The afternoon quiet had settled over the provincial town of Aix-en-Provence. A bright Mediterranean sun was beating down on the Cours Mirabeau when she emerged from 'Les Deux Garcons.' Paula blinked at the glare as and walked off, a little unsteadily after a luxurious lunch with the gallery owner. They had celebrated the end of a very successful 10-day exhibition. Almost all of her exhibited work had been sold. Each day she had spoken to very interested potential customers. One of them even had talked about a commission to decorate his villa in Antibes....
'Life is great!' she thought as she entered the underground parking just off the historic town centre. Its entrance was deeply shadowed by tall, ancient plane trees and in the sudden gloom she almost bumped into an elderly couple.
They were obviously provincials, she saw as she made her excuses. The old man looked up to her uncertainly and said in a soft voice 'Excusez nous Madame, est-ce que vous savez que cette adresse est prés d'ici?' He held up a tattered envelope with a barely legible address scrawled on it.
When she lowered her head to have a better look the old man suddenly dropped the envelope and grabbed her wrists. From behind her someone pressed a stinking rag over her mouth and nose. She struggled violently for a moment, trying to get fresh air into her lungs. But the hands and arms holding her were like steel. She gasped for breath but her strength ebbed away and she slowly sank into a deep darkness...
A sensation of movement...
Vibration and random noises, a smell of leather...
She was in a moving car!
Her eyes were stabbed by bright sunlight shafting into the interior.
When she tried to move she realized she lay stretched out on the backseat, with her ankles and wrists cuffed together. Frightened she tried to sit up but two safety belts held her firmly in place. She tried to cry out but she found her mouth was blocked by something hard tasting of rubber. All she managed to produce was a muffled groan and fear ran through her like a flame.
She looked up and saw the elderly couple sitting demurely in the front seats. She moaned and wriggled furiously but they did not react and in the end she gave up...
She intermittently dozed until the car slowed down and turned off the road. The humming of the tarmac changed to the distinctive crunch of car tyres on gravel and looking up she saw the large posts of an imposing gate pass by. They followed a winding lane that was steadily leading upwards, shaded by stately, age-old trees. Finally, the car came to a stop at the foot of an imposing marble staircase, leading up to the grand entrance of a chateau.
The elderly couple opened the passenger door and quickly undid the safely belts. They cautiously took her out of the car and made her lean against the door while they freed her ankles.
There suddenly was the sharp rap of high-heeled footsteps coming rapidly down the stairs. Turning her head towards the sound she could hardly believe her eyes.
Down the steps came a black clad maid on very high heeled pumps and with black stockings, a starched white apron and a creamy pink rose in her glossy black hair. She could have come straight from a John Willie drawing...
'Suivez-moi, madame' said the maid as she took her by the arm and guided her upwards on the flight of steps. Disoriented and dazed she was led into the cool reception hall of the chateau. There was an old fashioned smell of furniture wax, leather and a whiff of lavender.
The maid led her into what looked like a reception room, just off the corridor. She looked around in astonishment. It was like having been teleported into the 17th century. Louis XIV furniture, an ancient clock encased in a sunburst, paintings of ancestors on horses.
The maid locked the door securely with a key suspended from her belt. Then, without saying a word, she unlocked the wrist cuffs and took the gag out of her mouth. Paula said 'Aaaah...' and worked her cramped jaws to get them going again.
Then she noticed that the maid was quickly undressing her.
'Hey, wait a second!' she screamed as her skirt fell to the ground. She started to fight the deft little hands that had already undone her blouse and were now unhooking her bra. 'What the fuck is going on here? Let me go!'
The girl just said 'Non, madame' and quickly removed her bra. Enraged she swept her right hand towards the maid's face. Then the whole room seemed to somersault and she found herself lying full-length on the cold stone floor. Dazed she tried to get up, only to be shoved back by the maid who, as a final touch, quickly removed her slip.
With surprising strength and dexterity the maid pulled her up from the floor and, while she kept her in a wrestlers' grip, frogmarched her into an alcove where an amazing collection of leather garments was neatly arranged.
Before she knew what was happening the maid had closed a pair of leather cuffs around her wrists and secured them to a chain looped loosely around her waist. Then she closed a wide leather collar around her neck. The final touch was a pair of ankle cuffs linked by a short piece of chain that forced her to take small, delicate steps.
She stood stock-still at the sudden thought that she was totally naked, helplessly cuffed and chained, in a chateau, God may know where...
Her feelings were in turmoil. She was outraged and frightened. At the same time and to her surprise she also was excited and very horny. A warm wetness was growing in her loins...
'What...what...?' she spluttered.
'Tout sera expliqué, madame' said the girl as she fastened a leash to the front D-ring of the collar. Then, with a short jerk on the leash, she motioned Paula to follow her.
They went up a wide oaken staircase and through a corridor onto a secluded, flag stoned terrace. A large table and some comfortable looking chairs had been placed in the shade of a huge oak. The maid motioned her to sit down and after she sat down quickly hooked her collar to the big and heavy chair. She disappeared from sight for a moment and quickly came back with a frosty looking glass of rosé that she placed in front of her. Then, with a polite smile, she left her alone.
Paula picked up the glass with trembling fingers and sipped the chilly wine. She looked at her surroundings in frightened curiosity. The terrace was shaded by old, high trees that whispered in the soft, herb scented breeze. The evening sun gave the mountain ridge on the far side of the valley a bright orange colour. Some cicadas chirped and a wild dove fluttered into one of the trees.
Exhausted she leaned back while she tried to organize the turmoil of her thoughts.
'What is this?' Where am I? What is going to happen to me?'
Footsteps sounded in the corridor; heavy, deliberate steps that made the ancient floor creak and came nearer and nearer. Frightened she frantically tried to get up and out of the chair but the short chain to her collar caught her and held her back. As she struggled her naked feet slipped on the smooth stone terrace and she fell, face forward, against the high back of the chair.
The steps halted next to her.
In a desperate effort to untangle herself she struggled again but slipped even lower into the chair, with her face pressed against the back and her hair caught in the collar chain.
Firm, strong hands took her by the shoulders and put her right side up in the chair. She looked up but saw nothing except the dark shape of a male head against the setting sun.
'Good evening and welcome to my castle!' he said in gentle voice. 'I am Antoine de Symiade.' He stepped aside and she saw her captor for the first time. A strong brown face with a small Vandyke; tall but not too tall; dressed casually in a long sleeved white shirt and with tan slacks tucked into gleaming black riding boots. She thought he looked like an old-time fencing master.
'It looks like we have to rearrange some things' he said.
She looked down and flushed. During the struggle her breasts had become entangled in the chains and she had not even noticed. Before she could make a move his hands came down and removed the chains from her breasts. Then he gently stroked her nipples and took one breast in the cup of his hand, as if to weigh it.
She sat transfixed. The casual way in which he had done this! As if she was his personal property and he could handle any part of her at will! She felt her anger welling up and raised herself, shouting curses at him.
A single, sharp slap in her face sent her stunned back into the chair
'If you address me, it has to be respectful. I do not tolerate mindless shouting. Is that understood?'
'You can't...'
He raised her chin with his right hand fingers and looked her in the face.
'I can't what?'
'Treat me like that! Who are you? What is this place? Let me go or I'll call the police! I'll make you smart for this if you don't let me go now!'
'Don't waste your breath. You'll stay here! And you'll love it!'
Furiously she threw her wineglass at him. But the wrist chain jerked taut and the glass missed him altogether. It flew high into the air and splintered on the terrace with a clear tinkle of broken crystal.
A quick staccato rattle of high heels announced the arrival of the maid. She looked questioningly at the man.
'Madame is angry and can't control her feelings yet. It seems we have to do it for her!' he said quietly.
Quick as a cat the maid grabbed the cuffed wrists and locked them behind Paula's back. With a little bow she handed the key to the man.
Smiling he said 'You will have the use of your arms again when you have learned to behave.'
She swore at him and he silenced her with another slap in her face.
'Do you want to be permanently gagged as well?'
She tried to spit in his face and 20 seconds later a large rubber ball gag was securely fixed in her mouth. All she could do was make vague noises through her nose. And, to her surprise, she became excited by her helplessness. She was naked, chained and gagged; completely in the power of some unknown stranger. Her heart beat faster and she felt a strange heat in her loins and a wetness growing between her legs...
Standing next to her chair he said conversationally 'Now that we have established the rules of behaviour in my castle I will tell what will happen next.'
Unable to speak she looked questioningly at him.
'It was necessary for me to have a look at you in the nude. To see your body as it really is. I must say I am not disappointed!'
After a short pause he continued.
'You will consider yourself my honoured guest from now on. Lisette will ensure you're comfortable. I want you to take a bath and relax. Later, Lisette will dress you and we will dine together. After dinner I will tell you why you're here'.
He turned around and clapped his hands.
The maid appeared almost immediately and he said
'Lisette, conduire madame a la salle de bain!'
The maid bowed politely and said 'Très bien, monsieur le Comte'
'Do behave yourself!' the Count said with a sudden smile 'And don't do stupid things like trying to fight or to fly. Lisette may look petite but she is an expert in unarmed combat. I don't want your beautiful body bruised in a fight!'
He softly stroked her breasts when he spoke to her and the touch went like an electric pulse through her body, ending with a spurt of wetness between her legs.
Astonished she thought 'What is happening, for God's sake'? Why do I react like this?'...
Lisette took off her into what looked like a guestroom with a private bathroom. Once released from her bonds she looked at the door. But Lisette stepped in front of it and gestured her towards the adjacent bathroom.
Ten minutes later she emerged again, feeling clean and fresh but exhausted. Lisette locked a leather collar around her neck again and motioned towards the bed. She said in rapid French. 'You are to rest until I come to dress you for dinner.'
She obediently stretched out on the soft bed.
Lisette quickly locked her collar to a short chain and draped a light blanket over her naked body. Then she left the room and locked the door behind her.
As she slowly drifted into sleep thoughts kept popping up in her mind.
'...where am I?...'
'...what is going to happen to me?..'
'...I must escape, must escape, must escape.......'