"God!"
Allison Dennis didn't feel good. In fact, she felt terrible. Her head still pounded while her belly felt as if it were on fire. Her whole body was shaking, a monument to agony as she sat quietly in the headmistress' office, her hands folded modestly in her lap.
A severe-looking woman was shuffling through a stack of papers on her desk, once or twice glancing up at the blonde teen seated before her. There was no look of friendliness on her face or glint of encouragement in her eyes.
The girl sucked in her lower lip and bit down hard. Why had her mother insisted that she go to this school? A boarding school, one that was usually reserved for the wealthy. Allison had felt very out of place here the moment she'd arrived. And there were stories, stories about "things" that went on. Even when she arrived with her mother, seeing the attractive gardens and the tree-studded lawn fanning out in front of the castle-like structure, she felt a wave of fear wash over her. It was the first time the girl had been away from her home alone.
"It's for your own good, dear," her mother had said reassuringly as Allison climbed the stone stairway add entered the hall.
"I… I don't know."
Allison wasn't much of a scholar, but she sensed the antiquity of the furniture. As she and her mother walked down the vaulted hall the girl was more scared than ever. The thought of leaving her comfortable home in Los Angeles to come to this medieval thing out in the country made her very queasy.
And those stories. One or two of her friends had whispered about all kinds of nasty punishments and sexual orgies that were supposed to go on inside that place. Why had her mother saved all her money and sent her there, of all schools? There were plenty of other institutions in the area, schools that didn't have the reputation of Harrison Manor.
But her mother had wanted her to go to the best.
"Have a good time, dear, and call," her mother said with a smile as she left Allison alone in the high-ceilinged hallway.
Dear God! It was almost like being left in prison! As she stood in front of the headmistress that fateful day Allison wanted to run back to her mother, to wrap her arms around the woman's waist and beg her not to leave her here. But the girl knew it wouldn't work. She didn't want to cause a scene. And besides, perhaps it was all in her mind. Perhaps all those stories were nothing more than that – stories about a fine school told by people who were enviously jealous.
And the first few days seemed to pass quietly enough. She had received her uniform, picked up her books and met her roommate, Jude, another young novice at the school who seemed relieved that she'd be sharing her room with someone as nice and quiet as Allison.
Then came that day, that awful day when Patty Harrington had sneaked in some cigarettes somehow from the outside. To escape detection when the headmistress and her staff were searching the rooms after having been alerted by an informant, Patty had sneaked into Allison's room and shoved the carton, between the mattress and boxsprings. Needless to say the young blonde vehemently denied having brought the contraband in, let alone smoked it or sold it. But there was nothing to be said.
For the next few days Allison sat in her room, her only company being Janie. She was suspended from all classes and would probably be kicked out of school. She thought of her mother, and all the hopes the older woman had had for her daughter. This school would be her launching pad for better things. And now, now she would be kicked out, driven from the doors as if she were trash. She could picture her mother's shocked, disappointed face when the headmistress made the phone call. Oh God, she wished she could die rather than face her mother!
"Do you have anything further to say for yourself, Allison?"
The girl shook herself back to reality. Miss Vennestroom was smiling cruelly, having put down her papers. She was tapping her long fingernail rhythmically on the desk top, staring at the young girl who cringed under the steady gaze.
"No. I don't know how that stuff got there. I really don't," Allison said, feeling the hot tears welling up in her eyes.
No, she wasn't going to cry. That would be an admission of guilt, and she was completely innocent. That Patty Harrington! She guessed it had been that dark-haired little bitch who had fooled the staff. But she had no proof, and she knew Miss Vennestroom would only laugh at her accusations.
"I see."
Erika Vennestroom was a tall, attractive woman, Teutonic from head to foot and severe in every way. Slender and long-legged, she walked with her shoulders back, emphasizing her full, high-riding tits that jiggled with each step she took. Her eyes were a strange icyblue color that seemed to look right through you as she spoke. Chills ran up and down Allison's spine as she sat in the dark office, feeling swallowed up by the older woman's gaze.
"You're trembling, dear. There's no need to do that. This isn't the inquisition."
Wasn't it? Allison wouldn't have been surprised if someone had popped from the shadows with a branding iron. Suddenly all those whispered stories about orgies and God-only-knows-what slipped back into her memory. She closed her legs, rubbing her knees together while staring back at the handsome young woman in front of her. Oh, how she wished she could escape from this awful place! Suddenly the thought of her mother coming back to retrieve her wasn't so awful at all. She would be back home, away from this ancient monastery and back with her friends!
"I haven't called your mother… not yet, anyway," the headmistress said, tilting her head back and narrowing her eyes.
Allison felt her heart sink. The pounding in her head and the queasiness in her belly grew worse. There was something awful coming her way, she knew it.
"Oh?" she managed to squeak.
"People makes mistakes, Allison. And we're here to correct them, not to turn the transgressor out. You have made a mistake," Erika said, sucking in a deep breath and curling up her lips in another smile.
How Allison shivered under that smile! She could sense something was coming, something that would change her life forever.
"Maybe I just don't fit in here," Allison confessed, feeling her cheeks burning with shame and embarrassment. "The other girls… I mean," she went on hesitantly, not able to stare Erika in the face. "The other girls all come from wealthy families and I…"
"Nonsense!" Erika said, waving her hand in front of her face to dismiss the thought. "The other girls have as many problems as you do. I consider all my girls equal. You've transgressed, however, and must be punished. Your mother has spent a good deal of money to have you sent here, money I cannot return to her should you be expelled. Would you want that to happen?"
Allison bit down on her lip again, shaking her head from side to side.
"Very well," Erika said, standing up and moving from behind the desk. "Come with me."
She led Allison to the back of the building, through the massive kitchen where the cooks were preparing supper. The blonde teen suddenly realized she was hungry. She hadn't been eating much the past day, terrified that the headmistress would be calling her mother.
Again Allison thought of her mother and of the sacrifices she had gone through to send her here. No, no, Miss Vennestroom was right. She couldn't let her mother down. If she was going to be punished, all right, so be it. Surely the punishment wouldn't be that bad. In a few hours she would be back in her room with Janie, laughing and giggling over how strange Erika Vennestroom was and about how absolutely creepy this whole place was.
"I'm going to be a little severe with you now, my dear, but that's simply to make sure you won't make another mistake in the future, all right?"
The woman was so business-like that Allison fell some of her anxiety fading away. She followed the headmistress down a long corridor, her blonde hair flowing behind her narrow shoulders. In a moment she found herself in the back of the castle. The bright sunlight hurt her eyes for a moment.
"I… I don't think I've ever been here before," Allison said, looking all around.
"Not too many have, Allison. Only the help and one or two of the girls."
Allison saw the courtyard was walled in. It was huge, probably covering half an acre of ground. At the two corners of the walls were two large towers soaring up to high peaks. She had seen these towers from the road and had wondered as to their use. She had tried to find out from her companions and her teachers but no one seemed to know or really care.
"Did you study any medieval history in your high school?" Erika said, walking slowly before the girl, her hands clasped behind her back. She was staring up at the walls, her eyes gleaming with something like excitement.
"A little," Allison confessed, fascinated with the massive construction confronting her.
"Then you know this was a bailey. It's the courtyard of the inner fortifications. The founder of this school, Birgit Nileson, had the stones shipped from Denmark piece by piece. Some of the stones were lost, so this part of the castle is slightly modified. This is the keep…" Erika pointed, moving toward another part of the courtyard.
"What?"
"It's the mast heavily fortified building in the castle. It housed four hundred men and women rather comfortably, although now we store things in it. You girls live considerably better now in your dorms than the highest nobility did in those days."
Erika smiled as they neared the keep. Allison followed, her heart beating like a triphammer for no apparent reason. She sensed something was coming to a head, something that would change her life completely. But what it was she didn't know.
"Come with me," Erika said, smoothing her hands down her sides and approaching a large door.
Allison felt her pulse racing as the woman took a ring from her belt and opened the door to the keep. It was dark inside. There was a flicking sound and a small yellow light illuminated the dank corridor.
What on earth was going on? Why was she being taken down into this awful-looking and smelling building?
"Come."
Allison followed her down a narrow flight of stone stairs into a huge, wood-paneled room. At that point the girl felt her hands and feet turn icy. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead while her heart pounded. It couldn't be real! This had to be her horrible imagination, a trick of some sort, something to frighten the girls with.
"Surprised, dear?"
Allison looked at the headmistress. She was standing there, having hung the ring of keys on a small peg to one side. She was shutting the door, bolting it, and then turned around to lean against the frame. Erika folded her hands over her tits, crossing one leg over the other and staring with some amusement at the terrified girl.
And there was much to frighten Allison. Hanging on the walls of the small room were strange, frightening-looking instruments – riding crops, bits, bridles, cat-o'-nine-tails, whips of varying lengths and thicknesses, harnesses, and other things that baffled the young girl as to their use. The smell of leather wafted about like a heady perfume. Instinctively the girl backed away from the headmistress, folding her arms over her tits, wishing she could somehow drop through the floor and never, never come back to this awful, horrible place!
"You see, Allison, we can't have girls sneaking things into the school. It has a demoralizing effect on the other children," Erika began reaching up and undoing the tight blonde bun sifting atop her head. The pins fell lightly to the cold, concrete floor. "You have got to be taught a lesson, a lessen that will last and will bring you in line with our policy."
Allison didn't like where this conversation was going.
"Now, remove your clothing – all of it," Erika said, pausing as she pushed back her long blonde hair and looked severely at the girl.
What had she said? Take off her clothes? Stand there stark-naked in front of her? What in God's name was she telling her to do? No, no she wouldn't, wouldn't stoop to that level.
"No!" Allison said defiantly, her body shaking violently.
Erika smiled, that same awful smile that had crossed her lips earlier in the office.
"I didn't expect you to be cooperative… at first," she said, squaring her shoulders and approaching the terrified teen.
Allison shrank back, feeling her flesh crawl.
"Ohhhh!"
She had stumbled backward, her feet hitting a large wooden keg with a small brass faucet in it. Regaining her balance once more she backed away from the approaching headmistress, her eyes wide with terror. What was Miss Vennestroom going to do to her? She could only guess it would be awful, the most awful experience in her young life!
"N-n-no, don't hurt me. I swear, I won't be bad again. Please," Allison begged, her voice becoming shaky and tiny.
"I can't take your word anymore, Allison. You'd only go back, on it unless you knew what to expect down here. From now on you'll be good, I promise you." With that the older woman stretched out one hand and grabbed Allison by the hair.
"Ooohhh!"
The pain brought the girl to her knees. Her head was pulled forward, the hair ripping from her scalp. Allison shrieked, her cries bouncing off the thick walls and mocking her. Tears washed down her flushed cheeks as Erika kept tugging at her hair.
"Little bitch!" Erika hissed, pulling her hair and dragging her across the room on her knees. "I'll teach you to bring that stuff in here and try to spoil my school."
Oh, she was calling her awful names and accusing her of things she hadn't even done! Why was she doing this, hurting her like this? Allison screamed, tried to get back up on her feet, then stumbled and fell to her knees once more, her hair still pulled straight out by Erika.
"Noooo."
Erika let her go, throwing the girl back on the floor. For a tail slender woman the headmistress had a good deal of strength and dexterity. Allison scooted back on her ass, her uniform twisting around her little body. She scrambled toward the door, twisting around and standing up, her hair streaming wildly behind her.
Locked! Oh God, it was locked! She rattled the bolt, curling her fingers into fists and finally pounding at the door. Wouldn't someone hear her cries, her screams for help?
"Don't bother, my dear," Erika said, regaining some of her former composure. "I told you few people come back in the bailey or here to the keep. And those who do," she added, the cruel smile returning, "wouldn't bother coming to your aid."
Allison felt a wave of defeat crush her to the floor. Turning around once more, she saw the headmistress' mocking eyes and felt another flash of terror.
"Now, take off your clothes before I tear them off," Erika said, her voice hardening.
Sobbing, feeling embarrassed at having to strip before and older woman, Allison did as she was told. Neatly she lay the blazer on a near-by chair, unbuttoning her blouse slowly and finally turning away from Erika, sliding the white cotton garment off.
"Good, good," Erika encouraged, her voice sounding strangely breathless.
Slipping off her shoes and white socks, Allison then slid her straight black skirt down over her white, supple thighs, laying it neatly on top of the blazer and blouse. She was standing now only in her bra and translucent nylon panties.
What was Erika planning to do to her? She saw those horrible instruments hanging on the wall and shuddered once more. Beating? Was she going to truss her up in one of those awful looking harnesses and beat her like some kind of farm animal?
"Over here."
The headmistress' voice was still calm, steady. She was pointing to a strange contraption at the other end of the room. It was what appeared to be a double stockade, looking much like the ones she'd seen in picture books about early New England. However instead of having just one hole for the head there were two, obviously meant for the arms. Below there were two more holes for the legs. On either side of the tall piece of wood were braces to keep it in place.
"Off with your panties, Allison."
"What?"
"I said take off your panties or I'll beat them off."
There was that tremor of authority in her voice that made Erika's threat credible. Shoving her fingers under the elastic waistband Allison did as she was told, not believing this was really happening. It was so dream-like, so unreal. Even as she stood there dressed now only in her bra, her panties dangling from her fingers she couldn't believe this was happening.
"Now, here."
With that Erika raised one panel of the board and shoved the teen's arms against the semi-circular depression. The board slammed down, locking into place.
The girl stared with wide, horrified eyes at the headmistress. She was in shock, pulling and tugging at her arms desperately. She felt herself teetering on the edge of panic.
"Oh it's true, it's true!" she cried.
"What's true, dear?" Erika asked, smiling as she knew what was going through the girl's mind. Yes, it was true, all of it, and it was all going to happen to Allison.