Chapter 12

"How would you like to have Francine tonight, Frederica?"

"Very much, Mistress! It has been so long. Seven weeks since she started her training. I have seen her about the place, especially since she stopped pulling your carriage. She looks so strong. And she still has no clothes to wear?"

"None. And she never will, the bitch. But you like her and she is yours tonight. I will have someone clean her up and make her smell nice for you. If I asked you to whip her again, would you obey?"

"Of course! I always obey my beloved Mistress."

"You love me more than Francine?"

"Yes!"

Frederica sounded less than convincing and the Lady Fortescue smiled to herself. The lovely German girl would hate to beat Francine - that was obvious. And Francine would find it harder to be beaten by the girl who worshipped her than by Gottman who had been in charge of her nightly chastisements these last hard weeks of training. Both girls would suffer mental agonies if Frederica were to be the one to whip Francine. She made up her cruel mind.

"In future, you will give Trainee Warrior Slave Francine her whippings. Whip her hard, Frederica and whip her till she drops. That is an order and an order I will be very angry indeed to see disobeyed. Now go and see to the cleaning of that smelly filthy cow!"

The Lady Fortescue dismissed Francine and Frederica from her mind for a time. Her debts, though diminished, were still too large for comfort. She had recently had to sell Olga, who had been bringing in quite a fair sum in prize money, in order to pay one very pressing creditor and that meant her income had been reduced appreciably.

Poor Olga was now part of the Lord Pat Buchanan's stable of fighters, and his sole female one. Olga was now stripped again except for a minute thong and once more barefoot like a Slave should be. Olga might be matched against Francine one day and beat the shit out of the tall woman. Part of Lady Fortescue longed to see Francine pulverised by the efficient and merciless Olga. But she needed cash - and plenty of it. It was vital that ALL her fighting slaves should win. Her thoughts once again returned to Francine and the reports she had been getting from the ugly but competent Gottman.

"She learns fast, My Lady. She has great stamina, amazing speed and prodigious strength. Furthermore, she takes her nightly beatings well. They are making her hard and strong. Pain is nothing to her these days. I think we should have her fight one of the others soon to see how her training has improved her. She will do well, I have no doubt. Slave Patti will be a good opponent now that Slave Olga has left us."

Francine, idle for a change, was standing in the courtyard. She had been freed from her chain at dawn and fed on her usual disgusting but nourishing breakfast before being sent on a twelve mile training run. After gulping down the cup of warm and filthy tasting water she had been told to await the next stage of her training.

Last night she had been taken to make love to Frederica. But, instead of being allowed to spend the night with her, she had been taken back to her quarters after only a couple of hours. There had been tears each young woman's eyes as they were forcibly parted.

So far she had been taught fencing, dagger fighting, boxing and chariot pulling. This last was her least favourite activity. She might have been a good middle distance runner at school, but pulling a cart behind her was different to running a normal race. Even so, she had received encouraging words from the smelly Gottman one night s some days ago after he had completed whipping her strong and hardened back and before he shackled her to the dirty cold floor.

"You are good at all your disciplines, Slave Francine. You will excel and earn much cash for our Great Mistress - blessings be upon her!"

"Blessings be upon her!" she had replied automatically and prepared to sleep in discomfort and dirt. To think she had once thought this man evil-smelling! Her own stench easily outdid his. Her opponent in the arena would most lilely faint before she got within ten yards of her! She was to learn that all Fighting Slaves stank to high heaven and she was a lot better than some!

Each night, before she fell asleep she heard a horrible scream coming up from the dungeon which was directly beneath the underground room she slept in. Poor Tharg and the unhappy Adele were tortured each night after Gottman had whipped Francine and put her to bed. If she did badly, she would join that pair. The thought frightened her, but it frightened her far more to think she might shame her Mistress. That would be the real agony of being defeated. At all costs she must be worthy of the Great Lady Fortescue. She would not fail. She must not fail!

Lady Fortescue and a retinue of attendants came out into the courtyard. The Mistress's delicate nostrils wrinkled disgustedly. Francine might not be as high as she usually was, after being cleaned up for Frederica last night, but she was pretty bad all the same thanks to her recent hard exercise.

I have two things to tell you, Trainee Warrior Slave Francine. The first is that you will fight Warrior Slave Patti this morning. You will have a chance to show all your skills today! First you will race her around the outside of the Palace walls. Ten time you will pull a chariot around my Palace and if you do not beat Slave Patti, you will be horribly punished. Remember Tharg, Francine!".

The Lady Fortescue paused for breath and continued.

"You will box her after that. I think since this is not a full-scale arena fight, but only a demonstration of your abilities, that eleven five minute rounds will suffice. You WILL complete all eleven rounds, even if you are knocked out. As soon as you come round you will continue. Then, after lunch you will fence her. The first to draw blood six times will be the winner. In the evening we will see how good you are with the dagger. I imagine you will be like a pin-cushion by nightfall! And now for my second piece of news!

"You will not be beaten by Gottman tonight. Frederica will put you to sleep - with the Slave Whip! Yes, Francine! You get your beatings from her in future and no more sex until you complete a goodly string of victories in the Arena. Give me ten consecutive victories and I will reward you with the use of Frederica's sweet young body as often as you desire it!!"

A full-length mirror was brought out and Francine saw herself for the first time since her kidnapping. She gasped! Gone was her elegant willowy tallness. She knew she had filled out a lot these last months. She had excitedly felt the thickness of her thighs and upper arms increase almost by the day, but this deeply bronzed, broad shouldered, hard stomached Amazon was a revelation. She saw that her face was still as lovely as ever, even after some hard training in which she had taken innumerable punches. Long might her loveliness continue, she thought! She had known, of course, that her legs were unshaven these days and had feared that her face might also be showing signs of the beautician's inattention. But she was more than happy with how she looked. She was a Warrior now and was worshipped by an adoring and very lovely girl. No need to pay too much attention to prettying herself.

"Do you like what you see, Warrior Slave Francine?" asked her Mistress, who admired this transformation herself, despite her continued hatred and desire to cause immense and unbearable pain.

"I thank my Mistress for making all this possible. I will fight for My Mistress until I fall dead. I would far sooner die than dishonour her! I am her Slave and Warrior for ever!"

"Fine words, Warrior Slave Francine! Let us see you live up to them today!"

Then Frederica came out. Francine saw that she had been crying - obviously she was deeply unhappy that whipping Francine would be her duty from now on. As soon as The Lady Fortescue and her retinue had gone away, she tried to comfort her lover.

"Don't be upset, you silly thing. I need to be whipped each day. All Warrior Slaves are regularly chastised. It is part of our endurance training. I'd love to have you doing it! Stop that crying at once!"

"I wish they would let you keep yourself clean, Francine. It can't be nice for you to be so dirty and to smell so bad."

"It's the custom, Frederica. We Warrior Slaves are never treated like human beings. We are only animals. I accept this. I love to know that I am to fight for the honour of our Great Mistress. And I get cleaned up when the two of us make love. That is a privilege that most of us don't get!"

"Patti and Olga are treated well. They have fine clothes and live in luxury when they are not fighting - or Olga was until we sold her. It's the men who live like animals, not the women. Can't you see that you are being penalised?"

"I am treated like a man, Frederica. I am glad that this is so! I want no female luxuries - none whatsoever!"

"Well, I want to join you, Francine. I can live in filth if you can. I'll ask the Mistress to let me be chained near you at night."