Family Matters

The next morning Miki woke her with a slap to her face. Odette removed her blindfold and she blinked as the light struck her eyes; even in the cellar it took a moment. Miki was dressed in a black unitard, but her tutor was wearing a dark pantsuit; she would be in the audience today.

Her sister gave her water and fed her a small amount of food paste. Odette put her arms under Anne's as Miki lowered the rope that held her and she stood unsteadily on her feet.

Miki attached a leash to her collar and led her upstairs and out onto the sidewalk.

There was no sign of her parents; Anne wondered at this but she had no time to consider it before Miki shook her leash to walk downtown.

As they approached the city center Anne saw other girls naked and leashed, driven like cattle by their masters in the same direction. Soon they all reached City Hall Plaza where a group of officials stood on a raised platform surrounded by a crowd.

The girls were lined up, their masters behind them, at its base. Anne counted twelve of them; she was the thirteenth and last.

The mayor made a brief speech of welcome. The day was fine - no rain - and he looked forward to the games.

He stepped back and a dignified gray-haired gentleman in clerical garb blessed the girls; and said gravely that if the Lord in His wisdom chose to take some to Himself today, he prayed they would be in heaven this evening with Him.

Anne saw the renderer standing behind him; the girl next to her whispered that he usually got a few carcasses at these things. Some owners in the audience brought their girls to watch; the threat of being sent to the arena kept them docile and obedient. She was here after hers bought a new girl and decided to prune the household staff.

She started to make another comment when her master struck her and she fell silent.

The girls were led in single file to a gate of the arena marked "Livestock". One by one, each was taken inside and after a few minutes the next one. Finally it was Anne's turn.

An attendant took her leash - Miki left without a word - and led her into the prep room where her head was shaved and her hair put in a box for the renderer. A matronly woman painted "13" on her forehead, the top of her skull and the back of her neck. Anne looked up and she explained that below the collar her skin would be torn up and any numbers there lost.

The attendant led her through an arch into the arena, to a pen at its edge. Each one held a girl and was enclosed in a high chain-link fence topped with barbed wire to discourage thoughts of escape.

And for show; the audience loved the sight of them in cages, some in their last few minutes of life. Betting on winners or mere survivors was popular.

With the girls in place the first contest could begin; roping, judged on speed and style.

Girl #1 was released from her pen and stood at the opposite end of the arena from her master. She tried to run but the young man expertly lassoed and bound her. He dragged her before the judges who scored the performance.

Anne watched as each of the next eleven girls was released, brought down and pulled to the judging platform. Some of them did not get up afterwards and the renderer took them away.

Finally it was Anne's turn. She saw Miki a distance away with a bullwhip and a length of rope. Her sister feinted to one side and she moved in the opposite direction, but it was a trick; within seconds the woman wrapped the end of the whip around her ankles and brought her down.

She fastened Anne's bracelets in back, looped the rope around her feet and dragged her across the stadium toward the judges, the hard dirt scraping her at every step. Distantly she heard the crowd applauding.

Miki released her and ordered her to stand before leading her back to her pen for cleanup while the floor of the arena was prepared for the second contest.

A massive steel frame with thirteen hooks descending from the top rail was wheeled in, and the girls were taken out and hung by their wrists from it. Anne noticed that four of the hooks were empty; only nine of us left. The girl who whispered to her earlier was gone.

The masters - four young men and five women - came forward. Some carried whips, or crops, or even scourges. On the signal, they would have ten minutes to "decorate" their girl for judging.

Anne swore that if Michelle allowed her to live past today she would never call her sister "little Miki" again.

The signal was given and the masters began their work. The girls began to scream; that was part of the entertainment, the crowd loved it.

Some masters - two of the men - took a savage approach. Others were more subtle and painted designs on the bellies and thighs of theirs.

Michelle employed a horsehide crop and a leather whip, thinner and more rough-edged than their backyard practice. She planted a series of bruises with the heavy crop followed by a number of artful cuts with the whip.

Anne screamed till her voice was gone. At the end she began to faint. Her sister expertly snapped the crop between her legs; that brought her back to life in a hurry for one more stroke as the bell sounded.

Michelle's hands were at her lips. She kissed them passionately until her master withdrew them. She saw Michelle wiping down her instruments on a towel covered with dark red streaks.

The judges approached, followed by the renderer. They assessed the carcasses first and let him carry the remains away, then turned to the living girls. Anne tried to smile and stood as straight as she could to present her sister's work attractively.

To her delight it received a 9, best in show; the judges shook Michelle's hand and congratulated her; so young and so talented.

The "victory lap" was next. Two husky young women - naked, the property of the city - laid Anne on her belly. They fastened her ankle bracelets together and passed a length of rope between them. The chief judge escorted Michelle on a circuit of the arena followed by the two women dragging Anne behind them.

Anne choked on the dust; sharp stones rent her breasts. She coughed desperately. Michelle turned and stopped at the sound.

She walked over to her sister, rolled Anne on her back, and the procession resumed.

Anne heard the judge apologize; it was rare for a girl to be conscious at this stage, the amazons forget sometimes. She felt her buttocks, shoulders, even the back of her bald head scraping on the ground, but at least she could breathe.

They proceeded to the foot of the dais where Michelle received a blue ribbon and a scholarship to the St. Malo Academy For Masters.