Sara's Story

Act 2: Present

Chapter 13 - A surprising offer

© 2003 Nameless

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I spend the next two nights alone. The few times I see him, the overseer does not talk to me, but the way he looks at me is slightly unsettling. Not hostile, but strange.

On the third day after I spent the night with him, as I get in line for my dinner, the mistress calls me "Sara, come here!"

I quickly walk up to her "Yes, Mistress?"

"You don't get dinner today, Sara. Draw yourself a bath, groom your fur and make yourself pretty. Take some hot water from the stove." She grins at me "Don't put on any clothes afterwards, come back here for further instructions. Go now!"

"Yes, Mistress." I say, grab a bucket and fill it with hot water. I carry it to the bathroom, empty it into the tub and fetch a second one, to rinse myself afterwards. As I wash my fur, I wonder what is going on "We don't have any visitor that I know of. I guess either the Master or the overseer wants me to entertain him. Why am I not allowed to eat dinner?" I shrug my shoulders and work some more suds into my headfur. I don't like going hungry, but missing one meal won't be that bad. I remember the time when I worked at the inn, when I did not get anything to eat for a whole week and shudder at the memory.

I dry my fur as best as I can, then I brush it, working quickly but careful to get out all the tangles. Little Karen comes in, grabs a brush and starts working on my back and tail. When we are finished, I thank her and walk back to the kitchen. It feels strangely embarrassing to walk around in my fur, I must have gotten used to wearing clothes again. I step up to the mistress "I'm ready, Mistress."

My muzzle starts heating up as she looks me up and down, making sure my fur is done properly. Then she smiles "You look pretty, Sara. Go to Henry's room now."

"Yes, Mistress."

Before I can turn around, she adds "Don't worry. And good luck."

"Thank you, Mistress." I say and turn around, wondering why she said that.

# # #

I say a quick and silent prayer then I knock on the door.

"Who's there?"

"Sara, Master."

"Come in."

I walk in and close the door behind me. The room is dark except for a few candles on the table. The table is set for a private meal for two. I wonder who his guest is going to be. He smiles at me and twirls his finger, indicating I should turn around to show him my body. I twirl around twice and wait for his next command.

He looks at me thoughtfully, then he points at his bed and says "Put that dress on."

I walk there and pick up the blouse. It is beautiful, made of soft cloth. I have not ever worn something that soft. Our family could not afford to buy cloth that fine and no master would ever give a slave something that fine. "This is much too fine for me, Master!" I blurt out.

"It's all right, put it on, Sara." He says in a gentle voice.

I slip into it and button it up, then I pick up the skirt and put it on as well, musing "These are very fine clothes, something only a prosperous femme would wear. Someone like ... his wife!" I stare at him in shock when I realize this.

He reads the expression on my face "Yes, Sara. These clothes belong to my wife... Belonged to my wife." Then he indicates the chair opposite him "Sit down, Sara."

My thoughts swirl madly as I stumble there and sit down. I stare at him, wondering what he wants from me. "Why is he doing this?"

He just sits there and smiles at me. After a minute he asks "You are wondering what I am up to, aren't you, Sara?"

"Yes, Master."

He grins at me "Well, I won't tell you, not yet. Until you leave this room, behave as if you were a free fur ... and call me Henry."

My eyes nearly pop out of their sockets when I hear that. It takes me a minute to calm down enough to answer "Yes, Master." When I see the disapproving look on his face, I think about what we just said and venture "Henry?"

The smile returns to his muzzle. After a few moments he asks "So, how was your day, Sara."

Hesitantly at first, then with a little more confidence I tell him about my day. It feels totally weird, talking to him like that. "Will I be punished if I don't behave properly, the way a free fur should?" I wonder.

After a few minutes I am interrupted when Trisha comes in, carrying a tray with food and drink. Her eyes widen a bit when she looks at me, but otherwise she shows no reaction. She serves our food and pours wine and water for us. Then she waits for the next command.

"Thank you, Trisha." I say.

"Thank you. You may go now. I won't be needing anything else."

"Thank you, Master. Goodbye, Master ... and Mistress." She bows and leaves the room.

"She called me 'Mistress'!"

"Sara?" Henry asks "Would you say Grace?"

I bow my head and speak the short prayer of thanks.

When I am finished, Henry picks up his glass "To something special. Cheerio!"

My paws tremble a little as I clink my glass against his.

Then we eat, talking a little. The food tastes really good. I drink only a little of the wine, but I can clearly feel its effect on me. It has been a long time since I drank anything that contained alcohol. When I am finished and lean back, almost sated, Henry gets up and removes the plates. I am too surprised to do anything but stare at him. He returns to the table and brings dessert for us. A small pastry that is filled with roasted nuts and seeds. I can't remember ever eating something that good. When we are finished, I want to get up to carry the plates away but Henry stops me and does it himself.

Then he sits down again and looks at my face for a long time, then he raises his glass and toasts me. I take only a tiny sip of the wine. He extends his paw, clearly waiting for me to put mine into it. After hesitating for a moment, I do. He gently kisses my paw. Then he looks into my eyes and asks "Sara, will you marry me?"

" Marry him?!?" My thoughts swirl madly. I don't know how long I stare at him before I can say anything " Marry you?... How? I'm only a slave? How can I marry you?"

"I have thought about nothing else since you helped me make it through that terrible night, Sara. I talked with Lord Archwhiffle. I would buy you and set you free."

"I could be free! I would have to marry him, but I would be free." Then something else occurs to me "Henry ... So if I promise to marry you, you would free me?"

"Yes."

"What if I said I did not want to marry you after all, after you freed me?"

He thinks for a long while before he answers "Hmmm, I could try to force you to marry me, but then it would not be much different than keeping you as my slave. No, Sara, I won't force you to marry me. But please, don't say 'Yes' unless you think there is a chance that you would marry me." He sighs "If you don't marry me, I will give you clothes and a little money, so you can try to start a new life somewhere else. But you would hurt me a lot. I love you, Sara."

" You love me?" I blurt out "But ... I'm hideous ... What about all the scars on my body? My scarred face?" I look at the table, suddenly painfully aware of my disfigurement.

"Sara, look at me." When I don't react, he adds "Please." When I finally look up, he looks me in the eyes and says "Sara, I have seen them and your scars are not pretty. But I don't care, I love you, Sara. I really wish you did not have them. Not because they are ugly. But because every time I see them I am reminded of what you had to go through, how much pain your torturers caused you, how much I wish you did not have to suffer through all this. They remind me how I failed you. How I failed to protect you when I promised that I would."

"Thank you." I think about all this for a while "Can I think some more about it, Henry?"

"Take as long as you need, Sara."

"Sara?"

"Yes, Henry?"

"I want to apologize to you. For taking advantage of you. For forcing you to ... have sex with me. I was attracted to you, and you were just a slave ... Now that I think of you as much more than just another femme slave to ... have fun with ... I feel bad about it."

My muzzle hangs open as I stare at him for several long moments before I can answer "Thank you, Henry." and give his paw a gentle squeeze.

"Can you ever forgive me?"

"Just you saying this means a lot to me, Henry." In my heart I have already forgiven him, but I wink at him and say "We'll have to see ..."

He smiles now "I'll have to earn your forgiveness, won't I?"

I nod

"Sara? Did what I did to you hurt you ... or did you enjoy it at least a little bit."

I have to think about it for some time before I can answer "You did not hurt me. I did not really enjoy it, but ... I would rather spend a night with you than with anyone else. I think I would have enjoyed it if I had not been forced to do it."

"Thank you."

"Shall be go to bed, Sara?"

It is already dark outside "Yes."

We both take off our clothes and climb into bed. Henry blows out the lamp, then he turns to me and scoots closer, putting his arms around me.

His attention was rather pleasant the last time, still I would prefer to be left alone. "Do I dare to ask him to leave me alone?" Then I realize how I can tell him "Henry?"

"Yes, Sara?"

"You said that I should behave like a free fur?"

"Yes."

"Does that also mean that you treat me as if I was free fur?"

"Of course?"

"Would you ... have sex with a free femme you were not married to?"

He freezes for a few seconds, then he yanks his paws away and scoots away "No! ... You are right, Sara. I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Henry."

"Should we even share a bed?"

"Hmmm, actually, I would like to sleep next to you, back to back, I just don't want to do anything else."

He scoots closer again and turns around "Good night, Sara."

"Good night, Henry."

It takes me a long time to fall asleep. My thoughts swirl as I try to decide what to do. I don't know why it takes me so long to decide, because in the end there is no choice. After all the horrors I had to suffer because I was a slave, because there was no possibility for me to protect myself, I don't have any choice, I'd do anything to be free again. I sigh "I won't have to fear the whip again, have to fear that I might be killed for any reason. Or for no reason." A smile forms on my muzzle and I finally fall asleep.

# # #

When I wake, it is still very early, the first birds are just beginning to sing. Something inside me had changed, I feel like joining them, but I lie still and think about my life. About what I have been through and what it might have in store for me. I am not afraid any more. I realize that I trust Henry enough to bind myself to him, deep down I know that I will accept his offer. But I have to make sure he really appreciates me, that I can be his equal, at least as much as a femme can be the equal of a male. That I am not his slave, just one without a collar. A smile forms on my lips as an idea forms in my mind.

We have both been awake for a long time, neither one speaking, both still pretending to be asleep, when he finally breaks the silence and asks "Shall we get up, Sara?"

"Yes, Henry."

I stretch and get up. Henry does his best not to look at me, to give me at least the illusion of privacy. Then he asks the question that must have been on his mind all the time "Have you decided, Sara? Will you marry me?"

I turn to him and wait until I have his full attention "Yes, I have decided." Curiosity and anxiety fills his eyes as I remain silent. Then I kneel, assuming the slave's position, spreading my knees wide, presenting my body to him. I lower my head and look down at the floor for a moment, then I look up, locking eyes with him "Yes, I want to marry you, Master."

The look of surprise and delight on his face is priceless. He bends low and kisses my brow. Smiling at me he commands "Get back to work, girl."

"Yes, Master." I get up and leave, bowing deeply as I go. I pick up my smock from the bathroom and head to the kitchen. I almost feel as if I was floating on air.

"Good morning, Mistress."

She turns to look at me, noting the happy look on my face. She smiles and comments slyly "I take it Henry wanted to ask you something."

" Yes!" I surprise myself by jumping into the air " I will be free!" I shout in joy.

All eyes turn to me, surprised and curious.

"The overseer asked me to marry him! He's going to free me and marry me!"

The other slave crowd around me, hugging and kissing me and congratulating me. They are happy for me but I can see a tiny bit of jealousy in the eyes of a few.

The mistress bangs a large spoon on a pot "Back to work, girls! Or I shall have to use this on your backside! Sara, grab a bite!"

We hurry to obey her. The mood in the kitchen is very much different now, there is a constant whispering among the other femmes. I finish my breakfast and turn to work. I don't mind it at all. Time seems to fly and crawl at the same time.

# # #

"Sara, come with me." The mistress commands and looks around "If I notice that any of you slack off while I'm not here, I am going to be very angry." Satisfied by the chorus of "Yes, Mistress." she turns around and walks off in the direction of the Master's suite. I follow a few steps behind.

The study feels crowded, I have never seen so many furs in it at the same time. The Lord, the overseer, the mistress's husband, a young fox, an officer in the king's army judging from his clothing and several guards and soldiers. The Master looks at me and points at a spot on the floor. I hurry there and kneel, bowing my head and wait for events to proceed.

"Henry Stouffer, you expressed your interest to buy this female slave from me?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Sara! Get up and strip!" When I have obeyed, he goes on "Ok, make sure she is healthy and meets your expectations."

I should have expected that. I can only think of the old teasing quote "Bought that slave with the clothes on?" My muzzle is burning hot when the overseer finally winks at me and declares me fit and up to his expectations. The wide grin on his face is not at all feigned.

"I ask one half-crown for her, is that agreeable." Tears almost spring to my eyes at that low price, but then I realize that this is only a nominal price, to observe the rules, not what I am worth.

I wait patiently while they make out the bill of sales and Henry paws the requested coin to the Master.

Henry turns to me and commands "Sara, come here!"

"Yes, Master." I obey.

He paws me a bundle of clothing and commands "Put that on."

"Yes, Master, thank you." It is a peasant's dress. Knee length, made of rough cloth, not anywhere as fine as the dress I wore the day before, but much better than the smock I am used to wear.

When I have finished, he regards me for a moment, then he turns to the Master and says "Lord Archwhiffle! I want to set this slave free."

"This is really your will, Henry Stouffer?"

"Yes, My Lord."

"Then it shall be so." He turns to me "What name will you go by, now that you are free, femme?"

"Sara Swiftclimber, My Lord."

I wait patiently while they make out the document that declares me to be a free fur. The fox, as I had thought, is a representative of the sheriff. When they are finished, have signed it and affixed their seals, the Lord smiles at me and paws me the parchment "Here, Sara Swiftclimber, this document declares you to be a free fur again. Congratulations and best of luck for the rest of your life."

My paws shake as I take the parchment and look at it. I can't read it, but ... " I am free!" I surprise everybody when I shout in joy and jump into the air. When I see the surprised look they give me as they all stare at me, I am suddenly anxious "I'm sorry, Master ... My Lord."

He smiles again "It's all right, Sara. You have every reason to be happy today."

"Sara, come with me, please." Henry asks. "Not commands!" I realize "We still have to get rid of your collar. And that nose ring."

" Yes!" I say, suddenly impatient to be rid of them and turn to follow him. I had not really felt them or given them much thought, except when a master used them to hurt me, but now they suddenly seem to weight a ton.

"This may hurt a lot, Sara. Do you want to drink any spirits to dull the pain a bit?"

It takes me only a moment to decide "No. I don't care how much this hurts. But I want to remember it clearly."

I can see the pride in his eyes when he says "Fine."

The smith, a brown bear examines the ring in my nose for a few moments, then he picks a pair of tweezers from the rack of tools and says "Maybe you'd better rest your head on the table here, Miss." When I have done so, he says "Don't move." I give him a slight smile. Henry stands next to me, a piece of cloth in his paw. The smith takes the ring in his fingers. I whimper in pain when the tweezers bite through the metal and it tears at my nose. He turns the ring around a bit and cuts it again, leaving half the ring in my nose. "You can take it out now, but be careful, the ends are a bit sharp."

A little too impatient to be rid of it, I tear it out of my nose much too fast. I howl in pain and Henry presses the cloth against my nose, to staunch the blood flowing down my muzzle.

When the bleeding has stopped, the smith examines my collar and says "It's bolted shut, I'll have to use a file to cut through it. It may be best if I put it in a vice to hold it still. You may have to spend some time in a rather uncomfortable position, Miss."

"It's ok, I can take it. I just want this thing off."

Working together carefully he puts it in the vice. The workbench is too high to kneel but to low to stand up. Still, I have been in much more uncomfortable positions, and sometimes for hours on end. He takes the file and starts working on the metal.

The vibrations and the constant grinding are very uncomfortable. Soon I get a headache. He does his best not to hurt me, but the collar is a very tight fit and the file scrapes across my skin several times. Henry has to clean away blood and torn fur several times. But finally the file cuts through the metal. The smith opens the collar and I get up.

After all the years of wearing it, it feels really strange not having the collar around my neck. A load has been lifted from me, it feels strange to be able to touch my neck without feeling the metal. I jump into the air and shout in joy " I'm free!" I am so incredibly happy, I hug and kiss both males.

End of Chapter 13