-Miranda-
Footsteps approached in the dark, the sound of a door opening filled the room, the resounding slam as it closed followed. Someone was in there with her; someone who wasn't speaking. Miranda shook her head, wishing it was free from the leather hood that encased it. Her lips were wrapped around the hood's attached plug-gag, but she sounded off anyway, frightened that Liara T'Soni had returned to abuse her further. "Mmm," she hummed, turning her head to blindly search for whoever it was she was humming to.
"Hold on," Sam's voice came, and immediately Miranda's tension melted off her body like a layer of ice.
Fingers, small and delicate, began fondling around the hood's mouth piece. The zipper came back, the plug came out, and Miranda was free to speak again. "Thank you," she said as soon as she could. "Is Jack okay?" It was all she'd thought about since Shepard had rushed off with a search party to hunt her down.
"She's still missing," Sam answered, working her fingers beneath the chin-line of the hood and peeling it carefully away from her face and head.
The soft light of the room came back to Miranda as the hood lifted away; Sam gingerly removing strands of her hair caught within the zippers. She blinked twice, squinted, and took a breath. "Thanks... they didn't find her?"
The girl shook her head. She folded the mask, set it aside and got on her knees to begin unbuckling the cuff around Miranda's ankle. She wore a pretty little dress and flats. Miranda had never seen her out of her slave uniform, save the dinner party. "What's going on? Are you taking me back to my cell?"
"No," Sam answered with a curt shake of her head. "You're being released."
The words sounded so wonderful in her ears, Miranda knew she must have misheard the girl. "What?"
"The Commander has been convinced she has... a problem," Sam said, removing the cuff from her right ankle. Miranda stared down in disbelief, and saw the brief look of hurt come across the girl's face. She swallowed, put back on her stoic little look, and shuffled across the floor on her knees to free Miranda's other ankle. "Chief Ashley Williams is going to help her get better."
Miranda couldn't believe it. The Alliance girl actually did it. Shepard had been speaking so vehemently about her intentions to keep them all as her sexual prisoners... Miranda never thought she'd seen the day when the commander saw it any other way. "So, then... what now?"
The girl shrugged, removed the last strap around her ankle, and stood. She pressed her lips together, sighed, and began working on getting Miranda's wrists free. "I suppose the Commander will call in a shuttle for you and the others." She sniffed her nose, and Miranda could swear she saw moisture in the girl's eyes.
"Hey, are you alright?" She asked as the cuffs were removed from her wrists. She held them to her chest and rubbed.
"Yes," Sam said, avoiding eye contact with her, and moved to the side of the room to pick up a bundle of clothing. "I picked these out from the Commander's wardrobe. You're a big... bigger than she is, so I didn't have many choices."
Miranda couldn't help but notice the girl's eye flick to her bare chest when she said the word 'bigger'. It didn't bother her. "Thank you for that, Samantha. I appreciate it."
The girl nodded, still avoiding eye contact, and moved back across the room. "If you sit down, I'll... help you... if you want..."
"Oh, I don't-" Miranda began, ready to take the clothing and send the girl off. She stopped abruptly and considered the poor girl's feelings. Sam must have been crushed that Shepard wasn't going to be her 'master' for awhile. And if Ashley was right, and Shepard was mentally ill and she was cured... her's and Sam's relationship might be over all together. Surely, the girl had considered all that before she came down. It explained the aura of depression she had surrounding her. "Sure. You can... help." Miranda said, awkwardly stammering over the gesture. She offered a smile and put her hand on the girl's shoulder.
Sam's eye flicked briefly up to hers, a hint of a smile tugged at her mouth, but then it went away and she simply bowed her head and nodded. Miranda allowed the girl to lead her to a sofa at the far end of the room. Sam stopped, gestured for her to sit, and lowered onto her knees. Miranda took the seat and offered the girl another, awkward smile. Sam unfolded a pair of stretchy, black, pants, and carefully guided Miranda's leg into the top of it. "Um, so, has anyone seen Jack since Liara's claim that she attacked her?"
Sam shook her head, guiding Miranda's other leg inside and tugging the pants up around her thighs and then her waist. She paused once they were on, looking thoughtfully down at her own hands. "Liara's claim?"
"Well... if no one saw the attack but Liara herself, who's to say she isn't lying?"
Sam looked up at her again. The girl's face was usually guarded and reticent, but now lines of intrigue creased her brow and her mouth was slightly agape. "You think she's lying?"
Miranda shrugged. "She could be. I don't see why Jack would attack her like that. And also... the asari give's me a bad feeling. There's something... off about her."
"Yes!" Sam whisper-shouted. It was the most emotion Miranda had seen the girl display since she'd arrived a few days earlier. "I told the Commander the same thing! I'm... I'm afraid of her." She glanced to the side and swallowed. "I... I'm afraid the Commander will be too occupied with Chief Williams and her recovery to protect me from her..."
"Isn't she leaving?" Miranda asked. "I thought you said we were being released."
The girl looked back to her and shook her head. Her eyes widened just a bit and she licked her lips before speaking. "No... when the Commander and Chief Williams informed her that she was free to go, she began crying. She said she finally thought she was starting to be happy in her life, and that she didn't want to go anywhere. She dropped to her knees and begged to be allowed to stay."
"And Shepard's letting her?"
Sam nodded, putting a hand to her chest, her fingers clutching weakly at the dress's fabric and rubbing it. "Chief Williams said it was okay, and that if the Commander wasn't holding her against her will, she was free to do what she wanted." She lowered her head and took a breath. "The Commander had me molest that asari repeatedly... I know she resents me for it, even though I was acting under the Commander's orders. I know she wants to hurt me, I see it in her eyes."
"Did you tell Shepard this?" Miranda asked, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.
Sam shook her head. "I can't bother her with such trivial matters. My problems are my own."
"You told me..."
Sam looked up at her again. "I feel you're in danger, too. I see her give you the same wicked glances that she gives me. At least you can leave... I'll be here with her for as long a she remains," she said, noticeably shivering a bit at the end.
"You can't leave?"
"No... I would never leave the Commander's side... unless she ordered me to, of course."
"Why not?" Miranda asked, but then Sam looked at her with that painful longing in her eyes; that terrible yet wonderful burning in the heart. "I see. You can't leave because you love her."
Sam looked away, but nodded her head. The moisture was back in her eyes. Miranda reached out and took her gently by both shoulders so she had to face her. The girl glanced shyly up at her. "Listen, there's someone I care about still on this planet too," Miranda said, and for a moment - the girl's face became Jack's. "And until I find her and make sure she's safe, I'm not going anywhere either." That little half-smile returned to the corner of Sam's lips. "So let's make a deal. You watch my back, and I'll watch yours."
The half-smile grew to a whole one and Sam nodded. "Yes... yes, I'd like that very much."
"It's a deal then," Miranda said, sticking out her hand to shake.
Sam looked down at, momentarily startled, then pressed her lips together, nodded, and extended her own hand. "Deal," she spoke the word quietly, like it was there little secret. Actually, Miranda supposed, it was in a way.
Sam lowered back down to sit on her calves, pulled a sock from the bundle, and extended it out long, flattening it with her palm before peeling apart the hole in the center. Miranda leaned back so the girl could take her leg and ankle in her hands. She took note of the way Sam's fingers worked slowly and gingerly around her bare foot as she carefully slipped the sock over it, and recalled Shepard saying the girl had a 'thing' for boots and feet. Sam took her other foot and did the same, perhaps even slower. Then she removed two, black, boots from the bottom of the clothing bundle and gave each a clandestine little sniff before tugging them up around Miranda's ankles and calves until they were snugly in place. She took the last piece of clothing, a simple white T-shirt, and held it up over Miranda's head.
"Oh, yes," Miranda said, figuring she'd put her own shirt on, but clearly the girl was intent on finishing the job. Sam guided her fingers through the arm holes and then tugged it down over her head and shoulders. The girl's thumbs brushed the sides of her breasts briefly, and then it was done: Miranda was fully dressed once more. She took a deep breath, enjoying it. It had been a while.
"Maybe I could be your sub... for awhile..." Sam blurted out, staring down at Miranda's booted feet and twirling a strand of her dark hair around her finger. "I mean... just until the Commander is ready to take me back, of course."
"Sub?"
"Like... your property..." Sam said, and Miranda could see the girl's face flush a bit with trepidation.
"Oh," Miranda said, uncomfortably stirring on the sofa. "Yeah, maybe. We'll see... I'll, uh, ask Shepard I guess," she told the girl, unsure of what else to tell her.
"It's not, like, a sexual thing. That's not why I'm asking you to take me if that's why you don't want me," Sam explained. "But if you were my Dom and I was your sub, I'd have to stay close to you. If we're close by one another..."
"We don't have to worry about Liara. I understand, Sam. I really will ask Shepard, alright?" Miranda said, patting the girl's hand.
Sam nodded, stood, smoothed the wrinkles in her dress with a quick swipe of her palm, turned on her heel, and headed towards the exit of the room. She stopped at the door and added, "The Commander would like you to meet her in the library when you're ready." And with that, Sam left.
Miranda lifted herself from the sofa and stretched out; the clothes hugging her frame a bit tighter than she'd like, but she wasn't going to complain. For the first time since she'd arrived she was free, fully clothed, and not under any pressure. It almost felt strange. She moved across the room, opened the door, and took a last glance back at the leather bench she'd been strapped to, happy to be bidding farewell to it. The hood laid on top of it, the zipper-mouth curving into what looked like a smile. She frowned, went to it, turned it upside down, and left.
The library was possibly the biggest section of the house. It was at the very back of the first floor, and at least a half-dozen doors from various halls and rooms around the mansion led into it. Miranda entered through the one on the East wing, stepping around a wheeled ladder resting up against a two-story bookshelf, and found herself peering up at the dome-shaped recess in the library's roof. Paintings filled the inner walls; some that she recognized. She spotted one from a famous Turian artist who went by the name of 'Yanzy'. She stared at it, wondering if Shepard actually had the funds-or the friends-to own the original, or if it was a print.
"Miranda Lawson," a women's voice broke her line of thought, the words echoing off the high, domed, ceiling and filling every inch of the room. Miranda looked up and saw Ashley Williams standing at a round table near the center of the room, raised one step above the rest of the library on a little octagonal platform that was barred with wooden railings. Both Shepard and Liara were seated at the table on opposite ends. "Join us, would you?"
Miranda found it odd that Ashley was the one calling her over instead of Shepard, but she simply nodded her head and strode forward to meet them. She climbed the single step onto the platform and stood before the table, looking it over. Various books were scattered about. She saw that many of them were medical in nature. One was labeled 'A Journey Through the Mind: An Elcor Study'. Shepard was still dressed in her casual shirt and jeans, and she was looking up at Miranda, biting her lip, but not saying anything. It made Miranda uncomfortable. "Hello, Commander."
"You don't have to call Shepard 'commander' anymore, Miss Lawson," Ashley said, letting her hand fall on Shepard's shoulders. Shepard gave a brief nod of her head and bit harder at her lip.
"Oh, alright then..." She glanced over at Liara. The asari was paying no attention to her, her face buried in a big, hard-backed, book entitled "A History of Fetishism". Miranda was surprised Shepard was able to afford physical copies of all these works. They were printed in such small numbers that only wealthy collectors of the 'vintage' age could get a hold of them. The rest of the galaxy had to have them sent to their datapads.
"Sam filled you in?" Ashley asked.
"Yes," Miranda answered. "She was... very helpful."
"Shepard can have a shuttle prepared within the hour if-"
"That's quite alright," Miranda cut her off. "Jack is still out there. I won't leave without her."
Shepard's face brightened. "You're staying too?" She asked, that famous grin of hers coming across her face and putting Miranda at ease. It had been getting strange seeing her former commander so... restrained.
Miranda nodded. "Until I find Jack, Shepard." She looked to Ashley. "I'd appreciate the volus to aid me."
Ashley returned the nod. "Of course." Shepard looked like she wanted to say something, but Miranda saw Ashley's hand press down into her shoulder and begin massaging. That halted the commander's words; she only closed her eyes and let a little moan escape her lips instead. "They're busy now, but in an hour or two-"
"I can't wait that long," Miranda said. "If I have your permission, I'd like to take a quick look around the perimeter myself... she could be out there watching the house."
Ashley offered a smile. "Miss Lawson, you don't have to ask for permission anymore. I'm not 'taking command' from Shepard or anything. We're just... all being relaxed about everything, right Shepard?"
"Mm-hm," Shepard agreed as Ashley's free hand fell upon her other shoulder and massaged.
"I'll go with you," Liara said. Miranda tensed just hearing the asari's voice. She shot her a look, thinking back to the way the blue alien had smacked her ass down in the dungeon after Shepard had specifically told her not to. She could easily bring it up, but things were strange enough at the table without another issue to deal with. Liara only smiled; all the malice that had been in it when Miranda was bound up in the dungeon removed, and only a sweet little gesture remained.
Miranda didn't but it for a second. "That's all right. I'd rather go alone in all honesty."
"But Jack's still out there," Liara pointed out, closing her book. "She could attack you."
"She would never," Miranda said, nearly shouting it instead.
"It's not safe," Liara explained, glancing over to Ashley. "Until we're sure Jack hasn't flipped her lid out there in the woods, no one should be wandering the premises alone."
"She's right, Miss Lawson," Ashley agreed. "I've been told you and Jack have grown friendly, but we don't know what she's planning out there. The last thing I need is another missing person."
"The last thing," Liara agreed.
Miranda squinted at the asari. Liara smiled back, innocently. She'd won this fight. "Yeah, alright. Let's go then. We're wasting time."
It was the first gray, overcast, day Miranda had seen outside. There was even a little gust of cool wind breezing in the air. Somewhere deep in the woods, a creature made a bird-like whistling noise. To the East, the sound of the tide could be heard coming in and out along the sandy shore. Liara stepped off the last of the stairs and put her hands on her hips as the two reached the front of the mansion.
"After she hit me, she ran off that way," she said, pointing South towards the wooded area where the shuttle had docked them days earlier. "Guess that's as good a place to look as any."
Miranda's instinct told her to look the exact opposite way of wherever the asari told her to, but in this case it likely wouldn't help. The only thing they'd seen North was the back half of the mansion and a whole lot of beach. If Jack was trying to hide, she'd be more likely to do it in the woods. "Lead on," Miranda said, gesturing forward. She was intent on staying at the asari's backside.
Liara's look lingered on her for a moment before she began walking. "You don't like me."
It wasn't really a question, but Miranda answered anyway as she began walking. "No."
"Is it something I said?"
"No."
Liara's eye flicked back over her shoulder. "Was it that slap in the dungeon?"
Miranda met her gaze. "No."
Liara laughed. "You know, I'd been restrained and spanked and penetrated so many times up to that point... I suppose I just wanted to feel what it was like on the other end. I didn't care for it, to be honest with you. I apologize that you're rear end happened to be my hand's test subject though."
Miranda ignored that and marched forward as they met the edge of the forest. "What did she look like when you saw her, Jack, that is? Was she hurt? Scared?"
"Angry, mostly," Liara answered, ducking her head beneath a low-hanging branch jutting over the pathway. "She seemed dead-set on murdering Shepard."
"Murdering?" Miranda echoed, incredulous.
Liara shrugged. "That seemed her intention."
"No way," Miranda said. "That just doesn't make sense... Jack may have been that person once in her life, but she's not anymore. In fact, it's Shepard who's responsible for that. The commander helped her with the demons of her past."
Again, Liara simply shrugged. "Who knows what being in these woods all alone can do to a person," she said, stopped walking, and turned to Miranda. "All alone... only your own thoughts to keep you company... it must be torture."
-Jack-
-forty minutes earlier-
"MMMRG!" She bit down on the ballgag and screamed.
Liara laughed, circling her upside-down, suspended body. "You don't like the way that feels?"
Jack's ass cheeks were on fire. The asari whore drove the paddle down across them again, ignoring her muffled shouts.
"Beg me to stop and I might..." Liara teased, rubbing the paddle against the side of Jack's leg.
"MMMF ARGMF FMGR-" She began mumbling into the ballgag, but the paddle thundering down on her ass again stopped her. "MMMMMMMPH!"
-Miranda-
"We'll find her," Liara assured her and continued walking deeper into the woods. "I just know it."
They walked on for awhile in silence, trekking across downed tree trunks and stepping carefully over thin streams that cut through the forest in little, shimmering, twists. Eventually, they came across a split in the path. The left fork twisted deeper into the woods; the right path spiraled up a slope and seemed to overhang the beach. Miranda paused, resting her hands on her hips. "Which way..."
"Here," Liara said, gesturing to the right path. "I think I saw her head this way when she ran off."
Miranda frowned and glanced back over her shoulder. The mansion was a good distance beyond the trees. "You saw her this deep in the woods?"
Liara considered it a moment before nodding. "Yes, I believe she went this way. Come on."
The asari hurried off up the sloping path, leaving Miranda standing behind. She watched the alien go, considering her options. Without any other leads, Liara's word was unfortunately as good a clue as she was getting. She sighed, took one last glance down the other path, and hurried her steps to catch up with the asari.
The path Liara had chosen twisted around a tree with an enormous trunk, roots digging into the ground around it like swollen knuckles, and then up a steep embankment of grass and dirt. Miranda climbed it, carefully finding hand and footholds as she went. At the top, Liara disappeared, but then returned and offered a hand down to her. She hesitated for only one, cautious, moment, but took it and allowed the asari to pull her up to the top. Standing and brushing herself off, she looked down the path and saw it narrowed into a stone walkway that led out alongside the beach below. Liara pointed forward and shouted, "What's that?"
She rushed forward and Miranda followed. "What is it?"
"Look," Liara said. She had crouched beside the path, but not stood and turned to Miranda wearing a grin. "I told you she came this way." The asari was holding a tattered piece of Jack's shirt.
Miranda grabbed at it, held it up, and felt her heartbeat quicken. "It is hers!"
"She might be close. Come on!" Liara said, jogging towards the rocky cliff.
Stepping out onto it, Miranda felt her stomach lurch and her head spin. The waves were crashing off the beach a few dozen feet below. "God... this looks dangerous. I hope she had the sense to turn away from this madness..."
Liara shrugged. "Maybe... maybe not. We should check either way."
Miranda eyed the asari with a baleful look. "You stay in front."
Liara rolled her eyes. "Of course. I know you don't trust me. However, my trust in you is so strong I'd walk that path with my eyes closed," she said with a grin, closed her eyes and took a step backwards, her heel leaving the grass and landing on the rock.
"Stop that, you're making my head spin just watching."
"Let's go then," Liara said, opened her eyes, and began walking out along the cliff over-looking the beach.
Miranda hesitantly followed. "I don't get this... if Jack really did attack you and then go running around the island like this... what's the point? Were her hands still in cuffs when you saw her or did she manage to get them off?"
"They were still cuffed," Liara said, walking on.
Miranda stopped. She stared forward at the asari. "And yet... she managed to hit you..."
Liara stopped herself, but did not turn around.
The wind gusted across the cliff, tumbling a pebble off the edge. It knocked off the rock wall three times on the long fall down before cracking off a bigger stone below.
"She had gotten her hands around in front of her, of course," Liara said, still not turning back. "She must have slipped her feet through her arms and pulled them around."
Miranda wasn't buying it. She suddenly had a very bad feeling looming in the pit of her stomach. "I'm done searching for today," she said, keeping an eye on the blue alien before her. "I'm going back."
Liara finally turned. "I see..."
Miranda turned and slid her back foot around to pivot her hips; the path was too narrow to make a full-on turn. She was halfway around when a pebble caught beneath her heel and caused it to twist unnaturally beneath her weight. "Ah!" She cried out, wincing, and slipped to her knees. She grabbed for her twisted ankle and peered forward beyond the cliff. Dozens of feet of nothing, and then jagged, wet, rocks.
Liara had gotten herself turned around and was staring at Miranda. "You know, I think I know why Jack hasn't made her move to take over the mansion now that I think about it."
Miranda rubbed her fingers into her ankle and tried standing up. Pain bolted from the bottom of her foot and up. She cursed and fell back to her butt.
Liara took a step closer. "If she was planning to take over the mansion, she might be having concerns about, well, you." Another step. "I mean, I'm a simple doctor. Ashley Williams, while combat trained, is more of a gun specialist. Sweet little Samantha doesn't seem like she'd hurt a fly. But you... you've been trained in hand-to-hand combat by Cerberus." Another step. "You've been awarded the highest level of training in all sorts of firearms, I'd imagine. You've been taught to think critically and stay sharp under pressure. A takeover would be... very difficult with you in the picture."
Miranda looked up at the nearing asari. She didn't like the words the alien spoke, and she liked the look on her face even less, but she was out of options. She stilled her nerves and kept a sharp eye on the approaching asari. "I've hurt my ankle, Liara... I need help."
"Of course," Liara said. "I'm coming."
Miranda swallowed, took another look over the cliff, imagined the fall, the weightlessness, the impact. She looked back to Liara and swallowed, nursing her ankle.
"I'm coming..." Liara repeated and lifted her hands. "Coming to help..."
"Miranda!?"
Liara's eyes snapped back towards the woods. Miranda turned herself and her breath caught in her chest. Sam was jogging down the trail towards them. "Here!" Miranda shouted. Sam looked up and nodded her head, running forward even faster. The sun had come out just a bit again, and the way it danced off her swirling dress as she ran made her look like an angel: and to show up when she did, she was Miranda's angel as far as she was concerned.
"We need help, Sam!" Liara shouted, and suddenly the cold, emotionless, tone of her voice had disappeared and been replaced by a concerned friend's. "Miranda's twisted her ankle."
Sam stared cautiously at the asari as she approached. She looked to Miranda. "Is that true?"
"Yes... yes, just please help me up, Sam. We were looking for Jack and I twisted my ankle on this path." Sam nodded, knelt, and allowed Miranda to hook an arm over her shoulder. The girl stood, and Miranda used her good leg to pushed herself up. With Sam's help, she managed to sidle off the cliff and back onto the grass. Relief washed over her in waves.
Liara stepped onto the grass herself and tried helping. Sam put a hand up to stop her. "I can handle it. Also, Chief Williams wanted to see Miss Lawson. That's why I'm here. She did not request you."
Liara's cold look returned in an instant. "I see..."
"Come on," Sam said to Miranda, sidling closer to her and acting as her cane. "I'll get you back to the mansion."
Miranda nodded and began hobbling back down the path. She glanced over her shoulder at Liara. The asari was just standing there, the wind breezing around her, watching them go. Her face was emotionless. A chill ran up Miranda's spine.
"Chief Williams didn't ask to see you," Sam said once they'd made it further down the path and away from Liara. "I just didn't want her walking with us."
Miranda laughed, though the laughter didn't exactly come from a place of humor. There was fear in there somewhere. "I don't blame you... I think Liara T'Soni was trying to take me out there to get rid of me, Sam. I can't prove it, but..."
Sam looked over at her. Their faces were close by as she helped her walk. "I did speak to Chief Williams. The Commander, too. They are okay with you taking possession of me while the Commander is undergoing her treatment... if you want me."
Miranda thought of Liara walking towards her on the cliff, 'I'm coming..'. She suddenly wanted nothing more in the world than someone beside her constantly. "Yes. Yes, I'll 'take' you, Sam."
"You will...?"
Miranda glanced over at the girl and saw her eyes had widened and that nervous little half-smile was on her face. She must have been expecting to be denied. Miranda smiled herself. "Yeah. Just... don't take your eyes off Liara, alright?"
"Yes, Master," Sam said.
Shepard had the volus serve a Salarian delicacy at dinner, with iced cream and coffee for desert. Miranda sat at the table, her ankle wrapped in an ice pack below, and ate her food, drank her drink, but did not say much. Most of the conversation was between Ashley and Shepard as they went over different foods they'd had and the strangest dishes they'd been served. Ashley seemed to be making it a point not to talk about Shepard's 'treatment' or any bondage-related stuff. It seemed she wanted dinner to be separate from that, and Miranda figured it was a good idea. Sam sat quietly to her left side, offering to feed her from her plate-as, apparently, was the tradition in a Dom/sub relationship, Miranda learned-before asking permission to be excused a few minutes after dessert had arrived. Miranda explained she didn't have to ask permission, and Sam thanked her and left. Liara was quiet, too. She barely touched her food, opting to poke and prod at it instead. They did not make eye contact the entire night.
"I'm getting tired, Shepard," Ashley said after the volus had taken away the last of the iced cream.
"Me too," Shepard said, leaned over, and kissed her shoulder. The commander turned to Miranda and smiled. "You'd probably like to retire to your quarters too, huh?"
Miranda was nonplussed. "I... guess?"
"Go on then," Shepard said, still smiling.
It wasn't until Miranda had made her way into the guest quarters that Shepard had prepared for her, aided by the volus on her bad ankle's side, that she found out why the commander had been smiling. She limped into the dark room, and saw a half-dozen candles lit around the bed. Incense burned, soft music played, and Samantha Traynor laid on the bed on her stomach, naked, her hands and feet pulled together above her with ropes, leaving her in a strict hogtie. A white, thick, cloth was tied around her mouth and knotted between her teeth. Another one blindfolded the girl.
Miranda's mouth fell open. "Oh my God..."
"Mmf," Sam sounded into her gag and pointed her head in the sound of Miranda's voice.
"Did you... ask them to do this to you, Sam?" Miranda asked, limping over to the bed and taking a seat on its edge.
"Mm," she answered with a shake of her head.
"No? Then... why are you tied like this?"
"Mmmf," came Sam's muffled response.
"Oh, sorry," Miranda said, embarrassed.
She reached to the back of the girl's head and untied the gag. It came out from between her lips with a little work. "This is custom, Master," Sam said. "Though I didn't ask for it, the rules of a new Master and slave relationship state that I'm to be bound, gagged, and blindfolded the first night you own me. You can either have your way with me, or leave me at the foot of the bed to suffer my punishment in silence."
Miranda ran a hand through her hair and took a breath. "Can I choose to untie you?"
"You're my Master. You do with me as you wish."
"Then I'm getting you out of this."
"Anything you do will please me, Master."
"But you'd prefer..."
Sam hesitated before answering. "It does not matter what the slave prefers."
"It does to me," Miranda said.
Sam paused, pressed her lips together, and spoke, "If you allow it, I'd rather be bound for the night. I... enjoy it."
Miranda nodded. "I figured. Can I at least undo the hogtie? That can't be comfortable."
"If you'd like, Master."
"I would," Miranda said, scooted forward on the bed, and set about untying the knot binding the poor girl's hand to her feet. As she worked it loose, though, she thought of her night on the beach with Jack... the way she had enjoyed having her tied like that, even if it was only for a brief moment. Jack... she hoped she was alright out there...
The hogtie undone, Sam's legs and feet dropped to the mattress. Miranda reached to the back of her head and removed the blindfold as well. The girl squinted to adjust to the candlelight and then looked up at Miranda. "You are kind to me, Master."
"Alright, first rule Sam," Miranda said. "No more 'Master' stuff, alright?"
"...alright."
"So... I'm going to sleep," Miranda said. "Do you really want me to just leave you there like that?"
Sam nodded.
Miranda sighed. Her eyes flicked across the girl's bare shoulders and back... her ass cheeks and legs. Her skin was dark and smooth and soft-looking. "Well... goodnight, then, Sam."
"Goodnight, Ma- ...Miranda."
It took some effort to hobble around the bed, blowing out the half-dozen candles and turning the music off, but eventually the task got done. Sam became just a shadowy, quiet, lump at the foot of the bed. Miranda lowered herself onto the mattress, slid back against the headboard, and propped a pillow behind her. The room was quiet, a gentle breeze outside the only sound. Miranda turned her head to the window at the far end of the room and saw the planet's twin moons were out and full. She hoped Jack could get some rest out there... she hoped she was safe.
Her mind drifted back to Liara and the way she'd felt when the asari was approaching her on the cliff. It made her shiver again. "Sam..." she whispered into the dark room.
"Yes..." Sam's quiet, soft, voice came back.
"Will you sleep up here tonight...?"
"...yes."
Miranda sat up and worked together with Sam to tug and shift the girl's bound figure up beside her on the mattress. After some struggle, Sam dropped down to the bed, her head resting upon the pillow and her dark hair spilling out away from her in cascading waves. Miranda brushed it together and laid beside her. "I'm... going to hold you if that's okay."
"Yes," Sam's voice answered quietly.
Miranda draped an arm over the girl's body, hooked her hand around her waist, and squeezed. She let her head fall on the girl's shoulder, thankful to have someone near, and closed her eyes.
That was how Miranda slept her first night owning a slave.
