Slave Unbound Ch. 31

"You're still a better owner than the Baroness Wilholme." Leita said, shrugging a little, a slight grin cracking on her lips. "And a much better lay than her husband."

There was a brief, pregnant moment of silence before Sabrina began howling with laughter, Leita joining in after a moment. After several minutes, Leita leaned down and kissed her. Within moments, the two of them were wrapped about one another, passionately engaging one another in a fit of carnal release. It lasted only a short time, but left both of them spent emotionally.

For a time, they just lay with one another, recovering from the ups and downs of the last hour. Finally, Sabrina exhaled a deep breath. "Do you really believe you can kill that savage? It has already killed two other gladiators."

"Gladiators like Genmar?" Leita asked. "Untalented fighters being pruned out of Houses that aren't able to profit from them?"

Sabrina gave her a long look. "Yes. I'm pretty sure so." She said after a moment. "But don't take that to mean the beast isn't more than capable of tearing apart even a well skilled warrior."

"I only ever saw it pitted against Cookie, which didn't show much of how it actually fought." Leita said, thoughtfully considering what she remembered from that day. She'd spent most of the time not wanting to see, looking away from the travesties of the tableau. "I will kill it though. I give you my oath, Mistress."

"And then what do I do?" Sabrina asked. "About you? Even Cookie never had so much power over me the way you do. You are my slave. I was already being foolish carelessly leaving myself defenseless with you. Letting myself think of you as--"

Leita put a finger to her lips. "I am a slave and you are whose collar I wear. I will obey you, whether I agree with your morality or choices, Mistress. Because you own me."

"But you don't love me, do you?"

"No, Mistress." Leita said softly. "And I don't think you do me either. You're just lonely."

Sabrina gave a bitter laugh. "You are not wrong. It doesn't change the fact that you make me feel not so. Whether I want you to or not, you've become important to me. I've come to see you as a dear friend, not my property."

"I am able to be both, Sabrina." Leita said to her. "Unlike with Cookie, neither of those would be an act." She caressed the side of her Mistress's face. "I've honestly missed you this week."

Sabrina seemed momentarily touched to hear those words, but consciously pushed the feeling away with a deep exhale. "The fact remains; I can't afford to be this weak."

"And you weren't weak until you let Donovan Solivier get into your head, Mistress." Leita replied. "If he wants to see you push me, then do so. And gloat at him with every victory I claim for you. Pit me against his warriors. Against Venge's. Let me put their champions on their knees and make them fear you."

Sabrina looked at her, unsure. "How can you be so subservient and obedient, but somehow so strong and defiant at the same time?" She asked, her tone marveling.

"I know what I am, Mistress." Leita replied, chuckling at herself. "I used to think it was 'slave', but now I realize that what I really am is a gladiator. I would fight for this house, and you, even if you gave me freedom. I serve you faithfully because you made me a warrior of House Firebridge."

"I don't intend to free you." Sabrina said. "For all her claims, I never actually freed Cookie either. She died still my property. And so will you."

"I accept that, Mistress." Leita said. "And until I die on the sand, I will bring your house glory."

Sabrina spent several moments just staring into Leita's face, storms raging in her eyes. For a moment, she seemed on the verge of saying something important. And then it passed, the HouseMistress stiffly rising from the bed and stretching languidly, a defeated smile her face. "Go fetch one of the House couriers and my Recorder. I'll need to register the substitution for tomorrow before sundown. You still have to be approved by the Prime as an executioner."

Leita stared at her in surprise. "Me? Myself? Not one of the guards?"

"My dear Leita, if I can trust you enough to allow you to be alone with me, then why wouldn't I assume it would be safe to allow you to roam free through the estate?" She rolled her eyes. "At this point, I think it would easier on me if you did just run away. You'd take all these damned conflicting thoughts with you."

"As my Mistress commands." Leita said with a grin, sliding from the bed and padding over to the door.

"Um, Leita?" Sabrina coughed. "You're welcome to get dressed first, you know."

Leita looked down at her naked body, realizing for the first time just how comfortable she'd really gotten with it. "It's not like every soul in this estate hasn't already seen me naked, Sabrina." She chuckled. "Thanks to Cookie." She still moved over to grab up her tunic.

"Wait." Sabrina said, considering something for a moment, a grin spreading on her face.

And thus Leita found herself, a few minutes later, jogging through the main house, unattended and wearing a delicate golden silk dress. She felt relief at having managed to save Genmar from the clutches of death. However, she had a feeling that something very fundamental had changed in the last hour. While the obvious parts were clear, she and Sabrina's relationship to one another was becoming very different, she felt certain there were other parts that she couldn't see. Secrets that she knew her Mistress was keeping close.

For now, her focus on preparing for tomorrow and maybe getting some form of justice for the horrors that Cookie faced in her last moments. While she didn't feel she really owned the horrible woman anything, accepted that she had never really had any actual power to change Cookie's fate, no one should die in such indignity. Not even someone like Cookie.

The oruhk didn't actually scare her. It would be a hard battle, but she knew now that she was not the weak girl who'd been sent to die months ago. She could fight. She could kill. She wasn't afraid of either of those things. All that was left to be afraid of was what would happen when she realized just how strong she really could be. A fear she felt certain she shared with Sabrina.

*****************

Clad now in a dressing gown, a fresh glass of whisky in hand, Sabrina Marlowe dropped into her sofa and sighed. She was an utter fool. There was no other way to call it. Foolish for letting herself grow so attached to a slave she owned. Foolish for letting someone like Solivier whisper little words into her ear that ate away at her mind.

The fear she'd felt watching Leita walk out onto the floor of the pit, wearing nothing but a damned chemise, against a trained killer from Solivier's house had been suffocating. Only in that moment had it really struck her that the fear was not about losing a good fighter, but that she might lose someone who'd taken away a feeling of isolation she hadn't realized she'd felt.

In that moment, everything Donovan had said to her had taken on so much more meaning. Probably even more than he knew. She had been holding Leita back, away from truly dangerous opponents. She'd been sheltering her because she'd stopped seeing the girl as just another slave she owned.

The last time she'd allowed that happen had been with Cookie. Originally bought on a whim, the pleasure slave had managed to weave a spell over her with her charm and wit. Sabrina had let herself develop feelings for Cookie, foolishly let herself believe that the woman genuinely felt love for her Mistress. Or was even capable of real love at all. Sabrina eventually allowed her effective freedom, letting her act as a kind of 'second in command' of the House.

Before long, however, Sabrina began to realize that Cookie was nothing but a very well-trained whore, skilled at making people want her and love her enough to spend more money to rent her from the Municipal Brothels. That skill of charisma had been channeled into manipulating Sabrina into giving her power and authority. Both of which quickly eroded away all the glamor and masquerade of who she pretended to be.

As much as she had known, for a long time, that she needed to remove Cookie from her House, the whore had continued to have some measure of a hold on her, despite how much she'd come to see it as mere act. The betrayal had managed to finally free her of that hold and Sabrina had ensured that Cookie would never again regain it.

When Leita had boldly seduced her, showing real desire to pleasure her, that empty spot Cookie had left welcomed the girl in hungrily. At first, Sabrina had fooled herself into believing that she was simply enjoying the benefits of a willing slave. However, it had evolved into something else. Something needful and vulnerable.

Sabrina despised weakness in herself. And yet, Leita made her weak. She recognized it as just missing the woman that Cookie had pretended to be, a woman she had honestly loved. However, it wasn't only that, not anymore. Leita had gotten past defenses even Cookie never had. Perhaps it was her guileless nature or the fact that she seemed so damnably devoted, despite being obviously aware that Sabrina was...well, Sabrina Marlowe.

Even efforts to distance herself, banning Leita from her bed, finally making real use of her actual concubine, had done nothing to reduce her addiction to the girl. Even trying to just reduce her to simply another toy to play with had failed, the sight of Leita with Sasiniel had filled her with unexpected jealousy. She'd originally forbade Leita from laying with anyone else simply as a way to show her dominance over her slave.

Now, it was honestly because she wanted Leita all to herself.

So now, here she was, giving in to that weakness, giving Leita actual power to influence her and considering allowing her the kinds of liberties she'd given Cookie. Repeating her mistakes, all over again. As much as she felt sure that Leita lacked the same skills of manipulation and masquerade as Cookie, she didn't even appear to need them.

The only way she could ever be rid of that influence would have to be Leita dying. And what better beast to feed her to than the monster who'd eaten her previous love. She took a long draw from her bourbon, wincing at the effort of swallowing both it and the fact that she was sending Leita to die tomorrow. When she told Leita that the gladiators it had killed the last two weeks had been just throw away rejects meant to bump up the pot, she'd lied.

The creature had killed two high ranked and highly skilled fighters, fulling meaning to put the thing down. Neither had lasted more than a couple minutes before being torn to pieces. The oruhk was condemned to the executions because it killed three of the arena guards during its time as lot. One of which it had slain right there on the arena floor in front of everyone.

Leita was good, her fight with Trinka proved that, but the chances of her besting something that brutal and powerful was unlikely. And the thing had proven that it didn't leave anyone that crossed it alive. So, let it finally sever the ties that she couldn't. She would, of course, not be able to watch it play out, both because it would hurt her to see it and because she might well become so overwhelmed with regret that she stopped had Leita pulled out before it could happen.

However, should Leita still be alive when next the moon rose over House Firebridge, Sabrina would need to make some fresh decisions and hard choices. Either she'd need to up the ante on the sands or give in to her weakness. Draining off her glass, she wasn't sure which way she'd fall on that. With some luck, the oruhk would make the choice for her.