Chapter 8

Two identical black cars pull up behind the one I'm in and more men in black suits get out. They stop in front of my master and bow. This time, I recognize one of the faces. The man who had carried me over his shoulder appears at my door and grabs me by the hips, pulling me so hard that I fall onto my back. With my legs now bent at the knees, my feet slam to the ground, What is he doing now? This can't be good!

I gasp in shock when I see him pull out a folding knife and whip it open. Do I scream? Am I about to lose my clothing again? Anything but that! I'll just die of shame if all these people bear witness to that kind of humiliation. Suddenly, I feel a warm hand above my right knee. My master bends down to meet my gaze.

"Are you going to be a good little toy?", he asks me.

Nodding my head vigorously, I reply, "Yes Master!"

This causes him to grin and step forward, taking the place of the black suited man. He takes possession of the knife and pats his thigh with his free hand. I don't understand what he wants from me so I look at his leg where he's tapping and then back at him, coaxing him to threaten me.

"Would you rather be carried in?", he asks, and as soon as I realize that he's going to free my ankles, I immediately pull my feet up and lay them on his thigh, being careful not to push on him too hard.

He cuts the binding on my ankles in one smooth motion and I instinctively make a move to lower my feet back to the ground. In an instant, he puts his hands behind my knees and leans into the car. He's hovering over me and I can feel his knee putting pressure between my legs.

"What do we say when Master does something nice?"

"Th-thank you, Master...", I say.

I'm so flustered that the sound of my voice is hardly able to be heard. Thankfully, he seems satisfied by my reply and with that, he lowers his leg. Chilly air now hits me where his warm knee had been. I pour my energy into flexing my abdominal muscles in a feeble attempt to keep myself from getting shivers.

"Stay.", he says.

Stay? As he gets up and backs out of the car, I try to close my legs. He grabs my left knee and forces it back to where it had been when he was there, right between my thighs. The black suit hands him a coat and he covers me with it before speaking in a low voice.

"I never learned to share my toys. You belong to me and from this point on, no other man will get the chance to see what I see. Understand?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good. Now you can get up.", he says as he starts walking toward the house.

I hesitantly pull myself out of the car and up to a standing position. The coat starts to fall and the black suit catches it, wrapping it around my shoulders and holding the front closed. It covers me all the way to my knees and I finally feel like I'm no longer naked. He tugs the coat and leads me toward the house, following my master's footsteps.

Taking in my surroundings, every one of my senses are overwhelmed. The sight of all the breathtaking exotic flowers in the darkness makes me feel like I'm in an underground garden. The breeze caressing my knees and tickling the hair on the back of my neck reminds me of a spring night by the fishing pond. The delicious aroma of nectar and pollen swirling together fills my breaths.

In front of me, the doors open up to a grand staircase with a gold banister. It leads up into who knows how many rooms. I appear to have arrived at what seems to be the entry to the heavens. How could there even be so much beauty in a single room, in one kingdom? The nagging pain I've felt for a while in the center of my head starts to worsen but I'm so amazed that I just keep absorbing everything around me.

"Clean her up before Akida looks her over.", Master says to nobody in particular and three women in blue dresses come to stand at my side.

"Yes, sir.", the women all say, nobody daring to look at his face.

He starts walking away and stops in his tracks, as though he's remembered something important. Before he makes his way up the magnificent staircase, disappearing from view, he makes one last remark to all within reach of his voice.

"Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I've bought a slave. I trust there will be no rumors of a possible secret lover in the news."

As soon as he's out of sight, both the men in black suits and the women in blue dresses all look at each other and then at me. Nobody utters a word but their stares say a million words. Aren't they also slaves? Why is my arrival a shock? The women at my side gesture for me to follow them and the black suit releases the coat. With my hands still bound, I hold it closed around me and reluctantly begin to follow the women.

They lead me toward the right of the staircase. Looking left, I can see that behind it lies a massive open room with sofas strewn about. Paintings and tapestries cover the walls but there are no pictures. Why are there no photos of Master's mother and father? Does he not have and brothers or sisters?

A large rounded box with a tufted stool stands by a stone fireplace. I can see that there are very big windows but the darkness outside prevents me from seeing what lies just outside of them. I look forward again and the shifting of my head causes a sharp jolt of pain between my eyes. For a moment, I have to stop and regain my composure. I must be tired. Today has been eventful after all.

The women look at me and I nod, continuing to follow them. I feel a cold drip of sweat on my forehead but pay it no mind, determined to get to wherever we are going and away from the hallway where my new master could return to taunt me. I hope with all my heart that surrounded by all these beautiful looking slaves, he will forget about my existence. The breathtaking scenery around me starts to blur and no matter how hard I try to keep my mind straight, a dark haze moves in and floods my vision.

I stumble one, two steps, a third, and I fall to the cold marble floor.