WARNING: This is a work of erotic fiction. It contains depictions of
nudity and graphic sex.

Author: A Strange Geek
Title: Amanda's Choice
Summary: A 14-year-old girl with a troubled home life is swept away to
another world by an older female lover, where she must make the
ultimate choice between love and freedom.

Part: 10 of 19
Keywords: F+f, Mf, oral

Note: Story codes are for this Chapter. See Chapter 0 for complete list
of codes

Copyright A Strange Geek, 2005

Feedback welcome! Please email me at astraYOURngegeek@comMINDcast.net
( lose YOUR MIND to email me )

Or to send anonymous feedback, use the form at bottom of HTML version:

/~A_Strange_Geek/novels/AmandasChoice/Chapter10.html



---------------

"Sirinna, I, um, have a question for you."

Sirinna turned her platter around on the bed so that the apple slices
were facing Amanda directly, as Sirinna did not care for them quite as
much. Behind them, bright skies of cobalt blue stretched to the
horizon, the clouds having cleared out overnight. "Sure."

"I was, uh, talking with Tanyee last night ..."

Sirinna smiled. "Before or after you two had sex?"

Amanda's mouth dropped open and she blushed scarlet. "H-how did you
...?"

"I'm a Trainer, love. I know how to spot these things. Sorry if I
embarrassed you."

"Oh, um, no, it's fine. Uh ... anyway, when I talked to her ... after
... she said something about a muscle in your, er ..." She gestured
vaguely.

"Pussy?"

Amanda nodded wordlessly.

"Yes, what about it?"

"So there really is one there?"

"Oh, yes. Every world has it's own name for it. Earth's is a mouthful.
The pubococcygeus muscle. Most people from your world call it the 'PC'
muscle."

"Oh!" Amanda said as realization dawned. /So that's what that term
means/, she thought. She felt a little embarrassed that it took someone
from another world to tell her about a term from her own that she would
have known herself.

"With practice you can learn to control it and enhance your orgasms,"
Sirinna explained.

"Er, yes, I saw Tanyee do something like that."

Sirinna smiled. "She's rather good at it. One of my best Trainees in
that regard. Anyway, I understand you're going to go for the Kaylaxxa
treatment later?"

Amanda nodded, feeling a little flushed at the thought. "Not until
later in the morning. Yanna said to come just before the midday meal,
so there's no one else there."

"If you miss the meal, I'll save some for you."

"Thank you," Amanda said. She finished the piece of apple she was
eating and glanced down at the tray. "I think I'm done. Tanyee can have
the rest of the apple."

Sirinna nodded. "I was going to be taking Tanyee to the Circle this
morning for more training."

Amanda sighed. "Are you going to tell me to stay in my quarters again,
Sirinna?" she asked.

Sirinna looked at Amanda and realized she wouldn't have the heart to do
that now. "Oh ... well ... I thought you weren't interested in seeing
Tanyee train, so ..."

"Yes, but I might want to take a walk or something, or ..." Amanda
stopped.

"Or what, love?"

Amanda glanced in the general direction of Tanyee's quarters, and then
back at Sirinna. "Um ... no, I ... I'll go with you to the Circle."

Sirinna looked surprised. "Are you sure?"

No, Amanda was not at all sure, but she said so anyway. "Yes, I'm
sure."

"Amanda, you're probably going to see a lot of sexual activity,"
Sirinna said. "Are you ..."

"Yes, I'm sure, already!" Amanda said, exasperated. /Please, just
accept it before I change my mind!/ Amanda thought vehemently.

"May I ask why you're interested?" Sirinna asked gently.

"I'm just curious, that's all. You keep going on about how great a life
it is here, so I guess I want to see what it's all about."

Sirinna paused. "Amanda, are you thinking about ..."

"I'm not thinking about anything," Amanda said quickly. "I'm /not/. I'm
not going to be a slave. But ... that doesn't mean I'm not curious
about it."

"Okay, Amanda. I'd be happy to have you along, and I'm sure Tanyee
would also."



Roquan stared at the wizened old man before him with an incredulous
gaze. "Three hundred? Are you /insane?/"

The Mage dared to let a small yet smug smile play on his cracked lips,
the wrinkles of his lined and aged face multiplying, yet his dark blue
eyes remained as clear as diamonds and as sharp as needles. The slight
stoop to his posture made him smaller than his already diminutive
frame, yet stature mattered not to one as skilled and as powerful in
his craft as he, and he felt no intimidation from the towering and
indignant form of the Overlord. "Ah, but the delicate magicks of a
Portal, your Lordship, require a steady hand and an easy touch," said
the Mage in a voice of gravel, yet with words that flowed like oil.
"Such things do not come cheap."

"Yes, I understand, but three hundred platinum? I could almost purchase
a new one for that money, Q'yros!"

The Mage Q'yros smiled again and stepped forward. He a drew a wrinkled
hand with knobby fingers from his flowing robes of black and held it
palm up, revealing a blue pearl. He flicked a single finger and an
image sprang into view hovering in the air just above his palm, an
image of a golden orb suspended in a silvery column of energy, pulsing
slowly. "I would be most happy to show you any of fine set of new
Portal dewomers, your Lordship," Q'yros said silkily. "The Mage Guild
of Oceanus is one of the best in Narlass."

Roquan angrily stepped forward and waved his hand through the image
with a single cutting swipe of his hand, dispelling it. The Mage looked
up with a placid gaze. "Spare me your sale's pitch," Roquan snapped. "I
am in no mood for it."

"Very well," Q'yros said, hiding the pearl on his person once again.
"The price for my services still stands. Three hundred platinum."

"You will have it," Roquan said tersely. "When you have finished your
work."

"I will be finished by this evening, your Lordship. However, I am
concerned."

Roquan narrowed his eyes. "Concerned? About what?"

Q'yros paused, a gleam appearing in one eye. "I am concerned about my
payment. I have heard rumors of your, ah, financial difficulties of
late."

Roquan bristled. "You dare to suggest that an /Overlord/ would refuse
to pay?"

"Certainly not," the Mage said. "Yet perhaps it would be best for you
to check and make sure you have enough to cover such an amount."

"You mock me, Q'yros. You know well that an amount of three hundred can
be made upon the contract of a single slave to the right client."

"Ah, but finding the right client, that is the trick, mmm, yes?"

Furious, Roquan jabbed a finger towards the door. "Get out," he
sneered. "And cease your insults. Do the job, and you will get paid.
Not a moment before."

Mage Q'yros paused and considered, as if wondering how much he could
push the Overlord. He had originally mused squeezing an extra fifty
from him, but this now seemed too much. Ah, well. He had more than he
originally had quoted the Overlord, and that was all that mattered. It
was more than enough to repair the Portal and compensate for his time.

Including the additional "adjustments" that he made for another client,
though he had already been handsomely paid for that in advance.

"As you wish, your lordship," Q'yros said with an oily smile as he
turned and left the Overlord's quarters.

Roquan fumed silently in the Mage's wake. Three hundred!

What he had told the Mage was technically true. A good contract would
indeed bring about that amount in payment. But what the Mage implied
was also true, as much as Roquan did not wish to admit it. Finding the
right client was going to prove difficult. Already, word of Roquan's
discipline problems was spreading throughout his domestic clients,
causing some to rethink their business relationships with the Overlord.
Yet it was not half as frustrating as being cut off from the Far West
markets! With his only overland route to the Great Ocean closed to him
due to Z'haas' infernal actions, Roquan was being forced to negotiate a
new route through the many island nations further south, and each one
wanted their cut, which would make transporting his slaves too
expensive a prospect to expect to make any decent profit from it.

Roquan turned and looked off to the side of the hearth, opposite from
where the instruments of bondage and punishment lay. There, a yellowing
map was mounted within an ornately carved frame. He stared at it, as if
hoping his eyes would bore into it and force it to reveal a solution to
his troubles. Ultimately, it was useless, for the geography was against
him. Nowhere to the west did he have a direct outlet to the Great Ocean
that would not take him along the southern trade routes. The only open
ocean was to the east, and in that direction lay only the Urisi as a
major power. There were many other smaller nations that ringed it, but
none that had the resources to give Roquan steady business.

Roquan's eyes hardened. He cared not for Rennis' warnings. He will not
deal with the Urisi. There had to be another solution. If he did not
find one soon, he would have to resort to what he had been trying to
avoid as much as the Urisi Nation: selling off some of his slaves.



Amanda felt as if her breath was taken from her lungs as she stepped
outside into the sunlight with Sirinna and Tanyee.

The rain from the night before had brought no relief from the heat. If
anything, it had made it worse. The moisture from the rain lingered and
hung in the air, heavy and sodden, the bright sunlight heating it until
it felt like a sauna despite the early hour of the day. Amanda began to
sweat immediately under her gown, her skin quickly feeling sticky and
uncomfortable.

"Just so you know, Amanda," Sirinna said in a low voice as they turned
down the path that led directly to the Circle. Tanyee walked before
them as she did the day before, calm and willing, hands bound with the
leather cuffs behind her back. "Training is a community thing. Other
slaves come to watch, or to assist, or just to have a little fun."

"You mean have sex with each other," Amanda said.

"Ah, well, yes." Sirinna paused. "And, um, don't be surprised if
someone fancies you and tries to initiate something."

Amanda stared at her and almost stopped walking.

"You don't have to, of course," Sirinna said tonelessly. "Slaves are
not obliged to enter trysts with other ... er ..."

Amanda gave Sirinna a look.

"Well, you know what I mean," Sirinna said with a sigh. "Anyway, you
wouldn't want to do anything more than have someone use their hands,
since you haven't had the Kaylaxxa ..."

"I just want to sit off to the side and mind my own business," Amanda
said quickly in a loud voice. "How can I do that?"

"Take off your gown."

"/What?/"

Sirinna gave Tanyee's chain a quick, light snap. Both mistress and
slave stopped walking immediately. "Amanda, you stand out in that
thing," Sirinna said. "And you're sweating profusely, so you cannot be
at all comfortable in it. I can guarantee you that on a hot day like
this, no one will be wearing anything. No one."

"But ...!"

"Amanda, you said you wanted to see what it was all about ..."

"Oh, all right!" Amanda snapped. She fumbled about and lifted her gown
up and over her head and threw it down on a nearby bush in frustration.
She turned back to Sirinna and lifted her arms once and let them down
to her sides with a slap, making her breasts jiggle. "There, happy
now?!"

"That's a loaded question, Amanda," Sirinna said with a sly smile.

Amanda blinked in incomprehension.

"You know I'm always happy seeing you naked."

Amanda blinked again, opened her mouth in surprise, and then blushed.

"I'm sure Tanyee feels the same way," Sirinna commented lightly.

"Yes, mistress," Tanyee said with a small smile. "She is rather
pleasant to look at."

Amanda's blush deepened, and she wrapped her arms around herself. "God,
you two are horrible," she muttered, even as one corner of her mouth
tried to turn upwards, part of her as immensely flattered as she was
terribly embarrassed.



"Rennis, we are going to quickly get nowhere if we continue to dance in
circles around each other," an exasperated Roquan lamented as he paced
slowly about the circumference of Rennis' quarters.

And equally defeated Rennis threw down his quill onto the parchments
that lay open before him on the small desk off to the side the bed. He
hung his head over them, sighing dramatically, rubbing his temples.
"Roquan, we simply cannot conduct any course of action without
considering everything!" Rennis cried.

"It appears to be rather strange to me, Rennis, that 'everything'
appears to always start with some overture to the other Overlords. Why
is that?"

"Because we cannot do this without their support," Rennis said, growing
weary of repeating himself. "I have made that abundantly clear. One
cannot move against an established Emperor without that."

"But how do we know that before we have even tried?"

Rennis leaned back in his chair and stared. "You're mad."

Roquan paused and narrowed his eyes. "I am what?"

"Mad! You have to be! To suggest that two Overlords ... no, make that
/one/, since there is no way I will abide by such an insane idea ...
can usurp the throne of the Emperor and install ..."

"You wish to abandon this alliance?" Roquan asked in a low but cold
tone of voice.

Rennis paused, his anger rising. He hated when Roquan did this, when he
tried to turn a complex issue into stark black and white. "No, Roquan,"
he said, his voice strained. "And I tire of you trying to turn all my
words against me like that."

"Then give me some words that will work!" Roquan declared, rushing up
to the desk. As he placed his hands on the edge and leaned over Rennis,
his foot kicked something hard under the desk. "Give me something that
does not involve crawling like a beggar to the other Overlords!"

Rennis felt his heart thump as Roquan drove the satchel into his leg
from the kick, something making a faint spraying sound against the
inside. /Gods damn it,/ he thought, glancing down before thinking to
check himself.

Roquan followed the man's distracted gaze, first with a look of
annoyance, and then one of contriteness as he saw what he had done.
"Terribly sorry, Rennis," Roquan said sincerely. "I hope nothing of
value was damaged by my negligence."

Rennis picked up the satchel and kept it carefully angled towards him
so only he could see inside it. He parted the opening just enough to
see that the drawstring around the pouch of Disalla powder had come
undone, bits of the grayish-black powder sticking everywhere to the
insides of the satchel.

/Hellfire,/ Rennis thought. /That will take ages to come off./

Disalla was good for one thing only, and that was to dissolve in one's
bath, or to spread upon the skin prior to a bath or a wash, for a most
prurient effect. Against all other materials and in all other
situations, it was a menace, the least friction or moisture melting the
tiny wax-like particles into thick, sticky paste. Perhaps this was just
rewards for smuggling contraband into another Overlord's Manor, despite
the good intentions behind it.

If he ever got Yanna back, he would make sure she made it up to him for
this.

"Nothing of value," Rennis said tonelessly as he set the satchel out of
the way, careful not to tip the now partially open pouch any further.
"Now, Roquan, be reasonable. Overlords need a united front."

"Not when they choose to sabotage me," Roquan said darkly.

"We have no proof the other Overlords have done this."

"Rennis, you yourself said ...!"

"What I /said/ was that I would not be surprised!" Rennis said, his
voice rising. "I stop short of openly accusing anyone! Do not go there,
Roquan."

Roquan drew himself up. "And why not?"

"Without proof, you will indeed sound mad, that's why."

Roquan paused a moment, letting go a sigh through his nose. He turned
away from Rennis, walking halfway towards the wall before clasping his
hands behind his back in contemplation.

"I cannot continue to run this Manor effectively if this continues much
longer, Rennis," the Overlord finally said after a long silence.

Rennis did not respond immediately. This was the first time he had
heard Roquan ever express anything approaching doubt, or worse, defeat.
Was the problem truly that bad? Was his fellow Overlord in that dire a
strait?

Roquan wanted quick answers. He wanted a panacea. He wanted the problem
simply fixed. With his slaves, he can give the necessary orders, or
summon the needed Trainers, and everything works. This was growing
beyond his capabilities, and he was loathe to admit it. Rennis wanted
to help, but was unsure of how much Roquan would accept.

Yet he had to make the offer. His conscience would bother him endlessly
if he did not.

"Roquan, do you have any slaves you care to discard?" Rennis asked
evenly.

As cold a statement as it sounded, it was the traditional custom when
asking another Overlord if he were willing to sell some of his slaves.
It implied humility on the part of the potential buyer, that he would
be satisfied with whatever scraps the seller would deign to throw.

Roquan paused for a long moment before responding. When he did, his
voice was heavy and forced. "I may have a few."

"I am honored," Rennis replied, completing the opening ritual. From
this point on, they were now free to bargain and negotiate as much as
they pleased.

"I said I /may/," Roquan said in a harsh voice, though when he turned
around, his eyes were less so. "I am not yet ready to take that step."

Rennis stood. "I will be ready whenever you are."

Roquan regarded him for a moment. "And I will begin to manage your
expectations now. Sirinna will not be one of them."

Rennis gave the other Overlord a smirk. "Oh, but you can't expect me to
not make an offer anyway."

"I expect you will."

"You should know this," Rennis said. "Sirinna's name is oft mentioned
by the other Overlords."

Roquan snorted derisively. "Indeed. I am sure they claim better
Trainers."

"Oh, certainly. But when they speak of her, even if they disparage her,
there is only ravenous envy in their voices. Any Overlord would
secretly kill to have someone like her."

Roquan smirked. "Even yourself?"

"Had I know she would be such an excellent Trainer, I would never have
sold her. You can expect me to try to buy her back until our dying
days."

Roquan considered for a moment. "Rennis ... would you be open to ... a
contract arrangement?"

Rennis looked at Roquan in surprise. "A contract? For Sirinna?"

"Yes."

"A contract for slave services to another Overlord instead of a
client," Rennis mused. "I don't think that's ever been done."

"I do not wish to give up Sirinna. But if I cannot open new sources of
revenue, or this disobedience issue is not resolved in a timely manner,
I will need funds. As I have no new Captives to train ..."

"Amanda?"

Roquan made a face. "Do not even suggest that in jest," he grumbled.

"Yes, I have heard she's a bit, ah, headstrong," Rennis said with a sly
smile, having heard the rumors of the Overlord's conversation with the
girl in the Circle the day before.

"That is a vast understatement. It is like suggesting that the Great
Ocean is slightly damp."

Rennis could not help but smile, which just made Roquan all the more
indignant.

"If she were to be a slave, I would hope to the gods she is not
virginal. I shudder to think what her reaction to a deflowering ritual
would be."

"Especially since you handle them yourself for the female slaves, do
you not?"

"I am the only one I trust to do it correctly. I delegate Sirinna for
the males."

Rennis grinned. "Anyway, the offer is very tempting, Roquan, even as
unusual as it is," Rennis said. "Certainly I would not mind the
opportunity for the quality of my slaves to compete better with yours."

Roquan felt his spirits uplifted by that blatant compliment. Despite
their alliance, they were still competitors, as all Overlords
ultimately are, and Rennis had just admitted that Roquan had the upper
hand in that area.

"May I have some time to think about it?"

"Of course," Roquan said. "I am not quite ready to commit her anyway. I
need to await Amanda's choice."

Rennis raised an eyebrow.

"I have allowed Amanda to make her own decision. Leave or stay."

Rennis just shook his head, grinning in amusement. "For an Overlord
that is one of the staunchest traditionalists in Oceanus, you think of
such radical ideas sometimes."

"Come now, Rennis, what would you have me do?" Roquan said. "I have no
power to order her into the Portal. I do not believe an outworlder has
ever been sent back, so there is no defined protocol for this."

"You don't think she'll stay?"

"I highly doubt it, not after my encounter with her." Roquan actually
chuckled briefly at this point. "And after seeing her reaction to
viewing a bit of training in the Circle, I would not be surprised if
she decided to actually remain in her quarters this time of her own
volition."



Tanyee lay sprawled on her back on the damp grass under the cooler
shade of the trees of the Circle. Her leather restraints and her chain
had been removed, her collar the only remaining sign of her status.
Despite the shade, her body was covered in a sheen of perspiration. She
writhed upon the ground as if trapped and trying to escape, though it
was her own mounting sensations of desire and need that pursued her,
and there was simply no escaping this.

Amanda stared with eyes glazed as two older female slaves suckled at
one of Tanyee's breasts each, while a third lay face down with her head
lowered between Tanyee's thighs, her tongue licking, teasing, and
stroking. Tanyee was moaning constantly, a slowly rising crescendo,
expressions of both desire and concentration flashing across her face.

Tanyee had been given but one instruction by Sirinna before releasing
her and laying her down in the grass: "Do not orgasm."

Amanda had at least learned that Sirinna had been right about two
things. No one else had worn any clothing to the Circle, and no one
even so much as batted an eye at Amanda's nudity. Yet nothing else that
Sirinna had said to her had prepared her for what she was witnessing
before her now.

Amanda saw at the far side of the clearing, just enough inside it to be
shaded from the sun, far enough from the others so that she could be
alone. Barely a few minutes into it, she simply ceased to notice anyone
else, as her attention was riveted on this.

Sirinna stood off to the side, watching, a small smile on her face.
"Very good, Tanyee," she commented. "You haven't forgotten a thing. You
still have excellent muscular control."

Amanda's mouth dropped open. /She could actually hold herself from
climaxing?/

The woman licking Tanyee's pussy gave an enthusiastic "mmmm ..." sound
and started to lick faster and harder, pressing her lips to Tanyee's
labia, cheeks dimpling as she sucked. Tanyee uttered a loud, shuddering
gasp and arched her back, her body trembling, but slowly she eased
back, though still moaning, now a desperate edge to it.

"Oh, /very/ good," Sirinna said with delight. "Just a little longer,
Marisa, and then we'll try something else."

Amanda swallowed, her own breath short as she watched the spectacle
unfolding before her. While she managed to remain calm on the outside,
her heart was pounding hard in her chest, and she clamped her legs
tightly closed to try and get rid of the maddening tingle that had
started there.

She refused to believe she could be aroused by this. At first she
railed in her mind against Sirinna, wondering what she was trying to
prove with letting her watch this, only to remind herself a moment
later that this had been her own idea to come see this from the
beginning. What else had she expected to see?

Soon, the one that Sirinna had called Marisa relented at Sirinna's
bidding, and retreated from Tanyee. One of the women still licking her
nipple reached down and stroked Tanyee's slot with her hand, fingers
squishing loudly against Tanyee's soaked cunt. Tanyee shuddered and
moaned loudly, her thigh muscles twitching and clenching. As Marisa
picked herself up and rose to her feet, another slave advanced.

Amanda's eyes slowly widened, her breath catching. This one was male,
his fingers lightly stroking his now fully erect cock as he lowered
himself to his knees before Tanyee's quivering and parted legs.

/Oh my God ... Oh my .../

Amanda simply could not think or speak. Nor could she turn her eyes
away. She watched as the other two female slaves pulled back and to the
sides, leaving Tanyee helpless on the ground before the one approaching
her. Her heartbeat rose to its own crescendo as two bodies slowly
joined, giving her own gasp along with Tanyee's as he penetrated her,
his hips sinking between Tanyee's thighs, which then happened to move
in just the right away to allow Amanda a clear view of the man's penis
disappearing inside Tanyee's pussy.

Amanda raised a shaking hand to her cheek. Her face felt fiery hot. Was
this how people reacted when they watched porno movies of this sort of
thing? No, it couldn't be the same. That was not real. This was. Yet
what truly made Amanda feel both excited and terrified at the same time
was the fact that had she been of the mindset to do it, they would have
likely just let her join in.

Tanyee was panting hard, her body shaking with the desire for relief
and the effort of keeping herself away from it. The other slave started
to thrust into her, slowly at first, but steadily building to a faster
rhythm. Tanyee's pants grew to ever more strident moans, her eyes
closed, her head tilting back as she strained under the relentless
assault against both her will and her control.

And if this were not bad enough, the two female slaves that had been
ravishing her breasts now began whispering taunts into Tanyee's ears.

"Oh, go on, honey, cum for him," cooed one.

"Yes, Tanyee, go ahead and cum, you really want to, don't you?" teased
the other.

"Aw, cum for him, Tanyee honey. Cum for us."

"Don't you like us? Don't you want to cum?"

"Aw, let your little cunnie go."

"Yes, Tanyee, let go of your nice hot pussy and cum."

Sirinna did nothing to stop this. If anything, she smiled all the more
as Tanyee held on through the taunts, even as her partner pounded into
her fast and hard, bodies slapping together with the force of his
thrusts. He groaned louder and louder as he rose, his own breath
growing short.

Amanda actually found herself growing interested in the outcome of all
this. She was utterly astonished that anyone could consciously hold
their orgasm for this long. Was every slave taught to do this? Or was
Tanyee just especially good at it?

For a few moments, it looked like Tanyee was about to slip. She gasped
once, then panted heavily and gasped again, louder this time, her back
arching, her teeth clenching, her partner groaning louder and moving
faster. Finally, he uttered his own loud moan, his body shuddering as
his strokes slowed, his orgasm throbbing hard inside Tanyee's pussy.

And yet Tanyee did not crest.

But when the male slave left her, she was trembling and writhing,
looking up with desperate pleading eyes up at Sirinna.

Sirinna dropped to her knees and reached between Tanyee's legs. She
pressed her fingers to Tanyee's slot and said softly, "Release."

Tanyee's entire body tensed for a moment, and then her hips started to
buck wildly, the opening moments of her orgasm so intense she could not
speak. When her voice finally returned, she uttered a shrill cry, and
then another and another as her climax wracked her body, made all the
more intense by her self-denial and Sirinna's fingers pressing against
her clitoris, applying just the right amount of pressure and touch to
encourage Tanyee's climax to continue and expend her pent up sexual
pleasure.

Amanda was stunned by how long Tanyee's climax lasted, and how slowly
it faded, her cries softening to moans as it seemed all the energy
drained from her body. Yet even as the orgasm faded, Tanyee continued
to tremble and shake, until Sirinna lay herself atop her Trainee,
speaking in low, soothing tones. Tanyee wrapped her arms around her
Trainer tightly, breathing raggedly into Sirinna's ear. Sirinna cradled
Tanyee's head and stroked her hair gently until she calmed, her body
growing more still, her breathing slowing. Finally, Tanyee let out a
low, soft sigh of contentment.

Amanda felt flushed and weak, as if she herself had been emotionally
drained by the experience as well.

"Just rest for a moment, Tanyee," Sirinna said softly, letting her lie
back down on the grass. The other two female slaves came up to Tanyee
now, but rather than taunting or sexually teasing her, they simply
snuggled up next to Tanyee and gave her comforting hugs and caresses.

Sirinna walked over to Amanda and dropped into the grass next to her.
She looked at Amanda and smiled. "Are you all right?"

Amanda swallowed and nodded.

"You look a little overwhelmed."

"Sirinna, h-how did Tanyee do that?" Amanda asked, awestruck. "How did
she hold off that long?"

"Like I told you earlier this morning, Amanda. Muscle control."

"Can ... can anyone learn that?"

"Tanyee is rather good at it, but anyone can learn the basics, yes."

Amanda still had trouble believing it. How could she control a muscle
she didn't even know how to flex in the first place? And why was she
even thinking about it in the context of herself anyway?

She looked past Sirinna at Tanyee for a moment. "Sirinna, what happened
to her before?"

"What happened?" Sirinna repeated questioningly.

"When she ... when finally, uh, came ... she looked like she was still
over-excited or something."

"Actually, just the opposite," Sirinna explained. "She got very, very
excited leading up to an extremely strong orgasm, and then there was
the sudden let-down after it was over. The longer a session lasts and
the more intense the climax, the harder it can hit, unless you do
something to comfort the slave immediately afterward."

Amanda was speechless. She had nothing she could say in response to
that. At every turn, she was finding out there was a whole lot more
complexity to this than she had realized. When Sirinna had told her the
day before that she did not really know what a slave was on this world,
Sirinna had been right.

But to become one? Amanda still balked at the idea. Yet aspects of it
tantalized her, sending a small shudder through her when she thought
about them in the context of herself. All she knew was that for a very
brief instant, when Tanyee was being entered by the other slave, she
imagined herself in Tanyee's place, and it had made her heart flutter
with an anticipation that she was embarrassed now to admit. Now that it
was over, she no longer harbored the feeling, but the fact that it had
been there, as tiny a flicker of desire as it had been, spooked her. It
was as if she did not know her own mind and body anymore, or what they
wanted, or even if they wanted the same thing.

"I just still don't get all of it yet," Amanda admitted reluctantly.

Sirinna smiled and stroked Amanda's hair, much like she had Tanyee.
"It's okay, love," she said. "I don't expect you to on only your second
day here."

"Yes, but I don't have very many days here," Amanda said sullenly.

Sirinna sighed, her smile fading. "I know, love. But maybe you'll be
here long enough to at least not hate me for bringing you here."

"Oh, Sirinna, I don't hate you. Please don't say that. I don't hate
this place. I mean, I don't care for Roquan, but, really, everything
else is not all that bad. It's just ... a lot to take in at once."

This was an understatement, and Amanda knew it. She was witnessing --
and experiencing -- more about sex and her own sexuality than she ever
conceived. She thought she understood it in the time she and Sirinna
were lovers, but there was a lot more to it than that. What surprised
her most of all was her reaction to seeing Tanyee and the male slave
couple on the grass.

At first, the thought that she might be a lesbian was enough to make
her pause. Now Amanda had to deal with the prospect of being bisexual,
and it was too much for her emotional state to come to grips with all
at once.

Sirinna could tell by just a simple glance that Amanda had grown
sexually aroused by what she had seen, but Sirinna decided not to make
note of it. She had to keep hoping that all of this would eventually
allow Amanda to decide to stay.

Amanda glanced back over to Tanyee again, who was sitting up and
chatting idly with the other two slaves. The male came over and joined
the conversation as Amanda watched, Tanyee flashing him a smile. The
memory of the intimate joining of the two of them flickered through her
mind briefly.

"Sirinna, I just thought of something," Amanda said.

"Yes?"

Amanda nodded over to the Tanyee and the others. "When he ... uh, he
wasn't, well, wearing any ... " Amanda grew flustered, a little
frustrated that she could watch sex but not talk about it. "Well, any
protection."

Sirinna gave Amanda a confused look and turned her head towards the
others as if to gain some insight as to what Amanda was referring. "I
don't think I follow you, Amanda."

Amanda sighed, her cheeks coloring. "How does Tanyee not get pregnant?"

"Oh, that!" Sirinna said with a grin. "A new female Trainee is given a
potion that makes her infertile. It also stops menstruation."

Amanda stared at Sirinna in amazement. "You can do that?"

"Well, there is some magic involved, but, yes, we can do it. Most new
female slaves are quite grateful for never having to go through a
monthly bleeding cycle again."

Amanda had to admit that she would not have minded, either. She was
glad that she had finished a cycle before she and Sirinna had their
first tryst. It would have been rather awkward to be bleeding when they
entered this world. At the same time, it spooked her, as it was yet
another form of control being exercised over her body, yet another
thing where there would be no choice on her part.

She looked back out on the other female slaves in the Circle. Did any
of them care? Or were the pleasantries of sex enough to compensate for
the lack of freedom?

Sirinna stood up. "I need to get back to Tanyee," she said. "I want to
see how well she does with some of the masturbation techniques I showed
her when I first trained her."

Amanda looked up at Sirinna in surprise. "Uh, why would she need that
if she gets so much sex as it is?"

Sirinna gave Amanda a coy smile. "Some clients like to watch, Amanda."

"Oh," Amanda said, cheeks growing hot again.

"Now, this shouldn't take long, and then I can escort you to the
Healer's office for your Kaylaxxa treatment."

In all the excitement, the fact that she had to do that today had
totally flown from Amanda's mind. Now that Sirinna reminded her of it,
she started to feel anxious about it again. As Sirinna turned and
walked back to Tanyee, she took a surreptitious glance between her own
legs, where she saw a slight glisten of moisture between her labia.

Amanda sighed. At least she wouldn't have to worry about being chafed.



Vanlo straightened up, a few of his joints creaking and popping, and
surveyed what he had wrought on the small table in the corner of the
lab.

The old experiment had been dismantled. In it's place was a new one,
though the apparatus for this appeared to be far less complex, thought
at the same time stranger in appearance. Several large flasks were
fashioned into complex, curving shapes that only a master glass
craftsmen with a few magic spells could have accomplished. It was
heinously expensive, and it was only in the last few years of his
professional life that he had the necessary funds to procure them. Or
more accurately, to have them crafted for him, for they were largely
custom in design. So few Healers had the sublime skill to perform what
he was about to do, and even then, he feared his knowledge was rusty,
and that he would botch the experiment.

Vanlo felt he would have but one shot at this.

He examined the flow of fluids through the apparatus, lightly tapping a
slender finger from an age-spotted hand against the side of one of the
strange-shaped flasks, dispersing an air bubble. The ingredients were
deceptively simple, the heating technique laughably easy, yet achieving
the necessary ebb and flow of liquid and magic was tricky. He hoped he
got it right.

Yet he would not know until he had the last ingredient, which he would
need to procure before the day was out.

"Master Vanlo?"

"Hmm?" Vanlo hummed distractedly as he turned around, and appeared
mildly surprised to see his assistant standing well past the threshold
of the door. "Ah, yes, Yanna. My ears must finally be joining the rest
of my deteriorating body if I did not notice you there."

Yanna smiled pleasantly. "You're not deteriorating, master," she said.
"You have quite the number of years left, and you are quite full of
life and energy."

Vanlo smiled, the corners of his mouth wrinkling. "But you do know how
to please these old ears, almost as much as you please my eyes."

"It's a pleasure for me."

"I am sure it is. Quite remarkable, really."

Yanna cocked her head to one side. "Master?"

Vanlo regarded his slave with a steady gaze, as if expecting this alone
to cause a reaction. It did not, but he did see something in Yanna's
eyes that convinced him he was close to an answer for the riddle that
had been plaguing him. "It is nothing, Yanna, simply an old man's
ramblings. Pay it no mind. Now, what new patient do you have for me,
hmm?"

"None, master. I simply wished to inform you I had completed labeling
the Kaylaxxa vials to send abroad."

"Ah, quite good," Vanlo said, strolling past the slave and out into the
treatment room. He spied the vials sitting in a neat row along a
waist-high shelf. One vial at the near end had remained unlabeled, and
parted from the others. He flicked a finger towards it. "Amanda's?"

"Yes, master," Yanna replied. She glanced at the floor, where the hazy
patch of milky sunlight that shone through the skylights was creeping
towards the center of the room, where it always did as the midday hour
approached. "In fact, she should be here quite soon."

"Indeed she will. Indeed she will."

A pause. Yanna looked at her master anxiously.

"Yes, Yanna?"

"Um ... Do you recall what I suggested, master?" Yanna said delicately.
"About going for your walk early?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes! Quite right! So as to not make the girl too nervous, I
take it."

"Yes, master," Yanna said with a renewed smile.

"Then I shall vacate the premises forthwith. I will see you this
afternoon."

Vanlo turned and headed towards the back of his offices, to the door to
the outside form the back of his lab. As he was about to leave, he
turned his head and cast a look of grave concern towards the apparatus.
The arrangement this time was even more delicate than the previous
experiment. It would not tolerate any interference, lest he had to
start over.

As he left, he dearly hoped it would not be tampered with. Not like the
last one was.