Katryn’s Tale 19

by Lady “B”
- do not use without the author's permission.



Chapter Nineteen

Captain Makin’s plan, although not really his own, for the capture of the two Halim sisters for Princess Najya was, indeed, quite sound and received her immediate approval. As he explained to her, he had sought out the slender light haired slave and chosen her for his pleasure on numerous nights in order to gain information on the two large girls. Because of her small breasts and lanky build, the slave only seldom drew the attention of the other tribesmen so she came to especially look forward to the times that the Captain took her from her pen. In time the slave had begun to provide him with the information he was seeking regarding the two tall strong princesses that he so wished to catch, especially the older and larger of the two.

Before her capture and enslavement by the Ghazi, the light haired girl had been one of the most respected hunters of her tribe. She was tall as were most Halim but was also a bit on the lanky side. Attractive, but not beautiful, she was definitely used more as a work slave than a pleasure slave by the Halim tribesmen. Knowing that, the Captain was correct in his assumption that she would welcome his attention as sex was literally the only pleasure allowed Halim slaves. No matter what he might demand of the slave in their sexual encounters, the Captain always made certain that she received pleasure as well as giving it. The other tribesmen that occasionally used her were seldom as considerate. After a time the Captain began to question the slave about the two large girls that had escaped the Ghazi’s last raid.

The Captain had learned from the light haired slave that the two were, indeed, princesses and both took great pride in their running ability and trained on a very regular basis. He also learned that when the weather was especially hot as it currently was the two preferred running in the cooler morning air of a rather deep narrow canyon located a mile or so from the Halim’s current encampment. This peculiar narrow canyon was almost completely hidden from view having been cut deeply into the desert floor by a small stream eons ago which had long since stopped flowing as this portion of the continent had dried. After the stream had ceased to flow, water from the occasional desert rains had flowed into the dried bed for thousands of years carrying silt resulting in a flat earthen bed that was perfect for running. Few even knew of this canyon so the sisters felt safe there and took only a small contingency of guards to protect them while they ran.

The princesses took great pride, if not outright arrogance, in their reputations as being the fastest runners in the Halim tribe. When they trained they enjoyed outrunning the guards protecting them generally leaving them some distance behind. Whether the two were actually faster than the guards was not certain as the guards all knew just how much the Royal Sisters enjoyed believing that they were. None the less the sisters were definitely big, strong, fast runners with impressive endurance which made them perfect for Princess Najya’s purpose.

The slave had given the Captain a careful description of the canyon, and the fact that most of the Halim were only familiar with about five miles of its total length of nearly a hundred miles. The section that they used for their training was only about ten feet wide and thirty feet deep with a single access from the surface where, in the distant past, a second stream had cut a sloping route to the bottom of the main canyon. Immediately downstream of where the second canyon joined the first was a shear drop of some twenty feet or more having been an ancient waterfall. At the other end of the five mile section that the princesses used, the canyon narrowed and appeared to have been blocked by an earth slide also in the distant past. The Halim believed that the drop at one end and the slide at the other would provide safety from raiders for those in the canyon, so had shaped the descending route into a path that provided not only easy access but could be easily guarded. Believing that the bottom was safe as long as the path, was well guarded the princesses often took only two or three guards with them when they went to train in the cool morning air.

According to the story of the light haired Halim slave, the slide had not blocked the canyon as the stream had cut a narrow partially underground path around it. Brush and debris brought down with the occasional desert rains had made the blockage appear solid. The slave claimed that she had once been hunting alone at the blocked end of the canyon and had seen a goard, which was a large burrowing desert animal, emerge from a hidden exit. Goard meat being a delicacy to the Halim, she had shot it with her bow and was preparing to dress out the meat when she saw a second even larger animal emerge. As she reached suddenly for her bow, that goard saw her and dropped back into the hidden hole. In pursuit of the second goard she had discovered the route that the ancient stream had cut around the blockage, and found that by moving some brush it was large enough for her to walk through almost erect.

After going through the passage the girl had emerged on the other side of the blockage to learn that the canyon continued in what had been the upstream direction for a dozen miles at the same width and depth. She followed the canyon to where it suddenly widened and in a gentle slope reached the current surface at what had, in eons past, been the outlet of a small spring fed lake. Returning, the girl covered the opening to the passageway with the brush that had hidden it before and, as the master hunter that she was kept its existence a secret from the rest of her tribe. Knowing that goard used the passage to move through the canyon, she did not want it disturbed causing the animals to discontinue its use. By only hunting this spot occasionally she knew that it could provide her with success for some time to come.

The slave told the Captain all about her discovery and admitted that she wanted him to use the knowledge to catch the two princesses that had used her as they had. The Captain wanted to believe her but being a bit reluctant to accept the word of a slave, decided that he would test her story. He made the slave draw a map to the canyon especially showing the details of the locations of the entrance from the old lake bed and the blockage and passageway. When the map was completed the Captain lied to the girl telling her that he was going to send a scouting party to confirm the map’s accuracy. “You have a choice to make,” he said. “If your map is false you will either be killed or spend the rest of your life harnessed to a cart as a draft slave, but if it is correct I will buy you and keep you as a personal slave. I might even give you a name.”

He went on, “However, I will give you one last chance to tell me if the information is false, and if you do so now, no harm will come to you. If you maintain that it is true, you know the consequences if it is not, so answer me now.”

“Everything that I have told you is true, my master,” she said as she threw her arms around the Captain’s neck and boldly kissed him. “Send your men to confirm it and you will see.”

Actually the girl had committed a serious breach of Ghazi slave etiquette by calling the Captain “my master” rather than just “master”. Although he was yet to admit it to himself, the Captain had actually become quite fond of this tall lanky slave so said nothing about the breach. Also, he prided himself on being able to tell when people, even slaves, were lying to him. He had already believed the slave’s story, but just wanted to give her a final test.

“Master,” the slave continued. “When you catch the princesses, please grant me one wish.”

“And what might that be,” he responded with surprise at the slave’s boldness.

“Allow me to put their collars on them,” she replied. “As a hunter I made my own arrow points of steel and am knowledgeable in the working of that metal.”

“Girl, you amaze me,” he said. “But, I will consider your request.”

“What makes you hate them so?” He asked. “Is it just because they betrayed you during our raid? Any of your tribe might have been so frightened as to have done that.”

“I hated them for their arrogance and uselessness long before then,” she replied. “Although they were not in the immediate line of succession, they acted as though they were. They contributed nothing to the tribe and yet took from it as if they would both have one day been crown princess especially the older of the two who calls herself Faizah. They are the nieces of the crown prince and since he has no daughters of his own, let’s them get away with it.”

“If I may ask, master, why do you want them so, they are big and have muscles like males?” The slave asked boldly. “There are certainly more beautiful Halim girls that you could catch, or have already caught, for that matter.”

“You are bold, slave, but I will let it pass as you are also useful,” the Captain said with a bit of an edge to his voice.

“Forgive me, master, but a slave needs always to be curious as to what pleases her master,” she said. “Perhaps you find them beautiful to your taste.”

Again the slave violated Ghazi slave etiquette by referring to the Captain as her master, and again the Captain ignored the breach.

“Very well, Slave, knowing your feelings for the two princesses, I will answer your question,” The Captain answered. “My plans for both, and especially the larger one who laughed the hardest when they escaped, is to break them of their arrogance.”

“And what is your plan for doing that, master?” The girl asked with obvious gleeful anticipation.

“By riding them, especially the older that you said calls herself Faizah,” he replied. “I will force her to her hands and knees mount and ride her to my pleasure. As big and strong as she is she should be able to carry me that way for hours should I desire her to do so.”

“Oh, my master,” the girl cried. “That is perfect. She is so haughty that will humiliate her, and be so well deserved. I only hope that you might permit me to watch sometimes when you are riding her.”

“Well that I will have to think about,” he replied, laughing. “Next you will be asking me to allow you to ride her as well.”

“Master,” she said in gleeful anticipation of the possibility, “if only you would. She would quickly learn who was in control with me on her back.”

“Well, perhaps,” he laughed. “However I must catch her first.”

“Please allow me help you there as well, master,” she said. “I was not the Halim’s best hunter without a good reason.”

“Alright “hunter”, what do you suggest I do?” He asked only partly in jest.

In minutes the slave laid out a plan that the Captain had to admit was better than any he had concocted so far. It involved a small group of raiders laying a trap for the princesses when they were running in the canyon and separated from most of the warriors who guarded them. It also included a simple and protected escape route and a reasonably safe return route to Ghazi controlled territory. The Captain had to admit that this slave must have indeed been a master hunter with her tribe.

The naked slave described her plan to catch the princesses to the Captain who lay beside her in his large carpeted tent. Suddenly she rolled over and rose to her hands and knees, looking back over her shoulder at the Captain where he lay.

“Master”, she breathed. “Until you catch the princesses, there may be other Halim slaves for you to ride.”

“Do you think that you’re strong enough?” He asked getting to his feet and stepping astride of the slave’s slender back.

“Girls are much stronger than they often appear, master,” she replied as the Captain settled his weight on the small of her back. “You might be surprised at what a girl can do for her master.”

The light haired slave, though slender, proved to be quite strong and wiry and carried the Captain easily on her back around his tent on all fours. He guided her with his hand in her hair pulling it to one side or the other to turn her and back to stop. A slap with his free hand on her naked rump was her signal to move or to increase her speed. After nearly a half hour of riding, the Captain could feel that the slave was tiring, but could also tell from the scent and the small twitches of her body that she was highly aroused. Pulling her to a halt but not dismounting, the Captain reached behind and gently slipped his fingers into her soaking slit then slid them forward to stroke the little erect bud just forward of her opening. Continuing to support her rider while rocking gently back and forth, the slave’s entire body suddenly shuddered with an intense orgasm.

The Captain remained mounted with his hand between her legs until the slave’s spasmodic movements slowed and finally stopped. Then, as he rose again to his feet and stepped from astride her, the girl collapsed and immediately rolled to her back extending her tired arms to him. Falling on top of her, he entered her body with a single powerful stroke then immediately began thrusting with a vengeance. Almost as quickly, the slave recovered and began to thrust back with equal intensity. In less than a minute both bodies stiffened and their breathing stopped for what seemed to them like minutes.

Several days later on the night following her successful riding of the big male slave, the Captain described to Princess Najya the plan for the capture of the two big Halim girls. Although he did tell the Princess that the information required for the plan had come willingly from the light haired slave, he neglected to say that the plan had actually been hers in the first place. Also, as at the time he had just ridden the princess at her own request, the Captain wisely failed to mention that the light haired Halim slave had proven to be a far superior mount.

A week later the Captain departed on his quest to capture the two Halim princesses for Princess Najya. During that time she had enjoyed considering the possibilities of owning them as her slaves and had decided that in addition to riding the two Halim girls she would break and train them to pull her chariot as well. She even planned to match them in a four slave team with a like sized pair of gelded males from a lesser tribe as a further humiliation to the sisters for having laughed when they had escaped earlier. She also planned that the two would carry her Royal crest branded into their right buttocks for all to see. Princess Najya, although a shrewd and competent leader, could become quite petty and vindictive when she felt that she had been insulted.

The light haired Halim slave’s plan worked flawlessly. The Captain found that the map that she had drawn was extremely accurate in every detail. He and fifteen of his men were able to enter the canyon upstream at the ancient lake shore and travel down it to just upstream of the landslide blockage without incident. By only moving an occasional rock or debris pile they were able to bring a slave drawn cart with their supplies and equipment all the way to the blockage as the girl had promised that they could do. The passage under the blockage was also just as the girl had described it. They could move through it with ease and by carefully moving the brush that she had used to hide the passage’s existence, they were able to emerge on the other side.

To draw the heavy cart with their supplies and equipment, the Captain had brought two teams each of four female Kadar slaves. Kadars were short like the Ghazi but with broader hips and thick powerful legs. All had been slaves of the Ghazi for several years and had been used almost daily to draw heavy carts about the encampment, and all eight had the muscles to prove it. On the journey, each team was kept harnessed all day as well as chained together by their collars. This chaining was for the convenience of changing teams at the cart traces which was done frequently to keep both teams fresh. The Captain was looking ahead to their escape after the Halim princesses were caught and knew that the Kadar slaves had some serious running ahead of them.

During the many days of travel required to reach the Halim tribe’s location and the canyon, the Kadar slaves had also served the pleasures of the Captain and his men in the evenings when camped. The girls’ services in this regard were performed communally however, as their neck chains were never removed. The Halim slaves actually took great pleasure from the attentions that they received each night as such activities were certainly not as frequent when they were in the Ghazi’s slave pens. Due to their wide powerful bodies the Kadar girls were not considered to be as attractive as were many of the Ghazi’s other slaves. However, the enthusiasm and shear physical strength that the Kadars brought to these activities changed the minds of the Captain and most of his men, and it was highly unlikely that these eight slaves would be as neglected in this regard in the future. After several nights on their journey, both teams tended to pull much harder and faster when they took their turns at the traces of the heavy cart.

Going through the passage with but two of his best trackers, the Captain was able to carefully study the other side and determine that everything the slave had told him was correct. Carefully brushing out their own tracks, the Captain and his trackers returned through the passage after replacing the brush to hide the downstream opening. Then, moving back upstream away from the area of the blockage, the Ghazi set up their camp to wait for the next morning to see if the two princesses would, indeed, follow the routine the girl had described.

Due to their proximity to the Halim encampment, the party’s camp that night was a cold one with no fires of any kind. Initially Captain Makin had thought to restrict his men from enjoying the pleasures of the Kadar slaves as the girl’s enthusiasm tended to be a bit loud. Seeing the look of disappointment in the Kadar’s eyes, however, he relented as he expected to need their maximum efforts for the next several days. To keep them quiet, however, he did require that something be kept in their mouths all evening.

The next morning the Captain, alone crept through the passage and hid carefully in the brush at the downstream opening. Surely enough, about mid morning the two princesses came running around the turn that was about twenty yards downstream blockage that hid the rest of the canyon from view. Both of the girls were even taller and more muscled than Captain Makin had remembered. At a point near where the Captain was hiding the two girls jogged in place for almost a minute before their guards appeared. There were only two guards armed only with knives. The girls chided the two men for their inability to keep up and immediately took off running back down the canyon, around the bend and out of sight. The two guards looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed quietly before running after the sisters. The entire scenario had been just as the light haired slave had described that it should be. Thinking about the slave and the help she had provided, the Captain began thinking of possible names for the girl.

The next morning after another cold camp and quiet activity, the Ghazi warriors were ready. Ten of the fifteen plus the Captain went through the passage and hid themselves carefully along the sides of the canyon just downstream of the blockage. They covered themselves with special camouflaged cloaks that they had rubbed with the clay of the canyon floor to blend to the point that they could be seen only from a short distance upon close inspection. The Captain had observed the day before that neither the princesses nor their guards had paid much attention to their surroundings, so confident they were of their safety.

By mid morning the Captain was wondering if the sisters were going to run today and was considering returning to the other side of the blockage to wait until tomorrow when he heard the light footfalls of the two girls along with their strong rhythmic breathing. In a moment’s reflection he wondered humorously just how quiet these girls’ breathing would be with the added weight of Princess Najya on their backs. The girls ran past the camouflaged Captain to turn and jog in place as they waited for their guards to arrive in order to again ridicule them for their slowness.

The instant that the two guards ran past where he was hidden, the Captain dropped his cloak and drew back the arrow knocked to the string of his bow. Initially it had been the Captain’s plan to kill the two Halim guards and simply take the two princesses captive. He knew that he must not let either guard escape to run back the five or so miles to where the rest of the princesses’ guards were waiting and initiate pursuit. However, after seeing the two guards yesterday, he and his men had discussed the matter and decided to try to take them captive as well.

With a muffled command of “Now”, the Captain put his men into action. Instantly capture nets were thrown over the two princesses that immediately entangled them in a mass of clinging strands. The princesses carried no knives with which to try to cut themselves free so the nets proved very successful in trapping them. The nets had barely settled over them when both felt their arms pinned to their sides in the tightening loops of the Ghazi’s lassos. The two guards turned and instantly each drew two throwing daggers from their belts. They looked up to see two drawn bows with arrows pointed at the hearts of each of them. Both the Halim guards and the Ghazi warriors could see that any sudden moves on either side would result in several deaths.

The Ghazi warriors were quite surprised by the sudden appearance of the throwing daggers in the hands of the two Halim guards. In their last raid of less than a year earlier, the Ghazi had met with virtually no resistance by the Halim and took many as slaves.

“Everyone hold!” The Captain shouted while lifting his right hand palm toward the two Halim. “What have we here, Halim willing to fight?”

Maintaining their knives in position to throw, the taller of the two said. “Do the Ghazi no longer have honor to use bows against men armed with knives? We will meet any two, no, make that any three of you armed with knives or swords in a fight to the death.”

“Well, that is a refreshing change coming from a Halim,” the Captain replied. “You are willing to die to protect your princesses?”

“To protect our princesses, don’t make me laugh, Ghazi”, the Halim replied. “Neither of us would lift a finger to protect these two. If you want them you may have them. We will even help you get them chained up for travel, if you wish, then we can settle our differences as men. However, know this; we will not be taken captive by you.”

“Very well,” the Captain smiled with the respect that only one warrior can have for another. “Sheath your knives and we will relax our bows for now. You know, of course that we can not allow you to return to bring others to pursue us”.

“Of course,” the Halim replied, looking the Captain in the eye while smiling and sheathing his knives. The other Halim guard did likewise.

“It would sound as though you are less than impressed by this pair,” the Captain said.

While the Captain and the two guards were talking the Ghazi tribesmen had thrown additional lassos around the two sisters and dropped them struggling to the ground. Entangled as they were in the capture nets the girls, though taller than the Ghazi tribesmen and somewhat stronger were unable to put up any effective resistance. When it came to capturing slaves, Ghazi warriors knew their business.

“They are the most arrogant, lazy and worthless of all the Royal family,” the Halim said. “And in our tribe, that is saying something.”

“Oh?” The Captain asked. “Would you like to explain that in greater detail?”

In the majority of the desert tribes, tribal loyalty and respect for the royal leadership was considered a virtue of great significance. A tribesman willing to speak openly against his tribe’s leadership was only likely to occur under extreme conditions.

“Do you know the history of the Halim?” The guard asked.

“Not truly,” the Captain replied. “I only know that we meet very little resistance in the way of fighting when we raid your tribe. Instead, your people try to escape by running away.”

“Well, it was not always so,” the guard continued with obvious embarrassment. “In past generations the Halim was feared across the desert.”

“So much so,” he went on, “that other tribes stopped attacking us. We are larger and stronger people than most, and that, combined with the fighting skills we once possessed, dissuaded others from attacking us. Everyone left us alone. Then for many years we lived in safety and grew soft as a result. It was made even worse when our royals reduced our raiding of other tribes for slaves as they believed that would only cause others to raid us in turn.”

“Then, when I was a child,” the Halim continued, “other tribes like you Ghazi, began to raid us. Instead of training our tribe to fight again, the then Crown Prince believed that fleeing was safer than fighting. The Royal family persuaded others to remain passive and train themselves in running in order to escape raiders. They argued that in a fight some always died and some were always captured, but that by fleeing some would be captured but none would die. That worked for a time as raiding tribes tended not to disguise their attacks. We would all flee and only the slowest would be taken. Because we Halim are generally taller and have longer legs than most, our training made us fast runners, indeed,”

“Later, however, as I became older the raiding tribes planned their attacks more carefully and were often upon us before most could get away. We began to have more of our people taken captive but still our prince counseled fleeing instead of fighting. The real fact is that he is a coward and afraid to fight, and I believe that he feared losing his crown to a true warrior if he allowed us to train for fighting,” the Guard concluded.

“Interesting,” mused the Captain, “But how is it that you and your friend here seem willing to fight to the death rather than being taken prisoner?”

“Some of us realized the folly of the royals and began training to fight in secret,” the guard answered. “Unfortunately we were discovered and as punishment given the task of guarding the two princesses, there, that you appear to have set out to catch for some reason of your own.”

“Given your apparent disdain for the princesses, I believe that you will approve of our plans for them,” the Captain said smiling toward the two girls who, by this time, had been gagged and were being fitted with locking collars, the nets having been cut and pulled down around their shoulders. The collars were like the one that Najya had used on the male slave when she rode him and each had a pair of manacles dangling on short chains.

“But there is something more important than the intended use we have for these slaves,” the Captain said returning his attention to the guards. “What do you think we should do with you? As I said earlier, I can’t let you go to organize a pursuit.”

“And to kill us will cost lives besides ours, possibly even your own, Captain,” the Halim said smiling. “Perhaps there might be a compromise. My friend and I have lost our respect for our Prince.”

“We believe that true men and women fight rather than allowing themselves to be taken as slaves. Until the Halim have a prince or a princess such as the Ghazi have that believes in fighting rather than running, we can no longer be Halim,” the guard said sadly.

“What are you saying, then, that you are without a tribe?” The Captain asked with some incredulity.

“We are saying that we would ask to join the Ghazi with certain provisions.”

“Isn’t that right, Samir?” The leader of the two who had so far done all of the talking asked the other Halim.

“Yes, that is what we are asking,” the other guard replied solemnly.

“And just what might these provisions be?” The Captain asked.

“There are only a few,” the first guard said. “We would ask to serve as warriors for the Ghazi and be fully trained in the ways of fighting. We will fight and raid for the Ghazi against all other tribes, but ask to be excused from fighting or raiding the Halim. And lastly, should the Halim ever again become a proud fighting tribe, that we be allowed freely to return to them with an oath never to fight against the Ghazi ever afterwards.”

“Halim, your proposal sounds very interesting to me. Were it my decision, I believe that I would accept it,” the captain replied. “However, the decision is not mine, but that of our Princess Najya. What I can offer is my guarantee of safe passage to our encampment bearing your arms and an audience with the Princess to present your proposal. What say you?”

“I say, yes captain. I accept your offer on the honor of a warrior,” the first guard stated emphatically.

“And you?” The Captain asked turning to face the second guard.

“I say yes as well, sir,” the second guard stated with equal conviction.

Glancing around at the rest of his men he asked. “Do all here accept my decision and our guarantee of safe passage? If any do not, speak now.”

By this time the men had finished fastening the two girls with their manacled wrists fastened to their collars with foot long chains. They were in the process of pulling their feet free of the netting and putting shackles on their ankles connected with under three feet of chain. The girls would be able to walk but not run or kick. The girls’ shoes were not removed.

All ten of the Ghazi warriors had seen the willingness to fight and die in the eyes of the two Halim guards, and felt the same honor among warriors that the captain had felt. All nodded or voiced their assent. They had not really wanted to kill the two Halim guards, and were also well aware that they would not have been the only ones to die.

“Good, then,” said the Captain. “That’s settled. We have what we came for, so let’s be on our way. The Princess is waiting for these two.”

Then, turning to the Halim guards he asked. “How are you called?”

“I am Azzam,” said the first guard.

“And I am called Samir, replied the second.

“Very good,” said the Captain. “My name is Makin, and I will introduce the others as soon as we have our two prizes, here, on the other side of the landslide. Earlier, you offered to help us chain them for travel. Would you like to help us get them past the landslide? There is a passage under and around it that we will show you.”

Now the capture nets had been removed from the two girls and they were standing chained with leashes on their collars being held by two of the Ghazi warriors.

“We would be most happy to help with them, but they don’t seem quite ready for travel, yet,” Samir said smiling at the two girls with revenge in his eyes.

“Oh,” said the Captain. “What else do you think we need to do to get them ready?”

“Strip them, of course!” Both Azzam and Samir answered in unison.



To be continued.