Emily
Part 5
Emily was sitting cross-legged in a small room. Although the room was dark, moonlight shone in through the window, and peaceful night-sounds were all around her. She felt calm and content.
Suddenly she was aware of someone else’s presence in the room, and tensed. She looked around wildly until she saw a shape under the window.
It wasn’t human.
It was a huge cat. A tiger? no, a panther.
With the exotic grace that only felines possess, the panther padded over towards Emily.
Emily gasped and clenched her fists in fear. The panther was looking right at her. It had enormous black eyes. Its fur was jet black and sleek. Powerful muscles rippled on its legs and thighs.
It occurred to Emily that she should arise and run.
She realized she couldn’t move.
The panther was walking around her. Emily turned her head to keep looking at the beast as it circled her. The magnificent panther walked around and around, all the while staring right at her.
Suddenly the creature leaped. It was right on top of her. Emily’s heart caught in her throat. The panther had her pinned down. It was heavy and too strong to fight. Emily wanted to scream but she couldn’t seem to remember how. The panther had one of its back legs on each of her calves and had grasped each of her hands in a paw. It was right above her, staring down at her. Emily gasped.
The panther stuck out its tongue and licked her face.
It tickled. Emily giggled.
Abruptly the panther was gone, and Emily was sitting on a sofa in the same dark room. Confused, she looked around and spotted a door. Standing, she made her way to the door when she heard her name.
“Emily,” the voice repeated. It was low and soothing, caressing, with just a hint of a Kentucky accent.
Emily turned around. There was Miss Scarlett, the hypnotist, standing in the moonlight. In the soft pale light her skin glowed and the curves of her black dress shimmered in the darkness.
Miss Scarlett beckoned to her with her hand.
Without ever thinking about it, Emily’s body responded. She found herself walking towards Miss Scarlett. She stopped right in front of her and tilted her head back to look at Miss Scarlett’s face.
“Let me please you,” Miss Scarlett purred. Her soft voice was hypnotic, caressing her brain.
“I . . .” Emily began, but she couldn’t think of anything to say.
Miss Scarlett snapped her fingers, and Emily suddenly found that she couldn’t move — she was transfixed by the hypnotist’s deep brown eyes.
Miss Scarlett’s hands were caressing her body. Emily closed her eyes and surrendered herself to the pleasure — and woke up.
BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ went the alarm clock. Emily moaned and rolled over. It was 8:45. Time to rise. She didn’t want to rise; she wanted to go back to sleep. There was this dream . . .
Recollection of the dream flooded back, and Emily sat up straight in bed, pulling the sheets around her. Miss Scarlett — the hypnotist — the feeling of relaxation — surrendering. But all that had happened was that she had volunteered to be in a show. Hadn’t she? Hadn’t’ it?
She rose and dashed into the bathroom, and threw herself into the shower, letting the wonderful hot water caress her body. She found herself washing madly the damp place between her legs — how was it damp this morning? How good it felt to wash — she stopped herself and got out of the shower. She had to get going. Had to.
A few hours later, she called Anna.
“You want to go to see Miss Scarlett’s show tonight?” she asked.
“Well, we went last night,” Anna replied, “but dang, wasn’t it fun. All right.”
So it was that by nightfall Anna had picked up Emily and they had driven to the club for Miss Scarlett’s second performance. This time they had both gone lightly, leaving their purses at home. The moment Miss Scarlett was out on stage they ran up to volunteer.
Miss Scarlett surveyed her volunteers and grinned conspiratorially at Anna and Emily as they sat down. Both girls grinned back and clasped hands as the new age music began and Miss Scarlett stood in front of her volunteers.
Instead of walking back and forth along the stage, Miss Scarlett removed her pocket watch and swung it back in forth in front of her volunteers. Although it was tiny compared to the size of the stage, each person let their eyes settle on it and move back and forth as it swung.
“You know how wonderful pocket watches are to hypnotists,” Miss Scarlett purred. “You see, as the watch swings backwards and forwards, it keeps your attention focused while my words help you to relax. My watch swinging backwards and forwards, glittering, shining in your mind, just for you. My words soothe you and relax you. Soothe you and relax you. It is so easy for you just to let everything else go and focus on me. Your eyes move with the motion of my watch, and your ears hear nothing else but my voice. My voice coaxes you and relaxes you; you hear nothing but my voice. My voice is your world; my voice becomes your voice. You are so relaxed by my voice; my watch, swinging, to and fro, back and forth, makes your eyes feel heavy. Your whole body is relaxing with your eyes. You are focused on my watch and my voice, falling completely under my spell. Your eyelids are getting heavy; they are drooping; you are feeling so drowsy, you know you must give in. You cannot help it; you are surrendering, you have surrendered. You have relaxed completely and surrendered completely . . . your eyelids are so heavy, heavier, heavier, you are getting so sleepy, you know you must sleep, you are sleeping, sleepy, sleep.”
Emily let her eyes follow Miss Scarlett’s beautiful watch, focus on it, surrender to it. Her voice was so perfect, it was so soothing. It felt so wonderful just to go to sleep as her voice whispered through her mind. Her eyes moved back and forth and felt so heavy . . . so sleepy . . . must close her eyes . . .
Emily abruptly woke up as the audience was roaring with applause. Around her, she saw Anna and the other volunteers yawning and stretching.
Miss Scarlett bowed and left the stage.
“That was it?” Emily whispered to Anna. Anna shrugged and looked up. Emily followed her gaze to a clock.
Goodness, it was two hours later. She had been hypnotized and didn’t remember it at all. No, that wasn’t true. She remembered watching Miss Scarlett’s watch and surrendering to that wonderful voice . . .
Emily grabbed Anna’s hand. “Come on?”
“Where are we going?” the redhead asked confusedly as her blonde friend dragged her backstage to Miss Scarlett’s door.
Before Emily could even knock, Miss Scarlett opened the door. She hadn’t had time to change, so she was still wearing the same clothes she had on stage. Tonight she was wearing a long black velvet skirt and flat shoes, but still, at 6′1″, she towered over Emily by eight inches. She was wearing a shiny, black silk blouse that shimmered over her upper body and flattered her generous breasts. The ever present silver pocket watch hung around her neck. To Emily’s surprise, she was wearing her lovely hair up in a heavy bun that accented her pale face and soft flawless features. As usual, her eyes were made up to draw the viewer’s gaze straight in.
“Anna! Emily!” Miss Scarlett grinned, and both girls smiled back. “Thank you for coming tonight. You were both great volunteers.”
“Thank you,” the two said.
“Come in?” the hypnotist said.
Emily and Anna both entered, and Miss Scarlett shut the door behind them. Turning around, she offered her right hand to Anna. As the redhead shook the hypnotist’s hand, Scarlett snapped her fingers on her left hand. Instantly, Anna fell forwards into Scarlett’s arms.
Emily gaped as the black-haired hypnotist helped Anna into a chair. “What . . .?”
“Handshake induction,” Miss Scarlett said. “Learned it from reading Erickson. It’s the coolest thing.”
She turned around and faced Emily. Emily was blinking, almost shivering.
“So what can I do for you?” Scarlett purred. Already Emily was gazing into her eyes. She could feel the blonde girl’s desire for something she barely understood.
“I, was, um, wondering,” Emily stammered.
“Yes?”
“If you, er, could . . .”
“Yes?”
“Hyp . . . hypnotize me.”
“You want to be hypnotized?” Miss Scarlett purred.
“Yesssss.” Emily whispered, stepping up to the lady hypnotist.
“You’re going to have to relax,” Scarlett whispered.
Emily swallowed and nodded, her blue eyes looking straight into the hypnotist’s brown pools. Scarlett reached out and began massaging Emily’s shoulders. Emily was tense at first, but after a minute or two of gentle kneading began to truly relax.
“Relax,” Miss Scarlett whispered, after some time had passed with nothing but the two women staring into each others’ eyes and the black-haired hypnotist massaging her subject’s shoulders. Emily’s head seemed to nod around her eyes.
“Relax,” Scarlett repeated. “You are surrendering to relaxation, relaxing so deeply. You are feeling so sleepy.”
Emily’s eyelids began drooping.
“Sleep,” Scarlett whispered.
Emily’s eyes closed.
“You have relaxed totally . . . deeply, deeply asleep.”
Emily’s muscles relaxed and she fell forwards into Miss Scarlett’s arms.