Katrina had gone home. But before she left, she'd invited Mindi to come over and spend the night. "Recover a little first. Pull yourself together. When you're ready, come on over. Don't use the front door. Go through the gate to the back yard. I have something special planned before we go to sleep."
Once Katrina had left, Mindi checked the time. It was nearly midnight. Katrina had informed her that she'd been in the ropes for a little over three hours. "It's a good beginning. There may come times in the future where you spend eight or ten hours tied up. If we continue on, of course."
Mindi used the restroom and cleaned herself up a bit. She picked up the clothes she'd dropped on the floor and threw them in the washer, but resolved to wait until tomorrow to run the load. She put away the dishes Katrina had washed and sent e-mails to Eleanor and Brianna, apologizing for not answering when they'd stopped by, and informing them that she might not be available for a few more days.
Mindi decided not to get dressed for her overnight stay at Katrina's. She didn't expect to be wearing many clothes once she got there, so bringing them was pretty pointless. For the walk next door, Mindi would wear her robe.
She hurried through the chores, and as soon as possible, stepped out the back door and closed it behind her. Katrina had a spare key, so Mindi didn't bother to bring her own. Quickly, she rushed to Katrina's gate and let herself through.
Her backyard was very well-lit and much larger than Mindi's own. Katrina lived in the corner lot and there was more space to spread out. She had a good-sized swimming pool and a picnic table in the yard, and flush against the house was a huge doghouse, large enough for a Great Dane. Mindi looked around warily for a dog, but saw no signs of one.
Checking out the doghouse itself, Mindi was surprised to discover her own name freshly painted over the arched opening. Katrina must have done this while Mindi had writhed in her ropes on the living room floor. A shiver went through her to realize that this might be her bedroom for the night, and possibly for many more nights.
Crouching down, Mindi crawled into the doghouse. There was a large, round cushion on the concrete floor and a small, red envelope on the cushion, also with her name printed on it. Opening this envelope, Mindi found a short note from Katrina.
Mindi was instructed to take off whatever clothes she was wearing and throw them over the fence into her own yard. She was also informed that the back wall of the doghouse held a door that opened into the basement of the main house. Mindi was to come in by that door once she was properly attired.
Assuming that 'properly attired' meant her birthday suit, Mindi rushed to obey, shedding the robe and flinging it over the tall fence. She hurried back into the doghouse, but took a moment to look around before using the rear door. This doghouse had clearly been designed as a slave's bedroom and Katrina had obviously prepared it for Mindi's use, which thrilled her no end. A small shelf held a clean mug, a hot pot, and a box of tea bags. The doghouse was equipped with an electrical socket and a water spigot so that a slave could make herself a cup of tea if she wished. In addition to the cushion, a folded blanket lay on the floor near the back.
Mindi was tempted to lie right down and sleep in her degradation, but Katrina was waiting. She found the rear door, unlatched it, and went through the low opening, into the harshly lit room on the other side. The doorway deposited Mindi at the top of a narrow, padded ramp descending along one wall into a large and wonderfully equipped dungeon.
Shackles dangled from the bare cinderblock walls. A large wooden platform, with tall, round posts stood in the dungeon's center. It had clearly been designed for the restraint of a human form. In the back corner were two sets of medieval-style stocks, where a slave could be bent over at the waist and have her head and wrists locked in place. Connected to one wall by a hose was a shallow, stainless steel hospital tub with a shower head. Mindi's delighted eyes also made out a tall metal stand with a dangling hook, and what looked like a low, narrow gymnasts' balance beam. Mindi was in Heaven.
"Welcome," Katrina was standing by the slave platform, smiling up at Mindi as she crawled down the ramp. "We're not starting just yet, but I thought you might like to see the dungeon."
"It's gorgeous! What's the balance beam for?"
"I bend you over it and tie your arms to your legs. Then I have my wicked way with you."
"Is that what you're doing to me tonight?" Mindi's heart was pounding at the thought of it.
"Oh no. You'll be finding out soon enough. First we'll go upstairs and have a beer."
Mindi crawled to the ground level and stood up to follow Katrina up the stairs into her kitchen. "I don't really like beer" she said, but the remark was ignored until they were seated at the table with a couple of open bottles.
"I need you to relax a little. Your hands are trembling. And believe me, the next game will be much easier if you get a little buzz going first.
"I can handle it," Mindi promised.
"It will be easier for me," Katrina said.
Mindi wasn't sure how she felt about that comment, but Katrina wouldn't explain. It sounded like she was psyching herself up to really torture Mindi. That was scary and wonderful all at once. And it made Mindi remember something that had to be discussed before the torture began.
"Mistress, I'll obey you. I'll drink the beer, but.-"
"Beers," Katrina corrected. "Both of these are for you."
"I'll drink the beers. But may I say something about the safe word?"
"Yes, of course," Katrina sighed." We need to pick one, don't we? It should be a tune you can hum in case you're gagged."
"No, Mistress, please. It has to be real. You can't put me in chains and then give me the key to get out of them. I don't want a safe word. Not ever."
Katrina stared at her for a long time. Nodding slowly, she gestured for Mindi to drink up. "We'll compromise," she said finally. "You and I will trust each other. But from time to time, I may be lending you out to others. At these times, you will have a safe word. No argument. I will protect my property. It can be unique to each occasion and forgotten immediately afterward so it does not threaten my control over you. Will that work for you?"
Mindi liked the compromise and promised to use the safe words if any of Katrina's friends went too far. Grateful for Katrina's understanding, Mindi finished the beer as quickly as possible and started on the second.
