Page 17 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

Maggie ran her fingers through Anna’s hair after rinsing it with warm water. “Perfect,” she said. “Like silk.”

Anna ran her own fingers through her hair and she wondered at the soft strands. “It’s never been so soft before.”

Sarah manicured Anna’s fingers while Maggie did her toes. After they’d finished, Anna stepped out into an awaiting plush white robe.

Maggie pulled her in front of the mirror over the sink. “What do you think?”

Anna stared into the mirror, barely recognizing the face staring back at her. Her face was flawless and glowed with health. Her hair hung loose down her back and shimmered in the light.

“After your hair dries, I’ll brush it again and apply some oil, so it’s extra soft and touchable,” Maggie said. “You’ll have a circlet to wear as well.”

“It all sounds so elegant.” Anna slid her fingers through her hair again.

“Master is eager to show you off.” Maggie smiled. “The other girls will envy the attention you garner, but Master won’t let just any man have you. They’ll have to ask his permission. That is an honorable position for any girl. Normally, any man can use us at any time. If we say no, we are severely punished.” A pained look appeared in her eyes, but disappeared as quickly as it had appeared as she smiled. “You are fortunate to have Master’s favor.”

Anna swallowed, pushing away the nausea that swept over her at the thought of being punished, then followed Maggie back to the bedroom while Sarah cleaned up the bathroom. “What do the men do to us?”

“Sometimes they are content to have you just sit on their laps. More often than not, they want oral sex. They like it when we sit between their legs and suck on their cocks.” She paused. “Sometimes the men just want sex and other times they want something harder.” She shuddered. “But if they want something harder, they have to use the Red Girls. Not that it stops them from being forceful with us common girls. They just can’t take us into the Red Room.”

“What’s the Red Room?”

Maggie bit her lip. “The easiest way to explain it is to have you think back to your training.”

Anna shuddered, not wanting those horrible memories to return.

“That is what the Red Room is like. Going back to training, but not with a trainer. Just for the pleasure of the man. The Red Girls have special privileges, though. And, unless they are forced into it because of punishment, most of them get off on the pain. I don’t understand it, but I guess I don’t have to.”

Anna stared, horrified. Why would anyone want to do that sort of thing? On the other hand, she had seen plenty of movies where women seemed to enjoy the things Master Jack had done to her daily, although not as forcefully. She desperately racked her mind for another topic. “What are the Gatherings like?”

Sarah appeared in the bathroom doorway, her dress splashed with dark spots where water had fallen. “I will return in a little while.” She curtsied and went to the door to be let out.

“Are you allowed to sit?” Anna asked, motioning to the easy chair and ottoman.

“I am,” Maggie said and settled herself on the ottoman, back straight, and hands in her lap.

Anna sat down on her bed and drew her knees up to her chest.

“The Gatherings happen every Friday night, and it is where the men come to relax or do business. Or both. We are there to please them in whatever way they want to be pleased. Sometimes there are rituals performed, such as the initiation of a new Brother. In that case, we watch from the balconies above and the men assemble on the main floor. After the rituals are done, we join the men downstairs. Did I hear correctly that Master took you to the Hall?”

Anna nodded. “It’s huge.”

“It is. Many men come to the Gatherings, so it needs to be so. The formal occasions are more crowded than the informal ones. Tonight is informal.” She adjusted the folds of her dress. “We sit along the edge of the room and wait for a man to come get us.” She shrugged. “It’s not very exciting, but our presence is necessary.”

“Does Dev—I mean, does Master ever ‘have’ one of you?” Anna’s heart squeezed in her chest at the thought. Oh, she knew Devin was an important man and couldn’t possibly be satisfied by only one woman. But she didn’t like the idea of one of the other girls being with him. Her opinion or desires didn’t matter, though. Only pleasing Devin mattered.

“Oh, yes. Several of us during the night. It is an honor if Master chooses us. Sometimes he will select a certain girl for a certain man. He knows what the men desire and knows our skills. If he is trying to conduct business, he will match up the girls with the right man to help ‘ease the way,’ as he puts it.”

“Do you ever leave the Manor?”

Maggie shook her head. “We have a large yard to go out into, but we never leave the property. Well, except for the Big Gathering. Then we get on a bus and go to the site so the men can use us there. There are two Big Gatherings a year. Master is in charge of the summer one, so we go with him. The other one is somewhere else, and another Elder provides the girls.”

Anna still wasn’t sure what her purpose was in all of this. Devin had told her she would leave the Manor at times. There was an element of comfort, knowing men had to ask permission to use her. “I suppose Master will tell me what he wants me to do?”

“I’m certain he will, Mistress. I know he has been looking forward to having you here.”

The door opened and Sarah returned. “It’s time.”

Sarah helped Anna into a long, sheer white dress with a lace-up back and a slit that went all the way up to her hip. They fastened a double row of sparkling bracelets on each wrist, with three sparkling strands that connected to a ring on her middle finger. The anklets had three evenly spaced crystal strands leading from the middle and sides of her ankle to a ring on her second toe. Maggie pinned a sparkling circlet in her hair, silver chains hanging down over her hair and tickling her ears. Hanging in the middle of her forehead was a crystal shaped like a teardrop.

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