Worlds Collide [HeavenSundered x Inwiththebooks]

[HeavenSundered]

The trip west hadn't been Satō Izumi's first venture outside of the Naginaryu empire, but it had certainly turned out to be the longest, and without question the most unpleasant. She'd been sent by her daimyo to track down and retrieve one of his treacherous brother's who'd attempted to poison him like a dishonorable coward so that he could be put on trial, but things has not gone nearly as planned. Has she been given permission to travel alone like she'd requested, Izumi was convinced that she would have captured Takomoru long before he made it across the unsettled wilderness and on to the Antaran empires' lands, but the daimyo had insisted that she take an entire group of fellow samurai with her.

Ironically, her lord's attempt to ensure his finest warrior's safety ultimately contibuted to her downfall. Being slowed down by having to move as a group instead of on her own, Izumi failed to prevent Takomoru from entering Antara. That should have been the point where she abandoned the task and returned home, but she was prideful both as a woman and a samurai, and she'd never failed her lord before. On top of that, her judgment had likely been clouded with the frustration of knowing that the fault was not even her own, so she foolishly pursued the traitor into foreign lands.

It was not long after that her group was surrounded on all sides by dozens of Antaran warriors clad in heavy metal armor, wielding short wide swords and massive shields. No doubt that rat Takomoru had managed to make contact with the foreigners and convince them that the group of samurai entering their lands came with hostile intentions. The samurai fought tooth and nail to escape, Izumi herself slaying at least seven men, but they were inevitably overwhelmed.

Some time later, she awakened in chains a with splitting headache and a nasty bruise on the back of her head. She had no idea what had become of the other samurai, though she hoped that some were still alive.

As for herself, Izumi was soon able to put together that she was about to be sold off in some sort of barbaric slave auction. She was chained inside of a large cage along with several other women - most of them with fair pale skin and a few with duskier complexions - and next to that cage were three more still, although they contained only males.

Izumi could see the elevated stage where slaves were being sold and bid on by an extremely rowdy crowd...it was hard to believe or accept that she was about to share the same fate. But first it was the old, the weak, the sickly and the unattractive that were forced on to the stage, so it was several stressful hours before armed guards finally came to drag her out of the cage.

Humiliatingly, Izumi was forced on to the stage in front of the sea of foreigners wearing nothing but a skimpy loincloth and a strip of fabric around her petite but perky breasts, her hands bound in front of her with unbreakable steel manacles. A short distance away, her weapons and armor were also displayed, with the guards making sure to stand between the samurai and her equipment. Perhaps it was her exotic look, or perhaps it was the tattoos on her face as well as the elaborate and colorful floral patterns covering much of her back, sides, shoulders and upper arms, but the crowd seemed to have worked themselves into even more of a frenzy since Izumi had been displayed for them.

Despite her incredibly compromising and humiliating situation, Izumi maintained a completely blank expression and her stoic composure, standing straight and proud, refusing to show these animals even the slightest hint of weakness or fear. The second that she got the chance, she would show them that they were the ones who should fear her.

 

[Inwiththebooks]

A rather dull and boring auction this was. The braying of the plebs filled Adelia Severa Utlus’ ears with an unpleasant ringing and the scent of stale piss and fear was palpable even this far from the slave kennels. On either side of her were two bulky men dressed in simple tunics and trousers though the short blades at their sides were quite enough to deter anyone from getting close to the noblewoman. Small blessings from the family ancestors she supposed. Black eyes were fixed upon the stage, the cold and calculating manner in which each slave was sized up marked Adelia as a different sort of buyer.

Her misfortune had begun this morning when she had discovered someone, her younger brother no doubt, had arranged for her offering to the Empress to be stolen. It was an inside job, of that there was no doubt given that the vault had been opened with a key only she possessed. If she appeared to the Empress tomorrow of all days without a suitable offering it was tantamount to political suicide. She needed an endorsement from the Imperial family to secure the newest open seat in the Senate, with that kind of power and connection she’d win without a doubt.

Every single slave auction today had been disappointing, nothing drew the eye or amazed in a manner appropriate. Hence her appearing in a lower class auction, hoping to spy some exotic flesh. She was certainly dressed far differently than the rabble here, her pure white toga covering a tunic of purple and gold. Audacious colors for a noble to wear; marks of either power or pretending at power. Supple leather sandals twisted down her lower legs and held her feet, nails well-polished. Her flesh was unmarred and pale, a sign of never having worked a day in her life in menial affairs. She was somewhat plain looking and possessed a good bit of cosmetics upon her face to mask that, her brown hair done up in a tight bun as was the style of this month.

Each one brought out so far was rejected by her, too old, too weak, too grotesque, too masculine, too feminine, and too common. The list they were judged by was long indeed and thus far none of them stood out to her. Adelia was not looking for a whore or a beast of burden; she was looking for a gift fit for a member of the Imperial family. How did one truly buy for one descended from the gods? The Empress was known for her exotic tastes and favored things from outside of the Empire.

She was prepared to move on until it happened. Her breath hitched in her chest and her eyes widened by an imperceptible fraction, the creature dragged out defying description. She was absolutely exquisite and one of the most exotic creatures Adelia had ever seen. The auctioneer talked up a storm about her, touting her origins from the Far East. The tattoos mapping her form were strange and looked much like the warpaint northern barbarians wore into battle. The weapons and armor displayed off to the side were similarly exotic, marking her as a woman warrior. Such things were extremely uncommon in the Antaran Empire, it happened occasionally but most often women avoided warfare.

Bids were tossed around, sums that were pitifully laughable died out as her true competition rose up. Her eyes scanned the crowd as two voices stood out. Both were men she was well acquainted with. Serik the Bloody Handed, dressed in full metal armor like a savage, was the master of the Bloodpit and made a formidable fortune in selling the sight of bloodsport to commoner and noble alike. The other was a painfully thin man with too much paint on his face, Veras Ronas Kilian, unspoken owner of Scarlet Way and owner of enough whores to bankrupt an entire noble house in a night. The sums they threw around were far more serious.

“10,000 Denars!”

“Serik, you’d mar such a creature? How typical. 15,000!”

“I’ll mar you, whoremonger! 20,000!”

“25,000!”

“30,000!”

“50,000!”

The sum left Adelia’s lips smoothly and drew the notice of both men. Veras appeared to consider his options while Serik spat on the ground and merely crossed his arms, no doubt thinking better than trying out bid her. Her family was well known to possess ships to rival the Imperial Navy and purse strings made of solid gold. Veras sighed a moment later and kept to himself, a sign that she had won this round. 50,000 was a very steep price, with it she could likely have bought an army of slaves but it was mere change compared to a possible seat on the Senate.

“Sold! Next up we have…” The auctioneer said, the exotic slave already being dragged off out of the way.

Adelia was quick to move though crowd and towards the backrooms knowing well what standard procedure for purchased slaves was. She entered into the branding tent before her purchase was brought there and was quick to forestall any protests from the brander with an unraised hand. There was no way in this world she was going to permit this slave to be branded like a common piece of meat. The Empress would take such a thing as a grave insult and Adelia was rather fond of her head where it was.

“Don’t brand her. Merely have her delivered to the Utlus estate and my slaves will see she’s kept in my holding cells.” She commanded, departing afterwards and leaving the market with a smile upon her painted lips. Perhaps today was not a total loss.

 

[HeavenSundered]

The auctioning process began with a disorganized cacophony of shouts that Izumi could not understand coming from every which way, causing the blood to boil in her veins out of frustration as she was forced to stand there helplessly while a mass of uncouth peasants bartered over her as if she were little more than a slab of meat in a street vendor's cart. Unlike some of her fellow samurai, Izumi had never been one to succumb to gratuitous bloodthirst, but right at that moment she definitely felt liable to cut down every miserable individual involved in the auction if she were to somehow get loose and retrieve her katana.

As the chaotic shouting from the crowd proceeded to die down somewhat, only three distinct voices continued to be heard over the rest. Izumi could not understand a word of what was being said, but it was easy enough to infer that they were making bids, especially since the same word kept being repeated each time a bidder called out. Naturally, Izumi's dark brown eyes darted towards her potential buyers to study them as they were studying her.

The first one that she looked at was the gruff Antaran man encased in a full set of armor with the baritone voice. His armor was well worn and heavily notched, clearly having seen a great deal of use. He struck her as a cold and hard man, reminding her of the barbarian warlords who prowled the mountain passes in Naginaryu, only he seemed considerably larger than any of those warlords. Izumi's instincts strongly indicated to her that out of the three possible outcomes, this one would be the most undesirable - not that she had any say in the matter, which was unquestionably infuriating.

Next was a man who was practically the first's polar opposite with a very dainty, willowy physique, actually resembling a woman more closely in many ways. Something about him did not sit well with her, apart from the obvious fact that he was bidding for ownership over her.

Finally, Izumi immediately recognized the only actual woman still in contention as some sort of nobility. The rich clothes, the posture, the blatant aura of haughtiness and entitlement - some things were simply universal to all cultures and locales. This woman was more calculated and controlled than the two others, essentially impossible to read. She could very well turn out to be the worst of the three and disprove Izumi's gut feeling about the armored warrior.

In the end, it appeared that the noble woman prevailed, and Izumi was hastily dragged away from the stage so that the next slave could be sold. She braced herself, not allowing the guards to simply manhandle her however they wished, but not resisting in any way that would incur their wrath either. Drawing attention towards herself by lashing out pointlessly would only make it more difficult to escape when a real opportunity presented itself.

She was lead to a hot and humid back room with a blazing furnace where an ugly, hairy overweight man was wielding a glowing red branding iron, looking all too eager to use it on her. Fortunately, the noblewoman from the auction joined then and apparently dissuaded him from doing so, speaking in a very authoritative tone. With a look of profound disappointment on across his face, the brander allowed the guards to lead Izumi away as per her owner's instructions.

Some time and a relatively short but uncomfortable chariot ride (inside another cage) later, Izumi was brought to an impressively luxurious estate where she was handed off to men who presumably served the noblewoman. The architecture here differed greatly from what she knew back home, everything seemingly being built out of brick and stone with massive round pillars and colonnades for support. Of course, Izumi wasn't escorted into any of the main buildings, but instead into some sort of dark and dreary underground dungeon. There she was made to enter a small prison cell comprised of three solid stone walls blocked off on the fourth by thick black iron bars. She was left in the exact same state that she'd been brought in, still wearing little more than shreds of clothing, her wrists still bound.

Standing in the middle of her cell, the proud samurai refrained from crying out and ignored the cold current nipping at her exposed flesh, firmly determined to maintain her dignity and avoid revealing any kinks in her armor. Waiting helplessly with no idea of what to expect was a challenge, but Izumi told herself that she could at least expect a visit from the noblewoman sooner rather than later.

 

[Inwiththebooks]

The path back home was quite enough as Adelia was transported by palanquin back to her estate, the solitude offering her a chance to think. The current Empress was not easily impressed, she was martial minded and fairly expansionist and tended to enjoy well-crafted swords and armor to rich clothing and jewelry. Since she now had also taken ownership of the exotic woman’s weapons perhaps she could display them along with the slave. The items in question were certainly exotic though Adelia would need someone to look over them to ensure their quality. As her escort moved through the Upper City she composed a list of smiths she knew of and narrowed it down.

When she finally arrived at the estate the woman exited the palanquin, passing under the massive entryway of her estate. How her brother would love to get his hands on the property, its exquisite architecture the envy of many a noble. Father had named her majority owner of the family business and the estate before his untimely demise, something the woman had fought tooth and nail to maintain. A seat on the Senate would secure that and propel her family to new heights, her name forever immortalized in the family while her wretch of a brother would fall into obscurity.

The entry hall of the estate was floored with smooth marble and possessed statues of all the great ancestors lining the walls. A few slaves scrubbed the floor dutifully and guards were posted at every entrance or exit, armed and armored in fine iron. It was blissfully empty of the normal crowd gathered to speak of trade grievances and negotiations. The Empress’ upcoming birthday celebration had the whole of the city in a buzz, tomorrow was certainly going to be an interesting day. Adelia felt no great love herself for the powerful woman; she had never met her though her policies had a way of lining her coffers with denars.

It was some time later when the blacksmith she sent for arrived in her study, an older man with a stooped gate and face scarred from getting too close to the flames. He looked over each piece of weaponry and armor with amazement in his eyes. The sword and the shorter blade were treated with especial care, his fingers moving carefully along the edge and were pricked quite easily. Adelia examined the affair with great interest, her body slave standing off to the side dutifully and bringing the man each piece in turn as requested.

“Marvelous… I believe these are forged of steel. The craftsmanship is superior, masterful even! Whoever created these is a master of their art beyond anything the Empire possesses. The weapons especially are exquisite. Like nothing I have ever seen in my time.” The man stated, clearly impressed by the items.

“Interesting. In terms of coin, how much would you say these would fetch with a collector?” Adelia inquired, folding her hands on her desk.

“I doubt one could put a price on-.”

“Everything has a price, sir. In your professional opinion what price would you give these?”

The man mulled it over for a good while. “No less than 100,000 apiece for the weapons. The armor would fit around the 75,000 range for the whole set.”

That was a large sum of money; a pleb could likely live off of that form the rest of their lives and never go hungry again. Adelia dismissed the man with a wave of her hand and turned to her body slave. “Right. See to it the weapons and armor are prepared for transport tomorrow. I suspect the combination of my newest purchase and they will be enough to gain her favor. Also, only you and I are to know where they are.”

With this done Adelia opted to take a trip down to the dungeon to ensure her other purchase was well tended to. Flanking her were a few guards and two female slaves bearing washing supplies. When the noblewoman came to the cell she again stared long and hard at the exotic woman in the dim light. She was still extremely beautiful even in these conditions though the dirt and grime on her had not gone unnoticed. Flaws that needed to be purged quickly before tomorrow came. The slave needed to be pristine before being presented to the Empress.

“You three restrain her and chain her against the wall. Once that’s done the slaves will clean her front down, be very meticulous about that she’s a gift to the Empress. Remove those clothes by the way; I want the Empress to see everything gifted to her. Once you finish the front signal the guards to flip her and do her back. I want every crack and crevice clean. I’ll send someone with a warm meal for her later. Get to work.” With that Adelia left her underlings to the task.

 

[HeavenSundered]

As expected, the woman who'd won the bid on her made an appearance soon enough, accompanied by an entire entourage. The men were obviously guards while the women were either servant or slaves, by the looks of them. Noticed the washing supplies that they carried, Izumi was able to guess what they were coming to do. Under normal circumstances, she would have been more than glad to cleanse away the sweat, dirt and grime from the last couple of days, but she doubted that they were about to unbind her and allow her to wash herself after taking so many precautions thus far.

Izumi wondered if this meant that the noblewoman's intention was to have her become a pleasure slave of some sort. She couldn't think of much other reason that her cleanliness would be such a concern. However, while she and her owner stared silently at one another through the bars, Izumi couldn't make out any trace of lust in the woman's eyes, it was more like she was evaluating a commodity. When the noble finally spoke what sounded like commands to her people, her tone was cool and detached, further confirmation that she wasn't looking to satiate any carnal desires with her new slave. Perhaps she was intended for the woman's husband instead, then?

Standing her ground, Izumi didn't take so much as a step back when the door to her cell was unbolted and the armed guards flooded in, but they were quick to grab her and drag her back against the cold stone wall. She struggled silently, straining her muscles to make herself as difficult to displace as she could, but it was little more than token resistance as the three large men easily handled her.

Izumi had managed to keep her composure up until that point, but it became substantially more difficult to maintain once they ripped away what little shreds of clothing she'd been provided. She thrashed in vain against their powerful grips, suddenly trying to retaliate for the complete lack of respect and honor being shown to her, but only succeeded in making them hold her down more forcefully while the women began scrubbing her skin with washcloths and soapy water. Izumi had never felt so degraded and powerless in her life, and it only got worse for her when one of the slaves said something to the guards, who then forced her legs wide open. They even washed her inside, causing her to stiffen with discomfort while one of the servants' fingers invaded her womanhood. She felt completely violated, her face flushed with rage as she was unable to defend herself in any way. Then they turned her around to do her back and the experience became even more unnerving, since now she couldn't even see the many hands holding and touching her body all over. The final insult came when Izumi felt a thin finger snaking up her asshole, causing her to groan in frustration and humiliation through gritted teeth, marking the first time she'd many any real sound since leaving the slave market.

When it was finally over, the Antarans left quickly, leaving Izumi alone again in her dimly lit cell. Not wanting to repeat the experience that she'd just been forced to endure, she was careful not to get herself dirty for the next few hours until another servant finally came with a meal for her. Having been deprived of food or water since her capture, she had little choice but to drink and eat what she'd been given. Thankfully, the food was far from terrible even though Izumi found it to be somewhat bland - still better than her meals during campaigns and much better than she'd expect to find in a dungeon.

Feeling like she'd regained much of her strength after the meal, and more determined than ever to free herself after the humiliating bath, Izumi continued to stay alert and wait for any opportunity that she could capitalize on. Even when she finally succumbed to the exhaustion accumulated over the past few weeks of travelling through the wilderness and then her capture at the hands of the Antarans, Izumi slept as lightly as she would when making camp in enemy territory, ready to wake and spring into action at the slightest sound.

 

[Inwiththebooks]

The next day was quite the blur of activity in the Utlus estate, with guards polishing and preparing ceremonial weapons and armor and the slaves ensuring the Utlus procession was as dictated. The city itself was abuzz with activity with many of the high class families heading to the Imperial Palace and the lower classes engaging in revelry and increased business from individual pouring into the capitol. The birthday of a member of the imperial family was as good a holiday as any, and for many nobles it was a chance to form alliances and garner political favor with the most powerful person in the empire.

Adelia was dressed in her finest velvet and wore the golden scale pin of her house proudly, looking the very picture of nobility. This was the day she had prepared for this entire year. All of her plots and schemes would come down to the opinion of one individual. Her previous gift was gone but this new one seemed as though it had been delivered by the family ancestors. With a final once over in her mirror the woman gathered her guards and sent them down to the dungeons to gather the slave, the four men bowing low before heading down to carry out her orders.

The procession would possess three palanquins, the lead one would house her, the second one would house the weapons and armor of the slave and the last one would house the bound and chained slave. Technically presentations were to be made after hours of long and dull ceremony in which each noble gathered would approach the throne and wish the Empress a long reign, long life ect, ect. Adelia intended to break with tradition a good bit in order to make an impression on the woman. A dangerous thing but possibly enough to set her apart from all gathered.

When her men managed to bring the slave to the procession, no doubt with some difficulty or another they would get moving through the city. Theirs was hardly the largest procession moving towards the Imperial Palace though it was the most well-guarded. The palace was a massive feat of engineering, looming on high in the city with long steps leading up to the columned entryway. The ceiling was vaulted and possessed depictions of the founding of the Empire, the walls were lined with statues of the greatest figures in Imperial history.

Adelia could feel the power of this place, the greatness that was born here and walked these impressive halls daily and felt humbled by it. She passed by many individuals looking to pay homage to the Empress, many eyes turning upon her audacious entrance. Most left their palanquins outside; it was highly irregular to bring them into the palace. Regardless she passed the archway into the throne room itself and finally, as she stepped out of her own palanquin she could lay eyes upon the Empress herself.

She stood on high near the imposing marble throne, tapestries of red and gold surrounding her. Braziers were lit on either side of the throne, the light flickering off her form and casting a long shadow through the room. Thick robes of red, orange, and gold adorned her tall form and golden eyes fixed upon Adelia in a manner that made her feel more small than she had ever felt in her entire life. Dark hair was cut short in a manner normally fitting military women though she was no less regal for it. Upon her brow was the crown of the Phoenix Empress of Antara, rubies glinting brightly. At her side was a short blade, one she suspected the Empress used rather than just presented for show. She was regal, beautiful, the very image of one born of god blood.

When she spoke her voice rang with authority and possessed a richness Adelia could not hope to describe. “Who are you that enters my hall so brazenly? Speak and account for yourself.”

Adelia gathered her resolve and spoke up, refusing to let her voice crack. “Adelia Severa Utlus, your imperial majesty, Selana Imperator. I have come bearing gifts in celebration of the day of your birth. Gifts unmatched by any in this palace.” She said, getting on one knee before the steps leading to the throne.

“Is that so? I will be the judge of that, Lady Utlus. Present your gifts.” Selana said, descending the steps with a neutral tone to her voice.

First the weapons and armor were gathered and held out before the Empress, polished and shining with a metallic gleam. The tall woman passed Adelia by and held out her hand for the sword, testing its weight and balance. She did the same with the dagger, looking rather impressed with the items. She did frown at the armor however, half turning back to the noblewoman at the sight.

“A tad small for me I’d say.”

“They were not made for you, Empress, but belonged to a warrior from the Far East. One said to have felled a dozen soldiers on her own.” Adelia stated, signaling for the slave to finally be brought out.

 

[HeavenSundered]

The night turned out to be uneventful, affording Izumi some much needed rest, though sleeping completely naked on a thin animal skin laid out directly over the floor in a cold, damp dungeon was far from relaxing. With every passing second spent in her cell, her resentment towards her captors grew that much more. She wouldn't had been happy about being held as a prisoner of war - obviously - but at least that she could have respected. The way that she was being treated was unacceptable, however, and clearly demonstrated that these Westerners hadn't evolved enough to value civility or honor.

Izumi was already awake when the estate guards returned in the morning, this time ushering her out of the cell and leading her back outside. Unable to stand being kept in the dark, dragged around and paraded in the nude out in the open, she finally snapped, barking futilely at one of the guards in her mother tongue to tell her what they planned on doing with her. Of course, she realized that he couldn't understand Naginarian any more than she could Antaran, but the man's stone-faced silence enraged her enough that she thrashed violently the rest of the way, not making it easy for them to load her into the cage on the rearmost palanquin.

Another cage. Another unknown destination. This time they traveled through crowded streets in the most immense and imposing city that Izumi had ever seen. She was on display for anyone who cared to stare, like some captured wild animal. Eventually, they reached an almost impossibly gargantuan and ornate structure, which she could only imagine was Antara's capital building housing it's leader and his throne. Why was she being brought there? Did the noblewoman wish to claim some sort of reward by pretending to be the one who'd captured her? Was she being brought here to be put on some sort of trial?

Izumi could only guess as the procession was lead into the palace itself, since there was no way for her to see anything of relevance from where she was. However, she did hear the voice - with the unmistakable tone of a leader - which surprisingly came from a woman rather than a man. At some point, she was also able to make out the faint but distinct sound of her katana's blade lightly scraping against wood when it was picked up from the weapon stand which she'd seen her captors load up into the second palanquin earlier. It hit a sensitive nerve for her, knowing that someone else was wielding her sword, especially one who was assuredly unworthy of such a weapon.

This time when the guards came to pull her out of the cage, Izumi didn't struggle, wanting to come face to face with their leader so that she might finally discover why she was here and what this Empress wanted with her. It was difficult to mask the feeling of awe when she finally laid eyes upon the Empress. Not only was she by far taller than any other woman Izumi had witnessed, but everything else about her was striking as well, from the way that she wore her flowing bright robes to her well defined and sublime facial features. Even the backdrop of the massive, elevated throne flanked by lit braziers and massive tapestries added to the woman's intimidating aura.

The fact that she was standing in front of this woman wearing nothing but her tattoos and a small, trimmed patch of dark pubic hair made Izumi feel like she was utterly powerless and vulnerable. Still, there was no shortage of scorn in Izumi's almond shaped eyes either as they narrowed slightly when she saw her dagger in the Empress' hand. "What do you want from me?" she demanded, careful to keep her own voice as strong and calm as she could manage. Izumi seriously doubted that the Empress knew her language, but perhaps there was some minute chance that she had a translator at her disposal. "Do you approve of your servants acting in your name without any shred of honor, Antaran Empress?" she added with a quick nod towards Adelia.

 

[Inwiththebooks]

Empress Selana’s eyes widened by a fraction at the offering presented to her, the very warrior whose weapons she was gifted. Those almond eyes, the tattoos spiraling down her form, and the warrior physique were drunk in by golden eyes. She was an exquisite creature most certainly and was a fine gift along with these masterfully forged weapons. The Utlus family was known to her but this was the first time she had encountered Adelia. She was pleased by the gift itself as it showed two things, one was respect owed to the Imperial Family, and the other was intelligence. Clearly the noblewoman knew of her foreign interests and her fondness for fine weaponry.

The Empress turned her gaze to the kneeling noblewoman, offering a single nod and a gesture for her to rise. The gathered crowd examined the slave though most had their attention on the Empress and the noblewoman. When the slave spoke the Empress’ gaze fell fully upon her, her expression blank. Adelia on the other hand looked rather mortified at the slave having addressed the most powerful woman in the Empire with such a disrespectful tone. The words were unknown to her ears but still the tone was what set her off.

“You insolent-!”

“Stay your hand, Lady Utlus.” The Empress ordered.

The tall woman moved closer to the warrior woman, short blade still in hand. She stared down at the warrior, holding the edge of the blade against the woman’s throat. She wanted to see what was in those eyes, whether this creature possessed a fear of death or not. After a long moment she withdrew the weapon, holding out the blade for one of her personal attendants to take it. She had understood the word ‘Antaran’ in the slave’s speech and nothing else. As such she turned to her translator, an aging tan skinned man from the eastern deserts.

“Did you understand any of that?” She inquired, keeping one eye on the warrior.

“Ah, not all of it, Empress. From the look of her and the weapons she bore I would say she hails from either Chosin or the Naginaryu Empire, I understand some of the languages there but it is rare to meet any of their people outside of their homeland.” He said at length, his voice raspy.

“What did you get out of that then?” She inquired.

“I understood the first bit; she wishes to know what you want from her. The only thing I got out of the second bit was Antaran Empress.” He replied, bowing apologetically.

So the warrior knew who she was at the very least, she supposed the Antaran Empire was large enough that many might know of it even so far away. Naginaryu… not a place she was well familiar with, only that they boasted fine warriors. Which meant little in the long run, the Antaran Empire had been built over the burning ruins of civilizations boasting fine warriors. Perhaps she was a spy? An advance scout for this distant empire? Selana would find out one way or the other. The tall woman put this out of her mind for now, instead opting to address the one who had granted her so great a gift as this one.

“Adelia Severa Utlus, I thank you for your fine gift and welcome you into my palace warmly. You do your family name credit.” Selana said, placing her hands on Adelia’s shoulders and granting her a light peck on both cheeks.

“You honor me, exalted Empress.” The noblewoman replied.

“Maximus, see to it that the weapons and armor are delivered to my display room and that my new slave is sent to the holding cage.” She said, turning her attention to the leader of the Phoenix Guard who saluted and saw to her orders.

With that bit of ceremony out of the way the Empress ascended her throne once more, crossing her legs and steepling her fingers before her as the flustered priests recovered from the breech in ceremony and begun anew. Her thoughts were now far afield on her mystery slave and how best she could get information out of her. She also made a small note to arrange to meet with Adelia at a later date to see what she was after for this gift. Everyone wanted something, especially nobles. She would need to look in on her family a bit more before granting anything of course, did not extend favors that had no benefit to her in the long run.

 

[HeavenSundered]

The Empress suddenly took a couple of long strides towards her, and Izumi drew in a quick breath as the edge of her own tanto was pressed against her throat, threatening to empty her of her lifeblood with just one easy swipe. The tension instantly visible in her face and in her body as her stomach was sucked in and her chest was pushed forward and up slightly all spoke to the fact that she did indeed fear death, but it wasn't in the same manner as most people.

Izumi's fear of death - or desire to live - contributed to keeping her alive in battle, always giving her something to strive and fight for no matter how dismal the situation seemed, but she'd accepted long ago that dying was a possibility, and even a probability. It was a fear that she'd learned to control and harness to a certain degree. She tilted her head up and raised her eyes to meet Selana's as the woman towered over her, extending her neck and making it even more vulnerable in the process. Izumi could tell from the Empress' scintillating, almost unnatural golden eyes that she'd killed before, and personally, not only though her armies, but she maintained a steely resolve in her own gaze, unwilling to let herself be intimidated by this obvious posturing. She didn't believe that the Empress intended to slay her mere moments after they'd come face to face, especially when considering all of the effort and ceremony the noblewoman had gone through get her to this place.

Izumi allowed herself to relax when the blade was finally withdrawn, controlling her breath as she exhaled slowly. On top of the relief of still being alive, she also considered it a good sign as she watched the Empress beckon over an elderly man with eastern features before conversing with him briefly. He was not from Naginaryu, that much much was clear, but probably from one of the deserts to the west judging by his duskier, weather-beaten skin. Still, he must have had some ability to translate for the Empress to bother with him, which was already a far cry better than little to no possibility for communication at all.

Her expectations were met only with further frustration and disappointment, however, as the Empress turned her attention away from her and back towards the noblewoman. It seemed that this woman too was intent on treating her as being less than human, a slight which Izumi swore to herself she would not allow to go unpunished. They made her stand there like a dumb whore, nude and shackled in full view of countless onlookers while they conversed before the Empress had her taken away by the guards.

Izumi was getting exceedingly tired of this routine. This time, she was quite restless when they locked her into yet another cage, but there was little for her to do other than pace through the small space.

 

[Inwiththebooks]

The celebrations were always long and somewhat tiring affairs for Selana, undeniably dull as well with noble after noble fishing for something or another as they simpered and bowed. It was expected of her to host these events during her birthday, though at times tradition felt more of a shackle. The only other entertainment she found was when two nobles ended up getting into a drunken fist fight, her guards intervening after a while. She truly would have preferred a day at the Bloodpit, where matches were being held all day in her honor. Instead she sat upon her throne looking pretty in her robes.

Some of the other offerings were rather pleasing, a mace taken from a northern barbarian chief as well as animal bones used in their strange rituals. These odd gifts were more welcome than gold or jewels or livestock sacrifices. Her personal wealth was beyond measure as the treasury overflowed from her recent campaigns north. She enjoyed things that were unique, much like her new slave and her equipment. None of the gifts approached that one but she appreciated thought nonetheless. Nobles were more often than not regarded as little more than leeches in her eyes, those few that possessed intelligence and competence were ones she snatched up quickly for high positions. Like seats on the Senate.

The festivities in the palace started winding down as evening crept over the city, allowing the Empress to excuse herself finally. She winced as she stood from her throne, her rump aching for having sat for hours on end. Maximus escorted her towards the more private areas of the palace, two of the guard in tow. Some rulers had met their end at the blades of the Phoenix Guard, hence why when she had come to power she had ordered the Imperial Army to purge them and replaced them with loyal soldiers she had fought beside in the north. The Senate had whined but that was really all they did these days.

“Have the foreigner brought below and have Shieh report there as well, I want to know everything about this warrior.” Selana ordered.

“Do you believe she is a spy?” Maximus inquired, his tone raspy from an old throat injury.

“A high possibility. I find it unlikely a warrior of a foreign nation would just stumble into Antara for no reason.”

The man bowed slightly before hurrying off to carry out her orders. Selana herself walked down the long steps leading to her interrogation room. The dimly lit space would more accurately been called a torture room really. Cruel instruments were spaced all around the room, whips coiled upon the wall, restraining devices spaced all around the room, and a bed of hot coals burning nicely in the corner. The walls leading down possessed strange marks on them, on closer inspection one would note they were nail marks from prisoners trying desperately to not be taken below.

Once her guards arrived with both slave and translator in tow Selana jerked her head towards a far wall with a nasty set of blood soaked manacles on them. “Restrain her belly flat against the wall and then leave us.” The Empress commanded.

 

[HeavenSundered]

Izumi was at the limit of her patience by the time that a group of guards appeared to retrieve her several hours later, presumably after the festivities of whatever holiday was being celebrated had ended. She was tempted to struggle at first as they pulled her out of the cage and forced her to walk, holding her firmly by both biceps, but she forced herself to show restraint in favor of conserving her strength for when she might stand a better chance of escape.

After being led through a few of the palace's well-lit and spacious halls, Izumi soon found herself walking down a much dimmer and narrow passageway. It wasn't even wide enough for her and the two men holding her arms to walk abreast, so they had to reposition themselves in front and behind her. Even in the low light, Izumi noticed the uneven marks left on the walls. Judging by how shallow they were and how they were spaced, she could only guess that they were made by previous prisoners clawing against the walls, lending the passageway an even more ominous quality as if it hadn't had enough of that already.

Izumi didn't waste her effort clawing at stone, but the though of what awaited her at the bottom of the winding passage definitely had her heart pounding with trepidation in her chest. When they finally reached a door and the guards pushed her inside, what she saw may as well have come straight out of a nightmare. Several torture devices that she recognized, more that she could only guess the function of, and many of them stained with blood - some of it relatively fresh. Izumi shot the Empress a quick glance, but before she'd been given a chance to communicate anything through the translator who she'd noticed was also in the room, the guards were already dragging her towards one of the chamber's walls.

As soon as they unshackled her wrists so that they could bind them to the manacles on the wall instead, Izumi decided that was the best chance that she was going to get. When a third guard undid the lock to free her hands, she tried with all of her might to tear herself away from the two others holding her, growling ferociously as she struggled in vain against their superior strength. The Antarans wore heavy armor to protect their upper bodies, but their lower halves were left more vulnerable by their leather skirts, something which Izumi had noted and exploited already when they'd first confronted her.

While the men were busy trying to restrain her arms so that they could get them into the wall manacles, she delivered a short but lightning quick and precise kick to the rightmost guard's knee, just above the metal greave covering his shin. Her position was too awkward to strike hard enough to shatter the man's kneecap, but it did succeed in making him falter enough so that she could free her right arm, which she used to strike the guard on her left in the throat with her fingers extended. He let go of her instantly, stumbling back as he clutched his crushed windpipe before falling on to his back, wheezing with desperate and futile attempts to draw breath. The one who'd unlocked her manacles must have been threatened after seeing his comrade go down, because he foolishly tried to draw his sword, receiving a brutal elbow that bloodied his face before the blade was more than an inch out of its scabbard for his efforts. The first man that she'd kicked was still down on one knee as he tried to grab her, but Izumi was able to evade the clumsy attempt and drive her knee through the opening of his helmet, sending it flying off of his head and clattering against the stone floor while he fell flat like a sack of rice, completely unconscious.

Izumi heard heavy shuffling and the clinking of metal behind her as the pair of guards posted at the door rushed her now, but unfortunately she'd taken perhaps just one second too long in fighting off the first three. She never saw it, but she definitely felt the vicious strike of a gauntleted fist as it struck the back of her head. Her vision suddenly went dim and blurry as pain spread through her skull and she stumbled forward down to her knees, leaning against the wall with both hands, trying to use it to pull herself back up. Managing to get back on her feet despite still being heavily dazed, Izumi was met with a brutal backhand across the face that busted her bottom lip open from the guard whose nose she'd broken. Her head snapped violently to the side as all of the remaining fight was taken out of her, but the guards behind her caught her before she could fall and quickly secured her to the wall before dragging their fallen comrades out of the chamber, one dying and the other with a heavy concussion.

Izumi most likely had a concussion of her own from the unexpected blow to the back of her head, and she'd still yet to recover, breathing heavily as she hung limply by her wrists which were attached high and wide on the wall above her head.

 

[Inwiththebooks]

Selana had expected some form of resistance from her captive however what she witnessed went far beyond her expectations. Like a tightly coiled spring the warrior sprang into action, her movements the product of many years of training. Her translator, Shieh, watched with naked alarm while the Empress seemed more fascinated than anything else. She herself was no great warrior and was at best a middling swordswoman; as such witnessing great martial skill was quite the treat. Her hand wandered to her sword hilt in caution all the same as the other guards by the door finally moved to deal with her.

Her adrenaline was pumping and her heartrate rose as she watched the scuffle play out close at hand, an almost erotic high gained from it. One of the men was surely going to die and the other was unconscious, however numbers prevailed over skill as always. With some difficulty the woman was restrained to the wall and the fallen were dragged away, leaving the Empress and her translator alone with the warrior. Shieh looked fairly shaken up by the whole exchange however Selena was even more curious about this creature than before. Her skills were superb and fire in her burned more brightly than she had seen in a long time.

“Shieh, I want you to try and translate my words as well as you can to her. I’ll keep them as simple as possible.” Selana stated.

The Empress moved closer to the captive woman and pressed her hand down on the small of her back, her fingers warm to the touch. Her hand trailed upward until it reached her hair, Selana’s fingers gripping a handful of hair and jerking the foreigner’s head back. The Empress figured it best to offer her the same chance offered to all that were dragged into this room. Selana would know before this day was done whether she was a spy or not, either from a screamed confession or by pushing her to a point no one would conceal information at.

“Why did you come to Antara? Are you a spy? Tell me the truth and I will spare you greater pain. I will already be punishing you for killing one of my men.” The Empress inquired, her translator giving an accurate enough approximation of the words.

Selana’s eyes trailed over the patterns on the woman’s back and noticed that she had yet to be branded yet. A courtesy from Adelia no doubt as slaves to the Imperial Court were marked with different brands, yet another example of her intelligence. The Empress had seen similar patterns that the northern barbarians had painted upon themselves. The difference here was that the tattoos here were seamless, an art inscribed on to flesh. It added to an already exquisite beauty and added some air of mystery to the woman.

 

[HeavenSundered]

Izumi stirred slightly when she felt the Empress' touch against her back, and she managed to regain her footing instead of hanging by her wrists, though her legs still felt weak and unsteady. The left side of her face still stung vividly, and the ringing between her ears had only just begun to partially subside when the other woman roughly jerked her head back so that she was staring up towards the ceiling.

The Empress spoke a few brief sentences for the translator to repeat in an imperfect but comprehensible Naginaran, and it was all that Izumi could do to listen at this point, the bitter taste of failure and defeat still fresh on her tongue.

"You killed your own man by showing me no respect and allowing him to dishonor me," she practically snarled back.

"And if my nation wanted to spy on yours, no doubt they could have found another who was far less conspicuous than me, would you not agree?" Izumi added, clearly referencing how her tattoos caused her to stand out, typically an undesirable trait in a spy.

She head little reason not to refute the accusation of being a spy, but she was unwilling to give away the true purpose of her venture into Antara. Not only did Izumi not wish for the traitor Takomoru to fall into a potential enemy's hands, but it was also not her place to reveal her daimyo's orders.

 

[Inwiththebooks]

Selana frowned at the words returned to her, the translation imperfect but she was able to get the gist of the woman’s meaning. Her fingers left her hair as she stalked around the room, making a show of examining each cruel implement in its turn. On the inside she scoffed at her refusal on the basis of her tattoos, as though that would overly impede the process of spying. Just the refusal a spy might make under interrogation. It seemed she would need to do this the hard way as she had not answered either question really. Besides the murder did warrant punishment.

“You are unworthy of respect. The honor you barbarians cling to is meaningless. I have crushed many who cling to honor. I still stand and rule over their ashes.” Selana said at length as she examined a few sets of particularly nasty looking needles designed to slip under fingernails and toenails.

The words her translator spoke were halting as evidence of his difficulty with her language though the Empress was grateful she had a translator that knew it at all. Shieh had proven his worth many times over and continued to surprise the young Empress. He appeared slightly uncomfortable with this setting; the man had never sat in on a torture session apparently. Well, there was a first time for everything with how stubborn her new property was being. She left the needles for now and instead moved to the bed of hot coals.

Selana became a blur of motion in the next few seconds, seizing the handle of a branding iron and pressing it hard into the wall right next to Izumi’s face. She wanted her to be able to see the thing up close, to feel its heat and understand the symbol upon it. It was the symbol of the Imperial Phoenix, its wings spread high as its long tail formed a circle around its form. Every slave she owned possessed the brand somewhere upon their body, the face, hands, or upper back were the common places.

“I am in a good mood. I give you one last chance to save yourself pain. I use this brand to mark my slaves. Tell me what I want to know and you may escape its heat.” The Empress said.

A way out of horrible situations was often what a prisoner wanted to hear, a thread to cling to. Selana had no intentions of letting Izumi go regardless of what she said; the brand would still fall upon her flesh. However there was no need for her to know that. With this option presented to her, a possible escape, Selana suspected her tongue might very well loosen. If it did not then she had good old fashioned torture to fall back on. One way or another she would find out what Izumi knew.

 

[HeavenSundered]

Izumi wasn't naive enough to think that the Empress would give up on getting a direct answer to her question so easily, nor that she would take too kindly to her words, but anger and adrenaline had gotten the better of her. When the Antaran woman released her hair, she'd guessed that it was only so that she could move on to some other method of making her talk, presumably one that she would not enjoy.

The insults and boasting relayed to Izumi by Shieh were nothing particularly surprising or shocking. Whomever Selana had crushed and conquered, she had not and would not crush her.

Still, the wait was unbearable. She could hear the Empress shuffling around the room behind her and the sounds of some unknown metal instruments being handled, which was far more stressful than simply knowing what her fate would be right away. Izumi wouldn't have been surprised if the Empress was cunning enough to bu drawing it out on purpose, allowing her own imagination and fears to whittle her down. On some level, it was working, but she tried as best as she could to steel herself through her own power of will.

Izumi managed to only flinch ever so slightly as the tip of a branding iron was slammed into the wall, a mere couple of inches from her face. She could feel the heat emanating from the iron and hear the slight hissing as it reacted with the cold stone, but it wasn't the hear or the pain that concerned her; it was the humiliation that would come from wearing the mark of a slave for the rest of her life. The Empress declared her terms, but even assuming that Izumi trusted her - which she did not - she had to weigh the humiliation of the mark versus the dishonor of betraying her daimyo...at which point the choice was clear.

Her answer came in the form of silence until the Empress understood that she would not talk and withdrew the iron. Bracing herself, Izumi gripping the short chains of her manacles tightly, pulling on them as she tensed her body, closed her eyes and took regular deep breaths until she finally felt the branding iron searing her flesh.

It was only a few moments later that white-hot pain wracked the small of Izumi's back, causing her body to arch hard against the hard stone wall until she couldn't push against it any harder to distance herself from the iron. The Empress held it firm and steady against her, clearly having had a great deal of practice. Izumi tried to grit her teeth and bear it at first, but as the seconds slowly went by, she couldn't suppress a loud and throaty scream of agony.

The burning pain was quite different - and in her opinion worse - than that of a blunt strike or the cut of a blade, and it of course lingered even after the Empress had finally retracted the iron. Izumi was left panting and trembling slightly with rage and pain, the mark on her lower back throbbing vividly.

 

[Inwiththebooks]

Izumi was clearly quite the proud creature so after a good bit of silence the Empress withdrew the iron from the wall and held it up before her. Her eyes wandered down the woman’s form for a good spot to place the mark, opting for the small of her back. It would both maximize the amount of pain felt and provide a nicely visible mark. This was hardly her first time branding her property and she doubted it would be the last time. With adrenaline pumping in her veins Selana pressed forward and pushed the iron to Izumi’s flesh hard.

The iron hissed loudly as flesh was marked under intense heat, the woman holding it firmly upon the warrior. It was a few moments in when the screaming started, a primal sound of the purest and rawest pain as the hot iron worked upon the slave. She squirmed and writhed and tried to distance herself from the source of her pain to no avail. Selana felt no pity in her heart for the creature and simply continued to hold the brand there until she was certain the mark was well made. After that point was reached the Empress removed the brand and placed it back on the bed of coals with a smirk.

It was accurate to say that Selana had something of a sadistic streak to her name. She enjoyed torture and interrogation, not for the pain it caused but for the chance to utterly break down a person to their base form. Human beings were generally weak willed creatures at their core, seeking to fulfill the same base needs as animals. When a person arrived in this room they were generally defiant, looking upon the bloodstains and gouges on the walls and vowing that they would never break. That was absurd naturally; eventually everyone had their breaking point. Finding it helped her understand humanity better, which made her better suited to one day unite them all under her banner.

The woman uncoiled a wicked looking whip from the wall, hefting its handle in her hands and taking a few practice swings. A good starting point to work from in terms of torture, a military penalty and punishment for breaches in protocol. It worked just as well to keep slaves in line with their mistress’ wishes. Selana moved back around behind the foreigner, her eyes trailing over the fresh brand made on her skin. It marked her from now onwards as a slave to the Imperial Family of Antara, such a lovely little mark it was.

“Murdering a member of the Imperial Army is punishable by death at worst; at the very least it incurs thirty lashes. So let us see if the minimum sentence loosens your tongue.” Selana said.

The Empress drew her arm back and cracked the whip forward, lashing Izumi harshly across the upper back. Again and again the lash would fall upon Izumi’s back, cutting into flesh with skillful precision. Selana counted aloud each lash as it fell, enjoying the feeling of the whip in her hands. Shieh looked carefully neutral as he observed the display, the whipping of slaves nothing too shocking. The Empress doubted that thirty lashes after a branding would loosen her tongue but it would be a start.

“Let us start simple then. My name is Empress Selana Imperator. Tell me your name and I will send you back to your cage to rest. If you are too proud to do even that I will lash you another thirty times.” The Empress said, holding the whip in preparation for another thirty to be delivered.

 

[HeavenSundered]

When Izumi heard the cracking of a whip coming from behind her before she'd had even a minute to recover, it only confirmed that the Empress had no intention of showing her any mercy. Flagellation was the most common form of punishment in Naginaryu, though Izumi had never been subjected to it before. Not only were priests and samurai exempt from such punishments because they were viewed as too demeaning, but she'd also never done anything which would have warranted such a punishment.

It would be yet another addition to the ever growing list of indignities inflicted upon her by the savage Antarans and their even more despicable Empress. Izumi said nothing when Shieh translated her 'sentence' to her, instead bracing herself to receive the lashes similarly as she'd done for the branding iron. In the end, it was true that she's killed that guard, whether she believed that he deserved it or not, so there was not much that she could say in protest, not that it would have mattered.

When the whip bit into the flesh on her upper back, it was as if the burning pain from her brand flickered off for a moment, being temporarily replaced by very sharp and concentrated stinging where the whip had left its mark before flickering back on. She took the first few hits in relative silence, but as the lashes kept piling up and overlapping on, Izumi couldn't stop herself from hissing loudly with each strike from the leather whip.

As they went on and she counted in her head while Selana counted out loud, her hisses turned to restrained cries of pain, and she would instinctively press her body hard against the wall while rising on to her toes every time the whip harshly cut into her flesh. Making the entire ordeal even more agonizing was the fact that Izumi started to sweat from the strain and stress, causing each laceration to sting that much more badly.

She was panting heavily by the thirtieth lash, her whole body covered in a glistening sheen of sweat and her back additionally bloodied, her thick dark brown hair matted against it. It took Izumi several moments to compose herself, though she remained tense and didn't allow herself to relax, not knowing what the Empress might do next.

"Satō Izumi," she eventually answered the latest question posed to her. Not because she was afraid of more lashes - though she certainly wanted to avoid them she could - but because it was nothing that she had any reason to conceal. "And it is the loyalty that I have for my master which stop me from revealing my reasons for entering you lands, not my pride," Izumi added breathlessly, the pain that she was currently in clearly audible through her voice. "You have my word that it was not planned, and nothing that should concern you. That is all I can say." Anything more, and it would have been too easy for the Empress to guess.

 

[Inwiththebooks]

It appeared that Izumi had some sense rattling around in her exceptionally thick skull, though not enough to come up with a reason why she was in Antara. Selana repeated the name slowly, rolling it around on her tongue for a bit. As promised, despite her continued refusal to grant any insight into her being here, the Empress put up her whip. She examined her handiwork and imagined her slave would be sporting a few scars from the flogging. More marks of her new position in this world. Selana ran her finger down one of the deeper lacerations, suckling on the iron taste upon her finger afterwards.

“Anything that happens in the Empire is my concern. Would your nation be so accepting of one of mine who murdered your people and refused to state their reason for being there? Would you so readily take them at their word? I will find the answers I seek, Satō Izumi, and you will provide them to me.” The Empress said, turning away from the warrior.

With that hanging in the air between them Selana left the torture room with Shieh, ordering her guards to ensure her back was treated with salves by the palace physician. They were then to deliver her to a cage on one of the lowest floors, one where no light reached be it candle or otherwise. She intended to find out everything she needed from the warrior woman if it took her all week. In the time left in the rest of the day she arranged for orders to reach her Legate’s in the east to be on watch for any signs of an invasion force.

The next day, after finishing with countless meetings and signing this or that approval or denials, Selana arranged for Izumi to be brought to the same room once again. She ordered her to be placed on one of the torture tables face up and restrained. The Empress knew enough never to use the same torture twice in a row. Instead she intended to prick away at her resolve with one torture after the other. If she kept her thinking that she had endless methods with which to torment her then perhaps she might draw out a confession.

Shieh was there before her naturally and bowed at her entrance, the guards having already vacated the room. The Empress nodded to him before taking up her needle set and placing it near the restraining table. The set possessed needles of different thickness’ and of varying length, each one meticulously cleaned to a shine. They caused little lasting damage but Selana had found the smallest of things could cause the largest pain. Her eyes locked with Izumi’s as she picked out a long thin needle first and looked over the slave’s naked body.

“Tell me why you came here or this first one with be piercing your breast.” Selana said, glaring down at the foreigner.

 

[HeavenSundered]

Izumi could only wince and growl with considerable pain as the Empress used a finger to trace one of the fresh cuts on her back. She shut her eyes while listening to Shieh translate the woman's latest message as accurately as he could, knowing that Selana was not wrong. Not entirely, at least. If the situation were reversed, of course a foreigner captured under circumstances would have been imprisoned and interrogated most thoroughly, but Izumi did not believe they would be permanently deprived of clothes or branded as a slave.

The Empress left before Izumi had a chance to express that to her, though at this point after witnessing the ease with which the woman could be absolutely cruel, she had no illusions about her words actually having any effect. She was left shackled there against the wall for some time, her back absolutely ablaze with agony, wondering if she would ever leave this nightmarish chamber. Eventually, a healer of some sort came to treat Izumi's wounds, the salve that he covered them with soothing some of her pain, but she realized that this was no act of mercy. The Empress only wished to sustain her so that she might draw the torture out for as long as possible.

Her living arrangements were made even worse, this time a cage plunged in pitch darkness at all hours. Already, it had her longing to see daylight and to feel the sun's warmth against her skin, which was likely the intent. The next day when the guards dragged her back towards the same torture chamber, Izumi was strongly tempted to resist, and now she understood exactly how those who'd left claw marks against the walls had felt.

This time, she was placed in an even more humiliating position, face up on a rectangular wooden table with her arms and legs spread towards each corner, bound by thick metal clasps. To make matters even worse for her, Izumi couldn't put any pressure on her back without suffering badly, despite her lacerations and brand having begun to heal at an enhanced rate thanks to the salve. That meant that she had to force struggle to arch her body up as much as her bindings would allow so that only her ass and shoulders touched the wood, which was far from comfortable and left her even more exposed and vulnerable.

Still, she tried to maintain her composure when Selana questioned her again, warning her of the consequences for not answering, but Izumi's body betrayed her even if her expression did not. As soon as Shieh put the threat into words that she could comprehend, tiny goosebumps immediately blanketed the samurai's arms and legs, and her nipples stood up suddenly from the fear coursing through her. The urge to tell the Empress what she wanted to hear and to beg for mercy was almost overwhelming, but Izumi simply could not bring herself to betray her master.

Izumi's smooth, toned stomach rippled in and out as she breathed in deeply, trying to prepare for the incoming pain, but she also couldn't prevent herself from trembling slightly with dread at having that needle that Selana was holding pierce her breast.

 

[Inwiththebooks]

Selana waited for a moment and watched how Izumi prepared herself, taking that as all the answer she needed to get to work. The Empress gripped the foreigner’s right breast without warning and leveled the needle with her pert nipple. The extremely thin object was very slowly drawn closer until it touched the skin. Golden eyes briefly glanced over the woman’s face before her hands pushed the needle in, breaking the skin. Selana pushed the needle through the other side and gripped the side that had just protruded. Once she had done that she pulled the needle to its halfway point and left it there to sit.

Once that was done she removed her fingers from the thin needle chose a thicker one, quickly jabbing it into the flesh of her breast. The Empress let go of that one and repeated the same process four more times until there were five needles sticking up from the mound of flesh. Her face was one of concentration, like someone trying to work through a particularly complex puzzle. There was some entertainment of course at the work, and there was some arousal gained from the acts but it was less sexual really. More akin to doing good work in any given task.

Another thin needle was taken up and the Empress gripped her other breast, lining the needle up with her other nipple and punching it through. She pulled it halfway the same way before slowly inserting five needles around the flesh of her breast. When she was done each breast possessed a wounded nipple and five needles sticking up all around it. The wounds left by these were minor but she had no doubt they were extremely painful. Pain that was about to be amplified by the time this was all over.

“Why did you travel to Antara? I’ll remove the needles if you tell me. If not I’ll move on to your fingernails and toenails.” The Empress said, picking up another thin needle threateningly.

Needles were far more effective devices of torture than many might give them credit for. Unlike a knife any injuries made from them would be minor and could fit into smaller bits with less of a hassle. Selana was not fond of mutilating her victims, especially not this gem of a beauty. Sure she could cut off her fingers one by one but it would make her less. The Empress wanted to preserve that beauty for herself, she was her slave now after all and killing her or mutilating her would be a horrid waste of a gift.

 

[HeavenSundered]

Izumi inhaled quickly and tensed her muscles in dreadful anticipation when the Empress grabbed her breast, just before she unceremoniously pushed the needle through Izumi's erect nipple. Selana's torture instrument of choice may have bin thin and tiny, but the agony that it produced was anything but, causing Izumi to slam her head back against the table as her eyes widened and she hissed loudly through clenched teeth. Her nipples had always been particularly sensitive, so to her this felt similar to the pain from the branding, only concentrated into one tiny bundle of nerves instead of being distributed over a slightly larger and less delicate area.

Somehow, she'd mustered up enough willpower not to scream, but the next needle suddenly being jabbed deep into the soft flesh of her breast put an end to that. "NNYYYAAAAHHHH!!" Izumi's shriek echoed through the chamber as she tried futilely to twist her body away from Selana, struggling hard against her metal bindings. She cried out again and again as the Empress pushed more needles into her breast, but the loudest scream came when her tormentor moved on to her second nipple.

"NNNNYYYYYUUUUUUGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Already weakened both physically and mentally, this time Izumi couldn't restrain herself from howling out loud as the pinpointed and intense searing white pain burst through her, making it feel as if it were being simultaneously pinched and burned from the inside.

Her toes curled and her hands opened and closed, desperately trying to find something that she could hold on to where there was nothing while the next five needles pierced her left nipple, drawing the same amount of screams.

By the time that the Empress was satisfied with the symmetry of her handiwork, Izumi was desperately trying to control her heavy breathing by inhaling and exhaling through her mouth, as even the slightest movement of her chest jolted her with a dozen spikes of anguish.

"Please..." she started, interrupting herself as she winced with suffering. "...it was a personal matter...neither of our nations were involved." Izumi needed a pause to breathe - grimacing in pain as she did - before continuing on. "Neither of our nations were involved...I swear to you that is the truth."

Izumi glanced down in horror at her own breasts with the many needles sticking out of them, tiny rivulets of blood flowing from the puncture wounds, and then back up at Selana, her eyes silently pleading with the woman to believe her and to remove the needles. Izumi didn't know how much more of this that she could take, but the only possible way out that she saw was somehow making it stop before she cracked - which would inevitably happen - so she attempted to do so by submitting and pleading.

 

[Inwiththebooks]

Selana was unsatisfied with her given answer obviously as she moved around towards Izumi’s feet, needle still in hand. The woman gripped the warrior’s foot and seized her big toe in an iron grip, moving the needle closer to the gap between nail and flesh. Without warning she slowly inserted the tiny needle into the sensitive flesh, biting into the nailbed. The woman held it there for a moment before withdrawing it, tiny rivulets of blood trickling down as the object was removed. The Empress then gripped the next toe down the line, repeating the same process with very little difficulty.

Out of the corner of her eye the Empress noted Shieh looking a bit uncomfortable as he watched the display, though he said nothing. Once Selana finished with her toes on the warrior’s right foot she moved on to the toes of her left foot, undeterred by how Izumi might have screamed or cried to her. Her hands moved with expert ease, this particular torture clearly not all that new to her. Her heart was pounding and her lips gained a tiny smirk as she worked, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she tortured Izumi. She was more than willing to keep going for hours and hours.

From her feet she moved onto the fingers, gripping each one individually and forcing them out of fists if need be. She punctured the nailbeds as before and removed the needle with precision. This particular one would likely leave the digits in pain for some days to come but would leave no lasting damage. Except for the memory of the pain inflicted upon Izumi in this very moment, no doubt that would leave some lasting damage upon the other woman. Hopefully it would also loosen her tongue enough to get a solid answer out of her.

“Now, I’ll ask you again. Why did you come to Antara exactly? If you don’t tell me then the next place my needles go will be far more painful than any of these combined.” The Empress promised.

She picked up a fresh thin needle and moved it downwards to the slave’s womanhood, the tip of the needle flicking the woman’s clitoris. Both male and female genitalia tended to be the most sensitive places on the body. Males were extremely easy to cause pain to while females required a bit of creativity. The Empress had possessed more males than females on her table but even still she liked to think she knew exactly where to hit. Almost playfully she continued to poke at Izumi’s clit in warning of what might very well occur.

 

[HeavenSundered]

Izumi could only slam her had back down against the table in resignation as the Empress moved to grip one of her small feet, preparing to follow through on her threat. She was already terrified of what was coming, but the degree of agony that she experienced as the first needle bore through the extremely sensitive nail bed of her big toe all the way to the cuticle was far worse than anything she could have imagined or prepared for.

"KKHHHHYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Izumi let out a heartrending scream as the needle went in and out, and her cries only got louder and more wildly desperate with each digit that Selana went through. Writhing frantically against the unbreakable restraints, she only succeeded in making the metal clasps chaff against her skin, not that that was even noticeable compared to the brutal torture that she was being put through.

By the time that the Empress had finished with her feet and moved on to her hands, Izumi could no longer choke back the tears which began to stream down the sides of her face, and she sobbed loudly whenever she wasn't screaming from the needle piercing another one of her fingers. Never before in her life had she even come close to feeling as defeated and profoundly wounded as she did at that moment.

When the Empress had finished assiduously tormenting each and every one of Izumi's twenty digits, the samurai was left curling her toes and balling her fists up as tightly as she could, the vivid pain and throbbing still persisting. Sweat poured off her light tan and tattooed body as she hyperventilated and choked on her own sobs, constantly renewing the shards of agony that splintered throughout her abused breasts.

She heard the sounds of Selana's voice, followed by Shieh's, but not even the translator's words registered with her. It wasn't until Izumi felt the impossibly sharp tip of another needle poking against the tiny part of her clit which wasn't hidden beneath it's hood that she reacted. She twitched so suddenly and violently that she'd have jumped out of her own skin if it were possible. Pulling her body up with whatever strength she had left, Izumi frantically tried to scoot her womanhood as far from Selana and her sharp instrument, which in this case was a mere inch or two at best. The needle followed, another light poke jolting her with considerable discomfort, but it was the threat of what was to follow that was infinitely more terrifying, leaving even the proud samurai warrior quivering like a lead on the Empress' torture table.

"NO! Please, please don't!!" Izumi pleaded as she craned her neck up and stared at Selana, her reddened eyes wide and imploring as tears continued to stream from them. "Not there, please...not there..." As her hoarse voice trailed off, Izumi clenched her eyes tightly, her expression becoming the very image of panicked dread in its purest form.

 

[Inwiththebooks]

“That was not an answer to my question.”

Selana did not wait for Shieh to translate this time as she pushed the needle up through her clit, exiting through the hood once it was pushed. The Empress gripped the tip of the needle that had exited the other side and slowly pulled it through until the thin needle was out. She knew that by now she must have been getting close to the breaking point if her prisoner was begging. Soon enough she was likely to get her answers, she just needed to keep going and to threaten her with worse pain that even this right now.

The Empress took up two more needles, these ones thicker and slowly drove them through Izumi’s outer lips. She then removed them and forced open her lips with one hand and held up another needle in her other. Selana poked around the outer most regions of Izumi’s womanhood with the needle, puncturing here or there as she saw fit. She did not go deeper than that however, not yet anyway as she needed to leave the threat of something worse in the air in order to get what she wanted from Izumi. This was a messy thing but necessary for the security of Antara.

“I will ask you again, why did you come to Antara? If you don’t answer me I will plunge these needles as deep as I can. I’ll heat up the needles so they burn when I poke. Do not doubt my resolve. There is no line or moral horizon I will not cross to protect my country. If you tell me I’ll remove the needles and send you back to your cell with a meal.” The Empress said slowly.

Selana twirled the needle between her fingers and stared directly into Izumi’s red eyes, holding back a sneer at the sight of her tears. Where was the mighty and defiant warrior now? All it had taken was a few needles to reduce the proud woman to a sobbing and screaming mess. Pathetic really. The Empress gave Izumi’s womanhood a few light pokes in warning of what would follow if she did not give up her reason for being here. Hopefully now she would have a desperate enough mind to forget her sense of honor and just give up her orders.

 

[HeavenSundered]

Every muscle in Izumi's aching and burning body went completely rigid from the shock of the needle puncturing the most delicate and sensitive bundle of nerves on her body. Her eyes which she'd been attempting to keep shut opened wide, as did her mouth, but this time the scream was silent, the agony that she was experiencing so extreme and overwhelming that her voice vanished. Even the tears suddenly stopped pouring from Izumi's eyes while Selana forced the needle all the way though not only her clit but also its hood. A second or two later, the shock faded away just enough for her to start writhing as if she'd been possessed by a demon, still nothing but faint croaks escaping her throat whenever she tried to scream.

She didn't imagine that anything worse could exist, but her suffering only continued to escalate, finding new peaks as the Empress mercilessly punctured her outer labia. Finally recovering some of her voice, Izumi could do nothing but scream her heart out while Selana applied more and more abuse to her womanhood. Desperately and futilely, Izumi kept trying to find against her bonds, exhausting whatever reserves she had left as she tried to somehow close her thighs to protect herself. But no matter what she did or how loudly she lamented herself, the needles kept coming, and after the outer lips Selana moved on to the much more sensitive inner ones.

Somehow, the white-hot pain searing through her clit and the rest of her cunt must have given Izumi clarity, because this time she understood the Empress' question and threat very clearly when Shieh repeated them to her.

"A traitor!" she snapped immediately, her voice trembling as badly as her body. "A traitor...it was my task to capture him...he fled into your lands. Nnnggghhh...kkhhhuugghhhh...take them out...TAKE THEM OUT!!!" Izumi shouted, thrashing involuntarily. She was incredibly ashamed with herself for giving up her mission to the Antaran Empress after having already failed her lord once, but at the moment even that seemed like an incredibly distant second on her priority list compared to getting the needles removed from her body.