Purity Ch. 04

Disclaimer: Please read and take note. This work explores themes of power imbalance, older man/younger woman, corporal discipline, and the corruption of Christian traditions in a historical context. Please do not read this story if you find such themes offensive, distasteful, or upsetting. Also, understand this is a work of fiction directly from the creative mind of a fellow human being and is freely offered up for the enjoyment of those who would like it. Troll comments will be deleted with extreme prejudice.

Sometime later, the fire had died down in the grate and in his wayward ward's recently punished bottom, if the stilling of her frantically waggling rear end was any indication. Edmund put down his now-empty glass of wine, appropriated from his altar supplies, and rose, straightening his vestments as he strode out to the kitchen.

On finding the small glass jar of liniment that Alice had made for him that morning, he returned to the naked girl, still braced against the corner of his room, her chilled breasts and nose pressed against the uncomfortable plasterwork. Her slim, pale, wrists remained bound at the small of her back, directly above the glowing swell of her red bottom. He had to admit, she made a beautiful sight, especially as she turned her damp, reddened eyes up to him, awaiting her next instruction.

With his warm, strong hands on her upper arms, he helped her to stand and led her back to the fire. He admired her chilled nipples as they stood out pertly from her small breasts, and noted that goose pimples covered her upper body from standing in the drafty corner, despite the heat emitted by her well-roasted behind.

Feeling somewhat solicitous of her small, cold body, he pulled her onto his lap and reached around her to unbind her wrists before rubbing the circulation back into them. He enjoyed the way she relaxed against him, obviously thinking her punishment was over. Edwin indulgently luxuriated in the feel of the soft, naked flash draped across his hard, clothed body. As a man of God, he had been focussed on his theological studies and later, the needs of his thriving parish. He had not thought to take a wife, believing that such an indulgence into his baser instincts might distract him from his higher purpose. However, at this moment, he could see that the right woman could well provide succour in what had been quite a lonely existence.

However, this was not the time for either of them to be distracted from their purpose. His was to ensure that this impressionable young woman did not stray into wickedness and hers was to submit and accept his firm guidance.

'Alice, I need you to stand up and kneel at my prie-dieu .' She tensed when he spoke but rose without complaint. He imagined that she knew what was coming and was reassured that he hadn't instructed her to bend over it. Such a thought was premature and unfounded; however, if it gave her some comfort, he wouldn't disabuse her of it until she was in position.

Once she had knelt in place, she looked up at him and smiled shyly, moistening her lips as though in anticipation. When he made no move to lift his robes, the smile faltered.

'I believe, girl, that you have fallen into a pattern of behaviour that needs to be broken. You succumb to wickedness, then are punished, and return immediately to the same lustful behaviour that you were punished for. Is this correct?' He looked at her sternly, single dark eyebrow raised.

She looked down, ashamed. 'Yes, Father. I... try to be good, I try to think virtuous thoughts and remember my lessons, but I... keep being tempted back.' Her voice caught on a little sob, 'I find myself too weak to deny myself what I so desperately crave.' Looking at him beseechingly, tears in her eyes, she echoed what she'd first asked of him, 'Please, Father, help me.'

And he knew then that he'd failed her. She'd asked for help, and he'd only done half the job. He'd punished her for her sins, but he had not helped her to resist sinning again. In fact, he wondered if, in some way, he had enticed her to sin further. Thankfully, he had realised in time and would rectify this right now.

Cupping her tear-streaked face in one hand he stroked her soft cheek and gentled his voice. 'I understand, child, and I will give you the help you need.'

Her face lit up, and he knew this was precisely what she was crying out for. 'The pleasure you feel when you are tempted into sin is what is making it so hard for you. I will ensure that you don't feel this pleasure, and this will give you the strength to resist.' At that, she looked a little hesitant, but he was resolved to see this through.

Reaching into his pocket, he took out the jar of liniment she had made earlier.

'Do you remember the fire that the ginger lit when it was lodged in your tight little punishment hole?' He chuckled at the look on her face. 'Well, of course you do. That's not a lesson you'll forget quickly, is it, girl?' She shifted uneasily on the kneeler, clearly not liking one bit where this was going. 'Well, the chillies you prepared earlier are a good ten times hotter, and they are going to burn away any pleasure you may have felt when naughty fingers stray where they shouldn't.'

'Oh, please, Father, I don't think I could bear it.' She looked up at him, wide eyes damp and lips trembling. 'Could you not use ginger instead? It burned so hot; I know it would help me to stay pure.'

'No, child. You have confessed that the pleasure is so great that would not be enough to deter you. We need to really give you a taste of the fiery pits of Hell which await your immortal soul if you do not desist in your wicked ways.' She gave a small moan of terror at his words.

'Now, as it is your greedy little fingers that have been poisoning your very soul with sin, it will be those same fingers that administer the fiery antidote. Dip them into the salve and apply it to those areas that tingle and throb and incite you to wickedness.'

Holding out the pot to her, she leaned closer, blinking as the fumes teared her eyes. This was going to be a test of her obedience and willingness to change. She had asked for his help, and he would make sure she got it, but the lesson would be so much more powerful if she were complicit in her own punishment.

She seemed to falter in her resolve, then took a deep breath and scooped up a large blob of the glistening ointment with two fingers. With no further hesitation, she spread her knees wide and rubbed the fiery embrocation into her most vulnerable inner folds.

'Once again, quickly now, Alice,' he urged her. 'Apply a generous amount to the wanton nub that is at the heart of your temptation. The sin needs to be fully burned away.'

As soon as her fingers returned from between her legs, he seized both hands and clasped them together in prayer, pressing her elbows to the shelf of the prie-dieu , holding his hands tightly over hers. There was no way for her to get free, even after the terrible recipe set up a conflagration in her most delicate areas that set her to moaning and fighting to free herself.

She was weeping most piteously and churning her hips, but nothing could stop the burn once it had started, and she just needed to endure. 'Look into my eyes, Alice, and know that I am here with you.'

It was a long time later when she calmed, and he released her hands, only for her to wrap them around his waist and bury her face in his robes. He stroked her trembling back, feeling her nuzzle into him. At first, he thought she was seeking comfort, but as she moved her face lower, he realised she was running her nose and lips along the hardening length beneath the cloth.

'Alice?' he questioned. 'Do you wish to pay your penance? Do you need to take the sacrament in order to feel fully forgiven?'

'Please, Father.' There were tears in her eyes, but she looked... relieved, happy, unburdened.

'Of course, my child,' and he lifted his robes to grant her access. As she took his engorged member into her soft mouth, he looked down at the picture of contrition she painted. Alice's big damp eyes gazing up adoringly, plump young lips paying penance, thighs widely spread to expose her hot, swollen sex.

And as he groaned his release into her eager mouth and felt her swallow all he had to give, he truly felt that he had led a lost soul out of the very fires of Hell and back into the light of God's goodness.

She was his greatest triumph. His magnum opus.

And he would spend every day saving this young woman's virtue from the devil.

---

Before Alice went to sleep that night, she examined the pot that Edmund had given her.

The salve had been excruciating, and the torment she suffered did feel as though she had been through Hellfire and was reborn a better person. The feeling of euphoria afterward, of being cleansed of all her sins, was heady. It was a religious experience that had changed her. She did not know exactly what had happened, but she knew she wanted to feel that again.

Added to that, now that the raging inferno had calmed, her whole focus was on her sex. It felt hot and heavy. Her petals were swollen and extra sensitive, and even the slightest whisper of fabric against them felt heavenly.

She chanced just the tip of her finger against her tender slit. Oh. Sweet, Lord. Surely, a feeling so raw, so pure, must be heaven-sent to feel so good.

But, what if she was wrong and it was the devil returned to tempt her back into sin?

Looking back at the pot, she decided not to chance it. Father Edmund had shown her how to stay pure, and she was prepared to burn to save her soul.

Dipping the tip of one finger into the pot, she began.