Chapter
5: The Leash
Ayden
is startled awake from her dream by the voices all around her. She momentarily forgets where she is and bolts
straight up in bed, her head smashing against the cold metal cage. Her eyes pop open and there, standing before
her, is a woman and two small children.
Ayden squeals. The younger girl
is startled and begins to cry; clutching and hiding behind her mother’s leg. Ayden’s mind begins to clear waking from the
deep sleep. Feeling her hands still
bound to the cage helps her start to remember where she is and what has
happened to her. The blush rises in her
cheeks. She mutters her feeble apologies
and pleads with the small girl not to cry.
Then Laothoe’s smiling face appears above her. “Good morning, Babygirl. Did you sleep well?”
She
cautiously looks from Laothoe, to the frightened child and her mother, and back
to Laothoe again. She worries what the
mother will think of her bound and caged, calling this kindly old man her
Master. She murmurs, “Yes, Master
Hunter,” while watching carefully for the mother’s reaction, but to Ayden’s
surprise the mother simply smiles politely.
The
older girl whispers to her mother, “She is very pretty. Can we get her?”
Laothoe
pats the child on the head and answers before the mother has a chance to reply,
“No dear, she is not for sale or loan. I
am sorry.” The child pouts, sticks her out
tongue at Ayden, and sulks off to a man who is standing near the work bench.
The
mother does her best to apologize to Laothoe making excuses for children being
head strong and impulsive. She
compliments Laothoe on his fine vessel submissive and gathers the small crying
child into her arms to sooth her.
Laothoe
nods, agreeing with the mother, commenting on how pleased he is to have Ayden
for his own. Ayden knows that she should
not be, but hearing Master Hunter and the mother’s words makes her suddenly
aware of how proud she is of her place in the cage. Careful this time not to hit her head she
shields it with her hand when she sits up a little taller.
The
older girl whispers in the ear of her father who is bent over listening to her
carefully. Ayden watches her warily and
wonders what the little imp could be plotting. The gentleman looks at Ayden and nods to his
daughter. He straightens and turning
back to the bench he picks up a beautiful pocket watch rolling it over in his
hands, examining it. It has an intricate
gold chain and the cover depicts an ancient sailing ship being lured into the
rough sea by a beautiful siren. He looks
to Laothoe and in a smooth clear voice says, “This will do very nicely.” He looks at his feet and clears his throat
fumbling for the words, “My daughter tells me you do not wish to part with your
vessel sub, but I am prepared to double your pay for this fine piece of
craftsmanship if you will include the girl.
It is more than a fair offer.”
Laothoe
nods at the man, “It is indeed, more than fair, but as I have told your lovely
wife and young daughter the girl is not for sale and I will not be putting her
out for lease either. You have a lovely
family and I am sure that you could care for her very well, but she is staying
right here.” Turning in Ayden’s
direction, Master Hunter continues, “Tell the nice family who owns you please.”
Dipping
her head and lowering her gaze she demurely answers, “You do, Master
Hunter.” And he rewards her with a broad
smile.
“You
see Sir, my girl knows her place,” Laothoe says smugly and somewhat pointedly
to the man while watching the older daughter reach across the work bench towards
the green gem that has been encased in scrolls of delicate gold and is laying
out awaiting delivery. He quickly scolds her, “Young lady I will have to ask you
to leave that where it is.” The girl snatches her hand away quickly hiding the
sticky fingers behind her back as she smiles innocently up at her father who is
already rolling his eyes.
“Triple
it,” implores the gentleman with determination.
“No,
I am sorry Sir,” Laothoe says firmly as he unbinds Ayden’s hands and opens the
door to the cage. He motions for her to
step out. Ayden slides both of her feet
out before her and lands between Laothoe and the mother. Laothoe leans in and kisses her on the cheek
wishing her a good morning, again, and whispers almost silently in her ear, “I
want you to show this family how respectful you are by crawling today.”
His
words in her ear bring her great delight.
Only a few days ago if someone had asked her to crawl they would have
needed a very good reason, but suddenly hearing it is his desire to see her on
her hands and knees makes Ayden feel elated. She immediately bends forward and
drops to the floor at his feet. Laothoe’s
smile broadens as the little girl is placed on the floor beside her and she
begins to squeal. The toddler suddenly
leans in and licks Ayden on the arm before the mother can snatch her back up into
her arms again.
“Mom,”
the older girl begins to whine, “why does Pearl get to lick her. I did not get to.”
“Hush,
dear, come outside with me and let your father finish his business, “ the
mother quickly scolds as she takes the girl’s hand and guides both children out
of the shop and back onto the pier.
With
his family out of the shop the gentleman grows a bit more bold and moves closer
to Ayden. He lets the pocket watch sway
slowly on the end of the chain until it is resting on the small of Ayden’s
back. She fights the urge to flinch
against the sudden cold moving across her skin.
Slowly the watch slides down her spine and over her bikini bottom. The watch plays over the fabric, circling the
firm bundles hidden below. Ayden holds
her breath looking up at Laothoe for guidance, but he is standing in front of
her with his arms folded and is smiling contentedly down at her. She does not move as the cold metal of the
watch drops down and brushes against the soft flesh of her inner thigh. The gentleman lets out a low throaty sound
that seems to be a moan as he asks Laothoe one more time, “Will you please
reconsider? The children do not need
much care, so I could put her to use in the house as well. Name your price; any price.”
“I
am sorry but you will have to settle for taking home just the pocket watch
today,” Laothoe replies with clear resolve.
The
man nods to Laothoe and pays for the new watch.
He looks back pensively at Ayden before reluctantly leaving the shop and
joining his family where they have wandered down to play on the beach.
Laothoe
looks down to Ayden and asks, “Do you think you are ready to go for a little
walk to see the sights of our lovely town?”
Feeling
a little bewildered by the morning’s visitors Ayden merely nods absently as she
watches the gentleman retreat across the sand.
When she finally turns her attention back she sees Laothoe, piqued,
watching her silently. He is standing
near the work bench with his arms crossed and is tapping his foot impatiently. She quickly gulps out, “Yes, Master Hunter,
that sounds like a lovely idea.” She
steals one last glance at the peculiar family on the beach and crawls to where Master
Hunter is waiting. She leans in and
gently kisses the toe of his tapping foot, which stills. She sits at his feet, the way he taught her
to kneel the day before. She positions
herself on her heels with her palms facing up, slightly resting on her knees. She makes sure her legs are spread open wide
before relaxing and smiling up at Master Hunter. He reaches down and rumples her pigtails; the
smile returning to his face.
Laothoe
protectively tucks the newly designed piece of jewelry; with the green gem,
gold scrolls, and the precise number of chain links, into a gold foil gift box. He takes down a long chain that is hanging
from a hook on the wall. The chain is a
perfect match for the beautiful collar Ayden received two days before. On one end of the chain is a black leather loop
that he wraps around his hand. Laothoe attaches
the clip, on the other end of the chain, to a concealed loop at the front of Ayden’s
collar and with a gentle tug of the chain he commands, “Come on, Babygirl.”
His
long quick steps as he moves to the door makes Ayden struggle to keep up as she
hastily crawls over the rough floor, bruising her knees, doing her best to
follow. At the door he pauses, stretches
and takes in a deep breath of fresh morning air. “Have you ever been walked before?” he asks
glancing down at her waiting by his feet.
She
looks up to Master Hunter with all the eagerness and curiosity of a young child,
“No Master Hunter.”
Laothoe
nods. Glancing out at the ocean he pulls
at his beard, stroking it, watching the waves crash onto shore, ”Rough day at
sea today,” he comments mindlessly. “We
are not going far but where we are going you will need to walk rather than
crawl. You must also know that it is
forbidden to speak a word unless I give my direct permission for you to do so
and if I do you will speak to no one but me.
Do you understand?”
Ayden
swallows hard and utters a weak, “Yes, Master Hunter.”
Master
Hunter gives her a curt nod and says, “Please stand now and follow me.” Ayden barely has time to scramble to her feet
before they are off down the pier towards the row of small shops that line the
boardwalk at the mouth of the pier. Ayden’s
eyes immediately begin scanning the shops again in hopes of finding something
familiar even as Master Hunter’s words, “The place you came from does not exist
here,” rings in her ears. He pauses his
forward march, momentarily, and Ayden is so caught up in her search that she nearly
collides with him.
“Mind
you stay at least one step behind, Babygirl,” he commands without even looking
in her direction. “Eyes down and
remember not a word,” he says and he resumes his march up the esplanade.
Ayden
instantly becomes more attentive of keeping her head low and her eyes turned
down, but she is not sure why it is so important only that it is Master
Hunter’s wish. Stealing glances around
she watches the shops. They are heading
away from the area of the beach where she first awoke two days ago. She is slightly disappointed because she sees
that this end of the beach was completely unfamiliar and had hoped that she
might find Meg again if she looked back in the opposite direction from where
she started. They have only walked a few
blocks when Ayden notices the crowds on the path seem to be growing. She moves in slightly closer to Master Hunter
being mindful to keep a full pace behind his steps.
Laothoe
slows his pace and Ayden is grateful for the opportunity to catch her
breath. The crowd seems to be gathered
on either side of the path. It is mostly
young men about Ayden’s age. She can
hear murmuring among the gathered crowd.
In front of them, holding a drink of some sort Ayden sees a cocky young
man who has just been pushed into their path by his boisterous friends. The young men are elbowing each other and
snickering at their friend now standing in the middle of the walk.
The
young man is dressed in a relaxed manner and Ayden wonders why he is not
wearing a bathing suit, but glancing around she notices that no one else is
either. “That is one fine looking vessel
you have there, old man. Did you just
reclaim her from the beach?” he hoots.
Laothoe
walks up to the young man, stops directly in front of him, straightens to his
full height, and squares his shoulders.
As Master Hunter addresses the young man Ayden feels suddenly and
unexpectedly timid. Not knowing what she
should do Ayden drops to her knees and kneels beside his feet. Ayden’s arms snake round his leg until she is
completely coiled around it, her cheek resting against his lower thigh. Feeling safe at his feet she feels his hand
gently tap her head in approval and Master Hunter’s fingers twist into her hair
and he grasps it tightly in his fist.
Ayden relaxes knowing that she is protected. “Does she look like she has been posted for
Reclaiming Day?” he asks affronted. Laothoe’s
deep voice booms in response to the young man, “We are merely out on business
and enjoying this fine day.”
The
young man steps sideways around Laothoe until he is standing directly in front
of Ayden. He grasps his trousers at the
knee and pulls them up slightly as he squats down in front of her and she
wonders why men do that, but she is mindful to keep her eyes glued to the
ground. She is studying the scuffed
brown shoes that tell her he is not a man of leisure when his finger hooks
under her chin raising her face to his.
She looks up coyly but quickly lowers her gaze. “I only ask because I would be willing to
take her home and punish her if she has been naughty,” the young man says
leering down at Ayden.
“That
will not be necessary young man. She is
in training and doing quite well and I will ask you all to step back,” Master
Hunter says in a clear loud voice.
“Too
bad,” mutters the young man as he slowly stands, never taking his eyes off of
Ayden, and backs away to where his friends are standing silently.
Laothoe
releases his protective grip on Ayden’s hair and smooths it gently as he
watches the young man respectfully back away.
“Ayden
please stand for inspection as you were shown yesterday,” Master Hunter directs
quietly.
“Ye…,”
Ayden begins, but quickly remembers Master Hunter’s directions and cuts off her
words. His eyebrow arches in warning but
he says nothing of her blunder. She
makes a discerning effort to stand gracefully.
She elegantly intertwines her fingers behind her head, spreads her feet
slightly, and turns her face proudly skyward.
Immediately she feels the cool breeze catch in the moisture between her
legs. She had not even been aware of her
awakening until now.
The
murmuring returns to the crowd and she struggles for a glimpse of what is
happening, but the crowd’s attention seems to have shifted their focus away
from Ayden. There is a loud ruckus
behind her and she is very tempted to turn her head for the smallest
satisfaction of her curiosity, but she maintains her concentration. A girl’s cries for help are met with laughter
from the crowd. There is a loud scuffle
that mixes with the crowd’s uproarious cheers.
Then Ayden can she her. She is a
young girl about the same age as Ayden.
She is naked and thrashing to pull free of two large men who are
struggling to head her in the direction of the beach. Before Ayden can even flinch to turn to help
the girl she sees the look Master Hunter is giving her that tells her not to
move an inch. The men quickly get the
girl under control and she is carted away without much more turmoil.
With
the commotion quieted and the girl carried away the crowd’s interest returns to
Ayden. She is surprised that she enjoys
their attentiveness so much and hopes that she is pleasing Master Hunter with
her actions. She worries what will
happen to the girl and wonders what she has done. Ayden is abruptly mindful of the attention she
is drawing and it serves to heighten her desire to please not only Master
Hunter and bring him satisfaction, but is keenly aware that she now wishes to
please all in his presence.
Ayden
feels her belly tighten as she hears Master Hunter’s voice offer, “Young man,
you may touch her now, but be mindful that she is mine and only mine and is
still in training.” Out of the corner of
her eye Ayden can see his friends laughing and shoving the young man. One friend slaps him on the back as the bold
young man steps forward again.
He
circles around behind her until he is out of view, scrutinizing her like a
tiger in the wild stalks its prey. Ayden
does not move. Suddenly the heat of his
breath is on her neck. He leans in and
inhales deeply behind her ear. She wants
to hold very still and she can just glimpse the smile of pride on Master Hunter’s
face. He is watching her reaction. The man moans and she can almost feel a
vibration run down her body to her belly.
His hands are on her ribs. They
have found their way under her shirt. Concealed
they slide forward cautiously moving in on their target. She does not move. Her eyes stay fixed on Master Hunter, who is
gleaming with pride. The young man’s
thumbs trail under her bikini top, allowing his hands access to their goal. His hands are soft as they seize her breasts
in their grip. He holds her firmly and
he presses his body against her back.
She can feel the ripple of his muscles pressing against hers. He captures her nipples between his thumb and
forefinger and conquers them in a vice like pinch, holding them, rolling them
over and savoring them between his fingers.
Ayden’s knees feel weak and she lets her weight rest against his chest. Again he moans but the look on Master Hunter’s
face makes it very clear that she is not to move. He releases her nipples and Ayden bites her
lower lip not wanting to make a sound.
He
releases her and slowly he trails his nail down her arm. Ayden hears rather than sees him putting the
finger in his mouth licking at the tasty morsel Master Hunter has extended to
him. “She tastes better with no
flavoring than any girl we have had on the beach today,” he practically
purrs. “I do want to thank you for that
lovely taste of your delicious vessel, Sir,” he finishes and steps away returning
to his friends that are now standing silent.
Laothoe
gives the leash a slight tug and says simply, “Manners.”
She
does not move her body or relax her pose but does let her eyes shift to Master
Hunter who gives her a quick nod and says, “You may speak, Babygirl.”
Ayden
lowers her arms and drops her eyes to the ground, she politely responds, “Thank
you, Master Hunter for allowing me to serve this kind young man,” and she means
it.
With
a second quick tug on the leash Laothoe turns, pushes through the crowd, and
continues on their trek down the path. Ayden scurries to keep up. Ayden blushes, in surprise, and drops her
head when she sees the size of the crowd that has gathered during the encounter
with the young man. She likes it and
wonders if Master Hunter is proud of her.
They move further down the beach, without a word, and the crowd
gradually fads behind them.
When
they have gone a few more blocks, clear of the crowd, and the beach is quiet,
Master Hunter stops and faces her. He
looks down at her, “You did very well. I
never would have brought you out if I had known it was Reclaiming Day.” Ayden can hear a twinge of regret in his
voice.
It
is as they are standing there that Ayden notices the struggling girl from the
crowd. Despite the nearly perfect
weather this section of the beach is practically empty, so she stands out
against the vast desolate sand. She is chained
to a post, like the ones Ayden saw her first day. These posts are arranged around another blue
lifeguard tower, exactly like the one where she stopped for help, except these
are not derelict or rusty. The sturdy
metal ring holding the girl in place gleams in the bright rays of the sun. She is positioned in such a way that she is
kneeling with her back arched and the post against her spine. The post behind her holds her firmly in
place. Her hands are bound behind her
back so that the post sprouts up between her arms like a bouquet that has just
been handed to a young girl on her very first date, close to her body. There are two solid chains that link from the
bindings on her wrists, through a metal ring at the base of the post. It is nearly hidden beneath the sand. Each chain then continues to bindings affixed
to each of her ankles. Her legs straddle
the post and there is no slack in the chains.
It is clear, without much study that she is nearly immobile. But for added measure she is wearing a simple
collar, not nearly as pretty as the one Ayden has received. The girl’s collar
is a plain metal band wrapped around her delicate neck. Ayden can see that a small lock, like the one
Master Hunter uses, has been inserted around the collar and locked to the ring
at the top of the post. The lock holds
the young girls head tipped backwards resting on the top of the post. In this position her mouth is forced open so
that she looks like a baby bird waiting to be fed.
Ayden
lets out a nearly inaudible gasp when she watches a man approach the tethered
girl and begin to use the girl’s mouth as a urinal. The girl tries to escape the stream but she
is bound so tightly that she is unable to move her head to either side and
cannot fully close her mouth. She
sputters and curses at the man who just laughs.
He finishes his duty with a small shake and a flourish and leaves her
without a word.
Laothoe,
following Ayden’s look of horror, sees the scene on the beach and chuckles, “Don’t
worry, Babygirl. She’ll be fine. It’s early in the day and there’s still
plenty of time.”
“Come
now. I will not give that unruly upstart
the satisfaction of seeing us watching,” Master Hunter commands.
While
they are walking Ayden listens carefully to Master Hunter explain, “Today is Reclaiming
Day. She was sent here to be punished by
her Master or more likely she is probably an unclaimed runaway based on the
commotion she caused this morning. But,
whatever the reason she will be left there to be punished until sundown and it
is best not to encourage her bad behavior by gawking.”
Laothoe
goes into great detail explaining what happens leading up to Reclaiming Day. He tells Ayden that Masters can bring their
unmanageable vessels to the beach and have them chained around the guard
stations. That sometimes if a runaway
submissive is left unclaimed and is not marketable then they are brought to the
beach, as well, but most are sold at auctions to good Masters who train them
well. During the Reclaiming Days most
families stay away from these sections of the beach which is why the beach is
full of single men drinking and spending all of their money on crate girls.
When
a vessel is brought to the beach, she is strapped to the posts and left
virtually unattended. They are cared for
by a solidary beach guard, who is there to see to only the vessel’s basic needs
and to ensure that she is not damaged.
Since she needs little attention the guard spends most of his day inside
the tower. There is no chance for the
vessel to escape because the bindings are extremely sturdy. She is to be treated in the worst possible
way so that she will have no desire to return.
Her punishments will include anything that a passerby may desire. If the beach is too abandoned and the vessel
is not being adequately abused the guard will take on the duties of punishing
her sufficiently. She cannot move and
can therefore not resist. She must learn
to submit willingly. At sundown the
beach guard, usually with some assistance from a nearby guard, releases her
from the post, cares for any wounds, and locks her in the cage that is under
the tower. She will spend the night
there with any other vessel submissives that have been assigned to that tower. After sundown and throughout the second day,
which is Reclaiming Day, her Master may come for her. If he deems her penance acceptable he may take
her home. However, if her contrition is
not sufficient she will be left for The Reclaiming.
At
sunrise on the second day she is again returned to the post. Master Hunter speculates that this incorrigible
girl escaped while being moved from the cell under the tower. He tells Ayden it happens on rare occasions
that girls are left on the second day, but it is a disgrace on the girl and an
embarrassment to her former Master and she will be the focus of extreme degradation
throughout the day.
The
vessel submissives are often very distraught, when it gets to be late on this
final day, and their screams can often be heard over long distances. On Reclaiming Day most people will not acknowledge
the vessels for any reason. They are
attended to by the beach guards. The
only exception would be if there is anyone in town willing to take on the task
of trying to train her. This is rarely
ever done. Master Hunter tells her, “I
have never heard of a vessel being rescued by anyone in our town once mid-day
on Reclaiming Day has begun. Once she
reaches this point she is really of no value to anyone.”
At
sunset the beaches are cleared and no one is allowed to enter them. With a tone of remorse in his voice Laothoe
explains, “The day after The Reclaiming is a very quiet time in town. We take great pride in our girls here and if
we are not able to salvage her on Reclaiming Day with the vilest abuse we can dream
up it reflects badly on all of us.”
During that day the beach guards are the only ones allowed to enter the
beaches. The beaches are cleaned and
readied for reopening at sunrise the following morning.
He
assures Ayden, “It may appear a time of great excitement and parties today, but
I guarantee that everyone takes their duties very seriously.” They turn a corner and head up a slight
incline away from the beach. “I will see
about getting a room for the night at the Inn so that we do not have to return
to the beach until it is over.”
Laothoe
looks over his shoulder at the very somber Ayden walking closely behind
him. She is very beautiful and he is
proud to have her on the end of his leash.
It is then that he forms a plan to continue her training and take
advantage of the excitements of the day.
“How would you like that, Babygirl?”
Ayden
cannot get the image of the poor girl out of her mind. She looks deep into Master Hunter’s eyes
digesting all that he has told her and nods silently.
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