I was cold and disorientated when I woke up. I groaned. My tongue was sore and swollen, and I was dreadfully thirsty.
I tried to sit up, but I felt weak. I groaned again. Hands lifted me up, and water was placed to my mouth. I drank until it was taken away.
"Enough" a voice said. I forced my eyes to open, and looked into the face of the captain. "What is your name?" he asked me. I groaned again. He gave me more water to drink.
"Zia" I said.
"Welcome back. I will bring you some food."
While he was gone, I looked around. I was still chained to the stake, but we were somehow some where else, in a valley completely surrounded by high mountains.
They had moved me. The captain came with small meal. I was ravenous, and wolfed it down. "More" I pleaded, but he refused me. I sniffed. I stunk. "I need to wash." He nodded.
"Wait."
He returned with another of the squad, Drowsy. Between them, they removed my chain.
I pulled my stinky blanket tight, and the captain helped me stand, guiding me to a bubbling stream. I dropped the blanket and walked in. It was cold.
Bitterly cold beyond anything I had ever experienced. I quickly washed myself and my hair, but I had lost all feeling in my fingers long before I had finished my hair.
When I came out, the captain wrapped me in a clean blanket and held me tight until I was merely very cold.
I leaned in against him, enjoying his comfort and strength. This was the first time anyone had held me tight for a long time. The first time anyone had simply just cared about me since as long as I could remember. The feeling and the morning sun warmed me quickly.
When I could speak, I asked him how many days had passed. "It's been eight days since I chained you to that stake."
Eight days! But I had survived. Now that I was starting to warm up, I realised that I felt different. For the first time, I truly felt free of the seed. I laughed, great gales of laughter. I was free!
Well, not actually free at this point. The captain owned me. Now, truly, I knew, he owned me, and it was time for me to start paying my dues.
I pulled away from the captain, opened the blanket, and presented myself to him. "I am yours, Master." It was the first time I had called him that.
His eyes scanned my body, and he caught his breath. "Yes, and you are beautiful" he said. "But it's too cold for that yet. Come with me and have some breakfast, and then we will talk about your duties."
"How can I perform my duties when I haven't had any thornstar for eight days?"
The captain smiled. "I've been making it for you, and making you have it."
Oh really? How did I know that he made it correctly? Before breakfast he showed me how he made it: properly. The old healer had showed him, he said.
Over breakfast, the captain explained my duties. The men were divided into four teams of four, each on a four day cycle. They would go out on patrol for two days, staying somewhere overnight on the patrol.
On the third day, they would patrol the main route through the mountains. On the fourth day, they had a rest day, during which they spent time resting and working on weapons and skills.
Also, on that day, they would get a turn with me. The captain and his second in command Whistle were not on the four day cycle, and would get a turn with me as they had a chance.
My duties were to make sure that the men were clean, healthy, and happy. They had set me up a little room to do my stuff in, and he would show it to me soon. And did I have any questions?
I didn't even know what "my stuff" was. So the captain showed me inside a log cabin, which was still not complete.
I was amazed at the size of the log cabin they had built, how much they had already done. It was fairly low, and dug out below into the ground.
One end was curtained off with some heavy skins, and behind this was a small room with a bath and a bed in it. A small fire gave enough light to see by.
"A bath? How did that get here?"
The captain grinned. "Gong and Sock got it here. Ask them, I'm sure they'll love to tell you the story."
There was a channel of running water around the bath, and some complicated set up over the fire that looked like a way to fill to the bath with warm water.
"Your real job is to fill the bath with warm water, get them into it, and wash them, and give them a massage. And to watch their health. This winter will be hard for them, and you need to keep them going."
And to give my body to them, I knew, that went without saying. But now I could see what my stuff was. The bed was a log bed on rocks, I would have to make it more comfortable somehow.
"This afternoon, if you are ready, you will have a practice run on me, I will give you this morning to sort all your stuff out and figure out the bath. Have one yourself."
I looked at the captain and desire spread through my body and into my voice. "Oh, I'll make sure that I'm ready."
I spent the morning preparing the room and sorting out my things. Mostly I had things for healing or for pleasure.
Just a few clothes were for me, and my girly bag. I folded them in a corner, I still wasn't sure where I'd be sleeping myself.
Many of my users had come for a simple suck and fuck. We had called them "In, In and Out" or "Simple Dicks." But Tom had a list of special services that cost more.
One of the special services was called "Saucy Bath Attendant" and I had played that role occasionally. Here, it would be more than a role.
Another of the special experiences was called "Full Massage Treatment", and I had done that a lot.
The most expensive service we had offered was called "Pretend Girlfriend Experience." Bridget had taught me all those skills, using them on each other, and I knew that I would use them here.
I figured out the fire set up, and had a wonderful warm bath. If only I'd known about this bath earlier, I wouldn't have frozen myself in that damned stream.
I lay fully submersed in the warm water, caressing myself. It had been two weeks since I had last had sex, and to my surprise I was missing it, a lot.
The anticipation of serving the captain was filling me with a pleasant warm feeling inside.
I lifted myself onto the edge of the bath, and placed my hand between my legs, imagining kneeling down in front of the captain, both of us naked, his taste and strength filling me up.
I had to stop. I was quite noisy when I came, to which I was surprisingly close, and it wouldn't do for anyone to hear what came next right now.
Oh, how I wanted the captain. I had to resist the urge to pleasure myself as I dried myself with a blanket.
I looked through the few small clothes I had bought. Now was the time to put aside the travelling gear and wear some of the other clothes I had bought.
I settled on a simple cotton sundress. I would keep the other few outfits hidden for later.
I didn't think the dress was quite warm enough for the weather, but I figured I wouldn't be wearing it for long — it was fairly tight and short, and emphasized my breasts wonderfully.
Given that I hadn't tried it on when I bought it, I was pretty proud of my choice.
Whistle was outside with the captain, and no one else was around.
The astounded hungry looks on their faces filled me with pleasure. I had never dressed like this before I came to the city, and after that it hadn't really meant anything however I dressed or didn't.
The look on their faces, it gave me a wonderful feeling. I sat opposite them as we ate lunch, with my legs crossed, and the dress only just covering me. I felt as though sparks were flying across the small fire between us.