by Robin Roseau
"Excuse me, madam," I said. "But I believe that note is mine."
"And yet," the woman said, laying her hand on her drink. "Possession is nine tenths of the law." I eyed her hand and my note. I didn't think this was supposed to be a game of snatch the envelope from the domme.
"I was wondering if you would let me have it anyway."
"I might. Would you like to play a game?"
"I am playing a game."
With her free hand, she reached into a pocket in her costume and pulled out her phone. She pressed a button and then turned it to face me. There were three bright buttons labeled "Help", and "Hinder", and "Trap".
"The rules are simple," the woman said. "If I press the Trap button, then you have sprung a trap. Your pursuers will be informed where you are, and my pets will block the exit as best they can until your pursuers arrive."
"Please don't."
"If I press the Help button, it is your pursuers I am helping. For the next ten minutes, they will be given far more frequent status updates."
"Oh, no."
"On the other hand, the Hinder button means they will get more frequent updates for those same ten minutes, but they will be wrong."
I laughed. "I like that button. Madam, I am short on time."
"You're not. They've been sent to the basement. They'll be sent back and forth between the first floor and basement until I press one of these three buttons. I will do so if you attempt to leave or at the conclusion of our game."
I nodded understanding. "All right. What do I have to do so you'll press the Hinder button?"
"If you cheat, I press the Trap button," she explained. "If you decline my game, I press the Help button. If you want me to press the Hinder button, you will play my game."
"What is the game?"
"I'll tell you once you decide if you're playing or not."
I laughed again. "I should have seen that coming. I'll play."
"Excellent." She smiled. "My game is very simple. You will kneel to me, right here." She pointed to the floor in front of her. "You will kiss my feet. And then you will allow my pets to remove your jacket. It will be returned to you at the conclusion of the evening."
I stared at her. The jacket is what hid the collar from behind me.
"You know what that means for me."
"I do."
I was sure I didn't have a choice. I moved closer, knelt down as indicated, and kissed the offered feet. Her pets moved, and I didn't resist as they pulled the jacket from me.
"I like this," one said. "Do you mind if I wear it. We're of a size."
"Go ahead," I said between foot kisses.
"Thank you."
"That's good." Said the domme. "Kneel upright and let my pets arrange your hair."
They didn't just arrange my hair. One of them had been wearing a wig of bright red hair. She adjusted my own hair, pulled the wig in place, and adjusted it carefully, hiding my natural hair and, it turned out, hiding the collar nearly as well as the jacket did.
"I'll want this back," she said when she was done.
"Of course," I replied. "Thank you."
"Your clue," said the domme, handing me the note. Still kneeling, I opened and read it.
I looked up. "Thank you for your help."
"Kiss once more," she said, pointing to her feet. "And answer a question."
I did as she ordered, and then she asked, "Are you having fun?"
"Yes."
"Good. You have done well to avoid being caught, but I do not believe you can win. Your opponent did not devise the game with the expectation of losing."
"But am I playing against her? Or am I playing against the people chasing me? Maybe she is playing to win, but is she actively helping them in some way?"
"That is a good question." She smiled at me. "Are you keeping the clues?"
"Nina suggested I do so, but I'm running out of space."
"You could stash the old ones somewhere, if you need to, but don't throw them away, and don't leave them where your pursuers may find them." She paused. "Would you like to play another very brief game?"
"I'm not sure I can afford another article of clothing."
"I will offer an additional hint, and you will allow me to do something I would like to do."
"I'll play."
"The hint is this: the clues contain hints you may not have identified yet."
"In other words, eventually I'll figure out that Nina told me to keep them for a reason."
"Just so. Now, you must spread yourself across my lap." She patted her knees in emphasis.
I laughed. I was wearing a tiny "spank me" adornment on my collar. I moved into place. She lifted my skirt.
And then she didn't spank. She rubbed, and it felt really nice. I expressed my pleasure the entire time she did it. She patted a few times, but they were pats, not spanks.
"Thank you," she said. I climbed from her lap.
"I enjoyed that," I told her.
"As did I. Do you know where your next clue leads you?"
"Ballroom."
"Don't get caught. I'll press the Hinder button as you set your hand on the doorknob."
* * * *
It was another half hour later. I was hiding by the expedience of being on the dance floor in close embrace with one of my earlier dance partners. Three times I tried to get back to second floor, and each time I'd narrowly avoided my pursuers. They seemed to be on my tail a lot more tightly, and I remembered Nina said they would receive clues faster as time went on.
"You cannot dance all night," my partner said.
"I know. Can you dance me over to the other exit?"
"Of course."
I made it to the second floor. My clue was a reference to a painting, and there was a large painting at the end of the hall. I arrived just as I heard a commotion behind me.
"Is that her?"
"Oh shit," I thought.
"No. See the wig? That's one of Natalia's pets."
They went the other way, and I found the clue then made my way to the back stairs. I was just slipping down when I heard, "Jazzy! Where's your wig?"
"Oh shit."
I ran down the stairs. I made it to the basement but heard pounding on the stairs above me. I ran for the main staircase, but a woman stepped into my path. "We'll hide you for a price."
"Yes," I said immediately.
She grabbed my arm, pulled the wig from my hair, plopped it on another woman's head, and sent that woman running. Then the first woman pointed. "Get on the cross."
"I don't understand."
She took my hand and pulled me to the far end of the room. There was some sort of wooden thing, and I realized what she meant. It was in an X-shape, not a cross, but it was clear what she meant. I didn't resist but stepped where she indicated, facing the structure.
She wasn't alone. There were several other people, and it took them seconds to slip ropes around my wrists and pull them tight. A hood went over my head all the way down to my neck, and then my legs were stretched way to the sides. They added more ropes binding me tightly to the cross.
"They'll find me if you keep me too long."
"They're chasing Misty," the woman said.
"If they catch her-"
"They'll see it's the wrong collar. We have a few minutes. She'll try to lure them all the way to the top floor." She stepped closer. "Have you ever been in this position before?"
"No. What are you going to do?"
She didn't answer, but she began stroking the bare skin of my neck, shoulders, and arms.
"You were wearing a coat earlier."
"A price for the wig and some other assistance."
"Ah."
"I promised to return the wig."
"Misty will return it to Jaz."
"You people all know each other?"
"Well, Jaz and her wigs are famous."
"As good as what you're doing feels," I said, "I'm under a time crunch."
"What do you offer me to let you go?"
"I
don't know what you want that I have."
"You seem remarkably calm."
"The adrenalin hasn't stopped flowing for two hours, or however long it's been."
She laughed. "It's coming up on two hours. You're doing well to still be free, but you're not finding clues very quickly."
"I know."
"All right. I will give you a choice. I will do anything you want until they find you, or you will give me permission to do anything I want for one minute. It will be deeply intimate."
"Permission," I said immediately.
She didn't wait. Her hands grew far bolder, and she lifted my skirt. She began teasing my bottom, her fingers sliding between my legs, not quite touching my most sensitive area. I squirmed. And then she did touch me there, and I really squirmed.
She spent the time teasing me, and I knew my body was responding to what she was doing.
Then she sighed. "That was my minute. Pity. You're exceedingly responsive."
It was, in a way, disappointing when they let me go. But they arranged my hair for me, at least partly hiding the collar. It wouldn't work in bright light, but in shadows, maybe it would be obscured enough.
I wasn't going to count on it.
"Misty has been caught by now," the woman said. "But they will assume you didn't linger. Which way are you going?"
"Main stairs," I said.
I ran.
* * * *
Five minutes later found me back in the theater room, mostly because it was dark and I needed a place to breath.
Congratulations, my pet. You are doing very well. You are now halfway to your goal. I hope you are enjoying yourself.
My other pets will find you, of course. But if you have gotten this far, you're giving them a run for their money.
Your next clue is another movie reference. It is an old movie, and I do not know if you are the type to have ever seen it. So I will give you clues as to what movie, and then a clue from the movie to find your next clue.
It is a British movie.
A famous line from the movie is: What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
And from the movie, look for the huge tracts of land.
I didn't have a clue. But I was in a room with a number of women, presumably most of them British, and some of them significantly older than I was. They were watching a movie, and I hated to interrupt, but I moved to stand to the side of the television. After a moment, one of them paused the movie.
"Did you want something?"
"I don't know if you can see, but I'm wearing a bright red collar."
"Oh," the woman said. "The entertainment. What's the game?"
I explained as quickly as I could. "I have a clue, but I don't understand it." I read it to them. "Does anyone know what movie?"
"Yes," one said immediately. "Ladies, should we charge her something?"
"Damned yanks," said another, but she was grinning. "But clearly she's in a hurry."
"Damn it," said the first. "Kiss my ass and I'll tell you." And then she rolled over, exposing her cheeks for me. I laughed and lowered myself to my knees. "Keep kissing," she said. "It's from Monty Python."
Another one spoke. "The great tracts of land refers to a woman with a very large chest. Two of the guards are talking about her great... tracts of land, as her most redeeming features. And now you have to kiss mine, too."
I laughed, and by the time I moved to her, she hadn't just exposed her clothed bottom, and I found myself kissing bare skin.
"Is that enough information?" the first asked.
"Yep. Thanks."
I kissed each bottom once more and fled.
* * * *
I was pretty certain the woman in question was in the ballroom, seated on a sofa and watching the dancers. I'd noticed her a few times. I hurried to her, knelt down in front of her, and looked up. "If I am not mistaken, you have something I need."
"I'm sure I do," she said with a grin.
"Please, do you have my next clue?"
"I might," she said. "A definitive answer carries a price."
"My willingness to pay your price will be based on the answer and the size of the price."
"If the answer is no, the price will be small. If the answer is yes, the price will be slightly higher. We can negotiate for a while if you like."
"I'll pay it," I said quickly.
"Yes, I have your next clue," she said. "And your price is simple. You must find your clue without the use of your hands or feet."
I laughed. "I think I know where it is." I looked pointedly at her exceedingly ample, and highly displayed, bosom. She could have stuffed half of me down that cleavage.
"Well, start looking," she said with a grin.
The moment I buried my nose in her chest, the people around me began chuckling. It turns out that digging down such an ample chest with just my face proved to be a challenge, and I was at it for a while, nudging the edges of the envelope but not able to withdraw it.
The lady spent much of the time chuckling, and the people around her truly seemed to enjoy watching. But finally she showed pity on me and pressed on the envelope from below, forcing it higher until I was able to withdraw it.
"Thank you," I said.
Now that I had it, I felt like I could use my hands. I verified it was my next clue and then took off.
It was as I was retrieving the twelfth clue that they clearly spotted me. I took off and barely made it to the back staircase ahead of them. I was quicker down the stairs and burst out the basement and ran for the main staircase. From there I dashed into the banquet room, ducked behind a few people, slipped into the ballroom, then doubled back. I got enough of a lead to make it to the stairs, climbing to the third floor before finding a place to hide long enough to read the next clue.
Have you figured out the pattern in these notes? You won't find the next clue without the pattern.
Yellow.
Yellow? Seriously? There were several rooms in this place that were yellow. There were yellow flowers. I'd seen a woman wearing a yellow ribbon, which had seemed out of place for this crowd. And I'd seen a few people with hair that could be considered yellow.
She told me flat out I needed to learn the pattern. I hadn't seen a pattern. But I took all the notes and spread them out in order. I saw immediately that the cardstock wasn't all the same. I rearranged them not be clue order but by type of paper. There were five different types.
I stared at them for a minute. I had thirteen clues, which means I'd had one handed to me and found twelve.
Think. Think. I grabbed the first clue. It had sent me to the laundry room. The second clue had sent me to the library. Both rooms were on the first floor. And both were of the same paper.
I arranged them again, this time putting the stacks in the order of which floor they'd sent me to.
Yellow on the fourth floor. I knew where I was going.
I used the back stairs again, walking very quietly. In a way, this was safer. I could hear if they were above or below me, and I could retreat quickly, although somewhat noisily, if I had to. I made it to the fourth floor and listened, then stuck my nose out. No one. I turned right and headed for the room at the end of the hall.
It was unlocked and empty besides.
Unless it was in one of the locked rooms, this was the only yellow on the floor, at least that I had noticed. There was a yellow stuffed animal sitting on a table near the door. So I slipped into the room, closed the door quietly, and hurried to the toy.
The note wasn't in the toy. It was taped to the bottom of the table underneath the toy. It took me a few minutes to find it, and I was almost ready to give up when I found it.
I was out of time, so I headed for the door, opened it carefully, and poked my nose out.
My pursuers were at the top of the stairs. They were looking at a phone, then they consulted and turned away from me, moving quickly to the other end of the hall.
Shit, shit shit.
I watched. If they stepp
ed into a room, I was heading for the stairs. And it looked like I was going to get my wish when they stopped dead in their tracks and then, en masse turned around and began moving quickly in my direction.
I didn't close the door. They would see the movement. Instead I looked about frantically for a place to hide.
Cornered
They didn't go straight to my room, but they were moving through the rooms quickly. Maybe they wouldn't search carefully. There was a window with floor to ceiling drapes, and I slipped behind the drapes. The other choice was to hide under the desk. I didn't think either was going to do me any good, but what else could I do?
The door opened and they all stepped in. I held my breath.
"She's in one of these rooms," one said.
"We're going to find you now," said another.
"If you surrender, we'll be nicer than if we have to catch you," said a third.
"Don't tell her that," said the second one. "I'm looking forward to catching her."
"Now you did it. She'll surrender for sure!"
Like hell I would.
I heard them begin to search the room. It sounded like one of them stayed by the door, watching the corridor.
"Three meters," one said.
Damn it.
"We could play hot and cold."
"You're in here. Step out now. You gave us a good run, but we've got you."
Maybe the phone would break. Maybe it would send them on another wild goose chase. Maybe pigs could fly.
It took them an amazingly long time before they looked behind the drapes.
I screamed and ran for the door, then as they grabbed me, I struggled, saying, "No, no, no! Let me go!"
With four of them, it wasn't that hard to wrestle me to the ground. I continued to struggle, but they pinned me face down. Two of them managed my arms. One sat on my butt and another on my ankles.
"Finally," the one on my butt said. She poked me. "You gave us a hell of a run."
"Wouldn't it be far more dramatic if you let me go and gave me a one minute head start. I've got several more clues to go."
"Yeah, I don't think so," she said. "Now the real fun begins."
"For us," said the one on my legs.
"We should give her a choice," said the one holding my left arm.
"What choice?"
"If she cooperates for this next part, she can keep her undies. Otherwise it's all coming off."