The Procession

Copyright Oggbashan June 2002 The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

This is a work of fiction. The events described here are imaginary; the settings and characters are fictitious and are not intended to represent specific places or living persons.

This is a story in the "Silverbridge" series but can be read on its own.

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WARNING: This story is intended for an adult audience. It should not be found in locations accessible to those under 18 years of age or the age appropriate by the laws of your country. It includes descriptions of bondage and forced feminisation. If that does not appeal to you then do NOT read the story.

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The Procession Thomas reluctantly takes part

I woke up in a room full of crinolines. They were hanging from hooks on the ceiling like tiered lampshades. The dresses that would go over them were secured to the picture rails on all four walls.

Then I remembered. Today was the Victorian procession through Silverbridge. The Glossies and the Vixens would be part of it wearing costumes designed by Lisa and made by her and her friends. This was Lisa's bedroom where the girls would change for this afternoon's event.

I yawned. I didn't want to take part. Lisa and I had argued about it last night.

"Lisa" I'd said "I don't want to dress up tomorrow. I'll dress normally and take pictures as you go past."

"No you won't!" she'd shouted at me. "You are going to walk arm in arm with me. Your suit fits perfectly."

"But it's boring" I'd said "It's OK for you women. You get to dress up in great clothes and can preen yourselves in your fine feathers. We men are drab and dull by comparison. No one will look at us."

I should have known better than to argue with Lisa. I never win. She was tired because of all the work for the procession. She'd taken trouble over my suit. It actually fitted better than my modern suits but I wasn't going to tell her. I made the mistake of carrying on the argument.

"You women love dressing up in Victorian dresses. You can swish your crinolines, flutter your fans - what can we men do? Doff our top hats and possibly twirl our fake moustaches. Boring!"

I didn't notice the glint in Lisa's eyes. She was getting mad at me.

"It isn't all good being dressed up as a Victorian lady. You have to wear a corset, handle the massive skirts with elegance, and even with a steel crinoline those dresses are heavy."

"So's my suit!" I'd retorted. "The high collar and cravat cut into my throat. All to look boring."

"So you think that we women will have a better time?" she'd asked.

"Of course! You love it."

"We'll see about that" Lisa had said. At that late stage I'd recognised that she was about to explode so I'd hurriedly changed the subject. I think I'd diverted her but with Lisa I never knew.

Now it was the day of the procession. I yawned again, looked at the clock. 8 a.m. I should be getting up. I stretched and was brought up short. I couldn't move my arms and legs. I was cuffed to the rails of the bed.

"Oh ****!" I thought. Lisa must have been really mad with me. She'd tied me up before when she was angry. What would she do?

"Lisa!" I called. I heard her coming up the stairs. When she came in the room she was smiling. That was bad. Very bad!

"Good morning, Thomas." she said brightly. "Slept well?"

"Yes ..." I'd better know the worst " .. Why have you cuffed me to the bed?"

"After our discussion last night I thought that you might not want to wear your costume today. So I made sure that you would. You are not getting out of bed until you agree to wear the costume I've made for you. You will, won't you?"

Lisa was still unnaturally cheerful. I suspected something but what? Then I realised I needed the bathroom - and soon! I'd have to give in.

"OK, Lisa. You've won. I'll wear it. Now let me up, please."

"Not so fast, Thomas. You agree to wear the costume I've made for you in the procession this afternoon?"

"Yes!" I was getting desperate.

"No matter what it is?"

"Yes." My brain wasn't working well because of my urgent need.

"Did you hear that?" Lisa said to someone outside the door.

"Yes, Lisa. He's agreed to wear the costume you've made for him in the procession this afternoon, no matter what it is."

"Thank you, Jane"

"Lisa!" I hissed "I need the bathroom NOW!"

"OK, Thomas. You've agreed and I have a witness. I'll let you up."

She unlocked the cuffs. I wrapped a sheet round me and hurried to the bathroom.

"Good morning, Thomas" said Jane as I left the room.

"Morning, Jane" I grunted as I hurried past her. Normally I'd have been more polite to her. I liked Jane. As I entered the bathroom I heard Lisa and Jane giggling together. Women!

Once I'd eaten my hurried breakfast the day went from bad to worse. My male friends arrived, grabbed their Victorian suits and left as soon as possible. The flat was getting crowded with all our women friends dressing up. I lost count of the number of corsets I tightened, the dress backs I laced up. Normally I'd have enjoyed their company. They were a great group of friends but today they'd gone all feminine - comparing dresses, hairstyles, bonnets and hats! Totally unlike their usual selves as the hard playing Ladies Football team "The Vixens". Today they were more like kittens than Vixens.

I admit it. I was grumpy. I didn't want to take part in the procession. Lisa had made me agree so I'd have to go - but I didn't have to like the idea, did I?

I was sitting in the kitchen nursing a half-empty cup of black coffee about half an hour before we had to leave. Lisa called downstairs to me.

"Thomas! Time for you to get changed. Bring your black trainers with you, please."

Lisa seemed remarkably cheerful. I know she'd been up half the night finishing off costumes. I picked up the trainers and went upstairs. When I walked into the bedroom I was surprised to see so many women there. Apart from Lisa and Jane there were three other Vixens. They were fully dressed as Victorian Ladies except for their bonnets and gloves.

"Strip down to your shorts, Thomas!" Lisa ordered.

"What! In front of all these ladies?" I retorted.

"Hurry up, Thomas!" Jane added "We've all seen that much of you before."

They had. In my football kit with my shirt off, my football shorts were briefer than the boxers I was wearing. I stripped.

"Here's your costume, Thomas" said Lisa, pointing at the bed. At first I couldn't see what she was pointing at. I was looking for the Victorian Gentleman's suit. She was pointing at a dress.

"Yes, Thomas. That's it. You are going as a lady."

"Oh no I'm not!" I shouted.

"Oh yes you are!" Five voices together. I turned round. Three of them were between me and the door. No way out there. I turned back to Lisa and Jane.

"You agreed this morning, Thomas" said Jane. "I was there when you agreed."

"I agreed to wear the costume Lisa had made for me, not this!" I pointed at the dress on the bed.

"I made this dress for you last night" said Lisa with a wicked smile on her face "and you agreed to wear whatever I'd made for you. This is it."

"You agreed "no matter what it is" this morning" added Jane. "I even repeated it for you."

From behind me Candice said "You wouldn't go back on an agreement, would you Thomas? We don't want to dress you by force but we will if we have to, won't we?" The others agreed. I was trapped.

"I suppose I'll have to. But I was tricked!"

"Of course you were, Thomas" said Candice "but you were complaining to Lisa last night that we women have all the fun of dressing up. So now Lisa has arranged for you to experience all the advantages and disadvantages of dressing up as a crinolined Lady. Wasn't that kind of her?"

"No it wasn't! I'll never live it down if I walk through Silverbridge dressed like that!"

"I'm not so cruel, Thomas. No one will know who you are - except us five. And we'll keep quiet as long as you co-operate, won't we?" Lisa still had the wicked smile.

"How will you manage that?" I asked.

"I've made a special bonnet, just for you. Look - it has a face veil so you can't be seen. Now are you ready? There isn't much time."

"I suppose so." I agreed reluctantly.

"Right, girls, we all agree to keep Thomas' part in this procession quiet. OK?"

They agreed.

"That's settled then" said Lisa "You know what to do. Let's get busy!"

They surrounded me. First Lisa put a padded bra on me. I had a cotton chemise thrown over my head. While my arms were being fed into it Jane pulled lace edged pantalettes up my legs and tied them at my waist. Lisa produced a long corset which was I was tightly laced into. I objected loudly as the air was forced out of my lungs. I yelled and yelled that it was much too tight. Jane knotted the corset laces despite my protests. I saw Lisa nod to Jane who forced a wadded silk scarf into my mouth and tied it in with another silk scarf knotted behind my head. I tried to raise my arms to pull it off but my hands were grabbed and held.

Temporarily my wrists were tied behind my back to the laces of the corset. Then Jane pulled a waist length slip up my legs. It was narrower at the hem and pulled my legs into a small area. It even had straps to fit under the arches of my trainers. Jane tied the slip at my waist. Now I could only move in small steps. The crinoline was lifted over my head and settled. That too was tied at the waist and the ties were threaded through loops on the corset. Then my wrists were untied and my arms fed into the sleeves of the dress as they pulled it down from above my head. The sleeves were loose at first. Black elbow length gloves were eased up my arms. Lisa hissed a threat in my ear so I co-operated by moving my fingers into the gloves only to find that the fingers were sewn together. The gloves were buttoned up and a velvet strap around each wrist was buckled. I'd have little chance of getting those gloves off. When the dress sleeves were laced up over them I had no chance at all.

As the back of the dress was being laced up I looked down. Above the crinoline spread skirt I had something attached to the front of my waist. It took me a few seconds to realise that it was a black satin muff.

The dress was actually very well made. It was a pale lilac with black lace detailing at the waist, neck and across the bosom. The overdress had four sections looping down over an darker lilac underskirt. Both the gathered sections and the underskirt were trimmed with fine pleated flounces. At the top of each flounce was more black lace in a frill. The flounce to the lower hem trailed on the ground. No one would see my black trainers under that as long as I was careful not to tip the crinoline. Then I realised that even if I did my feet still wouldn't be seen because the lace on the pantalettes and that tight waist slip that Jane had fitted to me covered them.

Studying that dress made me realise that Lisa had tricked me again. Even she couldn't have completed this much detail on a dress made for me last night! Then there were the unusual extras - the tight waist slip; the gloves with the fingers sewn together; the concealing bonnet. Lisa must have been planning this for days if not weeks! I grunted a complaint into my gag.

"Now, now, Thomas! Don't complain!" said Lisa "If you don't co-operate we might have to take your bonnet off in public. You wouldn't like that, would you?"

As the back of the dress was tightened my head was forced upwards by the high collar.

"Only a couple of details left, Thomas" said Candice. "You are nearly ready for your part in the procession."

My gloved hands were put in the muff. Another trick! The muff ends were laced to the wrist bands on the gloves. I couldn't get my hands out and as the muff was sewn to the front of the dress I couldn't move my arms either.

I thought they'd ungag me at least but no! Lisa carefully fitted the large poke bonnet to my head. It even had blonde ringlets artfully trailing from the sides and back. The bonnet sides blinkered my face so that I could only see forwards. It seemed to be held on my head by a large bow under my chin but under the lace trim it was attached with laces to the high collar of the dress. Even if I shook my head violently it wouldn't come off.

"Come on, Thomas" said Lisa "You are ready now. We'll help you down the stairs and then Jane and I will link arms with you in the procession. We'll look after you."

"Look after me!" I thought angrily. They'd trussed me up like a chicken ready for the oven. I was bound, gagged and blinkered. I couldn't even run away.

"Before we go - have a look in the mirror" suggested Jane turning me to face it. "You make a really fine lady, don't you?"

She was right. I couldn't tell myself apart from the others except for the obscuring veil.

"I think Lisa has done a great job. Do you agree?" The others agreed. I didn't. Lisa had done a great job of making a fool of me. The only bit I was grateful for was that she and they had protected my public image. I would be a lady in the procession but no one else would know especially my team mates. The women had agreed not to tell. I knew they wouldn't. They might have had fun trapping me into being a crinolined lady but even they had scruples - or did they?

Lisa and Jane helped me down the stairs. With that tight slip I could barely bend my legs. I couldn't see where the steps were because of the spread of the crinolined skirt. Lisa and Jane managed the stairs as if they'd been wearing crinolines for years. They left me in the workroom with Candice while they fitted their hats to each other. Candice hissed in my ear:

"Thomas! Can you hear me? Nod if you can."

I nodded.

"We're going to walk the route once with you. If we need to talk to you we'll call you Frances. OK?"

I nodded.

"Frances was going to wear this dress but she's away this weekend. When we've finished the route I'll bring you back here and you will change into your Gentleman's suit. Then we'll rejoin the group and no one will think that you were a "lady" before. OK?"

I nodded. It sounded as if Candice had persuaded the others to let me off lightly. That was typical of Candice.

"One last thing. We'll be passing both Miss Silverbridge and the Mayor and his party. We have to curtsy to both. Can you curtsy?"

I tried. I was very wobbly. That tight slip that Jane had fitted made it difficult.

"Try again with me holding your arm."

She tucked her arm through mine. We both curtsied when her arm signalled. That was more successful.

"I'll warn Jane and Lisa. They'll be holding your arms and will let you know when to curtsy. Even if you make a mess of it, those two could hold you up."

It's true. Lisa and Jane could easily have carried me round the whole procession! They returned to the workroom at that point.

"Lisa!" said Candice "Thomas will have problems with the curtsy because his legs are tightly swathed. You and Jane will have to help him."

"I thought we would have to" replied Lisa. "We'll manage."

Then we set off. Jane and Lisa tucked their hands through my arms. We joined the other Vixens in the street outside. Shortly afterwards we met the men outside the Football Club.

Harold asked Lisa "Where's Thomas?"

"He's slightly delayed. He'll be along later" she replied. There were suppressed giggles from those Vixens who knew I was already there but Harold didn't notice.

Despite the club's best efforts the costumed men were greatly outnumbered by the women. Nearly all the Vixens were dressed in crinolines. No more than a quarter of the Glossies had bothered.

It was a very odd sensation to walk through the streets of Silverbridge dressed as I was. There was a large crowd watching and cheering us as we strolled to the Town Hall. I could see all the details of the crowd through my veil but they couldn't see me. I felt like "The Invisible Man" and that's what I was. Invisible!

I can't say that I enjoyed it. That tight corset cut into me. Even at the slow pace we were walking I found that I breathing frequently. It didn't help that Jane had gagged me so effectively. My crinolined skirt swung slowly but my feet were moving fast within the confines of that tight slip. The dress was very heavy but not unbearably so. I was right - the crowd looked at the ladies. No one looked at the men.

The curtsy to Miss Silverbridge and her princesses was no more than reasonable. I wobbled as I came back up and the girls didn't hold me firmly enough. When we reached the Mayor and his group the curtsy was good. Lisa and Jane grabbed my arms so hard that I could have lifted my feet off the ground without affecting the impression of three ladies curtseying in unison.

We then returned to the Football Club. From there we should go back to the town centre and mingle with the crowd. As the others set off Candice grabbed me and hurried me back to the workroom. I was almost running (in very short steps) to keep up with her. When the door was closed behind us I was panting as hard as I could through my nose. I was nearly suffocated by the gag.

"Are you all right, Thomas?" Candice asked.

I shook my head still panting for breath.

She lifted my veil to see that I was bright red in the face. She struggled with the laces holding my bonnet. It seemed to take ages before she took it off. The scarf knotted behind my head wouldn't undo. At last she released it and pulled my gag out. I gasped and panted for air.

"Poor Thomas!" she said stroking my cheek. "Are you better now?"

I nodded my head. I didn't have enough breath to speak.

Candice untied my hands from the muff and unlaced the dress's sleeves. She took the gloves off. Relief! I could move my fingers, hands and arms. Unlacing the dress took at least ten minutes before she could lift it off. The crinoline followed. Jane's knots on the waist slip and pantalettes were locked tight. Candice finally undid them with her teeth.

"Thomas"

"Yes, Candice"

"You'll have to lie flat for me to get the corset off. While you are standing there's too much pressure on it."

I went flat on my face on the floor.

Candice hauled up her crinoline and squatted beside me. The corset's knot just wouldn't undo.

"I'm sorry, Thomas. I can't get it undone."

"What do we do now?" I asked

"Well .. We could leave it on until Jane and Lisa get back but then you wouldn't have appeared as a "Gentleman". That might give the masquerade away."

"I don't want that!" I protested

"Then Thomas .." Candice stopped.

"What? Anything so that people don't know"

"You'll have to put your suit on over the corset. I can take the padded bra off but that corset is immovable."

"Oh ****!" I shouted

"Quieter, please Thomas" She pleaded. "You don't want someone coming in and finding you like this"

"No I don't!" I whispered.

Candice giggled. Normally I like Candice's giggles but this time I was worried.

"OK" I said resignedly. "I'll put the suit on over this ****** corset."

So I did.

Candice and I rejoined the group. Lisa kissed me. Jane kissed me. Candice kissed me. That was nice.

"Jane!" I whispered to her "I'll get back at you sometime. We couldn't get the corset off."

Jane laughed out loud.

"I always was good at knots" she whispered back "Why didn't you cut the laces?"

"And have Lisa even madder with me? No thanks! I'd rather face a herd of charging elephants."

"Since they are unlikely around here, you'd better make your peace with Lisa. Tell her about the corset. That might brighten her day. She thinks you've been a pain about this procession. Knowing that you can't get the corset off might be enough to stop her disciplining you any more." said Jane.

"Thank you, Jane. I will. But please get me out of it soon."