Mei-Ling
[Paragon and Kuhna forms (currently in human form)]
The sound of creaking wood planks permeated the air as the world around her rocked gently like a bough swaying in the wind. That was the first thing that registered in Mei’s hazy mind as consciousness sluggishly returned to her, as if waking from years of slumber. Her mouth tasted stale, like what she’d imagined the bottom of a shoe would, and as she stirred she felt stiff muscles complain at the unwelcome motion. Biting back a muffled groan at the dull ache of her entire protesting body, she forced her eyes open to gaze into poorly-lit darkness in front of her. Her gaze met more dark, stained wood planks, ones that boxed her in on all sides save for one. Directly in front of her lay a lattice of iron-wrought bars, clearly placed there to confine her within what appeared to be a prison cell.
Memory stirred faintly at the sight around her and the musty smell that accompanied it. The incessant rocking reminded her that she was on a ship, but the memories that that realization conjured up only brought bitterness to the forefront of her mind. It was only now that she recalled the circumstances which had led to this moment, and to her current imprisonment aboard this strange vessel. A small grimace came unbidden to her features as the realization of her current reality struck her afresh, but just as quickly as her fists had clenched, she mastered herself once again, allowing the emotion to flow from her features. Just because no one could see the emotion there didn’t mean that it didn’t still exist beneath the surface, but now only she was privy to it.
It was only as Mei instinctively moved to prop herself up that she realized she’d been leaning against something, and as she turned to look, she realized that the slow, quiet tide of noise that washed over her wasn’t due to the waves washing against the hull of the ship after all. Dark, seemingly empty sockets stared out of the twilight at her, a gaze that would have chilled most any other living thing to the bone, but to Mei, it brought a sense of comfort. “At least I still have you,” she murmured hoarsely to the large, spiked lizard laying directly behind her, its tail curled protectively around her form. The creature rumbled in what was likely the closest approximation it could make to a purr, considering the fact that in every way, shape, and form, it looked for all like the very apparition of death and carnage itself. She reached out to stroke its neck, only to realize that her hands were bound behind her back, tightly enough to chafe her wrists raw. In any other situation, she would have simply burned through the bindings herself, but she remembered – sorely – the terms of her incarceration, and as such, left the rough shackles as they were. A small price to pay considering just how much she’d given up.
Aside from being on a ship and no longer in her own homeland, Mei had hardly an inkling of where she was, or where she was going. That concern was no longer hers; she’d given up that right when she’d handed herself over to her captors. That had been at least a week and a half ago now, and since that day, she’d seen a harshly different type of hardship from any she’d known in the past. And that was saying something, considering the culture within which she had been raised. The heavy sound of boots on wood announced the arrival of another person down the only set of stairs which led to her lonely quarters. “Oh princess…” the singsong tones of the mocking words clashed in a harsh contradiction with the rough, rasping voice which floated around the corner. A part of her cringed involuntarily within her at the sound, but somehow, she maintained her outward composure despite the dread which flooded her thoughts. It was the only voice she’d heard since she’d embarked upon this insufferable journey, and it saturated her body with waves of anger, hatred, and fear in turn.
A large, muscular man in uniform appeared in the doorway, blocking out what little light managed to filter down. The captain, the man who’d threatened to raze her homeland, burn her country to the ground, and destroy everything and everyone she’d ever known or held dear. This was the man who’d turned her entire life inside out, and who now effectively owned her as well – the only price he had been willing to take in exchange for sparing her family and her people. And he’d spared no time in exercising his domination over her either, in more grotesque and twisted ways than she’d ever imagined possible. In the short time in which she had belonged to him, she’d learned more about the dark, unspeakable, and vulgar crevices of the human psyche than she’d ever wanted to know.
The only thing which had saved her from further degradation was the Lusikross which now had her wrapped in its protective coils. Originally, she had been housed in quarters near the captain’s, but the massive wounds and gouges along the wooden walls of this prison cell showed just how close the saurian had come to breaking out of its confines and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake in order to search for its mistress. The creature was willing to take any amount of abuse doled out to itself, but as soon as it heard Mei in distress, no human-wrought confines could hold back its wrath. As such, Mei had soon been relocated to the prison which held the lizard, and no one had been brave – or stupid – enough to approach them since, but at least this arrangement meant that the ship remained above the sea for the duration of the journey rather than below it.
“It would seem that our honeymoon is finally coming to an end.” The man might have been handsome if not for the cruelty which showed in both his face and his voice. “A shame, really. There was so much more I was hoping to do.” The sinister note in his words sent a quiver down Mei’s spine, in spite of the defiance she stared back at him out of hard, golden eyes. “But perhaps the king will graciously allow us to see out the rest of our time together after we arrive. After all, it would be a small prize to ask for the years of faithful service I’ve given him.” His grin was predatory as he stared at her through the bars, teeth glinting in the half-light. "In the meantime, I would suggest you prepare yourself to disembark. We're pulling in to port right now, and you wouldn't want to be late to your own party."