5 comments/ 11661 views/ 8 favorites The Trades By: Juwel_Katzchen Chapter 1: The Chase I grew up in a land called Verania, along the edges of the Chinta forests. My people had lived there for as long as anyone could remember, cut off from the rest of the world unless it involved the trading and selling of goods. We had a long history of fine crafting, plenty of pelts from hunting, and special poultices made from long cherished Elvish recipes; selling those goods had always kept us afloat, living simple yet happy lives. Well, until 100 years ago, that is. That's when the city of Markal was built, expanding until the forest's resources became less plentiful and dangerously stretched. We began to suffer. That's when the Lords of Markal proposed a Trade... -------------------------------------------- My feet pounded against the ground, snapping twigs and crunching leaves barely audible over my thundering heart in my ears. I could hear the frantic footsteps behind me, the baying of hounds as they chased my scent, getting closer despite my best efforts. There was no point in hiding, no point in trying to cover my tracks, though every fiber of my hunter trained mind screamed it. Those damned dogs knew where I was, the smell of my fear and sweat giving me away to their keen noses. These dogs were hunters, raised and trained to catch people just like me: Runners who refused the Trades. Despite a lifetime of running through the lush forests of my home, hunting and gathering excursions that took days of almost endless trekking, I could feel myself starting to lose it. My muscles felt like they were on fire and multiple scrapes and scratches from the thick shrubbery were starting to add up and sting. I knew these forests like the back of my hand, and even I knew that I had little chance of getting through them in the dark. But my would-be captors were behind me and that gave me enough incentive to try. "I won't!" I screamed, not knowing if they could hear me, but hoping they did. A rumble of laughter answered, followed by a ragged-breathed response: "Run all you want, little girl, but all it'll do is make you tired when we drag you in." The voice was a lot closer than I thought and for a moment, I felt the pang of defeat in my heart. He was right. How could I ever hope to escape a Tracker and his damned hounds, even in my own forest? They were trained for this soul purpose. They lived for the chase...and they never came back empty handed. I had seen it before, 10 years back when I was just eight. They had come for a Trade and one of the girls, Belethia, had run, refusing to go with them just as I did now. They dragged her kicking and screaming out of the woods by high sun, after only a few hours of chase. She had been a young, agile hunter, trained and raised just like me and they had captured her with ease, grinning as they dragged her from the woods by the rope that bound her hands. And I was next. Though the memory brought feelings of defeat, I began to sprint with renewed vigor, refusing to give up, to give in to them. If they were going to take me, I was going to make them work for it. I may have been tired, but even a Tracker only had so much endurance and I was going to push him for all he was worth. I was not going down without a fight, damn it! I felt a tired grin form on my lips as I began to approach a clearing. I knew this spot well and all the traps that laid within. It was a popular hunting spot for my clan, miles into the heart of the ever shrinking forest where wildlife was still thriving. I felt a stirring of new hope. A chance! If I could just make it to one of those pit falls- My thought was cut off as a large shadow appeared in front of me, seemingly out of nowhere. I tried to scream, but was muffled as the massive being caught me in a bear hug, pinning my arms by my sides and my face against it's chest. I tried to kick and fight with all my remaining strength, but to no avail. My captor was built like a boulder and as he, I assumed it was a male, gave me a warning squeeze, I went limp for fear of being crushed. His grip loosened as he felt the fight leave my small, battered body and he pulled back enough to look down at my scratched and bloody face. "Nice try," He said, his deep voice vibrating my chest, "I'm almost impressed. If I hadn't trapped you, I think you may have outrun Bregar, at least for a while." I stared downwards, feeling no pride at the half-compliment. It didn't matter, I thought. I was caught. I heard a scuffling behind me and knew it must be the first tracker, Bregar as my captor had called him, catching up with his hounds. I could feel their cold noses sniffing at my legs and the wind from their wagging tails, proud as if they had been the ones to catch me. I normally loved animals, but these dogs I hated simply on principle. They were the enemy, whether they knew it or not. "You're starting to get soft, Bregar." My captor laughed, shifting me in his arms so that the other Tracker could bind my hands behind me. "She gave you a run for your coin." Bregar grumbled something under his breath as he jerked tightly on my bindings, blaming me for his hurt pride and digging the ropes painfully into my wrists. I made a sound of protest, only to receive a slap to the back of the head, causing stars to flash before my eyes. "Shut up, you little bitch." He growled, jerking me back by my bindings and out of the grip of the other man. "Should know better than to run, you damned knife ear." He gave me another jerk, this one hard enough to make me lose my balance. I hit the hard dirt with an oomph, biting my tongue to keep a nasty reply to myself. I was in enough trouble as it was. "Hey, now. Don't damage the merchandise. We're going to have a hard enough time explaining her condition without you adding more damage." The other man sounded more annoyed than concerned, as if he was talking about a piece of furniture. "We'll just tell them the truth, Quent. The little cunt ran and got herself cut up by the trees. Right, bitch?" He gave my bindings another tug, grinning as I grimaced, the harsh rope digging into my already sore wrists. Quent, just shook his head and started back towards the Elvish camp, muttering something about added expenses. Bregar dragged me roughly to my feet, sneering as I stumbled and almost fell again. "Wouldn't be so fucking tired if you hadn't run, knife eared cunt." I kept my mouth shut even as my cheeks flushed with rage. I trudged behind him, a dog padding happily along on either side of me, tongues out as they panted. I didn't think my body could take much more abuse and a snarky comment would most certainly earn me another hit, added expenses or not. As tempting as it was to stomp on his obviously hurt pride from his inability to catch me himself, I knew better than to poke an angry bear. One day, I thought to myself, keeping my eyes focused on the ground. One day i'd get him back for this. I'd get them all back. My thoughts flashed to my family, to the clan I had grown up with, and I had to fight the tears forming in my eyes. Growing up, they never mention the Trades to you. A dirty secret, hidden until you're old enough to be Traded. When I witnessed Belethia's capture, they had consoled me with lies and stories that I could no longer remember, hiding the truth again. Children weren't supposed to be at the Trading, but I had snuck in, curious as to where all the Elders went year after year. By the time they saw me, it was too late. I had witnessed the whole thing, yet they had so easily convinced me it was nothing. Whether it was ancient magic or simple young naivety, I had believed my Elders, my 'Protectors', when they told me everything was alright. I was a damned fool. Selling us into sexual servitude...How could they? Lost in my thoughts of betrayal, I didn't notice how much time had passed, nor that Bregar had been speaking to me, until a sharp pain brought me back to my nightmarish reality. It took me a moment to realize that he had just slapped me. The filter between my mind and mouth must have been stunned as well, because I reacted as one shouldn't whilst bound and in the company of two large men, one profoundly violent. "Bastard!" That did it. WHAM! I heard the connection of bone to bone before I felt the pain rush through my face, knocking my head to the side. As my vision began to narrow, I caught a glimpse of something familiar. My village. A flash of the impossibly long silver hair and cold, unfeeling grey eyes. Elvish eyes staring at me from a crowd of blurs, offering no support, no mercy, and no love. "Elder..." She was the last thing I saw before the world went black, taking me into a dreamless sleep. The Trading Of Freya Ch. 01 Disbelief hit Freya as she stared at the clearing. There was what could only be described as a flying saucer and a large group of women were being herded into it in single file. Most were quiet, but every now and then some started struggling and crying, trying to get away, only to be physically hauled onto the ship by some men in very tight black uniforms. All of them had their hands tied behind their backs. Nearby there were also some military trucks and a couple of those anonymous black cars that government people use. Freya pulled her camera up to her face and zoomed in to get a better look. Standing by the cars were three men; one in a suit, one pissed-off looking high ranking soldier and a large man in the same black uniform as the others, whom Freya presume were from the 'spaceship'. The man in the suit and the uniformed man seemed to be having a satisfying conversation, going by the smug and happy looks on their faces, only the military man seemed dissatisfied. He had a disgusted look on his face as he stared at the two other men and he seemed content to stay out of the conversation. Before Freya could start to examine the uniformed man, twigs snapped behind her, making her jump. She rolled over on to her back and sat up, ready to start running if she needed to. For a tense moment, nothing moved, but then a soldier emerged from the bushes, a gun levelled in her direction. "What the hell?!" Looking up into the soldiers face, she realised that he could only have been about twenty years old and looked as scared as she did. Freya stared as the soldier disappeared into the bushes again. Oh shit...who wants to bet that he's got a whole bunch of friends with guns! Freya started frantically collecting her belongings. And then...more crashing through the bushes....yup, here they were. Oh crap! Fifteen minutes later, Freya was lifted down from a jeep in front of the spaceship. She stared at her captors, interestedly noting how none of the men present seemed to want to meet her eyes. Except for the suit and the guy in the black uniform. "What the hell is this?" The suit scurried towards them. "Isn't that what I should be asking?" Freya glared down at the short man, briefly considering the fact that he strongly resembled a weasel. Or maybe a ferret. Something small, thin and twitchy anyway. "What are you doing with all those women?" She jerked her head at the spaceship. "And what the hell is this thing meant to be?" The little man gave her a revolted look "Ah, a journalist, I'll willingly bet." A soldier gave him her drivers' licence. He read it quickly and then gave her a smug smile; one she didn't trust. "Miss De Winter, I am sorry to say that this is one story that you will never report." He turned to the man in the tight uniform. "Do you happen to have room for one more?" The man nodded. "Always." He smiled arrogantly at Freya. She stared back. She had never seen such a gorgeous specimen of manhood. He was tall, well muscled, tanned and had a face that angels would have given their right arms for...providing they were tall, dark angels that wanted a hard chiselled face with shimmering forest green eyes, of course! And that uniform, it just hugged every centimetre of skin, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination... Freya's eyes snapped back up to his face when she heard him give a soft chuckle. She turned her attention back to the little weasel-like man, cursing her obviously burning cheeks. "So, you wanted to find out what was going on here? Well, you will now experience it!" The weasel gloated at Freya. "You are now going to be taken to his planet, Ankhira, where you will be used for breeding purposes. As will all the women on this ship, and others." He laughed at Freya's shocked face. "Yes, aliens do exist and the government knows all about them! And it's been a good trade. The government gets some amazing new weapons technology and the Ankhirans get 1000 fertile women. But this is only the first ship; it's staggered so as not to arouse suspicion. There are only fifty women on this ship. Oh whoops," the evil little rodent sniggered "there's fifty one including you!" "Davids!" The military man was now frowning fiercely at the suit "I do not see any reason to taunt this woman, nor did I see any reason for you to taunt any of the other women. You are over-stepping the bounds of decency, you horrible little misogynist! Get a grip or I will put in an official complaint the minute we get back to HQ in London!" Freya stared at the military man. "It's true?" The man's eyes softened. "I'm sorry my dear, but yes, it's true. And we have orders to put any female witnesses on the ship as well. Be thankful you're not male, we have orders to kill them on sight." Freya stared at the weasel, who had an obnoxiously smug smile stretched over his ugly little face. He then leaned into Freya and said "Just imagine, a planet where women are slaves sold to the highest bidder and have no power. I'm figuring that your career as a journalist has just ended!" The man then sniggered again. The military man's faced turned bright red with anger as he bellowed "Davids!" But he was too late. Freya's emotions had altered somewhat; at first she had been frightened, but now she was in the grip of an incandescent rage. Freya was literally seeing red. The slimy little weasel was so wrapped up in his gloating that that first he knew of Freya's fury was when her foot connected with his groin. As he collapsed towards the ground, tears in his eyes, Freya kicked him, again and again, on any part of his body she could reach. "You evil little fuck-wit! How dare you trade us! How dare you sell us, like slaves! You foul slimy piece of shit! I'm not going on that ship...I'm staying here so I can personally castrate you!" Freya was so focussed on making the little man suffer that she missed the grins on the faces of most of the military personnel around her. Eventually the high ranking military man gave a signal and two soldiers grabbed her under her arms and lifted her away from the cowering and bruised creature huddling on the floor. Freya struggled for a few minutes, but knew it was pointless. She then snarled at the Ankhiran "Hey dick-head, didn't you know that slave trading went out of fashion years ago?" The Ankhiran merely smiled at her and signalled to one of his crewmen; an equally gorgeous example of the Ankhiran species. He spoke softly to the man who then walked over to Freya. "I am to take you to the ship. Please?" He held out his hand. The two soldiers let her go and in an instant she knew this would be her only chance to escape. The Ankhiran went down quickly after receiving her foot in his groin (seriously, how dumb do they have to be to let her get away with it twice!?) and at the same time one of the soldiers was incapacitated by an elbow to his nose. Freya had never been more grateful for her self-defence and kick-boxing lessons! She used the element of surprise and pushed past the other soldier and the groaning Ankhiran and sprinted for the trees behind the spaceship. The weasel was still lying on the ground, right in her path. She couldn't resist stamping on his hand as she ran past him, relishing his scream of pain. Freya couldn't believe her luck as she managed to reach the tree-line. She hadn't really thought she'd get this far. Alive, anyway. She threw herself through the bushes and trees, intent on putting as much distance between herself and the alien ship. It wasn't long though before she heard sounds of pursuit. A few years previously, Freya could probably have out-run most of the soldiers. But a rather large part of the recent years had been spent in front of a computer instead of at the gym, and Freya had never been able to resist those delicious little pastries from her local bakery.... Panting heavily, Freya dashed behind a wide tree-trunk, sliding down on to her stomach to hide under a small shrub. She tried to hold her breath as two soldiers jogged past, staring into the trees, trying to spot her. After they had vanished into the undergrowth, her breath exploded out of her. She rolled over on to her back, wiped the sweat from her hot, red face and stared at the leaf canopy. What the hell had she gotten herself into? She rolled on to her stomach again to watch and listen carefully for any more signs of life. But there was nothing. Freya started to push herself up, only to feel strong hands grab her and flip her over on to her back. All the air in her body was suddenly expelled as a larger than average male landed on top of her. Gasping for breath, she looked up at the Ankhiran with wide, scared eyes as he pinned her hands to the ground. "Running is not a very good idea with Ankhirans. It only makes us want to chase you." Green eyes stared into Freya's as she tried to collect her thoughts. "There's no point in fighting, you're going nowhere except on the ship now." "Why?" Freya sobbed. "Please let me go, I promise I won't report the story, I won't say anything at all. Please, I don't want to go on the ship. I wasn't even meant to be on the ship. And it's my life life, not yours to trade!" she shrieked hysterically. The alien's head bent and she shuddered as he kissed her neck "It is now. You were fairly traded buy your own government" He gently kissed her lips as she felt something sting. "I'm sorry..." Freya looked at him confused. Why was he apologising? He suddenly pinned both of her hands above her head with one of his. Freya's stomach jerked almost painfully as he kissed her hard, invading her mouth and bruising her lips. Her head was pushed back, exposing her neck. She could feel him doing something with his free hand, but couldn't tell what. Breathing heavily again, she tried to pull her lips away from his "Whatever you're doing...stop it!" As Freya started struggling again, something stung her exposed neck and suddenly struggling seemed like such hard work. Her limbs felt like they were full of lead and her eyes refused to stay open. As she sank into the welcoming darkness she felt the alien kiss her again and tell her "Understand this...you are mine. You will never escape from me again." The Trading Of Freya Ch. 02 Freya opened her eyes. She stared at what seemed to be a ceiling for a while, listening to the sounds around her. There was a low level humming or rumbling sound, difficult to identify, but apart from that, there was nothing. No birds, no traffic, no sounds of normal human activity in England. Freya gave up trying to remember where she was and sat up to look around. The room was large and very modern, with minimal decor. In fact, there was nothing to tell her where she was. And no door. And no light switches. There was some dim lighting, but she couldn't see any lights. She sat there, trying not to panic before trying to figure out why she was in a large white box with a bed and nothing else. She looked down at herself. She seemed to be wearing some sort of skin suit, rather like a stinger suit or an all-over rash vest. It was black, tight and a bit too revealing for Freya's comfort. Her head suddenly snapped up and she stared at the wall with her mouth open...oh god, someone had taken her out of her clothes and squeezed her into this outrageous outfit! Oh god...the aliens! Freya whimpered as all the memories came flooding back. "You are mine." Was the last thing that the Ankhiran had said to her before she had passed out. She slumped back onto the pillows, blood rushing to her cheeks as she remembered the kind of dreams the alien and his words had prompted. Freya ran her hands over her now-sensitive breasts, pausing over her nipples, feeling them tighten and stand to attention. She groaned as her last dream coming back to her in technicolour. Closing her eyes, she ran one hand down between her legs, and started to slowly massage herself, squeezing her thighs together over her hand. Oh god! What was she doing? She should be finding her way off this ship not giving herself gratuitous orgasms! She sat up, reluctantly removing her hands. Right, what first? Find a way out of the white box... Twenty minutes late, Freya sat down on the bed, despairing. There didn't even seem to be any seams in the walls, let alone cracks or gaps to indicate a door. What about a bathroom? She was starting to get a bit desperate when a section of the wall slid open and the alien walked into the room. "You're awake." He came and stood before her, towering over her. He was even more gorgeous than Freya remembered. She quickly stood up and blurted out "I need a bathroom!" He laughed and gestured to a bare patch of wall next to the bed. Like the other door, a part of the wall seemed to slide across, allowing Freya to step through. Well, thought Freya, at least they seem to appreciate the value of a big luxurious bathroom. The shower (if indeed it was a shower) intrigued Freya; there were no nozzles or handles inside the cubicle and only one button on the outside. Oh well, can't be thinking about that right now. Freya took her time relieving herself and washing her face, using the time to coordinate her thoughts. What to do? Should she try and escape? What would the alien do to her if she got caught? Could she help the other women? Thinking hard, Freya wandered over to the full length mirror and gasped with horror. Dear god, what were they thinking putting her into what was basically a lycra wetsuit?! She knew she was not thin any more, but she hadn't thought she could look this bad! Her once toned body was now nearly two stone overweight, but the skin tight outfit was making it look more like four! Freya jumped away from the mirror as the door opened without warning and the alien stepped in the room. "Hey! I was still using this room!" "You were taking too long." His eyes glimmered in the dim lighting. "There are a few things we need to get sorted out before we jump into hyperspace." "Hyper....what? No, no, no, NOOO! This is not real!" Freya wailed. The alien sighed. "Let me show you how real this is." He walked over to the bed and waved his hand. A part of the wall above the bed vanished to reveal a window. Freya tentatively left the bathroom and stared at the black sky, spotted with millions of stars. She had never seen a sky like it. And then she moved closer to the window and looked down. She gulped. So that was what the earth looked like from space. She could actually see the earth, all of it, complete with the moon. Freya almost lost control at that point. She was in space! How was she going to get home now? She sat down on the bed as her legs refused to support her. Her whole body began to shake in reaction. The alien sat on the bed next to her and attempted to draw her into his arms. As if scalded she leapt of the bed and whirled around to confront the reason for her misery. "No! No, this is all your fault! Don't touch me!" Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she tried desperately to stop her bottom lip wobbling. "I want out of here. I want to go home!" He moved so fast that she had no time to dodge him. Before she knew it she was on her back on the bed with the alien using his body to hold her down. He brushed her hair away from her face tenderly saying "You must try to accept that it is no longer your home Freya. Your new home is with me, on Ankhira." Freya stared up at him through tearful eyes, swallowing hard as she realised that he was lying between her legs and she could feel something hardening against her pelvis. Play along, her mind screamed at her, play along, use him and find a way to escape! She licked her dry lips and noticed that his eyes followed the movement. The hot look he gave her left her in no doubt that he wanted her. Maybe, just maybe, she could use this... "You want me to live with you? But...but I don't even know your name." Freya made herself lie still and looked up at the alien questioningly. He smiled down at her, pleased that she wasn't struggling too much against her fate. "My name is Cael. I know that this situation is not what you would wish for, but I promise I will take care of you and make you happy." "Uh...ok." Freya stared at Cael. Well, she thought, he doesn't seem so bad. For a kidnapper and slave trader. "Um, do you think you could possibly find something different for me to wear? It's a very nice outfit but I feel a bit...uh...constricted in it." Never mind the fact that she looked like a beached whale. She felt like she should be listening for the whistle of a harpoon and a cry of 'thar she blows'! "Sure," Cael climbed off the bed and walked over to the wall, which slid open to reveal a wardrobe. Freya's mouth dropped open as he pulled out the smallest skirt and top she'd ever seen and held it out to her. "You have to be joking. Please be joking..." Cael just shook his head and offered the tiny pieces of cloth again. Freya gritted her teeth as she tried to control her temper "I am not wearing that! I wouldn't even fit into it!" Way to make a girl feel like crap, thought Freya, what an asshole! Cael sighed and, grasping her arm gently, pulled her off the bed and out of the room, leaving the skimpy outfit on the bed. They walked down several corridors, all of which looked identical, until they came to a room which contained nothing but three large white boxes. Cael stopped at the first white box and said something in his own language. A door into the box opened and Cael finally turned to Freya. "In forty eight hours we will be jumping into hyperspace. It doesn't actually have any effect on the body, but everyone on the ship will be put into cryo-stasis; the reason being that, even at hyper-speed, we won't reach Ankhira for another three months." Freya felt her blood turn to ice at this. She only had forty eight hours to get herself and the others off the ship. Oh bugger. She eyed the white box with trepidation. "So is this some sort of cryo-thingy then?" Cael laughed "No, but I guess you could call this the ship's doctor. It checks your health and fixes whatever needs fixing. Everyone has to go into it before being put into cryo-stasis, and while stasis shouldn't affect you physically, we have laws stating that unless you are confirmed to be in perfect health you cannot be put into a stasis box." "Oh, ok." Freya curiously looked inside the box and saw that there was a bed in the middle of it. "So I just go in and lie on the bed?" She looked up at Cael. Her eyes narrowed as she caught the smirk that disappeared quickly from his face. "Yes, but first..." Cael paused "you need to take your clothes off." "What? Why?" "Because the box can't scan you properly if you're wearing clothes; it confuses the sensors." He put his hand up to her face, stroking her cheek gently "And you're going to have to take your clothes off in front of me at some point soon anyway." Freya tried to step away from him, only to have him wrap his arm around her waist and pull her up against him. She refrained from struggling, not wanting to make him angry, just in case. Cael's lips drifted over her cheek, seeking her lips. Freya jumped when one hand moved up over her breast and squeezed gently. Go along with it, she told herself, make him think he can trust you. Anyway, it's not as if he's repulsive... His lips settled over hers and she lost herself in the kiss as his tongue delved into her mouth. His fingers found her nipple and tormented it as his other hand found the opening to her suit at the back of her neck. As the suit was slowly pulled off her shoulders and down, his mouth pulled away from hers and he began kissing his way down her neck. Suddenly she was pushed up against the side of the box and a muscular thigh was pushed between hers, holding her in place. She was unprepared for the explosion of heat between her legs as his hand grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. She felt him roughly bite and suck the skin on her neck and gasped loudly as Cael ground himself against her. OK, this was bad, she had to stop him somehow, before she became too turned on to think! But, oh god, it felt so great.... "Please," she gasped "wait, please stop." She grasped his shoulders and tried to push him away. "Why?" Freya's eyes and mouth slammed open as his hand quickly made its way under the skin suit and down to her wet pussy. His fingers rubbed along her, seeking the source of the moisture gathered there. She quickly grabbed at his wrist, almost panting "Please, don't, you have to stop." And then an idea started to form in her mind.... "Why?" Cael asked again, still rubbing his fingers along the lips of her vagina. His green eyes bore into hers, daring her to tell him why they should stop. She stifled a groan, but managed to look abashed as she lowered her eyes modestly. "Because, I...I've...uh...never done this before." She blushed at the lie, but noted his startled look with satisfaction. "You've never lain with a man?" Freya saw that Cael was looking down at her with surprise. She thought of the cat in the animation Shrek and did her best to imitate his limpid-eyed look. "No, I've just....never....found anyone I....uh...wanted to...um....make love to." Oh god was she going to hell for this one or what! Detesting herself, Freya then thought of Marilyn Monroe and managed to make her voice all breathy and excited "I just want my first time to be....special." She looked up at Cael pleadingly. Cael looked down at her, no expression on his face. Finally he released her, but not before he pressed a searing kiss on her lips. "I will leave you this time, but we will be together, soon." He said as he gazed down at her with hooded eyes. Freya felt her pulse and her breathing quicken as her treacherous mind went to town on the imagery. "But you still have to take your clothes off..." Freya's face turned scarlet as he helped her strip out of the skin suit. Her nipples were so hard she could have cut glass and her damp arousal was plain to see once the skin suit was pulled below her hips. Cael's hand on her leg tightened as his eyes swept over her incredibly turned on body, but then he just pulled the skin suit over her foot and stood up. As she turned to go into the box, Cael's hands stopped her and keeping her back to him, said "What's this? You are part of some tribe?" For a minute, Freya had no idea what he was talking about, and then it hit her. "Oh you mean my dragon?" Two thirds of Freya's back was taken up with a silhouette of a beautiful Chinese style dragon, all in black only, stretching from her right hip to just under her left shoulder. He was her pride and joy, ever since she had had him tattooed on five years previously. "No tribe, just me." She smiled at Cael and stepped into the box. "Lie down on the bed and just relax." Freya did as he said and watched him close the door. As soon as she heard the lock turn she started laughing. Virgin my ass! Twenty five year old virgins were a rare breed indeed in England. Almost extinct in fact! And nothing could have been further from the truth with regards to Freya. She shivered a bit, wondering what he would do if he figured out that she was lying. But then, if she had anything to do with her future, he would never be finding out. She looked around the box, wondering when something would start happening. Suddenly she felt her eyes grow heavy and recognised the feeling. Oh no...not again.... Freya woke with a start. She looked around and realised that she was back in the white box/room. She lay there, knowing something was different, but unable to put her finger on it. She felt different. And horny. Damn that man, she thought as she remembered what had happened. She giggled as she remembered that she was now meant to be a virgin. Wow, she felt seriously horny...maybe she should give herself a quick orgasm before leaving the bed. Her hands delved under the covers to find her breasts. That's funny, they felt different. Freya pulled the covers down and stared at her breasts. Except that she was pretty sure they weren't hers... She leapt out of the bed and ran to the bathroom, throwing herself in front of the mirror. Unable to believe what she was seeing, Freya alternatively touched the mirror and herself. There was another woman staring at her from the mirror...except...Freya stared hard at the other woman's face and realised that it was actually hers. She hadn't been body-snatched or anything, she was just thin and fit again. So that was what he meant by 'in perfect health'? Hmm, well, she couldn't complain about the results so far. She examined herself a bit more, feeling her nipples harden, almost painfully. Wow, talk about super sensitive! Her hand drifted down to her thighs. Ooh, there was now no hair on her body; none at all. It was every girls dream come true! She pressed her hand against her mound and oh yeah, she was now seriously sensitive! She gasped as her fingers delved in, rubbing over her clitoris. God she was so wet! It was so easy to slip a finger into herself, and then another one, and then another one. Freya began panting as she sank down to her knees, her legs spread wide. Oh god...she wanted so much more, but she knew from past experience that three fingers were all she could take. Her hips began bucking slightly as she moved the fingers inside her. Slowly she withdrew them and began rubbing her juices further up towards her clit. Her breath shuddered out of her as she neared orgasm and began to rub faster, her juices now coating her whole hand. Her head went back, her mouth hanging open as her other hand teased and pulled her nipples. She listened to her own heavy breathing and cries of pleasure and the incredibly erotic sound of her soaking pussy sucking at her fingers, and then the world went white as her orgasm hit her. Freya looked at herself in the mirror again; she was out of breath, her hair was a mess, she was sweaty and flushed, but damn she looked good! She laughed at herself; that was the best orgasm she'd ever had! She looked at herself again. That box had done such a good job on perfecting her body. Hey, even that annoying scar in her cleavage had been removed! Freya was amazed as she realised that her body literally was perfect, there were no blemishes anywhere! Uh...wait a minute. Freya spun round and stared at her back. Cael was on the bridge finalising the flight plan for their journey through hyper-space. He figured it would be time to check on Freya soon. He was looking forward to spending more time with her, guessing that she would revel in having a new, perfect body. She was sure to thank him for that, and the fact that he'd increased her sensitivity. He smiled as he thought of her. And then they heard the scream; it was not a scream of fear, it was the sound of pure rage! Cael's second in command, Aesico, turned to him with an evil grin on his face. "I think I've just won our bet, old friend. I'm reckoning she's just a little upset with you for removing her dragon! How about another bet? Twenty Credits says that you don't get out of that room alive!" ----------------------------------------- Just a quick note to say thank you to those who voted and those who have left comments; it was so encouraging to be told that my main characters are popular with the readers. I'm also going to apologise in advance for any long gaps between installments; I'm currently at university and while I love my writing, studies come first! So never fear, I may take a while but I promise that I won't leave this story unfinished! The Traditional Sacrifice I never knew my mother. She left when I was very young. My family told me stories about her. They told me she loved me, but they would not tell my why she left. That truth came when I became an adult. It came after I was married, after I had a child of my own. My life was supposed to be normal until then, as normal as it could be under the circumstances. My people needed me to be normal. They needed me to have children. They needed me to love and to feel loved. It was a necessary part of the tradition. When I turned twenty eight I learned my mother's fate. Mother had gone to live inside the Kraken. It was a monster that lived in the sea. It was the queen of the monsters. She was the largest and strongest of her kind and ruled over her brood, her many children. They were massive beasts that stood taller than our tallest skyscrapers. They came in the thousands devouring everything in their path. They came to destroy us with fire, ice, and lightning. We had tried to stop them with conventional weaponry, but our atom bombs were more damaging to us than they were to the monsters. So we hid like rats. We survived. We rebuilt our civilization, and our scientists came up with a new strategy. They called it the traditional sacrifice. There would be no more bombs, no more missiles, no more guns. Instead we would sway the Kraken's heart with love and compassion. This new technology set the fate of my grandmother and her mother and my mother and my children. They would sacrifice me to the beast, implant my love for my son in the Kraken's mind and in her heart, and all the people of earth would become her children. So I went willingly to meet my mother, catapulted across the sky in a translucent sphere, the zenith of our technology. It was a ship, an orb filled with a living mucus in which I floated. Ailerons on the hull guided my craft through the air ensuring a direct hit. I would enter through her nose, a pair of massive holes on the front of her flat face. I was so tiny in comparison it was almost impossible to miss. But I was blind to all of these things. Operating the craft was not my job. I was just a passenger. I was just a piece of the machine. I was sucked in as the Kraken prepared her next roar. Inside her head my ship dispensed with its little wings as it flexed and tumbled along the beasts inner membranes. Long thin claws grew in their place, tearing at the creatures flesh to halt my momentum. I heard them popping and stretching and breaking and hooking again until I came to a stop. It was dark now. I am not a scientist at all, but I was aware of how the sphere worked. It began stealing nutrients from my host to sustain me. It would grow legs like a spider and begin the journey up into the brain. I felt the beast clawing at her nose though I was sure my little craft was causing her little pain. My ship was designed to invade her skull, not kill her or torture her. This was a surgical operation designed to reach her grey matter. When the hull contacted her brain I could feel her rage transmitting through the ship's mucus into my mind. But this connection was a two way street. I was a psychic infection, and she could feel me. I came here to tell her about a baby boy living in the city she was about to destroy. But I didn't come to talk, I came to make her feel what I felt. I felt her love for her children, and she felt mine. Our love became one, and we decided to let my people live another day. We called her children back to the sea and saved my world from destruction. My society would live another day, perhaps another decade or longer until the antibodies in the beast's brain ate their way through my ship's hull. Then the Kraken would forget my love for my son and return for the next sacrifice. But by then maybe my son would be a man with his own children. And perhaps on that day the beast will discover this same love in his heart.