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Warnings: “caretaker new master” from the perspective of the reluctant caretaker who is aware that she's a master but doesn't know why whumpee is afraid
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As Irissa soaked in the bath— a luxury she still wasn't used to— she felt like she'd messed up but had no idea how. Luce had looked terrified when she'd offered to treat their wounds. She wasn't used to seeing that look on her rival’s face and didn't know what she'd done to cause it.
Maybe it wasn't even what she'd done. Those wounds… Irissa was no stranger to blood and gore, having spent her entire life in the army. But the patchwork of whip lashes across Luce's back spoke of repeated assaults on someone who couldn't fight back. Irissa didn't like Luce, but she could admit that wasn't fair.
After drying herself off and dressing, she set out some bandages and ointment on the counter by the sink. Luce could help themself. It would be difficult for them to reach the wounds on their back, but they obviously didn't want Irissa’s help.
When Irissa returned to the main chamber, Luce was nowhere to be seen. Panic gripped Irissa for a second, then she thought to check the closet, where she'd told Luce they could sleep.
She opened the door a crack to see Luce sitting against the back wall. They scowled and tensed. Their eyes reflected the dim lamplight.
“Just checking you’re okay in there,” Irissa said. Luce hadn't taken a blanket or pillow, so she grabbed one of each from the bed and tossed them into the closet. “Here you go. Oh, and you probably shouldn't try to escape while I’m sleeping.” Honestly, if Luce did escape, Irissa conveniently wouldn't have to figure out what to do with them, she mused. “I wouldn’t care if you ran off and I didn't have to deal with you anymore, but the guards would catch you. Everyone knows that you were the king’s general, so they wouldn't be gentle about bringing you back to me.”
“Understood.” Luce hadn't moved to pick up the pillow and blanket.
“Alright. Well, goodnight.” Irissa shut the closet door, feeling like she'd somehow failed this interaction. She didn't want to unduly threaten Luce, just make them understand how things had to be.
She took another pillow from the bed and brought it to the couch, laying down with a sigh. She turned off the oil lamp. It probably would have made more sense to give Luce the couch and sleep in the bed herself, but Irissa had never actually slept in that bed. Her first night here, she'd tried, and hadn't been able to fall asleep. It was too soft, too large, she'd felt like she was sinking in a bog of fabric and fluff. The couch was reassuringly solid and narrow.
Irissa couldn't remember ever sleeping anywhere besides a cot or a bedroll. The dormitories of mage-knights in training weren't exactly luxurious, and then she'd lived in army camps for years. Even as a general, she was a commoner who’d worked her way up rather than a noble, so she hadn't been given the finest accommodations.
She didn't know whether Luce’s experience was the same, but she would guess so. It made sense that Luce would choose the closet— which also offered privacy— over the too-decadent bed. Though didn't Celestials need moonlight for energy or something? Maybe it wasn’t an every-night thing, and Luce would just sleep in the bed every so often. Or on the floor in the main room or whatever. Irissa should probably offer the couch for those nights.
She would figure it out later. She hadn't asked for this, she grumbled to herself as she drifted off to sleep.
Irissa’s body still woke with the sun. Automatically, she opened her closet to get clothes for the day, and froze when she saw Luce in there. They had been curled on the floor with the blanket and pillow, but jolted up immediately.
The two stared at each other for a second, Irissa’s memories of yesterday rushing back, Luce scrambling into a kneeling position, wide-eyed. Both caught unawares.
“I’m just—” Irissa grabbed the closest shirt and pants without checking which they were. “Sorry if I woke you up.” She backed out of the closet and shut the door again.
The rest of the morning only went marginally better. Irissa gave Luce a set of her clothes to borrow— Luce was a bit taller and Irissa a bit broader, but it would do until she could get them their own clothes. She had breakfast brought up to the room. She hadn't used the bell system for calling servants much before, preferring to just go down to the common dining hall at mealtimes. The idea of bringing Luce along with her felt strange, but she'd probably have to get used to it.
The meal arrived with a note: a summons to a committee meeting today at noon. When it was time to leave, Luce, who was still kneeling on the floor, gave her a questioning look.
“Stay here while I go to the meeting,” Irissa said. She'd been thinking about it for hours, and decided that letting the recently-defeated general hear the country's new security plans was probably a bad idea. Not that Luce could do anything at the moment, but there were still pockets of loyalists to the king, and Luce might eventually be able to slip them information. “You don't have to literally stay kneeling, but don't leave the room. Guards, shock collar, you know the drill.”
The meeting passed uneventfully, aside from multiple people asking Irissa how she was enjoying her new toy. She grit her teeth in a smile and lied that everything was delightful.
When she returned to her room, she didn’t see Luce anywhere. She checked the closet: only the pillow and blanket neatly folded in a corner. The bathroom was empty. The door to the balcony was closed… but there was a smudge on the windowpane next to the handle.
Irissa snorted in disbelief. Luce had actually tried to escape.
(I put up a poll 2 weeks ago and then completely forgot to actually post the chapter lol, sorry! That just means a shorter wait for the next chapter!)
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Warnings: wounds from past events (beating, branding), imprisonment/slavery
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Luce wasn’t just going to accept their new lot in life as a trophy prisoner. Even though Irissa had been fairly lenient so far, they didn’t want to sit around waiting for things to get worse.
They could kill Irissa. Plenty of things in her bedroom could be used as improvised weapons. Irissa had even fallen asleep last night without chaining Luce up or locking them in the closet. Luce might not be able to win in a fair fight, having spent the past months doing hard labor on little food and frequent beatings, but they could catch her by surprise.
But killing Irissa meant nothing if Luce couldn’t escape.
(A possibility whispered in the back of their mind. If escape was truly impossible, Luce could leverage their position here with one final act. They’d be executed or worse, but they could take down a pillar of the new regime with them.)
This morning, Irissa had been summoned to some meeting. She left her chamber with curt instructions for Luce to remain here. Luce counted to a hundred in their head to make sure she wasn’t coming back, then took action.
Luce knew that Irissa was the type to keep weapons hidden somewhere in her room— and sure enough, they found three daggers, one of which had a fire enchantment. Luce couldn’t do magic with the iron collar around their neck, so that was a valuable find. They also grabbed the medical kit from the bathroom and a spare set of clothing. They packed it all in a satchel.
The brand on Luce’s forehead clearly marked them as a prisoner. They arranged their hair as best they could to cover it. A high-necked jacket hid their collar. Luce couldn’t remove the solid ring of iron without magic, so their first goal had to be finding someone who would. They had contacts in this city; they just hoped that those people hadn’t been captured.
Irissa’s room had a balcony. It took moments for Luce to pick the door’s lock. Too easy… Pride shifted to suspicion as Luce considered that this might be a trap somehow. Had Irissa left them alone and unrestrained to test whether Luce would obey her? Were there guards waiting out of sight below, ready to haul Luce back in for punishment? Did Irissa even have a meeting or was she just outside the room? Luce wouldn’t put it past the cunning general to devise a scenario that would give her an excuse to punish Luce.
Luce had to risk it anyway.
Luce carefully scanned the view. No guards underneath the balcony; there were no doors nearby to guard. This side of the castle was only separated from the surrounding wall by a narrow garden. At the end of the dry season, the plants were mostly withered; the few scraggly trees wouldn’t give Luce much cover. Guards patrolled along the base of the wall in groups of three. Luce could climb the rough stone, but it would be tough to get down from the balcony, across the garden, and up the wall— at least two stories high— before the next patrol came around the bend.
Luce rehearsed the timing in their head a few times, painfully aware that if Irissa was in a meeting, she might return from it soon. They had to act now.
As soon as the trio of guards had passed, Luce swung themself over the balcony railing, then dangled by their hands, dropped the rest of the way to the ground, and rolled with the impact. Their back flared with pain. They bit back a scream. Landing on the still-healing wounds was a bad idea.
No time; they pushed themself to their feet and dashed across the garden. Up close, the wall loomed over them with fewer handholds than expected. But this was their only chance at freedom. Luce dug their fingers into the crevices and hauled themself up, their entire body shrieking. They pushed through the pain. Aching muscles, fingertips scraped raw, the wounds on their back stretching and tearing…
A shout from below. Luce didn’t look down. They were closer to the top, but still too far away.
Something hit their shoulder. They could’ve taken the pain, but that arm had been bearing their weight as the other reached up, and Luce lost their handhold.
They had just a moment to feel the frustration and fear before plummeting from the wall.
Hi, I don't know if it's a spoiler or not, but feel free to ignore this ask.
I was just wondering if Luce would treat Irissa any differently if their roles were reversed.
Ooh that's such a fun question!!! Thank you!
I think Luce would be more aware of how a captive perceives the situation. Even if this was a complete reversal where Luce had never been a prisoner, they're more perceptive about injustice due to their life experiences as a Celestial.
Would this cause Luce to be kinder to Irissa? Not really! They don't trust her or like her. But they would lay down clear expectations of what they're going to do and not do. If you do this, this will be the punishment. There will be no sex. You don't have to ask permission to eat, move, etc. In the main story/canon, Irissa doesn't even know that Luce is anxious about these things!
Question for the Chained Rivals readers (and anyone else who just feels like pushing a button)!
Though, wait, this is kind of a spoiler, but not for anything you couldn't have predicted anyway.
In the next chapter, Luce tries to escape. Spoiler: it doesn't work and they get punished. I wrote the escape attempt today and it's 738 words, shorter than most of the chapters but long enough that it could stand alone. If I add Luce getting punished, the chapter might end up really long. (I haven't written that part yet.)
Basically, would you rather have a shorter, not-as-whumpy chapter now and a separate very whumpy chapter later, or have them combined as one longer chapter at some point in the future?
Should I...
Post the escape attempt part now, and then the aftermath as a separate chapter
