by Robin Roseau
"These are lovely, Ms. Todd."
"I hoped you would enjoy them."
"Well, you came to see the judge, so I will lead you to her."
She took me down into the basement. I was expecting to find a crowd, and wondered what she intended. Instead, I found only that she had arranged her basement meeting room to vaguely resemble a courtroom. She pulled on a black robe and took her seat behind the bench, gesturing to stand before her.
I glanced around and saw we were being recorded. I wasn't surprised.
"Well," she said. She lifted some papers and thumbed through them before settling her gaze on me. "My, my, Ms. Todd. You have been quite naughty."
"Have I? Of what am I charged?"
"Well, it appears to be 21 counts of lewd and lascivious behavior." She ran down a list. I lost count of everything.
When she was done, I said, "My. If all that is true, I have been quite naughty indeed, and yet I do not remember engaging in most of those activities."
We went back and forth for a while. Finally she asked me, "How do you plead to these charges?"
"Oh, guilty, I suppose. Are you able to assign immediate sentencing."
"Guilty?" she asked. "To all of them."
"Well, if I'm not mistaken, one of those charges said something about an underage sheep. I'm innocent of that one. Every sheep I have touched has been good, fine mutton."
She laughed. Then she studied me for a while.
"So, sentencing?"
She continued to study me. Then she swore. "Damn it. Just. Damn it."
"Turn the cameras off," I said quietly.
She had her computer with her, and she did something, then nodded.
"Was I going to hate whatever punishment you had planned?"
"No, I don't think so. Well, probably not."
"You wanted to spank me."
She covered her face. "I'm not very good at this."
I stepped forward, reached across the bench, and pulled her hands from her face. "What happened, Judge?"
"Will you call me Harriet?"
"What happened, Harriet?"
"This." She gestured. "I was feeling playful."
"I thought so. And?"
"This isn't me."
"Which part? The part that wants to spank me?"
"The part that treats my position as a joke."
"Oh."
"Damn it."
I gestured to the cameras. "Are those live streaming or a recording?"
"A recording to my computer."
"So no one has seen them?"
"No."
"So you can delete them."
She nodded. "I suppose I can."
"Judge, I don't see you as a joke."
"Harriet."
"Judge Harriet," I said with a smile. "I don't see you as a joke."
"I'm an old lady who doesn't know what she's doing."
"You really wanted to spank me?"
"The idea seemed better as a fantasy than in reality."
"Why is that?"
"Because it's just ridiculous."
"Maybe. So?"
She looked away. "There's nothing so pitiful as an old woman -- unless it's an old man -- trying to recapture her lost youth."
"Pshaw."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Anyway, it's not about youth. It's about joy. Were you going to seduce me after the spanking?"
"No. I was going to share the wine with you and try to become friends." She sighed. "I suppose the boot on your car and the walk home was a sufficient hazing. It ultimately was more annoying to you than Mary Ellen's prank. You had to walk home."
"But you feel dissatisfied, and you went through a lot of work." I gestured to the cameras. "Is video required?"
"Not necessarily."
"Well then, what do you want? I don't believe you feel I've been properly hazed. Frankly, neither do I."
"Why would you tell me that?"
I shrugged. "I think our talk later will be a lot more intimate, in keeping with a friendship, if you've had your fun here first."
"What about your fun? Why should my fun be at your expense?"
"How many swats did you intend to deliver?"
"I don't know. I thought five for the major offenses and three for the minor ones."
"Each?"
"Yes. Each."
I laughed. "Have you ever spanked anyone like that?"
She covered her face and shook her head.
"Well, you would have to use something beside your hand, or you'll be bruised beyond belief. And a spanking like that, even with a bare hand, would be abuse."
"Oh god. That's not what I wanted."
"You really don't have fun very often, do you, Harriet."
"Not this kind."
"I can take one per offense, but I'm not sure your hand can. And I'm not sure I want that many delivered with whatever you might have for a paddle."
"I got something from Opal, but now I'm afraid to show it to you."
I laughed. "So she knows?"
"I didn't tell her what it was for."
"Oh, please," I said. "I bet if you call her, she's going to ask if you're done yet. If you can't do it yourself, you can call her over to do it, but I must object if the count is going to be as high as you said."
"Blythe..."
"And if she touches me, I get a blue marble from both of you and she might be disappointed by that."
"I don't want to spank you."
"Yes, you do. You just don't want to admit it, and you really don't want anyone else to know. Well, Opal knows. I know. And you know."
"I'm not like this," she said. "I'm..."
"Reserved."
"Yes."
"Boring."
"Ms. Todd!"
I smiled and stepped away from the bench. "If you honestly don't want to spank me, then you're not done hazing me, Harriet. What are you going to do?"
She gazed at me. "I could do something else. There is a myriad of punishments I could assign."
"There are. I think I have enough community service hours stacked up."
She smiled. "I would agree with that. I could let you off with a warning."
"You could," I agreed. "But you'll be disappointed with yourself if you do. I'll shrug it off, but I'm not sure you will."
"I might shrug it off a lot better than if I demand you bend over my lap and expose your bottom to me."
I laughed.
"You shouldn't laugh in my courtroom!"
"What did she give you?"
"I don't want to show you."
"Is it somewhere in this room?"
"Don't you dare snoop!"
"So it is. Judge, was that white marble yesterday yours?"
"Of course not! But you shouldn't have asked me."
"I was making a point. I knew it wasn't yours. You have far more integrity than that."
"Right now, I don't feel like I do."
"Oh please. This was all meant in fun. Let me see it."
"I'm not showing it to you."
"Let me see it, or I'm going to snoop."
"If you snoop..."
"You'll, what? Paddle my bottom?"
"You are infuriating."
"Show me."
"Fine. It's there." She pointed, and I saw a simple padded chair, and behind it, a bookcase. I moved to the bookcase and found a flogger sitting on it. I picked it up and ran the leather strands through my fingers.
"Very nice," I said, turning to the judge. I wasn't sure, but I thought she was blushing.
I moved closer. "Did Opal tell you how to use this?"
"No."
"Did you try it on yourself?"
"No!"
"I won't let you use it on me until you've tried it on yourself, or if you can't bring yourself to do it, then I have to."
"You want to spank me?"
"You can really hurt someone with this," I said.
"I slapped my hand with it a few times. Does that count?"
"No."
"Put it away. Commuted sentence."
"No."
"Ms. Todd..."
"Come here, Judge."
"You don't give the orders here."
I pointed to the chair. "Sit."
She didn't move right away, but then she rose, came around the bench, and sat down in the chair, looking quite prim when she did so.
"Do you want to be wearing the robe?"
"It was part-"
"Things change. Do you want this memory while you're wearing the robe?"
"No." And so she stood and slipped the robe off, setting it aside, then sat again. She looked nervous as hell.
I studied her. I couldn't touch her with the flogger. She wasn't old, but she was kind of old, and I didn't know how fragile she was. And I'd never used one on someone, either. But I wasn't going to let her spank me with her hand, either. I was afraid she'd hurt herself.
I held the flogger out to her. She took it slowly, almost as if it burned her.
"Get a good grip," I said. Then I looked around. There was a pillow on one of the sofas. I grabbed it and set it across her lap. Then I took the flogger from her and demonstrated how to use it. "Start light. Listen." I showed her. "Hear?"
She nodded.
"That was too light." I did it harder, and then a little harder. "Hear the difference?"
"Yes," she whispered.
"Now this." And I really whacked it, and she jumped.
"Oh god, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"
"Only my aging heart. You startled me."
"Well, that was way, way too hard. I could take a few of those, but that's well beyond play for me." I handed the flogger to her and pointed to the pillow.
She looked ridiculous, and she barely tapped the pillow.
"Oh come on," I said. "You can do better than that."
It took her a few tries, and I still thought she was going light, but as it would soon be my bottom, I wasn't sure that was all bad.
"Good," I said. "How many charges were there?"
"41."
Shit. "Harriet, you're going to have to pardon a few. You'll know when. One per charge."
"We don't have to do this."
I knelt down, pulled my dress up, and laid myself across her lap. And then I could feel her staring.
"You aren't wearing underwear."
"Do you really think I didn't know your plan, Harriet?"
"And you..."
"Delivered myself to you. It pleased Claudine immensely when I walked directly into her arms. How does it make you feel?"
"My heart is pounding."
"Do I need to worry?"
"No."
"Take your free hand, and caress my bottom."
"Blythe."
"I'm not moving if you don't."
She was tentative, but then I felt her hand on my bottom. She slowly caressed both cheeks. She wouldn't see, but I smiled.
"Give me one slap on each cheek with your bare hand, but don't hurt yourself."
She paused then lifted. Swat! Swat!
"Okay, that hurts," she said.
"And that's why you have the flogger. Don't hit me as hard with it as you just did. That was two. Five more then ask how I'm doing."
"Blythe."
"It's your fantasy, Harriet. You have a half naked woman across your lap. When are you going to get another chance?"
She didn't strike me right away. She sort of teased me with the flogger for a while. Then she pulled it away, and I tried very hard not to stiffen. Thwack!
It was firm, and I flinched. But I tightened my hold on the legs of the chair and said nothing.
She alternated after that, counting half under her breath.
"Five. That's enough."
"Is it?" I asked. I turned my head to look up at her. She was flushed and her eyes a little wild. "Are you truly satisfied I've been hazed? Or are you going to regret lost opportunity for the rest of your life."
"I'm afraid I'm hurting you!"
"It's supposed to sting. That's the whole idea. Five more, a little more firmly, but only a little."
Then I closed my eyes and waited. And by the fifth, I was sucking in my breath.
"No harder," I panted. "And this is where you threaten me if I try to escape."
"Blythe," she whispered.
"I'll try to escape without a really good threat, Harriet. We'll both be disappointed if I get away with it. It has to be a threat I believe."
"Ms. Todd," she said firmly. "If you make any attempt to impede me in completing your punishment, I will invite Ms. Pearce to finish it. She will tie you down and then make you bleed. Do you doubt me?"
I wasn't sure Opal would do it. But I wasn't sure she wouldn't.
"Are you bluffing?"
"I couldn't do it myself," she said. "But I can readily call Opal."
I gripped the chair as tightly as I could and nodded.
* * * *
The judge still looked a little wild around the eyes, and when she drank her wine half down in one gulp, I was sure she was.
"Let's sit somewhere."
"I hurt you," she whispered. "Can you even sit?"
"Carefully, yes."
"You made me finish."
"Do you wish I hadn't? Please, Harriet. Where can we be comfortable?"
She gestured. I picked up the decanter and followed her to her own parlor. She sat on the love seat, and I set down the decanter and took the other end, sitting very carefully.
"Harriet," I said. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"My hazing. Although I still need to get my car unbooted."
"It's been unbooted since this afternoon."
I laughed.
"I'll drive you later."
"Thank you. Will you tell me something about yourself?"
"Yes. I'd be a horrible dominatrix."
I laughed, long and hard, and after a moment, she joined me. "You sure would," I said finally. "You certainly would."
"I don't understand why someone wants to do that," she said. "I don't understand why you wanted me to."
"Are you kidding? I hate being spanked like that. I absolutely hate it."
"Then why did you make me?"
"Because anything else would have been cheating your hazing scenario, and then I couldn't invite you again, if this goes on that long. And I'm not sure we'd be able to relax." I smiled. "And it was on your bucket list, wasn't it?"
She nodded. "But now I don't know why."
"Yes, you do. Part of you was deeply thrilled. The control. The trust I was giving you."
"You could have stopped me at any time."
"I didn't though." I paused. "You can guess. I've played."
"I think you played with Opal."
"Maybe I did," I said. "I've definitely played before Opal. I've been spanked, a few times worse than what you did. I would never want a relationship based on that. But if it was part of the relationship, only occasionally, I'd be okay with it. If she wasn't cruel."
"Why would you allow that?"
"Why do you let a man anywhere near you with that thing?"
She laughed.
"Different tastes. Like I said, I don't care for that sort of spanking. I adore softer spankings, just enough to sting a little by the end."
"That's what I should have done."
I shook my head. "No. This was what you really wanted. And frankly, that wouldn't have been a hazing."
"This was a hazing."
"Yes," I agreed. "You can honestly report you punished me, and I didn't at all enjoy it. But how you did so can remain a private matter."
"I'm sorry."
"I wish you wouldn't be. We can talk about this some more, but I think you're going to work yourself up. You should talk to Opal, perhaps, and then if you're still hung up, we can talk again."
She nodded. Then she looked away. "I don't know who gave you the white marble."
"What brings that up?"
"Whoever did it is an idiot."
I considered my response. "Thank you, Harriet. It might just be a poorly delivered message. I asked Mrs. Grafton to relay a message."
"Oh?"
I relayed what I had said. She nodded. "In some ways, you and I think alike. I agree with you entirely, and I'm glad you said something. I was also impressed with how you handled yourself Saturday evening. Some women have become quite rude when that happens."
"It happens? People change their mind."
"It happens. I am surprised you received that marble, though. I hope it is just a crude message and nothing more."
"Let's talk about something else. Tell me about being a judge. I don't think I could handle the job."
We talked for several hours, not quite finishing the wine. And then I laughed.
"Oh hell." I was staring at the nearly empty decanter. "Neither of us is driving a car tonight, and I'm blocking your drive."
"Not to worry. We have friends, if you would allow someone else to drive your cars."
I let her make the calls, then while we were waiting, I said, "Harriet? Are we now friends?"
"Yes, Blythe. I believe we are."
"The spanking was an inconsequential price to pay for that."
"I still think I need to talk to Opal."
"And me, if you want, after Opal. Or with Opal, if you and she decide."
"Thank you, Blythe."
* * * *
And so, over the next few three and a half weeks, I worked, I performed my service hours, and I accepted more hazing. Sylvia's was especially creative, but I thought perhaps she had some coaching, because it was tasteful and contained at the same time.
And then I called Opal.
"Not this time," she said. "Next month."
"All right."
"I was going to call you about something else."
"Oh?"
"Are you free a week from Saturday?"
"I am."
"Would you care to come for dinner?"
"I would like that very much. What should I bring?"
"Nothing. Dress... in a complicated fashion."
"I'm not sure I understand."
"I want it to take a very, very long time to remove your clothing."
I laughed. "I'll think of something."
* * * *
The judge didn't invite another conversation regarding spanking and similar issues, but she called me about it. "I just wanted you to know I spoke at length with Opal. And I want to thank you. I don't think I fully realized what you did for me."
"You're welcome, Harriet."
* * * *
I received notice there would be another vote. I hadn't remotely finished my service hours, although I'd made a dent. I also wasn't happy with the number of guaranteed blue marbles. I called everyone I trusted and ask for a hazing. They all agreed. And two hours later, half of them showed up on my doorstep.