Adjustment of Attitude

Part 17

Garrett leads us across the room until we face the two large chairs again. Once again, he stands in front of the chair to our left as we face them and I stand in front of the one to the right.

"Sit Tess." Garrett motions to the chair in front of me. No sound clicks away the seconds as time stretches in front of us. "Please Tess. It is your rightful place."

"Are you sure? After so much has changed in such a short time." My voice is quiet as I stare at the chair in front of me.

"Who are you?" He asks me in a soothing voice.

"I hardly know." I start and then end the sentence in a breath.

"Explain yourself."

"I can't explain myself, I'm afraid Sir, because I'm not myself you see." I reply and stare down at the seat of the chair.

"I don't see." Garrett replies, a hint of a smile in his voice.

Still, I do not look up.

"I'm afraid I can't put it more clearly, for I hardly understand myself. With so many changes, it is confusing."

"It isn't."

"Well, perhaps you haven't found it so yet."

"Or perhaps it is because it's a path I've already gone done." Garrett tucks his finger under my chin and forces my head up. "This is a good place indeed."

"But I'm not at all use to it!"

"You'll get use to it in time. We all will." Garrett kisses me gently on the forehead and once again attempts to hand me into the chair. This time, I turn and sit. The skirt of my dress splays around the bottom of the chair as I perch uncomfortably on the edge.

Garrett removes the gag from Evan's mouth. Drool strings down his chin. I watch as he wipes it away and Evan works the muscles in his jaw.

"Why do you find this difficult Evan?" Garrett asks Evan directly. "What is it about this situation which hardens your heart to Tess, when only a few days ago you thought this was her best path? A place where she could release and breathe?"

Garrett's tone is full of empathy and caring, but the stance of his body is clear he will not let this go easily.

"It is all wrong." Evan starts then stops.

Quietly I watch the drama before me unfold. I hold a breath, looking on like a queen observing her court and feeling like an imposter on a throne. The tension in the room is palpable. Fear clenches my chest.

"Why?" Garrett finally breaks the silence.

"Because, the minute my dominant knelt in front of me, it changed my perception, unexpectantly. I've lost respect for Tess. Rather than a dominant for whom I can rely, I see a submissive woman who has been taken to her knees and unable to recover." Evan's eyes never lift from the floor but his words are full of conviction.

"Even though she sits on the chair before you? Regal in her position of authority, for which you've knelt so many times before? So you see her differently because she of her strength?"

Evan shakes his head. "In her I no longer see strength, I see her as my equal or possibly even less than. Not someone for whom I can hold my pledge of loyalty and fealty. On the chair in front of us, I see a submissive sitting in a dominiant's position."

"Interesting. Why is this?" Garrett turns until his body is squared completely in front of Evan's. "Look at me."

Evan's eyes raise. "Because when I saw her kneel, I saw no dominance in her stance. When she gave to me, she almost surrendered. There was no fight, no push. In that space she was only a submissive who'd given in. A dominant on their knees does not deserve respect, if they were simply an imposter."

"Does that apply to any dominant, boy?" The edge in Garrett's voice returned, but the volume did not raise.

"Of course. Dominance is the strength to stay standing and carry the weight. It does not kneel. It does not give in to another. It is its own authority unless it has a pledge that authority in fealty and loyalty. Neither of which diminishes its strength. A dominant does not need to seek solace in another for they are never in a position of weakness."

"Careful boy, your fantasy is showing." Garrett growls.

"I mean no disrespect to you Sir. Even through this journey, in which we all chose, you've been a standing pillar of strength. While this situation leaves me lost, I know you will always stand by me through whatever fallout happens next. I will follow wherever you lead." Evan sounds defeated and all I want to do is hold him. Yet, his disrespect for me confuses everything in me. Why would a submissive person believe anyone in that same position is weaker than them?

"Indeed." Garrett's statement cuts through the air.

With sure steps, he turns and steps to the edge of the mat in front of the chairs. The leash jerks in his hand, forcing Evan to follow him. In a precision turn, he faces me. His hands rest, clasped, on his lower back. Feet shoulder width apart, his body aligns in perfect posture. Everything from him exudes confidence.