"No," said Drusus Rencius.
I suddenly cried out, seized from the side, and I saw Drusus Rencius, the torch flung to the side, lunge toward the man who had been in the center of the first two. One man, one of two who had been approaching us from the side, threw me back against a wall. I could not move because of his presence. My veil, not even unpinned, was wadded and thrust back, deeply in my mouth. I heard swords clashing. I was turned to the side and my robes of concealment were pulled forward and down, over my head. A narrow strap was then slung about my head and pulled back, deeply between my teeth, and tied tightly behind the back of my neck. This secured the entire arrangement. I then, in my own garments, had been effectively gagged and hooded. I was then turned to the wall and my hands were jerked behind my back. In a moment, with two or three loops of cord, they were fastened in place. I then felt myself lifted to the shoulder of a man. I was utterly helpless. I heard another sword, quite near me, sliding from its sheath. "Run!" I heard a man cry. I was flung then from his shoulder, striking my own shoulder against a wall, and sliding down to the street. I heard feet running away.
"They are gone," I heard Drusus Rencius say.
I whimpered as loudly as I could. Only such tiny, piteous noises were permitted me by the gag.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. "There you are," said Drusus Rencius.
I heard a sword laid on the stones behind me. Then, feeling about my head, Drusus Rencius undid the strap that held my gag and hood in place. The fresh air felt good on my face. I could hardly see him, but inches from me. The torch had gone out. He, in the darkness, adjusted my veil.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yes," I said. "Who were they?"
"Probably slavers," he said. "I do not know. They are gone now."
"Slavers?" I whispered, in horror.
"Probably," he said. "It was you they were interested in. They did not appear to be young ruffians out for an evening's sport. Too, they seem to have handled you with an efficiency that comes with training and practice."
I was then silent, trembling.
"They are gone now," said Drusus Rencius.
"My hands are tied," I whimpered.
"Forgive me," he said. He then, after a moment, had freed my wrists. He then picked up his blade. He then rose to his feet. I was on my knees, then, before him. I held him about the legs, and put my face against his leg. I was terrified from what had occurred. I was still trembling.
"Get up," he said, angrily. "Your behavior seems too much like that of a woman."
"I am a woman," I said.
"No," he said. "You are a Tatrix."
I sobbed.
"Get up," he said.
"I could have been carried into slavery," I said, frightened, holding him.
"You torturing slut," he snarled, suddenly, "I am tempted to put chains on you myself."
"Are you so attracted to me, Drusus?" I said, startled. "So attracted to me that you would be satisfied with nothing less than my total ownership?"
"Torturing slut!" he said. "Get up!"
"You do desire me!" I said. "You desire me with the most powerful desire with which a man can desire a woman, that he own her completely, that she be his total slave!"
"I hate you, and despise you!" he said.
"And want me!" I said.
"Let us return to the palace," he said, "before I leave you here in the darkness, a prey to those who, more than I, would see to it that you get what you deserve."
"And what is it that I deserve, Drusus," I asked, at his feet.
"A marked thigh," he said, angrily, "and a collar-encircled neck."
"Do you think that I am a slave?" I cried.
"You would make an ideal slave," he said.
"No!" I cried.
"Then with a few strokes of the whip you would learn to be such," he said.
I shuddered, thinking what it might be to be beneath the whip of such a man.
"Insolence!" I cried.
"Truth," he said.
I cried out in rage.
"But you are not a slave," he said. "Get up."
"It is fortunate for me that I am not a slave, isn't it," I asked, "at the feet of a man such as you?"
"Yes," he said, "it is very fortunate for you."
"And what would you do with me," I asked, "if you did own me?"
"That," he said, "own you, and as a woman is owned, fully."
"Give me your hands," I said.
He then helped me up.
I smoothed my robes. "It is interesting to know that you desire me," I said.
He was silent.
"Indeed," I said, "it is quite amusing. Perhaps I should have you whipped for insolence. Do not aspire above your station, Drusus. I am a Tatrix. You are nothing, only a guard."
"Yes, Tatrix," he said.
"I hold you in contempt," I said. "I scorn you. I am worlds above you."
"Yes, Tatrix," he said.
"And do not forget it," I said.
"No, Tatrix," he said.
"What are you doing?" I asked. I had seen his arm move, with the blade.
"I am cleaning the blade, wiping it on my tunic," he said.
"Cleaning it?" I asked.
"In driving the men off, I wounded two of them," he said.
"Are you all right?" I asked.
"Yes," he said. I resisted an impulse to kneel before him, begging to lick the blood from the blade, begging him then to dry it in my hair.
"Is it clean?" I asked.
"Yes," he said.
"Do not sheathe it until we reach the palace," I said. "The streets are dark."
"I have no intention of doing so," he said.
"At least," I said, "I have satisfied myself as to the condition of the citizenry and the status of the city."
"How is that?" he asked.
"You heard, surely," I said. "The people make light of privations. They are loyal. They are devoted to their Tatrix."
"Such are the answers to be given to such questions in Corcyrus," he said.
"I do not understand," I said.
"The people are afraid," he said. "You have inspired terror. Your rule is one of iron."
"I do not understand," I said.
"Too, your spies are everywhere," he said. "The people to whom you spoke probably mistook you, ironically enough, for one of your own spies."
"I have no spies," I said.
"I can name seven," said Drusus Rencius. "How many you have, of course, I do not know."
I shuddered, confused. These spies, if, indeed, there were any, must be reporting to someone else, perhaps to Ligurious.
"Will we light the torch on the way home?" I asked.
"I think it will be safer to move silently in the darkness," said Drusus Rencius.
"Perhaps you are right," I said, shuddering.
"Please follow me, a bit behind," said Drusus Rencius. "I mean this as no insult to you."
"I understand," I said. I certainly had no objections, under the circumstances, to heeling him like a slave.
"Are you coming?" he asked. He turned about.
"It is so dark," I said.
"I do not think it will be safe to remain here," he said. "Try to follow me."
"I am afraid," I said. I could not see my footing.
"Do you wish for me to carry you?" he asked.
"And how would you do that?" I asked, apprehensively.
"In my arms, with honor," he said. "Did you think I would throw you over my shoulder like a bound slave?"
I was silent. How did I know how Drusus Rencius would carry a woman, particularly a woman such as I sensed I might be. I did know how the other fellow had carried me, over his shoulder, bound, absolutely helpless, perhaps, indeed, like a slave.
"It would be better for you to walk," said Drusus Rencius. "In that fashion my sword arm would be unencumbered."
"Are these streets not supposed to be patrolled by guardsmen?" I asked.
"Most of the guardsmen," sa
id Drusus Rencius, "have been sent to the west, to the front."
I was silent.
"The forces of Ar will be difficult to hold," said Drusus Rencius.
"Of Ar!" I said.
"Yes," said Drusus Rencius. "Forces of Ar entered the fray after the seizure of the mines. Argentum, as you know, is an ally of Ar."
I had not known this, basic though it might be. Many things, it seemed, had not been made clear to me. I did know that we were supposed to have strong ties of one sort or another with the island ubarate of Cos. Susan, I knew, had been bought in Cos. I knew almost nothing of Ar. I did know that Drusus Rencius had once been of that city. Too, I knew it was one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, city on Gor. In known Gor, it was rivaled only by Turia, in Gor's southern hemisphere.
"Our forces will be victorious," I assured Drusus Rencius.
"The enemy is already within twenty pasangs of Corcyrus," he said.
"Take me back to the palace," I said, "swiftly, please."
"Yes, Lady Sheila," he said.
He then turned about, and started off, through the darkness. I hurried along behind him, heeling him like a slave.
I felt miserable, and terrified and sick.
In the palace I would be safe.
11
Susan Has Been Beaten;
Ligurious Speaks with Me;
There is Nothing to Fear;
I am Safe in the Palace
I was thrust into my quarters by a guard, and the door was shut behind me.
A lamp was lit in the room. I heard whimpering.
"Susan!" I cried.
The girl lay on her belly, naked on the tiles. Even the silken collar sheath, of one color or another, which was usually worn, selected to match a tunic, was gone. Her neck was encircled by the bared, unadorned steel alone. She had been terribly whipped.
I knelt beside the girl. "The brutes!" I cried, softly. I touched her hair, gently. Tonight I knew she had danced the whip dance.
"This was not done to me by guardsmen, Mistress," she said. Then she began to sob.
"By whom, then?" I demanded.
"It was done to me by the slave master of Ligurious, on the orders of Ligurious," she said.
"But, why?" I asked.
"Because I did not inform Ligurious that you had had Drusus Rencius summoned tonight to your quarters."
"How did he learn of this?" I asked.
"Doubtless from a guard, and, too, that you had left the palace," she said.
"I am sorry, Susan," I said. It had been I, I recalled, in the prosecution of my own plans, and in my desire for secrecy, who had suggested to Susan that the summoning of Drusus Rencius to my quarters need not be made known to Ligurious.
"Why have you been put here?" I asked.
"That you may see me, Mistress," she sobbed.
"It is all my fault," I said.
"No, Mistress," she said. "It is my fault. I was not pleasing to my master."
Ligurious apparently had been disturbed, particularly that I had left the palace. He, with guardsmen, with lanterns, had met Drusus Rencius and I at the small postern gate in the east wall of the palace grounds, that through which we had returned. Drusus Rencius had been detained there, and I had been hurried to my quarters.
There were suddenly two blows on the door, loud knocks. "Ligurious, first minister of Corcyrus," announced a guard, from the other side of the door.
I stood up, and went to the center of the room. I tried to stand very straight, very regally.
"Enter," I said.
Ligurious entered.
Susan, frightened, with an effort that must have been painful for her striped body, knelt, with her head down to the tiles, the palms of her hands on the floor, in that form of obeisance apparently required by Ligurious of his women.
"To your kennel, Slave," said Ligurious.
Susan lifted her head. "Yes, Master!" she said.
"Get out, Slut!" he said.
"Yes, Master!" she cried, and, springing to her feet, fled from the room.
"You are up late," observed Ligurious.
"I was in the city," I said, defiantly. He knew that, of course. Had he not, with guards, met Drusus Rencius and I at the postern gate in the east wall?
"It can be dangerous in the city," he said, "especially in these times, and at night."
I tossed my head. He need not know what had happened on the darkened street.
"You must understand," he said, "that I have a responsibility for your safety."
"It was not necessary that you treated Susan as you did," I said.
"Do not attempt to interfere in the relationship between a man and his slave," he said. "That relationship is absolute."
"I see," I said. I stepped back, frightened.
"In the future," he said, "you are not to leave the palace without my permission. In the meantime, you will remain here, confined to your quarters."
"No!" I cried.
"Remove your veil," he said, "and your outer robes, and slippers."
Frightened, I did so. I then stood before him in a long, off-the-shoulder, yellow, silken sliplike garment.
"You now stand before a man, Lady Sheila," he said, "as barefoot as a slave."
"I shall call the guards!" I cried.
"And whom do you think they will obey?" he asked.
"I will call Drusus Rencius!" I cried.
"He has been relieved of his duties," said Ligurious. "He is no longer your guard."
"Oh," I said.
"And he seems pleased to be done with you."
"Oh," I said. Now I could no longer torture Drusus, with my nearness and inaccessibility.
"And I cannot say that I blame him," said Ligurious. "For you seem to be a frigid little slut."
"Slut!" I cried.
"Do not form an over-exalted opinion of yourself," he said. "You are only a slut from Earth and no better than a female slave."
I looked at him with horror. He stepped toward me, and I shrank back. Then I whimpered as I felt his strong hands grasp me by the upper arms. He looked down into my eyes. "Displease me in the least," he said, "and I will put a brand in your hide and a collar on your neck. Do you understand?"
I could not begin to free myself of his grasp. "Yes," I said. "Yes!" I was terrified.
He did not release me. He continued to look down into my eyes. He seemed to me terribly strong and large.
"I wonder if I should subject you to rape discipline," he mused.
"No," I said. "Please, no." But I felt heat between my legs, and weakness and helplessness. I knew that my body was lubricating itself, preparing to receive him, if he should choose to have me.
"You are so much like her," he said, looking down into my eyes.
"Who?" I asked.
"One who makes me weak," he smiled, "one with whom I am smitten."
"I am only a barbarian," I said.
"She, too, is a barbarian," he said, "like yourself a barbarian beauty."
"Who is she?" I asked.
"You do not know her," he said. Then he removed his hands from me. "In character, of course, you are quite different. She is superior, lofty, noble, regal and fine. Girls like you, on the other hand, can be found in any market. Too, I think she is probably even more beautiful than you, though the resemblance is truly striking. And in intellect, in brilliance and decisiveness, of course, there is no comparison."
"Perhaps she should be Tatrix of Corcyrus, and not I," I said, angrily.
"Perhaps," he smiled.
I turned away from him. "I am the Tatrix of Corcyrus, am I not?" I asked.
"Yes," he said.
"You know that I am from Earth," I said. "How is it that I was brought here, to be Tatrix?"
"We wished to go outside the city," he said, "to find one from the outside, free of all connections and factions, to rule over us with wisdom and objectivity."
"I see," I said. "Then I am truly the Tatrix of Corcyrus."
"Of course," he s
aid.
"How is it, then," I asked, "that I have been treated with rudeness, that even now I am barefoot in your presence?" I did not, of course, make an effort to put my slippers back on. I did not know if he would permit it. He had, of course, ordered me to remove them.
"You are useful," he said, "and you have your purposes. You are not, however, indispensable. It would be well for you to remember that. It might encourage you to be more cooperative."
"I suppose," I said, "I should be pleased that you did not order me to strip completely and kneel before you."
"You are, of course," he said, "a free woman."
"Yet it seems," I said, "if only implicitly, you have threatened me."
"Suitable disciplines and punishments may be arranged for a free woman," he said, "suitable to her status and dignity."
"I am sure of it," I said, ironically.
He then approached me, and stood quite close to me. I was facing away from him.
"And yet," he said, "I sense that such disciplines and punishments, those suitable for free women, would not be suitable for you."
"And what sorts of disciplines and punishments would be suitable for me?" I asked.
He held me from behind, by the arms. I was helpless. "Such that would be appropriate for slaves," he said.
I stiffened, but I could not free myself.
"You are so different from her," he said. I felt his breath on the left side of my neck. "Your dispositions, your responses, the way you carry yourself, the way you move, how you speak." I felt weak. "I sense," he said, "wherein your deepest fulfillments would lie. I sense what it is that you need and want, what it is that without it you will never achieve your most perfect and complete self."
"What?" I asked.
"The collar," he said.
"No!" I cried.
"Fight it and deny it, if you will," he said. "Have your sport. But it is true."
"No," I wept.
"Consider your incredible femininity," he said. "You have the curves, the softness, the instincts, the helplessness of the slave."
"No!" I said. "I will try to be less feminine, and thus more of a woman!"
"Words from the insane asylums on Earth," he laughed. "This is Gor. It is fortunate you are not a slave, or your true womanhood, the marvelous softness and depth of your femininity, revealed and manifested, would in all its fullness be required of you, and without compromise, even to the whip, by masters."
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