The Girl
- Ingenious Pilot -
if I had a name, would you bother to use it?
Posts: 142
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Post by The Girl on Jan 8, 2008 17:26:39 GMT -5
*The girl peered through the knotholes in the wooden crate, but saw nothing in the darkness. Dimly, she heard the rippling drips of still water, and felt a general piercing chill through the rough thin cloth that made up her ragged tunic. Her hair hung in her face and she sat sullen and silent, rubbing at the chains on her wrists and ankles, the metal hissing and clinking as she moved. She fell still, hugging her knees and shivering while her eyes stared blackly out front.*
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Post by Erik on Jan 8, 2008 17:34:18 GMT -5
((Now I've got that stupid knothole song in my head.))
*Erik whistled tunefully as he picked his way home along the shore of Lake Averne. Things seemed to be looking up. But... hold on. He hadn't left that there.
Who would put a large crate down here? Suicidal scene shifters? Senile postmen?
He walked around the crate until he found the packing slip, which he plucked off and read.*
TO: ERIK 5TH CELLAR, PARIS OPERA PARIS, FRANCE
*The return address was from Persia. It was probably poison, he thought. Still, it was something to occupy him. He dragged the crate inside--the box was off-balance and therefore not full, and he thought he heard metal--then went to find a crowbar.
The wood was a matter of seconds in prying apart. A moment later, he was peering into the interior.*
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The Girl
- Ingenious Pilot -
if I had a name, would you bother to use it?
Posts: 142
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Post by The Girl on Jan 8, 2008 17:39:59 GMT -5
*The girl stared into the blackness for only a moment before she was on her feet and darting past the man who stood before the crate, fleeing though she knew not in which direction she ought to go.*
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Post by Erik on Jan 8, 2008 17:46:02 GMT -5
*Erik watched her for a moment, both confused and amused.*
"Interesting," *he mused.* "Where did you come from, then?"
((Is there any indication who it's from? It=the package, not the girl))
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The Girl
- Ingenious Pilot -
if I had a name, would you bother to use it?
Posts: 142
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Post by The Girl on Jan 8, 2008 17:50:49 GMT -5
((A letter inside the crate?))
*Realizing she was trapped by stone and darkness, the girl crouched by the lake, her feet bare in the freezing water, her shoulders hunched protectively.*
"...Marracech," *she muttered with a strange, untraceable and heavy accent on the word.*
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Post by Erik on Jan 8, 2008 18:09:59 GMT -5
((He dragged the crate inside before he opened it. Sorry.))
"Hmm."
*Her accent gave her no clues as to her origins, and her looks weren't assisted by the wear and tear of travel. He glanced inside the box again, and found a slim envelope at the bottom. He opened it and his eyes scanned the writing, which made his eyebrows raise. He glanced at the girl, then back at the letter.*
"Nadir..." *he mused.* "What a charming fellow!"
*Erik reflected that as he now had a son and an opera singer, he was in no dire need of sex slaves. But it was generous, just the same.*
"Let Erik see you, girl," *he said.* "Stop cowering."
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The Girl
- Ingenious Pilot -
if I had a name, would you bother to use it?
Posts: 142
|
Post by The Girl on Jan 8, 2008 18:11:50 GMT -5
*The girl drew back further, slipping and falling into the shallow water, her arms crossed over her chest defensively. She glared at him silently.*
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Post by Erik on Jan 8, 2008 18:15:01 GMT -5
((Um. Okay. I guess they're still by the lake.))
*Erik sighed. Women could be so intractable.*
"Come along, now. No sense catching cold, too, is there?"
*He peered at her. Wasn't much to look at. Dirty and unappealingly dressed.*
"You need a bath," *he pronounced.* "And clothes. Or something."
*He reached out for her.*
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The Girl
- Ingenious Pilot -
if I had a name, would you bother to use it?
Posts: 142
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Post by The Girl on Jan 8, 2008 18:20:40 GMT -5
((Gah. Sorry. I assumed. Maybe she ran outside?)) *She snapped at his hand, trying to bite him.* ((It's hard when she's not talking... ))
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Post by Erik on Jan 8, 2008 18:32:35 GMT -5
((I know, and that's fine, but I thought it was funny when I pointed it out, too.))
*Erik snatched his hand from her reach but with lightning speed it snaked past her defenses to grasp her by the neck.*
"Now, now," *he said.* "That's really not very becoming. Nor is it advantageous. Erik will not hurt you unless you force him to."
*With that, he marched her without ceremony into the house.*
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The Girl
- Ingenious Pilot -
if I had a name, would you bother to use it?
Posts: 142
|
Post by The Girl on Jan 8, 2008 18:34:32 GMT -5
*She gave up struggling, for the moment, waiting to see if she would have a chance to escape once this strange man let down his guard. She glanced at him slyly.*
Too pale to be handsome...though the yellow hair is strange enough to be fascinating.
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Post by Erik on Jan 8, 2008 18:42:38 GMT -5
*Erik kept one eye on her as he pushed her into the parlor. She was a feisty one; but then, he'd been restricted from so much of harem life back in the Rosy Hours that he was not entirely sure what passed for obedience.
And perhaps standards had fallen.
But the way she looked at him made him feel as if he was not wearing his mask. Which he wasn't, of course, as he had a nose now. He felt to make sure it was still there. Check.
In the light, she looked both better and worse; better because he could see the quality of her skin tone and her amble curves, worse because her dirty hair and defiant expression were highlighted.*
"Do you understand what is expected of you?" *he asked experimentally.*
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The Girl
- Ingenious Pilot -
if I had a name, would you bother to use it?
Posts: 142
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Post by The Girl on Jan 8, 2008 18:45:14 GMT -5
*It was useless to pretend she didn't speak the language, she knew. They'd chosen her as she'd fit the request. Beautiful. Young. Fluent. Untried.*
"I understand," *she spat, still with the same heavy accent.* "Whether I agree is a different matter entirely."
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Post by Erik on Jan 8, 2008 18:54:25 GMT -5
"Of course," *he said evenly, but with steel underneath his casual tone.* "But agreement is hardly one of the requirements. Erik would like to hear what you've been instructed."
*He waved the letter.*
"Erik will know if you are lying."
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The Girl
- Ingenious Pilot -
if I had a name, would you bother to use it?
Posts: 142
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Post by The Girl on Jan 8, 2008 19:03:12 GMT -5
*She stuck her tongue into her cheek for a moment.*
"I am to cater to your every possible need, monsieur," *she said, her voice flat and dripping with sarcasm.* "My life is yours. It has been bought and paid for, no doubt lavishly. Beautiful virgins are rare, yes?"
*She rolled her eyes and gave a low chuckle.*
"...and yet I would smear myself with filth on purpose...tear my hair and scratch my own flesh..." *she raked her ragged and torn fingernails across her cheek, her shoulder, her breast, her thigh, leaving angry red welts in their wake.*
"Gag myself until my lips taste of nothing but rancid vomit...and make myself so foul that no man would want me."
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