"...and so, it is with a heavy heart that I hereby resign my post as your district attorney."
The crowd that gathered to hear my public resignation in front of the King County courthouse was alive with gasps and mumbles. I know why they didn't see this coming, of course. I was only their D.A. for about four years with a great track record...well-loved by the whole county...practically the whole state! I needed to do this for myself before I lost control of my life and my mind.
"You, the residents of King County, have been any prosecutor's dream to work with and I have loved every waking moment of being your voice of the law. However, as all good things must come to an end, there is a time for happiness and renewal. As my resignation is effective at noon today, let me help you welcome your new D.A., Ms. Michelle Clark!"
An uproar of applause, whistles and camera shutters exploded from the crowd and I was finally done. I smiled my best smile and gave Michelle a big hug. She was good, no doubt, but it's not like we were good friends. We were competitors but no longer. She was about to serve King County for the greater good and I was finally on my way to living the life I had always wanted.
The butterflies in my stomach were even more active now and I rushed home. We were having a huge gala at The House under the guise, of course, that our anniversary was coming up. It was the truth but I never really cared about anniversaries before. Now that I was free from the public eye, it was truly a moment worthy of celebration. I wasn't about to reveal myself to any of the girls or my clients but the fact that I didn't have to live a double life professionally felt enough like freedom. I had been doing this so long that it was just second nature at this point. I had to stop home so I could get myself ready for the party and to pick up one more important thing.
I walked up my pristine path to my "normal" house and expected the door to be unlocked and it was. I stepped through the door and there was Daniel kneeling intently, waiting for my return home.
I smiled demurely. "Hello, Daniel."
"Afternoon, Madam," he said with a smile.
Daniel used to be my assistant at the office but we mutually decided that my resignation would benefit the both of us as we are now a couple. Well...as much of a "couple" as we can be. We always had a good relationship with each other until a fateful night at The House when Daniel showed up at my door. For some reason, I ended up showing him who I really was that night. I felt incredibly stupid for doing so and am normally not that impulsive but I felt like I was lying to Daniel and I didn't want to do that to him. Once the mask had, proverbially, slipped, even though I took it off intentionally, I felt that I would be ruined but Daniel said he knew it was me the entire time. He later told me that, had I not come clean, he would have told me he knew it was really me before the night had ended. I guess I found that to mean that we had a deeper connection than I was originally aware of.
Anyway, after all of that, we had a long talk and Daniel asked if we could be together. I told him, in so many words, that I was incapable of being someone's girlfriend but he surprised me further when he said that he wasn't interested in THAT type of relationship. He told me our night in my dungeon completely changed his perspective and outlook on life and that he wanted to pursue a companionship with me, not as my boyfriend, but as my submissive. Well...who am I to say no to that?!
I started training him little by little...a position here, a command there. It eventually evolved into an everyday routine that neither of us had to work at anymore, which was precisely what I was hoping for. The best part was Daniel was such a hungry learner that it took no time at all to train him where I wanted him to be...and we were strict by no means. If he wasn't kneeling when I came home because he had to do something or if he was copping a bit of an attitude, I really didn't care. As long as it didn't become a habit, we were fine. He's been in my clutches before. He knows I'm no pushover...but I also know that life is too short to play by all the rules. We have fun with each other and that, to me, is a very refreshing change of pace.
Daniel immediately rose to his feet and gave me a big hug. "So how was it? How do you feel?"
"Ugh!" I sighed. "I feel so good. Like...it's all over, you know? I can finally...progress! I can be myself again."
"Well," Daniel said, "You still have to be Lisa, you know."
"I know," I said, "but at least the pressure's off. I can just...be. How was your day?"
"Well, I ordered the limo as you instructed and it's coming in an hour so I got us some champagne. I figured you'd like to celebrate before you have to be all fancy-schmancy in front of the big wigs."
I laughed. "Trust me, darling. All I have to do is be myself in front of those guys. They're living a secret life just like I've been doing."
Daniel shrugged. "I suppose that's true. So...shall we raise a glass to your new life?"
I smiled. "Yes. Let's."
Daniel went into the kitchen to pour the champagne and I sat down on the couch for a while to relax. This party was so important to me. I felt like it was going to be the moment when all my troubles could melt away and my new life could really begin.
Daniel returned shortly with two glasses of bubbly and sat down at my feet. I smiled at him and took the glass he offered me and we both toasted to my new beginning. After two glasses, I decided it was time to get ready.
I don't have any of my usual attire at my "normal" house but I had planned for that beforehand so I had everything ready. I took a quick shower, dried and curled my hair the way it normally is done, pinned it to one side and did my make-up. I had even made a special outfit for myself in light of this evening. I made a skirt with a short black skirt underneath but, over the top, I had black wedding lace draped down the side so it was asymmetrical and gathered at the left side of my hip. I had found a wonderful silver pin in the shape of a flower that I put where all the lace gathered. I complemented the skirt with a nice black tank top and a beautiful necklace accented by purple gems. My mask, of course, tied everything together. It was all black and practically featureless with the exception of a slight bump for the nose and it, too, was accented by glittery purple flourishes. The final touches were, of course, my signature long black leather gloves and some nice black heels.
I walked out of my room and Daniel was all ready, too. He looked very handsome. He was wearing a black suit with a black shirt and dark purple tie. He was staring out the window, seemingly lost in space.
"Well?" I said. "How do I look?"
He turned around and gave me that same look I saw when he first came to The House. "Ohhhh...Kathryn," he said, breathlessly.
"Kathryn?" I said, surprised. "Darling...you can call me Lisa, it's fine."
"No, no, no," he said insistently, "Not like this. You are...Kathryn!"
I laughed. "Okay, well....might as well get into character, I guess. Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah, yeah," Daniel said, still staring at me. "But..."
"But? But what?" I said.
"Well, Madam...I was just wondering. I kinda wanted to...I don't.....I don't know..."
Poor, poor Daniel. No matter how hard I trained him, I still couldn't stop him from being so shy. "What do you want, my dear?"
"Well, it's just that...I kinda wanted...I don't know. I guess I wanted to be...sort of...um...uncomfortable?"
"Danny," I said, "Dispense with the bullshit. What do you want from me?"
He kind of winced and said, "I want to be in pain...y'know...for this evening."
I laughed. He had NO idea what was in store for him. "Daniel, you'll get what you want. Just trust me on that, yes?"
I stuck out my hand and he put his in mine. I locked the front door and we went into the limo. When we got to The House, there were already tons of cars and limos parked outside. I was excited to see who was all inside.
When we walked in the front door, everyone turned and, upon seeing me, all started clapping. They thought it was just because of the anniversary, which wasn't for another two weeks but, to me, it was because I was born anew like a phoenix from the ashes. Daniel kind of stepped off to the side toward where some of my girls were standing and all my clients were giving me hugs and handshakes. This was a brilliant party. The girls went above and beyond what I had asked them to do. They had the place wonderfully decorated and got top-notch catering for the event. I couldn't have asked for anything better.
I was in a conversation with a senator when I heard "MOTHER!!!" It was my sweet Elise. She was dressed in a strapless pale pink gown and looked absolutely resplendent. She ran toward me and gave me a huge hug.
"Elise!" I said, returning her embrace. "Oh, it's so good to see you!"
"Mother, I want you to meet Brian. He's...my date."
"Oh," I said, a little put off. She is, after all, mine. I wasn't quite ready to share her with anyone. "Brian. So nice to meet you."
I extended my hand to shake his but all this oaf said to me was, "Wow. Sweet mask."
I didn't say anything. I just kind of looked at Elise and she immediately hit him in the shoulder. "Stop it!" she said and dragged him away.
Daniel came up to me and said, "What was that all about?"
"I don't really know," I said.
"Are they not allowed to talk about that or something?" he inquired.
"The girls have never, ever mentioned anything about the way I dress. Maybe she was embarrassed."
"Do you want me to go talk to her?" he said. ...my knight in shining armor.
"No, no...I'm sure it's fine. If Elise wants to approach me, she knows she can." I did, honestly, hope she was okay. I took no offense by it but I was certainly not a fan of this Brian fellow. Maybe he didn't know who I was or what I meant to Elise if, in fact, I meant the same to her as she did to me but, judging by her reaction, I did. I took that as a compliment and would see to it later that she and I could talk.
* * *
The hours went by and the party went on swimmingly. All the who's who of Seattle society was there and we passed the time talking about politics and culture, the future of the city or even if the newest film that was out was any good. After a while, Marisa, one of my girls, informed me that it was midnight and I had a special plan for Daniel at this time.
