The Lady Ch 01

She had now ignored him for 5 days and he felt weak, hollow and disheartened. Not since he had known Her had he ever felt like breaking away from Her total mental confinement but this amount of time away from any contact with Her was tearing him apart. Time seemed to drag and drag as he went about his normal life, wanting Her, waiting for Her, needing Her, aching for Her -- but She was gone.

-0-

A week passed, now a whole 7 days since he had last spoken to Her on the phone -- the very last contact he had with Her. She gave no impression during their call that She was going to leave or punish him and he could only assume that it was the result of some saved retribution from the past for some crime against Her that he had long forgotten. She never forgot or truly forgave. She was always ahead of him, despite his own high intelligence. She always managed, somehow, to manipulate everything around him to Her own benefit but She had never, ever, been this cruel to him in the past.

-0-

Now he couldn't even remember how long it had been since he had not heard from Her. Walking home from work slouched and depressed, rain beating against his face and saturating his clothes he felt the unbearable pain building in him again. Tears started to burn his eyes and scour his cheeks. There had been occasions in the past when She had total control and power of him when he would have done anything for Her, absolutely anything at all. Walking in the rain would have been easy to him then, but now he struggled to move one foot in front of the other. She had left him and he was alone.

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Her large, brand new expensive black saloon car prowled to a growling halt in the kerbside on the corner of the road he had to cross. She knew he would pass within minutes; it was his regular route home from work. She had trained him to walk this way every day so that She would always be able to find him at Her whim without his knowledge. Rain pelted against the sheet of glass in front of Her partially obscuring Her view. She knew if She operated the wipers it would distract him and he would see Her. She sat still, observing him intently. She watched him meandering along the sodden pavement, droplets of water bouncing off his shoulders, heavy legged and soaking wet. Surely he must be drunk, he could barely walk. She had never seen him look quite so unwell, his eyes were deeply sunken into his face, and his skin was so grey.

"Get ready..." She whispered into Her earpiece microphone, "he is on his way".

She watched him pass, as Her heart ached deep within Her. She knew She had hurt him now and seeing his obvious pain She wanted to reach out and comfort him but that wasn't part of Her plan.

-0-

Reaching the pedestrian crossing at the bottom of the hill he waited for the red outline of a stickman to flash green. Rush hour traffic thundered past him, fellow workers making their way home to their happy lives. Staring out into the waterlogged tarmac he wanted to lurch forwards. End it all now. Life is pointless. She is gone.

-0-

The timing was impeccable and the weeks of planning had paid off. Her car swept to a stop at the junction at the bottom of the hill just as the large black 4x4 pulled up to the traffic lights. She watched him stumble forwards and the green light flashed glaringly through the rain. Briefly he was out of Her view. She checked Her rear view mirror. Dipped headlights were approaching the rear of Her vehicle from higher up the hill. Timing. It must be right. She saw the door of the black 4x4 swing open and one of Her guards haul his hulking body out of the vehicle. There were no other pedestrians around. Good. No witnesses. The rain and position of the crossing point made it almost impossible for anyone in a passing car to see what was happening. She thought he may struggle but he almost fell into Her guards huge arms. No struggle. No protest. He had given up.

As the headlights behind Her grew closer She watched him being bundled into the back of the guard vehicle and watched it sliding away in front of Her. She pulled out behind it and kept a distance suitable for tailing them. Another set of traffic lights ahead. She knew he couldn't try to escape from the vehicle in front of Her. The doors were locked in advance. Only Her guards could let him out.

"Is he okay?" She whispered into Her earpiece again. "You didn't hurt him, did you?"

"Yes, Mistress. He is fine... cold and wet but fine." American accent replied.

-0-

Both black vehicles, which were brand new, unregistered and untraceable slowed to a stop on the gravel driveway of Her new home. She peered back to the huge iron gates to ensure that they had automatically closed behind Her car. Silently they swung to their sealed position.

She peered forwards watching them removing him from the 4x4. The biggest of the guards now swept him up onto his own broad shoulders and carried him, his body limp like a rag-doll. They must have drugged him, She thought. They must have had trouble along the way. The guards knew that if they beat him, or caused him any harm that She would be able to drop them into seriously hot water with the local mob. She owned them too. They were Her guards and lackeys.

The towering doors to the house swung open and Her butler-slave moved aside to let the guards pass with him. She gestured to Her butler-slave and he scurried out in the rain carrying Her large black silk umbrella to keep Her dry as She made Her way across the driveway and into the house.

"Mistress, you have three mess...." Her butler-slave tried to speak.

"I do NOT want to be disturbed. NO calls! NO anything! I will call if I need you!" She snapped cutting him off mid-sentence.

Her butler-slave took Her long leather coat and driving gloves and watched as She strode out past him and into Her private quarters.

The guards were now walking towards Her. The width of both of them practically filling the large spacious hallway. She continued walking regardless. They were in Her way and they will move for Her. She cast a gaze at the American, and raised one eyebrow quizzically.

"Waiting in your quarters, Mistress", the guard replied to Her unspoken question.

-0-

She marched into Her private apartment which was only accessible through this one huge jet black door. She closed the door behind Her and punched a code into the key pad locking it behind Her.

"Lights?!" She demanded as She continued to walk forwards.

A sequence of small lights, positioned in the floor, walls and ceiling followed Her movement through the second hallway keeping Her bathed in just the right amount of light. As She moved ahead the lights trailed off behind Her, the hallway falling into darkness again.

She entered an oval expanse at the end of the long door less hallway and stood for a moment composing Herself. She looked at each of the 5 large identical black doors ahead of Her and quickly ran Her plan through Her mind as She had a thousand times already today.

Stopping at the huge granite statue in the centre of the oval expanse She smiled a sweet smile and stroked the head of huge stone wolf as it stood in front of Her, almost lifelike but much larger than any wolf She had ever seen. Pausing momentarily She closed Her eyes and felt Her inner power well inside Her. She straightened Herself, flexed Her fingers inside the leather gloves and purposefully made Her way to the centre door.

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