Slave Trade - New Slave Master
Slave Trade - New Slave Master
copyright 2009 comidacomida
Sidney thanked the gods that he didn't have to go back into the slave pit to collect the stallion. Not only was he fortunate enough to avoid having to enter the pit, but the slavers also supplied transport for his new purchase. The transport was appreciated, but not the condition of the stallion when he arrived at Lord Hector's manor.
The slavers had taken what they called 'extra precautions' and the stallion was beat into a bloody pulp. Even after the slavers literally dumped the unconscious slave on the doorstep, the horse didn't so much as move. It was at that point that Sidney REALLY started to panic. The fox tried three times to move the prone stallion, but, for all his strain, the horse was moved all of five feet.
When Ulric, Lord Hector's slave master arrived, things did not improve in the least. The lion circled the horse once as if inspecting a wagon stuck in the mud, then approached Sidney. The fox was afraid of Ulric, even though they worked in different capacities. The lion, like him, was a slave, but was given a certain degree of power since it was Ulric's place to make certain things operated smoothly. It was obvious by Ulric's glare that he did not consider the horse to be 'business as usual'.
"What is this... thing?" the lion sneered.
"A new slave for the master, Sir." Sidney noted, tail curling inward as he looked down at the ground.
"Lord Hector sent you to get a house slave, fox... does this look like a house slave to you?"
"Perhaps... he could help with moving furniture, or--"
"I did not ask for suggestions on how we could use him, fox! Now... does he, or does he NOT look like a house slave to you?" the demand was much more of a growl than the first question.
"No, Sir." Sidney closed his eyes, knowing what was to come. Regardless of being prepared, the bright flash of light that blurred his vision still caught him by surprise, and he stumbled as it was quickly followed by a dull, thudding pain from where the back of the lion's paw had impacted his muzzle. Sidney knew better than to check for blood; that would have to wait.
"Then why, in the name of master, would you purchase a horse for Lord Hector?" Ulric rumbled with fury. Sidney was unable to provide an answer, which made the lion all the angrier, "Why would you spend the master's money on this bloodied lump of meat when he sent you for something more suited to serve the needs of his house? How much did it cost our generous master?"
"Five... thousand." Sidney murmured, knowing what would come next. His ear twitched, when he heard the loop of leather slide off of the slave master's belt, and his eyes already began to water at the burning sting that Ulric's whip would soon deliver.
"You insolent cur..." the lion roared, and Sidney hunched down, waiting for the pain... waiting for the agonizing, burning bite of the whip... waiting for... something that did not come.
"Ulric," said a calm, refined voice beyond the darkness of Sidney's clenched eyes, "please tell me the reason for this great commotion. The fox's eyes ever-so-slowly peeled open. Standing before him, like a guardian angel sent by the gods, pure-white gleaming with a silvery white shine, was his master. Sidney's master had interjected on his behalf; his legs felt week.
The slave master was stuck in an awkward stance. The lion's arm holding the whip was drawn full back, readying a forward flick, but Lord Hector's grip kept Ulric horribly off balance. Although the elk held the wrist loosely, the lion made no attempt to struggle, "I was disciplining an unruly slave, your lordship."
"The one on the ground, or the fox there?" the elk inquired, an eyebrow raising, "I dare say, good man, if you have been disciplining this horse, you have quite outdone yourself..." Lord Hector's easy smile quickly dissipated as he added, "...unflatteringly so."
"No, my Lord... I would never--" the lion began, but the elk was no longer looking at him, instead, Lord Hector's eyes gazed straight down at Sidney, who remained half-cowering, unmoved since his master's arrival.
"You... you are Sidney, is that not so?" the regal bearing of his lord and master almost made the fox piddle, but he managed to hold back as the glory that was his owner shone upon him.
"I... I am, master." Sidney responded, feeling each strand of fur on his body stand up on end at the sound of his name spoken in the smooth, majestic voice of his benefactor.
"This fox was sent to purchase you a new house slave, master." Ulric explained to the elk, "He returned with this half-dead horse."
Lord Hector simply nodded at the comment, taking a step closer to the cowering fox, "Stand up, Sidney-- I will look you over." The fox, still week in the knees, did as well he as he could, keeping his eyes averted from the awe inspiring site of his master, feeling unworthy to be so close.
His body betrayed him with faint shivers of delight as the elk's thumb and first two fingers took hold of his muzzle and turned it this-way-and-that, "How did you come by a bloody muzzle, Sidney?" Lord Hector questioned.
"I... I disobeyed your order, Master..." Sidney whimpered, feeling a few tears leak from his eyes. He would not dare lie to Lord Hector, and yet, he wanted nothing more than to cater to the elk's every wish. "I have not done as asked. I am loyal to you, Master... my punishment was deserved."
"Is it now?" the stag questioned, raising the fox's muzzle higher into the air until Sidney's eyes could lower no further, and were forced to look Lord Hector in the face. The fox's entire body froze when he met his master's locked stare, the elk's steel-gray eyes boring into his own. Sidney could not answer... could not even move.
He could do nothing but shiver in abject shame as he felt his sheath leak out seed that his member expelled without even being touched, let alone aroused. Sidney prayed to the gods that Lord Hector would not notice; and he spoke a silent 'thank you' as the stag slowly released his muzzle and walked back to Ulric.
"Ulric... Sidney came to me via Lord Bulhue, did he not?" Lord Hector questioned.
"He did, Master." the lion noted, amber eyes beating down on the fox, who quickly returned his own eyes to the cobblestone path on the ground.
"And he served as the esteemed hippo's 'private slave', did he not?" the elk's choice of words seemed so very eloquent, enough so to send shivers up Sidney's spine; in most cases he had ever only heard of his prior position as 'sex slave' or 'toy'. Even the less derogatory 'bedroom slave' had less charm than the term his master had chosen. Sidney refrained from panting, though he longed to show his benevolent lord what he had learned.
"He did." Ulric responded.
"Tell me, Sidney... during your time in Lord Bulhue's employ, did you receive any training in medicine, or in the art of healing?" the stag questioned.
The fox could feel his master's gaze upon him, but he dared not look up, "I had spent much time with the healer, Master. Though I was not trained, I am very good at learning, and I watched closely."
"But no formal training?" the elk asked.
"No, Master... I am a slave-- I am not trained for such things." the fox lamented, wishing that he would be able to say 'yes' to anything his master demanded of him.
"But you are a good learner, are you?" Lord Hector questioned.
Had his master thought him bragging> No... he would never brag; it was not a slave's place to brag. "I have been told, Master." the fox fell to all fours, lowering his head.
"Then I will leave this horse to your care, Sidney." the elk noted matter-of-factly.
"Master?" Sidney would have died of shame immediately at questioning Lord Hector but, thankfully, his own disbelieving exclamation was drowned out by Ulric's. Unlike Sidney, however, the Lion continued to press the question.
"This fox has purchased a slave for 5,000 coins of your own treasury! You sent him for a house slave, and he has returned with a bloodied horse. Surely you cannot condone this! He must be punished!" Ulric noted.
"And a slave who proposes to order his Master about? What should be done with him?" the stag questioned. Sidney, who refused to look up, heard no response. "I can find use for this horse, Ulric..." Lord Hector noted, "And Sidney will accept responsibility for him. Am I not correct, Sidney?"
"You are always right, Master." the words exited Sidney's muzzle because it was the right thing to say, but, at the same time, he realized how brilliant his master was; the horse would be his punishment... if the horse did not heal, if the horse became an imposition, of the horse broke free-- any of those possibilities would be solely his fault. Sidney saw that things were not headed in a very good direction.
"Very good, Sidney... then I will make you now a Slave Master, and give you full authority over this horse. See to his well-being, and I will come to see you tonight. Ulric, gather some of the heavies and have them drag our new acquisition to the work shed."
"Yes, Master. Your will shall be done." the fox heard the Lion rewrapping his whip. Once the sound of hoof on cobblestone was no longer audible, Sidney slowly stood up. Ulric sneered at him with complete contempt, "You... a Slave Master?" With that, the lion left him alone with the horse adding as he walked off, "You won't last a day."
At first, Sidney was horribly worried that Ulric had abandoned him. There would be no easier way to sabotage the fox than to leave him with the horse unconscious at the foot of the stairs. Thankfully, however, just as Sidney was moving from panicked to hyperventilating, a boar and a bull came out from the side of the building. They gave Sidney one look, then glanced down at the horse. The two of them hefted the large equine up and hauled him to the work shed, a cottage-sized building off to the side of the courtyard.
Once inside, the two set the horse down atop a pile of loose straw and made their exit, not offering so much as a single word to Sidney. The fox, once alone with the horse, remained motionless, mind trying to find some hint at where to begin. Sidney had no fresh water, medicine, no healer's kit, no bandages, and certainly no formal training. Just as he was about to give up, Sidney was surprised by the work room door opening suddenly, and a limping mouse entered with a wrapped package underneath one arm.
"Finneas?" Sidney asked, sitting up from his place on a dilapidated bench.
"Evenin'." the mouse replied, handling the fox the package, "Looks like ya had a wee problem wit' th' slave pin, aye?"
Sidney's ears blushed in response, "They were going to kill him because no one would buy him."
"Not a good ting ta used the Master's coin on, Sidney... not if'n ya value yer own hide... believe you me... I've seen it happen enough, bein' a messenger an' all." the mouse patted him on the shoulder, "Thanks fer standin' in fer me t'day, mate... I hope it doesn't end up bad for ya. Oh yea... barrel o' water's waitin for ya outside."
"Thanks, Finneas... I hope your legs gets to feeling better." the fox offered, letting the mouse leave as he began to inspect the package he'd been given. Sidney slowly pulled out a variety of equipment he was familiar with from the time he'd spent at the healers while in service to his prior master. Some of it brought back bad memories, but he quickly pushed those aside as he focused on the task at hand. Pausing, feeling the stickiness beneath his loincloth, Sidney quickly went outside with a cup and filled it from the barrel of water.
The fox doffed his loincloth, undoing the simple leather cord that held in in place, and washed his sheath. The water was freezing cold, but he realized that sooner was better than later when it came to drying seed, and the same went for his loincloth. He left his little bit of clothing to dry, also taking the opportunity to let his fur do the same since what little linen he had was best saved for bandages.
Moving over to his 'patient', Sidney began to tend to the wounds. He made the trip for water three times, each time using a small amount of linen to clean the cuts and ruptures on the horse's hide before carefully dressing them in a larger amount of bandage. The fox was required to sew three wounds closed; thankfully, he had some small amount of experience with tailoring, and he found it similar in practice.
Through it all, the horse barely moved. Whatever damage they inflicted on the horse was enough to keep him out cold. Finally, as most of the prominent wounds were addressed, Sidney moved to the most obvious of the lesser wounds, such as the furless manacle-burns on the horse's wrists, and worked to clean and dress those as best he was able. Finally done with his patient, the fox used a little remaining water and a small piece of cloth to dab at the blood on his own muzzle, wincing at the tenderness of it.
It was during Sidney's self-attention that the horse first started to rouse. The fox wanted to call for help, but realized that he was a Slave Master, which meant that he wouldn't get any; it was his responsibility to tend to the slave over which he presided, and that was the horse. Feeling his chest tighten with fear, Sidney was again reminded the amount of damage the horse had done to his slavers, and he turned to face the stallion.
The horse was sitting up on the pile of hay, inspecting one of his wrists. The stallion's nostrils worked, smelling the herbed bandages that were affixed to his right forearm. Slowly, the large slave's attention moved to Sidney, who felt his heart freeze in his chest.
"H-hi..." Sidney stuttered, trying not to make it sound like a whimper. The stallion slowly planted a hand on the ground, and grunted, moving into a kneeling position, then a standing position, then stumbled, toppling over back onto the hay. "Woah! Hold on there!" Sidney noted, moving quickly over to the horse.
The stallion spoke up quickly, bringing a fist back as the fox approached. The words that emerged from the horse were nothing that Sidney was familiar with... it was a language from another kingdom.
"I... I don't understand." Sidney noted, keeping a distance, "I... I don't speak that tongue."
The horse let out a deep sigh, and slowly lowered himself back down to a sitting position. The horse's hands, which had been fists, slowly relax, resting on either of the stallion's massive thighs. He made another comment then, as if realizing that Sidney didn't understand, motioned to the bandages on him.
"Oh... that was me." Sidney said, motioning to himself.
The horse offered a hesitant smile, and said a quick two words.
"If that's 'thank you', then you're welcome." Sidney noted, remaining at a distance.
The stallion winced, moving a hand to his forearm, where Sidney could see red starting to bleed through the bandage there. The horse noticed it too, and then looked to the fox. His tone implied a question and, though he spoke closely, it gave Sidney no clue as to what he was saying.
"Hold on..." Sidney said, and slowly backed away to the bag of healer supplies. He grabbed another length of bandage along with a few pinches of herbs and moved back to the horse, "I'm going to come closer now..." the fox offered in as calming a voice as he could, showing the bandage to the other slave.
The stallion made no hostile move, remaining calm and neutral as Sidney moved up beside him. The fox motioned for his patient to show him the arm and the stallion obediently complied. Sidney slowly unwrapped the other bandage and took a moment to inspect the wound. The horse's movement had apparently opened it up further, and the fox realized that there was no other way but to stitch it up. Of course, stitching an unconscious stallion was far different than trying to do the same to a conscious one... and one that was probably very ornery.
Going back to the bag, Sidney returned with a length of thread and a needle. He looked up to the horse, who gave a simple nod, and lowered the arm back to him. Steeling himself against a possible thrashing mound of muscle, the fox hesitantly began his work. To his surprise, the stallion moved no more awake than he did in his sleep. Looking up at the horse, he the piercing blue eyes staring right back down at him, as if the other slave were intently studying his work.
More than a little intimidated, Sidney continued sewing up the wound, realizing that, not only was the horse not wincing or crying out in pain, he actually seemed completely unbothered by the activity. Once the stitching was complete, Sidney quickly applied the poultice and wrapped the wound, eager to get back out of striking range, not completely trusting any large slave, let alone one so unpredictable as to flatten seven slavers before being taken down.
The stallion remained sitting, but took the opportunity to flex the arm that Sidney had just sewn. Looking back to the fox, the horse nodded once, as if in approval, and slowly lowered his body back down onto the hay. Sidney noticed, however, that the stallion's eyes remained focused on him.
"What did I get myself into?" Sidney spoke aloud. After a pause, the stallion slowly undid his own loincloth and tossed it atop an adjacent pile of hay. Sidney was surprised by the sudden action, and began gazing around the work shed for some reasoning behind the horse's sudden nudity... but it became clear when he saw his own loincloth resting beside the stallion's... and he couldn't help but blush when he realized what a show he had given the new slave.
"Well... first day as a Slave Master... I'd say it's a work in progress." Sidney sighed to himself. The horse responded to the words in his own language, which only made the fox's sigh deepen, "Tomorrow is really going to be interesting..."