Slave Unbound Ch. 25

The House of Marlowe

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Disclaimer: This story is not meant as 'erotica', but dark adventure-fantasy. It may contain material that sensitive readers might find uncomfortable. Please be advised.

The crowded streets of Solace, full of dirty people drudging about dirty lives, passed drearily by the House Firebridge personal carriage as it wound its way along through the lower merchant district towards the high streets. Inside, HouseMistress Sabrina Marlowe watched the scene of poverty through the curtained window, regarding the multitudes of unwashed peasants crowding up to carts and stalls, hoping to find fair deals. Others, even less fortunate than these impoverished masses, milled among them shaking cups and begging for alms of mercy, hoping for at least enough ferring to add up to a meal.

There was a familiarity to it all, her earliest memories being of the rank stench of these streets and their denizens, the hungry din of their pleading voices. She'd never been one of them, but she had grown up on these streets, among these wretched people.

It seemed so long ago now, another life, but as the daughter of a prosperous merchant, she'd spent her youth watching people scrabbling at the wares sold on her family's myriad stalls and in their shops. Though her father had begun poor, she'd been born into comfort, which had grown into full wealth by the time she was first flowering into a woman. She could still remember the hours she'd spent, at her father's insistence, working in the finer shops of his holdings, talking up trinkets and coaxing people to give over their last coins to own something they didn't really need.

All his children had spent time in one shop or another, the oldest of them having manned stalls before the first of his shops had been bought. While he'd not needed them to ever work a day in their lives, the intent was for them to gain a bit of perspective and understanding of how to do business, as well as learn a bit of gratitude for their own wealth. While most of her siblings had despised their turns, finding it all too sordid and common, Sabrina had thoroughly enjoyed playing peddler.

The challenge of convincing people to purchase something utterly useless, when their money would have been better spent elsewhere, had been interesting. Of course, it had not hurt that she'd been blessed with beauty from birth, learning quickly that a little bit of sauce made every goose more appetizing. What deviances she developed were overlooked by the effectiveness of her ability to garner gold. Her father had plenty of other children that he could use as bargaining pieces to strengthen his business empire through calculated marriages.

As his youngest, the last of twelve children, Sabrina was free to be as much of a black sheep, in terms of virtue, as she wanted. Her talent was making money and manipulating people into giving it. Perhaps, it was for that reason that he'd chosen to leave control of the family empire to her, when he'd died. Though Sabrina knew that her likeness to her deceased mother had at least a little to do with it too, as had her willingness to use that to her advantage to manipulate her father.

Such a scandal it had been when his youngest child, a daughter-child to boot, inherited all control of the family business. Delicious had been the looks of outrage and scorn on the faces of her older siblings. Most knew well what unmentionable things she'd done behind closed doors to cement his favor, but had no power to undo any of it. All the more delicious had been their faces when they'd learned that she'd drained dry all the family coffers within the first year and purposefully leveraged the empire into insurmountable debt.

However, that was learned only after she'd 'reluctantly' bent, at long last, to their constant demands that she sold her ownership of the business to them. She used all the money they paid her for a derelict empire to create her arena stable and establish herself as the only female House owner in the Grand Arena. She named it House Firebridge as an inside joke to the bridges she'd burned to acquire it.

During her time playing salesgirl in her father's shop, she learned that what the people of Solace were most willing to spend their money on was the Arena. It was a place where they could forget their own woes, revel in the spectacle of blood and death, and maybe manage to win a little extra money in the betting windows. It was where real power and real wealth was found.

And so, she'd set out to make herself a part of that world. Carefully and carnally weaving her plans one step after the other. First had been to convince her father to hedge out the rest of the family and entrust the family legacy to the one child who seemed to love being a merchant, not just a spoiled brat. Second had been to arrange for an early inheritance. And then, third, to secretly funnel the family fortune into illegal research.

The result of that research into alchemical transformations and enhancements had been Kalder. The fusion of elemental forces into a human form, altering him into a creature that would excel at combat. Of course, Kalder had been the only success out of dozens of attempts, as well as the only one who'd survived. She'd only really needed the one, however, so upon his creation, she enacted her fourth step.

She had the illegal operation uncovered and the research destroyed. She acquired Kalder, convincing him that she'd 'rescued' him from his tormentors, and turned him into a star of the arena. For that, he'd become a slave of unsurpassed loyalty. And his stone-like appearance had inspired her to create a kind of gimmick for her House, her experience as a merchant having taught her that such things were quite effective for gaining recognition.

With the fortunate find of the aljin, Colja, while building her initial stable, she crafted her idea of having a 'Four Elements' to lead her stable. It had taken her almost a full year to find someone who seemed to epitomize 'water' and was capable of being a champion. A beautiful woman who, unexpectedly, was killed during her second time on the sand.

While Kalder and Colja managed to remain survivors, as well as develop very impressive win records, the other two places in her foursome had proven much more difficult to keep filled. It wasn't until Myrinus that she finally found a lasting 'water' and Sasiniel, purchased only a little over a year ago, that she'd found a suitable 'air'. However, by that point, the novelty of the idea, which initially succeeded in earning her House considerable attention, had mostly disappeared and become more of a kind of hierarchy within her stable than an attraction for the House.

She'd been considering for some months to just let go of the long-suffering concept, novelty having a short shelf-life among the masses. As it was, Sasinel only fit the ideal in abstract and Myrinus, though a very capable warrior, lacked the real overall versatility that others had. Leita, for instance.

At the thought of the blonde gladiator, Sabrina sank back a bit into the upholstery of the carriage, a warmth floating up through her. The young woman excited her, she couldn't deny it anymore. Excited her both as a growing champion and popular attraction of her House and as a pleasing toy in her bed. While she'd not thought much of the girl when she'd first seen her, now she found herself lusting for her, at times.

As much as she hated to admit it, she had let the girl get under her skin a little. There was nothing there as absurd as actual romantic desire, but there was no question that she had developed a strong favor to Leita. And so, she'd come to a decision.

While Kalder and Colja was still fonts of unyielding ability, their talents at teaching others to fight were proving almost better than their skills in the arena. However, Myrinus and Sasiniel, though very talented gladiators, lacked real skill as mentors. The sidil was too stand-offish and aloof to be well liked and the mariner lacked any real leadership ability at all.

While both were considered very highly rated gladiators, bringing in good money for the House, Sabrina had decided it was time to remove both from their positions. In the case of the beautiful, pale, sidil, Sasiniel she intended to make into her new concubine. While she was not exceptional as a lover, her exotic beauty and grace made for an excellent jewel to keep at her side for social functions. While she chaffed at being forced into a collar, her strange sense of discipline (or dogma) seemed to obligate her to conduct herself servilely.

In truth, given that sidil were rare as slaves, yet always in high demand, having Sasinel in a role likely to see her maimed and scarred had never seemed like the wisest choice. Better to have her where her considerable talent for dance could help lubricate negotiations or be used as an enticing draw for useful guests. All the better that she was able to defend herself and her owner, should the need arise.

Myrinus, however, had no other use than as a combatant. However, 'demoting' him seemed like a bad move, given his popularity within the stable. While he was a poor leader and teacher, he had excellent charisma in general, and seeming to fickly punish him for no reason could harm the loyalty of her stable. For that reason, she'd decided that it would be easier to just sacrifice him on the altar of profit.

She'd arranged for the guardsman she'd managed to get into her pocket to slip a blade into his side before he stepped into the arena. She'd secretly wagered a hefty sum against him through a proxy, while making a much smaller wager in his favor publically, so to avoid the Arena from suspecting her of tampering. Being that he was favored to easily win, ensuring his defeat would secure her a tidy net return. Only, he'd surprisingly turned out to be far more durable than she'd expected. While he had lost, earning her the return on the wager, he hadn't died, which had been the intention.

When Cornelius and Cookie wound up playing their little gambit, however, placing the blame on her concubine seemed the best recourse. It added fuel to the fire she could use to burn the traitorous whore and deflected any possible suspicions immediately. Luckily, the guardsman had no idea who he actually was acting on the behalf of, so there was no reason not to let him also burn as Cookie's accomplice.

It had also, unexpectedly, managed to motivate Leita to become a willing and eager playmate in bed. Likely, to spite the woman who'd appeared to have not only have tried to kill her, but kill the man Leita had used to thwart her previous attempts at harassment. It had all worked out so beautifully. So well, in fact, that Sabrina had made yet another, very expensive, decision.

She felt the carriage come to a halt, finally, in the high street district of the city, where she had an appointment to see an old 'friend'. Unlike the lower merchant quarter, this area was populated mostly by those of wealth, power, and terribly spoiled personalities. While this was the class of society she was more used to, Sabrina had always found such people to tedious and boring. The Baroness Wilholme, whom she was here to see, was one of the worst.

As a footman helped her down from the carriage, she spoke to him. "There is a large coffer in the carriage trunk, darling. Please bring it to me in about half an hour." She heaved a sigh at the idea of that chests contents, feeling a stab of pain in her soul. Silently, she asked herself if she was certain that this was worth it.

However, without actually answering that question, she pushed it aside. Whether wise or foolish, this was what she intended to do. Baroness Wilholme would just have to accept it.

Crossing to the door of the upscale eatery, a pair of bodyguards flanking her, despite the relative safety of this area, she was shown in by a greeter. Without needing to ask, the greeter began leading her to where the Baroness had been seated, which turned out to be a table out on the terrace, overlooking a grand swath of garden.

"Sabrina, dear, always good to see you." The noblewoman gushed in a plastic tone that failed to sound sincere, even if actually was. "I do hope you are well."

"Quite, Farrah. And, it is always a pleasure to see you as well." Sabrina responded in her own polite voice, which did sound sincere, even though it actually wasn't.

As she was seated, her guards moved back and off to one side, near at hand, but out of the way. A similar pair of guards, as well as a couple of personal slaves, graced Farrah's side of the table. Despite that neither of them needed any such attendants here, nobles in Solace typically used their entourages as a kind of status symbol. That Farrah had only brought four to this little tea spoke that she was trying to suggest that it was of the utmost casualness.

"I am told that they have received a rare shipment of Miskenbaal White tea here." Farrah said pleasantly, a dainty smile as plastic as her voice, on her lips. "I took the liberty of ordering us a pot. I've heard that it is quite the delicacy in Creekshire. I am certain you will find it agreeable."

"My thanks, my Lady." Sabrina responded diplomatically. Sabrina had actually had it before and, not only was it a rather miserable tea, it wasn't at all considered a delicacy in any country. However, if she knew the Baroness, she would stand by her belief that it was some kind of special treat, even if it made her sick to drink.

The Baroness began nattering about a bit of local gossip, something about a Lord who'd offended another Lord in some absurd way. Sabrina, however, took the moment to steel herself. She'd brought three hundred crescents to give the Baroness, repaying the money she'd received to purchase Leita and destroy her. She intended to keep Leita, eventually build her into one of the stars of her House, if not the House Champion.

She was done with schemes to tear the girl down. Nothing had really worked anyway, only pushed her to grow stronger and better. It also didn't hurt that Sabrina growing fondness for the blonde gladiator was making it harder and harder to enact such plans. In the end, she felt certain that Leita would eventually earn back every ounce of the gold she was returning, and then some.

That didn't make it any easier to have to return a literal fortune in gold coins. Three hundred crescent would be life changing for any of the people she'd passed in the lower quarter and, unlike the Baroness, Sabrina wasn't so spoiled by her own wealth to have lost sight of that. While its loss wouldn't be considerably damaging for her, it was still hard to see it leave her ledgers.

"Oh, yes! I almost forgot." Farrah said, her shift in tone catching Sabrina's attention away from her sulking thoughts. "I want to thank you for finally taking care of things with that horrible girl. Her demise was worth every bit of what I paid."

For a moment, Sabrina just looked at her with concealed confusion. "I'm...glad you approved." She said, putting a smile on her face to cover the fact that she was still not sure what the noblewoman was talking about. "It was a pleasure to help."

Farrah chortled lightly. "Well, it was a pleasure to see her getting her come-uppance from that ugly beastman in the arena. Hopefully, that will be a lesson for my errant husband."

The effort not show the sudden revelation and surprise from reaching her face stole Sabrina's ability to reply verbally, but she managed to tilt her head and give a 'there you are' gesture. The stupid woman had obviously mistaken Cookie for Leita. Of course, it wasn't a surprise that she must only remember her former slave as a timid, blonde female. Sabrina didn't think the Baroness had ever actually even known her name to begin with, could not remember her ever referring to Leita by name even once in all the times they'd spoken about her.

Nor was Farrah capable of paying enough attention to anyone other than herself to actually recall that 'Cookie' was the name of Sabrina's concubine. Well, ex-concubine now.

"So glad that I entrusted this to another woman." Farrah went on, oblivious to any signs or clues that her 'friend' was still trying to recompose herself from what she was saying. "I should have known a letch like Venge wouldn't be up for destroying a girl he found pretty. Such a hound."

Sabrina's managed to make her scoffing laugh seem as though she were agreeing with the Baroness, but was actually aimed at the fact that she knew that Farrah had been gagging for a chance to catch the charismatic Houseowner's eye for ages. Of course, Farrah's capacity for hypocrisy knew about as much bounds as her ability for self-absorption.

As the Baroness shifted to some new rant about male nobles in general, Sabrina's attention turned back inwards, digesting this little change of fortune. If she believed that Cookie was the slave she'd put her pointless ire on, believed now that she'd been dealt with in a manner she approved, then this solved everything. Sabrina could not only keep the money, but could keep Leita as well without worry of the Baroness continuing to interfere.

All it had cost her was Cookie, her companion of almost ten years, who had betrayed her. While she'd never loved Cookie, there had been a time when she was exceedingly fond of the woman. She would be lying if she claimed there wasn't some small grain of sadness in her loss. However, since granting her an unofficial freedom and a measure of power within the House, Cookie had quickly changed into something foul and venomous. At first, it had proven a bit useful, but eventually became more tedious than anything. Honestly, the Cookie that she would miss had been gone for a very long time.

She begun to realize that Cookie had aims and expectations to take over House Firebridge someday. It was a foolish belief born out of her growing confidence that she was ever something more than just an unleashed whore, but was very likely to eventually turn into an idea that eliminating Sabrina might be to her profit. She'd been watching for any sign of Cookie's loyalty wavering and Cornelius had provided that.

Despite the betrayal being, ultimately, minor and not aimed at Sabrina herself, it was more than enough to motivate her to snip the poisonous flower before it could flourish and infect more of the House. Ever since, it had seemed as though she'd been tripping into good fortune over and over. This instance being only the latest lucky turn.

"Ah, here is the tea!" Farrah spouted happily, sitting up more properly as the attendant came over with a steaming porcelain pot. "Barton, prepare my cup." She gave an absent gesture to one of the slaves with her, an older and distinguished slave with beautifully dark skin and deep eyes.

"Yes, Mistress." He intoned obediently, stepping close and going straight to his work.

Sabrina peered at the slave a moment, recognizing the name, somewhat unexpectedly. Leita had spoken of him as the man who had taken her partly under his wing when she was still a very young child. As she understood it, he'd also been the one to prepare her for what would begin happening to her as it became apparent that she was growing into a somewhat attractive young woman.

While it would be absolutely scandalous for her to try and speak to him at the moment, she would love a chance to ask the man about Leita. Even if it wouldn't have been a breach of etiquette, with the Baroness unaware that her previous slave was still quite well and alive, Leita was a subject best left away from her ears going forward. She decided that she would simply let her loyal gladiator know that she'd seen him and he looked well.