Chapter 1

“Captain Pyke seemed nice,” Liam said.

In his peripheral vision, he could see Sofia frantically trying to wave him off from behind Sandra’s back. Apparently, he wasn’t saying the right thing. He ignored her. It wasn’t like he could say anything that would make Sandra’s mood get worse.

“Yes, he is nice,” Sandra replied in a clipped voice, “He’s always nice. Especially, when General Slater can’t bother to be a father to his oldest daughter. He sends Pyke because he knows I like him. I won’t hurt Pyke for telling me bad news. You know, things like the fact my father isn’t showing up to my graduation ceremony!”

She was pissed off. It was obvious in how she was speaking, her clenched fists, and the way she was stroking the plasma pistol strapped to her thigh. She was dressed in her customary short shorts and halter top, showing plenty of naked thigh and a bare abdomen, but the pistol was new. She was wearing two large pouches on her belt, one for her collar pets and capture devices, the other for her tablet. Her lavender hair was up in a high ponytail, drawing the eye to its unusual color. Even her makeup looked angry. She wore the thick black lines around her eyes to hide the beautiful contrast of her green eyes with her lavender hair. The makeup was slanted a little more than usual today, an artificial scowl to reinforce her foul mood.

“Just don’t do anything stupid, okay?” Sofia pleaded.

Sofia was wearing a long aqua dress, cut high up her thigh, with ruffles and pleats. It was attached to a toga style top of the same color that hung off one shoulder and showed a little bit of cleavage. She was wearing her pouches on her hips, similar to Sandra, but color coordinated with her outfit. Her long blonde hair hung down, over the opposite shoulder from the toga top. It was a surprisingly modest look for Sofia, but then again, this was an important day for her.

“Too late” Sandra replied.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sofia asked.

“You’ll see. You’ll probably even approve. Don’t worry, it isn’t bad,” Sandra said with an evil grin. Despite the reassurances, Sofia looked worried.

“He brought you a nice gift,” Liam said, referring to Captain Pyke. Sandra stroked the butt of the plasma pistol in response.

“That’s still freaking you out, isn’t it?” she asked with a smirk.

“Well, yeah!” he replied.

“It’s no different than the shock wand you’re carrying.”

Liam looked down at the shock wand on his hip. It was a two-centimeter-wide rod, sixty centimeters long, about twice the length of his forearm. It looked like a simple cudgel, but the battery in the handle was capable of delivering a calibrated shock. He could set the charge high enough to stun a charging rhinoceros, or small enough that it wouldn’t even stop a chicken. If the dial was set too high for the target, then it could be lethal, but that wasn’t the intent.

“It kind of is different,” Liam said, contradicting her.

“As trainers we live dangerous lives,” Sandra said, “We need to be able to protect ourselves and those around us from wild animals and rogue collar pets.”

“Sure, but isn’t a plasma pistol a little bit of overkill? I mean, a shock wand is good for capturing animals. There isn’t going to be much left to capture if you shoot it with that thing.”

“Oh, hey, aren’t these flowers beautiful?” Sofia said, stepping between them and gesturing to a flower bed.

She was trying to play the peacemaker, to keep them from arguing. She didn’t understand that Sandra needed an outlet for her anger. Swallowing it wasn’t healthy. Bickering with Liam was better than stewing on what her father did, and Liam was willing to be her outlet.

Sofia was right about one thing though. The flowers were beautiful. They lined the path leading up the hill. Carefully laid flower beds with the smaller flowers near the edges and large flowering bushes in the middle. The interlocking brick path weaved its way up the hill, never going in a straight line. At the top of the hill there was a pair of buildings, one larger than the other, both made of white marble. The larger of the two buildings was their destination, the goddess’s temple.

Sofia grabbed Sandra’s hand and dragged her to the edge of the path. They were facing a stand of apple trees, with the blossoms falling towards them in a light breeze. The tension in Sandra’s stance seemed to melt and she leaned on her friend.

“Isn’t it the wrong season for apple blossoms?” Sandra asked, some of the anger leaving her voice.

“The temple cheats,” Sofia explained, “These are special trees that don’t produce fruit. They just produce blossoms from spring through fall.

The two women leaned on each other, watching as the tiny pink petals fluttered through the air. It was like a gentle rain of soft color, moving with the breeze. The sight seemed to be calming Sandra. Maybe Sofia was right, girls handled anger differently.

There was a contrast between them that Liam couldn’t help noticing. Sofia’s clothing, makeup, and hair were all carefully chosen and applied. She was beautiful, but there was an artificial quality to her beauty. It was the beauty of a painting or artwork, very similar to the beauty of the carefully laid out grounds around them. Sandra, on the other hand, had a wild beauty to her. Her hair, makeup, and clothing weren’t perfectly arrayed. There were flaws to her appearance, and the pistol on her hip added a hint of danger. Sandra’s beauty had an untamed quality to it that contrasted with Sofia and the temple grounds.

The breeze died down and they went back to walking up the path. As they drew closer, there was a clear difference between the two buildings. The first was low and squat, with no windows. It was located near the edge of the hill where it gave way to cliffs leading to the seashore below. The other building was taller, with different wings and multiple floors. It had windows and statues, as well as a small courtyard surrounded by ornate fencing.

“You’re going to be living here now,” Sandra said to Sofia, “Are you ready for this?”

“Of course, I’ve been looking forward to this for years,” Sofia replied enthusiastically, “The temple is a wonderful place. I’ll learn so much about the Goddess. This is the start of my path towards becoming a priestess.”

As if on cue, two women walked out of the squat building. They turned onto a path, heading towards a side entrance to the larger structure. The woman in the lead was wearing white robes, but the second woman was naked, all except for a black metal collar around her neck.

The skin of the woman wearing the collar glistened in the sunlight. She was walking carefully, taking care with her bare feet on the interlocking bricks. Her head was bowed submissively, a smile of contentment on her face. A leash made of red light led from her collar to the wrist of the woman in robes. It was a collar girl and her master. Both women had wet hair and looked like they recently bathed. There was a blush of arousal high on the cheeks of the collar girl. She was sexually aroused. The two women made their way into the larger building.

Sofia took the lead, apparently eager to get inside the building herself. They followed her, walking together to the front entrance. Standing above the doorway was a statue depicting the Goddess. Her form was female, but indistinct. She was standing on a seashell with a depiction of four pillars behind her.

There was no security or barriers at the entrance, so Sofia just walked inside. The entrance led to a main hallway, with multiple smaller halls branching off it. A number of women were moving around in the building, going about various tasks. It wasn’t crowded, but it was active. Most of the women were wearing white robes, but a few were in street clothes. A smaller number of women were wearing collars and nothing else. Each of the collar girls had a master looking after them.

The corridors matched the outside of the building, white marble with high ceilings and decorative columns. An effort had been made to add architectural beauty to the building, but to keep it functional at the same time. There were alcoves containing cut flowers, paintings, and statuettes. Commercial grade carpeting lined the floors.

Sofia led the way deeper into the building. She was consulting her tablet while checking the room numbers that were above the doorways. She took them down a side passage, making a few turns before stopping in front of a pair of double doors, one of which was propped open. Inside the room, a couple of dozen women were sitting in a large classroom style space.

“This is it,” she said, appearing to be both nervous and happy at the same time.

“I think this is as far as we go,” Sandra said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small jewelry box, “Before we say goodbye, we’d like to give you a gift to remember us by.”

Sofia’s eyes lit up as she took the jewelry box. She glanced over at Liam and he smiled at her, feeling a weird pit in his stomach. Sofia opened the box, revealing a pair of white stud earrings. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times as she peered at them in confusion.

“Ummm, okay,” she said.

“They’re collar girl friendly earrings,” Sandra explained, “It’s jewelry that collar girls can wear. The collar considers them to be part of your body. They’ll go with you into storage, just like your hair or fingernails.”

Sofia’s face transformed during the explanation. It was good to see her happy with the gift, but the pit in Liam’s stomach didn’t go away. Sofia started removing the gold hoop earrings that were in her ears, while Sandra pulled one of the white studs out of the box.

“The backings lock when you put them on,” Sandra continued, “You can’t take them off without tools. They’re designed that way to defeat the urge you’ll have to strip completely naked as a collar girl.”

“That’s perfect,” Sofia said, reaching for the earring that Sandra was holding. Sandra didn’t let her take it.

“They’re the closest thing I could find to permanent jewelry. Can I lock the backing on?” Sandra asked. Sofia’s eyes widened in surprise and then she smiled eagerly.

“I love that,” she replied, “You put one on, and then Liam does the other one.”

“Exactly,” Sandra said.

She stepped up with the earring and started working on Sofia’s ear. Moments later, the two girls were hugging, followed by a chaste kiss on the mouth. Sandra turned to Liam and handed him the remaining earring.

It was Liam’s turn. He could feel the odd ache around his eyes as he tried his best not to cry. Sofia brushed her hair out of the way, presenting him with her ear. He fumbled a bit, unaccustomed to putting a woman’s earring in her ear, but he got it in without hurting her. As the backing went on, he felt a crushing sensation under his fingertip. The backing was locked permanently in place.

“Remember,” Sofia said, “This isn’t goodbye forever. We’re just taking a break.”

“I know,” he whispered, not trusting his voice.

They kissed. It wasn’t a chaste kiss like the one with Sandra. Sofia’s mouth opened and their tongues danced together. She hugged him as they kissed, her soft body pressing against his. He could feel the wet path of a tear as it escaped his eye during the kiss.

Eventually, he released her, even though he didn’t want to. She wiped her finger under his eye, capturing the tear. There was a sad smile on her face.

“Miss Papadopoulou, there you are,” a voice called out from down the hall, “Or should I say initiate Sofia.”

The voice was accompanied by a gentle breeze wafting flower scented summer air down the hallway. Liam turned to see priestess Josephine walking towards them. She was a tall woman, with carefully styled makeup, and long dirty-blonde hair that she wore hanging over one shoulder. She was dressed in a thin white robe, overtop of some sort of skintight body suit. At second glance, Liam realized that Sofia was wearing her hair in the exact same style as the priestess.

“Priestess!” Sofia exclaimed, wiping her own face and dropping into a curtsy, “I’m glad to see you. I hope you are doing well today.”

“I am,” priestess Josephine replied, “But you should go inside before you’re late. Remember that I’m sponsoring you. Your performance is a reflection on me.”

“Of course, priestess,” Sofia said, dropping another curtsy before scampering through the door. As she left, she waved goodbye to the two of them. Liam replied by blowing her a kiss, which she pretended to catch. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sandra scowling at the priestess. Then again, with her makeup, she seemed to be scowling at everything.

“I’m sure she will represent you well,” Liam said to the priestess, after Sofia was out of sight.

“Perhaps, but to be honest, she’s a bit inexperienced. I normally don’t sponsor initiates like her,” Priestess Josephine replied.

“Why sponsor her then?” Sandra demanded in an aggressive tone.

“I think what Sandra means,” Liam cut in quickly, “Is that we are incredibly grateful to you. It’s...”

“Oh, come on,” Sandra interrupted, “Isn’t it obvious? She’s sponsoring Sofia so that she has leverage over me. She wants to get her claws into my father.”

“Not quite,” priestess Josephine replied with a smile, “I’ll admit that my reason for sponsoring her isn’t entirely altruistic, but until very recently, I had no interest in you miss Slater. I offered to sponsor miss Papadopoulou in order to help me forge a connection with Liam here.”

“What? Why?” Liam asked, confused at what she was saying.

“I told you before. I consider you to be blessed by the Goddess,” Priestess Josephine replied.

It was a reminder that he was different. He was a member of the one percent of men who could be captured in a collar without any medical preparations. He was just as vulnerable to a capture device as a woman. It was information he only learned recently, and he was still trying to wrap his brain around it. Priestess Josephine believed that it was a blessing from the Goddess, and thus it made him special in her eyes.

“So, what does that mean?” Liam asked.

“It means she’ll stop sponsoring Sofia if you don’t do what she says,” Sandra growled.

“No, I’m not quite that manipulative,” Priestess Josephine corrected, “I made the offer of guiding you in your life path. Come to see me for an hour, once per week. Think of me as a guidance councillor. We can talk about whatever you want. There are no obligations for you to do anything else.”

“That seems reasonable,” Liam replied carefully, turning to look at Sandra. Sandra scowled, but she nodded. An errant breeze made the hairs of her ponytail float upwards, exaggerating the head movement.