Ch 110. A Slave to Three

The day after Marcella had surrendered herself to me, I looked at her with a fond expression as she ate breakfast solemnly, her face downcast and regretful. Not only regretting last night but rather her entire life's choices. How had she fallen this far? She used to have everything she could ever want... and yet here she had practically begged a man to have sex with her. She had actually coveted a man's... and worse she couldn't even think about quiting him, even now still desiring more. Her body heating up as she imagined it, shaking her head to snap herself out of her temporary daze before taking another bite of her food. The carefully prepared meal in her lap only reminded her more of home, and what she had lost. Fighting back tears as she ate. 

When it came time to depart, I felt eyes on my back as Marcella watched me board the carriage. Pausing just short of closing the door on her when I saw her worn and weary look. Even if she consumed my 'potion' daily and the vitality it brought, walking twenty to twenty-five miles every day would wear on anyone, especially for a girl unused to any manual labor, and after yesterday I did feel she had earned some form of reward, even as minor as this would be.

Beckoning her over and watching as her grimace vanished, replaced by a look of unexpected confusion, as if she couldn't believe that I was being kind to her. Collecting herself and trotting over before I decided to change my mind, climbing into the cabin before I shut the door.

I sat down alongside her as Tammy and Belle sat opposite, staring coldly at the woman who had previously hurt their beloved man. An awkward silence filling the cabin between us. 

"She'll be traveling with us from now on." I simply stated, not bothering to justify myself, mostly because I knew there really wasn't a good reason for it. Keeping Marcella around had simply been a selfish whim of mine, even if I had the right to do it, it certainly had been an abuse of our relationship.  

Minutes passed before we got on our way and I began tapping away at the sides of the door panel, adopting Cal's tic to pass the time before pulling out the strange pyramid I had received earlier, taking interest in the smokey substance contained within, finding amusement with the contents as they seemed to react to my presence and touch. Looking up every now and then to monitor the staredown that was unfolding. 

Their animosity bothered me at first, but seeing Marcella becoming unnerved after the first few minutes I started coming around to another way of thinking. Why should they get along in the first place?

Rather than smoothing things over between the three of them, the current dynamic wasn't all that bad for me, was it? It solidified the relationship between Belle and Tammy while simultaneously isolating Marcella. Dreaming up what would become of her if I was her sole source of affection while the rest of the world scorned and disdained her. After having so many wrongs committed against me, any guilt I felt about manipulating her emotions had vanished. 

Feeling mainly that I should be bringing Belle and Tammy onboard with her training, I cared for both of them, and most of all I didn't want the re-addition of Marcella to bring anything between us.

On one hand Tammy had always had an inferiority complex when it came to Marcella; I keenly remembered their first awkward meeting. Tammy was so timid around her back then, while Marcella had no qualms about abusing her authority to try to force her out. I could tell Tammy still had some insecurities around this, and even if she knew Marcella would never replace her, having someone who you never got along with joining back as part of the harem certainly did appear as threatening. Belle was similarly even more keenly aware of pecking orders, especially between herself and any other women that liked me, but given her race she always assumed herself to be on the bottom of said hierarchies. As a beastkin slave it was quite difficult to imagine being above in status to anyone else, especially never to a human.

Rather than being something that drove us apart, I felt this could be an opportunity for the three of us to bond over a common goal. All three of our gazes focusing in on Marcella.

"Marcella." I spoke up suddenly, with an unexpected note of sternness in my voice that startled the girl, who had been absent-minded until now as she pretended to look out the window, attempting to ignoring the dagger-like stares of her fellow women. 

"You do understand why Belle and Tammy would be upset with you, yes?" Waiting for her to turn to me, her eyes downcast. Looking quite pitiful if I had to say, but given what she had done I really couldn't be too lenient. 

"You did a terrible thing, you know? I should have had you executed, and yet by my grace here you are, not only alive and well but traveling leisurely in one of the most expensive vehicles this side of the kingdom." She flinched at my words but I continued. I wasn't being cruel, what I spoke was entirely the truth. 

"I may have given you a path to redemption, but that's only as far as your wellbeing and material status. I can give you an appropriate compensation for the 'work' that you do, but the relationships damaged by your actions need to be mended by you yourself. You must make amends to Tammy and Belle here, for the harm your actions caused them. From now on it will be as if you had three masters, follow their words and do as they say. My orders take precedence, but I fully expect you to obey them. This will continue until a period arrives where they are both satisfied with your attitude and believe that you have truly reformed, but til then you will follow and respect these two just as you do myself."

Tammy's eyes opened in surprise that I had essentially entrusted Marcella to her, while Belle seemed to not yet realize what had just happened. Cocking her head in confusion as she gauged all of our reactions.