The Sky Kingdom Ch. 02

"Forgive me master, this slave does not know her place, I did not mean to look you in the eye," she pleaded now burying her face into the ground.

I felt sudden guilt at the lust filled thoughts going through my mind at the sight of such a beautiful woman kneeling before me.

"Hey, there's no need to do that," I tried to say in a soothing way as I made my way further into the room and approached her. "I took no offense and there is no need to prostrate yourself before me."

"This slave deserves whatever punishment you permit," she stated as if reciting from a script.

"I want no such thing, why don't you tell me who you are and how you ended up in my chamber?" I responded. "Are you one of my father's new acquisitions?"

She glanced up again and met my eyes before squeezing them shut and dropping her forehead to the floor again, "Please forgive me Master, I am very nervous, I don't want to get anything wrong," she said in a sweet innocent tone.

"Firstly, my name is not Master it is Harry," I responded.

"Please forgive me Master Harry," she replied.

I decided to take a different tack by turning to the closest wardrobe and finding my clothes neatly unpacked inside. I grabbed a plain white shirt and walked back over to the young woman.

"Here you are, please take this," at this point she looked up, avoiding my gaze, saw the shirt and took it from me.

"What would you like me to do with it Master?" she asked somewhat bemused.

"Wear it of course," I said chuckling slightly.

She looked downcast all of a sudden, "Do I not please you like this Master?"

"You are lovely, but I don't think anyone should be forced to be naked against their will. You should probably head back to my father, I want nothing to do with his pleasure slaves."

"But Master, I am your slave."

"No, you are not, I don't have any slaves, nor do I need one," I rebuked a bit too harshly.

"That's not true anymore Master," she rushed out looking a little concerned, "I am gift to you, I am to be your slave, you own me now."

This was a first, my father had never actually tried to give me a slave.

"I understand perfectly well, I have principles and my father knows this. He cannot simply force me to accept a slave. I'll simply have to return you to where you came from," I said in a matter-of-fact manner.

At this I saw tears begin to form in her eyes as she became hysterical "No, no, no, you have to take me. The nice man...he said that I could be your slave...I am yours now. Please don't send me back. I am yours," as she burst out crying and dropped down wrapping her arms around my ankle with her head pressed against by leg.

I was taken aback in shock by her reaction and stood silently unsure what to do as she continued to sob into my leg.

"Please stop that now," I gently asked as I bent down and shook her bare shoulder but it seemed to have little effect.

"I order you to stop that now," I followed up a little more forcefully than I'd intended. This finally seemed to have an effect as she came back up to her kneeling position as she quietly knelt staring at the floor with tears still rolling down her cheeks.

I felt like I'd been punched in the gut at the innocence and sincerity of her expression. "Why don't you put on that shirt while I go and sort things out," I gently ordered her.

She looked dejected as she complied and proceeded to pull the shirt on and do up the buttons hiding her stunning figure. As I turned to leave, I heard a small voice mumble behind me, "Please...please don't send me back."

I shut the door behind me as I walked out into the corridor and lent back against the door to take stock. In what seemed like a matter of minutes I had met two of the most beautiful women I had ever seen, including one that it seemed had been gifted to me as a pleasure slave. It was a lot to take in.

As I closed my eyes and took in a few deep breaths I heard loud whistles ring through the ship before the ship shuddered and began to move. I was marveling at how such a giant ship could float as I heard footsteps approaching from my side.

"Sir, can I help you with anything?" a man's voice asked.

I looked up and responded, "Sorry, yes please, could you direct me to my father's room...Duke Carrara."

"Of course, my Lord, follow me, he is staying in the captain's quarters," the liveried servant responded.

I probably should have worked that one out, he would never accept anyone, except perhaps the King, having a better room than himself.

My father's rooms ended up not being all that far away and the servant left me at the door. I rasped on the dark wood which was quickly opened by a familiar face.

"Henry my boy," my father's seneschal greeted me warmly.

"Jasper," I exclaimed, "I didn't know you were joining us."

"I came via a different route, I had to pick up that little gift for you," He said with a wry smile on his face.

Jasper was one of the kindest yet most conniving men I had ever met and as my father's key man had in many ways helped to raise me. I couldn't understand why he thought giving me a slave was a good idea.

"That's why I'm here," I started.

"I figured as much," he replied. "Your father is a tad busy so let's go chat in the living room," as he directed me towards one of the many doors that led off the antechamber, I'd followed him into. At this point a surge of magic tingled across my skin as I heard a muffled scream from one of the other rooms. The sensation was a sign of my burgeoning Sorcerer's gifts but it sickened me when I realised just why my father was busy.

Jasper looked a little flustered by the noise as well but he quickly directed me to sit in one of the many armchairs in the lavishly decorated room.

"First thing you need to know is that the whole thing was my idea," he started. "But you need to understand that I had more reasons than just you in mind."

"What do you mean? You know full well how I feel about keeping slaves."

"First thing, you are a very important figure within the Kingdom, however much you'd like to ignore it, and your objections to owning slaves is going to ruffle far too many feathers once you get to the capital," He lectured me. "You need to consider finding a way to make a difference without stepping on so many toes. Secondly, I didn't just do this for you I did it for her," he said as he looked me in the eye. I gave him a questioning look but stayed silent awaiting his explanation.

"You know how your father likes me to peruse the major training houses every now and then to find only the best for his harem."

"He is rather insatiable," I concurred.

"Indeed, while I was perusing the Two Moons facility in Tairhien, I came across your breathtakingly beautiful young slave chained in one of their holding cages with such a look of abject dejection that it stopped me in my tracks. This was really unusual in such a high-end facility as the men and women they train are usually conditioned to barely show any emotion unless directed to do so. My heart went out to her so when I checked her status, I found that she was in the process of being quelled."

"Quelled?" I asked with morbid curiosity.

"It's a nasty practice, but when they decide a marked slave is untrainable or dangerous...well put simply, it's bad for their reputation. So rather than sell them on cheaply they usually have them sent to dark underground brothels where the clientele pay to do atrocious things. In reality it is a horrific death sentence."

I felt a gut-wrenching sympathy for the young woman in my room.

"So, your pitch for me to consider keeping a slave I don't even want, is that she is defective and untrainable?" I asked him with a sideways look.

"You think far too little of me," he chuckled as he continued his explanation, "Normally I'd agree but when I caught her gaze I saw a spark, some fight still there. That's normally considered a bad thing in a trained pleasure slave but I thought the only slave you might accept is one capable of challenging you, of saying no."

"What could I even do with an untrained slave that doesn't want to be a slave?" I enquired.

"That's just it, I read her file, I spent much of our journey chatting with her and found that she is fiercely intelligent and even completed and excelled in many parts of her training. The issues stemmed from her being rebellious, naughty and disobedient," he said as he listed each point on one hand.

"That doesn't sound like grounds to completely write-off their investment though," I replied.

"Those are hardly attributes that a top pleasure slave training house can allow in merchandise. But there was also an incident that somewhat sealed her fate with her badly maiming a potential buyer."

I cringed at the thought of what might have made such an innocent looking woman need to fight back in that way, "So, if we send her back, she'll only suffer? Why can't I just grant her freedom? I asked.

"Don't be naïve Henry, you know all too well freeing a slave is next to impossible once they've been marked...and anyhow a black marked slave as beautiful as she is will soon disappear and end up in exactly the same seedy brothels and would be quelled within weeks."

"So, you think her best chance is with me?"

He nodded in reply. I'd never considered owning a slave but the thought that I could prevent a such a horrific fate pulled at the tender strings in my heart.

"If I accept do her, I'll need another cabin, or maybe I can just sleep in the drawing room," I pondered out loud.

Jasper burst out laughing at this point, "Henry, you need to understand that she is to be your slave and not your guest. You should be using her for her purpose or your father will make both of your lives miserable...and I do worry what he'd do to her."

I shuddered at the thought of him wielding her suffering over me, "Are you sure that this is a safer place for her to be? I questioned.

"She'll have you to protect her, and you need to get used to having slaves before starting your Sorcerer training." At this point Jasper stood up and retrieved a decorative box from what I presumed was his luggage.

"This is a little something I brought from the palace. Open this if you decide to let her stay with you," He said as I took the box.

"I had to purchase her through your father on your behalf so he knows she was meant to be quelled. He still technically owns her so I told him she is just on loan to you for this trip but I think you'll need to use what's inside if you want to keep her."

I looked warily down at the box as anything associated with the palace was normally of importance as he continued.

"Anyhow, you've shared a few things about your proclivities with me in the past," I cringed at the memory of my younger self sharing my desires so openly.

"So, I wanted to let you know that there were a few things in her file that made me think she would be perfect for you. The training house claim she has very high scores for libido but more surprisingly for kinkiness...two attributes that would typically make for a very desirable slave. I also think this is why the Two Moons facility were so willing to give her their mark and train her for such a long time despite the difficulties," he said while raising his eyebrows at me.

"Libido I get but what do you mean by kinkiness?" I asked.

He laughed a little before replying, "She likes chains, ropes, leashes, playing naughty games...you get the picture."

I got the picture, I was suddenly lost in my thoughts as a thousand images of all my secret fantasies came to life. I internally berated myself again for having such thoughts about a woman forced to be in her position and soon realised that Jasper was sat there waiting for my response and I flushed red in embarrassment.

He let out a booming laugh at this point, "Henry my boy, I think the anti-slaver doth protest too much!" He then continued, "But in all seriousness Henry, I want you to enjoy yourself and I figured a slave that enjoyed the same proclivities as you was one you might be more willing to accept."

My thoughts were racing about the implications of what he was saying.

"Now off with you!" he exclaimed.

I stood to leave and composed myself somewhat before turning to Jasper contemplating something that was bothering me.

"Did my father order you to find a way to make me begin having a slave? I asked.

He just smirked back at me.

"Well played you bastard...Well played," I returned sharing the smile with him, "You are far too manipulative for your own good!"

"Who's complaining I have hopefully just fulfilled my orders and saved a damsel in distress...two birds with one stone so they say. Now off to your rooms and I'd recommend that you go and order her to have a frank discussion with you. Understand what you both want and maybe you'll find that you enjoy having her around."

"But Jasper, this is all so messed up," I bemoaned.

"Look at it from her perspective, for someone who is set to live the rest of their life in misery is this not a better option. Can you not make her life that little bit less miserable than it would have been?"

"I suppose, but wouldn't freedom be better," I muttered in response.

"You know full well she cannot be freed, now, off with you, go and speak with her...and don't forget the box."

Jasper then stood and directed me back out into the corridor before closing the door behind me. I retraced my steps back to my chambers and as I entered the suite, I pressed the button on the inside of the door that seemed to ring a bell somewhere nearby. In what seemed no time at all my 'Cabin Girl' Laura came hurrying through the door.

"Hello Sir, how can I be of assistance?" she asked with far too much energy.

I gestured to my bedroom, "I was wondering if you happened to have a spare bed that could be brought up for my slave?" I asked.

"We can arrange something, but if it's easier we have slave pens in the bowels of the ship she can be kept in," she replied and then in a flirtatious tone asked, "if she is not to your liking, you can always send for me?"

I blushed before responding in a far more high-pitched tone than I'd intended, "That's quite alright, I'm just not used to having a slave in my bed so thought it would be easier. Just the bed would be wonderful thank you."

"I'll get that arranged straight away," she said all business now before letting herself out. I then nervously entered my bedroom worried at what I might find.

It was a surprise to say the least, the small goddess was again shirtless and lay with her arms manacled to the bed above her head exposing her perfect breasts and stretching her lithe frame. Even more shocking was the ball gag lodged between her teeth and leather leash running down her chest and stomach.

I worried about just how much the image of a beautiful woman tied up and at my mercy turned me on but sounder heads prevailed.

"What is this? Who did this to you?" I blurted out as I rushed over to her.

All I heard in response was completely unintelligible.

I climbed onto the bed next to her and reached to undo the gag. It was attached by a belt clasp behind her neck, after straddling her chest to get into a better position and with a little bit of fumbling I was able to free her of it.

"Are you ok? Who did this to you?" I asked her.

She innocently flushed, "No one did this to me Master."

"Are you saying that you did this to yourself?"

She averted her gaze, "Maybe...if I did would you punish me?"

"I'm not going to punish you I actually came to have a chat with you. Where are the keys to your manacles?"

"I don't know...if you can't find them then you can't send me back," she innocently mumbled.

I was taken aback by her behavior and it was as far from what I'd expect from a trained slave. The disobedient streak Jasper had mentioned sprung to mind and I felt myself break into a broad and unexpected smile at the situation.

"Do you actually think that if you chain yourself naked to my bed and refuse to tell me where the keys are then I would keep you?" I chuckled.

"The nice man said you might like it," she whispered as she held my gaze for the first time.

"Let's make a deal then, you tell me where the keys are and then you and I will have an honest discussion about whether I should keep you or not."

"So you'll consider not sending me back," she asked with a faint hope in her eyes.

"Only if you tell me the location of the keys now," I shot back in as stern a manner as I could manage.

Shocked by my change of tone she whispered something I couldn't quite understand.

"Speak louder, I couldn't hear what you said."

"They are in my...you know...down there," she said as she used her eyes to indicate below me. It was at this point that it dawned on me that I was straddling a mostly naked woman chained to my bed and a certain part of my body that I had little control over came to life.

I might be able to act confident in most matters but the life of a secluded heir with an unwillingness to use slaves meant that I was particularly inexperienced with women.

It became far too obvious and my companion quickly realised what was poking her in the stomach.

"Master is that your...," as she giggled. "Do you find me tied down like this a turn on?" she asked seductively as she lifted her body up and rubbed it into my crotch.

I panicked at this point and jumped off her and backed away turning to hide my embarrassment.

"Master, Master I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," she pleaded from behind me yanking on her chains, "I can behave, I can do better."

Still blushing and turned back to her and noticed the worried look on her face, "Sorry, this is all new to me," The look on her face begin to fade as she saw the tent between my legs that refused to go away.

With returning confidence and the beginning of a naughty smile she declared. "Master, you need to retrieve the key if you want to free me!"

"Before I free you, I need to answer one simple question for me...what am I supposed to call you?" I asked.

She jumped back into script for a moment as she stated, "I am your Slavegirl. You can call me whatever you like."

"Stop being silly, I want to know your actual name?"

She dropped her head a little and quietly said, "Nat...Scarlett Master, my name is Scarlett, no one has asked me that in a very long time."

"Scarlett," I said testing it out loud, "That's a beautiful name for a beautiful lady," I replied quietly as she looked away with a small smile on her face.

I stepped back towards the bed and nervously moved my hands towards her black silk underwear before averting and resting my hands against her thighs. She suddenly jumped squealing "Cold hands Master, Cold Hands!" as she tried wriggle away.

I whipped my hands away before drawing on my limited connection to my fire magic to warm up my hands. I placed them back on her and she cooed "oh, wow, they are lovely and warm. How did you do that?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out!"

I then plucked up the courage and pulled back her underwear to reveal not only a little key but also a strange metal looking underwear underneath. As I gave it a strange look Scarlett saw my confusion and quickly filled me in.

"Master, that is my Chastity belt and it stops anyone from touching me down there," I glanced over at the box from Jasper that I'd left on the side realizing what was might be inside.

"Does that mean that no one has ever touched you down there?" I reddened at the forwardness of my question.

"My training was as a pleasure slave Master, so I had little say on who and what touched me down there," her face turned away from me, "But I'm still technically a virgin...it was meant to give me a higher value for sale."

"That's ok, I'm a virgin as well!" I said suddenly mortified at the honesty of my admission.