Sara's Story

Act 2: Present

Chapter 14 - All about Henry

© 2003 Nameless

---

"Glad to be rid of the collar?" Henry asks me, smiling gently.

" You bet!"

"Come with me, Sara. We'll set you up with your own room for the time being." Henry says and starts back towards the manor. I follow him back to his room, where he gives me a stack of clothes "These were my wife's. Take them. The dress you wore a few days ago was her favorite." Then we walk to the room where I stayed while I recovered from my illness. Henry carries the bundle of clothes for me.

He puts them on the bed, closes the door and sits down at the table. He waits until I sit as well, then he says "Sara, just so you know... Since I freed you, I am now your guardian. But I don't want to take advantage of it, I won't try to force you to do anything you don't want. Is that all right with you?"

"So, I'm free now, but I still have to do as you command?" I sigh "Well, I guess there is not much that I can do about it."

"I'm sorry, but... this is the law, Sara. As a femme... If you would prefer someone else to be your guardian, I will make the arrangements."

"No, it's all right. I trust you."

He looks at me for several long moments, then he goes down on his knee and takes my paw and asks "Sara Swiftclimber, will you marry me?"

"I... I..." I stutter and can't go on.

He watches my face intently, then he asks "Do you need more time to think about it?"

Mutely I nod.

He stands up "I really hope you will marry me, Sara. But I want you to be able to say 'I do.' with a smile on your muzzle. See you." Then he turns around to leave the room.

"Thank you, Henry." I say as he walks out of the door.

# # #

I sit on the bed for some time, thinking about what I should do, now that I am free. It feels weird to try to decide what I want to do. For a long time I never really had to plan for the future, never had to think for myself, I only had to wait for my master to command me and obey whatever command I was given. I look out of the window. It is cool and windy outside, but suddenly I feel a longing to be outside. To feel the wind in my headfur, to climb a tree. Going through the stack of clothes, I find panties and a jacket. When I put on the panties, they feel very strange. I shudder as I realize that in all the time I was a slave, I have never worn any underwear, never worn anything that might have impeded access to my private parts. I grab the jacket and walk outside.

When I pass one of the guards, he almost falls over, as he stares me with huge eyes and does not look where he is going. I cannot quite suppress a giggle.

I leave the house and walk in the direction of the orchards. After a few yards I break into a run. The wind in my headfur feels incredibly invigorating. I am panting heavily when I finally stop at the foot of a huge walnut tree. Barely pausing to catch my breath, I scramble up. It feels so good to sit here, high up on a large branch, looking out across the fields. Sitting here, not because I have to do any work, but just because I feel like it. Every now and then my paws move to my neck and my nose, as I reassure myself that the hated collar and the nose ring are really gone. I close my eyes and enjoy the moment. The wind in my headfur, the smell of the crisp air. It feels so good. I stay up there for quite some time, but when the wind picks up more and more and the clouds turn darker and darker, I finally decide to head home. Running again, I barely beat the rain.

I wash my paws and feet and sit down on my bed, trying to decide what to do. I do not really feel like just lounging around, but on the other paw, there is nothing that I have to do. I turn my thoughts to the future, wondering what I will do now.

"Suppose I accept Henry's offer. What then? We would stay here, I guess, at least for some time. Maybe I could talk him into visiting my parents. Maybe we would have kits together." I smile at that thought and remember how much I loved my daughter, how much I loved her scent. For the short time we were together. "For the short while..." The grief hits me like a brick. "_She is probably dead. And even if she survived, she will grow up as a slave somewhere. I will never see her again! _" Sobbing now, I bury my head in the pillow.

When I finally get my weeping under control and have washed the tears out of my fur, I realize that I do not want to be alone. So I make my way to the kitchen. It is buzzing with activity as the femmes work to prepare the evening meal.

"Hello, Sara. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Mistress ... Margaret. ... I think all this may take some time to get used to this."

She smiled at me "It's ok, Sara. Did you want anything?"

"Not really. I just did not feel like sitting alone in my room."

"Well, grab a mug of tea and make yourself comfortable somewhere." She points at a baking tray "Why don't you try one of the muffins and tell me what you think of them?"

"Thanks." I do as she suggested. The muffin tastes fantastic. I rarely got something that good when I was a slave. "Thank you, Margaret. The muffins are really good."

But after relaxing for a few minutes I get bored. And the looks all the slaves give me make me uncomfortable. When our eyes meet, I can clearly see the emotions in theirs, jealousy, envy, hope and fear. The looks are not hostile, but they are clearly envious of my good luck and afraid of me. When Annie needs something from the cupboard that I block with my chair and she addresses me as "Mistress." I get really uncomfortable, sitting here and not doing any work "Margaret, is there anything I can do to help?"

She considered me "You don't have to, but ... If you feel like it, you could get the china and set the table for the Lord and his guest."

I get up and smile at her "Will do."

"Sara? Will you join us for dinner?" Margaret asks when James, her husband, and Henry come into the kitchen.

"Thank you, I will."

We sit down at the small table in the corner of the kitchen, say Grace and start eating our food. It is better than what the slaves get, but not a lot, we were fed rather well for slaves here. The food the slaves get is nearly the same as what the guards and servants get, only it is not spiced. And the slaves do not get any dessert. With a shudder I remember the masters who fed us the kitchen slops, and that sometimes I was grateful to get those.

The others talk about their day. Henry relays some news that the sheriff's representative brought. I speak only rarely, content to listen to their chatter. Henry looks at me very often, appraising me. I would find it uncomfortable if not for the gentle smile on his lips and the hope in his eyes, every time they meet mine.

I stay in the kitchen until Margaret sends most of the slaves to bed and begins to close things down for the night. I excuse myself and retire to my room. But I don't feel all that comfortable. I'm all alone and I don't feel sleepy at all. Then I remember something that I should do. I get up again and walk to the slave's room.

"You want to go in there, Miss?" The guard asks.

"Yes."

There is a little anxiety in his eyes "Do you want one of us to go with you?"

"No, thank you."

"Miss?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry... for... taking advantage of you... when you were a slave. I hope you won't hold it against me. If I can do anything to apologize... to make things right..."

I look at him for a moment, then I smile and pat him on the shoulder "Benjamin, I forgive you... You did not hurt me all that much... But I would ask you to do something."

"Thank you. Yes... Sara?"

"Just remember, that any of the other slaves might one day be freed as well. Remember this and treat her accordingly."

"Oh... Ok... I will try to."

I slide back the bolt, open the door and walk in.

After a moment of shocked silence, the femmes all stand up and Annie asks "What do you require, Mistress?"

It makes me really uncomfortable. To see the anxiety, fear and envy in their eyes. Yesterday I was one of them, today I am someone to be feared. After only a moment's hesitation, I walk to the table and sit down. "Would you please join me and sit down again. Annie, Trisha?" I pat the bench next to me.

They hesitate a moment and then they sit down again. They all stare at me and finally Annie asks "Mistress?"

I take a deep breath and say "I just came here to thank all of you. Annie. Trisha. Liz. Karen. Wanda. ..." I look at each one in turn. "You all helped me a lot. And I thank you for it. And, please, call me Sara. At least when we are among ourselves."

I can see it in their eyes, that they are afraid to obey this command, that they are afraid of me. I hitch up my skirt a little, grab Annie's paw and guide it to my thigh "What do you feel, Annie?"

"Your brand, Mistress ... Sara."

"Yes, my brand. I don't wear a collar any more, but that brand will stay with me for the rest of my life. I won't ever be able to forget that I was a slave like you." I watch as the anxiety in their eyes recedes a bit at that and go on "I don't know yet what I will do, now that I am free again. But as long as I stay here, I will do what I can to help you, little as it may be. I know what it is like to be a slave and I don't want to make your lives any more miserable than it already is."

They relax visibly at that and we chat a bit, I tell them about how I was freed.

"Are you going to accept the overseer's offer?" Trisha asks.

"I don't know yet, Trisha. But I probably will."

After some time I excuse myself and head back to my room. It takes me a long time to fall asleep, my head is buzzing with thoughts.

# # #

I wake up early, about the same time I usually had to get up. For a while I am happy to lounge around in bed, but soon I get restless and get up. I walk to the kitchen and get something to eat. After nearly sitting down at the slave's table automatically, I sit down at the servant's table instead.

When I am finished with breakfast, I pad up to Margaret "Margaret?"

"Yes, Sara?"

"Do you have some time? I'd like to talk to you. Alone, if possible."

"Just a moment." She looks around the kitchen to make sure work is proceeding well and calls one of the other servants, a wolf femme who is married to one of the guards "Shauna, come here!"

"Yes, Margaret?"

"I'll be talking with Sara for a while. Make sure the girls don't slack off. If there are any problems, fetch me. We'll be in my room."

"Yes, Margaret."

"Thank you. Let's go, Sara."

We sit down at the table in her room. She turns to me, smiles and asks "So, Sara? What do you want?"

"I ..." There are a hundred questions in my mind, but suddenly I don't know how to start.

"You don't know what to do, now that you are free?"

"Something like that. Well, there are things I would like to do, but I don't think I will be able to do them."

"What about taking up Henry's offer? I'm quite sure he would do his best to help you."

"You think so? I have been thinking about it, but ..."

"You don't like him?"

"No, that's not it." Then my eyes narrow a bit "You want us to be together, don't you?"

"Well, to be honest with you, that was the plan. Did he tell you about his wife?"

"Yes, he did. And he soaked my fur doing it." I say with a slight smile.

"He is a very good friend, Sara. It hurts me to see him suffer like that. You did not see him when she died, he was so heartbroken. I think he was really thinking about ... joining her. On the anniversary he got very much depressed and I wanted to do something to help him. He liked being with you, Sara. Did you know that you were the only femme to share his bed since his wife died?"

I stare at her, speechless for the moment "Really?"

"Yes. And as far as I could tell, you enjoyed being with him as well. Did you?"

"Well, not really. But ... he was gentle with me. At least when I had to share his bed then I did not have to entertain one of the guards. Or that rabbit." I shudder at the thought "So, I guess, I was kind of glad when he called me." I think about it some more "Actually, these last few days I think I was slowly beginning to enjoy it a bit. At least I felt safe there, in his room, in his arms. I felt safe, knowing that he enjoyed me, knowing that he would not intentionally hurt me. And he tried to give me pleasure as well as he could."

"Henry needs someone take his mind off his late wife, someone he can love as much as he loved her. And you could use a little luck and happiness after all you've been through." She looks into my eyes "Well, have you made up your mind about him, Sara?"

I think for some time before I answer "Yes and no." After a pause I go on "I don't think I can expect to get a better offer, now can I? Would any other male want to marry me?" I lift my paw to my scarred cheek "Scarred like that? Who would want me? Henry is a reasonably pleasant fur. And even an important one. Objectively speaking, he is quite a good catch for any femme. So I think I'll say yes. But ... I hardly know him! And it feels like I am forced into it this marriage. Not as if I am marrying him because I want him."

"Would you like me to tell you a little about Henry? I have known him for several years now."

"Yes. Please Margaret."

"You don't really know much about the Lord either, do you?"

"No."

"Well, then I'd better start at the beginning..."

I have served the Archwhiffle for since I was fifteen. My father arranged my marriage to James, whose family had been serving them for generations. That was still back in Brittony. Our Lord was the second son of the old Lord, so he would not inherit the title and he decided to join the army as an officer and to try to find his fortune here in the colonies. A few servants, James and I among them went with him.

His first post was here in Nevillestown, he bought a small house in town, but he was away in the field quite often. That was more than twenty years ago, Nevillestown is a lot bigger now and it became a city some five years ago. Not too long after he came here, he got friendly with the Count Neville and his daughter. He married her after a short courtship. They had a cordial if slightly distant relationship, because he was away so often. She bore several cubs, but only the two oldest, both males survived. His older son William is in the army now, serving as an officer. George, the younger, is studying at the college in New Nottingham.

Soon after marrying the Count's daughter, our Lord was granted land. This land here. We moved here, hired guards, bought slaves and built the manor and began to cultivate the land. Lord Archwhiffle served in the army for several more years and distinguished himself in the Salanesian war. He was granted the title in recognition of his services and soon after the war he left the army to live here. Not long afterwards, his wife died of a fever.

Henry was one of the soldiers in Lord Archwhiffle's company during the Salanesian war. He was just a kid back then. Near the end of the war, they were on a patrol and were ambushed. Henry saved the Lord's life. Only Lord Archwhiffle, Henry and three other soldiers managed to escape. When the Lord settled here, Henry and a few other soldiers joined him. At first Henry was just one of the guards, but soon Lord Archwhiffle recognized his talent for organization and eventually he became overseer, the Lord's right paw. Six years ago he did not know how to read or write, but he managed to learn it with the help of the priest from the local church.

When Margaret pauses to take a sip from her mug, I ask her a question that had bothered me for some time "You don't have cubs?" It takes me only a moment to realize that this is not a good subject when I see the pain well up in her eyes.

She sits with her eyes closed for a long and uncomfortable moment before she answers "I had five, but they all died."

"Oh... I'm sorry, Margaret. I..."

"It's ok, Sara. You could not know about it. It was God's will, what can I do?" The pain and longing in her voice is clearly audible. She shakes her head and forces herself to smile a little "Well, there is nothing I can do about it, not any more."

Something clicks in my head and I can't stop myself from blurting out my thought "You treat us, the female slaves that is, almost as if we were your children."

Margaret smiles "Maybe. Well, about Henry..." Just as she is about to go on, there is a timid knock on the door. "Who is there?"

The door opens a crack and little Wanda, Trisha's cub, peeks in. "Please come, Mistress! Mistress Shauna needs you."

"Thank you, Wanda. Tell her we'll be right along." She drains her mug "We can talk some more in the afternoon. Well, let's see what Shauna wants, Sara." We get up and pad back to the kitchen.

Lord Archwhiffle invites Henry and me to have dinner with him. The food is good, I enjoy every bite, but I am still to anxious to talk much, mostly I listen to them and speak up only if one of them addresses me directly. They talk about the affairs of the Lord's goods, mostly farming matters and about the latest news the sheriff's representative brought yesterday. It feels strange but pleasant to sit here and talk almost as an equal with the furs who were my masters only yesterday, who could have had me punished or killed just on a whim.

A while later I join Margaret in her room again. "About Henry."

Some two and a half years ago, when he was in Nevillestown on the Lord's business, he met Susan. She was the daughter of a merchant. Soon he used any excuse he could think of to ride into town. A few months later they were married. They were so happy together, especially once they found out that Susan was with child. I liked her a lot, she was always happy and full of energy. She loved Henry very much, I know she would not want him suffering like he does now. After she and their kit died, he did not leave his room for a week. He hardly ate anything and drank until he passed out. I think he wanted to join her.

We managed to drag him out of his depression and he seemed to get over her a little. He started working very hard, often driving himself almost to exhaustion. He still grieved a lot, but for a while he seemed to have gotten over the worst. He did his best not to show his emotions, but I could see that his smile was always a little forced. When he visited his wife's grave a few days ago, he practically broke down. The priest brought him back, he was so shaken that he could not even walk. Since he had enjoyed your company and you seemed not to mind his attention all that much, I sent you to him that night, he needed someone to keep him company. I don't think he would have killed himself, but ...

She looks at me thoughtfully "I hope you don't hate me for forcing you to spend the night with him, Sara."

I stare at her for some time before I can answer "No, I'm not angry with you. He was not very pleasant company that night, but ... He called me by his wife's name when he mated with me. When he realized that I was not his wife, he cried himself to sleep on my shoulder. It is so strange, but this was the first time I was with a male that I did not feel dirty afterwards."

"Thank you, Sara. I'm glad you are not angry with me for it."

After a moment I realize that I am the one who should thank her "Thank you, Margaret. I'm the one who should thank you. I was so scared when you commanded me to go to his room and ignore his commands to be left alone, but ... Henry freed me because of it." I get up and hug her "What you did was one of the best things anyone ever did for me."

"Do you have any other plans for the future, apart from trying to decide if you should marry Henry?"

I only have to think about this for a few moments "Two things come to mind. I want to look for my daughter and visit my parents."

"Hmmm, yes. You really have to do that. Do you know where your daughter is?"

"Not really. But I think I should be able to find the fur who was my master back then. I hope he can tell me what happened to her."

"He might. But then again he might not."

Horror fills me when I hear that "You mean he would not have to help me?"

"No, Sara. Legally, you do not have any right to your daughter. You were a slave when she was born, so she became your master's property. That you were freed now does not change that. How did you plan to get there?"

I look at her for a few long moments before I can answer "I don't know." Suddenly really miserable, I hang my shoulders and look at the paws in my lap.

"I'm not trying to tell you what to do, Sara, but... Look at me, please. This is no time for a femme to travel alone. Or would you like to be enslaved by the next bandit you meet?"

I shake my head.

"You need a male to protect you if you plan to do any traveling. I'm sure Henry would do that. If you are his wife, he would want to meet your parents, and I'm sure he would help you to find your daughter. And you'd get a lot more respect as the wife of an important retainer of Lord Archwhiffle."

"You may be right, Margaret."

"Think about it, Sara."

I lie awake for a long time before I finally fall asleep. Tears fill my eyes whenever I think about my daughter. "Margaret does have a point, traveling will be much safer if I have a male to protect me. Now I just have to find out if Henry is that male. It's not as if there where a load of others lining up to ask for my paw."

"Rick! My love. Dead and buried, all these years now. Because you tried to protect me." I bury my face in the pillow and start crying once more.

End of Chapter 14