Never Trust the Rules

Ever since his father had placed him as oversight of the household, Siora had tried her best to seem invisible, keep one pace ahead of him. It had worked for about a week before she had been cornered, coward silently under his scrutiny. The rest had gone past in a blur, a routine not of her making was imposed, new expectations to meet if Siora was to be of use. Bastien didn’t keep servants who had no use to him, who he had grown bored of for whatever reason. Too fat, too thin, an annoying laugh. No fault was too small, no minor defect was tolerated.

She wasn’t thinking about any of that currently. Siora focused on her breathing, her lungs screaming out for air, burning with each gasped breath. Somewhere along the way she had lost her shoes, her hair tie after it became caught in a tree, mud caked the bottom of her simple dress, ends ragged from snagging itself on branches and bushes. She appeared nothing like a servant, more like a ragged and worn out wraith stalking the countryside. Whereas normally she would be simply put together, her dress was ruined, hair tangled and wild with pieces of leaves and sticks, nettles caught in it's strands. The chase had gone on all morning, from the early dawn right until this moment as the sun reached its highest point.

Scrambling to the top of the bank she ducked behind a tree, dark eyes scanning the path behind before looking on into the woods ahead. There was no sign, but it was only a matter of time before her scent was picked up again and the howl of the estates hounds would echo through the air. Turning back to the forest she hesitated, her knowledge of it sketchy at best but what choice did she have? The lass picked herself up taking the route that would bring her to a large reservoir that fed into the river.

If she could get across it, maybe she had a chance?

Among the members of the family, none appeared to show any genuine interest or concern about the kind of person Bastien was deep down inside, about his true character or his values. Perhaps they did care, in their own way, but chose to ignore the deeper aspects of his personality or chose to overlook them, for reasons known only to them.

He was treated as the accepted outcast, the illegitimate child who should be first in line as heir, but instead because he was the bastard, he was last in line. He had been assigned various labels and roles within the family, not all of them pleasant or favourable. But Bastien had plans of his own, plans that were independent of their perceptions and expectations of him. He was a lot of things, and he was none of them. One day, he planned to show them all, to reveal his true self, to step out of the shadows of the labels and roles that had been thrust upon him, and to show them all.

His resolve was unyielding, his will as strong as the iron he would use to shape his destiny. He was Bastien Frost, not a servant, not a pawn, but a master of his own fate. One day, they would all see, they would all understand.

Granted, if he had his way, his ‘family’ would find out just how bad he was, moments before their deaths. Why hadn’t he done so yet, well frankly it hadn’t suited him. As long as his father had accepted him and ignored his darker ways, he had the run of the servants. His particularly favourite servant was currently being put through some rigorous ‘training’. After all, what good was a weak servant to him?

Siora was his prized possession, in his eyes, but he wasn’t about to let them think they could be lazy. So today’s activity had been being chased by the hounds, because what good was a good spy if they were easily captured.

Predicting her route through the estate grounds and forest, he picked a tree by the water’s edge to climb up in and casually eat an apple. Anticipating, waiting, expecting. Soon his prediction proved to be right, he said nothing at first. Simply watching her seem to be torn between crossing the water or going back. So finally he spoke.

Tsk tsk tsk, the hounds are closing in. I suppose I could call them off, I mean if you think this is the best you can do. He said with a sneer, then tossed his apple core at Siora’s feet.

Before, her parents had been able to offer some barrier to how he hounded her steps. From her early teens she had always felt his eyes on her, from the moment her voice had echoed out in song, when festivities had her dancing, there was always that feeling, creeping along the back of her neck. Siora could never place a finger on who or what, not until the recent few years.

Now it was impossible to do anything without him knowing about it, leaving her in a permanent state of hyperawareness. Not even the warmth of her own bed was a sanctuary, her cell now adjacent to his for when the whim of inflicting some terror took him. That was what had occurred this morning, him appearing above her with a dagger hovering above one of her wide terrified eyes. “Run.” That was all he said, the dagger then drawn back to strike and Siora had only a second to the shoes at the side of the bed and roll out, spinning around to flee out the door, his laughter echoing behind her.

Siora had thought she’d done well to make it this far, for this long too, but it was all in vain apparently. What a fool she’d been to think his hawke-like attention to detail would somehow be clouded, she’d been too predictable, her path too obvious that he was here waiting for her. Her body froze, eyes following the apple core and realising that was also a test. If she took it for later, he’d no doubt punish her for it, if she ignored it, punished again for not thinking of herself and her health, as ridiculous as it sounded. 

After a slight narrowing of her eyes, Siora bolted to the rocks lining the bank, not bothering to offer Frost a retort and aiming for the narrow, broken crossing a few hundred paces away from him. Fighting against the mounting panic seeking to override her senses and steps, Siora tried her best not to slip, her feet not the first concern but falling into the water. She couldn’t swim. Large vats of water had always made her hesitant, especially if she couldn’t see the bottom, but in the crossing there came a point where it was jump… or go back, the closer to the centre, the increase in the waters treacherous current.

[color=#c19e00]“P-Please. I-I can’t swim. I-I can’t jump that far either. Please. I-I can learn. I swear. I can learn.” [/color]

Bastien leaned back against the trunk of the tree, he watched the apple, but didn’t comment on it and then grinned as Siora scurried over the rocks. He liked to watch her, especially when she was faltering. He’d put a lot of time and effort into Siora’s ‘training’, he’d be disappointed if she let him down. Though he supposed on that note, it might be a shame if he let the hounds have their way with her if they caught up, all that training amounting to a pile of skin and bone.

Well, I can’t give a damn, it seems we both have shortcomings. The dogs were getting closer. Would it help if I pushed you in? Of course it wouldn’t, he didn’t actually believe it would, he just liked the idea of being the one to push her into the water. He paused, savouring the look in her eyes at his words. Then he did a quick calculation of how much time and effort he had put into her training, not to mention the effort of holding her sister over her head if she got out of line.

What would you do if this were a situation of you escaping someone that had caught you spying on them. So perhaps he wouldn’t let the dogs rip Siora limb from limb, but she didn’t need to know that just yet. It was a perfect teachable moment. After all, she knew many of his secrets, and he couldn’t risk those secrets getting out, so what was she willing to do to keep them. Besides of course the fact the usual way he kept her in line, but threatening her sister.

Some days it felt as if all she did was run. From dawn to dusk, even into the night, there was no true hour of respite where she hadn’t been snatched from sleep or task and plunged into one of his ‘lessons,’ his sick torture. He lorded his power over her, holding captive the last thing precious to her, her baby sister Leena and with their parents already passed it was Siora’s responsibility to keep her safe. Yet with Bastien, promises were never straightforward, and as long as she saw her sister around the estate accosted, Siora’s remained his toy.

Eyes pinched closed as he spoke, knowing every word was true, but it still stung knowing there was not a hint of mercy in him. Cruel, calculating and cold, he had an agenda, a plan for the estate, perhaps even beyond it and she was to be some part of it. Her head shook frantically, not wishing to be pushed in her feet inching back a step from the edge as the rapids shifted the broken mishmash of bridge and stepping stones. Above the sound of fast water, the howl of hounds became clearer, setting Siora into a mild panic.

His words didn’t quite register, not at first. She searched, in vain, for another way, glancing at the water in pure terror before deciding.

Drowning was better than hounds.

Sucking in a breath and pinching her eyes tight, Siora took the leap as a run, hitting the water and disappearing. Her head would pop up some short way downstream, arms flailing wildly in a vain attempt to keep her head above.

But she’d been running for hours already, her flagging reserves strained to give her the strength… and then for the briefest moment the thought of giving up crossed her mind. Leena. Think about Leena. It could be her and not you. The words rang in her mind, urging her on despite her limit fast approaching.

She was swallowing more water, struggling, panicking. Siora didn’t want to die. If she was going to die… it would be in taking him with her. To spare anyone else this hell.

Bastien watched as Siora plunged into the water, her body disappearing beneath the surface before resurfacing downstream. A satisfied smirk crossed his face. He'd pushed her to her limit, and she'd chosen a potential death over surrender. It was a cruel game, but a necessary one. After a moment, he rose and climbed down out of the tree, preparing to follow her downstream.

He didn’t want to intercede too soon, he wanted to see just how badly she wanted to survive. Wanted to see her beg for her life. So he followed closely and quickly, ready to pounce at the right moment, when it came. He noticed a tree up ahead that had fallen across the water, if he could just get to that.

Training was so much work, but he had to know how far Siora would go for him, had to know she’d keep his secrets even facing torture. She might say she’ll do anything to keep her sister safe, but that simply wasn’t enough proof for Bastien.

Finally realising she might not make it to the tree, he swept in and carefully but quickly made his way across the rocks until he was as close to her as he could get. It was then the hounds appeared on the embankment where they had just come from, braying and barking up a storm. Finally he took a step back and jumped in.

The water was colder than he’d anticipated, and it nearly knocked the wind out of him, but he kept composed enough to focus. He’d always been a reasonably strong swimmer, just that he hated getting wet. He managed to slide his arm around Siora and pull her away from the rapids and towards the banks. He let go of her once they were in the shallows and he collapsed on the bank. The dogs eventually showed up having heard the commotion and Bastien told them to all heel. Apparently the game was over, the dogs relaxed.

Now look what you made me do. Sometimes I wonder if you’re even worth the effort of all that I do for you. Inconveniencing me will mean an extra lesson for the day of course. No matter how things had played out, it was going to be an extra lesson, either for not daring to jump in the water, or for making him have to jump in to save her.

The icy water stole what little air she managed to inhale in the leap. For a brief second everything froze and then her body was tumbling, shaken around under the rapids for what felt like a long minute. She broke the surface gasping, clawing for something to grab but finding nothing but the flowing water, eyes blinded by her sodden hair covering her eyes. As her arms plunged back under, so did the rest of her, legs kicking but without a sense of how to keep herself afloat.

Siora fought against the current, panicked eyes catching glimpses of the passing trees, rocks, all too far away for the run-ragged servant to reach or get to. Every muscle burned with the effort to keep her head up, the time between her rising and succumbing growing longer, her stamina giving out. Pushed beyond her reserves, Siora sank, her arms flailed ineffective at gaining traction against the water and only at the last moment did she sense the arm around her.

Elation gripped her, that first real gasp swallowed greedily, desperately. Her mind was a haze, her vision blurred with almost drowning mere moments ago and when her body tumbled into the shallows she’d barely the strength to keep herself up on all fours. Words were unavailable, she panted, filling her lungs while her body trembled at the near finality of it all. Busting into tears, Siora’s let out a small cry, the salt of her tears mixing with the fresh rivers.

The hounds stepped closer, the snap of a branch underfoot alerting the servant causing her head to snap up and freeze momentarily. While he had called them off, her shoulders attempted to stiffen through the bracing temperature, her clothes sodden and clinging to every curve of her bent over at the bank.

What could she say?

[color=#c19e00]“I.. I’m S-Sorry, Ser-Serrah. I-I’ll wo-work on swi-swi swimming, b-but the waters, the waters too fast here.”[/color]

As much as compassion bored Bastien, it was also a tool that couldn’t be denied. Only a fool didn’t make use of every tool in their belt, and he was no fool. She simply had to understand how special she was, and that he only did the things he did so that she was better equipped at surviving should one of his special missions for her go south.

He watched her, hunched over and shivering, her words stuttering out through chattering teeth. Bastien's lips twisted into a cruel smile. Next time, you'll do better, he said simply, the implicit threat hanging in the air between them.

And if you don't, well... you know what happens. He found that threatening her sister had been the tastiest of leverage. Siora might not care what happened to herself, but she definitely cared about what happened to her sister. You have two weeks to find someone that can teach you how to swim. He informed her.

She was so cold. Siora dare not move though, hands still propping her up had lost all feeling, the digits numbed by the shallow water. Her head nodded vhementantly, croaking out a noise of agreement with his confidence her next dunk would be better. Eyes pinched closed, tightly willing the tears back, what had she done to deserve this? Why did her family have to shoulder the blame of every perceived transgression on her part?

The command held an unmistakable undertone, one she had quickly understood that the choice wasn't really a choice. The offer was a deception, Frost’s desires far more subtle, his manipulation clung to the statement clearly to her. After a brief pause, Siora raised her head a little, [color=#c19e00]“I… I’d pick y-you.”[/color] Pausing to take a breath as her vision began to blur some, exhaustion and the cold quickly burning through the last of her adrenalin. [color=#c19e00]“Y-You're the best… swimmer… I’d learn fa-fasterrrrr..” [/color]

Before toppling to one side her body would slump back onto the backs of her knees, rocking as unconsciousness claimed her.

Bastien smiled a satisfied smile, he was quite pleased with her asking him. Not that he wouldn’t have been pleased if she’d opted to ask one of her little friends. If they’d failed to teach her then he’d have two people to punish and not just the one. In fact, her friend would probably have bore the brunt of the punishment because that would have hurt Siora more than taking it herself.

If evil could only be taught, he liked to think he was grooming Siora for more, but at the end of the day there was only so much that he could do with her, so much that she could do for him. As much as he’d love to have Siora be his equal, he wasn’t shortsighted enough to know how futile that endeavour would be.

Interesting choice. I suppose I can take the time. If you fail to learn the punishment will be more severe of course. She passed out after that, he wasn’t about to carry her all the way home, instead he set about making a fire. After about an hour he had one roaring pretty good, and had most of his own clothing dried out. It might seem like a caring tender moment, but to him it was practical. That and he did like to keep Siora guessing.

If she was seen to be leaning on anyone, they could quickly find themselves the victim of Bastien’s next game. Siora hadn’t believed it at first, not until she had faced it herself, her gaze led to watching her future be arrested, imprisoned and… well, who knew what next happened, only Bastien. The troop of minstrels had brought further trade to the nearby town, had put further gold into their pockets, why on earth would they have tarnished such a glowing review?

Because Siora had expressed a wish to leave. That was why. Then had came the accidents that had befallen both her parents, not together, no, but one shortly following the other. Just enough for both girls' heads to rise above the tenets of grief only to sink under another wave of sorrow. It made music her only window of happiness.

She was unaware what transpired as unconsciousness took her, for once, she wasn’t blessed with nightmares only the darkness of an exhausted sleep. The crackling of a fire was the first thing to reach her in the gloom, followed by it’s comforting warmth. Nerves began informing her of the condition of the rest of her body, informing her of both her living and breathing status, but the realisation that they were still outside. Her back was cold, but she dare not set herself an inch closer, not without his say so.

Instead, Siora sat up silently, her movements careful not to rustle the half dried fabric of her dress. Once settled on her knees, the servant dipped her head forwards. [color=#c19e00]“How. How may I serve?”[/color]

Bastien poked at the fire with a stick he’d found, the sparks flew up into the sky as he did. To anyone looking at Bastien and Siora who didn’t know them, they might think it was a sweet moment, though that was far from the truth.

He was quite pleased with himself and how he was handling the situation with Siora. Sure she had disappointed him, but she was bouncing back, all thanks to his careful training and attention to details. Yes, Siora was lucky to have him, he shuddered to think where she might be without him.

You’re awake finally, I was beginning to think I was going to have to leave you here with the hounds. Who was he kidding, he wouldn’t leave his precious hounds outside, they hadn’t done anything to warrant punishment, in fact they had exceeded expectations.

This fire needs more wood. You should probably put some more on so you can dry off before we head back to the house. You’ll dry faster if you’re up and moving around. Again, she should really thank him, see how he thought of her even now after she’d failed him.

It was, admittedly, a foolish thing to do, but the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. [color=#c19e00]“You’d have to fix your own dinner then, no-one else would touch your plate, they don’t know what you like.”[/color] Eyes widened and Siora dropped her gaze immediately. [color=#c19e00]“Apologies M’Lord, I’ll go and do as you say.” [/color]

In her hurry to stand, the servant slipped, stumbled, but caught herself before planting herself back onto the cold, damp ground. Every muscle screamed in protest, pushed to their limit from running, diving into the water and fighting the current. Her stomach growled loudly while she searched around, gathering the driest pieces to hand. Wandering too far was unwise and Siora circled instead of delving deeper into the dark forest, the darkness hitting home how futile escape would have truly been.

She’d return shortly, crouching by the fire on the opposite side from him to feed it, lining up the others to dry some. [color=#c19e00]“Thank… Thank you.”[/color] No words felt more bitter, but some gratitude was warranted. [color=#c19e00]“For saving me. I’m grateful.” [/color]

Bastien ignored her comment about dinner and just watched her, a small, cruel smile playing at the corners of his lips. Next time, Siora, you'll save yourself, he said, his voice filled with an ominous promise as Siora thanked him for saving her. Remember, there are worse things than drowning.

As she went about her task, he let his gaze linger on her. He knew she was exhausted, pushed to her limits, but it was necessary. And remember, next time you won't have the luxury of my mercy, he added, the threat in his voice clear. Not that he wanted his favoured servant to die, he’d put a lot into her training, but if this had happened while she’d been out spying on someone for him, he wouldn’t have been there to save her.

She knew he was watching. He had always been watching her, at least it felt like it. Before, when life had been calmer, less time spent trembling and anxiously waiting for the next hammerfall, it had felt nothing but a passing shadow, a cold lingering chill. Everyday she felt herself becoming numbed, her laugh faked more often than genuinely singing free. He sought to change her, admitting it openly with each new lesson.

She could only offer him a nod. Drowning was a terrible way to go, but she had only heard what went on in the deepest parts of the estates dungeons. If she believed any word of the man across from her, those were the most honest to cross his lips.

[color=#c19e00]“I understand, my Lord,” [/color]her voice finally grew even as she warmed by the fire. [color=#c19e00]“I will do my best to meet your high expectations. Is there any way I can repay the luxury already bestowed?”[/color] The disgust in herself was kept off  her face, masked by the one of open neutrality, but living another day meant nothing was off the table.