by Cerise Noble
“You're coming with me.”
My begging fell on deaf ears, and I found myself relieved of my pack, which the other man stowed in a boat I hadn't seen, camouflaged in the reeds. The first man took Suzanna's pack, and for a moment we were alone and unbound. I grabbed her hand and jerked her to her feet, and we ran for the bushes we'd come through the first time. He got there first and caught me around the waist, lifting me up while I kicked and beat at his arms with my fists. Suzanna stood frozen, terrified of the man, terrified of being alone.
“Go! Run! I love you!” I screamed at her, willing her to save herself. But would she even survive? Without our equipment, no net, no pot, no blanket... nothing. Would she be able to live, all on her own? She remained rooted to the spot. The man shoved me into the broad bottomed boat, rocking it, then chains were clamped around my wrists and I was caught, face down and bound. I screamed, and his big hand crashed down on my bottom. I shut up, realizing, belatedly, that if we were to be captured, biting and screaming were not the ways to ensure my safety, or that of my sister. The other man stalked towards her, and I rolled onto my side, trying to lever myself up on my elbow to watch. She stood still, petrified, and he scooped her up, tossing her over his shoulder as if she were a feather pillow. He walked back to the river and set her down on the bench in the end of the boat, carefully. Far more gently than I'd been thrown down, and I was grateful.
He spoke to her. “You sit there and behave yourself, and we'll take care of you. Understand?” She nodded, dumb with shock and terror. I worried about the pallor under her tan skin, but I could do nothing about it now.
“Where are you taking us?”
The second man stayed on the shore, and the first sat on the middle bench and started rowing, his massive arms flexing and straightening with each stroke.
“I'm taking you to the governor of this patch of land.”
“Please. Just let us go. We'll be on our way, and he'll never know. We mean no harm. We didn't intend to trespass.”
“But you did.” He paused for a few strokes, regarding me with that intense gaze. “And you bit me. How would I explain that?” I looked then, guilty, as crimson crescents welled on his forearm.
“I'm sorry. I was afraid.”
He smiled then, a predatory smile that made my stomach knot itself together. “You should be.”
I must have dozed, worn out from fighting. I came to with a start, a horrible crick in my neck from the odd angle I lay in at the base of the boat, and met Suzanna's eyes. They were huge with fear, and my heart dropped to my stomach as I realized she was a virgin. Tommy, the son of the other fisherman nearby, had left with his family before she was old enough to want to experiment. The boy I'd fumbled and played with until we'd learned how sex worked and sated our curiosity on each other.
The boat bumped the dock, and suddenly there were more men around us, shouting and talking. I struggled to sit up. A blindfold was wrapped around my eyes and I panicked, kicking and flailing. Hands were carrying me, and I got a leg loose. Twisting out of their hands, I found myself falling. The splash drove the sound out of my ears and the breath out of my lungs. I clamped my lips shut, struggling futilely with the chain on my wrists as water closed over my head. I could feel the current pushing me, sluggish but steady. With the blindfold on, I couldn't even see which way was up, so I kicked, wiggling like an eel, desperate for air. My lungs burned, and spots danced before my eyes. I considered whether drowning would be better than whatever fate the men had in store for me... and decided I could not give up, not while they still had Suzanna. Hands closed on my arms and I was hauled out of the river. I was dumped on my side, my arm and head thumping the wooden pier. Suzanna was screaming again. Suddenly she was at my side, shaking me and sobbing. I coughed, dragging air into my sandpaper lungs.
“I'm fine,” I told her, and she was taken away. I blinked against the wet blindfold, struggling to see who knelt in front of me now.
His voice was deep and he was angry. “Give me one good reason to keep you alive, and not throw you back in for the crocodiles.” My heart beat against my ribs, and I snorted the water out of my nose, sneezing and coughing.
“If you weren't sure, why did you pull me out the first time?” I was genuinely curious, hanging on to any thread that would keep me from remembering that I'd just about been a crocodile snack.
“Jeffrey did that.” His voice turned into a growl. “Against orders.” Jeffrey? I wondered if that was the man who'd captured me. And why would he do such a thing?
“What do you want with me?”
He guffawed. “Too stupid to know she's not the one who should be asking questions.” He stood up. His heavy tread moved away from me, down the pier.
A woman's voice next. “Well, she's here now. Put her in the dungeon.”
Big hands dragged me up while others removed my boots. I started to babble. “My sister. She's only twelve. Please. Don't hurt her. Please. I'll do whatever you say.”
There was a pause in the movement around me, and the woman's voice again. It was softer. “We won't harm the child. Take her to the kitchen.”
My sister's voice. “No! I don't want to leave her!”
I swung my head towards her voice, and put as much authority in it as I could muster. “Suzanna. Go. I am fine. I am a grown woman. You are a child. Do you understand?”
The was a hitch in her sobbing as she realized a little of what I'd said. I prayed she didn't understand all of it, only the part that meant she was safe. I was starting to grasp some of the shape of their honor. They wouldn't rape a child. Me, on the other hand?
A shaky breath. “Yes. I understand.”
There were footsteps, big heavy ones and little stumbling ones. A few of the iron bands on my chest loosened and I took as deep a breath as I could manage. The hands on my body dragged me forward, and I went as willingly as I could. Survival meant pleasing my captors – being useful. And as long as they took care of Suzanna, as long as they didn't harm her, I would do my best to be pleasing and useful.
The dungeon was surprisingly dank and chilly. I was shoved in, and I stumbled, scraping my knees on the concrete ground as I fell, unable to balance with my hands chained behind my back. The door made a final clunking sound as it closed. I sank down, and gave into the fear. Hot tears dampened my blindfold, and my chest shook with sobs. Eventually, I slept.
When I awoke, it was morning. Or at least, it seemed lighter beyond my blindfold. It felt like morning. I realized I must have lost my date necklace to the river, and I spent a moment missing it. Then I stretched as best as I could, my wrists still bound, my joints hurting from a night on an unforgiving surface. Standing up, I nearly lost my balance to lightheadedness, but deep breaths gave me enough strength to straighten. I slid a foot out tentatively, then, when it touched nothing but floor, shuffled forward. Again. Again. I continued until abruptly I stubbed my toe on the far wall, and bit back a cry. Leaning my head forward, I pressed my forehead to the wall and then turned, leaning on it with my right arm. I started to shuffle forward again, determined to learn the shape of my prison, when I ran into something. It was large, and hard, and the smooth planes spoke to me of durability and long use. The further I explored it with my cheek, the more it frightened me. Chains clanked against it, and I shivered. They had called this a dungeon. I wondered if this was a torture device. The door opened behind me, and I jerked away, bumping my head on the wall and startling a cry from me.
It was the woman's voice again. “We're going to get you cleaned up.”
I swallowed, uncertain, and I heard her soft footsteps coming towards me.
“Normally, we take the people we catch in our territory to the village and sell them. But Jeffery seems to have taken an interest in you. He's asked the governor if he can keep you.” I nodded, not sure which was the more horrifying fate. “We'll keep your sister – Suzanna, is it? It's not safe for a girl to wander around alone. We won't harm her. She'll have to work for her keep, of course. But
she'll be treated as a daughter, a precious child.” Her finger slid along my grimy face and I flinched back. “Being sold is an uncertain fate. Roy tries to vet the people he sells to – but nothing is certain in this day and age. It is not impossible to fool him, just very difficult.” Four fingertips slid along my face now, caressing my jaw line. I flinched again. “Did he hit you?” I nodded, a hot, shameful feeling in my belly. “I saw the bite on his arm. I'd say you got off lightly.”
I didn't want to be sold – not if it meant I might never see Suzanna again, would be leaving her in the hands of people I didn't know and didn't trust. “Please.” I swallowed hard, my throat dry, and tried again. “Please. I'll be good. I'll please Jeffery.”
She laughed a little. “I dare say he'll be pleased enough for the opportunity to teach you not to bite people bigger and stronger than you.” A cold chill washed over my skin and I shuddered. She tapped my face. “I'll tell Roy you'll be worth keeping.” I nodded, relieved and afraid at the same time.
Her footsteps, and then the door closed. I sagged against the wall, shivering violently. Sinking to my knees, I waited. The door opened again, and I heard masculine grunts. Then the sound of something being set down, and a splash of water. The woman's voice again. “It's warm enough.” Suddenly there were big hands on my arms, hauling me forward. I was placed beside what felt like a huge wooden tub. I could feel the steam rising, and suddenly that seemed like the most glorious, luxurious thing in the world. I'd had nothing but quick dips in the occasional stream since leaving home, and my body ached. My blindfold was taken off, and I blinked, blinded in the sudden light. When I was able to focus again I saw a woman, taller than myself, with a perfect, slim hourglass figure and long black hair. She wore a chain around her slender throat, but given her bearing I wasn't sure if it was a sign of high or low status. A richly colored red linen dress fell gracefully from her shoulders, leaving her arms bare, with another chain wrapped around her waist. She smiled, and the temperature in the room dropped another few degrees. I shivered, and her smile widened. “Strip her.”
Suddenly, I remembered the two men beside me. I flinched, but made no move to resist as the first man tore my shirt from neckline to wrist. A tear slipped out, and I tried to stop remembering my mother sewing it. It was tattered and mud stained by our long travel, practically rags. I can do without it, I told myself sternly. The other man tore my pants off, leaving just my breast binding. I panted, trying not to panic. The man to my left produced a small knife and slid the flat side against my skin, cutting through the bindings that held my breasts as flat as possible to my chest. The cloth fell away, my heavy breasts bouncing in the air. I stood nude before them, grimy from travel, despite my dunk in their river. I glanced at the man on my right and recognized my captor from the heat in his eyes. My nipples hardened under his gaze and I shrank back, afraid of what he would do.
“Jeffery?” Her voice was not sharp, it was almost deferential. “Wouldn't you prefer her to bathe, first?” So it was Jeffery. The man who wanted to keep me. Despite myself, I found a welling gratitude that his lust was allowing me to stay with my sister. Eris. I called to the goddess in my head, but, as usual, she didn't answer. Please help me be good enough to protect Suzanna.
“Yes.”
The black-haired woman pointed to a chamber pot to the side. “Piss, first.” I flushed red, not wanting to relieve myself in front of all of them, but I wasn't being given a choice. Humiliated, I squatted, keeping my eyes on the ground, and pissed into the pot. One of the men took it away, and the woman gestured at the tub, so I stepped in, sinking into the warm water with a sigh. It was softened with some sort of scented oil, and I inhaled, willing myself to relax against the side of the tub.
Jeffery's eyes never left me, and I felt prickles of awareness follow his gaze as it trailed over my shoulders, then lower. “Stephanie.”
“Yes, sir?” So she was lower rank. Good to know.
“Leave.” She pouted, momentarily put out, until he gave her a sharp warning glance. Then she turned on her heel in a huff and practically stormed out. I wondered what had angered her. I glanced up when the other man returned. He stood watching me with a half-smile. It was then that I realized the men were related. They had the same shape of nose with a broad base and upturned tip. I almost smiled before I caught myself and bit my lip. When I was able to look at them without immediate terror, they were actually quite attractive. Tall, muscular, with the broad shoulders and slim hips that seemed built for power. They both wore sleeveless shirts, with chains around their thick necks, a round medallion hanging from each one. Overalls made of some sort of canvas material covered them from mid chest to ankle, and their feet were bare. Jeffery knelt beside the tub, a rough cloth in his hand. He dipped it in the water and, his eyes boring into my own, lifted it dripping to scrub my shoulder. I flinched at the touch, and then relaxed. He wasn't harming me. It was scratchy, but it didn't really hurt.
I dropped my eyes under the intensity of his. He continued to wash me, scrubbing my neck to the tops of my breasts. His big hand closed in my hair and held my face still. “Close your eyes.” I obeyed, and he scrubbed my face, careful not to get water in my nose. My body awakened under his touch. This might be all the foreplay I was going to get – might as well make the best of it. I allowed myself to lean into his hand. His fingers were thorough, and not exactly gentle, but I found it wasn't as distasteful as I'd originally thought it would be. Stephanie seemed to enjoy quite a few liberties for one who answered Jeffery with 'yes, sir'. Maybe I could earn a few liberties for myself. For now, however... relaxing and allowing my body to feel pleasure where it could, would ease the damage that could be done otherwise.
His hands on my scalp further relaxed me, scrubbing and massaging the scented oil into my short, tangled hair. He pulled me forward, up onto my knees, and the other man unlocked the chain on my wrists. I lifted my arms slowly, and rolled my shoulders, trying to work out the stiffness. Jeffery scrubbed under my arms then, and all the way down to my wrists. Carefully scrubbing each finger, he used his big nail to clean under my little ones. I remained kneeling, closer to him, and caught the scent of his body. It was a clean scent, similar to the oil in my own bath but a little different. It called to me, made me think of autumn, when the temperatures dropped just enough for strong breezes to sweep through the forest and my mother baked with more spices.
His hands scrubbing my breasts brought me crashing back to the present. I gasped as the rough cloth scraped over my hard nipples, crinkling them tighter. He seemed fascinated by their sway and bounce, spending far more time than necessary scrubbing them. I felt my face heat up. I knew big breasts were not useful when working – they got in the way, they flopped around – but they were even more mortifying now. Over and over he went, circling my pink nipples as I hung my head and watched. The shiver started in my spine, but when it finished, my vulva was tingling. I remembered the feeling of ripening from my play with Tommy, and blushed hotter.
His voice was hoarse. “Stand up.”
I obeyed, and the other man pulled my legs to the edges of the tub, spreading my thighs until I gasped. Jeffrey scrubbed my belly, my back, then my hips. Skirting the center of my heat, he scrubbed my thighs, then my knees, gentle on my scrapes. Scrubbing down my legs, he lifted a foot to carefully scrub every bit of it, even between my toes. I swayed, and the other man held me steady. I giggled involuntarily as the cloth tickled my foot. He shifted to the other, and then set it down too. Swirling the cloth in the water, he lifted it to scrub between my legs. I flinched, the sensitive flesh there swelling with his attentions. He shifted back, scrubbing my buttocks and between them, until he was satisfied I was as clean as I could be. Mortified by the intimate attention, I squirmed, staying still only when the man holding me made a warning sound in his throat. Jeffery dropped the cloth, and then I felt his bare fingers against my nether lips. I gasped, and he slid them along my slit, not hurting me. I took a deep breath. Time to get ready. I will
ed myself to relax, to accept what he did. Gently, parting the wet hair, he slipped a finger inside my slit, sliding it up to the nub that sent sparks of pleasure through my body. I gasped again, and he slid it back, finding the deep wet hole he wanted. I grunted when the finger slid inside me. He looked up at the other man and grinned.
“Not a virgin.”
I grunted again, his finger inspiring a need that hadn't awakened in a long time. He spread my lips with his other hand, and I flushed redder than Stephanie's dress at the way he watched me there so intently. Slipping his finger in and out, pressing along my inner walls until I squirmed, his eyes never left my vulva.
“Please.” I spoke before I realized it, my body taking over my tongue.
He looked up. “Am I hurting you?”
Mute, I shook my head, mortified that so far, it was less like rape and more like the explorations I'd engaged in with Tommy. I suddenly wondered if he wanted it to hurt. He slid another finger in and I gasped, my hips rocking forward and pleasure twisting through my insides.
“Do you want me to?” His question sent a spike of fear through my belly, but instead of drying my arousal it increased it. His fingers became rougher, jamming into me with each word. “Because I can. I want to hurt you, Nanette.”
I clung to his shoulders, unsure when I'd grabbed him, and stared into his eyes as he slammed his thick fingers inside me. The man behind me held me, steadying me, supporting me as my knees turned to jelly. One hand was wrapped firmly around my waist, and the other reached up, squeezing and massaging my breasts. My head fell back and then forward again and I panted, groaning with each thrust. When the orgasm hit me I was surprised, crying out in a breathy shriek. Sparks of pleasure swirled through my body and I clenched hard around his fingers. He didn't let up, instead thrust harder until I was wrung out, boneless and shaking. The other man lowered me gently back into the tub. I collapsed against the side and attempted to catch my breath.
