Almost Chance

Jen was lost in ecstasy, unimagined delight coursing through her body, every part of her burning with a fire like the sun, white light in her mind, almost all consciousness extinguished by the intensity of the sensation, but she wasn't enjoying it. She knew that this was what Mistress had promised her, experience and pleasure beyond anything she had ever dreamed, but she also remembered Mistress' other promise. She had given way to her pleasure down in this cellar, taken the release Mistress had expressly forbidden her, disobeyed her explicit command and Mistress had promised that she would be punished if she did that.

Mistress had shown Jen that her body was capable of more than she had thought possible before, both in experiencing pleasure and enduring what should have been pain but it was not what her punishment could do to her body that Jen feared. Mistress had shown her the depths of her soul as well, that core of subservience and willing slavery she had eagerly accepted as an integral part of her, changing her entire life in the space of these last few hours. Jen had not just experienced her pleasures for herself, but for her watching Mistress, just as she had willingly accepted the pain of servitude to please her. She had sustained herself with the prospect Mistress had tantalised her with from the start - the chance to enter Mistress' bed and show her the height of Jen's devotion to her. Only now, when there was a possibility of that being taken from her, that Mistress would dismiss her tomorrow without having taken her into her bed, did Jen truly realise what it had meant to her.

Slowly, her body returned to the mundane world, feeling the bonds that held her in place, the cushion pushed into her chest, the tight grip of the velvet blindfold around her head. She could sense Mistress standing near her and she took hope from that, knowing that connection was still there, but she could also imagine the look on Mistress face, disappointment mixed with anger.

She heard Mistress move around her, the familiar click of her heels on the stone floor as she moved around her. Jen felt her bonds being released, first the straps that fixed her ankles to the floor, then the complex pattern of ropes around her arms, the clamps taken off her nipples and finally the blindfold taken from round her eyes. Jen kept her head pointing down, looking at the pattern of bars that held the cushion off the ground, resting her hands on them lightly as she tried to support her body.

'You may remove yourself to a more comfortable position.' Mistress said. Jen noticed the new tone in her voice - harsher, more dispassionate, no 'my sweet' or 'my dear' in either her words or her tone. Carefully, Jen lifted herself off the cushion, feeling the ache in her legs as she moved them, the strain across her back and shoulders from supporting herself. For a moment, she stood, but then the weakness of her legs was too much and she fell to her knees in a combination of exhaustion and desire to show her continued willingness to serve despite her transgression. She wanted to look up at Mistress, remind herself of her beauty, but the combination of shame and exhaustion kept her head down. She heard Mistress moving round the room, replacing the rope and the straps to their places on the wall, pulling the cushion away to one of the alcoves in the wall. Finally, Mistress returned to stand in front of her.

'Good. At least you remember the position to wait for me in. Do you remember my command to you before we came into this cellar?'

'Yes, Mistress.' How could she have forgotten? Her body burned with her shame at breaking it.

'And what was that command?'

'That I should not take any release when in this room, Mistress.'

'Yes. And what did you do?'

'I disobeyed your command, Mistress.'

'Yes you did, my slave. And now, you will be punished for disobeying me. Do you have anything to say in your defence before I punish you?'

'No, Mistress.' Jen knew there was nothing that could justify her failure to obey Mistress. The demands of pleasure had been great, but she knew she could have resisted them, controlled herself better, done what Mistress expected of her.

'Good. Before I commence your punishment, you can choose not to take it. If you request it of me, I will remove your collar and your other clothing and return your freedom to you. You will then be free to leave my presence and my service, but you will never be allowed to come back. Do you understand? Do you wish me to free you?'

'I understand, Mistress.' Jen knew that the choice she was being offered was not one really, not to her. From the moment she had first followed Mistress' commands on the train, she had totally surrendered herself to her. Even then, she had known deep down that only Mistress, not herself, could free her. 'I wish to take my punishment as you command.'

'Good. Stand up.' Jen obeyed as quickly as she could, her legs still shaky as she rose, still looking down at the ground. 'Look at me.' Carefully, Jen raised her head, seeing Mistress' face, not as she had imagined it, but completely impassive, almost looking through her. 'Now, walk over to that far wall and stand facing it.'

Jen walked slowly, still becoming accustomed to moving her body again, her body still recovering from its earlier experiences. For a moment, she thought she would fall as she walked, but just managed to keep her balance, finally reaching the wall. She stood as close as she could while still standing straight, her toes touching it, her face close to the cool stone. She tried to keep herself as calm as she could while she waited, unsure if this was the punishment in itself, or if more was to come.

Behind her, she could hear Mistress moving again, the click of her heels moving towards one of the walls, then a sound of clinking metal, then the heels coming towards her again, now accompanied by the sound of metal. Jen braced herself as Mistress approached, hearing her close in behind her.

This time, there was no warning of her bondage, but Jen didn't resist. Mistress grabbed her left leg, pulling it out from her, then swiftly bound it to a ring in the wall with a chain she had carried over from the wall, repeating the process with her other leg and her arms, leaving Jen's body in a loose 'X' against the wall, still standing on the soles of her feet, but with little room to move, every slight twitch of her arms and legs accompanied by the soft scrape of the metal chains that held her there. Then, Mistress' hand were on her head, tilting it back, something moving in front of her face. For a moment, Jen thought it was the blindfold again, but this moved down past her eyes, a rubber strap forcing itself against her lips, her mouth opening to take it in, then tied tightly behind her head, gagging her.

'Bite on it. It will help you survive the pain.' Mistress' voice was cold, but Jen gripped the invader between her teeth, trying to calm herself, wondering what the pain would be as Mistress stepped back from her.

She felt something being drawn across her rear, a slim wooden cylinder with an uneven texture. A cane, she realised, putting the shape and feel together in her mind. She closed her eyes and bit down hard, pushing herself against the wall as if to get away from it, something in just its feel upon her skin communicating dread, an anticipation of the pain it could inflict. Mistress ran it over her skin, using it to trace the curve of her soft buttocks, letting Jen feel its entire length as it coasted slowly over her, letting her become aware of every curve and bump in the cane's surface, feeling it bend as Mistress pushed it against her, touching the hard point of the end against her skin. Mistress pulled it away from her slowly, the sense of it remaining against Jen's flesh. Her body shivering slightly as beads of sweat ran down her back

Then, a sudden swish followed by sudden intense pain across the soft mounds of her rear as it stung into her, a high-pitched slap as it connected with her skin. She tried to cry out, but her noise was stifled by the gag as she felt the red stripe of pain across her, marking her. She could feel it in slow motion in her mind, her skin sinking beneath it, swelling and stinging in response as the pain bit. Before, she'd been able to endure the pain, translate the strain of her muscles into sensation, their slow ache matching her body's desire for pleasure, but this was too much, too harsh, too sudden, too sharp to feel as anything but pain.

Another stroke came, and another, each landing just below the one before it, making the stripe grow, the pain intensify. Jen counted the blows in her head as they landed, a fourth, fifth and sixth, coming quickly, thick tears forming in her closed eyes, biting deep into the rubber gag, each blow doubling the pain she felt, making it sharper, like a razor in her mind. Seven, eight, nine came, and now her entire rear was glowing with pain, the harsh sting massive cutting deep in her mind, as dominant in her senses as pleasure had been so recently. Ten, hitting on the bottom of the curve, pulling on the chains, the pain reminding her of her shame at failing Mistress. As her body had filled with joy and desire earlier, now it filled with the mixture of pain and shame, engulfing her, swallowing her.

Then, a pause. Had it ended? She knew that this was real pain, far beyond anything else she had endured, sharp against her skin, lingering and spreading, her cries of anguish lost in the gag. Then one more, well below the last one, landing in the middle of her thighs, somehow feeling worse than all the others, two separate sensations, one on each leg, her knees buckling, the chains on her arms tugging harshly at her as she sank. She could feel herself sobbing, tears flowing down her face, gulps of air sucked past the gag into her heaving chest. She remembered what Mistress had said earlier, that one word could end this, even spoken through the restriction of the gag, but she couldn't even bring herself to think of it, let alone say it. She knew she deserved this pain, this humiliation by and before Mistress, reminding her of her failing. Even as it tossed in the maelstrom of agony, her mind accepted that this was what Mistress desired of her, that by enduring it she could show she was still worthy of Mistress.

She was pressed into the wall, trying to brace herself for another stroke, waiting for the slow eternities to pass before it came, but then Mistress was close by her again, her hands on her head, untying the gag and pulling it away. Jen gasped for breath between sobs, wanting to compose herself for Mistress. She felt Mistress brushing against her as she sobbed, rubbing lightly against her as she moved, her presence easing the pain, reminding Jen she was still part of her. Carefully, her fingers stroked through Jen's hair as she leaned into her, her voice soft again as she whispered in her ear.

'Well done, my dear. You endured that part of your punishment well. Now, I must leave you here to reflect on the lesson you have learned, but I shall return for you when I judge you have endured sufficient time here.' With that, she turned and walked away, the click of her heels quick on the floor as she went. Jen heard the door swing open, then was plunged into blackness as Mistress extinguished the lights in the cellar before closing the door and leaving Jen behind.

Still sobbing, but feeling herself recover after hearing the love in Mistress' voice again, Jen leant against the wall, hearing her chains scrape against the wall. She could still feel the pain burning across her thighs and rear, knowing that a bright scarlet stripe was there, a physical representation of the shame she felt within her. In the darkness, she felt alone, acutely aware of the absence of Mistress, more than ever before, but she could feel a hope burning within her, keeping her strong. Mistress would return for her and maybe then she would take her into her bed. Jen had survived her punishment and now she could wait in hope for whatever came next.