Chapter 8: After Action Reviews

"Bitch?" the Wench queried, "I don't understand..." The pair were in the restroom off Armand's suite of offices, cleaning up. Sharon was just heading into the stall, and the Wench was arranging Sharon's clothing on the sink counter and a couple of coathooks arrayed along the wall. "What with everything that went on in there, you wanted to know about that?"

Sharon sighed. She thought briefly about closing the stall door, but if Felicia -- or Wench, or whatever her name was -- wanted to talk... Besides, Charlene had said that they'd have the place to themselves. She settled herself on the toilet, and began attempting to expel Armand's semen from her abused ass. Still, did she need to talk about this with a stranger? Ah, Hell with it! "Armand hasn't called me that since we were married. It used to be almost a term of endearment..."

"Oh." The Wench dampened a paper towel and began swiping at her pudenda. Semen was something she hadn't managed to collect, but she was gooey... "I can see that, from Master... It probably isn't even 'almost'."

"... Which only makes things more confusing." Sharon eyed the willowy redhead. "Why did you keep it to yourself that I was lubed?"

The Wench prepared another paper towel and brought it to Sharon to wipe her face with. Sharon took it, but didn't do anything with it; she was just too tired. The Wench pulled it back out of Sharon's limp grip and began wiping her face. "Master likes his fun, part of which is inflicting a little pain. Why get him excited over having a little bit of his fun snatched out from under him, when he'd already directed that I lube you with spit?" She eyed Sharon sidelong, "Do you always do that?"

"No. Armand told me Sunday that he was going to have me anally today. You never know when he's telling you something just to mess with your mind, but I figured a little preparation wouldn't hurt. Usually, he doesn't warn me about what he's going to do." She eyed the Wench, who had finished and leaned back against the sink counter, apparently thoroughly comfortable with nudity in front of another woman. "So, you live with him now?"

"I'm the lowest of the low in my Master's house," the Wench replied, "while you are its Mistress."

"What?" exclaimed Sharon. "I've never been in the place! And I probably never will!"

The Wench shrugged. "Perhaps." Sharon obviously didn't see it; so the Wench let it lie. "I'm a convenience for Master's guests, and an occasional vessel for his pleasure, when no one else is available. My position isn't exalted."

"He doesn't keep many," Sharon returned. "You're the only one I'm certain of." Almost, she was jealous...

"The house is fully staffed," the Wench returned, frowning in thought. "I can think of at least one other -- one of the maids... Master offered me my present position because he considers me a broken thing, someone he damaged too much to return to the wild. I disagree -- I've found something fulfilling..."

"Sounds wonderful," Sharon rasped, rolling her eyes. "I was his vessel -- still am, occasionally, obviously. But I didn't cater to guests... In fact, I've watched or been watched by others, but never..." She busied herself with wiping herself to cover embarrassment.

"Had someone else participate?" the Wench chuckled. "I'm not sure what that is all about -- but Master planned it. I was called for, specifically." She eyed Sharon, birdlike, "Why do you continue to come to him?"

Sharon rose, flushed, and walked to the sink. "He calls, I come. There are a thousand reasons, chief among which is that he doesn't really allow me any choice. And if I weren't already thoroughly bound, there is our daughter..."

"Do you love him?"

"WHAT?" Sharon was thoroughly taken aback, but was uncomfortable with the second wave of emotion that went through her. "We have... a lot of history. But love?" She shook her head, more in confusion than anything else. To change the subject, she asked, "Do you, uhh, do women much?"

The Wench grinned. "Sometimes. Women are gentler. They can be fun, and they're safe, and you can snuggle and talk girl talk afterwards. But they won't replace men. Even -- or perhaps especially -- men like Master." She tilted her head, and added, "You're not ruined, either."

"I suppose not. But why do you suppose he decided to do this today?" Sharon's panties had disappeared; well, it wouldn't be the first time. She stepped into her skirt.

"There have been some recent changes, haven't there? And maybe more in the offing? I think Master is 'shifting his grip' on you -- giving you new things to think about. Making some kind of point, perhaps."

"Maybe. It makes sense. I think he's trying to secure things against changes to come, maybe." Sharon worked her way back into the bra.

"I think so," the Wench agreed. "Certainly, it had nothing to do with me -- Master has MY destiny firmly in hand."

"He's had MINE for longer than I care to think about," Sharon grunted, working on her blouse buttons.

"But things are changing. That Master will do whatever he feels improves his position is a given, but it is also possible that he was working to improve YOURS."

Sharon was down to primping. Fishing out a comb, she began trying to get her hair in order. "Maybe. It certainly seemed like it." Then she turned on the other woman, suspicious. "How much do you know?"

The Wench lowered her eyes. "Quite a bit. I know he sent you videos of several old sessions, and that viewing them fostered quite a bit of unhappiness in you. I know that his intent is to remind you that the situation is basically unchanged -- only your perception of it differs."

Sharon glared. "How... ?"

"I was present when he got certain surveillance reports."

Sharon's imagination went wild; those sessions -- the ones where she was making very certain that Armand knew she'd followed instructions! Gawd, how much had she seen? She blushed crimson. "I was... following instructions. He made this horrendous threat..."

"I know." The Wench didn't pursue it. "The point is, I think he was trying to prove to you that whether you deal with it or tuck it away, you still have a relationship. And your basic methods of dealing with him probably won't change, either."

"Why do something new, then?" Sharon put away her comb and motioned toward the door.

The Wench preceded her out it and into the anteroom, collecting her cloak and swirling it around herself on the way out. "I don't know; I think it was instinctive. Perhaps introducing some change was a way to trigger a deeper analysis of the situation in you. It couldn't quite be the same old thing..." She pondered, "Master is subtle."

Sharon punched the elevator button, wondering vaguely why she was being so open with this woman. "Sticking his 'thing' in my ass is NOT subtle!"

"The action may not be, but why... THAT might have several reasons besides the obvious."

"I guess."

The elevator dropped fourteen floors in silence, opening upon the lobby. Sharon, who was going on to the parking garage in the basement, made no move, but the Wench got out, backing away with a curious genuflection. "Goodbye... Sharon."

"Goodbye, Felicia."

The Wench stepped forward and caught the elevator door. "My Master has seen fit to change my name. I am merely the Wench, now, until he again changes it."

"Armand can and will do as he pleases," Sharon replied, "but I'm not required to play his games when he is not present. Goodbye, Felicia."

The Wench stepped back smiling. "Goodbye." The elevator closed.

At school, the entire cluster gathered early. Stick and Draper arrived first, both looking altogether too pleased with themselves. Tenisha arrived next, Draper's greeting leaving no doubt as to the source of his mood. Nora arrived next, and approached the trio cautiously, but Tenisha welcomed her warmly. "Hi, Hon. How goes the wild animal training?"

"It has its ups and downs," Nora quipped, provoking chuckles. "At least I don't tease bears!"

"Teddy bears," Tenisha retorted. "Big cuddly teddy bears." Draper rolled his eyes and looked mildly put upon while Stick smirked. But a glance up from Draper caused Stick to move on without comment as he followed it to discover Mary as she hove into view, looking somewhat the worse for the wear. "You look wasted," Tenisha observed.

"I didn't sleep much," Mary replied, flicking a glance at Stick. "But it was worth it."

Nate's Chevette rattled into the parking lot. "That thing's on its last legs," Draper observed. He swept his eyes to Nora. "Sometime, he's gonna do the breakdown thing with you -- only it'll be for real!" There was a general chuckle.

Nate was tentative as he approached, "Sorry, Baby."

Nora enfolded him in her embrace. "Well, it wasn't good, but we survived, I think." Mary pricked up her ears, but Nora waved her off before her mouth opened. Nate merely closed his eyes and absorbed the cuddle.

Mary shifted her attention to Stick, asking quietly, "When did you leave?"

Stick's reply was equally quiet, "'Bout three. Hadda go change clothes. You was deep in..."

"You should have awakened me..."

"Nah. Woulda jus' disturbed ya. As it was, I got plenty -- didn't know what to do wit' myself, sleeping on a good mattress. Came wide awake." He shifted his attention, "Hey, Ted."

Teddy had been approaching warily; now he closed more confidently. "Hi, Stick, hi Mary. How's it going?"

"Oh, fine, fine," Mary replied blandly, doing a self-assessment. She was going to need a nap, but... "What are we doing tonight?"

Teddy's demeanor eased up quite a bit. "I don't know -- a movie?"

"Okay. No need to do anything wild, though -- we could just hang out at my place..." Mary was walking a tightrope, here. It was important that Teddy not go to more financial effort than Stick, whose resources were limited. But she couldn't appear to be setting a trap for Teddy, either.

Stick's "Mary's got movies," and the accompanying wink didn't help. Mary contrived to surreptitiously kick him in the instep.

Teddy started looking anxious, so Mary added, "Take a look and let me know what's on. We'll decide then." The bell rang, and the group started shuffling toward the door. Mary held Stick back; Teddy had moved off, nodding absently, no doubt thinking about where he could get a movie schedule. "We have to take it easy on Teddy," Mary remonstrated. "You know how anxious he gets around me. To him, my place is a bear trap."

"Yeh, I forgot."

"Still, if you can get him to feel more confident, it'll be easier. You know, remind him it's a competition..." Mary eyed Stick sidelong.

Stick grunted. "Is it?"

Mary shrugged. "Well, yeah, to a certain extent. If you two settle out and I have to choose..."

"This shit's complicated," Stick groused. "Why should I shoot myself in the foot?"

"You need to play fair," Mary teased, tweaking his nose. "Besides, it might keep peace in the family."

"Whose family?" Stick rubbed his nose.

"Ours," Mary passed over her shoulder, then moved off through the crowd.

Teddy and Stick contrived to stand together at gym class. "Fuckin' dodge ball sucks," Stick muttered.

"At least you can get out of the way," was Teddy's distracted rejoinder. "How did last night go?"

"Decent. Helped her with her math, then we had a couple of burgers an' watched some of Mary's porn collection."

"So you..."

"Yeah, twice." Stick grinned. "Look, Man, if you're worried about her runnin' things, then YOU gotta step up. If you're controlling things, she won't bother. An' things will go your way..."

"Well, this isn't last Saturday."

"No, but you got last Saturday under your belt. An' just 'cause I ain't standin' there... 'Sides, it's kinda a competition. You can't win if you don' play..." The pair leaped left to avoid an oncoming ball, Stick nearly bowling over the smaller Teddy. When they had settled to warily awaiting the next attack, Stick added, "Under the original plan I'm supposed to keep her off you, an' you're supposed to keep her off me. I'm doin' my job -- you gonna cover my ass, or what?"

"Yeah, I got it. She just..."

"She just nuthin', Man. You been in her crib, an' you got more time on the ground wit' her than I do! She won't bite!" Stick grinned and glanced sideways, "But she might suck..."

Teddy grinned in spite of himself. "Yeah..." The pair leapt to the right.

Later, in the locker room, Teddy turned to Stick. "What about the other thing?"

Stick toweled his leg. "Talk to Mary. I figure we'll do Friday night. Cool?"

"Cool." Teddy left it -- it seemed fair. They'd get to talk, if nothing else...

The girls sat for lunch. Mary opened with, "Nate's in the doghouse already?"

"Not really," Nora sighed. "He was actually trying to be helpful when he stuck his foot in it."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Nora looked around a bit. "I told you about the videos, didn't I?"

"The ones your Daddy made of him abusing your Mom?"

"Yeah. Those videos."

"Okay, so?" Mary eyed Nora sidelong.

"Well, Mom apparently went ahead and viewed a couple and, well, freaked -- so I sneaked a disk into my room and Nate and I scoped it out to see what was so awful..."

"Holy Shit! You're kidding me, right?"

"Huh! Wish I was! Nate and I watched two scenes, and they were hot, even if it WAS Mom and Daddy! Basically, they were everything Mom said they were -- Daddy is, well, seriously rough and kinky. But the really weird part is that Mom would start out trying to keep things from getting out of hand, but ended up enjoying it!"

"Damn! Really?"

"Yeah... And that's what weirded Mom out. You see, she never remembered the good parts! She'd go see Daddy, and he'd rape her, basically -- wild shit, tying her up and just doing whatever came to mind, I guess -- and she'd remember being taken against her will -- but she WOULDN'T remember breaking down and enjoying it! Then along comes the evidence, in living color!" Nora shook her head. "Well, Mom wasn't thrilled with THAT discovery. And Nate, well, let the cat out of the bag, trying to console her..."

Mary couldn't suppress a snicker. "Oh, shit!"

"Yeah. Worse, Mom has to go see Daddy today! She's a wreck!" Nora grimaced, "I spent three or four hours trying to settle her down, but she still hadn't gotten a grip when I left for school this morning."

"So, how much did THAT cut into your love life?" Mary quipped.

"Ummmmm, not a lot. We did it twice while we were watching the videos." Nora looked pensive. "I think I might be a chip off the old block."

"Huh?"

"Well, we were watching this scene... Daddy had Mom all tied over a desk and was doing her doggy-style while spanking her ass. Well, Nate was doing me the same way..."

"No! Nate popped you on the ass?"

"Uh huh," Nora nodded. "He wasn't going for cherry red like Daddy -- he just liked the ripples from what he said afterward -- he loves my ass, you know." Mary grinned and shook her head. "So I let him do it. And it was okay -- I enjoyed it..."

"Sounds like he took it easy..."

"Well, he did. But it still stung, kind of built up slowly. Every time he'd hit me, I'd clench, which would make THAT part better, and the sting -- I dunno -- it just seemed to add to things..."

"Well, don't feel bad. Maybe it's a female thing -- one nobody mentions much," Mary opined. "I convinced Stick that maybe he ought to run things last night -- we were watching this 'Blacks on Blondes' flick, Big Black Dudes Dominate White Slut stuff, you know?" Nora didn't, but she nodded, anyway. "Stick started out reluctant, but once he got into the swing of things, well, it was nice not having to concentrate on running a seduction..."

Nora shelved the basic question as a new subject had revealed itself, "So Stick came back for seconds?"

"Uh huh." Mary grinned. "There'll be thirds, too. And I've got Teddy tonight, unless he sprouts some serious feathers."

Nora worked hard to conceal surprise. Of course, both of the boys could have decided that any pussy was better than none, in which case Mary was on the short route to unhappiness. Besides, there was the other issue... "What about their little thing?"

"We're looking at Friday night for another big get-together," Mary replied. "I'm starting to get a read on Stick; Teddy is the bigger question."

"You know," Nora opined, "keeping both of them is unlikely, at best. Even if you do, it's a share with their relationship. And they're never equal."

"What if I come out on top on both sides?" Mary challenged.

"You'll probably be unable to deal with it. Keeping both of them happy? They aren't even anything alike..." Nora frowned. "I'd be afraid that it would look really good, then crash and burn, fairly quickly."

"You sound like my mother," Mary grumbled. She assumed a nasal whine, obviously mimicking her mother, "All those two want is between your legs -- especially that black boy! And when something else better comes along, POOF! They'll be gone! I expected better of Teddy..." Mary dropped the impersonation. "Yada, yada, yada. What the fuck am I SUPPOSED to do?"