First Night

Carmilla closed the door to her apartment and leant against it. A tired smile came over her face as she looked over the room and saw all the things the girls had packed for her. This place, now, was her home. With everything that had happened in the past couple of hours she realised that she was amongst kindred spirits, people who had suffered as she had.

Kicking off her heels and letting her skirt drop to the floor she hung up her jacket and sat at the little table in her blouse and clicked the small tea maker to start. Pulling a datatablet from her bag she began reading a few messages while one handed making the tea and sipping it. Cradling the cup in both hands she read a mail from Whisper and smiled, looking up at the picture frame on the desk of the two of them together.

She reached over and tapped the frame in a certain way and the picture changed from her and Whisper, to her and Ithiria. It was an old picture, taken years ago now the two of them on a beach, both wearing kimono's, both laughing. Carm could see the collar around her neck, the look on her face. The happiness. The love. Just as she had seen hours before.

She had expected many things on joining the Teraa Matar. She knew in part what she was getting into. But she was out, by a magnitude! The looks the two of them shared as the rest of them talked and drank Rek's tea brought everything back. Gone were the reasons why, the barriers she had put up, the lies she had told herself. To look once again at a Sebeistor and Khanid so obviously in love....

The memories had come flooding back, and with them she had sobbed openly and then revealed everything. What she was running from, why she was here. They all had guessed at the level of emotion running through her, but even she was unprepared for the support she was given. Ava, Astrid and Rek giving her compassion, love and understanding. The tears came soon after along with the understanding.

She was not alone. And now would never be alone.

And then Kikia had come. And while she had shown her around the facility they had talked. An understanding was reached, a story was told. More pain, more suffering. Another friend.

With a smile she thought back on how she had reacted when Rek had decided to shoot up the VR. Instinct, protect Kikia and seek out what was wrong. How easy it had been to fall back into the role. How easy to be relieved that the gunshot was benign. That everything was fine.

As she sat on the bed she thought how natural it was to be concerned about her new corp, and ways she could help. Her new family. And yet how deeply she felt the pain that her wife was not here.

Before long, she fell into a deep slumber.

Carmilla stood on the shore of a large body of water, her kimono blowing in the breeze. Looking as far as she could see in either direction the beach was empty, with just the waves lapping on the shore. As she turned she saw the other woman, the kimono, like hers but more decorated. With a frown she saw the patterns, the khanid symbols were replaced by minmatar tribal. As the woman moved she looked up into the face of....
"Kikia.... what are...."
Confused she looked at her new friend, her mind telling her something was wrong. The young Sebiestor looking at her, pain in her eyes, holding our her hands to Carm, her manerisms beckoning her. She moved foward, walked, then started to run, but always Kikia was just out of her reach.

She screamed and tripped, landing not on the warm sand but on cold concrete. She looked up and saw Kikia being dragged away between two hulking soldiers. All around she saw slaves being dragged towards a large building. The wailing of the women, the laughter of the men, all of them Amarrian. Looking from face to face she recognised them, Kikia, Ava, Astrid... all being dragged away, all looking at her. Then two soldiers grabbed her and she was dragged screaming with them, through the great double doors.

In the building, as far as the eye could see there were just beds and each bed held a sebiestor woman. A familiar sebiestor woman, each being taken against their will. The guard held her head and forced her to watch and all she could hear was the screams, the grunts, the cries, the laughter. The eyes, all looking at her, accusing her.

You did this to us...
By giving yourself freely...
You condemned us...
You failed us...
You failed yourself... slave... whore... traitor!!

Thrown onto a bed two guards held her down while a third pulled off his helmet and stared into her face.
"Looks like we have a fresh one here, dont we? Little snake!"
She looked up into the face of Gallicia, the giant laughing face of her despoiler of her innocence.

And she screamed.


The door to Carmilla's room was kicked in. Rek, pistol in hand was first in, followed by Ava, then Kikia. They found her in the corner of the room backed into the corner, looking more like a small frightened girl than anything, a large tribal dagger in her hands pointed at them. Tears streaked down her face, her whole body shaking and repeating like a mantra the same words.
"I didn't do it... I'm sorry... I didn't do it... I'm sorry..."

Ava looked down on her as Rek gently removed the dagger from her hands.
"I don't want her alone tonight."
Kikia walked over and pulling the blanket from the bed sat down next to Carmilla and pulled it around them both.
"I'll do it tonight. I know she'd do the same for us. We look after our own."