Persephone's Secrets Pt. 01

Persephone Goodrich loved her job. Teaching, for her, was more than employment - it was her true calling in life. She loved instructing, forming, shaping and enlightening young minds. She'd been a teacher ever since receiving her doctorate. She'd taught for six years at one of the most respected colleges in the country, and her students loved her. Of course, it didn't hurt one bit that Persephone was an attractive woman. Her sparkling green eyes, slightly upturned nose, and naturally deep pink lips were framed by a wave of soft, russet-colored hair that cascaded down, just kissing her shoulders. Her 36C breasts sometimes were more comfortable in a D cup, but they looked wonderful on her 5'8" frame, with its trim waist, attractive hips, and lovely legs.

A representative of the prestigious Hildebrand Academy had attended several of her lectures, and was duly impressed. Impressed so much that she'd offered Persephone a tenure-track position at their Academy, starting in the fall. Persephone only had to weigh the pros and cons for about a week before accepting.

That had been three years ago, and Persephone was thrilled to be presented with some of the brightest students she'd ever encountered. Each morning, she looked forward to that day's lessons. After eating her breakfast, she'd review her teaching plans mentally during the 10 minute drive from her house to the campus. She didn't have to worry much about traffic, because the Academy was situated out in the lush countryside, far from any urban distractions.

The students didn't mind this relative isolation. The quiet, leafy campus was quite conducive to focused studies, and they were there to learn. As an example, even though the students had a dress code, rather than being rebellious about it, they seem to take pride in adhering to it. After all, in warm weather, they wore crisp white blouses and skirts that fell about two to three inches above their knees. High heels were permitted, and they enjoyed showing off their shapely tanned legs. In the cooler weather, they could wear a blazer jacket, and longer skirts, for comfort. Their focus on education was further aided by the fact that the Hildebrand Academy was perhaps one of the few remaining college-level all girls schools.

Persephone found herself attracted to many of these lovely, polished, mature young women. Some of that maturity was reflected in their ages. The women in Professor Goodrich's classes ranged in age from 20 to 22. They'd often cross their legs during class, and lean forward, riveted by Professor Goodrich's engaging and spirited lecturing style. If they were in the large lecture hall, with its stadium seating arrangement, Persephone's angle of view often gave glimpses of her students' panties. Rather than being tempted, she just smiled inwardly, and, sighing at what might have been, deflected the urge to take advantage of their unconscious displays. She'd never jeopardize her career by acting on any such impulses.

It was bad enough that she had a secret that might be frowned upon by the administration. Frowned upon with such distaste that it could lead to her dismissal. Even though many of the females, faculty and student alike, were casual about their choices of same sex partners, Persephone wasn't about to do anything blatant with her students.

One day after class, Jocelyn stopped by Persephone's desk. "Professor," she began, flipping the errant tresses of her long honey blonde hair away from her face, "I'm worried. I'm working hard, trying to understand the mathematics involved in this class. I guess my background isn't strong enough in some basic math principles."

Persephone could hear the ring of truth in the young woman's statement. She like Jocelyn a lot, and knew her to be a hard worker. But it was also true that she was falling behind, and her grades were slipping. Smiling reassuringly, Persephone said, "I've noticed that you're getting the main concepts of the material, Jocelyn. But it's true that some of your calculations go awry. You're not the first of my students to need some extra help in a subject. I'm willing to give you some private tutoring, and I'm sure that you'll soon grasp it."

"Would you, Professor?" Jocelyn gushed, her voice colored with relief. "I'd really appreciate that. But my limited free times during the school day always occur when you're lecturing."

"Hmmm. Do you have a car, Jocelyn?" Persephone asked.

"Yes, Professor. We're so isolated out here that without a car we'd never get to go shopping, or see a movie on a weekend, or anything. My friends who don't have one, beg rides from me all the time." Her bright blue eyes twinkled as she thought about such excursions.

"Well then, it seems to me you're problem is solved, if you don't mind putting in some extra work - perhaps twice a week after dinner?" Persephone said, soothingly. "I only live about 10-15 minutes from campus, so you can come to my home."

"That's wonderful of you to offer, Professor. But don't you need your evenings to do your own work? Prepare lectures, grade papers, and things?" Jocelyn asked, sounding truly concerned. "I wouldn't want to wreck your schedule."

"Nonsense," Persephone assured her. "I wouldn't make the offer, if I thought it would be burdensome. Even though I see us spending about three hours working together each time, we won't be interacting intensely for the entire time. I feel that most of the time, all I'll have to do is explain the concept to you, and then give you some self-paced exercises to work on. If you ever get stuck, you'll just ask questions, and we'll get you back on track."

It was settled. Jocelyn drove herself to Persephone's home twice a week after dinner. For the first few sessions, it went as planned. After hearing the evening's concept, Jocelyn worked very independently, allowing Persephone the freedom to do other things that she had to do, such as correcting papers, grading exams, and even doing dishes or vacuuming. Before each evening ended, she checked Jocelyn's work, and they had a wrap-up discussion.

Time passed. As they got more comfortable with each other, a small amount of socializing crept in. They might take a break and have some tea together, and perhaps nibble on some snacks. Just like any other student, Jocelyn thrived on small amounts of food when she was exercising her mind, and Persephone appreciated the company as she herself took a break from her own work.

One evening, Persephone was making some snacks out in her kitchen while Jocelyn was in the living room working on some complicated mathematical computations. Unfortunately, she was working so intently, pressing hard on her pencil, that the tip of her pencil broke and she didn't have a spare. Figuring that there was probably a pencil in the drawer of the end table, she opened it. Anyone watching her facial expressions as she slid the drawer open would've seen an expression of confusion which quickly transformed into shock as her eyebrows rose and her pupils dilated.

There were indeed a couple of pencils in the drawer. But what caught her eye was the glint of the room light shining from the steel of a pair of handcuffs. There was also a small pink ball with leather straps attached to it. Carefully pulling the drawer out a little more, she found a blindfold. Behind that was a strangely shaped pink object. It looked like it might be plastic, but when Jocelyn touched it, it felt like it was made of something like silicone.

She was so enraptured in her examination of the objects that she didn't hear Persephone walk back into the room. Her first inkling of this fact was her professor's voice asking, "What are you doing?"

Startled, Jocelyn quickly shoved at the drawer as if by closing it, her professor would somehow magically forget that it had been opened in the first place. However, in her haste, she only managed to push it sideways enough so that it jammed with a loud noise.

Blushing fiercely, she said by way of explanation, "I'm sorry, professor. My pencil broke and I thought I could find one in this drawer."

Persephone was blushing just as fiercely, since the secret she'd tried so hard to protect had now been revealed. "Why didn't I move those things into my bedroom after the last time I used them? That was foolish of me!" she chastised herself mentally. "What can I say to her about this?" she wondered. No obvious solution came to mind, so Persephone just stood there, eyes blinking. Her silence was a mistake, since her student felt she had to say something to break the impasse.

"Wh... wh... what are these for, Professor?" Jocelyn stuttered, her voice shaking.

Persephone couldn't think of a reasonable way to bluff herself out of this. She thought furiously how to phrase her answer. Perhaps if she was nonchalant, Jocelyn would lose interest. "I use them for self bondage," she replied in a matter-of-fact manner, but her voice had a tiny squeak in it. "How are you coming on that problem you're working on?"

But Jocelyn wouldn't be deflected so easily. "Self bondage? What's that?" she asked. "I've never heard the term before."

When a teacher hears a student asking an honest question, the natural instinct is to supply information. Therefore, Persephone said, "As the term implies, a person deliberately and voluntarily puts restraints upon himself or herself."

"Restraints? Like these handcuffs?" Curiosity had replaced Jocelyn's initial embarrassment at having been 'caught' looking in the drawer. She actually lifted the heavy steel object in her hand as she asked her question.

"Precisely," Persephone replied, hoping that would end this discussion.

But Jocelyn wasn't easily dissuaded. She lifted up the pink ball carefully, using only her index finger and thumb. Its leather straps dangled from it as she did so. "Is this some sort of restraint, also, Professor?" It was another honest question, because Jocelyn had never encountered such things before in her life.

"Yes. That's what is called a ball gag," Persephone answered. "And before you ask, it restrains the ability to speak clearly. Now, about that problem you were working upon..."

Interrupting, Jocelyn had set down the handcuffs and the ball gag and picked up the blindfold. "I see." she stated. "I would imagine the blindfold then restricts vision, so that's yet another restraint." Seeing her professor nod agreement, she felt she had to ask, "But why? Why would people do these things to themselves?" She was genuinely seeking information - trying to understand.

Persephone was momentarily at a loss for an explanation. "How can I explain such a need to her in a way she might understand?" she thought. She bit her lip in concentration, well aware that Jocelyn was looking at her with undivided attention. As the professor visualized being bound - of what happened when she was, her body reacted even to those thoughts. Her heart sped up, and certain blood vessels dilated, engorging her nipples, and heating her labia. A familiar flutter in her stomach arose, along with a tingle deep in her pussy. But how to explain it?

Jocelyn was still waiting, so Persephone cleared her throat. "The reasons may be rather complex, but I'll try to help you understand. For one thing, when I'm restricted like that, I get clarity of mind. If I'm bound, unable to do things, it's like I'm giving myself permission to switch off - not worry about decisions for a while. It may be that I drift into an 'alpha state' which lets solutions to things come unbidden into my consciousness. Am I making any sense?"

"Yes, Professor. Sort of like meditation?"

"Well, yes. There's that aspect to it. But there can also be an element of being thrilled. There's an element of excitement, because things can go wrong, too, although you pray that they won't. Suppose I was bound, and my doorbell rings. What then?" Jocelyn's eyebrows shot up, imagining.

Once Persephone got to talking, she perhaps unwisely spoke further without censoring herself. "To be honest, that possibility of humiliation can be a turn on, for me. If I look at my image in a mirror, and see the ball gag and handcuffs, my heart rate and breathing accelerate, even as my cheeks and neck blush with shame. And that makes me feel so alive that it's difficult to explain. Perhaps another aspect of that humiliation is that I feel a compulsion to do it, as if I can't stop myself. I like the loss of control, imagining I'm a 'damsel in distress' waiting and wanting to be rescued. And my mind spins with thoughts of how that rescuer might treat me - either well, or badly."

Persephone suddenly realized that she must've disclosed too much of her secret, and she started to worry. But before she could berate herself, she saw Jocelyn playfully slip the blindfold over her head, covering her eyes. "Wow, Professor. You really can't see a thing with these on!" the blonde gushed. Pulling the blindfold back off, she wrinkled her forehead in confusion, asking, "But if you have those on, how can you free yourself from the handcuffs? Do you have to rub your head against something until you knock them off enough to see again?" Her question was so naive that it showed that she obviously wasn't actually visualizing the scene properly anyway.

Chuckling, Persephone replied, "No. You have to work by touch. Again, this takes concentration." Seeing the look of disbelief on Jocelyn's face, she continued, "I suppose you want me to demonstrate?"

Jocelyn's eyes lit up and she clapped her hands as if someone had offered her a wonderful treat. "Yes. Please? Would you?"

"Very well. Watch." Persephone pulled the key to the handcuffs, which Jocelyn hadn't noticed, out of the drawer, and placed it on top of a table. Covering her eyes with the blindfold, she then carefully closed one cuff around her right wrist. The soft 'zzzzt' sound of it ratcheting closed was clearly audible in the quiet room. The two women reacted differently to the sound - Jocelyn jumped slightly, whereas Persephone felt a tingle of excitement. Jocelyn watched as the brunette confidently closed the other cuff on her left wrist. Persephone didn't bother activating the double locking studs on the cuffs, since she wasn't planning to press them against any surfaces that might accidentally tighten them more.

As she watched what her teacher was doing, Jocelyn spoke up, "Oh! I see. How stupid I was about saying you'd have to knock off the blindfold. You can just reach up with both hands and take it off, right?"

"I could," Persephone replied. "But where's the fun in that?" After jerking her hands away from each other a couple of times, proving that the cuffs were secured, she reached out and gingerly touched the surface of the table, blindly seeking the key. Once she had it in hand, she touched the surface of the left handcuff, delicately feeling for the keyway, with its tiny central post. Once she'd located it, she guided the key into the hole, gave it a tiny twist, and the cuff sprang open. Feeling like showing off a bit, she still didn't remove the blindfold. Transferring the key to her left hand, she opened the right cuff also by touch.

Now freed, she pulled off the blindfold, and saw a look of surprise, mixed with admiration on Jocelyn's face. The blonde was obviously impressed, and she actually applauded, saying, "That was amazing, Professor! You made that look so easy!"

Reacting to the applause, Persephone smiled and made a little bow. "Thank you. It just takes lots of practice. And, as to your remark about having to knock off the blindfold - it wasn't a silly statement at all. I wouldn't be able to reach up and take off the blindfold if my hands were cuffed behind my back, now would I?"

Jocelyn's eyes registered surprise once again. "No. That'd be impossible," she agreed. "Thanks a lot for showing me." She picked a pencil out of the drawer and went back to working on the mathematical problems.

Persephone breathed a quiet sigh of relief, hoping she'd handled the situation properly. By being straightforward in her explanation, she'd hoped she'd removed the mystique about her acts of self bondage, and perhaps Jocelyn would forget about it now. She was also relieved that the young woman hadn't asked about her pink silicone toy. Maybe she'd not even seen it. The rest of the evening was uneventful, although Persephone fretted about whether she should ask Jocelyn not to mention these things to anyone else. She decided not to do so, just hoping the blonde would either forget about it, or at least use common courtesy by being discrete. After Jocelyn left, Persephone moved everything out of the drawer except the pencils.

On Jocelyn's next visit, Persephone decided she'd better do some dishes after giving her student the evening's assignment. However, after only a few minutes, Jocelyn called out, "Professor? Where are the handcuffs, please?"

Persephone dried her hands, wondering why on earth her student was asking. Entering the living room, she smiled, saying, "I moved them. Why?"

Jocelyn's cheeks got a little pink. "Well," she said. "I was wondering if wearing them might help me concentrate. You said that was one of the things they did for you. May I try?"

Persephone couldn't actually think of a valid reason to refuse such a request, so she said, "OK. Let me get them, and help you with them." Fetching the cuffs, she closed one on Jocelyn's left wrist. Using the double lock tip of the key, she depressed the tiny stud.

"I don't remember you doing that the last time," Jocelyn said. "What does that do?"

"That activates their double lock. It's a safety feature that prevents the cuff from getting any tighter than its current setting." She pressed on both sides of the cuff. "See? It can't go tighter if you lean on it, or anything." Jocelyn nodded her understanding. "Now," Persephone continued, "when it's double locked, you press the key into the hole, like this. But you give it a gentle, tiny turn counterclockwise, and that makes the stud pop out, releasing the double lock. After that, you give it a gentle turn clockwise, and the cuff releases. See?"

"Yes!" Jocelyn answered excitedly. "May I try doing it all?" Persephone watched the blonde carefully secure her wrist, double locking it. After tugging experimentally on the cuff, she then used the key as she'd been shown, and freed herself. Without much of a pause, she again locked the cuff on her left wrist, and then her right, double locking them both. She felt the restraint, checked that the double locks were working, and then cautiously freed her left wrist, and then a bit more awkwardly freed her right one.

"Well done," Persephone complimented her. "I think you've got the idea. If you need help, just call me." After watching her student secure both her wrists again, she went back into the kitchen to finish the dishes and start grading exams. She preferred to do her hand grading in private, so she stayed in the kitchen.

Perhaps a half hour later, she heard Jocelyn say, "Professor? I'm done. Can you check my work?"

A little astonished, Persephone went into the living room. "Already? You did the whole assignment that quickly?" The handcuffed student nodded shyly. After checking the work, Persephone commented, "It's perfect. But how did you do it so fast?"

"I really think it was the handcuffs, Professor," Jocelyn whispered, as if revealing a secret. "I only thought about the work. I didn't fidget, or play with my cell phone or anything. I was really focused. These really helped. Thank you for letting me experiment with them."

"I'm glad it was such a positive result," Persephone said, patting the blonde's shoulder, as she removed the cuffs from herself. She saw an expression form on Jocelyn's face that indicated she had a question. "Yes? What do you want to ask?"

"Professor, I remember you saying something about your wrists being cuffed behind your back. Were you saying you've done that? You can cuff yourself like that and still free yourself, even though you can't see your hands or the cuffs?"