Preface:
This is a sequel to „A New Life“, but can also be read without knowing the first part. Those familiar with DA will ot only meet Tina and Vanessa again, but also another real DA damsel...
Chapter 1
The city of Ruan was rather big, having more than 10.000 freeborn inhabitants. Besides, it was an important trading point, where the Salph river merged into the Southern Sea and so, both seaworthy ships and river boats were always crowded up in the harbour. Of course, all kinds of legal and illegal trades were blooming – and all kinds of trade in the grey zone between the law and real crime.
Petico, the captain of the „Mara“, was involved in several kinds of business. Officially, he was commuting between Ruan and the cities of the South, where he bought spices and tea and sometimes incense, too. In exchange, once he had sold his load in Ruan, he went back, his cargo load filled with herbs that were essential for medicine, but did not grow in the desert lands of the South.
Neither of these goods was heavy and so, Petico always had some storage room left for an additional cargo: slave girls.
In the North, slavery was uncommon and often forbidden by the law, whilst the South`s whole economy was build upon it. However, the Southern kingdoms had more than enough men to run their plantations and do the heavy work and so, there was only an interest in female slaves. Of course, there were plenty of these in the South, too, but many rich men preferred exotic beauties like blondes.
This was where Petico was navigating through the grey zones of the law the Kingdom of Light, to wich Ruan belonged, had. The abolishion of slavery was meant for men and women, but with one exception: a woman had to say „I am a free woman“ in front of an official – an official like the officer that had recently controlled Perico`s official load and who was now standing beside him, watching the approaching rowboat with the four men on board.
„Ahoy, Mara!“
The rowboat came close to the „Mara`s“ stern and Petico took the rope the man threw up to him. Once the small boat was secured. Two of Perico`s men approached, ready to heave the first of the four cargo items that had been hidden underneath a tarpauline.
It was a buxom woman with red hair, her silk tunic and her makeup barely concealing that she was a simple peasant girl. Perhaps, her parents had secretly sold her or perhaps, she had been kidnapped from one of the surrounding villages. Her wrists were shackled behind her back and similar shackles held her ankles together, allowing her only small steps. Her lower face was hidden under a mask designed for slave women – a leather cup, covering her mouth, cheeks and chin that was bucklled in her nape and secured by a small padlock. Inside, a leather ball the size of a pear prevented the girl from screaming or speaking intelligibly.
The redhead looked at the „Mara“ with fearful eyes, but she offered little resistance when the seamen heaved her aboard. Obviously, she could not swim.
„Are you a free woman?“, the official asked her. The girl gazed upon him, nodding heavily and moaning through her gag. However, she of course could not spell the demanded words and so, according to the strict letters of the law, Perico could consider her a willing slave. His men lead her below deck whilst the men on the rowboat brought their second victim, a similar peasant girl, this time, a tiny woman with dark hair.
When she had been asked about being free or not, this was brought downstairs, too. Then, the captain of the rowboat said:
„That`s 50 for each so far!“
Petico paid without trying to haggle. He and this men had done business so often that there had established something like fixed prices for normal slave girls like these two. But now, it seemed that he had something special in store, too.
„Now, there is a girl that has been a thief before she decided to travel with me! She`s in her mid-20ies, but she`s pretty and healthy and in addition, she`s a feisty one!“
Petico raised his eyebrow when the men brought their third victim from under the tarpauline. It was a woman of some 5`3``, slim, but with firm and shapely breasts. These, he could admire quite well, for the girl was not just handcuffed, but had her arms pressed into a tight leather sheath, covering them from the tips of her fingers to the middle of her upper arms, forcinf her elbows together. So, this girl had to thrust out her breasts that were only covered by a silk band tied over them, barely hiding her nipples from view. The armbinder was held by two straps that ran over her shoulders and crossed between her breasts, preventing the sheath from slipping down.
The girl had a silver chain tied around her waist, through which a long cloth had been pulled, barely covering her pussy and her butt. Her ankles were cuffed and to this shackles, a heavy iron ball was welded. Despite her heavy bondage, the girl looked at her captors with a defiant look.
Drawing by hugues66
She was gagged like her companions and so, when the official asked her wether she was a free woman, she just raised an eyebrow and looked at him with contempt. When Petico touched her breasts, she jumped on his foot. Since she was barefoot, this only caused him to laugh, but it also proved that this girl really had some fighting spirit.
In the harems of the South, there was a constant need for devote slave girls, but some of the men liked to tame their slaves, like they had done in the old days or like they still did it with their horses. However, after the long journey to the slave market, many of the girls had either accepted their fate or were too frightened to show any resistance.
„100 for her“, Petico offered. According to the sign dangling from her neck, this girl`s name was „Vanessa“.
„200!“
After some haggling, Petico paid 160, knowing that he could at least double this sum when selling Vanessa. Then, he saw his trading partner rummaging under the tarpauline once more.
„My last offer is even more precious! She`s“, he lowered his voice, „a sorceress!“
Petico could see his men touch their amuletts and even the official now seemed uneasy. Like most seamen, they were a superstitious folk and under normal circumstances, they would have refused to have a sorceress or witch even close to the harbour.
However, Petico knew a little about magic. He knew that there were magic spells – some known to only a few insiders, others as common as phrases like „Good Luck“ or „Piss Off“. The thing was, that only very few people had the power to use such spells. If he would yell „Ktah!“, for example, nothing would happen. If a real magician would do the same, the „Mara“ and perhaps the whole city of Ruan would burn.
So, as long as a magician was kept from being able to speak, they would be safe. But one moment of carelessness and they all would be doomed. It was like shipping explosives with a crew of smokers. But on the other hand, they would easily pay him 5.000 for a real witch.
Meanwhile, the two men had brought the last woman for him to see. According to her bondage, she really seemed to be dangerous. From neck to toe, she was tightly wrapped into a blanket that had been secured by several loops of rope, turning her into an immovable cocoon. In addition, a heavy chain was wrapped around her, too.
She was sporting a gag mask, too, but her bulging cheeks told Petico that she had either some additional stuffing in her mouth or they had used a much bigger plug to ensure her silence. In the middle of it, Petico could see a small plug. He had seen such before: the plug was connected to a short tube that led to the victim`s throat, allowing to give her water or even soup without having to remove the gag.
He let his eyes wander over this woman. She was tallish, but the blanket did not allow him to see her forms. All he could guess was that she was quite slender, but had rather big boobs, too. The woman had long blonde hair, now sweaty and dishevelled. Sure, it had been quite hot under the tarpauline and the blanket did not help the matter. She had green eyes and according to what he could see, she was a pretty one, though she had sure already seen her 30th birthday.
The witch only commented her being brought aboard by a muffled mewing. Obviously, her supernatural powers did not include super strength. When she stood in front of him, she fought to keep balance and looked at him with the same mixture of bravery and contempt Vanessa had shown. Petico looked at the sign around her neck.
„So – Tina: are you a free woman?“
„Mph!“
If looks could have killed, Petico would not have survived this day, but so, he could start haggling until he had paid 1.400 to his partner who quickly left after the deal was done, taking the official, who had gottenhis usual bribe of ten percent with them.
Petico was feeling uneasy and happy at the same time. Like almost all seamen, he had the usual amulett of the Sea God, but in addition, he had a hidden one that could detect magic. Once a magician was close, it turned warm and once Tina had been brought aboard, it had nearly caused a burn on his chest. This woman was a real sorceress!
„Take especially good care of that one“, he ordered his men. „Above all, take care she won`t be able to say a single word!“
***
Hadine ducked behind the bush, hiding from the passing guard. She knew that he hadn`t seen her, nor had his colleague at the wall she had climbed a few minutes previously. This palace seemed to be no match for her skills, since she was the best bounty hunter of the Kingdom of Light.
Last year, Hadine had seen her 40th birthday, but she still looked like a woman ten years or more younger. Her body still was in good shape and there were no grey strays among her blonde hair. Hadine thought of retiring, however. She had made quite a sum during the last 20 years and so, she sometimes dreamt of a palace like this for her own, where she could live from the wealth she had gained.
However, this would also mean boredom and so, she still was working as a bounty huntress, though she only accepted cases that were more special than just catching a simple horse thief or a runaway bride. Of course, she was not cheap: if someone offered her less than 1.000 gold coins, she would not even think of doing a job.
Two days ago, her connection in Ruan had told her that there was an interesting job to be done. Hadine had such connections in every bigger city, telling her about potential customers without having to reveal herself. They had then met under her conditions – in the middle of the river, both she and her business partner on a small boat each. They had been far from anyone listening to their conversation, despite her keeping some five yards distance between the two dinghis.
On the other boat, there had been a woman in a black cloak with a hood. She had thrown a sack to Hadine, containing 500 gold coins.
„You will get 2.500 more if you have done the job!“
The job meant kidnapping a rich woman from her palace in Ruan and get her to the capital unseen. The laws of Ruan offered protection to everyone willing to pay and so, some big criminals fleeing from justice were hiding there in plain sight. It was considered impossible to get someone out of the city unseen – that was, unless it was someone like Hadine.
She had passed the outer walls and now, she could see that two more guards were watching the garden. Just above one of them, there was the balcony behind she was sure the mistress of the house was sleeping.
Hadine took a pebble and threw it into one of the other bushes. It was an old trick, but it made the guard look for the source of the rustling sound and before he had come back for his post, Hadine had climbed the balcony. Now, it would be quite easy!
She sneaked inside the dark sleeping room. On a diwan, she could see a sleeping woman, slightly snoring. Hadine went for the door and peeping through the keyhole, she could see another guard standing in the corridor.
„So, all I have to do is to make sure that this woman won`t utter a sound!“
She reached for her pocket where she had a rag and a small bottle containing a strong sleeping drug. She carefully soaked the cloth, then, she approached the bed.
Hadine waited until the sleeping woman turned on her back, then, she jumped upon her, pressing the wad upon her mouth and nose.
„Uuhhmmm!“
The woman started to squirm and the same moment, things went not as Hadine had planned. Suddenly, the bed`s canopy came down, trapping both her and her victim underneath. The same second, some bells began to jingle.
Still struggling to get rid of the heavy cloths, Hadine could hear the sound of boots and then, stron arms grabbed her. She fought hard, but her arms and legs were trapped and besides, there were at least six men who finally had her tied with chains enough for several prisoners.
Fuming, Hadine tried to get the cloth from her head and blinked at her captors of whom one had now lit a candelabra. Now, a tall figure entered the room and Hadine recognized her as the woman that had made her offer to her.
She looked for the other woman that was a bit groggy from the sleeping drug she had been forced to inhale, but seemed okay otherwise. Obviously, the whole job had been a trap – and Hadine had stepped into it like a newbie.
„So, now I have the great bounty huntress Hadine here!“
Hadine frowned when she saw the face of the woman who had now removed her hood. It was Countess Sarina, the right hand of Queen Aleera – or „Aleera, the Usurper“, as her enemies called her, since her claim to the throne was rather dubious. However, it seemed that the rebels were losing, since they could not offer a real alternative to Aleera.
Hadine had worked for Sarina on a few occasions and so, she now wondered why the Countess had not just asked for her service officially and lured her into a trap instead. She wanted to ask her just that, but when she opened her mouth, one of the men stuffed a huge rag between her lips, making her cheeks bulge. It was not before he had secured the gag with a chain pulled tight between her lips that Sarina began to talk:
„Take her downstairs!“
The soldiers obeyed and when they carried the squirming bundle through the corridor and down the stairs, Hadine could see at least a dozen more men, all well armed and alert of what was going on. For the moment, there was no chance of escape for her.
They brought her to the cellar, inside a room that obviously was a torture chamber. Again, the men acted as if they knew what hadine was capable off. When they removed the chains, there were always at least two of them holding her limbs in a vice grip. Roughly, they ripped her clothes from her, leaving her stark naked and more than one took the opportunity to grope her big boobs.
Hadine was tied to a huge wheel that was fixed to the wall by it`s hub. It was so big that Hadine`s arms and legs were stretched wide, giving the men a full display of her shaved pussy. Again, some took advantage of that, but it seemed that Countess Sarina had forbidden them more than some fondling.
When they were finished, Hadine tested her bonds and her heart sunk. The wheel was made of strong wood – too strong for her to break it. Her ties were made of solid steel and tied so tight they nearly cut off her circulation. Perhaps, she would have a chance of wriggling the chain of her gag down her chin, but sure, no one inside this palace would help her if she yelled.
„Leave us alone!“, Countess Sarina ordered and the soldiers left. The girl who had feigned to be Hadine`s victim, however, stayed. Sarina approached Hadine who tried to show no sign of emotion to her.
„So, you sure wonder why I haven`t just asked for your service like I did before.“
„Mph!“
„Well, let`s say that a few things have changed during the last months. First of all – the Queen has forgiven her cousin and made her her heir!“
Hadine did not stir, but she knew what this meant. The Queen`s cousin, a now 22 year old spoiled brat called Lucinda, had rebelled against Queen Aleera some four years ago. Or rather, some rebels had instrumentalized Lucinda for her plans. It had been Hadine who had sneaked into her hideout, overpowered her and brought the rebellious girl to her cousin, the Queen. To be precisely, Hadine had tied the naked, bound and gagged Lucinda to a horse and paraded her to the capital, to disencourage her from any further uprisings. And now, this woman was free again – and sure wanted revenge for the humiliating treatment!
„Lucinda will be back at Ruan tomorrow by dawn. She sure will be glad to find out what I have in store for her!“
Now, Hadine calmly looked at Sarina. The Countess sure hadn`t done all this just to please Lucinda`s lust for revenge. And indeed, she now rummaged through a bag she had been carrying with her. She produced an open ring made of steel, with some runes engraved on it.
„This, my dear, is something you perhaps have never seen before!“
She approached Hadine and put the ring around her neck. When it had closed with a metallic sound, it felt snug on her skin. Hadine knew that it looked like the slave rings unfree women had to wear in the South.
„This ring has som magic power, my dear! It will explode and blow off that pretty head of yours once the next full moon rises – which will be two weeks from now on! Of course, it will also explode if someone tries to remove it, either by force or by using a picklock! And then, there is a third occasion: once you reach climax, you will know why sometimes, the orgasm is called ,little death`!“
She laughed before she continued:
„This last specialty derives from the time when the ring was built. According to legend, some ancient king wanted to ensure the chastity of his wife with it. Well, I am sure that having sex won`t be on your agenda if you accept my offer!“
„Now we are talking!“, Hadine thought. Obviously, Sarina wanted her to do something for her before the rise of the full moon. Something that she did not want anyone to know about, except for Hadine and her servant.
„Mph!“, Hadine moaned, trying to show interest in the alternative to becoming Lucinda`s plaything. Once she was free, she could still think of what she would do with this wicked Countess!
„Well, as you know, there are always some people who pretend to be the rightful heir to the Throne of Light. Most of them are charlatans – or no match for our beloved Queen, just like her cousin. However, we have reached news about a woman who might have a real claim to the throne – and who is here in Ruan now!“
The Countess quickly summed up the situation for Hadine. A rebel girl had left to one of the parallel worlds to search for a descendant of the late king that was said to live there. And it seemed that she had found a woman that had indeed royal blood in her veins, together with considerable magic powers.
„One of these rebels, a man called Sarn, has decided to be loyal and taken care of this threat. However, instead of killing this woman or getting her into my custody, this useless bastard has sold her to some slavers. We have lost her trace near Ruan, but now that we have the best sleuth available, we still have a chance!“
Hadine looked at Sarina. Now, a potential customer usually offered the payment he was willing to pay to her. But instead, Sarina seemed to think that granting her her life was just enough.
„Lana“, she pointed at the other girl who dropped a curtsey, „will accompany you. She will take care that you don`t tell the wrong people about what your mission is. That is, if you don`t prefer to wait for Lucinda`s arrival instead!“
Hadine now felt almost calm again. Sure, this was nothing better than extortion, but apart from that, it sounded like a reasonable mission: just find an enslaved woman and get her to the Countess. If she could start right now, she would perhaps be free tomorrow by dawn – with plenty of time left to teach Countess Sarina some manners!
„Now, since no ship will leave until tomorrow at noon, with the rise of the low tide, there is no need to hurry too much. Instead, you might want to taste one of the special gimmicks I will give to you. It`s a magic potion! Or, to be honest, it`s a product of alchemy, but it will feel like magic!“
Having said so, she produced a small bottle from her bag and poured some pink lube onto her palm. Ignoring Hadine`s muffled protests, she cupped her pubic mound and massaged the lube into her most intimate parts. Hadine squirmed, since being touched by another woman was not what she preferred. Then, she felt a growing warmth in her lap and her loins began to tingle slightly.
„This balm was designed by the alchemist of the same king who invented your neck ring. It was meant to help his wife to feel pleasure in his bed, but of course, it also works if no king is around. So, whenever you will get in close contact with a man – or a woman, if you prefer - , your usual arousal will be multiplied by ten.“
She bent forward and kissed Hadine`s neck, then slightly licked her armpits whilst Lana had kneeled down, grabbed her butt and started to kiss her clit and labia. Usually, this would have felt just humiliating, but now, Hadine felt that her body was responding to this. Her breath accelerated, her nipples became hard under Sarina`s touch and when she felt Lana`s tongue push into her, she let out a small moan. However, the two women then withdrew from her.
„After all, we don`t want to die if your ring explodes!“, Sarina explained. Lana now took a long rope, tied it around Hadine`s waist and then brought it between her legs from behind. When she had pushed the end through the waist rope again, she pulled the slack out, causing Hadine to moan when the rope tried to find a way between her labia. Then, she tied the end off to a ring in the floor, keeping the rope tight. Hadine found out that she could change the pressure by moving her hips.
„We will have to prepare for you two to leave which will take us some two hours. In the meantime, you may test your inner strength. If you fail to fight down your growing arousal, we know at least that you aren`t as strong as everyone says!“
Giggling, Countess Sarina and Lana left the naked, bound and gagged Hadine alone.
***
In comparison to other slave ships, the slave deck of the „Mara“ could almost be called comfortable. It was near the ship`s stern and offered two rows of open boxes, divided by a corridor in the middle. Each box was some yard wide and three yards long, offering it`s inhabitants enough room to stretch and lie down. Each slave girl had an iron ring tied around her neck. This was fixed to a chain screwed to the ship`s outer wall, allowing the girls to sit up or to use the bucket each box offered as a toilet.
The straw covering the floor was fresh and in addition, both Ella and Caris, the two peasant girls, had been freed of their chains. They only had been left gagged and the men had showed them what they would do once they refused to behave. Each box also had four cuffs fixed to the floor, allowing to tie down a girl spread-eagle. If they would disobey an order or try to run away, they would be tied down stark naked and then, the men would be allowed to take advantage of their predicament.
Vanessa could hear them cry and moan through their gags. Since she was in one of the boxes on the other side of the corridor, she could also see them. The men had not removed the armbinder or her ankle chains from her, nor had they ungagged her, meaning that Vanessa, who was chained to the wall by her neck, too, could only lie on her side. To allow her to relieve herself, they had removed her loincloth and, since this would have looked ridiculous, they had then torn away the cloth covering her breasts, too, leaving her naked except for the chain around her waist. Vanessa felt helpless, but she still was far better off than Tina who was in the box right to her.
The seamen had left her wrapped in the blanket and gagged, but had chained her neck to the wall, too. Now, this was just inconvenient, but once the ship would sail, it would mean that Tina would sway around helplessly.
Vanessa knew that underneath the blanket, Tina was sporting an armbinder similar to her`s, and that her legs were bound at the ankles and above and below the knees. Her mouth had been stuffed with cloths before they had worked the leather plug with the tube in. Tina had felt like she would suffocate, but now, after two entire days wearing it, she knew this wasn`t about to happen. She had even used to drink through the tube and to swallow the small amounts of soup she was given. It had been harder to accept she had to relieve herself with at least two of her captors watching, but now, even that had become part of her routine.
After she and Vanessa had passed the portal and been captured by Sarn and his men almost immediately after, they had been forced to walk behind the horses they had been tied to for some three days. It had not been a party for any of them. Sarn, who seemed to have had an affair with Vanessa previously, always made her spend the night in his tent. In the morning, it seemed that Vanessa had more or less willingly given in to his caresses, though it seemed she hated herself for having done so.
Tina was spared such treatment, but not out of generosity. The men feared her magic powers. However, this meant that whenever they gave her food or water, one held a knife to her throat, threatening to kill her once she uttered a sound. Tina knew that this wasn`t just superstition. She knew that her magic strength had recovered and even grown since she had reached that Earth.
She had tried to find out about her new home, but hadn`t seen much, except for the hills through which Sarn and his men were riding until they had reached a river where the slavers with their boat had waited. There, she had been tied like she was now, released only for half an hour each morning and evening to let her follow nature and to stretch and move her numb limbs a bit.
All the time, she had been thoroughly gagged and each time she had just tried to make some noise, the men had spanked her. Unwilling to diminuish her value, they had only used their hands, but Tina`s butt was still burning from the regular beatings she had received.
Even now, exhausted and hurting from head to toe, Tina blushed when she remembered how she had reacted to the spanking. Somehow, a part of her liked that treatment and so, her nipples had hardened whilst the slave trader had beaten her.
„So, you might like your new life!“, he had joked and allowed one of his men to caress her whilst he continued to spank her. And to her embarrassment, Tina had finally cried and screamed not only from pain, but also from lust.
She shifted on the floor, trying in vain to find a less inconvenient position. She knew that she would fall asleep from sheer exhaustion soon anyway, but perhaps, she would find a way to escape now, on this ship.
Unbeknownst to her, Vanessa had already found something that could help them. Hidden under the straw in her box, there was a protruding nail. And by now, it was night. Vanessa knew that she would have to work quickly. If they would look after them the next morning, they sure would see that she had tried to work on her bonds.
With her fingers immobilized, it wasn`t an easy task to do anything, but Vanessa had found out that by crouching and squirming into a rather inconvenient position, she could try to saw through the straps holding her Armbinder by rubbing it over the nail, again and again.
Every few minutes, Vanessa had to stop from sheer exhaustion, but she persisted again and again and finally, one of the straps fell loose.
It was the first of quite many steps before they would even get a glimpse of a chance, but at least, it was a beginning.
***