My name used to be Penelope Rose. Used to be. That was what seems like a lifetime ago, when I used to live on Earth.

I was a smart and successful young woman, living alone and happy to rely on no one but myself for anything. I had just moved to Washington, DC, to take a job with the government doing biomedical research. My work was intriguing and satisfying, and I looked forward to my days spent in the lab.

Weekends would find me in the upscale bars in Georgetown, and I'd go home with a different man every Friday and Saturday night. Congressmen, businessmen, lawyers, lobbyists, it didn't matter much to me, as long as I never saw the same man more than a few times. No matter how many men I slept with, it never seemed to be enough. Something was always missing, and I couldn't place what it was. Life seemed to be everything I wanted it to be. I owned a townhouse in an upscale suburb, I loved my job, I never lacked for men in my life, and in fact, I often wished that I wasn't plagued by phone calls from men who were looking for a more serious situation than I was ready to commit to. I had few women friends, but it didn't really matter, since my time was already so heavily spoken for.

It was stunning how rapidly all of this changed.

I had always supposed that I was attractive, but never spent much time dwelling on my appearance. My body was curvy, but slender, and my bright red curls would tend to make me stand out in a crowd. In conversation, I tended to be outgoing and forthright, often startling others with my bluntness. My dark green eyes were never still, and I tended to get restless without a frequent change of scenery.

I was soon to have quite a significant change occur.

It really shouldn't surprise me that I was kidnapped with such ease. My Friday night started just like any other, with me leaving the lab and heading across the river to the bars. It was when I hit the third bar on my circuit that I saw him. Across the room, and leaning casually against a wall, was a man who was staring at me with a steady, intense gaze. I could feel his eyes on me, and I was compelled to cross the room to go to him. I stood before him, unable to speak, my eyes locked with his. That is the last memory I have of my former world.

I awoke from what must have been a long sleep, and tried to move. I was chilled, and wondered why my body seemed numb. My hands rose to my eyes as I tried to rub the sleep out of them. With a sudden start, I was fully awake and my heart nearly stopped as I took in my surroundings. I, Penelope Rose, was locked in a tiny cage.

Not only was I caged, but I was completely naked. No wonder I felt chilled. My hands flew to the sides of my small pen, and I looked around me with wild eyes. Everywhere I could see were cages just like mine, each one holding a naked woman. I screamed, and threw myself against the small, locked door, screaming until my throat was burning. Out of nowhere strode a man, and he regarded me with the same hard intensity that the stranger in the bar had carried in his eyes. He didn't say a word, but his look told me that my struggles would not be tolerated. My voice broke off mid scream, and I stared back and began to whimper and cry. A look of impatience crossed his face, and after watching me for a moment, he turned and walked away.

I later learned that he was a slaver, and I had been taken from Earth to be sold into bondage on the planet that was now my new home. This world, I later learned, was called Gor, which means "home stone" in the Gorean language. This language was one of the many things I was now expected to learn, and learn quickly and well in my new life as a pleasure slave. I was in the possession of Samos of Port Kar, and ineptitude on my part would not be tolerated.

Time passed quickly those first few months. I soon grew to understand what it meant to be a slave on Gor. Absolute obedience was expected, and anything less could mean death. I learned quickly to speak Gorean, as well as to read and write it. Learning had always come easily to me, but now I was driven forward at a furious pace, motivated by the additional fear of the whip. My trainers worked me very hard in those weeks in the kennels of Samos, and I was rewarded for my efforts by being raped regularly by the men in his employ.

In many ways, my new life was not so very different than it had been on Earth, for I had yet to truly feel my slavery. On one level, I accepted that I was a slave, and could comprehend that reality with my conscious mind. I was obedient, for I feared the whip. Yet something still lacked in my heart. Absolute submission had yet to be wrung from me. I had not yet been taught what it meant to yearn to please another with an agonizing desperation. This education would come later from the hand of my first true Master.

I was put on the auction block in Port Kar, and felt the degradation of being nothing more than a piece of property, an animal for sale with so many other meaningless animals. I performed as well as I could, for I had trained extensively for this moment, but my eyes were full of tears as I was put through my paces. The bids were steady, but low, for I was still a relatively untrained slave. My unusual hair brought my price up a bit, and I was finally sold for forty copper tarsks.

My eyes met those of my new Master, Kyoto Ri. He was a Warrior and a Tarnsman who made his home in Port Kar. The way he stared at me made me feel as though he owned my soul, and legally, I suppose, he now did. I was taken from the market to his home, and was put to work as a lower serving slave, working in the kitchen and tending to the house. I was one of many slaves on his chain, and had very little contact with my new Master.

A day came where I was sent to the market on a kitchen errand, with a small pouch tied around my neck. On my way home through the narrow cobbled streets, I passed by a paga tavern that was close to Master's home. Emerging from the tavern was none other than my Master, and in my haste to be home, I nearly ran into him. He grabbed me firmly by the shoulders and studied me, realizing suddenly that I was his property. With a little shake, he released me from his grip, and I dropped to the ground and fell to kissing his feet in apology. After a moment, he grabbed a fistful of my ringlets and dragged me to my feet, leading me back home by my hair. I was released in the kitchen, and I was relieved to have not been beaten for my carelessness.

That evening, I was quite surprised to hear that I was being summoned to serve Master. My emotions were a wild mixture of nervous excitement and terror, and I was prepared by my sisters for my duties by being given a bitter draught of slave wine, and was dressed in a drape of diaphanous silk. That night, I learned what it meant to truly submit to the will of another. I was given no choice in the matter. This Master would settle for nothing less than learning every inch of me, and extracting from me sensations that I had never imagined existed. With casual ease, he controlled my every whimper and movement, and I couldn't help but yield at his directive.

I awoke the next morning on the floor at the foot of his couch, still chained by my ankle to the slave ring. Master was no longer there, and I panicked a bit at my confinement in the empty room. The sun was up, and I was terrified that I would be beaten for neglecting the chores that I couldn't now attend to. Hours passed, and no one came to release me. I was hungry, and feeling no small distress over a new emotion that was threatening to overwhelm me.

As I waited, chained alone in my Master's room, I realized that I desperately wanted Him to be the one to return to unchain me. I longed to be near him again, and to feel His touch on my body. My heart raced at the thought, and I crept closer to the couch where He had lain, resting my head against it to inhale His scent. Every part of my being wanted to please this man, my Master, who was so different from any man I had ever known on Earth. He was so strong, so very sure in His every calculated action. In that quiet, empty room, I embraced my condition of servitude with my full heart, feeling grateful for the first time for my slavery.

I began to be called to Him with greater regularity. Under His careful Mastery of me, I fully felt my submission, and loved Him with all my heart. I wonder if He didn't become fond of me as well.

There came a day when He set sail from Port Kar to establish a new home on a small island several days sail away. Bound to the prow of His ship, the Thyri, I was taken along with Him to Steel Isle, where He had accepted a Captaincy. I loved my Master, but sorely missed the activity of my life in Port Kar. I missed my sisters in the tavern where I was frequently taken to serve Master. I missed what had become very much a part of my life.

Master could see my unhappiness. Although He was under no obligation to cater to the emotions of a mere slave, He decided to take me back to the mainland. I was given to a new Master, for I couldn't be left in the city alone. Master Burhaan Madagar collared me to His training kennels, and I spent an unhappy and lonely week there. Unsupervised and miserable, I begged release from His ko'lar.

I was collected by Master Kyoto and taken back home while He considered what else to do with me. To ensure that I would be in the best situation for me, Master contacted His sword brother, Master Bolt Sarakai, and I was sold within a day and on my way back to Port Kar.

That brings me to the end of my story. I am again a kitchen slave, and I am permitted to go back to the tavern where I used to serve Master Kyoto. I sometimes dance upon the sands, and my body betrays my wistful longing for His touch. I recently heard rumors that He had resigned His captaincy on the remote island He called home, and I wait with quiet hope that He will again make His home in Port Kar and that I may have the honor of serving Him again. In the meantime, I am working hard to please my new Master and Mistress, and hope to live up to their expectations. It is all a slave can do.

An amended note:

Soon after the above was written, I was again reclaimed by the Master of my heart. I lived for many years in Port Kar, and watched him rise in position to an Advisor of the tavern of Gorean Shores, and then to the position of Captain. As he grew restless under the constraints of leadership, he resigned and again took to the open seas, leaving Port Kar behind.

After nearly a year on the Thassa, the man of my heart came back to shore, and purchased a kalana plantation outside of Ar, and took up the position of the Captain of the Guard in the lofty city. I was released from slavery, and now enjoy the privileges accorded to the rank of a Free person.