Paloma wakes up in almost complete darkness. Dazed from sleep, she opens her eyes and looks around. A warm breeze caresses her skin. She sees a bed, a linen sheet covering her body, a slightly open window, a closed door, and suddenly she realises that she does not know this room. 'This is not my home, where am I?' Fear flashes through her mind and makes her jump up with a jolt. But her body is suddenly held back and she feels a sharp pain at her left wrist. She looks around and sees her hand, firmly clasped in a metal bracelet. She sees a large bed with metal bars at both ends, and the cuffs at her wrist chained to the bars of the bed.
Cold sweat runs down her body. She shakes the chain, feeling the cold metal on her body. She frees herself from the sheet covering her. She notices the nightdress she is wearing. It is sleeveless, made of thin white fabric and reaches to her tight, but she does not perceives its beauty. She does not recognise this nightdress, she cannot remember putting it on. 'This cannot happen to me, is this a bad dream?' Her heart is beating faster, she twists and shakes the chain, which hits the metal bars pf the bed with a deafening noise, tries to free herself with her unchained hand, without success. A deep scream of rage and despair escapes her, and again and again she tries to free herself from the chain, until she falls asleep from exhaustion, bathed in sweat.
The prince enters the room while Paloma is sleeping. The bed and sheets are crumpled from her movements, her nightgown has wrinkles, her chained wrist is reddened. The prince opens the window blinds a little so that the light of the moon falls on Paloma's face. He sits down on the bed next to her, watching her sleep and her chest moving calmly and rhythmically. Carefully, he strikes his hand through her hair and face. She breathes deeply, as if she could feel the touch in her sleep. After some time, the prince stands up and takes a black cloth out of his pocket, a cloth made of fine and soft velvet. He carefully places it over Paloma's closed eyes, then gently lifts her head, pulls the cloth over the back of her head and ties it to a band with a firm knot. He pulls out of his pocket a handcuff, also made of black velvet, which he carefully ties around her right wrist. He is very cautious not to wake her up. The handcuff has a ring through which he pulls a rope, which he then attaches to the bed's metal bars behind her head. He takes a step back and observes his work. Paloma continues to sleep, in her white nightgown and now with a black cloth tightly covering her eyes and both arms pulled upwards to the sides next to her head, closely tied to the bed, one with the soft fabric of black velvet, the other with cold and hard steel.
After looking at her silently for a few minutes, he bends down and kisses her tenderly on the lips. A first kiss is followed by a second, then another, each one more intense than the previous one, and his hands begin to caress Paloma's body. Suddenly she is startled out of her sleep, a scream, a fright as she senses the presence of a person over her body. A feeling of anger, fear and helplessness rises in her as she notices the bonds on her other arm. 'Who are you, where am I, let me go', she screams at him. Her body twists in an attempt to free herself.
He does not answer her, instead he silently observes her face, red and wet from the effort and the tears that are running from under the cloth over her eyes, her body that trembles from the effort, her breast moving with her heavy breathing. 'Don't you remember me and don't you remember yesterday?', the prince asks Paloma after a few minutes. Her screaming stops when she hears his voice. Fragments of memory appear, memories of a voice, of food and drink, of laughter and music. But the fragments are scattered, incomplete. She remains silent as she continues to breathe heavily and tears flow from her eyes.
The prince looks at her, and he wipes the tears from her face. 'You came to me and visited me of your own free will. We ate and drank together. We danced and laughed. You offered yourself to me out of love and desire to discover the unknown. I asked you if you had faith in me and were prepared to accept everything I would give you out of love. If you were ready to surrender yourself completely for one night, without limits, willingly and sacrificially. I adverted you that your decision was final and could not be reversed, that I would not accept a change of your mind. Not even if you beg and cry and scream for mercy. That after this night of you under my control, I will be ready to put my life and my love in your hands, forever. You said yes. So here you are.'
Paloma is irritated and confused. More and more fragments of her memories are awakening. But she is not willing to give herself up, to give away control of her life, even if just for one night. She has never offered her intimacy and the purity of her soul and body to any other person. Her anger rises once more, and she starts screaming and pulling at her bonds again. The prince continues to sit by her side and watches her. 'It is useless', he replies calmly, 'no one will hear you, and you made your decision yesterday'.
He climbs onto the bed, kneels above her, her legs firmly between his. He places the palms of his hands on her knees and begins to slowly stroke her thighs. Paloma can hardly move now, her hands bound to the bed and her legs under his. His hands on her skin intensify her feelings of anger and helplessness. But they also awaken memories of the previous evening, of the feel of skin gliding over her own skin, and these memories are filled with pleasure rather than fear. The prince continues to caress her skin, under the fabric of her nightdress, over her hips, and suddenly Paloma realises that she is not wearing any other clothing besides this nightdress.
'You do not have to be afraid, I will not harm you', says the prince. 'Remember my earlier words, tonight you belong to me and from tomorrow I am yours for the rest of our lives.' Paloma continues to breathe heavily and her thoughts are full of tension and excitement, but she feels how slowly the anger turns into a feeling of expectation and arousal. She still cannot entirely remember the previous evening, but the fragments that come to her mind reassure her. 'Who are you?' she asks.