The soft lighting up against the vaulted ceiling made the dungeon look cosy. Quiet music could be heard whenever the whips and floggers paused or were put down. Someone in the room moaned and gasped. 

Along one of the walls there were hard points meant to easily attach rope or chains. A small, dark-haired woman stood there facing the wall with her leather wrist cuffs chained to one of those hard points above her head. She was wearing a lace top and she wiggled her bare butt as she cursed at the man standing behind her. "You're a mean fucker."

The man was dressed in black with a band shirt with imagery of viking battles. He quietly observed the red welts on her buttocks as he stroked the cane he was holding with his fingers, thoughtlessly bending it in his hands. "Mean? I'll show you mean." And he put the cane down to search the sports bag for a pair of peculiar looking gloves and slowly put them on.

The woman tried to turn to look at what he was doing. "Not the gravel gloves! What do I have to do to make you put those away?"

With a grin, he replied: "You have to behave."

"Well fuck that!" She started to struggle and curse again.

"Excuse me, Toro." Octavia smiled as she approached the man. "Do you mind if Artemis and I use this hard point next to you? Or would you like us to keep more distance?" Octavia was wearing her midnight blue evening gown and she was carrying a few coils of hemp rope. Artemis wore a short, ochre dress and a pair of pretty pumps. 

Toro looked at Octavia for a moment and then pinned his lady friend face first against the wall. "Mariposa. Can you shut your filthy mouth for a second? Do you mind if Octavia and Artemis use that space?" He nodded his head at the space next to her.

Mariposa finally stood still, as if she broke character for a moment. "Hi. I didn't see you there. Go right ahead."

"If you don't mind the noise she makes, ladies." Toro grinned and slapped Mariposa with the horrible gloves, prompting her to start complaining and swearing again.

"She seems to be enjoying herself." Artemis remarked as she positioned herself with her back against the wall. "What would you like me to do, My Lady?"

Octavia put the rope down on the floor and started to uncoil one of the bundles, letting the rope pass through her hands, looking for the middle. "I want you to reach up and show me that you can touch the hard point, my sweet plaything." 

Despite Mariposa's loud bratting and the small crowd of onlookers gathering nearby, Octavia only had eyes for Artemis as she stretched to touch the metal ring above her head. For a moment, with the tips of her fingers on the ring and her arms above her head, Artemis glanced at Octavia. Suddenly, Octavia put an arm around Artemis and a hand over her eyes.

"Drop for me." Octavia commanded. 

Artemis sighed and slumped against Octavia's shoulder as her arms suddenly fell down. Her knees went weak and she swayed on the high heels, but Octavia's embrace was strong enough to hold her up.

"Dropping so deeply because you came from such a height. So deeply into the dark void. You're such a good, obedient plaything." Octavia was aware that the onlookers were now also staring at them, not just at Mariposa. But part of the fun of playing in a dungeon was people watching, so she spoke clearly for everyone to hear. "For this scene, I would like you to freeze and become a posable doll whenever I tell you to freeze. A rigid, hard plastic posable doll for me to play with. You can have your full awareness, just freeze, silent and posable like the obedient plaything you are. Make that a trigger for me and then take a deep breath and wake up."

Artemis inhaled, opened her eyes and steadied herself leaning on Octavia's shoulder. "Do we have a flair for the dramatic tonight, My Lady?" 

Octavia raised an eyebrow at her as she continued uncoiling the rope. "I have to be increasingly creative. You always see it coming."

"And I always welcome it." Artemis kissed Octavia on the cheek.

With the bite of the rope in her hand, Octavia looked Artemis in the eyes. "Always? Freeze."

Her eyes became glassy and she stood so very still as her face froze in that loving smile elicited by their banter.

"Very good, my plaything." Octavia said approvingly as she posed Artemis' arms stretched out in front of her, the wrists facing each other and a few inches apart. Then she carefully wrapped the rope around the wrists to make a so-called two-column tie. For a minute or two, Octavia quietly worked to tie Artemis' wrists together, while next to them Mariposa squirmed and shouted creative insults at Toro who slapped her butt with a shiny paddle for every time she had said 'fuck' tonight.

When Octavia finished tying, she looked up at the hard point. Artemis was tall enough to reach it, but she was not. Holding the end of the rope in one hand, she stroked her lover's still face with the other. "Unfreeze, my sweet. I need your help."

Artemis blinked and then smiled. "Do you need me to put the rope through the ring?"

"Not the one you're tied with. This one." Octavia quickly uncoiled another bundle and Artemis reached up and pushed the rope through the ring. When the rope hung down, she posed Artemis' bound wrists up until they were level with her face and then quickly tied the wrist tie and the hanging rope together. She hesitated for a moment, trying to judge how long she would need the rope to be before she started to fumble to secure the rope. "I should have asked you to pull it through before I tied your wrists." She mumbled.

Artemis gave her a warm smile. "You're doing some excellent rope work, My Lady."

Octavia made a loop with the rope and sighed when the loop undid itself. She continued to fiddle with the rope while Artemis stood there, waiting patiently. Then, a man in a black suit and tie stepped forward from the crowd of onlookers and reached out to take the rope out of Octavia's hands. "Let me show you how to do the tie you want."

Octavia's eyes grew large and cold as she stared at the man and instinctively moved away until he was no longer in her personal space. 

"Excuse you, LePaul!" Artemis pulled the rope out of his hands. "We're having a scene here."

"I'm just trying to help…" The man smiled at Octavia and took another step closer to her to show her how helpful he was.

"No one asked for your help." Artemis glared at him.

Octavia laid her hand on her lover's shoulder as she composed herself. "Artemis, maybe I can educate LePaul on his faux pas."

Artemis nodded slowly as she returned to her previous position with her back to the wall and her tied hands level with her face. Her smile showed that she was humoring Octavia. 

As soon as the rope hung still again, LePaul grabbed it and made a loop that he showed to Octavia. "See, the friction you need to make when the rope is hanging down like this is not hard, you almost had it."

Octavia cleared her throat and crossed her arms. "This is not about the rope. Let go of the rope, please." 

LePaul straightened his tie and frowned at the two women as if he only noticed just now that something was wrong, but he didn't understand what.

Octavia took a deep breath, looking for the right words. "Why did you come over here to show me how to do the friction, LePaul?"

"You were fumbling." He said as he made a friendly, open-handed gesture. "I wanted to help you secure the rope."

Octavia pointed at Mariposa and Toro. "Would you have walked up to Toro to tell him how to tie a friction or how to use a paddle?" She asked LePaul.

Toro paused to stroke Mariposa's bruised buttocks and gave Octavia a sideways glance, casually checking in.

LePaul shook his head and raised his hands defensively. "No, I wouldn't want to interrupt their scene."

Artemis sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Did you not realise that you interrupted our scene?" Octavia asked.

"I mean… I…" He stuttered and then swallowed his words down.

Artemis grinned in the uncomfortable silence. "Not that she needs rope to keep me where she wants me." And she gave Octavia a playful wink to lighten the mood.

Octavia chuckled and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

LePaul laughed as well. "That's true. She can just tell you to freeze!" And he looked at Artemis expectantly.

"What? No!" Artemis glared at him. "The nerve!"

Octavia facepalmed and sighed deeply.

Again, he made that defensive gesture. "Why didn't it work?" LePaul asked.

Toro turned towards him and asked: "Hey, is this guy bothering you?"

With a wry smile, Octavia explained: "When you said the trigger word, it felt the same to us as if you picked up Toro's cane and hit Mariposa with it. It's a terrible intrusion. It's not for you to use on my partner. Don't touch my kinky implements. I mean no disrespect, LePaul, but please go away and let us play."

"I only wanted to help…" He said in a small voice as he backed away. Both Toro and Artemis continued to glare at him as he went over to the bar on the other side of the dungeon. The onlookers let him pass silently.

Mariposa turned towards Octavia to ask: "Are you ok?"

Octavia smiled and nodded. "Let's get back to the sexy fun, right?"

"I was getting a little hoarse from all the screaming anyway." Mariposa laughed.

"I'll shut you up then." Toro grabbed her by the hair and pulled her in for a long, hot kiss.

For a moment, Artemis smiled at them, and then she once again assumed the position with her tied hands in front of her face. Octavia was smiling too as she started to secure the rope again. It took her a few tries, but then she got it. She tugged the rope to check it one more time before she was satisfied.

"Step away from the wall a bit, my plaything. Maybe turn a bit to the right." Octavia coaxed Artemis until she was facing the onlookers and the rope pulled her arms up just above her head. "Very good, my dear. Now freeze for me, please. Rigid and immobile, completely unable to move."

Her eyes glazed over and her body froze in place. Octavia took a moment to gently push her elbows apart into a rounder shape. 

"That's right my pretty plaything. Just like a ballerina doll." Octavia muttered lovingly as she moved around Artemis and bent down to touch her leg. 

Artemis remained perfectly still, even when one of her feet was lifted off the floor and her leg was posed in a ballet pose with the knee bent and the thigh perfectly horizontal. 

For a moment, Octavia stepped away to admire her handiwork, and the onlookers took that as a good moment to softly and politely clap for Artemis. Toro uncuffed Mariposa so she could see it better.

"That's awesome." Mariposa whispered.

Octavia moved in closer and touched Artemis' forehead as she spoke. "You are so strong and beautiful, my sweet plaything. Lock in this pose. Remember it in all your muscles so that you can effortlessly and automatically revert to this pose again and again. Remember how your arms are bent. Remember the angle of your knee there. And the arch of your back. Commit all of it to memory. When I tell you to take the ballerina pose, this is what you do." 

Octavia smiled contently. "You can drop now." And she caught Artemis as she slumped over, muttering softly. "Is't it funny how good it feels to let me play with your body, my sweet plaything? Doesn't it feel a little bit like the happy strain in your muscles after a good workout? But it's more than that, isn't it? There's also the joy of serving me, of making me happy by being such a good plaything. Feel that as you take a deep breath and wake up."

Artemis regained her balance and moved her arms to make them more comfortable above her head. "Thank you, My Lady."

As Toro started to pack up his impact toys, and Mariposa quietly leaned against the wall watching, Octavia uncoiled another rope and started to wrap it around Artemis' thigh.

"How are you doing, my plaything?" She asked softly. "I'll make this to keep your leg up and then I'll see if we need more, ok?"

Artemis stared into nothing with a dreamy smile and replied: "I'm happy to be your plaything all night, My Lady."