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Act VII
Steven was forced forward out of the elevator and felt cool tile under his feet as he walked along with his guards. He wondered how high up they had gone. It seemed warmer and less damp here. Was he above ground again? If they were above ground, he might be able to see out a window to find out where he had been taken. His mind was a storm of thoughts until the guards abruptly pulled him to a stop. He heard the sound of a buzzer and The Lady's voice as if coming through a speaker, “Bring him in.” His mind slammed to a halt and his blood ran like ice in his veins.
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When the door opened, The Lady wordlessly motioned the guards to take the slave into her sitting room. She followed behind, watching the boy's weary steps. His night had not been nearly as restful as her own had been, and a smile curled the corners of her lips at the thought of him twisting and turning in the night, trying to get comfortable, to escape the pain she had inflicted, to escape the nightmare of his new life.
As they entered the sitting room, she circled around the three men and took a seat in a comfortable, overstuffed leather chair. She then motioned to the guards and watched as they forced the slave to his knees in front of her and left by the same means they had entered.
When she heard the soft click of the door closing behind them, she began to speak. “So, boy, did you sleep well? You look as though you are unsatisfied with my hospitality.” She waited for his answer, delighting in the frustration fighting to burst from his bound body.
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Steven listened to her through the hood. Her voice was silk today, seductive and inviting. But he knew better than to trust it. She was just waiting for some excuse to torture him in some new, fiendish way. But still, he wanted so badly to scream at her. To tell her what a bitch she really was. To reach out and strike her, although he had never struck a woman in his life.
There was a rush of air past his side, and he realized she had moved while he was lost in his own thoughts. Now he had lost track of her, and that terrified him. She could do anything now and he would have no warning at all. Suddenly, he felt her pulling at the hood that she had pulled over his head the night before. With one rough yank, it was removed and he felt cool air against his face and in his wet hair.
“Better.” Her heard her whisper in his ear. It wasn't a question. It said that she knew exactly how unbearable the thing was. But then, that was obviously the reason she used it.
He felt her hands on the back of his head next, and suddenly remembered the duct tape wrapping around his head. He gritted his teeth, waiting for her to rip the sticky material from his hair, but was surprised when she carefully peeled the tape away, slowly untangling his hair, causing a minimum of pain. She surprised him further by doing the same with his face, carefully removing the tape to avoid hurting him further.
“Thank you,” he found himself whispering hoarsely once he had managed to push the damp wad of cloth from his mouth. Was this even the same woman from the night before? Or was this some trick? Something to lull him into complacency?
Then, he felt her hands working at the knot behind his head, and his heart began to pound in his chest. She was going to remove the blindfold. Maybe he would be able to see out, as he had fantasized on his way here. But … first … he would have to see her and that thought was terrifying.
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The Lady smiled when he thanked her for removing the gag. She was certain he would not be thankful for very long. Because today he would find out what was to become of the rest of his life. And they were never thankful for very long when that happened.
Her fingers tugged at the knot securing the blindfold to no avail. Between the kidnapper's enthusiasm and the boy's struggling, it had become knotted so tightly that trying to untie it was useless. Giving up on this, she chose instead to yank the blindfold upward over the boy's head, leaving him blinking in the sudden brightness of the room.
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Steven found himself squinting his eyes in the sudden brightness of the room. For a long moment, everything around him was a white blur. Then, slowly, shapes began to come into focus. He realized that he was kneeling in a small sitting area. There were leather couches on either side of him and a large leather chair directly in front of him. And, he realized The Lady was standing directly in front of the chair.
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