Don't Worry, You're Safe With Me

Posted on Wed Nov 18th, 2015 @ 10:16pm by Captain Li Hawke & Lieutenant Seren Hawke
Edited on on Sat Feb 6th, 2016 @ 12:52pm

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Devore Homeworld

* Devore Homeworld *

Maryl hummed as she added one last dish to the tray on the counter. She considered it, then added a small glass of water and a flower, plucked from the arrangement on the dining table. Almost perfect. Steam curled up from the plate of food as she folded the napkin into a fan shape and set it by the vase. Now it was perfect.

She lifted the tray and, humming happily as she went, carried it out of the kitchen and down the hall to the guest bedroom. There was a small table by the door and she left the tray there, unlocked the door, then carried the tray inside.

"Seren? I'm here my darling. Ready for dinner?" The door closed behind her and beeped to indicate it had re-locked.

The prone figure on the bed didn't move, even though he was awake and heard her. He lay with his back to her and listened, tracking her movements by sound.

"Not hungry."

"Oh we'll have none of that. You need to keep your strength up." She placed the tray on a table beside the bed. "You agree, don't you?" Her pleasant, chipper tone had taken on a slight edge. She sat on the bed beside him and traced her finger over his bare shoulder. "Besides, they will be unhappy if I don't take care of you. You know that."

"Don't care. Let them."

"Oh, no no no," she answered. Leaning down, she pressed a kiss to his shoulder. "That's not how it works. They gave you to me and that makes me a lucky woman. It also makes you a very lucky man. It was me or the detention center. You would never last there you know. Here? You have me to see to your every need."

"A gilded cage," Seren growled. "I'm supposed to be happy about it?" He still refused to look at her.

"Oh yes, you are. I chose you, you know." Maryl ran her fingers through his hair as she talked. "They want to make use of you, which is why I am to keep you fed, entertained and happy. You're lucky too, you know. You have me. "

Seren jerked away from her touch and was rewarded with a hard slap to his cheek.

"That's not nice," she admonished him. "You know better than that. Where are your manners?"

Seren rolled onto his back and the rattle of a chain split the quiet of the room. He held up his foot, linked to the chain by a heavy manacle. "My manners left when you hooked me to the bed like a slave," he shouted at her.

"Would you rather I let them put you in a five by five box for the rest of your days?" Maryl snapped. "Or just kill you outright?" She stroked his cheek gently, tracing the red outline left by the slap. "You'll adjust, don't worry, and then you'll be happy. I promise. Now, you will at least have something to drink." Her tone left no room for argument.

She slipped her arm beneath him and held a glass to his lips. He tried to resist but she tilted the glass enough that the liquid poured down his throat and it was either drink or choke.

"Much better." Finally, she lowered him back to the pillow and kissed his forehead. "I'll be back to check on you later. " With one last look, she turned, let herself out and locked the door.

Seren sighed aloud and closed his eyes. He knew the drill - whatever drug she always laced in his food was fast acting. Already he could feel his mind growing fuzzy as his telepathy shut down. She had been late with today's dose so he'd had a few minutes to reach out mentally. It told him there was no one in the house but the two of them. That fact both reassured him and frightened him. It meant that they didn't intend to kill him just yet, but it also meant he was completely at Maryl's mercy. That was not a pleasant prospect. He listened carefully for a moment and, hearing nothing, slipped his hand beneath the mattress. He pressed the small communicator several times, sending out the signal to Jens that he was still alive. For now. Several minutes later, his brain fogged over just as his telepathy had, and he lost consciousness altogether.

************
Seren Hawke
Guest Of 'Honor'

Maryl
His Biggest Fan