The surprise on his face when she questioned him just confused her more and then he corrected her, telling her that he wasn't interested in sex at all but in teaching her self defense. So not only had he fed her, helped to tend to her wounds, given her a place to sleep with a comfortable bed, and somehow trusted her to be left alone unrestrained, but... he was going to teach her how to defend herself. She stared at him in disbelief and she kept waiting for the pin to drop, for him to tell her how that had all been a lie, to tear into her just as hope started to cross her face.

But it never came. He looked back at her with an absolute seriousness that told her this wasn't a joke and this wasn't a trick. She hadn't been picked up by some ruthless brute, she had been picked up by someone who seemed intent on saving her. A little laugh bubbled up in her chest as a rare smile pulled at her lips giggling softly at the absurdity that she realized their conversation had been, her thinking that he was talking about raping her when in reality he had been trying to teach her and improve her life - something she had never once been offered. "I'm... I'm sorry, I just..." she giggled some more, the sound strange in her own ears. Had she ever laughed like this? Had she ever smiled? She really didn't know. She couldn't remember a time if she had.

"Yes... To answer your question, yes, that's pretty much all I've been used for," she told him honestly. "Since I was... very, very young. But I'm very grateful for the chance to learn something else," she assured him, far more relaxed as she looked at him now. "And no, I don't want to be chained up if that's okay with you. I won't go anywhere. I promise." She wondered to herself if she really had died back there in that cave and this was actually some sort of strange heaven that she had been placed into. She most certainly wasn't going to leave somewhere like this.

"Speech"

He raised a brow as she suddenly began to laugh, a smile forming awkwardly on her lips. He waited a moment as she giggled some more, a smile twitching at his own lips. It seemed reality had finally dropped on her. She was no longer a slave, she was a handmaiden, and there was some strict fairness to the Armada.

To the Warlord, the girl was already young, almost a child. Or perhaps there was just something about her that stuck him that way. Admitting that she had been raped when she was very young… it aggravated that possessiveness inside of him again. He didn’t like the feeling. Didn’t want to worry over her, as well. She was to be Deathbelles possession, he did not want her fate to be in his hands.

“Good, I’m glad, because I expect everyone in the Armada to be able to defend themselves.” And it was easier if she came willingly, she would learn faster that way. “And I believe you. Rest up, Iris, and I will see you tomorrow.” he said solemnly, feeling somewhat awkward about the appreciation in her eyes.


"Sirius Fatalis"

She nodded quietly when he spoke of how everyone in the Armada needed to be able to defend themselves. She wouldn't have thought that would mean the slaves as well, but she had clearly been proven wrong. She blinked when he said he believed in her, something squeezing in her chest though she did her best to not show it in her face, instead just giving him a pleasant smile and another nod. "Yes, sir. Thank you again." She waited as he left, the quiet of the den settling in around her. His words replayed in her head as she settled her head on the fur between her paws, flexing her toes over the soft surface again.

After a while she lifted her head and ate a bit more of the food she had been left, slowly bit by bit making up for all the meals she missed. She reached in the bag of herbs and took some more herbs to keep the discomfort from her healing wounds at bay, she drank some more of the water, and she did as she was told. She rested. The whole time she thought about Sirius who had given her all of this and she couldn't help but feel this appreciation that she never thought she would feel. Now all she had to do was not mess this up for herself. Eventually she fell asleep, sleeping deeply for the first time in years.

"Speech"