My head... What happened? Where am I? What...?
My awareness is returning. My arms are bound over my head, bound with rope and hooked to a chain. I am naked and blindfolded, my toes barely brushing the floor as I am hanging. It feels like wood beneath my feet. The room is cool but not cold and there is very little movement in the air. I twist a little, feeling my arms ache. I stretch to better place my feet on the floor and ease the stress on my arms. I can hear the links of the chain clink softly in the silence of the room.
The tiniest creak of the floor causes my head to come up, every sense alert. I am not alone in this room. I can feel tiny air currents against my bare flesh, goose bumps rising on my skin. I'm holding my breath to better hear the room, struggling to hear beyond the pounding of my heart. My mouth is dry and I realize I have cloth wedged between my teeth. My heart fills with terror; I cannot track the other person in the room. I choke on a tiny whimper, barely a squeak escaping my lips beyond the gag.
A deep chuckle is heard resounding through the room. I force myself to remain absolutely still, straining to locate the other person in the darkness surrounding me. Another creak and a shiver races down my spine. I know that laugh....
"So..." the voice is higher than one would expect but rich with power. He pauses, for emphasis. "So you thought you could run off with my property? You thought you could run away from me?"
My head is shaking back and forth before I even know what I'm doing. A cold sweat breaks across my skin and another whimper escapes me.
"You thought you could deny me what is rightfully mine?" I can hear his voice getting slowly closer to me, each statement accompanied by a creak from the floor. A single warm hand strokes down my back, causing me to jerk away from the touch. The chain clinks as I come up short, unable to flee, mocking my attempts. A sob escapes me as my legs give way and I sink down, letting the ropes around my wrists hold my weight. I can feel the warmth of his body frighteningly close to mine but my mind has stopped thinking in its blind terror. I am completely helpless, sobbing.
"I see you are still trying to escape. One day you will understand that there is nowhere for you to go where I cannot find you. There is nowhere that I cannot reach. And here you are." I can feel his breath on my bare shoulders, a violent shiver taking my body. He reaches out and lays his hand against my skin again, so warm against the cold fear. I jerk away from him again, scrambling to regain my footing but unable to run.
He laughs, another deep chuckle that I can feel resonating through my body. His voice stops quickly as he reaches out, gripping my hair and jerking my head back so far I can feel my neck straining. I gasp, my struggles ceasing as the darkness behind my eyes explodes into light, the pain rocking my world. A soft voice reaches me through the pain, as it always has.
"There now, see? It's not so bad when you just relax..." He releases my hair, letting my head fall forward again. I can hear him step away from me, a rustling sound coming from behind me. I can hear the whisper of leather and the pit of my stomach sinks. I know what's coming.
"Now... Where were we? Oh, yes... you stole from me, whore. You stole from me what was rightfully mine. I'm going to take it back now." My head is shaking harder, whimpers and whines muffled by the gag, tears streaming down my face. I begin to struggle again, screaming behind the gag, before I hear the whisper of steel inches from my face.
"Enough, little girl. You stole, and now you must be punished. You know the rules and you disobeyed them. If you take the punishment like a good girl, maybe I will spare your life. Maybe..." He draws the cool steel of the knife down my face, causing a new rush of tears and trembling.
"You will scream. You will beg. You will give in to me. I own you. Do you hear me? I. Own. You."
He steps away, the leather slicing through the air and connecting with my bare skin. My back arches away from the blow, the ferocity driving the air from my lungs. I can't scream and my world is on fire. I'm gasping for breath as the next blow lands, wrapping my sides and landing on the soft skin of my stomach. It feels like I have been sliced open, my skin stinging as I fight for breath. I can't even beg as the third blow lands, and then another, and another, and another. I lose count as my world shrinks down to fighting for breath and trying to scream.
He pauses in his strikes, laughing at my struggles to breathe. My skin is burning, the fire consuming every fiber of my being. My lungs are screaming and all I can do is hang from the rope and chain and sob. His hand grazes my skin and I can't even twitch to get away. He traces his hand along my back and sides, up across my breasts and slowing at my throat. He loosens the gag and slides a finger along my lips. I realize that his finger is wet, the taste of blood fills my mouth. I whimper, brokenly, as the tears continue to fall.
"Stand up." He steps away from me, another rustling is heard from behind me. There is a long pause as I struggle with dizziness and exhaustion. "Stand up!" I can barely move my legs as I slowly struggle to stand.
All I hear is a swishing sound before a sound like a gunshot fills the room and white heat fills my body. The cane splits my skin like butter, a second blow crossing the first on the back of my thighs. I'm screaming, I think, but I don't know for sure. A third and fourth blow crosses the swell of my ass, spilling more blood. With a half-second's pause, the fifth and sixth cross my breasts, again knocking the breath from my body. The screaming has stopped, though the seventh and final blow cuts across my belly, causing my legs to collapse.
I'm hanging from the chain, gasping for breath as my blood drips into a puddle on the floor. As my breathing returns and the adrenalin fades, the pain sinks in. I can hear myself whimpering, soft pitiful noises between barely parted lips.
"What did you do wrong, little girl?" I can hear him waiting for my response. I can't get my body to respond in time. He has my hair again, jerking my head back, his breath warming the skin at my temple. "I will ask you again, whore... What did you do to deserve this punishment?" I feel the cool blade pressing against my skin again, gently stroking my cheek. I'm trembling beneath his hands.
"I stole from you... I stole your property... I am sorry..." Still, the blade traces patterns across my face.
