Tieup1 wrote: 5 years ago
Another good continuation, very interesting story.
Thanks for your comment, and I'm glad you like it.
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Elaine awoke and heard ominous sounds around her: “Click… click...†She opened her eyes, and Mr. DuBois, in casual business attire, darted around her, flaring her with his fancy expansive camera.
“Sorry, Lynette, your cuteness and purity overwhelmed me. You and your plush are adorable together. Smile!â€
Elaine looked fuzzy, recalling she had slept caged. A ghastly fashion to rise, but SPLENDID had prepared her well. A python creeping over her belly had woken her in a spread-eagle, as had bidders during her internship auction. Her current situation reminded of the latter: Excited men had stared at the sleeping maiden.
But before words could pass her dry lips, Mr. DuBois spoke again. “It’s nine already. You overslept, so your workday already started. Eat your breakfast and ignore me.â€
Mr. DuBois resumed photographing his damsel as she spotted a bowl of cereal, two slices of toast, and a huge glass of orange juice on a tray and yielded. She grasped the glass that did not fit through her cage’s vertical bars. With a hand around a bar and her cheeks pressed against the cage, she sipped, marking her client in disgust. He had kneeled before her and kept the camera two feet from her nose.
“Can you stop that!†Elaine emitted. She put the glass down, grabbed a piece of toast, and rolled herself in her blanket.
“C’mon Lynette, show yourself. Nothing wrong with spilling some breadcrumbs, no make-up, or messy hair. You just woke up and are magnificent. Come here. Don’t fear the camera.â€
Elaine took a bite under her blanket. “No way! Any idea how awkward you make me feel?â€
“Behave, Lynette, and manners. This is your job and life now. Get used to the spotlight and lack of privacy. Last warning.â€
Elaine sighed, tossed the blanket aside, and devoured her cold toast. Her client had won this battle, but his victory would be Pyrrhic: She let a tear and stared away, miserable and defeated with her eyebrows and corners of her mouth pointing downwards. No spark of joy adorned her weary face.
The cereal bowl was also too broad for the bars, and Mr. DuBois dictated her to lie flat and curl her feet backward. Elaine complied and pushed the cereal through her gullet while smacking as she gawked into the bowl.
“Lynette, look up and wipe that milk off with your tongue,†Mr. DuBois said, patting her head as she obeyed. He seized a couple of mini muffins and donuts on strings and bound them to the cage’s top bars. “No hands, afterward I’ll let you go and shower.â€
“Sir, I’m full already.â€
“Eat them. You’ll need the energy.â€
“Then give them.â€
“Lynette, you fancy another night in a straitjacket? Maybe gagged and without emergency button?â€
Elaine caved, brought her head up, and tilted it backward. She pulled herself up, and her teeth seized a mini donut, crumbling it on her face. She gazed into the camera above her, which flashed her as she took her last bite.
“Gorgeous, Lynette! Another one,†Mr. DuBois encouraged, and Elaine snapped the next rapidly, butting her head but denying a good picture. He was unamused and urged her to slow down. After the sweet snacks, a satisfied client released Elaine from her cage and escorted her to the tunnel leading into the basement shower. “I want braided pigtails today and a little make-up, nothing excessive.â€
Half an hour later, Miss Silverman escorted Elaine upstairs to the ballroom. Her hair was braided in the required pigtails, and subtle conditioner, foundation, and mascara brought life to her face. Her outfit resembled her previous ones: Scarlet tights, a black skirt, and a Venetian red blouse. All clean and smelling like roses.
“Lynette, good morning! Ready to work, darling?†Mr. DuBois greeted, waving Elaine toward him as she inspected the remodeled room. She had suspected a less strict predicament than yesterday, not envisioning any graver working conditions. However, the name lists were taped on the edges of the ballroom floor, and the photos were in plastic sleeves. The portraits of tied up women in bondage still covered the walls. Bad news. Elaine approached her client while examining her surroundings and assumed the standard position.
“Good girl,†Mr. DuBois purred, rising from his office chair. “You require bondage practice, so today we’ll compromise on your productivity to familiarize you with restraints. Please ball your hands into fists.â€
Elaine complied, and black rubber balls were locked onto her fists, doubling their diameter. Dense elbow and knee pads followed, and Mr. DuBois directed Elaine to stand as if she was crouching with her heels touching her bottom. She understood her boss’ plan as he revealed a roll of red tape, made a futile objection, and let him secure her ankles to her upper legs. He used more than the necessary five strips and covered her whole leg, but kept her skirt free to dangle. She gazed through her legs and saw a solid pack of red plastic.
“But, but how do I walk? How can I pick the pictures up?†Elaine exclaimed, waiting for the inevitable, logical explanation.
“Oh, Lynette, no worries. You should waste no precious time over-analyzing everything. Simply follow my orders and trust me. Bigger, less flexible, less fit ladies have walked miles in such restraints, so they should form no problem for you. The photos are in plastic, so you can harmlessly carry them in your mouth. If you date one, lay it on my lap, and I’ll archive it. Okay? Now sit still.â€
Mr. DuBois added a few bright red ribbons, black bows, and little bells to her braids and tucked them over her shoulder. Then he buckled black leather horse blinders around her head and under her chin. Four tiny bells hanging under her collar finalized his creation. He smiled broadly, patted her head, and ordered her to work, and Elaine wiggled to the pile of photos with her long braids sliding over the dusty floor.
The thick, soft cushions of the knee-pads made walking on her knee-pads viable. SPLENDID had trained her to walk like an animal with a lowered horse exerciser, treadmills, and staircases. Endurance, speed, elegance, and crossing obstacles were the principal training goals, so the flat ballroom was within Elaine’s qualifications. Yet, the sheer humiliation of her position, outfit, bells, and task had reached Lynette’s, and thus Elaine’s soul.
The first photo faced upward and featured two kissing girls suspended upside down in a heart shape, and Elaine clasped it in her mouth. She tippled to lists of model names, dropped the photo, and read the models’ names: Bernadette Ballworth and Aria Airborne. She sighed, vaguely recognizing them. Not very helpful as each page of the fifty-page document was taped to the floor in one long row. Elaine lowered her head to read the tiny lettering, careful not to tear the pages with her mittened hands. Bernadine Balmer caught her off-guard for a second before she moved to the next page.
This lame, monotonous chore lasted as Elaine had to check all pages. Although filed alphabetically, the tables were not in chronological order. Mr. DuBois “worked†on his laptop and policed her, so she had to remember the correct years. An error would be detected, but the neverending clattering bells disrupted her concentration. But against all odds, Elaine succeeded. She returned to her boss, appreciating her knees’ and feet’s flexibility now she felt as if logs carried her weight. “1997, Sir,†she whispered and released the photo on his lap and spun around.
“Not so hasty, Lynette,†Mr. DuBois said, seizing her middle and setting her on her knees. “Don’t disregard your achievements. Grab a biscuit.â€
He offered a bewildered Elaine a modest, dry cookie on his palm. “Eh, thanks, Sir. Do you desire me to lick that up?â€
“Eh, yeah, it’s okay,†Mr. DuBois answered with trembling fingers. Elaine slowly picked the biscuit up while fixing her eyes on his, sensing his discomfort. Then she whirled around and wagged away to fetch a new photo while suppressing her grin.
Elaine had spied an opportunity. A weakness from her client to explore. Every time she earned a biscuit, she asked stupid, embarrassing questions.
“So, eh, like a dog?â€
“You fine? I spilled some saliva.â€
“Genuinely, does this brighten your day? Or what was the true highlight?â€
The slow, evading, shaky replies, commanding Lynette to work and quiet, told Elaine she had hit a nerve. He paced around, sometimes left, and avoided eye-contact with his weeping damsel. Moral objections to such gruff treatment, Elaine deduced, matching his tenderness. Many held extreme, violent fantasies to abuse their damsel, but compassion and goodwill often overrode these passions in real life. They could not let their lady suffer, be in pain, or watch her cry, and then a more moderate plan was developed.
Mr. DuBois abandoned the ballroom, gazing at his phone, and Isolde replaced him. Again as a French maid, but without cuffs and with knee-long white boots and a steel baseball bat. “Lynette, I’m in charge. I demand results. Stop looking. Work. NOW!â€
Elaine turned to the long tables of riggers as Isolde stood behind her, waiting for a moment Elaine wasted. That occurred, resulting in a soft bat correction against her midriff. “Work, Lynette. Food ain’t free.â€
“Stop Isolde! Don’t hurt me,†Lynette hissed back. According to the protocol, her client and Geraint watched the CCTV, judging whether to pursue the ruthless kidnapper path. Isolde fulfilled his role and showed little mercy to the pitiable damsel.
“Faster Lynette, my grandma outpaces you. Useless whore,†Isolde scolded, pushing Eline over on her side, laughed, and fetched the roll of tape. “You won’t obey, poor lass, so I’ll generate motivation for you.â€
Isolde taped Elaine’s wrists to her upper arms, complicating her movements even further. She slapped her butt, urging her to move as tears flood over Elaine’s face. Isolde banned speaking, and after deciphering the correct year, she tossed her biscuit on the floor. “Lick your reward up. Quick!â€
Soon later, Miss Silverman came in, asking Isolde to bring Lynette to the utility basement. Mr. Du Bois had made his mind up.