The Initiation 2/?
Disclaimer: I don't own Inception or its characters! Don't sue me!
Saito doesn't give Ariadne her clothing back when he finally lets her up from the table. Instead he gives her a dress that makes her look at him with wide eyes.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me. Why can't I wear my clothes?"
"Put on the dress Ariadne," Saito is growling and for the absolute life of her Ariadne can't understand why she is shrinking away from him "and I told you about the language. Now you won't get your panties back."
She almost wails out an indignant remark but the look on the older man's face gives her pause. No panties won't be so hard to bear, even if she's dressed like a godforsaken cupcake. It takes a moment but Ariadne relents, and her eyes fall from Saito's face, she can feel the satisfaction rolling off him in waves.
'It's not that bad' she reasons with herself, slipping the soft dress over her head.
'It's white, it could have been pink, and the bows are black, they could have been polka-dotted, it looks like it will reach my knees and has a built in petticoat thing, so the lack of underwear isn't going to be an issue, and its got really cool sleeves and a high collar. I can work with this, it's going to be all right.'
And it would have been all right had she not have finished buttoning the dress and looked at herself in the mirror. Brown eyes widened in abject horror at the site of herself - she looked like a thirteen year old again, not a twenty three year old woman! Turning to and fro doesn't help to sooth the growing dread residing in the pit of her stomach, either.
Flat in her hands, the dress looked longer - much longer. But on, with the sash tied the right way and having larger breasts than she gave herself credit for - the dress rested at mid thigh.
"This must be a dream…" She whispered, sure it was just some fucked up trick the team was playing on her, but Saito held the truth in his palm, waiting for her to test it.
The pawn stood short and proud in the middle of his hand, light glinting off its polished brass surface as her fingers curled around it. Setting the totem down on the table, Ariadne took a deep breath, said another prayer and flicked it - horrified eyes only widening more as it fell over with a soft "clunk".
"Satisfied?" Saito drawled, sleeves back in place and suit coat on, not a wrinkle in sight.
The little architect could only nod mutely and cringe visibly when Saito took away her comfortable converse and laid before her feet a pair of patent leather mary janes. She looked up to protest, to plead, but a stern look silenced her, and she just knelt down to strap on the offending footwear.
Saito lead her back to the car after that, and all was silent until they stopped again. It couldn't have been more than a twenty minute drive and already Saito was leaning forward, a dark serious expression pinning Ariadne to her seat.
"When we leave this car, little architect, you will not speak. If you are spoken to, reply respectfully, succinctly. Address those speaking to you as Sir or Ma'am. From the moment you step out of the car you will walk two steps behind me on my right, only addressing me as Danno*. Furthermore you will avert your eyes from the faces of your, now, betters. If you don't do this Ariadne, I will make Cobb fire you, and see to it that you never acquire a real architecture job."
Shock lined the small woman's face, her brain shutting down nearly all thought. Her brown eyes were wide with disbelief as she scanned the man before her, seeking some sign that this was all just a terrible joke. No sign was forth coming however, and Ariadne hung her head, nodding silently - humiliation heating her cheeks as she was ushered out of the car.
Together the pair walked down the street, the architect dutifully stationed to the business man's right and two steps behind. There was no talking, and Ari only found her way down the mildly busy street by training her eyes to the heels of Saito's shoes. Their gate was reminiscent of when the architecture student was late for class, no stops or detours just short cuts. She lost herself to the sound of their shoes meeting the cobbled pavement - and nearly barreled into Saito when he suddenly stopped.
"Go inside the store, ask for Francis , tell the you are the Saito appointment. When you are done, go to the patisserie at the end of this street. I will be waiting for you, so do not dawdle. Is that clear, girl?"
Ariadne fought to keep her cheeks from flaming up in humiliation, she could hear the whispers of the consumers who passed, hearing snippets of Saito's directions. Fearing a more humiliating errand, she lifted her face slightly and spoke.
"The directions are clear, Danno." It was half a whisper and half a choked sob as Ariadne directed herself to the store in question. She did not even think to look at the name, so when she looked up and was faced with creations made from leather, glass, pvc, silk and many other materials she was a bit confused. For a moment she wandered, moving between racks and shelves toward the desk she saw hidden in the back.
Some of these creations were meant to be clothing, others were instruments she was familiar with from dorm mates and explicit stories. It made her face heat, and sent a jolt of electricity through her body, the girl barely noticed when a young man stepped from behind the desk.
"Do you need something Miss?" He drawled in a thickly accented English, snorting when the potential customer jumped. Ariadne swung around to face the voice, chocolate eyes wide when they settled on him before remembering her orders. Tilting her face down a bit she quickly spoke.
"I am the Saito appointment Sir."
"Wonderful, and right on time. Saito is always punctual, come with me m'dear and lets get you out of the horribly fitted dress."
From there it was a whirlwind, Ariadne was stripped, random articles of clothing pulled onto her body, cinched, prodded and pinned. The woman felt harassed and vaguely embarrassed that this clothier was seeing more of her than any other man had. At first she'd covered her petite breasts only to have her hands slapped away and the business man tsk at her "childish antics".
It could have been minutes or hours later when she was left standing in a blood red chiffon blouse, a black and gold corset, and equally black leather pencil skirt that ended at her calves and ankle boots. Ariadne breathed a sigh of relief to be rid of the dress and mary janes, the ensemble had made her feel childish and meek, though even in the new cloths she doubted she would be able to stand up to Saito. Not when her future after this damnable job was hanging in the balance.
"Monsieur, do you need me for any further fittings?" She called, still standing on the dais Francis had left her on.
"Not for clothing petite fleur, now comes the fun part, to the front of the store with you!"
Wordlessly she did ask commanded, eyes landing on a recently erected table filled with dildos, vibrators, anal plugs, and other sexual toys. Ariadne's breath caught in her chest and her cheeks lost all color.
'I can barely touch myself in a dark room - what the hell is that old pervert Saito getting out of making me view and possibly buy these things?'
"Now Mademoiselle, these are previews of the bags that I have pre-packed, specified to Monsieur Saito's instruction. These purchases are non-refundable so I do hope you enjoy them and the clothing. If you wish to ask any questions about the items on display please direct them to me now or I have your bags all packed and ready to be sent to your address so you can be on your way."
Hesitantly Ariadne stepped toward the table, her mind running a mile a minute, rationalizing her curiosity, her need to know what was used on what body part and why. A rounded set of metal rods in varying lengths and sizes caught her attention first and she pointed at them, her voice tinged with innocent inquisition.
"What do these to Sir?"
"Ahh the sounding rod? It is inserted into the rectum, and this one-" Francis indicated the short and smallish rod off to the far left, "That one your partner or yourself taps the inserted rod with. It causes the inserted rod to vibrate and it creates a pitched sound."
"Oh" the architect murmured as her eyes moved on, a brow raising as she located a few tubs of body glitter with brush applicators.
"Why body glitter…Sir"
"Its not just body glitter, miss, those are scented, each differently and are edible. The scents are all enhanced with pheromones, it will make your partner unable to stay far from you for long."
The questions and answers continued for some time focusing on more of the anal toys, the explanations making Ariadne more and more embarrassed. She was sure that she wouldn't use half of these implements alone, let alone with a partner! Thanking Francis she gathered the considerable amount of bags and started off for the patisserie.
Some shoppers stared at her, eyeing the shop name on her bags with raised eyebrows - others just smiled knowingly, a few openly leered at the lithe woman. The different reactions urged the architect to move quickly and soon she was just inside the door of the patisserie. Shock filled her body when she saw different students from the university milling about, Saito sitting smack in the middle of the shop, an older, attractive woman with him, chatting away. Wordlessly Ariadne navigated the tables to claim the last seat with Saito. She kept her eyes down and cringed every time someone would pass by.
"Ariadne?" A voice called to her, making her head snap up and swivel to find the owner. The voices owner turned out to be her yoga partner, Elise, an old roommate who had always made fun of Ariadne's bookish nature.
Blonde hair that was always meticulously styled framed Elise's round, flawless face. There wasn't a pock mark or scar to be seen, and Ariadne would know, having searched long and hard for any flaw to make the blonde a more accessible being. Instead all there was to find were almost shaped hazel eyes, a pert little nose and full lipped mouth. "Stunning" was the given label for Elise as she towered over most other women at 6'0", the perfect height and shape of a couture model.
To see her here gave Ariadne the chills. The entire university would know about her new look, the bags, being seen with Saito. If Elise spoke more than five words to her, the world would know about Ariadne's order to address her betters as Sir or Ma'am. This was a nightmare in the making.
Elise made it to the table before the architect could feign having not seen her. Smiling wanly, Ariadne offered a quick greeting.
"Elise, fancy meeting you here."
"I know, I thought for sure you'd never crawl out of that book pile in your apartment."
A scowl marred the corset clad woman for a moment before she moved on as if Elise didn't try to insult her.
"Yes, well, I am quite invested in my architectural future. But I desperately needed to do some shopping, Danno Saito offered to take me and here we are."
Elise's eyes darted to Saito, who conversed with his female companion as if neither of them existed and then back to Ariadne. The architect offered a smile and a shrug as if to say, "what?", frowning once more when the blonde burst into laughter.
"You expect me to believe the great, pristine Ariadne Papaellis has a sugar daddy? That's about as plausible as the outfit you're wearing! Who are you trying to kid."
"Sugar daddy? What the fuck is wrong with you Elise! He's a family friend who while in town offered to take me shopping. And who are YOU to tell me how I dress? Living together for one semester -"
"Ariadne." Saito spoke firmly, and Ariadne's mouth snapped shut, though her usually kind eyes shot daggers at the offensive blonde.
"The company here is less refined than I had hoped. My personal assistant has finished her update on my company, we'd best get back to work."
Nodding once, Ariadne gathered her bags as she stood, murmuring a thankful "Yes, Danno" and utterly ignoring Elise.
With her head held high, Ariadne walked from the café, two paces behind Saito with a lighter spirit. Even if this outing had been strange and mostly humiliating, Saito had come through for her - and seeing Elise's face as they left together put a shine on the day for the lovable architect.
Danno - Head of Household or Master.