I flicked my gaze away. I couldn’t bear to look at my reflection for another single second. It was torture to see the way I had become. I wanted to cry, but I didn’t dare show emotion. I set my jaw and took a deep breath.
Two of the female slaves behind me snickered, giving each other eye bats and inspired high-fives. I didn’t know why they were so jovial at seeing me in this broken and weakened condition. It wasn’t like they were beauty queens either. They were still prisoners in the same hell I was in.
“Make her look presentable,” Thom said. “No.” He placed his finger on his chin and tapped on it as he contemplated. “Make her look absolutely stunning.” He smiled at me through the reflection of the mirror and then lifted his gaze to the girls. “If you don’t succeed in your task at hand, you will be severely beaten later on by the guards. I’m sure they’ll get a kick out of it.” Thom smirked. “Pun intended.”
The girls swallowed hard. Now it was my turn to internally gloat. They gave me wicked glares through the mirror as they began brushing my hair. They went through the motions more violently than was necessary.
I bit my tongue to keep from crying out in pain. I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of knowing that they were hurting me. It would just make things worse. They would just inflict even more damage on me if I gave them any kind of physical reaction.
“Stay still,” one of the girls hissed as she aggressively held my shoulders in place. “Your hair is like a bird’s nest. It will take us forever to get these knots out.”
“I don’t have all the time in the world,” Thom said in a condescending tone as he towered over us all. “Get it done in a timely fashion. I don’t care how you do it, just get it done.”
The girls began to stroke my hair harder and faster than before. I felt like my scalp was being ripped up with every tear of their brush through the strands of jet black.
Once they had gotten all the knots out, they ripped my clothes from my body and shoved me into a hot shower while Thom watched with a devilish gleam in his eye. He was making a groaning sound and I could see his massive hard on protruding through his pants.
I did my best to ignore it as the girls washed me. It was the most humiliating thing to have to endure, standing there naked while other women washed me with scornful expressions on their faces. I was surprised that Thom didn’t get in the shower with me, but at the same time, it made me nervous.
What else was he planning if he wasn’t jumping at the chance to get in the shower with me naked? I didn’t even want to imagine the possibilities.
Thom unbuckled his belt. My heart sank into my gut. He was going to get under the water with me, I just knew it.
“Crank up the heat,” he demanded of the girls. He was now standing there naked. His eyes were wide and wild as he began to touch himself, stroking his cock up and down slowly at first.
I winced in pain as the burning water scorched my sensitive skin. My body was raw and red from head to toe from the brutal water relentlessly pelting me like fire.
Thom roared with laughter as he continued to pump his fist up and down on his cock, jerking off to my pain. His eyes were full of sabotage and his lips were twisted into that antagonizing grin that I despised.
“Alright, now rub her breasts with your hands,” Thom ordered one of the older girls.
She gave him an appalled glance.
“Do you want to receive a beating?” he asked her.
She diligently shook her head. She lathered her hands with soap and rubbed her suds-soaked fingers across my bare breasts. I instinctively tensed up. I stared straight ahead, praying that Thom would get bored and the action would halt quickly.
As if the universe were granting me one single wish for the night, Thom sat back and sighed.
“That’s enough,” he ordered with a dismissive roll of his wrist.
The girl immediately stopped rubbing my breasts with her hands. Her eyes flicked briefly to mine. I could tell that she was just as relieved as I was to be able to stop touching me like that.
“Now, get her out and dry her off from head to toe. Then lotion her up.” Thom’s voice was shaky through his own sadistic pleasure.
He watched as the girls held my arms down, giving me bruises and pulling my hair back into a bun after they vigorously dried me with the towel so abrasively that my skin throbbed with rug burn.
They rubbed lotion onto my skin aggressively. None of them would look me in the eye, but I was just fine with that. It was an embarrassing situation to be in, and I couldn’t wait to get dressed.
Thom was groaning hard now and panting. His face was red and blotchy, and beads of sweat had popped up on his forehead. His hard shaft was dripping with pre-cum. I grimaced and looked away quickly.
Thom let out one last guttural groan and his cum went flying, splattering the walls and mirror with the milky, runny substance.
“Ahhh…” he trailed off, sighing contentedly as he wilted into a chair. His shoulders were still rapidly rising and falling with every breath he took, and he wore a dreamy expression on his face. His eyes were clouded over with lust.
“You girls don’t know how wonderfully you just satisfied me with that little exhibition. I loved that show, well done. Bravo.” He began to clap loudly with approval.
The girls dressed me in a short dress with a tulle ballerina skirt. They put me in cream-colored tights with ballerina slippers on my. The tight bun made me feel like my eyes were being pulled towards my temples. I couldn’t tell them it hurt, because that would make them happy.
They put makeup on my face, but Thom didn’t like it. “No,” he shook his head disapprovingly. “It’s too much. I want it to be subtle so that she looks like she’s a natural beauty.”
His words stung at my heart. I was the ugly duckling that he was trying to get to shine up like Cinderella. He approached me once the girls were finished with me. I wasn’t sure if he was going to hit me or kiss me.
He had an admiring expression on his face. “That’s much better.” He lifted his hand and I froze. He stroked my cheek. “You look like a beautiful princess.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “You did good work tonight. You all earned yourself dessert.”
The girls looked at each other with horrified expressions. Dessert didn’t mean ice cream or tiramisu. It meant they would have to go down on each other while he and his most valued guards watched.
I wanted to feel bad for them, to empathize with their struggle, but they were so mean to me. I couldn’t manage a single emotion in their favor.
Thom turned his attention back to me. “You will be the most gorgeous woman at the party tonight.”
I managed a superficial smile. It wouldn’t last long, and I couldn’t count on Thom’s mood swings and fluctuating personality. By the time we got to the car, he could be hitting me and swearing at me again.
Nothing lasted long with Thom. He moved too fast emotionally and physically. He was never satisfied long enough to sit still.
I waited until Thom had exited the room with the other girls, barking instructions at them on what to do next. I had only a moment or two before a set of guards would come to retrieve me for the party.
I turned my back and let my emotions show for a brief few seconds. I didn’t want Thom to see my eyes flood with tears. If only I wasn’t attending this ball as a prisoner. The shackles weren’t physically bound to my wrists or ankles, but the captivity was as real as the pain I felt inside.
I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. Even though I had makeup on and was dressed to the nines with an impeccably neat hair bun, I still didn’t recognize myself or the woman I had become.
Sometimes, I still felt like the trapped little girl under the table.
7
Sophia
Dusk was setting in over our mountain-enveloped village. Pastel hues of lilac and auburn were painted across the canvas of the sky. The sun was hidden behind the towering mountains. As I climbed into the waiting car with
Thom, a tear gleamed in my eye.
Not from the constant abuse that Thom inflicted on me, or the berating of my spirit. Not from the embarrassment of having my fellow female slaves wash my naked body, but from the magnificent sight in front of my eyes.
It was rare that I had the luxury of enjoying a beautiful sunset. I didn’t get to go outside very often, but when I did, I relished in the fresh air. I soaked in the sights and sounds of the village as a whole, just praying that Thom wouldn’t destroy what life there was still dwelling there down in the valleys.
Of course, I knew that my hopes were in vain. They always were. Thom patted my knee. I internally cringed but I didn’t physically flinch. I knew better than to do that in front of him while he was touching me.
“Are you excited?” He leaned in closer to me. I smelled the stink of his cologne as it filled my nostrils.
I nodded. It was difficult to breathe. His scent was pungent.
Had he doused himself in the entire bottle?
“Answer me, girl,” he growled.
“Yes,” I croaked. “I’m excited to dance.”
Thom seemed satisfied. “Good. Just always remember who gives you these opportunities.”
I glanced at him and a shiver went up and down my spine as he locked my gaze.
“Me?” he said, as if that should be the obvious answer. “I’m the one who pampers you and allows you to attend these fancy shindigs with me. You should be groveling at my feet. All the other female slaves in the castle would kill to trade places with you.” He gave me a saucy wink that repulsed me.
“Right.” I went through the motions of nodding my head as I pretended to agree with him, but my head felt too heavy and clouded on my shoulders.
Thom raised his eyebrow as if my behavior was unconvincing. “You are grateful, aren’t you, you little wench?”
“Yes.” I nodded more enthusiastically and swallowed hard.
I glanced out the window and hoped that the exchange would end quickly. I didn’t want him to see me struggling to veil my contempt.
“If you ever want to see the light of day, you will thank me,” Thom said in a scornful tone.
I turned my head to face him. I put on a fresh smile and told myself that I needed to act as well as I danced. “Yes, Master.” I nodded humbly. “Thank you for the opportunity.”
I held my breath, hoping that my voice wouldn’t come across as sounding to flat in Thom’s twisted point of view.
“Good.” He seemed pleased. He leaned back in the seat and exhaled a contented sigh. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “Everyone is going to fawn all over you tonight.”
But you won’t let them get too close, I thought privately.
We were en route to a Master Ceremony. Each time a Master from a neighboring village went with his guards on a ‘raid’ of the communities down in the valleys below their castles, they would have a celebration afterwards.
These celebrations were elegant balls at which Masters from neighboring villages would gather together with the most elite socialites and richest people in the surrounding area.
The Master Ceremonies were elaborate, planned in advance and put together with the finest of details. The Masters in each village weren’t necessarily enemies, although some might be considered competitors, and they loved to band together to celebrate and party during these lavish festivities.
Each master from another castle was allowed to bring one slave with him to the party as his ‘date’ for the evening. Thom always brought me. He told me that I was the most naturally skilled at performing something that would be worth contributing to society. He was, of course, referring to my dancing abilities.
“Sir, we are here.”
I was lost in the cloudy dissolution of my own thoughts, but the sound of the driver’s voice chiming in a ringing tone through the car ripped me back into the present.
I glanced at Thom and inhaled sharply but I didn’t let the breath out just yet. I was waiting on him to make the first move. Thom placed his hand on my thigh once again, and once again, I internally recoiled at his cupped palm on my skin.
Then, he gave me a sickeningly sweet smile. “Are you ready to go, darling?”
Only if you promise never to call me by that affectionate pet name again.
“Mm-hm.” I smiled as courageously as I could with clenched teeth and shaking hands.
The driver opened the door on Thom’s cue and I exited the vehicle first. Thom kept his grip locked on me though, making sure that he had a good grasp of my arm in case I tried to run away. His fingernails dug into my skin, but I just had to breathe through the pain because if I said anything to him, he would hit me in my face right before we entered the party.
I had been subjected to that kind of reaction from him before at these grandiose soirees and I didn’t want to face that kind of humiliation again.
Everything was trial and error with Thom. As soon as one was smart enough to learn their lesson, they knew not to behave in a way that was prone to setting him off or making him feel like he wasn’t the supreme being. As long as Thom felt like everyone else was inferior to him, life was calmer all around.
We entered the great hall of the castle where the party was taking place. It was in celebration of some Master named John Grant, who was taking the credit for a monumental raid on his village just the night before.
I heard the whispers, the gossip, as we floated and drifted around the party saying hello to everyone. I was just an accessory for Thom to flaunt and show off to all of his friends and associates. Judging by the way people eyed me in awe as I passed them, it seemed I was a house favorite. The feeling was both exhilarating and overwhelmingly constrictive at the same time.
We approached the horde around John Grant. He boisterously waved his arms through the air as he described the raid the night before and how many dozens of innocent lives he was able to turn upside down.
John’s eyes were twinkling as he took pride in the fact that he had disrupted an entire community of hardworking people to make his slaves. It was sick and cruel. I had to swallow down spite and the resentment tasted bitter in my mouth.
A band off to the side of the banquet hall’s stage began to play orchestra music at a soothing level, but it was loud enough to dissipate the hum of chatter drifting through the room. I got a good look at all the guests as they quieted down. Everyone was dressed exceptionally well. The women were in graceful evening gowns that shimmered under the lights of the chandeliers overhead. The men were handsome in their tuxedos with their hair slicked back to perfection.
I was insanely jealous that I wasn’t among the elite one percent of the village’s richest. They were, as a general rule, immune to the savage overtaking of the Masters and their guards. Of course, it was because the Masters needed the rich and their money to function and keep up their own lifestyles.
All of this phony behavior and ass kissing between the Masters and the rich people who paid them to not steal their children and make them their slaves made me queasy.
There was nothing I could do about it. My parents hadn’t had the money to pay off the Masters and keep them away. Alas, here I was, under a microscope for every greedy Master’s inspection as Thom gloated and treated me like a show dog instead of a person.
“I love this music,” he told me and gave me a nudge in the back. “I want you to go out on the dance floor and perform to it.”
“Right now?” I asked, glancing at him over my shoulder.
Thom’s features darkened, and his tongue was sharp. “Are you trying to defy me, girl?”
“No.” I didn’t skip a beat in answering and shook my head vehemently.
“Then you best do what I tell you to do,” he said, his narrowed eyes targeted in suspicion at me.
I swallowed hard and nodded. “Yes, Master.” I tucked my chin down and stared at my ballet slipper-clad feet
“Well?” Thom said in an exasperated tone. “What are you waiting for then?”
He gave me another, slightly more aggressive nudge in the direction of the dance floor. The area was packed with people crowded together. I heard hushed whispering shift into an excited chant that flowed like a breeze through the room.
Everyone’s eyes were on me. I did my best not to focus on the fact that I had captured the attention of all of these wealthy socialites. A spotlight hit me, the glow of the light white, soft, and warm.
I felt a film of sweat on my skin. My stomach churned with nervousness. I only had one option. To dance like my life depended on it, because it did. I had to make the most of the situation.
My eyes fluttered closed and I softly exhaled. I opened my heart and my mind and allowed the music to flow through me. The notes of the violin and the clarinet floated through my soul and pumped through my veins.
My body began fine tuning itself to the rhythm of the music. My legs became independent, floating across the dance floor with grace and ease. I lifted my arms above my head and placed myself in an elegant stance.
I danced and swayed as if the music carried me along like a current in the ocean. My eyes were still closed. I was drifting off to a safe place in my mind where I harbored enchanting and wonderful memories.
My father used to read to me by the fire before bed. My belly would always be full of warm soup. I had that same contented and loved feeling surging through my body even in the present. Dancing triggered this joy and helped me to cope with all that I had lost over the years.
I was captured by the moment and absorbed in my own thoughts. I was in my element, a zone where only dancing existed, and I had the freedom to glide wherever I pleased. For the first time in years, a smile cracked at the edges of my lips and spread across my face.
I was positive that I looked like I was glowing in this gratifying moment. I was no longer timid, no longer scared to be out here on the dance floor. In a roundabout way, I was almost glad to be Thom’s favorite.
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