Rachael, Slave of Emarukistan Ch. 01

"I don't see why Sebastian should have all the fun tonight," laughs one of the men. "What's your name, girl?"

"Rachael, my lord," I reply in the calmest voice I can manage in the circumstances.

"Well Rachael, how about you come and entertain the three of us. I'm sure Sebastian won't object."

I could protest that I can't go with these men without my owner's permission, but doing so might lead to my true identity being revealed and cause me more problems than I can handle. I meekly stand and follow the three men into their room. The scattered belongings and the camp beds along one wall indicate they have been hiding here for some time. I don't get the opportunity to make a close examination of the room as the men want to get down to business straight away.

"Dance for us, girl," says the man I met first as he picks up his flute.

The tune he plays is one I recognise as coming from the lands far to the north. I quickly launch into a dance designed to arouse the men watching. Despite my occasionally moving close enough for them to touch me, they seem content to simply watch my gyrations. I continue my dance even after the man with the flute has exhausted his repertoire and joined his friends in watching me move about the room. I can see that this is going to be a long night and I'm not likely to get much sleep.

By now my body is shiny with sweat and the men aren't the only ones in this room who is getting aroused. The men talk among themselves while they watch me. At first I'm the main topic of their conversation and several lewd comments are directed at me. I respond to those by modifying my dance to tease them and prompt even lewder remarks. But they start talking about other things in between their comments directed at me.

Eventually they grow tired of simply watching me and they call me over to service their cocks. For mercenary warriors they are surprisingly gentle in their handling of me. I'll be sporting a few bruises in the morning but nothing out of the ordinary. Although well warmed by a sound spanking, my backside will show no ill effect from their attentions. Compared to the night before, the whole experience is more pleasing for me than it should rightfully be. The men even thanked me before sending me on my way just before dawn.

Of course, memories of pleasant sex wasn't the only thing I left with when I departed the mercenaries company. Had you been a fly on the wall witnessing tonight's activities, you would have seen an excellent example of how invisible a slave girl is to those who are free. When planning a secret rescue attempt, the last thing anyone in their right mind should do is blab about the plan in front of an unknown witness. And yet these men did exactly that.

I briefly call at Sebastian's apartment to collect my manumission parchment which I had left on his table. He is snoring his head off and I wonder if he has noticed my absence at all. He certainly never came looking for me when I didn't return to his bed.

I leave the temple and make the short walk back to Wadi-Halaf. The gates should be opened at dawn, which is about fifteen minutes away. I wait in the shadows admiring the ancient walls of Wadi-Halaf. When it was originally built, Wadi-Halaf was a fortress forming part of the city wall defences. But as the city expanded, the old city walls were dismantled and new defences built some distance away. Wadi-Halaf remained intact and over the years has been converted into a way-station for the numerous merchant caravans which pass through the city. Some of the old fortress buildings being converted into temporary holding cells for slaves being transported to cities further away. It's a profitable business for my father who also supplies the caravans with food and other supplies that they need.

Finally the gates of Wadi-Halaf open and I enter the fortress, eager to pass the information I have learned onto my father. Things go seriously wrong for me before I reach the main building. Two guards promptly restrain me and moments later my wrists and ankles are shackled with only short chains permitting me any movement of my limbs.

"What are you doing?" I cry. "I'm a free woman. Unchain me you oafs!"

My protests end abruptly when Lady Gulnihal slaps me across my face with a fierce blow. Stars appear before my eyes and I can only vaguely see that the Captain of the Guard is with her.

I should perhaps explain who this bitch of a woman is, and her relevance to my situation. For years both my father and uncle studiously avoided marriage and satisfied their sexual urges with slave concubines like my mother. Then, two years ago, they finally bowed to political necessity and each married one of a pair of twins, Gulnihal and Giselle. Giselle became pregnant with my uncle's child within a few weeks of their marriage. As soon as her son was born to secure my uncle's line, she demanded his concubine's offspring be disposed of without delay. My cousin Zoe, my dearest friend and the love of my heart, was promptly sold in the slave market like a piece of meat. I've not forgiven my uncle for that. More recently Gulnihal announced she is expecting my father's child and I'm under no illusion that my fate will match that of Zoe once the child is born. Only my sudden freedom has thrown a large stick in the wheel. If my father finally recognises his slave children as free citizens of the city, then Gulnihal's child will not be the first in line to inherit my father's estate upon his death. Which probably explains why I'm now being assaulted before I can reach my father.

"I need to see my father," I cry before another slap to my opposite cheek brings more stars to my eyes.

"Silence, slave," snarls Gulnihal. "The only place you are going is to the cells. Take her away, Captain and chain her up good and tight."

I'm dragged away and my struggles are futile. I'm placed in a small prison cell and additional, and entirely unnecessary, manacles are added to my upper arms and thighs effectively denying my limbs any movement at all. I try to explain to the Captain what I have learned from my time in the temple and the danger my father is in. But the Captain is clearly in no mood to listen. I've done my best but my father's fate has been sealed by the jealousy of his bitch of a wife. What fate awaits us all is now out of my hands.

[end of chapter 1. Story continues in Rachael and the Warlord]