Claiming Katy Ch. 18

-Dr Isabella Pacetti's Notes:

To recap: Now that Katy is utterly and ecstatically under Sophie's control, Sophie has turned her attention to understanding Mrs Alderney's strange sadness. A little thought and research have brought her to a conclusion she should have reached weeks before, and she resolves to take dramatic action.

Once again you will read scenes of women being dominated, punished and humiliated, but once again I remind you that all are willing participants.

-Sophie's Statement:

I found Katy in her attic room, freshly bathed and anxiously nibbling her finger. Her back was to the door and I had a moment to watch her beautiful naked form before she turned with a nervous grin. She stood so straight and moved so naturally, I knew she was much happier naked. She pointed to the bed, where four large black-and-white prints were laid out.

"I've chosen, if that's okay. I mean, I don't know if they're okay, but they are my favourites. I like your clothes."

I had stopped off at my own room to change. I had put on a dark brown skirt which hugged my thighs but stopped above my knee. I had a pair of brown leather ankle boots with square toes and two inch heels. My white fitted blouse had an open collar and was pulled tight to my torso by a waistcoat which matched the skirt. I smiled at the compliment. The look I was going for was a sort of kinky Victorian governess, but I think I had just managed kinky. I looked over at the prints.

"Thank you Katy. They're all pictures where the subject is crawling or cowering."

"Yes, Miss Sophie. I like those best. I like the submission. I like the fact she's in someone's power."

I stepped closer, smiling.

"You like that? You can relate to that?"

Her lips parted and she grinned.

"Yes Miss Sophie. I know how she feels. I know how she wants to feel. I understand her completely."

I began to toy with her hair.

"That's good. That's very important. Katy, what did I say you would be today?"

"Obedient, strong and honest, Miss Sophie."

"Good. I'm not going to ask you to promise. And I'm not going to threaten you with the consequences of failure. We are beyond that. You will meet my expectations. You just will."

"That's all I want, Miss Sophie." This felt like some sort of ritual chant.

"I know. We're going downstairs now, and you're going to meet someone..."

-

The cellar felt unusually warm and was somehow darker, perhaps because of my own sombre outfit or because Mrs Alderney was sitting on the upholstered bench at the centre of the room, dressed in her most severe office clothes. Since I left her she had re-styled her hair, re-applied her make-up and selected a darker, more joyless suit with new stockings. She perched on the furthest edge of the bench, facing the Throne. She didn't look at us as we entered.

I led Katy to the Throne and indicated she should sit on the floor next to it. I didn't let go of her hand until she was settled.

Now we could see Mrs Alderney's face and it was clear she was sunk in misery. Katy saw this, and shifted uncomfortably on the floor, her eyes flitting between the us. I turned to Mrs Alderney and spoke softly.

"Did you bring those things for me?"

She nodded, but even this slight movement was awkward and stilted. She pushed a small leather make-up bag across the bench.

I jumped with surprise as Katy leapt to her feet and clutched Mrs Alderney's sleeve.

"Madame! What's wrong? Oh please! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you feel bad! You were so kind to play with me, I didn't—"

Mrs Alderney laid her hand over Katy's and made gentle soothing noises.

"No Katy... no... I'm very proud of you and I love you and playing with you was lovely. You've done nothing wrong."

Katy frowned and continued to look concerned, but I gently pulled her away and made her kneel beside the Throne again.

"Katy what did we talk about? I need you to be patient and pay close attention. I need my perfect supplicant. Stay down there and only speak when spoken to."

She looked no less anxious, but the familiar instructions gave her something to focus on. Her natural concern for the woman she adored was in conflict with her instinct to obey me. For now I was winning. I returned to Mrs Alderney and spoke quietly.

"She's scared. It will help if you try to look more confident and relaxed."

"I'm scared," came the whispered reply, and I smiled and laid a hand on her shoulder. She hesitated, cast a barely perceptible glance at Katy, and then raised her chin, staring with her intelligent green eyes into the middle-distance, setting her jaw and letting her face become peaceful.

"I'm ready," she said in a clear, bold voice.

I dipped my fingers into the leather bag and fished out some little round swabs, scented with make-up cleanser. I gently cupped Mrs Alderney's jaw and began wiping away her make-up. There was a lot to remove, and the process was slow, but her expression didn't falter throughout. I ignored Katy for now, scrutinising Mrs Alderney's face as it emerged from beneath the painted layers.

The face which was gradually revealed bore a resemblance to the one I knew, but it was younger, softer and more vulnerable. Her cheekbones were less defined, her lips fuller but less sharp and her eyes were bright, with long thick lashes. The skin around her eyes and at the tip of her nose had a delicate pinkness to match her cheeks. I grinned at the nervous, blinking face, then stepped away to allow Katy a clear view.

"What do you think, Katy?"

Katy looked so baffled it was almost comical, but suddenly she smiled and bit her lip.

"She looks beautiful. You're beautiful, Madame. You don't need to wear make-up. I mean... but I know it's not for me to say..."

I winked at her. "All entirely true."

I turned my full attention back to newly emerged face.

"I'll be honest, it's a stunning face. But I don't like the clothes. I don't think you like the clothes. If you don't like them, you don't have to wear them."

I stepped back to watch as Mrs Alderney rose from the bench and shrugged off her jacket, dropping it on the stone floor. She eased off her shoes and kicked them away, and I risked a sidelong glance at Katy, who was watching intently, her tongue brushing her lip.

Mrs Alderney's face was sombre and pale, and her movements were deliberate as she eased her skirt off her hips and down the floor. She wore stockings with a traditional suspender-belt, which was partially obscured by her crumpled blouse. Her fingers moved with surprising dexterity as she unbuttoned and wriggled out of her final outer garment and dropped this too on the floor.

"Stop for now," I said gently. I took a moment to examine the body that had been revealed. It was a healthy pale pink, lean and toned to the point that soft muscle definition was visible on her belly, arms and thighs. She held herself erect, her tied-up hair making her look alert and controlled, even though she was visibly trembling. Her breasts were coddled by an elegant bra, but they were clearly firm and perky rather than full or heavy. She looked very small altogether.

I fished inside the make-up case once more and found the object I knew would be there. It was a bottle-green leather collar made for a dog, and with a silver disc hanging from it. The inscription read simply:

MARIE

And on the reverse was the address of the house.

Without looking, I knew Katy was crying. I could hear her, and Mrs Alderney cast anxious glances her way. I didn't divert my own attention, but quietly reached up to the woman's throat and carefully buckled the leather band in place, letting the silver disc tickle her collar-bone. I stepped back once more and regarded the result with satisfaction. The collar's recipient smiled weakly and nodded, some tension seeming to leave her lithe body.

Now I turned to Katy and her tears. I hunched down beside her and dabbed at her wet cheeks with careful finger tips. I could see that the tears were involuntary and she was at least attempting to appear composed. She was smiling sadly and nodding her head very slightly. She looked at me and spoke in a whisper.

"She's so beautiful."

"Good girl. Be strong for her," I whispered, then spoke more clearly and addressed the other woman. "Marie, this is Katy. Katy's only purpose is to serve and worship her Goddess, whatever that entails, according to her Goddess's whims. Say 'Hello', Katy."

Katy stared and murmured, "Hello".

"Katy, this is Marie. Marie is a slave by nature and yearns to belong to somebody. She is desperate for punishment and discipline. Say 'Hello', Marie."

Marie turned to face us, still standing erect with her chin raised.

"Hello Katy. I'm sorry..."

"Shh. Marie used to belong to the woman who owned this house. When she died her property was left empty. Do you understand, Katy?"

Katy nodded, and said, sadly, "I didn't know. You're so beautiful. You're so lovely." She gazed at our employer for several seconds and then her hands flew to her mouth in shocked realisation. She scampered forward on her hands and knees and peered intently at Marie's ankle. Through the dark stocking she saw the mark and sat back, stunned, staring up at her.

"The tattoo! That's you in the pictures, with the lock on your ankle! I've dreamed about you!"

A smile lit up Marie's face, despite her nerves, and she blushed. I glanced between them with a smirk.

"Katy's favourite pictures are the ones where you're crawling or cowering."

Marie just nodded.

"And Marie wrote your bedtime stories Katy, didn't you Marie?"

Marie nodded and looked genuinely bashful. Katy was grinning at her.

"Well, anyway," I said. "I certainly see no need for you to remain clothed any more. Naked please."

Marie unfastened the suspenders and removed the belt, then pushed down her stockings and slid them off her toes. She awkwardly slipped out of her bra and dropped it on the floor, then stood up straight for a moment, as if responding to an unspoken command. Her breasts were indeed small and a little pointed, but very pleasing. Finally she slithered her knickers over her thighs and let them fall, revealing a neatly cropped bush of dark reddish hair. She stood immobile, averting her eyes, inviting us to examine her.

Katy's eyes flitted excitedly over Marie's body, and she beamed with pleasure. I suppressed my own excitement and relief, and adopted a cool voice.

"You've made a mess, Marie. Pick up those clothes please."

With a calm nod, Marie began to gather up the discarded clothes. She bent smartly at the waist and seemed to want to move attractively, but her face flushed with embarrassment as we watched her in silence. When she had put the clothes tidily on the bench, she stood up straight once more.

"That's better. Now, let me explain the house rule. There's only one: You will please Miss Sophie. Repeat the rule, both of you."

In chorus, exchanging embarrassed glances, they recited the phrase.

"Obedience pleases me. Attentiveness and making my life easy pleases me. Looking after one another pleases me. Your pain and abject degradation please me. I expect you to follow this simple, common-sense rule. I don't expect to have to enforce it with punishments. You will suffer an awful lot, but I expect that to be for my pleasure, not your instruction. Am I making myself clear?

Katy responded with a heartfelt "Yes, Goddess!" but then looked anxious when Marie hesitated. Marie was trembling and her eyes were closed. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight. I whispered in her ear.

"It's okay. You're safe, I promise. Look at her, look how happy and content she is. And you're doing so well." I felt Marie nod. "I will be patient. I will take time to understand you. I will be strict and harsh with you, so you will have no doubts. I'll make you into a slave she would be proud of."

The reference to her wife made Marie tense for a moment, then she nodded again and relaxed.

"Yes, Miss Sophie. I will do all I can to please you." She said this loudly and clearly, and I realised it was for Katy's benefit.

"Good girl. Sit on the bench again. We need to discuss what you've been up to."

While Marie obeyed, I returned to my other slave.

"Katy, we need some time alone. I'd like you to go and wait for me in the office."

"Yes Goddess."

"You will kneel beside my desk, legs spread as wide as you can, hands behind your neck, tits out and mouth open." She nodded earnestly, without hint of questioning the need for this. I made a perfunctory shooing gesture with one hand. Katy gave Marie a final excited glance, then ran from the room.

Once we were alone, I went to stand close beside Marie, close enough to feel her warmth and smell her fragrance. Close enough to intimidate her and make her cower a little. There was something beyond mere submission in her body language, and I began to suspect there was some further secret to be revealed.

"Tell me," I said softly.

"Please understand... I'm not proud of what I've done. I don't believe I have anything to be proud of."

"We'll see," I said, holding her hand. "Start with what happened after you lost your wife. Some day we will talk about what happened before that. Not today."

She fixed her eyes on some arbitrary point on the wall and her voice was sad. "I was... well, I was destroyed. I had Mistress's house but it tortured me. I couldn't sell it - how dare I? - but to be here without her was unbearable. I was lost and lonely. I had no-one to command me.

"After a few months of bleak, sobbing grief I grew sick of myself. I wanted to change, I wanted punishing. I remembered Dr Pacetti's name from some old book research and I made an appointment."

I idly combed my fingers through Marie's hair, just once.

"What were you hoping for?"

"I needed help. I needed instructions. I needed to be punished for my self-loathing and for betraying Mistress's memory with my weakness." Her gaze grew distant as she immersed herself in memory.

"When I arrived at her address I realised I must be very early because I saw another girl leaving as I walked up the street. I recognised the type immediately: meek, diffident, but strangely alive and energetic. That was the way I used to be and it filled me with hope. She was pretty too, with bobbed strawberry-blonde hair and a sweet, peaceful face. She had a mat rolled up under one arm. I heard her say something about 'same time next week', as she stepped outside. I waited for her to walk away before I approached the door."

Marie sighed hugely and this rocked her whole body, her shoulders rising and falling as though heavily burdened.

"Well... Dr Pacetti was kind and professional... and she was strong and supportive. But I couldn't submit to her, and I couldn't be punished by her because... it wasn't real. However much she truly cared... I didn't belong to her, so it wasn't real. Oh, she helped me, I went several times and she coached me on living with my grief, and reclaiming my writing. But I realised that I couldn't truly submit to another woman who wasn't the equal of Mistress. And how could there be such a person? So I was still alone."

"And of course all this was before Katy?"

Marie nodded.

"Tell me about this other girl. Why did you mention her?"

"I... I'm so ashamed... It's so wrong..."

"Take your time, but you will tell me before we do anything else. If you deserve punishment I'll take care of it. Tell me."

She nodded again and breathed deeply.

"I went back, same time next week, although I didn't have an appointment. I saw her leaving again with her mat under her arm, and I caught up with her. I told her frankly who I was and asked if I could talk to her. I needed someone to understand what I was feeling. She said she was going to practise yoga in the park and said I could join her. She was nice. We did some yoga together and had a drink and talked, and suddenly I felt like a real person in the real world again. We shared our stories and we seemed to have a lot in common."

Her voice faltered and she looked away, her body shrinking away from me. I had an inkling I knew where this was leading and could feel myself growing hot with anger and other emotions. But it felt so easy to put them aside and remain calm. I touched Marie's face with my free hand and steered her around to look me in the eye.

"Marie... I know you're afraid and that's alright. I know you think I'm going to get angry, and I may. But when I punish you I will be measured and in control. You will always get exactly what you deserve. Tell me her name."

Marie trembled, her naked form curling up, and her voice was a whisper.

"Her name is Tara."

I nodded and released her face. "Why are you cowering like that?" I whispered, elated at my own feeling of calm. "What do you expect me to do?"

Without moving, Marie looked me squarely in the eyes and said:

"Punish me."

I didn't laugh, although that was my instinct. The woman wasn't answering the question: she was begging. I couldn't stop myself smiling, and I hoped it made me look sympathetic.

Then I slapped Marie sharply, controlling the blow precisely, but she looked shocked and tears wet her eyes. After a moment she exhaled with a strange, quivering moan. My voice was emotionless.

"And her story?"

Marie's voice shook and came out in a rush of breath.

"At college, a few years ago, she had a room-mate. She fell in love with her. The room-mate was beautiful and dominant and Tara gave herself to her utterly. But the room-mate got bored of Tara, or sick of her, or I think maybe ashamed of her, and she made her humiliate herself in front of the whole college, and then the room-mate dumped her and it was you, Miss Sophie, and she still worships you!"

I slapped her again, a little harder. My ability to do so without losing control to my anger felt wonderful. While the anger surged beneath the surface, I calmly watched as Marie sobbed. It was clear she wanted to suffer, and it felt right to let her. I stepped away and paced slowly around the cellar, leaving Marie in a shivering huddle on the bench. Her long, toned limbs curled about her elegantly, and her lean face was lowered to hide behind her shoulder.

"So how did you find me?"

"Well Tara... she knew where you lived and what agency you worked for..."

I stared at her in cold silence.

"I'm sorry, Miss Sophie, I didn't plot anything with her, I just took a chance a couple of months ago... I asked for you at your agency, but I had to wait for you to become available."

"You thought you'd... try me out?"

"I just wanted to meet you... I'm sorry Miss Sophie."

I stood squarely in front of the cowering woman.

"Marie, you will not hide your face from me."

She turned with painful slowness to look at me. She looked wretched, and whatever anger I might have felt now melted away, and I held her wet, shivering face gently between my palms.

"Okay. There doesn't need to be punishment. I meant it when I said I don't expect to punish you to correct your behaviour. You won't ever do anything like that again. It's as simple as that." My hands stroked Marie's face, drying her tears. She reacted quickly and naturally, growing calmer as she understood that I had mastered my anger.

"But I would like you to remember your behaviour over the coming months, and wonder whether I'm being crueller as a result of your actions. But not today. For now tell me about Katy. How does she fit?"

Marie was nodding and breathing deeply, and now she smiled at her memory.

"She just turned up. A cheeky, foul-mouthed brat in shop-lifted clothes turned up on my doorstep demanding a domestic job. This was shortly after I visited Dr Pacetti, so I was a little stronger. I almost laughed and closed the door in her face, but then I saw behind the bravado how afraid she was. I later learned that she was homeless and had no-one. I let her work as a cleaner in exchange for room and board. She was not a great cleaner, but I trained her. She had a bad attitude too, but I also corrected that."