Chapter 23

Mandy Cook was chained in the dark basement of a deserted house. The man who had bought her on the auction block had fled upon hearing Sid's army was in the area. The overseers had stayed a few hours after the owner fled. It wasn't that they felt any loyalty to the owner; it took them that long to take everything of value left in the house. The slaves had run off in the hopes of joining Sid's army.

Two days had gone by without food or water and she was starting to feel delirious. Naked, cold, and alone in the basement, she kept imagining she was hearing footsteps on the floor above. She heard voices and realized that the footsteps hadn't been in her imagination. She was afraid of yelling out to attract attention and terrified of dying there. It was a hard choice, should she risk another rape or a long slow death. She made her choice and yelled in what was more of a croak than a shout, "Help!"

The door opened and a man shouted, "Is there anyone down there?"

"Yes," Mandy Cook answered staring up at the white rectangle that outlined the form of a very strong looking man. The light hurt her eyes. She couldn't make out any of his features. She could feel her heart beating hard in terror of what the man might do to her.

She listened as the man said, "Someone get me a lamp. It is pitch black down there."

Another man entered the rectangle of light. He was carrying a lamp which he then handed to the first man. The first man went down the stairs into the basement. She moved to put her arms around her knees in an attempt to protect herself. The rattle of chains filled the small room. When he reached the bottom of the stairs she could see his face in the light of the oil lamp. A frown crossed his face when he caught a whiff of the stench inside the room. Shaking his head, he said, "I'll be over there in a minute."

The slow approach of light allowed her eyes to adjust to the light after days spent in the dark. The circle of light finally fell upon her. The man knelt down and examined her terrified face. In a soft voice, he said, "It's nice to find you, Mandy Cook of Cassandra."

Unable to believe her ears, she looked up the man and asked, "You are a Hero from Earth?"

"Yes. I'm Sid Jones," he answered taking in her naked body. Although the sight of a naked Damsel should have excited him, the abused condition of the woman denied him all chance of a physical reaction. The look of relief that spread over her face was reward enough.

Mandy burst into tears in relief at being rescued. With a gentle touch, he examined her to assess her injuries. The right side of her face was slightly swollen and one eye showed bruising; the result of a backhanded slap had been incredibly painful. Her wrists were raw from the manacles. Her pubic area was red and raw from her rape. She was filthy from almost a week spent in the basement. The past two days spent manacled to the wall and alone in the dark had not allowed her to avoid soiling herself. Looking up at him through tear filled eyes, she said, "Don't look at me. I look horrible."

"You look fine, Mandy. If I ever catch the man who did this, I'll make him pay for it," Sid said attempting to reassure her. He frowned upon coming across additional bruises on her body. Whoever had purchased her had been brutally rough in his treatment of her.

"My vagina burns," Mandy said sobbing and putting her hands between her legs. The rules of Chaos held that Damsels and Heroes could not have sex with the locals. There was a reason behind the rule. The fluids of sex between individuals of Chaos and individuals from Earth or Cassandra were highly irritating. Few men of Chaos could ignore the burning sensation enough to have sex with a Damsel more than once. The effect on the Damsel was even worse. She could not get rid of any fluids that found their way into her and the burning sensation could last for days. She cried out, "He took me twice."

"We'll clean you up," Sid said tenderly. He looked over his shoulder and shouted, "Fred, get me something that I can use to remove some manacles. I also need something for her to wear and a way to bathe her. We'll also need some food."

"Yes, Sid," Fred called back. Turning to the others in the room with him, Fred ordered them to clear out of the house after sending people on errands to take care of Sid's requests. One man went off to fetch a washtub. Another went to get the blacksmith. One of the women was sent off to find some clothes. A man went after some food.

Fred stood in the living room to assure that the Damsel would have her privacy. He didn't know what the situation was, but Sid's requests suggested that it wasn't good. Knowing that Sid would make sure that the Damsel was properly taken care of made him feel good to be part of a rescue like this. He smiled at the thought that his service was so personally rewarding.

In the poorly lit basement, Sid examined how the manacles were held to the wall. The copper chain was attached to the wall in a place well out of reach of Mandy. He went over and fiddled with the chain trying to get it unhooked thinking that it was hung over a simple hook. After a couple of attempts, he realized that the chain was being held in place by a ring that was cut and pushed closed. He would have to bend the ring to get the chain free.

"I've got to find something to open the ring holding your chain," Sid said.

"He used something over in that area when he put me down here," Mandy said pointing to one side of the basement.

Sid looked around the indicated part of the basement and found a nice piece of hardwood that could be used to twist the ring. He returned to the wall and used it to pry open the metal ring. Only then was he able to get the chain free. Looking at the setup, Sid knew that there was no way that Mandy could have freed herself. If they hadn't found her, she would have died of thirst.

While Sid had been working, Fred called down, "A tub has arrived and I'm preparing the water for a bath. We found a dress and a little food. The house is clear, so bring her up here when you can."

"Thanks," Sid called back while he bent down to lift Mandy from the floor.

She put out a hand to stop him and said, "Don't touch me. I'm..."

Sid put a finger over her mouth to silence her objection. In a tender voice, he said, "Hush, my Damsel in Distress. Didn't you know that being in distress means that the Damsel can't look her best?"

"No," Mandy answered suddenly feeling like a little girl.

Lifting her from the floor, Sid said, "Well, it does. So revel in being a Damsel and enjoy your rescue from distress."

"But..."

"I shall remove your chains, bathe you, and dress you. I have a few details to take care of here that will require a week or two. Then together, we shall travel north to where the other Damsels await your arrival," Sid said. He carried her to the stairs and started to climb.

"Other Damsels?" Mandy asked swallowing heavily. She knew the rules and wondered what the presence of other Damsels would mean to her.

While taking her up the stairs, Sid explained about the other Damsels. Mandy, like the other Damsels, was afraid that she wouldn't get to bestow her reward upon him. It took a little effort to reassure her, but by the time Sid finished his explanation she accepted the need for him to rescue as many Damsels as possible.

Once upstairs, Sid put Mandy down and looked around the room. He could see Fred, facing away from the house, standing outside to guard the door. No one would bother them. He called out, "Fred. What about the tools to remove the manacles?"

Without looking back, Fred answered, "They are on the table in the dining room. I put a couple of pots of water over the fire to boil in the kitchen. They should be ready in a few minutes. The tub is in the kitchen with a gown on the chair."

"Is there anything to eat or drink?"

"Yes, there's a pitcher of watered wine and some cheese on the table," Fred called back. He had expected that they would wait until after she was clean and dressed before eating and drinking.

Sid led Mandy to the dining room and looked at the food with a frown. He filled a quarter of the glass with watered wine and handed it to Mandy. He said, "Sip a little of this."

"Thanks," Mandy said grabbing the glass with trembling hands. She drained the glass in one long swallow before Sid had a chance to remind her to just sip it. A few seconds later she grimaced when the wine threatened to return on her. Watered wine was not the best fluid to give to a dehydrated person, but it was all they had. It wasn't a good idea to drink it all in one swallow and that had been the reason he had given her only a quarter of a glass.

After slicing off a small piece of cheese, Sid offered it to her. He said, "Here's some cheese. I wish we had soup or fresh fruit for you instead of cheese. Cheese isn't exactly the best food with which to end a fast."

Mandy chewed the small piece of cheese with her eyes closed. She was enjoying the act of eating as much as the flavor of what she was eating. A low moan of pleasure filled the air. The sound of her chains rattling reminded Sid that he had other business that required his attention.

After a minute of searching, Sid found the tools needed to remove the manacles. They were wrapped in a small piece of cloth. It took far more time and effort to remove the manacles than Sid had expected. After working on the copper pin with the chisel for three minutes, the left cuff was finally removed. Sid looked up at Mandy and shrugged apologetically. He said, "It's not as easy as it looks."

"It doesn't look that easy," Mandy said rubbing the wrist that had just been freed.

Starting to work on the other cuff, Sid said, "I'm sure that a blacksmith could remove it with one little love tap. I'm stuck trying to use brute force."

"I forgive you," Mandy said. Sid hit the pin holding the manacle together just right and it fell into two parts. The manacles fell to the floor at Mandy's feet. She sighed as she rubbed her newly freed wrist and said, "It feels so good to be free of them."

"I'm sure it does," Sid said thinking that she should have a chance to talk with Gregor when he returned from his mission to rescue Sebeson. Smiling at her, he said, "Let's get you washed."

While the idea of a bath was almost overwhelming, Mandy was too hungry and thirsty to give in to that temptation. She moved over to refill the glass with watered wine. Sid grabbed her hand and said, "Hold on a little bit. You need to let your stomach settle. You'll get sick if you eat or drink more right now."

Disappointed, Mandy followed Sid into the kitchen where there was a large fireplace with a couple of copper pots suspended over the fire. He removed the pots from over the fire and poured the hot water into a partially filled wooden tub. The tub was just large enough for Mandy to sit in. She got into the tub with a satisfied sigh. The warm water felt good on her abused skin and relaxed muscles that had been tense for too long.