The Collaring of Chloe Ch. 07

Chapter 7 -- The Void

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As they descended the dim staircase leading down beneath Master's large and beautiful home, Chloe imagined the room that waited below. She'd been within many 'dungeons' before, chambers furnished and stocked for the use of BDSM play, typically set up with many large devices that resembled torture equipment. In truth, most of such devices were based on actual medieval devices for that very purpose, but re-engineered for safety and to allow the 'torture' to be focused more on torment for pleasure, not actual torture.

Some such playrooms were smallish, repurposed bedrooms with a few things installed, limited in size and scope by the limits of a budget. Communities would sometimes pool resources to set up a larger, shared, space somewhere, maintained by the members, for everyone to make use of. These were often set up in large basements or small private houses containing multiple areas or rooms and lots of different devices for all manner of play. Many that Chloe had seen were decorated to suggest an ominous atmosphere, as though one were entering a torture chamber, which, to a degree, they were.

Many others she'd seen were designed with a cozier feel, meant to impart a safe place to let oneself go. Communal spaces often had different areas lain out for each type of feel, allowing those who wished to impart anxiety to use one end and those seeking comfort to use the other. Master Heron's space had been so set up, divided into two rooms, one all metal and dark lined constructions, the other room a warm red color with softly padded devises and erotic, but soothing, images.

Since hearing that Master did have a dungeon below the house, Chloe had been trying to conjure up her expectation of what it would be like. Master's home was unlike any other home she'd ever been in, so well furnished and appointed, but with everything so decidedly focused towards the sensual. Every room of the house had some sort of reminder of the lifestyle, even if very subtle, such as the use of O-rings as pulls on the dressers in her room, to the less subtle fixtures on her headboard meant to attach restraints to or the dining room table that always gave Chloe a sense of arousal when she looked at it. Most rooms of the house had erotic art of one kind or another in it, leaving nothing to doubt for any visitor that the man who owned this home was a very sexually oriented person.

More though, it was the overall sense of class and elegance of it all that had really struck her. Even the most erotic images she'd seen had such beauty and artistry to them that they could simply not be thought of as anything lewd or course. Nothing felt pornographic, no matter how intense the depiction, such as the large painting of a trio, a woman and two men painted in a faux-Japanese style, engaged in vigorous intercourse that she'd caught a brief view of in one of the downstairs rooms. Instead of coming off as perverted, the piece made her think of something poetic and emotionally intimate, the tears on the woman's face as she kissed one of her lovers in the painting bringing forth thoughts of the deepest love.

She felt certain that the theme would extend here too, to a room intended for nothing but the most carnal of uses. Somehow, she just knew, Master would have found a way to mix both the ominous and the soothing into one room, would have art so intensely sexual as to arouse any viewer, without ever seeming dirty or perverse. It would be stocked with all manner of device and span the breadth of a massive chamber.

As she entered, she found, to her surprise, that only the last part of her expectation was true. What she entered was, without doubt, an impressively vast dungeon with more devices and play stations than she'd ever seen in a single space, even a community dungeon. However, it was not filled with art or erotic images, nor was it a miraculous mixture of both fearsome countenance and comforting tone. Instead, almost every wall was fitted with floor to ceiling mirrors, set almost seamlessly side-by-side, making the dungeon seem almost infinite in size, reflected and re-reflected in nearly every direction. Inset ceiling panels produced diffused ambient light throughout that the mirrors seemed to increase exponentially, making everything seem lit from everywhere with a soft suffused glow. The floor was made of a deep, dark blue, polished marble-like surface, smooth and clean-looking, giving the impression of walking across something ethereal.

Instead of seeming both ominous and soothing, it had the effect of being neither. It created a sense of almost magical wonder, as if she'd stepped into some other dimension. It took her breath away, creating a slight moment of vertigo at the illusion of infinite space. Apparently, Mittens expected the feeling, as she immediately took Chloe's arm, creating a kind of anchor in space for her. Looking over, she found the adorable cat-girl smiling at her cutely.

"Neat, huh?" She beamed.

"I have to say, it's not what I was expecting." Chloe replied, glancing back around at the room, feeling herself orient. "Must be a bitch to clean." She muttered, drawing out a laugh from her sister submissive.

"We come down once a week to give it a good going over." Mittens said, leading Chloe further into the chamber. "But Master usually cleans up most of the real mess after any significant play sessions."

"By himself?" Chloe asked.

"He finds it a nice meditation, re-living the play as he cleans." Mittens smiled warmly. "Besides, Master expects us to clean up after ourselves and believes that what it is good for the goose, goes for the gander."

Chloe considered that a moment, realizing that she had indeed seen that, when she thought about it. Master had been the one to clean the Playroom after their session last night. During the period in which she and Mittens had drowsily cuddled together on the large blanket, he'd quietly put away everything and wiped everything down. She'd not even noticed he'd done so until they'd rose to leave the room for bed, though she'd been still too lost in the throes of the experience to really consider it until now.

"Wow." Master's voice pulled Chloe completely out of her thoughts as they came up to where he waited in the room. "You look absolutely spectacular, Chloe." His gaze traveled her up and down, admiring the sight of her in the beautiful bronze and black corset.

"Thank you, Master." She replied politely, lowering her head a little in deferment to him. She felt a strong desire to have him touch her, caress her face, run his hands along her sides, slide his fingers into her exposed pubis. The sudden need for him made her feel fluttery for a moment, but she quickly pushed the thoughts out, realizing he was about to speak again and didn't want to be caught not listening.

"Welcome to the Dungeon." He waved an arm around. "If you like, later we can walk around and you can tell me what sorts of things you most enjoy and which you'd like to experience in the future." He raised a finger. "But first, we need to see to your punishment."

Chloe made a quick glance around to see what was near them, assuming it would give her a clue as to what form the punishment would take, but Master made a gesture for them to progress onward past him. They started walking, moving by him, but as they did, he deftly threw his arm out to catch Mittens around the stomach and lifted her slightly up onto her tip-toes as he pushed her back, the motion making her tilt forward a bit. There was a sudden *SMACK* and Mittens gave a little squeak as Master's other hand slapped across one of her butt-cheeks.

"That's for trying to get your paws on Chloe's breasts before I'd even had the chance to speak to her." He said with a broad grin, shifting her back to a standing position and letting her go.

Mittens reached back to rub her rump with a stuffed paw, making an exaggerated pout towards him. "Saw-wee, Master." She lisped in a mock-remorse. As soon as he turned to lead them to where their punishment had been prepared though, she whirled in front of Chloe and grabbed her about the bust with her large paws. "Grope, grope, grope." She said quickly in a giggle. She emitted another squeal as Master spun back around and gave her another swat across her rear, but all three of them were laughing by that point.

However, Mittens' laugh faded quickly away as they stepped up to a table a moment later with a number of articles lain out on it, standing next to a small prepared area with a pair of thick cushions in front of a large steel D-ring mounted to the polished floor. Chloe noted the sudden shift in her demeanor, not fully understanding, seeing a sudden surge of real regret in the girl's face. She looked again towards the table, scanning the items upon it, recognizing most of them, but not fully putting them together yet.

"Mittens, you were told to wait upstairs for me to properly greet Chloe." Master said in a solemn tone, turning to face them. "Chloe, you opted to accept a portion of the responsibility for it, since you sought her out of her attempts to stay hidden, as well as organizing events so that both of you shared the same punishment instead of differing ones." He waved his hand toward the table, then the cushions and D-ring. "So, here we are. Your shared punishment is The Void."

Chloe heard Mittens give a slow, unsteady sigh, looked again towards her, then once more at the table. It contained a pair of black leather jackets covered in heavy belts and buckles, these she realized were custom-made straitjackets. Along with them was a set of ball-gags, a pair of leather blindfolds, and what looked like two pairs of large headphones. There were also the posture collars from last night, some additional restraint cuffs, and several chains and locks.

Suddenly, Chloe realized what was about to happen and recognized the 'headphones' as the heavy-duty hearing protectors used in shooting ranges or construction areas with loud sounds that could potentially damage the ear. She realized that 'The Void' meant sensory deprivation. A lot of play involved some sort of version of it, most commonly simply the use of blindfolds on a submissive so they could not see what was about to happen. She'd heard stories of the use of straitjackets, but had never see one used first-hand, much less been put in one. Still, she realized that he was about to not just take away one sense, but almost all of them at once.

Master stepped forward and put a hand gently on Mittens, who seemed to take significant solace in his touch. "Here, however, is the catch, the benefit of having worked together to share this punishment. Instead of set apart, the two of you will be seated right next to each other, freely allowed to lean against each other, a reminder that you are not alone."

The words seemed to ease Mittens a little more, the girl looking towards Chloe a moment before reaching over to grab her gloved hand into her stuffed paw. "How long, Master?" She asked, though she kept her gaze on Chloe.

"Until I decide to bring you back, my pet." He replied softly.

Mittens heaved a heavy breath and nodded obediently. Chloe felt the paw tighten around her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. She tried to give her sister submissive a look of support, not fully understanding why this punishment seemed to weigh so heavily upon her. She'd expected to endure a hard spanking or perhaps some kind of play that pushed her emotionally. She couldn't quite work out why this seemed to draw out such a heavy response from Mittens.

Master moved to the table. "Chloe, please help me get Mittens into her jacket. You may give her any kind of affection you like as we get her strapped up." Working together, they got the nervous-looking cat-girl belted into her straitjacket, Chloe amazed by the number of buckles and straps. As they did, she gave Mittens plenty of little kisses and caresses on her cheek and neck, trying to make the young woman feel less anxious. Once done, Master stood Chloe facing her while he swiftly strapped her own straitjacket on.

The two posture collars went on next, then the girls were led to the cushions, Master helping them one at a time to kneel down and get comfortable on the pillow, legs folded beneath them. He attached leather ankle-cuffs to each foot, connecting them together with short lengths of chain that clipped onto the rings riveted to the restraints. Then he attached two long chains between the large D-ring in the floor and the O-rings on the collars. The chains were just long enough to be slack as long as they remained in the kneeling position, but disallowed them to rise more than a matter of inches.

Before he added anything more to their bondage, he knelt down in front of them, looking at them. "Are both of you properly comfortable? Nothing pinching or binding?" Both of them confirmed they were tightly secure, but comfortable enough. "Mittens, I love you." He said, caressing her face, pausing as she leaned her face into his hand and nuzzled it. "I'll be right here when you get out."

He looked to Chloe. "You as well, slave." He said, touching her face in the same way. "I already care very much for you and I regret that I am already giving you punishment in less than a day. Just remember, I will be right here waiting for you." He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the forehead. The feel of it sent waves of warmth though Chloe, seeming to radiate out from where his lips touched her skin.

And then he stood and stepped out of sight for a moment. A second later and he carefully arranged the first ball-gag into Mittens' mouth, firmly buckling it on. After checking to make sure she was okay, as indicated by a nod, he followed with Chloe's gag. And then slid on each of the blindfold masks, casting Chloe into pitch darkness. Now only the sounds around her held her connected to the world by a thin tether. She heard him speak one last time.

"Don't forget that you may lean against each other as much as you need." His words sounded strangely far away, though she knew he was right there before her. "I'll be here when it's over." And then the ear-muffs were slid down into place over her ears and she was suddenly cast into a world without light or sound, unable to speak or really move. The thick leather of the straitjacket also seemed to remove most of her sense of touch and feeling. She quickly felt herself losing track of her body and positioning, as though she were floating, disconnected from everything.

Her sense of time seemed to quickly distort, and she found herself losing track of its passage, uncertain of how long she'd already knelt there in the dark silence. The overwhelming sense of disconnection from everything brought a feeling of being completely alone and she became almost completely convinced that she actually had been left there alone. She tried to remind herself that Mittens was right there beside her, inches away, but she had an irrational surge of fear of trying to lean over to confirm it, inexplicably afraid that she might find that she was not actually there.

Instead, she struggled to focus her mind to think of something, tried to picture somewhere else, anything to give herself a sense of connection to reality. She tried to conjure up the mental image of Master Heron and Ellie, attempting to recall some moment she'd spent with them. However, she found another moment from her memory rising up from the darkness instead. One of her Aunt Nina.

Like fading into a dream, the image of a mall parking lot came into Chloe's mind and she found herself so able to picture it that it was as if she stepped into the moment in time, seeing everything vividly and hearing the ambient sounds of the early summer day and the hum of the large luxury car in which she sat. She vaguely recognized it as a point a few years into when she'd come to live with her Aunt, Chloe having turned seven a couple months prior. It was one of the rare occasions when Nina had taken her out personally to shop for some things, a task she normally was too busy to do and delegated to others.

Chloe could not remember what the specifics of the occasion had been, or if there had even really been one, but she remembered that she'd been excited to be out with her Aunt and had been enthralled by the large and bright shopping complex. The sprawling lot of cars in which they were pulling in Nina's navy-colored Lexus was wondrous in itself, the massive building at its center promising delights and marvels within. She could see the vivid banners draped down the exterior walls of the mall, each adorned with images of enticements that made Chloe's young mind spin in anticipation.

Of especial interest was a banner advertising the colorful grand carousel at the mall's heart. Something she longed to experience first-hand. As Nina shut off the car, she remembered perfectly her words to her Aunt. "Nina, Nina, can I ride the carousel? Can we? Please?" She bounced excitedly in her seat as she tried to get her belt off, excitement making it hard to stay still.

"We'll see, Chloe." Nina replied, seeming partially distracted, the tone of her voice suggesting, even to the seven-year-old Chloe, that she wasn't fully listening to what her niece was saying. Though not unkind in her manner, Nina had never had the temperament of a mother, often absorbed in her own needs and thoughts over that of the child she'd taken in.

That was not to say that Nina wholly ignored her little niece, very often taking the time to ask Chloe about her schooling or generally check in on her. However, these were conducted in a manner as how one adult chats with another. She had a bad habit of losing focus whenever Chloe was acting especially like her youthful age, adopting a somewhat patronizing demeanor. In her way, it was how she coped with her lack of knowledge of how to deal with someone far less worldly and mature as herself. As Chloe had aged, she'd noticed too that it was often how many other adults dealt with the same thing, though Nina seemed more distant with it.

At the time though, little Chloe had little real care for how much attention her Aunt had paid the request, more consumed with her own preoccupation for the experience awaiting her. She bounded from the Lexus as Nina got out, making sure to carefully close the expensive car's door rather than slam it, something that her Aunt had firmly lectured her on the couple times she's done. She made doubley sure to do it right, as today she wanted to give her Aunt no reasons to deny her request for the carousel. Diligently taking Nina's hand, together they crossed the lot and entered the mall, Nina leading them along towards her first goal for where to shop.

Despite her anxiousness to see the carousel, Chloe remained obediently beside her Aunt as they browsed a handful of stores, but as they worked slowly further towards the heart of the complex, she could hear the melodious music of it over the buzz of shoppers. The louder the music became, the more excited the little girl became until she was near to vibrating, impatience close to the tipping point. Only the strongest of juvenile willpower managed to keep her from repeatedly bothering her Aunt with requests to go find the object of her desire.

Finally, as they were exiting a store, she caught sight of the rotating wonder ahead. She gave a little squeal of glee and, without thinking, she'd rushed towards it to get a better look, not thinking to alert her Aunt to the decision. She wove quickly through a network of shoppers, the merry-go-round revolving happily in her vision, loaded with laughing children and smiling parents rotating round and round on brightly painted animals. It was a glorious sight to behold and thrilled Chloe to no end. She couldn't wait any longer to get on it and experience the rush of riding.