Chapter 6

Emma stood with Mari looking at Liddy, wondering if she was in any trouble after explaining what happened at the jail.

“At least you waited until after the client was serviced before doing your own thing.” Liddy fired a quick glance at Hannah. “Also, my compliments on your manipulative skills.”

“Thanks. I just figured since she got busted for doing our job, she might want to do it on the ship legally.”

“Do you?” Liddy asked Emma.

“Well ... I mean, yes. I did it because I needed to, but I liked it well enough. But I don’t think you would be willing to actually hire me.” Emma was almost trembling as she spoke.

“Why not?”

Emma glanced at the door making sure she had an escape route. Then pulled back the braids in her hair and revealed her long, sharp-pointed ears.

Liddy gasped. “You’re an elf?!” Her hands covered her mouth.

Emma was shaking and shifting her stance back and forth switching between stay or running.

Hannah decided to speak up. “Hey, Easy! Get up here!”

Standing between Emma and the door to keep her from bolting, Hannah waited for Easy to come up the stairs.

“Show the Elf what we do with Emberborn.”

Emma winced without looking.

“She really doesn’t look like she’s in the mood for the kind of things Mari does to me. I think the sex can wait.”

Confused, Emma opened her eyes to look at Easy. Then they opened wider as she noticed the wingspan.

“I ... umm ... don’t really ... I mean. I prefer just men but...”

“It’s alright, little elf.” Mari gently gripped Emma by the shoulders to comfort her. “It just means you are more than welcome here. Also, Liddy almost orgasmed just from your ears, so I’m thinking you are hired if you want to be.”

Emma looked at Liddy who, still with her hands on her mouth, nodded quickly before lowering them to speak. “Yes. So very much. I can keep you with male clients only, but no promises about your fellow harlots.”

“I ... well, thank you. I accept.” Emma bowed slightly.

“Well, then.” Liddy composed herself. “Next bit of business is that we are taking some rest. A lot of work needs to get done on the ship and we can’t be entertaining clients while they work. I’m having one of the working rooms converted into a marble bathhouse. The last of the repairs to the hull and walls are getting done. Also, the laundry and kitchen are getting installed under the bridge. With all of us working, we should be done a lot faster. As much as I could keep us here with clients, I want our reputation to spread, and that means a new port of call.”

Unlike the last round of repairs, there was no need for gags to keep mouldy wood dust out of your lungs. Liddy replaced almost all the wall panelling with fine hardwood and the same for the floors. The hull was stained primarily a pale brown with the structural supports a deep chestnut. A forward deck lounge was built so that guests could be entertained in the open air. The large, metal laundry-bucket was gone, and in its place was a pair of mechanical washers and a pair of dryers. A small kitchen opposite the laundry was a welcome change.

Soon after, the final addition of the bath was installed and the workmen left. The ship took off towards its next destination and six naked women slid into the warm water. Easy was only in for a moment before sitting on the edge instead, given that her wings needed space to move. Water dripped from her body and Mari sat between her legs with her head tilted backwards to catch the drops coming off the fairy’s breasts in her mouth.

“Whoever’s idea this was originally, was really on to something,” Liddy spoke softly.

Hannah and Mari exchanged glances, wondering between them whose idea it actually was and coming up blank.

“This sure will make things more relaxing,” Hannah added.

“What do these dials do?” Ving asked as she turned said dials.

Panic ensued as jets started blowing water and causing everything to froth and bubble. Liddy remained relaxed and motionless except for the wry smile forming on her face.

“Thank you, Ving,” Liddy said cheerfully.

The rest of the women calmed down quickly as the motion in the bath became quite soothing.

“You little bitch. You did that on purpose.” Hannah mock-scorned Ving.

“Well no. I just...” Ving started to explain.

Hannah brought her leg up to the surface and used it to flick a bit of water at Ving, smiling. “Touch me,” she said.

Ving, finally getting that Hannah wasn’t upset, shook her head and slowly moved from her seat to the middle of the bath to hold onto Hannah by the foot. Hannah responded by lifting her other leg and Ving held both, massaging one in each hand. While holding Hannah by the feet, Ving pressed them against her breasts, lightly attempting to tickle her with her nipples. Hannah giggled and clenched her feet before relaxing them to clench again each time her feet were touched just right. Ving licked and sucked her by the toes, and kept Hannah’s feet resting upon her breasts as she worked her hands up the legs. Massaging her calves and kissing her feet, Ving cried at how open she could be with her desire for female contact. Nobody noticed of course, with the water hiding those tears, but for the first time in a long time, Ving was happy.

Emma, on the other hand, still felt very much like an outsider. It wasn’t that the girls hadn’t welcomed her. In fact, it was the opposite. Also, Easy being so friendly to her and being treated so well by the other girls, Emma knew she was safe. It was just all the walls she had spent so much time putting up to protect herself would take a long time to tear down. Not everyone can feel the relief as easy as Ving could. Emma sat in the water, watching how simple it was for the rest to relax. It was a bit of a struggle for her to just keep her head over the waterline, she was so petite.

“Emma. If staying afloat is so troublesome, how about you sit on my lap?” Liddy suggested.

“I ... will you be expecting me to do anything?” she responded.

“Oh, darling,” Mari spoke up. “Liddy, while almost certainly wishing to ravish you, probably just wants to check out your ears.”

“I ... everyone wants to look at them but nobody ... sorry. You aren’t like those other people. But I’m okay where I am right now if that’s okay with you,” Emma answered sheepishly.

“I’m sorry,” Liddy apologised. “I shouldn’t be suggesting anything to make you feel pressured. Yes, I love those ears, but I know there is more to you than that. Also, sitting on the lap of a naked woman might not be the most comfortable thing in the world for you.”

“It’s alright. Actually, you are the least intimidating woman here. Everyone else is just so much ... bigger.”

“Liddy’s taller than Easy,” Mari commented.

“I think she means breasts.” Ving chimed in separating her tongue from Hannah’s feet briefly.

“Oh. Yea I suppose we all have Liddy beat.” Mari realised. “But you got a lovely pair on you miss elf.”

“Well, you think that. But that’s just because my frame is so small. Compared to...”

Hannah interrupted. “Don’t compare. Can’t change it. Just enjoy what you have and enjoy what others have.” Hannah punctuated her point by lightly kicking her feet against Ving’s breasts to make them bounce in the water.

“She’s right,” Mari added. “All that really matters is that someone somewhere wants them and will pay for them. The only way our sizes matter is for who is attracted to them. Yeah, mine are big. Doesn’t mean Liddy won’t be getting clients when I’m available.”

“Also, you have your own traits we don’t share.” Liddy carried on with the lesson. “Lots of men would love to be with a girl they can lift. Like you said, on your frame, they are most ample. More so than mine, that’s for sure. You have a sweet, innocent look about you, and no hint of an attitude problem.” Liddy gave looks to Hannah and Mari in only slightly mock accusation. “And those ears. Those sweet, sweet ears.”

Liddy lost her train of thought, and Emma was left wondering if she was going to say anymore.

“What she means is that...” Hannah took over. “You got things that we can’t do. So work with that. I can’t imagine the trouble those ears have caused you in the past, but you got us watching your back now.”

“Thank you.” Easy wasn’t totally convinced, but happy that she might actually believe it one day.

Deciding to take a tiny step out of her comfort zone, she moved over to Liddy and sat on her lap. She felt hands running up her back and over her ears. Then the gentle pressure of hips lifting her. Emma never understood how women could be attracted to other women, but it felt nice just to have someone limiting themselves to what she was comfortable with. Now on Liddy, she was much higher out of the water and her breasts were more visible. Emma could see the eyes of the other women on her, except for Ving who was lost in ecstasy at Hannah’s feet. Yet the discomfort was a great deal less than when she had first stripped naked in front of them to get into the bath to start. Slowly eyes glanced away, back to each other or off into space while they relaxed. She wasn’t the centre of their attentions. Just something they enjoyed observing and moved on. Emma relaxed and let her body lay against Liddy, whose breasts pressed into her back. A tongue slowly moved along her ear and Emma wasn’t sure how to feel, so she just continued to relax and let Liddy continue. Hands wrapped around her belly gently and she smiled.

After the bath, Liddy cranked a handle on a cog on the wall to open the vent in the ceiling as part of the new glass skylight. The steam from the bath, while pleasant, would not do well saturating the ship. After getting dried off and dressed, Ving went to go check the helm to make sure they were still on course and not heading into a mountain. Easy took Emma to her room to help her finish settling in. Neither of them ever really had a room to call their own before, so both had to adjust to the idea.

The trip to Valley Hub was almost luxuriously relaxing. Their eventual arrival was greeted with far more suspicion than they were expecting. Not only were they told to land outside the city docks, but they were also told to expect inspectors. Liddy made herself clear in no uncertain terms that such treatment was unacceptable.

Upon landing at the docks she presented the dock-master with the token Hannah had received from Elsa, the noblewoman who had gifted Easy to her. That seemed to be enough to placate the man.

While Liddy got to work on letting people know of her ship and services, Ving approached Hannah from behind. A tight embrace with one arm around her belly and the other across her chest to grab her breast, Hannah knew who it was.

“I was wondering how long you could restrain yourself.”

“I’m sorry,” Ving whispered as she gripped tightly to Hannah’s breast, while her other hand slid downwards. “Hannah, I find myself so happy when I touch you. This is okay? Right?”

Hannah turned around and took Ving’s Hands into hers. “Ving. I understand that you haven’t been able to be yourself for so long. That I’m the first woman to really be with you. And you are a beautiful woman I very much enjoy taking to bed. But I’m getting the feeling you might want this to be something ... more. You don’t act this way around anyone else.”

Ving trembled. “I love you. I don’t know how else to explain how I feel when I think of you.”

Hannah was expecting something, but not quite that. Many men had professed to love her after one night in bed when they didn’t even remember her name. Yet this was different.

“Ving. I love sex. I want it from men and women. If I want a woman and you are around, I will take it from you. If you aren’t around, I will take it from someone else. I appreciate how you feel and I care for you. But aside from Mari, who’s more like family to me, I don’t have any special feelings beyond friendship with anyone on the ship. I can’t reciprocate the depth of your feelings.”

“I know,” Ving stated as firmly as she could while still shaking. “I may be just your friend who you play with for fun. I know you will be with many men and women as clients or as flings. If I see you and Liddy or Easy or whoever in bed while I stand apart, I can live with that. But you will always be the woman that made me feel like there wasn’t anything wrong with me after so many years of doubt.”

“I’m so very glad I was able to do that for you. But as much as I care, sex for me is about using others to make myself feel good. For me, a close bond is someone I don’t have sex with. Mari and I found that early on. With you, at first, it was to humiliate you and teach you a lesson. Then I used you again when you were emotionally vulnerable. The bath? Again, just fun to amuse me. If anything, I’m a terrible friend. I should treat you better, but you also seem to like being treated that way.”

“Men always humiliated me. Fucking me on a stage. Letting friends watch. Telling me to do things and taking bets to see if I would do it. Being told how many times I had to fuck them to be worth the help they were giving me. Maybe that’s warped me. Why just seeing clients who want to fuck and move on doesn’t do anything for me. Being a bitch racer who gets ‘taught a lesson’ is just how I was raised to experience sex. Other women were competition, not friends. Talking with Liddy helped with how I work here. I’m fine with that. But the way you use me. It treats me how I think I should be treated. Not just used but made to be degraded.”

“Women are generally conditioned to be submissive and weak compared to their male partners. By taking a strong woman like you and making you submissive to them, it feeds their need to dominate. Taking a weak woman is expected almost, but taking a strong woman and ‘putting her in her place’ feeds that fantasy. Of course, you were conditioned to think you could only be strong until someone you saw as stronger came along. At first, it was the men, but now it’s me.”

“Yes, you did. You showed me my place. I know you wouldn’t have done so if you knew how I would have been treated. But I don’t want you to stop. I want to be used, made to wait, to serve, to be dominated. Just only by you. Maybe I will change how I look at things the longer I examine myself. I still like being a bitch. But I’m your bitch.”

“Ving, I think you need to be your own bitch. Own yourself. Dominate your own life.” Hannah realised that it was easier said than done. “But that’s a hard thing to do if you don’t have any experience with it.”

Ving watched Hannah, desperate for her to finish her thoughts.

“Alright. While I enjoy the occasional role as a submissive, you are more seriously damaged by how you were treated. There is nothing wrong with preferring a submissive role as long as you enjoy it. You, on the other hand, were conditioned to think that was simply your place. That’s not right. You are doing it for the wrong reasons. So fine, you are my bitch.” Hannah gripped Ving by the breasts. “These are mine now. They belong to me. When clients cover them in cum they are doing so on my breasts. Not yours.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” Ving gasped as Hannah put her hand between her legs.

“This is also mine, like the rest of the body you have the privilege to live in. Only I can fuck you. When someone stuffs their cock inside this, they are fucking me.” Hannah pushed her hand hard between Ving’s legs. “I enjoy cock inside me so no more complaints. You will revel in the act of sex because it is what makes me happy.”

“Yes, Ma’am” Ving choked as Hannah abandoned her breast to grip Ving by the throat.

“Now, know that no man anywhere has any right to make you feel like they know what’s best for you. Only I can tell you that. No other woman can make you feel the way I can. Nobody has any power over you but me.”

“Yes, Ma’am” Ving responded as Hannah broke contact, allowing her to catch her breath.

“Of course, we also don’t want to stop doing what Liddy tells us, but that’s business. Get that sweet ass of mine ready and we keep this between ourselves. The others won’t really understand.”

“Yes, Ma’am” Ving answered yet again before rushing off.

Hannah sighed, wondering what she was getting herself into, and if she would be able to help Ving shake the grip the abuse she had suffered had on her. Everyone met up in the lounge so that when Liddy came back, they were ready.

“Alright,” Liddy briefed. “So apparently someone declared martial law and put harsh rules down about visitors. Having the token saved us a lot of trouble. So expect to see troops on patrol within the city instead of regular guards, but otherwise, we should be free to conduct ourselves however we wish. Easy, you made an impression on your first client. So much so that he notified some friends of his. Can you handle a group? Six men want a turn, and are paying a lot to have it.”

Easy, while shocked and surprised, couldn’t suppress a grin. “Well, maybe once I stop imagining how incredible that would be!”

“Good.” Liddy smiled with a head-shake. “Hannah, I want you going with her. It will be off the ship at a private club, and nobody should go anywhere alone, let alone an Emberborn. Of course, nobody expects an Emberborn to be running around without an escort anyway, so they offered to pay for the time of said escort. Provided they could blend into the formal surroundings.”

“What!?” Mari shouted. “I can blend into formal high society!”

Stifled laughter took a moment to subside before Liddy carried on. “Right. So put on something formal and expect them not to keep their hands to themselves. Keep an eye on Easy, but you are as paid for as she is, so enjoy yourself.”

“Not at my expense,” Easy said as she smiled. “I want all six to myself.”

Hannah shook her head. “Two at once is simple enough, five is generally a max if the guys don’t mind getting close. Six depends on how good you are with your feet.”

All the other women paused to consider how that worked.

“Sitting on one man’s lap for anal, one in front between your legs, another standing over you in your mouth, one in each hand. Leaving your legs to wrap around the one man to hold the sixth. Though as difficult as it is to manage, the fact is that it’s harder to convince six men to get that intimate with each other,” Hannah explained.

The rest of the women paused to contemplate it while Liddy continued. “As soon as the courier with the payment arrives you will head out. If anyone asks, you are a noble woman attending a meeting at the club with your servant. The rest of us stay on the ship to take care of any visitors.”

Hannah dressed in a smooth, silky, red dress over black lace underwear that just barely edged out at her bust. Tight enough that anyone could see it was underneath, but not visible through the fabric. The pattern on the silk in a slightly brighter shade of red gave it a more formal appearance of elegance. Easy was in her sundress to appear plainer and as Hannah’s servant. Hannah told her to always walk behind her and refer to her with respect. To not let her eyes drift up and look anyone else in theirs.

The courier arrived with ample payment and gave Liddy the directions Hannah was to follow. A carriage had been sent as well to take them to the club. Walking in like she owned the place, Hannah simply passed the invite to the valet without looking at him. He guided her through a posh lobby, past various men and women of status, wondering how many would be hiring her someday and how many wives would never know. Down some gilded stairs of dark marble was a door that the valet unlocked to lead down a hallway. It was narrow and dark hardwood covered the walls and ceiling to make it feel more restrictive. Red carpet matching the dress Hannah was wearing covered the floor, the hallway was illuminated by the gas lamps on the wall. Past several sets of doors, the valet stopped at one suddenly and knocked. Soon it was unlocked and the valet nodded with someone inside before showing the women in. On the inside was a slab of meat in uniform. Stunned when seeing the women walk in, he recovered himself to close the door after a few moments.

Inside, their arrival was noticed by six men sitting around a hardwood table, not unlike the one Liddy and Hannah had used for the ‘interview’. Cigar smoke hung in the air as they all partook, while they drank liquor worth more than what Hannah cost an hour. Easy, on the other hand, cost a lot more since she was supposed to be a speciality item.

“Welcome, my lovely ladies. Welcome,” one man greeted as they all rose.

They were all impressed by what they saw, and Hannah could tell they were ready to start. Yet she also knew that some things are only proper for people of status if a little time is taken to get there. Hannah gave a slight bow while Easy made a full curtsy.

“A pleasure to be here,” Hannah started as the men took their seats. “Always a pleasant experience to meet men of fine taste.”

While not offended, they were slightly confused and one man spoke up. “Taste in women?”

Hannah smiled. “Cigars. Southern Islands for sure. I would hazard a guess at the Lonely Flats, but more likely the aquatic farm offshore.”

Stunned silence filled the room, until one man burst out laughing, followed by his friends. “My dear, I have never met a woman of any status who could guess the region of a cigar, let alone the island it was grown on or near.”

“It is actually a mixture of their island farm leaf with the weed grown on the ocean waters just offshore.” He passed the box across the table where Hannah could open it and pick out one for herself.

“Most gracious,” she thanked as she expertly used a cutter to clip off the ends.

“M’lady.” The man sitting closest to Hannah greeted as he gave her a light while taking a long look down her cleavage as she leant over.

Taking a deep puff and blowing out the smoke into the air above the table, she smiled at them, giving them all a look as she showed that she wouldn’t be coughing. The men exchanged pleased glances.

“This is Easy,” Hannah introduced while Easy gave her wings a flutter. “A young eager girl who is looking forward to our time together.”

“I must say.” Another man spoke. “When our friend told us of a fairy we could ... enjoy. She was all we could think of. Now in the flesh, she is more than anything we could imagine. How do we...”

He looked to his friend for help.

“I’m ready and willing to do whatever it takes to shatter the limits of your imagination,” Easy explained as she slowly crawled onto the table.