Chapter Thirteen
I Meet My Employer, At Last
Eventually, we entered the base of the central tower after passing through a multitude of airy arcades and beautiful gardens. I was taken into a beautifully appointed elevator and whisked silently and speedily to the top floor, then drawn into a vast, dimly lit bedroom, high above the surrounding Palace. Here, I was doubly leashed to a heavy ring inset solidly in the footboard of the large bed, kneeling and unable to rise from the small throw rug of a lion’s pelt. My arms remained still chained high up behind my back, now completely numb from their difficult and extremely uncomfortable positioning. I waited for hours, a perfumed and prepared slave girl, scared of what would surely happen if I failed to please my Master.
At last my jumbled and
