Amy stood with the noose around her neck, holding both of Megan's hands, feeling Megan's buttocks rubbing against her own. Through the curtain surrounding them, as they stood in the hanging cage, they could hear the rising hubbub of conversation as the club members gathered around them. Her heart was fluttering with excitement. She and Megan had done nine shows in the last three years, but this, their tenth, was special.

The noise level dropped suddenly, and Amy took a slow, deep breath, knowing the curtain would rise soon. She rubbed the back of her head against Megan's, and murmured a quick "Love you," to which Megan responded, "Love you."

Outside the curtain, Amy heard Jackie clear her throat, and begin the introduction. "I want to welcome all of the members here tonight, as our First Year students host their first party." During the last year, Amy and Megan had begun appearing at parties for classes other than their own. Now Amy's class, of course, no longer hosted its own parties. "Later, at the end of the evening, the First Year class will proudly present Toni Cermont, who will be hanged for your entertainment. But now, as you are aware, as we occasionally do, we have an addition to the usual program. I believe all of you know, by now, that this feature will not end in death, but I'm sure you won't fault the stars of our show for that. Ladies, gentlemen, performing together for the final time..." Jackie gave special emphasis to the word, "...the Hanging Academy, and its graduates, are happy to present Miss Amy Cameron and Miss Megan Sadler!"

Amy buried a smile at the honorific applied to her name, as if she were a free woman, as the curtain was drawn upward. She let go of Megan's hands before they became visible, and crossed her wrists in front of her crotch. Her hands, for this performance, were not tied. Her only restraints were two silvery chains, each running from a metal cuff around one wrist to connect, at her hip, to a similar chain around her waist. As she moved, it would be clear to the audience that the chains were not quite long enough to allow her hands to reach up to the noose. Despite the freedom of movement, Amy felt it was important that she and Megan still be unable to save themselves.

The audience took in a collective breath as Amy and Megan were revealed, their bodies bare and oiled for the spotlights.

Before clearing her mind for the performance, Amy liked to sweep her eyes across the onlookers on her own side of the cage. In addition to the club members in attendance, and the First Year girls who would be hosting them in private sessions following the auction, all of the remaining living graduates were there. Students in the other classes were not allowed in the party pavilion tonight, but Amy knew that Melissa and Jana were watching through the small grill overlooking the party room.

At once Amy saw Holly, standing near the front of the crowd, next to Shawna. Holly's eyes were wide, trying to take in everything at once, and she nodded as Shawna pointed something out to her, after which Holly pointed to something else, leaning towards Shawna with a question. Holly was dressed for the party in a nightie of semi-transparent green that ended at the tops of her thighs. The garment was held up by an elastic band whose front ran across her chest just above her breasts, leaving her arms and shoulders bare. The elastic was very loose, and the top depended more on the jutting of her breasts than on the power of the elastic to anchor it. The uppermost three inches of the nightie had a panel of opaque green cloth sewn inside it, so that Holly's breasts were invisible behind it, though it was still thin enough to be dimpled slightly by her nipples. Her tummy, already showing taut abs from her workouts in the gym, was visible behind the gauzy fabric, as was the tiny string bikini bottom in darker green. Her legs were bare, and she stood in green felt slippers. The overall effect was that she appeared ready to surprise her lover with a very intimate evening planned for the bedroom. She had picked out the outfit herself, and Amy couldn't imagine improving on it. With her bright red hair mostly swept back behind her ears, except for the bangs in front, with carefully applied makeup that included a soft green eye-shadow matching her eyes, and a glossy lipstick matching her hair, she looked both adorable and magnetically sexual.

Just before withdrawing her attention internally, Amy was surprised to see Steffi Bloom, also near the front. Amy was not aware that Steffi had attended any previous parties, although, due to her purchase of Linda, she'd been a club member for nearly a year. Steffi had an odd look on her face -- "dumbfounded" was as close as Amy could come to describing it. Amy wondered whether it was merely surprise at seeing Amy and Megan, whom Steffi would easily remember from Linda's hanging, though her reaction seemed, to Amy, to go beyond that.

The crowd hushed still further now, as the overhead lights were dimmed, leaving only the spotlights from four directions picking out the featured performers in the center of the room.

In the world of Amy's perceptions, the crowd went away. There was nothing but the touch of Megan behind her, the feel of the platform under her feet, and the soft caress of the rope around her neck.

Amy started the script, growling furiously, "It's your fault we were caught! And now we're going to be hanged for it!"

Megan, behind her, snapped, "MY fault?? You told me the courtyard was clear of guards!"

Amy replied angrily, "It was! You should have had time. Why were you so slow? It's your fault for not running faster!"

Megan snarled, "You got me into this. Did you ever really love me?"

"The assassination was your idea! And I did love you! With all my heart!"

"I loved you too -- Oh no!" This was the final line of dialogue, spoken in reaction to the beginning of the descent of the platform.

Amy, breathing steadily and deeply, felt herself lifted in the air by the noose. The last bit of nervousness faded away as she snuggled into her comfort zone, suspended by the neck. They had rehearsed this performance many times. Her body knew what to do without further thought.

Megan gave her the first bump -- suddenly contracting her stomach muscles to force her buttocks back, to bang hard against Amy's, sending Amy swinging forward. As Amy's pendulum swing brought her back in contact with Megan, she gave Megan a hard butt-bump of her own.

The crowd laughed, understanding that the two angry lovers, unable to continue fighting in words, were now battling physically with their posteriors.

As Megan swung back again towards Amy, she and Amy interlocked their ankles. Amy pushed downward, tensing her leg muscles to lift herself, using the pressure of Megan's ankles to push off against. The tension in the noose eased, and she took several breaths, before relaxing her legs -- the signal to Megan to tense her own leg muscles, pushing upward to take her own turn at breathing. Little of this byplay would be noticed by the audience, whose attention at that point would be caught by each girl slapping the other's hands away.

Each of them now caught the other's hands in her own, interlacing fingers, and here the tone of their interaction would change, as if each of them was remembering how much the other meant to her.

Each of them now took turns lifting the other by arm strength alone, while the focus of the audience was shifting back to their feet. Amy let the inside of her right foot brush upward against the back of Megan's leg, in a very intimate way -- only to stop and straighten her leg quickly, as if remembering that she was still angry at Megan. Megan now mirrored that move, her foot briefly caressing Amy's leg before, again, suddenly stopping, pretending she had meant nothing by it. The audience, again, laughed appreciatively.

Amy now, during her next turn at breathing, turned her head to the right, as if trying to look behind her at Megan, and, as if catching herself, suddenly faced front again, with a tiny headshake -- no, we are not lovers anymore. Megan, when it was her turn to breath, did the same. Amy repeated the headturn, holding it longer this time, and more slowly turning it back to the front, then closing her eyes, and clearly mouthing the words, "I love you." Megan, afterwards, did the same.

And now it was time for their most difficult move. Amy let go of Megan's left hand with her right. She lifted her right foot, pressed the sole of it against Megan's synchronously upraised left, and both of them gave a push, swinging them slowly into grand, opposite circles around their joined hands until, now facing each other, the fronts of their bodies came together gently and they looked into each other's eyes. They had spent more time working on this one move than any they had ever done before. It wasn't enough just to turn to face each other. It had to be as poetic, as graceful, as it was physically possible for it to be.

Amy couldn't resist turning her attention back to the audience for a moment. The loud gasps told her it had gone perfectly.

Slowly, each of them raised her right thigh high up into the other's crotch, feeling it squeezed there. The first part of the program had been very difficult, with several intervals during which neither of them could breathe -- it taken all of their aerobic conditioning to make it through. For the next segment, breathing would be easier, relying only on alternate thigh-squeezing and lifting, and one of them would be breathing at any one time.

Each of them put her hands on the other's hips and pulled her partner closer. Rubbing breasts, they kissed, putting their arms farther around each other, then letting their hands roam to as many parts of each other's body as they could reach, while still kissing, each of them beginning a rhythmic hip-rocking.

In previous performances they had always had their hands bound, either behind their backs or around each other's waist. Now, despite the chains still restricting their movements, they were able to make unfettered love to each other in mid-air.

It wasn't necessary for Amy to maintain that earlier level of concentration for now. All her movements now were perfectly natural, a combination of her years in the noose and her love for Megan. Surrounding sounds were filtering into her conscious mind, and she could hear, now, the mingled moans and gasps of audience members brought to their own height of sexual arousal by the display.

Amy gave Megan's thigh a quick double-squeeze, to signal that they should start, in synchrony, their final new move of the program, the one for which they had needed their hands free. Each of them wrapped her arms as tightly as possible around her partner's waist, and then each of them slowly started raising both knees, each with her outer leg sliding up her partner's thigh and then hip, each raising the leg that was captured between her partner's, rotating hips, to bring, for the first time in any show, their pussies into direct contact. The arm-holds were needed to prevent them falling backward. With a tight grip, they were able to keep their upper bodies together, maintaining the kiss, while also using their arms to lift each other alternately for breathing. As they rocked their hips together, Amy could feel her well-lubricated labia grinding against Megan's, feel the pressure from the contact on her swollen clit.

Amy sought out the sounds, now, the choked gasps of orgasm from around her, because they helped raise her own arousal still higher -- she and Megan could have, in non-hanging circumstances, maintained each other at this level for hours, but the difficulties in breathing forced them to cut their lovemaking short. Amy felt the tingling quickly build into a fire within her, hotter, hotter... and released at last, her entire body quaking, feeling ripples under Megan's hot skin against hers telling her Megan had reached the same explosion.

She let her legs slowly fall, let her body go limp, her hands sliding apart and slipping away from Megan's waist... only to catch both of Megan's hands in her own as their bodies separated, keeping that one contact with her lover after death. Her field of vision darkened, and Amy thought for a moment she was fainting, but it was just the curtain rolling down around them.

Amy did, in fact, nearly faint just as the platform came up underneath her to touch her feet, but she had enough energy left to hold her legs steady to support her weight. She could breathe freely now as the pressure from the noose slackened, and she shook her head from side to side to loosen it still further, as Megan did the same. Jackie was with them on the platform now, removing the nooses after determining that both of them were capable of standing. As Jackie unlocked their handcuffs and waist chains, Amy became aware once more of the sounds from outside, applause louder than she had ever heard before.

She hugged Megan tightly and kissed her, then they each reached for the robes that Jackie was handing them. Amy was tying the robe's belt as the curtain rose again, and she stepped out of the cage, Megan behind her, and waved at the crowd with a grin, turning to face all sides as the applause increased in volume again.

Amy smiled as she walked towards her private room, holding Steffi Bloom's hand -- Steffi had, to Amy's amazement, outbid everyone else at the auction, paying the highest price Amy or Megan had ever fetched. It had gone over eleven thousand by the time the last other bidder dropped out, and it was the first time Amy's sale price had ever topped Megan's.

Steffi looked very distracted, all the way to the room. Amy suspected Steffi was wondering how to act in this situation. Amy kept smiling at her in an attempt to be reassuring.

On reaching the room and closing the door, Steffi seemed even more agitated. Amy, feeling for the first time a little uncertain at the vibes she was getting from Steffi, sat on the bed, still robed, trying to see whether she could read what Steffi wanted. At last she gave up. "Ms. Bloom..."

Steffi turned and looked at her. "Oh, no. Steffi, please." She did manage a tiny smile. "I do feel as if we're old friends, in a way."

Amy smiled again. "There is that. Okay then... Steffi. Would you like..." She frowned. Steffi had resumed pacing. "Steffi, anything you want, we can do that. You own me for the next three hours."

Steffi sat abruptly in a chair, facing Amy. "I just needed to get you alone so I could tell you something. It might be important."

Amy was completely at sea now. "You just paid all that money because you wanted to... tell me something? Steffi... I'm really grateful for whatever it is, but you could have just written to me here, anytime you wanted. For free."

Steffi waved away Amy's concern. "Don't worry about the money. It's nothing. And it's about something I didn't know until a few minutes ago. I mean, I knew it, but I just found out it related to you."

Amy moved close enough to take both of Steffi's hands in her own. "Just tell me, okay?"

Steffi looked up, her lips pressed together, her expression saying how-do-I-start-this. "I never knew your last name until tonight, when that girl said it just before your show started. Are you Andrew Cameron's sister?"

Amy let go of Steffi's hands and sat bolt upright, her eyes wide. "What about Andrew?" She felt a surge of adrenaline rush through her. Did he put Steffi up to buying Amy at the auction? But... Steffi was here. She hadn't handed Amy off to Andrew.

Steffi sighed, seeming relieved. "I can tell I was right about him. And you." She paused, once again seeming to try to organize her thoughts.

Amy tried to get her breathing back to normal. Whatever this was about, there didn't seem to be any danger right at this moment. "How do you know him?"

"Well... this goes back to just after that first meeting here, at the Academy, with Linda. You and Megan were there, of course, and it was you who gave me the name of that contractor for building the dungeon. I don't know, maybe that should have told me something.

"Anyway, I did contact the contractor, and while we were discussing the sale, the agent gave me the names of some previous customers in the area, and suggested I talk to some of them. She was pretty insistent that if I heard the kind of endorsements their 'satisfied customers' gave, I'd know I was working with the right company.

"So, I did talk with three of them. One of them was Andrew. I'm not sure if you... well, do you know about that dungeon he's got? He showed me around it."

Amy nodded, remembering, trying to push away the memory. "I've seen it."

Steffi shuddered. "So you know all about what he was planning. Well, he showed me all its features, and told me it was for his sister. I'd been thinking he said the name Annie, but tonight, when I heard your full name, it all came back to me, and I knew he'd said Amy. And I knew his sister was -- you were -- a slave somewhere, but he didn't say where. That was the problem, he said. You were out of his reach, because he couldn't just buy you from your current owners, not for this purpose. It just all came together for me tonight: sister -- Amy Cameron -- slave, whose owner wouldn't sell to him -- Hanging Academy... I mean it's all so obvious now.

"He said he had a plan he was working on, and eventually he'd have his sister -- you -- down there to... play with. Amy, I am so sorry I didn't put this together earlier. Last year, when I first met you, I hadn't met him yet, and then I had the whole Annie/Amy confusion. If I'd just asked myself later how you'd heard of that contractor, I might have put it together, but..."

Amy took Steffi's hands again. "That's not important now. Whatever his plan is, he hasn't done anything about it yet, so you're still in time. The important thing now is, did he say anything about what his plan might be? Any details?"

Steffi shook her head. "Nothing at all useful. But even with this little to go on... Amy, something about him really creeped me out."

Amy choked back a laugh. "Tell me about it."

"I mean, this was really a serious thing to him. He struck me as a guy who gets what he wants, and would work hard for it if he had to. And as a guy who is very careful, and he'd wait until he had the foolproof plan worked out. I left thinking, that poor sister."

Amy's mind was spinning. If Andrew did somehow find a way to snatch her... of course, he wouldn't do it personally. Someone would be hired to do it for him. But to keep her there afterward in that dungeon, which was the first place the police would look for her, that wouldn't make sense... But wait -- did anyone even know it was there? Did Dad even actually know Andrew had that dungeon? Amy wasn't sure. What would prompt the police to consider that there might be such a place on Andrew's property? Especially if there were no fingers of evidence pointing to Andrew's guilt to start with?

As far as Andrew knows, Amy realized, his dungeon is still a safe place to put me.

And it's not! she told herself. Andrew has no idea anyone at the Academy is onto his plan!

Does he? There is at least one person connected to the Academy who did know about the dungeon, and she was sitting right in front of Amy. "Steffi, did you tell him you were buying a Hanging Girl for your dungeon?" If Andrew knew Steffi would be discussing her own dungeon with the Academy, the very place where his sister was a student, a sister who might meet Steffi herself, and hear about Andrew's plan from her... If Andrew knew there was a connection between Steffi and the Academy, he'd have to think his secret might be blown.

Steffi shook her head. "Remember, I was trying to keep the whole Zoey scene down to people who really needed to know. And here was this Andrew Cameron fellow, young, good looking..."

Maybe to people who don't know him, thought Amy.

"...obviously with a lot of money. It didn't seem too unlikely he might even know Zoey personally. I had no idea what circles he moved in. So I kept mum about just what my own dungeon was for." Steffi frowned as another thought struck her. "Oh, I meant to ask, is Preston Cameron your father? I was going to ask Andrew, but somehow I never got a chance."

Amy nodded. Steffi must be thinking about where Andrew's money might have come from, she decided. "He's our dad, yes."

"I met him once, at a party. He seemed... I don't know, kind of cold." She suddenly looked horrified with herself. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I just wasn't thinking for a second, about you being his daughter."

She seemed about to apologize further, but Amy cut her off. "It's okay, really, I know how he is." Despite the seriousness of the situation, Amy nearly laughed, as she suddenly remembered her father making an identical characterization of Steffi.

So what now? wondered Amy. Do we tell Andrew we know about his planning? Internally she shook her head. It's better if he doesn't know, she told herself. If he takes me, it's obvious where I'll be, and I'll be found there quickly. But if he finds out we know as much as we do about his plans, he'll change them. It's safer not to tell him. The dean may think otherwise, but I think he'll see it the same way.

Nothing had yet happened, on those occasions when Amy had left the grounds. Maybe the situation hadn't been right. Maybe the snatch was still in the planning stages. Maybe it had been abandoned altogether -- though Amy thought that was the least likely possibility. Knowing Andrew.

For now, all I can do is tell it all to the dean, and he can figure out how to be extra-careful in the future, Amy thought. I have to leave the campus sometime, at least for my own hanging if nothing else. But that's months down the road.

Megan is hanging in five weeks, she reminded herself. I'm absolutely not leaving this building until after that. No point in taking chances. I don't have to worry about this now. I'll tell the dean, and he can take care of safety measures.

Amy gripped Steffi's hands more tightly. "Thank you, so much, for telling me this. It really means a lot to me, that you were thinking about me. And we're going to take this very seriously -- trust me on that. I know Andrew a lot better than you do, and you were totally right to be... creeped out." She moved slightly closer to Steffi, and smiled. "You not only own me for three hours, you've got me really grateful too."

Amy pulled gently on Steffi's hands, and for the first time, felt Steffi's sexual responses come on-line, as if Steffi was suddenly conscious that she was alone with a girl with both the training and the obligation to satisfy her every sexual wish. Amy had no problem, now, reading that Steffi wanted her to initiate the intimacies.

Amy reached up and softly stroked Steffi's neck and cheek, then leaned forward to kiss her, a very soft touch of lips to lips. She could feel Steffi's breath whisper past her ear, suddenly more rapidly than a moment ago.

Steffi lay on her back, her legs off the end of the bed, her feet on the floor, her clothes long since discarded. Her breath was slowly returning to normal.

Amy, kneeling on the floor in front of Steffi, also naked, looked up from between Steffi's thighs, licking her own lips for a few stray drops of Steffi's ejaculate. She smiled. I'm glad I knew that was coming, she thought. That and the scream. "Do you want me to wash off my face a bit, or not? If we kiss right now, you're going to taste yourself."

Steffi laughed, and reached towards her. "That's okay. Just come up here with me."

Amy got up onto the bed and crawled forward on her elbows and knees until she was beside Steffi, and wrapped her arms around her, snuggling up against her, her head cushioned by Steffi's breasts. She giggled. "I had an unfair advantage. I already knew some things you like."

Steffi laughed again, relaxed now, and used a finger to play with Amy's hair. "I won't tell anybody you cheated."

Amy looked up and kissed Steffi's chin. "So tell me how L... Sorry, how Zoey is."

Steffi's eyes lit up. "That's okay. For you, she's Linda. And she's just great. They really did a wonderful job with her. Thanks for telling me about that company." She giggled, a little self-consciously. "I have her in sort of a secret extra bedroom. The maid doesn't get to clean in there. When I get in the mood, once or twice a week, I go in there. She spends her time hanging by her neck -- I had them reinforce that part of her, to make sure the strain is no problem. When I spend the night there, I either leave her up, so I can see her hanging up there when I wake up, or else sometimes I take her down, and untie her hands, so she can sleep with me. I can close her eyes, and when I wake up with her in my arms, she looks so sweet and peaceful. I guess I like that because I feel like I really own Zoey." Steffi blushed. "You don't think that's too weird, do you?"

Amy blinked in surprise at Steffi's worry. "No! Not at all. I know Linda would love that so much. Believe me, I saw how much fun she had playing that role for you, because she knew it would do so much for you. And for her to be able to keep on playing it... Remember, I told her I was going to suggest it to you. She was really happy about it then, and I'm sure she is now."

"Good." Steffi put her arms around Amy and hugged her.

Amy wriggled a little farther up the bed and kissed Steffi, then slid her leg between Steffi's. She let her hands roam up and down Steffi's back. Going to go much slower this time, Amy thought to herself.

Toni had put on a very cute show for her hanging, as a game show contestant giving ludicrously airheaded answers to quiz questions from her roommate Renee as the "host" of the show. After a pouting "You mean you're going to hang me?", her silliest response of all considering she'd been standing there the entire time with her hands tied and a noose around her neck, Renee had pushed the lever, and Toni had done a creditable job for a First Year with just two months training, kicking for five minutes, doing some of the special moves all of the girls were working hard to learn. As she hung motionless at last, the blood flow from the knife wound administered by Renee now slowing to a trickle, Amy, holding Steffi's hand while standing next to Megan, turned to look for Holly again. Holly had been the last of the hostesses to return to the pavilion, and had stopped just inside the door as the presentation of Toni began. Amy thought Holly looked as excited as she'd ever seen her, bursting to tell Amy something, but not wanting to interrupt the show. Amy saw Holly now, rushing towards her, beaming, her nightie slightly uneven at the top, probably reflecting the haste in which she had dressed.

Before Amy could even say Hi, Holly burst out, "You guys were so great!! I know I saw it all in practice, but watching you do it for real, in front of everybody..." She stopped, momentarily speechless, shaking her head, her mouth open. She giggled suddenly. "I was trying so hard not to get wet, right before, you know, going back to the bedroom, but I just... Oh Amy, Megan...", she looked back and forth between them, "Now I know how hard Haley and me are going to have to work, to get anywhere near that good! Amy, really, can we do it? I mean, anything like that?"

Amy looked at her seriously. "Holly, you can do it if you believe in yourselves as much as I believe in you."

Holly practically flung herself at Amy, gripping her tightly. "That means so much to me! We won't let you down, Amy! Or you, Megan." She shifted her hug to Megan, who laughed, hugged her back, as kissed her cheek as Holly let her go.

Suddenly Holly looked past Amy's shoulder, and exclaimed, "Oh, he's leaving already! Bye, Benjamin! Thank you!" She waved and blew him a kiss, which he returned with a laugh as he went out the door.

Amy looked at Holly, eyes bright with delight. "You met Benjamin! That's really great!"

Holly turned back to Amy, nodding vigorously. "He was so much fun. And he didn't... well, you know him, I guess." Holly was speaking carefully, as there were still guests within earshot, including Steffi. Holly laughed. "I told him about Haley, and how much I miss her..." Holly, still grinning, suddenly wiped a tear away, "And he told me to close my eyes, and imagine she was right there with me. And I did, and it seemed so real!" She put her hand over her mouth, blushing slightly but still laughing. "I came so hard."

Amy laughed too. "I'll tell you later, about the first time I met him. The shows Megan and I do... that was all sort of his idea. In a way."

Holly goggled at her. "Really?? Yeah, I'll have to hear about that."

Amy grinned. "And I've got to hear more about the rest of your night."

Holly laughed again. "Oh, it's all been such a blast! This is all so cool..."