A Slave... Or A Pet

 

Liara kept her eyes on the floor as they walked back to the cell. She couldn't look at Shepard right now. Couldn't see her without remembering that hungry look in her eyes. Without imagining her with Solvitis between her legs, thrusting as she moaned.



It was almost a relief when Yuri stopped them and, as expected, led Liara to Delaana's office. Right about now, she needed to be away from Shepard, even if the alternate was to visit with the woman who was in charge of breaking her and her comrades.



"Ah, good," Delaana said as the door opened. "Have a seat. Did you get a chance to read those poems?"



A moment of panic filled her. Suddenly she was positive that she had forgotten to delete the messages she had been sending to Solvitis during the meal. But after going back through her memories, she assured herself that she had. Handing over the datapad, she took her usual seat opposite Delaana's desk.



"Hmm, yes," Delaana mused, almost to herself, as she paged through the document. "Ah, Belessa, I've read her before. Her early work was dull, but she definitely improved when she became a matron." Delaana offered critiques on all of Liara's selections, most of them positive. As she turned another page, her expression went slack. "Why... you sneaky little bitch."



Liara felt herself tense up. No, she had deleted the message. She was sure of it. "What are you talking about?"



"You really thought you could get away with it, didn't you?" Delaana tapped the surface of the datapad with a serious expression. "But I'm on to your little game, Dr. T'Soni."



Turning the pad to face Liara, Delaana smirked. "'The Bite of the Serpent' by Lexia D'Lentis? A poem about the Battle of the Citadel? You just couldn't resist giving your ego a little boost, could you?"



"It's... about the Battle of the Citadel?" Liara innocently replied. "I wasn't aware. I suppose I must not have understood the metaphor."



This caused Delaana to erupt into laughter. "Oh, Goddess, you're kidding me! You didn't realize that poem was about the battle that you were actually in? Amazing, absolutely amazing!"



Liara tried her best to look embarrassed. The truth, though, was that she knew damn well what the poem was about. But she wasn't going to let this opportunity to make Delaana feel superior to her pass her by. The more she underestimated Liara, the less likely she'd be able to prevent their escape.



"Hell, why would I need to read a poem about the battle, when I've got an illustrious, decorated veteran of it right here in front of me?" Delaana filled her voice with overblown pomp, as she gestured grandiosely at the nude, humbled asari in front of her. "So, what was it like, facing down that giant geth warship, huh? Seeing it barrel through all those warships like they were nothing but toys?"



"It wasn't a geth warship," Liara stated. "It was a..."



"Yeah, yeah, one of an ancient race of prothean legends come to destroy us all," Delaana scoffed. "Just because you fuck Shepard doesn't mean you have to believe all her delusions."



But Liara was adamant. "If you'd seen what I've seen, you'd realize what they truly are."



"Well, that could be arranged," Delaana said, moving forward and raising her hands to grip Liara's face. Liara shrank away in fear, before Delaana laughed and sat back down. "Nah, boss says I'm still not supposed to do anything to you."



"And what are your instructions regarding Shepard and Miranda?"



Delaana narrowed her eyes. "How about you let that remain my business, huh, pet? Don't forget that you're here at my pleasure, to answer my questions. This isn't one of those 'mutually beneficial' relationships, you get me?"



"I apologize," Liara said, and this brought out another one of Delaana's frequent laughs.

"Oh, don't you go pulling that whipped varren look on me," Delaana said with a snicker. "Fine, you want to know the truth? Boss says my orders regarding your fellow prisoners is to let my men do whatever the fuck they want to them, as long as it doesn't cause any serious injury or scarring, until he tells me otherwise. There, that's the big secret. Don't let them touch you, and have them touch the ever-loving shit out of your friends. Preferably with their cocks."



It was getting increasingly hard to stay level-headed around this woman. "To what end? What does he hope to accomplish?"



"What the hell are you asking me for? You're the one who managed to track him down; I figure you know a lot more about him than I do. I just take his money and follow his orders."



Liara stared up at Delaana. "And don't you ever get sick of that? Following somebody else's orders?"



She expected a harsh comeback, but Delaana just let out a pained groan. "Unfortunately, you don't have a lot of options when you're a fugitive Ardat-Yakshi." Delaana stared at Liara with a scornful expression. "I'm afraid not all purebloods are as lucky as you are, Dr. T'Soni. Born a normal, healthy asari to a wealthy and powerful Matriarch, handed everything in life on a silver platter. I had to fight and bleed for every last credit, do things I never thought I'd sink to just to survive."



"Like supervise the systematic rape and torture of prisoners," Liara responded.



Delaana stared back at her with narrowed, angry eyes. After a tense silence, she finally said, "I wouldn't expect a privileged little bitch like yourself to understand what it means to have no options left. When it comes down to you and her, and you're not willing to stoop as low, to sink as deep into the muck as she is, then she lives, and you die. In the world I live in, that's just how it works."



Liara cursed herself for her big mouth. She was supposed to be pretending to be Delaana's friend. Put her at ease, make her think Liara wasn't a threat. Instead, it seemed like she was doing everything she could to antagonize her.



Standing up, Delaana walked over to her shelf of ancient books. Pulling one down, she turned back to Liara. "You remember that poem I asked you about? 'The Fields of Eternity?' It was one of the first poems I ever read. I was only 40 then, just starting to feel those changes that come with maidenhood. I would read that poem, and just close my eyes and think about those fields. Dreaming about the day when I would be old enough to leave home and travel the stars. Find green fields just like Nessenia wrote about. And as I sat and stared out into those fields, that seemed to go on forever, she'd come and sit down next to me. The woman I'd fall in love with, who would lay with me at night and meld with me, who would bear..."



Turning abruptly away from Liara, Delaana slammed the book back into his spot on the shelf, hard enough to shake the rest of the tomes. She stood there for a while, her head bent forward, her shoulders slumped. When she finally turned around, her eyes were hard and cold.



"But turns out, life doesn't give you happy endings like that," Delaana said, her voice emotionless. Looking down at Liara, naked in her slave collar, she smirked. "But then again, I guess I don't need to fucking tell you that, do I?"



Moving to her desk, Delaana hit the intercom. "Take her back. We're done here."

* * *



Yuri closed the door behind Liara as she stepped into the cell. From the looks of things, Shepard and Miranda hadn't had any unwelcome visitors while Liara was away.



Liara sat against the wall perpendicular to the one Shepard had chosen. She felt Shepard move to put her arms around her, and brusquely shoved them away. Shepard looked confused, and leaned her head in close for them to whisper.



"What's wrong?" Shepard asked. "Did she do something to you?"



Liara glowered. "No, she didn't."



"So what's the matter, then?"



Part of her didn't want to say anything, but she knew that she had to get this off her chest. Liara turned to look into Shepard's eyes. "What happened in the mess hall... that was all just an act, right?"



"Liara!" Shepard seemed surprised at the question. "Of course it was. You really thought I was enjoying that? That I liked getting screwed on a damn table with you and everyone watching?"



"You did seem very convincing," Liara said scornfully.



"Come on, Liara, don't do this," Shepard said. "I had to help Solvitis keep his cover. He's our only hope of getting out of here, you know that. I could tell he needed encouragement, so I did what I could. It was just an act, trust me." She smiled at Liara, trying to mollify her. "Come on, you don't think that I got one look at that turian and fell head-over-heels for him, do you?"



"It wouldn't be the first time."



And there it was.



Shepard's smile went away immediately. "Liara, please. Tell me we're not doing this here."



"Why the hell not?" Liara asked, her voice quavering. "There's no guarantee we'll ever get the chance to again."



"Liara, what happened between me and Garrus... it was a moment of weakness. After we got back from beating the Shadow Broker, I was going to break it off with him, I swear."



Liara should have left it at that, but the hurt was still too fresh. "Tell me something, Shepard. When the two of you were in bed, did you moan just like you did in that mess hall? Did you use those same filthy words to make him cum for you?"



Shepard's brow furrowed. "Dammit, Liara, I told you. What I was doing in the mess hall was just an act. You know, just like you were acting like a dangerous and powerful information broker when I found you. Which, considering where we are now, that was all a big damn lie, too."



The words cut deep into Liara, and Shepard immediately saw it in her face, knew that she had gone too far.



"Liara, hey..." Shepard softly said, but Liara was already moving out of hearing range. Shepard started to make motions to move close again, but seeing the look in Liara's eyes, she stopped and stayed where she was. Her eyes were filled with regret, but Liara wasn't interested in Shepard's apologies right now.



Every time she shut her eyes, her mind sent her back to that mess hall. Only instead of Solvitis between Shepard's legs, it was somebody she had thought was her friend. And their ecstatic cries were the cruelest of taunts.