Lockes and Chains

"I'm sorry, can you run that through me again?" Sura asked.

Clara rubbed her arm awkwardly, struggling to maintain eye contact with her sister. Ezzo was fairly certain Sura had grasped it already, but she was just trying to be annoying.The usual, really.

They had both walked into that sickeningly pink room, and Sura behaved every bit like the petulant princess she was while they were in her domain. She popped a bonbon into her mouth while Clara tried to explain again.

"I don't want to leave Ezzo undefended while I go to Sulatrava. Ira will... it doesn't matter."

Sura was biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smirking.Believe me, Lady Clara, she knows what Ira will do to me. Better than you, I'm sure,he thought bitterly. Ira's pegging still stung in his pride like an unanswered wound. The fact Sura had left him in that room to be raped was something he hadn't forgotten at all.

"I getthatpart," Sura said lightly. "What I don't get is what comes next."

"I'd like to leave Ezzo with you while I'm gone," said Clara with a hint of exasperation now. "On the condition that you don't let Ira hurt him."

Sura stopped chewing. Her hazel eyes landed on Ezzo, as if she expected him to find this request as shocking as she did. The slave remained perfectly neutral.

They'd discussed this in quite a bit of detail before their march to Sura's room. Clara's trip to the capital to visit her aunt had filled him with dread the moment he'd been notified of it. With Lord Gareth accompanying her in the carriage, there would be no talks of bringing a Scombian along. Even without Gareth, Clara had seemed fairly convinced her mother would not have allowed for Ezzo to go with her. After all, her youngest daughter could get some fancy ideas about setting her slave free while away from home.

Ezzo did not need much convincing to realize that Sura would be the lesser evil between both sisters. Vera would arguably treat him better, but Clara was utterly terrified of asking her mother for any help when it came to rearing her slave. The lack of options had led them to the room of the middle Locke daughter. Now, with Sura smugly by her desk, eating bonbons in front of her locked notebook, Ezzo was almost tempted to walk out on her and ask Vera to guard him himself, on Clara's behalf.

"You'd trust me to do that?" Sura sounded almost flattered.

"Well... I guess."

She definitely sounded more certain while we were alone discussing this,Ezzo thought with more than a little apprehension.

"Does that mean I get to use Ezzo myself while you're gone?" She had an impish grin now.

Clara could only blush and nod in response to that. She'd seen this coming, of course. Predicting this specific deal was quite literally the first remark Ezzo made when they'd discussed the plan.But even the lust she sees coming from a mile away makes my poor mistress blush.

"What about Mother?" Sura still asked, tilting her head.

They'd discussed that too. Great as Clara's trust in Sura was - which Ezzo hoped dearly wasn't misplaced - even she could not deny her sister would not be able to stop Vera Locke if push came to shove.

"Just Ira," Clara said, having finally recovered from the red on her face.

"Deal!" Sura responded gleefully, just as her dainty fingers pushed another chocolate ball between her lips. Then, she spoke with her mouth full: "It'sh my shishterly duty, right?"

"R-right..." said Clara reluctantly.

I'm not sure which of us has less faith in you, Lady Sura,Ezzo thought.Probably me, by virtue of not sharing your blood.

That short exchange in Sura's room was still replaying in Ezzo's head when, later that week, the time came to bid Clara farewell. They'd chosen to say their goodbyes in her room, lest her relatives immediately pounce upon him the moment his mistress was gone. Sura, with or without a deal, would have a harder time fending off Vera and Ira both at once.

Some of the house slaves had already hauled her luggage out of the room. They'd left the door open, allowing the unsettling, bustling noises to seep in from the corridor. The whole manor was abuzz with the final preparations to send Lady Clara and Lord Gareth on their way to Sulatrava,

"I think I'll miss you the most out of everyone in this estate, Ezzo," Clara said, holding his hands in hers. Her blue eyes were now looking up at his with a hint of hope, as if Ezzo had any ability to rescind Viktora's invitation for her youngest niece.

"Believe me, my lady, I don't think I have a way out of missing you twice as much," he replied instinctively. Then, he dwelled on how great a compliment his mistress had just given him, and his expression softened. "Even if the circumstances were different, Lady Clara, I would miss you terribly. I'm... honored you feel that way."

If Clara was offended by his initial sarcasm, she did not show it. Her lips were pouting, trembling a little.

"Oh, Ezzo..."

She pulled him in for a kiss. Ezzo had grown used to those by now. Clara had taken a long time to feel comfortable just moving in for a kiss on her slave's lips. Granted, she'd only had to do it once without warning Ezzo. When he'd smiled at her and told her everything was okay, the kisses from Clara became a whole lot more frequent. More adventurous too, though that depended on her mood. Sometimes, a kiss was just something she shared with Ezzo to celebrate having finished a particularly difficult book. Those tended to be little, repeated pecks - little treats, really. Other times, she'd feel needy, and go for deep, lengthy kisses where their tongues intertwined and their bodies pressed together.

This farewell was the latter. Clara moaned into Ezzo's mouth while her fingers tangled in his jet black hair. The Scombian placed a hand behind her neck and kissed her back. Her eyes were watery when their lips parted.

"I know it's silly of me to ask this of you but... please don't let them hurt you too much."

Ezzo had to chuckle, though it came out ragged and weak. He was fighting back tears of his own, mostly because seeing Clara cry was something his heart was ill-equipped to handle. He forced a thin smile.

"That's an order I intend to follow to the very best of my ability, Lady Clara."

Which is unfortunately not a lot,he thought to himself.

A house slave appeared at the door. One of the many nameless men and women that droned about the manor, property of the Locke family rather than a single individual. Ezzo felt simultaneous pity and envy towards his more anonymous colleagues.

"Lady Clara," bowed the slave. "All the preparations are complete. Your family awaits you by the main gate."

His mistress lowered her arms. Ezzo felt her fingers finally letting go of his hair and hand.

"I'll be here when you return, Lady Clara," he promised, immediately feeling stupid for uttering such a platitude.No kidding.

Clara didn't pounce on the chance to tease Ezzo about it. She put on a smile, wiped her eyes with her fist, and stared into his brown ones one last time.

"Goodbye, Ezzo."

With that, the noblewoman and the house slave departed. The Scombian was left alone in Clara's room. This had to be the most foreign that place had ever felt to him, barring perhaps his first night in the estate. Seeing Clara's massive flowerpressing notebook, her stacked storybooks, and the far dustier, often neglected pile of tomes she'd regularly describe as 'serious literature' - all of that made him feel even more glum than usual.

The only reason he didn't leave the room and its mementos behind right away was due to some lingering hope that he'd be left alone for longer if he stuck around there instead of returning to his quarters. That and, well, Clara's scent was still a bit present there. Not just the floral perfumes she occasionally wore, but the slight, bodily scent that he felt when she got close enough to him, the same scent that had calmed him down during multiple unhappy instances before.

Just as he pondered sitting on the bed and perhaps dozing off to rejoin Clara in his dreams, a movement at the door demanded his immediate attention.

"Hey, Ezzo!" Sura said cheerily.

Great,he thought to himself.Clara's bed is not even cold, and Sura is already dragging me to hers.

"Lady Sura," he bowed. After all, Sura was still saving him from Ira.She might be insufferable, bratty, and sadistic... but that sadism is still nothing compared to her older sister's.

"Great news!" She had an impish grin on that Ezzo was not happy at all with. She didn't walk to him as much as she skipped. Another terrible sign. "I just told Mother that Clara left you under my care! Right in front of Ira too." Her grin got a little more mischievous when she said that part. "This means there won't be any sneaky shenanigans from my sister while Clara is gone. I know, I know. I'm a great mistress."

Ezzo raised a brow.Does this spoiled girl seriously expect Ira of all people to try to get sneaky to gain access to me? She'd sooner threaten you for it, Lady Sura.

"You're not impressed?" Sura pouted mockingly. "I didn't say that was the full extent of my protection." Then, she extended her arm to the slave. "Walk with me."

Ezzo interlocked his arm with hers, trying to mask his reluctance. Goodness knew Sura was spoiled enough to hand him to Ira if she felt like he'd slighted her. The middle Locke daughter closed the door to Clara's room once they were out of there. Ezzo had a dreadful feeling in his stomach that he wouldn't be back there so soon.

"So," she stated with a cheerfully conversational tone, "what was it like, getting sodomized by Ira?"

"Not pleasant," Ezzo replied tersely. He'd half-expected such a conversation topic, thankfully.

"But not pleasant in a fun way, right?" she asked. "Like hating it... and hating that you love it?"

"Mostly the first, Lady Sura," he tried to mask how badly that episode still stung.

"Mostly but not entirely, right?"

Just like that, he already wanted to lock himself in a room and rot there until Clara returned. Not even in shame, just frustration. Sura's nonchalant handling of the most traumatic experience Ezzo had ever gone through was infuriating him to no end.

"That was me being polite, I'm afraid. It was entirely unpleasant, Lady Sura," he couldn't quite keep his tone appropriately neutral.

Damn it all, I'm giving away how badly this episode still haunts me.

"But... Ira said you came from it."

She didn't even say it cheekily. Just an offhanded comment while they kept walking side by side. Ezzoalmoststopped walking, but her arm around his pulled him even as his brain failed to issue the order to his legs.

"It couldn't have beenthatbad, if you got to cum."

What do I even do here? Tell this brat she is an idiot? Give her a biology lesson? Is that what she's hoping I'm goaded into doing?

"There are many unhappy things that can happen to a person as they climax, Lady Sura," he tried to sound reasonable.

"Like being sodomized?" she still asked. As if that was even a legitimate question.

She really enjoys that word, doesn't she?Ezzo groaned internally. He was having a hard time figuring out Sura's agenda, apart from annoying him thoroughly.

"Yes. Like that," he muttered reluctantly.

Her room was approaching now. The pink fortress of secrets and poisons that were Sura's sleeping quarters would soon take him in. And there... well, he wasn't sure what would happen. It could never be worse than Ira, but that didn't mean Ezzo was ecstatic to experience it. One race of forceful orgasms had been enough for a lifetime.

Sura took the liberty of walking in first. The room did not look too different than when Clara and Ezzo had paid her a visit. There was a box of bonbons on the desk, right next to the locked journal. The sheets were just as pink as the ones before, and the large, bright pink teddy bear was still sitting in the armchair in the corner, looking at the room from afar as if it was undergoing detention.

But thereissomething new,Ezzo noticed. On the bedside table, Sura hadn't bothered to hide her toys this time. The fuzzy cuffs were proudly on display there, as was the bottle of nightshade amber.Perhaps the very same she got in exchange for baiting Clara into letting Ira take me for the night.

A third item there was a little harder to figure out, purpose-wise. It looked like a dainty, silvery stick, with an oval gemstone attached to the tip. Sura noticed him staring.

"I figured we could go for more honest submission, this time around," she explained cheerfully.

"Honest," Ezzo echoed, unsure if she was serious.

"Well, if you got off on Ira pegging you, I don't think I need to knock you out to get you to submit, right?"

"She used a magic rock-"

"No, she didn't," giggled the noblewoman.

"That doesn't prove anything," he corrected himself, a little more defensively.

Sura strutted to the bedside table. Biting her lip, she lifted the fuzzy cuffs and twirled them in one finger.

"It's okay, Ezzo. Maybe you're not like the average Scombian. Maybe you like being dominated. We can have fun that way too."

Thatonly stung more. Ezzoknewthe stereotypes were falsehoods, but he still found it insulting to hear this claim. As if the stereotypes surrounding Scombians weren't wrong;his way of beingwas.

"Iamlike the average Scombian," he bristled.

"But you let me dominate you." Sura raised her brows playfully.

"You drugged me!"

"Because you didn't ravish me," she fired back instantly with a grin.

Their eyes landed collectively on the bottle of nightshade amber. The implication was rather clear, wasn't it?

"So," Sura said as she turned back towards him, "ready for another game, Ezzo? It doesn't have to be pegging again."

She sat on the edge of her bed, looking up at him with those mischievous hazel eyes.Is she expecting my consent? She is right to sit down if she is waiting for it.

And she was certainly expecting... something, right then. The way she was looking up at him was mischievous, yes, but also... curious. Ezzo couldn't for the life of him figure out what the curiosity was even about.

"What's going on, Lady Sura?" he asked, a little meekly.

"I'm letting you choose how I dominate you! Like a good mistress would!"

The way she was beaming at him suggested this wasn't a joke, but a genuine statement. That only made the situation more puzzling to Ezzo.

"I'm afraid I don't quite follow," he said cautiously.

"Well, I'm giving you what you like! You can lie down for me. Kneel. Ask me to cuff you... or you could even smell the nightshade amber again to let me choose." The way Sura bit her lip after saying that clearly gave away which optionshefavored.

"Wait, what Ilike?"

The familiar, stinging uncertainty of whether Sura was genuinely misunderstanding Ezzo or trying to annoy him returned.

"Come on, Ezzo, I'm notblind. Ira dominates you. I dominate you. My aunt dominated you. I'm pretty sure Mother also bullied you a bit by now."

She giggled, as if him being passed around was little more than a silly little quirk of her family. Sura hardly seemed to register his discomfort with her words.

"Because I'm aslave!" Ezzo protested. "It's not like I can choose."

"With me youcould!" Sura countered cheerily. "I gave you permission to dominate me, and you opted not to."

"Because you were basing your logic on stereotypes that-"

Ezzo interrupted himself. If he went into Scombian stereotypes again, he'd probably earn nothing but another bit of nightshade amber-induced unconsciousness, which would be followed by whatever nasty ideas Sura had in that sick little head of hers.

"It doesn't matter. I don't like being dominated!" he said, sounding far too defensive even to himself.

Sura grinned at him conspiratorially, as if she was happy to pretend she believed him.

"Oh? Then what doyouwanna do?"

He noticed her spreading her legs, just a little, forcing the skirt of her dress to ride up her thighs a bit. Meanwhile, she was propping herself up on her arms, leaning behind her back. It took no genius to figure out that there was still another option on the menu, if Ezzo felt brave enough.

"You'd better not get me in trouble if you regret this," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm not you, Ezzo." Sura placed a hand on her flat chest in a display of mock offense. "When I enjoy being dominated, I don't feel bad about it! Especially if I get to cum in the process-"

That did it. There wasn't really a thought process behind it. One moment, Sura was taunting him, another he was on top of her, restraining her by the wrists with his hands.Great. Now I'm perpetuating this idiotic stereotype,a small voice in his head told him.

Sura, for her part, looked just as astonished to find herself pinned underneath him. Certainly not displeased, though. Her eyes were wide with thrill and delight, staring right back at him expectantly.

"I will remember those words," he hissed menacingly.

And just like that, Sura's breathing got heavier.

What the hell am I doing?Ezzo asked himself.This is either ending with me in the gallows or with everyone convinced I've been lying about my true nature this whole time.

Sura struggled a little underneath him. Not enough to stand a chance at breaking free, of course. Just small wiggles, paired with those coy hazel eyes still glancing at him sideways. She bit her lip as her thighs closed gently around him. The onus was definitely on Ezzo to lead now.

"Ah!" she let out an adorable little yelp as Ezzo's knee pushed one of her thighs away. Her fearful voice hardly matched the hunger in her eyes. Sura Locke looked positivelyriveted.

Ezzo's hands dragged her wrists on the mattress until they were held above the head of his mistress. They were dainty enough for him to be able to hold them in one hand. That allowed him to tug at the lacing of her bodice while she was restrained. The noblewoman exhaled raggedly as she felt her dress loosening.

She smirked and bit her lip. Her thighs tried weakly to close again. And again, Ezzo's knee pushed one of them away to keep it parted from the other, now a little more forcefully.

"Youarea Scombian after all," said Sura with a delighted smile.

That annoyed him a little, but Ezzo wasn't going to let misandristic racism deter him now. If anything, he felt like he needed to channel his outrage into dominance if he wanted to avoid another round of humiliation. His free hand squeezed Sura's cheeks a little, then aimed her eyes upward, at his own.

"I didn't give you permission to talk," he said.

"Oh, Gods..." Sura whispered, delighted.

He started wrestling her out of that mint green dress. Sura was in no mood to resist. Even when Ezzo needed a second hand to better take it off her, her wrists remained obediently limp above her head.

Her undergarments were a lot easier to remove, at least. A loose linen shirt, a pair of white breeches, and Sura Locke would be bare before him. Underneath him, really.

She flinched a fraction as she noticed Ezzo beholding her form. Not really covering herself, though. Sura was too coy for that. Instead, she held her hands up on both sides of her head. Her long, black hair sprawled behind her in all directions, while her hazel eyes still looked as intentionally submissive as before. She was holding a knee up, feebly attempting to cover her flower in a way that wouldn't discourage Ezzo from pushing further. Her nipples were already hardening by arousal alone.And I have barely even touched her yet.