Cinderfella 2: A New Life - 6. Chapter 6 The Test

“My life is over,” Deena repeated, then she moved in closer her eyes ablaze with hatred. “My life was over the minute you crossed into Blethos’ territory!” She shouted, then thought. “No, that’s not quite true. It was over when King Alexander wrote that damned letter to your brother, proposing the marriage of one of his family to a royal member of your family.” She reached and grabbed a pot used for boiling water for tea. Then she swung it as hard as she could hit me in the jaw! I never understood what people meant when they said they saw stars when hit, but now I did. I literally saw flashes of light, the pain of the sudden impact made me dizzy and I tasted my own blood. “This whole thing is your doing! If King Alexander had just appointed the next king. None of this would have happened.”

I had a sick feeling in my stomach, my head was swimming. I looked at her. “He was following the law.”

“My father knew Darius would be king.” She shouted. “Or perhaps I would be queen!” She was again enraged and struck me again, making my head swim more, but the force of the hit didn’t hurt as much as the first one. Not that it didn’t hurt, but my body was ready for it. “You could have chosen me. You could have chosen Darius! Instead, you choose Seth!?”

“I was allowed to choose Seth to set things right,” I said weakly. “He was born to be king. You know that.” I shook my head. “And yet you still don’t see why?” I asked unbelievingly. “You don’t see the cause and effect? None of this would have happened if your father hadn’t killed King Alexander’s wife! He opened the opportunity for you and Darius to be king or queen, but it wasn’t to be you or Darius. You were one in over a hundred choices. There was no guarantee.”

“Seth wasn’t meant to be king!” Deena shouted.

“He was!” I argued. “He was king!” This was going nowhere. She was hell-bent on revenge and couldn’t see it. “How’d you get in my house? It was guarded.”

She smiled. “It wasn’t hard.” She chuckled. “Darius was good with a sword, but with a bow and arrow, I’m deadly. A shot to the throat at dusk, the guard didn’t shout out for help. He couldn’t.”

My blood went cold again. “You killed him.” The agony of this situation hit me anew. “All of the guards on duty had wives and children. You just made a widow and rendered his children without a father.”

Deena mocked a sad look. “Oh, the poor things. Now they know how I feel. My father was killed.”

I looked around the cave and its contents. “What is all this?”

Deena looked at the surroundings. “This? This was put here by my father. He used this cave to store things…” she looked for a word. “…he appropriated.”

“Stole, in other words.” I shook my head. “Traitor, murderer and a thief. That figures.”

Deena shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.” She stepped toward me again. “You will soon know what it’s like to lose something precious. Seth is going to die. Then you are going to die.” She turned to walk out but stopped when something caught her eye. She went over and pulled a piece of delicate red cloth. I recognized it as silk from Asiana. “Still, he got some beautiful things.” She held up the cloth. “Look how sheer this is! You can see right through it!”

“And your father shit on it,” I said angrily.

“What!?” Deena looked at me.

“Do you know how long that took to make?” I asked. “I don’t. I can’t even imagine. Hours? Days? Weeks!? When your father stole it, he took whoever’s work that took time, painstakingly done when the people who made it sent it here to trade. The reward for their hard work was stolen. You should use it as shit cloth.”

Deena frowned. “Why are you talking to me like this?”

I chuckled. “I don’t use this kind of language when in the presence of people. Whether I like them or not. But I hate you, so, no problem.” Then my bladder sent a signal to my head and I just peed right there making her jump back more to keep my urine from hitting her in the splash. “To keep you at a distance,” I explained with a smile.

Deena scowled. “It won’t be long before we have Seth. I hope you’re cold.” She looked at her two hired muscle. “Now, let’s go get Seth.”

The pain was now aching in my face. I didn’t have to imagine what I looked like. The biggest problem was, being tied even to a chair didn’t help with the passing of time. If it was dusk when she entered the house, it was after dark now. But not knowing how long I was unconscious, it was perpetually dark in this cave so I had no idea what time it was. So I’d get no idea if the moon was out or the sun. I doubted it was daytime. No food or water time was passing and my only clue was the hunger and thirst I had.

My attention was drawn to the cave’s unseen entrance when I heard some people coming in and from what I heard, dragging something.

“Careful.” I heard Deena. “Don’t damage him yet.”

Then I watched as Deena led the two men as they were dragging an unconscious Seth.

“Just drop him there,” Deena instructed, pointing to the ground in front of me. “It took a while, but here’s your husband.” She crossed her arms. “We’ll have to wait for him to come to before we begin.” Then she smiled at the two men. “In the meantime, strip him, boys.” Then she looked at me. “No please don’t? No begging me to stop?”

I shrugged. “You already told me what you plan, I can’t stop you. Besides, you’d lie.”

She nodded. “True.”

They stripped him, not delicately either, until he was as naked as I was, then bound him as I was. Chaining him as I was, but leaving him on the ground. A part of me wished him to remain unconscious. But it wasn’t too long before he groaned and began moving. Waking more, he opened his eyes and looked around. Then spotting me, he looked alarmed.

“Erik?” He struggled to get up, but of course, he couldn’t. “Oh, Erik.” He looked horrified. Maybe I couldn’t have imagined how I looked.

“Glad you finally woke up,” Deena said calmly as she brought over a couple of tools. “This will be a lot better with you awake.” She looked at Seth. “You know? I almost hate what’s about to happen. When you were cursed and scarred, the thought of touching you revolted me.” Then she smiled. “But since you’ve been cured, it will be a shame to scar you again. You are very handsome now.” Then she bent down, taking one of his man orbs in a vice, then squeezed it almost shut making him shout a long cry of pain, his teeth gritting. Releasing the vice, she took it to one of his bound hands, taking a finger she tightened the vice, this time I heard the crack as a finger broke at the knuckle. Again Seth screamed from the pain, and my heart was aching with him as I felt tears form. “I promise, this is going to go on for hours,” Deena assured. “I wasn’t going to crush your man orbs, not yet. I’ll give that a chance to heal a bit, though I’m sure it’s throbbing now.” Then she unlatched the vice and took another of Seth’s fingers, squeezing again as he screamed, breaking another finger at the knuckle. Then again, she moved to his other man orb and squeezed again. Again not shut, but his cry of pain was hitched as he fought for air! She looked at me, the tears on my face were coming freely. “No demands for me to stop?”

“You won’t.” I cried. “This is what you wanted, me to suffer, I am.”

Deena smiled. “Good.” Then she turned to the two men with her. “Okay. Who’ll be first?” She asked in a happy mood. “You wanted to rape Erik, but start with Seth.” She stepped back allowing the two men to come closer. “Then I’ll do this again.”

“I’ll start,” Bert claimed happily.

“Why you?” The other protested. “Says who?”

“Because I said so.” Bert groused.

Deena rolled her eyes. “Who cares!?” She pointed at Seth. “Just do it! Though there is time.”

I was now sobbing as Bert bent over Seth and rolled him so he could get to him. He unfastened his trousers and again pulled his now fully aroused penis out. My begging them to stop was pointless. Calling for Demetrius would get no reply. All I could do is watch this horrible man rape my beloved husband! Bert ran fingers over Seth’s backside. Touching his entrance, he frowned. “It’s going to hurt.” Then he nodded at a thought and cut a slit on Seth’s skin just above his entrance, blood seeped slowly, covering his entrance. “There, that’s better.”

Deena was smiling, very pleased with what was about to happen.

Bert pulled Seth up a little to ease his penetration into Seth and was about to enter Seth. My cry of agony just came out! He was going to rape Seth!! You can’t imagine how it hurt me!!

Then I hadn’t seen him as we were all distracted, but a sudden move, I heard someone swing a sword. Bert’s penis was now lying on the ground and Bert was bleeding in spurts where his penis had been. I looked up and saw one of the other guards that had been assigned to guard us! The blood on his sword. His elbow flew up and hit the other man in the bridge of his nose sending the other man flying back.

“What the…” Deena looked up in shock. Then hurried toward me.

The guard held his bloody sword up to Deena.

I looked up to see Ezekiel standing, looking horrified at what he was seeing. Then down at Seth, he quickly knelt by Seth, taking the clothes scattered about and covering Seth. He pulled the pins from the shackles and untied the ropes.

“Stop!!” Deena demanded the guard who stopped approaching her as she put a dagger up to my throat. “Any further and he’s dead!”

That’s when others entered the cave. Gabriel was leading more men in the cave, one was the newly elected mayor, Keith Davidson. Dark hair with a bald spot at his crown and his middle said he enjoyed his wife’s cooking a little too much. He was beautiful to me. All of them were!

“She’ll do it anyway!” I shouted. “Stop her!”

I felt the blade enter a little. “I will kill him!!” She assured.

Say what you will, this new mayor walked forward a little closer to Deena. “Erik says you will anyway.” Then he shrugged and smiled. “But consider what will happen then.”

She looked like the animal she was cornered. “You’ll kill me.”

The man nodded. “Yes, but not right away.” He shook his head. “I promise you will stand trial. You killed the guard at the house. You’ve kidnapped two men, both of royal birth. You will stand before the king and he will put you to death of course.” He grinned a little evilly. “Now, how that death will occur is up to you. You could hang, or just lose your head.” He did the motion across his own throat. “Quick or if you do kill any more….” He pondered a moment. “…have you ever heard of quartering?”

Deena looked confused. “Quartering?”

The mayor’s dark eyes brightened. “I read about it. It’s a very brutal form of execution from ancient times. See, you take four horses. You bind one leg and arm to each horse, then slowly have them move away from each other, ripping the person apart. Of course, the slower it’s done, the longer the agony. The person is literally quartered as they are torn apart.” He sighed sadly. “Of course, the arms and legs will come out of their sockets first, the executed often passes out from the pain. They stop the quartering and wait for the executed to come to again and start over.” He glared at Deena. “The point is, you will be awake and aware when you have finally pulled apart. Only then will your suffering end when you bleed to death.” Then he smiled. “And I’m sure neither King Samuel or King Christian would object in the least to that! In fact, I’m quite certain, King Christian will want to be here to witness it if you kill his brother. King Christian or King Samuel, they’re both his brothers.”

Even I was amazed at this. Deena’s eyes grew as Mayor Davidson had described it slowly and in detail.

“Now, we can do this, take you to trial, which you will be executed. But whether it’s fast or slow is your choice. So, do whatever.”

Deena swallowed. I heard her! Then dropped the knife. The guard and another man rushed on her pulling her hands behind her back and bound her hands.

Seth was hurting, but he sat up. His face was tear stained and the pain was evident on his face. But he rose, didn’t bother putting his clothes back on as he stumbled toward me. “Aw, baby.” He cried touching my face, which still hurt. Then he hugged me. Searching the chains he pulled the pins that held the shackles. Once they were off he untied the ropes, then pulled me from the chair to stand as he held me. “I am so sorry.”

Glad to be free, and glad we were alive, I held him tightly. “You didn’t do this. But thank you.”

Seth nodded as he kissed me. “I love you, Erik.”

Those words felt wonderful to hear. “I love you, Seth.” Then I looked around. “I’m freezing.”

Seth stood away a little. “Right! Your clothes.” He looked around. “I’ll find them.”

I stopped him from leaving. “Stay here.”

Seth looked uncertain a moment. “Oh, okay.” He put his arms around me tighter. Then looked at the mayor. “Can someone find our clothes?”

The mayor nodded with a chuckle. “Absolutely.” He was speaking to the other men and the guard. They went to find my clothes as Seth just stood there with me not letting me go.

“I didn’t mean you couldn’t get dressed,” I said to him.

Seth looked down. “Yeah, right.” He reached down and got his pants, then grunted as he used the hand with the broken fingers.

“I’ll help you.” I smiled as I held his pants up so he could slip them on. “How did they know where to come?” I asked him.

Seth grinned. “Well, that’s because of Zek, here.” He patted Ezekiel. “I saw them, he and Gabe as I was being escorted out of the house. I told him it was great having him and his girlfriend, Drusilla the other night.”

“Drusilla?” My eyes grew. “His girlfriend?”

Gabriel nodded. “That was his way of telling me, that even if he was saying that creep and he was heading off to do some business. Zek and I knew something was wrong. So we followed them. Saw the cave. I went to get the others.”

I laughed at the two. “Nice thinking.” My jaw ached. I touched it, but that hurt, too. “I probably look like shit.”

Seth shook his head. “I’ve never noticed how beautiful you are, until now.” Then he chuckled. “Well, that’s not true. I noticed you were beautiful, sure, but now?”

I chuckled. “I got it.”

The mayor came with my pants and gave them to me. I slipped them on. “Mayor Davidson, that was a pretty gruesome execution you described.”

The mayor smiled. “Well, yes…but I figured a gruesome execution would stop her from doing what she was threatening to do. Men can come up the goriest things.” He shook his head.

I looked at Bert, who was in the process of dying as his bleeding had slowed, most of the blood covered his pants and beneath him where it bled out. “There’s no hope for him.” I looked at the other man that was bleeding from his nose that was broken as he was tied up with Deena. “What about him?”

“He’ll stand trial with Deena Thorne.” The mayor looked at the man. “He’s known as The Slicer. He’s wanted for some brutal crimes as well. There’s no question that he won’t be executed, too.” He looked at the cave. “Of course, all of this will be returned. Traded. They will be sold as they were intended.” He shook his head at both Seth and me. “You two need a doctor.”

I took Seth’s arm. “I know the fingers hurt.” I smiled sympathetically at him. “What about you man orbs?”

“At least she hadn’t gotten around to crushing them. They’re very sensitive right now.” Seth groaned. “Like I was kicked in the groin by something unreliably strong. It’ll pass.”

My pain at him being hurt made me hold him again. “I’ll be there, baby.”

Seth nodded with a smile as he ran a hand over my face where I wasn’t hit. “I know you will.” He kissed me gently.

Mayor Davidson chuckled. “I admit it, when I heard you two were really married, I thought that was just so wrong. Now, I understand. There’s real love between you two.”

Seth and I nodded. “There really is.” Seth hugged me.

Both Seth and I were seen by the local doctor. After he set Seth’s fingers and our cuts, tended my abrasions and cuts we were told to go to bed.

The sun was rising when we crawled into bed, both did so gingerly. The thought of either of us having sex right now was out of the question. But Seth rolled over putting his arms around me, laying his head on my chest.

“Is it over?” I asked quietly as I stroked his hair. “With the Thornes?”

He nodded. “Well, as long as she’s alive, there is a threat. Once she’s dead…”

“Then we need that to happen soon.” I sighed.