Book 2: The Slave

There were no universal protocols in the Marketplace. There couldn’t be, since once the slaves left the hands of their trainers, their behaviors were determined by owners. But it had been explained to her, both by Ken Mandarin and Chris Parker, that there were guidelines covering the most basic commands, with postures to be taken and responses made which would be easily adaptable once the personal taste of an owner were known.

“But why teach me only one set of movements if there are dozens?” Robin had moaned once during her training. “What if I have to do it all some other way once I’m sold?”

“You are being conditioned to obey,” Chris had said, looking into her eyes. “Your obedience is what is being trained, not the positions. When you have new ways to behave, it will hopefully be your obedience which will enable you to learn and please your Owner.”

And he had run her through the motions over and over, until she did obey instantly, learning to watch his hands, the slightest shift in his body, or even his eyes, when she was allowed to look up. His litany of “Again. Again,” whether softly uttered or sharply snapped became as agonizing as his strap. But in the end, she obeyed. Instantly.

“Unlike the other books set in the Marketplace world by Laura Antoniou, The Slave, book two of the series, focuses on the training and slavery of one character, Robin. Why just one character? I can’t answer that except to say that via this one rather impressive slave-girl we are able to experienc e Marketplace life in a very intense way.”

“A lot of thought on the topic of submission went into this novel, (The Slave) and it struck some very strong chords with folks who can find themselves in the protagonist . . . well worth reading!”