The Black Rose

(Chapter 1)

The Realm of the Black Rose

Oh, tell me the legends of long ago. When the kings and queens would dance in the realms of the Black Rose...

(Roisin Dubh. The Black Rose. By Thin Lizzy)

"Come on Rosie." Ellie urged. "I really can't wait to see what it's like."

"On my way." Roisin Donavan replied, her voice edged with a soft Irish accent. "Someone had to pay the taxi fare."

Roisin glanced around the local area. It was far from the back street in Dublin where she had grown up. A row of modern condo's ran along the length of the road that was parallel to Venice beach and the hive of activity it hosted. The sharp tang of the ocean assailed her sense of smell, and she could almost taste the fresh sea air on her tongue when she breathed in. It was also warm. Maybe too warm for the heavy black boots, black jeans and leather jacket, but she didn't feel comfortable wearing anything else, when she was at school she had hated having to wear dresses or skirts. The day she left, she had burned her uniform and begun wearing jeans and t shirts. The Goth wear she now wore was her armour, as was the heavy eyeliner, black lipstick, and multiple facial piercings. Back in her home town she stood out, like a rusty nail from a floorboard. Here in the bustling world that formed the metropolis of LA's beach culture, she was just another slightly different person on the tide of different people. Roisin smiled, she could get used to living here.

The apartment they were staying in belonged to the two women they had met in Italy. The chance meeting had come about when Ellie had been spotted running across the vine fields that belonged to Zabina's family. Of course it hadn't helped that Ellie was nude and handcuffed at the time. Happily, Zabina and Alex had been cool about the situation and had invited them over to the barn conversion they were staying in, several times. Ellie had got on really well with Alex, as they had similar tastes in sexual recreation, and Zabina had spent a lot of time chatting to Roisin. There was something about the Italian woman that had opened Roisin's mind. She understood Roisin. Not just understood how she felt about things, she had looked deep in to the Irish girl's soul and seen the scars she had kept hidden in there. Then she had shown her the door to a possible different life, one where she wouldn't have to look over her shoulder every five minutes.

When she looked back on it, she totally understood why Alex loved Zabina, she was like a goddess. Intelligent, charming, funny, and so classy. To be fair, Roisin had a bit of a crush on Zabi.

It had been Zabina's idea that Roisin and Ellie stayed at their apartment for a while. They were both going to be living in Italy for the near future, and a house sitter would be doing them a favour. While Ellie had a good job at the vineyard, Rosie had no real skills, and was constantly living on the edge of being broke, so moving one was no hardship. Zabina had said she would arrange some work for them both in LA, which made the jump more logical, and the chance of starting out somewhere fresh was a dream come true to Roisin.

As Roisin topped the last step to the door of the apartment, Ellie was waiting eagerly by the door, a back pack in each hand containing their carried belongings. That was one good thing about Ellie, Roisin mused, she was as strong as a horse. The Kiwi girl stood a good few inches taller than Rosie, and she carried far more muscle. Which wasn't really surprising as she had grown up on her parent's farm tending sheep and horses every day, whereas Roisin had spent her youth avoiding her strict Catholic father and the Garda. Admittedly a lot of the trouble she had gotten in to in her teens was her own fault, that is if you considered her being gay and a Goth, while at the same time the daughter of a devout Catholic her own fault. Roisin quickly pushed those memories out of her head, she was so done with dwelling on the past.

Roisin input the code that unlocked the door, remembering the code had been easy, she had a bit of head for numbers, which was how she had got in to trouble with the Garda. One damp evening, she had broken in to a basement of a building, looking for somewhere warm and dry to sleep, and discovered a small gambling den. She had sat and watched the men playing cards for hours, enthralled by the symmetry of the games. After a time, she had ended up working there as a dealer, and learned all about card counting and how to play the odds of casino games, which in turn had got her in trouble with several casinos and the Guardians of the Law. It was around that point she had decided that Dublin wasn't where she wanted to live anymore.

As the door opened, Ellie rushed past with a high pitched screech and Roisin smiled at her enthusiasm. They weren't together as such. Rosie enjoyed her company. Her childlike innocence in some many things was offset by the submissive sexual side of her, and the streetwise Rosie felt a little protective of her. Even though Ellie was older and bigger, Roisin felt like the responsible adult out of the two of them.

"I'm calling this room." Ellie's voice sounded from the main bedroom.

"Actually, I think you will find the other room more to your liking." Roisin replied as she looked around the main living space. A lot of the floor area was taken up by storage boxes. Zabina had told her she would organise for a friend to come over and pack up her and Alex's stuff, then organise what was to be shipped out to them, and what would go to storage. Zabi had also suggested that Ellie would find the spare room very interesting, although she hadn't said why.

The apartment was nothing like anything Roisin had ever seen before. Everything was modern and stylish. The rooms were functional and not overcrowded with furniture. And the view over the beach was to die for. Roisin wasn't sure how they would pay for things yet, she and Ellie only had a small amount of cash, but Zabina had told her not to worry about getting work as she would sort something out for them. Roisin had wondered how, as she didn't see either of them working on one of Zabi's fashion boutiques. Worst case she may be able to scam some money doing card tricks over on the beach or something.

Roisin's bag was sat on the bed in the main bedroom, where Ellie had left it. The bedroom was like the rest of the apartment, neat clean and calm, one wall had a large print of a woman Roisin recognised to be Zabi, clad skimpily in very short shorts and a corset that barely contained her breasts, she guessed this was Alex's handy work. Looking around further, Rosie saw her reflection in one of the floor to ceiling mirrors. Her complexion was its normal light brown, an indication of her mixed heritage family, although she had bags under her eyes from travel induced lack of sleep. Her short cropped black hair looked jagged and was in need of a trim, and her dark makeup was smeared. The silver of the three rings in each eyebrow stood out against her skin, and the black stud in her left nostril matched the dark lipstick. Apart from her face and neck, her hands were the only visible areas of skin. She was totally the opposite of Ellie. Thin where Ellie was curvy, flat chested where Ellie had well developed, full round breasts. Insular and introvert, where Ellie was vibrant and outgoing.

"Wow." Ellie announced loudly as she burst in to the room. "You've so got to see what I've found."

There were times when Ellie's energy and exuberance made Roisin feel a little jaded. This was one of them.

"What have you found?" Roisin asked with a sigh, wanting nothing more than to have a lay down and sleep off her jet lag.

Ellie's face split in to a wide grin. "Fun stuff." She replied catching hold of Rosie's hand and half dragging her towards the other room.

Fun stuff? In Ellie's mind that could be anything from a pile of magazines about horses to a crate of beer. As they entered the spare room, Roisin stopped dead in her tracks. Fun stuff could also mean a large cupboard stuffed full of bondage gear.

Now Zabi's comment about how this room would suit Ellie made sense.

The secret came out one evening when they had been celebrating Ellie's birthday. The more than tipsy Ellie had expressed how she had been in a relationship with a girl who was in to BDSM. This confession was closely followed by her saying how much it had turned her on when she had been stripped, tied up and teased to the brink of climax for an hour. Although Roisin had never tried bondage, the thought of seeing Ellie in that position had made her feel a little excited, and that night they had sex together for the first time. The following morning had been little awkward, but after they had both admitted that whilst the sex had been pleasurable, neither had serious feelings for the other. Since that night, they had repeated the act several times, usually when Ellie had talked Roisin in to daring her to carry out a task in a state of bondage, hence the evening where Ellie had been seen by Zabina and Alex.

"Well at least you have a lot of new toys to play with." Roisin commented, fairly convinced on where this conversation was going to lead.

Surely enough, Ellie nearly exploded with excitement. "I was hoping you would maybe fasten me up in something later."

Rosie sighed again. "Maybe later." She acceded. "Right now I need a sleep, a shower, then some food. In that order."

Ellie beamed back. "Why don't you go have a sleep then, and I'll go out and get something to eat for later."

The suggestion was very sensible. Roisin had to admit that Ellie looked sexy when she was wearing restraints, she couldn't decide exactly what it was, maybe it was pleasing to see, maybe it was just the fact that Ellie wasn't bouncing off the walls, looking for something to occupy her time.

"Sounds good. Just don't forget to take the keys from by the door. There's no way you'll remember the code." Roisin paused for a moment then added. "And only go as far as the store across the road. I don't want you getting lost, then wandering in to the wrong area and ending up as a crime statistic."

Rolling her eyes, Ellie sighed. "Yes, I'll be careful." She replied as she disappeared out of the door.

Left in silence, Roisin wandered back in to her bedroom and sat down on the bed. It felt comfortable and very welcoming. With a loud yawn Rosie unlaced her boots and flopped back on to the bed, within a few seconds she fell asleep.

It was raining. A typical Dublin Autumn night. Roisin had nowhere to go. Faced with sleeping out in the rain or going home, she decided to risk her own room. She had waited until all the house lights were off, then clambered on top of the flat roof of the garage and in through her bedroom window. Her clothes were soaked and she shivered in the cold. A hot shower would have been nice, but was totally out of the question. She settled for drying herself as best as she could and changing in to warm dry clothing. Sleep beckoned, but she was far too wary to get in to bed, so she settled for sitting on it with a blanket wrapped around her while she half dozed.

Roisin had no idea how long had passed when her door crashed open. The naked bulb hanging from the ceiling filled the room with glaring light, snapping her awake in an instant.

"Dirty fekkin slut." Her father's voice cut through the glare.

There was a swish and Roisin screamed out in pain as the leather belt connected with her legs. More screams followed as the belt lashed at her vulnerable body.

More out of reflex than actual thought, Roisin kicked out a foot, connecting with the solid form of her father's chest. She knew she would get hit all the more, but wanted to hurt him back just the one time.

The expected retaliation didn't come. Instead there was a gasp and a thud as her father fell over.

Slowly Roisin opened her eyes. Her mother was yelling something from the doorway. Her father was ashen faced and staring unblinking at the light bulb that now dance on the end of its wire.

"Murderer." Her mother's voice shrieked.

Fear deeper than any she had known before tore at Roisin's mind. Hands scrabbled for boots and her bag, then snagged her still wet coat as she dashed past her mother. She ran down the stairs, out in to the dark rain beyond and down the rain soaked street.

Roisin woke fighting for breath. She could feel the rain from the dream and the pain in her feet as she had run down the street with her boots in her hand. That had been the last time she had seen the house she was born in. The next evening, she had stowed away on a ferry to England and from there made her way across Europe. The free travel across the borders had enabled her to move from country to country, never pausing too long, fearful of being caught and hauled back to Dublin to account for her father's murder. Ellie knew nothing of her past, and she had only told Zabina when she had gotten slightly too drunk and let her guard down. It had been Zabina who had secured her a passport under her assumed name of Roisin Donavan, and therefor able to travel to LA.

The smell of food brought Roisin to her senses and her stomach grumbled at the reminder that she hadn't eaten in too long. Yawning, Roisin roll off the bed. It was certainly the most comfortable place she had ever slept. The carpet felt positively amazing under her bare feet, and she couldn't resist scrunching her toes up in to the thick pile. She still needed a shower, but the smell of the food drew her towards the open plan living area and kitchen.

"Hey." Ellie greeted happily. "I was just about to wake you."

Roisin's eyes wandered over Ellie's shapely form. She was nude apart from a chrome chain around her waist that had another set of links that threaded between her legs, and was padlocked in place.

"I guess you couldn't wait to try out the bondage gear then?" Rosie asked.

A slight flush touched Ellie's face. "Well I thought it would make cooking slightly more interesting."

Considering how the chain was pressing tightly against Ellie's clit, Roisin was fairly sure 'interesting' wasn't what Ellie had in mind when she had fastened herself in to the steel crotch chain.

Try as she might, Roisin didn't quite understand how easily Ellie could shed her clothing and wander around nude, and in various states of restraint, but she knew that Ellie enjoyed it and Roisin would never want her friend to change. Ellie was sweet and caring and had always been supportive of Roisin's life choices. Even though she didn't know the reasons, Ellie never pushed Rosin for answers she wasn't willing to give.

"Well I just hope you washed your hands in between putting it on and starting cooking." Roisin replied with a teasing smile.

Ellie settled for sticking her tongue out in reply, as she dished out plates of pasta and pesto.

"I hope this is okay for you Rosie." Ellie said. "We haven't got a massive amount of cash left so I had to get basics."

"After being in Italy for over a year and living off pasta, it would have been nice to have a change." Roisin told her. "But beggars can't be choosers, and it does smell delicious. I don't suppose our budget stretched to a few beers?"

"I worked out we could have burgers and water, or pasta and beers." Ellie told her reaching in to the fridge. "And I guessed you would prefer beers."

"You are an angel Ellie." Roisin smiled happily. "A slightly strange, nude angel, but an angel non the less."

After they had eaten, Roisin stayed true to her promise and helped Ellie in to some of the more complex bondage gear. To be fair, she was a little amazed by the amount of stuff that Zabi and Alex had managed to squeeze in to one room. The motorbunny was certainly an eye opener, and Ellie had needed to give her a run down on how it worked.

"Are you sure you're comfortable?" Roisin asked.

"Comfort isn't the desired effect." Ellie replied a dreamy smile on her face. "But I know what you mean, and I'm fine thanks."

Rosie eyed the bound girl up, wondering for the hundredth time if she would ever feel confident enough to let someone put her in this position. Ellie was positioned over the motorbunny, a collar around her neck had a chain attached so that it ran down her back to the cuffs at her wrists. These were also chained to her ankles, so she was locked in a kneeling arrangement on the mechanical vibrator.

"Press this." Roisin instructed, as she placed a remote control in to Ellie's hand. The corresponding alarm in Roisin's hand buzzed loudly. "Okay, if you need help, or you panic, press that and I will come in. The program is ready to go on random and I've set the oven timer for an hour, when the hour is up I will come back and check on you."

"Awesome." Ellie grinned. "I'll try not to make too much noise."

Roisin placed a light kiss on her forehead. "You will make someone a beautiful submissive one day."

"I could be your sub anytime." Ellie offered.

"I know honey." Roisin replied smoothing down Ellie's bouncy brown hair. "But we both know that isn't in me, I love you more as a sister than a lover."

"Just remember the offer is there." Ellie said. "You do the caring Domme very well, and I trust you totally."

"Only because you ask nicely, and cook me great food." Roisin told her, then placed a light kiss on her forehead and flicked the power on. Ellie immediately clamped her mouth shut and began making humming noises.

While Ellie was enjoying herself, Roisin loaded the dishwasher. Having always had to do dishes by hand, the prospect of having a machine to do it for her was a joy. With the kitchen area tidy once more, Rosie helped herself to her last beer and settled down to flick through the channels on the huge TV, turning the volume up slightly to mute out Ellie's moaning howls as the random program picked up pace.

The timer had counted off just over twenty minutes, and Roisin was half watching a zombie movie. She didn't really have much of an idea of the plot, but basically, zombies had taken over the world and were running around eating people. Roisin was betting how many of the five-person main cast would end up as zombie's themselves, to keep her focus on the second rate movie.

A buzzer sounded, and Roisin jumped at the intrusion, immediately assuming that Ellie was in need of help. Then the buzzer went again and she realised it was the doorbell and not the arranged signal for help.

Roisin frowned. They hadn't been expecting company. Zabi had said that a friend would be calling to collect the storage boxes, but she had assumed it would have been the following day. Gripping the empty beer bottle in case she needed a method of defence, Roisin eased the door open.

"G'day." A smiling tanned face greeted. "Zabi asked me to check you had settled in okay."

Roisin's gaze ran from eye level, which was about the height of the woman's breasts, up to the close cropped straw coloured hair, that was around a mile away.

"You must be Roisin." The woman said. "I'm Jinn, Zabi's and Alex's friend."

"Erm... yeah, I'm Roisin." Rosie managed to reply after a few seconds stunned silence. Zabi had mentioned Jinn a few times, but she hadn't included details about just how damn big the Australian woman was. "Please come on in." Rosie invited.

"Hope you don't mind, we brought a moving in gift." Jinn told her as she stepped in to the apartment.

"We?" Roisin questioned. Then as Jinn moved past her she looked in to a pair of eyes that could only belong to Zabi's brother. The contrast between brother and sister was startling. Where Zabi was warm sunshine, Dominic was black ice. His smile didn't put her at ease, in fact it was that emotionless her mind jumped back to the zombie movie in comparison.