by Kara Bryn
Her plan to appear positive carried her through morning prayer and breakfast, although still no-one was willing to talk to her. Theresa had caught her eye and smiled once, which had made Sarah blush; she had dreamt about her for two nights in a row now. Theresa assumed that Sarah was just embarrassed about her nudity, which would be reasonable, and left her alone.
With the first work period Sarah went to search for Jessica in the kitchens, eager to end her isolation; at least Jessica would have to talk to her to give her instructions.
She looked kindly on Sarah when the two found each other in the privacy of the pantry. Jessica was fond of the younger woman and she felt the Reverend Mother's punishments were harsh. But on the other hand, the girl had done wrong: an example needed to be made and Sarah had a lesson to learn. Yet still she had a duty to speak up if things went too far.
"What do you want me to do," Sarah asked, attempting to be as upbeat as she could. She managed to put Jessica's role in her dream out of her mind but she noticed that she, too, was much prettier to look at than she had first realised. She quickly put the thought down to her unnatural state of nudity: if there was one thing that was going to make a young girl think about sex, it was having to walk around in nothing but shoes and stockings.
"Oh," Jessica said, suddenly very serious, "You're not going to like this… But the Reverend Mother says we need to restock our flour supplies."
"No problem," Sarah said. Why would it be a problem? "Where's the flour kept?"
"No, I mean, we have very little left in the convent," Jessica replied, "So we need to get some in town. I said I'd go but… she was very insistent that you help me to carry it."
Sarah's heart sank: so this was the kind of thing the Reverend Mother had in mind for her, to humiliate her in front of as many people as possible, whether within the walls of the convent or without. Sarah almost swore under her breath but was glad that she didn't: even Jessica might report her for something like that.
Jessica leant towards Sarah. "Look," she said, "I've worked something out. I've got a smock in my bag, and once we're outside of the gate you can slip it on."
Sarah smiled, warming to Jessica even more than she already had. But then she thought about it and shook her head.
"No," she said, "Somehow, you know it'll get back to the Reverend Mother. And then you'll be in trouble too, and then she'll punish you and she'll think up something even worse for me."
Jessica stared at Sarah: she knew it was true, but she felt that she had to make the offer. She would have accepted the punishment to help the girl. The Reverend Mother couldn't punish every single one of them so harshly, after all.
Sarah took a deep breath. "Let's get this over with," she said, "The earlier we go, the fewer people will be around town."
In a near trance, she followed Jessica to the main gate. Her heart skipped a beat as the latch was lifted and the wooden door opened to reveal the street outside. Jessica stepped through and looked around: the coast was clear, for now. She nodded for Sarah to follow her.
Sarah followed as closely as if she was Jessica's shadow but, inevitably, they started to see other people out on the street. They were headed towards the centre of town and, although it was early, life here started early for everyone, before the heat of the day set in.
The locals stared from a distance, and Sarah was conscious not only of her own embarrassment but also how embarrassed Jessica was to be accompanied by a naked woman. A nun in full dress accompanied by a woman in nothing but stockings and small, black shoes was not a sight anyone could ignore.
Young men grinned at Sarah as she walked by and she felt their eyes devour her body, and she was glad that she had Jessica there to look after her. Women tutted, or some smiled and nodded, unsure about what was going on but simply greeting a fellow human being, naked or not.
Sarah nearly walked into Jessica as she turned into the doorway of the baker's. As they entered, the man behind the counter smiled at Jessica, and then his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he looked Sarah up and down. Sarah contemplated waiting outside, but a glance back at the doorway revealed a crowd of men and boys peering furtively out of the sunlight and into the darkness of the store.
Jessica said nothing by way of explanation and Sarah understood nothing of the Spanish in which they conducted their transaction. But soon, the baker disappeared into a back room and returned with a small trolley with a large sack of flour sitting in it.
"Let's get back as quickly as we can, shall we?" Jessica said, trying to lift Sarah's spirits with a smile.
She wheeled the trolley backwards down the small steps of the store and onto the street. Sarah followed. Jessica turned around and began to push the flour back towards the convent with Sarah at her side, and it became abundantly clear that this was a job that only needed one person and that the Reverend Mother had forced Sarah to attend purely as part of her punishment.
"Here," Sarah said, determined to show defiance, "Let me help."
Jessica began to protest, but Sarah stepped into the space in front of the trolley and the clothed nun instinctively stepped away rather than make physical contact with the nude woman.
Sarah tilted the trolley back and began to push it through the streets following Jessica's directions at each turning. If anything, she felt less exposed now that she had something to do. If the Reverend Mother wanted people to think she was a prostitute, then this would surely destroy the image: when was the last time anyone saw a prostitute pushing a bag of flour on a trolley? With a nun at their side?
As they approached the convent walls Sarah looked up and saw the Reverend Mother standing at the window of her office. She was watching them carefully as Sarah pushed the trolley, her breasts swaying as she worked to navigate the lumps and bumps of the unmade dirt road. Jessica's habit was covered in dust and she wondered how she herself must look now. Her stockings and pale skin must be grey with dirt and grime.
Nevertheless, she felt something of a victory as she pushed the trolley defiantly, almost as if she was proud of herself, and she was glad that she hadn't accepted Jessica's offer of a smock to cover her now that she knew that the Reverend Mother's office overlooked the entrance. Punishment for both of them would surely have followed.
By the time lunch came Sarah felt that she was dealing well with her enforced nudity. No longer was she even pretending to be confident: she actually felt that she could deal with her punishment, especially as it was only for the next one or two days. Everyone in the convent had seen her nude, and now most of the town had too, and she had survived. She would have to think of how to deal with the Reverend Mother in future, but that was a problem that she would have plenty of time to work on.
When Jessica and Sarah worked to reorganise the pantry that afternoon all trace of a frisson between them was gone, and Sarah was grateful when Jessica sat near her at dinner time and even spoke to her once or twice. Others looked on disapprovingly and she knew that Jessica was doing as much as she dared. The warmth and gratitude she felt almost overcame her lingering embarrassment.
Prayer sessions were as solitary experiences as they had been the day before, but that was fine by Sarah: it gave her time to think, to repent, and to pray for forgiveness for the Reverend Mother. The Reverend Mother must, she thought, have been treated very badly when she was only a nun to harbour such resentment. It was a shame for her and a shame for those beneath her.
Finally, the day ended, and Sarah spent some time washing her stockings for the next day. They were thick with dust collected from town, but miraculously free of ladders. Maybe one is more careful with one's body when naked? Sarah giggled to herself.
"What are you laughing at," said a voice behind her. Sarah turned around to see Theresa on her way back to her room.
"Oh, nothing," Sarah said with a wistful smile, "Just something funny about this situation." She looked down at herself, now entirely naked apart from her small, black shoes. Theresa followed her gaze, studying Sarah's bo
dy for entirely different reasons and Sarah turned around to continue washing her stockings.
Whilst Sarah's back was turned Theresa took the opportunity to admire her some more. Without the stockings she was even more beautiful, and she had picked up a gentle tan from the past day and a half. She even had a little tan line where the stockings stopped, albeit the reverse of the tan line that one might expect on a young woman.
Sarah finished washing her stockings and turned around just as Theresa was staring at her calves and wondering what they would feel like to touch. She saw the look in Theresa's eyes and blushed. The tingling sensation between her legs that had thus far only dominated her dreams was kindled a little.
Theresa realised she had been caught and blushed. She had to say something to fill the awkward silence.
"I just want to say," she said, "I know how hard this is for you, but once it's over, everything will be back to normal." She put her hand reassuringly on Sarah's shoulder. Her skin felt soft and smooth beneath her touch. Sarah tensed up as she was touched, suddenly conscious of her nudity again. She wasn't used to physical contact, especially not here inside the convent.
"The rule is," Theresa continued, "Once your punishment period is over, you've done your penance and we move on as if it never happened." She squeezed the young woman's shoulder.
Sarah turned away but smiled, grateful for the kind words. Of course, she knew that just because nobody spoke about something it didn't mean that it had been forgotten. No matter how hard she tried to forget, she would always have the image of Theresa huddled on the floor of the chapter house, a large, plastic phallus vibrating between her legs as she was brought to orgasm. She would never bring it up in conversation with Theresa, not ever, but it would be a long time before the image was far from the front of her mind each time she saw her.
Theresa's hand trailed reluctantly off of Sarah's shoulder. She was unable to work out how she could get any closer to the younger woman without escalating the situation and no matter how many times she looked for a sign that, perhaps, Sarah liked her too, she found nothing. It was probably for the best: it would only result in more punishment from the Reverend Mother.
"Anyway, I hope you sleep better tonight," Theresa said, "No more bad dreams."
Sarah smiled in thanks, not wanting to correct her: they were good dreams.
She took her damp stockings back to her room, left them on the back of the chair to dry and lay down in her bed, covering herself with a sheet and blanket. She realised that it was the first time that day that her body had been covered by more than thin nylon. She giggled a little to herself and fell asleep with the thought that her first day of nudity was over and only two more remained; that and hoping that the sooner sleep overtook her, the sooner a dream would come with it.
Sarah was disappointed when she awoke with no memory of a dream. It was still dark and there was no telling what time it was, but one thing she knew was that her bladder was too full for her to go back to sleep.
Normally she would slip her habit over her head for a trip to the bathroom block, but now she didn't even bother with her shoes. She opened the door as quietly as possible and padded down the hallway. The stone floor was cold on her feet and she bumped into a couple of doorframes and a table along the way.
Feeling much better on the way back, she took more care to feel her way along the dark corridor. She felt for the latch of her door and it rattled against its frame. She clicked it open, slipped inside and closed it behind her. She was tempted to lock it, just in case a dream did return, and the noises that came with it, but then a locked door might raise more questions if anything happened and someone tried to come in. It was better to brush off any noises she might make as another "bad" dream.
She lay back down on the bed, not bothering with the covers in the warm night. She sighed deeply, suddenly feeling quite awake and longing for the sensations of the night before. The tingling between her legs began to return and Sarah tried to summon the images from her dream. She imagined Jessica holding her arms above her and Theresa behind her, massaging her breasts, and touching her and…
What was she thinking? Without realising it, she had opened her thighs and her right hand had slipped between her legs while the other squeezed her breast. No! She thought. A nun does not lie in bed masturbating!
There was no way she was going to be able to sleep now so she sat bolt upright. The worst thing she could do was to lurk in her room getting more and more frustrated by her arousal so she stood and opened her door again.
She tiptoed down the hallway, out into the cloister and the cool night air. It was a wonderful sensation and her nipples stood on end. Partly the mild chill cooled her self-driven passion, but partly the intense feeling heightened it. Perhaps she felt a little more sensual and a little less sexual.
She walked to the centre of the cloister and sat on the stone seat beside the disused fountain. This was where her dream had taken place the night before, although the seat and the fountain weren't in her dream.
Sarah leant back with her arms against the cool stone and looked up at the stars. It was a crystal clear night. The town produced very little light and she marvelled at the night sky. If ever her faith was tested, she had to remember this picture, the majesty and beauty of it all. Compared to all of this, nothing anyone said or did to her could ever matter. She took a deep breath and savoured a moment of peacefulness.
As she sat there in silence, she became aware of a movement at the edge of the courtyard. A figure was moving towards her and she tensed. She was sitting alone, naked and vulnerable, and, although the gates were always locked, there was nothing to stop someone climbing over the walls. It had happened in the past, although the village had done everything they could to bring the culprit to justice in the end.
"Who's there?" she called with a hint of alarm in her voice. She wasn't sure if she wanted those sleeping to hear her or not, but she thought an intruder might be alarmed enough at the thought of discovery to leave rather than to try to silence her.
"Shhh!" It was the whisper of a feminine voice. As the shadow tiptoed across the grass towards her she made out a small figure in a long nightdress. "We don't want to wake the whole place. You never know what mood the Reverend Mother might wake up in." Sarah recognised Theresa's voice.
"What are you doing out here?" Sarah asked. Theresa sat down beside her and leant back, partially twisted towards Sarah. Sarah jumped a little as Theresa's shoulder rested against her arm which was stretched out along the back of the stone bench.
"What are you doing out here?" Theresa asked, "With the number of things you bumped into down the corridor and the rattling of your door I wasn't going to stay asleep, was I?"
Sarah looked sheepish. "Sorry," she said, "I couldn't sleep. I didn't mean to wake you."
"Don't worry," Theresa said and, without thinking, she put her hand on Sarah's thigh and squeezed it gently. Instantly she realised what she had done, but for the brief moment that it was there she relished the feeling of the cool, soft skin. Sarah tensed visibly. "I'm a very light sleeper," she added.
Sarah smiled, unsure as to how to respond, but she still guilty about waking her neighbour.
"Another bad dream?" Theresa asked.
Sarah shook her head. "No, but no good ones either," she said wistfully, although Theresa only read sadness in the sentence that wasn't entirely intended. She put her hand on Sarah's shoulder and gave another squeeze, but this time she didn't remove her hand afterwards.
"Oh, you poor thing," Theresa said.
Sarah felt suddenly uncomfortable with Theresa touching her bare skin. Here she was, nude in the middle of the night sitting beside a woman she barely knew. It was not a familiar situation to be in and she was not equipped to deal with it. She crossed her legs and Theresa was momentarily distracted by the bobbing of her delicate, bare foot. She hoped the darkness concealed the direction of her gaze.
"Will you be okay for the next couple of days?" Theresa pro
bed. Sarah looked thoughtfully into the darkness and then, suddenly, touched by the kindness of a near-stranger, a tear escaped from her eye. She was young and, if this was how the real world was, then she wasn't sure she was ready for it.
Theresa spotted the glistening tear tracing a path down Sarah's cheek. She shifted her position closer to the young woman and put an arm around her shoulder to pull her towards her. Sarah's arms closed around her shoulders and she buried her head in Theresa's cotton nightdress and began to weep. They weren't just tears of sadness, of self-pity, or of pain, but a culmination of two days of an emotional rollercoaster that just needed a release.
Theresa felt a tear of her own forming in her eye. She had so much sympathy and felt so much warmth towards the young woman in her arms, and attraction too, but more than anything else she just wanted Sarah to feel better, to feel as if she was at home in the convent.
The pair sat that way for a few minutes until Sarah's sobbing subsided. "I'm sorry," Sarah said, lifting her head, "I think I've made your nightdress a bit damp."
"That's okay," Theresa said gently, "Maybe we should all go nude to avoid that kind of problem."
Sarah smiled a little and Theresa felt her attraction growing again: to sit nude with Sarah, to feel bare skin against her own… that would be a fine way to spend the night.
"I think I'd better get back to bed," Sarah said with a stifled yawn. Theresa was disappointed, but she understood.
Together they rose to their feet, their arms still around each other. Sarah's body was so soft against her own and she could feel her warmth through the thin cotton of her nightdress. If this happened again, she would remember to take it off before she came out: she could easily claim that she had slept in the nude too. Would Sarah like what she saw as much as Theresa did? Theresa shook her head: it was all pure fantasy and she mustn't let it control her.
They negotiated the entrance back into the corridor, Theresa's hand reluctant to leave the place it had found around Sarah's waist. "We can't let you bump into everything again," she said by way of a cover story and she steered the girl's small frame along the hall.