All Novel Sweet
15
I watched the men’s feet as they moved away. Slowly, I went back to playing with Master Evan’s hair. It entertained me and kept me from looking around.Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.
Water splashed up around us as Master Kein and Master Bane rejoined us. The shampoo job must have been good because they made Master Evan move and I washed both of their short hair. Master Evan stood casually by playing with a tiny braid I’d forgotten to take out.
“Our slave is quite mouthy,” he commented to his brothers.
I’d forgotten about my little indiscretion, but he hadn’t. My face was hot and I let my hands drop in front of me when Master Kein turned to face me.
“What did it say?” he asked.
“Andre and his brothers came to ask if Christof was well and our slave informed them that he was,” Master Evan said.
Glancing up, I could see Master Evan grinning ear to ear like a devil. Master Damien was standing beside him now listening intently.
“When did this happen?” he asked hotly.
“While you were talking to Basin and his brothers,” Master Evan answered smirking broadly. “Must have been quite a conversation to have so distracted you.”
Time seemed to freeze for a moment before everything moved at once. I found myself upside down and passing out the main entrance to the bathing hall before I knew what had happened. I was slung over Master Damien’s shoulder as he marched out into the cooling night.
I tried to wiggle free, but it was like my waist was caught in a vise. I made nonsensical pleas to him, but he didn’t listen to me. I tried to see where we were going, but it was getting dark and all I could tell was we were in the courtyard.
Master Damien jumped up about six feet and I screamed. Before I could make another noise he had set me down. I felt a body behind me raising my arms and binding them to posts on either side of me. My legs were also separated and tied to the posts. I was stretched as far as I could go. It was like the auction only more uncomfortable.
“You have defied us all day, slave,” Master Damien said. “We place you at the mercy of the compound and see how long your disobedience lasts. When we find you more obedient we will return for you.”
It took a minute for the situation to register. I was outside, bound and nude, in the middle of the courtyard. I looked up at my wrists and noted the lack of the metal cuff. Looking down, the cuffs had also been removed from my ankles. I moved my head around, I realized I didn’t have a collar on.
Did this mean I wasn’t a slave anymore? I wondered. The answer struck me and was breathtaking. I was still a slave. I just wasn’t being claimed by an owner.
Master Damien and his brothers told me their mark protected me and now it was gone. I wondered what would happen to me, although my exposed position spoke volumes. Anyone could do anything to me.
It took my eyes some time to get used to the gathering darkness. I couldn’t decide if it was lucky or unlucky that several torches lit the area. I prayed nobody would notice me up here, but I knew that wasn’t the purpose of this exercise.
My situation seemed to be gaining an audience. Warriors strolled past my platform and clucked their tongues at me. Several brought their slaves out to see me.
I was shocked when the first group of Warriors jumped up onto the platform. They looked mean and still had their formidable weapons strapped to their waists. The men twisted and pinched me everywhere. I cried and screamed when they touched me between my legs. I heard Master Kein speaking behind me and they left.
It went on for hours. My hands had gone numb and some point and every joint in my upper body was cramping. Groups of men would come onto the platform and touch me cruelly until one of my Warriors showed up and shooed them off.
The men that came onto my platform weren’t hesitant or nice to me. Thick fingers invaded my most private parts. They were not gentle as they explored my body with rough hands. Most of them laughed when I yelled at them. Everything I did spurned them to be crueler and harsher.
Eventually, I started to recognize the pattern. The attacks usually happened when I looked at the Warriors down in the courtyard, which was hard not to do from my elevated position. I closed my eyes and the attacks subsided mostly. I stayed silent and finally they stopped coming up altogether.
I felt warm bodies surrounding me, but I didn’t dare open my eyes. Looking at them definitely made the manhandling worse.
“Who do you speak to, Ciara?” I heard Master Damien ask me.
“Only to you and your brothers, Master Damien,” I answered him keeping my head down and my eyes shut tight.
“Is it wise to look at other men, Ciara?” he asked me pulling my feet away from the posts.
“No, Master Damien,” I sobbed as my arms were released.
It felt like lightening was shooting through my hands and I slumped into whoever was holding me.
My owners carried me through the courtyard and up the stairs to their dwelling place. The first thing they did was replace the metal encircling my neck, wrists, and ankles. After that they laid me on the bed and massaged my sore joints. Master Bane retrieved the cream from their bathroom and they rubbed it into my skin.
My large breasts had been a favorite play toy of the Warriors on the platform. They had pinched and tweaked the bouncy flesh in excess. My nipples were raw and tiny bruises punctuated the orbs. Master Kein was gentle as he rubbed the cream across the tender mounds. It made them substantially less sore.
The mistake was ingrained into my mind and I didn’t want to make another one. I was taken to the lavatory and permitted to relieve myself. No complaints escaped my lips as I was cleaned. They fed me and I ate until they said I was done.
After dinner, the men went and sat in the lower part of the room by the fire. Master Christof and Master Kein looked like they were playing a card game. Master Bane, Master Damien, and Master Evan were all resting in separate chairs talking. Master Damien noticed me and pointed to a pad on the floor by Master Evan’s chair. Walking into the room, I knelt down obediently.
Soon I was less kneeling and more sitting with my legs underneath me. The day ran through my head and I tried to make sense of it. I sat quietly and realized what I was now.
I was their pet. When I pleased them, they would primp and fluff me. If I misbehaved, they disowned me publicly and I would suffer. The choice was mine.
After the platform, I had no tears left. I couldn’t even sob as I realized that today was a death. This was the end of my freedom. I no longer had hopes or dreams, only prayers that my owners were kind.
If I had more energy, I would have been having a breakdown. As it was, I just slumped lower and found myself inadvertently leaning on Master Evan’s legs. My life was over.
My old life was over, a small voice whispered in my head. I was not dead. These men wanted a healthy, happy slave. They didn’t want to hurt me. When I followed their rules, they treated me well. It was not the same, but it was something.
I had only one choice left to me. The first option was to fight them every step of the way. I could make it as difficult on them as it was on me. The alternative was to make the best of what I had left. Neither option was unflawed.
Fighting was the honorable way to go. I would be tortured however they wished for as long as they wished. If I kept fighting they may just kill me. However, I could be proud I stood up for myself.
Submitting was the other option. There was no honor in that, but I would probably live longer. I wondered if it was worth it.
The submission they demanded was complete. I hated kneeling on a pad on the floor. Eating from their hands was demeaning. My brain rebelled against the ideas I couldn’t even look at another male without being punished, but I wasn’t ready to die yet.
I heard the men shuffling around and I looked up to find Master Damien watching me.
“Who takes care of you, Ciara?” he asked.
I knew they had put me up on that awful platform and I knew they would put me back if I did not please them. Now was the time to make my decision. Did I want to live like this or did I want to die?
“You do, Master Damien and your brothers,” I answered politely.
I would learn to live like this. There had to be a way to find happiness here. I just needed to look.
Master Damien smiled benevolently down at me before he picked me up off the floor. He walked into their bedroom, which was quiet and much darker than the main room. Carefully, he placed me on their bed so I was laying on my hip.
“I’m glad you are learning, Ciara. Our mark protects you because we protect you, never forget that. You are worth nothing to the other men here. They will use you as they want, without consideration. Only your owners will care for you,” he said as he moved away.
Two warm bodies came and surrounded mine. Reaching out, I felt Master Bane’s fuzzy chest. I heard Master Kein’s soft voice behind me as hands brushed down my back. Both men told me to sleep well through the night.
Blankets were pulled over me to keep the chill away. I thanked them for the care and they seemed delighted. I snuggled into the softness of the bed and listened to the men’s slow even breathing. This was my life now. I pulled the covers around my body and knew I would do my best to make the most of it.