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A Slave's Limited Loyalties

For Catsithx

By Draconicon

Hela was her master's possession, and that was all that the kobold was allowed to be. She bore his mark on her chest, a brand just over her left breast, and it was just visible through the fabric of her dress. Not that the dress did much to hide her body; her master had made her dress as a maid as soon as he'd taken her into his employ, and she doubted that she'd ever have more normal clothes again. He had quite a liking to the black and white, as evidenced by the way that he constantly stared at her as she moved around.

She might not have minded it as much if it was just her and him, but when he brought the other females home, the kobold had to restrain herself from making a mistake. A very bloody mistake.

It wasn't as bad with the old ones, though. When the master brought home females in the past, females that stayed for a night, perhaps two before leaving, she had been able to deal with that. She just stayed out of the way, avoided them and their orders, and things went as well as they possibly could with one person being a slave for another.

However, as time went on, some of the lovers stayed for more than a night. Some even stayed for upwards of a month, and despite Hela's best efforts, it was impossible to go unnoticed for that long. Even the stealthiest of kobolds had to come out into the open after a certain amount of time, and she was not that.

They grew progressively worse, ranging from those that tried to order her around and made the master do it for them to those that tried to get her to do things that she wouldn't have done for her own kind.

Yet, all of that paled in comparison to the latest one.

"Slave!"

Hela gritted her teeth as her title echoed through the manor, knowing that she had perhaps a minute before she was expected to be at the jackal's feet, bowing and scraping as if the female was already part of the house. The various hiding places that the kobold had discovered through the manor would be useless, considering that the blasted jackal had already tracked her down in at least half of them, and the woman had an inordinately good nose for finding her when she didn't want to be found.

But she would be damned if she would come to that call.

"SLAVE!"

Another shout, this one closer. Hela clenched her hand tighter around her feather-duster, keeping it close and trying her best not to run. Running would make the jackal chase her, and then she would be in trouble. She had to at least pretend that she was obedient, or the master's mark would punish her. If she didn't -

"SLAVE!"

She couldn't hide her flinch this time, her shoulders rising up in a hunch from the sudden bark of anger from just behind her. The kobold turned slowly, looking up the stairs at the master's latest toy.

Not that Anna would have called herself that, Hela was sure. The bitch probably thought herself the master's equal, someone that had come here to flirt with him and claim him rather than just being the master's latest fascination. As far as the kobold was concerned, the master - however much she disliked him for being her master and holding her in slavery - could have done better than this black-furred monster.

The jackal loomed as imperiously as any high-born bitch might have, striding down the stairs with one gloved hand on the railing. Her ears were high, her tail still, and her long white dress ran from her shoulders to the ground, hiding everything but her upper arms. She sniffed as she hit the bottom of the steps, looking at her glove.

"Hmmph. So you can clean, but you cannot listen?"

Hela shook her head, turning back to cleaning the armor. She had barely turned away before the jackal swung.

She heard it coming and ducked. The gloved hand missed the back of her head and hit the armor instead with a resounding gong, the sound echoing in the halls before Anna started shrieking like a banshee.

"You - you - how dare you dodge your punishment?"

Hela shrugged, moving down the line of suits of armor. There was much to clean and more to do after that, and if she stopped to listen to the stupidity of the jackal, she would be here all day long.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

"No."

"You dare defy me? Slave, I will have you whipped. Give me that."

To her shock, Anna lunged forward and yanked the feather-duster out of the kobold's hand. The scaled female turned, her mouth falling open to demand it back, only to see Anna in the process of rearing back to strike her with it.

The world slowed. The feather-duster began its fall, and the kobold reacted entirely without thinking.

One fist went low, punching just under the jackal's rib-cage, while the other went high, striking for the other woman's wrist, knocking it back and stunning it. As Anna gasped for breath, Hela was already dropping down, sweeping one leg low and cutting the jackal's limbs out from under her, sending her flying to the floor. She reached out with her tail, grabbing the falling feather-duster - again, without thinking - and moved to straddle the other woman.

By the time that the world felt like it was running in normal time again, she had the feather-duster in hand, the hard wooden grip reversed and pointed at the jackal's throat. Anna stared up at her with legitimate horror, her mouth hanging open, her eyes as wide as they could go.

"What...how..."

"I do not obey you."

"But you -"

"I am the master's slave. I do not like him, but I loathe you. He can make me obey. He forces me to. But you...you're nothing."

"I - ulk!"

Hela leaned in, the wooden tip of the feather-duster's handle sinking into the other woman's throat. Just enough pressure in just the right spot to cut off her air and keep her from talking, but not enough to knock her out or kill her. Hela snarled, her lips pulling back from her fangs as the kobold leveled a glare at the other woman.

"This makes me a slave. It makes me obey. But I will only obey the master. Never you. Never anyone else."

"Ah...ah..."

"And if you want to stay...know that I'll always be there...always around the corner...always cleaning. And if you step out of line..."

Shaking her head, she slowly stood up. The kobold flipped the feather-duster around and returned to her duties, dragging the feathers across the armor. There was much to clean, and her compulsion was already dragging her down the line of suits, knowing that it all had to be done before the master got back from his day-trip out.

She heard Anna get back to her feet and run away. She doubted that the jackal would poke her head out of the guest quarters for the rest of her stay; she doubted that the jackal would have the courage to try and command her again at all.

Good. All for the best.

When the master returned just after sundown, Anna had already packed her goods. A carriage had been sent for her, and as the master pulled up on a single horse, she was already shoving her clothes and bags into a carriage.

"You're leaving?" her master, a lynx, asked with a raised eyebrow. "But you only just arrived yesterday."

"I took some time to think, and I don't believe it will work out between us," Anna said as a borrowed footman helped her into the carriage.

"Is there anything I can -"

"No, no, nothing."

"But surely -"

"Nothing," Anna said, glancing out of the carriage window back to the front door of the manor. "Nothing...nothing at all."

Hela watched it all in silence. The master looked back at her and sighed, then turned back to the jackal to whisper something to her. It all passed in silence, and she had no idea what was said.

Yet, she had an idea. The kobold wasn't stupid, nor did she think that she was above consequences. She was, after all, a slave, and slaves had no rights in the eyes of the law. She had played with fire, and now, she was entirely likely to get burned.

The carriage drove off, and her master watched its departure. She had no doubt that there had been feelings for the jackal, at least in the physical sense. He had been quite loud with how much he enjoyed what they were doing in the privacy of his own chambers, as well as the messes that they had made throughout the mansion that she had been forced to clean up on her own. She knew the extent to their pleasures, and knew that he would miss them until the next female came calling.

He turned to her, and she managed to keep from flinching, but only just.

"What am I going to do with you, Hela?"

"..."

"Inside. We must discuss the consequences of your actions."

"Yes, master."

Consequences. She knew that there would be some, but she wondered what these would be. As she turned on her heel, she could feel the master's stare following her in. The mark on her chest burned slightly, reminding her of the power that he held over her. One way or another, he could make her obey.

The question was, would he?

The End

Summary: A kobold slave defies her master's lover.

Tags: No Sex, Slavery, Kobold, Jackal, Lynx, Fantasy, Tattoo, Brand, Fighting Back, Uprising, Implied Sex,