Holiday Highlights

I awoke at the sound of a door being opened, but it seemed I must have turned over in my sleep because the sound was coming from behind me! I opened my eyes but could see nothing at all... until the opening door let some light in. By now I was awake enough to know, by the position of the ring shackling my ankle, that I was still facing the same way as last night, so the door had indeed opened in the side of the cell opposite its entrance from my Mistress' room. That entrance, I saw, was now not only barred, but also shut by the panel that had concealed it at first.

Twisting around to face this new entrance, I saw that it was also barred, and beyond it was the face -- and naked body -- of a crew slave I recognized. "Morning, slave!" he said quietly but cheerfully, "I've come to fetch you for the loan your Mistress has agreed to give to Lord and Lady Ruthven. Up on your feet!" I obeyed, a bit stiffly from the cramped position I'd slept in, and he opened the barred door and reached in to release my ankle shackle.

My Mistress had closed that padlock herself last night, I thought, so if a crew slave had the key to open it, she must be aware of this. With this verification of his words, I willingly obeyed the crew slave's instructions to leave the cell and follow him. We walked along a narrow, dimly-lit tunnel for some little distance: I noticed more doors like the one I'd come through, and my companion volunteered a confirmation of my guesses about them.

"Each door is for a cell in a guest room," he said. "This enables slaves to be provided for the guests, directly from the slave quarters, and they can be returned without disturbing the guest's sleep." Just then we emerged into a large room, lined with cells in much the same way as the unaccompanied slave quarters on the ship. Most were occupied by slaves, singly or in pairs, some unshackled, others shackled or bound, but all quite naked -- as I expected!

There were sounds of movement and chatter, but quite subdued. As we walked past the cells, some of their occupants waved or greeted me cheerfully when they recognized me. Other slaves were moving about outside the cells, and putting bowls of food into them through hatches. The sight and smell of the food made me realize how hungry I was, and my hunger was satisfied a little later after I was allowed to wash and so on.

I'd nearly finished my breakfast when, to my surprise and pleasure, Helen was brought in and given something to eat, too. Before attacking her plate with gusto, she asked me if I'd spent the night in the cells rather than with my Mistress. "Not exactly," I told her, and went on to describe the cell in the room and the tunnel it opened on.

"Oh, that's different," she commented between mouthfuls. "There's no cell like that in my officer's room, just a concealed door opening directly into the tunnel. I only found out when the phone woke us up this morning: Officer Paul answered, listened for a moment, and said, 'Yes, of course, immediately!' Still almost half asleep, he said to me, 'OK, slave, that's enough comfort for you! It's time to join your fellow crew slaves in their quarters: go kneel in that corner and go through the door when it opens.'

"I think he was asleep again," she giggled, "even before the panel in the wall slid aside! I crawled through and found the slave overseer waiting to bring me here. It's lovely to see you, though: are you going to sample the life of the crew slaves?"

"Not really," I replied. "I was told that I'm being lent to Lady Ruthven."

"That includes both of you," said the slave overseer, coming up at that moment. (The interruption, unfortunately, prevented me from asking Helen to tell me what Officer Paul and she had done last night after leaving us!) "Lord Ruthven wants to exercise his 'droit de signeur', girl," he went on with a smile, "but I gather that he and his Lady have decided to include your guest slave in some of the fun he plans to have with you today. Come along now!"

His manner was good-natured, but he clearly expected to be obeyed. Helen, who I remembered had not heard what was said last night about the 'droit de signeur', looked a little confused for a moment: but she recovered quickly, grinned at me and said, "I don't know about you, Peter, but now I'm officially a crew slave, I better do what I'm told: he's wearing the overseer's collar, and the crew slavery rules say that he must be obeyed as if he's an officer!"

The overseer grinned, too. "Good slave-girl!" he said. "You've learned your first lesson well. As for you," he went on to me, "you're not really subject to the same rules, so you could disobey if you wanted: I'd simply have to report you to your owner to deal with!"

This threat wasn't really necessary, because I'd already decided to obey: besides, it gave me a chance to spend a little more time with my beloved Helen! Our wrists were again handcuffed behind us, and we followed the overseer outside, where we found it was quite early morning, and the air was brisk enough to make our nakedness feel a little cold. The overseer assured us, with a broad smile, that he was sure we wouldn't be feeling the cold for long!

Suddenly I noticed something and, aware that slaves were allowed to speak to each other freely, I asked the overseer why he was wearing a collar, but Helen wasn't. "Collars are only needed," he replied, "when it's important to identify slave by their duties or functions. On board ship, all slaves have specified functions, unless they're on loan as unaccompanied slaves: but here, only we overseers need to be identified, especially for the other slaves. All the other slaves are just slaves here, with no specific duties -- except to help the officers relax between their tours of duty on board ship!... and to obey us overseers, of course!" he added with a meaningful grin at Helen.

Helen asked a question, too: "This 'droit de signeur'... I know what it means, but... do I have any choice? I mean, Lord Ruthven seems pretty old..."

The overseer's grin faded. "Does the agreement you signed," he asked seriously, "say anything about the age of the officers you're willing to submit your body to?... No?... Well, perhaps you should have thought of that first, if it bothers you. It is possible to apply for a change of your conditions, if something really unexpected arises, but you need a pretty convincing reason: and in this case, I'm sure the officers would consider it quite insulting to Lord Ruthven, if you objected to him for his age alone; even if they agreed, I'd bet you'd have to accept a very severe penalty indeed!"

"I don't think you should worry too much, Helen," I chimed in, wanting to reasuure her. "Yesterday, I saw Lord Ruthven giving attention to a lot of slaves -- females and males, myself included! -- and we all seemed to enjoy it a great deal!" Looking relieved, Helen smiled and murmured that, if I felt that way, she was sure it would be OK.

And it certainly was -- at least the part of it that I was involved in! The overseer led us into a lovely little courtyard, open on the side facing the morning sun and sheltered from any breezes: the other three sides were entirely glass, which reflected the sunlight and maintained a comfortable warmth, even for us naked slaves. Helen and I were soon fastened by our handcuffs to two posts, and then we were left alone.

But not for long. We'd been positioned facing the expanse of glass directly opposite the sun, and it seemed to be from the centre of its dazzling reflection that Lord Ruthven's unmistakable voice suddenly spoke! "Well, m'dear," it said, "what a lovely sight on a lovely morning! Our brand-new slave-girl and our guest slave, waiting here just to provide us with a little fun to start our day!"

There was something about this voice speaking out of the glare, something with a startling psychological effect: it was as if the sun itself was speaking to us, and it seemed to me to re-emphasize the supreme place held by Lord Ruthven and his Lady, as well as the utterly opposite place we slaves occupied in the scheme of things. Nor was this effect much lessened when the glass panel at the very centre of the glare moved aside -- hardly diminishing the dazzle at all! -- and Lord and Lady Ruthven emerged to confront us smilingly.

They were both impeccably dressed, in exactly the kind of clothes that one might expect to see the aristocracy wear when inspecting their estates. In this case, however, they were inspecting us : almost as if the bright light of day gave them a better look at her, they re-examined Helen's naked body with their eyes and proprietary hands, commenting to each other in their cultured voices -- but using the most vulgar and explicit terms! -- on what a fine creature she was, and what a valuable addition to the crew. Then they turned to me and repeated the exercise: and, since neither of them had spent more than a few moments on me yesterday, this inspection and its acompanying handling were even more thorough and humiliatingly intimate than Helen's!

Their 'inspections' over, they proceeded to spend the next two hours or so amusing themsleves with us. The courtyard -- they called it a 'playground' -- was adequately and cleverly equipped with things that could be used for the restraint of naked slave bodies, and they made skillful use of most of them. Helen and I found ourselves bound in a variety of ways, all intended to provide our 'tormentors' with easy access to our nakedness, which they used with obvious enjoyment!

Nor were they the only ones who enjoyed it. Helen and I enjoyed their attentions, too: as well as the exciting sensations of bound helplessness that I love so much -- and I knew Helen did too -- the touch of Lord and Lady Ruthven's hands was anything but unpleasant! And the enjoyment was also shared by others: soon after things got started, most of the glass doors around us were opened to reveal a sunny U-shaped breakfast room! A succession of officers took their breakfast there, served of course by naked slaves and idly watching the 'show' provided.

It was no surprise, of course, to see my Mistress and Officer Paul arrive for their breakfast, towards the end of the 'show'. I guessed they'd slept late, after the activities and excitements of the previous day and evening, and I have to admit that I was inordinately pleased to see my Mistress and know that she was taking an interest in what was happening to me. Co-incidentally -- or perhaps not? -- they arrived just in time for what turned out to be the 'finale' of the performance that Helen and I were the 'stars' of.

Saying that Helen's training to be a crew slave would be a little like breaking in a horse, Lord and Lady Ruthven proceeded to demonstrate the latter in a bizarre way. I was positioned close to a post in the centre of the playground', with only a short chain between my ankle cuffs and around the post keeping me there; at first, I thought this was just to keep me out of the way of what was being done with Helen. Unshackled but for cuffs holding her wrists behind her back, she was fitted with a collar, to which was attached a long rope. Lady Ruthven held the other end of that rope and, taking up a position close to me, made Helen move in a circle around us as she responded to the gentle goading of Lord Ruthven wielding a long coach-whip.

It was a little like an untrained filly being broken, and Helen entered into the spirit of things by tossing her head, stamping her feet and sometimes refusing -- if only for a moment -- to obey Lord Ruthven's instructions. She circled the perimeter of the playground several times, and jumped over the 'hurdles' placed in her path, once or twice pretending to baulk at the obstacles. Lord and Lady Ruthven, of course, circled me at the same time, otherwise the long rope would have become hopelessly entangled.

Suddenly, on one of Helen's circuits, I became aware of something different; it took me a moment to realize that Lady Ruthven must have attached the end of the rope to the post I stood beside, because it began to wrap around me! As Helen continued her circling, Lady Ruthven carefully controlled the way it slowly bound my naked body to the post, and ensured that it wound quite tightly. By the time the rope was short enough to bring Helen face to face with me, its multiple turns around me -- from my knees to my shoulders -- had effectively made me part of the post!

Helen was breathing quickly when she finally faced me from a distance of a few inches, partly from her exertions but also, I suspect, from a suspicion of what was about to happen. For the latter reason, I was excited too, and my cock stood up hard, as if trying to bridge the small gap between us; then even that gap vanished....

Standing to each side of us and with a skill clearly born of long parctice, Lord and Lady Ruthven rapidly passed two more long ropes around and around us, starting near our feet and ending at our necks. They pulled each turn tight, until our naked bodies were pressed together as if we were never to part: Helen's luscious breasts were crushed against my chest, my cock was squeezed snugly -- and excitingly! -- between our bellies, and at last even our lips were forced to touch... not that we minded, let me tell you!

Nor did Lord and Lady Ruthven mind, either! "You may kiss, slaves," they told us, as the final turn of the ropes was passed around our heads and tied off to the pole behind me. Helen and I needed no second invitation, and soon our tongues were exploring each other's mouths, with all the passion of lovers who knew that this might be our last chance for a long time!

There was a smattering of applause from the watching breakfasters, and the 'show' was over. My Mistress and Officer Paul now joined Lord and Lady Ruthven, and the four of them chatted for a few minutes, the former complimenting the latter on the imaginativeness of their bondage, and the latter saying what attractive and submissive slaves the former owned. All this time, four pairs of hands roamed up and down Helen's and my naked bodies, feeling the tightness of the many turns of rope around us, and causing thrills of excitement to run through us as they touched the flesh between the rope.

Finally, Lord Ruthven said to my Mistress, "I want to thank you for the loan of your slave for our little amusement this morning. But I guess you'd like to be on your way soon; as for me..." His voice took on a tone of sensual anticipation: ".... I want to spend some time alone with our new crew slave! However, I understand that she and your slave are quite fond of each other, so I think we might indulge them a little..."

As he spoke, he and Lady Ruthven rapidly unwound the ropes holding Helen and me together, and the one binding me to the post; finally, he unshackled Helen's wrists, and Lady Ruthven released my ankles from the post. "Say 'au revoir' to your friend, slave-girl," he said gently, obviously sensitive to what this moment might mean to us.

Helen and I simply stood and looked at each other for several long seconds, neither of us able to say a word. Suddenly Helen almost threw herself at me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and clamped her lips to mine; my arms went around her lovely body and clasped it to my own, as tightly as the ropes had bound them a few moments before. I felt the warm wetness of her tears as they flowed from her cheeks on to mine, where they mingled with a few tears of my own.

We made the most of Lord Ruthven's 'indulgence', and seemed almost to withdraw into a cocoon of our own. At the same time, however, I was quite aware that we hadn't been allowed complete privacy to say our farewells -- a fact that was only too well emphasised by the way more than one pair of hands joined mine in their caressing of Helen's lovely nakedness! -- but it didn't seem to bother me at all. After all, I found myself thinking, we're only slaves, and such privacy is a luxury we can't expect to enjoy.

At last Lord Ruthven gently but firmly drew Helen from me. She was dry-eyed by now, and enough in control of herself to simply give me a brilliant smile and say, just a little unsteadily, "Au revior, Peter," before Lord Ruthven made her turn to my Mistress to say farewell to her too. My Mistress assured her very seriously that we would both be seeing her again: Helen said fervently, "Soon, I hope, Mistress Tina!" and, taking a deep breath and with a last look into my eyes, she turned to Lord Ruthven.

"Thank you, m'Lord," she said firmly and very humbly, "for letting us say 'au revoir' in our own way. I'm ready now, and I want to try and please you as much as I can!" Lord Ruthven gave her a smile full of warm approval and, without another word -- he'd already said farewell to my Mistress -- clipped a leash to Helen's collar and led her away. Obediently, almost eagerly, she followed, and didn't even glance back.

Officer Paul was the next to say his farewells, saying that he had a lot of things to learn before the next cruise. He and my Mistress promised to keep in touch as often as possible; in particular, they both vowed that Helen and I would be ordered "... to write to each other frequently, under pain of severe punishment!" Finally, only Lady Ruthven was left with my Mistress and me, and she walked with us to where our car was waiting, the luggage already loaded by crew slaves.

My Mistress invited her to put on the cock-ring she wanted me to wear for the journey. She clearly enjoyed forcing the rings over my still semi-hard organ and locking the tight ring behind my balls: I enjoyed her attentions, too, so much so that my cock was soon rigid and purple in its constricting rings. Nor was that situation helped by her taking a last opportunity to run her hands sensually over most of my naked body.

"Well, slave," she smiled at me, "I do hope you've enjoyed your short stay with us! Maybe sometime I'll have a chance to spend some more time with you: I'm sure we could have some great fun!" Without waiting for an answer, she turned to my Mistress and said, "But I musn't keep you; you must be anxious to be off."

"Into the car, slave!" my Mistress ordered quietly, before she and Lady Ruthven made their farewells. I obeyed, of course, but I couldn't help wondering whether she planned for me to stay stark naked for the whole journey! When she at last got in and we drove off, I started to think about saying something in protest, but seemed to find it hard to summon up the courage.

I was glad I didn't. When we reached the gate through which I'd entered in the bus yesterday, my Mistress stopped the car: calmly and quite matter-of-factly, she ordered me to put on the clothes I'd left in the bin there! They were a little crumpled, but at least I knew I wouldn't be arrested for indecency.

"Well, slave, that's the end of this holiday!" she said when I was dressed: she moved into the passenger seat, and motioned for me to drive. I obeyed and, as we went out of the big gate and along the road home, she began to chat about the experiences I'd had on this cruise. I answered her questions as fully and frankly as I could, but it was some time before I began to suspect that she was leading up to something more significant than idle conversation.

When she'd finally quizzed me about my feelings during Helen's initiation as a crew slave, she commented idly, "That was the end of her holiday, too, wasn't it? Now she'll have to work like a slave, as the saying goes! Maybe you envy her a bit, eh?"

"Perhaps a little, Mistress," I replied truthfully, "but not really: I'm just happy to be your slave, for as long as I can please you."

"I'm glad to hear it," she responded drily and, almost as an afterthought, added, "You can be sure that Helen isn't the only slave whose holidays are over for a while: from now on, far from being 'Slaves on Vacation', it'll be more like 'Slaves at Hard Labour'!"

She didn't elaborate, and said nothing at all for a long while, leaving me to make what I could of her last statement. It wasn't hard to guess that she had something unexpected lined up for me: but, whatever it was, I had the strongest feeling that it was going to be exciting and enjoyable!