fandomania | The Adventure continues...

Our eggs:

The Story:

I don’t know what their requirements were, but I was one of the fifty chosen by the slavers. I was a filthy mess, my belly still distended from my pregnancy. I couldn’t have looked all that attractive, but still I was chosen. We were taken and forced into small cages, where we couldn’t stand up or even sit up straight. Just before the wagon our cages were packed in drove off, we were given some water to drink. It must have been drugged, as I fell asleep almost immediately.

I awoke when our cages were being transferred at some port to a ship. We were carried into a large hold that stank of human waste and death. Those of us who were awake were fed drug-laden gruel, which sent us off to merciful sleep again. It must have been a long journey, as I later found evidence that my monthly courses started while I was asleep. We were drugged daily with what meals they gave us. Even having lost track of all time, the journey seemed lengthy. When we arrived at our final destination, our cages were transferred once more to a wagon.

The men who handled the transfer were unlike any I had ever seen before. They were tall men, with dark brown skin and dark hair and eyes. They seemed in general to be a handsome people and, at least, they spoke the common tongue. I had never heard stories of anyone who looked like these people. Their city, from what little that I could observe, had an exotic kind of architecture. The walls, in the sun, seemed to glow in a golden color. Their vegetation looked odd to my eyes, with broad leaves and flowers in rainbow hues. Their animals seemed unusual, some with humps and some with striped fur and some with protruding eyes and teeth. I had no clue where I was.

Once again we were loaded into a wagon and we were driven a short distance to a warehouse-like structure. There we were carried into a large room. One by one, we were removed from our cages. Because of the lack of space that we had had in those cages, we had to be carried into a large dormitory, where we were stripped of all clothing and had our limbs and bodies massaged by slaves until we were somewhat able to walk.

Then, we were taken into a large tiled room, where we were vigorously scrubbed by more slaves, to remove all the dirt and filth and to remove any vermin we might have been carrying. We were then shaven of any hair that grew below our necks and had a depilatory cream rubbed into those areas.

We were next taken to a room where every portion of our bodies was examined by doctors. They took complete notes and, over the next few weeks, any injuries were treated, any scars were removed and any flaws to our bodies corrected. When they had finished with us, weeks later, we were all clean, slender, and as flawless as the ghods had originally intended us. Most of the scars that Jaizel had given me had totally vanished; the rest had been so reduced as to be undetectable to those who didn’t know where to look. From what I could see in my limited perspective, my hips and belly was as slender as they had been before I started having babies. And, amazingly, we all were made virgins again, as our hymens had been restored. I suppose that virgins went for more money and that is why they went to that bother. All in all, we spent weeks in that facility, preparing us for sale to our future owners. We were treated like prized animals, completely dehumanizing, and watched very closely. One woman, whose handlers were lax, tried to kill herself, but her attempt failed and her handlers were punished severely.

Although they didn’t tell us what day it was, we could tell that our auction day had arrived, as we were bathed and oiled and groomed. They also slipped drugs into our last meal that calmed us down and kept us from having hysterics during the bidding. Despite them, the experience was still hugely humiliating. I was one of the first to be sold. Having a thousand men staring at every intimate part of my body and being sold like an animal still haunts my dreams to this day. When the final bid was accepted and the moneys exchanged, I was then taken to another room, where my slave number and my owner’s information was tattooed to my inner thigh and also on my left arm, near my wrist. I was then fitted with a slave collar and manacled with chains from my neck to my wrists to my ankles. Four other women were purchased by my new master and we were taken to a covered wagon and transported to our new place to live.

From what little I could observe when they took us from the wagon, it appeared to be a huge palace, with multicolored minarets and domes and surrounded by twenty foot wide walls, with only a couple of gates and portcullis’ as entryways into the palace. We were then taken to the hareem, where we were to spend the rest of our lives.

A fat, dark-skinned eunuch met us in a large dormitory, which held five beds and little else. There were windows, but they were covered with decorative screens and draperies, which allowed light in, but not much else.

“Welcome to your new home. You have been specially selected to be pleasure girls for Armand, Shah of Rajfahar. Whether you will ever grace his bed will be up to you and how quickly you learn your lessons and how much you pique his interest. Those not chosen will be used to entertain his guests and friends. You will be fed soon and you will have the rest of the day to become adjusted to your new situation. Tomorrow your lessons will start in earnest. Rest well.”

When he left the room, two eunuch guards stood on either side of the door. They watched us like hawks. But both, or their replacements, never left their posts at the same time. They had been well trained in keeping women under control. They could stop arguments and fights with incredible skill and then never let any of us near anything that had a potential for self destruction. And having been emasculated, they couldn’t be teased or lured into doing anything remotely sexual. The others tried almost everything. I just kept quiet and observant.

The next day, after breakfast, the head eunuch returned, with several female slaves. They started with instruction as to how one dressed, how one groomed oneself, how one comported oneself in the hareem. As the weeks went by, we were taught how to pleasure a man with one’s hands, one’s mouth, one’s tongue and one’s private parts. We were taught how to sing, how to dance, how to give obeisance to our owner and be obedient to our betters, how to live our lives for the sole purpose of giving pleasure to men.

It gave me small satisfaction that they treated me like the innocent that I had been sold as. I just went along, trying not to bring attention to myself by being the best or the worst. I wanted neither to be selected for the Shah’s pleasure nor be given to anyone else. The thought of having to bed any man other than my husband revolted me. I tried not to think too often of Donal or my children. I realized that I would never see them again and it hurt so much. The thought of Eryssa growing up, never knowing her mother, made me even sadder.

Once we were considered properly trained and oriented to our new life, we were then introduced to the rest of the hareem. There were at least fifty other women in the hareem, which was ruled over by the Shah’s mother, Florazelle. From what I learned during my lessons, the Shah had not taken a queen or consort yet. That spot would be given to the first woman who gave him a son and heir. While the Shah was very amorous and capable to impregnating his women, he had yet to produce a son. So far, he had fathered fifteen girls and not a single boy.

Florazelle was a tall woman, like all the other people of her country. She was very elegant and beautiful, very regal and comfortable with her forty years. Her medium brown skin was still unwrinkled and flawless. She wore her clothes with panache and style. But she also ruled the hareem with an iron fist. She set down rules of behavior that everyone had to obey, even the women who were the favorites of the moment. She did not suffer fools gladly, not did she tolerate sycophants. Those who wished to rise in her estimation did so only with honesty and obedience.

Florazelle was also the person who chose who would next grace her son’s bed. He was never seen in the hareem. Although I started to wonder if he might observe us through the screens that looked down upon the rooms. Only those who had been chosen knew what he looked like. And the wise ones would never talk or gossip about him, for fear of punishment.

One afternoon, during of the dance practices, Florazelle came and watched everyone closely. To my consternation, she called me over and started to talk with me.

“Mara, I have been watching you for some time now. For such a beautiful girl, you seem very modest and unassuming. I have noticed that when you seem to excel at something, you have almost an immediate relapse and then act more clumsy and untalented. I am not sure what to think of this. I like how you never get into disputes with the others, that you are very concerned with others over yourself. You never put yourself forward or assume airs, and yet you have a quiet elegance.

“As with every woman in the hareem, I also am keeping track of everyone’s cycles. I think that it would be a very good thing for you to lay with my son tonight. I have a very good feeling about you. So prepare yourself well. After dinner, I will come and take you to his room. You are the lucky girl who will get to know him tonight.”

While the other girls gave me congratulations and offered to help me groom and prepare myself, all I could think of was doom. I felt in a daze and wished that the earth would swallow me up whole and kill me. I felt more like a prisoner going to his execution. I don’t know how I got through the rest of the day and I couldn’t eat a bite of dinner. When Florazelle came to take me to her son’s room, it was all I could do to not throw myself at her feet and beg her not to do this to me. But that would be futile. She thought she was doing me a big favor. Even if she knew that my heart belonged elsewhere, she still wouldn’t understand why I was dreading this. I felt shame and humiliation cloak me. I was soon to disgrace myself and my marriage vows and allow another man to touch me, even though I didn’t want it. But there was nothing that I could do. Before I knew it, we were at the Shah’s bedroom and I was brought in to await his arrival and my defilement.