Backscene: He had it coming Who: Lucressia Peron and Elsa Vargas Where: The Circle Tower in Antiva When: Late evening, 9:35 Summary: Lu is sneaky, Elsa is cautious and Ser Valerio needs a good ass kicking (at the very least). Rating: M
Elsa supposed that there had been a time when a frown wouldn’t have made her blush and lower her eyes. It was just that it had been so long ago and she had been living in the tower for too long now. She remembered that once she had been a little girl that fought dragons, albeit imaginary ones. But the Circle had quickly made sure she abandoned such hoydenish ways. When she looked in the mirror today, she saw no dragon slayer and not even the mighty mage brandishing fire, who she had dreamt about for a while after arriving. In the mirror she saw a young woman that could hardly meet her own eyes. And when she met ser Valerio in the corridor, he only made her blush and look down, even if she knew about him.
She only had herself to blame, and her habit of walking the corridors of the tower long after dark. It was the only time she was able to find some peace and quiet, and get to move freely without anyone raising eyebrows or making nasty jokes. She did like to walk, to get to use her body as it was intended, but it was not appreciated from the other mages. It was her one little revolt, wandering the corridors long after everyone else was asleep, and tonight it had been the worst of ideas.
Ser Valerio was a vile and despicable man, and even though she had known it for years, each time she got it confirmed was just as bad. The incidents never became known, nothing ever happened to deal with him, because his victims had no power to oppose him. He had the ear of the knight commander and was a powerful man, both in statue and when it came to contacts. Elsa was just a mage and a woman too. It didn’t make her an adversary, it made her a target. Once she had found a young apprentice hiding in a cupboard. No extraordinary magic had led her there, but the faint sounds of snuffling that could be heard. She hadn’t seen Lora since breakfast and the girl had missed her second lesson according to enchanter Isotta. Agreeing to help search for her, Elsa had found her first proof that ser Valerio did not deserve life. Clutching her torn and bloody dress to her thin girl body, the apprentice flinched as the light intruded on her safe haven. She had a split lip and was shaking too hard to be able to talk. It took no great leaps of imagination to figure out what had happened to her.
As Elsa stood there in the dark corner, one muscular arm blocking her only way of escape and a tall form hindering any movement at all, she remembered Lora. She remembered all of them, the ones she knew and the ones she had only heard stories of. It made her clench her teeth together to stop her body from start trembling. He smelled sweetly, too sweetly – it was a smell she had never felt from a man, and it was sickening. “All alone at this hour,” ser Valerio said, his voice dripping with insincere worry. “My, my, is that really wise?” She could only agree with him, clearly it was anything but wise, but she had never ran into him before and had thought herself safe. But life at the tower had taught her that there was other ways a woman could fight back, and she had learnt this well. “I was just taking a breather, ser. One of the younger girls sometimes sleepwalks, and I was looking for her.” He frowned, and her stomach fell through the floor. She lowered her eyes, not wanting him to read the truth in them – there was no sleepwalking girl, it was a lie, and one she would suffer for if he found out. But she had said it because it was the only thing that she could think of to make him leave. He did after all have a reputation. “Is that so? Maybe I ought to help looking then.” His voice was sticky, and the instinct to wipe her hands on her skirt was overwhelming. Swearing that she was going to go straight back to the apprentices quarters when she got free, she lifted a hand and pointed towards the other end of the dark corridor. “I thought I saw her over there,” she said. “It would be a great help, ser.” She kept her voice low, women who spoke too loudly usually got a sharp tell off. The tall man suddenly smirked down at her, removing his hand from the stone wall to twirl the ends of his mustache. Revulsion swam in Elsa’s stomach, and she had to swallow. Not giving her another glance he turned and left, striding the way she had pointed like a man with a mission.
As soon as he was out of eye sight, Elsa doubled over, trying to catch her breath as she shuddered and trembled. The dark corridor was empty, a faint trace of sickeningly sweet perfume lingering. Around her was darkness and quiet again, as could be expected from this rarely used back hallway.