recognize him on sight if my life depended upon it. An dark elf, but beyond that, nothing else."

Lorath took the empty bowl and placed it in the wash basin. "Quite a tale. No, no I believe ye girl, it speaks of sense. You talk too good to be some slave, and I can see now that you are a knight. I might have fixed you for a laborer or farmhand, elsewise."

Karis sat impatiently, wishing to put more distance between her and the cellar, but for all she knew, the elf could be waiting somewhere further down the road for her. Perhaps he was following her, somehow, but she had taken some care to cover her tracks.

"Look, ye can't travel lookin' like that. I'll speak to Maggie in the mornin' about getting you some proper clothes. Keep that for now, I ain't fixin' to shame ye further." Lorath refilled her water and set the mug before her. "Ye can take me bed for the night."

Karis shook her head. "I cannot do that, sir, you have done enough already."

"Pah, it's nothin'. I insist. I ain't about to make ye sleep on the floor or throw you out into the night. Gods know you lucked upon me, and I ain't trustin' of me neighbors to be so kindly. Yer stayin' the night, and we'll see what tomorrow brings."

She bowed her head, offering an anxious smile. "Thank you Lorath, sir. You are very kind. I swear, I will repay this kindness when I have the means to do so."

Lorath gave her a look that suggested he knew how she could repay him, but cleared his throat and looked away. "None of that right now. I'm jus' tryna do what's right, eh?"

"On my honor, I--" Karis began but he cut her off, waving away her promise.

"Your honor is safe with me girl."

"Karis." She supplied at last. "My name is Karis."

"Karis, then." Lorath nodded. "Come on then, I'll show you the room and draw you a bath. You look as though you need it."

With a flush, Karis followed Lorath around his humble home. His bedroom was little more than that; room for a bed and a trunk. He left her standing there while he prepared her bath. She scanned the room, noting a small shelf of almanacs and rolls of decaying parchment that might have been maps or plots of some sort. Something glinted from a shadowed corner when it caught the wan light of the hall, and curious, she reached for it.

"Ain't see much use, that." Lorath said from the door, nodding to the bundle Karis had grabbed. "Me father used to fight the Orcs. That was all they brought back of him. Kept it fer his memory."

"I apologize, I should not be rifling through your things." Karis said, placing it back where she had found it. Strangely, she felt safer knowing she would sleep with a blade close at hand, even an unkempt one.

He made no further comment and showed her into the washroom, apologizing for his lack of amenities. Karis reassured the large man that the bath itself was enough, and that much was true; she could be rid of the filth, but she couldn't wash away her shame.

Honor demanded that she avenge herself somehow, but she didn't know who the elf was. She was barely certain her captor had been an elf, but that fleeting glimpse of him had fixed in her memory, alongside everything else that had wounded her pride. It made no difference to her. Karis vowed she would take back her dignity and restore her honor, otherwise she didn't deserve to be called a knight, no matter her accomplishments.

She wasn't worthy of the title if she could be set upon and violated like had happened to her.

Try as she might to push the ordeal from her mind, Karis was hard pressed to do so. Every touch lingered fresh in her memory, and no amount of scrubbing could wipe it from her skin. Nor could she erase the sensation of pleasure that had been forced upon her. The elf had been cruel in his torments, but when he chose to make her moan, he had done so with purpose and skill in equal measure. He had been no mere rapist, nothing so simple as that; he was a true sadist, a sexual predator of terrifying experience.

A knock at the door startled her, but it was only Lorath speaking from the other side. "Sorry, girl. Erm, Karis. I've got some bolt cutters for that collar, when yer done in there. Meet me in the kitchen later. I erm, left ye somethin' to wear."

"Thank you, Lorath." Karis said, heart pounding. She steadied her voice before adding. "I will be out shortly." She took a moment to calm her nerves before wrapping herself in a towel and edging the door open to see a small bundle of clothes. It was more of Lorath's, recognizing it from the clothesline. He'd provided a belt this time, for which she was grateful.

Dressed once more in a shirt she'd had to cinch at the small of her back and breeches that swallowed her legs, rolled up so she wouldn't trip herself again, Karis emerged into the kitchen where Lorath was waiting, leaning against the counter. The aforementioned bolt cutters were sitting on the table.

"Sit down, and I'll get that collar off of ye." Lorath said, looking her over with an approving nod. "You look better."

"I feel better, thank you." Karis said, though it was only a half-truth. She did feel refreshed, but couldn't shake an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She seated herself, turning the lock towards the front of her neck and pulling her hair out of the way. "Please, get it off of me."

Lorath took up the cutters and worked it around the thick lock. It took a fair bit of effort on his part, but after a third squeeze of his massive arms, managed to cut the lock. Karis wasted no time in pulling the rest of it off, rubbing her neck where it had been.

"I owe you a debt, Lorath." Karis said softly, looking up at him. "You have shown kindness where I expected none. Truth be told, I was afraid the first man I ran into would attempt to take advantage of me. Even when you caught me stealing from you, you proved me wrong."

Lorath set the cutters aside, scratching his chin. "I wouldn't be surprised if ye'd have been proven right, had ye gone to one of me neighbors. Not all of em are bad, mind you, but some lack respect." He took up the remains of the collar, frowning at it. "I know at least one of em woulda tried to keep ye for 'imself."

Karis shuddered at the thought. She would have fought, of course, but the odds would not have been much in her favor.

"I may not be able to repay you now, or even soon, but I do owe you, Lorath." Karis insisted. "On my honor as a knight, I cannot let this debt go unpaid. Do you understand?"

"I think so." Lorath said with a shrug. "I'll think on it, eh? Like ye say, ye can't repay me now, so there's no rush to be makin' demands of ye." He raked a hand through his thinning hair, dusting his hands absently. "Right, ye must be tired. Ye ought to get some sleep."

Karis bobbed her head in agreement, stifling a yawn behind her hand. "Yes, of course." She stood, brushing her hands down the borrowed clothes. She hoped that whatever Lorath was able to find for her tomorrow, that it fit better and didn't turn out to be a dress. Karis loathed dresses.

She tried offering Lorath his own bed one last time before she retired to it, herself. She wasn't so proud that she would actually turn him down, but she had imposed enough on him already. Karis settled in to sleep, but it came reluctantly, eluding her.

Tossing and turning, she found her mind too occupied by her circumstances, rendered restless by the trauma she refused to face. Acknowledging that was almost as bad as admitting defeat to that monster. To think that she could have liked it as he claimed, to believe she would eventually need to be degraded by him? It sickened her in an unfamiliar way, unnerving her to her core.

Had she liked it? Was he wrong? Karis thought she knew the answer, but doubt nagged at the edges of sleep, keeping it at bay. She remembered it in flashes, the way she had been helpless to resist him, drugs keeping her from being able to do so. It made her resistance seem playful, as if she'd wanted to be subdued and bound.

Being choked, forced to gag and labor over his cock, slapped and spit on, degraded and used. He'd called her prey, a piece of meat. Karis was just a tool for his sick desires. And the way he'd fingered her, why had she been so wet already??

Curiously, Karis felt her hands wandering towards her hips, slipping under the borrowed pants. She felt a wetness there, gasping when she accidentally brushed her clitoris. Ashamed, she brought her hands away. It couldn't be. Why was she aroused?

When sleep did come for her, it came fitfully, bringing flashes of memory. The pain of humiliation. The forbidden pleasure. She felt more in her nightmare than she'd been forced to endure, her imagination conjuring up possibilities of what her captor might do to her next, given the chance. He used her in ways she didn't think possible, and to her horror, she enjoyed it all. Welcomed it, even.

Karis awoke before dawn, feeling no more rested than she had been the night before. Her sleep, or lack of it, had left her frustrated. To her growing disbelief, she realized she was still aroused, the fading memories of her nightmare bleeding into her waking reality.

Expecting to find Lorath in the kitchen, it was instead empty. A pot had been left hanging near the stove away from the fire, steaming invitingly. Calling his name, he checked the other rooms, but the farmer was nowhere to be found. Thinking perhaps that he'd gone to finish bringing in his laundry, she checked behind the house. The clothing had indeed been gathered, but her patron was nowhere in sight. Karis retreated inside once more to think, rather than jump to conclusions.

"He must be seeing his neighbor about those clothes..." Karis mused aloud as she helped herself to what proved to be coffee in the pot. She dare not overstep by helping herself to anything else in the house. Lorath's absence both unsettled and relieved her. In spite of his willingness to help, her encounter with the elf had made it harder to trust strangers.

Could Lorath be in league with the elf, somehow? Or had her hunter found her already, and killed the farmer, waiting for her to be exposed? Such doubts and concerns plagued her thoughts, and Karis found herself longing for a weapon, in case any of her suspicions proved to be true. As she rose from her seat at the table, dawn's first light touched the house and filtered in through the windows, heralding the new day and the sound of footsteps approaching.

Heart racing, Karis cast about with anything she might defend herself with. Nothing looked serviceable, so she grabbed the pot off the hook, holding it away from her so that she might swing it in a vicious arc. She crouched beside the counter adjacent to the door, waiting with bated breath. Karis rose in ambush as the door opened, managing to catch herself at the last moment as Lorath entered, startled by her aborted attack.

"Gods above girl, ye scared me half to death!" He exclaimed, fumbling with a bundle of clothe wrapped by a single cord. He managed not to drop it, instead setting it on the counter. Lorath eyed the kettle in her hands, still steaming as the liquid within sloshed around.

Karis exhaled sharply, backing away and setting the kettle aside as she fought to calm her nerves. "Forgive me, I thought... I thought it might be someone else."

Lorath forced a nervous laugh, closing the door behind him. "Were I in yer boots, I'd have done the same." He shook his head, transfering the bundle to the table and gesturing to it. "Had me neighbor heckling me about what I needed these for, thinkin' I found meself a bride without tellin' no one. Hah! I'm too old fer that now."

Karis offered him a gentle smile. "I fine man such as yourself, Lorath? I think the women do not know what they are missing."