"Bound to Serve, Part I"

[OdileCondacin 0]

(Warning -- does contain some mature dialogue.)

 

The Lord Regent Koshic N'Dak, Ruler of Elasia and Sovereign of the Children of Elaa, along with a host of other titles, had just settled into his favorite plush chair when the door of his bedchamber slid open quietly. The slender figure silhouetted there was familiar: his Xenexian slave, O'd'yl.

 

The woman took a few small steps inside before dropping to a knee, her head lowering, humbly as she waited for him to speak.

 

He stared at her, his eyes boring coldly into her. "You insulted one of my officers today."

 

"My lord?" She glanced up at him. "The one who would not leave me to serving my master in peace?"

 

A scowl settled heavily on his features. "Haughty, rude, contemptuous, lazy... Words I am... unaccustomed to hearing applied to my slaves."

 

She nodded slowly, not rising. "Perhaps he was correct, but I personally do not believe that such slander is entirely accurate. If I may be so bold, I believe that he was attempting to turn my loyalties from you to him."

 

"Do you now." His eyes narrowed as the amulet on his chest began to glow faintly. "I think he was simply trying to coax you into his bed."

 

"Perhaps he was," she acquiesced. "But it was not his right to do so." Mental shields rising, she started to breathe uneasily.

 

"His right?" A harsh, barking laugh emerged from Koshic's throat. "Need we go over -- yet again -- what your position is?"

 

"No, Sir," she replied quickly. "I am your slave," she announced hastily, eyes darting to his for a reaction.

 

Her surface thoughts held the proper degree of fear, but there was something else there. "A pathetic example of a race so weak they were conquered twice," he pressed, his gaze fixed intently on her.

 

A stab of regret sliced through her. "Justly so, Lord. We are inferior," she murmured, reciting the phrases she'd learned to use in pacification.

 

"So what," he growled, "makes you think there is any Elasian on this ship who cannot command you? You think you are better than even the lowest crewman aboard?"

 

"I would prefer to think that my duties towards you -- and the ship itself -- would be more important than servicing one of your officers."

 

A slice of pain slapped into her mind, searing. "You do not prefer anything, slave. You do not think -- you obey."

 

She whimpered quietly, nodding frantically. "As you say, Master."

 

He allowed the pressure to ease away, extending a hand to her. "Come here."

 

Hesitating, she eyed him warily before rising, approaching. "Yes, my lord?"

 

He caught her hands, inspected them closely. "Well. It appears you did at least some work today after all."

 

She nodded, fear quelling, at least slightly. "I did what I could, Sir. My best."

 

"Wine," he ordered curtly, releasing her and settling back in his chair.

 

She scampered off to a small yet lavishly stocked cupboard in the far corner of the room, retrieving a crystalline bottle and goblet. She gently removed the stopper, pouring the lilac beverage into the vessel before offering it to him with a small nod of the head.

 

He took it nonchanlantly, skimming quickly through her mind to ensure no unpleasant surprises awaited him, then sipped. A smirk. "Boots," he said, snapping his fingers at her imperiously and motioning to the footwear in question.

 

She kneeled at his feet, deftly beginning to remove the polished leather. "Has it been a trying day for you, my lord?" she asked, without pretense. Removing the other boot, she glanced at the rich carpeting on the floor. "If it is my place to ask."

 

"Lengthy," he said shortly, lifting the glass to his lips again. "Affairs of state consume a great deal of time and energy... but of course, you could hardly understand."

 

Her eyes flashed angrily. "With respect, I was leader on Xenex. You know this, Master."

 

"It is hardly possible to call the head of such rabble a 'leader'," he drawled, stretching out his long legs. "Alpha female, perhaps, as in certain animal packs..."

 

She pulled back, slightly offended. "Regent," she began, words flying like darts, "I beg you reconsider your views of my stature."

 

"Reconsider?" He appeared to be honestly surprised, and perhaps a bit amused. "Girl, your stature is what is has always been, and will always be: a weak, pathetic example of a primitive and barbaric species, one step away from being displayed in my menagerie."

 

"Menagerie?" she asked, her temper raging beneath the quickly-heating facade. "Do you truly take pleasure in infuriating me?"

 

He smirked. "Someday, slave, you will learn your proper place. In the meantime..." His eyes narrowed. "Fear..."

 

She stumbled backward, trembling as her jaw tightened. "Please," she mumbled, motioning beseechingly to him.

 

The waves of crushing terror continued for a space of ten heartbeats before he released her. "Now," the Regent said in satisfaction, "shall we try that again?"

 

She nodded slowly, still keeping her distance from him. "Very well, lord," she replied staunchly.

 

"You're improving," he noted. "Time was you'd have continued to insist that your miserable species deserved some consideration... all evidence to the contrary."

 

"Some consideration, perhaps, under your lordship's firm leadership." An ongoing... discussion... between the two of them.

 

"They haven't shared the Danteri's fate... yet." He gazed down at her impassively. "How much more consideration do you want?"

 

She pretended to consider the fact. "Master is most kind, to spare my people. And for that I am grateful," she stated, honestly. "But if only there was a way for us to prove greater worth..."

 

He sighed. Her thoughts betrayed her, as usual, but he would play along for now. "It is frequently difficult," mused the Regent, "to remember why I spare Xenex, when every time I turn around a daughter of that world is trying my patience."

 

"I apologize, Lord. There are times I forget that I single-handedly represent my people."

 

"Hardly single-handedly." There were, after all, several other Xenexian slaves on the ship. "But you are... my primary specimen, shall we say?"

 

"And I am content to serve so," she said, evenly.

 

His eyes met hers, and there was a touch in her mind like raking claws. Koshic smirked. "If you say so, slave."

 

"Yes, Master." Her eyes didn't leave his, the golden tones chilling. "I am indeed content."

 

He smiled lazily, and the tension in the air vanished. "Then come and serve me," he directed, crooking a finger at her, "and remind me why Xenex has not shared the fate of Remus."