"Evelyn, meet Jack."
As June introduced them, Jack went into a deep, yet stiff bow to Evie.
"An honor to meet you, my lady," he said in a monotone voice.
"Uh, same," said Evie, seeming unconvinced of herself.
June let out a sigh of exasperation.
"You two are a match made in heaven, I tell you. Now, Evelyn, darling, you know what the first step of forming your dynamic is, but before that, I have some logistics to go over with you both."
Evie blushed a bit. She did know what the first step was.
"Jack did not grow up in Lythe, so you may find him a little more rowdy than a well-bred Lythian male, but I believe you will be up to the challenge," said Evie's mother. "The stables that he comes from seem to have done a decent job of taming him, but there still may be work to do."
Evie looked startled. Not growing up in Lythe implied that he came here as some sort of spoil of war or as a refugee due to any of the various wars that Lythe was directly or indirectly involved in. While her mother was certainly not a pacifist, it seemed strange that June would have chosen such a potentially controversial match. Even more unusual was that she chose someone who did not come from noble breeding.
"Now, I'll leave you two to begin the dynamic-forming process in the privacy of your room," said June pointedly to Evie.
Evie got up out of the office chair, and looked a bit sheepishly at Jack, beckoning him to follow her. They left the office and walked back up the stairs to her chambers.
When they entered the room, Evie saw a hefty leather-bound book on her vanity that read TRAINING MANUAL FOR MALES. Evie knew the book well--all throughout her secondary schooling she was taught from that book, which was the country-wide standardized text on household formation and training of servants.
Speaking of the servant--he was standing, looking around the elaborately decorated bedroom, still naked save for the collar and leash, which was hanging down his lean body.
"Here, let me," Evie said to him as she reached to detach the leash from his simple black collar. The collar had to remain on, for a male could be imprisoned if spotted improperly collared.
Jack tensed up at her light touch on his neck. Evie dropped the leash on the floor, trying not to take his clear unenthusiasm personally. She knew that the fairytale image of your First Boy being hopelessly in love and attracted to you was unrealistic, but barely suppressed revulsion was not what she expected.
You're the one in charge here. Just, you know, be a mistress to him, Evie thought to herself.
Easier said than done. She never really identified with the way the best mistresses were portrayed on television as ruthless, all-powerful women whose slaves were conditioned through fear first, and then love. Most women in Lythe were not that way, but the pressure to live up to that ideal image was strong.
He's probably expecting that of me, too. Especially since he grew up elsewhere, the image of a Lythian woman as cruel and hateful was rife in their enemy kingdoms.
"Hey, listen. This may not be the most ideal of circumstances, but I can't do much about it," Evie said, going over to open up the training manual to the chapter called FIRST MEETING: INSPECTION.
The opening paragraph read:
When you first meet your First Boy, the traditional way to begin the formation of your power dynamic, is through a thorough inspection of your new servant. This is to ensure that he meets your standards both physically and mentally, and to test his obedience training. If he does not meet your standards, then the subject may be returned to his original stables. The inspection also serves as an excellent way to assert your dominance over the male and to begin to establish your power in the relationship, for an inspection often leaves males feeling submissive and humiliated.
The rest of the chapter focused on great detail on how to properly inspect the male and how the woman should assert her dominance. However, Evie didn't need the rest of the book, for her schooling drilled the rituals and procedures into her brain.
"You can address me as the following: my lady, mistress or Lady Evelyn. Anything else will not be accepted," she said.
"Yes, mistress," Jack said, eyes on the plush carpeting.
"Good. Now, the first thing I'm supposed to do to you is inspect you, to gauge your suitability for me," Evie said, trying to sound confident. Jack just nodded in response.
"I require verbal responses, Jack," Evie added.
"Yes, mistress," Jack replied.
Evie walked closer to Jack so that she was facing him. Without her shoes, Jack stood at least 8 inches taller than her. She looked up into his dark brown eyes, trying to read his face for any sign of emotion. He only looked distant, as if he had shut down in some way. Well, Evie embraced a challenge. And getting a reaction out of this boy was one she was ready take on.
Feeling a little more confident now that she had a goal in mind, Evie drew her finger down his hairless chest, feeling the outline of his lightly defined muscles. She drew her fingers up again, brushing them against his pert nipples.
