Black Dorn [submission/punishment/bondage] by Daryl Devore

of
Duncan as he mounted a horse near one of the wagons. She turned her
head. Leah wiped her face on her sleeve.
    Without another glance back
at Branwyn, Malack clicked his horse and led the way out of Black
Dorn and toward his fate.
    As the sounds of the hooves
on cobblestones faded and the dust settled, people wandered off to
resume their daily routines. Leah led her mistress back to her
chamber.
    "Rest now, Mistress. I will
have your bath readied for you." Leah pulled back the covers and
helped Branwyn settle into her bed. "Sleep, Mistress. Dream of the
gon-dra."
    When she woke a warm bath
awaited her. Branwyn soaked, ate a small meal, then sat staring at
the empty hearth. In the background, Leah's soft sobs broke the
strained silence as she straightened the room.
    "Leah." Branwyn stood next
to her waiting-lady. "You must be strong with me or I shall not be
able to face this. Malack said he would return. When he does, he
will bring Duncan. There is nothing for us, if we do not believe
this."
    Leah nodded and sought to
compose herself.
    Branwyn glanced out the
window. "It is a bright, warm day. Let us go enjoy the sun and last
of the flowers before the cold winter winds arrive."
    Leah agreed and followed her
mistress to the garden. The final blooms of gold and bronze were
all that remained of the summers flowers. Branwyn gingerly sat on a
stone bench. She caught Leah's momentary smile. "What pleases
you?"
    "Oh, it does not please me."
She dropped to her knees.
    "Please sit, Leah. We are
alone." Branwyn hesitated. She understood Malack's statement and
reasoning. When alone with a friend or lover, both are equals.
"Leah, I am going to ask you to do something. When we are alone,
like now, please do not kneel. Again, I am alone at Black Dorn. I
may no longer keep company with the dunes. And the noble ladies…"
She sighed.
    "They are angry the gon-dra
chose you."
    "The rules of court are
confusing. I fear I will make many mistakes and embarrass or anger
Malack."
    "Is that why he…" Leah
clamped her hand to her mouth.
    "Why he what?" Branwyn
insisted.
    "Not too long ago, I was the
one who had been instructed. And now your flesh is pink. It hurts
you to sit upon the hard stone."
    Branwyn laughed. "Yes, I
remember. No, Malack did not instruct me out of anger. This was
play between a man and his love."
    "Is he…does he…oh, I fear I
should not ask this. It is not my place."
    "He pleasures me greatly. He
has taught me the difference between the man you see as the gon-dra
and the man I call Malack."
    "Duncan has spoken of this.
But I do not understand how it could be so."
    Branwyn carefully shifted
her position. "The last dune he bedded—Sasha. He was angry and Duna
Trea asked him to bed her to help instruct her. Trea knew Malack
would take her as a gon-dra should—powerfully, with no concern for
her needs. If he is to rule someday, he must have the respect of
everyone in the castle. He does not bed me the same
way."
    "I have another question?
Duncan—"
    "Does he desire to bed with
you?"
    "Yes."
    "Do you desire to wed
him?
    Leah shook her head. "We
cannot. We must have permission."
    "I grant you
mine."
    "But then I would have to
leave you."
    "I do not wish to lose you."
Branwyn placed a hand on Leah's arm. "When he returns, I will speak
with Malack. Now, to keep ourselves occupied, we each get new
dresses. My waiting-lady shall be dressed as beautifully as the
ones who serve the gonness."
    "Oh, Mistress, thank you."
Leah looked at her dull brown dress.
    "Let us return and prepare
for supper." They returned to the castle.
    The first evening meal
without the soldiers turned into a quiet, somber affair. A red-eyed
gonness sat next to a stone-faced gon as they presided over the
meal. No entertainers performed. When she had completed her meal,
Branwyn visited Trea. Hearing the cries of someone receiving
instruction, she entered. A dune was bent over the instruction
chair and Trea wielded the horsewhip with vigor.
    Trea looked up,