Edited by Rosmarina (whose advice and assistance are much appreciated)
Please do not reproduce this story without permission.
== Chapter 12 ==
When I woke in the morning Chloe still had her arms around me. It seemed that we were both so emotionally and physically drained that we had slept the whole night through without moving around at all and we were still in the same position in which we went to sleep. I didn't want to disturb my friend, so I lay still, enjoying the softness and warmth of her naked body against mine. I tried to remember all the things we had talked about last night. As I thought it over I had more and more confidence that my friend was willing to seriously consider joining me in slavery under my Master's control.
I felt so much love for her.
While I lay there my mind was just drifting and after some time I recalled how it had been for me after I first met Master in person. That first meeting had been a wonderful experience, and by the end of that first few days we'd spent together I knew that I wanted to be with him permanently as soon as that could be arranged.
At subsequent meetings, and in our ongoing correspondence and phone conversations, we discussed every aspect of what we both needed and expected. For example, I've used the word *slave* here but of course I don't mean slave in the sense of someone who is forced to be in a situation where they are brutally exploited against their will. Nothing was done to me against my will. Sir knew very well what I wanted and also what still scared me. He knew all about my desires, fears, fantasies, experiences, disappointments, dreams, fetishes, phobias, and all the rest. It's absolutely essential that a dominant know his submissive deeply and intimately if he's going to make all decisions for her.
I knew Master would only make decisions that were in my own best interests, even if I did not agree. The reason I use the term *slave* is that I had voluntarily given Master the authority to do whatever he wanted to me or with me. We discussed at length if there should be any limits on his authority but I insisted that I wanted there to be none. I had no fear he would misuse his power to hurt me or injure me or otherwise do me any real harm. I was prepared to accept some pain, suffering and discomfort if he wished, but Master knew I was not really a pain slut and that my desires were much more in the direction of servitude, degradation and humiliation. In other words it's very much the psychological stuff that gets me hot, not being beaten or tortured.
In order to submit completely to my Master, as I agreed to do, I had to have total and absolute confidence in him and I do and always will have that. He has earned it, and has never done anything to make me doubt his total commitment to looking after me and training me to be exactly as both he and I desired. I could not accept a life of slavery unless I had a very deep trust in my Owner that was absolutely unshakable. I knew that this was one important issue over which Chloe still struggled.
The many discussions I had with Master concluded with the decision that I would accept a place in his life as defined by our mutual agreement. On that basis my place would be as his slave. And that meant I would belong to him literally, I would accept whatever decisions he made for me regardless, and I would obey him absolutely. I could discuss anything with Master (with his agreement) and I retained my own life to the extent that I was (initially) still able to work, still meet my friends for coffee, still read what I wished, and in many other ways my life was not that different to anyone else. The main difference was that I always considered myself to be under my Master's control. I could do things I knew he was happy for me to do without prior arrangement, but at any time and for any reason he could instruct me to do otherwise and I would accept that he had the right to do so.
The things I was allowed to do without discussion were mostly very mundane things like going to work, having some time to myself to read, access the internet or telephone, and so on. But all of these activities were conducted within a set routine. For example, in the early days, when I was still working, Master knew when I had to leave for work and he knew when I was expected home. When I walked in the door after work each day at the same time I knew I was to strip naked immediately and to crawl to his feet and report to him. I was not allowed to vary this routine without permission.
If I wanted to do anything out of my usual routine I had to ask him in advance. Also no matter what I was doing I would always put Master's needs and desires first. If I was reading or spending time on anything else for my own pleasure and Master wanted my attention I would immediately drop what I was doing and attend to him. If I wanted to meet a friend for coffee after work I had to arrange that before hand with Master, and if he told me that he wanted me to come straight home instead my plans just had to be changed. I enjoyed having a routine and I never felt that what he asked of me was unreasonable, so if my plans had to be changed to accommodate him I knew where my priorities lay. I was owned and I did as I was told.
I could talk to Master about my feelings and desires at the appropriate time as we had a routine time each day when I could do so, but if after I'd talked to him and he did not agree I would obey him regardless. Ultimately he had the final say regardless of whether I was happy with his decision or not. I was to act according to his instructions without question once he had made a final decision.