A Master's Ring (V.3)

[Veroe]

((Closed for Myself and such_a_bad_man))

IC:Elizabeth Sommerset

Elizabeth stood before him as the Master with salt and pepper hair regarded her, his fingers steepled. She was buzzing, getting moist just being around him. The longer she stood there doing nothing but waiting. The more she needed to do something to please him, but alas that was not to be...yet.

He looked at a texted reply he'd sent to his new "Candidate" saying he was on his way to discuss his latest paper...or so the young man thought. The real reason Professor Bryant wanted to speak to him so late in the day-well outside the office hours of any other professor on this floor.

He reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek. She leaned into his palm affectionately placing a kiss on the meat of his palm.

"Are you crying for me, young lady," He said with a warm reassuring smile that reminded her of something she'd expect from her father.

She reached up adjusting her glasses to hide her trying to get her emotions in check. "I'll miss you Professor Bryant."

"I won't be dead," He chuckled flashing the black Onyx ring marked 37 on his finger, "I just might as well be to you won't I?"

She looked away blushing as he said the truth. She couldn't help it. She would still love spending time with the professor, but without his ring on...she wouldn't...she couldn't...well...she would never be able to enjoy the professor's company in the same way as she could now.

"Well, the decision's made, little one," He pushed back rolling his chair out into the middle of his office, "This I do of my own will...in keeping with the highest traditions of the society...and so on...and now he's on his way so..." He pointed before to the floor before him and spread his legs to give her room. "You give him a good impression, now. I expect you to show him your very best."

Smiling she nodded enthusiastically, the very thought of what she was about to do making her panties wet. She lowered to her knees between his spread legs. She reached out and began to lower the zipper of his crotch. She took her time unbuttoning and pulling his cock out already stiffening. She was not the only one looking for this.

One last hurrah with the professor. Elizabeth was determined to make it as explosive for him as she could.

There came a knock from the door. Neither of them answered. She placed her hands on either of his thighs and leaned forward her blond hair sweeping over and veiling her face from the side.

Another knock came as her lips parted and Elizabeth took the Professor's cock into her mouth, her tongue playing over the tip.

The Professor made a loud sighing sound as he entered that heavenly state that was receiving felatio from a sibling of Elizabeth's oral skill. She pulled up making a popping sound and again encouraging the professors cock to grow harder and more erect for what he had planned tonight. As she took him deeper into her mouth, tongue rolling underneath making the sigh return louder again.

The doorknob turned and the door pushed open a crack. The professor's new prospective candidate was taking a peek.

It was then Elizabeth lifted her hand tucking her hair behind her ear and allowing him to recognize her. She sat across from him in the Professor's English Lit class. She replaced her hand on the professor's thigh giving him a good view of the white ring a twin to the professor's black, but with a golden infinity symbol rather than Professor Bryant's Master's number. She smiled up at him his cock head held gently between her teeth.

To give him a view of the master's ring the Professor's hand lowered and pushed her glasses back up her nose. Then he leaned back and moaned, eyes drifting shut, from the pleasure as Elizabeth set to it in earnest with her classmate being a voyeur.

Her head began to move and time slowed down, seemed to cease entirely and the only sound was the beating of her own heart the pulse and throb she felt through her increasingly aroused sex and of course the little sounds a man made while receiving an supremely pleasurable blowjob.

All of her motions orbited around her actions of her lips moving up and down his cock. Then she'd pull away to stroke a nearby part of him with her tongue.

She was focused absolutely on this task now. A nuclear explosion could go off outside and she'd be oblivious to it. There was nothing else in her universe than the pleasure she was giving the Professor.

She caressed his thigh with her right hand while her left hand gripped his base. She gently took him from her lips and worked her hand up his dick in a practiced masturbation stroke any teenage boy would envy. She put the tip of her tongue on his ball sack, and licked upwards following her hand. She stroked her hand off his dick and let it fall to his stomach. She ran her tongue upwards in light caresses forcing him to push on the back of the chair until he was almost parallel to the floor. While her left hand was playing on his abdomen with carefully placed touch after touch, her right hand stood his dick up so that she could run her tongue on the underside of his crown where it was most sensitive; first clockwise then counter-clockwise.

The next time the tongue-sequence began; she licked his ball sack but continued to wash his testicles while using her hands in more random touches. She sucked him back into her mouth.

She stroked him with her mouth faster and faster, building to the obvious crescendo of male orgasm. Her hair fell to cover her face again. Professor Bryant brushed it behind her ear again with his left hand giving another good look at his ring.

Then the professor looked over to their voyeur giving a pleasure-wrapped smile and won something from him. Envy. What red-blooded man would not wish to be in the Professor's chair right now? Who would not want Elizabeth Sommerset between their legs taking bliss from being his pleasure this way?

She was getting close to climax now herself, but she was incognizant of that fact. It was in the backseat, hardly important to Elizabeth beyond inducing more pleasure-soaked sounds from the Master.

She returned to her earlier rhythm, but there were only three strokes before she did a wave motion with her throat driving him deeper little by tantalizing little. Finally she touched bottom. She could've taken him all the way to the base with no problem in a heartbeat. She'd mastered the technique so completely she had little chance of gagging on him, but doing it with the wave technique a little bit of his shaft at a time closed and opened and closed the muscles of her throat around him inch by inch and making the whole extended process of deep-throating the professor imminently more pleasurable for him.

She rested there with him all the way down her throat. She felt the need to breath, to gag, but again all of that was unimportant to her outside the pleasure she was giving him. Resting with him seated completely in her mouth, her pleasure bloomed. Her entire body tightened. The muscles in her thighs contracted, her back arched, her ass clenched, and her hands gripped his thighs tightly and then released.

She had orgasmed from no stimulation what-so-ever, save for that which she gave him, and she wasn't done.

She moaned out around him sending pleasurable vibrations through him making him moan out as well. Elizabeth rode her orgasm down its pleasant spiral then moved her head around while he was fully seated in her throat. With a corkscrew motion, she unwound her mouth from him, only to take him fully into her again; again and again, unscrewing him from her in a clockwise motion, driving her face onto him, unscrewing her mouth, and burying his dick in her. He might notice her cheek muscles were twitching as she worked her tongue furiously over him as she slowly pulled her face away, and absorbed him inside her mouth and throat again and again and again.

Then Professor Bryant lifted his hand pulling the black ring from his finger. He placed it in his open palm holding it out in offering to him saying, "Son, close the door. We have much to talk about."

Elizabeth continued her felating their professor's cock as the two men began to talk completely enraptured within all the pleasure she was giving her Master.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

“I can’t believe you’re making me do this right now…” Eddie complained as he leaned under the hood of his friend Michael’s car. “You know I have this meeting on campus, but wait until I have to leave to tell me you have a dead battery.”

“Well, I mean you were going to the parking lot and you usually leave early so I figured you had some wiggle room,” Mike protested and Eddie walked around, checking on his cobbled together apparatus.

“That’s not the point Mike…” Eddie groaned as he checked that he had good electrical connections for everything. “Okay, this might take a minute, but it should give you enough charge to get the alternator to turn over.” Eddie said, taking the hand cranked emergency radio in hand. Eddie kept one in his car as he never knew when the roads would be out when he’d travel back to Colorado. He had popped open the back of it and hooked up leads to it. Those hooked into a transformer that Mike had for his amp on his car then the leads of the transformer hooked to the posts of his battery.

Eddie started cranking and cranking… and cranking. Mike looked at him nervously. “How do you know when you’ve got it primed?” Mike asked.

“I have a meter in my pocket. We can test it in a minute,” Eddie explained. This went on for a few minutes before he handed off to Mike. Stepping closer, Eddie clipped the meter’s leads to the battery.

“Not yet… A few more minutes…” Eddie warned. After a while, he took it back from Mike and Mike hopped in the car. “Okay, turn it over!” Eddie called.

Mike turned the key and, a few sparks later, the car turned over and roared to life. Eddie smiled and worked backward to deconstruct his modified car starter. “Eddie, you’re a life saver,” Mike said, stepping around to give him some love.

“Now you know to go buy some jumper cables!” Eddie said, pressing the transformer into his hands.

“I know, I know…” He murmured.

“Since it’s running now, can you give me a lift into campus? You gotta drive it anyway to recharge your battery. I can leave my bike locked up and I got no problem walking home from campus,” Eddie said, trying to negotiate a ride now that he was nearly late to meet with Professor Bryant.
Mike nodded. “Sure, hop in.”

The two friends drove down the hill from the dorms over campus. As usual, they had to listen to Mike’s music. Eddie didn’t mind; he didn’t get much reggaeton back home. They chatted about the school year so far. It was spring again and the campus was blooming in more ways than one. Eddie shared some info about the hot girl, Elizabeth, that sat next to him in Professor Bryant’s class. As usual, Mike assumed they had already slept together, but, as usual, Eddie hadn’t made a move yet.

That ate at Eddie as got out of Mike's car. Already in his sophmore year and without a girlfriend or a post-football game hook-up. Eddie never felt like he was in the right place at the right time to meet that girl that would open up his mind to more than prom night sex. Even Elizabeth felt miles away from him even though they sat together in English Lit. Maybe it was him, maybe women could smell the naivete on him and avoided him like the plague. Porn these days was like an academic exercise; he wanted to not be a loser when it happened. He shook his head, feeling like a loser for even thinking that he was a loser.

The walk to the Language Arts building was eerily quiet. Mike could only drop Eddie off so close to the building so Eddie walked between pools of light from the lamps high overhead. It was always strange to see the usually lively campus this quiet, but not surprising given the hour. Eddie made the turn in the plaza and entered the Language Arts building, glad to see it wasn’t locked already.

His shoes were noisier than usual as there wasn’t the sound of hundreds of students around him to drown them out. Still, he walked quietly along the hallway outside Professor Bryant’s office. Checking his watch, Eddie sighed as he wasn’t late after all. It was close, but nothing that the Professor would notice. The stillness of the building still shook him; not even the cleaning staff could be heard.

Eddie’s first knock on the door seemed to fill the hall. He bit his lips, wincing as it echoed off the end of the floor. Taking a breath to settle his nerves again, he knocked a bit differently to reduce the echo. Eddie could see light from under the door; the Professor was here, surely. Maybe he was waiting until their meeting time exactly; the Professor did seem to have a fastidious streak to his scheduling so maybe that was it…

After waiting a bit longer after the second knock, he figured he would step in and knock. If the professor was listening to music, that would expl-

As soon as the door cracked, Eddie froze. His eyes widened, his mouth dropped. It took a lot to shock Eddie into freezing, but what he saw was nothing he could have even imagined seeing. Swallowing again, he took a moment to process what he was seeing.

There was no denying that the young woman was Elizabeth Sommerset; Eddie had spent all semester sitting next to her after spending the fall semester two rows back and one seat left in the World Literature class that was the requisite for Professor Bryant’s English Lit. She had a ring on, one that he didn’t think anything of at the time, but as she brought it closer to the ring the Professor was wearing, the more it looked like a paired set.

“Wha-“ Eddie started to speak, but stopped, worried that he was interrupting something, but the more they continued, the more it was clear that the Professor was looking at him. That he was expecting Eddie to walk in at this exact moment. All the while, Elizabeth devoured the Professor’s cock in a way that would give porn stars pause. He had to admit that it was hard not to think about her doing that to him. Looking back at the Professor, Eddie was already picturing himself in his place. The thought of Elizabeth Sommerset giving him a blowjob like that. He couldn’t think of anything else to be honest.

When he caught the quiver of release and relief up her body, Eddie couldn’t believe it. She was sucking off Professor Bryant and SHE was the one cumming?! He had to step into the room to believe what he was seeing. His gaze fell to Elizabeth; Professor Bryant faded from view as he watched her amazing skills on display. Eddie was snapped out of it by a masculine voice speaking to him.

"Son, close the door. We have much to talk about."

Eddie looked toward his voice and looked down to see the black ring sitting in Professor Bryant’s outstretched hand. He stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out what the design said in the stone at the top. He did as he was asked, though, and closed the door before walking over and sitting on the couch facing the Professor and Elizabeth. He couldn’t help but notice that Elizabeth hadn’t stopped yet. It wasn’t unwelcome, just more intense than he figured this discussion with Professor Bryant was going to be.

“So, I take it this isn’t about the paper I wrote about the shortcomings of the English language in Shakespeare’s plays….” Eddie started, trying to lighten the mood. It was one of his defense tactics. He didn’t like intense moments or intense moods. Unfortunately, he didn’t think it was going to have the effect that he hoped as he looked at the two pairs of eyes staring at him.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Elizabeth Sommerset

Then Professor Bryant lifted his hand pulling the black ring from his finger. He placed it in his open palm holding it out in offering to him saying, "Son, close the door. We have much to talk about."

Then Professor Bryant lifted his hand pulling the black ring from his finger. He placed it in his open palm holding it out in offering to him saying, "Son, close the door. We have much to talk about."

Elizabeth continued her felating their professor's cock as the two men began to talk completely enraptured within all the pleasure she was giving her Master.

Elizabeth took a moment to push her glasses back up her nose as Eddie stepped inside. She had reached something very much like a Zen state of mind. She was aware of her fellow classmate's presence but it was ancillary, not front and center to her at the moment. She continued corkscrewing her mouth up to the Professor's tip and then back down to its base, tongue working overtime to coax more and more of the pleasure he experienced from her oral efforts. She felt satisfaction from the giving of her master so much pleasure, but she could feel it in turn ratcheting her up higher and higher too until she was so close to orgasm as well.

She was his pleasure.

Eddie had sat across from her in Professor Bryant's class. From the answers he gave during class discussion she found him very insightful. But if he asked her out she would have turned him down. Of course he wasn't special in that regard. She turned all the boys who asked her on a date down. She knew it had caused her to have a rampant reputation for being a prude or an ice queen or a cock-hating lesbian, but those rumors couldn't be farther from the truth about her. The truth was she loved cock like a porn star. The problem was not her, but them, and it wasn't even their fault either. She was made this way. She'd spent years in the Sibling Society's hypnotic conditioning program. So now no boy could possibly do anything for her. It didn't matter if he was cute and attentive or was rich or funny or any thing that attracted a girl towards a boy. Only someone wearing a Master's ring had the key to turn her on. So why would she even bother wasting her time with someone who could do nothing for her?

“So, I take it this isn’t about the paper I wrote about the shortcomings of the English language in Shakespeare’s plays….” She heard him say.

It was an effort to lighten the mood. It wasn't working. Mostly because Elizabeth had not ceased giving her master pleasure in the slightest.

"Mmmmm…" She heard him groan from that pleasure before regarding Eddie, "No, son, while it was brilliant, this is not about your paper. It is all about this black ring in my hand."

"I belong to a certain organization...a secret society, if you will," He explained then Elizabeth felt his hand sift fingers through her blond hair, curling into a fistful. Instinctively she readied herself as he took over pushing her willing head up and down his length as Elizabeth used every trick she knew with her tongue to escort him rapidly to the precipice of his climax.

He held out the ring for Eddie to take and inspect, "The order's been purged over a dozen times only to be reborn once again, but we've traced its history back all the way to the bronze age. And its all about these rings. There's only one hundred of these made. They are meant only for the most exceptional of people the world over."

"I've had this ring for twenty years now, but I've decided to step down," The professor continued his voice strained from the sensations Elizabeth's ministrations was delivering upon him, "I don't have any suitable heirs so I've started looking for a successor for this ring in the old way. Scouring the internet for someone exceptional, someone worthy of this ring." He groaned out and stammered, "...Excuse me a moment..."

The Professor's hips hunched up and the chair squeaked as he leaned back driving Elizabeth's mouth down his whole length to the root. When Elizabeth felt his cum erupt down her throat explosives went off throughout her body. The powerful multiple orgasms tearing through her nervous system made her eyes roll back in her head. She collapsed to the floor bonelessly from the miraculous bliss of being her master's pleasure.

The professor tucked himself back into his pants. He reached out and gave a handkerchief to Elizabeth who was just now beginning to stir. Slowly she sat up wiping her face and regarding the boy watching her through veiled looks. What must he think of her? Her cheeks reddened in mortification.

As if sensing her distress the professor reached down placing a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder and pulling her in close to him so she leaned comfortably against his thigh as one of his finger stroked her cheek. The tender gesture soothing any embarrassment she was feeling away from her mind.

To Eddie he announced, "Of all the hundreds of people I've looked at...you are the one I've chosen to inherit my kingdom."

His fingers sifted through her hair affectionately, "What do you say, son? Will you accept this ring and all the perks and responsibilities that will come with it?"

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Eddie's head was spinning. There was so much happening that his brain didn't know where to focus. The sounds coming from Elizabeth's mouth were what he had been fantasizing about at night. So many times he wondered if the stories were true or is she was just selective about her men. Now, he saw that her reputation was born out of already having found her man. Good for Professor Bryant.

At least, that was his initial reaction. As the professor explained about the ring and the society it represented, he couldn't help but wonder if that's why Elizabeth wore her ring. The more and more it sounded like Elizabeth was a perk of possessing the ring. Free will, self-determination... could a young woman forgo these things to be part of the organization behind the ring? Could anything make it worth it?

Eddie couldn't believe how casual they both were about this. Professor Bryant didn't even ask Eddie to step outside as he emptied his balls deep down Elizabeth's mouth. As she greedily swallowed it all and lapped it up, he kept wondering what was in this for her. Was the society able to give her a leg up in the world if she submitted to the men in it? All these thoughts raced in his head as he listened. Everything he heard was useful and he filed it away for analysis later.

The idea of this society dating back to the Bronze Age was hard to believe, but the power he had on display by having the most desirable co-ed on campus taking him tonsil-deep was hard to ignore. A core group of 100 of the most powerful people on the planet smacked of conspiracy theory, but things happening in the news lately had Eddie questioning the way civilized society was going. It made him listen at the very least.

And then Professor Bryant came to is as Elizabeth curled in against his thigh and he caressed her cheek. While they share that tender caress, Professor Bryant held the ring out and told him why Eddie was there.

"Of all the hundreds of people I've looked at...you are the one I've chosen to inherit my kingdom."

The usually skeptical Eddie narrowed his eyes, trying to read the Professor's face and then Elizabeth's. While 20 years is a long time to enjoy the benefits of his society, it seemed odd that he would relinquish power so far from his death bed. Professor Bryant seemed to be in good health and smart enough to take care of himself. Eddie estimated that the professor had at least 10 more good years of mental and physical life in him at current levels of medical science.

But that would come out as he talked with the professor. Eddie didn't answer right away. As usual, he needed clarification before making a decision like this.

"Why me?"

It was a short, simple question. Eddie needed to know what it was about him that made him such a good fit in the professor's mind. Eddie didn't come from an affluent background. He wasn't particularly physically imposing. He was always a good student and loved puzzles and problem solving. In fact, this news of a secret society seemed like the biggest and most important puzzle to land in his lap yet. As he waited for an answer, Eddie kept his poker face and watched the professor like a hawk because his answer wouldn't tell Eddie what he wanted to know.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Elizabeth Sommerset

To Eddie he announced, "Of all the hundreds of people I've looked at...you are the one I've chosen to inherit my kingdom."

His fingers sifted through her hair affectionately, "What do you say, son? Will you accept this ring and all the perks and responsibilities that will come with it?"

Elizabeth looked over to Eddie. To her he didn't look like he was buying the whole deal. He had the contemplative look on his face while he was weighing out the logic of a lecture in class. She knew Professor Bryant was telling him the truth, but it was also a lot to take in and accept for someone from the outside world just taking it in.

His simple question came as the only question he could ask, "Why me?"

"Ah," Professor Bryant nodded at that, "That would be your first question..." He steepled his fingers regarding him. He did this for a long moment thinking over the answer to Eddie's obvious question, "It's because I feel you are worthy of possessing the ring."

"You see, originally the masters who possess these rings would search the world over for the truly exceptional ones to give them to. Someone capable of understanding the power that came with wearing a black ring and its responsibilities. Someone who does not submits their will to anyone. Now however we pass on the rings to our sons or daughters. To the point no one from outside the society has inherited the ring in centuries." He explained in the same tone of voice he fell into as he was espousing the literary merits of the Iliad or Huckleberry Finn or the Harry Potter novels. "I belong to a growing faction of masters that feels that such a practice has cost the society something important as a whole. We believe we need a reformation back to our original ideals rather than remaining a secret elitist group of spoiled rotten brats."

He nodded to him, "That's why I've chosen you. I've been watching you for a long long time. Eddie. I apologize if you feel offended over that, but I had to be sure...and I am...you will take my place in the society and be the first step towards restoring us back onto the path to our ancient ideals."

"In case you don't believe me that you are the one that is worthy..." Professor Bryant nudged her. "Go kneel in front of him facing Eddie please, dear girl."

She looked up at the professor then to Eddie, but got up and crawled the short distance to the place beside him and knelt facing him. "Yes master."

She smoothed out her skirt. Her panties were soaked through after pleasuring Professor Bryant and her own orgasms. She shifted uncomfortably. She avoided looking into Eddie's eyes and looked down at his shoes instead. The blush of embarrassment had returned back to her cheeks now that she was out in front of him without her master's touch to shield her and the center of attention.

"Can you imagine how she must be feeling right now, Eddie," Professor Bryant asked him, "She and the other siblings that service us have undergone hypnotic conditioning throughout their lives. They will need to serve you, to please you, but as the master you must always remember they are their own people and you are responsible for caring for their well-being."

He leaned forward in his chair saying, "Now look at her and tell me what does your instincts tell you to do with this girl you've just seen debase herself and now kneeling before you simply because I ordered her to?"

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Eddie didn't move much as Professor Bryant explained the current state of the society behind the rings. He took stock of what he was hearing and understood the problem that the Professor was having all too clear. From the sound of it, the rings used to be earned by merit or selection of the other ring holders. Now, they had become hereditary; it seemed to go against the initial spirit behind the creation of the rings in the first place.

"You want the society to be full of people that have earned the right to be in the room, rather than have it gifted to them..." Eddie said during a pause in the Professor's explanation. He didn't mean for it to slip out; he was vocalizing his thoughts as he came to a conclusion. It was a bit of a tick that Eddie had. He would run his ideas to himself verbally to check how it sounded. If it was too fantastical or impractical, he would revisit his initial assumptions and start again.

It wasn't surprising that the professor would want to research his potential replacement. Eddie wondered more about what he found or how he didn't notice surveillance. Then again, in this digital age, physical research probably wasn't as important as Eddie's digital footprint. He took a breath as there was nothing incriminating to find; he felt sure that Professor Bryant wouldn't have asked him here if there was something disqualifying in Eddie's past.

"In case you don't believe me that you are the one that is worthy... Go kneel in front of him facing Eddie please, dear girl."

Eddie looked down at Elizabeth where she was leaning against the professor's leg. She assented and crawled, like a pet, on the floor to kneel before him. He couldn't believe that she wouldn't look him in the eye. Did it say more about him or her? Did she feel shame after what she did? That couldn't be it; she looks so relaxed and confident with the professor. She seemed so different after crossing the space to him. When the professor spoke of hypnotic conditioning, all he could wonder is what sort of parents would give their daughter over to such a program. Maybe it meant that Elizabeth was an orphan all this time. All these thoughts rolled in Eddie's mind as the professor put a question to him.

"Now look at her and tell me what does your instincts tell you to do with this girl you've just seen debase herself and now kneeling before you simply because I ordered her to?"

Eddie took a slow breath and looked at Elizabeth's face, even though it was angled to the floor. He swallowed as he considered his answer. Lifting his chin, he had one.

"I would tell her to go home. She's served you well enough and I'm sure that she has work of her own to finish tonight. She is a student first, in my opinion."

Eddie watched the professor's face. Either he blew it or proved he was the man the professor expected. Either way, he wasn't going to be ashamed of his answer.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Elizabeth Sommerset

He nodded to him, "That's why I've chosen you. I've been watching you for a long long time. Eddie. I apologize if you feel offended over that, but I had to be sure...and I am...you will take my place in the society and be the first step towards restoring us back onto the path to our ancient ideals."

"You want the society to be full of people that have earned the right to be in the room, rather than have it gifted to them..." Eddie said during a pause in the Professor's explanation.

Professor Bryant blinked at that but nodded, "Yes, that is our position precisely."

Eddie was proving why he was definitely the right one to inherit his ring. The Professor had selected him a long time ago out of dozens of likely candidates. The generous scholarship that Eddie had used to get into this college had been set up by him so he could observe the young man more closely. That was the most benign. He'd also hacked his phone and laptop to allow him get an inkling of how he thought. So now, he was reasonably certain that after mulling it over Eddie would accept the ring and his place as the new beacon of their ancient ideals.

"In case you don't believe me that you are the one that is worthy... Go kneel in front of him facing Eddie please, dear girl."

Elizabeth assented and did as her master bade him kneeling before Eddie. Then came the Professor's next words.

"Now look at her and tell me what does your instincts tell you to do with this girl you've just seen debase herself and now kneeling before you simply because I ordered her to?"

Elizabeth knelt for several breaths looking down at Eddie's pair of Nikes waiting for his answer. She was unable to raise her eyes to look at him. She wanted to be a good girl for her master, but it was the first time she had been so exposed in front of someone from the outside world, someone she had come to respect the judgment of at least in class discussions.

Finally Eddie's answer came. "I would tell her to go home. She's served you well enough and I'm sure that she has work of her own to finish tonight. She is a student first, in my opinion."

It was then she looked up to meet his eyes. The blush on her cheeks was still there, but she looked into his eyes with no give.

"Interesting," Professor Bryant said from his chair behind her, "Most would call me a monster and seek to rescue her from me...others would pull their own penis out in expectation of making her perform the same act as she performed for me just now. Both would be examples of the type unworthy of the ring. You on the other hand accepted the reality of her as matter of fact."

"Elizabeth," Professor Bryant gestured to her, "I would think you'd like to say something to Eddie."

"Yes Master I would," She said looking into his eyes, "I would like to thank you for accepting me as matter of factly as you did, but would also like to inform you that your assumption of me is in error. I am not a student first. I am a Sibling-a slave-and a student. There is no first or second place to them. They are the same in my mind."

Professor Bryant chuckled, "In Eddie's defense his 'error', as you put it, was one in ignorance." Then to Eddie, "So to help inform you Elizabeth has volunteered to assist you in understanding not just the society of masters but its sibling society as well. Feel free to ask her any questions you may want answered."

 

[such_a_bad_man]

"... a slave..."

Elizabeth said so easily like any other group of syllables coming out of her mouth. Now, he figured she wasn't the slave in the way of chattel. If she was, that would be an even bigger problem than the one he was having. When he accepted Elizabeth as a submissive, it was through the lens of Eddie's exposure to that lifestyle. Knowing what he knew now, he had to imagine that Professor Bryant had a list of all Eddie's more deviant explorations when he was alone in his dorm. But what was tripping him up was something the Professor said that his brain had finally unpacked.

"...She and the other siblings that service us have undergone hypnotic conditioning throughout their lives..."

If it was all Elizabeth's life, then how could she have consented to it legally? If this started in her childhood, what did that say about her parents? Eddie's mind ran through these thoughts as she waited for him expectantly. He decided a more diplomatic approach might be needed to find out what he was really after.

Eddie shifted and rested his chin against his hand. He looked into Elizabeth's eyes, looking for some glassiness to see if she was of clear mind or not. He leaned forward finally, ready to ask his question.

"Are your parents still with us, Elizabeth?" He wanted to start simple, probe at what must be a wall of trust around this organization.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Elizabeth Sommerset

Professor Bryant chuckled, "In Eddie's defense his 'error', as you put it, was one in ignorance." Then to Eddie, "So to help inform you Elizabeth has volunteered to assist you in understanding not just the society of masters but its sibling society as well. Feel free to ask her any questions you may want answered."

"Please ask me anything you wish to, Eddie. If it is in my ability to do so I will answer your questions about us the best I can." She said to him.

Elizabeth watched him take a moment to consider what to ask her, and in that time she considered him. He wasn't bad looking. He was fit and seemed nice enough. She wondered why he hadn't netted a girlfriend in his two years in school here. Maybe he was not so interested in girls? Maybe his interest had always been towards guys rather than girls? there were some rather vicious speculation about that about Eddie, but Elizabeth never bought it. Reliving the looks she caught him giving her in class or even just now as she'd been servicing professor Bryant told her that he was the farthest thing from being gay.

"Are your parents still with us, Elizabeth?" He suddenly broke the silence with an unexpected question.

"My parents," She blinked in response, "My mother is the first sibling of a prominent master in the society. So is my older sister. Several of my aunts and uncles and cousins are in the Sibling Society too. My father was a mechanic that worked for my mother's master. I'm afraid he died of cancer last year."

She smiled with pride. She loved talking about her family and the role they've played within the society. "The Sommerset family has been a prominent and constant pillar for the Sibling Society for the last 1200 years. In fact I am named after my great-great-great-great-grandmother, and the original Elizabeth Sommerset was the first sibling to a master during a very trying time for the society. And the two of them worked side by side to guide it through all the purges and turmoil."

Professor Bryant leaned forward. He'd spied and analyzed Eddie long enough to know what he was after here. He wanted to know whether Elizabeth could have given her consent for the hypnotic conditioning. He was taking a roundabout route to get there, but it made sense. He was applying the morality of the outside world. He'd need to accept that the matter was not quite so black and white here.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Eddie listened carefully to Elizabeth's story. She made her family history sound like such a grand tradition. Something struck him as odd though. Her father was not the man that her mother served as a submissive. Could he not bear her a child? Where their rules against children between what heard called Siblings a few times and the men (and women?) that bore the rings? That felt like a question he would answer once he was on the other side of this interview process.

He heard the chair squeak and caught Professor Bryant leaning forward. As he figured, Bryant could see that there was a purpose behind the choice of question that Eddie asked. Professor Bryant was a sharp man; he taught at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Eddie knew that he had to move carefully in the game of chess that his questions turned into.

He looked back at Elizabeth who was still beaming, talking about her long and proud lineage. Even Eddie had to concede that 1200 years of history to your family name is no small thing. Still, there was something about the situation that ate at him still.

"So you've always been around those in the Sibling Society? This was part of your day to day upbringing. Has your entire family been involved in the society or borne a ring?" He asked next, making sure that Professor Bryant was still in his field of vision. His reactions to his questions were just as important as Elizabeth's answers.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Elizabeth Sommerset

Professor Bryant leaned forward. He'd spied and analyzed Eddie long enough to know what he was after here. He wanted to know whether Elizabeth could have given her consent for the hypnotic conditioning. He was taking a roundabout route to get there, but it made sense. He was applying the morality of the outside world. He'd need to accept that the matter was not quite so black and white here.

"Throughout the society's history the Sommerset family has been a pillar of strength, an example for all other siblings in the society." She said beaming with pride.

"So you've always been around those in the Sibling Society," He asked her then.

Elizabeth nodded emphatically, "For all of my life."

"This was part of your day to day upbringing." He pressed, "Has your entire family been involved in the society or borne a ring?"

She blinked but nodded again, "Well yes. Not all of us are siblings but to some degree we all do work for the society in some way or another."

Professor Bryant leaned back arms crossed with a poker face masking his expression. Seeing how he handled his next questions would tell him how Eddie was dealing with these revelations.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

"Well yes. Not all of us are siblings but to some degree we all do work for the society in some way or another."

Eddie listened and flicked his eyes to Professor Bryant. The older man was a cool customer. He didn't give anything away. Eddie's stomach knotted as Elizabeth spoke as if this sort of thing was completely natural and expected. He couldn't help but feel like her being here was less and less of a choice on her part.

"And how old were you when you learned about the Siblings? Was it part of your schooling?" He asked, feeling that Bryant was putting it all together and there was no escaping the question he just asked. He had to know and there were only a few points of entry to that question.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Elizabeth Sommerset

She blinked but nodded again, "Well yes. Not all of us are siblings but to some degree we all do work for the society in some way or another."

Professor Bryant leaned back arms crossed with a poker face masking his expression. Seeing how he handled his next questions would tell him how Eddie was dealing with these revelations.

"And how old were you when you learned about the Siblings?"

"My mother and father and Master Samuel sat me down one day when I was eight years old and explained it to me," She said looking up at him as if just now understanding what he was after, "They told me then but I knew something was up long before that. I knew my mother's master, my godfather, held a great deal of power in the house and in our lives and I always accepted that. To me he was the man who gave me candy or let me have ice cream even after my bedtime. He was the man who was surrounded by siblings and absorbed in a growing financial empire, yet always had time to listen to what I learned in school or to play princess and unicorns with me and my parents. Most little girls have two parents who love them if they're lucky growing up. I had three...more if you count Master Samuel's other siblings that all treated me as if I was their own."

She looked at him with the blush gone but still red in her cheeks but now with righteous indignation. The presumption behind his line of questions...spoke of dirtiness...in intentions of people she loved just because he couldn't understand them. It was offensive to her.

"So of course I volunteered to become a sibling when I was given the choice," She glared at him, "And fuck you if you think I was too young to make an informed choice in the matter."

A smile broke the professor's poker face at that, but his eyes kept watching, observing, and evaluating his supposed heir's every reaction.

Then came his next question, pressing forward relentlessly, "Was it part of your schooling?"

"I went to a private school in new York run by one of master Samuel's siblings, but my education was every bit as normal as anyone else's," The anger began to deflate from her, "However every Saturday I would go to my programmer. She's a sibling who specializes in inducting new siblings with our programming. She'd put me in a hypnotic trance and I don't remember exactly what it was she programmed me to do, none of us do. I don't even remember her name or face or anything about her, but it isn't really as bad as any of that sounds. I have no regrets about any of it, Eddie. Please, believe that."

"Well, now you know, son. There's some pretty dark and frankly scary corners to this new world you're being offered, and that revelation was not even the worst of us," Professor Bryant finally said, "To answer your next few questions: the Siblings are a wholly separate independent order to the masters', subservient to us, but also fiercely independent and secretive of their methods. No one is permitted to know how a sibling is made, not even us, not even themselves. And don't give me that look. You would not be the first to assume the worst in this matter."

He leaned back in his chair going back to steepling his fingers again, "So my question to you is: Is this a deal-breaker for you? When you look at Elizabeth now do you see the woman that she is or do you see only a robot programmed to do whatever me or her mysterious programmer told her to do?"

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Eddie listened to Elizabeth's explanation. He heard Professor Bryant lay out the answers to the next few questions that he was already attempting to fashion. His eyes fell on Elizabeth's again and he didn't know what to feel. He got up slowly and walked across the room to look out into the night at the dimly lit campus beyond.

That world out there, that was the world that he knew. It was the world he thought he understood before he came up here to meet with Professor Bryant. He took long, steadying breaths as he tried to calm his emotions and come at this new information logically. One of his teachers in high school taught him that a decision clouded in emotion typically was right in the short term, but wrong in the long term. What Professor Bryant was proposing was a decision he'd have to live with for the rest of his life, one way or the other. He closed his eyes as he thought up the one question that would tell him if this was the right decision or not.

He wrestled with what it could be, wanting to hone it to a fine edge to cut through the bullshit. He needed to know if Elizabeth was still a person or a plaything. He took one final slow, steady breath as he opened his eyes. Turning back to look at Elizabeth, he found her eyes as she was still kneeling where Professor Bryant told her to kneel.

"Elizabeth, what do you want your legacy to be?" Again, there was no despair or pity, no anger or derision. It was an honest question that he hoped would be answered genuinely.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Elizabeth Sommerset

He leaned back in his chair going back to steepling his fingers again, "So my question to you is: Is this a deal-breaker for you? When you look at Elizabeth now do you see the woman that she is or do you see only a robot programmed to do whatever me or her mysterious programmer told her to do?"

In response Eddie got up from his chair and walked past Elizabeth. She had to turn herself around to see him walk up to the window and part the windowshade to look out at the campus grounds at evening outside. She wondered what must be going through his mind right now. Looking out at a world he knew while being told about a strange new world hidden in the shadows of the one he knew.

She watched him close his eyes and take a deep centering breath. Then he said over his shoulder to her, "Elizabeth, what do you want your legacy to be?"

"My legacy," She blinked at the question then shook her head, "I want to be a great sibling to my master like my great-great-great-grandmother was and bring honor to my family's history and reputation within the order," She looked down with a contemplative shrug of her shoulders, "And if I can accomplish that and am allowed to do something for myself...I'd like to be a teacher."

She looked up at him then, "Don't laugh. I like kids, and the thought of helping them learn about the world around them I find fulfilling."

 

[such_a_bad_man]

"...I'd like to be a teacher."

Eddie turned around to look at Elizabeth, his mouth open slightly. She had given him the answer that he hoped to hear. He was so worried that her "training" had subverted her own ego, her own desires, her own wants for life. He took another long breath as his body relaxed. He even managed a smile for Elizabeth.

"I'd never laugh at someone's desire to help others, especially via education. It's a noble pursuit, Elizabeth. Thank you for sharing it with me." He said, smiling at her but his eyes moved to Professor Bryant. Walking back over to the couch, he sat down and looked at the Professor.

"If I accept, I have the final say with those... Siblings linked to this ring?" Eddie wasn't so naive as to think that Professor Bryant would limit himself to one woman, even one as startlingly beautiful as Elizabeth Sommerset. "Also, will they help educate me about this Society or is there a code about them sharing what they know?" Eddie wanted to know some of the rules if he were to accept.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Elizabeth Sommerset

"...I'd like to be a teacher."

He turned around to look at her, really look at her. Looking at her like she was not a bug in a petrie dish.

She looked up at him then, "Don't laugh. I like kids, and the thought of helping them learn about the world around them I find fulfilling."

"I'd never laugh at someone's desire to help others, especially via education." He replied with a rather disarmingly warm smile to her, "It's a noble pursuit, Elizabeth. Thank you for sharing it with me."

As he walked back over to the sofa he had sat in before Professor Bryant asked the pressing question, "Does that mean you'll say yes then?"

"If I accept, I have the final say with those... Siblings linked to this ring?" He asked him.

"Within certain restraints," The Professor explained, "When you are made the owner of the ring you'll have remarkable latitude with the siblings in your household, but if you stray to far out of the norms the other masters will move against you or the Sibling Society as a whole will. That's the tap-dance through a minefield I've been doing for the last twenty years."

He looked down to Elizabeth like penitent man on his deathbed, "You will have so much power over their lives, but in so many ways your ability to exercise that power to protect your siblings and improve their lives will be stymied..."

"Also, will they help educate me about this Society or is there a code about them sharing what they know?" Eddie asked.

Professor Bryant smiled pointing at Elizabeth. "That is why she is here? I am sure you have questions, millions of them probably, many that won't occur to you until later," He told them, "That is why I've asked Elizabeth to make herself available to you to answer them as they occur. It should be much easier for her to be around you than it was for me. You are both young and attractive college students. You can pose as boyfriend and girlfriend, and very few people will bat so much as an eye over it.""

"If you would have me," She said, "I would be your First Sibling."

Her? A first Sibling? Normally it was a much older women who were Firsts. She wasn't sure how she was going to handle it all as well as keep up with her classes. Much less be able to teach a boy how to be a master to them all. But by god she would try.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Eddie listened to Professor Bryant as he laid out how much thought and planning had gone into this. It shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did given what he learned about the Professor's research into him. Still, he wasn't used to this much attention being paid to him.

He considered what Professor Bryant said about the power he had over Elizabeth and the other Siblings. As with any society, there had to be unwritten rules about that. He figured he'd learn the guard rails in time if he were to accept the ring.

Then, Professor Bryant confirmed so much all at once. Elizabeth was his tutor for this new world. There would be others that he would learn about in time. He would have to pose as Elizabeth's SO to keep a lid on things. That last one wasn't so much of a problem for him.

"If you would have me, I would be your First Sibling."

Eddie looked over, smiling slightly. "Thank you for that Elizabeth. I feel that I will be leaning on you for help early on."

Professor Bryant's eyes lit up. "So then you accept the ring?" He asked, holding out his hand with the burnished ring in his palm.

Eddie took a long slow breath as he stared at the ring. This was a big step; it was a step that could do so much to help his family. That's why he wanted to go to university in the first place. He finally let go of the lip he'd been gnawing on and took the ring from the Professor's hand.

He held it in his grip before him and closed his eyes in silent prayer. "Please tell me I did the right thing..." he whispered to himself and the ancestors on his shoulders. He knew they weren't there. It was a story his mother used when he was little. If he ever wondered about something being right or wrong, Eddie was supposed to picture his ancestors on his shoulders. They would tell him what to do.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Elizabeth Sommerset

"If you would have me," She said, "I would be your First Sibling."

Her? A first Sibling? Normally it was a much older women who were Firsts. She wasn't sure how she was going to handle it all as well as keep up with her classes. Much less be able to teach a boy how to be a master to them all. But by god she would try.

"Thank you for that Elizabeth." He replied, "I feel that I will be leaning on you for help early on."

Elizabeth smiled broadly to him at that, proud to serve someone who could well be her new master, "You will have it. Anytime. All you have to do is just ask me."

Professor Bryant's eyes lit up. "So then you accept the ring?" He asked, holding out his hand with the burnished ring in his palm.

Elizabeth beamed as she saw Eddie reach out and take the little black ring with embossed numbering on its flat surface reading 37. He held it in his closed fist closing his eyes and muttering something Elizabeth didn't quite catch, but guessed it was a solemn vow or prayer to god to bear the awesome power he was now accepting.

"Now comes the not so fun part," Professor Bryant put in, "The process of accepting a new master is ancient. Over the course of a weeks or so two other masters interview and assess the worth of the new recruit. Then assuming they agree to accept him a ceremony is held, and then you will be the master of that ring in truth. Normally these days they're gimmes, spoiled children getting asked easy questions by friends of their father's, but not here, not for you Eddie." He pointed at him, "With you we do this right, like in the days of old. Over this next week my two friends, Masters Akiko and Alexei, will break you open and see what makes you tick. So be prepared to go through hell in the next few days, son."

"You can do it, Eddie," Elizabeth told him supportively, "I know you can."

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Eddie listened as Professor Bryant explained what was to come. From the sound of it, Eddie wasn't too surprised at what it would take to really become a member of this society. Professor Bryant's plan probably rubbed some people the wrong way and would do anything to ruin his succession plans. Eddie swallowed as he considered all of this. He couldn't stop now, not simply because it might get difficult. Professor Bryant thought he was the right man for the job; he didn't want to let him down.

"You can do it, Eddie, I know you can."

There was something so earnest about her smile as Elizabeth looked up at him. It didn't look like she was putting it on to please him or Professor Bryant. She meant it. Eddie placed a hand on her shoulder. "I may need that confidence in the next few weeks. I have a feeling that Masters Akiko and Alexei will do whatever they can to strip it from me," Eddie explained, feeling trepidation creeping in. He didn't let it dissuade him however.

He opened his hand, seeing the ring and the imprints it made in his palm. Perhaps he clutched it a little too hard. He looked up at Professor Bryant as a thought occurred to him. "Should I not wear it until I get through the interviews? I'm not sure the policy on that."

 

[Veroe]

IC: Elizabeth Sommerset

"You can do it, Eddie," Elizabeth told him supportively, "I know you can."

At that he smiled and reached out his hand. Placing it gratefully on her shoulder with a slight friendly squeeze. "I may need that confidence in the next few weeks."

"You'll be fine," Elizabeth told reassuringly, "Remember those tough presentations we had to do in class last week...I was so nervous about it, but you had it down from the start, and got the best grades in the whole class from it." She didn't mention the fact that despite her nervousness she had gotten a grade only a few points less than his. "This won't be easy, but you have this, Eddie. No matter what happens I'm sure you can handle it. You have to keep the same confidence in yourself then in the next few days."

"I have a feeling that Masters Akiko and Alexei will do whatever they can to strip it from me." He continued.

"Don't worry," She said from where she still knelt on the floor, "I will be there with you every step of the way."

He looked to Professor Bryant, "Should I not wear it until I get through the interviews? I'm not sure the policy on that?"

"For now, put it in your pocket," The professor replied, "But when alone with Elizabeth put it on so you'll get used to it."

A knock came at the door. Professor Bryant smiled. "That would be my new fiancé. Come in dear."

The door opened and an older but still sexy brunette woman peered inside. She looked at Elizabeth kneeling on the floor between them and at her fiancé and then her eyes locked on Eddie. "Did he say yes?"

Professor Bryant raised a hand to her, "Eddie meet my First Sibling, Isobel De Santos. She's the woman that's agreed to marry me once the matters of my retirement from the society and the ring becoming yours is completed."

She nodded to him, "Pleased to meet you at last." To the Professor she said, "Master, you wanted me to remind you when it becomes 9:00."

"Right," To Eddie he said while rising from his chair, "I need to call it a night. My son is coming home from the hospital tomorrow."

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Eddie had to admit it; Elizabeth was a wonderful cheerleader. After hearing her encouraging words, he was ready to tear the door off the hinges and punch out Masters Akiko and Alexei if they were waiting for him. He calmed himself however, reminding himself that he had a few days to prepare for that. He took a few slow breaths to even his temper and smiled at Elizabeth. He was about to tell Professor Bryant his decision when there was a knock on the door.

The woman that peeked in had to be from the cover of a magazine. She wasn't a real person in his mind until she stepped in and shook Eddie's hand. Professor Bryant introduced her, but he didn't hear him. He was a teenager all over again; he was completely frozen at the sight of this new woman.

"Pleased to meet you at last."

"Likewise..." Eddie finally managed to choke out. He looked at Elizabeth, curious about her reaction to this woman. Something the Professor said caught his ear, however.

"...My son is coming home from the hospital tomorrow."

Eddie realized the Professor was about to leave and he hadn't given his definitive answer. "Professor!" he blurted out as he got to his feet. "I... I hadn't said my answer in full yet." He said, swallowing as he felt so nervous.

Eddie squared his feet and his shoulders. He looked deeply into Professor Bryant's eyes as he said. "I formally and fervently accept your ring, Professor Bryant, and all the rights and privileges included." He wasn't sure if there was something more formal to say, but he wanted to be very clear about his acceptance. He looked down at Elizabeth.

"Please, stand and share this moment with me, Elizabeth..." He said, holding his hand out to her.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Elizabeth Sommerset

"Right," To Eddie he said while rising from his chair, "I need to call it a night. My son is coming home from the hospital tomorrow."

Elizabeth had caught Eddie's reaction to Isobel. She couldn't blame him for acting like an starstruck teenager. Isobel was fucking gorgeous in every way you could consider beauty. Still she did smirk with some mirth at how tongue tied Eddi was responding to her.

"Professor!" he blurted out as he got to his feet. "I... I hadn't said my answer in full yet.". He swallowed nervously.

Professor Bryant turned to regard him waiting for it. Elizabeth shifted as Eddie collected himself, and peered straight into his eyes saying, "I formally and fervently accept your ring, Professor Bryant, and all the rights and privileges included."

Professor Bryant nodded at that as he reached for his coat, "Thank you Eddie." He pulled his coat on and gestured towards him. "You won't be required to be so formal until the actual induction. You'll have some rote things to recite, but not a whole lot."

Elizabeth got up as she reached for him giving him a moment to soak in his decision here before telling him, "Eddie I'll tell you anything you want to know. If I can, that is. Also we'll need to get to know each other if we're going to play boyfriend and girlfriend."

She said to him, "Wanna go over to the student center for a slice of pizza. We can eat up on the veranda and have some privacy to talk?"

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Professor Bryant had been more forthcoming than Eddie figured he'd be. It made sense the longer he thought about it; this was ultimately Professor Bryant's plan to remake the society. Eddie hoped he'd be around to be a mentor as he started on this path. Elizabeth grabbed her coat as it looked like everyone was leaving.

"Wanna go over to the student center for a slice of pizza. We can eat up on the veranda and have some privacy to talk?"

Eddie sighed. "You know? That might not be a bad idea..." He fidgeted with the ring a few times before finally putting it into his pocket. He got to the door as Professor Bryant and his gorgeous fiancee were walking through. They said their good-byes in the hall before Eddie and Elizabeth made their way to the Student Union.

The night had gotten more crisp since Eddie got to campus. He was glad for his all-weather fleece as they walked in silence among the street lamps. Eddie bit his lip and looked over at Elizabeth. There had been something he'd always wanted to do, but never had the courage. He reached over, moving slowly, and slipped his hand into Elizabeth's. He blushed profusely, unsure how she would take it. She may be assigned to him, but he wasn't sure if her feelings about him were genuine or expected.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Elizabeth Sommerset

She said to him, "Wanna go over to the student center for a slice of pizza. We can eat up on the veranda and have some privacy to talk?"

"You know? That might not be a bad idea..." He sighed but nodded to her.

Elizabeth watched him fidget with what to do with the ring. "Whatever you do don't lose that, please."

He finally put it into his pocket, and then they headed out after saying their good byes to Isobel and Professor Bryant. It was crisp night where the crescent moon hung low in the starlit sky. In fact it was a little too crisp. Elizabeth had stayed with Professor Bryant in the English Lit building since the end of class earlier that afternoon, she had not brought a jacket. So it was a little chillier tonight than she was prepared for.

She felt his hand reach out to hold hers. She looked over to Eddie and gave him a little smile saying, "Good idea, we need to start acting like we're boyfriend and girlfriend so we don't arouse suspicions over how much time we're spending together."

She looked back ahead of them as they walked the moonlit sidewalk. They were almost to the Student Center.

She was of course very much aware that to Eddie reaching out and holding her hand was not a clever idea to appear like they were dating eachother. He probably wanted their ruse to be true, but she wasn't his girlfriend. She'd never really be his girlfriend-not in the way he wanted. In fact if all went well in a week she'd be his sexslave. Yet she knew right now he was hoping for that level of emotional connection between them.

She had never ever had a boyfriend in her life. She didn't know how to have one. She could mimic what she'd seen with other couples, but that was a very far cry from sincerely feeling that level of connection with someone without that someone having that little black ring on his finger.

She felt awkward holding his hand now, like she was somehow faking it. Which she was of course, but it still felt like she was being a sham. She was a sibling not a normal girl with a boyfriend.

The wind picked up rustling the leaves of the trees lining their path across the university's grounds. She clutched her arms and shivered from the chill. "Brrr, I knew I should have remembered a jacket."