Almost Chance

Jen looked herself over in the bathroom mirror, checking herself before she opened the door to signal to Mistress that she was ready for her next experience. The light outside had almost completely faded away while she was in the bath and the room was now lit mainly by the flickering candles Mistress had set there. Before Mistress, Jen had never appreciated the erotic texture of the light cast by a candle, but now it was something she suspected she would always associate with this time. Of course, she didn't look as beautiful as Mistress in the light - how could anyone? - but it gave her body a new appearance that matched with the new feelings that dominated her. She was sultry now, a wantonly sensual creature, one who lived in that flickering netherworld between light and dark, pain and pleasure.

She checked her collar one more time, making sure it fitted her as snugly as it had before, twisting her head and neck around, it's soft grip already fast becoming part of her again. She could pick out the scattering of pink spots on her chest where the wax had marked her earlier. It had come off her easily in the bath and now the marks were soon to fade away as well. It saddened her to see them go, losing that mark of Mistress upon her, but she knew the memory of that feeling would stay with her and besides, she had her collar to show she was Mistress'. She had washed herself thoroughly, just as Mistress commanded, removed all the sweat and scent of the afternoon and now the only scent on her was that of the soaps and oils in Mistress' bath. Her skin was soft, and seemed to glow in the faint light, as though it was revitalized by the sensual charge within her.

She was calm now, ready for whatever Mistress had planned for her that evening. As commanded, she opened the door to the bathroom just a fraction and then stood back from it. Mistress hadn't said how she should wait for her, but Jen knew what was expected of her from when she had entered Mistress' house that afternoon. She carefully lowered herself to her knees, placed her hands in her lap, bowed her head and waited for Mistress to come and claim her.

She wasn't aware of time passing while she knelt there, though she knew it must have done. Her mind was totally still and calm, fixed only on the prospect of Mistress' arrival in the room with nothing else of any importance to her. She only came alive when she heard the door being pushed open, the cooler air from the hallway rushing onto her skin. She could sense Mistress walking close to her, but with her head bowed she could only see her feet, again clad in leather boots but a different pair this time.

'Oh, my dear Jen, you have learned so well how to wait for me. Now, sit up straight and look at me.'

Slowly, Jen straightened herself, her gaze slowly moving up Mistress' body. The boots carried on up Mistress' legs, past her ankles, then disappeared under a long leather skirt that steadily tapered in to Mistress' slim waist where it was secured by a thick matching belt. Above it she wore a bustier or halter made of a soft satin that gripped Mistress' flat stomach then moved out to cup her full breasts. Jen could see the round tips of Mistress' nipples pushing through the material. It stopped just above the nipples, two thin straps holding it in place, rising up from the centre of it, following the exposed curve of her breasts and round her neck. She wore two pieces of ornate jewellery, matching bands of gold like snakes wrapping round each slender, toned bicep. Her hair was tied back into a loose plait, loose wisps falling about her beautiful face, wearing only a touch of makeup except for her deep red lips. Jen could see that Mistress was carrying something in her hands, each holding what looked like two pieces of black leather adorned with pieces of metal.

'You like how Mistress looks, I see.'

'Yes Mistress, I do. You are beautiful.'

'Thank you, my sweet. You know that I think you are beautiful too, of course. Now, stand up for me.' Jen rose carefully and delicately, the difference in height and Mistress' heels meaning she only came up to her neck. 'I have things for you to wear during your next experience. Hold out your arms.' Jen stretched out her arms and watched Mistress place all but one of the things on the bathroom counter by the sink. The one she held in her hands was a slim tube of leather, she saw, three large golden rings fixed on each side of it, thin laces holding it together. Mistress slipped it over Jen's right arm. It covered the arm from the wrist to just below Jen's elbow, fitting snugly and warmly when Mistress pulled on the laces to tighten it and fix it in place. She took a matching gauntlet from the counter and fixed it around Jen's left arm. Then, she took the other two, which were similar but smaller, each with only one ring on either side and crouched down. Jen looked straight ahead, feeling Mistress' expert hands fix them around her ankles.

'Now my dear, I am going to take you down to my cellar. You have already had some experience of what you will encounter down there when I bound you this afternoon, but the sensations this time will be much more intense. However, the difference this time is that you will not be permitted to have any release when you are down there. You have already learnt how to control and delay your pleasure somewhat, but now you must be able to do it totally and delay any climax until after you leave the cellar. Do you understand?'

'Yes, Mistress.'

'Understand that this is an order from me, my sweet. Disobeying it will mean that I will have to punish you, and that punishment may include not just pain but also you not being allowed to come to my bed. I do not wish to punish you, but I will do it without mercy if you disobey me. Do you understand, my dear Jen?'

'Yes, Mistress.' Jen was scared for the first time, but it was the prospect of not being able to enter Mistress' bed that was terrifying her. She could see a darker side to Mistress when she talked of punishment, a cold look in her eyes that reminded Jen of the absolute power she had given up to her, but it was the possible consequences of that power that scared her, not the power itself. Mistress had talked of pain, but Jen could think of no worse pain than being denied the chance to experience the full pleasure of Mistress' body.

'One last question, and then you shall follow me downstairs. Do you remember the word I told you earlier? The word I said you were to utter if the pain got too great, if you were about to be damaged?'

'Yes, Mistress. It was 'strawberry', Mistress.'

'Good. Remember it, and do not be afraid to use it should it be necessary. Now, follow me downstairs.' As she turned, Jen saw Mistress' bare back for the first time, exposed from the waist upwards, the bustier she wore virtually backless. Mistress' back was covered with an enormous gold and red tattoo of a bird enveloped in flames. It began at the base of the spine, the bird's body flowing along her back, the flames wrapped around it, the wings stretched out across her shoulder blades. It was a beautiful piece of art, but on Mistress' back it seemed alive, the patterns of the ink matching her muscles, moving as she moved, in time with her, almost alive on her skin, a being of power. Jen blinked hard, squeezing her eyes, wanting to be sure she was seeing what was really there and not hallucinating, but as she opened them it was still there.

Mistress spoke without looking back, knowing what Jen had seen. 'You like my phoenix, my dear?'

'Its...it's beautiful, Mistress.' Words didn't seem appropriate, unable to capture the full majestic power Jen could see.

'It is a symbol of power and mystery, my dear. An immortal creature continually reborn in fire. You should know that very few people get to see it, my sweet Jen, I only show it to the most special of within.'

Jen thought on what Mistress said as they descended the stairs towards the cellar. She wondered why Mistress would want to hide something so beautiful away, keep it covered up away from the world, but she knew that displaying it, showing it off would draw attention to her. Even now, walking behind Mistress, it was as though she were looking at a piece of magic on her back, something far beyond the normal world she had known before Mistress had claimed her. Maybe, Jen wondered, it truly was a magical symbol, the source of the intoxicating power Mistress held over her. And how would she feel when the spell ended?

Her thoughts returned to the present as Mistress reached the bottom of the stairs and pushed open the heavy oak door that stood there. There had been no lights on the stairs, and Jen had become accustomed to the gloom as they walked down into the ground below the house, lit only by what filtered in from the house above them. The cellar, though, was lit brightly, and as Mistress opened the door for them, it flooded through the doorway, bleaching out Jen's vision. She followed Mistress' shadow into the cellar, the floor becoming cold stone, slightly damp against her bare feet, the cool underground air chilling her skin slightly.

Jen looked around and saw that the cellar was large, maybe even bigger than the house above, filled with a series of small alcoves and archways. Several of the ones she could see near her looked almost normal, filled with wine bottles, but others held strange equipment, devices she didn't recognize but which seemed to carry a sexual charge to them just in the way they looked. The walls showed some of the purpose of this room too, all sorts of things hanging from them, the sight of them simultaneously chilling and arousing Jen – ropes, chains, bonds, canes, whips, all manner of things that she could imagine Mistress using on her in either love or anger.

She had followed Mistress to a point in the center of the cellar when she stopped and turned to face Jen.

'Now, my dear, I want you to turn around to face that wall and then move your legs apart until they're against the rings in the floor.' Jen turned herself through 90 degrees to face the wall and looked down at the floor seeing two iron rings beside her, each securely bolted into the stones of the floor, looking solid, like they'd been there since the cellar was built. She carefully moved her legs apart until they were by the rings, about two feet apart, keeping her arms by the side.

As she positioned herself, Mistress walked over to the wall behind her and came back. Jen could sense her standing behind her, feel her eyes examining her body, her posture as she stood there waiting. Then, she crouched down by Jen's left ankle and used a short leather strap to bind together the ring on the floor with the gold ring on the outside of the leather cuff round Jen's ankle. Moving over to Jen's right leg, she repeated the process fixing Jen in place before standing in front of her. Jen could she that she was carrying a long cord of fresh, clean, thin white rope.

'Hold out your arms for me, my dear, with the palms facing each other.' Jen did as she was ordered, seeing the rings on the inside of her arms line up in front of her, light glinting off them. She watched as Mistress began threading the rope through the six rings, binding her arms together, allowing just a few inches of movement as the rope traced a pattern through and around them, eventually emerging from the tight nest of knots, running out past her hands and down to the floor.

Mistress took the loose rope in her right hand and moved it up and down, side to side in slow movements, letting Jen see how it now controlled the movements of her arms.

'Now my dear, look up and slowly raise your arms above you.' Jen tilted her head back, slowly raising her arms, making both movements slowly, deliberately, knowing that her bound ankles would make her fall to the hard stone if she lost her balance. She saw another iron ring in the ceiling, smaller than the ones by her feet, hanging down almost directly above her head. Mistress moved closer to her as she looked up, the rope still held in her hand as she walked around and behind Jen. Then, she stood close behind her, Jen feeling the soft satin brushing against her back, reaching up to feed the rope through the ring. Jen watched as Mistress pulled the whole length of the rope through the ring, then felt it pulling at her arms, drawing them up closer towards it. Behind her, she could hear the click of Mistress' footsteps as she walked away from her, then the faint sound of the rope being drawn through another ring, her arms slowly being drawn up till they were directly above her, her body being slowly stretched out from the bonds in the floor to the rope in the ceiling.

She felt Mistress tugging on the rope, more insistent this time, her body straining in response. As her arms were pulled up above her, she tried to lift herself up, push herself onto the balls of her feet, but the straps on her ankles held them in place. The upward pull ceased then, but didn't let her back down, her body remaining fixed in position, legs totally straight, forming a triangle with the stones below, torso stretched out, arms straight and pointing to the sky, head thrown back. She heard Mistress walking back towards her and raised her head so it was between her arms again, looking straight forward at the wall ahead of her. The footsteps got closer and closer, until Mistress was alongside her and then in front, looking her up and down.

'Oh, how wonderful you look, my dear. Now, what shall I do with you next?' She smiled, her lips curling in anticipation, her eyes shining.