Thank you all for your voting and your comments, favourable or otherwise. I appreciate the negative feedback just as much as the positive; it all helps me understand what you want to read. However, I don't have much input into the story... the characters seem to do as they please, and each episode just appears in my brain in an almost complete form. I can only imagine what a psychiatrist might make of that! My input is limited to transcribing these messages from my subconscious and translating them into a language I am familiar with - British English.
I have received a message asking where the title Irkutsk came from. The details are contained within the first episode, but in short, I wanted to my story to be based in an area outside my own experience and outside the experience of most of my readers. I decided on Siberia and Irkutsk seemed sufficiently exotic. I had no idea (really!) where the story would take its characters, me the writer and you, the readers, so I didn't have much upon which to base a title. Irkutsk seemed to be a name that would catch the ear, and so Irkutsk it was, and is.
I repeat, for the benefit of anyone who comes from Irkutsk, or anyone who knows it and can tell me that my descriptions of it are way out of line, that I mean no disrespect to Irkutsk or Irkutskians (or is that Irkutskovites?) I apologise for any offence given. Frankly my research into the area during my writing of this story suggests it would be a lovely place to visit... with or without the Lady Brigade!
Plenty more to come...
My first weekend, but no Saturday off!
Saturday midday meals and Sunday breakfasts were, as I would learn, much more formal meals in this community than other meals. Whereas most meals were a passing parade of people grabbing food as and when they could, on weekends all available members of the community sat down to a formal meal. The only ones who did not were a few who were serving (and all took turns at this, even the Goddess) and one or two others in essential duties around the area.
I slept very late indeed. Although I was in pain from my "war wounds" to the point where even walking was difficult, I was relaxed and at peace. On this, my first Saturday lunch, I would see more of the community than I had ever seen before at one time.
Once seated at the table I counted nearly forty lovely ladies sitting, and two more serving. There were five tables each capable of seating eight. Although I was at the main table, my position was clearly of lower status than the others. I was about to learn another lesson, that these two meals every week had some formal status for reasons other than eating.
After we had all finished our meal everyone relaxed, but there was an expectant air around the table. Tina stood up. She, and possibly Dominika and one other lady I had seen, were the most physically powerful looking of the ladies. She approached my table, or to be more to the point, her Goddess's table. She knelt next to the Goddess, her head bowed low.
I waited for the Goddess to respond. "What on earth are you doing that for? You know you can speak openly to me about anything."
Princess Tina spoke hesitantly. "I want to make an unusual request my lady". She was told she could speak openly about anything now, provided she said what she felt. Tina then spoke more freely, gradually gaining confidence as other Princesses nodded.
"I know you said anyone who wanted should have the opportunity to spend their time alone with Michael before you took your turn, my lady." There were nods of approval around the room. "But we all believe that you should know what we are experiencing as soon as possible. We
all
want you to spend time with him today, and we want to be part of the experience with you. We all love you, my lady, and we all owe our happiness and our security to you. We want you to experience without further delay what many of us have already enjoyed and what others hope to enjoy. We need you to understand first-hand what is happening, both because we want you to share in our pleasure, and because we want our leader to know what is happening within the group. Those of us who have not yet had the experience have indicated they are willing, even happy, to wait just a little longer if necessary. Please, my lady, and I speak on behalf of every one of us, even those who are not here at the moment; please my lady, will you allow us to have you share in this today?"
The Goddess did not speak, but one by one she looked directly at each of the Princesses present. Each one of them indicated their consent by nodding or by speaking a few words.
Then she looked at me. "And what do you say, Michael?" She was
asking
me? "I'm happy to do whatever I can that will contribute to your society."
"Even though we have kidnapped you and placed you in sexual servitude?"