Royal Flush Ch. 02

Tamsin was rather taken aback by the warmth of the welcome. She was all ready to hate these people, to loathe them and all they stood for but Calliope could not have been nicer. What also helped put her at her ease was the way she was no longer the only one wearing such scant clothing. Calliope, who was a tall, leggy blonde, wore, apart from her apron, shoes similar to Tamsin's, a strappy harness affair about her torso, a black, heavy duty, collar and, somewhat to Tamsin's surprise, a half mask. The whole ensemble was made from matching black leather. Hipperia, who was, not to put too fine a point on it, short, dark and a shade on the plump side, wore a red leather corset which had matching collar, cuffs and, like Calliope, a half mask. The masks, presumably, went along with the strange Greek names to provide anonymity. It would seem that, whereas Lady Mary and Popsy had few qualms about letting Andrea and Tamsin know who they were, the other participants were rather more circumspect. Even so, Tamsin could see enough to know that neither was Princess Charlotte.

"Come on then," Calliope said as she took off her apron, hung it up and headed for the door.

It was bizarre in the extreme to be following an all but naked woman as she led Tamsin through a passageway into the main body of the house and then into one of the reception rooms. Once there, Tamsin had barely time to register the four Dommes sat in their armchairs except to notice that there were two she had yet to meet, each dressed in a similar fashion to Lady Mary and, like their subs, wearing masks. But there was no time for staring, Calliope took Tamsin over to the sideboard where the drinks were laid out.

"Lady Mary, G and T, ice and lime. Euthenia, she's my Domme, vodka tonic, ice and easy on the tonic, Artemis, that's Hipperia's Domme, glass of Chardonnay," Calliope whispered. "What does yours take?"

Tamsin pointed at the gin bottle and then at the tonic.

"Ice and lime?" Calliope queried. Tamsin just nodded.

"There's far too much whispering and not enough pouring going on," Lady Mary said severely.

"My apologies, Lady Mary, I'm just making sure the new maid knows which drinks to pour," Calliope replied.

"Well, get a move on."

"Yes, Lady Mary, straight away."

Despite her nervousness, acting as some sort of waitress was pretty straightforward and Tamsin just concentrated on helping Calliope pour out the drinks and put them on a tray. Having done so Calliope nudged the tray towards Tamsin and motioned with her head that she should take the drinks over to the Dommes. Tamsin's nerves went into overdrive as, suddenly a shade unsteady on her heels, she carried the tray over to where the Dommes were sitting. She had to concentrate, had to put to one side the grotesqueness of the situation and all her fears over where this was heading. She went first to Lady Mary; that one was easy, she was one of the G and T's. Tamsin came to the side of her armchair, turned the tray so that the relevant drink was facing Lady Mary and gave a curtsey. Lady Mary took her drink and gave Tamsin a little smile. Artemis was sat in the next armchair and, in her flustered state, Tamsin couldn't remember whether she was the vodka tonic or the glass of Chardonnay. Rattled, she turned the tray so that the vodka tonic was facing outwards. There was a long pause as Artemis looked at the tray and then at Tamsin and then turned to the room in general.

"Is this your maid?" Artemis asked Andrea and, from the tone of her voice, Tamsin just knew she was in trouble

"She is, indeed. Is there a problem?" Andrea replied.

"She's just offered me the wrong drink. After all the whispering we've just witnessed it seems a little careless to be so forgetful. I wouldn't want to intrude in the discipline of another's staff but, if mine were guilty of such sloppy behaviour..." Artemis left the sentence hanging.

"I can only apologise for her slackness," Andrea responded airily. "She can be such a ditzy little thing I sometimes don't know why I put up with her. Maybe, as you're the offended party, you'd like to give her whatever punishment you feel is suitable. Should you chose to do so I'd be most grateful. It will save me the bother of having to punish her later."

Tamsin's heart sunk as she was so easily offered up but, in her heart, she knew that Andrea was just playing to the script. She had known that she would get 'punished' at some point but she hadn't reckoned on it happening so soon. She lowered her eyes and stared at the floor in front of her.

"My drink is the Chardonnay," Artemis said to Tamsin as she reached across the tray and took the right glass. "Serve the other two, put the tray back on the sideboard and return to me."

Tamsin did as she was told and returned to stand in front of Artemis who looked her up and down. Tamsin was literally quaking with fear and in danger of peeing herself. This was all too much. Her worst fears about this job were about to come true and she was supposed to pretend to enjoy it. That was impossible. She wished she had never got into this. However, there was no way out without blowing everything.

"She's quite a pretty little thing and nicely timid. Mind you, that doesn't excuse handing me the wrong drink," Artemis said to the room at large before turning specifically to Andrea. "Is there a reason why she's gagged or is that normal?"

"As she was helping me dress she spoke out of turn; showed no respect at all. I found it necessary to punish her and put her in a gag for the rest of the day," Andrea replied.

"Punish her?"

"Nothing too severe. Six light taps with the crop across the backside."

"Really," Artemis turned her attention back to Tamsin. "Turn around, girl, and lift up your skirt. Let me see."

Tamsin shuffled around so that her back was to Artemis and then reached for the hem of her skirt. With her wrists linked by the short length of chain Tamsin couldn't reach behind herself so she compromised by pulling one side up as high as possible. She was more than aware that this uncovered more than just her backside and both Euthenia and Lady Mary, along with Calliope, over by the sideboard, were all watching avidly.

"Higher, girl. Let me get a proper look. Yes, that's the way, now move a little closer," Artemis added.

Still holding up her skirt Tamsin shuffled backwards. Artemis sat forward in her chair and reached out and grabbed the hem of her skirt and used it to pull her even closer. And then, just as with Lady Mary back in the London flat, Tamsin felt that creepy sensation of another's unbidden hands groping around her buttocks, tracing the lines that the crop had left. Then Artemis's hands gripped Tamsin's hips and turned her around. This time her fingers reached for Tamsin's nether lips and gently teased them apart. Every fibre in Tamsin's body wanted to pull away but that would ruin the illusion. She had to play along, she had to appear willing. Mentally gritting her teeth she pushed her hips forward, offering herself to Artemis.

"Always the same with the timid ones. Mousy quiet on the outside, rampant hussies once you get them started," Artemis laughed. "Look at her pushing herself forward; she's loving every second, isn't she? Come a little closer... er.... does she have a club name yet?"

"Club name? Are those the Greek names you're using?" Andrea said in response. "Please, tell me about these club names."

"We've got a little club and, when we meet, our members like to keep things as anonymous as possible," Lady Mary explained. "So many of us have high profile public lives that we like the club to be a haven where we can escape for a while. Wearing masks and having 'club' names allows us to leave our everyday selves at the door and enter a fantasy world, so to speak. We find it easier to be who we want to be when we don't have to be who we are. I will admit I've spent some time looking into what names you and your maid would be given."

"We don't get to choose, then," Andrea said.

"Oh, no. We have a little ceremony where... but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's just relax and get to know each other first.

"Am I allowed ask what your club name is?" Andrea said.

"Oh, I'm Voluptua, the goddess of sensual pleasure. It somehow seemed appropriate," Lady Mary said with a laugh. "All our club names come from Greek mythology. Euthenia and Artemis you've already met. Over there, by the sideboard, you have Calliope, Popsy, who drove you here, her club name is Odyne, and it won't be long before you meet Hipperia, Artemis' little pet who is, hopefully, in the kitchen preparing dinner. I know it's all a bit confusing but you'll soon get used to it."

While Lady Mary was explaining about club names Artemis was still using her fingers to fondle Tamsin and her response to this was becoming less and less feigned. Maybe there was something to what Lady Mary was talking about. Although she was without a mask in the strict sense of the word, her whole role was effectively a mask and this was all a fantasy world. She was still, understandably, concerned about what her 'punishment' would involve but, in the meanwhile, her only way of coping was to become so immersed in the role that, despite her revulsion, she was becoming aroused. Of course, it helped that Artemis was no novice and knew exactly what she was doing but mere mechanics wasn't the only reason. There was something about this fantasy, this role play, this escape, that was, despite the collar and cuffs, intensely liberating. Once, at the request of a lover, she had experimented with light bondage and, whilst real capture and rape would be her worst nightmare, it had been thrilling to lie there crying out 'Help! Help!' whilst her girlfriend of the time had her "evil" way with her. This was the same sort of thing but taken to a much higher level.

"Oh, she is a sexy little thing, isn't she?" Artemis said with a laugh. "All that sweet blushing innocence on the outside and a wanton slut on the inside. It's no wonder that even after her earlier punishment she's still misbehaving. She just wants to be punished, isn't that right?" Artemis looked Tamsin straight in the eye and all Tamsin could do in return is blush. "She's so wanton that she's getting all excited. Just look at her rubbing herself against my hand. That's not the idea at all; this is supposed to be punishment, not pleasure. Calliope," she called over, "fetch me a tawse, something suitable for such a naughty little maid."

Calliope opened the top drawer of the sideboard and took out a leather strap, a little over an inch wide and maybe eighteen inches long. As is traditional, it was split into two tails for around half its length. She took this over to Artemis who removed her hand from Tamsin's groin, took the tawse from Calliope and swished it a couple of times through the air. Tamsin blanched. Whereas she had already felt the crop across her backside that had been wielded by Andrea who, for all their differences, had been out to mark rather than hurt. Artemis, on the other hand, was working under the assumption that Tamsin was a 'naughty little maid' would actually welcome the pain.

"Does your maid need to be held down while she's being punished?" Artemis asked, conversationally. "I know for a fact that Lady Mary can provide a punishment bench if required but I'd prefer not to go to all that bother."

"Oh, I agree, a punishment bench would be going to far too much trouble. Whilst a bench is efficacious for full punishments, she should be able to keep still for something as mild as a tawse," Andrea replied. "My general rule is that, if she can't stay still, then that particular stroke doesn't count towards the total."

"A commendable approach. Very well, then, it's time we got your maid into position. Bend over, girl, and grasp your ankles," Artemis ordered.

Tamsin leant forward, reached down and grasped her ankles but, even so, she was not positioned as Artemis required. With an audible sigh of exasperation she got up out of her chair and repositioned Tamsin so that her posterior was directly presented to the other Dommes and her feet were as wide apart as the chain between her ankles would permit. Artemis then lifted up the back of Tamsin's skirt and tucked it into the ties of the apron that came with the maid's outfit. Tamsin knew that this position was chosen so that she was 'on display', so that she was left with no dignity. As Tamsin looked back through the gap between her calves and saw the Domme's rapt attention, it was certainly seemed to be working. As far as they were concerned she had become an upturned backside, open, unprotected and vulnerable.

"As it was only a mild forgetfulness I think a round half dozen should be ample for the moment," Artemis said conversationally to Andrea.

"If you feel that is appropriate," Andrea replied lightly.

Artemis stood at Tamsin's side but, rather than just starting the punishment, she placed the hand holding the tawse on the small of Tamsin's back and, with the other, stroked the rounded globes of her buttocks.

"She's not as well padded as my Hipperia," she commented, "but she is very pleasing, for all that."

"Very few are as well padded as your Hipperia," Lady Mary laughed. "But I agree with you. This one's backside is just crying out to be paddled."

"Ha, I can't think of a girl's backside presented in this way that you didn't think was crying out to be paddled." Euthenia joined in the joke. "Come along Artemis, are we going to see some spanking or are we just going to sit here all evening admiring a pair of well presented buttocks?"

"Well, there's much to admire but...," thwack, without warning the first stroke fell and Tamsin cried out in surprise as much as pain, albeit that her cry was muffled by the gag. She tightened the grip on her ankles and, as the ribbon of fire blazed across her buttocks, she repeated once more the mantra of keeping her eye on the prize. In a way the gag helped. She bit down as hard as she could, crushing the rubber ball between her jaws. She was just getting used to the pain, just catching her breath again, when, thwack, the second blow fell, parallel to and just below the first one. Twice the number of stripes meant twice the agony and she had to fight every urge to rebel, to stand up, to fend off the blows. Not moving, just staying in position, was almost as hard as dealing with the pain. Again there was a pause, again she was just beginning to recover her composure, just beginning to relax a bit, when the next blow fell.

Tamsin was beginning to realise just how much Artemis really knew what she was doing, really knew just how to pace the blows so as to let each one sink in but not to let it subside. By the fourth blow Tamsin's tears had started in earnest and her nose was snotting up. With her mouth gagged she had to sniff it up so as to breathe. This could hardly get less dignified. Her sole focus was now on survival, of seeing this through; not that she had much choice in the matter. Just two more, just two more to go, but staying still was agony in itself. The mere taps that Andrea had given her with the crop had been nothing on this. The fifth stroke fell and, by now, Artemis had worked her way down to the crease between buttock and thigh. Here there was less padding and the pain was more direct. Still, only one more to go.

"As I was saying, I feel that a pretty pair of buttocks are much improved by being properly marked. Don't you agree, ladies?" Artemis said conversationally.

"I have to say, you're very neat, very methodical," Andrea commented. "I've never seen strips so evenly placed."

"I can't be doing with sloppy work," Artemis said, rather haughtily. "If a job is worth doing, it's worth doing properly. Talking of which...," thwack, the sixth and final stroke blazed across the back of Tamsin's thighs. She rocked forward and almost had to take a step to stop herself from falling. Shaking like a leaf she remained bent over, fiercely gripping her ankles and trying to come to terms with the pain.

And then... and then, nothing. Artemis sat back down and the four Dommes returned to their chatting as if nothing were in any way out of the ordinary. Tamsin, meanwhile, was still bent over, her hands white-knuckled as they gripped her ankles trying to absorb the pain. But it wasn't just the roaring furnace of her backside that was troubling her. There was also the discomfort of this demeaning position. The backs of her thighs ached and she would have given anything to be allowed to stand up. More than that, she wanted to blow her nose so as to be able to breathe properly. What is more, the physical discomfort of the pose was matched by it's lack of dignity, bent forward, obscenely open, everything on display. And they weren't even paying attention. It was as if she were suffering for nothing.

As the minutes dragged by simply staying in position became harder and harder. The urge to stand up, to rub her buttocks, to relieve the increasing tension in her thighs, to get out of this ridiculous position, was getting stronger and stronger. But it wasn't just the physical side. Being ignored was just as frustrating. She was also having to fight back the urge to, despite the gag, stand up and shout 'Oi, what about me!'

"OK, that's long enough. You can stand up now," Artemis said finally when maybe ten minutes had passed.

'About bloody time too,' Tamsin thought to herself as she slowly, gingerly, stood up again. The ends of the apron ties fell down behind her and, as they brushed against her battered flesh, even this softest of touches was enough to make her flinch. With all the crying her face was a mess, her hair was dishevelled and her nose was running. For a while Artemis just looked at her as if waiting for her to compose herself was a mildly annoying but necessary part of the process.

"Well, girl, have you learnt your lesson? Will you get the drinks right in future?" Artemis asked. Tamsin could only nod in reply. "Hmm... we'll see, won't we," Artemis continued. "Now come and stand next to me."

Tamsin went over and stood next to the chair and, when instructed, turned around so that her backside was facing Artemis. She wasn't in the least bit surprised when she felt the tips of Artemis' fingers gently tracing out the raised lines of the welts across her skin.

"Yes, a pretty little backside like this looks so much better for a quick tanning. Now, take this and put it away," Artemis handed Tamsin the tawse, "and, when you've done so, get Calliope to take you to the bathroom and wipe your face. Then I want you straight back here and Calliope can return to her place in the kitchen," and, with an airy wave, Artemis dismissed them both. Tamsin noticed that Calliope gave a little curtsey before she left so she followed suit.

Calliope led her over to the sideboard and opened the top drawer so that Tamsin could put the tawse away. As she did so she could see that there were many other straps, paddles, crops and canes all waiting ready for use. Calliope gave Tamsin a little wink when she noticed her staring. Tamsin felt her stomach churn at the thought of which implement would be used on her next time. She had already tasted the tawse and, albeit at a pretty mild level, the crop. She didn't particularly relish any of the others on offer.

Calliope then led her to a downstairs bathroom and stood her in front of the basin. Tamsin looked at herself in the mirror. Her tear stained face told it's own story; this was going to be a long night. Calliope took a tissue and gave it to Tamsin so she could blow her nose. Then she ran the cold tap, rinsed out a flannel and used it to wipe down Tamsin's face.

"Here, try this," Calliope said gently as she rinsed out the flannel again, this time using cold water, and held it gently against Tamsin's buttocks. Oh, bliss! However, they couldn't linger and, all too soon Calliope was saying, "come on, we can't leave them waiting". Calliope headed for the kitchen leaving Tamsin to return to her post, next to the sideboard in the lounge. She stood mutely watching the Dommes and wishing she could do something to ease the fire in her backside.