A punishment over
Life quickly got boring, Amee decided as she counted the boards in the ceiling for the fiftieth time that day. It was the second day that she’d been trapped in this room, since she could get no farther than the chain of this Light-bedamned thing around her neck. Dagna was pretty much ignoring her, slipping in only to leave her food and something to drink. Otherwise, she’d had the silent treatment. That was ok, she was able to hear the sounds from the outside, the other woman talking to the women they’d captured. She still never learned the Seanchan girls name, but now nobody would respond to her, even when she tried talking to them. She’d heard the orders given for her to be shunned until Dagna allowed it, and she had shrugged to herself. But she could hear them. The Seanchan girl talking to her sul’dam , the girl happy and eager to obey. ‘Like a salmon, swarming around the legs of the fisherman’, Amee thought to herself. Even the other women from her island, speaking to their captors with simple, one word answers.
She’d given up trying to use the chamber pot, since each time she got relatively close to the damn thing, her foot or hand, or whatever appendage had gotten close started tingling and cramping. She’d tried saying aloud that she wouldn’t use it again to hit Dagna. That failed. She’d even tried meaning it, which had been a joke. Still, no luck. In the meantime, she was stuck in this room. Nowhere to go, and since her ill-fated escape attempt, she doubted that she would get anything to read. So she slept, measuring time by the pitches of water and little bundles of food that Dagna left for her.
The smell was beginning to make her a bit nauseous, when Dagna appeared to her on the morning of the third night since her punishment began. The shiner that she had was beginning to color nicely, making Amee grin at her. “How’s the eye?”
“Well enough, thanks”, Dagna said with a smile. “An interesting way around your little problem”, she said, looking at the blanket with distaste. “You’ll be the one to wash and soak it, of course. Have you figured out how to fix your little problem yet?”
Amee grimaced at the thought of having to clean the blanket, but she shook her head.
“Would you like me to tell you? It might save you from some other issues like this that may crop up”, Dagna said cheerfully, leaning against the doorway, smiling at her.
“That would be very nice”, Amee said. “You know, since not being able to use a chamber pot where we’re going, wherever that is, is going to be annoying. And who knows what else I’ll try to kill you with.”
“Well, it’s not enough that you decide you won’t try to harm me with it. You have to convince yourself, truly convince yourself, that you will never, ever, under any circumstances, attempt to harm me with that chamber pot. Then, and only then, will you be able to use it.”
Amee gave her a sour look. “What the flaming fuck are you talking about? I already said I wouldn’t.”
“Manners, Amee. I won’t have you cursing at me”, Dagna said sternly. “And I said that you have to convince yourself, not me, that you’ll never use it to harm me again. You’re apparently a lot more stubborn than you know.” She shifted, since the smell was truly offensive. “Now…if you promise, by the Light, to behave, then I’ll let you wash up, and I’ll feed you breakfast with everyone else before we take a turn up on the deck. And then the laundry, since you need to change your clothing as well. Is that a deal?”
Amee narrowed her eyes, thinking things over. “Food. I’ll be able to eat real food?”
Dagna nodded, knowing that Amee wasn’t asking the right questions. And THAT would be a fun surprise on its own. “And then we’ll take a turn on the deck, let you see the sea and smell the air. I’m told it’s a singular experience, but i don’t need to tell a fisherman that. Do I? As long as you behave in the galley, then we can do all those things.”
Amee thought about it, and then nodded. “I swear it, by the Light.”
“Good”, Dagna said, happy to have made some form of progress. “Now…back up off the bed and kneel, facing the wall. Hands together, and on your head.” She didn’t have a catch-pole, so this would have to do.
“Excuse me?!?! I’m not some…No. You want to take this bracelet, come and get it”, Amee said, frowning.
“Perhaps I was unclear”, Dagna said. “But since you find yourself unable to comprehend and obey simple instructions, I’ll make it easier. Turn around and step to the wall.” Amee balked, simply staring at her. Dagna sighed, and nodded. “Very well. Good day, Amee. We’ll see if you change your mind at lunch.” And she walked off, leaving Amee to stare at the space she was in.
Amee fumed, yelling imprecations and curses at the space where Dagna had been standing. And, of course, nobody responded. She fumed, pacing back and forth as she unwound the damn chain from the bracelet. Balefully glaring at the door, the space where Dagna had stood, and then the chamber pot, she made to kick the offending pit, and then stopped as her foot began to cramp as she got close. Growling at it, she simply stomped back and forth, then went and did her exercises.
Dagna stood a bit farther down, able to hear every single word that Amee was yelling. Some of those curses were actually pretty good, and she smiled. So spirited, she thought to herself. Then she left to go do her own activities, taking some air on the deck with a scroll. The sailors were all Seanchan born and bred, so they all responded with the appropriate level of respect, bowing to her. She stayed there for a while, then went to the galley, drinking some tea, before going back up to the deck.
Lunchtime came around, and Dagna walked back to Amee's kennel. Braving the smell, which was truly becoming offensive, she smiled and stood in her usual space. “Well…lets try that again, Amee. Would you like to wash up, be fed lunch, and then take a turn on the deck before doing your laundry?”
Amee glared at her, brow furrowed. She thought deep on this. If she was going to escape, she needed to know the lay of the land. Make allies, possibly get a tool. None of that could be obtained from here. Grudgingly, she realized that her plan needed to change slightly. She spat on the ground towards Dagna, but nodded.
“Charming….but a deal is a deal. Stand up and walk over to the wall, facing it.” Dagnas tone was firm, and she looked at amee steadily. “This is non-negotiable. Until it’s been made clear to me that you won’t try anything stupid again, This is how we’re going to do this.”
Amee fumed, but she had no choice. Walking over to the wall, she faced it, listening for the sounds of Dagnas movements. Now that she knew that the woman could fight, her plan would be different.
Watching her, Dagna cracked a smile. “Good girl. Now…pull your pants down to your knees, and hold your shirt up.”
“What!?!?!”, Amee yelled, turning around and looking at her in shock. “What the hells kind of bullshit is that?? What…you just want to see young girls naked? Is that it, you pervert? Well, you can go sleep with those torm if you want, but I'm NOT doing that!!”
Dagna sighed, having expected something like this. “You aren’t a girl. You are damane , so nothing of that sort matters, or is even considered. But I need something to occupy your hands and feet with, and it’s either this, or I have you hide under the bed, which isn’t possible at this time. So….turn around, face the wall, and lower your pants to your knees, and then hold your shirt up with both hands.”
“Go drown in a tub of shit!!”, Amee yelled furiously. “I’m not doing that, you disgusting pervert!!!”
Dagna nodded. “Well, hopefully you change your mind by dinner.” Then she left the room, Amee, and thankfully, the stench behind. Standing outside the room again, she listened with a smile as Amee raged, yelling all sorts of curses and imprecations. Thinking, she walked up to the deck, and stopped one of the other newly leashed damane . “Excuse me, Alara, but I would ask your damane something”, and Alara nodded, slowing down.
“You will answer her properly and with respect, Nita”, Alara said to the damane , who merely nodded and murmured, “yes, sul'dam .”
“You all followed this Water Way, back when you were marath’damane . Why does Amee not?”, she asked. “She is….I’ve not seen one of you girls from that island make so much as a sound the wrong way, and yet she is….loud.”
“Amee has never followed the Water Way, sul’dam ”, the damane said. “For as long as I’ve known her, she always railed against it, refusing to follow it. She…she’s more like stone. Unforgiving, and unmoving unless you force it.”
“I see. Well, thank you, Alara”, Dagna said. “You’ve a good damane ”, she said with a smile, and Alara smiled.
“Yes, Nita is a good damane ”, she said, and gently rubbed the damanes back soothingly. “Come, Nita. Let’s continue our walk, while we practice.”
Dagna retired back to her cabin, choosing to think about how her plans for Amee would look. After napping, she walked back to Amees kennel, and stood there at the door. The smell was truly revolting, and even Amee was starting to look distressed by it. “Changed your mind?”, she asked. Amee was certainly looking miserable, having not had food or water all day, and not washed since her punishment started. But all she did was glare at Dagna, not satying a word, and then slowly extended a fist, one finger extended. The universal sign.
"Ahhhh. I see. Well, good night then. Perhaps in the morning, you'll feel differently." Dagna left, and went to sleep, wondering how long Amee could keep this up.
Amee, for her part, spent the night tossing and turning, the smell making her want to vomit, but there was nothing in her stomach TO vomit. Worse, she was starting to feel a bit dizzy from the lack of water. In the morning, Dagan was standing there again, that smile on her face. "Changed your mind yet?", she was asked. “This is ridiculous. I already told you that I wouldn’t attack you”, Amee protested, sitting up. Her stomach was growling, and she’d already thrown up twice into the blanket. On the other side, she was coming close to vowing to herself that she would never use the chamber pot to harm Dagna. Ever again.
“That’s not what I asked you, Amee. I asked if you reconsidered.” Amee sulked, and ground her teeth, but gave a short nod. Her plans needed her to give way slightly, so she could plan something better. “Good. Then please face the wall, and assume the position like I told you.”
Amee narrowed her eyes, and then thought better about it, since she blushed furiously. Slowly, giving Dagna more furious glances, she walked over to the wall, and turned to face it.
“That’s a good girl. Now the rest of it”, Dagna said, her voice low and soothing. “Pants down, and shirt up. Come on, it’s just you and me here. And believe me, I’ve seen far worse.”
Amee ground her teeth, envisioning Dagna at the end of her fishing spear. And with a blush, and a small whimper that wasn’t unnoticed, she slowly lowered her pants to her knees, and lifted her shirt. Muscles played under the skin on her back and thighs, and her small clothes couldn’t hide the fact that she was very well muscled.
Amee heard a small noise, and then a change in the tension on the chain made her turn. “Ah-ah”, she heard, and her soles began to warm. “I didn’t tell you to turn around. Go back to your position, Amee.” She huffed, her anger beginning to rise, but she did as she was asked to.
“Good girl”, Dagna said, soothed now that she was complete for the first time in three days. She could feel Amee’s rage and anger, like a slowly simmering broth of spicy soup, just waiting to explode. “Now…first things first. Let’s get you washed up and fed, hmm?”, she said, standing far enough away from Amee that she would have warning if her damane tried to attack her again. “Here, I have a basket for you to put your blanket in. You may turn and pull your pants back up.”
Amee did so, and then turned, seeing a small wicker basket on the ground. And as she reached for it, her hand started cramping again, and she grimaced as it began to tremble, the cramping moving further up her arm. “Well…oh dear”, she heard Dagna say. “Well, lets get you washed up and then we’ll see. You’re going to have to hold that blanket, so do it now before you wash. Come on”, and she took too long trying to force herself to grab the basket because she felt a sharp pain across her soles.
“OWW!! What was that for??”, she demanded, and then got another one.
“That was for thinking of harming me. The second was for taking too long. Now…grab the blanket, and lets go. The stench in here is punishing us all.”
Glaring at Dagna, Amee took a look at the blanket, and frowned. “Can’t…Dagna, can’t I just get a different basket? I won’t think….well, you know.”
Dagna grinned, and shook her head. “Nope. Think of this as your punishment for being an obstinate goat. Now lets go, before I make you let it sit here in the room another day.”
Amee gritted her teeth, but walked over to the thoroughly befouled blanket, and gingerly bent down, holding it at the corner so that nothing leaked out. That was important since she had the image of Dagna making her clean it, and then her unable to use the mop since she’d want to hit her with it.
Dagna said nothing, able to feel the rage and anger inside her damane mixed with a healthy does of wariness and some disgust. And stubbornness. All good things, since she didn’t want to crush Amees spirit. No, she simply wanted to tame it a bit, and redirect it.
“Good girl”, she said, subtly giving a small smile to Amee. It was a bit too early for anything else, too much and Amee would know that what she was feeling wasn’t her own thoughts and it would make her dig her heels in. “Now we’re going to go to the deck, and we’ll get all this sorted out.”
Dagna led her, the other sul’dam and damane giving them a wide berth, wrinkling their noses. Some of them even visibly drawing back and gagging. Amee concentrated on holding the blanket away from her, and avoiding vomiting, so she wasn’t able to give the vessel much more than a cursory look. But soon they were up on the deck, and Amee inhaled appreciatively, the sea air filling her lungs and making her smile.
Dagna could feel the swell of joy and happiness from Amee, and she grinned to herself. ‘Silly damane , getting in her own way like that’, she thought to herself. Nodding to one of the sailors, she got a small covered basket, and then had him open the porthole on Amees room. “That should air it out, and it won’t smell so bad. If you’re good, perhaps I'll hang something in there to make it smell nice.”
“Ummm…can”, Amee said, and then furrowed her brow as she deposited the blanket in the basket, closing the lid so it wouldn’t float away. She hated that she had to ask for something, but until she could get this damned collar off of her, she was stuck.
“You can ask, Amee”, Dagna said with a smile, giving the girl some room so she wouldn’t feel caged in. “Asking me something, or for a favor, doesn’t mean that you’re giving in. you can still fight and fuss to your hearts content. ‘Even if you won’t win’. But if you ask me for a favor, then I’ll ask for something in return.”
“It’s simple. Can you just leave the window open? I’d prefer to smell the sea”, Amee said, and Dagna considered. “Of course. If you’ll tell me what your favorite food is.”
Amee frowned as she lowered the basket over the side, the small splash of it hitting the water almost making her wanting to jump over the side. But she knew that would be suicide, and she didn’t want that. Not even as a thought. “I like fish stew, and those…umm…they’re like cookies, but baked with honey.”
Dagna could feel Amees confusion at the question, and she smiled as she felt the girls careful not thinking about something. Probably jumping over the side and taking her with her. Deciding not to mention it, she nodded. “Pull that up and down a few times, let all that mess out into the sea. We’ll soap it up, come back after breakfast, soap it up again, then leave it in the water for a bit longer while you wash, and then get it.” Wondering how the meal was going to go.
Amee nodded, not wanting to be without a blanket for another night, and she began to lift the blanket, muscles playing under her biceps. Lifting it easily, then dropping, over and over, until a few minutes later, Dagna told her to haul it up and dump the soap in. Once that was done, they hung it back over the side, and she followed Dagna to the galley.
“Remember…one pace behind and to the side”, Dagna reminded her, and Amee frowned, feeling the urge to grab her and simply throttle her. But she didn’t, and Dagna felt it, and smiled. On to the next challenge.