The Love of a Slave

Author’s Notes: Okay, I have a short little announcement to make: I drew a pic of Arielle and Coran (anime style, because that is about all I can draw ^,^;;) so if you want to see it, here is the link:

http://s4.invisionfree.com/Tainted_Spirits/index.php?showtopic=36

I know it’s not very good, I don’t draw that often, but I figured I’d share it so you got the gist of what they look like.

~_~_~_~_~


Arielle sat by the window, enjoying the view of the gardens below her. She was unable to sleep, having been through so much recently.

She felt relieved, yet somehow afraid of being back at the castle again.

“Why do constantly keep me in the dark?!\"

\"Because you\'re a human. And a slave! Start acting like one!\"

\"Oh really? That is all I am? Some stupid slave who doesn\'t even have the freedom to ask questions---to gain knowledge?\"

\"You\'re trying to put words in my mouth.\"

\"No, you put the words there yourself. Answer me!\"

\"Yes, Arielle! Doesn\'t the term slavery mean anything to you?!\"

The words played through her mind over and over again. Tears slid down her cheeks at the thought of the scene. She glanced at the door which separated her bedroom from Coran’s.

It felt so right to be back, but at the same time, terrifying. She was afraid… afraid that Coran’s words were true. Was she really just some useless slave? Did she mean anything to him?

Her earlier doubts filled her mind again. I shouldn’t have come back, she thought. I should have stayed with Keeting and refused Coran when he found me---if ever.

Worst of all, Coran, wanted her to lead him to Keeting, so he could settle the score. Not that Arielle didn’t appreciate Coran trying avenge her injustice. Or maybe he was just punishing Dollan for damaging his property. Either way, he was fighting for her.

… Until she begged him not to; told him she wanted to go back to the castle and put it behind her. Even though he agreed at first, he changed his mind many times on the journey to the castle. It took quite a bit of persuading on Arielle’s part to get him to give up.

Arielle jumped as noises came from Coran’s room. The sounds of soft footsteps and muffled cursing. She sighed, standing up and walking to her door. Inching it open, she peeked her head out silently.

“Going somewhere?” she asked suspiciously. He had his armor on and was in the process of strapping his sword to his belt.

“Yes.” he admitted. It was hard to lie under the circumstances.

Arielle sighed again, rubbing her temples. “You promised you wouldn’t go after Keeting!”

Coran sat on the edge of the bed, patting the spot next to him. “Come sit.” he said. Arielle hesitantly sat next to him. He put his arm around her shoulders, making her feel more awkward than comfortable. “I know I promised, but I can’t let him get away with it. I have to make him pay for what he did to you.”

“I didn’t ask you to,” she snapped. “Okay? The last thing I need is you running around trying to be Mister Hero.”

“So you’re perfectly fine with letting your rapist go?” he asked, enraged.

“Yes.” she said. “And technically, it wasn’t rape.”

“How so?” he demanded.

“I said yes.” she said. “I made a stupid decision and it turned out very bad in the end.”

He lifted his hand and Arielle was sure he was going to slap her. Instead, he ran it through his hair. “You were glamoured. It was rape.”

Determined to dissuade him from his brilliant attack plan, she said, “So? Okay, my mind was a bit clouded, but it wasn’t rape.”

He drew out an angry breath. “Why are you protecting him?”

“I’m not protecting him!” she said, her voice rising slightly. “I’m protecting you.”

“I didn’t ask you to.” he said bitterly, using her words against her. He started to stand, but she grabbed his arm.

“Don’t walk away from me.” she said, her voice softening. “Please, let me explain.”

He sat back down. “Fine, but make it quick.” he said harshly.

“He was an elf, I knew it from the moment I saw him.” she said. “My head felt funny every time I refused him. I remembered what you said about elves, how they manipulate people using magic.”

“So you knew he was glamouring you?”

“Not really.” she said, taking a deep breath. “To tell you the truth, I don’t think he was using much of his magic on me.”

“What do you mean?” Coran asked, beginning to sound worried.

“I didn’t refuse him.” she explained. “I was in the woods. Alone and scared---really scared. I thought you were mad at me, Coran. You seemed so mad when you confronted me at the gates, I thought I could never come back. So… I just gave in. I felt the glamour the whole time, but it wasn’t very strong. It didn’t need to be.”

“It… was consensual?” he asked, looking as if he was about to throw up.

“Oh, God.” she said burying her face in her hands. “I’m sorry.”

He didn’t respond. He just curled up on the bed and hid his face in the pillow.

Arielle stood from the bed. “I should leave.” she said, walking to her bedroom.

Just before she closed the door, Coran called, “I’ll arrange for you to go home tomorrow.”

Arielle gasped in surprise. He was sending her home? “What?”

“It’s what you’ve wanted all along, isn’t it?” he said. Even muffled by the pillows, Arielle could hear the bitterness in his voice.

She slammed her door and ran to her bed. She never went to sleep that night, she never stopped crying in to her pillows.

~_~_~

By dawn, Arielle was laying on her bed, sniffling and whimpering. She wasn’t crying; she didn’t have any tears left.

She had blown it. She was back in the castle---back with Coran and she blew it.

At least he won’t get hurt. she thought. That is why she told him the truth in the first place. She was afraid Dollan would hurt him. Even if he wouldn’t speak to her and she would never see him again, he was safe.

She had to talk to him before she left, though. She had already made up her mind on that.

Summoning up the little courage she had left, she walked in to Coran’s bedroom. “Coran?”

No response came from him. At first, Arielle thought he was sleeping, but when she noticed his uneven breathing, she sighed.

Sitting at the end of the bed, she punched his leg. He immediately shot up and glared at her. “Why are you doing this?” she asked. Her voice was not cold or demanding, it was sad. “I made a mistake, and I understand that you’re upset, but it doesn’t have to be like this!”

“Yes it does!” he said. “First, you had sex with him. Second, you made me think he raped you. Third, you had the nerve to come back here after all of it.”

Arielle looked at him disbelievingly. Before she could stop herself, she slapped him hard on the cheek. “I didn’t make you think he raped me, you concluded that yourself. But he did take advantage of me, and he hurt me, and I was upset.” she said. “And how many women have you been with, Coran?”

He looked surprised. “That is none or your business.”

“A lot, I bet.” she said. “You’re the Lord of Fey, of course you get a lot of sex.”

“This is beside the point.” he snapped.

“Actually, this is the point.” she said. “You can sleep with God knows how many women, and I sleep with one man and it’s the end of the world.”

“Don’t you get it?” he said incredulously. “You’re my slave, you’re supposed to have sex with me, not the Ruler of the Unseelie!”

Arielle arched her eyebrows. “I thought the Unseelie Court was before your time?” she said. “That means you lied.”

“I’m the Lord of Fey, I’m allowed to lie.”

“And I’m allowed to make my own decisions.” she snipped.

“Since when?” he asked. “You’re supposed to do what you’re told.”

“You’re sending me home, remember?” she said. “I don’t have to listen to a damn word you say.”

He glared at her. “I said I was sending you home, I never said I was setting you free.”

Her jaw dropped slightly. “You’re keeping me enslaved?”

“Of course.” he said. “Which means you’re still under my authority.”

“You pig-headed jerk!” she screamed. “I can’t believe I actually felt guilty about Keeting. You haven’t changed at all! You know, I should go back there and screw him a few more times!”

It was Coran’s turn to slap her. “Fine, go.” he said. “But don’t come crawling back when he ‘takes advantage of you’ again.”

Angry tears burned in Arielle’s eyes. “Just send me home, goddammit.”

“No.” he said simply.

“What?” she asked in astonishment.

“No.” he repeated. “I’m not going to give you what you want.”

The peace she felt toward Coran when they left the woods was completely gone. “Take me home, you stupid bastard!” she yelled. “I don’t want to be anywhere near you.”

He stood from the bed and locked her bedroom door. “Too bad,” he said. “You’re going to be.” he didn’t want to be around her either, but it pushed her buttons to keep her locked in a room with him, and that is what he wanted.

Arielle stomped over to the window and sat down on a chair beside it. She hugged her knees to her chest, desperately fighting off tears. “I hate you.” she muttered, just loud enough for him to hear. “I hate you so much.” As hard as she tried to stop them, the tears fell silently down her cheeks.

It was back to how it used to be. He was denying her the one thing she wanted most: to go home. She let out a choked sob, no longer caring if Coran knew she was crying.

“I hate you.”