Dear all, this is the translation of a story which I posted on July 24th in the German BDSM section under the title "Das Strafzimmer", which is a literal translation of "The Punishment Room". This is a kind of test and I would really appreciate your feedback, as well on the story but also on the translation. It is quite an effort to translate a text and if your replies indicate that the translation is so poor that it spoils the fun of reading the story I would, in the future, content myself with posting stories in German. I would, of course, also appreciate your pointing out flaws and proposing alterations to improve the translation.
So I hope you have fun with this one!
Yours
Jonas Birkenzweig
The Punishment Room.
Part 1: Kidnapped
In front of her was now the long left turn that she loved so much. Claudia had the technique down pat. She set the rollerblades rhythmically in front of each other and pushed hard, so she came around the bend at full speed. Behind the bend came the long straight stretch of the path, where she even overtook many bikes, but it was already way too late. Apart from her, there was no one else on this remote road, the cone of her headlamp only illuminated the empty asphalt. At the end the road unfortunately turned left, then she had to cross a very small stretch of gravel to get to the road that led back towards the houses. The gravel section was blocked off by a red-white painted barrier, so that nobody drove at full speed from the asphalt onto the gravel and then rolled over. She braked and propped herself against the rear bar with both arms to catch the momentum.
At that very moment she heard a rustling from the bushes on the side of the road. The spot was chosen perfectly. She couldn't escape forward over the gravel, because with the rollerblades any old man would have overtaken her on foot, and behind her? She was still in great shape and turned so fast that she would have probably surprised any other attacker ... but not this one. The muzzle of the revolver into which she looked seemed to be huge, almost like a stovepipe, at least that's how it still seemed to her even later on. To the left and right of the muzzle two uncomfortably looking lead bullets stared at her from each side of the drum. The attacker held the weapon very calmly in both hands and aimed at her forehead. He wore a balaclava and sunglasses that went dark as soon as the light from the headlamp fell on them, so she couldn't blind him either. Maybe under other circumstances she would have resisted anyway, physically she was superior to many men, but now she automatically raised her hands in the face of the weapon.
"Take off the lamp and turn around."
His order came so firmly that she obeyed without a word. He was now standing right behind her, then things happened very quickly. He slipped a bag over her head, she automatically tried to pull it down, but the string he had pulled around her neck was apparently secured with some kind of quick fastener, at least she couldn't get the bag down. He gave her some time to realize that the attempt was futile. When she stopped pulling on the bag and let her arms sink, he took her right upper arm.
"Move!"
He emphasized this command by pushing her forward. Then there was no more gravel under the rollers, they were now on the road. After a few steps on the pavement, they stopped. Only here did she notice that she had no problem breathing under the bag, in front of her mouth was a small hole that seemed to be closed with a wire mesh. Obviously, he had tried to think of everything, she just didn't know whether she should find this reassuring or threatening. He stopped her.
"Raise your right leg and slowly push it forward."
She obeyed and touched an edge with her shin. She automatically bent her leg and knelt the next moment. Right then he gave her a sharp push and she fell helplessly forward. She expected a hard impact and stretched out her hands to catch herself, but she landed on a soft mattress. He pushed the barrel of the revolver into her back and pulled back her left hand. A metallic click and steel wrapped around her wrist.
"Your right!"
She put her right hand behind her back. One more click and her hands were cuffed. The side door was closed and he got in the front, started the engine and drove off. After a few minutes, the car stopped and she heard him come into the hold. Her body tensed up. Would he rape her now? She jerked when she felt a touch, but he had just thrown a blanket over her sweaty body, then they drove on.
The journey had lasted almost an hour by her estimate, when the car stopped and the sliding door was opened. He opened the quick fasteners of the rollerblades and whipped them off and also took off her sports socks. She suddenly felt terribly exposed as he was probably looking at the bare soles of her feet. She could only wait. Finally he pulled her up. She was walking on thick grass, which was very pleasant. After about fifty paces across the meadow they stopped briefly, he opened a door, she now felt a smooth floor and heard the soft creaking of wooden planks. He opened another door and then another and then they had arrived.
"Wait here."
He left her standing alone for quite a while and her mind worked feverishly but there was no way out. Then he was back. He fiddled for a moment with the fastener and then pulled the bag off her head.
The room around her was lit by a single petroleum lamp standing on a table. She quickly got used to the light. Opposite her stood, on four strong, sloping legs, a large box upholstered in black leather, with a clear downward slope on the right side. At the other end there was a flat bead of leather, and further down were two boards attached to the legs which, on the high side, protruded about two feet beyond the end of the box and also had a black leather padding at the top. Metal rings hung down from all possible places on the box and the boards, as well as leather straps with holes or buckles. It took her a moment to realize what she was seeing in the light of the lamp, then her stomach contracted and her heart beat up to her neck: this was a punishment horse to which the victim was strapped to receive, totally defenseless, any punishment that was to be inflicted on her.
Behind it, on the wall, were almost three dozen torture instruments: canes, riding crops, leather straps, various whips and a few boards, with a handle through the end of each of which a loop was pulled, from which the boards were hung. One whip in particular caught her eye: it was rolled up, so it had to be quite long. The handle went over into a braided cord, which ended in a square leather strap at the tip. This was probably called a bullwhip and she was really afraid of this thing.
In a longish basin in front of it swam lots of birch twigs, some of which were tied together in small bundles. To the left of it were two over man-high beams in the shape of an X screwed to the wall. At each end of the X arms there were rings with ropes running through them. In front of the X stand was a low, long bench, one end of which had the legs protruding a bit above the sitting or lying area. At the top they were connected by a round crossbar. From the ceiling ropes were dangling with snap hooks at the ends, she knew these from climbing.
She turned around in horror and was quite perplexed. He had exchanged the balaclava he had used to mask himself during the kidnapping for a Venetian mask embroidered with sequins and various glass beads, and his garment was also fitting. Instead of the camouflage suit he now wore a half-length, dark green jacket with cuffs on the sleeves and brocade lace and embroidery at the seams. He also wore a white shirt with laced collar and wristbands, a black vest with gold buttons, cream-coloured knee breeches, white stockings and black shoes tied with lace bands. Only the revolver didn't fit.
"Oh, flintlock pistols were just sold out?" she asked with a mocking smile and was surprised that she dared to pull his leg like this.
He looked her over from top to bottom for quite a while, then he said:
"You're a very strong and very brave woman, I'm sure I'll have so much fun with you for a very, very long time, in my punishment room."
He let his eyes wander over the punishment horse and the instruments on the wall behind it and smiled.
"I wanted you to see this so you'd have some time to think about it. Come on!"
He grabbed the lamp and led her through a door by the arm. They were standing in a bathroom. To the left was a washbasin, on the right there was a shower hanging on the wall, the floor underneath was tiled, the wall behind it too. The drain of the shower was in the corner. On the left was another door that said 'WC'. He pushed the revolver into the waistband behind his back, stepped behind her and opened the handcuffs, then sat down on a chair near the door. Claudia turned to him and waited.
"Take off your clothes, Claudia," he said softly and looked at her, yes, affectionately.
Claudia hesitated for a moment but she knew she had no choice and she hated senseless posturing. She took off the leggings and then the sweatshirt, leaving only the sports bra and pants. She paused again for a moment and waited for his command.
"You don't want to take a shower like that, no?" He asked and she could see him mockingly raising his right eyebrow under the mask. Claudia was annoyed that he mocked her, but he had a sense of humor that she understood immediately. Humor was very important to her in a man. She took the sports bra crosswise and pulled it over her head, then pushed the sports underpants down, dropped them on the floor and stepped out. She suppressed the desire to protect herself from his gaze with her arms. Instead, she put her hands behind her head and stretched out her breasts.
"That looks Ok, like this?" she asked, "oh, and by the way, how do you know my name?"
