The Slave and His Master

Day 6, Afternoon, After Aiden survives the beast:

There were rumors in the servant's quarters. There were rumors in the kitchen. There were rumors in the corridors and rooms. There were rumors among the houses of all the great lord's. There were rumors in the streets and in the marketplaces. There were rumors in the whole of Arodasa. All of them featured a certain lord and the slave that he had bought from Mr. Habberforth.

The slaves were in awe and wished they'd been purchased instead. In their delusional state, the common folk resented the slaves for somehow finding a way to have better fortune, even if they weren't granted any freedoms. The handlers didn't care much for the rumors. They were hardly affected by what the lord's and ladies did, though no one in their right mind wanted to cross the lord in question.

Among the tight circle of lords and ladies, whispers were filled with the poison of jealousy and disrespect; while hiding behind pretty faces and lies when they conversed with their peer.

In the lord's own house, the atmosphere was chaotic. Most in the lord's employ felt distress and fear settling in, once they realized how disrespectfully they'd treated a certain slave, who was sure to rule over them soon.

One servant, in particular, was deeply disturbed by what she'd heard. She was frustrated, heartbroken and insanely jealous. The bitter feeling ate away at her, rotting her good judgment.

*****

Lena wrapped her arms around her body as she lay in bed. Her thoughts consumed with her heartbreak; knowing that someone would be taking her place. She hated that slave with every fiber of her being. She'd hated Aiden from the first moment she saw him.

She'd desperately hoped that he would break, but after the latest session everyone was talking. He hadn't left the house with a pile of gold. He hadn't needed his own rooms, away from Lord Sagi, some even whispered that the boy was in love.

I'm in love too, she thought to herself, feeling miserable.

No one cared that she loved the lord as well. No one cared that she had loved him longer. No one cared that she cared. That was the simple truth. The object of her affections didn't even care.

In her misery, Lena let her thoughts travel to the beautiful woman that had tried to tempt Lord Sagi. Lena had recognized the same malice she felt towards Aiden, reflected in Gwen's own eyes. At the time, she hoped that if she, herself, couldn't have Lord Sagi, then maybe Gwen could.

Anything would be better than that pathetic, sniveling brat that her lord seemed to be infatuated with.

He was supposed to be a toy! Lena thought, feeling frustration and heartbreak at the same time.

The lord always came back to her when he'd finished with his boy's. He had from the beginning. She'd been his first consensual partner. They'd started sweet and vanilla but as time went on he'd become more and more sadistic. If Lena was being honest, she was relieved that Lord Sagi preferred to destroy males.

She was willing to share him, if it meant that she wouldn't get hurt again by the man she loved. He always came back after disposing of his toys. He belonged to her, not officially, but inside her head.

Although now, Aiden was taking him away.

"I want him back!" Lena screamed into her pillow, balling up her fists.

You can get him back, a sinister little voice whispered in her ear.

Lena squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the temptations inside her mind. She had always struggled to control her violent overreactions to things that upset her.

Come on Lena, we haven't had any fun in such a long time, the devil on her shoulder pouted.

"He won't like it," she said, rolling over on her side, trying to block out the voice.

He can't come back to you if that brat becomes his mate, Lena. Even if you don't have fun, you know this would be for the best. It's not healthy for Lord Sagi to be permanently attached to someone that he can be violent with. What if he looses himself to that darkness?

This time the voice in her head sounded an awful lot like an angel and Lena felt more inclined to listen.

Again her thoughts traveled to Gwen, who was the person that would be most likely to help her.

Maybe we can get her brother's help as well, the little devil whispered.

Lena smiled to herself in the darkness of her bedroom, "Maybe," she whispered.

******

Several hours later, Lena finally reached the outskirts of Arodesa. It took some time for the web of gossip to produce Gwen and Antony's location but Lena finally managed.

She looked up at the sky, hoping the clear blue with white clouds would last the day. It would not do to be caught in a sandstorm. Aiden and her lord could be mates by the time she got back if she were to be caught. Thankfully, there were only a few wispy traces of cloud visible and they gave Lena no reason to worry.

She focused back on the scene before her, feeling slightly disgusted with being in the poor section of town. The house was fine really, Gwen had probably used the money she got from Lord Sagi to make it.

That was hardly the point. Lena was use to enjoying a certain stature, being employed by the wealthiest Lord in the kingdom's history. Walking on the same ground that the poor tread did not make her happy, but it would be worth it for the revenge she intended to achieve. No one was going to take Lord Sagi away from her.

She marched up the wooden door and knocked over and over until it was pulled open abruptly. A handsome but unhealthy looking man looked down at her with a cross expression.

"Tony, who is at the door?"

Lena heard a woman's voice and a few seconds later, Gwen was pushing past her brother to see who had caused the commotion. When she saw Lena she felt surprised, but only because she hadn't expected the haughty servant to walk all the way to Desondole.

"I think Lord Sagi is going to mate that ridiculous slave and you have to help me stop it from happening!" Lena cried as soon as she saw Gwen's face.

"Get inside now!" Gwen hissed as she grabbed a fistful of Lena's cloak and pulled her in.

Once the door was shut behind them, she spoke again. "Are you insane? Anyone could be listening! If Lord Sagi is as serious about that brat, as you say, then you can't just talk about getting rid of him in public! You're playing with fire!"

"Don't you want him gone? Both of you?" Lena retorted, feeling defensive.

"I don't want him gone," Antony finally spoke up. "I want his Master to suffer. The slut has to be alive and in pain in order for Sagi to suffer!"

Both women looked at Antony, surprised that he would dare to address a lord without his title. Antony scoffed at their shocked expression. He felt that since they were already planning a sort of mutiny, what did one more transgression really matter?

"What did you have in mind, exactly?" Lena asked Antony, her eyes glowing with the want for mischief.

"Living among the dregs of society allows Gwen here a certain access to the black market. I heard they're starting to sell certain serums to... enhance a slave's training experience."

"I'll buy you whatever you think is best, dear brother, but I want to see the boy branded! It's not fair that the lord had your body marred like this while the slave gets to walk around all healthy and unblemished!"

"I can get us a brand," Lena offered helpfully. "Do you have anyone else who could help us?"

"Wait!" Gwen said suddenly. "What makes you so sure that he's going to mate Aiden? If Lord Sagi gets tired of him then our revenge will have little effect."

"M'lord had the little bitch pierced."

The siblings looked at each other and then back at Lena, realizing that she was correct for thinking the way that she was.

An understanding that they were all about to participate in something extremely illegal filled the room and all of them were consumed with their own black fire of hatred. This blinded them to the fact that they could be playing into the hands, of their own misfortune.

Still they plotted, adding to their aid of a few others, who had a bone to pick with Lord Sagi. They kept their efforts quiet and gathered their weapons in secret. When all was said and done, a group of twelve, including the three instigators, were preparing for the strike.

Unfortunately for Lena, it took some time to obtain the serums they needed, which meant that it was the in dark of the next morning when she left the group. Incredibly, Lena was able to slip back to her place in the great mansion without anyone taking much notice of her absence. Even if they had, they would have had no way of knowing the sinister plans that were about to play out.

************

Day 7

Aiden woke in the warm embrace of his Master and once his thoughts were no long drowsy, he began to think about the morning before. The thought of the painful lashes mixed with that incredibly floaty feeling at the end had Aiden feeling addicted.

A small part of him, that had begun to scream louder, begged for Master Sagi to cause him more pain, if only for the chance of visiting that relaxing dimension again.

He was distracted from his thoughts, however, when he felt his Master's heavy hand against his crotch. The cock cage blocked him from feeling any actual sensation but he didn't want his Master to remove the hand that held his tiny, caged cock.

The boy turned his face to try and kiss his Master but he flinched back when the bedroom doors suddenly opened.

Right at that moment, a servant entered the room. Aiden tried to cower in his Master's arms when he recognized that she was the servant who'd laughed at his pathetic little cock.

"Will you be having breakfast in here or in your sitting room, Lord Sagi?" She addressed her superior in a haughty tone.

Sagi frowned at Lena, not liking how she'd excluded Aiden from the question, not to mention her impertinent tone. "You can bring us breakfast in bed," he told her, a warning clear in his voice.

Lena managed to hide her scowl at the silent reprimand and her heart broke a little more from having to hear it at all. Not to mention the fact that having to bring them food in bed was doing cruel things to her sense of pride and self respect.

"Does the slave require something special?" Lena hissed through her teeth.

"Nothing comes to mind," Sagi said in a causal tone, though his eyes had gone cold with anger and his gaze stayed locked on hers.

He couldn't understand why his most loyal servant was behaving with such disrespect, but he made every attempt to appear calm and collected, though he was boiling on the inside.

Sagi didn't want to be angry in front of Aiden after yesterday. He didn't want the boy to worry about being beaten again. He still couldn't believe that his little submissive hadn't left him yet and he wasn't willing the push his sub's limits.

Lena held her lord's eyes for a minute but finally she dropped her gaze, in submission. She then turned on her heel's and left the suite.

"You can come out now little one," Sagi purred gently to Aiden.

The boy had managed to scoot down enough to hide his body and face under the covers during the tense exchange.

Aiden peaked out from his hiding place and crawled back into the open arms of his Master.

"Where's Ivy?" He asked innocently, trying to brush past his obvious discomfort with Lena.

"I sent her to get a gift for you," Sagi said with a smile, though he wasn't fooled into believing that the two had no history.

If Aiden didn't want to tell him yet, then he would wait. He was sure the boy would open up in every way if they became mates like he hoped they would.

"You're getting me a present?" Aiden asked and for a second, his fingers fluttered to his neck in hopes that the gift would be his own collar.

"Of course I am. I can't let you go through something like what you did yesterday and not reward you. You were such a good boy," Sagi murmured the last words softly into Aiden's ear.

Aiden felt warm and happy at hearing the words, but he also felt a little embarrassed. Was he not meant to like the treatment of the day before? He wasn't sure.

"So, little one," Sagi started, unaware of his sub's inner confusion. "Today's training will be very different from anything we've done in one aspect, but it will be familiar in another.

Today, you will choose a scene that you have experienced over the course of this training and we will do another, more intense, version of it.

There is, however, one caveat. Our scene will not take place in the dungeon, we will have an audience. Today we are going to the center of the Capital. We are to be part of the entertainment for 'The Voyeurism Festival'."

Aiden felt his face heat up at the mention of the one of Arodesa's raunchiest pleasure parties. This was a rare event that involved every citizen of the kingdom and for that reason it was well liked by all but the pleasure slaves.

Aiden, of course, had been present at the parties for years, as it was a custom for all slaves to be desensitized to the idea of public sex. Sometimes the method worked, but many slaves had nightmares long after they were subjected to the frivolity.

For himself, Aiden had always been fearful of being watched like that, by all those hungry eyes and in reach of so many greedy hands.

He knew that it was the point of his birth, to be looked at like he was nothing but a toy or a fantasy, and to be treated as such but he never liked the attention. Now his Master was telling him he was about to be in the center of the kingdom with all of that perverse scrutiny.

Aiden briefly wondered if he could refuse to go, but then he held his tongue.

It was the last day of training! He couldn't be such a coward. Master Sagi was already so lenient with him by the offering of clothes and by the kind treatment.

He knew of many slaves who ended up chained and laying on cement floors, left for hours, with only enough previsions to live. That certainly wasn't the life he was experiencing with his Master.

The boy also loved how gentle his giant would be after their scenes. He loved being told he was good and feeling that he actually believed the words. Aiden trusted his Master, completely, and it was the memories of his Master's loving touch that gave Aiden the courage to face his last day.

Sagi watched his boy's face, feeling a sense of anticipation for whatever he would choose. Sagi was normally not one to take part in pleasure parties but that wasn't because he preferred modesty. Sagi actually loved the idea of showing off his little plaything but he seldom did so because he did not have a permanent lover. For some reason, there was a bigger appeal in letting people peak into his life if the subject in question, would only ever be his to play with.

He loved the idea of making everyone around him jealous and full of lust over Aiden. The lord couldn't wait to mark him in front of everyone, to show that his boy was very much owned and that anyone that wanted could watch, but there'd be hell to pay if they tried to touch his boy.

When Aiden still hadn't answered, though, Sagi began to feel concerned, before he felt the strong fingers of self doubt creep around his throat.

Maybe this element of his kinks were where Aiden would draw the line? No partner could be that perfect. Did it really matter if Aiden couldn't do this one little thing? He reasoned with himself. The boy had already survived and enjoyed a head to head with his beast. Did it really matter if he couldn't show off his prize to the entire kingdom?

Just as the giant was about to take back his words, and tell Aiden that it didn't matter, they could be mates after only six days, the boy spoke.

"I... I think I would like a repeat of yesterday," Aiden whispered, his face instantly turned bright red as he spoke the words.

Blood rushed to Sagi's dick but he wasn't sure that he heard his boy correctly. "What did you say?"

His question sounded a little more cautious than he meant it to sound but he couldn't help it. Had his pet really just asked for another round with his beast? That was unheard of.

Aiden looked up then and made sure to make eye contact with the man. "I want you to whip me, like you did before, with the painful one."

"Are you sure?" Sagi asked, feeling guilty for how turned on he was getting.

"Can I still use our safe word?" Aiden asked, trying to soothe his nerves that felt frazzled by his bravery.

"Of course! A public scene makes it especially important that we have clear communication between us. I don't want to damage your mind," Sagi assured his boy.

"Really?" Aiden asked, feeling stupid for how easily his Master's words were making him melt in the middle of his anxiety.

Sagi leaned in and kissed Aiden's soft, pouty lips and sucked the boy's lower lip into his mouth. He bit the lip, gently, before pulling away.

"I never want to damage you in any way, little one, you're perfect. Why would I want to ruin that?"

Aiden's heart fluttered in his chest and he wanted so badly to tell Master Sagi that he loved him but he shoved the longing down. It would be better to wait until he was sure that they'd be together for good. Then it would be safe to speak up. The fear of being replaced was the only thing keeping the boy from spilling his heart and soul out before the man.

The rest of their morning was spent with Sagi overseeing that Aiden ate enough, was clean and emotionally and physically ready for the scene they would be preforming that evening. He made sure to shower his boy with attention and care and he never left Aiden's side.

If the lord had, then maybe he would have heard the conspiratorial whispers from within his own castle walls. Maybe he would have taken certain precautions, had he known the rebellion and rage that overflowed from Lena's heart. If he had been paying attention to anything but his own desire, then maybe lord Sagi would have been able to save his boy from the vengeance of his enemies.

************

Day 7, Early Evening, Town Square, The Capital:

Ivy still hadn't returned to Lord Sagi's home when Aiden and his Master left for the Capitol. This meant that the task of preparing Aiden before they went out on stage, fell to Lena. She was the only other employee that Lord Sagi trusted with his submissive.

Though he was aware that Aiden found her disagreeable, neither he nor she had given the lord a reason to keep them constantly separated. Especially when Lena seemed, almost, cheerful when Sagi asked for her to join them on their journey to the Capitol. In his presence, she talked kindly to Aiden and he saw his boy relax a bit. This made it easier to leave them together when people of importance pressed for his attention, upon their arrival to the main staging area.

"Give him something to help him relax," where the last words he spoke to the pair of them before he was engaged in conversation.

Lena pulled Aiden behind the curtain of the main stage and told him to sit before taking out a small syringe from a bag she'd brought on the journey.

Aiden remained standing, not wanting to obey Lena, and the girl rolled her eyes at his stubbornness.

"This will hurt a little," she said, trying to make her voice sound gentle and trustworthy. "It will help you stay calm and focused though. You'll be able to zero in on Lord Sagi and everything else will cease to exist."

Technically, Lena was telling the truth. The syringe was filled with a serum that would help Aiden relax, and focus, but it would also weaken his sense of self control. Effectively derailing the training he had already been subject to.

Aiden tried to remain calm but he didn't trust her. The boy found it unnerving that her personality could change towards him so quickly and dramatically. On the other hand, his Master had told her to give him something, and he trusted Master Sagi. With this in mind, the boy held out his arm and flinched when the needle plunged into his skin.