28 School; I Have Graduated
29 Hassan, The Slave Hunter
30 Sheila, The Tatrix of Corcyrus
31 Argentum
'Remove your silk,' he said.
I did so.
'Kneel,' he said.
I did so.
Straighten your body,' he said.
I did so. I knelt naked before Miles of Argentum, before his thronelike chair, on the tiles in his quarters, in Argentum.
'Your knees,' he said.
I spread my knees even more widely before him.
'You are now known as Tiffany, I believe,' he said, 'of Feast Slaves, of the Enterprises of Aemilianus.'
'I am Tiffany,' I said, 'of Feast Slaves, of the Enterprises of Aemilianus.' I never forget a face,' he said. I was silent.
My entire group had been brought from Ar to Argentum, I thought to entertain. This had been done at the expense of Miles of Argentum.
Furthermore, much to the surprise and displeasure of the girls, who were perhaps by now somewhat spoiled, we had been brought under heavy security. We had never, from the time we had left the agency in Ar to the time we entered the grounds of the palace in Argentum, been out of chains of one sort or another. I supposed that it was only I, of all the girls, and perhaps of all those on the staff of the agency itself, who suspected the reasons for this trip to Argentum and the rationale of the security. I did not think Miles of Argentum was particularly interested in feast slaves, per se. Surely such might be rented in Argentum itself. I think rather he was interested particularly in one feast slave. Tonight I had been brought to him, leashed and braceleted. My keeper, a fellow from the agency, had then, in his quarters, freed me of these bonds and turned me over to him. He had rented me for the night.
'Thrust out Your breasts, Tiffany,' he said.
'Yes, Master,' I said. I lifted and straightened my back even more, sucking in my gut and putting back my shoulders, this lifting the softness of my bosom brazenly to him, that of a slave girl, for his consideration or attentions. 'You are pretty, Tiffany,' he said.
'Thank you, Master,' I said.
'I enjoy commanding you,' he said. 'Yes, Master,' I said.
'Are you a good lay, Tiffany?' he asked.
'Sonic men have found me acceptable, Master,' I said.
'We are going to play a little game, Tiffany,' he said.
'We are going to pretend that you are Sheila, the Tatrix of Corcyrus,' he smiled.
'But I am Tiffany,' I said, frightened, 'of Feast Slaves, of the Enterprises of Aemilianus!'
'But we are going to pretend, aren't we?' he asked.
'As Master wishes,' I said, frightened.
'Stand,' he said.
I did so.
'Straighter,' he said.
I straightened up, even more.
He then, from a chest at the side of the room, fetched forth a lovely, yellow, silken sheet. This he draped, regally about my shoulders.
'Who are you?' he asked.
'Tiffany!' I said. 'Tiffany, of Feast Slaves, of the Enterprises of Aemilianus!' 'But we are playing, aren't we?' he asked. I shuddered.
'Now,' said he, 'who are you, really?'
'Sheila,' I murmured. 'Sheila, the Tatrix of Corcyrus.'
'I thought so,' he said.
I looked at him wildly, frightened.
'Sit in the chair,' he said.
'I dare not!' I said. The thought of sitting in such a chair terrified me. It was the chair of a free person. I was a slave. I might be whipped, or slain, for sitting in such a chair. The greatest honor I might expect in connection with such a chair was to be permitted to crouch or lie at its foot, or, perhaps, to be chained by the neck to its side.
'Is a command to be repeated?' he asked.
'No, Master!' I said. I hurried to the chair and, small and frightened, sat down within it.
Sit up more straightly, more regally, and put your hands on the arms,' he said. 'Good.'
Then he came over to the chair and, bending over, care-fully adjusted the sheet about me. He then stepped back. 'Good,' he said. Then he sat, cross-legged, on the tiles, a few feet from me.
'Yes,' he said. 'Good. That is it.' As he sat, he was below me. The angle would be similar to that which he had had from the floor of the great hall, or from the lower steps of the dais, looking up at me on the throne.
'I never forget a face,' he reassured me. was silent.
'Who are you?' he asked.
'I am Sheila,' I said, 'the Tatrix of Corcyrus.'
'Yes,' he said, 'you are.'
He then rose up and approached. me. He drew away the sheet and folded it, horizontally, again and again, until it formed, with several folds, a thick, long, narrow band, about six inches in height and the sheet's length, about seven feet, in width.
He then passed this band about my waist and about the back of the chair. He then tied me, snugly, back in the chair. He then resumed his place on the floor. 'Yes,' he said, 'clearly, at least a silver-tarsk girl.' I recalled that he had conjectured in the great hall, much to the fury of many of my retainers, that that might be about my value in a slave market.
He then rose up, again, and approached the chair. I tried to back, even further, against the back of the chair. My hands and arms were free but the thick, yellow band, knotted tightly behind the back of the chair, held me helplessly in place. 'You are not going to interfere, are you?' he asked.
'No, Master,' I said.
Then he began to caress me.
'There was quite a search for you,' he said.
'Yes, Master,' I said.
'It was lucky that I found you in Ar, wasn't it?' he asked.
'Yes, Master,' I said.
'It is convenient that the addresses of many slaves are on their collars, isn't it?' he asked.
'Yes, Master,' I said.
'It was thus easy to find you,' he said. 'Yes, Master,' I said.
'What is wrong?' he asked. 'Nothing, Master!' I said.
'You are squirming,' he said.
