Journey unto Warrior

By TammyJo Eckhart

http://www.kiva.net/~teckhart/
teckhart@kiva.net

TammyJo Eckhart, a dominant sadist, has been active in the BDSM community since 1993 when she moved to NYC to pursue a master's degree in ancient history at Columbia University . There she became involved in TES on a semi-regular basis as well as helping found the Columbia University group, Conversio Virium. In 1995, she continued organizing the Applemunch, a monthly dinner for those interested in BDSM. Her writing has been published in the SandMUtopian Guardian, by Masquerade Books (Punishment for the Crime; Amazons), Circlet Press (SM Futures), and Greenery Press (Justice). In her writing and in real life, she has been told that she shatters the common stereotypes of dominant women. An educator at heart, she continues her direct involvement in BDSM organizations via Headspace at the Bloomington campus of Indiana University . She helps arrange for education panels in courses and dormitories as well as working one-on-one with instructors who make BDSM a topic in human sexuality classes. She has also selectively trained would-be submissives or slaves and mentored some new tops and dominants.

Read the SCENEprofiles Interview with TammyJo

Read TammyJo's Story A Simple Gift




"she exercised in the chase the maidens from their earliest girlhood and drilled them daily in the arts of war"

~ Diodorus Siculus, Book II, 46.1

The dense forest thins a bit as we go further north from our village, which is right on the edge of the unknown land of an ancient nation whose people call themselves Amazons. It has been centuries since any of our villagers saw these people, but tales are still told around the chief elder's home. It is said that a man who sees an Amazon will either die immediately or become the greatest of all warriors in the village.

Don't tell Teucer, but I intend to find one of these mythical creatures, who are said to have the faces of women, the torsos of horses, the arms of the strongest men, and the legs of the swiftest deer, and I intend to return to the village with the body of one. I have only convinced him to go this far because I told him that I spotted a great buck. With our slings and knives, such a capture would make us heroes in the village and be the last step toward manhood and admission to the ranks of the warriors.

My mother and my father begged me not to go, and when I went anyway they predicted dire consequences. They have been farmers for several generations, and while farmers are the backbone of our village, it is the warriors who get the most respect and have their choice of the best girls as wives. Now don't think that I don't want my friend to also be a warrior, but my capturing an Amazon, dead or alive, will guarantee me the fine Penelope for a wife and her handsome dowry for a bridal gift.

Teucer calls to me as I lead him further from the village. "Acron, I have not seen tracks for almost a half mile now."

"Are you afraid to be so far from your mother?" I tease him.

His face reddens, and he increases his pace so that he walks past me. "I am not. I only question whether we will find worthy prey in such light," he says, motioning upward toward the late-afternoon sunlight, barely visible through the dense leaves.

"It will be better for us to see the animal in," I tell him with assurance. Though I myself am not afraid of these mythical Amazons, I feel best knowing that I can see them better than in the darker woods we are used to.

After a full day's journey we find a suitable spot and make camp. The chief elder and the priest told each of us six boys that we had one week to return to camp with the best game we could capture. The other two pairs traveled south or west, one looking for mountain goats or lions and the others talking of large man-eating fish from the sea. But it is very rare for anyone from our village to travel north, so I used that to convince Teucer to join me. The buck decoy will probably not last much longer.

As though he has read my mind, my friend frowns at me as he looks across the fire he has built. "Acron, what are we really doing up here? The only animals I've seen are tiny ones, hardly the type to get us accepted into the ranks of the warriors."

I sigh and put on my best smile, the one that convinced the fine Penelope to kiss me last night, the one that calms my mother and discharges my father's anger when I am late from some lame chore they set me. "I lied, I admit it."

"That's a switch," Teucer mumbles.

"Men don't lie," I reply as humbly as I can make my voice sound. "What do you think Xuthus and Haemus will bring back?"

"They say they will find the great sea demon and capture him so that our ships may have safer sailing to the southern markets," he repeats with a chuckle. "I suspect they will bring back some big fish or eel and tell us all how much it fought their net."

"Yes, and they will become shipbuilders or farmers if they completely fail," I predict. "And do you think that a mountain lion will be the prize of Comus and Mentes?" He shrugs his shoulders. "Of course not; they could no more capture such a beast than they could the sun. We are both the best of all the youths in the village."

"I'll agree with that," he states as he takes a skin of wine from his backpack. "You have a plan," he adds as he takes a swig then offers me the wineskin.

"I do," I confess, "one which will guarantee us both futures of power and fame."

"Tell me, then," Teucer demands as he pokes the fire so sparks jump into the night air. When I am silent he frowns and promises, "I will not go after Penelope. She's too tall for my tastes, so you need not worry."

"You swear on Pan himself?" I ask. He places one hand over his heart and the other over his groin as he speaks the most sacred oath of our village. "Then I will tell you. We are going to find and capture an Amazon."

The mouthful of wine Teucer had just taken comes out in a shower over the fire, the drops bursting into tiny flames as he coughs. "What? Are you crazy? That's just a myth, a story to frighten children."

"Most myths are based on reality," I tell him confidently.

"Then you are truly mad," he states. "If they do exist, we would die just from looking at one."

"Or we would return with one and become famous," I remind him. "Come on, the finest wife, the best house, the most meat at festivals, and the finest gifts of gratitude on the feast of the warrior." He just narrows his eyes at me and shakes his head. "And if they turn out to be too strong, then we capture something else. Either way we've gone about as far as any living in man in our village has traveled. We'll be heroes," I emphasize, offering him one of the honey cakes my mother, the best cook in our village for many years now, packed for me.

He takes the cake slowly, eyeing me carefully, so I simply continue with my smiling. "All right. Two more days, but then we must turn back. That's all I'll agree to, Acron. I'm not some woman you can charm and trick."

"You're my friend," I reply. "We'll do exactly as you say, Teucer. It was my plan from the start." He snorts as he rolls his eyes and bites into my mother's cake. I'll have to remember to buy her some beads, the fancy imported ones, when I get home.

The forest has thinned considerably as we've traveled for almost two days. Today we have stopped by a river of sweet cool water and are taking a break to plan our next move. I need to convince Teucer to travel just one more day, but I don't have any more honey cakes to aid me. He is already giving me his tired and angry look when we hear a strange sound. I put my hand over his mouth and whisper to him, "Did that sound like women to you?"

He nods with frowning eyebrows, so I remove my hand. "I know to be quiet," he humphs softly. "It did. Do you think?"

"Let's go find out," I suggest. We move cautiously through the low brush along the river's edge to a group of low trees. Crouching there we open the branches just enough to look out onto the water, where the sounds seem to be coming from.

"It's girls," Teucer gasps as he looks at me.

There in the water, which only covers their waists and leaves their ample breasts in view, are two girls of approximately our age. Their hair is dark and wet, hanging down into the water. Their skin is far darker than the skin of any girl in our village, and their arms show muscle as they move, soaping up each other's hair and giggling.

"Who are they?" Teucer asks as he stares.

I can only shrug at first, then smile as I put two and two together. "They're Amazons."

"They don't look like the story," Teucer protests. One of the girls turns toward the trees where we are hidden, so we hold very still. After a moment her friend splashes her with water, and her attention returns to their washing. "Where's the horse torso?"

"Probably just a story," I speculate. "See, they are clearly women, but those muscles, the dark skin - these are women who hunt and fight, like in the tales."

"What about the legs of deer?"

"We'll just have to watch and see," I point out. Teucer smiles and settles down with a lick of his lips. No honey cakes needed now, the god has provided me with what I needed.

The girls now take turns disappearing under the water several times to rinse their hair. They speak in a strange language, but the giggles are universal signs that under any amount of muscle they are but women. My eyes and Teucer's widen and glance at each other as the girls now move closer to each other and kiss, right on the lips.

"Did you see that?" Teucer asks in a shaky whisper.

I nod silently as my eyes seemed glued to their naked bodies. Their breasts bump against each other and then seem to part and fit together in some manner. Their hands grasp and travel over each other just as mine did with Penelope the night before I left, though her clothing left my imagination running wild and my groin aching. Now their lips part, and they use them on each other's necks and shoulders, taking each other's nipples into their mouths as infants do and as I think about doing often.

My hand brushes against the hem of my tunic. Soon I have my hand under it and open my undergarment. I am hot and hard already, so my hand seems to move of its own volition, stroking as the girls' giggles turn to loud moans and cries. A quick glance at Teucer proves him to be in a similar state. In only a few moments we have both sprayed the trees with our come and are panting in anticipation as the girls continue the show.

At first we move back as they exit the water, their arms entwined about each other. We look for their legendary deer legs, but their legs are definitely human, shapely if firm and browned by the sun. They lie right in front of us, completely unaware of us, on towels laid on the riverbank. Their asses are firm and full, their bushes glistening with water as they lay down. This close I can see that one is slightly taller than the other. I think of how fine their legs would feel lying over my shoulders as I plowed their fields and planted the next generation.

My cock is firm again, and my hand is still sticky with my earlier spurt. As I renew my strokes, I close my eyes and imagine that Penelope is one of these girls doing this at my orders as a good wife obeys her husband. I obey my eyes as I orgasm a second time and gasp as two green eyes stare back at me.

Teucer and I fall backwards and roll down the slope we had been on as the two girls push through the tress. They stand, their legs and arms wide, the stance of warriors, though they are naked. In their hands, pointed at our now shriveled cocks, are two spears with black heads.

They say something, and when we just stare dumbly at them, they repeat their words in the trading language of the region. "Who are you? Tell us, or we will kill you here and now!"

Teucer reaches for his undergarment, which is around his knees, as is mine, but the shorter girl slaps his hand with her spear. The gash is sharp and causes him to gasp and pull back, stuffing the wound into his mouth.

"We are warriors from the south," I say, trying to make my voice sound threatening, which is hard when my stomach feels like it's full of cold rocks.

"Warriors?" the taller girl chuckles. She says something to her friend, and their spears come crashing down on our heads. "Some warriors," she says in trade as my vision goes dark.

I hear their voices again in that strange language of theirs before I open my eyes. They are dressed in light armor over tunics with knee-high boots, bows and quivers swung over their shoulders as our tales state. The taller one's tunic is a dark green to match her eyes and to set off the red curls that fall over one shoulder. The shorter one has hair the color of sunlight and eyes as blue as the sky with a tunic to match. They both wear bands of leather over their brows to hold back that vibrant hair; at the center of each band is a jewel to match their eyes and tunics.

They notice I am awake and come toward me. The taller ones seems attracted to me, for she crouches in front of me, her tunic parting slightly, hinting at the curly hair underneath and the joys of her cunt. She smiles, then suddenly slaps me. I try to swear but discover that my mouth is gagged with something hard. I sniff, and the musky scent of leather wafts up.

"Wake up, boy!" the blonde demands, pinching Teucer's cheek; he moans and stirs. I can see him very well from my position. He is sitting up against a tree, his arms and legs bent back and tied to it, so he is forced to kneel on the ground. His clothing has been removed, so his cock, sleepy from the blow to our heads, hangs down between his thighs. When his eyes don't open, the girl slaps his cock, causing him to squeak and jerk his head up. In his mouth is a brown leather bit, very similar to those my father uses on the cattle he has turning the mill or water wheel.

I assume that I am bound just like him, since the redhead's hands are now pinching my nipples. At first she is gentle, the tiny flicks and scratches of her nails making my cock jerk a bit and my flesh tingle. Soon, however, she grasps each between two fingers and twists and pulls them roughly until I can feel tears rolling down my cheeks. My skin flushes as I wonder if Teucer can see me.

"Warriors, huh?" the redhead states in trade with a chuckle. She twists my nipples in the other direction. "Now what are you?"

"They can't answer, Ocyale," the blonde states. I wonder if Ocyale is her name or a title. "Maybe we should remove the gags."

"I don't need to hear these boys' voices to get what I want," the redhead states. My eyes widen as she lifts her tunic and tucks it into the belt at her waist. The hair there is just as curly and red as that on her head as she spreads her legs. "You wanted to watch, warrior?" she asks. "Well, watch this." She leans back and uses one hand to part her lower lips so that a pink crest is revealed. I am amazed as her fingers stroke up and down, almost as though she had a cock, and the flesh there reddens and grows. Never in my mind did I imagine that women had anything other than the hole for plowing and birthing.

I glance to my left where Teucer is tied and note that his cock is as hard as mine feels. The blonde is also rubbing her fingers up and down her slit. She has tossed her head back and is groaning as she now forms her hand into a fist and pushes into her mound with pounding blows. My eyes, though, are drawn back to the redhead, who is also moaning.

My eyes dart back and forth, catching Teucer's own looks, as I watch the girls pounding into their fists as though they were bulls mating with a cow. In seconds both girls scream and shudder. I wince as the redhead takes her hand from her slit and wipes a slick substance onto my face. The smell of her sex surrounds me, making me dizzy and my cock spasm in desire.

"Is that what you were hoping to see, warriors?" the blonde taunts us as she takes some leaves and wipes herself off. Both girls stand up, lower their tunics and walk out of sight, giggling the entire time.

I glance at Teucer and see that his eyes are closed but his chest is expanding and contracting rapidly. My hands and cock ache as I try desperately to loosen my bonds. The sun is setting by the time my efforts have worn me out. My hands have little feeling as I close my eyes and fall asleep.

A cool breeze makes me shiver, jolting me awake. At first I'm confused; am I blindfolded? The dim stars twinkle as the clouds drift by through the black night sky. I take a deep breath and realize that meat is roasting nearby.

The strange language hits my ears again, getting louder until the redhead is crouching in front of me again; this time she has on leggings, though, so there is no thrill, just fear. She reaches behind my head and loosens the gag so I can push it out with my swollen tongue. I never knew my mouth could be so dry. "What are you called?" she asks in trade.

"Acron," I mutter and try to swallow. My parched throat pains me, so I moan and wince.

The redhead raises her eyebrows, then says something to her friend, who is tending Teucer. The blonde gets up and moves behind me, where the scent of food seems to be originating. She returns and hands the redhead a skin, very similar to the ones we carry wine in. "Drink this," the redhead orders as she opens it and puts the nozzle to my lips.

The water is sweet but frightens me. My people never drink water straight; it can kill a person. But when I try to turn my head, the redhead simply grabs my chin and forces more down my throat until I'm sputtering and water falls down onto my chest.

Teucer, I see out of the corner of my eye, is being more cooperative and even allows the blonde to run her fingers through his hair, still long as a sign that we have not reached manhood yet. I wonder, as I try to swallow as quickly as the redhead tilts the skin, whether we will ever have that honor now.

"Still thirsty?" the redhead asks me when the skin is completely emptied, either into my stomach or onto my naked body. She chuckles when I shake my head. "Good. I'm not your mother," she states as she stands up and walks out of view.

I wait until the blonde leaves as well before whispering to Teucer. "How are you?"

He looks at me, then glances over his shoulder, trying to see where the girls are. "I can barely feel my hands and feet," he whimpers. "I asked Xanthe to loosen the ropes, and she said later."

"Xanthe? Is that the blonde's name?" I ask quietly. He nods and tries to shift positions against the tree. "The other must be Ocyale then." We sit silently for a few minutes, the only sounds those from our stomachs as they yearn for the roasting meat. The girls are chuckling and talking in their language, every now and then throwing in a trade word to frighten us with talk of beasts and dismemberment. I can see sweat dripping from Teucer even though the air is chilly. "Calm down, boy. We have to think, we have to get out of here. They're only girls; we can turn the tables on them."

"How?" he demands with a frightened pout.

I nod and then call out loudly. "Hey, I have to go, now!" I nod to him once more as the footsteps of the girls approach. The redhead and blonde step in front of us, standing with their hands on their hips. "All that water made me have to pee," I explain. Teucer mutters that he must as well when they glance at him.

I try to tense my muscles to bolt the moment I'm freed from the tree, but the girls undo my hands from the tree then push me onto the ground and bind my arms firmly behind my back. When my feet are freed and I'm pulled to my feet by my arms I find them too wobbly to run. I have to groan as I'm led over to another clump of trees; my feet tingle as though a thousand of my mother's sewing needles are being stuck into them.

"Go," the redhead orders when I just stand there.

I look at her, then glance over my shoulder toward Teucer, who is still tied to the tree. The redhead yanks my head around to look at her again. "I need my hands," I try to explain.

She chuckles, as does the blonde. "Horses don't have hands. Just go, warrior," she commands with a rough shake of my head.

At first I feel full of lead; nothing seems to move. "This is the last time we'll get you up, unless you go right now," the blonde states. Suddenly, the thought of sitting in wet grass, smelling my own urine and god knows what else, makes a stream of hot yellow urine shot out. I'm weeping silently by the time I'm finished. Teucer turns his eyes away from me as I'm led back to the tree and retied as before.

I try not to watch but find my eyes staring as he is released and led to the same area. If he speaks it is too softly for me to hear, but the blonde once more runs her fingers through his hair. He refuses to look at me as he is led back. Instead of his arms being forced behind him, they are instead lifted over his head and tied off to a low branch so that his elbows can even bend a little. He glances at me, then quickly away as the blonde crouches in front of him and whispers something to him. As I watch her hands touch his chest I feel a cold stone in the pit of my stomach. I feel like I do when my little brother gets to one of my parents before me after something bad has happened, and then I always end up in a ton of trouble and with a bruised backside. After the girls leave, Teucer says something to me, but I turn away and shut my ears.

We have been walking north for several hours, I figure, when the girls finally pull into a meadow and dismount from their mares. They must be very wealthy to have horses. My wrists are raw from where the ropes have rubbed them as the redhead led me forward in jerks, since I just can't seem to move quickly enough for her. Having my feet tied only a foot and a half apart hasn't helped, but every time I bring the point up she's been fast to turn and slap me. My cheek is going to be black and blue in no time unless I figure something out.

Teucer is having a much easier time of it. The blonde has even been talking to him and letting him walk next to her. The redhead kicked me the one time I managed to catch up with her, so I gave up, the worse for my wrists, I fear. Even now, when he should be moving as close to me as he can so we can make some sort of plan, he is following her off toward the woods around the meadow.

"You should behave more like your friend, warrior," the redhead states. She looks at me, up and down, very slowly. My skin feels hot, and I can't meet her eyes. "It can be nice, or it can be hard," she adds. When I refuse to answer, she shrugs and pulls me roughly to her. "Or do you like it hard, boy?"

I glare at her and manage a low growl. This had been enough to make my mother back off a few years back and even made my father simply yell at me, but the girl just laughs in my face. I move quickly and manage to get a bit of her cheek in my teeth.

Her slap is harsh and knocks me onto my side in the grass and flowers. She stands there wiping the blood from my attack with the back of her hand. Behind us I hear the blonde screaming something. Teucer lands next to me on the ground. "What have you done?" he demands in our own language and groans as the blonde's foot lands on the small of his back.

The redhead glares at me as the blonde screams into Teucer's ear. Out of the corner of my eye I see him flinch as she adds punches to emphasis her points. My own eyes are glued to the green ones of the redhead. This will be the only chance I have; I have to stay calm, I tell myself over and over. I flinch anyway when she crouches in front of me.

"That was very stupid," the redhead states slowly as she wipes her blood under my nose and down over my lips to my neck. I can see the wound and curse at the fact the bleeding has stopped already, it looks like the nip of an angry child. Her hand is like lightning as she begins to slap me everywhere. When her blows start to snap my cock from side to side I try to double over to protect myself.

I feel strong arms pulling me back so I'm laid out helpless, my legs curled under me and my chest thrust up. I look up and see the blonde hair falling over my shoulder as she presses her knee into my back, forcing my exposure further. I turn my head and see Teucer kneeling on the ground, his hands over his face, but he makes no move to aid me. I scream when the redhead kicks my balls with the toe of her boot. She keeps her foot there and grinds them into my body until I would swear they are dust.

Finally I am released and allowed to collapse on the ground. I look at Teucer and try to say something. He reaches toward me, but at the bark of his name by the blonde he jerks back and jumps to his feet. I have enough strength to see him trot toward the girls. I feel sick as they both lightly caress his hair and touch his body.

I'm not allowed to rest long and am soon hurried to my feet and out behind the redhead's horse as we continue the march northward. I walk, this time jogging if she speeds up, even though my entire body aches, and keep my mouth shut and my eyes on the trail under my feet.

The sun is setting again when I notice that the trail has widened enough for the horses to walk side by side. Since I am walking behind the redhead's horse, I can watch as Teucer strolls next to the blonde's horse. I can just make out a few of their words as they talk. I wince as he says "Lady" and earns a grin from her. I feel eyes on me and look up to find the green eyes of my captor staring back at me, then at the others before returning to me. I simply swallow and lower my eyes.

The next day the woods disappear completely, and flat fields of grass replace them as the trail beneath my feet becomes a road like the ones in the big cities our legends paint. The sun is unusually warm for this time of year and makes my skin burn. I'm sure that I have a burn worse than any in my life, especially in my privates, which never see the sun expect for a quick release when I'm hunting or working in the fields. Right now I wish I had a scythe in my hands and my father's stupid jokes in my ears. The dream of being a warrior disappeared sometime last night when I realized that even escaping now would not give us enough time to get home. And without an Amazon to prove our story, we'd be laughed out of the village.

"How are you doing, Acron?" I look up, startled to find Teucer walking next to me. I glance at his hands and find them simply tied in front of him; his feet are free, and he is given a wide range with the lead rope attached to his hands. When I just look at him he glances at the blonde, who nods at him with a set frown. "You were right, you know. They are Amazons, that's what they call themselves anyway."

"They told you that?" I manage to ask even though my hands ache to wrap themselves around his throat.

"Xanthe told me after I told her why we were out here," he begins to explain.

I grab his arm and roughly pull him so his chest slaps against mine and his cock bumps into my thigh. "You didn't tell them where the village is, did you?"

"No!" he states as he pulls free, his lower level of bondage allowing him the leverage not to mention the fact that I saw him eating just last night. I haven't eaten since we were captured. "Look, we aren't getting away from them. These aren't real women; they're more than that; they say they are descended from the gods themselves." I snort, but he continues. "Whatever they are, they're certainly stronger and more skilled than us. Come on, admit it."

"Give in, and be their little pet like you?" I spit out.

Teucer steps back. "Fine, but you take yourself down from now on, Acron. I intend to survive."

I watch him as he strolls back to the blonde and apologizes to her. I expect her to slap him, but she simply sighs and strokes his arm. I feel those green eyes staring at me but refuse to even glance at the redhead. I stumble but quickly recover when she jerks harshly on my lead rope.

"Where are you taking us?" I ask. I'm using my soft eyes and voice this time, hoping that if I can't frighten her I might charm the redhead a bit.

The redhead lifts one eyebrow and crouches down in front of me. She runs her hands up my arms, which are tied to a post Teucer set up this evening at the Amazons' orders. They aren't girls in my mind anymore, but they certainly aren't women either. Well, I smell her musky scent as she leans into me, her breast right before my face; I guess they're women, just not the ones I'm used to.

"Where are you taking us, Lady?" I repeat, adding the title of respect, though it makes me a little queasy.

Ocyale - she told me that was her name when she bound me this morning - backs up and examines my face for a few seconds before answering. "To our city. We'll be welcomed as warriors for capturing such new studs."

I frown, trying to figure out what her words mean. I'm about to ask when a strange sound makes both of us look toward the other two. The blonde, Xanthe, is sitting astride Teucer's thighs; his legs are bent so they support her back; her hands are holding his, which aren't tied above his head or even together. Both of them are moaning and moving, clearly fucking right before our eyes. Xanthe tosses back her hair, and I see Teucer's mouth on her neck.

I swallow nervously as Ocyale looks into my eyes and grins. "Stud," she repeats as she presses her lips onto mine. I gasp, and the parting of my lips gives her an opening, which she widens with her own lips and her tongue. Darting deeper and deeper into my mouth, her tongue makes me melt against the pole. I attempt to return the probing, but she pulls away and stands up.

She laughs as she walks away, leaving me a clear view of Teucer and Xanthe. My cock heaves, but I can do nothing but watch and listen as they both pound and scream until they fall onto their sides. After a few minutes, the blonde gets up and motions to the pole against which Teucer had been sitting. He moves, and I shake my head as he grasps her hand to kiss it before his wrists are lashed to the pole as mine are. He doesn't even glance my way but follows the blonde's every move as she joins Ocyale by the fire. I curse internally, knowing that I can't even move my legs enough to release my own sexual hunger slightly, while I watch him curl his legs up so he can lean back against the pole more comfortably.

The road is now different from any I've ever seen, and I've been to the big sea port two days' journey from our village. The soil is packed down smooth, so tightly packed that the horses barely kick up any dirt. The meadows on either side have become fields of wheat and other grains I can't identify from far away. Every now and then we pass small groups of men in the fields, watched by women sitting astride horses armed with whips. The men wear loose pants but no shirts, while the women are dressed much like our two captors, minus the armor and spear.

My feet started to bleed this morning after we had only walked about a quarter of a mile. It's slowed me down considerably, but Ocyale has no patience with me and simply yanks me down the road whenever the rope gets taut. My knees creak as I fall down on them. The yank on my hands makes me stumble onto my face.

The Amazons says something to each other, then Ocyale dismounts and walks to me. I look up her boots to her leggings, wrapped tightly around her firm, shapely calves and thighs. "What's wrong?" she demands.

"I think my feet are bleeding," I whisper, "and I'm starving," I add. What have I got to lose. If she doesn't feed me soon I won't be alive anyway.

"Get up," she orders. The movement of one of her boots makes me bolt upright, but a kick never lands. She says something to Xanthe, and a piece of fruit is tossed to her. When I reach for it she laughs and takes a big bite.

I swallow as I watch the green flesh part underneath her teeth and a yellowish juice drip down her lip to be flicked up by her tongue. "Lady, please," I hear my voice beg. I watch her closely as she tilts her head and seems to consider my words. She drops the fruit, and I catch it in my hands. "Thank you, Lady," I whisper as I hold the fruit up to my nose and breathe in its scent.

"Come tend to his feet, Teucer," Xanthe orders as I bite into the fruit.

I change my position so I can eat while Teucer picks up one of my feet. "It is bleeding, Lady," he tells them. I hear them sigh, but my eyes are focused solely on the fruit as I munch. Each mouthful is sweet, better, I'd swear, than anything I've ever had before, even my mother's honey cakes. The thought makes my eyes water. "I'll try not to hurt you too much," Teucer whispers as he pours water over my feet and tries to remove some of the dirt and blood.

Once my feet have been cleaned and bandaged and the fruit eaten to the core, Ocyale hands me my boots. I look at her closely, surprised and frightened at the same time. "Put them on. I intend to get you back in one piece, slave," she states.

I frown at the insult but keep my mouth shut as I pull them on. They fit tightly with the bandages, but when I stand my feet certainly don't feel like they are going to fall off at any moment as they did before. Teucer has likewise put his boots on. He looks as ridiculous as I know I must, naked except for boots. In fact, I feel even more naked now with the obvious contrast. They want us for something; it is clearer now than ever.

We travel for several more hours until we see a walled city on a hill a short distance off, near the river I've been hearing to my right. The city is magnificent; the walls look gray, and the towers of the tallest building appear to reach up into the clouds. To our immediate right is a large stone building with a sign hanging from a post by the doorway. Xanthe points to the city and announces, "That is our capital, Themiscyra."

"We'll camp here tonight and enter in the morning," Ocyale says as she dismounts. She enters the building, then returns with a plump woman following her. This woman nods and chuckles when she sees us. She points behind the building with her thumb, and Xanthe, who has also dismounted now, takes both horses' reins and leads them around it. "Come with me," Ocyale orders us.

Teucer follows immediately, but I pause a moment, looking back down the road. I jump when the plump woman touches my arm. She laughs and tweaks my nose. "Come on. Food and water," she says in heavily accented trade language. I have no choice but to follow her now that her hand has wrapped itself around one of my wrists. She's a lot stronger than I imagined.

We are taken around to the back of the building, where the horses have been placed in a stable and are currently being brushed down by a man under Xanthe's watch. We are told to sit down on a bench next to the main building's back door. After being given a bucket and two sponges we are told to wash.

Teucer removes his boots, so I do as well. The sponge feels so soft against my skin; a great deal of the dirt washes off into puddles at my feet. There are two lumps of something soft in the water, and when I place one on the sponge and apply it to my skin it makes a grayish cloud form on my skin. The Amazons chuckle when Teucer and I exchange astonished glances. In our village we use oil and a firm piece of bone to scrape the dirt and sweat off our bodies.

I put the sponge back into the water and am about to release it when Ocyale speaks. "You haven't washed everywhere yet, slave," she says. I glance at Teucer, who is lifting back his foreskin and washing himself very carefully. He also rubs the sponge up and down his shaft and balls, making himself hard. The Amazons nod and mutter their approval when he glances up at them. I let the sponge sink to the bottom of bucket and stand up straight. When Ocyale approaches me I brace for a beating, but she simply pushes me back onto the bench and stands to watch Teucer continue.

My own eyes are fascinated as he dips the sponge back into the water and gathers the gray cloud onto it again. He freezes as Xanthe takes the sponge from his hands. I can't hear what she tells him, but soon he is bent over his hands grasping his ankles and his legs spread wide. My cock twitches as I watch her run the sponge down his back to the crack of his ass. Using one finger she pushes some of the sponge inside him and twists it up and down. To even think of such a thing is forbidden in our village, and yet now I feel myself stirring, and my ears pick up the increased tempo of Teucer's breathing.

"I need to finish," I say softly. Ocyale looks down at me. "Lady, I want to finish," I hear myself explain. She shakes her head and turns away.

I'm tied out in the stable after being fed a meal of porridge and dark black bread. At least I'm sitting in dry, clean hay instead of on the ground. Teucer was taken inside the inn; that is what the building turned out to be. I wonder what he is doing, and almost in reply, to tease me, a few noises that sound a lot like his voice come from inside the house. At first they sound like cries of pain, then soon he is gasping out words in trade, begging and praising the Amazons; finally he says a few words I can't understand but which sound like their language. One of the stable hands, a man about my father's age, stops in his chores to look at me with pity. I growl at him, and he hurries away.

The next morning after a piece of hard cheese and the black bread, I'm told to put a pair of rough pants on and my own boots. My hands are tied in front of me again, but my feet are left free. Ocyale takes hold of my chin, looks at me and sighs. She seems almost sad, so I open my mouth to speak, but she releases me and simply ties my lead rope to her saddle.

I can't help but let my mouth fall open as Xanthe and Teucer emerge from the inn. He is dressed in blue pants, sandals on his feet, and a blue vest with embroidery on it; his hair has been formed into two plaits that fall down his back. From his ears hang two metal hoops. I jump toward him screaming, "You traitor! You fucking bastard traitor! Woman's toy!"

Ocyale grabs me and throws me to the ground, knocking all the air from my lungs. She stands over me and uses the blunt end of her spear to beat my chest and arms until I'm crying for mercy. Grabbing me by the front of my pants she pulls me to my feet. "You've made your last mistake," she spits at me. She mounts and yanks on my lead rope.

Teucer doesn't even get his hands tied, but at least he is still walking as we head toward the city. I certainly am not going to speak with him for a good long time, and he at least has the brains not to try and speak to me.

The city is bigger than anything I could have imagined. Perhaps they are children of the gods after all. The stones that make the wall are at least as tall and wide as I am and must weigh far more than two oxen could pull. The gates are made of wood with metal bars across and down. It is open to the road, but two guards are stationed there, both women.

Our captors lead us to what appears to be a market. A richly-dressed warrior in armor that gleams like the sun is sitting on a bench on a platform. She motions to Ocyale and Xanthe, and they dismount and approach her, pulling me after them as Teucer steps up willingly. The woman looks at them, then at us, and smiles. She waves her hand, and a horn can be heard blowing. The women and men in the market all grow silent and gather around us. Most of the men are dressed similarly to Teucer now, but here and there, burdened by large packages, their necks encircled by metal collars from which chains fall into the hands of women, are men dressed like me. I swallow, suddenly very afraid.

I look back at our captors to see Xanthe bowing to the armored woman, who must be their chief warrior, and Teucer kneeling, his head bowed, at the powerful leader's feet. He rises and accepts a necklace of tight metal around his neck - a collar, but one that might embrace a beloved pet's neck.

I grunt as I am pulled forward by Ocyale. The chief warrior frowns, then nods. She takes the two offered spears from Xanthe and Ocyale and hands them to another woman dressed in fine armor as well. The two girls smile as they receive swords and scabbards from their chief. They've become warriors, I realize with a twinge of jealousy.

Our captors step off the platform, leaving me alone with their leader and another woman, who takes my lead rope. This woman moves my head from side to side, then speaks to someone behind her. When the metal collar comes into view I try to pull away but am knocked to my knees by the chief warrior's kick to the back of my calves. My heart sinks as I feel the cold metal slip over my neck and the heavy burden rest on my shoulders as it is tightened and locked.

I look at Teucer and his owner, for I realize that we have both been enslaved, though in different ways. He is lifting up his neck as she touches his necklace. His eyes meet mine briefly, and he sighs as though telling me that this is all my fault. At least I still have my honor and have not been reduced to a mere plaything.

There is some shouting for a few minutes, and then a large woman steps forward. She tosses Ocyale a bag that jingles, I assume, with whatever passes as money here. A chain is now attached to my metal collar, and the new woman pulls me off the platform with it. I look back at our captors but turn away when Ocyale's sad green eyes meet my glance.

Later I scream as my new captor beats me, then fucks me with all her strength. My screams soon turn to whimpers as three other women also mount me. One of them forces two of her fingers inside my ass as another gags me with another leather bit. The fingers must have been replaced by another item, for I am soon hoisted to my feet and pushed across a small expanse of ground, but my ass still feels wide and full. In the distance I see other men working in a field. Did I go through all of this only to end up a farmer?

My question is soon answered as I am chained to the spoke of a grinding wheel. My feet are chained to the post in front of me, as are my hands and the lead on my collar. Something is wrapped over my cock and through my legs before being tied around my waist. I scream into the gag as a whip strikes my back sharply. I push and groan but the wheel is soon moving. An older man, humped over with age, lifts a bag and pours grain into the center of the wheel.

As the hours drift by in a haze of pain and humiliation from the guards coming and stroking my cock and pushing the item in my ass around, I find my eyes blurred by tears. When the sun has set and it is very dark outside, the guards unchain me and lead me over to a fireplace, where a few logs are burning. The gag is removed, and I am given a few swallows of water to drink. One of the guards laughs as she kicks my legs out from under me and I land on my ass.

As I sit, my ass full, my movement controlled by the chains and my sore muscles, and eat the tasteless bread I have been given, the face of Penelope forms in my mind. She looks at me and laughs, then I see her go into the arms of Haemus, who is standing in front of a tiny half-built boat. I curse my own pride as I watch the fire burn away the images of my life into the ashes which I have chosen.

I have resigned myself to the harsh life of the mill and the lash. The sexual assaults have disappeared now. I figure that it must have been years, since my beard hangs to my chest and is starting to show a few white hairs. The old man who poured the grain has been replaced by a younger crippled man with light brown hair who speaks the Amazon language perfectly.

A woman with red hair hanging down her back and wearing armor enters the mill one day, accompanied by a blond man in embroidered vest and pants with sandals carrying a red headed tot in his arms. The man stays in the doorway while the woman approaches me. At a word from the guards I stop and stand still. The woman approaches, then waves her hand in front of her nose and stops. My heart falls into my stomach as she speaks. "You never did like to wash, did you, warrior?"

I want to fall to my knees, but the chains and my shock prevent me. I stand silent, chewing on the gag, as Ocyale leaves me to my fate. A tear falls down my cheek as another familiar voice, this one male, comes from behind the door and is joined by that of his own captor. I grunt as the whip snaps into my flesh and my feet push on in their endless toil.


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As of the late spring of 2002, her "kinky family" is comprised of Tom, her husband since 1992, and Fox, her live-in slave/pet since 1999. She is constantly seeking new information and opinions about BDSM even on subjects she is not personally interested in, because as an academic she feels that one can never know enough and should always view things with an analyzing eye. She has been the "Featured Book Reviewer" for KinkyBooks.com since summer 2001, and her reviews are used by several BDSM organizations in the USA . Her republished reviews also appear on Mischief's Fantasy Shop, as will several original reviews.

Copyright © 1996 Tammy Jo Eckhart. No portion of this document or any automatically-cached copy thereof may be republished, redistributed, archived or printed without the explicit written permission of the author and the publisher, Masquerade Books.

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