Beyond Good and Evil

Chapter 11: Blood and pain

The dungeon was just how Alicia remembered it. The large space was chilly, and by the looks of it, had no form of heating whatsoever. The only thing that looked different was the gigantic wooden board perched in the centre of the room, replicating one of the various torture devices from the medieval era.

"They called this The Rack," Robert padded across the dungeon, coming to a halt just beside the device. "Victims who were strapped to these babies suffered dislocated, or even torn off limbs."

Alicia circled it slowly, her eyes observing every single piece. From what she could comprehend, ropes could be fastened at both the ankles and wrists at the top and bottom. Robert had instead installed thick, dark grey chains that rested against the two wooden circular rests, where the victim would place their heads and feet.

"The aim of this, Ms Stellar, will be to test your limits," he continued, flicking his hair from his forehead. He hadn't changed from his stage gear - still wearing a black t-shirt, knee-length baggy shorts, black runners, wrist sweatbands and black fingerless gloves. "I will not push you over those limits."

She turned to face him, her eyes scanning the blue stone walls where he had hung various implements and weapons. She shivered, rubbing her elbows for warmth.

Out of nowhere, Robert produced a coat hanger to her. Hanging from the white plastic was a full body net top tight around the torso and hips, matched with a pair of black net pantyhose.

Lingerie.

It looked like her size, but she wondered if he had bought it himself, or perhaps asked someone else to.

"As part of the deal you made to be my sub, you are required to wear this every time we are in the dungeon." he explained, laying the item across Alicia's waiting arms. "I will wear my own outfit too."

"What will that be, master?"

He smirked, his green eyes tracing her from head to toe, as if he were imagining her in the lingerie. "You'll see very shortly, Ms Stellar."

He spun on his heel, disappearing upstairs before she could open her mouth to speak, leaving her alone in his dungeon.

She took this opportunity to poke around, now that her curiosity had struck a high. She passed by the rack, coming to halt at the rear of the space where Robert had pushed a heavy chest of drawers against. She took a brief glance over her shoulder, before cautiously and slowly pulling it open.

Various types of sex toys glinted in the above dimly glowing lights. Most of them Alicia didn't know, but the instruments she could pick out were butt plugs, anal beads, vibrators and genital clamps. She had spent an hour just googling BDSM-related things on the net last week, after believing that Robert was going to contact her again after a while.

"I'll give you the run down on the A-Z of my toys soon," his voice echoed from behind her.

She whirled, slamming the drawer shut as a flush spread across her face. He had changed into a sleeveless dark grey shirt and a pair of black baggy shorts, his olive arms completely exposed to her. She had been in those arms many times, and had craved being in those arms for the past week.

Her biggest fear was that he would walk out on her. She had never sustained any type of relationship before. If he had distanced himself over a haunting memory, she didn't need to second-guess what he'd do if she disappointed or upset him, or even worse, didn't turn out to be what he wanted in her.

"Change into your outfit and lay on the rack for me," he said in a cool, clipped tone, turning his attention to the iPod dock sitting on another different set of drawers. "Today we're going to try and keep up a rhythm with Redeemer."