Stranger Than Truth Ch. 03

"Master, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. There is something going on, something more than your sensitivity to the pain of others. You said that Sally was dying. Did you believe that?"

"No Master, I know she wasn't dying."

"Not now, but when you said it, did you believe she was dying. Think about your answer. Go back to when you broke down. What were you thinking?"

"Master, please. I don't want to think about it."

"Valerie. I did not ask if you wanted to remember, I told you to. That's an order, slave."

A huge sob punctuated her answer. "Yes, Master, I did think she was dying. I couldn't bear to lose her."

"Are you having nightmares?"

Her eyes downcast, Valerie nodded. "I can't remember them, but I wake up terrified, in a cold sweat."

"Valerie, this sounds much like post traumatic stress syndrome. I want you to see a psychologist. I can't train you in accepting Sally's and other's pain until we know that you're not going to overreact to things. Thinking Sally was dying was clearly an overreaction."

"Master, I don't want to see one. I'm not weak, I can handle this."

"Valerie, this is not about being weak. Is Francine weak because she sees Dr. Gloush?"

"No Master! She was hurt. She needs help."

"Valerie, you were hurt even worse than she was, by someone you were closer to and trusted more than Francine trusted Harv. What Francine did to you was the BDSM equivalent of rape. You should have gone in for counseling when she did."

"Master? Please?"

"Valerie. If you don't seek help, you won't be safe in play. Do you want to give up submitting?"

"No! I can't go back to being vanilla."

"Then seek help! It's only a matter of time before you start reacting to the pain of people other than Sally. Do you want to be in such a bad way that going to Mephisto's is a trip to hell? I'll make it easy on you. Seek help, that's an order. Or else, leave my service."

Valerie's eyes widened. Never before had Charles given her an order the disobedience of which was subject to such a harsh penalty. It dawned on her at that moment, how serious this was. According to Sally, the only other expulsion had been for a willful safe word violation. "Master, is it really that serious?"

Yes, Valerie. I like to play with my submissives in groups. Already, you can't play with Sally. Eventually you could be unable to play with anyone else at all. I won't be a party to you being hurt that badly. Seek help. It's not the end of the world, and unlike Francine, you will still be able to submit while you're in treatment."

Sighing, recognizing the possible truth to Charles' words, Valerie replied, "Yes Master. I'll make an appointment with Dr. Gloush on Monday."

"Good. Now, find Sally and bring her here."

"Yes Master."

Valerie went back downstairs and found Sally in the recovery room. She was lying on one of the benches with her legs splayed. As Val got closer, she could see that Sally's cunt lips were a fiery red and a little swollen. Valerie sat down next to her and caressed her leg.

"Careful love, I'm fairly tender down there."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Val. I wasn't close to my limits. This will be healed by morning, provided I give it plenty of rest."

"I'm not sure how much rest you'll get. Master wants you up in his bedroom."

"Okay. Help me up, will you?"

Valerie helped Sally to her feet and led her to the elevator. Once on the main floor, they went to Charles' room. They knelt before him again.

"Sally, you'll be submitting for the rest of the weekend. Valerie, I want you to go home. Come back at 7:00 Sunday evening to pick Sally back up. Bring her some clothes."

Yes, Master," answered Val. She rose to her feet and left, recognizing her dismissal. She spent the rest of the weekend at home, relaxing and trying not to think of what Sally was going through. Francine was able to distract her on Saturday night with a trio of movies, enjoyed with an appropriate mix of junk food.

Once Valerie had left, Charles turned back towards Sally. The young submissive was kneeling with her legs spread and her hands at her side. Her breath was coming short and Charles could detect a slight tremor in her torso.

"How long have you been submitting to me?"

"Five years, I think, Master."

"Sally, I have noticed a change in your submission in the last several months."

"Master?" she asked, a trace of concern in her voice.

"Yes. Ever since the hand fasting, I've detected a bit of dissatisfaction from you when I require you to submit."

"Master. I love submitting to you."

"I know you do. I'm not saying that you dislike submitting to me. I think instead, you want more from your submission. Do you want to go deeper, to give me more than you ever have before?"

As he asked the question, something inside Sally leapt. She had continued to enjoy her times with Him and the demands He put on her outside of his presence. Yet, there seemed to be something missing. His question was just what she needed.

"Yes, Master. I think I do. I want to give you so much more than I have been, but I don't know how."

"This weekend, we will start exploring how deeply you need to be taken. Stand up and grasp the bedpost." When she had done as he instructed, he continued. "Spread your legs. For the rest of the weekend, you are denied orgasms and speech. You are to remain in this position until I tell you otherwise. Do you understand?"

Sally nodded her head. Charles left her there and exited. Sally's mind was a blur of thoughts and emotions. There was fear. She knew in her heart that going deeper did not mean moving from the three foot end of the pool to the four foot end. She was going to be plunged into the deep end of the pool. That was frightening, not because she was afraid of what would happen, but because she was frightened of failing Him. She thought of Valerie and how far her love had come in submission in the first seven months. She felt great desire for Val, a desire to take her places, deeper places. She wondered if she would be allowed to.

Sally's back was to the door, so she did not see who had entered at first. As the hands began to caress her, she recognized the very familiar hands of Marcia. They roamed over her body, pulling arousal from her, even as she fought it. Her nipples were hardening and moisture was forming on her cunt. As her pussy lips engorged, the effects of the horse were brought back to the forefront. She drew in hissing breaths as the pain between her legs was resurrected. Her body began to writhe of its own accord as she drew closer to the now forbidden climax.

Marcia leaned in close, her barely covered breasts rubbing against Sally's back. "Remember, Sally, no climax, no speech. Master has given me half an hour to make you cum, using only my hands. If I fail, I'll lose clothing privileges for the rest of the weekend."

Sally shuddered at this announcement. Marcia hated losing clothing privileges. Master had played these types of games before, yet this time it felt different. Her orgasm restriction did not feel like a game. Master would be truly disappointed if Sally came. Steeling herself, Sally fought the advances of her fellow submissive. Unable to beg, or even cry out, she used every tool she had to avoid the climax that was being forced upon her.

Marcia played with ever inch of Sally's body. Her touches were feather light at times, forcing Sally to swallow giggles and peels of laughter. At other times, the caresses were hard and forceful, pinching and pulling at the naked woman's breasts, ass and face. Towards the end, Marcia's hand reached down and fucked Sally with enough force to raise her to her toes repeatedly. The pain in her swollen pussy was agonizing, causing Sally to whimper and cry. The pain, however, kept her away from her climax for just long enough.

Charles' voice was a reprieve as he instructed, "Marcia, that's enough. Did she climax?"

"No Master."

"Did she speak?"

"No Master."

"Then you failed. Remove your clothes and return to your duties."

"Yes Master."

Sally heard the sound of clothes being removed and someone moving away. When the door closed again, Charles spoke.

"Sally, I'm proud of you. You were obedient. Now, I desire to whip you. Stay in position and do not speak."

Sally nodded. Charles went to one of the dressers and removed a wide leather strap similar to a razor strop, the kind frequently seen on barber chairs in old movies. With a calm detachment, Charles struck at Sally's ass and thighs repeatedly. Each blow was an explosion of pain that caused Sally to gasp and cry. Over and over the blows landed, quickly turning her skin a deep red. Sally soon lost count of how many times the strap landed on her, but she was aware of the burning pain that continued to build, until she was trembling in agony and weakness. Her hands were griping the bedpost tight enough to turn her knuckles white and her arms were aching with the increasing strain of holding herself up as her legs lost the ability to support her.

By the time Charles stopped, Sally was sobbing, her body shaking from the convulsive breaths she was taking and the inability of her legs to support her. When Charles ordered, "Let go, lie on the floor," Sally gave a sigh of relief and practically dropped to the floor. As she laid there, her legs and ass burning, she felt His hand brushing through her hair and caressing her back.

"Very good, Sally. I am very pleased with you."

Never before had those words meant so much to Sally. She knew that she had never submitted to such a beating before and there was a corner of her mind that was worried about it. That little voice in the back, however, was silenced by the larger and louder voice that reveled in the ability to give and take so much.

While he caressed her, Charles took stock of the condition of her skin. There was a deep red coloration to her ass and thighs that was not fading quickly. He suspected that she would be sporting bruises for a few days. He could not see any breaks in the skin, one of the things he liked about the strap. His hand could feel heat radiating from her punished skin, even without actually touching it. He was surprised by the fact that she did not use her safe word. He had intended to strap her until she used it, but had to stop before he caused potentially permanent injury. He pondered quitting, but Charles had come to trust implicitly Sally's willingness to use her safe word. If she had not used it; that meant that she had not reached her limits. He found himself wondering if Sally had any limits now. He had known other submissives that seemed to have no limits. All of them were now living in a 24/7 slave relationship.

"Sally. I want you to crawl into the kennel over there, facing out. You're to stay there until I come for you."

Sally raised herself to her hands and knees and crawled into the kennel. It was not an overly large kennel, being only four feet long, three wide and tall. Once she had cleared the doorway of the kennel, it was shut in her face. She watched him walk away without so much as a backwards glance. The door to the bedroom closed and Sally was alone.

Sally saw that, if she wished, she could open the door to her cage since Charles had not locked it. She, however, felt no desire to leave. She tried to find a position that kept her sore ass and thighs from touching anything and ended up on her knees with her ass raised up and her head against the floor. Her knees were soon sore from kneeing on hard plastic and the throbbing of her marks contributed to ensuring she could not sleep. In spite of the fact that she was crying softly, Sally found herself feeling safe in the kennel.

It felt like hours passed. She had no way of telling time. She just knew that she had been there long enough that lying on her side, her ass and thighs occasionally bumping something, was more comfortable than kneeling. In truth, more time had passed than she thought. She started when the door to the room opened. A naked Marcia walked in and set something on one of the dressers. Then Marcia walked over to the kennel.

"Remember, no speaking, Sally." Marcia opened the kennel door. "Master says this is the only chance you will have to use the toilet. Hurry."

Sally rolled onto her hands and knees again and crawled to the bathroom. She had become aware of the pressure at both ends as soon as Marcia had said anything about it. She quickly finished and crawled back out to the bedroom.

"Go back into the kennel, Sally." Once Sally had backed in again, Marcia knelt in front. "Sally. Are you okay? Is this what you want?"

Sally looked up and smiled. She nodded as she realized that she did, indeed, want to serve her Master like this. Her fear was not gone. She was afraid of what was happening and that she was allowing it. But, there was a calm as well. There was something on the other side of where she was now, of what she was being subjected to, that called to her. She had no idea what or who she would be after this new journey with her Master, and that frightened her. She also knew she wanted to become this new person, whoever she was.

"I don't know if I could ever go through this." Marcia reached out and caressed Sally's face. "Are you sure?" Sally nodded again. "I have your dinner. Master said that you cannot use your hands and that you must eat in the kennel." Marcia retrieved the tray from the dresser and put the plate of food and a bowl of water in the front of the cage. "If your hands show any signs of food on them when I get back in half an hour, you will suffer 25 cane strokes." Marcia's voice caught. It was only Sally's serene gaze and firm nod of the head that kept the submissive teacher from breaking out in tears.

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans. Sally ate everything, her hands clasped behind her back. Her hair kept falling into her food. To drink, she had to lower her face into the water and suck it in. As she ate, her feelings of humiliation grew. She knew she was being watched. She had, in the past, used the closed circuit security system to monitor bound submissives in this room herself. By the time Marcia had returned, Sally was a mess. Food and water mixed to plaster her face.

Sally noticed that Marcia was walking stiffly and gasped when she knelt down. The tray was removed in silence and a wet cloth used to clean Sally's face. The kennel was closed again and Marcia walked away. Sally saw that Marcia had been whipped since she had brought dinner and wondered if it was a punishment or play. Sally curled up again and waited.

The entire night was spent in the kennel. Charles had brought Marcia to his bed and Sally had to listen to their love making for over an hour. Eventually she slept, her tears of frustration tiring her out. She was woken up by the sounds of Marcia's moans. Peeking through the door, she saw that Marcia was tied to the end of the bed and Master was caressing her. By the time Charles had relented and fucked Marcia in the ass, she had been begging for relief for over 15 minutes.

When he had cum, Charles let Sally out and ordered, "Sally, clean Marcia up with you tongue. Retrieve every drop of cum, both hers and mine."

Sally crawled over to the still bound submissive and set to licking every bit of fluid off her legs, ass and pussy. She drew the process out, trying to give Marcia as much pleasure as she could. Finally, after bringing Marcia to another orgasm, Sally pulled back, her face covered in semen and pussy juice.

"Sally, use the toilet now. Don't clean your face."

While Sally was taking care of business, Marcia was released and told to begin fixing breakfast. Sally crawled back out into the room. Her ass and thighs had cleared for the most part, but there were several deep purple bruises visible. She knelt in front of Charles and waited.

Charles looked at his longest serving submissive. Something had definitely changed in Sally. She had born up under pain that would have triggered her safe word a few months ago. She had submitted to humiliation that he had never before subjected a submissive to. He could see the fear on her face, as well as the peaceful calm. A new part of her submissiveness had been uncovered, a part that had depths that neither of them had suspected could exist. He was sure it came from the deep love that Sally and Valerie had for one another. This had to be nurtured.

"Sally. Until further notice, you are not to dominate anyone, not even Valerie. In fact, whenever you're in Valerie's presence, you are to be in submission to her. She will have complete freedom with you to extract any service and subject you to anything her will desires. Essentially, you are in submission to myself or Valerie 24/7, until I tell you otherwise. Do you understand?"

Sally nodded her head as her breathing increased in pace. Her fear was growing, threatening to overwhelm her.

"Sally, speak to me. What is frightening you?"

"Master, I don't know what it is. I'm frightened of where I'm going. This is not something that I've ever considered before and I should be begging to escape it. But I'm not. It's calling to me. I want this so much, but I'm afraid that I'll never come back from it."

"I'm not sure where we are going either. I've never put a submissive into 24/7 before, yet I know that you need this. You might not come back from this. You may have grown in your submission to the level that only 24/7 will be enough. What I do know is that if this is what you need: to become fully a slave, I will see to it that you have the perfect Master or Mistress. It might be me, it might be Valerie, or it might be someone else. I will guide you on this journey of discovery and keep you as safe as possible."

"Thank you Master. I know I need this, but it is so frightening. Would you hold me please, hold me so I can't get loose?"

Charles picked Sally up and laid her across his knees. One leg wrapped itself around her legs and his hands grasped hers and held them tight against her back. Her head reached almost to the floor. Stroking her ass with his other hand, he waited, feeling her calming under his restraint of her. After several minutes, her head turned up to look at him.

"Master. Will you spank me? You haven't just spanked me in so long."

"You're right, I haven't. I think sometimes I forget the little things in the quest for more intensity. How many would you like?"

"Until I'm bawling, Master: I need a really long spanking, though it doesn't need to be really hard."

Charles started spanking Sally with his hand. They were no where near as hard as they could have been. They were steady and seemingly unending. Her sensitive ass felt them acutely. As they came down upon her, she felt the fear melting away. Secure and safe in her Master's grip, the repeated impacts to her ass were a soothing balm to her emotions. She embraced the unplumbed depths that loomed before her and allowed the pain of the spanking to wash through her, drawing out tears of pain and uncertainty, leaving the bawling woman at the end whole again.

Binding her hands behind her, Charles instructed Sally, "Crawl back into the kennel, Sally. You're going to spend the rest of the day there. You'll be watched of course, but I'm locking it this time. Unless you use a safe word, you won't see anyone until Valerie picks you up. Remember, once she's here, you're under her domination. Again, no speaking until someone gives you permission. You are still on orgasm denial too."

Sally crawled as best she could with only her knees and huddled inside the kennel. She heard the lock click in place and jerked at the sound. She pushed against the door with her feet, finding its lack of give reassuring. Lying on her side, she settled in for the long confinement. The room was silent but for her own noises when she move about in her kennel. Slowly, Sally unaware of it happening, started thinking of herself as more than a submissive, though maybe 'different' was a better term. She began to think that she had no right to deny her Master or Mistress anything. The thought of using her safe word began to feel painful. By the time Valerie entered the room, fully briefed by Charles on what she would find and how Sally was to be treated, Sally was not capable of using her safe word. Initially, she would not have been able to tell anyone what they were.