Paradise Obtained Ch. 08

"The email's open on the screen Nikki," Georgia said. The brunette walked over and looked. Instead of an email she saw the screen was filled with pulsating light and swirling patterns. Nikki was certain she had seen them somewhere before, although she couldn't remember where or when. She stared at the patterns and found she couldn't and didn't want to look away. She didn't see Georgia leave the room, shutting the door behind her.

A voice spoke to her from the laptop in English. It was a cultured and urbane voice, but the slight accent was not that of a native speaker of that tongue. "Good evening, Miss Paulescu. My name is Albrecht Haller. You may refer to me as Herr Haller. I am about to implant a trigger phrase in your mind. When you hear that phrase you will know that you have to obey my instructions to the letter. You will respond by saying, 'Yes Herr Haller. I am your servant and will obey your orders.' Do you understand?"

"Yes Herr Haller."

"Good. The trigger phrase is Zeta 223803. I repeat Zeta 223803. Whenever I say Zeta 223803 you will respond as I have indicated, Miss Paulescu -- Zeta 223803."

"Yes Herr Haller. I am your servant and will obey your orders."

"Excellent. I will now explain the nature of our relationship. Most of the time you will remain under the control of Mr Mitchell, and I will not ask you to do anything that is against him personally or his true interests. However, when I use the trigger phrase you must obey my instructions and these can override those of Mr Mitchell. Do you understand?"

"Yes Herr Heller."

"I may from time to time order you to conduct certain tasks for me. These will not be beyond your capabilities and you will carry them out without question. Finally, although you will remember your conversations with me, you will never discuss them with anyone else, especially Matthew Mitchell. Do you have any questions?"

"No Herr Haller."

"Thank you Miss Paulescu. I will contact you when I need you."

The voice ended. Nikki remained, still staring at the screen. A couple of minutes later Georgia returned to the room and turned off the laptop, careful not to look at the screen as she did so. "Come on Nikki," the American said gently, "I'll take you up to bed. I think you'll need some rest. I remember how the first time affected me."

"What affected you?" Nikki asked, confused by her experience.

"I can't say" said Georgia, "... and neither can you."

*****

The internal dynamics of my expanded harem were endlessly fascinating to me. It was natural enough that having assembled a diverse set of women with little in common other than that I was physically attracted to them, there was likely to be a mixture of indifference, unexpected friendships and, potentially, hostility.

Georgia sort of stood alone. Her primary relationship was with me, but then I had spent more time with her than with any of the other girls. She had, as yet, no close friends in the group, although she got on well with Ilse, as everyone seemed to. She was also a little introverted and given to drifting off into deep thought, that powerful mind of hers always working, which perhaps made her less approachable to the others.

Ilse had no 'side' to her, no hidden agendas. She was simply a nice, pleasant and capable girl who it was enjoyable to be around. As a result she had plenty of friends and no enemies at all. On the other hand, she was not a natural leader and none of the others looked to her for that.

And then there was the emerging and complex four-sided relationship between Delilah, Nikki, Kanako and Millie, which was soon to cause trouble in my harem.

To start with the simplest part, Nicoleta and Kanako very quickly became firm friends. Part of it perhaps was their shared experiences as submissives under their joint Mistress, Delilah. But I thought there was more to it than that. They appeared to share some secret, and would happily gossip and giggle away together for hours at a time. Still, both were the very definition of sweet and harmless, and they were well liked by everyone.

Millie and Kanako's relationship was more surprising to me. Essentially they were diametrically opposite in personality as well as looks. Kanako was meek, quiet, shy, polite, and dutiful. The blonde Aussie was assertive, loud, brash, cheeky, and proud. Perhaps that was what did it. When I asked Kanako about Millie said she had never met anyone like her before and the Australian's self-confidence had hugely impressed her.

But whatever the reason, Kanako had developed something of a crush on Millie and took to following her around, wide-eyed and eager, rather like a dutiful puppy. Millie, given her temperament and interests, was not one to miss such as opportunity, and within 48 hours of her deflowering she had bedded the Japanese beauty. Nor did it end there, as not too many days passed before Kanako had abandoned her own bedroom and moved into Millie's.

Meanwhile something similar was happening with Delilah and Nicoleta, although the dynamics were different and deeper. With retrospect I could see that they had shared a mutual attraction from the very beginning, all the way back to that job interview. Perhaps that accounted for why Delilah had fought so hard to persuade me to recruit Nikki, and also the comments Nikki had made to me about Delilah even before I mind controlled her.

Their close association since had only deepened the bond. It occurred to me it was possible that for the first time in Delilah's life that she was genuinely falling in love with someone other than herself. None of this particularly mattered to me so long as it didn't interfere with my sex life with the girls or the running of the household. I didn't mind if they wanted to conduct affairs with each other provided their primary allegiance was to me and, as far as I could tell, that remained the case.

The trouble came from the fourth side of this square -- the relationship between Delilah and Millie. And, frankly, that was a disaster from the start. They seemed to take a dislike to each other from the beginning, two domineering personalities clashing. And I have to admit that some of my decisions didn't help.

It had been my practice to make the others submit to Delilah's attentions in her 'dungeon'. Ilse and Georgia had been through this in Tuscany and, even if they didn't exactly relish it, Delilah was skilled enough to know how far she could take things before it became genuinely cruel and both girls had ultimately taken pleasure from the experience.

Kanako and Nikki were fully up for being under Delilah's whip hand, of course. Not so Millie. "If that bitch tries any of that stuff with me, they'll have to collect up what's left of her in a bucket!" was her comment. Although I could have made Millie comply, I chose not to push the point at that time.

Anyway, Delilah soon had her revenge in kind. My having discovered Millie's background as a physical training instructor in the army, not to mention that she was also a brown belt in something called Brazilian jiu-jitsu, I decided that we could all benefit from improving our physical fitness. I planned to put gym equipment into all my properties, but for the moment with Millie in charge it would not be difficult to improvise.

This idea of mine got a mixed reaction. After a couple of sessions, Ilse suggested that Millie with a couple of dumbbells in hand was a worst sadist that anything Delilah could do with a whip. But given that I was putting myself through Millie's training schedule the others couldn't really argue.

Except for Delilah; she maintained that as a trained dancer she was magnificently fit for what she needed to do already and anyway there was no way she was taking orders from that Australian cretin. Clearly the whole situation was not sustainable and I would have to do something. But before I had decided what, the storm broke. And the innocent cause of it was Kanako.

*****

It was a quiet Tuesday morning. We had nothing in particular arranged for that day, and Georgia and I were in her office going over her some business issues relating to the purchase of my Fijian property, when there was a knock at the door. I called for whoever it was to enter and was surprised when it was a delegation of half my harem, namely Ilse, Kanako and Nicoleta.

Nikki was crying and Kanako seemed on the brink of joining her. Ilse was more composed, but looked pale and drawn. It appeared she had been elected spokeswoman by her fellows, because when I asked what the matter was it was her that replied.

"It's Delilah and Millie. They are shouting and screaming at each other. It's really horrible, Matt. The language is unbelievable and I seriously think they might actually fight."

Before I could reply, Nikki added, "It's disturbing the harmonies of our community. The spirits of the place are out of balance. It hurts my aura. Please make it stop."

Ignoring Nikki, I asked Ilse, "What caused this? I mean I know they don't get on, but what was the immediate reason for the fight?"

On hearing that question Kanako did start to cry and then spoke through her tears, "It was me Matthew, sama. It's all my fault..." At which point she started sobbing so much that I again looked to Ilse for an explanation.

"Millie and Kanako have grown... very close recently," Ilse said carefully. "I think Millie is getting a bit possessive about her. But Kanako also recognises Delilah as her Mistress for... umm... certain purposes. So anyway Delilah and Kanako were going to spend some time together in Delilah's new dungeon -- all agreed and pre-arranged you understand -- when Millie stopped them."

"What happened?" I said grimly, realising this was actually all my fault. The warning signs had been there and I had let it go on unchecked.

Kanako rallied enough to tell me. "Millie san told Mistress Delilah to leave me alone. She said she wasn't going to allow me to be tortured. The Mistress said it was none of Millie san's business and that I was going with her of my own free will. But I have to tell you she used much ruder language than I have. And it all turned horrible after that."

"To be exact," said Ilse, "Delilah told Millie to 'fuck off and die'. I heard that bit. I think half the caste must have."

"Right," I said, "You've told me enough. I will sort this out." I turned to Georgia. "Sorry sweetie, but I will need you for this. You are going to have to be strong for me and follow my lead. The rest of you, I suggest staying out of the way for a while. And Kanako, it's not your fault, its mine. Nikki, you can tell your spirits that the great wizard is going to restore harmony."

As Georgia and I made our way toward the old tower, she asked me whether I intended to punish Delilah and Millie. "What would be the point?" I replied. "Whether I punished them physically or emotionally it wouldn't alter how they feel about each other and sooner or later this would happen again. No, I need to change their whole perception of the situation, which is where you come in."

"How?" asked Georgia, puzzled.

"Kanako might have been the immediate cause but that's not the root of the problem. They both want to be top dog -- or perhaps I should say bitch -- and head of the household, second only to me. So we let them know clearly and unequivocally that the position is taken. It's yours, Georgia."

"What?... But..." she stammered, taken by surprise.

"Because that's true and it has been for months now," I added. "And we make them obey you, so they get the message loud and clear. And after that we give them some shared experiences which they won't much like, so they have something in common."

As we neared the entrance door to the tower, we could hear them clearly. Perhaps things had calmed down a fraction as they were no longer shouting. I was glad of that, because, tough as Delilah is, had it come to a physical fight there would have only been one winner. But the anger in their voices was still clear enough.

Also, Ilse had been right about the language. It seemed that a background of South London nightclubs on a Friday night roughly equated to living in a Sydney army barracks, as Delilah was holding her own in that particular contest. Life at Oxford University hadn't really prepared either Georgia or me for this. I noticed my companion, raised in a God-fearing household where I imagined that the occasional 'gosh darn it' had been the limit, had gone a bit pale.

"Wait here until I call for you," I told her. Then I rounded a final corner of the corridor and Delilah and Millie came into view. There were squared up to each other, oblivious to all else, both rather red in the face and with body language indicating a readiness for fight or flight.

Horrible as it was in most ways, I also felt a little thrill of excitement. There was something arousing about seeing these two strong personalities furious and fully engaged. It suddenly struck me that if I was ever in trouble, if any danger threatened me or my women, I would want these two at my side. Georgia as well, but in her case more for that powerful, restless intelligence. If I could get these three to work together, I could have an unbeatable combination.

It was here that I gave myself a hearty metaphorical pat on the back for programming my girls with that 'submit' trigger word. I had done it for sexual play purposes, but it was going to come in useful here to get some immediate control. I called them by name to get their attention. "Delilah, Millie... submit."

For a second, I feared it wasn't going to work. The red mists of anger clouding their brains had some momentary effect on their obedience. But then, to my relief, the programming kicked in. First Delilah and then, a second or two later, Millie dropped to their knees, put their hands behind their backs and bowed their heads. Better yet, they both stopped talking.

I needed to make a bit of a show to remind them who was in charge here. I walked in a slow circle round the two kneeling women, saying nothing as yet. Once I had completed the circuit and was once more in front of them, I said, "Look at me." They both raised their heads. I could see anger and even some defiance in their faces. It was time I pointed out to both just how selfish they were being.

"Do you realise that I have had Ilse, Kanako and Nikki come to see me really upset. Nikki was crying; Kanako too. I hope you realise that she loves both of you and to see you fighting was breaking her heart."

That went home. Everybody liked all three of those girls. I could see the anger in them subsiding to be replaced by some guilt. But I also wanted to appeal to more positive emotions.

"Look you two. I am trying to build something special here; a sort of family if you like, where we all love and respect each other. I want and need both of you to be part of that. You're special and you bring different qualities to our community. I know you love me and the other girls too. And they love you. When you behave like this you let yourselves down and them too."

They were both looking a little ashamed now and the anger had dissipated. It was time to do what I should have done before.

"You must stop this fighting. But I don't want you to just grudgingly agree to avoid each other. I want you to become friends and comrades. I need you both to support me. You fight because you each think you should be in charge. Well, that position is taken. Georgia is my right hand woman and I expect you to obey her, subject only my own commands. In fact, I order it."

Here I was cheating a little. With them submitting, and so in a directly controlled state, the instruction I had just given was more than a suggestion. It was binding on them.

"Wait here," I said and left them still kneeing. I went back round the corner. Georgia was standing where I had left her, looking scared. I recalled that, at 19, she was some years younger than both Delilah and Millie and had much less experience of the world. I gave a small sigh. Sometime it would be nice to deal with something like this without using mind-control. Maybe I would get there one day.

I produced my mind control devise from my pocket, switched it on and told Georgia to look at the light. She had, by now, no will to resist at all. "Georgia, forget your fears. Be strong and dominant. Make Delilah and Millie obey you and recognise your superiority. You are head of my harem and my second in command. Know this to be true and then forget that I have told you this."

I pocketed the device. Georgia was looking more confident already. I asked her, "Ok, sweetie. Are you ready to put those to dumb bitches in their place?"

She grinned at me. "You know, this doesn't just need doing for everyone's sake, even theirs, but it could fun as well."

"Then let's do it," I said, grinning back at her.

We went back round the corner to the space in front of the door to the tower. Millie and Delilah remained where I had left them, kneeling on the floor. There had probably been expecting Georgia to accompany me; what they weren't expecting was what happened next.

The blonde American stood, legs slightly parted and hands on hips, and looked down at the two women kneeling on the floor. "You stupid sluts," she said. "How dare you betray Matt, who has brought us all together? How dare you make Kanako and Nikki cry? Come to that, how dare you let down me? Don't you realise it's my job to keep this household together? In future if you want to have a silly squabble, then bring it to me and I will judge the right of it."

Delilah was staring at Georgia. I guessed she was remembering the shy virgin girl who had walked through the door of a London hotel room just a few months ago and was wondering what had happened. The answer to that was, with a bit of help from me, Georgia had grown up and found she was stronger than she knew.

"Millie, do you understand?" Georgia demanded.

The Australian stared at her for few seconds, then dropped her eyes as if unable to bear Georgia's stern gaze. "Yes," she said.

"Call her Miss Georgia," I said, feeling she needed some sort of title.

Millie glanced at me and then back at young woman standing over her. "Yes Miss Georgia," she said.

Georgia looked at Delilah. "And do you understand?"

Delilah looked wracked by indecision. I guessed that submitting to someone she considered her inferior was not easy for her. "Look Georgie, it was just that..."

Georgia cut her off and her voice was withering, "Hayley Butler, you above anyone know what you owe to Matt; what he saved you from. And you behave like this. You should be ashamed."

Wow, I was impressed. The normally hyper confident and cool Delilah suddenly looked almost broken. I knew she hated her real name being used, but I wondered what else Georgia had referenced. I knew I was missing something here and suddenly remembered Georgia previously saying something odd about Delilah on our first car journey to the castle. But for a second time I failed to follow it up, because I became absorbed in her reaction.

Delilah dropped her eyes. I thought she gave a small sob. I had never seen her cry and found I didn't like the idea. But, fortunately, she was still made of strong stuff and rallied. But she also finally submitted, saying, "Yes, you're right. I understand Miss Georgia. In future I will bring any issues to you and defer to your judgement."

"Good," I said, delighted my plan was working. "Tomorrow, Millie will accompany Delilah to her dungeon for some instruction and after that Delilah will undertake whatever fitness regime Millie thinks appropriate. We can work out the details later. And you are not to fight over Kanako. All of us in this household are free to do whatever we wish with each other. I will have no jealously or possessiveness. Understood?"