Stranger Than Truth Ch. 07

Chapter seven: That's a wrap!

Sally woke up first. The room was bathed in a soft light that eased its way through the curtains on the window. She smiled and draped her hand over the side of her lover and Mistress. Valerie stirred without waking. Sally fingered the collar around her neck and the chain that connected it to the headboard. It would be a simple matter to release it and hit the shower, but Valerie had said that she wanted Sally in bed until Val had woken up. Even the slight tension on her pussy lips from the locked rings could not dampen her joy.

"She's my Mistress. She owns me and it's so right," she thought to herself. "Last night was so hard, but it showed me she can take pleasure from me, even when I don't like what she's doing."

Sally was realizing that she had been afraid of Valerie being unable to dominate her 24/7. When they had first met, Valerie was one of the most submissive people Sally had ever met, at least to those she chose to submit to (towards others, Valerie could be a force to be reckoned with). Valerie had, however, thrown herself into being a full time dominant with the same vigor that she approached her work. Drawing on the experience and knowledge of practiced dominants and submissives, Valerie had been able to give Sally the ownership she needed and craved.

Valerie rolled over and opened her eyes. "Morning, lover."

"Good morning Mistress.

Valerie trailed her fingers across Sally's naked body. Sally moaned lightly at the attention. Her legs spread a little, inviting attention between them. Valerie brushed Sally's locked cunt before she rolled back over to climb out of bed.

"We have to get ready to go. We need to be at Sir Tom's house in an hour." Valerie thought for a moment, wondering why she was supposed to bring Sally with her. Tom had given neither a reason, nor specific instructions. A strange feeling of protectiveness came over her. "I'm going to unlock your pussy for this trip, slave. I may lock it again later."

Valerie opened the locks as she spoke. Since she had not been instructed to show up in any specific outfit (or lack there of) Valerie dressed both of them in casual clothes that showed their respective charms. Once showered and dressed, they headed out to the house Val had been at earlier in the week. Valerie clipped a leash to Sally's collar and led her to the door. Val was surprised when Master Hugh answered the door instead of Sir Tom.

"Valerie. Sir Tom was called away unexpectedly and asked me to fill in."

"Of course, Master. What service do you wish of me?"

"I'm to train you with your slave. Take her downstairs, strip both of you and bind her to the cross."

"Yes, Master. Come with me Sally."

Sally was led to the basement where both women removed their clothes. Valerie bound Sally to the St. Andrew's cross, her back facing out.

"I think I'm to receive training in giving you pain."

"Don't worry about me Mistress, practice as much as you need. Will you be okay?"

"Yes, my limits are expanding, I think."

Hugh joined them and examined the bindings.

"You have a good handle on how to bind. Tell me, why did you bind her torso tightly to the cross? You only needed to bind her wrists and ankles."

"I didn't want to have her actions as she was being whipped to injure her, Master. Much like one holds a rifle tight to your shoulder when you shoot it."

Hugh nodded. "What experiences have you had with whipping a submissive?"

"Very little, Master. In my first weekend with my Master, I safe worded at having to whip Sally. Since then, I've only given what I refer to slow motion whippings, ones that have several minutes between strokes. Since she has become submissive to me 24/7, I have lost control during a paddling once and have done a little bit of spanking. I am still very uncomfortable with inflicting pain outside of bite play."

"Bite play? I thought Charles did not approve of bite play?"

"In general, he doesn't. He hasn't specifically forbidden it though. Surmi enjoys it immensely and I enjoy giving her that pleasure."

"If you were my slave, I would punish you for that. A Master's preferences are as good as commands."

Valerie was shocked by the implied criticism of Charles. She thought this man was a friend of her Master. "I understand, Master," she replied. Valerie tried to keep the displeasure out of her voice.

Hugh looked at Valerie with scorn. "You should rethink how you serve your Master. Is there anything else you're doing with your Master's slave that he would not approve of?"

Valerie took a deep breath. "She has no safe word."

"What! How dare you! Place yourself over the bench."

Valerie moved to the padded bench, trying to explain as she did. "Master, my…"

The interruption was harsh. "Quiet. Do not speak. If you do, the punishment will be that much worse."

He pushed her over the bench and clipped her cuffs to the attachment points. He pulled a cat from a drawer and stood behind Valerie. Sally looked on in shock. She had wanted to warn Val, but Valerie had been looking the wrong way. Sally knew Hugh. His belief in safe words and safe, sane, consensual was even more extreme than Charles' views.

"Valerie, play without safe words is abuse, plain and simple. Charles did not give you use of this slave so you could abuse her. I will punish you now, and don't be surprised if your Master does so again when he finds out what you have done. Count the strokes."

With that, the first blow landed and Valerie cried out, "One!" Tears came to her eyes. Valerie realized that Hugh was not going to listen to any excuses and figured that she would simply bear up under the unfair punishment and let Charles sort it out later. She let herself cry and writhe under the whip. After 25 blows, her legs and ass were a mass of red stripes and hurting like the dickens. Hugh released her.

"Let's continue with your training. I want you to whip Sally with the cat ten times. You can use as light or as hard of strokes as you wish, but you must give her ten. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master."

"Sally, you have your safe words back: red light for stop and yellow light for slow."

"Master, I don't…"

"Sally! You, of all people, should know better." Charles had had Hugh train Sally in the use of whips and crops. "A slave under bondage does not speak except when commanded to or to use a safe word."

Sally bit her lip, knowing she would not be permitted to explain the circumstances. So intent on not wanting a safe word, it never occurred to Sally to use a safe word to explain that she still did not have one. She reasoned that since she wasn't planning on using one, it wouldn't make much difference today. Sally realized that there had been a breakdown in communication. Charles would never have put Hugh in charge of Val's pain training, knowing his feelings about safe words.

Valerie walked over, gingerly, so as to not aggravate the lingering pain in her legs and ass. Taking the cat from Hugh, she flicked it against Sally's back. Valerie's strokes were so light that there was no pain involved at all. Sally smiled, thinking that she could have predicted such blows, or non-blows from her lover. Sally did not so much as flinch.

"That's lighter than I would have had you start at, but we can work with this. I've been told that whipping is a safe word issue for you. Is that still the case?"

"Not exactly Master. Inflicting pain other than with bite play makes me very uncomfortable. If I inflict enough, I have to stop, use my safe word if I'm submitting. If the pain is light enough or spaced enough, like at our hand fasting, I can do it."

"That's good to know. Now, whip the slave once, with all the strength you can bring to bear."

"Valerie tensed, but recognized something similar to what Surmi had her do when Val was preparing for the hand fasting gift she gave to Sally. The whip flew and Sally gave a yelp, red stripes appearing on her ass and legs.

"How do you feel?"

"There's a million butterflies tap dancing in my stomach. I really don't want to do that again."

"You are, however, going to do so. I want you to strike her with the same strength as many times as you can. Go until you reach your safe word limit."

Valerie gulped. "Yes, Master."

Five times Val's arm shot forward, leaving stripes on Sally's back side. Five times Sally cried out softly at the pain. Tears ran down Sally's face. She hoped Val could not see them. Sally, more than anyone else, knew how hard this was for Valerie. Sally's tears were as much in sympathy for Val as they were from the pain. After the fifth blow struck, Valerie gave a sob and stepped back.

"Oh God! No more please, Master." The look of anguish was plain on her face.

"I didn't believe Charles at first. You are on the verge of being physically ill at the thought of inflicting more pain on Sally, aren't you?"

"Yes, Master. It hurts inside to do this."

"How can you take submission from someone you can't punish?"

"I can punish her, Master. Just not this brutally, not for long. I love her more than anything. I can dominate her because I love her."

"No, love won't be enough. Without effective discipline, you'll be cheating her, hurting her actually. Submissives need structure. They need to know that disobedience will have consequences, and those consequences must be sufficient to create a desire to avoid them. What I'm seeing from you will leave Sally floundering and without a center. Only her dominant can give her the grounding needed to be a fulfilled submissive."

"You're saying that if I can't shake this aversion to giving pain that I'll hurt Sally. I'm sorry, Master, I'm not sure I buy that. I know couples that are in a D/s relationship where pain isn't a part of it at all."

"Those people are in a different type of relationship, not a true D/s relationship. I can assure you that Sally needs you to be able to give her pain, both in play and in punishment. Anything less will be harmful to her."

While Hugh talked, Sally was shaking her head. "Master, you're…"

"Sally! You will be quiet!" His crop lashed out and struck Sally between her legs, causing her to squeal. As he started to swing the crop a second time, Valerie grabbed it.

"No! Stop!"

"Valerie, just what do you think you're doing? How dare you stop the punishment of another submissive. Sally is under bondage and knows to remain silent. This is her second violation. She must be punished."

"Not by you. She is submitted to me, not to you."

"Charles instructed you to submit to the four of us. Sally submits to us through you. Now, if you don't have an objection, slave…" He left the reminder of her position hanging as he raised the crop again.

"I said no, Master. Sally is my slave and no one punishes her without my permission."

"You insolent…Fine, you punish her."

"She has not disobeyed me, Master. She isn't deserving of any punishment at my hands."

"Valerie, I'm ordering you to punish your slave. Use the crop on her until she uses her safe word."

Both Val and Sally started at the command. Valerie looked at Sally and saw her trembling in fear. Val knew that her lover, in spite of Hugh's command, still had no safe word and would submit to what Valerie inflicted on her. She walked over to Sally and caressed her back.

"It's okay, Sally." Valerie turned back to Master Hugh. "No, I will not. If you try, I'll make sure you're arrested for assault." Valerie blanched at the fury filling Hugh's face. She turned to Sally again and began to release the bindings holding her to the cross. "Sally, you are to take no orders from anyone but me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mistress." Sally's whisper of, "Thank you," was barely audible to Valerie and Hugh missed it completely.

"Valerie, stop what you are doing and present yourself over the horse."

Valerie ignored him long enough to finish freeing Sally. "Sally, dress and wait for me upstairs." Turning to Hugh, she lowered her gaze. "Do you wish to punish me, Master?"

She caught his gaze as Sally grabbed both their clothes and retreated to the upstairs. It gave credence to the old saying, "If looks could kill." She raised her head and met his gaze head on.

"Master, I defied your order. Do you wish to punish me?"

"Yes I do." Spit flew from his lips as he spoke through clenched teeth. "On the horse, now."

Valerie draped herself across the padded saw horse and waited silently as her ankles and wrists were once again bound to the feet of the device, leaving her ass sticking up invitingly. Valerie's gut clenched in dreadful anticipation.

"Fifty lashes with the cat. Count them. If you falter, they restart."

Valerie gasped in horror. Only once had she been able to count so many strokes, her first public punishment. She had craved that punishment, having failed Charles in a most basic way. This was effectively a safe word punishment. The first blow struck, raining fire across her ass. Valerie cried out, barely getting the count of, "one," out before the second blow struck. For 24 lashes, she kept the count, but the blows were worse than any Charles had ever given her. When she missed 25, he ordered her to restart.

Valerie was, however, in too much pain to count. All she could do was scream in pain. It took her five more blows before she could scream, "Red light!" Blessedly, the beating stopped. She felt the restraints being released.

"Get out. You'll be contacted with new orders."

Hugh left her, storming upstairs. Valerie followed at a much slower pace. By the time she had reached the bottom of the stairs, Sally had joined her.

"Mistress, let me help you."

With Sally's help, Val made it up to her clothes and dressed. She promised herself that she would never leave the soothing ointment behind again as her clothes sent waves of fresh pain through her body. Sally drove them home. Inside the safety of their house, Sally bathed Val and applied the combination antiseptic and antibiotic to the welts Hugh had raised on Valerie's ass and legs.

"How bad is it, Sally?"

"You've had worse consensually. Mistress, what's going to happen? Master Hugh does not take open defiance well."

"I don't know. I should e-mail Master, once I can sit down, that is. Sally, was he right? Am I hurting you by not being able to inflict pain on you?"

Sally hugged Val tightly. "Don't worry about that. I don't have an answer, but I do know I trust you with my life. You will give me what I need, when I need it, no matter what that is. Master Hugh has very strong opinions on what BDSM is all about. He doesn't waste his time with submissives that won't or can't play with pain. Master is his friend, but they don't see eye to eye on the nature of D/s"

"Why in God's name did Master have me submit to him?"

"Don't get me wrong. He can be a good dominant for the most part. Angela is the only person I know who is better at whip control that he is. He is a better teacher. I didn't expect you to tell him that I had no safe word. That just made him mad."

"He wasn't supposed to be there, Sir Tom was."

"I know. That wouldn't have been a problem. Sir Tom has played with and without safe words. He leaves that up to the submissive."

"What am I going to do, Sally? I don't want to hurt you in any way. What if he's right? What if you need what I can't give you?"

"You're doing what you need to do. Look at how you've gone after good advice. You've punished me yourself. I know how much that had to tear you up inside, but you did it because it was needed. You've found inventive ways to get around your limits on pain. You do all this because you love me. I love you even more for it."

Valerie did not respond to Sally's words. She still worried at failing the woman she loved She remembered Sally, bruised over her entire body, commenting on how cruel Calvin was and how good she felt because of it. Valerie remembered Calvin telling her how much Sally begged to have Valerie treating her as Calvin was. Was Val depriving Sally of some level of fulfillment? Valerie didn't know anymore.

Once her body was in less pain, Valerie accessed her e-mail to send Charles a message explaining what had happened. A message from Charles was already there. The subject line of, "disobedience," chilled her bones. When she read it, she gasped. Staring at the words on the screen, she started to cry softly. Sally came over to see what was the matter and followed Valerie's stunned gaze.

"Valerie, Master Hugh has informed me that you openly defied him and refused his training. He further informed me that you have been abusing Sally while she is under your care. This doesn't sound like you, but I have no time to sort out just what happened. I know that Master Hugh's ideas of defiance and abuse are not always the same as my own, but I must put Sally's safety first. Until I return a week from tomorrow, Sally is no longer your submissive. Furthermore, you are not to give submission to anyone other than myself until I'm able to resolve this. If you were, in fact, defiant and refused his training, expect to be punished severely. In the unlikely event that you have been abusing Sally, I will expel you from my service. Valerie, I don't understand what has happened, but rest assured that I will once I return. Do not attempt to explain anything by e-mail. My duties here will prevent me from giving the matter the attention it deserves. Come to the mansion at 7PM in eight days. I'll deal with this then."

Sally whispered, "Master, no."

Valerie continued to look on, stunned into immobility. Tears rolled down her face, her heart breaking at the thought that she could be asked to leave her Master. "What have I done?" she asked of no one in particular.

"Mistress, don't…"

"No, Sally, not Mistress. Master has taken you away from me."

"Please, don't do this. I can't…I need to be your slave. Please don't reject me."

Valerie was shaken from her stupor by the anguish in Sally's voice. Looking over at Sally's face, Val saw terror. She clasped Sally tight.

"No. I won't give you up. You're the love of my life and my slave. No one can take that from me. As long as you need to be a slave, I'll be your owner. Master may punish me, but I will not leave you hanging."

"Thank you, Mistress. I'm so sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

"I feel like it's my fault. I should have kept my safe words."

"No! I was there, remember? You need to be without them. I don't understand why, but I do know that you needed them taken away. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine." Valerie held up a finger to stop Sally. "No, I'm serious. I should have made him understand what's going on between us. I need to call Rachael, let her know that I can't submit to her tomorrow. I was so looking forward to that."

Sally winced inside. She understood that Valerie needed to submit if she was to dominate Sally with less anguish. She wished she could dominate Val a little, but this change she had yet to understand left her a quivering wreck when she thought of dominating anyone. Softly, her tears flowed, the pain of knowing Valerie's struggles becoming too much for her.

Valerie hung up the phone and knelt down beside Sally. "What is it love? Why are you crying?"

"Mistress, I'm hurting you. I know you're struggling to be my Mistress. I know how hard it is for you to be dominant for so long."

"Shhh. You need to not worry about this. It's only for eight days. Once Master knows what really happened, things will be back to normal."

"But, He took me away from you. He denied you any submission."

"Because he loves you. Protecting you is the most important thing right now. He did the right thing, given what he knows."

"But, you'll be punished, punished severely."

"I know. Punishment is part of being a submissive. You taught me that. I hate it when I disappoint Master, but this is necessary. You'll get the ownership you need, I'll accept my punishment and we will get through this."