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+++++++ Chapter Three 1860 to 1890 Eastern Europe.+++++++++++++
++++++++++ Wherein I acquire the lovely Victoria +++++++++++++++++
Synopsis: Piotor is a vampire who needs a pint of fresh blood each month to rejuvenate his deteriorating blood. He abducts young women for their blood and sex.
My need for fresh blood became demanding so I hitched up the old wagon and began a journey to a place distant enough that a disappearance wouldn’t be connected to me and my mansion. Along the way I filled my wagon with vegetables and kept going for a hundred miles to another village. I found the market place and began selling my turnips and potatoes out of the back of my wagon, earning a tidy profit during the day and sleeping in the wagon at night. Many people came to buy from me and several girls caught my eye but no opportunity arose for anything more than flirting. Several were young and pretty but I bided my time. I didn’t get this old by being reckless. My vegetables were running low and I was considering making a round trip to get more when a girl came up to my wagon just at dusk.
She asked “Do you have any corn?”
I said “No, all I have left are these few turnips.”
We chatted a bit about fresh corn on the cob while I checked the streets and studied her. She was pretty and maybe 20 years old with a trim figure. I couldn’t tell what her hair was like because she had it done up in a satisfyingly large bun on top of her head. She said her name was Victoria Venecki and she lived on a small farm outside of town. I asked if I could park my gypsy wagon on her land and sleep in it tonight. She agreed and even offered some grain and a stall for my horses. I stayed with her for a few days and even sold some of her garden produce from the back of my wagon. After a few days she invited me to sup with her which I gladly accepted.
When I knocked on her door she opened it and what I saw took my breath away. She was wearing a filmy dress which showed me her curvaceous body. Her hair fell loose and free down her back. My heart started beating faster as I joined her at the dinner table. It was obvious she had spent some time preparing it. I was so taken with her that I made up my mind right then to make her mine tonight. As we were clearing up the table I threw an arm around her waist and forced her down to the floor where I tied her hands behind her back and slipped a fat cloth gag into her mouth with a small towel knotted in back of her head. She tried to squirm away from me when I ran my hand under her dress and stroked her breast. I grasped her nipple between my thumb and forefinger and squeezed it. Her face contorted and she made an “Oooohhhh!” sound. I said “Stop resisting me and I will let go.” She became still so I let her nipple go.
I put out the fire and gathered a few of her clothes into a burlap bag. She and the bag both ended up lying on the floor in the gypsy wagon. My horses were still harnessed so I leisurely turned them around and after bypassing the town, set out on the road back to my mansion. I dared not stop with her moans and feeble cries coming from inside my wagon so I just kept riding; only stopping for food and water and bodily functions. We rode for a couple of days before pulling up in front of my mansion.
By that time I was bone tired and only capable of leading her inside and hobbling her before I fell asleep. The next morning I awoke with a jerk and imagined she had escaped. But there she was, lying on the floor looking disheveled and angry.
I was pretty anxious to replenish my blood with hers so I wrestled her onto my padded table and strapped her wrists down. Next I removed her dress and underclothing. Finally I secured her feet with leather straps and removed the last bit of clothing from her top. I was not disappointed. She had a figure that was made for my pleasure. Her breasts were large and firm and hips were wide with a narrow waist. I carefully removed the last pins from her hair and combed it down her back where it reached the top of her plump ass. After gagging her I drained a pint and gulped down her fresh blood. It was bright red in color and rather thin. Slouching in a plush chair I watched her and she watched me, although I think my view was better than hers.
She presented an annoyingly resistant manner but I had practice in subduing raucous colts and females. She would not bend willingly to my will so I prepared for a long campaign of breaking her.
Draining her blood and having intense rough sex would cover two of my needs. I didn’t hold back and mounted her whenever I felt like it. She was still strapped down to the table so I fed her from a plate. I took my time so she would be impressed with how much her life depended on me. Once or twice a day I tied a rope around her neck and freed her long enough to attend to her bodily needs and clean herself. When dusk came I led her to my bedroom and trussed up her hands and ankles before putting her into one side of the bed. I held her most of the night but occasionally woke up feeling sexual and forced myself into her pussy. At first she objected but after a week or so she simply accepted that she was going to be raped several times in the day or night. After all she was bound up like a chicken on a spit and couldn’t very well refuse me. Lying there with her wondrous body nestled next to me I considered what I wanted. I decided I would train her to be my perfect sex animal. I didn’t want her to become an object but rather a woman who knew her rightful place in my scheme. I would start teaching and changing her the next day. My goal was to end up with an animal that had no thoughts of escaping but rather awaited my requirements. Much like a well trained farm dog like a sheep dog.
With this in mind I began training Victoria in the skills which would be among her assets. First I would concentrate on physical ability. Her body was not getting the vertical exercise it needed so to this end I began converting the basement from junk storage to training room. Trotting would firm up her leg muscles to a pleasing shape. At first I ordered her to trot in a circle around the open space in the center of the basement. After she attempted to dart up the stairs I tied a long rope to the huge beam that was in the center of the ceiling and tied a loose loop around her neck. Using the buggy whip I got her up to a trot in a circle. If she slowed, a flick of the buggy whip got her back on track. At first she could only trot for five or six minutes before gasping for breath. After a few months I gradually increased her trotting time to half an hour. This training also had an emotional element. Trotting in a circle completely under my control embedded my ownership into her.
After her half hour of trotting she was pretty sweaty so I gave her a bath. I tied her hands in front of her and after undressing her assisted her into my large bathtub. Using a soft cloth and a mild soap I rubbed down her long legs, flat stomach and large breasts, carefully lifting each breast so I could rub the underside. Finally I sponged her neck and face. By this time her hair was soapy wet at the bottom end and sweaty on the other. I held her tied wrists and slowly lowered her into the water so her hair was totally immersed. I then poured shampoo into the wet mop and worked it in, alternately squeezing and then dipping it back into the water until it was clean. I helped her to her feet and rinsed her mane with warm water from a reserved bucket. More water poured over her shoulders left the last of soap and shampoo disappearing down the drain. Using Egyptian cotton towels I first wrapped her long mane of hair up in one towel then dried her body with several others. After lovingly rubbing her entire body, paying special attention to her plump ass, pussy and ample breasts she closed her eyes and smiled as I heaped attention on every inch of her skin. Finally I turned her so her back was toward me and patted her hair until it was only slightly damp. While drying it I carefully combed my fingers through her locks so it wouldn’t tangle.
When I was satisfied with her appearance I untied her wrists long enough to envelope her exquisite figure in a thick bathrobe and pulled her lengthy hair to the outside. By now I was quite stimulated by feeling so much skin, hair and face. I noticed she was breathing hard and undulating slightly under my petting.
I led her to my bedroom and laid her face down on the bed. I untied her wrists and roped each one to opposite bedposts at the head of the bed. I then knelt over her well shaped legs and ran my hands over her back and shoulders without pause. I slowly eased my cock just barely into her pussy and held it there while I tugged gently or not so gently on her beautiful mane. She looked absolutely lovely as she undulated underneath me and coaxed me to enter her more deeply. We enjoyed slow delectable sex until we were both sated and spent. I untied both her wrists and she wrapped her arms and legs around me so as to completely envelop me in her soft smooth flesh.
I decided to add sexual prowess to her list of accomplishments by teaching her the subtle skills of sucking my cock. She had never done this until I persuaded her to pleasure me with her mouth and even then she was reluctant and didn’t seem to enjoy it.
The next time I ordered her to suck my cock she turned her head to the side until I held a handful of her hair tightly and forced her to face my cock. I told her to open her mouth and after a few second of hesitation she did so but without enthusiasm. I thrust into her mouth and ordered her to use her lips and slide it in and out.
I said “You are not very good, are you?”
She said “I don’t like the taste and I don’t know any other way.”
Although I had utilized the wheel to drag her head up and down she had not willingly engaged with any vigor.
I didn’t intend to allow her to masturbate me so I ordered her to kneel while I tied her hands behind her back. I gave her instructions to only use her lips and not her teeth because that would irritate me. She did so and it was difficult for me to think rationally but I was determined to bring her technical skill up to an average level today. As her head bobbed up and down I instructed her to use more or less lip pressure and to vary the speed with which my cock disappeared and reappeared from her mouth. After several minutes I could hold out no more. I gripped a fistful of her hair just behind her head and thrust into her mouth with greater and greater force until I climaxed. I held my cock in her mouth for a few seconds and then pulled it out. She spit the contents of her mouth to the floor and licked her lips. I praised her and stroked her hair while telling her how well she sucked my cock. She smiled slightly and appeared to enjoy my praise and attention.
After practicing this for a dozen times or so I told her “It’s time you learned how to take all of me down your throat.” I told her this meant that my cock would go down her throat a ways until her lips pressed against my abdomen. She fearfully protested that she couldn’t breathe while her gullet was jammed full. I promised not to stay down her for very long but insisted she begin practicing with a carrot. At first I gave her a small one she could handle easily and gradually built up to larger and larger size. I watched her practice for five or six minutes the first day and gradually increased the time by a few minutes each day, pausing if she gagged. Every time she pushed the carrot down her throat she made a sound like “Gaug! Ulp”. I enjoyed the sounds she made and found it excited me even more. At the end of a couple weeks she could maintain the thing lodged in her throat for a minute at a time. I loved to watch this and felt gratified when she learned to house this produce in her throat so thoroughly. I then substituted my cock for the carrot but allowed her to control how long I was inserted by using her hands. After a week or so my cock was enjoying the same leisurely time in her throat as the carrot. So far I had not ejaculated down her throat but had filled her mouth with the essence of me.
Now it was time for her to swallow all of my liquid. I looked forward to this because it meant I could maintain the pleasurable pressure on my cock while I climaxed. The first time I filled her throat she gagged a bit but I had instructed her to swallow it or suffer punishment. Surprisingly it went well with only a few grunts and coughs. I had left her hands free so she wouldn’t panic. But the next time I tied her hands behind her back and tied her ankles together. Next I tied a rope between her ankles and wrists and pulled it tight. She said “No! No! Please don’t.” I said “open your mouth.” When it was open I slipped my cock in and this time she obediently closed her lips on it and began bobbing her head back and forth. It didn’t take long before I felt myself losing control and I started pushing all the way down her throat. Her eyes got huge and pleaded with me to stop while she shook her head back and forth begging for mercy. I unloaded anyway and when I pulled out she coughed and railed “NO! No! Never again!” This was not acceptable so I told her “You will never deny me.” She would be punished just as I had promised. I pulled her to her feet and dragged her into the spare bedroom where all my furniture waited.
I observed that she kept her mouth tightly closed to bar me entrance into her intriguing organ. She had much too much control over her mouth. After all, wasn’t it my mouth to play with?
She saw where I was taking her and begged “No, No, I’ll be a good girl! Please don’t hurt me, Please, Please. “
Her touching pleas stirred my pity but I was determined that she progress along my chosen path.
I searched through the house and barn to find something which would show her I meant business. Out in the field I found a cow’s horn which had lain there for some time and was pretty well dried out. I took it back to the barn and cleaned it out thoroughly then rounded the widest part with some sandpaper. When Victoria saw me carrying the horn her eyes got wide and she asked “Wh-what are you going to do with that?” I grabbed her hair and pressed the small tip of the horn between her lips and against her teeth until she opened her mouth. I pushed the small tip between her teeth and drew the horn across her face which pried her teeth far apart. When the wide open end of the horn was between her teeth I turned it and wiggled it back and forth until it entered her mouth. I kept pushing it in until her jaw would open no further. She looked pretty grotesque with a horn sprouting from her mouth. I told her to hold it in her mouth until I gave her permission to take it out. She refused and using her tongue, pushed it out where it fell to the floor. “Hhmmm, needs work.” I said.
I left Victoria there and went back to my workshop. I drilled two small holes a few inches away from the wide opening and pushed a leather shoelace through each hole and tied a knot in the inside of the horn, leaving the ends dangling. Returning to Victoria again I ordered her “Open up”. She did so apprehensively. I inserted the wide open end into her mouth again but this time I pulled the shoestrings to the back of her head and cinched them up tight. There was a lot of horn in her mouth. I was pleased with the result and left her like that for an hour or so. When I untied the straps and removed the horn she bitterly cursed me and screamed. I said “Still don’t have your lesson learned.” I said. Gripping her hair behind her head again I pried her mouth open and pushed the wide end of the horn into her mouth and secured it with the straps. I pulled on her upper and lower lips to make certain they weren’t pinched between teeth and horn. Although I could see her jaws were pried wide open I could not see teeth or her tongue so after an hour I untied the horn and taking it to my workshop sawed off all but a hands width, leaving a bony ring. I returned this to Victoria’s mouth and was pleased to see her tongue and throat were exposed and gaping. Although she could not close her lips the visibility of her tongue gave me an idea. I forced her into a kneeling position and tied her wrists and ankles together directly in front of a chair. I got naked and sat in the chair with my rigid member sticking out. I gripped a handful of hair on each side of her head and ordered her “Start licking my cock”. Her tongue appeared from the cave of her mouth and slid from the bottom to the top of my cock. I instructed her to vary her tongue work by circling my head with her tongue. This had the pleasant effect of bouncing my cock up and down and stimulated it into even more rigidity. I kept her at it until her tongue was tired and sore. Eventually I withdrew my cock and asked her “Who does your tongue belong to?”
“The tongue inside my mouth belongs to you, Sir.” She said.
Since my cock was slimy with her spittle it took me no time to lay her face up on the bed and insert into her pussy without hesitation. I squeezed her breasts and watched her tongue wander around inside her mouth. I held her by her breast and pushed as hard as I could into her pussy and start pumping in and out. I came like a waterfall inside her. After resting I untied the thongs and slid the horn ring out of her mouth. She waggled her jaw back and forth to relieve the cramping while watching me fearfully.
In order to make a point I chose a sudden and sharp punishment with a rod. “Spare the rod and spoil the child” I thought to myself. I had purchased a massive old dining table and padded it with a couple of quilts from the same sale. I ordered her to lie face down on it while I roped her wrists and ankles securely to all four corners. I turned her face to one side and pulled her mane of brown hair out of her face and let it hang over the end like a waterfall. She made a beautiful picture so helpless and soft. I slid my hands over her skin from her ankles to her neck. I picked up a tree sprout I had stripped and dried. When she saw it she became silent and resigned to what was coming. I made sure she spent some time staring at it in dread before I started on her legs. At the first blow she tried to raise her legs but although they had a little slack she could only beat them up and down. I didn’t want to leave long lasting marks so I only hit her hard enough to cause yelps and shrieks. I moved up her thighs and continued hitting her on her plump round ass a few times. Finally I gave her the last few on her shoulders. She was crying and pouring tears onto the quilts. Even after I stopped beating her she continued crying and whimpering for several minutes while I enjoyed listening to her.
I stared into her eyes and said”Do you need to spend more time being punished?”
“No sir, No sir, I promise I will be good from now one.” she blurted.
From the expression on her face I concluded we had turned a corner.
Just to be cruel to her and test her resolve I said “Open your mouth.” She snapped her mouth wide open and held it gaping at me. I left her like that for a couple minutes then I allowed her to close it, satisfied that she would obey me instantly from now on.
After several more minutes of snuffling I asked her “What have you learned from this?”
Jerkily she said “I will take your cock as deep in my throat as you want to go and I will swallow every drop.” “And I will accept it without any hesitation.”
“Good” I said. “I will leave you here long enough for you to think about what you can do for me to make my pleasure even more memorable.”
“There, I thought.” “That will keep her mind occupied for a while.”
Although I had been concentrating on her training I began to notice that she came to me more and more willingly. I had assumed she entertained me because she would be whipped or beaten if she didn’t. But now I only had to crook my finger and she came right up to me watching my eyes so she could guess what I wanted her to do. This was certainly an agreeable change to her manner. I thought “Just think! She will willingly do anything I tell her to do.” This set my head awhirl with imagined thoughts.
When I went to the nearest town my only choice for Victoria was to tie her hand and foot to assure she would be there when I returned. Often her hands would be cold and have no feeling so I began to consider other, more humane ways to retain her. The basement had plenty of room but the doors were flimsy and the windows were not much better. In my checkered past I had spent a short time in jail and remembered how secure it was. I measured with string the width and breadth of a corner. It would only require the addition of two more walls to make it escape proof. Accordingly I took my string and rode on horseback to the blacksmiths shop. I told him I was expanding my stable and described what I wanted including a hinged door. He gave me a price and said it would be ready at the end of the week. When the week was up I rode my flat bed farm wagon in to pick up the pieces and pay the smithy. I hauled them through the wide cellar door and affixed them to the walls and each other with bolts. I now had what appeared to be a jail cell made up of bars with a door in front and two walls of stone. I equipped it with a rug and a single bed. A bucket would have to do for a toilet and a big jar for clean water. I tested it the next day.
I told Victoria I was going to the next farm and would be gone for several hours. I walked her into the cell and locked the door with a key. Then I left and ostentatiously rode a horse away from my mansion. I simply rode a short away and dismounted. Walking back with the horse I found a tree to sit under and eat a lunch I had packed while I watched my mansion for signs of escape. Nothing stirred so I rode back and freed Victoria from her cell.
Since the bars were very sturdy I could incorporate it into my bag of tricks. I placed Victoria against the bars with her back to them. Using a rope I wrapped her left wrist straight out from her side. Her right wrist was next and soon it too was sticking straight out. I tied her ankles to the bottoms of the bars so her legs were spread slightly and stepping back I had an unobstructed view of her private parts. Now she was spread out and every inch of her body was available for my exploration. Leaving the door open I walked into the cell and pulled all her thick tresses straight back from her head. Splitting it into equal halves I drew each half to a bar away from her head and wrapped it around and around, then secured it with a scarf. She looked beautiful and extremely vulnerable without even her hair to conceal her luscious body. I felt giddy with pleasure as I contemplated my prize toy. Some men would hang a painting or a tapestry on their walls to enhance the beauty of their residence but I had a real girl to hang and admire. I liked it so much I left her there for most of the evening breaking up her monotony by feeding her dinner with spoon and fork and holding a glass of water up to her mouth so she could drink. Later that evening I untied her hair and limbs and took her to my bedroom so I could end this beautiful day by pleasuring myself with her tight little body. I now considered her to be similar to smoking a good cigar or a fast ride on a responsive horse or eating a juicy pear.
She seemed to be smiling and radiant most of the time now. When I told her what I planned to do with her she giggled and was ready to join in the fun. She had figured out that I liked to hear her squeal and moan under my hands. At these times she simply did not hold back but gave loud vent to her feelings of helplessness and pain.
At this time the Spanish Inquisition was winding down and many of their fiendish tools were made public. Most of them caused bloody marks or death which was not to my liking. I wanted to utilize some things which caused Victoria discomfort but not panic or hysteria. I tested her limbs to see how limber she was. Good but not above average. I added tendon stretching to her exercise regimen. I had her spend a lot of practice pulling her legs toward her shoulders until she could readily hold her legs against her shoulders without pain. I would tie her to the bed in this position which put her pussy and anus on display. Very delectable. In this constricted position I caressed her skin and played with her pussy lips until she looked forward to being secured into this vulnerable position. She would lay on the bed with her arms apart awaiting the ropes that would hold her there. She would swing her legs up and back and plead with her eyes for me to immobilize her like that. At first I tied a long rope around each ankle and slid it over her shoulders. Then by tugging on the ropes and helping her by pushing her legs further and further down she would get tighter and tighter. After much practice I told her to hold her arms straight up while I positioned her legs nearly to her armpits. Then when I stretched her arms out to the sides and over her legs she could not escape. She could barely move as I contemplated her wide open pussy and asshole. I experimented with having sex in this position. It was intoxicating! I found this so enjoyable that I made love with her in this position for the next month. I experimented with pulling her arms down to her sides or behind her back while she was doubled up. She was limited in how far she could bend but she made such a tidy little package that I couldn’t resist securing her in this position when I felt like having sex with her.
I was in a creative mood and thought that making a bit for her would be fun and useful. Accordingly I carved down an oak plank until it was roughly two inches wide and ten inches long. For the gag part I carved a phallic shaped thing three inches long and screwed it to the face of the bit. Finally I hand drilled two holes at the ends of the bit. To try it out I left her hands free so she could help adjust it. I slipped the penis part into her mouth and wriggled the whole thing into her mouth so the two inch wide bit was between her teeth. At first I tied it in place with leather thongs. Later I parted her hair in the middle and combed her hair into two thick ropes. I pushed one of her hair ropes through each hole and pulled on it until all her hair was cascading from the holes. It made a kind of ponytail look. From behind her I grasped the wads of hair hanging from the bit and pulled them back across her shoulders and left them dangling down her back. I tugged on both a little to make sure the bit was lodged firmly in her mouth. This became a great toy to play with. I could grasp both streams of hair in one hand and holding it snugly I could lead her easily from room to room. I could tie them behind her head which secured the bit so she couldn’t spit it out. But that made a tangle of her hair and is exasperating to untie so I never repeated it. I did line the holes with leather and make two half-foot long conical shaped pins which I wrapped snugly in leather. After her hair was pushed through the holes I would follow it up with the pins which locked her locks in place. If I tied her hands behind her back she was effectively gagged with her tongue held to the bottom of her mouth. It was sensual to brush the two cascades of hair until they gleamed in the light. A few times I led her into the bedroom using her locks of hair like a leash. I then looped her hair over the arms of a chandelier and tied it there. She was then tethered to the chandelier and couldn’t move or protest because of the protuberance jamming her mouth full.
For some time a fantasy had been swirling in my mind. I wanted to ride Victoria like a horse. Not on her back but with my legs straddling her and holding her hair like reins. She had been with me for about ten years and never cut her hair so it was well past the bottom of her cute plump ass. I had acquired half dozen dog collars made of stiff leather with rings sewn into them. To begin fulfilling my fantasy I put one of these straps around each of Victoria’s wrists and one around each of her ankles. I began playing with her by parting her hair in the middle and pulling it out into two fluffy chunks. Next I laid her face down in bed and hooked her wrist straps together, thereby making her helpless. First one strand of hair was pushed through her ankle bracelets then the other. I was straddling her and started tugging on each strand which pulled her head back and her ankles up. She said “It’s too tight! It hurts!” So I slacked off a bit. I liked the look of her body tensioned by her own hair. As a fitting finish I put two more straps around her elbows and passed a rope between them. By tugging on these ropes I forced her elbows toward each other. “Not too tight!” She panted. Still straddling her I released her hair then I attached her left wrist to her left ankle and her right wrist to her right ankle so that her body was arched upward at head and feet. “Ah, helpless” I thought to myself. Straddling her I started gradually easing my cock closer and closer to her pussy. Each movement brought me nearer and nearer until at last I inserted into her. As I began riding her like a horse I gripped each section of hair and pulled her head back. It was maddening to be so elated and as rigid as I was! I kept rocking her back and forth using her hair like reins. I knew it was hurting her but I just didn’t care plus her little grunts and whimpers were exciting me even more. Finally I climaxed and at that moment pulled back with all my strength. “Ahhhhhhhh” she screamed. After I started to soften I eased off on her hair but didn’t withdraw from her.
“Did you think I was a horse?” she asked.
“No” I replied. “I just like having complete control over every bit of your body”.
This scenario carried me to new heights of ecstasy so I repeated it many times thereafter. Each time it ended with my heart beating furiously and feeling that my arteries were filled with sparkling water furiously popping with bubbles. I tried this position with the oak bit in her mouth but it wasn’t as good.
I had to admit that Victoria filled my life with contentment and happiness and excitement all at the same time. I did not want to fall in love with her and become attached to her but my feelings took their own path.
I had been living in my mansion for about a decade while only leaving to conduct business or purchase supplies. On one of these trips I was amazed to find that my fortune had increased astronomically. Although most of my investments increased handsomely a few had skyrocketed. I usually put about one in ten dollars into risky ventures that looked as though they could catch on. Mostly they did. My fortune was beyond anything I ever hoped for. I was awash in income and available cash and I spent most of my time in a dark mansion with only Victoria for company. Her company was exhilarating but I wished for more. It seemed wasteful to leave all that cash lying in some bank vault.
When I returned I told Victoria I was thinking about making a trip to see more of the world. I didn’t want her to run away from me. Or for me to be running as fast as I could from a horde of villagers with torches and pickaxes. The risk of her sounding the alarm was not acceptable, yet I wanted her companionship while enjoying more of this world. With such a huge fortune I could contemplate traveling in a style which I had never experienced. Trains had too many passengers and hotels too many ears at the walls. I thought taking a cruise by ship would be nice but again the thought of being surrounded by other passengers made it too risky. I’m not that good a swimmer especially with a horde of villagers……………. But traveling by private yacht would eliminate a lot of those hindrances. It would require a crew and servants but I was sure I could figure a way around this obstacle. I espoused this idea to Victoria and she was enthusiastic. I watched her carefully to see if she had an idea of escape but I didn’t feel that.
Vampires have a very high perception of what people are thinking. Over centuries we had picked up a knack of reading faces, postures, inflection of voice, eye contact, and tone of voice. Very accurately. It didn’t do to display this skill so mostly we were silent about it. I didn’t feel any guile coming from Victoria but intended to maintain her under my control securely.
I locked her in the basement cell with plenty of food and water and hitching up the old gypsy wagon I set off for the nearest seaport which was Athens on the Aegean Sea, home to many shipyards and shipbuilders. I searched through these yards for a yacht which would fulfill my needs and found a promising candidate. She was a 32 meter boat with two masts and a stripped out interior. Like me she had a checkered past as a fast smuggler. A tour of her showed a good solid hull and house with an ample selection of sails. She was for sale at a bargain price so I put a deposit on her and signed the papers of ownership. Part of our agreement was remodeling the interior into two halves. The forward part would house the Captain, Chef and 3 deckhands plus an ample hold in the foredeck. The after half would be a private salon and bedroom with luxurious bath including an indoor privy and private deck on the stern. We agreed on a price and a finish date of one month from now. I was elated by the prospect.
I returned home and had a talk with Victoria. I described my plan to cruise the world and she was ecstatic although anxious to purchase clothing suitable for a journey by water. I boxed my favorite furniture and toys and stowed them in the wagon. The rest went into a bonfire. I leased the house for a surprisingly tidy fee and left for the sea with Victoria by my side. I did not put any fetters on her as a test to see if she would try to jump ship. I figured it would be easier to chase her down in the sparsely settled country rather than a city. I never felt anything but excitement and anticipation from her.
Arriving at the seaport we went down to the boat and found it in the last stages of completion. I asked for a few more modifications and the yardmaster agreed. The crew which was rebuilding the boat had been picked by the yardmaster as good reliable and experienced seamen. One was even an experienced chef and steward. I interviewed several potential captains and after checking their references picked an old salt who was experienced at sailing a boat such as this. We spent the next week provisioning the boat and sailing her around the bay for practice and sorting out. Victoria bought too many clothes and shoes and jewelry.
Finally there was nothing more to be done so I told the Captain to make ready to get under sail the next day. Late that night we quietly moved my furniture into the aft cabin and slept aboard for the first time. Next day we hoisted anchor and sailed into the Aegean Sea. The Captain knew this area and suggested ports that had quaint shops or pretty beaches. Victoria collected enough shells and pretty rocks to fill several drawers. She excitedly described the nature and where she had found each one. It was going to be a great cruise.
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