Admiring Danica kneeling on the bed a second, "You look so weak and miserable and vulnerable, that it gives me pangs of desire. How about it? Want to be ravaged?"
Danica's gasp of horror and wild-eyed look was all the answer he needed. She quickly pulled the sheets up to cover her nakedness. Could he read her mind? Did he know that was her greatest fear? Gods, was he going to take her just because he could?
Talar laughed in delight, but decided to test his strength instead. When he turned away, Danica breathed a ragged sigh of relief. She watched as he began casually destroying the room's furnishings. Both he and Danica were surprised with the ease he ripped apart the chair with only his bare hands.
Stepping before her, he gave Danica a mischievous grin, "Are you sure you don't want the pleasure of making love to yourself?"
"You're sick," Danica growled. Gooseflesh covered her body. But she was determined not to show any more fear. "If you so much as lay another hand on me — "
Talar backhanded her brutally. Dazed, she felt herself jerked from the bed and hurled against the wall. Then collapsing, she lay gasping and trying with all her strength not to cry. For some strange reason her body wanted to ball like a baby, and it was amazingly hard to control it.
Grabbing her arms, he jerked Danica to her feet and glowered at her. "I will do anything I want to you, understand?"
"Yes," she heard herself answer.
Sticking his face into hers, "Yes, what?"
With a groan of despair, "Yes, master."
She quickly averted her eyes, unable, or unwilling, to look at the triumph in Talar's face. That, and the way she was trembling, made her burn with shame.
Sneering, Talar said, "Good girl."
Talar released her and walked over to the discarded dress. He retrieved money and papers hidden within. Then dropping the coins in Danic's old leather coin pouch hanging from his belt, he grinned at Danica.
"Come here, my pretty," he said. Holding out the blue silk dress, "Put this on."
She took one step toward him, teetered atop the sky high heels, and fell. Up until then she hadn't taken a step.
"No!" Talar said when she started to remove the offending shoes. "I want you to learn to walk like a lady by the time we reach the Slave House. Elven women are known for their grace and beauty."
Slave House. The mere thought of slavers getting their hands on her almost unnerved Danica. She had heard horror stories of what happens to women inside them. Especially women new to slavery. And especially beautiful noble women. And the fact that she would be perceived as one of the exotic elves would mean her fate could take a decidedly nasty turn for the worst. Like being trained as a Silk Slave.
Gritting her teeth, "Yes, master."
By taking tiny steps, Danica managed to walk the short distance to Talar. It was harder than she had thought. Indeed, she had never really considered the difficulties in walking in high heels. They were said to have been invented by the elves thousands of years in the past, but made popular by Amazons some two centuries back, to make themselves look taller in their dealings with men. She doubted it, but one could never know for sure. At any rate, Amazons seemed to have a fetish about wearing them. Especially Amazon nobles. And, of course, slaves to fashion, other women had taken up the practice as well.
As she gingerly crept over to Talar, teetering precariously atop the five inch heels, she suddenly felt a new sense of respect for any woman able to walk gracefully in high heels.
Impatient, or just cruel, Talar jerked her over the last few steps.
"Hands." Danica held out her hands and he pulled off all the rings and bangles. Then after removing the necklace, he pulled off her long dangling earrings and the tiny copper stud in her left earlobe indicating she was unmarried and unpromised. "Your new master will adorn you to his pleasure."
After Danica pulled the dress on, he took her by the wrist and half-dragged her to the window. It was all she could do to not stumble and fall. She looked doubtful as he opened the window.
"Sneaking out the window? Some daring warrior you're going to be," she said in the most contemptuous voice she could muster.
Tightening his grip, which elicited the expected gasp, "I suspect you have friends downstairs." He stuck his head out the window and studied the pitch black alley below. "And I really don't care to take any chances."
Danica snorted her contempt.
He bound her wrists behind her back and then tore the brown-stained sheets off the bed. Making a crude rope out of the sheets, he tied one end under her arms and around her chest. He slowly lowered her to the alley below. Then he lowered himself down by hanging off the window sill and dropping the short distance.
Danica almost freed herself of the makeshift rope before he dropped down. In another couple of seconds she would have slipped free and escaped.
"I'll have to be more careful," he said, pulling her up. Then pushing her forward, "You lead."
Danica seethed. His manhandling of her was the most humiliating ordeal she had ever endured. Now she was being taken to slavers, who might sell her into any number of horrible fates. What would be her fate? A harem? Brothel? Tavern slave? And could she really...endure?... stomach, maybe?...sex with a man? And would she have a choice? Not likely.
She soon found herself standing before the door of one of the city's many Slave Houses. Like most of the city's structures, it was made of mud bricks with a low-pitched terra cotta roof. She knew the slaves were kept in cells below ground. The structure above ground was reserved for the business offices, showrooms, and barracks.
Talar's knock was soon answered. The spy window snapped open. She couldn't make out the face peering at them in the dark. "Who goes there?" came the raspy voice from behind the door.
"Sir Talar."
Sir Talar! The bastard is assuming an unearned honorific! Danica was incensed. She had labored years to earn the right to call herself knight! That honor could not be stolen.
"State your business."
"I have a slave to sell," Talar said. "An elfmaid of extraordinary beauty and breeding."
"Indeed? Wait."
The spy window snapped shut before he could respond.
"You bastard," Danica whispered, sapphire eyes flashing. "I will not let you get away with selling me, or passing yourself off as a knight."
"If you do or say anything that doesn't collaborate my story, then I won't sell you here," he said, smiling without mirth. Somehow, his smile disturbed her more than the thought of being sold into slavery. "Instead, I'll stake you out in some alley and charge derelicts to use your body. Maybe even pay some of the more grotesque ones to use you, just for the fun of watching your reaction."
Danica bit off any reply, a cold chill dancing down her back and a load of bile trying to batter its way up her throat. She definitely didn't want that, but would her fate be any different inside the Slave House? What would the slavers do? The thought sickened her even more, but the unknown was preferable to what Talar would definitely do to her.
The door screeched open on rusty hinges to reveal an old, grisly desert nomad. His strangely uncovered salt and pepper hair and beard looked greasy and unwashed, and his dusky face creased by countless lines. His every movement looked painful.
"In, quick," he snapped, glancing behind them warily.
Hard looking, armed men and women filled the small entrance foyer. The three women surprised Danica, as women rarely worked as slavers. They relaxed noticeably once the door was locked. Danica understood their fear. Elfhaven was for all practical purposes ruled by the sword. If the slavers were attacked, they couldn't expect any help from the authorities.
A chill ran up her back as she felt the appraising eyes of the slavers look her over. Never had she seen such unbridled hunger. They studied her in silence a moment before the elderly man waved them towards a side room. One of the armed slavers stepped up and seized her tightly in hard callused hands. Her handler was tall and burly for one of the desert folk, which his d
ark complexion indicated he was. He stank of stale ale and onions. Inside the side room, they found another, much younger, fair-haired man.
"I am Mikem, of the House of Mikem," he said with a smile. His accent said he was a Tyrian, and well bred. He indicated a chair and Talar took it. "You wish to part with your slave?"
Two slavers ripped the dress off Danica. She was pushed to her knees, mind reeling and feeling utterly humiliated. She was left kneeling sullenly between them and slightly to one side, fighting the urge to pull at her bindings. It would accentuate how vulnerable she felt.
She didn't want to give Talar the satisfaction.
"That I do," Talar said, returning the smile. "As you can see, she's an exceptional beauty." Then frowning, "But I feel I must warn you, she can be a little headstrong at times. She is also a notorious liar. I can't trust her anymore."
"I see," Mikem said, deep in thought. He slipped off his chair and dropped to one knee beside her. With one hand tangled in her hair, he forced her mouth open to check her teeth. Then his free hand roamed her body, touching her in all of her most private places. "Good, she has all of her teeth and no cavities. No obvious open sores. Have you owned her long?"
Mikem rolled one of her nipples between two fingers, sending the most astonishing ripples through her body. She gasped and groaned when he twisted and pulled her nipple. Her eyes went wide when he surprised her with a deep, lingering kiss. At the same time his hand dropped between her legs and stroked her nether lips.
"No."
The slave master released her lips, only to kiss her ear, neck, and breasts. Danica shuddered, tiny sounds starting to bubble up through her lips as she struggled to regain control of her body and mind. Then he thrust his finger into her. Deeply into her.
"Aaggh!" Danica cried, back bowing and a tingling starting in her belly and thighs.
"Not a virgin, is she? No? Pity. Not that I expected her to be," he said. "Will she try to escape?"
Danica sighed in relief when he pulled his finger out of her. He pulled her forward, forcing her face down on the floor. Mikem ran his hands all over her, checking her arms, back, butt, and legs. Then he pulled off her shoes and examined her feet.
"Without a doubt," Talar said. "I’m sure it's her only thought."
Pulling Danica back to her knees, Mikem said, "A rare beauty, indeed. Slave, how old are you?"
Not bothering to even look at him, "Twenty."
"Excellent!" he said. "What's your name and House?"
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, "My name is Danica. Slaves don't have Houses."
Mikem's eyes flashed at that and she looked away.
"She can be stubborn, my lord. I fear she won't ever accepted her slavery."
"She's new to the collar? I see," Mikem said, scratching at his blonde goatee. "In some ways, that is even better." He grinned. Danica cringed. "Some men enjoy breaking in a new girl."
Danica could almost feel the men looking at her, raking her body with greedy eyes, appraising her, wondering what she'd be like in bed. And I am helpless to stop them if they want to find out.
"If I had the time, I'd love to do it myself," Talar said, studying her intently. "But, alias, I am pressed for time and she's holding me up."
"She's a rare beauty. A blonde and blue-eyed elf is especially valuable in the Desert Kingdoms. Is she a High Elf? Forest Elf? Is she a mage?"
"Yes, she was born a mage. She is of the Druigh caste, or so she said," Talar said. He shrugged. "I've had her checked by mages and she does have some latent magical abilities, but they were magically suppressed before I got her."
"Excellent. If she is of the ruling Druigh caste then for all practical purposes she is Forest Elf royalty. I might actually be able to sell her to the High Elves for quite a bit more than humans would pay."
"I agree."
"Do you know her real name? The name Danica is definitely not elven in form," Mikem said.
She hadn't realized that elves would have a different way of naming themselves. Taara, on the other hand, looked undisturbed.
"Her elven name is Anu Ó Deorain."
"Really?" Mikem said. "Interesting, since Ó Deorain translates to 'exiled person' I think."
Talar nodded. Danica glanced at the guards between her and the door, hoping to see them relax.
"Excellent. I think I will return her elven name," Mikem said, an evil smile played on his lips. "It will make Anu sound more exotic, and bring me a greater payoff."
"She's also much older than she claims," Talar said. "Twenty is a mere child for an elf, so I think she lied about her age to hopefully be treated more gently. Anu is at least four hundred years old, probably a little older. Truth is, I think whoever enslaved her suppressed her magic and her memory, so I don't think she even knows her true age."
"So she's more like in her thirties or forties, in human years," Mikem said, not looking pleased. "Still, elven beauty doesn't fade the way human beauty does. She'll remain fuckably beautiful for centuries to come."
"You're a pig," Danica said, scrunching her nose at him. That shocked her more than it did the slaver. Gods Almighty! That's just the sort of thing a real woman would say!
Mikem stood and slowly circled Danica. Stopping before her, he lifted her long golden hair to study her pointed elven ears. He pulled her to her feet and cut her bindings off. She quietly accepted it and tried to ignore the men and their scrutiny as she rubbed feeling back into her hands. When he ran his fingers through her hair, down her back, and, then, began caressing her buttocks, it took all her self-control to keep from bolting for the door. She did her best to accept his "examination" as stoically as possible.
"A rare treasure, no doubt about it. Her ears are small and point straight up, not large and canted slightly forward like the lower elven castes. She has excellent bone structure and muscularity, and is unusually shapely for an elfmaid. She might even have a little human blood in her. Her muscles aren't as firm as a dancer's, but that'll soon change and, of course, she isn't a virgin," he said, finishing his examination and leaving Danica ashen-faced and swaying. "I'll give you two crowns silver."
"She's worth ten times that," Talar protested.
"Not if I want to make a profit," Mikem said. "There will be expenses to get her ready for auction. She's worth two crowns silver to me."
They haggled a moment. It went quick, but in the end Talar sold her for three crowns silver. Both men looked pleased.
Danica watched in shock as Mikem paid Talar, and then as the sorcerer departed without a look back. She had known it was coming, but the act itself still shook her. Sold! A slave. Her knees almost buckled.
Mikem gave her a wry smile, which didn't help her rising panic.
Now what? Danica's mind filled with all kinds of wild and wicked sex acts. Everything Danic ever did with a woman came to mind. She couldn't stop her mind from flashing visions of her with Mikem, performing every imaginable act. Her body reacted profoundly. With her belly trembling and a-tingle with butterflies, her sex throbbed and ached. Worse, she felt her juices flowing, felt herself getting wet for what her mind and body knew was next.
He lifted her chin and studied her face with an ever widening smile. He caressed her cheeks, then dropped to her exposed bosom. She was shocked and horrified by the reaction his explorations of her breasts were causing within herself. The pleasure she felt was humiliating. And so damned wonderful.
"Oh, my Gods."
She gasped as his hand dropped lower, much lower. This time two fingers were thrust into her. She rose up on her toes, body bowed and eyes wide. It felt as incredible as a woman going down on her lost cock. Then his thumb found her sensitive nub, and started rubbing. Her eyes closed and her head rolled back as Danica struggled to suppress her impending orgasm. She thought she could hold it at bay, until he kissed her. Mikem's tongue pushed into her mouth, exploring. Then it hit her.
"Uuggh!" Danica cried into his mouth.
It was pleasure in its purest form. Dani
ca had never felt anything like it before. Her whole body convulsed as Mikem continued to masturbate her. Continued until she came again and again.
Mikem pushed Danica to her knees, and then to all fours. She started panting hard when he moved behind her and unfastened his pants. Danica looked around, at all the other slavers watching with wicked glee. They looked ready for her to bolt. Eager, even. She'd never reach the door.
"Oh Gods," she whispered when Mikem dropped to his knees behind her.
He caressed and squeezed her butt a long moment, before spreading her butt cheeks. Her belly was still quivering from the orgasms he forced upon her, and her pussy throbbed. She felt her face heating up. And then his cock pressed against her nether lips, and pushed in.
"Uuggh," she grunted, feeling so full. Over-filled. He was bigger than she realized, and he was stretching her out. "You sorry excuse for…aagghhh."
Breathing through her teeth, Danica closed her eyes. Despite the pain, despite the humiliation, despite everything…it felt so damned good. She's never felt anything like it. It felt even better than when Talar fucked her. Maybe it was because Talar switched them halfway through it. Maybe Mikem was just bigger and better at fucking.
His left hand slipped around her, and started fondling her breasts. Hating how good it felt, Danica bit her lip. She detested how much she was enjoying it. Mikem grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked her head back.
"Ugh! Please," she gasped. He was all the way inside her, and really started pumping hard and fast. Her entire body suddenly trembled, her mind began to spin. Then another slaver dropped his pants and knelt before her face. "Oh no."
The second slaver pushed into her mouth. Danica thought about biting, but couldn't even imagine the horror that would cause her. Slavers had well-earned reputations for cruelty and spite. So he slipped in without resistance.
"Hmmm. Ngh," she groaned. He pushed his entire cock into her mouth, which thankfully only went to the back of her tongue. It was still enough to make her gag reflex kick in. Pure misery for a long moment as she coughed and gagged on him, while Mikem happily fucked her from behind. "Ack! Hgh! Mmmmm."
The Elfmaid's Curse (The Elfmaid Trilogy Book 1) Page 4
