This is chapter three of A Tangled Web. If you haven't already read chapters one and two then I urge you to do so first. At the very least you should read the disclaimer at the start of chapter one.
Enjoy...
Vera allowed herself a lie in. It had been nearly dawn when she had been led from Xui-Li's bed, given a light tunic to wear, blindfolded, and lightly restrained before being put in the carriage and, after another long and bumpy ride, returned to the town. When the carriage had finally stopped, she had been bundled into the street and her hands untied. Reaching for the blindfold, she had found that it was quite securely knotted and by the time she had removed it was only to see the rear of the carriage rattling off in the distance with a dark figure climbing aboard. She had stumbled over a bundle lying at her feet, which turned out to be her clothes, neatly wrapped and folded. Still, she could hardly get dressed out here by the side of the road so, so wearing nothing but the tunic, she slunk off the short distance through the sleeping streets to the tree, the one overhanging the fence, which she knew she could use to get back into the compound unnoticed.
When she had arrived at her billet, completely shattered, she had thrown off the tunic and collapsed exhausted into her bed, for once not even bothering with her nightgown and it was mere moments before she was fast asleep. Thus it was that, come mid-morning when she had finally woken up again, she was shocked to find that all she was wearing was the collar. Why had she been so indecorous as to sleep without a nightdress and why had she not thought to take the collar off as well? She knew she really ought to get up but, after the strains of the previous night, she felt she owed herself a few more minutes in bed. Wrapping the sheet around herself she lay back and thought things over.
Writing her report, well that was going to be much easier this time. She actually had some hard facts, some real intelligence. She felt a glow of pride on a job well done. Colonel Fortesque could never be allowed to know the price she paid but surely now he would start to appreciate her worth.
Far, far more complicated was how she felt about the price she was paying. In order to get this intelligence she had been forced to play Xui-Li's perverse games, to be her pet, her plaything, and had suffered the pain, and far worse, the humiliation that this had imposed on her. Why then did she not despise Xui-Li, why then did she not hate every inch of her? In her mind she replayed the shameful things she had been put through; it had certainly been a journey of extremes. She nearly gagged at the memory of some of the jobs she had been made to do at the club but, for all that they were disgusting, was the filth of the pig bins worse than the way they had treated her, the way she had been a nothing, the lowest of the low, at each and everyone's beck and call? Then there was her treatment at the house she had been taken to. The beautician and her assistant had acted as if she were a doll, an object; her wants and needs were certainly no part of their concerns. She hadn't even been consulted about the haircut.... With a gasp of horror she remembered the haircut and how short her hair had been left. She jumped out of bed, grabbed her dressing gown and went to to stare at her reflection in the mirror.
The face that stared back was a mess. She had been so exhausted the previous night that she hadn't bothered to clean off her make-up and now it was streaked across her face in smudges of black and white. At least the haircut, almost masculine in its shortness, wasn't too bad. In fact it was rather well done and, whilst extreme, a known 'rebel' like herself might get away with it given the current 'boyish' fashions. She went to her basin and gave herself a good wash, scrubbing her face clean. The cold water freshened her up and she returned to her dressing table to start getting ready for the day.
But it wasn't just the hair on her head that had been trimmed. She undid the belt of her gown and looked down at the neatly shaven triangle where her pubic hair had been. If anything symbolised her passive role it was this, the way they had shaved her most intimate areas without a by‑your‑leave; and the way that, having been shaved, it left her feeling open, exposed, vulnerable. She ran the tips of her fingers over the shaven skin; already it wasn't as smooth as it had been and she could feel that it would soon get rough and itchy. Either she was going to have to let it grow back out again or she was going to have to keep it shaven; she already knew which was the only available option as long as she was playing along as Xui-Li's pet. With a sigh she refastened her gown and turned back to her dressing table.
And then, as she applied her make-up, she remembered what had come next. This was a whole different kettle of fish. It had been strange sharing a bed with another woman; no one had even seen her naked since her schooldays, but there Xui-Li, after the harshness of the beatings, had shown a softer side and with the gentle touch of a skilled lover had led her, indeed, led both of them, to ecstasy. The memories of the feel of Xui-Li's body, her fingers, her tongue, the warmth, the closeness, the simple flesh on flesh.... Vera's whole body flushed at the memory. Whilst it had been strange and unnatural to share such intimate caresses with another woman, those caresses had released feelings within her that had carried her to heaven and back. And then, when it was all over, Xui-Li had simply held her, cuddled her, hugged her and, for all the unreality, she had felt safe, loved and cherished; feelings that had been missing for so long from her life.
Still this daydreaming would never do. She had to get on; she had a report to write.
*******
"Well, this is much better than last time," Colonel Fortesque commented as he read through the report. "Rebel activity up river. Thirty or forty new recruits. Some woman called 'the crane' in command. Pity you couldn't have got a real name. Still, I'll have some enquiries made, see if they can back up your story and, maybe next time, you can get a name for me. There will be a next time, won't there?"
"Thank you, sir," Vera replied, "and yes, I'm sure there is more I can find out. I'm getting to be quite accepted there."
"So no wrestling this time?" Colonel Fortesque continued, flicking back and forth through the report. "What do you girls do all night?
"Just idle chatter, sir. You know how we girls like to talk." Vera hated saying this but it helped to gloss over what had really happened.
"Talk, eh, well, you girls are certainly good at that. This Madam Hong, is she the sort that only likes girls? A bit... err... mannish, is she?" Colonel Fortesque asked.
"I'm not sure what you mean, sir," Vera replied, ducking the question.
"Maybe not, an innocent little thing like you, maybe not, but if Madam Hong... if she should make any... advances towards you. Well, let me know, will you. You are under my care, you're my responsibility at the end of the day and I do need to know all the details."
"Details, sir?"
"Yes, I appreciate that some of it may get a bit... personal but I need to know so that I can judge if you're getting into any... moral danger. If there's any more wrestling, for instance, or anything... unseemly let me know, will you?" Colonel Fortesque seemed to be getting quite red in the face.
"I did see two of the girls holding hands and they seemed to be acting very friendly towards each other." Vera couldn't resist saying.
"Yes, quite, any of that sort of thing; girls that seem a little too friendly, maybe." Colonel Fortesque was now quite short of breath. He seemed to get a grip on himself, and closed the file and put it in his filing tray. "Yes, indeed, very interesting. Fine, young lady, thank you, that will be all. You can return to your post now."
As Colonel Fortesque got up from his desk to show her to the door Vera couldn't help but notice the bulge in his britches. Silly old fool: how innocent did he think she was?
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