The young woman on the bus checked her paperwork again, apprehensively. 

She had no idea that Anne, sitting behind her, was reading every word over her shoulder, including her name and full address. This one slip was going to completely change Clara’s life irrevocably…

Anne settled down in a convenient spot, watching Clara’s home, checking she had everything in her bag…

She spotted her target coming home late, it was already dark. She then made her move.

Clara jumped with a start as Anne came up behind her. She breathed in, going to scream, but she had no chance at all as Anne suddenly slammed a hood over her head. 

The hood was transparent, and airtight, like a very thick bag. Clara passed out on the floor, struggling to remove it…

Anne waited until Clara had passed out, then opened a tiny vent, giving her just enough air to survive.

She then fished in her bag and brought out a bag that was normally used for transporting large clothing, like wedding dresses. It was made from the same plastic as the hood on Clara, and just as thick; there would be no way to tear it at all.

Clara was then quickly stripped naked. Her arms were bound behind her, using ty-wraps, and her hands were wrapped into balls using tape and her feet were also wrapped. Once this had been done, Clara was slid into the bag, and it was zipped shut. The zip was then locked with a dab of glue.

The rear seats were already folded down in Anne’s car; it only took a few seconds to slide the wrapped Clara in, and a luggage strap pinned her down. Smiling, Anne shut the boot down, got in and drove off, taking Clara to her new but unintended destination…

The drive was a long one; Clara was already beginning to stir when they arrived. She moaned faintly and tried to struggle as Anne carried her into the house. To her amazement, Anne just hung the dress bag up in a wardrobe, leaving Clara swinging gently on her hook, then shut the door, leaving her in darkness.

“Come back…! Let me out…! Please…!”, Clara called, but she was too weak still from the kidnapping and only just managing to speak.

She was left there for what felt like hours, gently swinging. The hood was still letting only a tiny amount of air in, so she was always short of breath and tired. She tried to get her arms and hands free but wore herself out doing it.

Later that day, Anne came back and opened the wardrobe. She was holding a mask of a foreign girl, totally different from the way Clara looked normally. She also noticed what looked like a scar near the mouth.

“Don’t you think this is sweet?”, she said. “It’s your new face. I had it made especially for you.”

Anne took the bag with Clara in out of the cupboard and laid it out carefully on the bed. She then dissolved the blob of glue and unzipped it, lifting Clara out. Clara struggled, but she was still too weak to fight Anne off.

“I’m going to fit you with this mask now”, Anne said. “If, after that, you behave, I’ll undo the ties round your arms. Ok?”

Sadly, Clara nodded, then she held still as Anne went to fit the mask. She suddenly realised Anne wasn’t taking the plastic hood off first…!

She panicked and tried to dodge, too late. The mask was in place; it fitted perfectly over the plastic hood and locked onto her head.

“I said it was made for you”, she said. “We even took the plastic hood into account. All I’ve got to do now is fit your new hair…”

She picked out a redhead wig, cut in a pageboy bob, and fitted it, covering the back of the hood. Clara felt a click as it locked into place.

“There you go. Now for your uniform.”

The nurses dress fitted Clara perfectly, but Anne didn’t give her any underwear, or any sort of lingerie. She didn’t even give her stockings or shoes.

“Sorry; the dress is the only thing I have in your size at the moment. Do a good job and behave yourself, and I might take you clothes shopping.”

She then took Clara down to the servant’s quarters in the basement, a small stone room, with no windows, a cot and a single light in the middle of the room.

“There you go. Get comfortable; we at least managed to find bedding for the cot. If you don’t cause any trouble tonight, I’ll unwrap your hands in the morning and introduce you to the person that you will be caring for.”

She went out and locked the door, leaving Clara sobbing on the bed…

Next morning, Anne came back into the room. Clara had worn herself out trying to undo her hands and was still asleep on the cot.

“Good morning!”, Anne said. She sat by Clara and started unwrapping her hands.

As soon as she had, Clara’s hands flew to her face, and she frantically tried to get her mouth open.

“Ah, you’ve realised”, Anne said. “The combination of the plastic hood and the mask has sealed your mouth shut. That’s why the scar; it’s part of your backstory, as well as a convenient way of permanently gagging you. Don’t worry, your new collar is coming today. It will make a hole in your neck when I fit it, so you can have water and liquid food through there. I can’t have you talking with your patient, now, can I?”

Clara lost it. She frantically tried to attack Anne, but Anne easily overpowered her.

“Pack it in, or I’ll seal the vent in your hood!”, she cried. “Anyway, you should be at work by now.”

“Your name is Natalia Vergova”, she said. “You are Ukrainian. You are working over here as a home help to send money home to your parents to help them rebuild their lives. You lost your voice in one of the Russian attacks on your country. And that is all you really need to know for the moment. Just answer to the name Natalia, or just Nurse, and you’ll do fine.”

Clara was already shaking her head…

Anne slapped her. Hard. Clara even felt it through the mask and hood.

“Don’t you argue with me, you bitch! I’ve given you your instructions. Follow them, or you will be punished!”

Clara sadly ended up following Anne to meeting her charge.

The young woman sat up in her bed as Clara and Anne walked into her room.

“Mum, you got the nurse! Great! Now you can go back to work, and I won’t be a burden on you anymore…!”

“You’re never a burden, sweetie”, said Anne, hugging her. “Emily, this is Natalia. She can’t speak, but she can understand English. She’s Ukrainian; she was injured in an attack on her home that killed her parents, that’s why she can’t speak…”

“Oh!”, cried Emily. “I’m so sorry!”

To Clara’s amazement, she immediately reached out, to hug her.

“You don’t need to be scared here; look after us, and we’ll look after you.”

If only she knew, Clara thought…

‘Natalia’ soon got on well with Emily; she easily managed to help her with all her day-to-day tasks.

The only problem was Emily was really getting attracted to Natalia…

Anne had been counting on that. She knew Emily liked women; she had also made Natalia her ‘type’.

Clara let out a quiet moan when Emily’s hand vanished up her dress as she was checking something on her bedside table.

“Wow! No knickers! You’re being a bit forward, aren’t you? Who ever heard of a nurse going commando?”

Emily had planted her hand smack on Clara’s vagina. She then slid a finger in…

Anne, secretly watching from the doorway, smiled.

“I thought she was just what my daughter needed”, she chuckled, quietly. She’d do anything for her daughter…

Emily had removed her finger and spun Clara round. She’d then started lowering the zip on her uniform dress…

“No bra, either? Does it get too hot for you when you work, or are you just asking for a good shag?”

Clara tried to pull away, but Emily was surprisingly strong for a bed-ridden woman. She soon had Clara’s uniform off, and pulled her into bed with her…

Clara’s mask, hood and wig didn’t even show up under close inspection (make that very close inspection…!) so Emily was none the wiser.

Anne didn’t realise it, but Clara would probably have slept with Emily anyway. However, she did start to catch on when she looked round the door later and saw what the pair were up to…

 Anne realised that Clara was really caring for her daughter.

That started to make her feel really guilty…

She’d treated Clara like dirt. Less than. She had to do something to make amends…

Whilst Emily was asleep, she sneaked into the room and sedated Clara.

She then took out a scalpel…

Gently, she sliced open the lips of the mask, then made a hole below them in the hood. This meant that Clara could talk again; it also meant that Anne couldn’t suffocate her with the hood; she’d have to put another one over her head.

She stood back and waited for Clara to wake up.

Clara sat up and groaned, then realised with a start that she could open her mouth!

“What! Why…?”

“My daughter really cares for you”, Anne said, “And you care for her. I felt really guilty about taking you; I thought you deserved a chance to speak again. Don’t let me down…”

Clara knew what Anne meant; she wanted her to stay as Natalia and stay with Emily. To her surprise, she found she wasn’t daunted by the prospect…

“Tell you what”, she said. “Come up with a plausible story that let’s Natalia talk with Emily, and I will…”

Emily was told ‘Natalia’ had to go into hospital for an operation on her mouth.

She awaited eagerly for her return…

Clara, now fully embracing her role as Natalia, walked back into Emily’s room a day later.

“Hi…!”

Emily squealed with delight…

Natalia never left Emily’s side from then onward. Anne was overjoyed…