Velma opened her eyes to light coming in through the windows. She hadn't bothered to look through them much, she felt it would just depress her. She swung her legs out of bed and looked at the princess dress, better get ready before Rufus appeared with the bag of 'goodies' for her to put on. A few minutes after she was dressed he appeared through the double doors with bag in hand. When she was ready Rufus opened the barred door and took hold of her leash to guide her out, "I hope you slept well," he said as he gently applied the blindfold "today you begin your training, trust me Velma, it will be worth the effort." He smiled as he put his arms round her waist, his fingers entwined with hers.
"Muuuuh?" This doesn't sound good. Reluctantly she followed after him, her 'elegant' stride more assured than before. She couldn't shake the nagging voice in her head saying that she should trust him, that this was all for her own benefit, how lucky she was what the… what is going on with me?
From what she could remember of yesterday's route he was taking her somewhere else. Eventually they stopped and she heard a door being opened.
"It is a foundation of a relationship that there is trust, you need to trust me Velma, absolutely. I know you entertain doubts about me."
Entertain? No, their permanent house guests with full board, lodging and unlimited Wi-Fi.
"This will help change your mind."
Velma frowned, this could mean a number of things ranging from unpleasant to excruciating. She tensed at the thought that he might subject her to torture. He'd attempted to do some odd things to Daphne, the wax treatment being the most extreme. Well whatever it is she'll find out soon. She blinked when the blindfold was removed and her fate was revealed.
"Huuuh!?" It looked like comfortable, if narrow, reclining chair. If you ignored the numerous straps hanging from it that is.
"Wuhhh uz et ooo?" Velma tried to step back but was propelled towards it by his arm round her waist.
"Nothing bad Velma, you have nothing to fear."
Easy for you to say.
Velma found herself maneuvered and sat down, it was indeed a very comfortable chair. He had her lie down and began to methodically strap her down starting at her feet. Her hands were freed only to be secured to the sides of the chair which helped hold her down and stop her moving making the waist and chest straps almost redundant. Small straps were connected to D rings on either side of her collar limiting her head movement. Velma was beginning to sweat and her heart hammering as she imagined all kinds of terrible things. Comfy chair or not she was now completely vulnerable.
"One more thing." He reached behind the chair and brought out a VR headset with over-ear headphones. "The headset works with glasses, see I think of you in everything I do."
Velma grunted in protest but was unable to prevent him fitting the headset on her face and strapping it in place. Everything was dark and quiet. Her head moved about as she tried to get some bearings. She felt a few of the straps over her body tighten then nothing. The she heard a voice, her voice. It was speaking in soft, soothing tones, telling her to relax, to focus on her breathing, to empty her mind and listen to the sound of her own voice. Gradually a swirling and pulsing spiral appeared before her eyes, the voice encouraged her to focus on the centre of the spiral, to relax, to stop thinking and just listen…
"Ohh guud, nuuuh!" Velma struggled, tugging desperately at the straps, digging her fingernails into the palm of her hand, shaking her head trying to dislodge the goggles or headphones off. As the minutes passed her struggles began to subside, finally she was still, her hands limp, her breathing slow and deep.
Back in Coolsville the gang had awoken with renewed vigour. Daphne was in the gym practicing her martial arts, even Shaggy and Scooby had turned up trying to pick up the odd tip. While they trained Fred was pouring over maps, reading report, making notes and marking location on various maps. He shuttled back and for the between the police station, Tugman and Talantov. That afternoon Father Tugman gave them a briefing about how to apply counter-espionage techniques to their hunt for Rufus and Velma. Slowly but surely the morale of the gang was improving, it felt like they were getting a handle on things, starting to get the 'shape' of where Rufus could be. The next step was to start whittling away at the places where he could be.
Just before midday Velma was a school room, chained to a desk by her wrists, trying not to drool through her gag onto the desk and her 'schoolwork '. Despite her earlier rejection of his proposal she was finishing off an essay on how lucky she was to be marrying Rufus. If she was honest she couldn't quite remember quite how she got here, she could remember getting out of bed, then walking somewhere then she was here being asked to do school work which wasn't all that great as her palms hurt. She nervously looked out of the window at the realistic set of train tracks which ran past it and the ominous coils of rope which lay next to it. She couldn't shake the feeling that they would feature large in her immediate future. She glanced up at the teacher's desk where Rufus sat marking her earlier essays 'Why Rufus is the perfect husband for me' and 'Daphne Blake - my inferior'. Velma looked down at her work, vowing that he would suffer twice for every bad word he made her write about Daphne. When her 'work' was finished it was lunch time, sandwiches and water at her desk but still it was food.
"Right. Now you're done it's time to go outside, school's out it's playtime." Rufus smiled handing her back her gag.
Uh-oh
"There," Rufus stood up and brushed down his clothes "now don't you go running off now."
"Huuu-huuu, mhre unnny." Velma mumbled through her gag. She flexed her fingers, at least he had moved her hands to her front so she wasn't lying on her arms. He's so thoughtful came the voice oh f%*# off she thought back
"I thought you'd like it, its humour that keeps a relationship alive you know." He bent down and playfully tapped her on the nose "Plus it's such a classic damsel situation don't you think? I've got some gardening to do, call if you need anything."
Velma lay her head back against the railway track, trying to ignore the voice in her head telling her about the way Rufus looked at her showed he really like her and how attentive and lovingly he had bound her to the tracks. Velma had been correct, it was indeed a full-sized regulation railway tracks that she had seen outside the window and as predicted she was now securely tied to it, but at least there were no trains. She wondered why he did this, he could have just put her back in the tower like the princess she was supposed to be. Perhaps he thought the fresh air would do her good. The only peril would be boredom, an itchy nose and if she struggled too much, splinters. Velma gave a muffled grunt and she struggled to see what movement she had. In reality there was little she could do beyond wiggle her fingers and toes and lift her head. Ok Velma, you're missing something here she turned her head to get the sun out of her eyes that's it, I'll be in the sun all day, no shade or water. She tried to see where he was but couldn't move her head much. She thought she could her some movement a distance away but she couldn't tell if it was Rufus or the wind moving the leaves. If he's not here… Velma began a systematic attempt to get some slack in the ropes, if she could get free she might have a chance of getting away.
As the sun tracked across sky Velma grew increasing uncomfortable, she'd tired herself out from constant struggling, her mouth was bone dry, her face felt hot and puffy, she had a spectacular headache while her whole body ached from the enforced immobility. It was a test of endurance, how long before she cracked and called out to him to save her? At least she had a gauge of time from the sun's movement, the problem was she didn't know when he would be back, it could be now or long after sunset so she couldn't develop a coping strategy, so what should her strategy be? She didn't want to wait until she couldn't take it anymore, but she didn't want to call out too soon. Her decision was to wait until the sun reached a particular point in the sky.
"Ruuuuu-ffffs! Ruuuuu-ffffs! Eeeeeez!" Velma called out as loud as she could. After a few moments she heard him call out in reply. Not long later he was kneeling next to her, his body shading her from the sun. He wiped her face with a cold, damp cloth, Velma sighed; it felt so good. He unlocked her gag then gave her a bottle fruit juice to drink followed by a bottle of water. He encouraged her to drink slowly to let the water lubricate her throat. When it was finished Velma sighed, she wanted more water but felt better already.
"Thank you Ruuffmmmph!" Velma cried as he regagged her.
"Nearly done Velma, it's a surprise for you." He bent down and kissed her on the forehead "Keep it up Velma, I'm proud of you."
Velma resisted the urge to struggle or make any noise, she wanted to conserve the water she'd drunk. In the distance she could hear the sound of digging and heavy things being moved. To distract herself she tried to work out what he was doing. She was eventually freed when it was getting dark, from the state of his hands and clothes it was clear he was not afraid of manual labour. Once inside she was taken back to her room so she could freshen up and put on fresh clothes, before their evening meal. At the mean he was the pleasant and congenial host and she engaged in conversation, she had to, whilst Velma was known for having her nose in a book much of the time she wasn't a misanthrope, she just didn't enjoy trivia talk, and it seemed that Rufus didn't either. She wondered how he managed the cognitive dissonance that must come from thinking its ok to her up and leave her in the sun for most of the day one minute to being an attentive and genial host the next. It was hard to tell if he was a sociopath or a psychopath, either way neither were top on her list of partner let alone husband material.
Velma half opened an eye, it was barely twilight, she turned over and was falling asleep again when she through she heard whispering. Odd, must, must be a dream… haven't had any dreams… don't remember any dreams… Velma yawned, her last thought before she fell asleep again was that it much be a coping mechanism of some kind blocking out the memory of her abduction and what was happening here.
