Her Governess Ch. 01

A week after the Masquerade, she was dressed in a comfy track suit and enjoying a quiet Saturday afternoon on the couch, spending some 'alone time' with a good romance novel. Her solitude was interrupted by a knock on the door. She figured it might be another well-wisher, but checked the spyhole in the door just to be sure.

The young woman from the Masquerade - Ashley - stood outside the door, holding Kara's winter coat draped over one arm. The thick septum piercing was hard to mistake. She wore jeans, a faded Bruins jersey and canvas sneakers. Her eyes were sunken and black-rimmed; she didn't look like she'd been sleeping well. She must have piggybacked through the secure entrance to the building.

Kara opened the door. The slight girl didn't look like someone to be feared.

"Are you Mrs. Meadows?" the young woman asked, reading the name off the ticket stub that she must have left in her coat pocket.

"Kara," she said, extending her hand and smiling warmly. The woman looked like she could use a smile, and maybe a meal.

Ashley's eyes widened, and Kara noticed for the first time the younger woman's brilliant green irises. "You're the woman in the mask and pretty dress! I remember your voice."

Kara chuckled. "Yes, although the rest of that night is something I'd rather forget."

Ashley lunged forward and wrapped Kara in a tight hug, then clung to her. The younger woman was even smaller than Kara had realized, both in height and in build.

"Thank you. For everything. For saving me...for staying with me. For your voice..." Her words ended in a sob.

Kara returned the embrace, and hugged her until the younger woman chose to pull back.

"I just did basic first aid," Kara said.

"You saved me. I'd be dead now if not for you. I owe you big time. I owe you everything."

"Oh, come on. I'm sure you'd have done the same," Kara said, blushing a little at the display of gratitude. "I was about to make some lunch. I'd be happy for some company."

"I don't want to be any trouble. I'm just returning your coat. It's a little...dirty...but I didn't have the chance to get it cleaned."

"No trouble. Please come in."

Ashley followed Kara into the apartment and sat at the table while Kara made and served a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches and put on a pot of coffee. The woman seemed too nervous to initiate the conversation so Kara spoke up.

"So, that man you were with at the Masquerade...is he your boyfriend?"

"Master," Ashley said. "Master Chad. He's pretty pissed at me right now for humiliating him at the Masquerade. I've been texting him all week apologizing but he won't see me."

"What you you mean 'humiliating' him?"

"You know, ruining the performance. Making him look bad."

"You were gagged, hooded and restrained. You couldn't communicate your distress. What did he expect you to do?"

Ashley shrugged. "Take it."

Kara stared at her, not quite sure how to respond.

Ashley must have picked up on the incredulous look because she continued. "Hey, I've taken worse than that. Skull-fucking, fisting...I've been trained to do a lot of things. I should have been able to handle a little bondage. It was my fault for drinking too much wine beforehand. I was real nervous." The young woman tried to sound matter-of-fact but wouldn't meet Kara's eyes as she spoke.

"You're into some extreme stuff," Kara said, trying to find words that weren't critical or outraged. It wasn't her place to judge someone else's kink, after all.

Another shrug. "Sometimes a slave has to do stuff she hates in order to serve her Master. It proves her obedience and devotion."

"I'm not sure you should be doing things you hate. That doesn't sound satisfying."

Ashley flashed her a puzzled look, then waved the comment off. "Anyway...he'll get over it soon enough and take me back. He always does, even when I mess up. It just means I need more training."

"What kind of training?"

Ashley's laugh was devoid of humour. "Whatever he wants. The Master makes the rules, the slave obeys. You're a submissive yourself, you know how it is." Ashley gestured to Kara's collar.

"Can I ask you...what do you get out of all this? It doesn't sound like you're enjoying it a lot," Kara said.

Ashley took another bite of her grilled cheese. She looked like she was trying to decide how much to say.

"When I was eighteen I dated this guy in his thirties. This was before Master Chad. This guy was into tying me up, dominance, spanking, the whole bit. We'd have sessions that would last all afternoon. At first it was kind of scary, but once I got used to him, the feeling changed. It became really...intense, in a good way, you know? Like he was stripping away all the parts of me that weren't real and touching the one, true part of me. The real me. I could just let go and be who I really was - I could cry, or laugh or...you know...I didn't have to hold anything in." Ashley saw Kara hanging on her words and gave a nervous laugh. "Sorry - that probably didn't make much sense."

"It made a lot of sense. You said it beautifully."

"Really?"

"And does Master Chad make you feel this way?"

"Well...not yet. He says it's because I'm comparing him to my last Master and that once I've fully submitted, that feeling will come. I'm trying really hard."

"How long have you been submitting to Master Chad?"

"Almost three years. I met him online after my first dominant moved away."

"Have you spoken to him about your feelings? Told him what you like and don't like?"

"Does that matter? I'm a slave. It's my job to do what the Master commands." Ashley was looking at her curiously, as though the fact should have been obvious to anyone.

Kara smiled. "I used to think that way too, before I met my husband and Master. I used to go with Doms who gave me all sorts of commands, and some of them made me scared or uncomfortable. I didn't say anything because I thought the same as you...that a true submissive just obeyed. But with a lot of help I discovered it isn't true - a submissive still has a voice and should communicate clearly."

"And that worked?"

Kara nodded. "It really did."

Ashley looked away. "Master Chad is pretty strict about complaints. Last time I complained I got beat real bad. A slave should trust her Master to know what's best for her."

The words were spoken dutifully but without conviction, and Kara tried not to wince. She didn't want to pity this young woman. Kara paused to get them both a mug of coffee, and she considered her next words.

"Is there someone you can talk to about this? Family maybe? Friends? I don't want to speak out of turn, but you don't sound like you're happy."

Ashley shook her head and sighed. "It's just because I'm holding back, not devoting myself deeply enough. If I can just get it right, I'm sure I'll find that place again, like with my first Master. It's just taking longer to get past the scary part with Master Chad."

"Just curious...have you thought maybe Master Chad isn't the one? Have you thought about looking elsewhere?" Kara tried to ask as delicately as possible. She knew well the power - and stubbornness - of a young woman's heart and didn't want to be too direct.

Ashley gave a sad smile, then turned her back to Kara and swept her black hair up and away from her neck. At the base of her neck, etched in simple black lettering were the words 'Property of Master Chad'. "What kind of Master wants a slave who's already been marked?" she asked. "I've got other tattoos as well...no one's going to want that. I'm not exactly gorgeous to start with."

Kara struggled to find the words to put Ashley's fears to rest. The younger woman had built up a formidable knot of misconceptions. How to begin to unravel it?

"So...what next? If Master Chad won't talk to you..."

"I'm going over there tonight, to his house. I'll camp out on his doorstep if I have to. I can't keep crashing at the house I'm staying at, anyway. I'm sure he'll take me back when he realizes how sorry I am, and how hard I'm willing to work. He'll probably punish me real bad but after that he'll forgive me."

Kara fought a rising despair. Ashley was going back? Back to the man who almost killed her, then ran off and left her with complete strangers? A man who beat her for expressing her feelings? Had Kara saved this young woman's life, only to have it spent in misery? The idea was too awful to contemplate.

"Anyway. Thanks for the lunch, and for...you know...saving my life. I want to give you my number - if there's anything I can do for you, just text me, okay?" Ashley drained the rest of her coffee and stood up.

Kara recorded the younger woman's phone number, all the while battling a sense of desperation. She was going back to that bastard?

Kara couldn't allow it. She WOULDN'T allow it!

"Ashley, just a second." Kara's mind was racing. "Would you sit down for a moment longer?"

"Sure." Ashley resumed her seat.

Kara paused and carried the mugs to the sink, trying to put her thoughts together, then looked Ashley in the eye.

"You know that wonderful, submissive place you want to get to, like with your first Master?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think Master Chad can lead you there. He'll never get you there because it sounds like he's lost, too. And you know how men are about asking directions," Kara said with a conspiratorial wink.

Rather than smile, Ashley's face fell and her shoulders slumped.

"I guess...I kind of figured that. But at this point..." she shrugged hopelessly. "I mean, it's pretty much Master Chad or nothing, right? No one else will take a marked slave. And it's not like I have a lot to offer, anyway."

Kara took Ashley's hand and smiled gently. Underneath her serene exterior, her mind was working furiously to plot the correct course. A young woman's life was at stake!

"I can lead you there. I've been there, and I know the way."

"You? But...how?"

"I'll guide you and teach you. I'll be..." Kara scrambled for the right word, "Your governess! I'll be your governess." She'd plucked the word from the Victorian-era romance she was reading.

"What's that?" The younger woman sounded more curious than skeptical and hadn't made any effort to pull her hand away from Kara's grasp. Those had to be good signs, right?

"It's a position of authority. Kind of a combination of a teacher, a mentor and a role model."

"So I'd be your submissive, and you'd be my Mistress?"

"In a sense, but not quite to that extent. You'd be my 'ward' and I'd be your 'governess'. You'd submit to my authority and accept my teaching and lessons."

Kara watched Ashley's face intently for any indication of acceptance or doubt. The younger woman seemed to be considering the idea, at least.

"I'm not...totally into girls," she said at last, looking up at Kara almost apologetically.

Kara increased the warmth of her smile. "I'm not totally into girls either. But I fooled around a bit, when I was your age, and enjoyed it. How about you?"

Ashley flashed a shy grin. "Maybe, like, twice? It was alright."

She made her expression thoughtful. "Of course, you might have to move into my guest room. I can't have you sleeping on the street."

"You mean...I could stay here?"

"Well, I suppose if you didn't want to..."

"No, no...that's not what I meant. I mean, it would be great..."

"And you'd have to end it with Master Chad. I'd need complete authority to teach you what you needed to know."

She was quiet for almost a minute, and Kara could see in her face she was thinking it through at her pace.

"So...I'd stay here...free?"

Kara nodded. "You'd be safe and comfortable."

"And in return, I become your submissive. Or what did you call it? Your ward?"

"That's right."

"And you'll show me how to find that feeling again, like I had before?"

Kara nodded again. Ashley's thought processes seemed...methodical, if not especially nimble.

"But what do you get out of this?"

The question set Kara back. What DID she get out of this? Why was she extending herself so much to help this complete stranger? Was it because Ashley reminded Kara of a younger version of herself? Had saving the younger woman's life evoked some quasi-maternal instinct to protect her? Was she just doing a good deed for a person in need? Maybe a bit of all three. But would any of those answers sell the idea to Ashley?

"Companionship, for starters. I recently...lost...my husband and Master," Kara said, willing herself not to lose her composure as grief raked her insides at the memory. "Having you around would be a welcome distraction. And of course, you'd be helping around the apartment too, so it would also be making my life easier."

Ashley fell silent again, thinking.

"You'll be safe, I promise. I'm not trying to trick you into anything," Kara said, scouting ahead of Ashley for possible objections.

"Oh, I totally trust you. I mean, you saved my life, right? And stayed with me even when I was puking everywhere. You're really nice."

"And I've been a submissive for more than twenty years. I've seen the highs and the lows. I can help you."

Kara could see she wasn't quite convinced, and didn't know what else to say to sweeten the pot without over-selling the idea. And did she have the right to do that? If Ashley chose to leave...well, it was her choice. Even if it was a dumb one.

And possibly life-threatening.

"It's just, a slave has to be loyal, right? I swore an oath to Master Chad, so I'd be kind of worthless if I broke the oath," she said.

Kara stifled a sigh and instead reached out to brush Ashley's cheek with her palm. It was maybe too intimate a gesture for the short amount of time she'd known her, but Kara wanted to leave Ashley with the memory of a gentle touch. Master Chad didn't sound like the 'gentle touch' type.

"I see. Well, think it over, okay? You've got my number. Even if you just want to talk, give me a call. I'm a good listener."

"I will. And thank you SO much. For everything. I mean it, you have no idea how grateful I am."

Kara walked her to the door and wrapped her up in a tight hug.

"Be safe," she whispered to the younger girl, before letting her go.

*

When her cell phone rang at two the next morning, a terrible dread welled up inside Kara and immediately banished the grogginess. Good news never called in the wee hours.

The display showed it was Ashley.

"Ashley?" Kara said, voice still gravelly with sleep.

"Hey...sorry for the late call," Ashley said. Her voice was pitchy with emotion.

"You can call anytime. Is everything okay?"

"Um..." There was a long pause, and Kara glanced at the screen to make sure they hadn't been disconnected. "Is...is that offer still good? You know, I could be your submissive or whatever?"

"Of course it is."

"I'd like to accept. You know, if that's okay." Ashley sniffed, then exhaled.

"Ashley? Are you safe? Where are you now?"

"I'm..." There was another long pause and Kara thought she heard a quiet sob. "I'm in a Burger Joint, you know, the one on Sixth and Evans? I kind of...ran...and I don't have any winter stuff, and they said I can't stay unless I buy something but all my stuff is back at his place. I'm so sorry to call you like this, and so late, but I don't know what to do..."

There was another awful silence. Kara was already out of bed and dressing.

"Ashley? I'm coming to get you, okay? I'll be there in thirty minutes or so. Tell the guys at Burger Joint that I'm coming and I'll buy something. Give them my number if they don't believe you."

"Oh, thank you! I'm really sorry, but I just couldn't..."

"Ashley, just stay there, okay? Stay right there."

"O-okay. Sorry again. I know this really sucks and..."

"It's fine. Just stay there, do you understand?"

"Yeah."

*

He'd busted her lip, and there was a weal just below her right eye, too. It was five below zero outside and Ashley was in a t-shirt, jeans and ankle socks. She wouldn't meet Kara's eyes, and every other sentence was an apology.

Kara gave up her coat to the shivering young woman, paid for two meals at Burger Joint, then got Ashley into the warm car without waiting for the food.

"We should go to the police and file a complaint," Kara said before putting the car in gear.

"No! No, please, no."

"But if he's got your money and your stuff..."

"Please, please don't make me," Ashley said, then broke down into panicked crying.

Worried that Ashely was nearing the point of hysteria or a mental breakdown, Kara reached over and rubbed her back through the coat, then cranked up the heat to maximum.

"Hey, okay. Nobody's going to force you to do anything."

She just nodded, still sobbing.

"Can I take you to Emergency to get those bruises checked out?"

She shook her head vigorously. The tears didn't abate.

"How about we go back to my place?"

Ashley gave a nod, and Kara put the car in gear.

Only when they were finally warm and safe in her tenth-floor apartment did Kara begin to relax. She got Ashley out of her filthy, wet socks and into some warm slippers and sat her on the couch, wrapped in a down duvet and holding some clean gauze against her swollen, split lip. Soup was heating on the stove.

Ashley looked physically and mentally exhausted. Her eyes were sunken, black-rimmed and haunted and she shivered despite Kara's attempts to warm her. She checked in with the young woman frequently, alert for the symptoms of shock. That first aid course was coming in handy a lot lately!

Ashley ate some soup, though hardly enough to be considered a meal, then Kara got her into bed in the guest room. She briefly debated suggesting a shower, but decided that the shaken woman needed sleep a lot more than she needed soap and water. Ashley had stopped shivering by that point and some of the numb terror had faded from her face.

"Thanks for this. I can't ever say it enough. You saved my life again tonight. I promise to be a really great submissive for you. Or, you know, a ward."

Kara sat on the side of the bed and looked down at Ashley, then gently stroked her un-bruised cheek and bathed her in the warmest smile she could muster at four in the morning.

"Don't worry about any of that stuff now, okay? Just sleep. You can sleep as long as you want, and no one will bother you. When you wake up, we'll get you some more food, and then we'll talk."

Ashley nodded, already half-asleep.

Kara left the light on in the bathroom in case Ashley woke up, and was asleep herself as soon as her head hit the pillow.

*

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," Kara said. "Hungry?"

Ashley gave an embarrassed smile and nodded. She'd slept through breakfast, lunch and dinner, only rousing herself at seven in the evening. She must have been totally depleted to sleep for fifteen hours straight!

Kara put her book down, got off the couch, then went to the kitchen. Ashley trailed behind her, still wearing yesterday's clothes, dark hair matted and tousled. The cut on her lip had scabbed over and the bruise under her eye had faded a little. She looked a little worse for wear, but at least she was intact.

"How about French toast and tea? Or do you prefer coffee?"

"Anything is great, thanks. And sorry for sleeping so late."

"No need to apologize. You had a rough night."

"Thanks again for coming to get me. You're a real saviour."

"It was no trouble."

There were a few minutes of silence as Kara made the French toast. It had been one of Peter's favourites, and it felt nostalgic and a little painful to make it for her young guest. Ashley excused herself to the washroom, then came back and leaned against the counter, facing Kara's back as she cooked.

"I never get a chance to sleep that long. Master Chad keeps me on a pretty rigid schedule."

"He's still 'Master' Chad?"

"Oh, right. Just 'Chad' now, I guess."