Whatever It Takes 3: Love in Chains - EXCERPT

Chapter 6

Laina tried very hard not to think about everything Ersey made her do. But some of the scenes were so deeply engraved in her brain she doubted they were ever going to fade away. He wasn’t hurting her, at least not physically. He was far from gentle but if she kept doing everything he said, he didn’t cause her pain on purpose. Still, it was all incredibly humiliating, especially when he pleasured her, making her moan and scream.

Sometimes he invited the dark-skinned man, Sa’zeer, to watch, which was even worse. The man was probably some first officer or something, she wasn’t sure what the position was called properly. Not that it mattered. He and Ersey looked like they were close friends and the captain definitely wasn’t shy in front of him.

He always made her eat the food, claiming that good whores deserve to be paid properly. Laina gave up the protests because she realized one thing - the sick f**k liked her being timid and scared. He loved listening to her sniffles and quiet begging. Whenever she became even the tiniest bit more confident, talking back at him or daring to ask questions, he always came up with something scary and humiliating to put her right back into her place.

Like the last time, when she tried to talk to him about the whole slavery thing, and he got angry and f****d her in the ass. It still hurt even hours later. So, being a good w***e, she kept her mouth shut (unless of course there was a d**k in it), wondering quietly how long it was going to take before she lost herself completely in this madness.

She couldn’t stay angry at Lamar. Yes, he said some stupid things, but that was what stupid people did, right? And what was the alternative? Ignore him and suffer on her own? At least this way she had someone to cuddle up to, someone to hold her, to give her a resemblance of safety, no matter how fake that feeling was. Someone to take her mind off things. She knew him well enough to know that he would never try to take advantage of her, he was just not that kind of a man.

Back in Levanta, he got her out of the dungeons by pretending he wanted to have s*x with her. Laina still remembered the surprised looks on the faces of the other guards. That was not something they expected him to do simply because he was an honest and honorable man. Caring and compassionate. But also dumb as a leaky bucket. Always saying the wrong things.

When they brought her up on the deck again, she froze in her tracks, staring at the view in front of her with her mouth agape. Xi-huan. It must have been, she could see the walls and the towers of the Blessed District, the residence of the emperor Odi himself, on the horizon. Between them and the seafront was the largest city she had ever seen. Vantia was a big port but it looked like a backwater village compared to the sheer space Xi-huan spanned across. Every tiny bit of land as far as Laina could see was occupied by a building, street, square, park, or garden.

The docks were huge and the ships’ masts looked like a forest. Cranes were hovering above the docking spots, transporting crates, boxes, large sacks, or even live animals to and from the ships. Aboard the Dragon’s Fortune, all the cargo hold hatches were opened and the crew was busy unloading the goods. Nobody seemed to care that it was a pirate ship and that the goods were stolen, often the packaging was still covered in the blood of the previous owners.

Bewildered, Laina looked around for a few moments before the man behind her nudged her forward, leading her toward the captain’s cabin once more. Great, the bastard probably wanted one more f**k before he sold her like cattle. Laina noticed the slaves, it was impossible not to. Being brought to and from the ships in shackles, angry men with whips standing guard. The only difference between the people and the cargo was that the crates were being carried while the poor men and women had to walk on their own. And children. Gods! Laina noticed a girl that wasn’t older than five with red stripes on her tiny back. What a sick country this was.

“Ah, there is my favorite cunt!” Ersey grinned when she entered and Laina lowered her head, not wanting him to see her eyeroll. “Come here.” He pulled her on his lap, sighing as he buried his face into her cleavage. “I’m going to miss this. I’ve already arranged a new home for you. You’ve been a good girl, so I did the best I could while still making some profit. I’m a businessman first, you see.”

A new home for her? What was she, a stray dog? “Where are you sending me?” The thing that frightened her the most was that he was going to sell her into a brothel. Laina wasn’t afraid of hard work, she could cook and clean, she has been a maid for most of her life. But if she had to continue with what she went through on this ship, or something even worse, she would probably just find a way to end her own life.

“Don’t worry.” His fingers slid over her body and he lifted her skirt. “I would hate for this amazing cunt of yours to be ruined by a crowd of nobodies. Keep your head down and your mouth shut and you will be just fine. Now, as a thank you for me,” he grabbed her arms and repositioned her so she was straddling him, pulling her underwear to the side, his fingers sliding into her core, “you are going to f**k me one last time before we part ways.”

It didn’t really surprise her, she expected him to come up with something like that. She quickly reached for the strings on his breeches, knowing she had to be fast so he wouldn’t get impatient and angry. Laina breathed out while lowering herself onto his hard c**k. They had the act perfected by so many repetitions that she didn’t even bother to count them, she just learned to go with it. No point in fighting.

He was done quickly, a small blessing. Or maybe not a blessing at all, since now she was a step closer to meeting her new masters. They couldn’t be as cruel and as vigilant as the pirates, right? It must have been easier to escape from a house in the city than from a ship in the middle of the ocean.

“Wait.” A horrible thought occurred to her when he finally pushed her away and told her to stand in the corner and keep her mouth shut. “What about Lamar? Could we please at least stay together?” Even before she finished the question, Laina already knew the answer.

Ersey chuckled and shook his head. “Your friend has certainly not been a good girl, so he doesn’t get any special treatment. You were right, he is young and strong, he will sell well. Now shut up.”

Laina tried to fight back the tears. Naive as she was, she thought they could at least stay together, but now? Even if she managed to escape, how were they going to find each other? And Lamar was lost without her, he barely spoke the language, knew very little about the country and its customs. He was bound to get beaten to death after he unknowingly insults someone.

Upon hearing her sniffle, Ersey’s sharp gaze pierced her but before he could say something, there was a loud knock on the door. “He’s here.” That was Sa’zeer’s voice from the outside.

“Let him in.” Ersey stood up, walking to the door to greet a short, bald man, a local, by his appearance. The captain bowed slightly in front of the visitor and Laina kept her head down, since it was rude to stare. Based on his clothes, the man was rich and well situated. There was a pin with a yellow dragon on his chest, which meant he worked in the Blessed District.

Was that where Ersey was sending her? Crap! The royal palace and the buildings around it were surrounded by tall, thick walls and the security was deemed to be impenetrable. How was she supposed to escape from there? On the other hand, it was better than a brothel. Unless there was a private brothel on the inside of the walls.

The man sized her up. “This one?” He didn’t even wait for Ersey’s confirmation and strode toward Laina. It was almost funny, since he was at least a foot shorter than her (and Laina herself wasn’t exactly a giant). “Hmm,” he frowned, “do you at least speak the language, girl?”

Laina couldn’t exactly match his impeccable pronunciation and fluent speech but she did understand him well enough. “Yes, sir.”

“Master,” Ersey growled and Laina quickly corrected herself.

“Yes, master.” She had to learn fast. Cchen-Lian wasn’t known for treating their slaves nicely.

The frown did not disappear from the man’s face. “What did you do before, k’oxa?”

“I was a maid, master.” Laina decided to pretend she didn’t understand the insult. It meant something along the lines of “the foreign b***h” which, naturally, made the pirate captain giggle quietly.

Laina’s new master shot a disapproving look in Ersey’s direction but didn’t comment on his obvious lack of manners. Probably knew Ersey was a pirate, those weren’t exactly known to be well-behaved. “A maid, huh? Probably not a very good one, since you ended up here. But whatever. I’ll take her,” he turned to the captain and snapped his fingers. “Rayeed!” A caramel-skinned man peeked into the cabin. “Give her a collar and take her back, I have some business to discuss with the captain.”

Rayeed grabbed Laina’s arm and pulled her outside. He was a big man, muscular like Lamar, if not more. And armed, Laina noticed a sword by his waist. He pulled a metal collar from a bag hanging over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow in Laina’s direction. “Are you going to cause trouble?”

Laina was quick to shake her head. No, she needed to get her bearings first before she tried to escape. “Good,” the man nodded and put the collar around her neck, securing it with a lock. “Do I have to use this?” There was a chain in his bag as well, with a snap ring that allowed it to be attached to the collar. Like a leash for a dog.

Laina shook her head again. “No, master.” For now, she needed to convince everyone that she was harmless and that she had accepted her destiny. Hopefully, it was going to make them lower their guard around her at least a little.

“Master,” he chuckled, “I like that. But you don’t have to call me that. I’m like you, see?” His hair was dark and fell down to his shoulders so Laina hadn’t noticed the collar before. The one on his neck was just a leather strap, more of a symbol than something with actual use, but it meant Rayeed was a slave as well. “Come on,” he nodded at her and headed off the ship.

It was strange to be back on the dry land and Laina staggered, not used to the ground beneath her being so still. Damn, it felt like being drunk, she wasn’t able to walk in a straight line. Fortunately, Rayeed seemed amused rather than angry, leaning against a railing and watching her learning to walk again. “Long time at sea?” he smirked. “Don’t worry, it will pass.”

“Just a few weeks.” Her legs were wobbly but managed to take a few steps toward him. “It felt like an eternity though,” she added quietly but he heard her anyway.

“A pretty girl like you on a ship full of pirates? Can imagine.” When he straightened up and grabbed her wrist, she flinched. “Oh, sorry.” There was an apologetic smile on his lips but he didn’t let go of her. “I promise I won’t hurt you but the streets are a bit crowded at this time of day and I wouldn’t want you getting lost. I really don’t want to get whipped for letting you escape and, more importantly, those who try to escape do not have a pretty death. You’ll see. So, you are either alright with me holding your hand or I’ll put you on a leash. Your choice.”

He might have seemed friendly but in order to survive in this world and even make it into some higher rank, he must have been tough and no doubt merciless at times. It was obvious he wouldn’t hesitate to drag Laina over by her hair if it proved necessary. It probably wouldn’t make him happy but he wouldn’t lose sleep over it. “It’s alright, you can hold my hand.” Lots of slaves were walking around with someone tugging on the chains attached to their collars, nobody would even notice Laina. But even the idea of it still felt incredibly humiliating.

“Great!” Rayeed grinned at her. “You are a smart girl, you will do just fine.” Yes, she really needed to be smart now more than ever if she wanted to survive and get out of there.

They walked in silence, Rayeed even let go of her wrist and actually held her hand as if they were a couple on a romantic stroll through the town. Just like he said, there really were crowds of people in the streets. Merchants offered goods from all over the world, half-naked women and even men offered themselves. It actually felt a lot like home, only everything was bigger and louder. And there were a lot more slaves around.

As they turned around the corner, Rayeed sighed quietly. “I really wish you didn’t have to see this but it is mandatory for all new slaves who come into the Blessed District. We all have to be on our best behavior since we are serving the emperor and his family.” Upon hearing a pained scream, Laina shuddered. She had a pretty good idea about what was going on in front of them and she too wished she didn’t have to see it. “This is the Square of the Crescent Moon.”

“The torture square,” Laina muttered, earning a solemn nod from her guide.

“You know a lot. Don’t say that too loud though, especially not around here.” There were lots of people in the square but it was mostly silent, conversations were whispered, nobody dared to make a louder sound. Even Rayeed seemed nervous as he led Laina toward one of the wooden platforms in the center.

The thing nailed to it probably used to be a human but it was mangled beyond recognition. Laina desperately swallowed, trying to calm her stomach. At least this poor fellow was dead, unlike the next one, hanging by his wrists, his entire body covered by layers of dried blood. There were countless others. Rayeed was probably supposed to make her watch to teach her a lesson, but he let her walk with her head down, grabbing her hand tightly. When they finally left the square, Laina looked at him with tears in her eyes. “All of them tried to escape?”

“Some,” he sighed, letting go of her for a moment so she could lean against the nearest wall. “Some spoke up against their masters, disobeyed orders, tried to steal something, said, heard, or saw something they shouldn’t have. It’s not hard to get up there.”

Laina shuddered. Lesson learned – don’t get caught alive.

***

Next update: Saturday