by Susan Sass
Faith stood with her head bowed. In a quiet and clear voice she spoke to JD, “Master this slave humbly requests that you judge her.”
“Very well, I will judge you. Prosecution will read the charges.”
“Master, this slave left the safety and security of the compound at night. Because of this, she put herself in danger, put the ones searching for her in danger, and most of all caused her Master undue stress. The end result also caused an interruption of the routine in the compound. This in turn resulted in increased workloads for both slaves and free workers. Many tasks and other important matters of the Master were left unattended because so many were searching for her. This slave is therefore charged with negligent assault upon the safety and well being of her Master and all of those that serve him.”
Aya sat down and Ramona stood, “Master, the slave on trial requests that she be given the privilege of presenting her own defense. This one will assist her as it is needed.”
JD looked at Faith, “It is said that only a fool would act as her own lawyer. However, since this is a local court, you may give your defense.”
“This one would certainly be a fool to offer any sort of rebuttal to the charges.” Faith couldn’t help the small, ironic smile that flickered around the edge of her mouth. She wondered why she wasn’t nervous. She should be quaking with fear, knowing her punishment would be severe no matter what she said. Instead of trepidation, Faith felt completely at peace. Soon, she would pay for her foolishness and then everything would be all right. She took a deep breath to center herself and allow her words to do justice to the thoughts. “This unworthy slave is guilty. She selfishly wallowed in her own fears, listening to the voices of her past instead of focusing on her duty to her Master and his community.”
“When I was brought into your service, Master, I thought myself wronged. Everything I was ever taught told me this whole island was evil. I wanted to escape and go home. Even as I grew to love you and everyone who serves you, inside my heart the old me relentlessly mocked me.” Faith took another deep breath, “Master, I cannot even repeat the words that kept rising up in my Mind, unbidden thoughts saying terrible things about you. And it was even worse for me as I began to fall under your spell. The voices of my past chided me as I ceased fighting and began to embrace my new life. It was as if the old Faith and the new Faith were at war with each other.”
“The two collided last week, when I realized, in my Mistress’ and your absence, that I loved, deeply and completely, the both of you and I loved my new life even if it had been forced on me.”
“Cowardly, childishly, I ran. I don’t know exactly what I was running away from, but it seemed like if I just could go far enough, fast enough I could find some escape from this battle raging within, find some kind of peace. I even considered committing a more horrible crime. I considered willful destruction of your property by killing myself to end the conflict within.”
Grief and remorse began to well up inside of Faith as her truths spilled out from her lips. Old instincts told her to fight the tears that threatened to spill over. The newly re-born Faith allowed them instead to flow as an offering of her repentance to her Master.
“Running away caused worry and hardship on my brothers and sisters and those that care for us. It upset your plans of relaxation with our Mistress. It was selfish and thoughtless.”
“The only thing this one can offer is the promise it will never happen again. I’ve learned the only place of peace for me anymore is at your feet. The only appropriate response to my slavery is gratitude and love. In my old life, I hid myself from the world in the roles I played. I only felt real when I was on stage. Now, I am in a place where I can be real all the time, no more hiding. For the first time, I am truly free. I can love.”
“I can never dare hope for your mercy. I would never dare ask that my brothers and sisters in your chains to forgive this unworthy fool. I can only beg for the penalty I desire and pray it will be enough to heal the wounds I’ve caused everyone.”
Finished with her confession, Faith bowed her head to wait JD’s judgment with silent tears. One could hear a pin drop throughout the compound. After what seemed like an eternity to Faith, JD cleared his throat and rendered his judgment.
“That this slave is guilty is not in question. What is in question is why she did what she did. The answers have been given to my satisfaction. Therefore, I will render my judgment. This slave is to be tied to the post immediately and receive punishment strokes to be given by each of the people that I feel were most effected by what she did. Your Master, Mistress Aya, slaves Marc and tiffany will each deliver twelve blows with one of the items I have selected to be used. There can be welts, but any break of the slave Faith’s skin will result in the most severe punishment that I can think of along with banishment from the island. Does the slave Faith have anything to say before sentence is carried out?”
Forty-eight strokes. Forty-eight. Faith swallowed the lump of fear that rose from her chest into her throat. Would she be able to endure it? She opened her mouth to speak and nothing came out. Quickly, she shook her head and dropped to her knees, baring her neck to communicate her humble acceptance of her fate.
Aya stood and walked up to Faith. She pulled the quivering slave to her feet and walked her to the whipping post. After Aya tied Faith to the post, she leaned in and whispered into her ear, “Now comes the punishment you craved. Make me proud by the way you accept it.” She backed away from Faith looking to JD, “She is ready for your judgment, Master.”
Marc came out on the platform pushing a table in front of him. On the table was a suede flogger, cane, paddle, and leather strap. JD stood, went to the table, and picked up the flogger.
“For this punishment, you will count each stroke out loud. You will thank myself and Aya by saying the number and thanking Mistress or Master as the case may be. You will thank each slave by name. Failure to do so will start the strokes again at one. Do you understand?”
“Master, this slave understands your judgment and command. Please punish this unworthy slave as you will.” Faith whispered hoarsely. She steeled herself, reaching up with her hands to cling to the restraints as if to draw strength from them. She tried to meet the eyes of as many of the onlookers as she could, offering her entire being to them.
JD nodded, stepped back, and brought down the first lash of the flogger. When the lash struck the back of Faith, she cried out, “one, thank you Master!” and she continued crying out the lashes until she cried out, “twelve, thank you Master!” When JD finished, he pulled Faith’s head back by her hair and kissed her forehead. “From me, you have been punished. And from me, you are forgiven.” As JD walked off the platform leaving Faith to hang on the post. The anguished slave burst into fresh tears of joyful gratitude.
She was not given much time to indulge in her relief as Aya took her place behind her. Aya chose the cane. When the first stroke was given, Faith screamed the number of the blow and thanks to her Mistress. Aya was an expert in the use of the cane and how to get the maximum pain without breaking skin. Aya placed her strokes evenly spaced from Faith’s shoulders to the tops of her thighs. Faith hung dripping in sweat and sobbing from the post as Aya pulled Faith’s head back as JD did.
“You are strong and have taken the first part of your punishment well. You are forgiven.” Aya kissed Faith’s forehead in the same soft and loving manner as JD. She walked from the platform. Each slave in turn punished Faith using all of the implements at hand. Both Marc, using the paddle, and tiffany, using the strap, had tears in their eyes when they delivered their blows to the naked body of their sister slave. However, they did not shirk their duty and delivered the punishment.
Each one in turn kissed Faith’s forehead and gave her their forgiveness. Finally, it ended where it began with Faith tied naked on the post. Her body was beet red with a number of welts and bruises covering it. She was wet with sweat. Tear stained tracks were running down her face. Her legs had long refused to bear
her weight and she hung limply from her arms, shivering with physical and emotional shock. Aya untied Faith and gently lowered her down to the deck of the platform. She covered Faith with a light blanket. She walked away from the sobbing slave taking a seat in a chair under the shade of a tree.
Aya stayed there watching Faith’s sob racked body waiting for her to absorb her punishment. It could take a long time.
Chapter 19
Aya sat watching, waiting, her ears carefully tuned for the moment when the tone of the slave’s sobs changed. Right now, Faith was too far into the pain, any touch would be just another blow of the whip. It was hard to describe, but there was that moment when enough awareness returned, when the reality of the experience crashed down upon the one in her care.
Aya wondered if it was just chemical, that the body finally had no more adrenaline or endorphins, or if it was emotional, when the mind could no longer absorb another lesson. She s and shook her head; it was different for each slave, in fact it was different each time. But she knew that there would be a moment when the slave’s heart would scream out in need for their Master. The slave would need to know they were not alone, would never be alone ever again and she knew she had to be there to soothe that need.
It was tribute to the thought that each time was different, when Faith abruptly sat up, clawing the blanket from her face, and looking wildly around. Her eyes were bulging with panic, searching and when she saw her Mistress, her lips parted in a soundless cry and her hands came up, groping toward Aya. Almost instantly Aya crossed the space between then, enfolding the girl in her arms, rocking and soothing her. The sobs were still there, softer, gentler now, like falling rain, draining away the last dregs of pain and guilt.
Soon the battered little slave stilled, resting against her Mistress boneless, her eyes closed. Anyone else would have thought that she was sleeping, but Aya could still feel the tension in the arms locked around her neck. Looking over her shoulder she gestured to Wilson, the massive black guard standing close by, speaking in a low voice, “Help me get her up to the Master’s house.”
As he reached for Faith, slipping his arms under her to pick her up, she convulsed and cried out, clutching at Aya’s neck with a surprising strength, finding her words for the first time. “No, don’t leave me.” It was a cry from the very depths of her being.
“Hush, little slave, I am right here. Now let go of my neck and let us carry you home.”
Faith’s only response to Aya’s words was to clutch tighter. It took both the guard and Aya to untangle the girl’s arms from around her Mistress and even then, Faith kept a feverish grip on Aya’s hand, her eyes locked on her face. Sensing the newly reborn slave’s desperate need for this contact, this connection, Aya did not refuse her this. When the guard carefully lowered her down onto the cool smooth sheets in her room, Faith shuddered at the touch on her skin, wincing as welts and bruises touched, but she did not release her grasp on Aya’s hand. Gently Aya tried to pull free but again the slave fought to keep hold, again the same raw words rose up, “No, don’t leave me.”
“I need to wash you, put medicine on your skin. Let go. I am not leaving you.”
Faith blinked and seemed for the first time to understand, looking at her hand, white knuckled, almost crushing Aya’s. Her eyes seemed surprised, “Let go?” And then she shuddered, her arm jerked, and then she whispered, “I can’t.”
Aya frowned; this was not what she expected. It was normal for a slave to need contact, to need to have extra care and support at a time like this, but this felt like something more. This went beyond a mere depletion of endorphins, and was not the normal fatigue that most slaves showed after an extreme punishment. Faith was clearly dealing with some kind of triggered response to a trauma. Speaking in the same low voice, Aya ordered the guard to get the doctor and the Master.
JD arrived first, his eyes concerned. “What is going on?”
“Our little slave can’t seem to let go of my hand?” Aya deliberately kept her voice light. “It seems that I am stuck here. I think she is afraid of something. Maybe you could ask her what she is afraid of?”
JD sat down on the edge of the bed and gently stroked Faith’s hair back, looking into her eyes. “Is that true? Are you afraid?”
Faith blinked and frowned, then nodded very seriously. “Yes, Master.”
“Tell me what you are afraid of.”
Faith took a deep shuddering breath and swallowed hard, “Losing you.” Her eyes slid back and forth between Aya and JD. It was clear that she included both of them in the statement. Her tone and expression were so serious it was difficult for JD not to smile, but it was clear that Faith’s emotions were as raw as her beaten skin.
Nodding, keeping his expression just as solemn as hers, he agreed, “That would be pretty scary.”
Faith nodded very emphatically, “Yes, you see. You understand. People leave and they don’t come back. They die.”
JD’s eyes never left hers, “Like your parents.”
“Then they have to go into the hole in the ground and after they go into the hole in the ground, they can’t ever, ever come back. They are gone and they can’t come back.” Faith’s voice was soft and almost a childlike sing song as she repeated the lesson.
“And that is what you are afraid of, the hole?”
Faith quivered and took another deep shaky breath. This time as she spoke her voice was clearer. “I always have been afraid of holes in the ground.” Then abruptly she let go of Aya’s hand, reaching for JD, her hands on him urgent, shaking him, “But I have to go there. You have to make me go there.”
JD gathered her up in his arms, holding her rocking her. His voice firm and low, “First you have to get better. You have to let your Mistress and I take care of your body.” His eyes met the Doctor’s as he came in. “I think a very Mild sedative is in order. Nothing major, just take the edge off.”
Faith did not seem to notice the sting of the needle. It only took a few Minutes and she sighed and yawned. Then she gave a tiny drunken giggle, “Oh my god. I have been acting like a baby. Auntie always said, ‘Don’t act like a baby, Faith. It is time to grow up.’” Then she stiffened in JD’s arms, “Oh dear, I have been so bad.” Twisting in his arms she looked to Aya, “Mistress, did I hurt your hand? I am sorry. I don’t know why I did that.”
JD gently lay her down onto the bed and hushed her, “Shhh, lie back, little one.” Reaching for a bottle of lotion, he took some and handed it to Aya, “Quiet now, let us put the medicine on.” Rubbing it between his palms to warm it, he began to gently spread it across her skin, touching her as lightly as possible.
Faith trembled and sighed at the sensation, her eyes wide. “Oh, Master, that feels good.” Then as Aya began to work at her feet and legs, Faith wiggled and giggled, “That tickles.” As they gently turned her over onto her belly she hissed, “Oooooh, ouch, that stings.” But as the lotion cooled and soothed her angry welts she rippled under their hands. Her words were slurred and foggy, “Master are you going to fuck me now? You could you know. It’s the last thing that needs to be done. I would probably even like it.”
JD met Aya’s eyes and shrugged, his eyes dancing with humor. “Soon, little one, first you have to get better. And there is one last thing you must do for me first.”
Faith’s eyes were closed, “Yes, you are right. First the hole.” And almost instantly she was asleep, fatigue and the drug pulling her down.
Chapter 20
Silently JD gestured for Aya to follow him out into the hall, and she spoke to him in a low whisper, “Her parents? What about her parents?”
JD frowned, “It is kind of a long story. They were killed in an accident. The thing is they were working for a private contractor that was doing some work for one of my subsidiary companies. The fact that it was a married couple that was killed caught my attention. As I looked into the details it was pretty obvious that the contractor was cutting all kinds of corners. The plane they were in had substandard mai
ntenance that caused a mechanical failure on takeoff. The insurance hadn’t been paid. Then when I found out that they had a little girl, I stepped in to make sure that she would be taken care of. I sort of took a special interest. I don’t know exactly why, maybe because I never had any children of my own, but I kept track of her, where she was, what college she attended. And then as she grew up, my interest became not quite so fatherly.”
Aya tipped her head to one side and blinked, “I had no idea.”
JD ruffled her hair, “My Pet, you have enough on your plate just taking care of things here on the island. There is a lot that goes on in other places that I don’t tell you about. And anyway, she and you are not that much different in age. You had just arrived here when her parents were killed.” He smoothed back the hair he had mussed, “So that is how I knew her parents had been killed, but I didn’t know how the phobia about holes fit in until now though. You know her fear isn’t just of us dying; it is of her dying as well. She sees that hole as a one way trip. Why does she think we have to put her into it? It seems like unnecessary trauma.”
