Time and Chance

I curtsied once more and thanked the emperor for his magnanimity. The words just about paralyzed my vocal cords, but I got them out.

The Spotswood's' were effusive in their own praise of the emperor before Larta took my hand, stated, "Come Laurel," I hesitated and politely asked if I cod take my journal along, they thought it might be useful and a servant was dispatched to retrieve it. Then without any further ado they led me away. We proceeded out of the throne room, through its labyrinthian hallways and out into the slanting sun of the late afternoon daylight of the streets. Only now could I really study the city. The avenues were wide, tree-lined, and sparkling clean. I saw no graffiti, no homeless people, no panhandlers. Despite these notable improvements over the earth I knew, I still did not like this one at all.

"Don't be so nervous, Laurel," offered Larta, "Tiberius and I will take care of everything. We will feed you; we will dress you; we will provide all you need. Your only responsibility is to be an obedient and diligent student in return."

She paused and placed a finger under my chin. "How about a nice, appreciative kiss for your temporary mistress?"

It wasn't really a question. Again, what choice did I have? I puckered up and willed myself to relax. Larta kissed me and I kissed her back. It was nowhere near as gross as I had first imagined. In fact, after a while, it was both relaxing and stimulating.

"That's the spirit, girl!" stated Larta enthusiastically when our clinch concluded.

Next, I kissed Tiberius for an extended time, which was far easier to take. Tiberius resembled, now that I saw him under natural daylight, in great detail, my favorite philosophy professor from college. Like the majority of his female students, I had a major crush on him, a situation to which he was clearly oblivious, making us girls love him that much more. Seeing how, at this point, it could not possibly hurt, I imagined him as Doctor Pierce. By the end of our osculation, I was thoroughly enjoying myself.

Once we finished, Larta pointed out the truly impressive council of nations building which was on the opposite side of the wide avenue from the emperor's palace. They steered me however to a high-rise hotel and easy walk away. "When the council is in session, Tiberius and I reserve a room at the "Enchantment" it is such a fine hotel with a wonderful restaurant. Let's get something to eat while we get to know each other a bit before playtime," stated Larta, who finished the last sentence with a wink. I braced myself and thought of Mark, no matter what, I HAD to see him again!

The restaurant was THE swankiest place I ever ate in. It was far more luxurious than the emperor's seraglio! I could not intensify the meat but is slid down my throat delightfully. The salad was the crispest and tastiest and had an excellent dressing. And the dessert! Oh, my goodness! Chocolate from the earth I knew NEVER tasted this good. The Spotswood's' turned out to be excellent conversationalists. Tiberius talked about the council of nations and I absorbed all I could. I got a better sense of this crazy-quilt world. Above all was the nearly all-encompassing EMPIRE all in capital letters and a host of vassal nations that retained a bit of autonomy and were represented by men like Tiberius in this, Unity, the capital city of the Empire. In distant corners of the world were the still unsubdued barbarians, the folks the emperor and everybody else thought Mark and I came from. The Empire did not simply eliminate them because they needed a sizeable population to launch slave raiding parties against. For a time, the barbarians sent spies into the Empire to try and learn when the slaving raids were coming. Since barbarians inevitably did not know how to properly dress while in Empire territory or simply could not be bothered to obtain a decent disguise, they were, almost without fail, captured. That's why Mark and I drew a crowd so quickly. The Empire HATES barbarians UNLESS they are slaves, then they LOVE them.

I will confess that I was in an amiable mood once the sumptuous meal concluded and they both took me by the hand and led me to the elevator for the ride to the penthouse. Their room was tastefully furnished but had other objects that made my stomach churn. There was a display of various flails on one wall and there were several human sized cages. The bed, which dominated the room was huge and circular. Larta noted me taking it all in.

"Yes, it can be overwhelming, Laurel, but Tiberius and myself will put your fears to rest."

She kissed me then and I felt her hands on the support for my toga and then felt my toga tumbling down my body to the floor. I felt a chill but not from the air conditioning. All at once, Tiberius's hands were on me as well. My gold foil panties were tugged down. Still in my sandals the husband and wife (for lack of a better term) steered me towards the bed. Larta began kissing me with more intensity than she had previously. I felt Tiberius work the ties of my sandals loose and felt them being removed from my feet before he plunged his tongue into my pussy. His expertise was off the scale, far better than Rog and even better than my own husband. I thought for as horrifying moment that the older man's mature tongue would blast Mark's from my memory. But after several long moments, I realized that nothing could ever tear my Mark away from my soul. I focused on our great moments. Our honeymoon, when he first went down on me. The time we did it with a full-length mirror at the foot of our bed so I could see him work. It was fascinating, but before long, my eyes closed in rapturous pleasure.

I realized I was moaning, or I would have been if Larta had ever broken her lip lock. I thought, I would smother before the demented duo switched places and Tiberius's lips were on mine. I realized that Larta was licking me there! I never imagined a day when I would be in bed with a one lesbian or bisexual or whatever the hell, she was let alone two of them! After the shock wore off, I realized she was doing an excellent job. Tiberius worked my breasts. I felt a most unwanted orgasm coming on. I gasped and suddenly Larta's nether regions were in my face! "Now do me. Laurel, just like I did you!" she gushed enthusiastically. I knew I had to obey if I had any hope of seeing Mark again. I recalled my vows, "For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer." It could not be any worse than being a penniless, powerless, slave, I closed my eyes, prayed silently and began to probe Larta's intimate place with my mouth, tongue, teeth and lips. It was nowhere near as gross as I expected. I listened to and tried to follow Larta's instructions. She repeated, "Good, girl!" several times. I heard Larta gasp, her juices scattered all over my face, and realized that I had done that to her! My first foray into lesbianism was a successful one. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to think about that, but before I even began to contemplate the issue, Tiberius's well-practiced cock was inside me, pistoning back and forth like an oil derrick.

The sensory overload was acute. My body kept reacting, I called out Mark's name and I think I gasped "Jesus" as well. Then I was aware of Larta and Tiberius gently applauding. "You are a natural, Laurel!" gushed Larta as she kissed me again. I came back to myself and gazed up at my temporary "owners," Larta truly was lovely and Tiberius truly handsome. Out of his clothes, he was not especially memorable, like say a movie star or an athlete, but his penis certainly was. It was of average size but was tattooed three different colors in the pattern of a snake! They both had amazing recuperative powers on just moments later they set to work on me a second time. I should probably not admit this, but the second go-around was completely enjoyable. Somewhere in evening, it went from being a chore and a task to an honest lark. I fell asleep to the always remarkable sensation of having my boobs sucked simultaneously. I slept like the dead.

I awoke to find both their bodies entwined about my own. The woman I had been was irretrievably lost, but the woman Mark loved was still very much there. I knew I had to compartmentalize my mind, to wall off Mark and what we had and apply myself diligently to whatever Tiberius, Larta, and the emperor put me through. Presently they awoke. I exchanged kisses with both. Their mutual nudity ceased to bother me. The first thing they did was take me simultaneously. I was ordered on all fours while Tiberius took me from behind and Larta compelled me to bury my face in her sex. The very last bits of my old moral structure collapsed as I struggled to please Larta as Tiberius's snake-patterned cock delightfully fought for my attentions. The very experience couple came nearly simultaneously. I felt Tiberius soften inside me while Larta broke out in a hearty chuckle of bliss. What had I already become? What was I going to become the longer I spent in this reality? My mind swiftly fled from the damnable corundum. The three of us showered together and then Larta had me lie down in the bed while she shaved away my every last pubic hair. "It's been a long time indeed since I've seduced a virgin into the joy of Sapphic love. I want a memento of this rare event," she started before she began. Larta trimmed everything with a cuticle scissors until all I had left was stubble. The hairs she trimmed away she deposited in a tiny silken bag with a drawstring. Then she applied shaving cream, and with a razor that looked far more dangerous than the ones I knew from home, she shaved me bare. I'm not fond of the look, but I was in no position to complain.

Larta wiped away the excess with a warm towel and ran her fingers appreciatively over my denuded sex. "Now for a taste..." she stated before she began once more expertly dining on my kitty. Just as when my beloved Mark had shaved me the new sensitivity absent all that hair was a revelation. I imagined, as Larta had her jollies, that it was actually Mark eating me out. Larta was completely oblivious to the source of my orgasm as she rose with a smile from between my parted thighs. Tiberius had watched all of this while slyly playing with himself. Larta asked him if he wanted to sample me as well, to which he replied, "I shall later. Right now, I have affairs of diplomacy to attend to," he rose with a smile and a wink in my direction. Once he was gone, Larta dressed me in a short leather skirt and a very tight bustier that compressed my boobs in an enticing way. I wished Mark could have seen me in this ensemble. On the other hand, I was not too keen about having so much of me exposed in public. Our feet are the same size, so I also donned a pair of her heels. Arm in arm we made our way to the dining room for a sumptuous meal that was too late for lunch and too early for supper, then, Larta took me shopping.

Retail therapy feels great no matter what universe it occurs in. Especially when your budget is essentially unlimited! Larta bought me several outfits and some wonderful and quite expensive jewelry, all of which I gladly would have traded for the return of my wedding and engagement rings. Larta had final say on what I went back to their hotel room with, but she at least looked like she was listening to my input. Even though nearly every outfit exposed a lot of skin I liked all of them. Maybe I was getting used to things, or perhaps part of me no longer cared. In any event, I needed this new outlook or else I would be brooding all the time. Buying the clothes also had been the very first sense of autonomy I had been permitted since coming to this world. I knew the experience would be fleeting so I savored it. We returned to the "Enchantment" where Tiberius, looking like he had endured a hard day of work, joined us for dinner. He complimented me on the teal mini-dress I was wearing. He spoke a little about his work. I suppose diplomacy is the same elsewhere, far too much inside baseball to share with the non-initiates. Dinner was, as usual, sumptuous. The Spotswood's' ordered me this mixed drink that tasted wonderful, sugary and syrupy without even a hint of an alcohol taste. I was very relaxed for ... whatever it was they were planning.

It turned out to be dancing in the main ballroom of the "Enchantment." The music sure wasn't like back home! If I can describe it, it had a richness of gospel married to a deep baseline of percussion, with echoes of hard rock. After a moment or two of grating on my ears from its unfamiliarity, I found that I really liked it. There was a tall, blonde, female alto wearing very little, singing about sex, love, and intimacy. Standing next to her was very handsome black male baritone who wore little more than tight leather pants. He sang with her for a time, then they each alternated solo numbers. Their voices meshed very well. Had I been at one of their concerts on the earth I knew, I know I would have pestered Mark to buy one of their CDs for me. The dancefloor was crowded with people of all parings dancing in rhythm. It was a sort of a cross between a line dance and a waltz and I been on enough dancefloors with Mark to quickly understand how it operated. Shortly thereafter, Larta led me onto the floor, and though I had never danced with a girl before, I found it fun and exciting. It may have been the sweet alcoholic drinks, then again, dancing had always been Mark's and my own favorite nights out. Back home, now untended in my closet, was a line of pretty dance dresses. One or two were on the risqué side, for those nights when Mark liked showing me off. All of them, however, did a better job of covering me than what I wore now.

Tiberius took me out on the floor next. He was a more conservative dancer and probably a bit more skilled. He seemed capable of far more than he allowed himself. I suspected that anywhere there was a public to see him, the diplomat in Tiberius would always prevent him from "cutting loose," he was still fun, however. I pretended he was Mark and really began to enjoy myself. From time to time, whoever I was on the floor with, handsome men and lovely women would cut in and dance with me.

Now that I had seen a cross-section of the population, I realized that this earth had, aside from notable outliers like the emperor, almost no slovenly, fat people. Almost to a person, they were fit and attractive. I did not know if it was the diet, or the lifestyle, or simply the need to look attractive in a world where sensuality and intimacy were such key facets of existence; whatever it was, these people were a damn sight better to look at than my American neighbors. I realize that sounds rude, but I believe in the body being a temple. I always stayed fit, not only for Mark's enjoyment and satisfaction, but also because God commanded it! I never understood why women and men let themselves go, smoked, and ate crap all the time. Didn't they know we all were designed for better?

At one point, a very handsome man cut in, he seemed to be biracial a and he wore his hair in a nice cut that was dyed blond; we danced rather well together. At the parts of the dance which required embracing, he was respectful, not grabby like some of my other partners. When the music was low, he complemented me on my looks and on my dancing ability. I admit to being vain enough for words like that to always sound good to my ears. Someone else, a young woman with a Mohawk and a nose ring cut in. I had no choice but to remain on the dancefloor or appear rude. When at last I was able to tear myself away, I was surprised to see the blond stranger seated with Tiberius and Larta. A fourth chair was produced for me and I joined them.

"Laurel, this is Paris," she indicated the blond stranger who nodded at his name. "We've been discussing a business arrangement."

"Is he in the same line of work as Tiberius?" I naively asked.

All three loudly guffawed.

"No dear," stated Larta as if addressing a child, "The business is a simple transaction, namely how much Paris is willing to offer to share your charms for the rest of the evening!"

I'm sure my mouth fell to the floor. My stunned look brought out a fresh wave of laughter.

"You belong to US, Laurel. We can and WILL do whatever we please with you. You are after all a slave, oh certainly one far lovelier than average, but property, nonetheless. Slaves are rented and loaned all the time, Laurel. Do you somehow think you are above your station? We promised the emperor a full indoctrination and THIS is certainly a part of it!"

The three then pressed on with their negotiations, pretty much ignoring me. All the sermons I had heard about fallen and wanton women replayed themselves in my mind. I thought about the prostitutes in the Bible, their fates were a mixed bag. Jesus hung out with prostitutes like Mary Magdalene. He loved her no less because of her status, and she loved him, loved him perhaps more than any other woman save his mother. I recalled my own mother's warnings when I was a bit of a rebellious teenager, "Carry on like this, young lady and you'll turn into a scarlet woman, turning tricks to put bread on your table!" at the time, I laughed in her face and told her that she was overreacting and was in no way psychic. Now the scene was playing again, only this time I wasn't laughing. If there was any bright side to this development it was that, for me, there was no place else to go but up. I could not possibly fall any lower either in the world I knew or the one I was currently marooned in. Whatever fight and defiance I had left in me, bled off like air from a punctured balloon.

Paris slid a bag of currency over to Tiberius who peered inside, smiled and nodded in return. "Paris would like to partake of you beginning now," offered Larta, "We expect an outstanding report from him in the morning. This is a test darling, one you most assuredly do NOT want to fail," she added with more than a touch of malevolence. I recalled the flails and obvious torture devices in the Spotswood's room. I had no doubt that Larta, and to a lesser extent, Tiberius, were masters of those devices. That put the fear of God in me. I also realized that this was just one more obstacle on the path to being reunited with Mark.

Paris offered me his hand, I took it, forced a smile upon my face and allowed him to lead me out of the "Enchantment" ball room. As we rose, Larta gave a wave and stated, "Tiberius and me will find something to keep us occupied in your absence." Then, the two of them laughed.

Paris led me into one of the quaint elevators. He placed an arm possessively about my waist as the elevator began its ascent. I took the opportunity to really study him. I quickly realized that for my first "trick" I could have done far worse. I was sure he had a fine body under his expensive looking garment. I wondered how much I had been purchased for, but I already knew the answer, "thirty pieces of silver!" He bent low and we exchanged kisses. The elevator came to a stop. His room was not far along the hallway. He took some object from his pocket, waved it under the knob and the door slowly swung open. I felt just like the fly invited to the spider's parlor! Paris applied a bit of pressure to my rump and I found myself across the threshold. The room was far smaller than the Spotswood's but every bit as swanky. The door closed behind us and Paris took some very deep kisses as he embraced me.

He broke off the clinch, smiled and stated, "Tiberius and Larta mentioned that you are new to this. I'm not adverse to starting slow, provided, of course, that I get everything I'm entitled to." I let that comment pass over me.

"Would you like a drink?"

"Anything!" I almost shouted.

Paris chuckled. "I like that you're nervous."

He handed me a tumbler of something (maybe whiskey) and I bolted it down.