Chapter 86
I was right, Christof was acting strangely. He cleaned me and gave me my usual morning treatment, sans the plug, but he didn’t really speak to me. Once he was done and we were alone, I touched his face and he flinched.
“Christof, what’s wrong?” I asked him in a whisper.
He pulled me close and spoke into my ear, “The General will hurt you today. I can’t stand it. I’ve begged my brothers, but you ignored them in front of the other Warriors. They won’t Let it go. I can’t help you. From NôvelDrama.Org.
I’m so sorry,” he finished and released me.
I took a chance to do what Master Damien had asked me to do. “It’s time to stop keeping this secret. Your brothers will help you if you let them. If they had known, you could have talked to them and not needed me to come get you,” I said quietly.
Christof looked at me, but didn’t respond.
We walked out and took our breakfast quietly in the main room. Much to my displeasure my entire meal consisted of those nasty worms. I could think of few worse ways to start the day.
I was dressed oddly. A single Leather panel was draped over the apex at the front of my thighs. Otherwise, I was left nude. I assumed that was so the General had access to my entire back for the punishment. A full body shiver encompassed me when I realized that.
Master Damien walked us into a part of the compound I‘d never been in before. He Led me up a ramp and attached my wrists above my head to a wide wooden post. My breasts were forced against the grain of the wood and wrapped around either side of it. I was glad for the leather cover.
Rubbing my mound on the wood would have been uncomfortable.
Master Evan braided my hair and moved it so it hung over my shoulder.
He had tied it with a thick leather strap that weighted it down. I guessed getting your hair caught in a whip was miserable. After they were done, they all left.
I stood with my head against the wood and waited for forever. I felt the sun as it changed position and rose through the sky. Warriors and their slaves must have been wandering through the courtyard. Several men threw taunts at me daring me to look at them. I’d learned my Lesson on that front, my eyes stayed closed.
The excitement in the yard grew as the hour got later. It sounded like more and more people were coming and less were leaving. Peaking through mostly closed lids I saw a yard full Warriors. Some had slaves, some didn’t, but they all looked like they were there for a party.
I knew the main event was coming when the yard got quiet. No one ever talked when the General was around. I tried to remember that breathing technique Rose had talked about. It seemed like I was just hyperventilating right now. When a hand moved down my back, I flinched.
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The General spoke from behind me, “Slave, you took twelve steps away from your Masters after they told you to come. I will administer a lash for each step you took. Think of each lash as a footfall and remember this next time you decide not to listen,” he said.
Rose was right, I thought, time to breath through the pain. The sound of the whip cutting the air was electric. It cracked across the left side of my back and I was too shocked to scream. The pain was enormous.
There was the burn along the length rapidly followed by the deep ache.
A cheer went up from the Warriors.
I thought of Rose‘s face behind my closed eyes and tried to imagine her coaching me on my breathing. I should have counted the blows, but I didn’t think about it quickly enough. Before I knew it, my nose was running and tears were dripping off my face. I tried not to scream and not to panic. Focus on the steady in out of the breath, think about Christof, how he was worth it.
I lost control at some point and the first scream came out. The General had laid the whip across a mark he had already made. The torture was unbearable. My Legs weren’t holding me up anymore and I sagged against the bonds at my wrists. I tried to get my composure back, but it was too late.
The next lash was delivered on fresh skin, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t stop the shriek of pain. I pressed my face against the wood and breathed in the scent. Before I could rearrange my focus the next ‘lash came. My cry was muffled by the post.
My back was on fire. I didn’t know how much more I could take when Master Damien called a halt to the General. Fighting for some amount of dignity I tried to stand, my back just hurt so much. I couldn’t tell what part felt worse. It all just felt Like an inferno.