Desideratum

 

Author: NA23

Fandom: Stargate SG-1

Pairing(s): Jack/Female(s), Jack/Male(s), Daniel/Female, Daniel/Male(s), JACK/DANIEL

Warnings: slavery, bondage, torture, non-con, group sex

Spoilers: Need

Summary: Shyla offers Daniel everything his heart desires. Or does she?

 

 

Nominated Category:

BestSlave!Fic: Acted TV & Movies - Other

Best Use of Toys - Other

Most Intense Scene: Acted TV & Movies - Other

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Part 1 Part 2

 

Part 1

 

Daniel had only made a few visits to the mine but they were enough to prove to his team just how much damage could be done by the use of the sarcophagus and how dulled his senses were to their plight.

 

He swaggered into the throne room, where Shyla sat looking over some documents.

 

"There you are, my love. I had wondered where you had gone, until the guard told me that you were visiting with your friends. I wonder if you realize how it is perceived by those around you when you demean yourself by going to the mine to see them?"

 

Daniel came up beside her and leaning in placed a small kiss on her cheek, before taking the seat next to her. "I never thought about it, really. I know it must not look very good," Daniel said softly.

 

Shyla's nose wrinkled at the scent wafting from Daniel's clothing. "It is also offensive to my nose that you should come to me with the mine stench still clinging to you. Perhaps, in the future, if you feel the need to see your friends, you could have them brought to you here. It would be more appropriate to your new position in the House of Pyrus and the smell would not be so overwhelming." Shyla smiled and tilted her head while Daniel considered her proposal.

 

"Yes, of course, you're right. Not that I anticipate the need to see them again anytime soon. Jack was quite hostile this time."

 

"Then there is also your safety to consider." Shyla's nose wrinkled again, "I think you should bathe, I find the aroma of the mines to be quite objectionable."

 

Daniel looked down at himself and sniffed, then smiled at her. "Really, maybe you would consider helping me, joining me for a little while?"

 

"I have told you, my love, that until our marriage is officially sanctified that is not possible and even after that, our intimate contact is limited to once every moon cycle."

 

Daniel took a deep breath and sighed. "What do I do the rest of the time?" His frustration was already beginning to show.

 

"The same as Pyrus and all the rulers before him: you may indulge your carnal nature with a slave."

 

"A slave? Yes, you've said that before. So does that mean I just pick some serving girl?..."

 

"Oh no... my love. You are not allowed intimate knowledge of any female but me; your slave must be male. Just as I must satisfy myself with a female slave when I have urges. This is the way of the royal house of Pyrus and cannot be changed."

 

"You mean you...?"

 

"Yes, when I have the hunger... please can we refrain from speaking of this now or I will be forced to retire to my chamber to have my craving quelled."

 

"Just a question?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Can I choose anyone? Any male that is?"

 

"Yes, although some require more discipline and training than others. Eventually they will all cooperate."

 

"So, if I wanted, say..." he waved his hands about wildly.

 

"Your friend, Jack?" Shyla asked with a knowing smile.

 

"Yes," Daniel exhaled, relieved and somewhat surprised that he could be read that easily.

 

"It is possible. However, he will require much training. I will speak to the slavemaster. Now, please, you must bathe and I must finish reading these." She smiled and gestured to the sheaf of papers in front of her. Daniel rose and lifted her hand to his lips. Then bowed and left the room.

 

After he left Shyla motioned to a servant. "I wish to see the slavemaster."

 

When a phalanx of guards came to the mine where the remainder of SG-1 sat during an infrequent rest, Jack had a bad feeling about it. His chains were detached from his companions and he was forcibly dragged away. When he struggled, he was clubbed unconscious and carried.

 

As he regained awareness, Jack took inventory. He was still tired, exhausted in fact, and every joint screamed from overuse, his back and arm muscles burned and throbbed in time with his heartbeat. His head hurt; what little sound there was in this room echoed painfully. He was cold, which was different, the mine had been very hot, and the overpowering smell of his own body was gone, which was also very different. He'd nearly forgotten what clean smelled like and his chest and groin tingled with what felt like razor burn. He was lying on his side on something soft. For a brief second he thought he was in the infirmary, then he realized that his hands were bound in front of him.

 

"I know that you are awake, slave. You may as well open your eyes." The voice was strange, deep and threatening. "The sooner we begin, the sooner we will be finished."

 

Jack opened his eyes a crack, then fully and looked at the man seated in the chair watching him. "Who are you?" Yeah, well it was a cliché, but it had to be asked.

 

"I am your way out of the mines, either to a better life or death."

 

"Cryptic but not very informative," Jack said cockily.

 

"I am the trainer of all household slaves. For now, you will call me master."

 

"Oh, I don't think so," Jack shook his head and laughed slightly.

 

"You are here for instruction and training on what is expected of you. You will either follow those instructions or die. I have been instructed to inform you that failure to cooperate in your training will greatly increase the suffering of those you left in the mines."

 

"They're dying now, what could be worse?" Jack said sneering.

 

"What could be worse?" The slavemaster grinned back. "The woman has not been touched as yet... the mine guards get so little recreation, although I imagine she would get used to it after a while, if she survives. The Jaffa? Well, there is much that our physicians could learn from him, many wounds to inflict, to determine the healing powers of the infant Goa'uld inside. Your cooperation here will win better treatment and rewards for them there. Your disobedience here will win them further punishment, debasement and abuse. The choice is yours. Their lives depend on your answer, choose carefully." He sat back in his chair and folded his hands on his lap.

 

"What do you want me to do... master?"

 

The man in the chair smiled again. "Very good, slave. Then we shall begin." He motioned with his hand and two young women approached carrying what looked like a leather harness. They were dressed in long gowns of practically transparent material and nothing else except a thick, round collar that appeared to be made of glass around their necks. A metallic looking chain was attached to the collar that ran down under the gown, between their breasts and disappeared between their legs

 

"While you are training you will wear this. Once your training ends, you will wear whatever your master wishes. Now, stand."

 

Jack got clumsily to his feet, his weary legs uncooperative and rubbery. The slavemaster just stared and shook his head at the stiffness and lack of grace.

 

"Why your master sees fit to choose one as old and in such poor condition as you, when there are many much more comely to choose from, I have no idea. I do not see the attraction." He shook his head and motioned to the two women. "You may proceed."

 

One woman released the restraints that held his wrists and then Jack felt the touch of cold leather straps draped over his shoulders as one woman moved behind him. The one that had released his hands took the ends of a wider belt from behind Jack's back and fastened them in place across his chest just under his nipples, then secured the shoulder straps to the buckles. The studded straps were formed with metal rings that circled his nipples. Between them, the women tugged and pulled, snugging the harness into place. Jack watched as their hands moved quickly and efficiently and then dropped away as they finished. The woman in front turned towards the slavemaster, bowing slightly.

 

"The collar next."

 

The woman in back bowed and reached for something from the table, then moved back behind Jack.

 

"Kneel, slave."

 

Jack got to his knees aided by the woman standing in front of him. Then something thick and cold was slipped around his neck from the right. The woman in front guided it around and back towards the back of his head.

 

Some small panic set in and Jack grabbed the hand of the woman in front.

 

"What is that?"

 

"Silence! You were not given leave to speak. It is your collar. All slaves wear them here. Release her or you forfeit the life of one of those still in the mines."

 

Jack's hand slipped away from the wrist of the woman and she resumed directing the stiff collar, allowing only two finger widths of distance between it and Jack's neck. He heard a small grunt of effort as the woman behind him forced the end of the circlet into a clasp or joiner, then felt the cold hard glass-like ring turned so the clasp was in front. The two women stepped aside and bowed to the seated man. He took a small control and pressed several buttons in sequence, smiled, and pressed another sequence.

 

Jack could feel the collar heating; he stared at the slavemaster in defiance.

 

"I'm afraid this will get uncomfortable." The collar heated even further and Jack gritted his teeth against the pain as his skin blistered where touched by the collar. Finally, the slavemaster nodded and the woman in back lifted the collar from contact with Jack's neck with gloved hands. Jack's ears were singed from the heat and he could feel the small hairs on his neck frying, a wide ring of small blisters erupted in its wake.

 

The woman in front stepped up with a bowl and collected the clasp as it melted and dripped, preventing damage to Jack's chest. When the clasp was a puddle in the wooden bowl, she stepped back and the slavemaster pressed another sequence of buttons. The heat from the collar dissipated quickly, but Jack could still feel the blisters erupting around his neck where the collar had burned him and smell burning hair and skin. The woman in back continued to hold the collar up as the one in front applied balm to the blistered ring around Jack's neck. Then they both turned and bowed.

 

"Excellent... you may stand now, slave."

 

The woman in front smiled slightly and offered a hand to help Jack stand. He got to his feet a little more gracefully this time.

 

The slavemaster nodded to the women. "You may continue."

 

They bowed and picked up several more straps from the table.

 

A clasp was snapped into place around the front of the collar, a chain threaded through an eye dangling from it and through the metal circle in the center front of the leather harness. When the woman in front touched his hairless cock and balls, his hand shot out again, grabbing her wrist.

 

"Release her. I will not warn you again." The voice was deadly serious.

 

Jack hesitated for a heartbeat then dropped the small wrist.

 

A tooled leather strap was fastened snugly at the base of his penis, a similarly tooled strap snapped into it at the bottom between his balls; squeezing them high and to the sides. These straps were edged in what looked to be the same metal from which the chain was made and it was snapped into another metal fitting at the top of the band that circled his entire package.

 

"I would check the fit," the slavemaster said and motioned to Jack.

 

"Come here, slave."

 

Jack moved cautiously closer and stood while the slavemaster fingered the clasps and buckles, forcing his fingers first between the collar and Jack's neck, the rough fingers scraping across blistered skin, leaving a fiery path where the balm was removed. Then he tugged and pulled at the straps across Jack's chest.

 

"As a slave, you are not permitted body hair; you look much younger without it anyway. You will have a cream applied daily that will remove it as well as slow and eventually stop its re-growth." His hand brushed across the hairless chest and belly, then down to the hairless groin and back up. The slavemaster's fingers drifted across the exposed nipples, pinching and twisting slightly watching Jack's face the entire time. Jack bit the inside of his mouth, his body tense but still. The coarse hand moved lower, ghosting over the tightly stretched hairless scrotum. Jack bit harder and refused to flinch against the touch.

 

"Excellent..." He looked up at the women, "...you may finish now."

 

The women swooped down on Jack again, covering his strapped package with a triangle of black leather that clipped to another strap that was fitted across his hips. This fastened with a narrow band that plunged deeply between his buttocks and came up to snap into the apex of the inverted leather triangle.

 

This time when they finished both women and moved to the corner, then sat on their heels.

 

"Step back."

 

Jack backed up and waited. The slavemaster stood and moved behind him, checking buckles and straps and then spreading the tight buttocks open with one hand and tugging the strap that ran between them down into the deep crease.

 

"This is too loose. Fix it." He spoke harshly and the woman who had been working behind Jack rushed to her feet and tightened the strap down until it bit deeply into the tender flesh of his perineum and sphincter.

 

Jack gasped and was rocked for a moment, then regained his composure. A thick finger slid between his cheeks and tested the tension of the strap as it cut across his anus, poking at the ring itself.

 

The slavemaster moved back to his chair and then pointed to the woman,

 

"This slave must now be punished. I had hoped to spare a demonstration of punishment until another time, but this will have to suffice."

 

The woman released the shoulder closures on her gown and when it dropped into a puddle at her feet, she stepped out of it. She knelt down where the slavemaster directed, between he and Jack and slightly to one side.

 

The woman began to shake, completely aware of what was to come and obviously afraid. The slavemaster picked up the control device and pointed it at her, then pushed a button. Jack watched in horror as the collar around her neck began to glow, going from milky white to pale pink and increasing quickly in intensity. Jack noticed the ring of scarring around the woman's delicate throat and realized what was happening.

 

Now the collar glowed red, a small hiss, erupting as the woman's tears hit the smooth surface of the heating collar.

 

"This collar is on overload, left alone now it will continue until it explodes, but this slave would be dead long before that when the blood going to her brain begins to boil."

 

Jack watched the blisters rise on the scarred neck and smelled burning flesh. Then he noticed the chain that was attached to the collar was also heating, blazing a trail of blisters between the delicate breasts, down the flat belly across the shaved mons and in between her legs. The slavemaster saw his eyes following the chain and smiled.

 

"Yes, the chains are capable of transferring pain as well as pleasure."

 

The woman was shaking almost violently now and the slavemaster pointed the device at her collar and pressed another control. The collar quickly faded back to its former milky translucence. The woman slumped slightly but kept her position.

 

The slavemaster motioned with his hand and the other woman moved to her side and helped her to stand. Large blisters decorated her neck in a ring and down the front of her body. A gush of watery blood spilled from between her legs. The second woman sopped up the small puddle with the burned woman's gown and then wadded it up to place it in contact with her blistered crotch.

 

"Wait. Show our new slave how a woman is punished."

 

The second woman helped the first to lie down on the floor in full sight of Jack and the slavemaster. The punished slave bent her knees and opened them, displaying her sex for both men. The other woman tugged on the chain and a dildo made of the same metal as the chain slipped wetly from between bright red, blistered labia. Jack looked away and swallowed hard.

 

"Do not look away, slave. This is what your female companion can look forward to if you fail to obey. All female slaves wear them; we find it much more... compelling... than threats of violence. You see, while the skin around the neck scars and loses sensation eventually; a woman's sex does not. If anything it becomes more sensitive. Of course the collar is just a power source; it can deliver pain or pleasure..."

 

Jack watched as the slavemaster pressed another sequence of buttons and the other woman shivered momentarily then rocked back on her heels with a serene look on her face, the collar turning from milky to pale blue.

 

"...great pleasure, as you can see." The slavemaster smiled and nodded to the woman who looked at him.

 

She slipped her feet to the sides and ground her hips rubbing her crotch against the floor, then slipped her finger into the apex of her folds and sighed. The slavemaster watched Jack trying not to look and spoke to the woman. "Use his hand."

 

The stimulated woman grabbed Jack's right hand and guided it to the folds between her legs, wetting his fingers in her flowing juices. Jack could feel the strong vibrations of the metal dildo within her. She guided his fingers to her clit and held them there, rubbing them up and down against the hooded nub. Jack felt his cock hardening at the sight, smell and feel of the woman's sex against his hand and began to work her clit. She shook hard and his fingers were suddenly covered in her come. She reached down and stilled his hand.

 

"Enough..." The slavemaster pressed another sequence and the vibration under Jack's fingers stopped. The master looked at the woman and waved.

 

"Take her and get out. Send Costa to me."

 

The woman scrambled to her feet and helped the other up, shoving the burned woman's gown between her legs to staunch the flow of bloody fluid. They left quickly.

 

A man in attired in royal finery entered followed by four burly male slaves dressed in only leather harnesses and loin covers like Jack. One of the slaves carried a second chair and put it next to the slavemaster's. The well dressed man sat down.

 

"Is he ready?" The man Jack assumed was called Costa spoke to the slavemaster.

 

"I think he is. He understands now, I think, what could befall his companions if he is uncooperative. Don't you slave?"

 

"Yes, master."

 

"Good! I think it is time to show him what is expected of him as a slave to the royal house of Pyrus."

 

Costa nodded and the two of the male slaves moved up on either side of Jack and began running their hands over his body.

 

Jack tensed and stood like a rock, unwilling to respond to their touch.

 

Skilled touches, precisely placed mouths, and clever fingers eventually began to take their toll and Jack's body turned traitor. His cock hardened when one mouth latched onto his right nipple and another set to work on his left testicle. Jack groaned and his eyes glazed. The two slaves pulled Jack down to the floor to continue the torment and slowly his resistance melted as his arousal grew.

 

The slavemaster and Costa sat in their chairs watching as Jack slowly lost ground to the assault on his body. When one eager mouth closed around the head of his cock and began to suck and the other moved from sucking his nipple and moved to work on his mouth, Jack opened his legs and his lips.

 

The slavemaster smiled and nodded as Costa touched his arm. Costa nodded and fingered several buttons on his wristband and the other two male slaves joined the men writhing on the floor.

 

Jack gave little indication that he was even aware when the number of hands and mouths on his body increased. His knees were lifted and one mouth continued to kiss and suck his hard cock while another licked and sucked his strapped balls and teased lower.

 

 

Jack groaned again when a finger breached him, then he eagerly sucked at the hard cock pressed to his lips. His brain kicked in when a second finger speared him and he allowed the cock to drop from his lips briefly before resuming.

 

The slavemaster stood and Jack began to struggle as the four men picked him up and carried him to the high chaise, placing him on his belly, the sturdy bench supporting his torso.

 

"NO!" Jack started to struggle as reality caught up to him.

 

"You have been warned slave! I will have you or your female companion, then I will give her a collar and chained phallus like those women who dressed you. Which will it be? Decide NOW!"

 

Jack thought for only a second, then swallowed his own dignity to preserve Carter's.

 

"Take me, master." He lay face down on the chaise.

 

The slavemaster smiled and nodded to Costa, then motioned for two slaves to hold Jack's legs open, the third dropped to the floor under the chaise and worked Jack's flagging erection back to full hardness, then began sucking again.

 

The slavemaster allowed one slave to apply lubrication to his cock and then two of the slaves parted Jack's buttocks and guided the slavemaster's cock to its target, holding it steady during the penetration.

 

Jack gasped and moaned as the slavemaster forced his way inside, then turned his head to the side and stood with his torso still lying on the high couch.

 

"That's better, slave... yes, much better. I think that you have done this before but not for some time, I suspect. Their majesties will be pleased; the royal consort is much in need." The slavemaster pulled fully out and plunged back in, unconcerned for any pleasure but his own.

 

Jack tried to relax and breathe deeply in an effort to diminish the burning pain. When Costa motioned, one of the slaves that had been holding Jack's legs moved to the head of the chaise and pressed his cock to Jack's lips. Jack knew he had little choice and wrapped his lips around the spongy head, sucking gently.

 

The slavemaster rocked into him harder and harder, the chaise and Jack absorbing the power of his drives. Then with a loud groan, he stilled as his cock twitched deep inside Jack, spilling its load. He stepped back and nodded to Costa, then motioned the slave at Jack's head to move. He stepped up and presented his freshly spent cock to Jack, who only needed to see the look in his eye, before he began to lathe the cock clean.

 

Costa moved in, and speared directly into Jack's pouting muscle before it had time to recover. Jack gasped and came close to biting the cock in his mouth, his self preservation instinct kicking in quickly.

 

"This is not a position I care for as you well know Andu. I would have him where I can see his face."

 

"I know, Costa." The slavemaster stepped back. "Turn over slave."

 

The other slaves backed up and Costa pulled out, then everyone waited while Jack slowly turned to his back, his hips resting on the edge of the chaise.

 

Costa motioned and two of the slaves moved back in and lifted Jack's legs high opening him and Costa moved back in and penetrated him again.

 

"Much better, he is still very tight. Their majesties will be very pleased. How are his other skills?"

 

"He has much to learn yet. I suspect that he may prefer the female form over the male. He responded quickly to the female slave's needs earlier."

 

"How long do you think it will take to train him? Her majesty is impatient in this regard."

 

"It would mean my life to send her less than one who was fully trained; it may yet take some time."

 

"I see that he has not yet achieved satisfaction himself, Andu. This does not bode well."

 

The slavemaster pushed several buttons on his control and two female slaves entered the room. He pressed another sequence on the keypad and they both groaned, their collars glowing faintly blue. Then he motioned for the two women. "You may remove your phallus and take him into yourself and you may allow him to pleasure you with his mouth."

 

The two female slaves moved in and dropped their gowns, then one straddled Jack's face as the other climbed over his hips and removed her metal phallus. She gasped as Jack's larger living version penetrated her. Jack lapped tentatively at the folds of the woman's crotch just above his face. He dipped his tongue inside to touch the chain leading to the vibrating phallus and started to nibble gently and suck at the clit that peered from the apex of the folds.

 

The woman below writhed up and down on his cock, as the one above settled down, sitting more fully now on Jack's face, his fingers parted the hairless cunt lips and delved in beside and around the phallus as his tongue worked.

 

With a nod from the slavemaster, one of the male slaves lifted the small woman slave off Jack's cock and one of the male slaves assumed her place sinking straight down on the slick, upright cock. Jack gasped and lifted his hips to meet the downward motion hesitating slightly, when he realized that a change had taken place. The warm, wet generous cunt had been replaced by something hot and tight and not quite slick enough to be female.

 

He bit with covered lips on the throbbing clit and then sucked hard and the woman came with a gasp and groan, her orgasm flowing into his mouth.

 

"Excellent! He appears very skilled with females," Costa spoke as he satisfied his own urges.

 

Jack lapped gingerly now at the slave's cunt, trying hard not to push her over the edge where pleasure becomes pain. Then the spent woman was lifted and the ball sack and anus of one of male slaves replaced the wet cunt.

 

Costa continued his thrusting as the male slave slid up and down on Jack's cock and another writhed against Jack's tongue.

 

It all became too much and finally Jack shook and stilled, then came himself moaning into the ringed muscle against his lips. Finally, Costa grunted, heralding his own orgasm, leaning heavily into Jack's body as he came.

 

The slavemaster motioned and the slave that had been riding Jack rose, Jack's cock dropped spent into the puddle of sweat and semen that covered his pelvis.

 

Jack paused, hoping for a moment of respite.

 

"You were not told that you could stop, slave. Your satisfaction is of no consequence. You will perform until you are given leave to do otherwise."

 

The slavemaster motioned and a slave moved into place on either side of Jack and guided his hands to work their cock as he continued to bathe the balls and perineum dangling just above his face.

 

Shyla was smiling as she walked into the dining room on the arm of her consort. She took her seat at the head of the table and motioned for Daniel to take his place next to her. Daniel looked around the large room, amazed at the transformations that Shyla had managed already within the palace. He had dined in this magnificent room with only Shyla and Pyrus before and now the room was filled with happy faces, smiling and chatting, all vying for a moment's attention from the new ruler or her consort. Some chatted about the upcoming royal nuptials, some about how much joy there was in the court now, what changes and reforms these new rulers would make. Shyla placed a small white hand over Daniel's and then nodded to one of the diners seated at the royal table.

 

The priest motioned to one of the attendants and a gong was struck, bringing a hush to the banquet attendees. All eyes moved to the royal table and the priest who stood to speak.

 

"People of Tilesia, our beloved ruler and savior, the god slayer Pyrus, watches over us now from his rest, but he does not leave us without a light to guide us. Our royal princess Shyla now takes up that mantle and assumes the throne, but as Pyrus long intended and her mother, the seer, Queen Etaybia wished, she will not do so alone. Before he left us, Pyrus summoned a great prince from the stars to aide Shyla and stand beside her, thereby guaranteeing that his people not go undefended. As is our custom, the marriage rites will coincide with the moon cycle and are to be sanctified in the temple of Pyrus before the altar of the god slayer. Princess Shyla and Prince Danyel will then be crowned and assume their throne as the rulers of our people."

 

Applause and cheers erupted as the priest bowed to the people and then towards the princess and Daniel. Shyla smiled and nodded and then stood, motioning to quiet the crowd.

 

"As Costa has reminded us, when I was a small child, my dear mother envisioned that someday a great man, a prince, would come through the Chappa'ai to stand by my side and help lead our people. I grew up knowing that, as my mother had predicted, he would be the one to sit beside me on the god slayer's throne. I had often despaired of his arrival because I knew that it foretold the death of my beloved father, Pyrus. But my father, in his infinite wisdom, told me when he first met Danyel that this was indeed the prince that my mother had predicted all those years before and because of this, he knew his time with us was nearing an end. I promised him that I would fulfill my destiny as queen so that the house of Pyrus would continue to protect and guide the people of Tilesia."

 

Shyla reached out with her hand and took Daniel's motioning for him to rise and stand beside her. "With Danyel's help, I will keep the promise I made to Pyrus and complete the prophecy made so long ago by my mother. He led his people to freedom from the oppression of the gods and now he comes here to ensure that our people never suffer from that yoke again. He has been my comfort in the dark time since my father's death and will bring me joy when he comes to our marriage bed. He will be my companion, husband, the father of my heirs, my compass and comfort for many years to come."

 

She smiled sweetly at Daniel who raised her hand to his lips and kissed it while lost in her radiance, then bowed to the assembly. Shyla sat back down and, drawing Daniel close, kissed him on the cheek as the crowd roared its approval.

 

They fed each other morsels during the long dinner and after several toasts to their upcoming marriage had been made, excused themselves from the celebration and left the dining room.

 

"Come, Danyel, I am fatigued and wish to retire."

 

"I suppose there is no use asking if I can join you?"

 

Shyla reached up and stroked his cheek. "Oh I wish you could, Danyel. I long for our wedding night when you and I will spend the night in bliss, but you know that is not possible."

 

"But, I don't know if I can wait any longer, Shyla. Every moment we're apart is torment for me. I want to hold you, touch you, feel you sigh under me..." Daniel leaned and whispered lewdly into her ear, "... be inside your heat. How much longer do I have to wait, Shyla?"

 

Shyla kissed him softly on the lips and looked into his eyes. "We cannot change the way of things, Danyel. You must be patient. Come, you will go to the sarcophagus, it will have to quell your need and give you the ecstasy that I cannot yet. Then, when you are ready I will show you the secret of my father's house."

 

Daniel followed her eagerly. Climbing into the sarcophagus, his vision fixed on her sweet smile as the panel closed over him.

 

Shyla opened the door to the throne room and spoke to the guard standing ouside. "Have Costa attend me here."

 

The guard bowed silently and hurried back towards the dining hall. Moments later, he returned to his post and Costa bowed and entered the throne room, closing the door.

 

"Your majesty, how may I serve you?"

 

"What is the slavemaster's progress with the new male slave?"

 

"I believe much work needs yet to be done."

 

"He resists? Perhaps you should send the woman that came with him to the slavemaster and allow him to see it was not just an idle threat. I want him ready as soon as possible. I don't care how you do it. Kill her if you need to."

 

Costa bowed and spoke. "With respect, majesty, killing either the woman or the Jaffa will have the opposite effect on this one. He cares nothing for himself, he only cooperates because their condition depends on him. To kill either of them would remove that threat and he would lash out. I might suggest the opposite, that they be treated better, given adequate food, water and rest periods in order to prolong their lives and maintain the hold we have on this one."

 

Shyla sighed and smiled at him. "As it is in most matters, Costa, your counsel is wise in this too. I will leave the details and decisions on this to you, but I want that slave trained most urgently. My Danyel grows more frustrated daily and I fear he will become resentful of our ways if his needs are not soon met."

 

"Perhaps then another would suffice? I could have a number of suitable slaves presented from which he may find a temporary relief."

 

"Yes..." Shyla nodded and smiled "... that may be a good idea. I will show him the royal sureties and then retire. I suspect that by the time he returns to his rooms, he will be much desirous of relief and avail himself of one or more without hesitation."

 

"Are you certain that showing him the royal sureties now is wise, your majesty? There are many others to choose from, I can arrange to have a large number of the rooms in use, guaranteeing a good view from any of the sureties. Maybe it would be better to keep the knowledge of the royal sureties hidden from him a while longer, thereby not permitting him even the sight of you until your marriage."

 

"Thank you, Costa, for your concern and counsel, but I believe that it will serve only to bind him to me. His desire for me is so overwhelming now that I know that it will assure his use of any slave presented to him. His arousal is so heightened that he will not hesitate to use the knowledge of the royal sureties to fuel his fire, then when he returns, you will have several choices for him and he will blunt his dagger on them."

 

"You are very wise for one so young, your majesty," Costa smiled and bowed.

 

"I had very good teachers, Costa. Now please, see to the preparations and then I will reveal the secrets of the house of Pyrus to my consort. Do not forget, I want that slave's training completed soonest. I don't care what you have to do, I will give him to my love as a wedding present."

 

"Yes, your majesty." Costa bowed low and left just as the scraping sound heralded the opening of the sarcophagus.

 

Daniel opened his eyes and sat up. The blood flowing through his veins was electric, he could smell the meat and wine from the dining room and a scent not unlike lilacs that was the perfume that Shyla always wore. She moved to the sarcophagus and held out her hand with a smile. "Do you feel better now, my love?"

 

"I feel wonderful, Shyla. I never knew that I could feel so alive."

 

"Good, then I have something to show you. Come."

 

Daniel took her hand climbed out and then they watched as the sarcophagus closed and slid back into its spot under the throne dais. Then they headed for the main staircase.

 

At the door to Daniel's assigned rooms, formerly the chambers of Etaybia, wife of Pyrus and mother of Shyla, they paused. When Shyla opened the door and went inside, Daniel was elated.

 

"But I thought you said we couldn't?"

 

"We can't, Danyel, but I have something to show you." Shyla moved across the room to the fireplace that stood opposite the huge bed. "Come here, Danyel and watch what I do." Daniel moved closer and leaned down to see the latch under the edge of the mantel.

 

"This latch controls the door to the sureties, a series of secret observation rooms built into the castle by the ancient rulers of Tilesia. They go all through the castle and will allow you to look in on the activities in any room."

 

"How?"

 

"There are viewers in every room."

 

"Viewers? What kind of viewers?"

 

"Some are merely holes with small lenses, others are large mirrors that give a wider view of the room but look like an innocent mirror from inside, sometimes there are doors into closets."

 

"Why? I mean why are they here?"

 

"No one is certain why so many were devised, but there is not a room without one. Since the ruler and consort are permitted such limited access to each other they serve as... entertainment."

 

"Voyeurs? We call it voyeurism where I come from and it's considered... well, kind of sick."

 

"It serves a purpose here... a distraction and release."

 

Shyla stepped into the passage that opened next to the fireplace and started down the narrow hallway.

 

"Come. I will show you some rooms of interest."

 

Daniel followed, mesmerized that this woman that he supposed innocent would be so well versed in the sexual kinks of the builders of this ancient palace.

 

Shyla showed him how to work the various viewing devices and advised him to always leave his panel open to find his way back in the dim light given off from the edges of the path. The air was fresh but warm and there were many recessed places that held benches where one could sit and watch. None of the rooms were as yet occupied since everyone was still at the banquet, but from the number of fireplaces that had been lighted and beds that had been turned down, Daniel assumed that most of the accommodations in the castle would be in use tonight. They headed back down the hall and stepped into his room. Shyla showed him how to close and lock the panel, then moved across to the other side of the room.

 

She walked up to a giant armoire that took up most of one wall and motioned for Daniel to join her.

 

"This is your entrance to the royal sureties. It will allow you to view other rooms in the royal apartments."

 

"Other rooms in the ROYAL apartments?"

 

"The room I used to occupy and the one I do now which used to be my father's room, plus other bedrooms in the royal apartments that will one day be occupied by our children."

 

"You mean that they even spied on each other?"

 

"Danyel, my sweet..." Shyla smiled and touched his cheek. "... they are called the royal sureties because they allow the king and queen to view each other's beds and thus reassure themselves of the fidelity of the other. They also permit the king and queen who are denied any intimate knowledge of each other except at the mooncycle to view each other as they love and are loved. You may not be able to come to me, but I will know you are there and are watching me. It is not much but it can sometimes be enough."

 

"So, they provide surety that your spouse is remaining faithful..." Daniel nodded finally understanding the true purpose of the secret viewers "...with such limited intimate contact with each other it is a way to reassure them of the company being kept and thereby of the lineage of the children."

 

"See, you do understand. I knew you would."

 

"So... where is your room?" Daniel asked hesitantly.

 

Shyla took his hand and pointed out the various rooms to him. This corridor was much shorter but more opulent, having many padded benches and seats along the way and better lighted by a glowing border along the floor. When they came to the end of the hall, there was an alcove that was slightly larger, with a large chair and several benches and a table.

 

Shyla pulled back the drape to reveal a full view of the large room that was now her bedchamber. The viewer looked directly down on the huge bed that dominated the chamber. The fireplace was lighted and fire built high against the night chill. The bed was turned down and two slave girls knelt in silence next to it, awaiting the arrival of their mistress.

 

Daniel was confused by the entire concept. Yes, he understood in his academic mind the need for a clear and unclouded lineage as a necessity for any monarchy. He even understood the entire rationalization of voyeurism in lieu of sexual contact concept. He just wasn't sure he could handle anyone else knowing about his indulgence in them by the use of these sureties. With his Earth taboos weighing heavy in his mind, Daniel didn't notice that Shyla had left him and exited the sureties through the passage in his room. Well, not until she entered her own room and the two female slaves leapt into action to assist her in undressing.

 

Daniel's mouth dropped open in surprise and he looked around the immediate area, just in case he was hallucinating. No, she was gone alright and currently being stripped by two women in front of his very eyes.

 

Shyla lifted her face and gazed directly into the huge mirror that took up the wall at the head of the bed and smiled coyly as another layer of petticoat was removed while her love watched.

 

Daniel was dumbfounded as finally her chemise was slipped off the delicate white shoulders and dropped to the rug. Shyla stepped from the garment puddle and lifted a hand to her breast and stroked before cupping it underneath as if offering it to Daniel, her eyes never leaving the mirror. She was naked now save the wide ornate cuff bracelets.

 

Daniel groaned and sat down heavily in the big chair, watching as Shyla motioned for the two women to drop their gowns, then she allowed them to fondle her while she groped them in return.

 

Daniel felt his face flush red as he watched, his Earth bound morals quickly falling away as his arousal increased.

 

Shyla's performance continued before his eyes. These particular female slaves must have been very familiar with her preferences and their hands moved with confidence over her body. They hesitated only briefly when Shyla crawled onto the bed and laid flat out with her head at the bottom of the bed, but recovered quickly, grabbing pillows and propping her head up before continuing their erotic duty.

 

Shyla lay with her eyes open and staring at the mirror; Daniel was not sure if she was looking at him or just watching herself being pleasured. In either case, it was a huge turn on and he shifted in his seat to accommodate his growing erection. There was a slave sucking each breast, each of them had a hand groping ever lower, toying with the triangle of hair at her crotch. She spread her legs and closed her eyes briefly, sighing when two hands delved between her legs and into her sex.

 

When she pushed a single slave's head away from her breast the woman shifted on the bed and moved lower. Daniel stroked his erection through his trousers, moaning loudly when one woman moved between Shyla's raised knees and began kissing and licking. Shyla lifted her hips and grabbed at the woman's head, pulling it closer to her cunt. Then she fingered several of the jewels on one of her bracelets.

 

Suddenly Daniel noticed the collars that the two women wore began to glow slightly blue and they went back to their tasks with renewed vigor. Daniel could almost hear the wet sucking sounds now and he opened his pants and fisted his cock as he watched.

 

"More." Shyla panted and lifted her hand to the chain that disappeared between the legs of the woman sucking at her breasts. She tugged at the chain and a metal dildo slid out from its harbor, the woman stayed still as Shyla's fingers worked inside her. The woman then knelt facing away as Shyla plunged the metal dildo in and out of the slave's dripping cunt before removing it and then shoving it harshly into the woman's rectum. Shyla stopped for a moment and urged this slave to change position with the other and repeated the procedure on the second woman. Then she fingered her bracelet again and the collars glowed brighter blue and the woman sucking at Shyla's sex slid fingers in and out of Shyla's cunt before sliding first one and then two digits into her rectum. Shyla arched and shouted announcing her orgasm before kneeling up over the slave's face and allowing her juices to drip into the woman's waiting mouth. As she finished her orgasm, Shyla looked back up at the mirror and slid her fingers between her legs opening her own cunt lips before a fine stream of urine began to fill the mouth of the unfortunate slave beneath her. She stopped and motioned for the second slave to replace the first and finished emptying her bladder into the gulping woman's mouth.

 

When she was done, she fingered the bracelet again and the collars stopped glowing. She smiled up at the mirror and spoke. "I will bathe now and then sleep." The two slaves scurried from the bed and began to prepare as Shyla got off the bed and moved into the next room.

 

Daniel was hard and aching, and now the show was obviously over. He stood and moved back down the hallway to his room and closed the panel to the secret door.

 

When he turned around, there were two naked young men kneeling next to his bed. He hesitated and then realized what the purpose of Shyla's little show had been. He started to remove his tunic and they moved in, quietly relieving him of his clothes. One of them dropped to his knees and delicately grasped Daniel's hard cock in thumb and forefinger and began to tongue all over the head, licking away drops of precome that leaked constantly.

 

"They will do whatever it is you wish." A calm voice came from the dark corner next to the fireplace. Daniel nearly leapt from his skin, jumping away from the two slaves and reaching down for his clothes to cover himself.

 

"Be at peace, Prince Danyel. I come at the request of her majesty only to instruct you in the use of the control bracelet. I will leave you to your pleasure in a moment."

 

Costa stood and walked up to Daniel, snapping a broad, jeweled cuff into place around Daniel's left wrist.

 

"Touch the blue jewel to give the slave pleasure, the large jewel here..." Costa pointed to a single purple jewel on the outside of the cuff, "... is the emitter, you must direct the signal to the slave you wish. The collar of the slave you wish to pleasure will begin to glow blue, the more you touch it the brighter the glow of the collar, and the more intense the reward for the slave. To stop, press the sand colored jewel here. To punish, press the red jewel, the collar will begin to glow pink then red. A word of warning; pressing the red button will put the collar on overload, it begins to heat and will explode if not stopped. It can also cause severe burns." Costa motioned to one of the slaves who stood as Costa drew Daniel's attention to the ring of scarring around the young man's neck.

 

"The collar is a power source, used to pleasure or punish." He turned the slave around, showing Daniel the chain that ran from the back of the collar down the long back and disappeared into the cleft between the slave's buttocks. "The pleasure can be intense, as can the punishment..." He motioned again and the same slave bent over facing away from the two men. Costa fingered the blue jewel and the slave's collar began to glow blue, then he tapped it several more times until the collar glowed almost sapphire in color. Daniel could hear the vibration before Costa even tugged on the chain to reveal the metal dildo vibrating strongly inside the slave's rectum. Costa fingered the bracelet again and the collar faded to a pale blue.

 

"Use the punishment settings with caution, my lord. They require some careful adjustment lest they inflict permanent damage or death. I will leave you now."

 

Costa bent at the waist and left the room quietly, as the two slaves moved back in on a stunned, but greatly aroused, Daniel.

 

Daniel dropped the clothes he clutched as the two men moved back in on him and the one who had been sucking at his cock resumed as if nothing had happened. The other slave moved behind Daniel and pressed up against him, his hands roaming all across Daniel's body, rolling his nipples and kissing along his neck.

 

The slave on his knees now took the full length of Daniel's cock into his mouth and Daniel groaned and thrust, grabbing the man's head to hold him closer. He fingered the blue jewel on his bracelet and the collar of the man in front began to glow faintly blue.

 

"I think we should move to the bed," Daniel managed and the man on his knees moved aside and allowed Daniel to walk to the bed. Then Daniel laid back, directed the large jewel on the bracelet in the direction of the second slave, and touched the blue jewel. Now both slaves collars glowed blue and they set back to work on Daniel's body with renewed vigor.

 

When the slave below began to suck at his balls, Daniel brought his feet up closer and lifted his knees to allow the tongue lapping his balls to move further back along his perineum. Daniel's eyes opened and he looked up at the mirror at the head of his bed and wondered if Shyla was watching him now as he had watched her. That thought excited him, the only thing that could make it better was if it was Jack up there watching, or even better, in here with him. That thought burned into his mind, he melted under the touch of the slaves. He pulled the metal dildo from the slave nibbling at his nipples and encouraged the slave to ride him. The man settled uneasily onto Daniel's length and began pulling himself up and down.

 

Unsatisfied with the progress of the slave's ride, Daniel grunted and pushed the man to the side, then got up on his knees behind him and pushed inside without hesitation. The second slave waited until Daniel found a comfortable position and then moved back in running one hand across Daniel's buttocks as he stroked his own cock. Daniel watched him stroking languidly and encouraged him. Then he paused and, pointing the big jewel on the cuff in his direction, twice more fingered the blue jewel, watching the slave's eyes glaze over in response.

 

He tugged at the chain and the dildo slipped from the slave's opening and Daniel held the slick warm metal in his hand as it vibrated strongly. He handed it to the slave. "Run it all over your cock and shove it back in."

 

The slave did as he was told, plunging the vibrating metal phallus deep and pulling it out again and again. Daniel watched and thrust in time with the masturbating slave. Daniel felt his orgasm building and gripped the slave in front of him tightly, closing his eyes and seeing another body in front of him. When the masturbating slave ran his dildo up and down against Daniel's balls, Daniel shouted and came.

 

Shyla sat back in the big chair and pulled her robe tighter around herself; shivering slightly when she heard Daniel's hoarse cry. She was relieved when Daniel had started to take out his accumulated lust on the two male slaves. She had been worried that he would not be satisfied with them, decide that he could not adhere to the customs surrounding the royal house and want to return to his people. She had enjoyed watching, even allowing herself a moment's pleasure fingering her own cunt as she watched. But his loud cry of his friend's name during his orgasm brought her own pleasure to a screeching halt.

 

She had been certain that his thoughts, his fantasies while he used the two slaves had been of her and obviously they weren't. She was now a little less certain whether or not he found her attractive enough to give up his home and people. She needed a guarantee that he would stay here with her. It no longer mattered if he loved her or not. She could deal with that lack, she had ever since her mother died. She got up and went back to her room, closing the panel behind her and then motioned for the two female slaves to join her in the bed.

 

Jack had become the slavemaster's pet project, receiving his almost undivided attention every day. The slavemaster had known the minute that Costa had delivered him that this one was special and suspected he was for an important person. He was a little older than most who entered training and the slavemaster had been forced to make a few concessions to the man's age. He did not require him to kneel at all times, allowing him to assume the position when he entered the room. It was an acknowledgement of the obvious difficulty and discomfort the man had in getting into and out of the subservient position. So far, Jack had managed to behave himself, only requiring punishment once when he wasn't quick enough getting to his knees when his master entered the room. He knew he had been given special consideration because of his knees and age and tried not to allow this tiniest of kindnesses to blunt his hate for his captor. The hate kept him going, fueling his existence. Right now his only job was to stay alive, keep his team alive, and get them home if possible. He'd do whatever it took to achieve his mission, even this.

 

---

 

Jack moved through the days silently, his only interaction with the other slaves of this household under the direction and strict supervision of the slavemaster. He was regarded by the other slaves with suspicion and trepidation; they could see the rage seething below the surface and knowing how little they were valued in this society, decided it was better to stay as far away from him as possible. It didn't help that he was given what they viewed as special treatment, it only served to reinforce the differences between him and them. Jack's single episode of punishment had elicited none of the comfort from the other slaves that they usually exhibited toward each other because of this and his neck burns went untreated until discovered by the slavemaster. The irate slavemaster had severely punished the two slaves and refused to allow them treatment, ordering a third to bathe and tend Jack's burns instead. Eventually he had relented and Jack was allowed, along with another slave, to treat the miscreants.

 

When a stranger visited the slavemaster's house and Jack was called into the center of the room, he knew something was up. The other slaves were brought in and stood watching as the stranger got up and pulled something from his bag.

 

"Do you remember what I told you, slave? About what would happen to the female if you did not cooperate?"

 

Jack nodded and swallowed hard. He had a feeling he wasn't going to enjoy this at all.

 

"Good. See to it that you keep that in mind," was all the slavemaster said before nodding to the stranger to proceed.

 

The leather hood covered Jack's entire face. It had eye, nose, and ear openings as well as an oval opening for his mouth that had a removable mouth gag. It laced up the back of his head and snugged close against his neck just below his chin, unfortunately, well above where the infernal collar rested. There were large loops sewn just above the ear holes that could be used as handles. His own mother would not have recognized him in this thing.

 

"Excellent! I will have several of these. And how do the gags affix?"

 

The man took a gag that looked like a short fat dick and held it up for the slavemaster to see. Then he moved to insert it and Jack refused to open his mouth.

 

"You WILL open and accept the gag, if you wish to see your friends."

 

Jack's mouth opened immediately, He allowed the man to introduce the penis-shaped gag and fix the gag to the mask itself, effectively sealing the mouth hole of the mask.

 

Jack could swallow with some difficulty, breathe and probably, if he tried hard enough, make some animalistic sounds, but speech was impossible as the phallus pressed his tongue down. The slavemaster and the man settled accounts and the man left. Jack still stood in the center of the room, gagged and trussed.

 

The slavemaster returned and circled Jack studying him, then addressed another slave. "Bring a long cloak with a hood and boots."

 

The slave hurried off and the slavemaster spoke to Jack. "I promised you that you would see your friends and you will. But they are not to know it is you and you will give them no cause to think that it is. If you do, you will be punished and the small luxuries that they now enjoy will be withdrawn. They will then be sent back to work in their former conditions. Is that understood?"

 

Jack started to speak and realized that all that was expected of him at this point was a nod. He nodded.

 

He was given soft-soled boots that came to his knees and he put them on and laced them up. The leather triangle was removed and another slave approached with a chain and metal dildo in his hands.

 

"You will kneel down and bend over. It is time you joined your brothers in servitude." Jack felt the clasp attach to the back of his collar and the chain dropped cool against his back. He did as he was told and knelt down, bending over slightly. Two other slaves moved to his sides trapping him between them, then pushed him the rest of the way down until his forehead touched the floor. They then reached down and spread his ass cheeks. Something slick was applied to his hole and then the cold metal of the dildo was pressed into him without warning.

 

Jack stiffened and forced himself to relax. The slavemaster pressed inside with his finger to the first knuckle making certain that the phallus was well inside the muscular ring, then stepped back and motioned for the slaves to allow Jack to kneel up. He felt very full inside, but it wasn't painful and if it hadn't been for the conductive chain that protruded from his anus he might never have even known it was there. Sitting, however, would be an adventure. The chain itself irritated him as it exited, making him want to expel the entire thing and Jack tried to put it out of his mind.

 

"You may redress him now."

 

Jack would have laughed out loud if he could. The concept of the leather triangle and harness as clothing was laughable. Hell, he had more coverage on his head than he did on his ass.

 

The two slaves reapplied the leather triangle, adjusting it tight enough that Jack would be unable to remove the dildo without assistance even if it had been permitted. They helped him to stand when they were done and the slavemaster was waiting for him.

 

"Now, you are truly in service. Poor behavior or refusal to do as you are told will result in punishment as you have seen. Compliance is rewarded thusly."

 

The slavemaster lifted his bracelet directing it towards Jack, then pressed the blue jewel.

 

Jack felt a shiver as the dildo began a faint vibration within him, increasing in speed and intensity as the slavemaster continued to press the jewel.

 

Jack groaned with the stimulation, the dildo vibrating so strongly now that it almost felt like a living thing inside him. He tried to maintain his composure, not wishing the slavemaster to see the results of his work; but found himself moving his pelvis almost involuntarily, when his squirming brought the dildo into contact with his prostate.

 

The slavemaster smiled. "Somewhat distracting, is it not?" The man laughed heartily, "Put the cloak on now. We will go to see how your friends in the mines are faring." The slavemaster directed his bracelet at Jack again and the vibration stopped as suddenly as it had started. Jack put on the heavy cloak handed to him and fastened the closures all way down the front with some difficulty as the large sleeves covered all but his finger tips.

 

"Come, slave, we will go. One final warning; all that you will see can be removed in a moment if you are anything less than completely obedient to my orders. Any refusal on your part will forfeit the woman's status and then SHE will begin training." With that, the slavemaster slid into his cloak and they left the house.

 

---

 

The walk to the mines was not long by Jack's standards, but it was enough that he was sweating profusely under the heavy cloak. He was completely covered by the cloak which ended just about ankle length, probably on someone smaller, it would have brushed the ground as the slavemaster's did. The sleeves allowed only his fingertips to show past their edges, with that and the boots and hood he wore, there was barely an inch of him uncovered and he longed to feel a breeze.

 

The road was a busy one and everyone stared at him; some pointed and some laughed. Jack figured from the reactions they were receiving that this was an unusual sight, even in this society. The slavemaster strolled almost leisurely and he appeared to be enjoying not only the walk but the attention as well. A few horse drawn carriages stopped, their occupants leaning down to speak with Jack's master, questioning and commenting and even a few offers were made. The slavemaster laughed and waved, telling them that this was a special project, not for sale and he could not discuss who the eventual owner would be. Jack's embarrassment gave way to resignation that no one knew who he was or who his owner would be, although he guessed that they all knew what his expected duties were.

 

An hour's walk later, they arrived at the mines, the slavemaster spoke briefly with the captain of the guards and they were ushered inside. The dark was sudden, after the brightness of outside and it took Jack's eyes a moment to adjust. Long before his vision complied, his nose recognized the familiar smell. The trip inside took them some minutes, but the captain of the guard led them to a side chamber where a squad of guards carrying staff weapons stood guard.

 

Jack saw Teal'c first. He was sitting on a bench, eating what appeared to be stew from a bowl. There were several pieces of fruit, a couple of loaves of bread and what Jack assumed to be a jug of water on the table in front of him. Carter's back was to the entrance, but she appeared to be eating as well. Teal'c looked up as the Captain came into the area, but did not speak. Jack and the slavemaster stayed at the entrance. Jack stood slightly behind and to the slavemaster's right.

 

"You have a visitor."

 

Carter practically spun in place to get a look at the visitor; her face fell when it was not someone she recognized. The slavemaster spoke softly,

 

"I have been sent by their majesties to assure that you are now being well-treated."

 

"Where are Colonel O'Neill and DanielJackson?" Teal'c spoke what sounded to Jack like lines he had said a hundred times already today.

 

"I have been told that they continue to negotiate with the royal house for your release. It is Colonel O'Neill's intervention that has provided these small comforts for you while you wait. He apologizes that it is not more."

 

"Why does O'Neill not come here himself?"

 

"He traded those visitation privileges for your better treatment. He hopes you understand."

 

Teal'c started to speak again, but Carter laid her hand on his forearm to quiet him.

 

"Thank him for us. Tell him that the conditions here improved a couple of weeks ago. Can you take him a message?"

 

"I can." The slavemaster nodded.

 

"Tell him it isn't the Ritz, but we are well fed, given ample water and rest periods and even have beds, baths and clean clothing. Tell him everything is by Geneva here now, and if we could just lose the chains we'd be good to go." She looked past the slavemaster at the masked and hooded figure standing behind him. Jack squirmed internally, but was relieved when he saw only pity in her eyes and not recognition.

 

Jack studied her and Teal'c's body language carefully. They both looked better rested than they had when he was there and the grime did not appear to be as deep, as if they had bathed recently. The clothes gave ample coverage and they were obviously now being well fed. Carter's face showed none of the desperation that he had seen himself.

 

Teal'c looked like he was again in protector mode and Jack was content knowing that Teal'c would forfeit his own life before allowing Carter to come to any harm. Jack also knew that Teal'c wouldn't do anything to endanger the remainder of his team.

 

"Please know that your continuing well-being is of great concern for both Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson. Colonel O'Neill is doing everything that he can to obtain your freedom."

 

"I don't doubt that," Carter said with a smirk.

 

"He asks if there is anything especially that you need?"

 

"Yes, tell him an MP5 and a GDO would be nice."

 

"He will know what these things are?"

 

"Trust me, he will know."

 

"I will deliver your message and your request. I take my leave now."

 

The slavemaster bowed slightly, then turned and left. Jack took a long last look at his team and followed. The slavemaster thanked the guard captain and then they started the long walk back. The slavemaster did not speak to Jack the entire walk which allowed Jack to ponder what he'd just seen.

 

Teal'c and Carter were still prisoners, but at least now the conditions were survivable. The slavemaster had upheld his part of the bargain so far and Jack would do nothing to endanger their continued good treatment.

 

Between the extended walks, the anxiety of the visit and the leather mask, Jack was pouring sweat by the time they returned to the slavemaster's house. When they went inside the waiting slaves relieved both men of their cloaks then the slavemaster sat down and instructed Jack to kneel.

 

"Remove his gag."

 

A slave moved in and unfastened the gag from the hood and removed it. He placed it in the slavemaster's hand.

 

"You may speak," was all he said to Jack.

 

Jack closed his mouth and swallowed hard. "Thank you, master," he said softly.

 

"I told you they would be well-treated as long as you continued to cooperate. I wish to know what those things are of which the woman spoke, and I warn you, I will ask Doctor Jackson and if he does not give the same answer, both you and they will be punished."

 

"An MP5 is a weapon, a GDO is a signal device that we use to send coded signals to let our people know we are coming through the stargate..."

 

"Stargate?"

 

"... the Chappa'ai. Geneva refers to a set of rules that govern the treatment of prisoners of war on our world; it's the guidelines for their well being while captive."

 

"What is this 'ritz'?"

 

"Ah, that's the name of a classy hotel."

 

"Explain."

 

"A hotel is a... a hostel, an inn. The Ritz is a very elaborate and luxurious inn on our world."

 

"Ahh, humor... or was it an attempt to compare their conditions?"

 

"Humor. Definitely humor... master."

 

"You behaved well. I am pleased. Your training is almost at an end. Costa will be here this evening to decide if any further training is necessary. I will warn you, he will not be as gentle towards you as I have been. Any disobedience on your part will be punished harshly and immediately. Do you understand?"

 

"Yes, master," Jack said softly, his eyes downcast.

 

The slavemaster addressed the other slaves in the room. "You three take off his mask and harness."

 

The three slaves hurried to comply. Jack could have sworn his skin came off with the mask. The rush of cool air to his face sent a shiver through his entire body. The slavemaster saw the shiver, the wetness and the whitish salt tracks inside the mask and the way the excess perspiration flowed unimpeded now and put out his hand to stop the slaves.

 

"See that he is fed and given plenty of water. I also want him cleaned inside, any regrowing hair removed and bathed. Then bring him to me. I will decide how he is to be dressed."

 

"Yes, master."

 

The slavemaster noted the slight waver as Jack was assisted to his feet and spoke again. "Give him water immediately. I will check his progress in a while."

 

The three slaves bowed and left to their tasks.

 

One of the three, a small red-headed female, had been particularly kind to Jack, even smiling gently as she handed him the bowl of broth. He was led to a stool in the kitchen while the kitchen staff prepared his meal. He assumed they were the kitchen staff and not slaves since they did not wear the distinctive harness and collar like the rest of the slaves.

 

Jack was directed to sit on a stool at the table where the slaves, the ones that were permitted to, ate their meals. The seat was like a horse shoe, eliminating any pressure on the metal phalli that the slaves wore or possibly sore genitalia. Jack had wondered about the strangely shaped stools but now as he sat down cautiously he knew why and found the unusual stool comfortable. He watched, sipping water as the staff hustled about.

 

He wondered if Daniel had noticed the curious mix of high and low tech these people used. The controller, collar and dildo were fairly high tech, as were some of the household fixtures. The water was solar heated and deposited into large insulated tanks in the bathing areas and kitchen. Cold water plumbing came from somewhere else. Heating seemed to be central, but of what variety Jack had no clue. There were commodes that were basically cabinets with seats, some kind of field disintegrating the effluence without virtue of any kind of plumbing. The cook was baking in a brick hearth oven, and there seemed to be no refrigeration, except for the baskets in the cellar under the kitchen where fruits and vegetables and items for extended storage were kept. There was a small tile-lined stream down there in which flowed icy water the path was obviously man made; Jack had seen jugs and bowls set in and around it. The lighting was ample and higher tech than the rest of the house, a wave past any fixture raised the level, a touch lowered it. The garments appeared homespun in style, but the fabrics were machine woven. The cloth was smooth and fine and came in all manner of varieties; from coarse woven canvas and wool-like to metallic sheen that looked like thin sheets of hammered metal and draped like fabric. Jack was sure that Daniel would know all the proper terms.

 

A meal of meat, vegetables, bread and cheese was placed in front of him and he ate with gusto under the watchful eye of the other slaves. The redheaded slave kept urging him to drink and refilled his cup constantly. Jack finished his meal with a sigh and wanted nothing more now than a nap but knew that wasn't likely to happen. He ran his hand back through his hair and was surprised how stiff with salt it was. The small female slave took him by the hand and led him from the room.

 

He started to shiver as the warmth of the kitchen and hearth was replaced by the cool tiled floor and walls of the baths. Fragrant steam rose from a single large stone tub that was being prepared by a slave and Jack was directed to lie on his side on a cloth covered bench, watching the action in the mirrored covered wall in front of him. The small redheaded woman was handed apparatus by the slave at the tub and returned to the bench, she handed something to one of the male slaves and then a cool hand touched Jack's buttocks. He jumped, then calmed when the hand first stroked and then lifted his right buttock exposing his anus and the chain leading to the dildo. She tugged slightly and Jack clenched as he felt the dildo within begin to move.

 

"Shhhh, you must relax." She spoke softly, one of her small hands stroked along his hip and she tugged on the chain again. This time Jack relaxed and the chain gave, his anus giving up its prisoner a little at a time, until the smooth metal slid out completely. The dildo lay on the bench next to Jack's hip and the woman smoothed her hand across Jack's hip again before replacing the bulky dildo with a long thin wand. Jack barely felt the intrusion, but when the hot water started flowing inside him he gasped.

 

"Shhh, breathe deeply and relax." The woman spoke softly, leaning near Jack's ear.

 

He'd had enemas before, of course, the ice water kind had been a favorite method of his captors during a particularly hellish portion of his life. Then there were the medical kind that followed as he was recovering. He and Sara had even tried it one time after that, but the memories had been so strong then that his arousal flagged immediately and they never tried it again. This was different, this one spread warmth deep inside him. He could feel the shivers he had earlier waning quickly as the warm water raised his core temperature. The cramping was sudden and dramatic and he assumed it was because he had just eaten. He groaned and started to curl up holding his abdomen. A fine sheen of perspiration formed on his face and the woman placed her hand on his belly and started to rub in circles, urging him to relax.

 

As his distress increased, she turned to the other slave and spoke. "That's enough for now." Then she leaned down to Jack again. "I will remove the tube and then you may expel the water." Jack nodded and she removed the tube, handing it to the other slave, then extended a hand to assist Jack to sit. He sat for only a second before getting up and heading for the commode. When he was finished, he was told to lie back down and the procedure was repeated twice more. When the water expelled was as clear as when it went in, the enemas stopped.

 

Then Jack was led back to the bench, covered with hot towels and his face and body were slathered in the fragrant depilatory cream. This had been done everyday since his arrival and he wondered just how fast they thought his hair grew that it needed daily removal. By the time they finished covering him head to toe with the cream, it was time to begin the removal process and they first scraped and then wiped all traces of hair from his face and body, leaving only his eyebrows and scalp hair.

 

Then he was told to get into the tub. He carried the metal dildo in his hand like a talisman, washing it when instructed to as other hands washed him. He stepped refreshed and a little sleepy from the tub and lay back down on the bench again as the now familiar depilatory cream was again applied to his entire body and massaged in, setting his skin to tingling. His eyes widened when it started. He failed to understand why they needed to apply it a second time and the female slave spoke again.

 

"This stops the hair from growing. It is more effective than a blade and eventually its effects are permanent; most of us no longer require its use." She applied the cream to his face, spreading it up along his jaw and cheekbones, then down his neck, ending just above the healing burns.

 

"It is important that we use this daily until all growth stops. The leather mask will create sores unless the hair is removed; I have seen this and they are difficult to heal. This is better." Then she warmed more cream in her hands and smoothed it all over his groin and balls, careful to cover the puckering skin completely before massaging it in. Jack could not help but grow hard under her gentle touch and blushed. She smiled at his embarrassment and nodded. "Please turn over now."

 

Jack did as he was told and she applied more of the cream to his buttocks and the crack between before covering each freshly denuded leg. By the time she was done Jack was relaxed and sleepier than he had been before. The woman picked up the metal dildo, applied some lubricant to it, then pushed it inside before Jack had a chance to realize or object to what was happening. The sudden intrusion instantly returned him to his senses, the pleasant haze quickly giving way to the harsh reality of his servitude, the reminder of which was once again in place.

 

"We are through here. Come, we must return to the master." She wiped her hands and motioned for Jack to follow. He got up reluctantly and walked behind her, noticing that darkness had fallen and all the rooms were now brightly lit by lamps. The house was cooler than the baths had been, but was still comfortable in spite of his nudity.

 

They stopped outside of the door to the master's reception room and the woman bade Jack and the other wait while she went in. Then she returned to the door and motioned for them to come inside. Jack entered and approached the slavemaster when beckoned, then stood as the slavemaster examined him.

 

"You fed and watered him?"

 

"As you instructed master, he has been given plenty of water."

 

"Very good, and has he been cleaned inside?" The slavemaster asked the female slave now kneeling to the side.

 

"Yes master, he was filled three times as you instructed."

 

"Kneel down and bend over. I would check for myself." The slavemaster spoke to Jack now and Jack moved carefully to his knees and then bent forward, lifting his buttocks high, his forehead touching the floor. The slavemaster ran his hand down the chain and between his buttocks, tugging on the chained phallus until it slipped out. He slipped two fingers of his right hand into his mouth and then into Jack.

 

Jack closed his eyes against the intrusion and tried not to tense as the fingers pushed deep inside and then twisted. The slavemaster pulled his fingers out and examined them then wiped his hand on a towel he was handed. He reached down and replaced the dildo, then stepped back and smiled.

 

"Put his harness on now. Our visitor will be here soon."

 

He sat down in a large armchair and watched as the two male slaves who moved in this time helped Jack to his feet and started to apply the harness and ball spreader. They worked quickly, pulling the leather straps into place and making sure that the triangle of leather that covered Jack in front and rode between his buttocks was snug before stepping back for the slavemaster's examination.

 

He checked the tension on the straps and nodded. "Good. Costa will be here shortly. You may kneel now, slave."

 

Jack got to his knees and waited while the slavemaster sorted through various masks before choosing one made from red leather. He handed it to the female slave and she bowed, then stood and approached Jack. She placed the mask over his face and smoothed it down before pulling it snug over his ears and the top of his head. She was methodical in the way she brushed his hair back under the leather and carefully checked the tension in the neckband, then she started to lace it up. Before long, Jack was again sealed in a leather cocoon, away from everyone, even himself.

 

He discovered that the mask freed him as much as it made him a slave; it allowed him to detach himself from what he was ordered to do, insulating him from this entire mess. The mask allowed him to hide his failure to protect his team where no one could see and as the lacing was secured, he was protected, his secret was safe. He opened his mouth when told and accepted the red penis shaped gag and watched as the woman slave's small fingers fastened it into place. He was safe in his leather cocoon and no one would know it was him, what he had done and what he had failed to do.

 

When she was finished, the slavemaster allowed Jack to stand next to his chair while they waited for the slavemaster's visitor. When a servant came and told the slavemaster that Costa was here, Jack was told to kneel as the slavemaster stood to greet his guest.

 

"Costa, I am delighted you could join me."

 

"I always enjoy sampling your work, you know; your attention to detail is widely known. How is the new project?"

 

"He is as you see." The slavemaster waved in Jack's direction. "I think that he is ready, save a few small details."

 

"What kind of details?"

 

"Well, he still requires daily application of the cream that we use to remove and prevent hair growth, but that will only take another few suns or so before it is no longer required."

 

"Ahh, I often wondered how it was that the slaves all remained hairless." Costa smiled and nodded.

 

"It requires application at every sun for a time but is very effective. I can send Nosha to attend to him until it is no longer required. After that, the rest of his care can be provided by the household slave keeper."

 

"Which is Nosha?" Costa asked looking about the room. The slavemaster pointed at the small redheaded female that had been kind to Jack.

 

"She can provide the necessary care until he is acclimated into the household and any other services that you may need; she is adept with both male and female and in all forms of service."

 

"That will be fine."

 

"Have you considered a name for him yet?" The slavemaster studied Jack.

 

"I had not; perhaps something from the old tongue..." Costa's head tilted as he stared at Jack. "... Hadd, I think would be appropriate for him; yes, definitely, Hadd."

 

The slavemaster turned to look at Costa for a moment and then smiled. "I agree, it is perfect..." he turned towards Jack and lifted his chin forcing Jack to look at him. "...your name is now Hadd. You will answer to that or slave... you have no other identity. Failure to respond instantly to that name will result in punishment. Do you understand?"

 

Jack nodded when his chin was released by the slavemaster.

 

"I will have his contract now..." Costa told the slavemaster, "... I have brought full payment."

 

The slavemaster nodded and handed a sheaf of papers to Costa, who stamped the documents with his ring and handed half back. Then he produced a large purse which he also handed over.

 

"Nosha, make preparations for yourself and Hadd to accompany Lord Costa. Take enough supplies for half a cycle and these as well." The slavemaster toed the bag that contained multiple harnesses and masks. Nosha bowed low and quickly scrambled to her feet and left the room.

 

"I will show you how to secure the gag." The slavemaster reached down and unfastened the gag, then removed it. The priest shifted when he saw the red penis withdrawn from the slave's mouth and commented, "Perhaps I should see if using that gag has improved his skills? Just to be certain, you understand. I must assure the quality of the service he will provide."

 

The slavemaster laughed and spoke. "Easily done, Costa. Hadd, my Lord Costa requires your mouth." Then he sat back and watched as Jack shuffled around on his knees until he was between the priest's legs and opened his trousers, extracting the engorging cock and quickly sucking the head between his lips.

 

Jack's mouth rode up and down on the lengthening cock as the slavemaster watched. He smiled as Costa moaned out his pleasure, then using his bracelet, adjusted Jack's collar to a pale blue. He sat back and motioned for a female slave to sit on his lap while he toyed with her breasts and genitalia.

 

Costa took hold of the handles on the mask and started to pull Jack's head down further with each thrust. Jack gagged and sputtered, but resisted pulling away. The priest's breathing quickened and he finally held Jack's head close as he came, then released his grip on the handles, allowing Jack to pull back far enough to swallow. When Costa pushed him away, he shuffled back around to his former position. The slavemaster again adjusted the bracelet controls, the pale blue glow was gone and Jack's collar returned to dormant.

 

Nosha returned carrying a cape and boots, getting immediately to her knees when she entered the room.

 

"Ahh, Nosha, is everything prepared for your journey?"

 

"Yes, master. I have enough supplies for half a mooncycle as you ordered."

 

The slavemaster regarded Costa "I trust you will return her to me in the same condition as you have received her. She is a favorite of mine and I would not appreciate it if she were damaged."

 

"Andu, do not concern yourself. She will be well treated."

 

The slavemaster pushed the female off of his lap and motioned for Nosha to approach.

 

"Perhaps I should give her a gift to remember me by, Costa. It would not due for her to forget me." The slavemaster laughed as he thrust his hand between her legs. She shifted in order to open her legs a little and the slavemaster spoke again.

 

"Hadd, I think you should pleasure Nosha with your mouth since it is currently unoccupied." The slavemaster opened his own trousers and freed his hardening cock then he pulled the small redhead onto his knees. She spread her legs wide, allowing Jack to again shuffle around to the front of the chair and lean down to taste the naked cunt before him. The slavemaster fingered his bracelet and Nosha's collar began to glow blue. This close, Jack could hear the vibrations of the dildo within and his tongue played along the chain until it came to where it disappeared deep and then he began to work the slave girl's prominent clit with his tongue and lips.

 

Nosha writhed on the slavemaster's lap as Jack worked and the slavemaster looked pleased. "Hadd, you may use your hands as well."

 

Jack nodded once and, reaching out, tilted Nosha's hips up slightly, sinking his face deep as he worked. The slavemaster pushed Nosha forward and freed his own cock, then spoke to Jack again, "Remove her phallus, Hadd, and then use your fingers."

 

Jack followed the direction quickly, the metal phallus slipped out with ease as Nosha's juices flowed unimpeded now. Jack slurped his way along the soft hairless cunt, thrusting his tongue as deep as possible. The slavemaster lifted the small woman slightly and allowed her to come down on his hard shaft now as Jack continued to work the fleshy hood back and forth over the engorging clit.

 

"Taste us both, Hadd, suck us both." The slavemaster was very well-endowed and his large cock did not entirely fit into Nosha's small sex. Jack swiped at the cock with his tongue, dragging it up and across Nosha's clit before delving back down as far as the slavemaster's ball sack. The small woman began to breathe quickly as her orgasm neared and the slavemaster noticed. He shifted his hands back under her buttocks and lifted her up.

 

"I will have her rear now, Hadd. You may guide my entry, then finish her."

 

Jack guided the slick cock out of the dripping cunt and moved the broad head back to the woman's anus. He held the slavemaster's cock in place as he lowered the small woman onto the hard organ. Nosha worked at relaxing enough for penetration; she had obviously done this before. She gasped as the broad head popped inside and the slavemaster held still until she nodded that she was ready before lowering her further.

 

Now the slavemaster shifted forward in the chair and spread his legs. He still supported Nosha's buttocks in his hands and Jack slipped his own under her from the front and tilting her slightly, pulled her against his mouth. He slipped three fingers inside her and rubbed his thumb across her clit, then leaned in and sucked hard at it. With his fingers inside Nosha's cunt, Jack could feel the slavemaster's cock as it bulged the thin wall of tissue separating the two orifices. Jack couldn't resist the urge to stroke the length of cock inside Nosha's rectum from inside her vagina, increasing the sensation for both Nosha and the slavemaster.

 

She gasped, then came and Jack could feel her juice flowing over his hand. He continued to suck hard at the nub until the slavemaster pulled her down hard and thrust up, shooting deep. He thrust several more times and then smiled and flopped back into the chair. Then he pushed her forward and off his softening cock.

 

"Nosha, you may clean me with your mouth while Hadd cleans you."

 

Nosha got up and turned, leaning down to lick at the flaccid cock of the slavemaster. Jack kneeled up and started to suck and lick at the come that ran from both of Nosha's holes. He slipped his tongue inside her pussy and dipped into the sweetness there before slipping it into the dilated muscle of her anus and tasting the bitter salt of the slavemaster's come as it ran into his mouth. He went back and forth until Nosha was moving her hips, grinding her sex against his face. Jack opened his mouth and sucked her cunt hard and she came again, the sweetness flowing as he swallowed. He was aching now and his own erection poked hard at the leather triangle that contained it.

 

"Enough! Ledi, Get a basin and clean them both up. We cannot allow them to travel in this condition." The slavemaster pushed Nosha away and Jack was forced back on his heels. Costa noticed the prominent bulge in the leather triangle and laughed.

 

"Andu, perhaps Hadd's predicament should also be relieved before we travel."

 

The slavemaster looked down and laughed. "Nosha, finish him with your mouth, then clean yourselves up so that you may leave. Hadd, you may lay on your back."

 

Jack scrambled back a couple of feet and then lay down flat on his back. Nosha unfastened the leather triangle from the front and pushed it aside freeing Jack's hard cock. She opened her mouth and swallowed Jack deep.

 

Ledi returned with a basin and several cloths, waiting for instructions from the slavemaster.

 

"Ledi, You may wash and dry Hadd's face and mask, while Nosha works."

 

Ledi bowed and knelt on the floor next to Jack. She wrung out a cloth and cleaned the slimy mucus from the leather mask, careful to clean well around the mouth opening, dried it and then proceeded to wash both of his hands. Jack was lifting his hips to meet Nosha's downward thrusts and when the slavemaster fingered his bracelet bringing Jack's collar to a bright blue glow, Jack thrust twice more and then came with a gasp.

 

Nosha sucked him until he was spent and his cock slipped soft from her mouth, then sat back and waited while Ledi bathed his groin clean of sweat and come.

 

"Nosha, perhaps you could clean yourself more effectively, you may go do so." The woman bowed to the slavemaster and left the room quickly, carrying her phallus in her hand.

 

When Ledi was done, she stood and bowed and then left the room with her basin and cloths.

 

"You two may redress Hadd now." The slavemaster addressed the two male slaves kneeling across the room. They quickly rose and helped Jack to his feet, then began reattaching the leather triangle. The slavemaster handed the red gag to one slave and Jack opened his mouth as it was pushed inside and then fastened into place.

 

By the time Jack's boots were laced up and his cape was on, Nosha returned. The slavemaster rose as Costa did and they spoke quietly for a few moments before the slavemaster turned to address them.

 

"Hadd, you will carry the valise and follow the orders of your new master. I warn you not to bring shame upon me in any way or I will be forced to seek retribution from one of those who still labor in the mines. Lord Costa has agreed in our contract to guarantee their continued good treatment in exchange for your good behavior. I will be advised of any infraction by you and will have the option of remanding one or both of your companions for any punishment I see fit. Lord Costa has agreed to allow you to accompany him to the mines for his inspections so that you may see that they continue to be well-treated."

 

The slavemaster turned back to the priest. "Lord Costa, I deliver to you the new slave for their majesties."

 

"I thank you, Andu, and rest assured you also have the gratitude of her majesty. I will take my leave now." Costa bowed slightly and headed for the door with Nosha and Jack following close behind.

 

---

 

Shyla and Daniel moved easily through the days leading up to their marriage, most of the ceremony and preparations were dictated by texts that predated Pyrus' victory over the Goa'uld. Much of the time was spent being measured for the wedding clothes and acknowledging the many gifts that were sent by the noble born and wealthy. A great deal of time was also spent luxuriating in the glow produced by Daniel's many visits to the sarcophagus. Shyla kept him busy and distracted enough that even if he remembered his teammates, he didn't have time to look into their whereabouts.

 

Daniel continued to utilize the sureties, and Shyla made certain there was always plenty of active visitors in the palace to ensure his entertainment. When Costa returned to the palace with new slaves in tow, he requested an audience with the princess and she made certain that Daniel was out collecting tribute from some of the outlying provinces before agreeing.

 

"Your majesty, it is good to see you looking so happy."

 

"I would be happier, Costa, if you bring me good news."

 

"I do, your majesty. Andu the slavemaster has completed his assignment and I have returned with the new slave."

 

"This is news I thought I would never hear, Costa. So tell me how he fares?"

 

"He still requires some care, but Andu has sent his most trusted slave along to do this. He anticipates that this will only be required for another quarter mooncycle."

 

"What is this care of which you speak?"

 

"The slavers use a cream that prevents hair growth. It requires a number of applications before its effects are permanent; it must be applied at least daily. She has been sent to see to its application until the cream has completed its work. I believed that you would prefer this to having to wait any longer to take delivery."

 

"Very true, Costa. Again you prove your good judgment."

 

"I have also taken the liberty to have Andu fit him with a mask that he will wear at all times when in service, until you see fit for him to remove it. There are a number of them, in various colors and they all come with gags. They are very effective in concealing his identity."

 

"Excellent! I will see him now." Shyla smiled broadly and clapped her hands in excitement like a small child.

 

Costa bowed and looked toward the guard standing just inside the door. "Send them in."

 

The guard bowed and opened the door, allowing Jack and Nosha to enter.

 

"Your majesty, this is your new slave Hadd. The female is Nosha; she will provide Hadd's care until he is capable of being on his own. She is adept with both male and female."

 

"And he?"

 

"Is also adept with both sexes."

 

"Really?" Shyla appeared surprised.

 

"Yes, majesty, he is very skilled with females and Andu has spent much time training him for male use as well."

 

"The mask is quite impressive..." Shyla spoke to Costa then turned back towards Jack. "...Remove your cloak. I would see my new property."

 

 

"Excellent, I see he wears a collar. Does he wear a phallus as well?"

 

"Yes, majesty... Turn around, Hadd."

 

Jack turned his back to the princess, allowing her to see the chain leading down from his collar and disappearing between his buttocks.

 

"Good, and does he appreciate the purpose of both?"

 

"Yes, majesty. Hadd, turn around and approach us."

 

Jack turned and stepped closer.

 

"Kneel, slave."

 

Jack got to his knees carefully.

 

Costa got up and tilted the masked head to one side to show the healing blisters around Jack's neck to the princess.

 

"You understand, slave, that the welfare of your friends in the mines depends on your complete obedience?" Shyla spoke slowly and carefully.

 

Jack nodded in response and Shyla looked at Costa.

 

"He cannot speak, majesty, he wears a gag."

 

"Ahh, of course, I will have it out for the moment, Costa. I require more than a nod."

 

"Nosha, you may remove his gag."

 

Nosha quickly moved up and removed the fat red gag. Shyla's eyes widened at the size of the device.

 

"He wears this all the time?"

 

"We thought it best for now, majesty, unless you desire otherwise."

 

"No, no, I defer to your judgment on this matter, Costa... Do you understand the consequences of disobedience, slave?"

 

"Yes, master."

 

"Costa!" Shyla was infuriated.

 

"Her majesty must always be referred to as your majesty, unless in the private of the bedchamber when she may be addressed as mistress. Do you understand, slave?"

 

"Yes, master. I apologize your majesty, I meant no offense." Jack lowered his gaze and bowed.

 

"This is why Nosha was sent. There was not time enough to instruct him in all the protocols of court during his time with Andu."

 

"Make sure that he is so instructed, Costa. I will not be embarrassed by a slave."

 

"Yes, majesty."

 

"You understand that the continued good treatment your friends enjoy can be withdrawn with a word? I have need of many slaves to keep my warriors entertained. I doubt the female would survive, but the Jaffa would provide many, many hours of pleasure before he succumbs."

 

"Yes, your majesty."

 

"I will have you entertain my consort tonight, slave. You will provide whatever he requires of you and unless he has need of your mouth, you will continue to wear the gag. If he has use of your mouth, you may remove it; but you may NOT speak under any circumstances, even if addressed directly. Do you understand? I warn you, your behavior will be closely observed even as you serve."

 

"Yes, your majesty."

 

"If you disobey, you will be punished as will your friends. After that you will pay a visit to my physicians."

 

"Yes, your majesty."

 

"Costa, see to them both. They smell of the road, I will retire to my rooms. Be certain that he is well prepared and inform the other male slaves that attend that he is to wear the gag."

 

"Yes, your majesty. I will see to it." Costa bowed as Shyla stood and left.

 

"Come, I will show you your quarters and speak to the slave keeper."

 

Jack and Nosha picked up their capes and the valise and then followed Costa to the slave quarters.

 

---

 

Part 2

 

The large doors opened into what almost looked like a harem out of a storybook. There was a central pool with a fountain and male and female slaves lounged on furniture and cushions all about the room. All were naked except for the ever present collar and chain that vanished between their legs. The males all wore harnesses, but Jack did not see any other masks.

 

A giant of a man approached them when they entered. Jack figured him to be nearly seven feet tall. He was dressed in britches and a tunic which was undone, flopping open to reveal a massive and hairy chest.

 

"My Lord Costa, how may I help you?" The man bowed from the waist and smiled.

 

"Lephos, I would speak with you privately."

 

"Certainly, my lord, this way."

 

Costa turned to Nosha and Jack. "Come."

 

They followed the huge man into a curtained alcove and the slave keeper motioned for Costa to sit. Nosha nodded and motioned to Jack and then they both knelt before the two men.

 

"Could I offer you refreshment, Lord Costa?"

 

"No, Lephos, I have many duties that I need attend so I cannot enjoy your company this evening. I have come to deliver these to you. The male is Hadd; he is new to service and comes at the request of her majesty as a present for her consort."

 

"Who trained him?"

 

"He comes from the house of Andu."

 

"Oh, excellent! There is none better."

 

"However..." Costa warned.

 

"Yes, my lord?"

 

"He is still very unfamiliar with the requirements of service. Her majesty wanted his training expedited and he still has much to learn. There has been almost no training in royal protocols; I will leave that up to you."

 

"That should not be a problem, my lord. Is the mask a requirement?"

 

"Yes, Lephos, he is to wear it at all times when he goes to service and if there are any visitors to the slave quarters. He is to always wear the gag when he wears the mask unless his mouth is required. He is not allowed to speak during service. On this point her majesty was very clear; she WILL send him to the physicians if that rule is violated."

 

Lephos nodded and spoke.

 

"The last slave that his majesty, my lord Pyrus sent to the physicians for correction still lives, although he cannot swallow anything thicker than gruel. He occasionally still provides service, but mute eunuchs are in little demand in the royal house. Usually he is just used to satiate the more, shall we say unusual requests of guests..." Lephos said to Jack and then turned to Costa to finish "... three nights ago, while you were gone my lord, he was required to provide service for several of Lord Kumar's pets. It was quite a show; I understand the royal consort was practically beside himself with laughter."

 

"It sounds like it was quite an evening, Lephos, I am sorry I was unable to attend."

 

"Yes, my lord, the princess remarked how you would have enjoyed the scene."

 

"But to return to business... the female is Nosha, she remains the property of Andu and is merely along to assist Hadd in acclimating to his new situation. She will train you and the others in applying the mask and gag correctly. She also must also see to his hair removal until the effects become permanent."

 

Lephos looked surprised. "Then he is indeed very new to service if the cream has not as yet done its job. I keep very little on hand here; it is seldom required after they are delivered to us."

 

"Andu has provided a supply for Nosha to use; more can be requested if necessary, but I imagine that Nosha would be better able to advise you if she will have enough to complete her assignment. Andu said it would only be about another few suns before it was no longer necessary."

 

"Good..." Lephos looked at Nosha, "... I will discuss this with you later."

 

"Yes, master." Nosha bowed.

 

"Her majesty has decided that the male is for now to be used outside the stable at her direction only. The female is available for anyone's use so long as there is no abuse involved. As I said, she is still Andu's property and is a favorite of his; he would not look kindly on her mistreatment."

 

"I understand, my Lord Costa, you need not worry. Are they experienced?"

 

"The female is skilled with both sexes. The male seems very skilled with females but is still learning the ways of pleasuring a male. Andu has made great progress with him but was working under limited time, so he remains in need of practice. I would suggest that you tutor him sparingly here within the stable, keeping in mind of course her majesty's instruction." Costa smiled.

 

"I will keep it in mind, of course my lord."

 

"Her majesty wishes him to attend her consort tonight, Lephos. But first he must bathe and be fed. I understand from Andu that it is important that he drink a great deal of water when wearing the mask as it can be quite hot. Her majesty paid a large price for this one to be trained she would not appreciate it if he became ill. I doubt that he will drink if it is not ordered that he do so; you best be vigilant."

 

"I will, my Lord..." Lephos looked at Nosha now, "...you may remove his gag."

 

Nosha bowed her head and got to her feet. She unfastened the gag and drew it carefully from Jack's mouth. Lephos put his hand out for the gag and Nosha handed it to him. He turned it over in his hands and examined it.

 

"Are they all like this?" he asked Nosha.

 

"Yes, master, the colors differ, but the form and size is the same."

 

"You may remove his mask." Costa spoke now and Nosha quickly moved behind Jack and began to unfasten the mask. Lephos put out his hand to examine it when she removed it.

 

"Sturdy, a very well made device. I see it also has handles." Lephos laughed.

 

"Andu called them 'service aids'. I have personally found them very convenient."

 

"I see why she keeps him masked; he is much older than is common for those entering service."

 

"Nonetheless, he was especially chosen for this by her majesty..." Costa rose and spoke "... I must take my leave of you, Lephos. I am also weary from traveling and wish to bathe. I also have work to do. I suspect her majesty will stop by later to check on your new charge and give specific instructions for his use. If there are any questions until then, I am certain that Nosha will be able to answer them or you know where my quarters are."

 

"Yes, my Lord Costa." Lephos bowed deeply and watched as Costa exited before shouting into the common area. "Ston!"

 

A tall female slave appeared almost instantly. "Yes, master?"

 

"Show these two the stable. Nosha is the female; she is a guest and not to be touched unless she desires or I order. The male is Hadd; he is new to service but must NOT be injured, he is intended as a gift for the consort. Bathe them, feed them and explain the rules. Then return them to me..." he addressed Nosha "... leave the cloaks and boots here, you will have no need for them now. I will take them and the valise." He opened the bag and extracted several more masks in various colors and four in black, all had gags attached. There were also two large jars of the herbal cream. "I will keep these things in my quarters; you may come retrieve them when they are needed. You will also need to instruct me in proper care of these masks."

 

Nosha bowed, "Yes, master."

 

She quickly removed her cape and boots and set them to the side and watched as Jack did the same.

 

The slave eyed the two newcomers warily, then waved an arm towards the center of the common area when Lephos nodded.

 

Ston was nearly as tall as Jack and built like an Amazon. She also obviously had some influence here as most slaves bowed or scurried away when she approached. She stood next to the fountain and spoke. "This is the stable; this is where we stay when not required for service." She moved across the huge room and pointed at doors that covered one wall.

 

"Blankets are kept in there; they are only allowed to be used at night. There are also extra pillows..." They moved into a cool tiled room with many fixtures that looked like multi-nozzled water spigots and benches and along one wall were the unusual commodes that Jack had first used at Andu's. There were decorative hooks hanging from the ceiling from which dangled a myriad of bags and tubes. "...This is the cleansing area. All slaves are required to use it at least daily. Female slaves must be cleansed in both offerings daily. There are NO exceptions..." The last part was directed to Nosha and left no doubt that she was not excused from this requirement. "...this is usually done before sunsleep so that we may be prepared for our service during moontide. There are occasionally visitors here and they may require a demonstration or service; we always accommodate them, unless Lephos directs otherwise. All of our offerings are available at all times to anyone who requires service, is that clear?"

 

"Yes, Ston." Nosha said simply. Jack hesitated.

 

"Do you understand, slave?"

 

Jack spoke softly. "I don't... I'm not sure..." he swallowed hard and then just asked, "...what is an offering?"

 

Ston laughed out loud and grabbed at his exposed penis and testicles stretched out tight to the sides.

 

"You ARE new, aren't you?"

 

"Yes, master." Jack answered

 

The backhanded blow he received was sharp enough to sting but not to do permanent damage. Nosha grabbed at his arm and held a hand out to Ston.

 

"My apologies, Ston. Hadd does not understand our ways..." She turned to a stunned Jack "... Ston is a slave, Hadd. She also serves; you must never call her or any other slave master. Do you understand?"

 

Jack nodded "Yes, Nosha. I'm still not up on all the protocols here yet. I'm sorry, Ston."

 

"You speak strangely as well..." She shook her head "... this is one of your offerings, she stroked his lips, then reached down and her fingers traced the flaccid length of Jack's cock as it hung from the ball spreader contraption. "... this is another and that which is occupied by the chained phallus is another. This one..."

 

Her hand shot between Nosha's legs "... as a female has one additional offering." Her smile as she touched Nosha's soft sex, revealed to Jack instantly where her preferences lie. Nosha moved one foot and opened her legs wider to the invading fingers, jumping with a tiny gasp as Ston fingered her clit. "I can imagine many pleasurable hours with you, pretty one, but that will have to wait. I have been given my orders." Ston pulled her hand back quickly and Nosha inhaled sharply as fingers were roughly removed from tender areas. Ston lifted the fingers to her mouth, licking them as she turned and started to walk into another area.

 

"These are the baths; they are also required daily, or more often as instructed."

 

The large area was a myriad of pools at one end the steam rose from a series of several. The ones closest to where they stood were empty.

 

"I will send attendants to you to assist you. Follow me and I will show you where we eat."

 

They followed the woman through to a large room on the far side of the baths. The room was furnished with a long dining table, one chair and a large number of the curious stools that Jack had first seen at Andu's house. Ston pulled opened a door at the far end and they moved into a brightly lit hallway, through another door at the end and into a room beside the kitchen.

 

A large man looked up and moved towards them. "How may I help you, Ston?"

 

"These two are new to the household, Iza. They have traveled far and require food before they begin service. Since they arrived so late and missed our meal, Lephos asks if you would feed them."

 

"That should not present a problem. I have just finished providing the royal hunting party's repast and have plenty left."

 

Ston bowed and ushered Nosha and Jack to a small corner alcove where there were more of the horseshoe stools. They sat down and waited until two young servants put platters of meat, cheese, and fruit on the table along with a loaf of bread. Jack waited for Nosha to nod at him before filling a plate and beginning to eat. Nosha filled a large cup from a pitcher and passed it to him before placing the pitcher within his reach.

 

"Drink, Hadd, you must remember to drink as well." Jack nodded then lifted the cup and quickly downed the contents.

 

"So Nosha, we get very few guests here. Where are you from?" Ston plucked grapes from the platter and popped them one at a time into her mouth.

 

"I belong to my Lord Andu, the slavemaster and trainer. I am sent to look after Hadd until his training is complete and he is more accustomed to the ways of our kind and the royal house."

 

"How did you come to his service?"

 

"My sire and dam are both in service; they were chosen by my Lord Andu to breed. How did you come into service, Ston?"

 

"I was selected by the elders and handed into his majesty's service as part of the harvest offering from my village..." Ston looked up at Jack.

 

"...and you, Hadd, how did you come to service? You seem quite old to be chosen and have many more scars on your body than is usual for our kind."

 

"I wish you people would stop saying that. I'm not that old. Yeah, I'll admit to the scars, but that's because I'm a soldier."

 

"Soldier? What is soldier?"

 

"I am a warrior, a commander in fact."

 

Ston looked surprised. "You lie! Warriors are not remanded to service anywhere but among the ranks and a commander would never be sent into service for wrongdoing, they are executed. The gods long before Pyrus set those laws."

 

"Yeah, maybe. But I'm not from around here, actually. I'm from another planet."

 

"Planet?"

 

"World, another world. I came through the star... the Chappa'ai."

 

Ston stared him in the face briefly and then laughed. "Only gods come through the Chappa'ai... and they don't now because they still fear the godslayer and his armies."

 

"Yeah well, the Chappa'ai goes other places, too, and I'm from one of those other places."

 

Ston stared and then shook her head. "It is of no matter. You are here now. Now you are in service and all that you have is for the pleasure of those that you serve. Make no mistake, you are here for one reason only and I warn you to look cautiously around the stable. There are few slaves there that have seen anywhere near as many seasons as you. You are property and subject to the whims of your owner. I suggest you make yourself as desirable as possible for as long as possible. Only the lucky favored few are kept to work in the royal stables as attendants, the rest are sent off for use in the temples."

 

"Use in the temples? Like how?"

 

"Ahh worshippers pay the priests to be serviced by them, and sometimes they are used to reenact Pyrus victory over the gods. In most cases they do not survive for long."

 

Nosha nodded. "It is true, my dam was sent to the temples when Andu lost his use for her. That was many seasons ago, I had only just left the breast. It was long before I was initiated into service."

 

"What about your sire?" Ston asked.

 

"He was killed by Andu as a favor."

 

Jack gulped water and sputtered "A FAVOR?"

 

"He had become sick. Fever took his eyesight and as a reward for his service, Andu took his life instead of sending him to the temples. I was very grateful to him then as I am now for his kindness."

 

Jack emptied his cup and shook his head. "I thought you people had doctors? Physicians?"

 

"They are only for the noble born and wealthy. The common people have healers, but they are not as skilled, as many die from their intercession as from illness or injury. Most masters are not inclined to waste the cost of a healer for a slave. It is less costly to acquire and train a new slave."

 

"If you are finished, we must return for your cleansing and baths, the sunsleep is soon upon us."

 

Jack downed the last of the water and nodded. "I'm ready, I guess."

 

Ston looked at him and spoke softly. "I suggest that you speak as little as possible, Hadd. It will incur you less punishment. In the world of service, strange is not a good thing, do you understand?"

 

"I think so. Thanks."

 

When they returned to the stables, Jack and Nosha were stripped, their phalli removed and Ston made Jack watch as Nosha was made to lie on a bench in a shallow tiled tub while tubes were inserted into her both front and rear. Ston reached up and two bulging bags that hung from one of the hooks began emptying into the small redhead's body. Water flowed immediately out of her hairless cunt draining away when it splashed onto the floor of the tub.

 

The other bag was slower and Jack watched as her small belly began to rise from the fluid entering her colon. She grimaced briefly then held up a hand. Ston stopped the flow quickly and gave her a hand stepping from the tub and to one of the commode chairs. She expelled the solution and returned to the tub, reinserting the tubes herself. She nodded and Ston began the flow again. Her belly got large this time, almost as if she was pregnant and Jack was surprised that the small body could hold so much solution.

 

She stepped from the tub and went back to the commode. She pressed a lever before she sat down and expelled the contents of her bowel and then stood and looked down. The field had been adjusted to hold the contents this time and not disintegrate them. The solution was nearly clear. Nosha pressed the lever again and the field disintegrated the contents of the bowl. She went back to the tub once again and reinserted both tubes. Ston had refilled both bags from the hanging taps and they again bulged with fluid.

 

This time when Nosha nodded, Ston cut the flow and assisted her to stand. Ston ran her hands all over Nosha's breasts and protruding belly obviously enjoying the moment.

 

"Your turn, Hadd, lay as I did. Put your feet up here." Nosha pointed to curved indentations in the top of the shallow tiled tub enclosure and realized that they were intended to be like those things that women were put in for gynecological exams. He'd made enough prenatal visits with Sara to recognize stirrups, even primitive ones. He placed his feet where instructed. Nosha was released from Ston's embrace to insert the thinner tube into Jack and signaled for Ston to open the valve. Nosha gently rubbed Jack's belly as the water filled him. Jack was amazed that she could hold all the water she had and still function, seemingly without notice.

 

When a sweat broke out on Jack's face, Nosha signaled for Ston to halt the flow. She extended a hand to Jack who quickly stepped over the low sides of the tub and headed for the line of commodes. He had completely lost any sense of privacy that he had been left after so long in the military, so Ston and Nosha's scrutiny didn't stymie him at all. Ston draped herself around Nosha's back and caressed her breasts and pronounced belly while they watched Jack. He got up when he was done and returned to the tub, then lay back down and placed his feet in the slots.

 

Nosha again stepped into the tub and reinserted the tube into Jack then nodded and Ston started the water flow again. This time, with the assistance of Nosha's soft words and caress, he managed to hold more than he ever had before he started to cramp. She smiled and assisted him to rise and then watched with Ston as he flipped the lever on the commode as he had seen Nosha do, then sat and expelled the contents of his bowel. He stood and flipped the lever again, then walked back to the tub.

 

"The water was clear."

 

"That is good, Hadd, but I suggest one last infusion that you will hold as long as possible..." Nosha rubbed her own belly "... this will assist you in learning muscle control and can be very helpful to prevent being punished for lack of control after service of your master. I would like you to try."

 

Jack stepped back into the tub and inserted the tube himself, then nodded to Ston as Nosha smiled.

 

Jack took slow deep breaths and Nosha stepped in to caress his belly as it swelled with fluid. When he again broke into a sweat, Nosha signaled for the flow to stop. Nosha's hands wandered all over him now, toying with his cock and balls before returning to stroke across his chest and belly. Her soft hands distracted him from the pressure inside and he moaned as his cock started to thicken. He watched her eyes roving over him as she caressed and looked down at her hardening nipples. Nosh nodded to Ston to stop the flow and then leaned down to remove the tube, slipping her mouth over Jack's hard cock at the same time.

 

Jack reached up and fingered her breasts pinching at her nipples before palming each of the globes and gently massaging them. Ston stepped into the tub then leaned down and began kissing Jack, thrusting her tongue in and out of his mouth. Jack was surprised initially and hesitated, then responded in kind. Nosha sucked Jack's length into the back of her throat and the distraction was enough to allow Ston to step over the bench on which Jack lay and straddle his head. He opened his eyes to the hairless lips of Ston's cunt and she squatted slightly to encourage him.

 

Jack's mouth opened and he licked along the middle of the pink lips, then blew a stream of air against them. Ston groaned and tried to squat closer, Jack reached up in self-defense to keep her from smothering him with her sex. He parted the large outer lips and sucked first one and then the other of the delicate inner folds into his mouth. He nipped and sucked as Ston gasped and squirmed above him before sucking her clit hard. She shook and flooded his mouth with her orgasm, then lifted slightly to encourage Jack to continue.

 

He was so distracted by her movement he didn't notice that Nosha had stopped sucking his cock. He felt her feet against his flanks as she climbed onto the bench and then her warm tight cunt surrounded his cock. Nosha carefully rode up and down on Jack's cock, careful not to put too much pressure on his bloated belly. Jack worked Ston's clit continuously now, pushing the hood back with his tongue before nipping it and then sucking hard. Ston came hard a second time and then could no longer maintain the position. She lifted her leg back over his head and leaned in to kiss her own juice from his face. Nosha picked up the speed of her ride and ground herself against Jack when she came down. Jack's fingers, still wet from Ston's cunt moved to Nosha's and worked her clit as she rode. Her skills were too much for him and he finally gasped and came, she felt the pulsing deep within and stopped, smiling at him.

 

"See how well you have done, Hadd?" She caressed his bloated belly again then raised herself up slightly, still holding his semi-hard cock within and let go her own belly full as she rose. The hot water flooded all over his crotch and she pressed her hands down on his belly and spoke.

 

"Let go now, Hadd." And Jack released the hot water he still held, nearly orgasming a second time as he did. Nosha fell forward and rested against Jack and he absently rubbed his hands up and down her back. Ston broke the reverie.

 

"Come, you must both bathe and there is little time now." Nosha nodded and pushed up off Jack, then held out her hand to help him up. The three moved to the baths and Ston ran a single large tub for the two of them, and assisted by washing their backs as they quickly worked over the fronts. They were done before the tub had filled then got out and dried quickly. Nosha reinserted Jack's chained phallus and made certain he was dry before she and Ston reapplied the harness and ball spreader contraption. Jack was almost comfortable in the thing now, feeling much less restricted than he had at first. He laughed quietly inside for a second thinking how odd it was that he considered a series of leather straps, a chained dildo, collar, and ball spreader as dressed. Never before in his wildest dreams had such a thought ever crossed his mind.

 

Ston directed them to the large door in the back of the stable that led to Lephos' quarters. There were a series of doors along both sides of the hallway that Ston suggested that they did not want to visit. They knocked sharply on the door to Lephos' quarters and entered.

 

"Ahh, there you are. I had wondered what Ston had done with you. Come, Hadd, I have chosen the black mask for you." Lephos handed the mask to Nosha and Jack knelt so she could apply it. Once the gag was in place, Lephos checked the straps on Jack's harness and the fastenings on the mask and spoke to another kneeling male slave.

 

"You and Misol will attend the consort this moon, Gevan. Lord Costa will come for you. Hadd will also be joining you. His gag is only to be removed if the consort requires use of his mouth. He is forbidden to speak even then. Come." The group then moved back into the stable where another slave, who Jack assumed was Misol, joined them as they awaited the arrival of Lord Costa.

 

---

 

Shyla had been working on heightening Daniel's agitated mood all day. She had deliberately sent him off on a host of royal appearances in an effort to increase his arousal and prick his libido.

 

Early in the day, she had sent him to a gathering of cattle farmers where he had been both bored to tears by the discussions and somewhat excited and intrigued by the demonstrations of their current methods of semen extraction from the males. Then she had sent him to the southernmost provinces to accept the good wishes and gifts from their subjects there. The southern provinces had a very hot climate and the type of industry that thrived there were female dominated fisheries. The local people's clothing left little to the imagination and Daniel, although suffocating in the royal robes, had been grateful for the loose clothing he wore.

 

After that, he returned to the palace for a meal with Shyla to discover that she had been called into treaty deliberations between two disputing neighboring provinces and he would have to oversee the selection of dancers for the wedding banquet. Unfortunately for Daniel, the traditional Tilesian wedding dances were chock full of sexual innuendo and blatant eroticism. He viewed the suggestive routines with increasing impatience and obvious discomfort. When Shyla returned conveniently afterwards, she suggested that his discomfort could be alleviated by a short time in the sarcophagus, which he immediately agreed to without hesitation.

 

While Daniel rested, Shyla planned the remainder of the plot that she hoped would bind Daniel to her forever and remove any possible interference by the humans of Earth. Costa had assisted her in having the Chappa'ai or Stargate as Daniel called it, buried under heavy stones. Early on, Daniel had suggested it as a preventative measure to keep any Goa'uld from visiting and although her father had dismissed the idea at the time, she had listened carefully as to how Daniel had accomplished the same feat while on Abydos.

 

She handed the task over to Lord Costa who had handled it in his usual efficient manner. Daniel had told her much of his homeworld and she had remembered it all and knew that any hope of a rescue was erased by the disabling of the ring. It would be a small matter to keep Daniel away from the area until she and the sarcophagus had finished their work.

 

She was waiting when the sarcophagus slid open, smiling down at him. "Did you rest well, my love?"

 

Daniel sat up and was greeted with a kiss. "Yes, thank you."

 

"Come, you must tell me all about your day." She extended a hand and Daniel sat up and climbed out.

 

"Ohh, there's not much to tell, really."

 

"Of course there is. I understand that you were treated to a display of the new cattle production techniques; you must tell me all about them. How is it that they manage to extract so much more seed from the sires than they had before?"

 

Daniel groaned and sat down on a well-padded couch, Shyla moved in very close next to him and sat rubbing his arm and playing with his fingers as he spoke, her face a mask of innocence. She queried him for the details he didn't automatically reveal trying to extract every last minutia and even after that asked for a description of the entire process one more time, just so she had it straight.

 

Once she had him on edge, she sent for the steward and told Daniel that he had to help her choose a wine for the wedding banquet. While they tasted multiple samples of the potent ceremonial wines, she pressed him for information on the dancers he had chosen. He described the chosen troupes, also in great detail and her stolen glances told her that she had indeed accomplished her task.

 

They ate a simple meal with lots of wine and the conversation turned to the wedding night celebration and ceremonies. By the end of dinner, so much blood was in residence in Daniel's groin he doubted that he could even walk even if he could line up enough brain cells for the act. Shyla began pushing him to arm's length and refusing his kisses. As they finished their meal, Lord Costa came to inform her majesty of some important court business and Daniel was left alone while they went to a small audience room off of the throne room to discuss the news. Shortly after that, a servant came to inform Daniel that her majesty was fatigued and retiring and that he should do the same.

 

A very horny, slightly drunk and extremely frustrated Daniel stalked through the hallways of the royal apartments on his way to bed. He opened the door to find Lord Costa waiting for him.

 

"Lord Costa?"

 

"My Lord Danyel."

 

"To what do I owe this visit?"

 

"Her majesty has instructed me to deliver a present to you. She sensed your increasing frustration during dinner..."

 

"Caused mostly by her royal self." Daniel commented snidely as he dropped into a chair.

 

"... and she suggested that perhaps you required a diversion, something to relieve your frustration. I have come to deliver that present to you and instruct you on its proper use."

 

"Ohh?" Daniel was intrigued now.

 

Costa clapped and three male slaves come through the door from Daniel baths.

 

"And what's so special about..." His words faded as he caught sight of the masked slave.

 

"The name of the masked one is Hadd, my lord. He is your wedding present from her majesty."

 

"Wedding present? She's GIVING me a slave as a wedding present?"

 

"Yes, my Lord. Her majesty believes that he will be able to quench your thirst when she is unable to do so.

 

"Why?" Daniel stared at the slave in question. He studied the body, but his eyes kept being drawn to the mask. The black leather hood covered the slave's entire head. There were openings for eyes and nose, but there was a patch of some kind over where the mouth hole should be.

 

"His mouth is covered. Why?"

 

"He is a new slave, lord, still in training. This is a part of that discipline. He wears a gag and is not permitted to remove it unless his mouth is needed for service."

 

"So this is how they are trained?"

 

"Yes, lord. The gag accustoms the jaw to lengthy use. It is necessary for them to learn the patience to please." Costa nodded and smiled.

 

"What was his name again?"

 

"Hadd, my lord."

 

Daniel nodded. "Come here, Hadd."

 

The masked slave crossed the room and knelt in front of Daniel. Dark eyes peered out from the black leather mask into Daniel's face for less than a heartbeat before a glance from Costa drove them back into subservience.

 

Daniel leaned forward and reached out to stroke along the smooth chest and then allowed his fingers to play across the leather of the mask. He released the fastenings on one side of the gag and moved to the other side.

 

"My Lord Danyel, you must understand the need to abide with the rules of his training."

 

"And if I wish to take advantage of that training, Costa?" Daniel released the chin fastening and pulled the leather panel that held the gag away from the mask. The hard phallus shaped gag slipped from Jack's mouth and he had to suck the saliva that the movement generated back into his mouth and swallow.

 

Daniel examined the gag, amazed at the size. "He wears this all the time?"

 

"Yes, lord, whenever he is out of the stable, unless he is using his mouth to pleasure you, until his training is finished."

 

"And when will that be?"

 

"When the slavemaster has determined that it is."

 

"Well, that's... vague."

 

"My Lord Danyel, these training methods have been used for many, many generations and always with great success. The royal slavemaster has trained slaves for the House of Pyrus since it has begun. He is well aware of what is required."

 

"I understand, Costa." Daniel's fingers moved back down to the harness playing downward until he touched the naked balls stretched taut in the spreader and then along the exposed cock.

 

"Her majesty asked me to tell you that she hopes you take advantage of her gift and use it in the manner she intended. She only wishes that he should please you in her place." Costa watched as Daniel's fingers stroked over one ball and then his palm cupped around it.

 

Jack tried not to react to the gentle touch, but all his mind could focus on was Daniel's touch and his cock began to respond. Daniel's hand dropped away quickly and he stood. Jack had to sit back on his heels to keep from being knocked over.

 

"You two!" Daniel ordered. "Come and undress me and then you may return to the stable."

 

"I am sorry, my lord Danyel, but Gevan and Misol must stay, even if you have no use for them. They are responsible for supervising Hadd's training when he is outside the stable. How long his training need continue is based on their reports to the royal slavemaster."

 

"So they have to watch him?"

 

"Yes, lord. It is required that all slaves in training be observed at all times when outside the stable. They must remain."

 

Daniel was becoming impatient. "Fine! And you? What of you, Costa, will you ALSO be remaining?"

 

Costa took the hint as Gevan and Misol removed Daniel's tunic. He stood and bowed. "No, my lord Danyel. I am leaving now. Her majesty said to remind you that she will be watching to see how you like her gift."

 

Gevan and Misol were finished removing Daniel's tunic and shirt and began working on his trousers.

 

"Tell her majesty that I am very much aware of that and thank her for me. Now you may leave us, Costa, unless you'd care to join me?"

 

Costa bowed and smiled. "No, my lord. I thank you for the offer, but I have other duties to which I must attend." Costa quickly made his exit.

 

Gevan and Misol finished undressing Daniel and then with a wave of his hand were dismissed to the corner. Naked now, Daniel stepped back up in front of the masked slave.

 

Jack's mind was whirring. He knew that even with Costa gone, he was still being observed and he had no doubt that Gevan and Misol would not hesitate to report his actions to the slavemaster. He was weaponless, far removed from the rest of his team, wearing a collar that could kill him and could no longer consider his best friend an ally. There was no choice. With Daniel's seeming defection, his responsibility was to the rest of his team. It was up to him to protect Carter and Teal'c and he would do who and whatever that required, including his former best friend.

 

Daniel stood in front of the masked slave now wearing only the bracelet that controlled the collar devices. He stepped close enough that the slave's hot breath tickled his pubic hair and stroked his hand back across the top of the leather covered head.

 

"Let's see if what wearing that gag has done for you. Suck me."

 

Jack leaned forward and gently lapped at the plum head of Daniel's cock, then opened his lips and engulfed it. Daniel's eyes closed and his mouth opened with a groan at the heat and softness that surrounded it. Jack reached up and guided the satin length into his mouth, swallowing hard until the blunt head butted the back of his throat. Wearing the gag and all the practice he'd had recently had dulled his gag reflex to the point where this was almost easy.

 

Jack closed his eyes and worked the hard length of Daniel in and out before pulling completely off and blowing into the wet slit, then down one side and up the other. Then he used his lips in the same manner and Daniel's stance shifted in front of him. He opened his mouth and took the wet cock back inside, Daniel's hands moved immediately to the handles on the top of the mask and he pulled the leather clad face close into his groin.

 

Daniel turned his wrist over, pointing the targeting jewel downwards and then fingered the blue jewel on the inside of the cuff. Jack's collar took on a subtle blue glow and the collar brought the metal dildo to life inside him. Daniel tapped it twice more and the collar glowed a deep robin's egg blue, Jack paused, momentarily startled by the intensity, before resuming the task at hand.

 

"More." Daniel demanded as Jack swallowed hard again, the coarse curls of Daniel's pubic hair tickling his nose. He struggled slightly for a position that allowed him to breathe easier and one of his hands slipped to cup Daniel's balls. A gasp and sigh from above told him that was acceptable, so he continued first palming and then rolling them in his hand. Daniel staggered and regained his balance, then pushed the masked slave away suddenly. Jack was fortunately just pulling back and managed not to scrape his teeth over the sensitive flesh as his head was pushed away.

 

Daniel walked to the bed and stretched out with his head at the foot of the bed, then motioned for the slave to attend him. "Come, show me all the other things you can do with that mouth."

 

Daniel flopped over onto his back and started to stroke his cock, looking at the large mirror above the head of his bed. He opened his legs and Jack crawled between them and started by kissing and then licking at each hairy testicle before lapping at the dripping cock head. He nibbled his way with covered teeth back down the length and engulfed a single testicle in his mouth caressing it with his tongue. He pressed it against the roof of his mouth and swirled his tongue over it again before releasing it and repeating the performance on its twin.

 

Daniel had been stretched out flat, but by the time Jack was finished his treatment of the second testicle, he was leaning up on his left elbow, the fingers of his right hand playing across the top of the mask, toying with the strategically placed handles. When Jack resumed nibbling the length of his cock, Daniel pointed the jewel downward and fingered the blue jewel again and then pulled up his knees. The slave between his legs shivered, then slid his hands under Daniel's buttocks to lift them slightly to allow his tongue to blaze a trail under the hairy testicles and along the smooth skin that led between the buttocks.

 

Both of Daniel's hands slammed flat on the bed to either side of his body and his hips lifted as the slave's tongue ventured down his perineum. He wanted more now than just a mouth could give him. He pushed the slave away again and sat up quickly.

 

"Enough, I want to see what else you can do now. Kneel now."

 

The slave sat back and started to get off the bed. Daniel got off the bed and spoke. "No, kneel on the bed."

 

The slave knelt up and Daniel climbed back onto the bed behind him. He let his hand play down the chain that ran the length of the back and his fingers followed the chain between the taut buttocks, the tip of his index finger touched the link that disappeared into the gathered muscle. He used his thumb and forefinger and tugged at the chain watching as the bright metal of the dildo just appeared through the center of the muscle. The slave inhaled sharply and Daniel smiled, then reached under the slave to grope his erection. Jack couldn't help but harden partly from the stimulation and partly due to the fact that it was Daniel's hand that touched him.

 

Daniel turned towards Gevan and Misol. "You two, come here."

 

The two slaves got quickly to their feet and approached the bed, bowing as they neared.

 

"I require lubrication."

 

Misol bowed and picked up the large covered bowl from the bedside table. He removed the lid and held the bowl out for Daniel's examination.

 

Daniel dipped a couple of fingers into the pinkish looking cream. He rubbed the cream between his fingers and watched as his body heat melted the pale pink cream into glistening wetness. He lifted more of the cream and slid his fingers between the masked slave's buttocks, slapping the cream thickly onto the muscle and chain that disappeared inside. He tugged at the chain and the dildo within started to dilate the muscle from inside. Daniel reached back and plunged his hand palm deep in the cream and slapped his hand at the pouting muscle again, then pulled the dildo nearly all the way out.

 

Daniel was fascinated by the way the shiny metal dildo protruded from the slave's anus and pushed it slightly in so the widest part was now holding the muscle open and then used what was left of the cream on his fingers to lubricate his cock. He turned his wrist and touched the blue jewel again, bringing the collar to a brighter blue. The masked slave's torso collapsed downward with another gasp and Daniel pulled the dildo the rest of the way out, tossing it to the side and replaced it with his cock. Grunting as he plunged deep, Daniel grabbed the narrow waist of the slave and pulled him back at the same time.

 

Jack gasped with the first penetration; he had become used to the fullness created by the metal phallus, but Daniel was bigger and his entry was abrupt.

 

Daniel grabbed both hips and pulled Jack back again and again, plunging completely inside and nearly withdrawing each time. Jack wanted to shout but bit his lip instead, trying to keep his composure against the battering he was receiving. If he didn't keep his head about him, then it would be Teal'c taking this kind of battering or, even worse... Carter. 'Remember Carter' was the mantra he repeated over and over. 'Remember Carter and Teal'c.'

 

He was brought back to the bed by Daniel's muttering. "Ummm... you're tight... hot and tight... like a virgin cunt... ohhh yeah. Are you watching?... can you see how he loves this?... he's so hot."

 

Daniel climbed up along Jack's back, grabbing now at Jack's shoulders as he thrust with his hips. Jack's face was driven into the mattress and he turned his head to the side in order to breathe. Daniel used the broad leather straps as handholds and humped over the slave's back again and again. His orgasm began to build and as he neared release, he felt the tension gathering in his balls. He bit into the slave's shoulder and Jack bit back a cry swallowing it with his mantra.

 

"Ohh, god... ohhnh god... yes... yeesss.... JACK!"

 

Shyla pulled her fingers from between her legs and stood, closing her robe. She watched Daniel transfixed in his orgasm and smiled. She would win. She had actually already won. Telling Daniel would be the climax of her little plan, it would bind him totally to her. He could have his Jack, but he would be hers to control in exchange. Either Daniel would be so shamed by his friend's degradation that he would ask to send them home and stay with her voluntarily or he would be so thrilled to have his friend the way he always wanted that he would stay just for that.

 

She would have him either way and now that she had ordered the stargate buried, there would be no further threat to her rule. She watched as Daniel made several more thrusts deep into his friend and then turned and made her way back to her rooms. She dropped her robe and laid down, pulling her knees up and opening her legs, then she motioned to the two female slaves kneeling nearby to join her and pushed one head down between her legs. She wanted many orgasms tonight; they had much work ahead of them.

 

Daniel clenched the masked slave's buttocks against his groin as he spilled the last of his seed deep inside, then pulled out and got up from the bed. He looked back at the slave kneeling on hands and knees, the metal dildo lying next to him on the bed, vibrating strongly into the mattress.

 

He sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up the chained phallus and turned it over in his hands, running it up and down his arm as he looked at it. He dropped it and pointed the control cuff back at the masked slave and thumbed the button until the collar glowed a brilliant blue. The low humm of the vibrator slipped into a higher pitch and Daniel picked it back up. It was almost difficult to hold onto the vibration was so strong. He held the end of it against the slave's pouting muscle, and Jack lunged forward away from the sudden sensation. Daniel looked at the other two slaves now kneeling in front of him.

 

"Hold him."

 

Gevan and Misol both stood and moved to Jack's sides, holding him at the shoulders and hips. Daniel held the powerful vibrator against the dilated muscle again and Jack's attempts to move forward away from it were halted by strong hands. Daniel laughed cruelly and stabbed again at the swollen ring, this time piercing it with the rounded head and the slave gave a loud gasp and collapsed against the restraining arms of the other two slaves. Daniel plunged the dildo deep and pulled it back out then repeated the movement and rotated the dildo in a large circle just inside the ring of muscle. He shoved it far up inside and watched as several links of chain disappeared inside with it.

 

"Get up! Stand him up."

 

Gevan and Misol grabbed at Jack and pulled him from the bed. The collar's color turned to a deep blue and Daniel pointed the cuff in the direction of the three slaves and punched at the blue jewel several more times. Gevan and Misol's collars now glowed a bright blue and Jack's was nearly navy. He shuddered and his knees started to buckle and the other two now supported him almost completely.

 

Daniel examined all three men, watching their responses. The masked slave's eyes were barely slits and unfocused with the massive movement within him, his cock which had been so hard was now only semi-erect. Daniel spoke laughing to the other two slaves. "You will suck him." Gevan bowed and moved to his knees in front of Jack.

 

"You will have to keep him standing. He seems to have lost his legs." Misol slid more around to support Jack's back as Gevan went to work on his cock. Daniel watched for a moment and then stood and walked behind Jack, slipping his fingers into the irritated muscle to prod the metal dildo now at its maximum setting.

 

Jack's cock jerked to life with Gevan's work, thrusting into the mouth that worked him. When Daniel's unlubed fingers forced their way inside again and pressed the dildo against his prostate, he lost his composure with his orgasm.

 

"Ohhh god,DANIEL!!"

 

Daniel's fingers stilled and then withdrew. He stayed behind Misol and stared at the back of the slave's head. His brain suddenly awakened from a haze and he examined the strong back before him. The back and side of the slave's right upper arm sported a familiar scar. The slave's back held several long faintly whitish stripes and there was a long scar that ran the side of his right outer thigh; another star shaped scar adorned the left shoulder blade.

 

He KNEW these scars; he'd seen them daily for a couple of years now. He studied the back of the masked slave and his eyes followed one arm down to long graceful fingers and a very unusual thumb.

 

"Jack?"

 

Daniel came back around to look into familiar brown eyes, now hooded with shame.

 

"Ohh my god, Jack!" Daniel's surprise exceeded his anger. "Put him on the bed!" The two slaves bowed and assisted Jack to the bed.

 

"Get that fucking mask off him, NOW!" Daniel growled and then watched as Misol turned Jack's head and unfastened the mask. When he lifted it from the pale face, it felt like Daniel's heart stopped.

 

"Jesus, Jack! How?"

 

"My lord?" Gevan spoke. "The slave must not speak. He will be punished."

 

"NO, he won't be, because he isn't a slave. Jack are you all right?"

 

"Daniel." Jack looked up and spoke weakly. "Turn it off, Daniel... please?"

 

"Turn what?" It was about then that Daniel realized that Jack's collar still glowed a deep blue and began hitting the sand colored jewel on his bracelet until all three collars returned to clear.

 

"Ohh god, Jack... I'm so sorry. I didn't, I had no way of knowing... I'm sorry, so very sorry."

 

Daniel held out a hand and Jack pulled himself to a sitting position. Daniel knelt in front of him and squeezed the long fingers in his own.

 

"S'alright, Daniel... you couldn't have known."

 

"MY LORD! The slave will be punished... Lord Costa has so ordered!" Gevan spoke again.

 

"No, he won't be!"

 

Jack looked at Gevan and then at Daniel.

 

"He's right, Daniel. I will be punished."

 

"No, Jack I won't let them!"

 

"Yes, you will... they have Carter and Teal'c. Their lives depend on my behavior. Put the mask back on."

 

"NO! Where is Costa?" Daniel started to look around.

 

"He's under orders, Daniel... from Shyla. She's the one who ordered this."

 

Daniel's normally mild temper faded in a white blaze. "I'll kill that bitch."

 

"No, Daniel... I'll do as they want. Try to have Carter and Teal'c released; let them go home. I'll stay here, with you, if that's what you want... if that's what she wants. Just let them go home."

 

Daniel's emotions were aflame. He grabbed Jack's head and plunged his tongue deep into Jack's mouth. His hands traveled everywhere, stroking back through Jack's wet hair and down his neck. He came up for air and dove back in again, he could feel his cock reawakening as he touched Jack.

 

Daniel regained control again, and buried his face in his hands. "I'm sorry, Jack... ohh god, I'm so sorry. I can't help it. I don't know what's wrong with me..." Daniel groaned and doubled over as if to cover his renewed erection.

 

Jack's hand came to the side of his face. "Not your fault. It could never be your fault, Daniel."

 

"I don't know what's wrong with me."

 

"Carter thinks it's the sarcophagus. Don't use it anymore; you have to promise me you won't use it anymore..." Jack laid his hands on either side of Daniel's face and fixed him with his stare. "... Promise me, Daniel."

 

"Don't be ridiculous, Jack... It's not the sarc..."

 

"Don't! Daniel, just don't! It IS the sarcophagus; it's changing you. Look at yourself, Daniel... look at the way you've been acting, how jazzed you are; how little you care how you treat those around you... this ISN'T the Daniel Jackson I know... he'd never do those things... he cares too much for people, for his team... not the Daniel I know, not the Daniel I... love."

 

"No..." Daniel whispered "...it can't be, Shyla said it wouldn't hurt me..."

 

"The bitch LIED, Daniel... she lied about a lot of things. She's using you just like she's using me and all these people. She's using Carter and Teal'c to keep me under control and me to keep you under control. You might as well be wearing one of these damned collars. She's got you by the balls, Daniel, and the sarcophagus and I are her tools of persuasion."

 

Gevan and Misol got up from the bed and assumed their places on the floor next to it and Daniel looked around.

 

"I need to see her, talk to her. She can't do this..."

 

"She's queen, Daniel... she can do anything she wants to. She's holding Carter and Teal'c in chains at the mine. My submission guarantees their fair treatment. I stop cooperating and she'll send Carter to the slave trainers and send Teal'c back to labor the way we were before I left there. I can't let them do to Carter what they do to the female slaves here, Daniel... it's almost worse than death. Put the mask back on me. Put the gag back in... I'll stay here as your slave if that's what she wants, but get her to let them go... I'll give her my word I won't try anything... please?"

 

Daniel glanced at the other two slaves. "Do as he says, put the mask back on. This isn't over Jack, not by a long shot."

 

"I know, Daniel."

 

Daniel watched Gevan as he placed the leather mask back on Jack. "What about these two, Gevan? Misol is it?"

 

"Yes lord." Misol answered.

 

"What will you tell Costa and your master?"

 

The slave bowed his head and thought. Gevan answered.

 

"What is it that you wish us to tell Lord Costa, master?"

 

"Nothing... tell him nothing. The slave performed as expected... what is it they called you?" He turned to Jack.

 

"Hadd."

 

"Hadd... She'd like that, wouldn't she." Daniel mumbled.

 

"Why? What does it mean?" Jack asked as Gevan fastened the mask closed across the back of his head.

 

"It's ancient Tilesian; it means 'the lost'. It's not going to happen, Jack... I won't let it." Daniel spoke urgently when he saw Jack's shoulders slump, then leaned in and kissed him, pressing his face to the leather mask to devour Jack's lips.

 

"She's right, Daniel... Just don't let it be for nothing. Get Carter and Teal'c out... I'll stay if that's what it takes."

 

"Shh, Jack. Don't worry... I'll take care of it, of us." Daniel started to pace the room one hand on his hip the other making motions in front. "Just let me think a minute, Jack. I'll get you out of here."

 

"Not me, Daniel... Don't worry about me. I'll stay if you're staying. Get Carter and Teal'c out first that at least gives me some options for action."

 

The loud knock at the door caused all four men to jump. Jack immediately got up and grabbed the gag and shoved it into his own mouth. Misol quickly closed the fastenings as Gevan moved towards the door. Daniel laid down in the bed and Misol and Jack knelt next to it.

 

"Who is it Gevan? I am not in the mood for visitors currently." Daniel shouted from the bed.

 

Gevan bowed as Costa pushed his way past and into the room. "My lord Danyel, forgive my intrusion."

 

"It IS INDEED an intrusion, Costa. Keep that in mind."

 

"My apologies, lord Danyel. The hall guards reported much commotion from your quarters and sought me out to ask if they should investigate. I told them that I would do so. Is everything alright, my lord?"

 

"Everything WAS fine, Costa until you came in. I was enjoying my new toy and his companions. I was starting to do so again before your knock. Is there something else?"

 

Costa looked down at Jack whose downcast eyes revealed nothing and then towards Misol who knelt next to Jack. Misol's eyes kept shifting and he looked sweaty and nervous. Gevan was his usual picture of calm as he knelt next to the door.

 

"No, Lord Danyel, there is nothing else. Are you finding the slave to your satisfaction so far, my lord?"

 

"Yes, Costa... now get out."

 

Costa bowed deeply and with a final glance around the room, and a knife-like look towards Jack, he left.

 

Daniel had enough presence of mind to realize that the danger was not over just because Costa had left; there were still the royal sureties to think about. He had no doubt that Costa's next stop would be Shyla's room and if he intended to try to keep Jack safe, he had to make a little scene that would allow Shyla to think he didn't know his slave's identity.

 

"Come to me, all of you..." He spoke to all three and motioned for them to join him in the bed. He knelt up and pulled Jack close, then whispered into his ear.

 

"Shyla can watch what goes on in here, the mirror above the bed is a viewer."

 

Jack couldn't speak, he couldn't even hint that he understood, so he closed his eyes a single time and nodded, then started to stroke Daniel's flaccid cock with one hand while stroking Misol's with the other.

 

"You two will pleasure him and I will watch." Daniel got out of the bed, then pulled on his robe and moved to the chaise next to the armoire. He sat and watched as Misol and Gevan started working on Jack, Misol began sucking his cock as Gevan worked one erogenous zone after the other. Daniel began rubbing his lengthening cock absently as he watched.

 

Jack was flat on his back, his knees pressed nearly to his chest as Misol rimmed him enthusiastically around the chain protruding from his anus.

 

"Oh, I forgot about this." Daniel pointed the cuff at the three men on the bed and touched the blue jewel several times until all three collars glowed bright blue. With all the stimulation from the dildo within as well as the two hungry mouths that were eating him alive, Jack didn't stand a chance and started to writhe under the attention.

 

"Finish him!" Daniel growled watching the two men work on Jack.

 

Misol returned to Jack's weeping cock and Gevan sucked one nipple while rolling the other in his fingers. Jack arched upwards into Misol's mouth and froze in the arc. He looked like he was suspended there his hips jerking slightly and the fingers of one hand clenching in the bedclothes as the other clasped the back of Gevan's head, holding it close to his chest. When Jack dropped back down to the bed, his body limp, Daniel knew he was spent. Jack's head turned and he looked into Daniel's face, the leather mask inadequate to hide the blissed-out look in his eyes.

 

"Remove Hadd's gag, I want him to suck me." Daniel ordered as Gevan and Misol paused awaiting further instructions. Gevan started to unfasten the mask again as Misol watched.

 

"You two will pleasure each other, You..." Daniel motioned to Misol "... remove your phallus, so he can take you."

 

Both slaves responded, "Yes, my lord." But only one was smiling. Misol reached behind and tugged the dildo out as Gevan watched, stroking himself to hardness. Jack knelt on the floor in front of Daniel and began to lick at the soft package before him. He worked the thick head with his tongue as he stroked the rest between his curled fingers. The fingers of his other hand slipped under Daniel's furry balls to rub along the soft flesh of his perineum and tickle at the tight pucker. Daniel's eyes closed as Jack's fingers tested the opening, when they withdrew his eyes snapped to Jack's face.

 

Jack stared him in the eye as he slipped those fingers in his mouth and loaded them with saliva and then slipped them back under Daniel's sack to prod his sphincter again. When one forced its way in, Daniel gasped and lifted a little, allowing Jack access. He looked across the room to watch Gevan pound his way into Misol. Daniel's hands stroked back along the top of the leather mask as Jack worked him. Jack's finger plunged deep as he swallowed Daniel's cock and Daniel's hand automatically held Jack's head in place as he came with a surprised gasp.

 

Jack managed to pull back just enough to make swallowing a little easier and he continued to thrust his finger deep until Daniel was spent. Daniel's grip on his head relaxed, Jack released the flaccid cock with a parting kiss as he pulled his finger out and then knelt with his head bowed, waiting for instructions. Daniel took several deep breaths and looked down at the leather masked face, then sat up and grabbed both sides of Jack's head and kissed him deeply before whispering against his lips. "I love you."

 

His mind made up, Daniel stood and headed for the door next to the armoire and entered the royal sureties. Shyla was sitting in the large chair wrapped in a large robe and Costa stood next to her chair. Costa bowed as Daniel approached, closing his robe.

 

"Shyla, we need to talk..." Daniel looked from Shyla into Costa's eyes and then back to Shyla. "... I wasn't aware that the entire court was allowed the privileges of the royal sureties?"

 

"Lord Costa has come to me with some concerns, Daniel."

 

"Concerns that require discussion in the sureties, obviously? I would like to speak with you about the location and treatment of my friends."

 

Shyla leaned back in the chair.

 

"Ohh? What is it you wish to discuss, Daniel?"

 

"I want you to let them go, allow them to return to Earth."

 

"What makes you think that they haven't already?"

 

"Because as you are well aware, I just had sex with one of them."

 

"Ohh? Really? What makes you think that?"

 

Daniel's ire was rising quickly. "Did you think I would NOT recognize him? The scar from an arrow wound on his upper right arm, the old gunshot wound scar to his left shoulder, the long scar on his right thigh, thumbs that have been broken so many times that they curl back... did you suppose I could be in love with him for so long and NOT recognize him in spite of the mask and gag?"

 

"I did not know that you were even aware of your feelings for him."

 

"Oh, I was aware alright. I would have preferred to tell him in my own time, in my own way... I wanted it to be ...special. You made it... sordid and dirty." Daniel tried to stem the tears that threatened to escape.

 

"I will stay with you, if that's what you still want... just let Jack, Sam and Teal'c go home...please."

 

"I would not have you unhappy, Daniel."

 

"Well, it's a little late for that, don't you think? Just get that thing off his neck and head and let them all go Shyla. Then, if you still want me to, I'll stay. I'll do what you want."

 

Shyla looked up at Costa. "My lord Costa has always provided wise counsel, what does he advise now?"

 

"It is my belief, your majesty that there is still merit to retaining the slave and captives. If Lord Danyel's two friends are released from the mines and allowed to return home; then the slave will have no motivation to behave properly. If you allow all three to return home, then Lord Daniel will have no reason to stay and continue to act in a manner befitting the royal consort..."

 

"I TOLD you, that I'd STAY. You don't need them here to assure that." Daniel shouted, his face red with rage.

 

"...AND when they go... What will you do then? Will you fulfill your office as Consort and rule at my side or will you create havoc in my life as well as my kingdom?"

 

"You have to know... I can never love you the way you want me to... not now, after this..."

 

When Shyla turned her head in displeasure, Daniel forced the point.

 

"... You have no one to blame but yourself. YOU did this. I was content, happy even, I'd nearly forgotten about them, you could have buried the stargate and we could have made lives together. But you HAD to try to humiliate Jack... putting him in my bed was your big mistake. It made me realize just how much I care for and about him... no matter what you do at this point I can never love you..." Daniel swallowed hard and added "... I'm not even sure I can bear to even touch you."

 

Shyla stood and addressed Costa, "Leave us, Costa."

 

"Your majesty?" Costa spoke softly glancing in Daniel's direction.

 

"I said, leave us, Costa. Danyel and I would speak alone."

 

Costa bowed and exited into Daniel's chamber, closing the door behind him. Shyla stood and walked away from the mirror. Daniel turned to watch her, completely shielded from the view of Costa summoning the guards from the hall and having the three slaves removed from Daniel's quarters.

 

Shyla watched as the slaves were removed, all their collars glowing pink as they moved between the phalanx of armed men. She stopped and faced Daniel, then dropped her robe to display her perfect body. She could still get this to work for her and she only had to break a few rules.

 

"You could not bring yourself to touch me again, Danyel? You have not even touched me for the first time..." She cupped one hand under a breast and ran her thumb across the nipple until it hardened. She was counting on the sarcophagus to have removed enough of Daniel's self-control to make this work. "... I ache to have your mouth on me; your fingers inside me..." she slipped the middle finger of her other hand between her legs, then opened her mouth and closed her eyes. "All I can think of is your phallus inside me, thrusting...filling me with your seed." She opened her eyes and watched as he licked his lips and his hips shifted. "Touch me, Danyel... before you decide... touch me here..." She rolled her nipple in two fingers "... and here, taste me and fill me... then we will talk." Shyla shoved two fingers deep inside herself and then pulled them out, offering them to Daniel.

 

Daniel's control was waning, his cock was filling as he watched Shyla. She smiled as he stepped closer, knowing that the sarcophagus had more to do with Daniel's current state than she did. He reached out and grabbed her wrist and then brought the glistening digits to his face, first sniffing and then licking at the offering. He plunged them into his mouth, staring into Shyla's eyes as he thrust them into his mouth and pulled them nearly all the way out. Shyla groaned and stepped closer, allowing his other hand to first cup and then squeeze her breast.

 

A final step closer and Daniel pulled Shyla's fingers from his mouth and swooped in to suck a pink nipple into his mouth. Shyla groaned and pulled Daniel's head in close as her free hand untied the belt of his robe.

 

Jack, Gevan and Misol walked in the middle of the phalanx of guards as they were taken back to the stable. Their collars were just hot enough to be uncomfortable and remind them that the potential for more severe punishment existed. The warmth inside them made them very aware of the metal dildos and their capacity to punish. They were met by Lephos the royal slavemaster who ordered the three slaves to kneel but then did not dismiss the guards.

 

Jack could tell that Gevan and Misol were confused by the treatment and started to watch the soldiers for any indications of what was going to happen. Costa came into the stable and spoke to Lephos, then moved back to the group. The three men were moved, still under guard back through the hallway towards the slavemaster's quarters and through a door that Jack remembered Ston as saying that he did not want to go into any of those rooms. Misol looked nervous; he was sweating and his hands shook and Gevan looked his usual cool self, so Jack had no idea what they were in for although his experience told him that he wasn't going to like whatever it was.

 

When the three were strung from beams in the ceiling by cuffs that were attached to their wrists, Jack credited it to the same bad cosmic karma that had followed him since the stargate was opened. With his mask and gag still in place, Jack could not even object to Gevan and Misol's inclusion, but he figured it would be useless anyway.

 

When Lephos brought in the big bullwhips, Misol cracked and began sobbing and Gevan swallowed hard. Three of the guards who had escorted them back into the stable were given the honors and Jack clamped down hard on the gag as the first lash bit into his back. Although he was the only victim currently, the sight of the whipping was too much for Misol who began to wretch as he pleaded with Lephos.

 

Lephos stepped up and stared directly into Misol's face. "Why did you remove the slave's gag and mask?"

 

Through sobs and gasps Misol answered. "It was my Lord Danyel's order, master... We told him that we were ordered otherwise."

 

A muffled groan from Jack as the whip bit into already open flesh drew the attention of all. Gevan spoke up.

 

"Master, we did as we were instructed. My Lord Danyel gave us no choice but to follow his instructions. The slave was unmasked at his specific direction and in spite of our pleas to the contrary."

 

Lephos held up his hand, stilling the man with the whip and Jack sagged in his restraints.

 

"Release these two." One of the guards stepped up and un-cuffed Gevan and Misol. Lephos looked at them and spoke. "You will attend me here."

 

He waved a hand and both slaves moved to his side and knelt. Lephos directed his cuff at them and held his finger over the control jewels as he addressed them.

 

"Did he speak after the gag was removed?"

 

Both slaves, fearing the inferred punishment spoke softly. "Yes, master."

 

Lephos neutralized both of their collars and spoke to one of the guards.

 

"Remove the gag and mask."

 

The guard handed his weapon over and quickly unfastened the gag, removing it before unlacing the mask and pulling the wet leather away from the pallid face. Lephos moved up and grabbed Jack's jaw, lifting it to stare into his eyes.

 

"You were warned, slave." Lephos motioned to two of the guards. "Take him to the bed." The guards bowed and removed Jack from his restraints then dragged him between them into an adjoining room.

 

"Send for Ston and Philia..." Lephos turned to one of the other guards and then turned back to the two dragging Jack. "Put him on his back, I think... he should enjoy that."

 

The two guards picked Jack up and laid him onto the coarse straw bale that served as a platform. Its short, prickly ends cut deeply into the raw welts left from the whip. Moments later, Ston and another female slave that Jack did not know appeared at the door, bowing deeply to Lephos.

 

"Master Lephos, how may we serve you?" Ston asked.

 

"Ston, there will be a new female slave delivered to us probably tomorrow after her collar is fitted. You will have to train her for use in the guard barracks, although I'm certain that we will make full use of her in the stable during her training."

 

"Yes, master. What is the slave's name?"

 

Lephos looked surprised, and then turned to Jack. "I do not know, Ston. We shall ask Hadd. He knows her. What is the name of our new female toy, Hadd, the one that Lord Costa says came here with you?"

 

Jack swallowed hard against the urge to puke as his stomach turned at the thought of Carter being subject to the abuse that was inflicted on the female slaves.

 

"Please, master... leave her alone... I'll do anything."

 

"I'm sorry, Hadd, but it is not within my power to do that. I understand Lord Costa has already ordered she be brought here after she is fitted with a collar..." Lephos looked back up at Ston "... the collar will be fitted at the mine, but her phallus will not be given until she is here. I understand that you are familiar with all the proper procedures?"

 

"Yes, master."

 

"Good! She will be brought directly here and Hadd will be allowed to witness what he has wrought on his companion. You will assist me with the procedure, Ston."

 

"Yes, master Lephos."

 

"After that, Hadd will be sent to the physicians so that he will no longer be able to violate his master's orders not to speak. You will also need to arrange for his care after his return from them, perhaps you should enlist Vinda's help since he is most intimately familiar with the procedure..." Lephos turned back to Jack "... I do hope that they have become more proficient at the surgery than they were when they tended Vinda..." Lephos looked directly into Jack's eyes.

 

"Please, master... I need to speak to Lord Costa... I'll do whatever he wants... willingly."

 

"You won't be speaking to anyone soon, Hadd..." Lephos addressed the two guards standing by "... gag him." He motioned to the large

 

"No...master... please!" Jack spoke urgently "I need to speak to Lord Costa!"

 

Jack's head whipped side to side trying to avoid the attempt by the guard to force a gag into his mouth. The other guard quickly grabbed and held Jack's head as still as he could but they had no luck until a third guard stepped in and punched Jack in the solar plexis. He gasped in response and the large cylindrical gag was shoved in place.

 

Lephos sighed. "I tire of his incessant noise; send for the physicians now. I would have this done." Lephos waved Ston away. She swallowed hard as she bowed and left.

 

---

 

Daniel ran one hand down over the swell of white hip that sat astride him, reaching down his own belly to finger her swollen clit when Shyla slid back down on his hard cock. His right hand moved to her breast as it wobbled and bounced with her ride. She had wanted to follow the old customs, but she knew that in order to keep Daniel at her side, she would have to let go of the ancient ways.

 

She rode like a wanton, like she had seen so many times through the viewers in the sureties. The foreplay had been frantic in the hallway of the royal sureties and she wondered if they would even get as far as her bed before he took her. But Daniel had been as gentle and clever as he had been intense and she had shaken in orgasm at least three times before he ever slid his hardness into her.

 

She felt the familiar quiver and tingle of another impending orgasm and ground her cunt against his pubic bone as she slid completely down again. Her shoulders hunched forward and Daniel recognized the signs of her surrender and sat up slightly, sliding his knees up behind her before lowering her to her back. He pushed her legs up and back behind the knees lifting one over his shoulder. He started to pound against her as her own finger went to her clit and started to rub.

 

"That's it... rub it hard." Daniel's voice was husky over the wet sounds of mingled come squishing out of her now well-used cunt. He pulled back a little too far and slipped out,. They both groaned at the loss. The mixed cream covered his cock head and he slid one hand down to guide his cock. Shyla's eyes were hooded and dark and while Daniel stared into them he saw other dark eyes looking back at him.

 

"Danyel? What is it?"

 

Daniel's mind was wandering, his brain engulfed by memory and fantasy heightened by the razor's edge of control the sarcophagus had left him. He mumble," It's s'okay, Jack... I'll take care of you now" as he pressed his hard cock through her relaxed muscles and into Shyla's anus.

 

She gasped in surprise and horror. The searing pain was unexpected and unwelcome, but for some reason, even more erotic because of it. She inhaled sharply and pressed back against him, driving his cock even deeper. Then she held still and waited as Daniel closed his eyes at the intensity of heat and tightness against his cock. He growled and grunted then gave a little additional thrust of his hips. "Yessss, Jack... ohhh yesss!" Then he pulled back and sank deep again. Shyla was more comfortable with the fullness now and the burning pain was fading as Daniel moved. She slid her fingers back down between her legs and fingered her clit.

 

Daniel pulled back again and this time thrust back inside with a little more force, grunting as his balls contacted her supple buttocks. Shyla looked up and took Daniel's free hand from her thigh and slid it back to her vacant pussy. His first two fingers entered instantly; squishing in the puddle of juices inside her as his thumb pushed at the fleshy hood of her clit over and over. Daniel's body worked without any guidance now, his cock and hand working separately but seemingly on automatic pilot. He slid his fingers in and out, stroking his own cock through the thin tissues separating it from his hand.

 

Shyla was quivering and limp after Daniel's thumb had stroked her to another orgasm and she pushed his hand away as it worked relentlessly against sensitized tissues. He pulled her hips closer now and powered into her a few more times before he groaned and cried out with his own release. That was when Shyla knew for certain that she had completely lost him.

 

He dropped her leg and collapsed forward onto her, panting. She held him and stroked his wet hair as she felt his soft cock slip from her with a gush of semen. She had broken so many of her people's laws, flaunted so many customs, sacrificed so many of the things she held dear, given her body, her pride and everything else she valued for this one man and yet the name he cried out in his orgasm, the body he envisioned under him, was that of man.

 

Her hand drifted to the broad shoulder, the sheen of perspiration cool against her fingers and finally admitted to herself that she could never possess this man or hope to win his heart because it was already lost to another. In order to keep what was left of her self-respect she would have to let him go. If she tried to keep him here using the man he loved as a lever, it would ultimately destroy her and her kingdom. She felt when his body relaxed into sleep and glanced at their reflection in the mirror over her head.

 

"Danyel?... Danyel, you must not sleep now, my love. You must return to your apartments... Danyel?"

 

"Hmmm?"

 

"Come, I have violated many customs by bringing you to my bed and we must not be discovered. But I must speak with you first." She pulled away from him and moved to the edge of the bed. She could feel the products of many orgasms seeping from both of her openings and the twinge of pain when she sat upright put pressure on her violated anus. She looked back as Daniel rubbed a hand across his face and then pinched his nose.

 

"What... I'm sorry, what did you say?"

 

"We must speak, Danyel. I have come to a decision."

 

"About?"

 

"Tell me, Danyel, are you aware of what has just transpired?"

 

"Where?"

 

"Here... are you aware of what just happened here, in this bed?"

 

Daniel looked back at the disheveled bed. "Umm, we made love... more than once. Why?"

 

Shyla took a deep breath and willed the butterflies in her gut to quiet. "We did much more than that, Danyel. We broke tradition, traditions that my people have followed for many generations. I cannot continue to behave in this fashion and keep faith with my people. I had hoped that you were the man that my mother had foreseen, that the prophecy had come to pass, but I realize now, that no matter how much I wish, it will never be true. Your heart will never be mine if you do not give it freely, and since you have already given it to another, that can never happen."

 

Daniel scrubbed his hand back through his hair and sighed. "I did warn you. This epiphany came to you when?"

 

"When you took what was not offered and then called me by his name."

 

"What? I did? I mean... I'm sorry, Shyla. I did warn you..." Daniel rubbed the back of his neck still a little confused by what she was saying.

 

"Take your friends and go back to your world, Danyel. Return to me only if your heart allows. I will not be the second choice of my own consort."

 

Daniel nodded now and bent down to look at Shyla's face. "I'm sorry, Shyla."

 

"Go now, Danyel... I must bathe and dress so that no one knows what has transpired here. You must do the same. I will send for you when I am finished and we will go to your friends." She didn't turn her head to look him in the face, but Daniel leaned over and kissed her cheek.

 

"Thank you." He stood and grabbed his robe from the floor where it had been dropped and slid into it before exiting through the door to the sureties.

 

When she was again presentable, Shyla sent for Costa and ordered the release of the mine prisoners and their return to the palace, outlining her plans for Daniel and his friends to return to their planet. Costa was relieved that she had finally seen the folly in her infatuation and briefly wondered why and how the decision had been made. When her hair and makeup was finished, Shyla sent for Daniel who had been pacing in the hallway outside her door for some time.

 

"I have already sent for your friends from the mine, Danyel. They should be here before sunsleep."

 

"Good... let's go get Jack." He started down the hall practically at a run until he saw Shyla extend her arm for his escort and turned back. The monarch and her consort then walked at a statelier pace toward the stable.

 

Lephos had left the room when the procedure became bloody; for all his years of slave handling, he was never fond of the sight of blood.

 

When the three physicians came out wiping their gory hands on their smocks and clutching their bloody instruments in cloth wraps, he knew it was done. There was too much blood for it to have had a good outcome, that much he knew. He walked to the door and saw Ston standing like a statue over the bale of straw watching as Philia began the process of clean up.

 

Lephos' watched as tears rolled down the big female slave's face and then spoke. "Ston? Is it done..."

 

"He is dead, master... the physicians said that he was too old and weak..." Ston lifted her head and looked Lephos in the eye. "...they are butchers. He was a warrior, master... there was no weakness in him except that which strove to protect his troops. They murdered him with their incompetence."

 

The sound of booted feet in the hall behind him got Lepho's attention. The sight of the princess and her consort coming down the hall was a complete surprise; he turned from the bloody scene in the room to head off the royal party. He bowed low.

 

"Master Lephos, we wish to see the new slave."

 

"We have many new slaves, majesty. Of which do you speak."

 

"The newest male that was brought to you by Lord Costa. I believe you call him Hadd."

 

Daniel saw the blood drain from the burly man's face as line of sweat broke out across his upper lip.

 

"Where is he? What have you done to him?" Daniel asked urgently.

 

"My lord?"

 

"Where is he!?"

 

"What has happened, Master Lephos?" Shyla patted Daniel on the arm.

 

"Majesty, Lord Costa ordered that his voice be taken from him... the physicians..."

 

"WHAT!??" Daniel was panicked. "WHERE IS HE!?"

 

"Majesty? ... the slave did not survive." Lephos bowed his head and Daniel lunged for him.

 

"WHERE IS HE??" Daniel practically screamed in the man's face.

 

Ston stepped into the doorway, her face streaked with tears and her hands tinged red from the attempt to assist Philia in bathing the corpse.

 

"He is in here, my lord." She bowed slightly and stepped aside as Daniel barreled into the room.

 

Ston and Philia had only just begun the process of bathing Jack and had yet to remove the large cylinder gag that the physicians had operated through. The long limp body was draped along bloodied straw bales and the room was rank with the smell of blood and human waste. There was little of Jack that had not been covered by either blood or body waste as he fought against the butchers. When the blood had blocked his airway faster than they could remove it, Jack had finally drowned, his panicked gaze falling on Ston just as his life ended. She had managed to close his eyes before Daniel's angry voice demanded Lephos answer.

 

Daniel gasped at the sight and doubled over, grabbing his middle even as his stomach began to clench. He looked at the red corpse that used to be his friend and vomited the bile that had risen into his throat. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and approached Jack's body, his fingers tentatively reaching for a neck pulse that he had hoped to find but knew he wouldn't.

 

Behind him, Shyla barked orders to Lephos and the guards. What words she used or orders she gave Daniel could not say, his ears were too full of his own anguish to register anything that was said. He pulled a knife from the guard's belt and started to cut at the leather harness and bonds that had been used to secure Jack to the straw bale.

 

"Danyel... you must listen to me..." Daniel's head shook from side to side and he mumbled words that only he could hear. "... let them clean him, Danyel... then we will take him to the sarcophagus... please, Danyel... let them work."

 

Suddenly, Daniel was pulled to the side by the strong arms of two guards and restrained while Ston and Philia were joined by Nosha and several others with basins of fresh water. Within minutes, Jack's pale, naked corpse was laid on a clean blanket on a stretcher and wrapped with another.

 

"WAIT!... get rid of that damned collar and chain... here... now!"

 

Lephos bowed deeply and disappeared for a moment before returning with a small box and ordering all slaves from the room. The chain and dildo were removed from contact with any part of Jack's body except the collar and Lephos set to work. He wrapped the ends that extended from a small box around the collar on either side of the swollen neck and then touched several controls on the box he held. The wires from the box glowed brightly and the smell of burning flesh added to the already rank odors in the room. Lephos reached down with a gloved hand and lifted the portion of collar between the two wires and removed it and then turned the box off.

 

"It is done." He lifted Jack's head and had to use force to pull Jack's swollen neck through the small opening. Daniel lunged towards him to stop the harsh treatment and realized that Jack could feel nothing at this point and the faster that this was done, the faster they would be gone.

 

"Quickly! Bring him!" Shyla and Daniel raced to stay ahead of the litter bearers as they moved through the castle and towards the throne room. When they arrived, Shyla bade them put the litter down and dismissed them, then moved to the throne and fingered the controls that opened the panel and brought the sarcophagus sliding out.

 

Daniel bent down, ran his hand down the soft cheek of his friend's face, and watched as his tears dripped into the still open mouth.

 

"I'm so sorry, Jack." He slid his arms around Jack's chest and lifted him over his shoulder. It was the best he could do and he grunted with the effort. The golden lid slid open and Shyla rushed down to help him arrange long, cold limbs inside the brilliant box. She touched controls on the side and the lid slid shut on the pallid body inside.

 

"Come, Danyel... this will take some time." She took his arm and tried to lead him away; he shrugged her off and then squatted down where he was to wait. Shyla sat watching as Daniel alternately chewed his nails and his lip then stood and walked towards him.

 

"Danyel, I must see if they have brought your other friends yet and arrange for appropriate attire to be delivered here."

 

Daniel nodded without speaking or even looking up at her and she was almost grateful that he hadn't. She stepped outside the throne room into her audience chamber where Costa waited.

 

"Your majesty."

 

"Have they arrived as yet, Costa?"

 

"No, majesty, but they will soon. I sent fast carts for them. I have the equipment and weapons that they carried here and they will be returned to them at the Chappa'ai. Will the device restore life to the slave?" Costa nodded towards the throne room door.

 

"The sarcophagus? Yes, Costa, it will and he is no longer a slave."

 

"Then this is how your father ruled for so long, by use of this... sarcophagus device?"

 

"Yes, Costa... did he never tell you?"

 

"No, majesty. Pyrus did not trust me enough."

 

"When O'Neill's life has been restored, they will all return to their world."

 

"What of the consort?"

 

"He will go as well. I told him that if he wished to return to me that I would still accept him, but it is now his choice... as it should have always been. I doubt he will return; the one he loves is in my father's sarcophagus, not my father's throne."

 

"I am sorry, majesty. I know you love him."

 

"Yes, Costa, I do... but I love my people as well and I must consider what is best for them before my own pleasure."

 

"Yes, your majesty." Costa nodded and bowed.

 

"O'Neill will require clothing when the sarcophagus opens, Costa."

 

"I believe we have the clothing that we removed from him here, majesty, I will send for it."

 

"Please..." Shyla stood and sighed "You may bring it into the throne room when you get it; the sarcophagus will be opening soon and I should be with Danyel when it does." She moved back to the door and Costa opened it, allowing her to pass as he bowed.

 

Daniel's nails were down to cuticle on one hand and now he picked at the skin on his thumb, mindless of anything except the low hum of the sarcophagus at work on Jack. He didn't hear Shyla exit or reenter and jumped when she came up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

 

"Danyel?"

 

"This is taking so long... too long... why is this taking so long? It shouldn't, should it?"

 

"Shh, Danyel... it will be fine. It will take as long as it takes. Listen to the hum? Can you not hear how much softer it is now than it was before? It will open soon and your Jack will be just fine."

 

"I hope so... my fault... this is all my fault."

 

"Shh, Danyel... you will make yourself ill."

 

"I did this to him. He won't want anything to do with me."

 

"That is not true, Danyel. Although you must know that he may not remember much of what transpired just before his death."

 

"That couldn't be a bad thing, I suppose."

 

The low hum was suddenly replaced by a grinding sound as the sarcophagus finished its work and began to open. Daniel gasped and jumped to his feet, but didn't approach.

 

"Go to him, Danyel... he will be confused."

 

The large door to the throne room opened and Costa entered with a bundle in his arms. He bowed low and handed the clothing to Shyla, his eyes riveted to the golden sarcophagus.

 

"Thank you, Costa... you may wait outside."

 

"Yes, majesty." Costa bowed and left. Shyla walked over and handed the bundle of clothing to Daniel. "I will also wait outside. Your other friends will arrive soon and then you may all leave."

 

Daniel took the bundle and, without looking at Shyla, spoke. "Thank you."

 

Shyla watched as Daniel approached the opening panels of the golden coffin and smiled, then closed the door behind her.

 

"Jack?" Daniel looked down into the sarcophagus, squinting against the strong light. He reached inside and laid two fingers just under Jack's jaw in front of his ear, sighing with relief at the strong pulse livid under his fingertips. He uttered a silent prayer of thanks and moved his palm to Jack's left cheek.

 

"Jack? Can you hear me?"

 

Jack's head moved slightly in the direction of the sound and a shiver ran through the body under Daniel's hand.

 

"Come on, Jack... naptime is over. You need to put some clothes on so we can go home."

 

Jack's eyelids fluttered and then opened. He blinked several times as he looked at Daniel before grabbing at the sarcophagus sides to help pull himself up.

 

He sat up and looked around the room, trying to understand what had happened. He opened his mouth to speak but his voice was so hoarse that Daniel had to lean in to understand what it was he said.

 

"Waa hapn'd"

 

"Umm, I'm not sure you should try talking yet, Jack."

 

O'Neill lifted his right hand to his face in a drinking motion and Daniel dropped the bundle of clothes into the sarcophagus to grab an ornate jug and cup from the table near the throne.

 

He poured a cup of water and handed it over; Jack drank it down in two gulps and held it out for a refill.

 

"Easy... easy Jack... there's plenty."

 

Jack coughed and spoke. "Sore throat."

 

"I imagine it is. Well, why don't you get dressed now and then we can go home and you can have all the water you want, okay?"

 

"Dressed?" Jack finished another cup of water and looked down, almost surprised at his own nudity.

 

"Daniel?" His voice was still a little hoarse but the familiar inflection in his voice made Daniel smile.

 

"Yes, Jack?"

 

"I'm naked and sitting in a sarcophagus..."

 

"Yes, yes, Jack you are."

 

"... and exactly WHY is that, Daniel?"

 

"Umm, we really don't have time for this now, Jack. Let's just say... well, basically... you were dead. And NOW, if you want to get out of here as soon as Sam and Teal'c arrive, I suggest that you might try clothing."

 

Jack looked puzzled for a moment and then Daniel saw his shoulders square and his jaw flex and then clench as the bits and flashes of memory percolated through his consciousness. His hands fumbled briefly with the bundle of clothing before he began dressing hurriedly. In what had to be a new record, even for Jack, he was placing his booted feet on the floor next to the sarcophagus and trying to hold his pants up with one hand while his head swam.

 

Daniel rushed to put the water jug down and reached out to lend a hand. Jack draped one arm around his shoulders and allowed Daniel to assist him in closing the buttons on the BDU trousers and then snugging the belt.

 

"Feels strange to wear real clothes again," Jack mumbled and then gasped grabbing at his neck.

 

"What! Jack! Are you alright?"

 

Jack felt along his collarbone for the hard glass-like collar, relaxing when his hands encountered only skin and bone.

 

"It's gone."

 

"Yes, Jack... it's gone. I'm sorry they did that to you. I'm so sorry."

 

"I remember..."

 

"What do you remember, Jack?"

 

Jack stared at him for a moment and Daniel's eyes dropped to the floor in shame.

 

"I remember... you... touching me, loving me..." Jack reached out and lifted Daniel's chin to look into his eyes "... or was that a dream?"

 

Daniel looked into the familiar sable eyes. "No... no, that part wasn't a dream. I did... I DO love you. But all those other things that they did to you..."

 

"There were no other things, Daniel... That's all I need to remember... and all YOU need to remember, too."

 

The tears threatening to escape Daniel's eyes made Jack's face blurry. Daniel swallowed hard and took Jack's extended hand into his turning the long fingers over to place a kiss flat in the palm.

 

"I'm not so sure I can ever forget, Jack. But right now, I think we should go home to discuss it, before Shyla changes her mind again."

 

"What made her change it the first time is what I'd like to know, Daniel."

 

"She discovered I was in love with someone else."

 

"More than you love her?" Jack asked trying to suppress a smile.

 

"Way more than I love her. Come on, let's go. Sam and Teal'c should be here by now." Daniel turned to go and Jack started to follow, his gait slightly uneven.

 

"What's wrong, Jack? Are you alright?"

 

"Tired, very tired, that's all."

 

"Well, let's go home, Jack."

 

"Home would be good, Daniel... home would be very good."

 

fin