Masters Ring

Chapter 42



   One of the best things about money is the ability to pay for other
people's inconvenience.  Prior to the Brotherhood, I had to take classes
when the martial arts instructor gave classes; a padded bank account meant
I took classes when I had time, even if it was only he and I on the mat.

   The master and I faced each other with bokken in our hands.  The
emptiness had swallowed me the moment I entered the school.  I did not have
a single clean kill in nine matches, but the master had died with me each
time.  His eyes were grave as he stared into my empty ones.

   I adjusted my feet offering an opening that he leapt into.

   Ten simultaneous kills.

   We bowed to each other and raised the wooden swords to our preferred
guards.  He stood still even after I offered him another trap.  I tested
his defense only to be rebuffed by his refusal to engage.  We danced around
each other for five minutes while he declined each offer to die together.
Finally, I bowed to his greater skill; I could not sacrifice myself if he
would not strike.  He motioned for me to kneel and followed suit.  We put
the bokken in front of our knees.  I closed my eyes and let the normal
rhythm of breathing return.  The master was studying me when I opened them
again.

   "Every student teaches an instructor that is willing to learn," he said
quietly.  "I have students with years more experience than you, but none
could have done what you did today.  What is it that you have to teach me?"

   I tilted my head and thought about his words; thoughts of Rachel,
Heather and Melisa pounded at the walls of emptiness that surrounded me. 
Jason's voice answered his question; I translated.

   "A samurai poem reads," I said.

   {block}



   {b}"Death poems<br>

   are mere delusion-<br>

   death is death."<br>

   {/b}



   {/block}



   "I've heard it," he said quietly.  "I've thought about its meaning."

   "You will not die with a sword in your hands," I told him.

   We sat quietly with my words between us.  Finally, he stood up and
invited me to another set of matches.  I did not put wood to his body for
the rest of my lesson while he killed me five times.  He bowed respectfully
before walking into his office.  It was years before I saw anyone get even
a simultaneous kill in a match against him.

   ----

   The hardest part was not looking at Rachel when I felt her nearby. 
Before she said no, my eyes were there to greet her when she turned towards
me.  My smile would answer her smile instantly.  I had to control the urge
to turn towards her when I felt her walk by my table in the dining hall to
sit with her sisters.  Her eyes touched me occasionally but there was no
longer a reason for me to look up from my book.

   "You can look at her, David," Alyssa said sitting down next to me.

   My head went up in time for me to watch Sandra and Emily sit down at the
my table.

   "Excuse me?" I said.

   "Rachel," Alyssa pointing over her shoulder at Rachel's retreating back.
"You can still look at her; there's no law against that."

   "I wouldn't want her to feel weird about what did not happen between
us," I told her.

   "She should definitely feel stupid though," Sandra said forcefully.

   I turned to stare at her.

   "Sorry," she said with a winsome smile before ducking her eyes away from
mine.

   "So your plan is not to look at her from now on?" Emily asked with a
wide smile.  "That's not going to get her back, you know."

   "I'm going to smile, say hello, and talk to Rachel when it's
appropriate, Emily," I answered.  "I do not try to get people back; they
leave for good reasons."

   "When is it going to be appropriate?" Alyssa asked curiously.

   "When she smiles, says hello, and talks to me," I said opening my book
again.

   They were quiet for a few seconds before Alyssa spoke up again.

   "You're done with all your food!" she complained.

   I pushed my tray out of the way, and without looking pulled hers in
front of me.

   "Cool!" she exclaimed.

   I leaned back for a stretch only to have Emily plop into my lap.  Emily
was something of a lap scavenger who refused to sit in a chair if there was
someone around for her to sit on.  She had a marked preference for my lap.

   "Pass my tray over!" Emily commanded Alyssa.

   "Get it yourself," Alyssa snorted.

   "I'll have to eat David's food," Emily warned.

   "You would not dare!" Alyssa replied in a low voice sitting up ramrod
straight.

   Emily made a threatening motion with her fork at the food in front of
me. Alyssa picked up the tray on the other side of her and passed it to
Emily, who rearranged the trays so they were both in front me.

   I slipped a hand under Emily's shirt and into her sweatpants.  The girl
must have really hated panties because she rarely wore them in my limited
experience with her.  My fingers pressed against her clit and I massaged it
gently while focusing on the words on the page.

   "Is that book any good?" Alyssa asked after a few bites.

   I closed it with a sigh; there was no point if the girls wanted my
attention.

   "No," I told her.  "It was something to do, rather than stare at
Rachel."

   "There's nothing wrong with looking at her, David," Sandra informed me
clinically.

   "Would you want a man you just said no to staring at you while you ate?"
I asked her patiently.

   "From what I hear, she didn't ACTUALLY say no," Sandra said defensively.
"Plus even if she did say no, she definitely didn't mean it."

   I reached out to capture a lock of her dark hair.  Sandra drew closer as
I pulled on it.  I used her hair to pull her head aside exposing her neck
to my lips.  My teeth nibbled a line from her shoulder to the hollow behind
her earlobe.

   "Would you say no if you did not mean it?" I whispered to her.

   "Yes!"

   I reared my head back to look at her.

   "You would?" I asked surprised.

   "No?!?" she said then stuck out her hand to stop me from replying.  "Do
the neck thing again!"

   I smiled and leaned down; instead of using my teeth, I kissed the line.
She shivered when I looked into her eyes.

   "So you would say no if you did not mean it?" I asked seriously.

   "Yes!" she said in a committed voice.

   "What?!?"

   "Oh, wrong question!" she said with a blush and a shake of her upper
body.  "Sorry, I was just making sure you understood my answer is 'FUCK,
YES!!!'"

   "We already knew that," Emily said crassly.

   I pushed two fingers into her and pulsed them against the top of her
pussy.  Emily gritted her teeth and grabbed my wrist tightly.

   "Be nice!" I told her holding my fingers still.

   "I promise to be very, very nice if you do the finger thing one more
time," she gasped.

   I rubbed in a small circle instead.

   "FUCK, YES!!!" she grunted.

   Emily turned a pretty shade of pink when she came.

   "My hero!" Sandra said jokingly and unceremoniously shoved Emily off me.

   She took over possession of my lap and lifted her jean skirt a few
inches wiggling her eyebrows at me suggestively.  Sandra squeezed my
fingers as they entered her.

   "Personally, I think the word no should never come out of my mouth
around you," she told me.

   "That's not a bad way to think, Sandra," Doris Alex said sitting down.

   "Yeah, awesome philosophy!" Michael agreed with a very wide smile as he
sat next to Doris Alex.  "Let's put it to the test though.  How about you
and me meet in your room and fuck like we're the only two rabbits left on
the planet so it is our duty to repopulate?"

   Before Sandra could reply, Michael held up a hand.

   "David is still here," Michael pointed out theatrically.  "Tell me that
you are not going to live up to the words you just said to him thirty
seconds ago."

   I curled my fingers inside of Sandra.  She gasped and latched on to the
table while the convulsions of an orgasm overcame her; it took a minute for
her breathing to recover.  She stared at Michael for another minute after
that, before turning towards Doris Alex and Alyssa.

   "Is he better than my plastic?" she asked the two girls.

   "He's got a very talented tongue," Alyssa replied.  "Unless your dildo
can lick you, Michael is definitely a couple of steps above plastic.  He's
also got a clue on how to use his dick."

   "Bitch!" Michael exclaimed.

   "Michael's got his uses," Doris Alex espoused lazily.  "David is
definitely the chocolate cake...  Michael is like that raspberry stuff that
they use to decorate the plate."

   "Double Bitch!" Michael said dramatically putting his hands on his chest
as if they had cast spears into it.

   "Okay," Sandra said to Michael.  "I don't think I'm ready for chocolate
cake yet, so you'll have to do.  God, I need dick!"

   "My turn," Alyssa announced pushing Sandra off my lap.

   After giving Alyssa what she wanted, my mind wandered as their
conversation turned towards the winter formal that Michael's fraternity was
hosting.

   "Do you think she was serious?" Michael asked as the non-Siblings walked
away.

   "Who?" I asked paying attention again.

   "Sandra," Michael said.  "Was she serious about hooking up in her room?"

   "Of course, she was," Doris Alex told Michael patiently.

   Sometimes, Doris Alex treated Michael like he was a fourteen-year-old
boy too dumb not to plug his hard-on into a wall socket.

   "You know, David," Michael said magnanimously.  "You are my absolutely
favorite Brother on the entire planet."

   "This I have to hear," I told him.

   "Yes, Michael," Doris Alex whispered.  "Please explain."

   "Well, it's like this," Michael said leaning back.  "I've been screwing
Alyssa most of the semester; most of my frat brothers think we're dating
now."

   I raised an eyebrow.

   "Then there's Doris Alex, Janet, Malia, Heather, Susan, and Nancy,"
Michael said with a bright smile.  "Tonight, it's Sandra and I'm sure Emily
is not far behind.  You do all the work and I do all the fucking.  Alyssa,
Emily, and Sandra are hot as shit and you spun their wheels in the middle
of the dining hall.  You warm them up and I knock them down; it's the
perfect partnership in my opinion."

   "Hmm," Doris Alex said staring lazily at Michael.

   "I can't touch Melisa, but it's not like she wants anything to do with
any guy other than you so no biggie," Michael continued not heeding the
cold look in Doris Alex's eyes.  "The pussy's so good, I'm even willing to
forgive you this whole Rachel fuck up.  Man, getting into her pants would
have been fierce!"

   "Michael!" Doris Alex hissed.

   "What?" Michael asked innocently without taking his eyes off me.



   -----

   I walked into the house that night to find all the Siblings in the
living room.  They surrounded an exhausted-looking Heather on the couch. 
She wore a white bathrobe and was fresh out of the shower.  I smiled at
her, which she returned with a weak one playing her concerned audience for
all they were worth.  There was dark bruising on the left side of her neck
that I wanted to investigate.  I moved to stand behind the couch, reached
down, and untied her robe.  Heather stretched out so that when I opened the
robe her body was fully on display.

   Malia gasped at the bruising on Heather's body.  I gestured for Heather
to turn over.  She removed the robe and got on her stomach.  I outlined a
bite mark on her left ass cheek with a finger.

   "Turn around," I told her.

   Heather got on her back and looked up at me.  She moved to her knees and
continued staring into my eyes.

   Sibling Rank makes sense only to Siblings, but a Brother needs to
understand how to affect it to reward a Sibling publicly.  It does not take
much: a finger tracing a cheekbone and lips, a gentle kiss, and looking at
every other Sibling in the room.

   Heather's eyes shone sun-bright when I turned back to her.

   "Give her a bath," I told the rest of the room.  "A long, hot one."

   "She just took a shower!" Malia protested.

   I turned towards her.

   "I did not make a request," I said quietly.  "I gave instruction."

   "Malia!" Doris Alex interrupted when Malia opened her mouth to protest
again.

   Doris Alex looked at me nervously as my knuckles rapped the back of the
couch while I stared at Malia.

   "I'm all for a bath," Heather said getting off the couch and grabbing
her robe.

   She was at the door before she noticed no one was following.

   "Come!  Come!" she said clapping her hands.  "David said I get a bath; a
long, hot bath.  An orgasm or two isn't out of the question, right
Brother?"

   I smiled at her.

   "I couldn't imagine bathing a woman without a couple of relaxing orgasms
to ensure that the heat sinks in," I said sitting down on the couch.

   Heather reveled in lording it over other Siblings so it was almost two
hours before everyone trooped back into the living room.  They took seats
around me waiting expectantly.  Rachel had served as a limit to Sibling
behavior; they did not hide the fact that I was at the center of their
lives from her, but the dynamics of the house began to change the second
she left.  The nervousness in some of the eyes around me said that Rachel
still cast a shadow, but their insecurity was completely about my reaction
to Rachel leaving now.

   "David needs another sacrificial virgin tonight," Heather said in a
strong voice.

   I turned to look at her.  Rank had been practiced with a certain amount
of subtlety while Rachel resided in the house, but the look of aggression
in Heather's eyes after she spoke made clear that Rank could be wielded
like a sledgehammer.

   "So you were the sacrificial virgin last night," Michael snorted
sarcastically.  "More like sacrificial slut!"

   "I would rest that tongue of yours, Michael," Heather said crisply
turning towards him.  "You're going to be using it a lot tonight.  I heard
about your little tryst with Sandra, and I'm tagging along.  David pounded
the hell out of my body and the combination of Sandra's hands and your
tongue sounds divine.  You'll get all of Sandra's sweet little pussy that
you can handle, just remember to close the door behind you when she and I
fall asleep."

   There are sledgehammers, and then there is Heather with a sledgehammer.
Michael nodded as if he expected no less from the Ranking Sibling.  I
almost smiled wondering what Janet with Rank and no limits on her behavior
would be like.

   "Sandra looks like she has a pretty talented mouth," he told Heather. 
"While I'm busy downstairs, it would be a good idea to have her work on
your nipples.  They're looking a little mangled.  Cute, but mangled!"

   He dodged Heather's thrown couch cushion.

   "Don't forget my orgasm wake-up call, and breakfast in bed!" Heather
said sticking her tongue out Michael.

   "I'll do it," Malia announced.

   I closed my eyes and hoped she meant something else.  I opened them and
turned towards her to find her eyes looking at me.

   "I'll do everything Heather did last night with you," she said in a
strong voice.

   Her eyes flickered with fear; so many different reasons to be a Sibling
and Malia's had nothing to do with why Heather slapped me.  I opened my
mouth to say no when a flash of red crossed in front of me.

   Every Sibling jumped at the sound of Doris Alex's open hand striking
Malia's face with enough force to drop her.  Malia was stunned for a
second, but when she turned Doris Alex was standing over her like an
Amazon. Malia's eyes filled with fear; much more fear than when she had
volunteered to be with me.

   "HOW DARE YOU!!!" Doris Alex screamed at the top of lungs.

   Her hands were tightly fisted and she raised them as if nothing would
make her happier than for Malia to stand up so she could beat her back
down.

   "How fucking dare you offer a Brother what you would not freely give!"
Doris Alex whispered with rage filling every cell of her body.  "And for
you to do it to THIS Brother."

   The other Siblings were terrified; Susan and Nancy edged behind
Stephanie, Melisa stood up slowly and moved so she was standing to my left
with her hand on my shoulder, Janet nearly ran to the corner farthest away
from Doris Alex, Michael scrambled over and behind his seat only to crash
into Heather.  The two fought for position trying to place the seat and an
extra Sibling body between Doris Alex and them until the redheaded Valkyrie
turned her eyes on them.  They froze under her glare and tried to disappear
by standing still.

   Doris Alex turned baleful eyes on every Sibling in the room before
looking down at Malia again; for a second, even I was convinced she was
going to pound Malia to a pulp.

   "Arrggh!" Doris Alex grunted loudly spinning in place to turn her back
to Malia.

   She was very close to losing control so I stood up and handed her a
decorative ashtray figuring maybe something to throw would help calm her.
Doris Alex snatched it out of my hand, turned around, and slammed it down
next to Malia's head.  Malia screamed in fear as broken glass sprayed her
face.

   "Doris Alex," I said forcefully.

   Her green eyes turned towards me, but she dampened the flames before
they touched me.  Doris Alex closed her eyes and took a very deep breath.
Melisa stepped tight against my back and wrapped her arms around my waist.
I felt her peeking around my shoulder.

   "My name is Doris Alexandra Smith, a child of the Sibling Bloodline
Alexander; I Speak for Siblings," Doris Alex intoned loudly.  "First
Position."

   The reaction to her words was immediate.  Malia spun to her stomach, got
on her knees with her ass on her ankles, placed one hand on top of the
other flat on the ground and rested her forehead on them.  Michael and
Heather moved to either side of the seat and assumed the same position. 
Janet, Susan, and Nancy were already in place when my eyes swept the room.
Stephanie was bending her knees, but a look of confusion and shock came
over face.

   Doris Alex gasped as Stephanie straightened.  Melisa's arms tightened
around my waist as a new anger flooded Doris Alex's eyes.

   "The indoctrination," I said curiously patting Melisa's hands.

   "Melisa's not indoctrinated so she does not react to the control
phrases," Doris Alex said to me without taking her eyes off Stephanie.

   She misunderstood my curiosity but I let it slide.  Doris Alex took a
step towards Stephanie.

   "Doris Alex," I warned.

   The redhead turned her body towards me but her eyes still bored into
Stephanie.

   "Leave her be," I told Doris Alex.

   "David," Doris Alex said in a confused voice.  "She's broken the
indoctrination.  It's not possible!  Every Sibling except Melisa is
indoctrinated.  Brothers would never trust us if the indoctrination could
be broken."

   "Stephanie is my business," I told her.  "Brothers will decide what to
do with her."

   "She's a Sibling," Doris Alex said taking a sideways step to get closer
to Stephanie.  "This isn't possible."

   "Is this your idea of obedience, Sibling?" I demanded dangerously.

   Her eyes snapped to mine before she knelt into the same position the
other Siblings were in but with her head pointing at me.  The motion had
been as automatic as the reaction from the Siblings to her words.  I nodded
slowly as I considered what had seemed a reflex action from her.

   I turned in Melisa's embrace until we faced each other.  She smiled
bravely and closed her eyes when I kissed her forehead.  I pulled her away
from me turning her to face Stephanie.  With a hand on the small of her
back, I gently pushed Melisa towards Stephanie.

   "Take her upstairs, Stephanie," I instructed.  "This has nothing to do
with her."

   Stephanie nodded thankfully while taking Melisa's hand in a tight grip.
Melisa pulled out of the hold and walked back to me.  She put her hands on
either side of my face and stared into my eyes.

   "There is no choice, David," she whispered.  "I said I was yours; I
meant it; then, now, and forever!"

   She kissed me hard before turning around and walking out of the room
behind Stephanie.

   I walked over to stand by Doris Alex's head.

   "Stay there," I said down to her before walking out of the room.

   It took about five minutes to drink a bottle of water while I thought
about what I had seen.  I walked back into the living room to find Doris
Alex had oriented her head towards where I would enter.  Sitting down on
the couch, I studied her.

   "How long would you stay there?" I asked her.

   "Until you forgave me," she said without looking at me.

   "For what?"

   "You said Stephanie was your business," she said.  "I ignored you,
Brother."

   Her voice was painted with abject submission.  Doris Alex had come close
to disobedience, but not enough to warrant her reaction.  I stood up and
walked to each Sibling studying their posture.  None reacted as I
approached them except for Doris Alex.  Her positioning was different from
the others in that it remained aligned to me, but that was not the only
difference.  Doris Alex vibrated with sexual need.

   I undid the belt of my pants and pushed them along with my underwear
down my legs.  Doris Alex tensed and then relaxed as I stepped out of my
clothes.  She was wearing light pink pajama bottoms and a tight
mini-t-shirt.  I put my hand on the waist of her bottoms and pulled them
over her ass.  Doris Alex lifted her ass off her ankles to make it easier
for me; she was not wearing panties.  One of the most obvious changes since
Rachel's departure was Siblings removing anything that might be impediment
to my sexual desire; even Malia's uniform had altered to no bottoms.

   My hands touched the side of Doris Alex's hips and she lifted them to
give me better access.  I pushed forward until my dick kissed her moist
entrance.  Doris Alex sighed and shuddered as I entered her.  I hit bottom
with her pussy welcoming me with the pulsating pressure of her orgasm.  I
stroked slowly in and out of her as her entire body shivered in reaction.
Doris Alex was easily the Sibling that was the most sexually excited by any
contact with me, but from my end it felt like she came the entire time that
I fucked her, which was not normal.  With her pussy squeezing me tightly,
releasing and squeezing me again, it was not long before my cum jetted into
her.  She arched her back and tried to milk the semen out of me for a
minute before she relaxed.  I pulled out of her and stood by her head.  She
knelt to take me into her mouth.  Her eyes were blissful as she cleaned her
juices from me.  I sat back down on the couch and looked at her.

   "We're going to have to talk about indoctrination, Doris Alex," I told
her.

   "Brothers don't get very involved with it, David," she said neutrally.

   "Obviously at least one Brother has," I replied.  "Your indoctrination
is different; I'd like to understand how and why."

   "Do not listen," Doris Alex intoned to the other Siblings.

   The tone of her voice was artificially deep, almost like a religious
chant.

   "You have a right to know anything you want, David," Doris Alex said. 
"But please, not around other Siblings unless I've taken them in my
control."

   I looked around the room.

   "They can't hear us?" I asked.  "That's very powerful if it works."

   "Physically, they can hear us," she corrected.  "Their mind just tunes
out the words until I give them another command."

   "Very powerful," I said softly.

   "It doesn't work on Brothers, David," she said quickly.

   "Why not?" I asked curiously.

   "We don't know," she answered.

   "You've tried to put a Brother under this type of control," I stated
lethally.

   "With full Council approval," she volunteered rapidly.  "Some older
Brothers agreed to let us try."

   "The results surprised you?" I asked hearing the catch in her voice.

   "Those Brothers were old, David, but they still managed to kill the
Sibling trying to indoctrinate them," she said with a shudder.  "It wasn't
enough for the Council though.  At their direct command, we tried to
indoctrinate a Brother in training.  It seemed to work until the restraints
were removed.  With three of the Foot in the room, she still managed to
kill her indoctrinator.  We haven't changed indoctrination very much since
then so every indoctrinator knows it is a death sentence to try it on a
Brother."

   I nodded slowly.

   "Can you be taken control of in this fashion?" I asked.

   "No," she said.  "I am Bloodline."

   I nodded as if that made sense deciding there was no reason to pursue
the meaning of her answer yet.

   "Malia isn't worth this...  display of power," I said gesturing towards
the Siblings.  "You could have easily packed her bags and sent her home.  I
would have preferred someone had done that a while ago; she and I don't mix
very well."

   "Rachel disrupted the natural order of things," she told me.  "Even an
Enforcer would have been far more isolated than you have been.  Melisa is
not a normal First.  Everything about you is so fucking different, David,
but no Sibling can be allowed to forget that you are a Brother.  Michael
dared to challenge you even after what happened to Nancy.  Enough is
enough!"

   "Isn't that my failure?" I asked.

   "Not as long as your idea of an example is a dead body," she said
staring at me.

   "It is a memorable example," I told her.

   "Which one of us have you pick out?" she asked.

   "Except for Michael, most of you backed off after Nancy," I said.  "And
even he was far from being in my sights."

   "Every Sibling believes they are safe near a Brother, David," she said
anxiously.  "You have no qualms about killing any of us.  It's not just
being an Enforcer either; Anna hated killing Siblings."

   I shrugged.

   "Do you have a conscience?" she asked suddenly.

   I smiled thinking about what I had told my sword master.

   "Death is death, Doris Alex," I said.  "Your death, Roderigo's death, my
death; one death, a thousand; a cockroach, a human; an honorable death, an
ignoble one; it's all just death."

   She shook in fear before looking away from me.

   "Melisa and I understand," she told me.  "But you don't have the two
years of isolation that would have made certain signals instinctive. 
You've come some of the way towards what Siblings are used to, but I won't
risk any one of us because the Brothers chose not to isolate you."

   "It would take a lot for me to kill one of you," I told her.  "I'm far
more likely to kill Roderigo than any Sibling here."

   "You're very likely to kill Roderigo, David, so the death of one of the
Siblings being less likely is hardly a comfort," she said looking back at
me.  "Trust was built on instant obedience and being the pleasure of
Brothers.  Every Sibling I lead to your door will know that the difference
between other Brothers and you changes nothing.  Instant obedience and your
pleasure are the laws of this house."

   We stared at each other for a couple of minutes before I spoke.

   "Do what you have to do, Doris Alex."

   She nodded and stood up.  Straightening her pajama bottoms, she looked
at the kneeling Siblings.

   "You may listen," she intoned.  "Second Position."

   The Siblings knelt up with their hands pressed together palms up.  They
put their foreheads against their wrists.

   "Third Position," Doris Alex intoned.

   They sat back on their heels and the force of their personalities seemed
to rush back into their bodies.  There was still trepidation on their
faces, especially on Michael and Malia's.

   "I will deal with you a little later," Doris Alex said pointing at
Malia, nearly panicking the girl.  "But you're first, Michael."

   Michael's face turned white; he had good reason to since Nancy's
punishment at Doris Alex's hands still had the psychologist walking a very
straight line.

   "What the fuck was that shit in the dining hall, Sibling?" she asked
with her voice rising.

   Michael looked at me but like Nancy found that I was not an avenue of
escape.

   "I...I...I," he got out before Doris Alex raised hand silencing him.

   "Has the thought that maybe David isn't really a Brother been crossing
your tiny little mind?" Doris Alex said crouching down so that she was face
to face with him.  "Or maybe somehow the thought that you are his equal has
infected you, Sibling."

   I was surprised Michael did not keel over in a dizzy spell from shaking
his head so hard.

   "No, Michael," Doris Alex said viciously.  "I think you have forgotten
your place in a Brother's house."

   Michael shook his head even harder.

   "Lucky for you, there is a centuries old method of ensuring a Sibling
understands their location in the grand scheme of things," Doris Alex
continued.  "And look, plenty of witnesses to remind you what happened here
when you get uppity again."

   Twenty minutes later, Michael had his place in my home drilled into his
mind and in the minds of everyone else in the room.

   "You're such a good boy when you behave, Michael," Doris Alex said
licking his lips.  "Here is what we're going to do to make sure you don't
stray again.  Every month, I want you to repeat what just happened in front
of every Sibling in the house.  Okay?"

   "Be careful, Doris Alex," I said staring at the ceiling.  "You are not
the Brother in this house."

   "Forgive me, David," she pleaded.  "May I give this Sibling instruction
to ensure that he remembers his place as a Sibling from now on?"

   "You may," I said closing my eyes.

   "Every month, Michael," Doris Alex repeated.  "In front of every Sibling
that lives here or wants to watch."

   "Thank you, Speaker," Michael replied gratefully.

   I opened my eyes to look at him; that the gratitude was heartfelt
surprised me.

   "You," Doris Alex said in a voice that chilled the room after turning to
face Malia.

   Doris Alex paced slowly towards the terrified girl.

   "Do you have any idea the damage you could have done today?" she asked
rhetorically.  "Melisa spent months making David understand that a Sibling
barely knows the meaning of the word no around a Brother.  It took an
outsider to finally teach him that, and the only pride left to us is that
she has accepted a white ring."

   "I would've done it, Speaker," Malia defended herself.

   The words angered Doris Alex even more; her hair almost crackled with
emotion.  She grabbed a fistful of Malia's hair and pulled up.  They
struggled as Malia tried to stay on her knees while Doris Alex tried to
stand her up.  Finally, Doris Alex relaxed her grip.

   "A Sibling is not expected to match up with every Brother, you idiot,"
Doris Alex hissed.  "But you should not have offered, what you did not want
to give."

   "He would've said no, Speaker," Malia cried.

   The slap was like a thunderclap; Malia's head almost snapped around. 
Doris Alex put her hands behind her back and stared down at Malia.

   "You will not speak again," she said calmly.

   Malia nodded.

   "This was my mistake, Malia," Doris Alex said sadly.  "I should never
have brought you here.  I misjudged you thinking that maybe there was more
to you than summer fun.  It is the only reason I am going to go easy on
you."

   Doris Alex sighed and looked around the room.

   "You're going to suffer, Malia," she said.  "We need David and you
almost damaged the Sibling relationship with him.  Since this was my fault,
I'm going to punish you...  gently, until I know for sure that Melisa does
not have to re-pave this road.  If in the next six months, I even think
David might hesitate to take what he wants from one of us, I swear that
Siblings will scare themselves around campfires with tales of what I will
do to you."

   "How could you fucking show fear during an offer of sex to a Brother?"
Doris Alex asked with frustrating burgeoning out of her voice.

   "Heather said she was afraid, Speaker," Malia whispered.

   Another thunderclap.

   "Heather were you afraid?" Doris Alex asked.

   "Yes, Speaker," Heather answered instantly.

   "Why, dear?"

   "I slapped a Brother, Speaker," Heather said.  "I was going to be
punished.  I wanted him to do it.  God, did I want him to do it but I was
still afraid!"

   "Were you afraid of David?"

   "Never, Speaker!"

   "Of the sex, maybe?" Doris Alex asked.

   "No, Speaker!"

   "What were you afraid of?"

   "That I went too far, Speaker," Heather whispered.

   "Were you afraid of David, Malia?" Doris Alex asked.

   "No, Speaker," Malia whispered unconvincingly.

   "What were you afraid of?"

   "That he would say yes, Speaker."

   "But you offered him your body anyway."

   "I'm sorry, Speaker," Malia whispered forlornly.

   "You will be, Malia," Doris Alex promised fervently.  "You will be so
incredibly fucking sorry that no Sibling will ever make this mistake with
David again."

   "Fourth Position," she intoned after taking a deep breath.

   All the Siblings moved back into the First Position, but there was
something more relaxed in their posture as if their personality had not
fled with the redhead's command.  Doris Alex turned towards me and studied
me for a while.

   "Will it disturb you if I begin Malia's punishment here?" she asked me
politely.

   "No," I told her.

   "Janet," Doris Alex said.

   "Yes, Speaker," Janet replied.

   "Are you afraid of David or anything he might do to you tonight?" Doris
Alex asked.

   "That bitch, Heather, tricked me on the way to David's door last night,
Speaker," Janet grumbled.  "If she didn't have such nice tits, I'd strangle
her while she slept."

   It was made funnier by the fact her face was barely a couple of inches
off the ground muffling her voice.

   "Hey, you're the idiot that fell for the old 'your shoelace is untied'
bit," Heather defended loudly.

   Watching Siblings laugh uproariously while in such a subservient
position was eye-opening.

   "Tonight, it's your turn, Janet," Doris Alex said.  "Keep David
distracted enough that he doesn't pay too much attention to Malia's
screaming."