The American Frontier, 1881 AD

Heather squinted in the noonday sun at the hazy outline of the small town that had gradually taken shape before her. She moved effortlessly with the motion of her trotting mount, keeping the chestnut mare moving at the steady ground-eating pace she had maintained since early morning. She had been on the road for weeks now, heading out from the settled lands of the East in favour of the American West. She had grown up with stories of the opportunities someone could have out here, and dearly wished to find a ranch willing to hire her on.

The town didn’t get that much bigger as she rode in. Perhaps a hundred or more dwellings, clustered around a pair of saloons, the post office, bank, and sheriff’s station. A few other businesses were sprinkled throughout, but Heather made straight for the saloon with a worn looking sign that proclaimed: Clancy’s Hideaway.

Heather hitched her horse to the station outside and headed in, brushing a few strands of dark red hair away from her face, where she was greeted by the slightly rowdy atmosphere of a half filled common room of mostly men in from their various morning work projects. She headed over to the bar, careful to avoid any challenging eye contact, and sat herself down.

“Excuse me,” Heather flagged the barkeep down, “You don’t happen to know of any folks hiring for nearby ranches do you?”

The barkeep, a woman maybe a few years older than Heather gave her a quick appraisal. Her gaze tracked over Heather, her gear, and ended up back on her face, “Easterner?”

“More or less,” Heather allowed, “I’m looking to gain some experience working here before pushing on.”

The barkeep nodded slowly, “Well if it’s experience you’re looking for, it may be that Madame Randolph can open your eyes a little to the business.” She jerked her chin towards a far corner. Heather turned, saw the figure of someone sitting at a table removed from the rowdy middle area, and headed over with a nod of thanks to the barkeep.

Madame Randolph, it turned out, was a beautiful woman approaching her forties who was dressed in the practical leathers and traveling attire of someone who worked for a living. Heather had just opened her mouth to introduce herself when she older woman waved her to take a seat, her piercing green eyes tracing over Heather much as the barkeep had done. She tapped at her chin for a moment before a warm smile creased her face, “So, I guess you’ll be interested in experiencing ranch life, hmm?”

“Yes! Uh…”

“Madame.”

“Yes, uh, Madame, that would be great!” Heather blushed a little at her social slip and at her forwardness, “Sorry, Madame it’s just—”

“You’re excited, it’s quite alright,” Madame Randolph’s smile slipped perilously close to a grin as she leaned forwards, “It’s one of the things I look for in my…hirelings. Enthusiasm for the experience tends to see most through the hard times.” She noted Heather’s quizzical air and shrugged, “the life I offer at my ranch is not an easy one Miss. But I can promise that it is utterly life changing.”

That sounded good enough to Heather and she fell to chatting in earnest with the radiant Madame Randolph and her refined yet approachable persona. The ranch, it seemed, was about a half days journey away from town out towards the small range of mountains that heather had dimly glimpsed that day. Though it was eminently within distance to make it now, Madame Randolph insisted that they would set out at first light. There was no rush and it always did her good to get a meal in town, along with a few drinks. This was relayed to Heather with a crafty and conspiratorial wink as the barkeep arrived with two platters of food and several large bottles of something strong smelling.

Hours later Heather’s head was spinning, and she found that she was leaning heavily against a giggling Madame Randolph who was just coming to the end of yet another of her amusing stories. The woman had already given Heather the contract to sign on with her, and Heather had eagerly scrawled her name along the bottom. Heather only listened with half an ear, drowsing a little against her new employer and enjoying the way Madame Randolph moved as she spoke. She let out what she thought was going to be a soft sigh, but what ended up amounting to almost a happy moan.

Madame Randolph chuckled, and a soft hand stroked Heather hair, “Comfy are we?” She giggled as Heather blushed and mumbled blearily, and continued to stroke her hair, “Well lovely I think it’s time to get you to bed and all set for tomorrow’s journey.”

Heather was quite happy to be off to bed, the hard drink having gone right to her head. Ladies back east did not tend to drink such things, even if she had occasionally snuck a mouthful or two from lower class establishments. Her unsteady gait as she stood was improved as Madame Randolph took a firm hold of her, guiding her out the back through a smaller door opened by a grinning barkeep. Heather staggered through the door, giggling in time with her employer as the two women wove their way into the dark. Eventually they reached a door that Madame Randolph pushed open and playfully pushed Heather through.

“You’re gonna make such a good pony.” Madame Randolph paused, and then let out a fresh round of giggles, “I mean *hic* rider.” Heather giggled too, and slumped against her as her legs gave out at last. She felt her friend’s strong arms steady her and then half carry her into what had to be her room. They lowered her down, and Heather let out a happy sigh of contentment. She had found a job. She was going to finally get to live the life she had dreamed of back in the city. Finally…

As she fell into the deep dreamless sleep of the heartily inebriated she distantly thought it was odd that her bed had straw on it…

Heather woke up the next day with a slightly foggy feeling that warned of a headache to come, and the realization that she was naked. Well, not quite naked. Her first jerky motions were caught short. Leather creaked against her flesh, and some soft metal jingles announced that she was stuck. Really stuck. Her legs seemed to totally enclosed in something below the knee, while her arms were cinched behind her with some sort of leather contraption. More leather crisscrossed her torso and upper arms, keeping everything snug and cinched tightly together. As she tried to roll over something pulled on her neck, bringing her up short.

She coughed and tried to shout, “Ahhaggpphhgg Heeeffllffff!” Cool metal was in her mouth, some sort of bit like her horse had, secured round her head with a single leather strap. Stiff leather also encircled her throat, and her returning vision could make out a stout chain that joined up the wooden wall of the…of the stall she was in with the collar around her neck. Oh God. Heather squeezed her eyes shut. What the hell had happened last night?

“Yooo-hooo! Heather?” Madame Randolph’s voice sounded from the far end of whatever building she was in, “Are you awake yet dear? It’s nearly time to depart.”

Heather gave a groan and struggled to her knees, “Mmmfffggg! Heelff eeeee!” Madame Randolph would be able to help her, and sort out what the hell was going on. She flushed a brilliant shade of red as she realized that despite all the leather binding her it did not a thing to keep her decent in any way. It was just…just functional. Like bloody horse tack. What the blazes had happened last night??

The wooden door in front of her swung open, and Madame Randolph stood there with a small smile. Heather groaned and gave an abortive struggle before grunting at the woman in earnest. She needed to get this stuff off her and give her something to cover up! She felt her blush intensify as the older woman cast a lingering gaze over the bound, strapped, and naked Heather.

“My you do look simply marvelous in my leather.”

Heather squealed into her gag, her eyes bugging out at Madame Randolph as the lady slowly entered the stall. Her leather? What the hell was she playing at? She tried to growl out precisely that question, but the woman was too busy helping her to her feet. Heather staggered as she swayed upright. Somehow she had gained a couple inches. And her feet felt oddly braced. She staggered away from Madame Randolph, her head spinning, and heard something that made her give another squeal.

The clop-clop of horse shoes. What the--?

She turned horrified, confused eyes towards Madame Randolph who absentmindedly gave her a pat on the head while she calmly looked over the straps that bound Heather in place. She tried to struggle against them, but Madame Randolph’s grip was like iron, and the inspection was completed in short order. Next came the metallic snaps of reins being fitted to either side of the bridle that Heather was wearing, and then Madame Randolph was pulling her out of the stall.

“You see Heather, my ranch is a rather special one.” Her spritely tone seemed totally at odds with what she was doing to Heather, and she concentrated more on frantically looking around in terror that someone might see her nakedness. An odd concern given that she was being kidnapped, but there it was. “My husband, bless him, is off studying along with my boys, to get an education. Leaving me and my girls in charge of things while they’re gone. And we decided that, since the ranch was getting by alright, it was time to…branch out.”

Heather moaned and tried to jerk the two of them to a halt, but a harsh tug on the reins got her moving again. Soon enough she was pulled through the door and into the pre-dawn gloom that would be bright sunlight in an hour or so. Heather blinked, trying to adjust her vision and then stopped dead with a surprised grunt. In front of her were two horses, one of them hers, both ready for the road. But that’s not what made her bleat into her gag in surprised distress.

Another girl stood there, bound and shod just as she was in the strange boots, leather tack, and bit. She was equally naked, though with brown hair rather than Heather’s red. Madame Randolph fixed Heather’s reins to the other side of Heather’s horse, with the second girl’s already being tied to the right hand side. She turned back, and came to stand between the two bound women.

“Now, in case you are still wondering what’s happening, I’ve just hired you on to my ranch as ponies. Standard contracts, which you happily signed last night, are mostly there in case we get any curious lawmen sniffing around. They will give you five years to experience life on the other side of the bridle as it were.” The woman took a moment to pat both of them while Heather stared at her with wide eyes. This was so bloody damned insane!

“Once your contracts are up, if you’ve still a mind for it, we can discuss hiring you on as a stablehand. Though in all honesty the first couple girls we offered that to preferred to move on.” Madame Randolph shook her head with an indulgent smile, “Imagine not wanting to work with gorgeous pony girls like yourselves all day. Takes all sorts I suppose.”

Heather was still processing all of this as her captor, her employer, swung up into her saddle. The reins jerked her head forward and she stumbled after the two horses with a clumsy clip-clop of her weird boots. The other bound girl was in much the same straits as Heather, staring in shock as she trotted along next to her.

Heather just couldn’t understand how this had happened to her. Of all the rotten luck she just had to get drunk with a lunatic who was going to treat her like a bloody animal for five years!?

She moaned into her bit gag as her legs slowly found a comfortable rhythm. She had a sinking feeling it would be a long, long time before she was ever able to do more than that…