The Dragon Tail

"Harder, Miss Cho! No, step out - come now, defend yourself! Don't shy away! All right, stop!"

Linda Cho panted with relief, her arms blushing from the force of blocked punches. She rubbed them gingerly and winced.

Her karate instructor, Adam - that is, see fu - clapped a firm hand on her shoulder and whirled her around to face him.

"Have you already forgotten what I've taught you, Miss Cho? Have my lessons left your head so quickly?"

Linda lowered her eyes in shame and made a quick short bow. "I'm sorry, see fu. It's just... I'm too afraid of getting hurt."

Adam looked sternly into the 19-year-old's pleading face. Already the tallest of her classmates, and yet still so much like a young teenager. Her lithe body stood with hunched shoulders: poor posture not befitting a martial arts student, and evidence of a lack of self confidence. Her chestnut hair was slipping from the stern ponytail, falling into her long lashes. She looked simultaneously like a wild spirit with uncontainable will, and a lost puppy in search of someone to belong to.

"Miss Cho." Adam began sternly, "this will not do. You cannot fear pain. Pain is inevitable. You must learn to embrace it, not shy away."

"I'm sorry, see fu." Linda bowed uselessly again. This time she raised her eyes hoping to appeal to the strong, solidly built 29-year-old instructor. She, like most of the other girls in the class, was entranced by his strong features - boyish, yet with strength of soul beyond his years. Something more about him entranced Linda, however. It was as if he touched another reality, something attractive but beyond her comprehension. She couldn't quite put a name to it.

The instructor's expression did not soften. "Miss Cho, you will drop and do twenty pushups. Then you will run laps around the floor until I say you may stop. If you still have strength to summon afterwards, I wish for you to stay behind so that I may instruct you further. If you disobey again this punishment will double. Do you understand?"

Horrified, Linda nodded. "Yes sir!" She immediately dropped to her hands and knees.

"And count out loud!" Adam called as he turned away. "One, two! Class, let's continue. Katana!"

***

By the twentieth lap a strong-willed Linda had nearly fainted, determined as she was to continue. She panted as if she had no lungs left, pushing her leaden legs forward lest she risk disobeying. When Adam saw her teetering he finally ordered her to stop, sending her to the showers as he dismissed the rest of the class. His words rang in her ears as she collected herself under the steaming water.

"Miss Cho, you will stay behind today. You will come to the exercise room once you are done, and you will be taught the lesson of The Dragon Tail."

Dressed in a clean white tank top and loose yoga pants, Linda entered the small gym. She wondered if it was appropriate to appear before her see fu without her robe, but when she saw him waiting for her in jeans and a t-shirt, her worry eased.

"Linda." Adam began as soon as she entered. "For a moment, we will treat each other as equals. We are comparable people with adult minds. I wish to teach you this lesson as your friend."

Chills ran up Linda's back and slithered up her neck at her instructor's use of her first name. She nodded timidly, suddenly feeling as if she were somehow between worlds.

"Whether or not you wish to learn today will be your choice, Linda." Adam's eyes seemed to grow more piercing as he continued, and the change sent odd thrills through Linda's limbs. "You will not be forced to obey me. Obeying will be a choice that you make - only you, and for yourself. Do you understand?" Linda nodded dumbly, not feeling as if she could refuse in any case. Something about her instructor's tone overrode her will, joined with it and like a current, swept her onwards. Her will was Adam's; they were one mind. She would obey, because she was meant to.

"Sit on the bench press." Adam instructed. "On the edge. Face backwards. Take hold of the bars."

Linda did as she was instructed, without thinking. "Good." Adam commented, and began to circle her. He nudged her gently, as he did with postures in class, correcting her. "Arch your spine. Long neck. Relax your shoulders. Good." Linda tingled from fingertip to fingertip, unable to ignore the sensation of doing something inappropriate, taboo. But her mind was resolute and calm.

"In karate," Adam began, "every action is a result of a choice. You choose when to strike, you choose when to block. You choose to react to what is given you. Nod if you understand."

Linda nodded, involuntarily closing her eyes. Adam's words poured into her soul, stirring something deep and meaningful.

"Linda." He had stopped in front of her. "You will not move your hands."

Linda's breath caught in her throat. She understood now what Adam was getting at, if only partially. Shying away was a choice she made too.

"Nod if you understand."

A deep appreciation began to grow in Linda. She saw now that her fear was also a product of choice. She saw also that to give up control was a choice, and no one could make it for her. Linda nodded.

Adam smiled in admiration, knowing her eyes were closed. Linda was getting it. Her willingness to learn was strengthening her resolve. He took in her posture, perfectly poised, knowing this was a lesson she would remember.

Going to the closet where sparring equipment was stored, Adam retrieved a long black leather whip. It was skillfully braided, with a tasseled end. He uncoiled it with a snap. Linda started, but did not move.

"Open your eyes." Adam instructed. Linda did, and her gasp was audible. In a split second an array of emotions visibly played across her features: from shock to horror, confusion to fear.

"Linda." Adam's tone was level, serious. "Did you make a choice?"

For the first time Linda lifted her eyes to meet his. His expression was not menacing. He had asked her a question, and he knew what it meant. Linda could pick up and leave at this instant, if she chose to. But she had already decided. A darker side of her will had already taken over. She would stay, she would obey, because it was an inherent part of her. Because she chose to, as they both knew she would.

Adam saw her features set in resolution, and lifted the whip. Linda did not move. He brought it down across her forearms, stinging.

At the moment the leather struck Linda's skin it was as if she could suddenly see clearly. Her vision sharpened, her nerves stood on end. For a split second her every molecule was alive in the sudden reality of pain - sweet, resonating pain that tingled and thrilled her, because she had chosen it.

"The lesson of The Dragon Tail is one of acceptance." Adam explained in a gentle tone. "Linda, you must learn to accept pain."

As the sting faded a dull warmth took over, the sudden clarity fading into a quietly tingling sensation, a memory. Two red stripes appeared on Linda's bare arms where the tail had landed as the sensation evaporated. The dullness that regained Linda's senses was now all the more present by comparison.

"Again." She said resolutely, "Harder."

Adam brought the whip down quickly and suddenly, skillfully laying the stroke in the same place as the last. Linda squealed, having not prepared herself for the lightning-fast attack.

"You will not make demands of me, Linda." Adam corrected her in the tone of an adult dealing with an ignorant child, smiling slightly. "Just as you cannot make your opponents do as you wish. You must only deal with what is given you. Understand?"

Linda collected herself, riding out the fading sting. She nodded, and gripped the bench bars with determination, looking straight ahead.

Adam got serious. "Linda, I am about to give you twenty strokes of the whip. They will land anywhere I see fit. They will hurt. Linda, you will count each of them and thank me for each lash in a steady voice. You will say, exactly, 'One. Thank you sir, may I have another?' If you skip a count, if you forget to thank me, we will begin again. Nod if you understand."

Linda nodded, eyes still facing forward, her grip still resolute. She barely got the motion out before the first stroke landed on the round of her behind. She nearly forgot to count.

"Oh! One! Thank you sir. May I have anoth-OH!"

"You will not move." Adam corrected her sternly as she started. When Linda did not reply, he said, "You have missed the count. We will begin again, at one. Now, count!"

***

By the nineteenth stroke, and after several restarts, Linda was trembling with the effort of holding still. The repeated stinging strokes that striped her buttocks, arms, back and thighs had melted together into a warm, tingling elation that spread from the tips of her fingers to her very toes. Every nerve in her body screamed, and for the first time in a long time, she truly, deeply felt something. Each stroke had rocketed straight to her sex, and she was wet with desire. It took nearly all her strength not to fall back and bury her hands between her legs to relieve herself. Finally the last stroke crossed her buttocks.

"Twenty! Th-thank you sir, m-may I have another?"

Adam stood behind her, out of Linda's line of sight. His arms were exhausted from slinging the whip, as he had switched periodically from left to right. He panted slightly, an erection straining against his jeans. Watching her take each stroke even when she should have long ago caved in - her first time, after all - had both frustrated and aroused him. With the restarts she had taken nearly fifty in total. With the thought of that alone it was torture not to simply climb on top of her here and now. Adam, however, understood the process. Linda would take time, as willing as she was.

"No." He finally said, secretly glad his tone was still steady. He replaced the whip and brushed back his hair, took a moment to adjust his straining cock, and turned to face her. "Rise. Come kneel before me."

Linda dismounted the bench shakily, barely able to get on her feet on her own. Less than elegantly, she turned and dropped to her knees on the floor before Adam.

"That is all for your lesson today." Adam said, with barely audible regret. "You will collect yourself and go home. I want you to give serious thought to what you have learned today."

"Thank you, see fu." Linda nearly whispered, still shaking. Her welts were warm as the fabric of her clothing rubbed against her skin, and she could barely concentrate on speaking. She wanted to be held, tightly. Her body longed for some further release that she knew she would not get. She only knew that she needed Adam, needed more from him.

"Get up." Adam said roughly. "See yourself safely home. I expect to see improvements from you next class, or more lessons will be in order."

The ghost of an implication glittered in Adam's words and resounded through an empty, needy chasm that suddenly filled Linda's soul. Shakily she rose, and gathered her bag from the hall. She looked back once before she crossed the studio's threshold. Adam stood there, and watched until she disappeared from his sight.