My Voyage of Submission Ch. 18

He had the couple sit down in front of him and asked for a copy of the marriage contract. Master handed it to him.

He asked James, "Have you read the contract?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you agree to its contents?"

"Yes, sir."

"You agree to allow the bride to practice her faith and raise any children in Islam?"

"They will be raised and taught both Islam and Christianity and be allowed their own choice which faith to follow, Imam."

He nodded. "That is acceptable. Have you read the contract?" He asked Ateefah.

"Yes, Imam, I read it and I approve of the contents."

"You have no family here?"

"No, Imam. I was told my family is deceased."

"I have read the contract and believe the amount of the maher is generous. I believe it sufficient for your needs. I will read the contract aloud, at which time, both of you must say 'qabool hai', three times. This means you accept. It is important you say it three times."

"We understand, Imam," James said.

He read the contract aloud, which not only dealt with the monetary terms of the maher, but also the duty of husband and wife, almost like marriage vows. It was very similar to the one Henry and Maahnoor had signed.

When he was finished, both James and Ateefah said, "Qabool hai," three times. They signed the marriage contract and two witnesses from each side signed beside the groom and bride. The Imam then said a prayer from the Qur'an for the couple, holding the Qur'an over their heads, then asked all the guests to bring their hands together to pray for James and Ateefah, asking the blessings of Allah on them and their house. We all bowed our heads for the prayer.

Henry and Hibbah held the long, decorated cloth called the dupatta over the couple as they sat. They were given the Qur'an and held it while the Imam held up a mirror. He called it the Arsi Mushaf, and was their reflections for the first time as husband and wife.

The ceremony was now over except for the celebration.

"I'm sorry, I can't stay," the Imam said, "but I have other duties to attend to. May Allah bless your marriage and make it fruitful." He glanced at the bride's baby bump.

I hoped he knew it wasn't James who'd given it to her.

"Perhaps, we should go too," Mr. Rasheed said. "Save your men from making another trip."

"Nonsense! It's less than a hundred feet and they'll have to bring Dr. Sadiq later anyway. You told me how much you were looking forward to the food. It would be silly to leave now."

The two men glanced at one another again. Something was wrong with those two.

"I guess we can stay a short time, Mr. Greenbriar. It wouldn't hurt."

"Of course not. It will be lovely. We were thinking of adopting the Muslim tradition of keeping the men and women separate. Do you have an opinion."

"We don't usually consider that necessary here in England," Dr. Sadiq said. "I'm accustomed to sitting and eating with my wife most of the time."

How unusual. Master had said with the Imam gone, we could mix more. Now he'd suggested men on one side and women on the other.

"When in Rome," Mr. Kahn said.

"Of course. Well come up and enjoy the food."

We went up to the sun deck which was decorated and perfect. There were the white lights strung all over the deck, some of the tiki torches were out. Flowers were everywhere. There was a large table set up on a dais where James and Ateefah were seated. Also at the head table were the Captain and Lynn, representing James' superior officer, Henry and Hibbah, as the two who held the dupatta cloth over their head at the conclusion of the ceremony. A buffet was set out for the rest of the guests, but Pierre himself delivered food to the bride and groom. Maahnoor was working on the buffet line, replacing food which ran low. Music was playing, though not loudly enough to interfere with normal conversation.

Master's guests said they'd take a table near the rear as they didn't really know the bride and groom. It would be better if their friends were closer to the happy couple. I sat with Dr. Sadiq and Felicity at Master's suggestion. They sat closer to the head table. Dr. Sadiq was interested in watching the interactions among our freed slaves and in Maahnoor and Ateefah's case, their husbands.

"Which one is Henderson, the one who married Maahnoor?" Dr. Sadiq asked.

"At the head table, right beside the groom. They're close friends, particularly now they've both chosen Muslim wives. It gives them more in common. We kept the bride and groom apart for a couple days before the wedding. She was staying in Hibbah's room which is why she's at the head table as well."

"Are they still estranged? They keep looking at one another."

"They are back in the same room, so I think they intend to stay together for now. Henderson is insisting Maahnoor attend treatment with me. He said he would divorce her if she ever slept with another man again. There is distrust still, obviously."

"I'd like a chance to speak to both of them if I could."

"I'm sure there will be some time. Probably less with James because of the festivities. Perhaps I can speak to Felicity while you're speaking with them."

"Yes."

As the eating slowed down, people started going up to the head table and congratulating the couple on their nuptials. Mr. Kahn, Mr. Rasheed and the two young women were noticeable exceptions. Dr. Sadiq, Felicity and I went to the table and congratulated them.

After wishing the newlyweds his blessings, I said, "James, this is Dr. Sadiq and his wife, Felicity. Dr. Sadiq approved the treatment plan I intend to use for the counseling sessions. He was hoping to spend a little time talking to both you and Henry. Do you think you can pull away for a few minutes?"

"I don't see why not? Ateefah, would that be okay with you?"

"It might be helpful, James. Please do. He seems a nice man."

James and Henry stepped away to have a private word and I led Felicity near the spa where we could speak quietly.

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Sadiq?"

"Call me Felicity, please. Mahdi said you were an impressive young woman. He said you really seem to care for the young women you helped save."

"It's very hard not to care for them. They're quite extraordinary and to have survived what they did without more problems than they have is astounding. I don't know if I could have survived what they did."

"He said that you were a submissive."

"That's correct."

"How do you like it?"

"I love it. I feel whole in a way I have never felt before."

"He said you've developed a survey which can tell if a person is Dominant or submissive. Is that true?"

"It is."

"I'd like to take it."

"Do you expect it to tell you something you don't already know?"

"What?"

"That you're a submissive."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Not at all. I wouldn't have guessed except you're asking me how I like being a submissive and you want to take my survey. Wanting to take it means you want something confirmed you already guessed about yourself and you're not asking a Dominant how they like being a Dominant. You're asking what it's like to be a submissive. Hence, you think you're submissive. Have you talked about your feelings to Dr. Sadiq?"

"How could I? He's a Muslim. I'm a Muslim. I've accepted his faith. Aren't we talking about things directly contradicting the Qur'an?"

"I don't know. I've never met a Muslim Dominant. That's not to say there aren't any. At its heart, submission is surrendering your will to your Dominant. I guess you're putting another layer of obedience between you and Allah, but Islam requires a woman to be obedient to her husband, so I doubt there is a conflict there. If the Dominant is a good Muslim himself, you wouldn't necessarily be violating Islamic belief, though I'm unfamiliar with all aspects of your faith. If you weren't expecting your husband to contravene Islamic doctrine by being your Dominant, why couldn't he be? Obviously, if your Dominant were any person but your husband, it would violate Islamic law."

"Doesn't your Dominant punish you?"

"In many different ways."

"In Islam, a man may not discipline his wife unless he first counsels her, then removes himself from her bed. Striking is always a last resort. I would not want my husband to leave my bed before he struck me. I don't want to give up sex."

"Nor do I. In my relationship, punishment is not punishment in the sense they are correcting bad behavior. In fact, punishment is not something a Dominant should do when they're angry. It's a form of establishing control and Dominance. I'm punished for orgasming without my Dominant's permission. That is not really an act of disobedience or defiance. My Dominant knows I'm not able to keep from climaxing if they are stimulating me. Nor is any punishment designed to do me any harm. Some punishments result in my having orgasms. Others prevent me from having orgasms. Other times I am removed from their bed, sometimes in a cage beneath the bed, which would be step two in Islamic discipline. But punishments are less often punishment, then they are a form of foreplay to sex. It is a loving relationship, which though it may have unusual aspects, is not harsh. I'm deeply in love with my Dominant.

"Punishment could be as little as a harsh word, knowing I've been displeasing to them, and as practiced by most consensual submissives, I have the ability to stop any unjust or harsh punishment with a word. And the limits to punishment have been pre-established. If I say my Dominant may spank me, I may establish how many times and for what offenses, whether marks may be left and for how long. I have as much control in what happens to me as my Dominant does. Since we both agree to the rules of what is okay within the relationship, it's not as if I can be beaten for no reason, nor that such a relationship can't be a loving and rewarding relationship for a couple. If you speak to your husband, you can establish rules for your submission that don't violate the Qur'an, at least in spirit, as I don't recognize a mild spanking as punishment as much as a prelude to sex as my Dominant very seldom punishes me in a way which causes physical pain without giving me an orgasm before, during or after said punishment."

"Who is your Dominant?"

"I'm not at liberty to say. It is their prerogative who they tell."

"Is it a man or woman?"

"Both have had control of me at one time or another."

"What if my husband wouldn't want to be my Dominant?"

"Then you have a problem. On the other hand, your husband was raised in a patriarchal society that believes women should be obedient to the males in his society, either fathers, brothers or husbands. He may find it fairly easy to be a Dominant given those circumstances. The only way you will find out is if you talk to him about it."

"Do you have any suggestions as to how I talk to him about it?"

"When you are in your bedroom tonight, and undressed for bed, kneel at his feet and ask him to take complete control of you within limits you would establish together. At the very least, you'll get his attention."

Felicity laughed. "I suppose I would."

"It is hard for men to withstand the allure of a naked submissive."

"Thank you, Elizabeth."

"Call me Beth. All my friends do. If you decide to throw yourself at his feet, let me know how it works out."

We returned to the other guests. Dr. Sadiq had finished speaking to Henry and James and was sitting down at our table again.

"What did you two have to talk about for so long?" he asked.

"Felicity had a question she was too embarrassed to ask you. She thought I'd be a friendly ear. How went the conversations with James and Henry?"

"They went well. They seem like fine young men."

"I believe them to be."

Master and Miranda said something quietly to James and Ateefah, and they got up and began moving from table to table, stopping for brief words at each one. Master and Miranda were trailing, but not necessarily stopping. The couple stopped at ours.

"Thank you for coming to our wedding, Dr. Sadiq, Mrs. Sadiq. We were happy you could attend, and I appreciate you talking to me. I think it will be helpful," James said.

"You're welcome. Allah's blessings upon you both."

"And on you, sir."

They moved on and the closer they got to Bakir's and Isam's table, the more nervous our foreign guests seemed to get.

"Do those other Pakistani guests seem particularly nervous to you, Dr. Sadiq?"

He turned and watched them.

"They do seem agitated."

"Excuse me a minute."

I stood up and moved closer, both Mahdi and Felicity keeping an eye on me and the others.

When Ateefah reached their table, she said "Hafsa?" Then she said something in Urdu which Hafsa answered. Ateefah looked closer at Isam, the man claiming to be Hafsa's guardian. She suddenly screamed and turned, running from the table. "It's him, it's him. Slavers are on the ship."

James raced after Ateefah, and Sahar headed for the disturbance, ready to protect anyone from slavers. I grabbed Sahar before she stabbed anyone. "Wait. Let's see how it plays out. You see Edgar and Ethan standing right behind the two men. Let's figure things out first."

She nodded, but was staring at the two men quite malevolently. They were probably lucky it was only Edgar and Ethan behind them

Isam and Bakir stood. "I don't know what that crazy woman thought she saw," Isam said, "but I've never been so insulted in my life. I want to leave immediately."

"I don't think so, Isam," Master said. "Your behavior has been very unusual since you found out there were freed slaves on this ship. What the bride just said confirms my suspicions. The police are on their way. I think you'll speak to them before you go anywhere. Don't give me any sort of trouble or my two security men will make you regret it." He pointed to the two men behind them. Edgar and Ethan had quite the nasty smiles when they turned to look.

"You can't hold us. You've no right."

"You're probably right. I suppose you could swim to shore, but the police will be here very shortly, and they'll probably end up fishing you out of the drink anyway. Why ruin your clothes for nothing. Beth, please find Ateefah and bring her back so we can ask her how she knew Hafsa and what she meant when she said slavers were on board?"

"Yes, sir."

I found them about halfway to their room. James had caught up to Ateefah and he was hugging her. She was shivering like she suffered from the cold.

"Ateefah and James, the police are on the way. No one will take you off the ship, Ateefah. You have the weight of the US government on this ship. Miranda is a member of our government. No slavers will ever take you against your will. Come back with me and let's see if we might save Hafsa, for she's another slave, isn't she?"

"Yes, she went to the same slave training place I was at. She shared my room the last couple weeks of my training."

"If we tell that to the police, we may be able to free Hafsa, and perhaps the other woman is a slave also. Two more women freed, Ateefah, and you could help. Take my hand and come back with me. James, take her other hand. Edgar and Ethan are just hoping they try anything, and Sahar is ready to stab them both. You'll see."

"Okay."

We went back to the dinner and the security people were all up and drawn toward the fracas, not yet understanding what it was, but knowing they might be needed. By the time we got there, Thomas was escorting four bobbies up from the stern room.

"Was there some sort of attack on your wife again, Mr. Greenbriar? We've been on alert in case there was."

"Not this time. I believe what we have here are two men who've been engaged in human trafficking. I think the two young ladies are their slaves."

"That's absurd, Joshua," Isam said. "You're crazy."

"Maybe. Let's ask Ateefah how she knows you and Hafsa. What can you tell me about Hafsa, Ateefah? How do you know her?"

"I met her at the training facility where I was taken after I was kidnapped and enslaved. She shared a room with me and four other women."

"You're sure?" The lead officer said. I think he was a sergeant.

"Yes, I'm sure. Hafsa can confirm it if she's not too scared to speak. When I spoke to her just a moment ago, she told me to leave or she'd be beaten."

"Is this true, Hafsa?"

She looked up at mention of her name, but remained silent.

"We were told neither of these women spoke English, officer," Master said. "You might need someone who speaks Urdu. Dr. Sadiq, perhaps you could question the two young women for the officers."

"Who are you, sir," the sergeant asked.

"Dr. Mahdi Sadiq, visiting professor of Psychology, Cambridge University."

"Can you speak to these two women, please?"

"Certainly."

He spoke to the two women for about five minutes. "They are both scared of their owners, officer, but Hafsa confirms she knows this woman, Ateefah, that they both underwent slave training at the same training facility about fourteen, fifteen months ago. The other one said she was also trained at the same place, but it was about three years ago."

"A lot of lies," Isam said. "All lies. I'm a respected businessman."

"Ateefah, you recognized this man. You called him a slaver. How do you recognize him?" Master asked.

"He was not the one who captured me, nor the primary trainer at the facility, but he frequently visited and was involved in our training. I think he is the brother of the trainer. I had to suck his cock at least a dozen times, plus he was the first man to put his cock in my ass."

James was agitated now. His fists were clenching and unclenching and he was definitely leaning in Isam's direction.

"James, please sit down," Master said. "I don't want you getting arrested for assault on your wedding night. You have more important things to do tonight."

Henderson came over and put his hand on James' shoulder, getting him to sit down, but looking pissed himself.

"Joshua," I said. "It would be easy enough to know if Ateefah is lying. When she was a slave at the training facility, she was given a tattoo on her sex. Two chain links. She said that everyone who went to that facility received the same tattoo in the same location, like Mahmoud branded all of his slaves in the same place. We could have our nurse and a female officer inspect the genitals of the two women and if they have the same tattoo, Ateefah is not lying about the training facility or where she met them."

"That's true," Ateefah said. "And if you check that man's cock, you will find he has a mole on it, about halfway down on the top of the shaft. If I hadn't sucked it, I wouldn't know it was there."

"Fine, fine, it was me," Isam said, "but any supposed crimes I committed were in Pakistan, you have no legal authority to hold me."

"An admission. Makes my job easier," the constable said, slapping handcuffs on the aggrieved Mr. Rasheed. "The 1926 Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade by the League of Nations has been signed by Pakistan in addition to the United Kingdom, requires all countries to pass rigorous laws banning slavery and endeavoring to secure the freedom of all slaves. The 2015 Modern Slavery Act says that any person brought to Great Britain shall not only be confiscated from their owner and freed, but the owner may be ordered to pay compensation to the enslaved person, and if said slavery was the result of kidnapping or false imprisonment, the penalty for such infraction can be up to life in prison.

Another officer was putting handcuffs on Mr. Kahn.

"What happens to the two women?" Miranda asked.

"Well, they're witnesses and need to be handled as such."

"They're not placed into custody are they?"

"Not custody, per se. We'd probably need to put them up in a safe house somewhere. That's up to people higher up than I am. They need to be examined by a doctor and make official statements. We'll need to have an officer who speaks the language for that."