I dangled from the manacles, my toes touching the cement floor. My arms, stretched above me in chains, ached terribly.
The sun was hot on my nude body.
There were welts on my legs.
A board, with marks on the front that I presumed to be writing, was at my belly, attached to a length of coarse twine that went about my collared neck.
I watched the comings and goings in the street.
I wondered what was to become of me.
Following my arrest in the Pens of the Slavehouse of Thurnus, I had been conducted along the streets of the city.
I had been once more gagged and hooded, my hands cuffed behind me, pulled along by a leash attached to my collar. The distance that we had traversed had been considerably further than that between the slave house and the Juicy Pudding tavern.
I had been in the custody of Marellus, of the Office of the Praetor, and two other armed guards. The pace that they had demanded of me had been punishing.
It had been all that I could do to stumble along behind them, leashed, braceleted, and hooded as I was. Once, I had lost my footing, and sprawled in the mud. I had felt a sharp point, such as that of a sword, painful against my bare skin.
"To your feet, thieving slavegirl, quickly," had hissed a male voice. I had scrambled to my feet swiftly, and resumed my progress.
Once I had heard the hiss of a switch, and then a bite of pain on my ass.
"Faster, pilfering slut," had commanded a voice; the same, I thought, as he who had previously commanded me to my feet.
Evidently he had considered my pace insufficient, and had seen fit to punish me, as he might a beast. Thus exhorted to greater speed, I had tried to move faster through the muddy thoroughfare.
I had heard shouts, and the calls of vendors. It would seem that we were near a market.
"Nice ass," said a voice, "Is she for sale?"
I had felt a touch, uninvited, on my body. I shuddered, helplessly.
"She is a thief," came the gruff reply, "We are taking her into custody."
"She is hot though," pointed out the other, "See her squirm."
I had felt the touch increase in its degree of intimacy. I had whimpered softly, into my gag. I felt a jerk on my leash, as I was pulled along.
"She was a tavern slut, and stole from her Mistress," said the gruff voice.
I had almost slipped, but narrowly retained my footing. The hand left my body. I had felt a slap, hard, on my bottom. I gasped incoherently into my gag, hurt.
"Then be sure to teach the worthless little bitch a lesson!" had said the voice.
"Don't worry," had come the reply, "We will. Come, hot little crook."
I had felt a tug on my leash and scurried to prevent it becoming taut.
There had been few other altercations as we had made our way through the city. Evidently the sight of a nude girl being bundled along by three armed guards was not one to particularly provoke audible comment, although I was unable to ascertain whether there had been any visual appraisal of my peregrination.
Eventually, my bare feet had felt hard flooring beneath them, and the hood was removed from me. I had found myself standing before a desk, where a bored-looking, seated man read from a scroll.
"You are the slave named Suckslut?" had asked the seated man, dispassionately.
I nodded my head. I was still gagged.
"Answer audibly, slut," he commanded, "You are familiar with gag speech?"
I recalled my training. One whimper for yes, two whimpers for no. I whimpered once.
"Good," he replied. "You are the slut named Suckslut, initially registered at the House of Thurnus, as Beast 13, a pierced-ear, barbarian, red-silk?"
I had whimpered, once. I had been terribly frightened. How long ago it seemed that I had been named as simply Beast 13. Since then, of course, I had also been named Flower, Sleenmeat, and currently Suckslut, but it would seem that only my original 'Pen name' and my current name were of legal significance.
Obviously, Amanda Felicity Charrington, my former name on my original planet was of no relevance now.
"You are accused of theft from the Lady Draca, proprietor of the Juicy Pudding tavern. How do you plead? One whimper for guilty, two for not guilty."
I felt tears prick my eyes.
I could barely register the consequences attendant upon this stark choice.
I had heard it said at the slave house that the statutory penalty for a slave for theft was death.
I must surely fight such a sentence. And yet, also, of course, I had, in actuality, taken the slice of animal cake, intended to supplement the feed of Heracles.
Thus I was, nominally at least, guilty, and had, additionally, admitted this guilt, in my admission to Lady Draca, my mistress.
Tupp, her slave, and Thurnus, who had apparently been listening in an adjacent chamber, were also witnesses of my statement of culpability.
Yet, surely, this was a paltry infraction to justify capital punishment? There had, after all, been several mitigating circumstances.
I had been desperately hungry, and had been left alone with the sustenance. What is more, the situation had been engineered by Lady Draca, my Mistress, with the express purpose of luring me into taking the food, thus setting up her bet with Thurnus, as to whether I would admit to being a slut, or a thief.
Yet I was not being afforded any opportunity to point out these extenuations. I was simply being presented with the choice of pleading guilty, or not guilty.
And if I was to plead guilty, I was apparently to be put to death!
I whimpered twice.
"Well, well," said the man, "Not guilty, hmm? So we will need to go to the trouble of having a trial of your pretty ass. So be it, and until then, you will be put on public display. That body is too gorgeous to be locked away in the slave-cell during the day."
Thus it was that I found myself hanging by my arms. stretched, toes barely touching the cement, hot, on public display before any that might pass by the street outside the Praetor's Office.
My wrists were contained within manacles, attached to a chain that was in turn attached to a hook above me. My feet were also secured by manacles, and an additional chain, about a foot long, that passed through a ring on the cement flooring of the platform upon which I was, to all intents and purposes, being exhibited.
There was a stick tied to a post adjacent to me, and this, I had discovered to my dismay, functioned to allow any that might so desire to physically admonish me.
Several had taken that opportunity, stinging my legs, and leaving welts.
I was still gagged.
A man came to stand before me. He regarded the board which depended from my neck. He looked me up and down, slowly, taking his time. I blushed, under such candid appraisal.
"So, my pretty," he said, "You are a thief and a liar. Do you know the penalty for naughty little slavegirls that lie and steal?"
I whimpered plaintively. He grinned.
"You will have to hope then that you are acquitted," he said, and laughed, lightly.
I looked at him, helplessly. I felt his right hand on my left thigh. It moved higher.
I squirmed, hanging from the ropes.
His hand began to move between my legs.
I bucked in the ropes.
"Steady, little slut," he said, but did not desist in his intimate palpations.
I moaned into the gag, feeling drool run down my chin, and a trickle of moisture upon my thigh.
"My, you are a hot one," he said. "What a waste of sweet slave-flesh"
I closed my eyes and pressed my legs together tightly, moaning softly. I could feel drool drip onto my breasts, and fluid seep onto my inner thigh.
"Turn about," he demanded, peremptorily.
With difficulty, on tiptoes, I turned myself so that I was facing away from him, my face to the wall of the Praetor's building.
Swish! Crack!
I squealed as I felt a lash of pain across my bare ass.
He must have taken the switch that hung beside me, and spanked me, once, hard, on my bottom.
"Turn back," he commanded.
I did so, tears now mingling with the drool, dripping down from my face. The punishment had been short, and, I suppose, insignificant, but nonetheless, my bottom stung terribly, and I could not, of course, rub it to assuage the spreading pain.
He had also aroused me, and evidence of this arousal was upon my inner thigh. Now he simply moved off along the street.
I watched him go, miserably. How my bottom stung.
I was surprised by a sudden flurry of movement, as several guards emerged from the Praetor's office and ran past me, down towards the docks. Their demeanour suggested a matter of some urgency.
I looked to see them go. How handsome they were, all of them muscular and well-built, in their short tunics. They carried links of chain, heavy, and wound about.
I whimpered and moaned softly into my gag, watching them go. I wondered what it should be like, to serve such as they in the alcoves of a tavern.
Then I gasped.
From the direction that the guards had ran I could see Tuka.
She knelt as they went past her, striking a provocative pose, knees wide, her palms upwards on her thighs. They ignored her and she got to her feet, looked after them, and once they were out of sight resumed her progress up the hill, coming towards me.
She was dressed in her tiny yellow tavern garment, far too short for her, with black writing on it. I knew that the writing, roughly translated to 'One serving of Juicy Pudding'.
How scandalous to walk along a public street, wearing so little, and proclaiming such a message. However, Tuka seemed little concerned. Her gait was graceful and lissome as she moved, swaying her shapely hips.
She stood before me.
"Greetings, Suckslut," she said, affably.
Gagged as I was, I could not reply.
"Whimper twice to signify 'Greetings, Mistress'", she said.