VIII. Cavalry charge

Rowan awoke by the sound of Celester's voice softly calling his name. It was still mostly dark outside, although it was past sunrise. The unicorn sat down at the far end of the couch, careful not to sit on Rowan's paws.

'What time is it?' he asked, as he groggily sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

'A little past eight. Stella just left for work.'

'What about you?'

'I work four days a week. Monday is my off day.'

He firmly shook his head a couple of times, then combed through the fur on his ears.

'Not to be rude, but why did you wake me up this early?'

'Because we have work to do.'

He tilted his head. 'Like what?'

'Remember my conditions for you staying here?'

'Help me, please. I just woke up.'

'We're going to the police station to file a complaint against Azalea.'

He clutched the duvet and pulled it against his chest.

'I know you're scared, Rowan. That's okay. I won't tell you not to be. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the strength to take action despite being afraid. I'll be there to support you the entire time.'

'Th-thanks. I'll need it.'

'Do you need help getting up?'

'I'll manage, thanks. How did I end up here, by the way? I can't seem to remember.'

'You fell asleep halfway through your diaper change. You were looking so peaceful we didn't dare to wake you up.'

His ears flopped.

'What's up? Are you embarrassed?'

'I don't know. I think... You girls are so nice to me, I sometimes don't even know how to take it in. Being here still feels so unreal, as if I can wake up back at Azalea's place any moment.'

Celester scooted closer and pulled him into a tight hug.

'Oh Rowan, that's not going to happen,' she said with an unsteady voice. 'Your life has turned around in an instant, but all of this is real. We understand if you're not familiar with the way we treat each other, as we're not exactly average people ourselves. But please, never forget that you're safe with us. You're a precious guy, Rowan.'

There was a short, but comfortable silence, until he felt something drip on his shoulder.

'A-are you... Crying?' he asked, somewhat confused.

Celester slowly let go of him and wiped the tears from her eyes. She nodded, as if his question needed any more answering.

'It breaks my heart to hear how difficult it is for you to experience our home as normal. It means your life has been a lot different, and it's not a wild guess to say some people didn't love you anywhere remotely close to "enough". I haven't had an easy life being a black unicorn, but at least my parents love me. I was afraid they'd reject me when I told them I had a girlfriend, but they accepted our relationship, and they're even fond of Stella. Everyone needs people in their life who love them as unconditionally as possible. For now, I'm grateful Stella and I can be your friends.'

Seeing the unicorn's eyes were still wet, Rowan pulled her back into the embrace and held her tightly.

'Thanks, Cel. I really can't thank you enough. Even though I'm scared of Azalea, you're right about filing a complaint. There was a time when I loved her, but she did things to me that I don't think have anything to do with love.'

She took a deep breath to calm down somewhat.

'It's a pleasure to hear you say that. I'm proud of you, Rowan. Now, let's have breakfast. We'll take care of your diaper later, okay?'

He nodded.

'Once we're outside, please don't reveal my race to anyone. I don't think it'll draw any attention, but I'm just a horse, should you have to mention it,' Celester explained after breakfast.

'O-okay.'

'We should probably take your diaper off now. Do you want me to change you into a clean one?'

'I don't know. I don't think I dare go outside while wearing a diaper.'

'I'm fine with either choice. Just remember you're not diapered, and that you might need a little while longer than usual before you reach a toilet.'

He nodded again. Celester deftly helped him clean up, then changed him into daytime clothes. After having worn a diaper for the entire weekend, he did not immediately feel accustomed to the lack of padding softly pressing against his bits.

He grabbed his crutch, ready to go outside. Once in the car, he noticed Celester had put up her cloaking. Contrary to the first time they met, he could now clearly see her, but it was as if she never had a horn in the first place. She explained the illusion would not hold up to physical touch, but she had never experienced anyone seeing through it. Celester put a small bag on the backseat of her car. Rowan asked what it was for, but he was told not to worry about it. With some difficulty, he heaved himself into the passenger seat of the car, paying close attention as to not hurt his paw.

The ride to the police station passed in silence. Celester could not use her horn to sense Rowan's emotions, but she did not need her magical sense to deduce that he was tense. The first neighborhood they entered was the one Azalea lived, and the mere sight of the city made Rowan's breathing increase. He let out a sigh when they traded the outskirts for the inner city.

Celester slowed down when they saw the familiar crest of the police department on the front of the building. Since it was Monday morning, there was enough vacancy in the parking space for visitors. She put the vehicle in return and parked in one fluent motion. After turning the engine off, she turned to Rowan.

'Are you alright?'

'I don't know. Part of me is, another part clearly isn't. I'm afraid she'll turn around the corner any minute and start a scene. It's irrational, I know, but-'

'Fear is never rational, Rowan. Concern might be, but fear is not. It's a feeling, and while valid, they do pass. I'm right beside you if you need support. Remember I can't use my horn in public. Even if I should drop my cloaking, I'm not going to risk police officers commenting on my magical abilities. We're here for you.'

'O-okay.'

'That means I can't sense your emotions for now. I can read body language, but I'm not entirely familiar with yours yet. Please speak up when you feel uncomfortable or if you need a break. Can you promise me that?'

'Y-yeah. I promise.'

'Good. I'm proud of you, Rowan. Let's go. Today is the beginning of the end.'

Celester held the door open for Rowan as they entered the police station together. The lobby was empty, save for a stocky uniformed middle-aged badger lady behind the receptionist's desk.

'Good morning, sir, ma'am. How can I help you?'

Rowan wanted to speak up, but he was intimidated by the mere sight of the officer. Celester saw him tense up and decided to help him out.

'Good morning, officer,' the unicorn said softly, as if someone might be listening in. 'My friend and I would like to file a complaint.'

'Alright. Can I make any notes concerning the nature of the complaint?'

'It's about domestic abuse, both emotional and physical.'

'Is this about both of you?' the badger lady inquired calmly.

'It's about my friend, actually. I brought him here because he hurt his paw, so he can't drive. I do know about the complaint he wants to file, so we would appreciate it if we could talk to an officer together.'

'Of course, ma'am. Please take a seat. My colleagues will come to pick you up.'

Rowan and Celester sat down on the somewhat uncomfortable plastic seats of the chairs in the lobby. A few minutes later, two canine plainclothes officers entered the lobby from the adjoining hallway, carrying black sidearms on their belts. One was a middle-aged bloodhound by the name of Morrison, the younger bulldog introduced himself as McCayn. The latter carried a notebook. Both were detectives at the Hornet City police department.

Celester introduced herself and Rowan, after which they were signaled to follow the officers. The dogs led them to a separate room, with a table that had two chairs on either side. They all sat down, although Rowan tried to keep his distance from the table.

'Officers, before we start, I would like to set something straight. I maybe should've done this earlier, but I didn't want to scare anyone,' Celester said calmly.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, as her horn became visible to the others. Detective McCayn's eyes went wide.

'As you can see, I'm a unicorn. I tend to keep that hidden when I'm in public, so I don't unsettle anyone. I feel like the privacy of this room enables me to show my true self. However, I would greatly appreciate it if my exact species could be censored from any documentation, if at all possible.'

'Fair enough, Mrs. Kalita,' detective Morrison said. 'You told the receptionist you wanted to file a complaint. She told us you sounded like it was urgent. Could you tell us what the matter is about, please?'

She took a deep breath.

'I met Mr. Buckthorn last Friday evening, when I was driving home. I live just outside of town, on the other side of the forest. Mr. Buckthorn was walking down the side of the road. I could see he was limping, and he tried to support himself with a thick branch. It was cold and rainy, but he didn't wear a coat. I estimated he might soon start suffering from hypothermia if he didn't find shelter.'

'So, what did you do then?'

'I stopped my car and let him in. He told me what had happened to him, and I immediately drove back to the city, to bring him to the hospital.'

'Let's back up a little here,' the bulldog said, scrambling to get his notes in the correct order. 'Mr. Buckthorn, could you tell us what you were doing there?'

Rowan swallowed. 'I-I... I was running.'

'Mrs. Kalita said you were limping, how did that happen? Did you stumble?'

The rabbit shook his head. 'I mean... I was running away.'

'From what? Or whom?'

'My ex-girlfriend, sir.'

Detective McCayn raised his eyebrows. 'And why were you limping?'

'I sprained my ankle, because I had to drop down from a balcony.'

The bulldog leaned back. 'It sounds like we missed a couple of things. Could you please start at the beginning?'

Rowan looked away. Celester noticed this and gently caressed him between his shoulders.

'It's okay, Rowan. You're safe here.'

He looked back up, but stared in the distance, at a point between the two detectives.

'I moved in with my ex-girlfriend Azalea about two years ago. Back then, we still had a normal relationship. Gradually, she became more and more controlling over me. After a while, I wasn't allowed to leave her apartment anymore. I had a hard time finding a job, so she figured I should stop trying altogether. She made me do practically all the household chores, while she worked.'

'That sounds somewhat unusual, but what do you mean by not being allowed to leave the apartment?'

'She would punish me if I did. For a lot of reasons, actually. Not finishing my chores, not meeting her standards, talking back, you name it.'

'So you have been living with a young woman who tried to control multiple aspects of your life, is that correct?'

Rowan nodded, but Celester intervened.

'Something tells me you have a hard time believing my friend. I'm not judging you in any way, but if I'm right, I'd greatly appreciate it if you were honest about it.'

'Well, it's not that we don't believe Mr. Buckthorn, it's just that we don't have a clear insight into the situation yet. Can you elaborate on your living situation with this Ms. Azalea?'

Before he could answer, Celester calmly opened her bag and took the collar out. She gently put it on the table, between the four of them. The bloodhound leaned closer, visually inspecting the collar.

'Rowan was wearing this around his neck when I picked him up. It locks in the back.'

'What is that box-shaped thing attached to the lock?' the detective Morrison asked, pointing at the collar.

'A GPS tracking device,' Rowan replied. 'Azalea has an app on her phone she uses to track my location. I didn't believe her at first. The first day she put this on me, I went to the local convenience store for some groceries while she was gone. When I came home, she beat me up and locked me in the small side room that became my bedroom from then on.'

'You did not sleep together anymore?'

'I wasn't allowed in "her" room from that moment on.'

'Would it be correct to state that there was both physical and emotional violence?'

Rowan nodded.

'There is more, detectives,' Celester said, as she took the chastity device from her bag.

The dogs silently made eye contact for a while. The younger bulldog frowned, whereas the older bloodhound had a more blank expression. It seemed as if he had seen worse cases.

'What is that?' detective McCayn asked.

'It's a chastity device. Rowan had to wear this for the past two years, without interruption. It locks as well, you see.'

The bulldog swallowed. His colleague continued, seemingly unphased.

'It looks... barbaric. Why did she do that to you?'

'She didn't want to have sex with me, and said she didn't trust I would keep my hands off of her.'

'Did you?'

Rowan's ears flopped and he looked down.

'I've never had sex in my entire life, sir,' he said softly. 'As soon as she became like this, I stopped even trying to initiate any form of intimacy.'

Detective McCayn nodded and added some notes.

'The devices don't look damaged. If these devices were locked, how did you remove them?'

'The locks have only three pins. That's relatively easy to pick for someone with experience,' Celester said casually.

The bloodhound leaned forward. 'And you happen to have said experience?'

Celester narrowed her eyes and met the older dog's gaze for a few seconds. Without breaking eye contact, she grabbed the collar and clicked it shut. She took a pin from her mane and twirled it around her fingers a few times. Without even looking at the collar, she began picking the lock. Half a minute of tense silence passed, only interrupted every now and then by the soft noise of scraping metal. Suddenly, the lock sprang open again, and Celester demonstratively dropped the collar on the table.

The bulldog looked at her with wide eyes.

'Wow, you're good. Let's all agree we're fine with you not showing how you did that with the chastity... thing.'

'As you see, detectives, that's how I removed these devices. Somehow, I still get the feeling you have a hard time processing all this.'

'Well, Mrs. Kalita, I'm in no way implying that this is the case, but I've heard of people having relationships in which one partner being dominated and controlled by the other is arranged through mutual consent. So far, you have done most of the talking, and we have found it difficult to discern exactly how hard it would be for Ms. Azalea to parry your allegations,' the bulldog said.

Celester looked back and forth at both detectives for a while.

'If this story were about a doe that was abused by a buck, would you have the same reservations?'

The dogs remained silent.

'If Rowan were in the situation he just described by his own free will, why did he escape? And why not through the front door? Why jump to the fire exit from the next door neighbors' balcony while six stories up in the air, then drop down the last ten feet, seriously spraining his ankle? All this in the cold pouring rain, without wearing a coat, without any money in his pockets, and with nowhere to go?'

She quickly blinked her horn when the dogs were both looking at Rowan. It became immediately apparent to her why they had not responded yet. The detectives felt ashamed of their biased assumptions, and more so that Celester had caught on.

Detective Morrison cleared his throat. 'I'm sorry if we gave you the impression that we don't take your complaint seriously. We want to help you, but if everything you say is true, I expect Ms. Azalea to be the calculating type. One that is prepared and knows how to lie herself out of these allegations.'

'She told the neighbors I have agoraphobia,' Rowan interjected suddenly. 'First of all, that's not true. I was never diagnosed. Rabbits naturally feel safer indoors, and we do have a higher chance of developing agoraphobia, but I have no problem at all with being outside. She just told people around us that so she had a cover to keep me locked up. Isn't that exposing someone's medical secrets, and lying about it while you're at it?'

'It is illegal for _professionals_to disclose medical information without the patient's permission, yes. Is there anything else that might prove malicious intent? Please understand that I'm not trying to downplay your situation, Mr. Buckthorn. If we want to investigate your ex-girlfriend, we need some solid grounds.'

'She'll probably have the keys to the collar and the chastity cage in the locker in her bedroom closet. You'll find no traces of me sleeping on her bed, because the last time was about two years ago. There will also be a small room next to her bedroom, with the window covered up. You won't find much there, except for some clothes, a mattress and a camping toilet.'

Detective McCayn frowned. 'Why is that?'

'I wasn't allowed to sleep in her bed, so she banished me to that smaller room. Once in there, I was not to come out until the next morning, not even to use the actual toilet. I had to be completely silent, hearing every noise she made as she was having sex with other guys she brought home. It also meant I sometimes had to sleep in the smell of my own waste.'

'We're very sorry to hear that, Mr. Buckthorn,' Detective Morrison replied. 'Anything else you can think of?'

'When did she put this tracking collar on you?' Celester asked.

'Oh! That's right,' Rowan said, rolling his eyes. 'Before that one, she had me wear a remote controlled shock collar, to "correct" me whenever I did something she didn't like. Or whenever she felt like pressing that button. Maybe that's still laying around somewhere in her apartment. There is one problem, however. When I still wore the shock collar, she used it to force me into signing a contract in which I stated that everything she did to me was with my consent.'

'That would make charging Ms. Azalea a lot harder, Mr. Buckthorn. Do you understand that?'

Rowan nodded. 'She did forget one thing, however. We rabbits are known for our cunning, but I might have outsmarted her. The signature on the document says "B. Buckthorn", because she called me by my given name "Brek". I prefer "Rowan" as my first name, however. The capital letters B and R look similar if you don't pay attention. My actual signature has an R, not a B. It's even on my ID like that.'

'So you used a false signature on the contract she made you sign? That's a smart move, ignoring how much of such a document would hold up in court,' detective Morrison concluded.

'All in all, These are serious allegations, Mr. Buckthorn,' detective McCayn continued. 'We're sorry if we have presented ourselves as suspicious or untrustworthy. We'll arrange for a search warrant to look for the items you listed.'

'There might also be a black CarroTech model CT-450 smartphone that used to be mine. She used both hers and mine to systematically isolate me from the few friends I had. It wouldn't surprise me if she has deleted all chat history, though. Lastly, she took my ID. Don't know if she kept it or threw it away, but it might also be her locker.'

'We'll do a thorough search. Is there any place you can stay where you will be safe from your ex-girlfriend?'

He nodded. 'I'm currently staying with Mrs. Kalita and her partner. The battery pack was removed from the collar at the hospital, so Azalea probably doesn't know where I am.'

'Good,' the bloodhound concluded. 'We would like to keep the collar and the... other device, as evidence in case we find the keys.'

'Take them, please. I never want to see them again,' Rowan blurted out.

'I can understand why, Mr. Buckthorn. Mrs. Kalita said the battery pack was taken out. Do you still have it?'

Celester dug around her bag for a while, before producing the wanted item.

'There you go.'

'Thank you, ma'am. Is there anything else we can do for you, or something you want to add?'

Rowan firmly shook his head.

'Then I guess we're done for now. All we need is a phone number to contact you if we have additional questions. You mentioned Ms. Azalea possibly has the phone or Mr. Buckthorn in her possession. Is it alright if we take Mrs. Kalita's number instead?'

Celester affirmed and spelled out her phone number, after which detective McCayn shut his notebook and got up. Detective Morrison accompanied Rowan and Celester back to the lobby.

'If anything comes up, please call us,' he said, handing Rowan his business card.

They said goodbye, and the bloodhound returned to his office.

Rowan was quiet for most of the ride home. Once they had left the city, Celester spoke up.

'That went well, didn't it?'

'Y-yeah, I guess,' Rowan said, absentmindedly looking out the passenger window.

'Is anything wrong?'

He remained silent.

'I can't focus on driving and sensing at the same time. Besides, I'd appreciate it if you told me. It seems like you're feeling down, but what you did today is a victory.'

He still did not respond.

'Or does filing a complaint against Azalea feel like betraying someone you once loved?'

'No, that's not it. The more time I spend with you and Stella, the more I realize she hasn't loved me for a long time.'

'Then what is on your mind?'

'I don't know how to explain it, but I guess I kinda like the way you take care of me. Somehow, I feel safe with you, even when you touch me, and even in something as intimate as, well, y'know...'

'Changing your diaper?'

'Y-yeah,' he said softly.

'It sounds like there's more. What's up?'

'I'm not sure what to think of Stella's filly side yet, but I really enjoyed playing with her. Like she said, it made me forget about the rest of the world for a while.'

Celester smiled.

'A-and um... I find wearing d-diapers pretty comfortable.'

'Do I understand that you want to remain diapered when you're at home?'

'Only if that's okay with both of you, y'know.'

'Of course it is, Rowan. It'll be the first thing we do when we're home.'