Author's Note: Dear all, thanks for all the wonderful feedback and the great votes! I love writing this series, but this chapter was really hard for me to write and it was really important that I 'get it right' (hence the lengthy delay between chapters). I don't apologise for the harshness of the scene, but I can promise that the next few chapters will have a little more romance, as it were. Thanks for hanging in there through the long wait!
When Bryndis awoke, his eyes were sandpaper tired. After years of military training and further years as a Kyros at the institute, it was usually easy for him to trust his inner body clock to wake him when he desired. Today, though it was still early, he knew by the dusty light that dawn was approaching and that he had overslept. Though hardly sleeping in, he was irked that he was late. He felt like he was slipping. Sighing as he got his feet under him, he got dressed and started his almost-daily run. He was about 3k into his usual 10k and was deciding to get Annis more involved in running – maybe a 5k as a goal? – when he realised he was really avoiding the subjects he needed to use this time to think about: what had happened last night and the next stage of Annis' training which was starting today. He slowed to almost a walk as he thought again about how close he had come to taking her, to forcing himself on her, last night. Her soft skin and her bound arms and her pleading eyes, that revealed lust in her eyes. And he had almost given in to that request; it would have been an irrevocable mistake not only in that he had a strict training plan – a plan for them both, he reminded himself – but also that he had known in taking on a virgin that he was placing a burden on himself and on the Institute to abide by certain guidelines and respect certain traditions which would not apply to the other Kyros'. It did, however, mean that he got to spend these early days of Annis' training here in these hills and forests and he got to be much more instrumental in these early stages than others whose giolla spent significant amounts of time training in group lessons.
The truth of the matter is, he thought, if he had taken her last night they would probably both have been asked to leave. At the very least, he would have been put on probation and she... Well, she would have felt very alone, regardless. Alone and undoubtedly betrayed and perhaps even assaulted. The truth of the matter is that it could never happen again, he could never slip again. The truth of the matter is, he decided, that they had to go back to their rooms at the House and that some things at least would have to change. Thus, there were some things that had to happen today, things that Annis would hate. Things that he hated. Picking the pace back up, he began to make modifications to his plan.
The current problem was that the Institute had a policy where the recently inducted giolla and their Kyros' discovered their limits. Every Kyros had between 6 and 48 hours to 'break' their giolla, putting her in a situation where she would use her safeword; optimally, warning words were used as well, but it was the use of the safeword that was key. After using it once, the giolla all knew that they were, essentially, safe with their Kyros. It almost immediately had a positive effect on their emerging relationships and lead directly to a deeper understanding of trust. There was, of course, a downside to forcing a safeword so quickly. Most new giolla were eager to 'prove' themselves as strong, as capable of bearing pain or humiliation. Usually, new Kyros' had to result to quick thinking or unexpected action, rather than pain alone, to bring about a safeword result as none of the giolla were alerted to this aspect of their training beforehand. Bryndis knew of another Kyros who routinely had his giolla separate 10 pound sacks of red and puy lentils for hours on end whilst sitting in a very hot room wearing a slightly too large butt-plug until she safeworded. No really terrible pain involved, altogether just too much discomfort. He had thought to use a similar approach with his next giolla, but with someone like Annis, that wouldn't work.
Annis had never, before coming to the Institute, experienced pain as part of the sexual process and had no idea of the wide-ranging role pain could plan in stimulation and submission. He was going to have to spend a lot of time working with her in this physical area of training in order for her to reach her potential as giolla and she would have to trust him irrefutably to monitor her pain thresholds. Basically, she would have to safeword through pain, not boredom and not even humiliation, in order for her to fully trust his training and mastery of her.
The other problem was that he had received special dispensation for Annis to allow them more time before forcing her to safeword. Though originally thinking he would keep her here only two days, that time had stretched; as soon as he had realised the change in his plan, he had requested the dispensation from the Institute. Thus, he could force the safeword as long as they were here, but it had to be achieved before returning to the Institute. They were leaving tomorrow, as he knew for sure that their future as Kyros and giolla were dependent on their return; however, Bryndis was also keenly aware that he had, due to his own hesitations, not yet given her any direct training on pain management. This whole situation was due to his mistakes, not hers and they would both bear the brunt of his latest fuck up. This next bit of her training, the inclusion of pain and pain management, he was determined to get right. He settled into his long, loping stride for the final 2k of his circuit.
******
Annis was shocked out of sleep. It was still dark. Very dark, in fact. Even when she opened her eyes, it was dark. There was a sharp coldness in between her legs and growing slowly over her whole body, like someone had lodged an ice pick in her pussy and then was wiping her down with cold water. Whether that was what was happening or not, however, she couldn't tell. She couldn't see anything. She tried to move her hands, tried to move her body away from the growing cold, but she could only move a little. The straps that had been 'restraining' her in sleep were truly restraints now, arms pinned against her ears over her head, ropes underneath her breasts and across her hips to keep her still on the plinth, legs tied down and splayed open at the knee.
'Master?' She knew it was Bryndis, it had to be Bryndis, but she needed the reassurance of him; she was trying very hard not to get panicky, but she was still coming out of sleep and was shocked to be in this state.
'Annis, good morning.' The creeping cold continued, but she relaxed visibly upon hearing his voice. Who else would it be? she asked herself, mentally giving herself a shake. Before she could respond, he continued. 'Don't say anything else just now. There are things you need to know immediately and things I need to know. First, today will be a hard day for you; I'm telling you now so that you can prepare yourself mentally that your submission today will be harder than it was over the course of the previous days. There is not going to be one 'event' that will be particularly challenging, but all day will be hard for both of us. Do you understand?
'Sir, I'm so sorry about last – '
'Annis, do you understand?' A repeated question was paired with a twist on the cold in her pussy, making her cringe.
'Yes, sir, thank you for telling me.'
'You're welcome. What happened last night was unfortunate, but not because of anything you did. You were lovely and watching you and your submission pleased me very, very much. Watching you respond to me was one of the most beautiful things I've seen, especially because it was not a kind of submission you feel comfortable with. I was very pleased.'
A flush came over her whole body as she heard the warmth in his voice. Bryndis smiled, though Annis could not see it, watching her nipples become flushed and puckered, seeing her face redden underneath the blindfold. She's thinking about it, he thought, remembering. His heart sank a little that not every memory was going to give her that much pleasure. More of them would, though, he reminded himself, in the end as long as he was careful and thorough.
'Thank you, Master. I was afraid you were angry when you left.'
'Annis, I told you when I left that I was not angry. Do you think I would lie to you?' Not giving her a chance to answer, he continued, 'Regardless of the difference between that you think you trust me and that you act as if you do not, I will not lie to you. That is part of what we will be working on today. I hope that the next time you wake up, you will trust me a little bit more and that I will trust you a little bit more. Today, we'll start working on pain training.'
He immediately felt the tension return to her body.
'Here is what I trust you with today: I trust you to use your warning words or your safeword if and when you need them. This is not about showing me what a tough girl you are, but showing me your limits, showing me and showing yourself what you really can't do and where you really can't go. Throughout the day, we'll be working on different ways to use pain in giolla training and I'll teach you some beginning mental and physical exercises to help manage pain.' He paused, giving her a chance to think about what he had just said. 'What are you thinking about, Annis?'
'I... I knew this was coming.' She licked her lips and started again. 'I mean, it's not a surprise. Well, it's a surprise today, but...' She shifted her weight around, tightening and loosening the tension around her arms and flexing her hands. 'I'm not very good with pain, you see. I'm kind of a wimp so normally I would be terrified doing something that I know would hurt. I mean, weirdly, it's probably one of the million reasons I'm still a virgin...' Her voice petered away. I mean, could she really still say she was a virgin? He had practically raped her anally at the Ceremony of Will even though she had accepted it through submission. Last night he had fucked her with her dinner (a carrot! she thought in dismay, and I was begging for it!) and now here she was, blindfolded, tied down with her legs splayed before someone she'd know only days really and he was doing who-knows-what to her at the moment. That, however, was a conversation for another time. Soon, perhaps, but another time. The question now is... how to deal with pain?
