Nicole heard doors open and slam shut. A second or two later, the trunk opened up, bright early morning light slipping between the bars of Nicole's cage, lighting up the inside of the pet carrier. Nicole saw Rachel's mischievous, grinning face, looking inside at her friend.

"So, how was the ride, Nicole?" Rachel said. She'd been ungagged and unchained. Nicole could only reply with a feeble grunt into her gag. Rachel laughed as she unlocked the door and helped Nicole clamber out of the trunk.

"Come on," Rachel said, grabbing the ring on Nicole's collar, leading her around the van. "Best not to keep the mistress waiting, right?" As they made their way around the back of the van, Nicole glanced around, curiously. Mistress Jones had parked in front of a small, but comfortable looking farm house, ringed by tall trees, giving the whole place a quiet, secluded atmosphere.

The two girl's "owner" sat back in a chair on the front porch, waiting for them. She motioned for Rachel to lead Nicole over to the porch. Nicole jumped up onto the wooden steps, the chains on her feet jangling, with some relief. A gravel driveway wasn't the best place to be walking around barefoot.

"You can take off her shackles and gag, slave Rachel." Mistress Jones said. "Remember, slaves, the ability to speak and move about freely is a privilege for slaves, not a right. Abuse it and you'll find yourselves in some pretty severe bondage for the rest of your stay." Mistress Jones blinked, then added: "Oh, and no disobeying, just so I'll have to tie you up. I know you Rachel, and unless I miss my guess your friend's just like you. If I think I have to, I'll make sure to punish you both in a way you won't end up enjoying."

"Believe me, Nicole, she can be sadistically creative sometimes." Rachel said, unbuckling Nicole's ball gag. The young woman spat the rubber ball out, opening and closing her mouth a couple times to loosen her stiff jaws after being wedge open so long.

"What do you say, slave?" Mistress Jones asked.

"What? Oh! Umm…Thank You Mistress!" Nicole said, quickly adopting a suitably subservient pose.

"Good. Now, I'm throwing a little party this evening, so before then, you two will have to get the whole place cleaned, make the refreshments and take care of all the other little chores I, frankly, can't be bothered with, not while I've got slaves to take care of them." Mistress Jones said, smiling impishly. She stood up. "But first, there's something we need to take care of before we can begin..."

Rachel grinned. Nicole glanced at her friend, but Rachel didn't seem inclined to enlighten her. "Come on, Nicole…" she said, hurrying after Mistress Jones. Nicole swallowed nervously, but hurried after the two. She had a sneaking suspicion she was about to be the victim of some practical joke or another. She sighed. Nothing to do but grit her teeth and bear it.

Mistress Jones led the two slaves around behind the house. On one side of the yard was an old barn, somewhat fallen into disrepair and in need of a new coat of paint. On the other side, across from it,
was a corrugated metal toolshed. A propane grill stood nearby.

In front of the shed, two wooden posts had been driven into the ground. A third wooden bar was set horizontally across the tops of the posts. It had been wrapped in some old carpet as padding. An iron ring had been fixed into the two posts, near the ground, leaving Nicole with no illusions as to its purpose.              

As if to confirm her suspicions, Mistress Jones pulled a pair of handcuffs, the leg irons with the longer chains, from her bag and handed them to Rachel. The slave girl walked over and threaded the chains through the iron rings.

"Slave Nicole, go over and bend over the post, please." Mistress Jones ordered. Nicole complied, hesitantly. Rachel knelt down and snapped the shackles onto Nicole's wrists and ankles, her left hand chained to her left foot and vice versa. The teenage blushed, finding herself in a rather compromising position, bent over with her butt up in the air. She squirmed awkwardly, as much as the chains would allow. The post was high enough, she was forced to stand on her tiptoes.

"Relax, Nicole…" Rachel said, stepping up beside her friend. Taking advantage of the girl's helplessness, Rachel began tickling Nicole's sides. When Nicole was shaking and laughing, she knelt and began to tickle the soles of her bare feet. Nicole kicked, as much as she was able to, but Rachel was a fiend and kept up the assault.

"Hee hee…stop…HA…it…Rachel! Ha Ha!!!" Nicole stammered out under her friends furious tickling. She squirmed and shook wildly, but, chained down, couldn't escape her friend's deft fingers. Nicole's feet were now fully off the ground, kicking in the air, her butt sticking up in the air. She hung over the bar like a limp sack of potatoes.

Finally, Rachel stopped, leaving her victim breathless. Rachel turned. "You ready yet, Mistress?" she called. "Just about." Mistress Jones replied from over by the toolshed.

"What are you going to do," Nicole asked, somewhat nervously, "If you don't mind me asking."

"oh, nothing much…" Rachel said, off-handedly. "We're just going to brand you…"

"WHAT!!!" Nicole exclaimed. 'You've got to be kidding me!"

"Oh, she's not joking." Mistress Jones said. Nicole twisted around as best she could chained down, to look over at the older woman and went pale. Mistress Jones was standing over the propane grill, heating up the end of a long, iron cattle brand. "I insist that all my slaves be branded to show my ownership." She pulled the end out of the gas flame. The ornate design at the end was red hot.  

"She branded me last year," Rachel said with a smirk. "Remind me to show it to you sometime. Relax," she put a hand on the struggling girl's shoulder. "It's not that bad. A week, maybe two weeks, and it won't even hurt anymore."

Rachel stepped behind Nicole, who was now struggling as hard as she could, and not getting anywhere fast. Rachel grabbed the hem of Nicole's dress and hiked it up, before pulling Nicole's panties down, exposing her nude behind, ready for the brand. Nicole was too nervous to be embarrassed.   

"You can't do this." Nicole cried, fearfully. "Let me go! Get me down from here!"

"Slave Rachel," Mistress Jones said, "I think slave Nicole has abused her speech privileges enough, please silence her."  She pulled a ball gag out of her bag and tossed it to Rachel who deftly caught it

"Please! Let me-MMMPPPHHH!!!" Nicole was cut mid plea as Rachel stuffed the rubber ball between Nicole's teeth. She pulled the straps back and buckled them tight. Nicole squirmed futilely as Rachel stepped back to allow Mistress Jones to take station behind the struggling girl.

Tears were streaming down Nicole's face now. Despite the cold weather, she was sweating heavily. She could feel the heat radiating off the hot end of the brand, mere inches from the vulnerable skin of Nicole's butt, as Mistress Jones lined up the end for a clean branding. Nicole shut her eyes and clenched her hands in anticipation for the coming pain

Suddenly, she felt the end of the brand press hard into her left cheek. Nicole screamed into her gag at the sudden, burning…cold!?!

"Got you!" Rachel giggled, walking in front of Nicole. She waved the second brand in front of Nicole before returning it to the bucket of ice water it had come from. "You should have seen the look on your face!" Rachel said as Miss Jones dropped the first, thankfully unused brand into the bucket as well, releasing a cloud of steam.

"HHGGMMMPPPHHH!!!" Nicole grunted into her gag, the rubber plug proving a fortuitous censor to what she was trying to say. Rachel merely laughed as she bend down un unchain Nicole's hands and feet. "Lighten up, Nicole. She got me too, the same way, last year. Only fair you should have a turn."

As Nicole got down and hurriedly pulled her panties back up, face crimson, ears burning, she had to admit, now that the threat of burning and permanent scarring was gone, it had been a good prank, even if she had been on the wrong end of it.

"I hope that wasn't too bad, Nicole." Miss Jones said, stepping around the hitching post. "How are you feeling?"

"AAuggph AAAd…" Nicole mumbled into her gag.

"Oh! Rachel, would you mind ungagging her. I think Slave Nicole can be trusted not to abuse her speech privileges now."

"Thanks." Nicole said as Rachel removed her gag. She spat, getting the taste of rubber out of her mouth. "I'm ok."

'Good." Miss Jones said. "Now, before we do anything else, I think I'd better give you your safe word. If you're ever uncomfortable with something we're doing, Nicole, you can just say your safe word and I promise to stop and untie you immediately. Now, what word can I give you, Rachel, do you remember your safe word from last year?"

"I remember, it was 'Purple Monkeys'. Remember because-"

"Right, right. Don't need to bore Nicole with old history…" Miss Jones hurried cut off the younger girl. "Let's see, Nicole, your safe word will be 'Balaclava'. Or if you're gagged, just grunt three times loudly. Can you remember that?"

"Sure." Nicole said.

"Good." Miss Jones grinned impishly. "Now, to make sure you don't abuse the safe word, each time you use it, you lose a piece of clothing. Lose all your clothes and I get to tie you up however I want and take pictures of you. Same goes for you, Rachel." The two girls nodded.

"Now slaves," Mistress Jones said, falling back into her cruel, slave Mistress' voice again. 'After that bit of fun, I think it's time I put you two to work." She grinned excitedly. "Let me show you what you'll be doing! Come one!" She turned and headed back for the house.

"Yes, mistress…" the two slaves said, following with considerably less enthusiasm…