This story takes place in the fantasy world of DunnisUrom (see other stories by myself). There is a sort of main story-line going on, but I have taken some requests / suggestions from others to write a series of spin-off stories. In this case:
Dr. Emmas - An "Alpothecary" (an alchemist apothecary) who was first seen in Punishment Day Festival providing various mutations and magical assistants for a great-family's servants to endure.
Punishment Apprentice Eva - Also first seen in Punishment Day Festival where she was newly apprenticed to the fearsome Mistress Kava who is a Senior Disciplinarian of The Order of Sattva.
New Characters:
Journeyman Jathan - A few years ahead of Eva, he is another Order of Sattvas Disciplinarian in training.
Nami - A college girl Alchemist Trainee who is constantly late to class.
INDEXIUM GIRL'S COLLEGE CAMPUS - NAMI
Shit! Shit! SHIT!! Nami raced across the Indexium campus. The bells were tolling NONIS and if she wasn't in class by the final one, she'd be late--again. University students (boys) watched the college (girls) student with slightly messy hair and her skirts flying, race across a grass lawn (a minor demerit, if she was caught) towards the girl's alchemical building.
The stately brick structure loomed before her, its white washed entrances beckoning. She listened desperately for another bell! How many had that been? Was she late!? Shit.
Boys could get a way with a lot. Girls, far less so--but the alchemy track was especially strict. Even worse, Ms. Kleini, in advanced bio-alch, was an especially bad class to be late to: Ms. Kleini liked her.
She swallowed. Maybe just a LITTLE late? She'd have to risk it. She opened the door. Ms. Kleini stood at the front of the room with a measure in one hand, pointing the long, thin stick at the chalkboard. Next to her was Kit, her judicial slave assistant.
He looked cute and wretched, as usual. Ms. Kleini had the university purchase him from the courts, sparing him a few days stint in the tickle-dungeons in exchange for two years of judicial servitude. He was, apparently, extremely ticklish, and had begged the magistrate for the far longer sentence, if only to avoid the dreaded dungeons. He gave her a sympathetic look when all the seated girl's heads turned.
"Miss Nami," said Ms. Kleini, "Could you tell the class when we start?"
UGH! "At the last bell of NONIS, "mistress instructress," Nami said, sheepishly. The girls tittered slightly at her use of the submissive title of address.
"And it is past that time now, Miss Nami, isn't it?"
Double-ugh. "Yes, mistress instructress," she answered. "I'm late."
Ms. Kleini tapped the seat of feminine dress Kit wore. Under it, she knew from experience, he had bright, lacy white female panties he wore over a penis cage, with her measure. He blushed at the unexpected attention.
"Fetch a high-desk for her, Kit-slave," she said, using the slave suffix as an affectionate diminutive. She pursed her lips, considering. "You will see me following class, Nami. I think I have a proper chore to set you at."
Nine pairs of eyes lit with interest and intrigue: Nami's gonna get it!
Triple-ugh. Joy from the girls was expected. In their position, she'd be disappointed she wasn't going to get to witness one of them being punished. Sympathy from Kit, though, was worse. That meant it might really be awful!
The High-Desk was simply a substantially higher seat and writing surface than normal. It ensured she would stand out to everyone and make her feel self-conscious for the entire class. Kit positioned it so she wasn't blocking anyone, and she slunk into it, trying her best to radiate the contriteness she felt.
During the lecture, she kept her head down and took notes. She tried her best not to draw attention to herself, but as she literally stuck up in the air, there was nothing for it. Every time Ms. Kleini called upon her, and their eyes met, Nami cringed. Ms. Kleini didn't glare at her, but neither did she seem to forgive her student. It was the third time this moon she'd been tardy and while she'd accrued fractional demerits in her record (which had been highly unpleasant to pay off in dorm room punishments) it was clear her instructor planned something to put a halt to her decline in performance.
When the girls were filing out (Masti gave her a good sympathy hug) she climbed down from the high-desk and shouldered the satchel she held her books in. She trudged up to the teacher's desk. Kit was wiping down the chalkboard.
"I have to step out a moment, Nami," said Ms. Kleini, not unkindly--it seemed she knew her student was a bundle of nerves. "You will wait with your nose in the corner until I return."
Nami colored! Ughh. "Yes, Ms. Kleini, she intoned.
"Kit-slave, if you catch her squirming or breaking position, you'll not say anything, but will inform me for each offense. I shan't be long."
"I'm sorry, ma'am," she said, looking down. "The morning got away from me."
Her nose in the corner, stewing in a mix of embarrassment, humiliation, and shame, her curiosity finally got the better of her.
"Kit?" she asked softly.
"Miss Nami?" his voice coming from wherever he was working or cleaning things.
"Am I allowed to ask a question?"
"I guess we'll find out from Mistress when she returns and I tell her you asked," he said. ugh--UGH!!!
"Sorry," she whispered. "I just wondered if you knew what she has in store for me?"
She heard footsteps and felt his presence behind her. A light hand on her shoulder. She almost made to turn--but he stopped her: "don't. I you're not to break position."
She nodded, taking a breath that was embarrassingly ragged.
"When she purchased my writ," he said, "I was more than a terrible mess. I... had begged on the floor before the magistrate--pleading--hysterically."
She could hear the flush of shame in his words.
"When they... relieved me of the sentence to the tickle dungeons--which I was sure would slay me or drive me mad--I felt, just, so weak and ashamed that I couldn't even bare a few days of it and I had instead taken two years of being a judicial slave."
She nodded. She found herself sniffling now--she was furious with herself. Why had she slept in?? It had been so cozy--and she had tossed and turned in bed the night before--but she'd HEARD the morning bells. WHY HADN'T SHE RISEN ON TIME?!
"Mistress Kleini bought me pretty much right off the magistrate's floor," Kit said. "I'd heard that usually wasn't good: someone buys your punishment writ, it usually means they want to... see that you're thoroughly, thoroughly punished. And an Alchemist, no less. I was terrified."
Nami nodded. It probably was terrifying for a commoner to be put into the judicial servitude of an artisan. She wasn't as terrified of what Ms. Kleini maybe COULD do to her--but more that the woman, who was young, and beautiful, and brilliant--having already published a treatment on the use of female humors in transformation and transmutation--would think of her after her dismal record of late.
"Make no mistake," Kit told her. "She's ensured my writ is properly executed--but I thank Sattva each night for having found myself in her care than someone else's. I do think she means to punish you, Miss Nami--but I expect she'll seek to impose discipline you'll profit from."
Nami miserably whimpered. She was determined, if nothing else, not to break down and cry before her punishment even started!
ORDER ENCLAVE -- EVA
Punishment Apprentice First-Class Eva stood in her Mistress' Punishment Salon in one of the high towers of the Order's Enclave in the Key City of DunnisUrom. It was a prestigious posting in one of the jewels of the empire of the Crown and Throne. The mistress to which she was apprenticed was considered a fearsome talent in the order, and Eva felt that this pinnacle of posting was, frankly, her due. She was a Punishment Apprentice par excellence.
Her charges were both artfully immiserated and much improved under her application of discipline. She was dedicated, took wonderful initiative, and truly enjoyed almost every aspect of her work! She had earned the highest scores with the cane, the lash, the paddle, and even the more exotic implements she had been allowed to train with. Eva was equally skilled in handing the anatomy of both boys and girls! She was an adept scolder, having learned from her mistress to identify weak points in her charge's psychology and use it to improve the educational value of their experience!
She had wiped wet eyes, snotty noses, and dirty bottoms! Now, though, she stood naked, her hands folded behind her back, one hand on each elbow in the strict punishment presentation position. She was in her mistress' punishment salon and she stood with her nose less than an inch from Mistress Kava's posting pylon. She stood up on her toes so that her buttocks were more pronounced and, if left here long enough, her calves would begin to shake, and she would tire. There would be a punishment for putting her heels down--but even that form of relief would be denied her!
Her tongue was held out from her mouth, held against the narrow floor-to-ceiling posting pole. It was stuck to it with an art and she was intensely uncomfortable but dared not squirm. She also fought tears. THIS WASN'T FAIR! She was beyond furious with the smarmy Punishment Journeyman Jathan, who stood at a far more relaxed and dignified (and clothed) attention before the desk of her mistress.
She'd observed that most lower-order acolytes or apprentices were cowed in her mistress' presence--but this young man was so cock-sure of himself, he seemed at ease, even knowing that a minor mistake could subject him to her Mistress' expert attentions. Ohhh! Ohhh, she HATED HIM!!
