The room is dark and quiet, even with so many people occupying such as small space. The clock begins it’s low, resonating toll of the hour. Suddenly a single candle is lit at the front. Then hundreds more throughout the gathering of friends and well wishers. By the time the bell tolls the midnight hour, the room is softly lit by the glow.
The aisle between the two sides is marked in a manner symbolic of the occasion. By those who have gone there before. Every three feet is a woman and a single red candle. And beside each woman is a man.
At the front, under a massive array of candlelight, stand two men and one woman. The two men face the crowd and the woman knells with her head bowed as if in prayer, which she may very well be.
One of the men at the front stands higher than the other, the Master of the Ceremony. With a cane, he begins to strike the floor. Half of the gathered crowd mimics the action with feet striking the floor, the other half remain motionless.
Then begins the precession of the slave bride. She is on her hands and knees, with collar and lead attached to her neck. Her head remains bowed in submission. Her sign that she is more than willing to take her place with her Master. A tall man wearing black leather executioner’s garb, his head covered by a hood, leads the slave bride down the aisle.
As the slave bride makes her way down the aisle, the tradition of this part of the ceremony begins. The women that are lighting the way do not hold the candles in their hands, but are forced to knell on hands and knees with the candle deeply inserted into their ass, the hot wax melting onto their skin. As the slave bride moves by, the man with each woman removes the candle and dribbles a small amount of the hot red wax on the slave bride’s back and ass. The candle is then placed back into its holder for the remainder of the service. By the time the slave bride is led to the front she is covered in the red wax, symbolic of the love and sharing between those chosen to light her way and the slave bride, just beginning her journey.
The escort guides the slave to a position in front of the other man and removes the lead. The escort, in more traditional terms the Best Man, then removes his hood and takes his place to the right of the Master to be, ready to assist in the ceremony as it continues.
The crowd ceases it’s march beat and becomes quiet. Next to each that was beating the rhythm is a slave, some simply knelling, others with attached leads, waiting with lowered heads. All listen closely as the man in front begins to speak.
“Friends, we have been invited here today to share a most important moment. On this sacred hour, on this sacred day, two have entered, but they will leave as one. “
A raised hand and those that were standing sit while those on hands and knees remain so.
“We have been invited to hear Master Dominic and Slave Julie as they join to face the future together, accepting whatever may lie ahead. For the world that was created for them, with its beauty and grace that is all around, with the strength that it offers and the peace that it brings, there is nothing more sacred than the bond between a Master and his slave.”
“Slave Julie, nothing is easier than saying words and nothing is harder than living them day after day. What you promise today must be renewed and rededicated tomorrow. At the end of this ceremony you will be Master and slave, but you still must decide each day that stretches out before you, that you want to continue to be so.”
“Real love is something beyond the warmth and glow of punishment and teaching, it is the excitement of being deeply in love with your Master. It is caring more about the welfare and happiness of your Master than about your own. You must decide and prove your devotion to your Master and your total acceptance of his control over you.”
Then the man turns to face Dominic before he speaks.
“Dominic, will you take Julie to be your slave? Will you teach her and guide her? Will you promise to fill her deepest darkest desires? Will you promise to punish her when she needs correction? Do you promise to test her limits, to find new ways to make her show her love and devotion to you?”