Witch Blood 13
"Power is a fantasy," Kenna told
her in many different ways. "What separates a lord from a peasant is a fantasy
of control. The noble has a fantasy about being closer to God and the peasant
believes the lie. If one scrubbed the peasant clean, traded their clothes, and
gave them etiquette lessons, then who would be able to tell the difference?"
Kenna had a dozen ways of repeating
that lesson but she showed with as much skill as she told. "Physical pain is
not the only means of exciting the submissive," Kenna explained. "Domination
can be verbal, involving humiliating tasks, or servitude. DOWN ON YOUR KNEES!" The sudden shift in Kenna's voice pressed into
Rhea's flesh and caused her heart to skip into the pitter-patter of a rabbit in
flight. Without realizing it, she obeyed and the business end of Kenna's riding
crop pressed against the base of her skull. "Lick your Mistress' boots, slave,
for you are unworthy of her feet!"
"L-leather!" Rhea gasped and
immediately Kenna stepped back.
"Are you okay?" Her voice was still
potent and unafraid but it was concerned. "Rhea, are you alright?"
"I'm ... okay," Rhea told her as she
breathed deeply. "You ... you scared me."
"That was the point," Kenna
admitted. "Voice is a powerful tool and you needed to understand what it could
do to you. Use your voice wisely and you can control people's emotions ... use it
poorly, and you can hurt them." Rhea nodded, absorbing the lesson with intimate
understanding.
"Kenna, I don't understand," Rhea
finally said. "Why do people ask for this? Who would actually want to be treated like this? Who would
actually pay for it?"
"That will be tomorrow's lesson,"
Kenna told her patiently, "but for now I will tell you that we are in a society
that is filled with rules and structure. Breaking away from that structure can
be exciting but should always be a controlled and temporary break. Civilization
can only exist if people follow the rules ... but those who feel the most
constraint find themselves needing release, from time to time. Arranged marriages,
political necessities, and fake facades all create their own kind of pressure ...
and we bleed that pressure so that people do not explode."
"Short term gains are for the
impatient, the foolish, and the weak," Kenna told Rhea on the second day. "Real
pleasure must always be built with planning and care ... much like the rest of
life."
"Many of the people we restrain are
people of power. Most wield it every day and are used to getting what they
want. Others are servants who have taken their role to heart and truly believe in their place as a servant.
Some are the type of people who wish their masters would reward their service
with sex. Others are simply fatigued from restraining their bodies and emotions
day in and day out so that no one can see the real person inside. Whatever
their motivation, people who come to me want to be debased and stripped of
their civil restraints until they're rutting like animals in heat."
Kenna opened a metal piece of
furniture that a wardrobe. The double doors swung open to reveal dozens of
tools which Rhea could barely identify.
Always
start small and then build into a squalling storm.
"Ropes, cuffs, and blindfolds take
power from the subject," Kenna explained, "but I will not take advantage of the
power I gain. This is a relationship of trust. If that trust is broken than the
fantasy becomes reality ... and it cannot be regained. I torture with denial. I
build a monument of my subject's pleasures and then hold them at the apex of
their desires. Only at the proper moment do I grant release and send them
spiraling through the abyss."
Touch
... tease ... explain but don't go too far.
"Look but don't touch," Mistress
Kenna had told her as she lightly slapped the back of Rhea's hand. "Look with
your eyes but not your hands." Rhea glared for a moment but said nothing and
forced her face to return to its neutral position.
"Most of the things in here can
maim or kill a person," Kenna told her as she picked up a phallic-looking
cylinder made of a sleek, black, material. "If you shove this into someone's
mouth and into their throat you can suffocate them, knock out their teeth, or
bruise their insides. You need empathy and attentiveness to gauge your
subject's needs, desires, and limitations. Tomorrow you will be tied up and
lightly tortured, but you will not be in any danger. The number one rule of
dominating anyone is the submissive partner is in charge. If they want more,
they get more. If they want you to stop, you stop. If you really hurt them ...
you're done."
"You're going to torture me?" Rhea
asked, finally breaking her silence.
"I am going to show you what it
means to be a sub," Kenna told her. "You cannot be in my position without
knowing what it means to give your trust over to another."
"I don't think I want to do this,"
Rhea told her. "I mean, I'm all for stepping outside of my comfort zone, but
this ..."
"One cannot know pleasure without
pain," Kenna told her gently. "We measure all of the light in our lives against
the darkness we have endured. Spoiled children and petulant kings have never
known the struggle and failure needed to obtain satisfaction with their work.
They become cruel because they see another person being satisfied and it makes
them mad with grief. You need to learn how to force a subject to struggle
before you reward them with bliss."
"I just ... I don't know," Rhea
hedged. "I just don't know."
"Hmmm," Kenna made a thoughtful
noise as she tugged as her leather thong and considered something secret. "Are
witches always this uncomfortable with new things? I thought you were always
learning new things and pushing the boundaries of what ordinary folk considered
normal."
"Of course we do!" Rhea snapped,
and she felt a different type of heat color her face. "I want to learn but-"
"Good," Kenna said over her, cutting
her off. "I'll see you here tomorrow night. Come clean and come ready."
Day three ... restrain, build, and release. It was part of the mantra that
Mistress Kenna had been teaching her. "Since you crave structure," she had told
her waspishly, "then chant this mantra to yourself before you get here and
whisper it as you work. Don't say it, though, or you'll frighten people."
The blindfold would have caused her
heart to beat fast on its own, but she knew that more was coming. Pale wrists
strained against silken ties, allowing her to struggle without chafing. The
wood of the table, she was strapped to, had been sanded until it held no edge
and then covered in soft fabrics that could be easily removed and cleaned. The
click of steel-shod-shoes told her where the mistress stood, but she could not
know when the next touch would come.
"Well, well ..." Kenna's voice purred
from much closer than Rhea had expected, "what have we here? A lovely little
morsel drew too close to my lair."
Always
start small and then build into a squalling storm.
Steel-tipped claws caused her to
jump when they settled along her throat but they achieved a whimpering moan as
they dragged along soft flesh. The collarbone resonated pleasantly and her
breasts ached as claw-tips dimpled them but did not cut.
"Do you know what wolves do to
naughty little girls?" the dominant woman asked with a husky snarl in her
voice. "Do you know the price ... of
dallying with beasts?"
Kenna did it exactly right. Her
voice was teasing and every syllable promised to push past the constraints of
what was normal and dally in the land
of the forbidden. The light touches began at places where a good friend might
go and then dallied closer to less appropriate places.
Touch
... tease ... explain but don't go too far.
Leather tickled her ribs, causing shivers
of delight that twisted Rhea against her bonds. Hardening nipples pressed
against the light fabric of her outfit and gooseflesh rippled along her
surface. One touch went a little too personal and Rhea's gasp caused the
Mistress to pull back. There was a pause before that touch landed somewhere
else and this time it was better.
She's
probing ... searching through my body's pleasure zones and finding where my
passions lay. Eventually she will reach into my core and drive me mad with
need.
Mistress Kenna did exactly what
Rhea feared, but she went for the long game. Denying Rhea release through three
days of teasing lessons had wound her up tightly and now the student was so
moist with anticipation that her undergarments practically dripped.
"Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?"
Kenna growled next to Rhea's ear.
"I-I am," she whispered.
"Are you?" the wolf asked harshly.
"Y-yes ... Mistress!"
"I don't think you're afraid
enough!" Kenna growled, and then a leather lash scored several places at once.
The scream of first strike filled the room but it died as sharp stings did not
intensify into real pain. The body had also been fooled by the sensation and
soon Rhea felt endorphins flood her blood but no real pain to take off its
edge. "Are you afraid?"
"Yes, Mistress!"
"Lier." Another snap tanned her
flesh and this time the gasp was followed by a shiver.
Gods
... what was that? It wasn't quite an orgasm ... but it almost was!
"Are you afraid now?"
"Yes, Mistress!"
"Lier."
This went on for an eternity. Mistress
Kenna demonstrated through whip and feather, she showed her student the
pleasures of light touches and delicate stings. As the night wore on Rhea found
her fears bleeding away with every sting and after-shock of pleasure. She's training me like a dog. Casting a
spell of control through my limbs so that I'll enjoy this. How is she doing
this without magic? A stinging slash with a leather tool cause Rhea to
gasp.
Carnal needs wrapped themselves in
anticipation until Rhea was begging for release. She never uttered the word
that would really end her torture but she bathed herself in understanding.
Kenna's whip cut like a ritual blade and Rhea was the ritual ground. The
pressure built but she was restrained. The passions flared as muscles drew
tense. Her body grew rigid and she panted, wanting more.
"Is there something you want?"
Kenna's voice whispered breathily.
"Y-yes ..." Rhea whimpered though she
could barely focus on the words.
"Is there something you need?"
"Gods ... yes!"
"Say it," Kenna told her, "tell me
what you need or else you shall linger at this ledge. I will only grant you
release ... by your command."
"Release me, damn it!" Rhea
shouted. "Do your worst and make me cum!"
"Ooohhh ... yeeesss," Kenna purred,
and then something was pressing up against Rhea's nethers. Without penetrating
her body the unseen touch glided smoothly along the leather thong. Special
attention was placed on a nub of special significance and though there was barely
any pressure, everything was so sensitive. Waves of pleasure rippled to the
right places and Rhea screamed. Her body arched, shuddered, and convulsed in
pure bliss.
Restrain,
build, and release, her mind recounted as she settled into a boneless heap.
Release all that ales you and then slip
away into nothingness.
Softness captured her body as she
reclined on a couch made of marshmallow fluff.
"Ah, there you are." The voice
seemed to come from everywhere but then a tall green hag flopped down at Rhea's
feet. "I was beginning to wonder if you would ever call home." Her smile
displayed the sharp edges of her black teeth and a similarly clawed hand patted
the girl gently on the leg.
"I'm ... sorry, Baba," Rhea said
timidly as humiliation threatened to burst her into flames.
"The fires of your adventure
consumed a hundred souls," her baba told her sadly. "I sifted through the
wreckage but most of the bodies were too burnt to identify"
"The eyes of the One," Rhea spoke
lifelessly and her mentor nodded. "Baba ... Lyle is trapped! The One has him and
plans to devour his soul! I need to rescue him ... but I can't even rescue
myself!"
"Calm ... calm ..." Baba Ginger told
her gently. "Hush ... hush ..." Shushing sounds followed and the blind panic fell
away. "I cannot talk to you if you wake yourself up ... and I don't know if I'll
be able to find you again if that happens."
"I'm sorry, Baba," Rhea said.
"Do not be sorry," Baba Ginger
cooed, "just tell me where you are."
"I'm in Alashir Province, at the Beloved Bard in the city of Caritas and
I've been sold to a brothel as a slave," Rhea told her. "The Children of Helios
branded me with some sort of seal that won't let me access my magic and-" Her
voice trailed off and then she blinked up at her Baba. "Wait, how are we
talking? The Seal of Palor's Light blocks almost all of my power from going
anywhere. You shouldn't be able to get through the seal."
"Maybe, you should start from the
beginning and tell me all of it," Baba Ginger told her. Rhea took a centering
breath and recounted the tale. To her horror, she found herself floating
through the nothing of the astral realm. Her story played out before her as
illusions of thought and their power spread out before them like golden
threads. In the distance she saw the threads glowing and drifting back and
forth like the branches of an ethereal tree.
"The Threads of Fate," Rhea spoke
when she realized what was happening. "How am I here? Why isn't the brand
preventing it?"
"What happened to you right before
you fell asleep?" Baba Ginger asked innocently.
"Uhm ... well," Rhea flushed and
tried to curl her non-existent limbs into a ball.
"Ooohhh," Baba Ginger cooed and
then she leered. "Was there sex involved?" Rhea let out a squeak and she heard
her mentor's rich laughter press in from all sides. "Oh ... how precious! So who
was it? One of your Johns? Or was it a Jenny?" Rhea made a few sputtering
sounds and her baba laughed again. "Orgasms are called the little death in some places, and it can allow you to leave your
body if done correctly. Apparently you found your end at the hands of a master
... but you will soon crash back into your body and then you will be trapped."
"Great," Rhea mumbled. "So I can't
just masturbate myself here?"
"Not very likely," Baba Ginger told
her bluntly. "Once this dream fades it will be incredibly difficult to
reestablish this link. There is little chance of me coming all the way out to Alashir
to find you. Even I have my limits, and the Inquisition is much too fanatic for
me to simply slip in. Besides ... I'm green of flesh and black of fang and claw.
I look like fattening up children for my supper and there is only so much
glamour for that sort of thing. The cities of the Ephesus are notoriously
resistant to such things so I doubt I'll be able to make it."
"Can you help Lyle?" Rhea asked
hopefully.
"I cannot," Baba Ginger told her
sadly. "Only you can find him again, but when it happens you'll need to do more
than just cut his chains."
"What do I need to do?" Rhea asked
seriously.
"Attend," Baba Ginger spoke, and
all of the mirth left her voice. "You will need all of your power to cut his
chains and then you will need a channel of escape. Your connection to him is
through love and sex. We managed to stop his essence from changing you but the
emotions you shared are still a part of you. That part of him can be used in a
ritual of binding. Find an anchor, ritual up a portal, and create a path. Once
there, cut his chains. Forge your love into a blade and strike. Once you have
him, direct him back into the world ... then put his essence into an idol and
take him to a place of rest."
"How do I get through the brand and
reclaim my power?" Rhea asked once it was her turn.
"You can break through the brand by
moving power through it," the baba told her. "Think of it like rocks damning a
river. Let water trickle through the gaps and it will slowly wear away. While
you can do this by pure focus, it is specifically designed to inflict pain when
you do. That is why you cannot masturbate and why too much excitement causes it
to flare. Others can pour their passions into you but that is a challenge in
most places."
"What about lust?" Rhea asked as
ideas began to form. "I'm in a brothel. Can the lust of others wear the brand
away?"
"Technically," Baba Ginger told
her, "but their energy will flood into your body, invade your soul, and change
you. If you had a lover to do this with then things might be safer, but having
lots of sex with strangers is a fantastic way to wreck yourself."
"That's an odd thing for you to say," Rhea said a little more
bitterly than she meant to. Her baba laughed the comment off, though.
"I may have sex with lots of different
people," Baba Ginger told her in an amused tone, "but I know them very well.
I'm hundreds of years old, dear, and I make friends easily. If I collected one
lover a decade I'd have enough to throw an orgy every night for a month and a
half ... using different people each time."
"So ... all I need is a potent lover
and his passions can set me free?" Rhea asked, hopefully.
"Just so," Baba Ginger told her
with a nod, "be careful, though, for one lover's power can wash away the hold
of a former. If you spend too much time in the care of others then you might
lose your connection to Lyle ... then you will not be able to find your way back
to him."
"Can I use something of his as a
focus?" Rhea asked. "Like ... an engagement ring ... or something like that?"
"You can," the baba's voice told
her but it was farther away. "But where would you find such a thing? Better to
make a focus item and pleasure yourself with it while thinking of him."
"But, won't that activate the
brand?" Rhea asked.
"Not if someone else is holding it
while it's happening," Baba Ginger told her.
"Oh ... great," Rhea deflated and she
heard her baba laughing.
"Oh, my poor, darling, apprentice.
You're too uptight." Baba Ginger took a breath. "You are in a place full of
potential lovers. One of them has brought your peak to such a height that you
achieved this link. Perhaps you should ask that same person to handle you again! Only next time, give
her the focus item and let her tie you up. Ooohhh ... that sounds lovely!"
"Thanks, Baba," Rhea muttered with
a blush that bled through to her soul. "I'll see what I can do."
"Do what you need to, child," Baba
Ginger told her as the humor in her tone bled away. "You are in danger that I
cannot save you from and you must act. Keep your wits about you and don't let
the world savage your soul. Remember the power of stories, Rhea! You are on a
quest! Let this quest strengthen you into the stuff of legendary heroes!"