☪Even in the darkness, all I see are the stars☪

The entirety of her life was to be a joke, an endless stream of black comedy set about for anyone else’s entertainment except for her own. It had all started before she had even been able to make any choices of her own - for Briseis had been born to a broken, decrepit husk of a wolf. Although Kahlan had once been an impressive femme, mainly due to her unparalleled skills of healing in addition to her vast knowledge of herbs, too many events of pain and betrayed had broken her, had stolen from her her desire to help others, to invest time or effort in anyone else, and she had sunken down deep within herself, never to be the same again. And so Briseis had not ever gotten the chance to actually know Kahlan - she instead knew only Henadin, one of Kahlan’s alter egos, or personalities. Henadin had been brutally honest with the singleton pup, and had told her who Henadin truly was, and all about Kahlan’s deficiencies when it came to her mind. And despite the fact that he was meant to be male, Briseis had always seen him as her mother, however odd that may seem. He had taught her all that Kahlan knew to the best of his abilities, in addition to trying to teach her how to fight. But with Briseis’ slight feminine frame, she was better suited to her biological mother’s path in life than to ever being a fighter… perhaps she should have tried harder… if she had put as much effort into becoming a fighter as she had into memorizing herbs, perhaps Draven would have not been able to kidnap her. Oh, yes, it goes on. Draven, the first of his kind in this land, had taken her as his sex slave and personal punching bag… only it was so much worse than that. Not only had he enslaved her body, but her mind as well, and forced her to do innumerable things that she elsewise would have avoided. Most of the time, she was a zombie, doing his biding… although he did allow her usually to express her own emotions about things, and it was amazing how that one little thing was the small amount of hope she needed in order to hold on.

Perhaps instead of holding on, she should have let go, though. It would have saved her a lot of pain...

Life had been unusually cruel, and had brought love to her only to violently rip it away. Rogan had been her first love, but Draven had manipulated her into divulging her feelings about Rogan, and had used it for his own gains - mainly, attracting the attention of Kershov - Draven’s archnemesis - and setting about a dangerous and dark plan into motion, one where Briseis was the unwilling spy. And there was nothing she could to change any of it. Perhaps the one bit of relief that she did gain from this new path in life was that she was not constantly being touched by Draven - no, as she had spent the days and weeks away from him, trying to gain Kershov’s confidence and trust, her skin had healed, her hair regrown, and the memory of his torture was almost like a bad dream. Too bad that his invasive commanding thoughts were still dug deep within the recesses of her brain, present enough that it kept her on task - and he had been very specific, so as to keep his involvement in the whole thing a secret until he wished to reveal it all himself.

Still, she was nothing if not an optimist, and still held onto the hope that somehow, someday, she would be rid of his control. She enjoyed each day as much as she could. After all, she could not spend each moment around Kershov - he was smart, wise, and experienced, and most certainly would find her out if she did. Instead, she ensured that she ran into him on occasion, but hoarded the rest of her time - it was the closest to freedom that she had had in a long time, and she suspected the closest to freedom that she would have in the future as well. And so it was that today she had traveled outside of the confines of Uyaraut. Despite the time that she had spent there in the last few days, she still did not feel quite comfortable there. While she did not like Caidir Olc and would never consider it home, it had in fact been her place of inhabitance for quite some time… and the difference between its swamps and the salty ocean shore was vast and innumerable. In Uyaraut, her pelt always felt stiff, hardened by the brine carried by the breeze. It was never quiet either - always was there the sound of the waves crashing against the hard rock cliffs, or the screeching call of the shore’s gulls overhead. There was never a single moment’s rest. So, she had chosen to travel north, following the mountain chain that rose ever higher toward the sky. By the time she finally stopped, her paws were sore and weary and she herself was exhausted. Being cooped up all the time within the confines of Draven’s den had done nothing for her endurance or her stamina, but she felt a small sort of accomplishment that she had reached a peak outside of the borders before noon. Despite the sun high in the sky, she shivered - winter was nearly here, and where she was high up in the atmosphere, she could even argue that winter had already arrived. Snow covered the mountain top in a thin layer, but she ignored the cold and instead enjoyed the beauty of the landscape around her. After all, the cold air had burned away the clouds, allowing her to see for miles around her… it was breathtaking. And for a moment, just this moment, she could imagine a life that did not include Draven...

Ω Briseis Ω Chained to Draven Ω Slave of Caidir Olc Ω Azura Ω
Table Credit to Xathira