Captive Discipline (Demetrian Brides Book 1)

by Taryn Williams

  She remembered Meisin saying the large one was for the oldest group. "The small. It's in my desk drawer. Also—ask Malimera if she has any names for me." Janys hoped the paper remained blank. If not, she might have to press the paddle into additional service.

  "While I am gone, you should think through how you are going to handle Illian." Although the door remained closed, Elondelle leaned forward and dropped her voice. "You should know several things. First, he lost his mother and baby sister to childbirth complications. Although it has been over sixty decedonners ago, neither he nor his father have fully recovered. Meisin has also had problems with Illian accepting women in authority."

  "All right." Although glad to hear the background information, Janys didn't understand how it affected what she was going to do.

  "You need to take control of him. If you let him retain independence, he will resist you during the punishment, and resent you afterwards." Elondelle pointed towards the beat up couch running along one wall. "I would put him over my knee and make it very clear who was in charge."

  At around eleven Earth years, Illian hadn't started his growth spurt, yet Janys knew it would be awkward having anyone that tall lying across her lap. "Is that really necessary?"

  The other woman shrugged. "With the small paddle, you will find it hard to build up much force if you bend him over a chair or desk. Your arm will also tire more easily than if you have gravity on your side. But most of all, the more you treat him as a small child instead of an older one, the less likely he will be tell his friends about the experience. Do you want them challenging each other as to who can take more from the new teacher?"

  "No." Janys admitted Elondelle's suggestions made a lot of sense. Still she hated carrying them out. Probably she dreaded the upcoming activity even more than Illian. Could Martel feel this way when he punished her? While she'd already forgiven her husband for everything, for the first time she realized what he must have gone through when picking up the strap for her forbinner.

  "Think about it while I take care of your class." As the older woman disappeared, Janys steeled herself by considering the alternatives. She had to control her classroom, or all the children would suffer. And if she couldn't bring herself to wield the paddle, Illian would face both the Council and the razor strop.

  Elondelle returned quickly. Despite the change in circumstances, Janys's heart flip-flopped when she saw the small paddle in her hand. She remembered Pannolorian's comments about Martel and the ruler, and wondered what he'd say about a teacher who'd forgotten her class. Perhaps she should feel grateful that this time the hand closing around the smooth wooden handle was her own…

  "One last thing," her mother-in-law began. "Another certain way to build resentment and ridicule is spanking too lightly or stopping too soon. Although Pannolorian could require him to lower his undergarments, as the women here may when correcting the girls, you cannot, so he will have some protection from the sting. That means you must hit harder. Also once you begin, you must continue until he has learned his lesson. If you wish, I will remain in the room and signal my opinion on when you have reached that point."

  Poor Illean. From her own sessions with Elondelle, Janys knew how long that could take. Yet without experience, she'd undoubtedly end the punishment too soon to be effective. "I'd appreciate that."

  "Then are you ready?"

  "At least ready to get it over with." Janys walked towards the door. Surely by now she knew how to write the script for a punishment. "Illean, please come inside."

  He shuffled in, a trace of his insolent grin back on his face. Now Janys understood what Elondelle meant about getting control. Although she hadn't planned to, she grabbed his left wrist while raising the paddle in her right where he could see it. "Today you interrupted my class and challenged my authority. Do you take responsibility for those actions?"

  For a second she feared he'd laugh or deny it, but the knowledge that Elders would soon be descending on the office must have chilled his natural responses. "I so admit and I offer my body for correction," he said finally.

  "Then come with me." He allowed her to lead him the few steps back from the couch, but tried to pull away when she sat down. She held on, tapping her knee with the edge of the paddle. "Put yourself here to receive your paddling."

  He looked desperately at Elondelle, who simply nodded, then back at Janys. "But my father just makes me bend over the bed—"

  "And if you would rather your father do your correction, either bent over the bed at home or in front of the Council, then we will wait for the Elders." Janys could hardly believe her coolness. "But if you want me to do it, then you follow my rules."

  "Pull up your tunic first, child," Elondelle added. "Mistress Janys needs as much access to your buttocks as possible."

  He tensed again as though ready to bolt for the door, then scrunched up his eyes and moved towards her. With the last bravado gone, he looked like a little boy surrendering to his mother as he stretched out along the couch, his tunic hitched up as he positioned his rear over her right thigh. Automatically she put her arm across the small of his back to secure him in place.

  She laid the paddle over the thin white cloth in the same way Martel did on her bare skin. Picking it up, she brought it down tentatively, scarcely making a sound as she tapped his left cheek. Nor did she elicit much of a response from Illian, who acted as though nothing had happened. Elondelle shook her head.

  Okay, so she'd have to do this a lot harder. Gripping the paddle more fiercely, she snapped it down, this time aiming for the right side. Illian jumped slightly, but made no sound. Harder still then. The third one she targeted lower as the boy rewarded her with a squirm.

  So that's the spot. Although she continued to smack other portions of his posterior, Janys concentrated her efforts at the juncture between Illian's rump and legs. Within twelve strokes, he wriggled more noticeably. A few more and he'd started making yips like a dog with a hurt paw.

  Her arm began tiring, but she continued on, building up rhythm and force. She felt like a machine, programmed to do a job. Although she could tell from his reactions that her efforts caused the boy pain, she recognized it as a necessary part of the process.

  Janys slowed, looking at Elondelle over kicking legs. Would she agree Illian had been punished sufficiently? But the old woman waved her on, and she resumed, pounding his backside until she could see his tears wetting the couch. A few seconds later he went limp, all resistance gone.

  Elondelle let her continue for a little while longer, then made a cut off sign. Janys brought down the paddle one final time, then released her hold on his back. "You can get up now, Illean." Immediately he bounded up, his hands dabbing frantically at his face.

  "Your handkerchief," her mother-in-law reminded him. "Then I suggest you get yourself to your math class. I believe I hear Mistress Meisin coming down the hall."

  Illean needed no additional warning as he stumbled out the door, both hands rubbing the back of his tunic. "Congratulations," Elondelle said drily after he'd gone. "You will find the disciplinary skills you learn here useful when you and my son have children of your own."

  Now Janys could hear the principal's voice outside. "I'll be getting back to my classroom now. But—after the Elders leave, please tell Meisin what happened. And, well—thanks." The other woman nodded.

  She thought she'd feel terrible about having spanked someone, but aside from wishing the situation could be avoided, she didn't experience guilt. By overcoming her scruples, she'd saved Illean from a worse fate, just as Martel had stepped in for her.

  Still she didn't want to follow the experience up with a confrontation with Sariontella over missing the essay session, even when the girl came empty-handed to class. "For taking this much time, I'm adding another three hundred words to your assignment," Janys told her. "Be prepared tomorrow to turn all of it in, or face the consequences." She managed to overlook the scowl.

  That evening she told Martel the entire story as they l
ay in bed. "If someone forces my hand like that, I could do it again," she admitted. "But I still don't think I could just decide on my own to spank someone and carry it out."

  "Oh, you never know," he teased. "Many times on my own I decide to spank someone, and I have no trouble carrying it out. " His large palm playfully swatted her bare behind before he rested it on her waist, pulling her to him. "I think you will soon take that step as well."

  Elondelle hadn't given her any list of names, so Janys assumed the middlers kept themselves in line during her absence. They certainly did so the next day in class, though Illean rarely met her eyes.

  Of course the youngest bunch still bubbled over with excitement from their trip, the more so because they'd had a minor casualty. Lelliticia, a girl with ringlets and curiosity in equal abundance managed to escape the leader's eye long enough to crawl up the main pipe system, breaking her wrist on the downward trip.

  "Her parents and I agreed the injury to be punishment enough," Pannolorian told Janys in between classes. "Living in a cast for several decedonners will not be easy."

  Yet the little girl still enjoyed the novelty of her situation as she regaled classmates with her story, stopping only to let someone sign a name to the white plaster. As Janys did so, she felt a pang for the life she left behind. The time she'd broken her own arm falling into a pit on Rydell, the Institute doctors had healed it immediately with fusion surgery.

  Only one child seemed uninterested in Lellicitia's saga. Andrine, a slightly chubby brunette with puppy dog eyes pulled her small chair to the side of the group. Other than a few glances towards the injured one, Andrine stared at her lap where her small hands lay clasped.

  As Janys hoped, at the end of class the girl waited until her classmates left before standing up. "Andrine," she said quietly. "Would you like to tell me what's wrong?"

  The child startled as though Janys struck her. "Nothing," she choked out.

  "Now Andrine." Janys smiled at her, but kept her voice firm. "You know that's not true. You've been upset all morning. Did something happen to you yesterday?"

  "I — Suddenly tears choked the soft, high voice. Instinctively Janys picked up the child and held her on her lap, letting her sob into the shoulder of her tunic.

  For a few minutes she merely kept her arms around her, letting her cry it out. When the sounds subsided, she stroked the brown hair. "What happened?" she asked gently.

  The story poured out. Andrine had pointed out the pipes to Lellicitia, daring her to climb them. When her friend told her Master Pannolorian would catch her, Andrine distracted the teacher by wandering off in another direction.

  "She got real high," Andrine reported miserably. "Almost to the top. She waved at me. Then she grabbed somethin' with her other hand and yelled ouch and fell down. Then she cried real hard. "

  Probably grabbed a hot water conduit to balance herself, though the details of the accident weren't relevant. "Did you tell Master Pannolorian?"

  "No," Andrine began crying again. "Lelli said not to. She said the Master would spank me and Papa would spank me, but no one was going to spank her because she was hurt. So I should just be quiet and no one would spank me."

  "But not saying anything hurts in a different way, doesn't it?"

  "Yes," the little girl mumbled.

  Janys took a big breath. "Then maybe you should talk Master Pannolorian today. Or at least your father."

  "No, no, NO!" Andrine stuck out her lip and shook her head. "Lelli told her daddy and momma she saw the pipes and wanted to go up them. They asked if I told her to do it. She said no. If I say I did, she would get spanked too."

  What a moral dilemma for a child barely seven Earth years old. And because Andrine had chosen to confide in her, Janys had to help her resolve it. She thought she knew what the girl wanted her to do, though the idea brought back all the tension associated with Illean's paddling.

  Maybe not, she argued. If you think she's confessing all of this because she wants the spanking to clear her conscience, why doesn't she just ask for it? The answer came immediately: for the same reasons you couldn't take Pannolorian's advice and hand Martel the ruler. Or tell your husband about kissing the Prof knowing he'll paddle you. If a grown woman can't admit responsibility and ask for the consequences, how could anyone expect a child to do so?

  "Andrine," she began tentatively. "Do you think you would feel better if you got punished for all of this? If I—if I spanked you?"

  The girl stared up at her, brown eyes solemnly weighing the offer. Janys could see how much she longed to say no. Please do, she prayed. She really didn't want to cause more tears. But she could also tell Andrine didn't enjoy feeling guilty about her friend's injury. "With the paddle?"

  "If you think I should." But what had Meisin said about the ruler being better for the younger ones because it didn't leave mark? She certainly didn't want the parents to quiz Andrine on why she'd gotten spanked at school.

  "I hate the paddle." The girl looked at her warily, as though expecting an argument.

  "I was thinking we would use the ruler instead," Janys said carefully.

  Andrine's small face squinched in concentration "Could I stop it when I want to?"

  "I don't think that's a good idea, Andrine." Janys actually liked it a lot, knowing it would relieve her of the responsibility, but she didn't think it would help the student if she bailed out too quickly. "For this to make you feel better, it's going to have to be something you want to stop right away, but you need to finish."

  Again Andrine thought hard. "Can you do it now?"

  "This is your lunchtime?" The girl nodded. "Then yes, we can do it now. " Gently she put the plump legs back on the floor. "Please close the door while I get the ruler."

  She could tell by how slowly Andrine turned around after pulling the door shut that she already had second thoughts about her decision. Janys went up to her, her fingers totally enclosing the small hand, and led her back to the teacher's desk chair.

  "Has Mistress Meisin done this before to you?" The head bobbed up and down "Then I want to you pretend I'm her, and get on my lap the same way."

  To Janys's surprise, before the girl laid herself down, she reached under her tunic and pulled down her prander. The globes staring up at her were small, white, and completely defenseless. Now she remembered Elondelle's comments about the women requiring girls to lower their undergarments, but she hadn't realized she'd be giving a bare-bottom spanking.

  "Ready," Andrine snuffled.

  Although the girl was considerably shorter and lighter than Illean, the chair didn't give the same amount of support as the couch. Janys wrapped her left arm around Andrine's waist to steady her, then brought the ruler down across the middle of her buttocks. "Ow!" the girl cried, bucking slightly.

  Janys gripped more tightly, then whacked her again. As with Illean, she found herself building up the pace. Only this time she could directly see the results of her efforts as Andrine's behind changed color, first to pink, then a deeper rose. From the kicking and sobbing, she knew the child appreciated the consequences of her ill-conceived dare.

  She continued until Andrine lay exhausted across her knees, too spent to cry any more. As she pulled up the prander, Janys felt the heat coming from the reddened skin. To think she had done this! Her wrist felt tired, but inwardly she experienced a strange sense of accomplishment.

  As soon as her clothes had been replaced, Andrine pulled herself up onto Janys's lap, her hands clinging to her neck. "Thank you," she whispered. "I feel better. Can I go to lunch?" Janys helped her wipe off her face, then with a final hug sent her out the door. A while later she caught sight of the two girls outside, Andrine serving for Lellicitia so the injured ball player could keep up with the others.

  If only Sariontella had brought her essay, Janys's happiness over helping Andrine might have lasted the rest of the day. Unfortunately when she asked for the paper, the girl sullenly shook her head.

  "I'm not going to ask you to come af
ter school," Janys snapped. "Because last time you ignored me. This time you will stay after class to discuss the matter."

  "But I have math next—" Sariontella began.

  "Then you will be late," Janys interrupted. "If you cooperate, I will explain the situation to Mistress Daradon so she doesn't punish you for your absence. If you don't, Mistress Meisin will be the one hearing about it."

  She worried the girl would disobey her again by trying to slip out at the end of class, but Sarionetella stayed in her seat, arms locked over her chest. Both Vilding and Jernonon hesitated at the door, but Janys shooed them on, closing it firmly behind them. As soon as the two boys moved away, she turned back to her captive.

  "Sariontella," she began. "I can't have you refusing to do assignments. If I let you get by with this, every other student will stop doing work."

  "Oh, go ahead and give me the paddle!" the girl snapped. "I would rather you did than stay here after school writing a silly essay!"

  "Then that's what we'll do." As Janys walked to the closet, she wished she could find some way to hand this off to Meisin or Pannolorian. But as with Illean, Sariontella had challenged her authority. How could she keep control of her class in the future unless she herself administered the correction?

  Janys hadn't guessed how bulky the large paddle would feel in her hand after her sessions with its smaller version and the ruler. Why hadn't she asked someone how many swats the older students usually received? "Continue until she's learned her lesson," Elondelle would say. By the time Illean and Andrine reached that point, they'd been sobbing. I'll give her a few smacks and hope she starts crying, she finally decided…

  Sariontella hadn't budged from her seat. "Please stand up and bend over your desk," Janys told her as coolly as possible. The girl complied as though disengaging herself from a pool of molasses.

  "Now pull down your prander." As Sariontella slowly obeyed, a slight quiver in her right leg showed she might not be as nonchalant over the punishment as she pretended.