Captain Philip arrived at Double Moon on the day and precise time which he and Lady Arianda had arranged. Aaron was at the carriage to greet him and escort him to a chamber in the Dungeon. While Philip was somewhat relieved not to be deposited in the vaulted Arena, he wasn't entirely certain he was comfortable with the look of this small cell either.

The room was nearly square and roughly cut from the rock, with only the single entrance. On the wall opposing the door were several iron loops whose hasps were embedded in the stone. Some of these were set in the floor as well. One side wall was graced with a rather plain looking table but above it, in a nook cut from the wall, sat a small chest made of richly dark wood with a high polish. In one corner there was what looked to be a natural fountain. A small trickle of water ran over the stone to collect in a catch basin carved from the wall itself, or so it appeared. There was little torchlight from beside the door but enough, and supplemented by a couple of thick candles on the table.

The sound of the water was the only thing soothing about the place. It was the only thing that kept Philip's own breathing and heartbeat from deafening him here, since Aaron left him and closed the heavy oak door. He stood at casual attention, in the center of the room, watching the door, waiting.

At last the door swept open. Philip saw Aaron move away as Lady Arianda entered. She was just as dazzling as when he'd seen her before. She still had that knowing smile. She was dressed in a dark tailored jacket, fitted to her wrists, but the V of her lapel left little to the imagination with not a stitch of a blouse beneath it. There seemed to be only a fastening at her waist and all from there to her neck was hinted, strongly. The long skirt parted as the Lady stepped into the room. Captain Philip was already aroused at the hints of bare skin her steps revealed.

"Kneel." came her firm command. It was accented by the oak door closing behind her.

Captain Philip complied. He followed each of her commands. He lowered his head. He would keep his eyes downcast. He sat back upon his feet. She prompted him to spread his thighs by tapping at his knees with her slippered foot. He clasped his hands behind him at the small of his back. Arianda unwrapped a length of leather from her wrist and stepped up between Philip's parted knees. She was so close. He was trying not to think of it as the Lady curled over him to wrap a training collar around his neck and buckle it. Her fingers, combing his hair out of the collar, shivered him. She then stepped back and Philip was both relieved and disappointed.

"Stand." Arianda commanded. Before Captain Philip could stop himself, he looked into her face. She slapped him with great force. He lowered his head, feeling the sting in his cheek. The Lady stepped closer to him and hissed. "Whatever part of you wishes anything more than what I command, had best be kept under wraps, lad." She walked around behind him then completed the circuit to face him again. "Your thoughts as well. You may wonder about what I bid of you." Her fingers deftly unlatched his belt and shifted him as she stripped it from his body. "Do not question. Simply DO."

She tossed the belt to the table and jerked at his tunic, not bothering to unbutton it. Instead the buttons popped off and bounced upon the stone floor. "When I give instruction or command, you are permitted to acknowledge with 'Yes, Mistress' or 'Yes, M'Lady', which is my preference, but I shall accept either." She pushed the jacket back over his shoulders but it stayed there, for he dare not unclasp his hands to allow the jacket to fall free.

"Yes, M'Lady." His voice seemed loud in the small chamber.

Arianda grasped at his shirt with both hands and ripped it straight down the front, revealing Captain Philip's chest and his deep intake of breath at this action. He closed his eyes. He flexed his jaw. He was humiliated by her stripping of him. He was angered by her destruction of his clothing. He was aroused by her commanding manner.

With another fingered grasp and a jerking rip, the buttons of Captain Philip's trousers joined the others on the floor. He was now quite embarrassed as the Lady pushed down at his clothing, releasing his arousal. She proceeded to strip him however. She tapped each ankle and made it difficult to maintain his balance as she removed his boots and drew his trousers completely from him. She went around behind him to release his hands and finish removing the remnants of his tunic and shirt. The tie in his hair was pulled off as well. He was completely without a stitch and all his belongings lay in a heap on the floor beside the table.

The Lady turned away from him as she reached to open the small chest within the wall's nook. She removed a few items and laid them upon the table before her. Captain Philip was breathing more comfortably than he had since she entered the room. He even seemed to calm down enough for his erection to not be quite so telling.

The Lady turned back to him and spread her hand over his chest then slipped her fingers up beneath his chin. She forced him to raise his head but he was careful to keep his gaze lowered. He could see her other hand holding something leather, then he couldn't stop a flinch as she cupped her fingers and the leather pouch over his waning erection. In fact, she'd gathered all of him up into her covered hand and held him there, twitching against her palm.

"Truly, you have little control. We could change that, but I am sometimes fond of surprises."

The grin in her voice slid into his mind and his groin at the same time. As Philip responded with a proper "Yes, M'Lady." his words were clipped with a grunt because she flexed her fingers around him again. He tried to think of anything else but her hand on him while she worked at the leather straps with her other hand. She kept pressing against him, shifting him, finally when her hand left his returning stiffness, she wrapped her arms around him to secure the buckle. He was half lost to the whole ceremony, between the rush of heat through his body, and his heart thumping in his ears, as well as between his thighs.

Lady Arianda buckled the thong securely then stepped around behind Philip. She slipped her fingers into his silken hair, gently brushing him, petting him. She saw him relax to her motions then she closed her fingers tightly, gripping and pulling at his hair to draw him down to his knees again. She fairly shoved him to the floor. She felt his anger rise. She continued pushing until he was curled over on himself, with his forehead pressed to the stone floor. Arianda was bent over too, standing astride him, and spoke at the back of his head where her hand still had a punishing grip and pressure.

"If my actions anger you, think on this: You know that I cannot overcome you with physical power, yet here you are, crouching like a toad. Why is that?"

He was confused as well as angry now. Lady Arianda felt it boiling in him and stepped away in front of him, just as Philip sat up to fix a narrowed glare at her. He held his tongue though, at least until Arianda tried to slap it from his mouth. She backhanded him hard enough to knock him sideways. "Eyes down! Unless instructed otherwise."

She waited for Philip to right himself. His eyes were again downcast. His hands were again clasped behind his back. She knew he would take up the proper position, even while his face still burned with his anger and her impact. She could see he was clenching and unclenching his teeth. He was scowling at the floor... and at himself.

She knelt before him and gently brushed her fingertips across the fading handprint on his cheek. Her voice was soft. "Now ask yourself... Why is the leather at your crotch so taut after such treatment, despite the ire you so very much wanted to express?"

He swallowed hard. He flexed his jaw. He locked it to speak in a whisper, "I do not know, M'Lady."

Lady Arianda reached aside to the table and drew a blindfold from it. She covered Philip's eyes securely. She grinned at the long deep breath he took. It was perhaps his way of bracing for whatever might be next. At least he didn't have to remember not to look at her. The sound of the trickling waterfall was now audible to Philip again. It might not have been noticed except that he heard splashing from it. Very shortly he knew why, for the cold water was being drizzled over his head and shoulders. "This should cool your temper a bit." The first icy touch caught his breath.

He heard the Lady moving about and she was soon in front of him again. "Stand." After doing so, he felt her hands pushing at his bare chest, making him step backwards. He nearly stumbled as his feet tripped back into a sunken area of the floor. Again his breath was taken away when he came in contact with a cold and rough stone wall. The Lady reached around him to unclasp his hands. She locked him into shackles, arms outstretched, feet apart. There was little room for him to move, certainly not enough to get very far away from the cold stone behind him.

( Continued in Part 3 of 3)