Chapter 1

He was waiting patiently for his turn. He knew he held no power over what was going to happen, but still, he had a modicum of hope that he would not end up with a bad master. The training had been hard enough; all the young men prepared to serve in the lavish houses of Drena were talking endlessly about the life of luxury and delights waiting for them behind the heavy iron doors of the Institution. As soon as they reached 21 years of age, they were considered old enough and trained enough to serve the masters.

The last three years had been hellish, as far as Cory could remember. When he’d gone to apply for a simple worker position at the factory, they had rejected him, telling him he was too pretty for that kind of work. At the time, he had no idea what being pretty had to do with anything. Unfortunately for him, soon enough he found out.

Cory seriously doubted that things would change once they were sent to their masters. What kind of masters needed that kind of unforgiving training? After all this time, he still had felt a chill down his spine, remembering how the wooden device was shoved slowly down his throat, forcing him to ignore his gag reflex. He vaguely knew that this kind of training was needed for entertaining the masters’ stables of pleasure slaves. On the other hand, any manifestation of sexual desires between the walls of the Institution was badly punished. When two of the boys had been caught kissing, they had been beaten so badly by the servant wranglers that they had to be sent eventually to work the factories, their beauty compromised forever. What had been worse, the rest had been forced to watch their punishment.

What stood behind that reasoning of keeping them pure in one way and shamelessly dirty in another was beyond Cory’s comprehension. But he knew one thing, unlike the others. That any master they would get, the hell would just continue.

They were set in lines, apart from one another, so that their would be masters would have plenty of room to examine them thoroughly. The fact that they were naked was the least of their concern. They would be probed and touched and verified everywhere. The biggest fear, after all, was that they would be deemed unfit. A certain percentage was always rejected. Some went back to training. Others were sent to hard work, in factories, a fate that seemed a death of some sort for many of them. Cory had no such fears. He would have preferred working hard but honestly instead of being trained and taught to fawn over empty headed slaves and their hypocritical masters.

It was not a matter of choice, though. Apparently, his fate had been already drawn by others, and he held no control over it. It didn’t help, either, that he was quite a sensual being, by nature. Being forced to perceive any sexual activity they had been trained for as just duty, a necessity with no further consequences for a task well done had been particularly painful. He had almost had a lover a long time ago, in a life that had happened before being sent to be chewed and spit by the bowels of the Institution. He still had his regrets that he hadn’t lost his virginity back then, to the boy he’d been in love with.

Arousal of any kind was strictly forbidden. Any sign of such a thing was strictly punished. Cory could vouch that a cane over an aroused member was the worst kind of pain. “You are nothing but a convenience, an utility, molded to serve. Such lewd desires will be quashed.” Those were just some of the words the trainers at the institution kept on telling them. And many of them were transformed into senseless dummies. Cory was not, unfortunately for him, one of them. He hadn’t dared to stimulate himself in a long time, but that didn’t mean they could enter his thoughts, deny him the desire he still nurtured inside himself that someday he would be held, embraced and loved by another human being. As he grew up, transforming into at young man, dark desires began assaulting his mind; surrounded by beautiful boys of the same age, he started fantasizing. Sometimes he thought about being held down and penetrated by the others, used as a recipient of their pent up desires. He dreamed about sucking their beautiful cocks until his mouth was full. He never acted on his desires, though. Being forced into abstinence was a really tough punishment for Cory. Knowing that a life without sex was waiting for him made him desperate.

He was pulled out of his mind by the low murmurs. It was a clear sign that the buyers were there. All the servants assumed the position, their eyes cast down, their hands tightly held together at their back, their legs parted. It was an unforgivable impudence for a servant to raise his eyes, to see the masters.

A soft swish of clothes was the only sign that the masters were already present. Questions were never asked; it was assumed that the trainers had done a perfect job, so the only procedure applied was this visualization session. If a master liked what he saw, he took. That was all.

He could tell by the sound of steps that some of the young men around him were already being taken away. Finally, someone stopped next to him. A gloved hand touched his chest slowly, examining him. Cory could not breathe. It was finally there, the moment when he was going to be taken away, and condemned forever to serve as an appliance in some master’s home.

The hand continued, steadily, its explorations. It was now touching the small of his back, just under his clasped hands, then it suddenly descended on his buttocks, squeezing one hard. He knew he should have stood still. But, despite his better judgment, he jolted and snapped his head up, looking straight at the manhandling him like he was nothing but a toy. If the man was surprised, he didn’t show it. Cory stared into a pair of cold grey eyes for a couple of long seconds, before he was grabbed by strong hands to be taken away.

He could hear the trainer’s low voice apologizing, like through a haze. But then he saw the owner of those steel eyes making a small gesture, and he was let go. He breathed heavily through his mouth. He’d been close to being rejected; he’d missed his chance. Desperately, he searched for the grey eyes again. He opened his mouth to say something, to yell, or do something outrageous, but the gloved hand covered it swiftly, and a short change of glances determined him to keep it shut. He nodded imperceptibly, and the hand moved, caressing his cheek briefly.

The custom demanded that the servant was going to be ‘packed’ by the trainers and sent to the master’s house. So Cory was surprised to see himself pushed to move behind his new master, completely naked. He didn’t say anything. After all, shame was not something servants knew or understood. So he started treading lightly behind the man now owning him. His soles felt the ground he was stepping on as if was trying to bind him, but he forced his feet to move, and follow his fate.

Now he was standing in front of his new master who was comfortably seated on a lavish chair, his hands crossed in his lap, with what looked like an amused look on his face. Cory could not help staring. The man was handsome, much more beautiful than any other he had seen in his short life. He had short brown hair, neatly combed over his head, and high cheekbones, lovingly balanced by sensual lips. The gray eyes no longer looked so cold. They even had a certain warmth in them.

“So, am I passing the test?” a deep, baritone worthy voice asked, and Cory blushed deeply. Being fair skinned, with blond hair and light blue eyes, his embarrassment was easy to read.

“I ... I don’t really understand the question, master.”

“Oh, but I think you do. Cory, why did you raise your eyes? You know the punishment for it.”

Cory’s forehead became all wrinkles.

“Do not over think it. Just tell me.”

“I ... master touched me.”

He looked with frightened eyes at the man on the chair. Even seated, he looked so tall, compared to Cory’s smaller frame. Was the man wanting to learn the truth?

“And? Am I not allowed to touch you?” The man seemed amused.

Cory shook his head. “Forgive me, master. I have no idea what got into me.”

He fell to his knees, letting his head touched the man’s shoes in obedience.

“I didn’t tell you that you could kneel,” the man’s voice became thicker.

Cory got up, trembling. He felt fear, pure and deep, turning his blood into ice. He knew what the trainers could do to him. What a master could do with a worthless servant, he didn’t.

“Speak. Loud and clearly. Don’t even think about lying.”

“I wanted ... not to be touched. I wanted to be free,” he said with difficulty, swaying slightly on his feet.

Laughter made him stop. He looked at the man, not sure if he could believe his ears. His new master was laughing so hard, it made the chair creak. In the end, the laughter subdued. “Well, Cory, you certainly are entertaining. I somehow felt you would be different. So, to make things clear, come closer.”