by Van ©2019
		Chapter 2

Penny opened her eyes and sat up in bed.  A glance at the bedroom windows confirmed that it was still dark.  She climbed from bed, fumbled until she found her iPhone, and checked the time.  5:31, perfect.

Subconsciously, perhaps while in a dream state, Penny had devised a "Cunning Plan" for raining Righteous Vengeance down upon the Treacherous and Nefarious heads of Gwyn and Mandy for making her the loser of the first round of capture-the-damsel―and without the common decency of a Formal Declaration of the official start of the game―and with Gwyn and Mandy teaming up against her―and without giving Penny a chance to talk one of them into teaming up with her first!  Granted, sneak attacks were almost a requirement of the game, and backstabbing collaborations were more-or-less a given when the number of players was greater than two, but still...  Bad form, you dweebs! she mentally fumed.  It's bad form cheating before I get a chance to cheat!

Phase One of her cunning plan: reconnaissance.  Gwyn and Mandy already knew the terrain (meaning Roget Manor).  After all, Gwyn grew up in the place and Mandy had spent last summer as Bethany's guest.  Penny had to learn as much as she could, as quickly as she could.  This was WAR!  And Sun Tzu had an entire chapter on the importance of terrain.  (Cousin Beebe had made Penny read The Art of War, and Aunt Suki had quizzed her on its contents while tickling her feet).  Anyway, she wasn't going to wait for the promised tour of the manor to scope out the terrain.  A predawn patrol was in order.

Then, she'd move on to Phase Two, which was... something clever.  She'd figure it out later.

Penny fumbled with the mini-tablet on the bedside table that remotely controlled the lighting, turned on just enough of the lights to be able to navigate without bumping into things, then peeled off her baby-blue, Deborah Walley nightie and dropped it on the rumpled covers of the massive bed.

She noticed the blank stares of the twelve wooden, disembodied children carved into the base of the bed's vast cathedral-headboard... and remembered she was Bethany's guest.  Okay, okay, Penny sighed, then quickly made the bed, folded the nightie, and placed it on the now taut and no longer rumpled covers.  No need to make extra work for Rada, assuming making guest beds was among her many duties, and it was always good policy to be thoughtful and polite.  It encouraged people to lower their guards.

The twelve juvenile heads continued staring into the distance, focused on the far wall of the bedroom.  There's no pleasing some people, Penny sighed, then padded to the chest of drawers and dressed in a skulking outfit of black sneakers (Reeboks), black jeans, a black tank-top, and a dark-gray hoodie.  She pocketed a small flashlight, turned towards the door, and―"Mrrrpfh!"―was immediately grabbed from behind!  A strong hand was clamped over her mouth and her elbows pinned behind her back!

"MrRRRrf!"  Penny squirmed and kicked, to no avail.  The identity of her attacker wasn't instantly revealed, but she could tell she was definitely female.  The back of Penny's head was pressing against a pair of boobs.  That was a big clue.  Whoever she was, she was also tall and strong.  Very tall and strong.  Rada?

The attacker removed her hand from Penny's mouth and released her elbows―"Hey!  Mrrrf!"―then, ignoring Penny's energetic resistance, quickly and efficiently popped a ball-gag into Penny's mouth!  Despite her prey's energetic resistance, the attacker succeeded in buckling its strap at the nape of Penny's neck, under her tousled blond hair.

Penny's attacker was Rada, and she was dressed in black from head to toe in sneakers, jeans, and a black, long-sleeve turtleneck.  And then, easily controlling Penny's squirming body, swinging arms, and kicking legs, she proceeded to peel Penny out of the skulking costume she'd only just donned.

"Mrrrfh!" Penny complained as she continued struggling.  Black rope was now binding her wrists behind her back and pinning her upper-arms to her torso!

Penny wasn't a push-over, and during her formative years more than one schoolyard bully had learned that lesson the hard way.  However... Rada.  Penny found her best wasn't anywhere near good enough.  She could do very little to frustrate the Viking amazon's efforts to tie her up.  If anything, whatever transient success she did achieve in momentarily delaying the blond amazon's efforts only served to amuse the towering, surprisingly nimble, gorgeous giantess.  It was infuriating... and humbling... but Penny didn't give up.

"Mrrrpfh!"

Eventually, Rada was at least temporarily satisfied with Penny's naked, bound, and gagged condition and took a step back.

Penny scampered away to the center of the room, squirming as she tested her bonds, then turned her naked, bound and gagged body to face her captor, shook her tousled blond hair from her gagged face, and glared.  "Mrrrf!" she complained, stamping a bare foot.  She then shifted her furious gaze to the bedroom door, gauging her chances of scampering to said door and opening said door before Rada grabbed her, and―Huh?―blinked in surprise.  After Gwyn and Mandy's perfidious sneak attack she'd locked the door and wedged a straight-chair under the doorknob for good measure―and the chair was still there!

The captive turned back to Rada.  How the hell did she get in here?  Oh.  Obviously, there was a secret door!  Well... yeah.  Penny heaved a chagrined sigh.  The spooky, gigantic Gothic mansion has hidden passageways and secret doors.  BIG surprise.

Penny squirmed and tested her bonds, again.  This was her first exposure to what she would later learn had come to be labeled as the "Rada-box-tie."  It was like any other box-tie, in that it pinned her upper-arms to her sides and bound her wrists behind her back and against her spine.  There was also the usual shoulder-yoke that passed from her left armpit, behind her neck, then back to her right armpit, serving to cinch and tighten her horizontal, arm-pinning bonds.  However (and this was what made it a Rada-box-tie), there was a second and entirely separate shoulder-yoke that pinched her horizontal bonds together, between her naked breasts, and formed an "X."

Curiously, at least for now, Penny was unbound from the waist down... naked and unbound from the waist down.

Rada smiled and reached into a small black daypack resting on the carpet at her side.  It had been the source of the black-dyed hemp rope now binding Penny's helpless, naked, and indignant upper-body.

Penny watched as her captor produced a shiny stainless steel collar and strolled in her direction.  The pathetically pouting blond captive gave her Rada-box-tie bonds a weak squirm and swallowed behind her gag, but bravely and fearlessly (meaning fearfully) held her ground and awaited the inevitable.  After all, the bedroom door was locked and barricaded and she didn't have a clue as to the location of Rada's secret door, much less knowing how to open it.  What would be the point of a futile chase scene?

Rada arrived and the collar closed around Penny's neck with an authoritative click.  Penny swallowed, again.  The steel band was heavy, but not too heavy, and tight, but not too tight.  Its edges were smooth and well-rounded.  She noted a steel ring dangled from the front, as usual, and there seemed to be a second ring at the rear.  Collar-wise, this wasn't Penny's first rodeo.  Cousin Beebe had quite a collection, and Aunt Suki thought her "Precious-Penny-Pet" looked good wearing a collar.

Rada's next action was surprising.  That is, Penny found it more surprising than the blond giantess violating her bedroom, stripping her naked, and binding, gagging and collaring her indignant self.  Rada produced a hairbrush from someplace and gave Penny's long blond hair a good brush.  The grinning giantess then divided her captive's hair into three parts and deftly plaited it into a single braid.  Finally, she whipped the terminal few inches of the braid with some sort of cord.  Penny couldn't see the cord in question, but if forced to guess, she'd say it was paracord, or maybe something a little thinner, the kind of stuff bondage riggers in the know use to bind toes together.  Probably black, Penny posited.  All my other bonds are black... except the collar... so it's probably black.  Style is important.

Next, Rada pulled a mini-tablet (or possibly a smartphone) from her rear pocket, tapped the screen, and looked up at the ceiling.

Penny looked up as well.  She heard a quiet humming noise... and realized a steel chain terminating in a snap-clip was slowly lowering from the shadows of the vaulted rafters.  It took a while as the distance was something like twenty feet... but finally... the clip arrived.  Rada snapped it through the ring on the front of her collar―Click!―then tapped the screen with her thumb.  The chain shortened―"Mrrrpfh!"―and Penny was forced up on her toes until her head was forced back and chin raised!

Smiling her gorgeous (Evil!) smile, Rada watched as Penny squirmed in her bonds and danced on her toes.  She then stooped, closed the zippers on her backpack, stood, and shrugged into its shoulder-straps.  Smiling at her naked, bound, and gagged victim, and without saying a word, she strolled to the bedroom door, lifted the chair from under the doorknob and returned it to its proper place, then strolled back to the door.  Still smiling her evil smile, Rada pulled out her mini-tablet/smartphone and gave its tiny screen a tap.

The motor overhead hummed and about six inches of chain played out.  Penny came down off her toes and heaved a gagged, relieved sigh, thankful that her feet were now flat on the plush carpet.  However...

Thud.

The bedroom door had closed and Rada was gone, denying Penny her well-deserved chance to mewl in outrage and skewer her giant captor with visual daggers.  How rude!

Penny blinked her blue eyes, weakly squirmed in her bonds, and continued staring at the back of the elaborately carved door.  Well... that happened.

For the next hour... while the sun seriously considered rising and the world beyond the bedroom windows took on a tentative predawn glow, Penny pondered this latest development, her trivially easy capture by the Viking shield-maiden "Rada Grabhands."

Obviously, Rada was a player, but what kind of player?  Was this a different game, or did the ongoing game of capture-the-damsel now have four players?  If so, Penny would have to team with her school chums to take down the giantess.  A swarming attack was the only conceivable tactic that offered any hope of success... unless Roget Manor had hidden trapdoors and booby-traps suitable for capturing unsuspecting, towering, and surprisingly nimble amazons.  After all, it had hidden passages and secret doors (probably).  Were hidden traps much of a stretch?

No... that won't work, Penny thought glumly.  Even if there are damsel-traps scattered around this place, Rada will be the one responsible for their maintenance and upkeep.  Only a swarm attack will work, but we'll have to take her by complete surprise and get as many ropes on her as possible, instantly, before she starts tossing us around like King Kong sorting through a crowd of blondes for Ann Darrow.  Hmm...

Penny was still considering tactics when the door opened and the very same people she'd been thinking about entered the bedroom.  However―"Mrrrf?"―the manner of their arrival was not in any way what Penny might have expected!

Rada was in the lead, and while Penny had been cooling her heels in the bedroom―naked, box-tied, ball-gagged, collared, chained to the ceiling, and unable to do anything but stand there―Rada Grabhands had taken the time to change her clothes.  She was now wearing knee-boots, skintight pants, and a corset/bustier that left her midriff and shoulders bare, all in black leather, and all tooled in Viking and/or Celtic patterns.  She was also wearing black leather bracers on her wrists, and a riding crop dangled from her right wrist by its retaining strap.  Her hair was parted down the middle and plaited in a pair of braids.  Obviously, she'd been going for the Viking Dominatrix look, and she'd succeeded (in Penny's naked, helpless, wide-eyed, and humble opinion).

Next came Gwyn.  She was naked, Rada-box-tied, collared in shining steel, and ball-gagged.  Her glossy black hair was plaited into a single braid and dangled down her back and across her folded and bound arms, crossed and bound wrists, and useless hands.

Gwyn was followed by Mandy, who, on the other hand, was naked, Rada-box-tied, collared in shining steel, and ball-gagged.  Her ginger hair was plaited into a single braid and dangled down her back and across her folded and bound arms, crossed and bound wrists, and useless hands.

That's right!  Everyone in the bedroom who wasn't a Viking Dominatrix was identically naked, bound, gagged, and collared!  All their bonds were black, except for the hardware of their ball-gags and the collars locked around their necks, which were shining steel.

Oh-by-the-way, the back ring of Gwyn's collar was linked to the front ring of Mandy's collar by something like five feet of steel chain.  Five more feet of chain was linked to the back of Mandy's collar and its final foot or so trailed on the carpeted floor.  Also, five more feet of chain were linked to the front of Gwyn's collar, and its final foot or so was gripped in Rada's left hand.  That's right, Rada had herself a coffle of two naked, bound, and gagged damsels!  And soon, she had a coffle of three!

Rada released Penny from the ceiling chain, tapped her smartphone/mini-tablet and returned the ceiling chain to the ceiling, then added Penny to the back of the line by means of a double-ended steel snap-hook.  And as she did all this, Rada Grabhands smiled like the tall, sinister, gorgeous Viking Dominatrix that she was.

Gwyn and Mandy, on the other hand stood in their inescapable bonds in sullen resignation, pathetic and pitiable.

Penny shelved the residual anger still lingering in the wake of her friends' perfidious sneak attack and replaced it with compassion, tenderness, and empathy (...with a side of lust).  After all, Gwyn and Mandy were standing there all naked and tied up, with boobs, bellybuttons, and pubic bushes (black and ginger, respectively), and everything else on open display, all helpless and hot.  Penny was only human.  She shelved her horniness as well (or tried to, anyway), then heaved a deep, sad, commiserating sigh.  Her fellow prisoners returned the favor by heaving sighs of their own.

"Oh, the heart breaks," Rada chuckled, then turned and led the way from the bedroom.  Gwyn, Mandy, and Penny quickly peeled off and followed, one-by-one, as their coffle-chains snapped taut.  The parade continued down the hallway, down the stairs to the first floor, and past the sitting rooms, music rooms, parlors, and other empty, over-decorated spaces, past the banquet room, and into the kitchen.

There (when she finally arrived), Penny found Bethany sitting at a small table and enjoying the last of a simple breakfast of toast and coffee.  She was dressed in exercise clothes, or possibly a yoga outfit.  (Penny noted that her hostess also had pokies.)

"Good morning, girls," Bethany beamed as she set down her coffee cup.

"MRRmpfh!"  That was Gwyn, stamping her right foot and glaring at her mother.

Bethany smiled in reply.  "Don't be like that, Elf," she purred.  "You know you want to play with your little friends.  It would be rude and thoughtless not to accompany them while Rada gives them a tour of the manor."  She focused her smile on Rada.  "That is what's happening, isn't it?"

"It is," Rada nodded (and smiled).  "I thought we'd start at the bottom and work our way up."

"Nrrr―urk!"  Gwyn's gagged response was cut short when her chain snapped taut and Rada led her charges to a nondescript door (a door that wasn't elaborately carved, for once), then down a set of stone steps.

Penny cast a longing look at Bethany's cup as Gwyn's mother refilled it with coffee from an insulated carafe, then she padded past her hostess and through the door.

Rada had said the tour would start at the bottom, so Penny wasn't terribly surprised to find herself trooping downstairs to a basement.

It was a tour that only Penny needed, by the way.  This was Gwyn's home and Mandy was a guest last summer.  Obviously, they already knew their way around, so why were they being dragged along with Penny?  (Not that she wasn't ungrateful for this, her latest chance to ogle her fellow damsels' naked, bound, and gagged bodies.)

Anyway, the basement turned out to be a vast, dark, decidedly gloomy space, just what you'd expect in a place like Roget Manor.  The walls, meaning the walls Penny could actually see, were dressed stone, as were the several massive columns supporting the massive wooden beams overhead.  The furnishings, if you could call them that, consisted of rows of wooden shelving cluttered with dusty cardboard boxes, plastic storage tubs, and even a few wooden crates.

And speaking of dust, the stone flags under their bare feet (and Rada's bitch-boots) weren't exactly clean.  They weren't exactly filthy, either, so somebody had to be sweeping the place, just not recently.  There were even a few cobwebs.  Penny couldn't see Rada as the person responsible for cleaning the basement, not with all her other duties―like stripping, binding, and gagging Bethany's house-guests (and daughter)―but somebody did it... now and then.

And now that Penny thought about it, the vast, multi-storied upstairs was dust-free... borderline spotless.  Maybe they periodically bring in a cleaning crew, Penny reasoned.  That's how I'll do it when I'm filthy rich, retire from kidnapping-for-hire, and buy a giant mansion of my own.  She made a mental note to inquire as to how they accomplished the housecleaning, once she was no longer bound and gagged.  No, better not bring it up, Penny decided.  Rada might break out a sexy maid's uniform and put me to work with a feather duster.

They crossed the basement, there was a pause while Rada produced a large, decorative key and unlocked a massive, wooden, battering-ram-resistant door.  The portal was without carvings, but did have decorative iron straps.  It opened onto a small landing, then another set of stone steps leading down.

So, Penny thought, I was wrong. 'Bottom' means a subbasement.  I should have known.

They began the descent and arrived at a second landing, turned to the left, then continued down, again.  Finally, the stairs bottomed out on a third landing.  In front of them was an arched opening blocked by a massive gate of iron bars set on massive hinges with a massive iron bolt, and its hefty lock required Rada's large, decorative key to open.  And beyond the gate―which squealed when Rada pulled it open―was...

A TORTURE CHAMBER!!

Penny's eyes popped wide and her heart started thumping in her chest.  The chamber was big and Gothic, with an arched ceiling something like twenty-feet overhead (like her assigned guest bedroom).  The walls, floor and ceiling were more of the same dark, gloomy, dressed stone.  Light (what there was of it) shone from sconces set in niches.  The fixtures had dimly glowing orange-yellow filaments inside elongated, rather antique-looking glass bulbs, which in turn were enclosed in hefty iron cages.

Off to the left was a row of several narrow, shallow, ten-foot-high alcoves, each with a pair of manacles dangling from iron rings embedded in the back wall.  A similar pair of ankle-shackles were embedded in similar rings down near the floor.

Straight ahead was another arched opening and gate of iron bars, similar to the one through which they'd just entered.

Up against the right was was a long, free-standing wooden frame with many, many neatly coiled bundles of hemp rope hanging from wooden pegs.  Next to it was a second long frame, this time with a diverse collection of whips, floggers, crops, paddles, etc., etc.  Sitting next to it on the floor was a woven basket holding twenty or more long, thin canes.  And finally, there was a large wooden cabinet with a pair of closed doors.

But what really screamed torture chamber was the furnishings.  They included:

• A bondage table constructed from heavy timbers, with numerous iron rings dangling from its edges and eager to serve as lashing points.
• A torture chair, also constructed from heavy timbers, and "cushioned" by row upon row of short wooden pegs sharpened to blunt, well-rounded spikes.  They lined its back, seat, leg, and foot rests.  There were also the required iron rings needed to lash the chair's hypothetical occupant in place and require her to remain seated.
• A St. Andrews Cross, one of those vertical "X"-frames with iron rings at the top and bottom.  It was also constructed of heavy timber.
• A pair of vertical wooden posts about six or seven feet apart, with dangling manacles and shackles suitable for securing someone between them in a standing spread-eagle.  Penny assumed that would be for purposes of whipping.
• A narrow, tightly confining, vertical cage of iron bands in the hourglass shape of a woman.  Penny had always thought of such things as "Lady Jane Cages," referencing the origin of the similar cage in which Sweet Gwendoline was confined in John Willie's Race for the Gold Cup.
• A horse!  And it was of the post variety, a large, wedge-shaped wooden block fixed atop a vertical post with the block's narrow but rounded ridge pointing up.  As such things went, it didn't look too bad, but Penny had zero interest in giving it a go.  Straddling the block with her squashed pussy resting on the ridge would not be fun.
  

"Gulp!" Penny swallowed nervously behind her ball-gag as they entered the chamber.  Thankfully (maybe) Rada was crossing the torture chamber to the far gate, barely giving her time to admire the ambiance with the obligatory terrified dread.

Subbasement? Penny thought.  Subbasement?  This place is a frickin' DUNGEON!  There was a pause as Rada unlocked the gate, during which Penny continued mentally berating herself for her lack of imagination.  Of course Spooky Roget Manor has a spooky dungeon, with a fully equipped torture chamber!  How could it not have a spooky dungeon with a fully equipped torture chamber?

Beyond the second gate was a long stone corridor with a ten-foot ceiling.  It was lit (inadequately) by more sconces in shallow niches with the same peculiar bulbs in iron cages.  The parade passed door after locked door, all of heavy wooden timbers with elaborate iron bands.  They came to a cross-shaped junction with more long corridors stretching into the semi-darkness to the left, right, and straight ahead.  Rada took the right corridor, her coffle of three naked, bound, gagged, and collar-linked damsels dutifully padded in her wake, and they passed yet more heavy wooden doors with elaborate iron bands.

Finally, they stopped at one of the doors (seemingly chosen at random, as far as Penny could tell), Rada pulled out her key, turned the lock, then drew the bolt.  Thunk.

What now? Penny wondered (understandably nervous).

Rada opened the door.  Creeeeeak!  "Step down," she warned, then led her coffle into a roughly fifteen by fifteen-foot cell.

There was, indeed, a step down.  Also, the floor was covered by a generous layer of dry straw.  Dim light shone from a small, circular opening in the eight foot ceiling.  An iron ring was set in each of the stone walls to the left, right, and straight ahead.  The only other feature of interest was a large duffel of black canvas resting directly under the light-can or light-well or shaft or whatever the ceiling opening turned out to be.

"Mrrrpfh!"  Gwyn was not happy.  She stamped a bare foot in the straw and glowered at the grinning amazon giantess holding her chain.

Mandy seemed equal parts angry and resigned.

As for Penny, she was apprehensive (bordering on alarmed), more than a little confused, and distinctly disappointed by the level of service Rada was providing her employer's house guests (and daughter).

Without saying a word, Rada stooped, unzipped the duffel, reached inside, and pulled out a neat coil of the same black hemp rope binding Penny, Gwyn, and Mandy's upper-bodies.  She released the coil, her smile became even more evil than usual... and she advanced on Gwyn.

Several coils of black hemp later, when the metaphorical dust (and the actual straw) settled, and after all three damsels had received Rada's attention...

Gwyn was sitting in a seriously stringent shrimp-tie, with the back ring of her collar chained to the iron ring set in the back wall of the cell.  Her Rada-box-tie-bonds remained intact―she was in the lotus position with her legs crossed in front―her thighs were lashed to her lower legs―a taut bundle of ropes tied to her shoulder-yoking bonds forced her to lean forward in a tight crunch―and her big toes were tied to the ring in the front of her collar by two taut lengths of black cord, reinforcing the crunch.  In addition, a tight crotch rope (with knots) was integrated into her predicament.  Finally, Gwyn's braid was tied to her thumbs with more cord, forcing her chin to remain permanently raised.

Mandy was sitting in the straw on Gwyn's right, balanced on her butt and feet and bundled in a spectacular ball-tie.  Her Rada-box-tie also remained intact―her legs were tucked, pressing her lower thighs against her boobs―and a tight web of black-hemp was lashed around her ankles, legs, and back, enforcing her predicament.  Everything was hitched together, meaning the box-tie was integrated into the web.  In addition, Mandy's big-toes were lashed together with black cord (for no particular reason).  More cord tied her tightly plaited hair to her thumbs (like Gwyn), keeping her saliva-dripping chin raised.  Finally, she was chained to the wall by the back ring of her collar (also like Gwyn).

Rada was being a real bitch, in Penny's opinion, but that wasn't the half of it.  Penny had also been invited to Rada's Rope Party.

The pathetic, angelic, and innocent little blonde was hogtied on Gwyn's left, and keeping with the theme of the morning, Penny's hogtie was stringent, cruel, and tight, with her heels jammed against her buttocks.  Black hemp lashed her ankles, lower-legs, knees, and thighs together, with additional taut and hitched rope bands encircling her bent legs.  More rope had been passed through her box-tie-bonds and all possible slack removed, encouraging (meaning requiring) Penny to arch her back.  This lifted her boobs and bound knees off the stone floor.  Rada had integrated a crotch-rope (with knots) into the hogtie, and it was making its unwanted presence felt every time Penny so much as wiggled in her bonds.  The back ring of her collar was chained to the wall (like her fellow damsels), and a length of black cord linked the end of her blond braid to her lashed-together big-toes.  Apparently, Rada had a thing for lifted chins dripping with ball-gag-drool.

Bethany's daughter and her two house guests squirmed (or wiggled) and tested their bonds.  They quickly discovered that anything beyond weak testing was impossible, and even that was punished by their crotch-ropes.  Mewling happened.  "Mrrf!"  "Nrrrm!"  "Mmpfh!"  Drooling happened.  Chains clinked.  And that was about it.

Smiling broadly, Rada stood in the threshold of the open door with the more-or-less empty duffel in her left hand.  "At this point, there will be a prolonged pause in our tour while I see to the morning chores and begin preparations for lunch," the Norwegian amazon announced, then took a step back and closed the door.  Creeeeeak―Thud!  The tightly bound prisoners heard the bolt being thrown―Thunk!―followed by Rada's key turning the lock.  Click!

The damsels resumed weakly testing their bonds.  It was clear no one would be untying themselves.  Also, thanks to the lengths of their collar-chains, no one would be inch-worming their way anywhere near close enough to one of their fellow prisoners to even try and untie their bonds.  There would be no untying of anything... or doing a lot of squirming, for that matter.  After less than a minute, all three damsels heaved tragically sad sighs and "relaxed" in their bonds.

Penny was beginning to think that accepting Gwyn's invitation to visit Roget Manor might have been a mistake.

Rada found her employer near the mansion's indoor swimming pool, stretched out full-length on a lounge chair and reading an iPad.

Bethany was wearing a decidedly skimpy, Prussian-blue, string bikini that left exposed perhaps 95% of her firm, toned, pale body.  Her hair was coiled atop her head, but was slightly tousled with a pair of loose, dark, whispy strands framing her face.  A bathing cap of white latex and a fluffy towel rested atop a low table, next to a tray holding an empty, coffee-stained cup and saucer, an insulated carafe, a small pitcher that had probably recently held milk, a covered sugar bowl, and a dirty teaspoon.

Rada was still wearing her Viking Dominatrix costume of knee-boots, skintight leather pants, corset/bustier, and wrist-bracers.  Her blond hair was still evenly parted and plaited in a pair of braids and a stunning smile curled her perfect lips.  Her blue eyes sparkled.

"I assume the tour is going well?" Bethany inquired, smiling up at her trainer.

"Swimmingly," Rada purred, then pulled the riding crop from her right boot and pointed to the pool.  "And speaking of which, I assume you completed the specified number of laps in all three of the specified strokes?"

Bethany shrugged.  "I did a set."

Blue eyes locked.  Both employer and employee were smiling (but Bethany's smile was just a tad nervous).

"After I finish this chapter―"  She lifted the iPad.  "―I'll swim some more."

"You're lying," Rada purred.  "I can tell."  She then leaned forward, plucked the iPad from Bethany's hand―"Hey!"―and deposited it on the side table atop the swimming cap.  The grinning amazon them took a firm grip on Bethany's coiled hair and lifted her to her feet.

"No!" Bethany objected.  "No!"  She squirmed, kicked, flailed her arms, and waved her hands, trying and failing to bat Rada's hands away.  "What are you doing?"

What Rada was doing was releasing the ties of Bethany's bikini with her left hand while keeping the struggling brunette firmly under control by continuing to grip her hair with her right.  The Prussian-blue top slithered and fluttered to the tile floor... followed by the Prussian-blue bottom... and Rada released her hold on her employer's hair.

Now totally nude, Bethany took a step away, turned, covered her breasts with her left arm and her crotch with her right hand, and rounded on her employee.  "Rada!  How dare you?  You go too far!"

"I'm only earning my pay," Rada purred as she repeatedly tapped the palm of her left hand with the riding crop.  "You know this is a 'heavy' day."  She meant it was one the days on Bethany's exercise schedule that specified at least one serious workout, and splashing around in the pool, lounging, and reading the latest novel didn't qualify.

"I said I'd complete the swim," Bethany pouted.  Her anxious blue eyes were fixed on the fluttering tip of Rada's crop.

"No more swimming today," Rada purred.  "I've decided you need a change in your routine.  Obviously, you lack commitment to your fitness."

"I like swimming," Bethany whined.

"Then why didn't I find you in the pool?" Rada demanded, then pointed with the crop.  "To the gym."

"Rada," Bethany complained.  "Eeek!"  Her trainer had delivered a business like whack to her left flank with the crop!  The Mistress of Roget Manor spun on her bare feet and scampered towards the nearby gym, rubbing the pink spot on her hip as she padded along.

Rada, a wicked smile curling her lips, followed at a pace sufficient to keep Bethany's firm, bare, dimpled buttocks within easy range of her crop.