Jack Of All Trades (Erotica)

She shook her head but she didn’t take her eyes from the band. Jack slowly pushed himself to a seated position. The collar felt odd. The skin under it was still a little tender so he was aware it was there from little barbs of pain when he moved. However, it didn’t tug as he’d expected it to considering how it was embedded in his skin.

With a glance at his companion he put his feet on the floor noticing the white slippers he was wearing. His nerves buzzed a little from the memory of the pain but he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. When he was ready he stood and walked over to the window. The sunlight struck his collar and splashed reflections over the walls. He was dazzled and staggered back… into her arms. He felt her strength as she steadied him. She was thin and small, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulder, but she had considerable strength in her hands and arms. The two broad toes on her cloven hoofs gave her excellent stability.

He got his balance again and looked at her. He needed to know what to call her. “Thanks.”

She frowned like he’d insulted her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do not thank me. Do not acknowledge me. I am nothing. It is my role,” she said slowly like it was a lesson he needed to learn.

“I won’t do that. That’s not who I am. I won’t pretend you’re nothing because that’s not who or what you are!”

“You will be disciplined if you do not follow the roles we are assigned,” she scowled at his stubbornness.

He shrugged. “Then I’ll be punished. I’m not going to change who I am for them.”

“Who you are isn’t more important than survival!” she growled quietly in frustration.

“If I survive but I’m no longer a person I can respect, what have I survived for?” he asked.

She looked at him in fury. He took that as a good sign. She still had spirit.

“What do I call you?” he asked.

She looked at him like he was mentally challenged. “You don’t call me anything!” she hissed quietly.

“Eve it is then.” The name just popped into his head. Maybe because she was the ‘first woman’ he’d met in this awful place. He looked around. There was nothing out the ‘window’. It was a light well, piping sunlight in from above. They were probably deep underground. This particular place wasn’t too awful but the dark place where he’d met her had been. “Eve, is there a mirror around here where I can see myself and this collar?”

She was looking at him a little strangely then she shook her head and frowned again. She set off purposefully towards a doorway so he followed. He was relieved to see standard human compatible hygienic facilities for waste and cleaning. At least it looked something like a toilet and shower. But no way to see his reflection.

Eve touched the wall and it became a mirror. There they stood side by side. At least he wasn’t dressed in that ridiculous leather and rhinestone outfit with the cape! He saw the same rounded metal caps Eve was wearing on her horns had been added to the points of his too. He stepped closer and inspected the collar. It really was a finely crafted and beautifully ornate piece of torture hardware.

“Any idea why my pain collar is so fancy?” he asked quietly.

“Discipline collar,” she corrected with a sigh. “I was told we belong to the Prime. This symbol at the center represents the Prime, but… I have never seen a collar like yours.” Eve said equally quiet.

“I wonder if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” Jack mumbled.

A chime sounded and Eve rushed from the bathroom then darted back and pulled Jack’s arm with her surprising strength to follow her into the middle of the room where they stood side by side. Jack looked at her in confusion and she scowled at him. “Eyes forward and down,” she hissed quietly.

The door opened and in walked a single Allsa Komanae. Jack was momentarily confused. He’d never seen one on its own before. They always traveled in threes.

“So this is Jack Danner,” the cloaked being before him said thoughtfully as it stopped a few feet away. “I expected… more.”

Jack was too surprised to be insulted. The Allsa Komanae’s voice was deep and rich, a far cry from the rough flat tones which typically emanated from the dark cowls. Its clothing seemed like it was made of finer materials as well.

“And you are?” Jack asked. He saw Eve twitch when he spoke.

“Ah, you have so much to learn about your new role,” the deep voice sighed regretfully.

Jack’s brain lit up and he found himself gasping on the floor as his body spasmed painfully.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“That was just a mild lesson in how not to speak to your superiors,” the Allsa Komanae said in a conversational tone.

Jack got his arms under himself and painfully pushed himself up. Onto his knees. That was as far as he could get as his muscles were trembling in memory of the pain.

He felt Eve’s hands on his arm and she helped him to his feet then immediately let go and went back to staring at the floor. Jack wanted to thank her but the cloaked figure would likely punish her. It was safer for her if he followed her wishes… while in the presence of Allsa Komanae.

“When I ask you to speak you may address me as ‘First’. Is that clear?”

Jack almost replied but nodded his head instead. He heard First make a little sound of disappointment.

“You will also avert your eyes from any and all citizens. You are not worthy of looking upon your masters so you will not.”

Once more Jack found himself on the floor, this time on his back. The remnants of the pain from his last visit to the floor hadn’t left his muscles so now he had some serious cramping. He wasn’t able to move his legs as the muscles just trembled. He wondered if the asshole was really using a mild setting or was playing at the top end of the scale. The latter seemed likely. Anything higher and he might not survive.

“Are you beginning to understand your new role? You may speak,” First asked.

“I understand these lessons are likely going to kill me. I can’t move my legs,” he croaked.

First made an annoyed sound and left the room. When it returned it was followed by another Allsa Komanae who immediately knelt down beside Jack and ran some kind of device up and down Jack’s legs. It froze then looked up at First and made a quiet hissing sound.

First hissed back much louder and the kneeling figure cowered.

“You are neither Human nor Altarian. You appear to be some kind of freakish hybrid. The collar was calibrated incorrectly. This will be rectified. Killing you before the Prime arrives would… displease her.”

“So you aren’t the Prime?” Jack groaned.

“I am First.”

“That’s not confusing at all,” he sighed.

First was silent. Jack got the impression the self-important jerk was itching to push the pain button again.

“Take care of his legs,” it barked at Eve and left. The other Allsa Komanae hustled after it and the door closed.

Eve bent down and got her arms under Jack’s shoulders and dragged him backwards over to the bed platform. The bed dropped down into the floor and she pulled him right up onto it. Once she stepped off the bed lifted back up. Jack realized this likely meant they were under observation. Maybe by the Allsa Komanae who checked his legs earlier?

Once the bed was back to its original height Eve moved to the end of the bed and pushed his tunic up to expose his legs.

Jack grabbed the hem and pushed it back down to cover his privates. “Hey!”

Eve gave him an exasperated look. “I need to massage the knots out of your leg muscles.”

“That doesn’t mean you get permission for a free show.”

“A free show?” she asked with a puzzled expression.

“You know, of my privates.”

“There is no privacy. You need to accept this as your new reality. Our masters see all and know all. There can be no secrets from them,” Eve explained slowly as she tried to tug the hem of his tunic up again.

Jack tugged it back down. “That wasn’t what I meant by privates! I meant my… sex organs,” he said uncomfortably. “Besides, there are all kinds of ways secrets can be kept. I’m not buying into this crap about their all seeing all knowing abilities. They aren’t gods. They bleed and they die just like we do. I’ve personally seen it.”

Eve’s eyes were wide. She looked nervously towards the ceiling. Then she turned her eyes to him and scowled. “Let me do my job. I have been ordered to take care of your legs. I must do this.”