Slave Girl 2: Chapter 82 (Patreon)

I find Toke to be a quiet and efficient worker who followed instruction to the letter and without complaint.  As the rest of us talked and squabbled as young men do he just worked and watched and listened.  He seemed neither amused nor annoyed at our antics though I could see he was very much enjoying the hours spent in the field, and enjoyment I believed he probably would have felt just as keenly whether we’d been there or not.  I had never met a man so unconcerned by the company he kept.  He nearly drove Lucas mad with his refusal to speak of their training.  Eventually Lucas gave up and returned to talking about it in the hypothetical as he had in previous days despite the fact that our instructor was right there among us.

The good food, fresh air and the night’s rest had done wonders for the northman’s health.  Though was surely still in some amount of pain from the beating he’d received for that night in the city he moved with that same same ease and efficiency that I had seen in him the first time.  If not for his time worn features and graying hair one would have thought him half his age.  His skill with sickle and wheat was more rusty than rustic but it did not take long to hone them back into working order and by midday he was a huge boon to our team.

Despite my best efforts I make no inroads on getting closer to the man, and it wasn’t simply due to his stoic silence.  No matter how many times I ask that he not do it, when he addressed me he would invariably call me ‘Master Quintus’.  It was neither a term used out of respect or malice, simply a constant reminder of the difference between he and I.  With Queque and Oeneus we could almost forget about their enslavement and my citizenship as we chatted and joked around guy to guy, but Toke never allowed me that comfortable illusion.  He was not going to make anything about our relationship easy for me just to get along.  With that barrier between us it made genuine warmth, to say nothing of friendship, impossible.

The one bit of openness I do receive from him came when I least expected it.

I continued to worry about Toke’s attitude toward those not like him.  Toward non-human’s specifically.  He’d avoided Rosa that morning so my concern was higher than ever.  If I was going to invite this man into my land, so close to my home and my beloved demon Lady, I needed to know where he stood on this.  And so, when I see him spread off by himself as we cut, I headed his direction to have quiet conversation apart from the others.

I come along side of him, each of us hunched over as we grabbed bundles of stalks, cut them with our sickles and lay them behind us.  He glances over at me in acknowledgment of my presence.

“A word?”

“Of course Master Quintus.”  He answers as he continues to cut.

“This may be bold of me.”

“Go ahead.”

“I was speaking about you to my slave last night.”

“Mmm.”  He pauses and kneels down to stretch his back and take a break.  “If you are hoping to garner sympathy and change my mind, it won’t work.”

“No.”  I say.   “No.  She thinks I should fight you.”

“Wise woman.”

“You have no idea.”  I say as I stop and kneel as well.  “We were talking about your time with us out here.”  As I talk I watch him very closely for cues or ticks.  “About making your time here a pleasant one.”

“And why would you wish to do that?”

“Because these might be the last weeks of a good man’s life.”  I say.  “I can’t stop you from doing your ridiculous, stupid, pathetic plan…but I can give a shit in the meantime.”

“Hrm.”

“How long has been since you’ve laid with a woman?”

This gets a reaction.  For the first time today I see a real emotions peek through, those emotions being shock and confusion.  “Respectfully Master Quintus, your slave is a fine looking woman but…”

“No, no, no.” I shake my head.  “Not my woman.  A woman.  Or man.  An intimate partner in general.”

“Why are you asking?  I thought you above petty mockery.”

“I’m not mocking you Toke.  I don’t ask to rub salt.”

“Mmm.”  He considers my question then finally answers.  “Five years.  It has been five years since I’ve known a woman’s touch.”

“A long time.”

“Speak what you wish to tell me.”

“We would like to arrange a woman for you.  Would you be interested?”

“Yes.”  Comes his direct reply.  The old warrior still had urges.  “Mistress Cassie?”

“No.  Another slave.”

He smiles!  “That is preferable.  Tell me of her.”

“I cannot.”  I say, focusing my attention onto him more keenly than ever.  “All I can tell you is that she is not Roman.  In fact, she’s not human.”

There isn’t a flinch, a twitch, or a disgusted sneer of the lips.  There is nothing.  Not even a pause.  “You have most interesting contacts Master Quintus.”

“I do not choose my friends by race or color.  It is their character I value.”

“A wise man.”

“Wiser than your Master?”

“My Master is a fool.”  His smile fades, his expression turning to stone.  “A dead fool soon enough.”

“Only if you win.”

“Only if I win.”

“You have no issues with non-humans?”  I ask him straight up.  A direct man deserved a direct question.

“In my years in your Empire I have fought shoulder to shoulder and face to face with men of every race, creed, and religion.”  He says.  “All of us bleed just the same.”

“Just the same.”  I nod.

“Your slave will find no hatred in my heart young Master Quintus.”  He says, addressing the real question behind the question.  “Not toward her at least.”

“Good.”

“The woman.  Is she soft in body?”

“As soft as man has ever felt.”

“Is she full of figure?”

“Full and ripe.”

“Is she tender of spirit?”

“As tender as a cloverleaf.”

“Does her passion burn hot?”

“As hot as Vulcan’s forge.”

“Is she weary and worn by fate?”

“She is the dawn’s light itself.”

“Yes.  Yes.”  He says warmly, his pale eyes twinkling and young.  “I will bed this woman if she is offered.”

“If she is interested, she will be offered.”

“Yes!”  Five long years of pent up need are poured out with that single word.

“You will not harm her?”

He gives me a scolding look.

“The northmen’s penchant for pillage and plunder is told even here.  Fact or story?”

“Pain is for my foes.”  He assures me.  “She will receive nothing but her greatest night of pleasure from me.”

I couldn’t knock his confidence!  “I will keep you informed.”

“I will not owe you for this.  I offer nothing in return.  You give this freely and without condition.”

“I do.”

“It changes nothing.”  He says.  “You stand between me and my Master’s throat.”

It chilled me to hear a man speak of murder so cavalierly, yet how could I hold vengeance against an evil man against him?  “I understand Toke.”

“Good.”

With my concerns at ease and his hopes for pussy flying high we each return to our work a happier man.

With the teething pains over for our greener members and with Toke now bolstering our crew we do our share today and then some!  It is with great satisfaction that I stand at the end of the day and see that we were already beginning to catch up to the more experienced groups around us.  I give each man my thanks for working so hard for me.  The praise was not necessary as I could see the same pride of work in their eyes that surely shone from mine.  All except Lucas.  His blood was going for an entirely different reason.

“Finally!”  He punches the air as we walk back.  “Ha ha!”

With the exception of me, who now had far deeper stakes on this training than the rest, an upbeat anticipation lit up every face.  Their buzz wasn’t simply to start combat training but because we were doing something we weren’t supposed to be.  That hint of the forbidden giving our secret activity an extra kick of excitement.  Back at the villa we grab our supper.  Lucas lets them know that the group of us were going to my place to eat, which receives the most disinterested shrug from the lady helping Cas dish out the food, then we carry our meal, mugs and plates and all, back toward my forest.

Training was about to begin.

Chapter 83