Chapter 5: Arrival

Wherever they were, it was dark. Pitch black. The trio were still holding hands, but Rhys felt Jade gently let go. He heard her take a couple of tentative steps, then a heavy thud, followed by “Fuck!”

“What the hell have I just kicked?” she asked rhetorically. “Master, could you perhaps ask your ring to give us a little light?”

Rhys held his arm above his head and directed the thought towards the ring on his finger. A light suddenly appeared, illuminating the room. However, it wasn’t his ring generating the light. Instead, a small, glowing orb hovered in his open palm, his fingers casting long shadows across the room. Surprised, he stared at it for a moment before turning his head to look at his surroundings.

They were in a slightly dusty bedroom furnished with a wardrobe, a single bed, a chest of drawers, and a small table with a wooden chair. Heavy curtains completely covered the windows, and numerous woven baskets and boxes had been placed on the floor, one of which Jade had clearly stumbled into in the dark.

The bedroom door burst open while the three friends were still getting their bearings. Three men charged into the room. The leading man brandished a heavy iron poker above his head, ready to attack. The other two men were also armed, one with a vicious little dagger and the other with what appeared to be a ceremonial sword, the type typically displayed upon drawing-room walls.

Caught entirely by surprise, Rhys closed his hand and dropped into a defensive fighting stance. The orb disappeared, and the room immediately descended into near-darkness, lit only by the dim light coming through the open door. Jade turned to face the men and yelled, “Richard!”

The first man skidded to a sudden halt, and the other two collided violently with his back, knocking him forward. He stared at Jade in absolute amazement.

“Cha...” he started to say, before stopping mid-word as Jade shook her head, her eyes wide with warning. The man recovered his composure. “Jade? Whatever are you doing here? We thought we had intruders! Who are these people with you?”

Jade was now a picture of composure and clearly felt entirely at ease here. “Hello, Richard,” she said. “I’m terribly sorry for dropping in on you so unexpectedly. This is Katarina. She’s my dear friend. And this is Rhys Atherton. He’s also a good friend.

“Rhys, Kat, this is Richard Spencer. He helped me escape my slavery.” She looked pointedly at Richard. “Technically, he is, or was, my owner.” Rhys and Kat stared at Jade briefly before turning back to look at Richard.

“May I also introduce you to his two compatriots? This,” she indicated the man with the dagger, “is Ragnar, Richard’s right-hand man, and this,” she indicated the man with the antique sword, “is Kaspar. He’s Richard’s valet.” The three men stopped brandishing their weapons and relaxed.

“Rhys Atherton?” Richard asked. “After all these years. It is incredibly good to meet you again. Splendid trick with the light, by the way!” He smiled warmly and held his hand out to Rhys, who grasped it firmly, and the two shook hands. Rhys stepped forward and shook hands with Ragnar and Kaspar, too.

Richard looked at Kat, who curtsied gracefully at him. “I don’t mean to be indelicate,” he asked Jade, “but why is she wearing a slave collar?”

“It is a long story,” said Jade, “even though it is only a couple of days in the making. Could we perhaps go somewhere to sit down, and I’ll tell you exactly what happened to us and why we are all here now?”

Richard led the party out of the bedroom, down a sweeping flight of stairs, and into a drawing room. Six armchairs were arranged neatly, and a roaring fire burned in the fireplace. Ragnar and Kaspar pulled two of the chairs away, forming the remaining four into a semi-circle directly in front of the hearth. Both men bowed respectfully and left the room, leaving Richard and the three friends alone.

Jade told Richard a version of their story, from her initial meeting with Rhys in the Roligvan safe house to the terrifying moment when the three of them had plunged into the sea from the sinking Skotur. She then made up a story about how they had managed to swim and clumsily stumble ashore, where they met a wizard named Cadellin who had healed their myriad wounds (including the permanent removal of their slave tattoos) and brought them back to health. He had then magically transported them directly into the bedroom of Richard’s house after Jade had telepathically shown him where she needed to go. Rhys was extremely impressed by her ability to make up a coherent story on the spot. For whatever reason, she clearly didn’t want to tell him about their journey to, and experience within, the magical plane. She also left the sex the trio had shared out of her story.

Richard listened attentively and seemed to accept Jade’s extraordinary recounting of the events, some fictional, that had transpired over the past few days. She finished by asking for his immediate help to obtain replacement papers for Rhys and herself, and a completely new identity for Kat as a free woman.

Richard nodded slowly. “I should be able to help with that. The Seibjerg Embassy often issues replacement papers to its citizens abroad. I’m sure we can do this urgently for Rhys. And...” he paused thoughtfully for a moment, “ ... and for you, too.” Rhys noticed the brief hesitation.

“Katarina will be significantly more difficult,” Richard continued. “You say she only speaks Reijik, so she cannot realistically hold any identity other than a Reilander. We will need to enlist the help of one of our sympathisers within the Reiland government to manage this. Kat, what is your surname?”

“Slaves do not possess surnames, sir,” she said quietly, “but my family name from several generations ago is Wildwood.”

“Katarina Wildwood, then,” Richard stated. He then stopped for a moment, as though half-remembering a distant detail. “Wildwood?” he repeated, muttering slightly to himself. He shook his head abruptly and continued, “I will make the necessary provisions for that.” He rose, pulled a velvet bell cord by the door, and then returned to the fire. “We also need to remove that dreadful collar,” he said to Kat, who nodded emphatically.

Kaspar re-entered the room, and Richard asked him to bring a pen, ink and paper, and the tools required to remove Kat’s collar. Kaspar bowed low and left the room.

“I promised to tell you both my story,” Jade said, addressing Rhys and Kat, “and I have been dragging my heels about it. I will tell you about my time as a slave so you will properly understand how I know Richard and why I asked Cadellin,” she looked visibly embarrassed, “to send us here.

“When I passed my final, rigorous tests to become a pleasure slave, the slavers put me up for sale. My reserve price was the highest of all the women who trained alongside me, so much so that most prospective buyers simply could not afford me. I was kept entirely naked in a show cell within the auction complex, securely chained to the back wall by my collar. The other three sides were made from iron bars so prospective customers could easily observe me. The chain was just long enough for me to move around, but not reach the door.

“Over the entire duration I was kept in that cell, only a few people came to view me. When the salesmen did bring someone over, I had to adopt the ‘present’ position immediately. That required placing my hands securely behind my head, parting my feet to shoulder width, and arching my body slightly forward so my breasts and genitals were prominently on display. I had to stand right by the front bars so prospective customers could inspect me in close-up and even physically feel my breasts or,” she flushed deeply and glanced at Richard, “my most private parts.

“It was difficult to accurately judge how long I was trapped in there, but I would estimate it was about three weeks before a wealthy-looking woman finally approached my cell. She thoroughly checked me over, nodded sharply at the salesman, and left without uttering a single word. Shortly afterwards, I was taken out, given a hot bath, and dressed in a tight-fitting, floor-length gown that displayed an ample amount of my cleavage. The guards quickly removed my steel collar and fitted a smaller leather one with a solid D-ring at the front and a tiny but very secure lock at the back. They placed lightweight steel manacles on me that locked my hands behind my back and kept my ankles a very short distance apart, meaning I could only manage small, shuffling steps. They clipped a sturdy leash to my collar and led me away.