Around the
Christmas Tree
“Rocking ‘round
the Christmas Tree,
Have a Happy Holiday…”
“Vrreffhnneee,”
Gale said as she turned her head and looked at the three sets of booted ankles
leaving her in the front room. She had
returned from her office party hoping to have a quiet hour or two to herself,
only to find unexpected visitors.
But she was
going to be quiet – very difficult to say much when someone has stuffed a large
sponge into your mouth, and then covered your mouth with white tape that seemed
to be forming a second skin over her face.
She tried to
move, the only sound apart from her muffled grunting the squeak of leather on
leather as her legs rubbed together.
That was coming from her knee length brown leather boots, caused by the
fact her legs were held firmly together at her ankles and below her knees by
bands of white rope.
The same rope
was holding her wrists together behind her back, and her arms to her sides,
forming two bands that stretched erhu party dress over her chest. The dress was orange at the sides and sleeves,
the brown and gold fractal pattern at the front and down to the hem of her
dress at her knees. The bands were
cinched by the rope going under one arm, up and round the back of her neck
under her long grey-blonde hair, and then under the other arm.
Her ankles were
also attached to her chest rope, her legs bent back so that the heels of her
boots were sitting on her bottom – and they had left her on the floor, lying in
front of the Christmas tree as the lights twinkled.
She was
immobilised, silenced, praying they would not take too much – and as she
wriggled round, she felt the sweat beginning to come through her skin, on her
forehead, and she prayed nobody would…
“MUM!”
“Hnhnhhh….” Gale looked up to see her twenty year old
daughter Eve staring down at her, her eyes wide open. She had shoulder length blonde hair as well,
and was wearing a patterned grey and cream top, black leggings, and over the
knee black leather boots with a square heel.
“Mum,” she
whispered as she knelt down and looked at the complicated knots, the tight
bands of rope, the white strip over her mouth, “what happened?”
“Ghththhfhrhreff,”
she mumbled, and then her eyes opened wide as she looked behind her.
“Don’t move –
slowly, stand up, and put your hands behind your back.”
Eve heard the
clear, female voice, the American accent taking her by surprise as she stood
up. “Don’t hurt me,” she whispered, as
she slowly put her hands behind her, and then felt the rope as it was quickly passed
round and between her wrists, forcing them together as she watched her mother
close her eyes.
Whoever this
was knew what she was doing, as she saw the rope going round her stomach, pulled
tight so that her wrists were forced against her back and then taken around
above her chest. She saw the way the
fabric was stretched across her chest under the tight bands, almost turning translucent
as she saw her own white bra under the bands.
And the woman
kept wrapping the rope around her, above and below her chest, before she felt
another tug behind her as the bands were drawn together. The ropes then went over one shoulder as the
woman walked round and stood in front of her.
She was tall,
thin, dressed in a tight black sweater and leggings with ankle boots and black
leather gloves. She also had a pair of
black ray bans on, her long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail as she took
the rope and fed it under the lower band of rope between her breasts, and ten
pulled it up and back as she walked round again.
Eve wriggled
round, feeling the ropes rubbing on her as the woman walked back round, and she
saw the compressed sponge in her gloved hand.
“Time to be
quiet, darling,” she said with a smile, “open wide.”
“Mum…”
Eve looked at
Gale, who slowly nodded before she opened her mouth. The woman smiled as she pushed the sponge in,
the expanding material pushing her tongue down and filling the space as she
closed her lips over it.
The soft
peeling sound made her raise an eyebrow as she looked at her binder, and saw
her remove a long strip of white tape form a roll, before she felt the gloved hands
smooth it down over her mouth and jaw.
She tried moving her lips – with no success – as she was made to lie
down, the woman crossing her ankles and starting to bind them together with
rope as Gale groaned.
“Oh wow – you
two finding out how it makes me feel…”
Eve rolled her
eyes at the new sound, Gale shaking her head as she looked at her older
daughter. Lilith was three years older
than Eve, and was wearing a black leather biker’s jacket over a deep cut black
top – so deep at the neckline her black lace bra was clearly visible.
The jacket
matched her tight black miniskirt, which was fastened up the front by a zip,
while her black leather boots came over her knees and almost to the hem of the
skirt. The woman turned and looked at
her, before she said “well, hello there – my friend would like a word with
you.”
“Your friend?”
“That’s right.”
Eve and Gale
looked to the door to see a red-brown haired woman with darker skin standing
there, her boots coming up to her knees as she said in a Bajun tinged accent
“why don’t you take your coat off, nice and slowly, and hand it to me?”
“Oh – you a big
bad pair of robbers?” Lilith then heard
the click, and nodded as she slipped her jacket off and held it out, the woman
taking it as she said “good – hands behind your back, palm to palm. I think you’re trouble, and we need to make
sure you are not.”
“Oh – and how
would you… Oh.” Lilith watched as the blonde began to bind
her sister’s legs together below her knees, before she bent them and secured
her ankles to the chest ropes. For
herself, she could feel her elbows coming together as the dark skinned woman
wrapped rope around her arms and secured them, then added an additional band of
rope at her wrists.
“Hmmm - nice
and tight,” Lilith whispered as Eve and Gale looked at each other, then heard
her moan as the ropes went round her upper body, forcing her arms against her
back as it formed two bands, pressing down and up on her breasts as she
wriggled round. “You certainly know what
you’re doing…”
“Dhuhknhh?”
Gale slowly
nodded as the blonde left the room, the other woman taking the rope under
Lilith’s arm, up and around the back of her neck, and then under the other arm
so that they were locked into place. It
looked as if her top was going to burst as she knelt down, looking at her
family as she said “you guys enjoying this?”
“HRUHUKHDDHNNNN!”
Lilith laughed
as she lay on her stomach, looking back over her shoulder as she watched the
woman cross and then wrap the white rope tightly round her ankles. “So – just why are you binding and gagging me
and my family?”
“We have our
reasons,” the woman said as she pulled the rope between Lilith’s legs, and
secured the ends, then wrapped a second length round her legs and secured them
in the same way, the rope going between her legs to make the binding tighter.
“And you’re not
going to share them?”
“All will
become clear,” was the reply, Lilith grunting as her legs were bent back and
her bound ankles secured to her chest ropes as well. She then saw the compressed sponge, and
winked at Eve and Gale as she said “talk to you later.”
“Fhnneee…”
Lilith winked
again as she opened her mouth, then closed her lips as she felt the sponge
expand in the space behind her teeth, before the white tape was applied – in
her case, wrapped tightly round her head before she was moved to lie next to
her mother and sister, the three of them wriggling round as they wondered what
might happen next.
“Oh god – have
I walked into a robbery?”
All three
looked to the door to see a middle aged woman standing there, her black hooded
top held in front by a single fastened button over her tan round necked
top. She was also wearing a brown tweed
skirt, dark tights and knee length brown leather boots with a star pattern on
the front.
“Gale? Good lord…”
“Hello – raise
your hands where we can see them.”
The new arrival
slowly raised her hands as she heard the female Northern accent, and turned to
see a third woman, like the others dressed in black and wearing dark glasses,
before she said “what do you want?”
“Come with me,”
she said, “watch them.”
“Got it
darling,” the woman with the American accent said as she stood in the doorway,
the gun in her gloved hands as the new arrival was led into the rear room by
the other two women. As the dark skinned
woman closed the door, she turned and said “you know they are going to kill me
if they ever find out the truth.”
“Why should
they – and besides, your niece seems to enjoy this?”
“Eve?”
“Lilith.”
She shook her
head as the blonde removed her glasses.
“This was the only way we could ensure you contacted us without your
cover being blown, Boadicea.”
“I do like being
called that, but let’s keep it as Lynne – all right Lily? Tracy?”
“Okay then,”
Lily said as she removed her glasses.
“Do you have the files?”
“Why Madame
wants these, I do not know,” the older woman said as she removed a USB stick
from her handbag and hand it over, before she put her hands behind her back
while Tracy started to lash them together with white rope.
“It has
something to do with a problem in Russia.”
“Hence why you
got me to retrieve the records from our database?”
“Precisely – as
one of her contacts in the banking world, it behoves us to make sure your
access is maintained as well as the secrecy.”
Lynne nodded as
she felt the rope around and between her arms, tugged and the ends tied off out
of reach of her fingers, and then felt the rope around her arms and upper body.
“So I guess I
get to spend some quality time with my sister and nieces?”
“While we take
this information and make sure it is put to good use,” Lily said with a smile.
“So is Louise
heading home for the holidays?”
“She is – flies
out tomorrow lunchtime, so she is keen to get home and rest up.”
“I can imagine
– that twelve hour flight is a killer,” Lynne said as the ropes were tied off,
then the bands cinched between her arms and body. “Do me a favour – put some decent music on to
cover us until Eric gets home.”
“Got it –
ready?”
Gale looked to
the door as Lynne was walked in, the white band round her head with the shape
of her lips visible in front, and her cheeks puffed out, before she was made to
lie down next to her, Eve and Lilith watching as their aunt’s ankles and legs
were bound, and then her ankles tied to her chest ropes in the same way as
them.
“Okay then – turn
on the radio,” Lily said as she looked at the American woman.
“Why not,
darlings – I understand there is a Christmas carol concert on,” Louise said as
she walked to the music centre and turned it on, the sounds of Kings filling
the air as the three black clad women left the four hogtied captives,
struggling as the music played…