The Courier
Copyright 2008 by EC
EC's Erotic Fiction - /~caligula97030/

(warnings: erotic discipline, sex between adults, medical fetish, public nudity, 
rape)


Chapter 20 – The Downfall of the Duchess

Program Director Cecilia Sanchez spent the following day with her normal 
routine. On Saturdays she always met with her students to receive updates on 
their studies and how they were handling life in Danubia. The majority 
seemed to be adjusting well, and as for the few who were having problems, 
those problems were routine and manageable. There was no reason for Cecilia 
to feel uneasy that day.

However Cecilia did feel uneasy, a feeling which only increased every time 
she met with one of the 13 students who were wearing a collar on behalf of 
Maria Elena. Earlier in the week she had lied to the group, allowing them to 
assume that their friend would be better off in the Royal Residence than she 
possibly could be at the university. She showed them old reports and articles 
that talked about how well Royal Servants had been treated under the old 
Grand Duchess and the rulers who had come before her. She had wanted no 
further trouble from her students, so she deceived them by telling them that 
Maria Elena was fine in her new home.

Carmen’s counseling session was almost at the end of her schedule, and out of 
the collared group she was the last. By the time Carmen came in for her 
appointment Cecilia was so guilt-ridden that she could not look her student in 
the face. Carmen looked at her director, wondering if she was going to be sick.

“Yeah… yeah. Truth is I must have eaten something… don’t feel good at 
all…”

Great. Now she was compounding lies with yet more lies, something that was 
considered highly dishonorable in Danubian society. She figured that she 
would tell Carmen the truth after Maria Elena was returned to the Ministry of 
Justice, but her motivation for waiting was purely selfish. What she wanted 
was to avoid any further public spectacles from her students and thus avoid 
any further headaches for herself. She knew what she needed to do, simply tell 
Carmen what really was happening and also tell her that it was likely Maria 
Elena would be extracted the next day. But to do something like that was not 
in Cecilia’s character. She was by nature a secretive person who always felt 
that the less people knew about her affairs, the better.

When Carmen left, Cecilia decided to cancel the remaining appointments. She 
repeated what she had said to Carmen, that she was feeling ill. She stepped 
outside into the cool late summer air. At first she thought about going home, 
but she could not face Victor and the sight of Maria Elena’s empty room. 
Instead she decided to walk in the direction of the campus Temple, which was 
an old church that was being used by the university. She knew that her fiancé 
Jason would be there, working on a routine maintenance project with several 
other students who were performing Public Penance. 

Jason was not scheduled to get off work for several more hours. However, the 
Priest overseeing the maintenance crew took one look at Cecilia and knew that 
she needed Jason much more than the Church needed him. He released Jason 
and told him to return on time the following day. Jason knelt, touched his head 
to the ground, and said goodbye to his superior.

Cecilia had a hard time putting into words what was bothering her so much. 
For several minutes she spoke incoherently about Carmen and other protesters. 
She hardly expected her fiancé to understand what was going on. She looked 
at Jason’s youthful innocent face, assuming that the person listening to her 
was the same naive freshman she had seen standing in the hallway of the 
second floor of Huntington Hall five years before. However, she had 
underestimated him, because during his four years in Danubia he had studied 
under the Priestess and had taken the teachings of the Danubian Church 
seriously. As a result of his efforts, he had acquired insight and understanding 
about life that few people from the US would ever experience. It wasn’t long 
before he gently cut off Cecilia and bluntly asked her:

“You feel guilty about all the lies you told this week, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I ‘spose. I ‘spose that’s it.”

“Or maybe it’s not just the lies, Cecilia. Maybe it’s that you told all those lies 
because you were just worried about protecting yourself, trying to save 
yourself some embarrassment?”

Cecilia became defensive: “I was doin’ it for the program. I don’t want 
Carmen doin’ a bunch of shit that’s gonna embarrass the university that…”

“… and so you thought lying was the best way to handle it? You never 
thought that if you took the time to explain, in detail, what’s really going on, 
that Maria Elena is in the Royal Household because it’s her Path in Life to go 
there, that she had to go there so the Prime Minister could get the other 
servants out… that maybe Carmen might not have reacted the way you 
thought she’d react?”

“Carmen would’ve wanted to protest. I just wanted to shut her up.”

“You know that for a fact? Did you ask her?”

“No. I didn’t ask her. I just knew she was gonna stir up shit and I don’t need it. 
I don’t need her shit, Jason.”

“So it all comes back to you, doesn’t it? You don’t need her shit. You don't 
want to be embarrassed. So you dishonored yourself by deceiving her and all 
the others wearing collars. Next week they’re gonna know the truth, and the 
Church is gonna know the truth. Next week everyone's gonna see you for 
what you are.”

Cecilia angrily turned away. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“Look. If you’re gonna insult me, then you can go fuck yourself. I don’t need 
you.”

“I’m not insulting you, Cecilia. I’m just telling you that you’ve dug yourself 
into a big hole with your students. You lied to them, and next week they’re 
gonna know that you lied to them. And I’d bet they’ll figure out real fast that 
you lied to protect yourself, even though you keep talking about protecting the 
exchange program, which is total bullshit. You dishonored yourself by lying 
to people who are wearing Church collars, to people who trusted you as their 
leader. The relationship you might have had with them is now broken, because 
once you break trust, you’re dishonored and you can’t fix that.”

Cecilia was horrified to hear her normally docile fiancé speak to her with such 
cold confidence, as though he were a Priest who had spent decades in the 
Temple. The worst part of it was that she knew he was right. However, she 
couldn’t bear hearing such a harsh assessment from Jason. Her reaction was 
typical of her when she felt cornered, she counter-attacked. She tore off her 
engagement jewelry and threw it at him.

“Call me dishonored? Then you can take this shit and you can shove it up 
your ass!”

Jason said nothing, which infuriated Cecilia even more. Not knowing what 
else to say, she stormed off, assuming that she had just broken off their 
relationship. Jason calmly picked up the engagement necklace and hair-piece. 
It took him a few seconds to spot her ring, almost buried in the grass. He did 
not follow her and he did not try to shout anything after her. The truth was 
that Cecilia had indeed dishonored herself by lying to Carmen and the others, 
and she needed to understand that reality before she could attempt to repair 
the damage. He simply had told her the same thing that any Priest or Priestess 
would have told her. It was not his Path in Life to try to comfort her, because 
all that would accomplish would be to prolong her own self-deception. He 
loved her too much to tell her that her behavior was acceptable or that 
everything was going to be fine, when it wasn’t. 

Cecilia walked about 100 meters and stopped. She was totally horrified… how 
could that have happened? Jason… he was the only man she had ever loved… 
five years they had been together… and now… it was over… gone… just 
because she was pissed at him… 

She looked back. He was calmly standing right where she had left him. He 
had not chased after her, but he had not walked off either. He was still there, if 
she wanted to go back to him. But that decision would be hers to make. She 
would have to return to him. He would not be coming after her.

She knew that she had to go back. Without Jason her life really had no 
meaning, but to go back to him would be the hardest thing she could imagine 
doing. To go back would be to admit that she was wrong. She took a deep 
breath, summoned her courage, and slowly retraced her steps. As she got 
closer she could see him quietly holding her engagement jewelry in his hands. 
So, all along he had known she couldn’t leave. 

He waited until she was within arms’ length before holding up her hair-piece. 
She stood quietly as he worked it back into her hair. After her engagement 
necklace and ring were safely restored to their proper places on her body, he 
announced:

“I’m taking you to the Temple. Then you’re gonna need to go to Carmen’s 
place and tell her what’s really going on.”

----------

The Priestess was at her usual post in the Temple of the Ancients when Jason 
Schmidt brought in his forlorn-looking fiancé. As usual, he was completely 
naked and she was wearing a simple one-piece dress that was typical of the 
informal attire young Danubian women wore during the summer. As he had 
over the past four years, he knelt and put his head on the ground, rising when 
she gave him permission. Cecilia simply knelt upright, staring ahead with sad 
glassy eyes.

The Priestess had seen Cecilia and Jason together and separately many times 
over the past four years, so she knew both of them well. What was interesting 
to the cleric was that Jason had changed so much, while Cecilia had changed 
so little. The Priestess knew why. Jason had been performing Public Penance 
almost the entire time he had been in Danubia, while Cecilia had not. From 
the beginning it was obvious that Jason desperately wanted to free himself 
from the burdens he carried from his past. He understood what he needed to 
do, and he was willing to take any measure he or the Priestess felt was 
necessary for him to achieve that freedom. The most important part of the 
break from his past was his collar. Officially he might have declared himself 
property of the Danubian Church, but in doing so he had liberated his soul 
from all of the guilt and burdens he had brought with him from the US. He 
never could have experienced such freedom had he not accepted the collar.

Cecilia Sanchez’s concerns were always much more worldly. She was a 
competent and skilled program director, a good student, and a dedicated 
caretaker for host Victor Dukov and her nephew Pedro. She had learned a lot 
during her time in Danubia, but unlike Jason, her character had not undergone 
any real changes. After four years of being in Danubia, she was the same 
person she had been in the US, while Jason had grown and had become totally 
different. The Priestess could see that so clearly that she wondered how it was 
possible that Cecilia could be so blind to what had happened to her partner.

Even before Cecilia began speaking, the Priestess knew that, at the insistence 
of her fiancé, the Dominican had come to her to confess something she had 
done wrong. She also could tell that what Cecilia was about to do would be 
difficult for her. The Priestess decided not to immediately address whatever it 
was that was bothering Cecilia, but instead talk about what was going to 
happen the following day. Even though the stated purpose of the trip would be 
to obtain a simple confession and counseling for Criminal # 101025, everyone 
involved in the affair knew that the real purpose would be to find legal 
justification needed to get Maria Elena and the other Royal Servants away 
from the Grand Duchess and her predatory assistants. 

The Priestess had her sources within the Royal Household, so she also knew 
about the strange meetings between Anyia’s two Lords and mysterious groups 
of visiting foreigners. She momentarily let down her guard when she 
commented:

“The Creator has enlightened me that our task may be much more important 
than merely addressing what is going on within the Royal Household among 
the servants. It is not my Path in Life to make idle speculation about the 
people I work with and the tasks I must accomplish. I have access to 
information. I am fully aware of what is going on in that house; a dwelling 
that has become a refuge for the Destroyer. For that reason, I have asked the 
Prime Minister to accompany me, along with his son Vladik. The father and 
the brother of the Grand Duchess will be witnesses to her full disgrace.”

The Priestess turned to Cecilia: “The Destroyer has been active in the life of 
your friend. You must understand that tomorrow you will be speaking to a 
person who will be traumatized by what has happened to her. You must 
summon your strength and not be shocked when you see her.”

Cecilia understood that the moment had come for her to confess her own 
problem. In just a few sentences she related that she had lied to her students 
about Maria Elena’s situation to keep them from protesting and causing her 
embarrassment. As a result, the following week she faced being dishonored 
when Carmen and the others found out that their program director had 
deceived them about their friend’s situation. She concluded by saying she was 
deeply sorry for what she had done.

Cecilia expected the Priestess to give her an angry lecture about the evil of 
lying, but all she said was:

“You are kneeling here before me, so to me that means you are aware of the 
dangers of deceit. You understand what you did; you broke trust. I need not 
say anything more about that. I do know what you must do to minimize the 
damage you have done, and to regain the confidence of your students. But 
before I tell you what I believe you should do, I would like to comment about 
something, something about your country that has always troubled me.”

“What’s that, Priestess?”

“You Americans have a custom that strikes me as strange. A few minutes ago 
you used the word ‘sorry’ to express how you felt about the betrayal against 
the trust of your students. It is not a word I took seriously because I have 
heard it too often from the people of your country. You are always saying 
“sorry” for things, for things both trivial and significant. I understand that 
“sorry” is even posted on signs and recorded telephone messages. If one feels 
remorse over something one has done, how is it possible to express such 
sentiment on a piece of paper or a recorded device? How is such a thing 
possible?”

“I… it’s just kinda the way we do things, Priestess. I guess… so people won’t 
be mad…”

“So, in your country, people normally say ‘sorry’ when they want a problem 
they have created to disappear, for a wrong they have committed to be 
forgotten. But not to actually correct that wrong through their own initiative. 
Is that not so?”

“Yes, Priestess. That is so.”

“I asked you the question because I expect you to understand that the 
American word ‘sorry’ is a concept with no meaning. You would do well to 
abolish ‘sorry’ from your vocabulary and thoughts. There is no point in 
expressing remorse if that expression is not supported by action to remedy 
what you have done. Do you understand that?”

“Yes, Priestess.”

“The Creator does not forget, Cecilia Sanchez. A problem will not disappear 
unless you take specific action to correct what you have done.”

“Yes, Priestess.”

Cecilia cringed slightly, because she knew what was coming. She already 
knew she would have to put on a Temple collar and perform Public Penance. 
Wearing her collar, she would have to go over to Carmen’s house and confess 
what she had done. As difficult as it would be to appear in front of Carmen 
and her host family naked, approaching her while performing Public Penance 
would solve one problem for Cecilia. She would not have to try to find any 
words to apologize, because the collar would do that for her. All she needed to 
do was tell her student what had happened. Under the traditions of Danubian 
culture, because Cecilia was collared, it would be Carmen’s responsibility to 
forgive her.

“Stand.”

Cecilia stood up and the Priestess put her hands around her throat to measure 
her neck size. She wrote a number down on a small piece of paper and handed 
it to a Temple attendant.

“Kneel”

Cecilia knelt. The Priestess looked at her severely.

“Before we go to the fire-pit and before I ask you to surrender that dress you 
are wearing, I wish to make you understand something important. My 
impression is that you expect that I would allow you to perform Public 
Penance for a short time, as I have allowed for your students. You hope to 
properly express remorse for your deceptions, and then after the equinox, to 
resume your life as it has been up to today. That is your hope, is it not?”

Cecilia hesitated in answering, because that was indeed what she was 
expecting.

“Speak, Cecilia Sanchez. Answer my question.”

“Yes, Priestess… that is… kinda what I was hoping.”

“Then I want you to understand the condition of your Penance will differ from 
that of your fiancé. He is wearing the collar of his own free will. After 
knowing him for four years, I trust that he has the maturity of spirit to 
determine for himself when it is best to ask for release from his Penance. I do 
not believe that you have such maturity of spirit. Therefore I anticipate the 
Creator will communicate to me about the length of your Penance, not to you. 
If you accept the collar, you will wear it for a long time, not just a few weeks. 
The winter will come and the cold wind will punish your exposed body. 
Everyone in your life will see you, day after day, week after week, month 
after month, in your condition of Penance. It will be up to the Creator to 
enlighten me when you are to be released, and you are not to inquire about 
being released until that moment comes. Do you understand me?”

Cecilia was horrified. She had come to the Temple simply wanting to get her 
problem with Carmen and the other students resolved. What Jason had told 
her really seemed to make sense: just display remorse by being collared and 
tell the truth about what she did and what her motivations were for doing so. 
She would be naked for a few days, participate in the Day of the Dead 
ceremonies, and then she would get dressed and everything would be fine… 
or so she had thought… 

To the Priestess however, Cecilia’s deception was the manifestation of a much 
deeper problem in her soul. Cecilia Sanchez obviously suffered from an over-
developed concept of self-worth that could only be addressed through a 
lengthy time of Public Penance that had no fixed date for ending. The first 
thing Cecilia would have to surrender was the idea that she controlled her own 
future. She would remain collared for a long time; months, maybe years, 
maybe the rest of her life. She had to accept that reality and in doing so submit 
to the Will of the Creator.

“You will come, Cecilia Sanchez. You will come and you will submit.”

Cecilia followed the Priestess to the back of the Temple, with Jason trailing 
behind. The trio emerged onto the large platform in the rear and approached a 
circular fire-pit. Cecilia felt a pang of regret about the dress she was wearing, 
because it would be torn and burnt as part of the age-old ceremony submitting 
to Public Penance. Cecilia and Jason knelt as the Priestess took two items 
from a Temple attendant. One of the items was a small knife; the other was 
the collar that Cecilia would be wearing within a few minutes.

Cecilia stood as the Priestess quickly slit her dress down the front. The 
Priestess nodded to Jason, quietly ordering him to pull the ruined article of 
clothing off his fiancé's body. Another quick slash cut Cecilia’s panties, which 
Jason picked up. He handed both pieces of clothing to Cecilia. The Priestess 
prayed for a moment before ordering Cecilia to toss the ruined articles of 
clothing in the fire-pit. There was a flash as the burning coals consumed the 
cloth.

Cecilia also had to take off her shoes. A Temple attendant took them away. 
Unlike clothing, shoes were not tossed in the fire-pit, but still they were 
permanently surrendered to the Church. If the shoes were in good condition 
they were given to people who could not afford to buy new footwear.

Cecilia knelt and held the collar in front of her, contemplating the pending 
surrender of her freedom. She felt totally helpless, much more so than the first 
time she performed Penance four years before. She began crying as the 
Priestess placed her hands on her shoulders. A few minutes later the collar 
was locked on her neck.

----------

Cecilia Sanchez had two tasks to accomplish upon receiving her collar. The 
first was to go to Carmen’s house and explain what had happened with Maria 
Elena. Cecilia was extremely downcast as she confessed. Not only was she 
admitting to behaving dishonorably, but also the lack of clothing completely 
took away her self-confidence. She felt vulnerable and exposed, even though 
Carmen was just as naked as she was. Carmen quietly accepted Cecilia’s 
explanation. When the director finished, her student had a question:

“I was just kinda curious… how long are you gonna keep your collar?”

“I… I’m not sure. The Priestess said I wasn’t ‘sposed to ask about it… how 
long, I mean. I’ll have to wait until she says I can take it off.”

“Then I’m gonna keep mine, as long as you have to keep yours.”

Cecilia tried to hold back her tears.

“Carmen, I don’t want you to do that. You’ve got your own life to live. I 
fucked up… that’s what the Priestess told me. That’s not your problem.”

“You fucked up. But you’re trying to fix it. That’s what matters. So I will 
keep my collar as long as you have yours, and I will tell her that. The Priestess, 
I mean…”

----------

Cecilia had to return to the Temple. The Priestess released Jason, but flatly 
announced that Cecilia would not be going home that night. Instead the two 
women took a trolley to the outer edge of Danúbikt Móskt. They got off at the 
last stop and boarded a light-rail headed towards the provincial capitol of Rika 
Héckt-nemát. They got off at a junction leading towards Dagurúckt-Tók and 
in the darkness walked past several blocks of houses. Cecilia was terrified, 
being alone in the middle of the night in the countryside with the intimidating 
Clergy-woman. When they passed the last house, the Priestess stopped. 
Cecilia immediately knelt. The Priestess then did something that totally 
shocked the American: she pulled her dress over her head, exposing her 
statuesque figure.

“Rise, Cecilia Sanchez. Rise and fold my dress. We will walk, and you will 
carry my garment.”

Cecilia did as she was told. She took the dress that was the Priestess’s only 
worldly possession. Once the dress was folded, the Priestess showed Cecilia 
how to use the sash to properly tie it into a small bundle. With the dress safely 
folded, the two naked women set out walking in the direction of the Royal 
Residence along a dark country road. Adhering to Church protocol, Cecilia 
followed about five meters behind the Priestess. 

They spent the entire night walking in silence. At daybreak they stopped at a 
small Temple where they were greeted by two Priests. The Priestess put on 
her dress and prayed while Cecilia was allowed a breakfast of buttered bread 
and blackberry punch. Her feet were sore and raw from being without shoes, 
and she was desperately tired after having spent the entire night walking. 
However, there was no indication there would be any rest. 

The Priestess took a satchel of papers from her fellow-Clergy members, 
tapped Cecilia on the shoulder, and took off her dress for a second time. She 
handed her garment to the American. The two Priests approached Cecilia, 
stripped off their robes and also handed them to her to fold and carry. Cecilia 
would have to carry their hats as well. Cecilia later learned that it was 
common for Clergy members to strip off their garments if they had to walk 
long distances, and it was also common for Temple attendants or persons 
performing Public Penance to assist by carrying the clothing. The vestments 
were expensive and the Clergy members were expected to conserve them as 
much as possible. From the point of view of the Church, it did not make any 
sense for a Priest or Priestess to walk on a dusty road in Temple clothing, so 
the garments had to be taken off and carried.

Following ancient protocol the three naked Clergy members and their 
attendant continued their silent trek towards the Royal Residence. They 
walked in single file along the quiet road as the sun came up and the mist 
lifted from the countryside.

----------

As Cecilia continued on her painful and tiring journey with her Priestess, 
Officer Vladik Dukov put on his police uniform. He kissed his wife goodbye 
before getting into a police van that he had signed out from the National 
Police motor-pool the night before. He drove downtown to pick up his police 
partner before he retrieved his parents from the Prime Minister’s residence. 
The van stopped at the Temple of the Ancients to pick up Grand Prophet # 4. 
On their way out of town, the van stopped one final time, at the house of 
Spokeswoman Kimberly-Lee Dolkivna. 

Within a few minutes, Vladik drove up the same road that Cecilia and the 
Priestess had spent the entire night traversing on foot. They approached the 
front gate of the Royal Residence, where the three Clergy members were 
waiting with their exhausted attendant. 

The Clergy members had put their garments back on and quietly standing by 
the roadside. Cecilia was kneeling. Everyone stepped out of the van and knelt, 
including the Grand Prophet. The Priestess, because she was the one leading 
the group, remained standing.

“Oh Creator. We have come to you seeking the truth. We ask only the truth. 
We seek only the truth. You know what is in our hearts. We ask that we may 
proceed with humility, but also with the strength of will to carry out this 
tasking.”

The group knelt forward, touched their heads on the ground, and knelt upright. 
The Priestess continued:

“I ask something specific of you, Oh Creator. I ask you to speak to us through 
Criminal # 101025, the woman who was formally known as the Colombian 
Maria Elena Rodriguez-Torres. I ask that you speak to us through her, and that 
once you have spoken to us through her, you safely deliver her into our hands. 
That is my request, Oh Creator.”

The group knelt forward a second time, and then stood up.

The Priestess took the satchel, pulled out a copy of the letter granting 
permission to speak to Criminal # 101025, and with Cecilia walked up to the 
guard-post. She introduced herself to the guards. Cecilia expected an 
argument, but the gatekeepers immediately opened the gates to allow the 
group to pass. 

Cecilia realized the operation had been carefully planned and had the support 
from several people working inside the Royal Residence. Two uniformed 
guards showed up and saluted Officer Dukov and the Prime Minister. They 
led the Prime Minister, his wife, his son, and his son’s partner to the courtyard, 
pointing to a badly beaten young man hanging in the pillory. Vladik took 
several pictures for evidence before ordering the servant to be taken down and 
moved to the infirmary. As was typical, the punished servant had been left 
there all night.

Meanwhile, the Clergy members entered the Royal Residence along with Kim 
and Cecilia. Naked servants and uniformed staff rushed into the main hallway 
to see what was going on. The servants immediately knelt, but guards ran up 
to the group with their pistols drawn. The Priestess calmly passed out copies 
of the order allowing her to see Criminal # 101025 for a confession. The 
Priestess stated:

“I will pass unimpeded. If any of you wishes to shoot me, I challenge you to 
do so. I will fall, as any human will fall. But then the world will clearly see 
which Master you serve.”

The guards looked at the four Clergy members, then exchanged frightened 
glances with each other. Suddenly they holstered their weapons and knelt. 
Vladik and his partner entered the room leading several more guards.

“All guards, rise! Under the authority of the National Police of the Republic of 
Danubia, you are deputized to serve under the orders of this nation’s Prime 
Minister! You will do his bidding!

“Doc-Doc!”

The guards turned towards Vladim Dukov, who was just entering the room. 
The men saluted the Prime Minister. He saluted back.

“Secure this property immediately! I want no one to leave! I also expect that 
you will detain anyone attempting to enter! I am placing my trust in you, and I 
expect you not to fail in your duty to the nation!”

“Doc-Doc Dukov!”

Cecilia was dumbfounded by how quickly and how thoroughly the Royal 
Guards switched sides. They were not stupid; they knew the game was up. It 
was obvious the Prime Minister and the Clergy had defeated the Royal Couple, 
because otherwise they would not have dared set foot on the Royal Estate with 
such audacity. What certainly helped the Prime Minister was the presence of 
Grand Prophet # 4. To oppose the Prophet was to oppose the Church.

The Priestess turned to a couple of the trembling naked Royal Servants.

“Where is Criminal # 101025?”

One of the Royal Servants, the tall German girl with the tattoo on her ankle, 
pointed towards the holding cells. The Priestess did not wait. She ordered Kim, 
Cecilia, and two Royal Guards to accompany her. With the others trailing 
behind, she strode down a corridor, turned a corner, and descended a flight of 
old stone stairs. 

The Priestess and her four companions quietly opened a thick wooden door 
leading to the main basement hallway. As soon as the door was open they 
could hear a broken human voice attempting to bark.

Crack!

“Speak, you foul dishonored creature! Speak!”

There was another weak bark, followed by a vicious crack of the belt.

The Priestess silently pointed at the cell door, ordering one of the guards to 
open it. He snuck a key into the door, and quickly pulled it open.

The scene shocked the Spokeswoman and Cecilia, but it was typical of what 
Maria Elena had been enduring over the past week. She was strapped to the 
copulation table, her body covered with fresh welts. She was bleeding at the 
lip from having been slapped several times. Her hair was undone and her dark 
eyes full of tears. 

Lord Vidmarkt’s other servant was quietly kneeling, but she also had been 
slapped several times and, like Maria Elena, her hair had been undone. She 
looked up, bewildered, as soon as the door opened.

The Lord was naked as well. He struggled to pull on his pants and screamed at 
the guards:

“What is the meaning of this? What is that Priestess doing, violating the 
sanctity of Royal Household? What is she doing on this property? Remove her, 
immediately!”

One of the guards responded:

“My Lord, the Prime Minister of Danubia is upstairs, along with Grand 
Prophet # 4. We escorted the Priestess and the Spokeswoman to this room at 
their behest.”

“What is this madness? You are Royal Guards! Your duty is to serve the 
Grand Duchess! I order you to arrest those women! They have invaded…”

“My Lord, we will not. We are no longer under your orders. We are serving 
under the National Police, with the blessing of the Church.”

The Priestess held up a copy of the Criminal #101025’s confession letter.

“Lord, do you recognize this document?”

The Lord went pale, but denied ever having seen it. The Priestess commented:

“Lord Vidmarkt, you are a dishonored liar. You have indeed seen several 
documents similar to this one, documents we sent with servants that have been 
called upon to live in the Royal Residence. All of those documents 
disappeared. We of the Clergy tired of the tendency your staff has for losing 
things that are important to us, so this time we took the liberty of making 
copies. That is what justified my coming here today with my translator. This 
woman will be released, and I will hear her confession and counsel her. You 
will adhere to your duty, just as I will adhere to mine.”

The two guards pulled out their pistols and pointed them at the still 
incredulous Royal Official:

“You will do as the Priestess has ordered, my Lord. You will allow the 
criminal to be counseled by the Clergy.”

The Priestess stood straight, with her hard eyes tearing into Anyia’s confidant. 
The full wrath of the Church was in her expression.

“Let me repeat what I just told you Lord Vidmarkt, in case you missed it. You 
are a dishonored liar.”

The shock of hearing a member of the Danubian Clergy calling him the worst 
thing a person could be called in Danubia momentarily stunned Lord 
Vidmarkt. Before he could react, the Priestess ordered the guards to grab him 
and push him into a holding cell, the same cell where Maria Elena had been 
kept. Meanwhile, Kim ordered Cecilia and the other servant to unbuckle 
Criminal # 101025’s bonds and help her off the table. 

The Priestess led her entourage towards the exit, minus one guard who would 
remain behind to secure the area and keep the Lord from attempting to escape 
from his holding cell. Kim was relieved that Maria Elena was in such bad 
condition; because there was no doubt that the Priestess had plenty of 
justification to transfer custody back to the Ministry of Justice. Maria Elena 
had endured a week of horror, but it now was over and she would have the 
rest of her life to recover. 

The main hallway of the Royal Residence was empty except for a couple of 
deputized Royal Guards. The guards told the Priestess that the Prime Minister 
had ordered everyone to assemble in the throne room. When the group entered 
the ornate chamber, it was obvious that the Prime Minister was completely in 
control. The Royal Servants were quietly kneeling in formation along one side 
of the room, while the uniformed members of the household staff where 
standing on the other side of the room, opposite the servants. It was clear that 
many of the regular staff were angry or upset but, like the guards, they fully 
understood it would be foolish to oppose the Prime Minister if he had the 
support of the Church.

Kim and the Priestess saluted the Prime Minister, who saluted back. Kim 
motioned for Maria Elena and the other servant to kneel. When Cecilia 
remained standing, Kim snapped:

“You too, Cecilia. You’re collared, so get on your knees.”

Embarrassment swept over Cecilia, because she had totally forgotten that she 
was naked and collared… and here she was, in front of the nation’s Prime 
Minister. Of course, Cecilia’s state of undress was the least of his concerns at 
the moment, but that did not make her feel any better. She knelt with the two 
servants; feeling totally exposed and remembering that the Priestess had told 
her she would be collared indefinitely.

At that moment Vladik and his police partner entered the room with the Grand 
Duchess, followed by four deputized Royal Guards and three additional Royal 
Servants. Anyia was completely naked, because her brother had pulled her out 
of bed. Her hands were cuffed behind her back, totally exposing her attractive 
body. The Grand Duchess was livid with rage and struggled viciously as she 
was brought into the throne room. When she saw that her entire staff had been 
assembled in the chamber she screamed:

“What are you dishonored creatures waiting for? Kill them! Kill them! Don’t 
you see what they’re doing to my Divine Honor? KILL THEM!!!”

The staff was terrified. Their instincts told them that they needed to rush to the 
aid of their Mistress, but a quick glance from Grand Prophet # 4 let them 
know they needed to stay silent.

Vladim and Maritza Dukov quickly tired of listening to their daughter 
screaming that they needed to be killed. The Prime Minister ordered his son to 
take the Grand Duchess outside and chain her to the whipping post.

“She can scream all she wants out there. Once she calms down we’ll bring her 
back inside and I will talk to her.”

Maritza accompanied the two cops as they took the Grand Duchess outside 
and chained her. Her arms were immobilized above her head and her feet were 
spread and chained to the ground. She was chained facing the post, leaving 
her backside exposed and totally vulnerable. She was incredulous over what 
was happening to her and still did not realize that now she was as helpless as 
any of the servants she had flogged over the time she had worn her crown. 
Undeterred, she screamed with blind rage and continued to hurl insults and 
threats. 

----------

Anyia’s distant shouting in the courtyard reminded the Priestess that she had 
not yet taken care of Maria Elena’s confession. That confession was extremely 
important, because it was to be the justification for the Church’s authorization 
for Vladim Dukov to move against the Royal Family and occupy their estate. 
Already the day was not going according to plan, because originally it had 
been the intention of the Church that the servants would be removed from the 
Royal Estate before any action was taken against the Grand Duchess.

The criminal still was in shock over the treatment she had received from Lord 
Vidmarkt and her sudden rescue. The Priestess instructed Cecilia to tell Maria 
Elena that she would need to calm down as quickly as possible so she could 
confess and be counseled. Cecilia added:

“Whether or not we can get you out of here depends on how badly you’ve 
been treated. If you haven’t been treated badly enough, we’re gonna have to 
leave without you. So make sure you tell the Priestess… in as much detail as 
you can remember, what they did to you over the past week.”

What Cecilia had told Maria Elena was a stretch of the truth, because it was 
obvious that even without a formal statement she had been treated atrociously. 
The Priestess walked in on her at the moment she was being raped, which was 
enough justification for an immediate transfer of custody. However, Cecilia 
wanted to be sure that Maria Elena shared whatever salacious information she 
had on the Duchess, partly to justify the release of the other servants and 
partly to make sure Lord Vidmarkt could be formally prosecuted.

Maria Elena tearfully nodded. One of the accompanying Priests found a small 
reception room with a thick door that could be locked. Although the original 
plan had been to counsel Maria Elena off-site, the Priestess decided that there 
was no time to move the servant and that her statement needed to be taken 
immediately. She ordered Kim, Cecilia, and the Priest to accompany her and 
serve as witnesses. She ordered Cecilia to bring a pitcher of water and a glass. 
Although by that time Cecilia was about to collapse from fatigue, she knelt, 
placed her head on the floor, and then rose to go to the kitchen to get water for 
Maria Elena.

Cecilia entered the room and knelt with the water in front of Maria Elena, who 
was sitting on an elaborately carved wooden chair. The punished servant 
gratefully took the glass and emptied it. It was the first time in nearly a week 
she had not been forced to drink out of a bowl. The Priestess spoke and 
Cecilia translated:

“The Creator asks only one thing of you, that you tell me of you experiences 
over the past week in this house. You must tell me what has happened to you. 
No detail is too trivial. Something that you think is small may turn out to be 
extremely significant.”

Maria Elena sadly nodded. Under normal circumstances the Priestess would 
have chided her for nodding instead of answering properly, but she knew that 
protocol was not something to worry about at the moment. She ordered 
Cecilia to take a seat. Then she knelt in front of Maria Elena and took her 
hands. The other Priest and the Spokeswoman sat on a sofa with notebooks 
and pens, because they would be serving as official witnesses.

The Priestess began by getting Maria Elena to talk about what was happening 
the moment she was rescued. Within a few minutes the complete story of Lord 
Vidmarkt’s cruelty and debauchery had been documented. Kim realized that 
there easily was enough information in Criminal # 101025’s statement to 
press charges against him for sexual abuse. Additionally, there were other 
witnesses, the other servants with whom she had been forced to humiliate 
herself.

The Priestess moved on to the first day Maria Elena was in the Royal 
Residence and her treatment at the hands of Anyia. The Priestess was 
especially interested in hearing about the incident with the two male servants 
and the fact one had been forced to perform oral sex on the other, on the direct 
orders of the Grand Duchess. Kim knew that there was plenty in that incident 
alone which would allow charges to be filed against Anyia, and the 
Colombian had witnessed several other incidents that were only slightly less 
perverted.

The conversation moved onto the more trivial details of life in the Royal 
Household. Even in the most mundane activities of daily life at the Royal 
Residence, Anyia’s utter contempt for her servants was clearly evident. 

Maria Elena’s portrayal of the Grand Duke was more neutral. The Grand 
Duke was totally detached from what his wife was doing, eager to go out with 
his three servants and play golf, or polo, or play soccer with nobles or Royal 
Guards. Undoubtedly he was at least vaguely aware of what Anyia was doing 
with the other servants, but he did nothing to rein her in. He was attached to 
her and did not want to offend her, but more importantly, his mind was lazy 
and he had no desire for any confrontations. However, she never had seen him 
act abusively towards a servant, which was why those three favored women so 
desperately stuck close to him. 

The Priestess then sought information about the various meetings between 
Anyia’s assistants and their business associates. She allowed Maria Elena to 
go at her own pace, because she knew the meetings were far more important 
for the future of Danubia than anything else Maria Elena had witnessed. The 
Priestess extracted, in minute detail, everything the servant had seen that 
proved the connection between the two Lords and Mega-Town Associates. 
She teased out of the girl’s shattered memory physical descriptions of the 
visitors and even some names. As she desperately copied Maria Elena’s 
statements into her notebook, Kim was amazed at how skillfully the Priestess 
conducted the interview and extracted information. 

Kim had expected the interview to end with lengthy prayers, but the Priestess 
kept that part of the confession brief. There would be plenty of time to pray 
later. Instead she asked her superior, Grand Prophet # 4, to enter the reception 
room. With him present, she signed the document that officially sanctioned 
the return of Criminal # 101025’s custody to the Ministry of Justice. Kim put 
a metal tag on the ring in Maria Elena’s collar which had the Ministry of 
Justice emblem on it. Cecilia explained to Maria Elena that, as of that moment, 
Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna was her provisional custodian. The 
custodianship would become permanent during a court hearing the next day. 

Maria Elena was surprised that she did not feel much emotion at that moment. 
She would have expected to be elated, or angry, or vengeful, or… something. 
But she really felt little because she was exhausted and psychologically 
drained. The only thing in her mind was that it was extremely important not to 
get separated from Kim or Cecilia. Until the actually left the Royal Residence, 
the promise of transfer would remain only that, dream based on a promise. 

----------

Kim decided to send Cecilia and Maria Elena to the infirmary so they could 
get some rest. It was obvious that Maria Elena was terrified of being separated 
from Kim, but the Spokeswoman and the Priestess had a busy day ahead of 
them. Cecilia entered the infirmary and passed out on one of the medical beds. 
Maria Elena sat next to her sleeping translator. She was terrified of being 
seized and pulled away from Cecilia. If it had been possible, she would have 
chained their collars together to make sure one could not be moved without 
the other. She waited, curled up on the foot of the bed with her arms around 
her knees, for the final order that would take her away from the mansion 
where she had spent the most hellish week of her life.

Criminal # 101025’s statement had been taken, but now Spokeswoman Lee-
Dolkivna had to obtain corroborating statements from other Royal Servants. 
She and the Priestess had planned to transfer all of the servants from the Royal 
Residence based on the initial testimony of her client, but she could not 
remove them as a group; she had to interview them one by one and the 
Priestess had to sign release documents one by one. That meant a total of 30 
interviews. The local Temple helped out by sending over five additional 
Priests and Priestesses to help with the confessions and taking statements. The 
Clergy members would work in two-person teams, one conducting the 
interview and the other transcribing. If there was anything of legal interest for 
the Ministry of Justice, Kim would have to be called in.

Dukov was concerned about the paltry representation by the Ministry of 
Justice at the Royal House; just one Spokeswoman and a few police officers. 
However, he wanted to keep the affair as quiet as possible and transfer the 
servants before any scandal broke out. The following day they would be 
returned to their former Spokespersons and more detailed statements could be 
taken later in the week. At the moment the only issue that concerned the 
Prime Minister was obtaining Church sanction to dispossess his daughter of 
her slaves.

The Clergy members stood in front of the kneeling servants and explained that 
they had come to take confessions. Several of the servants had waited to 
confess for months, but to their dismay had never seen a member of the 
Clergy. The Priestess told the criminals what had happened, that the Royal 
Household kept “losing” the confession requests, and used the lack of 
documentation as an excuse to turn away Clergy members that had shown up 
at the gate. Then she held up a copy of Criminal # 101025’s letter and 
explained how the Church finally had outwitted the Grand Duchess and her 
advisors. When she asked which servants wanted to confess first, the majority 
immediately raised their hands. 

Prime Minister Dukov took a deep breath. There was no doubt his daughter’s 
reign of terror was finished. As he looked at the forlorn group of servants, 
anger swept over him at that thought that his own daughter had been capable 
of treating people entrusted to her in such a despicable manner. He 
remembered what he had said to Kim, that for the good of the nation and the 
tradition of the Royal Family she would escape the punishment she truly 
deserved, Life without Honor. However, she would pay for her crimes; he and 
the Clergy would see to that.

----------

While the Clergy members collected confessions and statements, Anyia 
remained chained to the whipping post in the courtyard. She screamed insults 
and threats at her captors, still indignant that she was immobilized naked to 
the same post where she had so often beaten her servants. 

The young woman’s mother and brother stood by, sadly watching her. Maritza 
finally tired of the spectacle and decided to attempt to get her daughter to calm 
down by reasoning with her. All Anyia had to do was be quiet and stop 
threatening everyone, and she would un-cuffed and released. Maritza 
approached her and placed her hand on the younger woman’s shoulder.

“Anyia… Anyia… please… you must stop this nonsense. I assure you that…”

At that instant the Grand Duchess made a mistake that considerably added to 
her troubles. She spat at her mother. As soon as she felt the spit hit her cheek, 
the last of Maritza’s patience vanished.

“Vladik, please remove your belt and pass it to me. Your sister has 
sufficiently dishonored herself and our family name.”

The officer did as his mother requested. He took off his heavy leather belt, 
removed the various police items that were attached to it, and passed it to 
Maritza. She calmly doubled the implement, tapped it to Anyia’s bottom, and 
struck hard. There was a tremendous CRACK and an enraged scream coming 
from the Grand Duchess.

“No daughter of mine will spit at me, Anyia! I don’t care what title you have! 
I don’t care that you are an adult! You remain my daughter and I am not to be 
dishonored in such a manner by the child I carried in my womb!”

With that Maritza struck hard a second time. The Grand Duchess pulled hard 
on her chains, as though she expected that her title would force them to give 
way. However, the whipping post and the belt did not care about Anyia’s title. 
The cuffs held her as tightly as they held her servants and the leather stung 
just as viciously. There was nothing more for her to do but scream. 
Unfortunately for her, she foolishly continued hurling insults at her mother 
and tried to spit at her again.

“You are the one who is restrained, my daughter. Not me. Spitting in your 
circumstances is stupid, but I guess I raised a stupid child.”

Maritza struck again, laying a third cruel welt across Anyia’s bottom. The 
helpless Grand Duchess screamed, but this time the scream was from pain, not 
rage.

“Anyia, throughout your adolescence your father and I were patient with you. 
We treated you with restraint and kindness, even though you were a willful, 
selfish, and difficult child. We believed that kindness was a trait that we could 
pass along to you, because your father and I had so little of it in our lives 
when we were young. Obviously, we were mistaken.”

CRACK!

Anyia screamed and sobbed, while her mother continued: “You chose not to 
pay attention to the lessons we tried to teach you. You left our household and 
turned into a person whose behavior far exceeds the simple definition of 
dishonorable.”

CRACK!

“You chose the Dark Path, my daughter. The Creator gave you everything you 
possibly could have wanted, and the only thing you did with all those gifts 
was to squander them and trample them.”

CRACK!

Maritza had no desire to stop flogging her daughter anytime soon. She was a 
patient woman, but she harbored nearly a decade of resentment, disgust, and 
anger at Anyia’s behavior. Even so, she would have stayed her hand, because 
the only reason Anyia was chained to the whipping post was to keep her under 
control and force her to calm down. No one had planned to inflict corporal 
punishment on her, but Anyia had done two foolish things. The first was 
screaming at the Royal Guards to kill Prime Minister Dukov and the others. It 
was a terrible shock to Maritza to realize that Anyia would have been 
perfectly capable of murdering her own parents and brother, had the guards 
acquiesced. However, what finally broke Maritza’s patience was the spit. To 
spit upon her own mother was the ultimate insult, the ultimate statement 
Anyia could have given to show how little regard she had for her parents.

“My child, you will suffer for spitting on me. I will make you regret that, just 
as I will make you regret trying to kill me. You will learn all about regret, 
Anyia.”

CRACK!

While Anyia screamed and let out a pitiful cry, Maritza turned to Vladik.

“Bring the Royal Household staff. Bring everyone in this household who is 
not in confession so they can bear witness to what is happening to their 
Mistress. Remind them that under the rules of the Crown, no one may raise a 
hand against a member of the Royal Family except a relative. I am this girl’s 
natural mother; therefore I am within my rights and my obligations to punish 
her.”

A few minutes later, almost everyone from the Royal Household, staff, 
servants and guards, had entered the courtyard to watch the Grand Duchess 
being punished by Maritza. Anyia wailed with despair and humiliation, but 
she no longer tried to threaten anyone. Her imperious facade broke; she 
ceased being the Grand Duchess and returned to being Anyia Dukov. She 
became nothing more than a dishonored young woman who had insulted her 
mother and was being punished for her misdeeds. Everyone present clearly 
saw the change in their Mistress. 

CRACK!

Anyia cried every time her mother struck her, but no longer did she threaten 
anyone. She realized that the others no longer saw her as Divine and that no 
one was coming to her aid. Her mystique had been broken, broken by her own 
parents. The only reality in her life now was the belt and the pain tearing into 
her bottom… and the sobs and tears rolling down her cheeks.

Vladim Dukov came into the courtyard just as Maritza was finishing their 
daughter’s punishment. The young woman’s bottom was deep red and swollen. 
Maritza quietly handed the belt to Vladik, who put it back on. Anyia 
continued to sob while Vladik reattached his police gear to his belt.

Maritza touched her daughter on the shoulder for a second time:

“Anyia… I’d like to release you from your punishment. It is painful to me to 
see you like this. But I need to know if you are ready to change your behavior. 
You have no right to threaten me, or your father, or your brother. And you 
certainly had no right to threaten and abuse those who tried to serve you.”

Anyia continued crying, but tried to nod. Maritza continued:

“My daughter, a period of your life has come to an end. I want to loosen your 
bonds, but you have to understand that your Path in Life has changed. You 
must acknowledge that before I release you. Now… are you ready to be 
released?”

“Yes… yes, Mother…”

“Very well, my child… I will let you down from the whipping post.”

Maritza unhooked Anyia’s cuffs. The broken young woman no longer was 
restrained, but she had to remain standing in front of her household. She was 
naked, her bottom covered with painful welts, and her face covered with tears. 
The servants saw their former Mistress as they had seen each other after their 
beatings. The only difference was that, unlike the whippings administered to 
her servants, Anyia’s punishment was well-deserved.

----------

A few minutes later a city bus that had been commandeered by the Ministry of 
Justice pulled up in front of the Royal Residence to take away the former 
Royal Servants. They would be transported to the Central Police Station and 
kept overnight in holding cells. The following day they would be formally 
transferred, re-collared with Ministry collars, and turned over to their 
Spokespersons to resume their lives as ordinary criminals. They would not 
speak about their ordeal to anyone outside the Ministry of Justice, for a simple 
reason. Dukov announced that as long as they all stayed quiet about had gone 
on in the Royal Residence, their scheduled judicial switchings would be 
cancelled for the remainder of their sentences.

Once the bus departed, Vladim Dukov addressed the uniformed staff:

“I want this whipping post taken down and disassembled. I also want the 
pillory taken down. Take the lumber back to the carpenter’s shop and see if it 
can be re-used for something more productive.”

----------

Maritza took her stricken daughter to a small guest room in the Royal 
Residence and ordered a guard to lock both her and the Grand Duchess inside 
the room. Maritza would take charge watching over Anyia until her situation 
was resolved. Anyia did not resist. She quietly let her mother take her into the 
small room where she would be kept as a prisoner. She asked if she could 
have a dress, but Maritza replied:

“My daughter, a dress is not something you should be concerned about right 
now. I doubt you will ever wear clothing again.”

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister was busy talking on the phone with various 
police officers. The Grand Duke was on a hike and still needed to located and 
brought back to the Royal Residence. The second Lord assisting the Grand 
Duchess also needed to be located and detained, along with the Mega-Town 
executives. Later Dukov would need to figure out what to do with the salaried 
staff of the Royal Residence. Resolving custody of the Royal Servants and 
locking up Anyia was only the beginning.

----------

While he waited for his police officers to return his calls, the Prime Minister 
entered the throne room with the Priestess. The ornate chamber was now 
totally empty. The two officials contemplated the thrones, especially the one 
that had been used by Anyia.

“They’ve been with us so long, Priestess… ever since the Epoch of the 
Ancients… the same family… 3,000 years… in their time they were heroes, 
they were considered Divine… and now… what has become of all that… an 
empty house… a dishonored girl locked up in a room with her mother… a 
couple of treasonous Lords who will face the firing squad… and a dilettante 
on a hike. This is how 3,000 years will conclude…”

“Everything comes to an end, Prime Minister. Three years or 3,000 years… 
long or short… In the end it doesn’t matter. Ultimately it is the Destroyer who 
is tasked to bring closure to all… to all life, to all material goods, and to all 
dreams. The Destroyer concludes everything. You were a fool to think the 
Royal Family would be any different. You are also a fool to take blame upon 
yourself.”