2 comments/ 9441 views/ 1 favorites Check Mates: Story 03 By: Lucien_Grey The intoxicating scent of sweat was enhanced by the hot blood pulsing close beneath the thin, beaten surface of flesh, rising under the lashing whip. I paused to admire my work. Mariette was a wonder. Her body still thrashed against the restraints anticipating another strike. I'd have loosened the bonds, tying her hands and feet to the cross beam, had I been working over a slave. Mariette was a special case, my little project. The leather biting into the delicate skin of her joints only added to her mounted pain, ergo her mounted satisfaction. That is what she craved, what she needed. Her naked body was marked with years of shelf imposed-physical abuse. A lover of pain, Mariette had been assigned to me by a personal friend sharing my fascination with giving pain to those who sought it. This friend had tried, but failed to satisfy Mariette as Mariette had no desire to be governed over. She was not a slave to pleasure or to any Master. Mariette would never love me as my slaves did, I knew it from the first, but her penchant for pain intrigued me. I wanted to teach her that extreme agony could be achieved without extreme torture or lasting damage, that I could fulfil her needs without even breaking her skin unless the occasion called for it. She would be safe and cared for. Sessions with Mariette were an education for us both. She crossed barriers that took some slaves months to even approach without looking on in fear. Her pain threshold was astounding and her hunger for it insatiable. Neither man nor woman inspired lust or desire in her. Whips, canes, blades and fire were all she desired. For this session she wore a blindfold as it heightened her sensitivity, making it easier for her to separate her mind and body and concentrate on the rhythm of the whip. Selfishly I wanted to remove the tear and sweat stained fabric from her eyes, forcing her to look upon her tormentor, witness that it was I who stimulated her like no one else could, hoping she would become as devoted to me as my slaves. To Mariette I was merely a tool to her pain like the whip in my hand. Standing in my undergarments I paused to take a breath, admiring the body I longed to possess. Masses of black ringlets clung to Mariette's sweat slicked skin. The red, wet lips that I only kissed in greeting had swelled from her biting into them against her screams. Her high breasts tipped with their dark nipples, and her heaving stomach were all marked from far more than the lashes I had inflicted, with matching scars on her thighs and calves. The bonds on her wrists hid her juvenile, self-inflicted scars. I reached out to feel the hot, heaving flesh under my fingers, but remembered myself and instead let the whip fall heavily on the welts already erupting on her thighs. "Enough for today. You did well." "No. Please. More." Mariette managed, "I can handle it." "I know you can beautiful, but enough. I need you in the right state of mind for Mistress Merrick's visit." I proceeded to loosen her straps and helped her to her feet. I half dragged her to the once boiling, now cooler water filling the copper bathtub in front of the lit fireplace. A handler appeared as if from nowhere and assisted me in lifting her. She barely winced as the water splashed against her blood heated skin. The handler handled her carefully but efficiently. Mariette detested the feeling of another's skin against hers unless it was violent. She was not ashamed or disturbed by another seeing her naked body. Nothing more but an instrument to her pain as I was. "Leave us." I instructed. With a bow the handler disappeared as he had come. "Must I attend?" Mariette asked of the impending visit, already recovering with nothing more but a tremble in her voice and her heavy limbs limp in the water. "Not if you do not wish, but we have already discussed this. Besides you will not be serving, you shall be my equal." "Not trying to convert me then?" I turned and smiled at her, "Never. You are perfect as you are beautiful. Why would I want to change you?" Mariette didn't respond. She had only recently started accepting compliments from me, before they would have sent her into a rage. Surely she knew she was beautiful. I stripped off my own sweat soiled garments. The warm air was wonderfully refreshing on my skin. I sat myself at the head of the bath. Placing my hand on the back of Mariette's neck, she lifted her head and I threaded my fingers through her wet hair. Even heavy with water her hair held its natural waves. I combed through the tangles. To Mariette this intimate contact was clinical, something that needed doing. Mariette closed her eyes. "I will attend." * Mistress Merrick was announced and led to us by a handler serving as the footman. Her regal elegance was overwhelming. Had I not felt the safety of being within my own house, with Mariette stood reassuringly beside me wearing an elegant pale blue gown worth as much as the golden dress I wore, I'd have felt the urge to cower at Merrick's great beauty. She wore a dress of mostly olive green silk, with billowing gold and black lace sleeves from her elbows and matching petticoat. Her wild curled hair had been pinned up in elegant, complex knots, with loose curls shaping her pretty face. Behind Merrick stood her slave of almost equal beauty, Georgiana, dressed as a male servant. Her eyes were lowered and she seemed to perforate sensual obedience in her every action. She wore the same green as Merrick. Her costume was accurate in every detail but one, her breasts were free from any bondage and her nipples evident through the cotton shirt and silk waist coat. Her long, dark hair was tied back in a simple ribbon resting against the nape of her slender neck. The high shirt collar and cravat no doubt hid the silver collar that showed her rank, name and owner. "Good evening, Mistress Merrick. I trust your journey was pleasant." I said with a small curtsy to which Merrick reciprocated and her slave followed her example with a bow. "It is good to see you Lady Blackmore," Merrick turned her approving gaze to Mariette, "and your charming companion." "Yours also. Is that one of Lady Leopold's designs?" I gestured to Georgiana's costume. "Yes. She does love to play dress-up and offered it to me as a gift. I must say it does allow me to travel more conveniently with my slaves. Allow me to introduce Georgiana. She will be assisting in the entertainment tomorrow evening." Georgiana bowed again, "I see your pet does not wear a collar. Is she new to your household?" "No. She is my guest, an equal. This is Mariette L'Eveslon." Merrick covered her questioning look with a smile and curtsied again. "We're pleased to make your acquaintance, your Majesty." Mariette tensed at my side, fear radiating from her. No one had ever guessed her true heritage: the third princess to a small, almost unknown kingdom whose name she had not even enlightened me to. For my own safety she had said. I knew that she had left of her own accord, the reason as to why was obvious, but beyond that, nothing. I set my jaw, furious that Merrick may possess more information on Mariette's past than I. "I trust that this knowledge will not leave these halls, Mistress Merrick." "Of course my Lady," Merrick said with a small smile and bowed her head toward Mariette once more. With the social pleasantries complete and mine and Mariette's cores rattled, I gestured to a door. "Please follow me. I have asked for our tea to be served in here, along with a little entertainment." Entering the darkened room, I clapped once and unseen servants lit the candelabras along the walls. The gold patterned walls and polished-until-it-shone marble floor of my ball room was revealed to my guests, but their focus was securely fixed on the room's centre, as it should be. Their expressions were exactly what I had hoped. Georgiana looked up at her Mistress' sharp intake of breath. Her hand jumped to her mouth before she resumed her submissive stance. Merrick's eyes were scanning the room with wonder and the dark, competitive monster inside me danced with delight. Indeed the sight that greeted their eyes was glorious. The bronze and onyx, checked, marble dance floor was perfect. Sixty-four tiles were segregated by a thick, gold braided rope along the floor. Standing inside two parallel sides of the separated square were two rows of men and women, half painted gold and the other silver. Naked, apart from the black props that represented the position they held. Crowned kings and queens, holding sceptres down to kneeling pawns with shields strapped to their backs. A living chess board. Four handlers stood at each corner holding three foot long poles with thick leather straps attached to the end. "I trust that this meets with your approval Mistress Merrick." "Very much so," Her voice was calm, but her bosom heaved against her caging corset. Georgiana told a similar tale. Merrick's favourite she may be, trained to live on the whim of her Mistress, but her subtle body movements gave away her awe and arousal. The wetting of her lips, the tight grip of her fist and the flexing of her buttocks in her tight breeches. I drank them in as though parched of their approval. "Please join me," I motioned to the large games table with an ordinary chess board set upon it. On smaller tables set next to two opposing chairs sat delicate tea services. As the guest, Merrick sat behind the white side of the board. The silver slaves were hers to command. Georgiana took her place behind her Mistress. I assumed my position behind the black, beside the gold. Mariette sat beside me, not kneeling or standing in a slave or servant's role. Neither of my guests objected. Merrick poured her own tea as though unfazed, waving away Georgiana's assistance. I followed her lead. "My Lady, I cannot tell you how honoured I am that you arranged such a beautiful sceptical for my visit." "You are too kind, but may I ask, what is the purpose of your visit?" Merrick smiled charmingly, "As you may already know, I am holding a ball tomorrow evening for the members of our social circle and their pets in celebration of my slave reaching silver collar status. However, I was most distraught to receive word that you shall not be attending." "It is regretful. Unfortunately, I have other duties to perform that cannot be left to the handles and trainers." Mariette shifted beside me. "I thought as much. You are very dedicated when you find something to your liking." Merrick's eyes flicked over to Mariette then back. "Is there nothing I can do to persuade you? Your attendance is always educational." That's how she saw me, as a puzzle she could not quite solve, as though through study she could better understand my methods. I knew how the Masters and Mistress' viewed my work, my training: cruel and unnecessary, but they failed to see that some slaves needed and craved such debauched humiliation, craved subjugation to survive, as vital to them as the air they breathed. If Merrick was the queen of variety and performance, I was the liberator of the supressed, supressed by the vulgarities of extreme pain through misuse and disease, inflicted by uneducated minds. This was the reason Mariette held my attention with more than her beauty, no matter what I tried and tested she found no sexual thrill in the pain she received, but she still craved it and I longed to feed her addiction. "Let's begin." I gestured to the board and waited for Merrick to make her first move. She surveyed the human before the ivory pieces and selected. The first silver pawn mirrored its counterpart as a handler slapped the skin of his bare behind twice with the leather strap, eliciting a lovely snap of leather against flesh, indicating he move two squares toward. Merrick may have chosen for beauty rather than strategy as she observed the male slave crawl gracefully into place. His bones and muscles flexed with feline elegance. Males' bodies were trained to be ready to perform sexually for their owner at all times and my boys didn't disappoint. His engorged, painted cock and testicles swayed between his thickly muscled legs. I followed suit and an equally bewitching, golden female beauty mirrored Merrick's first move. Her large breasts shone with painted gold, her nipples glistening like jewels. Merrick played well, but I was the first to take one of her shining pieces. My golden female knight, wearing black, leather greaves and armbands, a helmet of Ancient Greek design and a scabbard belted around her waist holding a sword, was struck twice on her back my the handler and then the third hit on her left buttock, indicating which way she should turn. She strode with grace toward Merrick's cowering sacrificial pawn. With a fierce growl she lunged into a show of murderous rage and seemed to impale the kneeling girl on her sword. The silver pawn fell in a convincing act of silent death and rolled as the gold knight kicked her off the board. Her naked, prone body sprawled on the marble floor. Merrick had watched the play with awe and Georgiana hands trembled. She took a moment to recover and return her gaze to the floor. "Is your girl welcome to watch, Merrick? Should she not be punished for showing such obvious displays of desire without her Mistress' instruction?" Merrick's eyes flicked back to mine. She seemed to consider my challenge and made a small hand gesture. Georgiana moved and kneeled before her Mistress, knees apart, hands clasped behind her back and her head down. Merrick slapped the girl's face before she had settled. Leaning down, Merrick whispered a command. I felt Merrick's hot breath as though I were Georgiana and a shiver chilled my spine making me squirm in my seat. Georgiana rose and came to me. She bowed low, kneeled before me and kissed my slipper meekly with her soft lips, "Forgive me my Lady. I did not mean to make eyes at your collection. If it pleases you I humbly ask that I be allowed to observe to further my education as I am lowly when valued against such beauty and grace shown by your slaves." I stroked her reddened cheek and addressed Merrick, "She speaks well. I shall forgive you my girl. You may watch from your Mistress' heel as is your place." Georgiana bowed, "Thank you my Lady," she kissed my slipper once more and returned without turning her back to me. She knelt as instructed. Merrick stroked her hair and smiled with pride. The game continued resulting in Merrick losing three players and me only one. Merrick finally spoke, "Do you wish to make this little game more interesting my Lady?" It stunk when she belittled this awe inspiring performance to a 'little game', but I resumed command and took another silver piece from Merrick's arsenal, a male rook fell from the board as my queen ran him through with her septa. "How so Mistress Merrick?" I said taking a sip of my cooling tea. "I propose a wager. If you lose the game you will have to attend the ball tomorrow evening and participate in the entertainment." "Is that all?" "Also, my girl gets to play with the piece that loses you the game. I can practically feel her hunger for your beauties and I must admit I would love to see your pets more animated. Should you win ...?" She trailed off and gestured for me to offer my desired prize. I thought for a moment, matching her stare. What would she be most unwilling to give? "If I win I get a night and a day with you, Mistress Merrick." She didn't flinch, merely smiled. She would never agree to such terms. The game was set in my favour, her troops were dwindling and lying around the board, even Georgiana looked on in concern for her Mistress. "Agreed." Georgiana's face crumbled. Her distraught expression as charming as her stoic submission. Sensing her distress, Merrick looked down and shared a quiet moment with her slave. She looked desperately into Merrick's eyes and sought comfort in her Mistress' confident smile. I saw a love and trust pass between them that I would never share with Mariette. Mariette leaned in close to pour herself some tea and whispered. "Is this wise, my Lady." "What do you mean?" I asked not taking my eyes from my conversing visitors, exchanging serious words I could not hear. Merrick soothed Georgiana's fears and traced her pet's lower lip with her thumb. "This Merrick can play the game as well as you, but forgive me, she is playing your mind and desire as affectively as the board." I turned to Mariette, my face hardened which would have made any slave of mine quiver and wet their desire. She merely matched my stare and I thought clearly. Mariette knew how to handle mind games, having played them most of her life, goading men and women to love or hate her, then acting indifferent to invoke their violence upon her. "What would you have me do?" "Keep your wits or you will be ensnared in her trap." She whispered against my ear warming my face, "Offering herself as bait makes you lose focus. She knows you desire her, but she is as domineering and strong as you and will not come to you easily." Mariette sat back and I returned my gaze to Merrick. She and Georgiana were looking over the remaining golden pieces. An open smile illuminated Georgiana's face making her more beautiful. Perhaps it would have been worth attending Merrick's ball just to see how she would serve as entertainment. She turned and whispered to her Mistress. Merrick's eyes flickered over to my remaining female knight. Her gold painted hair was tied in a complex braid that fell to just above her tight, perfectly round buttocks. Her stomach muscles were more prominent than most my girls, built for more athletic play and a wonder to watch when she tormented my boys. She possessed large, high breasts that were a pity to cover with a corset. She stood proud like a Greek goddess. Her name was Lucia. Was Merrick so confident that she was planning her strategy around Georgiana's desired mate? Her calm amazed and scared me. She truly was a worthy rival. Georgiana remained kneeling at her Mistress' feet and I saw a glint of silver around her neck where her cravat had loosened. Her beauty alone was worthy of silver collar status. Part of me considered loosing just to see her play with my girl, but a subtle cough from Mariette bought back my rational mind. I had approved Merrick's visit to prove I was worth her notice, to show that I was different from all those flocking to her home merely because it was she who requested it. I did not seek her approval or advice. I was a Mistress of my own world, my own wills, my own slaves. I lead a life keeping to my own rules, not those drawn up by people too scared to create their own. I was wise enough to stand apart from the sheep that followed the whims and fashions of others in the world of domination and submission. I drew in a silent breath and the game continued. It went well, Merrick lost two pieces to my one and I had her in check with the knight that Georgiana had her eye on. Merrick seemed to play with no strategy in mind, acting calm and merely smiling at the performance of her silver pieces at they fell or triumphed. Georgiana's squirming concern kept my heart fluttering excitedly as I placed Merrick once again in check. She escaped again and caught my king in check with a pawn I had not seen. A golden rook took the silver pawn and sprawled him alongside his fallen brethren. "Check." Merrick announced as she moved her remaining bishop into place. My king moved to safety at my command, the handlers struggling to keep up. My fingers released the black grown and I saw my mistake too late. I thought to keep him safe two squares behind my knight, but Merrick's queen took her with fatal malevolence. At the edge of the board the gold king could not retreat, to the left her bishop or queen would take him and to the right her last pawn. Check Mates: Story 03 "Check Mate." My heart stopped. Merrick smiled and Georgiana squirmed with the hunger of a mating bitch. I held myself together as the defeat began to feast on my insides. "Well done Mistress Merrick," the forced calm voice almost wavered, "You played the game well. As agreed your girl may have the piece you last took." I snapped my fingers and Lucia rose. Her sword and helmet remained on the floor from where she had fallen. She moved to the centre of the board whilst the other silver and gold pieces came back to life and resumed their prior positions on the board, becoming statues once more. Lucia fell to her knees and held her hands together at the base of her spine. Georgiana knelt before her Mistress and Merrick slowly removed the cravat encasing her sliver collar. Her name and the name of her owner was engraved in fine looping script around the suede lined band and between the words were shallow holes for varies bolts and chains to be screwed into. Merrick whispered to her something I could not hear, but I watched the words shape her mouth, "Have fun, my love. Make her scream." Georgiana kissed the back of Merrick's hand like the gentleman she was dressed up to be and approached the giant chess board with grace. She stole glances at the other players she passed, her hand flexed and though to touch them. "Your Mistress won you one prize. You will not lay a hand on the others." Georgiana flinched at the harsh words betraying my anger. She refocused her attentions on Lucia. She stroked the back of her fingers over Lucia's cheek, checking that her touch would not mar the gold paint. Once satisfied she clutched the root of Lucia's braid and pushed the kneeling knight's face against the empty crotch of her breeches. Lucia managed to maintain her balance and opened her mouth, licking and sucking with zeal. She breathed in deep through her nose and closed her eyes. Georgiana pulled her closer and Lucia grunted around the mass of cloth blocking her mouth and nose. Pulling her braid high, Georgiana forced the knight's mouth down further between her legs. Lucia lapped hungrily and groaned contently and Georgiana rolled her head back, her mouth open and her breath shallow. I suspected it was more for show then genuine pleasure. It made Merrick smile. With a sharp yank of the thick braid, Georgiana forced Lucia away from her crotch, eliciting a hiss of pain from the knight. Still holding the braid, Georgiana forced Lucia to sit up off her heels. With her free hand and a hunger filled gaze, Georgiana reached for Lucia's left breast. She weighed and struggled to squeeze it with one hand so took hold of the large pointed nipple between the web of her index and middle finger and closed them, pinching the sensitive nub and pushing the breast high as she rolled it against Lucia's chest. Lucia wet her lips and let out a shuddering breath. She held Georgiana's gaze for a moment. Freeing the breast, Georgiana pushed against Lucia's chest. Lucia fell but caught herself before she hit the floor. She laid submissively, arms out at her sides, her legs slightly apart. With the heel of her high heeled, black, buckled shoe, Georgiana pressed its soft leather into the painted curls of Lucia's pubis. Lucia rocked her pelvis to meet and rub her clit against the firm sole. Her feet came off the floor and squeezed her thighs around the invading appendage. Georgiana pressed down on her harder until Lucia's desperate movements were forcibly stopped. Georgiana removed her foot and watched Lucia's heaving chest making her large breasts dance. She walked to Lucia's head and freeing her foot from its masculine casing, revealed her dainty, pointed toes in the white stockings and pressed it to Lucia's lips. Lucia obligingly took the tip of the stocking between her teeth. Georgiana pulled her foot high with the grace of a ballerina and let the delicate silk slide off, revealing her pale, shorn smooth lower leg. She allowed Lucia to lap at her toes, sole and heel with as much passion as she had when she tasted the crotch of Georgiana's breeches. Georgiana blushed and squirmed as Lucia's tongue tickled her. She repeated the little ritual with other her foot. Georgiana lowered herself. She took the two stockings from Lucia's mouth and moved quickly, sitting on the knight's face. Lucia licked and sucked once more, struggling to breathe. With ease Georgiana soon had Lucia's ankles tied to their corresponding wrist using the long stockings as bonds. Lucia remained unmoving, unable. Georgiana sat up and took hold of Lucia's legs, spread them wide and pulled the stockings taught so they remained so, giving Merrick and I a perfect view of the dark pink inside her golden lips. The muscles in Lucia's legs and arms flexed and pulsed against laced greaves and arm bands and the open lips between her legs already glistened with her fluids, making the gold paint sparkle. Though naturally submissive, Georgiana proved her ability in dominating Lucia, no wonder she had reached the highest rank of slavery. No doubt this was a game she and Merrick had already played. I saw it in my mind, the masterful Merrick binding her favourite and exposing her to a hungry audience of slaves. It took every ounce of my dwindling will power not to enter the new game on the board and take control of both beauties and have them lick my slippers as I beat them for the mockery they performed of my defeat. Georgiana sat back, straddling the knight's face. Slowly and with deliberate care, she began to loosen the lace on the billowing sleeves of her shirt and then the one at on her chest. Merrick looked on with pride as Georgiana seductively slid the smooth lace off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. The perfect exposed flesh displayed signs of previous games the couple had shared, reddened welts and purpling bite marks, a signature from her owner. Next she made slow work of opening the many buttons of her breeches, reaching inside and stroking herself above Lucia's open mouth, ensuring we saw it all. Georgiana continued until both their breathing became shallow and their bodies squirmed for more. Leaning back, Georgiana peeled away her breeches, lifting and freeing one leg then the other. She wore no undergarments and sat naked on Lucia's face, her collar shining in the candlelight. Unbeknownst to Georgiana or Merrick, Lucia possessed the skilful tongue of a demon and even as Georgiana tried to smoother her, Lucia performed her little tricks. Within moments Georgiana was writhing and riding Lucia's tongue as well as she would any cock. Merrick's face lit up as her slave screamed in unexpected pleasure, almost falling heavily onto Lucia. I heard Lucia's struggling, laboured breaths but she continued to tease and torment and fuck Georgiana with her tongue, lips and teeth. Losing her control, Georgiana's legs trembled and she gave Lucia easier access to her insides. "What a wonderful treat for your girl, Mistress Merrick?" I said with unhidden glee penetrating my former anger and defeat. "Yours also my Lady," I raised a questioning eyebrow. "Georgiana possesses the most delicious flavour in all the slaves I have ever tasted. I have seen men and women go mad wanting just one more sample of her." She wet her lips, her eyes returning to the show. Lucia's dazed, greedy, blushed expression showed the truth of Mistress Merrick's words. She seemed lost, bent on only feasting on Georgiana's dripping cunt, drunk on it, fighting against her restraints. Georgiana was crying out now, all inhibitions forgotten as she fell forward on hands and knees, rolling her pelvis over Lucia's hungry invading tongue. Not to be defeated, Georgiana's hand whipped fast through the air to land a decisive slap on Lucia's twitching opening. Lucia grunted through her full mouth. Another and another slap fell, hard and fast and torturously accurate. A beautiful wet, fleshly sound echoed through the ball room, with Lucia's muffled protests following them. Thoroughly beaten and reddened, Lucia's engorged clit convulsed joyfully for the next hit. Instead Georgiana plucked, pulled and twisted the tortured nub. The two girls seemed at war with each other, their desires, forgetting their roles, battling to get what they sought. Georgiana crushed Lucia's face against her wet cunt. The golden knight in turn delved as deep as her tongue would allow, lapping greedily. Georgiana's body locked rigid and a prolonged moaning scream echoed throughout my great hall. She trembled as her orgasm rippled through her. A great fountain of her fluids rained down into and around Lucia's open mouth. Georgiana's body jerked and convulsed with the effort of her orgasm's rippling aftershocks. She collapsed over Lucia who continued to lick at the wet mess greedily, lapping up the excess fluids. Glistening sweat blanketed Georgiana's heaving skin. Georgiana hadn't the strength to roll from Lucia and in fear of her asphyxiation I snapped my fingers and a male handler came to her rescue, lifting Georgiana and cradling her limp form, removing her from the board. "I am sure you find this result sufficient." I said to Merrick as her pet was held before her. She stroked the fallen strands of hair away from Georgiana's face. "Oh yes, most satisfying." She said with a smile illuminating her beautiful face, "I dare say Georgiana would also agree had she the means. I would love for you to bring that beauty to the ball if you wish it. No doubt the Lords and Ladies would love to sample her techniques." How quickly she managed to bring the subject back to my defeat and her prize: my attendance to her damned ball. "I shall consider it. After today she will surly need release." I nodded to another handler who approached the restrained knight and released her, checked her circulation before whipping at her weeping entrance. She quickly roused with three lashes of the strap and made an unsteady line back to her vacant queen side position on the board. She resumed her former stance, forcing her breathing into regularity and her shaking limbs to be still. "Forgive me, my lady that I must take my leave of you. I would like mine to be the first face Georgiana sees when she wakes." Merrick bowed her head. "The blue room is prepared. If you require anything my servants shall see to it." I bowed also, as did Mariette by my side. * I retired to my chambers, passing handlers with slaves as I went. I slapped one naked girl who dared to look me in the face. She whimpered as I ordered her to serve with the kitchen staff for a month. They could use her as they liked. When they allowed it, she would sleep like a dog on the ground, feed from the floor and be tormented and fucked and made to work whenever and however they chose. Her handler led her away. She wept silently for displeasing me. I sighed heavily, elated after giving commands, raising my ego which Merrick had so easily toppled. I closed my eyes but all I saw was Merrick's charming, wicked smile mocking me. I was a fool to fall into her trap, even after Mariette had warned me, arrogantly thinking that I could have Merrick at my feet once she lost, worshipping me as I beat her violated behind with all the tools and toys at my disposal. Another claw of pain cut and burrowed into my gut and heart as I thought of Mariette's ignored advice. Gut churning frustration spread through the marrow of my bones. I thought to call slaves to me, as many as I could manage, but I doubt fucking or tormenting them senseless would relieve my need for the two unattainable women in my life. I tore at my dress. I ripped at the fine cloth of my skirts and pulled them off without finishing unlacing of far too many hidden ribbons. "Stay your hands Angelique." Standing in the open doorway was the only person in this house permitted to address me so informally. "What brings you to my room your Majesty?" My tone was sharp and I all but spit the title at her, but her face like always reminded stoic. I turned from her silent beauty in my outrage, but heard her approach slowly. Pulling at my costume again, I froze when I felt Mariette's hands reach around my waist to stop me from tucking at my uncooperative clothing. She started undressing me calmly as I grew more disturbed and hopeful at her careful ministrations. Layers of cloth fell to the floor. With firm hands she lowered my petticoat to the ground. She took hold of my hand and extended out my arm to remove my lace cuff. Next she started unlacing my bodice then my corset. She peeled it away leaving me naked. Her face remained blank as she moved to collect the fallen clothes. "What are you doing?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips making show of my nudity. "Saving you from ruining a beautiful gown." She answered resting the gown into a chair as though an invisible wearer sat in it. She returned to me looking me straight in the eye. I saw a phantom pity in hers, the ghost of pride in knowing that she had predicted and forewarned me of my Merrick's attack and I walked into it willingly. The anger burnt from my heart and through my veins, bubbling to the surface of my emotions, stirring with the hurt of not receiving a single drop of affection from Mariette. I struck out. I slapped Mariette so hard across the face that she spun to the floor, her skirts billowing around her. My breath came out shallow and uneven as my chest heaved, but Mariette's expression remained as unfeeling as ever. "Do not dare pity me, girl. Is this why you do this, strip my clothes as easily as Merrick stripped my dignity." I stood over her raving, "What, started feeling pity for your poor Mistress now you know how weak she is?" Mariette stroked her hot cheek, "You are not my Mistress." She said evenly, gathering up her skirts to stand. I lost myself. With a bone breaking grip I took hold of her scarred wrist and pulled her sharply up and forced her to my bed. I pushed her down. She fought me, but I easily took hold of her wrists, straddling naked over her waist and held her into the sheets. I trapped her wrists in one hand, crushing them together, my fingernails sinking into her skin, but still she fought me. I slapped her again and again until she finally stilled. Her beaten lips had swelled and her baited breath heated my face. I kissed her brutally, tasting the mouth I had always longed for. Daring to venture further, seeking her tongue with my own, my foolish bravery was rewarded with Mariette biting down on my invading tongue. I pulled back and struck her again. Her lower lip split. Blood flowed. I licked her lips and pushed my bleeding, throbbing tongue back into her mouth. Our blood married together sending a violent thrill through my body. I would possess her body and blood if I could not have her heart. I tore at her creased gown and petticoat, forcing it up and over her waist. I ripped away her undergarments with my fingernails, scratching the scarred skin on her thighs as I went. My greedy hand sought out her slit, tearing the shredded fabric away and stopping when my fingers felt her soft nest of hair. She was so soft in my arms and I loved her completely, but her body didn't yield to me. The usual wet heat I found in all my girls, their desire for me more than evident before I even touched them, was not there. "Are you satisfied yet, my Lady?" My anger spiked again at her unaffected voice and I wanted nothing more than to push against the barriers of her virginal opening and claim her as mine. If I were to sell Mariette at a slave auction she would fetch the highest price, sexual purity was rare in our world. Instead I collapsed on top of her, burying my face in her cleavage. "I'm sorry." I mumbled through a mouthful of silk covered breast. We lay there for a long time and I indulged in this intimacy as long as Mariette would allow. She stroked her fingers through my hair and I wanted to cry, knowing what this small intimacy meant to her. "Angelique, I do love you in my own way." A sharp breath caught in my throat and I looked down into her eyes, finding no lies within their rich brown. "If it hadn't been for you I would more than likely be dead in some wretched whore house, fighting drunken men to make them hurt me or worse, fulfilling a lifelong sentence as a wife to a noble family's prize stud, breeding a litter of heirs. You saved me, take comfort in that." I rubbed my face into her lifted skirts, blotting tears I didn't want her to see. "I'm sorry." I said again, "I lost myself when I lost to Merrick." "You love her?" "No and yes, I love her power and her control. I desire her body terribly. I wish to drag her to my heel and have her lick my boots and love me for it. You do not understand this desire, this need to dominate and she would be the greatest prize." "Your right I don't understand. But she was clearly enraptured by your efforts today and you still have a chance to show her your worth. At the ball tomorrow night you shall be beautiful and strong and demonstrate why so many flock to your household wishing to become your slave." "I love you." We lay together in silence and I calmed my spirit, but my body still longed for release. "I want you to go to the dungeon and wait for me. I know what you need and I shall give it to you." "Thank you Angelique." * Mariette was stripped bare and I, instead of the handlers strapped her wrists into the thick, soft leather cuffs dangling from the ceiling. I had donned a black lace bodice and robe for my own benefit as nothing I wore would have inflamed Mariette's lust. Clothing gave me more security in my role as torturer. I forced myself not to touch her skin, scarred and marked and pulled taut by the chains holding her arms high and straight above her head. Her skin erupted with goose bumps and her nipples hardened in the cold air. I moved away and turned a wheel on the wall that shortened the chain's raising Mariette's naked form into the air until only the pointed tips of her toes touched the cold stone floor. The chains clunked tight in each link under her small weight. The muscles in the arms immediately set to work, flexing under her skin, trying to take her weight. Her toenails scraped the floor. Her breasts bounced exquisitely as she struggled to stop her body swaying. I went to my collection of hanging torture tools I had seen Mariette look on in longing, caressing the soft leather whips and sanded smooth canes. A selection of surgical knifes lay in a tray beneath, but I never let Mariette alone with them, her knowledge of pain was as vast as my own but her knowledge of anatomy was dangerously lacking. During our time apart I sent her to tutors and doctors who educated her to better understand how far I could damage her body. Sometimes she would return and suggest new games to me. The cat-and-nine-tails whip that I had purchased from an auction of a defeated and looted pirate ship took hold of my attention. Each tail was knotted three times along its coarse rope length. The handle was tanned leather and felt wonderful in my grip. I turned when I heard Mariette gasp. Her eyes were already clouding as she stared at my chosen weapon. I drew closer to her slowly, twisting the tails into a tight knot of hemp. I walked a close circle around Mariette's hanging form, absorbing her body heat and took my time choosing where my first strike would land. With her back to me I pulled back the whip, twisted my hips and released the tails. They hit their target, wrapping around her taught shoulder and marking her upper back. Mariette thrashed more in surprise than pain and soon found her stability. I let the sting of the first lash settle than pulled the whip back again. I let a harsh flurry of lashes sing through the air and didn't stop until Mariette finally cried out in her agony. Check Mates: Story 03 I stopped just short of breaking her skin. The blood rushed to the surface of her flesh, making it red, shining in the darkened cell. Her limbs quivered, but this was nothing for her, if I left her now it would soon drive her to madness. I dragged my nails lightly over the risen streaks, almost in a ticklish caress that had her moaning and thrashing against her restraints. This was not enough; she needed to cry out like a wounded animal. Most masters would think me mad. In becoming a tool to Mariette's pain, lavishing her with what she desired, I became her slave. At the end of each session I could not use her body to gratify my sexual desires. Instead she filled me with something not unlike the adrenaline fuelled bloodlust of the battlefield. A surge of life, fighting off finality. Her need for pain, for me was infinite, constant and unchanging. I replaced the cat-and-nine-tails for a cane made from Chinese bamboo, its natural ridges and springy wood set it apart from the others with its vicious bite and wonderful snap which echoed from its hollow frame. Taking my stance before Mariette's front she watched as I reared my cane holding hand back before bringing it down on her shoulder. She hissed through clenched teeth, but otherwise remained unmoved. I let it fall again, aiming and hitting the same spot. She yelped. On the third she cried out. Satisfied I moved on. Though she wasn't moved by sexual caresses of her erogenous zones, Mariette's breasts and sex were just as sensitive as any other slave's with just as many nerve endings as respondent to my ministrations. I focused my loving attention on her ample charms. I struck first below and the above her left breast and repeated the action on the right. Each hit sending a jolt of sharp, tingling pain through her body, her red outlined breasts jiggled beautifully. I shifted my focus and the target of my cane on her hardened nipples. The cane whipped through the air and the very barest tip flicked its sharp edge of her engorged skin. I left no breadth of time between my strikes and repeated the torment on the other nipple. She bit her lower lip and tears welled in her eyes, but I wanted to hear her. I let a series of hits slap harshly against her skin. Her breast blossomed into a beautiful shade of red. Mariette hummed a growing moan until I moved to her other breast. She screamed through tightly clenched teeth until her jaw was forced open to fully express her pain. In her body's natural reaction to get away from me, Mariette's feet came from the ground, her legs trying to curl into and protect her chest, but her wrists took the full weight of her body and soon forced her to open up once more to my attacks. I continued to lay a fast flurry of strikes on and around her breasts, stomach and pubis. She let her tears fall freely. My arm began to feel the strain and sweat had broken out over my skin, but it far from matched the rate in which it escaped Mariette. I felt the heat rising in my own flesh, the fierce hunger to mark her as mine, the desperate need to become the single seed of her pain. I struck fast and sharp at her underarms, the backs of her legs, the exposed soles of her feet. I hit the darkening marks left from her previous whipping. She screamed and her screams filled the ancient cell. I stopped. She panted with an angry grunt thrown in my direction between every few breaths. She met my eyes and tried to compose herself, coming back to the world. She sucked in her lips and hummed deeply until her breathing and mind found their equilibrium. I took the chance to catch my own breath trying to show no sign of my growing exhaustion; the long day of preparing for and battling with Merrick had taken its toll on my mind and body. Now thoroughly composed Mariette stood firm if not a little shaken. I caressed the still raw, seeping slit I had inflicted on her lower lip. She flinched at the sting of my sweat salted print. I pressed further and she grimaced whilst petering on the edge of her bizarre bliss, the happiness she found in the depths of agony. I pressed the welts erupting over her taught flesh over her ribs before raking my fingernails over them, not for one second losing eye contact until she threw her head back screaming as I added pressure. I felt her hot flesh fill my nails. Blood oozed up through the grazed flesh. Here I finished my torment and hers. My rage at my losses was quelled, my blood lust satisfied and Mariette was once more marked as mine even though it meant something different to her. Looking down at the four scratches below her breast, I felt at peace. Her legs had given out and once more held her weight with her cuffed wrists. She swayed limply and I forcibly stopped myself from collapsing against her. I held strong. The Mistress to over a dozen slaves, loved, feared and respected, who would not fall at any hurdle, was back. Mariette had given me her love as only she could and I would take it. I allowed myself to press my lips to her open panting mouth in a brutal embrace purely for my own desire. "A small toll for my services." She rolled her head forward and pressed her burning forehead to mine. A blissful smile played on her lips, "Thank you." "You're welcome my beauty." I inhaled her baited breath and said, "I shall attend." Talking of Merrick's damned ball. Mariette merely smiled.