The Gift

Richard heard a knock at the front door, glanced at the clock to see that it was just after 1pm, and rose from His desk in the study. Passing a photograph just taken the weekend before of Himself and His 3 girls at Thanksgiving, He moved with a firm, confident step to answer. The photo showed a tall, dark haired man with deep emerald eyes, 50 years old, yet fit and trim. With Him were 3 girls, a veritable bouquet, with hair of golden blonde, caramel brown and a burnished red and all His. Each were posed sitting by His feet as He sat in "His chair". Richard was a professional photographer, working from home in the old horse barn which had been converted into a multi-room photography studio. The front half of the studio contained a reception area, and small rooms for children, weddings, individuals and a medium sized room for groups and families. The back room had a sign over the door "By Invitation Only". This room was for His secondary business of photographs for the BDSM world. He not only did "family" portraits, but also catalog product photos and, His favorite, action photos for various websites and magazines.

Not expecting anyone, Richard wondered who might be at the door. When He opened it, a man stood there wearing a dark blue uniform with a white and light blue nametag with Tobias and SDS, a logo for Special Delivery Services. Tobias said that he had a delivery for Richard and had instructions to bring it to His study. Richard nodded and indicated for the delivery to be taken to the second door on the left off the foyer. The house was a large 3 story with an open foyer in the center with a sweeping staircase that lead to each floor. The first floor had an open arch in the front left corner of the foyer leading to a large living room and a study to the back left, closed off with a door for privacy. Under the stairs was tucked a large half bath with doors leading to each side. The right side of the first floor consisted of a kitchen, breakfast nook in the back and a formal dining room in the front. The second floor consisted of a large Master bedroom and bath suite on the left and 4 small bedrooms on the right, each set of 2 rooms separated by a small, full bathroom. The third floor was specially designed with a coded door which concealed a specially built playroom.

Richard stepped back, watching as Tobias returned to the truck and with the help of his partner, unloaded a large crate painted in red, white and green with a white satin bow on top. As they got closer, He saw that there were discrete holes a various places along the top and clear stamps that said "fragile" and "this side up". The men carefully brought the crate into the house and then the study, setting it in the center of the floor. Tobias got Richard's signature on the authorization board and left with a bright "Happy Holidays". Seeing His girls quietly entering the foyer from various parts of the house as the men had left, Richard signaled for them to enter the study and find their pillows. They knew better than to whisper among themselves when pillowed, but He could see the excitement in their eyes at the early season gift.

As He approached the crate, He noticed an envelope, shaped like a gift tag, tied to the bow with a matching ribbon. He sent mary off the garage for crowbar as He retrieved the envelope, took out the letter, and read it silently, chuckling to Himself. When she returned, He read it out loud;

Dear Richard,

Best wishes and the happiest of holidays my friend. I came across this small gift and knew it would be perfect for you. This is to thank you for your assistance the past year. Yes we are business associates, your photography has been a great asset to the school, but we are also friends. Enjoy this addition to your "collection" and we will see you at the school Christmas party in a few weeks. Mistress Katiana along with eli and emma have been putting together a masked ball this year. Hope to see You and the girls there.

Merry Christmas,

Jonathan

Richard set the letter aside on the desktop and took the crowbar from mary, with a soft nod of thanks, who returned to her pillow. Carefully using the tool to remove first the top and then each side, He stacked the panels in the corner to be dealt with later. Inside the crate was a gleaming mahogany box with a hinged lid and a large wrought iron crank with a matching mahogany handle. It looked like the cranks on the front of an old car or a Victrola. Stepping up to the crank, He began to turn it. A soft, light music started playing and the lid slowly rose, revealing a lining of padded white satin. As the lid moved higher, a head appeared covered in glowing dark, waving hair began to appear. A girl was unfolding herself in time with the lid rising. He saw that her eyes were a sparking indigo, which brushed His then lowered and her skin a pale delicacy. Her lips, a soft pink rose, were help in a gentle smile. Her petite, curvy body was wrapped in cheery holiday ribbons of silver and blue, binding her arms and hands behind her body and hobbling her in a way that, although she couldn't get out of the box, she was able to rise with a fluid grace.

When she reached her full height, He realized she was less than 5 foot tall. That was soon forgotten as she began singing "Angels We Have Heard on High". Her voice caresses the words of the song with crystal clarity; delicate but clear and strong. At the end of the song, time seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, she said, "Greetings Master Richard, i am presented to you from HeadMaster Jonathan with His compliments, may Your seasons be merry and bright." With that she sank back to her knees with her head bowed, waiting quietly. The 3 girls clapped their hands impulsively and Richard smiled. He approached again and gathered her into His arms, lifting her from her box. Setting her on her feet, the top of her head not even reaching to His shoulder height, He began to unwrap His gift. Finding that she was lusciously bare underneath, Richard glanced over His shoulder at the other girls, winked, and said, "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night". With that, the 3 girls all giggles, gave their welcomes to their new sister and scurried back to their chores, knowing that they had been dismissed. As He returned to unwrapping, anticipating the joys of His new toy, He made a mental note to send Jonathan a thank you card and a bottle of fine champagne.