Be Careful What You Wish For (14 page)

A hairdresser cut and styled her hair, softly onto her face rather than swept back. It gave her an elfin look, especially with her eyes dancing and sparkling as if they had seen things she could not tell. She watched her face in the mirror, knowing it betrayed the secret feelings of a lover. Her eyes shone and the shape of her lips twitched upwards as she remembered things told to her before she left the island, and the way it would be.

Finally she stood at the door, reaching towards the sun setting in the sky, wondering what the morrow might bring. The car drew up alongside, and apart from a stopover meal they continued driving, in silence, until almost daybreak when
Free Spirit
carried them back to their island retreat and the start of a new and very different life.

 

 

The sun rose majestic and glorious from the ashes of the night, fanning its tail across the horizon like some great bird embracing a new dawn. The orange-yellow spectre lit up the heavens, touching everything in its path with the magic and splendour of a new and wonderful day.

Abi watched from her window, in a new wrap given to her by her parents, following the rivulets of colour streaking the morning sky. She smiled. It was going to be a good day. The best! From deep down within her heart, she knew she was finally Home.

Her arms opened wide, caught in the moment and embracing the magic that soon would be hers. She closed her eyes, hugging close the scene set before her. Then, throwing the catch on the windows, she drew a sharp intake of breath at the snap of cold air that nipped her cheeks, giving her a rich glow, as if she too had been touched by the dawn.

As she pulled the wrap close around her she turned to find she wasn't alone. Shadow stood silent and still.

‘Shadow, how I've missed all this, and you.' Excited, she drew close to him, and then impishly pulled away, seeking instead the trolley he brought laden with food.

‘You left me a whole day and night,' she chided. ‘I was lonely, and I'm so hungry. Shall I butter you some toast?'

Shadow held the teapot and sat opposite her at the table, letting the steaming liquid fill her cup. He accepted the toast and watched the plate empty before her.

‘Shadow, I've so much to tell you, to share. So much I've seen and learned while I've been away.' She scarcely noticed his silence, much less the deviant gleam in his eye as she chattered on like a child, filled with the newness and wonder of life.

She followed him to the gym, and ‘ouched' and ‘ooohed' her way through her paces, pouting as he asked more and more from her, pushing her to her limit and beyond.

‘My sister has a new boyfriend...' she gasped between press-ups. ‘And dad's changed the house around again. And did you catch on the news the bit about... oh no, Shadow, do I have to?'

At last she was done, and while a hot shower sent pinpricks of pleasure across her body, she too fell silent as Shadow held her head down and then back, washing her thoroughly and completely, before pulling out the couch on which to lie. This time, however, he placed leather like a bridge arcing from one side to the other, clipping it in place.

‘Shadow, what is it?' she asked.

In silence he helped her climb up on her back, placing her over the arc in the centre. Her head fell back. Her legs parted. Deftly he secured them in the brackets on either side, and because of the arc he now had more access to her groin.

Aware of her vulnerability she crossed her arms over her breasts, but he pulled her hands apart and clamped them above her head and to the sides. He stood silent and still, watching her struggles slowly cease. Then, moving close, he pressed a finger to her lips, looking deep into her eyes.

‘You will be silent now.'

In his eyes she caught a glimpse of the depth of feeling he felt for her, but something else too; a look, sad and distant, as if she had somehow let him down. There was also a new sternness to his words, which demanded they be obeyed.

She watched his face as fingers felt her scalp, moving down to her eyes, which he held open while using a pencil torch. Fingers felt down the line of her jaw, opening her mouth as he examined her teeth. He reached up and flicked the switch of a powerful lamp. There was a whirring noise, and he held her upper lip while an instrument whitened and polished her teeth. She felt disorientated, her head hanging back too far because of the arc. She closed her eyes, hoping to cut off the sickening dizzy sensation she felt inside.

A different noise started as the humming instrument of before was brought down to encourage her nipples into hardness, and then they were clamped. Her body stretched out across the bridge of the arc, and fingers firmly manipulated stomach muscles, sending shivers of delight into her groin. Her pussy was wet, and he spent time examining its inner secrets, holding back the labia and inserting three fingers, testing how far they reached. Then moving down they prized apart her cheeks to inspect her anus while Abi, unable to keep still, squirmed to the intense feelings of being powerless, and deeply aroused.

Released from her fetters, Shadow left her to struggle unaided to turn onto her front, stretched along the arc, leaving her head to hang low. He manipulated her neck muscles, slowly moving down each vertebra in turn, confirming before moving on. As he reached her bottom a finger slid into her anus. She gasped, a shudder lifting her body, filling it with a delicious feeling of warmth and pleasure. Juices flooded the finger, now joined by another, and for a moment, caught on a climactic edge, she felt the slow spread of deeply aroused emotion churning her stomach. Her innermost being rose up to greet it when the fingers withdrew suddenly, and a well-aimed series of smacks landed squarely on each cheek.

She was hurt, disappointed, confused. Raising her head she caught a look on his face of which she had no understanding. Only when she was standing did she search his face again for the look that had been, wondering at the intensity and what it might mean. But instead of the explanation she hoped for he pushed her legs apart and walked around her three times, then placed himself in front of her, looking her straight in the eye.

‘We will go now for a meeting with Sir Richard. He is waiting.' He took hold of her chin and, tilting it, kissed her intensely. ‘Come.'

She followed him down the corridor, past the gym at the end, and on down the stairs to where the air felt warm and close. The room they entered through the archway at the bottom was decorated in rich golden satin. Drapes hung from ceiling to floor, and between the drapes were stout black beams, and it was to these beams that her eyes were drawn, trying to take in the leather harnesses, bindings and straps that hung there. The room was large, extending into antechambers divided off by more satin curtains. On either side were couches of black leather, with all manner of straps attached to them. And in the centre of the room were two winged chairs divided by a black polished table, a plush pouf and a mat.

‘Welcome to the Dungeon.' Dream Catcher stood by one of the chairs. As he spoke his arms extended towards her. ‘Today you will see and experience everything.'

With a flourish he signalled to Shadow, who pulled apart the surrounding curtains to reveal walls of mirrors. It was strange standing there with other selves moving as she did, with the same mannerisms, the same look of confusion on their face.

In an anteroom Shadow prepared mugs of steaming tea, which he carried to place on a tray on the table. It was as if she'd stepped into the shoes of Alice in Wonderland; a fantasy wrapped in a surreal world.

‘You will kneel on the mat, back on your heels, and wait for tea to be given to you.'

She accepted the words as a reprimand, already in the act of reaching for a mug and settling herself on the stool. She stopped, feeling for a comfortable position on the floor. It was Dream Catcher who finally handed her a mug of tea before sitting, and Shadow waited before joining him in the adjacent chair.

‘Do you still wish to serve us as a slave?'

She was surprised at the question, believing it already answered. ‘Why, yes, I do. Yes...' How else would she answer? They smiled back at the child she had become.

‘To serve a Master is a Calling. It's not for everyone. You must be very sure before accepting, as we must be sure of you.' Dream Catcher raised a finger as a warning against interruption as she opened her mouth to reply.

‘Up until the point of the Calling Ritual you are free to say at any point that you no longer wish to become a slave. You can walk back into the life you had. Equally, up until the ceremony we have been free to let you know you are not The One we seek. As has been explained before the ceremony is a serious occasion, when we each commit to the other through a series of vows and rituals. That commitment is absolute and is not easily broken on any side. Do you understand?'

Abi nodded, her head teaming with unspoken thoughts.

‘You have fulfilled our dream, and we are happy to have you share our life, to become one with us. To that end we have planned the ceremony to take place on the first day of Spring, and in the weeks leading up to it there are things you must learn, tasks you must undertake for this to be possible.'

They watched the smile creep across her face, pleased in the joy shining from her eyes, knowing she was ready for the next part of the journey to fulfil her destiny.

‘But listen carefully and take note. This is a conditioned life. Obedience and loyalty must be at all times, whether you are here or away. If it is not, then you will be punished, and punishment, when it comes, will be because you deserve it. We will always tell you the reason for it, answer questions you may have, and when it is done it is finished and specialness will follow. Just as an adult continues to love an errant child, punishing for the deed but still loving the child, so it is that punishment takes nothing away from our guiding love for you. It is a necessary part of the learning, the obedience, the respect, and...' Dream Catcher paused a moment, ‘...you will find there can also be pleasure in the pain. Have you not already found this to be the case?'

Abi let out a tiny gasp, but was careful to allow her Master to continue.

‘While you were away it was too easy to go the way of others, to follow those around you. To become the way you were, and you failed your Calling in a number of ways. You did not keep to the strict diet set by Shadow. You did not continue the regime that has become a necessary part of your training. You have forgotten, it seems, how to greet your Masters, and in conducting yourself as a slave. You have played with yourself at night. You have clothed yourself, and since your return, it seems your nakedness brings shame. You are therefore going to be punished, here and now.'

His final words were emphasised more in the body language which accompanied them than the words. She shivered in anticipation. She had finished her tea, and as Dream Catcher and Shadow stood she prepared herself as best she could, knowing something would follow that wasn't about to go in her favour. They each took an arm and led her to a point between two beams, manacling both wrists to a chain. Her legs were spread wide, each foot strapped firmly to the floor. She looked towards the mirror opposite and saw herself as a big white cross emphasised by the darkness of the beams, stretched and secure, waiting for the punishment to begin.

‘You have not yet felt the true keenness of the whip, the cut of the crop. Feel the pain. Know the experience. Remember why.'

She focused on Shadow, who moved to sit in one of the winged chairs directly in her line of vision, as if to see more clearly the affect on her. She had expected him to do the dastardly deed, and for Dream Catcher to be there for her with soothing hands and words, and in her confusion she completely failed to see Dream Catcher slip behind her, so the first crack of the whip caught her completely unawares as it slashed around her bottom. The smallest cry escaped her lips before she could prevent it, bringing with it tears and a stinging burn to both buttocks. The break between the first and second blow only made the pain keener. As it came a gasp and scream rose in her throat, tears flowing freely.

‘Please, please not again,' she sobbed. ‘I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.'

She was sure saying sorry would work. Sorry always made everything better... didn't it? Kiss and make up, just as she'd always done as a child? But her words fell on deaf ears. Her reflection awaited the next bite of the crop to burn again her tender flesh.

A third and fourth slash followed mercilessly. Her screams were loud, uncaring. She no longer held back, accepting it would only end when he had finished with her. She was breaking every taboo, letting go with her emotions as they rode her, dragging from her all the pain and frustration and shame built up through the years. And yet at the same time, somewhere deep within, she touched on a kind of pleasure, and a pride in surviving the ultimate test of submission. She could end this at any time by shouting ‘stop', and walking away, back into the life that was. She had no doubt at all in her mind they would release her and let her go.

Home.

But then, this was Home. Here she was allowed to be the person she really was instead of having to pretend, to wear a mask, to fit into someone else's mould. Always she had been made to bear her submissive nature with shame, while others tried to change her, telling her she needed to be strong, independent, decisive, sure, when she was none of these things... not really. Always her submission had been seen as a weakness, not a strength. She was by nature a pleaser, a giver, strong for others but not herself, passionate and compassionate, with an ability to feel intensely, and without the ability to say no, needing someone else to take control.