Narrative: A Coming of Age Who: Seda Utheriel NPCs: Henrik Niel & an Orlesian Man When: 9:38, Pluitanis Where: Highever What: The events leading her to meeting Henrik who then recruits her to join his band of mercenaries. Rating: M Status: Complete
It was a cold day but the sun was shining and the air was fresh. Taking a deep breath of the cold winter air Seda smiled. Looking out at the market place from her perch she couldn’t help but think that today was going to be a wonderful day. It was the first day of Pluitanis and she had made an absolute killing the day before. A huge amount of caravans and various traders had crowded the city for Wintersend, and Highever was still overflowing with them. They would probably remain a few days and then start to disperse back out into the Bannorn or wherever else they had come from.
She hadn’t bought anything from them yesterday since she had been so busy working. Today, however, was a different story and there was a lot she planned to buy with yesterday’s earnings. First on the agenda was a late lunch. She hadn’t tried to do any shopping this morning as she hadn’t wanted to brave the crowds when she was actually shopping. She might be older but that didn’t make her that much bigger and she was constantly getting pushed around. Even though her small size was often an asset while earning her money there was many a day she would find herself getting carried away by the surrounding people. Well not today, no one was picking her up. With a joyous laugh she jumped from her little seat and ran towards the merchants.
The first thing on the agenda was not a late lunch. Instead the next few hours passed in a blur of color as Seda rushed from vendor to vendor admiring all of their wares. There were fine silks and perfumes from Orlais, fine Antivan wines and stunningly crafted metalwork from the dwarves. Each stand was more amazing than the next. Hours later she had nothing new to her name but her aching legs, the smile on her face and a steaming bun in her hand.
Retreating from the still bustling marketplace Seda collapsed into a side alley to enjoy her fare in peace. The merchants were getting ready to close and some were already starting to pack up and a horde of last minute shoppers had rushed out. She was far too tired to try and deal with that crowd. Her whole body ached from running all over the place but she wouldn’t have changed that for anything. Her earlier prediction had been correct and it had been a wonderful day.
She might not have bought anything but she had enjoyed herself and wasn’t that what mattered in life. Papa had always used to tell her that if a person couldn’t look back and smile at what they had done then something was wrong. She could remember the smell of the oil he used on his bow and the way he gripped her shoulders. She closed her eyes and could feel him kneeling in front of her, hear him whispering to her.
“Seda you only have the present to make you past. Do your best today to make sure that your past is full of happy memories. Live each moment with a smile on your face, joy in your voice, and hope in your heart. If you try to live this way Da'len then I guarantee you will live a happy life. You may not manage it always, life is not so kind, but if you just try I am telling you it will be so.”
She slowly opened her eyes to look at him, see him smiling down at her. The only sight that met her eyes was the crumbling wall of the building across from her. Crying out she threw the remains of her food at it watching as it slid downwards. Clenching her eyes shut she slumped against the wall behind her. With a sigh she tilted her head up to look at the heavens above and wondered. What would he think of her now, separate from the clan and living as a thief? She couldn’t help but think even he would be disappointed, ashamed.
“That is not a face such a lovely lady like yourself should be making. Come my darling; let me take what worries you away.”
At the interruption of a voice not from her own memories Seda jumped up and stumbled back into the wall. As she tried to take in the man in front of her he started talking to her again. An Orlesian, she was sure of it. His accent was faint but she could hear it in every curl of his tongue.
“Oh mademoiselle do not be so startled. I am not here to harm you. Truly all I wish is to put a smile on your face. I am sure you are a very pretty lady when you smile. Please show me.”
As he walked closer Seda tried to press herself further into the wall. She prayed that the stone would absorb her, protect her from the man stepping towards her. If his shuffling gait and the slight slur hanging on each word hadn’t clue her in before the stench of him told her all she needed to know. He was drunk. He smelled as if he had bathed in a barrel of ale.
Once he was in reach of her he stretched out one trembling hand as if to touch her face. Rearing back she dragged herself across the wall and way from him. Glancing quickly around her she couldn’t help but curse that she had chosen a dead end to dine in. Why hadn’t she chosen a safer area? When she turned back to face him she wished she hadn’t. He didn’t look quite as genial anymore. His face was a mask of fury. Lips turned down and brow lowered over glaring eyes. She could see him clenching and unclenching his hands; hear his teeth grinding.
“Little darling there is no such need for such behavior. You are a lady, non? You should behave as one. Now come here.”
Trembling she desperately shook her head. Backing away from him slowly she prayed to Mother Mythal for protection. However, it seemed as if with each small step backwards he lunged forward even closer her to her. He kept on talking to her. Murmuring endearments with one breath and then cursing her with the next. Eventually her luck ran out and the alley came to an inevitable end.
She tried to look for an escape. She could only imagine how she looked; probably like some poor caged beast desperately seeking a way out. Whipping her head back and forth, eyes wide and shaking she couldn’t see a single way past him and the man, he knew it. Chuckling darkly he stood in front of her with his arms spread out, palms held up. He just stood there, staring at her and chuckling to himself. At some unknown single he stepped in closer. One arm came down next to her throat and the other stopped higher, resting next to her head. As he leaned in close and pressed his face into her neck, nuzzling, she choked back a cry. Hearing her he glanced up and suddenly his lips were at her ear whispering gently, cajoling. Shutting her eyes tight she tried to ignore him.
His hand was drifting across her throat as if tracing patterns, then it dropped down. Her eyes snapped open and she tried to push herself back into the wall. Furious at her act of rejection his other hand suddenly grabbed the back of her head and pulled. How it burned. With tears in her eyes she tried to look at him, plead with him to stop but he was leaning into her face again and he didn’t look happy. As he stared at her his lower hand squeezed. Hard. A new wave of tears flooded to replace those already drying up.
Renewing her struggles she tried to raise her hands to push him back but she was unable to gain any leverage. She might as well be beating on a rock for all the good it was doing her. She wouldn’t give up though. He was still touching her, fondling her. She raised a foot and stomped down as hard as she could. With a grunt his grasp loosed and she tried to push him off.
Rearing back the hand that had been groping her chest was flying through the air and across her face. Stunned she fell back onto the wall once more. She lay there in silence shocked. She could feel his hand stroking her face, lingering where he had struck and then trailing down to her parted lips.
“Oh my darling why must you make me do such things. How I hate do damage such a beautiful dove. Come now my sweet; let us take the pain away.”
Then he was on her once more, pressed against her tight. He had her pinned to the wall and this time she couldn’t move her limbs. She was trapped. She started cry, begging. She pleaded with him to let her go, to stop. The words flowed from her mouth without end. For a time he ignored her words and then he devoured them not even leaving her that one last act of rebellion in the face of his onslaught. His hands no longer remained on her chest though they would drift back up one again to pull at her tunic and grope her already abused breasts. When one went up the other went down, drifting across her thighs and then curving backwards and pulling her in closer to him. He was finally making some progress with her tunic. When she felt her belt unbuckle and tumble to the ground she closed her eyes and started to pray. She prayed to her gods and goddesses. Asked Mother Mythal to protect her, begged Andruil strike him down with her mighty bow and pleaded with Elgar’nan to take vengeance for all that had been done to her before this man do more. The gods remained silent. They could not come to aid Arlathan why would they come to her. Desperate she called for Fen’Harel and when even that did nothing she started sobbing.
As the man’s hand fumbled and tore at her tunic she again tried to shake him off. Shoving her back he struck her again and then returned his attention back to her clothing. She tried pleading with him again. Offering him anything in return for stopping. When he stopped she sagged under the weight of her relief. As he looked up at her and smirked she knew she would not be freed. Oh he had stopped for the moment but the look in his eyes said he would not be letting her go. His words only confirmed this horrible truth.
“My little sparrow I have stopped and now I shall take my reward. You did say anything didn’t you? Be a dear and relax. All I want is for you to be happy. Let me put a smile on that face of yours my elven beauty. Don’t you want to be happy?”Crying all she could do was desperately shake her head back and forth. He was angry again. “You promised me anything sweetling. Anything and I will not tolerate a liar as gently as I have treated you. You are not a liar are you? No. Good.”
He went back to his ministrations hands drifting across her body, occasionally finding the areas he had torn and shoving his hands in to meet her skin. Rubbing and twisting and pulling she could feel her very skin bruise. All the while she could hear him mumble endearments to her as he trailed kisses across her neck and face. Soon enough as more and more of her tunic was torn to shreds his lips started to drift further south.
Biting her lip she struggled to move her arms, anything. How could this drunken man have her so expertly pinned? It wasn’t fair. Then the moment she had been dreading arrived. His hands had finally found the edge of her trousers. As he struggled with the clasp her sobbing renewed and she started calling out for help. From anyone. She called for the gods and goddesses once more but they still did not answer. When he had finally managed to loosen her trousers and started to pull she screamed for her father, begging him to come save her. Hadn’t he been with her earlier holding on to her?
Her screaming had caught the man’s attention and he was in her face again telling her to be silent, calling her names and treating her like a pet. Without thought she pulled her head back and struck. As her head connected with his chin he was knocked back. Releasing her he stumbled across the alley. Quickly she tried to squeeze down the alley past him but by then he had already recovered. She couldn’t let this continue, she wouldn’t let this man take anymore from her. With a cry she kicked at him catching him under the chin once more. As he fell back she gave him no time to recover and launched herself at him. As she straddled him her hands reached for his hair and latched on. Pulling his head up she pushed down with all her strength. Momentarily stunned she started to pull back again. Before she could bang his head down again his hands had found purchase at her throat.
Struggling to breath she fought to hold on. She refused to let go. This was her only chance. She pushed down again. Pulled back and threw her weight down. Again and again. She could hear someone screaming in the distance but she couldn’t stop until he was no longer a threat. Pull back and push down. The hands lipped from her throat. Pull and push. Over and over again until suddenly her hands had lost their grasp. Terrified she reached out and tried to latch on again but all she could find was a wet pulp.
Stunned she looked down at where her hands were searching. Then she turned her attention to her hands. Leaning back she drew them forward to her face. Turning them over in amazement she studied them as if they were foreign objects. As she unclenched her hands bits of hair and the pulpy remains of skull and brains. Her head whipped back to take in the man’s face. She choked as she took in what remained. His face was still mostly intact a scream of pain etched onto his face for eternity.
Gasping she sat back, tripping over his legs and falling down. As she scrambled backwards away from the man all she could do was stare at the scene in horror. Wiping the tears from her face she couldn’t stop choking when the blood touched her lips. Throwing herself away from the body she couldn’t stop retching. He shoulders shook and her hair hung down covering her face. She had… killed him. He was dead because she had killed him. Leaning back she tried to fight back a new wave of nausea. She couldn’t stay her she needed to leave. Grabbing onto the wall she pulled herself upwards. Leaning there for a moment she took in the scene once more. She quickly bit her fist to choke back another sob, this time ignoring the taste of his blood and the texture of the meat on her tongue. Closing her eyes she turned away and pulled herself towards the exit of the alley. When she reached the entrance she opened her eyes and glanced around. Seeing no one she took a deep breath and stepped out.
“I saw what you did there.”
With a strangled scream Seda threw herself against the far wall and tried to pull herself even further backwards. There lurking in the shadows was another man.
“Hey now there lassie just calm down. I don’t mean you no harm. Just want to talk to you, you hear. Just talking now. I’ll stay right here, see.” He held his hands up and took a step back from her. They stood there for several minutes in silence, neither of them moving. Finally she stood back up. Straightening her spine she looked him directly in the eyes waiting for him to speak.
“There now that’s a good girl. See not going to hurt you. Just want to talk like I said. I have an offer for you…” Stiffening Seda reared back as if struck. “No, no. Nothing like that. I already told you I saw what you did in there. What you did took a good amount of strength. I am impressed and I gotta admit lass I ain’t no easy man to please. So when I say I got an offer for you I mean I have use of someone with that sorta strength. You hearing me girl.” Trying to keep up with him she bit her lip and nodded.
“Good. Now missy Imma mercenary. You know what those are right?” Shocked she could barely muster the energy to glare. “Right well that’s one less thing to explain. See I’m in the business of fighting. I already have a small group, close knit sorta crew you see. I’ve been looking for just one more to add and little missy Imma asking you to be that one.” Shocked all she could do was stare at him. Was this man crazy? “Stunned speechless ey? It is a good offer so what say you lass, you up for it?”
Then it what should have been a fool notion he stretched out his hand and held it in front of her. She stared up at him looking into his eyes. They stood there in silence with his arm stretched across to her in offering. With a sign she looked down at his hand. Biting her lip she glanced back up at his face. He hadn’t moved and just continued to look at her, waiting for her decision. With a gulp she reached her bloody hand out and grasped his larger hand in her own. A quick squeeze and the hand was released and dropped like a hot coal. As she looked back up to him her vision was suddenly blocked out by a cloak. By the time she had pushed it out of her face and regained her bearings the strange man was already halfway down the road. Turning around he called back to her.
“Welcome aboard. Now put that on and hurry up. We have lots of work to do and those missions ain’t gonna go and finish themselves you hear.”
Staring after him for a minute she finally understood what he was saying. With a quick shake and a toss she had the cloak around her shoulders. Running to catch up to him she stopped to paces behind him and slowed down. They walked together in silence until they faded away, blocked by the shadows of the clouds.