The Freshman
Copyright 2005 by EC

Chapter 21 - A problem, a question, and a solution

The following day the reception area of the University Memorial 
Center was reserved for conferences and the visiting Danubian 
leaders. The university president, the governor, and several 
local politicians and union leaders awaited the foreign 
delegation, while Cecilia Sanchez and Cynthia Lee stood waiting 
with the group of graduate students. A large banner hung in front 
of the building with the inscription:

Doc-Doc Danube! – Our university welcomes our Danubian guests

The Danubians arrived in a convoy of cars owned by the 
university. There were no limousines, because the Prime Minister 
was concerned that riding around in a limousine on an overseas 
trip while many of his own citizens still were without adequate 
housing would not be appropriate. Prime Minister Dukov and his 
daughter Anyia got out of the university president's car 
together, followed by about 20 other members of the party. 
Dukov's appearance was not imposing at all. He was dressed in a 
very ordinary business suit. He looked like he was in his mid-
50s, average height and stature, his hair closely cropped, and 
very ordinary features. Still, even at a distance, Cecilia could 
tell there was something about him…something in his character 
that set him apart. 

As previously instructed, a student from the Music School 
unrolled one of the Danubian flags, clipped it to a staff, and 
passed it to the Prime Minister's daughter. Anyia was wearing a 
traditional Danubian dress and had her hair braided in the 
traditional Danubian style. However, being only 17, she looked 
somewhat uneasy standing in a foreign university in her formal 
attire. Anyia took the flag, briefly knelt, and then stood up 
facing eastwards holding the staff to the side at a 45-degree 
angle. Then she did something that shocked the US audience: she 
let out an ear-piercing whistle. The delegation immediately faced 
to the east, placed their right fists against their left 
shoulders, and shouted:

"DOC-DOC DANUBE!"

That was the cue for the university band to start playing the 
military prelude to the Danubian national anthem. There was a 
pause, and then Anyia crisply tilted the flag upright while the 
band played an ancient-sounding tune which was sung by the guest 
singer from California. Dukov and his party stood at attention 
with their fists pressed against their left shoulders while his 
daughter continued to hold the flag upright.

The U.S. anthem was played next. The Danubians stood quietly at 
attention while their hosts sang. The exchange of anthems was 
followed by several welcoming speeches by the university 
president, the state governor, and the director of Burnside's 
economic foundation. Dukov then stepped forward and thanked his 
hosts in accented, but very correct English. He introduced the 
members of his cabinet who had accompanied him. His Minister of 
Finance and his Minister of Foreign Relations stood behind him, 
but also present was the Danubian Minister of Education and the 
Minister of Health. Each minister had a translator and two 
assistants. There were no relatives on the trip, just members of 
the government. As for the Prime Minister's daughter, even her 
presence had an official purpose. Danubian tradition mandated 
that during an official ceremony the national flag had to be 
presented in the hands of an unmarried young woman, preferably 
either a member of the Danubian Royal Family or the daughter of 
the most important public official present. 

Although Dukov's visit officially was a private trip, his reasons 
for travelling to Chicago were not private at all. He knew that a 
systematic effort to rebuild the fire-damaged regions of his 
country could not wait much more than a few months, since many of 
the fire victims still were living in temporary housing two years 
after having been burnt out of their homes. However, he also knew 
that a reconstruction plan not centered around a solid economic 
development policy would be a huge waste of money and in the long 
run do more harm to the region than good. A "quick fix" had been 
the campaign strategy of his opponents in the previous year's 
election. He had dismissed a "quick fix", but he knew the people 
of the eastern regions had waited long enough. The area's 
economic infrastructure needed to rebuild, and the rebuilding 
would at least have to be well underway by the end of the next 
summer.

Prime Minister Vladim Dukov had chosen to visit Chicago for a 
specific reason. Ruth Burnside, Jim Halsey, and several other 
leading economists at Cecilia's university were members of a 
major national economic think-tank called the Greater Mid-Western 
Foundation for Economic Development and International 
Cooperation. Because of the institution's cumbersome name, 
everyone simply referred to it as "the Foundation". What set the 
Foundation apart from most other US economic think tanks was the 
organization's cautious approach to globalization and its 
members' rejection of purist Neo-Liberal philosophies. Dukov 
wanted to develop an economic strategy for his country that would 
assure that modernizing the Danubian economy would not undermine 
the country's famed social stability. The Foundation's philosophy 
matched the overall philosophy of the new Danubian government, 
and Dukov came to Chicago looking for advice that he could apply 
in his own country. His Minister of Finance was an economist, and 
prior to his current assignment, had been the Director of 
Economic Studies at the National University in Danube City. He 
was ready to discuss economic theory with his hosts, with the 
hope there would be a follow-up meeting later in the spring 
between Foundation members and a delegation from the Danubian 
Ministry of Finance. 

It turned out that Dukov's visit was more ambitious than his 
hosts had envisioned, because he wanted to address much more than 
the redevelopment of his country's fire-damaged regions. He 
approached the mayor of the city with his Minister of Health, 
asking that the official, his translator, and his two assistants 
be given a complete tour of the city's drug zones and briefings 
about what local officials were doing to reduce Chicago's drug 
problem. He then approached the president of the university and 
separated the Minister of Education from his group, asking the 
two officials to discuss the prospects of a student exchange 
between his hosts' institution and the National University in 
Danube City. 

With his Ministers of Finance and Foreign Relations, Dukov 
approached the faculty members of Economics Department and asked 
about the meeting schedule. He passed copies of the schedule to 
his two ministers, translated some of their questions into 
English to clarify what actually would be happening at the 
meetings, and asked his hosts to try to expand the range of 
topics to be covered over the next week. 

Burnside and her associates looked at each other in surprise. 
Dukov obviously was a man on a mission. There was nothing rude or 
abrasive about his behavior, but he was making it clear to 
everyone that he was taking his visit very seriously and wanted 
to get the most out of his week in Chicago. He was not interested 
in socializing; he was interested in getting help and advice for 
his government.

However, Dukov's humble origins became clear as he made it a 
point to greet everyone present, professors, graduate students, 
and assistants alike. Cecilia and Cynthia Lee were standing in 
the group of graduate students. Dukov greeted the graduate 
students right after he shook hands with the professors. He very 
warmly greeted Cynthia, obviously holding back the urge to give 
her a big hug from one close friend to another. Then he greeted 
Cecilia.

"I understand you are Kimberly's friend Cecilia Sanchez?"

Cecilia's heart jumped at being referred to as "Kimberly's 
friend" and at the simple fact the Danubian Prime Minister 
already knew who she was.

"Y…Yes, Prime Minister Dukov…I'm Cecilia."

"I am quite pleased to meet you. Kimberly informed me that you 
have been of considerable assistance to her musical endeavors, so 
I consider your presence here an honor."

Again Cecilia's heart jumped. "Th…Thank you, sir. I'm very 
honored to meet you as well."

"Very well, Cecilia. I would be pleased if you could accompany 
Cynthia to have dinner with us tomorrow night. Also, Kimberly 
entrusted a package to me, which she asked me to deliver to you. 
You may retrieve it from Anyia…my daughter, you will understand."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

With that he passed her a card, an invitation to a formal dinner 
the next night. He warmly shook her hand, and moved on. Ruth 
Burnside, who had overheard the exchange, glanced at her with a 
completely perplexed expression. Her little sophomore scholarship 
student, who just two years before had been living in a New 
Jersey public housing project, had been invited to have dinner 
with the leader of a nation.

For several long minutes Cecilia had a very hard time getting her 
breath back, she was so excited. 

----------

That night Dukov gave a press conference, facing down hostile 
reporters who asked critical questions about his government's 
independent foreign policy, his confrontations with Mega-Town and 
other major trans-national corporations, and Upper Danubia's 
human rights record. He was asked about his government's 
widespread use of forced public nudity and periodic corporal 
punishments to discipline convicted criminals. He responded: 

"My nation's attitude towards punishing criminals has remained 
the same for many years. Life for a convicted criminal in our 
country is not pleasant, but a pleasant existence is not the goal 
of our judicial system. The goal we have for the criminal is 
learning respect, learning how to reform, and learning how to 
lead a useful life, even while serving a sentence. We do not 
place people in cages. We do not cut them off from their families 
and from all usefulness to the community. Instead we strive to 
re-incorporate our criminals into society and return them to 
their families the day after they are sentenced. And is what you 
are suggesting more humane? Think about that. The Danubian nation 
is the only country in the world that has no jails or prisons. 
Before you critique our judicial system, I would ask you to 
compare how many criminals in the Danubian nation re-offend, and 
how many in the United States re-offend. I believe those 
statistics speak for themselves. Because of those statistics, I 
believe that our judicial system is far superior to yours. The 
United States criminal justice system has failed to protect your 
society, and its failure is evident for all of us to see quite 
plainly. If you still wish to condemn my country's judicial 
system, may I suggest that you are doing so based on your 
cultural preconceptions, and not on the facts? "

The more she heard Dukov speak, the more Cecilia admired him. He 
proved himself to be very hard-headed, but when he countered 
another person's argument, he made sure he understood the other 
person's opinion before giving his own. It became quite clear why 
Jason's father hated him so much, because he was not willing to 
give an inch unless he felt doing so would benefit the people who 
had elected him to be the Prime Minister of his country. What was 
worse for people like Mr. Schmidt and his clients was that Dukov 
combined his hard-headedness and shrewdness with strong personal 
values and idealism. He was surrounded by equally idealistic, 
shrewd and hard-headed traditionalists determined to defend their 
nation's society and values. If they stood in the way of some 
foreign company wanting to make money, that did not concern them 
in the least. 

After the press conference Cecilia and Cynthia sought out Dukov's 
daughter, who seemed a bit overwhelmed by her first trip 
overseas. Cecilia approached Anyia about the package, after 
Cynthia greeted her and talked to her for a few minutes in 
Danubian. Anyia spoke only a little English, not being nearly as 
fluent as her father. Dukov's daughter dug into a document 
carrier and handed over a cube-shaped package. Through the 
language barrier she struggled to explain:

"Geemberglee, she say me, I give music to you, Cecilek. Then you 
give music to boyfriend grandma. Please give to boyfriend 
grandma, and she listen to music."

The package was a box of CD's with a note on it. It read: 

"For Mrs. Schmidt. This is a complete collection of what our 
group has put out so far. I am happy that our music has brought 
pleasure into your life, and I hope you enjoy our latest CD's. – 
Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna # 98945".

----------

The next day Cecilia realized how important Dukov considered 
Cynthia Lee as the graduate student accompanied him from meeting 
to meeting. Cynthia found herself in the awkward position of 
relaying requests and orders to the professor hosting the 
conference, essentially being tasked by the Danubian Prime 
Minister to tell the sponsors what changes he wanted in the 
meeting venue as some of his questions were answered and others 
arose. The professors were somewhat irritated at having to take 
orders from a graduate student, but Cindy's importance in Dukov's 
life was undeniable. Without her, he would not have won the 
previous year's election.

As they got ready to have dinner with Dukov and his daughter that 
night, Cynthia relayed some interesting news to Cecilia, 
information that directly affected the road dispute between Upper 
Danubia and the EU that she had researched for Ruth Burnside. 
Kim's sister had gone over to Dukov's hotel the previous evening 
to have a private dinner with the Prime Minister and his 
daughter. Dukov confided that the reason his government had 
waited to begin reconstruction in the east was because he was 
hoping to resolve several problems simultaneously, of which the 
fire damage was only one.

Dukov's most important ambition was to formalize his country's 
southern border, and then form an alliance with his southern 
neighbor to re-negotiate the proposed commercial road on terms 
far more favorable to both countries at the expense of the rest 
of the EU. Because of its desire to secure its territory and 
obtain an ally, the government of Upper Danubia's southern 
neighbor was willing to negotiate a permanent border treaty that 
offered very good terms to the Danubians. 

The problem Dukov faced in formalizing the country's border was 
not the southern neighbor, but his own people. The Danubians had 
never fully accepted the loss of Lower Danubia to the Ottoman 
Empire in 1502. What complicated the country's territorial claims 
on the former Lower Danubia was a treaty signed with the Ottomans 
in 1896 that ceded a portion of Lower Danubia back to the Duchy, 
even though the territory in question no longer was under Turkish 
control at the time. What arose from that questionable treaty was 
an unrealistic hope of regaining Lower Danubia, even though no 
Danubians had lived there since the early 16th Century.

Dukov was willing to formally cede most of the territory in 
question to his southern neighbor. In exchange for abandoning the 
land claims, Upper Danubia would reclaim some actual territory 
and extend its southern border slightly. Included in the transfer 
would be some archeological sites, a couple of historic villages 
that had ancient Danubian architecture, two towns on the other 
side of the border that still were inhabited mostly by ethnic 
Danubians, and some surrounding farmland. Dukov hoped to exchange 
historical claims on a large area to regain a much smaller area, 
but one with significance for his country. He calculated that the 
Danubian Parliament would grudgingly accept the new treaty, if it 
meant actually returning the two towns and the historical sites 
back to Danubian control.

Dukov planned to sign a second treaty with his counterpart upon 
signing the border treaty. The second document would be an 
agreement for both leaders to jointly negotiate the planned trade 
corridor with the EU. Then, with the backing of the neighboring 
government, Dukov would re-open negotiations to build the road 
through eastern Upper Danubia. With the support of his neighbor 
as an ally, he then planned to drive as hard a bargain as 
possible for allowing construction of the road.

There was a single issue that had held up Dukov's plan. That 
concern was a 10th Century church, castle, and cemetery located 
on a hilltop in a small town called Sumy Ris, nearly 50 
kilometers south of the border. Sumy Ris was of huge historical 
significance to the Danubians, because its church was the first 
Christian church built in the Danubian kingdom and the cemetery 
contained the remains of several kings and bishops from the 
Middle Ages. No treaty that excluded regaining the site would be 
acceptable to the Danubian Clergy, but attempting to negotiate 
extending Upper Danubia's border that far south was completely 
unrealistic. Dukov was not particularly concerned about 
reclaiming the church given all the other problems he was trying 
to resolve, but he could not afford a confrontation with the 
Danubian Clergy.

Cindy Lee was totally disgusted at the problem.

"I can't believe how stupid people can be. The Danubians need 
that treaty. It's gonna give them almost everything they really 
want, but all they can think about is that stupid church. It's 
really a good treaty for them, and if they don't take it, the 
country's gonna get screwed later on."

----------

That night Cecilia's heart pounded when she saw the arrangement 
for dinner. There were four large tables for the four Ministers. 
Each Minister was to be seated at a separate table, with his 
assistants, translator, and the members of the Foundation or 
university faculty with whom he had been working throughout the 
day. As for Dukov's table, there were only eight seats. He would 
eat with his daughter and an administrative assistant, with 
Cynthia and Cecilia as his guests. The only other people at the 
table were a translator and an older couple who seemed to be 
close friends of the Prime Minister. Cecilia later learned they 
were Alexi Havlakt, who was a retired defense attorney with whom 
Dukov had worked many years, and his wife.

The purpose of the dining arrangement was to allow Dukov to talk 
privately with Cynthia, but also to allow him to talk to Cecilia. 
Upon learning Cecilia's life story he became interested in 
getting to know her better. Cecilia began by discussing her 
scholarship and her on-line relationship with Kimberly Lee, but 
soon she realized that Dukov was much more interested in hearing 
about her life while she was growing up. He discussed his 
thoughts about the US judicial system and wanted to know how 
Cecilia felt about her brothers' gang activities. He also was 
interested in knowing what set her apart from her peers and what 
drove her to graduate and escape from her neighborhood. As she 
confided her life story, Cecilia eventually realized what he 
wanted, as a former defense attorney he wanted her perspective on 
why US society had failed her family and her neighborhood. The 
Prime Minister never had met anyone like Cecilia Sanchez before. 
She stood out, and her experiences in life could give him a 
different view of the United States and an opportunity to learn 
more about the society's strengths and weaknesses.

The conversation shifted to Cecilia's research and the road-
building dispute with the EU. Cecilia talked about Jason's father 
and what she knew about Mega-Town Associates. Dukov probed 
Cecilia's knowledge, trying to get her perspective on the 
corporation that had attempted to take over his country. The 
conversation then shifted to the election and Cynthia's research 
for her dissertation. There was a lengthy discussion about 
Cindy's work, to which Dukov made several suggestions to help her 
improve the project.

Cindy was interested in talking about the negotiations on the 
border and the impasse over the church. As she previously had 
mentioned to Cecilia, Dukov was perfectly willing to leave the 
historical site out of the treaty, but the Danubian Clergy would 
not allow it. He sighed.

"You will understand that I have discussed the political dilemma 
with my counterpart, and of course, he has his own concerns that 
he shared with me. There are many people to the south who do not 
wish to surrender any territory to the Danubian nation, so he 
faces as difficult a situation surrendering territory as I face 
relinquishing our land claims."

Cindy then made an off-handed remark about a consulate located in 
Upper Danubia's southern neighbor, a sizable compound located in 
a provincial capitol Sókut Tok that had just relocated to better 
service Danubians traveling by land to visit places like Turkey 
and Greece. 

As desert was served, the idea of the consulate stuck in 
Cecilia's mind. Finally she had a question:

"Prime Minister Dukov, I was curious about somethin'. What would 
happen if you moved your consulate to that place where the church 
is…you know, like, buy that land and put your consulate there? 
Then you could put up your flag, but they wouldn't be givin' up 
any more land. Wouldn't that solve everybody's problem?"

Dukov froze; a fork full of dessert cake suspended in his hand. 
He looked at Cecilia.

"No one ever considered that. I have spoken to many people on 
this issue, but no one ever mentioned incorporating the church as 
part of a consulate. Yes indeed, that would allow us to regain 
sovereignty over the property with minimal sacrifice from our 
neighbors."

He translated Cecilia's question to Alexi Havlakt. The older 
man's face lit up. He looked over at her.

"Doc-doc harash dumalesh, Cecilek. Doc-doc harash dumalesh."

Cindy translated. "Mr. Havlakt thinks that's a great idea."

"So…sir…you mean, that no one ever thought about that?"

"No, Cecilia. The closest we ever came was suggesting a sovereign 
enclave in Sumy Ris, which, of course, was not acceptable to our 
neighbors. Our consulate in Sókut Tok is rather large, and I do 
not perceive there would be much difficulty surrendering its land 
for a piece of land in Sumy Ris that would be comparable in size, 
but of much greater importance to us."

With that Dukov told his assistant to fetch his Minister of 
Foreign Relations. He stood up and spoke to the Minister in 
Danubian, but Cecilia could make out the words: "consulatokt", 
"Sókut Tok", "Sumy Ris", and "Doc-doc". The Foreign Minister 
nodded and glanced at Dukov's guest with an approving expression. 
The two men then saluted each other. The Foreign Minister then 
returned to his table to excuse himself and left the room to make 
some phone calls to Foreign Ministry Office in Danube City.

The dinner ended only a few minutes later, but the Prime Minister 
had some final words for Cecilia.

"I have been very pleased to have you sit at my table, and share 
our time and knowledge. I would ask one more favor of you, that 
you honor us with your presence at the closing banquet Friday 
night. I will supply an invitation that you may retrieve from Dr. 
Halsey, for you and for a guest."

Cecilia, her eyes wide with excitement and her hands shaking 
slightly; bade goodbye to the Danubian Prime Minister. Once again 
she struggled to catch her breath as the Danubians withdrew from 
the room.

----------

The next morning Cecilia sat in Burnside's office as the two 
women discussed the dinner the night before. Cecilia summarized 
what had happened at Dukov's table and the apparent enthusiasm 
over her suggestion about moving the consulate from Sókut Tok to 
Sumy Ris. Burnside commented:

"I think that idea will fly. The reason I say that is the other 
side has a bunch of problems, including another pending border 
dispute. They need to get the Danubian border settled and move 
their troops, ASAP. They need to get Dukov on their side, and I 
think your consulate idea will give everyone a way out. The 
Danubians owe you one."

Burnside paused, and then leaned forward, looking intensely into 
Cecilia's eyes.

"Prime Minister Dukov likes to think outside the box. He's always 
looking around for new perspectives and experiences to bounce off 
his own knowledge, which is why I think he wanted to talk to you. 
And, you delivered. You came up with something that never 
occurred to anyone else. Move the consulate…what a simple 
solution; and no one thought of it. All I can say is I'm 
impressed with you, and I'm not shy about admitting that."

"I…I don't know what to say Dr. Burnside, except I do hope they 
get their problem solved, but anyhow, thanks for…what you said 
about me…"

Burnside gave Cecilia a somewhat ironic smile. "Well, don't let 
it go to your head. You did your good deed for the moment and now 
we'll be moving on. We do have a semester to finish up, don't 
we?"

With that Burnside, her TA, and her scholarship student headed 
off to the lecture room, carrying presentation supplies and a 
stack of pop-quizzes for the surviving freshmen remaining in the 
class.

----------

The regime of nightly massages and nightly orgasms continued 
throughout the week in Cecilia's room. No matter how late she got 
back from her duties at the conference, she expected Jason to be 
ready to come over, get undressed, and give her a lengthy massage 
followed by an orgasm. Following the orgasm she promptly went to 
sleep, forcing him to leave the room with his own sexual urges 
unfulfilled. Jason was disappointed, but he reminded himself that 
his purpose in life was to make her happy and to satisfy her 
needs. As for his own needs, he needed to learn self-discipline 
and appreciate the sexual satisfaction she was able to give him. 

Thursday, however, Cecilia was in the mood for something 
different. During her lunch hour she went to an adult toy store 
to look at their selection of restraints and discipline items. 
She did not have very much money on her, but she was determined 
to buy something with which she could experiment on Jason. 

She got into a conversation with a young woman working at the 
store. She confided about her relationship with Jason and how she 
was able to excite him by putting him over her lap. The store 
clerk showed her the store's selection of punishment implements. 
The clerk obviously was a masochist and had first-hand knowledge 
of how each of the implements felt on her unprotected bottom. As 
they conversed about the physical sensations each implement 
inflicted on its victim, the clerk gave her customer short 
lessons on how to use a cane, a crop, and a flogger. She gave 
Cecilia her personal perspective as a masochist as she discussed 
her own experiences at the hands of her lover, emphasizing the 
importance of balancing fear, anticipation, pain, and pleasure. 
Her client listened intently, realizing that the clerk's 
personality and needs were very similar to Jason's personality 
and needs.

Finally Cecilia settled on a leather paddle. The paddle was oval 
shaped and not large at all. It was about as long as a Ping-Pong 
paddle but slightly narrower. She liked the feel of the implement 
in her hand and the way it swung. It was just the right size to 
cover one bottom-cheek at a time and mark it with a pink oval. 
The implement seemed versatile, designed to either put a 
comfortable warm heat or a fierce sting in a sub's bottom, 
depending on how hard it struck its target. She hoped that it 
could be used both to arouse Jason and to punish him, depending 
on how hard she chose to hit. The clerk commented:

"I love that one; it's one of my favorites. I always get turned 
on when he spanks me with it. It puts a really nice heat in your 
ass without too much bruising. I think your boyfriend will like 
it too."

"So, I'm kinda curious…if you like it so much, what does your 
boyfriend use if he's pissed off at you?"

"The cane. If I do something that really pisses him off, he'll 
use the cane on me, and that I don't like at all. But, I try to 
be good, and he knows that, so I don't get the cane all that 
much."

----------

That night was the first night Cecilia told Jason to kneel while 
she went over Burnside's coursework with her. As he knelt on the 
floor nervously looking up at her, she gently brushed his cheek 
and ran her fingers through his hair. She then placed one hand on 
his shoulder and ran her other hand down his back, gently rubbing 
and patting his bottom to let him know that tonight he was due 
for a spanking.

Before she sat down to begin questioning him about the evening's 
coursework, she made an announcement that set his heart pounding.

"Jason, there's a reason I'm havin' you kneel tonight, 'cause I 
wanna try somethin' new. I'm gonna spank your cute bare bottom, 
but we're gonna do it a bit different. I'm not gonna put you over 
my lap, 'cause instead I got a leather paddle. And, 'cause we're 
using somethin' new, I'm gonna want to take some pictures, so 
I'll borrow your camera before we go back to my room."

"Y…yes, Cecilia."

He was very nervous, but also very excited. As she questioned him 
about Burnside's work, a furious erection pointed straight at her 
the entire time he knelt trying to answer.

Shortly afterwards they went back to her room, Jason only wearing 
a pair of shorts and a loose-fitting shirt. Once he was in her 
room he stripped off his clothes and dutifully hung them up. 
Cecilia took off her clothing as well. She didn't wait to have 
Jason strip her, because she was eager to try out the new paddle. 
She ordered Jason to position the room's armchair in the middle 
of the room and stand with his hands placed on the back. She 
instructed him to arch his back slightly and stick his bottom 
out. When he complied, she ordered him to turn his face to her. 
She took a picture of her lover with his digital camera from the 
back, then moved to the front to get him with his very erect 
penis sticking out in anticipation of the spanking.

She gently brushed his penis and testicles with her fingertips, 
and then picked up the paddle and showed it to him. She touched 
it to his trembling bottom and slowly moved it around in circles.

"It feels kinda different from my hand, doesn't it?"

"Yes, Cecilia."

"So you think you're a bad boy? Bad enough for the paddle on your 
bare, naked bottom?"

"Yes, Cecilia…I'm a bad boy and I need the paddle. Please spank 
me."

"You're askin' for it, so you must be very naughty. But then, 
that's why you have such a cute butt, for lots of hard spankings. 
I'm gonna spank that naughtiness right out of you."

Cecilia positioned herself, tapped his left bottom cheek, and 
smacked it with a loud POP! The sensation was different from 
either the belt, which was much more painful and concentrated, or 
her hand, which was somewhat less intense. Instead, the smack 
covered Jason's bottom-cheek with a hot tingling that, to his 
surprise, he really enjoyed. A second hard smack on his right 
bottom cheek matched the burning on the left side. It hurt, but 
at the same time was quite enjoyable.

Cecilia spanked on alternate sides: 
left…right…left…right…left…right. As always, she took her time, 
making sure he could feel each swat separately and appreciate it. 
After delivering 10 blows, she stopped to take pictures of the 
pink glow on Jason's bottom and the intensely excited expression 
in his face. The hot burning only increased with the next 10 
swats, which in turn were followed by another set of pictures. 
Cecilia wanted to document the progressive reddening of Jason's 
bottom and the impact the spanking was having on his emotions. 
What she really liked was the even color the paddle was leaving 
on his bottom…there were no welts or stripes, just a solid, even, 
deep pink completely covering both sides and sharply contrasting 
with the unpunished skin of his back and upper thighs.

Cecilia stopped after the 40th swat. She took some final pictures 
and then ordered Jason to stand with his feet spread and his 
hands behind his head for even more pictures. He was very, very 
aroused. He couldn't believe how much that intense burning sting 
excited him.

She then ordered him to lie on her bed on his back. His furious 
erection bobbed up and down as she tore open a condom packet and 
positioned the condom over his penis. Then she mounted him, 
pinning his hands above his head as she impaled herself on his 
very stiff organ. She clenched her teeth as she looked into his 
eyes and dug her fingernails into his wrists. He pushed up into 
her as hard as he could, totally aroused by the hot sting still 
burning in his punished bottom. Oh…this was good…a perfect 
combination of physical sensations. This was really good…

When they were finished they cuddled as usual. They were 
exhausted and spent, she from the grueling conference schedule, 
and he from tutoring his friends and other students. He also had 
been tensed up from not having been allowed to have sex with her, 
but now he understood what her reason had been for making him 
wait. As usual, she seemed to know how to give him truly 
exquisite pleasure, by making him build up his desire by being 
patient throughout the week. She then brought out his desire as 
she worked up his emotions with that wonderful spanking. He was 
surprised himself that he would find a spanking from a leather 
paddle so enjoyable, but then, that was why Cecilia had taken 
charge of his life. She knew him better than he knew himself.

----------

The following evening was the final reception of the Danubians 
before their departure for Washington DC. Cecilia wore her 
Danubian formal gown and had her hair braided in Danubian style. 
Jason accompanied her, properly dressed in a dark gray business 
suit and conservative red tie. She took his arm and led him 
around the room, introducing him to the people with whom she had 
worked over the last couple of weeks preparing the visit. 

When Cecilia talked to Burnside and Halsey, she still had Jason's 
arm locked in her own. The professor glanced at Jason, and then 
gave her scholarship student a knowing look. With a single look 
at the young couple she had figured it out. So the Sanchez girl 
had a partner, one who was submissive to her. Good job, Cecilia, 
she thought to herself. Way to go.

That night the Prime Minister was busy talking to everyone in the 
room, so the intimate dinner table conversation he shared with 
Cecilia on Tuesday was not going to be repeated. Cecilia and 
Jason sat with the other graduate students while Jim Halsey and a 
couple of other Foundation representatives spoke about their 
hopes for Upper Danubia's future. The Danubian ambassador to the 
US spoke next, thanking the university for its hospitality and 
announcing Dukov's pending speech to the National Press Club for 
the following Monday before flying back to Europe. Finally Dukov 
himself spoke, thanking the university, the city of Chicago, and 
the State of Illinois for the hospitality his group had received. 
He did not speak for very long, but he concluded with the hope 
that the "unpleasantness" between his government and the US 
government would pass, and that the two nations could enjoy warm 
relations in the future.

Cecilia heard Jason mutter: "not if Dad has his way…"

There was dinner, some slow dancing afterwards, and finally a 
long series of good-byes. When it was Dukov's turn to say goodbye 
to Cecilia, he commented:

"Again I wish to express my gratitude for your insight. Perhaps 
it will please you to know that I will travel to Sumy Ris next 
Thursday to meet with my counterpart, to discuss your suggestion. 
I have hope for our success, and I owe you my appreciation."

Cecilia heart pounded as she shook the Prime Minister's hand for 
the final time. At age 19, without even having completed the 
first semester of her sophomore year, she had managed to change 
the course of history with a single question.