Chapter 4

First Day

That first day in house was surprisingly lenient after what the Mistress had described. After a short tour, showing the rest of the areas where a slave may wander in house, the women were split up into four groups. This was done to reduce their confidence, by reducing the group size of forty women down to ten a piece, and therefore enabling training to be employed more thoroughly, as imposed on less confident minds around the house.

Worryingly, at first, the women were stripped of their clothing, all belongings and attire taken away, the women left only with their underwear as they were assured that, as like the intendants around them, a house uniform would be provided for the guests at the end of the day. They weren’t lying to them, and one was… their underwear was removed at the end of the day, leaving them in the uniform of the Manor for all slaves under its care…..

Before this, though, some were taken outside to the grounds behind the house, the sun low on the horizon now, while others were taken to one of two rooms, either the Library – where Jennifer found herself – or the Academy.

Even with splitting up the group into four smaller ones and keeping them separated in areas around the house so that they couldn’t influence each other, the training didn’t go well. For this most basic of beginnings, the women found their very walks being re-taught. From their gates to their stances to the way their heads were forced to be held high, it quickly became exhausting. In each area, the women found themselves walking up and down to the disapproving looks of their intendants, four of whom were assigned to each group, leaving a more imposing presence as the day wore on. Jennifer saw a familiar face in her four intendants: the woman from the stairs, their Latin escort…. She was their group leader, ultimately responsible for their group’s behavior. As well as the four directly responsible for each group of ten, there were twenty-four other intendants in various shifts, and tasked with responsibilities around the house, available to be called on for extra assistance at a moment’s notice. The women not realizing yet just how trapped they were…they would soon learn the guise. The guise of free movement…with the Manor so huge and giving an airy feel, with huge wide staircases and massive ornate rectangular-framed windows looking out to huge grounds beyond, the women felt free; the Manor’s main doors between the pillars only ever closed at night adding to this feeling …but free they weren’t….

Books were used, balanced on their heads in order that the right stance and balance would be married with each step, each time a book fell off leading to the intendants becoming more visibly frustrated. Eventually, Jennifer began to notice the strain on their expressions, but not as directed at their failure to manage what was being taught – instead, it became apparent to all that they seemed frustrated they could not meet out their direction as they wanted. As time went on, some were seen reaching their hands to the implements round their belts, only to pull them quickly back, frustration growing in their faces.

After a long afternoon, the women were all brought inside the main ballroom situated behind the main staircase of the entrance, a seemingly trivial doorway in the center of the wall leading to a room arranged in an oval, as the Mistress flanked by two intendants waited for them in the center of the room. Filled with a late evening light from the huge rectangular windows set in the back bay wall, the grounds outside and the trees beyond could easily be viewed from left to right as the glass followed the curve of the oval. The women all stared on nervously; as they were arranged in a circle, an intendant behind and to the left of each one as the women looked at the object preventing the Mistress from occupying the very center of the room, a large leather box….

Its dull black perfectly polished leather lay before them, its wrist straps at the far lower end and its ankle straps at its higher end, sitting menacingly in front of them.

“So,” the Mistress began calmly. “We have gotten through our first day together.” She cast her eye around the women. “From what I hear, though, despite the best efforts of my intendants, the results of today’s lessons were not picked up well.” She cast her eye around the scantily clad women, her eye coming to rest on Jennifer. “Is that because they did not deliver training in a sufficient manner?” She questioned, with Jennifer unsure of whether she was directly questioning her. “Well?” she lowered her tone. Looking into Jennifer’s eyes, her raising eyebrows clearing any confusion.

“No, Mistress,” Jennifer answered, slightly embarrassed among the group.

“No,” repeated the Mistress, her eyebrows raising again, prompting Jennifer to answer.

“No, Mistress,” Jennifer repeated.

Jennifer couldn’t understand the anger that she was seeing as she spoke, not realizing she was breaking one of the Manor’s highest forbidden rules; slaves were never aloud to utter the word “No.” In the Academy, they’d soon be taught these lessons, that slaves were able to shake their heads or gesticulate their refusals, but to never actually aloud use this word, and they would soon stop trying to.

“So, we are in agreement, then, that the fault in the training does not lie with the intendants?” The Mistress questioned again.

“No, Mistress,” Jennifer admitted for the group.

“No,” the Mistress forced a fake smile, frustration showing quickly and turning to anger. “No!” She screamed, Jennifer starting to shake throughout her body, this caused by the scream that had almost caused her to stumble. “The fault lies entirely with the slaves, then!” the Mistress decreed.  “When I told you your first day would be an easy beginning, that did not mean you shouldn’t try! After all the money spent on you by your owners getting you here, and all the patience of the intendants today, this is how you show gratitude!” she continued screaming, glaring at Jennifer. “Well,” her voice dropped, still glaring at her, “I think what’s needed is an example of what happens when someone in this house is found wanting.” Her voice rose as she spoke. “Bring her!” She so ordered, and Jennifer’s arms were immediately grabbed by the intendants behind her, their powerful physiques easily carrying her to the middle of the oval in front of the box.

The room fell silent, each woman shocked by the Mistress’s screaming, and Jennifer not knowing where to look as her flimsy upper underwear was quickly removed by intendants, her arms raised to remove it over her head before her remaining lower underwear was quickly taken down as the intendants dropped to the floor, squatting to either side of her. A quick fumbling and her underwear was free from under her feet, leaving her completely naked in front of thirty-nine other worried pairs of eyes, and the intendants behind them. Naked Jennifer froze with embarrassment, a stern look from the Mistress worrying her further as, below her, the sound of steel belting being opened signaled what was to happen next.

Almost as if rehearsed, after securing her ankles, the intendants rose, lifting their arms, their training having shown them just where to push Jennifer so that she was flopping over between them, over the box, almost glad something was happening and no longer feeling so silly, standing there naked, but in an instant feeling utterly on view. Totally embarrassed, she felt how high her ass was exposed as it was forced up for all to see by the high end of the box displaying it for everyone in the room as her wrists were expertly shackled at the other end, her head coming to rest at the low end and her ass pushed still higher by the box’s drooped design.  Her embarrassment almost reduced her to tears as she felt her ankles straining on the shackles  behind her, the sound of belting coming together around her wrists belying the cool touch of the leather strapping that was now holding her completely immobile, only shock stopping her from crying.

Shock gave way to fear as Jennifer followed the hard booted steps of one of the intendants who had strapped her down, on to the two intendants flanking the Mistress, the other having moved off to her right, now standing guard for her correction. Watching, Jennifer saw a cane being offered to the arriving intendant by one of the other two, the Mistress’s gaze lost to her as she watched her return with it, its long black menacing form held taught as the intendant disappeared behind her, the sharp booted steps coming to a stop abruptly. A moment of calm, when feelings of all kinds ran through Jennifer’s polarized mind as she heard the intendant behind her menacingly swing the cane in practice, its sharp swish through the air finally bringing home to her what was about to happen, and fear, nerves, and embarrassment all converging, feelings of…..

“Well,” the Mistress’s voice took over, all eyes turning to her. “Since you’ve all shown that if leniency is allowed you cannot be trusted, you will now learn what happens when slaves of this house are found wanting,” her voice trailed off, her eyes falling to the waiting intendant, the room falling silent as she gently cocked her head – the intendant needing no further instruction.

The sharp crack was like fire! Jennifer’s scream shocked even her, as she’d thought maybe she could be dignified in that… another crack brought more pain, her head jerking back as her eyes widened, her scream echoing off the oval walls and the next crack seeing her pull involuntarily hard on her restraints, her legs trying to run, but held fast like her wrists…. She screamed, then crying as the forth snap of the cane brought the first deep red line across her ass, the women behind her shocked and trying to turn away, intendants quickly shoving them back in line with sharp cracks breaking out as more minor canings began among the circle, the intendants keeping order. These were unheard by Jennifer, though, her feelings delivering her into shock, as she didn’t know which way to turn; utterly embarrassed at her ass up for all to see, she screamed as the fifth snap brought agony, fear, and embarrassment, all joining her screams and taking her through strike number six, her heart thundering as she pulled hard on her restraints. Strike seven brought still more of her screams, taking her further into embarrassment as she realized there was no way to go through it with dignity, no way to handle it well as strike number eight snapped her into a new realm of pain, another line exposed across her ass for all to see, tears streaming through strike nine and her  screams taking her through ten, eleven, and twelve; the snaps echoing around the room with her shrieks, her crying in between, suddenly changing on strike thirteen as, after the feeling of sharp fire across her cheeks, she caught sight of an intendant behind the slave directly in front of her, a look of satisfaction on her face making Jennifer angry, raging inside as she felt snap fourteen and the anger was gone, replaced by pain, her crying embarrassment back as fifteen brought fear, her heart thundering, her breathing erratic between shocked crying, her body trying desperately to pull away from the restraints by itself, and sixteen sending out a scream that she didn’t recognize, snaps seventeen and eighteen echoing around the walls with her pain, her feelings immaterial, now left behind with her dignity as she resigned herself to hopelessness in the discipline of the intendants, nineteen and twenty bringing forth screams, but with her learning her first true lesson of the house, that a slave has no dignity and, if it becomes necessary for her to be punished, it is not for her to decide how she will take it, but rather for her to simply accept it.

The room fell silent again, Jennifer’s final humiliation over the box that of all, to hear her pathetic crying and her whimpering as she was slowly unbuckled, the stripes across her cheeks there for all to see, tears streaming down her cheeks as she was carried back into line by stony-faced intendants, not an ounce of sympathy from them as they held Jennifer’s limp form between them, her crying tolerated over this first day.

“Well,” the Mistress began, every woman in the room now giving her their full attention. “I hope it has been made clear today that, in this house, a slave will do her utmost or she will be made to do her utmost.” Her eyes moved around the shocked faces of the circle around her. “And just in case any of you are hard of learning,” she paused, a small smile appearing at the corner of her mouth, “We’ll have Samantha next.”

Suddenly, the fear descended on the whole group, Samantha pulled forward by intendants like Jennifer before her, it becoming clear that it was not just to be one slave punished in this meeting. In fact, the process was repeated for a further two after Samantha that day, the house staff wise and trained in the art of subduing groups. They knew that if each and every slave was put through the punishment, they would all know and have gotten through the pain, and the deterrent effect would be lost.

Far greater was the effect for those who did not go through it, the terror of being possibly next bringing an air among the new slaves of obedience through fear, this something that would have been lost in a mass punishment.

The Manor by Sally Ferla available at blushingbooks

[https://blushingbooks.com/index.php?l=product\_detail&p=4753](https://blushingbooks.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=4753)

Jennifer and her mistress, a wealthy businesswoman, have committed to living the mistress/slave lifestyle, which has suffered lately due to Jennifer’s willful disobedience. In an effort to save their relationship, her mistress takes her to an etiquette academy called the Manor.

Under extreme emotional pain and pressured from all sides Jennifer finally signs the admission form in a desperate bid to save her relationship but unbeknown to her the suggestively clad figures and strange women in the office, are actually lawyers and the cold hearted woman behind the desk a psychiatrist who runs the Manor as a medical asylum, Jennifer has just been committed!

Thrust into a life of etiquette training, Jennifer finds herself imprisoned with dozens of other women, failures leading to harsh corrections by the “intendants” the house overseers who have perfected the means over years of legally holding them indefinitely. Learning how to be a proper life slave suddenly becomes a daunting quest for survival…