Katryn’s Tale 5

by Lady “B”
- do not use without the author's permission.



Chapter Five

The facility that Randor owned was large and successful. Its business was the taming and training of girls for whatever purpose was determined they might best suit, be it pack, draft or saddle use. Most of that business came from training girls that he had either captured or bought himself, then selling them to their eventual owners or, on occasion, to dealers. Such training increased a girl’s value and price many fold as she was converted from being a potentially dangerous wild animal into a useful domesticated one. In addition to his own girls, Randor also provided training services, at a substantial fee of course, for others including dealers, other raiders and owners themselves.

Randor did not train males, either geldings or stallions. He had learned from his father who had tried it, that the presence of numerous males in the compound caused too much tension among the females, and that it slowed the training progress of both sexes. Randor had never been one to repeat another’s mistake where it could be avoided.

Randor’s business and its facility had been in his family for five generations or over three hundred years. During most of that time thousands of human females had been broken and trained there, turning them into docile obedient beasts of burden. Randor, with the help of Latkin, was the first to try the idea of “taming rather than breaking” which took much longer and cost significantly more than the common “breaking and training” approach. So far it had proven very successful and his fame was spreading. Elves, who owned girls trained by Randor, tended to be very satisfied with them, and told others about it. The growing demand for his girls allowed Randor to sell them at significantly higher prices than his competitors yet his sales were always well attended.

The basis of Randor’s and Latkin’s approach to training girls was a belief that they were far more intelligent animals than others gave them credit for being. They never confused the intellectual capacity of a girl with that of an elf, as some affected owners seemed to want to do, however, they had learned that most girls, once tamed, could be induced into willing participation, if not outright help, in their own training. At least this was their theory, and from an examination of their profits, it was working for them.

Although no elf would ever concur, humans were really fairly elf like in their physical appearance. Or course, humans were grossly larger of stature and lacked the beautiful, delicate and sophisticated facial features and pointed ears of an elf. Elves, as this world’s dominant species, also considered themselves to be vastly superior to humans in intelligence with the latter being in their minds only animals. Elves, also, were much longer lived than typical humans with three hundred and fifty years being about average and many living in excess of four hundred years. This fact, also, contributed to the elves belief in their superiority.

Elf longevity had not always been as it currently was. Originally, the lifespan of elves had only been about half what it was now. Elves, though, were absolute masters of herbal pharmacology and had succeeded in the discovery and development of a vast array of potions serving a wide range of purposes. Around fifteen hundred years prior, the elf herbalists had developed a potion that resulted in a doubling of their life expectancy when consumed as part of their regular diet. Since its initial development, the potion had been perfected until it had virtually no negative side effects and had for all practical purposes eliminated disease in the elf population.

After doubling their own lifespan and eliminating disease, the elf herbalists turned their attention to their livestock on which their mobility and much of their economy depended. Potions were developed that produced similar results in humans that doubled lifespan and protected against disease. They also greatly enhanced certain other physical characteristics that the elves found most desirable in their animals. Although Katryn and her friends had only noticed some minor things so far, major changes were beginning to take place in their bodies.

In addition to a number of fenced paddocks or corals, there were many buildings of various sizes and purposes enclosed within Randor’s compound. In addition to his home and office, there were numerous stables, barns, sheds, and shops and living quarters for many of his employees. Surrounding the entire compound just inside the five foot high fence, there was a track some twelve feet wide, of smooth earth with a loose, somewhat sandy, upper layer. The grounds and most of the paddocks had similar surfaces, although there were two where the surface consisted of smooth, hard packed clay. There was activity going on everywhere.

As Katryn, Madi, Lyra and Cynda were led into the open courtyard just inside the gate of Randor’s compound, they were amazed at what they saw. Everywhere they turned to look they saw some sort of activity all of which was focused on naked human females like themselves. There were at least thirty girls that they could see in the various paddocks, the grounds or on the track. In addition to harnesses as worn by Katryn and her friends, most of the girls that they could see wore some sort of tack and each appeared to be undergoing training of one type or another.

The new girls were not allowed much time to view their surroundings, before being led into a large low building with big open doors at each end. This, of course, was one of the stables, and the one in particular that was used to house the newest or “wild” girls, which was what elves called all untrained girls whether captured or purchased. The inside of the stable was a little dim at first, the only sources of light being open doors and windows. All along both walls, lanterns hung from long hook brackets but, since the late afternoon sun still provided adequate illumination, none were lit.

It took more than a few seconds for the eyes of Katryn and the other girls to become accustomed to the light and to begin to inspect their surroundings. They soon saw that they were standing in an open area some fifteen feet wide that ran the entire length of the building from door to door. Running down the center was a row of several heavy posts set into the dirt floor with metal rings hanging from them just like they had seen at Bothar’s.

At one end of the building there were what appeared to be rooms with closed doors on both sides. Although the girls could not see inside them, one of these was a feed storage room, and the other a tack room. A similar sized section at the other end was open all the way to the outside walls with both sides being piled high with bales of straw. The main central section of the building was made up of two rows of individual stalls, some six on each side, facing the central open corridor with its row of posts. The doors or gates to these stalls, spaced approximately ten feet apart, were of solid wooden construction in their bottom half with their top halves consisting of vertical wooden bars each somewhat over an inch in diameter.

None of the stalls appeared occupied at present as all had their doors wide open and latched back to the adjacent wall. Each stall had its own window, barred as was the top half of the door. The windows all had shutters that could be closed and latched, but were all open letting in fresh air and outside light. The floors of the stalls were of hard packed dirt with the end of each stall toward the windows covered with a very thick layer of fresh straw. All were very clean and dry.

Randor reined Vixin to a stop a few feet past one of the hitching posts, and held her in place. While the girls were watching Vixin, Latkin had untied the lead rope that ran from his saddle horn to the back ring on Cynda’s collar. Then, leaning over from Berin’s saddle, tied it quickly to the ring on the hitching post that was next to him. Randor then backed Vixin until she stood next to the post they had just passed. He then, with a quick series of moves, untied the rope from the back of Vixin’s saddle and tied it to the ring on his post. As easily as that the girls were now tied between the two posts, yet could reach neither of them. Both elves then wheeled their mounts, and without so much as a backward look, trotted them from the stable leaving the four girls where they were tied.

Although Katryn and the others were certainly unaware of the details, their training had begun the moment they had been stripped and neck chained at the elves’ camp in the forest. A very important aspect in the initial taming of a wild girl was to show her that she was truly an animal at least in the eyes of her elf masters. The first step in accomplishing this was to force her to accept the many purely animal aspects inherent in her nature.

By being chained together naked as they were, the four girls were forced to see and accept the animal in themselves and each other on a daily and very intimate basis. For the past two weeks the girls had all watched each other eat, drink, sleep and attend to all bodily functions from a distance of eight feet or less. The sight and smells of each other’s bodies was always present as they ran and sweated daily. Initially this was extremely traumatic for the four, but they soon came to realize that they had absolutely no choice in the matter. Katryn and the others did not receive the daily attention and clean up the elves had given their mounts.

The girls had become somewhat accustomed to each other’s close proximity during their two week journey. It actually had provided a certain degree of comfort especially at night when they would sleep huddled together to share each other’s body warmth. This was especially important the two nights on the trail when it had rained. Each elf slept under a small individual cloth shelter that he set up in lean-to fashion. A single large cover was set up in a similar fashion to protect their mounts from the worst of the rain. A somewhat smaller one was provided for the four new captives but, like all of the shelters, only kept the worst of the rain off of them. The climate on this world was mild, but it was early spring and the nights were cool, especially when it rained. It had also rained twice during the days on the trail, but the running they were doing tended to keep the girls warm and the elves’ mounts barely seemed to notice it at all.

Katryn and her friends were now getting another lesson in their training to accept elves as their masters. Neither Randor nor Latkin had so much as looked back at the girls, as they rode from the stable. The girls had been put where the elves wanted them and that was where they were going to the stay until their masters decided otherwise. The girls did not yet comprehend the significance of this, but its impact would begin to sink in, in time.

The method by which the girls had been secured to the posts was both effective and instructive. Lengths of rope were either clipped with a device that the girls had seen the elves operate with a single hand, or tied with a simple knot. The elves knew that left alone the girls, especially the little strawberry, would likely try to free themselves.

Indeed the girls all tried, Katryn being the first. She learned quickly that her harness prevented her from reaching the ring at the back of her collar where the rope to Madi’s collar was tied. Although there was sufficient slack in the ropes to allow the girls to kneel or lie down, there was not enough for any of them to reach another’s collar or the knot at a post ring. Katryn then directed her attention to the spring clip at the front of her collar only to learn that the release mechanism, though simple, required the small fingers of an elf to operate. The girls soon realized that, although the way in which they had been secured was simple, it was totally effective. They had all used similar collar and leash like devices to secure domesticated animals in their village. The realization that they were now secured in just so simple a fashion had a decidedly humiliating effect on the four.

While the girls were waiting, Randor rode Vixin over to the stable where she and the other personal saddle girls like Lacie and Berin were kept. Then after unsaddling and unbridling her and removing her boots, spent the next hour cleaning her up, rubbing her down and thoroughly grooming her before putting her in her stall with plenty of feed and water. Vixin had earned a good feed and a long rest. She would receive the other reward that Randor knew she needed so badly, the next day.

Latkin knew that Randor would be occupied for the next hour or so with Vixin, as the older elf was well aware of his employer’s affection for the powerful roan, and the attention she was likely to receive. Knowing that, Latkin decided to take the opportunity to give Berin a good run. Latkin, as number two in Randor’s operation, had not had Berin out much the past three weeks. He took this time to give her a nice run around the track that encircled the compound. Berin clearly enjoyed the exercise, and worked up a good sweat after several laps. Although at her age, Berin could no longer outrun most of the younger girls as she once could, she still enjoyed trying to whenever Latkin would give her her head.

After about ten or so laps around the roughly half mile track, which included several hard sprints chasing other mounted girls, Latkin reined Berin back to a light trot for a while, followed by a good slow walk to allow her to cool down. He was still walking her when he saw Randor, who had now been joined by Prindor and Rolf, walking to the stable where they had left the new girls. Latkin turned Berin off of the track in the direction the other three were heading and sped her up slightly to catch them.

“I think I’ll bring Berin along with us,” Latkin said as he reached the group. “She often has a calming influence on new wild girls,” he added.

“Good idea.” “If the little strawberry gives us trouble getting her into her stall, we might just have to let Berin drag her in for us,” Randor joked. Then considering the possibility, wondered if he had, perhaps, put Vixin away too soon.

The four elves entered the stable, and Latkin dismounted. After swinging from the saddle, Latkin allowed Berin to kneel so that she could rest more comfortably following her exercise. Although she had cooled down from her run, Berin was wet with sweat and still blowing a little causing saliva to drip from her bit. She was grateful to Latkin for the hard run he had given her after spending so much of the last three weeks cooped up in her stall. Each day while Latkin was in charge of the operation, he would send one of the handlers to take Berin out and just let her run free around the track for a while. Berin was very particular as to just who she would allow to ride her, and very few made the grade. Besides Randor and Prindor, she would tolerate only one or two of the other trainers and never a handler.

Although she enjoyed her free runs, it was just not the same for Berin as a good hard ride with Latkin on her back. She showed her appreciation by nuzzling him thoroughly as he slipped the reins over her lovely grey head and dropped them, “ground hitching” her. Of course, Latkin received a big stain on the front of his shirt from Berin’s sweat and saliva, but that didn’t trouble the old elf in the least. He gave her sweaty head a good rub and scratched her under the straps of her headstall. Berin had been owned and ridden by Latkin for longer than any of the other three elves had been alive, and their relationship was, obviously a very close and deep one. This, too, did not escape the notice of Katryn who was again fascinated.

The four girls were just where Randor and Latkin had left them almost two hours earlier. The sisters, Madi and Lyra were now kneeling sitting back on their heels on the dirt floor of the stable. Cynda was seated with her legs folded back to one side. Katryn, though wide awake now and scrambling to her feet, had obviously been lying on her side sleeping as dirt and straw was still clinging to her naked shoulder, hip and hair. Randor and Latkin both nodded their approval. They both knew that a girl that took the opportunity to rest when she had the chance, was a girl whose endurance could then be counted on should the need arise.

As the elves approached the four girls, “fillies” as they now thought of them, they could tell that at least three of them were really ready to rest, and would probably give them little trouble. The little strawberry, on the other hand, appeared to have something else in mind. They commented on this among themselves and, again, decided to leave her for last.

While the other three were discussing the fillies’ assets and weaknesses, Rolf had walked over to the reclining Cynda, and began carefully appraising the big chestnut. He had, of course, spotted her tied to the rail at Bothar’s when he had driven past with the cart. He liked what he saw, but hadn’t had time to inspect her well after they had finished with the little strawberry, as he needed to get back and rub down Tei and Lei, and put away Bothar’s leather. He definitely liked what he now saw.

In her semi reclining position, Cynda’s head was about even with Rolf’s chest, and with her legs tucked under her the way that they were, the elf knew that there was no way for the filly to try to kick or harm him. He walked right up and stood right before her looking into her eyes as he had seen Randor do with the little strawberry the day before at Bothar’s. Cynda responded, by holding Rolf’s gaze for a few seconds then lowering her eyes submissively. This initially disappointed Rolf as he viewed it as an indication of lack of spirit in the girl. He was just starting to step back when Cynda raised her eyes and seeing the disapproval in his eyes again locked gazes with the elf. “This is very interesting,” Rolf thought to himself. “She’s looking for my approval.”

Without taking his eyes off those of Cynda, Rolf reached his hand out and stroked her head and long brown hair which was, at this point, a filthy tangled mess. Cynda responded by actually nuzzling her head against his small hand as he stroked her. Rolf then stepped behind the filly and began to massage her dirty shoulders and her neck above her collar while Cynda nuzzled his arms with her head in satisfaction. The elf talked to the girl all the while, and although she could not understand a word, his tone was very soothing to her ears.

Rolf stepped away for a moment to untie the rope from the post that lead to the back of Cynda’s collar. Her beautiful large brown eyes followed him longingly as he did this. He quickly stepped back and resumed rubbing her neck and shoulders with one hand while he unsnapped the lead from the back of her collar and re-snapped it to the ring in front. Next, he un-snapped the lead going to the back of Lyra’s neck, and handed it to Latkin who was standing near and watching. Then grasping the rope right next to Cynda’s collar, he pulled up signaling her to stand. Cynda got to her feet obediently, and waited for Rolf’s next move. He pulled on her lead gently and she allowed the elf to lead her to a small section at the end of the stable.

There was a raised stone floor in this area of the stable that was slightly sloped to its center then to a stone lined drain trough leading outside beneath the stable wall. Two barrels of fresh water stood on the sides of the stone floor that were kept full from pipes leading up and out of the building. There he tied the girl to another hitching post set into the center of the stone area then pulling down on her lead rope, commanded the girl to kneel.

Rolf next raised Cynda’s leather collar high on her neck and held it as he looped the center of a three foot chain around her neck below her collar, and secured it in the front with a small lock. Then he took the free ends of the chain and looped each one twice around a wrist locking each as well just below her leather cuffs. Next he took a two foot chain and repeated the process behind her securing her upper arms. Her wrists and arms were now held with two sets of restraints. Before removing the leather set, Rolf unsnapped her lead from the front ring of her collar and snapped it on to a link of the chain. Then taking a key from around his neck he unlocked collar and cuffs and set them aside. He stepped away for a moment only to return with soap, rags, brushes, a comb and course towel like cloths. He laid the items on the floor next to Cynda and fetched a bucket of the water from one of the barrels.

For the next fifteen or twenty minutes, first with her on her knees then on her feet, Rolf washed Cynda thoroughly all over, gently removing two week’s accumulation of dried sweat and dirt. Cynda literally luxuriated in the feeling as her body was so thoroughly cleaned. While it was still wet and slick with soap, he combed the tangles out of her long brown hair. He then rinsed her thoroughly and dried her body with coarse towels from the tack room. He then brushed and combed out her hair allowing it to dry, untangled.

As Cynda’s hair was drying, Rolf cleaned and lightly oiled the leather collar and cuffs of her security harness and replaced the set on the girl before removing the chains that had secured her in its absence. He switched her lead back to her collar, then went to the feed room and returned with a wooden bucket of the feed that the girls were actually starting to enjoy. He let her see him place that bucket along with one of fresh water in the stall that was intended for her. Last, the young elf untied the girl’s lead from the post and led her to her stall.

Cynda hesitated momentarily at the door to the stall but the sight of the food, water and clean straw overcame any resistance she might have had to being stabled, and she allowed Rolf to lead her in. Once inside the stall, Rolf tied the loose end of Cynda’s lead rope to a ring set in one of the side walls of the stall. The rope was long enough for her to be able to reach any part of her stall, but would make it easier for the elves to handle her in the morning when they came to get her to begin her training. With a pair of rather possessive slaps on the big filly’s rump, Rolf left her in her stall, walked out and closed and latched the door.

All the time that Rolf had been working to clean up and groom Cynda, Latkin and Prindor were beginning the same process with Madi and Lyra. They had both girls on their knees sitting back on their heels as they stroked their heads and massaged their necks, shoulders and upper backs. The sisters responded as had Cynda, and as soon as the wash station was free, they were led there together to be cleaned and groomed. Madi and Lyra wanted to be cleaned up so badly that they fairly dragged the elves to the wash station and knelt on their own to await the process.

Randor had, of course, chosen to take care of Katryn himself. Ever since her capture two weeks ago, and especially today at Bothar’s there had been a contest of wills going on between the two of them that had become a personal challenge to him. In his observation of Katryn, Randor had begun to wonder if there might be any relation between this feisty young filly and his magnificent mare, Vixin. There were, certainly, definite similarities in coloration of both hair and skin, but the difference in their physical sizes caused him to question. However, both possessed a level of spirit very seldom seen. Randor knew first hand that when girls like this could be tamed and trained without being broken, the result was a saddle girl on which an elf could literally bet his of her life. Randor was already thinking of someone who might be the perfect owner for this little strawberry filly.

Katryn had decided that she was not going to kneel for this elf again when he had pulled down gently on the one remaining rope on her collar. Her cooperation was not going to be bought with something as simple as a good rub down followed by a bath, a grooming, food and a comfortable place to sleep. Katryn had been filthy for the better part of two weeks, now, and had grown to accept the condition. Still, the water looked awfully good to her right now. As part of their beginning training, the four girls had not been cleaned and groomed as had the elves’ mounts during the two weeks on the trail. The girls were being sent the unspoken message that cleaning and grooming was something that a girl earned from her rider, not something that just came at the end of the day.

After a while of standing and staring at each other, Randor made the first move. He turned and walked to the tack room returning with a length of chain and two padlocks. Reaching up, he padlocked one end of the chain to Katryn’s collar, and walking over, attached the other end to the ring in the post. He then went back and unsnapped the lead rope from her collar and turning, walked away coiling the lead rope which he held as he watched and talked with the others as they were attending to Madi and Lyra.

Katryn quickly realized that now chained as she was there was no way that she might be able to free herself as she might have from the lead rope. It next dawned on her that this was where she was going to spend the night, hungry, filthy and chained to a post on the hard ground of the stable rather than fed clean and sleeping in soft straw like the others. She mulled this over in her mind as she watched Madi and Lyra who were so obviously enjoying their baths.

Finally, Katryn could no longer take what she was seeing so called to him. Randor totally ignored her verbal pleas. Although he understood more of the girl’s language than he would ever allow them to know, or admit to himself for that matter, he was totally unresponsive to her voice. Finally she attracted his attention by stamping her foot on the hard ground and tossing her head to shake her chain causing the links to jingle.

Randor heard Katryn’s chain jingling and waited a bit before turning to look at her. As soon as they again locked eyes, Katryn dropped to her knees and tossed her head at him as if to say “get busy”. Randor watched the filly’s antics, and his initial reaction was to “show her who was boss” and not give her the attention that she wanted. However, he did walk back to stand in front of her and when he saw what appeared to be a twinkle in her eyes, he decided that it was time to let the little filly “win one”. He replaced the chain at her collar with the lead rope again then dropping the coils to the floor, stepped behind her to rub her neck and shoulders. Katryn never nuzzled Randor, as Cynda had Rolf, when he stroked her head and rubbed down her shoulders and back. However, the longer Randor massaged Katryn’s neck and shoulders, the more he could feel the tension leaving her muscles.

As soon as Katryn saw that Prindor and Latkin had finished with the grooming of Madi and Lyra, and that the wash station was clear, she again tossed her head stopping Randor’s rubbing of her back, and got to her feet. She looked back at him over her right shoulder, again tossing her dirty head clearly telling him to “get on with the program”. Randor laughed, and picking up the coil of rope gave her rump a playful swat with it. Instead of being almost dragged as had Prindor and Latkin, Randor just dropped the rope to the floor of the stable as Katryn ran to the wash station and knelt waiting for him.

Randor gave Katryn an especially thorough washing including her bare breasts and the area between her legs that she had always considered to be most private. The first time that he touched her there with the soapy rag, Katryn jumped back and stood staring at the elf. Randor simply ignored the filly’s startled response and, stepping forward, continued to wash her both front and back. Katryn knew how badly she wanted to be clean there so did not resist again. Then she was surprised when her body seemed to exert an involuntary pressure against Randor’s hand and the wet soapy rag he held. Randor looked at Katryn’s face only to see that her eyes were closed. Katryn’s body was, indeed, reawakening from the deadness she had felt ever since being taken to the hall of the elders. So far the sensations were only mild, but they held promise that the feelings she had known earlier in her life might actually return.

Randor finished washing and grooming Katryn then replaced her leather harness and untied her from the post. She was most docile as she followed him back toward the stalls. It was only as he was leading her in to a stall that Katryn’s defiant nature suddenly returned. The filly froze in her tracks several feet outside the stall door and refused to move any farther. Both Rolf and Prindor stepped up behind Katryn and together tried to push her by the hindquarters through the doorway, but without success. Even at this stage of her training and development, Katryn was much stronger than several elves.

The sudden resistance by Katryn came as something of a surprise to Randor. Following the cleaning and grooming which she so obviously had enjoyed he really expected the young filly to be more cooperative. The long day was almost over, and he was certain that all of the new girls had to be very tired. At least he knew that he was. His first inclination was to get behind her and tan her rump with a riding whip until she went into her stall. However, he recalled what Latkin had said almost jokingly about using Berin to drag the girls into their stalls if necessary. Right now that seemed like a better idea than the whip or another contest of wills between himself and this filly that seemed to delight in testing him.

“Latkin,” Randor called to the older elf. “I think that your earlier idea was a good one, so why don’t you get up on Berin and bring her over here to help us to haul this ornery filly in to her stall so that we can all finally go eat and get some rest,” he said. “She doesn’t know it yet, but she’s going to have needed all the rest she can get, come tomorrow,” he added.

As Randor finished talking Latkin, mounted and rode over on Berin. Allowing several feet of slack, Randor tied Katryn’s lead rope to Berin’s saddle ring. “Prindor, and Rolf,” Randor called. “As soon as Berin gets a good pull going on the strawberry’s collar, I think you two can help by trying to push her again.” “Just keep her going straight toward the door, and watch out if she tries to kick,” Randor said to the two younger elves. The idea worked beautifully, and even though Katryn tried her hardest, she could not resist the strong pull from the larger mare. Even though Berin was much older than Katryn, she quickly showed the filly which of them was the stronger. The elves tied Katryn’s lead off as they had the other girls, gave her food and water, closed and latched the stall door and left the stable. Latkin still had to take care of Berin, but all four agreed to meet over dinner to discuss plans for the girls’ training. If all went well the four would net Randor’s operation a sizable profit when they were fully trained and sold.

Katryn did not feel too badly over being forced into her stall. “Look at the effort it took them,” she thought to herself. “If they hadn’t used the older woman to pull me in, we would probably still be at it,” she mused with pleasure. “She certainly was strong, especially for her age,” Katryn thought of Berin. “Many of the girls and women that these elves ride seem abnormally strong,” she continued. “And those two really big girls with the pack saddles must have been carrying over two hundred pounds each, easily.”

Katryn had learned many times on the trail the strength of Vixin, who was an absolutely remarkable creature, fully six feet tall and seemingly made entirely of rippling muscle. “That woman that the leader rides,” Katryn still did not know Vixin’s or Randor’s names either in her language or his, “she might well be the strongest of them all,” Katryn thought of Vixin. “I really believe that she could carry that fat old elder that I had to serve so often back in the village,” Her thoughts continued. “That is, if he could fit his fat big rear end in her saddle,” she chuckled to herself as she fell asleep.



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