Chapter 36
Exhaustion led to sleep and hours later, they woke in each other's arms, their bodies cooled by the coming night. Aiden was first to rise and again, surveying the shelter's interior found it illuminated by only a single trickle of firelight. The biting chill of winter had crept in, turning his breath into a puff of warm steam. Without waking Aelianna, Aiden stepped out of bed and crouched in front of the fireplace. Carefully placing small sticks onto the reddened coals, he gently blew a solitary flame to life. With a bit of tinder, Aiden had resurrected a dying flame into a living beast, roaring within the stone and masonry of the well-crafted hearth. The shelter began to warm as it's walls, again, reflected back a bright orange flicker. Aiden's senses were suddenly tugged at by the feeling he was being watched and looking over towards the bed, discovered Aelianna stretched out on her side, a blanket pulled down to her hips, leaving her breasts and abdomen exposed. The room was not yet at a desirable warmth, leaving the remaining cold enough to swell her nipples and raise the tiniest of hairs from her skin. "So," she began. "What do I call you?" Aiden put a piece of wood on the fire. He sat naked in front of it so as to absorb as much heat as possible. Aelianna slipped out from beneath the blanket and sitting behind him, moved up and pressed her body into his warm flesh. But as she got closer, she noticed the heavy scars on his back. The fire had become bright enough to reflect off the wall behind them, casting an eerie glow against his skin. Aelianna felt a silent horror creep into her soul, but tried not to imagine how he had acquired such deep wounds. The thought of receiving such a beating was disturbing enough.
For a moment, Aiden had fallen silent. Staring into the flames, his mind had stumbled into a brief confusion over what had just transpired. But, he was suddenly pulled back into the moment by Aelianna's touch as she deftly slipped a fingertip down his chest and over his nipple, sending him into a sudden chill. "Aiden," he replied. As he inquired of her presence in England, Aelianna rose to her feet, stepped over his legs and sat straddled across his hips. And with her hands on his chest, she recounted the events that brought her to the winter woods of England.
She had spent her formative years somewhere on the northern coast of the Mediterranean as the oldest of four children. Her parents lived in poverty and unable to feed their children, sold her into the sex trade. This was done very frequently and allowed slavery to spread into Europe as well as the Middle East. Everyone seemed to know the sight of an English ship. They sailed down the coast of Spain and through the Strait of Gibraltar. From there, the Mediterranean lay as a world unto itself, possessing several countries and territories, each with its own violent history and varied people. But, the number of ships coming through the Strait had greatly diminished over the last century as the black death had nearly wiped out the shipbuilding industry. Still, on occasion, one or two could be seen at any of the Mediterranean's small port towns. However, it was on one particular day that an English ship docked near Aelianna's home. Disembarking were several men dressed in vests, coats and powdered wigs. Their unusual attire attracted immediate attention. With them, they carried chains and shackles as well as items of trade for the procurement of a most valuable commodity. Aelianna had heard the stories of pale skinned men coming from the north, stealing children for ungodly purposes. And although she did her best to hide, her parents brought her out by the arm, presenting her to the strange men. For their cooperation, her parents were rewarded with a few wooden bowls and a bag of grain. After the deal was struck, Aelianna's wrists shackled and an iron collar fastened around her neck. A length of chain brought everything together. She fought against her captors as they dragged her up the gangplank of the ship and within an hour's time, the cargo deck was full and the ship was bound for England.
Once she arrived, Aelianna was quickly sold as a sex slave to a wealthy house in Cheshire. Abuse at the hands of her owner was a daily occurrence. But because of her striking beauty, Aelianna was protected from accusations of witchcraft. She would be hidden whenever church authorities passed through the area, on their own self-proclaimed mission for cleansing the world of evil. However, this did not prevent her from witnessing the results of such accusations and she often saw other women violently searched for the mark. Once discovered, they were often judged and executed on the property, usually by hanging or burning. The women screamed in terror at their approaching demise, begging for mercy from men who claimed to be acting on behalf of a kind God. The most horrific of these punishments was burning at the stake, as the convicted woman was dragged to a nearby field, tied to a post and set ablaze within a burning circle of firewood. Each time, Aelianna burst into tears as the fire was lit, and as it grew in intensity, the convicted – now a victim – fell into a wide-eyed shock, her mind thrown from her body. The skin was the first to react, brightening to an angry red as their clothing quickly ignited. The hair was next, burning away as the skin blistered violently. Mental shock replaced panic, but the pain of melting skin was enough to cause unconsciousness, while the lungs burned with scorching air. Within minutes, clothing had evaporated away into fragments of lacy black char. Skin had melted, lying in simmering puddles around the body. Muscle and sinew bubbled and blood cooked out of what had been living tissue, eventually leaving the body as a charred mass with an odor that left many running for a place to cling to. Their own bodies retching uncontrollably, launching whatever they had last consumed.
Aelianna was never able to cope with these horrific scenes. They played out over and over again until the master of the house hired archers to stand guard at the edge of the property. The religious hysteria of the church was costing him too much money as the target of their accusations were usually slaves. Knowing she would never return home, she began to learn English as well and observed everything that happened around her. She learned the cultivation of herbs and food, building animal traps and tanning hides. The slaves were not allowed to stay in the main house but forced to live in small quarters surrounding it. Aelianna often watched as new quarters were constructed, memorizing each step of the process. She was learning, not out of boredom or curiosity, but in preparation. Aelianna was planning to run away. She had never been beaten or whipped, but still suffered a great deal of abuse at the hands of her owner, who took pleasure in sexually tormenting her on a daily basis. As a result, she had never experienced real intimacy. However, she managed to retain both her strength and her dignity.
Aelianna spent a good deal of time planning her escape. It had to be well-timed, but waiting for the right time would only act as a delay. One day, it dawned on her the master of the house was a loyal consumer of rum and one of her duties was to fetch it for him. He drank half a bottle a day. But never to intoxication. Aelianna would have to find a way to disable him. And with her knowledge of herbs, the solution lay all around her in the form of Bella Donna. It was a plant that grew wild everywhere and was a member of the deadly nightshade family of poisonous plants. She would only need a little of it and taking it to her quarters, hung it from the rounded ceiling. Once it had dried, she ground it to a powder and mixed it into his next bottle of rum. It wasn't long until its effects made themselves known. First, the voices. Slight at first, but quickly rising to an overwhelming intensity. It wasn't long after that his vision filled with colors and spectacular images. As his debilitation progressed, it took on something more sinister in the form of organized hallucinations. He ranted incoherently about being stalked by demons and all other manner of ghosts and spirits he claimed that occupied not only the house but had also barricaded themselves in his mind. Sleep had become a rare commodity, as he spent most of the night screaming in terror. A few days later, a doctor was summoned from a nearby town and upon examination, his condition was deemed to be madness. Naturally, the possibility of witchcraft arose, but Aelianna did not concern herself with such matters and the time of her escape drew near.
The doctor prescribed opium and returned to town. Unbeknownst to anyone, the drug only made things worse. And as the master of the house peaked in his madness, Aelianna wrapped what food she'd been able to save up, stole a blanket and left in the middle of the night. Given the attention attracted by the master's condition, her departure went completely unnoticed. And as the sun rose the next morning, dawn found her miles from her former captor. Going north, Aelianna stayed mostly to the woods and moors, away from the eyes of passing strangers and others who might pray on an unarmed solitary woman. But as the year grew late and cold, she decided it would be best to settle down for the next few months. So, retreating deeper into the woods, Aelianna made use of everything she learned during her long captivity and within a few weeks had constructed a more than adequate shelter. And under cover of night, she dug up an abundance of clay, using it as mortar for the building of a fireplace. It didn't take long for her to acquire everything she needed. Bedding, food, clothing, water. She left with little more than the clothes on her back. Now, she was free and living life on her own terms. Any hardships she faced were a welcomed price for the chance to escape a life of cruelty. But most difficult was the isolation. Yes, she was free, yet she was alone. Her days were busy to the point of distraction. The nights, however, were cold, quiet and lonely. Occasionally, solitude English nocturnal forest would act as a trickster of the mind, creating shadows where there were none, bringing a soft nonsensical whisper to the wind. For the longest time, Aelianna had only her thoughts to keep her company. She craved human contact, but from her experience, she assumed that it was safer to remain unseen. However, during a heavy winter, Aelianna saw a man in the distance, trudging through the snow on horseback. Running to the woods, she left a chaotic trail in an attempt to avoid being tracked. But, the stranger still followed her.
Clothed in rabbit fur, Aelianna backtracked her steps and hid, disguised by the snow as well as the fur she wore. The stranger would either turn and leave or continue their pursuit. But as he passed where she crouched in the snow, something caught her eye. Something familiar. After what saw after her abduction by the English, Aelianna had given up on the idea that God would save her. In fact, she had given up on God altogether. But having spent enough time in England, she had become accustomed to the sight of religious men and recognized the robe of a monk. And as she crouched in the snow, she was forced into a decision. Would she make her presence known with the assumption that the man following her was, indeed, a holy man, thus exposing her home in the woods, or would she let him pass and return to her life of isolation? It had been what seemed like forever since she had seen anyone and Aelianna decided to take a risk, based on her assumption that the robed figure was truly a student of the church. But, she would use caution and stepping lightly through the snow, she picked up a small tree limb, walked silently up behind him and swung it against the side of his head. Now, Aelianna would not have to risk exposing the whereabouts of her home and still possess the possibility of having human contact.