binding fiber, that which I had earlier put well on her, holding them mercilessly, so helplessly, behind her back, her head at his hip, stumbling, weeping, she was conducted swiftly from our presence. 'She will be branded shortly,' said Tenalion. 'If you wish, a little later, in the afternoon, you might visit her in her pen.'
'You are a kind fellow,' I said.
He shrugged. 'It is a weakness of mine,' he said.
28 Tenalion Accords Me a Favor
'Girl,' I said.
She moved in pain, in the straw. She lifted herself to a half sitting, half kneeling position. There was a sound of chain. 'It is you!' she said, softly. The heavy chain was on her neck. 'They branded me,' she said. 'I am branded.' 'Thigh,' I said.
She, wincing, turned toward me, in the straw. 'An excellent brand,' I said. It was the common kajira mark, as I had expected, a small, delicate, and beautiful, the cursive Kef, the stand and fronds, lyrically feminine, but unmistakable, a brand marking property, worn by most Gorean female slaves.
She looked at me. How helpless and soft she was, so perfect, now that she was enslaved.
'It is beautiful,' I said, reassuring her.
'Thank you,' she whispered.
'What is your name?' I asked.
'I have not been given a name,' she smiled. I too, smiled.
'Do you think I would so soon forget my cuffing?' she asked.
'No,' I said. 'I did not think so.'
'The other girl had a name, or thought she did,' she said.
'I see,' I said.
'So I shall answer promptly to the name given me,' she smiled.
'That would be my recommendation.' I said.
'I hope I am given a good name,' she said.
'You are pretty,' I said. 'You will probably be given a pretty name.' 'I hope so,' she said.
'But if you are not pleasing,' I said, 'it may be removed from you.' 'I know,' she said.
'Some masters force a girl to serve superbly for months, before being given any name, let alone a lovely one.'
'That is cruel,' she protested.
'You are at the mercy, totally, of anyone who buys you,' I said.
'I know,' she shuddered. The chain on her neck made a small noise. Chains look well on the necks of women.
'Have you received your first taking, after your branding?' I asked.
'No,' she said.
I nodded.
'I am naked, and the straw is soft and warm, Master,' she said.
'You are very beautiful,' I said. So beautiful are slaves!
'My Master, Tenalion, of Ar, has permitted you here,' she said.
'Yes,' I said, looking down at her.
'He has doubtless planned this,' she whispered.
'Are you resistant?' I asked.
'No,' she laughed. 'I am not resistant! I am a slave! I shall do my best to be responsive, and pleasing. I wish to be pleasing to my masters.'
'Perhaps you do not wish to be beaten, either,' I said.
'True,' she laughed. 'I do not wish to be beaten, either.'
I smiled.
'I think Tenalion is kind,' she whispered.
'Do you think he would be slow with the whip, if you were not pleasing?' I asked.
'No,' she smiled. 'I do not think he would be slow with the whip.' 'Does your brand hurt?' I asked.
'A little,' she said.
'Prepare to be taken,' I said. I removed my tunic. I looked down at her. She was lovely in the straw, at my feet.
'How do you wish to be taken?'
'I am new to my chains,' she said. 'Gently, lovingly, please.'
'Very well,' I said, 'this first time.'
29 Soldiers
'Hist!' whispered the fellow in the doorway.
'Ho?' I asked.
I saw then that it was small Achiates, he who was the landlord of the insula in which I lodged, which shabby structure now lay only a stone's throw away, down the Alley of the Slave Brothels of Ludmilla.
I approached him. It was now well past the fourteenth Ahn, late in the afternoon. I had intended to be back somewhat earlier, indeed, rather in the neighborhood of dawn, but I had dallied for a time in the house of Tenalion, or, more specifically, in one of the pens, off one of the labyrinthine corridors, beneath his house. I remembered the heat and softness of her lips and beauty, her readiness and eagerness, and the chain on her. I thought she would make an excellent slave.
'Surely the rent is not due so soon?' I inquired.
'Here, come out of the light,' he said.
I stepped into the doorway with him. He looked about. He then drew back his head.
'What is wrong?' I asked.
'What have you done?' he asked.
'Nothing,' I said. I think it is generally a good rule to protest one's innocence with vigor.
'Come now!' he said.
'I do not know,' I said. 'I have done quite a few things. Have you anything particular in mind? Has the room been damaged?' I feared Hurtha might have been practicing with his ax. Another alarming possibility was that he might have decapitated, either as an honest mistake, or intentionally, another tenant, perhaps one who had been so bold as to object to the declamation of poetry in the halls. Hurtha had the habit of composing orally. Still that would be something he had done, not that I had done.
'No,' said Achiates, nervously.
'See,' I said.
'They are waiting for you,' he said.
I watched a free woman hobble by, carrying a sack of suls on her back.
'Hurtha and Feiqa, the slave?' I asked. I blinked. Perhaps I had not had enough sleep the night before. That was possible, I thought, as I had not had any sleep.
'No!' he said.
'You are thinking of raising the rent?' I asked.
'No!' he said. But I had noted his eyes and glinted for an instant. I should not have said that. It had been the lack of sleep, I gathered. One must be careful how one speaks to his landlords. One must be careful not to put ideas into their heads. It is generally better to complain loudly and frequently, keeping the fellow on the defensive, so that the very thought of having the rent raised under such conditions would seem an unthinkable, outrageous affront.
