The Adventures of Ellesbeth Ch. 02

I relax for about an hour before I decide I should go up to the room to get ready for dinner. I feel dirty and need to make myself presentable. I head up the stairs to my room and decide that I should take a nice hot shower. As I wash my hair I begin to think about the events of the last several hours. How my grandmother had arranged all of this. How the staff is so very attentive. How Alicia accents the word "staff" with a smirk. What is the society.

I turn the shower off and towel off gingerly as my ass is a constant reminder of the pain I've endured over the last couple of days. I look at my bed and see a beautiful dress laid out for me. I slip it on and see it is very short and the front is low cut showing my cleavage. I blush as I straighten it out. I brush my hair and put on the necklace laying on the bed next to where the dress was. I slip on the shoes, which are four inch spikes. I struggle a little as I have never worn high heels before as I didn't really have money to splurge on non-necessity clothing while in college.

I slowly make my way down to the dining room for dinner. I look at the clock as I walk in and realize I am a couple of minutes late.

"I'm sorry, Miss Alicia. I lost track of time."

She looks at me, seeing me for the first time in a dress. "You look lovely, Belle. We will address the tardiness later. Please." She gestures to a chair next to her at the head of the table. I make my way over to the chair and sit down.

She looks at me a little stern. "Belle, I understand that you have not learned proper etiquette, and I will let this slide this time. But you should never sit before the elder of the house or any superior."

"I'm sorry, Miss Alicia, I did not know." I scramble to get up and she lifts her hand to silence and stop me.

"As I said, Belle, I understand and you are forgiven. Please remember as you learn the etiquette. We will have the staff "educate" you on basic etiquette and other matters over the next week before our wedding ceremony. There will be important people here both from the society, he government and close friends. It is important that you know the basics."

I nod. "Yes, thank you, Miss Alicia."

She responds, "Good, girl."

Normally, I would have taken offence at the praise that you would give to a pet or dog, but when she said it, it made me feel warm and happy and proud. Suddenly, I felt confused.

The dinner is delicious and I quickly become comfortable as the conversation continues around small talk. When dinner is over, she claps her hands and almost instantly three people come in and start to clear the table. I am amazed at how quickly they respond and how fast they have the table cleared.

"Let's adjourn to the parlor so we can talk some more. And there is the tardiness issue that we need to address." She gets up and leads me to the parlor.

We enter the parlor and she motions for me to enter in front of her.

"Belle, as I mentioned that we have rules and tardiness isn't tolerated here. I will go easy on you this time, both because you have been through a lot and are processing a lot right now. There won't be any spankings for this, however, you will still be punished for that." She motions to a hard stool with metal studs on the seat in the corner. "You will raise your dress and lower your panties. You will sit on the stool, facing the corner for ten minutes." My mind immediately turns to a rage at being treated like a little girl, but I take a deep breath and walk over to the chair. I lift my dress and remove my panties. I think to myself, this can't be too bad, it is just a stool.

I sit down on the stool facing the corner. I wince when the studs press into my bruised and battered ass. This is going to be punishment enough! I whimper a little as the soreness permeates my mind.

"Quiet, Belle. You need to be a good girl and complete your punishment."

Ten minutes go by and she walks over to me and helps me up. She hugs me tenderly. "You did well, Belle. Please remember to be punctual going forward."

I reach down and gingerly rub my ass. "Yes, Miss Alicia, I am sorry. It won't happen again." She leads me over to a chair and sits down and points to a pillow on the floor.

"Please sit on the pillow, Belle." I look at her and the other chairs, but acquiesce to sitting on the pillow.

"Good, girl. You are learning quickly here. I want you to know that I love you, sweetie and you will have your heart's content here, as long as you follow the rules of the house and of the society." She pauses as I take in her compliment. "You are aware of the laws of our country and the fact that slavery is legal, corporal punishment is enforced in every aspect of our lives from a state and home level. This is because of the society. We believe that these foundations allow us to have a good quality of life at all levels of society. It also deters all levels of crimes and establishes a hierarchy." She pauses for a moment. "We also believe that every person in the society serves a purpose. I am the current President of the society, your grandmother was a council member and very powerful in many circles. My driver serves as a protector or body guard and also as an enforcer within the society. Not only will our marriage strengthen the society, but your education will also help tremendously. Your degree in law with your other studies pertaining to social economics will help us to ensure that our rules and the resulting laws that are passed our fair and not over-reaching. We need to ensure that we are never in a position to be questioned and if we are questioned, every decision is sound enough to be upheld in court and if necessary the supreme court and high council."

I sit and listen to the words that she says and begin to wonder how I had never heard of the society before and now it was making sense how corporal punishment had become common place, there were even stockades in the town square now for public punishments and public humiliations for certain crimes and household misdeeds. It all was becoming clear now, the society orchestrated most policy behind the scenes. They worked hard to never be in the spot light.

She pauses to let everything she's been saying sink in. "Belle, you are important to me and to the society. There will be times where things will be tough, but I am confident you can handle it. You will not be forced to do anything you truly don't want to and we understand it will take time to adjust and to accept your new life. This is a sudden change for you. Not only are you going from a small dorm room to a large mansion, but you will be loved and looked after. The "staff" will be sensitive to this, however, they are also instructed to uphold the rules of the house, which means punishments will be handled quickly if it is needed. The punishments will always match the infraction, nothing less and nothing more. As time goes on and you learn about the lifestyle of the society, it is our hope you will fully embrace all that comes along with it. You will be exposed to things you have likely never experienced before along with some limits being tested. I just want you to know that everyone here and in the society will respect your decisions and your position no matter the situation. I don't say this to alarm you, but to hopefully give you confidence that what your grandmother chose for you is right for you. I hope, once you get to know me, you will fall in love with me even though I am almost 20 years older than you. I know this is all a lot to take in. Why don't you sip on a nice night cap drink and think about what you have learned here today and then I will have someone help you to bed."

"Yes, Miss Alicia. That would be nice, thank you." I take the drink that she hands me and take a sip. It is warm and sweet and delicious, but quickly I notice that my eyes are heavy. I vaguely hear her call Rick into the room to take me up to my room.

"She is tired, I gave her something to help her sleep. The next few days are going to be tough for her, we need to take it somewhat slow as she has been through a lot and I don't want to risk scaring her by moving too quickly towards the second ceremony. She has to want to do this on her own once she learns what it is about."

"Yes, Mistress...we will make sure she is taken care of." Rick responds in a whisper and gently picks me up and carries me to my bed.

I moan as he gently removes my clothes and puts a nightgown on me and lays me in bed. He tucks me in and quietly walks out of the room. I vaguely hear a key in a lock.

I sleep sound for the rest of the night. The next morning, I awake fully rested, the best I have ever slept in as long as I can remember. I look around the room and I remember waking up here yesterday feeling scared and uneasy. This morning is completely different, it is like someone has removed all of my worries. I feel secure and safe. I hear a knock at the door and then a key unlocks it and it opens quietly.

"Belle? Time to get up, Belle." A quiet and timid female voice calls to me. I look towards the door and see a young woman dressed in a maid's uniform entering quietly. "Belle, it is time to get up and get ready for your day."

I acknowledge her as she approaches, I look at her. I notice that she is wearing a collar, but her hair is down covering it. She moves to the window and opens the curtains to let the morning light in. I squint as she moves to the dresser to pick out some clothes.

"We have a lot to get through today, Miss. My name is Emily and I will be helping you through today with learning some of the rules and etiquette of the house. We also have some wedding plans to go through." She sounds gleeful and excited for me. "I'm so excited for the two of you, Miss!"

I look at her and smile. "Thank you, Emily. I can dress myself. Can I get a few minutes to take a quick shower?"

"Yes, Miss, you may. It is 7:15, you are expected in the dining room at 8AM for breakfast. Please do not be tardy as Miss Alicia will be waiting."