Tightly Bound

Bright lights.

Erin groaned inwardly and stirred, maybe this was all just a nightmare and she was going to wake up back in her own house safe and sound. She tried to move her arms to rub her eyes but they were bound. Her legs too were bound and stiff from not being able to move for such a long period of time. Groaning loudly she tried to move her limbs but the chains that were attached to the ends of the beds restricted them. Footsteps were heard approaching her and she looked up defiantly, expecting to see him approaching her. Instead it was the brunette. Smiling she knelt down besides Erin on the bed with the tray in her lap. She offered her the breakfast to her with her hands beckoning. Sighing inwardly Erin nodded her head in defeat. There was not much point starving herself to death, even if this was a never ending nightmare she thought to herself as her stomach growled angrily about the lack of food. The brunette smiled settling herself down as she picked up the spoon. Being so helpless to the point that she wasn't able to feed herself crumbled away any feeling of defiance that Erin had to this point clung onto desperately. Her whole body shook as it was racked with self pitying insecurities as her tears began to flow, like a small creek sprouting from her eyes down her cheeks. The brunette stopped what she was doing and put the bowl of food down, embracing Erin like a child as she crooned to her, stroking her head and whispering sweet nothings upon deaf ears.

"Why are you here?" Erin managed to stammer between sobs.

The brunette continued to croon and stroke Erin's head until the sobbing subsided.

"I am here because he is master." The brunette answered, her heavily accented voice struggling with the right words to use.

"He's a monster, why don't you escape from this place?" Erin countered a feeling of injustice growing deep within her, not just for herself but also this strangely beautiful person sitting next to her. There was a long silence as the brunette tried to think of the right words to use.

"In a way, life is prison. Society bound by many rules. In this, master is salvation. You understand one day what I mean when I say." Her head was downcast as she spoke, as if talking about it was painful to her.

"Salvation? How can you talk like that? He is a madman living in the 17th century! What does he think he is some kind of modern day Jesus Christ?" Erin said, her voice gradually increasing in volume as her anger increased.

All of a sudden a door slammed shut from the landing above. The booming of metal against metal hinges revertebrated against the aluminium frames. The brunette and Erin stopped talking immediately, looking up in fear. The master stood on the rampart, arms folded across his chest staring coldly at the brunette and Erin. The brunette gave a little cry, like a pet that had been misbehaving as she hurriedly clambered off the bed and up the stairs, carrying the tray of unfinished breakfast.When she neared the master her head lowered and she began to shuffle her feet.

"I'll deal with you later." The master said coldly, not even bothering to look at her to acknowledge her. The brunette hurriedly walked off the tray shaking visibly.

The master walked down the stairs slowly and deliberately, not taking his eyes off Erin as he descended. When he reached the bottom floor he walked over to the bound Erin until he was standing directly opposite her face.

"So Elizabeth, you continue to disobey me, spreading your... corruption to my other slaves like a virus. I see that you have already had quite an effect on Natasha there. What you lack my dear, is discipline. Like an untrained dog you threaten to make me look bad. I can't have this Elizabeth. Now you must learn that you are no different from any of the other slaves here. You are not special in any way. You don't follow the rules and you will be punished."

With that he produced a large knife from underneath his jacket. It was nine inches long and wickedly curved from tip to tip; the handle of the blade was wooden with a gold pommel. It was a hunting knife designed to skin. Erin knew this because she had once gone out hunting with her father, but this knife before her was much more beautifully crafted than the one her father had owned. It's thin blade gleamed dully in the light. Erin's eyes opened in fear. The master's eyes darkened as he trailed the tip of the knife over her neck, holding it loosely so that she could feel the sharpness of the knife. All he had to do was give it a slight push and it would be the end of her life. He trailed it across her neck, pausing at her jagular vein as it strained against the cold blade, he continued across her shoulders, cutting the thin shoulder straps that supported her top. Across her chest and between her breasts the knife continued to trail, cutting away fabric as it went, like a hot knife through butter. The master trailed the knife across her belly the slight pressure caused by her diaphragm muscles breathing in and out causing the knife to cut her skin with ease as a shallow cut bled large drops of blood across her belly. Its dark viscousness left its trail clearly as it travelled down the contours of her belly. Erin whimpered but controlled her sobs so that the knife would not cut into her any deeper. The master seemed impervious to the fact that he had just cut Erin as he continued to trail the knife leisurely down, cutting the thin fabric of her g-string and miniskirt with ease. The master put the knife away, Erin layed spreadeagled on the bed completely naked.

The master unbuckled her ankle shackles and recuffed the handcuffs so that it wasn't connected to the bed but still held both hands together, the master ordered Erin to get up. Erin shakily did, her legs shaking from not being used for such a long time as it held her weight, the pins and needles slowly subsiding as the circulation reflowed through her limbs. Her handcuffs were cuffed to the front of her and she used it to cover up as much of her body as possible. She had never felt so vulnerable in her life.

"Walk over there" the master ordered pointing towards an innocent looking post with a chain hanging off the top of it. Erin detected no anger in his voice, it was well controlled but upon looking in his eyes she saw that he was deadly serious as it flashed dangerously. The dilated pupils against his emerald eyes in the bright light gave him an almost feline like appearance. Erin walked shakily over to the post praying to all the gods that she knew of, praying that it would all end soon.

Erin walked shakily over to the post and stood, her legs trembling not just from the pins and needles but from fear and despair. She had never really fitted into society she thought to herself reflecting on her rather uneventful life. Watching romantic comedies day in and day out persuading herself that one day she would meet a perfect guy and they would have a fairytale romance. He would respect her and worship her and they would get married and have 2 kids. The faint click of metal upon metal and a slight weight upon her shoulders snapped her back out of her trip down memory lane back to harsh reality where people held slaves captive and tortured them for kicks. She moved her neck, there seemed to be a metal collar of some sorts around it, not that it restricted her breathing. Erin began to wonder about what it was all about when she heard another click and chains rattling behind her. It was only then that she realised that she was chained to the pole like a misbehaving animal.

She watched him out of the corner of her eyes as he made his way over to a dimly lit wall. The lighting was not very good there so she could not make out what he was doing. He walked back with a ungodly looking whip. Erin's stomach did a somersault as she gulped back down the bile that rose up to her mouth, its bitter taste imprinting itself upon her palate. He walked over until he stood in front of her, the whip held in his right hand loosely as he flexed his wrist up and down passively, as if he were testing the weight of it. When he spoke his voice had no hint of anger or malice, he could have well been talking about a business acquisition to an associate by the sounds of it.

"Too truly feel pleasure and appreciate it fully, one must experience pain first, for without pain, how can we truly know or appreciate what pleasure is?" Erin whimpered when she heard him say this as she knew what was going to happen, her mind bombarding her with images of torture and pain. He continued.

"Turn around and face the pole. Part your legs and brace yourself by holding onto the pole with both hands."

Erin silently did as he bid her to, her barely controlled sobs threatening to overwhelm her. She heard the sound of the whip as it was raised in the air and back down with devastating speed.

*crack*

Onto her naked back. The pain was indescribable as she cried out, unable to control her emotions anymore. She could feel the heat on her back where the whip had made contact with her skin, its burning sensation crawled up her back, followed by a dull throbbing pain.

*crack*

Erin cried out again, but her voice was softer now. She collapsed on her knees and wept. There was a pause and she felt his hands on her hair, grabbing it roughly by the fistful as he drew his face near hers. She could smell his breath whenever he exhaled, it was sweet and acidic.

"Stand up." He said menacingly.

Erin sobbed harder but didn't move.

"I said stand up!" he boomed, wrenching her hair.

A spark of anger grew inside Erin, which flickered hungrily into a fire. Grinding her teeth against the pain she shakily rose to her feet. He took a step back and raised his whip again.

*crack*

Erin almost lost her balance but stayed afoot, bracing her feet and grinding her teeth against the pain, clenching her jaw.

*crack*

She did not cry out this time, just braced herself as the rage overwhelmed her body blocking out any pain that she felt. She could feel a thin trickle of blood trail down her back but she refused to acknowledge it.

*crack*

She almost laughed out maniacally; her voice inside her head mocking him. Is that all you can do? Is that the strongest you can hit me? Come on. She almost began to enjoy the pain, as not crying out felt like she was almost defying him. Denying him the pleasure of her pain. He stopped whipping; turning around she looked at him. He still held the whip loosely in his hand and a thin bead of sweat marked his brow. She looked up at him defiantly and he smiled.

"A tough cookie to crack? I like that in a woman. I shall enjoy breaking your will." He said rather bemusedly a ghost of a smile present on his face. With that he walked off humming to himself as he walked.

Erin waited until he had left completely before collapsing onto the cold concrete floor. Curling herself up into a ball she cried to herself, as she did the night before until tiredness overwhelmed her senses and she fell asleep. Her thoughts wild with what other schemes he had in mind to break her will.