Author's Note: You've been very patient, loves. You've humored my plot and character development. Here, then, is your reward. Good girl! Good boy!
Chapter VII - A Learning Experience
I have been in this bed for two weeks. The miraculous medicine has almost completely healed the stripes on my back, but my nether regions are still very tender. As my groomer Eighty-Eight feeds me my breakfast of eggs and cheese, he assures me that they will remain so for some time to come. Though the eggs are delicious, my eyes are drawn to the piece of Ghandrillian chocolate that sits in a tiny silver dish on my tray. I haven't had any since that first piece, but the memory of its creamy bliss has not been forgotten. I can only imagine what occupies the three ornate wooden boxes stacked on the table beside it.
I could get used to Eighty-Eight's constant fussing over me, but know that I won't have time. Thirty-Seven has come with him today. I have a feeling that the chocolate is for her.
"Let's see what you've forgotten," she says. "Present for inspection, Two Seventy-Six."
Though her voice has an air of kindness this morning, I know that Thirty-Seven is not a healer. Though she is to be my teacher, in reality, she is a conqueror, a beautiful despot who is not to be disobeyed. I kneel on the flagstones before her, facing away. They press coldly against my breasts as I reach behind and gingerly part my labia for her as far as my new piercings will allow.
"Good," she says. "You remembered. Let's see how you are healing."
Her breath is warm against my backside as she bends down to inspect me. She gently begins to tug at one of my rings. I try stay silent, but she pulls a little harder and I yelp.
"A few more weeks," she says. "Just enough time to be ready for your dog days. Cloth, Eighty-Eight."
I feel the soft touch of silk between my legs and even this hurts. I know that the sticky moisture I feel is blood. Next, I feel the silk against my backside. Thirty-Seven drags the corner of the rag up and over, slowly tracing a line to my neck. I feel my skin rise to gooseflesh and can't suppress a giggle at the tickling. I am quickly rewarded with a swat from her bare hand.
"Do you think I'm funny?"
"No, my Prime."
"Then don't laugh," she says, tracing circles on my back with the edge of the rag. Though my body twitches, I do not laugh.
"Good girl," she says, seating herself on the bed. "Now kneel and face me."
I turn toward her and kneel. A look of displeasure crosses her face. She looks to Eighty-Eight and he hands her a riding crop, then she stands and walks behind me. "Bend over, Two Seventy-Six."
What have I done wrong? I comply and she gives me three lashes on my backside, landing each blow precisely where the one before it fell. I mewl, but don't cry out.
"That's how many things you're doing wrong," she says. "Think for a moment and correct them. If I have to remind you, I will do so with pain. When you are sure you have it right, tell me. Understand?"
"Yes, my Prime."
I struggle to remember all the things she taught me, but it has been so long ago. My knees are parted, the rings have ensured that I remembered that. My back is straight... My hands! I quickly clasp them behind my back and thrust my chest out. I look to her face and catch a brief glimpse of a smile, but it quickly fades. Head back, eyes down! That's what I've forgotten.
"This girl is ready, my Prime."
"Hmm." She circles me, then stops, sitting once again on the bed. She leans forward and caresses the underside of my left breast. "These are new. A few good meals have done you well."
She traces her finger up and runs it around the edge of my nipple, bringing it to attention. "Why, you're starting to look like an actual woman," she says and then takes my nipple between her thumb and forefinger and begins to squeeze, gently at first but slowly adding pressure. "A forgetful woman. What are you doing wrong?"
The harder I try to remember, the harder Thirty-Seven squeezes. "I... this girl doesn't know, my Prime."
"Something about your feet," she says.
The pain increases as she begins to tug. My breathing becomes a shallow whimper. Feet straight! I quickly point my toes behind me and the vice-like grip on my nipple relaxes.
"Good girl," she says and reaches toward the bedside table, taking the tiny ball of chocolate between the fingers that last held my nipple. "This isn't your usual sweet. It contains Kiraan root, an ingredient which can relieve pain. It is also a mild aphrodisiac. You may refuse it, if you wish."
It is for me! I open my mouth widely and look into her eyes. I realize my mistake and quickly lower my gaze before she corrects me, hoping she'll forgive my breach of etiquette. She takes my chin in her hand. I close my mouth, defeated, but she tilts my head back.
"It's okay," she says. "Look at me, Tithe."
I do, and am struck once more by her appearance. Her blue and gold sunburst eyes burn with a light of their own. The sun from the window paints her hair with auburn fire. This is my Master's Prime. She has pleasured him a thousand nights. I wonder if she knows how much I envy her.
"Open."
She gently places the chocolate on my tongue and it instantly begins to melt. It tastes a little different than I remember, having a slight bitter finish which is probably the drug, but it is still so delicious that I wait as long as I can before swallowing.
"Thank you, my Prime."
Thirty-Seven laughs. "Oh, you will. But not yet. Grooming first."
Thirty-Seven is kind enough to allow me to kneel on a pillow while Eighty-Eight washes me and rubs my body with a lavender-scented oil. My bath is no different from any other he has given me, but as his hands pass over my body, I feel something stirring in me that hasn't been there before. His gentle touch becomes like a blistering heat, the sensation lingering long after his hand has moved on. I can feel my pulse racing, my face flushing. Eighty-Eight isn't a virile man, but his feminine lips, gentle green eyes and lithe body have a strange beauty all their own. He pats me dry with a soft towel and begins to brush my hair when Thirty-Seven stops him.
"Her trinkets, Eighty-Eight," she says, taking the brush from him. "The silver ones."
As she gently brushes my hair, she doesn't get upset with me for not keeping my eyes down. I am thankful for that, for I don't think I could. She is a goddess and I cannot look away. I've admired her beauty often, as one might do with a beautiful painting, but I've never been sexually attracted to a woman before. I cannot understand why I can't take my eyes off of her, why I can't stop thinking how much I want to share pleasures with her. A wry smile comes to her lips.
"You seem to like what you see," she says. "Good. I want you to maintain eye contact with me for the moment. I want what happens next to be a surprise. No peeking. Understand?"
I nod as Eighty-Eight kneels beside me and opens one of the small wooden boxes. I hear a soft jingle and then feel his fingers on my nipple, which needs no coaxing. There is a tightness that circles it, but it doesn't hurt. It feels wonderful. He removes his hand and something small and cold lies against my breast. I shudder and it jingles as his hands move to my other breast.
Thirty-Seven sets down the hairbrush and opens another box, leaving only the largest unopened. "Close your eyes, Two Seventy-Six."
I don't want to. Strangely, I want to keep staring into those beautiful eyes. I want to take in every inch of this woman's body. But I comply, using my mind's eye to remove her green silk dress, revealing the supple flesh of her breasts. I feel a soft brush against my eyelid. As she paints my eyes a color of her choosing, I paint her nipples in a shade as pink as my own in my imagination.
