‘The drub, then,’ Elfrida snapped. ‘Fetch it this minute. And you can expect extra strokes for impertinence.’
Chapter Ten
Velda disappeared for a few minutes, returning with a drub not unlike Holmann’s, except this one was square bladed instead of round, and had a number of smaller holes rather than one larger one.
At Elfrida’s command Velda removed all her clothes and took up a position astride a stool. She then leaned forward until her hands were flat on the floor, her buttocks thus perfectly presented for whatever treatment Elfrida wished to bestow upon them.
‘Count the strokes aloud,’ the princess commanded. ‘I haven’t yet decided how many it will be. It might only be twelve, but if you blubber I might make it two dozen, do you hear me?’
‘Yes, princess,’ Velda said meekly.
‘Good. And you, bondmaiden, kneel there beside her. That’s it. Now, use both hands and press on her back. When her bottom’s burning and raw she might try to rise, so you must press hard to keep her in place.’
‘Yes, my lady,’ Lia replied, obeying the instruction. Not knowing how she should behave in the presence of a princess, she modelled her demeanour on Velda’s.
When satisfied all was as she wanted it, Elfrida swung her arm in a vicious arc and fetched Velda a tremendous crack on her bottom, causing the woman to jerk on the stool and struggle to suppress a gasp. ‘One, my lady,’ she managed.
Elfrida continued to strike her as hard again, and again, and the count rose steadily. At twelve the princess paused, her brow glowing with a faint sheen of perspiration and her cheeks flushed.
She decided to resume the beating, and as the count rose Velda’s mounting distress could be heard clearly in her strained voice, and by the time Elfrida stopped, at the previously hinted at twenty-four, Velda was panting heavily between counts.
Lia helped her to her feet, whereupon Elfrida dismissed them both. They made their way back to Velda’s bedchamber, and the first thing the woman did was selflessly offer more advice to her young charge.
‘Lia,’ she said, sounding weary and in discomfort still, ‘you must always obey your mistress’s commands to the best of your ability. It’s a bondmaiden’s bounden duty to obey without question; otherwise she is at liberty to have you flogged most severely. Though the queen disapproves of severe punishments in general, in such circumstances she would be the first to support her daughter. Let me show you a lash so you’ll understand what anything less than total obedience and commitment to your mistress risks.’
She fetched the implement in question and handed it to Lia. At first sight it seemed not too threatening; a length of wood bound with braided silk cords that extended to form thongs. Lia swished it experimentally, thinking nothing of it until one of the thongs caught her calf. The pain was astonishing for so light a blow, and looking down she saw a thin red welt on her flesh, and examining the thongs more closely and saw that each was tipped with a tiny ball of lead.
‘They’re bonded to the silk with a special adhesive,’ Velda explained, watching her charge finger the tiny sphere. ‘To be beaten with such an implement is to suffer the fires of hell, I’ve been told. Fortunately I’ve never experienced it, and pray fervently that I never will. And you, Lia, must do nothing to bring it upon yourself.’
She took the lash away, leaving Lia to reflect soberly on the foreboding implement.
Lia spent the night with Velda, in her bed. Though she expected a demand for cunnilingus, Velda professed herself too tired and too sore from her beating for such indulgences, though she did allow Lia to gently stroke between her legs before she drifted off to sleep.
Lia slept soundly and awoke from a delicious dream in which Durwin was cuddling and caressing her, to find it was Velda’s hands instead. They rose and bathed, and Lia learned of the first and possibly the greatest benefit of living in the royal apartments. There was a bathing room far bigger than the one she was used to, and some unseen servant had brought jugs of water with which to wash; and it was hot water! There were wonderfully fragrant soaps and oils too, the likes of which she had never heard of, let alone seen or smelt, and so pleasant was it that Lia was reluctant to leave the place.
Leave it she did, however, and was soon absorbed in learning a bondmaiden’s duties. Velda described Elfrida’s daily and weekly routines as she was shaving away the soft curls from between Lia’s thighs, then went on to explain the relevant parts of court ritual and custom whilst dressing Lia’s hair, and filing and polishing her finger and toenails.
Over the next week Lia learned how to perform such grooming tasks herself, also bathroom duties, including the use of lotions and perfumes, how to dress the mistress, and the selection of jewellery appropriate to any occasion. Velda had her hone her new skills on anyone who was available, and Tilda, who brought their breakfast one morning all unknowing, returned to the kitchen a good two hours later – clutching a note from Velda to Holmann saying she wasn’t to be punished for it – with her sex shaved naked as a newborn and her hair up in an elegant coil. Velda generously volunteered to be a practice ‘victim’ also; and if she reserved the sexual aspects of Lia’s training solely for herself, who could blame her?
Besides practicing with finger techniques and cunnilingus, there were dildoes to come to terms with. A lady in the royal apartments might have any number of them, in varying lengths and thicknesses, and Lia soon became accomplished in their selection and use. To see Velda dewy-eyed, breathless and limp after a long session with the black eel was charming indeed, though Lia still privately preferred using her hands and tongue as she found it more intimate.
During this time Velda was constantly correcting Lia’s speech, so that she sounded less and less like a village girl and more like a young lady of Velda’s station.
The seven days passed, and the following morning Lia, with a feeling of sadness and apprehension, was presented to Elfrida. Velda had taken pains with Lia’s appearance, obtaining for her a gown of fine white linen with simple but neat embroidery around the neckline, sleeve openings, and hem. Lacking a belt, Velda gave Lia one of her own, of red leather with a silver buckle and neat silver studs along its length. It was the most precious object Lia had ever owned, and she was struck dumb at the generosity of the gift. As to footwear, Velda said she would have to keep her slippers until the new ones she’d ordered arrived, though even the old ones were transformed by the simple expedient of stitching on some red braid to match her belt. Thus attired, and with her hair carefully brushed and tied back with a red ribbon, Lia was presented to Elfrida.
‘She looks better, I suppose,’ the princess conceded reluctantly, after looking Lia up and down. ‘Can I have her now? You did say she’s my bondmaiden, after all.’
‘Indeed she is, princess,’ Velda said, ‘and yes, you may have her now. But I request you be gentle with her, for you are new to having a bondmaiden and she is new to being one. Remember always that slaves are valuable items and should be treated as such. This is why your mother decided you should have a bondmaiden at this time, to help you understand the responsibilities of slave ownership.’
The frown reappeared on Elfrida’s face as Velda spoke, and her words did little to reassure Lia, who stood watching her new mistress with butterflies in her stomach. ‘I understand perfectly well, but Lia is my slave now, not yours, and not my mother’s, and I shall do with her as I please. I thank you for your efforts on her behalf and on mine, and for all your past services, but now you may go.’
This final dismissal was coldly formal, and Velda looked far from happy as she curtsied and took her leave. And then it was just the two of them; mistress and bondmaiden, and Elfrida looked Lia over once more, slowly walking around her new possession.
‘Undress me,’ she said at last, standing before her again.
‘Yes, my lady,’ Lia said, bobbing the little curtsey Velda had taught her, then helped Elfrida off wi
th her gown, laying it across the back of a chair, and as before the princess was wearing nothing beneath, and no jewellery. Lia knelt to remove Elfrida’s slippers and then rose and awaited further instructions, whereupon Elfrida walked to the four-poster bed, laid down, and spread her legs.
‘Now you can service me,’ she said.
‘Do you wish my tongue, my lady,’ Lia asked politely, ‘or my fingers, or some toy, perhaps?’
‘All three of course,’ Elfrida declared. ‘A toy, though, to start with.’ She pointed lazily at an ornate cupboard. ‘They’re in there.’
Lia bowed her head and fetched the box of implements. She held it out for her mistress to choose, and Elfrida sighed impatiently. ‘No, imbecile, you have to be naked while you’re servicing me. That’s the rule here in my bedchamber.’
Lia obeyed, taking off her new robe and slippers, Elfrida watching closely, and Lia could see mischief twinkling ominously in her eyes.
‘And I want you in pain,’ she added slyly. ‘How might we manage it, do you think?’
It seemed to Lia to be a test, to see if she understood such things, but she didn’t flinch, for Velda had taught her well. ‘My lady,’ she said quietly, ‘Velda bids me to remind you most respectfully that an oversized dildo in my vagina or rectum, to stretch me, isn’t permitted at this time. I am to remain a virgin, by the express order of Queen Gudrun.’
Elfrida simply shrugged, saying nothing, so Lia took a deep breath and continued. ‘There are many alternatives, however. Pepper paste may be applied to sensitive external areas, most commonly to the vulva. Then there are nipple and genital clamps of various forms and sizes, from which weights may be hung additionally for increased discomfort. Breasts may be tightly bound—’
‘Enough,’ Elfrida said. ‘I’ve already made up my mind. Bring the clamps.’
Lia set down the box and fetched a second, smaller container from the same cupboard. She showed the contents to Elfrida, who selected a pair of iron clamps not unlike thumbscrews, though smaller. These she fastened to Lia’s nipples, and cruelly watched her expression as she tightened them; only ceasing when Lia’s mouth opened, her eyes closed, and a gasp of pain escaped her soft lips.
‘One more, I think,’ Elfrida said, selecting a third clamp, which she fastened to Lia’s clitoris, and was also tightened until the pain became difficult to bear, the confident and practiced ease with which she performed such sadism making it plain that Lia wasn’t her first female victim.
Then Elfrida, with the gleeful expression of a spoilt child lighting up her face, selected from the first box a cluster of eiderdown feathers bound with a silver band. She then lay back once more and waved her hand regally. ‘Begin,’ she ordered.
And so Lia did, flicking the soft feathers rapidly over her mistress’s vulva, teasing her labia and clitoris as she attempted to please the obnoxious young woman.
‘Go slowly, you stupid bondmaiden,’ Elfrida snapped petulantly. ‘I want this to last. I want to enjoy myself. Remind me to tighten your clamps in a while just to keep you on your toes; the first of many tightenings your ineptitude will earn, I’ve no doubt.’
Lia knew then that Elfrida intended to draw out her suffering, while she was desperately hoping for quite the opposite. She would have liked to hurry things along, but daren’t risk it without a specific instruction. Velda had advised her to tread carefully at the start, and to take nothing for granted until she and her new mistress had become used to each other’s ways. It was the safest course, though it would inevitably prolong Lia’s suffering.
And so she did precisely as Elfrida ordered, stroking her slowly, and Elfrida settled contentedly, Lia sensing it was going to be a long, uncomfortable day.
As the days and weeks passed Lia came to realise that Princess Elfrida was bored. She had no lessons to study, no interests and no responsibilities. She never went out, nor indeed showed any interest in doing so. She even took her meals in her bedchamber, apart from feast days, when she would be required to attend the banquet.
The dull, unvarying routine led to boredom, and boredom to frustration, and frustration to spite. And the person on whom she took out this spite was the one closest to her: her own bondmaiden. When Elfrida was in one of her dark moods she would find fault with Lia over some trivial matter simply as an excuse to punish her. More often than not it took the form of a beating, sometimes using her hand or the drub with Lia face down across her knee, and sometimes with a lash in a whole range of positions. The lash wasn’t the lead-tipped horror Velda had shown her, mercifully, but rather a plain leather-thonged affair Lia came to know only too well – and to detest with all her heart.
It wasn’t Lia’s buttocks alone that suffered, for Elfrida also lashed her hands, the soles of her feet, her breasts and her sex lips. Of these target areas Lia’s breasts were her favourite, for Elfrida never quite got over her fascination with them.
‘Why are yours bigger than mine?’ she asked sulkily one day. ‘It seems so unfair. What’s the point in being a princess if you can’t have bigger breasts than a lowly bondmaiden?’
Lia realised early on that all this was simple jealousy on Elfrida’s part, and she learned to divert the princess with praise. Lia assured her that her breasts were truly beautiful, so beautiful that any handsome fellow would surely give his life for the merest glimpse of them. Elfrida’s breasts were firm and indeed beautiful, but the fact remained they were smaller than Lia’s, and Elfrida resented it.
Such diversionary tactics on Lia’s part were sometimes successful and sometimes not; and on those latter occasions Elfrida would take out her temper on the very objects of her jealousy. Often she would slap Lia’s breasts, or beat them with a drub, and she soon progressed to the bizarre act of dripping hot candle wax on them, especially coating her nipples, delighting in Lia’s squirming of discomfort, and then afterwards she would sit and gaze upon Lia’s punished, pink and blotchy breasts – with a satisfied smile on her face.
The only curb on Elfrida was Velda, who still put in an appearance from time to time. Whenever she found the princess treating Lia too harshly Velda would speak sternly to her, reminding her that slaves were valuable and should not be wantonly abused. Elfrida would then sulk, and though she would sometimes take heed of the reprimand, sometimes when Velda had gone she would hurt Lia all the more.
Not every single day was like this, however. Occasionally Elfrida would wake in a good mood, and they would spend the day talking and laughing together, and making up stories of handsome young men who always fell madly in love with Elfrida and galloped off to do noble deeds to win her hand. Sometimes Elfrida would permit these knights to have a handsome servant who would fall in love with Lia, and would carry her off to his rude hut where they lived happily ever after.
As for Lia, though she went along with these stories willingly, not least because she knew she wouldn’t be punished on a ‘happy’ day, she never allowed herself to believe in the fantasies. No one, handsome or otherwise, was coming to rescue her from all this. Though a bondmaiden now and no longer a serf, she was still a slave who could expect little other than hard work and frequent mistreatment. The rare ‘happy’ day merely served to emphasise how grim things were the rest of the time.
Chapter Eleven
Throughout this time, whether it was a ‘happy’ day or one of the more usual kind, Elfrida demanded almost constant attention. Cunnilingus remained her favourite practice, and Lia’s tongue was in demand both day and night. And it was during one of these encounters, some weeks after Lia took up her new role, that Velda came to the princess’s bedchamber accompanied by Durwin, of all people.
She found Elfrida and Lia in a somewhat unusual position; one Elfrida had recently invented and was especially taken with. Lia lay on her back on the bed with her head overhanging the edge, while Elfrida stood on the floor and adopted a half-squat, her thighs astride Lia’s upturned face. By then pushing d
own until her sex lips pressed to Lia’s mouth and nose, and reaching down to maintain a firm grasp on her bondmaiden’s hair, she had full control of the situation and the pleasure it would bring her. She could grind her sex against Lia’s face, and rock her hips back and forth in a domineering, aggressive fashion. The fact that Lia had great difficulty breathing while all this was going on bothered Elfrida not in the least. She was having fun, and that was what mattered.
‘Princess,’ Velda said, after watching Elfrida’s antics for several bemused seconds, ‘please let Lia get up now. I have something to say to both of you.’
‘Then say it,’ Elfrida snorted, not pausing for a moment. ‘She can hear you perfectly well. She won’t be able to answer you, of course, but then she never has anything very interesting to say anyway.’
‘I really must insist,’ Velda said. ‘I’m here at the queen’s bidding, and the matter requires your full attention. Both your full attentions.’
With a theatrical sigh and a huge tut of annoyance Elfrida stopped, and the frown Lia knew so well – the one that meant she would suffer later – replaced the look of lustful pleasure on her pretty face. The princess stood up straight and allowed Lia to rise. ‘I hope for your sake this is important, Velda,’ she said. ‘I still have the right to beat you, remember, and I shan’t hesitate to do just that if I feel so inclined. Your bottom will be very sore very soon if I don’t find this interesting.’
‘Then my bottom is safe,’ Velda said confidently, ‘for this is certainly interesting and very important. The queen thinks it’s high time you learned about sex between a man and a woman, and she’s instructed me to arrange a demonstration. That’s why Durwin is here. He and Lia are to have sex, and you and I are to watch while they do.’
Lia was flabbergasted. She was already flustered by Durwin’s presence, embarrassed beyond words that he’d caught her in such a compromising and humiliating position with her mistress, but this was outrageous. Sensibly, though, she held her tongue.
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