Archive-name: Kidnapping.of.Princess.Brianna

From: jfriday@ada.stat.uga.edu (Paul Stacy)

Subject: ARCHIVE: Kidnapping of Princess Brianna (1/2)

Newsgroups: alt.sex,alt.sex.stories,alt.sex.bondage

From: jfriday@ada.stat.uga.edu (Paul Stacy) Newsgroups: alt.sex,alt.sex.stories,alt.sex.bondage Subject: ARCHIVE: Kidnapping of Princess Brianna (2/2) Date: 13 Aug 92 03:39:39 GMT Organization: University of Georgia Statistics Department Originator: jfriday@ada

captain was cut up pretty bad and dying before I was brought above decks again. That is the only reason I was sold. Can you help me?"
"Jess, I will buy your partner and pretty back, and take you to Dark Hold on my pass. I owe you that much. After that we can part as friends."
"Janesse is good enough to solo, if you want a job as my partner," she offered. "I made more money with you than her."
"Ah, my old teacher. `Ever did the clank of gold the delicate sound of heartstrings drown.' I'd like that. I don't make as much solo as I did with you." He held out his hand. She took it and they shook on the bargain. Now about the price of your freedom..."
"I understand," she said, moving into his open arms. "If you really find this battered body desirable, I guess I shouldn't complain. I think you'd find one of those lovely toys in your coffle more enjoyable though. Do be careful."
"It is not the body I find desirable. It is the woman who inhabits it. Those toys are not a tenth of the woman you are, my Saroncha. I will be careful. They used you badly, love. Your hair, your earring, everything is gone, but you they couldn't break." He quietly blew out the lamp and pulled her closer in the dark. Careful to let her dictate all the motion, so as not to hurt her sunburn, he rolled onto his back, pulling her on top.
Jess had not underestimated her skill, Red Jared noticed after a frustrating effort to arouse her. She was not very satisfying, and seemed less than interested in the whole event. He held her to him afterward.
"Now you understand why you are only the second in a century. I apologize."
"No, I apologize. I should not have required it of you. You are not a toy. But will you share my bed this night, since I have made no other accommodation arrangements?"
"Since you ask, I take it I am free. I will share your bed this night, and any other you would like, for expenses sake. But do not require the use of my body; use your toys. Tomorrow, we begin our travels?"
"Yes. In the morning, partner."
"You know that the ogre is going to rob us. He hates me."
"Yes, I know. I have had a good year. I can afford quite a bit. Why does he hate you, Jess?"
"Who do you think gave him the name One-Ear? The other one, I sold for a gold Tiensor back in Ontra around A.L. 47. Back when Tazreth the Proud Tiensor that year. His face looked better on the coin than it did atop a pole six months later." Red Jared laughed quietly beside her, and kissed her scarred cheek.
The travel was difficult, as Jess quickly learned that not only Tavect, but every civilized province to the east and west of it, clear north to the Kish-Kars, had been conquered. Imperial occupational forces were everywhere, and martial law was being enforced. News from Tavect across the Handel was hard to come by, but as they traveled, Jess pieced together what had happened during her confinement on the Iron Chain.
The west had fallen quickly and the Dark Lord was besieg- ing Fe'En and Ontra as well as Tavect. He was running into resistance there. Although difficult, news about Tavect was still easier to come by than about the other kingdoms, although all of it was old, and it seemed Tavect had fallen after less than a week. The main forces had been sent out and caught on the open plains in the east, leaving the city sparsely defended, while imperial forces struck from the river.
It seemed that an alarm had been spread at the palace, late in the evening before the ships arrived. The Princess Brianna had been seen leaving the palace in the hands of two barbarians, who had slain two of the guards in the west gatehouse and left the third for dead. The same had happened at the east- ern gate of the city, as the barbarians fled the city with their prisoner, the fair princess, and headed for the open country in the east. Jess finally remembered where she had seen the guards- man at the palace before. He was one of the Dark Lord's elite from hi hand-picked First Legion. She had encountered him some years ago at one of the lavish parties at Dark Hold. As well as field tactics and arms, the elite were also trained as infiltra- tors, similar to the Shadowmen of Tod, save that they specialized in joining militaries and advancing up through the enemy ranks, until they were needed to create havoc and betrayal.
Since the princess had been invisible, and Jess had left the city going south instead of east and then turned west, she now knew for certain she had been set up by her patron. It had all been planned, and she could guess what had happened when she had left. The First Legionnaire in the gatehouse would have speedily dispatched his comrades and then given himself some manner of convincing self-inflicted wound and set up the alarm after giving her and her partner an ample head start. A similar scene had undoubtedly played itself out at the eastern city gate.
Misled, the king of Tavect had dispatched his forces, most of them by the sound of it, to rescue his darling daughter, sending them thundering into the lances of the advancing imperial troops. Retreating and unable to find the princess, King Fionn's troops returned home to discover it was under siege by troops from the river at their backs. Tavect's navy was caught unawares and destroyed or captured in the harbor. The few ships on the river itself had been mercilessly hunted down by the imperial flotilla after the soldiers had been dropped on land.
Ill-prepared to repel a siege, Tavect's city defenses rallied slowly, losing nearly half of the city before they made a stand. The Tavectan soldiers that had been sent after the miss- ing princess, trapped between enemy forces, were cut to ribbons or scattered into the surrounding countryside. As the capitol held out against the imperial invaders, other imperial troops swept through the countryside, eliminating citizen militias and garrisons in towns. They isolated Tavect's borders and sealed off the towns, eradicating any organized resistance.
Unwilling to wait King Fionn out, and seemingly in a hurry, as if Tavect's conquest and those of its neighbors were mere preliminaries to something greater, the commander of the Dark Forces announced that Princess Brianna was in their Emperor's hands and if King Fionn ever wished to see her alive and whole again, he was to surrender his remaining holdings immediately and capitulate. Tavect surrendered within three hours of the announcement, and the king was reported to be a prisoner in his own palace, and the location of the princess was still unknown. With Tavect captured, Fe'En and Ontra were the last holdouts against imperial conquest in the east; everyone else was under imperial rule, making the northern Handel River territories the Dark Lord's largest and quickest land gain ever.
There was speculation that Tavect and the other regions were not the main goal. The Dark Lord had sent four full legions with complete auxiliary support against them, and rumor had it that there were two more in the area of Pin just north of Lake Vadnais. Jess, having traveled the area many times, noted that if all the stories were true, the Dark Lord had now surrounded the elven kingdom. If he wanted a bunch of long-eared tree- surgeons and poets, to her mind, that was his business.
Jess's heart sank a bit at the news of Tavect's fall. It was quite possible that Varge One-Ear had recognized Princess Brianna for who she was, or that the little fool had blurted it out to someone, and been sold to the occupying imperial forces. It galled her to think that some imperial soldier might be cheat- ing her out of her fee, to say nothing of the reparations she felt entitled to after the ordeals on the ships. It was unlike- ly, but she still had to find Varge and learn whether the Dark Lord's men actually had the princess or had merely pulled off a convincing bluff. Besides, she still owed the quarter-ogre and there was the matter of getting Janesse back.
Patrols checked Red Jared's pass at every town and usual- ly at several points between. No word of Varge One-Ear was heard, although they listened and inquired in the taverns and markets. After two weeks all of the coffle had been sold and others bought. Agnes had been taken off the coffle and appointed as Jess's personal servant. Finally rumors were heard of his whereabouts.
Following this lead, the pair tracked him to Toren two months before fall sales. Noting her timetable, Jess knew that if the princess had fallen to the Dark Lord's men, there was no way of catching up with her before some Fates-favored soldier was rewarded for her efforts and pain. Jess and Red Jared left word in the Inn of the Freckled Wench, a place which Varge One-Ear frequented when in the area. Jess loathed it. The food was abysmal, the barmaids surly, the drinks watered and everything was overpriced. Varge made contact two days later. A meeting was arranged at an establishment called The Petrified Medusa, an expensive eatery on the rich side of town.
The two showed up before the hour appointed to check the place. Choosing a back booth, they sat quietly and waited for One-Ear. The ogre breed wandered in several minutes later. They saw five retainers drift in and seat themselves nearby, but not so close as to arouse suspicion.
"You have something that belongs to me, Varge. I am willing to purchase it back," Jess said coming to business, after their meals had arrived. "You bought at least two wenches from the imperial slave ship on the Handel River. One was number sixteen, the other number twenty. Sixteen had--"
"I know who you want, Long-ears. How much you willing to pay?"
"We will give you a fair price for the two. How much do you want?" Red Jared asked.
"Four hundred for the elf. Two hundred seventy-five for the fat wench."
"We'll give you two hundred for each, plus two girls from my coffle," he offered. The ogre shook his head.
"No. When you chase me from the Handel to Toren, you want them bad. You pay three hundred each."
"One-fifty each, and four from my coffle."
"Who are they? Why do you want a part-elf and a fat whiner? Elf's not even good in bed. She fights."
Jess spoke up. "The elf is my partner. The whiner is my commission. Two hundred each."
"Too late, half-blood. The elf got sold down Diebe way. She bound for The Satyr's Delight. Chase down Black Shadow and buy elf from her. I got fat whiner; she not sell yet, but is still fun to slap and make dance at end of whip. Until she get thin, it not matter if she marked."
"Two-fifty for the whiner. You won't get a better price on the block."
"Maybe," Varge belched, and plucked some food from Jess's plate with dirty fingers. "But as said: when you chase me from the Handel to Toren, you want her bad. You pay!"
He leaned back, sneered and crammed the food he had stolen from Jess's plate into his mouth. He knew he had the advantage and was enjoying it immensely. It was not often that he got the upper hand on a rival like the Harveld, and now it had been handed to him twice in less than two months. He reminded himself to make the appropriate sacrifice to Ganash, the god of his ogrish grandfather. This promised to be a good year indeed! Not only had he antagonized the helpless half-elf aboard the Iron Chain, but he had sold her partner far east, and Jess would have to go far out of her way if she wanted her back in any fair physical condition. That would exclude her from the Fall Market in Toren this year, and now he held her commission in his coffle and would not have to sell her if the price was not to his lik- ing. Revenge was sweet, and being on top felt good for a change.
Jess felt her blood beginning to boil, but the cool hand on her arm gave her an anchor for her composure. The princess was not in imperial hands, and the Dark Lord would have to deal with her to purchase the brat. Her revenge on One-Ear could wait. As a half-elf, she had years on her side, while the ogre was getting old and slow. She knew he would be looking over his shoulder for some time after this rotten deal was concluded. One day she would be there; she always paid her debts, and he knew it.
"How much?" Red Jared stated flatly, growing weary of this game.
"Three fifty," Varge stated, leaning so far forward that the lycanthrope could smell his breath. "And three from your coffle. Money up front now, or no deal."
"Done," said Red Jared stiffly. He motioned out a nearby window to one of his retainers, posted outside the eatery. The man left his post and returned a minute later with two others carrying a wooden chest. They moved to Red Jared's side, unlock- ing the chest and moving aside the old clothes they had laid over the coins. Red Jared counted out Varge's money quietly. Feign- ing forgetfulness, and feeling spiteful, Varge made Jessica count the coins over again, just to make sure no mistakes had been made. Finally satisfied, Varge waved one of his own men forward with a box, and swept the neat stacks of coins into it before sending him back to his seat.
"You can choose from my coffle in the morning. We're at the Harvest Inn. Second hour," Red Jared informed him.
"Tomorrow, second hour, Harvest Inn. You pay for dinner." Varge One-Ear left the eatery with his retainers in his wake.
"Dammit, he knew who they were. He recognized Janesse, and I'm sure that fool princess blurted that she knew her. He deliberately sold Janesse to keep me out of the Fall Market. My daughter can wait. The Satyr's Delight is not a good brothel, but she will either work off her indenture, or we will go get her after sales. I will make the Fall Market, Chassos take the ogre."
"Jess, stay calm. We'll get Brianna back and then go to Dark Hold. You said your expenses were paid. Have you kept a record?"
Jess pulled a sheaf of parchment out of the top of her new boots. "Yes, and the personal suffering just went up a hundred gold." Making the notation, she tucked the parchment back into her boot-top. "Let's get things organized, and alert some of your men to keep an eye out for Varge on the roads out of the city; he may decide to take what he has and run. He's not above that, you know."
"I know Varge One-Ear. Well, we almost have Brianna back. Is your patron going to be willing to pay for everything, do you think?"
"I don't know, but I'll take what I can get, and see to it that you get your cut." They rose and went to pay the bill. "Let's just hope Varge doesn't decide to leave in the night."
The next morning, at the second hour, Varge One-Ear met them at the inn. Princess Brianna looked angry and pouting, but subdued. A large red mark showed on her face, as well as a number of welts on her back and lower legs. "Your fat whiner?" he asked.
Jess nodded. "Is she still a virgin?" she asked, a bit concerned. She had promised the Dark Lord that, if Brianna was a virgin, she would be delivered in that condition.
"I know market value, Long-ears. She bring little enough as virgin, why lower it?" Seeing the dangerous look forming on Jess's face he answered, "Yes, she still virgin. She whine so loud none of my men put up with her long enough."
Brianna looked offended at being talked about as though she were merchandise. She opened her mouth to say something, but a slight raising of the ogre's hand silenced her. She had large hand-prints all over her body, and was now truly frightened of the ogre. Jess was a different matter, though, and perhaps the handsome young man who was unlocking her collar could be worked to her advantage.
Red Jared unlocked Brianna's collar and locked her into his coffle. He used a wrist and neck coffle, involving a line of collars attached to each other by about two feet of chain and wrist cuffs similarly attached. He removed the yellow slave tunic she wore, handing it back to Varge One-Ear.
"I'll put one of my own on her, thanks. Jess, would you find something appropriate?" As Harveld left to find another tunic for the slave, he looked at the girl. "I don't know, Varge. Jess wants her because a certain powerful someone wants her. I'm not sure why. Now which of mine do you want?"
With a slaver's unerring eye for value, Varge looked over the coffle. Two of the girls were at least partially trained, since they stood straight under inspection. The pretty blonde next to Brianna refused to look at the ogre; he turned her face to him and looked at her closely. Apparently, she did not meet his approval, since he moved on quickly. A few minutes later, Jess returned with the red scrap. Varge decided on the half- trained red-head, a dusky-skinned girl with startling blue eyes, and a dwarven gladiator who bore the decorative scarring of an outcast adventurer.
"A good choice. Any one of them's worth more than the whiner," Red Jared commented as he opened the coffle and removed them.
"I won't wear that! No nice lady wears that color. And it's disgraceful, too low cut, too high cut. I won't wear it. Find me something better!" Brianna's shrill voice broke into their bargaining. It seemed her time with Varge had not broken her spirit, or subdued her haughtiness as much as Jess would have liked.
Jess had reached for the small belt whip that was stand- ard when traveling with a coffle. Jared left the ogre and went to her. "Jess, let me handle this. Her price goes down if we mark her more than she already is. She needs time to heal."
He motioned Jess away and took the clothing. Brianna smiled fetchingly at this new and unexpected ally. The smile faded at his words. "Listen to me, and hear me well, slave. This piece of clothing is for your own protection. If you refuse to wear it, you will wear nothing. For a slave, to be marched naked in coffle is discipline. Anyone who asks is allowed to use her at no charge. This means the most repulsive, diseased beggar on the street can use her, or a patrol captain can give her to his men for a time. Since it is bright red, it shows you are a virgin, belonging to me, Red Jared. Were it a duller red, you would be marked as nonvirgin, and I could rent you out as I wished. Now, wear it or nothing. And, rest assured, that if you choose the latter option, I will use you first and then perhaps loan you to your former master. As we leave Toren, you will be marched at the head of the coffle, and there will be many re- quests for you, overweight as you are. I will accept all of them. They may do anything short of disfiguring or killing you."
Anything else he might have said was cut short by Brianna snatching the scrap of cloth and trying to figure out how to put it on. With slim, deft hands, Red Jared put it on her, showing her how it fit. It was revealing, but Brianna found she felt better with something on again. He handed her a pair of light sandals.
"Actually, you belong to my partner, Jessica Harveld. I won't intervene again. You had best cooperate, since she isn't known for her patience. She's in a foul mood today, and wouldn't mind taking some of it out on you." He left her to think about what he had said.
A snap of Jess's lash on the ground brought the coffle to attention. "We are traveling south and east. As we move, you will be sold. Anyone who doesn't keep pace gets a taste of leather. Let's go."
The coffle traveled slowly along the roads. The war in Tavect was the news. Brianna listened miserably as the slavers received the latest updates from the passing patrols or at way posts. Her father had surrendered, and agreed to stay as a puppet ruler. She was still missing, although most people as- sumed she had been kidnaped by the Dark Lord to insure King Fionn's cooperation. Her heart sank into her sandals with each step she took closer to Dark Hold, but when she tried holding back, Jessica or Jared would snap the lash across her back. No marks were ever left, she checked each night, but it stung terri- bly. At least she had Agnes.
Agnes had been returned to the coffle after Brianna's purchase, only to find the princess furious with her. Brianna lashed Agnes with her tongue so severely that they were separated after two hours. Agnes had been put in the middle of the coffle, between a pair of pretty blondes. She knew she was plain, with her broad face and scrawny figure. But next to these creatures of gold and ivory, she felt like a mudbug from the river. They ignored her for the most part and she was glad of that. Brianna had been put between a pair of glorious redheads. She felt superior to them since she was not really a slave, only a politi- cal prisoner, and she said as much.
"Do you really believe that?" asked Ava, who walked in front of her. "If you do, then you're more stupid than your maid. You are a slave, I watched our master buy you from the ogrish one."
"It was a ransom," Brianna protested, "and Agnes is not my maid, she's one of my ladies-in-waiting."
Lessa, behind her, said, "You were sold, slave girl. Time to adjust to a new life. I don't envy you, where you're going. I was in a harem with a girl who used to be one of his girls. She was terrified of everything, and knelt strangely every time our master entered. The rest of us merely knelt, she always had her knees spread, her hands behind her back and her head down. She said she was one of the lucky ones who actually got to leave...alive."
"What do you mean, leave alive? Doesn't he sell the ones he gets bored with?"
"She said he rarely sells a boring girl. Boring slaves are given to his troops or his ogre, or fed to his dogs, she said. She was interesting enough, but had just lost his interest since new girls had come in. He gave her to my old master as a gift."
"I am still a political prisoner. He won't dare put me in his harem. I'll be kept in the dungeon until Poppa relents and gives him what he wants. This is all Agnes's fault. The stupid cow didn't raise an alarm when the witch ensorcelled me." She was off on another tirade against Agnes, Jess, Janesse and her fate. Ava and Lessa shrugged and kept walking. She would learn soon enough.
The trip to Letzthoffnung had been profitable. Most of the slaves had been sold. Jess had persuaded Jared to buy a trio of a singer, and her musicians. The singer was a blonde and her accompanists were a redhead and a brunette. Jess knew they would appeal to the Dark Lord. Ava and Lessa were sold and Brianna found herself with no one to talk to, until Gregor was purchased. He was a slender young man who was amazingly dexterous. He would pick up stones as they walked and juggle them for hours while walking. He had aspired to being a bard, one of the wandering priests of Maira, he told her. He worshiped Maira as the goddess of harps and open locks.
Brianna was fascinated with the young man and his stories and tricks. Jared noticed this and warned him that if he even attempted to seduce Brianna, he would never be able to use a woman again. Jess, noticing, moved Brianna in the coffle. She sulked for two days, making life miserable for Prisca and Phanes- sa, the singer's flutist and the crwth player. The only respite they had was the required practice sessions after the halt had been called for the day. They were permitted to play for the slavers, leaving the main portion of the coffle secured between two trees.
Jared was interested in the crwth, a stringed instrument rather like a cross between a harp and a lyre. Phanessa was adept with it and made even the slightly wailing tone of the strings appealing. It rather reminded him of the mating call of a female of his kind. Prisca's flute, on the other hand, annoyed his sensitive ears with its shrill pitch.
They reached Letzthoffnung in the third week. Arriving in the late afternoon, Jared opted not to spend the night in Bracken Wood, having heard stories of it. Jess, having spent a night or two in it, agreed heartily. They hired a room and stable space at the Inn of the Slaughtered Lamb, and stayed the night.
Early the next morning, before dawn, they left the for- tress-city that guarded the only road to Dark Hold. They hired a pair of wagons and horses to move the slaves quickly, not wanting to be nightbound more than one night in the forest, or locked out of the castle when they did reach it. At dusk they reached a clearing that Jess recognized. It was about two thirds of the way to the castle, and a reasonably safe spot. They camped there undisturbed. Far away, they could hear a lone wolf baying at the moon, which was getting on to the full. Jess wanted to finish their business quickly and then get Jared somewhere where he could Change in peace and not worry about the bigger predators.
Jared was on edge anyway from being close to Changing, and the wolf made him nervous. He paced the edge of their camp, checked his weapons, and double-checked the slaves. He snapped at Jess, and could smell the fear-smell on his body. This was the worst time, being so close to animal senses, but too far from animal form. He knew he was being difficult, and sat down next to Jess to apologize.
"No need," she told him. "I remember a time when you were like this all the time because you couldn't control it. Just remain calm and keep your wits about you. That wolf is miles away by the sound of him. If it is the wolf I think it is, then he is not interested in us."
She was right, and the night was peaceful. The next day, they started traveling again. An hour after noon, they reached the edge of the forest. Jared, not having seen Dark Hold before, was impressed. They crossed the expansive clearing between the forest and the moat with no difficulty, and arrived at the guard post.
The guards checked Red Jared's pass, and identification papers. The coffle of slaves received only cursory attention, at first. Jess and Red Jared were disarmed and searched. Jess's expense ledgers were checked for obvious magic spells by a young man that Jess did not recognize. He did not seem very far into his teens as humans measured age. The slaves were searched also, much to Brianna's indignation. The drawbridge was lowered and they were granted entrance.
"That little brunette was a spitfire, wasn't she?" com- mented the junior officer.
"Yes, she was. Our lord won't be bothered with buying that little hellcat. She's not even that pretty, and on the chubby side into the bargain," agreed the sergeant.
A half-orc lieutenant put in, "I don't know. I thought she was cute. She could be fun to tame. That one between the two pale-hairs was really pretty. Just the right complexion, but a little on the skinny side. If I'm here when they leave, and she isn't bought by the boss, I may splurge with that pay I've saved. I always wanted a slave girl."
"Don't we all?" the sergeant noted.
Passing into the castle's inner courtyard, Brianna cov- ered her face in shame as the coffle was herded past a detail of imperial guards. She could not bear being seen by men she had looked down upon less than two months before in all her royal finery. Jessica was instantly at her side and slapping her hands back to her sides.
"Not the proud princess any longer, slave girl," Jess snarled at the blushing Brianna in an informative tone, "and while I care nothing for how your new master will have you be- have, while you belong to me and march in my coffle, you will behave. I have let you slide on discipline, but one more error, and I will flay you alive here and now."
Brianna glared at her captor with unimaginable hate, and Jess drew back her arm slightly. Apparently not all of Varge's teachings had been lost, and Brianna dropped her eyes and contin- ued walking, trying to cripple the girl ahead of her with her stare, and blaming the world for her troubles.
Jessica cracked her knuckles in frustration as she re- sumed her place at the rear of the coffle. Throughout the entire journey to Dark Hold, Brianna had not tasted leather for her attitude, and the other girls had come to resent her for the special treatment. They completely ignored her--ordinarily a devastating disciplinary action itself--but that had only suc- ceeded in making her even harder to deal with, since it rein- forced her attitude of superiority. Jess's patience was deplet- ed, and she contemplated making the price of the princess so outrageous that the Dark Lord wouldn't want her. Looking at the slave, Jess sighed. That was already in doubt, even though the journey had taken a good ten pounds off of her. If he wouldn't have her, Jess would have the satisfaction of beating the royal brat within an inch of her life, and dragging her out east and selling her to one of the secret societies of Tod. She could insure that the princess would be used as a laboratory demonstra- tion in one of the schools where torture and other methods of creative persuasion were taught to the Empire's future Shadowmen. But no, she would be rid of Brianna today, even if she had to keep the price reasonable. She could not bear the thought of another day with the girl, beaten and gagged or otherwise.
In the inner courtyard, the slavers were greeted by a novel sight, and an example of the Dark Lord's near heartless disciplinary tactics. Two wooden poles, usually erected only for orcish ceremonies, were sunk into the holes which were covered by round flagstones most of the time. Chained by the wrists to these poles as a slave girl, whom Jess recognized after a moment as Chandra, the former ShetaRra. Raising her head briefly from the heat-ravaged slump, she regarded the coffle dully. By the look of her, she had been chained out for some time, and the mid- autumn sun had been merciless for the past few days. Her own almost healed sunburn twinged in sympathy. Chandra was definite- ly burned, and it was not a good sign against her normally dark skin. Doubtless, she was on the verge of delirium, if not worse, and Jess wondered what she had done to deserve such punishment. They passed into the castle itself, leaving Chandra hanging limply in her chains.
The four knocks came on the doors to the throne room. Jared had been looking uneasily at the skulls, thinking about how one would crunch under his paws and teeth, and reprimanding himself the lapse. Even to think about eating the decorations, indeed! he snapped at himself. Where are your manners? Jess, oblivious to her partner's unease, was mentally noting the new skulls and wondering whose they had been. Red Jared scratched nervously at the new growth of hair on his arms. His drooping mustache and long sideburns had crept down his face and become a full red beard.
The doors opened and the slavers were admitted to the throne room. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust, but they followed the feel of the carpet under their soft-soled boots. The slaves were having more difficulty, not having elven sight or Jared's lycanthropic cat eyes.
Stopping in the center of the room, Jess sketched a short bow, and nudged Jared, who was looking around himself, checking for exits and high places. He bowed quickly and deeply to the dais. This throne room could close in and become a trap far too easily for his liking.
"Great Lord," Jess began. "After much difficulty, I have completed the task you set for me. In this coffle stand both Princess Brianna of Tavect, and her lady-in-waiting, Agnes. I also have acquired a few trifles that might interest you." Red Jared unlocked the trio, and moved them out into the light. "First, Prisca, Phanessa, and Phaedra. Phaedra sings and dances, the others accompany her. We ask nine hundred for the set. Then, Gregor, a jester. He juggles, tells stories, does slight of hand, and can sing, and might do better with training. For this multi-talented lad, we are asking only four hundred. The Princess, I must negotiate with you in private."
Zara moved out from behind the shadows of the throne and looked at the visitors strangely. The Dark Lord looked at her for a moment, and then turned back to the slavers. He was not at all pleased with the princess' body; he had been anticipating a more savory figure--the one he remembered from the last time he had seen her. Slaves were not fed well enough to get fat, so she must have hidden it all beneath her clothing somehow. At least she did not appear marked from the journey, which half surprised him, given Jess's temper and the girl's annoying personality.
Jess read the Dark Lord's irritated look as he gazed at the princess. At least the marks Varge One-Ear had left on her had healed. She wondered if he would purchase Agnes as well, or if he'd have coin to waste after the princess. The price would be definitely higher than he was expecting.
"I see no reason for secrets concerning the purchase of a single mere woman," the Dark Lord said presently. "Especially one as fat and dumpy as that!" The princess, who had been stand- ing with her head down and keeping quiet with the others, sudden- ly snapped her head fully erect at the insult. Noticing, the Dark Lord gestured to her and scoffed with a chuckle, "Are you certain you abducted the right princess?! I think you got the night-pot girl."
Jessica did not bother to honor his ridiculous comment with a response; he knew her far too well to even think she would make such a mistake, and she was almost insulted--whether her patron was serious or not. The princess, on the other hand, was not about to let such a slight go unanswered. She was, after all, an important political prisoner and princess of a mighty nation.
"I am the Princess Brianna Anastasia Theresa Fiona!" she declared loudly and with indignation as she stepped out of line. The other girls kept their silence and fought to maintain their positions. They knew what must come next, by every unspoken law of slavery; the laws Brianna had never learned or had chosen to disregard. Although Jess had sorely wished to teach the sharp- tongued royal bitch her new place, she had permitted the princess to behave as she would have no other slave in her coffle. She had assumed, and rightly, that the Dark Lord would want the pleasure of breaking her himself.
"I am the only daughter of King Fionn V, the Just of Tavect!" she continued. "I demand that--"
"Silence!" the Dark Lord thundered from across the room. "Henceforth you will demand noth--"
"I will not be silent!" the princess shot back, inter- rupting him with her shrill voice and beginning to shake her finger at him. "I am not a slave! I am a political prisoner of war, and you know it very well. This is an outrage and--"
"Enough!" Jess bellowed, in a voice with as much frustra- tion and anger as volume. Tearing the small belt whip she wore from its place at her hip, she advanced on Brianna with murder in her eye. "Nobody embarrasses me in front of nobility--or anyone else--and especially not a rich bitch slave girl who does not yet know her place! I will tolerate you no longer, slave girl!"
Red Jared stood quietly, knowing better than to interfere with his partner's rages. He bore the scars of the one time he had been foolish enough to try. The princess retreated as far as her chains, and the other slave girls would permit. The others strained to hold their position as their master's partner ap- proached, clutching her whip so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. As far as the slaver and the rest of the coffle was concerned, Brianna was about to get the reward she had laying up for herself over the whole trip, with interest. Some of the girls even dared to tilt their heads to watch the spectacle from the corners of their eyes.
As Jess raised her whip to strike the first of many eagerly anticipated blows, she was halted by a single word from the dais behind her. "No," the Dark Lord said, his voice calm and malicious. As she fought a brief battle between immediate gratification and professionalism, Jess cracked her whip hard on the floor. She turned to the dais with a long, exhausted sigh, suddenly looking very tired. "She's mine," the Dark Lord stated. "Name your price."
Her anger subdued by the proximity of profit, and the unspoken reassurance that Brianna's outburst had not lost her any standing with the Dark Lord, Jess returned her whip to her belt, and motioned for her partner to toss her the keys. This done, she unlocked the princess from her place in the coffle and brought her forward to the dais. Brianna modestly covered her nakedness with her hands and arms, secure in the knowledge that some fraction of her regal status had been regained by her words.
A slave girl indeed! she scoffed. I knew it had to be a mistake all along. This stupid slaver will pay for what she has done.
Regarding his long-awaited prize with disappointment as she looked arrogantly down her nose at him, not an easy feat considering the elevation at which he sat, the Dark Lord returned his attention to Jessica. The attractive trio standing with Red Jared were forgotten, much to the temporary relief of Lucy. Lounging near her master's feet, she carefully reached out to gently stroke his lower left leg, hoping to make him forget them entirely. Since Liana's transition from the harem to the Hall of Skulls, life in the harem had been very good to Lucy and she did not want any competition.
"Name your price," the Dark Lord repeated, as he settled back into the shadows and pretended not to notice the soft hand caressing his leg. Not bothering to take out her expense record, Jess sketched another bow to the throne and began her recital from memory.
"Great Lord," she began, "this little package you sent me for has cost me much; you promised to reimburse me for expenses, and I have had many since her abduction. Two horses: one hun- dred gold each. One collection of fine furs, one of them rare snow fox, the others sable trimmings: three hundred and seventy- five. Miscellaneous personal items stolen by your troops: thirty gold. Travel expenses west of the Handel River, to in- clude imperial toll roads--roads that were free last time I remembered: thirty-seven gold. The initial agreed upon price for the princess: five hundred. Mercenary expenses for speedy travel through the Bracken Wood: eight gold. Personal suffering and inconvenience, including loss of my punt, abuse at the hands of imperial slavers, the princess and Agnes' prices from said slavers, travel to Toren to recover the princess, recompense to my guild brother for his inconvenience, and various herbal sun- burn remedies: three hundred fifty. And one unlimited imperial travel pass, also stolen and lost by your imperial forces: priceless. The Princess Brianna of Tavect is yours, Great Lord, for fifteen hundred and a renewed travel pass."
Resenting being spoken about once again as property, like back in Toren, Brianna was about to protest, but then reminded herself that her captor was not really selling her, but asking for ransom money--although she believed she was worth more. Jess's price met with only stony silence and Red Jared shifted nervously from foot to foot.
"Preposterous," Zara answered for her brother. "Fifteen hundred is far too much for an untrained slave with little in looks below her neck."
"I am not a slave!" Brianna shrieked at the top of her lungs. How often must these fools be told that? Why isn't the Dark Lord defending me and having clothes fetched and throwing this ill-mannered boor of a slaver into his dungeon. I would have thought his witch would be in on the plot. And where is that attractive wizard?
A sudden tense wave and a few soft syllables from the woman beside the throne, and Brianna felt her entire body go cold and rigid. Horrified at being under the effects of an evil spell, she tried to scream, but nothing came out. Trying to speak met with equal results, and so too did crying. Unable to move a muscle or make any noise, Brianna stood statue-like in front of the dais, refreshingly quiet. Jess resisted the urge to smile, and ignored both the sorceress and the princess to concen- trate on her buyer. She wondered if he too was resisting the urge to smile, or if he was letting the shadows cover it.
"No imperial forces reported meeting you in the east, where I told you to take the princess once you had her," the Dark Lord answered. "Why?"
"I make my own travel plans, Great Lord," Jess answered quickly.
"Pity," came the stern response. "When I give instruc- tions, I expect them to be followed without question, since I give them for good reason; which is all you or any other hireling needs to know. Since you chose to `make your own travel plans,' I do not hold myself accountable for any losses or suffering you may have experienced in the west. You went there without my authority, and the responsibility is your's alone. Your deci- sion, your loss. I will, however, pay for mercenary and toll- road expenses, as you would have encountered those anyway, and the initial fee of five hundred which makes for..."
"Five hundred and forty-five gold," Zara put in, sparing her brother the trivial trouble of mathematical calculations, which he disliked.
"Five hundred fifty," the Dark Lord stated, adding an extra five. "A nice round number, for a nice round slave girl." Held in the icy grip of the spell, Brianna despaired silently. The Dark Lord had called her `slave girl!' Her visions of being a political prisoner began to fade and the reality she had been denying for so long sank in, along with her memories of the harem and Jess's snide remarks and promises about the girl in charge.
No...she thought miserably. This can't be happening to me! I'm a princess!
"Twelve hundred," Jess answered the Dark Lord's offer, weighing the possible folly of pushing her favor and reputation against so dangerous and powerful a man. Let's see just how much he values my services. He sometimes like to haggle, I just hope this is one of those times.
"Six," came the immediate reply.
Good, he's in the mood. Let's see how much. "Eleven hundred," Jess demanded, not wanting to go below a thousand.
"Seven."
Jess tapped her fingers on her hip, biting her lower lip thoughtfully. "Ten-fifty," she held out, feeling herself losing slack.
Brianna despaired even more as she saw the last of her dignity, the price she could fetch, going steadily down. She strained with all her might to close her eyelids and hide herself in the darkness behind them, but the paralysis spell held firm. The Dark Lord was not bargaining any longer and she found the silence painful.
"Eight hundred," the Dark Lord stated, "and a new travel pass."
"One thousand," Jess answered, not ready to give up, but not liking the fact he was now figuring in her licence to ply her trade into the bargain.
"Eight hundred," came the reply, "and a new pass."
"Nine hundred," Jess shot back, looking for a compromise that would cover all the expenses, without pushing the Dark Lord too far.
"No," he answered coldly, "eight hundred is my final offer. When you ride in my employ, you will follow instructions like everyone else. Be grateful I am willing to remember past services well rendered and pay you three hundred more than the agreed-upon price, and renew your travel pass without the six month wait. One year is the norm for an unlimited pass, which is what I presume you are after, and you know I have never issued one twice to anyone, until today."
Having pushed her luck far enough, and knowing how much better she and her new partner would be able to do with an unlim- ited imperial pass instead of his seasonal western region pass, Jess nodded. "All right," she growled, "eight hundred and a new pass before I leave." She did not like it, but at least she was rid of the whining princess and she could recoup some of her loss with other sales before she left.
With a slow sweeping motion of her hand, Zara lifted the statue-like body of Princess Brianna a few inches from the floor and glided her over to the left of the dais by the wall before settling her gently back to the floor. The spells of silence and paralysis would hold until she removed them, and now that she was his, Zara was certain her brother would deal harshly with the princess if she dared to act out again. It was something she knew he had been looking forward to ever since the princess had left Dark Hold.

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