The light of day fades away, slowly melding itself into the long streak of orange shades that now colors the horizon. Dusk is nigh, and with it comes the promise of a velvety blanket of gloom soon to be covering the skies.

Five days had passed since Leila and Annie started traveling with that man, the one called Steinar. Their butts were sore, since they were not accustomed to riding horses, but they were otherwise unharmed. Though scary, he did not seem like a bad person. He was a bit of a weirdo, didn’t like talking and was very mean to them, but he kept them safe.

Leila sighed. Right now the three of them were sitting around a campfire, a single small canvas tent just a few meters away from them. Every night has been like this so far, the girls would sleep inside the tent while he would be sitting outside by the fire all night long. Arms crossed, eyes closed, face almost like he was frowning. He wouldn’t answer most of the times she tried talking to him, and whenever he did it would be in a mean way. At this point she didn’t know if he was genuinely antisocial or just didn’t like them.

Annie did not seem like she was getting any better. She was barely eating anything and when they were not riding she would spend most of the time just moping around. Right now she was sitting by Leila’s side, hugging her knees and staring blankly at the fire.

They had already left Easthire and were now in their way to the city of Ostrad, home of Viscount de Lance. Though at their current traveling speed, it will take them a lot more time to reach their destination. Three adults on a single horse is no joke, even more so when one them happens to be a 197cm tall male that likely weights well over a hundred kilos. It is nothing short of a wonder how that horse could carry them all this way through and not even seem that tired whenever they stopped to rest. The animal might be slower compared to the horses she knew, but it sure as hell made up for it with raw muscle strength and endurance.

She guessed it would take them around ten to fifteen more days in order to reach Ostrad, depending on the weather. By that time Camille and the ladies would likely be on a boat heading towards Alcara. She missed them dearly, but for now could offer them nothing but a prayer.

“Leila...” Annie called out to her, it was the first time she said anything since the hellish events that took place a few days ago.

“Annie!” Leila snuggled up to her, putting an arm over her shoulders. “What is it deary?”

“I… Feel like... Dying...” A few tears trickled down from Annie’s empty, soulless eyes.

“Don’t you say that!” Leila reassured her, pulling the girl’s face to rest atop her bosom. “We’ll get through this, together.”

“My parents… My siblings… My husband...” Annie sobbed, finally showing some emotion after all these days. “I don’t want to stay alive without them...”

Leila didn’t know what to say. Though they both had suffered greatly in the hands of those men, Annie had the worst of it by a long margin. There’s nothing she could say that would make things feel better, so she just caressed the girls head in response.

“I see...” Steinar muttered. So he wasn’t asleep after all, and was even paying attention to them… Highly unexpected, or so Leila thought.

“Losing loved ones is never an easy thing, no matter the circumstances.” Surprisingly, he continued. “But you are wrong in thinking of death as a way out.” He took a pause, then opened his eyes and stared at them deeply. “Do not throw something as precious as life away just because you are sad and don’t see a way out. Your death will not bring them back nor would it please them were they still alive.”

“But… It hurts! It feels like my heart has been torn to pieces!” Annie cried against Leila’s chest, her arms wrapping tightly around her friend’s body.

“Accept the pain and the suffering, with time you will get used to them.” He assured her. "The men who caused you harm are dead, I have seen to it myself. And as for you—“ His cold eyes met with Leila’s. “Do not think you can hide yourself from me, my hearing is much better than you can imagine. Whatever they did to your body will heal with time, it does not define who you are. Stop crying every night, you are bothering my sleep.”

Now Leila too shed a few tears. So he knew… He knew that she hid herself away in order to cry, that all this time she was trying to hide her pain in order to be strong for her friend.

“If you wish to never undergo such an experience again, then you should strive to improve yourselves, to become stronger.” He stated, as if it was just a matter of one’s own will.

“But we are peasants!” This time it was Leila who spoke, her hand still resting atop Annie’s head that laid on her bosom. “We do not have a bloodline with powerful mana, nor do we have talent in the ways of aura!” Her voice echoing throughout the otherwise silent camp.

“Exactly, the both of you are mongrels. You will never amount to anything more than that, no matter how hard you try.” He declared.

“You—!” Leila was about to complain, but got cut off before she could even properly start her sentence.

“However...” Steinar mused. “If you wish to only get strong enough so that you will never have to face a situation like that again… Then it is possible.”

A few moments of silence followed his declaration, as Leila and Annie were taken by surprise.

“H-How?” It was Leila that asked, but Annie too had stopped crying and was looking towards Steinar with inquisitive eyes.

“Though aura usually requires some talent and for you to start training from a young age, as long as you have a master’s help even untalented serfs like yourselves should be able to achieve something.”

Was he… Indirectly saying that he would train them?

“Are you saying that you are going to help ups?” Leila’s eyes showed the faintest signs of hope at the prospect.

“No.” His blatant denial followed, like a boulder crashing down over her head.

“Then why—!?” She was going to ask him why would he ever tell them about the possibility if he did not intend to help, but got cut off once more.

“I don’t do charity.” He asserted. “The both of you are nothing to me, and I do not care about your fates. If you wish for my help, then you have to offer me something in return.”

“Are you serious!?” Leila protested, breaking down in tears. “Look at us! We have nothing! There is literally nothing we could offer you!”

“You have yourselves.” Steinar argued, his eyes firmly focused on her’s.

“Wha—!?” Leila gasped. Was he saying that he wanted them?

“Become mine.” Thus he proclaimed. “Serve me, and I will see to it that you shall never have reason to fear again.”

It made no sense... Why would he be interested in them? Was he like the baron’s men that just wanted a woman to fuck? But if so, why did he not take them by force? Surely there was nothing they could do to resist if he wished to take them.

“Why us?” She asked. It was a simple question, but more than enough to convey her doubts.

“There is no special reason.” Steinar insisted. “You just happened to be the ones I met, that is all.”

“But if you wanted to have us you could just—“ A shiver ran down through Leila’s spine. His gaze alone stopped her mid sentence.

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“Do not take me for someone that just wants a hole to fuck.” He seemed angered. “What I seek is true loyalty and servitude. If you can offer me that, then in return I will train you.”

“I still don’t understand…” Leila muttered. They were nothing special, just two peasant girls with no extraordinary talents. She could do some basic hunting and was good at cooking, Annie was good with general housework and sewing. Surely he could find better women to serve him…

“You have your merits.” Steinar affirmed. “Not many women would be able to go through what you did and retain a sound mind. Though your friend is worse for wear, she too is not completely broken. But above all else, you have shown the desire to become stronger. That alone holds value for me.”

Once more silence took over. His words carried weight far beyond what Leila could understand, but she was sure of one thing. He was being truthful. He wanted them, but not just as servants. He wanted to own them, to make them his personal property. It was completely absurd. To some it might have sounded like he was telling them to become his slaves, but from the tone of his voice she could tell it was something else entirely. And for that reason her face was flushed.

“I accept… Your offer.” Weirdly enough, it was Annie who agreed to his terms first. Though her eyes still looked lifeless and empty, somehow Leila could feel a spark of light growing deep withing them.

“I accept it as well.” Leila sighed. She felt like in some way she was betraying the twins, for she would no longer be able to serve them.

“Then from now on you both belong to me.” Steinar declared. “So long as you remain loyal to me, you will be under my protection.” He then stood up and walked towards the two, offering them his right hand. “We shall start your training now. Be prepared, for I cannot guarantee that you will survive.”

A bit of a scary way to start things, or so Leila thought. But then again, everything about him had been kind of scary thus far. But it’s not like he would take the training too harshly and end up killing them during the process, right?

But what followed was it’s own kind of hell. Lots of running, push ups, sit ups… He even found enormous rocks for them to carry around. Once he was done with what he called ‘a warm up’ it was time for sparring, which usually meant the two of them getting severely beaten to the point of almost dying. Lots of broken bones and dislocated joints, only theirs, of course. It seems like he was carrying lots of healing potions and elixirs with him, which he used on them to repair most of the damage he had caused.

For many times the two girls ended almost giving up, but they could somehow feel the result of the training starting to take root. Steinar really knew what he was doing, even though he was extremely mean and took every opportunity to bully them. Thirteen days had passed since their training had started, and the results were showing up fast. They lost some weight and their bodies were starting to get toned. They felt lighter, faster and generally healthier than ever before. Contrary to their expectations, however, they had never been asked to share his bed. Even though he said they belong to him, that he owned them… Never once did he go after them for sex.

On the night of the fourteenth day, they finally reached their destination. The city of Ostrad, home base of house de Lance. They headed towards a small inn, located near the southern city gate. The Drunken Goose, or so it was called. They went there to gather some information, but ended up deciding to stay the night. It seems like the de Lance would be hosting a banquet tomorrow, for a special guest from the capital. So Steinar decided that during the banquet would be the perfect time to strike.

He ordered some food and drinks and they spent some time eating in silence. Once it was getting too late he headed towards the innkeeper, a gentle looking woman that seemed to be on her early forties.

“Two rooms, one for me and one for the girls.” He dropped a small coin pouch over the counter.

“Of course sire, but… This is a bit too much.” The woman pointed, the pouch had a bunch of gold coins. Even by adding the price of food and drinks, two rooms would still only cost around six gold coins.

“Yeah, send a woman to my room as well.” He ordered, without showing any hint of emotion on his face.

The woman’s cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink. “S-Sire, we don’t offer that kind of service here… We have no one like that.”

In response Steinar just looked at her from top to bottom, intimidatingly, as his normal gaze always is. “Then come yourself.” Saying so he turned his back and went up the stairs. The woman was left astonished by his words, her cheeks flushing an even deeper shade of pink.

Leila punched the table, loudly. She was angry. How dare he call upon a whore when the two of them were there? Did he not say that they were his property? Why was he ignoring them? The only times he touched their bodies was to beat them up during sparring sessions… It was not fair.

And so she kept drinking, until she was too tired and decided to finally head out to bed. Annie was already sleeping by the time she got to the room. There was only one bed so the two of them would have to sleep together, not that she minded though. They had been doing so until now in that small canvas tent, after all.

With the intoxication caused by the booze she consumed, it wasn’t long before Leila fell asleep.

##

She woke up, or rather, the noise woke her up. The loud, rhythmic creaking of an old wooden bed accompanied by the saccharine moans— no, saccharine howls of a female in heat.

‘Dammit...’

She knew what was going on, even though she had just woken up. The room next to her was supposed to be Steinar’s, and that voice was awfully familiar to that of the innkeeper.

‘So that damn bitch went for it after all...’

She was jealous. They hadn’t been together for long, but she felt like she should have priority when it came to such matters. Even more so when he claimed to own her.

It should be wrong for her to feel jealous. After what she had gone through under the baron’s men… The last thing on her mind should be sex. Yet, if anything, it made her only want it even more. She wanted him to embrace her and help her forget the touch of those filthy animals. But she was too shy to ask for it. Actually, she shouldn’t even have to ask for it on the first place. For a man that says she is his property all the time, he should be bending her over and taking her at any given opportunity.

‘That bastard...’

She got up from bed silently, trying not to wake Annie up, and made her way out of the room. Sneakily she headed towards the door of the neighboring room, her hand reaching for it’s handle.

Trying to keep quiet was useless, she knew it. After spending all those days together she had learned that his senses were like those of a wild animal. His hearing and sense of smell were particularly sharp. The moment she stepped out of the room, or perhaps the moment she stood up from bed, he already knew what she was up to.

Still, her hand turned the door handle and she slowly opened the door. What she saw was exactly what she had expected. Steinar was fucking the innkeeper.

They were both completely naked, clothes sprawled all over the floor. He was sitting on the bed while holding her up, she had her legs around his body and arms around his neck. Her pale, round ass was marked full of red palm print. Obviously she had gotten some spanking.

The damn slut was literally bouncing against his manhood, gods only know how she was taking it so well. The damn thing was as big as Leila’s forearm, perhaps even bigger— and thicker too. She didn’t even notice that someone had opened the door. Steinar, however, clearly noticed, as his eyes were now staring deeply at Leila’s. That damn cold gaze of his, looking at her like she was nothing… Even that she had learned to enjoy during those days they spent together.

‘Ah… That won’t do…’

It was so unfair… That damn old bitch was taking away what should be hers. It should be her there, being embraced by him. That was her place, hers and Annie’s. They were the ones that belonged to him, not that damn innkeeper. She was the one that was supposed to be nested against his large, muscular chest and taking his enormous manhood inside her nethers.

Leila was angry, true, but she was also excited. By now her underwear was completely soaked and she could already feel her wetness leaking down her thighs. Still, he would not take her… ‘Why?’ She pleaded with her eyes, as her right hand reached for her privates.

“Soon.” He answered, as if reading her thoughts. Not even caring if the innkeeper would notice her presence. Not that she could, since her eyes were rolled back and her toes curled. She was probably cumming her brains out with no awareness of her surroundings. “Once we are finished with our business.”

Did he mean getting revenge on house de Lance? Would he take her after they were done killing them? She could only hope so… For now, though, she would stick around a bit longer and comfort herself while enjoying the sight of the innkeeper being ravaged. Sleep could wait.

End of chapter 4: A New Master to Serve.