Valerie Ch. 07

"Sally, I want to give you everything you can take, and more. I want to give you things you don't even think you can have, more than you believe possible. I think my limits with you are greater than with Master, somehow. I never want to leave him, but I want where you can take me and let me go, too. And…I want to find a way to accept your submission as well. I know you want to give me that, and I will find a way to be able to accept it. I just don't see how yet."

"When you're ready, and not a minute sooner. Uh oh, we're going to be late. We'd better hurry."

They rushed out to the dungeon and the stocks. Master was waiting with a fair amount of bondage equipment set aside next to it.

"You do push the limits. 15 minutes, exactly. Girl talk?"

"No Master, sub talk."

"I won't ask. Sally, you're going into tight bondage. Valerie, you'll be in the stocks. Once you're both bound, I'll let you know what's going to happen for the rest of the night. Valerie, how are your pain limits feeling?"

"Really big, Master. I feel like I could go for hours."

"You'll have that chance."

"Sally, your ability to wait will be pushed to the limits as well."

First, she was put into a corset, laced up tight so that her breathing was forced to be shallow and her breasts were pushed up, creating an illusion of fullness even greater than when she picked Val up. Arm binders were put over Sally's arms, laced up tighter than she had been done before. The laces pulled her arms together, behind her, above the elbow. Her legs got a similar treatment, squished together by two one piece leggings that could be laced to be very tight, leaving only her knees uncovered. Her wrists were connected to her ankles by a strap, arching her back and presenting her breasts even more prominently. Charles waited a few minutes, making sure that Sally could breathe enough to be safe. Then he put a head mask on her, leaving the eyes and mouth uncovered. Her head was pulled back by another strap that was attached to the top of the arm binder. Making sure she could still breathe properly, he then placed her so that she was looking directly up at the head hole on the stocks.

"Sally, are you in any pain? You're going to be like this for some time. Be absolutely sure you can breathe without difficulty."

"No, Master, there is no pain. Breathing is a bit of a struggle. Can I have a couple more inches of slack in the arm/leg tie?"

Charles loosened the connection between the wrists and the ankles. "How's that?"

"Better, Master. I still need to use effort, but it's quite doable."

"Okay, Valerie, let's get you fixed up." First, a gag was put into her mouth. This was reinforced by several loops of medical tape wrapped around the gag, totally sealing her mouth, preventing all but the softest of sounds from escaping. He took care to leave two places where there was a gap between the gag strap and the tape, allowing scissors in easily. Then she was placed into the stocks, arms and neck resting in the padded holes as the top bar was lifted into place, trapping her in place. Her legs were locked into the lower section of the stocks, forcing her feet four feet apart, exposing her pussy and ass helplessly.

"Valerie, can you breathe okay? Be especially aware of how well you will be able to breathe through just your nose while you experience incredibly intense pain."

She thought a moment and made some tentative fast breathes through her nose. Fortunately, she wasn't prone to allergies and other common things that would block her nostrils. Once she was sure, she nodded, looking at Sally with affection. It dawned on both the submissives that they were unable to not look at each other's faces.

"Good. Here's how the scene will work. Sally, you want to share in the pain of your lover, but can't take the pain she can directly. So, instead, you will watch her suffer in pain, until she reaches her safe word limit. However, Valerie, you have a choice to make right now. This is your rubber ball. If you take it, you will be responsible for your own safe word. If you choose not to take it, then only Sally will be able to give your safe word for you. Do you understand?"

Valerie was stunned, but no more than Sally. Even with her vast experience in the lifestyle, she had never heard of a surrogate safe word. Sally was so frightened that Valerie would trust her that much. What if she went too far? What if she didn't go far enough? She wasn't sure she wanted this, this expression of love and trust. She wasn't sure she deserved it. Yet, she knew that had their positions been reversed, she would have trusted Valerie in a heartbeat with her safe word.

Valerie felt fear, true fear again. It tantalized her, taunted her with the possibility. If Sally didn't read her right, she could be propelled beyond what she was capable of, even as great as it was. Or Sally could stop too early, leaving her unfulfilled. Yet, as she looked into Sally's eyes, she knew that this was the woman she would trust with this if any was to be so trusted. She could see Sally wrestling with the thought, not wanting it, yet hoping it could be possible. Deciding, plunging into the deep end, she shook her head and closed her fists.

"You're refusing the ball?"

Valerie nodded.

"Valerie, are you sure? It's your safe word. You're giving me your safe word."

Eyes locking into Sally's, she nodded, slowly and deliberately.

"Are you scared?"

Nod.

"Are you terrified?"

Nod.

"Me, too. How much do you want?"

Valerie tensed her body as if in orgasm then suddenly dropped the stiffness.

Sally understood. "Last night?"

Nod.

"The fifth time?"

Nod.

"Over the edge and back?"

Nod.

As Sally took in the depth of the trust that was being accorded her, she wept in joy and fear. "Total control, she's giving me total control. I can't let her down. I just can't," she thought to herself. She knew that nothing she had done as a submissive or a dominant would ever compare to what she was to do tonight. No scene would ever mean as much as this one would.

Her decision made, a peace came upon Valerie. She knew, in that place inside where surety lives, that Sally would give her exactly what she wanted, to be taken past her limits and pulled back from the precipice in the nick of time. Because Sally loved her that much and she loved Sally that much, they wouldn't let each other down.

Charles had left them to communicate while he set up on of the least used features of his dungeon. There were digital recorders set up to capture anything they wished to save for prosperity. Most of the time, no one felt it necessary. Tonight, he knew that something spectacular was coming, and that the others would want to see it. Once the video was running, he collected several implements of pain infliction and returned. For the camera, he repeated the instructions. "Now, Valerie, you have given your safe word to Sally. Only she can stop the beating. I will spank, whip and beat you until Sally says the safe word of 'red light'. Do you both agree to this situation?" Both ladies nodded.

Charles started with a paddle, swatting Valerie's ass cheeks over and over again, in a varied pace and with varied intensity. Relieved of the need to watch herself, Valerie became one with the pain, taking it in and making it her own. While the pain was intense (her ass had turned deep red after a short time) she was reveling in the pain, the fear only a background emotion for now.

Sally, looking her lover in the eyes, could see, under the pain, a contentment in Valerie. "She's already in the zone," she thought. She admired Valerie, the beauty that the spanking seem to bring out in her face as she moaned in pain, writhing in exquisite agony. Oddly, the thought most in her mind during this first phase was how much she wanted to be the one giving Valerie the spanking. Content for the moment, Sally took in the sight of the woman she loved, existing in the place she loved to be in.

For 15 minutes, the blows from the paddle came down on Valerie's ass. Charles counted them to himself, reaching a little over 100. It was as he expected. Valerie seemed more at ease with the blows themselves than with the spacing. When he let 10 to 15 seconds pass between a pair of blows, she was visibly restless for the next. He would have gone further with the paddle, but wanted to make sure to avoid inadvertent injury. In his experience, much more from the wooden instrument ran the risk of causing even the well padded ass to experience permanent bruising.

Setting the paddle down, he pickled up the crop, intending to spend some time with other portions of her body. In the short time that he spent switching instruments, the women communicated.

"Valerie, how are you doing? Are you having fun yet?"

Valerie nodded vigorously.

"You're not even close are you?"

She shook her head.

"Enjoy. I'll pull you out at the last possible second."

More vigorous nodding that was interrupted by the swish of the crop landing on her legs. Where the paddle had been varied in strength and timing, Charles varied the crop by location, but kept up a steady beat as he circled her body from left side to behind to right side and back. Swish…swish…swish…swish… Thighs. Calves. Between the legs. Upper back. Breasts. Arms. Little red commas appearing across her body with each little swat that impacted her. Tears were being forced out of her eyes. It wasn't that the impacts were particularly painful in and of themselves, but they stung in their unpredictability.

It was this uncertainty that made the first change in Valerie's demeanor. She could absorb the spankings with grunts and moans, even with the unevenness in the timing. That was simply waiting for the blow on the ass that she knew was coming. Every stroke sent her lurching to one side or the other as she was totally unable to anticipate where the next impact was going hit. The lighter hits of the crop actually produced even greater intensity on her emotions. Fear was returning to the forefront as she began to fear the hits, or more precisely, her inability to predict them.

Sally saw the change and was drawn in closer. She knew that, for Valerie, the fear was a double edged sword. It was a powerful stimulation for her, causing her to ask for the things she feared, such as being forced into lesbian sex, at least at first. That was why she endured the lack of control last night, the thought that Sally might miscalculate and give her a forbidden orgasm. But the fear was one of her limits. There was a level of fear she couldn't stand any more. Sally could see the fear in Valerie's eyes, along with the trust that radiated between the two. This was what Sally wanted so badly, the fear and trust, a sweet blend of emotion that one could revel in.

She risked a word, "Valerie?"

Valerie heard the unasked question and shook her head to say no, not yet, I want more, I want to give him, and you, more.

"I'm here, Val, I'll always be here."

Charles observed the exchange, marveling at how well these two women, who had known each other for a mere three weeks, could communicate with so little. He suspected that in a year, no words would be needed, so well would they know one another. He kept up the pattern for another 15 minutes. Her punishment at Mephisto's had lasted just under an hour. He believed that Valerie and Sally would exceed that by a significant margin.

With Valerie's body covered with red marks from the crop, he stopped again to change implements. Sally took another opportunity to reassure Val.

"I'm here Val, I'll always be here. We'll do this together. You'll never be alone in this." Sally was unsure in her own mind whether she was talking about the scene or their lives. Her heart seemed to want to say more than could be said with words alone. She watched Valerie, her chest bellowing as she took in great quantities of air, filling a need that steadily grew. Perspiration covered her body, rolling down and dripping onto the floor. Surprisingly, Sally could see that Val was very aroused. Her skin was flushed and her nipples were erect. Only Charles could see her pussy, and it too, was wet, her pussy fluids mixing with her sweat to run down her legs.

Charles had a water bottle and stuck the straw into Valerie's mouth, twisting it past the tape. "Drink slowly; you're losing a lot of fluids." Little rivulets of water made it into her mouth and down her throat. It's not easy to swallow with a gag in, but it can be done. Three minutes of relief as she drank a pint of water. Charles knew that she would be thirsty as all get out when they were finished, but the immediate need had been taken care of. Sally got some water as well, having nowhere near the difficulty drinking.

Throwing the water bottle aside, Charles resumed the whipping with a cat. He chose one with wide lashes to reduce the ability to cut skin, especially since he was including the lower back in his target zone, with its lack of fatty flesh and near surface proximity of vital organs like the kidneys. This time, everything was predictable. He moved slowly up her legs, across her ass, along her back to her shoulders and back down again. He made the progression of strength behind each blow predictable as well. Light on the lower calves, increasing up to the ass, then light again against the back. This was not to say that it didn't hurt. The previous work and the brief rest had sensitized the nerves, leaving Valerie especially vulnerable to intensity.

All Valerie could do now was to feel the pain, the desire to please Master and the trust of Sally and let them balance against each other. And a balancing act it was. The pain was so bad; she thought she would never be able to stand it. If it had only been Sally or Charles, she would have stopped it. With both of them involved in their own way, her feelings for the two combined had increased by more than the sum of the two. Her tears flowed freely and her groans of pain were constant. Yet she endured, in fact, more than simply endured.

Sally watched, feeling for the first time, pain in her heart at a sub absorbing pain. She knew she could stop it with a word, save her friend from this torment. She knew that Valerie would never condemn her for it either. But one look into Valerie's face and she knew she couldn't do it. Val was unaware of it, but she was raising herself to meet the blows as they came. She was in that zone, where the pain becomes a goal to be reached, not a suffering to be endured. No matter how much she hurt inside to see this, she wouldn't take this precious gift from Valerie. Some submissives never reach this state, able to seek their fear out and embrace it. "I wonder if this is how Valerie felt when she was tormented by punishing me? If this is a taste of that, I'll never ask that of her. It's almost too much to bear for someone with her caring and fragile heart."

Charles saw the rising up too and knew that he was part of something special. As he continued, he watched for two things: signs of real injury (he was going long enough that that was a real danger), and for when she stopped rising to meet the blows. He wanted to delay her safe word enough to give her a new, incredibly intense experience this night.

For a full half hour, Valerie lifted her ass, her back, and her legs to meet the blows that came down on her. As soon as she failed to rise, he stopped. In the silence that followed while he changed instruments one last time, he could hear the cries of the two women. Sally's were soft, the cries of sympathy that a helpless observer would experience. Valerie's were deep and racking, for all they were muffled by her gagging. These were the cries of someone in great pain, yet unwilling to stop the pain, cries designed to push oneself a little longer.

Charles pulled out a cane. Of all his toys this was one of the only two he did not think of as a toy. Only the bull whip was more prone to causing accidental injury. Ironically, most cane injuries are from novice Doms with weak upper body strength. It was because the cane gets all its power, not from the strength of the wielder, but from the leverage it is allowed to have. The thin rod of wood, usually less that an inch in diameter, could rip flesh in the hands of a large child, if that child wielded it like a baseball bat. Those with strength understood the danger instinctively, even if they had the wrong reasons for thinking it dangerous.

Charles stood behind Valerie, not letting her see what was coming. He did make sure that Sally did. "Master!" she whispered, stunned at seeing the cane, used maybe once a year (usually when Surmi wanted especially intense punishment), about to be used on a sub in her third week of submission. She understood why she was shown this. The time would come soon. She'd seen no one, not even the pain slut, Surmi, take more than seven blows from the cane before being overwhelmed.

"Valerie! Open your eyes! Don't close them, no matter what!" Sally needed to see into Valerie's heart and soul, to see the line as it passed over her friend.

The blows landed from the short distance three feet above her ass (the safest place for caning). The first one shocked Valerie out of her zone. This was pure, raw, unadulterated pain. No trust, no desire, simply pain in all its harsh cruelty. As the second blow landed, Valerie's eyes pleaded, "Make it stop!"

As she heard the third blow land and the muffled scream of agony and terror erupt from Valerie's throat, Sally cried out, in anguish herself, "Red light! Red light! Red Light!" The cane hit the floor with a wooden clang. "Oh, Valerie, I'm so sorry! Too much, it was too much." Sally was crying unabashedly, the pain of watching her friend suffer pouring out of her.

Charles ungagged Valerie first, giving her a venue to express her pain and suffering. As she bawled her head off he released her from the stocks, holding her up as he started to help her to the recovery room.

She stopped him. "No, Sally. Want Sally. Take me to Sally please."

Setting Valerie on her knees next to Sally, he started the process of releasing the submissive from her bonds. As he did, Valerie hugged what she could reach of her friend, comforting Sally, ignoring her own pain. "Sally, it's all right. You did well. You let me get off the edge and pulled me back just before I fell."

"Pain, your were in such pain. I couldn't stand it."

"You and Master took me farther than I've ever gone before, more than I may ever go again. I wouldn't trade this for anything."

"I…I think I understand now, why…why you can't punish. It really hurts you more than being whipped does, doesn't it?"

Valerie could only nod at the memory of that inner pain. By now, both were free and helping each other to the recovery room.

"When I saw that cane come out, all I could think of was how much I wanted to switch places with you, to spare you that. I safe worded at one stroke, the only time I was caned. But I would've taken all three for you if I could have."

"I had no idea that such pain could exist. I may let you next time."

"Val, you have a lot of real welts. We need to wash you before we rest. It's going to sting a lot, but we don't want any infection."

"Somehow, I can't imagine panicking over some stinging. I certainly don't want to explain to Helen that I was infected because I wanted to avoid the sting of warm water and soap after this beating. That would be truly frightening."

They spent 30 minutes, lounging in the hot showers and then spent more time in the hot tub (though Valerie was unable to sit properly). As Sally's sore muscles uncramped from the tight bondage and the sting eased out of Valerie's welts, they moved from the hot tub to the couch where Sally applied some of that wondrous massage oil. While they were resting and talking of those small things that friends always seem to like talking about, Charles came in.