Lady Ragenta : No Good Deed Act 1 The Dinner

 

Ragenta

in 

No Good Deed.

 Act 1

The Dinner

          She looked at herself in the mirror in the apartment she had rented as Lady Andraus. Standing there looking at her reflection as she was naked except for a slave collar that read “Property of Lady Andraus”. Picking up a key, she removed the collar and sat it on a side table as she picked up another collar and locked it on herself. This one identified her as the slave of “slave of Lady Ragenta, House of Chains”. Ragenta wondered how long she could keep living this double or triple life that she had been doing for close to four passing of hands. She had made as many inquiries as she dared as herself into the whereabouts of two red-haired slaves that might have been sold recently in one of many small village slave markets. She had gone herself or sent purchasing agents with specific instructions along the Vosk. There had been a couple leads, one even that they might be here in Victoria.

          She had to back off making personal inquiries because it was starting to raise question with Atilas and Spectus. Atilas she was not as concerned about as the other. He was up to something, but she wasn’t sure what. She suspected that he was the one behind the attack on Dantor’s Villa in an attempt to enslave her there. She knew it was him but if she said anything without solid proof them he would still get what he wanted. He would claim insult and slander and demand her neck in his slave collar as compensation for the injury to his honor. She snorted, the man had not honor to injure.

          It had been a dark day when Atilas and her had decided rather than risk all of their combined assets. They would take on another partner to help with the cost of opening a new house. Only it had not worked as they had planned. From the start Spectus had tried to take over everything. He wanted the new house to be in Brundisium and not Ar as they had been looking into. But he also had made no secret how he felt about her. That she should be serving in the house not running it. She was sure that if it were not for Atilas she would be in the slave kennels months ago.

          While sneaking out as the slave Enta, she had nearly ran into him twice. She was tempting fate she knew, but she had to find her mother and sister. One of the perks of being the Mistress of the House was that she was able to apply coloring to her hair so that she would not be so noticeable when she was out as a slave. And the robes and veils of a free woman kept the brown hair hidden. She did have to shave herself of her lower hair so that if she was stripped while disguised as a slave there would be no red hair to conflict. Between the time at the Villa and the last two passing of hands, she had spent more time in a collar than without one on her neck.

          She wished that Dantor was here for many reasons but mostly because she loved and missed him. But also, that he could have made this search so much easier. One of the places where she had herd of a beautiful red-haired slave being recently bought was a paga tavern down near the wharf. Going in there as a free woman was forbidden. If she set foot in there as herself or Lady Andraus then she would be stripped and put in a tavern collar. Entering as a slave had its own risks and challenges, especially without being taken there by a Master. Entering might not be a problem, getting out would be another matter. While she had never visited a paga tavern, she had heard enough stories to know that the lighting would be dim and all that would be seen would be a shapely slave. That she was not owned by the tavern nor had she a master to say that she was his, could find her chained in an alcove for the night pleasuring any man that entered.

          Even once it was discovered that she was not one of the tavern slaves. It was no guarantee that she would be released. Especially once her lack of a brand was noted. She would be seen as what she really was, a free woman pretending to be a slave. The collar would be seen as not being genuine, It would be removed, and replaced with either a Tavern collar and she would be branded. Or she would be branded and sold. She would be a slave then just like her mother and sister. She would also be whipped once it was learned that her true hair was red and not brown.

          She smiled at the memory of her late mentor. The alias of Lady Andraus had been very helpful since returning from the attack at the Villa. She would slip out of the house in the guise of a slave. Then proceed to either his laboratory or this apartment she had rented as Andraus. There she would either change into the robes of a free woman or change the collar to one stating she was property of Lady Andraus, as well as change her slave garments, then proceed into the City.

          When she had returned to the House after the attack all Spectus could talk about was how she had been found looking like a slave by the Guardsmen. How scandalous that was for their House and how she should be held accountable and punished. He never said it in so many words, but he wanted her enslaved or sent to live in the pens for a while as a punishment. Assuming that being kept naked in the slave pens and treated like a slave would break her and have her begging for the steel and iron.

          Atilas only laughed at him and told him that he was being silly, that she had been almost taken as a slave with several of the Villa slaves. But if Spectus wished to press the matter further than he would be more than happy to champion the Lady Ragenta in a contest of honor. Spectus chose not to press the matter. Since her return Atilas had been very kind and comforting. He had even made it know that if she was needing to talk he would listen to her.

          Then she remembered something that her father had always said. Paga Taverns were a treasure chest of information, one only had to buy a few rounds of drinks and listen to what was being said by others. She remembered that he used to make the rounds of several taverns and brothels. Sometime Dantor would go with him. Then it occurred to her, Atilas has surely gone to the taverns before, He might have the information that she needed. Yes, she should definitely speak to him about this tavern. But she decided as she picked up the house of chains brief slave tunic that she would not tell him everything. If anyone would understand her reasons for wanting to find a slave or slaves belonging to that tavern it would be Atilas. If she said that it was her mother and sister that she wished to find and buy, that would lead to questions that she didn’t wish to answer. Like why had he never heard of this sister and didn’t her mother die when they were both still young.

          Atilas might very well be understanding of the fact that her mother was one of her father’s pleasure slaves that he chooses to sire a child with. And she was not the first female child sire in such fashion to sent back to the pens with her mother or raised to be one of the exotic slaves raised in complete ignorance of men or being a slave until she was drugged and sold. Only to wake naked and chained to be used for the pleasure of the men present. The thought of that sent a chill down her spine. Her father had sent many female infants to the pens to be raised as slaves till it was time to sell them. But he had always felt that the practice of raising and selling exotics was a excessively cruel business that he did not allow in his house. Then she wondered, had her father once practiced this trade and only stopped when the female infant slave was his daughter? It was possible as there were several special kennels and cells in the house. She had known of them for some time, having been locked in one once as an adolescent by her father as a punishment, she was 17 years old at the time.

          But should she risk telling him everything? He might understand that she had been born of a bred slave. That she had been not sent to the pens and raised as a free woman certainly established that she was legally a free woman. Atilas might speculate how she would look on a block after learning this. Someone like Spectus would rant and demand she be stripped and sent to the pen for branding. But Atilas, well he already had a good image in his mind of what she looked like out of the robes of a free woman. That might have been when they were in their teens and nothing had happened back then, he had seen the still blossoming Ragenta a few times wearing very little and once with nothing at all. The chime of slave bells brought her back to the moment as she looked back at the reflection of herself in the mirror, naked save for a collar on her neck and bells on her ankle. Both her partners would enjoy seeing her like this no doubt. But for similar yet different reasons.

          The sounding of a bar told her that she had to get back to the house soon or she would be forced to stay the night in the apartment. Picking up the slave tunic once more she drew over her body, smoothing it out then adding the binding fiber belt that enhanced her shape even more. Picking up a slave cloak she pulled it on and left the apartment to return to the House of Chains, disguised as one of its slaves. She would return through the slave exit which she had left and been recorded leaving. Then slip into the hidden passages that led to her chambers.

 

 

          Private Dinning Room Lady Ragenta’s Chambers

 

          Ragenta lounged back on several large pillows in her private dining room. Being the daughter of the original owner of the House of Chains, she had selected the largest of the private chambers for herself. Spectus was not pleased that he was given the smallest. At the time it had not seemed important to have these chambers other that they were the largest and once belonged to her father. Atilas had agreed when the two of them formed the original partnership, before Spectus came along, that she should have her father’s old chambers.

          At the time she didn’t think about it, but it worked out very nicely for her right now. Over the years there had been many additions and changes made to the house. With each on her father had ordered hidden passages included that would allow him to move about the house unseen. Ragenta made use of these more often now than she once had. She had entered through the slave entrance to the house that she had departed from this morning carrying a pass signed by her saying that the slave, her, was being sent on an errand and could leave the house unescorted. The slave in question had been logged out at that time, then logged back in on her return. Once the slave was logged back in she proceeded towards the pens and kennels for house slaves. When nobody was looking Ragenta had slipped into one of the passages and returned to her chambers to remove the collar and bells and change back into proper clothing.

This system had worked flawlessly so far. Using the hidden passages, she could put on the collar and slave tunic then move anywhere in the house and not risk being seen. Atilas is the only one that had seen her face other than her hand slaves. And those she had been selling off and replacing to ensure that she didn’t bump into them in the halls.

Word had been sent and Atilas had accepted her invitation to dine with her this evening. The slaves had entered, placed the food and drink then departed. Hearing the chamber door open she looked up and smiled as Atilas entered.

“Good evening and thank you for joining me,” she said with a smile as he came closer and joined her at the table.

“It has been too long.” He agreed then noting her lack of a hood or veils. “It has been even longer since I have seen you like this. To what do I owe the honor?”

“Do I need a reason? Smiling softly. “Maybe with the raid and loosing Dantor it has made me realize just how little for lack of a better term ‘family’ I have. Beside, you are going to be leaving for Ar soon and I wanted to spend some time.”

“That is true,” nodding in agreement, “I don’t like leaving you here with Spectus which is why he was sent to Brundisium. After what you have been through, the last thing that you need it his comments and behavior.”

“Thank you,” smiling once more as she picked up a pitcher to pour some Kalana into a goblet for each of them. “Please let me offer you something to drink.”

“Where are the slaves to serve us?”

“I dismissed them. I will take care of those things.” Looking to him and blushing. “Not all those things, you scoundrel! But I wanted to talk to you without anyone listening.”

“About what happened to you out there during the raid?” He had to admit that he was curious about the raid. While raids on holdings and settlements along the Vosk was not unheard of or uncommon by bands of pirates, bandits, or mercenary tarnsmen for that matter. From all the responding guardsmen he had talked to and the reports files in the office of the Administrator of Victoria, these seemed more organized and planned rather than a random raid. Something told him that Ragenta, his lovely childhood friend sitting on a pillow across from him, was somehow involved. He didn’t think that she was part of it. But his instincts told him she might have been what the attackers were looking for. Now the question was why.

“There are some things,” she paused for a moment to collect her thoughts about what she should tell him. “That I did not share with the Guardsmen, Atilas. I had been put in a collar and was being taken to the coffle of slaves when Dantor saved me.” That was true but not in the context that she presented it. Saying that she had been wearing Dantor’s slave collar for two days prior to the attack would bring this all to a very quick end for her ending up in the branding room. He was understanding but that might be too much.

“You had been taken, stripped, and collared by the Raiders? He asked looking at her. Waiting for her answer.

“Yes I was naked and braceleted in a collar being taken be added to their collection of slaves. Dantor stepped in and killed the raider that had me.” Taking a deep breath, “Atilas it was Norac who was leading the raiders, and he was looking for me. I was in his grasp when Dantor killed him. Then Dantor was shot by a crossbow bolt and fell on me.”

“You were lucky. So, they didn’t take you with them then.”

“No, They knew who I was. But a lookout warned that the Cavalry was on the way. They left with the slaves they had. I wiggled out from under Dantor and helped him as much as I could given that I was braceleted. I stopped the bleeding. The collar that I had been placed in was one of Dantor’s that was handy where I was taken. He had the key to the collar but not for the bracelets. He knew that if I was found like I was, that I would be placed with any slaves collected that were not taken by the raiders. None would believe who I was. He gave me the key, and the collar was removed. I tied the tattered remains of a slave’s tunic about me to cover myself the best that I could

“And at first that was about to be what happened. Caperus didn’t believe me and was about to slave rape me when Dantor woke.” Out of reflex she held up a hand to stop him but then saw that while he did not care for what had almost happened. He saw it as a natural response given as nicely curved as she must have been by now. Smiled remembered the image from long ago of a younger Ragenta. She flushed with color knowing what he was thinking.

“I do not recommend letting Spectus know those details.” Lifting his vessel and taking a long drink. “I am guessing that there is more to you asking me to dinner than talking about your ordeal a and wanting to spend some time before I leave.”

“Father used to talk about Paga Taverns were a good place to gather information.” She had started.

“Yes they are good for that,” looking her over, “and for other things. Why the sudden interest?”

“There is a tavern down by the pier called the Fowled Anchor. I have been doing some checking and a few of the slaves taken from the Villa may have been sold to the Proprietor.”

“That has been known to happen.” Curious as to where she was taking this.

“I owe Dantor for saving me from the coffle. Two slaves that were very special to him. He asked me to find then and either free them or see that they were placed with a friend of his.” She explained licking her lips nervously.

“Sounds simple enough and not an unreasonable request.” Atilas nodded. “And it would seem that you do owe him a great deal given that you are not a slave in a place like Fowled Anchor right now. Just send one of our people down there to buy the slaves in question. We do buy slaves on a regular basis.”

“I thought of that. But an agent might not know which slaves to buy. And after Norac, I am not sure if there are others like him on our payroll. And..” she started.

“You can’t go there yourself even when they are closed.” He paused, “Not that come to think of it that tavern ever closes. And if you walked in you would be working the floor on the next shift.”

“Yes that fact is not lost on me, Atilas.”

“You want me to go!” laughing and shaking his head. “Your too obvious. You realize of course that I am not going to know what slaves to look for anymore than one of our agents.”

“Not if I go with you,” she whispered.

“Don’t be silly, Genta!” He laughed and slapped the table. “You can not walk in the door in your robes and veils. If you try even with me with you, you will be arrested and likely enslaved despite being of Victoria.”

“I wouldn’t be wearing free woman robes and veils when I entered, Atilas.” She whispered again looking over to him.

“Tread lightly, Ragenta. You walk a thin line.” He stopped laughing and took a very somber tone.

“Atilas, I am the only one who will know which slaves that we are looking for. And can not step through the threshold as a free woman. So, they have to think that I am a slave. But if I entered as if I were an unescorted slave, the result would be the same as if I walked in my street robes and veils. I would be grabbed and taken to their kennels.” She explained.

“Again, Ragenta, watch your words.” He warned.

“Atilas, this is something that I have to do and you are my only hope of walking out of there still legally free.” She pleaded. “I promised Dantor that I would find them and see that they are freed or well cared for.”

“You seem want to keep you.” He laughing knowing that she would make a very pretty kajira. But now to push her and see just how far she was willing to take this. “The face is pretty, but the rest who knows what it looks like.”

“You didn’t seem to mind when we were younger and got in trouble!” She spat back in challenge.

“That was a long time ago. You may have gotten fat under those robes since then. But a little bit of curve is good for profit.” He laughed.

“I think that you are just trying to get me to disrobe for you.” She challenged.

“Again, I warn you of where you tread, Ragenta.” He warned.

“I don’t seem you being so serious and stiff when we were adolescents and I let you practice your knots on me.”

“You tied well, maybe I should have left you like that. I think you liked it.” He laughed.

“I may have, and then I may have wanted you to think that.” She stuck out her tongue which was something she would never do with anyone else but him. It was not proper behavior for a Free Woman. But then so was a private diner with a man who was not her companion.  “And you got to touchy feely when I was all tied up. No wonder our fathers feared it would go too far.” She laughed as well remembering when they were in their teens. She would wear her house tunic and the neither closure only and he would chase her around their secret place and try to catch her. If he did she was used to practice his capture knots on her wrists and ankles. She would try to free herself although they both knew she would not be able to. Sometime in her struggles to free herself or the capture it’s self her tunic would get ripped open or ride up revealing much of her naked beauty. Once she had lost the neither closure as well and they heard voices getting closer. The ruined tunic was balled up and shoved in her mouth then bound in place before she was hoisted over his shoulder with her head to the rear and carried from the place as if she was a slave girl. Which any seeing her would think he had gotten chain luck.

It was only after a reckless and foolish outing to that one of the high house slaves noted while check on Ragenta’s bath by her slaves. That Ragenta had red rub marks on her neck, wrists, and ankles as if she had been wearing a steel restraints or possibly a sirik. This was reported to her father, who to her shame and embarrassment had her presented before him naked by the slaves. When he confirmed the marks that he was all too familiar with on the bodies of females, mostly slaves, on his daughter. To say he was not pleased would have been a gross understatement. Now that she knew the secrets of who and what her was. His reaction was very understandable. After all she was virtually a younger mirror image of her mother the pleasure slave. Only a couple years younger than her mother had been when she was bred to conceive Ragenta.

He ordered her bound and gagged them rolled up in a large floor rug. When she was released from the confines of the rug she was in one of the special cells that had limited access. His instructed the slaves to tie her to a whipping post, where he had the high slave deliver ten strokes of the switch to her exposed buttocks and back of her thighs. He was impassive as she screamed out with each blow. She had seen slaves punished and knew that the blows were not nearly as hard or harsh as they could have been. A sirik was locked on her before he turned and left with the slaves. For the next two hands she saw only the high slave and Dantor who came to check on her and feed her, water and unsalted slave gruel.

At the end two passing of hands, her father returned and she was knelt with her thighs closed tightly before him. The sirik was removed and she was told that if she wished to be a slave then to submit herself to the collar for branding then and there. If not than learn from this because next time it happened she would be sent to the pens. When she has seen Atilas after that he had been weary of her and distant for a long time. She wondered what happened to him over the incident.

“Your thinking of that day at the races aren’t you.” He said watching her closely.

“Yes, that day was not so fun. Nor were the things that happened after.” Lowering her jade eyes.

“I know, I saw.” That was all he said. That caused her to look up at him. Then he continued, “I was forced to watch as they released you from the rug and the whipping that followed. I was told that my poor judgement and reckless behavior had almost cost someone that I cared for her freedom. That we were being arranged to become Companions one day. But our behavior had ruined that and it was not to be. That our families saw us both as unworthy and unfit for one another.” There was silence for several ihn. Then, “So! What sort of foolish plan have you cooked up that I should refuse out of hand?”  That was the end of that subject.

“I would accompany you to the tavern pretending to be your slave. We have a few drinks and watch the girls to see if those I seek are there.”

“I will have a few drinks,” He corrected her, “slaves do not eat or drink anything that their master doesn’t give them” She stiffened at that comment.

“Yes, you will swill paga or whatever while I kneel beside you all proper and pretty.” She smiled and made a face at him. “But I will watch for the two most important slaves. If I can, I will attempt to go into the back and look about. If I am caught then I will simply say that my master sent me. Hopefully, they won’t see the need for any more than a firm backhand to correct my behavior. If I see the girls I am looking for, I will learn their names then we can leave.”

“Seems like a great deal of trouble just to leave them.” Atilas commented.

“One I know that they are there and their names. I can send a agent back to purchase them. I think that I was the target of the raid on the Villa. So I do not want a direct tie of buying them for the House of Collars. I will have the agent deliver them to a safe house I have arranged. From there I will have them delivered to Dantor’s lab where I will get them.”

“You have given this a great deal of thought, haven’t you.” He noted as he nodded his head.

“Yes,” she laughed. “Everything but now to make sure my ass doesn’t get strapped down in a branding rack.”

“That would be a very important concern for you.” He agreed. “perhaps I should have a look at your body to judge if you have anything to worry about.”

“Nice, try.” She smirked.

“Do I look like I am jesting?” he scowled at her seriously. “Show yourself.” It was not a request.

“Atilas, I don’t think..” she started. Stalling for time as her mind raced.

“You are asking me to take time away from my trip preparations to take you to a paga tavern. Surely you must have anticipated displaying your goods to me. Hence why the private dining room and no slaves to ease drop. Not off with the robes or I will do it for you.”

Ragenta rose from her pillow and started to remove her outer house robes. She was not hooded or wearing any veils so there was no need to mess with them. As she disrobed, Atilas watched her with an appraising eye of a professional slaver. That sent a chill down her spine. As she reached the final tunic she stopped after removing her stockings and slippers. The last house tunic was nothing more than a more conservative slave tunic in truth. Under it she wore only the neither closure as the final veil to her body.

Atilas then pointed to a place on the floor and snapped his fingers. “While you have not undergone the full training yourself. You know the moves and what is expected. Display there.”

Without a word she moved to the spot indicated. Standing there she raised one foot slightly while canting her hips just a little. She lifted her arms and placed her hands on the back of her neck with her fingers interlocked. She had done this not long ago downstairs, she had used another name and had been naked. Now she was in her own dining room, she might be barely clothed, but it was someone who was very dear to her that was inspecting her as if she were a slave.

Taking a knife from the table, Atilas moved closer and cut the house tunic from her body, tossing it in the fireplace. She was now wearing only the thin piece of cloth that covered her intimate region between her thighs. She dared to move her eyes to look at him as she stood there striped to the waist. Her pulse and breath quickened and that was noted by Atilas. It amused him to cause her the discomfort that they had inflected on so many free women. He walked about her and touch and caressed her bare flesh.

“Yes, you definitely should be concerned about a collar and brand. You are courting one as we speak. Were it not for our long history, you would be on your way to the iron master right now as we speak. Are you scared, Ragenta?”

“Yes, only a fool would not be.” She said then yelped as she was slapped firmly on her left buttock.

“For the moment given my status as a free man and a professional slaver. And you are a mere beautiful naked wench of question able status, Then you should address me as, Master for now.”

“You know that if I put a collar on you for this foolishness, then legally it is done. You would be a slave given me Castes and your actions.”

“Not necessarily, Master.” She smiled. “Legally if this is treated as an extension of a training exercise and I place the collar on myself as if for working on training slave. Then legally, I am still a free woman.” She smiled again. “It’s a very grey area. And the only one that will not know that I am a slave is you.”

“No, pretty slave. It will be you that does not know that. When are you wanting to go?”

“I was thinking tomorrow in the afternoon. You will be leaving soon so we can’t wait too long. And there is nothing pressing on the schedule for the house for either of us. I will leave to go shopping and meet you at Dantor’s lab. I will change and then we can go from there.”

She gasped as she was not expecting it up he started giving her the slaver’s caress through her cloth shield.

“Again you thought about just about everything, Ragenta. It seems that the curse of the fire crotches is upon you. You are soaked down there.”  All she could do was bit her lip and moan as she was fondled through the cloth attempting not to break position, She was reasonably sure that he would not punisher her for breaking position but decided not to test that theory. “Usually, I select a girl from the dinning room for the night. But you sent them away. My vessel is empty and no slave to fill it. I guess that you will just have to serve as proxy for them pretty Genta.” That was his name for her when they were young. She moaned again, then felt the cold steel back edge of a knife as the thong holding her neither closure parted  dropping to the floor. “Is that a problem, Genta? More Kalana, girl.”

“Yes, Master.” She moaned moving to the table to refill his goblet.