Date: Fri, 3 Sep 2010 22:10:24 EDT
From: Mikeallanb@aol.com
Subject: Janet in Training chapters 11-12 End

Chapter Eleven: Janet Ascending
========================
Spring was giving way to summer, and the heat had begun  to increase as the
days got longer.  Winter coats were shed for lighter spring ones, then
finally for jackets  and even going without.  The heavy  clothing of winter was
gradually being replaced as the seasons changed, and  Janet watched as the
trendy women of Greenwich wore the newest fashions that  season.
But not Janet, who would wear either a full blouse or  dress, in order to
conceal the scars on her back.  Unlike the scarlet letter of colonial  times,
Janet wore hers on her back, and it was marked into her skin.  Janet could
only wonder about the  reaction that she would cause if she were to wear a
tank top or something else  that exposed her back into a public place.
Going to the broker that day in Greenwich had been  good.  The market was
up, and all of  her new picks had increased in value.  She looked over the
latest copies of the printed report in his office,  and marked some for sale
that weren't doing well, and new ones to buy.  There was a calendar hung on
his wall,  from some resort in the Caribbean.  Janet stared at the picture of
a couple  in bathing suits on a sailboat.
"Why don't you go on a trip there," suggested the broker,  "you look like
you could use a vacation."
"No thanks," Janet answered, "too  busy."
If the prospect of wearing a top that exposed her back in  Greenwich was an
 impossibility, she could only imagine what the reaction might be if she
wore a  bikini to a beach.  Or a regular  suit.  Even though the marks on her
thighs and bottom had faded, Janet was clearly marked, both internally and
externally.
"All work and no play," said the broker, "makes one  pretty stale."
"Have to work at this," confided Janet, "I have a  reason."
"Whatever it is, it must be important," he said as Janet  passed him her
latest decisions.
"You don't know how important," said Janet, "or the  stakes involved."
"Well, good luck.  Whatever the hell you're involved in," he  said.
"Thanks," said Janet as she rose from her chair, folded  the reports into
her briefcase, and pulled on her  jacket.
"Why are you still wearing something so heavy?" he  asked.
"Thin blood," said Janet on the way  out.
It was a hot day, and Janet could feel that her blouse  was already
plastered on her back by sweat.  How she longed to rid herself of the  jacket, and
wear something light and sexy.  Instead, she felt like a Victorian walking
around, her body fully clothed  and invisible.
After she had stowed away the reports in her safe deposit  box, Janet
decided that it would be nice to walk around.  She looked in the rich stores on
the  main street in Greenwich, and the outside temperature  increased as the
day wore on.  It  was going to be a hot early summer, and the fashions this
year were going to  show a lot of skin.
"Janet?"
Janet turned around when she heard the unfamiliar voice  at her back.
There was a girl standing there, a pretty brunette.  Janet looked her over,
and undressed her  with her eyes, wondering if she was someone's  slave.
"Do I know you?" asked  Janet.
"You took Lauren's continued punishment in my place in  her house months
ago," she said softly so that nobody else could hear, "my name  is Myra."
"Oh," answered Janet, recognition dawning in her  mind.
"I'm Rene's slave, but Lauren is free to use me whenever  she desires.
Which is quite often," stated Myra.
"Let's walk," suggested  Janet.
"Okay," answered Myra.
Janet continued her journey through Greenwich, with Myra at her side, about
half a pace behind  her.
"How are you doing?" asked  Janet.
"Rene and Lauren are harsh with their slaves.  You already know that.  I
get beaten horribly on a regular  basis."
"I'm sorry, but there's nothing that I can do," said  Janet, "I've
already felt Lauren's whip."
"I asked if I could be your slave.  Do you remember?" asked Myra.
"Yes.  I was  lucky to make it home, and I was feverish and delirious for
days.  I nearly died," grimly stated  Janet.
"You infuriated Lauren by taking her punishment and  surviving.  She hates
you, and your  former owner, Erica."
"I know," answered Janet.
"Please buy me and make me your slave, before she goes  too far with me
also," plead Myra, tears in her  eyes.
Janet thought carefully before she  answered.
"I can't, not yet.  I'm sorry, Myra.  I'm involved in something that
Erica has devised.  Right now, I'm as much of a slave as you  are," said Janet.
"Is that why Tiffany is always reading the financial  papers, calling a
broker and buying stocks like mad?" asked Myra.
"Yes," cautiously answered  Janet.
"She was boasting to Lauren yesterday that her total was  over a million.
Does that mean anything to you?" asked Myra.
"Yes," answered Janet, "yes it does.  Thank you."
"Mistress Janet, please!  Buy me," begged Myra.
"It's not yet time, Myra.  Please!" responded Janet.
"Yes, Mistress Janet.  Whatever happens, good luck," said  Myra,
disappointment clearly evident in her voice.
It took all of Janet's control to avoid breaking down as  she walked back
to her car and away from Myra.  The slave had taken an awful chance in
talking to her, and if her  information was correct, then Janet was in real
trouble.  They had both started out with a million  dollars in stock.  In the
months  since, with the market up and down, Janet had finally reached back to
her  starting figure.
But if Tiffany were ahead, the tyranny of the calendar  would be ticking
away the days until the end of her freedom.  Her threat to place Janet in the
Dungeon  was not an idle one.
Janet shed tears in her car, worrying about the future  and what it might
bring.
"Lunch, Mistress?" asked Tina when she returned  home.
"Something light, Tina.  I really don't feel like  eating."
"Yes, Mistress Janet."
"Is Tiffany home, has she eaten?" asked  Janet.
"Yes, Mistress, to both questions," answered  Tina.
"Thank you, Tina."
Tina set a tray before her containing a salad, a cold  soda, and a piece of
cake.  Janet  doubted that she could get any of it down, but she resolved
to try.  Janet had never suffered from any of the  problems of eating that
beset other women, but her stomach was now tied in knots  at the information
that she had obtained.
Janet ate alone in the library, reading a book from the  vast collection
that Erica had created.  How had her owner managed to get such a library when
she had been so busy  in the Dungeon?
"Hi there," said Tiffany, as she seated herself on the  leather couch.
"Greetings," politely answered  Janet.
"I'm having a good day.  Want to go out?" offered  Tiffany.
"No thanks," refused Janet, "we've already done  that."
"Are you afraid that I'd take you to Lauren's again?"  asked Tiffany.
"The thought had crossed my mind," politely answered  Janet.
"Just out for a drive, that's all," answered  Tiffany.
"I'd like to rest for a while.  My slave Jessica is coming over tonight,
so I'd like to use the Dungeon this evening.  Okay?" asked  Janet.
"Sure, I'm going out tonight anyway, after I go  shopping.  I'm picking up
a diamond  necklace today in town, costing plenty," boasted  Tiffany.
"Really, how lucky of you," said  Janet.
"Let's just say that I made some money lately, and now I  want to spend it
on myself.  Want to  see a picture?" offered Tiffany.
"Sure."
Tiffany unfolded a picture that she had been carrying  around in her shirt
pocket from the Times.  It was a diamond necklace, all right, with a price
in five  figures.
"Just make sure you keep it safe," said Janet, "you  wouldn't want
someone to steal it from you."
"Yeah," said Tiffany when she departed the  library.
Tiffany could not have hurt Janet more than if she had  stabbed Janet with
a knife.  First,  the news from Myra and now Tiffany was spending a lot of
money on a necklace.  What had  seemed like such a good day in the morning
was becoming a disaster in the  afternoon.
Leaving the tray in the library, she walked up to her  bedroom, shed her
shoes, and looked forward to a few hours of blissful  sleep.  Before her
session with  Jessica, who was her devoted slave and submissive.
Janet lay down on the bed and loosened her blouse and  skirt. At least the
bedroom was a pleasant temperature.  Not too hot or too cold, she  thought.
When the alarm clock finally went off at 5 PM, it was a  relief to awaken.
Janet swung her  legs off the bed, and realized that she was covered in
sweat.  Her clothes were soaked, as if she had  been outside on an August day.
"Damn!" cried Janet, "shower  time."
Janet stripped off her clothes, after having told Tina to  keep her dinner
waiting for a while.  She turned the shower up to hot, and jumped under the
steaming water,  letting the stinging water wash away her sweat and the sour
odor of her  perspiration.  Soaping herself, she  allowed herself the
luxury of stimulating herself orgasm in the shower.  Which was something that she
had ordered  Jessica not to do.
Her fingers massaged her sex, and her pussy hair, which  had regrown since
Andrea was no longer shaving it.  Tiffany had removed Erica's medallion,
but not the labia ring that it had been attached  to.
She considered if she should order that Jessica should be  shaved also as a
measure of her submission to Janet.  When suddenly something clicked, and
Janet froze, dropping the soap bar onto the bathtub's  floor.
"Idiot!" cried Janet,  "Idiot!"
Just because the rules said that they couldn't seek  advice from the
brokers that they had to deal with, didn't mean that they  couldn't get it
elsewhere.  Lauren  was probably advising Tiffany, since Myra had told her what
she had seen in Lauren's  house.
Janet had been working by herself, alone and terrified  while investing in
the market.  When  someone else could have helped her.  Like another broker,
or Jessica.
Jessica!  Here she had one of the wealthiest women in the country as one of
her  slaves, and she hadn't made the proper use of her.  Sure, Jessica had
shown that she would  lick her boots and pussy, and perform housework and
endure the whip.  But would she serve as her  advisor?
Janet had learned at Erica's feet that the purpose of a  slave was to serve
her Mistress, no matter what the demand or circumstance.  Erica and later
Stephanie had used her  in many ways, but never intellectually.  Perhaps it
was time to start.
Stephanie had once taken Janet to a party where the  guests were all
Dominatrices and their slaves.  She had met a wealthy woman who owned  her own
business, who had told her that her slave was also her girl Friday.  Blanca may
not have wanted to use a  slave in her law office, but that didn't mean
others would have the same  prohibition.
Quickly Janet got out of the shower, glad for the hot  water that had
reinvigorated her.  She toweled herself off, her skin still sweating from the
sauna like  conditions of the shower that she had just taken.  After drying
herself, Janet dressed in a  blouse, jeans, and a pair of high heels.
`Not an elegant way to dress for dinner,' Janet thought,  `but I'll dress
in something more fitting before Jessica  arrives.'
While she had barely been able to choke down lunch, she  attacked the
broiled scallops like she had not eaten for a week.  She drank sparingly of the
white wine,  since she had to keep a clear head with Jessica.  Tiffany had
consumed too much bourbon,  and had fallen asleep with Tina locked in the
cell.  Janet would do no such thing, and only  drank the wine to enhance the
meal, not to get  drunk.
Tina watched her Mistress eat, and smiled when she saw  how Janet ate with
pleasure.  Janet  observed her, but kept silent about her idea for using
Jessica.
Sitting at the table, Janet pondered what she was going  to do with
Jessica.  In the several  weeks that she had been training her as a slave, Jessica
had been steadily  brought along one step at a time.  She had been divested
of her clothes, and forced to work alongside a  Maid.  She had been punished
with  ever increasing severity with the whip and crop.  Jessica had also
been ordered to contain  herself, only being allowed to release herself upon
Janet's  orders.
The result was that Jessica was slowly being turned into  a slave. With
Janet holding her strings as her puppeteer.  Question was, had she been brought
far  enough along to serve in this new capacity?
Janet would find out tonight and order Tina out of the  Dungeon at the
crucial time.  She  didn't want Tina to find out about this, not yet.  Not even
Stephanie should  know.
"Thank you, Tina, that was an excellent dinner,"  complimented Janet.
"Thank you, Mistress," Tina  replied.
"Is Tiffany gone?"
"She left when you were in the shower,  Mistress."
"Excellent. Jessica will be here at 9 PM, so I'll dress  myself before
then.  The usual  setup," ordered Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," answered Tina as she collected the  dishes.
Just like the first evening when Jessica had arrived for  her introduction
to bondage, Janet was nervous as hell.  She had left Tina alone to dress in
her  latex uniform, so that she could be shown of to Jessica.  Meanwhile,
Janet had to dress herself in  her leather outfit, and she was shaking like a
leaf.
"Goddamn, Janet," she said aloud in front of her mirror,  "a Mistress is
supposed to be supremely confidant and a goddess.  Instead, you're shaking
like a  leaf.  So calm  down!"
Janet had decided on something simple, given the sudden  heat of spring.
She wore a black  leather bodysuit over a pair of pantyhose, plus simple pair
of knee high  boots.  Admiring herself in the  mirror, she loved the way
the bodysuit hugged all her  curves.
She had tried wearing her leather catsuit around the  house recently, and
discovered that it was already too warm to do so.  When she finally took it
off, it was  time for it to be cleaned.  Janet  had not even bothered to wear
her rubber catsuit, remembering the wrestling suit  she had inherited from
her brother.
She would get by the summer by wearing things that would  let her skin
breath, at least partially.  Janet heard a car crunch on the gravel outside, and
looked at the  clock.  It was already 9 PM, and her  charge was arriving
now!
Janet walked carefully from her bedroom and downstairs to  the library.
Janet passed Tina in  the hall, as she was going outside to collect Jessica
from the limo.  It was a good thing that there was no  carpeting anywhere in
the mansion.  Walking in stiletto heels was dangerous enough already, and the
sharp  heels would eventually destroy the carpet anyway.
She took one last look at herself in the library mirror,  admiring her long
legs. Then she seated herself in the large leather chair and  waited for
the night's activities to begin.
Tina brought in Jessica, and through the open window  Janet could hear the
gravel crunch as the car pulled away.  Jessica was wearing a simple white
blouse, skirt, and heels as Janet had ordered when she departed last  Sunday.
 If she had followed Janet's  orders to the letter, then she would be
wearing nothing  underneath.
"Remove her sunglasses, Tina," ordered  Janet.
"Yes, Mistress."
When the glasses were removed, Jessica blinked her eyes  in the sudden
light.  She remained  silent until her Mistress deigned to speak to her.
"Good evening, Jessica.  I trust that you are eager to see your  Mistress
this weekend," said Janet.
"Yes, Mistress Janet," answered  Jessica.
"Then remove your clothes and let me see if you have  obeyed your
instructions that I gave you on Sunday," ordered  Janet.
Jessica began by unbuttoning the sleeves on her blouse,  then unzipping her
skirt.  Janet  nodded in approval when she saw that Jessica had indeed
followed her orders, and  wore no underwear.  Instead, her  female figure was
well striped by the accumulation of several weeks of Janet's  discipline.
"Very nice, Jessica.  In future, I may order you to wear  something of mine
on yourself permanently.  To remind you that I am your Mistress," described
 Janet.
"May I ask Mistress a  question?"
"Go ahead," answered Janet.
"What would you have me wear?" asked  Jessica.
"A locked chain around your waist, to start.  Something that you couldn't
remove  yourself.  Then perhaps your labia  might be pierced to contain a
medallion proving your slavery to me.  You could even be tattooed or branded
as  a final mark of ownership.  Would  you like to do something like that?"
asked Janet.
"I don't know, Mistress.  I'm still pretty scared," truthfully  answered
Jessica.
"Thank you for your honest answer, Jessica.  Slaves aren't allowed to lie
to their  Mistress.  Tina, outfit her in  collar, bracelets, blindfold, and
ballgag," ordered  Janet.
Jessica stood silently as Tina placed the instruments of  bondage upon her,
standing stiffly and offering her limbs as the leather and  steel enclosed
them.  Janet watched  quietly as her Maid took control of the situation,
expertly confining Jessica  into slavery.  Janet decided that  next week
Jessica would not even see her Mistress upon entering the house.  Much as Erica
had done with Janet by  handing her over to Andrea upon entering her house.
When Tina was done, she locked Jessica's wrists behind  her back.  Then she
made her kneel  onto the small carpet, and a leash was attached to her
collar.  Tina then got a blindfold and ballgag  from the desk, and in a few
seconds Jessica was rendered without sight or  speech.
Janet noted that Jessica had eagerly opened her mouth  when the gag was
presented to her.  She had opened her mouth without hesitation and her lips
enclosed the red  rubber ball.  Jessica had gone from  being reluctant about
the gag to eager in just a few weeks.  She wondered just how much more eager
she would become in the future.
Tina had been ordered to take Jessica immediately to the  Dungeon, then to
be locked by her collar chain to the wall.  Then she was supposed to wait
for Janet  to arrive after a period of time, so that Jessica would be mad with
anticipation  to see her Mistress.
Once Jessica had been led away, Janet relaxed.  Tiffany was away, and Janet
hoped that  she wouldn't be interfering any time soon.  The only problem
was that if she knew the identity of Janet's newest  slave, which might cause
problems later.
The sudden electronic ring of the phone interrupted her  thoughts.
"Hello?" asked Janet.
"Janet, hi, its Tiffany."
"What's up?"
"I'm calling to say that I'll be back on Monday.  I'm going away with
Lauren for a trip,"  stated Tiffany.
"Thanks for calling," said  Janet.
"Bye," said Tiffany, and the connection were  severed.
Janet clutched the phone, convinced that finally the  fates were on her
side.  Her new  slave, the market up and now Tiffany absent from the  house.
"My luck has to turn sometime," said Janet to  herself.
Janet let a full half-hour elapse, sure that this would  be enough time to
drive Jessica mad with desire for her Mistress.  She loved hearing the
sounds that her  heels made as they clicked on the wooden floor as she made her
way to the  Dungeon.  The sounds echoed through  the huge house, like the
sounds of a metronome.
Jessica was kneeling on a piece of carpet, her collar  chained to the wall.
 She remained  bound in the same way as she had been in the library.  Janet
walked to a chair that looked like  a throne, and sat down.  She  motioned
for Tina to unlock Jessica and bring her over to  Janet.
Tina complied, all without saying a word.  Soon, Jessica was naked, bound,
and  kneeling before her Mistress.  Since  she was blindfolded, she didn't
know who was in front of  her.
Janet stood up, and placed her thumb and forefinger under  Jessica's chin.
She made Jessica  gradually raise her head, since it had been downcast
towards the floor.  Then Janet began to play with Jessica's  erect nipples,
sometimes pinching them between her  fingers.
This had the effect of making Jessica moan from behind  her gag.  Just to
make her slave  feel more helpless, Janet continued to pull and fondle her
slave's breasts.  In time, Jessica became fully  aroused.
Since she had already been a slave for several weeks, she  knew to keep her
legs opened and her sex available.  Once, she had forgotten, and Janet had
quickly and severely punished her with several stokes of the riding crop on
her  thighs.  This had left several red  welts that had lasted a long time,
and proved a good reminder in her  training.
Janet reached between Jessica's legs to her wet pussy,  and began to fondle
her sex.  Jessica moaned even more, and Janet pinched her clit just once.
This provoked a reaction whereby her  entire body shook with desire.
Janet knew that her training of this slave had been  entirely successful.
Jessica  Danvers may have been a wealthy society woman, but inside she was a
slave to her  desires, one of which was to be subject to a  Mistress.
Janet removed her blindfold, but not her ballgag.  Jessica blinked in the
sudden light, as  Janet's Dungeon was kept well lit.  Dark Dungeons were for
gothic novels in her  opinion.
"Good evening, slave.  I take it that you have been eagerly  awaiting the
pleasure of your Mistress," said  Janet.
Jessica nodded her head yes in reply, the rubber ball  silencing her
replies.
"Perfect.  I  can see by your body's reaction that you are ready to serve
me."
Jessica nodded again.
"Excellent."
"Thank you, Mistress," gasped Jessica when her ballgag  was removed.
"You're welcome, Jessica.  Now we can begin.  Something with the paddle,
first.  Just to soften you up and get you in the  proper frame of mind,"
suggested Janet.
Jessica was then locked over a leather-padded  sawhorse.  Her ankles were
secured  by the D rings on her bracelets and locked to the legs on one side.
Then her torso was bent over the apex of  the horse, and her wrist cuffs
were similarly locked on the other  side.
The girl was quite vulnerable and exposed to what her  Mistress would
desire for her use and discipline.  Her hair had been gathered into a  ponytail
at Janet's direction so that it would not interfere in any way.  Janet did
not want Jessica's view to be  blocked, nor did she want Jessica to inhale her
loose hair.  So she has told Tina to bind it up  before Jessica had been
placed on the horse.
"Ready, slave?" asked Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," meekly replied  Jessica.
Janet had a leather paddle in her hand, onto which she  had sprinkled a few
drops of water.  This had softened the leather, and would produce a nice
sound when it  impacted on Jessica's bottom.
"Have you forgotten?" angrily demanded  Janet.
"Thank you, Mistress, for what I am about to receive,"  quickly answered
Jessica.
Jessica's reward was the first stroke with the  paddle.  Janet had
delivered a  strong stinging blow that landed with a satisfying thwack on Jessica's
behind.  Janet noted with approval  how her buttocks shook with the impact,
making them bounce up and  down.
"One," cried Jessica.
Janet delivered another stroke, this time to another part  of Jessica's
behind.  It landed with  less force than the first, but still reddened the slave
's  skin.
"Two!"
The third was placed right on the area between her ass  cheeks leading up
to her anus.  Janet knew that every time that Jessica would be sitting down
for the  next few days, she would be forced to think of her  Mistress.
"Three!"
"Four."
Janet only wanted to deliver enough strokes to make  Jessica's behind red
and sore, so that Jessica would have a reminder of the  punishment that she
had undergone.  Since this was the first time that Jessica had been bound
over the horse,  Janet had finally satisfied Jessica's curiosity about what the
horse was used  for.
"Ten!" cried Jessica, the beginning of tears in her  eyes.
Janet felt Jessica's reddened behind.  The skin was warmed to the touch,
and  Janet knew that she had accomplished her goal without punishing Jessica
too  much.  Ten strokes with the paddle  and a red behind were enough to
introduce Jessica to the horse for  today.
"Thank you, Mistress," sobbed Jessica when no further  strokes with the
paddle were forthcoming.
Next time, Janet would use her hand instead of the  paddle.  This little
change, from  using an instrument to her own flesh, would show Jessica a
certain intimacy with  her Mistress that the impersonal leather did not  possess.
Janet did not have to explore Jessica's sex to know that  she was already
wet and excited.  She knew that even before they had started for the night.
No, Janet now had to make Jessica become  ever more stimulated before she
would be allowed to  cum.
"Tina, release her please," ordered  Janet.
When Jessica had been released from the horse, she stood  in silence
directly in front of Janet.  Janet had not ordered her to be placed into another
form of bondage, but  merely was waiting to direct her slave with a new and
confusing  order.
"Jessica!" said Janet  sharply.
"Yes, Mistress," she quickly  answered.
"Since you have already been my slave for a fairly long  period of time, in
my opinion you are now ready to select your own punishment,"  said Janet.
"Mistress?" asked a puzzled  Jessica.
"You may go to the cabinet and select the instrument that  I will use on
you next.  Just don't  take all evening."
Confused and baffled from Janet's latest order, Jessica  walked uncertainly
over to the open cabinet where the instruments of the Dungeon  were
located.  Inside were all of  the things that were meant to be used on a slave
girl, at the choice of her  Mistress.
It was therefore quite strange that Janet would give her  slave the choice
of what would be used on her next.  It was quite a painful decision for a
slave girl to have to make.
Jessica would pick up and handle the whip, riding crop,  flogger, and other
instruments.  All  of which Janet had used on her in the preceding weeks,
as Jessica descended  deeper and deeper into slavery.
She finally chose a long sinuous black leather whip, one  that had been
used on her many times before.  Janet had told Tina earlier to make  certain
that all of the instruments were to be cleaned and oiled for tonight,  else
Tina would have to endure a special ordeal.  Tina had obeyed, and all of the
leather  things within had been polished and shined under the  lights.
Jessica then removed the whip, walked slowly over to  Janet, and knelt
before her, presenting Janet with the thing that she had  chosen.
"Thank you, Jessica.  I'm that that I can make your choice of  the whip
worthwhile," said Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," answered Jessica as Janet removed the  coiled whip from
her hands.
"Tina, chain Jessica up from the ceiling by her wrists  and lock her ankles
with a spreader bar," ordered Janet, "I want her completely  vulnerable to
me."
"Yes, Mistress."
Janet sat down in her chair, and waited for Tina to  complete her directed
task.  She  felt the whips surface on her fingers, enjoying the sensual
experience of the  oiled leather.  Tina had done an  excellent job with the
whip, and it was truly in excellent condition.  Perhaps Tina would be its next
target  soon!
Janet was in no hurry.  In comparison to Tiffany, who rushed  through her
discipline with her slaves, Janet knew that the longer the  expectation, the
greater the climax that the slave would experience upon  release.  Which
would please both  slave and Mistress, and keep the slave coming back for
more!
Jessica was restrained from the ceiling with her wrist  bracelets locked
together, and her legs kept apart by the spreader bar.  She was totally
exposed to whatever  cruelties that her Mistress would desire to inflict upon
her.
Mistress Janet rose slowly from her chair, her long  beautiful legs encased
in black hose.  The skin from her waist to her feet was covered by the
sheer weave, and  showed every muscle of her lovely legs.  Seeing herself in the
mirror, Janet resolved that she wouldn't wear boots  again so often.  Janet
decided that  she would display her legs from now on!
The Mistress coiled the whip with her two hands and  presented the handle
of woven leather to Jessica's red lips.  Jessica kissed the handle without
having  been ordered to, since she already knew what Janet expected of  her.
"Thank you, Mistress, for the punishment that I am about  to receive,"
said Jessica, as she restrained a sob.
"You're welcome, slave."
Janet uncoiled the whip, and delivered a mild stroke that  curled around
Jessica's exposed body.  The tip landed with a moderate impact, and when it
struck Jessica's  breast, she shook her head from side to side, trying to deny
the emotions and  feelings that the whip generated within her.
"Thank you, Mistress!" cried  Jessica.
When Janet had been whipped for the first time, she had  protested that
nice girls didn't get whipped.  True, Erica had pointed out.  Slave girls got
whipped, and that was  what Jessica had become by now.  Horrified and
attracted by the discipline that she was now receiving from  her Mistress.
The whip struck again, with the tip landing between  Jessica's breasts.
Jessica's reaction was to moan and  cry.
"Don't you want to count the strokes?" asked  Janet.
"No, Mistress," cried  Jessica.
"Would you rather be  gagged?"
"Yes, Mistress," Jessica  begged.
Deciding that it would be more personal if she gagged  Jessica herself,
Janet got the gag from Tina.  She walked over to Jessica, and  presented the
object to her slave.
"Is this what you want?" asked  Janet.
"Yes, Mistress."
"Then you shall have it, slave," said  Janet.
Jessica opened her mouth, and Janet pushed the red rubber  ball inside,
drawing the straps around to the back of the neck.  Jessica bowed her head to
assist Janet  as the buckle was drawn tight and closed, with her bound hair
nicely out of the  way.  The rubber ball was deep  inside her mouth, and
Jessica would never be able to displace  it.
Janet had told Jessica the previous week that the pain  and the pleasure of
being whipped would be intensified if she wore the  ballgag.  Jessica had
remembered  what her Mistress had told her, and desired the  experience.
Her discipline continued with a slow, steady series of  strokes.  Janet
wanted to insure  that Jessica's entire skin would slowly heat up under the
repeated impacts of  the whip.  She was striking her  charge with impacts
barely hard enough to mark, but she knew that Jessica was  experiencing both
agony and ecstasy at the same  time.
Janet kept the pace of her strokes, pausing after every  series of ten had
been properly delivered.  She watched as Jessica's skin was slowly marked
with a thin tracery of  fine lines from the whip.
"Enjoying yourself?" asked  Janet.
"Mmmmph!" answered Jessica.
Janet decided to stop, and check on what she had  accomplished.  Jessica's
skin was  warm to the touch, with an almost electric excitement pulsating
through her  body.  Jessica's nipples were fully  erect and her sex was
completely wet from her discipline.  The gag was having the effect of  preventing
her from begging for her punishment to  stop.
"Jessica, since you can't plead for mercy with the gag in  your mouth, I'm
going to give you a coin.  I want you to hold this in your fingers.  If the
pain gets too intense, or I hurt  you too much, I want you to release the
coin.  Understand?"
Jessica nodded her understanding, and Janet placed a  dollar-sized casino
token between the thumb and fingers of Jessica's left  hand.  Jessica held
the coin  tightly, not wanting to release it by accident.
With the gag still between Jessica's teeth, Janet then  proceeded with her
discipline.  As  before, she began slowly.  Jessica's  skin had not really
cooled down, and she was charged like an erotic battery that  her Mistress
was in control of.  Janet would decide when she would discharge this
particular  battery!
Janet delivered the next series of strokes with a little  more force than
the previous ones.  The marks on Jessica's body were more pronounced, and
would last  longer.  Surely Jessica knew that if  her body were to be whipped
longer, her marks would remain for quite some  time.
"Jessica," said Janet, "look at yourself in the  mirror!  Are you sure
that you want  me to continue marking you with the whip!" demanded  Janet.
Jessica nodded her head yes in response to her Mistresses  demand.
"I hope that you're not planning on going on a cruise or  swimming then,
because your whip marks will be a little hard to explain," stated  Janet.
Jessica repeated nodding her head  yes.
"Then we shall continue, slave," said Janet  coldly.
Janet wondered just how Jessica must have been coping  with her
tribulation.  Jessica was  still fairly new, yet she was now proving to Janet that she
was capable of great  endurance in accepting the whip from her Mistress.
`Damn it,' thought Janet, `drop the  coin!'
Janet suddenly placed herself back in Lauren's house,  helpless as she was
whipped into unconsciousness.  The room swayed and distorted, even  though
it was brightly lit.  She saw  Lauren's leering sadistic face, then Sabrina
and Myra.
`Myra,' thought Janet, `where are you  now?'
`Buy me please?' begged Myra, `please?'
Janet's nightmare was suddenly ended when she heard the  sound of the coin
dropping to the floor and giving off a sharp ring when it  struck the stone
floor.
"Very good," said Janet as she struggled to regain her  composure.
Janet stopped her use of the whip, and realized that  during the entire
flashback to her ordeal with Lauren she had continued to whip  Jessica like a
robot.  It had only  been the sound of the coin falling that had stopped her
from continuing to whip  Jessica past her endurance.
Before the evening had started, Janet had decided that  she would torment
her slave three times tonight before letting her finally cum  in a rush of
orgasms.  But since  Jessica had already undergone so much discipline already,
and she was quite  clearly ready, now was the time to let her release.
"Tina, take her down and place our guest in the special  chair.  Don't
remove her gag just  yet," Janet ordered.
Jessica was placed on a special wooden chair, with a hole  in the center.
It was on a special platform that was elevated over a  foot off the floor.
Her wrists were  locked behind her back, and her ankles were locked to the
chair's legs.  Under the hot lights, Janet saw that her  slave had taken a
large amount of strokes.  Her skin was covered with the whip marks that she
would carry for some  time.
It was now time to release the battery that Janet had  been charging all
night!
Janet walked over to the cabinet and chose a modest sized  white vibrator.
While the sex shops were full of monster dildos, they  were only for show.
Using this on  Jessica would make her slave eager to have one, once she had
been wracked by  orgasm after orgasm!
"Ever use one of these?" asked Janet as she displayed the  vibrator to her
bound captive.
Jessica shook her head from side to side, saying  no.
"Good.  Then  I'm sure that you'll enjoy it, slave."
Janet flicked the switch on, and felt the gentle buzzing  of the vibrator.
She knew that  since Jessica was now fully excited by her punishments,
Jessica would experience  a massive series of orgasms.
Reaching under the chair, she pushed the white vibrator  up through the
hole inside Jessica's sex.  Janet had to bend down to get under the seat so
that she would have the  leverage to insert the vibrator deeper inside
Jessica.
Once Janet had pushed it inside, Jessica instantly began  to buck and moan.
 Janet did not  even have to thrust the shaft in and out, as Jessica would
raise and lower  herself onto the vibrator.  With  Jessica already primed,
the slave was quite ready and eager for  release.
Janet had found the chair in a storeroom, and had guessed  instantly what
it could be used for.  She had been disappointed that Erica had not used it
on  her!
"Now!" ordered Janet as Jessica impaled herself on the  plastic shaft.
Jessica's body was wracked with pleasure as the waves of  orgasms flooded
over her, making her moan and cry from behind her gag.  She bit onto the
rubber, and it's  presence in her mouth helped to make the climaxes even more
intense, since the  power of speech had been removed from her!
Janet thrust the vibrator again and again, each time  making sure that her
slave experienced one orgasm after another, until they  began to come fewer
and fewer.  Janet wanted her to be exhausted and to spend herself completely
before  she was released from the chair.
Janet and the vibrator were unwinding all of the pent-up  energy that
Jessica had been keeping.  Finally, Jessica slumped in fatigue after she had
climaxed again and  again.  It was finally time, since  Jessica had experienced
the release that she had come to a Mistress  for.
"Tina, release her.  Jessica, I want you on the carpet, knees apart,"
ordered  Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," said Tina.
Still gagged, Jessica kneeled on the carpet in front of  the throne like
chair.  Not certain  about her hands, she placed them on her knees, awaiting
further instructions  from Janet.
"Tina, could you leave us, please?" asked  Janet.
"Mistress?" asked Tina, surprise on her  face.
Every time that Tina had assisted Janet, she had been  there the entire
time, from beginning to end.  Now she was being asked to leave, and  she couldn'
t understand why.
"Tina!  Don't  make me have to repeat an order again!" angrily said
Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," answered Tina, who turned on her heels  and left the
Dungeon.
`Tina I'm sorry I had to do that,' thought Janet, `but  I'll explain
after this is all over.'
Janet stood up from her chair and walked over to Jessica,  who knelt
awaiting the next move of her Mistress.  Janet unbuckled the ballgag, and held it
in her hands, wrapping the leather strap around her fingers.  The ball was
wet with Jessica's drool,  and glistened in the Dungeon's bright lights.
"Thank you, Mistress," panted  Jessica.
"You're welcome, slave.  Did you enjoy your discipline  tonight?"
"Yes Mistress."
"You know, you won't be able to go swimming in a public  place with your
skin like that," stated Janet.
"I own a small island in the Caribbean where I vacation privately, usually
without  clothing anyway.  Perhaps you would  care to join me?" asked
Jessica.
"Thank you.  Your offer is most kind," Janet replied.
"I could even have a small Dungeon built to satisfy your  needs," offered
Jessica.
"I can dominate you without a Dungeon, just as I did with  a girl recently
in Manhattan.  One doesn't always need a Dungeon in the  basement, you know.
 Just a skilled  Mistress."
"Yes, Mistress Janet," answered  Jessica.
"In two of your last responses, you failed to address me  with my proper
title of Mistress.  Was that a deliberate omission, or just an accident?"
asked  Janet.
"An accident, Mistress Janet, please!  Don't punish me again," plead
Jessica.
Janet knew that Jessica's skin and loins were on fire,  and she was now
ready for the request that she would make of  her.
"Slave Jessica," Janet began, "I know that you are one of  the most
prominent people in Greenwich.  You are in the society columns, and are  from one
of the oldest families in the nation."
"You forgot to say that I am also one of the richest  people in the area,
Mistress.  Do  you want something financial from me?" asked  Jessica.
"Beyond the gift that you agreed upon with Mistress  Stephanie, no.  I have
a quite  different problem that I require help with."
"I don't understand, Mistress?" answered Jessica,  puzzlement in her
voice.
"I posses a certain financial account containing stocks  the value of which
must increased by a certain date, otherwise consequences of  which would be
disastrous to me personally.  Since you are an expert in the field of
finance, I require the assistance of my slave to help me.  Will you do so?"
asked  Janet.
Jessica was silent for a few moments before  responding.
"Why can't you merely add money to the account,  Mistress?" asked Jessica.
"For reasons that I cannot discuss, I can only withdraw,  not add, money.
I have withdrawn nothing so far," said  Janet.
Suddenly the photograph of the diamond necklace that  Tiffany had purchased
came into her mind.  Tiffany must have been quite certain of her victory to
cash in some of  her gains to buy something like that.  She certainly could
not afford it on the allowance that they were granted  each month by Blanca
and the will!
"I think I understand,  Mistress."
"Will you help me?" asked Janet, who resisted the  temptation to get down
on her knees and prostrate herself in front of her  slave.
"Yes, Mistress.  I will serve as your advisor in whatever capacity you will
need me,"  Jessica answered.
"Thank you.  Can we meet at the Stone Bank in Greenwich at 10 AM Monday to
begin?  I have my records stored there," said  Janet.
"Not at home, Mistress?" asked  Jessica.
"For reasons I cannot discuss, I can't keep my records at  home," stated
Janet, "and you must not tell anyone about this!  Not your family or friends,
or even  Tina.  It must be a secret between  us," implored Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," answered Jessica, "I shall serve you in  any way that I
can.  You said that  you owned me totally, and you do.  Forever."
`I hope so,' thought Janet, `I hope you're  right.'
*                      *                      *
     *                                  *
Janet led Jessica to her bedroom, since it was now time  for the slave to
satisfy her Mistress.  Since Jessica had been a slave, Janet had edged her
ever closer to the  idea that one day she would have to service her  Mistress.
Janet angrily remembered that she had served Stephanie  and not Erica
first, when she had been loaned to the other Mistress during her  training
period.  She had longed to  satisfy her Mistress, but that had been denied her,
perhaps by design.  In her own training of new slaves, Janet  had decided that
they would serve her first!
Leading Jessica up from the Dungeon by a leash, with  Jessica's hands
locked behind her, Janet was angry to find that Tina was not  standing outside
the door waiting for her.  Could she have been that mad?  Janet resisted the
temptation to go and find her, since Tina was probably  in her servant's
room.  She had to  continue with Jessica, since this would further bond her
slave to  her.
Next week, when they would be in the house without  Jessica present, Janet
would punish Tina for her insolent behavior.  Janet would make certain that
Tina would  not misbehave again.  Even if she  was not allowed to know what
was really going on.
"Come along, Jessica," said Janet as she pulled the girl  along by her
leash.
When they arrived upstairs, Janet immediately unlocked  the leash from
Jessica's collar.  She then unlocked Jessica's wrists from behind her back,
freeing her  hands.
"Use the bathroom and clean yourself," directed Janet to  an empty
bedroom, "make yourself ready for your  Mistress."
While Jessica cleaned herself in the bedroom next to  Janet's, Janet
entered her own.  She  had expected that Tina would have cleaned Jessica up and
prepared her.  Instead, Jessica had to do so  herself.  This was no way for a
slave to see another behave!
After Jessica had indicated that she was ready, Janet led  her into her
bedroom and indicated that she should kneel on the floor.  Janet then locked
her collar to a chain  connected to the ringbolt set in the wall.
Janet then placed her foot on a chair and first removed  one of her
high-heeled shoes, then the other.  The she unzipped the leather bodysuit,  and
gently pulled the leather off, since it had conformed to the contours of her
body.  Now standing only in her  sheer pantyhose, she stripped them off
slowly.
Janet went into the bathroom, and freshened herself.  She still had a faint
aroma of the  leather that she had worn for so long, and it clung to her
like a  perfume.
Emerging naked, she removed a riding crop from the  dresser drawer, and sat
down on the side where she had chained Jessica.  Janet opened her legs, and
held the crop  in her two hands.
"Service me, Jessica," ordered Janet, "or the crop  awaits."
Jessica promptly buried her face between Janet's legs,  and Janet responded
by opening her legs even more to accommodate the slave's  ministrations.
Janet was surprised  how eagerly Jessica meant to please her, as her labia
and clit were sucked and  tongued by Jessica.
Janet tried to contain herself, but she was happy about  everything, except
for Tina's sulk, that had happened tonight.  She had enlisted her slave as
an ally,  and had whipped her into a sexual frenzy.  Now she was enjoying
the fruits of her labors as her devoted slave was  satisfying her in return!
Janet moaned with pleasure as she first orgasm hit her,  wondering just how
Jessica had learned to satisfy another woman like that.  She had not asked
her about her sexual  experiences, which was something that she was supposed
to do before it got this  far with a slave.
It was evident that Jessica was already experienced in  this matter, and
needed no additional training in how to satisfy her  Mistress!  Janet cried
with pleasure  as she dragged her slave into her bed, and attacked her all
night.  The next day, the sheets were a  mess!
*                                  *                                  *
                             *
The weather was warm outside the Stone Bank as Janet  drove up in her
Toyota.  She had worn a blouse with long sleeves and a denim skirt, plus a pair
of  normal high heels.  She looked at  her watch and fretted.  Would  Jessica
really show up?  Janet  wished she had a cigarette, but she had quit years
ago.
Jessica Danvers shortly drove up in a new blue Lincoln.  She was dressed in
a smart business  suit, and carried a purse and a briefcase.
"Good morning," greeted  Janet.
"Good morning, Mistress," greeted  Jessica.
"Thank you for coming," said  Janet.
"I'm your devoted slave," said Jessica, "now can we  begin?"
"Yes, of course."
They entered the bank and the safe deposit area.  Janet withdrew her box,
and they  repaired to the little locked alcove to examine its  contents.
"Here's the current holdings," said Janet as she passed  the list to
Jessica.
"Thank you, Mistress," said Jessica  softly.
Jessica looked at the list, reading over the individual  stocks and the
amounts that Janet possessed and their monetary value at the date  of the
latest statement.
"This must be increased by a certain date.  Is that correct?" asked
Jessica,  "Mistress?"
"Yes.  But I  can't tell you why."
"How long do you have left,  Mistress?"
"Less than three months," said  Janet.
"Then we'll just have to find better stocks for you to  buy, that's all,
Mistress," said Jessica, "I noticed an investment counter  outside.  Mind if
I get us some  help?"
"Go ahead," ordered Janet.
Jessica opened the folding door, and motioned for the  clerk.  She asked
for the person at  the counter to join them immediately.  The clerk made a
call, and the person  from the investment counter virtually ran to see  them.
"I need a complete price history on this portfolio of  every stock for the
last ten years, plus P/E ratios and any corporate news, good  or bad, in the
last year," ordered Jessica.
"When would you like this?" asked the  woman.
"Yesterday," stated Jessica.
The woman almost ran away from them to get back to her  counter, the list
firmly clutched in her hand.
"You didn't tell her your name," said  Janet.
"I don't have to.  In Greenwich, everyone already knows me,  Mistress."
Janet realized that she may have held the power of the  whip in her House,
but here Jessica held the power of the  purse.
In minutes, the woman returned with a stack of laser  printouts that were
still warm to the touch.  Jessica grabbed them, and opened a  cellular phone
from her purse.
"Time to get to work, Mistress," said Jessica as she  punched in some
numbers.
In all, they spent almost an hour in the bank  together.  Nobody bothered
them in  the cubicle, and twice Jessica asked to use the bank's phone.  Janet
was amazed that they let her make  two long distance calls without protest.
When they finally left, Janet had a list of stocks to buy  and sell, and a
great feeling of confidence for the first time since this  nightmare had
begun.
"I'm impressed at the way they treated you there.  Nobody asked your name,
and you had the  run of the bank's services.  Your  name must really carry
a lot of weight in Greenwich," said  Janet.
"More than that, Mistress," began Jessica, "did I mention  that I was the
largest stockholder in Stone bank?"
Janet had to calm herself down before she drove to her  broker with the new
list.  Jessica  was a type A driven personality, a ruthless businesswoman
who controlled vast  wealth.  Yet she found sexual  fulfillment by submitting
herself to a Mistress that kept her naked and in  chains, doing the work of
a domestic!
*                                  *
      *                                  *
Tiffany and Janet sat together in the library, with  Tiffany poring over
Erica's book of slaves.  She leafed through the pages, seeing  each girl's
file and other information.
"It's just a pity that we didn't find it sooner," said  Tiffany.
"Erica was rather clever about the way she hid it.  You would think that
she deliberately  wanted us to wait nearly a year before we discovered it,"
ventured  Janet.
"There you go again.  Anyway, now that we've finally got the  book, I'm
going to see if I can find if any of these will serve me," said  Tiffany.
"You mean us, don't you," added  Janet.
"Not for long."
"Whatever happened to that girl you were using, Denise?"  asked Janet.
"She couldn't stand up the rigors of being a slave,"  answered Tiffany.
"Perhaps you were treating her too harshly at first,"  criticized Janet.
"Bitch."
"Thanks, Tiffany.  That's the nicest thing that anyone's said to me
lately.  I'm going for a walk outside.  Please tell me if Lauren is coming over
so I can hide the silverware.  Bye."
Janet walked outside the library, closing the outside  door before Tiffany,
already angry, could throw something.  There was something different about
her  now, and the earlier confidence and arrogance had vanished.  Instead,
she acted impatiently and often  impulsively.  Just to annoy her,  Janet had
taken to watching the nightly financial news after the market  closed.
The garden was about the only restful place on the  estate.  With an angry
Tiffany and a  jealous Tina, Janet felt pressured from all sides.  At least
there was no pressure from  Jessica and Stephanie.  Jessica had  proven to
be both a joy as a slave and an efficient financial advisor.  Her portfolio
had grown, and everything  was doing well.
But at the same time, Tina had steadily grown jealous of  the attention
that Janet had been showing towards Jessica.  From that day when she had been
asked to  leave the Dungeon so that Janet could discuss her needs in private
with Jessica,  Tina had become progressively harder to handle.
Walking in the garden made her realize that she had been  neglecting Tina,
when the girl actually wanted was both the attention and the  lash of her
Mistress.  She had seen  the look of envy on Tina's face towards Jessica when
they were forced to work  together in the house.
Janet did not have anything planned for tonight.  An earlier engagement had
collapsed,  leaving her with an opening for this evening.
"Well, Tina, you wanted the attention of your Mistress,"  she said aloud
to herself, "you've got it."
Janet remembered an old saying that her parents had  taught her: be careful
what you wish for, you might get  it!
Dinner that night was a cold affair, at least in the  beginning.  Tiffany
and Janet had  dined together, and much to Janet's surprise, suddenly took an
active interest  in the running of the House.  It was  actually nice to
talk to Stephanie, just like old times before Erica's legacy  had actually
divided them.
Janet wondered what reason if any to use when she would  drag Tina down to
the Dungeon.  What  Tina required was something more that just a few strokes
with the riding  crop.  No, this demanded something a  little more intense
that would serve to remind Tina that she belonged to Janet  and would have
to obey her orders.
When Tina rolled in a trolley containing coffee and cake  into the library
Janet knew that it was now time to start the action with her  maid.
Tiffany was seated in a chair, idly using the remote  control to flip
through the channels on the  television.
"Come here, Tina," ordered  Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," replied  Tina.
Tina stood in silence in front of Janet, awaiting her  next command.
"Raise your uniform," coldly ordered  Janet.
Tina pulled the hem of her uniform upwards, to expose her  bare behind.
Janet noticed that she  did not have any recent marks on her.  Had she really
been neglecting Tina that much?  No wonder Tina was feeling  jealous!
"Over my knee," ordered  Janet.
Tiffany had lost interest in the television, preferring  to watch as Janet
prepared to discipline Tina.  She clicked the remote off, and decided  to
stay.  Since Tina was off limits  to her, that was all she could do.
Tina lay on Janet's knees, her upraised naked pink bottom  ready for
punishment.  Janet loved  the feeling of power and control that she had over Tina,
and she was sorry that  she had been neglecting her.  Janet  resolved that
once this was all over, she would devote more time to Tina.  Providing that
she was the victor, of  course.
"Would you like a paddle or crop?" asked  Tiffany.
"No thank you, Tiffany.  The flat of my hand will be quite  sufficient,"
answered Janet.
Janet began to spank Tina with a steady series of blows  that made her
bottom bounce with every impact.  She wanted this spanking to merely be a
prelude for later events in the evening.
Tina's behind soon became red, and this immensely aroused  Janet.  Janet
felt the heat of  Tina's punished skin as she continued the spanking.  Janet
knew that the spanking had  immensely aroused Tina, but she only wanted to
take it so  far.
"Thank you, Mistress," cried Tina when Janet ceased  suddenly.
"You may get up now, and serve us coffee," ordered  Janet.
Tina stood up from Janet's knees, and pulled down the hem  of her rubber
outfit.  The she  proceeded to serve both Janet and Tiffany as if nothing had
happened.
Janet noted that Tina seemed a little more attentive, a  little more eager
to please than she had been in several weeks.  She resolved to keep a crop
nearby to  give Tina the occasional stroke to remind her of her place in the
House.
"Had some fun?" asked  Tiffany.
"I believe that I've been neglecting her lately.  That will change," said
Janet.
"Good," agreed Tiffany.
When Tina had finished doing the dishes, she was startled  to find Janet
waiting silently behind her.
"Mistress!" cried Tina, "I didn't know you were  there."
"Perhaps you should be more attentive next time,"  answered Janet.
"Yes, Mistress."
"I want to see you downstairs in the Dungeon tonight at 9  PM, naked and
waiting for me on the carpet.  Do you  understand?"
"Yes, Mistress," replied  Tina.
"You've been a bad girl lately, and don't think I haven't  noticed.  It's
time that I started  to correct your behavior," stated Janet.
"Thank you, Mistress," Tina  answered.
"Good," said Janet as she  departed.
Janet decided to wear the rubber dress that she had  bought on her city
trip, months ago.  Janet pulled it on, and zipped herself up in the mirror.
True, it would be hot and sweaty  inside.  But that would only make  her more
driven to put Tina in her place.
"You look very nice," offered  Tiffany.
"Thank you," replied Janet, "are you going out  tonight?"
"No, I was planning on staying in.  I see that you're already dressed for
the evening."
"Yes."
"I won't join you in the Dungeon.  After all, two's company, and three's
a  crowd," said Tiffany.
"Thank you," answered Janet.
"Have a nice time," said Tiffany, "I'm going to have a  bath."
"Enjoy yourself," replied Tiffany as she walked towards  her own bedroom.
Janet could not contain her desire by the time that she  entered the
Dungeon.  On the small  circular carpet was Tina, naked and kneeling.  Her hands
rested on her opened knees,  and Janet could see that Tina had been expecting
 her.
"Good evening, Tina," greeted  Janet.
"Good evening, Mistress," said Tina in  return.
"I've been very disappointed in you lately, Tina.  Ever since Jessica has
come into this  house, you've been jealous of her.  Though to your credit,
you haven't abused your privilege with her by  unnecessarily using the crop.
That  has to stop, and stop now!"
"Yes, Mistress Janet."
Because of that, I'm going to have to give you a little  punishment that you
'll never forget, so that you'll remember that you are one of  my slaves
also."
"Yes, Mistress, please?"
"Please what?" asked Janet.
"Punish me, Mistress."
"I want you to collar and bracelet yourself, since by the  time we leave her
e, your skin is going to be covered in  stripes."
Tina rose and opened the cabinet where she had stored the  things that
Janet had mentioned.  In  a few moments, she had locked then upon herself, as
Janet had ordered, and was  again kneeling on the carpet.
"Hold out your hands," Janet  ordered.
Tina did so, and Janet locked the wrist cuffs  together.  Then she pulled
Tina to  her feet, over to the waiting horse.  This was a different one than
the padded one that she usually used.  This one was quite sturdy, made of
solid  wood in the shape of an A.  In the  center, sticking up from the
polished dark wood, was a rubber  dildo.
"I want you to climb up onto the horse, and you know  where to place the
dildo," ordered Janet.
Tina did as she was instructed, throwing her leg over the  wooden surface
while she climbed up onto the horse.  Her entire weight would be resting on
her sex, which would be impaled by the dildo.  Tina raised herself up, then
slowly  lowered herself upon the erect shaft.  She moaned when it entered
her sex, while she seated herself on the  horse.
"That's good, Tina," said  Janet.
Janet locked Tina's wrists together behind her back, then  locked her
ankles to chains on either side of the horse.  Then she unlocked Tina's wrists in
 front, then locked them again behind her back to a ceiling chain that hung
 nearby.  The chain was connected to  a motor in the ceiling, so that when
Janet activated it, Tina was slowly pitched  forward.  This increased the
weight  on her sex, pushing the dildo deeper within her.
"Ooooh!" Tina cried.
Janet then removed a crop from the cabinet, flexing it  with her two hands.
"Thank you, Mistress," said  Tina
"Thank me afterwards, when your skin is red and pained,"  cautioned Janet.
Janet began to strike Tina with the crop, the small tip  at its end leaving
a small red mark wherever it landed.  Tina, held fast on the horse, could
only  moan whenever the crop struck her.
She next struck at the outside of Tina's legs at  first.  Then she
gradually moved  upwards, striking Tina's breasts.  Each stoke left a red mark, and
made her breasts bounce a little, and  Janet found that very attractive.
Bound as she was, Janet did not want to strike Tina so  hard that she might
lose her balance.  Rather Janet wanted Tina to remain on the horse, with
her sex invaded by  the dildo.
Janet did not have to check if Tina was wet.  That was obvious by the way
she moaned  when the crop struck her flesh.  Tina was now being properly
punished for the first time in months, and  Janet realized the mistakes that she
had made!
"Enough," stated Janet, once she was satisfied that Tina  was now ready
for her next ordeal.
Janet placed the crop under her arm as she unlocked Tina  from the horse.
Perhaps she should  have used the horse last, rather than as the first item
of punishment.  Regardless, when Tina dismounted the  horse, her flesh was
already marked nicely.
The dildo was wet, and reflected the Dungeon lights.  Janet had prepared
for this, and had  brought a small basin of water and a wash cloth with  her.
"Tina, clean yourself, but you are not allowed to cum!"  ordered Janet.
"Yes, Mistress, ohhhh!" cried Tina when she placed her  hand into the
water.
As a further vexation, Janet had filled the basin with  ice cubes and
water, so that it was quite cold.  Janet knew that this would put out the  fires
in Tina's loins quite fast!
Tina cleaned herself without protest, and Janet roughly  inspected her to
make certain that she had done a good job.  Her cunt was clean of her juices,
and  the skin was cold to the touch.  Tina moaned when the warm fingers of
her Mistress probed her  sex.
"Very good, slave," said Janet  approvingly.
"Thank you, Mistress."
"And now the whip," stated  Janet.
Tina stood unemotionally as Janet secured her wrists and  ankles to
spreader bars that would make her vulnerable to discipline.  Her bare feet were
standing on the stone  floor, as Janet had not ordered her to wear shoes this
evening.
"I do love you," said Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," answered  Tina.
Then Janet struck with the whip, stroke after stroke  landing on Tina's
already punished skin.  Janet did not even try to direct the whip, letting it
fall wherever it  would.  Instead, she wanted it to  leave stripe after
stripe on Tina's figure.
The whip wrapped itself around Tina's curves, and Janet  remembered that
she had not whipped Tina so hard for quite some time.  Just for effect, she
cracked the whip  against empty air, like some western movie.  But she would
always return to using the  whip on Tina, making her moan and cry within her
bonds.
"Thank you, Mistress," cried Tina when Janet temporarily  stopped.
"You're welcome," said  Janet.
Janet removed a small metal box from the cabinet.  She walked over to Tina,
and opened the  box for her slave to see inside.  Tina moaned when she saw
the contents.
"Clamps," said Janet.
Janet first applied one to Tina's right nipple, making  her moan.  When the
other was fixed  onto her, Tina moaned again.  Janet  then applied two
more, onto the outer lips of her sex.  Tina reacted violently, shaking her
chains in protest.
To further test her, Janet then inserted two of her  fingers inside Tina's
slit.  The  girl was wet again, just like she had been on the  horse!
"You're a real bondage slut," said  Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," agreed Tina, "I'm a bondage  slut."
"What do sluts like you deserve?" asked  Janet.
"To be whipped, Mistress," cried Tina in  response.
"Very well," said Janet as she again picked up the  whip.
The experience of being whipped while the clips upon her  breasts and sex
drove Tina to even greater heights of agony.  Every time that the whip struck
her  flesh, Tina moaned with both agony and ecstasy at the same  time.
Janet continued, carefully counting the strokes, never  hitting hard enough
to break the skin.  Pausing to touch Tina's skin, she found that the whip
warmed her slave's  skin.  Janet carefully counted each  series of strokes,
wondering when Tina would use up her capacity to absorb  discipline.
Tina would long carry reminders of this night on her skin  and hopefully in
her soul, thought Janet.
Just before Janet was going to stop anyway, Tina suddenly  cried out.
"Mercy, Mistress, please, mercy!" sobbed  Tina.
Tears ran down Tina's cheeks, streaking her makeup.  Her body was
thoroughly covered by a  fine tracery of welts that the whip had left  behind.
"Very good, Tina.  Now you may kiss the whip," ordered Janet.
"Thank you, Mistress," said Tina as she carried out  Janet's orders.  Her
lips embraced  the whip handle as even as tears continued to flow from the
corners of her  eyes.
"I don't want to have any further trouble with you, nor  do I want you to
be jealous of Jessica.  Do you understand?  Or I  shall be forced to use
more extreme measures," threatened  Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," cried Tina.
Janet then took Tina upstairs, and let her clean herself  properly.  Then
she took her into  her bedroom, and used her violently for the rest of the
night.  There was a riding crop on the night  table, and Janet did not
hesitate to use it whenever she felt that Tina was not  being wholly attentive to
her.
Finally, she fell into a satisfied sleep, with her slave  girl on the bed
next to her, her collar chained to the wall as  usual.
*                                  *                                  *
                             *
"The most recent choices have done well, Mistress," said  Jessica.
>From the small safe deposit cubicle, Janet and Jessica  had moved to the
banks meeting room.  On the table was a pot of hot coffee and croissants, and
the papers were  organized into neat rows.
Janet rubbed her eyes, hoping that she was ahead of  Tiffany.  There wasn't
much time  left, just two weeks till the anniversary of Erica's  death.
"Thank you, Jessica.  This just has to run its course," said  Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," answered  Jessica.
"Could I be left alone her for a while before we, before  I," Janet
corrected herself, "deliver the final orders to the  broker."
"Yes, Mistress," answered Jessica as she left her seat  and closed the
door behind her.
Janet fled into the bathroom, and closed the door behind  her, just in time
for a torrent of tears.
"Why, Erica, why?" cried Janet to herself.
Chapter Twelve: Two Days till Doom
===========================
"When was the last time you slept?" demanded  Stephanie.
Janet sat behind Erica's desk, large circles under her  eyes.  She had
called Stephanie  over, and now she couldn't remember the reason.
"I don't know," answered  Janet.
"Tina!" called Stephanie,  "Tina!"
"Yes, Mistress Stephanie," answered Tina when she almost  ran into the
library.
"When was the last time that Mistress Janet slept?"  Stephanie asked Tina.
"Three or four days ago, Mistress," answered  Tina.
"Is this Mistress Tiffany's  doing?"
"No, Mistress Janet had kept herself awake with coffee  and pills."
The television was tuned to the financial channel, and  Janet sat, watching
the numbers go by on the screen's bottom.  Her eyes had long since ceased
to react  to anything that flashed across the screen, and she looked tired
and  exhausted.
"Has she had any stimulants in the last eight hours?"  asked Stephanie.
"No, Mistress," answered  Tina.
"Good."
Stephanie had ceased to carry her medical bag with her  over the years
since she had stopped practicing, but ever since the two  incidents at Janet's
house, she now would always take it with her.  She walked over to her bag,
removed a  hypodermic needle and a vial of liquid.  Janet watched her dumbly
from her chair, not comprehending what Stephanie  was doing.
"Is Mistress Tiffany around?" asked  Stephanie.
"No, Mistress.  She will return tomorrow morning," answered  Tina.
"What are you watching, Janet?" asked  Stephanie.
"Doomsday."
Stephanie suddenly swabbed Janet's skin with an alcohol  patch and then
injected her with the needle.  Janet was so weak, she didn't even  attempt to
resist.
"What the?" asked Janet.
"Nighty night," answered  Stephanie.
Janet was swallowed up by a sudden tide of darkness, and  peace for the
first time in days.  Her head slumped to the desk, and the world receded from
view.
*                                  *                                  *
                             *
"Good evening," greeted  Stephanie.
Janet looked outside her bedroom window, and saw that it  was night.  The
summer crickets were  making a racket, and the smells of summer came from the
open  window.
"How did I get here?" asked  Janet.
"What you needed was sleep," said Stephanie, "so I  knocked you out for a
few hours.  Do  you feel better?"
"Yes, thank you."
Janet rubbed her eyes, and saw the contents of her purse  lying on the
dresser, next to the binder where she had catalogued all of Erica's  documents,
one year ago!  Including  the cell phone that had saved her life six months
earlier.
"You know, don't you?" accused  Janet.
"Yes.  After  we took you upstairs, I went through your purse and I found
these papers,"  indicated Stephanie.
"I must have forgotten to remove them when I saw Blanca  three months ago,"
 said Janet.
"Then I found Erica's little book in the desk.  Very interesting reading.

I never knew that Erica could be so devious," stated  Stephanie.
"In two days," began Janet, "a limo will arrive in the  morning to take
Tiffany and I to Blanca's office.  She will read the codicil to Erica's
will, which will say that the winner of the stock market contest will inherit
Erica's estate.  Which will include  the loser, who will become the victor's
slave."
"Why didn't you tell me?" demanded Stephanie, "now that I  know what all
of this has really been about?  God, from the very first night when  Tiffany
tried to place you in the Dungeon to Lauren's nearly killing you.  I'm
amazed that you haven't broken under  the strain until now."
"Maybe I finally did," answered Janet,  "Tina?"
"Yes, Mistress."
"Could you get me a drink, please?" asked Janet, stirring  under the
sheets.
"Yes, Mistress."
"Icewater, Tina," ordered Stephanie, "no stimulants of  any kind."
Janet drank her glass and sat up in bed, propped up by  two pillows.  Her
mind was clear,  her body partially rested.
"Leave us, Tina," ordered  Janet.
"Mistress, please, I want to stay with you," begged  Tina.
"Does she know?" demanded  Janet.
"I didn't read all of those papers myself," Stephanie  answered.
Janet exhaled, and tried to decide what to do  next.
"All right, Tina, stay.  Because now Stephanie and I have to  discuss your
future, not mine," said Janet.
"Janet?" cried Tina, "what do you  mean?"
"If Tiffany wins tomorrow, then not only will I become  her slave, but you
will be also.  Tiffany associates with Mistress Lauren, who believes that
the only way  to get total obedience from her slaves is to punish them past
their breaking  point.  You saw what she did to my  back."
"Yes, Mistress."
"One of her slaves, a girl named Myra met me in Greenwich, and told me that
Tiffany was being  advised by Lauren, and that she was ahead.  Myra  begged
me to buy her, crying in public.  That's when I asked Jessica to help me as
an investment advisor, and not  just a slave.  She's been doing so  for the
last three months."
"Is that why you ordered me out of the Dungeon,  Mistress?" asked Tina.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry.  I didn't know, I was just jealous," cried  Tina.
"If I lose, and I don't really know who may be ahead,  then you'll be
Tiffany's slave.  I  can't let you become the property of a dangerous and cruel
Mistress like what  Tiffany has become.  I can accept my  own bondage, but
not yours.  Therefore, I release you Tina, long before your contract to me
expires,"  calmly explained Janet.
"No," cried Tina, "I want to stay with you always, no  matter what."
"No, you stupid fool.  I release you and all your obligations  to me.  If
you won't leave, Tina,  then I give you to Stephanie.  She  will be a far
better Mistress to you than Tiffany or Lauren," ordered  Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," tearfully answered  Tina.
"Tonight, both you and Stephanie must leave, so that I  can spend tomorrow
alone with Tiffany.  Just as we started one year ago.  The next day we shall
go to New  York, and then we shall know who will be the Mistress in  this
house," lectured Janet.
"You've become a far better Mistress than Erica could  ever have imagined,"
 answered Stephanie.
"That's just exactly why I have to release Tina.  You don't deserve a
Mistress like  Tiffany, and especially Lauren," said Janet.
"I don't want to leave you, Mistress," cried  Tina.
"You saw what happened to my back, and the scars that I  still have?  Do
you want to be a  slave to a Mistress that can inflict that kind of
punishment, Tina?  I don't think so.  So go, both of you.  I came into this thing
alone, and that's  the way I'll have to face it in thirty-six hours," said
Janet.
"You shouldn't be here alone with Tiffany," cautioned  Stephanie.
"Why?  She  wouldn't hurt me now.  She's just a  few hours from possibly
getting exactly what she wants, namely the House and  me.  If she did
something now, it  would endanger that chance.  Everything is now out of our
control, and in the hands of the gods,"  added Janet.
Stephanie and Tina both sat on Janet's bed, staring at  her.
"Now go, damn it!  Both of you!  One year ago,  Tiffany and I started in
Erica's house alone, and that's the way we're going to  finish.  Whatever
happens in  Blanca's office is our respective fate."
"If you win, Mistress Janet, I'll be back," said Tina,  tears in her eyes.
"Keep your fingers crossed, both of you," ordered Janet,  "because hope is
the only thing that I've got  left."
After they had both departed, Janet allowed herself a  single small sherry.
 She tried to  relax on an easy chair back in the library, wishing that she
had not sent  Stephanie and Tina away after all.
On the footstool was the newspaper, which she had not  read for days, even
though Tina faithfully put it on her desk each morning.  Janet opened it,
hoping that it would  get her mind off her situation.  A  red advertising
insert fell out, and Janet had to pick it up from the  floor.  On the cover was
a sale of  board games, including Conquest.
"Oh, god!" screamed Janet, her voice echoing through the  house.
Suddenly, everything returned in a flash of  memories.  Erica's death,
Janet with  Tiffany in her apartment.  Knocking  over Conquest in the closet,
then Janet bragging how good a player she was when  they picked up all the
pieces off the floor.  Six months later at Lauren's house, her  little "game"
of Conquest to decide who would use the  slave.
Myra, already used past her safeword.  Lauren wanting to continue, and
Janet  taking Myra's  place.  Whipped nearly to death,  then the horrible drive
home, and the painful  recovery.
"I was set up," sobbed Janet in the empty house, "Tiffany  wanted me to
die, with Lauren's help."
Her night was mostly sleepless, filled with nightmares of  death and
suffering.
*                                  *                                  *
                             *
Janet spent most of the next day waiting for  Tiffany.  Incredibly, her
companion  did not return until shortly before dinner.
"Greetings," said Janet as Tiffany entered the  foyer.
"Hello.  Where's Tina?"
"Gone.  You  can put your jacket in the closet yourself," directed  Janet.
"Where is she?" asked Tiffany as she hung her jacket in  the closet.
"I released her from my service, and gave her to  Stephanie," Janet
answered.
"Why did you do that?" asked  Tiffany.
They were both interrupted by the sound of a bell from  the kitchen.
"Dinner is served," said  Janet.
It wasn't until they were both seated at the table before  a roast beef
that they could continue talking.  Tiffany had helped Janet bring  everything
to the table, and did not question her further until the dinner was  on the
table.
"Why such a grand meal?" asked Tiffany as she sipped at a  red wine.
"Last meal, and all that," answered Janet, "one year ago,  you called me
to your apartment and cooked dinner after Erica's death.  Now it's my  turn."

"Thank you," said Tiffany as she speared a piece of meat  and placed it
into her mouth.
"I thought that we should have one final dinner, together  alone by
ourselves.  I hope that you  haven't asked someone to join you here tonight," said
 Janet.
"No.  I  wasn't sure just what I'd find here, so I came alone," Tiffany
answered.
"Good."
"Why did you send Tina away?" asked  Tiffany.
"Because I didn't want her to fall into your hands or  Lauren's, that's
why.  She doesn't  deserve to have a cruel Mistress like you've become,"
stated  Janet.
"I'm sorry.  I'm sorry for everything, from that first night we inherited
the estate  to today."
"Tiffany, we have to take responsibility for our  actions.  Your being
sorry doesn't  absolve you from the scars on my back or placing Tina in danger
either.  That's what being a Mistress is all  about, not just using slaves
for our own sexual gratification," lectured  Janet.
"I guess you're right," Tiffany  answered.
"No, you know I'm right," said Janet, "now let's finish  eating, do the
dishes, and get some sleep.  I'm exhausted, and I want to have a clear head
tomorrow."
Somehow, Janet had expected that Tiffany would join her  in her bedroom
that evening.  Instead, she remained alone, listening to the sounds of the
night.  She placed her arm behind her back,  feeling the scars that Lauren had
placed there.  In her dreams, she wondered if others  would soon join them.
The next morning, Janet took a hot steaming shower,  almost at sauna
temperature.  She  had seen home saunas, and had whistled at the price.  Janet
resolved that if she should win,  she would spend the five figures and have one
installed in the  house.
The hot water washed away the fatigue, and made her sweat  away the
tensions that had developed in her body for several weeks.  Finally, she knew that
this little  respite had to end, so she stopped the water, and exited the
tub.  She toweled herself off, and decided  that now wasn't the time to give
her an orgasm.  No, it was time to be  serious.
After her shower, Janet walked to the bedroom to dry  herself off.  When
she removed the  short terry kimono robe, she saw the scars on her back
reflected in the  mirror.  The stigmata of her  encounter with Lauren.  It seemed
incredible that she had been nearly been whipped to death and survived the
nightmare.
Janet dressed, and chose a conservative business suit,  one that she had
worn to work before.  She set her hair, wishing that she had Tina's help this
morning.  Still, she had done it all of her life  before she had a servant,
so why should she become a helpless fool  now?
When she entered the kitchen, Janet was surprised to find  that Tiffany had
chosen to wear a suit also, except that Janet's was blue and  Tiffany's
was black.  They looked  alike.
"I ordered out for croissants," said Tiffany, "I didn't  think that a
heavy breakfast would be such a good  idea."
"Thanks."
They ate a simple breakfast of juice, black coffee and  croissants in the
kitchen, like two high powered female executives on the  go.  They both
stared at the clock,  watching the time tick away towards 9 AM.
Tiffany stowed the dishes in the sink, just before the  limo arrived.  They
both carried  leather briefcases and Janet reflected that hers had been a
gift from her firm  for good service.  She looked at the  battered black
leather as she placed hers by her  feet.
They were driven into the city on time, after rush hour  had ended.  The
large Cadillac had  been expanded to contain a TV and bar, and could seat
several on leather  upholstery.  Instead, it was used  just to transport the two
women to Blanca's office.
"Thank you," said Janet as the exited the  limo.
"I've been told to wait to take you back to Connecticut," said the  female
chauffeur.
"Thank you," said Tiffany,  also.
They rode the elevator up in silence, and were ushered in  Blanca's office,
each taking a seat.  Blanca hadn't arrived yet, though it was already 10
AM.  Janet fidgeted uneasily in her seat, the  tension building up her.
"Good morning, ladies," greeted Blanca when she entered  her office.
"Good morning," both Janet and Tiffany said in  unison.
"Coffee?"
They both nodded.
"Three black coffees, please," ordered Blanca after she  pressed the
intercom switch.
Her secretary shortly dropped off a tray containing three  cups, and placed
in on Blanca's desk.  Janet now noted a wedding ring on the third finger of
her left  hand.
"Georgie, please make sure that we're not disturbed,  period.  Short of
one of the senior  partners calling, I'd like to be left alone with these two
clients," Blanca  ordered.
She then departed, closing the door behind her.  The atmosphere in the room
was electric,  and both Janet and Tiffany were seated like statues.  Blanca
passed around the coffee cups, and  took a seat in her leather chair.
"I've known Erica Riken a long time," began Blanca, "as a  good friend, a
Dominant, and a client.  She wanted to test how two of her best slaves
would react if they were to  inherit her estate, so she had planned to just give
it to you anyway and start a  new life."
"However, she had the foresight to make up a will doing  the same thing if
she should suddenly die by accident.  Sadly, that was what happened when her
 plane went down in Mexico, killing her and  Andrea."
Blanca then removed four envelopes from her briefcase,  displaying them to
her two clients.
"This is the codicil to Erica's will, and three identical  statements from
the brokers you were ordered to use.  Even I don't know the contents, as
Erica  had instructed the information to be collected and sealed before I
picked up the  envelopes this morning.  Which is  why I'm late."
Blanca tore open one of the envelopes, and proceeded to  read its contents:
"I, Erica Riken, being of sound mind and body, do  reaffirm the conditions
that I specified in document 423 for a competition  between my heirs Janet
Davis and Tiffany Gray.  Whoever has the greater value in their  portfolio
shall be the sole inheritor of my estate, and all my possessions.  Signed
Erica  Riken."
"Would you like to see it?" asked  Blanca.
"No, that won't be necessary," said Janet softly, "please  proceed."
Blanca then handed out identical manila envelopes to both  Tiffany and
Janet, and all three occupants of the office sat, staring at each  other.
Tiffany tore open hers, and that was the signal for  Blanca and Janet to
open theirs.  Inside were two reports, with a cover sheet, and a complete
listing of  their portfolio, containing every transaction that they had made
over the  previous year.  All three leafed  through the reports, finally coming
to the last  page.
"No!" cried Tiffany, "No!  I was ahead.  Far ahead!"
"You were," said Blanca, "Except that you got  greedy.  You wanted to
extend your  lead, perhaps to show off how good you were.  But those futures
contracts you bought  two weeks ago put you under when they went bad, placing
you just five thousand  dollars behind Janet."
"No," sobbed Tiffany.
"I therefore award the entire estate, and one slave,  Tiffany Gray to
Mistress Janet Davis, who has fulfilled the conditions as  specified by the late
Erica Riken," said Blanca.
Janet relaxed in her chair, the months of tension and  pain finally leaving
her.  She  sighed, happy that the Sword of Damocles that hung above her had
been lifted, by  a chance occurrence.
"Do you have a bathroom?" asked  Tiffany.
Blanca pointed to a door, and Tiffany ran inside.  They could both hear the
sounds of  retching from within.
"That doesn't happen often in a lawyer's office," pointed  out Blanca, "
only with the big cases."
"Thank you, Blanca," said  Janet.
"Do you want to retain me as your lawyer?" asked  Blanca.
"Of course," said Janet, "that will be perfectly  satisfactory."
Once Tiffany had finished, she returned to her chair in  silence.  Her eyes
were downcast,  her makeup smudged.
"If that's everything, I do have a busy caseload today,"  said Blanca.
"Thank you," said Janet as she stowed away the papers in  her briefcase.
Janet rose and shook Blanca's  hand.
"Come, slave," Janet said to Tiffany, "time to go  home."
During the ride back, Janet read the reports, finding  that Tiffany indeed
had been doing better all along.  It was only after that she had started  to
use Jessica for her advisor did her portfolio improve for the  better.
Tiffany sat in stunned silence, a dazed expression on her  face, her body
wracked by occasional spasms of  tension.
When the limo exited the parkway, Janet asked the driver  to stop off
someplace else before they reached home.  Tiffany was surprised to hear Janet
order them to go to Lauren's House!
Entering by the gate, the limo pulled up in front of the  door.  Janet
ordered Tiffany out,  and they walked up the stairs.  Janet told Tiffany that
she wanted her to walk in front of  Janet.
"Tiffany," greeted Lauren, "what a  surprise."
"Yes, Lauren."
"I see that you've brought Janet.  I told you that you'd win, and now
Janet  is your slave to use.  Good, I'm  sure that she can hardly wait to
continue where I left off before," taunted  Lauren.
"But I didn't win," cried Tiffany, "Janet did.  By just five thousand
dollars, thanks to  that gamble you told me to take!"
"It's all here in black and white," said Janet, "I won,  and Tiffany here
belongs to me, not the other way  round."
"Tiffany, I'm sorry," said  Lauren.
"I should slap you for what you did to me," said Janet,  "but I'm not
going to give you the satisfaction.  I just hope that you will learn how to
properly use a slave girl, not just beat them into submission.  Come,  Tiffany.
"
In the car, Tiffany turned around and watched as Lauren's  estate receded
in the rear view mirror.  There were tears falling from her cheeks.
When they arrived back at Erica's, now Janet's House,  Janet threw her
case on the library floor.  She felt like she could fly!  But there were other
things to do, first.
"Tiffany," ordered Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," quickly answered  Tiffany.
"I want you naked, wearing nothing but collar, bracelets,  and high heels.
Use the set that  Erica had made for you, with your name on the leather
collar," Janet  ordered.
"Yes, Mistress."
"Then I want you to report back here.  And I want that little trinket that
you  bought for yourself, that expensive diamond necklace.  I have a
particular use in mind for it,"  ordered Janet.
While Tiffany was preparing herself, Janet called  Stephanie on the cell
phone, and she was overjoyed to hear the news.  Stephanie offered to drive
over  instantly, but Janet turned her down.
"Give me about three hours," said Janet, "there's a chore  that I have to
perform first."
When Tiffany had returned to the library, she was  outfitted as Janet had
ordered, and she was carrying the necklace also.  Tiffany still looked dazed
and shocked,  not knowing what would be expected of her next.
"How much is that necklace worth?" demanded  Janet.
"Fifty thousand dollars," answered  Tiffany.
"Had you not purchased the necklace, you still would have  won," stated
Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," answered  Stephanie.
"I'm not ready yet to take you downstairs to the Dungeon  and whip you
till you call for mercy.  But I will start here," said Janet, "now get on the
footstool,  slave."
Tiffany did as she was ordered, and lay quietly as Janet  secured her
elbows and knees to the footstool.  She cinched the coils tight with two  strands
that went between Tiffany's limbs and the wood.  Tiffany was now bound
quite effectively  to the footstool.
After placing a ballgag in Tiffany's mouth, Janet made  sure to roughly
fondle Tiffany.  Janet pinched and pulled at Tiffany's breasts, and then
fingered her  sex.  Tiffany squealed under Janet's  harsh attentions.  Janet had
not  used her since the time when she had nearly killed  Tina.
"I hope that you can get used to the idea that I am now  the Mistress in
this House," said Janet, "because I shall be a far better  Mistress to you
than either you or Lauren would have been to  me."
Tiffany merely grunted, her words muted by the  ballgag.  Janet saw the
look of fear  in her eyes that were directed at her.
"In my time as a Mistress, I have always let the slave  have her choice of
safeword.  That  was something I learned from Erica.  However, I must choose
for you, given our paths to this point.  Your safeword shall be mercy,
since that  was denied me when your friend Lauren nearly whipped me to death
almost six  months ago.  You will be spared the  agony and suffering that that
I endured.  Remember that every time I use you," coldly lectured Janet to
her bound  captive.
Even though she was still wearing the business suit,  Janet placed the
necklace around her neck and closed the clasp.  Janet admired herself in the
mirror.
"Looks nice, Tiffany.  Pity it had such a huge cost," said  Janet, "but I'
ve never really had an interest in such things.  Frankly, it still looks
better on  you."
Janet removed the necklace and placed it around Tiffany's  neck.  The image
of her, naked and  bound to the footstool, a leather collar around her neck
while wearing an  expensive diamond necklace, was one of the strangest that
Janet could have ever  devised!
"Tiffany, since you still wear the ring through your  labia, I've decided
that I'll make a similar medallion to the one Erica made for  you.  Except
that it will read  Tiffany, property of Mistress Janet.  Just so that you
will remember who your Mistress  is."
"Mmmmmph!" grunted Tiffany in  response.
"I'm now going to begin to punish you with the gag in  your mouth, so that
you will not have a chance to plead for mercy.  I hope that will give you a
small  example of how I felt when Lauren was whipping me and I was unable
to plead for  mercy, and my life."
Janet began, not with a paddle or crop, but just with her  naked hand.
After all, she had all the time in the  world.
*                                  *                                  *
                             *
Three hours later, Stephanie arrived with Tina.  Janet had finished with
Tiffany, and had  locked her in the cell downstairs.  Tiffany had taken her
punishment well, and her behind was a deep shade of  red and the flesh was
very warm to the touch.  Halfway through, Janet had removed her  ballgag and
given her the opportunity to plead for mercy.  Instead, Tiffany had stoically
taken her  first session with Janet as her new Mistress quite well.  It was
evident that she would have  trouble accepting her new position as Janet's
slave, and Janet would have to  deal with that problem later.
It was a joyful reunion, unlike their parting just two  days earlier.
Stephanie folded her  arms around Janet, and they danced together, planting
kisses on each other.  Tina had knelt in front of Janet, tears  in her eyes.
"I'm so happy for you Mistress," cried Tina, "I said that  I'd be back."
"Thank you.  Both of you," tearfully answered Janet.
Janet dragged them inside, and they split a bottle of  wine that had been
in the refrigerator.  A year's worth of tension was slowly being released.
It didn't matter that Tina was a slave,  and Janet poured a glass for her and
directed her to sit in a chair, not kneel  on the floor.  Janet remembered
waking up from the fever, and the first person she had seen was Tina, tears
in  her eyes.
"Just to bring you two back to reality, just remember  that Tina is my
slave," stated Stephanie, "but I'm sure that we can come to some  kind of
arrangement."
"I think that will be the first order of business in my  proper position as
Mistress of this House," answered  Janet.
Janet related the story of how they had gone to New York City, and Janet
had won.  Then she told of their  trip to Lauren's, and Janet was pleased in
describing the look of defeat on  Lauren's face.  Finally, she told of  her
punishment of Tiffany, who was now locked downstairs in the  cell.
"A good day," observed  Stephanie.
"No, Mistress Stephanie.  An excellent day!" said Tina, a smile  across
her face.
"Thank you.  Both of you," Janet answered, tears of joy in her  eyes.
After Stephanie had departed, and Tina had been restored  to Janet, they
went downstairs to the cell.  Tiffany was resting, and she quickly  rose to
her feet when she saw her Mistress outside the cell  door.
"Kneel slave," ordered Janet as she unlocked the cell  door.
Tiffany knelt, and Janet and Tina entered the cell.  Tiffany waited her
hands on her opened  knees.
"Tina, this slave is for your use in maintaining the  house.  You may train
and use her as  you see fit, but never abuse her or allow your use of her
to interfere with your  chores.  Do you understand?" asked  Janet.
"Yes, Mistress," Tina  answered.
"Good.  Tiffany, do you understand also your position here, or do I have to
beat  that into you?" demanded Janet.
"No, Mistress," tearfully answered Tiffany, "I'll obey  Tina's orders as
I do yours."
"Good.  Then  maybe you've finally learned something," said  Janet.
Janet lay alone in bed, still amazed at the day's  events.  It still seemed
like a  miracle that she had won, that she was Mistress and Tiffany her
slave.  In spite of knowing about the plot  between Lauren and Tiffany, Janet
had held her tongue.  Even though she had confronted Lauren,  or when she had
Tiffany at her mercy, Janet had remained  silent.
Nor had she told Stephanie or Tina, holding herself  quiet, instead letting
the joy of the moment overtake the deadly knowledge of  what she knew.
`I'm going to have to keep Tiffany constantly chained, or  in the cell,'
thought Janet, `until I can exchange her for Myra.'
Returning from a trip to the bathroom Janet found Tina  kneeling naked at
her bedside on the wooden floor.
"May I join you, Mistress?" asked Tina, her hands behind  her head, her
body on display.
"Yes, Tina.  And thank you," answered Janet.
*                                  *                                  *
                             *
Weeks later, Janet was attending to some paperwork when  Stephanie had been
invited over.  When her friend entered the library, Janet rose and kissed
her.
"Good afternoon," said  Janet.
"Thank you," Stephanie  answered.
"You said over the phone that you had something for me?"  asked Janet.
"Yes, a letter from a Mistress Monique in California."
"Who's she?" asked Janet.
"I've met her once," said Stephanie, "very mysterious  woman.  She is on
the East Coast,  and will see you tomorrow.  Sent me  this letter to give to
you."
Janet was passed the envelope, which was a very expensive  piece of
stationery.  Her name was  on the front, and a large M was the monogram on the
envelope flap.  In addition, there was a wax seal with  her initial also.
"Quite mysterious," agreed Janet, who placed the envelope  on her desk.
"How is it running the house?" asked  Stephanie.
"Fine.  I  just still can't believe it," Janet answered.
"Drinks, Mistress?" asked Tina as she pushed a tray into  the library.
"Yes, Tina, thank you," answered Janet, "can we be  alone?"
"Yes, Mistress," said Tina before she closed the library  doors.
"Sometimes I can't get rid of her," stated Janet, "and if  I punish her,
she only comes back for more."
"Such problems," agreed  Stephanie.
Even though Janet had won the estate, she had still given  Tina to
Stephanie.  So Tina was  still Stephanie's property.  So  Janet had "leased" her
back, until her term of contract with Stephanie was over  in six months.  Tina
was required  once every two weeks to spend a day with Stephanie, and Janet
noted that she  came back with a few new stripes every time.  After six
months, Tina would again  wholly belong to Janet.
"There's a favor that I have to ask you.  Could you train Tiffany for a
while?"
"Sure, but why?" asked  Stephanie.
"Because she already dislikes you, and I would like to  get her out of the
house for a while.  It would be a great favor to me.  I want you to take her
this afternoon, please?" asked  Janet.
"Certainly, but how severe do you want me to treat  her?"
"Make her uncomfortable, and be sure that she is wearing  that necklace at
all times," specified Janet.
"Why, its worth a fortune," observed  Stephanie.
"True.  It's  just another reminder to Tiffany about the price of her
folly," said  Janet.
What nobody else knew was that the necklace that Tiffany  was wearing was a
fake.  The real  one was in Janet's safe deposit box at the Stone bank in
Greenwich.  Janet had had one specially made up, and  had substituted them
one day.  So  the object around Tiffany's neck was a fraud, of little  value!
Janet watched Stephanie drive away later, with Tiffany  cuffed in the front
passenger seat next to her.  It was going to be nice to be alone with  Tina
for a while.  The letter from  Monique had been forgotten until well after
dinner.  She was just about to open it, when the  phone rang.
"Hello?" asked Janet.
"This is Monique.  Have you read my letter?"
"I'm just opening it now."
Dear Mistress Janet,
Let me introduce myself.  I am Monique, from California.  I have been
requested to deliver a  special package to you tonight.
M
"I've just read it," said  Janet.
"Good, I'll be over in ten minutes," said  Monique.
When Monique arrived, she was in a large black  limousine.  The driver was
female,  and she helped her passenger to remove a bound woman from the back
seat of the  car.
The woman was harshly bound, and totally helpless.  Her head was encased in
a red discipline  helmet that was laced up in the back.  Her chest was
bound into a corset, that pulled her waist tightly in.  Her wrists and ankles
were braceleted,  with her wrists locked together and a hobble chain linking
her  ankles.
"Greetings, I am Monique," said her  guest.
"Please come inside," said  Janet.
"Sorry, but I cannot stay.  I shall return within three days, when I  shall
pick her up again.  You may  have the use of her during that time."
"Thank you," said Janet, as she watched the limo quickly  depart.
How mysterious!  Janet walked the bound woman inside, and conducted her
into the  library.  Monique had handed her an  envelope, with some papers
saying that the slave's name was Alana  Peters.
Janet, after reading the papers, stood up and removed the  discipline
helmet, after unlacing it from the rear.  She pulled the helmet off from the
front, and a rubber phallus gag with an air hole was removed from the slave's
mouth.
"Mistress Erica!" cried  Janet.
"Janet.  How  good to see you," said Erica.
Janet sank to her knees in front of Erica,  sobbing.
"There now, Janet.  I'm not really dressed for the way you're treating me,
so stand up.  You're the Mistress, now," said  Erica.
Janet unlocked Erica's wrists, and removed the hobble  chain.  Still
wearing the corset,  Janet invited her to sit behind the desk, but Erica
declined.
"That's your desk now, not mine.  I'm just your guest here, your  slave.
I was happy to hear that  you'd won, not Tiffany, who would have made a bad
Mistress."
"I could have lost!  I nearly did, if Tiffany hadn't gambled on a futures
contract.  You were a cruel Mistress in devising  something like this," said
Janet.
"Fate itself can be a capricious and cruel Mistress.  Remember that!  You
and Tiffany were locked in a great  struggle, and you prevailed.  Where  is
she, by the way?"
"Stephanie is training her," answered Janet, "I felt it  would be better
for her to be trained by someone else, not  me."
"Good, I only wanted to see you  anyway."
"Isn't faking your death a crime?" asked  Janet.
"It is provided fraud is committed.  There was no large life insurance
policy  on me, there were clearly designated heirs, and taxes were  paid."
"But you gave me your estate?" protested  Janet.
"Did you really think that this was my entire estate?"  laughed Erica, "
no, Erica Riken was just one identity of mine.  And Alana isn't my real name,
either.  Fact is, you'll never know  just who I really am.  That's why I
kept such a low profile, even if I was rich.  And you should  too."
"What are you doing now?" asked  Janet.
Erica held up her left hand, and on her third finger was  a simple gold
wedding band.
"Married?  You're married?  You left  this life to get hitched?"
questioned Janet.
"It was time to start something new.  My husband knows of my former life,
and  he doesn't care.  And that's all  I'll say about it.  Which brings me
to the purpose of my visit.  You may  use me for three days, and then return
me to Mistress Monique.  In any way you wish, for I'll be your  slave."
"I don't know what to say," answered  Janet.
"Say yes, and use me, Janet.  As you would any other slave girl.  Just
refer to me as Alana, not  Erica.  And I don't want to be seen  by Tiffany,
either.  I'm still dead  as far as she's concerned."
"Yes, Mistress."
"You are the Mistress now, Janet.  Always remember that, and never forget
what I have taught you."
Janet used Alana for the three days that were given  her.  The only other
person who saw  her was Tina, who had never met Erica before her death.
Janet whipped her harshly in the Dungeon,  making her scream and beg for mercy.
In the evenings, she would take Alana to her bed, and use her there also,
a dildo and a crop at her side.
The first night that Janet had used Alana, Janet used her  former Mistress
harshly.  She made  certain that her whip would leave red marks on her skin,
and that she would  scream out her submission.
That night, in her bedroom, Janet relentlessly continued  her punishment of
Alana, using the riding crop on her back over and  over.
"Mercy, Mistress Janet, mercy," Alana  plead.
"No!" said Janet, madness possessing her to continue  cropping Alana.
In spite of Alana's plea for mercy, a strange madness  possessed Janet to
continue using the crop on the slave's back, delivering  stroke after stroke.
 Finally,  flecks of blood appeared on Alana's back as the skin was broken,
and the crop's  tip was colored red.
"Mercy," cried Alana,  "mercy!"
"No!" screamed Janet tears falling from her eyes.
"Show me your back, Mistress Janet!  Or are you Mistress Lauren?" demanded
 Erica, her voice and persona changing.
"No!  I'm not  Lauren!" cried Janet.
"Then why are you behaving like  Lauren?"
Janet fell to the floor, sobbing as she dropped the  riding crop.  She
covered her eyes  with her hands trying to contain the tears.  Erica's mention
of Lauren reopened the  memory of her suffering months before.
"Before you strike my back again, show me yours!" ordered  Erica.
Janet tearfully unzipped the PVC top that she was  wearing, which exposed
her arms, but covered the rest of her upper body.  She dropped it to the
floor, and  continued kneeling before Erica, who had managed to stand up after
her  beating.
"You knew," cried Janet, "you knew all  along."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you ask me in the library?" asked  Janet.
"Because it had to come in it's own way.  Because you had to beat me and
refuse my  call for mercy while you striped my back.  Yes, I heard about what
Lauren did to you.  How you took the punishment of a slave  who had been
used beyond her breaking point, and paid a terrible price for  it.  I was very
proud when I heard  about a new Mistress who observed all the rules, acted
wisely and coolly.  I knew that you had learned everything  that I had
taught you," said Erica.
"Why does Lauren hate you so?" sobbed  Janet.
"We were both slaves together, then became Dominants at  the same time.
There was always  something vicious and evil about her, and when she advanced
to Mistress, she  forgot the responsibility that we hold," answered  Erica.
"No!  There's  more, tell me all of it!" Janet demanded.
"Lauren discovered an excellent slave, one that wanted to  be trained and
serve a Mistress.  But she abused her, and punished her severely.  I rescued
the girl, and made her my  slave instead."
"Tiffany?" asked Janet.
"No, Stephanie."
"Stephanie?" Janet repeated,  dumbfounded.
"Yes.  That's  why she hates you, Stephanie, and myself.  She was always
angry that I took Stephanie from her, and probably one day  vowed revenge.
Stephanie was a  superb slave who learned quickly, and who had excellent
qualities.  She advanced from slave to Mistress in  just a few years," Erica
recalled.
"Why did Lauren want to kill me?" sobbed  Janet.
"To Lauren, you represented me," continued Erica.  "That was why when you
surrendered to  her, Lauren finally had her chance to punish me, with you as
my surrogate.   You never knew that when you took  that slave's punishment
in her place.  What was her name?"
"Myra."
"Then you must do all you can to free her from Lauren's  grasp," directed
Erica.
"She also met me later in Greenwich.  She told me that Lauren was advising
Tiffany, and that Tiffany was ahead in the stock market," answered  Janet.
"You have to free her,  Janet."
"Yes," sobbed Janet, "I swear I will,  Erica."
"I know you will, Janet," answered  Erica.
"Why, Erica?  Why did I have to go through such hell?" questioned  Janet.
"As my newest and last slave," Erica began. "I felt that  you had as much
right to my legacy as one of my older ones. Tiffany has been one  of my
slaves for a long time.  But I  had no idea that she was probably serving
Lauren, my enemy, as  well."
"Erica, Tiffany and Lauren were conspiring together from  the very
beginning after your death.  The night after you died, I went to Tiffany's
apartment.  I knocked over a game, Conquest, in her  closet.  I boasted how good I
was.  Six months later, at Lauren's,  we played Conquest, and I won easily.
I was set up, since Myra had already been used.  When I met Lauren before,
she knew that  I disapproved of her methods, and I would be forced into
taking Myra's  place."
"Then you must trade or sell Tiffany to Lauren in  exchange for Myra."
"I have to.  I certainly can't keep Tiffany in my House," agreed  Janet.
"I could not have imagined that you would have had to  face Lauren," said
Erica, "she must have made you suffer horribly on my  account."
"I wanted to die," bluntly stated  Janet.
"But you survived, Janet.  There are many responsibilities that you  will
have as Mistress, both good and bad.  You will be holding a person's very
life in your hands, and you will be  responsible for it."
"That was what I told Tiffany the night before the  codicil was read,"
Janet answered.
"Then you have learned what your role as a Mistress is  really about, not
just providing yourself with sexual  satisfaction."
"But why the contest,  Erica?"
"I had to find some way of testing the two of you,  something that you
could not control.  Something that would test you to your very limits of
endurance.  But I never thought that you would be  tested almost to the brink of
death.  I'm sorry Janet, but the life of a Mistress isn't always going to be
a  happy one.  You learned harder and  faster, than any slave or Mistress
ever had to.  You will make a fine Mistress,  Janet.  You have learned
everything  that I taught you, and deserve to inherit my  legacy."
Janet buried her face in her hands and sobbed, tears  flowing from her
eyes, droplets running down her hands and  cheeks.
"Thank you, Erica.  I'll always remember you," sobbed Janet.
"I know you will, Janet.  I know you will," answered Erica.
When Monique came to pick up Alana, Janet watched the  limo pull away, then
ran to the library to cry.  It took her an hour to regain her  composure,
as she had an appointment with Stephanie that  afternoon.
After lunch, she drove the BMW to Stephanie's House.  She saw that Camille
was exercising  Tiffany outside.
"You wanted to see me?" asked  Stephanie.
"Alone, and in the library," said  Janet.
"Sure."
Before they seated themselves, Stephanie had gotten them  a glass of white
wine.  Janet  enjoyed the aroma in her glass.
"You don't want Tiffany back yet, do you?" asked  Stephanie.
"No, that's not why I came  here."
"What about that package that Monique brought over?"  questioned
Stephanie.
"Just a slave that needed some additional training,  that's all.  But I
have two more  serious matters to discuss."
"Go ahead," said Stephanie, taking a sip of her  drink.
"I want to buy Myra from Rene and Lauren.  I owe her that much for telling
me about  Lauren and Tiffany, and trade her for Tiffany."
"Risky.  If  Lauren finds out that's it you that wants Myra,  she won't
sell and Myra will be horribly punished.  We'll have to find a Mistress who
will  help us and disguise her real reasons for buying Myra.  What else?"
"I also want to go back to that plastic surgeon you  brought me to and get
my back fixed.  It's time now, and I no longer have to wear the stigmata of
my beating by  Lauren."
Janet sat back in her leather chair, enjoying the feel on  her bare legs.
Finally, after her  year of trial, her test and ordeal was over.  It was
time to properly begin her life  as a Mistress, just as she had been trained.
Epilogue
Janet relaxed behind her desk in the library, warming her  fingers on the
steaming mug of coffee that she was holding.  She watched, as the snow
outside the  windows became progressively heavier.  Having just returned from two
weeks in the Bahamas, Janet  had managed to arrive home the day before a
blizzard  struck.
Tina had awakened her, and they had shared a nice  breakfast together.
Then Tina had  to attend to her chores, and Janet to assume her role as
Mistress of the  House.  Afterwards, Janet had  adjourned to the library to work on
the mail and other paperwork required in  running the estate.
Janet had taken her coffee mug and a thermos pitcher of  black coffee with
her.  Running her  estate was lengthy work, and would require plenty of
coffee to keep her  going.
The radio was droning quietly about the forecast that at  least thirty
inches of snow were coming, and Connecticut was going to be snowed in.  It was a
good thing that Janet always  took a couple of days to rest after a trip
before resuming her normal  schedule.  There was nothing on her  calendar
except for dinner with Stephanie, which would have to be  canceled.
Glancing outside, she saw that the snow was already  drifting onto the
library windows.  It was inches deep by now, and the storm was just getting
started.  So Janet knew that she was going to be  house bound for a few days.
"Damn!" said Janet aloud to  herself.
She had marked the date in red ink, and Janet suddenly  realized why.  It
was the third  anniversary of the day she had been nearly fatally whipped by
Mistress Lauren,  in her revenge against Erica.  She  had wanted the
anniversary each year to be marked by a private dinner with  Stephanie, to thank
her for saving Janet's life.
Even though it had been two years, Janet had never told  Stephanie about
Erica's secret or how Lauren and Tiffany had plotted to kill  her.  There were
some things that  were better kept quiet, which was something else that she
had learned from  Erica.  Though they often shared a  bed together, and
Janet longed to confess to someone about what she knew, Janet  still stayed
silent.
Janet wondered what would have happened to her life if it  had snowed on
that night and she and Tiffany had not gone to Lauren's  party.  Would events
have turned out  differently?  Would Tiffany now be  sitting in the chair,
and Janet in the Dungeon?  Or was the agony that Janet suffered  necessary
for her to win Erica's competition between  them?
Her back had been fixed, and the physical scars  removed.  It had been a
painful  process, but nothing like the agony she had suffered when inflicted
by  Lauren.  She remembered how she had  wanted to scream and plead for
mercy, but Lauren had buckled a ballgag in her  mouth.  Then Janet had been
whipped  severely, far beyond just drawing blood.  Janet knew that she would have
begged Lauren for her life, but that had  been denied her by the gag.
Janet was now a successful Mistress, with plenty of eager  and willing
slaves to please her.  She had learned from both Erica and Stephanie, and was
regarded as a  superb Dominatrix and her advice sought by others.
It had taken Janet and Stephanie six months to create a  scheme to trade
Tiffany for Myra, which had succeeded.  Now, Myra was one of Janet's most
devoted slaves,  and would do anything for her.  Meanwhile, Janet wondered just
what sort of miserable life that Tiffany  must be leading as Lauren's slave.
 Would she someday meet Tiffany somewhere, begging for Janet to buy  her?
Finally, Janet started on the mail.  She sorted through the bills, ads, and
 organized it into neat piles.  However, there was a standard business
envelope with no return address on  it.  It had been printed on an  ink-jet
printer, with her name and address.
Janet opened the envelope, and unfolded a single sheet of  paper, which
also contained a newspaper article about a fatal car accident.  Janet didn't
recognize the name of the  victim.
But tears did come when she read the  letter:
Dear Janet,
I trust that you are well, and things are working well  for you in your
life as a Mistress.
I'm writing to inform you of Erica's death in a traffic  accident, which
happened a few days ago.  Enclosed you will find an article about her death.
After Erica and I "died" in the plane  crash, I started a new life also,
as a Mistress in my own right.  Erica did not want me to contact you,
feeling that you had to establish your own life.  I am happy to hear that you have
done a  good job of it.
Erica always loved you,  deeply.
Andrea
Below her name, Andrea had written a phone number, as an  afterthought.
Janet decided that she would call later in the day.  Andrea was no longer
bound by Erica's  orders, nor was Janet.
During her brief three-day visit two years earlier, Erica  had been alone
in the library.  In a  book of Japanese poetry, she had outlined a poem in
red, then placed a bookmark  on the page.  Janet had stumbled  across it
months later, on the first anniversary of her beating by  Lauren.
Janet read:
You only live twice:
Once when you are born,
And once when you look death in the  face.1
Janet had seen death in Lauren's face, and she would  always remember it.
But why did Erica have to die, and not Lauren?  Fate was unfair, just as
Erica had said  it would be.
Watching the snow pile itself into silent drifts, it  seemed a peaceful and
fitting day to learn that Erica was really gone.  Janet reflected on the
events that led  her to this point quietly, before she resumed her duties as
Mistress of her  Estate.
THE END
Mistress Janet will return in 1998 in: The  Challenge