The Diaries of Ayesha

I maintained a discreet distance between the tall blonde I was tailing and myself as I followed her down the street. I was trailing from the other side of the street and maintaining about the same pace, trying to blend into the the other pedestrians on the sidewalk.

As I reached a bus bench I stopped for a moment as if trying to see if the bus was coming and gradually turned my head to follow her as she passed behind a bus shelter and was blocked from view for a minute.

I kept waiting and never saw her reappear.

I hurried across the street and stopped at the last place I'd seen her, only to find nothing except a blonde wig stuffed carelessly under a wad of newspapers in a trash can.

I looked back and forth down the sidewalk for any clue as to the direction my prey had taken and came up empty.

I continued in the last direction she was going, hoping that she hadn't doubled back on me and stopped when I reached the corner of the block and hesitated, not knowing which way to turn.

They say "He who hesitates is lost."

In my case it resulted in a long sharp fingernail being jabbed in my back and the word "BANG" whispered in my ear.

I slowly turned to face Mistress Candice, now dark haired and shorter, standing behind me with a disapproving expression.

"I would prefer not to tell your Mistress that you died because you were stupid.", she said softly in deference to the people around us, rather than any consideration for my feelings.

"I'd rather you didn't tell her anything at all.", I said dispiritedly.

Her expression softened fractionally as she saw how disgusted with myself I was.

"Come along.", she instructed and took a firm grip on my arm, steering us through the crowds until we reached her parked Rolls Royce.

Her driver tipped his cap to the both of us and closed the door as we sat down.

"Where to Mi'lady?", he asked over the intercom as he settled himself behind the wheel.

"Back to the beginning Charles. We're going to repeat this exercise again, until he gets it right."

I sat in the backseat with her as Charles drove us back to Fisherman's Wharf and thought about my predicament.

"Michael, you've done pretty well in the field without training, but you're not always as discreet as you should be.", Minx explained as we waited for Miriam to serve dinner.

"I know.", I admitted with a blush.

"So, I'm going to have you trained by the woman who taught spycraft to me. Professionally, she is a fraud investigator for a major insurance company, but she also trains Daughters of Ay'esha at the Institute once a year in the basics. I proposed the idea to Anna, and she agreed that you would benefit from the instruction.

"When I found out she would be in the City, I contacted her and she agreed to teach you what she could in the two weeks she's going to be here."

"I hope I'm a quick study." , I said as Miriam placed the food on the table and curtsied.

"I hope she doesn't kill you in the process. She is very good, but she is very demanding.", Minx said, wincing slightly at a memory.

"I'll try not to embarrass you."

Those words kept prodding me as we pulled up to Fisherman's Wharf and Charles stopped the car.

"All right Michael, let's try it again and this time, don't panic if you lose sight of me. It does happen even to the best of us and there isn't anything to be embarrassed about. Just remember to follow me as far as you can. If you lose me, call the number I gave you. But don't get too close or I'll torture you if I catch you.", Mistress Candice instructed as the door was opened.

I stepped out and waited as the car drove away, then started walking towards the cable car stop to catch a car to the start of our little exercise.

I waited in a McDonalds on the corner for her to appear. I wasn't sure how she would be dressed or anything else but I was determined to follow her this time without getting Sim-dead.

She passed by and I walked out behind her, letting a few people get between Mistress Candice and I as we walked through the darkening streets.

She turned and crossed the street without looking back and I stayed on my side of the street, passing her and then waiting at a news rack for her to pass my position.

She looked in my direction and I fixed my vision on the headline of the Wall Street Journal the box held , keeping my head down and avoided eye contact with her.

She continued her walk uptown and I again let her lead me, the number of people dropping off as we walking into the Tenderloin district.

The Tenderloin district isn't exactly the best part of downtown to be in as it was the refuge for most of the drunks, junkies, and generally low class people in town.

It never bothered me though, but I seem to get along with everybody.

Well almost everybody anyway.

We passed through the area that I had worked, dressed in drag, as a hooker, and I noted that a few of the "girls" I had been competing with were still on the streets, despite the best efforts of the law.

Mistress Candice started to turn and look in my direction again, forcing me to stop and strike up a conversation with one of the street girls as a cover.

"So honey, what are you into?", the black girl asked as I talked with her.

"A little sex, a little violence.", I said keeping an eye on the Mistress as she continued her walk.

"Hey baby, I don't do any of that kinky whips and chains shit.", she warned, crossing her arms.

"Too bad. ", I replied and walked away as Mistress Candice turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

Hurring to the corner , I watched as she stepped into a hotel after talking with an old man sitting on the steps of the dilipadated building.

I stood on the corner watching to see if she would come out again. Time passed and she didn't appear.

The old man finally went inside as well, so I walked towards the hotel, keeping a wary eye out for trouble, both real and simulated.

This time I didn't hesitate when I passed the hotel, just kept going, then ducked into an alleyway to peer back to see if my passing would be enough to incite Mistress Candice to leave.

Still nothing.

I wasn't sure if I'd lost her, or if this was the end of the game.

I walked down the alley towards the back of the building to see if there was a back door I could get in through and make sure she was still there.

I nodded politely to the street people nodding in the dim recesses of the back alley and cautiously tried the rear door of the hotel, finding it locked from inside.

"Wha' you doing?", a voice said from under the fire stairs to my left.

I turned to see an older woman clutching a bottle of wine looking at me.

"I'm checking to see if the door is locked. I'm a fire inspector.", I said feeling like the Grinch addressing little Betty Lou Who.

"Oh.", she said nodding drunkenly.

I walked back to the street and looked around again and then hearing a window open looked up in time to catch a glimpse of a woman looking down from a third floor room before she stepped back.

It might have been Mistress Candice, but I couldn't be sure.

That's when my urge to win overrode my common sense.

A survivor of a number of covert battles in the service of the country advised me once that if it seemed like something John Wayne would do, it probably wasn't a good idea.

But did I listen?

Of course not.

I walked to the back of the building and climbed the fire stairs to the fourth floor, instead of the third, just in case she was watching the staircase, then slipped through a window and slowly crept down the stairs to the third floor.

I listened to the noise of the residents of the hotel through the thin walls, people arguing, making love, watching television.

I focused my attention on the third floor landing and stopped turning, slowly and carefully to look for any sign of Mistress Candice lurking in the shadows.

Nothing.

I walked softly to the end of the hallway until I was facing the door I thought she was in and then slowly tried the knob.

It turned and I started to push it open slowly, praying it wouldn't creak.

As it swung open, the door behind me opened and I was pushed into the room landing face down on a filthy carpet. I started to scramble to my feet and kicked in the side rolling me onto my back to face a furious Mistress Candice.

"I warned you slave, that if I caught you I'd torture you. You didn't believe me, and now you're going to pay for it!", she said coldly as she planted a spiked heel in my chest and stepped down.

I grabbed at her leg and was promptly slapped hard across the face with the riding crop she held in her hand stunning me.

I rolled while still holding onto her leg and brought her down with me in a heap, then tried to get out of the room.

She sprang on me, laying me out on the floor face first with a thud that winded me and caused me to black out for a moment.

In that moment she produced a knife and rolled me over then sat on my chest, the knife point at my throat.

"Do anything at all and I'll cut you.", she hissed and I could see the anger in her eyes, eyes that burned with a desire to inflict pain.

The last time I'd seen eyes like that was when Lydia had me in her clutches.

I was frightened and angry, frightened of her and what she might do and angry with myself for being stupid.

I went as limp as I could to show my submission, my hands open and relaxed.

"Don't panic.", the little voice in my head whispered. "It's just a game."

"But who's game?", another little voice said in counterpoint.

" This is not a charade. It demands total concentration. Now you'll pay the price for your stupidity and arrogance. You should be glad I'm not a real enemy. They'd probably torture you to death. I'm just going to torture you until you wish you were dead.", she said standing up.

I just stared at her and then curled up in agony as she kicked me in the balls.

By the time I could see again, I was naked and bound to a wooden chair, my arms tied behind me and my legs tied to the chair legs leaving me exposed.

I gritted my teeth and tried not to think of the last time I was in a similar position with Lydia packing my cock and balls with ice and vodka.

Mistress Candice walked to table where a bottle of alcohol was sitting , then moistened a long cotton swab with it.

She painted three stripes up my chest with the liquid and then after waiting a moment, lit a cigarette.

She just looked at me and then without warning touched the cigarette to my chest.

The flames lept up my skin, scorching me and making me cry out in panic.

"Oh, I'm just getting started slave. You see I enjoy fire play, and I guess you don't.", she said, taking a puff.

She painted another stripe up the insides of my thighs, stopping just short of my pubic hair and then just stared at me as if waiting for some hidden sign in my eyes.

I tried not to shake but I was frightened almost to the point of madness.

She started to ignite the new trail and then used the cigarette to singe the hair on my exposed balls and laughed as I struggled against the ropes.

"Good slave, fight it. I enjoy watching a slave struggle as he suffers.", she said drawing a snake like pattern down my arms and then setting it afire.

The smell of my burning hair started to make me ill as well as the fright and my head started spinning as I hyperventilated, gasping for air as she continued to burn small patches of hair off me with her cigarette at random intervals.

"Remember this slave. Sometimes the people you have to follow don't play by the rules. Kali isn't the only threat out there you may have to deal with.", she said as she finished her cigarette.

"Please Mistress.", I croaked out.

"Did you want mercy, slave?", she asked softly.

"Yes Mistress.", I said nodding.

"No!", she snapped. "You behaved stupidly. Stupid people die in this business."

She walked away and returned with two small candles and wedged them into the space between my thighs and my cock and balls.

"These are made of beeswax and are much hotter than the candles you are used to using. So as they burn down, the wax will get hotter and hotter until it feels like you are on fire.", she explained.

She ignited them and then lit another cigarette and sat down in a chair across from me.

"I'm just going to watch slave. Perhaps you will learn a valuable lesson today."

The first drops of wax hit me and made me gasp. It was the difference between a hot bath and a scalding bath.

I tried to control myself, each twitch causing more of the wax to cascade across my body.

Some of it spattered on the head of my cock and I screamed and thrashed until the chair fell over extinguishing the candles, but leaving the hot wax still dripping across my skin as I sobbed in pain and fear.

I felt the ropes sag from my body as Mistress Candice cut me free from the chair and then held me in her arms as I sobbed like a small child.

"It's all right Michael.", she said rocking me back and forth.

"No it's not. I'm stupid and worthless and I'm a bad slave.", I sobbed trying to cringe away from her in embarrassment.

"Shh, no Michael. You're not worthless and if you were a bad slave, Mistress Minx would not have you around at all. As to stupid, not stupid really, but overconfidant.", she said resisting my efforts to escape her embrace.

I buried my face against her neck and sobbed as she stroked me softly, her compassion slowly washing the fear from my soul.

"Why are you so mean?", I gurgled.

"Because I get what I need that way. I need the fear from a slave, but I won't ever take a slave past their limits. I love you Michael, as I love all my other slaves. And I envy your Mistress, because she owns you in a way I never will.", Mistress Candice murmered.

She released me long enough to remove her blouse and exhibit her firm breasts, then pulled me to them.

"Suck my tits little slave.", she said softly.

I took an erect nipple in my mouth and with a sigh, suckled on it, relaxing into a fog of exhaustion and warmth with a woman who only a few minutes before had terrorized me into a crying, whimpering mass of flesh.

She continued to hold me for a long time, occasionally moving my mouth from one nipple to another, seeming to draw her own comfort from me.

I was embarrassed when Mistress Minx called me to her house to discuss my training with Mistress Candice.

Despite everything that Mistress Candice had said, I felt the failure keenly.

I knew beside Mistress Minx as Mistress Candice described my training to date, pointing out my abilities and talents. I dreaded her commentary on the tailing exercise and as she came to that part of the training, I asked Mistress Minx if I could leave the room.

"Why?", she said looking at Mistress Candice.

"I didn't do very well.", I admitted with a glance at Mistress Candice.

"I understand that. I also know you were caught multiple times.", she said.

I looked at the floor in shame and embarrassment.

"I broke under torture Mistress.", I said harshly. "I reacted the same way I did when ..."

"When Lydia was torturing you at Mistress Tamara's.", she continued.

I just kept my head down, my tears starting to leak out.

"Did you think you were made of iron?", she asked. " I know you, better than you know yourself. "

I looked up at her startled.

"But --"

Mistress Candice spoke at that point.

"Michael, we all have our breaking points. In some ways yours are higher than mine. You have a phobia about fire. I'm not fond of needles. Did you ever read 1984?", she asked.

"Yes, a long time ago.", I said.

"Room 101.", Minx said.

"The thing you fear the most is in Room 101. In your case Winston, it's rats.", I remembered.

"Winston Smith betrayed his lover because of his fear of rats.", I said.

"And Julia betrayed him as well.", Mistress Candice amplified. "You deal with some fears better than others.

"But we all have them Michael. Mistress and slave alike."

I thought about her words and Minx's.

"But if it had been for real instead of a game...", I said.

"If it had been for real, you'd probably have been killed instead of tortured. That's why you still don't know certain things about Ay'esha, and probably never will.", Minx explained. "I don't know certain things myself, no one knows all of it except Anna. That's why she never travels. She's a prisoner in her own house because of the weight of knowledge she carries."

"The President's Analyst. ", I said thinking aloud.

"Exactly.", Mistress Candice agreed, surprising me by knowing the reference.

"So you see, we don't expect you to hold out against torture, I mean real torture rather than a hard scene. Just do your best.", Minx said.

"But I let you down.", I said my mood changing again.

Minx looked at Mistress Candice and then nodded.

Mistress Candice beckoned me to her side and then whispered in my ear.

"Minx screamed too when she was in my class."

I looked at Mistress Minx who was trying not to show her own embarrassment, then crawled to her.

"Thank you Mistress. I feel better now.", I said kissing her boots.

She smiled down at me and then rang the bell to call for Miriam.

When she appeared, Minx instructed her to prepare the dungeon for use.

"For how many Mistress?", Miriam asked.

Minx looked at Mistress Candice and then at me, before returning her attention to Miriam.

"For two, Miriam. I think Michael needs to see someone else suffer a little. And you do it so well."

Miriam curtsied and left the room again, leaving me with the two Mistresses.

"Well Candy, I hope you're up to this. I know I am.", Minx said.

"I haven't played with a girl in a long time. And you're right. Michael needs to see someone else submit for a change.", Mistress Candice replied.

Miriam returned and knelt before Minx, her collar gripped in her teeth.

"You know where I want you slave.", Minx said, fastening the collar to Miriam's neck. "Get going, and take Michael with you. He's going to get a treat tonight."

As I followed Miriam downstairs, a little tune ran through my head, unbidden and uncontrolable

" ... the candy man can ..."

Chapter 19

The Candyman