Chione had a dream. It had been so long since she’d had one, that when she woke up that morning she was in a state of shock. The last time she had dreamed was before the Chief forcibly injected her with Vio. She’d had many restless and sleepless nights since then, tormented by half-lucid impressions of life at this facility ––sometimes of her traumatic encounters with Sheinberg, Romanoff or Rigoletta, but more recently just the repetitive strain of her hand against a washboard. But this was the first actual dream in a while. She was on Voivode again, riding along the flat grassy plain.
That was the start of a very bad day. Memories of Voivode refused to dislodge from her head. His chestnut coat, his playful nips of her hair, the way he seemed to know exactly how fast to trot or canter, whether she was side-saddle or astride. She wiped her palm along her face, tussled in her bed, but she couldn’t stop thinking. The alarm blared, and count began, but she was sluggish coming out. A guard came over and jabbed her with a baton until she got into place.
She stayed in her cell that day. Prisoners were forced out at certain times, usually midday, but she couldn’t stomach going to the refectory with all those people. And as soon as the doors unlocked, she returned to her bed.
Upset turned to anger very quickly. How could she be in such a mess over this. Why now? While she loved that horse, there were much bigger problems. Voivode wasn’t even the worst loss of that night. So why wasn’t she weeping over her father? Maybe she knew that if she began, it would be completely over for her. Part of her still remained that hadn’t given up. She’d mourn for him when she was home.
By evening, she had calmed down, simply laying down with a blank gaze towards the bed above. She hadn’t eaten, showered, or done anything today, merely left with a hollow feeling inside and an ache in her head. She was ready to sleep, and maybe she could look forward to that dream again as an escape from the present world. But then the door opened, and in came Rover and Melissa.
“Hey,” Rover said, “follow. Now.”
“What?” Chione sat up. “It’s nearly lockdown.”
“Don’t matter,” Rover snapped. “You’re coming.”
Chione got up and found herself following the stoney faced girls down the cellblock, even as other prisoners were returning to their cells. They reached the cell at the end of the block, where Cheshire was waiting. Her arms and legs were crossed, although she was wearing a deceptive smile.
“Ah, so glad you could finally make it, dear,” she said. “Why haven’t I seen you all day?”
“Sorry, I’ve just been sick,” Chione said. “I’ll come first thing tomorrow and explain. I have to get back now, or else I’ll miss count and––”
“Rover, sweetie, close the door. We don’t want a draught.”
To Chione’s alarm, Rover did as commanded and brought the metal door shut. The click of a lock rang in the silence. They were sealed inside, at least until the guards came to count them.
Unbeknownst to the white-haired girl, none of them would be counted tonight. Back near Chione’s cell, Zoe Dee was on shift, watching the prisoners squeeze by her on the tight walkway, which made all parties uncomfortable. Then another guard came up to her and gestured.
“Count for this cell is down by one today.”
“Copy,” Dee said, holding back a yawn as she languidly shifted to her. “Got perms for that?”
The other guard just grinned. “These are perm enough.”
She leant over, their bodies obscuring the motion of her hands towards Dee’s. Zoe’s eyes widened, as she realised this wasn’t any official procedure. The other guard shuffled away, back to her own post. While keeping eyeliner level, she clutched the item within her hand. A packet of cigarettes. She knitted her brow, and glanced back at the direction the guard had come, and then at the cell before her.
In Cheshire’s cell, all was dark but for the few candles, and Chione stood surrounded by the other three. The older woman stood up, and reached her hand over to brush Chione’s cheek.
“You missed a day of work. I had the week’s washing planned out based on having the two of us, and now I’m behind. That’s going to cause me a headache.”
Though Cheshire never let up her usual, sultry tone, there was something strained about her voice this time, bringing it closer to a serpent’s hiss.
“I’m sorry,” said Chione, “I’ll do double tomorrow.”
“And I missed out on your company today. Don’t you realise how much that hurts me, dear? Either way, you owe me. I’ve paid you for the week ahead of time, remember.”
“I-I didn’t spend anything today, I can just pay you back for that.”
Cheshire then gave a sigh and a tut.
“You still don’t understand. You are going to pay me back. This very night.”
Chione’s heart was starting to pump a little faster, as something about Cheshire’s whole demeanour put her off. Still, she was sure this was that big of a problem, and though she had always only received money, she bet she could figure out how to use her Vio to transfer it back.
Behind her, the doors unlocked for count, but no one came. It was Rover who pushed the door open by a sliver, and kept a watchful guard on the hallway. Melissa meanwhile sat down on the floor by the other girl’s feet, hugging her knees as she watched Chione with a guarded look. While this behaviour was certainly strange, her shoulders eased a little since she was no longer cornered on all sides.
“Anyway,” said Cheshire, “you look stressed enough. Shall we get back to the massages?”
“Alright….”
Chione didn’t move, but the other woman swished around her. She planted her delicate fingers onto her shoulders and made small circular motions into her skin. Overall, Chione was still on edge ––at any moment, she was sure a guard would arrive and bark at them all for this gross rule violation. And now that she couldn’t see Cheshire, she had no way of gauging whether she was upset or not.
“Um… Cheshire, I––”
“Please, dear, call me mommy. You’re one of us now.”
Chione sighed, but then said, “mom…my. I should have come earlier and explained. I hope you understand. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I know you didn’t,” Cheshire said, leaning to add in a whisper, “but you still have to give me something in return. That okay?”
“Okay.”
“Good.”
Cheshire’s hand started to wander down. Gently along Chione’s arm, it was soothing and even warm at first. But then it wandered further and along, brushing her breast. Then it stayed there. Chione felt herself grow still, breath hitching The woman had brought herself closer, pressing into Chione’s back. She squeezed her hand. Chione let out a chilled breath.
“Wait…”
“You like that?” wagged Cheshire’s tongue in her ear. “I can keep going.”
Chione shut her eyes, as tight as possible as if it would make those hands disappear. This was too much.
“Stop,” she said in a rushed breath, pulling away and turning to Cheshire. “I just… I can’t do that.”
Melissa clasped her hands to her mouth, and even Rover briefly broke from her watch to look at them. Cheshire however was completely undeterred and in fact swooped in again.
“They all say that at first. You just need to get over that little hangup. Look––”
She pulled Chione in and pressed her lips against hers. That was enough to send her whole body into haywire defence, but she didn’t realise Cheshire had also sent her hand down, scraping along her crotch and down to the underside.
“Get off!”
Chione ripped away again, but Cheshire shoved her back onto the bed. Chione braced out her hands and yelled:
“I said no!”
“Look at her, my girls, she’s pretending she doesn’t want it. But I told you, little Chione, you’re one of us now, meaning you play by all the rules. The others know that, so why don’t you? You know what happens to freeloaders. Come, Melissa!”
Melissa shot up, standing stiff but giving a determined nod. She rushed over and despite Chione trying to wrangle free, the two of them held her down. They ripped her shorts off and her underwear, before locking her arms crushingly against her back.
Chione began to mutter, “no…. No, no, no!”
She tried to kick her legs, but Melissa grappled them down. With one hand keeping the arms in place, Cheshire was free to slide her free hand down along the girl’s back.
“Such a lovely body,” she tittered. “Such a lovely girl. Will you give it all for mommy?”
“What are you doing?” Chione shouted. “You freak, you monster!”
“Shut up, jerk!” said Melissa, “you don’t talk to her like that. She took you in, remember. No one else would!”
Cheshire purred in agreement, “exactly. There’s a debt to be paid. That makes you mine.”
Tears rushed to Chione’s eyes. She told herself she would never become like them. They could rob her name, her clothes, her dignity, but she would never join in the filth ––the filth of Asphodel. But now even that was going to be taken from her.
“Please,” she cried, “please don’t do this to me. M… mommy! I’ll do anything, I’ll do everything you ask just don’t make me this!”
“But this is all I want from you,” Cheshire said, her hand getting dangerously lower along Chione’s hip. “And you’ll learn to love it, don’t worry.”
Though she yelled, and gnashed, and wept, Chione could do nothing now. Cheshire slid her fingers in, invading further and further and she was worried they would never stop. Her skin crawled, hot and cold washed over her. Her head was swirling, neck seizing up, her whole body convulsed against the restraint of her arms and legs. But she soon stopped resisting. Limbs went limp, like her very bones were collapsing. Her face pushed into the mattress. Water streamed from her closed eyes.
On the outside, Asphodel was quiet. A steel construction that seemed unnaturally lodged within the asteroid, trailing alone in cold, empty space. As the nightmare went down in Cheshire’s cell, Patch was alone with Leonore in another. The two naked women were embraced, gently sharing kisses and the occasional laugh as they locked eyes. In another cell, Rigoletta and her gang were also going at it. Joined by Sophy, Tatiana, and Vil, they became a pile of flesh, surrounded by grunts and moans. Roxie had joined in at first, playing with the blonde Sophy and pleasuring Rigoletta, but slowly she disentangled and watched from the sidelines, glancing up at the high window in their cell –– framed by bars.
Dee finally left her shift as lights went out for all the cells. Before she exited however, she glanced back, and couldn’t help but wonder about that cell; the one with a prisoner fewer. But in a place like this, you didn’t make things your business if you didn’t have to. So she pulled out a cigarette from her new pack, and lit it up. And all throughout Asphodel, staff were retiring for the night, save for the night shift guards.
When Cheshire was done, she finally let go of Chione’s arms. The girl remained slumped over on the bed. Melissa, who was still on the floor, crawled over to Cheshire’s legs and hugged them, prompting the woman to chuckle and pat her hair.
“Good girl,” the old woman said, “since you’re down there, maybe you’d like to give me a little worship?”
Excited, Melissa gave another vigorous nod, before planting her face into Cheshire’s lower belly, kissing it dearly. As this happened, Chione finally gathered some strength and pushed herself up to a kneel, but she dared not glance back at the other people in the room.
“You…” she said quietly, “you horrible…. You forced me to….”
“Was that your first time?” Cheshire asked, grinning. “That’s right, you’re a debutante. Let’s just say your debut is complete.”
“How can you talk like this?!” Chione clenched her teeth, staring down at the quilt as a droplet of water fell and stained it.
“You hurt me…. You can’t keep me here forever. Once I get back I’ll tell them all. Your reputation––”
“Oh dear, you really are in such a state over this. Just let your nerves calm down and you’ll realise you’re fine. Anyway, no one wants to listen to a lover’s quarrel.”
“Lovers?!”
“And half of them would do worse to you if they had the chance. Remember you’re still under my protection. But you could easily find yourself in a dangerous position if you badmouth me.”
“Then you’re all scum,” Chione spat, “every one of you in this place.”
She brushed the back of her arm against her eyes, wiping the tears.
“I want to go home…. I just want to see father again.”
“Well that’s just impossible,” Cheshire said, turning away and grabbing a fistful of Melissa’s hair. “Anyway it’s gonna be a long night so you keep quiet over there. Come on, my dear, pull them off with your teeth.”
But Chione couldn’t be quiet. The tears wouldn’t stop, as she fell onto her side and began to sob. She clutched her hands to her eyes, to her face, and to her hair, almost tearing it out by the roots. All the while she was surrounded by the muffled high notes from Melissa, and the darker moans of Cheshire.