Chapter Five
The long, dark hours were a torment indeed; I tossed and turned, conscious all the time of the yearning ache in my little bud. My hands strayed down my naked body towards it but I could not beat the compulsion put upon me by Callis and so my lust remained unrequited and I remained unrested. Consequently, I got up in the soft, grey light of dawn and wandered around Mistress Breanna's villa, snooping into every nook and cranny in search of anything useful for I was determined at some point in the future to escape from my life, if one could call it that, as a sentient. I had been human and I could still remember what that meant despite the controlling chip in my brain. I wanted freedom and the right to make my own decisions for better or worse.
Despite the careful scrutiny, I came across nothing that I considered would be of any help and so I headed down towards the kitchen after an hour or so, stomach rumbling as I had not eaten much the day before. I was slipping down one of the corridors silently when I heard voices echo out of one of the rooms ahead of me and so I stilled instantly and listened, getting more interested as I recognised that it was Breanna and Callis chatting away.
"So your instructions are that I can do anything but take her virginity?"
"That's correct, Callis. The buyer is very keen to keep her safe from harm until he can get here and enjoy her for himself, I suppose. He knows that the state's spies will be watching carefully though and so everything must seem like she was bought to be a pleasure toy for me and my friends...or to be trained up and sold on for a profit later."
"She has an attitude problem, Mistress Breanna..."
"So beat it out of her, Callis. The buyer didn't say he wanted her to be a problem in future and I am sure that he would like her to be malleable when he arrives! Virgins can be fun but screaming ones are a little wearing!"
I shrank back round a bend in the corridor as I heard the hinges on her door squeak slightly and I listened carefully, hearing the soft echoes of footsteps heading in the other direction. I waited for a minute or so, brain trying to take in what I had heard, then followed, slipping into the kitchen and finding myself some fresh fruit to eat from the long table set out in the middle. I sat down on one side and tried to ignore the curious stares of the other household servants as I crunched through an apple, mind full of dark thoughts as I wondered who had bought me and whether they wanted anything but my body.
It was only when Callis walked in that I snapped out of my reverie. As soon as I noticed him, my pulse quickened and I felt my bottom twinge as it remembered how he had warmed it up the previous evening. Would he do so again today? The thought flickered through my mind and confused me utterly. I wanted to feel that heat and arousal coursing through my body once more yet I knew how degrading and demeaning it was to be beaten. I could feel that in my soul and it made the experience somehow even more intensely satisfying. Was that why Class Five Sentients commanded such high status and prices? Because we could feel everything just as if we were pure humans? Did that turn the owner on more than if we were one of the expertly crafted virtual reality type machines that were readily available at a fraction of the cost?
"You can work here in the kitchens this morning, Alana," stated Callis, strolling up until he was standing right next to me. "Do you good to do some proper work, I think. Make sure that she doesn't slack off, Georgia!"
"I'll keep her working hard, Callis," commented a tall, dark-haired lady who was busy tossing some vegetables in a frying pan.
"Good. You have my permission to discipline her if she doesn't work hard or if she answers back!" Callis added before he picked up a nectarine and wandered out of the room.
"You can begin at the bottom, girl. There's a mountain of vegetables to start peeling over on the side there so you can stop your daydreaming and get on with it!" snapped the cook, grinning at the discomfiture on my face at the idea. I took a last bite of my apple then threw it into the bin before I stood up and went over to the long, wooden counter and started to peel the pile of carrots. It was a mind-numbing job and one I was unaccustomed to as well. Having been brought up as the daughter of a senator and then transformed into a potential pleasure machine, nobody had ever thought to teach me how to peel a carrot. Fortunately, it was hardly difficult although I did slice into my skin on a couple of occasions early on before I got the hang of it. However I was, to say the least, slow and there was still a veritable mound of carrots to be attended to when the cook wandered over and stood by my side watching me intently for a few seconds.
"At this rate, you'll still be peeling when it's dinner time, girl!" she snapped and then laughed as I dropped the carrot in my hand when she smacked me hard with the large wooden spoon in her hand. "You've got half an hour to finish them all or I'll be using this on your arse!"
I bit back a retort and concentrated on peeling but it was a hopeless task and there were still quite a few carrots scattered around when she returned at the end of the allotted time.
"A slight improvement in speed but not enough to get them all done, girl. Right, over the bench with you and let's warm those pretty arse cheeks up to encourage you to put more effort into peeling the potatoes which is going to be your next task!"
I thought about refusing. I scanned the kitchen but there was only one exit and one of the other kitchen maids was in front of it. Where would I run to anyway? The futility of escaping sank in and I turned and bent over the bench, heart pounding faster as I waited to be punished. I bit back a whimper of shamed embarrassment as Georgia pulled my thin shift up to my waist then folded it neatly over my bent back before the slightly rough wood of her spoon pressed against my resilient flesh.
"You can get on with your jobs, Ayesha, or you'll be next! Clean the floor properly and keep an eye on the soup while I attend to this useless skivvy's bottom."