WARNING: This story covers mature topics and is not meant for younger or more sensitive audiences.
Roselyn's Story
At only seventeen, Roselyn fell into the Altruist's forced military conscription. Each barony or baronet is required, based on their population statistics, to conscript a certain number of people to serve in their standing military between Styxa, Hollenmund, and other strategic locations. They do this conscription based on a lottery, for all persons, with a few exceptions, between the ages of sixteen and thirty. The lottery does not differentiate between men and women in selection, and so, as a consequence, Roselyn was selected for forced conscription.
Roselyn's assignment was three years at a particular guard post in Hollenmund, deep inside the tunnel. The tunnel is cold and has no light source besides the solsten chandeliers hanging from the cave ceiling. Conscripts are not typically moved, work six days a week, and do not receive military leave. However, the conscripts in the tunnels, like Roselyn, are brought to the surface in rotation for one week every three to six months to prevent them from going mad from lack of sunlight.
This is an AI Generated Image.
This is an AI Generated Image.
Roselyn's post had five units of thirty soldiers, with a sergeant over every ten soldiers, a lieutenant over each unit, and a captain over the entire post. The soldiers were mainly forced conscripts with one of the units being mercenary conscripts--persons hired to take the place of more wealthy people who fell under the lottery. Roselyn made friends with the other women conscripts, as well as a nineteen-year-old man named Eli Walker. Eli is from a poor background, being an orphan. He had been working as a farm hand when he was called on conscription, six months before Roselyn's conscription. Eli helped her and the other new recruits adjust to the military schedule and the perpetually dark interior of the tunnel. She and Eli in particular became good friends, talking about everything.
Despite her friendships, military life proved difficult for Roselyn. The lack of sunlight made the weeks feel like months. The military also lacked separate facilities for men and women. Men and women sleep in the same barracks, change, shower, and relieve themselves in the same facilities, and are given the same packs to carry and workloads to accomplish. Although it was forbidden by the sergeants, fellow male conscripts would sometimes secretly carry portions of the women's packs. However, she and the other female conscripts struggled under the constant heavy weights they were forced to carry and were routinely embarrassed at the lack of privacy.
The sleeping quarters were separated by squad and unit. The men of her squad and unit, being fellow conscripts, were sensitive to the women's need for privacy and tried their best to respect their women's needs. However, the main shower and lavatory facilities were large and shared with all the units of the compound. The sergeants and mercenary recruits routinely took advantage of the shared facilities to invade the women's privacy, such as feigning accidentally brushing aside the shower curtains while they were showering or changing. They would also take advantage of the shared facilities to get into the women's personal belongings or to strip in front of them.
Roselyn and the other women would attempt to use the facilities while the men were not present. Eli and a few of the other male conscripts would make objections to the behavior of the mercenaries if they saw it, lessening the frequency, but the mercenaries would take these liberties whenever possible.
During weekly barracks inspections, sergeants would often take an inordinate amount of time inspecting the women's belongings. They would ask uncomfortable questions about their bodies and dirty clothing, such as the causes of stains on their used drawers.
About a year and a half into her time, after one of her unit's week-long visits to Styxa on the surface to see the sunlight, a couple of the soldiers in her unit purchase hallucinogenic mushrooms to use in the tunnel, contrary to military policy. As a result, their entire unit was searched to confiscate the banned substance. Her sergeant claimed that the women could be hiding the contraband in their corsets, and gleefully ordered them to strip to ensure they did not have the contraband on their person. While he was performing this strip search, the lieutenant walked in on them. The lieutenant, upon seeing the strip search, decided that they also needed a body cavity search. The lieutenant himself performed this search on every woman in the unit, ordering the naked girls into various positions, and even feeling them out with his fingers under the guise of conducting a thorough search.
Because of this incident, Roselyn made a formal complaint to the captain. The captain dismissed her complaint, saying that strip searches and cavity searches are a normal part of military procedure; that they are, as dictates of military and Altruist laws of equality, performed irrespective of gender; and that any impropriety she felt was purely in her imagination. She responded, explaining to him that the women were the only ones to receive this treatment, that their sergeants and lieutenant spent far longer than necessary conducting the searches, and were visibly excited during the searches. He responded by saying that there must have been other reasons the women happened to be selected, reiterating that there was nothing illegal or unscrupulous about their searches. He also added that if there was something amiss with the way they conducted their searches, other women besides her would have also come forward to complain, and the fact that only she did so speaks to the fact that any impropriety was all in her head.
Roselyn decided, after this interview, that the only way to make her case was to convince the other women to lodge a formal complaint with her. So she gathered the women in her unit together to inspire them to lodge a complaint against the lieutenant and sergeants. While she was speaking to the women, the lieutenant and his adjutants interrupted their meeting to intimidate them. When Roselyn staunchly refused to relent, the angry lieutenant beat her as the other women watched in horror. The adjutants kept the women back, as the lieutenant declared that he could literally do anything he wanted to them as he was the lieutenant and they must do whatever he told them to do.
Roselyn's friends then took her to the infirmary. The lieutenant ordered the healers to log the injuries as being from a bunk bed falling on her. When she tried again to make a formal complaint about being accosted, the lieutenant showed the log of her injuries being from a bunk bed. The captain then punished her with a month of an additional four hours of daily cleaning duty for filing a false report against her superior.
After receiving her punishment and exiting the captain's office, the lieutenant followed her, scoffing at her attempts to get him into trouble. Roselyn fervently declared that she would get the other women to testify on her behalf, and the captain would see that she was right. He laughed, saying that he supposes he will have to teach her another lesson, and proceeded to rape her. The captain walked in on the incident, and, told Roselyn that she better enjoy the rest of it because she would be receiving an additional month of extra cleaning duties for seducing the lieutenant. This was because it was against military policy to have enlistees have intimate relationships with other enlistees in their post or to seduce an officer. He walked away, leaving the lieutenant to finish raping her. It was then that Roselyn realized that the captain had no intention of providing her with a means to redress her grievances and that the captain would take the lieutenant's side no matter the scenario. Because she was not permitted to complain to someone of higher authority than her captain, she reasoned that no redress could ever occur. (It is important to note that this is a false assumption on Roselyn's part. If five or more enlistees file a complaint together, it is required to go to an authority higher than the captain at their post, hence the lieutenant's attempt to intimidate them. However, Roselyn and the others, being enlistees, were ignorant of the military's bureaucratical technicalities.)
The men of her unit were extremely angry about the inspection of the women, and even more so when they learned of the lieutenant getting away with beating her. They tried to form a complaint to the captain themselves but were told that only victims and witnesses could file formal complaints. Upon leaving the office, they became rowdy as they discussed amongst themselves a course of action. The captain had the mercenaries break the men up and ordered them to squat with full packs until nightfall. (While they are underground and technically do not have day or night, the solsten chandeliers in the tunnel are calibrated to brighten and dim to simulate day and night). To further the recruits, the captain also reprimanded the lieutenant publically for having conducted the cavity inspections himself, saying that according to regulations they had to be conducted by a physician or with a physician present. He told him that he was no longer allowed to conduct or be present for any cavity inspections of the enlistees. He had the lieutenant assigned for a month to the night watch as a form of punishment. While this did not fully satisfy everyone in the unit, it was sufficient to quell further outbursts.
Roselyn attended to her two months of four additional hours of cleaning duties. Because of the extended time, she showered and returned to her barracks late each night. Because of the lieutenant's night assignment, he would occasionally visit her during this time to gloat. On one such occasion, Roselyn was in the process of changing from a special cleaning outfit to her ordinary uniform. When the lieutenant saw her, he first reached out to touch her, before breaking down and raping her again.
Roselyn felt humiliated once again at the lieutenant's actions. She had not told any of the male conscripts about the first rape, but a couple of the secretaries at the office had implied what had happened through quiet whispers, and she felt that everyone, the men especially, was treating her differently. Some of the women in her unit privately questioned her about it, and she admitted to them what had happened. She told them that she did not want it to spread further as she was too embarrassed to have the guys know about it. She also said she did not want to pursue legal actions anymore since the captain was on the lieutenant's side and she did not want to get anyone else in trouble as the men had gotten into trouble already when trying to file a complaint themselves. Her friend, Eli noticed that something was wrong with her after the incident, and asked, but she said she was simply tired from the cleaning. He then asked the sergeant if he could join her in her extra cleaning duties, but his request was rejected. So he began to help her more during the course of the day with her other duties.
The lieutenant began appearing more frequently at her late-night assignments, taking several opportunities to grope her and force himself onto her. After one of these encounters, Eli noticed her clothing was partially torn, and guessed what had happened. Roselyn broke down crying, embarrassed as she admitted to what had happened after the hearing, and that the lieutenant was routinely taking advantage of her on her way back from her assignments. Eli proceeded to organize the male conscripts by having a pair escort her back daily from the cleaning assignment. However, within a week, the lieutenant issued a curfew on the conscripts, citing Roselyn as the exception because of her extra duties.
Roselyn felt nervous about returning from her duties without anyone with her. Within a few days of the curfew being implemented, the lieutenant cornered her again, latching onto her. As she was struggling to get out of the lieutenant's grasp, Eli came up from behind and struck the lieutenant to the ground. He proceeded to beat the lieutenant nearly to death, breaking several bones, curb-stomping him, causing him to bite off his own tongue, and putting him into a coma. The coma lasted for a couple of days as the physicians attended to him with healing spells, repairing his bones with grundsten, regrowing his tongue, and repairing the damage to his brain.
As the lieutenant was recovering, officials tried to interrogate Roselyn regarding the lieutenant's assailant, but Roselyn gave them nothing. She claimed she did not see the assailant, as it was dark and she fled without looking back. After a month of feckless attempts to obtain the attacker's identity, the authorities gave up on the endeavor. The lieutenant kept his distance from Roselyn, wary of her possible defender. However, he continued to observe her from afar. As he studied her, he noticed her close relationship with Eli, he began to suspect him of being the vigilante. So the lieutenant had contraband substance planted on Eli after another trip to Styxa. Eli then received a hundred lashes in front of the entire unit and was transferred to another guard post.
Roselyn was sure of the true reason for Eli's punishment and felt responsible for the loss of her closest and most dependable friend. She and Eli decided to write to each other during the separation, and he promised her that they would see each other again.
Not long after Eli's transfer, the lieutenant began again to seek opportunities to take advantage of Roselyn. With her late-night duties over, it was easier to avoid vulnerable situations. However, she would still find herself being forced upon once or twice a month.
Eventually, Roselyn discovered that she was pregnant. When she asked the physician if this meant she could go home, she was informed that according to military policy, if she decided to keep the child, she could either finish out her service while pregnant, keeping the baby with her if it is born early; or she could take leave for up to two years, after which leave she would have to return and complete her mandatory service. She inquired whether she would return to her same post or be assigned to another. The physician told her that she would be returning to the same post and assignment unless her lieutenant decided to have her transferred somewhere else. Roselyn took a couple of days to consider her options, deciding that since she only had six months left, she would remain. Her time in the military had been such an unending torment, that she would rather finish her time and get it over with than spend the next two years dreading that final six months.
After informing the physician of her decision, the physician relayed her medical state to her sergeant and lieutenant. Her sergeant felt bad for her and began to ease up on her strenuous duties. The lieutenant became even more obsessed with her, giving her gifts and calling her his pet and mother of his child in front of her fellow soldiers. Eventually, he altered her regular duties, assigning her to clean and maintain his personal quarters and office (the lieutenant had attempted to have her moved before, but the captain had not allowed it, telling him that he did not care if he raped the girl, but he would not facilitate it either. Once he found out Roselyn was pregnant though, he approved the reassignment, hoping that it would make it appear as if the two were in an illicit relationship. That way, if there was an investigation, and even if she spoke out against them, they would have credible evidence to suggest that it was a consensual relationship, and she was only speaking against it because she was either afraid of getting caught or because they separated and she was just a scorned lover. Then the captain would only get in trouble for allowing his officer to have a relationship with an enlistee and not for covering up a lengthy case of sexual abuse).
The lieutenant told her that he wanted to keep her forever, claiming that she secretly enjoyed what he did to her. Roselyn dreaded each day, feeling even more vulnerable and defenseless than before because of her condition, and also fearing that her nightmare was only becoming worse.
She went to the surface once again for her final time before the end of her service. She still had four months left, though the past two months had felt like an eternity. The only thing that got her through those two months was the coming week of reprieve and the opportunity to see her friend, Eli.
This is an AI Generated Image.
While writing to Eli every week, and her parents monthly, Roselyn had not told her parents or Eli about the continual abuse from her lieutenant or her pregnancy. She believed they could do nothing to change her situation and did not want them to needlessly worry about her. Eli, while having finished his service two months prior, had remained in Styxa so he could see her again. They had not seen each other since his transfer, as his new unit had a different schedule to visit Styxa. While Roselyn did not want him to know of her pregnancy, she reasoned that she was not yet showing enough for him to notice, and she was also desperate to see him again. However, as soon as they saw each other, Eli immediately knew from her gait that she was with child.
Eli was astonished at her state and demanded that she tell him everything. In tears, Roselyn told him everything that had happened to her, as well as the lieutenant's growing obsession. Eli was almost too upset to speak, however, to her relief, he still held her and comforted her, telling her everything would be okay.
When Roselyn returned to her post, she received a letter informing her that her time in the military was ending and she would get to go home. Eli had bought out her remaining time. The cost per month to hire a mercenary in her stead was twenty gold. Since Eli did not have the eighty gold necessary to buy out her remaining time, he had signed up to be a mercenary to pay for it. The government paid mercenaries ten gold a month to fight, and would not allow for a partial contract. Because of this, he had to sign up for another three years of service in the tunnels of Hollenmund. The contracts had already been signed and the payments made, and therefore could not be reversed. When Roselyn learned this, she was beside herself in tears. She could not believe her friend's sacrifice on her behalf.
As she packed up her things to go, the messenger gave her a letter from Eli. In the letter, it said that Eli had secretly been in love with her for years, but could not act on his feelings, because of the ban on relationships between enlistees. He said he was devastated that his previous efforts did not result in lasting protection, and he could not stand by again while she was being hurt. He would do anything to ensure that she was protected. He told her that he knew she might not feel the same way about him and that even if she did, he had no expectations she would wait three years until he got out. He said he knew someone as beautiful and wonderful as her would find someone else, and that he was okay with that. He had no expectations from her, and she did not need to pay him back. He just wished that she could be happy now, and live her best life. Roselyn wept bitterly as she had been in love with him too, but had never told him because of the regulation against relationships, as well as the fact she supposed he would not want her after being raped. Roselyn resolved to continue to write him every week without fail.
When Roselyn returned home, her parents were overjoyed to see her, but angry at the abuse she suffered while in the military. Deborah and Paul's resolve against the Altruist government grew as they learned about how the government allowed this to happen to her. Her parents and family showered Roselyn with love and attention, taking care of her and helping her heal from the trauma. She continued writing Eli every week and made friends with a student named Talitha from the local magical academy of Arduval, with whom her family had made an acquaintance in the months prior.
About a month before she came to full term, Roselyn was surprised to see the lieutenant outside her family's home. He had brought her several exquisite gifts, telling her that he loved her and their future child desperately, and pleading with her to come live with him or be his wife. He even told her that the captain had approved a transfer to Styxa, so they could be a family together, and would not have to live underground. Roselyn refused his offer, as well as the gifts. He became angry, threatening her if she did not come. Her father saw this from afar, and hurried over to them, interrupting him, and sending the lieutenant away.
A few days later, when Roselyn was alone, the lieutenant barged in with a couple of mercenaries to take her by force. He was obsessed with having her, intent on forcing her to live as his sexual captive for life. She was unable to get away, because of her being pregnant. However, her friend Talitha arrived and killed the lieutenant and mercenaries, saving her. Roselyn was grateful to her.
Roselyn delivered a healthy baby girl. She named the child Jocelina. She continues working in her parents' shop, and writing Eli every week, with hope for the future, now that her nightmare has passed.
The author would like to note that she originally intended this story thread to come up in a later book, but it had to be cut for purposes of length.