by Robin Roseau
“You’re a poop, Princess,” Valsine said with a grin.
“I know.”
“Olivia, what do you think about Darfelsa’s staff?” Allium asked.
“I think they have laid out good reasons. There’s the danger I mentioned, that this will eventually lead to a desire to become a permanent slave.”
“I could do worse, as long as it’s to Darfelsa,” Tess said. “But I just… I want to belong.”
“You do belong,” I replied.
“I want to belong this way,” she said. “For a while. You don’t have to do it that long, if you don’t want to, but it’s what I want.”
I thought then nodded. “Olivia, do you have other concerns?”
“No.”
“Then we need to work out logistics. Sergeant Felist and I need to be entirely ourselves by the time we cross the Verlies River. And I’m not at all convinced I can do any colors but red. I also have little experience.”
“You’d have Allium and me to help you,” Gionna said.
“Someone should go find Claary,” Olivia said. “We’ll assume she’ll be agreeable. I’ll bribe her with Bee and Dee, if I have to. She won’t mind belonging to them for a week.”
I laughed, and Mariya said she’d go find Claary. “All right,” Allium said. “Let’s start with Valsine. What do you recommend?”
“Match my duration to Tess’s,” Valsine said. “I’d like a real challenge, but we can play to your strengths.”
“I’m not offering that same duration, Valsine. I could still lose.”
“Fine. If I win, it’s three days. Duration doesn’t need to be identical. If that happens, you can do me as if it’s for a First.”
“All right,” Allium agreed. “It is exceedingly unlikely Darfelsa could win this many challenges over a short period. Fresh, she can probably win against most of you, but she won’t remain fresh.”
“Then do them like our Firsts,” Tess said. “But can it be sweet?”
“Yes, Tess. It can be sweet,” I said.
“I don’t care when mine is,” Renishta said. “And I’d do longer, but in my head, I was thinking of three days.”
“So was I,” Terla said, with Selzen nodding. “But I wouldn’t mind if we can play a little more during the trip. I want to cross the Verlies River belonging to Princess Darfelsa. Can we do that?”
“I think we should be hers until we reach Barrish, or the night before we’re to arrive,” Selzen said.
“I’d do that,” Tess agreed.
“I would, too,” Shalendra declared.
That was when Mariya and Claary entered. “What’s this about swirls?” Claary asked.
We brought her up to speed. She laughed. “I wish I could just teach you, Gionna, but if your mother can’t, I can’t.”
“She hasn’t tried.”
“I’ve tried to teach Gigi. She can’t even do her own slaves.” She looked at me. “We can probably teach you to do the various colors, but it takes time to learn to mix colors.”
“And not everyone can do it, it seems,” I said with a grin.
“It’s about intent,” Olivia said. “But it really takes more practice until it’s not really about sex for most people.”
“So,” Claary said. “Olivia thinks I should travel to Tebradine with you, or maybe all the way to Barrish.”
“Just to the border,” Olivia said. “I know that’s asking a lot.”
“Were you going as an escort?”
“I hadn’t intended to.”
“So Bee and Dee won’t be going, then.”
Olivia smiled. “I told you I could bribe her with those two.”
“I’m that consistent?”
“Yes,” Olivia said.
“You don’t need to bribe me, Olivia.”
“And yet, if I try, you never turn me down.”
“True.”
“Bee and Dee may travel to the border with you. I’ll send Bess and a few more to help you get back. You can see to all of this, and then you can let them win a challenge, duration whatever you want.”
“You know,” Allium said. “I wouldn’t mind an agreement with Dee for the journey down.”
“Why am I not shocked?” Olivia said.
“Well then,” I said. “Shalendra, you may have me from tonight until we reach the halfway point to the border.”
“Really?”
“I want to dance for a while, first, then we can do it. Olivia, does that destroy your plans?”
“No.”
“You will free me in the evening, and I can claim Mariya in the morning. Can that work, Olivia?”
“We’ll send a wagon with everything you’ll need.”
“I’ll free Mariya the night before we expect to reach the river. If we misjudge, we’ll remain on the north side of the border as necessary.”
“That works for me,” Mariya said. “Will I be sufficiently alert?”
“We can make it two nights if you want a longer buffer.”
“That’s probably better.”
“I’ll claim the rest of you as you prefer, once Shalendra has released me, but before we cross the river.”
“Bee and Dee may claim me tonight as well,” Allium said. “And they’ll release me when you release Mariya. I’ll claim Valsine at the river.”
I looked around. “Do we have a plan?”
“We have a plan.” Tess began crying. “Thank you, Darfelsa.”
“Oh, Tess,” I said. I opened my arms, and she slipped from her chair to cuddle with me.
* * * *
We had dinner. We danced for an hour. And then I found a grinning pleasure slave each grabbing an arm. I laughed.
Everything was all set up, and everyone from the earlier meeting attended, most of them looking more relaxed than I’d seen them in a while. I saw a few tender touches, and those made me smile.
“We’re going to help,” Dee told me. “Shalendra would lose herself otherwise.”
“All right.”
We didn’t wait on ceremony. Everyone settled. Shalendra bit her lip, but she watched as Bee and Dee changed my clothing into a slip. There was a tub, similar to a shallow bathtub, built for two. It was often used for events of this nature. They guided me into it, and then I lay down, inclined slightly upward. The resin wet much of my body, and it felt quite good. I smiled at the pleasure slaves.
“We want you to close your eyes,” Dee said. “Do you want to be restrained?”
“Only if you want,” I said. I closed my eyes. “Do you think Shalendra could hold my hand?”
“Yes,” Dee said. “Shalendra, sit there. Bring a chair. Once the resin reaches her elbow, Bee will take her hand from you, or the resin will begin to transfer to you. But then you can move and whisper into her ear.”
“I can do that.” I heard movement, a chair being set down, and then hands took mine. That felt nice.
Bee moved to my other side. Dee moved to my head. She began whispering to me, such sweet, lovely promises. Bee stroked and touched.
And I began to relax. It felt so nice, Dee’s breath on my ear, and sometimes her hands touching, Shalendra holding my hand, Bee touching, it felt so nice, and I felt the magic begin to work.
“It’s time to step this up,” Dee said. “Shalendra, wet this with your lips.”
Shalendra giggled, but then I felt Bee shifting around, and then touching me, lower… She teased and touched, and then the device slid into me, filling me, bringing the first real rushes of pleasure.
“Oh, that feels nice,” I whispered. “I love all of you.”
“We love you, too,” Dee said. “I want you to think about Shalendra, about her hands touching you, about her holding you in bed, about sweet kisses and lingering touches.”
They took their time. They didn’t rush me. It was long, and slow, and so, so sweet. I began squirming, more and more, accepting the magic.
“Bee,” Dee said. “Switch sides.”
At that, I opened my eyes, and then
I whispered, “Please take off the shift.”
“In a moment,” Dee said.
They did a general shift, and then I felt Shalendra’s hands, touching my face, her lips against my ear. “This is so hot, Darfelsa,” she whispered. “I want you so much.”
“Good,” I whispered back. “Dee, please don’t stop.”
“We’re not stopping, Sa,” she said. “You’re nearly ready to surrender.” I felt hands on the tunic, but when it was pulled away, there wasn’t a breeze of air; I was already coated in the resin.
“Shalendra,” Dee said. “Start kissing her now.”
Lips. Kisses. Tongue. Teeth nibbling my lips, my ears. I faded further away, and I barely heard Dee guiding Shalendra.
Someone climbed in with me. Someone kept touching me. Someone pressed against the device, pressing it deeper in time to my own squirms, my body beginning to convulse delightfully.
I gave out a cry, then another, and then a long, lovely cry as the magic took me the rest of the way.
* * * *
Shalendra took me back upstairs. When the others saw me, they congratulated her. She took me back onto the dance floor, and I loved being in her arms. But then I begged her to take me home, and so she did.
* * * *
I wouldn’t say I was insatiable, but I would say I wore Shalendra out.
She was sweet. She held me, nearly constantly, and I enjoyed traveling mounted, sitting in front of her with her arms around me, pressed against my back. That was one of my favorite times, along with all the other favorite times. It might not have been, but she said such sweet things, and her own pleasure was evident.
But then it became time to release me. Our friends would help her, but we were to share some time together first, time in our tent. She undressed, and I made love to her once more. But then she pulled me into her arms. “Thank you, Sa. Well, that was nice, but I mean for doing this. It means more to me than I think you can realize.”
I turned into her arms, kissed her, then looked into her eyes. “When you’re a slave, you’re not really with it.”
“You’re not, either.”
“No, but I know who I am,” I told her. “Some of what we’ve done is a blur, but the more I’ve done this, the easier it has been to remember. I know who I am, Shalendra. I don’t know that Mother won’t change this, but at least right now, there’s no one else, and I don’t want anyone else.”
“Oh, Sa,” she said, holding me tightly to her.
“I’m glad you wanted to do this,” I said. “I did, too, with you.”
“I want to ask you questions, but I’m afraid.”
“Because I can’t lie, or because I might not lie?”
She laughed. “Because you don’t have a choice.”
“Ask, Shalendra. You may ask me anything. I’ll never lie to you.”
“If not for me, would you have…”
“Been more debauched?”
“Yes, I suppose.”
“Yes,” I said. “But I was able to do what I wanted, with the people I wanted to do them with.”
“I’m fairly sure if Allium challenged you, you would want to say ‘yes’.”
“You’re right,” I said. “But that isn’t the nature of our relationship.”
She cupped my cheeks but then ran her hands down my resin-coated body. It felt so good. I lidded my eyes, smiling. “Sa,” she said. “Thank you. Thank you for bringing me on this trip with you, for trusting me, and for helping me recover from my mistakes.”
“You’ve made friends,” I said.
“I don’t think I could do what you do, but I want you to know, I’ll do whatever I can to support you.” She pulled me to her to kiss me, and we clung tightly. Still holding me, she whispered, “You’ve said I’d have to wrap my life around yours. That’s not how I see it. It’s still sharing our lives together, Sa. And you’re giving me purpose, even if my main duty is to make it easier for you to do yours.”
“You do more than that, Shalendra.”
She held me, her hands moving. “You feel so good.”
“You’re right,” I said with a smile. “I do. This has been my best time wearing resin. Tyleeza and Tarleet were fun, but this has been perfect.”
And that is how Allium and Claary found us, still hugging tightly, Shalendra’s hands lightly moving over me.
“It’s time,” Allium said gently.
“There’s one more thing first,” Shalendra said. “Allium, hold her, just like this.”
“I can do that,” Allium said gently. Shalendra released me, turning me into Allium. I moved into her arms, hugging tightly. She stroked my back, soothingly, and it felt good, but different from when Shalendra held me.
I could feel her love, but it was a different love. It felt good; it felt right. And she whispered into my ear, “You feel good, Sa.”
“I love you, Allium,” I whispered back.
They let her hold me for a minute or two. I was as happy as I’d ever been. And then Allium said, “It’s time.”
“I know,” I whispered.
She relaxed her hold. That was disappointing, but it was, as she said, time.
“All right,” Claary said gently. “Freeing her is a combination. You brush the resin away, like you might brush water away after a bath. If you just do that, nothing happens. But while you’re doing that, you think about brushing away the bonds. You think about her freedom.”
“It can be hard,” Allium added, “especially when you have a special relationship. This is another reason why your First should be someone with maturity, because freeing someone from her First is very hard, or so it’s been explained to me.”
“Some slaves resist,” Claary said. “You have to order them to behave. Sa will be good, even though if you ask her, she’ll ask for a little longer, like a child who won’t get out of bed.”
I giggled. That was exactly how I felt.
“She can’t resist physically, but she can also hold tightly to… to the bonds, I guess, to you. You have to order her to let go.”
“Are you ready to try?” Allium asked.
“What if I can’t do it?” Shalendra asked.
“Then we’ll help you,” Claary replied.
“Where do I start?”
“Anywhere you want,” Allium explained. “I tend to simply work top to bottom, brushing down.”
“What happens to the resin?”
“We can do it in the tub, if you want, but we can pick it up. We wash and reuse it.”
“Sa, look at me.” I turned to her, smiling. “I love you, Sa.”
“I love you, too, Shalendra.”
“I order you to cooperate now.”
“I will.”
She lifted a hand and began brushing at the resin. Nothing happened at first, but Claary spoke quietly to her, and then I felt the resin begin to flow down my body, slowly at first.
Shalendra began crying quietly. I reached for her, but she told me to hold still, and so I had to, but my heart went out to her.
But even though she cried, she brushed and she brushed, and the resin flowed down, onto the ground. And then I knew I was free.
I stepped to Shalendra, capturing her hands, and then pulled her into a hug.
Allium and Claary collected the resin, pouring it into a bucket they had brought, and then they quietly left us.
And I held Shalendra.
* * * *
We cuddled all night. In the morning, I lay in Shalendra’s arms, not really wanting to get up, but knowing it was time. Finally, she said, “They’re probably waiting for us.”
“Probably,” I agreed.
“None of this seems real to me. This trip. You. The last several days.”
“It’s all real,” I said.
“You need to take Mariya this morning. Do you suppose it’s set up?”
“Probably.”
“Will she wear red?”
“Claary is going to help me make her a guard. That’s what she wants, and I thin
k it would be confusing otherwise.”
“It’s the same process, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but intent matters.”
“What about your staff?”
“I’ll make them black, the color of government workers, clerks, and money counters, but Claary will give them touches of red. They’ll find pleasure from giving pleasure. I’ll take shoulder massages and such, but I’ll also encourage them to share themselves as they desire. That’s what Claary does with hers, and she says she thinks they’re all much happier for it, and they’re a better team.”
“I like that,” she said. “I think you should ask Mariya if she wants to be part of that. She’s part of your household, and I don’t think you should hold her apart.”
“You’re right,” I told her. I kissed her hand. “Thank you.”
“What about me?”
“Oh, you’ll be red. If Claary hasn’t worn herself out, you’ll wear swirls. Are you sure you want to stay that way after we reach Barrish?”
“For a while. Free me in the morning, two weeks after we arrive. And if you want to share me with the others, you may.”
“They’ve asked that I don’t share them with you. They’re afraid it will cloud their loyalty.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t be mad.”
“I’m not. I’m glad you have their loyalty.”
“Do you want me to have you offer those simpler pleasures for other people?”
“Shoulder rubs for everyone?”
“Yes, I suppose that’s what I mean.”
“Yes,” she replied. “But…”
“But not the more intimate pleasures.”
“Those are only for you,” she said.
“How do you feel about letting other people hold you when we ride?”
“The first time you do that, ask me later, when no one is listening.”
“I will.”
“I remember what Valsine did for me.” She paused. “She’s going to be a slave for Allium.”
“That’s the plan.”
“Help us be friends.”
I smiled. “I will. You know if I ask you if you want to have sex with her, you’re going to say ‘yes’.”
She laughed. “I’ve seen how Gionna has to give Ahm to Bee and Dee. I didn’t have to do anything like that with you, but if I’m too much, I can imagine worse than Va.”