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A Woman's Place Ch. 01

By: MelloT



4 WEEKS AGO

"Are you absolutely sure about this Prime Minister? Once we start there's no going back and the decision we're making is, well, groundbreaking to say the least."

"I know. It's been weighing heavily on my mind for weeks now but I can honestly say that we have no other viable alternative. This country is in economic freefall and we have to do something drastic to stop it. There aren't enough jobs for people by half, the housing situation is critical and we have far too many students wanting to go to university even though the new fees are astronomical. No – there's no other way. It must be done." The Prime Minister looked around the sound proofed room at the 22 other men. They all nodded in silent agreement. He could see trepidation tinged with excitement on all of their faces. This was a momentous occasion that would go down in the history books and be remembered forever. "Right then - set the wheels in motion gentlemen. We'll give them 4 weeks notice so that they have time to, er, make preparations or they can get their families out of the country if they have good reason to."

"4 weeks! Will they be able to keep it quiet that long? Will any of us?"

"We'll start the process early if we have to but let's be honest – if you heard it, would you believe it?"

PRESENT DAY

"Are you warm enough? I've got an extra jumper in the tent if you want it?" asked Ben as he plonked himself down next to Ellie on the fallen log beside the campfire. They had been looking forward to this trip for a few weeks now. They tried to meet every Sunday for a catch up and mutual counseling session but Ben had been too busy for the past few weekends and he had promised to make it up to her with a trip to the coast. Ellie didn't like camping. If she couldn't plug in her hair straighteners and there wasn't a flushing loo, it was a non-starter. However, if it meant spending time alone with Ben, she'd do it. She'd missed him so much and needed to get the male perspective on a number of issues that had cropped up lately.

"No, I'm fine thanks. This hot chocolate is warming me up nicely – well done you for remembering to bring it. I think I've packed everything I don't need and left the essentials at home!" Ellie joked.

"I'm just impressed I managed to get you here at all – I never thought I'd convince you to spend a night in a tent in the middle of a field!!" Ben bumped shoulders with Ellie as they gazed into the fire. It felt nice to have him so close and she was sorely tempted to cuddle up.

"Yeah well, you've been so hard to get hold of lately so I've got to take what I can get!"

"I know. I'm sorry I've been so busy – I've had a bit of a project to do at home but the builders should have put the finishing touches to it today."

"Really? What have you been doing?"

"I'll show you tomorrow when we go home – will you have time to pop in before I run you back?"

"Sure. I'm not in a hurry – I managed to get all my paperwork up to date before I left on Friday so I've got the whole weekend to myself for once! Actually, my boss was a bit of a slave driver last week – I don't know what got into him but he insisted that all new cases went through him and we all had to get everything else up to date or finished off. A whole week of solid paperwork – dull, dull, dull."

"You work way too hard. Do you envy Lisa now that she's a stay at home Mum? It must be nice to lounge around all day watching TV and meet friends for lunch whenever you feel like it."

"I don't think it's quite that easy!" Ellie laughed. "Her kids are a real handful – I think she's run off her feet half the time. Every time I see her she looks completely knackered!"

"Good – a woman's place is in the home." said Ben with a mock serious look on his face. Ellie took a swipe at his head which Ben easily ducked, chuckling as he did so.

"Thank you Hunter-Gatherer. Next thing you'll be clubbing girls over the head and dragging them back to your cave I suppose." Ben just raised an eyebrow. "Mmmm – I've got a feeling you'll never have to do that, will you Ben. Even the most stunning women seem to fall at your feet."

"Well, what can I say? I suppose it's all down to my rugged good looks, sparkling wit and endearing charisma."

"Not to mention your modest and humble qualities."

"That too." Ellie had known Ben for years. They'd gone to uni together and even house shared at one point. He made her laugh every day and he was the one person she relied on to get her out of sticky situations, rescue her in the middle of the night or just be a sympathetic ear. Their relationship had been purely platonic but Ellie admitted to herself that she secretly wanted more. Ben was confident, funny, popular and way, way out of her league so she'd never flirted or hinted in any way how she felt. "Have you seen the time? – it's nearly midnight!" Ben exclaimed.

"You're not going to turn into a pumpkin are you?" Ellie sniggered "You're such a party animal. Do you remember when we were students and we could stay up all night, go to lectures the following day and just carry on as usual without any recovery time? What happened to us?!"

"Maybe we're paying for it now. That or it's old age my dear! Now get thee inside woman and warm my bed!"

"Oh har bloody har. You can warm your own sleeping bag thanks very much." Smiling to herself, Ellie marched into the tent accompanied by the sounds of Ben's rumbling laughter as he put out the fire.

That night Ellie felt comforted and serene as she listened to Ben's rhythmic breathing and the waves crashing against the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. They'd spent the day at the bottom of those steep inclines scouring the pebbles for fossils. Ben managed to turn even the most boring activities into stories worth retelling a hundred times over and Ellie giggled silently to herself as she remembered Ben chasing her with clumps of smelly brown seaweed only to end up bellowing with rage when a disgruntled crab nipped his finger and refused to let go. Ellie closed her eyes wondering what Ben had in store for her tomorrow and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

She was woken the next morning by the glorious smell of bacon wafting through the open flaps of the tent from outside. Ben heard her stir and brought her some coffee.

"Morning sleepy-head. We've got a big day ahead of us so I think a decent breakfast is in order.

"Oh wow – if I'd known I'd get this level of service I'd have gone camping with you long ago! Thanks Ben."

"No problem. It's 9:00 and I want us to be dressed, packed up and ready to go by 10:00 at the very latest – think you can manage it?"

"Er, yeah – what's the hurry?"

"That would be telling!" Ben replied with a cheeky wink.

9:55 found Ellie washed, dressed and rummaging through her bag.

"Ben, have you seen my coat? I think it's going to rain."

"Um, I think it's in the back of the car. I'll bet those clouds will float through though and the weather forecast said today was going to be fine." said Ben stuffing the neatly folded tent back into its bag. 

"Well you know my luck – if I don't take a coat it'll pour with rain and if I do take one, we'll get a heat wave."

"True. Here it is!" Ben said pulling it out from under the box of left over food and holding it for Ellie to put on.

"Well aren't you the perfect gentleman?!"

"You have no idea." 

At that, a message beeped it's way loudly onto Ben's phone. Simultaneously, Ellie heard a siren going off in the distant village. Ellie turned towards the sound. 

"What's that? Sounds like an old air raid siren! I didn't think they still existed." Turning back to Ben, Ellie was surprised to see the serious look on his face.

"Now don't freak out Ellie..." said Ben slowly pulling some handcuffs out of his pocket. "...you'll thank me for this one day, I promise."

"What?!" Ellie took an involuntary step backwards and looked at him incredulously.

"Just stay calm and everything will be alright." Ben advanced on her and gripped her wrist.

"Hey! Get off! What are you doing?! Is this some kind of... BEN!!" The first cuff had snapped into place.

"STOP! I MEAN IT! NO!" Ben had hold of her other wrist and was trying to force it behind her back.

"Just hold still Ellie. It has to be like this. Trust me, this is for the...OW! Shit."

Ellie's self defense classes had kicked in and she had driven her knee sharply into Ben's groin. Ben was now in a heap on the floor. Ellie hesitated for a moment – she'd just hurt one of her best friends. Maybe he'd been trying to play a practical joke on her?

"What the hell Ben? Are... are you ok?" she asked as he groaned at her feet. Just then, Ben made a grab for one of her ankles and the next thing she knew, Ellie was dashing across the field as fast as her legs could carry her.

"No – Ellie not that way! Come back!" Ben managed to croak out but there was no chance that Ellie was going to listen and all he could do was wait for the pain to disperse and hope he could catch her before someone else did.

Ellie ran towards the back of the field and headed for the cluster of buildings which she assumed was a farm. The blood was pounding in her ears as she ran but it couldn't block out Ben's voice behind her yelling franticly for her to come back. Then a new sound reached her ears. She could hear a woman, no, several women screaming. Ellie was just meters from the gate in the hedge when she saw another girl come crashing through it.

"HELP! HELP! I NEED THE POLICE!" Ellie yelled at her but even as the words left her lips she knew that something was terribly wrong. The woman's top had been torn and her eyes were as wide with fear as Ellie's were.

"RUN!" the woman called tugging at Ellie's coat as she went past.

"What's going on?!" but a roar from behind them answered Ellie's question. She turned to see a well built man leap clean over the gate and bound towards them with a determined look on his face. 

"KATE! GET YOUR ARSE BACK HERE!" He was upon them in no time and easily knocked the woman to the ground who was pleading with him to stop.

"Please Greg, please..." Greg lay over the trembling girl with a greedy look on his face. He pinned her wrists above her head with one hand and proceeded to tear what was left of her top from her body. 

"GET OFF HER! GET OFF!" Ellie shouted trying to prise him away. He looked at her like she was an irritating fly and swatted her as such, full across the face. Ellie sprawled on the damp grass in shock holding her rapidly bruising cheek.

"HAND'S OFF - SHE'S MINE!" Ellie's heart stopped beating. It was Ben who had bellowed this outrageous statement.

"Take her then – I have my own to deal with." said Greg as he wrestled the sobbing Kate onto her stomach so that he could tie her hands. 

Ellie began to get to her feet, slipping in the mud as she did so.

"Oh no you don't." growled Ben pushing her back down again. He steered clear of her flaying legs this time as he put her into the same position as the unfortunate girl next to her. There was a metallic snap and the other cuff was in place. Next Ben sat on the back of Ellie's legs and swiftly tied her knees and feet.

Ellie couldn't help but see what was happening to Kate at this point. Greg had succeeded in tying her hands and had flipped her around onto her back. He'd planted his knees between her legs so that she couldn't close them and had one of his hands inside her shorts. From the squeals of pain coming from Kate it was clear that he was being far from gentle.

"Yeah, you're mine now Kate." he snarled loudly in her ear. "I don't have to try to win you round with flowers and expensive restaurants any more, do I – I can just TAKE you instead or beat you until you do exactly what I want. I get to keep you forever and do this to you whenever I feel like it. I'm going to do a lot more than this though." Kate was sobbing heavily and trying to push him away with her legs. She managed to catch him with her heel on his back and Greg grunted in pain.

"Bitch!" he yelled backhanding her hard across the face. "You're gonna pay for that when I get you inside!" 

"What's going on? Why are you doing this?" Ellie fought against the hysterics that were welling up inside her.

"Sssshhhhh. I'll explain it all in a minute Ellie. Stay calm." Ben stroked her hair before rolling her onto her back. He helped her to sit up and then held her face still so that he could look into her eyes as she panted heavily with panic. He gently passed his fingers over her reddened cheek and glared angrily at the burly man still occupied with Kate. He switched his attention back to her. 

"It's going to be fine. Trust me." 

"FINE?! HAVE YOU GONE MAD?! YOU UTTER BASTARD! LET ME GO!!" Ellie screamed. Ben frowned and pulled her over his shoulder effortlessly.

"You've got your hands full with that one. I know exactly what she needs!" sneered Greg nastily. He had Kate on her feet and began dragging her back towards the buildings. Ellie could see that he had a harsh grip on her upper arm and he was forcing his thumb deep into her flesh to propel her forwards. Kate's face was contorted in agony and she had no choice but to comply like a puppet on strings.

Ben strode back towards the car ignoring Ellie as she bucked, squirmed and screamed. She could hear other women shouting for help in the distance and caught a glimpse of another girl running through the next field towards the cliffs. As far as Ellie could see, she wasn't being chased and she prayed that the girl could get away and raise the alarm. 

Despite the stream of abuse that was flowing from Ellie, Ben was surprisingly gentle as he lowered her to her feet and sat her in the front passenger seat of the car. He carefully avoided her snapping teeth as he buckled her seat belt for her and refused to react when she spat at him as he tucked wayward strands of hair behind her ears. He then closed the door on her and continued loading the car with all of their camping gear. Once this was complete, he closed the boot and the back doors effectively muffling Ellie's screams, curses and threats. He then sank to the ground behind the car where she couldn't see him and tried to put his thoughts into some sort of order.

4 weeks of plotting, scheming, planning and preparing. 4 weeks of keeping it quiet and wrestling with his conscience. It had been hell. Now the day had finally arrived and he felt every bit as awful as he thought he would. He looked back towards the buildings that Greg and the ill-fated Kate had just entered. When he saw how she was being treated, his immediate instinct was to come to her rescue but he'd managed to subdue that side of him and concentrate on his own prize. Greg was doing what a lot of men would be doing right now and Ben tried to console himself with the fact that he had at least saved Ellie from that. 

She was his and he would take care of her and protect her to the best of his ability. The cave man within him raised his club in triumph. Ben felt a deep stir of excitement and knew that the testosterone was flowing through his system stronger than it ever had. He had a woman at his mercy, his captive, his property, his slave. There was no greater thrill and he couldn't wait to get her home.

Ben pushed himself to his feet and rubbed his face. Feeling like he had regrouped somewhat, he made the decision to gag Ellie rather than listen to her abuse for the full 2 hour drive. He had come prepared and found the clean sock and duct tape he'd brought for the job. Opening her door, he wasted no time forcing the sock into her mouth and taping it in place. He didn't speak to her at all whilst doing this and made no eye contact but he couldn't help but notice the scared little whimpers she made – Ben had decided that the soothing words and reassurances would have to wait. Right now she needed to know he meant business. 

The drive home was a silent one. Ellie had hoped that someone would see her bound and gagged in the front of the car and call the police but her hopes were soon dashed as she witnessed the chaos ensuing in the villages and towns they passed through. It quickly became very evident that every man in the country had decided to claim a woman for their own but Ellie couldn't fathom how they had managed to coordinate this without any female getting wind of it. How long had they been planning it? Was it some strange sickness of the brain that had affected them all at the same time? Was there one person behind it all – a mastermind? Why were they doing it – what did they hope to achieve? Ellie had a million questions but right now her main objective was to stay calm and keep a cool head. She needed to get out of Ben's grasp as soon as possible - before he has a chance to... don't even think about it.

Ben pulled up onto his driveway and switched off the engine. Sighing heavily, he looked at Ellie for the first time since they'd left the coast.

"I know you're scared and confused – after what you saw back in that field who could blame you? I also know you're furious with me right now but you have to believe that what I'm doing is in your best interest. I'm going to explain it all to you Ellie but first I need to get you inside and comfortable. I'm going to carry you into the house and I need you to be still – if you struggle, you'll end up banging your head or doing yourself some sort of injury. Once we're inside, I'll untie you and take off your gag. Do you understand?" Ellie nodded. She was shaking all over and had tears streaming down her face which Ben went to wipe away. Ellie jerked back, half in fear and half in anger. Ben sighed again – this was going to be a tough few months. He walked around to her door and gently lifted her over his shoulder. Locking the car behind him, he decided to unpack later.

Letting himself into the house, he bent his knees as he went through the door so as not to catch Ellie on the frame. She stayed still as he carried her up the stairs and she whimpered quietly through her gag at the thought that he was going to take her to his bedroom. She got a surprise however, when Ben continued up a further flight of stairs into a newly converted loft.

"Good, they finished it." Ben muttered to himself. Ellie felt him carry her over to the far side of the room and grab hold of something, giving it a good shake. She tried to twist around to see what he was testing but he held her too firmly. Ben bent down for a moment and Ellie could hear a clanking sound. At last she could see what he was doing as the barred door of a cage swung open into her line of sight. Ben lowered her onto a large double bed and closed the cage door locking it with a brand new shiny key which he immediately hung on a peg on the wall furthest from Ellie.

She looked around and tried to process this new turn of events. The bed was pushed into the corner of the room and there were bars running floor to ceiling all the way along the side of it going from one wall to the other. This left no floor space at all except for at the foot of the bed. Crammed into that small corner, there was a toilet, small basin, a shelf for toiletries and a mirror. On the other side of the bars, she could see a sofa, table and chairs, a chest of drawers, a coffee table, a few scatter cushions and a large sheepskin rug in front of a modern fire place which was set back into the wall. Pushed up next to the bars near the pillows, there was a small, three drawer bedside cabinet on wheels. On the top Ellie could see a radio alarm clock, a box of tissues and a lamp. The whole room was filled with sunshine which streamed in through 4 brand new roof windows. Each had a blind fitted over it which looked like they could easily plunge Ellie's prison into total darkness

Ben had walked back to her and was now crouched down, holding the bars near her head.


A Woman's Place Ch. 01



"Shuffle over here Ellie so that I can take out your gag." Ellie couldn't help the scream as the tape was ripped off. "Now give me your feet." He removed her shoes and socks and squeezed them through the bars before untying her ankles and giving them a sympathetic rub. "Roll over and I'll take off the cuffs." Ben produced the tiny key from his pocket and freed her wrists. Her shoulders ached from having her arms behind her for so long and she moaned out loud as she moved them. Once she was unrestricted, Ellie scuttled back into the furthest corner away from the bars and curled herself into a ball. 

"I'll be honest with you Ellie – I don't quite know what to do now. Should I leave you alone for a while to acclimatize by yourself or should I stay and try to explain what's going on?" Ben waited for a response. Nothing. Ellie had closed her eyes and was attempting to keep her sobs under control.

At that moment, Ben's mobile rang.

"Hello?....Oh hi....yeah, I've got her. She's safe.... No, not yet. I'm not sure how, truth be told.... That's a good idea – thanks. Is it on now?... Ok... I will - you know I will.... Yep - about an hour...Bye." Ben hung up and turned back to Ellie. "That was your Dad. He wanted to check that you were with me. He sounded very relieved. He had a good idea about how to explain it all to you Ellie – I'll be back in a minute ok?" No reply. 

Ellie thought her heart would break as Ben left the room. Her Dad knew? Her Dad knew and didn't warn her? He knows I'm locked in a cell in Ben's attic and he's ok with it?! Ellie's world seemed to crumble. All the trust she ever had in men evaporated and she knew there was no help coming. No-one was going to rescue her.



A Woman's Place Ch. 02



Ellie sat in her prison and waited. Her captor and (ex) best friend had plotted to kidnap her and keep her here in his newly converted loft for God knows how long. Worst of all, he'd discussed it with her Dad who seemed to have agreed to it wholeheartedly. Women all over the country appeared to be going through the same thing as Ellie. She'd witnessed them being chased, caught, tied up and carried away. She'd even seen one unfortunate girl sexually molested in front of her eyes. Ellie had received a hard blow to the face from the perpetrator as she tried to pull him off. What the hell was going on?! 

Ben reappeared with a small TV that Ellie knew he'd kept in his bedroom. He placed it on the table so that she could see it and plugged it in, connecting the aerial cable as he went. This had obviously been what her Dad had suggested -- he thought she'd calm down if she watched a bit of telly?!! Ben tuned it but every channel seemed to be broadcasting the same thing.

"I'm going to leave you to watch this while I go and make you some lunch Ellie. I've got all your favourites in -- is there anything you'd particularly like?" Ellie hadn't moved a muscle and refused to look at or acknowledge him. "Ok -- I'll just make you a sandwich for now and we'll see how you feel later." Ben trudged from the room again giving Ellie a worried look. He wished she would go back to shouting and swearing -- at least it would be some sort of reaction. He'd never seen her so quiet and pale.

With Ben out of the way, Ellie focused on the television. It was The News but the usual female newsreader had been replaced with a solemn looking man. Ellie fleetingly wondered what had become of her. 

"... and now we go live to the Prime Minister." The scene changed to show the famous and important, smartly dressed man standing outside his home behind a podium. His usual friendly demeanour had been replaced by a serious expression and he held himself with an air of authority.

"Good afternoon. World Wars 1 and 2 changed this country drastically. While the men bravely went to fight and die to protect these lands, the women stayed at home and filled our empty places in the factories, farms, offices, shops, schools and hospitals. Without their efforts, we would never have been victorious and we salute them for it. When the soldiers finally returned home, radically depleted in number, a lot of the women could continue in their new-found roles. This opened many doors for them. As well as financial independence, they were granted the vote, the right to further education and eventually equal opportunities. At the time it was believed this was the fair thing to do - after all, women had proved that they were just as intelligent, just as strong and just as capable as any man. 

In the past few decades we have seen great female leaders. Many of our finest doctors, lawyers, teachers and other professionals are women. Our scientific understanding of the world has increased significantly due to the inquisitive and intuitive natures of female scientists. Technology has taken massive leaps forward in no small part down to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of women ...

and yet we have a problem. 

Our country cannot continue on this path. There are too many adults and not enough jobs. There are too many families and not enough homes. There are too many students and not enough places. There are too many single parents and not enough money for benefits. 4 weeks ago, I made the hardest decision of my life. My decision will put this country back on course and today gentlemen, we have seen its beginning. At 10am this morning we began The Reversion. 

We ARE the dominant sex and we WILL claim back our rights over women." 

At this, the all male crowd cheered and applauded. The Prime Minister waved them back into silence. "We no longer have to worry about our sons. Every male in the land has a job waiting for them. The homes formally owned by women are now the property of the government and they will be redistributed, fairly, to men who have need of them. Our schools and universities will no longer be over populated and subscribed -- there will be a place for any male who wishes it. 

But all this comes at a cost, gentlemen. We all have long and difficult days ahead of us. The women we have claimed need to readjust to their new places in society and I urge you to be patient with them. We still have many women at large and I intend to capture them all before they can form organized resistance. ANY stray women will be detained and auctioned off and so for this reason I am imposing a 2 month compulsory curfew for all females with immediate effect. If you wish to keep your mate, do not allow her to leave the house but if she absolutely must, make sure she has an adult male escort.

Whilst on this subject, it has come to my attention that some of you may still be ignorant of, or have been ignoring our new laws:- - Each man may take one woman -- ONE only and she MUST be of age. - REASONABLE force may be used to control your mate. Permanent or long lasting damage is not permitted. - All females are the property of their husbands, partners or closest adult male relatives. They are to be kept, sold or given away as that owner sees fit. - All unclaimed females are the property of the government.

ANY breaches of these laws will be dealt with -- you have been warned.

I would remind you, gentlemen, that the women we have enslaved today are the mothers, sisters and daughters of other men. We have sacrificed their freedom for the good of this country and for this they deserve our respect. They are your responsibility. Treat them well." The Prime Minister gathered his papers and with a nod he turned back to his aids and returned inside. The assembled press all shouted out questions and comments but it was clear the statement was over. They switched back to the news studio. 

"The Prime Minister there, speaking live. We will be repeating that every hour, on the hour for the remainder of the day -- you can also see it on our web page or by pressing the red button on your remote control." The newsreader turned to look into a different camera indicating that he was moving on to another story. "The roundup of unclaimed women begins in just under an hours time and our reporter John Green is on the streets -- what's happening out there John?" 

"Well Kevin, as you can see from the scenes behind me, things are beginning to calm down. I think the majority of men have managed to capture a mate and I can only see a handful still roaming the streets. Those unlucky enough to miss out will of course be able to purchase a slave either from a private seller or in the government auctions which are due to take place in..." but Ellie's attention had switched to Ben who had entered the room carrying a tray of sandwiches and 2 mugs of steaming coffee.

She was still curled up in her little ball as far away from the bars as she could get. She hadn't moved an inch and if it was at all possible, she was paler than when Ben had left the room. Ben thought how vulnerable she looked all alone in there and wasn't surprised when his cock gave a twitch. Ellie was effortlessly sexy and the best thing about it was that she didn't even know it -- he'd spent most of last night with a raging hard on as he watched her sleeping beside him. He knew the time would come when he would make her his completely but he had to try and contain himself -- move slow and not scare her too much. He wanted Ellie to surrender to him as willingly as possible. 

He placed the tray on the coffee table and carried it over to the bars. Then he grabbed one of the chairs and parked himself next to it. Casually kicking off his shoes, Ben slipped his feet between the bars so that they rested on Ellie's bed.

"Ham salad -- that's your favourite right? Come and get your coffee before it goes cold." It was clear Ellie had no intention of moving. "I'm meeting your Dad at your flat later so that we can take anything out of it that we want to sell or keep. The government are claiming it so we need to be quite quick. I know you'll want your photos and your Grandmother's jewellery but is there anything else you want? I'll pick out a few bits of clothing for you but you won't need much!" It had been an attempt at humour but the moment Ben said it, he wished he could stuff the words back into his mouth again. Ellie visibly withdrew further into her shell.

"Ellie please understand. I don't want to hurt you -- the opposite in fact. I'm trying to protect you, to keep you safe. When I found out about The Reversion I had only one thought in my head -- you. Worried about you, how you'd react, the things you'd miss out on, what you would feel... and then I had other thoughts. Thoughts about other men capturing you, hurting you, raping you and I felt sick. That's when I knew for sure that I had to save you... that I loved you. I've always had feelings for you but I knew you'd never look twice at me, not in that way at least. You were always too good for me Ellie. I've tried so many ways to get your attention -- the amount of women I've paraded in front of you in the hope of seeing just a spark of jealousy but.... well, maybe you'll come to love me in time." Looking dejected, Ben concentrated on the ripples in his coffee. 

"I did love you."

"What?" Ellie had said it so quietly that Ben was sure he'd misheard. 

"I did love you but then you did this to me and now I don't know how I feel. Why didn't you warn me? You knew. You knew for weeks and didn't say a word. How could you?" Ellie turned over so that she was facing the wall.

"I had no choice Ellie -- none of us did. They weren't letting anyone out of the country unless they had a really good reason. That's why there have been airline strikes for the past month and the ports have been closed due to that non-existent agricultural disease - it was all a huge cover-up." Ben pleaded. He desperately wanted to make her see. "I should have done this differently -- I know that now. You should never have had to see that idiot in the field or those women being chased through the streets. I knew I'd have to keep you locked up for a couple of months so I wanted you to have a final night of freedom outside. It was stupid. I should have just brought you here yesterday so you wouldn't know what was going on out there. I'm sorry Ellie."

"Just go away." Ellie said quietly still facing the wall. She heard Ben sigh and get up.

"Ok. I'll leave you in peace. I'm meeting your Dad soon anyway so I'll be back in a few hours. Try and eat something Ellie -- keep your strength up." and then he left.

A few minutes later, Ellie heard the front door close and the car reverse out of the drive. Finally alone, Ellie sat up and started to look for an escape route. She checked every single bar for weaknesses and rattled the door with all her strength. She looked around for something she could fit into the lock without success. Ellie could see a long pole with a hook on the end which she guessed was for opening the windows and blinds high up in the ceiling. She reached for it but fell short by a good meter. Even if she could get the pole, it wouldn't be long enough to reach the key on the other side of the room. She looked through the drawers in the bedside cabinet finding a few books, magazines, an iPod and a few other things to keep her entertained but nothing that would help her cause. 

Giving up for now, Ellie slumped back down on the bed and focused once more on The News which was still blaring away on the TV.

"...buildings which will be used to train girls from the age of 5 in domestic chores. Once they become of age, their fathers or closest adult male relative can sell them on to new owners." The newsreader paused before moving on.

"The government announced earlier that a leaflet will be distributed to everyone's homes within the next few days detailing the new laws in full. It will also offer a helpline for those with further questions and it will list pre-approved agencies that can help with the training of mates who are finding it hard to adjust. Our reporter Dan has been to one of these agencies -- Dan, what did you find out?"

"Well obviously they're not in use yet so I didn't get to see them in action but the programme and facility itself looked pretty good..." They started to show pictures of the inside of one of these 'facilities' and Ellie thought they looked anything but good. Stark, concrete buildings with hard wooden floors, rows and rows of tiny cages with no beds or comforts at all and mean looking men who looked like they were relishing the idea of 'teaching' women to be good slaves. She was shocked to see a so-called Training Room with implements of torture on the walls such as whips and canes. There were manacles hung up ready for use and even an X shaped contraption which was clearly used for tying a woman in a spread-eagled position. Feeling very queasy, Ellie reached through the bars for the remote control that Ben had left on the coffee table and switched it off. How frightening it would be to end up there. Ellie wondered where her female friends were now and hoped they were ok.

It had begun to feel quite hot in her little prison but Ellie didn't think it would be wise to remove any of her clothes -- she didn't want to encourage Ben in any way. As a compromise, Ellie took off her coat and laid it on the edge of the bed. After such a disastrous morning, Ellie felt like a complete emotional wreck. Exhausted, she made herself comfortable on the soft duvet and arranged the down pillow under her head. Within minutes she had cried herself to sleep.

A few hours later, Ben crept his way quietly up the stairs and into the loft he'd had converted into Ellie's cell. The heat hit him as he entered the room and he made a mental note to remember to leave a window open for her in future. There she lay sleeping sweetly. He allowed himself some time to study her beautiful face through the bars. Reaching through, he swept her hair back gently being careful not to wake her. 'Mine' he thought to himself with pride. The bruise had come out quickly and Ellie winced slightly as his fingers grazed it. Ben tried to swallow the rage he felt towards the neanderthal who'd hit her. There was nothing he could do about that now except show her how gentle he could be.

He'd spent the afternoon with her Dad clearing her flat and had only kept a few things -- the rest would be sold and he'd split the proceeds with her father. Her bank account had been emptied and divided in half too. He'd decided to keep her small TV which he'd fix to the wall in here. He'd put the remote control on her bedside cabinet -- when she's good, she could have access to it but if at any time she disappointed him, Ben could simply roll the cabinet out of her reach and she would be left with no lamp, books, magazines, music or any form of entertainment to alleviate the boredom. 

Ben noticed that she hadn't touched any of the sandwiches and her coffee was stone cold. Perhaps she'll eat something later. Using the long pole, Ben opened all of the windows in the ceiling and pulled the blinds down a bit to block out the burning sun. She was already looking a little bit pink and Ben knew she had to be careful with her fair skin. She looked uncomfortably hot in her jeans and checked shirt but at least she had removed her coat. Ben silently pulled it through the bars - she wouldn't be needing it. Ben had collected a few items of clothing for Ellie which he would put in the chest of drawers later but he fully intended on keeping her naked for the majority of the time. When she's tame enough, he would consider taking her out of the house and in due course, she might even be trusted to go to the supermarket by herself. During those events, clothes would be required -- Ben was uncomfortable with the thought of other men seeing his property in all her glory. 'Mine' he repeated. 

He'd been battling with himself all day (all month in fact) to concentrate on anything except Ellie's body. He longed to touch her, taste her, take her and now here she was -- right where he wanted her. Moving on auto pilot, Ben took the key off of the hook and quietly unlocked the cell door. Ellie mumbled in her sleep as Ben lay down beside her but she didn't wake. Laying his hand against her cheek, Ben could feel how hot she was. He blew his cool breath over Ellie's skin to cool her and waved his hand to create a draft but it wasn't nearly enough. Justifying his actions with the thought that she would over-heat, he unbuttoned Ellie's shirt to reveal her soft, smooth belly and luscious breasts protected from sight by the thin silky material of her black bra. Ben moved his hand over them, feeling their weight and squeezing gently. Her nipples began to react, standing proud through the fabric. Ellie cooed softly -- a sound so sexy it made Ben's cock spring to attention. It was too much for him and throwing caution to the wind he unhooked her bra, pushed the cups aside and latched on to one perfect nub while rolling the other one between his finger and thumb.

Ellie had been dreaming. It had started the way they always seem to these days -- with Ben. The time, place and situation varied in each dream -- her bedroom, a deserted beach, a four poster in a castle, under a stunning waterfall... but this time she dreamt she was on a cloud floating in a clear blue sky. The sun was baking hot on her skin but she was too comfortable to move. Luckily an angel (who bared a striking resemblance to Ben) happened to be passing and saw her predicament. The cloud had billowed softly as he lay down next to her and she had sighed with contentment as he fanned her with his beautiful, pure white wing. Silently she beseeched the angel to take off her clothes and she wasn't surprised when he read her mind and did so. Ellie felt the familiar stirrings in her pussy and squeezed her legs tightly together to put just a little bit of pressure on her clit. The angel worked his magic and had her naked from the waist up in no time. He cupped and squeezed her breasts gently making Ellie hotter and wetter than before. She felt his sweet breath on her chest before he closed his divine lips around her nipple.

As usual when her dreams start to get interesting, Ellie woke up but in a break from tradition, the dream seemed to be continuing! The angel was still there making her feel so incredibly good and Ellie's heart seemed to leap and sing all by itself. Ellie made a contented sound and curled her fingers into Ben's hair. In the same second, she moved her leg over his and curled it around encouraging him to move closer to her pussy. Ben broke away from her nipple and looked into her eyes smiling. He moved to kiss her, sliding his hand down her back and onto her bottom. His lips began to brush hers and ...

that's when Ellie came to her senses. 

"What? No!" Ellie said pushing against his chest. Ben tried to pull her closer.

"It's ok Ellie. Ssssshhh it's ok..." 

"No. It's not ok." she said pushing harder. Ben could see fear and panic creeping back into her eyes. "Are you gonna... I don't want to... oh no..."

"It's alright, it's alright." Ben said soothingly as he let go immediately and let her scuttle back. "I won't hurt you Ellie. I won't do anything until you're ready." Ellie had moved back into her corner and had sat up with her palms out facing Ben like a stop sign, ready to push him away. She was panting heavily and Ben could see that she was shaking again. "Stay calm Ellie. Look -- I'm not going near you. I'll stay over here." Ellie kept her eyes on him for a good ten seconds, waiting for him to spring at her. He didn't. Slowly she lowered her hands and tucked her knees up to cover her naked breasts. Her eyes darted to the cage door which was open. "No Ellie -- I can't let you do that." Ben warned and moving carefully so as not to startle her, he sat up, effectively baring her way.




A Woman's Place Ch. 02



"Just let me go Ben. You don't want me -- there's got to be loads of girls out there you'd rather have. I bet half of them would throw themselves at you if you asked. Please..."

"There's no-one I'd rather spend the rest of my life with than you. I understand this is hard Ellie -- take all the time you need. I won't make you do anything you don't want to..."

"I don't WANT to be in this cage, I don't WANT to be a slave and I don't WANT to be with YOU!" Ellie snapped. Ben looked genuinely hurt by this last comment and he backed out of the cell, locking the door behind him.

"Ben... I..." but Ellie couldn't find the words. She hadn't meant it -- she wanted him, but not like this. Ellie redressed herself as Ben moved around the room without looking at her. He put the coffee table and chair back in their place and took the tray of sandwiches away reappearing seconds later with Ellie's own TV and a large box. 

He began to unpack it pulling out photos that Ellie had framed and putting them where she could see them. He'd found the book she'd been reading and put it on her bedside cabinet. He folded her clothes neatly and loaded them into the chest of drawers along with a few of her favourite pairs of shoes. Next he pulled out a small trinket box that he knew contained all of her most precious and sentimental jewellery. Scrap books, a shoe box full of mementoes, the mug she always used, her perfume and finally Bear whom she'd had since the day she was born. He'd slept in her bed throughout her childhood and had long since been relegated to the top shelf in her bedroom but Ben knew Ellie needed him now more than ever.

He held Bear up to the bars of the cell and watched as Ellie warily crawled over. She almost snatched him out of his hands before clutching him to her chest like he was the very air she breathed. Her eyes filled with tears, Ellie nodded a silent 'thank you' to Ben before returning to the furthest corner. Ben worked in silence fitting Ellie's TV to the wall and removing his own. Once this was done, he got both of them a cold drink, leaving Ellie's on the bedside cabinet. Ben sat on the sofa for a while cradling his pint. After such a long silence, Ellie's voice seemed unnaturally loud even though it was barely more than a whisper.

"You knew what I'd want."

"I know you."

"I didn't mean it."

"I know that too." Ben gave her a weak smile. "You must be getting hungry. How does spaghetti bolognaise sound?" Ellie nodded and watched as Ben left the room. Leaving Bear in the corner, she crawled towards the bars and reached through. The gin and tonic (her favourite) had left a wet ring on top of the cabinet so she mopped it up with a few tissues from the box and then laughed at herself for worrying about something so ridiculous considering the circumstances. She took a sip, appreciating how cold and refreshing it was. The room was a more tolerable temperature now that Ben had opened the windows and Ellie's gaze switched to the long pole he must have used. It seemed a bit closer to her cell now.

Placing her drink back on the cabinet, Ellie moved to the end of the bed and stood up. She reached through the bars towards the pole and stretched. She was only missing it by ten centimetres at the most. Taking the opportunity while Ben was out of the room, Ellie lowered her jeans, sat herself on the loo and contemplated what she would do if she did indeed manage to get hold of that pole. As she scanned the room, her heart almost stopped. Ben hadn't put the key back on its hook -- it was on the coffee table. He must have taken it down while he was fitting the TV bracket and forgotten about it!

Ellie hurriedly flushed and washed her hands. She needed something heavy -- her book! Pulling it through the bars, she rushed back to the other end of her cell and calmed herself. She needed to get the angle and pressure right. Taking a breath, Ellie threw the book so that it hit the bottom of the pole. The force of the blow pushed the base of the pole out from under itself and it toppled down, clanging loudly as it hit the side of the cage. Ellie winced and listened out for Ben's footsteps.... nothing.

Moving quickly, Ellie manoeuvred the pole so that it was directly opposite the coffee table and lifted it (with difficulty) so that it was horizontal. Steadying herself, Ellie lowered the pole onto the surface of the table and slowly pushed it forwards towards the key. She strained through the bars, willing her fingers to grow just a few more millimetres. The hook on the end of the pole nudged the key. She wiggled it until the hook was facing down and let out the breath she'd been holding as she dragged the key towards her. Next she took aim and threaded the hook through the ring of the key before lifting it from the coffee table. She could have screamed with delight when she finally got the key in her hand but her celebrations were cut short by the sound of Ben's footsteps on the stairs.

Stuffing the key into her pocket, Ellie rushed back to the wall. Using the pole, she feverishly reached for her book and began batting it back towards her. 'Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God...' she chanted under her breath as she heard the footsteps getting louder. After what seemed a life time, the book was within reach and Ellie swiftly stood the pole up as far away from the cell as possible. She swooped down and grabbed the book, throwing it onto the bed just as Ben walked in. 

"Good book?" Ben asked noticing it was out of place.

"It's alright -- the usual chick-lit." Ellie responded casually. Too casually? She turned back to the basin and washed her hands again giving herself time to wipe the guilty look off of her face and for her heart to stop racing. A thought occurred -- how was Ben going to give her the plate if he doesn't have the key? Ellie felt sick. She gripped the edge of the basin and waited for the bomb to drop.

"Hurry up -- it's getting cold." came Ben's voice from behind her. Turning, Ellie couldn't believe her good fortune when she saw that Ben had moved the table up to the bars. He had sat himself in one of the chairs and was waiting for her to join him. Counting her lucky stars, Ellie crawled onto the bed and threaded her legs and arms through the bars so that she was effectively sitting at the table. Ben had put her gin and tonic next to her plate and she gratefully took a rather large gulp of it. 

"I know this is a bit awkward but it's only temporary. I meant to put a lock on the door into this room but, what with everything else going on, it slipped my mind. When I have, I can let you out of your cell at meal times and we'll sit together properly to eat. Maybe eventually we can curl up on the sofa in front of the fire in the evenings too. I don't plan to keep you up here forever Ellie -- just until I can trust you not to run away. When I know you're completely happy with your new life, things will start to feel a bit more normal. You'll have the house to look after while I'm at work and maybe even one day kids. You said yourself that they can keep you very busy! It's all going to be fine Ellie -- you'll see." Ben said confidently, tucking into his meal. He had always been a good cook and Ellie was surprised at how hungry she was now that it was in front of her. The delicious smell of fresh basil wafted up (he knew she liked it) and she coiled the spaghetti around her fork relishing the taste as she took a bite.

The key seemed to burn a hole in her pocket. As she ate, Ellie thought about what she would do. She'd wait until she was sure Ben was asleep, grab some shoes and see if she could find her coat. She'd sneak out as quietly as possible, taking his car keys as she went and head for the coast. Then she'd steal a boat and make her way across the water to foreign lands where (she assumed) women were still free. Maybe she could raise the alarm and get their government to pressure this country into changing its mind? It was worth a try at least. 

Ben continued talking as she plotted and schemed. He talked about their future together and how much better it would be once everything calmed down. He talked about the roundup and how he detested the idea of women being sold at auction. He wondered out loud what the government would do with all of the extra money it would be getting from the confiscated homes, cars, bank accounts and auction bids. Ellie nodded along but didn't engage in conversation. It was clear she wasn't really listening but Ben didn't press her -- it was a step forward that she'd moved out of her corner and he didn't want to ruin it. 'Slowly and carefully' he thought to himself.

He cleared up after dinner and put the table and chair back in its place. After loading the dishwasher, he returned with a DVD and a bottle of wine.

"Ooo -- it's chilly in here now." he mumbled crossing the room to collect the pole. Ellie held her breath but she needn't have worried -- Ben picked it up without a second glance, failing to notice it was a lot closer to her cell. He closed three of the windows, leaving the last one open a crack, and pulled down all of the blinds. As Ellie had predicted, this threw the room into complete darkness. Ben swore loudly as he stubbed his toe, stumbling towards the light switch. Ellie reached her lamp first just in time to watch Ben walk straight into the wall.

"Ohfafucksake!" Ben grumbled rubbing his nose and knee at the same time. Ellie giggled behind him and it was the sweetest sound he'd heard all day. He smiled at her. "Yeah? Well at least I don't pee myself when I've had too much to drink!" he teased.

"I hadn't wet myself -- I'd sat in a puddle!" Ellie defended still smiling.

"Yeah, right..." Ben laughed. "...and I suppose you bought that hideous ring the other week because you loved it so much and not because it was stuck on your finger. I saw you trying to pull it off!!"

"Says the man who had to buy that ridiculously expensive pair of jeans because he insisted he could fit into them and then they split!!" Ellie countered grinning.

"They were faulty. Dodgy stitching. Wrong size sewn into them." he mumbled pushing the DVD into the side of the TV.

Ben pushed the sofa up to the bars and flopped into it. He was still grinning from ear to ear. They had so much history, so much to build on. They already knew how well they got on and Ben felt sure that with such a solid foundation, Ellie would settle down and be happy in no time. 

Ellie, on the other hand, had an awful guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach. She could see the hope in his eyes and she knew how devastated he'd be in the morning when he discovered she was gone. There was nothing she could do about it -- she had to get out. She couldn't spend her life as a slave even if her master would be Ben. She was under no illusions -- she knew she'd been luckier than a lot of women so far. In her mind's eye she pictured Kate and she almost retched at the thought of what Greg might be doing to her now.

The DVD seemed to last an eternity. Ben had chosen a comedy which at any other time, Ellie would have found hilarious but today she struggled to concentrate on it and instead her eyes were drawn to the clock on her bedside cabinet. Finally at 10:20 the film ended and Ben announced he was going downstairs to do a few jobs before bedtime.

"Now, have you got everything you need?" he asked as if she were an overnight guest in the spare bedroom. Ellie just nodded. "Ok. Sleep well Ellie. See you in the morning." called Ben as he walked out of the room and down the stairs.

She knew there was no way she'd sleep so Ellie flicked through the TV channels looking for a distraction. She wasn't surprised to see that every channel was broadcasting coverage of The Reversion. Ellie sat transfixed by the sight of woman after woman being tackled to the ground, stripped of their clothing, tied up and manhandled into the backs of vans. They were showing this on The News like it was perfectly normal! She'd blanked out what the reporters were saying and focused on the women's faces. Terrified -- every single one of them but under that, there was fight. Their survival instincts were in full flow and she silently egged them on as they punched, kicked and scratched their abductors. She watched as one woman was led towards the van by an overweight, balding man who had hold of her arm. She had her head down and was docilely walking along beside him looking utterly defeated. Suddenly, she snatched her arm away and took off at a terrific rate. The reporter could be heard laughing in the background as she was chased up the street. The overweight man returned shortly afterwards struggling to catch his breath. 

"Did you catch her?" asked the reporter, thrusting the microphone under his nose.

"No (pant, pant) but I'll get the next one (pant, pant) There's plenty more to be had (pant, pant)." Ellie smiled smugly and hoped the woman managed to get far, far away.

Switching off the TV, Ellie picked up the magazines and killed some time flicking through them. They were full of trivial things that no longer mattered. This time yesterday she would have been more than interested in plot spoilers for some of the soap operas. She might even have spared some time to read about the latest mishaps and silly choices of an ex-reality show contestant or find out which celebrity was spotted where and with whom but these things were now completely insignificant. Magazines like these were largely put together by women so she doubted she would see their like again. 

At 1am Ellie finally felt it might be safe enough to leave. Kneeling on the bed, she slipped the key into the lock and turned it. The door groaned slightly but Ellie didn't think it was loud enough to wake Ben. She tiptoed over to the chest of drawers and pulled on the socks and trainers she'd been wearing earlier. Riffling through the neatly folded clothes, she found a thick jumper and pulled it over her head. No sign of her coat. 

Keeping to the sides of the stairs to avoid creaking and holding her breath the entire time, she made her way down to the ground floor. Ben's car keys were in the dish that sat on the table in the hall. Achingly slowly, Ellie eased them out and gathered them into her hand to avoid further noise. She glanced up the stairs looking for signs of life but there was none. Ellie tiptoed towards the door and spotted her coat hung up on the pegs next to Ben's. She pulled it on silently and then paused with her hand on the door handle. She was about to leave the relative safety of Ben's home into a brutal world where women were hunted down. Was this really wise? She had no money but if she was caught, no amount of money would save her -- they'd take her and her cash together without a moments thought. But could she really stay here and wait for Ben to get fed up of being patient? He'd take her eventually or worse, he'd win her around and she'd willingly submit. 

While she hopped from foot to foot, procrastinating at the door, a light came on upstairs and streamed its way thinly down to where Ellie was standing. Panicking, Ellie pulled open the door and ran down to the car leaving the front door wide open. She fumbled with the car keys in the dark trying to stop her fingers from shaking. Light fell upon the car from above as Ben's bedroom curtains flew open.

"ELLIE, DON'T!" she heard him yell through the glass. She scrambled into the car and roared the engine to life. Slamming the gear stick into reverse, she screeched out of the drive just in time to see Ben come hurtling out of the front door in nothing but his boxers. He chased her onto the road and thumped the back of the car as she sped away. She watched him in the rear view mirror running after her and shouting but he got smaller and smaller until eventually, she turned the corner and he was out of sight.

"Shit." she uttered in disbelief. "SHIT!" she screamed in triumph. Laughing at herself, Ellie pointed the car towards the nearest coast. Not the picturesque, sandy place she had been with Ben yesterday (was it only yesterday?!) but the grotty, windswept coastal village that housed fishermen and dock workers. Hopefully they'd all be fast asleep by now and it would be easy to find a small boat that would take her across the water to freedom. 

A new country and a new life far away from servitude. Far away from Ben.



A Woman's Place Ch. 03



Glancing at the speed she was doing, Ellie eased off the gas. Being pulled over for speeding at this point wouldn't be a brilliant development. Ellie shivered as she thought about what the police might do to her before delivering her straight back into Ben's clutches. She had escaped from his prison and was making her way to the coast so that she could steal a boat and get out of the country before any other man could claim her as his own. 

It was a good 30 minute drive giving Ellie lots of time to think about, well, everything! She'd left Bear behind along with her Grandmother's jewellery and her photos -- it was easier without them and once she was settled overseas, she'd work out a way to get them back. Ben might even be gracious enough to post them -- she wouldn't give him the address of where she was staying though. What about her other female friends, was she abandoning them? -- no, she was simply going to get help. There would be no point turning up at their homes at this time of night trying to make grand rescues. She didn't have any of her qualifications, references, identification or certificates -- she was sure she'd be able to get a job somewhere doing something, even if it was only cleaning work to begin with. Who needs references for that?! What would she do without clothes or anything to barter with once she was abroad? -- there were probably other women who'd escaped. Maybe there are shelters set up to receive refugees like herself.  

The journey continued like this with Ellie thinking up problems and solving them with an overly optimistic 'glass is practically full' kind of attitude until she eventually saw the sign pointing her towards the quiet village she had in mind. Turning off the headlights, she crept down onto the coastal road as silently as possible. There was a small quay with a few boats tied up just a few meters away so Ellie switched off the engine, leaving the car in one of the parking places so that it wouldn't be obvious that it had been abandoned. She pulled the hood of her coat up to hide her long hair and scooted across the road towards the nearest boat. There were a couple of cabin cruisers, a sail boat and even a very expensive looking yacht but Ellie set her sights on the small motorboat with a single outboard engine. She had no idea how these things worked but she'd seen enough Bond films to know that you simply jump in, pull the cord and off you go -- right?

Her heart beating nineteen to the dozen, Ellie peered down into the small craft. Sitting on the edge of the quay, she prepared to lower herself when she heard a voice right behind her ear.

"Hello girly." Ellie slipped and crashed down into the boat winding herself in the process. Her hood slipped off and her hair tumbled down around her face as she looked up at the grinning man above her. "We've got one over here Mike." he called over his shoulder. Holding her aching ribs, Ellie scrambled to the back of the boat until she reached the motor. Despairing at the fact that there were so many levers, she found the cord and pulled but nothing happened. Panicking, she started to move the levers and twist the handle but she was knocked off balance by the man leaping down into the boat after her.

"Another girly who thinks she's clever..." he said advancing on her. "...thinks no-one will notice her in a small village in the middle of the night..." Ellie could see how huge he was and he used his height and weight to his full, intimidating advantage. "...thinks no-one will be smart enough to stake out a place like this..." He was getting closer and Ellie's eyes darted from side to side looking for an escape but seeing only cold, dark, murky water. "...thinks it'll be easy to steal a boat even though I bet she's never even set foot in one before now..." Ellie seemed to be glued to the spot. "Well? Am I right girly?" He was within striking distance so instead of waiting for a response, he shot his hand out and grabbed a fistful of Ellie's hair. "Let's see how clever you really are." 

He pulled Ellie roughly forward so that she was leaning over a seat. It happened so suddenly that Ellie had no opportunity to do anything about it. He had such a strong grip on her hair and her scalp felt like it was on fire. With his other hand he pulled her coat off of her shoulders and then wrapped it around her arms until it was a tangle of fabric that she couldn't break free of. His hand snaked around to her front and fumbled with the button and zip on her jeans.

"NO -- GET OFF!" Ellie sobbed. She knew full well he wouldn't. He tugged her jeans down to her thighs with Ellie screaming and squirming the whole time.

"Do you have to play with all of them Sam?" said a bored voice above them. Ellie turned her head and pleaded with her eyes at the thinner, scruffy looking man leaning against a post on the quay. He glanced at her unsympathetically. 

"This is how I check how smart they are Mike. Watch this..." Still holding Ellie tightly by the hair, Sam reached down between her legs and rubbed her pussy. Ellie jumped and tried to pull away. She sobbed loudly as Sam moved his fingers backwards and forwards over the thin material of her panties. He was feeling her every contour, making Ellie feel sick in the process. Sam increased the pressure slightly feeling for the dip that would indicate the entrance to her core. He found it and his fingers lingered there in a threatening manner. Ellie froze.

"Oh God, no, please..." she begged.

"See Mike -- this one's clever. She thinks if she stays still and pretends to be a good girl, I might go easy on her and drop my guard. Isn't that right girly?" he said giving Ellie's hair a tug. When Ellie didn't respond, he pushed a little more on the hollow.

"Yes... no... I'm sorry... I'll be good." Ellie hastily replied.

"Throw down some of those cable ties Mike -- I don't trust clever ones." Sam wrestled Ellie's coat off of her completely and pinned her hands behind her back with the cable ties. Using her hair as a handle, he pulled Ellie to her knees and made her crawl over the deck of the boat towards the quay. Once she was there, he made her stand and Mike slid his hands under her arm pits. With Sam pushing from below and Mike lifting, they had her lying face down on the quay within seconds. Mike planted his foot on the small of her back, preventing her from trying to get up, while Sam got out of the motorboat. Sam swiftly zipped some more cable ties around her ankles, knees and elbows before lifting her to her feet where she swayed dangerously.

"Want a hand with this one?" asked Mike.

"No, I've got it." Sam replied. He bent and hefted Ellie over his shoulder in one smooth action. Her jeans were still around her thighs so when Sam's hand crashed down onto her backside, she had very little protection and she squealed in pain. "That's just for starters girly." said Sam menacingly as he carried her across the road towards the black transit van that Ellie had failed to notice.

The door slid open and Sam roughly dumped her into it. Gasping with pain, Ellie scooted backwards away from the men but she quickly bumped into something soft and turning to see what was in her way, Ellie's heart dropped to see eight or nine other women crammed into the small space. They were all tied in some way or another -- their hands in front, some behind, some had been bound to bars set into the walls of the van and there was one other girl who was tied in the same way as Ellie. All of them were gagged. Ellie turned back to the men in time to see Mike push a red ball gag past her teeth. He pulled it tight and Ellie squeaked as it cut into her. The men sat her up against the wall of the van and then closed the door plunging it back into darkness.

"Not a bad haul! Let's drop this lot off and come back -- we might get some more later." said one of them. Ellie could hear them walking to the front of the van and felt it rock slightly as they both got in and slammed the doors. The engine started and began rumbling down the road. Ellie could hear a couple of the girls begin to cry and she tried very hard not to join in.

'Stupid, stupid girl!' Ellie reprimanded herself. How idiotic to think that she could just sail away to safety. How foolish she'd been to leave Ben's house and now here she was longing for him to come and save her, rescue her and keep her safe which was exactly what he'd been doing in the first place. What a stupid, idiot of a girl.

It didn't take long for the van to get to its destination. Throughout the journey, the women had been tossed around in the back of the van like they were rag dolls. Mike and Sam clearly had no consideration for their cargo and when they opened the door to find a tangle of female bodies, they laughed so hard they needed to support each other to stay upright. Ellie, who had split her lip and thought she might have a cut or two on her back, didn't find it in the least bit amusing. Nor did the girl opposite who had been tied to one of the bars in the wall -- her wrist was at an odd angle and she looked like she was in a lot of pain.

"What the hell is this?" said a short, middle-aged man who had come hurrying up to the van holding a clipboard.

"What does it look like Bernie -- 10 fresh women for auction!" said Sam sweeping his hand over the mess of women like they were the grand prize. This sent Mike off into further hysterics and he collapsed against the door of the van.

"Look at the state they're in! They won't fetch the prices covered in cuts and bruises. And it's Mr Pickering to you."

"Oh come on Bernie -- it's not like any of us are working on commission here is it? What do you care what they look like as long as we all get paid at the end of the day." replied Sam clapping him on the back.

"Didn't you hear the Prime Minister?" said Bernie pompously "'No permanent or long lasting damage' you moron. Look at that one." he said pointing to the girl opposite Ellie with the broken wrist. "I'm reporting you for this." Sam and Mike were no longer laughing. Instead they were scurrying after Bernie who was marching away towards the imposing building that loomed over them in the darkness.

"Please Mr Pickering, it's just one broken bone... they'll get far worse once they're inside... who knows what their new owners would do to them anyway... they could consider this a warm up for what's to come... oh come on Mr Pickering, we'll be more careful with the next lot... we'll wrap each one in cotton wool I promise..." but Ellie didn't get to hear if Bernie relented. They had disappeared through the huge wooden doors and seconds later, two new burly men came out to drag them from the van.

They didn't speak to the women or make eye contact. Ellie guessed they had been manhandling females for hours and the novelty had worn off. She was at least relieved to see that they treated the girl opposite her with a little more care and she heard one of the men saying he was taking her to First Aid before carrying her through a different set of doors. Slung over yet another man's shoulders like a sack of potatoes, Ellie was carried inside and dumped in a cold, bare room with the rest of the van's consignment. Blood was dripping from her chin and trailing its way down her breast and stomach. Ellie wished her hands were free so that she could feel how badly her lip was damaged. The gag wasn't helping either. The wait was endless, made worse by the fact that none of them had any idea what they were waiting for. Ellie's arms and feet had gone completely numb and the gag was cutting into the corners of her mouth. She made eye contact with a few of the other girls but that was the extent of their interaction.

"...gonna have to start early tomorrow if they want to get through them all. Let's bring the first one in." a tall, suited man had sauntered through the door in the middle of a conversation with one of the handlers. He surveyed the room and sighed "Pickering wasn't exaggerating, was he." before pointing to Ellie. "She'll do for starters." The handler strode over to Ellie purposefully. It made her heart beat quicker and her breathing harder as he bore down on her. Grabbing her by the upper arms, he dragged her across the floor and into the unknown room with Ellie screaming and struggling behind him. Once inside, Ellie could see the suited man behind a desk facing her. "Get her into position." he said without looking up from his paperwork.

The handler produced a knife and held it in front of her face. He raised an eyebrow at her which clearly communicated that she needed to stay very still. Ellie complied and felt the blood rush back into her arms as the cable ties were cut at her elbows and wrists. The handler got her to her feet and connected her wrists to a pulley with manacles hanging from an old wooden beam that supported the ceiling. Next he cut the ties at her knees and ankles before restraining them again in manacles set wide apart into the floor. Ellie was having difficulty supporting herself, having been tied up for so long. The handler walked to the wall and pulled on the rope connected to the pulley above her head. Ellie felt herself being stretched upwards until her feet were barely touching the ground. She groaned through her gag and the handler released a little bit of the pressure.

"Take her gag off please and make a start with the clothes -- let's get through this lot as quickly as possible." said the suited man. The handler removed her gag and Ellie winced as it was pulled away. Taking in deep gulps of air and gagging as she swallowed the blood that had pooled in her mouth, she tried to focus on what was happening. 

"Name?" asked the suited man with his pen poised.

"E...Ellie. Where am I?"

"Age?"

"28 but I want to go home."

"Are you a virgin?" said the suited man as he scribbled down notes.

"What? Look, I want to go back to Ben. He er, claimed me or whatever you want to call it and I want to go back. I know his phone number if you..."

"Then he should have taken better care of you. There is a 2 month curfew for women in place and you were out by yourself without an owner, now answer the question." He sounded bored. He must have repeated that statement hundreds of times to hundreds girls in the past few hours. 

"No, I'm not." said Ellie as her flame of hope died down to a flicker. She would be auctioned off to God knows who and never see Ben again.

"What was your occupation? ... Can you cook? ... Do you speak any other languages?... When was your last STD test?..." the questions went on and on but Ellie was distracted by the handler who had produced a pair of scissors and was cutting away her clothes. Ellie had screamed and tried to get away but the manacles held her tight and in the end all she could do was stand there and cry. Whenever she was too slow with an answer, the handler would slap her backside hard and by the end of the interview, her arse was red and sore.

"Good. That wasn't so bad was it?" said the suited man getting up from his desk and walking around Ellie, inspecting her like a piece of meat. He held her chin and turned her head from side to side before stating "A few bumps and scrapes, nothing that won't clear up in a few days. You should fetch a good price -- I think I'll put you in group C. Take her down and bring in the next one." He said this last bit to the handler and then returned to his desk.

The handler had fitted a leather collar around Ellie's neck. He collected a meter long pole from the side of the room and attached it to her collar before releasing her hands and ankles. Ellie fell to her knees and tried to cover her body with her arms.

"Up." said the handler pulling on the pole and slapping her backside again. He pushed her forwards and steered her with the pole ensuring that he didn't have to get within arms reach of her. They exited through a different door, down a dark corridor and then down a steep old staircase into the cellar. Using the pole, the handler steered Ellie through a maze of corridors lined with narrowly spaced metal doors. These doors had two cat-flap type devices -- one on the floor and one at eye level. Ellie knew what they were immediately and steadied herself for what was to come. Rounding another corner, they came face to face with another suited man. If Ellie had to describe him in one word, she'd have chosen 'slimy' without hesitation. He must have been in his fifties and what little hair he had left had been greased over his large bald spot. He sneered rather than smiled and took his time running his eyes over Ellie's naked body which she was still trying to cover with her hands.

"Well, what have we here then? Has a fresh batch come in?" he asked the handler without lifting his gaze from Ellie's breasts.

"Yeah -- about 10 or so Mr Dredge but we've had a call from another roundup team that's on its way. They should be here in about 40 minutes. Have we got room for them all?"

"Oh yes -- I'm sure we'll squeeze them in somewhere." Mr Dredge had slimed his way closer to Ellie. "You're a pretty one, aren't you?" He reached out his hand and scraped a cold finger down Ellie's arm as he spoke. It made her skin crawl but she tried to stay still. "I'm almost tempted to make a bid for you myself. I see that spark in your eyes -- oh yes, I bet you're a spitfire in the bedroom." Ellie's blood boiled but she held it together. "What group are you in little slave?" Dredge moved his hand down to her breast and on the word 'slave', he tweaked her nipple. Ellie flipped.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME YOU SICK PERVERT!" she screamed, kicking out with her feet. The handler yanked the pole backwards and Ellie found herself on the ground, fighting with her collar for air.

"Now, now - such a temper. Whoever buys you will need to show a firm hand." Dredge tutted above her as she grappled with the pole. "Group?" he asked turning his attention to the handler.

"C" he responded.

"So, you're not a virgin and you're over 25 but you must have impressed him none-the-less to get into so high a group. That puts you out of my price range you'll be sorry to hear, so I'll just have to make the most of your company while I can. I have the perfect place for you until tomorrow. Follow me." Dredge oiled his way down the corridor.

"Up." said the handler pulling Ellie to her feet and then the pole forced her forwards. They went around two more corners into two more corridors that looked exactly the same before stopping outside one of the metal doors. Dredge swiped his card that was attached to his belt loop and the door sprang open.

"On the bed please little slave." Dredge asked politely as if Ellie had a choice. The handler had already manoeuvred her inside the door and forced her to kneel on the hard bench that Dredge had described as a bed. Feeding the end of the pole through the top cat-flap, the handler held her in place while the door was shut and locked. Ellie heard a snap and the pole released automatically from her collar. The handler pulled it through the cat-flap and disappeared without a backward glance. Dredge's mean eyes appeared at the hole. 

"I see you've had a few little mishaps slave. Perhaps I should come and help clean you up? You want to look good for the buyers in the morning don't you?" Ellie didn't respond. She turned her back on him and cried for Ben instead.

Ellie didn't think she could possibly have any more tears left in her body. Pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around her legs, she rocked herself slightly in an effort to keep warm. The room was bare except for the bench she sat on and a metal bucket with a lid. Her ribs ached, her cheek was still sore and her lip was throbbing painfully. It felt like quite a deep cut but the bleeding seemed to be slowing down as long as she kept her mouth still.

Ellie pictured the sort of person that might buy her tomorrow. They'd be men who hadn't managed to find their own woman and Ellie's mind flashed back to the overweight man who'd let the girl escape on The News. He looked like he'd spent half his life behind a computer screen and had never had a girlfriend. Ellie cringed at the thought of someone like him restraining her, taking her home and... 




A Woman's Place Ch. 03



Ellie ran to the bucket, getting there just in time to empty the contents of her stomach. She dry heaved for a few moments and then lay on the cold concrete floor letting it cool her sweating face. Someone must have heard her being sick and taken pity because the bottom cat flat opened and a paper cup of water was pushed through. Crawling over to it, Ellie gulped it down gratefully, washing the taste of vomit from her mouth.

Something was wrong. Ellie could feel her brain fogging up and her limbs became reluctant to move. Stumbling to her feet, Ellie attempted to bang on the door and shout for help but all of her strength was sapped and she flopped backwards onto the bench with a hard thud, dragged into unconsciousness by whatever had been put into that water.

.................

"Oh yeah... you're all hot in there little slave, aren't you."

Ellie heard the words but couldn't process them. She was lying on her back with one leg dangling down off the side of the bench. Her head was thumping and she hadn't managed to open her eyes yet.

"Are you gonna get wet for me? No? Shall I be kind then and spit on your tight little cunt?" Feeling was starting to come back to her and Ellie groaned at the sensation of rough fingers invading her most intimate places.

"Coming back to me at last eh? Just in time to feel my cock split you open. You'd like that wouldn't you little slave." Ellie moved her head from side to side and frowned. Her body wasn't responding to the growing sense of urgency and dread that had flooded her stomach. She heard Dredge above her unzipping himself and then felt his hot pole rubbing up and down her slit.

"Mmmm. Are you ready?" he slapped his cock onto Ellie's clit a few times making her jump and moan. Then he positioned himself at her entrance and began to push. Ellie was completely dry which made his dick bend with the resistance. 

"Come on you little slut -- open up." he said spitting onto his cock. Distracted by what was going on down there, Dredge failed to notice that Ellie had opened her eyes. For someone who'd just been drugged, Ellie managed to move pretty quickly. She grabbed Dredge's greasy hair and slammed his head sideways into the wall. While Dredge was still dazed by the blow, Ellie scrambled out from under him and looked for something to hit him with. There was only one thing in the room -- she grabbed the bucket and tipped the contents over his head.

"URGH! YOU FUCKING BITCH!" said Dredge turning to face her. Ellie brought the bucket down hard onto his crown hearing a very satisfying metallic clang as it made contact. The door was open -- Dredge clearly wasn't too bothered about who saw him doing what to the merchandise. Ellie shot out of it and ran in the direction she'd come from. She turned left, left again, then a right and then... bugger... which way? All the corridors looked the same and she couldn't remember where she went next.

"ESCAPEE! ESCAPEE!" Dredge was screeching at the top of his lungs. Then something like a fire alarm was ringing in her ears making her aching head want to explode. Ellie ran in random directions not having a clue which way to go. Through sheer luck she spotted the old staircase and ran towards it. Feeling sure she could remember the way once she got to the top, she allowed herself a tiny smile. She'd go straight home to Ben. He'd be so incredibly pleased to see her that he'd forget all about her running away and stealing his car. She'd happily march herself back into her prison and stay there forever if he so wished. She never wanted to see another man ever again and....

SLAM! Ellie had run headlong into the solid chest of one of the handlers. Landing on her backside she looked up into his unsmiling face.

"Please, please just let me go. Dredge was... he was on top of me and I... oh God, no...I don't belong here... I belong to Ben and he'll be looking for me... please, please..." 

"THERE'S THE LITTLE CUNT! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GRAB HER!" shouted Dredge as he scuttled round the corner wiping her vomit from his eyes.

The handler shrugged his shoulders and flipped her onto her stomach. Ellie felt his weight settle on her back and he pinned her arms behind her so that her hands were holding the opposite elbow.

"Thought that was pretty fucking funny did you? Well I've got just the thing to wipe the smile off your face bitch." Ellie wasn't sure who Dredge thought he was looking at but she wasn't laughing or smiling at all. "Take her to the stocks."

"What about the auction Mr Dredge? Her price will..."

"I don't give a flying fuck about her price. I want to see this little cunt punished and I don't care how much it puts the buyers off." Dredge snapped as he stormed away to get cleaned up. Two more handlers had shown up by this point and they had no difficulty fitting the pole to Ellie's collar and dragging her into a new room. The stocks were exactly what Ellie had pictured -- one large hole for the neck and two smaller ones on either side for the wrists. The three handlers wrestled her into position and slammed the top down, pinning her in place. Ellie was bent over at the waist with her backside vulnerable and her breasts hanging below her for anyone to fondle without hindrance. She was helpless.

SWISH.

Ellie whimpered. It didn't take much imagination to guess what had made that sound.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH.

Dredge walked into view whipping a cane through the air. He had washed the majority of the vomit off but he still had some on his suit jacket and he looked less than pleased about it. Ellie closed her eyes and whimpered again.

"I love that sound..." said Dredge with a smile. "...a woman's fear is intoxicating don't you think? Whimper again for me... no - beg me not to hurt you. Let's hear what you sound like when you beg little slave." he looked at her expectantly. Ellie clammed up.

"No? Well let's see how long it takes before you DO start to beg shall we?" and he walked behind her where she couldn't see him.

"Take it easy Mr Dredge." warned one of the handlers but Dredge wasn't listening.

SWISH -- CRACK! Fire burned through Ellie's backside and she opened her mouth in a silent scream.

SWISH -- CRACK! Ellie cried out that time -- it was unavoidable.

SWISH -- CRACK! Ellie fought with the stocks knowing full well there was no escape.

"Do you know what the best thing about a cane is little slave?" SWISH -- CRACK! "You can beat a girl with it for hours..." SWISH -- CRACK! "...but it leaves no permanent..." SWISH -- CRACK! "...or long lasting damage." SWISH -- CRACK! "Oh it'll leave welts and bruises of course..." SWISH -- CRACK! "...but I hardly think that counts, do you?" SWISH -- CRACK! Ellie was screaming now. It hurt so much but Dredge kept beating her without let up. He was spacing each one so that she could feel its full sting before laying the next one onto her already bruising backside. Neither of them noticed the handler's exchange of words nor did they look up when one of the brawny men slipped quietly from the room.

"Still no begging little slave?" SWISH -- CRACK! "It's impressive but all you're doing is spurring me on to beat you harder." SWISH -- CRACK! "Having said that, I might need to have a short break in a minute..." SWISH -- CRACK! "...not for long, you understand,..." SWISH -- CRACK! "...just long enough to fuck that little cunt of yours." SWISH -- CRACK! Ellie's brain seemed to be overloading. She couldn't take any more pain and her knees began to buckle but every time they did, her weight would pull her down and she'd choke in the stocks. SWISH -- CRACK! The beating continued and Ellie thought this would be the end.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING DREDGE?!!" The tall, suited man who'd interviewed Ellie earlier had come storming into the room flanked by one of the handlers. He continued shouting at Dredge while the handlers hurried to release Ellie from the stocks. 

They caught her as she fell and she passed out in their arms.



A Woman's Place Ch. 04



Ellie woke up minutes/hours/days later? She had no idea. There were no windows in her cell and no way of telling what time of day it was. All she knew was that she was cold, thirsty and in pain. Bringing a hand around, she gingerly lay it on her stinging backside and winced. Someone had covered it in some sort of cream but it still radiated heat. She craned her head around to see it and groaned at the sight. Red and purple welts covered her arse and the tops of her thighs. They looked angry and she knew they'd be there for days if not weeks. She let herself flop back down onto the bench again and lay there wondering if Dredge was still in the building. Would he come back for some more revenge or had his boss sent him home? Better yet, fired him? The auction came flitting back into her mind and her stomach dropped.

"Group C next Joe. Start getting them out will ya?" came a call from outside her door. Surely they wouldn't try and move her in this state – would they? On the other hand, did she want to stay here for an extra night waiting for Dredge to show up? Ellie lay still, making the most of not having to move. Just when she thought they had forgotten about her, the door opened and a new handler stepped in. He whistled when he saw her backside and crouched down beside her.

"So you're the one that Dredge got his nasty mitts on then. Ouch. Think you can walk?" Ellie shook her head.

"Ok – don't worry, I'll carry you. I need to get you up on your feet first though so that I can tie your wrists and blindfold you. I'll be as gentle as I can." The handler slid Ellie's feet off the bench first and then supported her shoulders as she stood. She whined piteously as she straightened up and he looked at her with concern.

"If it was up to me he'd have got more than a suspension for this." he mumbled as he tied Ellie's wrists together in front of her. 

"I heard you covered him in a bucket full of sick – is that true?" he asked grinning and she nodded not able to contain the smile that crept onto her lips. "Ha! Good for you. I think there are plenty of girls in here who'd like to thank you for that. Let's pop this blindfold on..." Ellie looked at him like a frightened rabbit. "It's ok, I won't hurt you. It's routine. All the girls are blindfolded so that they can't see who's bidding for them." and without further discussion he secured the thin strip of black material over her eyes tightly. Next he swept Ellie up into his arms and carried her like a child out through the corridors and up the stairs. 

Ellie could hear voices – lots of them. Every so often she'd hear a woman cry out in pain or shock but the rest of the voices were overwhelmingly male. There was a slight echo in the room and Ellie pictured a large auditorium with a stage on which the girls were standing. Her handler carried her up a few steps and then set her on her feet. Ellie winced in pain when her legs moved but she tried to be brave. She felt her hands being secured to something above her head and then her feet were spread apart and manacled to the floor like they had been for her interview. 

"Ok, I'm leaving you now Dredge–drencher! Good luck!" whispered her handler and Ellie had never felt so alone in such a crowded room in her life.

"10 minutes of viewing time left gentlemen." boomed a voice across the room. Men came up close to Ellie and made crude observations. They were very free with their hands and felt her breasts and pussy as they pleased. Some wanted to look in her mouth and they prized her jaw open painfully. All of them commented on her punished bottom – 

"Looks like this one put up a fight."

"Expensive starting price for a slave so beaten up – maybe she has some special talents in the bedroom?!"

"This one had a bit of spirit – I wonder if it's been broken."

"No, she's no good – someone's already marked her up."

"She's pretty but I think I prefer the red head and God knows how long it'll take for those bruises to fade."

"I might go for her – looks like she can take a good whipping."

"Shit. What did she do? - shoot the Prime Minister?!"

"This one looks good but I'm not sure I can be bothered with one that's gonna misbehave."

"Oooo – are you a naughty girl? I like naughty girls. I like putting them in their place." That last one ran his hands over Ellie's tender backside making her cry out in pain. She had three others shove their fingers roughly inside her pussy making her squeal and one man twisted her nipples so hard she begged him to stop.

"Take your seats please gentlemen, the auction is about to start." the voice boomed again and Ellie could sense the men departing the stage. She had tears streaming down her face and she concentrated on calming her breathing. Her heart fluttered like a butterfly caught in a jar – it wanted to escape her body and fly away as fast as it could but it was trapped, just like Ellie.

"YOU EVIL BASTARDS! YOU'LL PAY FO..." the shout had come from one of the women further down the line but she had been quickly muffled – gagged Ellie guessed. A few of the others were sobbing heavily. Ellie tied to block them out.

The bidding went on around her but Ellie had no idea when it was her turn, if she raised a high price or who had bid for her. All she could do was wait for it to be over and hope that the man who'd bought her hadn't been one of the sadistic monsters who'd groped her earlier. 

"Thank you gentlemen. The next auction takes place in half an hour's time. Would those who made successful bids please make their way to the office."

Waiting again. Ellie could hear the men chatting amongst themselves and she heard the woman next to her being unshackled and taken away by her new owner – "Come on slut, let's get you home." Ellie wondered if it was possible that Ben had managed to find her. Could it be that he'd been at the auction? Is there any hope that he might have bid for her and won? Would he have taken the time to do that after what she had done to him or would he have given her up as too much trouble. He could easily have caught someone else – someone better. Even if he had turned up at the auction, he will have seen younger, prettier women up for sale. He might have even bought himself a virgin. Why would he bother with Ellie after she had proven how much of a nuisance she was and how much she didn't want him?

Her breathing increased again when she finally felt someone undoing the restraints around her ankles. 

"Are...are you the one who bought me?" she asked tentatively. No answer. The man then released her wrists from above her and retied them behind her back. "The thing is, I belong to someone else and this has been a huge mistake..." She waited for him to remove her blindfold but he didn't. "I'm sure if you call him he'll give you whatever you paid for me..." silence "...maybe more? .... Or my Dad, he'll probabmmm!" Ellie jumped and struggled slightly as he slipped a ball gag into her mouth and fastened it snugly. 

Wrapping something around her (a blanket?) he lifted Ellie in the same way that the handler had, making her gasp in pain through the gag. He hesitated slightly and Ellie felt him pull her closer to his body. Then she was carried from the building and laid on her stomach on something soft.

Ellie heard the sound of seat belts being pulled and clicked into place around her and then the car door closed. The man opened the driver's door and got in. He rumbled the engine to life and they set off, presumably towards her new home. He hadn't spoken to her at all. Not one word of introduction, welcome, reassurance or comfort. He hadn't even taken the time to insult her with crude names or threaten her with the disgusting things he was planning to do to her. If it was Ben he would have said so by now. There was no reason that Ellie could think of, why he wouldn't. Who was it then? Ellie was petrified.

She tried to get his attention by mumbling through the gag but the man simply turned on the radio to drown her out. Ellie groaned when she heard which song was being played – 'It's a man's world' by James Brown – how apt. 

"Yes indeed, a man's world. Or certainly in this country it is!" said the cheesy DJ when the song ended. "Earlier we asked you to call in with your tips on training and we've had a fantastic response. Let's hear some of them – on Line One we've got Jim. Hi Jim, what's your tip?"

"Well Adam, I've found that you've got to show them who's boss from the very start. Don't let them get away with anything and you've got to make all the decisions - mine was never any good at making decisions anyway – I think it's been a bit of a relief for her to tell you the truth."

"What sorts of decisions are we talking about here Jim?" 

"Everything. I tell her when she can eat, sleep, use the bathroom, sit, stand...the works really. She has no say in anything anymore. No room to move at all and it seems to be working a treat."

"OK, thanks for that Jim. Lets hear what Line Two has to offer...er, Dave. Hello Dave?"

"Hi Adam. My top tip for training is a cattle prod. I keep it on me at all times but I've only needed to use it on her twice – she's so afraid of it that whenever I even twitch it at her, she stops what she's doing and falls to her knees. The best thing I ever bought!"

"Interesting, I might try that. Thanks Dave. Line Three – Chris. What have you got for us?"

"I think the key thing is to start with a fresh slave. There's no point battling with a woman who knows you too well. I've been married for 18 years but I traded her in the first chance I got for a younger model. My wife would have been hell to train so I didn't bother."

"Out of interest Chris, what happened to your wife?"

"I sold her to the old letch down the road. He's had his eyes on her for years – paid me well over the odds but we're both happy so who cares!"

"Lucky you Chris – congratulations on your new purchase. Let's move on to Line Four and that's Zach. Go ahead Zach."

"Thanks Adam. Mine was always a chatterbox. She was impossible to shut up so I've started as I mean to go on – by gagging her. I ordered one that locks into place so that she can't take it off. It's driving her crazy! She has to earn 'talk time' by pleasing me to get the gag off. I'd really recommend it."

"Wow Zach – that's a good one and I think a lot of our listeners will be having trouble with mouthy slaves. Brilliant tip! Let's move on to Mitch on Line Five. Are you there Mitch?"

"Yeah, I'm here Adam."

"You're live on air Mitch, what's your tip?"

"I've got mine sorted the old fashioned way – a good hard spanking three times a day. I used my hand to start with but I've been experimenting with other things like a wooden spoon, a slipper, rolled up newspaper (that one didn't work so well), a ruler and a long handled shoe horn."

"A shoe horn?!"

"Yeah – she hasn't put a toe out of line since I used that! It was great! I might make it a regular thing just to remind her what'll happen if she..." but the radio went dead. Ellie's new owner must have turned it off. She hoped he hadn't picked up any new ideas.

The car turned off the road and ground to a halt. Ellie's legs weren't restrained and the thought of kicking or running briefly flitted through her mind – it would be useless. Her hands were bound, she was blindfolded, gagged, injured and exhausted. She wouldn't have a hope in hell. She listened to her new owner exit the car and open her door. She flinched when she felt his hands on her so he kept them still for a moment so that she could feel he was being gentle. He pulled her along the seat and lowered her feet to the ground before helping her stand. She yelped a bit in pain so he held her still and supported her until it subsided. He tried to walk her but it was obvious that moving her legs made it worse so she was carried into the house and up the stairs.

Ellie heard a door being unlocked. She was taken inside and then stood on her feet. He left her for a few moments and Ellie could hear the rustling of things being moved around. Ellie felt something (furniture?) being placed in front of her and then his hands were on her legs moving them apart and tying something silky soft around her ankles. She wiggled a bit and discovered that they had been fixed to whatever had been put in front of her so that her legs were spread and she couldn't move. Ellie's anxiety levels were raised another notch. What was he planning to do with her? She mumbled through her gag but the words were incoherent. She hoped her tone at least, would communicate her unease.

The man was beside her. She could sense him. Ellie could feel his eyes scanning her body and she shrank sideways away from him as much as possible. He lifted her chin and clicked something onto her collar at the front. A nervous noise escaped from Ellie and her breathing became audibly heavier. Suddenly she felt pressure on her neck and she was being pulled forwards and down so that she had to bend at the waist. Ellie screeched and resisted but she was no match for him. Her upper body made contact with a solid surface but it had been covered in something luxurious and soft – fur? The lead that had been attached to her collar was tied in front of her so that she couldn't stand up and she was stuck. The last time Ellie had been in this position, she had received the beating of her life. Was he going to cane her some more? - to 'show her who's boss' and 'start as he meant to go on'?! 

Ellie panicked. Her hands, which were still tied behind her back, fanned out across her backside in an effort to block the blows she imagined were coming and she tossed herself around in her bondage looking for escape. Discovering that she couldn't move no matter how much she thrashed, she burst into loud wailing tears, the like of which she hadn't cried since she was a child.

"Ssssshhhh Beautiful." It was barely a whisper but Ellie was so shocked he had spoken that she quietened slightly in the hope he would say more. The man put his hand flat on her back between her shoulder blades and held it still. Heat radiated from his palm and calmed her until her heaving sobs had subsided. Then he slowly undid the gag and removed it.

"P... please... please don't hurt me... please?" she pleaded. He didn't respond. "Who are you? What are you going to do?" Her voice shook with fear but there was still no answer.

RAP RAP RAP!

Someone was knocking on the front door and Ellie heard the man leave and go downstairs. While he was gone, Ellie tried to steady her breathing – in through her nose, out through her mouth counting to 4 each time. It helped a bit, but not much. Two sets of footsteps on the stairs. Two people entering her room. What the hell was going on now?!

"Dear God. Look at the state of her." said the new person. He spoke with authority and Ellie imagined an older man, maybe in his fifties? "You bought her like this?" There was no answer that Ellie could hear but the older man grunted as if there had been some sort of response. She heard him move closer to her head.

"Hello er, Ellie is it?" Ellie nodded. "I'm a doctor and I'm here to check you over. I can see that someone has hurt you and I'm going to help you with that but first I need to know who it was. I don't want you to be scared – if it was your master then tell me. I've got the power to take you away from him right now." Ellie hesitated. She could lie and say that her new owner had done it but then what? Go back to the auction house and be at someone like Dredge's mercy until she went up for sale? Or stay and take her chances with the man who (so far) hadn't hurt her? No contest really.

"No, it wasn't him." she replied "It was a man called Dredge at the auction house."

"I see. Did he give you that cut lip too?" asked the doctor.

"No – that was the roundup men when I was in their van."

"That's where you got the rest of the bruises and grazes is it?"

"The ones on my back and legs yes, but the bruise on my cheek came from a man in a field and the ones on my ribs are from where I fell into a boat."

"A boat?" Ellie nodded. "I think you'd better tell me the whole story young lady - from the beginning please." So Ellie recounted her sorry tale. As she described the origin of each injury, the doctor gently cleaned and examined her to determine if anything was broken or if she needed any kind of treatment. The two men listened patiently and exchanged looks every now and then. The doctor made encouraging noises when she faltered but her new owner remained silent throughout. 

"...and then I came here but, but Ben is probably still out there looking for me. He'll be really worried and I, I should never (sob) I shouldn't have left. I'm so stupid (sob). P...please can you ring him (sniff) just so that he knows I'm ok? Please?"

"Well you don't need to worry about that right now." said the doctor patting her shoulder. "Let's concentrate on getting you fixed up shall we?" The doctor turned away from Ellie and addressed her new owner. "Starting from the top down, she has sustained a bump on the back of her head resulting in a mild concussion." Ellie couldn't even remember doing that! "You'll need to be very careful with her lip – I'm in two minds about putting a stitch in it but as it's stopped bleeding we'll leave it for now and see what happens. There's likely to be a small scar. Her cheek is a bit more swollen than I would like, suggesting that she got quite a good wallop from this Greg character. Keep an eye on it and ring me if the heat and swelling hasn't subsided by tomorrow evening. I suspect she has a couple of cracked ribs - not a lot to be done about that except rest. The grazes and bruises on her back, arms and legs will heal within a few days but the injuries to her backside will take longer. I'm worried about infection so I'm prescribing a cream for you to apply to the area twice a day for a week. She'll need some pain killers and anti-inflammatories too. In the genital area she's been extremely lucky. She has some mild bruising and a few scratches but, from what she described, I was expecting to see some tearing - very lucky indeed." Ellie didn't feel particularly lucky but she stayed quiet. "She's dehydrated and I would guess she could do with a good meal. Let her rest before you, er, introduce yourself properly. Have you thought about contraception?" silence "Well, we'll talk about that downstairs shall we? Nice to meet you Ellie – I'll arrange a time with your master and pop back in to see how you're getting on in a few days."

"Thank you." Ellie replied. She listened to the two men departing and relaxed into the soft fur beneath her. It was nice to rest her head and it seemed like every muscle and joint in her body were aching. The solid surface that she was on was surprisingly comfortable and it was supporting all of her weight – only her toes touched the floor. 

Easing slightly, she thought about the fact that her new owner had arranged for the doctor to examine her. He must have phoned him from the auction house before he'd collected her from the stage. The fact that he'd done that showed some compassion at least. The doctor had said she needed rest – could she trust this man to heed his advice or would he do whatever he had planned regardless? Either way it was out of Ellie's control so there was little point in worrying about it. 

Ellie wondered why he was keeping her blindfolded. Maybe he was hideous to look at and he was worried what her reaction would be. Perhaps he was a burns victim or had some sort of deformity. It could be that he was embarrassed because he was much older than her. Maybe it was someone she knew – someone she'd gone to school with perhaps, but why wouldn't they want her to know who they were? Ellie suspected it was simply a form of control. He was attempting to keep her vulnerable and off-balance. It was working and she was almost tempted to suggest that he phoned the radio station with this as his 'top tip'!




A Woman's Place Ch. 04



Exhausted, Ellie tried to listen in on the voices coming from below but they were too faint to make out words or accents. She heard the front door close and then there was stillness. Had her new owner gone out too? Her eyes had been forced closed by the blindfold and sleep was battling its way through her aching limbs and throbbing injuries. Ellie succumbed gratefully and slipped into a dream world in which only she and Ben existed.



A Woman's Place Ch. 05



Hello! Final chapter at last. Thank you for all of the amazing comments and emails I've received about this story. Lots of people had very different ideas about where this fairy-tale should go and it seems it may have sparked some new fantasies for some readers. I've had people asking about lesbian couples being broken up, angry husbands taking revenge on their cheating wives, virgins sold to creepy old men, questions about female pets (really!), rogue gangs abducting and selling women to other countries, the most beautiful women being kept in a luxurious harem for the rich & famous and endless ideas for ways to induct slaves into the training facilities to name but a few. Whilst I would have loved to branch off into some of these areas, I thought it best to stick with Ellie and finish her story. I hope you agree and approve of the ending I have chosen for her. 

If not, pick a fantasy and run with it! 

Enjoy

MelloT

p.s. To the guy asking about female hamsters -- er...good luck!

*

Ellie woke with a start as she heard footsteps approaching. Tied in this position there was no way she could turn to see who it was and even if she could, the blindfold that had been tied tightly over her eyes was still firmly in place.

"Drink Beautiful." whispered a voice in her ear. It was him -- the man who had bought her at auction. Ellie felt a straw being pushed past her lips and she sucked in the cool water without hesitation. The last time she had drunk something that was given to her by a man, it had been drugged but at this moment in time, she had nothing to lose. She guzzled it down and whined a bit when it was taken away. Ellie heard pills being taken out of their plastic strips and realised that he had just been to the chemist to collect the medicine the doctor had prescribed. She opened her mouth and accepted the tablets, eagerly washing them down with more water. The straw made a slurping noise as she reached the bottom of the glass and he took it away.

"What are you going to do with me now? Please can you take off this blindfold? I need to see you... to see where I am. I promise I won't try anything. Please?" her owner stroked her hair and planted a feather light kiss on her forehead as he stood up and left the room. Startled, Ellie could do nothing but lay there and wait for his return.

This time the wait wasn't long. A wonderful smell had wafted up the stairs making Ellie salivate. Her stomach rumbled loudly and she realised she hadn't eaten anything since the spaghetti at Ben's house on Sunday night. She wondered what time it was. Ellie guessed it was Monday evening but she couldn't be sure. The smell became stronger as he entered the room. Ellie heard the scrape of a chair being pulled up and the sounds of him sitting near her head. He loosened the lead so that she could raise her head slightly but not enough for her torso to leave the surface.

She heard cutlery scraping around a bowl and then he blew on it before touching it to her uninjured lip. It was some sort of stew and Ellie relished every bite. Her lip hurt but her hunger overrode the pain. It tasted wonderful and her owner kept it coming until Ellie couldn't eat another morsel. He helped her to drink some more water through the straw and then left her in total confusion while he tidied up downstairs. What sort of man buys a woman at auction, blindfolds her, ties her down and then treats her with such gentle kindness?

The painkillers were kicking in and Ellie began to feel just a little bit more human. All she needed now was a bubble bath, a glass of wine, some chocolate and...oh yeah... her freedom back. And Ben. She wanted him so much. More than anything. A single tear dripped from her nose and she sniffed pathetically. 'Get it together Ellie' she thought to herself. All this crying was doing her no good whatsoever. She needed to keep her wits about her and focus on her goal -- to get back to Ben.

Her new owner stomped up the stairs and Ellie steeled herself. He'd given her time to rest and now he was probably going to take what he'd paid for. She heard him lock the door behind him and dread flooded her system. Staying still and quiet, she tracked his sounds as he walked around the room finally coming to a stop next to her head. His knees cracked slightly as he crouched down beside her and stroked her hair. Ellie jumped when he whispered in her ear.

"There are two ways to make a woman your own Beautiful. You've already experienced far too much of one of them -- pain. Let's try using the other way..." Ellie shivered. She listened to him get up and walk around to the other side of her head. What was the other way? He must have bent down because she felt his whispered voice on her ear again. "...pleasure."

Ellie felt her hands being untied. The man positioned them so that they hung down on either side of the surface that Ellie rested on. She tried to move them but all feeling had been replaced by pins and needles. He wrapped one wrist in the same smooth, silky fabric that he'd used to tie her ankles and then strung it under the hard surface to her other wrist. It was far more comfortable like this but Ellie was still restrained.

Cool liquid was dribbled onto her back making Ellie gasp in shock. She was quickly warmed by his hands as he ran them over her and eased the moisture into her skin. He concentrated for a while on her aching shoulders and Ellie groaned with relief. Moving down, his hands soothed her back taking extra care around her grazes and cracked ribs. His fingers avoided her punished backside. Instead, they moved down to her calves and thighs which he massaged lovingly. Ellie couldn't help but relax as he lavished attention on her body. He was physically pushing out all of her rigidity and tension until she was just a pile of mush. 

His hands crept to the insides of her legs and gradually worked their way up. Ellie held her breath. His finger grazed her labia and she jumped making a startled noise.

"N..no..." she moaned.

"Ssssshhhhh."

He touched her there again running his finger up and down her slit. There was a pause while he collected some more of the cooling liquid he'd been using and then his gifted hands returned to her pussy. Parting her lips, he began to explore. He moved her folds from side to side so that he could see her from every perspective. Then he followed the edges of her inner lips to the point where they met, the magic spot. He grazed his finger over it listening to Ellie's sharp intake and then repeated the move, pressing slightly harder with each pass. 

"Oooo" the sound escaped Ellie before she could stop it. His fingers retreated and she suppressed her disappointed noises. Parting her inner lips again, he played with her smoothness examining how pink and inviting she looked. Then his fingers moved back some more and they located her entrance. Ellie didn't seem to have enough air and her lungs began to work overtime. His finger delved into her secret hole.

"So tight Beautiful." he whispered. She was wet too. Ellie knew it and hid her face in the soft fur. His finger plunged in and out of her, increasing in pace. He experimented with angles until...

"Oh God!" ...he hit her g-spot. Slipping another finger inside to join the first, he began to thrust vigorously into her. Ellie's back arched and she panted loudly. 

"AAAARRRGGGHHH!" she screamed reaching orgasm and flooding his fingers with her juices. She collapsed back down and tried to regain her breath. Would he fuck her now? 

"Ooohhhhh" his warm lips had closed around her inner labia and he was sucking them into his mouth. His tongue swished over them as he pulled away, stretching them gently until they popped out of his warm cave. They felt cold and abandoned without him but he began to lap at them with his tongue making her feel instantly better. His hot breath washed over her folds and she moaned with lust. Gathering her inner lips into his mouth again, he nibbled them tenderly without causing pain. Every hair on Ellie's body seemed to stand up when he did this and her fingers and toes curled up tightly. She was making noises she's never made before and her hips writhed all by themselves.

His tongue moved to her clit and he licked and sucked at it with a strong rhythm. Ellie didn't know whether she wanted to run away or stay forever -- her whole body became incredibly sensitive and she strained against her bonds as he pushed her to another climax. 

"HHHUUUUHHHH!"

She was sweating. Her hair had plastered itself to her forehead and she felt dazed but completely satisfied.

Buuuzzzzzzzzz.

A quiet buzzing sound filled the room and Ellie momentarily wondered if a fly or bee had somehow gotten in. All thoughts of insects were soon driven from her mind however when the vibrator was pressed directly onto her hypersensitive clit. 

"Oh God, no, stop, please, it's too much..." she gabbled but the vibrator remained in place. He wiggled it slightly as it vibrated ensuring that she would feel its effect all around her clit. Ellie had used vibrators before but none as powerful as this one. She struggled and strained in her bonds as her nervous system went into overdrive but there was no escape.

"NNUURRGGHHH!" she cried out as she peaked again. Unconsciousness pulled at her and Ellie would have happily gone with it but he had other things in mind.

"Don't fall asleep on me yet Beautiful." he whispered. Ellie could feel something hard and hot rubbing up and down her pussy. It pushed her folds away and pressed into the entrance of her oh so ready channel. Ellie whimpered but, despite herself, she pushed back. He penetrated her with control so that she could feel every millimetre.

"Oh God, Oh God, Oh God, Oh God, Oh God..." she chanted. He seemed to go on forever. When he had finally sunk his way completely into her, he held still, letting her get used to his size. He could feel her inner muscles contracting and releasing and he moaned with pleasure. Unable to hold back any more, he began to pull out and thrust back in. Ellie gasped with every plunge and he swept her hair out of her face, checking she was ok without stopping. She was getting close again -- her fingers were curling up and fanning out with every thrust and her back was arching. He picked up the pace ramming into her hard and forcing the breath out of her with every blow. 

Ellie had never experienced anything like it. If she hadn't been tied down she would have either run for the hills or thrown herself upon him. He filled her so completely, scared her with his ferocity and thrilled her beyond anything she'd ever dreamt of before. Breathless with pure desire, Ellie sank her teeth into the fur beneath her and felt him slam into her one final time. They both tumbled over the edge simultaneously, their cries mixing together as he slumped over her back. He lay there panting with her for a few seconds before slipping out of her pussy and straightening himself up. 

Ellie lay completely still. She didn't think she could move even if she'd wanted to. A comfortable, exhausted state of bliss had settled over her and she dallied between asleep and awake. She could hear him moving around. He might have even said something but Ellie wasn't there. As her breathing calmed, she sank deeper letting herself fall into the abyss. 

.................

Softness. Ellie knew she was in a bed. Her head was on a pillow and she'd been covered with a warm duvet. The sheets smelt like they were freshly laundered and she couldn't sense anyone else in the bed with her. Lying curled on her side, she stretched out like a cat only to discover that her wrists were tied together, as were her ankles. She reached up and pulled the blindfold away at last. Pitch black. It must be the middle of the night. 

She rolled onto her back, immediately regretting the action. Her backside made contact with the sheets and she winced, moving quickly onto her stomach. Without hesitation, Ellie began to gnaw at the silken ropes with her teeth. It was hard to know if she was pulling on the right strands but eventually, she felt something give and she wiggled her hands out of the bonds. It was easier to untie her ankles and they were free within seconds. 

Was that the right thing to do? Would he be mad when he discovered she'd untied herself? He'd been really good to her so far (considering the situation) and the sex was, well, amazing! The best she'd ever had! Did she really want to piss him off at this point? Ellie shook her head as if to clear it. 'Stockholm Syndrome' she whispered to herself. She was being ridiculous -- of course she needed to fight. She resolved to make his life as hellish as possible until he either let her go back to Ben or she managed to escape. She had to focus on only one thing -- getting home to Ben and convincing him to take her back.

Feeling around in the dark, Ellie found a solid wall on one side and cold, metal bars on the other. She continued searching, mapping out her prison in her mind. She found another wall behind at the head of the bed and began to make her way to the other end. Running her hands over the soft duvet, they bumped into something small and soft. Ellie picked it up to move it thinking it was a cushion but the weight and shape was wrong. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt the object again. It had legs and arms, a soft head with glass eyes and two round little ears. Ellie pressed it to her nose and inhaled the very familiar childhood scent of Bear.

Her eyes filled with tears as she cuddled him and she giggled quietly.

Knowing what to do, she reached through the bars by the pillows and turned on the lamp that stood on the bedside cabinet. Sitting up gingerly, she scanned the room. Everything was where it should be except for the table which had been placed in the centre of the floor. On top of it, Ben had laid out the large sheepskin rug and still tied around two of its legs were some silk scarves. The cage door was wide open. Ellie swiftly got out of bed and crossed the room to the door. 

It wouldn't budge -- looks like Ben had gotten around to fitting a lock on it. Ellie tried to look through the key hole but the key must have been in it on the other side because her view was obstructed. Racing to the bedside cabinet, she found a magazine and carefully removed its centre page. Then she rummaged through her makeup bag that Ben had brought in from their camping trip until she found her long, thin eye shadow brush. Next Ellie crouched down by the key hole and slipped the flat magazine page under the door. Using the end of her brush, Ellie held her breath and pushed the key out. She sighed with relief as she heard it clatter onto the paper below. Drawing the magazine page slowly back, she almost laughed out loud to see the key emerge in front of her. 

Ellie quickly unlocked the door and tip toed down the stairs. The whole house was quiet. She couldn't even hear any cars on the road outside. There was no music coming from the neighbours and no-one was drunkenly singing their way home from the pub. Ellie guessed it was the early hours of the morning.

The door creaked as she pushed it open making Ellie jump and stand still for a moment. Nothing. Slinking through the door, Ellie crept forwards a few paces, straining her ears for any unusual noises. Reaching her destination, she leant forward and gently pulled back the covers before slipping into the bed behind Ben.

"Finally. What took you so long Houdini?" Ben mumbled sleepily.

"I'm sorry -- I got tied up." Ellie replied with a grin.

Ben turned over and gathered her into his arms gently.

"God I missed you. I was so worried."

"I know. I'm sorry. I was so stupid. I promise I'll never..."

"Ssssshhhhh -- it should be me apologising Beautiful. I did this all wrong, it's my fault. But now you're here and you're safe and you're mine." and then he was kissing her. A gentle but passionate kiss that made Ellie tingle all over. It stung her lip but she didn't care. She'd happily kiss this man forever.

12 MONTHS LATER

Ben was in love. He had never felt like this about any girl before. He could gaze at her sweet face for hours on end and he found it so difficult to keep his hands off of her.

"Don't Ben, you'll wake her." Ellie warned as she leant against the nursery door watching Ben stroke their daughter's fine baby hair.

"Ok. You're the boss Beautiful." he said, reluctantly walking away and closing the door softly behind them. "The tickets came through today. We're confirmed to leave next Wednesday."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ellie asked.

"Absolutely. My two girls deserve to live in a free country, have any job they choose and have all the same rights that men do. Zoe will grow up strong, independent and clever like her Mum and she'll marry whoever she deems is worthy - as long as we think he's worthy too." joked Ben throwing an arm around Ellie's shoulders as they collapsed onto the sofa. Ellie let out a sigh of relief. She couldn't wait to leave. 

The past year had been hell for her -- the only thing keeping her sane had been Ben. Her injuries eventually healed but the emotional scars were still with her. She'd often have nightmares about the roundup and auction men, refused to watch The News and hated leaving the house. She lived in constant fear that something might happen to Ben -- then where would they be? Sold on to someone else? 

Here in Ben's arms she had found her sanctuary -- she could be herself and have every freedom she wished for within these walls but how wonderful it would be to be able to walk down the street without looking over her shoulder or feeling her blood boil as she witnessed other women being mistreated. No-one deserved that. Ellie wanted her old country back, where women had equal rights, equal opportunities and equal respect. She wanted that for herself. She wanted that for her daughter. Once they were abroad she could do something about it -- form some sort of resistance and start getting other women out. A million ideas buzzed through her mind as she thought of battle plan after battle plan. She wasn't going to take this lying down!

Ben watched the emotions and thoughts play out over Ellie's face. Small, angry furrows had appeared on her brow -- it was a look of fight and determination that he had gotten to know pretty well over the past 12 months. He leant down and kissed the scar on her top lip making her replace the frown with a smile. Her scar was his constant reminder of how close he had come to losing her, how stupid he had been to try and cage her and how he would never, ever let anyone hurt her again. 

'Mine' Ben thought to himself. 

Ellie looked into Ben's eyes and grinned at the possessive look he gave her. 

'Mine' she thought to herself.