Chapter 14
Even with the anticipation and apprehension Laura still fell asleep within minutes. But she had dreams. Not nightmares as people usually think of them. Well, maybe for most people they would have been nightmares. She found herself in a medieval castle courtyard, naked and bound between two posts. While a group of handsome knights and beautiful ladies watched she was whipped and then left for the group to use to amuse themselves. When Kelly woke her at eleven thirty, she found she was soaked along with the sheets below her slit.
The pledges were told to shower and come back to their rooms. When they returned, David and Janet put soft leather cuffs on the girls' wrists and ankles, fastened their wrists together behind their backs, and blindfolded them with black silk. They were then led out into the hall and to the stairs where they joined the male pledges, likewise bound and blindfolded. Just before midnight they were guided down the stairs and into the great hall.
Although she couldn't see, Laura felt herself being positioned near the other pledges in a line somewhere out in the center of the room. She could hear a group of other people - she assumed the rest of the members - quietly moving around somewhere in front and behind her. Then all fell quiet and Laura stood, wrists bound behind her, her nipples hard and her body almost shivering from - what? apprehension? - while the only sounds were those of quiet breathing. Suddenly the peal of a clock gong began. Even though Laura knew a clock would be an anachronism for the simulated medieval setting, it still had the effect of sending shivers up and down her naked spine. As twelve distinct sounds rang out, the blindfolds were removed.
Laura looked around and saw the they were indeed near the center of the great hall. The only lighting in the room came from dozens of candles set mostly in wall sconces. While there was enough light she could still see, the room was dark and filled with flickering shadows. Many of the candles were in red glass holders adding the ruby color to everything. The six pledges were arranged in a semicircle facing what Laura could only think of as an alter. Actually, it was a long table placed across the front of their semicircular gathering, covered with a cloth of thick, deep jet black velvet or some similar material. Two candle sticks, each holding a large candle in a deep red glass, were near the center. Behind the table stood two people. And others were in a large semicircle behind the two and facing the pledges. Laura assumed they were the eighteen regular members, but she couldn't identify anyone. Each wore a dark, wine red monk's robe with a cowl which hid their faces. The robes reached to ankles and revealed nothing of the wearer. The flickering lighting, the smell of some incense, the hooded figures, and even the sound of a timely wind which had arisen outside combined to make goose bumps rise all over Laura's body. Just like at the pledging ceremony she thought that the whole thing seemed a little silly, but also admitted it had a terrific effect, making her both excited and disoriented and, yes, a little afraid.
A deep, resonant voice began in an eerie tone. Laura thought it might have been Tom, but she couldn't say for sure. "Brothers and sisters, we have tonight six who would join our society. They have all shown promise, but now we shall put them to a severe testing. They seek to know the pleasure of pain and the pain of pleasure. They offer their bodies upon which we shall inflict terrible punishments and unimagined pleasures. They ask that we give our bodies to them in return. Before we can agree we must know their sincerity, their dedication, and their endurance. Until the midnight hour tomorrow we shall put them to the test with unspeakable torments and indescribable pleasures. If they survive they may be welcomed into our membership. Is this the wish of the order?"
Laura was wildly shivering now and her mouth had gone dry. She knew this was just Tom or one of the other members, but she couldn't completely accept that. The sounds of the other members replying in a deep, slow chant did nothing to quiet her feelings.
"They must be whipped. They must be beaten. They must be bound. They must be hurt. They must be used. Pain. Pleasure. Pain. Pleasure. Pain and pleasure. Pleasure and pain. If they survive, we will accept them. So be it. Now."
With this last, someone moved behind the pledges. None dared to look around and suddenly a hand pushed Rick forward. He was immediately taken by two of the hooded figures to the end of the table. His wrists were released and then he was bent at the waist and stretched forward down the length of the table. His wrists and ankles were bound and a small pillow placed beneath him at the table's edge. Two tall members then moved to stand on either side just about two feet away from the end of the table. Each held a long tailed cat of nine. Suddenly one swung the cat with no preliminary warmup hard across his ass. Rick cried out, probably mostly from surprise, because he managed to remain silent for the next half dozen strokes, despite the fact that they were hard and severe. But by the eighth he was crying out at each lash and screaming at most of them. Laura could tell it was a more severe whipping than they had usually received. And this was just the first event of a day long marathon.
After twenty strokes, Rick was taken off the table and returned near the others where he had his hands pulled high above his head and attached to ceiling chains. Ashley took his place. She was followed by James, Laura, Paul and Carol Anne.
