Rescuing Dad

The lean, dark featured lad read the missive once more and considered the fabric it came wrapped in. Clearly a part of his father's tunic, it meant that the man had been captured by the enemy.

An officer stood in the door of the smithy Dan had run, until recently, in the absence of his father, Leon. The man in uniform spoke simply and briefly,

"An armaments worker as talented as your father is too valuable to lose, a fact the enemy knows, hence their willingness to ransom him for a specific amount of gold."

"You will pay the ransom, of course?" asked Dan.

"Certainly. But the enemy will not trust one of our soldiers to deliver the ransom. As you can see, they demand a civilian of age but one who has never seen a battle." The man in the uniform's eyes froze on Dan.

"I WOULD have been a soldier," replied the stripling youth hotly, "I'm more than old enough, but YOUR generals decided that I was too valuable to my father as his assistant to be permitted to enlist. Now, where am I? The Kantans have cut my supplies of coal so I can't even make nails or shoe horses let alone turn out or repair armor for your soldiers, AND you dunderheads allowed them to capture my father! If it was not a certainty that they would kill him if they didn't get their ransom I 'd tell you, idiots, to pound sand!"

"Calm down son, there is no reason to be rude."

"Perhaps not," returned Dan, "but there IS every reason to be angry! "What was he doing so deep in enemy territory in the first place? He's a support officer, not an advance man!"

The tall soldier in the vestibule replied, "We had reason to believe that we could hold the Kantan smithy we had captured from attack. Your father was doing his job, creating weapons and repairing armor when the smithy was retaken."

Dan stared at the officer, his anger not diminished an iota.

"Son, I can't offer anything other than my apologies. The Kantans have promised to keep him alive for thirty days and have issued this safe passage document. With just about every able-bodied man needed for military or farm work, there IS no one else to run this errand. It is either you, son or nobody and your father dies. It's a chance to serve your country son, to be a hero."

"Spare me the patriotic malarkey, of course, I'll go. Just as soon as I figure out what to do with my sister."

"I'm coming with you, of course!" stated a lilting female voice.

Both men turned to spy a tall, beautiful, slim blonde, blue-eyed woman force her way into the doorway.

"Absolutely OUT of the question!" replied Dan.

"Why not? I'm older than you. Technically, with Dad gone, I am the head of household and I have final say on whether you go or not. Anyway, you are not leaving me in this house by my lonesome."

"In the first place,", returned Dan, "I would have found a nice place for you to stay. In the second place, Amber, there is NO WAY on earth that you could pass as a Kantan female. They are all dark-haired, short, and have deep brown eyes. I could possibly pass as one of them myself, but you, even veiled would be easy to spot a mile away. You know how the Kantans feel about women who leave their homes without their husbands or fathers. I'm not old enough to pass as your father, and I damn sure ain't gonna pose as your husband and even though we ARE brother and sister, we look nothing alike. You can help me best by simply staying home. If they find out you are single, the Kantans would throw you in one of their awful jails in a heartbeat and then I've got two ransoms to worry about."

The pretty girl planted her feet firmly on the ground and replied, "Before Mama died, she made me promise to look after you and always keep you safe. You may be bigger and stronger than me, Mister, but you are still my baby brother. In the second place, Kantan rules against single females do NOT apply to slave girls."

"Now I know you are crazy, Amber!"

Amber was no about to take no for an answer. She turned to the soldier in the doorway and stated.

"Officer, I KNOW my rights. As eldest, I have final say on whether my brother accepts this mission or not, is that correct?"

The soldier stopped short for a moment before answering, "Yes Ma'am, that IS the law, BUT..."

"Then it is decided. I am going along!"

Dan looked imploringly at the officer who shrugged his shoulders in response. "Kid, I know nothing about women, I'm a soldier, not a miracle worker. Here is your pass. I'll leave the two you to work this out. Whatever you do, be at the frontier in three days." With that, the man turned smartly on his heels and marched off.

As soon as the door closed, Dan asked, "Are you out of your mind, Sis?"

"No, I am not, Mister too big for his britches, who knows what dangers I'll have to protect you from while we rescue Dad." returned Amber smartly.

"You protect me? That's a laugh!" answered Dan hotly.

Despite much argument, Dan could not dissuade his sister from accompanying him. Three days later, after Dan had exhausted his arguments, the brother and sister were near a border station on the frontier.

"I'll only be a second," stated Amber as she vanished behind a bush. Dan's amazement was total a short time later. The prim and proper and modestly attired young woman who stepped behind the foliage was replaced by an alluring lithe woman with fine legs, an impressive bust, and stunning figure, clad in the scantiest of rags.

Dan had never seen so much of his sister exposed at one time before. Never, in all of his short life, had it dawned on him that his older sister could be so breathtakingly beautiful. For the first time, it occurred to Dan that having his sister along as a distraction might not be such a bad thing. It was a three or four-day hike to reach the internment camp where his father was being housed. During that time, many dangers could rear their heads. If word got around how much gold was carefully sewn into Dan's tunic, his life would be worthless. With eyes and thoughts drawn to his sister, however, Dan became that much more invisible and that much safer. Of course, Amber's beauty might cause other sorts of problems ...

"Stop drooling you creepy little pervert and help me with this collar." deadpanned Amber.

As Dan closed the lock on his sister's slave collar he took a moment to revel in his new authority.

"Remember, "Slave" I'm in charge and get to make ALL of the decisions. Your job is to look pretty and act as a distraction and to keep an eye on the trail behind us to make sure we are not being followed."

Amber stuck out her tongue at her brother before stating, OK, "Master."

"Where are your clothes?" asked Dan.

"I left them behind that bush."

"Well go get them, slave."

A moment later, Amber handed Dan the bundle of her cast-off clothing. Dan promptly tossed the garments into their campfire.

"What are you doing, Danny?" shrieked Amber.

"How would it look if it was discovered I was traveling with concealing clothes for my slave? People would instantly suspect we were up to something. The clothes would get just as ruined if I buried them and, also if I did that, someone might find them and trace them back to us. Don't worry, I'm sure dad will buy you new clothes when we return home."

Amber replied to these words with, "For an annoying little brother, you CAN be intelligent from time to time."

"For an annoying older sister, you sure are annoying."

"Drop dead, Danny"

"If we're not careful," stated Dan, "I certainly will and you would find yourself a slave for real!"

The soberness and import with which Dan uttered that sentence had a profound impact on Amber. For seemingly the first time, despite her brother's many admonitions over the past few days, of this possibility, Amber began to see this adventure as something much more dangerous than a lark with a spot of menace. As she took up her position, three paces behind her brother, at the end of the leash fastened to her collar, Amber realized that already she was not the same woman she had been just a few days ago at her old familiar home and smithy. She wondered how much more she would change by the time she returned to this spot.

A few miles down the trail, Dan and Amber arrived at the border station of Kantan. Because of the war, the guards eyed Dan's pass closely. Both he and Amber were frisked several times by huge guards with bitter frowns on their faces and very bad attitudes. Amber's frisking always took longer than Dan's and was pointless in any case since nearly all of her flesh was exposed. Dan was quizzed about how long he had owned his slave and if he was cognizant of all the rules and regulations regarding slave ownership in Kantan. Amber was quizzed on her Master's likes and dislikes and on his treatment of her. After grilling them both for several hours the disguised brother and sister slipped over the border and found the road which would take them to their father's prison camp.

In short order, the forested hills of the border were replaced with rolling hills of tall grass. The road, while quite dusty, was easy to follow. The brother and sister, however, had a very limited knowledge of what lay ahead of them geographically and culturally. Dan's country and Kantan had never been friendly but had avoided actual war until now. As far as Dan was concerned, the average resident of Kantan was an ignorant goat herder absurdly protective and controlling of the women in his life. As far the average Kantan was concerned, Dan's country was full of sanctimonious mountain inbreeds who had no idea how to control their sluttish women. The amazing thing was not that the two countries had gone to war, but that they had maintained the peace for so long.

After many long miles, the grasses shrank in stature until they were not more than ankle high. A settlement appeared by the trail. Dan recognized a tavern among the buildings, both Dan and Amber were quite thirsty and tired. Both were also quite dusty from the road. This seemed as good a place as any to spend the night. Dan led Amber to the front gate of the little community.

"Halt!"

A pair of guards leveled a crossbow at the siblings.

"What have we here?" Asked one of the guards trying to be intimidating yet he was almost the same age as, and appeared even more youthful, than Dan.

Dan presented his pass and exchanged the nature of his errand. Dan was frisked and the main guard stated, "You are welcome to stay in our village after you have your property assessed." As he stated the last sentence his eyes hungrily devoured Amber's exposed charms.

"My pass is good. Why can't we enter and make use of the tavern?"

"You can make use of the tavern just as soon as we know how much wealth you are bringing into our town. That way if anything is stolen from you, we will know what to be looking for."

To make his point the guard had Dan empty his satchel so that he could count all of his gold, silver, and copper coins. (The Kantans were not entirely merciless. The amount of gold required to free his father had been requested via a second document. Not even the Katans trusted their own people when it came to such a large number of coins.) He handed Dan a receipt and then pointed to a modest house.

That's the slave assessor's house. With his receipt, you can stay the night but be gone by three tomorrow afternoon, is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir." replied Dan, attempting to mask the insolence he so profoundly felt.

With trepidation, Dan silently signaled his sister and gently tugged on her leash, leading her towards the strange door, having no idea at all what to expect on the other side.

A bell rang as Dan entered. The room he and Amber found themselves in had charts on the wall and cabinets full of collars, fetters, and riding crops. Both Dan and his sister were quite nervous at the sight. Presently, a middle-aged man with graying temples and a prominent belly entered the room. His large blue eyes noted Dan but then seemed to focus exclusively on Amber who felt quite uncomfortable at his penetrating gaze.

"Are you the slave assessor?" Dan asked at last.

The man resumed looking at Dan and replied, "Yes, stranger, I am. Since you have come to me and I do not recognize you, I can assume that you are visitors to our fair village and need documentation as to your slave's value."

"Yes," replied Dan weakly

"Very good. Be so good as to strip her. Assessments and testing are done in the nude."

Dan froze in place and swallowed hard. He looked at Amber who had the same panicked expression upon her face as her brother.

"Oh, come, come," stated the portly gentleman. "certainly she's been naked in the presence of strangers many times before. If it helps, imagine me as a doctor. Now get on with it, son."

Seeing no escape from this situation, Dan tried to communicate with his eyes and body language with his sister. It was clear that the two of them would have to spend the night somewhere and they had no idea how far away the next village was along the road. Also, there was a very good chance that even if they managed to make it to another town by nightfall, the current uncomfortable situation the siblings found themselves in was likely to be repeated. Dan knew that he had to appear mature and unperturbed by Amber's required exposure. It appeared to Dan that Amber had understood his thoughts and intentions, with a slight nod, she assented to his plans.

Trying very hard to control his breathing, Dan reached for the string restraining the simple cloth that supported and concealed his sister's ample breasts. The fabric fell away and Dan was gifted with the sight of his sister topless. Prior to this, the only woman Dan had spied naked was a fat farmer's wife skinny dipping in a pond whom he had stumbled across while hiking through the woods. Amber's breasts were incomparably nicer, two conical hillocks surmounted with light brown areolas and sharp pink nipples. Dan drank in his sister's exposed flesh, left his breath out slowly and then reached for the knot supporting the lower half of Amber's slave attire. The scrap of fabric tumbled to the floor and Dan's eyes hungrily examined Amber's neatly trimmed golden thatched box. She stood there naked in the slanting sunlight filtering trough the windows of the room, all ivory skin, and lithe physique. The sunlight made the golden hair of her head and pelvis glow with an almost mystical radiance. For a moment, Dan imagined that it was some angel he was viewing and not his older, perpetually annoying sister.

"Splendid!" stated the slave assessor as he began to examine Amber's lithe naked form with almost the same intensity as Dan himself.

"She's not branded!" stated the assessor.

"I've been meaning to do that," lied Dan, "I just have not had the opportunity."

"Just about ANY competent farrier can perform the task for a minimal fee." returned the assessor. "In any event," he continued, "let's see how well she is trained."

Dan could not tear his eyes away. He was spellbound as the older man shouted instructions at Amber. He had her remove her sandals, squat on her haunches, stand on her tiptoes, extend her hands above her head. Amber was impelled to part the lips of her sex and cough, present the assessor her asshole and stand on each leg in turn. and finally, assume the position of a supplicant slave, kneeling, legs apart, breasts thrust forward and head down.

"She's not especially well trained." stated the assessor. "However, her beauty is remarkable and her personality seems compliant enough. The fact that she is not branded however means that I COULD get in trouble for not reporting her to the law. I think perhaps, I SHOULD do that."

"NO!" stated Dan. "I'll have her branded. Please don't report us."

The man looked at Amber with a positively evil leer. "Well, I suppose IF we came to some sort of accommodation, I could issue you a rather nice assessment that would transfer to every town along the line."

Naive Dan was about to ask what the older man was hinting at when he observed Amber roll her eyes and fall to her knees in front of the fat assessor. Astonished, Dan witnessed his sister liberate the old guy's stubby erect penis from his trousers and begin to suckle it. The older man placed his hands behind Amber's head and impelled her to take even more of him into her mouth. Dan found himself stiffening as he observed his sister's beautiful face slide back and forth while she made sounds of muffled pleasure.

A sudden frown crossed the Assessor's face as his manhood rapidly became flaccid. Amber forced the load of semen down her throat and opened her mouth and raised her tongue to demonstrate that she had accepted every bit of come.

The fat assessor glanced at Dan with longing and stated, "Oh, to have the endurance of youth once more!"

A short time later, Dan and Amber were exiting the Assessor's house with a receipt and a rather high-value appraisal of Amber. As the siblings made their way to the hotel Dan asked,

"Where did you learn THAT!"

"There are LOTS of things you don't know about me "Master." Dad works in armaments, there were ALWAYS lonely soldiers willing to teach pretty girls new things hanging around the smithy. Do you seriously believe that ALL I did was make cookies and coffee for them?"

Dan looked back at his sister and replied, "I had NO idea!"

"Then you are dumber than I thought! How many more times on this trip am I going to have to save your bacon?"

"You save me?"

"Yes, you schmuck. If all eyes were not on me, everyone would see you for what you are, an innocent doofus WAY out of his depth! No way you could rescue Dad on your own."

"That's not fair!" shot back Dan.

"Perhaps, not, but it is accurate! Now try to don an air of authority we are almost at the tavern."

A moment later the doors to the tavern swung open and the interior fell silent. Dan was acutely aware of the eyeballs assessing him and then quickly moving on to appraise his sister.

"NOW that is what I'm talking about!" said a loud male voice.

Dan proceeded to the bar. The fat, dark featured, Kantan behind the bar met Dan's glance with a bored expression. His eyes, ever so slightly, focused on Amber before his countenance turned smug.

"I'll have a meal for my slave and myself and then a room where we can freshen up and rest 'til morning."

"Freshen up?" mocked the tavern keeper. "You sure the pretty lady isn't actually your mother in disguise?"

"Spare me your levity, barkeep..."

"Whatever Dan was going to say was cut off by raucous laughter throughout the room.

"Levity!"

Sensing things had gone south quite quickly for her brother, Amber made her voice heard.

"Please, Sir, we have traveled a far piece today. My Master means well."

The tavern keeper looked carefully at Amber and replied, "His money is good her. Rather pathetic that he has to have his pet intercede for him. I can give you a room and there is a bath tub if you want to use it, mind, you'll be toting the water yourself."

Dan did his best to hide his frustration and embarrassment as he replied, "That will be fine, Sir."

Dan ordered two tankards of beer even though he did not really like the taste of alcohol and began to sip his quietly while he surveyed the room.

"Hey, boy!" stated an older man far larger and more powerful than Dan. He was sitting with a collection of tough looking compatriots. Having obviously heard the interjection, Dan focused on him.

"Boy, I'll pay for your room if you let that pretty little thing on the end of your leash dance for us."

"The tavern keeper stated that my money is good here," replied Dan

"But why spend it if you don't have to? I'll bet she's a real good dancer and that she sheds those rags ever so sweetly. It's been a while since I and my friends have feasted our eyes on such loveliness."