The Trikingdom Ch 07

"Yech!" Duchess Careena Galin muttered under her breath. She was starting to get used to the masculine voice that sounded whenever she spoke and the large, pudgy hands that held the half rotten fruit in front of her. The market in Remar was much larger than the one in Genoise, but because of the heat a lot of the food was spoiled. She was having a tough time locating good fruit for her lunch. She and Zella had come to the market to find something to eat. She had gone in search of fruit while she had sent the young slave woman in search of a good loaf of bread.

Her mind darkened in shame when she thought of the young woman and the way she had treated her the night before. When she had woken up in the morning and viewed the poor woman sleeping beside her, she felt so upset with herself that she began to cry and try to blubber an apology. Zella had, of course, been confused and disturbed by the apology.

Careena had gone on to promise it would never happen again, and tried to explain to her what her life would be like once they left Remar. This had confused and frightened Zella more. Careena stopped like she had done the previous day and left her alone for a time. When it came time for lunch she decided they should try the market instead of an eatery.

She started to head in the direction her young slave had gone to see if she had fared any better in finding something to eat. She spotted Zella several stalls away, but she wasn't bartering or looking at bread. The young woman was talking to three guards, and from her hand gestures Careena was able to discern that she was describing the body that she possessed.

Zella's back was to her so the slave didn't see her. The duchess started walking their direction inconspicuously in order to hear their conversation. She was able to get close enough to hear Zella describe to the guards some of the things she had been telling her. Careena knew that the ideas she had been trying to impress on the slave were illegal in Remar and that the penalty for breaking those laws was death. The Remarians couldn't take the chance of their slave population becoming infected with ideas of freedom.

The duchess thought it would be wise to quietly slip away before they noticed her and figure out where she could hide. She cursed herself for trusting that Zella would keep all that transpired between them to herself. In hindsight she should have realized the turmoil the young woman was in from her reactions. It was a mistake that could cost her her life.

She was heading away, casting furtive looks back every few seconds to see if she had been noticed. She wasn't for several seconds, but then she turned her head and Zella was looking straight at her and pointing. One of the guards stayed with her, while the other two took off in pursuit of Careena.

Careena forgo stealth and took off running. The market was crowded and it was difficult in her bulky body to navigate through the people. She spied a less crowded street and ducked down it. She chanced a look behind her and saw that the guards were catching up to her. Not only was it more difficult to squeeze through the crowds, but she was also quickly becoming winded. Perhaps an overweight, old man wasn't the best disguise after all.

The Duchess was soon lost in her haste and unfamiliarity with the city. She just continued to run and was glad that no other guards had joined the pursuit. After a few seconds she smelled the dockside. She followed her nose, hoping to lose her pursuers in the more diverse crowd from the docked ships.

Soon she was among them, and her clothing and bearing didn't stand out so much anymore. But the guards kept pursuing; it was easy enough for them to follow the disturbance she was creating. Careena decided she was going to have to hide somehow.

She smelt burnt wood and realized she was closing in on the damaged section of the docks. This was bad because the area was largely deserted, but it gave her an idea. She spotted a crowded brothel up ahead and headed towards it. Men were milling all about the door perusing the women inside. She pushed through them and made it look like she entered the establishment.

She never turned around to see if her gambit worked, but when she entered the burned out section of the docks she didn't hear any pursuit. If she were to continue in this direction she would eventually wind up in near the estates of the wealthiest merchants in the city, but she stopped and hunkered down in a burned out building that had a window, now devoid of glass, that was right on the water.

She quickly began to remove her clothing, remaining as low as she could to avoid any eyes. At last she was naked and she hesitated a moment before removing the magic ring that her brother had given her. As the ring left the last bit of her finger she felt her body jolt and change. It almost dropped her to her knees. She shoved the ring in the pocket of her trousers, and then used the arms of her shirt to tie all her clothes in a bundle. She stood quietly and tossed the bundle into the ocean. She didn't look, but she heard a slight splash as it hit the water.

She stealthily left the abandoned building and was back on the street. She started walking back towards the brothels with her head down like the slaves did. The first people who she saw on the street were the two guards walking toward her. They had obviously fallen for her ruse at the brothel and were now walking and breathing heavily.

Her palms were sweating as they neared, but she knew there was no way they could identify her as the fat merchant, but if they looked closely enough they would realize she was no slave.

"Slave! Have you seen an old, overweight foreigner running in this direction?" one of the guards asked.

"Yes sir," she answered quietly. "He passed just a moment ago."

"Did he say anything," the guard asked grabbing her by the arm tightly.

"No sir, nothing at all," she replied.

The other guard grunted and started walking up the road in pursuit of the man, but the one holding her arm looked at her critically.

"My, but you're a pretty thing," he said, his demeanor suddenly changed.

"Rafi! We don't have time for this," his companion complained as he turned to look what was taking so long. "Besides, look at her. She probably belongs to someone very wealthy and very powerful. You'd find your head on a pole if you laid a finger on her."

Rafi cursed and let her go and started following his friend. Careena didn't change her pace as she started walking back towards the brothels even though she had the urge to run. She didn't have a full plan yet, but she was going to have to find some way out of this city, and the most likely place to find aid in that task was the estate her husband had been lent for his stay.

***

Night had fallen on Remar and the duchess lay shivering in one of the burnt out buildings on the dock. She had returned here after an unsuccessful day trying to find help. She had approached her husband's estate hoping to see a friendly, discreet face, but no one had come or gone except for the Remarian ambassador and his party.

She could see the duke's guards posted at the door, be she didn't dare get close enough for any of them to identify her. She didn't want to cause an incident that could ruin the negotiations and she wasn't sure what the repercussions would be for her presence in the city. She doubted they would execute her but she was certain it would ruin any chance of a treaty. If the guards saw her, she wasn't sure they would be able to keep quiet about her being there.

She shivered. It was cold, especially naked. One thing she was thankful for was the lack of people. At home in Genoise, buildings like the one she was in would become occupied with the homeless until they were torn down. There were no homeless in Remar as far as she could see. In Remar, a smart man put his slave to work for him, and a smarter man didn't need to work at all.

The city was full of free labor and they put it to good use in their houses, fields, and brothels. Remar had become a destination city for wealthy men and sailing merchants. It disturbed her when she realized that a lot of the men spending coin in this city would have been making visits to hers in years past. The brothels alone were enough to draw men like bees to honey. There was no way outlawing prostitution in Genoise was a wise idea. Remar was proving that.

But they couldn't allow slavery either. The men of Remar had turned their women into something less than human, and Careena believed that no one had the right to do that to another person. Everyone has the right to decide for themselves what they want to make of their life, whether that is as a prostitute, a merchant, or a farmer.

She also noticed that the men of this city had grown complacent about certain things. In Genoise she would never have gotten away, but the guards here were so poorly trained and out of shape it was relatively easy. They had a hard time chasing her down, even though she had been in the body of an old, overweight man, and they didn't call for aid. They relied so much on their slaves to do the work that they had forgotten what hard work was. She sat up with a start as she realized why her husband specifically had been asked to come to Remar.

She slowly lowered herself back down and shivered in the cold night. She wished she had a blanket. Despite the warm days it grew cold at night and she was without a stitch of clothing. She would spend as much time as she could near the estate entrance in the morning. Now she had information she needed to share with them as well as needing their help.

***

Kalas woke up the same way he had the morning before; feeling the sensations of a warm, wet mouth sucking on his cock and balls. He blearily opened his eyes and looked down at Lina who was cleaning the remnants from their past night's session from his growing organ. The young slave seemed to delight in this work and went about it enthusiastically. He was glad that she was happy.

He no longer had any guilt about using her body. He was in Remar, and was following their customs as they would be expected to follow the customs of his people if they visited the Trikingdom. He was a little concerned about what he was going to do with her once they returned to Genoise. He supposed he ought to let his wife try to "rehabilitate" the slave to free her from her need to please her Master. For now he would treat her as the Remarians treated all of their slaves.

He placed a hand on her plush bottom to let her know that he was awake. She attacked his cock with renewed vigor, hoping to get a load of his cum before he needed to be out of bed. He felt the cheeks of her bottom slide against each other as she worked and he dipped a finger between the two fleshy mounds. He ran his finger lightly along the crevice between them until it encountered the rubbery hole of her anus. He pressed against it, feeling the elasticity of her back passage. He had yet to take Lina there and promised himself that he would do it that night when he had time to do it properly.

She pressed her ass back against his finger, encouraging him to push it into her hole. He did and was surprised at how easily the tip passed through her sphincter. But then her anus clamped down around the digit and it was held fast. It was like his finger was held in a vice and he had no doubt that if she wanted she could hold him there indefinitely if she wanted. The image of having to follow her around all day with his finger stuck in her ass flashed through his head, but he knew she was just demonstrating the control she had over that particular orifice.

As if to emphasize her point she began sucking hard on his cock as if trying to squeeze the cum out of it. If she kept it up she was going to get her wish. Kalas was gasping in pleasure as she sucked harder and harder as her mouth went up the length of his cock, and then the pressure was released as her mouth quickly descended. Each time she came down, her lips touched his stomach and balls, and the end of his cock sank down her throat. She never gagged once and he was amazed that she could have enough concentration to do such a complicated task while she still held his finger tight with her sphincter.

The end result, of course, was that the duke's cock discharged it's load down the young slave's throat like a rocket. She stopped moving and sucked harder as his organ pulsed in her mouth as if she were sucking a thick drink through a straw. As his orgasm subsided she ran her tongue along the underside of the sensitive head to clean any last remnants of cum, causing the duke to shiver at the sensation. Finally, she released both cock and finger simultaneously and smiled at her Master.

"Did you enjoy that Master?" she asked. Since Kalas had started treating her like a real slave she had grown comfortable enough with him to know when it was all right to start a conversation.

"Yes, of course," he sighed, "but tonight I'd like to try it in reverse, with my finger in your mouth and my cock in your ass."

Lina shivered at his words and Kalas had the distinct impression that she was having her own orgasm at the thought. "That would be wonderful Master," she managed to gasp, and then Kalas was certain she was cumming. She truly seemed to derive pleasure from pleasing him.

After he was dressed he went in search of Cilas Grantham to discover what was on their agenda for the day, but the squirrely man seemed to be out. Kalas scowled and wondered where the man was always running off to. After the questioning last night about the trader who had been a passenger on the same ship as them he would have preferred if they all remained in the estate for the rest of their stay, but he knew that was impractical. He would have a talk with Cilas when he returned to make sure he was staying out of trouble.

***

Careena shadowed Cilas from a distance trying to look as if she were headed in a specific direction. She had almost jumped for joy when the steward had emerged from the estate. She had to resist the urge to rush up to him. He headed towards the docks and the brothels and she felt it would be better to approach him there. It might seem like she were offering him her services which would garner little attention in that quarter of the city.

Cilas seemed to meander a bit though and it took him a while to reach the brothels. He slowed down and perused the women on display, which allowed Careena to circle around him and approach him from the front. He was busy ogling several young slaves and didn't notice her until she was a foot away from him.

"My La....goodness!" he exclaimed, almost shouting. At least he had enough presence of mind to correct himself before he gave her away.

She quickly closed the gap between him and tried to look seductive as she whispered in his ear. "Please stay calm Cilas, and lead me toward the merchant quarter by the arm. There's an inn I know there where we can get a room and talk in private."

He took her arm in his hand. "Come along slave," he said, trying to sound annoyed. The duchess was actually proud of the man and his ability to improvise under what must be startling conditions for him.

She was able to direct him to the inn where she had rented the room while posing as the old merchant. The innkeeper was a little leery about renting to another foreigner since the city guard had turned one of his rooms inside out because of the last one, but Cilas offered him more gold for the room.

"I'll let you have a discount if you let me spend a couple hours with your lovely slave," the innkeeper said as Cilas forked over the gold.

Cilas scowled and told the man to keep his hands off and stomped up to the room pushing the duchess in front of him. Once up in the room she tore the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around herself, thankful to cover her nakedness at last.

Cilas paced back and forth across the room as she took a seat on a corner of the bed. If she didn't know it was him she wouldn't have recognized him. Gone was the jittery man who could barely look her in the eye. In front of her stood a confident man who seemed more than a little annoyed at her presence. The stark change confused and scared her.

"Before you lecture me on how many laws I've broken, and the damage I could do to the negotiations, let me explain how this happened," she said.

Cilas looked at her and nodded and she told him the whole tale, leaving nothing out. He paced back and forth the entire time forcing her to turn her head to follow him. He seemed so lost in thought that she suspected he might not be paying her his full attention, but when her tale ended he turned and faced her.

"Well, that answers the question of the missing merchant," he said thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "I thought he might be a spy or agent since his disappearance seemed so complete."

"Do you know what happened to my slave, Zella?" she asked fretfully.

"They're holding her in custody until they can arrange an execution. I believe they're waiting for the Duke to leave," he said offhandedly.

"We must save her!" the duchess cried.

"Our first priority is to get you out of the city, My Lady. Saving a slave is secondary," he informed her. She was about to protest but Cilas cut her off. "Which do you think is worse duchess: a long life of slavery, or a quick, painless death?"

Careena didn't relish the thought of either one, but she got his point. Zella was no worse off than she would have been had someone else bought her. But still, she felt responsible for the young slave's life.

Cilas stood rubbing his chin for several moments before he suddenly got a determined look on his face. "I have a few ideas, but I must go. Your husband, the duke, will be looking for me soon and there are a few items I will need to procure. Stay in the room and get some rest, and don't open the door for anyone."

Careena watched the wiry man leave before she could say anything more. He seemed to pause at the door and she watched in amazement as he resumed the posture and air of the Cilas Grantham she knew before the door closed. She curled up on the bed and promised herself she would just close her eyes for a moment, but exhaustion overwhelmed her and she was soon fast asleep.

***

When Careena woke it was dark and everything was quiet. She searched for whatever it was that had caused her to come awake and she sensed movement by the door. She sat bolt upright and was prepared to start screaming but Cilas's voice reassured her. "It's me, Cilas Grantham, My Lady."

She relaxed instantly and Cilas lit a candle so that they could see. Even in the dim light she could tell that it was the more assured Cilas she was facing. He rolled out a collection of things from a bundle on the table. "I have been able to come up with two options," he began. "Both of them have their drawbacks. One of them will impact you greatly, My Lady, while the other could impact us all."

He paused and looked at her to make sure she was paying attention. "The first option is for me to march you up to the estate and present you to the duke as a slave. I would, of course, tell him and everyone in our party first so that no one is surprised by your arrival. The problem is that there are Remarian guards in the estate as well as our own, and one mistaken word could have us all set for execution."

"It would also ruin the negotiations," the duchess replied. "I will not risk the lives of so many, and the interests of our kingdom. What is the other alternative?"

"To fabricate your sale to a wealthy man in the Trikingdoms," he replied. "You would be taken by a trading vessel on its route from here to Coderra. The ship would have you there long before the rest of us even left."

"That sounds like a good plan," she said, but Cilas was shaking his head.