Ravens New Life

This story is set a long time ago, on a different planet and in a different galaxy than our own... so please don't feel like you need to correct my historical facts. This is a fictional and time period. It is meant to be a very hierarchical society, with some values reflecting something like late 1800s or early 1900s English society, but in a slightly more modern setting. Electricity was used, but only by those with money and status, and the poor neighborhoods were much more rustic and old world. There was a huge gap between the rich and the poor. The rich often owned great estates, and spent much of their time enjoying themselves in society, often with money passed down through generations; very few were self-made.

There will be more to follow as long as it is liked- this is the first chapter, it will get much more interesting as the plot develops! Let me know what you think. It is okay to criticize constructively but please don't be rude! Thanks!

***

Christiana looked back at her wretched step father one more time, hoping for some sort of remorse or hesitation, but of course, there was none. His gambling debts had gotten to the point that he and Christiana's mother (though she had never gambled) would soon be sent to debtor's prison to pay off the debt, and her little siblings would be sent to workhouses.

Her step father had waited until Christiana was of age, and then immediately brought her to auction off as an "indentured courtesan," as it was called. Basically, she would be auctioned off to live in a household where her soul purpose would be the please her master, whoever he was, in whatever manner he wished, until her step father's debts were cleared. She had reached an adult age, but in her world she was still under the ownership of her parents until she got married or she turned 30. Most women who didn't marry lived with family their whole lives.

She was sure her step father had lied to her mother about this... probably had some grand story that he was sending her off to be educated, or to work as a lady in waiting for a fancy household... and when time passed without her mother receiving a letter from her, he would come up with some excuse. Maybe he would tell her Christiana was dead. She shuddered at that thought. Surely her mother would not have allowed this if she knew... surely...

Christiana was a virgin; which made her much more valuable on the IC (Indentured Courtesan) market. She was also beautiful, which raised her value even more. She didn't know any of this... but her step father sure did. He made enough money to pay off all of his debts and still have enough left over to give himself a few weeks of gambling, drinking, whores and fun.

The only comfort Christiana had was that by doing this, she was saving her dear mother from jail and her little brothers and sister from the workhouse. By law, even though daughters were the property of their parents, they could not become an IC unless they agreed to it. They had to sign an agreement, witnessed by a lawyer. Of course, her step father made it very clear what would happen to her family if she did not sign the paper... so she did.

She walked timidly across the stage in the very tight, very revealing dress that she had been put in. She tried to be brave. This was her life now, she kept telling herself; she would have to find a way to live with it. She was ushered into a room full of young women who were being auctioned as well. A few of them seemed pious; proud even... most of them, however, looked nervous and scared... just like her.

She was saved for the last, as the most valuable girl in the auction. Being beautiful, a virgin, having no defects, she would fetch a high price. Sure enough, she went for more than three times as much as most of the other girls. The auctioneer smiled, and she was sent to her new home.

***

She was led by a servant and an escort from the auction house (who was there to make sure that she did not change her mind and try to run, which would be a crime since she had signed herself away already and been signed away by her step father).

She looked at the floor and tried to hug herself and hide the awkward amount of cleavage showing in the garment she had been changed into. Her master, about 15 years her senior but quite attractive, spoke to her in a hard voice.

"Your name while you are here is Raven, do you understand?"

"My name is Christiana." she replied proudly. Her name had been given to her by her father just a few months before his passing. It was the only thing she had from him.

Her master, Lord Stephen Christian III, looked up, surprised that she had defied him. His heart beat faster with excitement... it was almost a relief to have someone who didn't immediately bend to his will...but he knew he had to break her of this habit quickly before it got out of hand. He slapped her hard across the face with no warning, and then reached down to slide his hand up the hem of her short dress. He moved his hand up until he was cupping her sex. She tried to struggle but one of his guards and the man from the auction house were on either side of her, holding her tight. The auction guard quickly zapped her with an electric stick, making her scream.

"Don't -- I'll take care of this" Lord Stephen said to the guard harshly. He turned back to her.

"You belong to me now, Raven. You do what I say, eat when I say you can, go to restroom when I give you permission, call yourself whatever name it pleases me to give you. If I wanted your name to be Whore, than that is what you would call yourself. What I'm holding in my hand-" he began to massage her pussy through her undergarments- "this is mine, too... and if you want me to be gentle with it, and not harsh-" at this point he pinched her clit through her panties, hard enough to make her yelp, and then went back to gently rubbing it- "Then you do exactly what I say. Do you understand, Raven?"

"Yes, sir." She whimpered quietly. Her face was flushed, and she was mortified. The two men holding her arms were both smirking at her, enjoying her embarrassing discomfort. She felt a strange sensation where his hand was cupping and rubbing her. She wanted to hate it... but it made the blood rush through her veins and brought a flush to her face and quickened her breath- she was aroused.

"You are to call me master." He looked at her sternly.

"Yes, Master." Even in her compromising position, and though she was obviously scared, he could still see a defiance in her eyes, something that said 'you might bend me but you will not break me,' and he couldn't wait to prove her wrong.

He pulled his hand away, and smiled to himself as he noted that she had become moist from his massaging. He didn't point it out with the other men in the room, he had embarrassed her enough to get his point across- but he was pleased that she was obviously aroused by his ministrations. He walked across the room and turned back towards her, waving the guards off to wait outside the door.

"Come here."

"Yes, master..." her voice was hoarse this time, she was filled with nerves. 'I have to play the part... do what he says. An actress is all he will ever get out of me, I will keep my real self locked up safe inside until the day I leave here. It's the only way I will survive.' She thought to herself.

She walked toward and stopped. He gently placed a finger on her chin and lifted it until she raised her eyes to meet his. He waited to make sure that the men were gone from the room, and lowered his voice so that they would not hear.

"I will offer you one chance to back out of this arrangement. You will not be punished; I will make sure that all charges of negating a legal contract are dropped. I work in law, it wouldn't be difficult. However, any money paid for you in advance will have to be repaid. So, do you want to stay here or not? Because if you stay, you will be mine- completely- until you term is up. I want you -- I wouldn't have paid what I did if I had not, but I always offer my girls one chance to change their minds."

She swallowed hard, surprised. She knew what he was offering was not orthodox, she had never heard of it happening before. Oh how she wanted to run! But she would not doom her family. However, she thought, if he is offering this, perhaps...

"I will stay; I have no other options. However, master, could I make one request of you? You can add a year onto my term if you agree to this."

He was surprised, but answered, "What would that be?" The straightforwardness and bravery of this girl to make a request to him after what he had just done to her was shocking.

"My step father received the money that was paid for me. He is supposed to use the money to pay off his debts so that my mother does not go to debtor's prison and my siblings to the workhouses. However, I fear he will gamble this money away instead... or drink it away, or buy whores... whatever he will do, I fear he will not pay his debts. I would not want to go on living if that happened to my family." She stopped, her bravery slipping; her heart was beating with fear. Had she over stepped her bounds? Crossed a line? She had heard of Indentured Courtesans getting beat, tied up... and other worse- much worse- horrible things. What would he expect in payment if he did agree? Something perverse? She held her breath until he spoke, finally.

"I think... that is a reasonable request. If you provide me with his name, address, and any other relevant information, I can at least check and make sure that he has paid the debt. I will speak to him... I cannot promise he will abide me, but I can be... very persuasive." He found himself sympathizing with the girl, which he knew was a dangerous thing. Forming an emotional attachment to a Courtesan was very much frowned upon in his level of society, where appearances were extremely important, and fueling the societies gossips was could do considerable damage to one's reputation. Having a Courtesan was very much a status symbol, though the girl herself ranked only slightly higher than a housekeeper or servant.

Raven sighed with relief, until her master said:

"Remove your clothes. Slowly."

Her heart beat wildly. Her natural defiant nature wanted to tell him no, to hit him and run... but she knew that this was what she was here for. She was his. His. She took a deep breath.

She reached back to unzip her dress, but she was so nervous that her palms were sweating, and therefore was struggling with the zipper. He quickly spun her around, making her gasp in surprise. With one swift yank he pulled the zipper down so hard that they heard a tear when he got to the bottom of the zipper, and the dress ripped the rest of the way down. He spun her back to face him just as quickly. He smiled when he saw her eyes wide with shock. He stepped back and crossed his arms, leaning slightly on his desk. He waited.

She slowly, nervously pulled down her dress...