Chapter 24

"We assume you'll fuck her until she can't sit comfortably for a week," came the jovial comment from behind them. Nil turned and frowned at Fobie who returned his gaze steadily without losing her smirk. Grumbling, Nil shook his head and turned back to Rabszolga.

"Maybe we should find someplace where we can talk, alone," he said.

"Why?" Rabszolga asked, obviously surprised.

"Ah ... well ... we need to talk and I thought you might want to do it privately," he responded, a little flustered. "It might be a little embarrassing here in front of everyone."

"Embarrassing? To talk about bedding a slave?" Rabszolga sounded incredulous. "My Lord, we will do as you wish of course, but surely nothing can be embarrassing to a slave. If you accept me, then they will certainly know; just as they will if you reject me."

"It's not that simple―" Nilsen started until he was interrupted.

"Nil," Makro interjected. "If you would allow, I think this is something all of us should talk about. Certainly it affects the whole family."

"Well ... ah..." he hemmed and hawed for a moment then threw up his hands in resignation. "Fine. If you want to talk about it here then we'll talk about it here."

"Thank you, My Lord," Rabszolga answered and soon all of them excepting Jarrah were seated in a circle on the mattresses, Rabszolga directly across from Nil.

"I'll just stand back here and watch, if you don't mind," Jarrah said with a smirk leaning up against the wall behind Nil. Nil twisted around to look at her and just shrugged.

"Okay," Nil began as he turned around to face his ladies. "I'll admit this has taken me a bit by surprise."

"I will understand if you do not wish me in your bed, My Lord," Rabszolga said looking down at her hands folded in her lap. "You do not have to explain it to me."

"Rab, it's not that simple," a frustrated Nil replied. "And would you please look at me while we're talking? This bowing and simpering is quite annoying."

Rabszolga's snapped up like she'd been struck. The look on her face wasn't quite like fear, more like apprehension.

"Whoa, calm down," he hastened to add when she began to apologize. "I'm not angry; it's just that I would rather not talk to the top of your head. Now what is this all about? These other four wenches didn't put you up to this, did they? Because if they did I want to assure you, you don't have to do anything you don't want to, and I mean anything."

"Oh no, My Lord!" Rabszolga spoke quickly. "I never talked to them about this, at least not directly. They knew nothing about it." The other four women nodded but said nothing.

"Well, that's good to hear," Nil said somewhat relived. "Then I guess I'm even more confused. Rab, I thought this was something you didn't want. I perfectly understand why, given what's happened to you in the past but now you say you want to, ah, go to bed with us ... me.

"Now don't get me wrong, you are an incredibly beautiful woman and I, being a mere man, certainly wouldn't mind bedding you. Why now? If it's because you feel you owe me then I'm flattered but it's not necessary." Rabszolga remained silent as an array of conflicting emotions scrolled across her face.

"It's because she's in love with you, idiot," a bemused Makro finally broke the stillness.

"What?" Nil almost shouted. To say he was flabbergasted was an understatement. Quickly he glanced at the Durhorn woman, expecting to hear her vehement denial. Instead she simply sat there fidgeting, surreptitiously glancing up at him and then quickly down again to the folded hands in her lap. For a moment he stared at her, his mind churning with all the possible responses he could make to this surprising turn of events.

"Rab," he said softly and reached out to gently touch her knee which he quickly snatched back when she began quivering. "Rab, is this true?"

"I do not know," she almost wailed.

"Zolga," Makro said firmly. "Now is the time to be honest ... for both your sakes. Just tell him what you want, what you feel."

"But I do not know what I feel!" For the first time that he could remember Nil thought Rabszolga was going to cry.

"Rab..." he started but was quickly interrupted by Makro placing a hand on his arm.

"Would you let us do this, Nil?" she asked. He nodded and she turned back to the trembling woman. "Zolga, look at me. I'm going to ask you a few questions. Please answer them as truthfully as you can and not the way you think we want you to answer. Can you do that?" Rabszolga nodded and seemed to calm down considerably.

"Good," Makro smiled. "Just remember that we understand what you feel, we know what you think; there is nothing you can't tell us, nothing you can say that will embarrass us, or you. Do you understand? No matter what each of us were before, we all have only one purpose now and you know what that is." Rabszolga nodded and relaxed just a tiny bit more.

"Very good," Makro returned the nod. "Now we can start. What did you feel when you first met Nil, back in Salas?"

"Truthfully, nothing," Rabszolga shrugged. "I was commanded to entice him into my master's trap." She looked over at Lavender quickly but the giantess merely looked back at her impassively. "He meant nothing to me."

"And when you came aboard our ship?" Makro prodded.

"Fearful," Rabszolga admitted. "I expected to be put to death or at best thrown back ashore. When he agreed to take me ― to bond me, as you say ― I was grateful, but still afraid. I expected to be treated as I always had been, although I hoped not as harshly."

"That's understandable," Makro continued. "Hopefully you feel your treatment has been fair since you've been with us. Now tell me what you saw in Nil from then until ... oh say, until we landed here."

"My treatment has not been fair," Rabszolga said firmly causing Makro to flinch back in surprise. "I could not have dreamed to be treated this well, Mistress. I have been treated better than any slave could ever hope to be treated. I live in fear that all of this is a dream and I will wake up back where I belong, back where I should have been.

"What have I seen? I will tell you what I have seen," she said her voice gaining confidence with each word. She looked at Nil directly now, talking still to May but her gaze never leaving his face. "I have seen my new master as he is: a man greater than other men, wise beyond his years, a leader without arrogance, kind beyond reason.

"I have seen him not as a man with his harem of women but a lover binding them into a family. I am no fool: I know that he may take of our bodies as he pleases and there is nothing we can do about it. I also know this collar ensures obedience but it cannot command affection. I have seen the devotion each one of you has for him and I know it is real and not a result of our captivity." She finally broke her gaze from Nil and look around at the other four women bearing his collar. "I do not know any of you as well as I should, or as well as I hope to in the future. I held myself back thinking I had no need to understand fellow slaves. For that I am sorry.

"Some may say each of you has her own reason for loving him," she nodded to each woman in turn. "You three are his sisters and while I do not understand what normal relations are between siblings I know yours is more than that. That you are his women and not just his sisters is obvious and I puzzled about that until I grew to know him better. Now I understand.

"You, too, beautiful giant warrior," Rabszolga nodded to Lavender and actually smiled. "Your affection would be reasonable given he saved you from certain death in the arena. You, I humbly say, I know best of the four of you and I believe your understandable gratitude would never have been more without compelling reason. I understand that reason.

"I do not know what love is," she pronounced slowly. "I know the word. I see what I think it is in all of you, but I have never felt anything like that before so I do not know if that is what I feel." Quickly she turned back to Nilsen and moved until she was on her knees before him. "I do not know if this is love, but this is what I feel: Prince Nilsen, Master, I wish to serve you. No, that is not right. I wish to be yours. I am yours. My life and body are yours by right of this collar but what little I have that is truly mine I give to you without reservation. My heart, my soul, is yours." With that she slowly prostrated herself in front of Nil, face to the floor, arms outstretched and crossed at the wrists.

"Do you wish to be his woman?" Makro asked softly.

"Yes!" came the muffled hiss.

"Why?"

"My body burns to be with him!" she cried. "I have nothing to give him except my body! I want nothing more than his pleasure!"

"So you would bed him because you feel grateful?" Makro mused. "Zolga, he doesn't want to just fuck you. He would know if you didn't really want to do it and that would not make him happy."

"No!" Rabszolga gasped and looked up and May. "Not for gratitude!"

"No?" May grinned. "Then why, Zolga? Why do you want to bed him?"

Rabszolga shivered and shifted her gaze to Nil. "Beat me for my impertinence if you will, Master, but I want you for my own pleasure. A slave should not say this but I want to feel you next to me, to feel you touch me, to ... be in me! If you do not want me, then please kill me, for I know without your touch I will die anyway!" With that she lowered her head back to the floor and began sobbing quietly.

Nil sat there mute for a second until Makro gently broke the silence, "Nil, hold her."

"But, May..." he started.

"Do it, Nil! She belongs with us," she answered a little more firmly.

Shaking his head slightly he reached forward and caressed one cheek wet with tears before cupping Rabszolga's chin and lifted it up until she again looked him in the eyes. "Rab, if that is truly what you want then you are certainly welcome to be with us so long as everyone else agrees." He released her chin and opened his arms in invitation. She moved so fast he would later swear he had seen nothing more than a blur and suddenly his lap was filled with warm, soft woman with arms clenched so tightly around his neck he wondered if he was ever going to breathe again. Still sobbing, Rabszolga pressed her face into the crook of his neck rubbing like a cat trying to spread her scent and mark her territory.

"It's okay. Everything is fine now," he crooned reaching around to rub her back as she squirmed to press even more tightly against him. Hearing a noise from behind, Nil twisted his head around as much as allowed given the constrictions. Jarrah was moving towards the door waggling her fingers at him, an almost evil grin on her face.

"I think I'll leave you to your latest conquest," she said still grinning. "Remember, you're supposed to talk to Chief Xolan 'later', whenever that is. Try not to take too long, or exhaust yourself." Not waiting for his reply she walked out the door and pointedly shut it behind her. Ignoring Jarrah's parting barb, Nil turned back to the woman filling his lap.

"Rab," he said pulling on her chin until she was looking at him. She looked so peaceful and contented he hesitated to say what he must, but to do otherwise wouldn't be fair to her. "Rab, before this goes any further I have to tell you something. I like you, I really do. You're smart, beautiful, and considering what you've been through, incredibly self-possessed. I doubt many of us would have been little more than raving lunatics. You are a strong person and I believe a good one, but..." he paused for just a moment, "I can't tell you that I love you. I know I have feelings for you but not the same as I do for the others. I don't want to hurt you, but I don't want to lie to you either."