A Kajira's Story

Part 2

Acquaintence

It had been a long time since Pindar had taken the time to look at a woman. Since He was already dealing with the girl, He noticed her body for the first time and found it pleasant. Perhaps, He would make more opportunity to look at her and talk with her. He removed the old collar dara wore and replaced it with His own. He had never owned a slave before, having done all the work Himself where it concerned His craft. After snapping the collar shut, He lifted the girl’s face with two fingers under her chin and offered the new tunic.

dara held the position as He hesitated, a storm of thoughts erupting in her mind. Did she have the position right? It had been so long since she had been collared by Camp. The dubious thoughts calmed as she felt Him removing the worn collar at her throat, and she shivered as a breeze passed over the now bare skin. she did not like the sensation. her body tensed, then relaxed when the new collar was fitted around her throat and snapped shut. her shoulders lifted with a quiet sigh as her arms lowered, her hands resting on her thighs.

The thought now slammed into the girl’s mind, rocking her back on her heels and forcing a gasp from her lips. He was her Master. she was owned by One. But she had never been owned by just One! What if...oh, what if she did not know how! Is it different than being a work slave? she quivered, realizing that He would want her to serve Him, and she did not know how. her
grayish green eyes flickered as she remembered the few times Guards had used her--out of desperation, she thought. Those did not count; she had done nothing but be grabbed and thrown to the ground.

dara’s hands nervously curled into fists on her thighs as she felt Him lift her chin. The girl lifted her eyes to Him, gazing at Him with a frightened look. Shaking fingers reached and took the tunic, clasping it to her breasts. she waited, frightened, expecting
Him to send her away and realizing with a lurch in her belly that she did not wish Him to send her away.

In a sudden panic, the girl wrenched her chin from His grasp and threw herself at His feet, her hands clutching at them as her forehead pressed to the floor. she felt her entire body trembling, the weak, loose but also tight feeling flowing through her
limbs. A wrenching sob choked from her throat as words fell almost unconsciously from her. "Master, please, please do not send dara away! she will learn, she promises! she will be good and will not bother You! Please do not send her away!"

Surprised at dara’s action and plea, Pindar was, at first, bereft of words. It brought to Him the thought that she might not wish to be a Cavern girl. Resolving to make the best of the situation, He stroked the girl’s hair. “Very well, dara. W/we shall contrive to get along. I may be untidy, but I like to be clean. The girl will find soaps, some scented, in the Cavern supplies. she will bathe often. There are also unguents and lotions for her skin and hair. What kind of work did the girl do before?” noticing the broken nails and work-worn hands.

If the girl had not been on her knees, she would have fallen at His words. The relief flooding through her was enough to knock the breath from her lungs, both thrilling her and scaring her. When His hand fell upon her head and stroked her hair, a moan rose unbidden from her lips as an unknown sensation welled within her. Automatically, she rose up to His hand, nuzzling
into the touch. she shivered, unsure of what she was feeling but unable to help herself.

dara looked up as He explained, a flush of shame staining her cheeks as she realized that He must not be pleased with her appearance. At His question, she looked down at her hands, curling her fingers into her palms to hide the streaks of dirt and ragged nails. she bowed her head, her voice coming in a quiet tone. "dara was a Camp slave, Master. she got commands from the first girl, and worked hard at her chores. She did not see much of the Masters in camp."

“W/we B/both will be learning, then. Finish the cleaning here. Go, bathe and dress in the new tunic. Then, the girl can fetch a meal to Me.” The forest green eyes drilled into the girl, a new light there that had not been before. “dara will sleep in My quarters. I prefer to keep her to Myself, for now.”

The girl stared up at Him in amazement. she would sleep here? He wanted her to Himself? she almost leapt to her feet in her eagerness, flying around the quarters, having to force herself to slow down and work. she watched from the corner of her eyes as He went back to the worktable, finishing cleaning the quarters and rising to her feet. she grasped the new tunic and fled the quarters, forgetting her nudity as she found another girl and asked where to get soap and where to bathe.

As dara washed, she realized just how dirty she had been. she had been doing a particularly hard chore when she was captured and was grateful to wash the grime from her skin and hair. Fresh, clean skin emerged from under the streaks of dirt, her hair curling in healthy waves down her back, revealing a mixture of brunette and blonde locks. her eyes gleamed with joy as she dried herself and tied the new tunic on, turning this way and that and craning her neck to preen.

The girl hurried to where she saw girls making food and prepared a plate for her Master, snagging a bota of water on her way back to His quarters. she hesitated in the entry, her teeth snagging her lower lip and worrying it. Would He be pleased? How should she present the food to Him? Taking a deep breath, she moved to His side and knelt down, setting the bota
down and lifting the plate in a clumsy imitation of what she had seen in passing from other girls.

The first thing Pindar noticed was the soft scent of flowers drifting around Him. The next thing was food, and His stomach growled in protest. Breaking His focus on the work, His attention wandered about and lowered to discover a girl at His feet. He almost did not recognize her from the dirty, dingy creature He had been given. she was quite lovely, once the dirt and grime had been removed. Another part of His body growled in protest.

Accepting the offered plate, He set it on the worktable and patted the tabletop. “Up, girl.” He portioned off bits of the food on His
plate and moved them to one side. Turning the plate with the chosen bits to the girl He said, “That is dara’s. Fetch another eating utensil for the girl and a glass and cup, the glass for Me and the cup for dara. Fill them with water from the bota.” And
began His meal.

dara rose quickly and raced across the cavern to where the food was prepared, grabbing another spoon and a glass and a cup. she streaked back to His quarters and skidded to her knees, setting the spoon upon the table and bending to fill the glass with water, lifting it to His side on the table. she filled the cup and returned to the worktable surface, her legs dangling
and swinging happily, a smile lighting her features while she perched beside Him. she ate quickly and quietly, drinking her water and watching Him from under her lashes, her hands clasped in her lap, her feet rubbing together.

As He ate, He asked of dara’s last Home and what kind of life it had been. He started talking of His own history. He was the only son of six children, a middle child, of a Builder and His Lady. His family was killed in a fire that had leaped from another building during a raid. He was captured as a stripling lad and taken to the Cavern to be apprenticed to its Builder.
In a raid some years later, Pindar became the Builder when the other one was killed in an attack on the Cavern. He had worked alone for many years, broken only by visits from T/those of the Cavern. The Cavern girls left food on one of His tables that he would often find hours later, so engrossed in His work would He be.

The girl listened raptly as He spoke of His past. her body stilled as she put mental pictures with what He said. When asked, she spoke of her life in Camp. she did not remember anything else other than being a Camp slave and told of being raised by older slaves and playing only in certain areas of Camp. she was never told who her mother was; she was only told that she
was born into slavery. As she grew, she began doing more and more chores in Camp, and, finally, was given a collar by the Slave Master, Who she only saw that one time. her eyes lit up as she spoke of seeing the Leader of Camp once. He passed right by her and winked at her! she was often assigned the dirtier chores to do in Camp, but she did not mind, because it afforded her time alone.

dara bit her lip hesitantly, then blurted out how angry she had been when she was taken from Camp. she did not know how to live outside of Camp. she had not want to be taken. "But, Master...dara likes it here. The girls are nice, but the Leader scares me. And dara likes being owned by You, Master."

“Aye”, He answered, “Lothen is One to be afraid of. He is half-mad, I think. The Others do not dare challenge Him, though, for He is the best of Them. There are Many I do not trust. They are more beasts than Men. I was surprised He gave dara to Me. Normally, slaves taken in a raid are given to the Raiders, when the Cavern has plenty of slaves, as it does now. A Free
Man or Woman does not remain free here, though I am an exception. That is because I was trained by Merianus, the Builder here, and He was old. Lothen wished to have a replacement for Him. Even so, I have not left the Cavern area since I arrived as a boy. I think Lothen believes I would bolt if I were given the chance. I never thought seriously of doing so. I enjoy My work.”

“dara may move about safely during the day, but, after dark, the Men sit before the fires and drink and carouse. Any hapless girl not serving is a target for Their attentions. Lothen will not reprimand One as long as that One has not damaged the slave too much to work. They are cunning in Their various methods, so that injury does not always show.” His face tightened in anger. “The Healer is kept busy with treating such unfortunate slaves. It is not limited to females. There are Some that enjoy using a boy as much as a girl.”

“I am respected enough that They do not harass Me, for repairs to Their equipment would not be done should They do so. Nor would repairs and maintenance in the Cavern be done should I be treated ill. My quarters are off limits to All, except when They have business with Me, and then only in the workroom. They are not allowed in My private quarters. dara will be safe there. When I altered a Cavern collar to make dara’s, I also altered its shape. The Cavern’s is a flat band; I bent a curve into the band,” demonstrating with His hands the curve looking like the curve in a shield, “so it fits like a tube against the girl’s neck. It is
a visual difference that catches the eye, so as to make Others aware that the girl is Mine and not to be tampered with.”

The girl listened to Him with wide eyes, the cup in her hands forgotten. she nodded solemnly at His words about staying within His quarters after dark and lifted a hand to the collar circling her throat as He described it. A surge of pride lifted her head as she straightened on the table. Her forest gray eyes shifted to His personal quarters as the meaning of His words sank in. she paled slightly, stilling upon her perch on the table, gazing at Him quietly with a mixture of excitement, fear and hope.

Seeing the food on both sides of the plate had disappeared, Pindar smiled, something that lit His face into a different countenance, a nicer one. “dara can clear the dishes and return. It is almost dark, so hasten to return. It is time for Me to sleep. Such a good meal gives Me thoughts of rest.” That look returned to His green gaze, the one that said He was seeing dara as a woman and not just a girl. “The girl will sleep with Me…without her tunic. Now, be off with you, while I wash up.”

When He smiled, dara brightened and flushed with pleasure. As He spoke, she gathered up the plate and glass and slid from the tabletop, nodding her promise to hurry. she glanced to Him and found Him looking at her in such a way that something in her belly curled in response. she gasped softly in response, her eyes widening at His last comment. Without her tunic? she
fled from His quarters and hurried to put the dishes away, keeping a low profile as she rushed back, her cheeks stained a deep red. she was going to sleep with Him...without her tunic! she ducked inside His quarters and moved to the sleeping area, kneeling down quietly and waiting, watching Him intently under her lowered lashes.

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