The Story of Odilia Ch. 13

When I was led into the Great Hall, the queen was on her throne and a great number of lords and ladies were also in attendance. I found the whole situation quite odd. Why should the queen want me to wear clothing? And why did she summon all of these lords and ladies into attendance, while she met with me? What possible reason could there be for all of this?"

"No doubt, you're wondering why you are here," the queen called out to me, her voice resounding, filling the entirety of the Great Hall.

"Yes, My Queen," I replied, totally confused by the events that had led me to be standing before the queen of Bellavalten, and wearing a chemise.

"The situation today is quite unusual," the queen admitted, "I have recently received a message from the queen of Schwabia. It came from one of her official messengers and bore her royal seal. I have no reason to doubt its legitimacy."

An ominous hush fell over the Great Hall. It seemed no one dared to speak, or even to breathe. What sort of news could be so dire as to put the entire royal court into such a grim disposition?

"The queen of Schwabia has disowned you," Queen Eleanor continued, "You are also banished. You are no longer her heir and you are forbidden ever to return to her kingdom."

I was aghast and dismayed. Why would my mother do such a thing?

"Disowned?" I asked, "What reason could my own mother possibly have for doing such a thing? In what way have I ever offended her?"

"The official reason," Queen Eleanor said coldly, "Is that you have shamed the name of the royal family by engaging in naked, wanton displays and shameless sexual acts with females, and apparently in the Kingdom of Schwabia, it is a great taboo for females to participate in sexual acts with other females."

"That is not my fault," I protested loudly, "My mother consented to having me sent here as a tribute! She knew full well that I would be forced to engage in many degrading sexual acts! She is more at fault than I, for the things that have happened to me here!"

The queen held up a hand as if demanding that I be silent. I instantly stilled my tongue and the queen continued.

"That was her official reason," the queen said brusquely, "However I have spies in the Kingdom of Schwabia who give me a very different reason for your being disowned. Your half-sister; Princess Catherine; has spent years engaged in a campaign to discredit you and Princess Derica, so that she might be next in the line of succession. There has been much political maneuvering and covert scheming on her part, to have you removed from power."

I was stunned. Princess Catherine had never seemed very ambitious or clever in my estimation, and she had always been amiable in her dealings with Derica and myself. I would never have suspected her of plotting against my sister and me, to remove us from power.

"And it appears that Princess Catherine has made some sort of pact with the Grand Duke of Russia. The Queen of Schwabia cannot afford to offend the Grand Duke, thus she must do whatever is required to keep both Princess Catherine and the Grand Duke happy. As a result, your mother feels she must side with Princess Catherine over her own daughters."

"What of Derica?" I asked, suddenly concerned for her welfare, "What is to become of my sister, now that Princess Catherine is resolved to have us both removed?"

"Derica is no longer your sister," Queen Eleanor replied, coldly, "The Queen of Schwabia has disowned you, you therefore no longer have a family. You have no mother, no father and no sister. You must start a new life now, without any of them in it."

"But Derica," I began and Queen Eleanor cut me off.

"She is no longer your concern," the queen said. "There is nothing you can do to protect her. Put her out of your mind. For now, you should be focusing on your own fate, and your own future."

"My fate?" I asked, not really certain what Queen Eleanor wanted of me.

"You were sent to Bellavalten as a tribute," the queen explained, "As the daughter of a king and queen, you were fitting tribute to serve here in my kingdom. You were taking part in an established and noble tradition. However, as you are no longer a princess of Schwabia, there is no possibility of you being a tribute from that kingdom. As you are no longer a tribute, we must decide what your new status shall be. As queen of this land, I shall have the final say in your status, however I should like to hear from your own lips, what you might wish to do with your life."

"What I want?" I asked, "I have options now?"

"You cannot go back to the Kingdom of Schwabia," Queen Eleanor declared, "However you may wish to remain here in Bellavalten. You can read and write. That's a rare and valuable skill. Any noble house would be enhanced by having your skills as a scribe, and you would be paid handsomely. There are also any number of wealthy, young men in Bellavalten who would be honored to have you as a wife. You have lost your old family, however you could start a new one, here in Bellavalten."

My mouth hung open, however no words came out. It was too much, too soon. From naked, powerless, humiliated slave-girl to suddenly being offered a husband, wealth, gowns and servants. I found myself unable to answer, overwhelmed with the rapid changes in my fate.

What did I want? I couldn't go back to the land of my birth, but did I want to remain in Bellavalten? There were other kingdoms not far from the border of this one. I didn't have to choose to live here.

Then a possible answer erupted into my mind. It was utterly against established convention, however the chaos created by my mother disowning me created a turbulent situation where established conventions could be turned aside and new notions could be considered.

* * * * * * * * * *

Queen Eleanor made one or two attempts to sway my decision, however I had decided that what I truly wanted to remain a slave. The one major change I wished to make was that I wished to be a slave to Lady Svetlana.

"If I make my decree and allow this," the queen warned me, "You will be forced to endure the same humiliations and harsh punishments as all the other slaves in the kingdom. You shall not have any rights or protections that the other slaves are lacking."

"Yes, my queen," I answered respectfully, "I understand. I still wish to be her slave."

"I shall expect you to make a display of her," Queen Eleanor said, turning to Lady Svetlana, "You may not keep her hidden in your home every day. I shall expect her to be taken out into public, punished and humiliated in front of a great number of witnesses. If she would be a slave, she will be completely a slave. You shall have to be just as cruel to her as I would be."

"Yes, my queen, I shall be cruel to her and she shall be punished publically and often."

The queen stared at me fixedly and said, "You've heard from Lady Svetlana's own lips that she will be cruel to you. Do you still wish to be her slave?"

"I still do, My Queen," I responded respectfully. "I wish for her to be cruel to me. I will find it helpful. It will help me to feel that I belong to her."

When the queen was utterly convinced that I would not change my mind on the issue, she had Raimond; her scholar and scribe; write up a document that sentenced me to one year as Lady Svetlana's slave. I would be Lady Svetlana's legal property for that one year, and representatives from the castle would come and visit Lady Svetlana's home at least once a month to verify that she was being suitably cruel to me.

The document further stipulated that at the end of one year, Lady Svetlana and I would return to the castle, at which point the queen would once again decide my legal status. If I still desired to be Lady Svetlana's slave at that time, Raimond would write up a contract that sentenced me to another year of slavery in Lady Svetlana's home.

The document also stipulated that Lady Svetlana must pay Mistress Jarvinia the sum of five gold pieces, as compensation. Mistress Jarvinia had paid eighteen gold pieces for me at the slave auction, and had hoped to have me for perhaps another year before she had to give me up. She insisted that somebody would have to pay her for her loss of property and everyone seemed to think that Lady Svetlana should be the one who paid.

"Do you both understand the terms of this contact?" Raimond asked both Lady Svetlana and myself.

We both did, and Raimond had us both sign. Once our signatures were formed on the paper, it was legal. I was then Lady Svetlana's slave.

"She's now my slave?" Lady Svetlana asked.

"She's yours," Raimond confirmed, "To work, chastise and punish, just as any other slave in the kingdom would be treated, for the next twelve months."

Lady Svetlana looked at me intently and said, "She doesn't really look like a proper slave, does she now, Raimond?"

Raimond had been fussing over the document that I had just signed and was barely able to spare a second to look up at me and reply to Lady Svetlana's question.

"No, Milady, she does not," Raimond replied after sparing a glance at me, "A proper slave would be naked."

Lady Svetlana smiled at those words and grabbed at the fabric of my chemise around the neckline and just above the hip. There was a loud tearing sound and Svetlana's strong hands ripped the fabric of my garment and tore it from my body. Within seconds the garment lay in ruined tatters at my feet and I stood naked before Raimond and Lady Svetlana.

"Much better, Milady," Raimond replied.

When Lady Svetlana laid her hands upon me and stripped me naked, it sent my blood racing and created a feeling of heat between my legs. My breathing quickened and I gazed at her expectantly, waiting for her to take control from me.

"Hands behind your back, Odilia, wrists crossed," Lady Svetlana said firmly, "And keep them there. Until I can find some rope to hold them there firmly, I expect your obedience to me to keep them there."

Obediently, I crossed my wrists behind my back and I felt as if I belonged to someone again. I had a need to belong to someone, to be owned and punished and chastised by them. And I was thrilled that the person I belonged to was now Lady Svetlana.

"They have a great deal of rope in the Hall of Punishments," advised Raimond, and following Raimond's suggestion, my mistress marched over to the Hall of Punishments and forced me to march with her.

There was a great deal of screaming, sobbing and whimpering in the Hall of Punishments. Naked slaves were unrestrained in their helpless misery. Some of them pleaded for mercy, however most had abandoned themselves to endless suffering and did not plead. Pleas for mercy never gained a slave anything in the Hall of Punishments.

I had been away from the castle for quite some time, and I did not recognize any of the naked princes or princesses being paddled, however I did recognize the looks of tormented outrage and despair in their eyes. I'd seen it many times in the eyes of news slaves. They were still clinging to their old lives and had not yet embraced their current fates. They would discover a degree of peace when they learned to give up their will and stopped resisting the difficult servitude that was inevitable.

"Here is the rope you requested, Lady Svetlana," a page said, handing a significantly long length of rope to her.

Lady Svetlana bound my wrists while the page watched her movements. I believe that she was trying to impress the page with the way she tied me, as the way she tied my wrists seemed extremely tight and unnecessarily painful.

* * * * * * * * * *

Before we entered Lady Svetlana's home, she made a point of showing me the whipping post out in front of her home. It was a thick, wooden post with a heavy iron ring near the top, for tying a girl's wrists.

"Of course, you'll have to be whipped here one day," Lady Svetlana informed me casually, "However you've been quite well behaved today, so I have nothing to punish you for, as yet."

Lady Svetlana had once told me that I didn't need to be a bad girl in order to be punished. I merely needed to be a girl. It seemed that she had now changed the rules. Bad girls got punished. Good girls were now exempt from punishment. It was a leniency I had hardly expected.

Lady Svetlana's home was a rich town house with finely polished floors, many rooms and crossed swords above the fireplace. Lady Svetlana's husband was away, however there were plenty of servants about to witness the arrival of Lady Svetlana's newly acquired slave.

Lucinda was a tall girl, in a simple dark-grey dress. She had intelligent eyes and was actually quite pleasing to look at. She was no more than a year or two older than myself and still had a great deal of youthful beauty. Many servants aged quickly and lost their youth rapidly, however Lucinda was not one of those.

"Lucinda's official title is chamberlain. With her title comes a great deal of authority. She manages my household and is in charge of the servants in my home," Lady Svetlana explained, "Her authority in this house is outmatched only by my own. You will obey her commands just as you obey mine. If you fail her, you fail me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mistress," I replied. In my eagerness to please Lady Svetlana, I immediately developed feelings for Lucinda. I would eagerly submit to her in all things. In my mind she was already becoming an extension of Lady Svetlana herself.

"There will be times that I order Lucinda to punish you," Lady Svetlana informed me, "When that happens, I expect you to submit to her without hesitation and without complaint. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mistress," I replied, suddenly feeling a soft, wet pulse in my sex at the thought of Lucinda punishing me.

"Where did you obtain her?" Lucinda asked. "There was no slave auction today."

"It was through very unusual circumstance," Lady Svetlana replied, "She had once belonged to Mistress Jarvinia, however she was unable to keep her. Her name is Odilia. I would like it if you looked her over and told me what you think of her."

"Of course, Madam," Lucinda replied, and then she began the task of thoroughly examining me.

She lifted my chin and forced me to look into her eyes, she forced my mouth open and examined my tongue and my teeth, she cupped my breasts and squeezed them, she tugged and pinched at my nipples, she examined the soles of my feet, she squeezed my buttocks, she firmly gripped my thighs, pinched them, squeezed them, she examined my sex, pinching my pubic lips before thrusting her thumbs inside my vagina and opening me up wide.

During this examination I did my best to remain calm, not to gasp, whimper or shy away from Lucinda's bold, inquisitive hands, however I found it difficult. An examination like this is so much more intimate than a spanking or a strapping. It lays the soul of a slave bare, and leaves them feeling utterly without will or identity.

"She's a splendid slave-girl," Lucinda finally concluded when her questing hands had finished wandering across my bare flesh, "There's no sign of arrogance, rebellion or vanity in her eyes. Of course, as she was trained by Mistress Jarvinia I wouldn't expect there to be."

"Quite," Lady Svetlana agreed, "What else?"

"She's tall for a slave-girl, but she carries it well. She has beautiful lips, a beautiful tongue, and we can be pretty certain that Mistress Jarvinia taught her how to use them both."

"Never mind Mistress Jarvinia, tell me about the girl. What are your impressions of her?"

Lucinda made a hand gesture which might have been an apology and continued, "The girl has an excellent body, smooth, flawless skin, slender without being frail or delicate. She has firm buttocks and firm thighs. She has firm, round breasts and very responsive nipples. Her sex is very wet, the poor girl is absolutely feverish with need, and yet she neither shied away from my hands nor begged me to end her torment. She obviously has a great deal of self-control."

"And her lack of pubic hair," Lady Svetlana asked, "That does not bother you?"

"On the contrary, Madam," Lucinda replied, "I think it leaves her sex much more exposed and leaves her looking much more vulnerable. I think it's very appropriate for a slave's genitals to be exposed and on-display in this manner."

"And if you were the sort of woman that had money enough to bid on slaves at the slave auction, would you bid on a slave like her?"

Lucinda gazed intently at my naked body, her eyes lingering on my pelvis and moist pubic lips for an uncomfortably long period of time, and then turned to Lady Svetlana and replied, "I would, Madam. I have seen many fine slaves on the auction block, however this one is exquisite. I cannot think of a single slave I have seen in the past six years that I would want more."

"Very well, Lucinda," Lady Svetlana said, her face possessed of a radiant smile, "I may loan her to you from time to time."

"You are most kind, Madam," Lucinda replied, obviously pleased at Lady Svetlana's proclamation. I felt a sudden stirring in my loins, and a warmth in my chest. Should Lady Svetlana loan me out to one of her servants, it would only make more feel more owned, more like property. More like a naked slave.

"But, that is for another day," Lady Svetlana said, "Untie Odilia's wrists and take her to the kitchen. Make certain that Becca gives her something to eat. A slave-girl with an empty stomach does very poor work, and I intend to work Odilia very hard."

Lady Svetlana exited the room, and Lucinda untied my wrists. She looked at me intensely, as if she were a cat, awaiting her opportunity to pounce upon a bird.

Despite the hungry look in her eyes, Lucinda did not pounce upon me, but rather led me to the kitchens. A woman with a greasy apron and a matronly face ruled the kitchen and she looked me over as if I was an intruder on her territory.

"Who's this then?" Becca demanded, barely sparing me a glance, and directing her question to Lucinda.

"Lady Svetlana's new slave," Lucinda replied, squaring her shoulders and standing at least four inches taller than Becca, "She is to be fed."

Becca grumbled, however she prepared a bowl of broth and added small chunks of cooked meat to the broth. She set the bowl on the floor and indicated that I would have to get down on my hands and knees and lap at the broth if I wanted to eat.

I did as the matronly woman said, and got on my hands and knees and lapped at my food.

This was actually a very common way for the people of Bellavalten to feed their slaves. This was how Mistress Jarvinia fed her slaves, and the lords and ladies at the castle did the same. Sometimes they used a trough, when feeding a large number of naked slave-girls and slave-boys.

Once on my hands and knees, I spread my legs far apart without being told to do so. It is an accepted practice that a slave should keep her thighs well apart and her genitals well exposed without being told. Slaves who forget to do so, are quite often punished. Mistress Jarvinia punished me quite cruelly several times before the practice became ingrained in me.

"I had quite a few mouths to feed even before you came along," Becca complained, "Now apparently, I am to be made to work even harder."

I wasn't certain I was permitted to speak at this point or now, however I lifted my head from the bowl and said, "I am very sorry, Mistress. Perhaps I shall be made to work in the kitchen. Would that please you?"

Becca made a snorting sound and replied, "A pair of hands working, is always better than a mouth eating, girl!"

Then, there were three sharp slaps across my tender, bare buttocks and the woman said, "Perhaps I may end up liking you yet, girl. Perhaps you will be a worker in my kitchen. We shall have to see about that."