Lesbia Chronicles: Over Witch's Knee

by Ther Renard

  "You cannot continue to keep secrets from me," Kira said, arguing in spite of Ayla's increasing fearsomeness. "I might have once been one of your strays, but I am a stray no longer. I deserve answers. We both do. You treat us like simpletons."

  "I do not treat you like simpletons. I treat you like what you are. Mine." Ayla spoke with a hard, possessive tone. "I protected you when you were weak, nourished you when you were hungry. But for me you would both be long dead. Some might think that grounds for respect and trust, but you both seem to prefer imagining that I am the greatest villain that ever lived. Every ill that befalls you comes to rest at my feet. You are both spoiled ingrates."

  "Ayla..."

  "No," Ayla said, cutting Kira off with a hard look. "Do not speak to me as your equal. I am not your equal. I have tried to be patient with you, with both of you, but my patience has only been rewarded with disrespect and chaos." She paused, and looked at them both long and hard. "This is the last stop," Ayla continued. "There are no more retreats beyond this one. No more chances. No more places to run or hide. Do you understand me?"

  Atrocious did not understand at all, but she was far too terrified to say. Ayla had always been an imposing figure, but her good humor and gentleness had softened her. Without that humor the witch was possessed of a fierce aspect. Her height became intimidating, her elven eyes seemed foreign and unnatural, her hard cheekbones made her look harsh and unyielding.

  "Come on Atrocious," Kira said, clasping her shoulder. "Let's go back to the shelter."

  They backed out of the cottage with Ayla's eyes still boring into them. Neither took a proper breath until they were several yards away, and even then they looked over their shoulders before they spoke.

  "She's... really angry," Atrocious whispered, sticking close to Kira's side.

  "Yes she is."

  "Atrocious!" Ayla's voice rang out clear and crisp through the morning air. "Come here."

  Atrocious stopped in her tracks, stiffened with fear.

  "Go," Kira whispered.

  "I don't want to go," Atrocious whispered back. She turned to see the tall elf standing outside the cottage, her arms folded across her chest, her hair trailing out behind her in the breeze. In that pose she was simultaneously beautiful and terrifying. Atrocious' stomach did a full somersault as Ayla locked eyes with her, extended her arm, and crooked her finger.

  Atrocious went.

  There was a certain distance to the witch's bearing, an imperious expression on her face that made Atrocious feel uncomfortable and prickly and guilty. She was certain that she was in trouble - and not the trouble she was used to being in, a new kind of trouble she wasn't sure how to get out of.

  When Atrocious was close enough, Ayla produced a scroll from the folds of her robe and held it out. When she spoke her voice had a hard, unyielding note. "On this scroll there is a word. That word will remove you from this place and set you free. You need but say it once and you will no longer be under my sway or in my care."

  Atrocious took the scroll, looked at it, then back at Ayla. "You want me to leave?"

  "That is one option before you. The other is to give that scroll back to me, step over the threshold to my home and put yourself in my hands. There you will submit to my guidance, behave with respect and undertake tasks as I see fit."

  "What about Kira?"

  Ayla shot a brief, sharp look in the warrior's direction. "Do not worry about Kira, or Rogette. Worry only about yourself. I will not spend another day being accused of trapping you. If you choose to remain here, you choose to acknowledge that you are mine. If you wish not to be mine, then I will set you free."

  Atrocious frowned down at the parchment between her fingers. Such a little thing, but so powerful. That light scroll contained the key to freedom. Freedom to do as she pleased, freedom to go where she pleased - freedom to be hunted down and murdered by Imperials. But to be Ayla's? To exchange freedom for security? She bristled at the idea.

  "If I were to be yours, how long would I be yours for?"

  Ayla looked down at Atrocious with a crystal clear gaze. "Given the length of your span compared to mine, I imagine it likely the duration of your life."

  Atrocious' mouth dropped open, then shut long enough for her to formulate some sort of response. "So now, in this moment. You want me to pledge servitude to you forever. Or leave forever. Those are my choices."

  "They are."

  It was a difficult proposal to face. Atrocious was silent a good long moment, mulling the options over in her mind. When she spoke, her response was not a yes or a no, but a story.

  "Once upon a time, a traveling philosopher came to our village," Atrocious said. "He came by quite often, and every time he came he taught us new things. He suggested my name to my mother, as it happened."

  Ayla listened, her head cocked to the side As Atrocious took an unexpected waltz down memory lane.

  "He taught me some things too," Atrocious said, tapping the scroll against her thumbnail. "Words. Big words I never thought I'd use. But I think I'm about to use one of them now. Or two of them. False dilemma."

  "False dilemma?"

  "You say I can leave now and be free forever. Or stay and become yours forever." Atrocious shook her head. "But those aren't the only two options open to me. And I won't be taking either of them." She smiled sweetly as she tucked the scroll into her vest. "This could come in handy however, thank you." That said, she turned on her heel and walked away.

  "Congratulations," Kira said as Atrocious drew closer. "It looks like you actually managed to make her even more angry. I didn't know that was possible."

  "Trust me, it was worth it," Atrocious said with a broad and entirely triumphant grin, tossing herself down into the long grass. "I now have a ticket out of here whenever I want it. I can....hey!" Somewhere in her vest, things began to rustle. There was the distinct sensation of little paws grabbing at her skin. She squealed as a small white ferret poked its head out of her vest, the scroll firmly held in its powerful jaws. It ran down her flailing arm, leaped into the grasses and streaked towards Ayla.

  "Give that back!" Atrocious chased the ferret, grabbing at it as it leaped clumps of grass and zipped back and forth in front of her. She chased it all the way to Ayla's feet, where it disappeared into her robes.

  "Give that back," Atrocious demanded from her half crouched position on the ground. "That was mine, you gave it to me."

  "That was yours if you wanted to leave," Ayla said. "But you didn't want to leave, you wanted to behave, as per usual, like a spoiled rotten little brat. Now you have no escape, and no place to call home."

  "But..."

  "But what? Did you think my hospitality endless? My patience boundless? Did you think I would stand by and let you walk all over me, disobey me, disrespect me, put us all in danger and still welcome you with open arms?" Ayla's voice was like shards of ice cutting through Atrocious' tender feelings. "I would not employ you as a servant at this moment, you are so entirely consumed with matters of the self. So go now. Go back to your hovel of sticks and pray that you have not frayed Kira's patience too terribly. She is rebellious, but at least she knows how to act in service."

  Atrocious whimpered, then sniffed and finally wept quite openly, but Ayla stood firm, showing no sign of responding to the emotion being displayed before her. When it became apparent that Atrocious had no intention of offering apology or making amends, she withdrew indoors, leaving the thief to cry as much as she liked.

  Left alone, Atrocious' cries turned to shrieks, which turned into a howling loud enough to make the shutters rattle. Her dismay was absolute as she vented her frustration to the world at large, having not a care for the other witches and women trying to go about their business with their eardrums intact.

  "Stop that squalling," Kira finally said, casting a shadow over Atrocious. "You sound like a baby. I don't like babies." She reached down and grabbed Atrocious by the loops of her metal vest. "Let's go, before she decides to turn you into a toa
d."

  "Put me down!" Atrocious shrieked, fully in the grips of a tantrum.

  Kira did not put her down. Kira hauled her right up hard against her body so that Atrocious could feel the power that held her. "I will not put you down. If you don't stop that shrieking this instant, I am going to turn you over my knee right here in front of everybody and slap you until you can't sit for a week."

  "I will make elves come out of your ears!" Atrocious howled the threat at the top of her lungs. "If you hit me I will have them tie you down and pluck out your eyebrows one by one. You're scared of them, I know you are!"

  She made the threat wildly, almost without looking at Kira, but when the words were out Kira grew very still, her face clouding over with a rare anger.

  "You dare threaten me ?" Kira lifted Atrocious up so that they were nose to nose. "If you push too far, if you shove her at every turn, Ayla may eventually walk and let you go free. She is much kinder than I. If you cross me, I will not simply walk into my cottage and shut the door, do you understand me?"

  Atrocious felt a shiver as Kira glared at her with a fury bordering on the vicious.

  "Okay," she sniffed. "Sorry."

  "No," Kira growled mercilessly. "Sorry isn't going to be good enough. Sorry isn't going to be nearly good enough."

  Atrocious squealed as Kira transferred her grip to one hand and used the other to open the door to Ayla's cottage. She strode inside and dumped Atrocious face first onto the empty kitchen table, pinning her in place with one hand as she addressed Ayla.

  "I owe you an apology," Kira said. "As does this one. But I think we both know we're not going to be getting one from her, so here's the next best thing." Kira yanked up Atrocious' tunic, pulled down her pants and bared her bottom, ignoring Atrocious' squirming squealing complaints. "Would you like to go first, or should I?"

  With one brow raised at the unexpected intrusion, Ayla gave Atrocious a dispassionate look. "I'm not sure I care to."

  "I'll go first then," Kira said. Holding Atrocious in place, she unlooped the leather belt from around her waist, doubled it over and applied it squarely to the thief’s cheeks. It landed with a loud cracking sound and left a pink mark that was soon joined by several more laid one over the other as the warrior punished Atrocious with the full strength of her arm.

  Atrocious squealed and cried and begged for forgiveness, but very little attention was paid to her. Ignoring her vocalizations, Kira tenderized her bottom with expert lashes that turned soft skin into a hot red mass. Her bottom was soon bright red, two rounds of trembling flesh that flinched and clenched between strokes.

  "Are you sure you don't want to take a turn?" Kira asked Ayla. "It does feel quite good."

  Ayla cocked her head to the side slightly. "Hm, perhaps."

  "No!" Atrocious shrieked, but nobody was listening. Kira moved to the side and Ayla took her turn, choosing a wooden spoon as her implement of choice. Before long Atrocious felt the impact of round wood against her sore bottom, working around the welts, bringing her entire behind to a blazing red glow. She did not know how she could stand another stroke, but still they kept coming, one after the other.

  "Do you still want her?" Kira asked the question as Ayla pressed a hand to Atrocious' buttock, spreading the rounds in order to ply the spoon to the tender flesh between Atrocious' cheeks. When the resulting squeal died down into a low level whimper, Ayla replied.

  "My mistake was in giving her a choice."

  The witch looked down into the cleft of Atrocious' cheeks where the tight little bud and squirming pubic mound were quite visible. She swiped a finger slowly across the center of Atrocious' slit, collecting the beads of moisture which had gathered in response to the intense sensations.

  As Atrocious clenched her thighs in a useless attempt to hide the results of her punishment, Ayla slid long fingers into Atrocious' hair and lowered her lips until they were next to Atrocious' ear. "If you ever think of behaving the way you have these past weeks... If you challenge Kira or I, if you so much as pout in our direction or complain about a decision we have made, you will find yourself in this position again. Do you understand me?" She tugged at Atrocious' hair, lifting the young woman's head so that her red tear stained face was visible.

  "Yes, I understand," Atrocious said quickly, willing to say anything to stop the punishment.

  Ayla slapped Atrocious' bottom hard, causing Atrocious to squeal and begin sobbing anew. "This hot, red, wet little ass is mine, and you have no say in the matter at all."

  Atrocious gasped as she felt the witch's fingers slide over her mound in a slow caress, then return in a slap that made her hips buck. "I have ways of punishing you that you can't even begin to imagine," Ayla said, laying another slap across Atrocious' aroused lips.

  A moan of pleasure was probably not the correct response, but Atrocious couldn't help it. Her hips lifted of their own accord, the skin over her bottom stretching hot and tight as Ayla's strong fingers pressed against her mound.

  "I don't think she is getting the message," Kira said, speaking up. "She thinks this is foreplay."

  "I don't! I don't!" Atrocious hastened to assure her, but it was too late, Ayla stepped aside and Kira returned with the belt, trailing leather across Atrocious' upper thighs. "Please Kira! Please, I am sorry I won't ever again!"

  "You won't ever what again?" Kira pushed Atrocious' thighs apart, making her bare everything she had.

  "I won't anything you don't want me to, I promise!" Atrocious was almost frantic as Kira trailed the leather between her thighs, the smooth surface grazing her erect clitoris. "Just please don't hit me there."

  "Next time you threaten me, I will hit you there..." Kira growled, reaching up and flipping Atrocious over so that she was laying on her back, her weight on her red hot behind. Half naked, and entirely at Kira's disposal, Atrocious felt the warrior press her leg up into the space between her thighs. "And then I will give you to Ayla to do the same." Kira's fearsome gaze burned down at Atrocious. "You are going to be the sorriest little slave in all of Lesbia if you cross me again."

  "S..slave?"

  "Oh yes," Kira said. "You haven't earned your freedom. Now apologize to Ayla."

  "I'm sorry Ayla," Atrocious said quickly.

  "That's not how a slave apologizes," Kira said, lifting Atrocious off the table and pressing her down to her knees on the floor.

  "I'm sorry Ayla," Atrocious said, squirming continuously as her bottom burned and sparked with hot pain. "I'm sorry."

  "Are you?" Ayla looked down from her great height. "Are you sorry? Or are you just very sore and very tired of being punished?"

  Atrocious let out a little sob. "I am sorry. I promise."

  The witch gave her a long, hard look. "I don't think you are sorry. I think you are sore. I think your bottom is burning and your pussy is wet and you want very much for the pain to stop so you can rub yourself better, that's what I think. I also think you should go upstairs this instant and go to bed.”

  “Go on,” Kira said, nudging Atrocious back up to her feet. “Do as your mistress tells you.”

  Atrocious took one last look at Kira and Ayla, then fled for the relative safety of the bed.

  ~~~

  Whilst Atrocious sniffled herself to sleep upstairs, Ayla and Kira held conference in the kitchen over a pitcher of mead.

  Ayla barely touched her drink, she was too busy winding a coil of fine blonde hair about her finger. "Do you think we were too harsh?"

  Kira snorted, resting elbows on the table as she lifted the tankard to her face. "You're losing your edge, Ayla. No. We were not too harsh. We have not been harsh enough."

  "But she..."

  "But nothing," Kira interrupted. "I've seen the shit she pulled today a hundred times before. You know where?"

  "Do enlighten me."

  "New soldiers. They come in as recruits and they listen, because they know you'll kick their ass if they step out of line and because they respect you for what you can do." Kira took a long
drink of mead, put the tankard down and licked her lips. "Give them a few months and they start getting cocky. They learn how to use a sword, they go on a first patrol. They don't die. Suddenly they know everything there is to know about everything - and that's when they'll test you." Kira smirked slightly. "And you know what happens then?"

  "I can only imagine."

  "That's when they get their asses whipped until they can't walk straight, because if you let them think they have something on you, they'll get themselves killed." Kira shook her head. "She threatened me, Ayla. She threatened me."

  Ayla's lips quirked into a rather attractive smile. "Heaven forbid."

  "Heaven nothing. I forbid," Kira said, downing her tankard. "You can worry about her tender little feelings if you like. I'm not standing another day of this attitude."

  "You've changed your mind very quickly," Ayla noted. "You were half convinced by what she was saying."

  "She threatened me," Kira repeated herself. "No sense can come from someone who is stupid enough to threaten me." There was silence for a moment as Kira poured herself another drink. "And I owe you an apology Ayla, I... I should never have slept with her."

  "That is not what you owe me an apology for," Ayla replied. "That is not what hurt."

  "I know, I stopped trusting you," Kira said. "But you make it dammed hard sometimes, you play everything so close to the vest, you tell us nothing."

  "I don't tell you because you don't need to know," Ayla said simply. "Because my thoughts are mine and do little good shared with others."

  "Well, when its my blood on the line, I do need to know," Kira said, glancing up at the stairs. "GO TO BED!" She thundered suddenly. There was a squeak and a fast pattering of feet as Atrocious made a fast retreat. "You see?" Kira said to Ayla. "She is still doing precisely as she pleases. Spying on us." She glowered up at the now empty staircase. "I've a good mind to go up there and thrash her again."

  "I think she has had enough for one night," Ayla said. "As have I. I need my bed."

  "Pity it is filled with disobedient brat."