Lord Nicholas' party

Lord Nicholas stood in his great room, making sure the tapestries and other decorations were in place. He had coat of arms, if they had one, honoring each person who was invited. His coat of arms hung behind his throne along with a banner on each side. Hung around the room were all the others. On the floor leading from the doors to his large chair on a dais was a red carpet, wide enough to two to walk abreast. There were several pillars lining the way on either side of the carpet. Each pillar was carved to look like a different naked slave woman holding up the ceiling complete with the slave’s mark on her right cheek – if you could see it – and shackles on her wrists and ankles.

Standing along the far wall were twelve female slaves and three male slaves dressed in barely opaque silks and holding an empty tray in their hand. He smiled as he looked over each of them. “Remember," he told them, "Do not embarrass me tonight."

They knew it would be a bad idea from past experience. "No master!" they said in unison, their eyes staring at the marble floor.

Smiling he left the great room and made his way to the kitchen. When he entered all the slaves turned to him and went down to their knees. Looking over everything silently, Lord Nicholas nodded and left this time making his way to the large front doors, passing several more slaves who were standing along the wall also dressed in the slightly opaque silk. As he stood on the bridge waiting for his guests, his thoughts went back to yesterday. Ariel is such a fool but I needed her to get Adora. As was foretold, she will be very useful to me. She is only five years old now, but she will grow quickly and she will need to learn much. But she could be a problem too. Her mother was very willful, but I have broken others before, and I shall do so with Adora.

The arrival of the first carriage pulled him from his thoughts. It was pulled by four black horses and was large enough to seat six comfortably, but Lord Nicholas knew it usually held less than half. When it stopped at the bridge spanning the moat Lord Nicholas magically opened the door and lowered the steps. A man slightly taller than Lord Nicholas appeared with thick black hair streaked with grey, tied at the nape of his neck with a black ribbon, and piercing cold blue eyes. His eyes took in every detail of the castle before settling on his host and he smiled. Lord Nicholas walked to the middle of the bridge, bowed slightly and straightened, "Father. It's good of you to come." He finished crossing the bridge and they clasped forearms. "You are looking well."

His father, Gareng, waved off the compliment, "Why should I not look well? My magic is just as strong now as when I was your age." His look turned serious, "Is the child here?"

Lord Nicholas nodded, "Of course. You will meet her later."

The elder man nodded, "Yes, too bad it was a girl. But she will still be useful. What about her mother? What was her name?"

"Ariel,” Lord Nicholas answered, “and she proved too unwilling, so I killed her. Besides, she was no longer useful to me. I had a child I could use."

The elder man nodded, "I look forward to meeting her."

Lord Nicholas snapped his fingers and one of the slaves walked out to them and knelt at his feet. “If you would like, she will take you inside and make sure you are entertained while we wait for the rest of my guests.”

Gareng waved the girl away, “No. I will stay here with you.” The girl stood up and went back inside.

Another caravan pulled up, highly carved and with its own coat of arms on the door. Again, Lord Nicholas magically opened the door and a young woman with blond hair, weaved into a thick braid, and slightly pointed ears emerged. Lord Nicholas bowed his head and smiled. "Alia. You are looking very well."

The woman gave him a bright smile which lit up her green eyes. As she clasped arms with Lord Nicholas, she gave his arms an extra squeeze. "Father, it's good to see you again. It's been too long."

"How is your mother?"

"Cl'enia is doing very well father, but she still doesn't speak of you very often."

Lord Nicholas shrugged, "Well, she has been known to carry a grudge for a long time. She is an elf after all. Now, (snap) if you will follow my slave, she will take you inside and entertain you while you wait." Alia smiled, bowed her head in greeting to Gareng and followed the girl inside.

“Who else have you invited?” Gareng asked as Alia entered the castle.

Without turning around to face him, Lord Nicholas answered, “Lord Fernand, Sean Lardner,” he counted off on his fingers each person as he continued to name ten others. Gareng nodded, “Impressive and interesting. You also, if I remember correctly, have some kind of agreement with most of them.” Lord Nicholas laughed, “Yes Father, you are so right. I have invited them to remind them of the consequences. A couple of them have been late on their payments and one has the audacity to skip this last payment.”

The rest of the carriages arrived one by one until finally all of his guests had arrived. Lord Nicholas showed them all to his great room where they had a chance to talk with known guests or get to know the new. The slaves immediately held up their empty trays and began to walk around the room. As they passed the guests their favored drink would appear. Most of the guests admired the slaves, each considering which one they would claim tonight.

Lord Nicholas floated around the room, chatting about everything but saying nothing of importance as he went from group to group. He walked up to an older man with graying hair and a wiry body who was talking with a beautiful black haired woman many years his junior. She bowed to both as Lord Nicholas approached and walked away. “Benjamin, I was so sorry to hear about the horrendous attack on your caravan last month. It is the third time in four months, correct?”

The man nodded sharply and held Lord Lucovous’ eyes without fear. “It does. And I still think you had something to do with it. Possibly everything.” Benjamin sighed, “But you are our Lord and now,” he reached into a pouch hanging from his belt and pulled out a bundle of rolled up papers, “Here is the deed and other information needed to take possession of my business.”

Lord Nicholas took the papers and his victory smile said all.

“Now how are my family and I to live, my Lord?”

“You will work for me of course. You will continue in your business as usual, but under my direction. Your family belongs to me now.” The man paled and swayed on his feet. “But they will continue to live with you as a reminder - you will obey my instructions or face the consequences.” Benjamin nodded, drained his drink and left to find another.

Lord Nicholas grinned and turned to see priest Hyder who was standing alone, comfortable with his own presence and watching everyone. “Welcome again,” Lord Nicholas greeted when they were close. “I’m glad you were able to get away from the church for a while.”

Hyder smiled, “I couldn’t stay away from our largest contributor, not to mention most of our slaves come from you.”

Lord Nicholas smiled, “Just trying to do my part. Please do not hesitate to ask for anything you require. I have other slaves to choose from if these do not meet your approval for use during your stay.”

Hyder nodded and chose his drink from a passing tray. He sipped it and let the liquid roll over his tongue before swallowing. “Excellent. How did you find this rare monkeyberry wine?”

Lord Nicholas smiled, “That is my secret Hyder. But I have plenty of it, so please drink all you want.” Hyder lifted his glass in a silent toast and Lord Nicholas acknowledged it with a nod before moving to another group.

Finally he was able to get Alia alone. "How are you getting along?" Lord Nicholas asked her.

"I'm doing well,” Alia admitted, “considering I was just put on the Council just about a year ago. Some of the other Council members had a hard time accepting me since I am the youngest to gain a seat in seventy years. Still, I am qualified and the others are coming around."

Lord Nicholas nodded and smiled, "If they didn't I might have had to talk with them." He chuckled.

"They would likely listen to you more than anyone else," Alia said. "You're the Council's strongest supporter. Besides, your divination magic is extremely useful to us."

Lord Nicholas bowed, “My services are at your disposal.”

A man walked up to them who stood almost as tall as Lord Nicholas with brown hair and brown eyes. He kept his hair all one length but only to the top of his neck. He was a very common looking man, but his eyes shown with intelligence. Nothing escaped their notice. “Ah, Flagg. It’s good of you to join us.” Lord Nicholas squeezed his shoulder in obvious pleasure. Alia bowed her head to both of them and moved onto another group, leaving them alone.

“How are my new girls coming along?” Lord Nicholas asked him.

Flagg smiled, “They should be ready in another two weeks. Most of them have been slaves for some time so they are easy to train, but I have three new ones and they are fighting me.” His smiled widened, “It is always very satisfying to break them, and remold them.”

Lord Nicholas’ laugh rang out, deep and rich, loud enough to cause a few of his guests to turn in their direction. “You are the best slave trainer I have ever hired. Do any of them qualify for pleasure slave status?”

Flagg shook his head, “Possibly, but I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know as soon as I make my decision.” Lord Nicholas nodded and Flagg continued, “Now what about this child of yours – Adora? When do I get her?”

Lord Nicholas smiled, “Patience. She is still too young, but don’t worry, you’ll have your chance. Possibly in about 8 years or so.”

Flagg sighed, nodded and continued. “I also noticed she doesn’t have the slaves’ mark yet. Will I get to apply it?”

This time Lord Nicholas’ smile widened, “Anxious aren’t you? Probably, but I’m not making any promises. I may just apply it myself.”

He turned to his guests and raised his hands. “My guests, if you are ready we will start the entertainment. Please give the girls some room.” His guests immediately backed up into a wide circle. Lord Nicholas spoke his magic words and snapped his fingers. There was a burst of smoke and five women appeared along with some musicians. They quickly got into their places and the music started. Lord Nicholas waved his hands and the torches went out replaced quickly by glowing orbs which cast their soft light on the dancers and the fireplace flared into life, casting it’s light without the heat. The women were dressed as belly dancers and as they moved the light reflected off their clothes. The guests were quickly entranced. The girls movements spoke of various promises and their fulfillment. Although there were several guests, the girls made each of them feel like it was a private performance just for them.

As they danced, the lightweight coins on their clothes and the bells on their ankle chains tinkled lightly on the ears. Each of the girls was dressed in a different color – red, yellow, purple, green, and gold. They danced and never seemed to tire. As the evening wore on, more and more layers came off of the girls costumes. Eventually there was a fine sheen of sweat covering their bodies and they were dressed only in their hip scarves. The music built to a crescendo and the girls twirled around at a dizzying speed, before gracefully falling to the floor as the music ended. The applause was uproarious.

“Wonderful, ladies,” Lord Nicholas’ voice rang out over the crowd and the girls stood and collected their scarves and clothes from the floor. They gathered in front of Lord Nicholas and knelt, “You will be called for again, so be prepared.” He clapped his hands and the ladies and musicians disappeared.

A gong sounded down the hall and Lord Nicholas showed his guests to the dining room where they were served all their favorite foods. They dined and drank to their hearts content. When they were satisfied and the table cleared off, Lord Nicholas whistled and the serving slaves walked into the dining room without their trays. They lined up facing the dining table looking at the floor. Lord Nicholas snapped his fingers and the five dancers also joined the servers.

"Now gentlemen and ladies. To keep up my reputation of hospitality you may choose any of my slaves here you wish to use for the length of your stay. I simply ask you do not maim or scar them. Otherwise anything goes. If you want to keep any of them, I'm sure we can agree on a reasonable price. Please let me know if you have any special needs or you don’t see anything that entices you."

All his guests stood up and began to walk among the slaves who were silent. Most of the slaves accepted this part of Lord Nicholas' entertainment - after all, a host’s reputation depends on the quality and quantity of the slaves his guests can pick from. However, some of the slaves looked worried because it was also a known fact - you never knew the desires of those who chose you. Occasionally the slaves were asked a question or two, which was answered softly, but mostly the picking was done quietly. Soon enough though, all the slaves were chosen and they lead their Master's guests to the assigned guest rooms.

"And now," Gareng said when the room was empty, "You promised me something else."

Lord Nicholas laughed and slapped his father on the shoulder, "Of course! I did not forget. She is staying with Sarah for now. Frankly I am not sure what to do with her until she turns training age." Lord Nicholas lead his father out of the dining room and down the hall a second time to Sarah's rooms. This time the main room where she mixes her salves was empty, but Lord Nicholas simply went to the only other door at the rear of the room and opened it. Revealed was an even smaller room with Sarah sitting on the floor brushing out Adora's hair and laughing. Sarah was getting her ready for bed. Sarah quickly knelt when the men entered, but Adora watched them.

The elder approached Adora, but it was Lord Nicholas who spoke. "Gareng, this is your granddaughter, Adora."

Gareng picked up the child and felt her tense in his arms. "Now child here is nothing to fear. You just do as you're told and everything will be fine." He put her down and Adora quickly ran behind Sarah. "Timid little thing," Gareng said critically.

"Yes," Lord Nicholas agreed, "but she's young still. I have a feeling she will have her mother's stubbornness which will have to be beaten out of her."

Gareng nodded and they left the room, closing the door behind them. As they walked down the hall, Gareng spoke, "Tell me again about the vision you saw concerning Adora."

"Well, as you know I cast the spell about a week before I met Ariel. I was told –

She will be a great help to you; She will be a great threat

She will cause you to prosper; She will have a hand in your death

She will have magic not her own; Her magic belongs to another

Gareng nodded, "Just be careful with her. Control her with an iron fist. Her animal nature could easily cause her to turn on you."

"Yes sir. I already have a few ideas on how to handle it."

Their aimless walking through the castle led them to the second floor and in the guests hallway where they could hear various moans and screams coming from most of the rooms from the slaves. "Sounds like my guests are enjoying themselves. Good. They should sleep soundly tonight," Lord Nicholas said. They finally reached the suite of rooms Lord Nicholas had prepared for Gareng. As he opened the door, "Shall I bring you any slaves sir?"

Thinking it over Gareng shook his head, "No son. I will sleep alone, but" and he waved his hand while muttering and suddenly the moaning was heard in his room clearly. "I shall sleep to the girls pleasure and suffering." They both laughed and parted company.

Lord Nicholas continued up another flight of stairs to his rooms on the third floor. The whole floor was converted into his personal library, divination room and bedroom. He made his way to a spiral staircase near his bed and climbed it the only direction it would go - up to the pleasure slave's quarters. The whole fourth floor was dedicated to them. They were lying around in all states of undress and when they saw him, they quickly bowed low. He quickly picked two girls and they followed him back to his room, trembling.

"Prepare me for bed," he ordered and they quickly obeyed. As they undressed him he thought once again about the vision. Too bad it wasn't more specific on how exactly Adora would be instrumental to me. But I will control her or she will pay dearly for it.