The Kingdom Ch. 07

After Brandy finished getting dressed and fluffing her hair, I picked up several bags and asked, "Would you mind helping me carry these back to the castle?"

"Of course," she replied, quietly. She knelt down and picked up the remaining bags off the floor.

The two of us began walking toward the exit. "Thank you," I said to the guard.

"My pleasure," he replied smiling. "Have a nice day."

As we exited the building, the stifling hot air smacked us in the faces. Damn, it had to be 90 degrees outside! After the doors closed behind us, Brandy looked over at me. The expression on her face could only be described as 'impressed shock'.

"Wow," she said, chuckling. "Um, that was amazing."

"That was pretty satisfying, wasn't it?" I asked, grinning back at her.

"I really don't know what to say," she answered. "Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it." I replied. "We're in the castle suite straight ahead. It's too hot out here. We can catch up in the air conditioning."

"Deal," Brandy replied.

"Are you hungry?" I asked as I started to walk.

"Starving," She answered.

"Are you good with left-over Hawaiian pizza?" I asked.

"Definitely," She replied.

We got a lot of looks from men and women as we pushed our way through the crowded Centre Street. A lot more looks than usual, anyway. Even with her disheveled hair and no make-up, Brandy was drop-dead gorgeous. And if I wasn't getting enough looks of jealousy before, I certainly was now.

Within minutes, we had reached the front door of the suite. Stepping inside, the air conditioning felt amazing. I kicked my boots off and dropped the shopping bags on the floor of the foyer. Brandy followed suit.

"Holy shit, this place is amazing," Brandy mused as she scanned the suite. "I've seen pictures, but never in person."

"Not too bad, huh?" I asked, chuckling.

Brandy stuck her finger beneath her collar to scratch her neck. Making eye contact with me, she asked, "Would you mind undoing this for a minute? My neck's been itchy for days."

"Of course," I replied, lifting my smartphone and tapping the front of her collar. A green LED light began blinking on her collar and the locking mechanism unhinged at the front. Brandy pulled the collar off and began scratching furiously at her neck, groaning in relief.

"Unfortunately, it can only stay off for a few minutes or we'll get flagged by security," I said, placing my phone in my back pocket. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine. I only need a minute," she replied as she continued to scratch.

"Look, I know you came here voluntarily and everything, but I'm really sorry for all that you've been through," I said sympathetically. "I'm sure the kennel... with Annabelle... was no picnic."

Brandy's eyes suddenly appeared glossy, almost as if she was on the verge of tears.

"Yeah... it's definitely not the Hilton," she said with a forced laugh. "Thank you so much for getting me out of there. I really don't know how much longer I could have handled it."

I shrugged, replying, "It's the least I could do. I'm just sorry it took me so long. I didn't know anything about the test or-"

"Please," Brandy interrupted, waving her hand dismissively. "As bad as it was, it's still preferable to ending up on the auction block."

"Actually," I replied, "I'm not sure you'd have ever made it to the auction block." Brandy cocked her eyebrow questioningly. "That Annabelle woman wanted to keep you for herself. She basically begged me to sell you to her yesterday. That's probably what her message to me is about."

Seemingly overcome with gratitude, Brandy stepped forward and wrapped her muscular arms around me in a firm bear hug. I blinked in surprise, unsure of how to react to her spontaneous embrace. I was never much of a hugger. But sensing that Brandy needed some love, I returned the embrace, awkwardly patting her on the back. This was the first time I'd seen any amount emotional vulnerability from Brandy. Her softer side was shaping up to be surprisingly endearing.

"Thank you, Jodie," Brandy whispered, releasing me from her embrace.

"Sure thing," I replied awkwardly.

"And I'm sorry," she added.

"For what?" I asked confused. I suddenly felt something cold against the nape of my neck. Before I could process what was happening, Brandy's hands had moved to my throat. The cold feeling against my skin was none other than the straps of Brandy's collar! She was putting her collar on me! I shoved her away, but my reaction was a fraction of a second too late. The mechanism clicked beneath my chin, securing both ends of the collar together around my neck.

"What the FUCK?!" I yelled as Brandy stumbled backwards and fell to the floor. As she scrambled to her feet, I tugged furiously at the collar, but it didn't budge. I needed my phone to unlock it! I reached into my back pocket, only to realize that my phone was no longer there! My heart raced as I spun around, frantically scanning the floor. Where the hell was it! Brandy had risen to her feet and appeared to be looking through the shopping bags as well as the welcome box that sat on the entry hall table. Unclear of what she was looking for, I continued scrambling around my side of the foyer, desperate to find my phone. For fuck's sake, it had to be here. I just had it!

All of the sudden, I let out an involuntary shriek and collapsed to the floor as electricity coursed through me from my collar. Landing painfully on the marble floor, I could see that Brandy was holding my phone and had her finger pressed firmly on the screen. How did she have it? She must have stolen it from my pocket when we were hugging! And all it took was a tap of a button to put me down. DAMMIT!

I continued to twitch on the floor as Brandy scrambled over to me and applied her cuffs around each of my wrists. I did my best to pull away but between the weakening effect of the electricity as well as Brandy's physical superiority, it was only a matter of seconds before each cuff locked around my wrists. Brandy had also apparently found a padlock from the welcome box and used it to secure the cuffs together behind my back.

"You BITCH!" I screamed, rolling onto my side. "What the hell is wrong with you?! I just saved your ass!!"

Brandy stood up to her feet and exhaled in relief. "And I appreciate that," she replied calmly. "I really do. But I needed to ditch the collar. I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?!" I screamed. "You're SORRY?!! I just spent the last 24 hours studying my ass off so I could get you out of that hell-hole and this is how you thank me?!"

"I know- it seems fucked up," She said as she walked into the kitchen. "But there are things you're not aware of."

"What?" I spat. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!"

Brandy stuck her face in the sink and began gulping water straight from the faucet.

"Honestly, the less you know, the better," she answered, with her back still to me.

"Bullshit!" I hollered, as I awkwardly stood to my feet. "Untie me NOW and tell me what the fuck is going on!"

Brandy turned around and leaned back on the granite countertop, catching her breath. Glancing back down at my phone, she started tapping on the screen and held it up to her ear. I stared at her in disbelief. Who the fuck was she calling?! And how was she even making a phone call? The phone app didn't even work...

After a few seconds, Brandy spoke quietly into the phone, "Delta, November, Foxtrot." I stared at her, perplexed. "Affirmative. Please advise liaison to stand down."

"Helloooo!" I shouted, stealing a glance from Brandy. She turned away from me, plugging her other ear in an attempt to focus on her call.

"Warden is neutralized," She continued quietly. "Commencing protocol 5 dash 9. I repeat- 5 dash 9." After pausing for several seconds, she added, "Standby for inbox transfer." She pulled the phone away from her ear and began tapping away at the screen. After several seconds, she lifted the phone back to her ear. "Please confirm receipt... Copy that. Awaiting package at castle one. I repeat- castle one... Going dark." And with that, Brandy hung up the phone.

"What the fuck is going on?" I repeated, causing Brandy to make eye-contact with me once more. "What are you, some kind of spy?"

"I'm sorry," she replied. "You seem really sweet. And you really don't deserve this."

"No shit I don't!" I retorted.

"I promise you- if there was a better option, I'd take it," she added.

"A better option for what? What does that even mean?!" I challenged.

I couldn't believe this was happening. I couldn't believe I was back in a collar and restraints! Of all the scenarios I could have imagined, this was honestly the last thing I ever expected to happen. I felt sick to my stomach. How could I have been so foolish?! What was going to happen to me?!

"Will you please tell me what's going on?" I asked angrily.

Ignoring me, Brandy picked up a shopping bag stepped back toward me. Reaching into the bag, Brandy pulled out the leash and raised the clasp toward my collar.

"Fuck that!" I yelled, stepping away from her.

Placing her hand on her hip, Brandy calmly replied, "If you cooperate, I promise you won't get hurt."

"You're not putting a fucking leash on me!" I hollered. "Get me out of this NOW!"

Expressionless, Brandy lunged at me and grabbed my shirt, pulling me in close to her. Dammit! How were my reflexes so pathetically slow today? I stood there helplessly as I felt her clasp the leash to the D-ring on my collar.

"Get the fuck OFF of me, bitch!" I spat, twisting away as best I could. "You're not gonna get away with this!"

Grabbing hold of my upper arms, she easily spun me to face away from her and forced me against the wall of the foyer. The side of my face was pressed up against the stone veneer wall. Then, I felt Brandy's hand slip into the front pocket of my jeans where I'd stashed her ring-gag and latex hood. My eyes widened in horror as I saw the ring-gag lifted up my face.

"NO!" I shrieked as she began to work the ring into my mouth. "NO! FUCK! God-damph uhgt! Naaugh! Geraaaugh!"

"Shhhhhhh," she replied calmly as she began pulling the latex hood over my head. I struggled as best I could, but it was only a matter of seconds before my head was completely encased in skin-tight latex. She continued to tug at it until my eyes, nose, and mouth lined up behind their designated openings. Then, I felt her gather my hair that was resting on the back of my neck and tuck it up inside the base of the hood. Great, I thought, she's got OCD...

Not eager to go down without a fight, I tried to kick her behind me, but her knees pressed against the inside of my thighs, keeping my legs spread. Whoever this woman was, she must have been trained in hand-to-hand combat. I may not have been the most athletic person, but the process of subduing me was proving to be far simpler than I would have liked. Moments later, the straps of my gag were fastened tightly behind my head. I worked my jaw to dislodge the ring from behind my teeth, but it was useless. For the second time this week, I was ring-gagged, hooded, and bound at the mercy a truly heartless bitch.

I growled as I felt Brandy straighten up and pull me away from the wall by the leash. I tugged away from her, only to feel the whiplash of Brandy yanking harder in the opposite direction. I hollered nonsense at her as I gave in and walked in the direction she was leading me.

Once we were back in the kitchen, Brandy began furiously opening drawers, apparently looking for something. After the fifth one, she found what she was looking for. Pulling out a pair of scissors, she stepped over to me and began cutting my clothes. I screamed at her, pulling away, but she merely pulled me in tighter by the leash. I was helpless to stop her as my Pink Floyd t-shirt and vest were cut to pieces and pulled off me. Last to go were my jeans, bra, and panties. I scowled at her in hatred as she tossed my shredded clothing on the floor. I wanted to tear her to pieces and claw her stupid face off, but with my hands locked behind my back, there was absolutely nothing I could do. I was powerless.

Brandy's silence was truly unnerving. At least when Tasha had me in the woods, she talked to me. Despite my being gagged, I was able to communicate and she typically gave me some sort of reply. With Brandy's chilling silence, I honestly had no idea what to expect. I had no idea where her head was at. I was honestly clueless as to where this all was heading.

She then pulled me over to the couch and told me to, "Sit." Instead of doing as she asked, I just stood there, scowling at her. Impatiently, she pushed me down onto the couch, causing me to grunt. She leaned over with her hands on her knees so that we were eye-level.

"I'm going to put the ankle cuffs on you," she explained. "If you resist or try to kick me, I'll be forced to shock you. Do you understand?" I merely glared back.

Brandy knelt down in front of me and attached the black leather cuffs to each of my bare ankles. Fearful of having my neck pelted with electricity again, I abstained from fighting her. There was no use at this point. I felt a click from each cuff, indicating that they had locked in place. Brandy pushed down on my thigh to help her up to her feet.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. But with the gag now in my mouth, my question sounded more like, "Aie all oo 'ooig dech?"

Brandy ignored me and gave my leash a tug, forcing me to stand up and follow her lead. Silently, she led me to the master bathroom and unclipped the leash from my collar.

"Do your business," she ordered. I simply stood there, scowling at her. Do my business? Who the hell did she think she was? I wasn't a fucking dog. She turned and exited the bathroom. "It'll be the last chance you have for a while," she called behind her.

Fuming, I glanced around the room desperate to find anything that I could use to MacGyver my way out of this. Unable to spot anything useful, I spun back toward the doorway. Unfortunately, Uncle Henry and I had chosen to forego doors between the master bath and bedroom in favor of a more "open" floor plan. If we had installed a door, I'd have seized this opportunity to slam it shut and lock Brandy out.

Walking over to the toilet, I sat down and begrudgingly relieved myself. Just as it had been with Tasha, it was humiliating to be told to pee. And it was even more humiliating to actually follow the order. With my hands still restrained behind me, wiping was a more challenging task than usual, but I managed to get it done. I continued to sit there, wracking my brain for a way out of this.

Brandy returned a few minutes later, walked right over to me and grabbed the D-ring of my collar. With her other hand, she reached down flushed the toilet. Good thing I was finished, I thought.

Pulling me up to my feet, she led me back into the bedroom and over to my bed. The sheets and covers had all been pulled off and thrown on the floor. My eyes widened as I spotted ropes tied to each of the four posters. I pulled away, protesting unintelligibly into my gag. What was she going to do? Tie me to the bed and have her way with me?

Brandy tugged the leash again, yanking my head forward. Determined to fight her now, I lifted my foot to try kicking her in the stomach. But her reflexes were fast and she managed to catch my ankle mid-kick. Gripping my foot, she circled around me, forcing me to hop awkwardly on my free foot while she turned me to face away from the bed. Then, Brandy released my foot and pushed me backwards, causing me to lose my balance and topple backwards onto the bed.

Stepping up to me, I felt Brandy's hands grip my underarms and hoist me further toward the middle of the bed. I continued trying to kick her, but she was practically bud-up against my sex between my legs. I had no clear angle to land a blow.

With lightning speed and precision, Brandy then grabbed ahold of my right ankle and fed the rope from the bed's poster through the D-ring of my cuff. Within seconds, my leg was pulled taught and restrained to the corner of the bed. Within seconds, the same happened to my left ankle.

Brandy walked around to the side of the bed and picked up my phone off of the nightstand, holding it above me like a prop. "I'm going to unlock your wrists. If you fight me, I will shock you. Can I trust you to behave?" She asked.

I hollered at her through my gag. Who did she think she was to order me to behave? Brandy turned the phone to face her and began tapping on the screen. Moments later, electricity pelted my neck. I shrieked in pain as I twitched in agony.

"Please don't make me do that again," she said, almost as if the act of torturing me was somehow a put-off for her. "When I unlock your wrists, can I count on you not to fight me?" I growled at her, still panting from the electric shock. "Like I said before, if you cooperate, I promise you won't get hurt. Once I restrain your arms to the bed, you have my word that I won't lay another finger on you. Deal?"

Still not wanting to validate her, I merely turned my head away. Brandy must have taken that as an agreement because she rolled me over onto my shoulder began unlocking the padlock that held my wrist-cuffs together. With my cuffs now unconnected, Brandy pulled my right hand from behind my back and raised it over my head toward the corner of the bed. Not eager to get shocked again, and pessimistic about the success I'd have at resistance, I decided to let her do as she wished.

I felt her feed the rope through the D-ring of my cuff and tug it tight, which pulled my arm taught to the poster. After double-knotting the rope just outside of my reach, Brandy stood to her feet and circled the bed to repeat the process with my left arm. I was now tied in a strict spread-eagle position, unable to move my limbs more than a few inches. Brandy leaned over me, testing each knot to make sure that I was secure. Then, without saying a word, she hopped off the bed and quickly exited the room.

I tugged ferociously at my bonds, but the only thing that managed to do was tire me out and cause the leather cuffs to dig painfully into my wrists and ankles. After about a minute, I finally gave up and relaxed, resolving myself to settle for glaring helplessly up at the ceiling.

Several minutes passed until Brandy finally walked back into the bedroom. Craning my head up, I could see that she had changed into a different outfit of mine. And in one hand, she held a slice of my left over Hawaiian pizza. Bitch. I rolled my eyes and let my head fall back onto the bed in resentment.

Despite the fact that she was much more muscular than I was, we were still roughly the same size and the clothes I had bought for myself seemed fit her adequately. The biggest difference between our body types was our breast-size. Her boobs were considerably larger than mine and judging by the outline of her nipples through the t-shirt, I could tell that she was not wearing one of my new bras. I fumed silently as she chewed her pizza and pulled off the tags to her bleached jean shorts with her free hand.

"I need to run an errand," Brandy said between bites as she tossed her stupid hair over her stupid shoulder. "If there's an emergency, just hold your breath for 30 seconds. I'll get a notice through the app that something's wrong and I'll come straight back. Okay?" For someone who was supposed to be a slave, she definitely seemed to know her stuff...