Ginger Fox

"Sado what?" My eyes widen as I cough nervously. I'm lucky I no longer have that piece of toast in my mouth. If I hadn't swallowed it, I'd probably be choking right now.
"Sadomasochist. My brother's weakness is pain, inflicting it on someone else."
My brain processes that big word, not often used in my vocabulary, trying to recall any memory or information I know about it. When someone says sadomasochism, your mind drags up all those irrelevant things that have been taking up long-term space in your brain. Whip, tie-up, slap, Christian Grey, slap back, Christian Grey again. Okay, maybe the thoughts are coming too fast and getting tangled in my mind. I'm becoming more confused than I already was. When I think of sadism, the classic scene of actor Marlon Brando fucking a woman's ass on the kitchen floor while using butter to ease the penetration automatically comes to mind. Those two minutes of acting in front of the cameras remain the most shocking scene I've ever seen. Watching *Last Tango in Paris* late at night in my room, hidden away, when you're fourteen years old, can be the kind of memory that never leaves your mind and stays with you for the rest of your life. Now I'm looking at Baby's worried eyes, which are screaming at me through their bluish-gray hue: you screwed up big time.
"These marks weren't made randomly. Roy mapped your body. The waves of pleasure you felt with each new pain he inflicted guided him to know how far he could push your limit, Gim." Her hand gestures, pointing to my body. "From what I saw of your back, your whole body, this must have been a feast for him." Baby bites the side of her mouth, averting her eyes from mine.
"I don't understand. What do you mean by feast?" She shrinks her arms, clasping her fingers between her legs, slowly tapping her feet on the floor.
"You had to be a submissive, at least entering the advanced stage of masochism, to be in the state he left you in." I'm not a masochist. The furthest I've gone with self-harm is accidentally hitting my little toe against the corner of the bed, and even that wasn't on purpose, much less did I enjoy it.
"I'm not that, Baby," I say loudly to her, but it's as if I'm confirming it to myself, not to the blonde who is silent and thoughtful.
"That must have left him confused and intrigued." She stops moving her feet, turning her face to me again. "You made him lose control, and Jonathan needs self-control to avoid getting lost. It throws him off balance; it's a trigger for the disorder. That's why he did so well in becoming a Master. Jonathan's OCD wasn't a hindrance for him, but rather a big help."
"Baby, it was just excitement... I'm not a masochist."
"How would you know? You'd never experienced it until Jonathan pushed you to the edge. You once told me you asked that wimp to spank you..."
I stand up, shaking my head in denial, placing the rest of the toast back on the plate on the tray, on top of the dresser.
"That's different, I was excited. And it was just a slap on the butt, a silly prank, I didn't ask Tom to beat me up..."
"But he didn't spank you; instead, that fool suppressed his desire. Who knows how long that desire had been dormant inside you, just waiting for a trigger to bring it to the surface..."
"Baby, once again, I'm not a masochist! I don't get pleasure from being humiliated or beaten, okay? It was just a momentary thing." I lift my hair, twisting it into a bun and securing it with itself.
"Your body tells me otherwise." I don't look at Baby; I just walk to the wardrobe, searching for a change of clothes.
"The Russian guy, remember?" I throw the first topic that comes to mind to change the direction of this conversation.
I feel a headache starting, making me uncomfortable.
"I think it was Casar..." She laughs, still looking at me with intrigue, shaking her head in denial.
"Czar Gregovivk," Baby sighs, making me satisfied that she agreed to change the subject. "He'll be here for the celebration of the new initiates. Jonathan and he are the only Masters in sadomasochism in Sodom; the others are dominants, daddy Kinks, they're more disciplined with their possessions regarding their submissives, a dominatrix and a bondage practitioner, they complete the circle of Sodom in BDSM."
"God! It's so many words, and I don't know what even half of them mean!" I pull out a pair of panties and a bra from the drawer, opting for jeans and a long-sleeved shirt to cover my arms. "Just hold on a second, I'm going to take a quick shower."
I leave the bathroom door open, and before I even turn on the shower, Baby is already in the bathroom, fixing her hair in front of the mirror.
"Don't worry, you'll meet two of them in a few days." I turn my face to her as I scrub my body, shrinking my arms.
I stay in the bathroom, lost, watching the blonde who leaves the room, closing the door behind her.
"Damn it, Ginger!" I stick my head under the water, silencing everything around me. The pain only increases, making my head throb.



***



"Are you okay?" I turn my face to Baby as I descend the stairs, holding the tray she had brought to me.
"It's just a headache. I think it's a reaction to the medicine I took yesterday... It made me sleep like a rock and left a bad taste in my mouth when I woke up this morning."
"What medicine did you take, Gim?" The maid, who passes by silently, glances at me quickly before looking away. I feel my face burn with embarrassment, as if her eyes are judging me for seeing Mr. Roy in my room yesterday.
God! Imagine what she would think if she had seen Baby in the room with me just a while ago?!
"I don't know the name; Mr. Roy gave it to me. He said it was a muscle painkiller, I guess. From how much I slept, it must have been a sedative." Baby stops at the bottom of the stairs, holding my arm.
"Jonathan would never give you a sedative." Her fingers rise to my face, analyzing my eyes. "I hadn't noticed, but now I see how dilated your pupils are, Gim."
"It's from sleeping too much..." Baby shakes her head, her face turning red.
"No, it's not the medicine. You look like someone who used some kind of drug." I'm forced to laugh at what she says.
The only heavy chemical I've ever tried in my life was Jonathan's crap, but I don't think he qualifies as an illegal drug just yet.
"Oh, stop it, Baby. It was just from sleeping so much, that's all." The mansion is quiet. Besides Lira, I haven't seen anyone else.
When I place the tray on the sink, I notice that even the usually organized and tidy kitchen is empty. I quickly wash the plate and cup, leaving them on the dish rack. Maybe I can go to the pharmacy to buy some headache medicine before Jon gets back. I still have Lorane to worry about. I hadn't seen the possessed woman since yesterday's terrifying breakfast.
"How's Lorane? Is she more under control?" I turn to Baby, who still has her eyes fixed on mine.
"She's in her room, locked up, after the conversation she had with Roy." Baby looks around, making sure we're alone. "Gim, what else happened yesterday besides the pill and the rough sex with Roy?"
I blink, rubbing the side of my head, feeling the taste of iron return to my mouth.
"Well, there was breakfast, Jon's grandmother, our conversation in your room... Then Jonathan's office." Baby gives me a small smile, shaking her head as she laughs quietly. "Then my room, a lot happened in the room. I took a shower and lay down, and then a deep sleep hit me, it was like someone had unplugged me."
I don't remember anything out of the ordinary. Aside from the violent sex with Roy, I hadn't done anything that could make me feel this way.
"Last night, I don't know if I was asleep or awake, but did you happen to come into my room?" She shakes her head no, leaving me more confused. "Strange, I guess it was a dream then, or it was Mr. Roy."
"No." Baby is direct in her response. "Jonathan had to leave to take care of business on the island."
"Then I don't know what it was. But I could swear someone was in that room..." My words trail off as I rub my face. Maybe it was just a dream, but it felt real during that haze... My mind reminds me of something else important that happened yesterday.
"Jon's bed..." I whisper more to myself than to her, letting my fingers drop to my sides.
"What about it?" My heart is already racing, pounding, as I face Baby.
"Yesterday... Yesterday morning, I had something to tell you, and with everything happening like an avalanche, I forgot what was really important." I grab Baby's arms, breathing quickly. "Jon's bed. Someone ejaculated on his bed..."
Baby's face freezes, she becomes like a statue. I'm not crazy about this. My fingers release her arms as I desperately run to the stairs. I burst into the room, unlocking Jon's door. I don't understand, someone changed the bed linens, but that's my job... I'm the one who delivers the dirty laundry to Lira and organizes his room, but clearly, the bed linens are different.
"Why did you run, Gim?" Baby's face is red and sweaty, trying to catch her breath from running.
"Someone changed... The dirty sheet that was here is gone, Baby. They took the dirty sheet that was here. I saw it; I'm not crazy. I know what I saw on this bed yesterday morning." Baby walks to the door of his room, checking if it's locked.
"I'm going to look for Lira, to see if she came in here to change the sheet..."
"Who else besides Jonathan could have the copies of the key?" She remains silent, thoughtful.
"It would be very difficult for someone to take all the keys to make copies without anyone noticing..." Baby looks at the bed, clenching her fist, and I see the anger that overtakes her.
"Maybe there was no need to make copies... Just one is enough." This mansion is too old, its keys would have to be made off the island, which would take time. So there's no need for copies if there's only one, a single key.
"What do you mean just one key? I don't believe you dreamed it, and even less that you're crazy about what you saw on the bed. That jerk Bob could very well have made copies of your room and Jon's; he wouldn't have been able to open the doors with just one..."
"Yes, Baby, he could."
I look at Jon's door, seeing that the key is still there, in the lock. A copy would get stuck because there's another key on the other side; he would have to have the correct key, a key that opens all the doors.