part three: No More Who: Thais Keigwin, Senior Enchanter Orestes Where: The Circle Tower When: Ferventis 9:42 Summary: Thais tries to end her relation with Orestes. Rating: MX - Mature sexual themes. Warning: Contains thematic depiction of sexual assault. For those that cannot read, the gist of the narrative is that Thais and Orestes’ relationship ends violently and abruptly. Part Three of Five
It was time; Time for her to end it with Orestes. It had taken her weeks to think about it in her head, weigh the many options she had, collect information that she may need to use to combat the blackmail. She thought of different ways she could do it. She could send a letter… but those were easily intercepted and misused. She preferred to converse face-to-face on issues so personal as these. Thais couldn’t wait any longer, it had gone on long enough and she was worried Athanael might start putting pieces together. The mentor had glimpsed rope burns on her wrists the other day and she had been unable to come up with an excuse. She worried that her inability to find an explanation had spurred Athanael to investigate further. Thais couldn’t let him find out about her and Orestes.
“This has to end.”
She kept her voice calm. It was important to stay confident, assured. She couldn’t let any weakness show. Thais gazed at Orestes. He stared back like he hadn’t heard her speak. To be fair, it had been a slightly unexpected turn of events. She had entered the room like usual, just like any other evening. That is until Thais refused to undress.
Silence took over the room. The two stared at each other like two dogs challenging each other through eye contact. Thais spoke up to try and break the quickly rising tension, “This simply cannot go on any longer. I’m sure you knew this point would come eventually…”
Orestes seemed to be considering her words with mock concern. Finally, he spoke up, “Perhaps you forgot, but you aren’t the one that gets to make decisions like that.” Thais held her ground as he took a couple steps closer. She bit her lower lip as he reached out. The touch upon her arm was familiar and a shiver ran down her spine, but she didn’t look away.
“I can’t play in your fantasy games anymore.” She continued, her heart beating rapidly. A gripping fear made her step away from the man and head towards the door, “Go ahead and tell someone. If you do, I’ll tell them about some other secrets you have hidden away.” She turned, reaching for the door. Thais didn’t want to hear the response, she had said what she needed to say and she wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. An animalistic fear had filled her, she wasn’t sure what had caused it but her intuition was screaming at her to leave the room. The door opened only an inch before Thais suddenly was pulled back by a pair of rough hands upon her waist. Her eyes widened but she didn’t let out a cry. She spun around to stare at Orestes. The door shut again.
Orestes stared at her with an irritated expression, “What other secrets?” He asked abruptly. Thais squirmed against the hands that held her waist tightly. She paused in her movement, placing her hands upon Orestes wrists. The woman examined his features. They were tense and perhaps a bit more emotion than usual was shown in the man’s face. A small smile played at her lips, “You think I would spend nine months with you and not pick up some nice information on the way?”
Her smile quickly disappeared as Orestes brought the back of his hand to her face. This time she let out a shocked cry. Her cheek was burning and she stumbled to the side. She didn’t have a chance to respond as she was pushed. Falling onto the floor, she winced as sparks of pain ran through her elbow. Her hair had fallen out of its bun and curls were falling in front of her vision. She hadn’t expected this kind of reaction.
She threw her hands up as Orestes knelt above her. Thais began to weave her hands. The casting was quickly halted when Orestes grabbed one of her wrists. The man slammed her hand against the floor. Thais felt a wave of weariness overtake her. She vaguely noticed a light golden aura surrounding her body. The woman could feel her mana being drained as she was pinned against the floor. The loss of her magic created an unnatural fatigue. She attempted to push back against Orestes hold but her muscles quivered from the effort. Her movements did nothing.
The fabric of her robes were ripped apart, exposing her skin. Despite how many times she had been nude with the man before, this time was different. She desperately wanted to be able to throw him off but couldn’t. Thais wanted to cover herself, not allow him to see her anymore. Yet, she could barely move. She squirmed with a lethargic energy underneath the man.
The hands were rough, the actions far from gentle. Nails scratched at her skin. Clumsy kisses ran over her neck. Thais closed her eyes, warm tears welling up in them. She bit her lower lip. Helplessness overwhelmed her. No one would hear her cries for help. She didn’t even deserve the help if they did. It was her fault for getting herself into this situation. She had been gambling with Orestes ever since she stepped foot into his room that first night long ago. But this wasn’t what she wanted. This was different than simple lust. It was different from fantasy play. This wasn’t about passion or romance or anything even pretending to symbolize such things.
Her body shook as she felt the shreds of her clothing fall away. As the hands lifted from her wrists, she opened her eyes hesitantly. Orestes was undressing himself. Thais held her breath. The woman slowly began to turn to her side. The movement was interrupted as Orestes pushed her shoulder back to the ground. She stared at him with wide, tearful eyes. The man had an expression she hadn’t seen before in her time with him. His features were etched with an impassioned anger. An expression that made it clear that this was about control and Orestes was defining who controlled who.
Thais closed her eyes again, but it didn’t help. Closing them only made the touches and kisses upon her body more heightened. So she opened them again, staring at the ceiling. She was having trouble, her breath hitched and quivered as she tried to hold back sobs. In her mind she screamed for Orestes to stop, for him to just get up and leave. Yet, she couldn’t voice the pleas. Her brain and her voice were no longer connected. It was almost as if the spell that the man had cast altered her ability to function.
As Orestes forced himself into her, tears began to fall. They fell down the side of her face, trickling down onto the tips of her ears. It hurt. She knew he was trying to make it hurt. Biting her tongue, she held back cries of pain. She knew the cries would only encourage him. The thrusting was too fast. Her hip muscles tensed, cramps running through her pelvis. She kept her arms to her side, her hands resting, palm up, beside her head. Her gaze flickered at the man above her. The glimpse of his face, covered in sweat and concentration, made her regret looking. She quickly brought her view to the side. The woman stared at the desk. She wished she could remove herself from the situation but it was impossible. All she could do was hope that it would be over soon.
And it was. As soon as he had finished, Orestes separated from Thais. But he wasn’t quite done. Standing up, he reached down to the woman. Thais winced as he gripped at her hair. The sharp pull created a burning through her scalp. She was pulled to her knees. The woman looked up at him, her face streaked with tears. Her body was quivering. She wished she could compose herself but her body was beyond listening to her thoughts. Her thoughts themselves were muddled and having a hard time keeping up with what had just happened.
Orestes stared down at her. A disgusted expression appeared upon his features, “You’re pathetic.” He growled, letting go of her hair, “Leave.” Thais hesitated before realizing that the man meant it. She stumbled to her feet. The woman stared at the pieces of her robes. There was no way she would be able to put any of it back on. She looked towards Orestes. He had turned away, “You may wear my robes. I do not want them back.” Thais didn’t question it, throwing the gray robes on. She left as quickly as possible. She promised herself she would never return.