This is an excerpt from one of the very first F/F series I wrote over six years ago, so please forgive any early oddities of formatting, grammar or general putting together of words. The book was called ‘Rogue the Serpent’ and was a fantasy story which told the tale of a young woman named Rogue who possesses the power to become a serpent and is married off by her father to a fine lord. Rogue is not interested in the lord, and attempts to flee his custody, but soon finds herself not only captured but under the disciplinary care of a lady named Mari. This excerpt begins after her initial capture…

“I will not cage you Rogue, you are too precious for that.”

“Precious? How so?” I was confused.

“You are a lady of the Serpent. One in a million. Rogue, you are a rare creature and I will have you for my own, but I will not be unkind, nor cage you away unless you force me to do so.”

In spite of myself, I felt a little pleased at his words. Drexler was the first man to ever appreciate my talents rather than fear them.

I looked up under my eyelashes at him. “And what the soldiers were saying, of your treatment of women? Will you attempt such foolishness with me?”

He laughed again. He seemed amused by me. “I will treat you as you deserve to be treated,” he said. His hand descended upon my lower back and he ushered me into the road, where he pursed his lips and emitted a piercing whistle. In a moment or two, the sound of horse hooves could be heard as a black carriage slid up out of the night’s shadows.

“Now, my lady, will you come to your new home, or would you rather run about in the wilderness?” He said the words as if I had a choice, but I knew that I truly had no choice. He had come for me, he had never left my side. I climbed into the carriage without a word and curled up in a corner, watching him silently.

He let me be as the carriage started its journey, and I watched him discretely. He had grown more muscular in the intervening years since I had last seen him. His hands were strong and large, and his thick fingers were now wrapped in the rings of high office. I shuddered to think about how much more pain they could inflict now than when he was a young man.

“Are you going to punish me for running?” The question blurted out of my mouth before I could stop it.

He opened his eyes and smiled at me languidly. “I am going to punish you for a great many things, my dear Rogue,” he said calmly.

With that, I opened the door of the carriage and jumped out.

The carriage was moving at a fair clip as I fell, and though I tried to tuck and roll, I hit the stony ground hard, bruising my poor bones. I had barely stumbled to my feet as the carriage pulled to a frantic halt and Drexler ran towards me, his face a mask of disbelief and anger.

“What are you doing?” he yelled as I tried to run, and he caught me up in his arms, swinging my feet off the ground to remove all avenues of escape.

“I will not let you punish me!” I cried.

“By all the gods woman, punishment is not worth killing yourself to avoid,” he exclaimed in return, carrying me back to the carriage and securing me inside it with cloth ties around my ankles and wrists. I thrashed about, trying to stop him as he bound me, but he paid me no mind, grimly ensuring that the ties were secure enough to hold, but not so tight that they hurt me.

Laid on the carriage seat trussed up like a chicken bound for the cooking pot, I was at last, entirely helpless. The feeling made tears spring to my eyes. All my efforts had been wasted. I was now entirely at his mercy.

“Rogue, stop this pointless rebellion before you hurt yourself,” he said firmly as I squirmed, seeking a way out of my bonds.

“It is not pointless. It is my only point. You will not punish me,” I replied, sniffing back tears.

He tilted his head and looked at me as the carriage gathered speed once more. “Why do you fear discipline so much? Were you treated harshly at your father’s house?”

I shook my head. “No, they never laid a finger on me.”

“I see, so you have been spoiled,” he said. “I will break you of that Rogue, and you will thank me for it.”

“I will never thank you for it, you foul cur! You have no business taking me or laying a hand on me, I am my own woman and you will rue the day you allowed my father to trick you into taking me into your fold!”

Drexler covered his eyes with his hand and shook his head. “I may already be ruing the day, my dear,” he said, reaching for another cloth tie and securing it around my mouth. “Let us hush this harsh tongue you have before it gets you into more trouble.”

Unable to speak and unable to move, the rest of the journey was spent glaring at Drexler until I eventually fell asleep with the rocking motion of the carriage.

*****

I awoke, free to move and free to talk in the softest bed I have ever been in in my life.

“Don’t try to move too much, you’re bruised black and blue.” A warm woman’s voice floated to me. I had no intention of moving, I was far too comfortable, and it had been a long time since I was comfortable.

A smiling face beamed down at me as a tall woman bustled about fluffing my pillows up and bringing me something to sup on.

“Where am I?” I asked. I assumed Drexler had brought me home, but where in his home, that mattered a great deal.

“You are in the women’s quarters of Lord Drexler’s hold,” the woman told me. “The lord has given very firm instructions that you are not to be allowed out of them, so don’t waste your time trying, missy.”

I frowned at her and realized that under her hood, the woman was not as old as I had first imagined. No, this woman was vital and broad, powerful. If she had been a man, she would have been a warrior.

“And who are you?” I asked boldly, fixing her with a look that I hoped imparted the fact that I would not be intimidated by her less than subtle threats.

“I am Matron Mari. I am responsible for the women of Lord Drexler’s hold, including you, Miss Rogue, so take care to keep a civil tongue in your head. I do not tolerate sass.”

I spluttered, outraged, then regained enough composure to reply to her formally. “Mrs Mari, I am far too old to be spoken to in that manner, and you certainly have no authority over me. I am my own woman. I thank you for the pains you have taken to make me comfortable here, but please refrain from threats you will not make good on.”

Matron Mari’s eyes twinkled with delight at my little speech. “Lord Drexler mentioned how averse you are to discipline, he has asked me to see to it that you are not spared the rod.”

It was all too much. Weeks of running free only to find that I had never been free, a desperate bid for escape only to find myself more securely caught than ever. “I curse Lord Drexler! I damn him to hell!” I screamed, overcome with a fit of rage. How dare these people believe that they controlled my fate so thoroughly, that they had the right to lay their hands on me.

The look on her face grew grim. “It seems that you will be receiving a dose of discipline sooner than I had anticipated.”

“No, I won’t be. You will not touch me. I will kill you before that happens!” I snarled the words, baring my fangs, feeling my eyes become slitted like the serpent. The woman was unaffected by my display.

“I have seen little boys be more fearsome than that,” she said briskly, stripping the blankets off the top of the bed and flipping me onto my front with a practiced hand. I did not have time to lash out before her strong arm was laid across my lower back, and her palm was applied to my bare rear. They had put me to bed naked, and now her hand struck my exposed cheeks soundly again and again. As much as I thrashed about and cried, she did not stop, instead she slapped me harder still.

“You will learn to keep a civil tongue in your head,” she said matter of factly, ignoring my piteous howls and soundly slapping my backside until I thought I would scream the building down. I was near hysterical at the treatment. It was only the second time in my life that I had been treated in such a fashion, and I had sworn I would never allow it again. Yet, here I was, being thrashed bare bottomed for my so called crimes.

It was a long time before she stopped, and when she did I was sobbing into the pillows, thoroughly mortified as she pulled the covers back over me and told me to mind my manners and get some rest. I would never look her in the eye again, that was certain. My bottom stung and tingled with a deep warmth that radiated throughout my lower regions, making me squirm uncomfortably.

I curled up upon myself and pulled the blankets right around my shoulders and pretended to sleep. I had had enough of the world and its people. I had had enough of this system that insisted upon making me a victim. I was tired of fighting and losing, so I resolved to do nothing at all.

Hours later, Mari returned with a tray of food.

“Are you hungry, missy?” she asked with what sounded like a smile. She had already forgotten what she had done to me, but I had not. I did not reply, I did not move, I just pretended to be asleep.

“I’ll just leave this here for when you wake up,” she said with a laugh, leaving the room once more. Under the covers I growled to myself, hating what I was becoming, and hating her for making me that way. When I was sure she had gone, I sneaked a few morsels of the meal, but left the bulk of it on the plate.

She came and retrieved the tray later without a word. Evening fell, and I felt a little sense of smugness, as if I had made some headway in the battle to exert my will.

The next morning, the pattern repeated itself. I pretended to sleep and when she left the tray, I ate a few crumbs, then left the bulk of the food on the plate. The same thing happened at midday and the same thing happened at dinner. My stomach was growling, but I was making a point.

On the third day, I refused to acknowledge the woman or her offerings of food once more. Breakfast came and went. When lunch time came around, I curled up under the blankets and prepared to ignore Mari once more. I heard the tray go down next to the bed, then the covers were lifted and a hearty slap was applied to my ass.

With a loud squeal, I rolled over and glared at Mari, who was looking at me with amusement on her face.

“Enough of the sulking, eat your lunch.”

“I wasn’t sulking,” I lied.

She raised a brow at me, and I returned her gaze defiantly.

“Your bruising is healing up nicely, you should be out and about soon, you can meet the other ladies,” she said, placing the tray on my lap as I begrudgingly sat up.

“I don’t want to meet the other ladies,” I replied stiffly.

“No, you want to remain here, contrary and spoiled. I know that. Rogue, you deserve such a whipping.”

I looked at her in horror in case she followed through on the threat, but she was looking at me with something like pity in her eyes. “You have done well for yourself. Lord Drexler cares about you. He has been very specific as to the manner of your care. Many women like you would have been outcast years ago.”

“I would rather be outcast than be a prisoner,” I replied, setting my fork down without eating anything and crossing my arms across my chest. She ignored me.

“When I return, you better have finished your lunch and you better have gotten dressed. There are clothes in the dresser. That is, unless you want me to feed you and dress you like a baby.” With that parting shot, Mari left the room once more.