The Use of Power - Part Two
#2 of The Use of Power
The soldiers led Toma down a large staircase and into a short hallway underground, guiding her past one thick-barred cell and through a door to another room that seemed much newer than the others they'd walked through: the stone was a lighter color, and the air smelled different. The door they'd come through was the only exit, and it was dark except for a ray of evening sunlight that shone through a small barred window at the corner of the wall and ceiling. But some of the soldiers walked around the room to light torches on the walls while the others led her to the center of this room--her cell--and stopped her there.
Asara walked in a moment later, leading a group of humans carrying baskets of what seemed to be medical supplies. She paused, looked over the other dragoness for a moment, then said, "her right side's worse; put her down on her left, and we'll roll her once we've treated what we can on this side."
The soldiers nodded and turned to Toma, one saying, "you heard her. Lie down on your left side and stay still so the healers can patch you up."
She obeyed almost automatically, and wasn't surprised when the soldiers used the shorter chains to bind all her paws close once she was lying down. Once that was done they all moved to stand by her head, spears in her view but not against her throat, while the healers and Asara stepped forward to tend to the wounds Juneas had inflicted on her.
Asara paused a moment to direct the human doctors, looked closely at a couple of the deeper scratches, then sobbed and looked down at Toma with wet eyes. "I'm so sorry," she whimpered in dragontongue.
She picked her head up a little off the ground, grunting confusion through her gag. What? What did she have to apologize for? She hadn't done anything wrong...
"I'm sorry," she said again. "Maybe if I'd just been stronger, if I'd resisted more, found a way to escape him... It's my fault you're here," she murmured.
Toma resisted the urge to glare at her, if this was indeed her fault; the other dragoness seemed sad enough already.
She sighed and sat down on her belly. "Let me explain. Twelve years ago, I was captured and forced to march to this fortress just as you were, and Juneas raped me like he raped you. I hated it, hated him for it, and fought him at every opportunity after that, but that wasn't the end of his torments... Just the opposite, in fact. He usually didn't force me in front of so many humans, but he still would come to me, chain me and take me every single day, sometimes more than once. Rape me, beat me, humiliate me... And I never got a chance to rest or recover. He forced me every day without fail, and if he had to travel somewhere for more than a day then his soldiers would come instead and violate me with shafts of rubber and steel shaped like his own dragonhood. I kept wishing for a chance to escape, for a way to hurt him, just for a day by myself to rest... It never came." She looked at the ground and a few tears spilled from her eyes, leaving damp trails down her snout. "I even wished for a time that he would conceive with me, just for a short reprieve, but I don't know if he's infertile, or I am, or if he has a way of preventing it somehow, but even that never happened.
"For ten years I resisted him. Whipped at him with my tail, kicked, bucked, headbutted, howled my rage loud enough for the whole fortress to hear... But it was too much, and one day when he came to me I just couldn't do it any more, couldn't fight him any longer, couldn't spend so much of my strength resisting him when every day it proved useless. He came to mount me, and... I raised my tail for him." Asara shivered. "He was furious. It's the fight, see, it's the feeling of forcing an unwilling dragoness to mate that he enjoys so much, and he was so angry when I wouldn't struggle anymore... First he beat me and humiliated me as much as he could, trying to awaken the spirit I'd shown for so long, then he gave me a full week on my own to recover, but when he came back it made no difference; I just couldn't do it any longer. I never thought a dragon's spirit could be broken, but he broke mine."
Toma gave a low growl and curled her tail around the other dragoness' paw, trying to comfort her at least a little. She wished she could have said something to her, how strong she must have been to last that long, how she couldn't possibly deserve to be blamed for any of this, but the bridle wouldn't let a single word pass her snout.
"Once he realized what had happened, he sent scouts out in all directions so he could find another dragoness to enslave. That wasn't the end for me, of course; he still mounted me each day, but now he took every opportunity to use my newfound obedience to humiliate me. That lasted two years... then his scouts brought news of you. I begged him when I heard that he was going to bring another dragoness here, begged him to leave you alone and just keep using me; I'd do anything to keep him from doing what he'd done to me to another dragoness. But he wouldn't listen, of course, and not long after that he had you brought here. Not two hours ago I pleaded with him again, trying to find some way to get him to let you go... It was no use. And as a punishment for trying to discourage him he made me watch when he raped you for the first time, threatening that if I said or did anything to try to prevent him from taking you, he would force me to use those shafts shaped like his penis to violate you."
The healers interrupted then, and Asara helped her roll onto her other side so they could clean and bandage the rest of her wounds.
"And now you're here," she sighed. "Here to satisfy his lust without ever getting a chance to fight back against him, for as long as he wants to keep you. And I... he's going to let me go, since I'm of no more use to him. I'm so sorry," she laid her neck across Toma's. "If I'd only been stronger, or braver, or had more of a will to fight..."
Toma grunted and clenched her claws. There was no shame in not being able to fight anymore, she wanted to say, no shame in succumbing after being tortured so much for so long without any chance to break free. It was Juneas' fault for doing this to them both, not hers.
"But I won't let him," she said, with sudden force. "I won't let him break your spirit. He will let me go within the week, but I will not forget that you're trapped here. I knew powerful humans before I was captured; I will go to them and beg them to help me come back here, attack this fortress and free you from him. It will take some time, though, for a journey that is only a day's flight for me is a month of marching for them, so even if I got them to move as fast as they could you would still have to fight him for some time. But a month is not long, and if you can just resist him for a little while... I will come back for you. I promise," she growled, raising her head again.
The healers finished their work, packed away their supplies and began to head towards the door, and Asara glanced back at them for a moment. "I have to go now. It won't be easy, fighting him, but just stay strong for me and I will bring an army back to free you as soon as I can. Your anger is one way to keep up your strength, but that's not going to last you forever... You may not want or need to try this, but later on in my captivity I found it helped to at least let myself enjoy the sex a little, once he'd mounted me and struggling was even more useless."
She picked her head up and snarled at the thought. How was she supposed to enjoy being raped?
"I didn't say you had to... but after a while I found myself thinking that I would be having sex whether or not I wanted to, and I thought fighting him and fighting down the sensation at the same time was just too much for me to have to do. I have to admit he's at least good at it, so keep it in mind if you ever feel too overwhelmed. But just be strong for me; I know you can do it." She nuzzled her neck, then turned and left the room, along with most of the humans. Four soldiers stayed, however, and stood quietly by the door.
Only now that she was nearly alone did the weight of what had just happened strike her. Raped. She'd been chained, forced to march for weeks across the country, then arrived here only to be bound helplessly in front of a crowd and raped for their amusement. Her anger flared again even though the dragon who'd done it to her was out of her sight, and now that she was finally alone she released her anger on the chains that held her, struggling with all her might, bucking, kicking, clawing at the bridle regardless of the damage she did to her own face while she fought... She howled with rage past the bit in her mouth as she struggled, crying out and listening to the muffled call echo back at her off the walls. It was no use, of course, and the guards at the door didn't even bother to stop her from trying as she thrashed and strained against her bonds. But at least it felt good to vent her frustration, even if by the end the anger had turned to sadness when all her struggling did was exhaust her and the chains didn't show any signs of damage from her exertions.
Toma finally gave up and collapsed back onto her side, panting from the effort, but now that she'd worked through her anger all that was left was despair. She'd always thought of herself as strong, independent, nearly invincible at times, but now... For all her strength she'd been so easily captured and made helpless, so easily used and humiliated as if she was a slave, or an animal. What was she supposed to do now? Fight? It was useless, and according to Asara it would only please Juneas when she did.
No, she growled to herself. She was a dragon; she would not give up. She couldn't. Asara fought him for ten full years, she thought, so why can't I? There must be something I can do, even if it's not obvious now. He can't have thought of everything... And even if he has, Asara will bring an army here to defeat him and set me free. It's far too soon to give up hope.
She only laid there for a little while before the door opened again and Juneas entered. Toma snarled at him and squirmed to turn herself and point her claws in his direction, tucking her tail firmly against her rump, but he just laughed and said, "relax, even I'm not so insatiable that I'd mount you again so soon. I can wait until tomorrow to familiarize myself with you in a more... private setting."
"Lllff klmmf oomm," she growled, flexing her claws.
"Which is why I won't be letting you out of those chains anytime soon," he chuckled, seeming to understand what she'd tried to say. "But then, it would be so much less fun if it was safe for me to do so, don't you think?"
She glared, wishing she had just a little more freedom so she could strike at him.
"I'm just here to properly explain myself. I am Juneas, a strong, proud dragon about thirty years older than yourself. I discovered not long after I reached maturity that I very much enjoy mating, and after an encounter with a dragoness who had no intention of mating with me--which didn't stop me, as I'm sure you can imagine--I discovered that it was even more enjoyable when my partner was unwilling. Of course a dragon who picks a fight with and gets on the bad side of every dragoness he can find isn't long for this world, so I used my power and influence to build my own human army, helped them construct a fortress to protect them and myself, helped them design chains that could be used to securely bind dragons, then sent them out to find a dragoness for me to have some fun with. First they found Asara, then after she stopped fighting me I sent them out again and they found you. Asara liked to fight me," he lashed his tail. "Do you?"
Toma snarled again and bucked a couple of times in her chains.
"Good! I think I'll be able to have a lot of fun with you," he purred, and nuzzled her neck despite her muffled growls of protest. "You will be fed, watered and kept in good health as long as you stay here, so you have no need to fear for your life. I can't say you'll be happy--and I suppose I don't want you to be--but you will be safe. Now, I'll have someone bring along your dinner in a little while, and I'll see you tomorrow sometime. Be sure to rest up, because you won't be able to struggle very well if you're exhausted..."
She tried to roar at him, but the bridle choked it and muffled it so much it sounded more like a moan, and he just laughed before turning and leaving her alone. Just like Asara said, she thought with a groan, tugging her paws against their shackles for a moment before giving up and going limp against the floor again. He wants me to be his unwilling sex slave.
And there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Asara was waiting in her cell when Juneas came out, and backed away from the bars so he could walk inside. "She's going to be a lot of fun," he tilted his head to one side, tail flicking back and forth. "I'd almost forgotten what forcing an unwilling dragoness was like."
She lowered her head, but growled at him. "Don't."
"Look--"
"Juneas, please," she laid herself down flat on the floor at his feet and looked up at him with wide eyes, "let her go. I don't care what you do to me, just leave her alone. I'm begging you."
"We've been over this," he sighed, and nudged her with his snout until she stood up again. "I like you and I really do think I'm going to miss you, but mating with you just isn't like it used to be. She fights me, and you don't anymore."
"I can still fight if you want me to... if it will keep you off of her. You don't understand what it was like to be your captive for as long as I was, and I'll do anything to keep it from happening to another dragoness, even find a way to be defiant again. Just don't destroy her like you destroyed me."
"And I wish I could believe you, Asara, but I can't even remember the last time you resisted me anymore. She's just so much more exciting to mate with, and that's what matters here."
"Can't you think of someone aside from yourself for once? You have a dragoness standing before you who is perfectly willing to put up with your horrible treatment just to keep another from harm, but you're going to send her away and torment some other dragoness instead just because you think it will be more exciting? How can you do such a thing?"
"Because it is what I want to do!" he snarled. "I've been more lenient with you since you started submitting to me, but you are still my captive and I see no reason to listen to your desires instead of my own."
"That's because you're only thinking of yourself. Stop for a moment and think about what she must be feeling, what I'm feeling, and take that into consideration instead of just your own lust! Do you think she wants to be here, or wants you to humiliate her and violate her every single day? I'm offering to sacrifice my own well-being just to spare hers, and you won't even consider it!"
"I am the one with power here," he snorted, raising his head until she lowered hers and took a step back and away from him. "I've worked hard ever since I broke the shell to gain power, and wealth, and respect, and it's because of that power that I can choose to do whatever I wish! It's because of my power that I am able to ignore the wants of others, it's because of my power that I can enforce my will and my desires on everyone I meet."
"And this is really how you want to use the power you worked so hard to gain? So you can rape and abuse innocent dragonesses just for the fun of it?"
"Yes, it is! I worked so hard for so long to be able to act however I wished, and now that I can you think I'll do what somebody else wants just because you asked me to? I thought you knew me better than that, Asara."
"I was trying to appeal to your conscience," she growled. "I forgot you don't have one."
Juneas chuckled and nuzzled her cheek. "There's no need for you to be so angry. Yes, I have a new captive, but you can put all that behind you, can't you? I'll be setting you free tomorrow, and once I have you can leave and never lay eyes on me or my territory again. You don't have to worry about her, or me."
"Do you really think I'll ever be able to forget all the things you did to me?" she looked away as she felt tears begin to bead in her eyes. "I will be living with those memories for the rest of my life, no matter what you decide to do. I'd just hoped my own weakness wouldn't doom another dragoness to the same fate."
"Don't blame yourself," he nuzzled her again. "Any dragoness would have given up eventually, and Toma will too, though who knows how long she will last. Maybe by then I won't be interested in the thrill of forcing a dragoness to submit anymore, or maybe I'll need to find a third dragoness to play with. You just go and live the rest of your life as best you can, and let me live mine the way I want to. Be thankful I'm not going to keep you around so I can take advantage of your guilt by making Toma's suffering dependent on your actions, or the other way around."
Asara sighed. "Very well."
"Good," he purred a little at her. "Now, the healers told me that you spoke to Toma the entire time they were working with her. I assume you told her what to expect while she's held here, but what else did you say to her?"
She froze. What if he'd guessed about her plan to bring an army to his gates, or eavesdropped on them somehow? "...nothing," she said quietly.
"I know you well enough to know when you're lying," he growled, and advanced on her until she was trapped between him and the wall of her cell. "What did you say to her that you don't want me to know about?"
She shivered a little and looked away. What now? She had to say something, or he would beat the answer out of her--or torture Toma and force her to watch until she gave up the answer he knew she was hiding from him. Her mind raced; whatever she came up with, it had to be something that she'd be embarrassed or unwilling to admit to him. The answer dawned on her after a moment, and it was in fact something she had said just before she'd left Toma's cell--so it wouldn't even be a lie!
"I..." She lowered her head still further. "I told her to try and enjoy the sex if she could, or if she needed to find a way to cope with mounting despair. I don't think she liked the idea, but maybe it will help her last longer... I hate to admit it, but you give good sex." Her mind flashed back to all the times and all the ways he'd mated with her over the years, and she hated herself when she felt the heat of arousal forming in her belly at the memories.
"Oh, really?" Juneas cocked his head to one side, nostrils flared, and she hated herself still further when she realized he could smell her excitement. "In that case, it would be wrong of me to send you away without one last chance to experience that which you claim to enjoy so much." He paused for a moment and looked around her cell, thinking, then called for a few of his attendants. "Bring me shackles and anchor-ties, and chain for her wings and collar."
The humans bowed and all but one hurried off to collect the equipment he wanted. The one who remained said, "will you be wanting a bridle for her, as well?"
He swung his head back around to glance at Asara, who gave him a pleading look; he knew as well as she did that she cried out, loudly, nearly every time she reached orgasm. Please, she thought, lowering her head and hoping he would take the hint. Bridle me so Toma won't hear us.
"No, no bridle."
The man bowed and followed the others towards the storage room where the restraints were kept.
"Why can't you have me bridled?" she growled. "I just finished telling Toma how terrible it is to be your captive, and now you're going to let her hear me roar with ecstasy when you mount me?"
He just laughed. "Did you really think I'd miss one last chance to humiliate you? If you really don't want her to hear, then you can try to keep yourself quiet; I'm not going to do it for you."
She growled again, but said nothing. The human attendants returned not long after that and locked shackles around her ankles, then attached a short chain to her collar and used more chains to bind her wings against her back. Juneas then directed her to stand reared back on her hind legs with her forepaws against the wall; he took a human attendant in his paws so it could attach the shackles on her front paws to anchors set into the wall as high as her paws could reach and lock the chain on her collar to another anchor-ring that forced her to hold her head up as high as it would go. Finally the humans bound her hind paws to anchors that spread her hind legs apart as far as they could without hanging her by her throat and paws, and after making sure everything was secure they retreated into the hallway to wait.
"I always did like this position," he growled, rearing up to nip at her neck. "And judging by how you usually react to it, I think the same can be said for you."
She grunted and tugged futilely against the shackles that bound her paws. "Just get it over with."
He jerked back as if stung. "Get it over with? My dear, you just said you enjoy this. Don't you want one last chance to arouse me with your beautiful form?"
The chain on her collar had barely enough slack to let her turn her head and glare at him, but he ignored her gaze, lying down on his side with his hind paws spread apart to reveal the swelling around his slit and looking her up and down. "Oh, Toma is pretty, but she's nothing like you," he purred, tickling at her flanks and belly with the tip of his tail. "You look like you belong in a painting. Now pick that tail up, show me the sex that belongs to me for at least a little while longer."
Asara growled, but she was starting to enjoy this as well and lifted her tail slowly, tantalizingly, until at last she displayed her vent to him.
"Oh yes, there it is," he bared his fangs, and a moment later his cock began to slide, still growing, from its slit. The scent of his own arousal was now strong in the air as well and it only made her want him more, squirming a little in the confines of her restraints and flicking her tail slowly back and forth, inviting him to come forward and accept her display. He watched her a little while longer, letting his arousal build, then got to his feet, prowled over to her and sniffed her exposed vent. "Well, my pet? Would you like me to fill this for you?"
She shivered at the feeling of his hot breath against her. "Yes, Juneas."
"And I'd love to do that for you," he growled, rearing back onto his hind legs and bracing himself against her back, then stepping carefully forward until she felt the swollen head of his penis rub against the inside of her flanks, her belly, and the base of her tail. He searched blindly for a moment, then paused, wrapped his forelegs around her chest, and thrust into her.
She moaned at the sensation and he bit down on the base of her neck, holding there for a little while as the two of them got used to each other. Asara kept still as long as she could, but the desire quickly became too much and she began to squirm again, extending her hind legs as much as she could in her position and doing her best to grind against him--until he snarled, bit down harder and dug his claws into her chest, forcing her to stop again. He held her motionless a while longer and she whined out of the back of her throat, wanting desperately for him to let her move if he wasn't going to thrust himself.
Finally he crouched, withdrawing a little ways from her embrace, then grunted and stood up again, pressing deep inside her as he began to thrust. He didn't stop again after that, though he kept his pace slow for a little while, letting them both enjoy the softer sensations while they lasted before starting to pick up speed. She began to moan and squirm again at the wonderful feeling and gasped when he held her still tighter, but didn't stop, couldn't hold herself still any longer with such pleasure building inside her. His movements grew only harder and faster, driving her higher and higher until she reached climax and roared as loudly as she could at the incredible sensations, bucking in her restraints, all thoughts of hiding their actions from Toma forgotten in her ecstasy.
Juneas growled his approval as her spasms gripped at his cock and encouraged him to reach his own peak, a desire he succumbed to just a few moments later, groaning with effort as he thrust up into her and fired burst after burst of seed into her depths. He kept going a little while longer, then sighed, tugged his claws and teeth from her hide, and withdrew.
"I am going to miss you," the white dragon murmured. "But goodbyes can still wait until tomorrow, at least." He called for his attendants again, and helped them let her down from her ties on the wall. "Are any of those deep enough for me to need to call the healers?"
She sniffed at the small cuts in the scales of her chest and the base of her neck, then said, "no, I'll clean them out myself and they should be fine after that."
"Good. And did you enjoy your final round with me?"
She couldn't help but purr with the feelings of her orgasm so fresh in her mind. "Yes."
"Of course," he chuckled. "Your dinner should be along when the guards bring Toma's; see you tomorrow morning." He walked away down the hall and up the stairs, his attendants following along behind and taking the restraints with them.
Asara watched them go, then snarled at herself and sprawled out on her side to rest. How could she have done such a thing? Her conversation with Toma had still been on her mind, she'd just finished telling her how awful it had been to be forced to serve Juneas for so long, and the next moment she'd willingly ridden his hard cock and roared her pleasure for the whole fortress to hear. Now what would Toma think of her? That she was a liar, or a weak, timid dragoness too broken to do anything but what her master told her?
Excuses formed in her mind after a little while. She'd had to tell him something to keep from revealing her plan to save Toma and it had been a necessary sacrifice; giving him a chance to mate with her could have shown him that she wasn't less exciting than his new captive after all; but she forced those out of her head with a groan. Her thoughts at that moment hadn't been for Toma, they'd been for herself, her arousal, and how much she loved the feeling of him inside her. And now that was something the other dragoness would have to do every single day because she hadn't been able to keep up her will to fight. It was her fault.
She felt like crying for a little while, but soon another feeling rose in her mind, one that she hadn't felt in so long she almost didn't know what it was at first: determination. She wouldn't let him destroy his new captive. She knew she had the means to bring an army to his home, and soon she'd have an opportunity to do it! She could redeem herself for her failure, for her weakness, for her horribly timed desire to be mounted by her captor... If she could just come back with enough humans to storm the fortress, defeat Juneas and free Toma, then nobody would blame her for losing her will to resist him. And best of all, he would never be able to torment a dragoness again!
The thought warmed her a little, and after eating and drinking her fill she was able to curl up and sleep soundly.
Toma was not so fortunate. The memory of what Juneas had done to her just hours before still burned in her mind, and she had trouble falling asleep despite her exhaustion. Even though Juneas had said he wouldn't return until the next day she couldn't help but listen hard for the sound of his heavy footsteps in the hall outside, the scraping of claws against stone that would tell her he was coming to rape her again. She kept her tail curled tightly around herself and her claws pointing towards the door, but she knew she wouldn't be able to slow him for more than a moment if he tried to force her in this state, not with her paws and snout so firmly bound.
But as the night wore on she was able to calm herself down enough to let her weariness draw her towards sleep. Juneas had already mated twice in the few hours since she'd arrived, after all, once with her and once with Asara, and she doubted he would really come back for more so soon. She wasn't angry with Asara, though, for mating with him or for enjoying it; she had been able to hear every word of their conversation beforehand and knew Asara had done what was necessary to keep from telling him about her plan to bring a human army to attack the fortress. It wasn't easy, but eventually she managed to quiet her nervousness enough to fall asleep.
Juneas woke Asara the following morning, trailing along behind the attendants who'd brought meals for his two captives. "Here's breakfast," he said softly, walking into her cell and nudging her awake. "It's the last free meal you'll be getting from my hunters and herds, so savor it," he chuckled.
She sighed and dug into the freshly slaughtered cow. "I can't wait to hunt for myself again. It's been so long since I was last able to fly on my own, without a leash, or a bridle and reins, or you shadowing me... So long since I was free," she looked at the floor between her paws.
"Can you even remember how to hunt? It's been so long for you--"
"I can remember," she snarled, snapping one of the bones from her meal in her jaws.
He growled a little. "I just had to make sure... Don't want you starving out there on your own. Speaking of which: do you have any idea what you're going to do without me controlling your days anymore? Have you thought about it at all?"
She thought for a moment while chewing another bite of her morning meal. "Try to get my life back, I suppose. See if my former territory is still vacant, find my old friends among the humans--if they're still alive--and maybe start trying to settle down. I'm getting old enough to want hatchlings soon... if I can find a dragon who will have me."
"How could any dragon refuse?" he nuzzled her neck. "If I wanted eggs I wouldn't hesitate to have them with you. You're so beautiful, so intelligent, so strong..."
Asara snorted. "Strong? I wasn't strong enough to even control when I lost my maidenhood, much less every other time you forced me to mate. I'm weak, I'm broken, and any dragon I met would be able to see it."
"You will have every opportunity to build yourself back up once you leave, and you know that. Don't act like you're so weak," he nuzzled her again and leaned against her. "You've actually been quite forceful at times since I started giving you more leeway. You'll remember your strength once you're on your own again, and other dragons will see it too. You'll be fine."
"Maybe," she sighed, and lowered her head to wash off her face and claws.
Juneas waited until she was finished, then stood up and tugged at one of her paws with his own. "Come on, now, almost ready to leave. I just need to take you to the forge for a moment, then I'm holding a ceremony to send you off, and you'll be free to go."
She froze. "Ceremony--"
"Relax, I don't mean I'm going to force you in front of an audience one last time; I just want to release you with some style so I can make sure everyone knows how much you meant to me." He beckoned his attendants forward and helped them wrap chains around her wings. "These are for the ceremony, so I can cast them off to symbolize your release. Come on, my subjects have already started to assemble."
He led her from there to the forge, a smaller building near the south wall of his fortress, and they ducked their heads inside--hers through the front door and his through a large open window. "Good morning, Joseph," he said to a tall, wide man who stood by a furnace, wearing thick gloves and an apron. "You have it ready?"
"Yes, yes, it only took a moment to prepare," the man said. "Here, put your head on the ground so I can find the right spot on your collar..." Asara put her head down, and he rotated her collar on her neck until he found whatever he was looking for. "Right. Now hold still..." He reached for a pair of tongs and pulled a stone cup of some sort of molten metal from inside the furnace, then poured its contents onto a part of her collar. She squirmed a little at the heat, but didn't move, and her collar only warmed somewhat before he finished and doused the cup and tongs in a large cauldron of water. "There, all done. I'm afraid I can't come to the ceremony, but I hope you enjoy your freedom, dragoness," he bowed to her.
"Thank you," she said, then she and Juneas withdrew their heads from the building and stood again. "What did he just do to my collar?" she growled in dragontongue.
"You'll find out in a few minutes, during the ceremony. Speaking of which..." He led her back into the central building and to the main audience hall, which was mostly filled by humans; they quieted down as the two dragons entered, waiting patiently as they made their way to the center of the massive room. Juneas sat on his dais, and directed her to stand facing him.
"Welcome," he said, raising his voice so his subjects could hear. "You're all gathered today to witness a very happy occasion for all inhabitants of this fortress, for I have asked you here to honor one of our number who has done her duty, and done it well, for a very long time."
Many of the humans chuckled, knowing the nature of her "duty," but quieted again after a moment.
"Indeed," he continued, "dragoness Asara has been one of my most loyal subjects ever since she was brought here. She always understood what was expected of her, always did the best she could to fulfill my wishes, even if it meant her own unhappiness. And for that, I am more grateful than you can imagine," he lowered his head to her, and applause filtered through the room.
She had to fight down a growl at his words. How could he possibly speak of the way he'd abused her like this?
"But no servant can be perfect, and unfortunately the time came when another was found who could better perform her tasks. She isn't to blame for that, considering the circumstances, but I know I will be sad to see her go after she served me for so long. I'm going to miss you," he lowered his head again, and more applause followed.
She lowered her head in return, even if she didn't like what he was saying. Better to appease him, so he wouldn't be encouraged to truly insult her before finally setting her free.
"I know you will miss us, too," he smiled, "but I've decided it would be wrong of me not to leave you with a memento of your time here, as a token of my appreciation for all you did for me. I had my forge-master fuse the lock on your collar, so we can be sure you will never lose that symbol of what you meant to me."
Asara gasped, eyes going wide, and had to resist an urge to claw at the steel circlet around her throat. Please, no, she pleaded silently, don't force me to wear this for the rest of my life. She looked up at him and pawed the floor, but he only tilted his head to her.
"Your service here is over, Asara," he said, then at a gesture of his paw his attendants moved forward and removed the chains that bound her wings. "I hereby release you from your position, and you may go and do as you wish." He pointed towards the main entrance to the audience chamber, where the guards opened the sets of doors that led outside to freedom. "Goodbye," he finished, and the humans applauded again.
"Goodbye," she snarled at him, then spun around and walked along the carpet towards the open air, towards freedom. She had to resist the urge to run; she wanted nothing more than to get away from that terrible place as fast as she could, but at the same time didn't want them to see her so desperate and so afraid of the fortress and what had happened to her there to be so eager to leave it. The guards nodded to her as she passed first through one set of doors, then the other, and once she was outside she spread her wings, leapt skyward and flew away to the west.
She did not look back.