Chapter Text
Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter?
Lena walks into King’s Row Bar and before her shift even begins she is dreading it. She hates her job, but she needs the money so she has to deal with it. Being a bartender in the South Ward has to be one of the worst forms of torture imaginable. Throughout her day she has to deal with rude and annoying customers, sleazy men trying to cop a feel, and drinks constantly being spilled on her uniform. The uniform itself didn’t leave much to the imagination either, with a crop top that is entirely too small for her and ridiculously small booty shorts, she feels like a prostitute and that was the one job she wouldn’t do. She hates this uniform and this job. Lena feels that for all the shit that she has to put up with she should be living in the North Ward, but there is no way out of the South Ward for her. Without any family and no lover, Lena has no one to help support her financially, she is barely scraping by on the little gold she earns each day. Lena is doomed to stay in the South Ward for the rest of her life.
The South Ward is the worst of the 5 Wards with crime and poverty looming around every street corner. Instead of throwing criminals in prison, they are thrown into the South Ward making it an undesirable place to work yet alone live. The people who live in this ward are seen as savages and lesser beings by those who live in any other ward. The East and West Wards are the wards for the average middle-class citizen. The Central Ward is for everyone who has money to spare and wants to gloat about it. With bigger houses, nicer neighborhoods, and little crime the Central Ward is the dream, But for those who want the best of the best, the North Ward is the place to go. Nothing could top the North Ward, only the members of the Plutocracy could live in this Ward.
With the rich making all the decisions, there is a lot to be desired in any other ward besides North and Central. The rich only implement rules that benefit them and leave the other wards to fend for themselves. The Plutocracy enforces 3 universal rules across all five wards, 1.) The Plutocracy has complete control and any attempt to overthrow the government will result in a public execution 2.) Guards can pick and serve the punishment for all crimes as soon as the crime is committed 3.) Citizens who communicate or are seen with citizens who are not in the same ward as they will immediately be stripped of all possessions and sent to the South Ward. Anyone in the North Ward is exempt from these rules
Lena always dreamt of one day leaving and finally making it up to the Central Ward and all the luxuries that accompany it. Lena has lived in the South Ward her whole adult life so she could only imagine what the Central Ward is like. Lost in her thoughts Lena hasn’t realized that the bar manager, Moira, has snuck up behind her.
“Lena quit daydreamin’. Get your head out of your ass an’ get back to work” Moira yells.
Lena jolts back to reality. She turns around to figure out who just yelled at her. When her glance lands on her boss’s cold eyes she realizes she has been caught.
“Why don’t you serve the bar for once you old hag ” Lena murmurs.
“What was that” Moira screeches.
“I said I'm returning to the bar right now, love” Lena replies sarcastically.
Moira always has a stick up her arse Lena thinks as she strolls back to the bar reluctantly. She had been serving drinks for an hour and took a desperately needed break. In that hour she had three drinks spilled on her, six men try to hit on her and at least ten men try to cop a feel. I want to go home already, Lena thinks as she reluctantly drags her feet back to the bar. She returns to the bar to start serving drinks when a familiar face shows up. Lena’s face pales as she realizes that her night has just gone from bad to worse
“Hey baby are you finally going to come home with me tonight?” the man says flashing a smile full of yellow and crooked teeth. Lena gags when she catches a whiff of his breath, he already reeks of alcohol. This man would come in every day and hit on Lena. No matter how much she tries to avoid him, he always manages to worm his way in front of her. Today is no different.
“Uhh no,” Lena replies quickly. He smells so bad, I feel like I'm going to throw up, Lena thinks, wait a second if I throw up that would give me an excuse to leave, maybe I should just do it , Lena lets out a soft chuckle at her inside joke
“What so funny baby, why don’t you let me inside that head of yours,” the man says while licking his lips “...that's not the only thing I wanna be inside of”, he finishes as he looks Lena up and down.
“Yea that’s not gonna happen,” Lena says as she quickly finishes pouring the man his drink. She swiftly turns around to leave
The man reaches out and grabs Lena’s arm. “ Ah Ah Ah, where do you think you're going baby? I'm not done with you.”
“Get your dirty hands off me you bloke” Lena yells as she tries to yank her arm away from him. As she yanks her arm away from the man, her elbow hits the man’s mug, spilling ale all over his shirt.
“WHAT THE HELL, you dumb ass,” the man screams as he jumps off the stool trying to avoid the stream of ale that is flowing off the counter onto the floor “ you just spilled all this shit all over me, you better get me a new mug bitch”
“You smell as if you just took a bath in some ale, I think you have had enough already,” Lena replies while rubbing the sore spot on her arm where the man had grabbed her.
The man lungs at Lena, “ You dumb bitch,” he says “ I come to this bar every day, spend my hard-earned money and this is how you treat your customers.”
“You will show me the respect I deserve or else I will burn this shit bar into the dirt” he sneers. He reaches over the counter and grabs Lena shirt pulling her close “ and I won’t stop there, after you lose your job at this piece of shit bar I’ll follow you to the Inn on Main Street” Lena’s eyes are wide in fear “yea I know where you live, in that dingy, dirty room at the Inn. Isn’t your room number 4a?” He questions while smirking “You know I've had my eye on you for a while Lena Oxton. I wonder if you realize that I’m watching you every night through the blinds. Is that why you put a show on for me you little whore. When you're plunging your fingers deep into yourself do you imagine me above you because I sure do.”
Lena is terrified, frozen in place with a heavy sense of dread overpowering her senses. “ I can’t wait to follow you home tonight. You better put on a good show for me”. The man leans forward and licks the side of Lena’s face from her lower jaw to her hairline. His scent and alcohol evade Lena’s nose.
“You taste so good baby,” he says “ I can’t wait to taste some more”. The bar is silent with a thick tension that suffocates the room.
“Oi, what's going on here” Moira slurs as she stumbles from the back room.
“Oh it’s nothing, don't worry about it, Lena is just showing me a good time” He looks at Lena “Right baby,” he says slyly. Lena’s head whips towards Moira giving her a pleading look hoping that she would catch on and help her out.
“Well don’t let me stop your fun” Moira replies while winking at Lena. Lena pries herself out of the man's grasp and rushes towards Moira.
“H-hey Moira can we t-talk in the back” Lena stammers.
“Whatever” Moira says, already heading towards the back room. Lena practically pushes Moira into the back room, not caring that she is her boss.
“Oi watch it I almost fell-” Moira says snarkily.
“I need to leave,” Lena says, interrupting Moira.
“Well if you interrupt me like that again I won't give you anythin’”
Lena ignores Moira and repeats herself “I need to leave”
“And why’s that” Moira questions
“I can't live at the Hanamura Inn anymore, I’m moving”
“Why should I care”
“That man at the bar is stalking me”
Both women turn around to look at the bar and see the man staring at them waving. A cold shiver snakes its way up Lena’s spine. She rushes to the door and slams it shut.
“Wait really”
“Yes,” Lena says, she closes the distance between them to whisper, “He watches me, every night. I don't feel safe at the Inn anymore” Saying it too loud would make it too real for Lena. If she can put up a facade like this isn’t happening until she is “safe” at a different inn on the other side of the South Ward, then she will. Right now she just needs to leave.
“A’ight I'll let you go home, is there anything else you need” Moira’s questions, her demeanor switches from bitchy to a concerned mother as she realizes the severity of Lena’s situation.
Lena thinks for a moment, “I need you to let me work at Ilios Bar”
“No that's on the other side of the South Ward there’s no way” Moira pauses “ It’s not safe”
“I don't care” Lena screams “I’ll work more hours for less pay, I don't give a shit as long as I can get away from that man” Lena’s breathing becomes irregular and ragged as she screams
“A’ight a’ight,” Moira says trying to calm down Lena “ I'll let you work at Ilios Bar but you're the one that said less pay and more work, not me”
“Thank you, Moira, I could kiss you right now”
“I don’t swing that way”
“Thanks again I don't know what I would do without you,” Lena says while hugging Moira. Lena lets out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding. Moira may have a stick up her ass most of the time, but she did just save Lena. She grabs her coat and exits through the back.
It is already 11 pm so the street lights are on which means one thing, everyone should be inside, especially everyone in the South Ward. The streets in the South Ward at night time are extremely dangerous, way worse than the day. The nighttime provided cover for lowlifes that seemed to spawn from the grotesque sewers, the murderers, thieves, and kidnappers came alive during the nighttime. Lena speed walks through the streets constantly looking behind her towards the bar she is fleeing from. Not paying attention she runs into a person, knocking her down onto the ground.
“Oh I'm sorry mate I wasn’t paying attent-” Lena stops mid-sentence. Her eyes start at the man’s shoes and travel upward until she is staring into the eyes of the last person on earth she wants to see. it’s the man from the bar.
“Well would you look here, Christmas came early,” the man says kneeling towards Lena.
“H-How” Lena questions
“Oh baby you can’t escape from me, did you really think leaving early would stop me,” he answers. The man picks up and throws Lena over his shoulder like a bag of flour. “Oh your light, just like how I like my girls,” the man says while laughing.
“Help me, anyone please, Help me” Lena screams. She starts failing, kicking and punching the man to no avail, his grip was iron. She screams until she feels her throat start to get sore and bleed. No one comes out of the surrounding houses. Screams like this are common in the South Ward, far too common.
The tears that are forming in Lena's eyes cloud her vision. She feels hopeless and then the tears start freely flowing out of her eyes. Tears and snot cover Lena's face. The man carries Lena down the street toward the outskirts of the South Ward. Through the murkiness, she can visualize a uniformed guard at a station.
“Guard, Guard help me!” Lena screeches towards the figure.
The guard rushes over to the man. He looks at the scene before him, a man carrying a helpless woman over her shoulder while she cries and screams for help. The guard’s smile grows wider, he loves this job.
“Do you need help with that?” the guard asks.
“Oh thank god please help me,” Lena says feeling the despair leave her body.
“I ain’t talking to you whore” the guard replies harshly. The despair that was once leaving Lena’s body returns tenfold. “You and I could work something out about this problem you have,” the guard says to the man while pointing to Lena “or I could arrest you” the guard finishes.
“Ah I see, you know what I wouldn’t mind having a partner.” the man replies happily
“Bring her into here, I'm the only one on patrol,” the guard says as he points to the station.
“It’s nice and secluded, this is perfect,” The man says as he walks towards the station.
The trio stops in front of the door as Lena is roughly thrown into the station.
“Oh she has a nice body,” the guard says while he eyes Lena up and down “ a really nice body”
“I know that’s why I picked her” The man replies. Both the man and the guard lick their lips in an eerie synchronization.
Lena quickly looks around the station for anything to defend herself with. Her eyes land on a baton that sits atop the desk in the farthest corner of the room. Looking from both men to the baton, a silent warning is given to Lena by both men’s glare. Lena knows that even if she does make it to the baton she would then have to fight off both men. Lena makes her decision, she won’t go down without a fight, as she makes a mad dash towards the baton. Before she could make it to the desk, the guard tackles Lena from behind.
“Now where do you think you're running off to little lady” Lena bucks her hips as she tries to get the guard off of her.
“How about you calm down,” the guard says as he strikes Lena across the face. As soon as the blow hits, Lena’s head whips to the side due to the sheer force of the punch. She can feel her eye already starting to swell up
“See now why would you do that, you just ruined her pretty little face,” the man says, he is standing off to the side just watching everything unfold.
“Well it calmed her down” the guard replies “don't worry about it”.
While the guard is distracted, Lena makes one final attempt to get the guard off of her. The guard isn’t putting as much weight he needs to keep Lena down so when she bucks her hips the guard falls off of her. Lena jolts up and runs towards the desk. She reaches it in time and grabs the baton, she swiftly turns around and stares down the man and the guard. The guard and the man look at Lena with concerned eyes.
“You don’t wanna do anything too reckless Lena,” The man says as he tries to calm her down, “Let us do what we want and all this could be over in no time”. The use of her name by the man causes a primal urge in Lena. Her eyes flash with violent rage as she runs towards the guard with the baton held high above her head. In an overhead strike, Lena repeatedly hits the guard.
“Fuck stop that shit it hurts, stop you stupid whore” he cries while he curls up into a fetal position “assaulting a guard is illegal in all wards including this hellhole” He protests. Lena focuses all of her attention and rage on the guard, she hits him over and over again with the baton. Each time the baton makes contact with the man a sickening crack is produced. Blinded by her assault on the guard, Lena fails to see the man sneaking up behind her. The man forcibly turns Lena around and punches her across the face. The blow knocks Lena off of her feet; as her face slams against the floor, her grip on the baton is loosened. She can taste blood in her mouth and she isn’t sure if her lip is split due to the punch or her face hitting the floor. She tries to get up but the man stomps his foot onto the hand that is still loosely gripping the baton.
“Ahh” Lena screams in agony as her fingers are crushed under the man’s heel. The guard gets up slowly clearly in pain due to the beating Lena just gave him.
“You fucking whore” the guard spits onto Lena as he kicks her in the gut. The kick knocks the wind out of Lena as she grabs her stomach to soothe the pain. Lena lets go of the baton and the guard picks it up.
“You’re lucky I don’t beat the shit out of you with this,” the guard says as he points the baton at Lena and stands there menacingly.
“Man calm down, let's just see what she is hiding,” The man says as he reaches down, and tears open Lena’s shirt revealing the lace bra she is wearing.
“Well it looks like someone is looking forward to this,” the man says as she approaches. Lena backpedals on her butt trying to make one final plea.
“Please, you don’t have to do this. I won't tell anyone”
“Oh I know I don't have to do this, the thing is though I want to do it,” the man says as he leans in closer. “And you won’t be able to tell anyone because you won’t ever leave my side. From now on you are my personal fuck toy.”
Lena’s back hits the wall, there is nowhere else to go for her
“Oh, I can't wait to hear your screams of pain and pleasure baby.” the man reaches forward and roughly tears away at the bra, revealing Lena’s small perky breast. Lena put her arms up to try to cover herself.
“I don't think so,” the man says as he grabs both of Lena’s wrists and holds them above her head with one hand. As his other hand slowly approaches to palm one of Lena’s breasts there is a knock on the station door.
“What the fuck,” the man says as he stops
“I’m in here hel-” Lena tries to scream but the man quickly puts his hand over her mouth, silencing Lena’s call for help.
The person at the door knocks again, this time with more force and for longer “ I know you’re in there, I see a light on through the blinds. Please, I need your help” The voice pleads.
“Go answer it and tell them to leave,” the man says as he lifts up Lena and puts her in the corner adjacent to the door. The guard goes to open the door, putting his body in front of the opening making whoever is at the door unable to see inside.
“I’m busy here go to a different station,” the man says curtly as he tries to close the door. Before the door could be closed a foot stops it.
“Please monsieur you have to help me” the feminine voice pleads
“As I said I am busy, leave”
“I lost something that is very valuable to me, please help me find it”
“I don't care”
“Please I’ll do anything”
“...Anything?” the guard says while smirking
“Oh yes, anything monsieur. The thing that I lost is so important to me, I’ll do anything… and I mean anything” the voice finishes seductively,
“Why don’t you come in then”
“Oh thank you I don't know how I will repay you” the voice enters the station.
“Don’t you worry about that. I already have an idea” the guard says as he moves to the side allowing the voice to come in. The guard closes the door behind the voice locking it, trapping them in the room.
The voice finally enters the room revealing it to be a woman. Her back is facing Lena giving her a view of the woman’s strong, well-defined back muscles, her hourglass shape, and her silky dark purple hair that coils around her back; she has the epitome of a dancer's body. Lena wishes that she could somehow warn this woman on the appending dangers that are about to unfold. The woman turns around. It is as if time stops when their eyes interlock with each other, piercing golden iris’s stare into Lena’s eyes. The woman’s eyes are deep and mesmerizing like a sea of pure gold shining brighter than the sun. Her face is as if the gods themselves sculpted it from marble, with a strong chiseled jawline that could cut through rock, high and prominent cheekbones, and full lips; the woman was undeniably beautiful. The woman’s lips are coated in a light purple lipstick that somehow manages to correlate with the woman’s pale skin which gives off a purple-ish hue. The aura surrounding the woman is one of elegance, control, and royalty.
“Ma chérie there you are, I was worried sick.” the woman says while running towards Lena. The woman shoves the man off of Lena and gives Lena a bear hug suffocating her. When they finally separate the woman's face scrunches up into a pout
“You know that you can’t just run away from me like that,” the woman says while scolding Lena.
“Wh-What” Lena questions. Who the hell is this woman Lena thinks.
“Who the fuck are you,” the man says clearly lost.
“That doesn’t concern you” the woman replies harshly “ the only thing that you should be concerned about is how you almost just defiled my property” the woman's eyes grew dark with rage and hostility “and I don’t like sharing what's mine” …