Friday, October 2, 2009

Flash Fiction Friday #6: "Bondage Ballet"


 “Swan Lake” filled the air as she shuffled about en pointe, nude, amidst a chorus of clinks. His eyes marked her, coldly appraising.

“Arabesque,” he stated, and she bent forward, leg raised, fighting the tether but succeeding.

“Jeté battu.” He nodded in approval as she complied, chain ringing.

“Pas de bourrée.” The first few she managed, but when she swung one leg back to extend, the chain brought her up short and she overbalanced. She crashed to the floor, weeping silently.

He knelt by her side, caressing her dancer's body. “You'll do,” he said softly.

(This is my entry for Spanky and Tiggs's Flash Fiction Friday Challenge #6: 100 words inspired by the photo shown above. Want to play too? Then stop by and check out the guidelines.) 

-- PB
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12 comments:

  1. Fantasia LillithOctober 2, 2009 at 1:04 PM

    You may well be a genius.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The PanserbjørneOctober 2, 2009 at 1:05 PM

    Fantasia: Thanks! I struggled a lot with the word count on this one -- it just seemed to demand more than the flat 100. Finally I found a combination I was happy with.

    -- PB

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  3. AnonymousOctober 2, 2009 at 3:43 PM

    I love this picture.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The PanserbjørneOctober 2, 2009 at 3:54 PM

    CW: I think Spanky provided the picture this week as well as the challenge post itself. I agree: it's an interesting one.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    -- PB

    ReplyDelete
  5. Luna MauvaiseOctober 2, 2009 at 5:28 PM

    You boys are gonna have to stop speaking in my favorite tongue. It's too much for one day. ;)

    Excellent French there, PB. I like that you added the research references too. Happy FFF!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The PanserbjørneOctober 2, 2009 at 5:35 PM

    Luna: Now why would I want to *stop* that, when I know exactly how it affects you? :)

    Have to be honest though -- all of it came directly from the linked page. I only speak two languages -- English and American. Pretty typical US resident.

    -- PB

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  7. SpankyOctober 2, 2009 at 7:05 PM

    Great job PB! Love the ballet words, too. I so wanted to use "pas de chat" in my piece, until I discovered that move would be impossible with those cuffs!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The PanserbjørneOctober 2, 2009 at 7:54 PM

    Spanky: Technically, the "arabesque" move would be impossible with that length of chain, so I just chose to believe the chain was longer than the one actually shown in the picture. My fantasy, my rules. Heh.

    Glad you liked!

    -- PB

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  9. francesDecember 15, 2009 at 1:14 PM

    i love how you take the time to get the details right.

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  10. The PanserbjørneDecember 15, 2009 at 2:39 PM

    Frances: They say the devil's in the details. I choose to say that details are everything. It seems you agree with me. :)

    -- PB

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  11. DanielDecember 16, 2009 at 3:59 PM

    So... If the devil's in the details, and the details are everything... Does that mean the devil's in everything?

    ReplyDelete
  12. The PanserbjørneDecember 16, 2009 at 5:47 PM

    Daniel: Well, with any luck reading my journal has people thinking devilish thoughts all the time. So I'll say "yes" to that too. :)

    -- PB

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for chiming in! I will always read and respond to comments here; if you don't feel like using the "email responses" link, feel free to check back for my replies!
-- PB