"I can't do this anymore," Kelli sobbed as she pulled at the chains, trying to free her hands. "It's too much."

The four of them were sitting against the wall in their cell. They had been given a short rest by the warden currently supervising them. He had gone out into the corridor to talk to someone, giving them a rare moment alone.

Cathy grabbed her wrists. "Listen to me! You can't give up, Kelli. Think, why are you here?"

"I broke a rule. They came for me…"

"No!" Cathy shook Kelli's hands. "Why are you in here, as a student? Why did you ask to be put in here?" From the corner of her eye Cathy saw Diane and Cindy look at each other in surprise at Kelli's secret.

"I…to prove I could do it. But Cathy, I can't! I just want to go home and be with Matt."

"You can do it, and you will! You wanted to see if you have what it takes? This is the moment, Kelli. Right now, right this minute you succeed or fail."

Kelli turned away, unwilling to look Cathy directly in the eye. "Then I'm a failure." She jerked her hands away from Cathy and held them up, yanking on the cuffs imprisoning her. "No more. I won't wear these chains and this chastity belt any longer. I'm finished with all this. All I want is to go back to what I was before they brought me here."

Cathy grabbed the bar between Kelli's wrists and yanked on it hard. "And how do you plan to get these off? You think you can waltz over there, knock on the door, and ask to go home? It won't happen. Don't you get it? They aren't going to let you out. About all you'd accomplish is getting the rest of us in trouble. Is that what you want?"

"No, I don't want any of you to take the blame. I'll ask for Matt. He'll get me out of here."

Angry, Cathy grabbed the collar around Kelli's neck. "And are you going to give up on this too? When you ask Matt to take off the chains, will you include the collar around your neck? How about the one around your heart? Do you want to be free of him too?"

Kelli's eyes went wide. She didn't answer immediately.

"How about it?" Cathy pressed on. "What do you tell Matt? Close your eyes, imagine he's standing in front of you right now. Explain to him how you didn't really mean it when you said you'd do anything for him. Tell him how much you want to submit to him, but only if it's fun and easy."

Kelli pulled loose from Cathy's grip and drew back. "It's not like that at all. He knows I meant everything I said."

"I'm sure he does, but do you?" Cathy held up her own hands, bound by the chains that held them all. "All of us, we have something in common, something special. We picked a certain type of man, a man we can trust with our lives, a man who takes charge, a man who takes it seriously when we promise him our obedience." She tapped the front of the belt, where it covered her sex. "We give him our bodies, we give him our heart and soul. And we know he is the type of man who will take what we offer and use it, all of it, for whatever purposes he deems best for us.

"Do I enjoy being stripped, locked in steel and thrown into a cell? Do I think its fun to have someone jump all over me if I break some silly rule? No, but I do it anyway. I have to believe that some how, some way Robert thinks it's important I do this. I'd give anything to get out of here, but I trust him even if I can't understand why this is happening to me. I owe him my allegiance, to put my faith in his judgment even when I'm tired and miserable."

All three women were staring at Cathy. "I'm no different than any of you," she went on. "We can all make it through this. Kelli, you wanted to prove to yourself you can match any woman in here. I know you can do it. Reach into yourself, look for that hidden resolve. Show Matt, show yourself, you have what it takes."

Kelli leaned down to wipe the tears from her face. "I guess I can go a little longer."

Cathy put her hands on top of Kelli's. Diane and Cindy joined in. "We'll all go a little longer," Diane said.