Slave-Girl of the Dragon Rider - Lisa Skydla (best ereader for manga .TXT) 📗

around the room.
Sinja stood there for some time, shifting her weight uncertainly from one leg to the other, not daring to look up, but nothing happened. Artyom was sitting on his bed, watching the lovely creature who had immediately caught his eye in the slave tent. He had already stripped off his boots, cloak and pants. “You will get tired if you just keep standing there” he observed coolly. “But I don’t know what you expect from me master” Sinja stammered. A quiet grunt made her wince; it seemed her reply had annoyed him. “Come here, I am not going to eat you” he commanded impatiently. She immediately started shuffling toward his voice, nearly stumbling into a stool with her still lowered gaze. “Do us both a favour and take a look around; there is no reason to constantly stare at the floor, unless of course you find the carpet so appealing” Artyom mocked. Sinja gulped and raised her head. She looked around his bedroom and was once again amazed to find it decorated in a bright yellow, radiating joy, which she had not expected from a man with the charisma of an iceberg. She glanced around quickly; desk, chair, bed with cabinet, without taking in the details. Then she looked at him, sitting on his bed in nothing but a pair of narrow briefs, with the chrischnik under his arm. The huge animal was snuggled up to him, and Mika appeared to be rolling his eyes in pleasure from being stroked. Sinja stopped immediately, not daring to go any further. “Please tell me what I should do. I am your willing servant” she managed to get out as she stood before him. Again she heard a faint grunt, and the next moment his powerful arms snaked around her and pulled her onto the bed. She lay transfixed with fear in his arms, hoping the towel wouldn’t slip; her master appeared to have bought her for some rather special tasks.
“Why are you not wearing anything?” he enquired. Confused once more, she looked at him with another hard gulp, “I’m sorry master, but my clothes are dirty, and they stink. I beg your permission to wash them. Perhaps you will have the mercy to allow me a little yarn so I may darn them” she whispered, not letting the chrischnik out of her sight. “Sit up and calm down, neither Mika nor I will hurt you” Artyom lorded over her. She obeyed instantly, and sat carefully on the edge of the bed, tightening the towel firmly at the same time. “Of course you can wash your clothes, but unless I am very much mistaken it will not be worth the effort. I will get you some clothes to wear for the time being, and tomorrow we will go to the market shopping” he answered quietly. She looked back at him gratefully, and for the first time he smiled, gleaming white teeth flashing across his darkly tanned face, and in his eyes she saw an amused sparkle. “Thank you master” she whispered. Artyom spoke again, “I want you to recover and get some rest. In public I will treat you as a slave, but here with me you will be in safety” he told her, gently taking her hand and delicately stroking the back, then turned her around and followed the calluses which had formed over the previous days. He looked her longingly in the eyes, and lowered his head to kiss her palm, tenderly stroking the soft skin with his tongue while still holding her with gentle firmness. She desperately tried to pull her fingers away, her heart pounding as she realised she was actually enjoying this tenderness, and far too much; which wasn’t right, and in the end would not bode well for her, but wasn’t he forcing her to accept his caresses? Finally he let go of her, putting his hand over her cheek to delicately stroke with his thumb, and again looked her penetratingly in the eye.
The way he was treating her with all this caring affection did not however leave Sinja cold, quite to the contrary; her mind was screaming to keep her distance, but her battered soul desperately needed this closeness. Without consciously thinking, she nestled up to his palm, and closed her eyes. No matter what came next, for that one moment she felt safe and secure. Only when Artyom drew back his hand did she open her eyes again, looking at him questioningly, but he only took her hand once more, laying it on the coat of the chrischnik who immediately turned toward her. Startled, her eyes widened, fear snatching at her throat. “Trust me, he will not hurt you, quite the opposite” her master whispered softly. Without resisting, but still trembling with fear, she allowed him to lead her fingers over the soft fur. She had expected it to be hard and bristly, not soft as silk. She slowly began to relax and looked the beast which appeared so faithful to its master in the eyes. “He likes you” whispered the dragon rider, whom she had momentarily almost forgotten, and only at that moment did she realise he had let go of her hand, and she was stroking Mika all by herself. She stroked tenderly over the chrischnik’s head, and he closed his eyes with a softly satisfied grunt. “He really is quite tame” she realised, astonished. Artyom was watching her with fascination, this tiny thing, stroking his gigantic pet. Immersed in the sight of her, he at first didn’t notice that she had addressed him. “Didn’t you want to bathe, master?” she repeated. Lost in thought, he nodded, and with a light slap drove Mika from the bed. He wanted to talk and set a few little rules, without Mika distracting them. With a low growl the chrischnik obeyed, but it was clear he wasn’t entirely happy about the command.
“What is your name?” asked Artyom. “Sinja” she replied immediately, lowering her eyes. His hand took her chin and turned her head to face him. “Forget what they taught you. I want you to look at me when you speak to me, understood?” he ordered calmly. She nodded quickly, but still didn’t know exactly why he had bought her in the first place. “As I said, outside these walls I will treat you as my slave. Not of course that I will punish you or treat you badly, but you will wear special clothes and a collar” he informed her, matter of fact, immediately touching her neck where, after the healing, there were no longer any traces of the iron collar, but the memory of pain and humiliation was nevertheless still fresh. He delicately laid his large hand on her, gently shaking his head. “It will not be a steel shackle that chaffs your skin” he promised, with a tender glint in his eyes. “Here in the palace you can move around freely” he reassured her, and then noticed the scent “Sinja, my little rose of the steppe” but as she nodded, her stomach growled loudly and she instantly blushed. Artyom softly laughed and stood. “Wait here a minute, I will quickly bathe, and then we can go together to the dining room” he instructed. “Please master, I didn’t know where to find a bucket, and so the bath hasn’t been emptied yet” she began, but he only laid a delicate finger over her lips. “Do not worry yourself about it. I have a very capable man who built me a facility to drain the water and also refill the bathtub” he explained, calmingly. For a moment she thought he was joking, but then realised he was completely serious. “I will show you how it works later. At the moment I want you to stay here and wait for me” he instructed calmly. Obediently, she nodded and watched as he left the room. With relief, she lay back and closed her eyes. The mattress seemed wonderfully soft after all the nights spent on the bare ground, and with a quiet sigh, she fell asleep.
When he came out of the bathroom Artyom found his slave tightly curled up at the foot of his bed, next to Mika. Smiling, he stood before the bed watching her. It was sad that they had met this way, but fate often took odd paths. He quickly slipped into some fresh clothes and then went down to find some clothes for Sinja. One of the younger slave girls had to have something spare in the right size. He hated the slave trade, but to survive in this society he had no choice but to accept it. However, he could ensure that at least his people were treated with respect and not abused. He regularly bought new slaves at the market, maintaining the persistent rumour that his slaves often fell victim to the dragon, which was precisely the way he wanted it, so no one would ask why he bought so many people. None of the respectable citizens would understand him wanting to avoid a brutal fate for at least a few of the wretches.
He finally arrived at the servants rooms, looking indecisive. No one there had anything like the petite figure of his little rose of the steppe. “Can we help you Artyom? Looks like something is bothering you” remarked an older servant woman affably. “I bought a new slave girl and she needs clean clothes, but she is still very young, and very slim” replied their master with a smile. The woman nodded understandingly, then walked away to return shortly with a wrap-around skirt and matching blouse. “This will have to do for now, she can pull the ribbons tightly enough that nothing slips. Underwear is a problem though, unfortunately there’s nothing fittings your description” she explained, handing him the clothes. Artyom thanked her graciously “My thanks Darina, you are a great help.” “If you bring her to me, I’ll measure her up and we can at least sew her a skirt and top in your colours. There’s still plenty of fabric” she reminded him. Artyom nodded, it was important that she wore the colours of his house, they served as protection. “I will bring her to you after dinner” he agreed. Smiling, she watched him go as he made his way back. For the first time he was keeping a female slave with him, and for the first time he hadn’t introduced her to the others, at least not yet. This woman must have made a great impression on him indeed, but Darina only wished the best for her master, who had saved her from rape and abuse. Had he not intervened when her previous owner had beaten her almost to death, things would have been completely different today. Smiling she went she back to her work, she would get to see the new slave girl soon enough.
Artyom entered his bedroom with a smile on his face, but then remembered his little nomad had been through hell over the last few days. It would take quite some time before she could trust, or even laugh again. Asleep, she looked so sweet and peaceful, yet he decided to wake her, gently touching her shoulder. “Wake up, rose of the steppe” he whispered. Confused, Sinja opened her eyes and looked at him with terror. “I’m sorry master, I didn’t mean to fall asleep” she stuttered. Her frightened reaction confirmed to him how she had been mistreated, and he shook his head gently. “Not a problem, you can sleep when you are tired. Everything is going to be alright” he calmed her with his dark voice. She was secretly relieved, and looked at him again, this time observantly. He had still not assigned her any task in his household, and she hoped he would not sell her again. “I brought you some clothes, and then we can also have dinner, if you like” he informed her. “Thank you master” she