Chapter One
Night of Submission
"S'il vous plait, Monsieurs! Je ne suis pas homosexuel! Ne me faites pas faire Γ§a!" pleaded the muscular young soldier being led barefoot and naked through the torchlit passage. "Je vous en supplie, ne m'utilisez pas car j'utilise les femmes du village!" How well the handsome prisoner whose bad luck it was to be captured during a recent battle knew the fate awaiting him. He had heard the rumors about Le Cercle des Lords. Then while waiting to confess his sins to a local priest behind a pile of hay in a village near their camp he had overheard a young knight sobbing while he poured out the story of his night of torture, humiliation and sexual abuse by the Lords.
* * *
Beginning with that first La Nuit de la Soumission in a dungeon in the bowels of a Burgundian castle in 1517, on the first day of the first New Moon of each calendar quarter a group of men, and in recent years women, received the same brief cryptic message, an address nothing more.
Inclusion in Le Cercle des Lords was once limited to powerful friends with common and unique sexual interests. Years, decades, centuries passed, monarchies fell, fashions changed and social classes mingled. Le Cercle des Lords changed too. Membership once exclusively male now included women, and once consisting of nobles, highly respected artists, senior clerics, intellectuals and very wealthy merchants broaden to include athletes, members of the military, musicians and entertainers. The French language title was dropped in favor of a more contemporary sounding Circle of Lords, or just The Circle. Where notice of the location of each quarterly gathering was once delivered by finely penned notes on small rolls of parchment then later on hand-delivered notes on purple edged vellum and eventually by an anonymous voice over the telephone, the announcement now arrived by text message.
There was never a need to adjust schedules. Every member knew the date and time which, like the date of the announcement of the location never changed. Except when prevented by war or plague, a Night of Submission had been held on the evening of second Full Moon of each quarter beginning at 9 p.m. since that first one in 1517. Those who could, scheduled their attendance at the beginning of each year especially since within 24-hours of responding with their intention to attend each quarter an email arrived with travel and lodging reservations paid by The Circle.
The upcoming gathering would be at 2000 Astral Drive in Los Angeles. Like all venues selected for a Night of Submission, the home was borrowed for a 7-day period from owners who had no affiliation with The Circle and no knowledge of the purpose for which it would be used. In exchange for the inconvenience of surrendering their home for a week, the owners received a very generous rental fee and week-long all-expense-paid accommodations for themselves and their children, if they had children, at the 5-Star resort or hotel of their choice anywhere in the world. The site, a very large late-20th Century southern California modern on an exceptionally large walled and gated property atop one of the highest of the Hollywood Hills offered restricted access and complete privacy. The agenda for these ultra-secret sessions is always the same, the presentation in submission of an exceptional young straight adult male for the visual and interactive enjoyment of all, and as a one-use item to be auctioned off that evening.
When Michael arrived at the gate of the home high atop Nichols Canyon, he found it guarded by two muscular young men who from their stance and positioning were not just attractive showpieces. He knew their capabilities. He was also aware four more just like them were at their assigned posts around the property and that all of these young men had in recent years served very different purposes on nights such as this.
After exchanging pleasantries a guard told Michael where to park and with a smile wished him a nice evening. "I definitely intend to do that," Michael replied as the gate began to swing silently open. It had not yet come to a stop as his Tesla accelerated through and across a large stone-paved courtyard. I never tire of the view of L.A. from the hills at night, he thought while taking in the breathtaking sight of endless ribbons of streetlights stretching to the horizon as he guided his car slowly along a curving drive below the home's western-facing nearly all-glass faΓ§ade and slipped his car into line in front of those already parked. Car counting told him that about twenty-five people had already arrived.
After making his way around to the front of the house, Michael nodded to the guards stationed at either side of a walkway leading to the front door. Like the two identically dressed guards at the gate, it was obvious that these young men clad in black jeans, black short sleeve, button-down collar shirts, and ankle-high black Ferragamo boots with matching belts were as capable as they were decorative. Smiling, he strode up the wide flagstone walk to the front door, stopping once to reach out and stroke one of the dozens of Bird of Paradise stalks flanking either side of the walk.