Chapter 7

Rory felt better after a shower and was now wearing some loose joggers and a sweatshirt that Ling had left out for him. It wasn't until he had put them on that he even realised that she had chosen his clothes for him, though she was right he wanted something loose and relaxing.

He sniffed and gave an inward shrug and headed back downstairs calling back a quick 'Thank you' to Ling. He headed straight for the sitting room and plonked himself on the sofa with the intent of vegging.

Upstairs, Ling was just going for her shower having unpacked and Prissy was checking out the clothes she had.

"Feel better?" Prissy asked with a smile.

"Much, thanks."

"I've been looking at your clothes; considering you have not bought much yet, you actually have some pretty good stuff disco

It wasn't long until Ling re-emerged from the shower, with a large fluffy towel wrapped about herself.-wise," Prissy commented.

Quickly they began to discuss the various options and finally selected a midnight-blue mini-dress made out of a silky material with a slight sheen. The dress was sleeveless and fairly loose, but with a sash-belt to cinch it at the waist.

"You might as well put jeans and a T-shirt on until this evening—there's no point in dressing up until after we've eaten," Prissy suggested.

"I would need permission for that; Rory does not want me wearing trousers, without checking with him first."

Prissy stuck her head out of the door. "Rory, get your arse up here now," she called in a loud voice.

"Rory was just dozing off, and came to with a start. "W-what," he mumbled and then realised Prissy was calling.

Rory stumbled over to the base of the stairs and called up, "What gives?"

"Ling won't wear jeans without your say-so and it's daft her wearing anything else, until we change to go out."

"Yeah, of course."

"You're a first rate bastard, you know that don't you Rory?"

"Why you," Rory started then thought better of it. "Ling, Prissy gets six spanks for waking me up and being rude," He shouted up. He had no intention of actually spanking Prissy, but thought it might be fun if Ling marched her down to receive her spanks.

He wandered back to the sofa.

As Prissy when back into Ling's room she found herself quickly pulled across Ling's lap. Ling simply and without fuss undid Prissy's jeans and bared her bottom and proceeded to give her six sharp smacks.

"I'm sorry Prissy, but you heard what Rory said, I had no choice." Ling said apologetically.

At first, Prissy was too surprised to be angry and it wasn't as if six smacks had really hurt her. In fact her first thought was that it was rather funny. She was more indignant than angry she realised, but that didn't mean she was going to let her brother get away with it.

"It's okay Ling, you're not to blame, but there will be blame and retribution on a biblical scale." And so saying stomped out filled with righteous anger.

Rory had heard the smacks sound out from downstairs as had Jane from the kitchen. Jane had just tuned out the shouting and never even considered that Ling would actually spank Prissy: she and Rory both were beginning to realise that Ling was in essence a loaded gun and apparently without a safety at the moment.

Jane walked through towards the sitting room looking stern. Rory got up from the sofa and shuffled to the hall, realising he had more than a little explaining to do. Prissy stomped towards the top of the stairs with Ling still dressed in only a towel, following quietly.

"Arsehole I'm calling the police!" Rang down from the top of the stairs.

"Hey I'm sorry—I didn't mean that to happen." Rory responded defensively.

"Quiet all of you! I want to know exactly what happened" Jane stated with quiet firmness. "Ling tell me exactly what transpired."

"Prissy had suggested to me I should wear some jeans. Rory and I have been playing a game regarding my clothing and he had said I should not wear trousers or jeans without his permission, I did not really need his permission here since he has also said that I can wear what I like within reason when I am doing my own thing and I believe this afternoon and evening count as doing my own thing. But it pleases me to please Rory and I believed that asking him might be a little exciting. So I told Prissy that I would need Rory's permission to wear jeans." Ling stated in her soft clear voice.

"You're covering for him." Prissy interjected crossly.

"Prissy let her continue" Jane ordered.

"I'm not covering and I was not absolutely sure I would be doing my own thing all afternoon, so I did feel that Rory's permission was probably necessary." Ling continued. "Anyway Prissy reacted crossly to my needing permission and shouted: 'Rory, get your arse up here now!' down to Rory, waking him I believe."

"Just the gist Ling, I don't need it verbatim." Jane interposed.

"Sorry Jane. Well then Rory asked what was happening and Prissy asked if I could wear Jeans. Rory did not hesitate but agreed that I could."

Jane was beginning to wish that she had not told Ling to stop reporting it word for word, that might have actually been quicker.

Ling continued: "Prissy then went on to say that Rory was a first rate bastard. And Rory—sorry Jane, but I think this ought to be exact—responded, 'Why you.' to Prissy and to me 'Ling, Prissy gets six spanks for waking me up and being rude.'." Prissy then came back into the room and I administered the punishment as ordered.

"Anything to add, Prissy?" Jane asked.

"Well he is a sick arsehole..."

"Prissy, did Ling cover it? Jane interrupted.

"Well yes, but..."

"'But nothing' for the minute, then." Replied Jane cutting her off again. "So Rory what have you to add?"

"I was just drifting off and Prissy woke me. I didn't come back at her for calling me so rudely, instead I just shouted that of course Ling could wear jeans. Prissy then called me a Bastard. So I told Ling that Prissy needed a spanking—I wasn't going to do it, but I did think it would do Prissy some good to be dragged downstairs by Ling ready for me to spank her." Rory stated with a defensively belligerent tone.

Jane didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was quite prepared to believe Rory, she knew for sure that if Prissy was to be spanked at his behest, then at the very least he would want to be there. Of course that did not make it right, but she could see that things had kind of got out of control.

"Why me?" Jane implored, looking at the ceiling, somewhat theatrically.

"Right Rory, you do not have the right to spank Prissy by yourself or using Ling: might is not necessarily right.

"Prissy you kind of asked for it. It shouldn't have happened, but I for one am not going to cry about it."

Prissy harrumphed and stamped a foot, not quite daintily.

Jane looked at Ling and then Rory. "Rory and Ling learn from this. Get some control. Ling is not a toy, she's a weapon and until you both get things sorted she is not properly controlled. Your next mistake may not be so funny, someone might really get hurt." Jane stated with feeling.

And then to Prissy, "Live with it, it was funny and don't retaliate, at least until Ling and Rory have had a little talk."

"What's funny about being physically assaulted?" Prissy asked petulantly.

"Funny's what I say it is, when I've had a day like this one. Guns pointed at my head Kung Fu wielding, genetically modified nymphet bodyguards—I can't bloody take any more, so I am going back to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, and then I am going to sit quietly in the garden whilst I calm down and I'm going now before I burst into tears." Jane finished already beginning to sob.

Rory hated women crying, he simply couldn't handle it. Even when it had nothing to do with him, it was an instant guilt trip and this time he was pretty sure that most if not all of the cause was directly or indirectly his fault.

"I'm sorry Prissy! Now can it. Mum's right I do need to talk to Ling and it won't wait. I'll see you in a little while and in the mean time leave Mum alone."

Rory climbed the stairs and went to his room beckoning Ling to follow him. He waited while Ling entered, shut the door, turned and sat on the end of the bed.

Ling knelt touched her head to the floor and then raised her head enough to speak resting on her forearms which were out in front with the wrists crossed. "Master forgive me."

Rory was shocked; 'Master', she had never called him that before. Thankfully, she was not looking frightened, but she was looking very contrite and very submissive. The whole thing was his fault, he knew that; he was just intending to apologise profusely to Ling and then to try to set some ground rules. Ling, though, had yet again reacted completely other. Oh well! Slow down and take it stage by stage, that was all he could do. He breathed out slowly trying to relax himself, he couldn't let himself upset Ling, not on top of everything else.

"Please Master, punish me; whip me; do what you must, that you can forgive me." Ling implored.

"I'll do no such thing. I am shocked that you think I would and even more shocked that you think it proper that you should be whipped." Rory replied with feeling.

"The King never, but I have heard that other owners can be so severe when they deem it necessary and I would take such punishment and more if it helped you to forgive me Master."

"Ling you have done nothing wrong and the only apologies necessary are mine to you and please tell me truthfully that you have never been whipped."

"I am sorry Master, but I cannot, though I have never been whipped in anger or as a punishment." Rory was again swimming up current; all he had achieved so far was to give himself another problem to deal with.

"Ling please accept my apology to you, get up and come and sit with me and please, please stop calling me master, then you can tell me who has whipped you and why." Rory said carefully.

"Yes Sir, and if it were my place to have anything to forgive you for, which it is not, then I would have already forgiven you." Ling stated with that special half smile as she got up and sat next to Rory her hands in her lap and leaning slightly against his shoulder.

Rory sighed inwardly and put his arm around Ling. "So how is it you have been whipped."

"In training. We can completely suppress pain and control our bodies responses and healing. Experiencing whipping and other tortures first-hand is a necessary step in our training. But I would never suppress pain if I were being punished by my owner." Ling finished emphatically.

"Moving right along!" Rory whispered to himself under his breath. "What Mother said is right," Rory continued, "We do need to ensure that my irreverent and slightly alternative sense of humour, does not translate into acts of senseless violence."

"I understand." Ling said, "I have already been doing that, but when you give me a direct order, that is different."

"Yes I can see that, but how about if I ask you to check with me when an order does not seem entirely sensible or you feel that I might not have thought through the consequences. I will even give you the choice of waiting to discuss it with me or asking me outright at the time, whichever seems most sensible to you at the time."

"I would be happy to comply with that." Ling replied.

"Then I so order it and look you really are super clever so I think you know me well enough to be creative in following this order, surely I don't need to dot every 'T' and cross every 'I' as if I were programming a computer?"

"No, I am programmed, which is more than you would have managed for the computer." Ling answered with a slight giggle.

"Yeah I know: T's I's, I's T's, who cares?"

Rory kissed Ling on her cheek. "I want you now, you look so vulnerable and beautiful in that towel, but now is not the time. So my love go and get dressed in the jeans and spend some time with Prissy or what ever you want to do. I'm going to talk to Prissy now and eat humble pie and then I will see if I can't cheer Mother up. So scoot wench!"

"To hear is to obey, Master!" Ling responded with her half smile getting up and jumping to avoid the swat aimed at her rear.

Prissy's door was shut. Rory knocked—nothing. He knocked harder.

"Piss off."

"No! You decent? You had better be, because I'm opening the door."

"Fine; assault me, invade my space, just because you can and I can't stop you."

"Stop being so melodramatic, I came to apologise." The door opened a crack.

"Well you ought to, bastard."

"Well I am really sorry you got smacked I didn't mean for that to happen, but you have got to learn that some things are none of your business."