Brian's Adventures Ch. 04

"Who is she?" I asked now very curious to know what the significance of her identity was.

"The Director's eldest daughter." Pellenica said with shock and wonder.

"Lochel's daughter!" I cried out.

"Yes!" Pellenica assured.

"The leader of your people! The Director of the council! That Lochel!" I cried out as I looked at Treabilla in wonder and compassion at this revelation. I knew that any Father would be worried about her and he must be informed. "He must be told! He must know she is safe! He must know tonight!" I said firmly.

"Please Master, don't tell him. I beg you!" Treabilla begged with teary eyes. "Please, he'll take me away from you!"

"No, my dear he won't, but he must know." I repeated as I stroked her cheek.

"As you wish Master." She said and bowed her head. Valencia stroked her hair soothingly and stayed by her side.

"I'll fetch him quietly. He knows and trusts me. I think I can get past his Guards to see him." Pellenica said assuredly as she stood, straightening her armour. "Valencia, you stand guard outside and let nobody inside. Brian, if anyone does come in; you get her to cover up and don't tell anyone who she is. I'll be back soon enough." Pellenica said with natural authority as she waited for Valencia to stand near her.

Soon they were gone and I was alone with Treabilla and I took her by the hand and raised her up to sit by me. She sat close to me and I embraced her and we leaned back against the wall and she snuggled up tight. She remained calm and did not say anything for some time. A few minutes into the tender embrace she did speak but did not look at me.

"Please don't send me away Master, I will serve you well. Just give me a chance to prove myself." She said with a fear and tenderness in her voice that made my heart go out to her.

She had been through so much and all I wanted was to help her be her own person again. Pellenica was right, the adjustment was already wearing on her and I knew I had to be sensitive to that. It was strange that one act of compassion for a stranger could get so complicated and had dangers and pitfalls all it's own.

"It'll be alright my dear, you'll see. It will all work out fine in the end." I said encouragingly and stroked her hair tenderly and she sighed contently holding me tighter. "Don't worry my dear, it'll be fine, I promise." I said and we enjoyed the quiet, tender moment but only for too brief a time.

I must admit that it felt wonderful to hold her there on that bed. I knew her affection was not genuine but it was nice to simply hold her, to hold someone in a tender embrace. If I was not careful I could develop feelings for her and in her current state that would not be fair. I never was one to want slaves or servants especially in the ways of love; I want equals who choose to love me. Like all good things though, that tender moment had to come to an end. When I heard the hurried footsteps of a small crowd approaching I knew that we could not be discovered in that intimate a position.

Valencia snapped to attention and I knew that Lochel had arrived. I stood by the bed and awaited his entry into the room patiently. Treabilla also got off the bed and fell to the floor on her knees and bowed her head like she had done when The Mistress had beckoned her.

"Stand up!" I urged.

Treabilla rose to her feet and stood behind me and slightly to the side. She folded her hands in front of her and bowed her head and stood quietly. Before I could tell her to stand up straight the door opened and Lochel, Pellenica and Valencia entered the room.

Lochel's guards remained outside the room and stood vigil. Lochel stood there quietly and his eyes glanced over his daughter a number of times as if he refused to believe what he saw. A pained look was in his eyes and I saw a tear run down his cheek before he spoke. My heart went out to him as I imagined what it must be like to see someone you love to be reduced to such a state.

"If you hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it." Lochel said quietly and paused to gather himself together; I remained quiet. "It appears I have much to thank you for." Lochel finished and smiled at me with the best smile he could muster with his heart weighed down so.

"I didn't know who she was when I did what I did, I only did what I had to do sir." I replied looking down.

"That only makes what you did that much greater. You put yourself at risk for someone you didn't know just because you saw an injustice being done." Lochel finished with an impressed smile and a shake of the head. "Hardly a small feat Mr Westlock." He chuckled and then turned his attention to Treabilla. "Come dear, get dressed; Let's go home." He said with a smile and extended his arm to his daughter.

Treabilla did not move or even acknowledge that she was spoken to. Lochel repeated his request twice more a little stronger each time but was also ignored each time. A flustered Lochel looked at Pellenica and me and then at his daughter with confused anger.

"Treabilla, stop this nonsense and come home!" Lochel ordered in his most commanding voice, clearly his patience had come to an end.

When she still did not move he rushed to her and grabbed her arm and started to pull her away from me. Then she came to life fighting him and kicking up a storm protesting all the way. When she got a lucky shot in and slapped him across the face, a stunned Lochel let go. He watched in horror as she rushed to my side and clung to me tightly, like her life depended on it.

"I AM HOME!" Treabilla shouted vehemently. "My place is with my Master!" She said trembling with such great fear that I had to put my arm around her, in an effort to calm her down.

"What's going on here?" Lochel asked indignantly not liking this display from his daughter.

"This 'Mistress of Tania' apparently had her under her control for so long that this is the only way she knows." Pellenica said respectfully as she stepped toward Lochel. "Because of what Brian did, she believes that Brian won her and therefore is her new Master." She finished and swallowed hard.

"That's insane!" Lochel cried out and moved toward his daughter to grab her but she winced and held me tighter and cowered at my side. Lochel fell silent and moved away shaking his head in disbelief and the pain of seeing his daughter in such a state was all over his face.

"She will pay for this! That Mistress has gone too far! I'll have her head for this!" Lochel sneered with the hatred that coursed through his body.

"We will do whatever we can to assist Director, but might we ask when you first noticed any strange behaviour in Treabilla?" Pellenica asked as tactfully as she could. "It will help us understand how deep this goes and how best to help her." Pellenica finished and the room fell silent as Lochel paused to think and pace the room, pondering her question.

"I suppose two years ago. We had a fight and she ran away, after that she became increasingly distant. Spending more and more time away from home, not telling me where she had been or what she had been up to. Eight months ago she just disappeared completely, we searched everywhere but found nothing, no clues, nothing." He sighed, and looked out the window. "Naturally we kept it as quiet as possible; making one excuse after another for her absence from her public duties. We never stopped searching, but I never suspected . . . " He said but his words trailed off into nothing as his emotions gripped his heart and words would not pass his lips.

"Sir, we plan to break her of this but it takes time, she has already been through a great deal. Perhaps it would be best if for the time being we play along with this." Pellenica said and Lochel drew a breath to protest but Pellenica raised a finger and spoke quicker. "Just until we can undo the damage that The Mistress has done! Again I must stress that it will take time sir." Pellenica finished and Lochel sighed as he looked at his daughter and me, his heart still stinging from the revelations of the last half-hour.

"Brian will take good care of her, he could never hurt her." Valencia said in a respectful and confident tone. Lochel looked at all of us in turn and remained quiet for a full minute before he spoke again.

"Already you have demonstrated that you are an honourable man. On more than a few occasions I might add." Lochel said with a chuckling sigh as he approached me.

"Thank you sir." I said and bowed my head respectfully.

"It looks as though I have little choice then to trust you with my greatest treasure." He said as he stroked the quivering cheek of his daughter and I could see that it saddened his heart to see her in this much pain.

"I won't let you down, sir." I nodded confidently. He walked away and turned back to face me after taking a few steps. "Take good care of her Brian and remember that not only am I her Father but I am the Director of the Council. In short take care of her as if your life depends on it, because it does." He firmly warned with fire in his eyes but shortly the flame flickered and died.

"I will sir." I replied assuredly. "Does this mean you won't kill me?" I inquired curiously.

"The Council will convene one week from today and we will decide what to do about you then." Lochel said in a neutral manner. "While I am grateful to you for saving my daughter, I cannot allow that to cloud my judgement. I must do what is right for Tania first and foremost." Lochel said plainly but sighed. "From what you have demonstrated so far, I don't think that killing you will be necessary."

"So what is to be done about the current situation sir?" Pellenica inquired plainly and Lochel fell silent once more and paced the room for another moment deep in thought.

"Move them to one of the officers' quarters on the upper level." He said after a moment. "I want you two to remain their personal guards and jailors round the clock for the time being. Keep them in there and keep her out of sight". He said looking at Pellenica and Valencia while pointing to Treabilla.

"Yes sir." Pellenica and Valencia asserted.

"If someone must see her then keep her face covered and her identity secret! And for God sake get her some decent clothes!" Lochel said and then turned to leave.

"Yes sir." Pellenica and Valencia asserted again.

"Wait until later before moving them, keep me informed of the situation." He said to Pellenica.

"Of course sir." Pellenica assured confidently. "We'll take excellent care of her." Pellenica said with a comforting smile and Lochel smiled warmly at that.

Then turning to Treabilla and me he said, "Goodbye, take care." Then he was gone and we all breathed a sight of relief.

There was an odd feeling in the air and I felt more like a trusted associate and not a prisoner. However I knew better, I knew that I was not free to roam and that I was in no less peril. I simply didn't believe that I was trusted with the care of his daughter. I took it as a sign that things were heading in the right direction for me but my fate was still undecided.

"How did we end up with non-stop guard duty over this? What did we do?" Valencia complained as the door shut.

"We're not being punished! Obviously just wants to keep this as quiet as possible and involve as few people as possible! That's why we are not to leave their side until further notice." Pellenica explained to a disgruntled and no less satisfied Valencia.

"It's still not fair, I was going to raise a few pints with the girls tomorrow night!" Valencia grumbled. "Fat chance I'll see a beer or a wink of sleep for the next week thanks to him." Valencia said tossing an angry thumb in my direction.

"I really didn't mean to cause all this fuss, I just wanted to help Treabilla is all." I said quietly, I didn't like all the trouble I had caused others over my actions. "I'm sorry it's messed up your plans Valencia and I will make it up to you somehow if I get the chance." I said in an apologetic tone in Valencia's direction while keeping my eyes downcast.

"I know, I know. You're a good man Brian and I respect you for what you did, really I do." Valencia sighed and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it, I'll get over it." She said with a smile.

It was long into the dead of the night before we left my cell and headed for the officers' quarters. Pellenica was in the lead, followed by me then Treabilla (in full cloak and hood) and finally Valencia. We took the back halls and the long way around, avoiding the open areas and populated corridors. When we finally arrived at the top floor officers' barracks area I was relived and surprised that nobody had seen us.

"Here we are, home for the next week or so." Pellenica said as she opened the door to the vacant quarters.

It was different then my cell but somehow there was a similar feel to the place. It was not lavish by any stretch of the imagination, more of the Spartan design that clearly extended to the whole barracks. It was functional and plain; it did the job it was supposed to do and nothing more. It was not intended for royalty or for the highest-ranking officers, and we were neither, so it was better than we deserved.

There was one main room from which four smaller rooms went off, two to each side. The window again had bars in it and was in the wall opposite of the main door. There was a table in the centre of the room that was plain and had a bench on either side of it. It was big enough for four people to sit at and eat comfortably or six people to sit very squished. The room was longer than it was wide, however there was enough room to comfortably walk around the table in the centre. A lamp hung on a hook high on the wall between the doors of the bedrooms on either side of the main room.

Each bedroom was laid out exactly the same: one large bed, one dresser for clothes, one chair and one lamp high on one wall. There was just enough room to move around the furniture without risking banging into something, but just barely. There were no windows in any of the bedrooms and the only door that locked was the main door.

For the first time in months I had my own private bedroom, granted I was still a condemned prisoner. I have learned however, that you must take the small blessings and notice them or they will be washed away in the sea of daily bad news.

"Alright. I am the highest ranking Guard between Valencia and myself so that makes me in charge, got it." Pellenica said with authority, I nodded my agreement; it was already something I had guessed. "Valencia you're there." She said pointing to one of the rooms next to the main door. "Treabilla, you're there." She said pointing to the room next to Valencia. Treabilla looked at me and waited for me to approve of the decision before nodding agreement. "Brian, you're there." She said pointing to the room opposite Treabilla. "And that puts me here." She said pointing to the other room next to the main door. "Any questions?" Pellenica asked and looked at all of us and after a moment of silence she continued. "Good, you two get some rest." She said indicating Treabilla and myself.

After instructing Treabilla to go to bed I did the same. After looking around the bedroom for some kind of nightclothes and finding none, I decided to sleep nude. I usually sleep in the nude and when you have only one change of clothes, you need to let them air out a bit at night. The bed was larger than my previous bed and was far more comfortable, ah the life of an officer. I drifted off to sleep almost immediately in that sea of comfort and warmth.

Some time later, I don't know how long I was shaken to life and I found two grey eyes piercing the darkness. There was a fear and trembling nature to these formless eyes that begged me to have mercy.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you Master." Treabilla said in a quiet and trembling voice.

"No problem, what is it?' I asked in my slurred, half asleep daze.

"I can't sleep." She trembled.

"Why?" I slurred.

"Normally I sleep with someone else, and I can't seem to fall asleep on my own." She said and fell quiet for a moment.

"Oh." Was all I managed to respond with.

"Please forgive my boldness Master. I was hoping you would be so gracious and kind as to let me sleep with you Master." She asked as she cowered by my bed fearful of my wrath for disturbing my slumber.

"Sure luv." I slurred as I drew back the covers and made room in the bed for her.

In a moment I felt another body enter the bed and snuggle up to me. It took only a moment to realize that her hot flesh was pressed directly up against me. I could feel no clothes on her and I knew that she also was nude in that bed. I felt a tingle all over as I realized that the spectacular body that I had seen and fantasized about earlier was pressed up against me now. She lay there snuggled up to me and I could not get over that not only was she in my bed next to me nude, but eagerly wanted to please me.

Nasty thoughts raced through my mind as I pictured all manner of things I wanted to do to her and have her do to me. My better self fought with my lust and passions as I tried to calm down and go back to sleep; but that seemed unlikely any time soon. I could not get the image of her hot, supple body pressed up against me out of my head. I could feel heat everywhere her body touched mine. In no time at all as you can imagine, my cock sprang to life and I had a rock hard, throbbing hard on.

"Does my body please you Master?" Treabilla asked as she could feel the throbbing erection against her leg.

"Yes luv. Your quite beautiful." I said, trying to be as tactful as possible.

"Is there something I can do to please you Master?" She asked, looking me in the eyes with those piercing grey eyes and I froze!

There were many ways to answer that question; most of them were not what Lochel or God would have me say or do. My better self was screaming at me to do the honourable thing and tell her no, but my lust was also screaming at me to say many other things. It was a long moment before a clear winner was declared and words passed my lips.