A Whole New World

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Content Warning: This story will feature some BDSM content, while this is will strictly be between consenting parties and nothing extreme, it will be present. While the tags do say slavery, without spoiling too much of later chapters, it will fade. Additionally, there will be no questionable consent or anything along those lines.

****

Laurel felt the slack on the leash quickly disappear as she was pulled further along the hallway. It didn't look like any place of the academy that she had been before. Usually the school tried to replicate some long ancient noble estate, with faux marble floors and synth-mahogany trim, yet here there were no fancy details, the walls and floors were concrete, and instead of fake scones, fluorescent lights illuminated the hallway. Along it she could see several steel doors, and the person holding her lead turned into the first open door.

She could see the room was rather small, with a shower in the corner, a large wardrobe that spanned the entire opposite wall and an industrial looking chair, like the type one would see in a dentist's office, the only difference being how there were cuffs for her arms, legs, and one large strap which would go across her midriff. It made her go stiff and become just that much more grateful that the Prince hadn't selected anything that would require using it.

One of the women yanked harshly on the leash, drawing Laurel close to the shower. Laurel could see a smug smile on her face as she turned to the other woman, as if trying to show-off.

The other woman rolled her eyes and turned to Laurel, "Strip completely and step into the shower. Once inside, hold both your arms at a cross and the shower will automatically clean you."

Laurel nodded, she was beyond used to this by now, all of the showers in the school were automatic, and while she may not have done it around others, it wasn't like it would be any different than being naked in different parts of the school. As she started taking off her dress and stripping down all of her undergarments, the nicer woman came up and disconnected the lead from her collar, an action which caused the other woman to look disappointed. Still the collar remained on; she hadn't been without it for more than a couple minutes her entire time being in the school.

The shower was quick and not exactly pleasant, with a nozzle which shot a high pressure water and soap mixture, it was impossible to relax. The only nice part of the experience was when large fans turned on and a warm breeze came over her, drying her body in seconds. The glass doors to the shower opened and Laurel stepped out, seeing that only the hostile woman was next to the shower. The other woman, she saw, was near the chair, pulling on a pair of gloves.

"What's that?" Laurel asked, motioning to the chair, she had heard of any surgical procedure being done after a slave was bought, but she didn't see any plasma scalpels nor laser-blades. She figured, hoped that perhaps they were going to shave her arms and legs, although they were already required to keep shaven.

"Nipple piercing," the woman said as she attached the leash to Laurel's collar and pulled it close, close enough that Laurel could feel the hotness of her breath, and to get the sense that she hadn't brushed that morning. "Fun, right?"

"But he-- the Prince didn't select any options," Laurel said, careful not to let her voice turn shrill, she didn't want them to think that she was truly scared, she trembled at the thought of what it would cause the one woman to do.

"It's complimentary," the other woman said, picking up an instrument which looked a good deal like a razor, only much thicker on one end, with an open space in the middle. It was obvious to Laurel what it would be used for. "Don't worry, it won't be painful, your nipples will just be sore for the next couple weeks."

"I don't know. Sometimes people scream if you're unlucky enough to hit a nerve."

Laurel shook her head, knowing that she shouldn't let what the one woman said get to her, she likely enjoyed other's pain and discomfort. It was an uncomfortable truth of living at the academy, some people seemed like they genuinely cared, but most of the workers loved the work for the control aspect it afforded them.

The woman led her towards the chair, not allowing Laurel any rest as she pulled the leash harshly, before letting it slack and pulling it again, over and over again. Laurel was just lucky that there was a strict no-touching policy for the workers, and lucky that there was another worker here that could report it.

Laurel sat down on the chair, feeling the cold synth-leather against her bare skin, it sent a chill up her spine, a feeling which was not helped as metal cuffs sprang shut, moulding around the shape of her wrist and ankles before they hardened. The sadistic woman pulled the strap around her midriff, pulling it tighter than it really needed to be, while the other woman finished putting several settings into the computer and hitting enter.

She turned to Laurel, "If you don't move it won't hurt, but any movement will cause a small amount of pain, I'd encourage you to hold your breath."

Laurel nodded, throwing a worried glance at the other woman, she still held the leash and was standing a few feet aside, watching eagerly.

The cold sterile steel pushed down on her breasts and she could hear some whirring as electric motors activated, though she still didn't feel anything save her heart beating rapidly in her chest. The doctor was bent over and looking into a screen on the back of the machine. Laurel looked and saw a holo-tattoo on the back of her neck. It was the logo of the academy and Laurel realised that she must be a slave too, bought by the school for their skills.

Laurel didn't have any time to feel pity for her, as she heard a much louder whirring sound, and something which sounded like a spring being compressed. A split second later, she felt a jolt go through her nipple. It wasn't exactly painful, almost like someone had simply flicked her nipple, but immediately after, she felt sore.

"See, it wasn't that bad," the doctor said, moving the device over to her other nipple and starting the calibration process. Laurel looked down to her nipple and saw a little barbell sticking out of it. It was almost cute. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing, after all, the soreness wasn't all too bad and the process wasn't painful in the slightest.

She heard a final beep and the telltale wind-up of the large motor, but at the same time felt the leash lose all of its slackness, pulling up on her neck a small amount. Laurel ignored it, trying to stay as still as she could. Let the other woman play her games; she hoped they were almost done.

Just as she heard the spring click into its final position she felt the leash jolt forward, pulling her with it as the machine fired. It was nothing like before. Instead of a flick, it felt like someone had hooked her nipple and pulled on it with all their strength. It only lasted a tenth of a second, but even still, it made Laurel cry out in pain and the other woman laugh.

"Must've hit a nerve," she chuckled, letting the lead go slack again. "What bad luck."

Laurel glared at her before looking down, she expected her nipple to be bleeding at the very least, and part of her worried if it had been torn out. The pain was a dull throb now, so she highly doubted that. But when she looked down she saw that it looked exactly the same as the other side, not even a drop of blood.

"Sarah, I'd prefer if you didn't do that to my patients," the doctor said while she pulled out a roll of thick white tape and cut off two pieces.

"And I'd rather you let me have my fun," she sneered, "It's not like I did any harm. If you were really worried about it, why not just numb the area?"

"You know the Mistress doesn't give us anaesthetic," she muttered, clearly tired of having an argument that Laurel sensed they had had many times before. She placed the two pieces of tape on top of Laurel's nipples. Even the small amount of movement caused them to throb, and she bit her lower lip. Lucky once she had removed her hands, the pain receded to a dull presence. There, but not anything more than uncomfortable. "Take off the tape when you go to bed tonight and reapply some, do it for a week. I'll send enough with you. Any acute pain and seek a doctor."

"Are we done now?" Laurel asked when the metal cuffs released and she sat up. Every time her breasts jiggled and slight pain came over her nipples. She wasn't looking forward to the next couple weeks.

"Not so fast, you still need to get dressed."

"Right," she said, a deep blush spreading across her cheeks, the thought of being naked around the Prince making her nervous. It wasn't exactly that she didn't want to; if anything she felt that it was more due to excitement.

****

Crown Prince Alexander watched as the transaction got processed; the currency of the galaxy, Arks, travelling thousands of light years to end up in a slaver's bank account. It made him sick. He had already recorded the nav-coordinates and intended to pay this planet a visit, later with the full force of the Imperial Armada. Technically speaking, slavery was outlawed across all of the known universe by Kodiak decree, yet in the outer rim and beyond, oftentimes it was able to slip through the cracks. Even still, such a large establishment was more than unusual and Alex suspected corruption.

It was a matter for another day, as was explaining why he had needed to wire a small fortune to an outer rim territory. Of course, once he had explained his actions, it would not be an issue. He might even be lauded, although Alex wasn't vain enough to think there wouldn't be any repercussions. While Kodiaks had a firm grip in the core worlds, and influence in the outer rims (although Alex was learning that perhaps that influence was not as strong as he would have liked), the worlds past were controlled by an amalgamation of foreign, almost alien empires which had split off over the millennium, creating different customs and traditions. Of those, Zatar was the most dangerous. The Zatari had rapidly expanded after a military coup roughly a century ago, and pressed their borders right up to many of the outer rim worlds. There was fear that the Zatari planned to invade several of the outer worlds, if not the core planets themselves. Alex himself wasn't worried, the only reason why the Zatari had gotten so large was because Kodiaks had better things to do than defend worlds with a few thousand inhabitants, yet if they attacked, the Kodiaks would respond in kind, and the Zatari would realise their folly. Alex actually kind of wished it would happen, what good was it to be a captain of an Army not at war?

He was brought out of his reminiscence by the slaver, "Sir, your lady is ready, "

"Good," Alexander looked around, seeing the doors they had that Mrs. Marquis had been taken to were still closed, "Where?"

"Follow me," she attempted to grab his hand, but Alex brushed it aside and walked with her. She led them through a set of double doors, which despite the antiquated wood finish, opened up automatically, showing what looked to be a parlour area, with a collection of plush armchairs and tables with drinks already arranged on them. "Take a seat."

"No, I think I'd prefer to stand," Alex said, leaning against one of the walls as he watched the door across from them. He found himself getting almost excited, but brushed the feeling aside. He wasn't buying a slave, he was liberating one, as soon as they were out of this dreaded building he fully planned to rip the contract he had been given in half. Still, there was something exciting about the whole situation, perhaps because it was so taboo.

He heard the door open and saw Mrs. Marquis step out. She nearly knocked the wind out of his lungs, not helped by the fact that over the next couple seconds breathing was not his highest priority. When he first found her, going down the line, Alex didn't look too intently at any of the women, not wanting to make them feel uncomfortable, or in the case of a couple, not wanting to allow them to make him uncomfortable. Some still found a way. As such, aside from brief glances down while they waited for the slaver to make her way over, Alex hadn't really looked at her. The first thing that stood out about Mrs. Marquis was just her frame, not only was she short, albeit not to a ridiculous amount, she likely stood around a hundred and sixty centimetres tall, but she was lithe, with lean muscles and an obvious grace to her walk, that was only hampered by the obvious nervousness she felt. Her cheeks were nearly as red as a rose, and Alex felt pity for her, to be paraded in front of someone who you didn't know, perhaps didn't even like. As much as he found it hypocritical, though, he couldn't help himself from being that man, and continued looking. She had dark brunette hair, so much so that as she walked, passing into areas of shadow, it turned almost to a black shade, and under it he could see two grey eyes which almost had a purplish hue to them.

"We dressed her in the latest Kodiak fashion trends," one of the women who led her said, although Alexander slightly doubted that. She wore a light blue crop top and a rather short white skirt. He was confident that he had seen people wearing similar outfits on Earth, but he wouldn't say it was a trend, just clothes that looked nice, especially on her. The woman walked over and handed the leash to Alexander. "I trust that is satisfactory?"

"Sure," Alex said as he took the lead, and immediately gave Mrs. Marquis more slack than the other woman did. He threw her a quick smile which only caused her to go more red before looking to the slaver. "Are we free to go?"

She nodded, looking disappointed, probably that Alex didn't buy more, "Thank you for choosing Mistress Evermore's Academy for your companionship needs."

Alexander rolled his eyes as he stepped away, walking towards the clearly marked exit. For a moment he forgot about the leash, and heard quick footsteps as Mrs. Marquis hurried to catch up to him. He winced, but didn't say anything while he was still inside the building.

As the door closed behind him, Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out a key, it was the last thing the slaver had given him, and only after the transaction went through. He handed it to Mrs. Marquis. "Here, you can unlock that collar now."

She didn't take it, and when Alex looked to her, to make sure her arms were unbound, he saw just an extremely confused look on her face. "What?"

He pressed the key into her hand, "This whole slavery thing, it's disgusting. I'm sure as hell not going to participate in it. Once we get to the ship, and out of view of the copious amounts of security cameras I'll give you your papers."

"Oh," she said, reaching behind her and to the collar before she removed it and held it in her hand. Looking down at it, Alex could still see some hesitancy in her, and figured that she didn't fully trust him. He supposed it made sense, he wouldn't trust someone who came to a slave world for no apparent reason other than to buy and then immediately release a slave. For all she knew, that's what he just did. After a few seconds she looked up at him, and that hesitancy came to voice. "I'm thankful, I really am, but why? Like if you hate slavery so much, why come and buy a slave."

Alex sighed, he knew he was going to have to tell her, but figured it would be best to wait until they got back to the ship, where in the worst case scenario he could lock the doors and wait until she calmed down. He knew Kodiaks weren't often seen in the best light, when he went by each of the girls, many of them looked at him like he was some type of monster. "I'll tell you once we reach the ship, I promise it will make more sense."

"Alright," she said, crossing her arms as she walked behind him.

****

"So, we're in the ship," Laurel said, as she heard the door close behind her and she looked around. They were surrounded by white clad carbon and titanium, it looked like something out of a holo-movie, and the realisation hit Laurel that she was actually with a prince. A prince who bought her to immediately give her her freedom. She still wasn't sure how she felt about that. Of course she was eternally grateful, but a part of her was disappointed. At first she wasn't sure why, but in the walk to the craft, she realised that part of her actually wanted to be that slave. She knew it was irrational, part of her just glorifying the parts of it which wouldn't be actual hell, but the thought stuck with her. Perhaps it would have faded quicker if the prince wasn't so attractive. Broad shoulders and a perfectly sculpted face which seemed to scream confidence. "Are you gonna tell me?"

"Of course," he walked into what Laurel quickly realised was the cockpit, and wondered if he was going to already fly away as he talked to her, but instead he sat in the captain's chair and swivelled it around to talk to her, motioning to the other seat. "Sorry, it may not be the most comfortable, but this is the only room which has two seats that can face each other."

"I thought the ship looked pretty large from the outside?"

He shrugged, "A lot of that was taken up by engines, shield synthesisers, and the laser generator, comfort wasn't the main extension of the ship."

She looked around and suddenly the no-nonsense attitude of both the ship and the prince made sense. It was a military ship and he was obviously a military man, even if he didn't wear any uniform. "Seems like a lot of dangerous hardware to buy a slave."

"About that," he leaned forward on his knees and looked to her, "I never meant to stop here, but you got my attention."

"From space?" she laughed.

He just nodded, and pressed a button on the arm of the chair. She heard the door behind her spring close and her heart jumped a beat, although it wasn't out of fear. "When Kodiaks first gain their abilities, a point which is usually called a flash-point, they release a massive spike of gamma radiation, something which other Kodiaks can pick up on and pinpoint, to a certain degree. I knew you were in the 'school'," he grimaced, "but not who."

"Are you saying that I'm a Kodiak?" Laurel asked, eyes going wide. She thought it couldn't be true, Kodiaks were some different species, yet when she looked at the Prince she saw just a very handsome man. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought him human. The only thing that stood out was how vivid his eyes were, a piercing blue which almost seemed to see through her. "Isn't that impossible. Wouldn't my parents need to be Kodiaks too?"

He nodded, "At least one of them, yes. But I can't imagine one of our own selling their child into slavery."

"I... I don't think you're right. My parents were poor nobodys, they never had any abilities and if they did, I think they would have used them."

"Perhaps they weren't your biological parents," he shrugged, "Sometimes Kodiaks go missing, you could be one of their children."

"OK," she said, despite feeling almost exactly the opposite, "So, say I am a Kodiak, so what? I don't have any abilities. I can't make people's brains explode or fly, or... Anything!"

"Your abilities will come."

"I doubt it, I think you probably just sneezed wrong and felt something that wasn't there."

He rolled his eyes and stood up, pressing the same button on the chair and causing the door to open. "Do you want me to prove it?"

"How?"

"Follow me," he left the room and walked down a narrow hallway. They passed two rooms on their left, the first a bathroom, and the second a small bedroom, before coming to a door at the end of the hallway. The Prince stepped into it, and Laurel followed. What she saw nearly took her breath away, and not exactly in a good way. In the centre of the room there was a hover-bike, angular and sleek, though she didn't look at it for very long. Here, it was mundane, boring. Alongside the walls were rows and rows of weapons, ranging from plasma rifles to laser swords and rocket launchers. She betted someone could take down a world-annihilator with all that weaponry, nevermind being a Kodiak as well.