Returning from the Tavern's alleys

[Asheira]

Asheira finally made it back to the Mansion, her head hurt, her ribs bruised and blood stained her clothing, but she made it back, and, with avoiding the search party Rit had sent out for her.

She had taken all the shadowy paths she knew, and that was a great many of them, to wind her way back, every now and again, having to avoid the detection of the guards sent to bring her back. Oh, how she hated those mindless puppets of her Lord, perhaps even more than Rit himself, yes, definitely more than Rit himself, she sometimes wondered who would be the death of her, them, or him, and she had come to the conclusion at long last, that it would definitely be them.

Now, she walked silently back to wards the slaves quarters but stopped, and changed direction in the dark and quiet halls, heading now, to that guest room she knew to be deserted. She had a change of clothes in there, as she often times spent the night there instead of with the rest of the slaves, wanting a quiet place to think, more often than not, and just now, all she wanted was to draw herself a bath, soak and then sleep.

As she stepped into the doorway of the room, she leaned tiredly against its frame a moment, her head pounding nad her ribs screaming for her to stay still, and so, she did, allowing her body to take one last break before she commenced to cleaning herself up and then retiring for the night, she hoped.

[Rit Megliaf]

Rit had been waiting in his study for his personal servant to arrive back from where he had left her. None of the guards had spotted her and he hadn't expected them to either so had just sat there waiting and mindlessly reading though the pointless letters on his desk. Of course he wasn't worried about her but at that point he wasn't very angry either. He was curious more than anything. She knew something and he wanted to know what.

"She's back." One of the other servants came in to inform Rit.

"What room?" He demanded to know as he stood and readied himself to leave the study.

"The guest room that she usually stays in."

Rit shrugged a little at what the servant said and then left the room. He was full aware that Asheira spent many nights in the room. He didn't mind it too much since it was never used, other than by her, and it hold be easier to ask question without all of the servants watching anyways. But still there was just something not right with a slave sleeping in a well made guest room while the rest slept in the slave quarters.

He could see Asheira leaning in the door way a short ways away from him and made his steps as quiet as possible. Finally he was directly behind his servant. He clenched the door frame tightly as if not wanting it to go anywhere with one of his large hands while letting the other one hang and his side. "What do you know about the Paladin that you aren't telling me?"

[Asheira]

Asheira didn’t jump, she didn’t gasp, nor did she make any remote action to do anything at all, her eyes remained closed against the immense pounding that still resided in her head and continued to lean against the frame, feeling his presence directly behind her. A slight chill ran down her spine with him being so close to her, a cold chill, no pleasant at all, but she remained, standing her ground, her back to him in a sort of silent defiance.

“Oh, now you wish for me to speak, I thought that I was to hold my tongue.” She said in a flat, emotionless and tired tone.

[Rit Megliaf]

"I didn't believe you had anything of much value to say before." His tone was strange. It wasn't as harsh as it usually was for he was really in need of this information but beneath it still was spoken with a fiery rage.

He tightened his grip even more on the doorway, which caused a not too pleasant sound, and leaned down so that his head was level with hers. "Now tell me what you know. Most of the harshness came back in the last few words. He wanted the information and would do anything to get it.

[Asheira]

Asheira once again, fought back the urge to first, elbow him in the ribs and second, to show any sign of the fear she felt and thirdly, to show him the personal delight she held now, knowing she held information he needed. She turned her head slightly to look at him with a side glance, her lips nearly turning up at the corners at his words, spoken forcefully, yet still, with a barely held reserve in them as well.

“Then know this, Milord, I do indeed hold information you desire and may need, in the fast approaching future of your reign in this……” She paused and then straightened up, ignoring the sharp pain in her ribs. “Fair city.” She stifled a snort. “I know who it was who sent that Paladin to your court in the first place.” She told him and then turned her head back again to gaze at nothing in particular about the darkened room in front of her, now feeling his hot breath on her neck.

[Rit Megliaf]

The door frame began to splinter under the strength of his grip. If she didn't have information that he needed at that moment she would have already been dead. She was a stubborn person though and it was doubtful that she would crack under torture. So that kind of dispersed any chance of him beating her this night.

He moved his head even closer to her ear and his voice shone with anger. "This can happen two ways. The first is that you tell me immediately of what you know and you will be rewarded," just saying that he would reward his own slave made him feel sick, "for your duty to the city." A smirk crossed over his lips. This next part he liked much more than the first. "Or you continue to keep your silence and I will punish you tenfold of what I had been planning." That could mean either two things. One she would be so beaten that she wouldn't move for some time or Rit would go over the top and actually kill her.

[Asheira]

A slight smile turned up the corners of her lips, oh how she enjoyed angering him, even to the point of her own near death, perhaps it was the adrenaline rush it offered, or maybe she really did long to feel his hands finally deliver their final blow to her, knowing that was her only way out of this horrible nightmare in the end.

Asheira then stepped forward, no longer able to endure such closeness of her Lord, even though it took near everything she had in her, she turned and faced him this time, her expression dark, shadowed in the darkness of the room, the grin she held on her lips faltering and ending, as her eyes looked into his.

“Then you may consider it my duty to you…” She started, regarding him a moment. “Milord.” She hissed, though it was due to the pain in her ribs, and no other reason that she hissed, it would sound to him as though she had finally outwardly showed her supposed hatred of him. “The Drow Queen and that dear paladin had a nice long conversation with one another, before he even entered your realm. I overheard them, just outside the gates.” She grimaced, knowing he would turn a darker shade of red to hear she had exceeded her bounds.

Asheira stopped for a moment, closing her eyes slightly before continuing. “She also offered him aid, and friendship.” She finished, after her long pause. “And that’s about it, for now, though I have heard that the Paladin has indeed actually gone to seek her out.” Asheira blurted, not really wanting to have given that much information, and not really knowing why she had.

Asheira waited for a moment and then turned around, her back to him again to hide that pain she needed to let show for a moment. She was far to stubborn to allow this man to think he had inured her as badly as he actually had. When she turned around again, she waited for him to do one of several different things she thought he might, the last on her mind was further punishment, though she knew, he would likely think she deserved it.

[Rit Megliaf]

As expected Rit's mighty fist came full contact with Asheria's face with all the force that he could muster. She indeed deserved it and so much more but Rit was actually pleased with her for the information she had given him. It was most helpful indeed. So, the blasted Drow who lurked deep in the sewers had sided with the Paladin. A weird friendship indeed but it would prove a challenge.

He turned, not waiting to see what his blow had done. A few of the other servants were by the door, listening to what had happened. Rit gaze them a dead stare and then bellowed. "Fetch Asheria some fine clothes." The words stung as they rolled out of his mouth. If she didn't have that information he would have never uttered those words. "And the room's yours you little witch," he wasn't sure if Asheria was still conscience but he spoke anyways. "But you are still expected to do your duties and my brief spell of kindness doesn't go any further beyond those two gifts."

And with that said he made his way back to his study. He had a war to plan.

[Asheira]

Being ready for the worst, was perhaps the only thing that kept her from blacking out, that, and her pure stubbornness to allow him to see her actually suffer in any way.

As his fist came into contact, she jumped to the side slightly, not enough to avoid the hit in its entirety, but enough to soften it to be more like being hit in the face with an iron, than a steel mallet. Either way, it did cause her to fly back and onto, thankfully the bed and she lay there as he spoke, not holding the side of her face, as any one else might have done, but instead, glaring up at him as he turned around and began barking orders at the other slaves in his presence.

When one of the girls had returned with the fine clothing Rit had ordered her to retrieve, Asheira was already in the tub, as she had longed to be in the first place and asked her kindly to set them on the bed, her bed.

After a nice long soak, and changing into something to sleep in, she took the fine wear that he had ‘gifted’ her with and hung it in her wardrobe. She then crawled into the bed and lay down, at long last, her body feeling a slight better, though her head still pounded, she couldn’t sleep. There was still far too much on her mind and all of it to do with the information she had just given Rit. Visions of another war danced now through her mind, the memories of his soldiers marching through her town a few years back, the fires, the deaths, her parents and his hand, tearing her out of the burning building.

It was that last vision she had come to hate, it haunted her at every turn. She hated this man, perhaps more than a human should hate any other living creature, but at the same time, she owed him her life. And that, she perhaps hated even more than the man himself.