Bookworld Online: Marsh Man

The woman slave that had yelled before entered the galley with her head ducked down. “M-Master, I... I can help.”

“You can start chopping the potatoes to add to the stew.” I pointed to the large stock pot. “We're limited to fish and whatever the crew gained from the other ship.”

“It won't be much.” She whispered as she took over the job I hadn't gotten to yet.

“I know. They didn't have any gold or anything, not even the captain.” I said and she caught her breath. “You can speak freely here in the galley. We can't work together if you stay quiet all the time.”

“Yes, Master.” The woman said and started peeling potatoes and chopping them up into chunks to add to the stew.

“I haven't added the fish yet, because it would turn to mush long before the vegetables are done cooking.” I said and ladled in some of the broth from the seaside special pot. “Let me know if you need anything and when you're done of this task. I'll give you something else to do.”

She gave me an odd look.

“We don't have the resources to let you cook for real, not until we make port next week.” I said and her face showed surprise. “I'm having a hard time myself with what we have available.”

She nodded and went back to work. “It smells good in here already.”

I nodded back and went over to the main cutting table. “Hanna, hand me another cleaned near-trout.”

“How did you catch so much, Master?” Hanna asked and handed over the gutted fish with the scales scraped off. It was about two feet long and had a lot of meat to harvest.

“Years of practice.” I said and used the boning knife to quickly remove the fillets, tongue, and cheeks from the fish. “You learn a lot of survival skills growing up in the marsh.”

“Can you tell me about it, Master?” Hanna asked and started gutting another fish.

I thought about it and then nodded. “I'm going to leave some things out, since I don't want you scared.”

Hanna smiled at me and nodded.

“I was very young when I was bought as a slave. I didn't remember anything about my old family before then and...” I started to tell them my tale. I left out some of the horrible things that happened, to save the both of them from having the horrors in their heads.

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Montage Mode engaged. Skipping miscellaneous details. Speeding up time. Done.

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“This is the most delicious fish I've ever tasted!” One of the crewmen exclaimed during supper that evening and the other crewmen and the previous slaves laughed. None of the new rescued ones did, though.

“Master, what's so funny?” Hanna asked me in a whisper.

“He says that for every meal.” I whispered back and smiled as she clamped her mouth shut to not laugh too loudly. It really was funny once you were in on it.

We all ate and I could tell that the slaves were shocked that they were allowed to sit at actual tables and used real bowls and even spoons to eat. Bits of conversation happened around the room and the new slaves looked uncomfortable with that. They would get used to it quickly, just like the other slaves did.

The biggest change was the seating arrangements. There was no captain's table, crew tables, or slave tables. People sat where they wanted and that was that. Of course, wherever I sat, the slaves had declared that as the Master's table. It was a joke at first, because I looked like a slave. Now I had my own slave with me and the joke had become fact.

When I was done eating, I stayed where I was until my slave was done as well. She was shocked that I would do that and tried to rush. I put my hand on hers and whispered that I always waited for my people to finish eating, especially my maids. She nodded several times and kept eating until she was full.

“I think I need a bath and a good scrubbing.” I said as I stood.

One of the slave women twitched a little and then she licked her lips. I recognized the signs and knew she had been a personal maid at some point. They had too much pride in their work for the slave conditioning to completely destroy it. I nodded at my slave and she followed me over to the table with five slaves sitting around it.

“My slave doesn't have a lot of experience with bathing and as you can see, my hands would make me doing it alone take longer than normal.” I said as I looked at the slave woman that had twitched. “May I ask you for assistance and to accompany us to the bath room?”

“YES!” The slave woman yelled and shot to her feet. She clapped both hands over her mouth and mumbled. “I'm so sorry!”

I chuckled and a few of the crewmen laughed. “It's all right. We all know when someone is enthusiastic and enjoys their work.” I said and waved at the dining room's door. “If this works out, I may require your services on a more permanent basis.”

The slave woman shivered and closed her eyes as she bit her lip. She nodded several times and walked around the table to take my arm, as if I was escorting her, and we left the dining room with loud talking behind us and one shout of 'go for it, Marsh Man!'.

I didn't bother trying to correct their misunderstanding. Personal maids were insulted when you tried to treat their jobs as an invitation for sex. That was not their mentality. It was a service that was essential in polite society and their standing was quite a lot higher than a common person and it was even above other maids.

I took both slaves to the bath room and had them both wait as I emptied the tub and refilled it, then did as I did that afternoon to make a nice bubbly bath for myself. As soon as it was ready, the slave woman took over and started to undress me.

“Do as I do, if you are serious about being Master's slave.” The slave woman whispered to Hanna.

Hanna's face changed to a determined one and she copied the older woman's motions and studied what she was doing. Both of them made hissing pain sounds when they saw my mangled back.

“It's all right. I can barely feel it.” I said and then they took off my pants and underwear.

“M-M-Master.” The slave woman stammered and almost purred as she knelt. Her hand ran up my thigh and then she took my hand to put on her shoulder as a brace. I lifted each foot and she slipped off the socks I wore. The two women made more hissing pain sounds at my missing toes.

I ignored it this time and stepped into the tub and carefully sat down.

“Master, if you would.” The slave woman said and held her hands out for me. I cast the lather spell on them and they were covered in soap. Hanna held her hands out as well and I did the same for her. The slave woman told her to go to the other side of the tub and then they both proceeded to give me a thorough scrubbing.

“Do all maids do this?” Hanna asked.

“Yes and no.” The slave woman said. “They have the ability to, and also have the training, just in case they are ever picked as a personal maid. Most are content with just the basic duties and some even enjoy running the household without ever petitioning for a personal maid position.”

“Not you?” Hanna asked as her hands roamed over my chest.

“No, I have always wanted...” She stopped talking and her eyes glazed over for a moment. “I will serve Master in any capacity he desires.”

I felt anger for the first time in a while. Whoever broke her as a slave had corrupted her values as a professional maid. That was unforgivable. “Do you know who captured you as a slave?”

“The captain you slayed.” The slave woman said.

I leaned back and relaxed. “At least I don't have to hunt him down now.”

She gave me a happy smile. “Thank you, Master.”

I nodded and they moved down my body and past my mid-section to my legs, as all bathing maids did. They always saved the crotch area for last.

When they reached my mangled feet, both Hanna and the slave woman rubbed them tenderly and gave me sympathetic looks. They rinsed my feet off and then moved back to my crotch.

“This part is not for you. Not until you choose to be a maid.” The slave woman said and saw Hanna's disappointment. “It's all right. You can still watch.”

“But... he... when it was my bath...”

The slave woman laughed softly and pat her shoulder. “That has a much different meaning than what I'm going to do. Much, much different. Being curious about a man and wanting to touch him is one thing, ensuring his personal satisfaction as a way of life is another.”

Hanna nodded in understanding and watched as the slave woman washed me down there, both in front and in back, then I was asked to stand.

“He needs your shoulder to brace himself, Hanna.” The slave woman said.

Hanna complied and stood up to let me use her as a crutch. I slowly stood up, a little wobbly, and put my hand on her shoulder. I was still a bit too shaky like that, being still inside the tub, and slipped my arm over her shoulders.

The slave woman nodded and reached for me to stroke it a few times. When I sprang out to full mast almost immediately, she gasped and looked up at my face.

“It's been a long time since I've enjoyed the proper services.” I explained.

The slave woman's face became completely determined. “I understand, my lord.” She said and then slipped me into her mouth. She moaned immediately at the feeling and she performed the after bath ritual to the best of her ability. She wasn't as skilled as my personal maids, however.

I started to whisper suggestions to her and her eyes showed surprise.

“Mmm hmm.” The slave woman hummed and did as I asked, changing her technique to accommodate what I was telling her.

“It's going to be a lot.” I warned her, which made her moan more and speed up her movements. I tapped the slave woman's head a few moments later and she tilted her head up as she pulled back until just the tip was still inside her mouth. She kept sucking and stared into my eyes, as if begging for it. I didn't disappoint her.

The slave woman let out a long and very pleased moan as I unloaded a month and a half's worth of denied services into her mouth and down her throat. She kept swallowing and I kept going for nearly thirty seconds before my twitching eased and I started to grow soft. She slipped me out of her mouth and saw some was still on the tip, so she licked and sucked on it for another few moments, then she kissed it and washed it off again.

Hanna stared down at her and she looked like she was completely stunned. I was sure that she had never seen anything like it before and she wasn't sure what to do with the information she just gained.

“As you can see, neither my lord nor I are sexually aroused and...” The slave woman's eyes glazed over slightly and then she smiled. “If my master wishes to partake of my body, it is his for his pleasure.”

“Ignore that last part.” I whispered to Hanna, which startled her. “Personal maids are professionals. They also have lives outside of pleasing their lord. I'm sure that one of my personal maids is seeing one of the house guards.”

“Wh-wh-what?” Hanna asked, shocked.

“Their jobs don't interfere in their lives. It's just a job.” I said and pat the slave woman's head. “Thank you for your service. It was satisfying and I feel relieved.”

The slave woman shook her head sightly and smiled genuinely. “It was my pleasure, my lord.”

I nodded and stepped out of the tub, still using Hanna as a crutch, and the slave woman dried me off and dressed me in new clothes, including the same black shoes. “I'm sorry that there's no underwear for women on board.”

Both of them looked surprised again.

“We'll pick some up at the next port, assuming we don't come across another ship to raid that would have some.” I said and they nodded. “I'm going to my cabin now.”

They nodded again and we left the bath room and we went down the hallway to the old captain's room. The crew had drawn lots to see who would get the bigger cabin and I somehow ended up with it. I was sure that if I asked, they had rigged the draw to give it to me.

I opened the door and stepped inside... and Hanna followed me. I opened my mouth to tell her to go to the slave compartment, then realized she couldn't. It would be seen as me snubbing her as not worthy.

“Go get some proper bedding.” I said instead.

Both women let out squeals of delight, slapped their hands over their mouths and gasped at their mistake, then ran away.

I shook my head at them and walked over to the bed. It was actually quite large and nice, so I wasn't going to be restricted as I tried to get comfortable. I stripped off the tunic and pants I just had put on and hd partially climbed into bed when I heard scuffling sounds behind me.

When I turned to look, two crewmen were dragging a bunk into the cabin. I didn't ask what they were doing, since it was obvious, and let them attach it to the bulkhead securely without saying anything.

“Thank you.” The slave woman whispered with her head hanging down.

“Buck up! Yer the Marsh Man's maid now!” One of them said and the two men left as she blushed.

Hanna walked in as well, carrying a blanket, and looked a little lost.

I held in my sigh, because she had the same look on her face that my sister Hope had when she missed home and needed to cuddle. I lifted the edge of the thin blanket on the bed and she let out another squeal and was by me and in the bed in barely a second, her own blanket already discarded.

The slave woman laughed at her, gasped and blushed again, then did up the bunk to sleep on using Hanna's blanket. She climbed onto the bunk and faced the wall as she slid under the blanket.

I climbed into the old captain's bed and slid under the blanket as well. Hanna blushed as she tried to both look at me and not look at me. I didn't say anything and offered my arm for her to cuddle. She latched onto it like a squid catching its prey and then she was fast asleep and breathing deeply.

“Ann.” The slave woman whispered. “You can call me Ann.”

“I think I'll be sweating with two people under my blanket, so I'm going to need a bath in the morning, Ann.” I whispered and she moaned. “Goodnight.”

“G-goodnight, my lord.” Ann whispered back. “A very good night.”