Abroad

A few days later when Rae was able to sit up and talk, Kenneth brought Kurt and Maya to see her. The girl was surprised but Kurt showed no reaction.

He asked Rae if she had been bad.

Yes sir, she had been. Instinctively she addressed him as a master despite his youth.

Would she behave better now?

She would try, sir.

He continued to interrogate her. How many of them were there and how long did it take?

She explained about her brothers, their tangled relationship, and guessed that it took about two hours.

Three, said Stefan. Kurt nodded.

How soon would she be able to get up and walk around?

She did not know, and looked at Inge who said "In a few days."

Can she stand now, he asked. Stefan told her to and she rose.

Put your hands over your head, said the boy as he released her bracelets. She was startled but complied.

He walked around her, inspecting her bruises, touching them in places. Professionally, in a way that did not damage the skin or open any just-healed lesions.

Very impressive, he said. He asked Stefan if this was a typical example.

Yes, a little more thorough on account of the circumstances but not out of the ordinary.

Did a girl often die from a thrashing?

Now and then, said Stefan; accidents happen.

Pointing to Rae, he asked Stefan what his plans were for it.

Already he was referring to her as a commodity, that was wonderful.

Stefan explained that in a few weeks, he could not say exactly when, he would take her into town to be certified for sale and receive her yellow ribbon. Then he would offer her to buyers, up to three times.

If no one wanted her - he drew a finger across his throat. Anne shivered at the thought.

Kurt seemed to take a more than casual interest in this. Her guesses were confirmed when he asked Stefan and Inge if they needed an assistant, an apprentice who could learn the trade.

They might. Rae tingled at the thought. She pictured him tying her and...

Maya had been silent until now. She spoke up. She wanted to be like Rae.

Would you keep me or sell me, she asked her brother.

That depended on what he was offered for her.

A good answer, said their father.

Kurt would be a master when he grew up, Rae was sure of it.

Girls like her needed masters. Usually when one died his harem was sold off to another or strangled, that was best. But sometimes they were simply let go. Everyone had seen them on the outskirts of town, living in tents and offering themselves for spare change or food to anyone who came by. A pity.

Maya spoke again. Shyly she asked if her brother would consent, if he would be willing... she paused, cleared her throat and continued in a small timid voice, almost a whisper... to use a whip on her.

Here, now, if Stefan and Inge approved.

In the silence that followed Rae looked her over. She was wearing a thin T-shirt; with no bra beneath, her growing breasts were visible. Pale tights revealed a pair of small round buttocks in back and a prominent mound in front.

Inge looked at Kenneth and asked if they were both "of age". Their father said they were; in fact, the girl was the older of the two.

Stefan walked over to the hanging hook and beckoned to Maya who approached, a touch hesitantly Rae thought.

He told her to put her clothes on a chair by the wall. She removed her shoes and placed them beneath it.

She paused, took a deep breath and held it for a moment. Slowly she pulled her tights down; to her thighs, her knees, her feet, and off. Rae saw she wore no panties either.

The triangle between her legs was beautiful, a soft fur of warm dark brown; Rae tried not to stare. Desire rose in her as Maya drew the T-shirt over her head, folded it carefully, and put it on top of her pants.

Her body was a younger version of Laura's, more slender and less developed than her mother's.

Rae had never seen Laura naked; perhaps at the next party...

Maya returned to the hook. Stefan told her grasp it and hang on until he told her to release it.

He took a short-handled whip from the shelf and demonstrated a few strokes on Rae. Her wounds had not fully healed and she grimaced as the blows struck home. Kurt watched impassively.

Stefan passed him the whip and showed him how to hold it. He took a few strokes in the air; Maya was plainly frightened but said nothing. He held it up to her and she kissed the handle.

At once he struck her on the breasts and she gasped. "Quiet," he said and she closed her mouth.

He proceeded to rake her belly, then her thighs, back, and buttocks. Maya clutched the hook, her knuckles white and her face a mask of tragedy.

Stefan made a gesture and he stopped. Maya burst into tears and wept until he slapped her.

Stefan whispered something to him. He walked behind Maya and put his hands around her neck.

She stiffened as if from an electric shock; her mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide with fear. They watched her nipples rise and her triangle glisten.

Well done, said Kenneth. That was enough for today; we will discuss this later at home. I think you have both decided on your careers.

He told Maya to get dressed. She looked at Stefan for permission before releasing the hook, then limped over to the chair.

She was covered with red marks beneath her shirt. Rather attractive, thought Rae; and the stripes below her waist showed through the tights as well.

Kurt fastened Rae's bracelets behind her and told her to lie down. Already he was giving her orders; she grew a little wet.

They left and Rae mused on Maya's initiation, so different from her own and yet alike.

She did not ask Paul to pull her buttocks apart and take her; Maya asked to be whipped by her younger brother.

She remembered the surprise she felt when he penetrated her, and her happiness. Maya was not taken by surprise, and she cried.

But like Rae she found her vocation in it. They were both born to submit.

Their lives would never be the same afterwards.

* * * * * * * * * *

Rae's skin began to heal and she was returned to service a week later. She sat on the floor of the kitchen peeling carrots, did the laundry that had piled up in her absence, and took it outside to dry on the clothesline.

Rex barked at her from the next yard and threw himself against the fence, frightening her and recalling her fantasies of being his bitch. If only...

She tried to forget him and set about her task of hanging the clothes. How dark her bruises looked under the sun; she had not been outside since her thrashing.

Her hide felt stiff and uncomfortable; that was how it should be, a reminder. The sensation would fade in time but not the lesson.

She mused on the underclothes as she hung them up; she would never wear any again, but how much it used to matter when she went out in the evening. Wondering what stranger would see them and what he would think as she removed them.

Inge came out with Kurt. The woman showed the boy how to tie her to a stake with a section of rope around her waist to force her hips and mound forward.

He asked Inge a question. Yes, facing the dog.

He checked up on her occasionally, tightening the rope and asserting his control; by the time he came out to release her at the end of the day she was completely in his power. He led her down to the basement where Stefan waited for them, and poured out her dinner.