Slave Girl 3: Chapter 1 (Patreon)

On a high pass that connected one valley of the mighty Apennines with the next our party stops and turns back to look out over vast plains behind us. We see dark forests just beginning to come alive with autumn color, we see fields once a blond gold now dulled from the shearing of harvest, we see the twinkling Aciris wound through the landscape like a slumbering draco, and we see the smoke of Grumentum rising to the blue heavens from its perch over looking the lands around it. And there, just along the river, a tiny spit of dark foliage we once called home.

Together on the paved road we stand. A blind demon slave girl who was Mistress, a tall and broad shouldered citizen who was slave, a buxom farmer’s daughter with the soul of an explorer and a chubby green goblin woman munching on plums. We had to be strangest family in all of the vast empire. Beside us snorted a great nameless black steed loaded with gear and somewhere in the low bushes around us stalked a hungry fox in search of mice.

My eyes turn to Collywaddle and Cassie. While Rosa and I had called this valley home for only a scant few months for the others this valley had been their whole world. What I discover was that my goblin slave was too busy with her plums to notice this landmark event and my lover and fellow devotee of the Lady with horns, her dark wooden living collar a mate to my own, had her eyes cast ahead of us looking into the distance as far as they could reach. I look to my Lady and slave girl Rosa, who of course had the wide-eyed stare into infinity of the blind, and I realize that I was the only one who had paused to take in this moment.

After one last glance at that verdant speck and one last nod in respect to everything that happened inside of it, with a chuckle I pull the steed’s reigns and turn him back the right way around. The valley was now the past, a cherished and sometimes painful memory, our focus now was on the future and the road ahead.

As we being to move again Colly, who hadn’t left my side since leaving the estate, says with her familiar lisp. “I think we should name him Ballth.”

“Balls?” I laugh.

“Ballth.” She repeats just before spitting a pit into a nearby mass of glossy leaved boxwood. “Becauthe thatth all I thee when I walk behind him. Ballth bigger than Lady Rotha’s!”

I bump her shoulder with my hip and say with a chuckle. “Voice down, we don’t know whose listening.”

“Thorry, Thir.”

“We’re not calling him Balls.” Cassie says from a dozen feet ahead of us, her bow in her hands with an arrow knocked as she watched for the gray hare she had missed just moments ago. I knew she would have strayed further from us and pushed our pace if not for the Lady and the child she carried. “I think we should name him Onyx.”

“Boooooring!” Colly, with impressive coordination given her ample…proportions scoops up a stone without breaking stride. I have to bite my lips to hide my grin, already knowing that stone would be hurled to scare the hare and cause Cassie’s arrow to fly wide of her target. I don’t say anything and just let the miniature drama play out as it will.

“Well I think we should name it Lucifer.” I offer. “The light bringer. Get it? Because him carrying everything makes our load…light?”

There are groans all around to what I thought was a pretty solid name. They hadn’t had to walk the Appian Way with all of their worldly possession PLUS Rosa on their backs. If there was anybody that could appreciate a lightened burden it was me.

A hand, warmer than any human touch, brushes my arm lightly. A voice like summer moonlight soon follows. “I thought we might name him Catalus.”

I peer back over my shoulder to Rosa who walked alongside our steed grasping the knotted rope we’d purposely left dangling from the load for her her to hold. She looked so small next to the beast, the two curving horns atop her head did little to make her lithe form look any taller. Though her unseeing eyes stared straight ahead into my back she somehow senses me looking at her. She smiles, revealing her gleaming teeth fangs and all, and the hem at the back of her skirt swayed as her tail moved more quickly.

“Puppy?” I say. “This ornery cuss?”

“He is not ornery.” She giggles, a sound more pure than children’s laughter. I still marveled how creature with such a playful soul…could have done what she’d done to that mind-raped mage we’d left in our wake. Rosa was sweet by nature but, to protect her boy and family, she was capable of bearing those slender fangs to brutal effect. “He’s proud.” She pats his side. “He was born for glory not ferrying folded robes and cutlery.”

Colly shrugs and Cassie doesn’t say a word. The Lady had spoken.

“Catalus.” I say, making it final.

“Cat for short.” Rosa says.

“A horse that’s a puppy that’s a cat?”

“He’ll fit right in!” Colly chirps as she hurls her stone.

The rock skips off the paving and into the juniper to send the hare bolting for its life. At just that moment Cassie’s bowstring sings, the streaking arrow flying unerringly to sink into the earth at the exact spot that the hare HAD been hiding. “Gods damn it!” She cries as she watches the bunny bolt around a nearby boulder and out of sight. “COLLYWADDLE!”

“Protect me, Mathter!” Colly peeps.

“You’re on your own on this one.” I say. I might have faced down an harpy and a raging magical minotaur but I’d be damned if I was going to throw myself in front of an irate Cassie.

“Eep!” Collywaddle dashes off into the bushes, boobs a bouncin and ass cheeks a jigglin, with Cassie hot on her tail.

I pull Catalus to a stop as waited for our companions to settle their differences. He snorts in protest. From his point of view it seemed that his daft human handler didn’t know whether they were walking or resting. I could practically see in his glossy eyes, ‘make up your mind!’.

Given our first moment alone I turn to Rosa and kneel down in front of her. I run my hand across her delicate sandaled foot. Though I would have loved to bow down to kiss them I was actually checking on her feet. I peer up to see her smiling down at me.

“This is different than our last journey.” She says softly. She reaches out a hand feels through the air. I lean into it. Finding my head she pets my hair. “It’s nice to have a smooth road beneath our feet again.” She pinches my chin. “Don’t you think so, my boy?”

“Paved all the way the Neapolis.” I say. “Though we’ll be diverting to Paestum. Road won’t be so smooth along that part.”

“I know.” She says. We weren’t actually headed for Paestum but a small family farm just South of there. In my mind’s eye I could see my mother through the door of my childhood home stirring a hearty lentil stew.

“My mother, my grandpa, my family…” I say softly. “…they follow old customs. They’re simple farmers.”

She strokes my cheek. “I happen to like simple farmers. Relax, my love. I understand.”

I stand, towering over her yet still feeling small in that wonderful way that only she could elicit, and slide my hand across her lean belly. With my other hand I take hers and run my thumb across the scar of the rose that had burned into her flesh the day I bought her. My palm above her womb I say. “She won’t understand. Why we’re leaving.”

Rosa’s beautiful face saddens. “She is saying goodbye to a son. That would be difficult for a mother in any circumstance.” She lays her hand over my heart. “But…” Her voice fades.

My hand gently presses into her belly. Like me she believed that anything, even a mother’s tears, was worth our daughter’s freedom.

Under the warm Autumn sun I notice a subtle dark beneath my lover’s eyes, but they were not shadows. Running my fingertips along along the smooth curve of her jaw I whisper. “You are tired.”

She doesn’t deny it, giving me a small nod.

“I will carry you.”

A fanged grin blooms. “Just like old times?” She laughs and pats Catalus’ flank. “No. Our puppy is strong. He needs a load to carry to tame his young pride.”

“Yes, my Lady.” I say with a bow. We kiss, a tender lover’s kiss.

Grabbing her around the hips I lift her petite body with ease up onto the top of our load. Though the horse huffs and shuffles he stands his ground like the good soldier that he was. Rosa shimmies to the center and grabs onto a couple of other ropes we had up there for her. Perched high above she awaits the return of our friends so we could carry on our way. I take the opportunity to check once more on our load. In particular I ensure that my strange, unique sword was well secured yet free to be drawn at a moment’s notice.

It is not long after that Cassie and Colly come marching out of the bushes, the goblin rubbing her left ass cheek to soothe a fresh sting.

“All settled?” I ask.

“Yes.” Says Cassie as she strides forward to take point again, this time with her bow slung over her shoulder.

“No.” Says Colly who hurries back to my side to clutch my hand. I look down at her pouting face. She scowls and shifts right up against my leg. While Cassie and I had dedicated ourselves to our Lady Colly was all mine and I could see that her pride was a bit bruised that I hadn’t stepped in to protect her. Colly was in a tender state right now, and not just her bountiful butt. She had experienced loss deeper than the rest of us, that wound was still bleeding. I stroke her head and down one braid. “It wath jutht a bit of fun, Mathter.”

“Same for her.” I say softly. “She didn’t mean anything by it. She was playing.”

Colly closes her eyes and squeezes my hand tighter. “I know. She playth rough.”

“Don’t I know it.” I say, rubbing a hidden bruise. “No hard feelings?”

“No.” She sighs. “Jutht a family thquabble.”

“Atta girl.”

Shielding her eyes Cassie looks back and says. “No clouds as far as the eye can see. You need a parasol, my Lady?”

“I’m okay, my girl.” Rosa says, looking up to the sun with eyes wide open. “I like the heat.”

We hadn’t started walking for more than a couple of minutes when a sleek russet form comes trotting out alongside the road proudly carrying a limp gray hare in her jaws.

“Ha ha!” Cassie cheers with a clap. “Way to go, Danae!”

“Awww, Danae!” Colly groans. “You thpoiled the whole joke!”

Chapter 2