Mortgaged into Slavery Ch. 01

Lisa lives a simple life, with her sister and father in their little village. However, another bad crop yield means they'll not make it through the winter. Given no other choice she makes a deal that she will quickly regret.

Authors Notes - I have tried to pace story and action a bit better. I have more written that should be released shortly, but thought this would be a good place to end the first chapter. There is a decent amount of bondage and more BDSM themes will play a part in future chapters.

*****

Chapter 1

1.

Lisa had lived her whole life in the same house, in the same village and with the same people. Well, other than her mother, she passed away five years ago when Lisa was just thirteen years old. Lisa had been forced to take over the role, looking after her sister, Sally, of ten and her father in her mother's place; cooking, cleaning, collecting water. It was a rough and hard life, but her family loved one another and for her that was enough.

At least, it used to be enough. The village was experiencing one of the worst droughts in even the eldest members living memory. Three years they'd had poor harvests and it was more than they could take. Last year the village had sold almost everything they had in terms of wealth in exchange for enough food to survive the winter. This year traders weren't even coming looking to buy. They knew the village had nothing to offer and if food was this scarce elsewhere then they couldn't afford it anyway.

Lisa did what she could whilst her father worked a field that offered little in return. She foraged in the forest, looking for mushrooms and berries, but even those were hard to come by now. She'd even run into other foragers from the village from time to time having similarly poor luck. The village didn't have any competent hunters or trappers and even if they did there wasn't any game to speak of and would be less as winter came.

The village had been built on a land trade route that no longer existed. Some people said it was from when there was gold struck in the mountains to the east, others said that colliers used to first make charcoal here hundreds of years ago until they found a tree that gave better results in forests to the north. Whatever the reason the village had been built, now, it was just a remote place that on a good harvest could sell enough grain to live a modest and reasonably satisfied life.

When a trader finally arrived it was a beacon of salvation for many. At least, it was a first. He refused to buy any of the few remaining items of worth left for anything more than a pittance and didn't have any food to offer. Harold, one of her father's friends with a barrel chest and a voice to match, confronted the man, "Then why on earth did ya' come all the way out here for? Surely not just to mock us!" The crowd made some noise of agreement with him.

The trader put up his hands to ask for quiet, looking like he was trying to hush a wild horse. He waited for everyone to go silent before he spoke, his voice smooth and calm, "I am here to offer work. There are nobles within the city wishing for servants to work in their houses. You'll be paid a small sum upfront and then escorted to the city where you will reside in lodgings within their estate and learn to serve. For your work you'll receive every other Sunday off, meals and a small salary. I shall leave tonight with any who wish to come." His proposal roused more talk in the crowd, but it was not the sounds of angry accusations, but of serious discussion.

Lisa also gave it serious thought. If she went with him, her father and sister would have some money to possibly buy some food if another trader came. Not only that, they'd have one less mouth to feed. She knew they didn't have enough food to survive the winter. This really was the only option.

Her father had forbidden it when she had brought it up later that day. He said that it sounded suspicious and that they needed her, she pointed out that Sally was older now than Lisa had been when she started looking after the family. He said that he understood, but that he couldn't let her do something like this and that it was better for family to stick together. Perhaps he was right. But she had already agreed to the deal earlier that day and signed the contract. After dinner and after her father had fallen asleep in front of the fire, she had gone to her room and taken her spare pair of clothes and the small copper chain of her mother's necklace, they'd sold the pendant, and wrapped them into a small package. She'd written a letter for her father and sister and left it on her night stand with the small purse of money the trader had given her. She turned off her light and slipped out the window, hoping they'd think she'd retired to bed and not find her gone until morning.

2.

Lisa and the trader had left that night as he had said he would. She was a little surprised that she was travelling alone and that nobody else from the village had agreed to go. It made her suddenly a little nervous. She was after all, alone with a man she'd never met before for the first time, but she tried to push her old fashioned ideals out of her mind and put herself at ease.

He seemed quite nice actually. He had said his name was Quince and that he worked for a merchant's guild, that a ship with many trained servants on had sunk and as the guild owned the ship it had been their job to find replacements. When she'd asked why they'd not hired from the city he'd laughed and explained that it wasn't fashionable to have servants who were from the city you lived in. He was quite friendly, although a little closed lipped. He wore sturdy looking travelling clothes, made from good leather with thick stitching and knew a little about travelling from the wear around the cuffs of his jacket and the clean and refreshed look of the horse that pulled the cart they rode upon.

They had stopped later that night at a clearing by the side of the road. They slept on the ground, he had a spare bed roll that she could use, that although a little stale smelling, was well appreciated. When she awoke she heard voices. She sat up, stretching and blinking her eyes open to see that a few other carts had pulled into the clearing. Quince was talking to a taller, larger looking man and after a few moments he came back over. "Ah, you're awake, I've already watered the mare, she's ready to set off any minute now, so see to any needs and we'll be off."

Lisa sat up and rolled up the bed roll before loading it back onto the cart, "Who are these people?" He glanced around and smiled.

"Just other travellers, a couple of merchants and some caravan guards, we're travelling in the same direction so we'll be riding along with them, it is safer to travel in a group on the roads." Lisa agreed that it sounded like a sensible arrangement. She saw to her morning needs before re-joining Quince on the front of the cart. That day was a much less pleasant travel than the evening before.

One of the caravan guards, that Lisa was sure was no more than a common mercenary, had taken it upon himself to constantly berate her. He'd made lewd comments, a few distasteful suggestions and spent most of the journey with his eyes on her, anywhere but making eye contact. She'd heard one of the other mercenaries calling him Inx, not that she really needed a name for such a vile man. She'd asked Quince again whether they had to travel with these people, but he'd simply replied that it was better than getting attacked by bandits and it was only for a day and a half after this one.

As they stopped and set up camp she wondered if she really could stand another day and a half of Inx's 'company'. As she brought back a bundle of kindling for the camp fire that one of the other men was starting to cook dinner over she was caught off guard as he landed a slap on her behind, "Got some other wood you can help me with, seeing as you're done with that, sweetheart." He said with a crude, brutish laugh. She jumped, her hands covering her rear as she spun around and gave him a venomous look. She wasn't one to lose her temper, but the boredom of travelling coupled with the emotional stress of leaving her family behind and his constant harassment had gotten to her.

"I'm not your sweetheart, or your honeycakes, or any other name you come up with that is sickening to hear from your lips. My name is Lisa." She could and should have stopped there, but she'd been bottling it up all day, "Do you try and seduce every woman you meet the same way? Maybe the infamy of 'one inch Inx' is what makes you have to try so hard? Because, if you weren't trying so hard, there'd be no way to know if you were hard?"

He stood up taller, narrowing his eyes and she was aware of how imposingly large the man was compared to her. She swallowed as he prodded one of his large fingers between her bosoms and gave her a small poke that made her take a step back, "Listen whore. If you weren't another man's property I'd be teaching you why what you just said was a really bad idea." She frowned and shook her head. She heard a sigh from Quince and turned to him, "Wh-what did you tell them?! That I was a whore!?"

Quince shook his head and went to explain before he was cut off by a laugh from Inx, "You mean he didn't tell you that you'd sold yourself into slavery?" Lisa blinked and shook her head, her eyes looking pleadingly to Quince, but in the moment whilst he sought a lie she realised that Inx was telling the truth and that she had been an idiot.

As she bolted from the camp she heard a few laughing shouts of men giving chase and as she ran into the woods she heard them stay close behind her.

3.

She scrambled through the woods aimlessly, her dress snagging on branches, her face getting whipped by twigs and leaves as she continued her adrenaline fuelled sprint. But adrenaline only keeps you going for so long. Eventually she collapsed at the bottom of a steep gravelly incline. As she tried to make her way along it she was seized by two big arms that lifted her up off the ground, "Got you, you little rabbit." She screamed and thrashed as the caravan guard held her tight.

One of the other guards came into sight and grabbed her legs, "For someone so small she leaves a trail to follow as large as a charging bull." They lowered her to the ground and pinned her down on her front.

"Let me go!" She squeaked as a knee in her back squeezed the air out of her lungs and caused enough pain to stop her struggles.

"Well she's hardly used to a life on the road, look at her! She's taken most of the forest with her." Another voice said, picking pieces of twigs out of her hair. As she felt something wrapping tightly around her wrists, pulling them behind her back, she let out a small whimper. They tied her ankles too and then Inx hauled her up onto his shoulder and started walking back to the camp. She struggled but he threatened to drop her and eventually gave her a slap on her behind that lingered for a rather rough grope. She shut her mouth and stayed still after that.

Back at the camp Quince stood with his arms crossed and an unamused look as Inx put Lisa down beside the now lit fire. "Did you really need to do that?" He said in a stern voice. "Look at her! She's a mess, all because you couldn't keep your fat mouth shut!"

Lisa blinked, the rather quiet and pleasant man from before was gone, the harsh tones and manner of Quince had changed into something much more frightening. Enough so that when he stepped towards Lisa, Inx backed away a little, even though he was more than twice the smaller man's size. He grabbed Lisa's chin and turned her head to face him, "At least her face isn't bruised, a few smalls scratches, but I suppose it could have been worse. You know that the damages to my property are coming out of your pay though, right?" Inx went to speak up but thought better of it.

Lisa however, did not, "I'm not anyone's property!" Quince looked down at her as if he'd forgotten she could talk. He knelt down and smiled softly. She waited but he didn't say a word or even change his expression. She swallowed, "P-please, let me go-" Her words were cut off half way through the 'o' sound by a ball of rough fabric, that was jammed into her mouth. He tied another piece of cloth around her mouth and back of her head to keep it in place whilst she struggled and made small muffled pleading sounds that went unheard.

"It's always easier to just keep them ignorant until the night before. The fear is still fresh then and they seem more lively and exciting, it fetches a better price. After the ride tomorrow she'll be exhausted and covered in scratches."

Inx swallowed, "S-sorry sir. I didn't mean to. She jus-" Quince put his hand up and he went silent. He sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Just... get some food into her and clean her up." He turned to leave, but quickly turned back around to add, "And no... sampling the merchandise. Nothing; not even groping or peeking. You don't get rewarded for acting like a fool."

He left them. They picked the plants off of her and pulled out a few thorns that had gotten stuck in her leg. They were quite quiet whilst they did so and didn't even try and touch her any more than was necessary. She'd be thankful for that if she wasn't so horrified by her current situation. After half an hour of trying, threatening and yelling, they had managed to get her to eat a few mouthfuls of the stew between sobs, pleading and thrashing. Before they'd gone to sleep they'd tied a rope around her middle and staked it to the ground. She'd tested it, struggling to get it out, but how she was tied didn't give her the leverage to budge it even a fraction of an inch. She sobbed into the gag, falling asleep through pure exhaustion.

She was woken up in the night to the feeling of a hand down the front of her dress, man handing her soft breast. She tried to scream, but the gag muffled her cry and as she struggled, she remembered the dilemma she was in, tied hand and foot. She felt a great weight press down against her as the body of a man much larger than her, lay on top of her. A hand clamped over her mouth silencing her cries to soft murmurs. Her heart raced as she felt his other hand move between her legs, pushing apart her knees. His leg slipped between them, pushing them even further apart. He hushed her and she recognised the sound of Inx's voice as he struggled with her skirts, pulling them up around her waist. Tears streamed from her eyes as he pressed his mouth to the side of her neck, kissing, locking and sucking and she just lay there, helpless. She felt him tugging at her smallclothes, as she felt something long, warm and hard against her thigh she knew that they were all that stood between her chastity and him.

She braced herself for what she knew was coming, she froze solid and felt the man sprawled over her freeze too as she heard a voice. "Inx. Stand up and move away from her." The unmistakable voice of Quince, still smooth and calm as it had been the first time she'd heard his voice, however she wondered how she had ever missed the tone that spoke of danger running underneath.

"Qu-Quin... Sir... I... Ah..." Inx jumped to his feet and backed away, "S-sorry sir, it was just tha-"

Quince held up his hand to silence him, "It is okay. I forgive you." Inx looked relieved for a second, then somewhat confused, followed by a look of fear and then after a quick whooshing sound, like the sound of a birch stick being swung through the air. A dumb founded look formed on Inx's face as a red line sprung from his neck. Lisa was still in shock from the events prior to Quince's arrival, so she didn't react as Inx fell to the floor clutching his throat, his lifeblood seeping into the dirt with his last few breaths. All she could think was that she was glad he didn't get a chance to say anything else. Quince wiped his blade clean and re-sheathed it before kneeling down beside Lisa. He pulled her skirts back down to cover her modesty. Then he pulled out her gag, "Did he rape you?"

She swallowed and licked her dry lips, she shook her head, "No, b-but he was going to. He..he-" She started to sob and Quince pushed the gag back into her mouth, she struggled a little as he did but the attempt was half hearted. She didn't sleep much the rest of that night.

4.

A day on the road is much like the next. And even bound as she was in the back of the cart, it was no less boring than the first. At least now she didn't have to do any chores or put up with Inx's constant berating. She thought about the previous night and how close she had come to being nothing more than a tool for his pleasure. She shuddered and put the thought out of her mind. Instead she remembered how they had left the body in a ditch with some dried leaves over him for the scavengers and carrion eaters; nobody seemed very bothered by that, least of all her.

By the time they stopped that evening she was thankful to be moved out of the cart. Her hip and shoulder ached from where she'd been laying on them and how her hands were tied behind her back. Her jaw hurt too from having had the gag in all day, other than for the short few minutes she had been allowed sips of water and a few bites of some stale bread and cheese. Her pleas had been ignored and questions unanswered.

She silently wondered why they would stop so early. One of the men at Quince's command hammered two large stakes into the ground under a tree, two paces apart. They carried Lisa over and started to untie the bindings on her ankles. As they started to massage her ankles where the bindings had dug into her, she decided against struggling, the feeling being a welcome relief. They removed her shoes and then as she felt new straps tightened around her ankles she did start to struggle. They just ignored her efforts and carried on about their task without much hindrance from her. She realised what the stakes had been for as her first ankle was bound to one, struggling uselessly as the second was bound to the other. She lay there watching as the hung something from the branches above her.

Next they took hold of her and heaved her up, pulling her onto her feet until she stood, feet tied and staked a little wider than shoulders width apart. She looked up at the ring that hung above her, her mind thinking up a thousand horrible things that could be about to happen. As she felt them loosen the bindings on her wrists she let out a small cry and tried to thrash free. For a moment she succeeded, a small curse escaping from the lips of one of the men trying to catch hold of her wrists as she struck him in the side of the head. But, legs spread and held in place as they were she didn't have the power to break free and they quickly took back hold of her as they tied her hands securely in front of her and then looping a rope between them, they were pulled up above her head, held by the ring suspended from the branch. The man she'd hit pulled the rope tighter until her hands were lifted as high as they would go and she felt strung out tight, like an upside down letter 'Y'.

She called out into the gag, but her muffled cries did little good. Her eyes opened as wide as saucers and cries turned to screams as she saw Quince advancing towards her with a sharp and wicked looking curved knife. She struggled, but other than turning her hips and shoulders ever so slightly from side to side she could hardly move. She closed her eyes tightly as the knife came toward her throat. But she didn't feel the sting of a blade against her skin; instead she felt a tugging on her dress. Opening her eyes, her fear turned to dread as she saw the knife slicing down through her clothes. Embarrassingly her first thought was of how it was one of only two dresses she owned, then as her eyes came up and saw the work of setting up camp stop as everyone's eyes fell on her. Then the fear returned as she thought again about how Inx had tried to take her the previous night.