Tag: pleaser


1653 06-76 Which sacrament is this, father? (Chas)
1654 06-76 Inexperienced but not quite innocent (Chas)

1655 06-76 I’ve never dressed like that before, sir (Chas)
1656 06-76 Oh my, what is this for, Domina? (Chas)

PREVIOUSLY:  Queen Channah has decided to take an opportunity to teach Hanim Qahramanah about how to train her girls, and combines the occasion with an early start to her honeymoon.  The girls are blindfolded and bit-gagged with cuffs on their wrists and ankles.  NOW:

Last Chance to Run

“Last chance, girls, to prove you’re still wild and free things before we bind you,” she offered archly from her squatting position by their sides, looking up at them, curious to see how they reacted, while Esmeray looked at her like she was crazy.   “What?” Channah asked innocently, standing and walking to the box to look through it for what was left.

“You’re practically daring them to run away,” Esmeray protested.  “Implying they’re… domesticated little rabbits if they stay.”

“Ooh… I like that idea.  But they are my domestic little pets.  If they love me.  If they respect me.  If they trust me, they will stay and wait for whatever their Domina decides is best for them.”

“So much for ‘establishing control’ and ‘limiting variables,’” Esmeray exclaimed, exasperated.

Channah laughed, deep in her throat, perhaps a faint pink of embarrassment touching her features.  “You’ve got me.  I’m sorry, you’re right.  This is definitely a case of doing what I say, not what I do.  Do you know how long I’ve been controlling girls?”

“Some say five thousand years.  Others insist you were born at the dawn of time itself.”

“Is there a difference, darling?” Channah asked loftily.  “A long time.  Sometimes I long for something… anything! New and challenging.  And you are hardly one to complain about people who are too impulsive and defiant to follow good advice!”  Apparently in a mood, she looked up and snorted.  “Penny, dear, I would have expected you to offer some valuable and insightful riposte here.  Oh, wait, you can’t because we’ve gagged you!”  Both women seemed to think that was hilarious, and even Chas grunted behind her gag, while Penny, chagrined as she was, could only shake her head.

The sight of the brass crosses distracted Esmeray from her giggling, and she held one up.  “I want to use these, er…. Whatever they are?”

“The fact you can’t figure out what they’re for, dear girl, should suggest to you they’re rather advanced equipment.  I promise I’ll teach you how to use them… when the girls are ready.  We can keep them here and see if we feel ready next weekend.  If we tried them today, the girls might bolt after all!” 

“They didn’t think that was quite as funny as we did,” Esmeray observed.

“They won’t think it’s as funny when we use them, either.  But let’s just start with these.”  She handed Esmeray several pieces of heavy gold jewelry, each a good-sized ring with a spring-loaded hinged segment.

“I haven’t seen these before,” she frowned.

“Carabiners.  My operatives discovered them recently in the Holy Roman Empire.  I like to wear them on my wrists so I have them whenever I need them,” Channah demonstrated, stacking three on her right wrist and keeping the fourth ready in her left hand before walking behind Chas again, tugging her wrists behind her, and pulling the clasp back long enough to interlink it with the smaller gold rings attached to Chas’s wrist cuffs, securing her hands behind her.

Esmeray smiled and did the same to Penny, but said doubtfully:  “These are very convenient, but not very secure.  If they were left alone for a bit, they could probably escape.”

“Oh,” Channah laughed.  “You’re right.  We have locks and more-secure rings for leaving slaves bound.  And heavier ones still for unwilling partners and other prisoners who are more masculine.  These are made for one of two situations.  First, situations where you’re paying enough attention to the girls to prevent them from escaping.  That’s something these cuffs give you ample opportunity to accomplish, even with two brats on your hands.  Or second, to secure your bitches in a position where they can’t reach the rings no matter how hard they try.”

“How would that work?”

“I look forward to showing you, love,” Channah smiled happily.  “But the purpose of these is to allow you to actively control your partners, and to easily reposition them for your pleasure.  You’ll be amazed how effortless it becomes.  For you.”

Channah pulled two more brass frames from the box, these simple straight rods with rings at each end and periodically along the length.  She set them over her right shoulder as a soldier would carry a polearm to march, while she stepped beside Chas and took her by the arm with her left hand.  Esmeray again followed her example, but a little more impersonally, holding Penny’s upper arm in her hand and using her sleeve as added leverage, rather than intertwining their arms.  “Because they can’t see, you have to guide them and keep them safe, and they have to trust you, completely and implicitly.  In all things.”

“They’re helpless and dependent as infants,” Esmeray grinned.

“Like this, they are.  And they have to be as trusting as infants.  Whereas we can do anything we want with them.”  The girls shuffled nervously as this conversation transpired.

“Or to them,” Esmeray’s face darkened as her expression hardened.

“Breathe, Esmeray.  Breathe.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

“You’re ready,” Channah assured her, holding her eyes and calming her. 

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because you’re ready for…” Channah shrugged “whatever you’re ready for.”

“What does that even mean?  Mistress,” Esmeray added, recognizing her skepticism came dangerously close to sassing.

“I mean, you’re the one in control, sweetheart.  You get to decide what you and Penny do tonight.  Or don’t do.  Or if you do anything at all.  Look at poor Penny.”  Channah made a pouting face.  “She’s blindfolded so she can’t see, she’s gagged so she can’t speak, her arms are locked behind her back so she can’t do anything with her arms or hands… She’s not going to be deciding anything, is she?  What she wants or doesn’t want from you doesn’t matter at all.”  Esmeray perked up a bit, nodding thoughtfully, as Channah continued:  “You’re the one who brought us here. Otherwise, my housegifts and I might already be celebrating in paradise.  And you were right to do so.  I’m already overflowing with… all sorts of ideas.  Penny’s possibly the gentlest, most innocent girl her age in England.  She would positively bore women looking for adventure and a challenge—sorry, sweetie,” Channah patted his cheek, maybe sounding a little bit sorry even as she sounded a great deal spiteful, “But that makes her the perfect first plaything for you.  Even so.  If you just want to enjoy the feeling of her stockings?  That’s up to you.  If you decide you don’t want to do anything with her?  It’s your prerogative as her Qahramanah.”

Staring into space and swallowing, Esmeray took a deep breath, and looking Channah in the eye, reached down into the box and removed an item made of leather dyed black.  She breathed:  “Is this….”

“Oh, yes,” Channah confirmed.  “Like the cuffs:  for you to use on the girls, not to be used on you.  Unless you want to—”

“No,” Esmeray shook her head decisively and matter-of-factly.

“I certainly don’t need to use it,” Channah smirked.  “Unless you really want to punish Penny hard—and I won’t let you do that right before my honeymoon!—you’re also going to need this.” “I guess,” Esmeray shrugged, unconvinced, but accepting what Channah had proffered to her.

Literature Section “06-76 Dance of the Qahramanat XI”—Part 76 of Chapter Six, “Le Saccage de la Sale Bête Rouge” (“Rampage of the Dirty Red Beast”)—1212 words—Accompanying Images:  1653-1657—Published 2025-04-28—©2025 The Remainderman.  This is a work of fiction, not a book of suggestions.  It’s filled with fantasies, idiots, and criminals. Don’t believe them or imitate them.


1649 06-75 Pleaser (Penny)
1650 06-75 I trust you unconditionally, Qahramanah. (Penny)
1651 06-75 Is this one suitable, master? (Penny)
1652 06-75 I stitched all night.  It’s for you Qahramanah! (Penny)

PREVIOUSLY:  Queen Channah has decided to take an opportunity to teach Hanim Qahramanah about how to train her girls, and combines the occasion with an early start to her honeymoon.  They are practicing trust-building.  NOW:

“Do you trust me, Chas?” Channah asked next, and again.

“I do,” she pledged like an eager bride, to all appearances grateful for the chance to repeat it.  Like she’d be happy to repeat it all day.

Esmeray considered, and then nodded to her girl:  “Penny, will you trust me?”

Penny swallowed.  “I will, Qahramanah.”

“Do you promise?”

Penny nodded.  “Yes, Mistress.  I promise to trust you.”

“Good.”

“See how easy that was?”  Channah concluded.  “Now reward her.  Show your appreciation.”

“How?”  Esmeray asked suspiciously.

“Pet her hair, hold her hand, run your fingers down her arm… some gesture of intimacy,” Channah demonstrated by resting her hand on the side of Chas’s neck, making her gasp.

Esmeray looked Penny up and down, and finally placed her hand on Penny’s dress, along her side, just at the base of her ribs, forcing a small but unconvincing smile.

Channah snorted.  “Buy gloves.  Before we return.  I want you to have a pair when we meet you here again.”

She met Channah’s eyes and nodded her agreement.

“Now stand up, Chas.” 

“You may rise, Penny,” Esmeray pronounced, deliberately ostentatiously, goofing around.

Turning Chas around, Channah replaced her blindfold as Esmeray imitated her with Penny.  Then the two women returned the girls to their back-to-back positions.

Donning the Purple

When she met Channah’s eyes, the Queen smiled and held her finger over her lips.  “Pick another item from the box,” she said, while with her hands, she mimed placing a bit in her mouth.  Esmeray nodded, smiling slightly.  “Now that the girls are blind, they will feel extra vulnerable.  It’s why we started with the blindfolds.  Being able to see is one of the most important forms of control, especially for a trans girl.  But it applies to everyone.”  With an impish look, she gently pushed Chas into Penny, and the two women laughed at the way they struggled to avoid touching one another again, reacting to any touch as if they’d been shocked with static electricity.

Channah took one of the two gags, lifting it over Chas’s head without touching her, then leaning in tight to the girl’s back, startling her, with her lips inches from Chas’s ear.  Esmeray imitated her.  Almost—not quite touching Penny anywhere, but getting close, looking very serious and thoughtful about it.  “Open wide, girls,” Channah commanded, popping the horse bit between Chas’s teeth and tugging back.  “This one you don’t want to be tight in the back—you want that little bit of distance.  But in front, it’s another matter.  It’s okay to stretch those lips a little bit.”  She laughed deeply in her throat as Esmeray surprised Penny by tugging harder so she could ratchet the strap far enough to reach the next hole.  “Their lips shouldn’t be so tight they’re white or stiff.  But a little bit of discomfort is okay.  You can test for extra stretch in their lips, too, if you’re willing to stick your finger in their mouth.”  And she demonstrated, tugging the corners of Chas’s lips a bit to demonstrate they still had room to extend further, her voice becoming more sing-songy.  “I like them to remember they’re suffering for our pleasure.  Something bearable so it doesn’t distract them from us, but intense enough to assure me I’m on their minds constantly.”

“Yes…” Esmeray nodded slowly, pleased with the idea.  “Are you uncomfortable, little girl?”

“Yeph, khawamannath,” Penny murmured around her bit, nodding her head while the women laughed at her pronunciation.  “Pleeff nopsahbite!”

“Well, I couldn’t understand that at all,” Esmeray protested and shrugged, meanly but not quite convincingly, clapping her girl on the shoulders and reaching back into the box, frowning and looking askance at Channah.

“Did you find something… interesting?”

“Yes, Mistress,” she agreed, holding up two hollow brass bars shaped like Latin crosses, with rings at the end of each side arm and at the end of the long bottom arm, while the top arm curved like a scorpion’s tail, ending in a glass bulb.  They clanged slightly against one another, catching the girls’ attention.                     

Channah shook her head, containing her urge to smile.  “Let’s stick with purple for now.”  And she nodded with approval as Esmeray handed her one arm cuff, and then a second.

“Hold your arms up for me,” Channah ordered Chas, using her own hands to guide his where she wanted them, and nodded to Esmeray, who told Penny: 

“You too, Penny.  Hands up to your waist.” 

Channah shuffled counter-clockwise so she was looking at the girls from the side and began cuffing Chas’s right wrist, while Esmeray did the same to Penny.  Penny made a slight whimpering sound.

“Hot,” Channah responded, leaning in and kissing him lightly on the cheek.  “So glad you girls are gagged so we don’t have to contend with your words and ideas anymore.  Just your raw feelings.  Be good and stay still, sweetie.  You don’t really have any choice, do you?”  she taunted her.  “You’re in hell, my hell, surrounded by the damned and my guards.  Accepting bondage is just a way for you to prove you trust me.  So romantic…” she sighed, rooting through the box for the remaining wrist cuffs and handing one to Esmeray.  “Let’s swap girls,” Channah giggled, fairly confident she was the only one in this small group who would understand the joke.  Maybe Chas… maybe.  But she was only a libertine by England’s tight-laced standards.

“Same little-finger test, Mistress?”  Esmeray asked, checking Penny’s right wrist before turning to Chas’s left.

“Always, child.  It’s still tight enough they can’t slide them over their thumbs, but you can always double-check if you’re concerned.”  And she demonstrated, making sure the cuffs were narrower than Chas’s wrists.

Next, after finding the four purple leg restraints, the woman squatted down beside the girls and bound their ankles.  Channah ran her hand over the girls’ calves and ankles, drawing a curious stare from Esmeray.  “I love the way the stockings feel on their smooth legs.  All silky and slippery.”  Hesitantly, Esmeray ran her own fingers up Penny’s leg, liking the way she could make the girl shiver when her fingers slipped up behind her knees to her thighs.  Channah paused and watched until Esmeray became self-conscious of her observation and stopped.  “Do you like it?”

She thought, and admitted:  “I like the gags because I can tell them what to do but they can’t engage me back in any way.  No questions from Little Miss Bigmouth—what?”

“That’s exactly what Fang called her,” Channah chittered.

“It fits.  As you warned me.  But now:  No questions, no complaints, no protests, no arguments….  And,” she set Chas’s ankle cuff down for a moment, running her hands up and down both girls’ legs, a little more relaxed than a moment earlier.  “I like the stockings for the same reason:  I can feel them, even imagine them, but I’m not actually, you know…”

“Touching them?”

“Exactly.”

Literature Section “06-75 Dance of the Qahramanat X”—Part 75 of Chapter Six, “Le Saccage de la Sale Bête Rouge” (“Rampage of the Dirty Red Beast”)—1155 words—Accompanying Images:  1649-1652—Published 2025-04-27—©2025 The Remainderman.  This is a work of fiction, not a book of suggestions.  It’s filled with fantasies, idiots, and criminals. Don’t believe them or imitate them.


1645 06-74 Will you trust me?
1646 06-74 I’ve got you, baby.  I won’t let you fall

1647 06-74 Boss Esmeray.  The same chains bind us all
1648 06-74 Was that defiance?  I didn’t think so

PREVIOUSLY:  Queen Channah has decided to take an opportunity to teach Hanim Qahramanah about how to train her girls, and combines the occasion with an early start to her honeymoon.  While discussing trust and discipline, Channah surprises Esmeray by reminding her of a time she thought she had run away undetected.  NOW:

A Trip Down Memory Back-Alley

“Of course I knew, my little runaway,” Channah laughed musically.  “You were a clever teenager, and clearly a wild one, but we’ve been wrangling hucows since before human history even began.   What was so important about that flight, do you think?”

Esmeray opened her mouth as if to answer, then snapped it shut, eyes darting around as if searching for the right answer in the air around her.  And then, amazingly, they seemed to find what she was looking for, widening, and flitting briefly past Channah’s, before she looked intently down at the floor.

Channah stared at her silently until she whispered:  “That was the last time I left.  And the first time I came back on my own.”

Channah beamed.  “And have I asked you to take risks since then?”

Esmeray laughed.  “I should think so!”

“So why are you here, helping me now?”  Esmeray looked anywhere but at Channah.  “Because you’re not stupid, Esmeray.  Because even with everything you experienced, all the times your trust was violated, you still know that trusting someone, sometimes, is unavoidable.  And have I ever betrayed your trust, Esmeray?”

“Not yet,” she admitted hoarsely.

Channah rolled her eyes but otherwise let it go. 

Trust Games

“Now I want Penny and Chas to learn to trust you.  While I train Chas, I want you to begin the process of teaching Penny that she belongs by your side, or at your feet before you.  Schooling her so she’ll never run away from you, even when she’s back near the places she grew up, because she’s learned that she’s better off and happier with you.”  Channah smiled thinly.  “Even when you’re a total bitch.” 

Esmeray met her eyes for a long moment, and finally nodded.  “I’ll try.”

“I don’t think you have to try to be a total bitch, my dear,” Channah snickered cattily.  “But the really hard part for you is, if you want Penny to trust you, you have to learn to trust her.  Just as I trust you.”

“You—trust—” Esmeray looked down at Penny for a moment, startled by the idea, then startled that the idea of someone trusting her, itself startled her.  Finally she looked back at Channah.  Exasperated, she repeated herself:  “I’ll.  Try.”

“Good.  You’re already Penny’s world.  Can you see that?  How sincerely she’s been attending to you since I asked her?  She’s a good girl.  Now you focus on her.”

With a deep breath, Esmeray squared her shoulders and met Penny’s eyes, continuing to hold her wrists and wrapped fists.  She stood about a foot away from the smaller woman. 

“Ask her to kneel to you.”

“’Ask’?” 

“Yes.  Of course, as Penny’s qahramanah, it’s your prerogative to order her to her knees any time you want for any reason, or for no reason at all.  Penny knows that as well as you do.  Don’t you, Penny?”

“Yes, Domina.”

Channah petted Penny’s hair absently as she continued speaking to Esmeray:  “Remember, this moment isn’t about force.  This moment is about Penny acknowledging her place, admitting her acceptance of your dominance.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

Channah caught her eye and mouthed “Pleaser,” as she ruffled Penny’s hair a second before dropping her hand.  Out loud, she said:  “I’m afraid you’re going to have to take that risk and see.”  Leaning forward, she emphasized:  “That’s the point.”

Staring solemnly down at Penny a moment, Esmeray breathed deeply again—and then looked back up at Channah:  “Ask?!  I—I don’t like to ask.  I prefer to tell.”

“I know you do,” Channah chuckled.  “And I feel similarly.  But the question that distinguishes us right now, is why?” 

“Because it’s easier.”

“But why?” And when she looked confused, Channah explained:  “I’ve been Queen of Hell longer than the Pharaonic dynasties ruled Egypt.  It’s almost always easier for me to order than to ask because I know from long experience, I can trust my own knowledge and judgment.  But is that why it’s easier for you?  You’re an impressive young woman, but you are just that:  young.  A mere quarter-century young.  Are you so sure you have all the answers already, or is it easier not to ask, because you’re afraid to leave the decision up to them?”

Esmeray stared at her blankly, eyes losing focus as she considered the question, and perhaps even how it might apply to her.  She didn’t seem to reach a solid answer, but she did look a bit frustrated.

Channah pointed at Penny from behind again, and repeated silently:  “Pleaser.”  Then Channah moved in front of Chas, took her hands, and silently commanded the attention of her eyes.  Not that Chas could see anything else with the vision of Channah before him.  Channah smirked back at her, pleased.  “Be sure to use Penny’s name when you address her.  Frequently.  Using her name, while she addresses you with your title, will both reinforce the natural hierarchy between you; and make you feel closer to one another.  Now, follow my example.  If you want to change the words, good.  The more unique and authentic your words are, the better.  But I want you to get similar commitments from Penny, that I receive from Chas.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Esmeray agreed.

“And when I say ‘similar,’ for example:  Chas already trusts me.  Don’t you, Chas?”

“Oh, yes Domina!” she assured her earnestly.  It was not yet the love Penny felt, but it was as close to that as it was to mere trust. 

“Whereas you do not trust that Penny trusts you yet.  You have just revealed that.”

Esmeray looked discomfited, and sounded almost accusatory:  “You’re going to tell me that’s somehow a sign of weakness, too, aren’t you?  Even though only suckers trust other people.”

“Correct!  Or perhaps more precisely, it’s a sign of a lack of confidence in your own ability to command the trust of your lessers.  Learn to act like you trust others, even if you do not.”  Channah gave her full, undivided attention to Chas, smiling softly and looking into her eyes.

“Will you please kneel to me?”

“Oh, yes, Domina,” she sighed, sliding down to her knees like a leaf floating to the ground.

Channah looked at Esmeray, who glanced at her before addressing Penny:  “Penny, I would like you to show your trust in me by kneeling before me.  Will you do that?”

“Yes, Qahramanah,” she answered, sliding to her knees without taking her eyes from Esmeray’s.  Esmeray smiled despite herself.

“Now, can you step closer to her?”  Channah asked, stepping forward so she was immediately in front of Chas, her legs pressed against the girl’s shoulders and arms, her crotch directly in the girl’s face, the two of them sharing a playful laugh together as she craned her neck to keep Channah’s eyes.  “Like this.  See how it forces her to strain for you?”

“Standing against her,” Esmeray intoned.  “Right up against her.”

“Or even further,” Channah winked at Esmeray, then down at Chas, stepping several more inches forward, pushing Chas backwards so she had to strain her muscles to hold her position.  “I’d push her all the way until she fell back on her hands, except I don’t want to scuff their lovely new mitts.  But it’s always a move to consider.”

Esmeray snorted, and made herself step forward, forcing Penny to rear back a few inches, just like Chas.  “It’s not so bad,” she reported, her tone leaving it open whether she was talking to Channah or to herself; her slight shiver making Penny promise herself to do her best.

Literature Section “06-74 Dance of the Qahramanat IX”—Part 74 of Chapter Six, “Le Saccage de la Sale Bête Rouge” (“Rampage of the Dirty Red Beast”)—1252 words—Accompanying Images:  1645-1648—Published 2025-04-26—©2025 The Remainderman.  This is a work of fiction, not a book of suggestions.  It’s filled with fantasies, idiots, and criminals. Don’t believe them or imitate them.


1641 06-73 I’ve got you, baby doll
1642 06-73 I trust you to protect me
1643 06-73 You’re my savior!  As you saved me
1644 06-73 Channah rescues Penny in her dreams

PREVIOUSLY:  Queen Channah has decided to take an opportunity to teach Hanim Qahramanah about how to train her girls, and combines the occasion with an early start to her honeymoon.  They are discussing trust.  NOW:

“Here, let’s try something,” Channah decided.  “Chas, will you be still and patient for me?”

“Yes, Domina.”

“Good girl.”  She squeezed Chas’s hand reassuringly and stepped around, removing Chas’s blindfold and then turning her to face sideways.  “Stay,” she smirked at Chas, then removed Penny’s blindfold to find her staring curiously but acceptingly at Channah.  Spinning her back to face Esmeray, Channah announced:  “Penny, I want you to give Esmeray every bit of your attention.  Chas, you can listen, but when I’m ready for you, I want you to give me your full attention as well.”

“Of course, Domina.”

“Penny, I’ve taken off your blindfold for a moment so you can watch Esmeray, and listen to her, and give her every one of your senses.”

“Yes, Domina,” she agreed, seriously, looking up into Esmeray’s eyes.

“Esmeray, I want you to take Penny’s hands.”  Esmeray stiffened, and Channah repeated soothingly:  “It’s okay, Esmeray.  Here—even better…”  She reached down into the box and removed two pairs of something that looked like purple mittens with short belts attached, handing one pair to Esmeray and commanding the girls:  “Penny and Chas, hold up your hands in front of you and make them into fists.”

“Domina?” Penny asked, surprised and even recoiling a bit, while Chas did as she was told.

“Did you see that reaction, Esmeray?”

She nodded slowly.

“What did you see?  How did she react when she wondered if I was going to have her be aggressive?”

“She—didn’t like the idea,” Esmeray nodded uncertainly.

“Correct!  No, she did not.  She’s very sweet and trusting.  Even more than the others.  That’s why she’s perfect for you to practice on.”  Then, turning back to Penny, Channah clarified:  “Obviously you girls will leave the mucho toro macho posing to the mamluks.  I meant, curl your fingers and thumbs as if you were trying to make weak little fists.  Imagine your lover is carrying you away against your will and you’re going to beat ineffectively on his chest in a futile gesture of protest.”

“Domina!”  Penny protested weakly, turning pink and breathing faster, while the women laughed.  But she held her hands up in loose little fists. 

“See how her thumbs are outside like they’re supposed to be?  Actually, she’s been trained to fight like the rest of them.  She just doesn’t have the… let’s be honest, the cojones to be a toro.”

“I see that.  More of a vaca marica.”

“Qahramanah…” Penny whined softly.

“Is that resistance?”  Esmeray snapped, and when Penny swallowed and shook her head, she concluded:  “I didn’t think so.”

“Slide the glove over her fist.  Pull it as hard as you can, and then fasten the belt around her wrist,” Channah instructed, demonstrating on Chas.

“I’m not sure it’s big enough…”

“Fortunately, the two of them are almost identical in size.  One of the many reasons they make such a perfect pair.  And they’ve been carefully measured in the past few weeks.  Do you remember, Penny?”

“Yes, Domina.  For… grown-up clothes,” Penny blushed charmingly again.

“Physically grown-up, at least.  As much as you’re going to.  As a boy anyway.” When they were both done binding their girls’ hands, the straps around the wrists locking their hands into fists inside the thickly-padded gloves, Channah stood back and repeated:  “Now you can touch the leather instead of the girl.”

“And she’s—she’s really quite helpless already,” Esmeray marveled, facing Penny and holding her by her leather-cuffed wrists and leather-bound fistettes. 

“Now, this is a very important and intimate moment,” Channah cautioned her.  “Imagine she is your daughter.”

“She’s not going to like that,” Esmeray shook her head, something ugly and fierce stealing across her face and eyes, as Penny quickly looked down, gasping.

Channah considered a moment.  “Have you ever had a pet?”

“I had a puppy once.  On the streets of Constantinople.  We protected each other.”

“Imagine she’s your puppy.  That puppy.”

Esmeray suddenly beamed.  “I like that idea.  He’s—she’s—my little savior.  I’d love to make her my pet.  She’d be perfect!”

Channah smothered a smile.  “Then the stars have aligned for you, Esmeray dear.  As Penny’s quaramanah, she is yours to do anything you see fit to when she’s under your authority.  Anything your heart desires.  Your puppy, your plaything, your piglet, your placemat.”  Channah shrugged.  “Anything you want to fashion her into.”

“Good.  You’re my puppy now!” she informed the girl gaily.

“Yes, Qahramanah,” Penny answered, uncertain but unresisting.

“What I want is for both of you to learn to trust one another and be close to one another.  Partly that’s about force, Esmeray—showing her you’re always in charge, correcting her immediately for any infraction, and occasionally reminding her how utterly she is yours, even when she’s been a good little doggie for you.”

“Yesss,” Esmeray nodded, looking down at Penny with an odd light in her eyes. 

“But you don’t want a Spartacus who’s only obedient as long as he has to be.  You want a pleaser who genuinely wants to submit to you.  Penny’s naturally submissive so she wants to obey and follow.  But you want her to feel that submission for you, especially for you.  More for you than anyone except for me.”

“But trusting is stupid,” Esmeray frowned and shook her head, disagreeing, looking troubled.  “Penny’s not stupid.  Discipline is better.”

“Actually,” Channah agreed, “none of your slave girls are slouches in the intellect department.  We don’t recruit many idiots.  There’s no reason to, unless they have some extraordinary compensating talent.  Everyone on this platform, almost all the mamluks and jawari, are smart.”

“Then—” Esmeray made a frustrated gesture.  “What are we trying to achieve here?”

 “Trust, Esmeray.  I thought that was clear.  As it turns out, you are wrong about trust.  Discipline is useful, but discipline and trust go together.  They’re not substitutes.  Not when molding a servant.  Every one of my vassals and slaves on this platform proves it:  trust is smart.  Yes, trust can always be betrayed.  And yet it’s necessary—humans couldn’t survive without it.”

“I survived.”

Channah cackled.  “Ah, Esmeray, the memory plays tricks.  Do you remember where I found you?”

She reddened.

“Locked underground like a half-drowned rat, likely bound for the inquisitor’s stake?  Do you remember the first time I took you back to Constantinople, a few years later, and you ran back to your old street?  Alley, really?”

“You—you knew about that?!” Esmeray gasped, surprised and worried.

Literature Section “06-73 Dance of the Qahramanat VIII”—Part 73 of Chapter Six, “Le Saccage de la Sale Bête Rouge” (“Rampage of the Dirty Red Beast”)—1076 words—Accompanying Images:  1641-1644—Published 2025-04-25—©2025 The Remainderman.  This is a work of fiction, not a book of suggestions.  It’s filled with fantasies, idiots, and criminals. Don’t believe them or imitate them.