The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Around Her Neck — Chapter 2

I AM A SLAVE
HAPPINESS COMES FROM PLEASING OTHERS
I LIVE TO OBEY MY MASTERS
I WANT TO BE A GOOD SLAVE

Kara stood naked in the throne room. The crowd parted in front of her, revealing the king. She couldn’t quite focus through the pleasant haze. The king looked at her, smiling as he gestured to the floor. Kara felt her knees go weak.

She woke with a start. Her hands were between her legs. Were they still there from last night, or had they returned before she woke? The dream faded from memory, but its heat persisted. She hesitantly reached to her neck. The collar was still there, that part hadn’t been a nightmare. She really had been made into a slave. The words from last night came to her mind. It was hard to believe how thoroughly she’d been lost in them.

Kara realized she was horny, still terribly aroused from the previous night. She’d tried so hard to get herself off. She’d been ordered not to, however, and the collar was good at holding her back. Every time she tried to increase the pace, it slowed her. Despite her best efforts, her hands had only pushed her urgency higher.

The sound of a key turning in her door interrupted Kara’s thoughts. The door opened, revealing the matronly woman from yesterday.

“Get up, girl. There’s work to be done and I don’t have all day.”

“I have a name, you know.” Kara said, feeling a sudden urge to stand up. She continued to lie on the bed, pausing just long enough to prove she could resist. This command wasn’t worth fighting, and Kara knew it. After making that token resistance she gave in and rose “And who are you, anyways.” Kara asked. “If I’m going to be stuck with you I’d at least like a name to go by.”

“Quiet, girl.” The urge to quip back was smothered as though by a heavy blanket. Kara decided it wasn’t worth arguing over. “I didn’t come here to be questioned by you. Now put this on, and be quick about it.” The woman flung the dress she’d been carrying at Kara, who quickly changed into it.

Once it was on, Kara’s curiosity got the better of her and she gave the dress a harder look. At first glance, it wasn’t different from what other servants wore. The material was fairly inexpensive. The colors were drab, and the garment exuded an impression of plainness. But this dress was subtly different. Though it fit her well enough, the dress pressed more tightly to her body than it should. It was hardly overt, but her curves were highlighted far more than necessary. Not to mention, the other servants definitely didn’t have such low cut tops. Kara wondered when the king had this dress made. Had the changes been rushed out last night, or were they prepared ahead of time?

“You can gawk at the dress later. It’s time for work. Since you tracked to much dirt onto my clean floors last night, I think it’s only fitting you start on those first.”

Thankfully, Kara was allowed a quick trip to the kitchen beforehand. A bowl of porridge and a chunk of last night’s bread weren’t much of a meal, but her growling stomach was grateful for it.

She was given a rag and a soapy bucket, then put to work with a group of other girls. It had been years since she’d last scrubbed a floor, but she quickly got used to it. As she worked, Kara kept an eye on her surroundings. Everywhere they went, she memorized the layout and looked for potential escape routes. Even so, the work was slow, and she gradually got lost in the monotonous rhythm of her efforts.

As she scrubbed, a funny thing happened. She found herself smiling. Against all expectation, the work filled her with a deep sense of contentment. Kara remembered how the collar made her feel when she obeyed an order and guessed this was the same. Unfortunately, that didn’t dull its effectiveness. Though Kara knew the feeling was artificial, there was a certain inescapable rightness to it. Following even these mundane orders left her feeling happy, and there was nothing Kara could do about it. So she resigned herself to the task and let herself get lost in the feeling as she scrubbed away.

For a while, it was almost peaceful. There was a kind of solitude to it, despite the presence of the other girls. Though not as focused as her, they at least left her alone. As the morning wore on, however, they moved into more crowded areas. This exposed Kara’s predicament to everyone that passed by.

The worst was from the men. She knew her dress was low cut, and from the looks men gave her they noticed as well. The only solace was that they usually walked by without bothering her. That didn’t last forever. One time she looked up to see a man that wasn’t passing by. Across the corridor, he stopped to peer intently at her. There was a little alcove across the hall, and leaned casually against its wall. His eyes roamed up and down her body.

Kara blushed, feeling exposed under his gaze. The man’s eyes suggested he wanted to do more than look, and Kara realized how vulnerable she was. In normal circumstances she could take care of herself just fine, and was pretty sure she could handle him easily. These weren’t normal circumstances. She was alone in a hostile castle with a slave collar around her throat. Thankfully, her handler intervened.

“Look all you like, but that one’s not to be touched. King’s orders.” Said the matron.

The man frowned. He had the fine clothing of a nobleman, and was likely used to getting what he wanted. He was clearly angry at being told to back off. Still, he was in the king’s castle, and had enough sense to let it be. Though he didn’t press it further, he continued to stare blatantly at her. She longed to cover up or move out of his sight. She tried, but it interfered with her job on the floors. The collar made interrupting her task even more uncomfortable than his stares, and after a couple attempts she tried to ignore him and finish quickly.

It was hard to focus. She felt almost naked under his gaze, and it brought back the last night’s half forgotten dream.

In her mind, she was back in the king’s audience chamber. This time, there were crowds of people filling it. All eyes turned to her as she entered, and she realized she was naked. The expected shame never arrived. Instead, the stares made her excited. In the strange logic of dreams, being nude there seemed natural. Maybe even desirable.

Walking past the crowd, she realized there were many familiar faces. She saw the commander of her first mercenary band. She’d first met him as a scraggly teen when she ran away from her home. They’d laughed at her when she tried to enlist, but she persisted. That persistence paid off, and in time she gained acceptance. Then she saw the fat, balding figure of the rich merchant her parents tried to make her marry. He still had that leering grin she remembered all too well.

She saw her little sister Selene, her closest childhood friend and companion. Leaving her behind was the hardest part of running away. Though they’d seen each other since, it was never quite the same. Finally, the crowds parted, revealing the king. Standing before him left her feeling terribly submissive. When the dream ended, she had been seconds away from dropping to her knees.

Lost in thought, it took a minute to remember the man watching her. When she did, the blush returned to her skin. She realized she was facing him, her cleavage completely on display as she bent over. For a brief moment, she held the pose. Perhaps it was a leftover feeling from the dream, but his stare excited her.

The moment passed and she came to her senses. “This is absurd”, she thought, “What’s gotten over you?". Though the work dulled it’s edge, her arousal from earlier in the day remained. As she snuck glances at him, she couldn’t help but admire how he looked in those fine clothes. “And besides, he is kind of handsome in a way. I mean, at least he clearly keeps himself in shape. And” She cut herself off abruptly. This was absurd. “A couple nights without getting off, and I’m gushing over some stranger?” Clearly the collar had more tricks up its sleeve. Kara didn’t care how aroused the thing kept her. She had a simple task ahead of her, and resolved to avoid further distraction. She had to escape the damnable collar’s control and get the hell out of here.

In time, the man wandered off, leaving her with nothing to worry about besides work. She turned her full attention back to the floor. The rest of the afternoon passed without incident, except the occasional stare as people passed by.

They finally reached the end of the last hallway. Kara was sore from so much time bent over, and it was a relief to stand up and stretch. The rest of the girls were dismissed, but Kara was not let off so easily. “You’re to report to the kitchens. I want you in there scrubbing up the dishes from tonight’s meal. Now off with you.”

The woman had apparently grown confident at Kara’s inability to escape the night before. Once Kara started on her way, she didn’t follow. Kara deliberately avoided the straightest path, hoping to learn more of the palace layout. After a few wrong turns, however, she was forced to admit just how convoluted it was. At last, she turned back. The collar’s insistence was building, insisting that she head to the kitchen by the most direct route. She turned around and went back down the deserted hallway, but as she rounded the next corner she came face to face with the nobleman from earlier.

“Well now. Look who it is. Where are you off to?” He asked her, feigning an easygoing manner that belied the menace behind his words.

“That’s none of your business.”

“I think you’ve been working too hard. Why don’t you and I go take a break?”

“I don’t think so.” Kara replied. At this point, she just wanted to get to the kitchen. She tried to step around the man, but he blocked her path.

“You don’t get to tease me and walk away. You think I don’t see what’s wrapped around your pretty little neck? You gotta do what you’re told, girl, and I’m saying you and I are going to go have some fun.” To Kara’s relief, there was no new compulsion. The king hadn’t delegated any control to him, so his words had no effect on the collar.

“Not happening.” Kara said icily. Despite the danger, she was getting a little excited. For the first time since being collared, she was really able to stand up to someone. And if part of the thrill came from the idea of being taken advantage of, she could ignore it for now and focus on the confrontation at hand.

“No one turns me down, especially not some little wash girl.” The man said, walking menacingly towards her.

Kara took a step back, feigning fright and letting him grow overconfident. As she stepped she subtly dropped into a fighting stance, preparing for his next move. He didn’t recognize the threat, and reached out to grab her. Kara was faster. Her palm flew out, smashing into his face. He staggered back, head spinning from the unexpected force of the blow.

“You bitch!” he snarled before charging her. Kara easily used his momentum to send him sailing through the air. Even as she threw him, however, her feet got tangled. She wasn’t used to fighting in a long skirt. She tripped, crashing to the floor. Rising unsteadily, the man saw an opportunity. He scrambled over, trying to catch her on the ground. Kara didn’t try to get up. Instead, her foot kicked out, catching him in the kneecap. There was a satisfying pop as the force of his charge centered on his fragile knee. He dropped to the ground.

She didn’t let up. After regaining her feet, she lashed out with blow after blow, never giving her downed opponent a chance to recover. He finally went limp. She reached her leg back for a ferocious kick to his head, but something stopped her. For the first time in the fight, the collar intruded on her actions, holding her back. She let loose anyways, but fighting the collar sapped most of the kick’s force. She planted a couple more to his body before giving in to the collar’s impulse. As she went to the kitchen, she left the nobleman bleeding in the corridor. She wasn’t sure if he was alive or dead, but wouldn’t shed a tear if it were the latter.

Despite hurrying to the kitchen, no one noticed her delay. She grabbed a quick snack before being assigned to the cooking pots. It was hard, grimy work, but she was happy for the distraction. She was not in the mood to deal with other people, and was left alone while working.

The work was barely half finished when her handler burst into the room. A group of soldiers followed behind her. The woman was clearly furious, though she also showed relief at finding Kara busily working. Kara was roughly dragged to a secluded room.

“I can scarcely believe this.” The woman chided. “You’re left alone for a few minutes and you somehow manage to beat a nobleman half to death. Do you have any idea what trouble you’ve cause?”

Kara was mostly disappointed she’d stopped at half dead. “I don’t know what he told you, but...”

“He’s been executed.” Cut in the matron. “He was told you were off limits. To persist was to defy the king under his own roof. That couldn’t be tolerated.”

Kara looked at her in shock. That wasn’t what she’d been expecting.

“Did you think this was a game? You’re still alive only because the king prefers you like this.”

She sighed. The anger faded from her face, and when she continued it was with a more sympathetic expression. “I know this is hard for you, but no matter what you were before, it’s time to let it go and move on. Just do what the king wants, and everything will be ok.” She turned to leave, but paused at the door. “By the way, my name is Ester.”

In the following days, Kara was watched like a hawk and loaded down with work. Her days were a blur of domestic chores. Between the monotony of her work, and the collar’s glowing reinforcement, she slipped more and more into the role of a submissive servant. Each night, she’d receive new orders for her nightly stroke sessions. Kara couldn’t resist any better than the first night, and knew she was conditioning herself little by little to accept slavery. The collar resisted all attempts at removal or escape. Though her understanding of the castle layout improved, there’s only so many times a hallway can be memorized. Her escape attempts had stalled out, and she wasn’t sure what else she could do.

Moreover, the first day’s arousal never went away. Worse, it had blossomed into a frustrating, unending need. She’d hoped it would become better once she got used to it, but it continued to eat at her. As the days passed and her need grew, and she caught herself giving hungry looks towards passing men. She didn’t intend it, but she’d find herself pushing out her chest, pulling back her shoulders, and subtly putting herself on display. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could fight the feelings. The emotions may have been induced, but there was a part of her that was increasingly desperate for someone, anyone, to use her.

Days stretched into weeks. She knew that she couldn’t go on like this, that something must eventually break. She feared that her mind would snap, but finally the routine was interrupted when Ester came to her door one morning.

“Get up and follow me. This is a special day for you. The king has graciously allowed you to serve his guests at the banquet tonight. We need to make sure you’re presentable.” When Kara hesitated, she continued. “Do you want to spend the rest of your life scrubbing floors? Well if not, then don’t waste this opportunity.”

As Kara followed, she was a bundle of emotions. She was excited about a change to the routine, but another part of her was terrified. She hadn’t seen the king since that first night, and the thought of it made her nervous. The part of her still trying to escape noted she might gain some clue about the collar.

There was another part, the one she refused to admit existed, that was happy for a chance to show her master how obedient she had become.