The Twelve Vitali Ch. 16

"I don't care what the kid does or did! I care about the brat you dumped on me and that protection collar around her pretty little neck! She isn't ready for me, or anyone in my team! I won't let her pretend play at BDSM for whoever put that protection collar around her neck!" Hella repeated what she said to Francesco. "If you keep pretending she is something she's not, I will break her, and she will tell me herself! You know I am more than capable of doing it!"

"I put the collar on the brat," Nero said, entering the room and pulling a chair up between his brothers. "For your benefit, not hers, you do not want the consequences involved in breaking that girl's will."

"One of you three Muppets better tell me what the hell is going on or I'm out, plain and simple!" Hella growled at them.

"Then you're out," Francesco said with a shrug. "Thanks for playing," he tapped the clipboard. He loved Hella, but there was only so much of her temper he could bear, and no one gave him ultimatums. "You don't want to do it, fine. We'll find someone else. No big deal, that's all you had to say, plain and simple. You're good, Hella, Probably the best Domme we've had in a decade, but you're not irreplaceable," he said as if it was no big deal.

"This must be big then, if you three are giving in so easily," she narrowed her eyes at them. "Let's see... What sort of rumours can I begin about this girl? Another Peri Donati, perhaps? The fiancé of a second sent here by an evil chair to learn her place within the scheme of things?" She poked at the open wound she knew the three brothers still bore from the debacle three years ago.

"Peri Donati was quite a different girl. She was a natural submissive; she had some breeding and culture, as well as a good education. This girl is not like Peri Donati," Marcus said thoughtfully.

"She could be, of course, with the right training," Nero mused. "A girl like this would have to be trained as a Kept to receive the etiquette and elocution needed to marry into one of the tables. It's interesting that she is so curious about the BDSM lifestyle, even though the owner of her collar would not be concerned if she wasn't."

"I expect that he is pleased that she is the one who wants that sort of education. I know him fairly well, and he's a control freak, just like Joshua Donati, but possibly hides it a bit better, like Dante," Marcus chuckled.

"You're shitting me, right?" Hella furrowed her brow as she looked at the two men and then looked at Francesco.

"Don't look at me, I haven't been briefed. What do you care anyway, you just quit?" Francesco smirked.

"Trying to get a straight answer out of you three is like trying to herd cats! Impossible!" Hella snapped at them. "Just tell me what the hell is going on so I can do my job properly, because that girl is a brat, and I will break her if I don't know what's happening here!"

"That's my assessment too," Nero said casually. "Though I am not sure she realises she's doing it or purposefully being bratty. I think she is looking for chinks in the armour. She has had everyone she has loved or trusted in her life let her down, so in order to trust anyone she feels the need to test them. Go too easy on her, and she won't respect you and do her best to top from the bottom, go too hard on her and you will, as you say, break her."

"It will be a delicate balance for anyone who takes on her training, and in any other circumstances I wouldn't have trusted anyone but Francesco himself," Marcus said, not pulling any punches. "The man who owns that collar, though, asked for a female trainer. Only this morning Jane called him to say she didn't think she could be with a woman, and he asked her to try for him, and he agreed that if she tried and still felt the same way she could ask for a change to a male trainer. He would rather not take that option, but has conceded that it may be necessary."

"She wants the training that I can offer though?" Hella asked carefully. "I don't do gentle encounters, you know that," Hella said.

"She craves the pain, and I dare say a certain amount of humiliation, but she's still not sure it is normal to want what society sees as wrong or taboo. She talks about fifty shades of grey rather than the real erotica and porn she had viewed and read. Her current partner had only just started exploring this side of her nature with her and was making headway into making it a normal part of their sex life. Then time constraints and circumstances brought her here before either of them were ready for this trial," Nero said, having had long talks with Cat about her needs and feelings. "The brattiness is more about her testing the boundaries of a new relationship until she trusts you completely."

"Her partner didn't give in, and because he has asked her to try, because it is important to him, she will do her best to get over her mental block about being with a woman. However, given your reaction to meeting her, perhaps Francesco would be the better trainer in this case," Marcus said.

"You're not fooling me, you need me," Hella pursed her lips as she surveyed the three brothers she knew so well. Had she been a boy she would have sat on the new table of the Battaglia with them, she knew. She had their love and respect, despite being a bitch to them all on occasion. "Alright, I get it, but I want to know who she is and which table protects her."

"Tables," Marcus said. "She is engaged to Matteo Vitali, and she is also a close personal friend to Peri Donati and knows the twelve men of the Donati table intimately. They have given her family status, despite being an outsider."

"I knew I recognised her! She's the artist!" Francesco exclaimed in a eureka moment.

"Bruno want's her identity kept secret, as well as the fact that someone from the tables is at the facility for trial. If word of this gets out, or any harm comes to that girl through you, Hella, I will make sure you are part of Nero's experimental ward as a patient for the next year," Marcus threatened.

"Fuck, I may be the worst bitch you know, but I have a brain. I said I get it, alright! No need for threats, I just wanted to know the truth. Now I know!" she snapped. "Matteo wants a woman to be her trainer, but he's open to a man if she insists. Do I have that part right?" she asked.

"True," Nero said.

"So, if I brought in an assistant, for instance, an older male who could sort out her issues without actually fucking her, which I assume is what Matteo was trying to avoid, that would be within the rules?" She asked.

"I could clarify that for you, but I think that would be preferable to him than giving her training over to a Dom entirely," Marcus agreed.

"I'm fairly sure I know a man who fits your need who would volunteer happily to assist you with Jane. They've already built a strange relationship that works," Nero said with a small smile and wicked glint in his eye.

"Fine, send him to me tomorrow, I expect Marcus will have an answer for me by then. One last thing," she paused and considered them. "What is her real name?"

"Cat, it is short for Catriona, Catriona Leone," Marcus said.

*****

"Okay, let's call it what it is," Jacobi said finally. "I fucked up, and the two of you will lead."

"Nothing's been decided, as far I know," Matteo shrugged.

"It does seem the most likely outcome," Ricco rattled his wrist. "Why else do this to us?"

"Because I'm losing my shit, and they don't want me doing anything stupid, like interfering in Cat's trial," Matteo admitted. "They made you my conscience."

"Isn't that what an Oracle does?" Jacobi asked. "He's been my conscience my whole life. It's part of the reason I left the way I did."

"Yeah, well, I don't think our fathers have ever been predictable in how they've handled anything. We can try to work all of this bullshit out logically, but we all know anything could happen between now and then. Particularly as it seems Papa is feeling better and making demands on everyone again." Matteo grumbled. "It could be another decade before we find out, so just live your lives and we'll face whatever is decided when it's decided. We've all fucked up one way or another, if they hang on long enough, the babies could very well take the chair."

"You're right, you know," Jacobi nodded. "I need to get home. But we're good? The three of us? We're all good?"

"Yeah," Ricco nodded. "Get your ass back to work tomorrow though. Today was bad, and tomorrow will be a shit storm with the fallout."

"The site managers have it under control, for now," Matteo ran his hand through his hair as if the weight of the accident was a heavy burden to bear. "Lucca is at the hospital keeping me updated and talking to the next of kin, offering support, financial and otherwise."

"I'll get in early and catch up on the overnights. If the guy is okay, we'll minimise the accident as much as we can and get the site opened again," he reassured Matteo.

"We aren't at fault, but we need to look after the man and his family. We need his workmates to see us being proactive, workplace health and safety refresher courses, and that sort of stuff, as well as caring for the dumbass who didn't follow the site rules," Matteo said anxiously, despite the fact that he knew he couldn't be held accountable.

"Look after each other tonight, and I'll see you tomorrow," Jacobi said as he got to his feet. "I'll swing by the hospital and check on Lucca. I won't do anything, but it's got to be tough on him, he's still pretty young to be dealing with this sort of shit." He turned and walked back through the apartment without waiting for an answer.

"How do you still look like you have energy to burn?" Matteo groaned at Ricco and leaned back in his chair, rubbing both his hands over his face.

"Coffee and chocolate, plus I want an answer to my earlier question," he chuckled. "So no falling asleep on me yet. Now let's pretend logic wins out and you get the chair, and I am named Oracle," Ricco said slowly. "Would you allow me to pursue an intimate relationship, not just with Cat, but with you?"

"What? Like a menage a trois?" Matteo asked as he considered the question properly.

"In a manner of speaking, you're a good-looking guy, but I don't want to fuck you, if that's what you're thinking," Ricco laughed. "I was thinking more along the lines of the three of us sharing the master suite, sleeping in the same bed and generally doing what we would normally do, but together. I don't like the idea of separate rooms and date nights, or Cat feeling like she was abandoning you to be with me, or vice-versa, although I doubt that would happen often. You can't tell me you'd be happy to spend half the week alone in bed."

"That's what you meant when you told Jacobi this was what you always wanted? A threesome with a brother?" Matteo wasn't sure what he thought about what Ricco was saying, or if he understood it properly.

"When we were about seventeen I had a thing for one of Zio Salvatore's Kepts. I used to watch him with her and let him watch me as he mentored me as a Dominant and then a rope Master. I probably spent more time with him than either you or Jacobi, and I developed a real fascination for voyeurism, exhibitionism and sharing a woman. I can appreciate that you have a good physique, and can imagine being in a scene with you and Cat, in fact, it's rapidly becoming my go-to fantasy. That fantasy, however, is tied to the two of you, not just her. I don't want to take her from you, or have you separate me from the two of you, I want the 'us', that could be so great!" Ricco spoke with the passion he felt for how he always believed his adult life would be and wanted it to be.

"You're a rope Master?" Matteo asked.

"That's what you took out of what I just said?" Ricco asked incredulously.

"I'm going to need time to digest the rest of it. I'm not sure I get it, but as for the living arrangements, I can see your point there about the sleeping arrangements. I'm not sure I'm ready for something like that, but I can see what you are saying," Matteo nodded. "You're a rope Master?" he asked again. "That's incredible, I never had the patience for rope, it's so time-consuming when you just want to be doing the fun stuff."

"The rope stuff is the fun stuff for me. I guess it feeds my voyeurism kink on a certain level," Ricco shrugged.

"Alright, I need to sleep before I drink anymore," Matteo rubbed his hands over his face. "You can come if you don't snore, and keep your boxers on," he said, getting to his feet and chuckling at the surprise on Ricco's face. "I hate sleeping alone while she's gone," he shrugged and wandered toward his bedroom.

"Matt," Ricco said, following him into the darkened room.

"Mmhmm?" Matteo mumbled as he stripped off his clothes and fell onto the bed.

"I don't think it's Stefano we need to be worried about," Ricco said softly.

"What do you mean?" Matteo rolled onto his back and looked up at his brother as he, too, stripped for bed.

"I've had a gut feeling for a while now, but think about it... Oracles are replaced all the time without all this bullshit. They're getting ready to step down; we can all see that. But, why? Something about the whole thing isn't right, and Stefano's refusal at the hospital and his foul temper about getting home as soon as possible," Ricco tried to explain the bad feeling he had regarding Roberto.

"I reckon Papa will want to see us tomorrow after the accident today. It might be time to talk to him about that gut of yours," Mateo murmured. "How long have you been thinking about this?"

"Since we went to the Kimberly," Ricco admitted. "Something has been off since just before Christmas though."

"Given everything that happened in the last year, you could be right, or you could just have a mild stomach flu that's lasted way too long," Matteo chuckled. "We can deal with it tomorrow."

"Thanks, Matt, it's good to have someone listen to me, and take my gut seriously for a change," Ricco said yawning.

*****

Cat was early as she stepped up to the door to Mistress Hella's room. She hadn't truly been able to take it in earlier as she knelt on the leather square and answered her questions, but it was more like the red room of pain from her imagination than Matteo's white room had been. She took a deep breath and knocked lightly on the closed door, listening carefully for an answer before entering and closing the door behind her.

Unsure if she would be allowed to explore on her own, she padded over to the leather square and knelt to wait for the Mistress. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to have sex with a woman, but she had promised Matteo to try it, and she knew from his tone that he would be very disappointed in her if she didn't. Since she had finally given in to her feelings and begun to believe that his love for her was real, despite all of their differences, she rarely challenged him the way she once had, and she would hate to disappoint him and have him regret his love for her in any way.

"Lovely, you're early," Hella said as she entered the room. She had changed and walked across the room, her wrap around dress fluttering just above her knees as she walked. She took her seat and arranged her dress and fluffed her hair out before she settled back and turned her eyes to the girl in front of her. She'd had a little bit of time to think about how to approach training this girl. Her time would be limited, and she had to overcome her aversion to being with a woman sexually, as well as the unconscious brattiness as the girl tested her boundaries.

"Did you eat, or were you nervous about returning to me tonight?" Hella asked.

"I ate a little, thank you, Miss Hella," Cat replied, trying not to give a long drawn out reply that would annoy the woman as she had done earlier that afternoon.

"I require you to eat properly at every opportunity. It is important to me that you remain healthy and happy during your time as my submissive. For you to be healthy and happy, you will need to ensure that you maintain a healthy diet that will give you the strength required by any girl who kneels at my feet. While you are here in this room, you will belong to me and me alone. In this room you will do what I want, when I want, and how I want. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss Hella," Cat agreed.

"I will train you to be pleasing to both men and women alike. I may, on occasion, employ an assistant to help me with your training. The assistant will be nothing more than another piece of equipment with a working cock, as far as you are concerned, you will follow my commands only. Understood?" Hella spoke in a lecturing tone. "I believe you have great potential, and I find you intoxicating," she let her eyes rake over Cat as if mentally undressing her. "I need your consent before we begin anything further. I understand you have given your consent before being sent to me, but I would like you to tell me yourself that you are here of your own free will to be trained as a submissive in the ways of pain and pleasure."

"I understand why I am here and agree with all you have said," Cat said softly, but looked directly into Hella's eyes to show the truth of her words. She was here for Matteo and she belonged to him, regardless of where she was but she wasn't going to argue that point with this woman right now.

"Some say I am a man-hater. This is untrue. But there is no denying I prefer to employ, socialise with, and make love to women. As my submissive, you will follow my lead. I know you have little experience, so I will show you how enjoyable it can be." She stroked Cat's hair and continued, "I will teach you what it is to serve me; mentally, physically and sexually. To begin with, you will find some elements of your training painful and even humiliating at times, but I won't punish you more than is necessary, and you will find the pleasure you receive will far outweigh the pain I will inflict on your lovely body."

"Stand up, my pretty pet," Hella instructed. She simply could not resist the temptation of such a beautiful body any longer. She came to her feet and flicked at the loose catch that held Cat's camisk in place over one shoulder, allowing the material to fall, exposing her breasts and slithering down the girl's body to fall to the floor. "I have never liked those silly dresses; you will remove it in the future when you enter this room and leave it by the door."

"Yes, Miss Hella," Cat whispered as the woman stepped closer to her, running her hands over her breasts and down her body. She tried not to cringe away from the touch. She could do this for Matteo, she took a deep breath, God knew she'd done worse in her past just to survive. She would just put on her mask and approach this like any other unpleasant moment she had to survive knowing that he would waiting for her when it was done. She pulled on a protective mask trying to mirror the self-confident lesbian bartender she had worked with before meeting Matteo and took a deep breath as the Mistress inspected her naked body.

It was strange to Hella that she had been fantasised over by men for most of her life, when all she really wanted was a pretty pet with a pretty pussy. Hella put her fingers through the sides of Cat's panties and slowly pulled them down to reveal a rounded bottom perfect for spanking. She came to her feet again and stood before the naked girl. Cat stood as if being naked was quite natural, there wasn't the cheapness of a whore from the wrong side of town, which could have very well have been her life had she not been discovered by the Vitali family.

Hella leant forward and gently kissed the girl. Cat responded naturally, as if they were old friends, no fake passion, just a tentative natural tenderness. Now was the time to have some fun and find out if Cat was trainable as a pain slut. Since their earlier meeting, Hella had thought and even fantasised about how she would punish the girl for the frustration she had felt, and she had already chosen her weapon of choice.