The Swan and the Songbird - Part 4
An interactive whump adventure
You Chose: "Face her future"
Content Warnings: creepy whumper, chains, magic whump,
“Tell me, Miss Lemont. Do you know much about runes?”
Cygnet swallowed, and shook her head as the strange man circled her slowly.
“N-no, sir,” she said quietly.
The man stopped in front of her, and when she glanced up at him his expression was cold and unyielding.
“I am not your employer, Miss Lemont. No agreement has been struck between us. When I purchased your bond from the city prisons, you did not become my servant. You became my property.”
Cygnet flinched, more tears spilling over her eyes.
“P-please,” she stammered, but a glare from the man silenced her.
“You will speak when you are spoken to, and when you do, you will address me as Master. Is that understood?”
“I…” Cygnet hung her head, her face growing hot with shame. “Yes, Master,” she whispered.
The word left a fowl taste on her tongue, a bitter reminder of how far she had fallen.
“Now, back to the subject of runes,” said the man, his tone suddenly light and conversational again. “I admit, they’re a subject of special interest to me. So much power, contained in such deceptively simple symbols. Most practitioners merely use them to enchant objects…”
The man’s hands began to glow with a sickly yellow light, and Cygnet looked up just in time to see his expression twist into a wicked grin.
“...but to me that is such a terrible waste of their potential.”
The man reached for her so suddenly she didn’t have time to jerk away, his glowing hands encircling her neck. His fingertips burned where they pressed into her skin, and the searing pain tore a scream from her throat, raw and desperate and terrified.
After what felt like eternity, he released her and she slumped forward, trembling with pain and fear alike.
“A binding rune, to start with,” said her tormentor in a pleasant voice. “To tether you to me, and to this house. As long as you bear it, you will not be able to set foot outside these walls.”
Cygnet brought her hands to her neck, feeling the tender skin for injury, but there was no wound that she could find.
“Don’t be shy,” the man said, his tone mocking. He gestured to an ornately framed mirror that stood in the corner. “Have a look.”
Cygnet looked into the glass, realizing with a start that this was the first time in weeks that she’d seen her own reflection. Her pale blond hair was dirty and tangled, the once pristine uniform she’d worn as a lady-in-waiting was torn and stained, and the skin beneath the shackles on her wrists was rubbed a raw, angry red.
Yet she barely spared a thought for her disheveled appearance, instead staring in horror at the strange symbols that circled her throat like a collar.
“Well, now.” The man placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned down, his lips mere inches from her ear as he whispered, “Don’t you make a lovely canvas?”
Cygnet tried to cringe away from him, but his grip on her tightened, forcing her to stay still. Fresh tears ran down her cheeks and he tutted, reaching out and brushing them away with his thumb . She shuddered, and he let out a low chuckle, clearly amused by her discomfort.
“I must admit, Miss Lemont, I had my doubts when I was told about you. But I think we’re going to get along just fine together.”
Cygnet frowned, and for the first time she met the man’s eyes head on.
“Told? Who would tell you about me?”
“Ah ah ah,” the man said, shaking his head. “That doesn’t concern you. From now on, you only need to concern yourself with one thing.”
There was a tense moment of silence, then Cygnet finally spoke.
The man’s unnerving smile returned, and he gripped her chin, his nails digging into the skin making her wince.
Suddenly, the man reached down and grabbed the chains around her wrists.
Cygnet let out a yelp, but the man ignored her,
simply pulling the key from his pocket and unlocking her chains. "Get up."
simply yanking her up by her bound wrists and dragging her towards the door.
simply muttering a spell under his breath that made everything go dark.
Voting ended onMar 14
