The Guide

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The Guide Page 8

by Trudie Collins


  “She asked to see you,” Sam told Bellak. Giving her a self-satisfied grin, he left the relative safety of the trees and confidently strode toward the dragon. When he was half way there, Sam called out. “She said she was hungry and wants someone for dinner.” Salabine heard this and grinned, showing her fangs, which she licked with her long red tongue. During their talk, Sam had discovered that the dragon had a great sense of humour.

  Bellak stopped abruptly. Slowly turning to glare at her, she saw he had gone very pale. Barely able to suppress a laugh, she turned her back on him and let the others know it was safe to stop hiding. They slowly revealed themselves, though the looks on their faces showed that they were nervous. Even Tor looked worried. The only person who wasn’t was Dal, who went running out of the trees, heading straight for Salabine, his eyes bright with excitement.

  “I have never met a dragon before,” he called, dodging past Tor’s outstretched arm, which tried to grab him as he dashed past.

  “Don’t worry,” Sam assured him. “Salabine is friendly. She doesn’t eat people, though judging by the way Bellak is approaching her, she has yet to inform him of that.”

  Dal skidded to a halt, narrowly avoiding running into one of Salabine’s legs. He was just in time to hear the dragon addressing Bellak.

  “Little one has told me about you,” she said, licking her lips. “She does not like you. You are not nice to her. I like her so make sure you are courteous to her within my hearing or I will take it as a personal insult.” She flashed her long white fangs at him before adding, “You really do not want to upset me. Now go find some firewood so I may light the fire for you.”

  Bellak took the thinly veiled threat remarkably calmly. “We do not need you. We can look after ourselves.”

  “Really!” Salabine sounded surprised. Suddenly she raised her front left leg, bringing it down swiftly on top of Bellak, sending him falling backward and pinning him to the ground. “I think not,” she added, before releasing him. He quickly picked himself up and ran back into the woods. Salabine looked down at Dal and chuckled. “That was fun.”

  Dal just stared at her in wonder. “You can laugh!” he eventually managed to say.

  “Of course,” she replied. “Can you not?”

  Dal continued to chat with Salabine while everyone else set up camp, unloading the cooking utensils from the wagon and removing most of the bigger stones from where they were going to sleep. Hurst was led up to Salabine and she allowed him to gently touch her all over, once she realised that this was the only way he could actually know what she looked like. With Sam’s help, Torrick checked that none of the horses were worried about being so close to a dragon, though he need not have bothered. Horses were only concerned about their ‘flying brothers’, as they referred to them, when they had a human on their back. Soon Bellak returned with, much to everyone’s surprise, an armful of firewood.

  Seth laid the fire then Salabine lit it, making sure the flame went as close as possible to Bellak without actually touching him. He glared at her and she promptly laid her head on her front legs and went to sleep with a smug smile on her face.

  Hawk awoke and went hunting. Within an hour they had birds roasting on a spit over the fire and vegetables frying in a pan. During the meal they talked about dragons and how amazed they were that Salabine was friendly.

  “It will probably eat us all while we sleep,” Bellak grumbled. Everyone ignored him.

  “I saw a dragon once,” Torrick said suddenly. “It was during a battle between my Lord’s men and those of a neighbouring Lord. A number of us were knights, in full armour. The dragon came from nowhere, breathing fire, burning everything in sight. Many men died that day, ours and theirs. The knights were roasted alive. It is not something I want to see again anytime soon. It did end the battle though, with both Lords deciding it was better to fight a common enemy than each other. Not that they managed to find the dragon again.” While he was talking, Liselle had placed her hand over his and he had unconsciously taken hold of it. She leant over and gently kissed his forehead before removing her hand and grabbing Sam and some of the dirty plates. Reluctantly, Sam picked up the rest and they headed off to the river to clean them. Seth brought over the cooking utensils and gave strict instructions on how to clean them using the sand on the riverbed.

  While they worked, Sam asked Liselle about how she and Torrick met, and how their marriage survived despite the age difference. Liselle laughed at the comment and proceeded to tell Sam about her past.

  At the age of twelve, she had been kidnapped by slavers and sold to a Lord as a pleasure slave. He already owned a number of them and they took her under their wing, teaching her all she needed to know about the new trade that had been forced upon her. She was a fast learner and soon got a reputation for being one of best. She was sold often, for a higher price each time.

  About twenty years previous, her owner had lost her in a card game to the local Lord. Rumour had it that this Lord preferred sex with men rather than women and that he allowed his wife to take many lovers, both to keep her satisfied and to give him the heirs he desired. As a result, he had no use for a pleasure slave, especially one who was no longer young. He leant her out most evenings to his friends and a number of men sought him out for business ventures just so they got to spend an evening with her. Except on the Sabbath, of course. Even her owner respected the Sabbath.

  The night following the Sabbath she was awarded as a prize to whichever soldier, or group of soldiers, had pleased her Lord the most. Those were the days she hated most. At least her owner’s friends and associates knew they could not harm her, whereas the soldiers were told to do whatever they liked. Sometimes there were up to five at once. They made her feel like a piece of meat rather than a human being. She had been trained to entice a man, then give him pleasure while all he had to do was lay there. Most of the soldiers, however, liked her to be held, or preferably tied, down. Either flat on her back, or taken roughly from behind without even removing her clothing, she was more like just a hole used to provide a quick thrill than a skilled artisan who could provide immense pleasure for hours. Still, it was their loss, not hers.

  Some of them, however, got a thrill from causing her pain instead of screwing her. Some days healers had to be called, others she could not entertain men again for a few nights. Liselle shivered as she told that part of her tale.

  Then, a few years ago, a new group of soldiers arrived, Torrick among them. From the moment he first saw her walking past the training yard, he could not take his eyes off her. Though still a striking woman for her age, she could no longer be called beautiful, but he claimed she had a glow about her that had him transfixed. After learning that she was a pleasure slave, and was given as a reward for good work, he trained hard, learning quickly. It wasn’t long before he was besting his instructors in both the sword and lance. He was rapidly promoted and taught military tactics. Eventually his Lord heard about his abilities and gave Liselle to him for a night.

  Liselle smiled as she recalled their first night together. She had been dreading it as two nights previous she had been with the Lord’s cousin, who enjoyed inflicting pain, and she was still very tender in the places a pleasure slave used most. Torrick had rented a room at a local inn for them, which was unusual. Most of the soldiers took her to their barracks and kicked the rest of the squad out for a few hours, or let them join in. The room contained only a large bed, a table with two chairs and a small chest. Someone had lit candles, making it almost romantic. Torrick told her to take all of her clothes off, sit on the bed and open her legs.

  So much for foreplay. Having done as she was instructed, she watched him go to the chest and take out a pot. He knelt by the bed and spread her legs a little further apart. Taking a deep breath and preparing for the pain that was sure to come, Liselle was surprised when he very gently rubbed some of the contents of the pot onto her, inside and out. It was cool and soothing, and had a pleasant numbing effect. He explained that his mothe
r was a healer and he had asked her to make the balm. By the morning she should be totally healed and pain free.

  He then applied some to her breasts, where the bite marks were still evident, especially around her left nipple. He thoroughly checked every part of her naked body, covering every scratch and bruise with the healing balm. She felt wonderful. When he was satisfied that he had attended to all of her wounds, he went back to the chest, replacing the pot and pulling out a dress he had purchased for her. It was of plain grey wool, designed to be worn with a belt, which he also withdrew from the chest. Liselle cried when she saw it. It was not sexy. It was not revealing. It was not made of silk and lace. It was just warm and comfortable. She had never worn anything like it since becoming a slave. Everything she owned was designed to reveal as much of her flesh as possible. In the winter her skin turned blue from cold but she was never permitted to cover herself up.

  When she was dressed, Torrick ordered a meal to be sent to the room and they ate it quietly. Torrick was shy and Liselle was still too stunned at her treatment to say anything, so they ate in silence. She had never been allowed to eat while working before. If the man she had been assigned to entertain for the evening wished to eat, she was forced to sit on the bed and watch. Sometimes she even had to feed them, but she was never allowed to have any herself. Slaves ate in the kitchen, never with their betters, and she was not always given enough notice to grab a meal before needing to be ready to go with whoever her Lord had organised.

  Sometimes she went days without food. Once, when she was a lot younger, she was so hungry she had asked if she could have some food. The Lord she had been with had grinned viciously. He turned his chair slightly, grabbed her by the hair and forced her to her knees in front of him. Telling her he had something for her to eat, he forced his penis into her mouth and moved her head backward and forward, choking her as it repeatedly slid down her throat. He continued to move her head with one hand, while he casually ate his meal with the other. When her mouth eventually filled with semen, he told her to swallow it, then laughingly asked her if she enjoyed her meal. She never made the mistake of asking for food ever again.

  By the time their meal was complete, both of them had begun to relax a little and talking came easier. Torrick ordered another bottle of wine and soon they were laughing together as though they had known each other for years. Liselle was beginning to relax for the first time since becoming a pleasure slave and it came as a shock to her when Torrick undressed and ordered her to do the same. Inexplicably, she became a little nervous. She quickly slipped in bed, pulling the covers around her. He had already seen her naked body, but for some reason she could not explain, she wanted to cover it up, to hide the signs of violence that covered it. Torrick locked the door, blew out the candles then joined her in the bed, where Liselle waited nervously for whatever punishment she was about to endure. Life had taught her that anyone who treated you well had an ulterior motive, and she suspected she was about to find out what Torrick’s was.

  However, he simply took her in his arms, using his body heat to warm her, gently kissed her on the forehead and went to sleep. Liselle lay awake for a while, just looking at him, though not able to make out any of his features in the dark. A tear trickled down her cheek as she realised she was not unhappy to be spending the night with this man. She closed her eyes, cuddled up closer to him and went to sleep.

  The next morning he purchased breakfast for them both, before taking her back to the manor. He escorted her to the room she shared with two of the slaves who worked in the kitchen and handed her the dress, belt and healing balm before running off to join the other soldiers in the training yard.

  From then on, Torrick trained harder than ever and got Liselle for the night at least once a month. She found herself looking forward to the Sabbath for reasons other than getting a night off. The next night, she might be with Torrick again. Of course, this was not always the case, but the nights she spent with him made her forget the horrors of the nights she had to endure being handled by other men.

  An unfortunate side effect of being treated so well was that she began to resent what she was and what she was forced to do. She had always hated it, but now she felt disgusted at herself. She mentioned it to Torrick one evening, wondering how he could bear to spend time with her when she was nothing but a whore. He gently took her hand in his, looked her in the eye and solemnly explained to her the difference between a pleasure slave and a whore, how having no say in what you had to do had no effect on the person you actually were. In some people’s eyes, she was just another dirty whore, but that was on the outside and those people would never see the kind, caring, gentle person she was on the inside. He also made her a promise. Somehow he was going to get her away from it all, so she could find out for herself what a wonderful person she really was.

  That night she gave herself to him; not as a pleasure slave, but as a woman. It was the most wonderful experience she had ever had. For the first time while being with a man, she climaxed. As her mouth went over his body, she wanted to taste him, wanted to feel his caress, wanted to feel him inside her, to give herself to him, and for once her scream was of pleasure not pain. She was so caught up in the enjoyment that she forgot she had not drunk the tonic she usually drank each morning to prevent pregnancy. She had stopped drinking it when she was due to be with Torrick as she hated the taste and, until that night, would not have had need of it anyway.

  The next time Torrick ‘won’ her, he did not take her to an inn. Instead, he took her to his mother’s house. She owned and ran a small farm in the neighbouring province. He did not tell Liselle where they were going, as she would have refused to go. After all, no man in his right mind took a pleasure slave home to introduce to his family. Not only did Torrick do this, but they already knew all about her. His father had died when he was young and his mother had brought him and his three younger sisters up on her own, making her a firm but warm hearted woman; one who took no nonsense from anyone. She also had a gentle side, which she displayed easily around her family. From the minute Liselle walked through the door, she was treated as a distant member of the family.

  The whole family knew what she was; the youngest kept asking about her clothes and whether she could borrow them when she got older, openly ignoring her mother’s disapproving frown, but they never made her feel uncomfortable about it. It brought back memories of being with her own family when she was young; memories she thought she had forgotten. Liselle was wearing the wool dress, the first of many things that Torrick had bought for her, and a matching shawl that his mother had knitted. Winter was coming on and the nights were starting to get cold, so she was grateful for the warmth her clothing provided.

  It was a few weeks later that she was violently ill as soon as she was awake. And again the next morning. And again the one after that. She quickly did some calculations and realised that her ‘bleeding time’, as the pleasure slaves referred to it, was overdue. Panic set in. The baby was Torrick’s, it had to be, and knowing that made her want to have the child more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. She told one of the other slaves, Ella, who immediately understood her problem. She was due to be with the soldiers again that night, not Torrick unfortunately, and they handled her so roughly the baby would be at risk. Ella told the Clerk of the House, who was in charge of all aspects of the household, including the slaves, that Liselle was sick and would not be able to work that night. He did not ask what was wrong, or if she needed a healer, he just instructed her to tell Liselle that she would have to ‘service’ the soldiers the next night, then sent her away to get on with her work. The next night Ella said Liselle was still sick.

  The following morning, the Clerk walked into her room as she was vomiting and guessed what the problem was. He dragged her roughly by the arm to the dining room and forced her to admit her pregnancy to her Lord, in front of all of his family. The Lord was livid. He shouted. He paced. He gesticulated. He slapped her round the face. He was about to
punch her in the stomach when his wife stopped him, concern on her face. Liselle may just be a pleasure slave, but she was still a woman with child and the Lady would not allow anyone in that condition harmed, not when she could stop it.

  She was dragged down to the practice yard, where those soldiers who were not on patrol were testing their fighting skills on one another, under the watchful eyes of their instructors. They were immediately called to attention and told of her condition.

  “Which one of you whoring sons of bitches is responsible?” he shouted. “Who did not drink their potion before screwing her?” Men also had a tonic they could take to prevent pregnancy. Every man who could afford it took it every day, unless they were trying to father a child, as healers had the ability to prove paternity and a man was financially responsible for his offspring, even if the mother was a slave or a whore. Soldiers were usually provided with a daily supply as part of their pay, though some sold it on to give them more coins for alcohol and gambling.

  If any soldier stepped forward, admitting to being the father, they would be immediately dismissed from service and forced to marry. The man, and Liselle of course, would be given 24 hours to get out of the Lord’s province or face execution. By allowing the pregnancy to happen, both of them had disobeyed orders and had the choice between exile or death. Of course, if no man claimed paternity, a healer would be called and the father revealed. The man then would have no option. Not admitting paternity was considered a crime worse than murder and he would be immediately hanged from the nearest tree.

  Upon hearing the news, Torrick stepped forward and proudly announced that the child was his. Liselle was stunned. The man was throwing away his career for her and without contacting a healer, he could not be certain that he really was the father. The Lord and all of the other soldiers were shocked. Torrick was a man who never forgot anything and never made mistakes, but here he was openly admitting to disobeying an order.

 

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