The Order of Zarathustra, Ch. 01

Chapter 1

The Crucible

Tonight's the night, she thought, nervous as hell.

Rachel looked at herself in the mirror as she finished blow drying her hair. She didn't like what she saw, but that was part of the reason she was here. Average height, average brown hair. A couple people had complimented her on her big brown eyes, but she saw them as just... Average.

She unwrapped the towel around her as she set the hairdryer down. She frowned. She was fat. By her judgement, way too fat. Her pale skin showed rolls of fat where there shouldn't be. That was one of the reasons Josh had dumped her, wasn't it?

She leaned on the counter, staring at her face, breathing in, holding it, breathing out. Just the way Khan had shown her. You can always breathe, he said. Control that, whenever you get anxious. Breath is Life. Control your breath, control your life. She breathed again. If it was that easy, she thought, I wouldn't be here.

She reached for the robe Kayden had presented her with after dinner. Just a simple, white terrycloth robe, like you would steal from a fancy hotel. She had been told to meet them down in the study, precisely at seven, wearing this. Wearing only this. Her first robe for her first Crucible.

"Hell with it," she said to her reflection. "You want this, then you fucking do it. The struggle makes you stronger." She unfolded the robe with a flourish, settled it around her and pulled it together with an air of determination.

It didn't fit. That blonde bitch, she thought as she checked the tag. Medium. She had specifically told her a Large. That was just mean. She cinched the just too small robe around her just too large body with the sash, Her D cup boobs poking out the front some. Then she picked up her glasses. Wait, glasses, no glasses? She fidgeted for a bit, taking them on and off. They had said the Crucible was a test. Maybe there was a written. She better take them. Putting them on, she stepped out of her own modest bath into the hall.

She looked left, at the solid door with the two key locks. The one she heard Khan and Kayden fucking in last Tuesday. Her room was just across the attic hall, a small uninsulated thing that probably started life as a storage closet. Straight out of the new Harry Potter movie, like the room under the stairs. This last week of March had been wicked cold at night, but Khan said enduring some cold would kick start her metabolism. The struggle makes you stronger. It occurred to her that tonight, Sunday night, was April first. If this Crucible thing was an April Fool's joke, she would never forgive them. She turned right, crossing the large dance room, which was just unfinished drywall at this point. The Stones had just finished having their dream mansion built last fall, and some things were still left to be done.

Rachel thought about how she had met the power couple as she descended the gorgeous wrought iron spiral stair that led down the turret to the second floor. They had moved into her neighborhood five years ago, when she was 14. Just another young couple starting out in another 2 bedroom starter home, just like so many others in her subdivision. But these two were anything but normal. They got set up fast, and in just a few weekends, the wooden privacy fence went up around the yard. The front got new retaining walls. Suddenly the place looked fresh and had curb appeal. Not only were they always busy, but they were always friendly, talking to neighbors when the moment presented itself. Always busy, always on the hustle, they had quickly upgraded their lifestyle. They had their dream mansion built from the ground up last year, and now the old house was a renter. Rachel, meanwhile, was still stuck in her Mom's basement, trapped by a part time job into not even being able to afford an apartment. Moving in here was truly a life changer.

She stepped off the spiral stair, looking down the long central hall that connected the four bedrooms on this floor. It pissed her off that her room was so far from everything else, a shitty little room two flights up. So many stairs. She passed the two bedrooms on her left that were completely empty, and the one on her right that was done up nicely as a guest bedroom. They could have let her sleep there, on that big ass four poster with its own little bathroom, but that was for guests, they said. She was not their guest.

She was their Apprentice.

The hallway was chilly, and she wrapped the robe as best she could around her as she went past the master bedroom at the top of the main stairway. She was never allowed in there. She had listened at the door, though. She blushed at the memory of listening to the couple's lovemaking. Spirited, noisy, slappy lovemaking. She slowed down, then stopped at the top of the stairs. She was nervous, excited, afraid. It felt like standing at the top of a high dive. She felt ridiculous in the robe. I'm not going to be able to pull this off. I'm not good enough. I won't measure up. She heard her own inner voice of doubt blaring like always. But underneath, in his deep, confident voice, she heard Khan. You have the potential to be great, Rachel. If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't have asked you to move in with us. To learn from us. But you have to believe it too. You have to take that first step.

Rachel deliberately put one foot forward and started down the stairs. She ran her hand down the rich, dark wooden bannister as she descended the wide stair, feeling like a princess or a Southern belle going to a ball. Though brand new, the house had been built with a flair for the old, and some pieces were actually Victorian work that Khan had salvaged from the houses he flipped.

She reached the bottom of the stair, then turned with her back to the front entrance. The study was down this last hall on the ground floor. The Crucible. She stood there, indecisive. What the hell were they going to do to her? They had been vague, just saying she would be held accountable for her actions this week. Ever since she had got up the nerve to talk to her new neighbors as a teenager looking for lawnmowing money, she had always been a little scared of Khan and Kayden Stone. And a little turned on. Sometimes more than a little. Of both.

She looked right, into the parlor where they had spent several evenings talking about the books they were having her read, and to the left, to the media room with the huge TV where she was also not allowed without permission. Nothing else for it, she forced her fidgety hands to her side and walked down the long black and white tiled hallway to the back of the house. The double pocket doors to her right were open into the kitchen. The matching wood doors to the study to her left were closed. Should she knock? Just go in? Hesitantly, she knocked on the heavy doors.

"Come in Rachel. Close the door behind you, please." Khan's voice was deep, and rich, and always gave her goosebumps. She walked slowly across the thick green carpet of the study, taking in the sight. It was warm in here. The lights had been turned off, and four kerosene lamps around the room had been lit. That, and the light from the fireplace, was the only light, throwing enough to see, but still made everything dark and mysterious as the flames danced. Khan and Kayden stood before the hardwood mantel, silhouetted by the fire. They wore robes as well, but theirs were made of silk. Khan's robe was as black as his hair and beard, while Kayden's was a bright red. She reached a hand out for Rachel's and drew her in to them.

"You look wonderful, dear," Kayden beamed as she tucked a strand of Rachel's long hair back out of the way. "But you also look a little freaked out. Are you ready for this?"

Rachel swallowed and nodded. Khan produced a silver tray from the table with three little wine glasses. No, aperitif glasses, Rachel thought absently. That's what Kayden had called them when I hand washed them earlier. He handed one first to his wife, then his Apprentice, then one for himself. "Let us begin with a toast. To new beginnings. This will be a journey for all of us. It started at the Equinox, when you pledged yourself to become our first Apprentice. A seven year journey for all of us that started then, and continues now. To the Order of Zarathustra!"

He swirled the golden liquor a bit, then threw it back with a flourish. Kayden downed hers in one go as well. Following suit, Rachel did the same. It was very sweet, and very strong, like it was made out of honey and moonshine. She didn't have much experience with alcohol. She fought the urge to cough as the alcohol fumes went up her nose. "Smooth," she breathed as her eyes watered a bit. Khan took their glasses and set them down. He became serious. "The Crucible will now begin. Disrobe."

Khan then undid the sash on his robe, shrugged it off and carefully folded it as he laid it on a chair. He looked like a giant or a superhero to Rachel. Well over six foot tall, he had a sheen of dark hair over most of his body. He wasn't super cut, or shaved, or tattooed like a gym rat. His body looked like he could chop wood all day or crack skulls on a medieval battlefield. A hairy Arnold Schwarzenegger with a deep tan. Kayden slowly and sensually untied her red robe as well, letting it fall to the floor. She was a few inches taller than Rachel, her long blonde hair spilling over her shoulder to cover one breast. If Khan was a god, Kayden was a goddess. Her golden bronze skin, luscious curves and lean muscles were all perfect. Her full D breasts stood out proudly from her athletic frame. Looking at her naked for the first time, Rachel could see that what she had thought was a tattoo of a snake's tail wrapping around her upper thigh was actually the end of a much larger tattoo. Done beautifully in black, red and green, a Chinese dragon curled around her leg and undulated across the small of her back, the dragon head peeking around her opposite hip. Chinese characters also went up her spine. Khan had not a single tat on him.

They looked expectantly at their Apprentice. And waited. "You've got to be kidding me," Rachel muttered. Looking down, she untied her robe. Closing her eyes, she let it slip off her shoulders to the ground. She stood there, naked, embarrassed, ashamed. She felt Khan's strong hand grasp her chin and force her head up.

"Three things: One, open your eyes. Look at me. That's it. Good! You can be afraid, but don't let that stop you! Two: when I let go of your jaw, pick that robe up and put it neatly on that chair. No excuse to be messy. Three: remember that you are not some mousy little girl who needs to be ashamed of her own body. You are my Apprentice. You are Kayden's Apprentice. We chose you, above all others, to offer this challenge. You accepted this challenge. Act like it."

She did as he said, and as she turned back, she saw Kayden had placed a scale in front of the fireplace. She motioned her to get on. Groaning, Rachel stepped on to it. The heat from the fire was a bit too hot on her breasts and belly. She stared at the mantel. She felt mortified.

"175 pounds", Kayden announced. Rachel's eyes shot down to look in surprise. "Really! I lost six pounds this week? I thought I had lost some, but you guys wouldn't let me weigh myself every day , and.."

Kayden put her finger to Rachel's lips. "Hush. Hush now. Just answer the questions we ask of you. Now, turn around. Let's talk about what you did wrong this week. Anything come to mind?"

Rachel looked down at her fidgety hands and picked at her nail. "The sugar thing."

"Hands at your side. Eyes up," Kayden barked like a drill sergeant. "Yes, the sugar thing. I caught you stealing spoonfulls of sugar out of the bag. Are you supposed to be eating sugar?"

"No Ma'am."

"Ma'am? MA'AM! Do I look like some old grandma asking for management at that damn Wendy's you were working at? Don't you Ma'am me!"

"Yes Miss Kayden! I mean no Miss Kayden! I wasn't supposed to be eating sugar!"

"Are you happy with your body the way it is? Is that why you disobeyed me?"

"No, Miss Kayden. I just.. missed it. I missed having sweets. I thought, just one little bit .."

Khan stepped in. "That is the language of an addict. You needed something outside of yourself because you couldn't handle things internally. So you just need one more spoonful, one more drink, one more pill. Food is fuel, nothing more. Tomorrow morning, after yoga, you will throw out the sugar and anything else in the kitchen that is tempting you. I trust you won't go rooting through the trash after it like a pig?"

She nodded her head as she looked down, tears welling. His hand shot up to her jaw. "Eyes front. Now, speaking of morning meditation and yoga, what happened last Wednesday?"

"I.. I overslept." Her eyes were definitely moistening now. A drop fell on the lens of her glasses.

"That is an understatement. By the time you finally got up, you missed morning meditation, and yoga, and barely had time to get ready for your finance class with Kayden. Does that sound like a good start to the day?"

"No Sir. Wednesday was a bad day. I didn't exercise that day, either."

"No, Apprentice, you did not. You were too sore from the workouts in the days before, you said. I relented and let you skip that day. I trust I won't have to do that too often in the future."

A tear ran down Rachel's cheek as she nodded. She wanted so badly to succeed. She needed this to work. She had nothing else. She swallowed, her throat tight.

This went on for a bit, as they dissected every mistake she had made this first week of her training. The fire felt uncomfortably hot on her backside. She felt like shit, ashamed of herself. She knew she had made mistakes, but this sounded like they were going to kick her out, make her move back in with Mom. She couldn't do that. Not after the argument they had about her moving in with the Stones in the first place. If she came back a failure, she'd just die.

Then they switched tactics. Kayden crossed her arms across her full, perfect breasts. "Earlier this week, I was instructing you on the stock market. What's a P/E ratio?"

"Um, what?"

"P/E ratio. Tell me about it."

Rachel's mind froze. Fuck, you want to talk about that now? I'm standing here fucking naked with my ass literally in the fire in front of the most beautiful naked people I've ever seen! She looked to the floor to ceiling bookcases for wisdom, but only saw shadows dancing. After a few seconds, she came up with:

"Um, it stands for price to earnings ratio. It's a measure of what all the stock in a company is worth, versus how much money that company brings in. Typically, you want to buy a stock when it's between 10 and 20."

Kayden nodded and stepped back, and Khan stepped up, his arms also crossed. "Recite the Code."

Rachel found it hard to think. The shot of booze hadn't helped, and her ass was getting really hot from the fire. How did it start, how did it start?...

"Peace is a lie," she stammered out. "There is only the Struggle."

"The Struggle will make you stronger.

Through Strength, my chains are broken."

Khan shook his head slightly. "Close. Through Strength, you achieve Victory. Through Victory, my chains are broken." Rachel nodded in agreement. They repeated the mantra several times each morning during meditation, you would have thought she had got it down by now. Stupid, stupid. She bit her lower lip.

"You are reading Thus spoke Zarathustra, by Nietzche. Did you understand it?"

"Not really, no," she admitted. Khan grinned at that.

"Don't feel bad. Nobody does, I think. Tell me about his most famous quote from that book."

"God is Dead," she replied quickly. He motioned for her to elaborate.

"It doesn't mean that there is no God, or that science has killed God. I know a lot of people interpreted it as that. I think he meant that, if you are a strong enough person, a complete person like Kant talked about, then you don't need God anymore. You deal with life as it is, make it as you see fit. You become your own Creator. But since even Nietzche said that superior human didn't exist, saying 'God is Dead' is more of a goal, weird as that sounds."

"Well said, Apprentice." Khan nodded sagely. He reached for her hand, leading her away from the heat of the fire, over by the heavy oak table. Kayden followed along, and they were standing around her. Close.

"Now, let's talk about what you've done right this week," Khan said, his voice becoming a low, seductive growl. "For starters, look at what you just did. You were able to keep your wits about you, in a strange situation, with stress and distraction all around you."

"Unless you don't feel distracted?" Kayden purred into her ear from behind, her hands slipping over the Apprentice's shoulders.

"No, I'm really fucking distracted right now."

Khan gave her a forceful little tap on the chest. "Do not curse. Cursing is the mark of an empty mind."

"Goddamn right it is," Kayden purred behind her, pulling Rachel's hair to the side and exposing her neck. "Watch your fucking mouth, kid." She began to leave little kisses along her neck. The shock of a woman kissing her felt like little electric jolts. "We forgot to ask you about one more thing, babygirl. Did you masturbate this week? Hmmm?"

Rachel swallowed, and nodded. "Once, a couple days ago, in the shower. I couldn't help it."

"Did you come? Did it feel good babygirl?", she asked, pulling the trapped girl's brunette hair around to expose the other side of her neck. Khan was standing so close to her that her nipples brushed against his hairy torso. She could feel his erection pressing against her. She nodded again.

"You know you shouldn't have done that," the blonde Master behind her cooed into her ear. "So you will have to be punished for that, along with your other mistakes. But you kept yourself from coming every other night, hmm? For that, and for all the other things you did right this week, you can get rewarded."

She quickly grabbed Rachel by both elbows from behind, pinning her back. Khan took her face in both giant hands and stared into her eyes. "Remember what we talked about before the Initiation at the bonfire. About sex. That's the one thing you can refuse us on, not just now, but any time while you're our Apprentice. But, also like we talked about, sex is important. It's an important skill to master in life, and by harnessing your sex drive, it becomes a powerful motivator for reward and punishment. So, I need to hear it from you, do we have your permission tonight? Shall we do with you as we see fit?"

Rachel strained forward against Kayden's grip, surprising Khan with a kiss, running her tongue across his lips. "Absolutely!" All three of them grinned.

They pushed her forward to the table, then arranged her so she was bent over it, her hands gripping the far side of the table. Kayden came around to her hands, grabbed her by the shoulder joints and pressed down so she was close to her captive's face. Khan positioned himself between her legs. "Spread your legs," he ordered, slapping her ass hard enough to jiggle as she complied. "Farther." He slid his hand down to one ankle, then slowly but inexorably drew her leg up until the sole of her foot pointed up at the ceiling. Unseen by Rachel, he reached over and grabbed a cheap yellow ruler made of flexible rubber off the desk.

Kayden was leaning down close to her head, whispering in her ear. "Now, honey, say one thing you did wrong this week."

"Uh, I stole sugar from the OWWW! FUCK!" she cried, as Khan slapped the sole of her foot with the ruler. Hard. She struggled to look back at him, but Kayden held her pinned down like a vise. Her chubby breasts were mashed down into the hardwood table. She squirmed helplessly.