Chapter 11: Tester

One day, Master brought home a guest. It was the Floozy.

“Hello, Floozy,” I said.

“Hello, Slave.”

“I see the two of you have gotten close.”

“Jess probably saved my life in Japan.”

“I heard about your hard first day,” Master said, not adding any empathy for the Floozy’s situation in his words.

The Floozy ignored Master’s tone. “They thought because of my looks I was an actress. Of course, I was drunk as well. Damn your programming!”

“There was no collar programming making you drink as much as you do, bitch. Perhaps I should leave the two of you to go over old times?” Master asked.

The Floozy started to shake and she ran over and clung to Master. “No, please!” The plaintive cry in her voice was almost heartbreaking.

It was apparent Master didn’t have any love for the Floozy. He gave her the slimy grin I knew from way back when. “Bedroom. Now.”

The Floozy nearly ran.

Master watched her and then shrugged. He went to his bar and got out a cold beer. He was in no rush to go back to his room with the Floozy.

I figured I’d explain. “In Japan, I saw her in bed after some ordeal. She was alive, but barely. There was semen all over her and her clothes. Even the inside of her clothes.”

“Bukkake,” Sammy said, frowning.

Master just nodded. “Drunk as a skunk. As usual.”

“Oh. Well, I’m glad she’s doing better.”

“I find it difficult to care,” Master said as he left for his bedroom.

I never wanted anybody to go through the bonding withdrawal, especially the way she was set up. For that reason, I hoped she would get enough time with Master. However, the look I saw on his face didn’t have any mercy on it whatsoever.

Sammy and I returned from the exercise room after some sparring. As we walked into the living room, I saw the Floozy sitting on one of the chairs. She looked dazed, and there were tears in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Sammy asked.

The Floozy just shook her head. “Master just sent me out of his room. I feel this way every time I leave him.”

“I’m sorry to hear that...”

Master walked out and saw the three of us. He noticed that Sammy and I still bore a sheen of sweat on our bodies. “Oh. Who won today?”

“Sumo. Twelve to ten,” Sammy replied.

“That’s great. Both of you.” Master was impressed.

The Floozy composed herself now that Master was near, and she looked at the two of us, confused.

“Take downs,” I explained.

“Sumo is strong, and has more stamina than I do,” Sammy added.

Floozy looked amazed. “You are able to go one on one with ... her? I saw her lift a whore out of her seat with one hand!”

Sammy just nodded proudly.

The Floozy said, “Sumo is apt. You don’t present yourself as a typical slave. As a whore, you presented yourself as low whore on the rankings. Then, all of a sudden, you’re royalty, in a fucking penthouse suite, no less and you have your own ... soku. I’ve seen you in all these roles, but you still carry yourself as if you have no care in the world. You don’t play the whore games of one-upmanship. If somebody thinks you’re dirt beneath your feet, you’re quick and you’re deadly. You totally destroyed that whore on the shuttle and you didn’t even break a sweat.”

“Nobody insults Sammy,” I said, keeping my voice even. “In addition, we were in low gravity orbit.”

“And you’re loyal to a fault. Christ, why didn’t I know about her ... before?”

“Top secret, Stella.”

The Floozy just shook her head.

“Obliviscaris omnia fifteen.”

The Floozy’s eyes went vacant. Then she closed them, and when she opened them, she went over and hugged Master very possessively. He simply told her she was dismissed, and told her to report to the company for reassignment. She left without saying another word.

It was scary to see the kind of attachment the Floozy felt for Master. I knew how I felt, but she seemed to have it in spades!

“Reassignment?” I asked, wondering if Master would talk about it.

Master simply nodded and said, “Australia.”

I nodded. Sammy looked at me and I nodded. That wasn’t a gesture. It was silent communication. That was allowed. The two of us retired to our cubby in Master’s bedroom.

“This collar thing confuses me,” Sammy said. “I’ve heard Jirou refer to your Master as a Wizard. It is well known your Master invented the collar technology, and I’m willing to bet he personally programmed your collar. You’re as close as anybody to your Master, but Floozy feels an inability to be away from him. He just simply rejects her, and it nearly kills her.”

Master INVENTED the collar? I wasn’t aware of that, and Sammy told me as if it were common knowledge. He must have invented the technology in college, since it has been around a while. I knew my husband worked with nano-computers and took a few medical courses. I never even suspected that’s how he made his money! I put that information aside, though and answered Sammy. “It’s the Floozy’s punishment, Sammy. Master believes in punishment, and she did something really big to deserve whatever he’s doing to her.”

Sammy simply shook her head. “Is Jirou in any danger?”

“Jirou? No. In Japan, he sent me to find out if Jirou is what he appears to be. Master hates phonies. He wanted to get my insight on Jirou.”

“Ah. That makes sense,” Sammy said, smiling.

“Jirou sent me to you in order to make you a soku-sister to me.”

“He did? I knew I was the only whore being treated as a companion.”

“Before I was presented to you, he changed his mind. He wanted me to just be me. He realized you were serving a higher purpose, but didn’t know what it was. Jirou is gifted with the insight of a life-trained soku, and also in that he can balance a number of things at the same time,” Sammy said. “No other man I met could completely satisfy a woman at the same time I am working to satisfy him.” She looked a bit sad that she wasn’t around him any more.

I thought back to the threesome Sammy and I shared with Jirou. It didn’t even occur to me that she should have been distracting him to the core at the time. It just felt ... right. Like it was as it should be.

“I guess I’m lucky,” I said. “What if it was Master that decided not to break up the set and sent me to live with you?”

“Your Master will never give you up,” Sammy said, her eyes flashing. “Whatever it is that you are, Sumo, you are very important to him. He mentioned you were Top Secret just now to Floozy. Then he spoke those syllables and her eyes went vacant. He erased her memory just like that, but not yours.”

I nodded. “Top Secret. Yeah, great. Important? I don’t know. Important enough to break me completely?”

“From what you’ve told me about your past life, he is rebuilding you into the strong, self-confidant woman you are today. Floozy mentioned even when you were treated as a common whore, as they say in your country, you don’t let the thoughts of anybody except yourself and your Master concern you. You will never leave your Master. The two of you are more of a matched set than the two of us are. Jirou has eyes just as good as mine. He didn’t even see the two of you together until the time we left, but I’m certain he already knew how important you are to your Master. I’ve seen American whores before. They are deathly afraid of their masters ... their pimps. You aren’t. Floozy calls it bonding. If Jirou was any other CEO, he would be plotting on how to capture you from him. To use you as ... lev ... leverage? When he put the deal in motion to give me to you ... when he talked about a matched set, he was talking about you and your Master just as much as the two of us.”

“Your English is getting better, and ‘leverage’ is the proper word.”

“Sumo, you merely have to frown at me and I’m utterly devastated. I only want to make you proud. Your collar corrects you somehow. I’m not programmed that way, but have lived my life in service to others. I spend every waking moment that I’m not actively with you studying your language and customs because I don’t want unintentional misunderstanding to come between the two of us. I’m sorry for reverting my language back in the clinic because I was nervous. Your corrections shook me to my core.”

“Really?”

“Think about how close you are to your Master. You are his Peanut. You love your Master. However, just uttering that name to you brings you joy that no other person can give you. A compliment can possibly send you over the top. It’s the same with me. I serve my Mistress, although you refuse the title--forgive me for saying it now. I love my Sumo, and I’m your Sammy. That name affects me as much as your Master’s name for you. A single word of praise means more to me than you may think, and a single word of disappointment is devastating.”

“I didn’t know that. I’ll be more careful around you.”

“Please ... don’t. I don’t wish to tell you what to do, nor am I worthy to even ask. However, I could not bear to see my Sumo having to constantly think before she says anything to me. You nearly always speak from your heart. Please continue doing so. It has served you well. I can usually tell how you are feeling when you speak.”

Sammy’s words rang true. Master knew the effect his words on me were, but I never saw him thinking twice before saying anything to me. I should treat her the same was Master treats me. Well, maybe without the humiliation. “What about Jirou? Does he affect you the same way?”

Sammy gave me a smile that was difficult to read. “I love him, but as nice and as gifted as he is, he never really considered me his possession, even though I gave myself to him freely. He worshiped me, but as a work of art rather than a lover. It made it easy for him to give me to you. You can worship a work of art and if you give it away, you can still have the opportunity to enjoy it. That is Jirou’s secret. He sees the big picture. Now, when I’m with you, I know I belong to you. It’s much different. Until Jirou arranged for me to belong to you, I was in service without being in service to somebody specific. Now I feel complete.”

I smiled. I knew how she felt. “So why did he call you his greatest possession.”

“Sumo, you and me are like, as you called it, the yin and yang. We are so different, but we are so much the same. We are like two jag ... what’s the word? Puzzle pieces. We fit together.”

“Jigsaw,” I whispered, not correcting her, but helping. I kissed her tenderly, and felt her purr in my arms.

“I gave myself to Jirou,” Sammy said. “As for him, he never claimed me for himself.” There was a touch of sadness in her voice. “Sumo has claimed me, and as I said, I’m complete.”

“Thanks, Sammy.”

“Let me pick up Shirley today, Sumo. She is a beautiful child, smart and strong, the same as her mother, my Sumo.”

“Sure thing.”

I spent some alone time thinking about the Floozy.

If Floozy was a partner, then she might have information on my collar. However, she told me she was under non-disclosure, so she might not be able to explain much. I wasn’t looking to escape it. I just wanted to understand it.

I have noticed some odd things. Things I’m told I cannot do with the collar, yet I do anyway, such as terrorize a Day Care or teach a whore a lesson.

Also, I was able to keep this thought from Sammy. The Floozy was an ex-partner of Master’s. From their words at the end of the Japan trip, Jirou and Master were now partners. Sammy asked me if Jirou was in danger, but I never got that kind of vibe from Master, and I think I knew him better than any other person in the world. Jirou shouldn’t be in any danger.

Shirley and Sammy got along splendidly. Sammy seemed to have endless patience with her, something that a mother tends to slightly lose over the years. Shirley always asked a lot of questions, and if Sammy didn’t know the answer, she would use the comm and show Shirley how to find out, and they’d do so together, Sammy just as interested in the answers as Shirley was.

I saw Shirley playing with the comm, and saw her typing a rather complex query into the Uniweb.

“Where did you learn to spell, Pumpkin?”

“They teach us letters at the day care,” Shirley said, not even looking up. “Auntie teaches me words. We are learning together sometimes. She no longer speaks funny.”

Shirley and I always enjoyed bath time together. She was old enough to take her bath alone, or even to use the shower if she wanted, but this was always a time we shared together. Our time. Time to be mother and daughter. Time away from the pressures of dealing with my collar and doing the tasks and chores I was expected to do. Time away from devoting all my energy toward pleasing Master.

Sammy just showed up that day during Shirley’s bath. She was totally nude.

Shirley laughed. “Auntie! You are smooth between your legs like me!”

“So is your mother,” Sammy replied.

Shirley looked at me, confused. I have not been nude around her lately, and ever since Sammy originally shaved me, she made a point every morning of maintaining my coiffure with perfect detail. She taught me to do the same for her.

“But Mommy is a woman.”

“Auntie is also a woman, Pumpkin.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Pumpkin, do you remember me taking you to the stylist a few weeks ago? How the stylist trimmed your hair so it looks so cute now?”

Shirley nodded.

“Well, it’s just hair. It can be cut.”

It took a few moments before the light dawned. “Oh! I get it now. Why is Auntie naked?”

Sammy answered with a smile. “Because Sammy is smarter than Sumo. She doesn’t want to get her silk dress wet.”

Shirley laughed. Even Sammy giggled softly.

As I expected, I did get water on my uniform.

When Shirley was done with her bath, she reached her arms upward. I nodded at Sammy, and she picked up Shirley, giving her a kiss on each of her cheeks and one on her nose. She handed my daughter back to me, where I was holding the big fluffy towel.

“I love you Mommy.”

“I love you, too, Pumpkin,” I said as I continued drying her.

Sammy brought a smaller towel for Shirley’s hair, and she somehow combined the drying activity with what appeared to be a scalp massage that Shirley thoroughly enjoyed.

“All set, Sumo,” Sammy said.

I held Shirley’s robe out for her to wear, and the three of us headed toward Shirley’s room to tuck her in.

We were sitting at lunch. Master was eating a hamburger with the works on it called a “Macburger.” It was an easy to remember recipe: two hamburger patties, Thousand Island dressing, lettuce, two slices of cheese, pickle slices, onions, and a sesame seed bun, although Master liked bacon on it as well, which deviated from the classic recipe. Sammy giggled as I told her the recipe, and I chanted the recipe from memory from an old nursery rhyme I learned as a kid. I showed her how to cut the bun in three, toasting the four exposed sides with a bit of butter to get a golden brown hue, and carefully prepare the bacon so it was the perfect texture.