THE PROPOSAL

BY THE ONE

Ever since her kidnap and imprisonment beneath the floor, Nicole had harbored a fear of the stage area. She always felt like someone was watching her, just ready to pounce and take her down into the darkness forever. Shaken up by the ordeal, she had almost been too afraid to audition for the musical. Only the gentle comforting and coaxing of her boyfriend Jeremy and adopted sister Amy had convinced her to put her fears aside.

As expected, Nicole had landed the lead role. She sang her song as perfectly as ever, wowing everyone who listened to the audition. Her confidence bolstered, she returned once again to her beloved stage.

The only difference was that this time she had brought Amy with her. A full hour before school began, they walked out into the semi-darkness of the performance floor. Oddly, the banks of multicolored lights were darker today than Nicole had ever remembered them. Several orange and red bulbs were out, leaving a majority of blue and green. The combination of colors gave the impression of being underwater, and it was a little unnerving.

Filled with ominous feelings, Nicole said suddenly, “Um, maybe we should come back another time.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Amy scolded, “You dragged me out of bed an hour and a half before our usual time just to come here. There’s no way I’m letting you chicken out now. There’s no one here! I checked!”

“Oh alright,” Nicole said uneasily, looking over her shoulder out of paranoia.

“Nicole! Honey, no one’s going to hurt you!” Amy comforted, “There’s no one here now, and I’ll make sure no one comes in uninvited.”

Nicole smiled slightly and turned toward the empty auditorium, once again imagining it full of people. This time she sang an upbeat celebration song, part of the show’s finale. After a few measures, she was totally engrossed in her own music, forgetting the world. When the last triumphant note faded away, Nicole returned to reality and looked for Amy for a critique. Her sister was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly cold with fear, Nicole called out, “Amy? Amy where are you?”

An all-too-familiar voice answered her, “She’s right here.”

Spinning around, Nicole saw Lisa and Alice marching a bound and ball gagged Amy into the light. She was stark naked except for a slipknot tied around her neck with the control end in Lisa’s hand.

“Let her go!” Nicole yelled.

“No,” Lisa said, “At least not until we can be assured the full cooperation and total obedience of you and your lovely ‘sister.’”

“What do you want from us?”

“We want to offer you a place in our Circle.”

“No!”

“Alright then,” Lisa said coolly, pulling on the rope around Amy’s neck, producing a frightened gasp. “I’ll start cutting off more air for every five seconds you don’t agree.”

She didn’t need to wait long. With Amy in danger, Nicole immediately surrendered.

“Good girl,” Lisa said with a sadistic smile, “Now kneel!”

Nicole dropped to her knees.

“Alice?”

“Right,” Alice confirmed. She moved quickly to Nicole and ordered her to strip. After watching shirt, jeans, bra, and thong fall to the floor, she tightly tied Nicole’s hands behind her back and led her over in front of Amy. The sisters looked at each other, one’s eyes full of fear and the other’s full of sorrow.

“I think we’ll let Nicole do the talking for the two of you,” Lisa said. “Now then! We would like to offer a little proposal to you.”

“We will not be slaves!” Nicole gritted defiantly.

“Shut up and listen to me,” Lisa snapped, “You won’t necessarily be slaves in the sense that Heather and Emilie are. You will just be…um…associates of sorts. We will have no disciplinary control over you, but you will still be a part of our group. You will each be both mistress and slave to each other, and you will be allowed to do what you want. In other words, you will both be trained as mistresses and slaves at the same time. Then when Alice and I graduate, the two of you can fill in the empty places that will be left alongside Heather. What do you say?”

Nicole looked at Amy in indecision. If she chose to make herself and her sister part of this Circle, they would be bound to it forever. All other aspects of their lives would be instantly overshadowed by this new lifestyle. Besides, they already played sub/dom with each other. It was unnecessary to join any official club.

“No,” she said conclusively, “We won’t join you.”

“Nicole, it’s not wise to anger me when you are the one in restraints,” Lisa pointed out threateningly.

“You said we had a choice. I’ve made our decision.”

“Actually I never said you had a choice. I said we were going to offer a proposition. You had an option to lead a hard life in the Circle, or an easy life in the Circle. You chose the hard life. You and your sister will be full-time official slaves, belonging to Alice and I. And your initiation starts now.”

Nicole and Amy were roughly shoved together and a ball gag was strapped in Nicole’s mouth. Her ankles and most of her legs were bound tightly to Amy’s. Their hands were freed, but only for a moment, for just as quickly they tied around each other’s backs instead of around their own. With Nicole’s arms bound behind Amy’s back and vice versa, the wouldn’t be able to pull apart at all. Neither put up a struggle since Amy still wore a slipknot around her throat that could be tightened as motivation at any time.

Now connected together, the bound sisters were dragged across the stage to where a thick, heavy curtain lay stretched out on the floor. After having vibrator-like devices rudely shoved inside them, the girls were forced to lie down on the curtain, and Alice and Lisa began to roll up the package. Nicole and Amy screamed as they were rolled over and over until they were sealed inside the curtain. They could feel ropes being tied around them on the outside, keeping the curtain tight. The ends, still open to the outside, were cinched securely with more rope. To make sure their victims wouldn’t suffocate, Alice and Lisa inserted PVC tubes into the ends of their rolled curtain. This allowed for the circulation of air without allowing a hole big enough for the two girls to wiggle out of. Laughing and speaking into one of the tubes, Alice said, “Enjoy your stay, girls. I think you’ll find the devices inside you most entertaining. When we release you, both of you will become our property. Oh, and thank you, Nicole, for making this a most enjoyable morning!” With that they left, leaving their prisoners crying inside the curtain.

With crying comes hot air, and inside the already-stifling curtain the bound sisters soon began to perspire. Nicole was incredibly claustrophobic, and Amy certainly didn’t like being unable to move in such a tight space. Her throat had felt tight that morning, and now breathing was becoming difficult.

As her sister began to panic with instinctual fear, she started to thrash back and forth. Suddenly both the vibrators came alive inside their victims, bringing surprised cries. The added stimulation caused them to move more, and the intensity of the vibrations increased. Realizing with a start what was going on, Amy grabbed Nicole tighter. Unable to communicate with words, she held her sister with a firm grip while staying perfectly still herself. The vibrations slowed and slowed, and finally stopped. The vibrators were activated and controlled by their victims’ movement. Stay still, and nothing happens. Move, and experience a wave of unwanted stimulation.

After a few minutes of claustrophobic panic, Nicole began to calm down. She desperately wished she could kiss her companion, but the ball gags in both their mouths made that impossible. Only by burying her head and face in Amy’s chest could she stay calm and avoid another panic attack. After that, neither girl moved much. To move was to be tormented.

As time stretched on, the already uncomfortable prison inside the rolled curtain was heating up even more. With no room to move to even begin to try and escape, Amy and Nicole were getting frustrated with each other. They could communicate only with noise, not words, and drool running out the corners of their ball gagged mouths was getting on each other’s faces. The girls were also getting hot, and not necessarily in a good way. In such close, confining quarters sweat was pouring from their naked bodies.

Tensions were at a breaking point when Amy suddenly strained against her bonds in a desperate attempt to escape. The vibrators leaped into action. As they both jerked in shock their foreheads connected with a painful clunk.

Claustrophobic Nicole’s nerves finally gave out, and she screamed in Amy’s face, squeezing her eyes shut and straining as hard as she could. She didn’t gain an inch, but she was rewarded with an intentional headbutt from Amy, who managed to reach her bound hands up Nicole’s back and grab her ponytail, giving it a painful tug. Nicole found a pressure point in Amy’s back and jabbed it with two fingers, producing a pained yelp, and a harder pull on Nicole’s ponytail.

The sisters fought each other, both driven to their breaking points, for at least ten minutes more. Throughout the struggle, the vibrators gained intensity. Finally, Amy was pushed over the edge. She screamed as her body was racked with a climax. Her motion only urged the vibrators on, and Nicole too spent herself. Their exertion had raised the temperature inside their prison to unbearable levels, and it would take a long time to cool down. Exhausted, they slumped against each other letting the vibrators spin down and stop. Amy’s throat felt worse, but she thought nothing of it as she again comforted Nicole in her fear.

Just as the tension between them was starting to ease, Amy’s breath suddenly caught in her throat. She coughed violently and began gulping short, halting gasps of air.

Behind her, Nicole felt her sister’s hands grip her back in terror.

Her whole body trembling, Amy began babbling an unintelligible stream of noise with each gasp. Though she could understand nothing for certain, Nicole kept noticing a two-syllable word that began and ended with a short “a” sound. With a sick feeling, she figured it out. Asthma.

Knowing that Amy’s only hope was to calm down, Nicole made a noise to try and shush her panicking sister. She stroked Amy’s back and hair and made soothing sounds. But Amy only got worse, and her shaking activated the vibrators.

Sexual stimulation was now a death sentence for Amy. Thinking fast, Nicole pressed her chest against Amy’s and began taking deep, rhythmic breaths. After a few moments, Amy understood. She forced her body to be still and tried to match her breathing with Nicole’s. For a tense eternity, they drew long, regular breaths together. After the vibrators shut off, Amy could finally start to calm down. Her airway was opening up, and her breathing was easier. But she was very pale and cold, and clearly needed help immediately.

Still stroking Amy gently, Nicole struggled to press her face against the pipe that had been rolled in the curtain to circulate air to the prisoners. It led directly to the outside world. She moved as slowly and gently as possible, but it was very difficult with her legs and arms bound to Amy. Still she only caused the vibes to quiver slightly.

Reaching her target, Nicole took a deep breath and screamed for all she was worth. She heard the sound echo around the stage outside, letting her know that she could be heard outside. She screamed again, still as loud as she could. Then again, and again. She was certain it would alert someone.

And it had to happen soon. Amy’s calm state hadn’t lasted long, and her airway was closing again. Her breathing shortened and turned to quick gasps that were getting shorter every moment.

Desperately, Nicole renewed her screams with intensified volume and urgency. Amy was trying to steady her breathing as she had done before, and it was helping, but it only slowed the process. Her body was involuntarily convulsing, causing the vibrators to turn on and excite her more. She couldn’t recover this time.

Just as she was beginning to despair Nicole heard the stage door open. She let loose a panicked cry to get attention.

“Nicole!?” her boyfriend’s voice responded, “Nicole! Where are you!?”

She screamed again and wiggled back and forth to get the curtain to move. Whether they could be seen from the door anyway, she didn’t know.

“Nicole!?” Jeremy cried again, his voice coming from a different direction this time. He was coming closer.

One last scream brought him to the bound girls. His face appeared at the other end of the pipe Nicole was yelling through, then immediately disappeared as he started to untie the ropes holding the package together. When they were off, the world seemed to spin out of control as he unrolled the curtain.

As the desperate sisters flopped out onto the ground, Amy drew a huge gasping gulp of fresh air. Jeremy nimbly untied the ropes holding the girls’ wrists and legs, and Nicole’s thrashing quickly threw the bonds off. Pulling the vibrators out, the sisters fought time as Amy hung in an odd gasping state between choking and normal breathing. She was on her hands and knees in a wave of nausea as Nicole stripped her gag off and rushed to do the same for her sister. As the ball left Amy’s mouth, the poor girl vomited on the stage floor, then collapsed, reveling in the feeling of sweet air entering her lungs. She was beginning to gain the upper hand.

“What the hell happened to you!?” Jeremy was demanding of Nicole, who was attending lovingly to Amy, “What’s wrong with Amy? Who did this to you!?”

“Asthma attack,” Nicole said, her voice laden with fatigue, “And who do you think did this? Alice and Lisa of course.”

A snarl crossed his face. “’Cole, I’m never letting you out of my sight again!” he declared, kneeling and putting his arm around her, “You or Amy. Never again! Every time I do, someone tries to hurt you!”

“You can’t blame yourself for this,” Nicole said, “They just attacked us while we were here practicing this morning.”

“Then we have to tell the world,” he said, “This has to end! They’re out of control! For God’s sake, Amy could’ve died!”

“Believe me, I know,” Nicole said, pulling Amy close to her. Into her sister’s hair, she murmured, “I can’t believe I almost lost you again!”

Amy responded with a loving purr of gratitude.

“Did you hear me Nicole?” Jeremy persisted, “We have to tell people!”

She looked at him with eyes full of fear. “If we tell people they’ll come after us again,” she said, “And then if we die it won’t be an accident!” She knew the look that was in her boyfriend’s eyes. The only thing stopping him from exacting revenge on Lisa and Alice was that they were female.

“Nicole, please,” he said, “I can’t stand back and watch you and Amy be hunted for their sick games! If you don’t want to tell anyone, I will!”

“You’ll do what?” asked a voice from across the stage. Lisa and Alice themselves stood in the doorway. Amy and Nicole shrank back, but Jeremy stood in a battle stance.

“How dare you hurt them!” he bellowed, “Do you realize Amy was almost killed!? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What do you mean ‘killed’?” Lisa sneered.

“She has asthma!” Nicole said.

Lisa’s face was unchanged, but Alice melted. “Oh no!” She rushed forward to try and go to Amy, but was stopped by Jeremy advancing toward her. “Please, I just want to make sure she’s okay,” she said, looking at Amy still lying on the floor.

“She’s still breathing, right?” Jeremy said, “You see her! That’s far enough.”

Alice backed up to stand next to Lisa, who said indignantly, “And who are you to stand between us and our girls?”

“If they’re anyone’s girls, they’re mine!” Jeremy held his ground, “And I intend to let the world know about what’s happened here today.”

“Well,” Lisa smiled, “You’ll have to get out of here first, and with us intending fully to stop you, I don’t see how you’ll accomplish that.”

“Um, Lisa?” Alice said, “I think force may not be the way to go here.”

“You shut up!” Lisa shot back.

“Seriously, Lisa,” Alice said urgently, “I think we need to negotiate.”

Taking advantage of the distraction Jeremy grabbed one of the PVC tubes that had been used to give the girls air in their rolled up prison. He was brandishing it like a sword before Lisa could finish yelling at Alice, “Fuck negotiations!”

With the tables equaled if not turned, and faced with an iron-willed defender brandishing a weapon, Lisa screamed, “Fine! What do you want?”

Knowing she had the only clear head in the room, Nicole said, “If you leave us alone, we won’t tell. But if you ever so much as touch Amy, Jeremy, or me again, we will tell everyone. And I mean everyone.”

Grinding her teeth in defeat, Lisa cursed the three people opposing her and stormed off the stage. Alice moved to follow her, then turned. “Please, we’re very sorry, Amy. We had no idea that you…we…we just didn’t know.”

“Alice, I almost died,” Amy managed to gasp, “Nothing you can ever say will justify that to me.”

“Amy, please, we just…”

“Enough, Alice,” Nicole said, “You are just as responsible as Lisa. Just stay away from us.” Alice cast around for something to say. “Amy, I’m… I don’t know… I’m sorry!! For everything!! You’ll never be bothered again! Now please, get out of here. You’re clothes are in the corner over there. Get dressed and leave. I’ll clean up.”

Jeremy only let go of his weapon as he and the girls left the stage.

Alice was greatly troubled as she set about erasing the evidence of the day’s happenings. All Lisa cared about was that Nicole and Amy were out of her reach forever. Alice hadn’t even thought of it. She couldn’t stop herself from trembling at the thought that she had taken part in a ‘game’ that had almost killed an innocent girl. It would’ve been just as much her fault as Lisa’s. Numbly she began picking up the ball gags and vibrators, still slick from Nicole and Amy’s bodily fluids. Alice didn’t care. Her mind was in torment. She couldn’t get past the thought that she had almost killed someone.

That afternoon when she and Emilie met to go home, Alice pulled her sister into a tearful embrace.

“Oh! Alice…I mean Mistress…what’s wrong?”

“Hold me, Emmy,” said Alice into Emilie’s shoulder, “Just hold me.”

Emilie didn’t ask for details again, but would remember to inquire about Alice’s strange condition from someone else.

The evening passed uneventfully for Emilie. Alice gave her no assignments or chores to do, and seemed to almost flee to her room as soon as they arrived home.

Emilie would never know it, but Alice had begun to think it was time to end the Circle before something bad happened. Before someone lost more than their freedom…