A Holy Knight's Tale Chapter 3
Escape
By Crystal Zeal
She didn't go to dinner that night. She couldn't. She remembered running from the infirmary, sobbing. She remembered rushing into her room, and collapsing in tears. Adeline's pale and bloody body kept coming into her mind. It was slowly driving her insane.
She was curled up into a pathetic ball, tears covering her whole face. That was when Raelin decided to storm into her room, face lit by rage. He stomped over to the girl, tugging her arm.
"Stupid brat! Stop blubbering, worm! Why were you at dinner?" He demanded, positively seething with anger.
Beatrix let in a few gasps of air, tears still leaking from her eyes. "My...best friend died tonight..." She sobbed, hiding her face.
Raelin snarled. "Pathetic girl. Come with me. I was going to go easy on you tonight, but seeing as how you disobeyed my orders, I guess I'll go full out."
He dragged a ragged Beatrix from her bed, out of her room, and down to a secluded part of the barracks, for officials only. There he threw her into a dark room, and grabbed something off the wall. The room looked as if it was used to torture someone.
"Stand up and strip, girl!" He barked.
Beatrix shakily made her way to her feet, discarding her boots and tunic.
"More, you slut!"
Her shirt and pants were taking off, revealing her underclothing.
The Knight's eyes narrowed, and he cross his arms. "Did I tell you to stop? Completely strip, and turn around!"
The girl's face was deep crimson by the time she had turned, completely nude.
"I thought I'd start giving you lessons on dealing with pain," the man said with a cruel tone to his voice. He laughed, grinning with evil pleasure. In his hand he held a whip -- which came down across Beatrix's back. She let out a scream of sheer pain, limping forward a step. The whip came down again, only harder this time. It only took one more strike to make her fall to her knees. He continued, laughing with glee each time the leather struck flesh. He enjoyed the screams coming again and again, the tears flooding the floor. He continued doing this until there wasn't a normal colored spot on Beatrix's whole body.
He finally stopped, hanging the whip back up.
"You may go now, whore. I expect to see you two hours before sunrise tomorrow to start your morning exercise," the man told her, eyes narrowed down at her. He still wore that sinister grin. He took one more look at her beaten and sore body, before striding out of the room.
It took Beatrix some time to manage to crawl to her knees. When she did, it felt as if her whole backside was on fire. She managed to crawl over to her clothing, placing on only her underclothing and tunic. After quite a few painful attempts, she was able to stand, clothing in hand.
Beatrix didn't bother to get something to put on her wounds. She just slowly limped back to her room.
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The same experience happened every night after that, each time getting worse. He eventually abandoned the whip, going for things that cause more pain. She endured it every night, barely living to see the next day.
Her training intensified, but she kept doing steadily worse. Her battered condition didn't allow her to work well. Raelin got nastier and nastier, and everything got increasingly worse. She didn't have a single friend to go to, and worse, the day after Adeline's death, she had heard a group of knights congratulating each other on messing up a pathetic female soldier. Beatrix swore vengeance.
It was two months later that Raelin called Beatrix to his own room instead of the torture chamber, as she referred to it. He glanced at her, crimson lips curling into a grin, when she entered.
"Strip."
Beatrix, used to the nightly torture, took off her sandals, loose shirt, and short breeches. She turned her back to him, muscles tightening in anticipation of the beating. After is didn't come for a minute, Beatrix looked over her shoulder.
Raelin was just standing there, looking pleased with himself. "Turn around and face me," he demanded. She did so, attempting to conceal herself.
"Put her hands down at your side and close your eyes," was his command. Beatrix stalled for a minute, before doing what he had told her. Raelin's beautiful bright green eyes looked over her whole body lustily, and he stepped forward, smiling. "You have such a beautiful body, Beatrix...It's a pity you're abusing it so. Such a pity...I think I'll use it correctly."
He stepped up to her, pinning her arms to her side. His mouth sank to hers hungrily and he kissed her with passion. Beatrix was taken aback, and tried to step away. His grip was too tight.
A knee was sent up, hitting him in the stomach. He let go of her arms, holding onto his stomach. She stepped backwards, getting into a fighting position. Raelin laughed, straitening up. "Oh, you want to play, my whore? Come and get me. The only thing hurt this night will be you, slut." He picked up a small knife from the top of a table. Beatrix charged at him, sending out her right fist. He deftly escape, slicing with the knife. A burning hot pain erupted in Beatrix's right eye. She staggered back, falling into the door.
Raelin rushed at her, sweeping her up in a great bear-hug. He flung her onto the bed, quickly making his way on top of her.
"Face it birch, you're mine now!" His eyes flashed insanely, and he stripped off his shirt. Beatrix wiggled one of her arms free, sending her palm right up into his nose.
A dull crack echoed through the room.
The man swore loudly, clutching his nose. His eyes quickly filled with tears, momentarily blinding him. Beatrix used this moment to shove him off of her, and bolt out of the room. She ran through the corridors, and out of the building, feet freezing in the snow.
Still naked, she ran down the shadows of the streets in fear. She kept running, and running, until she finally collapsed into the snow in front of a building.