Chapter 1: my sacrifice
There were four of them - they had essentially shoved their way into our house - a man of around fifty of medium build and with a neatly trimmed beard; a woman in her mid-to-late thirties, impeccably groomed with long black hair and rather exotic looks, and two oversized thugs.
They confronted my family: Mum, Dad and we four kids.
My father just stood there, his eyes cast down. Mum looked at him puzzled and then turned to the 'visitors' demanding, "What do you want? Just what the hell do you think you're doing barging in like that?"
The beard spoke, smoothly, easily, "I'm afraid your husband owes me a great deal of money, madam."
Mum flared up. She instantly understood and swung towards Dad, yelling, "You've been gambling again, haven't you? You promised me you'd stopped. You bastard, you stupid bastard."
She started hitting him on the arm and back, but Dad just kept staring at the floor muttering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Taking a breath, Mum turned back to face the bearded man, this time demanding brusquely, "How much?"
"Rather more than the equity you have in this house, its contents and your cars are worth, but I'll take what I can at this stage and chase up the rest later."
"You can't turn us out of our house."
"I can, and will."
"No!" pleaded Mum, "Please, my children . . ."
The beard just shrugged.
The dark-haired woman had simply stood there scrutinising us. Now she leaned over and whispered in the bearded man's ear. She had a clear voice and I had good hearing.
"We could use a new maid, my darling."
He answered quietly without turning his head, "But those girls are too young."
"Yes, but not the eldest boy."
He turned to gaze at her quizzically.
"From looking at him, I think he could be trained and developed quite nicely. It would be a project for my amusement. Do you know what I mean?"
He laughed and said, "I believe I do, and how can I refuse you."
The beard spoke directly to Mum, "My dear Camelot is offering you a lifeline. The boy (he nodded at me) comes with us; he will be trained as a maid . . ."
"But, he's a boy," Mum interjected, confused.
". . . trained as a maid and converted into a girl to fulfil the role."
"No, no, no. You can't."
"Provided yourselves and the boy remain completely cooperative, I will not seize your assets. The debt will remain outstanding, but will not increase. Once the boy begins to carry out his duties, his earnings will be used to reduce the debt."
Mum was shaking her head, staring in disbelief at the man, "This is crazy, this is just completely crazy."
I stood there feeling stiff and cold on a warm day. I thought I understood what the woman was proposing: that I would, by some strange means, be made into a girl so that then I could become a household maid or something. But . . . but, how would they do that? Of course, they'd dress me up in girls' clothes, wouldn't they . . . but how far would it go? What? things like lipstick and hairdos I suppose . . . and for how long would it go on?
I glanced over at my little brother and my two young sisters; they looked confused and frightened.
I looked across at my father - a good man in so many ways, but a weak man in many others.
I was fourteen years old, the eldest child, and suddenly the welfare of my family seemed to have devolved to me.
"I'll do it, Mum," I murmured quietly, surprised that my voice didn't creak or crack.
Mum's eyes went across to her three youngest children, her bottom lip started quivering and then she looked at me. Her face was a mixture of uncertainty, anguish and gratitude. She came and put her arms around me.
"Are you sure, are you sure?" she whispered in my ear.
"Yes, Mum. It's the only way."
She turned back to the bearded man and the anger came back into her voice, "It's not a good enough deal."
The man raised an eyebrow, but the woman, Camelot, smiled and nudged him gently. He grinned at her and then said to Mum, "Very well, double wages for the maid."
"From the outset."
A wry smile and, "Agreed."
"You must not mistreat him. You must look after him."
Camelot, answered this time, "Provided there is cooperation and compliance, he will be very well cared for, I can assure you, madam."
I took almost nothing with me when I went with them.
Chapter 2: bondage
Unsurprisingly, their house was a large one set in expansive grounds. I wasn't a prisoner in the sense of barred windows and locked doors, I was simply being held in bondage, a hostage for my family. There was no escape for me.
Camelot had dubbed me 'Velvet' and the process of converting me into a trainee maid got underway quickly, and it was far more elaborate than I had anticipated: doctors, consultants, injections, beauticians, etc, along with all the appropriate clothes and accessories.
I was scared because I realised that the medical processes were going to change me physically, that they would make me more feminine. I would grow to become more womanly rather than manly, but I couldn't back out now, I had to keep my family safe.
A good-sized bedroom was refurbished for me - the furnishings and decor were all a bit too cute for my taste, but it was certainly comfortable and it didn't take me long before I began to feel that it was 'my room'. During those first few weeks, it was like a refuge for me.
I was cooperating fully and being treated well. There was simply no point in me not cooperating. Perhaps a little strangely, I was beginning to like Camelot. She was very supportive and keen for me to do well in my new role (or life?).
A tutor was bought in to give me basic school lessons for two or three hours each morning. And, of course, there was all the other training - dress sense, make-up, posture and so on. Nevertheless, I did have some time to myself and slowly I began to explore the house. There were a few rooms that were off-limits, but I could pretty much go anywhere else I liked.
After a while, I began to venture outside. It made me feel a lot better. I loved the grounds of the house; the gardens were beautiful, not overly elaborate, but tasteful and very well cared for. There was one small grove that became my favourite - I felt at peace when I was there.
I began to understand more about the circumstances of my 'master and mistress'. His name was Hudson Falk and I suspect that many people regarded him as an underworld figure. He owned a string of betting shops along with nightclubs, bars, restaurants and similar businesses. He was very rich.
Camelot was his second wife and he was very much besotted with her. Falk had had two children from his first marriage, but they were now living in France with their mother. He brought them out to visit him once a year.
Chapter 3: my life as a maid
Six months passed, I turned fifteen and Camelot was taking me to see my family.
Of course, my 'full female' appearance was a little startling for them at first, but we had a good chat and I reassured them as to my welfare.
My father was quite subdued; I suspect that Mum was not letting him forget the misfortune he had bought on the family.
There was one thing I found curious, I had expected to revert to my 'normal boy behaviour' when I was with my family, but I didn't. I just kept behaving like a girl. What did that mean?
I have to be honest and say, that it wasn't a bad life. Indeed, it was good, even if it was rather strange. And it was becoming all too easy for me to forget that I was actually a boy.
The fact was, that I looked like a girl and acted like a girl. All the staff treated me as a girl. I got on with them very well, even the rather thuggish-looking (to my mind) security men.
My grove in the garden was now being called Velvet's Place. The gardeners - they were sweeties - did things there to try and please me.
I'd started doing my maid's duties early in the piece. My duties were concerned with serving the Falks at the table and attending to their needs at other times. I didn't feel that either of them was overly demanding and I had quickly found attending to them was pretty easy and quite enjoyable. I liked to try and work out what the master and mistress were likely to want and then get in ahead of them. It was fun actually.
Through all this, I suppose I was developing like any teenage girl: my breasts growing (slowly) and my shape becoming more rounded and smooth. I sometimes found myself admiring 'improvements' and worrying if something didn't seem to be like it should be. Camelot was always there for me to talk to about this stuff. I guess it was the equivalent of a mother/daughter thing.
Thinking about the future was something that I tried to avoid. "Focus on the present," I kept telling myself, "make the best of what you've got."
Chapter 4: where I belong
As I approached my seventeenth birthday, Roberts, the chauffeur/minder, began teaching me how to drive whenever we could find mutual time. I reckoned I was pretty good, but he wasn't so sure. Ha! I'll show you.
Er . . . maybe he was right. I scrapped the small BMW against one of the garden walls.
A few months further along, the master and mistress sat me down for a 'talk'. I thought that it was probably about my attempts to get my driver's licence which had been going on for some time - at least I'd managed to avoid scrapping the Beamer again. But, no.
Mr Falk spoke first, very quietly, "Velvet, you have been with us for nearly three years now. I regard your father's debt as being fully paid off."
I hadn't forgotten about the debt, but it was well into the background of my thoughts. I suddenly felt very frightened, this was the future that I had been avoiding thinking about. But the master was still talking.
"Velvet, I'm sorry that I've been such a mean bastard to your family. Someone in my organisation - I've long since sacked them - allowed your father to run up debts far in excess of my prescribed limits. I'm afraid I was very angry. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I've started to make it up to your parents."
I tried to smile my thanks as my stomach churned.
Camelot was looking at me with concern showing on her face, "We've grown very fond of you, Velvet. We'd like you to stay with us."
The relief flooded through me and with it, a facing of facts.
It wasn't that I'd stopped loving my 'real' family, it was just that I had come to love my new life: the Falks, all the staff, internal and external, and . . . being a girl. Oh, God. I burst into tears.
"Yes, yes," I managed to get out between my sobs.
They jumped up and put their arms around me.
"Oh, sweetheart, don't cry, we love you."
"You're like a daughter to us."
I looked from one to the other, trying to control my breathing, "Oh, thank you. I'm so glad. I want to stay, I want to so much."
Camelot took my face in her two hands, "Darling, we want to adopt you, if your parents agree."
Wow, wow, wow. I felt this strange, wonderful excitement surging through me. I looked at Hudson, tilted my head and with a silly smile said, "Papa."
He laughed with obvious relief, "If you must."
I turned to Camelot.
"Don't you dare," she stated firmly putting a finger to my lips.
I wrapped my arms around her, "Very well, Mother."
Chapter 5: the daughter
Velvet Falk is considered to be a very dutiful daughter during the week overseeing the functioning of the family household, but on the weekends she tends to go a bit crazy. She loves going out clubbing with her two best friends.
They are three very attractive girls, and they're looking for fun. Mostly they go to nightclubs owned by Velvet's father, where they get preferential treatment and free drinks, but occasionally they like to 'slum it' elsewhere.
They are always chauffeured around in a nice Mercedes by a big lump who goes by the name of Roberts. He stays in the background, unobtrusive, but he's there to make sure that the girls are safe.
It's also worth bearing in mind that Velvet is the beloved daughter of Camelot and Hudson Falk; the latter is one man it would be very unwise to cross.