(It would be best to read chapters 1 and 2 first)
I mourned the loss of my hair, but fear quickly replaced my sorrow. I was about to be branded--twice. I could smell the nearby fire and could hear my captors ready the brands. I struggled again, but it was useless. I was bound tightly in the stocks. There was no way I could escape. Being completely naked, they could mark me whenever they were ready.
"Shhhh," the slave girl Jenna returned after delivering my hair to whoever was to bring it to the wig-maker. She tried to soothe me. "It will be over quickly. Try not to move." She stroked my body to comfort me. I felt anger at her for helping them take my hair, but that was hardly her fault. She was also a slave. I could see the collar locked firmly around her neck.
"Should we let her scream?" asked one of my captors. He seemed to be the junior of the two, taking orders from the other. "We could remove her gag. The other new girls will hear her. Some of the men too. I'll wager this one yells good and loud. That should make them easier to manage." He chuckled.
I resolved not to give them the satisfaction. I would not let my friends and neighbors who had also been taken from our village hear me shriek in misery. I would not help these slavers cower them. And what if my husband was held below? He would know my voice, even in a piercing scream. He could try something foolish if he heard me cry out in pain. No, I would clench my lips tightly.
"If you wanted to hear her cry out you should have taken off the gag before I used her," laughed the Lady's guard. I blushed. His words reminded me that I had been used as his plaything before my hair was taken. Not that I would ever forget it, but for the moment, the fear of the brand had put the feel of him inside me far from my mind.
"Leave her gag in," said the senior captor, with some authority. He must be in charge, I thought. "Letting her scream is a mercy she does not deserve," he continued. "Her village gave our soldiers enough trouble, I hear. She can choke on the gag."
My ears picked up at that. It had seemed to me that the village was easily overrun. Good, I thought. Good. I hope they made your people pay dearly for our village. We did nothing to deserve being attacked. I did nothing to deserved being dragged naked here, used, and branded as a slave. His words gave me some hope for my husband. Could he have escaped? Is that why he did not come to find me in the village? Maybe he was unable to stop them then. But surely if he is free, then he is trying to rescue me. He would not leave me in a place like this. Maybe he would come for me.
But it will be too late. I could feel another tear fall. I was about to be marked. There was no stopping them. My body would forever be branded as a slave. A brand could not be removed. Even if I were rescued, I would be property. My husband could only rescue a branded slave, not his wife. Slaves are not wives--they are property. I tried to moan. I wanted to beg them to wait. I wanted to plead. But the gag held my mouth firmly.
"They're ready," said the younger man. "Which one first?"
"The banishment brand," said the older. "Let our friend see her marked as promised, so that he may be off."
"OK. Back away, Jenna. Your lovely little body doesn't need any more marks," he sneered. Jenna kissed me on the cheek and moved away.
I held my breath. What was he waiting for? Was he tormenting me more by making me wait? Just get it over with, I thought. Then, as I felt heat near my face, I realized that he was waiting for me to open my eyes. I saw the white hot metal being held before me as my eyes flung open in terror. The brute wanted me to see how I would be marked. I saw him laugh.
"Take a look girl," the younger man chuckled as held this brand in front of me. I winced. It was bigger than I imagined. It seemed as large as my hand, though surely that was my imagination. It would certainly make a huge mark on my body. I could recognize the symbols of the kingdom along with some ugly markings.
"Where do we mark her? Her face?" he asked.
"Perfect," said the Lady's guard. "My Lady will be pleased with that."
I shuddered in horror. Fear made it hard for me to listen to their words, but I understood that he might mark my cheek. I had seen slaves marked that way. Even if I saw my husband again, he would behold an ugly criminal, not his beautiful wife.
"No, no, that will not do," responded the authoritative captor. "Marking her with the banishment brand will reduce her value enough as it is. Her back will suffice. Her shoulder--either side."
"Ahh but then she will be able to hide it," said the Lady's guard.
My captors both laughed at that. "This slut will never be given enough clothing to hide that mark," said the older man. "Her owner will want her flesh displayed." They all had a good laugh and he followed up. "No, after we put her on the ship tomorrow, if you ever see these tits again in the kingdom, she'll be put on the spike.
The man wielding the brand stepped behind me and spoke to me. "Strange for a pretty little animal like you to be branded like an outlaw. But I sentence you for the crime of imitating a Free Lady's hair." He laughed at that. The hair was no longer mine--it was sold to a noble lady. "You are hereby banished," he exclaimed as he pressed the huge brand onto my back.
I could feel the heat near my skin followed by a blinding pain. I tried to scream. I felt like I was screaming, even with the gag. The pain was unbelievable. It was all I could feel. It was as if my whole body were on fire. How long could this last? The seconds felt like an eternity. My body was demanding that I escape this pain, but I could not move. The brute was pressed the brand hard into me. The smell of burning flesh reached my nose. I knew it was my own body that was burning
An eternity seemed to pass before that monster pulled the brand away from my skin. Removing the hot metal from my flesh did nothing to ease my pain. I still felt like I was on fire. I tugged violently at the stocks that held them in place. They were unyielding. I was locked and I could not move. I could do nothing to ease the pain. My face was damp from tears. Doubtless they stained the wooden table on which I was held.
The air reeked of burning flesh. I bit down hard on the gag and it felt like I convulsed. I must have passed out. The next thing I remember is a bucket of water pouring over my bald head.
"Wake up, slave," laughed the younger captor. "No sleeping in front of your Masters. What if they have use for you?" This seemed to send them into fits of laughter. "As if anyone would have use for a bald, banished animal like you."
"I have witnessed what I needed to see," said the Lady's guard, shaking the older man's hand. "We will see no more of that little slut in our fair city. A shame though. I'd have happily paid a visit to the city brothel for her, or maybe even bought her myself." He stood next to me, running his hands over my smooth ass. "Such a tight little toy. Mmm, good girl." His hand caressed my skin slowly. He was clearly enjoying himself. Apparently he imagined he was arousing me. I flushed with shame, remembering that he had managed to do so earlier. How could I have let him do that?
I clenched my fists. I wanted to hurt him. He had pushed himself inside me and was now caressing me as if his touch were some form of afterglow between lovers. Nothing could be further from reality. He had used me for his pleasure, not made love to me. And I was bound and branded. And yet here he was caressing me as if I were his. The pain kept me from thinking straight. It was fortunate I was still gagged. I wanted to tell him how much I hated him, how I would always hate him for what he did. No matter how many men they threw me too, I would hate him the most.
"I'll miss you too little slut," he laughed, misinterpreting my squirms. "Enjoy your life in whatever brothel they sell you to. I am sure you will earn a lot of coin for your future owners. At least, you will once your hair grows back." My two captors found that terribly amusing and slapped him on the back as they bid him farewell.
