'don't chicken out' at the top of the
list?"
"That
was before I realized that I'm terrified. I mean, what was I thinking? What if
Silver is right, and some troll or horrible person bids on me? Oh, God, what if
no-one bids on me? Bess, if you were really my friend, you would have talked me
out of this ridiculous scheme."
"You
know good and well that Marshall would never let that happen—not to you,
not to Silver, and not to a single submissive going up for auction." Bess
stood straighter, her hands going to her hips as she put on her strict 'Nanny'
face. "Rosalind Raye Reynolds, you made me swear not to let you back out,
and if you don't straighten up, young lady, I'm going to spank you
myself!"
Rosa
had to smile and then giggled, knowing how very effective that 'look' was when
directed at one of the many clients who came to the Castle to live out their
fantasies of being a Little, instead of living with the responsibilities of
their normal Big world.
She
had met Bess when she'd got a job at the most talked about place in this part
of Ohio. When Rosa had first seen the Castle, her mouth had fallen open, and
her insides began quivering.
It
was as if she had stepped back in time. Fields of wheat had been waving in the
distance, large groves of trees and other landscaping making it appear as if
some ancient castle had been caught up in a tornado and plopped down into the
middle of nowhere. We're not in Kansas
anymore, had popped into her head. Though she didn't own a pair of ruby
slippers, she'd clicked her heels together three times and declared herself
home.
Rosa
discovered two things within her first few days of work. The first was that the
fifteenth century castle had actually been brought over from Scotland and
reassembled, stone by stone. The second was that she absolutely loved her job
in the Nursery section of the Castle. It hadn't taken her a day before she
realized that there was something about attending to these adult men and women
during their stay that filled her heart. It was amazing watching the
transformation overcome them as grown-up clothing was removed and childish
attire took its place. It was as if with every piece of clothing discarded,
stress was released and the happiness of childhood was donned. She had laughed
with Bess and the other women that worked as governesses at the antics of their
charges, had participated in preparing the naughty ones for punishment, had cuddled
quite a few, and had ultimately discovered that she wanted to be one of them.
Managing to keep her desire secret for a long time, she had finally admitted to
it the day a charity auction was announced and submissives were being sought.
Master
Don had been a wonderful man. He was one of the original founders of the
Castle, and had spent a great deal of time and effort to create a place where
people could live out their fantasies, bringing them to life. His death from
cancer had been a huge loss, touching everyone who worked with him. Knowing
that all of the proceeds of the auction would go to a charity in his name, had
given Rosa that final push to approach Master Marshall and ask if she could
volunteer to be one of the submissives to be auctioned for the New Year's
event. When he instantly gave his approval, and his thanks for volunteering,
she had felt like she was not only going to have a chance to play out her own
fantasies, she was also doing it for the very best cause.
Rosa
was pulled from her thoughts when she heard her door opening. Looking up, she
saw Bess standing in the doorway. "Where are you going? You don't have to
go back to your room—"
"I'm
not," Bess interrupted. "I'm going to Marshall's office," she
went on, her expression neutral, "and you are going with me."
"Um,
do I want to know why?"
Bess
sighed and shook her head. "Rosa, you adored Don and were so thrilled to
be able to do something in his honor. The fact that you also can do something
you've dreamed of for as long as you can remember is just a