Willing Slave Unwilling Master

Hey all, thanks for the simply staggering level of support for the last chapter. I've found a proofreader since I last posted who I'm looking forward to working with through to the completion of this story.

Enjoy.

———

Rose.

I wake in a daze, the room still dark. It must not be time to get up. Groggily I reach out, searching for one of my sisters to cuddle with. But the bed is empty, in fact it's not even my bed. My eyes snap open, heart racing as I remember I am in my Master's room. Carefully I run my fingers over the dimly illuminated panel, randomly pressing buttons that I hope will turn on a light.

Suddenly I'm blinded by the bright morning sunlight that streams through the now crystal clear skylights and window. At the same time I hear a booming voice shatter the silence.

"This is western hub public radio saying a good morning to all our loyal listeners-"

Eyes stinging from the brightness I try desperately to focus on the panel. Thankfully the controls don't appear to be that much different from one of the education tablets I'm used to using and I'm quickly able to silence the voice. Collapsing back into the pillows I breathe hard, struggling to get my blood to stop thundering in my ears. Thank the eternal stars that Master was not here to witness this catastrophe, or my rump would be red raw for sure.

With my pulse back under control and able to see a little more clearly I sit up, eyeing the control panel which shows the time and date. I suddenly feel sick, it's past nine am! Master is going to kill me! I'm about to leap out of bed, fully intending to find my owner and start begging at his feet for forgiveness when something soft brushes against my arm.

I look down into a pair of amber eyes. The creature blinks at me, before displaying a terrifying collection of teeth as it yawns. Acting on instinct more than sense I dive back under the covers, screaming in panic at what the small fluffy abomination plans to do with me.

A few short moments after my lungs are empty I hear heavy footsteps outside the room.

"Rose!" The covers are torn away, I catch a glimpse of my Master before panic takes over and I tuck my head under my arm, not wanting to see the disappointment on his face.

"What's wrong with her?" A female voice, that doesn't belong to Emily, asks.

"I have no idea! Rose! Rose what's wrong?"

I don't trust myself to speak, instead I gesture to the end of the bed. Almost at once the covers are lifted and my bare legs are exposed to the cool air. "There's nothing there Rose. Are you in pain?" there's concern in his voice.

"She will be if she doesn't give us a sensible answer in a minute." The other girl in the room says impatiently.

"Be quite Jez," Master snaps, placing a warm hand my upper arm. "Rose, no one is going to hurt you, I promise. Will you please tell us why you're so upset?"

The sensation of his touch reminds me of my sisters, they would be disappointed to see me acting this way. Slowly I sit up, eyes fixed ashamedly on my knees.

"There was an animal, Master, it frightened me. I apologise for my foolish outburst."

"You screamed the house down because you saw a cat?" The girl says fiercely.

My cheeks burn as I nod, yes, that's exactly what I did. I'm such a fool.

Looking up at the girl in the doorway I'm startled by the anger etched in her otherwise attractive face. She must be my Master's sister, the resemblance is just too uncanny. She doesn't dress like her brother though, her outfit seems be made from an old form fitting space suit, but cut in such way to make it utterly useless in any kind of vacuum. In fact I'm not sure such a garment is entirely actable outside of a pleasure house.

Catching me looking she snarls, "Eyes down slave."

I comply immediately, shuffling a little closer to my Master, who sits downside me on the bed. Gently tucking a strand of my unkempt morning hair behind my ear, he uses his thumb to guide my face away from him. "Jezebel, look how beautiful her markings are."

My heart flutters, all concern for the morning's events and the angry sister momentarily evaporating. Master likes my markings! He thinks they are beautiful!

The girl's grumpy expression vanishes as she studies me, I make sure to hold perfectly still. After a long few seconds of silent inspection she smiles. "She's cute little brother, I'll give you that."

"That she is." He smiles at me proudly, "Rose, this is my sister Jezebel."

"Good morning Mistress." I say quickly, not wanting to anger her again.

Mistress Jezebel grunts a good morning before unfolding her tablet and sitting on the end of the bed to tap away. I feel the back of Masters fingers softly brush my cheek, I turn to look at his warm and happy face.

"I suppose I should have told you what a cat was last night." He says, looking half amused, half guilty.

"I've seen pictures of cats Master." I reply, "But never a real one. I always thought that animals like that lived on farms or in zoos."

"Well it sometimes feels like we are living in a zoo." he smirks, "On the upside that's the fastest I've seen Barnaby move for years. Don't worry Rose, you'll get used to him."

I nod, though I'm not so sure about that. Those teeth are going to give me nightmares for weeks.

With a last pat of my arm Master stands up, straightening his tie. I would never voice it aloud but in my opinion my owner is dressed much more respectfully than his sister. I'm proud it's him I belong to.

"Jez, I need a favour."

"No."

"You're going shopping anyway!" Master protests, "Just take Rose with you and help her pick out some clothes."

My stomach lurches, he's going to send me out with her? How will I know which clothes to choose?

Master picks up on my brewing panic and places a hand gently on my arm. "Hush Rose, I have to go to school today and I can't have you half naked now, can I?"

I've been fully naked for most of my life, other than when the compound became truly freezing. And for the last year not even then. I don't think I fully understand the appeal of clothes, but if Master desires to see me dressed then I will wear whatever he gives me proudly.

"And who's paying for this? You have any idea how much a GPS tracked collar is?" Jezebel moans.

"I'll pay, but no collar. She's not having one." Master says with a cold finality.

I look down quickly. Of course with an outburst like this morning Master isn't going to want to place his collar on me. I'm a disappointment to him. I want to throw myself at his feet and beg for another chance to prove myself, to earn my collar today rather than live with uncertainty for stars know how long.

"Fine." Jezebel smirks, "I would have thought you would want to take your new toy to school, show her off to that little cult of yours."

"I will take her, eventually. She can offer valuable insight." Master's nods at me approvingly before his happy look falters, "I'm just not sure how to explain to an anti-slave society that I now own a slave."

To my surprise Master's sister gives him a sympathetic look. "Well they're your friends' right? They will understand, especially if you say Dad gave you no choice."

Brother and sister share a look that I sometimes shared with my siblings, one of understanding and love.

"Don't worry little brother." Jezebel says brightly, grabbing my arm, "You'll be fine, and so will she. I'll take good care of her, you have my word."

Master looks at the both of us for a long moment, before smiling and hurrying out of the room. I look up at my Mistress for the day, hoping beyond hope that she keeps her word.

— — —

Dan

"You're joking right? You have to be. Because I didn't just fucking hear that."

"Claire." I protest meekly, looking away as one of my best friends glares at me with nothing but contempt.

"It's pretty crappy of you dude." Jasper adds unhelpfully, his arms folded across his broad chest.

I would be lying if I said the reactions of my friends surprised me, we are after all the West Hub Anti-slavery society. Or 'we' were. I'm not so sure how much longer my position as campaign manager is going to last.

The only person amongst our group of four friends yet to say anything is Theo, I turn to him in silent prayer that I can escape this with at least one friend. He blinks at me slowly, Theo does everything slowly. Including reaching an opinion.

"I suppose it's better her being with Dan, than lost to somebody who would abuse her." He says at last, flicking some fluff off his skinny jeans with a great deal more focus than he's giving us.

"We're anti slave!" Clare retorts, her ginger hair escaping it's bun at an alarming rate. "You understand that word right? It means we don't own slaves! Apart from apparently now you do." She turns her withering gaze back to me.

"I wasn't given a choice!" I protest.

"You don't seem that upset about it though." Jasper says, pushing his long black fringe out of his face with a chubby hand. "Is she pretty?" He asks coldly.

"What has that got to do with anything?" I reply, a sick feeling forming in my stomach as I catch on to where this conversation is going.

"So that's a yes then." Claire snorts. "Poor girl, I feel sorry for her honestly."

I don't reply. Is this really what my friends think of me? That I would throw away everything I've worked for for years because of a pretty face. I seethe, letting the silence wash over me.

"So are we kicking Dan out?" Theo asks, always direct to the heart of the matter.

"I don't know." Claire says after a while, her voice much softer. "It's always been the four of us since primary school." She shrugs helplessly, looking to Jasper for his opinion.

"We've never had a Lower Vil we could actually talk to. Perhaps it would be useful to have someone around who better understands what it's like to be a slave." Like Claire he shrugs noncommittally. "And I guess if you really didn't have a choice Dan..." He trails off and relief floods my chest. Would my reaction really have been any different if any of them had told me they owned a slave? I doubt it.

"Good, that's settled." Theo says, picking up his pen. "I shall add it to the minutes."

The ridiculousness of that statement slowly filters into our emotionally charged minds. Jasper is the first to crack, and soon we are all bursting with laughter. Theo, who normally ignores us anyway, redoubles his efforts.

— — —

Rose

Keeping your eyes fixed to the floor in a grey corridor is easy, there's nothing to look at anyway. But here in the real world with a million different sounds and smells, with vivid colours and vibrant lights it's almost impossible. I don't even realise I've stopped again until I feel the back of my dress being lifted followed by a hard slap on my bare bottom.

"Sorry Mistress!" I squeak.

"Yes, I've heard." Master's sister says, her voice cold. "Turn around slave."

I do as I'm told, silently cursing myself for being so easily distracted. I try desperately to recall my lessons, they taught us not let sudden sounds or movements draw our gaze, to block out the rest of the world and focus on our owners. But how can anyone not notice the way the sunlight sparkles in a cascade of falling fountain water? Or the huge spaceship, as big as a warehouse yet able to drift into the sky as if it were nothing more than an errant cloud.

"You know, you're just like my brother when he was kid." She says, and I can tell from the way she shifts her feet she's rummaging around in her bag. "He was forever running off and getting lost, especially in places like this." The chill seems to have fled her voice as she reminisces. "'Course there's something I can do to you that I could never do to him."

Whip me? Spank me? My mind boggles at the myriad of punishments an owner might use. I close my eyes as mistress draws closer, not wanting to know what she's about to do to me. Something cold and hard falls heavily around my throat, followed by a loud click that causes me to wince. Tentatively I open my eyes only to find a thin leather leash stretching from my neck to Mistresses perfectly manicured hand.

"Right, now come on. I didn't actually intend to shop for anyone other than me today." Before I have a chance to answer she yanks the leash, causing the leather to bite into my flesh. I hasten to follow her as we wander further into a world of wonder I'm forbidden to see.

I manage to keep myself under control, seeing little more than grey concrete, white marble and finally plush carpet before finally being stood on a slightly raised disc in the centre of a room. Luckily mistress gives me permission to look up before my curiosity can get me into yet more trouble. The round room is in equal parts incredible and confusing, routinely spaced along the walls are columns of tiny glass lenses and directly in front of me is a very large mirror.

Reflected in the mirror I can see not only myself in the slightly baggy violet dress but Mistress and a silver haired Lower Vil in deep conversation. I can't see the girl's owner though, perhaps she is lost and is asking my temporary mistress for help? I shudder to think what I would do in such a situation.

"Take off your clothes." Jezebel says sternly, folding her arms across her chest.

More than happy to return to the familiar comfort of nakedness I pull of the dress, handing it over to Lower Vil girl who quickly returns to Jezebel's side. I return to my own reflection, I wonder if Master likes me this thin or if he will want me to gain some weight? I'm so caught up in my thoughts that it takes me a moment to realise something has changed. My reflection is now fully clothed.

I look down at myself quickly, but no, still naked. My mirror self still acts exactly as reflection should, even the clothes she is wearing behave as they would were they real. I blink a few times and begin to take note of the clothes she's, or rather I'm wearing. Plain black trousers and a white long sleeve shirt. I hope Mistress does not chose these, they don't show off my markings at all!

"Ugh, sweet stars no. I've seen more interesting librarians" Mistress says, "Let's start with lingerie and work from there shall we?"

"Of course madam, any preference?" The slave asks.

They continue to speak but I quickly lose interest. The small lacy garments all look equally pointless to me, it's not like my Master will even see them for a majority of the time. Still, judging by her taste in underwear I'm a little more hopeful that she will chose outer clothes to suitably show off my body.

After what feels like a long time and about a million different combinations of clothes Master's sister seems happy and leaves me alone with the silver haired slave, who hands me back my dress with a small smile.

"Where's your owner?" I ask before I can stop myself.

She places a finger to her lips and answers softly, "My master collects me at the end of the work day."

"You spend all day without him?" I ask, a little stunned. I always assumed that I would be by my Master's side near constantly, and none of the wardens at the compound ever gave the impression that my assumption was wrong.

"Yes, now hush before you get us both in trouble."

Mistress returns with arms full of bags which she promptly hands to me. "You know playing dress up with you is more fun than I thought it would be." She says apparently to herself. "I will have to see if Dan will let me borrow you."

I follow her dutifully out of the amazing room, but not before receiving a small sympathetic smile from the slave whose name I never had the chance to find out.

— — —

Dan

I stand up as soon as I hear Rose walk through the door, throwing my tablet and half completed homework aside. She looks completely shattered, but her face lights up when she sees me. I'm pleased to see my sister has found her a violet summer dress to wear, but less pleased when I notice she's lashed a leash around the girl's neck.

"Did you have fun shopping?" I ask, trying to reign in my frustration as I take the shopping bags from her hands.

"Yes Master, Mistress Jezebel picked out clothes that show off my markings." Her cheeks blush pink and she looks at her feet. "You said you liked my markings Master."

"I do, I like them very much." I say, struggling to untie the leash. "Did you get underwear as well? And something to wear at night?"

"Yes Master." She replies, positioning her head to give me better access to the catch.

"I'm sorry my sister did this to you." I continue, growling as I finally get the accursed leash off and am confronted with the red marks it left behind.

Rose blinks up at me confusedly. "A Lower Vil wears a leash in public Master..." She trails off, wincing.

"Not you," I protest, "I don't want that for you."

"Yes Master." She replies simply, confusion written all over her face.

"Rose, if you had the choice, would you like to be free?"

She looks up at me, green eyes wide with alarm before violently shaking her head. The only sound to come out of her mouth being a sort of whimpered squeak.

"Why?" To my mind every sentient being wishes to be free, at least on some level. Then again, she could be too scared to tell me the truth.

My curiosity turns to horror as I watch a fat tear roll down her cheek. "I don't want to be free Master." She says desperately. "Please don't make me!"

"Shhh," I coo, disgusted at myself for making her cry. "I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do, ok?"

She nods mutely, but still her tears continue to leave glistening tracks down her cheeks.

"I want to hug you," I say slowly, "But I only if it's something you would enjoy?"

The question seems to throw her off guard, with a sniff she looks up at me and nods, her tears for the moment abated. "Yes Master, I like to cuddle."

Gently with exaggerated care I pull Rose into a gentle hug. At first she stiffens in my arms, before leaning into me, gently rubbing her cheek against my shirt. "I was going to watch a documentary, it'll probably be really boring for you." I gulp before ploughing on. "But you're welcome to - I mean if you want to - would you like to watch it with me?" I sound like a complete idiot.

She nods quickly, "Yes Master!"

Rose seems reluctant to pull away from the hug, it's kinda cute. I smile as I sit down, expecting her to plonk down next to me and immediately resume the cuddle. Instead she kneels at my feet, her back perfectly straight and her eyes downcast. I suppose in hindsight I should have seen that coming.

It takes a little coaxing to get her onto the sofa, it's fascinating and a little depressing watching someone sit on a piece of furniture for the first time in their lives. She arranges herself with her legs tucked under her bum, leaning against the armrest as far away from me as possible. Assuming she wants her own space I start to flick with available shows with a sweep of my fingers.

Her head flickers up every now and then while I search, her eyes burning into the side of my head every few seconds. With a creeping suspicion about what she wants I pat the pillow beside me, much like you would do to encourage a cat. Rose doesn't need much encouragement however and she quickly cuddles up against my side, her head resting against my chest.

I stroke her back while using the gesture controls to select the correct stream. Rose apparently has no interest whatsoever in watching the documentary, as she pointedly positions her back to the screen and closes her eyes.

"You don't want to watch?" I ask curiously.

She shrugs.

"Suit yourself." I say, flicking play on the history of twenty second century Earth.

...

Rose

Master is confusing, one moment he is talking about freeing me the next he is hugging me as if we were sisters. Not that I mind the cuddles, not at all, his body is warm and comfortable and the way his strong arms hold me, as if I was something precious he doesn't want to lose!