Once upon a time there was a slave named Brianna.
She scrubbed at a particularly encrusted piece of rice in the bottom of a metal cooking pot, her long black hair getting a bit soaked at the tips by the water flowing from the nearby sink’s faucet. The chicken dinner she had prepared had been a success, and now she was barely listening as her Mistress and their newfound male friend chatted on his couch about life, the universe and everything.
“According to new theories of cosmology, Lady Melissa, the universe is like a sheet of paper, attached to another universe with strings that are like subatomic rubber bands,” the man said with a smile while waving his hands for effect. “Every atom in our universe is joined in that way to an atom in an alternate universe, and who knows how many other universes are out there in the jumble?”
Brianna’s Mistress smiled back, clearly enjoying herself. A lovely woman in her 40s with shoulder-length blonde hair, it wasn’t often she got a chance to discuss intellectual topics with an equally intelligent adult.
Not that Brianna was anybody’s dummy, of course. Her Mistress often said she wouldn’t have anybody stupid for a slave. It was just that Brianna’s brain worked differently than her Owner’s in many ways.
Similar in age to her Mistress, Brianna suffered from a variety of mental conditions, including Asperger’s Syndrome and low-level bipolarism, which allowed her to function in society but kept her from truly ever fitting in or being able to effectively manage the priorities in her life. She suffered from bouts of depression and wanted to run and hide when things got too chaotic. In the midst of this Brianna was naturally submissive, having been raised by very controlling parents, so when she discovered the BDSM community and was subsequently introduced to the subculture of Owner/slave relationships, it was like a golden path spread out beautifully beneath her feet, showing her where she needed to go.
After going through numerous potential Masters and finding most of them to be jerks and all of them unsuitable, she and her Mistress met at a play party at a popular BDSM dungeon (which was so openly known that one of the local newspapers gave it kudos for being a fun place to get spanked). Despite Brianna’s problems, her Mistress saw something endearing in her, and soon Brianna was proudly wearing her collar and kneeling at her feet in a relationship that would lead to them living together.
“So what happens if the strings get stretched too tightly?” Melissa asked gently in her husky but lovely voice. Born with male organs, she was now as fully female physically as modern surgery could accomplish. Add to that the fact she was a stylish dresser and a perfectionist with makeup, and the result was she could easily walk down the street getting winks from both male and female admirers who would never realize her genetic origins, even if they were lucky enough to get her in the bedroom -- which the man on the couch next to her clearly hoped to do, judging from his body language and tone of voice as the night wore on.
“Interesting you should say that!” the man replied, turning to reach for a book from a nearby shelf, and then opening it close to Melissa’s legs. “In this part regarding a long-lost section of the Ramayana that was only recently uncovered, it indicates that the ancient Hindu philosophers realized all this thousands of years ago. Apparently, the strings would snap back, causing a change between the forms of one universe and another. It’s somehow linked to their views on reincarnation, because … “
Brianna let his words trail off as she concentrated on the dishes, and she found herself starting to hum the music to “Coin-Operated Boy” by the Dresden Dolls. Changing the lyrics with a soft giggle, she quietly sang, “Coin-operated girl. Happy in the kitchen. Twirling with her curl …”
“Bree! Come in here, girl!” her Mistress called, interrupting the slave’s thoughts.
Brianna quickly put the dish she was holding back into the sink, dried off her hands and ran to her Mistress, kneeling fluidly at her feet. “Yes, Mistress?” she asked.
“Stand, Bree,” was the response. “I have a treat for you. I was telling Sir Samuel here how much you enjoy bondage, and it turns out he’s a bit skilled in the art.”
Brianna gulped and smiled, bouncing a bit, her ample breasts jiggling as she did. She then sighed, realizing as she often did that her breasts weren’t the only place with extra padding, and, as she looked in a mirror on the wall, she frowned at her less-than-perfect figure.
“No sulking, girl, or I’ll have to spank you!” her Mistress said quickly upon seeing her slave’s expression. “Now take off your clothes and remain quiet while he completes his work. I think I might just learn some things by watching him that I can use on you later. That is, if you’d like me to …”
Brianna nodded brightly at her words and stood still after hastily disrobing.
During the next hour, Samuel slowly bound Brianna first in a long red corset of his own creation, followed by tying her in an elaborate series of knots. As he did so, her Mistress continued to look through the book Samuel had brought down, glancing up on occasion but finding herself more and more fascinated by the latest findings.
“Sam! I’ve seen this one in your display case. Are they the same?” Melissa exclaimed while pointing to a photograph of a small carved-stone figure showing Shiva holding what appeared to be a ball connected to a tangled series of cords.
Samuel stopped what he was doing with Brianna to look over his shoulder, then went back to Melissa’s side and nodded in excitement. “I think it is! That’s amazing! The article says there are only two known to be in existence. Apparently, I’ve got a third one.”
“How in the world did you …” Melissa started to ask before she was interrupted by Samuel.
“Remember I told you my brother is one of the foremost authorities on Hinduism in the United States? He was given it during one of his trips to India, and he gave it to me, without anybody realizing its source, it seems.”
Brianna half heard what they were saying, but most of her attention was on her reflection in the nearby plate-glass window. She stared in a mixture of amusement and concern, annoyance and happiness at the woman she saw. Encased in the long corset, her torso had lost much of its features, instead becoming a bumpy tube shape. Whatever Sir Samuel may have known about rope tying, Brianna thought, she wasn’t exactly thrilled with his abilities as a tailor, and she cocked her head, rather disappointed at how unfeminine she looked at the moment.
Nonetheless, the sight of the ropes brought a genuine smile to her face, as was the fact that she couldn’t move anymore. Trapped in the shell of fabric and ties, Brianna closed her eyes peacefully and let her mind flow to her deepest fantasies.
Since being a little girl, Brianna had loved puppets in all their forms, but she especially felt a kinship with marionettes. Even as an adult, in her darkest moments she would hold the simple wooden ballerina puppet she had and make it dance while dreaming it was herself doing the dancing.
Melissa approved of her slave’s way of finding release, and when Brianna said she wanted to share her fascination with the community, her Mistress readily agreed. Excited at the prospect, Brianna wrote a puppet show with the plans of performing it for children at libraries and schools, and all she needed now was the right figure for the starring role.
Lost in her thoughts, Brianna let out a breath and began to softly sing again, trying to use the same tune as before. “Little wooden puppet doll. Take my string in your hand, I will do it all. You can make me twirl. You can make me dance. All I ask is you play with me when you have the chance. I wish I was a … little wooden puppet doll. You can take me with you, you can … “
As she stood there, Samuel hurriedly came down the stairs holding his copy of the figure in the photograph. Setting it on the couch, he held it with one hand and, with a tenderness edged with anticipation, placed his other hand on Melissa’s knee.
Hardly thinking, Melissa took his fingers in her own while reaching forward to touch the figure with her other hand.
Snap.
Melissa blinked and looked over at her wooden marionette, its painted eyes gazing at the room’s large reflective window.
“That’s weird, Sam,” she said, looking back at the man next to her. “For a second, I thought it moved.”
“Probably my air conditioning causing a breeze,” he responded, his fingers intertwining even more with hers. “Hmm … Looking back here, it says that Hindu holy men believed this figure could connect to the power of Shiva, combining his abilities as both creator and destroyer. Basically, seeing him as he really was, a god of … “
“Transformation!” Melissa said, releasing the figure and holding both of Samuel’s hands in hers. “If only it could actually work!”
Brianna looked at the reflection for a long time before realizing something was different. Actually, to say she realized it wasn’t truly correct, as her brain was no longer reacting to her surroundings as it used to.
Her long black hair continued to flow down her back. Her skin still maintained a light brownish tone. Long cords still were connected to her hands, feet, torso and head. Her body still retained its red, tube-like appearance.
But now the room and everything in it seemed so huge.
She tried to focus on the image in the glass. For a moment she noticed her glasses were gone, but the thought quickly left her mind as if it never existed.
For a split second she tried to close her eyes, but such a bizarre notion swiftly flitted away.
She tried for an instant to look down at herself, but, naturally, failed, being unable to move on her own, and thought no more of it.
All that was fine with Brianna, however, because more than anything, what she realized was a sense of peace unlike anything she had ever felt before.
In the background, Melissa and Samuel continued to gaze between them at the small stone figure while trying to decipher some of the symbols etched on its surface.
“Hmm…” Samuel muttered.
“Something bothering you?” Melissa asked, looking at him with puzzlement.
“Well, it seems to allow Shiva’s power to be focused correctly, it would take four things to come together at once: a person whose mind was adequately trained in Hindu meditative thought, a person whose self-identity allows them to walk between different worlds, a person wishing to be transformed in a purely unselfish way, and …”
“Adequately trained? As in how?” Melissa interjected.
“Well, I might fit that bill, as I’ve studied and practiced Hindu philosophy for decades,” Samuel said, gazing with a grin into Melissa’s eyes. “But as for somebody who can walk between two worlds at once …”
Melissa laughed back. “I think I might just know somebody who can do that. Someday I hope to share a little secret about me with you, should things work out between us.”
Samuel continued to look at her, his eyes unwavering. “I really don’t care what secrets you have. I’ll be glad to hear them.”
Without warning, he leaned forward and placed his lips on Melissa’s, and she breathed in as he did, her heart beating faster as the kiss lingered for what seemed a very long time.
Both eventually pulled apart and sat silent before Melissa spoke with a playful smirk. “Now we just need to find somebody who can manage to actually have an unselfish wish. Good luck with that one!”
She stopped for a moment and looked back at Samuel with a confused expression. “You listed three things. What’s the fourth needed for the transformation to happen?”
Samuel let out a breath as he looked down then, with a bright gaze, softly whispered in response, “Love, Melissa. All three people would need to have love in their hearts at the same moment.”
The air conditioner kicked in with a small thump, lightly shaking the room. A shuddering filled Brianna’s body as she sensed herself falling onto the floor, where she lay in a heap. If the puppet could have shrugged she would have. Whatever the case, she would have smiled, so her painted expression perfectly fit her emotions.
Melissa looked up, startled at the noise of the wood tumbling together. She ran to pick up her beloved marionette while Samuel quickly moved behind her.
“I guess my skill in balancing your prized little dancer in a standing position didn’t work out too well,” he said while looking over Melissa’s shoulder, his hand slowly brushing her hair. “She’s okay, right?”
Melissa silently lifted Brianna up and, only after making sure her strings weren’t tangled, nodded with a chuckle. “She’s tough enough to withstand far more abuse than that! I made sure of that when I put her together in my workshop!”
“And a great job you did, indeed! When will she be ready for her first performance?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? The North Branch Library and all three elementary schools in town said they’d love to have me do the play for them! It seems the fact that it not only has an environmental message, but the main character is a strong, brave, confident girl who saves the day, has gotten everybody excited to see what we can do!”
And so it went.
With Samuel’s help, Melissa was able to build a wonderful puppet theater that could easily be carried around town and be set up again into a small but elaborate stage.
The two of them remained together, deeply in love. In truth, both were switches, so some nights Samuel would tie Melissa up, and other nights she would do the same to him. In any event, they both had a wonderful time, in bed and out of it and wherever they happened to be together.
As for Brianna, her days all flowed together, as such is to happen in the mind of an object. Seconds, minutes, hours, days and years became meaningless units to her. All she knew was the joy of existing purely as a being with no other purpose but to bring happiness to others.
Brianna’s greatest bliss came when she was on the stage. As she cavorted to the manipulations of her Owner, she felt as if she was herself dancing the most elaborate pirouettes, leaps and turns any ballerina could imagine. When her Owner dressed her in other clothes to perform in a storyline, she felt as if the events were truly happening to her, with the fairies and forest animals and other characters all becoming an intricate part of her world. And best of all, when the children laughed and applauded, Brianna felt as if every fiber of her being was filled with an ecstasy beyond any possible description.
And they all lived happily ever after.