Breaing Drae

Drake looked around in surprise. The stores looked very different from the classic stores back on Earth. There was very little glass except to decorate the elaborate carvings and notched in the stone walls. The whole place looked like it had been grown, not built.

"The dragons created this place."

Drake turned to Ben, who had seen the look of wonder on the young slave's face.

"They were a very artistic race, and loved this natural look. With such long lifespans, they had years to perfect every structure, and with the ability to manipulate the trees to their need they could create a living yet sturdy and dry home. You'll really love the treehouses out in the Rolling Mountains if you like this place."

Each store had a different sign out front, all in languages and with symbols that Drake could not read. Various wares were displayed, from strange foods to clothing to weaponry to tools. Both cars and animals walked past the slaves, and Drake's jaw dropped as he got his first real look at the fauna of the dragon world. Some beasts had eight legs, others the traditional four. A creature that looked like a hyena but with six legs and a long whip-like tail pulled a cart next to him. Massive saddled birds perched on heavy branches, their glowing red eyes watching the movement below.

Raell's horse was tied in front of one of the bigger buildings. Drake let out a short gasp as he looked over the various slaves tied to different equipment. Ben shot him a quick look, not wanting to have to chase a panicking man down the street.

"This is the Dragon's Mouth, Drake. It's one of the dungeon and equipment stores Mistress Raell owns. Try not to piss any of the customers off, okay?"

Drake just mutely nodded, taking in the oiled and sweating men that hung in a dozen different positions. Recalling a slave Raell had sent to the shop, he looked around for Jason, wondering if the slave was still disobeying orders.

"Took you long enough!"

Drake felt Ben jump slightly as Raell suddenly appeared from around one of the shelves.

"Apologies, Domina."

Jai stepped forward, keeping his head lowered.

"We stand no chance against your great silver horse, Domina. He must have been gifted with the wings of a Pegasus to run so fast."

Raell smiled, canines flashing.

"Always quick to flatter, huh Jai?"

Behind her, Orion snorted and tossed his head up and down a few times.

Jai only bowed his head further.

"Follow me boys."

Raell turned and strode further into the shop. Drake felt like his head was going to fall off as he whipped it back in forth in effort to take in the store's interior. The shelves housed much of the same gear in the PR. Paddles, whips, shocking equipment. There were more stands and cages, with more slave strapped to them. Signs next to the slaves read "Try me!" He watched as one woman walked up to a slave hanging by his wrists and picked up the single tail laying on the table next to him. The sound of leather on skin added to the overall noise of moans, pops and cracks of tools, and the hum of the electrical equipment.

Raell walked proudly through her shop. Her hearing allowed her to hear every sob from her slaves while her nose picked up every sweaty note in the air from the bound men. The stone walls, set with chains and rings, matched with the rough tile floors and rich red velvet rugs. At the back of the store a carved stone dragon head with open jaws welcomed patrons to the dungeon. She strode through the ivory teeth and past the wooden doors to the real moneymaker.

Drake felt his stomach drop as he entered the Mouth. The walls were lined with cages, each holding a slave. A counter was placed in the center of the room, where three stern looking women waited. Over them five men were tied so that their bodies twisted and interlocked with each other in a mesmerizing pattern. Soft lights hung from the ropes and harnesses that supported them, acting like a chandelier.

Men and women alike walked around the room or talked with the women at the counter. Set in the walls were doors, and behind the desk a long hallway stretched, ending in another set of wooden doors.

The crowd inside hummed with whispered conversations, and Raell mingled with the customers, greeting all she walked by. Drake felt a jolt as he noticed Jason in one of the cages. The man huddled in the back corner of his cage, looking exactly like a beaten dog. Looking around Drake realized most of the men shared the same posture. Others glowered at the masters and mistresses, while a few had simply turned their back and had seemed to have fallen asleep.

"This, Drake, is one of the few places I actually fear."

Drake looked up as Jai spoke softly to him.

"Behind those doors are different 'sets'. There's a medical room, an old fashioned medieval torture room, a room of just rubber equipment, and so on. Mistress Raell caters to every well-known fetish and they can specialize the rooms if needed. The room at the end is a massive teaching room, for those who want to learn a new skill."

"Did you spend time here?" Drake muttered quietly.

"Yes. Not as a punishment though, like most these slaves. Domina had just opened this place and I offered myself to attract customers."

"Gotcha. Though... Why would you ever want to volunteer to help here?"

"Because I promised Domina Raell that I'd do whatever she needed of me."

"Why? What do you owe her?"

"My life, the life of my family. For giving me a purpose when I had none."

"Okay, but you have served her for... like, what...thousands of years?! What debt is so immense that thousands of years of servitude wouldn't pay it off?"

Jai smiled to himself, recalling how often he was asked about his dedication to Domina Raell.

"Because I don't see it that way. I paid off my debt to her after two years of service, but other events caused me to remain at her side- willingly. As for the time, well, to me, I am providing a service, a service I enjoy providing, for someone I hold dear. The thousands of years have only cemented my love of that person- and not to speak above my place but I believe Domina considers me dear as well. After all, I was the first of her nine personal slaves, and yet here I stand, having outlasted all the others."

Jai could see the boy's annoyance, and knew he thought Jai was a victim of Stockholm syndrome, not a slave by free will. Perhaps he was, who knew? He chuckled softly, carefully watching his mistress as she walked around the room, waiting for any cues.

Drake watched as one of the men walked over to the counter and pointed to one of the cages, asking the clerk to send the slave inside to one of the rooms. Drake noted the angry snarl set in the selected slave's face. The man then asked for a second slave, though he did not paint out a specific slave, but instead asked for a "docile" slave. Drake hissed as he heard the term, angry at both its use and that any man would allow himself to be considered "docile."

Raell, seeming to decide that all is well with both her store and the dungeon, clicked her tongue and nodded her head to the door. Jai and the other eight caught the signal and trooped out, careful to avoid the customers. Drake hurried after them, following right in Slade's steps.

Taking in a breath once outside- the Mouth had great A/C but the latex room always seemed to spread its smell across the dungeon- Raell headed to the center of the small town. It was Monday according to the human calendar and that meant it was a sale day at the auction house. The massive stone building sat at the very center of the town, right where the two main roads crossed.

Drake noted the hiss of distaste from several of the personals as the group headed to the stone building. Two guards stood at the main entrance, eyeing everyone as they entered. Raell swept through the doors, nodding to the guards who had moved to open both doors for her before any of the personals could.

Inside, Drake could hear a man's voice rapidly yelling out something in a language Drake didn't understand. Or maybe it was English, but mushed together? He couldn't tell. The voice was coming from another set of doors straight ahead of the ones he had entered from, but instead Raell walked to the right where a set of stairs descended into the basement of the building.

Raell muttered to herself as she walked downstairs- the auctioneer's voice echoed loudly on the stone and her sensitive ears made the noise painful. She headed down the stairs to the walkway that spanned over the pens holding slaves to be auctioned. Rare was the day that she bothered to purchase a slave. Similar to a normal animal auction it was the poorly built and sick that were sold. She did relish the looks of fear the slaves below gave her and it was an excellent opportunity to spread her name in the slave community.

The boards creaked softly- they were left loose intentionally so the penned men would look up, and to simply enforce the mentality that they were beasts to be sold at the highest price. The air was also hazy with dust. Despite the sprinklers that constantly wet the place down the men always kicked up huge amounts of dust, filling the air with it. It was extremely common for slaves bought at the auction to have respiratory issues and while Raell could heal them typically she rarely found a slave worth buying.

Drake stared around with wide eyes. Dozens of naked men and women huddled below him, all waiting their turn to go to the ring. They seemed to be separated by age, with the younger men and women in several pens at one end and older slaves in the others. Drake had seen very few female slaves so far- though the men still wildly outnumbered the women, there were still quite a few in the pens below.

Raell walked to the back of the room, listening with pleasure to the hushed whispers. She could also feel the terror of the personals walking behind her. She knew they hated the slave barn- they always seemed to expect her to suddenly decide to sell them. Upon reaching the back she glanced down at the 'unbroken' pen. Slaves that other masters and mistresses had given up on were kept here until sold. She'd found a few fun projects huddled in the mass of flesh, and it was always fun buying new things.

Drake looked around, heart beating wildly. He was turned on and repulsed at the same time. How could other beings do this? Keep so many penned up in damp yet dusty pens, waiting to be sold?

Occasionally a few wranglers would open a pen into the chute leading to the main room and using shock sticks would force the slaves out and into the chute.

The slaves never fought back, but trudged down to the chutes that led, Drake assumed, to the main auction room. Dirt and grime covered the slaves, making it hard to see them as people and not as animals.

Raell hissed softly- none of the slaves below seemed worth buying. Oh well, she thought. I already have a project. She turned to look at Drake, who was still looking around. She then caught the gaze of Ben, who immediately looked down and away, though she noted the look of fear that crossed his face as he did.

Raell strode out, wincing again at the echo-y hallway. She entered the main auction room, leaning against the back wall and watching the action. Drake kneeled with the others and stared at the set up.

The slaves pushed into the chute were separated with sliding doors so that as a slave would step forward into an area, the rear gate would slide shut, and then once the area in front of him was clear he'd step forward into the next space. Men and women wielding shock spears kept everyone moving. Occasionally he could hear the 'SNAP' of the stick, but the flow stayed steady with no slaves taking too long to enter the pen.

Once out of the chute the slaves were released into a semicircle made of fencing. No doubt it was electrified, and the raised seating allowed the buyers to examine the slave. If the slave didn't move one of the assistants would walk over with a shock stick and "encourage" movement.

The slave currently in the pen kept jogging back and forth, stopping at one end to beg with the stone-faced man sitting there.

"Please sir. Please! I am a good slave, I always do what you ask. Please don't sell me!"

The man, not even seeming to be listening, was looking down at a booklet in his hands and reading it. The slave jogged back across the pen again, before turning back and pleading some more.

Eventually the auctioneer stopped his rapid-fire chanting and the slave was forced out of the pen and the next slave was shoved in.

Raell watched for a few minutes more before turning to leave. The guards opened the door for her, letting her out of the auction house. The afternoon light warmed her skin and she headed over to the café to buy lunch.

Drake followed the group, not realizing until after they had entered the shop that he was starving. The earlier run had drained his reserves of energy. Drake flinched as Cody grabbed his harness.

"We wait outside. Just come and kneel over here- Mistress Raell will be out in a minute."

Drake hissed softly but followed the other slave. The scent of fresh bread and cooking meats was making him drool, and his stomach twinged painfully.

"Do we get to eat?" He whispered to Cody.

"If Mistress orders us some food they'll bring it out. If not, we'll eat tonight."

Just as Cody finished talking two slaves exited the shop with trays of silver dog bowls. The men placed the bowls in front of each personal and Drake before leaving. Drake looked at the food and was thrilled to see what looked like potato salad with a small sandwich in the bowl. He looked at the other men before starting in, wanting to make sure he couldn't use his hands.

The food was delicious- Drake had forgotten what fresh bacon tasted like. It was difficult eating the sandwich with no hands, and humiliating to do so in public where everyone could see him, but the smell and taste cancelled out these thoughts.

Raell emerged from the café soon after the slaves had finished their meal, followed by one of the serving slaves, who gathered up the bowls.

"Thank you Mistress!" the nine men chorused softly, while Drake added his thanks a second later.

"Can't have my pets starving, now. We're going to hit up Lauren's and Symphoni next. I need a new dress for this freaking party and maybe some new boots. We'll see."

She turned on her heel and strode towards a little shop just off main street. It had several fall colored billowing dresses on mannequins outside and two female slaves dressed in flowing white gowns were inside tending the shop. Everyone but Ben and Jai were left outside, while Raell entered with the chosen two.

Raell walked around the store. Symphoni made long evening gowns and other flowing, simple but beautiful outfits. The owner, a Morph, had added windows to the roof and lots of colored glass, giving the entire store the feeling that it was in a forest, not indoors. One of the female slaves approached.

"Welcome, Mistress Raell! Can I be of service today?"

Raell smiled at her. Nina, the owner, always took good care of her slaves, and the stunning young woman looked more like a goddess then a slave.

"Of course. You know my preferences by now."

Ben eyed the serving girl- Nadia- and tried to smile at her when she quickly looked his way. He knew she had a crush on him but dared not do or say anything without Mistress Raell's permission.

Raell knew of the attraction, smiling at herself as she browsed the shelves while the girl pulled a few outfits down. She always picked Ben for that reason. She knew he would never reciprocate but the cute attraction made her smile.

"Kneel."

The two slaves obeyed her command, waiting while she went to try on the selected clothes. She would show off the various outfits to the three slaves. Nadia would tell Raell how she felt about the different clothes, and Raell finally decided on a fall colored dress and a dark blue, almost black dress with the constellations sewn along the bottom. She also bought a new pair of light tan hunting boots. She paid for the goods and tossed the bags to Jai.

"Tell Nina hello and that her pets are as amazing as ever! I'm sure I'll see you very soon."

The slave girl smiled and nodded, and Raell exited. She then walked two streets over to a jazzy, hip store. This one had a few more customers inside, and several skinny slaves in slouchy beanies and skater shoes but nothing else roved the store. Once again all but Aubrey and Gabriel were left outside. Raell was pretty quick in and out, only buying a few shirts and a pair of shoes.

With Jai and Gabriel burdened with packages Raell all but skipped back to her horse. She stopped to say hello to quite a few people as she went. The personals and Drake went to go stand by the horse, who laid his ears back as a warning.

Raell walked over and leapt onto the saddle while Jai quickly untied Orion's tether, jumping back just in time as the horse wheeled about and shot back up the road, easily weaving through the other carts and people.

Jai swore and started after her, Drake and others following. Drake gritted his teeth- his bare feet were callused but the long runs were wearing on his feet. He dared not complain, though halfway home the pack of slaves moved over to the side of the road, allowing Drake to run on softer ground.

The pack arrived at the house in a sweaty, panting bunch. Jai and Gabriel went to put away the new purchases while the others went to take a very quick shower. Drake followed, for once grateful for the cold water as it cooled his sweaty skin.