Annie XCIV: Obey

(Chronological index: between high school and college.)

Annie spun around as the bedroom door opened. "I'm not doing anything!" she shouted and tried to look innocent.

Ray paused in the doorway. There was nothing in the sylph's cage that shouldn't be there. No mess, no ribbons or strings stretching out of view, nothing piled up on the desk with shaky structural integrity.

He shrugged and came all the way into the room. "Nice try," he said. He hung a garment bag on the coat hook at the front of his closet.

Annie tilted her head as she tried to make out the contents through the flimsy plastic.

Flimsy for humans, anyway. She could use it to construct a water slide. "It's blue, with jewelry..."

"That's military ribbons," he corrected.

"Decoration," she said with a shrug. She lifted the cage door and climbed out.

Ray fished something out of his pocket as she walked across his desk. The cage hadn't been more than symbolic confinement for a while.

She made out some insignia on the collar. It was obviously military but too blue for Navy, too subdued for the Marines...

"You've joined the Air Force?" she asked.

"For one night," he said. "Trey's throwing a costume party. We're invited."

"Trey... Trey..." The sylph tapped her chin. "Tall, skinny, enough acne to frighten a gator?"

"That's him," Ray said with a nod. He put a plastic sandwich bag at her feet. "There are prizes for group costumes. You're the only sylph invited."

"And I'm going as..." She picked cloth out of the bag. There were filmy bits of nothing, a very tiny halter top and humiliatingly brief microminiskirt. "A go-go dancer on vacation?" she asked. "This thing's a little better than a wide belt!"

"No," he said with a smile.

"Seriously, master, after years of being naked in the presence of teens, these clothes make me afraid to go out in public."

"It's not a skirt," he said. She ignored him, shrugging the halter top on over her t-shirt. No matter what she stretched or how she squeezed, the front would not connect.

She noticed there were no buttons to hold it in place, anyway. "What the hell? Naked isn't good enough, I've got to draw attention to what isn't covered?"

He picked up the bag and flattened it. Down in a corner, two slippers had been hidden behind a fold.

Two golden slippers, sparkling in the late afternoon sunshine. She looked back down at the filmy materials, the vest. The Air Force...

"Oooooh. I'm Jeannie?"

"It seemed appropriate," he said.

"Oh, master!" she gushed. Annie ran around the bag to throw herself across Ray's wrist. "What a wonderfully feminist choice!"

"Well, you- Wait, what?"

She kissed his wrist bone a couple of times then skipped back to her costume. Now it made sense. Harem pants, a bandeau, bolero vest.

Maybe the Mom would help her dye her hair?

"Feminist?" Ray asked.

------

"Sure," Mom said with a nod at dinner.

"Wait, what?" Dad asked. "You think a woman wearing revealing clothing and bound as a man's property is feminist?"

"I'm not sure I want to talk them out of it," Ray said cautiously. "I mean, neither one of them is rolling her eyes and saying 'men' in that tone."

"Pfft," Dad said. "As long as they're saying it and not writing it out on your chest with a stapler, you're ahead of the game." He turned to his wife. "Feminist djinn?"

"Oh, whoever sold the series to the network was probably a sexist pig," Mom said. "And sold it as a pure male fantasy." She picked a sliver of meat up with the tongs and placed it on Annie's plate. "But the writers weren't."

"Jeannie was in charge," Annie added.

"Jeannie...called Tony 'master' and obeyed his wishes." Ray said. The women laughed. "You're saying she didn't?"

"Jeannie always got her way," Mom pointed out.

"Tony said 'no' every episode," Dad replied.

"Okay," Mom said. "Say Dr. Bellows asked Tony to take his niece to the NASA picnic. And when he gets home, Jeannie says she wants him to take her to the NASA picnic. Who will be with Tony on the day of the picnic?"

"Jeannie!" Annie said. "Every time!"

"Say Tony told Jennie NOT to go to the circus and buy the elephant. What's going to be in the garage when Tony comes home?"

"Jeannie's new elephant!" Annie cheered, clapping her hands.

"But Jeannie kept asking for Tony to sleep with her," Dad said. "And he kept saying no."

"What's the first name of Mrs. Tony Nelson?" Mom asked, holding out her hand and thumbing her wedding ring.

"JEANNIE!" Annie shouted.

"Why did she call him 'Master,' then?" Ray asked.

"Because she wanted to, Master," Annie said sweetly. Ray's double-take was a think of poetic beauty to the sylph. She smiled wide, batting her eyes.

"Oh, yeah," Dad said. "She's completely innocent."

"Shut up, Tony," Mom told him.

"Yes, dear," he said. "Hey, wait a minute..."

--------------

Dad fashioned a Fez for the costume. Mom carefully drew Annie's newly blonde hair through the hole and fixed it in place.

Annie bounced happily when she saw herself in the mirror. Ray nodded approvingly when he walked in. She examined his uniform and figured it was close enough.

"Master, I want to go to the party!" she said.

"No, Jeannie," he replied, getting into character. "You'll frighten people."

"Please, Master? Pleeeeeeeeeease?"

"No." He reached out as she bobbed her head and lifted her to his pocket. "And don't go hiding in my pocket as a little sneak."

He lifted the flap and slipped her in even as she protested being left behind. He also pocketed a coaster from an Indian restaurant. It resembled a Persian rug, suitable for flying.

----------------

Trey had been an acne-suffering teen. He'd graduated high school and improved during his freshman year at Gainesville.

Annie looked up into a strong, tanned face with a square chin, smooth cheeks and a twinkle in his smile that lit up his eyes.

"Wow!" she burst out. "You got HOT!"

"Well, hello, Annie! And aren't you a treasure for a poor seaman's eyes! Heave to, trice up and come aboard, mates." He waved a cardboard sword and invited them inside.

She peered around her owner's chest to see Trey's costume. The pirate ensemble displayed runner's legs to good advantage.

"Don't drool on the uniform, Jeannie," Ray said. "That's an order."

"Yes, Master," she said. "All over it. Can you ask him to turn around?"

"I am NOT going to cooperate in you checking out the host's ass," Ray protested. Annie crossed her arms and bounced her head.

Ray sighed and stepped back against the wall, twisting slightly to give his sylph ample view of Trey's rear profile. "Homina homina..." Annie said. Trey raised an eyebrow.

"In keeping with the original source material, I'm in charge," Ray explained. "But at the same time, she has magical powers that allow her to get whatever she wants."

"Interesting," Trey said with a nod. He started to gesture for Ray to precede him, then smiled and walked down the hall.

"I think we should follow him!" Annie said. Ray was already stepping forward to do so. He paused for a half second then shook his head and continued.

--------

Ray sat at the buffet table, as far from the fruits as he could get. Annie sat cross legged on her 'rug' on his placemat. He finished chewing and swallowed.

"Another grape, Master?" Annie offered.

"Yes. I wish for a grape. A green one this time." She popped to her feet and ran down the table, past the cold cuts, chips, dips, salsa and rolls.

There was one twig dangling over the side of the grape bowl, with two grapes in her reach.

She jumped up to grab one, yanking it clear with her body weight as she fell back to the table. She cradled it to her bosom as she folded around it.

She briefly considered spitting on it. Ray would never notice the moisture, but he would get suspicious at her smile. And they hadn't lied to each other for a long, long time.

So she ran back and placed yet another grape gently in the palm of his hand. He paused with the fruit half way to his mouth.

"What's with the evil grin?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, with perfect sincerity. He considered her for a moment, then shrugged and ate it. She felt more than a little gratified that he trusted her statement more than her expression.

Trey sauntered up about then and asked Annie for a dance. Ray rolled his eyes. "Everyone asks me to make my sylph-"

"I'm not for speaking to you, fly-boy," Trey snarled in his gruff pirate voice. "I'm asking the lady to join me for a dance. And wit' me, not for me."

"I-" Ray looked down at his sylph. She was standing on her feet, hands raised to be picked up. "I guess it's okay with her..."

Trey carefully deposited Annie on a coffee table in the middle of the living room. Other guests circled it. The sylph realized it had been moved into a previously cleared out dance space.

She had flashes of Boston but tried to ignore her private misgivings. Trey nodded to someone by the stereo. The Bangles encouraged people to walk like an Egyptian.

"Oh!" she said cheerfully. She practiced the dance whenever Ray had left her alone in their room. She didn't even have to wrestle with the tape player, the thing was on the radio every twenty minutes.

She danced opposite Trey. They weren't quite dancing together. He was spending a lot more time coordinating his movements with his sword's.

Still, she got to strut her stuff in public. Lord knew, Master never took her out specifically for dancing. There was the Prom, but that was practically at gunpoint.

Some blonde at the side of the table said, during her Egyptian shuffle, that the sylph looked kinda like Susanna Hoff, but blonde.

That was certainly a step up from Doctor Detroit. All the guys at the D&D games had thought one of the prostitutes there and Annie looked like sisters.

As if! She had no sister and her features couldn't support wearing that much makeup...sheesh.

The song ended and Trey offered what was very nearly a courtly bow. Annie replied, eyes on where his sword went.

When he rose, six young women started to circle the pirate, asking if he could teach them to walk Nile-style.

He backed towards the family room and the beer keg, talking to all six girls at the same time or in very close rotation.

Annie gaped. Master had used her as a lure a time or two, but he never abandoned her!

Just then, familiar fingers appeared to either side of her. They paused before closing around her.

She signed and nodded, leaning back slightly into his grip.

"Nice dancing," Ray said as he lifted her.

"Nice bait, you mean," she said with a snort.

"No. I mean you danced really well, Annie. Have you... Been practicing? That dance?"

His tone of voice made Annie wonder if she was in trouble. She quickly reviewed The Agreement, and the latest Addendum... Nothing about shaking tail in the room without adult supervision. Or Raymond's supervision.

"Um...yeah?"

"Sorry I missed it," he said. Annie tried to gage his sincerity as he walked through the party.

Her stomach flew a tiny bit as he threw himself down in a chair. She looked away from his face to check landmarks.

They were back near the buffet, but not close enough for her to reach it, unless he was going to start tossing her.

She looked up at her owner questioningly. "Figured you'd want a drink after the dancing," he said. His finger dipped into a pocket and came out with her Barbie mug.

His hand moved, turning her around. There was a plastic cup full of dark brown soda on the armrest, waiting for her to dip.

"Oh, Master," she said. "That's thoughtful...."

"But?" he asked.

"But I know there's RC Cola on the buffet... Just this once, can I have some?"

"Jeanie," he said sternly. "You know I can't stand RC. I'm a Coke fiend."

"A-ha-ha," she laughed obediently. Her shoulders slumped.

"What?" he asked. "You're not going to wiggle your nose?"

"That was Samantha," Annie said with a negligent wave of her hand. "Jeannie did the ponytail-bouncing boink thing."

"Then do the boink thing," he said. She spun around to look up at him. He nodded towards the drink.

She did the magic casting gesture, then leaned forward in his grip. She dipped and sipped. It was cold RC. It slid down her throat like caramel nostalgia. Now if they'd only play McCartney's 'Silly Love Songs.' And if Ray would sneak her a cigarette. And if Mia-

No. No, just live in the here and now. Disco on the stereo, RC in the cup and what looked like chocolate cake on the buffet table...

"Oh, master," she cooed. "You do know how to treat a girl."

"I try," he said. His eyes followed her gaze. "I don't think chocolate was a typical Babylonian treat."

"We're talking escapist television, Master," she said, dipping another mug full. "Screw historical accuracy."

"You've run rings around me with your logic," he admitted, heaving himself up and looking for a plastic plate.

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