The Challenge 14 by sfmaster@att.net

Chapter Fourteen: The Legacy

Part One: Borrowed Time

July 1992

"Mistress, are you all right?" asked Andrea, concern and worry on her face.

"What?" answered Erica, struggling back to consciousness.

Erica realized that she had fallen asleep at her desk, resting her hands on the desktop, her arms for pillows. She had gone into the library to write a report on that new girl, Janet Davis who she had used the previous weekend. Then she had dropped off to sleep, exhausted.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm tired," answered Erica.

"I'll get you some coffee, Mistress. Then we have something to discuss," replied Andrea as she left the library for the kitchen.

Erica wanted to get to her feet to follow Andrea, but found that she was too tired even to do that. She had used Janet all weekend, and now here it was Sunday afternoon, and she felt like she had run the NYC Marathon!

"Here's some coffee, Mistress," said Andrea after she returned and handed Erica a steaming cup.

"Thank you, Andrea," replied Erica as she sipped at the black liquid, the heat and caffeine restoring her.

"You're welcome, Mistress."

"What do you want to talk to be about, Andrea? And please take a seat."

"Thank you, Mistress," answered Andrea as she sat in a library chair directly opposite Erica, "it's about Janet Davis."

"Go ahead."

"Why are you training her?"

"Sally suggested that her friend wanted to try something new, since her sex life was a bore. Which was what she told me verbally, and in her written bio."

"Do you really believe that, Mistress? That a normal heterosexual woman who is bored with her vanilla sex life would suddenly decide to serve a Dominatrix? Plus the face that she has no experience in the scene."

"What of it?"

"She must have had some boring sex life then. I would have thought that you would have been at least more curious before you placed her under the lash," commented Andrea.

"Are you questioning my judgement?"

"Yes, Mistress, when it concerns your reputation as a Domme," pointed out Andrea.

"What else? I know that look in your face, Andrea, out with it."

"What happened Saturday night?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," answered Erica.

"Did Janet tire you out? I know how you train new slaves, Mistress. And you wimped out on using the whip on her. That is, unless you want her to become Tiffany's lover?"

"I felt that she had been used enough," answered Erica.

"All right then, I suggest that you compare her training records to those of the others. You will find that she hasn't received nearly enough use as compared with the others at the same stage of their training."

"Thank you, Andrea, for bringing that to my attention," said Erica.

"I think that if a new girl like Janet can tire you out, I suggest that you see a doctor, Mistress."

"Next week, Andrea," answered Erica, afraid to go back to a doctor.

"Tomorrow, Mistress. Please?"

"What's the problem?" asked Doctor Anderson.

Erica sat in the doctor's examination room, on the table. Now she was the one being examined, not one of her slaves.

"I'm tired all the time, sleepy. Can't concentrate, and I tire easily."

"All right, then, I'll start with an exam and a blood sample. Roll up your sleeve, and let's get started."

"Yes, Doctor."

She submitted herself to a full physical exam, including samples of her blood and urine, being weighed and a heart exam. Everything that she had been avoiding for a very long time. Finally, she was allowed to dress, and was conducted into the office to sit quietly.

Erica waited for the results of the blood analyzer. It was a new device that could do things that formerly had to be sent out to a lab.

Doctor Anderson entered his office, and closed the door behind him. The serious look on his face told Erica that what he had to say was nothing good.

"I'm sorry I took so long," he excused himself.

"That's all right," answered Erica.

"Thank you," he said as he sat behind his desk, a manila folder in his hands.

"How am I?"

"I've been a doctor for many years, Erica. There's no good way to deliver news like this. Your hemoglobin count is very low, and I'm going to give you a prescription for iron pills. Also, eat as much red meat as you can, even if you have to have steak for breakfast. But that's not the main problem."

"What is?"

"Your blood count is very low also, and I want you over in the hospital tomorrow for further tests. I think that you may have leukemia, and we have to determine what type and if it's treatable."

"Thank you," answered Erica softly.

"There have been many advances over the years in treating leukemia, Erica. Drugs, radiation, marrow replacement, and if we've caught it early you have a good chance of having a normal life..."

Erica sat in the bar, and opened a pack of cigarettes that she had just purchased from the machine. After all that she had gone through years ago to quit, now she wanted nothing more than a cigarette and bourbon over ice.

She lit the cigarette, and inhaled the smoke deep into her lungs, happy that she didn't embarrass herself by coughing in response. Then she followed the puff with a swig of whiskey that burned her throat making her feel more alive than anything did in days.

"You OK lady?" asked the bartender.

"Fine, thank you."

After hearing the news, she had called Andrea to tell her to cancel the one session that she had planned for Monday night. Since she didn't want to get caught in rush hour traffic, she had pulled into a bar and restaurant for a drink.

She had planned a session for Beth Summers, one of her favorite slaves. But now her heart wasn't into it, after hearing the news that she was sick.

Erica then called Andrea back to say that she wasn't having Dinner at home either, that Andrea should eat alone and that she would be home later.

Her concentration was broken when the bartender placed a menu in front of her, and she looked at him.

"Want some dinner to go with that bourbon?" he asked.

Erica opened the menu, and finally noticed that other patrons were coming in and being seated for Dinner in the restaurant section. She had the bar all to herself, however.

"Yes, I'll have the Prime Rib with French Fries, thank you. Medium Rare."

"Thank you," he answered, "you don't want to drink and drive on an empty stomach."

"No," answered Erica.

When the Prime Rib arrived, complete with a sharp steak knife and a bottle of Steak Sauce Erica was actually hungry. The cut of meat was a good one, and it was very tender. So Erica laced into it, and finished the whole steak with the fries also.

"Thank you, that was very good," said Erica as the dishes were cleared away.

"You're welcome."

It came as no surprise after the tests in the hospital when Erica discovered that she had leukemia. Overproduction of immature white cells, also called cancer of the blood.

She had sat in the doctor's office, and he had given her pamphlets to read, and had talked about therapies, drugs, and treatments. But her mind was elsewhere, her concerns somewhere else.

"Thank you, doctor," she said, shaking his hand on the way out.

BEEP!

The car horn behind her had startled Erica back to the real world, and she pressed on the gas to get moving into traffic. She pulled over into a McDonald's and ordered coffee, and wished for a drink instead.

Death.

She had cheated death when Stephanie had saved her life, inadvertently placing her on the path to submission when she had been a painslut to Mistress Martine. Then, in a strange twist of fate she had saved Stephanie from serving Lauren, who had learned all of the wrong lessons from their common Master, Daniel.

Erica had died twice, but as Alana Peters. First after the car accident that had placed her on the path to D/s. Then in her Amazon trip to Brazil when she abandoned her former life to become Erica Riken. She swallowed, and wanted a cigarette.

After finishing her coffee, she drove the remaining distance home, and told Andrea that she wanted to be alone in the library. Fortunately, she had no sessions today. Else they would have been canceled also.

'I don't want to be an object of pity,' Erica thought to herself, 'a Domme who can't hold a crop.'

For the first time in years, she buried her face in her hands, and cried. Tears fell from her eyes, into her hands. They leaked onto the desktop blotter through her fingers, falling like raindrops.

Part Two: Janet Davis

July 1992

"It's been a long time," said Karla.

Erica had called Karla to investigate Janet Davis, to have him dig into her past and provide a full biography for her. They met in a parking lot to exchange money for his work.

"Have you done what I asked?"

"Yes, here it is," he said, handing it over, "pretty small fry, don't you think?"

"That's my affair," answered Erica.

"Janet Davis, secretary. Earns eighteen thousand a year. Works in Manhattan. Drives a ten year old Plymouth. Hardly the type to circulate in your circles, don't you agree?"

"Thought you didn't ask questions?"

"I don't," replied Karla as he opened the car door, "see you next time."

"Thanks."

'If there is a next time,' thought Erica.

It was Saturday morning, and Janet would be helping Andrea with the household chores. She was treated like any new prospect: kept naked, collared and wearing bracelets, and her feet locked into punishing five inch high-heels. Before she had left the house, Janet had been paraded in front of Erica. Andrea had bathed and perfumed her, and Janet seemed eager and ready to serve. Her naked skin was freshly marked from the session that she had undergone the previous evening.

Sally had told Erica that her friend was a little sexually inexperienced. She should have said that Janet was very sexually inexperienced, that had been a great understatement and Sally would one day pay for her inaccurate remarks.

The house seemed like a prison, and Erica had wanted to get away for a while. She went to a restaurant, and got a booth all the way in the back, away from others. There she ordered a Coke, and sat reading Janet's file.

Middle class upbringing, public schools, Queens College. Parents dead, one brother in Colorado. No serious debts, disdains jewelry, dresses well (worked at Macy's starting in High School), owns an old car. Takes the train every day to work in Manhattan.

The very life that Alana had wanted to have was an anonymous one that would have left her free to enter the world of submission. But Erica had not been free, really. Serving Daniel, unable to have Keith for her Master, finally discovering that her true talent had been as a Dominatrix.

Once Erica had gotten Karla's report on Janet she had wanted to demand the reason for why she had wanted to serve a Mistress. If necessary, she would beat the reason out of her, then send her packing.

'No,' Erica thought to herself in silence, sipping at her Coke, 'I knew nothing about submission either until I met Martine. I could afford Martine, couldn't I? But Janet certainly can't afford the fee that I usually charge the rich women of Greenwich to beat their bottoms.'

"Want some lunch?" asked the waitress, a pretty brunette.

"No thanks, just thinking. Please get me another Coke?"

"Sure."

Erica stared at the ice cubes floating in the brown liquid, watching them swirl around in the glass.

'I'm going to train Janet like all the others, even if I'm sick and she will be my last slave. She deserves a good Mistress that will love and respect her, even I can't love her in return. Maybe I'll respond to treatment, maybe my energy will come back so that I can take her to bed. She's the first slave to ever wear me out, and she's not even trained yet.'

Erica placed a few dollar bills under the empty glass, and walked out into the July heat. She couldn't wait to get home as she got behind the wheel of her BMW. When she got home Andrea had Janet waiting for inspection, but Erica wanted to place her file in the safe first. Then she would see Janet, alone.

"Enter!" called Erica.

"Yes, Mistress," answered Janet.

Janet walked in the library slowly, measuring each step in the heels that she was forced to wear. Erica noted that the woman had managed to become used to being kept naked after only a few weeks. Good, that was the first and hardest hurdle to jump. After that, being used physically and sexually would come quickly.

"Kneel."

"Yes, Mistress Erica."

"Have you ever served a Mistress before, been whipped or cropped?" asked Erica.

"No, Mistress."

"Ever been spanked by another woman?"

"Not until I came to serve you, Mistress Erica."

"Why do you want to serve a Mistress, Janet?" asked Erica.

"My sex life with men was unsuccessful, so I wanted to try something new. Sally has told me of how she enjoys submission, so I wanted to give it a try," nervously answered Janet, as she swallowed a huge lump in her throat.

"Just like that? You knew that you would be whipped, cropped, and sexually used, yet you still wanted to serve a Mistress?"

"Yes, Mistress Erica, those are my reasons."

"It's all right, Janet. They are quite good enough for me, and I said last month that I was satisfied with your interview," explained Erica, "now I want you to get on my lap, because I want to use a hairbrush on that bottom of yours."

Erica rose from the desk chair, picked up the brush, then seated herself on the leather couch. She watched as Janet did as she had been ordered, presenting her naked bottom for Erica's use.

"Are you submissive Janet?" asked Erica.

"I want to learn submission, Mistress Erica," answered Janet.

Erica fondled Janet's firm breasts, holding the globes in her right hand. The she placed her hand between Janet's legs, and felt the already wet sex. Her slit was moist and wet with excitement!

"Are you going to behave?" demanded Erica.

"Yes, Mistress."

"You're such a good girl, Janet."

Thwack!

The hard wood of the brush smacked against Janet's upraised bottom, making her flinch with each stroke. Even though each stroke was harder than the one before, Janet resolutely remained seated on Erica's lap.

Thwack!

"That's enough for now, Janet, I'll be using you tonight in the Dungeon after Dinner."

"Thank you, Mistress," cried Janet as she got shakily to her feet.

"You've done very well, Janet, for a new girl in so short a time," complimented Erica.

"Thank you, Mistress."

"Now go help Andrea in the kitchen with Dinner."

"Yes, Mistress."

'Yes,' thought Erica, 'I shall train her with love and understanding. If she's so eager to learn submission then I must train her.'

"What is your safeword, Janet?"

"Mercy, Mistress."

"Make sure that you do not forget it," advised Erica.

"Yes, Mistress!"

Janet was on her knees in the Dungeon, her hands bound above her head to the ceiling chain. Her breasts protruded, and she was sweating from the use that she had already undergone earlier.

Taking a wooden stool from the wall, Erica sat down in front of Janet and held a crop in her hands, flexing the leather covered bamboo in her gloved hands. The crop had a leather pad at the end, which was what would be used on her. Erica could see how Janet watched the pad with anticipation in her eyes.

"Hold out your breasts."

Janet did so, and her reward was to have them struck several times lightly with the crop. She did not flinch, cry out, or draw back. Instead she remained in place, and took the crop on her pretty well formed breasts, which bounced slightly after each impact.

"Very good, Janet."

"Thank you, Mistress."

Erica got to her knees, and began to lick and suck at Janet's erect nipples, making the woman moan in response. What the crop could not do, Erica's mouth would do instead.

"Ah!" cried Janet.

"Slut!" commented Erica her mouth full of Janet's breast.

Erica then placed one of her hands between Janet's legs, and the slave opened her legs to facilitate the entrance of Erica's fingers into her love box. Janet moaned as her Mistress probed her privates.

"Do you want to be my slave?" asked Erica.

"Yes, Mistress."

Erica could smell Janet's sweat from her use, but it wasn't the scent of fear. Rather it was of pleasure, for that was what she wanted.

"Andrea shall have you tonight, Janet. Only after you have proven yourself to me shall I take you into my bed," stated Erica.

"Please Mistress, make love to me?" asked Janet, disappointment in her voice.

"Not yet, Janet, not yet."

On Monday morning, when it was just Erica and Andrea in the house, Erica had ordered a cheese omelet for breakfast. Instead, Andrea cooked two scrambled eggs, and a small steak. Erica ate everything in silence.

"What's wrong, Mistress?" asked Andrea, "why are you taking those iron pills, vanishing for hours, then eating beef constantly?"

"That's my affair, Andrea."

"Then why didn't you take Janet to bed on Saturday night, she certainly earned it?"

"All right, then, Andrea, sit down!" commanded Erica.

Andrea sat in one of the dining room chairs, next to Erica. She waited in silence.

"I'm sick, Andrea. I have leukemia, I may be dying," said Erica as she broke down in tears, "and I'm so scared."

"Mistress," answered Andrea as she held Erica close to her, as the Domme cried, the tears falling from her eyes.

Part Three: Excalibur

October 1992

The treatments had begun to work and Erica had started to feel normal again. Her energy was returning, along with her sex drive. Mistress Erica had returned to her regular schedule and habits.

Until the phone call had come from Dr. Anderson. Even with the treatments, it was just a temporary respite. She was still seriously ill, and had just three years to live.

Andrea was preparing lunch in the kitchen when Erica walked in. She was just about to tell Erica that lunch would be ready soon.

"Mistress?" asked Andrea.

Erica removed a can of Coke from the fridge, then opened it and sat on a chair. She took a long swallow before she began to speak in a soft voice.

"That was Dr. Anderson, Andrea. I'm dying. I may feel better now, but it's just temporary. I'll start to decline again, become weak and sick again. If you want, I'll release you from your contract. Being a nurse wasn't part of the contract that we signed."

Ding!

"Lunch is ready, Mistress. Chicken pot pie," stated Andrea.

"Let's eat together in here," said Erica, "screw formality for once."

"Yes, Mistress."

Mistress and slave sat down to an informal lunch of salad, pot pie, sodas, and finally cake. Erica stayed in the kitchen after eating, just to talk and have some company.

"You know," said Erica, the funny thing is that I died twice already."

"Mistress?" questioned Andrea as she did the dishes.

"Just a figure of speech, Andrea."

"Perhaps you could die again, and live once more, as someone else," suggested Andrea, "but have someone take your place."

"I wish that I could do that, Andrea."

"Wake up, Andrea," insisted Erica as she shook her slave awake.

"What's wrong Mistress?" Andrea looked at the clock and saw that it was three in the morning.

"What did you say after lunch?"

"Bout what?" sleepily answered Andrea.

"Dying and living again?"

"If you were to die and have someone take your place, Mistress," Andrea answered, still half asleep.

"Yes, that's it!" said Erica as she sat down on Andrea's bed.

"What?"

"I love you, Andrea."

"Yes, Mistress," replied Andrea, convinced that Erica had finally gone crazy, somehow.

"Sit down, Andrea. I have a question to ask you. What do you think of Tiffany Gray?"

Erica and Andrea sat in the kitchen after breakfast, sharing another pot of coffee together. Outside was a dark gray winter sky.

"Selfish, unstable, a liar, I have never trusted her, Mistress. I have even suggested that you cease being her Mistress."

"Yes, Andrea, I remember. What do you think of Janet Davis?"

"Eager to please you and learn, faithful. Willing to submit to you in all things. The best slave you've had in a long time, Mistress. I'm sorry that I ever suggested that you shouldn't train her."

"Perfect then. Tell me, Andrea, if you died, would anybody miss you?"

"You know that I'm all alone in the world, Mistress. I was an only child, and my parents are dead."

"So if you vanished into a harem, you wouldn't be missed?"

"No, Mistress."

"How would you like to join me then in death and rebirth?" asked Erica.

"Wait a minute, Mistress. You're not thinking of doing what I suggested yesterday are you?" questioned Andrea.

"Yes," answered Erica, sipping her coffee, "yes, and I need your help. Janet must be trained and quickly while I still have the strength to do it."

"Between Janet and Tiffany? How?"

"A competition both financial and in Dominance and submission. Each to be awarded a portfolio of stock, they have to run the house for a year supervised by Blanca Sanchez, their activities monitored by her also then the winner gets the estate. Plus the loser as her slave," Erica described in detail.

"Tiffany will cut her to pieces, Mistress," stated Andrea.

"That's why we have to train her correctly, now don't we? When I loan Janet to Stephanie, I'll tell her not to place Janet on the rack, for example."

"She will, anyway, you know how much she loves a new girl. And Janet is just the sort that she desires."

"I'm counting on it, Andrea," answered Erica.

Part Four: The Final Plans

May 1993

It was only by her strength of will that Erica mad managed to retain enough strength to continue training Janet. She had given many of her other slaves and paying clients to other Dommes, simply because she no longer had the energy to service them all.

Some of her wealthy clients were bitterly disappointed, complained that she had serviced their submissive needs for years. That Erica had been the perfect Dominatrix, and that they would gladly pay her anything to continue.

Erica had never been a Domme for the money. She had been quite well off from the family estate before she had begun as Mistress Erica serving the needs of the elite in Greenwich CT. Over the years, she had taken her earnings, and placed them into the stock market.

In 1987, she had made a killing by suddenly liquidating everything in the family's stock portfolio, including stock that had been held for generations. Weeks before the crash, she had sold everything, sensing that the market was simply too high. In just one decision, she had increased her cash position many times, and she had called on Blanca to keep her name out of the Wall Street Journal.

Strange how in 1980, when she had done her first deal as an investment banker, she had wanted an article about her in the Journal so very much. Now, in her position as Domme, even though she had amassed a vast fortune in her own name, publicity was the last thing that she had wanted.

She had bought portfolios of stock again for both Janet and Tiffany, and had arranged for brokers to handle their accounts, beginning after her death.

Enough money had been siphoned off into accounts into the Cayman Islands that would provide her with enough money to live on in the time remaining to her, and to set Andrea up with a comfortable estate as well. She could have used Switzerland for numbered accounts, but the Caymans were a lot closer.

Somehow the prospect of her own death no longer frightened her as it did almost a year earlier. Creating the competition between two of her slaves had given her a purpose and goal to continue living. She would even live the year to see who would win the competition.

Janet's slave training had been almost rushed to an incredible degree. Used herself one week, she had been allowed to use other slaves the next. Every week that Erica had called to arrange for her Friday night pickup, she had been afraid that Janet would refuse her. Instead Janet eagerly sought to please her Mistress, having no idea of what was in reality being planned for her.

Even when Stephanie had scared her half to death by placing her on the rack, Janet still wanted to serve a Mistress. It was only icing on the cake when Stephanie had allowed Janet to use her own slave Camille for a transgression.

'I'm sorry, Janet,' Erica thought in silence. 'I'm going to place you in a test that you know nothing about, possibly endanger your life, in a competition with a woman that you think of as your lover and friend, Tiffany. Please forgive me?'

Janet had been bound and whipped into a sexual frenzy, her body covered in stripes every week. Her pussy had been shaved for months now, with Andrea shaving her each Sunday on her departure. Janet had never commented or protested to Erica about that new violation of her womanhood.

Erica wondered sometimes just how much internal strength that the woman really had, her personality certainly didn't betray any indication of the nerves of steel that Janet must possess. Her choice of Janet against Tiffany would place two almost exact opposites against the other.

Janet was cool, calm, and determined. Tiffany was emotional, easily excited, and possessed a short attention span.

Tiffany would no doubt regard her sudden wealth as a gift from heaven. Janet would be far more suspicious about her sudden change in status.

Even more so when she was fired from her job, and would find the clues around the house that Erica would have left for the two of them. It would not take long for them to realize that they were in for the test of their lives.

'Forgive me, both of you, for the ton of bricks that are about to fall on you,' thought Erica, 'but I don't want to go out as an object of pity, a sick Domme dying in a few years.'

The week before, she had used Tiffany alone in the house, giving Janet the week off. Now it was Janet's turn, and Erica was determined to use her in the most sensual manner possible, as a last parting gift to her final slave.

Erica had also made it her business to bring Janet to a few parties and clubs to show her around. She wanted others in the D/s community to know that Janet was her slave, but for far different reasons than normal.

"Mistress," interrupted Andrea from the library door, "Janet has arrived."

"Thank you, Andrea, you may conduct her into the library after you take her coat."

"Yes, Mistress."

Janet was soon seated in front of Erica. She was wearing a white blouse, plaid skirt, and red hose and heels. Holding herself stiffly, waiting for the first orders of her Mistress.

"What did you do the previous weekend, Janet?" asked Erica.

"I went out on Friday and Saturday nights as you ordered, Mistress. To a local bar and a disco."

"What happened?"

"Nothing, Mistress. A few men tried to pick me up, but none of them appealed to me."

"So you disobeyed my instructions that go home with a man to have sex so that he could see your marks?"

"Yes, Mistress," truthfully answered Janet.

Erica had her followed the whole two nights, and all of the contacts that she had made had been reported back to Erica.

"You have disobeyed my instructions, Janet. You do realize that this will mean a severe punishment?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"I shall use you harshly and make you cry, Janet. I shall leave your flesh marked more heavily than usual, for the crime of disobedience."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Strip," ordered Erica.

Without any hesitation, Janet rose to her feet and silently and quickly removed all of her clothing. She folded all of her clothes neatly on the chair that she had just occupied, and soon stood naked in front of Erica.

"Get up on one of the other chairs," commanded Erica.

Janet did as she was told, her knees resting on the leather cushions, holding onto the top of the chair with her hands. Her breasts pushed against the seat back cushion. She waited for Erica's next move.

From the desk drawer, Erica removed a paddle, which she held in her right hand. She slapped it against her left as a display of power.

"Do you consent to your use, Janet?"

"Yes, Mistress Erica."

"What is your safeword?"

"Mercy, Mistress Erica."

Erica rose from the desk and stood behind Janet. The paddle was offered to Janet's lips, and she kissed it without being ordered to.

Crack!

"Thank you, Mistress!" cried Janet after five harsh strokes that quickly reddened her bottom.

Crack!

"Thank you, Mistress!"

Erica placed her hand against Janet's bottom, and the red flesh was hot from the ten strokes. The she placed her hand up between Janet's legs to her shaven sex, and probed within.

"Do you miss your pubic hair?" asked Erica.

"Yes, Mistress," cried Janet.

"How does having your sex like this feel?"

"I feel naked, even when I'm wearing clothes," answered Janet, "when my panties rub against my pubes, Mistress."

"Does this always remind you of me?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"Get off the chair and take your clothes to Andrea. She will outfit you and place you in the Dungeon for my use. Do not disappoint me this weekend, Janet."

"No, Mistress."

"Go!"

Erica watched as Janet fairly ran out of the library, naked and holding her clothes. There was no longer any doubt; her submission was now total to her Mistress.

Erica had dressed in a sleeveless Catsuit with just a pair of modest matching black heels. She had placed a belt around her waist to accentuate her figure, from which she had hung a pair of gleaming stainless steel handcuffs for effect.

In the Dungeon was Janet, already bound against the whipping post. Her legs were locked open about two feet, her hands behind her back that was against the wooden post itself. Andrea had placed a leather strap above her breasts and one around her waist, welding Janet to the device.

"Helpless, aren't we?" asked Erica upon her entrance.

"Yes, Mistress."

"I'm going to strike you with a crop on your breasts and stomach, with the rod itself. It will hurt and mark, but only for ten strokes. For the crop and paddle will only be your warmup for tonight."

"Yes, Mistress."

Thwack!

"Thank you, Mistress!" cried Janet, tears flowing from her eyes, for Erica had struck her tender breasts.

Thwack!

"Thank you, Mistress!"

"Very good, Janet," complimented Erica, "hang her from the ceiling, Andrea. Janet shall be flogged tonight, then whipped tomorrow."

"Yes, Mistress."

When Janet was hanging by her wrists, Erica made certain to place clamps on her nipples and shaven sex, making her moan with each application. She cried out, but did not ask for their removal.

"Perhaps I shall use clothespins on you next time, Janet. They can provide quite a bit of agony as well."

"Yes, Mistress," cried Janet.

"Kiss the flogger."

Erica had chosen a heavy leather flogger. It would hurt fiercely, and mark immediately as well.

"Two weeks ago, I used you lightly. Do you remember?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"I shall make up for not using you properly, and last week as well."

"Thank you, Mistress."

"You shall count each stroke, and thank me after every five."

"Yes, Mistress."

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Four!"

"Five, thank you, Mistress!"

The only sound in the Dungeon was the heavy thud of the flogger and Janet's counting of each stroke. Her body bound, and now punished severely by Erica, Janet instead hung proudly in her chains.

"Six!"

"Seven!"

"Ten! Thank you, Mistress!"

Erica watched in admiration as her slave soaked up every heavy stroke of the flogger. Just a year before, Janet had known nothing, indeed had not been spanked since childhood. Now she was a true slave in sub-space, able to divorce her body from her mind.

"Eleven!"

"Thirteen!"

"Fifteen! Thank you Mistress!"

There were no tears in Janet's eyes as she was flogged, she merely strained against her bonds. Her pretty breasts with the clamps on her nipples shook with every stroke from the flogger.

"Eighteen!"

"Twenty! Thank you Mistress!"

Erica paused briefly to run her fingertips over Janet's heated and punished flesh. Janet was going to be severely used this night, but she did not cry out. Instead she awaited Erica's next move.

"You're very beautiful, Janet," complimented Erica.

"Thank you, Mistress," panted Janet in response.

"Just a few more strokes, Janet."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Twenty-one!"

"Twenty-three!"

"Twenty-five! Thank you Mistress!" gasped Janet, her chest heaving.

"Twenty-seven!"

"Thirty! Thank you Mistress!"

"Thirty-three!"

"Thirty-five! Thank you Mistress!" cried Janet, tears falling from her eyes.

"Thank you, Janet," said Erica, as she kissed her slave on the lips, "you're very brave, and loyal."

"Mistress..."

Janet's body was covered in fresh red marks and drenched with sweat. Her hair that had been so nice earlier in the night was now a mess of tangles. But the girl had never looked so proud under Erica's lash before.

"Andrea, release her, give her a bath, then have her in my bedroom in an hour or so. I want to have my slave show her appreciation in the arts of love," ordered Erica.

"Yes, Mistress," answered Andrea.

"I love you, Janet," said Erica.

"I love you too, Mistress."

Erica left the Dungeon, not even bothering to have Janet kiss the flogger that she handed to Andrea on the way out. She made it back to the library, then sank into the chair, exhausted from the ordeal that she had just inflicted on Janet.

'I'm dying,' Erica thought to herself as she buried her face in her hands, then began to cry alone.

Erica entered her bedroom, to find Janet waiting naked on the floor. Her hands were locked behind her back, her collar chained to the ring-bolt set in the wall.

"Are you ready to make love to your Mistress?" asked Erica.

"Yes, Mistress Erica!"

Quickly, Erica removed the shoes and Catsuit, and underneath she wore a lace black bra and panties, which she quickly removed. While Andrea had been bathing Janet, Erica had fallen asleep. She had needed a short nap to recharge before sex.

Erica sat on the edge of the bed, and allowed Janet to begin by servicing her while she was still bound on the floor. This way, all she could use was her lips, tongue, and teeth to bring Erica to orgasm.

Quickly Janet began to work on Erica's love nest, her lips touching Erica's sex lips, her tongue probing deep inside her love canal tickling her love bud. Janet pushed herself against Erica, inhaling the scent of her secretions, knowing that she was satisfying her Mistress.

"Ah!" cried Erica.

It had not taken Janet long at all for Erica to be stimulated into orgasm as Janet tickled her clit time after her. She threw her head back and moaned, her bottom bouncing on the bed.

Erica then pulled Janet onto the bed, and quickly released her hands. She then lay down on the bed and opened her legs to admit Janet once more to her sex.

With only that pause, Janet began again to satisfy her Mistress. They both moaned in pleasure as Janet brought Erica one orgasm after another, all of her energies and training directed at the singular goal of pleasing the Mistress.

"Ah!"

"Ah!" cried Erica.

Sweat poured off Erica's body as she bounced on the bed, screaming her pleasure from one orgasm after another. Janet held onto her thighs, and continued to bury her face between Erica's legs.

Finally, Erica was spent, her breaths ragged from the waves of pleasure that had washed through her like a tidal wave. She lay on the pillow, unmoving.

"Are you all right, Mistress?" asked Janet.

"Yes, Janet," Erica lied, "just a little jet lag I returned from California yesterday."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Come here, Janet, I want to hold you in my arms, for you are truly my best and most loving slave."

Janet did as she was instructed, and held onto Erica. Why was her Mistress sweating so much?

"Let me make love to you, Janet."

"Yes, Mistress," said Janet.

In contrast to Janet's hurried lovemaking, Erica began by playfully sucking on Janet's nipples. Her arms enfolded Janet, their scents mingling together as one.

Erica then began to suck at Janet pussy, and slowly brought her to orgasm, her tongue tickling Janet's clit. Her languid lovemaking continued, until Janet shook with one climax after another.

"Janet, would you like a drink?" asked Erica.

"Yes, Mistress."

Erica got two glasses of water from the bathroom, and they both drank together.

"Thank you, Janet," said Erica.

"For what, Mistress."

"Everything," answered Erica as she closed the lights, then threw the sheets and quilt on the bed, then she joined Janet under the covers.

Erica was asleep within minutes, leaving Janet puzzled by Erica's lack of energy. Janet lay upon her back, and let sleep claim her too, the taste of Erica still upon her lips.

Erica awoke with a start. Sunlight poured through the windows, and Janet was no longer chained beside her. Instead she was alone in bed, naked under the covers as she had fallen asleep during the night.

"Mistress?" asked Andrea from the door.

"What time is it?"

"Ten, Mistress Erica."

Andrea entered the bedroom, carrying a tray in her hands. She placed it on the bed after Erica sat up in bed.

"Where's Janet?"

"Chained in the kitchen, Mistress. Since you couldn't awaken, I took her, gave her a bath and breakfast, and told you had a case of jet lag. Then I brought up a tray for you."

"Oh god, Andrea. It's the end. I can't continue," cried Erica as she buried her face in her hands.

"Just one more night, Mistress. One more use of Janet, that's all. Here's your juice and pills."

"Thank you," answered Erica as she drank her orange juice, then downed her medication and iron pills.

"You're welcome, Mistress Erica. Breakfast is scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee."

"Thank you, Andrea. Janet wore me out twice last night, once in the Dungeon, then later in bed."

"I know. You were dead to the world, literally," answered Andrea, concern evident on her face.

"I just hope that I have the energy to use her again tonight," said Erica.

"Then I prescribe a bath, then you dress in your pajamas and spend the whole day in bed. Janet will bring you lunch, and Dinner can be like normal downstairs."

"Thank you, Andrea. Is the slave now giving her Mistress orders?"

Andrea reached over and kissed Erica on the forehead, then on her lips.

"Get some rest, Mistress. Before I place a collar around your neck and lock you to wall myself."

"Yes, Mistress Andrea."

Later on, Andrea checked on Erica. She had showered and put on her pajamas, then had fallen asleep again. Lunch was forgotten as Erica slept into the afternoon, to be awakened much later for Dinner, her stomach rumbling from hunger.

"What's for Dinner?" asked Erica after Andrea had awakened her.

"Rib Roast, Mistress. Medium Rare."

"Thank you, Andrea. Set the table for three, I want you and Janet to eat at the same table with me. We'll drop ceremony tonight."

"Yes, Mistress."

As Erica dressed for Dinner, she watched as snow fell outside. The peaceful whiteness brought back memories of her playing in the snow in the estate during childhood. Erica chose a Gucci dress with one shoulder strap that she usually wore to affairs.

She had ordered that since Janet and Andrea were to share her table, they were not to wear Maid's uniforms. Andrea wore a simple blue dress, and Janet wore a blouse and skirt, though she still had the collar around her neck.

Andrea carved off three ribs and served Erica first. In addition to the roast was salad, roast potatoes, and steamed green beans. Plus a bottle of red wine to top off the meal.

Janet looked surprised to be dressed and share the table of her Mistress. She ate silently, only speaking when spoken to by Erica or Andrea.

Dessert was a chocolate cake and coffee, and afterwards Erica adjourned to the library to do some paperwork.

"I want Janet downstairs by nine," ordered Erica to Andrea.

"Yes, Mistress."

'I hope that I can perform tonight,' thought Erica to herself in the library.

For simplicity's sake, Erica wore a Dominatrix dress in black PVC that covered her arms, but not her legs. She had taken to storing some of her fetishwear downstairs so she wouldn't have to run upstairs each time.

The Domme dress was similar to a Catsuit, except that it ended in a dress instead of tight fitting legs. It was quite attractive, and once when she had gone to a disco, she had seen a woman wearing it. Erica wondered if the woman knew the true origin of the dress.

She stared at herself in the mirror, depressed. Her career as a Domme was over at age 36 from exhaustion. Erica had wanted to do so much, and just when she had established a name for herself, she was dying instead.

Dinner was one of the best that Andrea had ever made, the roast had indeed melted in her mouth. Erica wondered if next she'd start to gnaw on car bumpers for iron.

"Do you submit to your Mistress?" demanded Erica.

"Yes, Mistress."

"Kiss the whip."

In order to save time, Andrea had hung Janet from the ceiling in advance, her arms and legs opened by spreader bars. Erica had always disliked those Dommes who went right into using a slave without any preliminaries first.

But there was now no time left, none at all to waste.

"Yes, Mistress," answered Janet.

Erica drew the whip back and began to strike Janet with a series of light methodical strokes. Unsure of how much energy she had left, she wanted to make whatever she did last as long as possible.

Janet had already been well marked the day before, so she didn't have to be as intense. Still, she knew that Janet remembered her previous times under the lash. She was certain that Janet was already suspicious of her lack of energy, and any failure of performance now would only confirm her suspicions.

"Do you accept my use of you, Janet?" asked Erica.

"Yes, Mistress Erica."

"There will be no need to count tonight, Janet. After I use you, I shall take you into my bed again."

"Yes, Mistress."

Erica then began to whip Janet, and she secretly dreaded what would happen if she should fail. But then a strange thing happened, her body suddenly became alive with strength, her muscles energized as they had not been for months.

'What's going on?' Erica asked herself.

The whip struck Janet again and again, and Erica could see the effect that it was having on her. Each stroke left a mark behind as the whip wrapped itself around her body.

"Ah!" cried Janet.

Crack!

The whip continued to strike Janet, and Erica noticed that her slave had begun to sweat. Glistening droplets ran down her body, reflecting in the lights.

Crack!

"Ah!"

In the past Erica would have stopped, and felt the overheated flesh of her slave. But now if she stopped, perhaps Erica would be unable to start again. So she continued with the whip, never breaking Janet's flesh but instead leaving welts behind that would last for some time.

Crack!

"Ah!"

Erica looked briefly between strokes at Andrea, who was captivated by her performance. In her mind she had kept careful count of the number of strokes that she had delivered, mindful of the number that she knew that Janet could safely take.

Crack!

"AH!"

It was the sudden change in Janet's voice that alerted Erica to the fact that Janet was close to her limit. Erica wanted to continue, to use the newfound energy that her body had provided. But instead she knew that she had to follow Janet's limit.

Crack!

Erica had delivered twenty-five strokes, all without breaking the skin or making Janet bleed. A splendid performance, given that Janet's body was now covered in red welts.

"Thank you, Janet," complimented Erica what she ceased, "kiss the whip."

"Yes, Mistress."

Erica reached between Janet's legs and found that her sex was sopping wet.

"Slut! Do you want to make love to your Mistress?"

"Yes, Mistress Erica," quickly answered Janet.

"Andrea, I'll be in my bedroom. Have Janet there in half an hour," ordered Erica.

"Yes, Mistress."

When Janet was conducted into Erica's bedroom, she found her Mistress naked on top of the quilt. Her legs open, a dildo and crop on the night table.

"Please your Mistress," ordered Erica, "now!"

Janet immediately set to work on Erica's sex, her arms free from any bondage. In fact, Erica had not chained her in any way, leaving her slave free.

Erica soon moaned and bucked with a satisfying orgasm, her bottom bouncing on the bed. Her body covered with sweat, she soon turned over and began to use Janet.

Her tongue quickly drove Janet to sexual madness, bringing her to climax as well. Then Erica slipped the dildo inside Janet's pussy, then began to suck her breasts and kiss her on the lips.

Under Erica's fierce attentions, Janet soon had one climax after another, with her mouth, sex, and breasts stimulated by her Mistress.

"Ooooooh!" cried Janet, "Mistress!"

Erica continued bringing Janet to orgasm, wearing her slave out. Each climax seemed to give Erica herself new strength.

Finally, Janet dropped off to sleep after they cuddled and kissed under the sheets. Next Erica slept soundly, naked against her slave.

During the night, Erica awakened to look at Janet's face in the moonlight that was streaming through the window. On her face was the look of a slave who had been given both pain and pleasure by her Mistress, who was smiling in pleasure as she slept.

'Janet, forgive me,' thought Erica.

Part Four: Death and Rebirth

June 1993

"Are we both packed?" asked Erica, nervous as hell.

"Yes, Mistress, everything's done," stressed Andrea for the second time.

Erica had used both of her slaves for the last time, and had removed some of her fetish and regular clothing from the Mansion. Next she had left clues, an empty envelope from Janet's company in the bottom of the library desk, a letter in the computer.

The will and codicil had been drawn up months before, along with the package of documents that Blanca would give to Janet and Tiffany.

Every last detail had been attended to and gone over several times. Erica and Andrea had tried to second guess how Janet and Tiffany would respond once they inherited the estate, then realized that they were in a deadly competition with one another.

Finally, the trip to Mexico, their deaths in the mountains in a plane crash (which would be faked, complete with a plane that Erica had purchased for that reason). Then going into hiding, and the new identities that had been created.

"Mistress, why did you leave your journals in the safe?" asked Andrea.

"Because if Janet finds them, she'll read and cherish them. Tiffany will probably ignore them at best, burn them in the fireplace at worst."

"Who do you think will win?" questioned Andrea.

"Janet."

"Tiffany will cut her to ribbons, Mistress. I believe that Tiffany will be the winner."

"No, Andrea, that's where you're wrong. Janet has nerves of steel, even if it's not obvious. She will win, mark my words. I just hope that I'm alive one year from now to see that come true."

At the gate, a black limousine had pulled up. Erica hit the button to admit the car.

"Black, how fitting," commented Andrea.

"Come, Andrea. Death awaits."

Continues in chapter fifteen