Stilled Wind|Ekaitz

[Deleted]

They had been keeping him locked up for a week now, when they could have using and abusing him like everyone else. Da'cien was about to go crazy, or maybe he had already. As much as he hated Anarchy, Danny and all of Ekaitz, as much as he wanted to rebel, Da'cien wanted to be around people again. He was actually a social being, and he would cooperate in order to get out of that single room, where food and water was slid through the bottom of the door.

It could get very lonely with only oneself to keep oneself company. Da'cien had taken to reciting countless plays and monologues in full, no matter how long they were, just to pretend there were other people talking in the room.

He wanted to believe Anarchy couldn't control him, but she already was with this confinement, with insanity nibbling at the edge of his brain.

So he sat on the pallet, curled into a ball, hoarse from having vocalized all of "The Trials", crying softly as he realized there really was no way out of this.

"I don't want to be broken," Da'cien whispered bitterly, but he had a feeling he already was.

[Kender Bard]

Finally, finally, the door opened. It was Anarchy of course. She was dressed in a loose flowing tan dress that seemed to sweep against the ground in a whisper in the back as she walked. "Rise and shine, Da'cien," she called out softly. "Ready to take your place obediently?"

[Deleted]

Somehow, Anarchy's arrival and question did not surprise the actor in the least. "No," Da'cien said. Still he crawled off the pallet, kneeling before his mistress. "This is not my place. But I'm going to do what you say."

With those words, his heart shattered.

He would loathe every second of it, but he would do it. And if somehow, by some miracle, he could one day escape, he would probably kill Amano. At least then he would have a legitimate reason to be imprisoned.

[Kender Bard]

"I'm not so sure of that," Anarchy's cool voice purred, though her confident smirk didn't reach her eyes. She had grown weary of this; if kindness was not enough, then the next time he disobeyed her, it would be hell. "Kiss me, slave."

[Deleted]

No. Da'cien's eyes closed as a tear slipped free. Forces, no. "Where, mistress?" he choked, feeling something in his mind crack. Maybe it was his sense of self.

[Kender Bard]

Good answer Anarchy thought cynically. She personally didn't care for his affections, but judging from the tear, it was something he didn't like which was good enough for her. "On the lips. You are privileged that for not dying after what Mathew did."

[Deleted]

The cruel witch. Da'cien rose, wishing he could just kill her, and tilted his face to hers to place a soft, sensual kiss on her red mouth. Just a stage kiss, none of his usual tricks or techniques, just chaste and slow.

He stepped back, shivering, hoping Anarchy wouldn't ask anything more than that.

[Kender Bard]

Anarchy frowned, displeased. She'd had enough of this beating around the bush. She pointed out of the room with a hand that sparked with electricity. "Get out here," she growled. "NOW!"

[Deleted]

He couldn't win! She would have done the same if he had tried a real kiss. Rage blinded him before it was replaced with sadness and apathy. "Yes, mistress," Da'cien said dully, and did as he was told.

Maybe she would kill him. Then he could haunt Amano.

[Kender Bard]

With a glower, Anarchy followed him and pointed to a pale of soapy water and a rag that lay against its side. "Scrub the floors in here. Do not miss a single spot or you will rue it." Agitated, she stomped off. As soon as the slam of the front door marked her leaving, Danny poked his head into the room from the kitchen. "'lo," he greeted. "Do you need some help?"

[Deleted]

Da'cien had already knelt by the time the door closed, and rested his forehead against the floor for a moment. He was feeling lightheaded from relief. "That witch ever ask you to kiss her?" he mumbled a minute or so later, shakily reaching for the rag.

[Kender Bard]

"Now and then," Danny remarked mildly. "I don't know if it's for lust, power, or what. She's as unpredictable as her namesake." Since Da'cien didn't say he wanted help, Danny just stayed where he was. "I told you to behave. Soahc, isolation is hell isn't it?"

[Deleted]

"Hell is real. And this is it," Da'cien sighed, wiping at the floor. "And everyone here is a demon or a damned soul. You better do something or you'll get isolated too. There, see, you always give me 'advice', now I'm giving it to you. I'm just like you, aren't I? A little broken DOLL." The former actor realized he was babbling and bit his tongue. "Time to work. Yes, time to work. Whistle while you work, doot doot," he mumbled, scrubbing as best he knew how.

[Kender Bard]

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Look, Da'cien, you, me, nobody here but the very smallest of handfuls have figured out how to escape this place. You're stuck here, and so am I. Why fight it and make it harder on yourself? If you think you can rouse them to anger to kill you, well, you could but more likely they'll just make you wish you were dead, if you don't wish that already. You might as well make it easier on yourself. We slaves, all we have are each other and then usually not even that. I tried to be friendly towards you without giving you false hope. Don't spit on the gesture. You could have been stuck with a fellow slave who would have watched you and ratted out your every little move, hoping to win favor with their master."

He sighed through clenched teeth. "And this is the last advice I will give you, since you seem to both loathe and ignore it. If you piss Anarchy off anymore than you already have, she's going to just shove you onto a crueler master."

[Deleted]

"Cruel master, harsh conditions, we all pray and no one listens," Da'cien sang quietly, improvising. "You think you're so kind, huh? We're still all just lost and broken. You're the worst, maybe. You seem happy to 'serve'." He laughed a little hysterically. "I AM crazy. She did it, she finally drove me crazy. Ha ha ha ha! Get down here and scrub the damn floor with me. We'll be the perfect broken little toys, living between a kind pat on the head and hope that our mistress' temper stays level. Time to work so we get fed, like good little pets."

Da'cien started sobbing, even as he kept washing. "Forces DAMN you, Amano."