Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, and as such, any similarities to real people, places or events are strictly coincidental. This work contains graphic depictions of a sexual nature between consenting adults. The story also refers to aspects of sexuality that may be offensive to certain people, such as BDSM, consensual humiliation and lesbian themes. If these topics offend you, then stop reading now, moving on to stories that you might better enjoy.
Kissing Cousins
is a multi-part work of fiction. Taking place in the late nineteenth century, it contains references to period customs and mannerisms and is written in a style closely resembling the age.
Enjoy!
Saphhia
*****
The sound was deafening out of a sound sleep, but I only just heard it as my eyes opened. The echo of the bang could still be heard reverberating throughout the house. We both sat up in a frightened stare, and we immediately worried that the worst had happened, and Eloise had found us.
"It's impossible! There is no way she could ever know of this place. Let us see what the noise was." Sarah rose from the bed, the fire still smoldering, and enough to warm the room to a tolerable temperature. Neither of us had a stitch on, so she donned a robe and made for the stairs. I could feel the temperature drop when she opened the doors to the passage, and I knew that the night was as cold as the one before it.
There was a muffled cry, and I feared that Sarah had been taken as she reached the bottom of the steps. I didn't know what to do. I ran for a small passage that led off the bedroom, it's dark stone walls tight against my skin, as I tried to hide from what surely must be Eloise, or her men. The passage must have been used by the servants at one time, and soon came to a winding staircase. I chose to go up, away from the noise that was emanating from below.
To my dismay, the stairway ended with the collapse of the tower, which left the remainder of the steps dangling in the air. I worried that where I stood was no more stable than that which had fallen away, so many years before. I looked down and could see the rubble left behind from the collapse, but I could also see a large carriage and several horses in front of the house. I had no choice but to retrace my steps downward.
A small window was opened due to the lack of glazing, and I made an attempt to exit the staircase there. If I was successful, I would be on a steeply slanting slate roof and there was no guarantee that I could ever gain purchase. I did manage to wriggle my way through, but just as I was about to pull my feet through the opening, someone caught hold of one. I placed my other foot against the wall of the turret, and tried desperately to pull away from the aggressor.
Although I was able to pull away, the force of the release catapulted me across the cold slate tiles, and as I was already moving, I was unable to keep myself from falling over the edge of the roof. It wasn't a disastrous fall, but it hurt a great deal when I struck the frozen ground. The air was knocked out of my lungs, and for a few moments I was unable to move at all.
The night air felt miserably cold against my naked body as I writhed in pain. If I did not get up soon, I knew that the men would be upon me and I would be taken prisoner, as Sarah had been. Forcing myself to rise, I limped into the shadow of the barns, which joined the corner of the house where I fell, slipping through into the empty stalls. There was no hay, or straw to cover myself with, so I improvised and pulled a large plank over myself and laid flat against the ground. I imagined it looked as though the wood laid directly on the ground, in the dim light afforded by the moonless night.
As I laid there, my face and body pressed flat into the peaty mud, I could hear the men searching for me. They were definitely English, so there was little doubt left in my mind that this Eloise. Eventually they were in the barn, and unlike myself, they had lanterns which lit their way. I prayed that my hiding place was sufficient to disguise my whereabouts. In the background, I could hear Sarah, screaming and crying as the men did whatever they would to her. I tried not to think about it.
"I didn't see her fall, but I know she can't have gone far." One the men exclaimed, as he entered quite near to me. "How far can a naked woman go in this cold, anyway. She will be dead by morning if we don't find her, and then we will have Madame Eloise to deal with when we return with only the red-haired bitch."
"Well, I had her foot, and she's as bald as a baby. I suppose Eloise did that to her?" They must be hired mercenaries, for everyone knew of my hairlessness at Markworth Hall. What a shock it must have been for him to see a young woman unclad and bald. I was on the verge of being captured and my thoughts were diverted thusly, I had no idea why. As they looked into the stall where I hid, I could hear the breathing of the man who entered. I held my own breath, for surely the mist from the cold would be so evident as to give me away.
Suddenly, there was a rush of cold air against my back, and I knew that the board had been lifted. I immediately tried to escape, but was surrounded by three men, all looking rather put off by appearance. I looked down to see that my skin was completely coated in dirt, and I looked positively wild. That and my bald head, must have been a bit much for them.
"If it were me, I would leave her. She's not much to look at, is she?" The one man remarked, berating me in the most poignant way.
"It is not ours to decide, Marcus. She is the quarry we seek, and Madame Eloise insisted she was the more important of the two." I was dragged out of the barns and escorted to the front of the house, where the carriage awaited. It was not a normal carriage by any means, and appeared to resemble an animal cage on wheels. It put me in mind of something one might see in a traveling circus.
In the dim light, I could see a form in the cage, and I knew it could only be Sarah. Her robe had been torn away, leaving her as naked and I. As the door was opened, she bolted towards the opening, only to be pushed back roughly by one the men holding me. I was quite literally tossed into the cage; the door being closed behind me with a loud clank of iron. I looked over at Sarah, who had an appearance well suited to our surroundings, her eyes wild and darting, as the reality of what had just occurred sank in.
So, my short taste of freedom was at an end. I was back in the control of my nemesis, Madame Eloise. To make matters worse, Sarah was with me and I feared for her wellbeing. Surely Eloise would be extremely harsh with her, for having stolen me. I huddled close to her, for comfort, but also for warmth, for the cold of the night was bitter against our nakedness. The cage was quite well stocked with straw, and I was able to pull some of it around us as we clung to each other.
Sarah was weeping for most of the night as we travelled, and I was doing my best to calm her. I myself, felt nothing and I was not certain why. Perhaps I was resigned to my fate, as I had once been while at Markworth. I wondered if I would once again be made into her pet. I shivered at the thought, but knew that it would most likely be so.
Daylight was starting to edge over the horizon, and the men stopped to lower tarps over the sides of the cage, so that we might not be exposed to bystanders as we travelled through villages and towns on our way southward. I think it was for their own protection as well, for surely they would be arrested for having two naked women so vilely exposed. The tarps quickly warmed the cage, and we were able to release each other and speak for the first time since our capture.
"Oh, Elizabeth, I am so sorry for having protected you so poorly." She mourned.
"I think little could have been done to protect me, cousin. Eloise has a long reach, and we would not have been safe from her, no matter what we had done." I leaned back on the side of the cage, the straw biting into my bare flesh, causing me to itch and chafe.
"Eloise will kill me, I know it." She cried.
"No, I think not, Sarah. She may be many things, but she is not a murderer, and she is certainly not wasteful. I think you will find yourself in a similar way as I, when we return. I have every confidence that I will be reduced to the status of 'pet', and you may well expect a similar fate." She buried her face in her hands, surely recalling my condition when she rescued me. "It is not as awful a fate as you might think." And I was not sure where those words came from, but perhaps I was much closer to accepting my role fully, than I ever realized.