The Accidental Sub (30 page)

Falcon looked at me and said, "Chain."

I picked up the eight-foot length of light chain and passed it through the flame bit by bit until the flame had kissed the entire length of it. While I was doing this, Falcon and Tula moved close together. I wrapped the chain about their waists. Falcon then continued his vow to her.

"We are now joined in blood, body, and soul forever."

Tula then picked up the vow, "I am bound to you in blood, body and soul forever."

I removed the chain from their waists and carefully coiled it up. I placed it in the center on a square of red and white cloth and folded it so that both the red and white was visible. I left it on the table in front of the empty vase. They exchanged the roses and each kissed the rose they were now holding. I took the rose from Falcon and Tula and placed them in the third vase. I arranged them with the red rose on top of the white rose. I knew it was up to me to contribute something memorable and I had been thinking about it for a while.

"Falcon, if it pleases you
have your slave kneel." I asked him.  He simply pointed to his feet and Tula assumed a kneeling position. When this was done he took her hand. "You two have once again been bound together in Love, Spirit, Blood, Body and Soul. May this bond be an eternal one, lasting beyond this existence. The chain that bound you together shows all the links that have lead you to this moment. The fire has burned away all the meaningless steps you have taken apart from each other. They are gone. You have come together today and renewed your bond to each other. Never forget the bond you have formed here today."

I took the vase with the roses and handed them to Tula. When she had accepted them I took the cloth with the chain wrapped up in it and handed it to Falcon. Falcon reached down and had Tula rise. He kissed her deeply; it was a pleasure to watch her body melt into his. Falcon took Tula's hand and led her away. I was sure that they had made provisions for a room at the manor, and that we would not see them again until morning.

After they left, I put out the lamp and moved the little table out of the way. L.A. looked at me with a tear in her eye. "That was beautiful, Master," was all she said. I moved her to a couch and we sat down. I moved her head to my lap and sat there stroking her hair. I was deep in thought.

Yes, it was a beautiful ritual, and I wondered what had brought the two of them together to perform this here at this time. I hoped that my words were up to what they expected. I sat in this reverie for about ten minutes. It took the sound of a bell being rung from room to room by Zin to get my attention. The dancers would be starting soon so I got up and took L.A.'s hand.

The playroom had been rearranged with the equipment pushed to the side. Floor pillows had been placed about the perimeter with the exception of one large chair for Gerwald. This left a large open area in the center where the dancers would perform. The lights were lowered so a warm area of light in the middle of the room was all that remained. Zin's special troupe was gathered in one corner, talking and laughing and checking each others' makeup and adjusting costumes and veils.

The musicians were warming up on hand drums and flutes. The room was filled with hushed conversations and rhythmic snatches of music here and there. Gerwald finally entered, sat down, and clapped his hands three times.

Zin went to the center of the room and made a short introduction. "Masters and Mistresses, tonight for your pleasure we present to you my students and your slaves." This was followed by light applause from the crowd. The music began and the first of the dancers took their assigned places on the floor. The first was a group of three performing a typical belly dance. Soon they began to move to the wonderfully primitive music. The dance lasted about ten minutes. Just to watch them aroused lust if I was any example.

I was watching L.A.'s reaction to this and wondering what she would look like in time. Her eyes were wide as she watched and wondered whether she could do this. The
zills
, the little finger cymbals the dancers wore, kept time to the music and added to the rhythms of the music. All too soon the dance was finished and they left the floor to light applause and murmurs of appreciation.

Another group of three moved to the center of the floor, with Zin this time. This dance was more polished and choreographed than the last. Each movement was meant to display something and showcase something about the dancers. They moved about the floor and danced their beauty to the crowd, then separated to move to special places. Before it was over, each dancer had been in front of her Dom to perform just for him.

When Zin was in front of Gerwald, each movement seemed to beg Gerwald to take his slave to someplace more private. The dance ended with a crescendo of drums that left each slave lying on the floor in a pool of silk with their bodies shining in the light with sheen of sweat, breath coming in gasps. More than one man who lay about the floor in that sea of pillows adjusted his clothing to make room for things that had become erect.

Zin got up and went to the center of the floor and invited everyone to have some refreshments. Many got up or told their slaves to get them something to drink. An assortment of soft drinks, tea, and coffee was arrayed on a table on one side of the room. The next dance would be in a few minutes. This was Zin's way of giving everyone a breather so they could cool down and get under control. Up until this point the dancers had all worn belly dancing costumes of sorts, but this was just the beginning. Zin had the dancers to one side giving advice or words of encouragement to some of them. What was coming next was anyone's guess.

After about fifteen minutes of this, Gerwald went to the wall where the whips were displayed and chose one. He cracked the whip to get everyone's attention. He returned to his chair and most went back to their places but a few lingered here and there. Gerwald went to center of the room and all conversation ceased.

"Masters and Mistresses, Honored Guests, I now give you a recreation of the Sultan's favorite, 'The Dance of the Seven Veils'." Six dancers took the floor with their hands raised over their heads and the backs of their wrists touching.

This had been popularized during the silent film era and gave filmmakers a way to expose a little flesh without getting into trouble. But as with most things during that era, it is rooted in fact. The dance was done for a variety of reasons, mostly to appease an angry Master who had life and death rights over a slave. If the slave was sent away from a Master in disgrace, she might be given one more chance for life. If she danced well and filled her Master with lust and desire, she would be given another chance to submit to her Master. If not, a captured female's life became very hard or nonexistent.

The dancers assumed a position on the floor; all were clad from head to foot in layers of silk without even the eyes exposed. The music began with a slow steady rhythm from a hand drum, and the dancers began to move in time with the music. The music lasted about three minutes and increased in tempo and ended with the dancers removing the first veil in unison, exposing their eyes.

After a few seconds when they moved to different positions on the floor, most ended up in front of their Masters, where they would remain for the rest of the dance. For many this was an exercise in control.

Would they be able to finish the dance before their Master seized them and dragged them off to someplace quiet?

The music began again, a little faster this time, and ended some five minutes later when all the slaves were stripped again in unison, hair and face exposed but all still standing. Most were breathing hard and a little light applause started.

The flute started a short introduction, calling them back to attention. All took the same position as they had assumed in the beginning and then all the hand drums began. They were harder this time and more insistent, faster and more primitive. Again the dancers swirled away and then came back to the audience. This time they swayed to the music in ever-increasing and deepening movements. When they bent at the waist this time, unbound hair touched the floor. The veil about their shoulders and necks came off of one arm and then the other. The tempo deepened and stopped. The lights were dimmed for a moment and when they were turned back on, the dancers were in a circle in the center of the room.

The music began again. The dancers again swirled in tight circles. When the music ended this time, all were on their knees with the third veil removed, exposing necks and shoulders. It revealed the collars of those dancers who were slaves.

Now that the facade of the veils had exposed their collars, the dance began again. These were not free women who were dancing now but women who had known their sensuality awakened. They knew themselves owned. The movements were more pronounced now, sensual and exciting. In rapid sequence over the next few minutes the fourth and fifth veils fell away. One veil that had concealed their breasts and that covered past the waist and another wound about the belly that covered to the ankles fell to the floor, leaving the dancers wrapped in only two veils. Still the music continued and they danced their beauty before an appreciative audience. Again this ended with the dancers on their knees in front of their Masters with their arms stretched out above their heads.

The remaining veils were smaller and tightly wound several times about the breasts and hips. The dancers now only wore two snatches of silk. Their faces and shoulders were bare as were their bellies and legs. They had ended this round of the dance and wearing less than a bikini. With a final beat of the drums, they fell forward, bent at the waist with their arms extended and touching the floor. This exposed the bow of their backs as if presenting themselves for supplication or punishment.

The music ceased for a full two minutes. The purpose of this long pause was twofold. First, it gave the dancers a chance to catch their breath. Second, for those Masters whose slaves were dancing for them, this was an opportunity for them to snatch them off the floor and subject them to slave rape.

I noticed Gerwald in his chair with his fists clenched. He was sweating as hard as Zin was. He was fighting hard to keep control. The way he fidgeted in the chair told the story. It was times like these that I realized how hard it was for him to be the host of these parties. If he made a move toward his slave, others would follow suit. The party would break down and break up.

When the music started again, it was a slow, almost sensual barbaric rhythm that began slowly and softly as if to remind the listener of a lover in his arms. The dancers rose and spun off in slow graceful circles. Their movements took them from one side of the floor to the other. Where the preceding music had given the feeling of flight, fear, running, and capture, this music gave the feeling of capitulation, submission, and surrender. The fight between being free or slave was over.

To that slow barbaric music, all the dancers moved back and forth as if to reveal the delicacies wrapped and concealed in those two veils. Again moving in time to the music, they all removed the sixth veil about their breasts, throwing them in the air as if to signal surrender.

They moved back to their places before their Masters for the final veil. They worked themselves to their knees but stayed upright and swayed back and forth, reminding their Masters what treasures they had. The last veil was removed and tossed to their Master in a show of submission, then the dancers gracefully assumed a kneeling position on the floor with their heads down and arms extended and wrists crossed as if offering themselves for binding and use. The effect was not lost on the audience and murmurs of appreciation as well as light applause came from all parts of the room. Several of the Masters picked up that last tiny veil and twisted it into a cloth rope of sorts, using it to bind the offered wrists.

L.A. was staring very wide eyed at the empty floor. I could not fathom what she was thinking but I would find out soon enough. Her body told me several things. Her breathing was quick but even and her nipples were quite hard, very visible through the light fabric she wore. Her whole body had a slight flush to it like she was running a low-grade fever.

She had found this portion of the evening's activities very exciting. It had aroused her to one degree or another, and I suspected that she was a little worried that she would not be able to dance as she had just seen. The grace and beauty of the dancers as well as the outpouring of lust she had seen both on and off the floor had aroused her.

Gerwald's control had come to the breaking point. He stood and bound Zin's wrists. He looked down at her with a lust and desire that would frighten most women. He quickly thanked the dancers for their wonderful dance and offered the hospitality of his house to his guests. He then reminded us that Master Tarl's word was law, then he excused himself, and reached down and bodily picked up Zin. He threw her over one shoulder with no more effort it seemed than picking up a bag of potatoes. Her head and arms hung to the rear, and her long unbound hair touched the floor. He picked his way through the crowd and disappeared. On Zin's face was a smile of pure pleasure. She had pleased her Master this night.