The Kingdom Ch. 03

"Is she okay?" I asked. "Wait-" I stammered, holding the phone away from me. "Did I do that? I pressed this button- did I do something?"

Eric took the phone from me and looked at the screen. "Yeah," Eric chuckled. "You activated the vibrate function on her dildo. She doesn't seem to be enjoying it very much, though, does she?"

"I didn't know that's what the button did!" I said frantically. "How do you make it stop?"

"Don't worry, it'll stop after 30 seconds," he explained casually. "Hell, you're a lot nicer than I am. I've clicked 'pain' three times now."

I glanced over at June to see her demeanor. "What does pain do?" I asked nervously.

"Just gives her butt-plug some pecks of electricity at random intensities for 30 seconds. I saw her jump a few times but it didn't really seem to effect her much beyond that."

"So, anyone can just do this to anyone?" I asked, still in shock. "I mean, you can just look up anyone's profile and click on these buttons?"

"Only if they've already been captured."

"So, nobody can see my profile?" I asked.

"I'm pretty sure they can't," he replied. "Hold on- let me check. What's your name?"

"Jodie," I answered.

"Jodie, I'm Eric," he replied with a smile. "Sorry about meeting the way we did. You know- with me pulling a Negan and making you kneel down in the woods. What can I say, I'm a big Walking Dead fan."

Not eager to give him a pass, I ignored him. Brandy's vibrating dildo must have stopped vibrating because her tantrum had ceased. But she still wore a pouty face and appeared to be breathing heavily.

"No," he said after a long pause. "I'm not seeing your profile. So, it must be hidden, seeing as you were never captured."

All of this seemed way too advanced. It was hard to believe that minds were perverted enough to dream this up, let alone execute it. I looked back out the rear window at our slaves. The subway tunnel was well lit with fluorescent lighting, so there was clear visibility of the women. The subway car was now traveling at what felt like over 50 mph, causing the women's hair to flow and flutter behind them.

"Whaaaat?" Eric suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere, his eyebrows raised in glee as he stared at his phone. "No way!"

"What?" I asked.

"I've got three trade offers already!" Eric looked up at me, wide-eyed like a like a kid on Christmas morning.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means my slave is a bombshell and everyone wants her!" He continued grinning stupidly at his phone. "Once a hunter registers a capture, they can enter the marketplace. It's basically an online database of all captured slaves. Hunters can trade slaves with other hunters and venders. They can even buy additional slaves if they have the money." He looked down at his phone and began furiously typing. "Sorry fellas, you'll have to trade elsewhere."

"Are we allowed to set slaves free?" I asked.

"Uh- I actually don't think so," Eric replied, crinkling his brow in contemplation. "I mean, I suppose there's nothing to stop a hunter from treating their slave like she's free. But I think I remember reading that once a slave is registered, she has to remain under someone's custody for the rest of her stay."

"So... if I decided to leave, what would happen to her?" I asked, nodding toward Brandy.

"I think," Eric replied contemplatively, "-if a hunter leaves early, their slave goes up for auction. And if a slave were to somehow escape or... if a former slave like yourself decides to leave, you'd forfeit your paycheck. It's why they don't pay you until check out on the final day."

"And how do we get paid?" I asked.

"Damn, you really didn't pay close attention to your contract, did you?" he asked, chuckling. "Lucky for you, I'm a finance guy. So I read this part backwards and forwards. When you leave at the end of your three months, you'll sit down with one of the accountants and they'll set up an off-shore account for you. That way, the funds are untraceable. Also non-taxable. Just don't make the mistake of withdrawing all of it at once. The government'll be all over your ass."

"And does it have to be under my name?" I asked. "Or... can I list the account under someone else?"

Eric looked puzzled. "You planning on giving your million dollars to someone else?"

"I-" I stammered, not quite knowing how to answer. Should I tell Eric the truth? Could I trust him with the fact that I'm not Jodie McConnell? That I found my way to this moment because I'd made the impulse decision to pretend to be Jodie for the purpose of trying to uncover what the Renaissance Faire was being used for during it's off-season? No. I needed to keep him in the dark.

"Well... my sister has a lot of money," I began, coming up with a story on the fly. "Me, not so much... I thought it might raise less suspicion to use her as an intermediary."

"Hmm... I guess that makes sense," Eric replied softly, seemingly still a bit skeptical.

Eager to move on, I continued, "So, what you're saying is- I'm stuck here for three months?"

"Only if you wanna keep your money." Eric replied with a half smile. "To be honest, I can think of worse ways of becoming a millionaire."

I stood in silence, contemplating my options. I really could use the money. Truth be told, I missed having money... And if I were being honest, I'd always enjoyed practicing BDSM in my personal life. I was all too familiar with role-playing and tying up my partners for a fun evening. But this was a 3-month investment of my life! These girls may have been expecting all of this to happen, but I wasn't. I wouldn't know the first thing about being a 24/7 domme. There was no way I could pull this off. Could I?

I stared out the window in contemplation. I couldn't believe that I was actually considering this. What was purely unthinkable just 15 minutes earlier had suddenly become shockingly tempting... One million dollars! For 3 months of bossing someone around. And that person I'd be bossing around actually signed up for this gig with the expectation of being bossed around... I felt like I could rationalize that... Lord knows I'd be easier on Brandy than someone who purchased her on auction! I'd be doing her a favor! And who cares if I turned out to be a lame, inexperienced domme? It's not like I needed to impress Brandy. My mind danced between pros and cons for the next several minutes. Eric was silently tapping away at his phone, allowing me time to gather my thoughts.

"What if I don't know much about being a domme?" I asked Eric. "Or... anything about being a domme?"

Eric looked up, smiling. "Hey, you can't possible be less prepared than I was last year. I didn't have a clue what I was doing. But after you take advantage of some of the classes and seminars they offer, you'll be a pro in no time. You drop your slave off at day-care while you go to class and you learn. Seriously, everything's free, so it's in your best interest to learn all you can. But honestly, the main thing is confidence. If you act like you know what you're doing, that's all that really matters."

I stared out the window, considering his advice. After about a minute of silence, I suddenly remembered how tired my legs were. Why the hell was I standing? I walked back over to my seat and sat down.

"How much longer til we get there?" I asked.

"Uh, I'm not sure. I'd say about 15, 20 minutes," Eric replied.

I leaned back in my seat and rested my head against the window behind me.

"I'm gonna take a nap," I said.

"Do it," Eric said in agreement. "I've gotta reply to some of these trade offers."

I closed my eyes. Somehow, despite the odds, I'd managed to make an acquaintance in Eric. Though I felt somewhat guilty for engaging with him, he really had proven to be a wealth of information. And he'd certainly given me a lot to think about...

But thinking would have to wait. Because after only a few seconds with my eyes closed, I could already feel myself drifting off. I desperately needed a power nap. Just 15-20 minutes of rest could be just what I needed. I shifted in my seat and lied down across the seats next to me, curling into a fetal. A few seconds later, I was out.