Daphne's Escapology Class Pt. 01

This is my first story, so by all means productive feedback is welcome.

The story will stay fun and lighthearted, though it'll probably get more explicit in future parts.

Prologue:

Daphne fumed.

For what felt like the millionth time she had leaned against a wall, only to plunge headfirst through a hidden door into a pitch black void and awoken with a splitting headache. After her last head injury her doctor had "joked" about naming his boat after her, and after this next visit she suspected he'd be able to follow through.

As she regained her bearings, Daphne quickly ascertained two things; the darkness in which she currently lay was the result of a blindfold, and she was somewhat sloppily bound and gagged. Assessing her bonds she gave her unknown captor a C-. While her hands were tightly bound behind her back, she could tell the technique was subpar, even for a criminal. The rope around her wrists pinched her skin in some spots, sat slack in others, and crisscrossed itself in a tangle as it dug into her pale skin. The bonds around her ankles weren't any tidier, but also weren't quite as tight. More ropes wrapped tightly around her chest, crossing over and under her breasts, pinning her to some sort of metal rail. In similar fashion loops around her thighs squeezed her legs against the same metal. Sloppy or not, she was going to have to work to get free.

Rubbing her head against her shoulder, she was relieved and bemused when a bandana slid easily off of her head. "Honestly why even bother if you're going to half-ass it like that?" she thought to herself.

She subsequently dislodged a similarly useless bandana that had been used as a cleave gag and continued to wonder what cartoon this master criminal had learned how to kidnap from.

Now free to examine her surroundings, she found herself in an antiquated mine shaft. A lantern hung from a sagging post nearby, casting a dim glow through the tunnel.

"You have got to be fucking kidding," she fumed.

She was tied to a railroad track. Of course she was. Of all the cliched indignities she had endured in her years as an investigator, this took the cake.

Sitting on the antique tracks at her feet was a mine cart, which contrary to the signs of neglect everywhere else had seemingly recently been filled with coal.

The realization cleared the haze in Daphne's mind. The gang had heard rumors in town about a haunting in a nearby mine. A ghostly, glowing figure had been seen entering and exiting the mine at night. The local sheriff had put up a new "No Trespassing" sign at the entrance, and called it a day. He explained that between staffing shortages and OSHA there was no way he was sending a deputy into a derelict shaft. With their recent pivot to true crime podcasting, and Fred's newfound enthusiasm for darker content, they had all (except Fred) agreed that investigating the sightings would be a welcome palate cleanser.

That night, the gang had piled into the van and driven down to the mine. Taking care to turn off the headlights as they approached, they had parked in the brush on the side of the access road and quietly made their way to the mine entrance. They had turned Scooby's nose loose, where he had found the scent of a sweaty, but importantly not decomposing, man, before the sound of footsteps from within the mine had sent them dashing behind some large rocks. Immediately, out from the gloom emerged a brightly glowing figure. In remarkably unghostly fashion, the ghost had produced and drank from a large bottle of water, poured some on its head, and then after fanning itself several times, turned and reentered the mine. The gang had cautiously followed, at which point Daphne had discovered the trapdoor.

Hearing someone approaching, Daphne was shaken from her recollection. Continuing to struggle to free her wrists she was irritated to find that despite the low quality work, she couldn't get loose.

"Christ, Daphne, all of this time spent tied up and you can't even get out of an amateur double column?? The kids you babysat in high school could tie better than this!" she raged at herself.

"What the hell are you doing?? Stop that!" a gruff voice snarled.

"Stay back!!" she barked back at the glowing figure storming towards her.

"Relax," the ghost implored her, raising his hands to show he meant no harm. "I'm not really a ghost, and if I was going to hurt you I already would have"

"Of course you're not a fucking ghost! But why the fuck are you glowing?? Is that radium paint? I don't want to end up like Marie Curie!" Daphne feigned panic as she unsuccessfully tried to worm away from her captor. This was one of the more hyperbolic stalling tactics she had employed, but it's only crazy if it doesn't work.

The ghost immediately stopped his approach, and stood baffled. He was already flustered, having been taken completely by surprise by the beautiful redhead falling almost literally into his lap. In a panic he had ensured she was breathing and tied her up, but he had no idea what to do with her. Now she was yelling about radiation poisoning and he was at a complete loss.

"Look," he started hesitatingly. "The paint is safe, I bought it on Marketplace from some guy after he came back from Burning Man. I really don't want you here, but I can't exactly let you run off to tell the police what I'm doing, can I?"

"Well what exactly are you doing here?" Daphne continued stalling, still twisting her wrists, and unsuccessfully trying to slip her hands free. Where the hell were her friends? She'd been yelling as loudly as she could and they couldn't be that far away.

"My old man used to work for the mine. And I know that they closed up before all the coal was out. So I figured I could make some good money on the side by coming down here and getting it out myself! I figured the ghost costume and the paint would keep everyone away!" The ghost was clearly pleased with the ingeniousness of his plan.

Daphne winced both at the rope pinching her wrist, and at the absolutely tragic nonsense of a caper she was learning of. If THIS was the abduction she ended up with drop wrist from, she was going to be seriously pissed off.

Thankfully, Fred chose that exact moment to burst in and smack the ghost across the head with a shovel, knocking him out cold. Rushing to her side, Velma untied her hands and hugged her tightly. As Velma rubbed her arms and helped her stretch out her shoulders, Daphne breathed an enormous sigh of relief. The feeling was returning to her hands, and she wasn't going to be on the hook to explain the economics of the modern coal market to perhaps the worst criminal they had ever encountered. Velma finished untying her upper body from the track as Shaggy and Fred loaded the miner into his own cart and began wheeling him toward the mine's entrance.

"Velma, I need to ask you a favor," Daphne started, hoping Velma wouldn't notice her blushing. "You saw how sloppy this tie was, and STILL I could not get out. You've gotten captured just as many times as me, but we barely ever have to rescue you any more. I need your secret. Please?"

Velma turned away to attend to the ropes around her friend's ankles as a smile spread across her face. As the knot fell free she composed herself and turned back, trying to exude friendly compassion. "Oh Daphne... of course I'll help."

Chapter 1

Daphne strolled up to a cozy aubergine bungalow in a quiet tree-filled neighborhood. She double checked the address, still shocked that after all this time she had never been to Velma's house before, and took a moment to admire the vibrant garden sitting between the driveway and sidewalk. She smiled as a small black and white face emerged from a blossoming rhododendron next to the porch steps.

"Brrrrow?" the cat entreated, leading Daphne up the stairs to the front door.

"You made it!" a voice exclaimed from her right.

Daphne jumped and turned to see Velma sitting on a small sofa at the end of the porch. "JESUS you scared the shit out of me!" Daphne nearly screamed at her friend. Alarmed by the outburst, the cat evaporated under the porch rail. Daphne regained her wits, apologized to the disappearing white tail in the bushes, and noticed how the rest of the neighborhood had seemed to disappear as well.

Seeing her friend peering into the vegetation Velma apologized. "Sorry, my garden got a little out of hand during COVID and kinda engulfed the place. Then I decided I liked it! It's like my own little world in here. But I forget that also means visitors don't really spot you until they're at the door."

"It's really beautiful!! I don't have much nature near me, so it seems like an oasis! Complete with a cat!!!" Daphne searched the garden for any sign of the feline, and saw a pair of eyes watching her from the foliage next to Velma.

"That's Jinxy! He comes and goes. Generally he just shows up to wreak havoc, drop dead animals on my porch, and eat." Hearing his name, Jinxy hopped onto the coffee table and stared expectantly at Velma. "Don't lie to me cat! I fed you thirty minutes ago!" Exasperated, Velma shooed the cat back under the rail and returned her attention to Daphne. "I'm so rude! Sorry, I don't usually have guests and I'm a terrible host. Please have a seat! Can I get you anything? A drink?"

Sitting down in the chair opposite the sofa, Daphne declined and just stared at her friend. She was absolutely struck as she saw Velma in her own element for maybe the first time. No orange jumper and skirt and high socks this time, just a flowing sage sundress and sandals; even her hair and glasses were different. More minimal frames, and her hair combed over to reveal a wicked undercut. Having always seen her in her conservative "work" outfit, Daphne was now at a loss for words. The dress had drifted up Velma's tan legs, revealing a stark tan-line and surprisingly toned quads, while the change in hair style and thinner glasses highlighted large brown eyes, delicate freckles and a defined heart shaped face.

Her friend basked in the open admiration, letting her look for another moment, and then interrupted the silence. "So you were hoping I could help you out, what exactly were you thinking? I have a few ideas, but I want to hear what you have in mind."

"Oh! Yes. Right," Daphne stammered, suddenly nervous. "So... we like, basically never have to untie you anymore. You'll get captured, and it's practically guaranteed that if they use rope, you will get free. I need to be like you"

"So how do you want me to teach you?" Velma asked teasingly.

Daphne could swear she saw a glint in Velma's eyes, and there was no hiding the growing smirk on her face. Feeling smaller with every word Daphne explained. "I...was hoping you could tie me up and give me pointers on how to escape."

"Sure I can! Where is your rope?" Velma was being intentionally abrupt, enjoying seeing her perpetually composed friend suddenly off balance.

Daphne scrunched her face in consternation. How could she have not brought any rope??? Feeling like a child who had lost their homework she tried to explain, getting more and more flustered as she proceeded. "Oh rope?? Now? I didn't really...I don't know. Actually I don't have any." Falling silent, she folded her hands in her lap and looked down flushing.

"So you show up with no rope and ask me to tie you up? How does that work... what if I don't have any?" Velma's eyebrows arched and she leaned forward towards her shrinking student. Letting the silence hang for a moment, Velma stood and strode into the house, returning moments later with a surprisingly large bag. Clearly she did have rope. In abundance. "The first rule of escaping is to be prepared!" she exclaimed, dropping the apparently heavy bag with a dull thud.

Velma quickly reached into the bag and produced a long turquoise nylon rope, flaking it into a neat pile. Without any further prompting she pulled Daphne's arms over the back of the chair, doubling over the soft rope and quickly securing her wrists together and to the chair back. Wrapping another length around her upper arm, Velma grinned wickedly as she found her friend's elbows easily pressed together.

Frowning as the purple fabric of the dress bunched in between the loops, Velma briefly fumbled the rope, the tips dancing across the wood of the porch. Darting under the rail, the lurking cat pounced, plunging claws and fangs into the turquoise fibers and pinning it to the deck.

"DAMMIT JINXY! Read the room you little rat!" Velma silently raged, jerking the rope back and forth.

Velma angrily tried to free the rope ends from Jinxy's grasp, finally prodding him in the stomach with her foot. Incensed by the unsolicited belly contact, the cat dropped the rope and engulfed her foot in a wrathful embrace of claws and teeth. Now dancing on one foot and silently screaming obscenities at the feline aggressor attempting to puncture her metatarsals, Velma prayed Daphne was unaware of the battle being waged behind her, finally managing to kick the cat loose. As the cat scampered off, she quickly returned her attention to her friend, relieved that she remained completely engrossed in being bound, and resumed tying her elbows.

Cinching the rope between them, she ran it up and around the front of Daphne's shoulder, grazing her left breast and relishing a slight shudder that escaped from her friend's lips, then unable to resist, gathering the luxurious red hair in one hand and firmly pulling her student's head forward, running the rope behind her head, and back down the other side. A small moan escaped from Daphne as Velma pulled her head about by her hair and navigated the rope around her shoulders.

Quickly reevaluating, Velma paused and backtracked, withdrawing the rope from over Daphne's collarbones - she was getting ahead of herself. No need to go overboard yet! Velma wanted to continue easing Daphne in to things, although it seemed like she far more eager than Velma had even dreamed of! She had noticed every rapturous sigh, shiver, and gasp as she tightly bound her longtime friend, and had felt Daphne slipping deeper into a trance with every piece of rope.

Stepping back she admired her work so far. The turquoise of the rope had been the perfect choice, complementing her student's hair and bright green eyes. It absolutely did not go with the purple dress, but that would hopefully be remedied shortly. Daphne's expression was one of pure bliss, her eyes unfocused as Velma studied the flawless figure secured to the chair.

No longer in her teens, yoga and martial arts had kept Daphne lithe and toned. Velma wondered what compelled her to continue wearing her signature purple dresses, but considered that a can of worms she did not care to open. Especially now. Regardless, the thin purple fabric clung to Daphne's curves perfectly, and Velma traced the path of the rope around her body with a delicate fingertip, watching goosebumps erupt across her friend's skin.

"No wonder baddies are always tying you up!" Velma mused as she turned to her student's legs...

The instant she felt the first rope tighten, Daphne had plunged into a place in her mind she didn't know existed. Her breathing rapid, escaping was suddenly the last thing in the world she wanted. After what had only felt like seconds, the sound of a car horn jolted her back to awareness, where she discovered her situation had dramatically changed! Her legs sat crossed, and tightly tied around the thighs and ankles, with her ankles secured to the left chair leg. A rope around her waist secured her to the chair back, and with her wrists and elbows firmly tied she was astonished by how absolutely helpless her friend had rendered her.

"Nice of you to rejoin us," Velma wryly observed from the sofa. "You seem to be very deeply contemplating my work."

Daphne was drunk on the feeling of the ropes holding her body. "Yes ma'am," she purred, blinking slowly and returning to the world.

A heavy silence fell, as they both absorbed the suddenly precipitous power dynamic emerging between them.

"Good girl. Are you ready to try and get loose now?" Velma asked.

Daphne would have been content to sit in the ropes grasp forever, but reluctantly she nodded and began to shift to find any slack in the rope. She almost laughed. Her arms felt as though they had been welded together behind her back, and while she could move her legs back and forth in concert, she couldn't find a glimmer of daylight between them. She shook her head; there was no way she would escape.

Resuming her roll as teacher, Velma stepped in. "If you just yank and flail away you'll never get anywhere if someone can tie a decent knot! But think, where ARE the knots?"

Feeling like a dunce, Daphne started feeling around her wrists and the back of the chair. Locating the knot securing her wrists to the chair, she found she could easily untie it! Clearly Velma had deliberately left it there, but hey, a win is a win. Now with the tail of the rope loose, she felt the knot between her wrists. This one was more challenging, since she could only get one hand to it, and she had to twist her wrist at a strange angle to get there. After pawing at it for several minutes she finally felt it start to open, and with a couple more seconds work she felt it fall away.

"There ya go! See it's not rocket surgery. You keep at it, I'm going to go grab some things from inside. Holler if you get in trouble, don't fall over!" Velma stood, and sauntered into the house, the pale green of her dress blooming behind her.

Now alone, Daphne suddenly felt extremely vulnerable. While her wrists were loose, and Velma's garden did an amazing job hiding the porch from the street, she was still mostly helpless and outside. In the course of her struggles her dress had worked it's way up her thighs, and the rope around her stomach had pulled the fabric tight against her breasts, which seemed to thrust out for a mile with her arms pulled back. She felt a growing sense of nervous excitement as she contemplated being discovered...

"NO! Focus," Daphne scolded herself as her mind started to wander. She was here to learn, and had done nothing but get distracted since she sat down. She couldn't fail her first lesson!

Putting her incipient exhibitionism aside, she resumed working on freeing her elbows. Given the relative ease she had freed her wrists with after finding the knots, she was once again flummoxed. Velma had very effectively used her flexibility against her; with her elbows together there was no real room to gain slack in the rope. She began shimmying her arms back and forth, swearing a bit as the rope gripped her elbows, but finally was able to work it around the joint.

"AHA," she triumphed as the rope dropped to the ground. Now quite pleased with herself she turned to her legs, and as the bindings fell from her thighs and ankles she stretched luxuriously.

"You did it!!!" Velma gave a light round of applause as she stepped through the front door, a small duffel bag in her hands. Daphne stood and took a bow, feeling a wild tingling radiating through her body, and an intense desire for more. Velma sat back down on the sofa and slid the mystery bag under the coffee table without explanation.

"I did! Kinda. You basically told me how to get out." Daphne rubbed her elbows to relieve the chafing from dragging the rope over them.

"I thought I was supposed to be teaching you! Don't worry, you did great. As we keep going you'll be able to figure out more and more. Our next lesson will be different though. Your biggest mistake in lesson one was just not thinking! So clearly we need to develop your understanding of how tying works. So I'm going to teach you how to tie me, and then you can apply that to your own escapes."

Feeling conflicted about whether to be disappointed she wasn't going to immediately bound, or excited at the unexpected prospect of having Velma at her mercy, Daphne picked up a rope.