My Voyage of Submission Ch. 19

"Don't abandon your entire belief system because one thing seems wrong. The Qur'an doesn't want you to use alcohol. Many bad things are done by people who are drunk. Sometimes, a person who drinks becomes an alcoholic and cannot control their drinking and they hurt many people. There's a good reason not to drink. You never need worry about becoming an alcoholic if you never drink. Alcoholism tends to be genetic. Unless you're genetically tested, you don't know if you're susceptible to become an alcoholic. Do you risk becoming one, or abstain from alcohol?

"There are good reasons for many of the rules, but are some outdated now because we know more about the science. Think of all the things that didn't exist when the Qur'an was written; airplanes, space flight, TV's, computers, movies, modern medicine. Do we say because they didn't exist in the Qur'an we shouldn't have those things, or do we temper our belief systems to include those things? That's what you need to decide for yourself. I should not make those choices for you, nor should anyone else. You need to decide if something is wrong for you and why it's wrong for you. Is anal sex one of those things. If you believe you could be damned for having anal sex, are you willing to take the risk of damnation to live the life you want to live now?"

"You enjoy anal sex, don't you?" Maahnoor asked.

"I do, but I don't think I'm going to hell for any of the things I do. I believe I would if I killed someone, or stole from someone or hurt someone, but not for any consensual sex with anyone, man or woman. That's the reason I can't tell you what to do. I don't believe there are any future consequences for me in the afterlife. You do. It's easy to say 'do this, don't do that' when there are no consequences to me, but it's different for you. That's why you're in a group together and I'm not counseling you one on one. I don't understand Islam the way you all do. Your Muslim sisters are in a far better position to make recommendations for your life than I am, but eventually, you all have to make up your own mind what's right for you. They can't decide for you either. You listen to what each other is saying and then decide."

"What if Joshua's wife decided she didn't want him having sex with anyone else?" Ateefah said.

"Then I suppose I would have to give up sex with my Master until that was resolved. I wouldn't want to hurt Miranda, nor my Master, but the harm of a positive action like continuing to have sex is worse than the harm of abstinence. It would probably need to resolve itself with Master deciding if he wished to remain married to Miranda. We care for each other so I don't think that would ever be a problem."

"What if she changed her mind after having a child?" Farah asked.

"Master is rich enough, he can support many children. Providing for Miranda's child would not affect his ability to support a child I might wish to have with him. I would consider one of Miranda's children to be as one of my own. I would love it as one of my own. I would not seek to raise my child above hers. Provided we continue to love one another, I do not foresee that ever being a problem. Two of you have somewhat the same problem. You are married to men who are not the fathers of your children. Will they treat this child the way all children should be treated or treat it differently because someone else is the father? They were raised in a society where it is more normal to raise another person's child, so I believe they will treat any child as it should be treated, but I don't know what's in their hearts."

They all nodded, contemplating my words.

"The group today ran longer than intended, but it was a good session. Think about these things and discuss them amongst yourselves."

"Thank you, Beth," Maahnoor said.

"You're welcome. All of you are welcome."

Master and Hannah were still engaged in work so I went up to the top deck where I found my sister slaves sitting in the warm water. It was too cold to be sunning ourselves, but the water was wonderful.

"Did Master tell you we can have as many orgasms with each other as we want because you're going away?" I asked.

"He didn't!" Miranda said. "Are you sure?"

"He said he'd be fucking you three more than me because you were leaving soon and asked if I had a problem if he did so. I said I understood and said I had the same impulse as I would miss you when you were gone. He said we could give each other unlimited orgasms, though we were still limited in those we got from others."

"That hardly sounds like Master," Francesca said.

"God's honest truth. That's what he said."

"Was that just for you?" Belle asked. "You could have as many as you wanted?"

"He said all of us."

"I don't want a repetition of what happened after the bordello," Francesca said. "That was a disaster. What exactly did he say?"

"How about no limit on orgasms with them until they leave."

"So he didn't specify no limit on your orgasms. But he didn't say our orgasms either? I'm going to play it safe. I'll give you as many as you want, but I'm not taking any unless I have his specific permission."

"Fine. I think you're cheating yourself, but I'm game."

It was too cold to sit on the edge of the spa for a good licking, but I kissed my sisters and made out with them while they fondled me to distraction and gave me several nice fingered orgasms. I got two from each of them and I was quite happy. They were all quite horny before we finished.

Henderson came up and found us before supper.

"Are you giving Maahnoor permission to have anal sex, Beth?"

"No, Henry. I told her I couldn't give her permission to have anal sex because I'm not Muslim and don't know enough about their religion to make decisions for them. I did tell her she might need to decide what was more important to her; having anal sex or worrying about whether she was going to hell if she did. I did tell her the Qur'an was written at a time when anal sex was dangerous to women because people didn't understand about germs and sanitation, so like a lot of things which were dangerous, it was just prohibited. I said I didn't believe I was going to hell if I had anal sex, but I wasn't raised as they were so they needed to decide for themselves if they wanted to risk whether God really cared about her doing something with her husband that you both enjoyed and would damn her for it, versus how much she enjoyed it."

"But you don't think it could bring up a PTSD episode or anything?"

"It could. Anything could, but I would think it more likely if she was being forced or harmed. If it's something she truly wants and is asking for, and you're being gentle and considerate and loving, like the first time you had sex with her, it's unlikely. What they had as slaves was not a loving, kind relationship. Everything was forced and against their will. Don't force her to have anal sex. Respond lovingly if she wants it and you should be okay. From this point on, consider anything Maahnoor requests which doesn't seem way out there, like hitting her as you're having sex, or asking for others to be included in your sex acts, as something you can try if you proceed slowly and carefully. Stop and regroup if she seems to be having trouble with it. All of the women ordered some sex toys through me, so when we get those, you might see them integrated into your sex play. If it seems too freaky, talk to me about it. From the sounds of it, she did think about it and is wondering if it's as bad as her religion makes it out to be."

"Okay. So we're not worrying about what her father would think about what we're doing?"

"Not if she's requesting it. She can make the decision about if she's concerned about her father. Theoretically, he never knows what goes on in your bedroom anyway. This is something she'd never talk about with anyone. The things you should be concerned about are things you'd consider off the wall, for instance if she wanted you to piss on her. That's something we'd need to deal with."

"Would she do that?"

"Hopefully, no. Never ask her all the things she had to do to be pleasing to her owner. Some of it would make you ill. The rapes were bad enough, but they may not have been the worst things to happen to her."

"I want to kill the bastards who did this to her."

"Join the club."

******

At supper, Master was feeding Belle, who was squirming frequently on his lap. She had on a long sleeved shirt and skirt for the weather, but Master's hand was up her skirt any time it wasn't engaged in using a fork. For the first time, Björn was feeding Yasmine. She was similarly dressed and also climaxed as Björn played with her. He frequently cuddled with her and kissed her. Lynn was feeding Sherry. Pierre was helping to serve, so Fatima wasn't feeding him. The freed slaves were unused to temperatures this low and had on more clothing than the rest of us.

During supper, my sister slaves asked Master if they could have unlimited orgasms with each other and me.

"Except for Francesca and Belle, who live together and will see each other after they return to the States. The rest of you won't see each other on a regular basis, so they're unlimited. Francesca and Belle can have as many as they want with Beth and Miranda, but not each other. This is preparatory to saying goodbye to each other, so since they're not, they can't with each other."

"That's fair," they agreed.

"Captain, who's taking us into Oslo tomorrow morning," Master asked.

"Fatima, Joshua. Right now, we're in the Skagerrak, between Denmark and Norway. We'll be reaching the mouth of the Oslo Fjord around 0300 which is when Fatima will command the vessel with my overwatch. At that time, we'll be roughly forty miles from Oslo through the fjord. We'll have to slow to five knots to navigate through the narrow waters and boat traffic in and out of Oslo. Fatima will be docking us around 1030 tomorrow morning. We'll be heading to bed after dinner. Thomas will be in charge until we reach the fjord."

"What can you tell us about Oslo, Captain," I asked.

"It lies at around 60 degrees North Latitude, about the same as the southernmost tip of Greenland. That means it's only 7 degrees South of the Arctic circle. This time of year, it means sunshine is in short supply, eight to nine hours of sunlight. The temperatures are milder than they are at similar latitudes of the United States because the Gulf Stream moderates temperatures in Europe and the Labrador Current lowers temps along the East Coast of the US.

"Oslo is the capital of Norway and its largest city. It's not tremendously large as European capitals go, roughly 700,000 in the city proper, a little over a million if you include the surrounding metro area. Temperatures will be 50-60 degrees during the day, high thirties, low forties at night. Before we leave Norway, we'll head north of the Arctic Circle and have reduced sunlight, a few hours with the sun low in the southern sky only, before it gives way to night all day in December. We will have some outstanding views of the Aurora Borealis.

"It's a lovely city, with many nice museums and shops and restaurants for you to enjoy. The bakeries are excellent and offer treats you can't find except in Scandinavian countries."

"Will we be able to leave the ship, Master?" Miranda asked.

"Yes, but you'll go in a group and eight men will go with you. I need you to stick together and not go wandering off. Do whatever the person in charge tells you to do."

"The bridesmaids need to try on their dresses immediately," Lynn said, "in case minor alterations need to be made. We should do that the day after tomorrow, first thing in the morning."

"Who are your bridesmaids?" Darla asked, serving tonight.

"Beth is Maid of Honor, Sherry and my daughter, Alexandra. Joshua is walking me down the aisle. Björn's brother, Sven, is best man, a good friend from the Norwegian Navy, Peter, is one of the groomsmen, and his nephew, Carl, son of his sister, Herdis, is the other. He's around Alexandra's age."

"I'd like to do some more shopping. I wasn't able to get everything I wanted in London," I said. "After trying on our dresses might be a good time to do more shopping. I'm thinking some more cold weather clothes, some wedding gifts. Lynn, when is your family flying in and have you told them you have a couple of slaves yet?"

"1623 tomorrow afternoon and no I haven't told them. I wanted to tell them in person so they can see how happy I am."

"What is your son's name, Lynn?" Francesca asked.

"My son, Richard, is married, and turning twenty-three in December. His wife's name is Marnie. Alexandra, younger, is twenty. She's called Alexa for short. She's still in college. Richard graduated in May, which is when he and Marnie got married, just before I came on this cruise."

"Does she have a boyfriend?" Ethan asked.

"Or girlfriend?" Darla asked, serving tonight.

"I don't know. She hasn't really discussed her romances with me since high school. She did date boys then."

"Where are they going to be staying?" Belle asked.

"The Thief Hotel," Hannah said. "It's fairly close to where we'll be berthed, but we're thinking we'll pick them up by tender and bring them to the ship. We may not put a gangway out at all. All travel may be by boat, to keep the ship locked down. It allows us to pick and choose where we go ashore. We're speaking to the government now about having a police presence on the end of Rådhusbrygga 2, the pier we'll be docked at. Unlike pier 3, which has yacht charter and city tours, there is nothing which requires public access on two. The police should be able to limit access with a barricade."

"When is Delphine due to arrive, Mistress Hannah?" I asked. I thought it would be enjoyable seeing her again.

"The day before the wedding," Hannah said. "She arrives at 1154 on Air France. She'll be staying in my cabin with Angelique and me."

"Will the wedding be held on the ship?" Belle asked.

"No," Björn said. "I have too many friends and family coming to hold it on the ship. It will be held at Uranienborg Kirke near the Royal Palace. It is quite the big church. Herdis, has been making the preparations."

"I have an announcement to make," Miranda said, "though it's earlier than these things are supposed to be reported. My period was supposed to start two days ago. I gave it a day to ensure I just wasn't late, then had a pregnancy test done today. Master and I are going to have a baby together."

Master's jaw dropped, then he got the sappiest look on his face. "You're sure?"

"I ran the test twice, Master Joshua," Manuel said. "There's a three to four percent chance of a false positive on a single test, but it's only infinitesimal if you run two. I think it's safe to say she's knocked up."

"Miranda," I exclaimed, "I'm so happy for you. This is wonderful news."

"You only think it's wonderful because I'm going to get fat and ugly and Master will fuck you more frequently," she laughed, which made the freed slaves realize she wasn't really upset.

"No, but it is a perk," I said, laughing with her.

"Can you be sure the child is Joshua's?" Fatima asked.

"Reasonably certain," Miranda replied. "Anyone else I had sex with vaginally wore condoms after I stopped birth control. I suppose condoms aren't 100% effective, but mostly, I had other types of sex with anyone else."

"What would you do if the child is anyone else's, Joshua?" Fatima asked.

"Raise it as my own," Joshua said. "It was my choice to let her be used by others. I'll accept the consequences."

The freed slaves looked at each other. It was odd for Muslim women to hear anyone talk like this. On the other hand, two of them knew they were carrying babies who men other than their husbands had planted in their bellies. Their children would be half-siblings. That sounded like something we should discuss in one of our next groups. Neither of them had cared for their owner, despising him. Nevertheless, their children would be related. Perhaps I should bring Henry and James into the discussion too.

Fatima said, "I want to ask Edgar to go out with me, Joshua. Is there any chance we can have some privacy off the ship or are we doomed to have bodyguards hanging around?"

"If you went somewhere like the National Theater, I could arrange for several bodyguards to take you there, drop you off, then come pick you up when you're finished," Master said. "Some place like that with their own security should be fine."

"I have a suggestion," I said. "You could have Pierre prepare a nice meal for you and serve it to you in the stern room which could be put off limits to others for you both. It could be like a restaurant experience. Perhaps the other married couples could do the same at various times, since they didn't have any opportunity to date and have normal dating experiences either. Perhaps two or three couples at widely separated tables at a time, at least until we don't have to remain on a higher security footing. I'm sure Master and Miranda would enjoy a date night as well, something to celebrate the upcoming rug rat."

Master laughed. "Edgar, what do you think of the idea of having a nice dinner aboard, and attending the National Theater on your date with Miranda and me?" Master asked. "Perhaps Lynn and Björn could join us, a couple nights from now?"

"Won't I be required to dress up for the Theater?"

"You'll need something nice for the wedding. Perhaps I'll get you a tux when the bridesmaids get their dresses fitted. I still feel I owe you something for saving my women in France. We'll get something nice for the ladies too. Fatima should have some nice clothes for going out. Let's make it a jaunt and buy everyone something nice."

"You would buy clothes for us?" Farah asked.

"Yes, of course. Maahnoor and Ateefah should have some maternity clothes as well. Might as well get that while we're here."

"Do we need to pay you back?" Farah asked.

"Not for this. I'll buy the wedding clothes. I'll pay for half of the maternity clothes since you weren't able to plan for a child and I'll take half out of James and Henry's pay. We might want to plan ahead for baby showers. It's about three, four months until they're both due, isn't it, Manuel?"

"Give or take a week either way," he answered.

"I suppose we could wait until we got to the Mediterranean to buy baby clothes. It will be warmer where we're going. Maybe Barcelona or Italy, but we should keep it in mind and the baby clothes purchased in warmer climes will be better for warmer climes."

"They're going to be born on this cruise," I said. "Are we going to send them to shore and a hospital when they're due? Will we send James and Henry with them? Are we going to open up a nursery on the ship or send them back to New York. They've got papers now except for Yasmine."

"Hannah and I were discussing that very matter earlier. We were thinking of converting one of the smaller cabins to a nursery. Maahnoor and Ateefah and anyone else who wanted to help with the babies could take turns sleeping with them so the mothers don't suffer too much from lack of sleep. Since Delphine will be staying with Hannah, and Yasmine will be staying in the Captain's cabin, it should be doable. Of course, if we pick up more slaves, those plans might go out the window."

"Are we going to be able to go armed around Oslo?" Edgar asked.

"We were told we could, but are waiting for final confirmation," Master said. "We might not know until we dock tomorrow."

"I'd have to say the news today has been momentous," I said. "I'm excited for all the changes coming."

"Definitely lots of changes," Hannah said. "We've never had a cruise like this one before."

That night, I gave Miranda three of the very best orgasms I could in honor of her child. I made her scream for the first time since she first came aboard. Master fucked her right after I was finished, giving her two more. I felt so good. I couldn't imagine being happier than I was now.