The Order of Zarathustra

Author's Note: This episode rides the line from BDSM into NonConsensual territory. Specifically about ignoring safewords. My intent here is not to glorify that, but to highlight breaking someone's trust has consequences. If you are new to the Zarathustra series, I encourage you to read it from the start to see how we got here. If you're a fan, we go back to the attic playroom. I always appreciate votes and feedback!

Zarathustra Ch 7

Night of the Witch

"Hurry up, it's freezing out here," complained Rachel. It was just a few days until Halloween, and the fall night air had gone from nippy to biting. It didn't help that she was standing nude in the grass in their backyard. Kayden had insisted on finishing the job out here in the grass, away from everything, so paint wouldn't get on the patio. If their peeping tom neighbors were watching in the dark, they couldn't tell. Not that they really cared.

"Hold your water. I'm almost done. Turn around." Kayden was kneeling in the grass, using the airbrush sprayer to finish putting highlights on her all over bodywork with just a small flashlight to see by. She stood up and stepped back. "OK, turn again. Perfect! Go get dressed."

"Thank God!" Rachel ran naked and shivering for the back porch, then up the two flights through the Stone's big wonderful home to her room on the top floor. She stopped in the dance room, on the way to her closet sized bedroom. When she had moved in, this space had just been unfinished drywall. Now floor to ceiling mirrors lined the two side walls, with a ballerina's hand rail on both sides. She stopped to inspect Kay's work.

She hardly recognized herself. Kayden had given her entire body down to her ankles a base coat of deep olive green. Black accents brought out her curves, from the sides of her nose to the underside of her breasts and the crack of her ass. Gray highlighted other spots, like her shoulders and nipples. Combined with her neck length, straight jet black hair, she looked every inch the wicked witch. She judged her body with a critical eye. She was easily in the best shape of her life. Since her Ordeal and asserting herself in July, she had thrown herself into Khan and Kayden's teachings. Exercise and training had gone into overdrive. Her shoulders and arms now had some definition, and her belly was flatter than it had ever been. Still a little soft, she thought, not the feminine six pack Kayden was proud of, but still. Not too bad.

She went into her room and got dressed. First a bright orange satiny thong with cute little bats on it. Then an orange bra, that was really a swimsuit top they had modified with a snap opening in the front. Next, an orange and black tartan miniskirt, then the sleeveless leather vest she borrowed from her Master, with snaps down the front. Lastly, a pair of black calf high boots. Now she was the truly the naughty wicked witch of the west. She went back out to the dance room, admiring herself in the mirror. She heard her Master coming up the wrought iron circular stair.

"You decent?"

"Never. But I'm dressed, if that's what you mean." Kayden came up the stairs, and Rachel whistled as she got to see her costume for the first time. She was dressed as a slutty nun. Her black habit ended halfway up her thigh, and was cut for cleavage. Her blonde hair was tucked up in a nun's head piece. A large rosary necklace and a comically large pregnancy belly completed the look. She sauntered over and stood by her Apprentice as they took each other in side by side in the mirror. Pregnant nun and schoolgirl witch exchanged a long French kiss.

"The mind reels with symbolism," quipped Rachel as they looked approvingly at each other. She poked Kayden's fake belly. "That's a nice touch. Looks real, even."

"Well, it's good camouflage, then, to cover up the fact that I'm really pregnant," Kayden said, beaming.

"WHAT! Oh my God! Really? That's wonderful!" Rachel hugged her, stepping back to look at her again. "How far along are you?"

"Not quite four months. We're thinking I picked up a little souvenir on our summer retreat. So his middle name should be San Juan. Or Juanita. Whatever."

"That's great! And here I thought you were just letting yourself go. Because you know, you were getting..."

"Fat. I know. This is going to suck. Nothing ruins your body like babies."

"I was going to say glowing, but your words. OK, we should get going, right? I don't want to be late."

Kayden dismissed her with a wave as they headed downstairs. "Relax, kid. Strip clubs don't even get rolling until like nine. Eleven on the weekends. We got time. Speaking of making time, how's it going with you and Urkel?"

Rachel got defensive over her new sexual conquest. Her only sexual conquest. "Don't call him that. Brandon's really smart, and sweet. He's a gentleman. Fisk is an exclusive university. He said he was coming back to town for Thanksgiving, so we scheduled a session together for then. He says he's been too busy for a girlfriend there, but I suspect he might be just saying that. I'll beat the truth out of him when I get my hands on him."

She had enjoyed a half dozen encounters with the new college boy before he had to go out of state to start his studies. Each time she had dominated him, controlling the encounter, setting the rules as the experienced sexual partner. It had been an amazing experience. She had never before been the aggressor in a relationship. She'd always felt grateful the other person was holding their nose at her flaws and spending time with her. Now he was the grateful one. Khan and Kayden had provided advice on how to handle him, and the experience had given her even more self confidence. Enough to go through with tonight's challenge. With him off to school, she had told him it was fine if he saw other women. She certainly was.

They jumped in Kayden's diablo red Mustang and tore off for East St. Louis. This was another first for Rachel. Even though she'd lived in St. Louis for her entire twenty years, she had never crossed the Mississippi to this part of the city. It had a reputation as a bombed out ghetto, littered with strip clubs. Her excitement grew as they crossed the bridge. The East Side lived up to its reputation. They maneuvered through seedy side streets, not stopping at intersections for fear of car jackers. It was just that kind of place. They pulled into the gravel parking lot of Roxy's, one of a score of clubs set up all over the area. The marquis read

AMATEUR NIGHT! HALLOWEEN PARTY! $500 FIRST PLACE!

They went to the door, Kayden greeting the bouncer. "Hey TC. This is my friend, Ravenna."

Rachel looked surprised, both at the fake name Kayden had just given her, and at the bouncer. She thought Khan was huge. This guy was huger. A mountain of man barred the doorway, looking seven feet tall and three foot wide. He peered down at her. "Watchu starin at?"

"My new Daddy?" she tried. He chuckled. "You alright. Yo K, this amateur night. You can't dance. Is she gonna?"

"Yeah, she's with me. I trained her. Call her semi pro." He reached over to the table and gave 'Ravenna' a clipboard and a round button with 22 on it. "Put that on where people can see it, and sign this waiver. First round starts in about a half hour." Rachel read the form, and put her real name down on it. It basically said she swore she was over 18, not high, and wouldn't sue if she got hurt, groped or assaulted. It also had the rules of the contest. Keep your panties on. Nipples covered. No penetrative sexual acts. No partners. Tips are yours to keep. Five women from first round would dance again in the second round. Everybody in that round would get some money. First prize was $500 cash.

They went into the club. Rachel had never been in a strip club before. It was dark, noisy, and smoky. It smelled like a men's locker room. A crowd of men cheered on as a stripper twirled on a pole. Others sat at tables around in the neon lit gloom. Since it was basically Halloween, all the girls were wearing costumes. Slutty nurses, cops, witches and demons walked around. A few men wore costumes too.

Rachel leaned in so she could be heard over the loud music and shouting. "He didn't even card us. Also, Ravenna?"

"Hot chicks don't get carded in places like this, honey. You watch, drinks are free too. Just don't have more than two before your set. The name just came to me. Rule number two: Never, NEVER give em your real name."

Rachel surveyed the scene. "What's rule number one?"

Kayden looked at her like she was an idiot. "Get the Money. Duh. Let's find a table."

They found a spot far off from the stage. Rachel just drank it all in. A slutty zombie came by, who chatted with Kayden like she knew her before coming back with a coffee for her and a Jack and Coke for Rachel. Kayden started being nostalgic.

"I come here about once a month just to keep up with the life. I envy you, I really do. You're what, turning twenty next month?" Rachel nodded. "God, 20. I was a fucking pirate back then. That was right in the middle of me doing five years in Vegas."

Rachel sipped her drink. "You make it sound like a prison sentence."

"It kinda is. This life changes you, messes with your head. You see just how shitty guys are. You rent yourself out by the song. I made a living off manipulating these clowns, breaking the law. And I was good at it. Really fucking good."

"What do you mean, breaking the law? Stripping's not illegal." Rachel had become fascinated with the private booths against the wall. Several strippers were grinding away on the laps of men in plush chairs in phone booth sized partitions. Dressed as a slutty nun, she held up her rosary with a look of purity. "Half of these men are married. Thoughts of adultery are sinful!" They both laughed.

"I did a hell of a lot more than just dance. For five years, I broke every law except murder, I guess. I'd blow guys for money. I'd specifically fuck married men in town for a convention, just to extort them out of an extra grand. Because it was funny. I dealt coke and meth. Used it, too. Yeah, me," she said as Rachel's eyes widened to the story. "I got my five year chip from NA like two years ago, and stopped going to meetings. I was drunk and high every night until dawn, then clean up for college at UNLV. I thought of it like a super hero double life. Super villain, actually. The fake names help you divorce yourself from what you do for a living. When I left Vegas at 23, I had a paid for degree in psychology, a hundred grand in my account, and I was driving a U Haul full of designer clothes and stolen loot. Like I said, I was a fucking pirate."

Kayden enthralled her Apprentice with a never ending series of tales as an ambitious stripper. Rachel kept listening while taking in the scene, and looking over the competition. At first, she thought her number was 22 because that was how many girls were trying out tonight. It turned out the numbers below 20 were the 'Bush league', the wannabes, the 40 year old housewives and the way too drunk bachelorettes. Above 20 were the real deal, the women who would likely be recruited to work here professionally after. She felt proud to be taken seriously, even if it was mostly on Kayden's reputation.

The bush league went first. In quick succession, 8 or 9 girls took the stage. A couple chickened out or froze up so bad they never started. A couple more were so sloppy drunk they couldn't finish a song. Only one from that group, an angel named Angel, stood out. A six foot tall, willowy blonde wearing a white corset and angel's wings, she danced gracefully, to cheers of drunken men. Then the semi pros had their turn. 'Ravenna' was on deck as Wonder Woman took the stage to 'Cherry Pie' -- the second time that song had played this evening. Kayden rolled her eyes. Rule 4: Only posers dance to Warrant. Or Whitesnake. As Wonder Woman collected her top and a fistful of dollar bills thrown for her, Rachel controlled her breathing to keep her heart from racing so badly.

"Let's give a big hand for Wonderful Wonder Woman! And next up, at Roxy's Halloween Amateur Night, direct from Oz, we give you.. Ravishing RAVENNA!"

I'm not really that witch, but whatever

, she thought distractedly as she took the stage. She came in slow, stepping to the sultry beat of Paula Cole's 'Feelin Love'. It was the sexiest song she knew. Men were pressed up to the stage, several already holding out dollar bills. Five men were in chairs. Those were the judges, and Kayden told her those were the ones that mattered. They had paid good money in auctions earlier for the privilege of being the judges, enough that they alone pretty much covered the contest purse tonight. She started swaying her hips to the beat, slowly unsnapping the bottom snaps of the leather vest, revealing more green skinned torso. She put the pole to her back and slid down, fanning out her thighs. They went wild. She tiger crawled over to the judges across the stage. At point blank range in front of them, up on her knees, she finished unsnapping the vest and tossed it behind her. Her hands played over her neck, pulling her bra strap off the shoulder, then putting it back. Then down to her tartan miniskirt, to lift it up and let the boys see.

A group of men were shouting TAKE IT OFF! So loudly she had trouble hearing the lyrics. Not that it really mattered. She did a series of stretches in front of the judges before she got back on her feet, giving each a big smile. It struck her as odd that many of the yoga poses she had done every day were in fact stripper moves. Downward Dog, Upward Dog. The Bridge. Her brain sort of shut off. She did the routine Kayden had been practicing with her in the dance room for weeks. She stopped being nervous.

Finally back on her feet, the song started reaching its crescendo, where it turned into a lengthy series of feminine moans and cries. She caught the eye of the youngest judge. 'You want it?' she mouthed, caressing her breasts. He nodded. She hit the 'ejection button' she had sewn into the bikini top. The single large snap popped open, and her full airbrushed breasts sprang out as she threw her chest out. The crowd roared. As the song wound down, she used one hand to hold back her skirt and the other to fondle her tits. Guys threw money. She was grinning ear to ear when the song finished.

They brought her back up on stage as a semi finalist. She made the cut! The five remaining were herself, Angel, another newbie dressed as Red Riding Hood, Wonder Woman, and a Succubus. The she devil had delivered an outstanding performance after Ravenna, and had showed off her obviously enhanced boobs and extensive tattoo collection almost right from the start. They started the second round. In this one, one of the judges would actually be sitting on the stage. The idea was the girls were to give him a lap dance, as well as dance around. Nothing Kayden and her hadn't been practicing. She put her orange bra and leather vest back on and got her secret weapon ready.

They went in the same order as before. Rachel had another Jack and Coke as she watched. Angel was lovely and graceful, but she did exactly the same routine and didn't even interact with the guy on stage. Red and Wonder Woman did okay. Then it was Ravenna's turn. Her first song had a slow, sexy beat. This one rocked. As the opening riffs of Metallica's 'Enter Sandman' came on, she worked the crowd. Hands over her head, she started clapping, getting them revved up like a cheerleader. They got into it. As the opening buildup of music crashed into its hard opening, she turned towards the judge sitting on stage. With one violent pull, in time to the smashing music, she ripped the vest open with both hands all in one go and threw it away.

She sat on the judge's lap and began her routine. She popped and rolled her hips, grinding across his lap with her hands on the back of the chair. Her and Kay had spent time each afternoon lately in the dance room, doing exactly this to each other. Then she flipped around and did it in reverse, arching her back so the crowd could see her chest. The judge was supposed to be sitting on his hands. She felt one slide up across her hip. Rather than make a big deal out of it, she detached from him and crawled across to the other judges, where she then stood up to show off her secret weapon. She palmed the lighter and one of the pieces of flash paper out of her top. As the song got to its first 'Off to Never Never Land!' she lit the paper and threw it into the air, cackling a witch cackle as she did.

The magician's flash paper burned intensely and completely, disappearing in a second into nothing. The crowd just blew up. Rule number 7: Give them something they ain't seen. She popped her ejection button, springing her ladies out while keeping the lighter in her hand. Suddenly, TC came out of nowhere. He bulled through the men like water. His ham sized fist came up, motioning for the lighter. The crowd booed. He wasn't taking no for an answer. Reluctantly, she gave him the lighter.

His interference threw her off her game. She tried to recover herself as the song continued. She had two more dollar bill sized strips of flash paper tucked into her thong, and that was supposed to be the biggest part of her routine. She just made do without it. Moving her hips like a snake, she shed her little miniskirt, now just Ravenna, clad in body paint and an orange thong. She lay down next to the other judges and writhed around for them a bit, then tiger crawled over to the judge on stage. She slid around on his lap and ground on him. When she was facing away from him with her hands up in his greasy hair, he went for it and grabbed both her boobs. The crowd loved it, even if she didn't. The song wound down, and with a huge round of cheering, Ravenna collected her things, and some cash, and left the stage.

TC came over to her as she was getting dressed by their table. "Sorry bout that, but we caint have girls burning the place down. That was a bit outta hand." Kayden looked furious, but Rachel moved in quicker. She touched him on his massive arm. "It's OK, you were just doing your job. You being there protective and all, that makes it safe for girls like me. Thanks."

He moved off as the Succubus took the stage. Motley Crue's 'Shout at the Devil' came on, her top came off, and she mounted her chair judge with practiced ease. Kayden watched her with a professional eye. "I swear she's a ringer. That girl's danced pro before. She's just new in town."

As the song progressed, not only were her hands and the judge's hands all over each other, but towards the end she got down to the edge of the stage. One of the girls who worked there hopped up and laid on her back, and the succubus crawled on top of her and did a simulated 69. A very realistic simulation. Rachel motioned at them with her drink. "Somebody has a new friend. I thought that wasn't allowed."

Kayden looked like a cat about to get pissy. "It's not. Stripper rule 10: The rules always end up going out the fucking window. The girls are over 18. Guys aren't supposed to touch you. You aren't supposed to blow them. Nobody ever actually sees pussy. That all ends up being more guidelines, than rules."

In the end, about 1am, the results were called. The fix was in. The succubus won first prize and got the $500. Ravenna, to her surprise, got second. The manager of the place had come over after she got off stage, accepting her envelope of twenties, and gave her his business card. She could start work any time, he said. Earn a grand a night, he said. Something to think about.

Kayden was fuming they didn't win first. They eventually made it out to the parking lot, Kayden blasting through the side streets and getting them back across the river into the normal world. Rachel was riding high. With the tips men threw, she had closer to two fifty in her envelope. They chatted on about the evening, coming down off the high. Actually, Rachel was going on and on. Kayden seemed quieter, reflective even. Towards the end, Kayden grew serious. "Listen, I got a favor to ask you. A big one." She patted her fake baby belly under her slutty nun costume. "This little Juan is going to pop in early March. Like right before your anniversary as our Apprentice. We had talked about you getting your own place right after that, in April, so you're all settled in for school next fall."