It all started innocently enough, but that seemed like a lifetime ago now. She couldn’t believe that it had already been twelve months. In that time her life had completely changed. It had changed so much in fact that she barely recognised herself now. On the outside, both when she looked at herself in the mirror and to friends and family, nothing much had changed really. But, inside her own mind… that was a totally different story.

Of course, small changes had been noticed by people close to her. The usual things that change in a person’s life when they enter into a new relationship. Many people had commented upon, both to her face and amongst themselves, that she seemed calmer now since she had this new boyfriend. More composed and somehow even more elegant perhaps. She exuded a happiness and confidence within herself that was now unmistakably genuine, whereas before it seemed to be there only as an ephemeral illusion; albeit a reasonably convincing illusion - most of the time. But nobody had the slightest idea as to the monumental changes that had occurred inside her head. It was almost as if she had somehow been reprogrammed. That, she thought, was the real reason for the change.

Nowadays, dealing with friends, family, and colleagues was now so much easier. So much easier because she now had another focus for her obsessive perfectionism. For he was a perfectionist too and he demanded nothing but perfection from her.

Looking back, she realised now how fortunate she had been. She could so easily have missed the opportunity and she almost did if it wasn’t for his persistence. He seemed convinced that what he was describing was exactly what she needed. Even before meeting her, he seemed to know her so well.

It started as usual, after a long stressful day at work, as she was looking for a way to unwind. She often struggled to get to sleep at night and, as she often did, she found herself perusing the personal ads looking for that elusive something that she was missing. On this particular night, one ad leapt out at her as being different from the rest. Yes, it’s true that there were plenty of similar ads on this particular personals website, all claiming this thing or that. But this ad seemed different somehow. The ad was simple and to the point. It wasn’t bragging or trying too hard like so many of the other countless ads she had already trawled through.

Before she realised what she was doing, she had responded to the ad. It was a throw-away response which she didn’t really expect would get a reply and afterwards, she didn’t really know why she had even sent it. And with that, she shut off her computer and tried to get some sleep, thinking no more about it.

She woke the next morning as usual, with her mind racing at a million miles an hour. She had no idea what was wrong with her and why she couldn’t switch her brain off even for just a few seconds. She had tried countless things, but all with the same disappointing result. Yoga retreats, meditation, overseas holidays. But nothing seemed to work.

She had completely forgotten all about sending the message the night before, but she took a look on the personals website just to try and give herself a few seconds of peace from all the thoughts racing around her head on what she had to get done that day. That’s when she noticed the reply. While she wasn’t exactly expecting a reply, the response that she got was just as non-committal as hers had been, so she ignored it and got up and got on with the day.

It was only later on in the day, when her phone buzzed to notify her of another message, that she took another look at her messages. There were now a few more responses to her initial contact message. In this one there was a picture of what looked like a BDSM dungeon.

Holy fuck! That was far more than what she was expecting in response to her flippant inquiry.

However, it definitely had an effect on her that she couldn’t ignore. She put her phone away and tried to get on with the rest of her day, but her mind kept on drifting back to that picture in the message that she had received.

Finally, after a couple of hours, it was too much and she found herself having to respond. She explained that she didn’t really know what she was looking for and wasn’t really sure why she had got in touch. However, she explained that she wanted to experience what it would be like to relinquish control. She wasn’t really sure why she was sharing this intimate information with a complete stranger, but what could possibly be the harm in doing so? It was just a bit of fun and a distraction at this stage.

In response, she got a very detailed reply which explained exactly what he was looking for. He was more looking for an ongoing serious affair whereas she just needed some peace and quiet from her brain for just a short period. She was just looking to lose control just for a bit.

But something about what he wrote appealed to her. Could she be interested in something more? While she strongly doubted it, where was the harm in just playing with the idea a little bit, so she responded, explaining that she might be open to something more.

Almost immediately he came back with more details on what he was looking for. She couldn’t believe what she was reading, but it sounded like he was actually looking for a Dom/sub relationship where he would effectively collar and own a slave. To her utter surprise though, the thought of being completely controlled like that gave her goosebumps. She knew that what he wanted was far more than she could possibly ever commit to, as her life was far too busy and complicated to conceive of something like that. But the idea of being completely and utterly owned and having no control over anything deeply appealed to her all the same, while at the same time terrifying her too. She couldn’t bring herself to respond, but his messages had certainly given her overactive mind yet another thing to think about. Great, she thought, just what I needed.

Over the coming days, she thought about his messages constantly, but normal life got in the way and she quickly realised that she couldn’t possibly commit to something like what this guy was looking for. But why had she felt the need to message him again, explaining that she didn’t think it was for her, rather than just ignoring his last set of messages altogether? Of course, she knew that she was a polite person and she just wanted to thank him for his interest and time that he had spent explaining to her what he was looking for. At least, that's what she told herself.

But, was there more to it than that? she wondered. Why go to the trouble of messaging him again? She looked at the original advert again and, not for the first time, found its simplicity and straightforwardness intriguing. There were no words wasted in his advert and it was actually everything the advert didn’t say that intrigued her the most. The few messages that he did send filled in some of the gaps, but she knew there was more. Much much more that she didn't know.

These thoughts and more whirled around her head for the next few days. During each of her busy days, she kept having random thoughts imagining what her life would be like if she was a collared and owned slave girl for a dominant Master who knew exactly what he wanted.

She was all about making decisions and she thought that she had made one quite decisively by telling him that it would be impossible for her to commit to the kind of thing that her was looking for. But the fact that these thoughts kept on infiltrating her mind completely unbidden told her that she hadn’t really addressed it properly at all. All she had done was to procrastinate and to defer the issue until a later time and that did not sit well with her as she was a woman all about making decisions and taking charge. She made countless decisions every day for God’s sake. Too many in fact.

Well, these unwanted distractions were more than enough and it was time to resolve things once and for all. She would find out whether actually submitting to another person was what she needed or not. She was galvanised in her decision now, knowing it was the right thing to do, mainly because she was now utterly convinced that she wouldn’t be able to let go and release control of everything. And now she was determined to prove that she was right.
She contacted this guy again and simply asked him if he was still looking. After she had pressed send, she cursed herself for being so stupid. But that didn’t stop her from checking her messages almost constantly for the rest of the day.

It wasn’t until late in the next day when she finally got a response.

The response simply said, “Yes.”

Fuck, she thought. But she knew that there was no backing out now. It was time to scratch this itch so that she could just get all of this silly nonsense out of the way and move on.

She responded immediately, explaining that she wanted to try being a collared sub and asked if the offer was still available to have a session like he had previously offered.

That was the beginning of it all. Then followed a quick succession of detailed messages where he asked extremely intimate questions. He seemed to want to know everything about her, from what she looked like, to what her sexual kinks and limits were.

A date and a time was arranged and she was instructed to turn up at his home exactly on time. She was also instructed on exactly what she was expected to wear. The outfit she was told to wear was simple but sexy with class, which surprised her somewhat. For some reason, she expected that he would want her to wear something slutty.

She was instructed to wear black seamed stockings, black suspenders with matching panties, and brassiere. Or a corset if she had one. Along with black stiletto heels, a black knee-length pencil skirt and blouse. No jewellery, not even earrings. Minimal make-up. And he was very specific about the perfume she was to wear. Nothing really overtly sexual, but still she felt incredibly sexy when she got dressed ready to meet him for the first time. And, she blushed inwardly, quite submissive. It was fair to say that you could argue that she was dressed as a powerful woman. But it was also fair to say that you could easily argue that she looked somewhat like a sexy secretary.

After that first session, she actually felt completely refreshed. It was like her brain had been reset. For the entire session, she had barely overthought a single thing. Just concentrating on one thing and one thing only. Concentrating on this man who had put a collar around her neck and had put her on a leash. She had no idea what her friends and family would have thought if they’d known, but she didn’t care. It somehow felt totally right. And for the rest of the week, she was able to function without having to overthink every single minute detail of her day-to-day life. At least to start with that is.

After that first session, just before he took off her collar and let her go, he told her that he expected to see her dressed exactly the same at exactly the same time and day the following week. Except that her skirt was to be half the length next time. She meekly replied with a simple, “Yes Sir,” while she cast her eyes to the floor at his feet as he undid her collar and removed it from her neck. She felt surprisingly naked without it.

Each session took her ever so slightly deeper into the mindset of a submissive and it wasn’t long (was it really just three weeks) before she requested if it would be possible to stay collared for twenty-four hours so that she could experience what that would be like. Once she had experienced being collared for twenty-four hours then that became the normal weekly occurrence. But it wasn't long before she found herself wanting to serve him for an entire weekend. Every time that collar was put around her neck her brain seemed to slow down and things became simpler. Far, far simpler.

Within three months she was living with him. She was collared all the time when in private and had strict protocols to follow, otherwise she would be disciplined. With each day she felt her mind becoming freer and her life becoming far less complicated. She still kept her job and was still allowed to see friends and family, but all of it was tightly controlled. Every single aspect of her day became controlled by him. What she wore every single day, what and when she ate, if and when she was allowed to use the bathroom, and when she was allowed to see friends and family, to name but just a few.

And with all of these controls and restrictions, she strangely felt incredibly free. Increasingly, over time, she found herself having to think less and less. Every one of her previous million thoughts was slowly being replaced by just one central thought and obsession… how best to please her Master.

Even when out in public there were discreet rituals and rules that she had to obey or suffer the consequences of being punished once back behind closed doors.

Having to walk a mere half step behind him at all times, barely noticeable to anybody but those with the keenest eye for detail. Not being allowed to speak unless being given permission to do so. And many many more. She questioned some of the rules, but once he had explained the reason for each of them to her, they instantly made perfect sense to her. Most were simply there to remind her of her place and purpose and had no other real reason other than that.

There was also another thing she had to constantly do when in public. It acted as a kind of meditation for her and stopped her mind from wandering. She was to do it whether in his presence or not. As she went about her day she was to score every woman that she interacted with from zero to ten. The rating was to indicate how attractive she thought he would find the girl. Zero being not at all, and ten being very definitely. If she was in his presence when she spotted a ten, this was one of the rare times she was allowed to speak without express permission. But only because she had been given permission beforehand specifically for this task. She was to simply quietly say “ten” under such circumstances.

She fully expected to not enjoy this particular task but, even though it was a little humiliating (she inevitably couldn’t help comparing herself to some of them), she actually found it enjoyable. The feminist within her struggled with the concept initially, but it didn’t take long for her to get used to it. It actually gave her a very simple task to concentrate on and it kept her often overactive brain occupied. Besides, it was kind of fun judging all these other women and it both surprised and amused her how many of them she scored below five. It was also interesting to imagine the types of girls her Master found attractive. Often he surprised her by not being even remotely interested in someone she thought he would have considered to be a ten.

And other times he would chastise her for not pointing out a girl who she thought scored well down the scale, sometimes wondering if he was just doing it as an excuse to punish her. Again, reminding her of her place.

And on more than a few occasions, much to her surprise initially, she had found herself imagining being made to watch while her Master dominated one of these other girls in front of her. She thought the idea would have made her jealous, but was surprised to find that it actually made her feel proud. Proud that she was his slave and that he had chosen her to collar over all these other girls.

In addition to rating these girls with her Master in mind, she was also required to apply the rating system to girls she herself would like to be dominated by. She had never considered herself as bisexual before but, after months of doing this simple task, she was far less certain of that. He had not introduced another sub into the mix to date, but she suspected that was all just a matter of time.

She couldn’t believe that it had been an entire year since that first time she responded to his ad. Reflecting upon the past year, she realised that she had effectively been slowly trained, manipulated, and conditioned into being what she had eventually become. But she didn’t care simply because she was happy. She was far happier now, not having control or constantly having trivial meaningless thoughts driving her crazy. Happier than she had been before she had felt his collar around her neck. She trusted him and trusted his judgment of the decisions he made on her behalf and was happy to follow his lead so that she was free to concentrate on the one thing that was truly important. How to be a good slave for him.

Little did she know that this past year’s worth of training was only the beginning. She thought that the training so far was all about shaping her into her Master’s image of the perfect submissive for him to own. But she was about to discover that her Master had only just begun and that this first year was just preparatory work. Now she was ready for him to start work on her real transformation.

She had no idea at all that this was barely just the start of her journey into submission and of truly relinquishing control and letting go.