Chapter 18H
The dimly lit room was filled with soft recorded Geisha instrumental music, as Geisha-Dominatrix Mistress Lash Lee adjusted the traditional Shibari rope bondage entwining Wendy Sevenson's naked body. Wendy was currently suspended off the floor in ropes hanging down from pulleys attached to the ceiling, her body held in an extremely artistic pose by the ropes like a work of art.
Standing around Lash were her few remaining apprentices and former apprentices who had survived the cull, watching her techniques and subtly pining for her attention to reassure them. The apprentices were all extremely stressed and highly strung, and they all saw Lash as a comforting mother type figure to reassure them and give them hope.
Lash awarded her apprentices and former apprentices a kindly small smile, and ran an elegant hand over Wendy's naked body from end to end, enjoying the feel of her soft smooth supple skin.
Wendy had a look of hypnotic submissive worship on her face right now, deeply pleasured by her current situation, and was obviously very smitten by Lash, looking at Lash with romantic awe. Lash coldly kept her expression icy and stern towards Wendy, and pointedly ignored her body language.
Lash inspected the rope bondage for any imperfections, striving for perfection in all things in her highly exotic profession, and ensured that not so much as a hair was out of place on Wendy so that the woman in bondage looked like a perfect work of art.
"The rope work is now perfect. The submissive is ready for sensation play torture.", Lash told her students in a soft voice.
The apprentices and former apprentices all gathered up various implements of sensation, ranging from whips to feathers to ice cubes, and Wendy was soon making alternating noises from sounds of pain to tickled laughter to hisses of cold, but most of all moans of pleasure.
Lash stood in front of Wendy's face, watching her students work but not taking part. Lash very softly and delicately stroked the side of Wendy's face dominantly, looking at her in silence. Wendy gazed back at Lash in romantic worship, crushing hard on Lash.
Lash was deliberately not taking part in Wendy's torture to give herself time to think, and to give herself a chance to just be with Wendy and observe her to get a deep empathic feel for the woman and her heart and character.
Lash was deeply flattered by Wendy's high regard and romantic interest in her humble self, but Lash had very mixed feelings about getting into an extremely serious relationship where marriage was expected. Lash did have quite a healthy dating life with a lot of partners in her past, but marriage was such a serious thing that was far beyond her usual dating activities. Lash couldn't just accept something so serious without very careful thought on the matter.
Lash had a life of her own that was very important to her, she wasn't just waiting on the shelf as a ready wife for Wendy to pick up and marry. Lash was an artist who was consumed by her art, the twin arts of the geisha and the Dominatrix were all important to Lash and she was highly dedicated to the perfection of these arts as an expression of her artistic soul. Her job might pay the bills, but it was the love of the art itself that drove her more than the concerns of income.
Lash was so good at what she did because she was an obsessive artist, she just wanted to be good at her art because she loved the art and felt that the art deserved to be done as perfectly as possible. Even if Lash had not needed to pay any bills at all she would still be an obsessive geisha Dominatrix simply because it was her artistic passion. She was the quintessential artist who lived for their art.
Not only did Lash care about her art, but she also cared about the people touched by her art. She cared about her students studying this art, she cared about her fellow peer practitioners of her art, and she very deeply cared about the regular recipients of her art who hired her services. Lash was deeply involved in the "community" surrounding her art, volunteering her time to attend all sorts of conventions dedicated to fetish or the geisha arts during peacetime running stalls and free classes to the public, teaching geisha tea rituals and dance and painting, teaching artistic bondage techniques and other Dominatrix subjects.
Now that the anarchy of the starvation years was over, Lash had no end of things to do now that it was once again safe to organise community events dedicated to the geisha and fetish lifestyle. She had so many stalls to set up and volunteer at, so many public classes to organise and teach. She had just so much she wanted to do to invest into the community dedicated to her arts, on top of her dedication to training her apprentices to excellence so that the next generation kept these arts flourishing.
Even more important than the art and the students was the people who Lash plied her art upon, the subs of all kinds who hired her or worked with her or dated her, the ones who really showed her how important her art was.
Lash was so much more than just a Dominatrix and a geisha, for a lot of clients Lash was the closest thing they had to a therapist or counsellor or psychologist or psychiatrist or whatever you want to call it. Many men in particular would not go near an actual therapist for fear of looking weak to their peers, but they could go to a mysterious kinky geisha with far less fear of looking weak, making up any untruthful boast afterwards about all the ways they had fucked her, when in fact they had been getting therapy.
Lash as a worshipper of Chaos Undivided had an especial affinity with Khorne Worshipping men. She worshipped all the chaos gods as a polytheistic pantheon, and could individually worship any chaos god at different times with different people without any problems with angry patrons. Lash would worship Khorne alongside her Khorne worshipping clients and lovers to put them at ease, drinking blood with them in geisha tea ceremony rituals and performing militaristic geisha fan dances in honour of Khorne until the Khorne man was completely at ease. Then Lash would very softly dominate the pacified relaxed man with soft touches to the face and soft words, getting them to tell her all of their secret troubles and burdens.
Some of these therapy sessions with the Khorne men could be emotionally brutal, with men sobbing in angry tears telling her about painful incidents in their childhood, about how their mother hadn't loved them or their father had molested them. These men sometimes hadn't talked about this stuff to anyone ever, some of them holding onto it for literally thousands of years. It was emotionally beautiful to get to help these men let go of these burdens and become stronger and better for it. Khorne seemed to appreciate Lash's efforts to make his warriors stronger by removing these psychological burdens, as the men usually went on to become even more efficient killers without terrible burdens weighing down their minds and distracting them from slaughter, and he often sent more of his servants her way.
Most famous of Lash's therapy clients had been her World Eater Chaos Space Marine Khorne Berserker boyfriend "Gorgock the Brutal", a ten thousand year old basket full of unresolved childhood trauma encased in the body of a massive man. Khorne himself had subtly sent Gorgock to meet this geisha who so dutifully fixed the minds of Khorne's warriors, commanding Gorgock not to kill her but to let her help him, and Lash had gotten to work helping this poor tormented man release himself from ten thousand years of painful psychological burdens.
Lash had always been a Dominatrix by occupation, with the geisha side being mostly an artistic hobby on the side when she was younger. Her family was the Lee Family Geisha-Dominatrix Clan Guild, an old family devoted to this occupation, but the geisha aspect had largely fallen aside as it didn't pay the bills the way the Dominatrix profession did, with many young ones not even bothering to learn to be geishas. Now that she was older Lash had fallen in love with the geisha arts, and had spent years studying this art and working it into her Dominatrix role as much as she could.
There was something so mysterious about geishas, they were so feminine and gentle and soft spoken, but so mysterious and unknown. They were so inoffensive in public that even Khorne worshippers tolerated them without undue rage, the elaborate modest kimonos and quiet reserved femininity did not scream of Slaanesh worship but of something far more mysterious and subtle. The geisha was unknown to most and could be anything. Was she a dancer?, Was she a prostitute?, Was she a celibate reserved virgin?, Who knew?, She was a mystery to most men of Khorne.
To the other men of Khorne watching their fellow enter a room alone with a geisha, the geisha was being fucked they imagined, but she was so reserved and gentle that she couldn't be a "Slaanesh whore" in need of instant beheading, no, she was reserved and appropriate for men of Khorne to fuck and they would congratulate their fellow when he exited with the quiet geisha afterwards. She was *safe* for the men to go to for therapy, and to these men she was greatly treasured and a vital part of their lives.
The relationship with Gorgock had been sweet, very sweet. Gorgock was such a dear man underneath his murderous exterior, and Gorgock who had loved no one for ten thousand years had loved Lash, cherished and adored the quiet soft spoken but dominant geisha who soothed his heart and shared his bed.
Lash had spent hours every day quietly worshipping Khorne with Gorgock, performing highly disciplined blood drinking tea ceremony rituals to praise Khorne, and softly but dominantly commanding him to sit and watch her elaborate worship dances to Khorne. These acts had had a soothing effect on the troubled man, just like they always had a soothing effect on Khorne worshippers if done right, relaxing Gorgock so much that he was half hypnotised by the graceful geisha. Then Lash had dominated him completely with a soft voice and gentle touch, but always done respectfully, never degrading or dishonouring him.
They had made love, but not as often as one might think, and always done very gently with great tenderness. Mostly what they had done was talk very softly about Gorgock's feelings, often talking while Lash was stripped naked so that Gorgock felt more secure in his masculinity as he talked about his feelings. Often when they did make love the act itself was just a masculinity preserving relaxing prelude to the therapy sessions, as men felt the most secure in talking about their feelings to a woman they had just fucked, anything to get past the defensive barriers to help him.
Gorgock had flourished as the relationship continued, becoming mentally stronger with time, more disciplined in battle and more focused in general. The difference by the end had been astounding, turning a broken shell of a berserker into a mentally strong warrior twice as deadly as before. Lash had been well rewarded for her help, given generous food by Gorgock even during the height of the famine, and protected from harm by her huge protector.
The relationship with Gorgock had ended for no other reason than that he no longer needed further therapy, Lash had healed his heart and built him up to be as strong as he could be. Gorgock had not wanted Lash to be bound by marriage to a man who might be killed at any moment leaving her all alone in some dangerous place, and out of love he had let her go. They had parted ways fondly with a smile, tender to the very end.
Gorgock was just one of many many Khorne men that Lash had emotionally put back together, and the number of men who could still be helped by Lash was great. She had done real good, real help to real people who needed her help. It was deeply rewarding and it made a real tangible difference to so many lives.
Wendy seemed determined to take Lash away from all of this to be her wife, selfishly keeping Lash all for herself and her slaves for their own exclusive pleasure. Wendy would almost certainly expect Lash to quit some or all of her work and her art, at the very least Wendy would expect Lash to greatly cut her hours to make time for Wendy and Octavia and Fhimra. Yes Lash would be a billionaire's wife and have every luxury imaginable, but at the cost of everything that mattered most and gave her life the most meaning.
But then again, maybe Lash was looking at this the wrong way?, If anyone needed therapy it was Wendy Sevenson, Wendy was in a way very like Gorgock and could certainly benefit from Lash's care.
But was Lash looking at this wrong yet again?, Marriage shouldn't be about therapy, it should be about love. Lash was *allowed* to care about her own needs and marry someone that made Lash happy, it wasn't selfish to not be 100 percent selfless in every aspect of her personal life.
Lash sighed to herself, stroking Wendy's face. Being an empath was extremely hard, when you could feel the pain and needs of everyone else, sometimes your own needs could get drowned out and go unheard. What did Lash herself actually want and what did she feel?
Lash certainly liked Wendy and enjoyed her company. They were old friends of many years who caught up socially in cafes from time to time during peacetime, they knew each other's kids and were definitely close friends in every respect. Wendy was also a regular client of Lash's professional Dominatrix services, and as a result they had had sex with each other many times even before this dating activity. The sex had been good, really good…
They had chemistry, they had history, they had friendship and they even had trust. Lash could extremely easily enter a relationship with Wendy with very little friction or difficulty, Lash knew the woman extremely well and knew what she liked and disliked, it would hardly even be work to make a long term relationship with Wendy.
It went without saying that Wendy was sexually attractive. Lash usually dated men but she was bisexual and sexually attracted to both men and women equally. Wendy was sexy and gorgeous in the extreme.
Could Lash fall in love with Wendy?, Perhaps, *if* Wendy actually bothered to put in any effort on her part to woo Lash. Wendy might still have a bit too many dommes on her plate right now to woo individual women yet, but if Wendy didn't start at the very least giving Lash flowers soon then Lash would get offended and reject the relationship.
Lash sighed.
"Wendy, we need to talk.", Lash said with a sigh.
Wendy looked at Lash with full attention and submissively said "Yes Mistress Lash".
"We are dating supposedly, but why am I doing all the work while you do nothing?, You haven't even given me flowers, you haven't taken me to dinner, this isn't very romantic.", Lash complained unhappily.
"You are absolutely right Mistress Lash, I am so sorry!", Wendy exclaimed in contrite repentance.
"You have made me the apparent front runner in this cruel competition, but you have treated me and the others so selfishly and so callously that I'm not even sure if I want to win. Do you think that money will buy my love?", Lash said honestly with disapproval.
"You are right Mistress Lash, of course you are right. Of course I can't buy your love, I will romance you properly going forward I promise Mistress Lash.", Wendy adamantly agreed in smitten submissive worship.
"Don't pin all of your hopes on me Wendy, give the others a serious *equal* chance. I don't guarantee that I will even say yes to you.", Lash warned Wendy.
Wendy gasped at these words with a tragic expression, clearly appalled at the mere thought that Lash might refuse her romantic advances.
"The others are great women who I presume mostly really want to marry you without any hesitation, I on the other hand have hesitation. If you want an easy wife then pick someone else, if you want me you have to put in the work and earn my heart.", Lash warned sternly.
"I will put in the work and earn your heart Mistress Lash.", Wendy promised frantically.
Lash looked at Wendy with a hard stare and nodded sternly.
"I will give you a chance and await your efforts to woo me.", Lash said with stern indulgence.
"Thank you Mistress Lash, I won't disappoint you Mistress Lash!", Wendy thanked profusely.
The apprentices and former apprentices looked depressed and distressed at the knowledge that Wendy had obviously decided on Lash as her new wife, their faces hung in defeat and silent tears in their eyes.
"My poor darlings. This whole thing is so cruel on you dearests.", Lash said giving them all a great big cuddle.
"Is there any point in even continuing if you have already won?", Lash's graduate former apprentice Mistress Pain Lee asked in despair.
"The second place winner might still get Wendy if I drop out, and the way I feel this is certainly a possibility. At the very least this is good practice and a good networking experience to meet all of the best Dominatrices. If you get a high place but not first then you can put that achievement on your credentials, it could greatly increase your career opportunities and earning prospects.", Lash encouraged with beautiful reassuring warmth.
The apprentices and former apprentices cheered up very slightly from these words but still looked demoralised.
"Oh my dearests it breaks my heart to see you so sad.", Lash said compassionately, cuddling them all tightly.
"Could you drop out…", Mistress Pain suggested very hesitantly.
"On the one hand I could, and I'm selfless enough to easily do that, but on the other hand should I not think about my own needs and my own romantic interests?, Should I also step aside to make way for competition every other time I date someone in the future?", Lash replied gently.
"Please…", Mistress Pain softly pleaded.
"A Dominatrix must stand her ground in these situations I am afraid, I will hug you, I will cuddle you, I will kiss away your tears, but I won't be moved to change my dominant decisions like a submissive doormat. If I drop out it will be because *I* choose to drop out, and I may well do so, but it must be *my* decision or I am no Dominatrix at all.", Lash said apologetically but firmly.
Wendy moaned softly in submissive appreciation at these dominant words.
Mistress Pain looked crushed by these words. Lash cuddled her tightly and kissed her hair reassuringly.
"I am so proud of you, of all of you. All of you have excelled, absolutely excelled with the highest standards of excellence. You are highly skilled top tier Dominatrices of the highest level, you made it this far already against literally hundreds of rivals. I have never been so proud of you girls.", Lash praised beautifully.
"They *are* very good Dominatrices Mistress Lash.", Wendy agreed submissively from her rope bondage.
"Damn right they are good, better than you deserve too you little slut.", Lash replied with severe dominance, making Wendy moan at the words.
"You might not be able to beat *me*, as is to be expected of students against a master, but you can still beat everyone else. If Wendy fails to impress me then any of you girls could have this.", Lash firmly encouraged them.
The girls all nodded but were quiet and brooding.
"Second place is still unclear.", Wendy allowed carefully.
"Good, then one of my girls might be your next wife you little slut!", Lash said with dominant cheerfulness.
"Yes Mistress Lash.", Wendy submissively agreed.
"When we finally stop torturing you and untie you, I want to be wooed like no woman has ever been wooed before you little pussy whore.", Lash told Wendy dominantly.
"I will Mistress Lash.", Wendy promised.
"Not that we are going to stop any time soon.", Lash added, and pressed the tip of a brutal electric shock prod into Wendy's clitoris.
Lash grinned sadistically at the resulting screams…
***…