Chapter 1.5

Chapter 1.5

Mako would face the consequences of his actions later. He would not let that sit on him. Everyone had to follow his words. Who did not do it was punished. Even if it was a small matter. Here were strict rules that they had to follow.

That's why Rei didn't say anything to him, not wanting Quinn to know.

Her eyelids blinked, and her gray eyes fixed on him wearily. "Why are you doing this to me?" she asked, exhausted and with pain in her voice.

"I'm not doing anything to you except easing your pain. You brought it on yourself because you tried to escape twice," he pointed out to her. If she hadn't done that, she would still be with the stone dragon and getting better care than she was getting here.

Quinn shook his head weakly. "Not you," she specified in a whisper. "Your race. Why do you do this to us women?" she continued to ask, for she had received no answers then. She had not even known the name of the dragon to whom she had been given.

She was one of the women who had been chosen as a gift for the dragons. Now, however, she only understood what that meant.

Was Rei supposed to answer her? It was better if she didn't know. The answer would only be met with incomprehension, and he could understand that. He had always disagreed with what was done to the young women who came from their human families.

Therefore, he shrugged his shoulders and said that he could not answer that. Rei undid the one chain on her wrist before standing up and walking around the bed to pull her onto her side. This way, he could work her back with the rag. However, he tied her there because he didn't want her to scratch herself again.

For Quinn, this position was uncomfortable and painful, but she restrained herself from complaining. Instead, the only sign was a heavier going breath and quieter, almost gasping words. "I don't understand," she said, then had to concentrate on breathing for a moment, "why you're torturing us like this."

Rei had moved back to the other side and settled down on the bed to wash off her back. By getting the skin off, the bleeding also calmed down and became less.

"Me neither," the blue-haired man behind her replied. He hadn't been the one to introduce this torment.

This answer confused Quinn so much that she remained silent.

What was she to make of this man who was so very different from the dragon she had known so far? Was he even a dragon? Until now, she had only seen him as a human, and perhaps he was trapped here just as she was? Except that he was calling the shots here?

Silently, Rei continued until her back and the underside of her legs was cleaned. Only then did he free her from the restraints so she could move again. Quinn seemed calmer, and he hoped that the treatment had made the pain more bearable. However, she was about to go for a bath so the warm water could do the rest. Some places he had intentionally left out.

"What will become of me when this is over?" she asked, sounding exhausted and tired.

She was so afraid that she wouldn't be human then. Already she barely resembled a human. She only had to look at her skin to realize that.

"When the transformation is complete, and you are tamed, you will be taken to someone new," Rei explained, helping Quinn to stand. His grip was forceful, but he tried not to hurt her.

As soon as she was standing, he pulled the dirty sheets off the bed with one tug to recover them.

Quinn tried to stand still in time, but she couldn't, so she finally let herself slide onto the carpet and sat there leaning against the bed. To this, Rei said nothing but simply let her sit. "So I'm just an animal to you, to be held, tamed, and when you get bored, chased away?" she asked, exhausted. "I have no reason to go through this hell and stay with you."

Calmly and with great care, Rei reupholstered the bed. "I didn't say that. It's not up to me what happens to you. I am only responsible for completing the transformation and taming you so that a new master can deal with you," the blue-haired man specified.

Quinn shuddered. "So you are the one to break me," she remarked, her voice breaking. "What crime have I committed to deserve such a thing?" she whispered softly.

She pulled her legs to her and rested her head on her knees.

She probably really deserved it. She had never been what the people of her village wanted her to be. Men had blocked her out, and Quinn was quickly seen as stuck-up and proud. Yet, she simply didn't want a man who treated her as if she were just a servant.

She did not come from a good background, and as a weaver, she should not have made such demands, but she wanted more for herself in her life than to serve any man whenever he pleased. But that is exactly what seemed to be happening now. Yet she had so hoped to be able to avoid it.

Rei did not want to perform this task since he had enough other work. Nevertheless, he could not resist the order. His reluctance was plain to see. "If you hadn't tried to escape twice, you wouldn't be here," Rei replied, shrugging his shoulders indifferently. It wasn't his fault that she had acted the way she had. Instead of accepting fate and making the best of it, she had refused.

With the dirty clothes in his arms, the blue-haired man ordered Quinn to get up so they could go to the bathroom. Before that, she was to take some fresh clothes, so he pointed to the closet.

Quinn didn't budge. "I've seen what's been done to women who've already been turned," she said. "I'm not going through this hell to end up spending my life walking in another one. I'd rather die than be forever the slave of a man to whom I'm nothing more than a thing that gives him children."

Still, Rei waited patiently for her to stand, but soon his patience would end. He noticed that her naked body looked better than before because of the treatment. "If you know what you're being sent through these hells for, why are you asking me?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Because it makes no sense to torture us like this when all you want to do is impregnate us," she said softly. "As if that wasn't hell enough," she whispered, not feeling the strength to comply with his command and stand up.

Snorting, Rei laughed. "Then you're lucky I certainly don't have that in mind," he said bitterly. Hard, his hand tightened around Quinn's wrist before he pulled it up with ease. "Don't be such a baby and get some clothes, so you don't have to walk around naked," he drove at her in a commanding tone.

Her eyes locked on Rei through tears, but her body was limp and hung in his grasp. If he let go of her now, she would crash to the ground because her legs would not support her.

"You merely want to break me because I am not as others want me to be," she breathed powerlessly but did not fight back. She simply had no strength to do so.

Rei dropped the laundry on the floor and pulled her close. So close that Quinn could feel his ice-cold breath on her skin. His grip tightened around her wrist, and he looked coldly into her eyes.

"I don't want to break you because I so don't care what you're like. It's an order I have to obey," he hissed indignantly.

"Why am I worth this effort?" she asked softly, the tears in her eyes growing more. "Can't you just redeem me instead?" she asked, and a plan began to mature in her not to flee but to run to her own death. If she went out into the cold without clothes, it would probably come quite quickly. Perhaps even more painlessly than this whole transformation.

"Ask those who chose you and not me," he drove at Quinn, finally just dragging her with him to the bathroom down the hall. That she was naked and almost unable to walk, he ignored. Still, he made sure she didn't trip.

Did Quinn have to make it any harder than it already was? Rei wasn't thrilled that he had such a task to accomplish.

"You could also just do what you're asked to do instead of fighting back. It would save you a lot of trouble," Rei grumbled as he walked along.

"My parents chose me," she whispered softly. "My village wanted to get rid of me because I wasn't what they wanted. Because I didn't submit to the men's wishes and spread my legs for them, as is normal for us," she explained as she walked to the bathroom. "I will never submit to something that is hell for me. I'd rather die."

Silently Rei had listened and now roughly pushed her into the bathroom where she had washed before. This was large enough to offer some comfort. The beautiful bathtub stood in the center of the darkly tiled room. On one side was a sink with a mirror hanging above it.

Then various small cabinets held soaps, bath additives, as well as towels. The three windows, which on any other island would probably have let in a lot of light, made the room seem very dark until the light was turned on. This was done by a magic stone on the ceiling that began to glow when another was touched near the door.