I turn to the sink and immediately start to wash the crusty dishes. First and foremost I cannot cook in a dirty kitchen. As I am cleaning more Knights come in with more dirty dishes and slip them into the sink. Vicrul is the last to come in and I feel his hand brush my ass cheek but I do not react. When he presses his chest to my back I ignore him and continue to scrub the pan in my hands.
I feel a hand pull my hair from the right side of my face and expose my neck. When his lips ghost my flesh I rinse the pan and continue as if he is not there. I pick up the next dish and continue. He could pull my pants down and fuck me right there and it wouldn’t be any worse than what my previous master did to me. I am numb to men’s sexual advances at this point. My last master had never let his friends fuck me but it didn’t mean that they didn’t get handsy.
“You taste sweet, little pet.” Vicrul whispers in my ear and I continue with the dishes. “Does my presence on your back not phase you?”
“No, Master Vicrul.”
“What if I bent you over right now and fucked your pretty pink pussy? You know, I was standing behind your last master as you fucked yourself on his cock. Did you like that? Did you like me watching you?”
I swallow and take a deep breath before I speak. “Master Vicrul, would you like an honest answer?”
“Always answer me honestly.” His lips trail down my neck and he pulls my shirt aside as he kisses my collarbone.
“I did not enjoy it. I was terrified and when he pushed me off and to the floor I was relieved.” I swallow hard again and continue. “And if you bent me over right now I would be unphased because I am your property now, Master Vicrul.”
I feel his hands go to my hips as he presses his erection against my lower back. “I bet I can make you come harder than your last master ever did.”
I do not answer and try to focus my attention on the dried food on the plant that is in my hands. I have no idea what to say or how to answer that without it sounding like sass and I don’t want to give this large angry man any sass. I want to cook and pray that I get to eat as well.
“Did you come hard for your last master, Pet?”
“No, Master Vicrul.”
“Why not?”
“I...He...he never made me come,” I whisper hoping that Vicrul will not hear me.
He pulls away and stands up straight. “What?”
“I never came. I am a slave. It is not my place to enjoy such things.” I scrub furiously at the dish and once the last one is clean I wipe my hands and turn around to see Vicrul leaning against the tiny island in the center of the kitchen.
“Did he force you every time?”
“I am a slave. I do not have a choice. If my master commands me to my knees that is where I go. If I am ordered to lay splayed on a table to display to his friends then that is what I do. And when I was chained with my legs open at night I made not a sound.” I stare back at Master Vicrul and am sure I will receive a slap but I don’t. “My purpose is to make my master, or my new Masters, happy. I am here to serve you all, Master Vicrul.”
“Get on your knees.” Vicrul growls and I immediately drop to my knees. “Take your shirt off.” I pull my shirt off at his command. “Open your mouth.” He glares down at me and I drop my bottom jaw, opening my mouth as wide as I can. He shakes his head and stares down at me for a moment. “Put your fucking shirt back on, get up and cook me some food, pet.”
I pull my shirt back on and before I can get off my knees he is gone. I stare out the door after him and can’t help the confused look that I am sure is written all over my face.
I poke through the cupboards and cold storage and find all of the ingredients for a tip yip pie. I make the pastry dough and set it in the cold storage to rest while I make the filling. No one bothers me as I work in silence for over an hour. I'm used to the loud sounds of my last master as he yelled at everyone in the house. So to be in silence is unnerving and puts me on edge.
It takes me just over an hour and a half to get the tip yip pie in the oven. I even take the time to make a fancy lattice topping on it. Something that I had learned from Master Gerrick. He had been kind and taught me cooking and baking on another level. He liked fancy food and company and even though I was a slave he almost never made me feel like one.
I'm in the middle of mixing a cake batter while the meat pie cooks when I feel the first tear trail down my cheek. I never had time to think and process Master Gerrick's death and I realize now just how much I miss him. The only Master I will ever miss because he treated me like a person. But I am angry at him for losing me in a fucking poker game.
I wipe my nose on my sleeve and pour the cake batter into the greased and floured pan. It's a lemon bundt cake that I learned when I was more of a nanny. The little girl I helped raise for a few years loved it and I think of her as I grate lemon peel into a pan of sugar to make candied lemon pieces for the cake.
When the over timer goes off I grab a stack of seven plates and seven forks. I make my way to the common area and set the plates and forks on the center table. None of the Knights speak as I walk away again. I retrieve the pie, whose crust has come out a perfect golden brown. As I'm walking to the common room I pray to the maker to not drop my hard work that took hours. For once my prayers are answered and I set the pie down next to the plates.
I back up from the table and wait to be told if I am to serve them or if they wish to serve themselves.
"What is it?" Vicrul looks down at the dish with a confused look.
"It's a tip yip pot pie. It has a pastry crust with a filling made from tip yip, potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables with gravy, Master Vicrul." I stand with my hands clasped in front of me as he stares at the pie.
"Well dish it out then." Vicrul barks at me.
I reached for the serving spoon I brought out with the plates and cut the pie into seven pieces. I plate the first piece and hand it to Vicrul. I finish serving the seven men and retreat to the kitchen with the empty dish and serving spoon. I set everything in the sink and check on the cake that is in the oven. I turn the sugar and lemon pieces on and start to make the glaze for the cake.
I'm stirring the glaze on the stove when Vicrul comes into the kitchen with his empty plate. "Well, pet. It seems you can cook. What's that smell?"
I have my back to him as I stir the contents of the pan on the stove. "Lemon bundt cake, Master."
I look over my shoulder at him with a look that I know is almost pleading. He walks over to the oven and looks through the glass door. "Well shit. Who knew our new slave would spoil us with tasty treats."
I don't know how to respond to his words so I stay silent. The timer goes off and Vicrul backs up to the doorway as he watches me. I test the cake and the knife comes out clean. After setting it on the island I regrip the hot pan and flip it onto a cooling rack. The potholder slips as I'm flipping and I accidentally grip the three hundred and seventy-five degree bundt pan. But I don't let go. And I don't make a noise as my skin sears from the hot metal. I bite my tongue and lift the pan off the cake, leaving it to cool as I calmly turn and make for the sink. I feign washing the dishes in order to get my hand under the cold running water.
Vicrul disappears and I check on the glaze and see that it is done. I pull it off the burner and set it aside before placing the cake in the freezer for a few minutes. I find ice and grab a cube to place on my burn. When I head to the common room to collect the empty plates, only Trudgen and Cardo are there and they are in a deep discussion so they ignore me.
When I get back to the kitchen with the rest of the empty dirty plates Vicrul is there. "Do you need anything, Master?"
"Come here."
I place the plates in the sink before walking over to Vicrul. He reaches down and takes my right hand in his. It's the one with a large burn running across the palm. Vicrul is silent while he coats my hand with a burn cream before he wraps it with a bandage. I look from my hand to his face which is furrowed in concentration.
"Tha...Thank you, Master Vicrul."
"Next time don't hide it. Wounds can get infected easily on this ship. And the last thing we need is a one-handed slave." He growls at me with an angry expression.
I swallow hard and nod. "Yes sir, Master. I’m sorry."
Vicrul shoves my bandaged hand back to me and leaves the kitchen. I search under the sink and find a set of rubber gloves that reach my elbows. They're too big but they'll keep my hand clean while I do the dishes. Once the kitchen is clean and the dishes are done I pull the cake from cooling and place it on a large plate. I drizzle the glaze over the top and it hardens as it hits the cold cake.
Walking back to the common area I set down small plates, forks and a knife to cut the cake. It only takes me a minute to retrieve the lemon bundt cake. I set it on the table that I had set the pie on earlier. The Knights gather silently and look from the cake to me. When no one says anything I cut it into pieces and serve each Knight.
I leave the common area and the Knights to head back to the kitchen. Double checking that the oven and stove are off I give everything a final wipe down. I stand in the corner of the kitchen and wait for the Knights to either bring me their dishes to clean or for them to call me to fetch them.
It only takes minutes for me to be beckoned back to the common room. When I walk in, the cake is gone. Not even a single crumb is left and my hopes of getting something to eat are quickly dashed and destroyed. I look over the seven men as they all stare at me with curious expressions.
“Pet, when was the last time you cooked like this?” Vicrul stands in front of me with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Before my last Master,” I answer him quietly. “I really like to cook though.”
“Well, I think you should be in charge of meals from here on out.” Ushar moves to stand in front of Vicrul. “That was the best thing I’ve eaten in years.”
“I can cook all kinds of foods. Breakfast, dinner, sweets. I can follow recipes too, if there is something I don't know how to make and you have a recipe I can make it for you.” I shift on my feet as the men stare down at me. They’re all so tall that I feel like a child with the height difference.
“You can clean up from the cake and then I’ll show you where you’re going to sleep.” Trudgen lets out a deep breath as I nod to him and gather the plates from the cake that they devoured.
When I get back to the kitchen I pull the rubber gloves back on and scrub everything until it shines. I wait for the dishes to air dry while I wipe down the outside of the cold storage and the ovens. I’m putting the dishes away when a shadow falls over me. Whipping my head to my right I see Ap’lek standing behind me.
“Where did you learn to cook?”
“Master Gerrick taught me the finer things like pastry and sweets. Before that I learned from books when I was more like a nanny. I had to feed the girl I took care of and she was very picky.” I place the last plate in the cabinet and close the door, making sure that the latch hooks to keep everything inside.
“Where did you learn to read? I didn’t think slaves learned that.”
“My Master who was a bounty hunter taught me. He needed me to be able to communicate with the Guild. And I needed to be able to read the medical books in case something happened that I wasn’t trained for.”
“How long were you with him?”
“I’m sorry, Master Ap’lek, I don't know. I can’t remember.”
“That’s okay.” Ap’lek stares down at me as he tilts his head to his left and takes me in. I feel my stomach growl just as it makes a loud noise that echoes in the small kitchen. Ap’lek’s eyebrow raises and I shrink back from him as his expression changes. “Pet, when was the last time you ate?”
I’m silent for a moment as I try to remember when I was fed last. “Umm.”
“Do you not know?”
I shrug slightly as I try to recall exactly. “A few days I think. Not today. Not yesterday. And I don’t think the day before either.”
“Fucking hell.” Ap’lek reaches up with both hands and rubs his face in frustration.
“I’m sorry, Master.” I apologize and pray to not get hit.
Ap’lek’s eyes narrow as he looks at me. “Why the fuck are you sorry?”
I don’t know how to answer the man in front of me and I go still as I brace for a hit. I know it’s only a matter of time before I’m beaten by one of these men. “I’m irritating you and I’m sorry for that, Master Ap’lek.”
“Fuckng shit. I’m irritated because you were so obviously abused and mistreated, even for a slave. Did he not feed you regularly?” Ap’lek sighs and moves towards me as I shake my head no. Ap’lek shakes his head in return as his large hands grip my tiny waist and lift me up into the air.
I grab his wrists gently so that I do not fall but I’m quickly placed on the island in the center of the kitchen. When Ap’lek lets go he walks to the cold storage and starts pulling out meats and cheeses. I watch him silently as he pulls a soup out of the cabinet and sticks it in the nanowave to heat up. As the soup cooks I watch Ap’lek assemble a sandwich and it looks delicious. I watch as he toasts the bread, adds some kind of dressing, meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato.
When Ap’lek pulls the soup from the nanowave he places it on the same large plate that the sandwich is on. “Here, eat.”
I take the plate from my new Master and stare down at it before looking back up at the murderous looking man. “This is for me, Master Ap’lek?”
“Yes. Eat. You can’t do your duties on the ship if you fall over from malnutrition.”
“Thank you, Master Ap’lek.” I look down at the plate so that I can hide the tears starting to drip out of my eyes. I have never had anyone other than Master Gerrick feed me. I have always had to make my own food and take care of myself when I was allowed to.
Ap’lek cleans up from making me my food, leaving the plate in my lap as the only dirty dish. Once he is done he turns to face me as he leans on the sink behind him. I’m taking small bites of the sandwich and sips of the soup hoping that I can eat it all. But I know that my stomach has shrunk significantly as I start to feel full before half of the sandwich is consumed. I’m struggling to eat when Ap’lek reaches forward and takes the plate from my hand and I want to cry all over again.
“I can see that you’re full. I’ll put this away in the fridge for you. You can come back to it later, okay?”
“Yes, Master Ap’lek. Thank you. It’s delicious.” I wrap my arms around my waist and hold myself as I watch my Master pack away the rest of the soup and the other half of my sandwich.
“Look, if you’re hungry you eat on this ship. Understand?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Good. When you cook for us make sure you make enough for you as well. Good rule of thumb, whatever amount you think we can eat, double it. You could have made two of those pies and we would have eaten both. We eat a lot. Food is never scarce on this ship. Okay?” Ap’lek stands in front of me with my knees touching his thighs. When his hand reaches for my face I quickly flinch away from his touch. But his fingers simply brush back the hairs that are falling into my face. “I’m not going to hurt you pet.”
“Okay.” I whisper to him as his hand rests on my shoulder.
“He hit you a lot?”
“Everyday.”
“Well, I won’t be doing that. I can’t speak for the others. But I won’t.”
“Thank you, Master Ap’lek.” I look up into his eyes and see the small smile that stretches his lips.
“You’re welcome, Pet.”
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