Chapter Text
Eve tried to keep her tears from flowing, but it was impossible. Her hands ached where they were tied tightly behind her back, her jaw was sore from being forced open by a gag, and her ankles were tied so tight there was no way she could move, even if she could stand up. She lay where she had been thrown, on her side, facing the village of her birth. The village that had betrayed her.
The raids had started a month ago. The men had been able to fight off the first few, but then they’d started dying, and a few girls had gone missing. After that, they’d received an ultimatum. Deliver a girl to the attackers, or the village would burn.
Eve had never in her life believed that the village would comply with that order, much less that she’d be the one chosen. They hadn’t even given her a chance, just crept into her home in the middle of the night and bound her hand and foot. Her father had watched, staring at her with hard eyes. She had pleaded with him, but he didn’t speak a word, only looked away.
Now she lay on the road, unable to move, unable to cry out, staring at the home that had betrayed her. It was better than thinking about what was going to happen to her. She didn’t know who the attackers were, but for them to demand a girl… she was no innocent. She knew what that could imply.
Footsteps echoed on the road behind her, and she tensed, her entire body freezing. Even if she hadn’t been bound, she didn’t think she would have been able to move.
A low laugh sounded. “Well, I guess they took us at our word,” a voice said. “Good for us, eh lads?”
More voices joined in the laughter, and Eve shuddered, hearing that they were all men, that they sounded like young men, young warriors, or ruffians. The worst kind.
“Pick her up,” came the order. Eve squeaked as arms slipped around her waist and hoisted her in the air. She didn’t get a chance to examine her captors before she was settled over the man’s shoulder, face against his back and ass high in the air.
A hand reached out and pinched her ass, and she squeaked again, the loudest sound she could manage through the fabric ball stuffed in her mouth. The men around her laughed, then set off at a walk, Eve bouncing on the man’s shoulder as she was carried like a sack of grain.
She couldn’t tell how far they carried her. It seemed like an eternity until she was dumped unceremoniously to the ground, lying on her back, staring up as her captors gathered around her. She shrank back, frightened by the intense look in their eyes. They were all hard young men, weathered by combat, every one with scars visible. They all wore rough armor and weapons. Not mercenaries, then, nor bandits. The worst in between. Those mercenaries who had turned bandit, the fully trained fighters who were now out for themselves.
“They even gagged her for us,” one of them said. He grinned as he leaned over her. “They’re very considerate. Maybe we should make them do another delivery tomorrow?”
“Wait a week,” another said. “Give them time to believe they’re safe, first. Then we’ll bleed them dry.”
Eve whimpered, frightened by the way the men talked, by the way they looked at her. Nothing about what they said gave her any clue as to what their plan was.
“Leave her,” a voice sharp with authority rang out. “You know how this is done. Tie her to a tree, set up camp, draw straws.”
Whoever was in charge had enough authority that the men disappeared from around her instantly, except one who dragged her over to a tree. Eve felt a flicker of relief as he drew a knife and slit the ropes binding her hands, only to be swiftly crushed as he produced actual shackles and manacled her wrists, fastening them to a chain that encircled a tree. Her hands were in front of her now, at least, a fact that her shoulders greeted with intense relief, but her feet were still bound, and Eve was all too aware of how helpless she was.
She had a clear view of the men setting up camp and was frightened by their efficiency. In a short time, they had a fire going, bedrolls spread out, a watch schedule established, and food passed around. They gathered in a circle by the fire, each of them casting her avaricious looks as they huddled together over something. They soon broke apart, some with grins, some with groans of disappointment, and Eve shivered as she caught the evil looks some of them gave her.
At first, nothing seemed to happen. The men continued about their business, eating their food, acting as soldiers did. Then one stood up, and the others laughed, shouting something encouraging to him, while others gave him envious looks. Eve shivered as he started towards her, shifting back against the tree, terrified by the dark look in his eyes.
The man said nothing as he bent down and grabbed her still-bound feet, dragging her around the tree, out of direct sight of the main camp, pulling her over the roots and rocks of the forest floor. She tried to thrash, but she was helpless as he pushed her skirts up well over her hips, baring her to him. He pulled her away from the tree, stretching her arms over her head so that the shackles pulled at her wrists, then pulled a knife. She whimpered in fear as he leaned down, not even feeling a flicker of relief or hope as he slit the ropes binding her ankles.
His silence was the most unnerving part of all. He still said nothing as he gripped one leg in each hand and bent them over her shoulders, exposing her completely to him. He held her in that position with one arm, while the other went to his belt, loosening it until he pulled himself free.
Eve began to panic in earnest, and she flailed again, but the man held her legs in place with an iron grip. More whimpers escaped her as she felt him line himself up at her entrance, and he chuckled evilly above her. Her eyes flickered up to his face, in time to see him grin before he slammed his hips forward.
A muffled scream escaped her, and her head fell back as she saw stars. He forced himself inside her, heedless of her struggles, of her pain, until he was fully seated. He didn’t pause then, not allowing her to adjust to the feeling of him invading her before he pulled his hips back and thrust forward again, this time forcing himself even deeper.
Eve felt tears sting her eyes, and muffled whimpers and pleas escaped through her gag as she tried to beg the man to stop, to have mercy, to stop his violation of her. But he said nothing, only thrust again and again, stretching her wider, forcing her to accommodate to his thrusts.
The pain was incredible, unlike anything she’d ever experienced. It felt as if she were being split in half, impaled on the man’s cock. She barely noticed that his thrusts were getting quicker and quicker, that it was becoming easier for him to take her, that her own body had responded to the violation, welcoming him to protect itself, making it easy for him to claim her.
It seemed like an eternity before the man’s pace became erratic, and he shut his eyes, face twisting. Eve felt a surge of new panic, and her whimpers became more desperate as she realized what was about to happen. He couldn’t do this to her, he couldn’t!
But he did. With a groan, he released, and Eve screamed again as a flood of wetness surged into her. He shuddered above her, his grip on her legs relaxing slightly. When he opened his eyes, he smiled, his eyes dark with satisfaction as he beheld her whimpering and shuddering beneath him.
Slowly, he withdrew, his eyes never leaving hers, and she shuddered as she felt the wetness between her legs, the proof of what he’d done. As if to emphasize it, he slid a finger between her legs, circling her entrance, light and teasing, and she shuddered again, closing her eyes against the sensations. She would never admit it, especially not to him, but it felt good.
He dipped a finger inside her, crooked like a scoop, and pulled it out quickly and held it up to her, dripping with white liquid. He grinned as he let it drip down onto her legs, then wiped his hand on her skirt before standing up, lowering her legs to the ground and adjusting his trousers.
She shivered as he walked away, turning onto her side, away from the camp. She had known this would happen to her the minute she’d been tossed onto the road. And now she had been raped, used and abandoned like an animal.
A crack of a twig came from behind her, and she rolled over, eyes widening as she saw a second man approaching her. This one was already fiddling with his trousers, his face spreading into a grin as he saw the shock and horror in her expression.
“I love going second,” he said. “This is when the terror truly hits you, as you realize your ordeal is just beginning.” He crouched down over her, where she hadn’t managed to adjust her skirts yet to cover herself, and poked a hand between her legs, fingers examining what the last man had done. Eve whimpered and closed her legs together, trying hopelessly to protect herself against a second invasion.
The man merely laughed and withdrew his hand. “Don’t want to spread your legs yet? I can work with that.”
Before Eve knew what he meant, he had grabbed her hips and rolled her onto her stomach, her manacles twisting awkwardly around her wrists. He climbed on top of her, straddling her, and she felt him hot and hard against her naked bottom. One hand gripped her hips, hard, while the second positioned him, ready to violate her once again.
“Hope you’re good and wet,” he chuckled. “You’re going to need it.”
Eve felt another muffled scream escape her as he pushed forward, going in easier than the last one, but no less painful. He didn’t give her any time to adjust either, just thrust over and over, deeper and deeper, pushing her against the dirt of the forest floor. A hand pressed down between her shoulders, holding her even more immobile and helpless as he thrust into her.
“This is where I let you know what’s going to happen,” the man said, his voice unbelievably calm as he thrust in and out of her. “Over the course of the night, every man in this camp is going to have his way with you. This is required.”
Eve whimpered.
“By the end of the night,” the man continued, “you will be exhausted. Some of the men might be gentle with you, like I am,” the sharp thrust of his hips gave the lie to that statement, “others will punish any sign, or perceived sign, of disobedience. They can do whatever they want with you, as long as they leave you uninjured. And trust me, that’s no hindrance to them. There are plenty of ways to inflict pain without injuring you.”
Eve knew that far too well as his hand tightened around her hip, so hard that she thought it might leave finger-print bruises. He thrust deeper into her, pulling a whimper of pain from her throat.
“After tonight,” he spoke again, “we’ll take you south. Calridda has a huge market for whores like you. Someone will be willing to pay a high price for a slave such as yourself.”
Panic flared through her, and she tried to straighten, to protest, to do anything to throw him off, to prove that she was neither of the things he had called her. She was a free woman, and definitely not a whore!
He laughed at her futile struggles and whimpers. “I love watching you struggle,” he said. “Don’t worry. By the end of tonight, any struggle will have been beaten out of you.” He punctuated his words with a hard slap across her bottom, then gripped her hips hard and increased the pace of his thrusts. Eve whimpered again as he groaned above her, and she tried fruitlessly to wriggle out of the way, helpless to escape as he spilled his seed inside her.
He withdrew, leaving her panting and empty. Another slap on her bottom, and he was gone.
Eve curled herself into ball, huddling at the base of the tree. She had barely gotten into position when a third man appeared, this one built stockier than the first two. His face split into an evil grin when he saw her huddled there, and he slapped a stick across the palm of his hand.
“My turn,” he said. “And I’m early enough that you may not obey. I hope you don’t.”
Eve felt fear spiraling inside her at the look in the man’s eyes, and he slapped the stick across his palm again. He raised an eyebrow. “Well? Are you going to spread your legs for me like a good little slut or not?”
Eve hesitated for a fraction of a second. She couldn’t fight the man off, she was still manacled to the tree, but the pain of her previous two rapes still ached. Could she just submit to another?
She hesitated too long. The man let out an exclamation of delight and flipped her over, ripping her skirt over her bottom and kneeling on the back of her legs. Eve barely had time to breathe before the stick came down and left a line of fire across her bottom. A muffled scream escaped her mouth, and the man above her laughed.
“Always obey instantly, whore,” the man said. “It’ll save you a good deal of pain. Course, if I want to inflict pain, there isn’t much you can do about it, is there?”
Eve couldn’t have answered him even if she hadn’t been gagged as the stick came down twice more, each time leaving another line of fire. The man shifted his position on her legs, and then the beating began in earnest, the stick striking her again and again, no pause between blows, each time increasing the pain as strike lay upon strike. Hot tears started down her cheeks, and she lost all breath to scream.
Finally the blows stopped, and she lay trembling as the man stood up. She wanted it to be over. It had to be over.
“On all fours,” the man ordered.
Eve swallowed the whimper of panic at the harshness in his voice. She started to move, but her entire body was trembling and she fell back to the earth. Another strike landed across her bottom, and she cried out again and struggled up to all fours, her skirt still pushed up, exposing herself.
“Good.” She heard the rustle of fabric, then felt the heat as he knelt behind her. “Always do exactly what you’re told when you’re told, whore. Now stay still for me as I take you.” With those words, he grabbed her hips and drove into her, forcing another muffled scream from her mouth. She couldn’t have moved even if she’d had any interest in disobeying, as his fingers dug deep into her hips, adding to her bruises. Her new position allowed him even deeper access than the other two, and she groaned in pain as he thrust again and again, never letting up until he spilled inside her.
He pulled out with a satisfied sound. “Good job, whore,” he said. “I’ll make sure I get another turn at you later. Just remember to obey.” He cracked the stick across her bottom again, and Eve barely flinched, even though the pain drove deep into her.
She closed her eyes against the approach of another set of footsteps. How many men were in the camp? Six? A dozen? And if every one of them intended to rape her… how could she last the night?
“Starting to get tired?” This man’s voice was softer, deeper than the others. “You still have a lot to do. A lot more men to satisfy.”
Eve shuddered against his words. She hadn’t moved from where the previous man had left her, bottom exposed in the air, though she had slumped forward onto the ground. She shuddered as the man knelt behind her, much as the previous one had done.
To her surprise, he didn’t drive into her roughly. Instead, she felt gentle fingers probe her, lightly examining her, circling a sensitive spot that had her gasping. The sensations were incredible, and she wanted more.
“Feel good?” the man asked.
She could only whimper her response, but the man chuckled anyway. “I thought so.” His fingers moved faster, rubbing just right so that she saw stars, and her breathing quickened as she strained towards him involuntarily, seeking out more, more sensation, more…
Her world shattered, and she released a cry as she shuddered. At that moment he slammed into her, stretching her again, meeting no resistance from her body. She cried out again, this time not from pleasure or pain, but from surprise.
“You enjoy that?” the man’s voice was smug. “Of course you did. Slut. You enjoy it when a man takes his proper place above you.”
Eve wanted to fight him, to deny it, but her head still spun from the sensations, and his fingers reached between her legs again, circling fingers, coiling feelings tighter and tighter again.
“Slut,” the man gasped. “Fit only to be a whore. Should be grateful we caught you!”
She tried to fight the sensations, but the man’s hands were too clever. Eve cried out as she tipped over the edge again, and he groaned with her, both of them collapsing onto the dirt.
The man pulled out of her and turned her over, and she got a good look at his bright blue eyes as he bent close. “You enjoyed this,” he whispered. “Don’t ever forget it, slut.”
Eve swallowed as he walked away, still breathing heavily. She had never imagined such sensations were possible. The priest of the village would have chastised her, beaten her, even, but she couldn’t deny that she wanted that feeling again.
Not the pain of rape, however. She whimpered as another man came in view, this one kneeling between her legs and ramming into her without a word of warning.
Four more men came and went. Eve lost all will to fight them, only lay there and let them do what they wanted with her body. One more beat her with his belt, layering another set of stripes. She didn’t fight him. She lay in a fetal heap after the last one left. It didn’t seem possible for her to endure much more.
She closed her eyes as another set of footsteps echoed near her head. A chuckle echoed, but that failed to arouse any reaction from her.
“Nearly used up for the night, aren’t you,” a voice said. “Good thing I’m the last one.”
A stirring of hope woke inside her. The last one. Then her ordeal would be over.
The man stood next to her, doing nothing except look, as far as Eve could tell. She finally managed enough energy to open her eyes and turn to look at him, then shivered at his hungry gaze.
“You’re plenty wet for me,” the man said. She watched him unbutton his breeches. “Let’s see how wet.”
He pushed her back onto her stomach and pressed inside, sliding in with no resistance. He grunted. “Full of seed, aren’t you, whore? Happy your ordeal’s almost over?”
Eve didn’t bother trying to reply as he pressed deep inside her. The pain had dulled to a bearable ache, and she closed her eyes, trying to ignore him.
“Your ordeal’s only beginning, whore,” he said. “I bet you think you’ve dealt with a lot tonight, but it’s only starting. The men can have you any night they please while we journey to Calridda, and some of them can get quite… inventive. They were easy on you tonight, seeing as how they haven’t had a whore in a while.”
Eve felt a flare of fear in her chest, but she was too tired to truly react.
The man gave one last thrust then pulled out. “Let’s give you a taste, shall we?”
Eve didn’t know what he was talking about until he lined up again, not at her entrance, but at her ass. A flare of panic gave her sudden strength and she attempted to move, only to find herself held firmly in place as the man thrust down, spearing her on his length.
A muffled scream escaped her, and she felt pain coursing through her, worse pain than when she’d first been raped, pain that continued as he forced his way inside, inch by unbearable inch, until he was seated deep inside. Even then, it wasn’t over as he withdrew, only to thrust forward again and repeat the experience of painful stretching.
Eve realized she’d been screaming since he’d first entered her. The man was laughing as he thrust in and out, holding her hips immobile, like she was nothing more than a toy.
“You have no idea the kind of things we can come up with,” he said as he thrust forward again. “And this is us, a group of mercenaries with no special equipment. The whoremasters in Calridda have specialized equipment that they bring out to train slaves like you.”
He thrust forward again. “So best resign yourself, whore. Otherwise your life will be short and painful.”
Eve couldn’t answer as he thrust forward again and again, until he finally groaned, filling her ass with the same warm wetness that filled the rest of her. He finally withdrew, and she groaned as her muscles clenched involuntarily on empty air.
The man gripped her chin and wrenched her face towards him, tearing the gag out of her mouth. Eve only had time to gasp one breath of air before the man shoved a waterskin at her, pouring it down her throat. She drank greedily, surprised at how thirsty she was. When she was done, the man wasted no time before gagging her again. He pushed her against the tree, and her eyes widened as she saw him hardening again, and she whimpered involuntarily, making him laugh.
“Learning fear. Good.” The man leaned forward, kissing her at the base of her neck, surprisingly gentle. Eve bit back another whimper, and was almost disappointed when he pulled back.
“Sleep well, whore,” the man said. “We have a long way to go tomorrow.” With that, he turned around and walked back towards the camp, leaving her trembling, sore, and wet. Eve closed her eyes and curled into a ball, trying to ignore the sensations between her legs, at her ass. Trying to ignore what was to become of her.