Chapter 1

The coach hit a rut in the road and Emma was jostled out of sleep. She peeked out the window to see a dark forest rushing past. Up ahead loomed a great castle.

So this is where I'm to serve this man, Emma thought to herself.

The coach slowed as they reached the castle gates. The horses nickered at the idea of food and rest.

They came to a stop in a circular drive. A quick glance out the window told Emma that they were right outside the castle doors, and a dark figure with broad shoulders was making its way to the coach.

He yanked the door open and stuck his head in. She could only see his mouth and it was set in grim lines. The rest of his face was concealed by a silk and leather mask, but she could see cold green eyes.

'Come," he said abruptly, and grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the coach and through the castle doors.

'But my things-" She tried to protest but he cut her of with; "My soldier."

He dragged her through the castle, down some stairs and through several dark corridors, and finally came to a stop in the seventh one they came to. He let go or her arm for a moment and lit a wall torch. Suddenly the whole corridor was illuminated.

They were in a tiny chamber with a small mattress stuffed with straw in one corner and a chamber pot in the other.

"What your name?" She heard from behind her.

She slowly turned to face him. "Emma."

"You will be 'Mistress Emma' from now on. You will call me, 'My Lord'. Nothing else. Do you understand Mistress Emma?"

She nodded her head and his hand shot out to hold her chin between calloused fingers. "You will use words."

"Yes."

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, My Lord." Emma sensed that she should obey him, because; she had no idea what he was capable of. So she obeyed.

"Good. During your time here, you will do anything that pleases me." His voice was gruff with soft undertones. Like sandpaper and velvet put together. "If it pleases me to whip you, you will not complain. If it pleases me to use you for my own or my soldier's pleasure, you will be willing. Do you understand?" His green eyes were smoky and they shot lightning bolts at her. It was strange how his eyes could be a bright green color and still manage to be smoky.

"But-"

"Yes or no are your only options on this matter. The second would have results you may find painful. I suggest you choose the first."

Emma lifted her chin in defiance. She would not be bullied by this brute of a man. It was one thing for her to have to come live in his castle as his servant in exchange for her father's life, but another to even suggest that she let any man deflower her. Just for his amusement. She wouldn't be plowed over by him. She was a person too. Maybe she was just a servant in his house, but she had at least a shred of self respect in her body. She would be no man's plaything.

"No."

Anger flashed dangerously in his eyes. So fast she didn't even see him move, he had a fistful of her hair and gave one firm yank.

"You must learn obedience Mistress Emma. I see your father has not been as firm with you as he should have been. No matter. Rest assured; this will change."

He dragged her by her hair to the straw mattress in the corner of the room. When she surveyed the room for the first time there was one thing she didn't notice. There was a set of golden manacles attached to the wall next to the mattress. They were connected to the wall in a way that if she were imprisoned in the manacles, she would be laying across the bed width-ways with her backside vulnerable.

She began to struggle when she spotted a leather tawse in the corner and realized his intent.

But he simply yanked more forcibly on her hair and, so easy it was pathetic, he had her chained to the wall with her bottom in the air.

He lifted her dress and the 4 petticoats she wore underneath for warmth, so her bare bottom was exposed to the frigid night air. For a fearful moment Emma thought he would make good on his earlier threat of using her for his pleasure. But them she relaxed when she heard him start to walk away. She tensed up again when she felt the tawse trail down her leg.

She had never been so shamed in her life. There was a man looking at her nakedness, and she could do less than nothing about it.

She struggled uselessly for a moment, holding onto the hope of escaping.

The first blow on her tender buttocks was a shock to Emma. Not once in her entire life had she ever been hit. Her father was the sweetest, kindest, most forgiving man who ever lived. He had never dreamed of causing his daughter pain, and would have gladly forfeited his life if he knew this would happen.

But here she was, chained to a wall in an unknown castle with a brutally sadistic man attempting to whip her into submission.

The blows were painful, she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing what this did to her, by tears or making a sound of pain.

He stopped at 20.

"You did not cry out." He said with no emotion in his voice. "Perhaps you can be trained."

He settled her skirts back over her sore bottom and released her from the manacles.

"You must learn obedience, Mistress Emma." He said with his back to her. "The pain will stop when it is your instinct to do as I say." He turned around. " In the morning the small chamber that adjoins mine will be ready. You will move there and serve me whenever I wish, but until then, this is where you will stay. It is perfectly safe, if you are worried. This is the deepest region of my castle and no one could fund their way here."

He turned and left the chamber and slammed a wooden door be-hing him. Emma heard a key turn in the lock.

She huddled on her side on the straw mattress. She was on her side because he backside was much too sore to sit on.

She lay there and let a few homesick tears escape her eyes. Then she wiped then away and made a resolve.

She may not have a choice but to obey him, but she would not break. He could beat her all he wanted. She would obey him outwardly but inside, she would never bend to his will. The talk of using her body...Never. No matter what she had to do, He would never use her body. Her body was her own and it would stay that way. She would never give herself to him.

She fell asleep with the image of the eyes behind the mask dancing before her eyes.

Reviews

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Wow . . . OMG, Its so captivating already. I love the writing style you used - its gives us the feeling that this happened long ago - back in the fairy tale days, which is ironic because this is no fairy tale. But its also in a way fitting. Great job on this, i love it.