A Weekend in Byzantium by Zack

A Weekend in Byzantium
By Zack
Copyright© 2001, 2002. All rights reserved.

Notice: This is a story about consenting adults engaged in sexual fantasy role-playing . If you are not of legal age, or if descriptions of consensual sex and bondage upset you, stop reading now.
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Princess Zoe lolled on her silken sheets while she decided which of her lovers she would humiliate tonight. She so enjoyed toying with a man, making him serve her needs and frustrating his desire. And the best part was watching him try to hide his rage, when he knew that insulting the Emperor's daughter could earn him a swift death, if he were lucky.

Finally she decided. It would be the young Norseman, Olaf. She had seen him yesterday in the throne room where he was on duty with other members of the elite Varangian Guard. The straightforward simplicity of the Norseman made a pleasant contrast to the sinuous complexity of the courtiers who infested her father's court. She clapped her hands and shouted at her maid, "Send for Olaf!"

In a few minutes Olaf was standing before her. "Did you want to see me, Your Highness?"

"Yes, Olaf. I'm interested in learning how much you barbarians know about pleasing a woman. I do hope it is as much as I expect. I so hate to have my lovers executed. But don't let that pressure you."

Princess Zoe was not disappointed. Olaf's expert use of his hands, lips, and tongue caused her to climax again and again. She was so moved by her ecstasy that she allowed him to use her body to slake his own desire. Later, as they lay together on the sweat-soaked sheets, Princess Zoe heard a bell ring.

* * *

She complained, "Damn! Who could be calling at this hour?" and answered the telephone.

Mark asked, "Who was that?"

"A wrong number. I thought I had turned this phone off."

Lisa hung up the phone and turned to Mark. "Zoe could do a much better job of humiliating Olaf if she could tie him up."

"Olaf doesn't want to be tied up. Especially by Zoe, because Zoe ignores safe words."

"It was only once! I just got lost in the fantasy and really didn't recognize the safe word."

"Once is enough to shatter trust. Knowing that you lose track of who you are is not reassuring either."

"Oh, well. Zoe doesn't really need crude physical restraints. She can establish her dominance with just the force of her personality." Lisa kissed Mark and sighed. "Olaf was really good. I especially liked the thing he did with the knife."

"Olaf is pleased you were pleased. You had better sleep now. It will be a strenuous day tomorrow."

* * *

Zoe was abruptly awakened by a hand shaking her shoulder. When she recognized Olaf she shouted, "How dare you disturb me! I'll have you executed for this!"

"No, Princess. Read this." Olaf handed Zoe a document.

"What is this?" Zoe had never bothered to learn to read.

"It is a warrant for your arrest on a charge of treason. It is signed by the Emperor." Olaf seized Zoe's arm and pulled her from the bed. He turned her around and ordered, "Put your hands behind your back."

Zoe screamed and struggled. "No! I'm a princess. You can't do this to me!"

Olaf pushed Zoe forward onto the bed and pulled her hands together. He held them there while he circled her wrists with jute twine and knotted it. He pulled Zoe to her feet and roughly caressed her breasts. "These won't be so lovely when the torturers have finished their work. What a waste!"

Olaf dragged Zoe to the door of her chamber. She pleaded, "Let me get dressed. I'm still the Emperor's daughter. You can't parade me through the palace naked."

"You will always be naked when you are in the dungeon. But this might save your pride." He pulled a cloth hood over Zoe's head and tied the drawstring around her neck. "This will conceal your identity. Except from your lovers, of course."

Olaf marched Zoe through the palace hallways and down stairs until they reached the dungeon door. Olaf caressed Zoe's body until she was panting and moaning. She cried, "Please Olaf! Take me now." Olaf responded by taking his hands off her body. Zoe moaned with frustration.

The door to the dungeon opened and a fetid smell escaped. Olaf pushed Zoe through the door opening and she stood by herself for a minute until someone inside the dungeon dragged her into the damp chamber. A hand clutched her arms just above her bound wrists and lifted them, forcing her to bend at the waist. She was pushed forward and the jailor said, "This way to the forge, Princess. We'll fit you with iron jewelry instead of that common jute."

Blind and helpless, Zoe stumbled forward until the jailor tripped her. She wasn't injured, because the jailor had shifted his grip to her upper arms and let her down until she was only six inches above a pile of straw before he released her, but the impact on her breasts still hurt. Zoe felt heat coming from the right and she could see a red glow through the cloth of the hood. She could feel the jailor fitting bands around her ankles, and then there was the sound of a hammer striking metal.

The jailor pulled Zoe up to her knees and closed an iron collar around her neck. Zoe felt a thrill run through her when the lock clicked. The jailor cut the cords around her wrists and let her massage the welts left by the thin twine for a few minutes. Then he fitted bands around her wrists, the hammer struck, and Zoe was chained and collared.

The chains were heavy, but they were long enough so that Zoe's movements would be only slightly restricted. Then the jailor locked the chain between Zoe's wrists to a ring set in the ceiling. Before closing the lock he carefully adjusted the length of the chain so that Zoe's heels were just off the floor.

The jailor removed her hood and Zoe saw him for the first time. He was wearing leather pants but no shirt, and his face was covered by a black mask. Zoe felt fear for the first time when she saw the quirt attached to the jailor's belt and realized how vulnerable her stretched and naked body was. She gasped when the jailor grasped the hair on the back of her head, and then moaned when he kissed her. She moaned again when his free hand went between her legs. She pushed her erect nipples against his chest, and when he gave her a few more short, probing strokes she cried out and her body spasmed and bucked.

Zoe realized she must have fainted, because when she recovered the jailor was gone and her wrists hurt from supporting her weight. She shifted her weight onto her toes to ease the pain in her wrists, but as the hours went by and her legs tired this became harder to do.

It was cold and damp in the dungeon, and the glowing forge was all that kept Zoe from freezing. She was hungry and thirsty, and other bodily functions needed attending to. She shouted, and when the jailor appeared she demanded, "Jailor, let me down at once! You can't treat a princess this way."

The jailor replied with a lash from his quirt that wrapped around Zoe's hip. She screamed, and she could feel blood running down her leg. The jailor snarled, "You address me as sir, traitor. And you'll stand there as long as I want you to stand there." He lashed Zoe's other hip, and she screamed again.

Zoe begged, "Please Sir, don't whip me again."

"Much better. You're not so haughty now."

"No, Sir. Yankee Doodle."

* * *

Mark asked, "Is there a problem, Lisa?"

"Yeah. I have to pee, and I need to eat. You dragged me off to prison before I had breakfast."

"You could pee where you are. That's what Zoe would have to do."

"Realism is fine, but I don't want to stand in a puddle of piss. Let me down."

Mark unlocked the chain from the ring in the ceiling and Lisa groaned as she put her feet flat on the ground. "How long was I standing there?"

Mark consulted his stopwatch. "Thirty seven minutes."

"Seemed like a lot longer." Lisa rubbed the red mark on her hip. "That quirt really hurts."

"I won't hit so hard next time. You realize that when we start again I'll have to whip you to get us back in the mood."

"Piss on the mood."

"Do you want me to take the chains off?"

"No, I'm OK."

"You know, I liked it better when we used the steel cuffs instead of the nylon webbing. It was more realistic."

"You're all for realism as long as I'm the one who suffers. Remember why we went to the nylon? When I struggled against the steel cuffs I got so many bruises that I had to wear pants and a long-sleeved shirt to work for more than a week. The collar is really steel and really locked. That's all you get."

"OK, I was just making a comment. We'll do it your way. When you're through in the bathroom come to the kitchen. Scrambled eggs OK? Or I could chain you in the cell and give you a bowl of swill."

* * *

The jailor lashed Zoe's hip, and she screamed.

Zoe begged, "Please Sir, don't whip me again."

"Much better. You're not so haughty now."

"No, Sir. Please, how long do I have to stand here?"

"Until the judge arrives. It could be an hour, it could be a day. Sometimes it's longer."

"What happens when he gets here?"

"You'll be tortured until you confess your treason."

"But I'm innocent! I'm not a traitor!"

"That doesn't matter. You're charged with treason, and everyone who comes here confesses eventually."

The jailor left the room, and Zoe was alone with her fear. Her hands were still stretched above her head and she was forced to stand on her toes. She was glad it wasn't long until the jailor returned.

The jailor took Zoe to another room. When she saw the open stocks she resisted, but the jailor easily forced her legs into the wooden frame and clamped them in place. Zoe was now sitting on the floor, but the jailor brought over a low stool and sat her on it. Zoe yelped as the narrow edge of the board fastened across the top of the stool cut into her bottom cheeks. The jailor tied a rope around her waist and pulled it behind her and tied it to a ring in the floor. Her legs were pulled straight and now she couldn't change the part of her bottom that was in contact with the board.

The jailor tied a rope to the chain between Zoe's wrists and pulled it towards her feet. She begged, "Please Sir, let me up. This board is killing me!"

The jailor responded by pulling the rope until Zoe's hands almost touched the board imprisoning her ankles. He tied the rope to a ring in the floor. She moaned as her body was stretched and the rope around her waist cut into her.

The jailor left the room and in a few minutes another man entered. He was dressed in a red robe, and his face was covered by a red hood. "Princess Zoe, you are accused of treason, and I am here to judge you. Confess your guilt now. You will do so eventually, so save yourself a lot of pain."

"No! I'm innocent!"

"Stubborn child! If this torture doesn't make you confess the next will. I'll tell the jailor to heat the branding irons."

Zoe was left alone with her pain. As the hours went by it became more intense. She was so tightly tied that she could only wriggle as the board tried to cut her in two. Finally she couldn't take any more pain and she started screaming. When the jailor appeared she cried, "I confess! I confess! Please, let me up."

The jailor released Zoe and supported her until she could stand on her own, and then he led her to a small cell and locked a short chain to her collar. The chain was fastened to a ring in the floor and was so short that Zoe couldn't sit up. The jailor locked the cell door and Zoe was left alone in the darkness.

Zoe was so glad to be out of the stocks that at first she gratefully accepted her new position. The cell was furnished with a scratchy blanket, a smelly bucket, and a jar of water. She drank the water, wrapped herself in the blanket, and tried to get comfortable on the stone floor, but it was impossible. As the hours went by she started to cry as her discomfort escalated into pain. When the cell door opened she felt a surge of relief.

The jailor unlocked the chain from Zoe's collar and took her from the cell. He tied her elbows so that the wrist chain was pulled tight across her belly and put the cloth hood over her head.

Zoe asked, "Where are you taking me?"

"To the Judge's quarters. He wants to 'interrogate' you some more."

The jailor guided Zoe through the palace. When they stopped he untied her elbows and helped her onto a bed. She was so glad to lie down and get some comfort that she didn't object when the chain on her wrists was locked to the headboard. Her hood was removed and she saw a man wearing the robes of the judge.

The judge removed his robe and revealed his naked body. He joined Zoe on the bed and kissed and caressed her. She responded by bending her knees and separating her feet to the limit allowed by the chain. He entered her and they climaxed together.

* * *

Lisa said, "Wow! That was good."

Mark pushed back her sweat-soaked hair and kissed her on the forehead. "I liked it too. This is much more intense than vanilla sex."

"Yeah, this is fun, but we've been getting into a rut for the rest of the scenario."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's the same old thing every time. The judge gives Zoe a term of hard labor and then you stand over me with a whip while I spend two or three hours on the stationary bicycle or the rowing machine. That's not a turn-on for me."

"It is for me. I like watching your sweaty body strain, and I like knowing that you can't stop until I let you stop. And besides, you hate exercise. If it wasn't for our games you wouldn't get any at all."

"Well, yeah, but I still don't like it much. How long was I in the stocks?"

Mark consulted his stopwatch. "One hour twenty seven minutes. That's less than half of the three hours, so you'll get the maximum sentence."

"What! You mean I needed just three more minutes to get a reduced sentence? I don't think it's fair that you don't tell me how long the torture has lasted."

"Torture is never fair. I'm waiting for the day you delay your confession a couple of hours beyond the three you need to prove your innocence."

"If that ever happens, you better be careful after you unchain me."

"Speaking of unchaining, we've got less than an hour to get to the restaurant." Mark got a wrench from the bedside table and started loosening the clamps that held the nylon webbing around Lisa's wrists and ankles.

* * *

Zoe woke up in the Judge's bed. Her only restraint was a chain that fastened her collar to a ring in the headboard.

The jailor entered the room. "Time to get you to the court for your sentencing, Princess. Stand up and cross your wrists behind your back"

The jailor tied Zoe's hands and fastened the chains on her ankles. He stuffed a wad of cloth into her mouth and held it in place with a scarf tied at the back of her neck. Then he put the cloth hood over her head and unlocked the chain from her collar.

Zoe was surprised by the gag and tried to grunt a question, but the jailor ignored her. She was hustled from the room, and she was ignored again when she tried to indicate that she hadn't had an opportunity to empty her bladder.

Zoe stood in the dungeon waiting to be sentenced. She was resigned to getting the maximum, thirty years of hard labor. But she was in for an unpleasant surprise.

The Judge solemnly pronounced the sentence. "Princess Zoe, you have confessed to treason. You are sentenced to death by hanging. The priest is here to give you the last rites. Jailor! Proceed with the execution."

Zoe was so stunned that she didn't resist as she was picked up and placed on a low stool. When she felt the noose being tightened around her neck she screamed through the gag and lost control of her bladder.

The Judge shouted, "Wait! A message from the Emperor has just arrived. Princess Zoe's sentence has been commuted to twenty years in the galleys. Remove her from the gallows."

The jailor removed the noose and lifted Zoe to the floor. She recovered enough to hum Yankee Doodle.

* * *

As soon as Mark removed the hood and the gag Lisa shouted, "Damn you, Mark! I was terrified. I thought you had gone crazy."

"You're the one that complained about being in a rut. I just wanted to give you a thrill. There was no danger. I was close enough to catch you if you fell and the noose was tied off with fifteen pound fishing leader." He looked at his damp pants. "I was also close enough to get sprayed."

"Serves you right. But I do have to admit it was exciting. Well, it's over now. Untie me."

"Not so fast. Zoe got a commutation, not a pardon. She still has to serve the twenty years in the galleys."

"You mean you're still going to make me spend two hours chained to the rowing machine?"

"Yep. And pirates have been reported in the area. Zoe will have to work hard to catch them."

"All right. I can use the time to think of new humiliations that Zoe can inflict on Olaf next week."