Untie My Wings

About this chapter
This is a story I've been working on for about seven or eight years now. It takes place in an Antrho setting, meaning all of the characters are anthropomorphized animals.

This story is about Alleah, a bat who was kidnapped and sold as a slave at a young age. In this chapter, Alleah attempts to adjust to her new surroundings and the abuse all the slaves under Vlad's care must endure.

Chapter 3: The Gates of Hell

The crack of the whip was loud enough to cause my ears to ring. Everyone in the room stared silently towards the door, though the figure standing there was hard to distinguish in the dimly lit area he stood everyone knew who it was. I instinctively held my breath, and Fabiana touched her hand gently to mine. I watched her, out of the periphery of my vision, press her finger to her lips slowly, then lower it.

Vlad didn't move from the doorway for several seconds. I held my breath the entire time, not exhaling until I began to feel lightheaded and my fingers began to numb. I leaned slightly to get a better look at him, and the rabbit at my side tugged my braid gently to get me to sit still. I did was she instructed me to do, attempting to draw as little attention to myself as possible. I doubted it would work, since Vlad had just met me that day and my face would no doubt be fresh in his mind.

Vlad finally moved away from the entrance, the whip in his hand and a saber sheathed at his side, walked the entire length of the room slowly, glancing at each slave momentarily as he passed. I held my breath again like it would do any good, and was on the verge of blacking out before I finally exhaled again. Vlad was still walking by then, but had passed me by, and continued to the opposite end of the room.

I again leaned to watch him, this time Fabiana doing the same, as we watched him stop at the end of the room. He turned slowly, and stood overlooking the entire room again. I can recall flinching back again even though he was far away, Fabiana managing to remain perfectly still as Vlad continued his strange staring game, I drew my knees to my chest and wanted to disappear.

Vlad began to walk down the room again, back towards the entrance. I saw him stop and look back at me, but he continued past again, until he was nearly to the entrance again. But this time he stopped, just short of the door, and turned to someone not far away. In a deft movement of his free hand, he snapped his fingers and gestured for her to stand up. The vixen reluctantly did, and as she did I saw who she was. I didn't know everyone's name yet, but she'd been one of those who greeted me when I first entered.

Everyone was silent as Vlad forcibly took the girl by the arm, and practically dragged her out of the room, much like he did with me when he had brought me here. The door slammed, and nothing but silence remained, still prevailing for a solid five minutes before anyone decided it was safe to speak again.

I asked Fabiana what had just happened, and where the vixen had gone. Her ears laid back ponderously, Fabiana admitted she didn't know. It was possible Alec could have sent for her, he sent for many slaves often, at various times.

"But," She continued, apparently trying to weigh the impact her words would have once she admitted this to me. "The way Vlad paced down the room, it is possible he retrieved her for himself." She shuddered visibly as she spoke, as did I.

Slowly the din I'd heard when I'd first come in returned, the murmurs of pleas to the almighty to end their suffering and the low intonation of curses. This time, however, I heard the name. And it'd only be a matter of time before I joined them.

Before that time would come, I was called by Alec many, many times. I grew to like him as a friend very quickly, he seemed genuinely interested in me, and in all the slaves, as people. We weren't his objects, we were bought to be his friends. I also learned fairly quickly that the more time I spent with Alec, the less time Vlad would have to abuse me.

Alec loved to talk to each of us. He was a very lonely man, having never married. He told me his entire story. His fiancee had died, shortly before their wedding, many years earlier, the result of an unknown sickness that took her swiftly and silently. He vowed he would never marry, and he never did. He did, however, collect a harem, as was apparently custom for wealthy men of his religion and status.

After he told his tale, he wanted to hear mine. I couldn't bring myself to tell him all I'd been through. I didn't think he'd understand. He was free, he didn't know what it was like to be stolen and sold. He couldn't possibly understand the kind of self-worth depleting things I - we all - had been through.

And so I didn't tell him. I told him my life had been uneventful, which was somewhat true at least. I purposely left out everything I'd felt, everything I'd thought during my time at the auctioneers'. I still didn't want to tell him. By then I'd been mistreated by Vlad often as well... under threat of death I wasn't to tell Alec. I feared Vlad, so didn't dare reveal his abuse.

Besides, if I told and Alec had tried to intervene, I worried that Vlad would hurt him as well. Alec was aging, and wasn't as strong as he used to be. In his younger years he and Vlad might have been a fair match... but now, with his sight and strength, and even his hearing, deserting him slowly, Vlad would definitely have the upper hand.

Over time, obeying commands from anyone became a second nature for many of us. No matter what it was, we knew we'd better do it. Several seemed brain washed, and Vlad, being able to tell those from the rest, abused the power he had over them frequently. He constantly had them do things that he didn't feel like doing, just because he could make them, and also purposely made jobs for them, and frequently made simple jobs harder, just to see them obey him blindly. Before long he would order them to do their jobs with one hand, or on their knees, just because he could. It really makes one wonder if he wasn't a man, but a demon. It also makes one wonder what their own breaking point is.

It would still be nearly four years before Vlad came for me for himself. I had grown accustomed to him passing me by every time he came for reasons other than because Alec had wanted a companion, and felt sure that he would pass me by again this time. He passed down the room once, then turned around, just as he always did. I remained motionless out of habit, staring straight ahead. I dared not look at him, not even in his general direction, and held my breath.

I swear I felt my heart stop as he halted in front of me. He didn't motion for me to get up right away... or maybe he did. I seemed to be playing the world in slow motion at that moment. The world seemed to end the very moment I looked up and saw his dark, evil eyes piercing into my own once more. When he did motion for me to stand up, I must not have done so fast enough. He reached down, and lifted me up by my arm, twisting more than necessary as he usually did. I winced, but bit my tongue, remembering my vow to never show pain in front of him. Never. He dragged me out of the room, also as he usually did, as I prayed to god that Alec had sent for me this time...and I heard the door slam shut.

Within an hour I was returned to the room, shoved through the entrance and had the door slam after me. I was angry... I was hurt, more in an emotional sense than a physical one, but the pain and anger were unbearable. As soon as I was sure he was gone, a reached for the nearest breakable object, which was a vase of roses and lilies, and shattered it on the floor in a splash of water and petals. I then sat amid the crystal shards and flowers on the floor, and curled up as I was wont to do when something happened I couldn't come to terms with. I tended to reject the harsh reality of my life often.

Fabiana approached me, and sat next to me in the remnants of the bouquet and vase on the floor. She didn't say anything, just stroking my hair gently, and attempting to comfort me in my hour of need. I finally allowed the tears to flow soundlessly, hoping this was all a nightmare, and that I would be awakened by the pale moonlight filtering through the sheer curtains of the high windows.

I didn't wake up. I sat on the floor, not bothering to move from the shards nor the thorny roses, and watched the moon rise through the window. Fabiana had stayed with me for as long as I wanted, but I finally told her she should sleep and leave me to my troubles in my bed of thorns and shattered glass. By the time morning came, I had finally fallen asleep, in the same place, although I was moved by Fabiana while I lay in slumber to a more comfortable spot.

Fabiana became like the sister I never had. She was there for me on the days Vlad was particularly harsh, and she helped me cope with everything. I also learned the origin of her nickname. She had been the assistant of a hedge wizard, or parlor magician. That was her stage name, and it'd stuck. Unfortunately, she had been 'lost' by him to a slave trader in a game of chance. She was also rumored to be able to pick any sort of lock, a skill she sometimes demonstrated on various locks around the palace. I was grateful for a friend like her, I needed all the support I could get... we all did.

I began to get to know all of the other slaves. While the majority of us were female, there was the occasional male servant that was also the legal property of Alec. I became friends with them all, and they became friends with me. We all began to trust each other. We needed each other, if we were to survive this.

Not everyone did. I remember one slave, that had shut herself out from the rest of us, had killed herself after being abused by Vlad. She hung herself with a scarf, from one of the decorative trusses lining the walls. I saw her after someone had been called in to remove her from her noose, and looked into her empty hazel eyes. It is the sort of thing that haunts your nightmares forever, chills you to the bone and remains with you until you draw your last breath.

The suicides were a rarity, but during my stay at the palace I did see it happen more than once. Each time it happens, everyone goes into mourning. Every slave, every servant will wear black, and Alec will hold a funeral. There is great sadness as the slave is put into the ground, for slave and free man alike...

Except for Vlad. He never cared. He never cared that he was the push that drove them to do their demise. He never cared that because of him, many of us were teetering on a knife's edge. He showed absolutely no remorse whatsoever as another was buried, in the special graveyard Alec had for his slaves. As I looked over the site, and the dozen or so white crosses that marked the final resting place of a suicide, I became more and more frightened of him.

As frightened as I was then, I could always become more so. Just when I thought he couldn't become any more evil, Vlad's sadistic tendencies began to emerge slowly, as he would hit servants and slaves for no reason. He kept up his usual abuse, of course. But he normally waited until we made a mistake to inflict bodily harm upon us, and began doing so with no justification later. And harder. I still have many scars inflicted by him. The deep one across my arm is from a kitchen knife. I'd tried particularly hard not to make any mistakes, even small ones that day. Perhaps that was frustrating him, and that's why he did it. To this day, I still don't know why he grabbed my arm and drove the knife into it, other than because he wanted to cause me pain... but the scar will be with me the remainder of my life.

True to my vow, I never cried, screamed or yelped in front of Vlad. This seemed to frustrate him more, and determined to get me to crack he localized abuse on me more often. Perhaps that's why he did it. Unfortunately for him, this only made me more determined to show him I could take it.

I began secretly working to improve my strength by day. Vlad knew that I was normally nocturnal, as was he, and I could therefore work with minimal interruption during the daylight hours. Between this and his abuse, I toughened up. And between his abuse and my resolution to not show him pain I began to near the end of my rope. But my self-control was strong enough to keep me from lashing at him. I knew I wouldn't have a chance against him if I did... yet, anyway. And I was determined to put up one hell of a fight when I finally did snap.

All well in theory. Things rarely go according to plan, as many of us know. Just when I thought I could take him, months worth of secret training behind me, something unthinkable happened. Something that shouldn't have happened. Not to me, not to anyone. It was a horrible accident with dire consequences, but as we all know... accidents happen.