Fate Rebellion

A week after the meeting in the royal hall, two figures snuck through Nidaros in the dead of night. Norway's ancient capital was a tiny hamlet by modern standards, but with a few thousand inhabitants, it was still one of the largest hubs in Norway at this time. 

Up front was Rurik, walking ahead with purpose, clearly with a goal in mind. Behind him was Eilin. There was some confusion in her eyes, because she had no idea where Rurik was taking her… but she didn't ask questions. She derived a strange joy from simply putting absolute trust in him. 

Besides, they were sneaking, and trying to be quiet… talking would ruin that. 

Soon, however, they arrived at their location: a simple house on the outskirts of town. First, Rurik checked their surroundings for a patrol, but then he went straight for the door and knocked on it. Within moments, the door swung open, revealing a young man in his mid-twenties. 

The man nodded respectfully, and stood aside, allowing Rurik and Eilin to enter. The latter remained confused about what was happening, but continued to follow him. The small house consisted of a single room, with the only separation being a few higher platforms, reachable by ladders. 

In the middle of the room stood two more men, flanking a fourth and final occupant. The latter was kneeling on the ground, tied up and gagged, muttering obvious curses at the others while wriggling around, trying to get free. 

Eilin didn't recognize the bound man, but she knew the other three. All of them were ensnared in Rurik's network, tied by either debt or blackmail. 

"Thank you," Rurik nodded sternly at the three men. "Wait outside for us." 

Without a word, the three men left respectfully, closing the door behind them. 

Finally, Eilin couldn't help but ask the question. "Master… What are we doing here?" she muttered, sceptically. Usually, Rurik shared everything with her, but he'd been strangely tight-lipped about this one. 

Rurik turned away from the bound man, who continued struggling and looking at him venomously, to look at Eilin. "We're here because I have a task for you," he said, surprisingly solemnly, before pointing at the man. "I need you to kill him." 

Eilin paled and gulped. Instantly, her mind dug up a very similar memory… 

* * * 

2009 — an undisclosed location, Norway 

"What the hell do you want this time, 'Master'," an eighteen-year-old, modern-day Eilin snarled venomously. She was stalking after middle-aged Rurik with a defiant expression, indignantly wearing a maid outfit. It was now three years before their deaths, and just a few months after Rurik and Luna had begun their retirement. 

Eilin had only been with them a short time, during which she remained independent, rebellious, and especially mistrustful. 

She entered their service because she was an orphan without prospects, and waiting on two old farts while they creeped towards death, paying her handsomely along the way, seemed like a decent way out. Yet, she didn't know their true identity, and skimmed over the contract's fine print. 

Unsurprisingly, the reality proved nothing like what she'd expected. 

As soon as she signed the contract and entered the mansion, along with many others like her, she became Rurik and Luna's main target. Unable to leave lest she break the contract and end up in prison—or worse, dead—she was now forced to call them Master and Mistress, while enduring their attempts at making her submit. 

The worst thing was… she could feel it working. 

For months, she'd been subject to various BDSM scenarios, including spankings, bondage, tickling, orgasm denial, and forced orgasms. These things on their own only made her more defiant, but each time after they were done, Rurik would visit to soothe her and any affected areas. 

At first, she tried to resist, but there was a strange sense of amicability and charm around him that was tearing through her defences. After each one of his visits, she'd inevitably feel better—sometimes even thinking he wasn't so bad. Slowly, affection and dependence were growing inevitably. 

Yet, since Eilin realized what was happening, she also became more defiant at the same time. She didn't trust him, or rather, didn't want to trust him, despite her own, growing feelings. She knew they were largely manufactured through manipulation. 

And yet, if it wasn't for Rurik's visits, she might have already decided that prison was preferrable to existing as the plaything of two perverts. 

Regardless, Eilin was extremely jaded by her past, but Rurik and Luna knew if they could break through her shell and earn her trust, they could turn her into a devoted servant… and Rurik was about to take a massive step forward in that plan. 

Without answering her question, he entered a room in their mansion, with a grumbling Eilin on his heels. Yet, when she saw what was on the other side, she halted. In the middle of the room was a man, kneeling on the floor, flanked by two burly enforcers. 

Bruises covered his body, one of his eyes was black, and some minor cuts bled slowly. His hands were bound, but nothing else stopped him from moving or talking. He looked miserable, defeated, and confused, but as soon as he noticed Rurik, his face paled in fear. 

Although neither Rurik nor Luna were public figures, the right people would still recognize them easily, especially if they were involved in any shade business. It was that way in most of the western world, where Rurik and Luna once focused their business. 

This man, for example, was Jack Taylor, an American politician more concerned with lining his own pockets than serving his constituents. A few days ago, he was enjoying his life of leisure, when a group of commandos broke into his home, kidnapped him in broad daylight, and flew him over to Norway. 

He quickly tried to stand up, eyes wide. "M— Mister Wolden! W— Whatever I did, I—" 

"Down!" one of the enforcers interrupted him gruffly, pushing him back down to his knees. 

"Gah!" the man groaned as his injuries flared up from the rough handling. He stayed quiet now, and looked up at Rurik pleadingly, barely noticing the maid-girl, who was looking at him like she'd seen a ghost. 

"I'm afraid I'm the wrong person to ask, Mister Taylor," Rurik said with the calm, confident smile of someone who knew the world had become his playground. 

He indicated towards the frozen Eilin, "Why don't you ask her? Assuming you recognize her?" 

"W— What?" Jack muttered, his eyes swivelling over to Eilin, confusion evident. "I— uhm…" he muttered, wracking his brain to find out where he knew her from, knowing his life was in danger. 

While he continued, and EIlin still stood frozen, Rurik turned to the enforcers. "I assume there were no problems?" 

"None at all, Sir," one of them nodded respectfully. "We simply spread some of the evidence we had about his dealings with us, and now the media is concentrating on that, rather than his disappearance. The authorities have also been nudged into looking the other way. With public opinion turning against him, no one cares enough to figure out what happened to him." 

That forced out Jack out of his thoughts, and looked up with a panicked gaze, "W— Wha—?!" 

"Quiet!" the other man barked, slapping the back of Jack's head. Jack fell silent and started blinking as shock set it. He realized his life had fallen apart in mere moments, with no clue about the reason for it. 

"Good work," Rurik nodded appreciatively. "Everyone involved in this operation can expect a hefty bonus. Now leave us, I can handle the rest." 

Delighted over the prospect of a bonus, the two men saluted with a fist over their heart, dipped their heads respectfully, and quickly left the room, leaving Jack to whatever fate had brought him here…