GOING BOSTAL
3. Chasing Butterflies (part a)
After what he'd heard from Darkling about the cook's unconventional use of goblin ears, Wolfson was more than a little reluctant to dine in The Salty Dogbiscuit's common room again. Goblin Ear Stew was still on the dinner menu, along with other questionable specials like Barnacle Bouillabaisse and Salty Dog Surprise. All in all, Wolfson figured that he'd be safer with a cheap bowl of ramen.
And so he and Anna had headed out onto the streets again. Darkling and Kana still weren't back yet, and there'd been no sign of them all afternoon – only the constant spectre of the unseen person or persons tailing him and Anna.
Somewhat surprisingly, though, Wolfson didn't feel the tail's presence anymore. Maybe they'd given up, or slipped off for a bite to eat as well. At any rate, it had eased his mind a little, and he'd allowed Anna off her leash, while still making sure that he kept a close eye on her. Indulgence was one thing; stupidity was another thing entirely. This was Port Bostal, after all.
However, Wolfson and Anna had made it to the Noodle House without incident. They'd dined well, with ramen for Wolfson, udon for Anna, and several flasks of sake, of which Anna had had a couple of sips, with Wolfson taking the lion's share.
And now there was nothing to do but sit back in the glow of the lanterns, with his head pleasantly abstracted, watching Anna as she slurped the last of her udon from the bowl. There was something refreshing about her approach to life – something that touched the parts of him that he feared had grown all too cynical over the years. Anna never sipped when she could slurp. She never simply spoke, not when she could enthuse. She never walked if skipping were at all possible.
Wolfson just smiled as he watched her. Anna-chan. Yes, she definitely brought something to his life. She let him see the world through her wide brown eyes.
"What should we do after this, Chiisai-chan?" he asked, as she set down her bowl and wiped her mouth. "Should we head to the video parlour? Or maybe see if we can find a tavern with a minstrel?"
"I don't want to hear anyone sing but you, Oukami-sama," Anna said, indignantly.
"You like what you've heard so far, do you?"
"Hai!" Anna nodded vigorously. "I especially liked that song you wrote for Kurai-sama."
Wolfson blinked. "What song?"
"You know! The courting song, where he's asking his sister for her favour... Or I guess it could've been his mother... Ick, but still, that's Kurai-sama..."
"Chiisai-chan, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"This one!" Anna said, impatiently, and started warbling a song that bore little resemblance to any of Wolfson's compositions, either melodically or lyrically:
"Come, fair maid, and give me thy glove.
Flagrant thy hair, incest our cloak..."
And as Wolfson just sat there, speechless, Anna cocked her head at him curiously. "I admit I wasn't listening very closely yesterday, because you and Kana-chan just kept practising and practising and practising, but I made sure I remembered that one. It was so pretty, Oukami-sama, even if the words were a bit strange."
Wolfson smiled blankly and hastily downed what was left of his sake.
Yes, the practice session. The four of them had crowded into Wolfson and Anna's room – a tight squeeze – as Wolfson coached Kana on the lyrics and melodies of the songs he'd chosen. Kana had been slow to catch on, to start off with, leading to the endless practising Anna had mentioned.
Eventually, though, around dinner time, when Darkling and Anna had gone downstairs to eat, Kana had finally started getting the hang of it. Her voice was sweet and soft – sometimes too soft, especially considering the roar of noise they would have to compete with around Market Square. But then there'd been the moment where Kana finally caught onto the harmonies for 'Wild Mountain Thyme' and her voice had melded into Wolfson's in perfect synchrony... and she'd just looked up at him, violet eyes wide, with a disbelieving smile on her face. It was only later that he realised he'd never seen her smile before. Not that unselfconsciously.
It was worth the wait.
Later in the evening, though, when they'd all had dinner and were back in the room, with Anna fast asleep on the bed, Kana's voice had faltered again. She seemed self-conscious with people listening, which was a bad sign. Stagefright, Wolfson had thought, sympathetically. I just hope she'll get over it during our performance tomorrow.
But over their morning in Market Square, Kana had shown no sign of hesitation or shyness. Her voice had wrapped itself around his, sweetly and inextricably, and their synergy had only increased as the morning wore on. In fact, just recalling it, Wolfson found himself looking forward to doing it again.
"Oukami-sama?"
"Wha?" he asked, blinking suddenly as Anna's voice brought him back to reality.
"The sake's here," she said, filling his small cup again from the heated flask.
"Oh. Thank you, Chiisai-chan," he said, taking the cup. She leaned forward on her elbows, gazing at him adoringly. The butterfly clips in her hair caught the light, glinting gently against her long brown tresses.
"So?" she asked, eventually.
"Um... so what?" he asked, a bit confused.
"My idea!" she said, bracing her chin on one hand. "I want you to teach me music!"
Wolfson blinked. "What?"
"So I can sing with you!" Anna lifted her head up, eyes gleaming brightly. "Kana-chan got to, so why shouldn't I? You just have to teach me how to sing slow songs, that's all. It can't be that hard."
"Ah," Wolfson said, slowly. "Well, you see, Chiisai-chan, it's a little more complicated than you think. It takes more than just a few hours—"
"We have lots of time," Anna pointed out. "You're my master. I'm yours, Oukami-sama. It's not like I'm going to wake up tomorrow and suddenly not be yours, is it?"
"True," Wolfson agreed. "But..."
"So teach me to sing!" Anna said, reaching across the table abruptly to clutch his hand. "I really want to learn! And I could teach you the songs I know! Every day, I feel excited! Cherish feeling, cherish—"
"All right, all right!" Wolfson said, hastily, squeezing her hand tightly. "I'll teach you to sing."
"Really?" she asked, practically glowing with happiness.
"Sure," he said, gently, even as his inner minstrel clinically assessed the situation. She had no sense of rhythm. Her voice was high-pitched and off-key, and her phrasing left a lot to be desired. But hell, he'd taken on worse students than her before, right? Even if he couldn't remember one, off-hand...
"Oh, Oukami-sama!" She poured herself a shot of sake and downed it in one gulp, her cheeks flushing pink. "Can we start right away? As soon as we get back to the inn?"
"Er, well..." Wolfson said, hesitantly. "You see, uh, I need to work out a syllabus and a lesson plan first. It could take weeks of careful planning before I—"
"You're so funny, Oukami-sama!" Anna laughed, jumping up from her seat and splashing the rest of the sake into his cup. "Come on, drink up! And then we can go! I want to start learning!"
Resignedly, Wolfson chugged what was left in his cup, looking longingly at the now-empty flask. For some reason, he had the feeling he'd be wanting more, and soon.
It was going to be a very long night.
Voices, somewhere in the distance. That was the first thing that trickled into Kana's consciousness as she slowly came back to herself. Pain in her wrists, a dull aching pressure: that was the second. And then, as if the floodgates had been released, a surge of other stimuli. The whistling howl of the wind. The movement of air against her bare breasts. A slight rocking sensation, as if the room were swaying. And, as she reluctantly forced her eyelids open, the warm glimmer of lantern light.
She was hanging by her wrists from a rope, the balls of her feet barely touching the floorboards, forcing her to stand on tiptoe in order to maintain her balance. It was precarious, but it took some of the strain off her wrists, allowing her to flex her fingers in an attempt to restore feeling to them. She winced slightly as blood surged back into her hands, triggering a sprinkling of pins and needles.
Kurai-sama's cloak was still clasped around her neck, over her collar. She still had her skirt and her soft leather boots on. The only thing missing was her vest – and as her eyes strained to focus, she saw it tossed casually over a fur-strewn bed in the corner of the... room...?
Her heart plummeted as she realised where she was. In someone's cabin, on board a ship. How long had she been unconscious?
How... how far away was Kurai-sama now? Was he... even alive?
She closed her eyes as the horrible sight of his blood-spattered head flashed through her mind. But that was all they'd done to him. His attackers had only incapacitated him; they hadn't wanted to kill him. All they'd wanted was her. Kurai-sama... Kurai-sama might still be alive. The realisation sent a dizzying surge of relief through her.
I'm glad, she told herself, choking back the sobs that rose in her throat. Kurai-sama, I'm glad. I wouldn't have wanted you to die for me. I'm not... I'm not worth that mu—
She sniffed, shocked to hear herself sobbing despite her best efforts. She... she couldn't allow herself to show weakness in front of her abductors. That would be just what they wanted. She had to be strong, no matter what they wanted to do to her...
Kurai-sama, I'm scared!
Kana fell limp, hanging painfully from the ropes that bound her wrists together.
Lost. She was utterly lost.
"...best be gettin' back now," one of the distant voices was saying, muffled by the screech of the wind. "I'll be back 'fore midnight to spell ya, Brink."
"Damn well better," another voice grumbled.
"We won't be disturbed here," said a third voice, more cultured than the other two. "There's a storm blowing in, and all good citizens know better than to walk the streets in the dark."
"True enough. Didn't do the girl's master no good now, did it?" the first voice chortled. "Well, seein' how it don't seem likely ye'll be seein' any company tonight, Brink, what say we—"
"Don't even think it, Nezz!" the other voice snapped. "Or the club'll have somethin' to say 'bout it!"
"Ah, quit wavin' it around already. I wouldn't want to go causin' the club no offence now, would I?" Nezz's voice said, mockingly deferent. "Midnight it is, then. You... enjoy yourself now, ya hear me?"
"Shut yer pie-hole, Nezz," Brink said. "Get ya gone."
"I will go below now, Brink," the third voice said. "See that I'm not disturbed."
"Aye, Mister Clancy."
The sound of the hatch opening behind her forced Kana upright again, hastily wiping her eyes against her upraised arms. A gust of cold wind fluttered Kurai-sama's cloak around her legs briefly before the hatch slammed shut again.
She could feel someone standing behind her.
"Finally," the voice said, smoothly. Booted feet thumped hollowly on the decking as the man walked around her, pausing in front of her and casually lifting her chin with one forefinger. His pale blue eyes were shadowed, his face eclipsing the light of the lantern hanging from the beam behind him. And yet Kana couldn't help but shudder at their cold detachment. He wasn't looking at a person. He was looking at an asset.
Still, she lifted her eyes and did her best to meet his unsettling gaze.
The slight narrowing of his eyes was her only warning. The next moment, her head snapped sharply sideways as he cuffed her hard across the face, the sharp crack of contact almost as much of a shock to Kana as the hot sting of her cheek. She had to bite her lip to keep the tears back, but resolutely turned her face forward again to look at him, even as she inwardly braced herself for another blow.
However, all he did was look at her somewhat pityingly, thoughtfully rubbing his soft beard.
"I see," he said, more to himself than to her. He stepped closer to her, forcing her to back away in alarm, but there was only so far that her restraints would let her move. She was forced to hold still as his face drew ever closer to hers, his eyes still holding hers dispassionately. Then they lowered slightly, and she felt a gentle pressure at her throat as he prodded at the lock on her collar with a pair of small picks. A few moments later, the collar fell open and tumbled to the deck.
Kana stared at it, aghast.
"Your erstwhile master really didn't care much for you, did he?" Clancy murmured, tucking away the picks and then reaching up to unclasp the cloak from around her neck. It sank to the floor at Kana's feet in dark voluminous folds. "Coddling you... indulging you... spoiling you."
"You... you don't know anything about Kurai-sama!" Kana stammered, startling herself. "You don't know what he— Uhh!"
"You will not speak unless given permission," Clancy told her, lowering his hand as Kana squinted at him out of the corner of her eye, her face averted. Her other cheek was on fire now as well, burning bright red. "This is precisely the point I am making."
Reaching down, Clancy jerked at the fastenings holding Kana's skirt closed, then slid his slender fingers down along her hips, pushing her skirt and her panties down around her knees. As Kana blushed bright red and closed her thighs instinctively, he cupped her right breast in his hand, pinching the nipple hard between thumb and forefinger. Kana gasped, her entire body twitching, and her knees unlocked.
Before she knew what was happening, his other hand was between her legs, gently stroking the soft hair between her thighs. She sighed and trembled despite herself as the tip of his finger lightly traced the outline of her labia. Her legs felt weak and shaky.
Thankfully, he stopped touching her then. He slid her skirt and panties down her legs, before tugging off her boots and tossing her clothing onto the bed in the corner. Then he rose and stood back, eyeing her naked form with satisfaction.
"Quite exquisite," he murmured.
Kana hung from the rope, her pulse racing, as the lantern light flickered in Clancy's pale eyes. They were smooth and mirrorlike. There was no light inside them.
There was nothing inside him.
He unclasped his cloak now, and laid it carefully on the bed behind him. Straightening up, he rubbed his hands together for warmth, then approached her.
"Your spirit remains unbroken," he said, his soft voice caressing her. "Obviously your former master was an imbecile, or far too soft-hearted. They amount to the same thing." He walked around behind her now, idly brushing a stray lock of hair down from her bare shoulder so that it hung straight down her back. His hand brushed along her side, tracing the outline of her ribs, the dip of her waist, the outward curve of her hip. His skin was cool and dry.
"Do you know how many Crowns you'll fetch me, my precious girl?" he asked, stroking her left buttock lingeringly as he completed his circuit around her, coming to stand in front of her once again. "Oh, if I had one or two more like you, I could make a trip to Hao Long worthwhile. You'd be a goddess to them, my dear. Do you know how much they cherish girl slaves with your delicate features and nacreous eyes? Do you know how much they'd prize your shy deference and your sylphlike figure?"
He drifted away from her as Kana hung from the rope, half-mesmerised by his soothing tone. From the small table by the bed, he picked up a slender springwood branch, bending it almost double to test its suppleness before nodding in satisfaction and moving back to her.
Lifting her chin with one hand, holding the smooth switch against her cheek as he stared into her wide eyes, he let his other hand trail up and cup between her legs again. Making her squirm with the undeniable need to escape his touch. And yet, she couldn't break away from his gaze. His eyes held her. They pinned her soul.
"But a slave is no use to anyone if she doesn't know she's a slave," he said, softly. Drawing back from her, he raised his arm and brought the springwood switch down against her breasts with a sharp swishing smack. Kana gasped, her knees buckling as the pain seared through her.
"There are many prospective buyers already interested in you, darling," Clancy said, as she struggled to regain her balance. "Even some who would purchase you 'as is'. However, I take a certain pride in the merchandise I deal in. And so—" He brought the switch cracking down again, this time against the back of Kana's thighs. She caught her breath, panting as her heart pounded frantically in her chest.
Clancy stepped closer to her again. His fingers slipped between her legs, delving inside her, and she bit her lip to stop herself from screaming. "I will not break your skin, my precious girl," he told her. "That would reduce your value. But I will break your spirit. I promise you that." Sliding his fingers back out of her, leaving her hanging there slackly, sickened by the violation, he moved back and lashed out with the switch again. And again.
Eventually, Kana couldn't help herself.
Eventually, Kana screamed.
Next: Tricks and traps