Chapter Three: For Science!

Emily was focused on the more immediate future. The strap. She hated the strap. Whether it had been the tawse, her father's belt, or any other variation on the theme of awful, stingy, impossible to get used to pain that a well-handled piece of leather could bring.

She would take almost any other punishment instead; a punishment plug, months of extra denial, she would happily accept any of these over the bite of leather. There were three different straps to come. A vicious narrow strap, a wider, heavier-looking one, and finally a twin-tailed Scottish tawse. To Emily's eyes they all looked positively awful.

It felt like far less than five minutes had passed when the Headmaster called the pair back to the table. Both girls took their positions without complaint. Their time with the paddles hadn't really been a punishment, but a sore bottom made for a compliant girl regardless. Aurora sighed with resigned and fearful anticipation. She hated this, but she would get through. Emily was trembling before she even bent over the desk.

Emily winced at the sound of the Headmaster taking the first strap down from its hook on the wall and chewed her lower lip nervously as she waited. She heard the Headmaster tap the leather against his palm and she felt her hole pucker and tighten at the sound as her shoulder blades drew together in fear.

"Worried about the next set of implements Miss Black?" the Headmaster's voice was warm, courteous, and caring as gently placed his hand on her warm bottom, feeling the heat that the paddles had left behind. Unlike Aurora, who found this gesture condescending, Emily was at least slightly comforted by it. It made him seem more human, more compassionate.

"Err... Yes, Sir." Emily swallowed. It was a lot easier talking about how he got spanked at home in front of Aurora after she had just watched her get the paddle herself. "I get my dad's belt at home sometimes... when I really mess up. It just hurts so much..." Emily trailed off as she saw Aurora was not just listening, but watching her as well.

The Headmaster nodded, and turned to Aurora who was bent over the desk next to Emily. "What about you, Ms. Idris? Any particular feelings on what's coming next?"

"N-No sir..." Aurora kept her eyes on the few inches of wooden desktop in front of her nose, but she could feel Sandra's gaze and it made her skin crawl. She seemed so self-satisfied. Aurora would have taken the pain test all over again just to see her bent over the desk beside her.

She'd be damned if she would give her the satisfaction of seeing her cry again, and she grasped at straws at anything that would level the playing field.

"What about you..." Aurora swallowed her pride and tried to sound polite and respectful; "...Miss?" She tried to put on an innocent face as she looked up at a startled Sandra who held the clipboard between herself and Aurora almost protectively. "Did you hate getting the strap when you were a student here?" Aurora felt a warming sensation fill her breast as Sandra's confident look fell away completely and her eyes darted to the Headmaster. It was a tiny, petty victory, but it was something.

Emily was startled to see the effect that Aurora's seemingly innocent question had on Sandra. As her mask of confidence fell away Emily could see that Sandra was younger than she had guessed earlier. The severe hairstyle, makeup, and clothes made her look older. She couldn't have graduated more than a year or two ago. Emily could appreciate trying to look more mature when you weren't much older than the students, but it seemed like Sandra was rattled with Aurora's familiar tone.

Sandra's mouth hung open for a second, and she looked down at her notes to compose herself before her brow furrowed. "I'm sure I don't remember." Some of her haughtiness was back, but it seemed fragile. "I was... an excellent student, and it's been ages since I've felt any such thing, thank you." She sniffed and tried to look busy on her clipboard, refusing to make eye contact with either girl.

The Headmaster cleared his throat softly but meaningfully, and Aurora saw Sandra's eyes widen with fear. Neither Emily nor Aurora could see the Headmaster as he was standing behind them, but they could see Sandra fidget nervously for a moment before her resolve collapsed. When she spoke, her voice was higher, younger, and whiny.

"S-Sir... No... Please!" She began as her lower lip began to tremble.

"Dishonesty, Sandra? I'm surprised." The Headmaster's voice was clear and calm but the warmth was gone instantly. He hadn't even spoken to Aurora like this after her failed escape attempt. "So soon after your... discussion about truthfulness with Professor Klein?" Emily had no idea how he managed to make such softly spoken words sound so threatening, but she suddenly realized that as kindly and professional as he was, The Headmaster was someone never to be crossed.

"Headmaster, I..." Sandra's eyes were wide and she backed away from the desk until her back bumped against the wall. Like Aurora she had nowhere to run.

"The truth." The Headmaster's tone was firm and his pronunciation became clipped as a touch of annoyance crept into his voice. Emily wondered if Sandra would be joining them over the desk momentarily.

She saw Sandra hesitate. "But Sir... I..." She wasn't looking at the Headmaster now. She was looking at Emily and Aurora.

The Headmaster's voice was pointed now. Emily knew that tone, it was her father's obey immediately, or face the consequences voice. "You could have said nothing. There was no need to lie. You lied anyway. You will tell them the truth, or you will join them over this desk."

Sandra set the clipboard down with a sigh, and lifted her skirt just enough to reveal the unmistakable outline of a chastity cage under her panties. "I got the paddle last week for mis-filing some tuition forms. Some of the junior staff and faculty are locked too... and we get punished for mistakes just like the students."

Her eyes flicked up to the Headmaster, hoping that this answer was enough. The Headmaster clearly didn't think it was, because blushing absolutely scarlet Sandra continued her explanation, now lifting her skirt up the rest of the way, and pushing her panties to the side to reveal a standard Rattangrove cage, but this one was a deep purple colour. Emily was certain that a purple cage hadn't been in the school handbook, and this cage came with a guard over the little hole in the tip. Touching any skin at all would be completely impossible in such a cruelly effective device.

"I... I don't just work for the school. Rattangrove owns my key..." Sandra paused to draw a shaky breath. "W-when you're school property..." she swallowed hard and stared down at her shoes for a long moment. After gathering her strength she gave a watery sniff and continued; "When you're school property the cage doesn't come off at all." She looked up at the Headmaster, eyes pleading for mercy once again, but this time it seemed to have been enough.

"Thank you for your honesty, Sandra. You may adjust your clothes and continue with your notes." The Headmaster instructed her as she tugged her skirt back into place. "I will add that her service here is through no fault of her own. Her parents offered to donate her key to the school upon completion of her studies as payment for tuition for her three younger siblings. She showed incredible strength generosity in agreeing to this arrangement and has proven a great asset both to me and to Rattangrove these past two years."

Sandra managed a weak smile at the praise. "Thank you, Sir."

The Headmaster cleared his throat meaningfully, drawing Emily and Aurora's attention back to the matter at hand. Both Emily and Aurora winced at the sound as the Headmaster swished the first strap through the air. "Hmmm... this is an older piece. Odd to see it in one of the newer wings." He said thoughtfully.

"I fetched it from the main building myself, Sir. This room was missing its standard narrow-gauge strap." Sandra answered him. Her voice had changed from its former haughty tone to one more like the way Emily and Aurora spoke to the Headmaster. "You asked me to see that the room was ready for the test."

Emily squeezed her eyes shut at the sound as he swung the strap through the air. There must have been a reason for him to drag this out; testing that the well-worn leather would hold up perhaps, or simply re-acquainting himself with it. It felt like torture though. She had closed her eyes and balled her fists in preparation for what she knew would be a terrible few minutes. She whimpered when she felt the Headmaster tap her bottom with the strap for the first time. Her whole body was rigid as she waited, trembling.

Swish-SNAP!

The first stroke landed on Emily's sit-spots, just above her thighs. She had taken the paddling with fairly stoic silence but now she squealed and lifted her foot, twisting her hips away from the source of the pain. The squeal faded into a miserable whimper as she fought to get back into position. She had known this would be the worst part, but she was still unprepared for just how much this hurt.

The second stroke landed barely an inch above the first, and Emily pounded her fists against the hard wooden desk in agony. Her breath was coming in gasps and her vision was already blurred with tears. She had felt so grown up and mature this morning; proud of her first day at Rattangrove, out on her own, making her way in the world as a young woman. Earning her freedom.

Now all she wanted was to go home. She would accept whatever life her parents chose, sign any service contract no matter how humiliating, if it meant never having to feel this awful strap again.

The next two were even worse, and Emily was crying openly after the third. That was the cruelty of the strap in Emily's mind: A paddle made your bottom numb after, meaning she got used to the pain after a while. Hairbrushes were much the same, although when we—wielded and cruelly applied they were terribly effective nonetheless. With anything apart from a strap the pain eventually plateaued, much as it might hurt. After a certain point it didn't get any worse.

For Emily the strap never hit a plateau. The pain just went from scalding to intolerable to beyond the point where words failed her. Her father had learned quickly just how much Emily hated the strap, and he had found that leaving the heavy punishment strap hanging next to her bedroom closet to be an effective totem against bad behaviour. No matter how sassy Emily had been, no matter how unjustified she felt her punishment was, if she saw her father's eyes look towards the strap it was enough to instantly still her tongue.

SNAP! The fifth stroke was a diagonal one, cutting across the marks left by the previous four. Emily knew that she couldn't take much more; she could feel the hot tears running down her face. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the stroke to come, trying to breathe. It was only a test... it wasn't even full force... it shouldn't have been this bad...

Emily gasped when she felt Aurora's hand close over her own. Shocked, Emily opened her eyes and looked over at the sassy, mean-spirited brat who hadn't spoken a single kind word to her all day. The scorn and hardness were gone, and concern was written all over her face. Emily relaxed her hand enough to take Aurora's and she held on tightly. Aurora gave her a small smile of encouragement, which faded almost instantly. She could see what Emily couldn't: The final stroke as it swung down in its terrible arc towards Emily's skin.

Helping hand or no, that that stroke broke her resolve at last and Emily went straight into sobs, her chest heaving as the tears ran freely down her cheeks. She clutched Aurora's hand like it was a life raft, and she no longer cared about seeming brave in front of her, the Headmaster, or anyone else.

The Headmaster's voice was very gentle. "I see that the strap is most effective. Good. You have a remarkably high pain tolerance, Miss Black. The natural result of a firm and upright home environment, no doubt." He paused but Emily was in no condition to answer. "Do think back to exactly how that strap feels whenever your mind strays to thoughts of misbehaviour. Your results today will be available to every professor on campus. Should you stray too far out of line, the strap will be ready for you.."

Emily whimpered what she hoped was an acceptable answer. The Headmaster was calm and composed as always. "You make take a break for now, Ms. Black. It will be your turn in a moment Ms. Idris."

Emily looked over at Aurora, who looked scared. Distantly, Emily could hear the nib of the Sandra's pen scratching against the paper as she filled out her report. She gave Aurora's hand a gentle squeeze to tell her that it was okay to let go, but Aurora surprised her by squeezing back tighter than before. Emily gave her a big grateful smile despite the tears still running freely down her face, and Aurora managed a small smile in return. It appeared that they were in this together.

Aurora had never experienced anything quite like the strap. Seeing Emily's reactions she had expected it to be excruciating, but while it was painful in a new and awful way for her it wasn't as bad as the paddles had been. It certainly hurt, and she wailed and squirmed her way through her half dozen, the strap digging deep into her already well-tenderized skin but she hadn't reacted the way Emily had.

Her face was wet with tears, and she was clinging to Emily's hand with all she had, but by the end she hadn't lost her composure. There were no heaving sobs, no hopping foot to foot, no begging for mercy. She felt oddly proud of herself for taking it so well, at least in comparison to Emily. For the first time at Rattangrove she felt the tiniest bit optimistic.

After the first strap test the Headmaster gave the two girls a short break. Tentatively, both girls reached back and felt their bottoms. Emily could feel the beginnings of welts under her skin. Even with the Headmaster holding back the strap was ruthlessly efficient. She watched as Aurora did the same, surprised and oddly touched that she had tried to comfort her.

Aurora was lost in thoughts of her own as she tried to rub the sting from her cheeks. She wasn't entirely sure what had driven her to reach out, but she was beginning to see what the Headmaster had said before. She had noticed that the locked girls back home had always stuck together. She had assumed it was because she and her friends had cut them out of their clique, but she was beginning to see it was more than that.

Emily might be a hopeless Daddy's girl, but she was locked in the same cage she was, subject to the same rules, restrictions, and punishments. That made her an ally of a sort. Not the ally Aurora would ever have chosen, but she realized that they did indeed share more in common than she had expected. Whatever happened, they shared a sort of sisterhood that free girls wouldn't understand.

That sisterhood naturally did not extend to Sandra, locked or otherwise. She could go fuck her hat.

After a short reprieve the Headmaster picked up the broad leather strap to continue the test. He motioned to Emily and Aurora to retake their positions.

Emily looked over at Aurora fearfully as they bent once more over the desk, her eyes wide. This strap was even larger and heavier than the one before it. She extended her hand hopefully and Aurora took it, holding on tight. Emily tried to control her breathing, trying to prepare herself for the heavy strap.

It was, in short, awful. But oddly enough, Emily found the heavy strap easier to take than the thin strap she had been whipped with earlier. While the first stroke brought a fresh wave of tears immediately and the second burned like fire the extra weight made it more akin to a paddle, allowing Emily the tiny mercy of numbness. It still hurt a great deal, but the pain was different somehow, easier to take than the vicious narrow strap. Nonetheless her cheeks were soaked with tears after the Headmaster was finished, and her bottom a mess of angry-looking welts.

"How fascinating... Tell me Ms. Black: Was the heavy strap actually less effective than the lighter one?" the Headmaster couldn't keep his eager curiosity out of his voice.

"Yes... sniffle... Yes sir. It wasn't as bad, you can... almost get used to it after a while. It still really hurts though."

The Headmaster opened a drawer of the desk and withdrew a box of tissues. Pulling one out he passed it to Emily, who took it in her free hand gratefully. She dabbed at her eyes as the Headmaster inspected the leather with care. "I'm not entirely surprised by your reaction." He said after a moment. "These newer straps just don't seem to have the same bite as the old ones."

When it was Aurora's turn she did not take it well. Aurora was quite convinced that whatever the Headmaster's stupid theory about modern straps, this one worked just fine. The heavy strap was almost overwhelmingly painful, combining the sharp snap that sizzled against her skin with the deep thuddy weight pressing the pain deep under her skin and into the muscle beneath.

The first stroke was staggeringly powerful; she wanted to cry out but the shock and intense pain had forced the air from her lungs and she could only gasp and squeeze Emily's hand as her bottom went from sore to excruciating almost immediately.

The second stroke managed to be even worse; the broad strap covered a large portion of Aurora's chubby bottom so that each stroke landed nearly on top of the one before. Aurora shot up off the desk, her hair whipping back, and her free hand clutching at her bottom. Emily tried to hold her in place, but it was no use.

Aurora had expected the Headmaster to be furious, and she couldn't look at him once she had recovered herself. She looked down at the floor fearfully, waiting to be scolded.

"I think we can safely mark the heavy strap as 9.5 out of 10 on effectiveness and move on to the next implement, Sandra." Aurora was surprised at the Headmaster's kindness. "Do understand that I am being extremely lenient not just because of your low pain tolerance Ms. Idris, but because you still have a punishment yet to come."

He walked over and gently helped her back into position. "It would be unfair to you for me to delay your punishment, however tempting it might sound right now. The next few days should be fun and exciting for you as you make new friends, explore the school, and settle into your classes. I won't ruin that for you by having a punishment hanging over your head the whole time."

The Headmaster sat on the corner of the desk near her tear-streaked face and offered her a tissue. "That's why we don't need to finish this set for the test." The Headmaster smoothed her hair with his hand, doing his best to comfort her while still remaining somewhat aloof; "I know it doesn't seem like it, but this test really is for your own good."

Aurora wasn't sure she agreed, but she nodded, and the Headmaster continued.

"For the next four years your file is going to tell every professor here that you have a remarkably low pain tolerance. That they need to be much gentler on you than they do with Ms. Black here. It will also tell them that the heavy strap needs to be reserved for only the most serious of offences. I know that these tests are painful, but they really are necessary." He gave her shoulder a squeeze and stood up. "As is your punishment after the test."

Aurora laid her head on the desk and cried. Not the frantic tears she had cried as the paddles and straps had hammered down; this was a purely emotional release. She cried for her wilfulness and arrogance that had landed her here. For the strictness and unfamiliarity of a place whose rules she had been totally unprepared for. She cried because of Sandra's cruelty and for the Headmaster's patient strictness.