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Episode
II Return of the Dragon
Melissa untangled the rope from her
body. She was almost shaking
with cold and if it had not been for her Dragon Warrior training she would
have been shivering uncontrollably.
She got shakily to her feet, dragging the seaweed from her hair and
wiping some of the sand off her tattered
clothing. How long had she been
on the beach? Her memories were
a little confused. She could
remember fighting for her life in the cold sea, huge waves lifting her and
swirling her about uncontrollably.
If she had not been roped to the barrel she would certainly have
drowned. Then she had been driven
toward shore. This time the barrel
was not so helpful. Unable to
cut herself loose in time the barrel had dragged her across a barnacle encrusted
reef, ripping most of her clothing away and lacerating her body
severely.
Fortunately her father’s sword had not
been lost and was still strapped across her
back. She drew the blade from
its sheath. It would need to
be oiled as soon as possible. In
the meantime if she could find some fresh water she could get rid of most
of the salt on the blade.
The thought of water reminded her of her
thirst. She had swallowed more
than enough of the sea during her wild ride to shore, but that was of little
help. If anything it made her
thirstier.
She began to walk down the
beach. Having no idea where she
was it didn’t really matter which direction she took, and so she went
south toward a rugged headland that looked
promising. Perhaps if she was
lucky she would find a stream bubbling down from the
rocks. If nothing else the rocks
might have some basins where pools of rainwater might have
collected.
Where were her
companions? Surely she could
not be the only survivor. Then
she thought about what had happened to
her. She shook her
head. The thought that all of
her companions might have been taken by the sea was not something she could
accept. If she could survive
the sea then so could they. They
question was where were they?
She had reached the
rocks. The walk down the beach
had warmed her up a little, but she was still
cold. It was at that moment she
smelled smoke. She stopped and
surveyed the area in front of her.
A small plume of smoke rose into the air from just beyond the rocky
headland. Drawing her sword again
she clambered silently onto the rocks.
A few seconds later she sighed in relief.
“Captain Dragoth,” she
said. Seated before a large blaze
in a sheltered hollow in the rocks, was Dragoth with two of the serving
girls. She scrambled toward him
as the startled trio turned in her direction.
“My lady,” Dragoth said, leaping
to his feet. He stared at her,
his mouth open as did the two serving
girls. For an instant Melissa
thought their confusion was due to her unexpected appearance, but she soon
realized from the direction of Dragoth’s eyes that it was something
else. He was staring at her seminude
body with more than a normal fascination.
Melissa made no effort to cover
herself. She was not ashamed
of her exquisite body nor was she put off by the reaction it engendered in
others, especially men. Covering
her naked breasts would have simply drawn more attention to her
condition. She sheathed her sword
and jumped down beside the fire.
Immediately one of the serving girls stepped forward and draped a
bit of cloth over her. Melissa
nodded her thanks and sat down by the
fire. The heat flooded into her,
but she showed no reaction to the welcome
warmth. “My friends,
captain,” she said.
“What of them?”
Che Sha clung to the barrel that had saved
her life. Cold, exhausted, and
desperate for water, she could see no more than a few feet in any
direction. She had tried clambering
onto the barrel, but the ungainly floatation device merely spun in the water,
leaving her floating beside it. If
land was nearby she had no way of seeing
it. The direction of the sun
helped a little. She knew that
the shore was supposed to be somewhere to the east, but whether it was near
or far she had no idea. She might
be a few hundred paces from land or several
leagues. Without any idea of
her location she conserved her strength and hoped that the wind and tide
would push her in the right direction.
The sudden appearance of a streamlined furry
face just two body lengths away startled
her. She stared back in astonishment
while the creature studied her. At
that point she wished that she had some of the ability of the two Sylvani
maidens to communicate with animals, but the sight of the seal was still
good news. She did not fear the
creature; she had never heard of anyone being attacked by a seal and she
knew that for the most part they lived close to
land. With any luck she might
be able to determine where land was and escape from the sea before the cold
ate any further into her bones.
The seal disappeared with a flick of its flippers,
almost as if it was mocking her feeble attempts at
swimming. Che Sha tried to keep
sight of the direction it took by ducking her head under the water, but it
swam deep and fast. Just before
it vanished she noted that it seemed to be swimming
north. That was not the direction
she knew the shore to be, but perhaps the animal was heading for a headland
or island that was close by. Or
it might be simply swimming further out to sea in search of
food. With a mental shrug she
began to paddle in the direction the seal had gone, propelling her barrel
in front of her.
She knew that she could not keep up the effort
of paddling much longer, but it seemed she had no other
choice. Waiting for the sea to
push her in the right direction seemed like it was leaving too much to
chance. A few minutes later a
loud barking sound alerted her to the fact that she had probably made the
right decision. Shortly after
that she heard the sound of waves breaking on rocks and tried to push herself
a little higher to see what she was
approaching.
Just ahead of her was a dark line of
rocks. The waves were now pushing
her gently toward them, but there appeared to be a slight break in the
centre. Taking a chance she drew
her knife and cut herself free from the barrel that had saved her life and
swam toward the gap. It took
all of her remaining strength, but she swept through the gap propelled by
an especially large wave, and found herself dumped onto a sandy
beach.
For a minute or so she just lay exhausted,
trying to collect her strength and then she slowly got to her
feet. She fought back the natural
tendency to shiver. As a Shang
princess she had been raised to show self-discipline; she would control her
body, not let it control her.
Still, she needed to find some way to warm
up. She was soaked through and
although most of her clothing was intact it offered her very little in the
way of warmth.
She surveyed her
surrounding. She was standing
on a sandy beach, the sand still wet from the
storm. Ahead of her to the south,
the land rose to a rugged headland and a flat expanse of wave pounded rocks
that jutted into the sea. Behind
her the beach tapered off into the sea.
There were seals everywhere, some of them absolutely
enormous.
There wasn’t much choice of which way
to go. Threading her way through
the seals and avoiding the huge bulls, Che Sha worked her way toward the
rocks, hoping to find shelter, fresh water, and if she was lucky –
food.
Water, however was the most important right
now. Although intensely uncomfortable
in her wet, salt-laden clothing, that could wait until she found something
to drink. During her stay in
the sea she had swallowed enough sea water to float a small ship, but that
was of little help to her.
She trudged steadily toward the headlands
for about a minute before she took off her boots and emptied out several
cups of wet sand. It was a wonder
that she hadn’t been dragged to the bottom by the
weight. Wringing out her socks
she put them and her boots back on and then
continued. She reached the rocks
a short time later and began to move among them, glad to be out of the
wind. Here and there she spotted
chunks of driftwood. She could
make a fire if she had to, provided she could reproduce the technique of
fire making Vayasha had shown her.
But right now her thirst drove her
on. Surely there must be some
water close by. After all, what
did the seals drink? Then it
occurred to her that seals might get all the water they needed from eating
fish.
“Thank the gods,” she
murmured. About waist-high in
the rocks were several bowl-shaped
depressions. They were full of
water and several spans above the high tide
mark. No doubt they had been
filled by the heavy rain that had fallen during the
storm.
She cupped her hands and drank
carefully. Then finding the water
potable drank handful after handful until her thirst was
assuaged. Now she just needed
to find some food. Perhaps she
might chance upon a fisherman’s hut, but she needed to get a better
view of her surroundings.
Ignoring the chill wind as she left the shelter
of the rocks, she began to climb.
She moved carefully. The
rocks were still slippery and a fall would leave her
helpless. Fortunately, the rocky
headland wasn’t too high. She
gained the top within a few minutes and gazed at her
surroundings.
“An island,” she
muttered. The sea stretched in
every direction. The island itself
seemed uninhabited, devoid of any sign of human
life. It appeared that she was
going to have to look after herself until she could find some way to get
off the island. Her stomach rumbled,
reminding her that she needed food.
This was something that she was not used
to. Her life as a Shang princess
had left her poorly prepared to live off the land, but her association with
the two Sylvani girls had helped a bit.
She knew that most places had some sort of food available and since
she was close to the sea there should be something she could
eat.
She moved back down to the beach and circled
around to the seaward side of the island.
As she had expected numerous edible sea creatures clung to the
rocks. Taking out her dagger
she pried several reluctant shellfish from the
rocks. Prying the bivalves open
she upended them and swallowed several of them, taking the edge off her
hunger. She was about to select
a few more when a voice almost made her jump out of her
skin.
“Well, what be
here?” The voice very much
resembled the creaking of badly rusted
hinges. Che Sha whirled around,
her exotic weapons at the ready. To
her astonishment she beheld a withered crone leaning on a hawthorn
staff. The woman was dressed
in what appeared to be seal skins, laced together to form a crude
dress.
The wrinkled face creased in what Che Sha
interpreted as a grim, revealing a single yellowed tooth in her lower
jaw. “Is it food ye be
wanting?” the ancient creature
croaked. “Ye should have
asked. Everything on this island
be mine.”
“I was hungry,” Che Sha
stammered. “I was
shipwrecked.”
“Ah, that be explaining why ye be here
then,” the decrepit hag replied.
“Still, ye should have asked.”
Che Sha lowered her
weapons. The old woman seemed
harmless enough if a little irascible.
“I saw no house,” she
said. “I did not know the
island belonged to anyone save the birds and the
seals.” She felt a little
foolish for defending herself.
After all, the crone’s claim that the island was hers seemed
a little ridiculous, however, the sudden appearance of the old woman had
her a little unnerved. Che
Sha’s hearing was excellent.
Why had she not heard the hag approach?
The ancient female seemed to notice Che
Sha’s wet clothing for the first
time. “Ye be
soaked. Come, follow Granny
Thorn. Ye may shelter in my
home.”
Without waiting for an answer the old woman
turned and shuffled off. Che
Sha noticed that in spite of her awkward gait, the hag moved without a
sound. With a shrug she
followed.
The crone led her through the rocks, close
to a rocky cliff and then with a sudden turn
disappeared. Increasing her stride,
Che Sha hurried to catch up and saw that there was a narrow cleft in the
rocks into which the woman must have
gone. After a moment’s
hesitation she followed. Inside
she found herself in a narrow tunnel formed by a natural parting of the
rock. The old woman was just
ahead of her disappearing into the gloom.
She moved steadily without the help of any
torch. Che Sha followed more
slowly, fearful of stumbling over some unseen obstacle.
A creaking sound revealed that the crone had
come to some sort of door and was swinging it
open. Beyond, Che Sha could see
the glow of a fire. She quickened
her pace at the promise of warmth and entered a small
cave.
It was a well-organized and cozy cave dwelling,
floored with sawn boards. Against
one wall was a fireplace that was partly formed out of the natural rock and
partly constructed of well laid stones.
Next to another wall was a simple wooden bed covered with
a feather-stuffed mattress and
in the centre of the room was a small trestle
table.
Along two of the walls were shelves and cupboards
laden with a variety of objects both mundane and mysterious, from dried fish
and the skulls of seabirds to the claws and fangs of unknown beasts, and
even a couple of skulls that resembled
humans. Che Sha stopped, uncertain
as to what she was walking into.
The hag turned her mouth gaping in her
single-toothed grim. “Be
not afeared. Ye be cold and
hungry. Warm yerself by the fire
while Granny ladles out some soup.”
Che Sha noted that there was a large kettle
swung close to the fire. A tempting
aroma rose from it. She seated
herself on a small stool while the crone ladled out what appeared to be fish
stew into a large sea shell. She
handed the bowl to Che Sha along with a spoon that was also fashioned from
a shell.
Blowing into the spoon to cool the soup Che
Sha tasted it. “Thank
you,” she said, nodding her
approval. This is very
good.”
“Granny makes good soup,” cackled
the crone. “Now let’s
see about drying those wet
clothes.” Before Che Sha
could stop her the hag began to unlace the ties on Che Sha’s
blouse.
“That’s all right,” Che Sha
said, holding up her hand in protest, while trying not to spill the
soup. “I’ll just let
the fire dry me.”
“Don’t be foolish, child,”
Granny Thorn replied. “It
be false modesty to sit about in salt water soaked
clothes. It’ll chafe yer
fair skin. Here, wear this blanket
while I rinse yer clothes in fresh water and then put them by the fire to
dry.”
Che Sha allowed the woman to drape the blanket
over her, noting that the blanket was actually several seal
skins. As the velvet fur touched
her she immediately felt warmer.
Setting down the bowl,
she removed her blouse and sash, and boots.
She hesitated, however, to remove
her tight fitting trousers, but the hag prompted
her. “Come
now. We can’t have any
foolishness. Give me all yer
clothes. The blanket will protect
yer modesty.”
Reluctantly, Che Sha removed the rest of her
clothing and sat nude under the blanket, spooning soup into her
mouth. With her belly filling
up and the warmth of the fire she began to feel the effects of her struggle
with the sea. She realized that
she was very tired and she had to fight to stay
awake.
So far the ancient hag had not shown any sign
of hostility toward her, but Che Sha was not sure that she could trust the
old woman. There was something
strange about a crone living alone on an island, and the cave where she lived
was crammed full of arcane materials.
She chanced another look around the cave and noticed that the wall
farthest away from the door had another door set into
it. She wondered what was behind
it. Was it another way
out?
The crone caught the direction of her
eyes. “Would ye like to
know what’s behind that door,
child?” She cackled
gleefully. “Ye’ll find
out soon enough.”
“What do you mean?” asked Che Sha
getting to her feet. She was
taller than the old woman by at least two hands, but somehow she felt completely
intimidated by the withered crone.
“Sleep
now,” the crone replied, ignoring her
question. “Ye be
tired. All will be explained
later. Ye may have Granny’s
bed.” She gestured toward
the simple cot.
Che Sha was about to reply that she would
not take an old woman’s bed, but she was suddenly possessed by an
overwhelming desire to sleep.
Stumbling to the bed she lay down and curling up in a fetal position,
pulled the blanket over her and closed her eyes.
She awoke to the sound of
voices.
“Who be she, Mother?” a gruff male
voice asked. Che Sha opened her
eyes. Looming over her was a
huge barbaric figure.
“She be your bride,
son. The gods have cast her on
our shores to answer yer desires.”
Che Sha sat up, still groggy from sleep, but
rapidly awakening. In front of
her was a bearded giant, dressed, like the woman, in sealskin
clothing. He peered at her with
obvious interest. “She be
strange looking,” the giant said, “But very
pretty.”
Che Sha clutched her sealskin robe to
her. Her glance darted to her
clothing hanging by the fire and to her weapons lying neatly on the
hearth. “What is this?”
she asked slowly getting to her feet.
“I am no one’s bride.”
The giant wrinkled his craggy
face. A pair of bright blue eyes
studied her. “She be not
like the others, Mother. This
one seems not afraid.”
“Yes,” Granny Thorn
said. “This one be a
warrior. She be
strong. Perhaps she will
live.”
Now angry, Che Sha began to edge toward her
weapons. She was not used to
being ignored, and was furious that the old woman and her son would discuss
her as if she was a slave or farm animal.
“On no, child,” Granny Thorn
said. “Ye can’t be
having those. It would spoil
yer wedding day.”
Che Sha tried to dart around the giant, but
the huge man moved with amazing speed.
His arm shot out and wrapped around her
waist. Lifting her like a child
he pulled her toward him.
Che Sha didn’t
panic. She let go the sealskin
robe and twisting her supple body slammed her elbow backward catching the
giant in the solar plexus. His
breath went out of him with a whoosh, and he immediately dropped
her. Cat-like, she landed on
her feet. Two strides took her
to the fireplace and her wickedly curved
weapons.
The giant son staggered back, gasping and
clutching his midriff. The old
woman cackled in delight.
“See, son. I told
ye she be a warrior. Look at
the fire in them eyes!”
Che Sha raised the razor edged
blades. Each was curved like
a shallow sickle, but just at the outside arc of each sickle the blade
straightened to a needle sharp point.
They were wicked weapons and had been designed to fit her
hand. The giant glowered at
her. Standing at least three
heads taller than she was; he towered over her, his face twisted in
rage. Che Sha readied herself
for the attack, but the huge man merely glowered at her.
“Nay, child,” Granny Thorn
croaked. “It wouldn’t
do to have ye gut yer husband.”
She gestured with her right hand and suddenly Che Sha found herself
frozen.
Her mouth gaped as she tried to speak, but
no words came. Sudden fear coursed
through her as she strained every muscle, but nothing
happened. It was as if her body
had been turned to stone.
The ancient hag
cackled. “There
now. Ye can’t be carvin’
up yer husband.” She hobbled
across the room and took the scythe-like weapons from Che Sha’s
hands. “Ye best tie this
one,” she said turning to the angry giant, “or ye’ll not survive
yer wedding night.”
Che Sha strained to escape the strange paralysis,
but although her body quivered from the effort, she could not so much as
move a finger. Sweat streamed
down her lithe body highlighting her smooth curves and exquisite
musculature.
The ancient hag ran her fingers over Che
Sha’s smooth shoulders, sweeping them slowly downward until she stopped
just at the swell of the girl’s dark-nippled
breasts. “Ye do be a pretty
one,” the hag exclaimed.
“Skin like the fur of a seal pup and breasts like ripe
grapefruit.” She touched
the girl’s left nipple with the jagged nail of her index finger, wiping
a single drop of sweat from the tight
bud. “Bind her,
son. Yer bride
awaits.”
The giant moved behind Che Sha and pulling
her arms behind her, lashed her wrists with strips of
sealskin. Helpless, Che Sha fought
to escape, her chest heaving. The
stench of the giant filled her nostrils.
He stank of sweat and fish, and his sealskin clothing was stained
with the blood of the animals he had
slaughtered. Quivering with fear,
Che Sha shuddered as he finished tying her wrists and began to paw at her
body.
She gasped as one huge hand cupped her right
breast. His touch was not
gentle. Her soft flesh squeezed
out between his fingers as he clamped down on her breast like a
vise.
“Ye be gentle,” Granny Thorn
admonished. “Remember the
last one. This one be a
warrior. She might last if ye
do not harm her.”
“She struck me,” the giant complained,
sliding his other hand over Che Sha’s flat hard
belly.
“That just shows
spirit. The sea has sent ye a
fine woman. Use her well and
she’ll last ye. Perhaps
ye might even have children.”
At this last remark, Che Sha almost broke
free of the spell that held her.
The hag grinned. “She
do be strong. I’ll release
her, but be ready son. She be
like a sea eagle. Her talons
will rip yer heart out should she get
loose. She’ll need tamin’,
but that be yer job.”
Che Sha felt the invisible grip on her body
disappear. She lunged against
her captor, but he was ready for her.
Lifting her writhing body from the floor he wrapped one powerful arm
about her thighs, pinning her kicking legs, and began to carry her across
the room.
Had her hands not been tied she might have
managed to break free, but all she was able to do was twist frantically in
the arms of the giant as he carried her to the door she had noticed
earlier. Using his free hand
he pushed it open and carried her into a dark
room. With his foot the giant
kicked the door closed leaving him and his captive in total darkness, however
that seemed not to
matter. He carried the
still struggling girl across the room and deposited her on a soft
surface. Che Sha realized that
she was now in the giant’s bedroom.
Releasing her, the huge man struck flint and
steel. A candle flared to life
and Che Sha saw that she was in a room similar to the first, except that
this one was filled with the giant’s personal
possessions. Most of these items
consisted of hooks, harpoons, nets, and various items used in fishing, but
three sent a chill of horror through her.
Lined up neatly on a shelf were the decaying skulls of what appeared
to have been women. Two of them
still had jeweled hair ornaments braided through their tangled and bloody
tresses.
Che Sha fought back a wave of
revulsion. The giant caught her
gaze. Setting a guttering table
on a high shelf he licked his lips.
“Uzon’s brides,” he
grunted. “They not be
strong. Not last
long.”
“Uzon,” thought Che
Sha. So the giant did have a
name. That, however, did not
make him any less terrifying or her position any less
perilous. But he had made a
mistake. With her hands bound
and her weapons gone he thought her
helpless.
The giant leered at
her. “Ye soon be joining
them,” he said, pointing to the row of rotting heads, “unless ye
be pleasing.” He began to
unlace his sealskin leggings.
Che Sha watched as the huge man removed his
clothing. Not only was he huge,
but he was also extremely hairy, his powerfully body resembling a
rug. To a race like the Shang,
Uzon’s hirsute body was almost as disgusting as the row of heads of
his dead “wives.” Except
for her lustrous raven hair, and the small neat triangle at the apex of her
thighs, Che Sha’s body was as smooth and sleek as that of an exquisite
marble vase. She found Uzon
undeniably repulsive.
But she made no move to
escape. The giant was at least
three times her weight. If she
missed her opportunity she would have no chance of defeating
him. He had already shown himself
to be very quick. And then there
was the problem of Granny Thorn.
How was she to get past the witch?
That was a problem she would have to tackle when she came to
it. First she had to defeat the
hulking son.
Uzon peeled back his sealskin shirt and then
began to push down his trousers. He
had already removed every other item of clothing, including his thigh-high
boots and protective leggings.
Protruding from a thicket of hair was a phallus a horse would have
been proud of. Che Sha shuddered,
her perfect breasts quivering as she stared at the massive sexual
organ.
Uzon grinned at her
discomfiture. Che Sha realized
that a flicker of fear must have shown on her normally impassive
face. “Soon ye’ll feel
the power of Uzon’s staff,” the giant
crowed.
Dropping his pants
to the floor, he advanced upon
her.
Che Sha waited until the elephantine brute
was almost upon her, then uncoiling like a spring forged of the finest steel,
she braced herself on her elbows and drove her feet into Uzon’s
chest. Her aim had to be
precise. With her wrists bound
behind her back she would get only one chance and it was critical that she
disable the giant with a single blow and without too much
noise. Granny Thorn must hear
as little as possible. The door
sealing the room was constructed of thick sawn
planks. With any luck any noise
the hag heard she would interpret as Uzon’s violation of his virgin
victim.
She had reckoned without the giant’s
speed. Far from catching Uzon
off guard, he appeared to have been expecting just such an
attack. As her body arched toward
him he stepped back. That small
move was just enough to weaken the
impact. Her feet struck him just
where she had aimed, but it was far from the knockout blow she had hoped
for.
The bear-like brute glowered at her and then
laughed uproariously. “Ye
think to trick me, but I be too clever for
ye. Now ye’ll be tamed,
the same way I tamed the others.”
Uzon lurched forward, and caught Che Sha’s
left ankle. Fighting to retain
her composure, she struck at him with her right foot while trying to free
the left, but the giant evaded the blow and twisting her leg spun her onto
her chest.
“Uuugggh!” Che Sha grunted as the giant’s weight pinned
her face down on the bed. She
gasped in fear as her legs were forced
apart.
“Now, warrior, I tame
you.” Gripping her arms
at the elbow he arched her back to the point where Che Sha feared her spine
would snap and forced her back onto his enormous
spear.
“No!
NO!” Che Sha pleaded. But
she was pulled inexorably backward, the huge phallus sliding between her
parted thighs to the lips of her quivering
vulva. Her body bathed in sweat,
she slid easily toward the giant’s waiting
staff.
Mercifully, he did not penetrate her
immediately. Instead he slid
the tip of his engorged phallus slowly up and down over the lips of her
vulva. Seminal fluid leaking
from the head of his penis coated her nether lips, providing lubrication
for the intended mating. Che
Sha’s breath came in frightened gasps as she twisted her body almost
hysterically in an effort to escape, but she was trapped by the giant’s
position between her thighs and the hold he had on her
elbows. He had bent her to his
will, and she was helpless to prevent what she knew much
come.
“AahAhhh!”
She half cried half
sobbed as he began to penetrate her.
His bloated organ was huge and invading her virginal love canal was
made difficult by its tightness and the low level of sexual
lubricant. She clenched her vagina
to deny him entry, but his conquest was
unstoppable. Inexorably Uzon
pushed into her, his own breathing harsh with
excitement.
“Ye be strong,” he
grunted. “But I be
stronger.” As she finished
speaking he emphasized his dominance by pulling even harder on her
arms. With a sudden lurch he
broke through her defences.
“Eeeaaggh!!” Che
Sha screamed in defeat as Uzon slid into
her. There was a sharp pain as
her maidenhead was taken and then an even greater pain as the giant’s
harpoon drove deep within her virginal
depths. Impaled, Che Sha screamed
as the organ forced its way into her.
Uzon leaned forward using all of his great weight and strength to
penetrate her fully. Brutally
ravished the girl screamed in anguish as the huge member forced her pelvic
bones apart.
Fortunately, the vicious rape was mercifully
short. Uzon erupted like a volcano
within her, spewing his lava-like semen deep into her vagina and all over
her backside. As his organ went
limp he pulled out of her and left the sobbing girl on the
bed.
Che Sha did not look up as Uzon cleaned
himself. She was too exhausted
and humiliated, and in too much pain to move, but she forced herself to stop
crying. She was a Shang princess
and despite the fact that she had lost her virtue, she had too much pride
to weep like a frightened girl.
“Ye be strong,
as Mammy said,” Uzon
rumbled. “Ye’ll make
a fine wife once ye be used to me.”
She could hear the giant pulling on his
clothes. Relieved that the ordeal
was not going to be immediately repeated she lay quiet.
A few seconds later she felt
a tug on her bonds and her bound wrists were
released. Then she heard the
door creak open and then close. She
did not move for several minutes, and then she slowly rolled
over.
She
groaned. Her loins felt as if
molten steel had been poured into her.
She fought back the urge to weep as she looked at the dried blood
and dark bruises on her thighs. In
a corner of the room was what appeared to be a pitcher of water and a
washbowl. Fighting back an urge
to cry out, she slid off the bed.
Her legs shook and she had to lean on the bed for
support. Slowly she made her
way across the room, every step agony.
Inside she felt a deep fear that Uzon might have permanently damaged
her.
Reaching the small table holding the washbowl
she filled it from the pitcher.
Taking a rather dirty cloth from a peg on the wall she began to clean
herself, trying not to wince in pain every time she touched a
bruise. Finally she threw down
the cloth and draped the sealskin robe about
her. Her clothing was still in
the other room. Making her way
to a stool in one corner of the room, she sat down and
waited. The bed would have been
more comfortable, but she could not force herself to return to the place
where she had been defiled.
She wasn’t quite sure of how long she
sat where she was. There was
no way of keeping track of time.
She spent her time studying the
room. There seemed to be a number
of objects in the room that would serve as weapons, but she was in no condition
to fight Uzon and when she did she would have to make sure that she was
successful. Defeat would certainly
result in terrible punishment. And
then there was the problem of Granny
Thorn. She might be able to deal
with the giant, but how could she fight a witch?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound
of the door opening. The room
seemed to shrink as Uzon lumbered into its
centre. In one hand he held a
chunk of meat. He stared at her
thoughtfully and then stuffed it into his
mouth. He chewed slowly and noisily,
smacking his lips and dropping bits of food into his
beard. He belched loudly and
wiped his dripping mouth with the back of his
hand.
“I see ye be recovered,” he said
finally. “That be
good. It be time for
supper.” He held out one
huge hand. “Come with
me. Mammy has prepared a fine
seal stew. There be plenty for
all. Ye need
food. Ye be beautiful, but ye
be skinny as a rail. Tonight
we be husband and wife again.”
He grinned. “Ye
be needing yer
strength.”
Che Sha shivered, but her body broke out into a
sweat. Trying not to show her
fear, she followed her “husband” from the
room.
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