Julie Waited

Julie waited. Funny, waiting is generally thought of as an active task. Waiting is usually a passive task. One expects an event to happen and until such time as it does, one does something else. But this waiting was not like waiting for the turkey to cook, and peeling potatoes in the meantime. This was waiting. Julie was actively, in the process of; waiting. And if you could see her, you'd know what she was doing. She was naked and kneeling with her forehead to the floor and her arms in front of her; prostrating herself and... waiting.

Through the window Julie heard the bell tower chime 4 times. It was 4:00 in the afternoon. She had been "waiting" for over an hour and a half and she was getting to the point that she had to go to the bathroom. She contemplated actually doing it; goodness knows her body could use the stretch; but she quickly decided against it. If he happened to arrive when she was on the toilet... hmmmmmmm.... Julie didn't want to finish that thought. No, there was just no two ways around it; she would have to wait.

Too bad she hadn't turned the radio on first she thought. She had been specifically told not to turn the television on, but nothing was said about the radio. And she had to do what he had said to the letter. It was all part of his challenge and she was trying to prove him wrong.

Julie found her mind playing tricks on her. The mind does that you know; with limited sensory input the mind will turn inward looking for entertainment, an activity, a problem to solve, anything to occupy itself. The only two real sensory inputs she had right now was a mild muscle complaint originating from her back and legs simply because of the position she had been in for so long, and an auditory input of occasionally hearing muffled voices coming from the hallway just outside her door. The muscle complaint could easily be fixed... all she had to do was stand, or arch her back and stretch, or simply lift her head and look around. She might even have gotten away with it too. But Julie was smart enough to know that if she actually did, and it gave her the relief she was seeking, she would want that again. It was like having one salted peanut. Everyone knew you could NEVER have just one.

Julie realized that if she didn't quickly change her thoughts, her mind would seize this as the entertaining thing it needed and all her thoughts would revolve around scratching the itch her muscles were presenting her with. It would become all consuming and she needed to take her mind off her desire to give in to her body's request. Julie concentrated on the sounds from outside.

There weren't many sounds. Her hotel room was high up so there was almost no traffic noise. The hallway was nothing more than a hotel hallway so it usually didn't get that much activity, but right now there was some activity and Julie was glad for the distraction. It wasn't until she realized what the activity was that she became concerned.

It was hotel housekeeping.

That usually doesn't strike panic in hotel patrons but for Julie it was terrifying. You see, her door was not locked. In fact, currently there was tape over the latch specifically to keep it unlocked. "He" didn't have a key and the door was doctored in this manner to allow him access to the room. But she had been waiting for over an hour and a half and now housekeeping was coming and... well, if they walked in and saw her like this it would be extremely embarrassing.

She supposed it would be just another item on that long list of oddities that hotel workers are known for witnessing. Sort of like technicians in a photo-lab; hundreds and hundreds of boring family vacations, and birthdays and pictures of cats punctuated with the odd voyeuristic image of a man photographing his wife naked. Julie hated cats, and the only thing she hated more than cats was pictures of cats.

Julie started surveying her situation. She was in a resort city in a foreign country so it was doubtful she would ever run into any of the staff here again once she checked out. But she also knew that staff gossip; so there would be the inevitable knowing smiles every time she called room service, or went to the coffee shop, or when checking out. There would be the laughter between the staff when they thought she was out of earshot. She'd hate that.

From what Julie could tell, housekeeping was still a few doors away, but they were getting closer. What should she do? Even if they were not scheduled to clean this room, certainly the tape would be considered a breach of security and be reported. It would undoubtedly draw even more attention to her situation then simply having the maid walk unexpectedly in on her. She had visions of a SWAT team bursting in, guns drawn ready to take down some international terrorist and finding her there... naked... prostrated on the floor... waiting. How would she ever explain this? How COULD she? What if it made the news in some local human interest section like those suspicious "brown paper packages" that attract the attention of the bomb-squad and eventually turn out to be someone's collection of porn magazines? That's exactly the type of story that would get picked up by the wire service and go viral. What if her friends and coworkers found out? At home, in her position at work that would be devastating. What words could she possibly use that anyone not privy to the facts leading up to this moment would even hope to understand?

Even if there was no SWAT team; if it was simply the maid noticing the tape and checking to see if everything was okay... at the maid's questions Julie would be obligated to speak, and "He" had given her explicit instructions to say and do nothing. Surely this was an exceptional circumstance though. Wouldn't it be? Could she simply remain quiet; ignore her questions? What would be the best way to communicate that she was fine and that the maid should leave? How could she do that without breaking her instructions; her orders.

Julie heard someone else coming down the hall. It was a man. She knew this because she heard him exchange pleasantries with the maid. Maybe this was finally "Him." Maybe all her concerns with being discovered would be for naught. She hoped. Julie strained her ears, projecting, willing him to stop in front of her room, enter, remove the tape and announce himself... finally. This had to be him... didn't it? He was whistling.

Julie had convinced herself that this was indeed "Him" and a wave of relief washed over her. She heard a door open, felt eyes looking at her, and the relief turned to anticipation again. Julie heard the door close and then nothing. She wondered what he was thinking now. Did he notice that she had done everything she had been instructed to do? And seeing that she had, she wondered what else he would do with her... and do to her.

What was he waiting for? She strained again for any clue as to what he was doing. In her mind's eye, she watched his every move as if a third party was viewing the whole scene from a high vantage point.

After a while she realized that something was amiss. Her anticipation turned to curiosity, then almost panic. She heard nothing from him. No talking, no breathing, no movement. What was he waiting for?

Finally, she could stand it no longer. She decided to peek. Still facing the carpet she opened first one eye, then the other. She hoped to see changes in the light, a shadow, anything that would give her a clue of his actions. There was nothing. She turned her head ever so slightly... almost imperceptibly. Still nothing. She finally cocked her head and stole a very fast look at the door. He wasn't there.

A flood of new emotions almost overwhelmed her has she realized that it was not "the" man she had heard, it was "a" man, and he must have entered the room directly across the hall instead of this room. Sounds can sometimes be deceiving in a hotel. Had she simply believed it was him because she wanted it to be him? But none of this mattered right now because all those emotions that were cascading down on her now... the surprise; the disappointment; and interestingly enough, a little bit of relief; all terminated with the single emotion of terror as she realized that the housekeeping staff was now that much closer. Had they been speaking English, they were close enough for her to make out what they were saying. With her high-school Spanish she could do little more than pick out the odd word or phrase. Numbers were a whole different ballgame. Once you learned to count to 20 in Spanish, you could understand any Spanish number. One of them mentioned something about 1510. 1510 was her room.

And there it was... they were on their way in... it was decision time.

Julie heard the cart stop in front of her door. She heard the key in the lock and without even making a conscious decision of what to do she found herself bolting for the door. It was an autonomic response. The same kind of knee-jerk reaction you might make if touching a hot stove or jumping when startled in a movie. It was nothing you decide to do... you just did.

She was in the middle of standing to run for the door and as soon as she did she knew it was a mistake. "He" was sitting on the bed watching her.

CRAP!

Crap crap crap crap crap.

Two thoughts collided in Julie's mind. She simultaneously wondered how in the hell he could consistently do that, and at the same time wondered why real life doesn't have an "undo" key like her computer at work does? She immediately regretted her actions and wished she could take a "do-over."

It's not the first time this had happened. He had a habit of appearing, somehow magically, in the oddest places and at the oddest times. And... he had a habit of catching her doing something she knew she was not supposed to be doing, or at least something she had been instructed not to do.

She stopped in mid stride and just stared at him... not sure what to do next. She had a "deer-in-the-headlights" look when the door opened and the first of two maids entered. They called out "maid service" first but Julie was too stunned to respond or even to look. She stood there, naked, watching "Him" as they entered. "He" was watching her too... with a little upturned smirk in the corners of his mouth, he never took his eyes off her. The maids where watching them both. No one moved. No one even blinked.

After what seemed an eternity, finally someone did blink. Almost imperceptibly "He" simply shifted his focus to the maids. Julie was suddenly aware of them as well and she too turned her head towards the maids. She was also suddenly aware of her own nakedness, and she felt... well... naked. As she struggled unsuccessfully to cover herself, her eyes darted back and forth between "Him" and the maids. She was looking for some kind of normal behaviour from the maids, some modest apologetic averting of the eyes and backing out of the room but none came. The second maid was still locked on her although as opposed to staring at her eyes, she did seem to be surveying her entire body. The first maid's focus was alternating between Julie and him. Julie began to cower and frantically reach out for something... anything... to cover herself. Her hands fell on a nearby towel and Julie quickly unfolded it and tried to wrap it around her body. The towel was a small hand-towel and simply not large enough. She settled for holding an end to her breasts and letting it drape down but even this was a little too short for her liking. Julie felt incredibly exposed and incredibly uncomfortable and instead of giving aid, everyone seemed to be reveling in her discomfort.

Julie hadn't even settled the towel yet when "He" spoke. It was a simple mono-syllable command – "No," but at the same time he rose and reached out, grabbed a corner of the towel and snapped it away, all without taking his eyes off the first maid. He didn't even yell. His voice was almost calming, almost soft spoken, almost condescending as if reminding a six year old how to behave properly in a room full of adults; yet still a powerful command issued with enough authority that one would not question.

He suddenly turned, grabbed her by both shoulders locking his gaze directly into her eyes and spoke. "You have disobeyed me." He said. "Obviously my instructions were not clear enough, or you simply cannot do what you thought you could. Didn't I say that it took a stronger person to follow orders than it did to issue them? Didn't I say that it was very difficult to unconditionally trust anyone?"

Julie cringed at his words. She chastised herself for giving him this little victory. In her professional life, she is the one that issues orders and he had said that anyone could do her job. Real strength of character comes from serving. Of course she had disagreed. He had challenged her, goaded her, and belittled her into accepting his little test. So far she was not doing too well.

"I told you you weren't strong enough. You told me you were." He continued. "How will you prove that to me, and more importantly, to yourself?"

Julie clenched her jaw and outwardly accepted the reprimand gracefully. She repeated she was sorry and that the fault was all hers. "Your instructions were clear Master. It is I who was not strong."

The words coming out of Julie's own mouth tasted bitter and she almost choked on them.

"SHHHHH" he said putting his index finger to her lips. He pulled her closer putting her head on his chest. He hugged her and at the same time brushed an errant strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Julie, Julie, Julie..." he breathed, "I thought we were past this."

"I'm sorry." Julie repeated. "I can do better Master. I WILL do better Master. Please give me another chance to prove myself."

"Relax." He said reassuringly and holding her back so he could see into her eyes. "You will get another chance. But first there is this little issue of consequences. I cannot let this go unpunished. You do understand that don't you? Julie?"

Julie's defiant streak reappeared as she hissed "Yes Master" through clenched teeth.

"There... there..."he said holding her face with both hands. "It will be alright."

Julie hated his condescending attitude, but more than that she hated the fact that it was her own mistake that had allowed him this victory.

The Master leaned down and gently kissed Julie on the forehead. He paused just long enough for Julie to regain her composure, then stepped back, turned to the first maid and snapped, "You know what to do."

Instantly both maids sprang into action. The First started digging into the housekeeping cart they had pushed into the room while the Second approached Julie and guided her to the bed. She was obliged to lay face down across it with her hands and legs sticking over the sides. The First found what she was looking for; four prepared ropes with cuffs on one end of each rope.. The cuffs were very quickly snapped and secured around Julie's wrists and ankles. The First piled up the two pillows from the bed and two more pillows from the hall closet and placed them under Julie's hips while the second maid reached under the bed and slid out four metal extension arms that were affixed to the underside of the bed frame. Each extension arm had a metal ring welded to it.

That's convenient though Julie. Almost like they had it planned. Julie hadn't noticed these extension arms before and doubts that she'd have known what they were for if she had. She admired the engineering of how they simply folded away and blended into the structure of the bed when not in use. Then she wondered why they would be there on her bed in the first place. Did all the beds in this hotel have them?

The other end of the ropes were fed through these rings, pulled tight, and secured to four cleats on the undersides of the bed that had been put there for that purpose. With surprising speed Julie was rendered vulnerable and totally helpless. She was secured into almost the same kneeling prostrated position as she was before except this time her legs were spread and her hips were supported by pillows. And she was again... waiting.

Julie thought she knew what was coming.

"No, no, no... this is not happening." Julie told herself. "This can't be happening now... it's too soon. I don't deserve this. I didn't do anything wrong."

Slowly... ever so slowly... the Master removed his waistcoat, neatly folded it, and placed it over the back of a chair. "Crops." He ordered.

The First returned to the cart and retrieved a neatly tied bundle. As she unrolled it and placed it on the bed, the Master calmly rolled up his sleeves. The bundle contained a selection of thin canes and riding crops, about 20 in total. Julie had a front row seat and stared transfixed as the Master perused the selection, grabbed one and swung it through the air. He was testing it.

In the back of Julie's mind was the memory that she had signed on for this. After she had accepted his little challenge she and the Master had actually signed a written contract. That contract laid out in very specific terms what he could and could not do, and this was clearly within his right. For the first time, Julie felt she had made a mistake. She chastised herself for her own stupidity at jumping and running to the door, and for signing that damn contact in the first place. There is no way she should have run to the door; he had warned her that it was not easy to supersede reflexes. Yet she was so used to succeeding at everything she had tried, what made her think this was anything different. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." she repeated to herself.

The Master traded his first choice for another and finally a third, and each time he chose he whipped it through the air, feeling it's balance, it's weight; and making some kind of mental calculation. Each time the crop whistled and sang as it sliced the air and each time it did, Julie winced. While this was going on, the Second carefully folded a facecloth into a small thick wrap, ran a thin cord through the folds and approached Julie with it. Without a word, she motioned that Julie should accept the bundle into her mouth. Julie did, and clamped down on it with her teeth as the Second tied the cord around her head.

At last satisfied with his selection, the Master nodded a silent command to the Second. Seeing this, the First re-rolled the bundle of crops to get them out of the way while the Second placed a blindfold on Julie's eyes. The last thing that Julie saw before the blackness of the blindfold was a look of fear in the eyes of the Second. The maids knew what was coming; they had both experienced it themselves before, and they empathised. The fear was infectious and Julie caught it. Julie strained against her bindings. She knew that depending on what kind of rope was used, they would often stretch, even just a little. If they would stretch enough to give her a little slack... well... she really didn't know what she would do... she just knew she wanted as much slack as she could get.

It didn't matter what she would have done with it; there was none. She could struggle and pull till she was blue in the face but there was no give at all, and certainly no way she was getting loose. She was utterly helpless and totally at the Master's mercy.

The room was now silent save for Julie's struggling. Julie was furious at herself for letting herself be put into this position; furious at the Master for what he was about to do, and furious at the maids for actually being the instruments of his design. She took her fury out on the ropes binding her. She screamed and fought as hard as she could but there was just no changing her predicament. Julie was bound, gagged, and blinded and this time, the bindings were real. Eventually she stopped struggling and listened. She listened intently... straining to hear any movement... anything that would give her a clue as to what was happening in the room. She listened for anything that would act as a warning so she could steel herself against what she knew was imminent. Both maids went to the centre of the room and kneeled awaiting further orders. They were totally silent save for their breathing. Julie waited.