almost ran into James’ back as he stopped suddenly. James moved into one of the rooms. He smiled and motioned for Violet to follow him. Violet looked around the entryway and hesitated. Something about this whole thing seemed surreal. She felt like this was the end, and her last chance. She almost turned and ran. Do I really need this? What am I doing here?
She didn’t need herself to answer, she already knew. Keeping that single wine glass in her mind she walked into the room.
James smiles warmly and took her suitcase from her without saying a word. He laid it down on the single twin sized bed in the corner of the room. He stood up and looked over at her. “violet, may you stand at attention against the wall.”
Violet was a bit shocked by the casual way in which he ordered her. His clear steel blue eyes weren’t unkind, but they were unwavering. Violet thought about protesting, but this is why she was here, so she exhaled loudly and did as she was told. This was just a vacation anyway; she could play along. It might even be fun.
She stood close to the wall, and touched her heels and the balls of her feet together. She balled her hands into loose fits hanging at her waist but just behind her. She lifted her chin so she was looking just above her normal eye level and she rolled her shoulders back, causing her elbows to bend slightly.
James watched her and shook his head with a soft chuckle.
“Close, violet, but not quite. Here, spread your feet so they are close, but not touching, while still parallel to each other. Now let your hands rest palm down on the front of your thighs, with fingers straight down and together. Let your shoulders rest comfortably, don’t roll them back like that, and lower your chin to a comfortable level so you are looking straight ahead.”
It took her a few moments to get her posture right, but after one or two small corrections she was standing in a pretty good attention posture.
James nodded, “very good violet.” He turned around and went back outside leaving Violet standing against the wall. She stood there for what seemed like a long time. She eventually shook her head and sat down on the bed, there was no other furniture in the room.
James came back into the room holding an elegant silver tray covered with assorted objects she couldn’t tell what they were. He stopped and looked at her sitting on the bed. He looked disappointed and softly shook his head, but his smile never left his face, “violet, violet, violet, what am I going to do with you?”
There was something in his tone or his look, but she actually felt bad and immediately stood back up at attention against the wall. She wasn’t sure why she did it, but something about disappointing anyone made a visceral reaction in her mind and she found herself wishing she had never sat down.
“I didn’t know when you were coming back, I was getting bored just standing there.” The response sounded weak even to her ears and she felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment, she was better than that.
James ignored her reaction but seemed to cheer up now that she was standing against the wall again. He showed her the silver tray.
She looked down at an assortment of what looked like dog collars, in all sorts of colors and material, lace, leather, metal, pink, blues, blacks, steel. She looked up at James not sure what this was.
James smiled down at the collars, “you get to choose one, violet. This may be the last choice you get to make during your stay here, so pick one that speaks to you. Pick one that makes your heart race, and your skin tingle.”
Violet was a little shocked to say the least, my last choice? She almost walked out, but something about the pretty collars made her stay. The white lace looked like a maid’s choker, but the metal one looked like a handcuff, for the neck. Her eyes slid from one to the other and stopped.
Her heartbeat quickened as she looked at the black studded leather collar. She could almost feel the touch of leather bite softly into her skin, the gentle scent of leather around her always. Her hand shook, and she felt a little dizzy as she reached and pointed out the collar.
James smiled and set the tray down and took the collar in his hands. “Lift your hair, violet”
Violet’s hands moved before she registered that she was following his orders. She dutifully lifted her hair as her heart beat faster. James wrapped the leather around her neck and clasped is closed and she heard a soft click. That click sounded in her ears like a gong going off.
James smiled at her and Violet found herself smiling back. “There’s a good girl. Now stand at attention against the wall for me.”
Violet found herself obeying and standing against the wall again. James left the room with a smile. Violet stood for a long time. She could handle this, if this was part of the game, she could do it. And something about disappointing James made her feel awful. She hated disappointing people. She was tough on people, sure, but she never disappointed anyone.
A long-time later James returned and smiled. Violet found herself blushing softly and feeling proud that she had stayed standing at attention this whole time.
James looked at her, “violet, I want you to stand in the ‘wait’ pose. Do you know what that is?”
Violet had never heard of such a thing. She shook her head no.
James smiled and nodded, “That’s ok, don’t worry, I’ll teach you.”
Violet looked a little skeptical and wasn’t sure what this was, but she was going to prove there wasn’t anything she couldn’t do. She had earned her job and her life, and she would earn James’s respect as well.
James said, “spread your feet shoulder width apart, and put your hands behind your back, softly placing your hand under the opposite elbow, so your arms are hanging behind you at a ninety-degree angle.”
Violet was a little confused but James helped her place her hands behind her back. She did feel a little better with her feet spread apart a little.
James went over to the twin sized bed and opened her suit case. He took out the first item that was on top, one of her cute tops. “Is this yours, violet?”
Violet nodded, “yes it’s mine I bought it from Bergdorf Goodman.”
James nodded and threw it out the open window.
Violet took a step dropping her arms, “What in the hell are you do~iieeeeegggg”
Violet’s body went rigid and her nerves sang with hot electricity that ran up and down her body silencing her with the shock of it, and then the pain of it made her eyes water.
“violet, violet, violet,” James shook his head but that smile never left his lips. “you are not allowed to move from any pose I put you in unless I tell you to move. I hate doing that to you, my little violet. Let’s see if we can do better, hmm?”
Violet, for some reason, felt her cheeks warm again being admonished like a child. She should have been furious but something in his tone just made her feel childish. She stepped back against the wall in her newly learned ‘wait’ pose.
James smiled and lifted one of her skirts, it was pleated leather, black and could go with anything. James tossed that out the window.
Violet felt the same urge to move, but the pain from being shocked somehow, and James’s disappointment made her stand still. She could always buy new clothes. She was here to learn a different side of herself.
James emptied out her suitcase, item by item and by the end Violet didn’t even feel the urge to move, even when he threw out her makeup kit. It was high end Urban Decay and Dior. Seeing it fly out the window was almost therapeutic.
James then lifted up the empty suitcase, “What is this, violet?”
“My suitcase,” Violet answered simply.
“What do we usually do with an empty suitcase, violet?”
“Put it in the closet,” Violet answered feeling silly being asked these simple questions.
“Do we really need an empty suitcase, violet?”
She thought and shook her head. The pain that met the head movement was sever but short. It caused her neck muscles to spasm and her heart to skip a beat. She breathed hard through gritted teeth as the wave of pain washed over her.
The pain ceased as suddenly as it started and Violet found her voice, “No we don’t need an empty suitcase. That’s why it goes in the closet.”
James threw it out the window just as he had the rest of her belongings.
James sat down on the bed, smiling at her, “Now that that’s taken care of, we can move on. Now, violet take off your top for me.”
Violet shook her head violently and started to say, “no w~iieegeghhhh”
The electric shock was more intense this time. Her body froze in pain as her voice was strangled. It was short lived. These shocks were getting a little tiresome.
James’ smile never left is lips but he did look a little sad and disappointed. That hurt more than the shock did. “violet, you’re better than this. Come on, you can do this for me, can’t you? Go ahead and take off your top.”
Violet felt so strange, lifting her blouse over her head. It’s not like she was embarrassed by her body, quite the opposite. She knew how hard she worked to stay in shape and she knew how people looked at her. But taking off her clothes, because she was being told to. That was something completely different, something she wasn’t used to at all.
She felt uneasy as she stood in the wait pose in just her bra. But between the painful shocks and James’ disappointment, she stood still, looking straight ahead.
“Very good violet! I’m so proud of you!” James was beaming.
Violet felt a smile cross her lips and she dipped her head to hide her blush. Pain shot through her body as her head dipped and she heard a whimper escape her lips as a tear fell from her eyes. The hot pain lasted longer this time, and she jerked her head up and stayed motionless even though she wanted to cry and yell to make it stop.
Leave a Reply