by Van © 2025
		Chapter 3

Meanwhile, in the general vicinity of The Master (Mistress) Bedroom...

---

Faith, Eppi, and Enid were secure in the knowledge that The Pumpkin Palace was in an entirely different wing of Grey Mansion from their mothers' Master and guest bedrooms, and therefore their maternal units would have absolutely no idea what their beloved daughters were up to—but what they failed to appreciate was that the aforementioned Master and guest bedrooms were in an entirely different wing of Grey Mansion from The Pumpkin Palace, and therefore they had no idea what their beloved mothers were up to.

Robyn (Eppi's mom, aka "Birdie") left her bedroom a few minutes after 10PM and crept down hallway to the Master Bedroom.  She was wearing a short, frilly, whisper-thin, white negligee and a matching but full-length robe, both with plunging necklines.  Her feet were bare and she was very much aware that she was channeling Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) in The Avengers, the British TV series from the 60's, specifically, the episode set in a Scottish castle.  Given the near darkness and Gothic Revival architecture and decor, it was unavoidable.

As she neared the door of the guest bedroom of Roslyn (Enid's mom, aka "Rosie")... it abruptly opened and Rosie herself appeared.  She was wearing a set of long-sleeve and full-length silk pajamas in salmon pink with very cute black and white cartoon puppies.  Juvenile?  Maybe, but who was Robyn to judge?

"Boo!"  Rosie chuckled.  "Where's your candelabra?"

"My what?" Birdie demanded with a tolerant frown.

"Your candelabra," Rosie reiterated with a lopsided grin.  "You should be carrying a candelabra... and the candle flames should be flickering in the moaning drafts leaking past the rattling windowpanes being pelted with rain from the thunderstorm raging outside.  Also, long, thin, drifting and fluttering white curtains.  There should be thin curtains fluttering in an eerie manner."

Birdie rolled her blue eyes.  "Yeah, well you should have deathly pale skin, sharp fangs, and be wearing a skintight, full-length, black gown, with cleavage."  She started walking (padding) again.

"Point taken," Rosie giggled and hurried to catch up.

"Really," Birdie huffed, eyeing her friend's pj's and deciding to be judgemental after all.  "Puppies?  What were you thinking?"

"I like puppies," Rosie responded defensively.

They'd arrived at the massive and ornately carved door to the Master Bedroom.  Birdie knocked quietly, then opened the door without waiting for an answer.  They padded across the threshold and Birdie closed the door behind them.

Oh-by-the-way, almost all the doors in the living areas of Grey Mansion are ornately carved, but the Master Bedroom was an especially egregious example of Gothic Revival excess.  Trees, birds, winged cherubs, woodland creatures, grass, and flowers were involved.

Also oh-by-the-way, the doors in the basement (and the Dungeons beyond the Secret Door off the Wine Cellar) are not carved, but are mostly heavy timbers with hefty iron straps and studded with iron bolts.  Very Medieval, as might be expected.

Nicole (Nikki), Mistress of Grey Mansion, was reclined on her back on her gigantic four-poster bed and reading the latest issue of Vanity Fair magazine.  She was wearing a long, very elegant, blue-gray, silk robe, and (apparently) nothing underneath.  She beamed a welcoming smile as her friends appeared.  (Nikki's wicked plans for the evening were on track!)

Hands on hips, Birdie stared evenly at their hostess.  "Well... we're here.  Make your pitch, but I'm still not buying it."

Rosie tilted her head to the side, crossed her hands over her breasts, and favored their hostess (and good friend) with a saucy smirk.  "I agree.  You want to resume the EAP-game from Cambridge?  Here?  Now?  Really?"

"Yes... and no," Nikki chuckled as she closed her copy of Vanity Fair and placed it on the right bedside table.

"Stunningly logical, as always," Birdie muttered, rolling her pale-blue eyes.

Nikki crossed her legs into a semi-lotus and smiled broadly.  "I'm proposing a modified version of the EAP-game.  Remember how we used to joke about how smashing it would be to sneak into the crypt under All-Saints Church 'cause it would be so deliciously spooky to be naked, bound, and gagged down there with no one suspecting a thing?"

"As I recall, Chesterton Tower was also suggested as a suitable venue," Rosie purred, "assuming the rumors about secret subterranean vaults were true."

"Well," Birdie intoned, "as I recall, reason prevailed and we confined our hobby activities to the flat."

Rosie nodded (still smiling).  "Better safe than being discovered in a University building naked, bound, and gagged and getting ourselves expelled or detained to help the Police with their inquiries."

Birdie finally smiled (a little.)  "Still, it would have been, uh, bloodcurdling."

"Yes," Rosie agreed.  "Very chilling."

"Terrifying," Birdie agreed, then focused on Nikki's smiling visage.  "Wait... I know where this is going.  You have a basement... and this place is spooky, somewhat, here and there."

"Gothic is always spooky," Rosie nodded.

"I have more than a basement," Nikki purred.

"More?" Birdie demanded.  "How more?  I mean, what more?  I mean... explain yourself."

Still smiling, Nikki gracefully climbed to her bare feet and straightened her robe.  (It was now abundantly clear that she was nude under the shimmering silk, which surprised neither Birdie nor Rosie).

"I refuse to spoil the surprise," Nikki intoned, "and... as only I know the details of what's down below... we'll have to modify the rules."

"Why?" Birdie demanded.  "I mean how?"

Rosie leaned close to her fellow brunette. "Stop doing that," she said quietly.

"Shut it," Birdie muttered back.

Nikki ignored the exchange.  "I'll have to be the exclusive binder for round one, with you two as the bindees, of course."

"Well," Birdie huffed, "isn't that convenient."

"Actually," Rosie said, "it's expedient."

Birdie opened her mouth to object... then heaved a sigh instead.  "I suppose it is."

Rosie focused on her fellow proposed/potential bindee.  "So... we want to do this?"

Birdie sighed again.  "I suppose."  Then, like Rosie, she turned and favored Nikki with an even stare.

"Brilliant!" Nikki grinned.  "Okay, ladies... strip!"

"Both of us?" the brunettes demanded in unison.

"Both of you," Nikki confirmed.

Birdie crossed her arms over her chest.  "Why not one tonight and the other some other night?"

"Yeah!" Rosie agreed.

Nikki's smile broadened and she made her winning argument:  "Because."

Birdie and Rosie exchanged another look... then began to disrobe.

During their Cambridge years it had become something of a tradition for the designated bindee of a given EAP session of a given EAP round to suffer the process of their binding with the a stiff upper lip.  Stoicism was the order of the day (meaning night), so Birdie and Rosie allowed Nikki to do what had to be done unimpeded.  They didn't complain or protest either; however, it was clear they were not especially enthusiastic about their progressive loss of freedom as it happened.

When their blonde binder was satisfied, both brunette bindees were naked, bound, gagged, and tethered in exactly the same manner.  The details were as follows:

(1)  NAKED.  They were.

(2)  BOUND.  Nikki expended exactly one generous coil of conditioned hemp rope on each of her bindees, using what is called the "kimono" or tasuki-tie technique.  It was a simplified version of the box-tie with horizontal doubled ropes framing Birdie and Rosie's breasts and yoking their shoulders, but without pinning their upper arms to their sides.  As with the box-tie, their arms were folded behind their backs, but rather than their forearms being looped with rope, their wrists were raised past the horizontal, crossed, and lashed together against their spines.  The key knots were just under the napes of their necks but well beyond the tips of their fluttering fingers.  Untying anything was impossible.  Escape was impossible.  Oh the drama!  (It had been a while since their last play session for both bindees, and they had to admit it was... thrilling.)

(3)  GAGGED.  Nikki used two of her collection of black leather panel-gags with red silicon-rubber tongue-trapping and bite-protecting gobstoppers, her preferred model whenever she silenced herself.

(4)  TETHERED.  Nikki released the hitches securing two additional coils of conditioned hemp, looped a free end around each of her bindees' necks, then tied non-compacting knots.  The result was two helpless naked, bound, and gagged captives with simple rope collars with long dangling free ends eminently suitable for tethering.  Next, Nikki positioned Birdie with her boobs and belly against the hefty and elaborately turned right lower bedpost, loosely looped the remaining rope several times around Birdie's neck and the bedpost, then tied a quick-release knot where Birdie couldn't possibly reach it.  Then, Rosie met a similar fate pinned against the left lower bedpost.

Nikki was quite satisfied with her efforts.  Neither of her naked, bound, and gagged friends would be going anywhere.  She smiled (gloated) for several seconds, then turned and padded into the Master Bedroom's walk-in closet.

Birdie and Rosie watched their captor depart... then squirmed, wiggled, writhed, and generally tested their kimono-tie bonds.  They didn't bother testing their gags.  The mouth-plugging devices were obviously more than up tor the task of muffling any vocalizations.

Minutes passed... three or four... which was infuriating.

Eventually both bindees gave up testing their bonds and settled in to wait.  They knew their binder would return at some point... and finally she did.

Nikki strolled back into the main bedroom and Birdie and Rosie immediately noted that she'd changed clothes.  (It was hard to miss.)  The Mistress of Grey Mansion was now wearing a pair of black, knee-length riding boots (with high heels) that laced up the front—a pair of creme-colored jodhpurs—a black leather corset-belt—a white short-sleeve blouse with a plunging neckline (and was therefore showing significant cleavage)—and finally, a pair of long, black, kid-leather opera gloves.  It was a very credible costume for cosplaying U-89, Sweet Gwendoline's sometimes rescuer, sometimes "escapology instructor," and the Top in their relationship.  Nikki was even swinging a black riding crop!  Only Nikki's lack of brown hair cut in a longish pageboy (with bangs) spoiled the impersonation.

Nikki struck a pose for her captive audience.  "You like?" she inquired with a saucy grin.  "I have several different costumes in my special wardrobe," she gushed, then did a graceful pirouette.  "This one is appropriate for the evening."

Birdie and Rosie exchanged a well-gagged and disgusted look, rolling their eyes for emphasis.  When Nikki was in one of her gloating moods she could be insufferable, and all they could do was stand there and go with the flow.

Nikki slipped the retaining strap of the crop over her right wrist and let it dangle free, untied Birdie and Rosie's tethers from their bedposts, then tied the end of Rosie's tether to the nexus of Birdie's kimono-tie bonds, leaving about four feet of slack between bindees.  She then restored her grip on the riding crop and gave it a dramatic swish, took a firm grip on the end of Birdie's tether, her smile broadened, and she turned and stepped off, returning to the walk-in closet.

The closet? Birdie frowned, then the rope in Nikki's hand went taut—"Mrrk!"—and she had no choice but to follow.

Next, Rosie's tether snapped taut—"Mrrf!"—and Nikki and her coffle-of-two of naked, bound, and gagged captives entered the closet.

There was method to Nikki's madness.  The blond binder led her brunette bindees past the cabinets, drawers, shoe-racks, and racks of hanging clothes to the triptych of full-length mirrors at the far end of the space.  And then—to Birdie and Rosie's further amazement—Nikki/U-89 thumbed a hidden switch and the center mirror swung open like a secret door (because it was a secret door), thereby revealing a narrow corridor beyond!

Grey Mansion purportedly had subterranean Dungeons and Torture Chambers hidden down below, and now it was revealed that the very walls of the main structure were honeycombed with Secret Passageways?  Who knew?

Well, obviously Nikki knew... and now Birdie and Rosie knew as well.

Nikki and her naked, bound, gagged, tethered, and amazed coffle entered the dark passage... and the mirror/secret-door swung closed behind them with a solid thud and an authoritative click.

Naked, kimono-tied, panel-gobstopper-gagged, and tethered together by rope collars, Birdie and Rosie padded in Nikki's wake.  The two-foot-wide passageway was 100% gray stone—floor, walls, and angled ceiling.  Dim light shone from the flickering flames of widely spaced fixtures designed to look appropriately Medieval, but it was obvious (probable) they were all LEDs.  The kinky parade made turn after turn... and finally came to a spiral staircase leading both up and down.

"Watch your steps, ladies," Nikki cautioned, "but not to worry, we'll take it slow."  Her voice echoed eerily in the close darkness.

Birdie and Rosie didn't bother trying to answer, but the bindees did pad carefully as they entered the staircase and followed their designated binder down the twisting stairs.

Nikki did set a sedate pace, as she'd promised.  They passed floor after floor... after floor... after floor... and finally the staircase bottomed out on another stone corridor, part of a labyrinth of dimly lit gray stone punctuated by doors of heavy timber with elaborate iron hinges, studded with iron bolts, and secured with heavy-duty bolts, some of which included antiquated locking mechanisms.

Having no real choice, Birdie followed Nikki as she continued forward, making left and right turns, seemingly at random.  Rosie, who also had no real choice, brought up the rear.

How the Mistress of Grey Mansion was navigating her way through this creepy maze Birdie had no idea.  There were minor differences in the various doors' iron hinges and straps, but nothing as mundanely useful as signs or numbers.  Then again, it was Nikki's labyrinth, so Birdie decided it wasn't all that surprising that she knew her way around... or seemed to.

They finally arrived at their apparent destination, a door much like all the others.  Nikki pulled a large antique key from her jodhpurs pocket, unlocked the door, drew the latch—Snick!—opened the door, then led her coffle into the chamber beyond.

It was entirely of stone, as expected, and was about fifteen by ten feet with a twelve foot ceiling.  The only light came from a pair of iron braziers, one tucked into each of the far corners.  Obviously, both had been blazing fires at one point but had burned down to piles of brightly glowing coals.  Either that or it was another cleverly crafted facsimile using LEDs, which both Birdie and Rosie considered much more probable.  In any case, the air in the chamber was stifling hot—not sauna hot, but hot.  All of that the bindees took in quickly, but mostly they were staring (in alarm) at what else was in cell.

A rectangular cage of thick iron bars, hand-forged in appearance, stood upright in the middle of the chamber.  It had very narrow sides, was about seven feet tall, and it would be a close fit for one occupant and a very close (if not impossible) fit for two!

Birdie and Rosie continued staring at the cage as Nikki closed and locked the chamber door behind them  She then untied the end of Rosie's rope leash from Nikki's kimono-tie bonds... untied Nikki's rope collar and leash altogether... then unlocked the cage door and swung it open.  This required turning the key in three separate locking mechanisms, the first near the top of the cage, the second at waist level, and the third near the floor.  Nikki then smiled (wickedly) at her bindees... and (ominously) readied her riding crop for use.

Gulp!

Nikki's intent was clear, and neither Birdie nor Rosie wanted any part of it!  However, to say the least, their options were limited.  The Mistress of Grey Mansion used the crop to point first at Rosie—"Eeny"—then Birdie—"Meeny"—then back to Rosie—" Miny"—and finally the fluttering tip of the crop returned to rest on Birdie's left nipple—"Moe!  Tag... you're it."

"Mrrrpfh!" Birdie objected as Nikki took hold of her arm and dragged her to the open cage, forced her inside, and swung the door closed!  Clank!  "Mrrrm!"  Birdie wiggled and squirmed and fought her bonds as Nikki secured the cage door's three locks, from top to bottom.  "Nrrrf!"  Birdie tried pushing her shoulders and kicking her bare feet against the bars and cross-bars, but the hinges and locks didn't even rattle.  Also, she noted the base of the cage was solidly bolted to the stone floor at multiple locations.  Tipping it over was not an option... not that abruptly finding herself traumatically horizontal would have improved her situation.

Birdie quickly found she had no more that an inch of wiggle-room in any given direction, but she continued testing the limits of Nikki's insidious iron enclosure with vigor.  She'd decided she really would rather pass on session one/round one of this new version of their old EAP-game.

"Mrrrrrfffh!"

Meanwhile, Nikki had coiled Birdie's former rope leash into a neat bundle and secured it to a small D-ring on the side of her corset-belt.  She then retrieved the end of Rosie's leash and grasped it in her left hand, then turned to smile (gloat) and enjoy the Birdie-in-the-Cage Show.

Naked, kimono-tied, panel-gagged (with silicon-rubber gobstopper), and with the rope-collar and leash around her neck, Rosie stood next to their captor and watched as well.

Meanwhile, Birdie was, indeed, putting on a show.  Wriggling, writhing, twisting her naked and bound body, and repeatedly pressing said body against the cage's thick, closely-spaced bars—her pale blue eyes wide with distress—her smooth, flawless, toned skin beginning to glow (meaning glisten with sweat)—Birdie did her best to escape.  She hadn't been pointlessly struggling for long, but the air temperature in the chamber was somewhat elevated, as previously mentioned.  Hence the glow.

"Well, I'll leave you to it," Nikki purred.  "As this is a new iteration of the game and we're all out of practice, I'll be generous and give you more than one hour to escape.  How much more?"  Her smile turned truly evil.  "We'll see.  I haven't quite made up my mind."

"Nrrrrrm!" Birdie pleaded as Nikki turned and strolled to the chamber door, opened it, and left her to her fate!

Rosie's leash had snapped taut and she'd had no choice but to pad in Mistress Grey's wake, but as she was crossing the chamber's threshold she turned back and directed a sympathetic and forlorn gagged frown in her fellow brunette's direction.

With a final gloating smile, Nikki closed and locked the chamber door—Thud!  Click!—and Birdie was alone, naked, kimono-bound, panel-gobstopper-gagged, and closely caged in thick, heavy iron with no choice but to stand upright and... escape.

She was already regretting agreeing to restart the EAP-game... and was continuing to glow... meaning sweat... and she seriously doubted the lubrication provided by perspiration would do much if anything to aid her efforts to wiggle out of Nikki's rope-work... but at least she wasn't cold.

Well, Birdie thought, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Meanwhile, back in The Pumpkin Palace...

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Heads are gonna to roll! Eppi fumed silently.

Immediately after Faith had set the one-hour timer on her iPhone (with "Chalet" chosen as Eppi's "Official Ring-tone," without her consultation or acceptance), Faith and Enid had solemnly agreed that they'd all be more comfortable under the covers of Faith's four-poster bed.  A scurry of scrambling, dragging, and rearranging ensued.  The final result was Eppi lying on her side between Faith and Enid.  They all had one pillow each, and the top-sheet and lightweight summer blanket were pulled up to their shoulders.

Eppi was still naked, hogtied, and stuff/cleave-gagged (of course).  She'd been almost entirely passive during the positional revisions.  She hadn't even complained, but given her bound and gagged condition that was hardly important.

Enid was still wearing her skimpy, pale-blue, and gauze-thin baby-doll nightie.

Faith had removed her happi-coat and was now as naked as the evening's bindee (but was neither hogtied nor stuff/cleave-gagged).

Then, Faith and Enid had agreed that they might as well "rest their eyes" while Eppi tried and failed to escape her bonds.  So, Faith reached for a small touchscreen remote and turned off the overhead lights.  A couple of weakly glowing greenish nightlights down near the floorboards were now the bedroom's only light source.

Eppi squirmed and tugged on her bonds... now and then.  It was what she was supposed to be doing, but there really wasn't much point.  She knew she wouldn't be escaping from Faith's hogtie..

Time passed... followed by more time.

And then—Finally!—the dulcet notes of "Chalet" wafted from Faith's iPhone where it rested on the nightstand.  The hour had passed and Eppi had failed miserably as an escape artiste, but she was about to be untied!  Right?

Faith muttered something incomprehensible, then groped for the chiming phone... flailed about until she succeeded in canceling the alarm... then, heaved a quiet sigh and relaxed.

Several additional seconds passed... with neither of Eppi's bed-companions making any moves to untie her rope bonds or remove her gag.

Okay, Eppi silently fumed, hilarious.

"Mrrrmf!"

Eppi's complaint was ignored.  By all appearances Faith and Enid were asleep!  The failed-escapee/bindee considered making more of a ruckus and waking them up... but that would be rude.  That said...

Heads are gonna roll! Eppi silently fumed.

Meanwhile, in The Master (Mistress) Bedroom...

---

Nikki and Rosie were semi-reclined on the bedroom's gigantic four-poster bed with their backs against the pillows piled against the ornately carved headboard.  They were snuggling together, side by side, with the covers pulled up to somewhere between their navels and their exposed breasts.

That was entirely Nikki's fault, of course.  Soon after returning to the bedroom (after abandoning Poor Birdie to her cruel fate down below), Mistress Grey had led Rosie to the bed, "forced" her to recline with a "gentle" shove, then untied Rosie's collar/leash and used it, together with Birdie's former collar/leash rope, to frog-tie Rosie's legs, thus leaving her with her knees bent, her heels against the bottom of her buttocks, and with tight ladder-ties of conditioned hemp making sure they stayed that way.

Then, Nikki strolled into the walk-in closet... several seconds passed with Rosie wiggling and squirming her naked, kimono-tied, panel-gagged, and frog-tied body on the bed... and finally Nikki reemerged.  Her U-89 costume was gone and in its place was... nothing.

The Mistress of Grey Mansion was nude... gloriously nude.

Rosie watched as her naked hostess/captor piled pillows against the headboard, then dragged her helpless body until her back was against half the pillows.  She continued watching as Nikki picked up a tablet computer and started tapping and gliding her way through various menus.  As she did so, the overhead lighting slowly faded to nothing... while across the bedroom a quiet motor hummed and a very large framed painting rose towards the ceiling... thus revealing an equally large high-definition flat-screen TV.  It was perfectly positioned for viewing from the bed.

While Nikki was climbing onto the bed and pulling the covers over most of both her own and Rosie's bodies, the TV screen began to glow and resolved into a perfect image of... Birdie!!

Birdie was still naked, kimono-tied, panel-gagged, and incarcerated in the close confines of the tall, narrow, iron cage down in Nikki's Secret Dungeons.  The image was dim, but the bedroom was otherwise dark and Nikki and Rosie could make out every detail... including the beads of sweat now forming and occasionally dripping down Birdie's skin.  To be clear, the Birdie-in-the-cage appeared to be somewhat overheated, but was nowhere near in danger of heatstroke.  The thermostat in her dungeon might be set too high, something Rosie knew first hand, but the chamber was neither a sauna nor a steam room.  It was just... overly toasty.

Anyway... it was obvious that in the cell down below a sophisticated camera was hidden above the doorway with its lens peeping through a crack in the stonework.  The light level in Birdie's dungeon was very low, but the watchers on the bed in the dark Master Bedroom still had an excellent view of her plight.  The two pairs of blue eyes up in the bedroom (Rosie and The Evil Nikki's) could easily follow every detail of the bindee's weak, ineffectual struggles.

Rosie was well aware that even if her helpless friend succeeded in freeing herself from Nikki's rope-work, squirming her arms, hands, and fingers high enough to unbuckle and remove her panel-gag (including its nasty molded gobstopper) would be very difficult; and in any case, she'd still be locked—triply locked—in the cramped confines of Nikki's iron cage.

And then, Rosie's blue eyes popped wide and she flinched in her bonds!  "Mrrrf?"  Smiling wickedly, Nikki had snuggled close to her bed-mate, gently cupped Rosie's right breast, and was giving it a gentle squeeze!

"Wait 'til you see what I've got in store for you tomorrow night," Nikki whispered in Rosie's ear.

Down in her dungeon cell and cage, oblivious to what was happening upstairs in the Master Bedroom, Birdie wiggled and twisted in her bonds... a little... and continued to sweat... a little.