☪Even in the darkness, all I see are the stars☪
She had expected one of two things once she called the titan out on his game. Brie expected either for him to attack her, having been found out, or to leave, perhaps with a snarl, threats, a sneer, something, anything. After all, from what she had learned from Draven, part of the fun, a large, important part of the fun, was the chase itself, the game. How long could a disguise be held, and an act played out? How well... how well could one assume a role completely contrary to their own nature? But to her complete and utter surprise, neither of those things happened. Instead, he stayed and introduced himself, and told her where he was from. She could not know it now, but if she had merely befriended him and followed him back to his pack, she would’ve come upon her mother. Perhaps together they could’ve found a way for Briseis to escape from under the grasp of Draven, perhaps everything could’ve been solved. Perhaps Brie could fill out Henadin’s mission for her at last - for her to save her mother’s breaking, shattered mine. But she did not know that Kahlan lived in Wudubearo, and in fact would not find out that information for a long time to come.
Wary, weary eyes settled upon Lupin. He seemed genuine, but she still had no reason to trust him. And yet, if she thought the worst of everyone, that in and of itself would be allowing Draven to win by corrupting her gentle, naïve, innocent soul. He had defiled her body time and time again, but was not her soul the one thing she had control over? Slowly, she smoothed out the features of her face until the hint of a smile grew upon it. For long moments of silence, she flinched anytime any part of him moved, be it by the blow of the wind moving a hair or the roll of his shoulder, expecting him to lunge at her, to lash out, to attack. It was torture, the not knowing. The expecting him to be a demon, and wondering if he wasn’t. And finally, she could not take it anymore, she had to know.
“Oh bloody…”
It was murmured under her breath, barely audible in exasperation, but at the end of it she hesitantly lowered herself to her belly and rolled over. It was Draven‘s favorite position for her to take - one of total submission. From there, he had access to all of her most vulnerable and sensitive areas - from her fragile neck that housed both her jugular veins and carotid arteries, to the soft thin skin of her belly draped over her abdominal wall, to even the delicate petals of her femininity hiding in between her back legs. In this position, all of it was exposed and laid out before the brute in front of her. No matter what he did to her, it would never measure up to what Draven had done countless times, and so it was without fear that she stared at him, unblinking in her gaze. She would not look away when he abused her, when he took her, she would stare into his tainted soul until whatever nasty, dirty, disgusting deed he did to her was over, just another smudge upon her history.
And she waited. And waited. And waited.
But he came no closer.
There was no attack, no devilish gleam in his eye that shown suddenly and revealed his true intentions. His eyes did not rake over her body as if she was a meal, a feast to be hard. In fact, he was staring at her rather incredulously, as if wondering what the fuck she was doing. Briseis coughed and rolled over, the heat flushing up into her cheeks as embarrassment flooded her. It was now that her gaze was averted, it was now that she could not meet his stare. She had assumed the worst of him, and it showed in her actions… The shame was nearly overwhelming. Henadin had always taught her that though it might bring her pain, the best way to keep her soul innocent and pure was to remain loyal, with an open heart. Draven had broken her of her naivety, but nothing was worth this. She had been proven wrong, but not in a way that rewarded her with any feeling of pride or happiness. This one was innocent of any foul doings, at least to her, and yet she still was laying them all cross his shoulders like a thorn crown, punishing him for crimes that belonged to her master instead.
“I am… I am sorry, embarrassed really. I had to know if your words were true or false, and perhaps some would say that it is stupid to offer up my life to find out the truth, but I find it is so much worse to live with the lies. It is nice to meet you, Lupin. You are perhaps the only sane creature I’ve come upon as of late.”
A sudden and overwhelming sense of loneliness swept over her, and at once she fell forward against him, deep, heaving sobs rushing through her, large droplets pouring from her pools. Though he was hardly more than a stranger, he was the closest thing she had to friend, which were sad really considering he was little more than an acquaintance. So, she let loose how deeply she missed Rogan, let loose all of the pain Draven had caused over these past months. Before she knew what she was doing, or before she could make a logical choice, she was nuzzling against him, planting tiny kisses up his neck and reaching towards his ears.
Ω Briseis Ω Chained to Draven Ω Slave of Caidir Olc Ω Azura ΩTable Credit to Xathira