Chapter 3: Master
-Two years later- "Amer, Amer, come quickly! The Master has returned!" cried Zera, a pretty Zeppetian slave. She was a beauty, with long golden hair and large breasts. Her brown skin shined with the glittery paint they put on female pleasure slaves as she raced through the harem's courtyard to reach me.
"Come, Amer. The Master has returned!" she repeated excitedly. I looked at the girl dispassionately. She carried a true admiration for the Master, while I wanted nothing more than to watch him and this Talbian prison burn.
I stared at her a moment more before returning to the fountain. "I do not care." I said plainly, watching the large golden fish in the water swim about freely. The gold on their scales matched the gold on my wrists, and I turned away from the aquatic creatures to stare at the green foliage.
"Amer...you know that Master won't like that." she stated firmly, and I sighed. She had a point. Master was coming back from one of his raids, so hopefully he had found a new pet to torture. I stood, gathering my long white dress cloth in my hand and followed her. It was winter, and the manor's stone walls did nothing for retaining heat, so I pulled my house cloak around me. We stopped at the dressing quarters to ready ourselves. Zera expertly twisted her hair up into intricate little designs before helping me manage my now waist-length silver locks.
We changed into our viewing cloths, dress cloths that were of a more finely woven material called zenna, and that gave us a little more warmth. Zena's wrapped about one of her shoulders, accenting her breasts as it fell gracefully to the floor. The other slaves had the same style of cloth as she, but my cloth was a simple long, floor length wrap of the same material, with two fitted white sleeves for my arms that hooked around my middle finger. My torso was covered in a clear, heavy sheen of glittering paint that acted as an insulator from the cold.
Zera and I arrived at the Master's chambers, joined shortly by his twelve other slaves. All of us had our own color of dress cloth. All of mine were white, no doubt because I had been dubbed his "White Beauty". Zera's dress cloth was a dark bronze, while the slave next to me-Siam was her name-was dressed in a deep midnight blue. We all kneeled before his bed, facing outwards, our heads bowed. I hated this. I hated seeing his immaculate chambers and his large, fur covered bed. I felt a deep seed of dread every time I entered this room.
Zera briefly placed her hand on mine, before removing it quickly. I smiled a little at the contact. She was the only friend I truly had in this place, and she was probably the only thing that was keeping me sane.
I met Zera a few months after my "station change." I had been held in the dungeon for a fortnight and raped repeatedly until the Master decided that I was ready to be moved into a more "accommodating" set-up. I was moved to the Master's chamber and attended by Zera, after the physician saw to my wounds. He had beat me almost to the point of death.
When Zera began attending me, I had lost all hope in life. I was ready to die, or end it myself. Unfortunately, the Master foresaw this and commissioned Zera to watch over me at all times. We soon began communicating, and not long after that we had formed a sort of fraternal bond between the two of us. Since then, Zera had been the force that single-handedly kept me from drowing myself in the hotsprings or jumping from the tower off of the cliff wall the manor was built upon.
After about an hour or so of waiting, the doors to the Master's chambers opened. I visibly paled, knowing what was coming.
A pair of heavy footfalls entered the room, and stopped before us. I looked up, surprised. Two men stood before us, both armed. They were looking at us with appraising eyes from behind heavy helmets. My surprise turned to slight fear. Who the hell were these men?
"Come, all of you whores. Your master requests your presence," said one of the guards in thick Talbian. He must be from the one of the southern cities. We must have stared at him blankly, because his face contorted into annoyance. "Get up, you worthless sluts! Now!" he barked.
The women around me gasped and stood quickly, and I rose slower, glaring at the guards. I put myself in front of them, staring at the guards with my jaw locked.
The guard on the left rose an eyebrow, looking at me amusedly. "So...Ztener likes boys too, eh?" he asked, grinning at me. I glared at him, daring him to try. I was no stranger to beatings, and with this man, there would not be a terrible consequence for me to strike him.
He chucked, laughing at me and I glared even harder at him. "Oh, come now, White One, we won't harm your precious whore friends. Follow, and we won't have to mar that pretty white skin."
I froze at those words, and looked into the coal black eyes of the guard. I was immediately reminded of Hazier. We followed the guards as the walked from the room. I made sure that all of the women were behind me, keeping at least three paces away from the armored men. We passed out of the Master's wing, into the main courtyard. I briefly marveled at the high stone walls surrounding the large cobblestoned area. Vines wrapped up the walls and crept through the cracks in the stone ground, giving the area an ancient and forgotten feel. I immediately fell in love with the place.
They led us through the courtyard and into the Eastern Wing of the manor, where we came to a stop in front of a large pair of double doors. Zera and Siam clutched my upper arms, and I looked back at them, sending them a re-assuring smile. In truth, my apprhension equaled theirs, but I wasn't going to show it.
The guards opened the double doors, and we filed in. My eyes swept the room-I guess it would be called a study- until they came at a stop on two figures. The first was my Master, he was kneeling on one knee before another man. It was this man who caught my attention. He was frighteningly beautiful. He had a strong jaw covered in fine black hair, his eyes were a deep, piercing steel silver, and his black hair was cut short at the nape of his neck. He was broad shouldered, and armored-with the kings crest in his breast plate. Two large swords hung freely by his side, making him look all the more formidible.
Our Master turned to us, just as we entered. He stood, stepping to the side, to allow the larger man to gaze at us. The women were all behind me, and I turned to gently prod Siam and Zerra into position. We spread out in a single line and kneeled on both knees, reclining back so that we sat on our legs, just as we had in the Master's chambers.
Our Master turned back to the mysterious man. "Here they are, my lord. The very best of my slaves," my Master said proudly.
The man rose an eyebrow. "Why should this interest me?" he asked, his eyes locking with mine. I hurridly ducked my head.
"Well...my Lord, one of them I will gift to you. Any one that you choose." I heard my Master's honeyed voice say.
The man made a guttural sound in the back of his throat. "I see."
I flinched as I heard the thick thumps of his heavy boots meet the wood floor. One of us were being bartered off like cattle. My fist curled, and I strained myself to retain my anger.
The footfalls stopped at each one of us, down the line until they came to a stop in front of me. Thick, calloused fingers made their way under my chin to lift up my head. I found myself staring into deep, steely eyes. He tiled my head from the left, to the right, before picking up a lock of my hair, and letting the strands fall through his fingers. He watched them, entranced, as if my hair was some magic sand, slipping through his hands. I fought a shiver as his finger traced my jawline and neck, before receeding.
The man drew up, and turned back to my Master. "He will suffice," he said shortly, his deep voice booming in the large room. I felt Zera clutch my dress cloth, her hand shaking.
I caught the flash of surprise on my Master's face before he looked at me. "You want...him?" he asked, after a moment.
"Is that a problem, Ztener?" the man asked, with a light hint to his voice. Interest?
"No, my Lord. I was just surprised. Wh-Amer...stand," he said slowly.
I looked sharply at my Master, and then to the tall man standing only a few paces from me. Zera had released me, and I stood slowly, grabbing my dress cloth in my hand.
"Come." said the man in a deep, strong voice. I moved towards him with measured steps, trying not to let my fear show.
He began to circle me in slow, menacing steps, and I felt the ivory clasps that held my hair up slide from my hair. It tumbled over my back and chest-a messy silver river. The man's hands were in my hair again, moving it and trailing through it, the pads of his fingers brushing my back.
I arched forward, surprised. A smirk crossed his handsome features, and I saw my Master's brow crease with anger. I never responded to him; I had even trained myself not to become aroused when he used me.
The man behind me made that grunting noise again, and I felt him draw away from me. "He will do." he said, stepping away from me again as my old Master, Ztener, approached me. He began to unclasp the golden bracelets and slave collar around my neck. I gasped despite myself. It had been too long since I had not felt the weight of that collar on my neck.
"What is his name?" The dark man asked.
"Amer, my lord," my master replied.
"Amer..." the man said, and the sound of his voice saying my name sent tremors of...I'm not sure what, down my spine. "I am your Master now. You are no longer under Ztener's hand, and you will no longer obey his orders. You will address me as Master or Milord, understood?" he said, staring at me.
I nodded, "Yes, master..." I said slowly, lowering my eyes. Why did I have this deep, cold feeling settling in my stomach?
"Good. Toecra!" he barked, and the guard who had laughed at me entered the room swiftly, coming to place himself in front of my new master on one knee.
"Yes Milord!" he answered, head bowed respectfully.
"Take...Amer, and get him cleansed of this...this whore paint and into respectable clothing." He said. I looked down at my dress cloth, sure it was a little revealing, but all dress cloths were. It was what I had worn all my life. He will be returning to Symrna with us." he said, staring at me. I blinked in shock. Symrna was the capitol city of Talbia! I stared at my new master, looking at him in a sense of awe. Just who was this man?
"Yes, Milord!" Toecra answered, standing and motioning for me to follow him. I did, glancing at the faces of the women I had spent the last two years of my life with. Zera looked about ready to cry, her eyes were brimming with unshed tears. The rest were gazing at me with varying expressions of pity or sadness, and I wished them all a silent goodbye.
