The Shadow Doctor Ch. 01

"For tonight, I have a few things planned. I plan to continue our conversation, to learn about you and help me decide the best way to treat you in the immediate future. In a little while, I will bring dinner for both of us. After that, I am going to have sex with you. That is not up for debate. The nature of the sex, whether it tends towards pleasure or pain for you, will depend on our conversation and how cooperative you are willing to be. After that, I will likely go to bed, as it has been a long day. If I feel I can trust you, you will join me. If not you will sleep here."

Yelena looked steadily at him for a long moment, then deliberately turned around and faced the wall. "Burn in hell, you goddamn prick."

Tam waited, but she didn't seem to have anything else to say. He tidied up the room, putting things away, then leaned against the wall opposite Yelena's cage and watched her. Her shoulders were shaking very slightly.

"Yelena, are you crying?"

"Yes, I'm crying."

"Why are you crying?"

"Because I've had a horrible day. Ever since I was kidnapped, it's been one terrifying thing after another. Then you were kind to me, and treated my injuries, and told me you wanted me to be happy, even if it was in a fucked up way. And that orgasm or whatever it was you just did to me with your fingers actually felt really good for some reason; it was the first nice sensation I've had in this whole nightmare of a day. And right away you follow that up by reminding me that none of that matters because you're just going to rape me again like the others."

As the compulsion to answer released her, she pulled herself into a tighter ball and began sobbing openly. Tam waited patiently and eventually her sobbing slowed to the occasional sniffle.

"Yelena, it's up to you if tonight is a rape. I am hoping our discussion will lead to a place where you are willing to cooperate, and you can receive as much pleasure from the act as I do."

"You idiot, of course it's rape. Having sex with a woman who doesn't want to have sex with you is the definition of rape; it doesn't matter if you're gentle or violent."

"Legally, rape is forcing a free woman who is not your wife into sex. As you are my slave, by definition it cannot be rape. Also from the ethical standpoint, I was hoping to work out a negotiation, where I offer you something you want in return for sharing my bed. I do not think an exchange of that sort would constitute rape, even if we remove the legal definition from the discussion. But it is your turn to ask a question."

Tam sat back on the stool and waited. He was beginning to think she wasn't going to talk anymore when she finally spoke, still facing the wall instead of him.

"You just tried to claim that the law was on your side. Earlier you said that I was legally your slave. I may be a foreigner, but I've lived here long enough to know that kidnapping someone off the street is not a legal method of enslavement here. Why do you think the law is on your side?"

"I think that the law is on my side because it is. Earlier, you passed on an opportunity to ask about the documents I was writing your name on. They are a formal judgment by the Third Magistrate of Nihai, in which you are found guilty of spying for a foreign power and sentenced to slavery for life. The Tong purchased the judgment from the magistrate a few hours before they kidnapped you. The man is corrupt, but his decree is legal and can only be overturned by an imperial emissary. There is also a bill of sale, in which the legal process of your sale by the court to me is recorded. If you would like, I can hold the documents where you can read them."

Yelena sat facing the wall for several moments longer. She took a long breath, composing herself, and extended her hand behind her.

"Give me something to wipe my face off with first. I'm covered in snot."

Tam rinsed the rag he had given her earlier and wrung it out then stepped over and dropped it through the cage into her hand. She blew her nose twice, then folded the cloth and used a clean portion to wipe her face. She also took the opportunity to clean some of the dirt off her hands and knees and wipe quickly between her legs. Another deep breath, then her shoulders squared and she turned around and crawled to the front of the cage where she sat back on her heels, one hand over her breasts and the other covering her crotch. "I'm ready to read them."

Tam brought over the judgement and held it where she could read it but not reach it. She read it over twice, noting the magistrate's official seal then nodded. He replaced it with the bill of sale. She read it over just as carefully then nodded again. "Alright, it's all there like you said and it looks genuine. Your turn to ask questions again."

"As curious as I am about your sexual history I think it would be best to postpone discussion of sex for a short while. Instead, tell me this: how do you plan to escape?"

"I'll play along with talking to you and being polite until you let me out of the cage. Once that's done, I'll wait for you to turn around then hit you in the head with something heavy like that stool. Once you're down I'll make sure you're unconscious or dead then steal your robe. After that I'll run for it. Once I'm back in the foreign quarter I'll find my family and warn them about the information the Tong got from me. We'll change our patterns, and hopefully the family will remove this collar and help hide me from the guards until they can either smuggle me home or find another corrupt magistrate to overturn the sentence." As she continued to speak, her eyes widened. Clearly she had not anticipated this use of the spell.

"Let us examine your plan point by point. Now that I am aware of your intentions, I am not likely to lower my guard while you are free from restraints. Even if you were to succeed in disabling me, you would still need to evade my servants while escaping the manor, as they all know who you are. Any one of them seeing you alone and out of restraints would instantly raise the alarm. The walls of the manor are high and the gate is locked."

"My manor is on a side street, but the streets in this neighborhood are reasonably busy during the day and well-lit at night. If you made it to the street, you would find there are no alleys to hide in and the guards patrol regularly. If anyone on the street sees a bald foreign woman, barefoot in men's clothes, with a slave collar around her neck, they will naturally be suspicious. If they question you, the spell will force you to tell them that you are an escaped slave. Once you are arrested, the minimum penalty for attempting to escape is 20 lashes in the nearest public square. If it was discovered you had physically struck me, the law would require the amputation of the offending hand. If you had been unfortunate enough to kill me or one of my servants in your escape, you would be sentenced to death by impalement, which is a very slow and agonizing death."

Tam had watched her closely as he went through the problems with her plan. Yelena's posture gradually slumped as he explained each barrier between her and freedom. "Now, do not respond to this next question immediately. Take your time and think carefully before answering. Do you believe you have a successful chance of escaping tonight?"

Yelena sat for a long moment, her head lowered; then she answered, barely above a whisper. "No, I don't think I have a chance to escape right now. The odds are too bad and the risks too great."

"I am glad you are intelligent enough to realize that. Since you have spoken it aloud you know that it is true. Now that you know this, what is your new plan?"

Still looking at the floor, Yelena sighed. "My new plan is to obey you and be a good slave. I'll try to bargain with you for whatever concessions I can get. I don't have the resources to escape at the moment, so I need to try and learn more about my environment and find something that I can use to help me. I don't know what that might be, but I know that I have better odds of finding it outside this cage. It's my turn to ask a question, but I can't think of a good one right now, so I'm going to save it."

"That is a much better plan. I think it will be good to pause here anyway and eat. Do you feel like you could hold down a meal?"

"Yes, I'm starving. And, um, related to the topic, I need to, ah, take care of the other end."

"Ah yes. I was wondering if you might need that earlier, but I had forgotten. I will bring you a chamber pot before I check the readiness of the food. Is there anything else you'd like to request while I'm out? Please restrict your answers to reasonable requests that you think I might be willing to grant."

Yelena thought for a moment. "Um, something to wear would be really nice, and maybe something to sit on besides bare dirt. And that tea you gave me earlier helped with the pain, but I think it's starting to wear off, or maybe just wasn't a strong enough dose, so some more of that would be good."

"Those are good choices for requests, and presented with something close to proper humility. I am pleased with you. I will be back shortly."

Some of the fire returned to Yelena's eyes at being praised for obedience, but she bit her lip and stayed silent instead of cursing at him.

Tam made sure there was nothing within arm's reach of her cage, then left. He spoke with the cook and told her to prepare a meal for two, then went looking for the other things Yelena had asked for. After delivering a chamber pot to Yelena he returned to the main building and began looking through the options available for clothing her.

As he considered various options, he reflected on the work so far. He had meant to experiment more with mental commands, but he had found himself too caught up in the game of questions she had invented. He was pleased with her performance so far. Yelena was much more intelligent than he would have guessed, and her gift for languages was amazing. He also admired her resiliency; most in her situation would have fallen into despair, but she rallied her forces and prepared for the next battle after each defeat.

As far as the actual commands he had given her, she didn't seem to realize he was controlling her arousal. Still, he should actually try more commands; she was just so fascinating he found it hard to focus on the science.

The clothing problem was a bit frustrating. Tam's cook and maids did not live in his manor, arriving in the morning to do what was needed and returning to their own homes at night. His only live in staff were Ho Tien, Lin Song, and her husband Bin Hsiu who handled the gardens and grounds and doubled as doorkeeper during the day. Tam himself owned no women's clothes, and even if Yelena and Lin Song had been the same size, he couldn't imagine asking to borrow her clothes for his new bed slave.

In the end, Tam settled on a short silk bathing robe from his own wardrobe. By the time he had finished, the cook informed him that the meal he had requested was ready. Tam thanked her and collected the tray, wishing her a good night.

Halfway to the stable he realized he had forgotten something for Yelena to sit on. When he attempted to add a silk cushion to his load, Lin Song caught him. After he confessed his errand she informed him that he was not allowed to ruin good silk cushions by putting them in the dirt. She gave him a worn out blanket that she produced out of a closet instead.

Everything properly assembled, Tam returned to the stable. Yelena had put the chamber pot in the cage next to hers, as far away as she could reach, and was in the middle of prodding at the lock on her cage when he returned. She blushed when he walked in and sat back on her heels again. "You can't blame me for checking."

"I suppose I expected something of the sort." Tam laughed as he set his armload on the narrow worktable. He handed the blanket through the bars of the cage and gestured that she should sit on it. "Which would you like first, clothes or food?"

Yelena blushed. "Clothes, please. Also, that's six questions so I have two now. I've thought of a couple while you were out."

Tam nodded as he handed her the robe. She pulled on the sleeveless robe as quickly as she could, turning away from him as she tugged it around her and belted the sash tightly around her waist. "My first question is: are you a member of the Tong, or otherwise loyal to them?"

Before Tam gave an answer, he set two plain bowls down for her, one full of water, the second sticky rice and steamed vegetables; bland but healthy. He also poured her another cup of the green herbal remedy. Curious if he could affect her sense of taste, he commanded her to think it was the best meal she had ever had. She was hungry enough that she didn't complain about the lack of utensils, eagerly scooping up the food with her fingers and gulping it down.

Tam's own meal had the same rice and vegetables, but included thin strips of meat, an excellent sauce, utensils, and a small bottle of wine. He answered her as he ate.

"I am not a member of the Tong. As far as loyalty, that depends on the situation. I have a good working relationship with Su Wen, and I do not wish to jeopardize it. In the end though, my own self-interest is the ultimate guide in my decisions. If you wish me to act against the Tong's interests, I will decide based on a judgement of risk and reward."

"That's good then. Second question: what would persuade you to send a warning to my adopted father that the Tong is coming for him?" Yelena absentmindedly scraped her empty bowl for the last grains of rice and sucked them off her fingers.

"That would be a very dangerous thing for me if the Tong discovered it. I promise you I will answer the question, but I will have to think about it. In the meantime, did you enjoy your dinner?"

"Yes, it was amazing. I usually like noodle dishes more than rice when it comes to Han cooking, but I suppose there's truth to the old saying that hunger is the best sauce because I can't remember ever tasting anything so good."

"I am glad you enjoyed it." As he spoke, Tam implanted a command that she should be pleased whenever he praised her. "The robe flatters you as well. The green compliments your exotic eyes."

Yelena blushed furiously and looked away; clearly uncomfortable with her unwanted reaction to his words. Her hands clenched together impotently. "Thank you. I know you are still thinking about your answer to my last question and it is not my right to rush you."

"So demure; you want this very badly, I see. I have something in mind that would incentivize me to act, but I would have to be sure my risk was minimal. Convince me that my sending the warning would not expose me to reprisal from the Tong."

"You could use a public messenger service to send a letter to a restaurant. My father is friends with the owner, and because the owner isn't a member of the family, it didn't come up when the Tong questioned me. The outside of the message would just say that it was for my father and not who it was from. I could write the actual message in Russian so that if the message was intercepted it couldn't be read."

"We will need to discuss the content of the letter, but that plan seems acceptable. As to what you can do for me, I think you have guessed. Whether I actually take the risk will depend on your performance in my bed. If you are very obedient and honestly do your best to please me, I will send your message first thing in the morning."

Yelena sighed and bit her lip. "I assumed that would be the price. I had some time to think about it while you fetched dinner and decided I'm willing to pay it. Um, I should warn you, I'm not very skilled. I'll try my best because my father's life is in danger, but please don't blame me if my best isn't very good."

Tam frowned. "Yes, our earlier discussion about your sexual experience to date not including orgasms. What is your sexual history?"

Yelena kept her eyes fixed on the floor, blushing furiously. She wrung her hands together in her lap as she answered. "I had a lover back home. He was an apprentice to one of the scribes who taught me languages. We used to kiss, and then he finally talked me into spreading my legs for him. I liked the kissing and the petting, but once he got inside me it was just uncomfortable and a little painful and then he was done. We kept doing it whenever he could get away from his teacher, and it didn't hurt anymore, but all he did was kiss me and grope my breasts until I was wet, then get on top and thrust until he was done."

"I kept doing it because I thought we were in love, but when my father summoned me to serve him here, I asked Boris to come with me and he just laughed at me. He told me I was an idiot if I thought he'd leave a good apprenticeship for a dead fish in bed like me, even if I was easy. I've been too embarrassed to ever tell that to anyone, so thank you and your stupid spell for making me tell you. That and being raped by your Tong friends are the sum total of my sexual experience. You spent four gold bars for a dead fish in bed." Yelena faced away from him and rubbed moisture from the corners of her eyes.

Tam crouched outside the cage and carefully reached in to put his hand on her shoulder. Yelena flinched but with an effort of will she held herself very still under his hand instead of pulling away.

"Your lover was a very great fool who did not know the treasure he had. I assure you, no man would call you a dead fish if he saw how splendidly you orgasmed on my fingers when I examined you."

"I'm . . . I still don't understand what happened there."

"I do. Your body reacted to a skilled touch. I still can't believe you've never had one at the age of twenty-two, even if only through masturbation."

"No. I tried touching myself there once when I was young, and the woman who was taking care of me caught me. She gave me a beating and told me it was filthy and I should never do it. After Boris I tried a couple of times but I couldn't figure out what to do."

"That's a great shame. I'll teach you how to please your body. But come now: let us compose your letter. Once we begin, I do not want to be distracted by anything else."

Tam kept Yelena in the cage while she wrote, reaching through the bars to brush the strange characters of her language across the paper. He had her translate what she had written and asked a couple clarifying questions. When he was satisfied, he asked one more question.

"Are there any hidden messages? Code words or something similar; anything that reveals your current situation or anything else beyond the obvious warning?"

"No. I thought of some, but I also thought that if I was in your position, I would ask the question you just asked, so I left them out."

Tam nodded. "I continue to be impressed by your intelligence. Now, I think we have had enough conversation and bargaining for one evening. It is time for you to fulfil your end of this bargain."

"I have one more question first please; it's my turn. Don't worry, I'm not backing out. I'll do my best to be your bed slave for tonight, the bargain is made. I just want to know, why? Why is it so important for you to sleep with me tonight? Why, after shaving me and painting me and wracking my body with pain? Why not let me sleep alone if you want to treat me with respect? Especially after I've already been raped today; why would you put me through that again?"

Yelena had sat back on her heels, hands clenched at her sides while she spoke. She was staring him directly in the eyes for the first time since before they ate, studying his face while she waited for a response.

Tam stood back and thought. He met her green gaze steadily as he answered. "Because I want to; because I find you desirable. You are too tall and too pale and too disrespectful, but somehow I still find you attractive. Because I can; you are my slave, and it is my right. I paid for you and I will have all of you; I talk with you and allow you to ask me questions because I enjoy it, but it is a privilege I give you, not a right you have. And finally, though I am embarrassed to admit it, whenever I think to myself that the last man to have his cock inside you was someone besides me, I feel a jealous rage. I will not allow you to sleep tonight until I have seen you screaming in passion on my cock."