Chapter four

In the darkness of their cell, it was Linda who was the most relaxed, though she had never considered herself a tough woman. But she had been through similar ordeals and besides, she had accepted that they would not be able to escape on their own accord. Their cuffs made any position quite uncomfortable: with their necks collared and fixed to the short chains, they could not stand up or lie down, but the chain connecting their wrist- and ankle-cuffs also made sitting quite inconvenient. Linda knew that after another two days, they all would have bruises from their chains.

She could hear heavy breathing from her left; it was the black woman, »Queen Boobs«, as the Sergeant had called her. It was obvious that she was a strong girl, but also frightened and at the limits of her strength.

»They have taken everything from us, our clothes and even our names!«, Linda thought. At least, her and Emily`s nicknames only referred to their hair and not to their breasts, but it showed that their captors did not see them as equal human beings.

To her right, she could hear the grunting and aching of Emily, accompanied by some rattling of her chains. Linda could not say whether she had problems in finding a tolerable position or if she was trying to get free. The constant moaning got on her nerves, but on the other hands, it was better than to hear a retching sound, followed by silence. As long as Emily fought, she was alive and still had some hope left.

Drawing by Hugues66

From upstairs, they could hear steps and some indistinct murmur, but only the black girl could have understood Arabic and she could not tell the others if she had heard anything in particular. But it was clear that at that very moment, these three policemen were discussing what to do with them.

»They sure won`t kill us! We are too pretty! We are – precious!«

The thought was both consoling and horrifying: these men were slave traders and so, they would not like to kill three good looking women – but what they would do to them instead was no reason to expect the next day frolicking with joy.

***

Kazeem felt like ten years ago, when he had been one of the Emir`s tutors during his childhood. The willful Prince had done several stupid things and even committed minor crimes, just out of carelessness. Now, these three would-be kidnappers reminded him of the Emir when he had been about twelve years old.

Since he had the gun and they some vital information about Linda`s whereabouts, Kazeem had decided to come to terms with Arthur, Ben and Omar and had offered a temporary alliance. He had only told them that Linda was his and that he wanted her back, but that he would not mind what they did to the other woman they had told him about. Since they had, after some hesitating, told him everything, he had also stoked Ben`s concerns about his sister. The deal would be that he helped them getting Samira and Emily whilst he would get Linda back in his hands.

»The only problem is that I am the only one capable of thinking here! Your plans ended up in stealing from me and provoking some professional slave traders!«

»Capable of thinking!«, Omar sneered, »We could just walk into the room and take your precious plaything with us! Any chamber maid could have found her and then, you`d be imprisoned now!«

Angrily, Kazeem glanced at him. Then, he did something he hadn`t done for a while: he laughed heartily.

»You are right, whilst you haven`t though at all, I had been thinking with my balls! Well, perhaps, if we four work together, our brains are perhaps enough to work out a plan that`s successful!«

Kazeem had bought several guns and rifles and according to Ben, the police station was only manned by three men. However, he had no idea about the slave trader`s manpower and in addition, a frontal attack would endanger the girls.

»Well, we sure won`t get any further by shaking around on the waves! Let`s get closer to our enemy`s lair! After all, I am the only one here who has ever led a real campaign!«

»How did it end?«, Arthur asked skeptically and Kazeem smiled enigmatically.

»In a terrible loss. But I managed to get out of it unharmed and even rung a promotion little after!«

Arthur shook his head, but he did not protest as Ben turned the boat and followed Kazeem`s vessel to the shore.

***

Linda blinked her eyes when the door of their cell opened and the three men entered, holding the lamp.

»I hope you could rest a bit, Ladies, we are going for a little walk! Time to get you dressed!«

Though the idea of being brought somewhere unknown sounded terrifying, the three captives were glad to hear about getting some clothes. They were all only clad in their knickers or, in the black girls case, a loincloth, if one didn`t count Emily`s garter belt and her stockings. It had been quite cold in the cell and so, their nipples stood out prominently and according to their looks, the three men had noticed that, too.

»Let`s start with the Ginger!«

Emily moaned and tried to flail, but Ali and Harun worked together and besides, they were not trying to harm her. Instead, they put some sandals on her feet, without even untying her ankles. Then, her neck was freed and Ali made Emily stand up by grabbing her hair. With her hands bound behind her back and her feet also tied, she couldn`t do much and so, she just grunted angrily through her gag.

Harun took the bucket and stood it upright. Then, he pointed at it and looked questioningly at Emily, who vigorously shook her head, blushing all over. The man shrugged and pulled a black sack over her head that also covered her head and shoulders. He then tied another iron collar around Emily`s neck. From it, a chain was dangling. It was some yard in length and it reminded Linda of a dog`s leash.

»Blondie`s next!«

The men now put some sandals on Linda`s feet, too. After she had been released from her neck collar, she was offered the bucket, too, but she refused to relieve herself in front of the men, too. Then, she was hooded with a sack and everything went black again. Linda felt how a collar was tied around her neck and then, one of the men pulled on the leash, forcing her to stumble forward a few steps. Then, she heard a metallic rustling and when she stepped one small step further, she felt something touch the tops of her breasts and she knew that she had been chained to Emily`s neck collar and was standing close behind her.

Now, »Queen Boobs« was prepared and a splashing sound told the other women that she had obviously used the opportunity to relieve her bladder. Neither Linda nor Emily could understand the comments of the men, for they were in Arabic, but sure, it was nothing decent. Then, the black girl was chained to Linda`s neck collar behind her. They had obviously been sorted by their bodies` heights.

»All right, let`s go!«

Blindfolded and with their feet cuffed, the three girls could only take small steps. Linda felt a tug on her neck, then, she stumbled against Emily`s back. A second later, she heard a loud slap, followed by an angry grunt.

They all got spanked until they had found a steady rhythm of walking and although the men only used their open hands, Linda`s thighs and buttocks hurt. To their surprise, they were not forced to walk upstairs, but instead seemed to follow some kind of tunnel. In their predicament, it seemed endless to her, but sure it wasn`t longer than some 200 yards. Then, the group was stopped and Linda could, even through the sack covering her head, smell something strange. It seemed to be some kind of animal, but no horse. A camel, she guessed.

Sergeant Adil said something in Arabic and soon, a sharp tug on her collar, accompanied by some rustling and mewing, told her that something was done to Emily, something the redhead definitely did not like.

»Relax, Ginger, it`s just some sun oil! Once the sun has risen, you will be grateful!«

The moaning however continued and in between, Linda could hear another sound, somehow wet and like a smack. It was the sound of someone rubbing copious amounts of oil to bare skin and she shuddered. Not only would she be handled the same way once they were finished with Emily; the idea of having to walk through the sun, nearly naked, bound and gagged, was horrifying.

Indeed, after some time, she felt the hands of two men on her body, thoroughly lubing her with some cream. Linda bit down on her gag when they started on her boobs, obviously not only interested in protecting her from the sunlight.

»Too bad that Queen Boobs doesn`t need sun protection!«, Ali said when they finally took their hands from Linda. The Sergeant chuckled, then, he answered:

»Well, that`s true! But I think we better do Ginger for a second time, those pale-skinned redheads easily get burned by the sun!«

Again, Emily had to endure getting oiled and groped everywhere and again, she at least tried to fight the men off. However, this only seemed to amuse their captors. When the ordeal finally was over, the Sergeant said:

»We will now remove your ankle ties to allow you to walk faster. Please, don`t try anything, for if you stagger or fall, we won`t stop. It`s on you if you reach our first halt on your feet or pulled by your neck!«

They heard a strange sound; obviously, the camel brought itself into an upright position. Then, when their ankle cuffs had been removed, Linda again felt a pull on her neck.

Under normal circumstances, the speed would have been more than moderate. But they were blindfolded and could not see where they were going, if there were pebbles or potholes. So, they stumbled more than they actually walked and soon, they heard the crack of a whip.

»Don`t make me use this on you, Ladies! It would hurt me more than you!«

This was followed by a chuckle and then, the man added:

»Just kidding, it would only hurt you!«

***

It was in the early morning when Kazeem and his new accomplices arrived at the village where Ben and his sister lived. They had reached the little hut unseen, but when they lit a lamp, they could see what had happened. All chests and drawers had been rummaged and piles of clothes and other things were lying everywhere. Besides, there was no sign of Samira.

A concerned Ben asked a neighbor, but the old woman could only tell him that Samira had been visited by two policemen the last day and had followed them. The others had to keep Ben from storming to the police office at once.

»That`s exactly why they have got her! To make you do something stupid! We have to act smart!«

Ben fell silent, holding a dress in his hands that had obviously been one of his sister`s favorites. Arthur looked out of the window, as if he expected the police to come every second whilst Omar was looking at Kazeem.

»So, what do you suggest?«

»Well, these policemen have seen you all last night, but they don`t know about me. So, I will go to the office – alone. Perhaps, I can get some information.«

Omar laughed humorlessly.

»They won`t have Samira sitting in the cell where everyone can see her!«

»You don`t say«, Kazeem replied indignantly. Then, he took off his djellaba and controlled his suit in the mirror. After some hesitation, he put his revolver on the table.

»It will be better if I don`t look suspicious. Just wait for me; if I am not back within two hours, they were smarter than me!«

Using his cane, he limped towards the other end of the small village where the police station was. He cursed his ankle sprain that was getting better much too slow for his impatience. On the other hand, the slow pace gave him time both to regain his poker face and to think of a convincing story that would allow him to get the policemen to talk.

However, when he reached the door, it was locked and a note was pinned to it. It read:

»Sorry, we are on a mission for your safety. Please contact the Main Royal Police at Muscat!«

Kazeem was amazed that the police in a small fisher village even wrote such notes, given the fact that most of the people living here couldn`t even read. Perhaps, it was the British influence.

As quick as he could without raising attention, he went back to Ben`s house and told his accomplices. He knew that Ben was keen on breaking into the office and so, they all went back to the police station. It was a small rectangular building with a few barred windows. One of these was on the backside where they could act unseen and after a short while, Ben had bent the bars of one window, allowing Arthur who was the slimmest to climb inside. After some 20 seconds, he could open the door for the others.

The office consisted of one room, with a part of it separated by iron bars, building a prison cell. As they had expected, it was empty.

»There!«

Omar pointed at a wooden lid in the floor. Whilst the others drew their revolvers, he opened it. Their eyes fell on a ladder leading into a dark cellar. Carefully, holding their guns in one and their lit lighters in the other hand, Ben, Kazeem and Arthur went down whilst Omar kept cave.

in the cellar, that was built of stone instead of adobe, there were three doors. Behind the first, they found junk of all kind, stuffed into a chamber of about one square yard. The second room was a bit bigger and contained a few shelves with food cans. The third room, however, made Arthur whistle.

It was a cell, or rather a dungeon, with iron collars on chains hanging from the wall. In a corner, there was a bucket and the smell of urine told them it had been used not so long ago. Ben jumped to the wooden bench and grabbed some torn colored cloth.

»Samira! That`s her new dress, for sure! I told her it would show too much of her chest, but she loved it!«

Kazeem bit his tongue not to tell Ben that without the dress, his little sister would show even more of herself. However, before they could think of what to do with these hints, they heard Omar come down the stairs.

»Police!«

Ben slammed his fist into his left palm and wanted to get to the ladder, but Omar grabbed his arm.

»Not the Sergeant and his men, Big Ben! There are at least a dozen men on horses – and they are wearing British uniforms!«

***

Linda had no idea how long they were on their feet now. She had no clue where they were. All she knew was that she could not stand this ordeal for much longer.

For what seemed ages, the coffle now staggered along rocky path that seemed to be quite steep. Linda had seen the coast of the Oman when she had travelled to the East some year ago and she vaguely remembered that the mountains near the Gulf coast were about as high as the German Alps. However, the climate was much, much hotter.

When they had started their involuntary trip, it had still been cool outside, but soon, they had felt the sun burn down on them. Under their cloth hoods, the air was musty and soon, they were covered with sweat. The paths were not only steep, but they seemed to change their direction every few yards and she had soon lost all orientation. All she knew was that they were following some hidden side routes, given the fact that they were nearly naked.

Their abductors even showed a little hindsight, keeping the speed low enough. Sometimes, Linda even felt a man`s grip on her arm, helping her to get over a difficult bit of their way. They had not used the whip so far, but more than once, they had »motivated« her to walk on by a slap on her butt. According to the sounds around her, Emily and the black woman suffered from similar treatment.

Linda could not say whether her co-captives were as exhausted as her. She only heard an occasional grunt or sigh and from time to time, her front touched Emily`s back or the Black staggered into her when the path became uneven.

Now, Linda was sure she would faint if they didn`t stop immediately. The only reason she hadn`t fainted long ago was sheer fear, for she still felt the grip of the collar around her neck. If she slipped, she was sure she would not be able to get on her feet again.

»All right, short break!«

Sergeant Adil hadn`t finished his sentence when all three girls sank to their knees and then simply collapsed where they had been standing. Linda panted heavily through her nose, suffering from side stiches and her aching leg muscles. Then, she felt something cold rub over her. She heard a sigh from Emily and then, she realized that the men were rubbing their bodies with wet towels. It felt marvelous, but after a while, it made her feel even thirstier.

»We better refresh the sun oil, too!«

Had he ordered to apply cow dung on them, Linda would not have been able to protest. She just held still as she felt strong hands put oily liquid all over her body and began to cream her skin. At least, this oil made her indeed feel as if she had not caught sunburn so far.

Emily seemed to have some fighting spirit left and moaned when it was her turn, but she could not do much squirming either. Once they had been creamed, they were made to stand up again, though none of the girls was standing without receiving a few more clasps on their butts. Then, they had to walk on.

»Don`t worry, Ladies! We have done almost half the trip now!«

***

With nowhere to run, Kazeem, Arthur, Ben and Omar had just stayed in the cellar, close to the lid. They just hoped that the troopers would not search the police station and just read the note and disappear. However, they heard steps from above and a man said in English:

»These fools haven`t even locked their door! Well, it looks as if there is nothing worth of stealing anyway! Well, let`s just leave a note for them! If they are back in time, they can follow our tracks!«

A silence followed in which obviously, the mentioned note was written. Then, Kazeem and the others could hear steps again, followed by the sound of hooves.

Another few minutes later, Omar carefully opened the lid. The office was empty and so, one by one, they climbed upwards. Through the window, they could see that the soldiers or policemen had disappeared. Obviously, they hadn`t noticed the bent bars of the rear window.

»Maybe, they are hunting the slave traders?«, Ben said. Kazeem could hear the hope in his voice. However, though this was an option and they could indeed free Samira, it would not get him and the others any closer to Emily and Linda. He went to the desk and looked at the note. When he had read it, he uttered a curse in Pashto.

»What`s wrong?«

Without a word, he handed the message to Arthur who read it aloud to the others. The men had indeed been soldiers, sent by the British Consul himself. Though the Sultanate was officially independent, this Consul in fact was the ruler and it seemed that he had taken the kidnapping of Linda personally. He ordered all local authorities to support the search parties. A description of Linda followed, then that of Arthur, Omar and Ben – and also one of Kazeem. It seemed that someone had come to the right conclusions about his disappearance shortly after the abduction.

»It seems that the Royal Police and even the British Colonial Army are supporting our search now!«, Omar concluded sarcastically.

***

There had been two more short stops until Adil brought the group to a final halt. Linda felt some cold stone as she sank to the ground, obviously, they were in some kind of cave. she vaguely recognized that her sandals were removed. Then, their ankles were cuffed again and after that, they were brought to their feet once again.

»Come on, it`s just some mor yards between you and some refreshment!«

Under her bare soles, Linda could feel some smooth, cold stone. It seemed that this cave was rather a man-made tunnel. They had to walk through a veritable labyrinth of narrow corridors before they were finally lined up side by side.

»Keep standing, if you know what`s good for you!«, Adil hissed. There was something in his voice that made Linda shudder and though she was about to collapse from exhaustion and thirst, she bit on the leather ball stuffing her mouth and forced herself to remain upright.

All three girls blinked from the bright air as their neck collars were removed, followed by the dreadful sacks. Then, they realized that there was a group of men standing in front of them. Linda also recognized that they were in the garden of some mansion. Behind the four men, all dressed in Arab clothes, was a fountain well and there were potted plants, too.

A tall man with a goatee took one step towards them and showed a broad smile. His eyes, however, were as cold as ice.

»Welcome to my home, slaves! I hope your trip wasn`t too strenuous?«

Only Emily found the strength to stare at him with anger and to utter a muffled protest. The man once again smiled and continued:

»I can see that you are a bit in a mess. Sure, you must be hungry and thirsty, too. Let me just explain a few rules to you, then, you will be allowed to refresh yourselves!«

With an aching sound, the black girl sank to her knees. Linda felt her knees tremble, too, but the look in the tall man`s eyes suddenly showed a sadistic glance. He waved his hand and one of his men handed him a small silver tray from which he took a Chili pepper. Then, he said to the kneeling girl in a cold voice:

»Queen Boobs, if you don`t want that stuffed into your ass, you better stand up!«

The girl`s eyes widened with horror and she let out a muffled squeal. The man took one step towards her, the Chili still in his hand. Staggering, the black woman forced herself to get back on her feet. She took some time, with her wrists and ankles tied, but finally, she stood there, her bust heaving from the effort. Immediately, the man smiled again and put the Chili back on the tray.

»Now, back to the rules. There are just a few, but we will punish you severely if you won`t follow them. But if you do as you are told, you will be treated well.

Number one: forget about your names! Names are for free people! Maybe, your future owners will give you new names, maybe, you will be even allowed your old ones! But here, you are just ›Ginger‹, ›Blondie‹ and ›Queen Boobs‹! We decided to use the names Sergeant Adil has already given to you! Is that understood, slaves? Ginger?«

He turned towards Emily who met his eyes with an angry glance. The man reached over his shoulder and his servant reached him the Chili pepper again. Without a word, he held it to Emily`s nose. Linda could see how her nostrils trembled; obviously, it was of the hottest sort. She had once rubbed her eyes after having touched such a thing and the sheer thought of getting it stuffed into her anus made her shriek with fear.

It seemed that Emily thought similar, for as the man repeated his question, the redhead nodded slightly. With a smile, he put the Chili back. Then, with surprising speed, he stepped beside Emily and gave her butt a hard slap, so hard it made the girl jump up and scream into her gag.

»Never again force me to say things twice to you! Is that understood, Ginger?«

He raised his hand and slowly, reluctantly, Emily once again nodded.

Linda saw no point in being defiant and nodded immediately as he addressed her as »Blondie« and though her nickname was the most humiliating, »Queen Boobs« did the same. The man went back to his place between his henchmen.

»To make things easy for you, you will call every one of us ›Master‹! You will be gagged most of the time, so, you will usually not often have to do so. But if you are talking to one of us, you call him ›Master‹ and you refer to yourselves by your nicknames only! There is no ›I‹ or ›me‹ for slaves! When talking to yourselves, you will only use your nicknames, too! Is that understood?«

He looked at Emily who still looked defiant, but the redhead nodded like her companions. The man now sent his henchmen. Each of them stepped behind one of the captives and undid their gags and cuffs. Their boss meanwhile went for a table, picking up three pairs of cuffs that consisted of black leather, connected by a silver chain, and also three long scarves.

Linda licked her parched lips as the gag came off, too exhausted to even rub her wrists. The men went back for their boss who handed each of them one of the cuffs and one of the scarves. Then, he addressed the now freed women, who watched him silently. Emily and »Queen Boobs« – Linda didn’t even know her real name – had their arms crossed in front of their breasts, but Linda saw no reason, since all of these men had already seen them. Again showing his shark-like smile, the man turned towards them.

»As you maybe have noticed, the scarves more or less match the color of your hair. The man holding the scarf matching your hair is your personal tutor, so to say. So, If I am giving the order, you will remove your knickers, or, in Queen Boobs` case, your loincloth! Then, you will kneel in front of your tutor and say: ›Master, please accept taking care of – whatever your nickname is‹! After this is done, you will be allowed to eat, drink and refresh! Queen Boobs!«

The black woman gulped and did not move. Only when the man once again reached for the tray with the Chili pepper, she slowly undid her loincloth. Then, she staggered towards the man holding a black scarf and knelt in front of him. With a hoarse voice, she croaked:

»Master, please accept taking care of Queen Boobs!«

Then, she lowered her head and sobbed silently from the humiliation.

»Blondie!«

Linda lowered her knickers and stepped out of them. She walked over to the man holding the golden scarf and handed him the undergarment after she had sunk to her knees.

»Master, please accept taking care of Blondie!«

Her Master looked down on her with a smile. First, Linda thought that he just wanted to be friendly, but then, she noticed that he was looking at her shaved pubic mound and obviously was thinking about the reason she had her hair removed there. Linda blushed.

»Ginger!«

»My name is Miss Emily Starling!«

Her voice sounded surprisingly steady and Linda waited for the man to reach for the Chili or to beat her butt, but instead, he just said:

»Blondie, Queen Boobs, stand up!«

The two addressed girls obeyed, both groaning from the effort. Though it had been an act of surrender and humiliation, to be on their knees had also been a relaxation after their long, strenuous march. As soon as they were standing on trembling legs, the man said towards Emily:

»Ginger, you are all tired, hungry and above of all thirsty! But unfortunately, we cannot feed you unless you have accepted my invitation! All the three of you will have to remain standing, without food, without a drop of water, without-«

With a sound, half a groan and half a sob, the black woman sank to her knees again. She looked at Emily and pleaded:

»Please, Ginger! Queen Boobs begs Ginger to do as the Master has ordered!«

There was no dignity in her pleading, just exhaustion and fear. Linda knelt towards Emily, too.

»Please, Ginger, Blondie begs you to do what the Master told!«

In Emily`s eyes, she could see two emotions fight: contempt and pity. For a few seconds, she looked at her co-captives, Queen Boobs with tears in her eyes and Linda slightly blushing. Then, very slowly, she lowered her hands.

Though she hated herself for doing so, Linda sighed with relief as Emily peeled down her knickers. Then, her cheeks flaming red and staring daggers at the other girls, she went to the last man, went to her knees and whispered:

»Master, please accept taking care of Ginger!«

Emily almost spat out the words, but the man seemed satisfied. Now, the tutors took the cuffs and fixed them around »their« girl`s ankles. They were made of soft leather, but they were closed with little padlocks and the chain was so short that they would only be able to take the smallest of steps.

»As long as you behave well, these ankle cuffs and the more symbolic scarf gags will be your only restraints. However, since we will eat now, you will not be gagged for the few yards to the dining room.«

Surprisingly gentle, the tutors led them inside the mansion where a table was waiting, loaded with delicious food of all kind. Around it, there were couches, similar to those the Romans had used for eating. Linda sighed with relief as her tutor helped her to lie down on one of them.

The tutors now handed them small plates with food and mugs with tea. They took care that they didn`t quench their thirst to fast and only handed them small amounts of the delicious dishes, but except for forbidding them to talk, they treated them quite courteous. After the meal, the boss said:

»Slaves, your tutors will now show you where you can wash yourselves and follow the call of nature! Please remember that the gags must not be removed by you, except for cleaning your teeth, of course! After refreshment, you will be shown your sleeping room! I guess you are quite tired now! And besides, tomorrow, your training will begin!«

The three girls looked at each other with uneasiness.

***