16th Century Slave Market Pt. 02

The scullery, a separate building, was the next stop. They first noticed the unbearable heat in the large kitchen. The workers, mostly older women, were sweating and scurrying around under the eyes of four guards. Philippe kept them in the room until sweat ran down their faces. "Do you see the woman in front of the fire? She is heating bath water for the Master's family." Carina saw the young woman, bent over a large kettle. Smoke curled around her face and drenched clothing. "This is her first week here since the Master ordered her out of the harem. Her name is Katherine, but she has no need for a name anymore. She is simply portador de l' aigua- a water bearer.

The last stop was the abattoir. There they watched men turn two sheep upside down in a wooden trough, raise long knives and slit the animal's throats from ear to ear. Great gushes of blood dropped down as the sheep kicked for a few moments and died. Johanna started to wretch as Philippe guided them back to fresh air.

He walked them quickly back to a bench in the garden and waited a few moments. "In this culture, it is required that all blood is drained from the bodies of the sheep, cows, and goats before any other preparation. I wanted you to see that and the cooking area for a reason.

"Senyoretes, you have seen the great beauty of the palace, and you have also seen the places of unending toil and sweat. It is not likely that any of us will ever go back to the life we once knew. You each need to choose your destiny right now. There is only one future here for a woman who becomes sullen and passive. Each of you- ponder for a moment about what you saw today."

Philippe waited and watched more tears on the three faces. "At this moment, I am the Master. Each of you will show me your decision by standing up and performing a short dance. I must see passion and spirit in your face and body. You will end your dance by shedding your garment and dropping to your knees." He crossed his arms on his chest.

"Johanna you are first. You may not speak, only show me if you will be amante al seu Mestre- your Master's lover, or portador de l' aigua."

Johanna slowly stood to face him. She wiped her red face on her sleeve before striking a pose with one arm raised and the other on her hip. On her island, dancing had been an intrinsic part of life. She began a tentative twirl to the left, kicked up one heel and reversed. She slid her shift off one shoulder, then the other, letting it slide to the ground as she faced away from him. She turned and sank to a kneel. Philippe cleared his throat. She corrected her mistake and raised her arms behind her head, baring her breasts to him.

Philippe uncrossed his arms. "Thank you, Johanna. I accept your decision. You are very graceful."

Emilia performed a similar dance, but she hesitated at removing her garment. Philippe frowned and stared at her until she slipped it off and knelt. "Emilia, I know this is difficult. If you promise to try harder, I will accept your choice. Now get dressed." With a great sigh, she quickly replaced her shift and sat back on the bench.

Thinking about his earlier profession of love, Carina decided to go all out for Phillippe. She kicked her slippers to the side and jumped up to face him. The sight of the slave at the fire and the poor sheep's flowing blood gave her a complete incentive to step into this role for Philippe.

She extended her arms to the side in the familiar style of the Sardana, a popular dance in her home country. After a few jumps and kicks, she extended her hand to Emilia and Johanna, who quickly joined her in a moving circle. For a brief moment, they were back home in the town square, forming ever larger circles, jumping and moving with great joy.

In all his years of slavery, Philippe had not seen his childhood dance performed. He had to restrain himself from joining the circle.

After a few minutes of merry diversion, Carina stopped the circle and faced Philippe. Instead of dropping her garment, she reached down and drew it off over her head, then dropped to her knees, continuing down until her head touched the ground, arms again extended outward.

Philippe now took his turn to let out a sigh and even wipe a tear from his eye. "That was meravellós, my sweet Carina. Gràcies." All four quietly sobbed for a while, reflecting on lost loves and lives.

That evening, Philippe sat them in a little circle. "Tomorrow, after the morning meal, we will start practicing your dansa de l'amor. Each one must be different, yet alluring. I will bring a woman here from the harem to show you how to move. You performed well yesterday, but only Carina put her imagination and heart into her dance. You will all strive for perfection. You must not only please; you must also arouse our Master when he calls for you."

As the light faded, the frightening and stimulating day found each of the girls slipping fingers beneath their protective pouches. At first with delicate, then with quick, demanding strokes, each found relief. Unknown to them, Philippe sat nearby in the dark, smiling at the muffled gasps from inside the room.

In the morning, Rahma again sniffed the air but this time she was smiling. "Don't be embarrassed, my young ballerinas," Philippe interjected. "You have found a moment of comfort here. Rahma tells me that most of the women here find similar release. In a large harem, your nights with the Master are sometimes far apart."

After breakfast, the group gathered in a room to begin dance practice. A tall brunette waited for them, wearing a gold, semi-transparent wrap. "My name is Noelle. I came here from Calais in France a few years ago. I am to help you with your first dance for the Master." Philippe translated her words. The three women were entranced by her slim, athletic body beneath the thin covering.

"Please stand. We dance barefoot here. Let us try a few simple twirls. Watch my arms and hands." She began moving across the room, first spinning on one foot, then the other. Her arms made a graceful spiral through the air. Again, her nude body under the thin cover commanded attention. Her smallish breasts lightly bounced as her long legs and smooth feet crossed the space.

"You are Emilia? Please begin." Emilia tried to emulate Noelle's grace and confidence with fair success. Johanna and Carina followed. Fortunately, the three women had considerable experience with dancing, so they improved rapidly over a few hours.

"Please practice this one move for the rest of the day. I will show you more tomorrow. You have done well. After our hard work this morning, we all need to bathe. Philippe will take us there now."

Philippe guided his charges to walk a little behind Noelle to watch her elegant walk. Her backside, under the revealing wrap, moved in a beautiful rhythm. As she arrived at the bath, she shed her garment in one motion and entered the water. The three women stared in awe at her poise and allure.

Noelle whispered, "There will be times when you are granted the honor of bathing the Master. He is a powerful man, but in the bath he becomes a little boy. Let me show you what he likes. Lay across my lap with your head on my shoulder." Johanna warily complied. Noelle slowly proceeded to wash every part of her with her fingertips. The feeling was at once stimulating and relaxing. Johanna nearly fell asleep at one point. Noelle prompted her to turn over to soap her back and down to the split between her legs. Somehow, Johanna felt no embarrassment from Noelle's tender ministrations.

As she watched Emilia happily take her turn, Carina saw a strain on Philippe's face. A thought dawned on her. She leaned over to him and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Philippe. Is this difficult to watch?"

"Yes, Amor, even after so many years, there are times when..."

"... Can't you, uh..."

"...No. It is forbidden. If I even stepped into the water with any of you I would be killed. Now put those thoughts from your mind and watch Noelle. She is the Pasha's favorite concubina, and it is easy to see why."

Philippe began a slight tremble as he watched Noelle's fingers roam over Carina's breasts and trail down between her legs. Carina raised a knee to give her more access, again without any shame. In one morning, the three had fallen in love with the exquisite charm of Noelle of Calais.

This day became a turning point in their odyssey into slavery. Philippe's sudden appearance and today's encounter with the alluring Noelle offered a glimmer of hope in their bleak existence. In the dark, they began whispering of a future in the harem beyond the dreaded first night with the Pasha.

One evening before the light faded, Philippe came in the room and sat cross-legged by Carina. "Amor," he whispered, you must not be concerned with this frustration of mine. There is nothing to be done."

"Philippe, in our dreams we are promesa, remember? We are to be married. I love you." Through tears, she said, "I want to see what they have done to you. Please."

After a moment, he opened his garment and haltingly lifted a leather flap. In the dim light, Carina saw a shriveled penis, no larger than a small boy's finger. She reached out to touch it and lift it up. There was nothing underneath. She thought of Diego and began to cry. She brought his head to her chest. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I must go. The guard will be back soon, my sweet femení." He fought back tears of his own. "I will love you all the days of my life."

Emilia and Johanna, having heard the exchange, moved to embrace and cry with Carina long into the night.

For the rest of the week, they practiced their dance routines with Noelle. They learned shimmies, undulations, and "snake arms." The suggestive hip shakes were difficult, as they would be considered indecent in their home country. "Ladies, all dancing is actually simulated mating, but here it is more explicit and sensual. You must snap your hips with force and passion.

"All of you, look at me. You must realize that when you enter Master's bed, your dance will continue. I know this is difficult for you, but as he takes you, you must use your hips and body to respond. Do you understand?"

The three maidens blushed as they visualized Noelle's meaning. None had thought that far ahead. Noelle recognized the stress on her naive pupils and ended practice early.

The Master expressed a liking for the red sashes from the slave market, so Rhama brought them the next day. "Today we will practice unwrapping. As you finish your dance you will be wearing only your belt. Your last move is to remove it gracefully, fall on your knees, and offer it to the Master. At the end, your knees will be touching, indicating your purity."

Noelle performed a dance combining many of the moves while removing her golden shift. Deftly, she whirled the cloth around her into a veil, letting it flutter to the floor. As it fell, she dropped to one knee and smoothly tucked the other leg into place. The other five people in the room gasped in awe at her skill and her complete ease at displaying her adorable naked body.

"Now, each of you will take my wrap and practice dropping it from your body with poise and balance." She showed them several variations, including a difficult one that turned the whirling veil into butterfly wings.

After a few hours, Noelle was satisfied with the progress. "Tomorrow, you will come here one at a time to start your individual dance moves. Emilia, I will see you first. Thank you all."

Noelle started to work with each one on her personal dance. She brought an instrument. "Emilia this a riq. We would call it a tambourine. It will help you create a rhythm. I will sit behind a curtain in Master's room and keep the beat. Of course, I will leave as the dance ends."

"Thank you, Noelle. I think I can get through the dance. It is what comes after that scares me." When Noelle heard Philippe's translation, she drew Emilia into a hug and began kissing her tears.

"I am here with you, young one. Philippe is here and your two friends are here. One day soon, we will look back and laugh. He is not a cruel Master. He is simply part of this culture where men predominate. Now, let us prepare your dance."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After two weeks of work, Noelle and Philippe praised all three girls for their efforts. The goal was not perfection, but confidence. They were ready. One day, at the mid-day meal, Carina sensed a different tension in the room, the chatter more muted. Was the Master back?

Philippe confirmed the disturbing news. "Yes, he returned yesterday in a foul mood. His mission did not go well. He sent Noelle for Johanna last night, but she begged him to spend his fury on her. She has convinced him to wait a week. Let us not tell the others.

"Carina, you are the strongest of us. Let me pass the word that you want to be first. It will flatter him to be desired. Noelle tells me that he responds, as most men do, to admiration of his strength and prowess. You can use this knowledge to gain his favor."

A few days later the Pasha entered the dining hall accompanied by four guards for the evening meal. He settled in a large chair at one end while a dozen women scurried up to sit at his feet and fuss over him. One held a cup to his mouth while others fed him pieces of meat and vegetables with their fingers.

Carina noticed that they were all vying for his attention. Some rubbed themselves on his legs while others lightly massaged his shoulders. Noelle completed his meal by placing grapes in her lips and pressing them into his mouth. As he rose to leave, he said something to one of the guards.

The guard stayed back to speak to one of the women who had been rubbing her breasts across the Master's calf. At his words, she squealed with delight and jumped up to follow the man out of the room. As she left, the room filled with chatter that struck Carina as a mixture of excitement and envy.

Noelle brought the dreaded, long-awaited news one evening: The Master would see Carina the next night. Ignoring the look of panic on her face, Noelle spoke reassuringly, "Dear one, we will spend tomorrow getting ready. I will bring a dress and perfume for you. I will tell you everything you need to know. As I told Emilia, he is not a cruel man."

"But I have always heard it will hurt!" Noelle reached out to give her a hard pinch on the arm.

"Did that hurt?"

"Oww! Yes, it hurt!"

"And does it hurt now?"

"No, not really." Noelle drew her into a hug.

"That is all it will be, my sweet, innocent girl. A quick pain and all these months of thinking about it will be over. And you can tell Johanna and Emilia not to worry so. The next day you will be sore but not especially painful down there. I have been with him three times since he returned, each one quite pleasurable."

After dark, Carina told her sisters-in-innocence that she was chosen. She lay awake recounting the events that had brought her to the point of attempting to enthusiastically offer her virginity to one Fuad Pasha Abaza.

Senyoreta Carina Orellana had been captured in her own home, forced aboard a terrible ship, stripped and humiliated in a warehouse for slaves, sold on a platform along with cows and sheep, and brought to a palace in the desert where she would soon lose her most precious pearl.

The next afternoon the two women bathed alone in the pool. Noelle calmly talked about the upcoming evening and even used her fingers to show Carina what she might experience. "He likes to enter a woman slowly, like this." Carina gasped at the intrusion. "Did you hear yourself just now? You must make those same pleasure sounds tonight. A man loves to hear small moans and gasps. Make small movements with your hips as well."

"As he enters you , begin greater movements and groans. Stroke his neck and back with your hands. Lightly scratch him. Wrap your legs and feet around him."

"Carina, lay back in the water. I will face you and make moves like Master does. You respond as I have said. Keep your legs together until the last moment, then surrender."

Unknown to them, the Pasha watched from behind a screen. He saw Noelle kiss Carina and begin to grind her hips. Carina parted her knees a bit to accept the feigned affection. Hearing the sounds of passion nearly caused him to burst out and take her right in the water. He slipped away in an effort to 'save' himself for the evening's pleasure.

Noelle brought a flowing white gown and veil. The red sash showed through in the light. White slippers and a touch of perfume completed the outfit. Unlike the experienced women, virgins wore no makeup. "Carina, you are truly the most beautiful woman in the palace." Hearing Philippe's translation made her blush. He added, "Dear One, you will be la seductora. He will eat from your hand."

Noelle added one more bit of advice: "Carina, remember some of those nights when you found your own pleasure? You have learned much about your body. As he takes you, recall some of those stimulating thoughts. Let this also be a fantasy apart from the Master. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Noelle. I am so grateful for you and Philippe. In a way you will both be with me tonight. Thank you."

Late evening found Carina at Master's door. Noelle gave her a lingering kiss on the cheek, a smile, and a shake of her riq and left to enter a side alcove.

As instructed, she opened the door and stepped inside to wait for a sign from the Pasha. He smiled and made a small hand motion. The performance of Carina's life began. A deep breath. She stepped out of her slippers, made a small leap, and took up her stance with arms entwined over her head. The riq started the beat.

Carina made three quick twirls while spreading her long veil like a bird's wings, followed by a series of back bends. She extended her left arm toward the ceiling and extended the right arm down to touch her ankle.

She froze for a moment to look her Master directly in the eyes, straightened up, and twirled in the other direction. Then, lifting one foot against the opposite thigh, made a ballet-like spin on her toes. As she finished, she flung her veil in the air, letting it gently flutter to the floor in front of him. She gave out a small sigh in relief at the success of this well-practiced move.

Her finale began with a slow spiral as she bent down to curl up on the floor. A few unfastening movements preceded her leisurely lift. As she rose up, her gown stayed on the floor, revealing her nude body. It was so stunning that Noelle skipped a beat and the Pasha let out a small sigh.

All that remained was for Carina to pull a slipknot on her belt, go to her knees and offer the sash to her Master with a low bow. For a long moment, neither sound nor movement existed in the room. He sat, nearly hypnotized. At length, he grasped the sash and her hand and pulled Carina up to sit on his lap. She felt his arousal immediately.

She threw her arm around him, buried her head against his neck, and burst into great sobs and wails. The tension and apprehension of the entire cursed summer erupted over him in a stream of tears.

Noelle stayed in the alcove, too worried and too fascinated to move. She tried to gauge her Master's reaction to Carina's breakdown. He might call a guard in to drag her away. She waited.

The sensuous dance prevailed. He wiped her tears on his sleeve, embraced her, and began a deep kiss. Carina's whimpers slowed as she responded. She understood kissing! In the heat of the moment she nearly forgot that she was sitting stark naked on a stranger's lap.

He beckoned her to stand with him, took her hand and spun her around in a slow circle. They had no language between them, but his murmurs and looks sent a clear message: "You are exquisite and I want you."