The Shadow Doctor Ch. 03

"Perhaps I'll send Yelena for training in the future. I'm too attached to her right now to part with her."

"As long as she makes you happy, that's all that matters. Zhu should be here soon, we'll have him measure her for a sirik and get to work filing that collar off while I show you a few things you may be interested in for her. Zhu does tattoos, too, if you'd like. Pretty is going to be strapped on the table here tonight, getting her first slave ink. When you arrived, I was meeting with the factor for the man who just bought her. He wants 'slut slave' tattooed on her cheek, and 'cock hole' just above her pussy. What do you think about that, Pretty?"

Pretty's face paled at the news. "Master has found a buyer for Pretty?"

"Yes, the banker. You remember him; he paid to test you out last week."

Pretty's eyes widened. "Please, Master, do not sell Pretty to him. He hurt Pretty, he likes hurting girls."

Gao casually slapped her then gripped her hair and yanked it, tugging on the hook as he spoke. "I'm disappointed in you, Pretty. You're a slave, you don't get to choose who owns you. When you go to your new master with your fresh ink, you'll do it with a smile. You've been trained better than to complain, and you'll reflect the time and expense this house has put into training you. If he isn't happy with you, I promise you I will sell you to a Red House, even if I take a loss doing it. Do you believe me when I say that?"

Pretty was crying openly now as the hook jostled in her ass. "Yes Master. Please forgive Pretty. She was scared, but she will do better. Thank you for finding an owner for Pretty."

Yelena stared at this in horror. She opened her mouth, but shut it at a look from Tam. Gao straightened up as the door opened to reveal Grace and a thin man with a dour face.

"Welcome, Zhu, took you long enough. Go ahead and measure the doctor's slave. Grace, take Pretty back to her room and feed her, then strap some phalluses into all her holes and hog-tie her. I want her to be stuffed full of wooden cock while she waits for her slave ink, remind her that she exists to please her new owner."

Grace bowed and helped Pretty off the table, the hook making her whimper as she maneuvered herself to the floor. Pretty kissed Gao's feet, whispering apologies. Gao patted her on the head then waved her away. She crawled awkwardly out of the room at Grace's heels, tears still running down her cheeks.

Ignoring the house slaves, Zhu began to measure Yelena, holding the tape around various spots on her body and marking down measurements on a wax tablet. Yelena blushed anew at Zhu's clinical touch, distracted from the anger and horror she had felt at Pretty's treatment.

Gao refilled his glass of wine, and topped off Tam's. "Sorry about that little scene. I do my best to prepare the girls, but they still panic at the last moment sometimes. Still, it's been a good week. Pretty sold for a good price and I've taken two contracts to train girls for their owners. I bought three new girls, and hopefully one of them will serve as a new Pretty."

Gao chuckled, the genial uncle again. "And best of all, now I get to help introduce you to my world, my friend, even if it isn't with one of my girls. The only blight on my week is being unable to close a deal with the client I've been trying to land for weeks. He's a diplomat, looking for a nice piece of ass to take with him when he goes to treat with the desert warlords in the far West. Grace would actually be perfect for him, and he likes her, but he wants a girl who can speak Arabic, and I don't have a single one at the moment."

Tam's curiosity was piqued. "I have a thought, friend. Yelena, of the many languages you speak, is Arabic one of them?"

"Yes, I'm fluent in Arabic. Many of my family's business deals in Russia were with Arab smugglers." Yelena's eyes were clenched shut in embarrassment, as Zhu had produced a pair of calipers from somewhere and was measuring the curve of her breasts with them.

Gao raised his eyebrow. "I thought you said you didn't want to sell her?"

"I don't. However, if Grace is as intelligent as she seems, and there is enough time before your client leaves, Yelena could teach her Arabic."

"That might actually work; Grace learns very quickly, that was one of the reasons I chose her as the Grace model. I would be indebted to you, my friend."

"What are friends for? Talk to your diplomat, see if he's amenable to the idea, then let me know."

"I'm sure he will be; I'll speak to him tomorrow. If this works, I will be in your debt. Now, tell me, is there anything permanent you'd like done with your girl? Zhu can work on her after he files the collar off, while I show you some things you might like for her."

"I honestly hadn't considered it. Let me think on it and if I decide on something, trust me that you will be the one I commission to work on her. Yelena, behave yourself for Zhu and do everything he tells you to do while we're gone. That's an order."

Gao had several showrooms which he was happy to show Tam. His primary business was training and selling girls, but he maintained a profitable sideline outfitting them as well. He had a room full of restraints, cases of jewelry, two rooms of clothes, and another room devoted to artificial phalluses and various means of inflicting pain, either for discipline or erotic play.

Tam spent a fair portion of his budget. Several outfits were selected, some of which a tailor would need to adjust, some of which only needed to be compared to Yelena's measurements. He picked out a sirik with light steel links that would fit her, and also a brown leather arm binder that caught his eye.

As they were passing through the jewelry room, Tam found himself fascinated by a pair of nipple studs capped with small silver wings. At Gao's insistence that the piercing would be no trouble, he bought them, and two pairs of earrings as well. Gao talked Tam into buying as set of anal plugs in increasing sizes, to get Yelena more accustomed to Tam using her there, along with a bottle of oil which was specifically designed for anal lubrication.

Finally, in the discipline room, Tam selected a leather covered paddle for spanking, a light riding crop, and a rattan cane. Tam could afford everything, but it was close to the upper limit he had decided on with Lin Song. The discount Gao insisted on providing made it a little easier to bear.

When everything was collected, it filled a small pack which Gao provided, the cane and crop strapped to the side. They returned to the piercing room to find Zhu setting out his tattooing equipment for his later appointment with Pretty. Zhu had strapped Yelena facedown to the table before removing her collar with the file.

Seeing Yelena's bare back and the tattooing equipment, Tam gave in to one more indulgence. After Zhu assured him it was no trouble, Tam asked the man to tattoo his chop in the small of Yelena's back, just above her ass. True, he could see his personal sign written into her living chi when he focused his vision, but he found the idea of printing his ownership in her skin so that untrained eyes could see it appealing on a deep level. Gao retired for the evening as Zhu prepared his needles, thanking Tam again for his business and promising to send word as soon as he had spoken to the diplomat about Grace.

Before he began the tattoo, Zhu locked the new collar Tam had selected around Yelena's neck. Tam had chosen a slim necklace of closely inter-locked silver links, taller than they were wide. When it closed around her neck, it fit snugly against her skin with just enough give to slide around, an inch wide ribbon of silver encircling her pale throat. Each of the links was just wide enough that a small padlock could be used to attach another chain to the collar, or a fine rope could be slipped through and tied. The sign for slave was on a silver disk at the front. Unlike the harsh iron collar, this one was designed to be easily switched out with other collars and had a lock in the back.

Tam was pleased to see the care Zhu took of his needles, thoroughly cleaning them with an alcohol solution to prevent infection. He watched the ink spread on Yelena's skin, then moved to watch her face. Zhu had put a strip of leather between her teeth, and she was biting down on it against the pain, her eyes watering slightly. Tam found a quiet sense of pleasure watching her suffering. It wasn't the angry need to punish her; this was just the knowledge that she was his, and if he chose to put her through pain, she had no choice but to accept it and endure.

Once he was finished, Zhu had Tam inspect the tattoo to ensure it was to his liking and then covered it with a gauze bandage. Zhu then pierced each of her ears and put in the earrings Tam had selected, small dangling silver feathers. When they released Yelena from the restraints, she sat up and tentatively touched her ears, hissing with pain when she bumped the sensitive holes.

She was surprised when Zhu pushed her back onto the table and began to strap her in on her back. "Tam, please, no more. Please, this hurts. Aren't you happy with me the way I am? Please don't turn me into a Pretty, I don't want to be a Pretty."

Tam motioned for Zhu to wait and took her head in his hands. "Hush, Yelena. Tell me, what can Master do to his slave?"

Yelena shivered in the restraints, tears leaking from her eyes. "Master can do whatever he wants to his slave."

"That's right. You're a good girl, and you're going to be obedient. If Master wants to make you into a Pretty, he will, and you'll be proud to wear rings and chains for him. You wear Master's sign above your ass now, and your ears are decorated, because this makes you more beautiful in Master's eyes. Do you understand?"

"Yes Master."

"Good. You were a brave girl, taking the ink and piercings for Master. Now you just have one more thing to endure; your rosy little nipples are going to be pierced, so that you can wear pretty jewelry there too. Nothing more beyond that. Can you be brave for that too?"

"Yes Master. Your slave can, she can endure it."

"Good. Here's the leather to bite on again. Go ahead, Zhu."

Zhu was quick with his needle. Yelena barely had time to flinch with each piercing, though she sobbed at the sensation of the small bars moving inside her as Zhu screwed the end caps on. As they released her and helped her to sit on the edge of the table, she sagged in place, the rush of chemicals her body had produced to buoy her through the pain fading. Familiar with the process, Zhu had her drink a cup of spiced wine. He then went through the process of providing correct care for her new piercings and the tattoo. Tam was familiar with the general principles, though he had never personally had to deal with them. He had Yelena repeat the process back to Zhu twice in case he needed to have her take care of her own treatment while he was busy.

Given permission, Yelena dressed herself, wincing as her dress dragged over her new piercings. Before he bound her wrists again, Tam had Yelena slide her arms through the straps of the pack so that it rode on her back. They were all items for her, so it made sense for her to carry them. He adjusted her rules again as he led her out into the streets.

The sun had set while Zhu worked, so Tam bribed a guard with a torch to escort them through the darkening streets and home.

Once they arrived, he restricted her to the manor again, finding the shifts easier to remember as he grew used to the habit. Tam found himself extremely tired; he had, after all, not slept since dragging Yelena to the stable in the early hours of the morning. He led Yelena to his bedroom then had her undress him and put his clothes away.

Once he was in bed, Tam made Yelena strip and pose so he could admire the way the silver at her ears and nipples shone in the lamplight, but couldn't summon the energy to do anything more. Yelena had been very subdued ever since they returned from Gao's shop, lost in her own thoughts. Tam tugged her into bed, extinguished the lamp, and was asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.

He woke at one point in the dark to the sound of Yelena sobbing beside him. He lay still, thinking she would want privacy for her grief, but something in his breathing must have alerted her, because she softly whispered "Tam?"

"Yes?"

"Could you hold me please? I know you're the reason I'm crying, but I just feel so lost and alone and I need someone."

"I suppose I can." Tam rolled over and gathered her into his arms, letting her sob and shake as she clung to him, a lost little girl mourning the freedom she would never know again.