Mayrin's descent of muddled madness and evil cannot be perceived properly until one hears of her particular hunt of her goal. If it were true that none loved her, merely pitied and humored, then she would have to forcibly prove Oath-Keeper wrong—make people love her.
And so, she firstly dragged the bratty child Iona home; the girl crying and screaming all the way, spurring a burning irritation within May. The lass was homeless, hungry, poor; why would she not want to gain a home?! Why would she be so dull to believe that she was better off upon the streets, attempting more failed robberies as she had against May herself? She kept calm, at first. She allowed herself to believe that it was just shock of a life-change; she would be patient, and work her through this.
Of course, she couldn't be trusted to stay at the small home herself, as rude and reckless as she was acting at just being taken there. May tied her to the bedpost with a length of rope, once used to lead a horse; in time, she'd switch to an iron shackle, when Iona eventually managed to slip from her bonds. May had considered herself generous, as she gave Iona the room to stand and walk a few feet, despite being attached by the restraining length of bonds.
Soon, she would bring Chellia home. She had expected herself to be content with the girl from the alley, as little manners and thankfulness as she held; but when she met Chell...The woman, looking worn by hardwork, delivered such a wonderful attitude, everso kind and praising as May spoke and drank with her in the Combe and Wattle Inn. It was yet another spur-of-the-moment decision; Chell proved much easier to get home, seeming unsure, even frightened as May explained to her that they'd now be living together. As unsure as she acted, she yet still thanked the beaming Mayrin with wet eyes. Out of happiness for gaining a much better life, May would have assumed.
She brought Chell in, one of their first sights being the shackled Iona. May had obviously hoped too much for their meeting to go well, as the young lass was nothing but a brat, yelling insults at Mayrin; she hadn't wanted to, but she beat the girl quiet in front of Chell. At least, May assured herself, Chell would know what happened if she ever became unthankful.
May showed Chell her room, and rewarded her manners by allowing her to room free—though the bedroom door would remain locked on the outside, and the windows of her room nailed down. Just in case, May told herself. Neither of them truly loved her yet, and it would take time; just in case, lock her in, so that she cannot ruin this.
It would be May's fate, what happened next. She had made the mistake of taking Iona, after leaving Chell to settle in and grow used to her new home, to her work; tugging her along on a rope, many bemused(and unamused) faces greeting the situation. Sydin's prying eyes found her first, and so she kept Iona close, believing she could be kept from her earlier promised punishment; what else to expect, though, than one of her comrades to knock her out? She hadn't even seen who—too focused on the one who commanded her, she was attacked from behind.
When she woke, she experienced a defilement that would not be retold to anyone.
Nearly a day later, she re-awoke from pained, fitful slumber, left unshackled to leave as she'd please(or be able to). Lumbering into the commonroom of the hall, she found Iona still present—the lass recoiled at the sight of Mayrin and her condition, though bravely claiming that Anna(who May now realized was the culprit of knocking her out) was going to take true care of her. May wasted no time, and began to drag the fearful girl back to her own abode, in no mood to argue it out. Iona was her own; not a single others.
And so they returned; Iona was put back into place after a short beating, and May went to see Chell. Chell, the sweet, wonderful woman, brought comfort to May after she dared recount pieces of the story; she only needed to hear that a man had raped her, and offered her arms to May for an embrace.
In the end, Chell got much less beatings than Iona—however frustrated she had become with the older woman, as she wouldn't stop weeping. But what would it be...If Ralyn hadn't shown up. He had come once before, she had forgotten, and had now come again with the intentions of killing May. He had discovered that she branded Catilyn.
But when he discovered her two captives, and his horror and disgust showed, both of the women turned against May. Even Chell, sweet Chell...Her voice rose, and her hand struck May across the cheek. May could not strike back, else Ralyn would find his blade to her throat. She turned to a pathetic, pitiful mess, begging Chell to stay; though she had hit her, it was only for their love! Chell hadn't had enough time to truly appreciate it, to realize that it was for both of their good! But the house would empty, and May would be left alone with Ralyn.
He let her live. He hadn't realized how much his former friend had begun to lose it, and found it in his heart to give her another chance to recover. He held Mayrin, who wept, nearly convinced that Oath-Keeper had been correct: No one would love her, for any reason at all. Ralyn promised that he would be there, that he cared; it was enough to calm May for some time.
A week later.
May had sprung back from her initial depression. Upon returning to the hall, reporting in, she would find Iona there once more; the lass had returned, seeking Anna. The maid of the house convinced Iona that she wouldn't let May near her, but a distraction proved itself, allowing the woman to sneak up to the child. A small scene was caused, and all attention turned to them, but not one made an attempt to halt the maddened Mayrin—Sydin simply didn't care, and the maid, Ethel, knew enough to not attempt to change the maddened minds of those in the House.
She finally managed to break Iona, in this span of time.
It was a process of forcing her into submission.
Firstly, she made Iona eat dry dirt—she got sick, and heaved it up. May then force-fed her her own sick. Iona was in tears at this point, and began to beg, promising that she'd be good. But hadn't Iona broken many same promises before? A last length would have to be taken to assure her attitude would keep in check. She forced the girl to piss into a bucket, which then went right down her gullet. Iona had stopped fighting, after this point; she was untied, and obediently rised.
It wasn't a day later when her attitude dared to flare for the last time that it would. They had lived in peace, May treating her preciously so long as she kept manners and expressed thankfulness for May being so patient with her. She was prepping dinner for the two, and Iona would dare to suggest to May that she should seek help for her mind; claiming that no one stood before her when she spoke to Oath-Keeper, that she was quite literally insane! She kept insisting, insisting, insisting...
Iona's dinner became a chunk of her own leg.
She's quick now to assure Mayrin that she is quite indeed sane.
To be continued.
