Warbride

Warbride is a Tyme setting story - following on from last week's post, Broken Seal. 
Artwork by Samuel Pray, created using Daz 3D, Photoshop and Filter Forge

“You’re insane, there’s no way we can successfully escape. How in the name of all the Gods do you think a mere woman could organize such a thing?”

Mere woman… The words struck hard and deep. “Because, despite everything, I’m still a warrior. I haven’t forgotten any of the skills I learned as a child or as a serving warrior. This world, your people, your King, may all believe that women are the weaker sex, lacking intelligence and abilities to match those of men, but that has - time and again - been the downfall of the Raiders.”

He sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck. “You know I don’t think that way, Elena. I’ve done everything possible to try and make life easier for you.” She looked up, narrowing her gaze as he continued. “Albeit within the confines of our ways. I’m one of the first to admit that, perhaps, our views on females is archaic, but I’ve never dismissed your abilities.”

And there it was, the sad reality. He didn’t even acknowledge the fact that he’d done just that moments before. 

Elena straightened her back, anger and determination rippling through her body. Too many years spent as his slave in all but name and yet there was a part of her that had come to love this man. A man who could have sold her off, or had her killed. The warrior, she had demanded an honorable death, but his people refused to accept that women could be warriors. It wasn’t honorable to be killed by a woman and there were only two fates acceptable for a woman taken in battle.

Slavery or a war bride.

Was it love, or was it survival? She didn’t want to look at that too closely. Yet the minute the idea stumbled into the forefront of her mind, Elena was forced to face the myriad of questions. If it had been love, was love, why did the idea of leaving him behind strike her as the only sane option?

He’s my husband.

Owner, not husband. She was a war bride.

Stop thinking like that. He kept me safe. He loved me, protect me, gave me every chance he could to remain true to myself. 

Had he? Her life hadn’t been easy. She’d fought him, struggled against the role she had been forced into and by the time she was pregnant with their son…

Rape.

She swallowed hard and forced that word out of her mind. Her son. She loved him, always would. How could she ever do that with a child that had been forced upon her? Same with her daughters. Her beautiful, spirited daughters. Strong, eager to learn but if they stayed here…no, that was a fate she would protect them from at all costs.

To her knowledge she was the only current war bride among the Ontourians. Other women had been brought back only to later be sold, found to be too difficult to bend to the role of war bride. Her jaw tensed at the thought. She’d known some of the women, and in the years since she had accepted her role at his side, she’d been able to discover the eventual fates of those women, even though she had spent her years on one of the secondary worlds of their empire. Havis. An agricultural world for the most part. Farms, fishing, the supplier of food to many other worlds under the control of the Ontourian people.

All but two had died, killed by their masters for refusing to be properly submissive. Women she’d known, fought alongside of, trained and called sisters, friends - one had even been a lover many years ago. Now they were dead or broken to submission because of the way these people viewed women warriors. The men from her unit, they’d been killed or sold off as labor slaves. Two had been ransomed back to their home world, but they hadn’t been treated the same way as the women. The men, honorable warriors, no sexual slavery for them, no demeaning outfits or broken wills. Men were expected to fight back, it was the nature of being a man.

Women - to be killed by a woman was the second worst fate that could befall a man of Ontour. The first - being captured alive by one. If that happened, the man was deemed unworthy, no longer named and numbered as a warrior of Ontour. He lacked even the self-respect to kill himself before falling prisoner.

Raiders - nothing but evil bastards. Nothing will change them. They want to rule, to command all around them.

They hated that name. Her husband hated it, or so had been led to believe, but he had come to accept that she was right. Unless that was an act to help keep her obedient? No, she didn’t want to think about that. He’d been decent to her at times and… he was a Raider. They weren’t protectors on some great and noble cause. They were nothing but thieves, raiders, pirates and worse. Yet she’d been forced to accept her son would be trained and raised with those ideals. Her daughters nothing but potential marriage bait. Never to hold land in their own name, or even have the right to choose their own husbands. She’d been silent, withdrawn, played the game and even welcomed him into his bed.

There had been a good reason. I played the role. Did what I could. Now it’s time to leave. It had been worth it, every degradation paid for, small blows that struck at his people. That can’t be denied.

Nor did she even try, all that mattered during those years when escape hadn’t been a true option was the information she’d gathered and then passed on. In small pieces, hidden within personal messages to her family, she’d been able to send snippets of information. It wasn’t much but it was enough to let them know she was alive combined with snippets that might allow her friends and family the chance to fight back. The first time she’d realized it was working had been when Jarod had returned, venting about the attack that had failed, in a spectacular fashion.

That had only been the beginning.

Over the years she’d sent enough information back to be of worth, formed connections that she would now put to use, and built a network of women.

Something that the Ontourians had never thought to look into.

After all, weren’t the women of their households meek creatures, serving as they were commanded to do so? How could such beings be a threat within their own holdings? No, for the most part her network had remained safe. Only a handful had been discovered taking actions that were outside the boundaries allowed for either women of their status or women in general under the holdings of the Ontourians.

“All I have to do is alert my people and the ship will be ready. It’s not a war craft, obviously. That would have been too difficult to arrange but it will get us to safety.” At least, she believed it would. “Follow my lead and…” 

“Your lead? What are you talking about, woman? Your lead indeed, that’s insane. No one would buy it, even if we did manage to slip out of orbit without raising suspicions. No, this isn't going to work. How could you have a craft set aside? Who would trust you with such a thing? You have nothing to offer them, except a body that doesn’t belong to you - and no true Ontourian male would make a deal with a female. You know that. So, I ask again, where did you get the ship from?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, of course it does!” Jarod snarled, reaching out to grab her. His hands locked on her upper arms, the grip tight, fingers digging into her flesh. “You expect me to follow the plans of a woman? You may be, once, been a commander but you’ve been a female of Ontour for years now. One who has no rights or standing beyond the bounds of our marriage? How can I do that? Why would I put my family, all of my family, at risk by running?”

How many times had he laid hands on her? She’d become so used to it that she’d stopped fighting. Until now. She shuddered and forced herself to step back. Love. Had she ever truly been in love with this man?

The realization struck her, hard and deep. This man, this husband, was nothing like the man she might have taken as her own, one who would have fought by her side and welcomed her into his life. No, instead she had been forced to part her thighs and silence her tongue. An obedient and submissive wife in his bed and in his life.

A slave.

One without rights or a voice. Oh, sure, he’d let her speak - within reason - within the confines of their - his - chamber. Only on matters that he invited her to speak on. Even then she’d had to be careful. Speak in low, soft tones, bringing reason to the forefront. The one or two times that she had attempted to speak on matters outside of his guidance, he had growled, pushing her back and silencing her. The pushing had been, for the most part, emotional or mental, but there had been physical chastisements as well. Things she would never be able to forget.

Things she should never attempt to forget.

“Woman!” He growled. “Answer me. Now! Before I’m forced to remind you of your place in this life.”

“I have friends, ones who have stood at my side for a long time. People who wish to be free yet are held in chains by the laws and customs of your people.” She looked toward the door. “We are wasting time here. We need to leave now, the children will be ready within moments of being alerted, as will their mothers.” Not just women though, there were some men who would meet them. Once they had broken free of the planet’s gravity it wouldn’t take long to reach the larger ship. A vessel that would take them, safely, out of the system.

Her place. He had no idea of her place. How could he ever understand the life she had been forced to live? He had kept his status, his honor, his power - partially by stripping all of hers away. But she would heal, once she was free of this place, of him, she would heal. In the end, she would prove to be the stronger one.

“This is insane.” He turned away, stalking across the room. “I’ll have to present you to Marcus. It’s the only hope I have. Your daughters - they will be sold off but our son - he might be safe. Yes, as long as I swear the blood oath, he will be safe. He’s proven himself time and time again in his service to Marcus.”

Her daughters, not his. He won’t even acknowledge them as offspring. Fool. They love him, for all that he has treated them as disposable. Did he love them? Oh, how she had wanted to believe that he could, that he had, but now - the bitter truth danced naked and taunting before her eyes.

“No.” She raised her chin, knowing that the chains moved with her. They wouldn’t hold her back this time. She wouldn’t back down, the time for that, for kneeling, accepting his rules and the expectations of his people, was over. It was time to stand. “If you attempt to turn me in, I will name you compliant in all of this. You will be killed but first he’ll question you, in depth - and we both know what that means. I’ll simply be sold off.” Death would have been a blessing, a simple thing to endure but there was no point telling him that. It was something he’d never understand.

“Bitch! I’ve given you everything. Protected you. Sheltered you. Now you threaten me with betrayal when I’ve given you a son! What more could a woman want, than a son? The ultimate proof of favor! I could have turned to another woman, given her the status of wife, blessed her with the ability to give me an heir, but I kept only you as my true wife - even if you were nothing but a war bride.”

And there he was, still complaining instead of taking her advice and getting the hell out of here. Was the stupidity of his people that deeply ingrained in him? Why hadn’t she seen it before? I did, I just didn't want to acknowledge what I was seeing. Fool, I’ve been nothing but a fool by refusing to see what was happening right before my eyes. “You can either stand there and swear at me, or you can come with me, escape, find a chance at a new life.” Without her. Gods above and below, had she actually partially fallen for this guy? Oh hells no, she’d played a role, nothing more and… and now she was lying to herself.

Survival method. She could admit that. She’d found a way to survive. A part of her had broken, now it was time to reclaim who and what she was.

It was time to leave, even if he decided to stay, to obey the summons, she was leaving. There were others who would help remove the chains - not that she didn’t have access to the key herself if she wanted to pat Jarod down and retrieve it from his clothing. Would he whine or would he accept the chance to escape?

If he chose to stay, she would have to disable him in some way in order to prevent him from alerting to her escape. 

“What’s to stop me from slitting your throat, woman? You’re weaponless and your skills, long turned to rust with the lack of use. You wouldn’t be able to beat me, Elena,” for a moment his voice softened, a touch of concern flickering across his features. “Listen to sense. If you tell me the entirety of it, we can hand Marcus the traitors and it might change everything in our favor.”

Another lie, and she knew it. Even if Jarod was forgiven, she wouldn’t be. He wanted his position, his power, and if that meant sacrificing her in order to retain his status, then he would do just that. Perhaps he was right, at least as far as he was concerned. Turning over an entire nest of traitors, claiming he had been watching his wife, waiting for the right moment when he could reveal all of her secrets to his King, then there was a chance that he would not only be absolved of all wrong doing but even rewarded.

“If you’d wanted to do that, you would have done so already. Just as you could have called in your guards and denounced me.” He’d opened the message, which meant Marcus - or whomever was monitoring the messages - now knew he had read it. They were, even if he was unaware of it, running out of time.

Silence filled the small office, weighing heavy on her shoulders. Doubts rippled through the back of her mind, yet she knew better than to let it show. Strange, once she had commanded warriors, never doubting her actions but now…

A soft life, one where decisions had been removed from her. Another thing he’d done to her.

I let him do this to me by not pushing for death. I knew the risks of living here, knew the dangers, yet I didn’t fight back hard enough. She had fought, but perhaps not enough. Gods above and below - I can’t back down now.

“Fine, if you truly believe we can escape, then let us be away.” His tone sharp. “Take us away from all of this.”

He wouldn’t survive outside of this place, even if he wanted to - and it was clear that he wasn’t going to try and escape with her. He was pretending, an attempt to gain the information that he wanted. Damn him. He was forcing her hand. His ways, no matter how a part of her wanted to believe otherwise, would set him apart. “You will need to listen to me, the contacts are mine, and they will not look to you for instructions.”

“Bullshit, they will listen to me soon enough, I rule here, men command not women. It will be a simple thing for them to look to me and if you were honest with yourself, then you would accept that instead of fighting me every step of the way.” He shook his head and moved toward the door. “Gather what you need.”

Elena met his gaze and reached for the small data pad she carried in a pouch on her hip. A pad that all of the senior members of his household carried, but hers had been adapted. One person with the right skills and the willingness to help her had been enough to tip the balance in her favor. She smiled, Jarod would rage once he found out who had been the source of her technical assistance. Still, it couldn’t be helped now. Without looking away, she opened the pad, found the right screen and sent the alert to the men and women she had built into a small network.

“What are you doing?” He stalked toward her, reaching out for the data pad. “Give that to me. Now.”

She didn’t blink, didn’t look away from him. “No. From this point on you are no longer in command. Get used to that now, husband.” She granted him the title, though once they were safe that would all change. Won’t it? Gods, it would have to. She’d given up so much with him, albeit through force, that she couldn’t remain with him. All of the lies, the masks she had worn in order to protect herself and her children, fell away.

“What did… woman this is the wrong time for you to flex your muscles.” He reached for the data pad, determination written across his features.

Elena blocked his attempt, her jaw set. If he continued to push she wouldn’t be able to let him escape with her, not even to then dump him later.

Would that be such a bad thing? He doesn’t belong with me, with my people - and he doesn’t want to leave his home. Anyone with eyes would see that.

She’d spent years in his bed, giving him children, care and support. A part of her had become… used to him. She swallowed. Hard. Shake it off, I’m running out of time here. I won’t let him hold me back any longer.

It was time to regain her strength, confidence and power.

“Give it to me.”

“Flex my muscles?” She sighed, taking a step back. “Jarod, husband, breathe, stop and think. If we are to escape, if we are to find a life elsewhere, in a place where we are both free, then you need to listen to me. This is the only way we have a chance of pulling through this.” The message had been sent, the alert given to the team that she had built. Husband - he was never that. Not in any real sense of the word.

“You are nothing in all of this. Give me the data pad, woman. I’m done with your defiance.” Anger colored his cheeks as he reached out for her. “Even in this you will obey me, you will submit to me, as is only right and proper. You’ll give me the pad and the names of everyone involved in this traitor’s scheme!”

And there it was. The reality. He had no desire to leave, no plan on following through with the escape. All a ruse, a means to lull her into sharing information with him. She couldn’t let him do this, wasn’t prepared to surrender her children to the life she had been forced to live. Her people would be waiting for her and…

“You damned foolish slut!” He snarled, grabbing for her.

Even with the chains in place she was able to react. She darted to the left, ducking under the attempt as she swept out with one foot, knocking his legs out from under him. All of the years spent in chains she had practiced moving, walked through the kata’s that had been drummed into her from childhood, adapting them to the length and confines of the chains. She hadn’t wanted it to come to this, but he was leaving her with no other choice. He was too erratic and would put not only herself but her children and her friends at risk.

He stumbled, tripping, a curse spilling from his lips.

She moved behind him before there was a chance for him to recover, straddling him as she dropped her knees, and the full weight of the strike, on the small of his back. He cried out, his years away from the field enough to give her a true advantage. One she used. Silently she wrapped the chains that connected her wrists around his neck and pulled, cutting off his air. No second chances. She had to finish this now. The blow against his back had been placed in a way that she hoped would partially numb his legs. Not a given but the shock of the blow would help.

He struggled beneath her, his hands clawing at the chains.

A part of her wanted to give him a painless death, but he’d prevented that. Strangling someone, even with a chain, was not a quick death. She pulled, her knees digging into his back the chain crushing into his throat, digging into his windpipe. He moved, struggling beneath her, twisting and only the years of practice gave her the chance to finish this.

Tears burned in her eyes even as her muscles ached, sweat beading across her skin. Her grip on the chains threatened to slip but she didn’t give up. Didn’t dare to stop until she felt the struggles not just ease, but cease. Even then she held on, kept the tension on the chains. She had to be sure, couldn’t give him a chance to get back up and only when she tasted salt on her lips, did she finally let go.

A quick check, a touch of fingers to throat and a count of thirty to see if there was a pulse, confirmed he was dead.

Shaking she unlooped the chain, got to her feet and stepped back, her gaze fixed on the body.

Husband. I killed my husband.

No, not husband, captor, master, the man who had taken away her freedom because he’d wanted her. He hadn’t even been willing to grant her an honest death.

Elena shook, her stomach rolling, nausea sweeping through her body. What was wrong with her? She’d killed him, killed an enemy, something she’d done before…

I was his and he was mine. We had children together…

The kids. She blinked and wiped at her eyes. Tears. She couldn’t afford to show anyone her tears. Nor could she waste anymore time. There were children to see to, they came first and it was for them that she went to the small restroom off his office and cleansed her hands and face. A wipe took care of the sweat, a touch of cosmetics - which she’d used before after he’d taken his pleasure from her in the office - then hid the flush and marks of strain across her features.

Head up, back straight and features composed, Elena stepped out of the office, closing the door firmly behind her.

Gavin turned away from his console, rising as he did so. “They will meet us in the landing bay, lady.” He inclined his head slightly.

Gavin, the most important piece in the puzzle. A man of Ontour who, like her, had been birthed by a woman not of these people. A woman who had risked everything to teach him the differences between how the Raiders treated people, and how the other planets treated their people, all of their people. His presence had been a saving grace.

“Is he - I mean…”

“No,” she knew what he was asking and didn’t make the mistake of looking back. That part of her life was over. Her son might never forgive her but by killing Jarod and not reaching out to her son, she was protecting him. There would be no trail that could lead back to him, that would put him at risk of being marked as a traitor like his mother - at least as far as their laws were concerned. I will lose him but will save his sisters.

Head up, back straight, her tears and grief buried for now, she walked away to the docking bay, the ship, the chance of freedom and a safer life with her daughters…