The Struggle Ch. 05b

Rob had no idea what she had in mind.

Michelle continued, after having some bites from her sandwich. "There is a meeting today. You know what I mean, you have been to such a gathering, though involuntarily."

Rob remembered that event all too well. He was kidnapped, sedated and when the sedation wore off, been taken to a platform and he had been whipped by Iris. She was punishing him for being a 'bad boy' at Mistress Cathy's place. Cathy had made the error of leaving her notes lying on her desk, and Iris had the opportunity to read some of them. These notes from Cathy were about his progress in her research as a psychiatrist towards Rob's emotional state concerning the BDSM world and it had happened while she was out of the room for a few moments. Iris had drawn her own conclusions and decided to user her 'tricks' to 'cure' him.

Sometimes Rob still had nightmares about what had happened then, the beating and the humiliation. His own retaliation upon Iris didn't free him from those bad memories, either.

"Anyway," she continued, "This meeting is different. No outsiders, by invite only and you will enter as my protégé. You do have to wear fetish clothing and above all, you will have to wear my collar. This collar is larger than usual, everyone who sees it will immediately recognize it as my collar. It will be protection for you against other masters and mistresses, it will tell them hands off. You will be allowed to talk to people, after asking permission of myself. Be polite, but be yourself, and show them respect," she winced when she used that word, remembering the vicious words Rob had used against her. "When you show them, ahum, well, just be polite. Don't show them a lack of respect."

Rob didn't give a reassuring smile to her. He just stared at her. "You do know what happened the last time I attended such a meeting?"

"I have heard. But the members who are attending this meeting are at a completely different level. They have a lot to lose if their names are made public. So, please, behave and just observe and learn. These are not bad people, in fact, you probably will like them."

"If they leave me alone, I will behave. I will be polite, just the way I would act normally with any other unknown person. Is that good enough for you?"

Michelle examined his face. Rob sounded sincere. She knew he could be short tempered, but only against his loved ones. Usually he would just ignore others he didn't like. She sighed, today was just as good as any other day and she knew she had to try to help him to find out about himself one day anyway. It was all part of the plan Helena and she had made. All to get him more acquainted with the life-style.

"Have you decided what you want to wear, Rob?"

"Don't I have to ask about what you will be wearing first, Mistress?" He was provoking her, she knew.

"No," she replied to him with a stern voice. 'Do absolutely not let him make you mad' she thought. "Just think about what YOU will wear!"

"You mentioned servants. It will probably be a good disguise if I wear a French maid's uniform." He became serious. "Michelle, I don't want to be recognized, but I also prefer not to wear such an ugly leather mask. Do you have some kind of other mask for me to wear?"

She nodded, this was a good sign. He still had some faith in her. "Yes, of course. I have several masks for you to wear." She stood up and walked to a drawer and rummaged through the contents. She picked up several masks: a kind of Zorro mask, but also ladylike ones, with sparkling stones and feathers. "Mmm, I have the right one here for you. It will match your uniform." She showed him a black mask covering the bridge of his nose and hiding his eyes. On top of the mask black feathers had been applied. Rob tried it on, the elastic was not too tight and it fit his face like a glove. It was made for him. Since only his mouth was uncovered, probably nobody would recognize him.

"If you apply some lipstick and make-up, nobody would see if I am a woman with short hair or a man." He looked pleased. "Thank you Michelle. This is exactly what I need to attend such an event. I do hope that your collar will provide enough protection against unwanted interference."

"I will also ask the dungeon master to keep an eye on you. And of course I will be there for you."

They spoke a bit about what he could expect and finally Rob was convinced that he would be perfectly safe. He would just act as an observer, mind his own business and act politely. They decided to put on their clothes right here and cover it by their overcoats. This way they would not attract attention and according to Michelle the address where the happening took place, wasn't far away.

Michelle opened her travel beauty case, took out some lipstick, eye-shadow and mascara and started to apply some light make-up on his face. When she was done, Rob's face was somewhat more feminine. She didn't exaggerate it, no need for that, but just protection for quick glances. Anyone who would study his face more closely would naturally find out that he wasn't a woman after all.

Since Rob had no idea where to go, Michelle drove using Rob's car. He liked it, sitting in the passenger's seat. He made himself comfortable, so his buttocks didn't hurt so much anymore. He had a clear view of Michelle's long legs, clad in dark hose and black boots. They drove through some suburbs and reached a business park.

Nobody took any notice when they passed and Michelle drove easily through this area that she obviously knew very well. Rob had no idea where they were heading at all. He remembered that awful meeting when he was kidnapped. But that was in an open area, and Michelle had made clear that this happening took place in a large building.

Suddenly a large wall was in sight. They drove along it until they reached a gate. Michelle spoke into a microphone that was attached at the center of the gate. The gate opened automatically and she drove somewhat further into the area surrounded by the high walls.

Then another gate attached to a fence opened when they approached it and then they were in. Between the inner wall and the fences watchdogs guarded the terrain, clarified Michelle. It was mainly a bluff, but there were to be no intruders. She steered into a parking place that was filled with very expensive looking cars. Rob recognized a Bentley and a Rolls Royce, and dozens of Mercedes'. His own car, a Lexus, was just 'ordinary'.

The building that was their destination was huge. There were no other words to describe it. It was dark, grim and very quadrangular. Diffused light came from the windows at the first floor and higher, but the ground floor was dark and uninviting. Michelle took his hand and urged him to go along with her. They climbed a few stairs, walked to a large wooden door, that was the only lighted object at this level, and she pressed a button. Immediately the door swung open and they stood in bright light.

"C'mon on, Rob. Don't hesitate now." She urged him to walk forward. When they were in, the doors closed behind them automatically and a woman dressed in black approached them and took care of their coats. She wore a long satin dress which went down almost to her boots, but her breast area was uncovered and Rob could see she was wearing a push-up bra that gave her fairly deep cleavage. The points of her hard nipples could be seen through the soft material of her bra. She was standing before a counter and handed their coats to a French maid, a bit similarly dressed to Rob, who stood behind the counter. Rob examined her: or was 'she' a 'he' like himself? He couldn't find out and the maid didn't speak at all. The foyer was large. Along the wall seats were placed and a few doors led to toilets and other 'convenience' rooms. In the center were stairs going up to two large glass doors leading to the rest of the building.

He looked at Michelle and the woman in satin, who stood next to Michelle. The unknown woman was observing him and then turned to Michelle.

"Hello, Michelle," and the woman in satin kissed her on the cheek.

"Hi Miriam. I want to introduce Rob today. He is my guest and is solely here to observe and learn."

Miriam offered him her hand and Rob didn't know anything else to do but to give her a slight kiss on the top of her fingers.

"He is well-mannered!" Miriam was obviously delighted.

"He can be, if he wants to," Michelle replied, with a slight touch of irritation, remembering yesterday's attitude and behavior.

"Well, I won't keep you. Have a nice day, Rob, and don't hesitate to ask me if you have any questions." Miriam was a bit surprised by the tone of Michelle's voice in her remark about Rob.

"Thank you, ma'am," Rob replied politely. Michele and Rob climbed the stairs. Once upstairs Rob could see the people socializing through the glass doors; they were taking a sip now and then from their drinks.

Michelle opened the glass doors and urged Rob to come in.

He nodded back at Miriam, who still was watching him from below, and then they entered a large room filled with people dressed in all kinds of outfits. Some of the people were clearly Masters or Mistresses, while other were obviously their bottoms, slaves or subs. 'Whatever', Rob thought. The moment they entered Michelle was greeted immediately, while he was ignored completely. He got some curious looks, but nobody spoke to him; they all saw Michelle's collar and evidently it was enough to prevent dumb questions.

This was clearly a bar. On the left was the counter, where a female bartender filled glasses, while some waitresses, professional or not, were serving the guests. At the back of the room were large windows. Rob walked over to the windows and then he saw what he had expected to see all along. He was overlooking a lower area were all kinds of devices were erected which he knew all too well: X-crosses, whipping benches, all kinds of examination chairs, some thrones on which Mistresses or Masters were sitting while getting due homage by their slaves or whatever. A lot of people were busy doing their own thing, in between several others clearly were performing assignments, as ordered by their tops, whoever they were.

While Rob stared at the spectacle below, Michelle came to stand next to him.

"You may bring us some refreshments, please bring me coffee, you can take whatever you like that is non alcoholic, alcohol is allowed only to those who remain up here, and when we have finished our drinks we are going down. So please no alcohol, Rob." Michelle spoke this last part softly to him, she didn't want to be overheard by other people and find out that they had a 'special' relationship, as in not the normal Mistress slave relationship as anyone else here was into. After all, everybody knew her as the most feared Mistress, the one who demanded the most from her slaves and subs, and she had a lot of them. Men who wanted to crawl at her feet, kiss her boots, worship the ground she walked on. Those men were powerful in their normal life, and she didn't want to make it all too obvious that Rob meant more to her than all these 'powerful' men.

Rob nodded and went to the counter and ordered two coffees. He was served by a normal looking woman, just dressed in casual 'work' clothes.

He dared to ask, "You are not a top or bottom or whatever?"

She smiled at him while she poured the coffee into two cups on a tray and handed him the tray. "No, sweetie, I just have a job to do. I am not allowed to be involved in these games, although I am tempted sometimes. You are new here?"

"Yes. Observe and learn, my Mistress says," Rob answered.

"And right she is," a tall woman clad as a strict Mistress said. "Are you allowed to talk to people like you just did?" She asked him this with an angry voice.

"I don't need your permission to speak to whomever I want, you are not my Mistress," Rob answered angrily, too. "I'm just having a polite conversation with this bartender and you are the one who is interfering," with which he turned his back on the Mistress and gave his attention to the nice bartender, who had followed their conversation with a certain amusement. His body language made it very clear that he hadn't the slightest respect for her.

The Mistress who had spoken to him walked away from them rapidly.

"You can get into trouble for this," the bartender said.

Rob shrugged his shoulders, thanked her, and walked back to Michelle, carefully carrying the tray, trying not to spill the coffee. He saw someone sitting at a table with some fellow 'Masters' stick out his leg and he stopped in front of him, waiting until the guy removed his leg.

"Thank you, kind Sir," he deliberately said the words in a manner that implied the opposite.

The other guys at the table laughed but the one who had his leg out to try and make him stumble, showed an angry red face.

With a few quick steps he reached Michelle, who watched his arrival with a faint smile.

"I saw you made a friend," she remarked.

"He is lucky I didn't stomp on him with my high heels," Rob replied. When he first entered this room he was assured by Michelle that no harm would be done to him, but clearly no matter what, some people had to try to embarrass him. He would not let that happen. If necessary, he would leave immediately, no matter what Michelle said.

It was clear to Michelle that things were not going as she had been hoping. She had thought by giving him a task that he would take on a little bit of humility, but the opposite had happened. Now they had to leave the area soon, before things got out of hand.

Too late, she thought, when she saw a Master approach with the Mistress at his side who had been standing at the coffee bar.

"This is the guy," she heard her say to the Master.

The Master introduced himself as one of the supervisors of the day.

"This lady complains that this person had spoken and behaved impolitely to her. She asks for a punishment."

Before Michelle could say something, Rob stood in front of her and said to the Master, "I'm here to learn and observe. I am allowed to ask questions, but I have to be polite. I expect to be treated politely as well!"

"I'm not speaking to you, for this impertinence I will give you 10 lashes with my whip!"

And again, before Michelle could say anything, Rob answered. "I am not recognizing your authority, in fact, I only recognize Michelle as my Mistress. The moment you use your whip on me, I will stuff it in your arse, like I did to Iris."

"That was you?" the Master looked at Michelle, who nodded.

"It was him. And before you say anything else: the behavior of this so-called mistress is out of line. She has no right to interfere with him whatsoever. I also want to make a complaint about the guy over there," she pointed at the man who had tried to make Rob stumble. "Rob is here under my protection, as you can see from the LARGE collar he is wearing." She emphasized the word large, because it couldn't have escaped anyone's eyes that Rob wore Michelle's special collar.

The Mistress suddenly excused herself and left, shaking her head.

"You made your point, Mistress Michelle. I will have a word with that man. I'm sorry I even bothered you about Rob's behavior, but that Mistress insisted that I have a word with you." He looked at Rob, who gazed at him with a hostile look, then nodded his head. "You know I respect you, Mistress Michelle, but how on earth could you bring him in. He is a potential danger..."

"He is the husband of the black Mistress and he is also under my protection. That is more than enough reason for him to be here. You have no right, nor authority to doubt us. I will make a report out of this incident. Before you approached us, you should have spoken to the bartender first. She overheard the conversation between Rob and that mistress. If he had behaved badly, I'm pretty sure she would have backed that mistress up; but I only saw her smile to Rob, and I have full confidence in him. I'm pretty sure he offended her, but only after she verbally attacked him. Now leave please!"

The Master left them without a greeting, obviously too shocked about what he had heard. The guys on the table had approached them as well, clearly expecting to hear something funny, but when they heard what Michelle was saying, they retreated fast, softly speaking to each other. Rob saw that the Master had a word with the guy who was trying to make him stumble, and he saw that the guy stood up, looked a bit embarrassed and frightened at them, and walked towards Rob and apologized to him. Michelle nodded to the guy when he was done, and he left. Rob only had said "Apologies accepted," and turned towards Michelle, as if it meant nothing to him.

Afterwards Rob was a little bit confused about Michelle speaking of his wife. "You mentioned the 'Black' Mistress; is that the name Helena uses when she is here?"

"Yes. You would find out sooner or later anyway. She is always dressed in black."

Rob was confused. "Always? When does she come here? She never mentioned this to me. As far as I know she is always home with me, unless she is attending to her business..."

Suddenly the understanding came to him as a shock. "While she is on a business trip, she is here???"

"Yes, but not always. Usually she is on a business trip when she says so, but maybe once or twice a month, she is visiting this place. In the past, before she met you, she was here pretty often. This is the place where she and I met the first time."

"And she always told me, she was new to all this, and that she was beginning to like it...? Was that a lie?"

"Hmm. Maybe. Probably to comfort you. In fact she is a very experienced mistress, not like me of course, nobody is," she answered with a grim smile. "I'm pretty sure she didn't want to scare you away at the beginning and pretended to be new to 'all this'." She repeated his words with a wry smile. "Let me ask you, if you had known about 'all this', would you taken her as your wife?"

"After that debacle with Jenny? Never!"

"There you go. So can you really blame her that she didn't tell you everything?"

"I guess not. But I would rather have that she had told me, instead of hearing it from you - or others."

He was angry now. Again a secret revealed. Again, another lie. "And you mentioned that you met her here. Was that before we even met?"

"Yes. But I didn't know she was your wife when we met the first time. It was purely coincidence. Then, when we were introduced to each other, Helena told me when we were in private, that I could not tell you that she and I had met before, for obvious reasons. She thought, and probably still thinks, that you are not ready yet to know all."

"But now I know!" Rob wasn't pleased. Anger was filling his mind again. He thought of all the things he went through, the humiliation, the pain and his heart-sorrow. And now this!

"Yes, and I am sorry that you had to hear it this way. I said it without thinking. I'll have to apologize to Helena. Please don't fall too hard on her, I told you the reason why."

He had already suspected something all along. It had to be. Michelle and Helena were too quickly comfortable with each other. It was all a performance, to hide the fact that Helena was a Mistress from the start. He turned away from Michelle, and with very unwomanly steps he trotted away from her, with large steps, going down the stairs and to the area where all the 'excitement' took place. He needed to be away from her, he knew he would otherwise say things he surely knew would ruin their friendship - for whatever that is worth, he thought.

Michelle watched him leaving, going down to where couples were busy entertaining themselves. It was a scary place, for people who were plain vanilla. For her it was a place where she was a queen, she had been worshipped there, and she still had slaves who would do anything for her. She liked Rob, but asked herself if it was such a good idea to bring him here. He was not plain vanilla, but he wasn't a sub or the opposite, either. In fact, the more she thought about him, the more she became convinced that he was just a bit kinky. He would only play along with the woman he loves, and only do it for her because he loved her. He went into her dungeon, not because he wanted to, but because Helena had asked him, no, almost insisted. He could be obedient to the ones he loved, but high and haughty to the outside world. No, she decided, it was not a good idea to expose him to other people. She followed him with her eyes. She could see what he was heading for, the place where couples who were both sub could view each other as they were played with. It was a special part of the playground where they could see each other while they were whipped by their master or mistress, for example. The place could not be seen from where she was currently standing, and she knew she had to go there, too, to keep an eye on Rob. She was hoping he wouldn't do anything foolish. She walked down the stairs and headed for the direction where she last saw Rob.