The wood around us was a mixed forest, partly made of conifers and partly of oaks and birches.The wood around us was a mixed forest, partly made of conifers and partly of oaks and birches. I was dressed in a wool sweater, a pair of orange shorts, and heavy shoes. At my neck I wore a silver collar with very big turquoises. In my earlobes there were eight small golden earrings and two large ones of silver and turquoise. They were so heavy that were slowly stretching my holes. Over his jeans Alex wore a very big belt, with an heavy engraved buckle. The voice of my beloved was deep and beautiful: "Slave, come here." Immediately I did so. "Look at that tree." said my Lord, pointing to an old, lovely pine, with a big trunk covered with resin. I swallowed. He took my left hand and led me in front of the tree. "Bind your hair, slave." - he ordered. I obeyed. My hair, cut very short three years ago, is now of shoulder length. "Take down your shorts and panties." My Master said. I performed. "And now, darling, embrace the trunk." For a moment, only for a moment, I hesitated. My Lord slapped me with the back of his ringed hand. I fell on the ground. "Useless slave, do I have to repeat my orders now before you deign obey them?" I was weeping; my Lord's hand had been even heavier than usual. He was wearing his heavy family onyx ring, engraved with the signet of his grandfather. Painfully I stood up and embraced the trunk. "You disobeyed me." His voice was hard. "Forgive me, Master... please, I didn't want to disobey you, I didn't mean to, really..." "You were slow, you hesitated... don't you know who is the Master here?" My eyes were full of tears. "Please, my Lord, punish me, but don't be angry! I was slow and stupid, but I never wanted to disobey you..." Alex answered: "I'm not angry; you are luck that for this time you don't see me in that state." Now my face was in contact with the trunk of the pine. I couldn't see my Master, but I clearly heard the sound of branchlets being broken; then, after a while, his beloved steel voice: "I will beat you with these six birch-rods. |