Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Masters and Slaves (1x1)

Altair made his way through the slave market, cane tapping lightly upon the ground as he moved. He was looking, but not with eyes that could quite see. Nobody normally would think he could see. No, what he saw was auras. Outlines around a person, or anything else that would have an aura. And that was how he searched for his new slave, waiting for one to catch his eye, so to speak.

Lyna sat in the corner of one of the cages, hugging her knees. Every other girl that was being sold along with her was already gone, and she had no-one to talk to. So instead, she kept thinking about why she was the last to go, and could only come to one conclusion - she was too tall and ugly.

Of course she was afraid of what fate had in store for her, never having been away from her former master's rural mansion before, but the novelty of the city - or the part she could see from here - wore off long ago, and she found she was partially looking forward to finally getting out of here. If someone will be interested in buying her, that is.

Altair was surprised when he came upon someone alone in a cage. He spoke quietly with the guard for a moment. Tall, not so pretty, that's how she was described. If the guard couldn't see, he would have rolled his eyes. Vulgar. It's all anyone any wanted, someone pretty.

Soon the guard was opening the cage and getting her out carefully. "You've been bought. Behave." he growled, handing her over to Altair. "No need for the restraints, guard, go ahead and remove them all." He smiled at her. "What's your name, miss?"

She observed the man who approached the guard warily, but failed to overhear what they spoke about. Could it be her? When the guard called her out, her heart started beating faster in fear mixed with anticipation. Still, the man didn't seem cruel, so she got out of the cage, whispered "Yes, sir," when the guard announced she had been bought and waited for her shackles to be unlocked, keeping her eyes down. When they were, she rubbed at her wrists.

She looked up in shock when she was addressed as 'miss'. No-one had ever called her than before. She blushed. "It's Lyna, sir," she replied quietly.

Altair smiled. "Well, Miss Lyna. I should tell you first-off, I'm blind. So that is why I'm needing your help. You will escort me around the house and mostly when I go out on business." He held out his hand for her to take. "In the meantime, we'll start on the way back. Make sure I don't run into anything, will you please? Ah, by the way, my name is Altair." He smiled at her, then started walking along. He knew the way back to the carriage, but he wanted to make sure she was able to keep him from knocking into things too.

Lyna flinched a little when she was addressed as 'miss' again, but then she smiled uncertainly and took his hand. It was soft; hers was quite rough from the work in the fields and kitchens. She set out in the direction she saw him come from, careful not to run into anything, although she was quite overwhelmed with all the people - she had only been to the village market twice, and wasn't used to this many people or noises.

When her new master made a pause, she nodded and answered. "I understand, sir." This time she spoke more loudly. Her voice was pleasant, almost melodic, when she wasn't whispering. She was still tense from all the people around her, though. "What should I call you, sir?" she asked with a hint of uncertainly in her voice. Surely not "Altair", that would be unheard of.

She was feeling a little self-conscious, too, among all these people, in her simple grey tunic that didn't fit her, but focused on the task at hand and tried letting her new master decide the main direction, as she had no idea where exactly they were going. ... which would make it a good idea to ask. "In what direction should I be going?" she asked, turning to Altair. The idea of being this close to him freaked her out a little - she nearly always stayed out of sight of the masters before, but he seemed... kind, and she'll just need to do her best to get used to it, if leading him around was what he needed from her.

Altair smiled. "Ah, yes. You can call me what you'd like. Sir, Master, Master Altair, whatever is comfortable for you and respectable to me, naturally." He pointed his cane slightly. "This way, it should be up here soon." He smiled, and soon the carriage would come into sight. He went up to the door. "Be a dear and open it, please. It usually takes me a try or two to find the handle." The driver was up at the driver's seat, watching to stir the horses up to go back to the house. Once Altair was in, he had her come in and sit with him in the carriage. Then he tapped on the wall, and the wagon started moving.
"So tell me about yourself."

When Altair explain about addressing him, she nodded while remaining careful about where she was leading him. "Yes, sir." They reached his carriage shortly, and she was quick to open the door as soon as he asked for it. She was dumbfounded by the fact that she was obviously going to take a ride in a carriage for the first time in her life, but climbed in quickly after Altair and closed the door behind her, looking at the interior in awe as she sat down opposite Altair.

Although he couldn't see her, she sat completely straight. When he asked her to speak about herself, she was silent for a moment. No-one in power had ever asked her a question like that. Eventually, knowing she can't let him wait, she started with an apology. "I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know what to say. I was born a slave and grew up serving in a mansion with fields nearby and I worked in the fields, household and the kitchen. I lived with my parents in a shack and helped there, too. Then the master died and I was sold.

I'm able to cook, clean, sew, mend minor things, work with animals," she hesitated and bit her lip - reading was not a skill encouraged in slaves where she grew up, and her parents had been upset with her for trying to learn, "and I can read. And... my mother taught me about healing and some spells. This... is my first time in a town. All these people... I'll get used to them soon," she finished self-confidently, not daring to mention how they frightened her in fear that he would think her inadequate for escorting him and return her to the seller.

Altair listened to her, nodding slightly. "Good, good; there's many things you can do that will prove useful to you. I'm sorry about your master, however. And it must be hard being separated from your parents. Perhaps we could find them and go visit them sometime. As for reading, that's wonderful! You'll enjoy my library, then. I can't put much of the books to good use, but I do have books for myself in braille. However, a lot of the books were passed down to me, so they are normal books. Perhaps you can finally give them some use when you have some time."

He smiled, and once they arrived at the house, he got out with her. "Please lead me to the door, miss Lyna." He took her hand and let her lead him. "Go on and open it, it should be unlocked, ready for our arrival." He himself lived in a very nice house. Nearly mansion-sized, but not quite.

If she hadn't been used to keeping her face straight, her jaw would have dropped. Find and visit her parents? To be able to read books? She was so touched she started crying a little. Thankfully, she managed to keep it without sobs and whispered, "That sounds so good. Thank you, sir. I... I never expected to be this lucky." She immediately started feeling silly about not being able to speak up, and fell silent.

When the carriage stopped, Lyna got out carefully, blushed a little less when called 'miss' this time, tried speaking loudly when she answered him, "Yes, sir," and smiled at him shyly while leading him to the door. Then she remembered to look at the house. It seemed big, and, well... like a house of someone who was rich. She opened the door when asked to, and led him inside, looking around curiously.

Altair suddenly took the lead once he stepped inside. "Alright, welcome to your new home. To the right is the sitting room, where I will entertain guests. To the left is a living room, for general..well, living. The stairs in front of you and to the right will take you upstairs to where the bedrooms are. Down the hall in front of us lies to the dining room and kitchen, the two doors to the left. The door on the right is the library and the door directly ahead is my study. Upstairs, you have bedrooms and guest rooms, and the bathing room. Each room has a bathroom, but the bathing room has the hot baths."

He started walking up the stairs, setting his cane aside in the doorway. "Alright, let's get you to your room." Once they were upstairs, he walked down the hall and paused at one of the doors. "This is your bedroom. There are clothes in the dresser, though some might not fit. I got all sizes. Today a tailor will come and have you measured so that he can make some well-fitting clothes for you." He opened the door for her and smiled. "Welcome to your new room, miss Lyna." It was a very nice bedroom. One of the normal guest bedrooms, so that meant it had a very nice bed, and full furniture, and everything.

Lyna froze a little in surprise when Altair took the lead, but she was able to remember everything about the rooms, for now. She nodded. "Thank you for explaining, sir. "She even smiled a little when he started walking upstairs. He didn't seem to really need her escorting services at home.

Her heart raced faster when he mentioned her room. Her own room? Even if it would be small and windowless, it would be much better than sleeping in the only room of her parents' house, on the floor, which is what she had been used to up until now. She hurried up the stairs behind him and stopped by the door when he did, almost afraid to peek in. When she did, her jaw nearly dropped, and she nearly didn't catch what he told her about the tailor. When it dawned on her, she was mute for a few moments. Then she was reduced back to whispering. "T-thank you, sir. This... I've hardly ever seen a room this fine. I... thank you," she finished, clearly grateful, but at a loss of words.

Altair smiled and put a hand on her shoulder gently. "It seems the trade of slaves nowadays is to have them misused and abused and near starved to death. To me, that just shows what an incompetent moron the master is. Anyone who works for me is going to be well taken care of. Which means nice clothes that fit you," Nice, not fancy. "Full meals, your own room, etcetera. Now, I just mentioned meals; breakfast, lunch and dinner will be at the dinging room, served on the hour. You don't need to worry at first, because there will be a call for it. Often, the cook will ask for you to set the table. You will eat at the table with me, when we have our meal. If there's anything you don't eat, or anything that makes you sick when you eat it, just let the chef know."

He smiled at her. "I'll go through the rest of the rules later. For now, find something that will fit you in the wardrobe, and take a bath. There's clean bath towels on your bed. If you need anything, just call for me. I'll be in my room, which is just a couple doors down." His room had fancy double-doors and was at the end of the hallway, so it wouldn't be hard to figure out that it was his. He left her room, closing the door behind her for privacy, and went to his own.

Lyna felt a sudden urge to defend her previous life, although why, she had no idea. "I've never been starved... much," she protested weakly, interrupting him, and her hand flew up to her mouth when she realized what she had done, eyeing him warily, but she relaxed after a while. He seemed to have a calming influence on her. The only point where she felt a pang of fear was when he mentioned she would eat with him, because of the table manners - in particular, having no idea what they were. She had never even served her masters before due to her peculiar height. Among the other servants, she would have been unsightly.

She was able to smile back at him, at least a little. "Thank you, sir. Yes. I-I think I understand."

When he left, closing the door behind her, she let out a deep breath that she hadn't even realized she was holding. She looked around the room incredulously and walked to the wardrobe after a minute or two of trying to absorb that this room was hers.

She browsed through the clothes, each piece much nicer than anything she had ever worn before, and selected a blouse and a skirt that might fit her, and a long blue dress that might be her size, too. She took it all to the bathroom, brought the towels and scrubbed herself clean, marveling at the luxury of this all along.

When she was dry, she tried out the dress, but it was too short, so she went with the white blouse and dark green skirt instead - they were made for someone less slender, but the fit was quite good nevertheless.

Now that she was clean, she opened all the drawers she found in her room, looked out of the window and finally tried out the bed, closing her eyes after she lounged on it. It felt like heaven. She hadn't stayed long, though, just a minute or so. Then she tidied up the bathroom as best as she could and was she left with no orders to perform - that would have to be remedied. She took a deep breath for courage and set out to find her master. She couldn't just stay in her room and be idle, especially not after how he had treated her. That just wouldn't do.

If she didn't see him in the hall, she proceeded two doors down to the double door, paused for a moment, taking a deep breath again, and knocked. "Um, Master Altair. I'm done," she called out, quite shyly.

Altair was fine with being interrupted. It was for a nice cause, she was trying to defend her previous master, and he could understand that. When his door was knocked upon, he opened it. "Ah, good. Did you enjoy yourself?" He thought for a moment. "Hmm...I'm not quite sure how long I was at the market. What time is it, miss Lyna? Supper should probably be served soon. But for now, why don't we go to the living room and I can give you the rules?"

He smiled and walked past her, down the stairs and into the living room. He sat down, gesturing for her to do the same. "Alright. Everything is fairly common sense. Be respectful. Your duty is to help me navigate when I'm out of the house. While we are in the house, I'm perfectly fine going around on my own; I grew up here, after all. But that plays into the next rule; while we are home, you will help keep the place tidy. I don't make big messes, so it shouldn't be too hard. But whatever you lift, or move, you must put it back RIGHT where it was, right away. Otherwise I'm going to trip on it or run into it."

He paused, then continued. "When you are not working, you are free to relax around the house, read some books in the library, or visit the garden out back. You may not leave the house, garden excluded, unless you have permission from me first. Never interrupt me while I am in my study. Also, always be respectful, and when I have guests over, do not speak unless spoken to." He smiled. "You don't need to worry. Just use your brain, and you'll be fine."

Lyna blushed and nodded when asked if she enjoyed herself. "Yes, very much, sir. Thank you." When asked about the time, she hesitated for a moment and looked around for a clock. If there was one in sight, she read the time. If not, she hesitated some more and then said, "I think about five o'clock, by how high the Sun is. If you direct me to a clock, I will read it for you, sir. I'm sorry, I haven't had a look around yet," she told him, sounding a little ashamed.

"Yes, sir," she answered and followed him to the living room, sitting down where he invited her to. When he explained about putting things back in place, she nodded. "Of course, sir. I understand." She felt a pang of joy when he told her that she could access the library, and that there was a garden that she could visit. She listened to the rest of his instructions, and nodded at the end. "Yes, sir, I will remember."

She paused for a moment. "May... may I ask a question, sir?" If granted permission, she continued. "What... what if there is an emergency, and you are in your study? I'm sorry to ask, sir, it's just that... say if someone got hurt. I wouldn't know what to do," she said, rater uncertain if she was even allowed to ask things like this. She just hoped she wasn't being disrespectful - she didn't really know how to take initiative, and normally would indeed follow through with the orders, whatever they would be, but after being treated so nicely, she didn't want to risk causing harm by obeying blindly.

Altair listened to her calmly, a clock would be nearby, in the hall, for guests and servants. When she requested a question, he smiled and nodded. "Of course, ask away." He considered what she posed carefully. "If such an emergency were to happen, you knock upon my study door and tell me what is going on. I will come out." He nodded and smiled at her, yet again. "Is there anything else you need to know, miss Lyna? Any other questions that might need answering?"

Lyna nodded, still a little nervous from having gathered the courage to ask about that. "Yes, sir. Thank you... for explaining." She bit her lip when asked if she had more questions, trying to anticipate what might go wrong. Then she had it. Supper. "Um... Well, there is one thing." She turned nearly crimson from embarrassment, then she took a deep breath to calm down a little and went on. "I've always eaten with other slaves or with my parents, and, well... I'm... embarrassed about my lack of table manners. Is there a way I could at least try to learn, before the supper?" she pleaded.

Altair chuckled softly. "It's perfectly fine, miss Lyna. I don't expect you to have perfect manners for anything. There should be a girl helping the chef today, you can talk to her and she will run you through everything." He smiled. "But please, do not worry. It's not like I can see any mess." He winked a little, to make sure she didn't start apologizing about him not being able to see. He didn't really tell her that he could see...kind of. That was his little secret.

"Is there anything else?" He smiled gently. She was obviously a shy one, so he wanted to be very careful not to upset her.

Lyna blushed when he told her he wouldn't see any mess and then she smiled at him shyly. "Thank you. I'll do my best, sir." She bit her lip in tought, encouraged by the fact that he can't see her. Her mother always kept telling her to stop doing that.

"Nothing I can think of now, Master Altair," she answered, a little afraid that she forgot to ask something important. "Thank you for being so patient with me," she added quietly.