"The palanquin is then brought within the walls of the outer tent. Meanwhile the female is stripped. She is placed, unconscious, in the palanquin. Binding thongs, about her ankles, her legs spread, about her wrists, they tied down at her sides, and about her thighs, belly, above her breasts and below her arms, and about her throat, fasten her to it, securing her tightly in place. When she awakens she will discover she can scarcely move a muscle. She is then gagged. Lastly the curtains of the palanquin are closed. She is now ready to be transported."
"She has been drugged of course," I said.
"Not heavily," he said. "She will remain unconscious, by our intent, for only a few Ehn, for little longer than it takes to strip, bind and gag her. We want her to awaken quite soon, while still in the Cosian camp, and, awakening, to be fully appreciative of her predicament. We want her to lie there, helpless, fully conscious of what is being done to her."
"Excellent," I said.
"My man checked in on her once," he said. "Her eyes were wild, frantic, over her gag. He then, again, closed the curtains."
"It is a splendid coup," I said, "to have stolen the preferred slave of the Polemarkos of Temos."
"Had it not been for your arrogance and greed, it would not have been so easy, would it my dear?" he said to the woman.
"No, Master," she said.
"But you are not arrogant and greedy anymore, are you, my dear?" he asked. "No, Master!" she said.
"We brought her to Torcadino," he said. "As you may remember, she had had my man, though she was a slave, pour wine for her."
"I remember," I said.
"Her first beating, thus," he said, "she received from him."
"Naturally," I said.
"Her next four beatings, at given intervals, she received from the four fellows who had been her bearers formerly, now free men."
"Naturally," I said.
"At times we had to caution them, and restrain them," he said, "that they not kill her."
"I understand," I said.
"She was then ready to be interrogated," he said.
"Interrogated?" I said.
"Certainly," he said. "Do you think I find this slut of any personal interest or worth?"
"I can see how some men might," I said.
"She is vain, and shallow," he said. "Aren't you, my dear?"
"Yes, Master," she said.
"But we are going to work hard to overcome those flaws, aren't we, my dear?" he inquired.
"Yes, Master!" she said.
He put his hand on her.
She cried out, startled, She jerked back against the stout post. Her hands jerked in the metal fastenings. She regarded him with disbelief, with horror. "You are no longer a high slave," he said. "You are going to have to get used to being touched like this."
She looked at him, wildly. Her hands twisted. She could not close her legs. "I thought you might have had her stolen," I said, "in order to do insult to Myron, the Polemarkos."
"Please, no!" she cried.
"No," he said. "I would not risk men in such an unnecessary and gratuitous enterprise. My major concern is with the expeditious and efficient attainment of certain ultimate objectives. I seldom indulge in the gratifications of such transient vanities unless they lead to these objectives, or, at the least, are not inimical to their attainment. Such an insult, stinging as it would be, would not serve any particular purpose at the moment, for example, stirring a foe to a fury of vengeance which might lead to miscalculation on his part. In this particular situation it would presumably only make it more difficult to deal with the Polemarkos, to whom I must soon give the appearance of inviting bona fide negotiation."
"No, no, no," whispered the girl.
"In that way you will delay attacks and buy time," I said.
"Yes," he said.
"No, no," whimpered the girl. "No!"
"Besides," he said. "I bear the Polemarkos no ill will. He is a clever, if weak, officer.
"No, no!" said the girl. "Oh, yes," she cried, suddenly, "Yes!" Her eyes were wild. "Yes, please! she said. She squirmed. She closed her eyes. Her knees moved piteously. "Yes, please!" she said.
"She is vital," I observed.
"Yes," agreed the officer.
"Perhaps the Polemarkos would not be pleased to observe how you have her leaping under your touch."
"Perhaps not," he said. "But he would presumably understand I mean no insult by it. She is, after all, only a slave."
"True," I said.
"Please, do not stop," she said. "Please do not stop!"
"Do you move like this under the touch of the Polemarkos?" he asked her. "No," she said. "No, never. I did not know it could be like this!" The officer stepped back. Her eyes opened. They were wild. There were tears in them. "Please," she said. "Please!" She thrust her body forward, toward him, piteously begging the continuation of his attentions.
"How is that you would have had her stolen, not for her own beauty, for she is prize collar meat, which I would think would have been a sufficient reason for doing so, nor as an insult to the Polemarkos, but merely to interrogate?" I asked.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Yes, yes!" she cried, gratefully. "Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!" "She is only a slave," I said.
"Now, she is only a slave," he said.
«Yes, she whimpered. "Oh, yes!"
"But before," he continued, "she was also the confidante of the Polemarkos. By means of her wiles and beauty she had ingratiated herself with him and there were few secrets of state to which she, in one way or another, was not privy. She even attended certain meetings of war, though concealed in her silks behind a modesty screen. Her presence there, as you might imagine, even concealed behind the screen, considerably discomfited several officers. It was partly as a result of their resentful, guarded comments, overheard by certain spies, that I came to realize her importance." He paused for a moment. "Are you important now, my dear?" he asked.
"No, Master!" she said.
"What are you now?" he asked.
"A slave, only a slave, your slave!" she said.
He then renewed his attentions to her body.
"Yes, yes, yes!" she said.
"What was your name?" he said.
"Lucilina!" she gasped.
"You are not responding like a Lucilina," he said. She moaned, and squirmed. "You are responding more like a Luchita," he said.
"Yes, Master," she said. "Yes, Master!"
"You are Luchita," he said.
"Yes, Master," she said, named. I thought this a good name for her. It was a good name for a hot helpless, dominated slave. "Are you a high slave, Luchita?" he asked.
"I do not know," she said.
"No," he said. "You are not. You are now among the lowest of low slaves." "Yes, Master," she said.
"And I will give you, accordingly," he said, "to one of my lowest soldiers, to a rude and common fellow, one of the lowest rank."