A Thief Gets Punished

Sir kept me walking for a few days. An early version of me would have said "We went through the forest", but I know my place now. We passed so many people again. I was obedient, and Sir treated me kindly as a result. I did everything he asked, and not once did he spank me. He didn't even tickle me, though obviously he was in his right to.

Early in the morning, we came to a tavern in the middle of a busy road. There was a short unnecessary wall attached to the side of it with a dozen hooks bolted into it. I knew this must have something to do with me.

Sir hooked up his horse to the hitching post of the tavern, then led me by the leash over to the wall. He undid my binds from behind my back, then lifted my arms and tied me to one of the hooks.

He then took a small pendant out of his pocket. It had a glowing green circle on it. He slung it around my neck.

"Erica, you are to be completely silent while you're tied to this wall. For every word you say, you will receive two spanks. This pendant will keep track of how many spanks you're owed. Nod if you understand."

I nodded.

"Good." He walked off into the tavern.

And so I stayed tied to the wall. I wondered how long I was to be staying here. I trusted that Sir was doing right by me and I wasn't in any danger. Hanging on a place like this used to be hard; being stuck in my head was something new.

But you eventually find yourself. I wasn't just stripped of my clothes, I was stripped of illusions. When Sir let me go, I would be free in a way I never used to be.

Then I saw something that shocked me: a man riding a horse, leading a naked woman on a leash with her hands tied behind her back. I of course was aware I wasn't the only ENF in the world; the Stable had definitively taught me that. But I never expected to see another one out in the world.

The man did exactly as my Sir had, stopping his horse at the hitching post, climbing down, and leading his girl over to the wall. She was thin and fit, a lot like me, and she even had a short and mannish cut, though her hair was mousy brown. She also had a scar under her eye and a sour look on her face.

"Alright, Reka," said the man as he untied her binds. "You're going to be tied to this wall."

"Not today!" Reka tried punching her Sir. He simply grabbed her fist and rapidly twisted her arm around. "Arrgh! You bastard!"

"You're getting four spanks now, Reka." He brought his hand down on her butt.

"Argh! One! Thank you, Sir!" cried out Reka. She struggled at first, but with each subsequent spank she resisted less, though never losing her outraged expression.

When he finished spanking her, the man brought Reka's arms up to a hook and tied her up.

"Now, Reka, I know this will be difficult for you, but you'll have to be silent while you're on the wall. You'll get two spanks for every word you say." He pulled a pendant out and swung it around her before she could react. "This pendant will measure how many spanks you'll get."

Reka rolled her eyes as he walked away but said nothing. I looked over to her. She poked her tongue out at me. I was amused; she seemed to make a big deal out of being a rebel, but she clearly couldn't handle it.

Over the course of the next few hours, more girls were dropped off. Arlena, a thin young woman with square glasses; Bugs, a blue-haired woman with a flat chest; Beverly, a short, fat woman with large breasts. I was even delighted to see Candace, who smiled warmly when she saw me.

I found myself wondering what we were all doing here. Obviously, we were here to be punished, but what other purpose was there? We seemed to be on display for travellers who wanted something beautiful to look at and lust over as they passed through.

A long carriage pulled up. Was that the answer? It was a style I was completely unfamiliar with - painted purple with hexagonal wings attached to the top back. When it stopped, out stepped an elf woman. I nearly gasped; she was one of the most beautiful creatures I'd ever seen.

Her skin was purple and ears were long and pointed, as is normal for elves. She wore a very fine, mannish suit, with a black jacket and pants with a white shirt. Her dark blue hair was tied back in a simple ponytail. She wore black horn-rimmed spectacles. Aside from the glasses, it's the kind of thing I would have liked to wear back when I wore clothes.

"Ah, excellent!" she said as soon as she saw us. "The ENF Wall is full!" Her delight worried me. Was something humiliating about to happen? Then about half a dozen humans stepped out of the carriage. They were all young and particularly well-dressed.

"Alright everybody!" said the elf, turning to the group. "This is an ENF Wall! It's a more minor element of the ENF punishment, but is otherwise considered a structurally crucial one!"

My gods, these were students! I blushed. I had gone from a beautiful object on display to a specimen in a jar. They looked at us so eagerly. I shuffled on my feet a little.

"Believe it or not, the ENF Wall is actually a human development. The original elven concept of the ENF was simply its most basic form - a criminal stripped naked, tied up, and taken to their victims to apologise." A young man enthusiastically put his hand up. "Save your question for the end, Thomas."

I have to admit, a part of me swelled with human pride at us innovating something.

"Now," she continued, "the original concept of the Wall was to make each ENF feel even smaller and more humiliated. She may feel that her punishment, humiliation, and suffering is unique. Through the Wall, she sees that even her humiliation is small and part of a larger system."

I looked down in shame. She was right. Any notion I had of feeling special was long gone.

"Humans, being who they are, managed to innovate this even further. You may notice each of these ENFs is wearing a pendant. These pendants will count each word they say, then double it. When their master comes back, each ENF will be spanked an equal number of times to the number on her pendant.

"Now, can anyone tell me why we would do this? If we don't want them to talk? Why would we simply not magically take their voices? Anyone? Yes, Dani."

The young girl with her hand raised spoke gently. "To give them a choice?"

"Yes!" The elf was delighted. "To give them a choice! You see, their situation must be

fair

on some level. That's what makes it even more humiliating. They must be allowed to see that they bring their punishment upon themselves. If they hadn't committed evil, they wouldn't be getting punished."

She smiled. "This is the essence of the ENF Catcher. An ENF's life is one of constant humiliation. But she is allowed degrees of control over it. The more evil she commits, the more humiliating her life becomes. But the more she is good, the more she does what she is told, the easier it all gets."

I felt my heart swell. I got it! I got it. I was the good girl. I was the good ENF. I would be getting out of this with the least humiliating path, because I was simply the smartest about this. My journey was nearly over.

"Now, what as your question, Thomas?"

Thomas beamed at getting called upon. "Miss, you said the elves simply took their ENFs to their victims. But we all know ENFs get transported to Campbell-Taylor where they serve as workers doing hard labour for five years."

"WHAT?!?!?!" I screamed. My pendant jumped from zero to two.