The Kingdom Ch. 10

CHAPTER 10 -- FORBIDDEN FRUIT

It was a foggy morning and the air felt cooler than it had the night before. Shivering outside of the building I previously knew to be the call center, I rubbed my arms in an attempt to stay warm. The sign hanging above the glass doors to the building now read "TRADING POST". I recognized it as the same sign that used to hang over the ATM kiosks at the front of the park. It was surreal to consider how a simple Renaissance-themed sign intended to help guests find a place to withdraw cash could now imply something as perverse as slave trading.

I glanced down at my phone to check the time. 7:57am. A sign taped to the inside of the glass door in front of me read "Business hours: 8am-6pm". Inside, several women in burgundy uniforms could be seen working in their cubicles but nobody made eye contact with me or seemed to notice that I was there.

While it wasn't cold enough outside for me to see my breath, it certainly felt freezing. I'd regretfully neglected to buy a heavier jacket when I was clothing shopping earlier in the week. Tapping my foot impatiently, I sat atop the hard black suitcase that I'd discovered on my doorstep the day earlier. I still had no idea what was inside, given the fact that it was combination-locked. But at least it was something dry to me sit on. Next to me was a trash bag with all of my other belongings. As per Murphy's request, I had packed everything from the suite in preparation to check out for the trade.

I hadn't slept much. I hated not having been able to speak with Katie the night prior before leaving the stadium. It made me sick not knowing if Murphy had explained things adequately to her. The thought of her wondering whether I'd abandoned her was upsetting, to say the least. I nervously glanced up and down the cobblestone street, eager to catch a glimpse of Murphy and Katie walking toward me. But the street was empty. At 8:00 on the money, a woman unlocked the glass doors and held one open for me. I could see that her wrists were handcuffed in front of her.

"Welcome," she said pleasantly. "Thank you for waiting so patiently," I walked in, dragging my suitcase and trash bag behind me. I instantly relaxed as a gust of warm air met me. "Do you have an appointment with anyone in particular?" She asked.

"No," I said. "Wait- was I supposed to?"

"Oh no," she replied reassuringly. "We can see you right away. I just didn't know if anyone had been helping you already."

"No... I just made a deal with someone last night and he told me to meet him here," I explained.

"Okay, great," the woman replied. "Well, if you wouldn't mind following me over to one of our notaries, she'll get you taken care of."

I followed the woman past cubicles occupied with handcuffed women tapping away at their keyboards. Everything in the building looked pretty much the same as I'd left it when I closed the Ren Faire for the season. Everything except for the BDSM-themed artwork that now hung on throughout the office. Each cubicle sported at least one of these.

To my left, hung a painting of clenched fists tied together in rope. The next cubicle showcased a photograph of an aproned 40's style women kneeling in front of a modern-day skyscraper.

The woman leading me suddenly stopped at the entrance of a cubical with a brunette woman sitting behind a desk. Over her shoulder on the wall hung a red "Keep Calm" poster. But instead of reading "KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON" like the famous British WWII poster, this one read, "KEEP CALMphh Mmm Mmrmph Mmph" with a line drawing of a ball-gag taking the place of the crown at the top.

"Laura here will take care of you," the woman leading me said, snapping me back to reality.

"Thanks," I replied, dragging my stuff into the cubical.

"Hi there, I'm Laura," the woman said reaching across the desk to shake my hand. Since her wrists were cuffed, she had to outstretch both arms. I shook her hand and gave a polite smile. "How can I help you today?" she asked.

"Um, I'm supposed to meet someone here about trading my suite for his slave," I replied. I cringed inside. Somehow, saying it out loud made it sound even worse.

"Okay," Laura said, unfazed. "May I ask what your name is?"

"Jodie O'Connell," I replied. Laura began typing my name into her computer. I was pleasantly surprised that she didn't seem to recognize me or know who I was. After appearing onstage last night, I was genuinely fearful that I'd become a celebrity or something.

"Okay, Jodie," Laura said with her eyes still on her screen. "I see that you reside in the castle suite?"

"Yes," I answered. "Well, for now... That's what I'm trading away."

"Ah, I see," she replied, typing away at her keyboard. "And will this be for monetary compensation?"

"No," I answered. "I'll be trading it for custody of... a friend."

"Okay..." Laura replied, suddenly looking at me with a curious look on her face. "Where will you be staying, might I ask?"

I hesitated. "Um, I haven't figured that out yet. I guess I'll have to get a room at the Inn," I replied.

Laura lifted her hands from the keyboard and folded them desk in front of her. "Unfortunately, those arrangements will need to be sorted out prior to a making a trade of this kind."

"What? Why?" I asked.

"I'm afraid the rules dictate that custody may only be granted to a guest who has authorized living accommodations," Laura explained.

I stared at her blankly for several seconds. "What?"

"Basically," Laura continued, "-if your trade is contingent upon the forfeit of your suite, you will no longer have housing... which would make you ineligible to retain custody of a slave."

"You have got to be shitting me," I said, more forcefully than I'd intended.

Laura paused awkwardly. "I'm sorry," she replied sheepishly.

"So... what do I have to do?" I asked. "How do I get housing?"

"At this point, I don't know that you'll have luck finding any vacancy," Laura replied. "But let me check." She suddenly began typing away at her keyboard again. "I know that this year marked the first year that The Kingdom reached capacity, so the inns may be completely full."

I ran my fingers through my hair, looking up at the ceiling in frustration. After a few seconds, Laura broke the silence. "Yeah. Unfortunately, I'm seeing that all rooms and cabins are currently being occupied.

"Unreal," I whispered in frustration. I just could not catch a break!

After another awkward pause, Laura interjected, "I can add you to the standby list, but there's no guarantee of when a vacancy would become available."

Still staring up at the ceiling, I merely replied, "Sure." At this point I really was out of options... Unless I was able to renegotiate the terms of my deal with Murphy, I was SOL.

"If you were really interested in moving forward with this trade today," Laura interjected, "-you could always enlist in our residency program."

"Residency program?" I asked, dropping my head to face her again. I suddenly recalled hearing Annabelle reassign her receptionist to "permanent resident at the laughing place".

"Yes," Laura explained. "It's pretty much an internship program that provides room and board at the residency center. This would essentially allow you to retain custody of a slave until a room at one of our inns or cabins became available."

A pit suddenly formed in my stomach. An internship program? I was scared to even contemplate what that entailed... Sensing that I was clueless about what she was talking about, Laura continued into further detail.

"Basically, it offers people, both men and women, opportunities to experiment and gain experience in the BDSM lifestyle," She explained. "Some businesses offer pay and perks, others simply offer housing credits." Laura leaned over and grabbed a flyer off the corner of her desk. "Here's a list of businesses that are registered participants in the residency program."

I took the piece of paper from her and scrolled down the list. There looked to be about two dozen businesses named.

"If you have a smartphone, you can enroll via our app. From there, you can also see which businesses are currently hiring," Laura added. "Most use a bi-weekly employment model. So, if you're offered a position, you'll be required to work for the entirety of those two weeks. In exchange, you'll receive housing credits and whatever else your contract stipulates."

I shook my head from side to side. I couldn't believe that I was actually considering this. It was unbelievable that there was not a single room available for me to rent! It was unbelievable that I was even in this situation at all... I just wanted to do pay my debt to Katie! That was it! Return the favor for her saving my hide. It should have been a simple trade! Brandy for Katie. Done! FINISHED! But no, nothing here was simple! Even the smallest of hiccups seemed to trigger an unfathomably complex chain reaction.

"If you would like, I can set up an appointment to resume this trade for a bit later today so you can have time to think all of this over?" Laura offered politely.

The trade. I suddenly realized that I was still waiting on Murphy to show up. I glanced down at my phone to see that it now read 8:12am. Fucker!

"Is it possible to call the guy who was supposed to meet me here?" I asked.

"Certainly," Laura replied. "What's his name?"

"Tom Murphy," I answered, feeling my blood pressure rise at the mere mention of his stupid name.

Laura began typing on her keyboard. "Hmm, I don't see a room phone number listed," she said quietly. After a brief cause, she continued, "Oh, I see. He's staying in the apartment connected to his business. I'll give his shop a try." Laura picked up her desk phone and dialed the number listed on her computer screen.

I tapped my fingernails impatiently on the desk. After several seconds, Laura looked up at me and shook her head. "It's going to voicemail. You can also send him a message from the app if you'd like."

Silently, I motioned for Laura to hand me the phone. She placed the phone in my outstretched hand and pushed the receiver closer to me. As I pressed the phone against my ear, I could hear Murphy's voice recording wrapping up. "-otherwise, please leave a brief message after the tone. Thank you."

After the beep, I unleashed. "Murphy, where the hell are you? It's 8:15 and I'm at the Trading Post. As of this morning, you are now one of three people who've expressed interest in the suite," I lied. "So, if you want it, there's now an expiration date." And with that, I hung up.

"Would you like for me to schedule you an appointment for later today?" Laura asked.

"Um... I don't know" I replied, trying to gather my scattered thoughts. After a few seconds, I stood to my feet. "I'm just gonna go to his shop now. I'll come back after I find him."

"Of course," Laura replied.

"Um, do you know if there's someplace I can leave my bags for a bit?" I asked. "I'd rather not lug everything around if I can help it."

"Oh, sure," Laura said helpfully. "You know what- I can keep your things right here behind my desk until you return."

"That would be great," I replied. "Thanks." Laura stood to her feet and helped drag the suitcase and trash bag across the carpeted floor. It was a relief to be reminded every once in a while that not everyone here was a fucking asshole. "Hopefully, I'll be back soon," I added, turning to leave.

"Okay. Good luck," Laura called after me.

I was pissed. Pissed and scared... What if Murphy was having second thoughts about trading Katie? What if he'd changed his mind? Despite my strategy to play hardball with him in my voicemail, Murphy really did hold all the cards. I couldn't allow him to keep Katie. Abandoning her to a monster like him just wasn't an option. After what she'd done for me- saving me from nearly a month-long stay in the kennel, I really was indebted to her. I needed to make this trade happen...

Leaving the Trading post, I speed-walked toward Murphy's Hall. As I walked, I rehearsed what I was going to say to Murphy. I couldn't be too bitchy. My attitude had landed me in all sorts of trouble thus far. But I definitely needed to be forceful.

Moments later, I turned into Cedar Square. The square was completely empty with exception a street cleaner who was spraying down one of the sidewalks with a hose. My heart began to race as I approached the building now known as Murphy's Hall. I rapped loudly on the door. I waited about a second and a half before trying again. This time louder.

The lights were off inside the shop and the sign on the inside of the glass door read "CLOSED". I tried knocking one more time before finally giving up and making my way toward the rear-side of the building where the apartment was. I hopped through what looked to be budding vegetable garden and jogged up the concrete stairs to the back door. I wasted no time to start pounding on the brown wooden door.

"Murphy! It's Jodie, open up!" I yelled. I stood as still as I could, hoping to hear the slightest sign of movement. After a few seconds, I tried turning the handle only to find that the door had been locked and deadbolted. If only I still had my master keys, I thought. After several failed attempts to force my way inside, I resumed to my strategy of pounding on the door. This continued for another minute until I remembered what Laura had said about messaging him through the app.

I pulled out my phone and opened up the Kingdom app. My hands were shaking as I typed his name into the search bar. Tom's profile was the only result listed under the name Murphy. I tapped it and opened up a message window.

where the hell are you?! I typed.

After pressing send, I promptly returned my efforts to pounding on the door. But just as I opened my mouth to start shouting again, I caught something out of the corner of my eye. The breeze window about 7 feet off the porch was propped open...

The rectangular window was only about 24 inches high, but definitely wide enough for me to climb through. Scanning the area around me, I spotted a wooden barrel at the bottom of the steps next to the garden. Perfect. I jumped down and began dragging the rotting barrel up the stairs and beneath the window.

Moments later, I stepped on top of it and balanced myself by leaning against the wooden siding of the building. The window was still several feet higher than I'd have liked for it to be, but I wasn't seeing any taller props to stand on. After a few deep breaths, I gripped the sill and jumped, hoisting myself through the small opening. It took a few seconds for me to lift my leg inside, but once I was straddling the windowsill, it was easy for me to pull the rest of my body through. I delicately lowered myself into the apartment, pointing my feet downward to make contact with the kitchen counter below. The rapid fatigue in my arm muscles served as a painful reminder of just how out of shape. Once my feet were on solid ground, I let go of the windowsill and hopped down onto the linoleum floor. And just like that, I was inside. I brushed myself off and straightened my shirt, suddenly feeling much more athletic than I actually was.

"Murphy?" I called out, scanning the room. "Hello?" On the counter next to the locked door, I spotted what looked like a small black stun gun. I stepped over to it and picked it up. It was a lot heavier than I imagined it would be. Thinking back to the handbook that I'd studied a few days prior, I thought I remembered reading that weapons of any kind were prohibited on Kingdom grounds. Murphy could get in a lot of trouble if he were caught with this... As a precautionary measure, I stowed it in my jacket pocket. The last thing I wanted was for Murphy to jump out and use it on me.

"Hello?!" I repeated. Still not hearing anything that resembled life, I began walking gingerly toward the bedroom. I'd been in this apartment many times before, but never in a situation that made my heart race. I suppose that breaking and entering tended to raise the stakes in any setting whether it was familiar or not.

I pushed open the bedroom door and what I saw next nearly made me leap out of my skin. On the floor, at the foot of the bed were two large cages side by side. One of them was empty and the other held none other than Tasha!

"Holy shit," I breathed, as I stepped backwards in surprise at the sight of the naked and bound woman. The situation was made even more chilling due to the fact that Tasha merely stared up at me from the cage, not moving a muscle. She wore a harness-style bit-gag that resembled a peace-sign covering her face. A strap extended up over her shaved head and was connected by a rope to the top of the cage. I noticed that she was restrained similarly to how contestants were on the subway train leaving the hunt. She wore a black latex thong and was bent over in a doggy style position with her legs spread to either side. Her ankles and upper calves were belted to the base of the cage. Her arms were restrained behind her back in an armbinder. But instead of pinning her elbows together, this armbinder looked more relaxed and appeared to keep her arms in a in a box-tie position.

With the rope that was attached to the top of her harness-gag, her upper body was suspended horizontally with her breasts hanging roughly about a foot off the ground. Covering each nipple was what looked to be a circular black patch that was connected to her collar by thin cords. Another cord appeared to extend down her spine and disappeared beneath her leather thong.

Unlike the predicaments of the subway crate occupants, however, there appeared to be no dildos in sight. Lucky her, I guess.

"Um... I'm looking for Murphy," I said awkwardly as I stepped into the room. "Any idea where he is?"

Tasha shook her head as much as the restraints would allow.

"What about Katie?" I asked.

Tasha nodded toward the front of her cage, looking directly up at the latch inches from her face.

"Right," I answered, picking up on her subtle request to release her from her prison. I knelt down to the ground and reached through the cage bars to remove the bit-gag from her mouth. Not wanting to leave too much evidence of my unlawful entry, I decided to limit my involvement to merely removing Tasha's gag. Still leaving the harness attached to her head, I was able to bend the rubber bit-gag enough to pry it from between Tasha's teeth and pull it beneath her chin.

Tasha sighed and worked her jaw open and closed as much as the harness would allow.

"Get me out," Tasha whispered, almost inaudibly.

"Sorry, I can't," I replied. "I'm not exactly supposed to be in here."

As I spoke, I could see Tasha's face contorting in pain. I stared back at her confused.

"Unplug the cords from my collar," she whispered.

I stared at her skeptically. "Why?" I asked.

"Please," she whispered with her eyes closed. To be honest, as awful as Tasha's plight undoubtedly was, her breathy whispers and winces seemed a bit over-the-top to me.

Nonetheless, I decided to humor her and grant the request. I reached back into the cage and disconnected the two cords from her collar. They looked identical to 3.5mm headphone connectors. Once disconnected from jacks in her collar, Tasha suddenly exhaled a long groan.

"Ugggggh!," she groaned loudly. I cocked my head in confusion. "The collar detects sound," she explained. "When the cords are plugged in, anything louder than a few decibels triggers electronic charges to my nipples and ass."