The Courier Ch. 07

Chapter 7 -- An Understanding

Maria Elena woke up in the middle of the night. She realized that she was awake because she heard someone coming through the front door. Still not accustomed to living in a country where break-ins were very rare, she silently went into the hallway to investigate. Very quietly she looked down the stairs, to observe Cecilia and her naked fiancé embraced in the front entryway. They were passionately going at it, a make-out session they would not even think of doing if they suspected Victor were watching. Cecilia was running her hands up and down Jason's body, concentrating on his bottom. She spoke to him in English:

"You're a bad boy...such a bad boy. You know that, don't you?"

"I'm bad...yes Cecilia...so bad..."

Cecilia took his penis in her hand and began massaging it.

"And what happens to bad boys like you?"

"We get spanked. Ohhhh..."

"Hmmmm...spanked...Really? Is that what you want, bad boy?"

"I...Oh yes...please...spank me..."

"Hmmmm...you really are a bad boy...if that's what you want...and you do deserve to be spanked. Well, you know I can't do it here...but tomorrow night...I'm gonna spank you good...on the bare bottom...Hmm? You like that?"

"Yes...please..."

She gave him one last squeeze, leaving him very erect. She gave him a lingering goodbye kiss, and with that he was dismissed. She totally loved getting him aroused before saying goodnight and sending him home. Of course that meant he would have to walk instead of taking the trolley and try to stay out of people's sight. There was no chance that his erection would go down anytime soon and his fiancé had forbidden him to touch himself.

Maria Elena didn't understand much of what Cecilia had said to Jason, but it was obvious that she talking to him seductively. Even in the darkness she could make out his attractive figure and very erect penis. She felt a strange longing for him, something that terrified her because the last thing she wanted to do was cross Cecilia. She knew that the quickest way to gain the Dominican's animosity would be to show any attraction towards Jason. And it was obvious that Cecilia was extremely vigilant for potential rivals because she was very aware of how attractive Jason was.

Maria Elena quickly retreated back to her room to avoid being caught. She curled up on her bed with her back to the door as she heard the Dominican's quiet footsteps in the hallway. Cecilia peeked in to make sure the prisoner was in her bed and doing all right, unaware that she and Jason had been watched. She quickly got cleaned up and went to sleep.

Once Cecilia's door was closed, Maria Elena lay on her back. For the first time since she had left Panama, she was aroused. Slowly she began running her fingertips over her breasts and stomach, before gently stroking the insides of her thighs.

She fantasized about Jason...his lovely body...his shy expression...imagining herself in Cecilia's place, with his bare body always within her reach. Then, in her mind she changed places with him, imagining herself as he had been over the past four years, never wearing anything...and then...

She paused and sat up, realizing that she already was in Jason's place...just like him she was naked and collared...destined to never touch clothing again. She got out of bed and looked at herself in the dresser mirror. Naked and collared...her Path in Life...well, at least she had a body that was worth looking at...at least that...

She lay back on her bed...her body still aroused as her mind tried to settle on something, a thought or a fantasy, that would allow her to climax. Naked and collared...and kneeling...

Suddenly her thoughts returned to that moment when she knelt to offer Victor a cup of tea. At the moment she had not focused on sex at all, but looking back, she found the thought of serving the master of the house while naked, kneeling, and collared, totally erotic. As her fingers explored the sensitive area between her legs, the idea of being Victor's naked servant took hold of her. She would kneel to serve him his tea and coffee, she could care for him, she would surrender to him. She would be his...to do with as he pleased, and he would not be able to live without her...

...just like Cecilia could not live without Jason...Oh yes...

She climaxed, sweat pouring down her body as she imagined herself, always naked...always kneeling...the perfect servant...

Slowly the spell lifted and her body's desires released her back into reality. For a long time she lay awake, realizing that she had just fantasized about something that could be all too real. It looked like it was indeed her destiny to live as Victor's servant, because Cecilia had openly stated that she wanted Maria Elena to take her place running the household.

The prisoner pondered how such a life would unfold, and how Victor eventually would see her. She paused, wondering: is that all I want for myself? To be a household servant? Her thoughts wandered again, because she recalled that Kim had told her that she was property of the Danubian government. Her service would be to Danubia as a whole, not to a particular person...and yet...she felt that was not the message she was getting from Cecilia.

Finally she managed to go to sleep...but the memory of herself kneeling and serving Victor held fast in her imagination.

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Maria Elena woke up early the next morning. She was still very confused about the tumultuous thoughts and fantasies she had endured just a few hours before. She went downstairs, wondering if Cecilia was already awake. When she saw that the kitchen was empty, she presumed that the Dominican must have overslept due to her night with Jason.

The prisoner decided to boil a kettle of water while she set the table and laid out ingredients for Cecilia to cook. She still did not know what to make for breakfast and would leave that to her translator, but at least she could help her set up. Once the water boiled, Maria Elena prepared a pot of tea and poured a cup.

Now she realized that she had an important decision to make. Should she take the cup upstairs and offer it to Victor in his room? Yes, she had fantasized about doing just that a few hours before, but should she do it for real?

Yes, she would. She determined to test at least one fantasy and was curious to see what would happen. She would be the first person Victor would see that morning, and she would offer him the first cup of tea he would drink that day. Trembling slightly, she went up the stairs, very conscious of being naked. However, her exposure no longer humiliated her; instead she was experiencing a much more complicated feeling of sexiness and vulnerability.

She lightly knocked on Victor's door.

"Nad budshkt dék."

"Doc?"

"Nad budshkt dék. Doc."

Presuming that he had given her permission to enter the room, she pushed past the door. He was almost finished getting dressed; only lacking his tie and his shoes. Maria Elena trembled as she approached him, not able to understand herself why she was so scared. She knelt, shyly holding up the cup of tea.

Victor seemed surprised, but he took the cup and responded:

"Spakéebo dék."

Maria Elena was very nervous, because she had no idea what she wanted or what she expected to happen next. Part of her was desperate to get the awkward moment over as quickly as possible, but another part of her insisted that she was where she belonged, on her knees in front of the master of the house. Victor took a sip of tea. He sensed her unease and rescued her by first pointing at his feet and then at the closet.

"Mení chórni scárpikti tám dek."

Maria Elena remembered that chorno in Danubian meant black. By pointing at his feet, Victor had indicted he wanted his shoes, the black ones. He had issued his first command to her. She immediately got up and brought him the shoes. She knelt and held them out for him to put on. Once he finished, he smiled slightly and touched her bare shoulder.

"Haráshna div-jínok."

He let out a short whistle and pointed at the door, and with that they descended the stairs to have breakfast. Cecilia already was setting the table, with Pedro impatiently standing by, waiting to sit. Maria Elena pulled out Victor's chair for him to sit down and quickly knelt, awaiting permission to join the others at the table. Cecilia glanced at her with a curious expression, but at the breakfast table said nothing. After breakfast Cecilia attended to her nephew while Maria Elena cleaned up from breakfast. She quickly returned to Victor's bedroom to make his bed and clean the upstairs bathroom.

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At 9:00 Maria Elena started her new job at the university. She would work under the direction of an older couple who had been groundskeepers for nearly 40 years. Her new bosses knew exactly how to treat her and make her feel comfortable, because over the years they had employed dozens of criminals, including several foreigners. Maria Elena's first assignment was very easy to understand; she needed to clear grass that was growing among some flowers without damaging the flowers themselves. The gardeners talked very little, but showed her what needed to be done and what to do with the discarded grass. The work was tedious and time-consuming, but the only way to do it was by hand.

Maria Elena was still somewhat self-conscious about her body, and at first tried to sit to avoid exposing herself. However, she was not able to move through her work very quickly and her legs began to cramp. Finally she gave up on sitting and got on her hands and knees. She realized that every time she leaned forward she was exposing herself, but her only other option would have been to not have the flowerbed finished before she got off at noon. It also occurred to her that if the sun shined directly on her bottom it was likely her bruises would heal faster. As she knelt forward and started pulling out grass roots, she felt the warm morning sun shining between her legs and realized that she liked the sensation. The unimaginable was happening: she was enjoying the sensation of being naked outdoors, of feeling the warm air and sunshine on her exposed bottom-hole and vagina. Exactly 48 hours after the moment she was arrested, her inhibitions faded completely and the prospect of facing a life in the nude no longer horrified her.

She had an excellent day in class. She was able to fully participate and keep up with the norteamericanos. She was not any better than most of them, but she hardly could have expected that after just one day. Still, her efforts at studying had paid off. For the first time in three years she was learning something that actually was worth knowing, something that was a complete break from the futile life of pleasure pursuit she had led before her arrest.

During the break she talked to the female classmate who spoke Spanish. The woman's name was Carmen and she was from Los Angeles. Her Spanish was not that great, but she spoke well enough to hold a conversation. Carmen talked a bit about the exchange program, although it was obvious she was curious to know what had happened to Maria Elena. She didn't feel comfortable asking directly and the Colombian was not about to volunteer any information. It was a strange and uncomfortable conversation because while the two women talked about the university, in reality Carmen was trying to figure out how to get the Colombian to tell her why she was collared.

The Californian brought up Jason, hoping to talk about collaring, but Maria Elena changed the topic to discussing how attractive he was. Then she decided to get some information on Jason, knowing that Carmen was likely to know something about him.

"Yeah, we all know a little bit about his story. He and Cecilia came to Danubia about four years ago. I think what happened was that he had to testify at some trial...you see...uh...did you ever hear of an American company called Mega-Town Associates?"

Of course Maria Elena had heard of Mega-Town. Who hadn't? Their tentacles had extended throughout Colombia, devastating the country's small retailers.

"Well, what happened was they came here to testify in a trial, because some of their executives got caught here when they tried to overthrow this country's government. I guess it was a big deal, a really big deal...I mean, they had an actual battle with Mega-Town mercenaries about 30 miles south of here...and another one in Rika Chorna...and they were gonna kill the Prime Minister...I mean, they were really serious about taking over. It was Jason and Cecilia who helped the government stop 'em, and they had to come here to explain what they did so those guys could get convicted. Of course, once they did that, they couldn't go home, so they're stuck here."

"But, what's the deal with Jason's collar?"

"His father was one of the guys behind the takeover. I guess he felt really bad about that...and so he went to their Church...and they told him he should wear a collar to show everyone he's sorry about what his dad did. I think that's the story."

"And he's been naked since he got here?"

"I think so. At any rate, none of us has ever seen him wearing anything. I think he kinda enjoys being nude, although I don't know what he does when it gets cold."

"Do you ever talk to him?"

Carmen smiled and shook her head.

"Talk to him? Uh...no. If you don't want trouble with Cecilia, then you'd better stay away from Jason. A couple of girls from last year's group learned that the hard way. I mean...Cecilia's not a bad person, but you don't want to mess with her boyfriend. You just don't want to go there."

Maria Elena would have liked to continue the conversation about Jason, but it was time for the exercise class to start. It was obvious that she still was not ready to exert herself as much as her classmates, but it was equally obvious that she had only a few days to catch up with the others. The sinewy instructor ominously tapped the switch against the newest student's inner thigh to force her to do some additional sit-ups.

Later in the class Carmen took two cruel strokes across her backside for attempting to walk during the run in a hidden part of the path where she thought the P.E. teacher couldn't see her. In the shower her face was flushed with embarrassment and her eyes were full of tears, so Maria Elena did not attempt to talk to her anymore that day. Two thin reddish welts had formed across both sides of her bottom and already they were raised and looked very painful. Carmen would have an uncomfortable time sitting in class the next day and it was likely those welts would last a week. Maria Elena shuddered, because her classmate had taken just two strokes. She remembered that criminal on the stairs of the Central Police Station who had received considerably more than that, and...she remembered her own upcoming trial...

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Maria Elena went back to Victor Dukov's house by herself, because Cecilia needed to stay at the university to council several students and catch up on paperwork. Pedro wouldn't be at the house either, because his class had gone on an overnight field trip. That meant Maria Elena would be alone with Victor. That was something she looked forward to, but she couldn't have explained, even to herself, why. She served him dinner and, as usual knelt before he gave her permission to sit at his table. She shyly attempted to engage him in conversation, trying out some of the new phrases she had learned in class that day. She found that most of the time she could make herself understood, but still could understand very little of what he was saying. When he finished eating, she again knelt to request permission to clear the table. When she noticed his shoes were dirty, she requested permission to clean them.

Throughout the rest of the evening Maria Elena dedicated herself to Victor's needs. She hung up his suit coat, put his shoes away after showing him they had been shined, turned down his bedspread, laid out clean towels for him to get cleaned up, and brought him two cups of tea. She also laid out his black prayer robe, knowing that he probably would spend part of the evening in front of his dead wife's portrait. While he was praying, Maria Elena cleaned up the kitchen and the bathrooms, and took a bath. She wanted to be presentable, to make sure Victor found no fault with her...

When she served him yet another cup of tea, he told her to get several photo albums from a bookshelf, so he could show her some of his past. He knew that he still could not really converse with her through words, but there were other ways to communicate. Letting her know about his past was one way he could open himself up to her.

Showing his naked guest a portion of his past was an important step in Victor's life. He always had trouble communicating with people, especially with fellow Danubians. And yet, somehow he felt a connection with the young Colombian, partly because she was so desperate to please him. Victor was grateful for the attention, something that neither his sons nor Cecilia were able to provide at the time because of their own responsibilities in life. Maria Elena was different, because she had nothing to do apart from having to learn how to speak Danubian. Perhaps it was precisely because Victor and Maria Elena could not communicate in words that they felt they had something in common. Perhaps in their case, words would have gotten in the way.

Another reason sharing his past with Maria Elena was important was because Victor was finally ready to move beyond his wife's death. He was not yet aware of that change, but after four months of grieving and heaping guilt upon himself for her death, subconsciously he was hoping for something or someone to pull him out of his emotional morass. He didn't have the inner strength to escape on his own; he needed something in his life to change.

The photos ranged from Victor's own childhood, through his time in high school and college, his marriage, and his sons at various ages. He pointed out his older brother Vladim at various stages of his life, including several photos of young Vladim as a criminal while Victor was still in high school. Yes, for five years the country's current Prime Minister had been a collared criminal. There were photos of a neighbor girl called Maritza Ortskt, who later because Maritza Ortskt-Dukovna, and photos of Victor's nephew and niece. Victor also had photos of his employees, including several of Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna, back in the days she was called Criminal # 98945 and she spent her summers riding around Danube City naked on a bicycle delivering messages.

What struck Maria Elena was how ordinary the lives portrayed in the album truly were. Even Vladim Dukov, the Prime Minister, seemed such an ordinary person, right up to the day he was elected. There certainly was nothing to distinguish him from the rest of the family in any of those photos, except that he had worn a collar for such a long time. Yes, even the country's Prime Minister had done what Maria Elena was having to do. Even the Prime Minister...

Maria Elena collected the photo albums and returned them to the shelf. She knelt, and exchanged glances with Victor. At that moment, something very important happened. They both realized that they cared about each other.

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That night Maria Elena spent a long time masturbating on her bed, as her mind wandered from topic to topic. She visualized Jason Schmidt, desperately wanting to fondle him in the way Cecilia had fondled him the night before. She thought about herself, on her hands and knees in the university garden, her bottom facing towards the sun and the warm rays touching her exposed womanhood whenever she reached forward. She thought about the naked norteamericanos during the exercise class, their sweaty bodies exposed to anyone walking by who cared to look at them. Her thoughts wandered to her classmate Carmen, standing in formation after the run, her eyes full of tears as she rubbed her sore bottom...