Chapter 12

How long was she supposed to kneel like this? At least the conservatory was warm, damp and smelled quite nice. And the music being played was sort of pleasant but very old fashioned and strangely religious - as though she was kneeling within a peculiar blend of church and jungle. The tall, white haired man continued to ignore her as he carefully misted and tended some long, almost straggly leaves that trailed down from a mossy tree stump. Master Arnaud hadn't even looked at her since she was brought in by the guard, unfettered, and ordered to adopt the 'display and attend' position. No, master Arnaud had curtly thanked the young guard and had continued to look after the odd-looking plants. The gravel floor was hurting her toes and knees but she kept position with her wrists crossed behind her back and thighs wide open. Alexa felt very vulnerable without any fetters, except for the red leather collar of a novice slave - it was so strange to find comfort in being restrained but when there was nothing to stop her from moving freely it actually made her feel agitated and uneasy. The sensation disturbed her enough to make her repeatedly grip her own wrists so hard that they hurt.

The ethereal music trailed away into a silence only broken by the drips of warm water falling from the foliage around the vast, glazed room. "It is perhaps not the prettiest or popular of orchids but certainly one of the rarest and most valuable." Master Arnaud's deep voice seemed to thunder in the silence. "So valuable indeed, it is beyond price." He swiftly turned and looked down at her, making her cower under his piercing stare. "And what about YOU, pétite Alexa - how much are YOU worth, hmm eh?"

What was she supposed to say? Alexa couldn't think how to respond - she'd never really considered herself as having ANY value to anybody until her abductors had mentioned it. The mere idea of being anything other than a worthless, unwanted, ugly and stupid girl was profoundly gratifying ... but to put a figure on her own value? No, Alexa pondered, it wasn't up to her - she felt that she didn't have the right. "Uhh ... umm, sieur, je ne sais p..."

"In English, slave - your accent is so appalling it insults the French language ... and my ears."

"S-Sir, I d-don't know m-my umm v-value ... please."

Master Arnaud seemed quite satisfied by her timid uncertainty. "While you are under my temporary ownership I shall decide what fee your future master has to pay the Organization for collaring you, Alexa. Some of the newer members might dismiss this as irrelevant but Stephen and I happen to take our traditions VERY seriously. You see, mastership is privilege with both rights AND duties - any brute can hold a female captive and force her to do his will out of fear alone. But a TRUE master - or mistress - has a greater power." Arnaud chose to ignore the girl's startled expression - she evidently hadn't realized there were also women members of the Organization. (Although few in numbers, the mistresses were renowned and feared for their uncompromising harshness and skillful cruelty.) "No, he or she commands by power AND respect ... and in some rare cases by love." He knelt down and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I believe you already love him a little, don't you, hmm eh? Come along, slave - answer my question. Tell me what you truly feel for my good friend, Stephen."

"Umm, please s-sir, I l-love m-master Stephen so very much I-I d-don't th-think I c-could live without him..." The tears rolling down her cheeks were more than enough to finish her faltering reply.

Arnaud looked down at the distressed young girl. He knew all about lies and liars - his whole career as a forensic psychiatrist had revolved around his uncanny skill at separating fact from fiction. But this slave, this small, unremarkable and relatively plain girl was not merely filled with submissive desires - no, she evidently ACHED for Stephen. He wiped the moisture from her cheek and held his fingers to her lips. "Lick my hand, little slave ... savor the taste of your feelings for your future master."

Alexa trembled and darted her tongue out. Her own salty tears made her sob out loud - not with sadness or despair but with a raw, overwhelming love for her master. Her hair was briefly ruffled as master Arnaud walked away to resume the careful misting of his precious orchid collection. She didn't dare move. "Alors ... we discover you have great feelings for my friend. It is good, yet it is NOT enough - will you be obedient and devoted at ALL times and in ALL the ways required of a personal slave, hmm eh?" He continued to tend to the long leaves as the silence grew.

"Nothing to say? Will you earn a master's collar or end your short life with me tightening the noose around your neck, hmm eh? Or perhaps I will have to 'docile' you. Some masters prefer that now, you know - a mental age of about nine or ten is considered more than adequate for a female pleasure slave." He was watching her, she realized, watching and assessing her reactions. "But I will need to be careful with you, hmm eh? You are obviously of limited intelligence and if I cauterize too much of your cortical tissue you might become a complete imbecile, n'est pas?"

He had a horrible laugh, Alexa thought. He seemed to think it was funny to ridicule her but she was used to being put down as slow-witted - it had happened all her life.

"Hmm, peut-être the slow-release hormone implants in your upper arm should be enough without the need for extensive and potentially wasteful neuro-surgery!" He smiled down at her. "You really have no idea what I'm talking about, n'est pas?" (What on EARTH had possessed Stephen to bring this ugly, useless creature back from England? He had vivisected FAR better specimens harvested from the Romanian orphanages - such a pity his dear friend Ceausescu had been deposed... )

Alexa tried to understand his sinister words but even if they didn't make a lot of sense their effect was still chilling and dangerous. Surely he didn't really operate on the girls' brains? Ohh no! Her shaking became a shudder of revulsion - this man was actually serious! It all made horrible sense now. The poor girl she had seen in the canteen who was being helped to eat by another slave - she had a livid, red scar on the side of her temple where her fair hair had been shaved away! Alexa remembered how the girl had whimpered as another slave tenderly helped her control the spoon. The injured girl's vacant, expressionless face had made her seem more animal than human ... and now she knew why! This master was thinking about doing the same thing to her!

Alexa looked up in horror as master Arnaud blithely continued. "There is always a place in our organization for a totally compliant female. Not very stimulating when it comes to intelligent conversation but quite amusing in so many other ways." He put down the sprayer. "I consider it a privilege to continue with Mengele's pioneering research. After all, it is such a waste to discard stubborn or strong-willed girls who resist conditioning. They would all be put down without my merciful life-saving surgery. I believe it is a kindness to ease their mental suffering ... ahh, here they are!"

Alexa turned her head to watch another man leading a stumbling, crying girl towards them. The man was in his late 20's or early 30's. He was gently holding the leash chain attached to the limping, weeping slave and his face looked deeply troubled. Alexa recognized the girl - it was Nadine, the slave who had comforted the injured Véronique and had kissed Alexa in the corridor.

"You applied the whip as I wished? You concentrated between the slave's thighs?" Master Arnaud scrutinized the angry, red lines covering Nadine's shaking body then motioned for her to open her legs wider. "Good - the skin is not broken." He crouched and pressed a gloved hand upwards, exploring Nadine's cunt with a complete lack of sensitivity. She cried out in pain, making Alexa whimper in fear and sympathy. "And did the bitch climax under the whip?"

The younger man cleared his throat and briefly glanced down at Alexa. "Oui monsieur, she eventually came but is it really necessary to punish her so severely?"

Master Arnaud cut him off. "How many times must I remind you, Gérard - you will never become a master until you learn to discipline a slave without sentimentality. Nadine is used to harsh control, aren't you, my dear?" He lowered his voice as he turned away but Alexa could hear his chilling murmur. "So much indeed that she has nearly outlived her usefulness to my research."

He was going to operate soon on Nadine! Alexa was SURE that was what master Arnaud meant - he was a horrible, cruel and callous master. Alexa felt so angry, helpless and terrified. What should she do? What COULD she do? And all the time her mind reeled in turmoil of fright, rage and impotence she felt the steady, appraising gaze of Nadine's awful owner upon her. She awkwardly glanced up and saw his narrowed eyes above a sardonic smile - was he toying with her? Why was he deliberately telling her these horrible things ... ohh it was all so confusing.

"Well and so, Nadine. Did the whipping cause a multiple climax or a single orgasm, hmm eh?" Master Arnaud didn't even look at the girl but attended to his precious orchids, making Alexa seethe in greater, suppressed anger.

"N-non, m-mon m-mâitre je ne..."

"En anglais, Nadine, pour votre sœur-esclave."

"Ohh, pardon ... sorry, master. I uhh I did not uhh orgasme much, merci ... sorry, thank you." Tears were streaming down Nadine's face. Alexa couldn't bear it and shifted slightly in the girl's direction until the tips of her fingers brushed against the reddened skin of Nadine's thigh. She could feel the girl tremble and lean slightly towards her comforting touch.

"Hmm, I think you are getting too used to the lash, slave. Did Gérard use the crop between your labia?" The girl lowered her head, covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Arnaud turned to the younger man. "And did she hold her lips open for you to strike her as I ordered?" Gérard nodded then glanced away. Alexa couldn't help noticing the look of disgust on the young man's face.

"Good slave, good girl. And is it very painful Nadine? Are you in a lot of pain, hmm eh?" Master Arnaud patted her head. "So you may go. Take Alexa here to care for you." He looked down at Alexa. "You do know how to comfort a sister-slave, hmm eh?" He didn't even wait for her response. "Gérard, see they are caged together - I have no need of Nadine ... for tonight."

Alexa held tightly to Nadine as they followed the man called Gérard through the winding corridors underneath the chateau. But instead of leading them to the slave cages, Gérard abruptly stopped at the foot of a staircase. He sighed, straightened himself and murmured "You, pétite Alexa - you will go with Nadine and get something to eat in the kitchens. Then you will both go to a suite in the old stables and stay there until the morning. Use Salon Rouge - it is not required until next week." Despite Gérard's grim face, his voice was soft, making Alexa realize he wasn't angry towards them. "Do not make a mess and leave the room tidy but..." he reached out to gently stroke Nadine's hair, " ... you are allowed to play nicely with each other, okay?" He removed a silver chain from his pocket. "Stand straight, pétite Alexa." She did but was puzzled as he measured out the distance from her collar to the front of her crotch. Gérard frowned, looked at Nadine, and then increased the length of the chain between his hands by several links before locking the girls' collars together. "That should be long enough for you to reach each other" he chuckled.