by Van © 2023
		Chapter 10

The re-wiring phase of the renovation project was nearing completion; however, a few strategic sections of the paneling that concealed wiring runs and plumbing junctions had been re-secured using only a few fasteners.  The Munro Sisters would need access to complete a few tasks further down their list.  In any case, the majority of the rewiring was complete, from the attic and spire spaces all the way down to the power panels in the basement.

Saturday morning arrived and Kenzy and Sam bounced down the stairs for breakfast.  No formal plans had been made for the weekend, although at dinner the previous evening Danica had mentioned that she might be amenable to acting as Sam, Kenzy, and Gabby's Intrepid Wilderness Guide for a day hike to one of the nearby mountain peaks.  Truth be told, "mountain peak" was an exaggeration.  The surrounding "mountains" were actually foothills of the nearest actual mountain range, but it was still a fun hike up slopes cloaked in mostly mature forest with the occasional craggy and picturesque boulder-field or cliff-face, as well as a modest waterfall with a small pool suitable for skinny-dipping!  There were also the usual stunning vistas of the valley below and the distant peaks beyond; at least that was what the Nordbergs claimed.  The round trip would take almost the entire day, and while it would be a decent workout, it would be a hike and in no way a technical climb.  Sam agreed it might be fun, but Kenzy was undecided.

Anyway, the sisters arrived at the kitchen to find only Gabby, Danica, and Kimiko present.  After morning greetings it was explained (vaguely) that Nora had gotten up early and was "busy with something."  Also, Gabby preemptively proclaimed that Kenzy would not be going on the hike.  Kenzy's morning was already planned out (which was news to her).

"Bossy much?" Kenzy inquired, staring evenly at the grinning Gabby as they both sipped their coffee.

"Trust me," Gabby purred in a near whisper.  "I have something very educational to show you."

Kenzy stole a glance at the "youngsters," who were busy frying bacon and beating eggs in preparation for scrambling.  "Educational," she scoffed.  Kimiko, serene as always, was gazing out at the gardens through the French doors that led out onto the deck, so she was no help.

"Educational," Gabby reiterated (with a saucy and infuriating wink) and that was that.

Anyway, breakfast was delicious, cleanup went swiftly, and Sam and the Danica departed to prepare for their expedition.  Kimiko also departed, gliding away into the interior of the mansion in her usual graceful manner without sharing her plans for the day.

As soon as they were alone in the kitchen, Kenzy rounded on the smiling Gabby.  "What are you up to?" she demanded.

"Something depraved and sinister, of course," Gabby purred.  "Chill out and wait 'til the girls are gone, then I'll show you."  And with that promise/warning, Gabby strolled away in Kimiko's wake.

Kenzy rolled her green eyes, poured herself a final refill of coffee, strolled to the window to take Kimiko's place gazing out at the gardens, and settled in to await the start of the departure ceremony for the Nordberg Munro Joint Expedition.

Resplendent in their hiking boots, socks, shorts, and respective tops, Sam and Danica endured the well-wishes of Kimiko and Kenzy and unneeded advice from Gabby.  Apparently, as Nora was still inexplicably absent, it fell to the next most senior Nordberg to berate the hikers before they could depart.  Smiling and obviously enjoying the show, Kenzy and Kimiko listened as Gabby explained the need for regular hydration and rest stops, the importance of sunscreen, and warned of the dangers of marauding bears, pumas, coyotes, and other vicious predators.

"What about honey badgers?" Danica purred.

"You mean wolverines," Sam corrected her grinning companion.  "Honey badgers are in Africa."

"Oh, I stand corrected," Danica said innocently, then refocused on her older cousin.  "And what about velociraptors?  They're a serious danger.  Right?"

"If you're not going to take this seriously, Gabby huffed, "I'm going to keep my vast accumulated wisdom to myself."  This drew a round of applause, so she crossed her arms under her breasts, pouted with wounded pride, and somehow managed not to smile.

Anyway, Sam was in her usual tank-top with a neatly folded long-sleeved shirt in her day-pack while Danica was wearing a powder-blue long-sleeve SPF fishing/hiking shirt (with the sleeves rolled up) over her tank-top.  Sam was sporting a Seattle Seahawks ball-cap (Go Hawks!) while Danica wore a floppy, broad-brim, desert-tan sunhat.  Their packs were loaded with jackets, lunch, trail-mix, and plenty of water.  Finally, with walking sticks clutched in their hands, they were off!

Kenzy, Gabby, and Kimiko waved until the girls disappeared among the mature cedars, headed up one of the mansion's lesser-used trails... then Kimiko smiled and serenely and silently returned to doing whatever it was she'd been doing elsewhere in the mansion.  Gabby waited until Sensi was gone... then grabbed Kenzy's hand and dragged (led) her into a sitting room.

"Hey!" Kenzy complained.

"Hush!" Gabby scolded as she closed the door behind them, then turned and smiled at Kenzy.  "Strip!" she commanded.

The order wasn't entirely unexpected, but etiquette required the ginger to scowl and object.  "What?  Why?  No!"

Gabby smiled and waved a dismissive hand in a charming but irritatingly manner.  "None of that.  Do as you're told.  Chop-chop!"

Kenzy shifted her frown to a scowl, then pulled her tank-top over her head, kicked off her sneakers, plucked her anklets from her now bare feet, then removed her shorts and panties.  This left her everything bare, of course.

Resplendent in one of her extensive collection of pretty sundresses, Gabby smiled and watched.  "Your bikini and boob areas are filling in nicely," she remarked, "but you still have a way to go cultivating a uniform freckle collection."

"Shut up," Kenzy snapped.

And speaking of snapping, before Kenzy could react (or because the naked ginger had decided not to react), Gabby opened an end-table drawer, pulled out a shiny steel pair of Irish-8 handcuffs, and locked them on Kenzy's wrists behind her back.  Snap!

"Hey!" Kenzy reiterated, then tugged on her new steel bracelets, but it was too late.  Her hands were locked together atop her naked butt, palm-to-palm, and there was nothing she could do about it.

As it was clearly another example of something required by good form, Kenzy prepared to give her smug (gorgeous) blonde captor a piece of her mind, but her efforts were stifled (literally) as Gabby executed the next part of her Nefarious Plan by reaching back into the drawer.  There was a flash of hideously-purple silicon rubber, Gabby produced one of her family's mouth-filling "globs," and unceremoniously stuffed it into Kenzy's mouth!

"Glurmmmpfh!" Kenzy objected as, smiling evilly, Gabby made sure Kenzy's teeth were properly settled into the purple monstrosity's integrated trays and her tongue properly trapped, contained, and controlled.

Next, Gabby reached back into the drawer, yet again, produced a roll of Microfoam medical tape and a pair of bandage scissors, then snipped free a six or seven inch strip of the wide, thick, pliant, off-white tape.

This wasn't her first tape-gag rodeo, so Kenzy knew what was expected of her.  She bit down on the glob, closed her lips together over the hideous-purple glob's front panel, and waited sullenly as Gabby stretched and plastered the strip over her mouth and lower face, then smoothed it in place.  Satisfied with Kenzy's gagged condition and smiling in beatific beauty, Gabby returned the tape and scissors to the drawer and slid it closed.

Kenzy glared at her captor and tugged on her cuffs, but she didn't bother mewling through her no doubt photogenic tape-gag.  She suspected the Irish-8s, glob, and tape might be the very same combo she'd worn during her Leg-Shaving Ordeal down in the Dungeon-Maze... but at the moment her gams didn't really need another shave, so it was a safe bet that something else was about to happen.

Meanwhile, arms crossed under her boobs, once again, Gabby heaved a happy sigh.  "You're so pretty like that, darling." she cooed.  "Naked, bound, gagged, your fury contained but your green eyes flashing... sooo pretty."

Kenzy rolled the green eyes in question, then tossed her head to free a few strands of her ginger mop from her gagged face (and for added effect).  I got yer 'pretty' right here! she silently fumed.  Just you wait 'til it's my turn, you... blonde!

Gabby heaved another happy sigh, then took Kenzy by her left arm and led her away.

Defiant but compliant, naked, bound, and gagged, Kenzy "let" herself be led away.

Not unexpectedly, Kenzy's destination turned out to be the kitchen... followed by the basement... followed by the Gothic Not-So-Secret Door set in the back wall... followed by the Dungeon-Maze beyond.  This was only Kenzy's third sojourn into the subterranean labyrinth, so she still didn't have a clear idea of the layout.  It really was something of a maze... and Kenzy had come to suspect that on each of her previous visits Gabby might have purposely led her around in circles before stopping at their final destination, and she might be doing it again!  Kenzy wouldn't put it past her.  Anyway...

Gabby called a halt at one of the nondescript iron-studded timber doors, unlocked it with her Golden Barrel-Key—Click!—pulled it open, and dragged (led) her naked, bound, and gagged ginger captive across the threshold.

Kenzy had thought herself prepared for anything, but realized she was frozen in place, her green eyes wide and staring at what amounted to... an upright iron sarcophagus!

It was, indeed, standing with what were clearly its "head" and "shoulders" regions pointing up and its "feet" bolted to the floor; and either it had been made to contain a seven-foot giant or its walls were inches thick.  The general human outline was unmistakable, but there was no decoration or ornamental detailing, nothing to differentiate the thing's sex, define distinct limbs, or any other characteristics.  It was steel or possibly cast iron and had a textured, unpolished finish.  Molded into the right side of the humanoid form were a pair of massive hinges, and on the left Kenzy could see three vertically stacked, widely spaced, barrel-style keyholes—and centered over the "face" region of the head-lump was a six-inch diameter circular porthole-type window with its silvered and wire-reinforced glass "protected" by a grid of steel bars (as if to prevent the sarcophagus' hypothetical occupant from somehow breaking the glass and squeezing through the resulting opening).

Kenzy flinched as she heard a thud behind her.  It was Gabby closing the chamber door, of course—Click!—and locking it.

"According to the family journals," Gabby lectured as she began a slow, casual, orbiting stroll around the sarcophagus, "at the time this thing was commissioned there was a spirited debate as to whether the exterior should be plain... or sculpted in the manner of the infamous Iron Maiden of Nuremberg."  She paused and focused her smile on Kenzy.  "You know The Maiden, right?  The torture and execution device lined on the inside with lethal spikes?"  She continued her stroll.  "Obviously, they settled on 'plain.'  I think it would work either way, but this is pretty cool, don't ya think?"

Her green eyes still staring at the sarcophagus, Kenzy nodded absently, although truth be told she was still largely uncommitted on the 'cool' issue.

"Good," Gabby purred.  "There was also a minority opinion that it should be some sort of abstract Art Deco sculpture, but I think that would be less... sinister."
 
Kenzy nodded again.  She had to agree.  Plain or not, the sarcophagus was definitely sinister, whereas even a bad sculpture might be mistaken for art.  She watched as Gabby used her Golden Barrel-Key to unlock the sarcophagus' three locks; first the top—Click!—then the middle—Click!—and finally the bottom—Click!

"Ready?" Gabby asked, then took hold of a pair of convenient slots molded into the left-front edge of the sarcophagus and heaved open the sarcophagus.  Actually, Kenzy was pretty sure the villainous blonde was exaggerating the effort required for dramatic purposes.  Granted, the door or lid or hatch had to weigh a half-ton or more, yet it swung open smoothly.  The hinges were obviously quite well balanced.  Anyway, in the interior of the enclosure...

Kenzy froze in horror, her eyes wide, once again, and she almost mewled a startled yelp through her gag!

A woman was suspended in the interior of the decidedly cramped enclosure!  Arms at her sides and legs together, she was bound (squeezed) in an elaborate brown leather body-harness from ankles to shoulders, or more precisely, from her big toes to her shoulders.  She appeared to be naked, not counting the web of wide, thick, horizontal, diagonal, and vertical straps tightly binding roughly two-thirds of her body.  The straps binding the helpless woman's big toes together were much thinner, of course, as were the spider's-web-like lattice of leather squeezing her breasts and anchoring some sort of metal... things over her nipples.  In other breaking news, her fingers and hands were encased in tight bondage-mittens, a wide, thick steel collar was locked around her neck, and she was gagged with (and drooling around) one of the Nordberg's ventilated black silicon-rubber ball-gags with which Kenzy was already familiar.  Finally, a web of taut steel chains suspended her in sarcophagus' interior.  She "floated" in midair, not touching any of the enclosure's thick steel walls.

And oh-by-the-way—despite the intervening harness, collar, and gag—without question, the woman in question was none other than Nora Nordberg!  Her visible skin glistened with a patina of sweat, including her gorgeous gagged face, and her flaxen hair was damp and matted.

Seconds ticked by as Nora's wide, pale-blue eyes stared into Kenzy's wide, green eyes... then Kenzy tore her horrified and gagged gaze from the supposed head of the Nordberg household to the grinning Gabby (who also had pale-blue eyes).  "Mrrrf?" the naked, bound, gagged, but not sarcophagus-imprisoned ginger inquired.

"Those things clamped to her nipples are both vibrators and zappers," Gabby lectured, "but they're rather low powered, more an irritation or a gentle tease than actual punishment."  She pointed at Nora's crotch, which was cleaved by a wide strap.  "There are also vibrating and zapping intruders, fore and aft, and the pussy plunger is a particularly nasty piece of work.  It's a stack of three individually controlled sub-units that can pulse sequentially, from base to tip or randomly, and that goes for both functions, buzzing and zapping.  And unlike the nipple vibro-zappers, the crotch units vary in intensity from itch-you-can't-scratch all the way up to borderline bee-sting!"

Gabby's smile widened.  "You should see the old control board.  Dozens of switches and dials and slide-bars.  It's like an engineering panel out of a steampunk airship.  I believe it's still in one of the storerooms down here... somewhere.  Anyhow, once the technology was available, Nora computerized the whole shebang.  Now it all runs on a dedicated server tucked away upstairs."  She focused on Nora and her smile became rather coy.  "Of course, I doubt if our 'Disney Queen,' as Little Red calls her, knew it would be used to erotically torture her...  but here she is."

Kenzy continued staring at Nora... who continued staring at her.  Erotic torture? Kenzy thought in horror.  (A delicate quiver rippled between her legs.  Obviously, her pussy was equally horrified.)

"It's not so bad for short periods of time," Gabby continued, "but if somebody drags you out of your bed before midnight, strips you naked, ties you up and gags you, then drags you down here and locks you in this thing with the stimulation program on continuous replay for several hours, and with no end in sight... it's bad."  She focused on Nora's wide, desperate blue eyes and sweating, drooling, gagged face.  "Isn't that right, dear?"

Nora continued staring, but didn't make a sound.

Gabby shifted her smile back to Kenzy.  "Oh!  Did I mention that the steel collar around her neck is an obedience collar?  It's hardwired into the system, so she can't even scream when she feels the urge, much less waste energy attempting to file gagged grievances."

Kenzy continued staring at Nora.  She's been in that thing since... midnight?

Seconds passed... then Gabby closed the sarcophagus—Thud!—and engaged its three locks.  Click!  Click!  Click!

Kenzy's heart was hammering and she was panting through flaring nostrils.  This was taking The Game to a new and very scary level.  She wasn't at all sure she wanted to play.

"I'll let her simmer a few more hours," Gabby purred, "and don't worry, darling.  When I do let her out, she'll be tired... maybe exhausted... but none the worse for wear.  You'll see her at dinner."  And with that supposed reassurance, the Evil Blonde unlocked and opened the chamber door—Click.—took hold of Kenzy's right arm, led her out into the corridor, then closed and locked the Sarcophagus Chamber door behind them.  Thud.  Click.

"There you are," an unexpected voice announced, and Kenzy and Gabby turned to find Kimiko padding down the hallway towards them... and remarkably, Kimiko was completely naked!  Once she was in close proximity, the Japanese beauty pointed at Gabby.  "Strip," she commanded.

Without hesitation (but with visibly fumbling fingers) Gabby did just that.  Soon, the blonde's sandals, sundress du jour, and underwear were a neat stack in her hands.

Kimiko pointed to the wall near the Sarcophagus Chamber door.  "Leave them," she ordered, and Gabby gracefully stooped and left her clothes at the location indicated.  "Key."  Gabby removed the Golden Barrel-Key on its gold chain from around her neck and handed it to Kimiko.  "Side-by-side," Kimiko commanded, and Gabby scampered to stand beside Kenzy.  "Position."  Gabby raised her arms, placed her hands atop her head with her fingers interlaced, then went up on tip-toe, as if she was wearing invisible high-heeled shoes.  "That way," Kimiko instructed, pointing down the corridor to their left.

Still up on her toes and her hands still atop her head, Gabby minced/padded down the passageway—and after a brief pause, Kenzy mustered the presence of mind to scamper forward and accompany her.  The naked pair remained side-by-side with the naked Kimiko following close behind.

Kimiko directed them through the maze with single word commands—"Left," or "Right"—accompanied by light but no doubt stinging slaps across Gabby's buttocks.  Thankfully, at least for the moment, Kenzy's rump remained unmolested/neglected.

After several turns (and businesslike smacks on Gabby's butt) they arrived at a typical dungeon door of heavy timber studded with iron bolts, Kimiko called a halt (with a final smack), then stepped forward, unlocked, and opened the portal—Click!  Creeeee!—and the serenely smiling beauty directed her redheaded and blonde charges across the threshold.

The chamber beyond was typical in size (in Kenzy's limited Dungeon Maze experience).  A padded sitting mat was on the floor off to one side and numerous pulleys and ropes hung from the ceiling at various locations.  Against the far wall stood a large wooden rack festooned with a great many neat coils of hemp rope, and next to it was a typical Nordberg Mansion Gothic wooden chest of drawers.  There was no elaborate torture engine or any other furnishings.  Kenzy tentatively decided to christen the space The Rope Room.

Creeeee!  Thud!  Click!  That was Kimiko closing and locking the door, of course.

Kimiko-sama then turned and smiled at her students.  Gabby and Kenzy stared back.  A surreptitious glance to the side convinced Kenzy that Gabby was just as nervous as she was.  Go figure.  And oh-by-the-way, Gabby was still in the position ordered by their Sensi, hands atop her head and up on her toes.

Kimiko padded forward until she was face to gagged face with Kenzy.  "Welcome to your first lesson," she purred.  "Pay close attention."  She then padded to the rack, lifted a pair of rope bundles from their pegs, returned to her students, and set to work.

Sensi demonstrated her rigging expertise for the next hour... or possibly a few minutes more.

First came Kenzy.

Kimiko left the Irish-8 cuffs locked around Kenzy's wrists behind her back.  She also left in place Kenzy's Microfoam tape-gag as well as the underlying hideous-purple silicon-rubber Silencilicone glob-gag; however, she used hemp rope to bind the compliant (and semi-flabbergasted) ginger in what Sensi explained was an "ebi" or "shrimp-tie."  Essentially, Kenzy was sitting on the mat in the lotus position and slightly bent forward at the waist with her ankles crossed and bound.  Also, each of her thighs was lashed to its corresponding lower-leg in a "frog-tie."  Finally, a relatively simple upper-body harness pinned her upper-arms to her torso and linked the front of the harness to her ankle-bonds, enforcing a mild, forward-leaning crunch.  Apparently (Sensi explained) the "shrimp-tie" was her overall predicament, while the "frog-tie" referred to her permanently-folded-at-the-knees, splayed, and bound legs.

Sensi also lectured about the history and traditional use of the ebi/shrimp-tie.  Apparently, it was a recognized torture technique, with the victim bound leaning forward in an extreme crunch with her breasts pressed against calves—which Kimiko demonstrated by briefly pulling out all the slack in Kenzy's body-harness-to-ankle-bonds, then releasing the tension and allowing her student to straighten back up into her current semi-crunch.  Obviously, both stringency and time were the critical aspects of the torture issue.  Kenzy shuddered at the thought of enduring a truly stringent version of the shrimp-tie for hours and hours.

Anyway, naked, standing up on tip-toe, and with her hands atop her head, Gabby had watched the show... and then it was her turn, and completing Sensi's rope-composition for the unfortunate blonde took the overwhelming majority of the hour-plus of Kimiko's rigging demonstration.  Kenzy was... amazed?  Yes, she was amazed.  (See also terrified and thrilled.)
 
The final result: Gabby was suspended in mid-air by something like a dozen multi-strand runs of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal ropes, all stretched from her helpless body to various iron rings embedded in the chamber's walls, ceiling, and floor.  She was like a hapless fly trapped in an asymmetrical, even haphazard spider's web.  Her torso and head were about 45° from the vertical.  Her right arm was fully extended and more-or-less vertical, while her left arm was folded behind her back and lashed to her body with her hand and wrist pressed against her spine and just below her shoulder blades.  Her left leg was straight with her pointing foot hovering just above the floor.  Her right leg, however, was frozen in a diagonal high kick with her right foot also pointing.  A loop of rope cinched around her left big toe further enforced the arrangement.  Finally, her blond hair was gathered atop her head, wrapped in rope, and stretched upwards as part of the web, immobilizing her head.

The naked, hanging, utterly helpless blonde was also gagged and blindfolded, and her ears were stuffed with loose cotton!  The gag was of the triple cloth variety—stuffing, knotted-cleave, and over-the-mouth.  The blindfold was a wide, neatly folded cloth.  OTM-gag and blindfold in place, Gabby's face was entirely covered, with the exception of the tip of her cute little pink nose.  As for the ear-stuffing, once the left plug was in place, Kimiko had whispered in Gabby's right ear for something like a minute.  She then plugged the blonde's right ear as well and tightened the blindfold to make sure both cotton wads stayed in place.  Kenzy had been unable to hear whatever Sensi had said to Gabby, but she did notice that the entire time the one-sided discussion was happening, Kimiko's right hand was gently stroking and massaging Gabby's pussy!  Already stretched in her web suspension, Gabby had been unable to do more than desperately shiver and squirm as much as her rope bonds would allow, which was not much—and given the distraction of Kimiko's gliding hand, Kenzy had to wonder how Gabby was managing to absorb whatever it was Sensi was telling her.

And that was that.  Gabby was stretched in midair, still shivering and squirming in her tight bonds—naked, bound, gagged, blindfolded, and with her ears stuffed—and unable to move anything other than her feebly fluttering fingers and weakly wiggling toes (not counting her rope-bound right big-toe).

Meanwhile, Kimiko had settled into a full lotus on the mat, hauled Kenzy up onto her crossed legs and lap, and her right hand was now massaging Kenzy's pussy!  Yes, Kenzy!  The one with the neatly trimmed ginger pubic bush!  After an initial period of shivering and squirming... Kenzy decided it felt good.  That said, she continued squirming in her bonds and gazing at her blond, web-bound fellow-captive across the chamber.

"I know you're wondering what I told Gabrielle just now," Kimiko said quietly, then leaned close and whispered in Kenzy's right ear.  "I ordered her to bring herself to orgasm by force of will, and warned that if she disappointed me she would take Nora's place in the sarcophagus until Monday morning."

Kenzy's green-eyed, gagged stare remained focused on Gabby.  By force of will? she wondered.

"I realize you are skeptical," Kimiko purred.  "How is that possible?  I didn't even give poor Gabrielle so much as a simple crotch-rope to work with."  She leaned close and lightly kissed Kenzy's right ear while her hand continued gently stroking Kenzy's labia.  "I assure you," Sensi continued, "with the proper meditative techniques, it is possible, something you will learn in the course of your studies."

Kenzy was aware that Sensi was saying something about something, possibly orgasms, but found herself well ahead of Gabby's apparent progress on the road to ecstasy.  Kenzy's nipples were erect and throbbing.  Her pussy was also throbbing... in depth.  And finally... despite the objectively brief duration of Kimiko's efforts... the ginger captive writhed in an unmistakable orgasm!  "Mrrrrrmpfh!"

"Indeed," Kimiko chuckled as her hand continued to delicately slip, slide, and caress.

Kenzy continued shivering, squirming, (and throbbing) for several long seconds.  Obviously, Sensi's fingers were magic!  Either that or her pump had been really well primed.  Maybe both.

As for Gabby, she still seemed to be working on her orgasm.

"Nora has authorized me to tell you that she is prepared to extend your employment contract beyond the current agreed-upon list of tasks," Kimiko announced.

Kenzy blinked in surprise and shivered, still basking in the afterglow.  Say what?

"We'll watch Gabby for an hour or so," Kimiko continued, "then go release Nora from her sarcophagus.  I'll take the pair of you up to one of the sitting rooms, tie you to a pair of comfy chairs, and you can negotiate your new contract in detail.  Is that acceptable?"

Kenzy lifted her chin and stared into Kimiko's smiling face.  "Mrrrf?"

"Good.  We're agreed."

Meanwhile, Gabby was doing her best to complete Sensi's assignment; however, at least to Kenzy, it was unclear whether or not she was making significant progress.

Meanwhile, atop the mountain (meaning hill) overlooking the real mountains...

---

"Danica!" Sam shouted.  "Dan-i-ca!  Enough is enough!  Get your ass over here and untie me!"

The grinning blonde appeared, strolling from the pleasant shade of the cedar forest near the grassy clearing atop the destination peak of the girl's day hike, and and out into the direct sun... then smiled down at her hiking companion, friend, and prisoner.  Princess Danica was still wearing her boots, socks, shorts, and long-sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

Sam, on the other hand, was naked... totally naked... and she was spreadeagled on her back on a bed of grass, tied by her the wrists and ankles with single strands of coyote-brown paracord tautly stretched to four steel tent stakes hammered into the ground—and she'd been that way for at least an hour!  Maybe a little less.  Anyway, Sam was not happy.

Danica, however, was disgustingly pleased with herself.  Sam could tell.  She'd talked Sam into submitting to her current predicament with three winning arguments:

1.  It was part of Sam's "education."  Staked-out-under-the-hot-sun-in-the-middle-of-nowhere was a recognized Damsel-in-Distress trope, and Sam needed to check it off her bucket list.

2.  Sam was behind in her Freckle Redistribution Program.  She needed to clock more solar exposure if her boobs and bikini area were going to continue making progress.

3.  And then there was the issue of General Intellectual Curiosity.  Sam had to be wondering what it was like to be a Wilderness Captive, no matter how she was bound.  Right?

Granted, Reason #3 was arguably a variant of Reason #1, but nonetheless, sullen but compliant, Sam had removed her clothes and allowed herself to be stretched out on the grass and staked down.

But that was then.  This was now.

"Untie me, you... dweeb!" Sam demanded, tugging on the single strands of 550-pound-test brown cord binding her between the four stakes.  Unfortunately and inevitably this caused the cords to bite her wrists and ankles.  Danica had explained she'd had no choice but to use single strands to bind Sam's outstretched and splayed limbs in order to maximize the square inches of solar exposure while simultaneously minimizing the square inches shielded from the sun's freckilizing radiation.  The wire-thin cord also had the desirable side-effect of discouraging energetic struggling, thus encouraging Sam to minimize the strain on the four lengths of paracord and the tent stakes.  Of course, it was entirely possible Sam might self-inflict angry red marks on her wrists and ankles, but the sting of the thin cords was a constant reminder to minimize her escape efforts and thus avoid such a disfiguring fate.  At least her grinning blonde dweeb of a captor had used non-compacting knots.

"Too soon," Danica purred, knelt beside her grumpy, stretched-out prisoner, pulled a tube of sunscreen from the right back pocket of her shorts, anointed her hands with a generous dollop, then gave Sam's entire exposed body a thorough coating, with the exceptions of her still visibly under-freckled breasts and equally semi-dappled bikini-area.

Sam wasn't gagged, as that would have raised the issue of unequal facial sun exposure, so she could have continued voicing her displeasure and making snarky remarks, but decided to glower in stony silence instead—and she continued glowering as Danica finished coating her body with sunscreen, produced a tube of tanning lotion, and began coating her boobs, replenishing the lotion on her hands as needed, and then commenced anointing Sam's bikini region!  The helpless, naked ginger managed not to flinch and/or squirm as any and all of this happened.  Sam was a grumpy and sullen but undeniably virtuous and stoic captive.

"There," Danica sighed, smiling down at Sam's glistening body, boobs, and lower-belly/crotch triangular area as she capped and returned the tubes of lotion to the back pocket of her shorts.  "Now, there's something important we need to discuss."

"After you untie me, of course," Sam muttered.

"Hush," Danica scolded.  "Now, I have it on good authority that Mother is about to offer your sister a new contract that will add several vaguely worded items to the already established to-do list and, in fact, make your current employment more or less open-ended."

"Huh?" Sam said profoundly.

"This is a unique opportunity," Danica grinned.  "Rather than automatically acquiesce to your big sister's decision—which will, of course, be a resounding yes!—you should hold out for concessions."

"Concessions?" Sam frowned.  "Like what?"

Danica's smile broadened.  "For one thing, you should demand unlimited access to the subterranean dungeons.  Maybe even ask for your own copy of the Golden Barrel-Key!  Mother won't give you one, of course, but your fall back position will be what we—meaning you—really want: unrestricted dungeon access!"

Sam's frown became thoughtful... then she smiled.  "What if I just say 'no way' to the entire thing?"

Danica rolled her eyes.  "Get serious.  Of course you're going to say yes, like your sister, but this is an opportunity.  You should milk it for all you can get."  She gave Sam's left boob a gentle squeeze.  "So to speak."

"Well... when you put it that way..."

Danica giggled and climbed to her feet.  "Excellent!  Now, I know you're going to be at least a little sunburned by the time we get home, but we'll pause for another skinny-dip under the waterfall on the way down, and tonight I'll put you to bed with plenty of lotion and in a tight sheet-wrap to help you recover."

Sam watched as Danica strolled back into the shade of the cedars.  "Danica!" she complained.

"I'm going to get my camera and take some reference photos," Danica called back over her right shoulder.  "This will make a great painting."

"Danica, no!"  Sam tugged on her bonds—Ow!—then ignored the sharp sting at her wrists and ankles, heaved a sigh, relaxed in her cruel bonds, and closed her eyes.  An open-ended contract, eh?  Wow.

The pitiless sun continued beating down on Sam's naked, helpless body, causing her to sweat... and generated freckles.

Epilogue

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And they all lived happily ever after.  To be more specific...

The Munro Sisters did, indeed enter into a new contract with the Nordbergs.  In short, they became the mansion's resident maintenance staff, as well as Nora's go-to resource for the repair and refurbishment of the family's "Special Furnishings" in the basement and various other rooms.  The ginger siblings remained in their guest bedrooms—which now became their official bedrooms—and took full control of the workshop near the garage.  There was a gradual upgrade of the shop's various workstations, and soon the Munro Sisters became a regional handy-woman resource for the Nordberg's extensive circle of friends and acquaintances.

Sam negotiated hard for free access to the Dungeon Maze, but was only partially successful.  She was granted exploration privileges, but not a copy of the coveted Golden Barrel-Key, and was allowed through the Not-So-Secret Door only with a Nordberg Family Escort.  That meant "exploration" only happened with Sam naked, bound, gagged, and with a blonde handler/tour-guide.  It was the same deal her big sister had with Gabby, but Sam considered it less than ideal.  On the other hand, Danica considered it entirely ideal... except on those occasions when both Sam and herself were naked, bound, and gagged and Gabby was the handler/tour-guide.

Kimiko continued her education of the Munro Sisters, and Kenzy and Sam's rigging skills expanded and improved at a steady rate.

Expansion and improvement was also visible with respect to the gingers' total freckle density and distribution.  In only a matter of months their earlier freckle-free zones had faded into all-over "freckle-tans."  The Nordbergs and Kimiko were quite pleased, but neither Kenzy nor Sam considered it a particularly big deal.

Danica's series of oil paintings, "Gingers in Bondage," was a critical and popular success, meaning her canvases and prints of restricted portraits of Sam and Kenzy sold at a steady rate.  Her artistic efforts continued.

And oh-by-the-way, Kenzy accepted the personal professional challenge of sussing out what was wrong with the Incredibly Overly-Complicated Rack down in the Incredibly Overly-Complicated Rack Room.  She repaired its broken parts, restored it to full function, and even improved on the design, hopefully ensuring its continued smooth (and diabolical) operation!

So... what did the Incredibly Overly-Complicated Rack do, other than stretch its "victim?"  Let's just say it was decidedly cruel and unusual, involved nipple-clamps and labial-clamps attached to long wires, with a great deal of prolonged, slow stretching... followed by relaxation of the wires... followed by more prolonged, slow stretching.  Kenzy was quite proud of her engineering accomplishment, but as Gabby had been Kenzy's test subject during the long, protracted process, the usually dominant blonde was not.

And then there was the unspeakably terrifying torture machine Sam and Danica discovered in one of the locked chambers in the back of the Dungeon-Maze... but that's a story for another day.

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Chapter 9

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