'Thank you, Master,' she said.
I stepped back a little, not releasing my hold, and looked down at her.
'Even in such garments,' I said.
'Thank you, Master,' she said.
The recent garments prescribed for state slaves, of course, as such things went, were quite modest. They had their supposed role to play, doubtless, in the attempt on the part of Cos to depress the sexual vitality of the males of Ar, to devirilize them and make them easier to manage. That program, of course, as I have indicated, was unsuccessful. That the female is a slave is far more important than her garmenture, pleasant as that may be, dressing her in one manner or another for your pleasure, for example. That the female is a slave can double or treble, or more, the sexual interest and vitality of the male. It also has a considerable effect, an astounding effect, on the sexuality of the enslaved female, as well. The reasons for this have to do with the order of nature.
'Is Master angry with me?' she said.
'Stand back against the wall,' I said. 'Put the palms of your hands back, against the wall. Hold them there. Do not move.'
'Yes, Master,' she said.
I touched her.
'Ohh,' she said, trying not to move.
'You are still hot,' I said.
'Forgive me, Master,' she said.
'No forgiveness is necessary,' I said. 'Being hot is commendable in a female slave. Indeed, she may be whipped if she is not.'
Yes, Master,' she said, swallowing hard.
'And recently,' I said, 'if I am not mistaken, you were steaming, and oiled.' 'Do not be angry, Master,' she begged.
How exciting she had been on Tarn Court! How beautiful she had been on Tarn Court! I had been tempted to rush forth and seize her, putting her to my pleasure, I owning her. I had not, of course, done so. That would surely have interfered with my plans.
'Do not be angry with me, Master!' she begged.
'To whom do you belong?' I asked.
'To you, Master,' she said.
'And to whom else?' I asked.
'To no one else!' she said.
I regarded her.
'The slave hopes that her master is not displeased with her,' she said.
I then took her once more by the upper arms and drew her, again, close to me. I held her in this fashion for a few Ihn, and then she made a tiny noise, and turned her head to the side, to her right.
'You feel my closeness?' I asked.
'Yes, my master,' she whispered.
'And you grow excited?' I said.
She looked up at me. 'Yes, Master,' she said.
'And you cannot help yourself?' I said.
'No, Master,' she said, looking away…
'And I could be any man?' I asked.
'Yes, Master,' she said.
'But I am your master,' I said.
'Yes, my master,' she said.
'You are a female slave,' I said.
'Forgive me, Master,' she said.
'I effect nothing critical,' I said. 'Your sexuality has been taken away for you, and out of your control.'
'Yes, Master,' she whispered, frightened.
'Do not be troubled,' I said. 'It is appropriate that a female slave be sexually alive, vital and responsive.
'Yes, Master,' she said.
'Even required,' I said.
'Yes, Master,' she said.
'You would not wish to be whipped for insufficient heat, would you?'
'No, Master!' she said.
'Think no more about it then,' I said. 'Surrender, rather, as you now must, and wish to do, to your deepest needs and desires, to your most profound and helpless passions, to those truths, hitherto concealed in the most secret recesses of your belly.'
'Take me somewhere, Master!' she begged. 'Take me somewhere!'
'You are somewhere,' I informed her.
She looked wildly at me, and I then, by the upper arms, lifted her up, against the wall.
She looked down at me. 'Master!' she begged.
I kept her to the wall with my body, and, in an Ihn or two, got my hands to her waist, lifting her up. She put her arms about my neck, sobbing. 'Oh, yes, Master!' she breathed. 'I yield me, as a slave, your slave!'
For an Ehn or two I held her.
'Aiiii,' I breathed, gasping.
'I am yours,' she whispered, 'your slave!'
'Yes,' I said. 'Yes, you are.'
Shortly thereafter I became aware of a presence behind me. I turned. There was a guardsmen there, a regular, not an auxiliary. I had never seen him before. He did not seem angry. I lifted Lavinia upward. 'Ai!' I said, softly. I then put her to her feet in the doorway. She kissed at my arm, and kept her arms about me. Surely she was aware of the observer, as well. 'Do you not know enough to kneel in the presence of a free man?' I asked her. Quickly she removed her arms from my body, smoothed down her tunic, and knelt, properly, in the doorway. 'Does the whip master know where you are?' asked the guardsmen of Lavinia. 'No, Master,' she said.
'You are pretty,' he said.
'Thank you, Master,' she said.
'These state sluts are all the same, ' said the guardsmen.
'Oh?' I said.
'I liked it better when they were belled,' he said.
'That was nice,' I said.
'It made it easier to keep track of them, in alleys, in doorways, and such.' 'Doubtless,' I granted.
He looked at Lavinia, who lowered her head.
'I suspect it is lonely for them, in their chains, at night,' he said.
'I suspect so,' I said.
'She has duties,' he said. 'Do not stay here long.'
'We shall be gone in a moment,' I said.
He then turned about and went south on Varick.
Lavinia was trembling.
I had her rise and put the short cloak about her. Then, on a thought, as it pleased me, I had her adjust the hem of the garment she wore so that it was slave short. I then, too, adjusted the cloak so that it barely covered the raised hem of the garment. She would hold the cloak high, bunched, about her neck, to cover the collar. In this fashion it was concealed that she wore a garment resembling that of a state slave and her legs, quite contrary to the intent of the statelength garment, were extensively and delightfully bared.
'I delivered the message,' said Lavinia to me.
'I know,' I said.
'You saw?' she asked.
'Yes,' I said.
She looked down.
