This is the 7th part of a 12 part tale of a Lady and her stable of slaves
7. Slaves' Slave
Jared was 'deposited' and left without a word by Edward in the basement of the manor. He remained naked as his clothes had not been brought along, either through an oversight by Edward or as a deliberate display of pique. Or, Jared wondered, as possibly to more starkly emphasize his new circumstance and status. He was still dazed by all that had just occurred. That Deanna might not be pleased, and even be furious at his unexpected reappearance in her life was something he had accepted, and for which he had tried to be mentally prepared. He would have been devastated but not entirely surprised if she had immediately insisted that he get out and never come back. But she had not done that. She had made it a point that she would not tell him or force him to leave, even as she made it very clear that she did not want and would not have anything whatsoever to do with him. He would have to make that decision to go himself. But the conditions under which he would be allowed to stay, if he so decided, were something beyond his direst imaginings. He would be a slave, not to the only person to whom he would ever be willing or desire to be enslaved, but instead to four strangers, men who themselves all had the privilege of which Deanna had just vowed that HE would never again be granted ... to be HER slave.
This was definitely not something that Jared would ever have conceived of wanting. There was nothing remotely romantic, erotic or even caring about it. It was purely and solely enforced and unquestioning servitude and labor for people to whom he had no wish to be subject. She had said that he could end it at any time, even before it began, by simply leaving. But it was not so simple. To do so would forever sever any dreams he might have of being with her, and he just couldn't bring himself to do that. Not again. Not without trying. If this was the condition she set for him to have any place in her life, however minuscule and debased, he would grab it and try to prove himself to her. If he failed, and if she continued to want nothing more from him than to be out of her life for good, it would not be for the lack of his determined effort. And maybe, just maybe ...
Jared banished and walled off that last thought deep within him. It would not help his situation to have such thoughts so readily evident. He began to more seriously contemplate his lot. He could understand why Edward would be so angry, feeling both betrayed and played and himself now subject to his Lady's displeasure. That had never been Jared's intention. Indeed he had never truly planned for any such return and had honestly tried to resist when as a bolt out of the blue it had first been proposed. But he had been overcome by Edward's gentle persuasion and his own deeply buried but overwhelming yearnings and dreams.
He wondered as well about the other three 'slaves'. From Edward's blog he knew names, but whether these were their real names he couldn't be sure. Jared suspected though that Edward's description of them and their duties and life here were probably reasonably true. How would they all react to him? Would they hold him in contempt for what he had done to their Lady? And to Edward? Or even worse, would they view him as a threat and do everything they could to drive him away? He shuddered at the many possibilities even as he again resolved to try to see it all through.
To calm himself he began to survey his surroundings. In his blog Edward had described it as more of a playroom, and in truth it really wasn't the classic S&M dungeon. There were a few items that did reflect the manor's nature. In the center of the room there was a winch with several hanging chains, surrounded by a number of floor and ceiling hooks. In one far corner there was a four foot square steel kennel like cage, and in the other corner there was a pair of wooden stocks. What was conspicuous by their absence however was the lack of any evidence of whips, crops, paddles or canes. Thankfully, as Jared remembered, this had not been one of Deanna's particular interests. There was also a scarcity of places to sit. Except for one small wooden stool there was only one large leather easy chair that was on a small slightly raised platform against the near wall. There could be little doubt for whose use that chair was reserved. With no idea how long he would be waiting before someone came for him, Jared sat down on the wooden stool.
With increasing anxiety he sat in silence as one hour passed onto well over two. Finally he heard the door above open and he jumped off the chair and made his way to stand in the middle of the room as four men with Edward in the lead came down the steps. They paused at the bottom to regard him, and then led again by Edward they walked forward slowly, stopping several feet from him, the other three spreading out behind Edward to form a small semicircle. They continued to stare at him, their faces for the most part impassive. His ongoing nakedness was now so much more utterly humiliating under the stern scrutiny of these clothed unknown men than it had ever been before Deanna. He felt that they were looking at him as if he was some repulsive insect that had to be crushed. The silence stretched on for over a minute before Edward coldly spoke.
"It would be best for everyone involved of course if you decided right now to just take your things and go." He let that sentiment hang for a moment. "It is what everyone, most of all the Lady wants." he continued. As once again there was no response from Jared, he went on. "But the Lady has also made it explicitly clear that none of us are allowed or should do anything to physically force you to go, and of course ... we obey." Another long pause before he again proceeded. "But as she also declared to you, there are strict conditions that you must meet for as long as you persist in remaining. You can only stay here solely and simply as a slave, to be used as such by each and all of us in front of you. You will answer to any and all of us with unquestioning, immediate and total obedience, and the only reward you will ever be granted is to be allowed to proceed onto you next ordered task. Any actual or even perceived dereliction will result in necessary correction, which as none of us here wish to waste our time or energy in corporeal activities, will instead be meted out by having you spend the very little time that will be allotted to you for rest at night be spent in some of the ... accommodations ... you see down here." he added nodding toward the cage and then the stocks. He again waited another moment to let that be absorbed.
"Your life here will be one purely of work and drudgery." he continued. "There will be no attempt or desire by any of us to have you find any comfort or solace. While you undoubtedly will hear us call each other by our names, you will only refer to each of us as 'Sir' ... or in one particular case," he added nodding at Abel, "as 'Ma'am'. Unfortunately," he went on, "it may be unavoidable that your presence might from time to time cross the path of the Lady. You will make every effort to evade those possible times, but should they occur you will immediately cast your eyes down and away from her and try to make yourself as insignificant and invisible as possible. Under no circumstances should you ever attempt to address her. In her eyes you do not exist, and that is how you will act."
Edward took a deep breath and sighed. This had all been very distasteful to him and he wanted nothing more than for it all to be over. He would never be able to forgive himself for how he had failed his Lady. Still, he could only pray that this part of it could end now. "So these are the conditions that must be met for you to remain. If they are not then you will be punished. But of course you are free to leave ... forever ... at any time. Would you like to leave now?" he concluded hopefully.
Jared called on every bit of inner strength he had within him. There was really no choice for him to make, at least not yet.
"No Sir." he answered softly.
"I was afraid of that." Edward sighed. "Alright then we'll do it the hard way, although I strongly suspect it going to be much harder for you than for us. Follow me." With that Edward turned and started up the stairs. The others made no move, but Jared had been given an order, and he now had no choice but to immediately obey.
The Lady had indeed made it very clear to them, when they had been gathered to her, of what she wanted and expected of the 'new circumstances', even as it was not entirely clear yet to herself. She had declared that Jared was to be used but not physically abused, and she had meant that in more ways than one. He was to be worked however, and worked hard, and treated and regarded at all times as nothing more than a slave. Their slave. They were to make sure that she never had anything to do with him, and that she have as little contact with him as possible. She left the details and any extensive explanations for all of this, as far as he knew them, to Edward. She left little uncertainty for any of them though of how she desired it all to end. She wanted this new slave gone, but the decision to leave had to come from him.
Edward led Jared up to the first floor and to the back of the house to a small 8 by 8 foot room adjacent to the laundry area. Except for some storage of laundry supplies stacked in the corner, it had basically been unused. Now there was a small mattress on the floor with a pair of folded sheets and one blanket on top of it. The only other piece of furniture in the room was a small wooden stool, like the one in the basement, on top of which was a folded pair of gray trousers, a gray tee shirt, a pair of white socks, and a pair of white briefs. At the foot of the stool was a pair of old sneakers.
