Swan's Song: the Birdcage

Swan's Song: The Catbird Seat

CHAPTER 5

The three of them played in bed and made love for the rest of the night, so—when Hudson walked her back to the Birdhouse the next morning—she ignored Cardy's barrage of questions, went straight to her bed and fell asleep.

Swan woke up hours later, and realized that a motion beside her woke her. She remembered that she wasn't with Master Tristan or Master Sean, so the motion seemed out of place. She opened her eyes and saw Pea sitting on the side of her bed staring at her. Pea was wearing a simple tank shirt and shorts, and she smiled at Swan sweetly.

"Swan, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. I wanted to get to know you better. Let's hang out."

Swan was disoriented and sleepy, but she didn't need any enemies, "Oh, ok. That would be nice."

Pea tossed Swan some clothes to change into and made small talk while Swan dressed. They went out to the great room, but it was strangely empty. "Where is everyone," Swan asked?

"Oh, I think they're all in the salon right now."

Swan's stomach grumbled, and she poked around to see if the staff left any snacks out. Oddly the tables were empty, and her stomach gurgled again in protest.

"You know, if you're hungry, I could take you to the kitchen to get something to eat."

"Um, ok." Swan had an odd feeling about it, but she realized she didn't know the Birdhouse well enough to put her finger on it. She'd only lived there about a week.

Pea led her over to one of the doors in the great room and down a long hallway. She chatted happily about how they should get their nails done together after she got something to eat. Pea opened up the door at the end of the long hallway, and Swan noticed that it said "Staff Only."

"Pea, are you sure it's ok for us to be down here?"

"Oh yeah, it's totally fine! I come down here all the time."

They walked down a short hallway, turned right down a hallway, through a door, left down hallway, past a bunch of doors, and soon Swan was thoroughly lost. Pea opened up one of the doors, "And here's the pantry!"

Swan stepped inside and looked around. The pantry was filled with economy sized cans of food, large boxes of rice, huge bags of flour, and other cooking ingredients. "Pea, I don't think I'm going to find a snack in here," but when she turned she saw the door hanging open and no Pea.

Swan stepped back into the hallway, "Pea?"

Her heart started to sink. Swan closed the door to the room she was just in and walked down the hallway the way they came. The more she walked, the worse the feeling in her chest got.

She thought she was retracing her steps, but she started to hear more and more noise. Swan turned the corner and stepped in a large bustling kitchen. There were cooks and staff dashing about, and a huge man in the middle of the room yelling at everyone. Swan assumed he was the head chef.

He spotted her standing in the kitchen entrance, and she tried to ask how to get back to the Birdhouse. Instead, his face went white then red, and he started yelling at her in French. The chef rushed over to Swan, grabbed her roughly by her upper arm, and dragged her down the hall to an open door ignoring her pleas for him to listen.

The open door was an office of some kind, and the chef practically threw her into the small chair in front of the cramped desk. A middle aged man sat behind the desk and calmly listened to the chef yell. He replied to the chef in French with an authoritative voice, and the chef threw up his hands and marched back to the kitchen.

The man behind the desk looked at Swan and asked in accented English, "What are you doing down here?"

Swan felt herself on the verge of tears, "I'm so sorry, sir. I was looking for a snack... but then I couldn't find..." She stuttered over her words not knowing how to explain how she got here.

"You are not allowed to be in staff areas. If you need something, you use staff call boxes. However, you really should be in garden with everyone else."

Swan didn't understand, his words didn't make sense. She didn't know there were staff call boxes. Why was everyone in the garden? The only thing she understood is that she was somewhere she definitely shouldn't have been.

"I see you are new here, and I understand. But you must learn your lesson." He stood up and left the room for a moment. When he returned, he had a wooden spoon in his hand. Swan understood; she was to be punished.

"Please stand up and lean over desk," he asked. His voice remained calm, and he did not show any of the anger she had grown used to out of her old keeper. But this didn't keep her heart from leaping in fear. Swan stood up and put her hands flat on the desk top in front of her.

"Shorts down please."

Tears started to leak down her face. She had thought this place might be different. She undid the front clasp on her shorts and pushed them down to her knees.

"Panties, too."

Swan pushed her panties down on top her shorts and placed her hands back on the desk top.

"Punishment is supposed to be harder, but I only give you 10." Swan felt him place the spoon on her bottom and begin spanking her. The wooden spoon stung, and she couldn't help but fidget as she tried to hold her position; however, a small part of her brain told her that she received far worse from her old keeper on a regular basis. This man really was letting her off easy.

He was careful to spread the spanking around her bottom. Her ass was probably red all over, but no one spot felt it had been abused too badly.

"You are finished. Get dressed."

Swan scrambled to get herself covered, but winced as she pulled up her panties without care. The man motioned for her to follow him as he began to lead her out of the maze. When they reached the long hallway from the great room, she wanted to run down the hallway back to the Birdhouse. When they got to the end of the hallway, he put his hand on the door to open it but stopped.

"Did you learn your lesson?"

Swan answered in a small voice, "Yes, sir."

"Good. You may go." He opened the door, and Swan didn't wait to hear him close it. She sprinted back to her bed, fell on to it, and sobbed into her pillow.

* * *

"Where have you been?" Cardy exclaimed.

"Where were you?" Swan asked. She was sitting on her bed, and Cardy stood in the doorway to her room.

"We were all in the garden having dinner. Wait, have you been crying? What's wrong?"

After Swan cried herself out, she gave herself time to think about what happened. First, she was absolutely convinced that Pea had gotten her in trouble on purpose, assumedly because Master Tristan and Master Sean liked her better than Pea, but she didn't know what she was supposed to do about that.

Second, she had decided as punishments go, the one she received in the kitchen hadn't been horrible. It had taken her by surprise, but the French man in the kitchen hadn't been cruel with her. Her bottom chafed on her panties a little right now, but really her pride was wounded the most. She decided that Master Tristan and Master Sean's house was still a wonderful place, and nothing like Master Victor's.

"I..." Swan considered not telling Cardy what happened, but she realized in that moment that Cardy was her friend, and that Swan wanted to tell her what happened. "I got punished."

"What? Where? Why? What?" Cardy rarely was at a loss for words.

Swan sighed, "So, I woke and Pea was here with me. I was hungry, so she took me to the kitchen," Swan cut off Cardy before she could interrupt, "which I didn't know at the time was off limits. But Pea abandoned me; I got caught, and then punished."

Cardy flopped onto the bed beside her, "Ugh, Pea is such a bitch. I was a little afraid that she'd try something with you. I don't think Master Tristan and Master Sean completely know what she's like, but she's the most popular Bird with all their guests. So, what are you going to do?"

"Well, I'm not hanging out with her, and I don't trust her."

"You aren't going to try to tell someone about her?"

"Would they believe me? It's not like I can prove anything, and she's been here longer than I have."

Cardy put her hand on Swan's should, "Alright, but I'll keep my eye out for you."

Swan smiled back at her, "Thanks."

* * *

It had been two days since she last saw her masters. She was starting to feel a little heart broken in missing them. Master Tristan and Master Sean were extremely busy with work, but Hudson arrived at the Birdhouse in the afternoon to let her know that she would be dining with them tonight. Swan's spirit immediately rose, and she went in search of Eric to help her pick the perfect dinner dress.

When she stepped into their private apartment that night, she was wearing a short strapless white lace sheath dress. She saw Master Tristan sitting in one of the arm chairs in the living area with a drink already. Swan frowned. Master Tristan wasn't just sitting, he was hunched in the chair. His bowtie was untied and the top buttons of his shirt undone. He didn't turn around as she entered.

Swan walked over to her master, "Good evening."

"Oh Swan, I didn't hear you come in." He put his drink down beside him and moved to stand up. He looked so tired.

"No, Master Tristan, don't get up," she pushed him back down and climbed into his lap. Swan put her hands on the sides of his face, stroking under his eyes wishing she could smooth the weary shadows away.

He looked at her as if she were the first comfort he'd had in days. "We've been trapped in negotiations for days. I think we were in there for eighteen hours yesterday. Sean is still there for a little while."

Swan knew what she needed to do, "Wait here." She found the box that called Hudson, and whispered her request to him. Hudson looked like he wanted to hug her, and she knew he appreciated her taking care of their master.

While she waited for Hudson to come back, she went back to Master Tristan and held out her hands. He looked at her questioningly, but he put his hands in hers. She pulled him up—really she just pulled and he complied by standing—and led him into the bedroom. Swan pulled off his coat and bowtie. She unbuttoned his shirt the rest of the way and pulled his undershirt over his head. Master Tristan was so tired that he just stood and watched her work.

Swan heard Hudson knock gently at the bedroom door, and she answered taking what he handed her. She set the bowl of hot water on the stand beside the bed. Going back to Master Tristan, she continued to undress him until he was completely naked. She slipped off her own dress to join him and pulled him to the bed with her.

She laid him down on his stomach and straddled him sitting on his lower back. She reached into the bowl and took out a small bottle of oil. Dripping a small amount around his shoulders, Swan started to massage the oil into his skin.

"Oh, how are you so perfect," Master Tristan moaned into the bed.

"Because I love you," and she laughed gently at him.

She knew her grip wasn't very strong, but she hoped that the feel of her skin on his and the motion were enough to relax him. She focused on his shoulders, his neck, and then moved down his back slowly. She eventually had to scoot down to sit on his upper legs so she could reach his lower back.

Master Tristian occasionally moaned when she focused on a particular spot of stress, so she knew he was still quite awake. Swan decided to change the tone of her massage and started to massage his ass cheeks. She smiled as she could hear his breathing quicken. As she moved her thumbs in slow circles down each side of his ass, she let her fingers drag gently along his ass crack. Her circling thumbs moved lower between his legs to focus on the soft spot just behind his testicles.

Swan felt him shift, and she moved off of his leg so he could roll over. She was happy to see Master Tristan had been amenable to her change in tone. She grabbed his cock with her hand making him gasp, and she leaned down to kiss the tip of him. She straddled him again, but this time lowered herself down on him. She gasped herself as she felt him fill her, and her pussy ached with need.

She rode Master Tristan, occasionally bending down to kiss him fiercely. She felt her muscles begin to tense, and she cried out as she climaxed. He followed her shortly, she could feel him pulsing with pleasure inside of her.

She fell off of him and curled into his side. Not long after, she could hear him gently snoring. Swan must have fallen asleep herself, because she woke up after a bit unsure of what woke her. She put on the white robe that she kept here now and left the bedroom.

Master Sean had come into the apartment and was fixing himself a drink, "Swan, am I glad to see you. I'm sorry I missed dinner."

"Never mind, we haven't eaten yet, so you didn't miss anything." She went right over to him, put her hands on the sides of his face, and turned his head to look at her. "You look just as exhausted as Master Tristan did."

"Swan, I feel like I could just collapse. But first," Master Sean set his drink down, turned to her, and put his hands on her waist, "I hear you were taught a lesson by the kitchen manager the other day."

Swan blushed deeply in embarrassment and hung her head. She had kind of hoped her masters wouldn't find out.

"All of the staff is required to make a report to us if any of the Birds are punished," he said as if reading her mind. "Hey," he gently grabbed her chin and pulled her face up to his, "it's ok. Everyone makes mistakes." He kissed her, proof that he still loved her.

"Come with me," and Swan pulled him into the bedroom for the same relaxing treatment she had given Master Tristan.

"Cardy, they've been so busy with work. You should have seen them the other night. They were absolutely exhausted, and now I'm exhausted." Swan switched hands so Eric could finish polishing the nails on her left hand. "I was up with Master Sean for a while... helping him relax," Cardy giggled at Swan and waved her own finished nails dry, "but then I was so worried about them that I couldn't get to sleep. Eventually Hudson just brought me some tea, and I read a book until they work up. They both woke up early, and they rushed back to work."

Cardy got up now that her nails were dry, "Well, I'm glad you got the chance to help them take a break. Don't worry too much. It won't last forever. I'm going to head back to great room and let Jay know she can come in next."

Eric finished her finger nails and moved to her toes, starting with a massage of her feet and legs. Swan laid her head back in the big comfy salon chair, and Eric said, "Go ahead and take a nap. You need to catch up on your sleep."

Swan was so tired, she didn't even argue with him.

Suddenly a shrill scream woke her, and she shot up out of the salon chair. "Swan, no!" the voice screamed again. Swan whirled around, and saw Pea standing behind her a few steps away. Swan looked around for what the danger Pea was shouting about. The salon was empty. Swan looked back to Pea with confusion on her face.

"Ah! Swan!" Pea screamed again.

The door to the salon burst open. Eric, another stylist and a staff member ran into the room. Swan watched them as their faces changed from concern to horror. Why were they looking at her like that?

Pea ran over to them, threw herself into the arms of her stylist, and started to cry, "Thank god you're here! Swan attacked me! She pulled my hair out!"

Swan couldn't make sense of her words. What was Pea doing? Eric walked over to Swan and picked up her hand. They both saw that there was a large chunk of dark brown hair in her hand. Swan looked up a dark brown-haired Pea, and suddenly the pieces fell into place.

"Swan, what have you done?" Eric asked her.

She shook her head vigorously, "I didn't do it. Eric, please, I didn't do it."

Pea wailed from the other side of the salon, "She did! How can she deny it? John, look at my hair. Can you even fix it?" Pea's stylist tried to comfort her, "Of course, she didn't get the roots. We can fix it." He shot Eric a look, "Take care of this," and he led the crying Pea from the room.

Eric took the hair from Swan's hand and put it in a drawer at his station in the salon, "Come with me."

Swan's shock had worn off, and her eyes pricked with tears as she realized what was happening: she was being punished again. Tears silently slid down her cheeks as she followed Eric out of the salon and down the hall. He opened a door at the end. They entered a small room that Swan recognized immediately as a discipline room. It was not as elaborate as Master Victor's, but it had all of the necessities. A chair, a low padded bench, and a high padded bench littered the sides of the room. On the wall near the door was a dresser with drawers that, Swan assumed, held the instruments of discipline.

"Swan, I don't know what came over you, but you really hurt Pea. That is no small infraction."

Swan couldn't force herself to respond any other way, "I didn't do it. I promise that I didn't."

Eric pursed his lips, "We take the care of our Birds very seriously. If you had been hurt, this would be just as serious. And since you can't even admit to what happened, I can't go easy on you." He went over to the dresser, opened a drawer near the top, and pulled out a wooden paddle. "You'll get a one minute warm up, and then thirty spanks with the paddle."

He picked up the chair and put it in the middle of the room. Eric sat down in the chair and motioned Swan over, "Come on. Let's get this done and behind us."

Swan took off her skirt and removed her panties. She lay over Eric's lap, assuming the position she was trained to assume under Master Victor. "Swan," Eric said softly, "relax. You don't have to hold a position for punishments here. Just keep your hands away from your ass because I don't want to hurt you... well, more than I have to."

She wanted to be happy about being able to just relax through her punishment—and about not having to worry about losing her position and starting over—but she knew it wouldn't make what was coming hurt any less.

Eric started her one minute warm up, and she had to admit that he actually warmed her up. He started with light spanks with his hand, alternating cheeks, making a circle of each cheek to warm up the whole area. His spanking grew a little harder, circling her ass again. And then his spanks grew harder again, repeating the circle, but this time bringing tears to Swan's eyes.

He finished the warm up, and Swan felt Eric reach for the wooden paddle he had put down. She felt him place the paddle on her ass, "You don't have to count, but you'll be getting thirty."

He pulled the paddle back and brought it down on her ass. She gritted her teeth to keep from crying out. She used to hold in her cries because she never wanted to encourage her punisher, but now a small part of her didn't want Eric to feel any worse for having to punish her. It felt weird to care for the person bringing the paddle down now on her other cheek.

He kept each spank of the paddle rhythmic, so Swan always knew when it was coming. Swan didn't count aloud, but she counted in her head. Around twenty, she was shaking her head and trying not to kick her feet. She had to ball her hands in front of her to keep from reaching back to protect her stinging, aching ass.

Twenty-seven, she counted to herself. Twenty-eight. "Oh, Eric, please just finish," she thought. Twenty-nine. Just one more. Thirty. Swan was panting hard and crying, but she was done. Eric helped her to her feet and handed her skirt and panties to her to put back on. Once she was dressed again, he gave her a small bottle of lotion, "I can't put any on you in the discipline room, but have Cardy help you with it later." He gave her a small side hug, and let her back to the Birdhouse.