Lost At Sea

The time of the Long War was not, as many would later remember, one of abundance.

Many sacrifices had to be made and compromises had to be found. Great warriors emerged and perished and treason threatened the men who wanted to be leaders and warlords of the Shadow Men. Losses were mourned, alliances forged and hostilities rooted deep in many hearts.

In the end, a new alliance between the Shadow Men and those from the Lake of the Old Serpent prevailed. One last, united war band journeyed deep into the heartlands of the enemy and fought one last, bloody battle. The hard-earned victory was followed by weeks of hunting, slaughtering and plundering. The Long War had lasted as long as the lifetime of the young warriors, and so it was no wonder that many could not believe that it was now finally over. There had, for them, never been anything else than war.

But over it was now, and the time that followed would later be called the Age of Great Towns. It would, as all would agree, be remembered as a time of abundance indeed.

The Age of Great Towns would last for more than one hundred years, unknown to and undiscovered by the technocratic outside world that did not yet have the capabilities to see through the unusual weather phenomenons and magnetic disturbances that hid the world in which the Shadow Men now ruled.

When the men returned from the war and came back to the town in the hills, they brought with them a great many fresh females, many of which had been so recently harnessed that they still fought against their bonds, screaming, crying and wailing. The former high priestesses of the newly-conquered people knew especially well what fate awaited them and did everything to throw up the leaves that were force-fed to them. It would take at least a couple of weeks until they would finally succumb to exhaustion, despair and the miraculous effect of the plants.

One of the victorious warriors was a man with weird blue eyes many scars whom the other simply called Steadfast. He had proven his worth as a sharp shooter with the bow and as a natural leader many times during recent years and was a well-known man, wealthy through all the booty and slaves which he had collected in recent years. As he returned to the village, he did not join the festivities at once, but instead turned his back on the others and wandered for half an hour, until he reached one of the large stables that had been built in the outskirts, where the large fields were situated.

The guards let him pass without hesitation, nodding respectful. Steadfast entered the stables freely and looked for the one female that he was longing to see. He passed many of the tied, moaning creatures and found her in one of the smaller boxes where she was all by herself: The female had been worked hard during the past years and looked sturdier and more muscular than he remembered her, the straps and laces biting deep into her flesh in order to constrain her properly. Her arms were still tightly packed on her back, covered by laces and leather. Her skin was covered in bruises and welts, but he did not take notice of those too much. There were, after all, many fresh leaves in the females' trough. He had learned in the past years of war and turmoil that this was all that really counted. They did not need anything else to persevere.

Her eyes were very tired, her face, half hidden behind the traditional harness and hood, was empty. But then the female recognized him, shuddered and mewed. She stumbled to her feet, her mouth worked in a weird attempt to form words in spite of the obligatory bridle gag she was wearing. He approached her, calmed her down, and kissed her cheek. She shuddered and pressed herself against him. For a moment the gesture was innocent, and then he felt that she was beginning to rub her crotch against the side of his leg.

"It's fine, Scarlett." The language that he used now was not the language of the Shadow Men. He saw her eyes lighten up a little as he used it, and he saw understanding dawn in her face. A little drool dripped down her lower lip as she tried to talk and he had to jerk her leash so that she would stop babbling nonsense. "Shh, don't do that. Don't try that, it will just get us into trouble."

Would it really? He didn't believe that anymore, but seeing her and talking to her evoked many memories. He had been Steadfast for a long time, and now he felt at least a little bit like Chris again. Affectionate he stroked the females' shoulders, checking out of sheer habit that her harness and bonds were all strict enough. They definitely were.

She calmed down a little, for the moment not trying again to hump him. There was an animalistic dullness in her eyes, but at least a spark had awakened and reminded him of whom Scarlett had once been. That spark flickered and danced around in the very back of her eyes, accusing and affronting him in a way he couldn't fully explain. She was still in there and he knew it. He cock grew hard with the knowledge.

"I know you've been alone for a long time. When did I last visit you... was it before the long rain started? I don't know anymore, and for that I'm sorry. There was just so much to organize, so much to do..." To make her stop looking at him like this he touched her breast, lightly stroked her nipple until it hardened and she moaned into the gag helplessly. "Do you even understand how time passes, or is a year to you just like a day or a week? I wish I knew, really."

She moaned again, this time in a weird kind of protest, sounding almost human again. But he pinched that nipple and turned her around, pushing her against the stable wall. She reacted instinctively, bowing down a bit, resting the upper part of her body against the railing and spreading her legs.

"Ogh...ghouuggh....!" There was humiliation in that sound as much as lust and aversion. He was astonished that she still sounded so much lie Scarlett had. In a way he was glad that she did.

"But I have never forgotten you. I know that in the first year it was tough, that you had to be punished often. But now they tell me you are doing well, working hard. I'm proud of you... I hope you understand me. I hope at least a part of you knows what I'm trying to tell you."

He unlaced his pants and loosened Scarletts' cunt-strap. Her reaction was to repeat the same, weirdly human noise. Shuddering she pressed against him, and his cock easily slid into her wet, hot pussy from behind. Fucking her was like fucking a harnessed force of nature, due to her muscular statue and her extreme stamina. Since he was her owner and had only left her at the community stables to be used as a beast of burden for the benefit of the tribe, no one else had fucked her. She had, it seemed, missed the vaginal stimulation a lot.

He held on to the back of her harness, thrusting deep into her, his own well-toned body above hers. He listened carefully to her grunting and panting, adjusting his rhythm to her needs as much as possible, and she came fast, spasming and rocking beneath him after less than three minutes, straining against the bonds as if she thought she might be able to break them. After she had cum he kept using her, now only satisfying his own needs and preferences, thrusting even harder than before, pushing her down relentless. She gargled into the gag as if he was strangling her (which he was only half-heartedly at best), twitched in despair as her orgasm was prolonged, intensified by the way he took her. She rocked so hard beneath him, groaned with so much defenseless degradation in her voice, that he felt as if he was breaking a new slave in instead of using the first female he had ever made his possession. Finally, after he had cum himself and slowly, satisfied pulled out of her, they both slumped to the floor, steaming from the exhaustion. She smelled wonderful spicy from the leaves, like they all did. "I met a woman who remembered me of you", he said with a smile, stroking her hooded head. "She was a Soothsayer, a powerful woman. We caught her last week, just as she was trying to take her own life. We stormed the last temples, you know? There wasn't much resistance left.

Well, she was very rebellious. She still is, in fact. When she looks at me I feel her strength, and how dedicated she is. And I'm sure she thinks that dedication will be the key to her survival. And it will. Just not the way... well, you know what I mean, don't you?"

He could not see if she indeed did understand him. When he re-applied the cunt-strap she flinched and sobbed a little, but most of them did that, even after years.

"I talk too much, I know. It's silly, talking to you like this. The others would laugh if they saw or heard it." He smiled, very aware of the irony. She slowly rolled to her side, not just exhausted from her daily burdens now, but also from being used by him. Hay and loam stuck to her skin and he resolved to remind the cattle herders to scrub her thoroughly tomorrow morning.

"I have to get back to the others. There is a big feast today, an epic celebration. We have won, Scarlett. That's why I visited you today. After eight years we have finally won the war." He was so proud, and at the same time so regretful that, most likely, she didn't understand a word.

"I promised to find a way how we could escape from here. Do you remember?"

To his utter astonishment she nodded, shakily, as much as was possible with her collar.

"And I intend to keep that promise. It's just that we can't leave just yet. I'm too well-known, kind of a war hero. We will have to play our roles just a bit longer. Wait until the dust settles. And until then there is so much to organize, so much to do, you know? We need a new form of administration to control such a large territory. We will have to make new treaties with our friends, who live at the Lake of the Old Serpent. We need to distribute the new slaves amongst the warriors, in a way that satisfies everyone. It's going to take some time, a few months at least, or maybe a year."

She just stared at him. Stared at him, kneeling in that corner of her box, looking up towards her Master. Just stared and did nothing else.

"What I'm saying is that you have to hang on a little more. Just a little more. You are doing well and I can see you are healthy. And everything else... we can correct it all, we can make it good again. I promise. And until then I know you are safe here. I'll tell them to treat you fair and always feed you well."

She still just stared, and he smiled and nodded at her and made the promise to himself to visit her more often, if he found the time.

Then he locked the box and said goodbye to the guards and left, the stables quickly left far behind him. He walked towards the town again, longing to see his friends, to drink and celebrate. Scarlett was forgotten after no more than ten minutes.

Not just by him. Also - and more thoroughly - by herself.

The End