The Awakening of Alexandria

by Mariella Starr

  He came in every morning after breakfast with an older woman who only spoke Greek to provide her with a chemise and a pair of panties or knickers. She was ordered to bathe since he was afraid she was still too weak to stand in the shower without falling. When she objected to the woman’s presence, Nick informed Allie that she had a choice: either it could be the woman in the bathroom with her or it could be him.

  The bedroom door opened and Nicholas came in along with the woman came in pushing a food cart. After dismissing the woman, Nicholas locked the door behind her.

  “Good morning, Alexandria,” Nicholas said pushing the cart onto the balcony. He emptied the cart of plates and dishes onto a small table. “Still angry, I see.”

  “What do you expect?” Allie hissed. “You’ve keeping me a prisoner here! And my name is Allie.”

  “I expect you to be gracious. I expect you to be cordial, and I expect you to eat,” Nicholas said pleasantly. “Your name is Alexandria, which is quite lovely. Allie is the name of a cat.”

  “Go to hell!” Allie ground out. “I want my clothes. I want my computer. I want you to unlock those damn doors!”

  Nicholas merely turned and removed the covers from the breakfast dishes. He got up, walked over, picked her up, and deposited her at the table. Filling a plate, he set it in front of her. “Please eat. I have told you repeatedly that you must eat six small meals a day. It’s imperative for your health.”

  “Fuck you!” Allie screamed and threw the plate at him, making direct hit. Rising from the table, she stomped back to the chair where she’d been sitting and plopped down, seething.

  Nicholas wiped the food from his shirt before walking over to stand in front of her. “For five days now I have tried kindness and patience with you, Alexandria. You have been behaving like a foul-mouthed delinquent. Obviously, plan A isn’t working. Now, I’m going to plan B.”

  Even in a fury, she could not hide the fear she suddenly felt.

  Good, Nicholas thought, a little fear wasn’t a bad thing. He pulled her to her feet, propped his foot up on the chair she’d been sitting in, and in one swift motion turned her over his knee, flipped up her chemise and laid four hard spanks to her barely covered bottom.

  Allie gasped in shock and yelped on the last two really hard smacks. She was still processing what had happened when he returned her to her place at the table.

  Nicholas filled another plate for her. “Plan B,” he stated, “involves an end to tolerance with your tantrums. Under Plan B you will do as you are told or I will blister your pretty little bottom.”

  Allie’s breaths were coming in heaves. She opened her mouth, but he cut her off.

  “Under Plan B, if you swear at me again, I will give you a very hard spanking that you already have fully earned. Now shut up, eat, and behave yourself. You may have dressed and behaved as a hoyden before, but you are not a little boy. You are a lady, and you will behave as one.

  Chapter 3

  Allie watched as the maid changed the sheets and fluffed the pillows before leaving the room. Everything was done quietly, efficiently, and respectfully here - wherever here was. People came, did whatever needed to be done, and went silently away, but the doors remained locked. Everything was locked. The credenza that she suspected contained a television, or possibly a computer, was locked. There was now a treadmill and a stationary bike in the room, but except for when Nicholas came to monitor her exercise those too were kept locked down.

  Allie looked over at the billowing gauzy drapes and locked that image away to be used in a romance novel. It would make a very romantic scene. She was near the end of her second week and she still didn’t know why she was being held. He said it was because of her health, but that just didn’t make sense in her mind. Why would anyone kidnap a total stranger and hold them hostage for their health? What business was her health to him anyway? She’d never laid eyes on the man until two weeks before.

  She wasn’t being starved. She wasn’t being tortured. She was being abused.

  Allie ran a hand over her bottom and winced. Implementation of Nicholas Dyonysus’ plan B was painful. He didn’t yell or shout, but he demanded obedience. Infractions were met with a steely glare and painful consequences.

  Allie supposed it could be worse. Nicholas wasn’t beating her with his fists or using implements of torture. But, temper and disobedience were dealt with swiftly by the palm of his hand on her backside. She’d been spanked three times in as many days, and those spankings hadn’t been like the first of only four swats. The second, third, and fourth spankings had been horrible. Nicholas had put her across his knee, lifted the chemise, pulled down her panties, and spanked her until she was sobbing and pleading with him to stop. It was humiliating, intimating, and—she had to admit—effective. She wasn’t fighting him anymore. She was also, never, never saying the F-word again, or at least not until she got away from him. She rubbed her bottom, recalling his opposition to that particular expletive.

  Nicholas was controlling her life. Allie hated being controlled. If he wanted her to eat, she ate. If he wanted her to exercise, she exercised. If he wanted her to rest, she had to rest. He’d provided newspapers and magazines for her to read. He would bring them in and then have the reading material removed several hours later, explaining that he didn’t want to overtax her eyes.

  A doctor had visited her two days before. He’d poked, prodded, and scolded in Greek, or at least that what she thought it was, she didn’t speak the language. She’d told the doctor she was being held against her will, but he’d only smiled and nodded. The doctor had drawn blood and given her a shot of something in her buttock.

  The suite door opened and Nicholas came in holding some shopping bags. “I have good news, Alexandria,” he said with a smile.

  “You’re letting me go?” Allie asked.

  He laughed and shook his head. “No. You’re not ready for that yet.”

  “Are you going to give me back my computer?”

  Nicholas gave her a long look. “I might, later, with limitations. Do you want to hear the news?” He patted the edge of the bed.

  Allie walked over and boosted herself up onto the bed and sat down gently.

  “You blood work shows improvement and you’ve gained three pounds.” Nicholas was smiling. “You are regaining strength. There is a long way to go yet, but it is a start of your recovery.”

  “Why won’t you let me go?” Allie asked.

  Nicholas took her chin in hand. “I can’t. I have taken the responsibility for your survival. I will not allow you to continue to destroy yourself.” He gave her a light kiss on the forehead as if she were a child and picked up one of the shopping bags. “I have also decided to reward you. Your behavior has also improved. You are no longer swearing like a longshoreman, your temper has improved, and you are, if somewhat reluctantly, following my orders.”

  “That could be because you are beating me into submission,” Allie sniped.

  Nicholas laughed. “A well administered spanking will not cause permanently harm, but it does wonders as an attitude adjustment. I remember that quite well from my childhood. Now, do you want to insist on being obstinate, or would you like to see your reward?”

  What Allie wanted to do was hit him over the head with a blunt object and run, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen. “I’d like to see the reward,” she said finally.

  Nicholas pulled out a dress box and a shoebox.

  Clothes! With clothes, she at least had a change of getting away.

  Nicholas gave a sigh and shook his head. “I can practically read your mind, Alexandria. No, you will not use these to run away. There is nowhere to run on this island. If you will get dressed, we will go outside for a walk. You need sunshine and you need to get beyond these walls for a little while. Please get dressed. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  The dress box contained a sundress in a colorful array of oranges, pinks, greens, and blues. The top was swirling ruffles and spaghetti straps, the
skirt layers of soft flowing ruffles. She put it on without looking in the mirror. It was not at all what Allie would have ever picked out for herself. She hadn’t worn a dress in… well many, many years. It was clothing, though, and beggars couldn’t chose and she desperately wanted to get out.

  There was a knock on the door, and Nicholas reentered. He stood looking her and nodded his head in approval. “You look like a wood nymph. You are very beautiful.”

  Allie glared at him, then the elfin chin came up in defiance and there was a flash of anger in her eyes. Nicholas ignored it, and looked down at her bare feet. He went over to the bed and picked up the shoebox. “Finding shoes for you was a bit difficult. You have very small feet. The only shoes I could find to fit were in the children’s department.”

  He patted the edge of the bed and she came and sat silently. He swung her around so both feet were on the top of the bed and he put a pair of girls’ pink sequined sneakers on her feet and laced them up.

  He set her on her feet and Allie took a few steps, and then she laughed with pure delight. It was a lovely laugh that made him think of bells and tinkling glass chimes. The sneakers sparked and lit up with pink flashing lights every time she took a step.

  Witnessing actual happiness on Alexandria’s face for the first time, Nicholas was enchanted. Before she could notice, he offered her his hand.

  “Shall we go?”

  Allie allowed herself to be escorted through the beautiful villa and out to the patio that sat under her balcony. They’d only walked about a hundred feet when Allie turned back to look at the villa. It was really large, but not ostentatious. It wasn’t built to impress, but to fit within its’ environment. “Is it old or new?”

  Nicholas took her hand again. “Both. A third of it is original. The rest was built about twelve years ago.”

  Allie nodded and allowed him to continue holding her hand. When they came to a stone wall that overlooked the vineyard, she pulled her hand away and turned to face him. “It's time for some truth.”

  Nicholas didn’t smile but he watched her face. He was learning her moods, and she had a very expressive face. “Up for a fight, are we?”

  Nicholas Dyonysus was a large man, a powerful man but Allie Mason wasn’t going to back down. “I deserve to know,” she persisted. “Why I am being kept here?”

  Nick took off his jacket and flung it over his shoulder before offering her his hand again. “Walk with me.” She took his hand and he led her to bench nestled in an alcove in a nearby wall. He motioned for her to sit and then faced her.

  “You are here for two reasons. The first is your health. I have explained that to you before, and that is the truth. The second reason is harder to understand, even for me. I’ve become captivated by you. I don’t know why. There is something about you that attracts me like a moth to a flame. You are an enigma - a world-renowned author who seeks no acknowledgement of her talent. You are an exquisite beauty who doesn’t realize her own loveliness. There’s an aura of mystique about you. I’d like to solve that mystery.”

  “I’ve become an obsession to you.” Allie stated bluntly. “Why? I’m nothing to look at. I have orange friggin’ hair. If you haven’t noticed, I’m skinny. I have no ass, I have no tits and quite frankly, I’ve never really been interested in men. If this is sexual, you’ve got a problem and you need help. ”

  Nicholas started chuckling and it turned to laughter. “You certainly speak your mind. If I were a madman, that little speech might have driven me over the edge of insanity. Luckily, you have nothing to fear. You want to be frank, then, I will also be frank. You are skinny because you are dangerously underweight and malnourished. Even so, you do have, as you so crudely call them, tits. They are small, and I’m sure delectable, and they will probably grow as you gain some weight. The ass remark, well, I disagree with that. You have an ass. It is too is small, but it fits the palm my hand perfectly as you have found out. As for your hair, it is not friggin’ orange, it is a copper flame, and it is glorious. Finally, if you have not been interested, it is because no man has ever taken the time to find the woman in you.”

  Nicholas got to his feet. “Come, Alexandria, I think you’ve been out enough today.”

  Allie took a few steps and stumbled and he swung her into his arms where she stiffened.

  “Please put me down,” Allie demanded. He complied immediately, but he offered his arm and she took it as they continued to walk. Allie was weaker than she thought and soon her steps began to flag.

  Nicholas noticed, as he noticed everything about her. “I think you are tired. May I assist you now?”

  Allie leaned against the wall. “Are you going to let me go?”

  “Until your health returns, no,” Nick said firmly. “You are a beautiful woman, Alexandria, but you do not need to fear me. I must insist though that you clean up your language. Do you speak with friends and contemporaries with that disrespectful mouth?”

  Allie blushed. “I only swear when I’m angry and you make me very angry. And, don’t go all highbrow and snooty on me. Where I come it’s called plain old cussing or swearing.”

  Nicholas lifted her into his arms and began to carry her.

  Allie realized that Nicholas wasn’t returning to the villa by the same path they had followed coming out. She was tired and she finally relaxed. For all that was criminal and illegal with this situation, she didn’t fear Nicholas. Eventually, her head rested on his shoulder and the rhythm of walk lured her to sleep.

  Nicholas returned to the villa and took Alexandria to her room. She was sound asleep. She exhausted so easily. He removed her dress and tucked her under the sheets, picked up the clothing and left the room.

  * * * * *

  Alexandria woke up mad - fighting, spitting, mad. The moment her eyes opened, she knew she was almost naked under the sheet. That slimy bastard had taken everything but her bikini underwear!

  There was a light knock on the door and Nicholas entered. He was carrying a shopping bag in one hand and a tray with sliced fruit in the other. He set the tray on a side table, turned, and was hit in the crotch with what felt like a sledgehammer. His knees dropped out from under him as he collapsed in excruciating pain. He almost didn’t register the person that bolted from the room, but with a superhuman strength, he forced himself up to run after her.

  Nicholas caught Allie before she got to the front door, but barely. She was wrapped in a sheet, but she fought and clawed and swore at him for all she was worth. He hoisted her up, carried her back to the suite, and dumped her in the bed. Then, limping over to the door, slammed and locked it.

  He leaned his forehead against the solid cypress surface and swallowed several times, trying to get his breath, trying to will the level of pain down, and trying to get his anger under control. He blocked out everything for a few minutes as he simply tried to get steady and bring his world into focus. When he finally did, he became aware of screaming and swearing as Alexandria Mason damned and cursed him, his mother, his ancestry several centuries back, his island and what she thought of his high-handed, perverted, arrogant self. He took several deep breaths, wiped the sweat beads off his forehead and upper lip, and turned to face her.

  “Silence!” he snapped.

  Alexandria was still on the bed, wearing some complicated knotted arrangement of a sheet. She backed up on her knees. She was breathing hard and clenching her fists.

  Nicholas took a step forward, realized that he wasn’t capable of dealing with her in his current state, and limped to the door again. He picked up the shopping bag and tossed it on the bed. “Put that on!” He ordered as he went out the door, locking it behind him.

  Nicholas went to the bathroom of his bedroom suite. He slammed his hands against the wall and hung his head over the toilet for a few minutes, fearing that he would throw up. When the nausea subsided, he stripped off his clothing, walked over to the Jacuzzi tub and turned on all the jets as he slowly lowered his body into the water. It was a long time before the pain s
ubsided, and by that time, he had clear picture in his mind of his hand on Alexandria Mason’s bare ass.

  Allie had an idea that she’d crossed a line. She wasn’t sure exactly what that line was considering that she was the one being held hostage, but she was pretty sure she was going to find out.

  Nicholas didn’t come back. Allie waited and this time she was afraid. She’d hurt him, and he was not a man to take that lightly. The only one who entered the room was the older woman. She entered with the dinner cart pushed it inside and left, locking the door behind her.

  After more than two hours of waiting anxiously, Allie finally left the bed. She picked up the shopping bag and pulled out a beautiful chemise made of the finest silk and a tiny pair of panties to match. They were only a shade lighter than her hair. She removed the knotted sheet and donned the lingerie, feeling the tiniest twinge of guilt.

  It was late evening when Nicholas re-entered Allie’s suite. He thought she might be asleep at first, but then realized she was faking. The fruit tray was still on the table, untouched. He picked up the food covers on the evening meal. They were untouched. He put the fruit tray on the cart and rolled it outside the room, stepped out into the hall and called the kitchen. Back in the room, he sat down and watched her.

  He wasn’t angry that she’d struck him; in a perverse way, he admired her courage. He wasn’t thrilled that she’d almost gelded him, but that was his fault. He knew now never to let his guard down. She was a fighter. He’d probably be sore for a week, and he’d already done the unthinkable - to his way of thinking - and taken a prescription painkiller. He was positive of one thing: Alexandria Mason would not be getting a painkiller. Some discipline was in order to get her under control.

  There was a loud knock at the door and he answered it. It was the kitchen staff with the ordered meal. He rolled the cart inside, locked the door, and picked up the marble base of the small boudoir lamp that had nearly caused his castration. He moved it to a high chest of drawers.