 Episode 5 of 'Conquered' Backlash, Part 2
Gabrielle inhaled sharply as she shifted her position on the bed, aggravating the stinging in her chest. Her breasts were each encircled with metal bands, the inside surfaces of which were covered in sharp spikes which now dug into her flesh. The spikes were not quite sharp enough to entirely break the skin but already, after only a few hours, the area around each spike was incredibly sore and tender and her breasts were red. Each breast had three of the spiked, metal bands around it, one at the base, one about half way up and one just below the aereola, and they were connected by short strips of hide. Her nipples were also clamped and pierced with thick rods that went right through the clamps, making them impossible to remove without cutting. Last but not least, a small nut which was held over each nipple by means of a kind of tripod arrangement, supported sharp, threaded spikes, which could be screwed into her nipples from the front, penetrating as deeply as Xena required. At the moment they were mercifully only just scratching the surface. The whole contraption was held together by means of studded leather straps that went across the blonde's back and over her shoulders. There was no possiblility of lying any other way than on her back, which was red raw from the lashing it had recieved prior to the fitting of this 'training device' as Xena called it. As she unconsciously squirmed around, trying to find a less uncomfortable position, the tears trickling down her cheeks, she heard a sigh from the other side of the bed. "Gabrielle!" came the warrior's annoyed voice, "will you please stop fidgeting and whimpering, I'm trying to sleep here."
* * * * * * Over the next two weeks, Gabrielle learnt how to move without irritating her chest any more than necessary. Although for the most part Xena left the bands fairly loose, reserving the tightening for when she was most angry, the spikes never left contact with her raw skin and every movement aggravated them to some degree, even breathing. At first it had been difficult to breathe at all, but now she had found the least painful way of getting enough air into her lungs by expanding her ribs rather than her chest. Unfortunately it meant that she couldn't breathe very deeply much of the time and this, combined with the lack of sleep, sometimes caused her to get lightheaded. She had also quickly learned to keep her opinions to herself, unless they were specifically asked for, and to do as she was told quickly and efficiently. The consequences of not adhering to these simple rules were that Xena would slowly and methodically thighten each band in turn and screw the spikes deep into the girl's nipples until she was screaming for mercy. She might leave her slave in that state for minutes or hours, depending on her level of anger and the seriousness of the girl's transgression. The slave lifted the tray carefully, keeping it away from her chest, and hurried to carry it to her mistress, kneeling before her to offer up its contents. Xena took the goblet and the jug of wine from the tray and poured herself a generous helping, downing it in a few gulps and pouring herself another, which she laid aside. She had been fighting all day, subduing a particularly recalcitrant and unusually well-trained band of peasants, who had faught back against her. Now she was exhausted and seething with anger that her scouts had not reported the situation accurately. Well, she would deal with them later, for now she needed to get cleaned up. "Get this armour off me, girl" she ordered, her tone hard but not unkind, despite the throbbing in her ribs. "Yes, Xena" came the immediate reply as the girl rose quickly but carefully to move behind the warrior. The armour was caked with blood and Gabrielle tried not imagine how many people Xena had slaughtered that day before finally crushing the villagers under her heel. When Xena was naked and ready for the bath that stood steaming in the corner of her chamber, Gabrielle noticed the large, purple bruise that was flowering on her side and gasped in sympathy. "Xena!" she exclaimed without thinking, "you should have told me you were hurt, I would have been more gentle."
Xena sprang to her feet, sending her wine flying. "It's not your place to worry about me, girl!!" she yelled, "COME HERE!" Gabrielle started to cry and tremble in fear. She knew what was going to happen but she was more afraid of the consequences of disobedience so she tentatively came forward and knelt down as Xena pointed at the floor. "How dare you question me and think you know what's best for me?" asked the warrior menacingly, "how dare you worry about me?! You belong to me, girl, not the other way around!" With that she reached out towards the pleading woman's breasts and began the punishment. On the other side of the camp, exhausted soldiers were awakened by Gabrielle's apologetic screams for mercy. * * * * * * "I don't want any excuses, Daphus," fumed the Warrior Princess, "I want to know who's trainning those peasants and why we didn't know about it in advance."
When her lieutenant had left the room Xena called her little slave over and made her kneel down. "Do you know anything about this situation, Gabrielle?" she enquired casually. The green eyes rose to gaze in puzzlement into cold blue ones as Gabrielle asked softly "what situation, Mistress?"
Xena's hand moved down Gabrielle's cheek and under her chin, where it gradually tightened its grip in warning. "Are you sure?" asked the warrior, her voice calm but somehow threatening at the same time. "Yes, Mistress. If I knew anything I would tell you, I swear."
* * * * * * Xena was furious with herself for admitting her feellings to her slave. What made it worse was that instead of taking it out on Gabrielle, she had ordered the girl out of her room while she calmed down. She realised now that she didn't actually want to hurt the slave at all, not even when she deserved it, and the realisation made her hate herself for knowing it was necessary. So, she had ordered the girl out in order to protect her from what was her due. It didn't make sense.....and that frustrated the warrior even more. A knock at the door brought her out of her brooding contemplation and, after waiting for her permission, Darphus entered the chamber, his face glowing with relief. "I've found out who the rebel leader is, Conqueror," he announced proudly, but Xena was unmoved and when he did not continue asked harshly "well?"
When the girl was once more kneeling in front of her Xena gazed down and said "Callisto."
Quick as a flash the warrior reached out and roughly grabbed the girl's encased breasts, squeezing them harshly and ripping a howl of agony from the blonde's throat. "Please, M..Mistress," screamed the girl, "I...I'm sorry."
The younger scout was too weak by now even to shudder with the agony that coursed unrelentingly through him. His coconspiritor was already unconscious and, knowing he would never awaken Xena had him cut down to encourage the other one. He was stronger, she told him, and she had planned to leave him as he was to die at his own pace, knowing it could take hours or days, but know he had a choice. If he told her everything he knew about Callisto of Cirra, her army, their whereabouts and their plans, she would put him out of his misery right now, otherwise she would do everything in her power to prolong it and increase it before she finally let him die. He told her everything. * * * * * * When Gabrielle came round she found herself lying on her back in the middle of the great hall of the fortress. Her wrists had been tied in front of her and secured to a rope that encircled her waist and her breasts throbbed mercilessly. As the throbbing and stinging grew to break through the fog in her head, she realised that Xena had already tightened the metal bands that encircled them, and so tightly that she could hardly breathe. She looked down at herself to see the dark pink flesh of her breasts bulging out between the bands and the strips of leather that connected them and noticed blood beginning to leak from around them. Her tightly clamped nipples also bled where the spikes deeply penetrated them and a chain had been attatched to the rods that pierced them. The girl gasped as she tried to gulp in some air, the sound attracting the attention of the Warrior Princess, who had been leaning over the map spread out on a nearby table. "Ah, Gabrielle," she greeted, "you're awake" and then turned back to the map and dismissed her lieutenants with a "you have your orders" and a wave of her hand. When they had all filed out of the hall the warrior strode over to her helpless slave and coldly ordered "get up." Gabrielle struggled to obey but every movement sent waves of agony crashing over her and without the use of her arms it was a difficult task to accomplish. Xena watched her struggling for a few minutes before offering "here, let me help you" and reaching over to grab hold of the chain that now connected the girl's burning nipples and yank hard on it, bringing her sharply to her knees with a scream of pain that soon degenerated into choking sobs for mercy. But the warrior had hardened her heart, all the more so after her earlier moment of weakness, and just watched as the girl wobbled unsteadily to her feet. Picking up a length of leather from the table, Xena clipped it onto the chain and tugged sharply, urging the slave forward with a yelp of pain and surprise. As they passed, she took a leather scourge from its hook on the wall tugging again as she led her slave out of the hall and across the courtyard to a whipping post. Coldly, she turned Gabrielle to face the whipping post and secured the leather lead to the top of it, ignoring the slave's whimpering and pleading gasps. The lead would be just long enough to allow the little blonde to drop to her knees, but not without causing her nipples to be stretched excruciatingly tight. Even in her terrified state, Gabrielle was aware enough to know that she didn't have the strength to keep standing under the lashing she was about to recieve and that, when her legs finally gave way, the pain would be beyond unbearable. She began to shake violently at the thought and silently prayed that she would loose consciousness before she collapsed. Xena seperated the strands of her favourite scourge and began a vicious lashing of the girl's back. * * * * * * "Excuse me, Conqueror" asked the serving wench tremulously as she buckled Xena's armour around her, "but are you planning to leave Gabrielle hanging by her nipples like that while you go and fight this battle."
She had said she didn't care if Gabrielle died and she had believed it; but now, as she stood in the window of her chamber gazing out at Gabrielle's unconscious, tortured, suspended body, she knew she did care. She cared a lot, much too much for comfort, and she knew that, however much she tried not to, she would relent. As she stared out at the girl's battered body a gentle wave of warmth began to spread over her heart and she gasped as it seemed to her that something long dormant inside her had been switched on, or rather switched back on. Her breaths began to come out in short, trembling whimpers and tears slipped from her eyes for the first time in years. From the dim and distant past something in her recognised the feeling that had crept up on her unawares and a spark ignited in her soul. "Gods, Gabrielle" she whispered, "what have you done to me?" She knew now that before leaving to squash this troublesome gnat named Callisto, she would gently take Gabrielle down, remove the device from her and deliver her to the healer, and she would try never to intentionally hurt her again. An unexpected smile of acceptance appeared on her lips as she strode over to the whipping post and carefully released her little slave, delicately sweeping her up into her arms. As she was carried back towards the warrior's chamber the girl's eyelids fluttered and she whimpered weakly, bringing a frown to the Conqueror's brow. "It's alright, Gabrielle," she soothed softly as she started to make her way up the narrow stairs, "it's over now, I promise." Almost an hour later the slave groggily awoke to find herself lying on Xena's bed, her chest free of the contraption that had tormented her for so long, her wounds tended to, her upper body swathed in bandages, and the darkly beautiful Warrior Princess watching over her, mopping her fevered brow with a cool, damp cloth. Her back stung a little but, having been gently treated by the warrior's own hand, the pain was not nearly as bad as she had become used to and she hardly noticed it. Her breasts were strangely numb and she knew that they had been treated too, probably with an anaesthetic herb. Her body felt so heavy and weak that she could hardly form the word and her voice came out a little raspily as she asked weakly "Xe..na?"
Xena carefully laid her slave's hand down on the sheet next to her sleeping form and ruthlessly faught back her tears. "Gods help me!" she whispered as she leaned forward to place a soft kiss on the girl's forehead, "I think I love you, too." What the...! said a voice in her head, where in Tartarus did that come from?! and she sprang to her feet to back away to the other side of the room, beginning to pace restlessly from side to side as thoughts, emotions and memories tumbled chaotically through her mind and heart. Just at that second, the doors of the great fortress exploded and all Tartarus broke loose. End of Episode Five SW
Return to SapphicWarrior's f/f Zone |