*****
Chapter 3:
"This is yours is it not, Innkeeper?" Jack's voice phrased it as a question, but it was anything but as he held the bulging money sack before him while dangling it in front of the man's eyes. It was a demand for an immediate answer and one that was instantly forthcoming from the suddenly frightened innkeeper who stared up at the huge warrior with a look of surprise and fear. He then grabbed the bag and held it clutched tightly to his chest as he responded while nodding.
"Yes sir, this is mine. Where did you get it? I keep it hidden," the man stuttered.
"I didn't find it. This thief I have over my shoulder did," snarled Jack, as he slapped Ivy's bare ass with his now freed hand. "The little she rat thought she was clever. However, she was not clever enough and I caught her in the act. In the future you may wish to find a better hiding spot other than a loose floorboard that squeaks when you step on it," remarked Jack with a grin. He kept a very tight grip on Ivy as he addressed the free man while his eyes roamed the interior of the main inn entrance. No one was around not that it mattered but a warrior did not get to Jack's age and station in life by being careless.
"Yes Sir, thank you Sir. How can I repay you?" said the innkeeper, as he bowed his head in thanks and respect for the return of his life savings. The man was short and fat as were most innkeepers. His greasy brown hair and eyes gleamed like a rodents as he kept bobbing his head in deference to Jack. Thin lips and coca stained craggy rotten appearing teeth completed his appearance of a typical low class citizen and Jack scowled for a moment before dragging his gaze away.
"You can meet me at the civil clerk's office tomorrow morning at the tenth hour. It is too late tonight as their offices are already closed but in the morning I will bring charges against this little slut and I will need you to bear witness that this coin pouch is your property."
"Yes, Sir, gladly will I do so. The girl has stolen from me in the past but only a bottle or two of wine or spirits. Or, sometimes bread, cheese and meat. I've never brought charges against her myself because the losses were small and I told myself that she needed the sustenance, but stealing my life savings brings no forgiveness in my heart. You can count on me, Sir," responded the innkeeper with a nod and ready smile.
"Good man. Now, I will be off. Be well innkeeper and I shall see you at the tenth hour, and don't be late or the flat of my sword will find the side of your head," growled Jack. With that, he left the inn, walking uphill along the cobblestone path towards the barracks where he occupied one of the best rooms in officer country, with Ivy still draped over his shoulder.
It was large enough to hold his simple possessions, some furniture and a medium sized cage he kept for special captives. In this case, Ivy qualified as such in Jack's opinion for he had plans for her. He had wanted Ivy for a long time, ever since she first teased him with the sway of her hips and a saucy look over her shoulder when she saw him watching. Up until this moment, the girl had always been careful around him and he was unable to catch her in an act guaranteeing her enslavement. Now, after being patient, he witnessed her thievery and would use it to his advantage.
The room also contained a short corridor leading to other offices, one of which was his primary office where he read reports, issued orders and conducted the basic business of leading the cities warriors. Another room off that hallway led to a map room where a large table occupied the center. From there strategies could be discussed and detailed maps laid down to get a picture of both terrain along with concealment for attacking and defending forces. Yet another room opened into a large chamber he used for meetings with his officers. There was also another door leading out into the courtyard outside his office that was the entrance most used. Normally if they used the private entrance to his sleeping chamber, they were female and most likely naked already and about to be fucked in every hole they had as Jack did not care which he used and he used them all at whim and as the mood struck him. This was a man's world and he used it to his full advantage.
Over the thousands of years since the planets settlement known as the great exodus, its diverse peoples had seen a myriad of governments rise and fall. Initially, this happened with great frequency until their present form of lifestyle evolved more than six thousand years ago. This government consisted of a feudal city state system of independent nations that typically owed allegiance to a central body of governors, or in many cases a king or emperor. The system had worked well, mainly because of the restrictions imposed upon them by the watchers.
That the inhabitants of Paradise were being watched by others, somewhere out there in the dark sky or underground, there was no doubt as scientific advances were severely limited, usually by means of a strike of lightening from the sky that could penetrate even the deepest rock or fortification. The people had soon learned which avenues of progress were death to explore, like chemical compounds that created large amounts of force when activated thus killing dozens or more with a single application and which were not, like the physiological sciences of superior healing salves and longevity.
Who these watchers were the inhabitants of Paradise had no idea, just that they were brutal in exacting punishment for explorations into forbidden territory. This in itself created problems for the people of the planet as wars raged incessant for millennia when each faction fought for supremacy across the planet's surface. However, this was not to be as the sword and bow were inefficient engines of destruction. Thousands of years ago, a solution was found...slavery! By making a conquered people slaves with no basic rights they solved the problem of reoccurring battles every generation or even more frequently between neighboring city states and the current rule of thumb was, if the same city attacked and lost twice in a single generation, defined as 20 years, they were either all put to the sword or enslaved. To the peoples of Paradise it was a workable dynamic and religiously followed.
Jack was a product of his environment. He was rough, callused and had little kindness or mercy about him. It was a cruel world out there and in order to remain on top of the food chain, and in this case, that meant maintaining control over his men and guiding the council of city administrators, he had to maintain his tough exterior. There was no letting up for he would lose respect if he did so and the loss of respect was a sure way to find one replaced, or dead. As his family held the position of Commander of the Guard for the last four hundred years he did not intend to allow the position to go to anyone not as qualified as he, or anyone of another bloodline.
In addition, at less than a hundred years of age, Jack was considered young for the position of Commander he had taken over from his father. With an average lifespan of close to four hundred years, senior positions often went to the older veterans that had enough intelligence to perform the job and had accumulated a considerable amount of time in service. Still, Jack was also the product of superior breeding and for over a thousand years, their family had selectively married to produce the smartest and strongest warriors. They were one of the oldest families in the city of Ashton and had been here since its inception.
At this point Jack had no real idea how many generations his family had been warriors. He only knew it had been more than long enough to receive a coat of arms for valiant service. Given to them long ago by the then reigning monarch in Bristol. A dozen or more, perhaps even two-dozen generations before his own, a great war raged across the continent. One of many and not the last by any means but Jacks great elders found themselves protecting the current monarch using the men of their holding to stave off a last desperate attack by a pretender to the throne. It had lasted for days and often involved brutal hand-to-hand combat with knives, clubs, swords and pikes. In the end they had triumphed and rewarded for their gallant service and sacrifice.
With the sound of a heavy thump of hard callused hand hitting soft, bruised flesh, he slapped Ivy's naked red ass again and demanded, "Are you ready to ease your condition by a formal submission, girl?" His tone was jovial but there was no doubt he was very se
rious with the question which seemed to catch Ivy by surprise. Though she had only moaned a bit through her gag up until this moment, now she thrashed as a sound like screaming outrage erupted from the bound and gagged thief that lay draped over Jack's shoulder. He slapped her ass again even harder which elicited a muffled howl from her, causing nearby pedestrians to look askance at them, looks Jack ignored as he continued up the roadway to the warriors compound with a hearty grin on his face.
The slave trade thrived on every continent of Paradise. Slaves were one of the most commonly trading commodities in every city on every landmass that covered the planet. They were valuable and somewhat expensive to keep up, because although they were considered property, their owner still needed to house, feed and clothe them while proving basic medical attention when needed. Of course, an owner could, if he or she wished, simply kill their slaves out of hand as they had no rights. Nevertheless, slaves were the staple behind every thriving community. They worked the mines, tilled and harvested the fields, served in a thousand ways and of course provided pleasure to their owners if such action were desired, which it often was. Or, anyone those owners told their slaves to please.
There were many ways in which a female or male could be enslaved. One of those methods was a formal submission to a free man or woman, although this was not typically a common process and did not apply to those under the legal age of adulthood with free parents. The most common process of enslavement was to be born into slavery or taken captive during a raid, or war. The spoils of war they called it but any city overtaken might see its entire inhabitants put in the thick steel collar of slavery; men, women and children. By the same token, a slave could be made free again by their owner. All it took was their owner's public word and the declaration would be honored. When such an event happened, the former slave was given papers of freedom, signed and sealed by a city judge and told to keep them in their possession at all times. It was up to that individual to keep those papers safe and available, especially if they wore a brand or been given pierced ears. To offset loss, copies could be kept with the local magistrates offices thus affording a freed slave a second chance if the original papers were lost.
Soon enough, Jack entered the Warriors compound and after reaching the housing district which was next to the main offices, walked up the steps to his room and kicked the door open as he shouldered his way in. With a heave, he tossed Ivy on the bed against one wall for a moment, as he walked to the upright cage in the opposite corner of the large room. It was a unique cage in that one side had a large door inset with a sturdy lock. Then on the right side as you were facing it, there was a second door. This door was much smaller and set midway up the bars but it had a sturdy lock set in it also.
From a small table setting next to the cage, he picked up a hook and fastened it to the center of the overhead bars. It was a simple affair, two hooks set close together and made from a single length of iron bar. Now one of these he flipped over the center bar letting its opposite end dangle approximately eight feet off the ground. He then walked back to Ivy who he found struggling on the furs of the bed and grabbing her by the hair, dragged her off them towards the cage. When he threw her on the furs because of the way he was carrying her over his shoulder, he'd had a chance to sniff her and realized she actually smelled clean and obviously bathed on a regular basis. Otherwise, he would have left her chained by the door.
Whistling merrily, he dragged her into the cell then grabbed a coil of rope from his pouch and looped it through the hook before undoing Ivy's hands. Then kicking the groaning girl over, he re-tied her wrists before her with a tight knot then looped the long length of rope between them before tightening it on the hook above them. With a heave, he pulled the girl into the air until her feet barely touched the ground, eliciting another muffled scream from her and a thrashing of her bare feet. He adjusted it slightly to allow her to support her weight by the tips of her toes before fastening it to another ring welded into the inner side of the cage, yet on the far side from Ivy. The remainder of the cord he let drop into the cage then smeared its length with a cake of beef lard that was wrapped in leather and which he also pulled from his satchel before walking out and securely locking the door. The girl was struggling again and making muffled sounds of anguish but he noticed she was careful to support her weight with her toes while doing so.
"Are you ready to willingly submit yet, my little Ivy?" he asked in a cruel voice as he pondered her naked dangling form from the other side of the bars. He knew the position was uncomfortable to say the least and he grinned at the thought, for there was no mercy in him, especially for Ivy, whom he had wanted for quite some time. He had to admit that stretched out like this did the girl wonders because her body was exquisite.
"Mmmfff!" An immediate reply, along with a vehement shake of the head, her eyes wild as she stared at him in what he considered fury, gave him his answer. The girl was certainly full of rage and he chuckled as he walked to the small side room and entered while donning a pair of leather and steel plate gauntlets that hung from a nearby hook beside the door.
Continuing to whistle the old sea chantey he had started earlier, he dragged out a small cage filled with squealing and snarling, vicious little beasts. Rats, full grown and over a dozen were crowded within the interior of the metal enclosure. Walking to the side of the cage he had suspended Ivy within he lifted the cage in his burly arms and strong hands, showing it to her.
"Care to reconsider that willing submission, slut?" he inquired in an even toned voice as he looked at her, a smile upon his face. Another scream of rage greeted this latest question of his and he shrugged, lifting the smaller cage door and after unfastening the top of the rat cage he dumped them into the larger, where they immediately scampered around with almost all headed towards Ivy's feet, sensing and seeing her body heat but to them it was fresh meat. It had been days since they had eaten and they wasted no time running full out towards what they obviously considered a meal. A few did try to squirm through the bars but this was a special cage. Bars every four inches, and the inside covered in fine wire mesh along every side. Unable to gain freedom, they soon gave up their attempts at escape and joined their brethren near the girl.
With a muffled scream of terror at the introduction of the rats, Ivy jerked her feet up off the ground, holding her knees up against her chest as she held them out of reach of the ravenously hungry rodents. Rats were commonly used as instruments of torture and in interrogations as it was well known that a sufficiently hungry rat could easily consume twice its own weight in meat and these had not been fed in days. Chuckling evilly, Jack watched for a moment before commenting idly.
"Well, you could curl your feet into the bars overhead but I wouldn't fall asleep if I were you." He pointed to the rope where it lay coiled on the ground and rising upward towards the ring it was fastened too, then continuing to where it looped over the hook, eventually reaching Ivy's hands. In renewed terror, she realized the rats were already starting to climb and headed in her direction. In a move of desperation, she lashed out with one foot hitting the rope just below the ring which caused the small yet deadly animals to fall to the floor again.
"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider a willing submission?" smirked Jack as he watched her. A wild shake of her head greeted his question as her foot lashed out again, hitting the rope, blocking a renewed effort of the rats to get to her.
"Alright, rest well my pet and good luck. I'm going to my furs," Jack said, as he turned his back and after undressing, settled into the thick furs on his bed, appearing to quickly fall asleep. In reality, his ears were tuned for sounds of muffled screaming which would indicate the rats had reached her body and were trying to devour it. It had been a long day with everything from guard duty to incident reports and weapons practice and he was tired but he waited instead, somewhat patiently as breaking a new girls spirit was an exacting process. He was content that either Ivy would be more compliant in the morning or possibly consumed by the rave
nous beasts.
*****
Chapter 4:
Ivy shivered in fatigue, her body not only trembling but shaking as her bloodshot eyes stared downward watching the small deadly animals as they milled about below her. Her feet were looped over the rope leading from the hook holding her wrists to its other end tied off at the ring at the side of the cage. Exhaustion had come and stayed by now with only terror and the faint remnants of adrenaline keeping her from passing out, her feet slipping downward and the thought of hungry rodents attacking her.
Every part of her body hurt and her eyes swiveled off the rats to gaze at the sleeping form of Jack. She hung suspended through the long night, for hours but now a quick look through the window saw the first rays of morning light appearing in their panes. She wished she could lick her lips but the leather gag prevented her from doing so and even though she had screamed into its bindings with all her might, it had no effect in waking up that bastard. Her furious mind pondered his words from a few hours ago just before he lay down. Submission? Not likely, she thought with an inward snarl. Even if she had been so inclined, she certainly would not do so now after his treatment of her. The man was as mean as an experienced torturer, which he probably was, she thought, as she lay there gasping while praying he would wake up.
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