Gotta Pay The Piper Ch 59

I thought about what Serena said. She was so adamant she was wrongly convicted that I sat back and considered her position. I could understand how she reached her conclusions. I hoped she would opt to not appeal. Beth's reputation would suffer. Serena also knew enough about the garden parties, calling on Krewe members to testify would publicize their activities and would make things very messy for a lot of people.

I didn't give a damn about the Krewe's hidden secrets being exposed. In fact, I disliked the whole concept of the garden parties, not to mention the auxiliary, and would like to see them shut down. But, because I was in the minority, I kept my opinion to myself.

When Beth called me to ask if I'd go with her for her appointment with Helen LeBlanc, I agreed. I picked her up at her office, and as we rode along, I told her about my conversation with Ellie and later, Serena. "Beth, I do NOT want you to come down on Serena because she opened up to me. I know Serena belongs to you, but I don't want any of my girls to ever think they cannot come to me with honest concerns, understood?"

Beth immediately got flustered. "I wouldn't do that, Bas! I want you to know I really had not intended to provoke Serena into attacking me. Nor did I have the slightest intention to enslave her. I'll admit, I wanted her to feel some real emotional pain in return for what she'd done to me in the past and what she intended to do as soon as she could find a way. I wanted her to feel broken. I knew just the idea that her whole career was gone would do that."

"At the time, I lied. Her boss had no idea what was going on. Yeah, I played it up big-time when I said I'd told him all about her cheating, but I hadn't. I wanted her to piss her pants. I wanted her to hurt when she realized her actions had destroyed her career. All her boss really knew was she was taking some vacation time. He didn't find out what happened until well after she accepted her plea and was collared. He was notified she would not be returning and the reason why."

"What I'd planned to do was, after she fell into a chair bawling about how her career was over, I'd ask her how it felt. Then I'd admit I hadn't really told her boss a thing, but I sure as hell would if she ever said a word to my kids. It never got that far, and she didn't react like I'd anticipated. Guess my ability to read people was on vacation that day."

"But Serena is correct about a few other things she said. I never really protested Susan, Crystal, and her sharing photos or videos of me. I did beg them a few times to not take pictures, but when they told me 'Tough shit", I backed down quickly. I also asked them to only show each other those pictures. When they said they'd show anybody they wanted, I backed down once again. They all insisted on showing their trophies. Susan had quite a display across her living room wall. There is no telling how many visitors saw those pictures and were told the story. Does that make me a total chickenshit for complaining now?" Beth asked.

Her gaze told me she was waiting for my response. I tried to shrug and avoid a direct response. She demanded a verbal answer. "Well, it does not say much for you," I said. "I understand you wanted payback for the way they treated you, but I'm not sure adding years to a woman's slavery was the right way to go about it." She nodded and didn't say another word until we arrived at the DA's office.

She asked Helen for her opinion. "As far as the law is concerned, it's like having consensual sex several times with the same person and then deciding you didn't want to the next time. It is rape if you are forced into it," Helen explained. "In my personal opinion, in that rape scenario, if you say no but stay lying there, not to mention spreading your legs, you are giving permission despite your words."

"Now, you may feel you were a bit unfair to complain about something you permitted in the past, but I want to point out each one of these women had adequate counsel. Those two attorneys certainly knew better. Their telling Serena and Brook they didn't care if you gave permission or not is what sunk their case. It proved their intent to not even ask."

"But what do you think personally? Not just your legal opinion. What do you think about what I did concerning Serena?" Beth asked Helen, glancing towards me. "In the past, I let them taking compromising photos of me totally slide. Then I did the same with the distribution of those pictures." Beth said. She snorted, "Let it slide my ass! I totally backed down from anything those dominant women wanted to do to me. I knew they shared every one of those pictures among themselves. By not protesting, I more or less gave them permission. Was what I did to Serena when she sent the fake pictures to those same women wrong?"

"I'll put it this way. You were within your rights legally to file a complaint. Serena sending those photos to two other women was certainly wrong, but if I had known you'd permitted it in the past and to the extent you did, I might not have pursued those charges against Serena."

"Now, do NOT start admitting that, looking back on it, you might also have deliberately provoked Serena that day. Not unless you want to be wearing a collar yourself. She should not have reacted violently. That was on her. She did commit physical assault, but again, if you'd told me you DELIBERATELY tried to provoke her into any kind of physical reaction, I might not have pursued charges the way I did. In that case, I'd have gone with a lower charge that would have resulted in a fine, or at most, a judicial strapping."

"But from what you told me before and what you just affirmed, that was not the case. You had not consciously set out to provoke Serena into a violent response. I am comfortable with her conviction for the assault," Helen concluded.

"You have a similar situation with Ariel Simpson and Sheila Brock. They started beating on you when you announced plans for tattoos and removing their body hair. You knew full well they would be upset, but I'm sure you did not expect to goad them into attacking. Even if provoked, slaves cannot attack a free person no matter the circumstances. Their being slaves turned what might have been a two or three-year enslavement, like Brook and Serena, into a life sentence."

"They wouldn't get the death penalty, would they?" I asked. "Or getting something cruel done to them, like having their clits ablated? I know violent male slaves can be emasculated."

"There is not an effective way to curb violent females. That nerve ablation of the clitoris or even the vaginal nerves is pretty much reserved for aggravated sexual assault. I know it was mentioned when you took Lana and her rapist partners down, but it is rarely levied. I doubt you'd ever see it happen unless a woman had relations with a young child," Helen said.

"And the purpose of the chemical castration isn't to punish by removing sexual pleasure or transform the body. Those are side effects. The goal is to curb violent impulses," Helen explained.

"The reason I wanted to review our position is both Ariel and Sheila are fighting their convictions. Rather, they are trying to mitigate their sentences and hoping for only a minimal extension. They may also attempt to argue their original conviction using those same arguments you gave me a little while ago. They are surely aware women have kept your signed panties as trophies, and nude photos of you are spread all over town. If they do, your history as a submissive will be exposed. They may even try to enter your prior sexual activity with them at Krewe parties into court records. If they went that route, they'd be able to call witnesses. While very embarrassing for you, that defense will not go far."

"Their defense is going to be that you want revenge for those past interactions and provoked them with 'deliberation and intent' to extend their sentences." Helen said, "At the very least, they want the judges to consider mitigating circumstances."

"That defense is about their only chance short of you voluntarily addressing the court, begging the court's consideration on their behalf. I'll bet the judges, and there will be three on the panel, are not going to accept that a pair of lawyers didn't realize they were violating the law nor that they didn't know the consequences. No matter the provocation or circumstances, they are going to be held to a higher standard."

"They have not asked for you to be present to testify. That tells me they are reluctant to put you on the stand and confront you directly because that would open the door for me to cross-examine you and possibly turn the narrative around. As their owner, you have the right to be present in the court. You can let your and the other witnesses' statements stand, which is what I'd suggest given your present frame of mind. If I call you to testify, they can question you as well. Your history will be exposed."

"If you feel a little remorse about what happened, I can always tell the court you expressed your desire for a mid-range punishment because you were not hurt badly. I can make it sound like you are a decent person who feels her slaves don't deserve to be burned to the ground for a momentary indiscretion. According to the law, that isn't a reason to spare a slave, but it might appeal to the judges to offer some leniency."

"Do you think the judges will accept that line of bullshit?" Beth asked. "They won't think I am trying to hide?"

"Sure, they'll accept it. I'll tell them that despite what the defendants stated, you had no intention to prolong their sentences. You said that you would have had ample opportunity to punish them for their original actions against you. Adding a few years to that sentence for assaulting you will teach them enough of a lesson to not do it again. Because so many slave owners would quickly demand the full penalty, the judges will be even more convinced of your sincerity." Helen said. "They have their limitations on how lenient they can be as well as how harsh."

"We'll have a closed court hearing tomorrow morning. Only witnesses, accused parties, and the media will be allowed inside the courtroom. The media will be allowed because of the type of case. Anytime a slave assaults a free person, it gets a lot of publicity. The general public is restricted to prevent problems. The session will be short. I'll bet you'll have the two women turned back over to you by lunch," Helen predicted. "Have clothing for them to wear home."

"Beth," Helen said quietly, "Don't let your guilt over how you 'MIGHT HAVE' treated Serena unfairly affect the case against Ariel and Sheila. Those two knew better. They deserve whatever they get."

"I'll also say this next bit as a friend. I understand what Serena did to you and its long-term effects. I think you should seek some professional therapy to deal with it. If you feel too much guilt, you can ask me to go through the courts to vacate Serena's conviction, but you will have to make that decision soon. It would be a change of mind after the fact. The court will not like it, but we could get it done. I mean her distributing pornographic material as well. We could say you simply had a change of heart and it might pass scrutiny."

"But if the court asks you to testify to explain your reasoning and you admit to provoking her deliberately and then agree that in the past, you allowed those three women to share nude or pornographic photos and videos of you between them, but this time you decided to punish Serena for the same offense, you might find yourself on the wrong side of the law. And believe me, Serena will certainly testify that is exactly what you did. Your actions got her fired, and Serena would have a good civil case against you. She might even have a criminal case if she demonstrates intent to enslave. I'm sure you don't want to risk belonging to her as a slave." Beth shook her head, her eyes suddenly wide and frantic at the possibility.

"Even if she did not go through the courts to pursue any of that, do you trust Serena to not come after you some time in the future to target you, with or without her friends, and try to take you down and teach you a lesson?" Helen asked. Beth shook her head. "Well, I'm being practical here. I don't like the bitch. And privately, I am not overly happy with you. I'd whip your ass raw right now if I could. You'd deserve it for opening this up." Beth whimpered and nodded.

"Now what I recommend is you let it go. Keep your misgivings to yourself and keep Serena as your slave. If you really want to let her off, you can apply to reduce her sentence by half in a few years. Instead of the five years she has now, she'd serve two and a half. Also, since she would be your slave, she could never come back and retaliate against you in any way in the future. If you move to get her conviction vacated, she could do something. You would be a free target. Do you understand what I am saying?" Helen asked. Beth nodded.

Helen smiled at me. "Bas, I can almost see those wheels spinning in your head. This is a case where there is a bit of a conflict between the law, justice, and practicality."

Serena eyed me warily when I came home with Beth. I was sure she wondered if I'd turned her in and Beth was going to unfairly punish her. Beth had already said she was going to avoid her. I suggested she just try to act normal. "Normal? I'm not sure I can. In the not too distant past, normal meant I'd grovel in front of her. I tried to create a new normal with me grinning at her and reminding her I won. I'm not sure I can do that if she accuses me of setting her up in front of the others. I'm afraid I'll fold or start babbling and look like a fool."

--

"I wondered if part of her didn't want to provoke Serena into some kind of stupid and violent reaction in that meeting in front of two attorneys and knowing events were being recorded." Lenore said later in my office, where we could talk privately. "I'd had the impression Beth was fighting the woman, if only in her own mind. In a fight, you take unfair advantage. But I tend to agree with what Helen said: no way can Beth back down. She has to ride the horse she saddled." Lenore said, "At the same time, I'm not sure we can let Beth go unpunished. She was cruel. I feel like she deserves to suffer some kind of penalty. I'll bet she thinks so too, and it would alleviate some of her guilt."

I shook my head. "Don't you think that may be counterproductive? We are trying to get her out of her submissive mindset," I offered.

"Not exactly," Lenore said, shaking her head. "I doubt we'll ever do that. Her submissiveness is too ingrained, just like it is with me. We are just trying to curb it to keep her life on track and become more situationally dominant."

"I like the idea of her owning and managing slaves. It is a new experience for her. Legally, she owned Ellie and Barb, but since they lived together more as partners than anything else, they managed her as much as the other way around." Lenore paused to gather her thoughts. "I'm still very much a submissive at heart. My run-in with Liz and the others proved that. It could have turned out far differently, and if she, Martha and Julie had not gotten ahead of themselves and enlisted those slaves to assault me, I might have fallen, simply seduced into submitting to one of the women. That realization scared the shit out of me. I've been very careful at those garden parties to avoid a similar situation. I watch where I am and with whom. I play with our slaves. I wouldn't even attend except Mom insists. Yeah, I did manage to turn things around on Margie, but we had a far different kind of relationship than Beth had with these other women. Margie and I dominated each other as well as played with the other girls. I was on the bottom more often than not, but the nature of our relationships was different. It was a game among roommates who actually liked each other and had each other's backs. I can be tough now with Margie and our other slaves. In their view, I am the one in charge, and that acceptance encourages my dominance."

"Beth, on the other hand, is a submissive, now lording it over other submissives, or rather girls she can dominate due to their legal status as slaves. Six of her seven new slaves used Beth sexually multiple times and made her their bitch. That relationship still exists to some degree in their minds. Beth fears them, which is one reason she is being particularly cruel. She is doing things to them she never suffered at their hands. Things she might not have allowed, but she feared might someday be forced to accept. You might not be aware, but she has already scheduled for Tammie to pierce and ring their nipples before she donates their hair to Locks of Love."

"If you notice, Beth has not even spanked or used any of her new slaves sexually. The closest she has come to sexual dominance is the threat to have Serena do the splits onto a dildo and to let her old friends use her. Now the split onto a dildo thing wearing a cheerleader outfit is simple revenge for her own past abuse. I can understand Beth's motivation even if I don't agree."

"I'm afraid letting those other two women use Serena might backfire, and I'm going to warn her against it. Those two might not have even thought much about Beth since they allowed other women to take over using her, and it would be far better if Beth stayed off their radar. While they may be cruel enough to want to use their old leader once, they might also still be loyal to Serena. Beth doesn't need more enemies plotting against her."

--

After breakfast the next morning, Serena approached me and asked if she could have a quick word with me before I left. I took her into my office. "I know you had a talk with Beth and told her what I said. She said both you and Lenore talked to her." I shrugged and told her I was trying to keep things on an even keel around the house. I wanted to eliminate problems and maintain the peace. "Yeah, I figured that. At first, she came on strong or tried to appear tough, which for her, was a stretch. She used her 'business persona' and told me she didn't want her kids to hear stories, and whether I did it or somebody else did, she would hold me responsible. I'll admit that pissed me off, and I told her I would not say a word to either of those kids about what I did to her in the past. Or what I ordered her to do, and she jumped to obey. But I reminded her everybody in this household has heard plenty of stories. I told her flat out that holding me responsible for what others might do was as unfair as her provoking me into hitting her in that lawyer's office."

"I could tell that hit a nerve. Then I reminded her about agreeing to Susan, Crystal and me sharing photos and videos before, but now that same thing got two years added to my sentence. She couldn't even meet my eyes, and I could tell she knows she is a chickenshit, but she wouldn't quite admit it. I asked her if she'd try to have my sentence reduced or do the right thing and set me free, but she just shook her head."

"Then she said the best she'd do is if I am a 'good girl' she will apply for early release in a few years. I'd only have to serve half my sentence. That told me she knew what she did was wrong from the beginning. I want more than ever to call my lawyer and appeal, but now I am risking two and a half years against a possible ten."

"She is simply seeking revenge for what I did to her a couple of years ago, but like I said yesterday, I never forced her. Yeah, there was some pressure applied, and she certainly did not enjoy everything I did to her. Far from it. But I never took away her freedom. She ran her business and lived her life the way she wanted, except for the times we ordered her to report and submit herself as our toy. And we never even thought seriously about permanently marking her body." Serena pointed at her belly. "We plucked and waxed her pubes to keep her slave smooth, but we never once considered lasering them away."