The Priestess and Her Boy Ch. 10

10 - The Frame of Repentance

The morning after Tak's departure, Ashala dismissed her night boy early and hurried to the Shrine of the Prophet to rescue Nikah, and indeed Hanja, from the drastic punishment prescribed by the High Priestess. A tense scene awaited her in the vestibule of the Shrine. Nikah was raised up on his knees in the embrace of Hanja, who was holding his head tight to her bosom. She was glaring defiantly at the Shrine Priestess.

"Hanja, please let the boy go and take up the cane! You are only delaying the inevitable," said the Shrine Priestess, deeply frustrated. "Ashala, I am glad you are here. Help me explain the situation to Hanja! We need to get Nikah to the frame."

"The High Priestess has shown mercy," replied Ashala. "The punishment will not proceed. Nikah, later I will take you to her and you will thank her and apologise for your dreadful behaviour yesterday. Hanja, I would strongly advise that you find time today to do the same."

Hanja, Nikah and, indeed, the Shrine Priestess visibly exhaled in relief. Hanja had been holding Nikah so tightly that, when she relaxed her grasp, he flopped down in front of her. Picking himself up, he began to move in the direction of the door.

"Where do you think you are going?" asked Ashala.

"To the gardens, Mistress." he replied.

"Have you forgotten our little conversation yesterday afternoon Nikah?" asked Ashala. "Tak may have escaped me but there is no reason you and I should not spend a little time together today, just as we planned. Wait outside for me and then we shall go and pick up the necessary furniture."

"As you command Mistress." replied a crestfallen Nikah.

When he had left the room, the Shrine Priestess turned to Ashala, "Sister, this is all too much with the five-foot cane! It is so extreme. That poor boy a few days ago and now Nikah, well, almost anyway. I have always promoted physical correction in the training of boys; something unpleasant enough that they very much wish to avoid it, paired with rewards for behaviour that is pleasing. And all delivered with love, in a nurturing manner, accentuating the feminine. But enough with this damage! Masculine violence is not the way of the Goddess! She was not with the Old Queen and She was clearly not with the City in bygone years when it committed itself to warfare. I want this to stop. The next time I touch that cane it will be to throw it on the fire! And the Goddess will smile upon me as I do so."

Ashala sighed, "I will speak to the High Priestess. I feel she may be of the same mind, although she is conservative by nature. Hanja, will you talk to Ruta on your way through the gardens. Let her know that I am borrowing Nikah. I do not believe he should escape totally unpunished and I mean to have some fun tormenting him. Do not worry Hanja, I shall be playing with his mind as much as his fine rump cheeks. But I think Ruta may enjoy it too, so please ask her to come to my chamber if she wishes."

Ashala swept out of the Shrine, beckoning to Nikah with a single finger as she passed him. He scampered after her and she led him to the Temple's bedchamber halls where they stopped by a storage room. She opened the door.

"There Nikah, in the corner. There are two, although I suppose we shall only be needing one of them now that a lady of the north has deprived me of half my fun. Look, there is a scroll which will help you assemble the frame. It has pictures, so even you will be able to understand! And Nikah, before you gather the parts kneel here in front of me for a moment!"

Even kneeling, Nikahs face was the height of his Mistress's shoulders. She grabbed his chin hard, digging in her fingertips around the jawline. Nikah gasped in pain and surprise, trying to meet her gaze but suddenly scared.

"Are you wondering why I am being so cruel to you Nikah? Ashala, who is usually kind and loving? Well, of course, there is the matter of your indiscretion after our recent rest-day adventure. That would be bad enough. But your behaviour in front of the High Priestess yesterday was appalling Nikah! Why did you not throw yourself at her feet instead of that northern barbarian woman? It was clear that the High Priestess was deeply offended. And your insolence reflects poorly on Priestess Ruta, your day-Mistress, who is most entrusted with keeping you properly obedient and submissive. I am surprised, Nikah, that the High Priestess showed mercy. I doubt that I would have been so forgiving in her place. But now you will answer to me; perhaps not as severely as you would have at the Shrine, but still, I intend to be creative with you Nikah. Gather up the parts now!"

Ashala watched him as he scrambled to obey her.

"Don't forget the straps Nikah. We will need to keep you firmly restrained upon the frame. You will not be able to stay voluntarily still while I work on you, no matter how much you wish to obey!"

Nikah threw himself at Ashala's feet, apologising, begging forgiveness and promising never to disappoint her again. She stared down at him dispassionately.

"It is good that you feel this way Nikah," she said. "I will be very happy to hear all about it later on, when I have completed your correction. But right now you are simply wasting time."

It took Nikah two journeys to deliver all the parts of the frame of repentance to Ashala's bed chamber. She sat and sipped juka as she watched him assemble the pieces.

"You are sweating Nikah," she said. "Remove your tunic! I will be needing you naked soon anyway. And make sure that thing will not collapse under your weight during the torment. I have no wish to see you lying in my infirmary, well, not every day for the next week anyway. What's that? No Nikah, the picture on the scroll is correct but you are holding the piece upside down. Foolish boy! It is a wonder the gardens have not become a wasteland. I am sure I do not know how Priestess Ruta copes. "

Ashala poured some water into a bowl and put it on the floor next to the sweating boy.

"In case you are thirsty. But no hands! You will drink like a dog!"

Finally, when the frame was finished, Ashala squatted down next to the naked, trembling boy and placed an arm around his waist.

"It is a shame we don't seem to have the wheels. In the days of the Old Queen, when she required boys, her ladies in waiting would secure the unfortunate victims to the frames in advance, and then wheel them through the palace to the royal bedchamber, in full view of everyone. By the way Nikah, the lady of the north that you so inappropriately threw yourself at yesterday; she is the Old Queen's granddaughter. I imagine you had no idea, although it is hardly a secret. I'll warrant that was the first time a boy has grovelled so sweetly before her. Boys are not considered property by ladies in the North, Nikah. Even so, she did look intrigued. Perhaps the Old Queen's blood does run in her veins. And perhaps the High Priestess did you a favour by saving you from her, Nikah."

Ashala chuckled, but quickly turned her attention back to the frame.

"Isn't it beautiful Nikah? It is made from very fine wood. Really, it is indeed a piece of furniture, intended to be kept permanently in a lady's bedchamber; always ready and always in sight of the boys who serve her there. Look Nikah, the Mistress restrains her boy's wrists and ankles here and here. And these straps go around each of his thighs to keep him very still, because there is nothing more frustrating than a boy who squirms too much during punishment. And then, when this wheel is turned the boy is lifted and spread, like this, you see? It is adjustable to suit the Mistress. I am quite little, am I not, so I would not need to turn the wheel very far in order for my boy's cheeks to be perfectly presented to me. And see how his thighs will be simultaneously parted by the mechanism, making his soft and delicate parts easily accessible."

She waited for a few moments, allowing her descriptions to sink in.

"Well, Nikah, on you get!"

He slowly climbed into position, trembling with fear and excitement, midriff across the padded apex of the frame, head and arms down on the far side, the backs of his legs toward his Mistress. Ashala worked on the restraints and, finally, when everything was tight, she turned the wheel. Nikah gasped as he was lifted and positioned by the mechanism.

"Excellent, Nikah! I am very pleased with the way you are now presented to me."

From behind him she ran a hand up his inner thigh all the way to his sex which responded immediately to her touch, but at that moment there came a knock at her chamber door.

"Enter! Ah, Ruta, what a happy coincidence. As you know, Nikah's behaviour recently has been less than perfect, but we are going to to help him with that right now. What do you say Nikah?"

"Um, thankyou for helping me become a better boy." ventured Nikah, his voice faltering.

"You are welcome Nikah," said Ashala, picking up her short cane. "We do not mind taking an hour or so out of our days to perform this service for you. Ruta, some say the frame of repentance is degrading but I think our boy looks absolutely magnificent, don't you? He is so open to us like this...."

She ran a finger gently between the parted cheeks of his buttocks, pausing momentarily over his tight opening and pushing slightly, feeling it clench involuntarily in opposition.

"....Who knows what we may decide to do with him," she continued, before removing her finger. "But Ruta, I am keen to begin and I think the poor boy may need some love and reassurance at the front while I work at the rear here."

"I am more than happy to oblige." laughed Ruta, and she pulled up a chair in front of the frame so that she could sit and hold Nikah's head in her hands.

As the first strokes landed, and Nikah cried out, Ruta whispered reassuring words into his ears, praising him for taking them well, encouraging him to be brave, promising him that it would soon be over, and expressing her confidence that it would make him a better, more pleasing boy. After ten strokes, and with red welts already rising on the boy's buttocks, Ashala stopped and, once again, she took his sex in her hand. And again, Nikah responded.

"Oh look Nikah," whispered Ruta, "Priestess Ashala's hands look so small and dainty on your sex. The way she is moving her fingers; I imagine that must feel delightful. Does it Nikah? You can tell me. Are you not a lucky boy Nikah? What do you say to your Mistresses?"

"Oh thank you Mistresses, thank you!"

Ashala moved her fingers faster and more firmly over her boy's sex, which was now fully engorged. He gave out a low moan.

"Mistress, I am getting close!"

"What!" shouted Ashala, stopping immediately. She looked over at Ruta and mouthed 'Already?' at her, causing the seated priestess to stifle a laugh.

"Nikah! To allow you that pleasure would be theft from your night Mistress," explained Ashala. "Do you think I would steal from another priestess? Do you think so little of me? How dare you! That is another ten strokes!"

And so it continued, the alternating of pleasure and pain, one leading to another, so that the two became almost indistinguishable to the boy on the frame. Ashala knew that this treatment would intoxicate him, intensifying his feelings of love, adoration, dependency and submission towards his handlers. The two women swapped roles repeatedly, providing loving whispers, intense pleasure and agonising cruelty, until the boy no longer knew which Mistress was where. Finally, when the two women saw that he was fully broken on the frame, that his will and energy were spent, that he no longer knew where he was or even which year of the Republic he was living in, they released him and helped him to the couch where they took turns holding him in their arms, kissing and reassuring him.

Slowly, Nikah recovered.