A little magical story inspired by the wonderful art work of @FlexibleAnatomy featuring her oc Annie
Annie looked at her phone and cursed. She tried to rearrange the bags she was carrying and cursed again. She was late and everywhere was full of commuters who seemed to be going in the opposite direction. By the time she arrived at the gallery, laden with bags, she was more than a little flustered.
“Sorry, sorry, it's mad out there. Got the stuff from the printers, the extra snacks and ..oh what's up ? “
Everything seemed OK, the art and antiques were all hung or set on pedestals, the lighting engineers were hard at it and the welcome table laden with glasses and plates ready for the champagne and canapes. Yet Kurt didn’t look at all happy.
“It’s a disaster .. put that stuff there .. oh, sorry, thank you! “
Kurt gave Annie a peck on the cheek then went back to fussing around the centre of the room. Annie looked around. When her friend had told her that his next show was going to be about the impact of magic on modern culture she had just smiled and nodded. Most of Kurt’s ideas made little sense to her truth be told, but his shows seemed to go well and fuel his rather extravagant lifestyle. She looked about at the smattering of curios, old magic posters, vaudeville still props and the original art pieces he had produced and which of course were for sale at some fairly eye watering prices.
“What’s happened? “
“Chloe can’t make it. Family emergency”
Kurt looked close to tears. Annie nodded sympathetically, even though she had never much liked Chloe. She was tall, blonde, very attractive and kind of knew it. She had never given Annie much time.
“Was she going to be hostess ? Can I help ? “
Kurt didn’t answer, he looked preoccupied. Annie did know that Chloe had a talent for parting the kind of rich guys who inhabited the openings from their money, so maybe that was what Kurt was worried about. Annie knew she didn’t have the same confidence so wandered off to look around the show. She had offered to hang around to help with the serving and the like.
Annie was looking curiously at one of Kurt’s pictures, trying to figure it out. Naked women always figured heavily in his art and this was no exception. This time the protagonist was hanging upside down in a tank of water, presumably trying to escape. Annie wasn’t entirely sure why she had to be naked for such an act but then she was no art critic. The placard said something about removing the costume to reveal the trick.
“Were you serious earlier ? I wouldn’t ask, but I am in a bit of a bind.”
Annie looked round. Kurt looked stressed, as if he may burst into tears.
“Well you know I will help if I can, but I am not Cloe. What do you need doing ?”
“It’s a big ask, but I just can’t see how the evening will work the same without it”
“Like I said, if I can help I will, was she going to be in charge of sales like usual ?”
Annie felt nervous already. She would hardly consider herself an extrovert and the idea of trying to sell the expensive works to strangers filled her with dread. She was happier pouring the drinks.
“Not exactly.”
Kurt blushed a little and looked at his feet. He looked around the room again as if trying to think of another way out of his problem.
“Look, the truth is Chloe was going to be taking part in the exhibition”.
Annie had no idea what he meant, but she could feel her pulse quicken. She looked at the painting in front of them.
“You were going to saw her in half?”
She laughed at her own joke, trying to break the ice and reassure her friend, but when she looked back he looked even more uncomfortable.
“You are kidding? Isn’t that a little tacky? “
“Well it’s a bit more involved but yes she was going to be the assistant in some magic when the VIP’s arrive, then stay like that for a while to make the opening night pop, so to speak”
“And you want me to……….?”
“It’s OK, I know it’s not really your thing. And ..”
“I haven’t said no, yet. Tell me what’s actually involved.”
“Well that’s the thing, part of the performance is that Chloe wasn’t going to know exactly.”
Annie looked at Kurt, at the painting and back to Kurt.
“And I would be correct in suspecting that she would be showing quite a bit of flesh in this process ? “
Kurt didn’t disagree. Annie wandered off to think, looking at some of the other pieces in the show without really seeing them. She was divided, a little joke with herself that made her smile. A part of her was surprised she hadn’t said no right away. But there was something in the idea that resonated deep inside her. Being naked no doubt, on display, as Kurt sawed her in half, and with no idea what she was even meant to do. It was crazy, she worked in IT not showbiz. She hadn’t been on stage since junior high. But they had been friends forever. She knew it meant a lot to Kurt. Even asking meant he had a lot of faith in her, and yet she was sure she would regret taking part. But if she said no, she knew she would also regret not even giving it a try.
"I'll do it”
“What? Really ? Are you sure?”
“Not in the slightest, so you better take good care of me. Now what do we need to do, before I change my mind.”
……….
Annie stood self consciously by a statue of a headless woman. She was well aware of the irony of trying to hide in the shadows as the VIP guests sipped their champagne, but it was where she felt comfortable and she knew that comfortable would be in short supply all too soon.
Catching her reflection she had to admit it was quite the transformation. Gone were her tee shirt, jeans and sneakers, her hair had been glammed up and Kurt had had a make up artist work a little magic of her own. The dress, which had presumably been chosen for or by Chloe, who was a good few inches taller than Annie, was short enough as it was. A wrap design in black it displayed a more than generous portion of cleavage and made it obvious that Annie had forgone a bra. She felt a slightly heady mix of thrilled and terrified.
Finally the lights dimmed and Kurt emerged to considerable applause. There was no stage in the gallery so he took his place in the spotlit centre of the room. The performance would be viewed from all angles it would seem. Her heart was racing already. It wouldn’t have taken much to head straight for the nearest exit but it was too late for that now, she knew Kurt was counting on her. She tried to focus on what Kurt was saying, perhaps there would be a clue as to what she had got herself into.
“...throughout history has had a major impact on cultures all around the globe, both mainstream and alternative. And tonight I will show that even in the information age magic is real and has a place in our hearts and minds”.
Annie could feel her fingernails digging to her palms. She had no idea if what Kurt was saying made any sense, although she was finding it hard to concentrate. This must be it. Indeed she watched with a mixture of horror and fascination as Kurt wheeled out what she guessed was to be her magic trick. It wasn’t, as she had assumed, one of those horizontal boxes that she remembered from TV shows where the pretty assistant was sawn in two. This prop was quite different, a metal framed glass cube on four slender legs. Annie had no idea what it did or how a trick using it might work, but as she stared at it pondering the possibilities her heart missed a beat.And then a few more, she had assumed that her moment of nudity would be for the brief trip into the magic box where once installed she would be safely hidden again, but this was a glass box!
“Ladies and gentlemen, to help us prove that real magic can happen even in today’s cynical world please welcome Annie.”
Trying to radiate a degree of confidence that she definitely wasn’t feeling Annie strode out into the spotlight. The muted applause did little to bolster her confidence. Annie tried to remember that the small crowd had no more idea of what was about to happen than she did and approached the odd box with a smile.
“Hi Annie, thanks for agreeing to be part of the exhibition”
Annie smiled and nodded, not sure what to say.
“Can you just confirm that you volunteered to help out but that you have no idea of what’s about to happen, or how it will be achieved”.
“That’s true. Until an hour or so ago I was expecting to be helping with the canapes”.
She gave a shy laugh and got a warmer round of applause. In truth the nerves were kicking in big time. The glass box had totally thrown her. She had reconciled herself to a fleeting display of nudity. Now her mind was working overtime frantically analysing the few clues Kurt had provided.
“Annie ..”
Annie looked round with a start. Kurt had opened the box, her box. The front had swung open taking a section of the base and roof with it. This had left a large semi circular opening in the base and a much smaller one at the top. He nodded reassuringly, it was time. Annie took a couple of steps towards the box then slowly undid the belt at her waist. Two more steps and the dress had slid down her back, puddling onto the floor. Each step she took away from it, now quite naked in this room of strangers, took her away from safety and towards adventure. She had actually done it !
She glanced around the room, trying to gauge people’s reactions. The air in the gallery suddenly seemed cool against her skin, even though her face was flushed. She glanced down at herself, her nipples were rock hard and the could tell people were genuinely surprised looking bashfully at her chest and the freshly waxed space between her legs.
Following Kurt’s directions Annie backed into the box in the now hushed room. If nothing else she certainly had everyone’s attention. Kurt closed the box and secured it with a small clasp. The lid part fit snugly around the base of her neck whilst the base wrapped tightly around the top of her hips, just below her navel. Annie pressed her hands palms out against the glass as if to emphasise she really was trapped.
“Now ladies and gentlemen, the magic. We are going to divide Annie into three!”.
Annie felt her mouth drop open. She tried to fight the panic. What on earth did Kurt mean? She was really in the box and there could literally not be less places to hide. She was naked, in a glass box and surrounded on all sides. Nowhere to dodge, turn to one side or crawl away to safety, or however ever else these illusions were meant to work. She just wanted to scream “stop I am stuck in here” but that seemed almost more scary then letting Kurt’s plan unfold. So she just smiled as Kurt held up a large steel sheet with a handle at one end, which he was demonstrating was sharp with the help of a watermelon
Painfully aware of her nudity and the fact that people were taking pictures or videos on their phones Annie tried to radiate a confidence she certainly didn’t feel as Kurt lined the oversized blade up with a slot under the base of the box. As it scraped into place the smile was replaced with a wince. Annie could actually feel the sharp edge against her waist!
Kurt had stopped talking, presuming the spectacle needed no further embellishment. He pushed harder on the blade and Annie whimpered, feeling a sharp flash of pain like an accident with a kitchen knife but on a much grander scale. Was Kurt actually going to cut into her ? How was this a trick?
“NnnnnNNnn”
She braced herself for what she feared would be agony and her probable demise, still struggling to understand just what was happening to her. It was as if she was out there with the rest of the crowd watching it all happen to someone else. She could have sworn she felt the blade break her skin, then part her flesh as if it were slicing through wet clay. A little scream died on her lips and became more of a long moan as the expected pain evaporated to be replaced with something quite different, quite unexpected. Annie felt ever nerve in her body light up, her face flush, her nipples stiffen as a wave of unimaginably pleasurable sensations washed over her. She blinked and pushed harder against the inner walls of the box as if to steady herself, blushing furiously. She only hoped the small crowd mistook her overt display of pleasure for pain.
Still struggling to compose herself Annie watched as Kurt took another blade and slid it home through her neck. This one felt much different. Pleasant enough and the sensation of her windpipe being blocked took a little getting used to until she realised that somehow she could still breath, but nothing like as intense. She blinked a few times in an attempt to compose herself and then smiled shyly as applause broke out again. It must be pretty obvious there was no way she could have moved or hidden to avoid the metal blades.
Kurt invited people to take a closer look while he added another blade to each of the slots. Annie felt genuinely self conscious for the first time as people peered in at her , they became people not just a crowd. She felt the scrape of the blades but was otherwise disappointed.
“Now ladies and gentlemen, whilst I hope you can see Annie here really has been sliced into three delectable pieces, the effect could be a little more obvious I think ? “
Annie felt her jaw drop a little. What on earth did he mean? Surely this was enough. But she watched with the audience as a small wooden pedestal was carried out and positioned next to her box.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please be amazed by the REAL power of magic”
Annie could sense the hush fal over the room, people edging closer, obviously as keen as she was to find out what would happen next. Kurt stood beside the cube and pushed gently. At first Annie wasn’t sure what was happening but then it stuck her, the glass box was sliding smoothly sideways onto the pedestal, leaving her head and hips behind ! She gasped and the audience clapped loudly, her reaction so clearly genuine. A few moments later Annie looked to one side to see the utterly surreal sight of her body from waist to neck in a glass box on a pedestal some six feet to one side of her. She moved her hands, sliding them up and down the glass, and then ran them over her sides. It was her, they were hers. But how ? She felt like she might faint.
She was still staring at her disembodied chest when Kurt invited a middle aged guy a little closer. Reaching under Annie’s head they shook hands in the void between her neck and waist. The guy tapped the slender metal struts of the remaining frame and tapped the blade covering the top of Annie’s waist, confirming to all that there really was a gap where her body should be. Finally Kurt invited the guy to place his hand on Annie’s head and push.
Annie was still reeling so wasn’t as shocked as she should have been at this invasion of her personal space. Before she could really gather her thoughts she felt the pressure on her head grow. She blinked and gasped, probably a few heart beats after most of the audience. Her head on the tray was sliding down the uprights towards the other blade across her waist. Sure enough moments later her head was waist height with much of the crowd and the gap between her neck and hips was just the thickness of the two blades!
“Ladies and gentlemen we are going to have a quick break while we get Annie ready for this evening, the bar is open and in the meantime please show your appreciation for Annie ! “
Annie waved and smiled as the two parts of the trick with her still inside were carried off to a back room.
……….
“I can’t believe… ! How? What ? Kurt!”
“You were great, so innocent and vulnerable, way better than Chloe! Thank you so much Annie, maybe I should paint you! “
“I , er, “
Annie was having trouble processing the compliment, much less her situation.
“So can I get out of here now ? “
“What? No, no we need you to get ready for the show”
“I thought that was the show ? “
“That was just the opening for the VIP’s, a little performance art, the show proper opens in about an hour”
Annie’s mind was reeling. So many questions but so hard to form a single useful one. She watched as Kurt opened the glass box and carefully set her torso on a table. His hands felt warm and strong on her ribs. She decided it was best not to ask and just accept Kurt’s plan for her. She had come this far after all. She watched Kurt unpack some black cloth tubes from a bag and let out a sigh of relief, maybe some clothes!
Kurt’s attention moved to two more glass boxes. Well, cabinets was more accurate. Each was a cube about three feet each way with a decorative stainless steel or silver frame, slender and highly polished. Elegant in fact. Their sides and top and base were all glass. Annie started to get a bad feeling.
“Kurt?”
Kurt’s only answer was to take a couple of the pieces of the black cloth. He took Annie’s left hand and rolled a tube of cloth along her arm as if it were an opera glove, till it reached to within a few inches of her shoulder. He fussed for a few moments adjusting the end of the glove, mumbling an apology as he brushed her bare breast then repeated the process with her other arm.
Still offering nothing in the way of explanation Kurt fished a hoop of metal out of the bag. Standing behind Annie’s torso he opened the hoop and fitted it around her just under her breasts like a belt. He strained to close it and she moaned as he struggled to make the ends meet until it shut with a click. It felt at least a size too small. Designed for Chloe’s slender waist no doubt.
In the meantime Kurt had turned his attention to the rest of Annie. To her horror he started to wiggle one of the blades between her neck and hips out.
“Hey, I, are you sure…”
Kurt ignored her and moments later as the second blade slid out Annie felt an intense tingle in her neck and through her hips.
“This isn’t right, it feels like . I .. What just happened?”
Annie let out a little yelp as Kurt picked her up and set her on a second table. She was even more stunned than the other helpers. Somehow her head had fused onto the cut surface of her waist, which was now covered in skin. She looked down from side to side, her hips where her shoulders should be, her smooth pussy a few inches below her chin. Her shoulder length brown hair now brushed the top of her ass. A glance across the room confirmed the rest of her was still set on the other table. It was a lot to take in, she felt faint. How could this be? She looked like some porno fantasy.
“Sam can you do her arms we are getting short on time?”
A cute brunette who Annie recognised from earlier nodded and took two more metal bands. As she fitted them high on Annie's arms, above the line of the gloves, Kurt took some more of the odd black tubes and began rolling one up her left leg. Being worked on and yet not knowing what was going on or even being spoken to was a very strange experience. Annie squirmed self consciously as Kurt rolled the black stocking type affair high up her thigh. He may as well have been working on a painting or sculpture Annie thought, for all the attention he paid her. But then she reflected, he was. Regardless of his apparent indifference all the attention was making Annie tingle. With her legs covered to well above the knee, Kurt added a metal band to each thigh, his fingers venturing even higher.
“Kurt?”
“Sssh”
Kurt tipped Annie so she was laying on the table and began to rub her left foot. As his hands wandered higher Annie began to blush, biting her lip. It felt so… At the same time Sam was doing something similar to her arms and it was getting hard for Annie to hide the effect the sensations were having on her. She was about to warn Kurt that she was losing control of her feelings when he pulled on the black cloth. Annie gasped and looked down. Kurt had balled the cloth up and thrown it in the bag, and now her leg was gone with it! All that was left was a few inches of thigh and the tight metal band around it.
“Kurt? I …”
Now Annie knew that he was ignoring her, despite the panic in her voice. Fear and arousal mixed as she watched Sam rubbing her arm and then pull in the same way, discarding the empty cloth and swapping sides. Annie was struggling to take stock. All too soon she found herself looking at her own torso with arm stumps just a few inches long, whilst looking down she still couldn’t quite believe she had been reduced to a pair of hips, short thigh stumps and a head attached at the waist .Perhaps the freakiest thing was the perfect covering of skin and the smooth curves of the joins. Annie had to accept it looked as if she had always been this way. She really was being sculpted into Kurt’s vision.
It was only when Kurt locked another metal band tightly around her neck like a collar Annie realised the cuffs had small d rings attached. She gulped a little as the metal gripped her throat uncomfortably Too tight again. She swallowed experimentally.. Sam had grabbed her torso and lifted it into one of the glass cases. She set it down briefly then took a set of decorative metal chains and hooked them to the metal cuffs around Annie’s arm stumps.. Lifting Annie’s torso allowed her to attach the other ends to the top corners of the case. Another set of chains from the waist cuff to the bottom corners of the box held everything in place, leaving that part of Annie suspended in the glass box. Satisfied Sam closed the case and locked it.
Once Kurt was happy with the first case he picked the rest of Annie up. It seemed to her that he was ever more casual about this, with every stage she was less his friend more simply his latest project. His fingers now gripped wherever was convenient for him, with no regard to Annie’s modesty. He balanced her while he clipped a set of chains to her collar and then the top corners of the case. A second set ran from her waist cuff to the bottom corners and he closed the case and stepped back to admire his work.
Annie gulped again as the weight of her hips settled on the collar. The four taut chains seemed to keep her fairly still but being hung in the boxes was just the latest of many surreal sensations.
…….
“Hello everyone and thanks for coming . Please take your time and look around. Many of the exhibits deserve a little thought and closer inspection, if I do say so myself.”
Kurt took a small bow and stepped back between two cloth covered shapes. With a flourish he pulled away the covers to reveal two crystal glass cases mounted on slender pedestals. On his left Annie’s hips and head, still quite naked swayed gently on her chains whilst to his right her chest hung in its own quite separate display .
Annie didn’t know what to do with herself as people clustered round to inspect her. She was becoming more accustomed to being hung like the art she supposed she was now, although it was far from comfortable. As the evening went on Annie still found she wasn’t sure what to do with herself. Did she stay still or display what little movement she had. Make eye contact ? Smile ? Try to appear detached and impassive? On the whole she decided that the act of sealing her in the glass cases meant Kurt was separating her from the patrons, making her more clearly an objet d’art and in the process much less a person. So she tried to put on an air of confidence she didn’t really feel, as if her situation was perfectly natural to her.
She had almost come to terms with her nudity, the close inspection, the comments about her body even. But she wasn’t sure she would ever get used to being talked about like an object. It was humiliating and against everything she felt she should believe in as an independent woman. But oddly thrilling.
The time passed surprisingly quickly, Annie was just smiling softly listening to two middle aged women discussing her. The irony that they were talking about her not to her wasn’t lost.
“I'm surprised she's willing to go on display like this: magicians historically have embraced a misogynistic stereotype."
"Ah, but the assistant has all the power in the relationship. And you can't deny the confidence in flaunting her body is empowering."
When the lights finally went down on the opening night Annie wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed..
………
“Annie was amazing, people loved her!”
“Yeah and we sold nearly a third of the collection already, it's amazing”
Annie felt odd. The show was over and yet she was still in her cases, still being talked about not too. At least she had done her bit and she could get out.
“Have you told, er, asked her yet ? “
“Kurt ? What does she mean ? “
It was the first time Annie had spoken since she had been put in the cases.
“Annie, Chloe was just going to do this for one day and all but you are such a big hit I would love you to stay for the whole show…”
“What! Like this You can’t be serious ? “
“I will give you ten percent of the take ??”
Annie’s mind was racing. Part of her could’t believe she was even considering it.
“Twenty!”
Kurt’s only answer was to cover Annie’s cases with the drapes.
“Kurt? Kurt ! I assumed you would be letting me out between showings ? Kurt ! Kurt ?
