Choose Wisely

Technically it wasn't Serena's fault that they were here. Alexis was the one who'd made a scratch into the rear view mirror of Mistress' car when they'd been washing it. Didn't make much of a difference. They'd shared the assignment, so naturally they also shared the punishment for fucking it up.

Both Serena and Alexis were strung up naked in the garden, their wrists spread wide above their heads, fixed to a grid with leather wrist cuffs that allowed them to just barely stand on their tiptoes. Even though those restraints were minimal, it was impossible to wriggle away without hanging uncomfortably by their arms and it was especially impossible to protect their upper bodies. Which was concerning since Mistress had assigned Tara to dish out the punishment and Tara was infamous for her fixation on breasts.

"Well then, ladies, who of you wants to begin?" Tara swirled her tool of punishment around as she grinned at them. It didn't look like much at first glance: A single thread of thin rope. Not the whip or the belt Serena would've expected, but in the right hands it could surely be made to hurt just as much.

Serena exchanged glances with Alexis. Her fellow slave girl was clearly nervous. Alexis was still pretty new and hadn't experienced many punishments yet. Add to that the guilt of bringing someone else into this mess and it wasn't surprising that her nerves would get the better of her.

"I'll start," Serena said.

"You sure?" Alexis asked.

"Why not? It doesn't make much difference either way." Serena wasn't sure if she was doing Alexis a favor by postponing her punishment, but maybe if she could take hers in grace, it would show Alexis that it wasn't so bad after all.

"Very well. Let's start it slow. Twenty lashes across your tits."

Serena swallowed. Of course Tara would go for it right away. But still, she'd made it through much worse already. "I'm ready."

"Okay. Alexis, it's your job to keep count."

Tara let the rope fly. It connected straight across Serena's breasts with a nasty snap. Serena sharply sucked in air. It stung, but at least the rope didn't have the sheer impact force of a whip.

"One." Alexis' voice was shaky.

Serena turned her head and smiled at Alexis to reassure her. The smile twitched for a moment as the rope connected again, but she managed not to let her pain show.

"Two." It was hard to say if Alexis sounded more steady now, but it had at least been worth a try.

Serena managed to stay silent for two more lashes, but the fifth one already made her gasp. The rope might not have the same force as a whip, but it was deceptively fast and it had an irritatingly rough surface. Every lash drew a red line across Serena's breasts that kept burning long after the initial pain had faded, leaving the skin irritated and sensitive.

"Five."

Serena winced as the sixth strike hit her right areola. She looked down to see the angry red of the welt blossom right next to her hard nipple. It was only a matter of time before Tara hit that target spot on.

"Six."

At least Alexis knew to count slowly, making sure Serena had time to collect herself again after each strike.

Serena grunted through the next couple of strokes. The rope stung like a bitch, but it was an extremely unsatisfying kind of pain. A whip might've objectively hurt more, but as the impact knocked the air out of your lungs, you could let yourself fall into the sensation, empty your mind and embrace your suffering. The string didn't have any power to get swept away by. It only made you jump when it bit the skin, followed by a couple of agonizing seconds during which you tried to convince yourself that the burning was actually not that unbearable.

By strike ten Serena's vision blurred. She didn't waste her energy trying to hold back the tears. One of the first things she'd learned as a slave girl was that everyone cried during punishments. There was only so much pain the human body could cope with in silence and if punishments stayed within this comfort zone, then they wouldn't be punishments.

The first time Serena had tried to fight the tears and she'd ended up so distraught and humiliated by her failure to do so, that she'd had to safeword out. Thank God both Mistress and the other slave girls had supported her that day, or she might've quit right then and there. Once she'd learned to just let the tears flow, she'd been able to appreciate what punishments could do for her. Sure, they might hurt more than she ever thought possible, but it was also cathartic to know that the whip washed away all the guilt, that nobody would hold her mistakes against her once the punishment was over. And, looking back, it was hard not to feel proud of what she'd been able to make it through.

"Eleven." Alexis' voice had taken on a high pitch. She must've also noticed Serena crying.

"Don't worry about me." Serena did a good job of keeping her own voice steady. It would take more than that to get her to the point of uncontrollable sobbing. "I'm okay. Really."

She managed to keep it together until strike fourteen. That was one Tara first managed to snap the rope right across her nipples.

Serena shrieked. Her feet briefly left the ground as she instinctively contracted all her muscles, lifting herself up in the process. She needed to reach for her burning nipples, soothe them, protect them, but she knew that she couldn't. There was nothing she could do but grit her teeth and hope that at some point that searing sting would ebb down into something that didn't make her feel like she'd piss herself any second now.

After a few seconds she managed to catch her breath. Breathe through the pain, that was the trick. Just... breathe. Calm down and try to enjoy it. As perverted as it was, she'd signed up for the life of a slave girl knowing full well that there would be pain, and while she didn't consider herself a masochist (at least not compared to those real pain sluts who looked as if they could orgasm just from getting whipped), she did like challenging herself and she did enjoy proving to herself and others that she could do something. Even if that something was to survive getting lashed right across her nipples.

"Fourteen"

There must've been almost a minute between the strike and Alexis' counting, but Tara didn't comment on it. She might've been a sadistic bitch, but she was also a sadistic bitch who knew when her victims needed a moment to get it together. Not that there had to be anything altruistic about it. If she pushed Serena too far, she'd only break and safeword out and it wouldn't be fun for anyone. But if she made sure to stay just within Serena's limits, she could have fun making her suffer for pretty much as long as she wanted.

There were no more direct nipple hits, but with her skin already being a network of inflamed lines, every lash was enough to make her cry out, especially that lower aimed one that flicked her sensitive underboob area. By the time Tara was done, the tears were freely dripping down Serena's chin. The red lines had a nasty itch to them that made it clear that it would stay for a long time, especially with her being totally unable to soothe her breasts. Still, she was proud that she'd made it through.

"Very well. For the next part, I'll give you a choice. I can either strike Alexis fifty times across the thighs, or I can strike you twenty times. What do you say?"

Of course. Tara wouldn't go for normal areas like the back or the ass. No, she'd go exclusively for the parts that really hurt. Serena looked at Alexis.

"I... I... I can take it. Don't worry. I..." Alexis muttered.

It was obvious that Alexis didn't believe she could take it. And Serena didn't blame her. Fifty strikes was a lot, and across the sensitive thighs nonetheless. It would be a challenge for everyone but the most seasoned pain sluts.

"Don't be stupid. It's much easier if I take it."

"But..."

"No buts! I can take it. I really can."

Alexis lowered her head. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Don't mention it."

"How very noble of you." It didn't exactly sound mocking, the way Tara said it, but she was clearly having far too much fun with her little mind game. "Well then. Alexis, you know the drill."

Without further ado Tara let the rope fly again. The snap as it connected to the front of Serena's firm thighs was a lot louder than it had been on her soft breasts and while it might not hurt just as much for the moment, the burning seemed to go deeper, gripping her flesh and not letting go.

"One."

Serena had managed to collect herself somewhat in the short break between punishments, so she could hold it together for the first few lashes. That was until Tara went for a cheap shot. Instead of going for both legs at the same time, she aimed only for the right one, so the rope would wrap around on impact and its end bit right into that sensitive flesh on the inner thigh.

At this point Serena dropped all pretense. She cried out in pain as she danced around as best as she could, pressing her legs together in an attempt to both soothe the burn and protect that tender region.

"Five." With a tiny voice Alexis added "I'm sorry."

Serena wiped the fresh tears into her arms and tried to control her breathing before she answered. It wasn't easy. That spot on her inner thigh still burned and throbbed as if stung by a wasp. "Don't be. I'm fine. Just... keep counting, please."

At least Tara left her inner thighs alone for the moment, but that wasn't much of a mercy. Serena loved how fit she was, but muscles were a lot less well suited to cushion the blows than fat. She tried to take strength out of the fact that it would've hurt Alexis even more. That girl didn't have an ounce of unnecessary fat on her body.

With every strike Serena's hate for that piece of rope grew. It was just thin enough to feel like it cut through the skin with every lash, while still being so rough and abrasive that the red lines it left were nearly rope burns. Serena's breasts and thighs didn't just burn. A maddening itch festered in her irritated skin that gnawed away at her willpower even when she wasn't fighting to make it through the biting sting of a fresh stroke. And Tara made sure to evenly spread the hits everywhere from nearly up to the hips to slightly above the knees. It might've been a small act of mercy as it meant that the welts wouldn't cross too much, but Serena didn't believe it. Especially since it meant that by the end there was no area on the front of her thighs that wasn't burning and itching. Rubbing her legs together gave barely any relief and was highly exhaustive in her bondage, but she couldn't stop herself from doing it. She needed to feel as if she was doing something against the itch or it would drive her insane.

"Well done," Tara said when the twenty lashes were finally over. "That must've hurt like a bitch, but you didn't beg for mercy even once. I respect that."

Serena blinked at her through teary eyes. She couldn't see Tara's face clear enough to be sure if the praise was genuine, but she gladly gave the benefit of the doubt. Knowing that her suffering was at least acknowledged made it easier to bear. "Thank you," she whispered, not thrusting her voice to hold out for more than that.

"But now it's time we give you some attention", Tara said, turning to Alexis. "What do you think?"

"Yes!" Alexis answered immediately. "Please, punish me. Please, Serena needs a break. She hasn't even done anything wrong."

Tara chuckled. "Is that so? The way Mistress sees it, see failed at her job as much as you did. Maybe if she'd had a better eye on you, the car wouldn't have gotten scratched. Or are you suggesting that Mistress is wrong and it's unfair for Serena to get punished?"

"I..." Alexis bit her lip. It was obvious that she believed it was unfair, but that she also believed that saying so would count as insolence and only make it worse.

Thankfully Tara wasn't so cruel as to make her finish her sentence. "Either way, it's all up to you. You can spare her any and all further punishments. All you've got to do is take sixty strokes to your tits."

"Sixty?" Alexis gasped.

"Yes, sixty. A fair punishment for the only one who actually did something wrong, according to yourself. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, but..."

Serena couldn't fault Alexis for sounding so afraid. Sixty strokes was a ridiculous amount. Serena's twenty had already been hell. She didn't want to begin to imagine how much it would hurt to get another twice as many on her already raw and tenderized breasts.

"If you're not up for it, I can instead give Serena another twenty. But this time I won't be so nice and miss her nipples on purpose."

So that had been Tara's plan all along. It wasn't really a choice. Sixty strokes were too much, especially for someone as inexperienced as Alexis. Twenty additional strokes for Serena on the other hand were possible. They were sadistic and cruel, they'd turn her into a sobbing mess and they would leave her breasts aching for days, but they were possible. She'd made it through worse. Maybe.

"No!" Alexis half choked on her words. "Please, don't hurt her anymore."

"So you're taking the sixty?"

"I..."

"Don't play the hero," Serena interjected. "Have you ever even had your breasts whipped?"

"No," Alexis admitted after a brief hesitation.

"Then there's no way you'll make it through sixty. Hell, I'm not sure I could make it through sixty. But..." Serena swallowed hard. "But I can take another twenty."

"But that's not fair!" Alexis wailed. "I'm the one at fault. Why are only you getting punished?"

She was right. It wasn't fair. And there was a faint evil voice in Serena's head telling her that she should just let Alexis take the fall. She'd already suffered more than enough, given that she hadn't even done anything wrong. But she knew she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she gave in to that idea.

"Life's never fair." Serena forced herself to smile. "But thanks for caring for me so much."

"Well then, what's your final answer?" Tara interjected.

Alexis looked at Serena again, who gave her a slight nod. "I... want you to punish Serena... even though she doesn't deserve it."

"I deserve it," Serena said, partly to comfort Alexis and partly to drone out that faint evil voice. "I did a bad job, so I deserve to be punished. It's only natural."

"Well said. Maybe we need to remind Alexis of that simple fact," Tara said. "This time you will count yourself and after each stroke you will apologize for your mistake."

"Yes, Tara."

Serena braced herself for the first lash. It came only a few seconds later. The rope cut through the air with a terrifying crack and landed squarely on her chest, right on top of the network of red lines.

Fuck! The break had done nothing to help her deal with the pain. If anything, it had given her breasts time to bruise from the first set of lashes and made them even more tender. Immediately the tears were back in her eyes, but this time she couldn't just wallow in her pain. She had another job to do.

"One! I'm sorry I failed you."

The next lash just barely missed her nipples, but it cut into both her tender areolas.

"Argh! Two! I..." Her voice cut out for a moment as the stinging pain in her breasts filled her entire world. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

Swish! It was like that cruel hit against her inner thigh, only this time the rope curled around so the sharp end bit with full force right into her left nipple. Red fog clouded Serena's vision and she felt weirdly lightheaded, as if her body had decided to put her on drugs to prepare itself before the full brunt of the pain could reach her.

It wasn't pretty. Snot ran from her nose as the sobs overtook her. It was too much. A nipple was a precious and tender part of the female anatomy. It should never be subject to this much pain. Serena tried to look at it, which took several attempts through her teary eyes. It wasn't bleeding at least, but seeing it shine in such an angry red only made it hurt more.

"Three," Serena blubbered. "God, I'm so sorry. I fucked up. It hurts so much!" A series of sobs interrupted her apology. "I deserve this. I deserve to be pu-punished!"

The following strokes went by in a haze of pain. Tara didn't go for the nipples all of the time. Not even she was this cruel. She still didn't hold back when whipping the tender flesh above and below. Serena quickly lost all sense of reality. She fell into her own world where there was nothing but her burning breasts and her heartfelt apologizes for everything she'd ever done wrong, occasionally interrupted by a much louder shriek when one of her nipples got a taste of the rope. It was a miracle she was still able to count or talk in coherent sentences. Most likely she couldn't and was actually just blubbering something incomprehensible, but if so, Tara let it slide.

She didn't even notice when it was over. The counting had long since decoupled from her conscious mind and even with no fresh lashes raining down on them, her abused breasts kept aching unbearably. Her nipples were two flames of searing pain. No clear thought was possible while they burned this terribly. Serena kept on sobbing and apologizing endlessly. It was the only thing she could do to somehow hold on.

"Shhh, everything's good now. You did great. I'm very proud of you."

Soft fingers wiped away the worst of the tears so Serena could see Tara standing in front of her, a warm smile on her lips.

"Tara, please, I'm so sorry, I-" A finger on her lips shut her up.

"I know. But there's no need to. You served your punishment and now everything's forgiven. Everything's fine."

"Thank you," Serena sobbed, giving Tara's finger a very wet kiss. "Thank you. I love you!"

Tara chuckled. "And I love you. Sometimes tough love is the truest form of love." She stepped behind Serena as she opened her wrist cuffs, so she could catch her without putting any pressure on Serena's inflamed breasts. Together they carefully went down to the ground, where Tara gently placed Serena's head in her lap.

It took several minuted for the sobs to stop. All the while Tara caressed Serena's head, paying no mind to the giant wet spot forming on her trousers.

"Feeling better?" Tara asked when it finally seemed as if Serena had calmed down.

"Much better," Serena sniffled. She slowly sat up and winced. Every little movement went straight into her burning nipples and made them complain again.

"Think you can stand up?"

Serena nodded. With the help of Tara she carefully got to her feet, where she was faced with the still bound Alexis. During her pain-induced delirium she had completely forgotten about her.

"You know, Alexis was kinda right," Tara said. "It wasn't even you who scratched that mirror and you still got sixty strokes total for it while she ended up not getting a single one. Doesn't seem all that fair when you say it like that."

She slipped something into Serena's hand. It was the rope. "I'll leave it to you to even the stakes. You'll know best what she deserves. I'll just stay here and make sure you don't go overboard."

Serena slowly looked at the rope in her hand and at Alexis stretched out in front of her, looking back at her nervously.

"You... you don't need to hold back," Alexis stuttered. "It's all my fault. I deserve everything you do to me."

"I guess you do." Serena raised the rope. "Close your eyes. I don't want you to see it coming."

Alexis winced, but she nodded and did as she was told.

Serena swung the rope a few times, watching Alexis twitch at the sound of it cutting the air. Then, in a swift move, she stopped it, bridged the gap between them and placed a kiss on Alexis' forehead.

"What?" In her confusion Alexis opened her eyes again.

"I think you've been punished enough already. I know how much it hurt you to see me like this. Don't worry, I'm not mad at you."