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Post by yooom on Jul 12, 2020 11:24:03 GMT -6
Celaine’s compliments had drawn smiles from Ravenna. Saveria’s praise, however, fell on deaf ears, and Ravenna’s body did not so much as acknowledge it. Her expression remained blank, cold, empty, unable to recognize anything that wasn’t an order from her cruel Mistress, so thoroughly broken by Saveria’s dark halo.
It was not enough, it seemed, for Saveria to have complete control over Ravenna’s body. No, she wanted complete control over her very being, Ravenna’s very identity had to be built around serving her new Mistress. She stood there, blank, helpless as Saveria took her control over her to the next level, the darkness of her mind deepening, going from her body and mind into her very soul, sinking deep into subconsciousness, as Saveria reached deeper, tugging forth from Ravenna memories, and with her senses untethered by Saveria’s control Ravenna sank into a sea of memories.
The halls of the abbey were ancient, though nowhere near as old as Sanctuaire Sacre. Where the two structures differed, however, was that the abbey was a complete structure. Where Sanctuare Sacre had wide, empty halls and blank, barren walls, the abbey’s walls were brimming with carvings, delicate floral ornamentation, Biblical verses carved with loving care by the long dead monks who had consecrated this holy place. Where Sanctuaire Sacre felt dead, the abbey brimmed with life, home to a dozen nuns, and several dozen girls, in the process of becoming nuns of their own.
It was the noise of the abbey that had driven Ravenna into the dark cellar. The other girls were too scared of it, frightened every night by the ghost stories they would tell of the milk maid some ancient evil duke had locked in there eons ago who still banged on the door, begging to be let out. Ravenna knew these stories were nothing more than that, though even she couldn’t deny the creepy feel the cellar had, dark, its walls moist, filled with long, glass cabinets of artifacts, items that had once been the pride of the abbeys collection and now stayed down here, forgotten cases that sparkled in the light of Ravenna’s light. The girl set the light down, and marvelled at the little ornate box, filled with painted figures, exquisitely carved.
But, before she got a chance to take a good look at the first holy artifact she’d ever set eyes on, Ravenna wasn’t there anymore. She was in a different place, a different abbey, the Reverend Mother holding her hand protectively, as she listened to a man talk about the place, gesturing to another case, another artifact.
“You might be wondering why we have no protections on our returning stones, when our other artifacts are so closely guarded. Well, that’s simple...they’re impossible to steal. Any one who holds them can only grip them for a few seconds, before they return to the-”
The scene was interrupted again, and Ravenna was alone in the same room, five years later, stealing silently through the dark. Impossible to steal, eh? We’ll just see about-
She was in a busy street, running with all the energy a seventeen year old could muster, as the Reverend Mother shouted her name half a block away.
She was in the dormitory, the other girls giggling and chatting loudly while she sat in her bed, trying to pretend to sleep
She was dancing with Celaine, the music of the bells echoing as the two of them pressed against each other. She was back in the basement of the abbey, and yet, she could hear a voice that did not belong speaking, could hear the call of bells that shouldn’t have been there, was seeing things that shouldn’t have been there.
As Saveria had commanded, her memories were rising up, one after the other, until her entire life was playing, every second of it at once, in a jumbled, chaotic mess, enough of an overload for even the drained, emotionless husk that was Ravenna to react, quivering slightly, a tear slowly running down her cheek.
“Please…” she said, her tone muted, the words flat even as she begged. “Please it’s...it’s too much…”
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Post by Emiko on Jul 12, 2020 12:58:20 GMT -6
Ravenna's pleas were like music to Saveria's ears. She always loved the sweet song of humiliation from all of her victims. And hearing it come from the once proud, sassy mouth of the thief was especially invigorating. To Celaine though...it more than she could handle... Of all the things Saveria had done to poor Ravenna, hearing her pleas cut her heart like a knife and twisted it in ways she couldn't describe... It was horrible and Saveria was enjoying it! And it was about to get worse...a LOT worse... Ravenna was a mere command away from losing her very identity and...Celaine couldn't sit by and take it any longer...
Unable to see Ravenna lose herself and suffer any more, Celaine somehow mustered the strength to push herself up to her feet. Just before Lady Saveria could utter the command for Ravenna to let it all flow out of her, Celaine ran past her Mistress as fast as she possibly could. She clumsily grabbed the blanket that had been thrown at Saveria earlier and used the magic in her artificial left eye to enchant the blanket as she had the bells earlier. Without missing a beat, she ran right into Ravenna wrapping the blanket around her shoulders and held her as tight as she could, even going so far as to be Ravenna's cushion when the two landed... The act might have seemed like a desperate one with no real consequence, but...it actually served a very real purpose...
With enchanted blanket wrapped around Ravenna's body and Celaine holding her tight to force her own magical, hypnotic energy into Ravenna's system, the darkness inside of the thief was somewhat diluted... It didn't release the dominion hold Saveria had, nor release the darkness out of Ravenna's being. What Celaine was doing though at least gave the thief a metaphorical foot to stand on to get a bit of air to breathe instead of drowning in the darkness... That...was what Celaine had intended to do, but...didn't realize the other, unintended side effect of what she had done...
By fusing her magic into that of the dark magic of Saveria, Celaine had fused a small part of herself into Ravenna. Their bodies were very much separate, but Ravenna somehow had an open channel which allowed her to not only feel the things that Celaine felt, but experience her memories along with her own... Ravenna had something of a...psychic-magical link to Celaine's consciousness and unwittingly had a front row seat to everything that followed...
Just as her own memories came flooding to Ravenna, Celaine's memories inadvertently revealed themselves to the young thief as well... In her mind's eye, Ravenna would see flashes of a young Celaine growing up in a poor home before...attending the funeral of her family years later... Another image would show a happy Celaine dancing with a beautiful woman before that would flash to a frightened Celaine being accused of unholiness by the same woman... More scenes would show flashes of the girl being whipped, stoned, and chained to a post, left for dead... The final images that would flow through would be of Saveria happening upon her near lifeless body...before flashing to the dark Mistress tending Celaine's injuries, only to end with what looked like negotiations of sort between a bandaged Celaine and calm Saveria...
The experience was so fast and wouldn't make much sense at all... If anything, what Ravenna saw was incredibly vague due to the fact that these were not her own memories. Ravenna just...happened to be able to see what Celaine was thinking about at the time she was thinking about it. What wasn't vague however were the raw emotions that Celaine was feeling... The poor girl was feeling a mix of fear, sadness, heartache, and pain in ways she couldn't describe. Strong than that however...was the incredible concern, compassion, and warmth she seemed to have towards Ravenna... Celaine had no idea the extent to which the two had accidentally connected, but...it was sadly there for Ravenna to experience in full...
Not fully understanding what had just happened, Saveria frowned at Celaine for interfering the way that she had. She started to angrily walk towards her young ward to initiate a proper punishment when she suddenly stopped in surprise seeing the girl's left eye manifesting it's magic. Somehow she had missed the initial activation, but could see Celaine was using her magic on Ravenna. The act shocked her as well as enraged her more than she already was...
"...How dare you go against me...?" Saveria replied as she started to manipulate the darkness in the room to do something very dark to her young guardian. "...You know how I feel about it when people interfere with my plans...even more so what happens to those that do... I swear Celaine, you will be punished to the fullest extent I--"
"You promised!" Suddenly came the voice of a frightened Celaine as she hastily interrupted her Mistress...
Taken back by that sudden, but simple phrase, Saveria could only stare at her young guardian quietly. She...had promised...? What promise did she make to Celaine? Even Lady Saveria was confused as to what exactly she had promised to Celaine not remembering when she made such a thing...
"...What do you mean, Celaine...? When did I make a promise to you, and...what exactly was the promise that I made...?"
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Post by yooom on Jul 12, 2020 18:51:11 GMT -6
The memories continued, the cacophony of voices growing louder and louder, the flashes of different moments of her life growing faster and faster, until they were a seamless vibrant whirl of thought, like a fireworks show directly against her eyes. It was obvious by now that Saveria was not about to stop because Ravenna asked her nicely, and, as Ravenna’s entire life poured out before her, she still did not make the slightest move to resist, standing there blankly and taking her punishment.
Celaine, on the other hand, was not a victim of Saveria’s dark halo, and, taking pity on the blank girl’s suffering, rushed before her, trying to shield her from their Mistress’s terror. As she moved, throwing the blanket on top of her, almost tackling Ravenna, Ravenna toppled, her body not reacting in the slightest to try to stop the fall, though Celaine would take the worst of it, as Ravenna went crashing on top of her.
Celaine had never been able to match Saveria in the sheer level of magic she had, and, drained as she was by the day’s magical activities, the magical enchantment of the blanket against Ravenna’s body was practically negligible when compared to the dark halo that still pressed against Ravenna’s forehead. However, it was some light against the overpowering darkness of Saveria’s magic, and, for what was left of Ravenna’s spirit, drenched, suffocating in dark magic, it was a welcome relief, one that her body reflected, as she let out a strangled gasp, desperate for that split second to free herself from the shadows that had filled her.
And yet, if Celaine’s goal had been to stop the barrage of memory overtaking Ravenna’s head, she had failed, for the memories continued to flash before, memories Ravenna wasn’t quite certain were even hers. The rooms felt different, her perspective lower, the environments unfamiliar, and yet, the more she saw them, the more they did seem like she’d been there before. The dark shapes of people in the dark, the bright burn of torches, the sound of the whip crashing over her head, it became familiar.
And then there was Saveria, towering over her slumped form again, and yet, it was different this time. They were outside, the bright cold morning sun had not yet melted the frost on the tall blades of grass that surrounded, crushed under a thousand footfalls from the night before, and Ravenna could hear Celaine’s voice coming out of her mouth, defeated, broken, but bargaining all the same.
“A-all right,” she was saying, her voice quivering. “I’ll work for you, I’ll work in the Sanctuary. I’ll keep your secrets...I’ll guard your treasures...But promise me...if I find someone...someone like me...she can stay...I can keep her.” Saveria gazed down at her, supremely unconcerned.
“Very well,” Saveria said, casually. Celaine perked up, rising, urgent, and her urgency radiated out, so that, even as blank as she was Ravenna’s black eyes widened, and she gasped out Celaine’s words, her voice hoarse.
“Promise me! Promise me!”
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Post by Emiko on Jul 12, 2020 19:22:09 GMT -6
The things that Ravenna had seen...the things she had heard in her 'memories' was an actual event that took place just before Celaine received her artificial eye and agreed to the services of Lady Saveria... It was a memory of Celaine's that Ravenna got to witness first hand, and thus understood before the dark sorceress what was really at play here. Unaware of that fact however, Celaine was more focused on just trying to protect Ravenna and recited the words that followed the very thing Ravenna had seen...
"...You promised me a long time ago...that in exchange for my services...in exchange for keeping your secrets...in exchange for basically dedicating my life to you... You promised that you would grant me immunity from your powers and... You said that if I found someone I wanted to be with, she could stay with me... You'd not attack her, convert her, or even touch her... You promised...You...You promised me..."
...Celaine's words sent an obvious shock through Lady Saveria's system. It...was about that time that she did recall that incident a long time ago. A...final condition of sorts to go along with the overall 'package' Saveria had offered to Celaine after taking her in a long time ago. While it was a promise she made, she still...didn't understand why Celaine was so adamant about keeping this girl alive... What purpose did Ravenna really serve...
"...I remember, Celaine..." Saveria softly replied as she took a softer, much gentler and genuine tone. "...Your final condition. I said I would and...will honor that promise...if it were real. However, I fail to see how that has any relevance to anything right now. That girl isn't like you, nor will she ever be anything like you... She said it herself that she didn't want to spend her days with you..."
At this point, it was honestly all or nothing and Celaine knew that. She wasn't sure whether she would die from Saveria or through the continual use of her magical eye. At this point, she didn't care... And what made the situation worse was Ravenna got to feel every emotion she was feeling... The desperation to save who she held and the overwhelming feelings of pushing herself far, far beyond her limits in every regard...
"...I don't care... I...don't...care..." Celaine replied softly as she started to tremble showing that her condition was getting worse... Yet...she pushed herself to use her magical eye knowing it was the only lifeline she could give Ravenna from the darkness... "...It might not be real... It may never be real, but...I don't care... I felt something today that I haven't felt in a long time, and I don't want to lose it...to lose her... Even if she never sees me as anything...I choose her... Please...honor my wish and let me choose her..."
Celaine's refusal let this go was perplexing to Lady Saveria... The dark sorceress knew how passionate Celaine was when it came to things like this, though... It was the same sort of passionate level that she had for collecting ancient artifacts. Saveria understood that level of sincerity and honestly held a great deal of respect for Celaine because of it... It was one of the few things that Saveria was willing to even give her respect to...
"...She'll never love you... Just like the one you 'loved' before, she'll betray your feelings... You understand that, don't you...?"
Saveria's words cut deep and...Ravenna would get to feel a hard bout of terrible heartache... A memory would also repeat itself to her in the form of a happy Celaine dancing with a beautiful woman before kneeling in chains, frightened as she was accused of a terrible sin by the same woman she had been dancing with. The pain was hard and very real, but...in spite of it all, she pushed on and made sure to look hard at Saveria before she answered to show her the sincerity in her eyes...
"...I choose her... Regardless of where it goes... I choose her..."
Lady Saveria wanted to push the issue further, but...she blinked noticing that the artificial eye in Celaine was starting to fade in and out with its glow showing she was having trouble keeping the magic flowing... And if that was the case, it was either because she was tiring, or dying... Considering the tension of their conversation, and pure look of determination in her eyes...Saveria knew it was the latter... Her guardian was holding firm to Ravenna and would not be swayed no matter what she said or did... Saveria hated that it had came to this, but...she was a lady of her word in every respect...
With a sigh, she gently lifted her hand and gave a soft snap of her fingers. In an instant, the dark halo around Ravenna's head would vanish without a trace. With it, the darkness that had filled her soul and turned her into a lifeless puppet flew out of her being returning her to the way that she used to be. She was free willed once more though...very much against the will of the one that had put her there from the start...
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Post by yooom on Jul 12, 2020 20:21:08 GMT -6
Ravenna sat beside Celaine, shrouded in the magical blanket, protected ever so slightly from the all-encompassing darkness of Saveria’s dark halo. The memories continued to fly by, one after another, in a dizzying display of sights and sounds, only half of them her own, until, quite suddenly she was standing, glaring intently at Saveria, her Mistress’ rage tempered only by her surprise that she had even dared to rise against her. There was a woman beside her, slumped slightly, with black eyes, draped in a large blanket.
It...it was her. Ravenna gazed, somehow from Celaine eyes, taking in her broken, defeated form, the crown of shadow on her head pulsing as the darkness worked its way deeper and deeper into her being. It was a horrible sight, especially given that it was her suffering so, and yet, it was not a surprise to Ravenna. Other memories began to play across her mind, of others, men and women, all over Sanctuaire Sacre, suffering from this same spell, broke by Saveria’s magic, while she had stayed quiet, knowing it wasn’t her place, knowing that her safety was protected only by the word of this dangerous and deadly woman.
She was shivering. Ravenna wasn’t sure who was shivering, Celaine, or Ravenna, or both of them, but she could feel her strength fading, as she tried to save her from Saveria’s spell, growing weaker with each passing second, her magic, and, it seemed, her life force, being spent keeping up the spell. And yet, she stood, protecting Ravenna, claiming her as her own, and the fierce feeling of protection flowed into Ravenna, and she rasped out Celaine’s words in an eerie echo. “Promised...you promised....I choose her….I choose her…”
Whether it was because she was compelled by her word, or Celaine’s resoluteness, or because she simply did not want to see a loyal servant die in front of her over this thief, Saveria relented, and, as quickly as it appeared, the dark halo vanished. Ravenna’s jaw dropped, as black magic streamed out of her body, the darkness flooding out of her eyes, as she returned to reality.
Ravenna coughed, feeling the last bits of dark magic leave her. She felt as if she’d swallowed a bagful of coins, there was a strange, cold aftertaste in her mouth, in her throat, and that same gross, clammy feeling was elsewhere in her body, she could even feel it in her own head, though it was worst where the halo itself had pressed against her forehead. She sat up, and brushed a hand against her forehead. It was cold to the touch, tiny beads of sweat, and she could feel the faint indentation where the magic has pressed tightly against her skin. She felt weak, the ache of Saveria’s torture returning to her arms and legs, and she leaned heavily against the stone wall for a split second, before sliding down the length of it to sit on the floor, her legs curled up against her.
She felt...exhausted, mentally and physically, raw from Saveria’s torment. Her memory of what happened after the halo had fixed itself around her was fuzzy, and she could remember things that couldn’t have happened then, memories from her childhood.
“What...what happened?” her voice was ragged, her breathing unsteady, as she turned to look in confusion at the two women before her, scared of what they might answer.
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Post by Emiko on Jul 12, 2020 22:24:09 GMT -6
...When Saveria released the dark energy from Ravenna's body, Celaine honestly couldn't believe it... Even as the last trace of darkness flew out of her being, it was hard to believe that her Mistress would actually grant her request. True to her word however, to the promise she made long ago, Saveria would not deny Celaine a potential partner... She was actually going to allow Ravenna to stay alive and free with Celaine...if...she managed to survive her own brush with death...
With the sight of Ravenna safe and sound, Celaine felt the determination of heart fade, giving way to a sense of happiness for it all paying off. Unfortunately...that bit of adrenaline that accompanied the determination would also fade causing her to lapse back into her weakened physical state. It...would prove to be worse however as Celaine had pushed herself well beyond her limits... To save Ravenna...she had literally pushed the last remaining bits of sand through her life-hourglass and had nothing left to sustain herself...
The dark truth about Celaine's magical eye was that...it required a vast amount of magical power in order to use. Because of the fact that she was not naturally a sorceress herself, the fuel source for Celaine's power was none other than her own life force... If pushed too far, Celaine could literally burn through her life span and the ultimate fate for this was the inevitable extinguishing of her life leading to a premature death... This was the fate that not long ago Saveria said Celaine deserved to experience for her failures. When the time finally came for this to happen however, she seemed to have a change of heart...
As Celaine's magical glowing eye faded into darkness, exhaustion took over forcing her to close her tired eyes with her weak body rolling over seemingly lifeless... She was just...so tired at this point and couldn't seem to stay awake showing that she was dying... When this happened, Saveria realized immediately what was going on... Showing urgency for the first time, she hastily ran to where Celaine had fallen and knelt down to her side. Once there, she gently scooped the girl's lifeless body up into her arms and held her close showing a strange amount of concern. What she did next however proved to the strangest of all... Very gently, the dark sorceress used a hand to position Celaine's head upwards. Once facing upards, Saveria gently pressed her lips down against Celaine's giving her what seemed like a deep, passionate lovers kiss...
Saveria held her kiss on Celaine for several long moments before she finally broke it off to reveal the real purpose for it... As the kiss broke, flowing from Saveria's mouth into Celaine's was a visible steady stream of ghostly-white magical energy. This energy was actually something of a magical infusion that Celaine needed rather frequently to sustain her rather fragile life. It was in a sense her literal lifeline and the only way to receive it was for Lady Saveria to 'breathe' it into her often initiated from a kiss. As long as Celaine received regular doses of magical infusion, she could live normally. Without it though...she would eventually die...
Saveria was very careful to inject the energy into Celaine's body showing that impressive attention to control once again. She never pumped so much that her body couldn't handle, nor too little that it would be insufficient... Instead, Celaien received just as much energy as she needed at just the right pace. And after about two minutes or so of 'breathing' life back into her fallen Guardian, Celaine's color began to return to normal... After three minutes, she was able to slowly open her eyes and see her Mistress helping her... Four minutes of this returned what strength she had lost and after five minutes of the treatment...it was fully completed...
Her mistress slowly rose from the floor and offered a hand to help Celaine to her own feet. Never one to disappoint, Celaine quietly took ahold of Saveria's hand and smiled as she was pulled up with incredible ease. Perhaps to Ravenna's surprise if...she could comprehend what she was seeing, Lady Saveria offered Celaine a warm smile and spoke to her with words as soft and kind as she could...
"...You really are something else, dear... The lengths that you are willing to go to when it's something that you care about..."
...Was this even the same woman as before...? Even more puzzling than Saveria's sudden shift to kindness was how Celaine responded... Before, she seemed like nothing but a fearful worshiper that was scared even speak out or defy her Mistress... When Celaine offered her Mistress a gentle curtsy however and looked to her with a sense of joy and gratitude on her face, it was most puzzling... Even more so was her tone which was upbeat, joyful, and...so full of life...
"I'm grateful for you kind words...Even more so for entrusting me with your magic once again... I'm especially grateful though that...you will allow me to choose and be with her... I swear...you won't regret your decision and I won't abuse your powers again..."
"Yes, well...we'll see about that..." Saveria softly replied as she turned her attention towards Ravenna and frowned a bit. "...I will honor your choice and spare our...little thief for now... You have my permission to use your powers as needed and I will cause no more harm to her as long as she abides by the laws of this estate. Understand however that her actions will now be your responsibility and if she can't abide by my laws...I will revoke her welcome here... You understand that, my dear...?"
Celaine didn't honestly know how things were going to go after this. However, she had managed to save Ravenna's life and had apparently impressed her Mistress enough to get a second chance at life... She knew being fully responsible for Ravenna wasn't going to be an easy thing and...there was certainly a lot that she would have to explain and do for the new 'guest'. The main thing though was that Celaine managed to save her life, and that was all that mattered... And to show the proper respect, instead of saying anything, Celaine simply offered her Mistress a polite nod and another gentle curtsy.
For Lady Saveria, that took care of Celaine as far as she was concerned. However...there was still a small matter of taking care of this little thief... Saveria honestly wasn't convinced that anything would come from Celaine's desires and felt that Ravenna would flee at the first possible opportunity. Still quite upset at the fact she tried to steal from her collection, if for some reason things didn't work out between the two women, Saveria wanted the first privilege to do away with her intruder... So she decided to invoke something of an insurance policy to make sure she could enjoy that moment if or...when it came...
Saveria quietly made her way past Celaine to one of the display cases on the far wall. She gently reached into the case to grab something of a golden bracelet with sapphire gems lodged into it's form before closing the case and making her way over to Ravenna. Upon making it to where Ravenna sat, slumped over from her previous treatment, Saveria quietly knelt down and grabbed the thief's hand somewhat forcefully. She carefully attached the bracelet to Ravenna's right wrist and gently waved her own hand over it to enchant it with her dark energy once more. Only after it was finished did she look up into the young thief's eyes and reveal what she had just done...
"...You had best thank Celaine, for she just saved your life... You have no obligations to me, nor are in any danger of losing your life to my powers... I grant you protection, provision, and shelter in this place... So long as you fulfill your role to Celaine, you will have nothing to fear from me. However...if you break your role, I'll kindly pick up where we left off tonight... And to make sure you fulfill your obligations...this little bracelet will act as your collar... Step one foot off of this property without permission and the dark magic of this land will pull you back just as the chains did in this room tonight... You've been warned...little thief..."
With her 'words of acceptance' delivered, Lady Saveria simply gave Ravenna a cocky little smile along with a soft stroke of her cheek to silently declare her victory over the thief before rising back to her feet. Paying Ravenna no mind afterwards, she turned her attention back to Celaine and offered the guardian her last orders before residing to her chambers for the night.
"...She's your responsibility now. Make sure all my treasures are in order and tend to your...'chosen one's' injuries. After that, get some rest. This makes two magical infusions in two days and I don't have the energy to spare another treatment right now. Keep the use of your magic to a manageable level and...guard your heart, dear... Lest you find it broken again... Good night..."
Lady Saveria after this would offer no other words, or actions. Just as quietly as she had came in, she turned from both Ravenna and Celaine and quietly made her way out of the room... Celaine didn't dare move until Saveria was indeed gone just to show her the respect that she felt she deserved. As soon as the coast was clear, Celaine ran to Ravenna as swift as she could and knelt down to her side to tend to her new...partner.
"...Ravenna are...are you all right? It's all over now... Is...there anything that you need...?"
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Post by yooom on Jul 13, 2020 14:01:59 GMT -6
Ravenna’s question would go unanswered by the two women, as Saveria noted Celaine’s strength was failing. She abandoned Ravenna where she sat, rushing to Celaine who had slumped over, lifeless, beside her. Ravenna turned with a start at Celaine, only seconds ago so strong, now practically comatose, as Saveria took hold of her limp form.
“Celaine!” Ravenna called out, trying for a moment to rise, but the pain in her arms and legs flared up, and she eased herself back to the floor, watching intently as Saveria positioned her, taking care not to injure the dying woman.
To say Ravenna was surprised, when Saveria leaned forward and placed her lips to Celaine’s own, was understatement. She gasped audibly, watching in complete shock as Saveria kissed Celaine, passionately, lovingly, as she began to breath life once more into Celaine’s drained body. She watched, in silent astonishment and confusion, as the two continued to kiss. As Saveria disconnected the kiss for a moment to collect herself, Ravenna spotted the white, ghostly energy that passed from the Mistress into her ward, and the blank surprise turned to a more investigative gaze. This was far beyond any form of magic Ravenna understood, but she grasped the basics of it immediately. Saveria was offering Celaine some of her own, seemingly unlimited magic, to Celaine, to keep alive, to recharge her after her stunt to protect Ravenna had left her especially drained. That this particular form of magic was so...intimate was rather surprising to Ravenna, but she supposed it made some sense, it was a rather intimate thing to share one’s magic like Saveria was. And yet it seemed so alien for someone like Saveria to do something so selfless. This was the cruel woman who had only a minute ago been trying to tear Ravenna into pieces with dark magic. That she was capable of something like this took Ravenna off guard.
Ravenna quietly watched the two of them reconnect, Celaine reinvigorated by the bizarre magical ritual that had just unfolded. Something of Celaine’s loyalty made a little more sense to Ravenna. Saveria was, it seemed, capable of caring for at least Celaine, and the undying loyalty Celaine had for Saveria seemed to be at least somewhat mutual.
Ravenna’s reflections on what she’d just seen came to an abrupt halt as Saveria strode back over to her. She let out a yowl of pain as Saveria roughly grabbed her still very sore arm, attaching a gold, bejeweled bracelet to her wrist, gazing into her eyes as she spoke again. Ravenna, more than eager to oblige the deadly, if confusing woman, was quick to call out a quick, “Thank you Celaine,” at Saveria’s instruction. She listened to her intently, as she had a feeling her life depended on what the Mistress was about to say, and she nodded frantically as Saveria threatened her with the same torture she’d only just endured.
The physical pain had been brutal on the thief, but what had followed, the dark crown of shadow that Saveria had forced onto her head, the shadows that had rushed into her defenseless body, possessing her, emptying her of herself, that had been more terrifying than the physical pain Saveria had savaged her with. That, as well as Celaine’s protection, had been enough to at last break Ravenna. In the face of an unyielding force, she had been resistant, but something about seeing Saveria’s softer side with Celaine had made it easier to submit. Maybe it made Saveria seem more human, less of a monster that could never be appeased, or maybe she simply knew now that there were fates worse than death she could inflict.
She let out another nervous squeak as Saveria tenderly stroked her cheek, a shiver running down her spine, as Saveria drew closer, smiling at her, but the moment’s intimacy passed as quickly as it came, and Saveria was out the door a moment later, warning Celaine as she stepped out of the room. Ravenna let out a sigh she hadn’t realized she’d been holding since Saveria had gotten close to her, leaning heavily against the wall, still on the floor. She raised a hand slightly as Celaine rushed for her side, but she only knelt beside her, gazing tenderly into her eyes. Ravenna gave her a thankful smile, and attempted to hoist herself up into more of a sitting position, only to tense up from the pain in her arms and slump back against the wall.
“Not...not all right per se,” she said, before giving her a truly sincere smile. “But thank you. I think you just saved my life from...whatever that was.” she gestured loosely up to her forehead, where the imprint of the halo was still faintly etched against her pale skin.
She looked at Celaine, studying her face. When she’d been forced to recount her memories, all of them, there had been voices, faces that she hadn’t recognized. “Those...those were your memories, weren’t they? That town...that woman…” she leaned forward slightly, her expression urgent. The memories were still within her, but they felt more like a dream now that the shadow hypnosis had subsided. “Who was that? What happened?”
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Post by Emiko on Jul 13, 2020 15:36:13 GMT -6
Celaine was very happy to hear that...despite not being completely all right, Ravenna was ok for the most part. And the soft thank you she offered to her brought something of a warm smile to Celaine's face. Celaine was honestly just glad that Ravenna was all right and that her Mistress was going to allow both of them to live for a time. That smile however would instantly start to fade the moment that Ravenna mentioned something about her memories. And...when she specifically questioned who 'that girl' was and what had happened, events that Celaine had never told ANYONE about, she was quite taken back.
"...My...memories...?" Celaine questioned, obviously perplexed... "...How did you...How could you see...?"
...Celaine was utterly stunned wondering how it was possible that Ravenna could have seen her memories and learn the darkest secrets she had kept hidden in the depths of her heart for years. As she thought it over however, Celaine recalled how Saveria had used the darkness within her to bring Ravenna's own memories to the forefront of her mind... When Celaine fused her magic into Ravenna's body to keep her afloat, it...was very possible that Ravenna had inadvertently accessed her own thoughts and feelings by accident... Even though Celaine could only speculate that this was what may have happened which...of course it did...it still meant in the end that Ravenna now knew of Celaine's dark past. Or...at least bits of it as she didn't seem to comprehend everything on her own...
Regardless of how it got there, just the mere fact that Ravenna knew about these rather...personal and tragic memories brought a hard shock to Celaine's system. Always feeling the heartache every time she thought of it, Celaine literally had to turn her head in a whole other direction to avoid looking at Ravenna so a lone, heart broken tear could roll down the dark side of her cheek... These memories haunted her, agonized her in every possible sense. And now...knowing that someone else knew her secrets somehow made the feelings even more intense. Still...Celaine wasn't without her priorities and knew this wasn't the time, nor the place for this... She took a deep breath and pushed the feelings and thoughts out of her mind before turning back to Ravenna with the same warm smile she had greeted her with earlier.
"...It's...a long and complicated story... I could tell you about it if...you really want me to. But...maybe we should get you somewhere you can rest and get you bandaged up first..." Celaine said softly as she gently took one of Ravenna's hands into her own and began to tenderly massage her wrists where the shadow chains had been jerking her around earlier... "...I'm sure you...have a lot of questions and...we have a lot we need to talk about... We could talk about all that here, but...maybe we should go downstairs to my room where it would be a bit warmer and more comfortable...? I doubt you want stay up here in this place after everything that's happened today..."
While waiting for Ravenna to make up her mind about what she wanted to do, Celaine was so careful to massage her wrist as softly as possible. She'd gradually work her way up her sore arm just to lightly relax all the muscles along the way not wanting to hurt Ravenna at all. In some ways, Celaine felt like she was responsible for the torturous pains Ravenna had endured. If nothing else, even though she had saved Ravenna's life, it was also because of Celaine that she was basically a prisoner of Sanctuaire Sacre... At this point, it didn't really matter to Celaine how it happened, all she wanted to do now was release the pain that Ravenna felt as best as she could. Ravenna's comfort and well being in this moment...was more important to her than even her duty to Lady Saveria...
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Post by yooom on Jul 14, 2020 18:10:38 GMT -6
It was Ravenna’s turn to look perplexed in response to Celaine’s confusion that she had seen Celaine’s memories. Had that not been her intention, when she’d stepped between Ravenna and Saveria? Or was that merely an unintended side effect of the hypnosis? If it was, Ravenna thought, her face flushing slightly, Celaine had accidentally revealed to Ravenna her entire life, her deepest, darkest secret, one that she had so casually inquired further about. “S-sorry!” she said quickly. “I didn’t mean...I just thought you knew that I knew that…I didn’t mean to..” her voice trailed off as Ravenna fumbled her way through an apology.
Ravenna’s guilt doubled when she saw Celaine turn her head away from her somberly. She hadn’t meant to bring up painful memories, even though she realized that was exactly what she had done. It had simply been the most important question, the face that had dominated so much of Celaine’s thoughts when they’d been forced upon her, even when her interactions with her had long come to a close. Ravenna flinched, thinking again of that painful night, the cracks of whips, the jeers of the surrounding crowd, and shut her eyes, trying to force the memory back. It wasn’t right, wasn’t fair to Celaine, for her to think of her memories the way she could her own.
Celaine turned back to her, speaking quietly, and Ravenna quickly replied. “Y-you don’t have to, if you’d prefer not to. I know it was painful. I mean, I’m sure it was painful,” she added, cursing herself inwardly for talking with such familiarity about Celaine’s life. She’d only met the girl today, it wasn’t fair for her to know these intimate secrets, every dark day she’d had.
She gave Celaine an apologetic smile as Celaine began to attend to her wounds, wincing as the girl’s hand massaged the tender skin, the imprints of the black chains clear against her skin. She flinched as Celaine’s massage worked its way up her arm; despite her best intentions, there was still a terrible ache in her limbs. But, as Celaine continued to massage, she had to admit her arm did feel at least a little better.
Ravenna shivered, and cast another look at the dark hall, now somewhat damaged by her fights and subsequent torture, and nodded. “Yeah, I’d love to get out of here.” putting her free hand on the floor she heaved herself up and, with some difficulty, was able to rise up to her feet, though they quaked so terribly she had to lean against the wall with one hand, the other one locking on Celaine’s shoulder. “Though I...I might need a little help,” Ravenna said, hating her weakness. She had long prided herself on her independence, her ability to single handedly not merely fend for herself but thrive. To be reduced like this, not only shown just how pathetic she had been from the start, but to not even be able to walk by herself, stung her pride.
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Post by Emiko on Jul 14, 2020 20:30:47 GMT -6
Despite requesting it, Ravenna wouldn't even need to ask to get Celaine to help her. She had already fixed in her mind that no matter what it took to take care of this girl, she was going to do it. Celaine had already went so far as to put her very life on the line to save Ravenna's so...there honestly wasn't much she wasn't willing, or capable of doing. A supporting arm for a girl who had trouble moving on her own...? It was as good as done as far as Celaine was concerned.
Aside from a warm grin and a nod to show her willingness, Celaine was otherwise silent as she helped to brace Ravenna however she needed. It...was a bit of a trip getting Ravenna down from this room on the third floor to her own quarters on the second, but Celaine was there every step of the way... Taking things as fast, or as slow as Ravenna needed with focused silence and great care. Thankfully the trip didn't take that long and within the hour, they were in the relative safety and comfort of Celaine's bedroom.
Unlike the rest of the servants who were all pretty much housed in one large living area at night, Celaine was given access to her own private room thanks to her...unique position. Her room wasn't as large or glamorous as Lady Saveria's was just down the hall, but it was modest in a lot of respects. A sizable fireplace was present to provide warmth not far from where the door was and she had a rather comfortable, queen sized bed to sleep in. Along the walls was a small bookshelf filled with books combined with a dresser that housed her clothing, most of which she made herself. A large chest was also present in the room were Celaine kept her materials for sewing, writing utensils, and other things relating to her hobbies. And also present was a small desk in front of a window that Celaine would often sit at to sew, write, or read and at times gaze up into the stars above.
As soon as the two girls had made it to Celaine's room, she was very careful to get Ravenna to her bed and remove any restrictive clothing that might interfere with her treatment. She also provided Ravenna something of a hot meal by getting her a simple, but warm bowl of soup along with a sizeable piece of bread all of which had been cooked by the staff earlier. Once she had eaten, Celaine took a considerable amount of time tending Ravenna's injuries by wrapping warm towels around her arms and legs to help reduce the swelling and frequently replaced them when they got cold. There was...naturally some resistance to several of the things Celaine had done for Ravenna. However, Celaine would often insist on it, or simply go forward in silence to do it anyway not giving Ravenna much of a choice in the matter. Aside from her insistence and couple of casual checks, Celaine was...strangely quiet for most of the night... It...honestly got a little awkward at times...for both of them...
After a good hour of using the hot towels to treat Ravenna's sore muscles, Celaine returned to massaging the thief's arms and legs as gently as she could. Following the treatment with the hot towels, the massages at this point might actually start to feel rather good. She would only do this for a short time however before stopping knowing that at this point, a good night's sleep was honestly the best thing for Ravenna. It...was indeed what she needed physically, but...Celaine knew there was something she needed a whole lot more than sleep. And...it was something only she could give... So after all this silence...it was finally time for the two of them to have this talk...
"...I know this...isn't necessarily the time, but...you are a guest here now and will be for a while..." Celaine softly said as she sat at the foot of the bed looking hard into the blazing fire burning in the fire place. "...If you're going to be here, there are three things you must always do. Saveria's three laws... Act when ordered, speak when spoken to, and do not act on the contrary. So long as you do that and keep a humble attitude, Lady Saveria will leave you alone... You can't...do harsh and careless things like you did tonight...But...we have deeper things we probably need to talk about..."
For a long moment, Celaine sat quietly on the bed trying to find the strength to discuss what she knew was most likely running through Ravenna's mind. She had honestly been dreading this moment the entire time, hence her silence. However...as Ravenna had already seen what had happened via her memories, there was no hiding it. Sooner or later, Ravenna was going to have to know the truth of how Celaine came to be in this place... And...there honestly wasn't any time like the present...
"...My memories..." Celaine said as she slowly turned her head towards Ravenna. "...When you were witnessing them...What did you see...? How much of my life was revealed to you...?"
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Post by yooom on Jul 15, 2020 14:02:31 GMT -6
Before Ravenna had so much as finished asking for help, Celaine was obliging, reaching down to heave her up, supporting most of Ravenna’s weight as she led her down the stairs. Ravenna bid the reliquary a happy adieu for the time being, as the door slid shut, and Celaine was cautiously leading her down the stairs, easily climbed up when Ravenna had had full use of her legs, were now quite treacherous, and it took a few minutes and several near misses to get her down them. Regardless, they were shortly in Celaine’s bedroom, and Celaine safely set Ravenna on the bed.
Feeling grateful, and a little guilty about having attacked her earlier, Ravenna made to speak, but Celaine was already turning from her, busying herself with the fire, before leaving abruptly, returning with a bowl of soup and bread, which Ravenna ate in awkward silence. She shied away from her slightly as Celaine knelt down to pull off her boots, resisting ever so slightly the removal of one of her very last magical artifacts, but Celaine seemed only to want to massage her aching legs, setting the boots quite close by.
Ravenna let out a slight grunt of pain as Celaine began to rub against the skin. Even if Celaine tried to be gentle, Ravenna’s body had become quite sensitive due to Saveria’s torture. However, as the massaging continued, the pain began to slowly subside, and Ravenna was, one by one, able to move each of her limbs at least a little without sharp pains shooting up her joints.
Feeling too awkward to break the silence that hung over Celaine’s room Ravenna only gave Celaine a sheepish smile by way of thanks as Celaine to sit at the foot of her bed. She immediately felt a little more guilty, she was clearly in Ravenna’s bed, but, at the same time...it was quite a lovely bed, and she wasn’t completely ready to move out of it just yet.
Ravenna nodded, glad that Celaine was looking away, so she did not see the disdain in her eyes as Celaine began to refer, once again, to Saveria’s laws. She’d heard Celaine speak them before, to Saveria, and she had immediately hated them. Ravenna was by nature not someone particularly fond of laws, as all thieves were, and the idea of being beholden to such...slavish subservience revolted Ravenna, though she knew full well that she was far from any position to refuse Saveria. She wanted to reject Celaine’s words, she wasn’t going to be for a while, these injuries were but a temporary setback but...with the magical chain around her arm, there was no way she’d be able to leave. It was an obstacle she had no idea how to overcome. As much as she hated to admit it, Celaine was right. She needed to learn how to lie under Saveria’s law.
As Celaine changed the subject, Ravenna felt herself flush again with embarrassment at having immediately asked about the woman she’d seen. “Well...I think I saw...everything,” she gestured in front of her face, where the images had seemed to materialize, one after the other, an avalanche of thoughts, of memories that weren’t her own. “But, but, it was all kind of muddled...everything together, so I couldn’t really...I don’t know what I saw,” she stuttered. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ask about her, it’s just...she came up a lot, in your memories. Her, and the memory of her...” Ravenna’s voice trailed off, and she hastily said, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bring it up again. It’s...you don’t need to tell me,” she finished, awkwardly.
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Post by Emiko on Jul 15, 2020 16:42:14 GMT -6
While Ravenna mentioning 'that girl' seemed to bring a noticeable cringe to Celaine's face, she otherwise just smiled as the thief tried to explain and make sense of it all. Celaine had honestly hoped that all she had seen were glimpses of things so she could easily brush them off, or dismiss them entirely. Seeing as Ravenna had seen 'everything' though as she put it, she realized that...wasn't possible... Celaine couldn't brush off her entire history and felt if nothing else, she owed it to Ravenna for after all that she had done to her...
"...It's ok... If you've seen what's happened to me, then I feel an explanation is very much necessary... Otherwise...your limited knowledge will lead you to misunderstanding me entirely..." Celaine replied as her smile started to fade. She let out a rather soft, almost sad sigh before turning her head back towards the fire place once again. Like before, she just sat there silently staring hard into the roaring flames until finally...she began to open up...
"...That girl you saw... The girl with long blonde hair and emerald green eyes? She was my...finacee at one point... I'm not sure if you gathered from your visions of my memories, but...I'm different from other people... Where most find attraction to the opposite gender, I'm not like that... I find myself having feelings for those of the same gender as me and...as I'm sure you can surmise, that's considered a sinful taboo... I kept my nature hidden from everyone my entire life never telling a soul...until I met her..."
For a moment, Celaine fell silent feeling the pain inside of her starting to rise up again. These events had happened so long ago and yet...still seemed to hurt her as fresh as if they had happened just yesterday. It was a wound that time had never fully healed and she hated to relive it... However, she knew Ravenna had to know to make sense of it all and so...she pushed on despite how hard it was...
"...We were just friends at first, but as time went on, I started to feel closer to her than I had anyone else before... One night...I gathered up the courage to confess my secret and I was shocked to learn that she had similar tendencies and desires to my own. We...decided to explore our desires in secret and the times that followed were so wonderfully blissful... We danced the nights away and spent our time building what I thought was a genuine, beautiful relationship. It was so perfect that...I actually thought we could spend our lives happily together...forever... I went so far as to propose that we marry in secret and she delightfully accepted. But...I didn't realize what was really going on...until it was too late..."
...It was at this point that Celaine fell into silence once again, obviously in horrible pain. Unlike before however, her pain would actually surface in the form of soft sniffles and a small stream of tears starting to roll down her right cheek from the only eye that could cry. She...couldn't keep the pain inside of her down and was unable to contain her sadness from popping up as it had. Still, she took a long, deep breath to try and clear her emotions... Ravenna had to know...and so she would continue, though with a noticeable quiver in her voice now...
"The next day, some men showed up to my house and detained me without explanation. They pulled me to the village square where they forced me to kneel in chains and accused me of the taboo of loving another woman. I tried to deny their accusations but...when my fiancee stepped forth as the 'evidence', I was shattered... It turned out she...had been put up to finding out my secret by her male lover. Some...religious fanatic of the Catholic Church wanting to make a name for himself. She took a bribe to get close enough to me to get evidence of my sin so they could put me on some sort of religious trial... And it was her testimony that not only lead to my conviction, but...the destruction of my heart as well..."
...What Celaine had just told Ravenna would undoubtedly be hard to swallow. Reliving the events again herself though was proving harder to bear the deeper into the story that Celaine went. Her tears began to flow at a much greater pace and at times, she had to bury her head into her hands to sob for a few moments. While she very much just wanted to break down into tears and stop talking about this, she still kept on talking... She knew...Ravenna needed to understand, to know the truth...no matter how hard it was on herself to tell it...
"A self-appointed judge declared me guilty of sin and I was basically sentenced to death. Instead of giving me the luxury of the noose or the guillotine, they decided to punish me slowly... I had rocks thrown at me and was eventually chained up to a post where I was stripped of my clothing and received 30 lashes from an improvised whip. In the process of it all, I ended up losing my left eye and receiving these horrible scars..."
...It was about that time that Celaine gently turned away from Ravenna and slowly lifted her top upwards to display the horrible product of the lashes... All along her back from her neck and shoulder blades down to her waist line were these horribly scared whelps that could be seen clearly even in the dimly lite room... Those visible scars...were a haunting sight that put a horrible sense of reality into her story...
"...It was awful..." Celaine softly said as she pulled her top back down and turned to face the fire place once more. "...They beat me and...laughed the entire time they were doing it... The only thing that hurt more than their blows were their harsh words accusing me of something that didn't have anything to do with them. And the worst of it all? She...was laughing along with them... My fiancee, who I thought loved me and wanted to be with me forever...was just another one of 'them' having fun at my expense..."
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Post by yooom on Jul 16, 2020 20:14:56 GMT -6
Ravenna listened, rapt, as Celaine began to explain some of the images she’d seen. As she spoke, the pieces seemed to fall together for Ravenna, and the jumble of images and moments she had seen when they had bonded forged together into a narrative, a life, that Ravenna could at last understand.
And what a horrible life it was, love, such a sweeping feeling, only to be cut at the least expected person, by the person she had trusted the most, grown to truly love. Of course it still stung for Ravenna, all these years later. Even hearing about it, understanding what she had seen, filled Ravenna with a sick feeling, a mixture of rage and disappointment in her fellow humans. To be capable of such cruelty, it made Celaine’s own savagery in combat understandable.
Celaine had fallen silent, midstory, as the sorrow overtook her, and Ravenna realized with a start that she was crying too, tears gently rolling down her cheeks, which she hastily brushed away, looking at the sheets, and trying not to focus on her crying companion. She looked up to grimly gaze at Celaine’s back. Over the years the wounds had healed slightly, but even now the scars seemed slightly red, and there just were so many of them, dozens of long, curved slashed, running right down the girl’s back. Ravenna grit her teeth, thinking of the images she’d seen, the pealing laughter that had echoed in her head, and felt her fingers tighten into fists, uncertain if it was an echo of Celaine’s own rage at them or her own. Making someone suffer like that, leading someone on into sin and then punishing them for it, it was truly atrocious.
Celaine’s voice trailed off, and she gazed silently into the fire. Ravenna sat up a little in Celaine’s bed, and extended a hand. The pain in her arm flared up, but it had been significantly reduced thanks to Celaine’s massages. Nevertheless, she flinched slightly as she gripped Celaine’s shoulder, and her voice shook with a mixture of pain and sorrow. “I’m sorry...sorry I brought up such painful memories...sorry that they did that to you...no one deserves that kind of treatment.” Ravenna leaned slightly too far, so that she slumped awkwardly against Celaine. She wrapped her arms around her back, keenly aware of the scars, concealed under the shirt, but the memory of them still hot in the girl’s mind.
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Post by Emiko on Jul 16, 2020 21:44:25 GMT -6
Ravenna's attempts to comfort Celaine, though clumsy and seemingly awkward had actually done miracles to the heart broken girl. She could hear the warmth and sincerity in Ravenna's voice as she apologized for acts she hadn't even taken part in. This, combined with the simple, awkward embrace Ravenna offered gave Celaine such a warm sense of care and acceptance... These feelings were so foreign to her and were ones he hadn't felt in...so very long. Unlike this morning however when she was experiencing something similar...this was true, genuine compassion... For Celaine...it was honestly a gift from heaven...
"...I had to tell you..." Celaine softly replied as she lightly wiped the tears from her eyes and cleared her throat to speak more clearly. "...You have to know not to only understand who I truly am, but...to understand Mistress Saveria as well... She's...the reason I'm alive today..."
"...You see...at some point, the villagers got bored of torturing me. When the screaming stopped and the rain started, they were done and just left me to die in the mud. Hours later, Mistress Saveria happened to find me and looked upon me with accepting eyes. She offered to save me from this cruel fate and give me a purpose if I would simply obey... That's all she wanted was for me to obey and...for a girl who had just lost everything, been betrayed by her lover and left for dead...I couldn't say no..."
Taking a brief moment to pause, Celaine gently turned towards Ravenna and gently coaxed her back into sitting back on the bed instead of straining herself to comfort her. While Celaine loved it and...wanted it to continue, her feelings were not worth risking Ravenna's well being. However Celaine made sure to smile as she made these moves so Ravenna could see her gratitude and that she was all right now. There was another reason for moving Ravenna however... Celaine wanted the injured girl to really understand what she was going to say next as...it was the most important of all...
"...Mistress Saveria picked me out of the mud, brought me back to her home, and tended to my injuries herself. She never left my side and showed me a level of compassion I had never seen in anyone else in my life... After I had healed, she offered me the purpose she had mentioned; a job of protecting her relics in exchange for a safe haven. She had chosen me to do this because...like her, I was different and could understand her own differences from the common man... Through a bit of negotiation, she agreed to restore my left eye with one of her talismans and made a few other concessions... One of which allowed me to save you tonight..."
Once again Celaine came to an abrupt pause, but for the purpose of allowing Ravenna to see the reality of her story once more. She pushed her bangs behind her left ear to show Ravenna the artificial eye that allowed her to see again. And with a warm smile, she softly reached up to Ravenna's face and began to stroke her cheek gently just to simply put into perspective that, despite being hurt, Ravenna still had her life... She hadn't been turned into a mindless minion and had in fact been spared in an act of compassionate mercy, though in a bit of a twisted sense...
"...I won't say that Mistress Saveria is perfect, or even innocent by any means... Nor do I believe she deserves your care and compassion and to be absolved from what she's done. But...to look at her as a monster because of her magical powers is to look at me as a sinner worthy of death for loving another woman... She collects solely for the purpose of collecting and...is it wrong of her to defend that which she has acquired by any means necessary...? I won't condemn, nor condone her actions and methods... I just...want you to try and understand that she as well as I are humans...just like you... But...unlike normal people, we have a lot more to lose than most... That's why she is so harsh and cruel to those that don't understand or submit to her..."
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Post by yooom on Jul 17, 2020 15:07:55 GMT -6
Ravenna leaned backwards on the bed, and continued to listen to Celaine’s story. The memories she had seen, Saveria gazing down at Celaine, her expression pitying, yet with a thoughtfulness to it, as if calculating a use even for this broken and beaten and girl. She had taken Celaine to use her as a protector, knowing that she would have no choice but to remain with her, for she had nowhere else to go. And yet, Celaine was right too. She did owe her life to Saveria, and, no matter what Saveria did next, Ravenna supposed she understood Celaine’s debt of gratitude towards her, though she herself could not stand the idea of serving the woman for her remaining years. Then again, if she was to try and escape again, she doubted she would have many remaining years. She shivered slightly at the thought.
Celaine stroked her bangs out of the way, and Ravenna looked at the artificial blue eye that gazed back. If she hadn’t known, she might not have noticed, but it did appear to be rather fainter than Celaine’s right eye. Abruptly the memory of Celaine’s eye glowing with that bright, hypnotic light came to Ravenna, and she immediately looked down at the sheets instead, and she listened quietly as Celaine spoke again, defending her Mistress. Ravenna nodded slightly, understanding Celaine’s loyalty a little more. Simply, Celaine stuck with Saveria because she was the only one who had done anything for her.
A thought came to Ravenna, and she blushed, thinking again of the kiss Saveria had shared with Celaine when her magic had seemed to run out. Her devotion to her Mistress, her own preferences...it did suggest something to Ravenna about their relationship. Resolutely looking at her sheets, taking care to not look at Celaine, embarrassed, Ravenna began to speak, hesitantly. “You and Saveria are quite close. Are...are the two of you…” her voice trailed off, struggling to find the right words. “together?”
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