For My part...

Today when pet sent Me his lunch time mantra today,

"I am your Paladin,
and i bid my obedience and submission to you,
my Mystress, guardian of my heart."

I found Myself compelled to send him back an answer:

"I am your Mystress, and you are My Paladin.
I accept the gift of your submission & your obedience.
I vow to guard & protect your heart with all of Myne"

As pet wrote about his mantra..
so will I write about Myne.

The first line is a clear fact between us..
he is My collared slave.. and I am his Mystress

Next... his submission IS a gift..
for tis not something that anyone can take
or demand from anyone else.
As for his obedience... well..
pet is much taller and stronger the I..
so I could not enforce his obedience if he did
not desire to give that as well.
I know that I am the only person on the planet that
pet trusts to this degree.
When he kneels, when he submits.. and when he obeys....
this is so much more then with most others for as described in My previous post,
pet comes from a culture much different from Myne own..
and this compounds and complicates his submission and obedience.
He is breaking out of his own private introversion
and personality quirks in addition to those of his culture
that he grew up in and is deeply steeped in.

As for pet's heart.... yes.. I AM the guardian of that as well.
This is something else that he has entrusted Me with...
and of the three things.. this is the most fragile and
also the most treasured to Me.
For many can submit and obey and yet,
never give their heart. I am
ferocious in My protection of My pet's heart.

Opening up his heart and trusting Me has been very
difficult for him....pet loved in the past.. and was deeply hurt.
For him to be able to give his heart.. and his love.. is again,
I believe, compounded by both his past pain, and his culture.
I want pet to be fully assured that I will protect and guard his heart
so that he is able to open it more and more like the precious
flower that it is to Me. Other's want their slaves to endure pain
or humiliation for them.. I want Myne to be able to love freely
and safely and to know that he is loved and protected in return.
For this allows us to explore all of the other aspects that we
both desire to experience together. Much of what we both
want are things that are difficult for us both,
and so we must both be able to trust each other
implicitly to go to the depths that we want and need to.

So I WILL guard and protect it,
and I consider it My sworn duty to do so.

pet has bared so much of himself to Me
and in doing so, he has stepped into a very scary place.
For some subs, taking pain or humiliation is their
greatest difficulty and test... but from My perspective,,
for pet to open his heart.. and declare it is HIS
greatest difficulty and test.

He must be able to know He is safe.
I know that for him..
with his walls shattered, and hence his long practiced
defenses bared... that it is like one's skin being
peeled away and leaving only raw nerves exposed.

But... but... as My pet loves Me..
so do I love that which is Myne.
And he IS safe within the sanctuary of that.
Hence... My vow to protect his heart
with Myne own. Hence, I will be the new skin
that wraps, protects and shields him from
all the pain that such rawness could expose him to.
I will be his shield.. and the wall that cushions and protects him
from everything outside that might harm him.

When I sent My answer back to pet his afternoon,
he wrote back that it was truly lovely.
(smile) Well... it does accurately reflect how I felt
about pet and his mantra.

I read pet very well,
the sentences, as well as between the lines.
I realize how difficult each step of pet's evolution
has been and at the same time, I have enormous pride
in him for taking the chance and the risk of subjugating
himself to My Control and Commands.

So as pet gives himself to Me,
so do I give Myself unto him..
and together... we weave a tapestry
that is ever flowing and evolving.

He sleeps now as I write this,
and soon will be time for Me to join him
in the realm of sleep.

I again thank persephone and her Owner's
and her wonderful blog
for giving such inspiration to Paladin and I.

As always,
Best to all,
Mystress