Day 7: The Chase (PG-17)

Writers: Miriah, Suzee
Date Posted: 15th March 2014

Characters: Benani, Crolarin
Description: Day seven of Benani's captivity is more severe
Location: Amber Hills Hold, Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 5, day 27 of Turn 7
Notes: PG-17 For abuse and sexual situations. Read at Own Risk. Plot is Council Approved

Mentioned; Zathris, Faldrimme
Rating: PG-17

Benani

Running back and forth from the Amber Hills to the cave was wearying
and Crolarin was looking forward to a pleasurable night with Benani as
he tied off his runner. Approaching the hidden entrance, he stopped,
his brows snapping down. The branches had been pushed out. They
weren't in place. Panic overwhelmed him and he rushed in, yelling.
"Benani? Where are you?" He was met by silence and his eyes took in
his own folly. He hadn't refilled the wine glass before he left and he
had thought that she could be trusted and drugged enough to be untied.
Cursing himself for his own stupidity, he darted outside. "Benani?!"

His eyes searched. There, in the snow, were bare footprints. With a
snarl, he began to follow them.

She ran, but nothing was familiar covered as it was with a blanket of
snow. She'd woken up with her mind clear and Crolarin no where so
she'd run though the warren of the cave until she'd found the exit. It
got colder and colder as she closed on the brush but then she'd
ignored the stings or the cold and just started running. She sobbed as
she sought frantically for some shelter or even just a place to hide.
But she was leaving a trail and she knew it. Her pace slowed more and
more until she was only walking and her exercise induced warmth seeped
away. She was going to die.

"Hypothermia isn't such a bad way to go," she told herself quietly.
She could just lay down and go to sleep in the snow and she'd never
wake up again. Never be made to do unspeakable things against her
will. Never be trapped in a body that didn't resist her tormentor. She
whimpered and stopped rubbing her arms as she shook in reaction to the
cold. But her babies, her face crumpled as she hungered for the smell
of them the joyful "mamamama" that went up in chorus when she went to
their room.

She couldn't see anymore and she finally didn't shiver anymore.
**Soon,** she thought and sat down in a nice fluffy snowbank.
"Wouldn't it be nice to have a fire?"

His fury grew as the tracks grew clearer and his pace quickened to a
near run. How dare she? How _DARE_ she? His hands clenched with fury
at the thought of her wandering naked in the snow. **Stupid,
ungrateful wench! When I get my hands on her...I've given her
everything! A warm bed, my seed, pleasure...what more did she want? **
He fumed as he chased down the tracks, his face reddened in both his
anger and the biting cold.

He nearly stumbled over her and fell back before he could literally
fall on her. With a snarl, he leapt at Benani and pulled her up by her
hair. "Get up! GET UP!" He searched for a slender stick and broke one
off of a lowered tree branch. "You little bitch! You're not going to
leave your husband! I've done everything for you! Given you food,
given you a bed and given you trust. I am your husband and you _will_
obey me!" He began to swipe at her legs with the switch and pulled her
hair at the same time, uncaring that she might be cold. "Run! Run,
bitch! Get back home!"

She screamed snapping back to full consciousness from her comfortable
lethargy. Pain shot through her and she tried to hang on to her hair
as he dragged her bodily upright. The switch bit into her legs and she
tried to out run it but only succeeded in stumbling forward mumbly
incoherent apologies. Her hands hit the ground and she pushed up to
try and run crying in front of him leaping when the switch bit into
her rump and lower back.

He kept a tight hold of her hair, the switch flicking at her lower
legs and then up to her thighs and rump. He was unrelenting in the
blows, determined to teach her who her master and husband now was. He
didn't care if welts appeared on her smooth skin; they would be a
proper memory of what _not_ to do. He didn't care that they might have
broken skin; the wounds were minor. He switched Benani all the way
back to their small cave and shoved her inside as he arranged the
outer camouflage of the entrance. "Get in front of the fire."

By the time they got back to the cave Benani was sobbing
uncontrollably. She'd never had a hand raised to her in her life and
the unrelenting blows drove her into terror. He was so very much
stronger than she was so she had no choices left, no rebellion left.
She ended up on her hands and knees crawling toward the fire after he
let go of her. Fear and pain robbed her of any will to fight him. Her
breathing came in ragged gasps and she flinched away when he stepped
toward her again.

He stared down at the crawling woman and nudged her with the tip of
his boot. "The switching was for being so stupid as to wander out
naked in the snow and making me chase you." His eyes narrowed as he
began to unbuckle his belt. "But you also abused my trust, and
disobeyed me about leaving the safety of this cavern. Get into your
position. Now."

She moved to obey him, she didn't dare to resist or she didn't know
_what_ he would do. So she rose up on her knees and spread her legs
though she trembled and sobbed the entire time. Her hands rose to the
back of her neck while tears ran down her cheeks. "Please," she
sobbed.

"Quiet!" He barked out and moved to stand behind her, sliding his belt
out of his pants. "The only thing I was to hear from you is your
counting. You will count every slap of the belt. I do not want to hear
anything else, is that understood? If I do, I'll add another swat for
each that I hear."

He reared his hand back and swung the belt to land a hard swat on her
bottom. "You belong to me."

"One," she screamed, but couldn't help the sob that came after.

"That's one extra." He drew back and landed another swat on her
thighs. "You will obey me."

Her body jerked, "tw-ho-" she nodded.

"Better. Next time say it more clearly, or I might mistake it for
mumbling and add another." He laid another swat on her lower back,
right above the bottom. "You will not leave without my permission."

"Three," she screamed and nodded again. Her sobs were silent now
limited to only to the noise she could make while breathing in and
out.

His next blow was in the tender area between buttocks and thighs.
"Your previous life does not matter."

"Four!" she fell forward onto her hands then pushed back up putting
her hands behind her head again. Everything she was, or had ever been
was being ripped from her but she was beyond caring in that moment.
There was only his voice and the pain.

The next blow was aimed to cause a mixture of pleasure and pain. He
swung the belt underhanded, striking her directly between the thighs
with enough force to sting. "You exist only for me."

The unexpected strike jolted her with a different kind of shock and
she cried out. "Ahhh Five."

"And now your extra" The next slap of the belt was viciously hard,
right across the roundest part of her bottom.

After all the exposure and punishment preceding it, this one undid
her. She fell forward again but this time she couldn't push herself
back up though she did try. She couldn't see but welts had risen on
her creamy skin and wrapping around her body. Welts where bruises
would soon discolor her skin. "Six," she sobbed into the rug in front
of the fire.

He put down the belt and knelt beside her head, stroking her hair away
from her face. "Do you understand why I had to punish you, Benani?"
Now that his anger was vented and she was punished, he was willing to
be comforting and gentle. "Do you understand what you did wrong?"

Benani could only nod uncertain if she was allowed to speak yet. She
didn't want any more of the strapping and wouldn't risk it.

"There's a reason for what I do, Pet." He stroked her hair and decided
to further bind him to her through a further web of deceit; if it
worked then the lies didn't matter. "I'm all you have now. I've been
to Amber Hills. Zathris stopped looking for you after the first month.
They think you're dead, my dear. You see, that lovely dress of yours
was found torn and bloody. They've already had the funeral for you."
He got up and rummaged through a box before picking out a vial of
numbweed. He moved to kneel beside her, speaking softly. "There's
already talk of him taking another bride. He needs a mother for his
children after all. " He began applying the numbweed gently over the
welts from the switch. "I hear Faldrimme is the one that has been put
forward. " He stroked the numbweed over her thighs now, his touch
soothing and gentle. "That life is over for you, Pet. They've moved
on."

He bent slightly to kiss the welts on the sides of her hips. "I don't
like punishing you, Pet. I don't like seeing marks on your perfect
skin." He licked a welt before carefully applying numbweed to it. "If
you behave and simply obey me, this won't have to happen again. You
won't have to be tied, you can have your wine and food, and we'll
settle into a family like we should be." He spread the numbweed on her
lower back, taking the bite away from the welts. "Do you understand?"
He looked at her. "You can answer."

His news broke her heart and her spirit. She knew Crolarin would never
let her see Amber Hills or any of her family ever again. In her mind
she'd been alone and at his mercy for months and no matter what she
thought of him her continued health and well being was at his
pleasure. She nodded. "Yes My Lord Husband," she answered softly.

He lifted her to sit back on her knees. "Do you understand now why I
punished you?" He laid his hand on her cheek. "Will I ever have to do
that again?"

"No, My Lord Husband," she whispered. Her breathing shuddered from the
sobbing though she tried to calm it.

"You'll have to earn my trust, my pet. You'll have the ties again on
your ankles until I think you won't try that again. If you do..." his
voice trailed off and his eyes narrowed. "This will feel like child's
play compared to what you'll receive and there'll be no numbweed to
ease it. I don't want to do that, but I will." He rose and went to the
food stores.

Benani lay face down on the floor in front of the fire beaten in
almost every possible way. And deep down inside she knew he would do
worse than that if she wasn't exactly what he wanted in every way.

"Get on the bed, pet. You're just getting dirty. I'll make our dinner
and then you can show me how apologetic you are."

Last updated on the March 16th 2014

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Day 7: The Chase (PG-17)