Author's Note: This story is written in 1st person, so the dominant could easily be any sex. But I have selected the F-f tag because the idea for the story was inspired by a work of art by Gnarly Thotep, which depicts two women. One has a noose around her neck, arms bound behind her back and one leg tied up in the air. The other woman is lifting a second rope and looks to be planning to raise the leg that's still on the round so the woman is forced to hang from her neck.

I watched the girl as the guards brought her forward. Her naked body glistened in the dungeon's warm air, but it was not the heat of the room that made her sweat. From the look on her face, it might have been a thin shine of fear, but I also knew about the half hour she had spent baking in the sauna.

It pleased me to see her naked body trembling before me.

"We're going to play a game," I announced as the guards brought her forward, holding her almost motionless despite her occasional struggles. "Since you're such a naughty girl, I thought you might enjoy playing a game instead of taking care of your regular responsibilities." I turned and gestured towards the large blackboard behind me. "I'm sure you're familiar with the rules, but before we begin I should warn you that you must play willingly. My guards are going to release you, but any future attempt to resist or escape will be treated as an incorrect guess. Do you understand?"

I could see by the expression on her face that she did, so I nodded to the guards and they released her. For a moment I thought she might fall, but the strength had not completely left her long, slender legs.

I moved closer to her-close enough that she couldn't help leaning away. "I shook my head in warning as I ran my red fingernails up along the inside of her thighs, twirled my fingers in the thin patch of pale pubic hair; then lightly traced a path up her trembling belly and back down to her hip. I walked around behind her, pressing my body against her back side as I ran my fingers nails across her belly once again. I loved the feel of warm, slick flesh. She had a beautiful belly. It was, without a doubt, her best feature, and she had a lot of nice features. But then, I've always been partial to a good belly.

I curled my fingers, digging them deeply into the flesh under her ribcage. I pried hard enough that she couldn't stifle her body twitch or the little gasp that she let out.

"Pick a letter," I whispered into her ear.

She took a long time to choose, but finally she made a choice.

"E," she said.

I nodded to the guard who had gone to stand by the blackboard. He wrote the letter E on the board in the spot that indicated that it was not a correct guess.

"Too bad," I said, opening the pouch that hung on my belt and removing a large ring-gag. I could feel her shaky breath beneath my fingertips and smiled. "Open wide and accept your punishment, pretty slave, or you'll get another black-mark."

She opened her mouth and I lowered the ring-gag over her head, wedging it between her perfect white teeth.

"Time to guess another letter," I said as I pulled her blonde hair out from beneath the thin leather straps that held the ring firmly in place.

"Kaey"

"I'm sorry," I said, "there's no G. Now put your hands behind your back."

"Nyoht gyah, Tchay"

"Sorry, no T either. Now put your arms behind your back. That's a good girl." I looped a strand of rope around her wrists, binding them tightly. "I realize that interpretation was a bit of a problem, but unfortunately I have to count that as two misses instead of one." I used another bit of rope to bind her elbows, pulling tight enough that her arms firmly meet. The girl was one of those slaves for who this was not an easy task; and I knew that the circulation in her arms would soon be a problem. But I also knew that this game wouldn't last all that much longer, and I always liked the involuntary gasp of pain that it wrung from her throat as her pert little breasts were forced to thrust forward. I couldn't help running my nails over her ticklish ribs and her hard, flat belly as I leaned close to whisper in her ear. "Next time please try to pronounce your letters a little more clearly. Care to try another one?"

"Ah-he."

"A? Good choice."

I nodded to the guard who erased the third dash and replaced it with an A.

Now the blackboard read: _ _ A _ _ _ _ _

And the missed letters were E, G, and T.

"Dheh."

"No D."

This time I took a rather long rope, with a noose at one end, and slipped it over her head. One of guards brought a chair, which I used to stand on as I threaded the end of the rope through a pulley that was suspended from one of the ceiling rafters. I pulled the rope tight enough that the slave had to stand up straight if she didn't want to choke herself, but not tight enough to interfere with her breathing or anything; then I tied the end to a metal ring on the nearest wall

"It's already starting to get interesting," I told the slave when I was done, "and you've only gotten one letter right. Will you choose again?"

"Elnna"

"I'll assume that's an N?"

When she gave a slight nod I motioned to the guard.

Now the blackboard read: _ _ A N _ _ _ _

With the missed letters: E, G, T and D.

"Ell."

I shook my head and laughed. "Now why would you choose L? It really is a silly letter to choose at this particular moment. Are you sure you want that one?"

She looked at me uncertainly for a moment, and I could almost see the wheels spinning in her head as they say. Was I really trying to warn her from a bad choice? Or was I trying to get her not to guess a correct letter? After a long, uncomfortable moment she nodded.

"Too bad," I said. "There's no L."

I went back over and untied the end of the noose rope, while one of the guards took hold of one of the girl's legs and raised it up until it was about even with her breasts. Then I tied the loose end of the noose rope to her ankle. The girl's legs were fairly limber, but the position was difficult to hold without allowing her head to move down so that it was closer to being center of mass. And unless she kept her leg up its weight would put pressure on the noose. It would also be a bit more difficult to keep her balance without the use of her arms. But perhaps the best thing about the pose was that it kept her beautifully open and exposed.

"Elmmmh."

"Now, now, don't be so hasty. I want to savor the moment."

I ran my fingers along the inside of her raised thigh until I came to her sparse little bush. Gently, I slipped two of my fingers into her pussy while I pushed my thumb against her anus. "You know why women have their pussy and ass so close together, don't you?" I laughed. "It's so you can turn them upside down and carry them around like a six-pack." I pushed my thumb inside her asshole, working my fingers and thumb in and out for a few moments.

"Elmmmh."

"Yes, very good," I said, continuing to finger fuck her. "There is an M."

"Bdeah."

"Sorry, no B." I took my fingers out of her holes and put them to her mouth. "Lick them clean," I said, when she didn't do it on her own. "The longer you take the longer you'll stand here like this."

She hesitated for only a moment more, then stuck out her tongue and began to lick. When she had them more or less clean, I went to find a pair of nipple clamps: the kind with the removable magnetic rings. I took off all twelve circular weights before clipping them on to her nipples.

"Ready to try again?"

"Kay."

I shook my head and held up one of the magnetic weights, making the clamp dance for a few seconds before it flew out of my hand and clicked onto the bottom of the clamp's round base. "You're just not have much luck are you?" I held up another weight, holding it this time so that when it came close to the clamp it tugged at her nipple. "We don't want these to slip off." I tightened the clamps a little more before slowly adding the rest of the weights; playing a while with each one. Finally, when I was done, I asked her if she was ready to guess again.

"Shee."

"Was that a C?"

Again she hesitated, and I could tell that she was trying to second guess herself again, but after a moments delay she nodded her head.

"Better," I said motioning to the guard.

He wrote on the blackboard; and now it read: _ _ A N C _ _ M

With the missed letters: E, G, T, D, L, B and K.

"Owhha."

"My, my," I said going to my chest of goodies and getting a fat leather strap and another length of rope. I knelt in front of her and tied the end of the rope to her ankle; then stood up with the rope still in my hand. "You see where I'm going with this, don't you?" I pulled the end of the rope up towards the ankle of the leg that was suspended in the air, tugging just enough to make her foot slip a little across the floor, so that her weight was no longer centered quite as nicely.

Her eyes widened as she toppled forward slightly so that her leg was a little higher in the air and the noose was supporting a little more of her weight. Desperately she tried to catch her balance, fighting to keep the tip of her toe on the ground and find a new position that would relieve the tension on the noose, but she couldn't. It was difficult enough trying to keep her toes on the floor, and if she let that slip out from under her she would almost certainly be unable to get it back.

I smiled and tugged her foot a little further off center. "You don't have a lot of guesses left, you know. And not much strength either, I'll wager."

Her foot slipped a bit, and I decided to take pity on her, after all, I had cheated against her first; and I didn't want our little game to end prematurely. I pulled her leg back a little, so that it was just a bit more centered; then I dropped the rope and began to use the fat leather strap, aiming the first stroke across the flat of her belly. It landed with a loud crack that made me smile at the girl's satisfying scream.

"You get twenty-five of these," I said as I planted the next one crisply against the inside of her thighs. The next caught her hard enough across the back of her leg-just above the knees-that I thought her leg might buckle. It trembled so fiercely that if her legs had been together I'm sure I would have heard them knocking.

Taking my time, I counted softly; soaking-in her increasingly hoarse cries of pain, and pausing frequently to run my hands over her warm, sweat-slickened flesh. I concentrated between her legs, and before I was done the inside of her thighs and her pubic mound were bright red. I didn't ignore her belly and breasts altogether, though, and when I struck her breasts it made the weighted clamps dance quite nicely.

When I was done with all twenty-five strokes, I kissed her on the lips and said. "It's time for another letter, slave. I'm sure you've had plenty of time to think about which one you'll choose."

She was silent for a long time; then at last she said, "Phee."

I shook my head. "I don't think you're going to make it," I said with a sad, but oddly excited smile. Although she was very pretty, she was also an unruly slave, and there was a part of me that wanted to see the life being squeezed out of her. But if this was her end I would definitely miss her. I wouldn't intercede either way, however. It was the suspense of not knowing what would happen that I enjoyed the most about these games. Saving her without cause would prove that there really wasn't any risk after all, and it would ruin everything. So despite the loss, I would let her die, if that was how things played out.

I picked up the loose rope, which I had already tied to the leg still touching the floor, and tied the loose end to the ankle that was suspended in the air, making sure to pull it just tight enough to force her onto the tips of her toes if she didn't want to choke to death. She teetered there precariously, the noose tightening a little more around her neck every time she lost her balance for a few moments, but she was able to take a new breath as soon as she righted herself again.

"You haven't even gotten half of the letters yet," I said raising my eyebrows with mock concern. "You'd better try a little harder."

"Ieh," she said, and this time when she spoke the noose was tight enough around her neck to make it sound like little more than a whisper.

"Finally," I said. "You got one! Care to try another?"

"Ehewh."

"My, my, two in a row! Perhaps you'll make a comeback, after all."

The guard wrote on the blackboard: _ _ A N C I U M

With the missed letters: E, G, T, D, L, B, K, O, and P.

"Esss."

"Oh! Sorry, no S." I went to the chest and got another set of those clamps with the round magnetic weights. This pair I attached to her labia, adding the weights one at a time, much the way I had with the ones on her breasts, only I didn't play around with each one quite as long. I could tell already that she was finding it difficult to keep on her toes, and the weight of her body was forcing the noose to close more and more tightly around her neck.

When I was finished, I rose and looked at her questioningly.

"Wuthvee."

"Is that a V?"

Moving her head obviously caused added discomfort, but she managed a slight nod.

"You're getting down to the end," I said in a rather somber voice.

Looking over at the two guards, I thought about which of them I would choose. The smaller one was notorious for having a short sexual fuse. The other was an ass man, who was tall enough that he would unquestionably support some of the girl's weight while he was fucking her. That might give her legs enough of a break that she would be able to keep standing for a few more turns; but on the other hand, he was quite large and had a very long fuse. If I chose the first guard, the girl might not have the strength to make another guess, even though he was quick. And if I chose the second man, the savagery of his assault might drain all of her energy anyway.

Well, if it was a crap shoot anyway, I figured I might as well make it the one who would make it last. That way, at least I'd get the extra video camera footage out of this thing.

So I nodded to the second guard.

He smiled gratefully as he approached, his massive cock already growing stiffer with his anticipation. As I'd anticipated, he walked around behind, crouching a little as he placed his large hands on the side of the girl's waist. Obviously he planned to guide himself inside her with out using his hands. I wasn't sure that would be possible, considering his size, even if the girl was just the right height and spread so invitingly open for him. As he raised up, the head of his cock pressed against the puckered skin of her asshole, meeting with a fair degree of resistance. He slid his hands around a bit towards the back, so that he could use his thumbs to spread her cheeks even further. Just as the head of his cock began to bury itself inside her, he rose up quickly, giving a sharp and deep thrust. The force of it lifted the girl's foot off the floor and she fell forward a bit so that most of her weight was taken by the guard and the noose around her neck. Her face contorted in pain, but apparently the noose was too tight or she was in too much pain, (at least for the moment), to make any noises of protest. The muscles in her raised leg were tightly flexed, and that more than anything else was pulling the noose tight around her neck.

I wondered if she was going to kill herself, but after the first several thrusts she began to relax and the rope around her neck loosened enough to let her breath. She took the air in with desperate panting gasps and then, as the guard thrust again, the air was forced back out.

As each minute passed it seemed to become that much easier for the girl. The initial sharpness of the pain became dull, and she found a rhythm that allowed her to breath. The weights on the clamps shook and rattled as he hammered away at her, and before long they had more to do with her pain than anything.

This went on for a pleasantly long while, as the guard found his inexorable rhythem, rocking her body with the force of his thrusts. After awhile she began to tire, just as I had expected. Although the guard had been supporting most of her weight, she had still been exerting herself as well. It was hard work, trying to keep her legs bent at such a sharp angle to the rest of her body, without the weight of her leg putting too much pressure on the noose. She was tiring. The leg was now almost a dead weight, and although it wasn't enough to close off her windpipe entirely, it was more than enough to make it hard to breath. And the less air she managed to take in, the harder it was for her to maintain her efforts.

Just as I thought she would expend her last reserves of strength the guard finished. He pulled out and his withdrawl left her hanging there, flopped forward so that the noose bore her full weight for a few moments and her foot slipped sideways across the polished floor.

We all watched for a few moments without speaking, then I cleared my throat. "The game isn't over," I told the guard. "Help her back upright. If she can keep herself from falling there's still a chance that she might not be done."

For a moment, as the guard picked her up so easily and set her back down, I thought the girl might not be able (or willing) to make the effort. Then it would be all over. But she stretched out her trembling leg, and apparently still had just enough strength to keep herself slipping.

I placed my hand under her raised leg for a moment, taking some of the weight as I leaned closer to whisper in her ear. "I'm pretty sure that was your last miss," I told her. "Better make this one count if you want to live."

"Ahrr," she said quickly, just as I began to remove my hand from her leg. Her voice was rather weak and strained.

"Oh, you lucky girl." I cupped my hand under the weights that hung from her labia and flipped them into the air so that they tugged at her flesh when they fell back into place. I nodded to the guard and he wrote the second to the last letter on the blackboard.

Now it read: _ R A N C I U M

With the missed letters: E, G, T, D, L, B, K, O, P, S, and V.

"It's really getting exciting now. Just one more guess. Get it right and you live. Get it wrong and I let the other guard fuck you again. As much as that took out of you the first time, I don't expect you to live."

The girl's face began growing red again when I let go of her leg. She didn't have the strength to hold it up-not even a little. Now she closed her eyes, and I wondered if she'd give out and end up dying with her last guess left unsaid. But then she closed her eyes, mustering what seemed to be the last bit of her strength as she strained to lift her leg just enough to breath out the last letter.

"Ehhu."

"Excuse me?" I said, reaching out and giving the labia weights another little jiggle. "I couldn't quite understand you."

She tried again, her leg trembling now with the effort. "Ehffuh," she said. And then her body sagged all together and the noose pulled tight around her neck as she toppled forward once again, unable to keep upright any longer.

I let her hang there for just a second then I nodded to the guards who wrote the last letter on the board:

F R A N C I U M

It had taken me along time to come up with the word. And I was pleased with how nicely everything had worked out. She'd taken it all the way to the wire, and ended up living to do it another day. I took a deep, relieved breath. Despite her tendency to be irritating, I really did have a soft spot for this one.

I nodded to the guards to help the girl down and take her to the infirmary. After today, I expected she might be a little less willful; a little better behaved. If not we'd play again some day. And maybe the next time I'd pick the word Xizang.