Prettier in Pain

As I gazed at Magnus, a dark and dangerous fantasy entered my mind. I saw myself spread-eagled, my four limbs forced apart with rope. We were at the ocean shore, waves crashing almost at my feet. And I was naked, the scraps of my clothing lost to the surf. But my dark fantasy was shattered as the music changed abruptly, falling back to the jaunty refrain. Ahem. I looked up at Magnus. His eyes looked so gentle and caring, more so than I'd ever seen. I felt proud for my part in bringing him here, yet ashamed that my motivations had been so selfish. And then the dark fantasy crept back into my mind. Lightning cracked and a storm brewed, while Magnus stood by with a whip. Guests looked on while metal hooks--

"Honey, are you alright?"

I nodded vigorously.

--While sharp metal hooks forced my labia apart, exposing my inmost flower. My body was held up for inspection and perusal, as if I were some strange new form of art display.  Guests filed past--

"We can sit down, if you like."

"No, thanks, this is lovely!"

--Filed past, watching as I squirmed and struggled helplessly. The whip was a cruel inevitability, that would be delivered when the nakedness of my body no longer served to amuse. Sharp clamps were added to my nipples. Surely the lashing would be soon to--

The heel of my shoe caught in between the tiles, and slipped off. I stumbled, but Magnus caught me.

"You alright?"

"Yes, I--It caught."

"I saw that. Do you still want to dance?"

"Yes!"

I sat on the marble flagstone, while Magnus knelt and put my shoe back on. Guests looked on with curiosity. Man, I was so glad to be wearing that mask. He helped me up. Another song played, soft and sentimental.

Where was I? Oh yes. He raised the whip, glaring at me indifferently. I struggled, fruitlessly of course. He wanted to see me squirm. I showed him that I was helpless, hopeless without him. The ropes bit into my delicate wrists and ankles as I writhed, but they only wore my skin raw. The whip came down on my bare skin, coiling around my naked body. It took everything I had to keep from screaming. I let my breath out slowly, the air hissing through my clenched teeth. I didn't care how much it hurt. I would show him-- I would show him that--

He smiled at me again, his eyes as soft and gentle as ever. I pulled him in close, my naked body against his elegant black suit.

I would show him that I loved him.

The music ended a few minutes later. We found our table, and were joined by a man with blonde hair and his slave--a redhead in a fox mask, wearing a bushy foxtail buttplug under her glittering black sweater. No couple dined alone; it was four to a table. The redhead kept lifting her mask every time she spoke, always to reveal her bright green eyes shining eagerly. Her master--who introduced himself as Luke--kept pushing it back down and admonishing her.

"Annette! You must keep your mask on!"

She smiled mischievously. "It's so hard to talk with this silly thing on!"

"It's a masquerade ball, honey. It must stay on!"

I looked at Magnus, who looked back at me. His hand crept up my thigh.

"Or what? You'll cane me?" Annette whined.

"Yes. Yes I will cane you."

She bit her lip and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Oh my. Master, would you cut it to make the eyeholes bigger, at least? So I can see better?"

"I think I have another solution."

The waiter arrived. Magnus ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, and a crab soup. I ordered a salad. Annette glanced around sheepishly as her red ballgag was fastened in place. Then Magnus ordered lobster tail, as always, and I did too. Annette looked cute with her gag on, but I wanted to slap that stupid bitch. Stupid fairy vixens! She looked like a Strawberry Shortcake to me. Those girls can never behave. I sighed. Master pulled me onto his lap while Luke ordered, which made me feel better. I nuzzled into his chest.

"How am I doing?" I whispered, looking up at him.

He adjusted my mask. "You're perfect, Christina. Utterly perfect."

A smile slowly crept across my face. "You tricked me!"

"I did?"

"The cape! I was supposed to be wearing a cape!"

He smirked. "Oh, that. Yes, I thought that might upset you. Don't you feel pretty?"

"No. I feel like a total--"

He twisted my nipple, which was extra painful because of the clamp. "Hush."

I hushed. It's humiliating at first, being told to shut up. Almost more humiliating than anything else. Because I love talking, and everything I say is very important. But I'm well trained, and I know when to obey. Unlike poor, stupid Annette, who is totally going to get caned. And when she does, I won't feel one bit sorry for her.

With us vixens properly silenced, the men began to engage in conversation. I listened intently as they shifted from banalities about the party and the weather to politics, then history, then philosophy. It turned out that Luke was a doctor, in fact a neurosurgeon. And yet Magnus kept up with him intellectually effortlessly. I was amazed at how much my man knew. So casually, too! He wasn't showboating, or blabbering aimlessly, or blindly regurgitating knowledge.

Eventually I got tired of listening and wished I had something to say. I wanted to say something respectable, to have my man reinforce my fragile little ego. And I did not want to end up like little miss ballgag over there. "Everything comes back to philosophy," I observed finally. My voice sounded so cool, so calm and confident. Luke nodded meaningfully, and so did Magnus! I was elated. I laid my head back on his chest, satisfied. Mission accomplished.

Then the entrees arrived. Magnus gently slid me back onto my chair. I didn't dare eat until he took the first bite. Luke took off Annette's ballgag, but immediately held his finger over her lips.

"You may say up to three words. Then the gag goes back on for the rest of the evening. Understood?"

She nodded vigorously. She, too, waited for her man to begin to eat.

Magnus and Luke dug into their meal at nearly the same time. I took a bite, glancing discreetly at Annette. Why was she so cheerful? I've never seen a girl who needed to be caned so badly.

"I have to be very strict with her," explained Luke idly. "She knows that once the gag goes back on, she can't eat."

"Or kiss," observed Annette. Her master glared at her, which she found hilarious. She giggled. As did Magnus and I. Then Luke laughed, too, and ruffled her hair.

"Very economical," Luke admitted. "But you know that it's very risky for a slave to be clever with her master."

Annette nodded, her mouth full of shrimp.

"When I'm cheeky, it means I want to be punished," I declared rather cheekily. "Girls need it sometimes."

Luke nodded. "Interesting insight. Do you need to be punished, Annette?"

Annette shook her head vigorously, no. but the smile on her face said otherwise. Magnus and I stared at her.

"Yes you do," declared Luke, much to my satisfaction. "I'm too lax with you." Annette nodded and popped another shrimp in her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully, and then laid her head on her master's shoulder. Luke squeezed her shoulder affectionately, taking another bite of steak. "I'm gonna go over her pretty thoroughly tonight," he declared. "You're welcome to make suggestions." I glanced at master. He glanced at me.

"Planning a session, eh?" answered Magnus. "To do it right, it's gotta have tension, a climax, and then a resolution."

"Just like a good story!" I interjected. Magnus patted my head.

"Alright," agreed Luke. "So, what story do we want tell this redheaded thing?"

I kept my mouth shut this time. Oh, I had plenty of ideas. But I didn't want to draw any more attention to myself.

Magnus cracked a cruel smile. "What do they say about vixens? 'Prettier in pain'?"

"Pretty in pleasure, prettier in pain," echoed Luke. "That certainly applies to Annette."

Annette winced, and clung to her master's arm. It's not like she had the slightest bit of control over how this would play out. Oh, I was thoroughly enjoying every second of this conversation.

"All bondage, in general, is the story of feminine weakness contrasted with masculine strength," remarked Luke. "Duality creates perception, they say. Without weakness there can be no strength, without dark no light, et cetera."

Magnus nodded gravely. I followed suit, pretending to know what the heck he was talking about. Meanwhile, little miss red riding slut traced her finger down the neckline of her master's shirt, towards his chest. She looked up at him intently, then cautiously undid a single button. He pretended not to notice.

"That's up for debate," objected Magnus. "Not everything has to be dual. For example, what's the dual of us, just sitting here at this party?"

Luke smirked--rather sardonically, I think. Hold on a second, let me look that word up... Okay yeah, definitely sardonically. Anyway! This is what he said: "Astute point, Magnus. But a proper debate of the subject would leave our feminine companions rather lonely for the evening, I think."

Magnus smiled politely. "Not my intention," he answered. "So, what were you saying?"

Luke picked up seamlessly. "I think that Annette's punishment should explore her weaknesses. Not only of her body, but also her mind and emotions."

"Women really are full of weaknesses," answered Magnus, gripping my shoulders possessively. I almost dropped my fork. "Delicious weaknesses. Too many to explore all at once."

"Don't guys have weaknesses too?" I spluttered. I washed down a bite of lobster with an unladylike gulp of wine.

"Yes, but male weakness is completely uninteresting," intoned Magnus. "Anyway. It's the position in which the vixen is bound that determines the flow of the session. For example, if she's standing upright, it invites a lashing. If she's laying face down with a spreader bar, it invites--"

"Yes. I know what that invites," interrupted Luke.

The conversation was getting rather dangerous. I just quietly munched on lobster, trying to seem inconspicuous while the rest of the conversation unfolded. Magnus, however, was disappointingly cautious. He mentioned a couple of techniques, sure, but they were pretty tame and altogether too dignified, especially for a disobedient slut like Annette. So I opened my big mouth.

"Why don't you throw her on a chevalet and cane her big fat ass?" I blurted out abruptly. For those who don't know, the chevalet is a long pointy wooden beam that goes between your legs. It's very painful to sit on, which is why Annette would look so gosh darned cute once we put her on it.

"Do they even have those here?" Magnus intoned.

"They have everything here," answered Luke with a dark laugh. "It's wouldn't be a very interesting castle without a dungeon, now would it?"

I smirked. Luke squeezed Annette's shoulder affectionately, while she clung to his arm, looking increasingly alarmed.

Magnus leaned towards me and lowered his voice to a whisper. "How the hell do you even know about those? We don't have one."

"I, uh, read about it in a book," I whispered back. I wasn't lying! Luke ignored our back and forth and began to kiss Annette. He didn't stop when we looked up, though. Eventually I sorta coughed awkwardly. Luke finally stopped and patted Annette's shoulder again.

"We're not gonna start with the chevalet. We'll start with some humiliating tasks. Maybe some crawling, and some anal training," declared Luke definitively. He looked Annette square in the eyes. "Annette's eager to suffer for me, isn't she?"

She nodded. The little bitch. How can she nod? What, is she that much of a simp for him? There's no way she could--no. She's just faking, trying to save face while we tease her. She won't be so cool once we actually get her on that chevalet.

Anyway, Magnus continued. "Pleasure is really more humiliating than pain," he observed. "By the way, how much pleasure do you usually allow her during training?"

"Just enough to whet her appetite. Certainly not enough for an orgasm," Luke asserted.

Magnus nodded meaningfully. "You're not as lax as I thought. I'm much more generous with Christina."

I went pale, behind my mask, and gently clutched Magnus' arm. He looked over and smiled at me. "Do you have something to say?" he asked gently.

"N--no," I lied. I glanced at Luke and Annette. "Well, actually..."

I kinda went silent there. I didn't want to finish my sentence, but the awkwardness only increased the longer everyone stared. When I finally broke down, I blurted everything out at once.

"They have this metal spike pad that I think Annette should sit on. It's really painful, like sitting on a porcupine. It won't make her bleed or anything. You could, like, give her a breast whipping or something while she's on it. It'll punish her for squirming..." My voice trailed off as my better judgment kicked in. I felt my ears going all hot and my heart was pounding. Would they actually take my suggestion?

"You certainly have an interesting mind," observed Luke. "I won't even ask how you know about that thing."

Magnus stared at me silently. I kept expecting him to say something, but then he took a swig of wine and drained his glass. Luke went back to eating, and I tossed a smirk at Annette, though obviously my mask meant that she never saw my gloating. This was too good be true! Suddenly Magnus tapped my shoulder. "Christina, why don't you fetch us some fresh wine at the table over there."

Luke sorta pushed Annette away at the same time. "We're also out. Annette, you know what to do."

I couldn't hide the excitement in my step as I bounced over to the bar. I glanced back at our table, where the two gentleman were locked in discussion, obviously assembling all the glorious pieces of Annette's fate into one thoroughly deserved punishment. When I whirled back around, I almost slammed into one of the waiters. Annette was already over at the bar, bent over and intently focused on something. Meaning that her juicy derriere was peeking out from under her sweater, completely exposed.

Okay guys, I'm not a lesbian, I promise! But I saw my chance and I took it. The slap was loud enough that several people looked over, and Annette shrieked cutely and spun around. A red hand print now decorated her posterior. I leapt back, but there was no retaliation. Instead, she just stared at me, and I stared back. I wasn't sure what to say, so I just blurted something out. "Prettier in pain!" I taunted.

"You're so stupid it's almost cute," she answered, the faintest hint of a smile playing across her face. Her voice wasn't even condescending and cold. She actually sounded a little amused. Then she turned around and strutted off. Not like a normal strut though. She did that thing girls do where they walk away sexily after doing a total mic drop. (Am I making sense?) I'm pretty sure it was intentional. But I thought I was the one who had done the mic drop? I was, by now, very confused.

Anyway, I got the wine for Magnus and myself. It was a long walk back to the table, and Annette's words bounced around my head during the whole way back. (They still haunt me to this day.) I slid back in my chair and handed Magnus his wineglass with as much dignity as I could muster. He took a sip and sank back into his chair.

"We're going to double the punishment," he announced, offering no further explanation.

"On... on Annette?" I asked hopefully.

"There's going to be two vixens tonight sharing a single punishment," he clarified. "It's really not that hard to understand."

I immediately blushed completely red and nearly choked on my wine. It was a good thing I wasn't wearing much, because a couple drops ran down my cleavage. "Yes, master,' I squeaked. He quietly reached over to dab my breasts with a napkin. My shock quickly gave way to rage--impotent rage, the only kind us vixens are ever allowed to experience. >:(

I stared at Annette, who was as cool as a cucumber. She took a long sip of wine, keeping her eyes locked with mine. Then, suddenly, she reached for her fox mask and pulled it up. "Bitch!" she spat, though a playful sparkle danced amidst the spite in her voice. As if that wasn't enough, before anyone could react she turned and pressed her lips into Luke's face. He gripped her shoulders and pulled her onto his lap and just smooched her while we watched. When I couldn't stand it any longer, I turned and kissed Magnus, softly and sweetly and nervously. We kissed each other for a good while--he smelled surprisingly nice for a man who had just devoured a lobster dinner. I was kinda proud of him in a way. I mean, it was an honor to be his plaything even if it meant being tortured. When I pulled back, Magnus smiled at me. I felt better. Still like a clueless idiot, though. Meanwhile, Luke stayed true to his word and gagged Annette as soon as he was finished kissing her.

So that's how dinner went.

Luke stood up and straightened his suit jacket, and Magnus followed immediately after. Us vixens cautiously echoed their behavior, but there wasn't much clothing for us to adjust. I clung to Magnus, quietly fuming as I tried to emotionally process my upcoming punishment. They hadn't said anything about a reward, which was concerning. Usually I was rewarded with an orgasm after--

Instead of calling my name, Magnus tugged on my leash. I stumbled after him as he and Luke lead us vixens into the castle interior. Most of the castle was fixed up in a modern style, with fancy wallpaper and electric lighting. However, there was a conspicuous archway where the wallpaper gave way to exposed stonework, leading to a hallway with a series of oaken doors placed at intervals on either side. Luke opened one of these doors, leading us down a torchlit staircase. He obviously knew what he was doing--he took the torch and carried it aloft, lighting sconces along the way. The steps were a little dangerous; the stone was slippery and there was no wall on the right side, just empty darkness. I was still in heels, too. I clung to the railing, listening fearfully as our every step echoed through the apparently enormous dungeon. Halfway down, the stair had a landing and doubled back on itself. By now I was kinda creeped out just by how far down we had gone. But also excited! It's hard to explain. Also it was very cold.

I was pretty relieved when I finally set foot on the solid floor. Luke lit a large brazier, and suddenly the room was bathed in a soft and orange glow. The room was long and rectangular, with walls and floor all made of stone. The ceiling overhead sloped down the further one got from the stairs, but even at the far end it was still at least ten feet from the floor. Lurking in the distance were several wooden contraptions, barely illuminated, which I tried not to look at too carefully. I would have happily stayed near the brazier, but Magnus still held my leash as he headed towards the far end of the room. Towards the torture devices. One by one they appeared out of the darkness: a pillory, a saltire cross, a spanking table, and yes, the chevalet. Seeing that last one put a knot in my gut.

As I looked ahead, I realized the far wall was actually a mirror, reflecting the four of us. Annette stood hand in hand with Luke, looking very nervous beneath her fox mask and ballgag. Now that she was standing up, her sweater kept hiking up and exposing her pussy. She kept pulling it down, even though she was just going to be stripped naked eventually. Silly thing.

Then there was Luke, with his sharp jaw and wavy blonde hair. He held the torch aloft assertively. Gosh, men are so tough-looking! And then you kiss them and fall in love with them and discover the little weaknesses that make them human. But despite all their weaknesses, they still manage to carry their world around on their shoulders. I bet Luke is a lot like Magnus that way.