The Courier

Chapter 17 -- The Royal Estate

As she exited the main chamber of the Central Courthouse, Criminal # 101025 cast a final forlorn look over her shoulder at her former Spokeswoman and her former housemate. That moment was just as she had envisioned, but she could not have foreseen how jealous the Royal House was of any contact between its property and the outside world. The moment Maria Elena's escorts had her outside the main door, they covered her head with a cloth bag. One of them snarled into her ear:

"Since you like looking around so much at things that don't concern you, we're taking that privilege away from you. Your eyes and what you gaze upon belong to your mistress every bit as much as the rest of you. Anything in this world that is not focused on her is of no interest to you."

Suddenly the prisoner felt a horrific jolt on her shoulder, a surge of electricity from a handheld electronic zapper.

"That was the lowest setting. The next time you disobey me, I will turn it to the maximum and use it between your legs. I will hold it there and I might just keep it there until you die. Do you understand me?"

A terrified sob welled up from the hooded criminal, but she forced herself to respond: "Yes, my Lord."

Maria Elena expected to be taken to the Royal House immediately and to deal with whatever the Grand Duchess had in store for her. However, she felt the minivan turn off onto a dirt road and drive several kilometers over some small hills. When the vehicle stopped and one of the Lords pulled off the bag from the prisoner's head, she noticed that she was in an isolated part of the countryside, with no house or any other building in sight. The Lords took off the prisoner's manacles and gave her a drink of water. They forced her to kneel in the posture of submission, on her knees and elbows with her legs spread wide and her back arched, to place her genitalia in full view. The humiliation was overwhelming, but the menacing sight of the zapper kept her focused on the need to obey without question what the Lords wanted from her.

The two officials unpacked some camera equipment. The prisoner realized that before going to the Royal Residence, she would be subjected to a photography session. At first she was not particularly worried, because she had become used to being naked anyway and there are many things in life that are worse than having one's picture taken.

The Lords had her pose for hundreds of photos. She walked along the road, sat on rocks, crouched next to a stream, strolled though some woods, and ran across a field. Some of the shots were modest and others forced her to lewdly display herself. After two hours the Lords seemed satisfied with their collection and ordered the naked male servant to serve Maria Elena a large cup of cold water. She drank greedily. The Lords ordered the servant to refill her cup. When she took the cup a second time, the young man gave her a strange pleading look, as though he were trying to tell her something or issue a warning with his eyes. He dared not speak, but Maria Elena was under the impression he was trying to signal her not to take the second cup. That was strange...why wouldn't he want her to have water on a hot summer day?

The Lords ordered Maria Elena to kneel and for the servant to unbraid her hair. The prisoner gasped, because she knew that for a man to see a woman with unbraided hair was a serious violation of Danubian protocol. She imagined, quite rightly, that for a man to unbraid a woman's hair was an even worse insult that just seeing her with her hair loose. One of the Lords sensuously ran his fingers through the captive's hair and touched her face. The male servant, horribly embarrassed and thoroughly dishonored by having to touch a woman with unbraided hair, knelt with his head touching the ground.

Maria Elena shook with terror. She knew enough about Danubian culture to understand she had been subjected to several very serious insults, before ever setting foot in the Royal House. A thought passed through her mind; that perhaps the Lords wouldn't be taking her to the Royal house at all, that instead they were going to use her for their own pleasure and then dispose of her. The terrified, humiliated look of her fellow servant was not reassuring.

As the sun rose in the sky and became hot, the Lords forced Maria Elena to repeat everything she had done in the morning, including posing for hundreds of additional pictures as she moved about the countryside. Later she realized that they wanted two full sets of photos, one with her hair still braided and the other with her hair loose. Some of the final poses forced her to lewdly expose herself with the hot sun shining directly on her vagina or bottom.

Among the images she had to pose for was a series of pictures walking along a creek and holding several peeled willow switches. She had to touch herself with the implements and look seductively into the camera...to implore the viewer to take the switches out of her hand and to use them on her uncovered body.

As the afternoon wore on, Maria Elena was hot, but her captors made sure she had plenty to drink. Several times she felt the male servant was silently imploring her not to accept any more. Strange he would do that, considering the weather and how good that cold water tasted. When the Lords finally were satisfied they had enough pictures, they packed up their cameras, refilled a large thermos with additional cold water, and pressed their captive to drink even more. Maria Elena no longer was thirsty, but the Lord insisted. When she tried to shake her head, he touched his zapper to one of her bare nipples. Yes, you will drink, slave, whether you want to or not.

As she struggled to swallow a full liter of cold water, Maria Elena suddenly realized she needed to go to the bathroom. She had not relieved herself since the transfer ceremony and since then already had drunk at least three liters. Now that she was aware that she badly needed to pee, she felt with dread the new water working its way into her stomach, fully knowing that within a few minutes she would be in real agony if the Lords did not allow her to use a restroom. Then she understood that her captors had plied her with water on purpose. They had no intention of letting her use a restroom.

Shaking with terror and her bladder already starting to ache, the prisoner knelt in the proper position while the two Lords ran their fingertips around her bottom, massaging her vagina and teasing her clit. They dared not have sex with the captive, at least not before the Grand Duchess saw her, but that did not mean they didn't have plans to violate her in the future.

The Lords shackled and hooded Maria Elena for a short bumpy ride to Royal Residence. Every jolt, no matter how small, sent spasms of pain through the helpless captive. During the ride, one of her custodians fondled her breasts and painfully pinched her nipples.

Finally the van arrived and Anyia's newest toy was ready for delivery. Dressed in a fine silk dress and wearing a diamond crown, she imperiously strode out to the driveway, carrying a switch. A small two-pronged whip was attached to her belt, an item she found especially useful for "breaking in" new servants. Following the Grand Duchess were her other living possessions, young human beings that had been turned over to her as personal property. As always, they were silent, naked, and extremely careful not to do anything that might set off their owner's temper.

By the time Maria Elena stepped out of the van her bladder felt like it was going to explode. The pain and pressure were unbelievable, forcing tears into her eyes and sweat to trickle down her cheeks. The girl's world was reduced to her bladder...If only someone would let her go to the bathroom...if only...

The Lords forced the Colombian into a kneeling position and took off her shackles and hood. Now she was completely naked and unencumbered except for her collar. Trembling with terror and pain, Maria Elena knelt forward...trying as hard as she could to assume a correct position in spite of the mounting crisis in her bladder. The Grand Duchess walked around her new servant, gently kicking her in the same way a car owner in the US might kick a tire. Anyia pushed her switch into Maria Elena's hair, flipped it a little, and then tapped her shoulder. Suddenly she twisted back and laid a fearsome blow across the servant's shoulders. Maria Elena screamed. The Grand Duchess grabbed a fist-full of her captive's hair and violently shook her.

"What's the meaning of this? Why did you choose to insult the Royal House...to insult me...by coming here with a tangle of obscene, dishonored hair? How dare you do this to the Crown! How dare you!"

Before Maria Elena had a chance to respond or even react, Anyia snapped her fingers. Two security guards grabbed the new servant and forced her into a standing position. The Grand Duchess tightened her lips and laid several fearsome slaps across the captive's face. She grabbed Maria Elena's thick black hair and pulled hard on it, as she landed several more cruel slaps. By then the Colombian was bleeding from her nose, her lip was cut, and the entire left side of her face was swelling. The Grand Duchess pulled out her whip and ordered her guards to toss the captive to the ground so she could flog her. Maria Elena tripped as she fell. At that instant her bladder gave out and a torrent of bright yellow liquid gushed onto the ground. The other servants stared in horrified silence as their newest companion knelt in an ever-expanding pool of her own urine. The Lords smiled knowingly as the Grand Duchess went white with shock and rage. Anyia's mood worsened when she noticed that the hem of her expensive dress had fallen into the puddle and now was stained yellow. The Duchess shrieked with disgust and trembled with fury. Never before had a servant so thoroughly dishonored herself in her Divine Presence.

Maria Elena sobbed with despair, because she knew that her disgrace in the eyes of the Grand Duchess and the other servants was absolute. What she felt was not so much fear, but a humiliation that went beyond anything words could have described. It did not matter, not to her, not to Anyia, and not to anyone else in the household, that the Lords were the ones responsible for her condition. Maria Elena was the one who was at fault.

The Grand Duchess was insane with anger. In barely coherent shrieks she yelled at the guards to chain the Colombian so she could be properly flogged. Still sobbing from terror and reeking of urine, Maria Elena was roughly grabbed by the guards. The men put cuffs around her wrists and ankles before dragging her to a whipping post that was set up in the middle of the courtyard. They attached her wrists to a loop in the wood before stepping back to allow Anyia to punish her.

The other servants remained immobile, kneeling and looking straight ahead. They were as still as statues, and betrayed no emotion in their expressions. The Grand Duchess, meanwhile, was gritting her teeth with rage at the insult. It never occurred to her to ask why Maria Elena's hair was unbraided or why her bladder was so full. In the mind of the Grand Duchess, the newest servant had not bothered to properly prepare for her transfer and had affronted her new mistress on purpose. She did not notice the smirking expressions of her two Lords, and even had she noticed, she would have thought nothing of it. The fact they were the ones at fault for the servant's condition was of no concern to Anyia. The only thing that mattered to the Grand Duchess was the criminal's unbraided hair and the huge puddle of piss contaminating her courtyard. It was a deliberate affront that needed to be severely punished.

Anyia pulled hard on Maria Elena's hair and jerked her head back and forth several times. She screamed at a naked servant holding several whips to bring them forward so she could make a selection. She grabbed the one closest to her, a short whip with several tails. By shear luck it was the lightest implement of the selection. In spite of her rage, the Grand Duchess would not be able to break her servant's skin, no matter how long she flogged her victim.

Maria Elena was thoroughly terrified. She was shaking from fear and had completely lost control of her bladder. Urine continued to dribble down her legs and pooled at her feet, further enraging the Grand Duchess. Anyia slashed hard across the criminal's back several times, criss-crossing her olive skin with small reddish welts. The sting was terrifying, and Maria Elena, whose resistance already was worn down by the treatment she had suffered under the Lords, screamed and sobbed pitifully.

Anyia punished out of sheer rage. There was nothing calculated or controlled about the way she was whipping the Colombian. She spent a long time flogging the criminal's back and shoulders until her skin was raw, then moved to flogging her bottom and thighs. Maria Elena twisted to avoid the blows, but one of the Lords turned on his zapper and jammed it between her thighs to force her to keep her bottom sticking out.

The Lord turned out to be every bit as sadistic as the Grand Duchess. He used a high setting and zapped the servant on her vagina. Maria Elena screamed and flailed helplessly as the Lord sought out the most sensitive spot to land the shocks. Maria Elena desperately wanted to pass out, but the Lord made sure the device's setting was not quite enough to make her faint. Finally the criminal managed to get her feet back on the ground and arched her back. The Lord held the zapper in front, ready to shock her again if she tried to avoid the blows from Anyia's whip.

Anyia spent an eternity belaboring the Colombian's bottom and the backs of her thighs. She hit hard and quickly followed up with a back-hand stroke...over and over and over. Maria Elena continued to tremble, scream, and cry, but with the zapper menacing her vagina, she dared not move forward. Anyia wore herself out...by the time she was satisfied that she had flogged her servant's bottom enough, sweat was pouring down her face and she was breathing heavily.

Anyia ordered the guards to turn Maria Elena around so she could whip her legs from the front. The Lord assisting her took the liberty to zap the servant several more times. The guards hooked the victim's ankles to rings in the ground to force her legs apart. Yes indeed, Anyia would hit her...there...

The Grand Duchess struck Maria Elena many times across the thighs, but she had worn herself out and her strength was ebbing. She weakly struck Maria Elena between the legs, flicking the whip's tails on the girl's exposed vulva, but not as hard as she would have liked. Finally she was done. She finished with a couple of strokes across Maria Elena's breasts and tossed the whip to the ground. She turned to the two Lords and her guards:

"Take this dishonored piece of filth and put her in the pillory. I want her to have time to think about what she's done to me and what a true disgrace she is. I'll decide what to do with her tomorrow."

"Yes, your graciousness."

By the time Anyia finished flogging her, Maria Elena was beyond crying. She hung limply from her cuffs in pain that she could not have imagined. Her entire body stung horribly, she felt the burns where she had been shocked, and to make matters worse, she had pulled a muscle in her shoulder when the Lord had electrocuted her between the legs.

The guards unhooked the prisoner from the whipping post and dragged her across the courtyard to a pillory. A Danubian pillory was different from the ones used in England and Colonial North America. It consisted of two thick wooden posts that were about 5 meters high connected on the top by a wooden crossbar that was about 2 meters wide. About a meter and a half from the ground small platforms for the criminal's feet were attached to the posts, along with chains to secure the ankles. Two additional sets of chains and cuffs hung from the crossbar, which were used to secure the criminal's wrists.

In traditional Danubian society criminals were always stripped naked before being pilloried, usually before the formal reading of the charges and the sentence. A person being punished stood with a foot on each platform, which forced the legs to be widely spread and the genitalia to be prominently displayed. The criminal's wrists were secured to the chains attached to the crossbeam, forcing the arms to be spread as well. The chains were drawn tight to prevent the criminal from moving very much, leaving the limbs completely spread and the body totally exposed. The criminal was not suspended; most of the weight was concentrated on the foot platforms, but after several hours of standing immobilized in an uncomfortable position the muscle cramps became unbearable.

The Danubian pillory was a traditional form of public punishment commonly used in villages and small towns for offenses considered too minor for a formal collaring. Petty criminals normally were pilloried on Market Day, placed on display in the town square for about eight hours. If the Grand Duke's officials felt the criminal's family shared any blame for their relative's behavior, parents or siblings could be sentenced to having to kneel next to the pillory as a way to dishonor the entire family. The pillory was a very harsh punishment for a society obsessed with honor and protocol.

Pillories were phased out after the Second World War and became little more than objects of historical curiosity and tourist attractions. However, one of the changes Anyia brought to the Royal Residence was to re-introduce the pillory as a way to punish her servants. As soon as the Royal house carpenters had built the Grand Duchess the pillory she ordered, she gleefully started putting it to use. As offended as she was by the newest addition to her collection, it would be nice to see that Colombian stretched on the pillory, her body covered in whip-marks, and her face full of tears. Yes indeed...that is what that pathetic creature deserved for so completely dishonoring herself.

The other servants continued to kneel quietly while the two Lords forced Maria Elena up a small ladder so her feet could be placed on the small platforms. When the criminal's feet were attached to the ankle chains, the two Lords attached the cuffs on her wrists to the chains hanging from the crossbeam. Once the length of the chains was properly adjusted, the criminal stood with her arms and legs spread and her body completely on display. She winced in pain from the pulled muscle in her back and the throbbing welts that covered her body. Anyia and the Lords looked at her with satisfied expressions, while the other servants continued staring straight ahead, seemingly oblivious to her plight.

After a few minutes Anyia turned around and the two Lords fell in behind her. The servants immediately placed their heads on the ground as the Royals made their way back towards the main entrance to the house. Two servants ran ahead to open the doors, while the others quickly got up and followed their mistress.

Maria Elena was left alone in the courtyard, her body still stretched tight and immobilized on the pillory. She felt absolute despair, but at the moment she was in too much pain and discomfort to really think about anything other than her current situation. She still was in shock over how badly her first day with the Grand Duchess had started and how horribly she was being treated. Yes, she had known her new owner was a cruel and evil person, but it never dawned on Maria Elena that the Grand Duchess could be as bad as this. And those two Lords...it was obvious they had the confidence of Anyia because they were every bit as bad as she was.

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Several hours passed. Groups of ordinary workers and gardeners from the Estate passed by when their shifts ended, many of them stopping to take a look at the Grand Duchess' newest acquisition. Their reactions varied: some of the workers looked at her with curiosity, others clearly enjoyed seeing her predicament, and others felt sorry for her. Maria Elena's despair and humiliation intensified, because she found having ordinary workers see her exposed on the pillory much more embarrassing than having the Grand Duchess and her servants see her. The workers were just normal people, and the criminal knew that in their eyes she had been turned into a freak. As the hours wore on and the daylight faded, the prisoner's discomfort slowly became agony. She desperately needed to move her arms and legs. As the courtyard became dark, she hung her head and quietly cried.