The Last Princess of Lorrea Ch. 10

As the night wore on, she began to hear the jingle of chains. Was she imagining the captain's chainmail behind her or was it just her imagination? Elena looked over her shoulder when she thought that she heard it, but saw nothing.

Near dawn, she felt the faintest glimmer of hope, as she saw ahead of her a break in the tree-line. As she reached it, she saw a long grassy slope leading to an ancient looking castle. Elena didn't know who the castle belonged to, but she was sure that she was still on Kravaolian land so whoever was in residence must be loyal to Henry. Just as she started forwards she heard an unmistakable cough from behind her. She whipped her head around and saw to her horror, the captain, advancing on her with a murderous look in his eyes. Elena's only hope was that the captain was sensible enough that he wouldn't try and kill her within view of another nobleman's castle. She knew there was no chance of her outrunning him, especially since running was too painful for her, but she stumbled backwards nonetheless, onto the vast grassy expanse, the early morning sun bathing her in light.

Apparently she was wrong. The captain lunged for her, grabbing her by her throat, his crushing grip causing Elena to gasp for air as her hands ineffectually scrabbled against his, trying to free herself.

"You filthy whore!" the captain roared, sending some birds flying out of a nearby tree in fright. "How dare you steal my horse!?"

"P- p-please... Please..." Elena croaked, trying to prise his grip from her throat.

The captain released his hold suddenly. Elena straightened up, gasping, her hands massaging her throat. Her reprieve was only momentary though, as the captain backhanded her so hard that he knocked her off her feet. Elena cried out in pain, but even with tears streaming her eyes, she scrambled back to her feet, refusing to let him get the better of her.

His nostrils flaring at her impudence, he raised his hand high and slapped her so hard, that when she hit the ground again, she literally saw stars. This time, Elena remained where she fell, the scent of grass filling her nostrils, her cheek burning with his handprint. Her hands gripped the wet grass, her body bracing against the captain's next blow as his shadow loomed over her. He pulled her up by her hair, causing her to cry out in pain as she got quickly to her feet in order to lessen the pressure. The captain ruthlessly pulled her head back, his foul smell invading Elena's nose as his scarred face loomed over hers.

"You're lucky he wants you alive Princess," he hissed through bared teeth. "Otherwise i'd enjoy snapping your pretty little neck right here, right now."

The captain let go of her hair and shoved her roughly forwards. "Move," he spat, pointing up at the castle with his sword.

Elena paled. Apparently the castle ahead was their destination and not her salvation.

They made their way down the wet grassy slope, slipping and sliding as they went. On the few occasions that Elena slipped without regaining her balance, the captain would drag her along for a few meters by her hair until she was able to scramble back to her feet. No amount of pleading or crying softened his grip, his hatred towards her obviously running very deep.

As they neared the gateway the captain pulled her to an abrupt stop. He pulled out from within the folds of his wet cloak a dirty looking strip of fabric and brought his hands up to Elena's face. She flinched as he touched her, but held her ground. The captain wrapped the foul fabric around her eyes, effectively blinding her. He turned her around and wrapped a second strip around her wrists, tying them together behind her back. When finished, he grabbed her by the back of her neck and roughly pushed her forwards.

"HALT!"

Elena twisted her head, but was unable to see anything around her. The voice sounded young yet authoritative. She didn't recognise it.

"I'm Captain Damian - your Lord is expecting me, that is to say, he's expecting US," he said, thrusting Elena forwards in emphasis.

"Yes Captain, you may proceed," said the young voice.

"Move," growled the captain in Elena's ear.

Elena stumbled forwards, walking hesitantly, allowing the pressure the captain exerted on her neck to steer her in the right direction. From what Elena could tell, they were walking across a room with very high ceilings, as their footsteps echoed loudly when they walked.

Suddenly Elena tripped forwards, her foot bumping into a hard object. She cried out as she fell against something hard, which Elena realised were steps as they made contact with her already battered body.

Laughter met her ears. "You really should watch where you're going," the captain said, pulling her to her feet.

"Then take off this wretched blindfold so I can see where I'm going!" she said, twisting her face in the direction of his laughter.

"My instructions are to keep you in the dark," he said as he steered her up a winding staircase.

Elena bit her lip. She had hoped that it had been the captain's idea. Such meticulous planning and attention to details sent chills down her spine. Keeping her in the dark meant that she didn't know which way was the exit or the layout of any of the other rooms in the castle. They had been walking for at least five minutes and she had already forgotten the few directions she had tried to remember.

"And whose instructions are you following exactly? Obviously not King Henry's - who by the way, will have your head for this, i'm sure you realise that, no?" she snapped.

"Never you mind, you'll find out soon enough" he said, pushing her along a straight corridor.

Elena stopped abruptly, twisting around to the captain.

"Keep moving," he growled.

"Let me say just one thing Captain," she said, drawing herself up and standing straight-backed and proud. "This is your last chance. If you let me go I'll ask the king for clemency in your case, you will not be treated as an outcast, I promise. Just let me go."

Elena held her breath as the air surrounding her stilled. She couldn't tell if he was considering her offer or if he was simply scratching his head.

"Please Captain," she said, her voice cracking slightly in desperation. "Don't do this."

"You may be true to your word Princess," the captain said slowly. "However, I've known King Henry for a very long time, this is not something he'd be prepared to overlook. I knew that when I took this on. Move."

Elena felt his callused hand tighten it's grip on the back of her neck. "Now, do as I say and MOVE!"

Elena stumbled forwards, shifting her concentration to the ties binding her wrists, but there wasn't much room to move them, let alone maneuver them.

"This way," grunted the captain, steering her to her left. "Stop," he said, holding Elena by her neck.

"End of the road Princess," he cooed, pulling off the blindfold.

Elena blinked as a pair of dark, oak doors came into focus in front of her. The captain knocked three times on the door with one hand while the other grasped Elena's upper arm. "Enter," called a voice from beyond the doors.

The captain pushed open the doors and marched Elena inside the room. Golden light danced across the walls from a roaring fireplace, lighting up the bookshelves and casting eerie shadows about the numerous animal heads mounted along the walls.

A single solitary figure was standing in front of the fire, his hands clasped behind his muscular back. As he turned to face them, his cold blue eyes pierced her terrified eyes- Elena's heart leapt into her throat. She tried to back away but only encountered the solid mass of the captain, who chuckled and pushed her forwards. Losing her balance, she fell to the stone floor, landing on her already bruised hip, causing her to grunt in pain.

"So nice of you to join me, Princess," said Caspian, a triumphant smile playing across his lips.

Elena got gingerly to her feet, squaring her shoulders as much as her binds allowed.

"Please stop pretending, Lord Caspian, that I am here willingly. We both know that the Captain here kidnapped me, so you can dispense with the false pleasantries," she said, hoping that her voice did not sound as scared as she felt.

Caspian raised his long, thin fingers to his chin and rubbed it as he serveiled Elena with amusement.

"You may go now Captain, I no longer require your services," Caspian said, his eyes still locked onto Elena's.

"I'm sorry my Lord, but there is still the issue of payment," answered the captain, pulling Elena's trembling form back against him.

"What nonsense is this? You were paid in full," Caspian spat.

"Things have change, my Lord. You see, when we made our escape, the Princess here thought it a smart idea to commandeer my horse. In her haste to escape me, she fell from the horse and it disappeared."

"So?"

"So, she owes me a war-horse. As I don't see a purse on her body, and since she is now under your care, it is you, My lord, that owes me a horse."

"Is that so?" Caspian asked, drawing closer, dislike etched into the lines of his face.

"Yes," said the captain, as he casually wrapped his fingers around Elena's throat in a non-too subtle threat.

"Fine," said Caspian, his tone suddenly soft and calm. Elena knew that tone, she sensed something was seriously wrong.

"Captain..." she began to say, before he silenced her with a little pressure from his fingers against her windpipe.

"Let me see," murmured Caspian, searching the folds of his cloak, drawing out a small leather pouch. "Here," he tossed the pouch to the captain, who released his hold on Elena to catch it. The captain opened the pouch and thrust his hand greedily into it's depths.

"Oh, Captain, one more thing," Caspian said in that same soft tone, plunging his hand back into his cloak and drawing out a short silver dagger.

"NO!" Elena screamed.

The captain didn't stand a chance- his one hand holding the pouch as the other drew out a gold coin, he could do nothing to stop the flight of the dagger. The dagger Caspian hurled missed Elena by mere inches, piercing the captain's throat, his eyes bulging as his hand dropped the pouch, it's golden contents spilling out over the floor and rolling in all directions. He grasped the dagger, pulling it from his throat with a sickening sound, before letting it fall with a clatter to the floor. Dark blood trickled out the side of his mouth and throat, a stark contrast to the increasing paleness of his face. The captain stumbled forwards, grabbing Elena for support as the life drained from him before her very eyes.

The captain's added weight was too much for Elena, who inevitably fell backwards. With the captain still clinging to her dress, he fell like a dead weight upon her and with her hands bound behind her, she had no way of pushing him her off her, so she lay there whimpering, feeling the captain's warm blood dampening her dress.

A faint gurgling sound issued from the captain's mouth - it seemed that he was trying to say something. Elena looked down, catching the terrified eye of the stricken man.

"I regret..." he choked, before lapsing into a dead silence, his body stilling against hers.

Elena stared transfixed, silent tears streaming down her cheeks, unable to look away from the captain's vacant gaze.

"Guards!" Caspian called.

Two soldiers came into the room and looked to their lord for instruction. "Take him away," he said with a wave of his hand. The two men lifted the body of the captain off Elena and dragged him out of the room, closing the door behind them.

Caspian advanced slowly on Elena, pausing a moment before walking around her supine figure. Trembling slightly, Elena tried to get to her feet under Caspian's predatory gaze.

"Did I say you could rise?" Caspian said slowly, placing his boot on her shoulder and pushing her back down.

Colour rose instantly to Elena's face and neck. She held Caspian's icy gaze a moment, before trying to stand once again.

The corner of Caspian's mouth twitched into a smile, which vanished just as quickly. It was as if he had expected her to do exactly what she had done.

He walked to her and pulled her roughly to her feet. "Oh, how I'll enjoy breaking you Princess," he hissed in her ear, causing a shiver to run down her spine. "My own little stallion to break and then ride... OVER and OVER again" he whispered, running a hand over her stomach which was wet and sticky with the captain's blood.

Elena bit her lip, choosing to remain silent in the face of his taunting.

Caspian clicked his tongue softly. "Look at the state of you Princess, covered in mud and blood," he said, wiping his hand on the sleeve of her dress, leaving behind a bloody smear. "I think," he continued, "that before we take this any further, you require some form of cleansing."

"Guards!" he called again, summoning in two different men. "Take the Princess down to Brandon, tell him that he is to see to her cleanliness and wardrobe. When he is finished, I want her returned, promptly. Oh, and under no circumstances is she to leave your sight, understood?" he asked.

"Yes My Lord," the men chimed in unison.

"Good," Caspian said, clapping his hands together.

The men grabbed Elena by her arms, each of them holding one arm and pushed her forwards.

"Wait!" called Caspian.

The guards turned Elena around, facing Caspian, who had walked to his mahogany desk and began rummaging in the drawers. He pulled out a pair of manacles, connected by an iron chain. He walked forwards and picked up the bloody dagger that lay on the floor between them. Caspian reached behind Elena and held the cloth that bound her wrists, steadying it before slicing clean through it with the dagger. As soon as Elena's hand were free, she struggled to pull her arms free of the soldiers, but their grip was unrelenting.

"To the front," he ordered the men, indicating to her hands with the bloody dagger.

The men pulled her arms in front of her, despite her feeble attempts to stop them. Caspian wrapped a manacle around each wrist and secured them in place.

"There now, much better. We can't have the Princess trussed up like some animal, can we?" he laughed, her look of indignation causing him to laugh even harder.

"You're the only animal here," Elena spat, pulling her wrists from his grasp.

Caspian surveilled her silently for a moment. Elena expected him to reply with his fists, but he simply ran his hand through his hair instead.

"As you can see men, she has something of a mouth on her. If she becomes particularly mouthy, you have my permission to gag her," he said, dismissing them with a wave of his hand.

Fuming, Elena opened her mouth to reply but was distracted on the account of being shoved roughly out the door and into the adjacent hallway.

*

The following hour was nothing short of mortifying. At least when Henry had first captured her, he had sent her to a reputable bath house where a kind woman had taken care of her. Caspian's men marched her down numerous hallways and staircases before one of the soldiers summoned a bespectacled middle-aged man from a hidden room, who joined them, bringing their little party to four participants. They continued down a few more hallways before exiting into a small courtyard, bare of anything except a large water trough it's center.

The soldiers, taking instruction from the older man, dumped her unceremoniously into the water. As she emerged spluttering from the freezing water, one of the soldiers grabbed the chain of her manacles and attached it to a protruding hook, essentially trapping her within the water trough. The man withdrew a small knife and despite Elena's pleading, sliced through her clothing until they floated in the water around her , partially obscuring her nudity. She soon learned to obey the man, as each time Elena attempted to resist him, he would dunk her under the freezing water and hold her there until she stopped fighting him.

Elena suffered silently through the humiliation of the man washing her from head to toe, the only comfort were her tears, blissfully warm against her freezing cheeks.

Elena hadn't noticed one of the soldiers leaving, but she noticed him returning with a dress and towel. When the man dunked her for the final time, he indicated to the soldier that he unhook the chain and pull her from the trough.

Her teeth chattering, Elena could barely stand as the man added another humiliation to his repertoire- he took the towel and started to dry her roughly, ignoring her pleas and her embarrassment. The only thing Elena was grateful for was that throughout the whole experience, there was no sexual undertone- the man could just as well have been washing an animal. She wondered momentarily if that was the purpose of the water trough anyway.

The man was about to pull the dress over her, but quickly realised his predicament. He swore loudly at the soldiers. They hadn't brought a key to her manacles - how was he to dress her? He barked an order to one of the guards who scurried off, leaving them to an uncomfortable silence, punctuated only by Elena's chattering teeth.

A few minutes later, the soldier returned, bearing a large ring of keys. The old man snatched it from him, and picked through the numerous keys before finding the one he wanted. He motioned to each of the guards to hold on to an arm, before unlocking one wrist. Elena chose not to fight them, she was freezing and exhausted from the whole ordeal and just wanted it to be over with.

The man pulled the emerald green silk dress over her head, fastening it in place. He looked her over once more before declaring himself satisfied. The man issued a few more orders and the guards locked her wrist back in place, before turning her around and pushing her back into the castle.

Once again, they went down numerous hallways, but not down the same ones that they had traveled previously. It dawned on Elena that they were not worried about her learning the layout of the castle - and with good reason, the place was a maze of hallways and rooms, it would take a long time before anyone could navigate these halls confidently, Elena thought. They slowed their pace before coming to a halt in front of a small door. The man knocked once and entered the room, pulling Elena in after him. Elena looked around, not taking much interest in the Spartan room. Standing before her, other than the older man, was a tired looking woman in a shabby dress who gestured to Elena to sit in the only available chair. The man, Brandon, whom Elena had by now christened 'Glasses', nodded his approval. Resigned to her fate Elena sat down. She had decided that she needed to preserve her strength for when she would face Caspian again, and not waste it on his minions.

As soon as she sat, the woman went to work on her wet hair, brushing and styling the hair until it resembled some acceptable fashion and not a tangled blond mop. Next, she painted Elena's lips and added a few more hints of colour here and there, before Glasses interrupted her and claimed that it was enough, that they were keeping Lord Caspian waiting.

Yanked to her feet again, Elena was marched back up through countless passages and stairways, before she once again stood before the dark oak doors of Caspian's study.

One of the soldiers knocked once on the door and waited with his hand on the door.

"Enter," came Caspian's muffled voice from within.

The soldier pushed open the door and pulled Elena in with him. Caspian was sitting at his desk, his arms folded over his chest. His eyes sparkled gleefully as he looked at Elena.

"Bring her here soldier," Caspian pointed to a spot on the floor near his desk.

"Yes sir."

He nudged Elena forwards, she walked slowly, coming to a halt as she stood near his desk.

"Kneel," said Caspian, pointing to the hard stone.