The way

As she woke up, she knew immediately, that something had changed. She felt it in the air, cool and crisp, and way to pleasantly woody for her sad one bedroom apartment in downtown Malmo.  Even before her eyes where able to focus on anything, she knew the lights where too bright, and that she ought to be able to move more freely.

When she did manage to look around, she saw that she was in what looked like a wooden cottage, raw untreated and unpolished boards made up the walls. Judging from the colour and the amount of sap that was oozing out, it was also an old cottage. She was lying on a plain, almost coarse bed made of untreated wood, and very coarsely woven linen covered it. In front of her, she could see an open window, sunlight streaming through it. The frame was painted white, but besides from that, it was the most unadorned window she had ever seen.

In front of the window stood a man.

He was tall, and broad shouldered,  but not overly so. He was dressed in something that had definitely not been bought in any store she'd ever seen or heard of.

It seemed to be made of some very coarse fabric, and the cut was very simple. It had sleeves, and it had buttons down the middle, but that was it. His pants seemed to be the same, though slightly lighter in colour, and they where being held up by suspensors.

He had dark, slightly curly hair, and a thick full beard. He did not seem to be of either caucasian, nor of african origin. Something about his eyes seemed asian, but he was almost impossible to place.

He looked stern and serious, but not menacing, and it wasn't before he spoke a few seconds later, that she felt panic well up inside her.

"welcome home Eva"

He said, not changing his expression one bit.

She took in a sharp breath, and tried to pull up, only to find that her wrists and ankles had been tied snuggly with soft, but unyielding ropes. The open windows, and the mans calm and unhurried demeanour only intensified her sense of panic. 

"who are you?" she whispered, somehow she felt that his presence overshadowed her predicament in an overpowering sense.

"My name is Heimdale, and this is my house. But to you, I will be Master. I will teach you for now, until it is decided whom you are to serve. Now, it is time for you to be examined, then I will help you learn your basic duties"

As he spoke, the timbre of his voice, the calm way it was stated, and his intelligent eyes seem to communicate a sense of safety, that contradicted the obscure and menacing words.

Eva stared at him helplessly, a growing sense of desperation penetrating to the depths of her being. A single thought managed to stand out in the turmoil that was her consciousness "he must be insane, will he hurt me?"

Heimdale started untying her ankles, and with what looked like no effort at all, the ropes lay untangled beside her feet. Practiced, was all she could think as he walked to her side, and started untying her

"get up"

He commanded in a harsh barking tone and somehow he didn't seem like someone you should try to cross. So none too elegantly, she scrambled to get on her feet. She found that she was dizzy and her extremities didn't seem to react quite as fast they ought too.

A thousand questions rushed through her brain again, as a wave of nausea hit her.

She looked up at Heimdale unsteadily, and found that he was a good head and a half taller than she. She was tall, so this was an unusual experience for her, and she felt herself looking submissively at the floor. Inwardly she kicked herself, she new she had already lost the power struggle before it began, but something about his presence, his demeanour, or maybe just the circumstances of their meeting made her feel unable to look at him directly in the eyes.

She also discovered that she was wearing a dress, that was definitely not her own. It was made in the same brownish coarse fabric that she saw all around her, and it too was simple. It had no sleeves, and it reached her almost to her knees. It had a low v-cut at the neck, and it was fitted to hug her amble curves some. A coarse thin rope was tied around her waist. The fabric, though coarse, was soft an pleasant on the skin.

The nausea quickly faded, and she timidly looked up, hating herself for her lack of courage.

To her surprise, he smiled gently at her, the first real expression she had seen on his face. To her complete surprise, standing so close to him, and looking into his brown smiling eyes, made her feel dizzy in a completely different way. There was something about this man, something she just couldn't place nor understand, that made her whole self respond from a place in her, that was not in her conscious control. Blushingly, she looked down again, hoping he hadn't read anything in her expression.

Her skin was still tingling from the intimacy of the short glance, and she could feel her mind  be carried away by the torrent of her raving thoughts. The oddness of it all, the unanswered questions, the new feelings and sensations. All of it blocked her from coming to terms with this, nor respond in any way.

"you seem to be in a remarkably good state, but just to make sure, we'll do some tests now. Follow me"

He passed her, and walked through a door behind her, and she followed him docilely into the other room. This room turned out to be much bigger. It had an odd looking fireplace and stove with primitive looking utensils in an alcove above it, it had a big untreated, but clean and smooth looking wooden floor, that felt pleasant beneath her naked feet. The walls where also wooden here, with no ornaments nor hangings. In the far corner stood a rough wooden table and some chairs, and next to the fireplace stood a comfy looking stuffed couch, covered again with the same style fabric and full of big cushions.

A thick woollen rug covered some of the floor, and on the other wall stood a kitchen desk with a sink, though there was no tap. A ceramic jug stood beside the sink. The room seemed inviting, though primitive and the lack of things, ornamental and otherwise seemed peculiar.

"why am I here?"

She whispered, finally letting one of her questions surface

"stand out in the middle of the room, and first touch your toes, then reach for the ceiling" he commanded.

She glanced at him timidly, and when she found that his face was stern and demanding, she made her way to the middle of the room, and did as he told her. A shiver went through her, and she felt both scared, lost and humiliated, as she did the exercises.

"you WILL refer to me as master, from now on, or there will be consequences.

Continue the exercises. You can be sure, that you are exactly where you belong, and always have belonged. That is why you are here, because you need to be, and because you are wanted and needed here. No more questions now. "

His voice was like steel, and she felt the hair on her arms stand up, and an even deeper shiver at his words. Tears where pressing behind her eyes, and she blinked hard to keep them back. It was all not being processed properly, but somethings did register. He was mad at her. she found that this was something she found both terrifying, but also something else, that she could not place. Not pleasant.

and he .. Or somebody wanted her, even needed her.

She told herself that it was insane, but the words triggered something inside her, some deep longing, buried beneath the fear and the confusion. 

It was getting hard to keep her initial pace, and she felt herself panting a little, as Heimdale  barked "faster" at her. Soon she was out of breath, and her muscles where screaming at her to stop. She shot him a pleading glance, but his face seemed again carved in stone. She continued until she felt she would throw up, if she continued.

"please... Master" she begged, her voice hoarse and with hardly any air to carry it. She would have blushed at calling him master, if she hadn't been so winded. He did not seem to react, and she kept bending and stretching for a whole minute longer, before she heard him bark "stop".

She was gasping for breath now, and she was starting to feel ridiculous for simply complying with his every command. He had not threatened her with anything specific, and   She was no longer tied up. She knew she would not make it to the door, if he decided to take after her, but she felt slightly cowardly for not even trying, nor putting up even the pretence of a fight. She was not sure why she didn't. She did not in general consider herself a timid person, nor an indecisive one. Something really strong inside her just seemed to want to bow to the will of this man. Maybe it was fear, she did not understand. But she tried to brace herself for whatever a consequence might be, and stand up a little.

He looked at her intensely, she found, when she had caught enough breath to notice.

"kneel" he said, again with steel in his voice.

She felt her stomach turn, as she looked into the floor, and timidly shook her head. She felt her mouth go dry with fear, even at this lame and half hearted attempt at rebellion. And she found that she hated herself for not doing the full blown opposition and standing up to this stranger. Yet most of her just quivered at her gall. She looked at him, trying to put all her meagre  defiance in her stare.

He looked horribly determined and stern, but there was something in his look. Was it humour? She felt her knees almost give way, as she again felt a sharp pang of something, as their eyes connected. She managed to gulp down the lump in her throat before he had reached, and, dragging her by the arm, pulled her with him towards the couch.

She did not put up any fight, this was as far as her courage could bring her, and though the grip on her arm was harsh and tight, the touch of his skin on hers made her quiver and tingle from the tip of her nose, to her toes.

In a practiced sweep, he had placed her across his lap, locking her thighs between his, brutally showing her head and torso into the couch. With his right hand, he tore the bottom part of her dress over her torso, revealing her plump butt.

This was beyond humiliating, and when terror and shame overtook her brain completely, she started fighting in earnest. His left hand grabbed both her wrists easily, and she was pined down, completely unable to move in the slightest.

Then she felt his hand rest on her butt cheeks, and she felt that the degradation must kill her on the spot, but simultaneously she felt a longing and tingling, both fearful and pleasurable beyond anything she had ever before experienced, that he should touch her more. Use her, consume her.

He let his hand rest there for a moment only, though and she heard a swoosh and heard a loud splash, almost like a gun shot before the pain hit her. All thoughts of pleasure, opposition, degradation and everything other than the white hot searing pain in her backside, vanished in an instant.

She struggled in vain, and howled in pain, as Heimdale delivered one mindbogglingly painful wallop after another. When her shear panic reaction and futile struggle did nothing to stop the onslaught, she tried to scream anything she could think of (which wasn't much) to make him stop. She begged for him to stop, to let her kneel, she apologised, and she promised him anything he wanted. If he heard her, he did not react, and she could hardly hear herself through the loud whacks and her own howling response. He seemed to go on for ever, and finally, she simply stopped struggling, and sobbed loudly and deeply into the couch. After a little of this he gathered his strength, and gave her five full force smacks, that send the rest of her body smashing into the couch.

Eva could do nothing but wail and cry into the soft cushions, all fight had gone out of her.

Heimdale held her down for a minute after he stopped, letting her sobs subside somewhat.

Then he picked her up, and sat her on his lap, as he held her. She sobbed pitifully into his chest. She smelled his strangely homely and warm scent, and the strong arms encompassed her, and defined a world where she could finally feel an odd and irrational sense of safety. One type of sobs gave way to another and started an avalanche of tears, pent up things unclear to her mind all gave way and released, as she was again crying heavily. Her whole body shook with sobs, but with the lack of pain, came again a sense of shame, and after a few minutes she checked herself, and forced herself stop.

She sat there simply breathing in his warmth and comfort for a little, then he pulled her away, and looked into her teary eyes. She would have thought, if she had had the presence of mind to ponder the matter, that his brutal force would make her finally perceive her as the monster he was, but if anything the jolt that went through her this time was amplified. It was like something that had clouded the connection had been torn away. She felt for a short second, like she was a part of him, absorbed and connected. Herself in him, but not herself? Free? Enslaved? Not her will, or was it? It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. As he spoke, she didn't even consider disobeying

"kneel" he said, and she let herself glide down his lap, and knelt at his feet. Blushing as she rested her sore butt on her calves. She let her arms rest on her thighs and she looked at the floor again.

The second their gaze had been broken, it was gone. And it felt more like an odd dream, a momentary insanity, than as real and tangible as it had just seconds ago. It was in every way so out of sync with the rest of the experiences she had, it did not seem to belong even in the same universe. As the feeling subsided, she felt more and more shameful at kneeling, but Heimdale seemed in no hurry to change her condition.

When he finally spoke, she found herself wishing he hadn't.

"you may now thank me, and tell me why you where punished, Eva"

Eva blushed as deeply as she had ever blushed, but she knew she had to obey. Now that the punishment was over, it was not that she feared more punishment. It was still to hypothetical to feel real enough to fear, but there was something else. Something in their relationship had shifted. She had sensed the determination in him when she first saw him, and she had responded, but now she had felt it. Standing up to him seemed as absurd as making a summersault, it was simply not an option any longer.

Hoarsely she managed to stutter "thank you, Master. It was because I.. Didn't kneel"

She looked up at him, blushing, and blinking back tears of humiliation. But he looked unsatisfied and terrifying. "I do believe you can be more eloquent than that, again, why where you punished, Eva?"

Her mind was a raging turmoil of thoughts and feelings, but from somewhere inside her, she managed to look him in the eyes, and stutter

"I'm sorry I did not obey you, Master"

When she had said it, it felt so right, that it made her suddenly doubt who she was. If she knew this person at all, who would say, let alone feel such a thing.

Heimdale looked almost pleased with her this time, though, and she immediately felt a deep sense of happiness that he should be pleased with her.

Her tired overwhelmed mind could hardly handle anymore, and the conflicts within her where becoming to much for her to handle. She found that she could no longer deal with it. It would have to rest until a later time.

Heimdale was quiet for a while as he watched her intensely.

"we will continue your tests later, first you must eat and rest. Go to the pantry, there are some cold vegetables and some eggs. See what you can make of them"

Cooking had been one of her great hobbies and passions, and the thought of cooking and food let her to discover that she was in fact very hungry.

She went to the door he had indicated, and inside she found a neat and orderly pantry in the style you'd find in old farm houses. It had shelves on both sides, and on them stood woven baskets full of what looked like tubers and apples. There where sacks stacked on some shelves, unmarked and in different levels of fullness.

The room was small and thick walled, and it had a pleasant smell of stored food and preserves. Dusty and aromatic, very different from the stale unpleasant air in a fridge. This was mostly living food, and it was clean and neatly kept. In spite of herself she could not help getting a pleasant sense of feeling at home here.

The eggs too lay in a woven container along side a metal pot. She opened the lid, and found some boiled cauliflower and sweet potatoes in it. She took two eggs, and the vegetables with her. In the other room, Heimdale had lighted the fire in the stove, and there was a pan on it.

Eva scrambled around, and found utensils and a glass jug of olive oil, and she managed to get both the vegetables and the eggs to both burn and stick to the pan. In the end, it was a partially cooked brown mush, she poured the unappetising goo onto two plates, and made her way to the table.

Heimdale looked at her sternly, and she automatically lowered her head.

"you will serve me, than you may kneel beside my chair, Eva" 

Eva looked at the goo with longing, than feeling defeated, she placed both plates on the table, and knelt beside the chair.

Heimdale sat down, and started to eat. Nothing in his expression indicated what he thought of the food.

After a while, he turned his head to her side.

"I am not satisfied with your meal, Eva, but I will oversee it this once. You may eat" and with that he handed her a plate and a fork.

She eagerly gobbled down the meal, which tasted surprisingly pleasant, in spite of being messy and somewhat burned.

"leave the plates in the sink, and go to bed" Heimdale ordered, and Eva was happy to comply.

She felt like she was sleep walking, and the second her body was covered by the soft sheets, she dozed off. It seemed like no time had passed, but the sun had changed when she awoke again, but she could see from the sun, that hours most have passed, when she opened her eyes again.

Feeling rested, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, and made her way to the other room. She felt oddly optimistic, though hesitant, as she reached for the door. Then she noticed that there where voices coming from the other room. She gently opened the door, and gingerly stepped into the warm living room.

In front of Heimdale on a chair sat a man, he was like Heimdale really on the tall side, muscular, but not overly so, and he seemed to be wearing the same strange garments as well. He was, however, clean shaven, and his hair was slightly longer. He was definitely an attractive man, he looked serious, but intelligent. He looked like he was no stranger to the outdoors, and like he was in his mid thirties.

Eva felt suddenly much more self conscious. The events of the morning seemed far away and not like something that had ever happened to her.

Her butt was feeling slightly sore and bruised, but other than that, it really could have happened to someone else.

The men payed her no attention, so she just stood in the middle of the room and fidgeted, wondering what to do with herself. She didn't quite dare interrupt, nor did she think it wise to try to go exploring to much. She didn't understand what the men where talking about, it seemed incredibly technical, and they used terms she had never heard before.

After a minute or two, when she had started feeling seriously uncomfortable, Heimdale turned to her

"the second door is the bathroom. Freshen up, then come back and kneel where you are standing now"

Eva blushed, but as Heimdale turned away immediately, she simply did what he said.

Kneeling in the presence of the new man felt awkward at best, and Eva felt her face burning red as she bent her head, and waited for them to have time for her.

After a very long five minutes, both men finally turned towards her, and looked at her. Suddenly she missed being ignored. They both looked stern as they scrutinised her, and she could feel her pulse, that had just gone down, pick up again, and she knew her cheeks  must be visibly more red. She could not look them in the eyes, and settled for looking at the floor again.

Thoughts of her previous encounter with Heimdale kept her from feeling to gutless about not standing up for herself.

"Eva, this is Enkidu. You will obey him, as you obey me. He too is your master, as are all adult men you are likely to meet.

Now, Eva, tell us, as detailed as possible, about the last thing you remember?"

Another seriously oddball name, she thought. Most come as a package.

Eva had tried, not very seriously, to remember what had happened. Had she gone to bed, and she just woke up here? Or what had happened to her? It seemed fuzzy, and she had to really strain to even remember to much about the day before.

"it's hard. I remember going to work, there was something.. A birthday, a colleague. She turned forty, everybody congratulated her. We paid some money to get her a present, and we all gathered in the common room. "

"tell us about your job" said Enkidu

"I'm a creative consultant assistant at colourplex. Basically it means I try to keep the outgoing communication consistent, and I assist in the process of commercial development"

Eva thought of how the relatively fancy title mainly covered the fact of spending endless lonely hours scrutinising texts and publications for minuscule errors, mainly in spelling and layout. And when she finally did see her colleagues, the loneliness just grew, as the power struggles and endless gossip drowned out any feeling of connection to them she had always assumed she would feel before joining the workforce. A feeling of sadness, even dread filled as she thought about the place she spend her work days.

her life had seemed so far away and  remote, she had not really given it much thought. But the grey despair of her lonely and prospect free life grabbed her again. Her friends, she never really felt connected to. Her job which would lead eventually to a higher end version of the same job, well paid, but pointless and lonely. Her sad love affairs that always ended with just more of the same indifferent drudgery.

At least this place was something completely new, she thought to herself. Potentially dangerous, but different.

"what happened after the party, Eva?"

Asked Enkidu, disrupting her thoughts

"I worked on a publication that needed to be finished yesterday, I listened to the radio. Oh, and my boss, he.. Well, he came in, and told me that ..

Well, that I shouldn't do that, that I had missed an important error in my last work."

"I left work, and I took the train home.. No wait, I had to get out early, I needed to get some things. I went to the supermarket, then I carried the bags back to the station

I can't remember what happened then..."

She paused as her thoughts started to form coherent patterns

"Did you kidnap me?"

She looked Heimdale straight in the eyes. The thought had somehow not occurred to her before now, and now that it did, it horrified her.

Heimdale got up, and unceremoniously slapped her. Hard.

"I am Master to you. Do not forget. And we did not kidnap you."

Eva held her hands over her burning cheek and sobbed quietly. Suddenly she felt scared and lonely, and the strangeness of this new place seemed to much to bear.

"Eva. Explain how your life was. Where you happy? Did you have a boyfriend?"

Enkidu said, and though the words seemed kind, his voice was stern.

Eva gulped down the tears. She noticed his use of the past tense, and it send a chill down her spine. She straightened her back, and tried to steal herself.

"I have just stopped seeing.. Somebody. And I am perfectly ok.. Ok job, good friends, family.. master"

Even in her ears it sounded hollow, and she looked away as she let the statement die

"you're lying"

Enkidus voice was cold

Eva shook, panic setting in.

"I.. I should be happy, Master. But.. I am not. But it's all true, I have everything, so much more than many others. Sorry.. Master"

The men exchanged a glance. Then Enkidu said "we will let it slip this time, but you will be completely truthful from now on. Go on"

"ahm.. Not much to say. I just feel a little.. Unconnected, I suppose.. Ahm.. Masters"

Eva could sense that this was a bad subject if she wanted to keep her cool. The despair and sense of being trapped in a hopeless life was creeping up on her, and she felt like she had already spent enough time weeping in front of strangers for one day.

For a while there was silence while the men simply watched, and Eva retreated into looking at the floor again. Then Heimdales deep and commanding voice cut through the stillness and her thoughts.

"take of your dress"

Eva could feel her pulse rising to a nauseating level, and her whole face burning again. She tried to cling to the few seconds she had to react, before it was interpreted as disobedience. She knew she had to obey, but even though she noticed she was getting up awkwardly, it did not feel like it was her doing it.

It was not that she was particularly modest or shy, nor that she was ashamed of her body. It was more the feeling of complete vulnerability on so many levels that nudity gives you.

She cursed the simplicity of the garment, buttons or even a zipper would have given her more time, but as it was, all she had to do was lift the dress up over her head. She grabbed the lower seem with both her hands, and looked beseechingly at Heimdale one last time.

All she got was the same stern glance.

In one sweeping motion she lifted it over her head, then she folded up the dress, and put it on the floor. Hiding or being coy seemed idiotic, so she simply knelt down again, and tried as hard as she could not to look at them at all.

"get up Eva, and turn around so we can see you"

Eva's head shut up at this.  For some reason she had never thought of this encounter as sexual in any way.. Odd, considering the circumstances, but even with those words she just couldn't imagine it. They seemed so cool and controlled somehow, just not how she could ever imagine molesters to be.

She saw nothing changed in their expression, as she got up and turned around. Something inside her was feeling worried that they would find fault with her, but she tried her best to keep her head up high. Obsessing about beauty had always seemed pointless to her. Except for weight and diet, which should be a priority anyway, you just had what you had. And if that wasn't good enough for the men or women she met, then she could not see why that should be her problem.

She knew she was considered pretty, though maybe a little bit to round. But now she was suddenly feeling self-conscious in a way she never had before. She suddenly felt that her large firm breasts where vulgar, that her round ass was to big, her flat trimmed stomach  not flat enough, and her long legs not skinny enough. It took her all her concentration not to run away or cover up, but to slowly turn for the men.

"go to the couch, and bend over the armrest" said Enkidu in an almost friendly tone.

Eva knew the second he said it, that she would not be able to do that. It was bad enough that she was standing naked in front of to fully dressed men, but that was definitely pushing the envelope.

"please Master, please, I can't. Please don't make me" she begged, tears pressing hard behind her eyes.

Enkidu looked terrible in his anger, he spoke in a low, but deep and menacing voice

"obey me right now, Eva"

This scared her into action, and she moved towards the couch, still everything in her protested.

"no, please, Master.. I'll do anything else, I promise!"

Enkidu was moving towards her before she could blink. She yelped in horror, and tried to get down and cover herself with her arms. He grabbed her brutally by the arm before she reached the floor, and dragged her along, half lifting her, then he flung her belly down over the armrest of the couch.

Eva was crying in horror already before the first blow fell. Then it suddenly dawned on her why she wanted to avoid this at any cost. The pain was excruciating, sharp and deep. She could feel Enkidu's anger directly through his hand, and her repentance was as physical as the anger. In spite of herself, she found herself struggling, begging, screaming for mercy in just a few strokes.

Her ass had already been sore, now she was is hell. Enkidu did not spare her in the least, but seemed to lay it on her backside with all his might.

After a few minutes, Enkidu stopped

"who is in charge, Eva?"

He more thundered, than asked.

Eva did not hesitate this time, but blurted out

"you, you! You are in charge! I'll do anything.. Please, please stop!" she begged between deep shuddering sobs.

 

"who is in charge" he shouted angrily, punctuating each word with a gigantic SCHWACK that had her holding on to the pillows for dear life.

"you are, you are, Master" she wept

"when will I stop spanking you?" he hammered into her sore backside.

Eva had to try to think through the pain

"when you want, Master" she gasped.

Enkidu did not say anything, but grabbed her around her waist with his free arm and, lifting her butt a little, started a steady, but severe rhythm of spanks, covering her entire butt and lower thighs.

Eva only yelped and wept, she did not struggle, nor did she beg. When she could not keep still any longer, all she could muster was a meek, tear-muffled "I am sorry, Master"

Eva was sure there wasn't a single inch that wasn't swollen and bruised. She felt like something was breaking inside of her, some inner shield she could almost feel falling painfully away from her.

When Enkidu finally stopped, she found that she had even stopped braising herself for the strokes as they fell, she simply accepted them.

This time, her sobs subsides rather quickly. What ever had been necessary to get out, was no longer in her. It seemed eerily quiet after the long all encompassing smacks of the punishment.

"are you ready to obey now?"

Enkidu asked, his voice again stern but it no longer had the horrible tang of anger.

"yes, Master" she answered, and was surprised at how automatic and submissive the response had already become. Still, it made her feel dizzy and horrible, that she had let herself be reduced to this so fast. She was this woman, kneeling in front of this man, but this person was not the person she had been all her life.

In some sense, she felt alienated from herself, like she did not know this person, that was at the same time herself, but in some peculiar way, she also felt something else. Something strong, yet she was unable to define what it was, even if it was good or bad.

Enkidu let go of her, and let her fall back unto the armrest, stepped away, and Eva found herself in exactly the position she had so tried to avoid. She felt horribly exposed, humiliated and more truly naked than she had ever felt in her life.

Time seemed to pass horribly slowly, Eva tensed every muscle in her body, and never had she been so keenly aware of her nether regions or her bottom. At every little tiny breeze that gently touched her oversensitive skin, she jerked in anticipation.

Yet, surprisingly little happened. She felt the men close about her, she heard them talk in their technical mumble jumble again, and at some point, something cold and metallic touched her pussy, but she wasn't even sure.

Then the men left, and she heard them talking and moving about the room, doing something. Only after the minutes slowly flowed together, and she had been standing there for at least forty five minutes, did she realise nothing was probably going to happen. She had been left there, and she was unable to leave just as much as had she been tied down.

She felt an wave of desperation and despair wash over her, as she realised how utterly helpless she was to the evil whims of these men. She could not imagine anything as pointless and degrading as being left like this, exposed and unable to do anything but lie there and think. Hatred and anger seemed to poor from her brain and into all her limbs, as she let herself feel all the desperation of her complete dependency on the mercy of the men. Her legs and back where aching, her face was sweaty and moist from being stuck in the pillows so long, and her legs and butt where feeling cold from the exposure.

That this was a lesson, did not escape her, and it only fuelled her anger. As time passed, and still nothing happened, she started sobbing in frustration. She imagined all the horrible things she would do to them, if only the tables would turn.

Then she felt a hand on her head, stroking her hair. She had not noticed any sound, nor felt anything sit down on the couch, and she nearly shot up in surprise. Embarrassed and confused, she looked round to see Enkidus dazzling eyes hovering high above her face. He was seated on the sofa, but he had twisted himself to look at her face.

What she read on his face, completely took her off guard. He looked at her with obvious pity. His handsome face shone with kindness and compassion, and there was something so honest about his dark eyes, that it immediately made her feel a heavy pang of guilt.

Nothing in the world would have ever have made her believe that this could be the face of kidnapper and a woman beater. There was such depth and intelligence in his expression, and he seemed genuinely likeable.

"may I please get up, Master?" she stammered awkwardly.

" No, Eva, you may not" came the stern reply, that it did not seem possible could stem from such a source.

Eva was taken aback, and in spite of fighting against it, she could not hold back a deep felt sob, and she hid her face in the pillows again.

Again, she felt the hand on her hair

"Stop fighting, Eva. You have brought your punishment on yourself."

He said this with such sternness, that Eva felt quite scared at first.  When she realised he wasn't going to beat her anymore, she relaxed some again. She did feel soothed, strangely, but with what ever was left in her of pride and dignity, she made an attempt and at keeping the fight alive.

She realised she wasn't cold anymore, and she thought they must have somehow regulated the heat. It was oddly considering, she thought, and another completely peculiar and unpredictable act.

The hours passed by incredibly slowly, and she found herself, after she had gone through all the aspects of of everything that had happened, the men and the odd place she   Was being kept, to think about her life. The life she no longer was a part of.

At first, it was silly things, like the laundry she had hanging in the basement, and was supposed to have taken down by today, otherwise the nasty elderly ladies she shared the building with, would start leaving her messages, openly and for all to see, with all the black and pointless hatred the situation could possibly afford.

She thought about what her boss and colleagues might do and say when she had not shown up for work. She was positive, the gossip would run rampant.

She thought about how hopeful she had been, when she had first started the job. How nice it had all seemed. So full of potential. The colleagues seemed so accomplished and well dressed and well spoken. Her boss seemed like an interesting and intelligent guy.

Then soon, as it had been most places, the gossip had started. The power fights.  First somebody had told her something unpleasant about somebody, and soon she realised, she was in fact in the middle of a war. Everybody against everybody, and no neutrals allowed. Her boss took out his shifting moods on her, discrediting her work and making sure she knew she was beneath him, and her colleagues did the same to each other.

Most if these things could be easily disguised as genuine concern for your fellow workers, for genuine dissatisfaction. But there was always something fake about the whole thing. Their fake products, their fake attitudes of joyful interest in the thriving of the company and each other.

Soon, Eva had found she thoroughly disliked the people she worked with, and the pointless things they did in it as well. And consequently, she found she really didn't like herself all that much. She simpered, and gossiped and worked every day for something that made no sense to her, and that she positively disliked.

When she came home, she felt tainted with the whole sordid business, and she then had to try to gossip some more with her friends, and try to keep the upper hand by letting her status and taste be shown in her apartment, body and wardrobe, settling her desirability by landing the right man.

When she was all alone, she had turned of the tv, and all her other duties where done, she felt such a profound sense of loneliness, it seemed to her almost like a black abyss of despair. If she ventured to think to much about it, she was afraid it might just swallow her, and she would give up even trying.

But that is life, she thought. It's about fake and pointless things, being prettier, smarter, richer, cooler, younger more accomplished so you can laugh and flaunt it, and everyone will envy you. Never mind that you would still be lonely, and still you would eventually grow old and dumb and dead.

She thought of her last fling. About the hope she had had, that he would somehow make her happy. Soon, it had been as so many times before. She did not feel any connection between them, and he turned out to be self-centred and superficial. The sex was dull, and she felt nothing when he touched her after the first few nights of excitement.

That she would break up with him, took him completely by surprise. He was handsome and moderately well off. In his own eyes, he was everything a woman could possibly want, especially one on her level.

He had, besides from this, also had no reason to suspect her, since she had diligently kept up an act of love, enjoyment and even sexual fulfilment. When she did finally break up with him, she had not even bothered to lie. She simply stated that she was bored, that she did not love him, and that she found it pointless to endure him any further.

As he had acted out his scene of broken heart, she had simply laughed. Not for a second had she believed that, beneath the surface of playing the couple, was there any genuine feeling except maybe an ego booster.

He had seemed a little stunned, but also in a sense relieved of not having to pretend the whole painful break up.

After he had taken his things, and some of hers as well, she had felt more empty than ever before. The last months had seemed the greyest and most alienating of her life.

And now she was stuck in a shed with some insane men from the middle ages. In a sense, she thought, it was not that her life was truly that much more odd and pointless. It was just a different kind. At least she really knew what she wanted now. To get up, stretch her back and move her legs!

When Enkidu finally told her to get up, she could hardly comply. She was so sore and stiff, it took a while for her to be able to walk again.

She was allowed to eat on the floor, and then she was send to bed. Both most welcome treats, and she found that she was much less conscious of her nudity after an afternoon of being exposed.

She slept deep and dreamless, and she woke up with a startle to see Heimdale standing next to her bed.

"Get up, Eva, get dressed, and come to the living room"

He barked harshly at her, then he left.

Eva tumbled out to comply, still groggy with sleep. Next to her bed was her dress and two slipper like shoes in a smooth material. She got dressed in no time, and leaped into the living room.

The sun had come up, and it shone brightly and clearly in the windows.

Both men where dressed, and they where wearing some primitive back packs of sort.

"drink this"

Said Enkidu, and handed her a cup.

The liquid looked dark and murky, and it smelled odd. Eva knew better than to object, so she swallowed it as fast as she could.

Enkidu then handed her a smaller back pack, and a small loaf of dark homemade bread, and motioned her to follow.

The men went briskly out the door, and Eva had to run to keep up.

There was a dirt road next to the house, and the men where walking down it, when Eva caught up. Their pace meant she had to almost run to keep up.

She looked about herself eagerly, and she could not help but enjoy being out in the bright morning sun, the smell of trees and plants, of sunshine and morning all about her. The air was so clear and fresh, and there was just a little breeze to caress her skin, and play with her tangled hair. Everything was alive and buzzing, the trees all had a thick suit of green leaves, and there where birds chirping all around

The road was really narrow, she wondered how a car could ever fit on it. There where some fields around, small and with crops she did not recognise, though some seemed to be planted with some kind of cereal. But mostly there where meadows without fences and forrest in both directions of the road.

Soon the where engulfed in the wood, and the sun was filtered through a thick layer of lush  green leaves. It did not seem to be the kind of forrest she knew from her own life, there where many different kinds of trees, and they seemed to be growing randomly between each other. A multitude of birds and plants lived among the trees. She could hear the birds chirping, and she caught a glimpse of them as they darted from tree to tree.

For the first five minutes, Eva had fun just looking about her, but soon she was out of breath, and being out of shape, she found it very taxing to keep up. After half an hour of this, she was ready to give up. Her sides stung horribly, and her muscles ached terribly.

She had not been able to eat the bread she carried with her, now she knew it would just make her feel sick. 

She managed to gasp a plea to Enkidu about slowing down. A brisk no, and a warning stare was all she got.

The wood seemed to go on endlessly. The more tired she got, the more Eva stumbled over every branch and stone on the road. As the hours passed, she felt she had willed herself way beyond what was humanly possible at least a thousand times. She did not see that the men had stopped up the road, and she almost tumbled into Heimdale.

Laughing at her pitiful state, with a happy face, he told her to sit down. She nearly collapsed on the ground, eliciting loud laughs from the two men, who had found a fallen tree, where Enkidu was already seated.

Stubbornly, Eva stayed where she had collapsed, and after catching her breath, she greedily ate the somewhat squashed and very clammy bread she still carried in her hand.

It tasted divinely complex, and Eva enjoyed it more than she could remember ever enjoying the most expensive and carefully prepared morsels from any restaurant.

Before she got to thirsty, Heimdale had given her a bottle of water, and she found that she had rarely felt so comfortable as she did at that moment. The water was the sweetest she had had, and the stony ground the most comfortable seat she could imagine. Her sweaty face was being cooled by the breeze, and the forrest was as beautiful as ever, now that she had time to admire it again. The mossy pillows between the trees, and the difference in sizes and shapes of the trees, gave the scene a most enchanting, almost fairy tale like appearance.

Eva fell silent in admiration of the place, while the men talked and laughed. They where talking about the road ahead, and other things that ought to interest her, but she found that it did not. She was happy to just sit and not to move.

To soon, the men got up again, and Eva knew she had to follow suit. It was with a heavy heart that she gathered up her back pack and forced her aching body to stand and walk.

She found, however, that the rest had done her good, and she soon fell into the pace of the men, lacking only a few steps behind them.

In such a manner passed the rest of the day. They walked through meadows and more forrest, over hills and even over a few streams. By evening, Eva felt that her tired feet would really give up on her, and twice Enkidu slapped her roughly, for lacking behind.

When they finally stopped, she simply fell to her knees next to the men, and stayed there. The men spread out their blankets on the mossy ground, and Heimdale took pity on her, and spread out hers as well. He placed her in between the sleeping arrangements of the men.

Too tired even to eat, she begged to be allowed to lie down, and Heimdale consented.

Barely had her head hit the cover, before she drifted of to sleep. She was vaguely aware of the men talking and eating. She felt a sense of safety, that she did not remember ever feeling before.

These barely conscious thoughts where the last she remembered before being shaken roughly awake by Enkidu. The sun was rising, and it was spreading a pinkish glow on the dew glistening grass and small growths around her, not to mention her covers and the back pack.

Heimdale and Enkidu looked newly washed and dressed, and they where eating a breakfast consisting of bread and cheese. Suddenly Eva felt ravenous, but as she tried to move, she discovered to her dismay that even the slightest movement was painful. Every muscle in her body cried out in anguish after the forced exercise of the previous day.

"go wash yourself in the stream, then come have breakfast" Enkidu ordered, almost in a friendly tone, as he looked sternly but kindly on Eva.

The water in the near by stream, that Enkidu had sent her too, was freezing cold, but it felt good on her aching limbs, and the sweat and grime from the day before seem to wash away along with her pain and apprehensions.

When she returned, she found a new, but almost identical dress waiting for her, clean and fresh. She paused a second before realising how absurd that was, considering the past days, and she quickly changed into the dress.

She hurried with her part of the breakfast, rightly guessing that the men would be ready to go already. Hardly had she licked the last crumb from her fingers, when she saw them getting up. She jumped up, and grabbing her back pack, followed them.

Enkidu sent her a cheerful grin, acknowledging her eagerness. To her dismay, she smiled eagerly back at him before she could check herself. Being naked in front of him had made her blush less than this simple little interaction.

Eva found, however, that she was positively bubbling over with a sense of adventure. She felt rested and cheerful at being in this beautiful place, and the men, though she new it was horribly wrong and absurd, made her feel safe, though in an unsettling and unfamiliar way.

After the first hour of stiffness and soreness, she found that she could much better keep up the pace. It was still a hassle, and she was not able to admire the landscape or much else but walk, but she did not feel it impossibly tasking as on the previous day.

When they made halt for their lunch break, she was in a much better state.

Enkidu looked at her scrutinisingly as she stopped in front of them, expectantly.

"in my pack, you'll find bread and water. Serve us on your knees"

Eva felt her face flush, in spite of herself, as she rummaged through the back pack. The men seemed perfectly at ease, though, as they talked about which pass to take.

Eva gave the bread to the men, which they took without even glancing at her. She knelt between them and offered water, which they ignored for a while, then with the slightest motion of the hand, Enkidu motioned for the bottle, which Eva eagerly scrambled to provide.

In such a way passed the break, and eventually, Eva was allowed to eat some herself. her face felt constantly flushed, and she felt humiliated and degraded, but she dared not raise an eyebrow in objection.

In the evening, Eva was again told to serve them, and afterwards to make the beds. Both Heimdale and Enkidu had started correcting her in her work. Telling her to kneel with her back straight, and her hands resting on her thighs. The beds too had to be folded just right, and the bottle refilled and replaced just right. They seemed to find faults with everything she did, and after she had served the men from a bottle from which she was not offered anything, they send her to bed.

She was almost as tired as the night before, but the memories of the disapproving looks, and sharp reprimands of the evening made her feel lonely and miserable in her sheets. Hopping it would not show, she hid her heads in the covers, and cried herself to sleep.

She woke up with a groggy head to the very first rays of the sun. Enkidu was sleeping very close to her, and his arm was on her blanket.

She felt again this sense of being safe next to him, but it was strange to see him looking so harmless and peaceful. His face looked handsome and strong even as he slept, but there was not the same sense of being constantly judged and scrutinised.

She felt a strange urge to touch his face, his lips, or his cheek, but she thought better of it. She was already humiliated enough without having to expose her feelings even more.

Instead she glanced at his hand, which rested on the blanket over her stomach. It looked so big and rough. She held up her own hand to measure it. It was much bigger, though her hands where not small. It looked calloused and scratched. On an impulse she gently touched the back of his hand. She could not help to think about how he had used these hands to hold her down and punish her, yet the seemed so gentle and friendly, protective and comforting even.

As she glanced up at his face, her heart froze. His eyes where open, and where looking at her scrutinisingly. She tried hard not to remember what her face might have looked like, as she had caressed his hand, but she could not help colouring violently, as she tried to get up without looking at him.  

No little corner of dignity was to be left her, she thought, as she fidgeted with her dress, not daring to go to the near by lake without being told.

"Eva" Enkidu said, sternly but with an unmistaken tint if kindness in his voice

"yes master" she answered, without turning around to face him.

"kneel at my feet, when I talk to you" came the somewhat harder response

Eva managed to turn around and kneel in front of him, without once looking at his face. She was still blushing.

Enkidu paused for a while, but she kept her eyes forcefully and stubbornly at the ground.

"go wash, then serve us breakfast. But be quick. We're going through an area with some slight hazards connected with it, and I we want to go through it before lunch"

Eva hurried along, almost tripping over her feet to get to the lake, and most importantly, away from Enkidu.

Barely had they swallowed their breakfast, then she was shooed along, furnished with her back pack, and they where again on the road.

Eva tried to keep her eyes on the ground, but soon the speed, and the constant strict correction by the men, which had only increased prevented her.If it was not her speed, it was her manner of walking, or the way she carried her back pack.

"walk straight, lift your feet higher!", Enkidu ordered, and Heimdale would then start picking  on her foot pose, or some other thing. When she failed to remember one thing or the other, Enkidu kindly reminded her by flogging her on the butt with a thin flexible stick he carried for the purpose. This always brought tears to her eyes, and fresh anger to her heart.

Eva was fuming, but she obeyed, and tried to keep up. Suddenly, she ran full force into the outstretched arm of Heimdale.

"be quiet, Eva." he said in a hurried voice

"well, well" said Enkidu, directing himself to Heimdale, "It seems they are making traps now. Soon it will be time to stop all that nonsense, but for now, we better just get on with it. Better leave the girl here, though."

Heimdale nodded, then turned to Eva

"Kneel" he thundered.

Eva fell to her knees in fright, and looked up into his stern eyes

"you will stay here, and not budge an inch before we come back. We will be so kind as to not tie you, just in case. You may not move! Do you understand?"

"yes Master" she whispered

"repeat it" he ordered

"I may not move until you come back, Master" she hurried to say.

Enkidu too shot her a warning look, then the two men walked briskly down the road, which turned and disappeared into the thick forrest not 100 meters further.

For a few seconds Eva kneeled on the dirt road, petrified and shocked. The forrest seemed suddenly larger and more ominous than before. She could not believe the suddenness of it all, and her head was still overpowered by the change.

Then she felt her heart swell with courage and joy. She got up, looked quickly around her, then she darted into the left side of the forrest, and ran as fast as she could.

This is my meager attempt at a bdsm fantasy novel. I plan on writing

a second part immediately, but I would very much appreciate

any help or any comments.

I might have read a little to much Dickens parallel with writing this,

and considering that English is also not my native language, the style may be a little awkward. Again, comments are very welcome.

If you've made it this far, I hope

you will also send me your opinion by mail: zenoida(at)hotmail(dot)com

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