[Brat 01] - Princess Brat

by Sharon Green

  “But it would also be too tempting for someone like you, so we won’t be trying it,” the beast came back with a small laugh. Then he seemed to finish up with his horse, and walked to the stall Elissia still stood in. “You didn’t have to do all that yourself. I would have done it for you.”

  “I can manage on my own, thanks,” Elissia muttered, slipping the halter on her horse. “Some useless females can be trained to do things no one expects them to, as long as you work at teaching them long enough. And I just hope my brother agrees that your reason for leaving late tomorrow is a good one.”

  “When I tell him about it, I know he’ll agree,” the beast said softly, putting his big hands on Elissia’s arms from behind. “And I will get to tell him about it, when we find and free him. You have to believe that.”

  “I believe that nothing will stop me from finding him,” Elissia said, shaking off the beast’s hands as she turned to leave the stall. With oats already having been put in the stall’s bin, there was nothing left for her to do. “Having the same belief in others is something I’m not quite up to.”

  “Then we’ll have to work on it together,” the beast said as she passed him, his expression telling her he wasn’t very pleased. “Doubting someone after he’s given you his word isn’t very nice.”

  “Being nice is one thing no one has ever accused me of,” Elissia said, taking her saddlebags and heading for the cabin. There had been other accusations, of course, many of them, but there was no need to go into details.

  The beast followed her into the cabin without saying anything else, his own saddlebags draped over one shoulder. He seemed to be thinking about something, but when he put the saddlebags down and went to a basin to wash his hands, his thinking appeared to be over.

  “Go and close the shutters on the window in the bedchamber and then wait in there,” he directed over his shoulder. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

  Elissia had no idea what she was supposed to wait for, but she no longer had the option of refusing to obey him. She was certain she would dislike his intentions no matter what he had in mind, and when he followed her into the room in little more than the minute he’d mentioned, her silent suspicions were confirmed.

  “There’s nothing wrong with being nice every once in a while,” he said as he came in carrying a lamp and his saddlebags. “It especially doesn’t hurt when you’re trusting someone the way they asked you to. It’s a lesson I expect you to learn during this trip, but it’s obvious you need some help with that learning. Come over here.”

  He’d put the lamp down on a small table before closing the door, and then he’d walked over to the room’s one chair. It seemed he wasn’t going to wait for her to “ask” to be spanked, but that was hardly surprising. He apparently enjoyed beating her, and couldn’t put off the pleasure any longer. Elissia hesitated no more than an instant before going to him, not in the least anxious to make the time any worse for herself. At least it would soon be over for another day

  “Let’s take these trousers down first,” he said when she stood in front of him. “Afterward you’ll put them on again, since supper will be brought to us later.”

  He did the taking down of her trousers and drawers himself, and then he put her face down across his lap. Elissia closed her eyes in anticipation of the first smack, but it didn’t come. Instead he stroked her bottom gently, and then suddenly that horrible device was being thrust into her again. She cried out in protest, but even tightening her muscles had been useless.

  “No, you can’t take it out again,” he reminded her as she reached back in an effort to find the thing and remove it. “This will help you to learn how to be nice, and will also help you out in other areas as well. Now let’s get these trousers and drawers pulled back up.”

  She didn’t want her clothes pulled back up again, not with that horrible thing still in her, but once again she was given no choice. The items came up before she was put back on her feet, and then the trousers were fastened.

  “There, now you’re all proper again,” the beast said as she stood there with her eyes closed and fought not to shiver. The simple movement of being stood up had caused the device to make her feel that way again, and she didn’t know how long she’d be able to bear it.

  “I – think I would like to be allowed to do my wifely duty now,” Elissia said as she heard the beast stand up. The words nearly choked her, but she knew well enough that she would have to say them at some time. Better now than after an unnecessary wait.

  “Oh, it’s much too early for duty of that sort,” the beast disagreed, a disgusting amount of amusement in his voice. “Besides, there’s something you have to ask for before we get to the duty, and it’s a bit too early for that as well. I need to sit down and relax for a time first, and you need to practice being nice.”

  And then he took Elissia by the wrist and pulled her into the front room. She gurgled and choked with the movement, but there was nothing she could do to stop those sensations from flashing through her. She stood motionless where the beast left her while he went back for the lamp, and when he returned with it he blew out the flame. The shutters on the front room were still open, and since daylight continued to come in, there was no need for the lamp.

  “We have to talk about something, so come with me,” the beast said, taking her by the wrist again. He pulled her after him to another chair, and once he sat he tugged her into his lap. The device made her gasp and turn sideways, which angled her toward the man who had done that to her. She wanted to hate him for that, more than for the spankings he’d given her, but at the moment she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it.

  “What we have to talk about is important, so pay attention,” he said, his arms wrapped around her to keep her from standing up again. “I’m well aware of the fact that I owe you my life, but if you ever disobey me in a situation like that again you’d better hope that I don’t survive. If I do and you do as well, you won’t sit down for a week. Don’t you know you could have been killed?”

  “I wasn’t the one in immediate danger,” Elissia gasped out, self control of all sort now completely beyond her. “If you’d rather think that I was simply saving my own life please do, but take this thing out of me!”

  “I’m sure you’d rather be spanked in punishment than have this done, so that’s why I chose this,” the beast returned, cradling her as if she were a child. “What I’m trying to discourage you from is risking your life when it isn’t entirely necessary. It so happens I killed a big cat like that one with a sword once, so you might say I learned the technique. But if it had gotten past me and attacked you instead, I would have been helpless to keep it from killing you. I want to hear that you’ll never do something like that again.”

  “All right, I promise,” Elissia said with all the desperation she felt. “Now will you take it out?”

  “You know I won’t,” he returned, holding her even more tightly. “If a punishment is to be remembered, it can’t be over and done with in only a minute or two. Let’s see if we can’t take your mind off it.”

  And with that his hand came to her face, raising it for his kiss. His lips were very soft and gentle on hers, but softness wasn’t what she needed. He knew what she needed, but wasn’t yet prepared to give it to her.

  The kissing went on for quite some time, and during that time Elissia fought for some kind of control over her reactions. The device continued to drive her crazy, but after a short while she found she was able to pretend to a certain extent that it wasn’t in complete charge. The beast’s lips had heated her blood to a very high degree as well, but if she gritted her mental teeth she could – just – stand it.

  But what she couldn’t stand was the way the beast had no trouble making her obey him. No matter what he wanted he seemed to get it with ease, and what he wanted now was her. That would change, of course, once Gardal was free again, but despite the almost-constant anger she felt toward him, she half-wished it wouldn’t. He was the first pers
on in her life other than Gardal to pay actual attention to her, to go so far as to care about what she did. It would have been nice to have someone care, even if she did get spanked for what she did.

  But the beast’s caring was only temporary, so she had to continue hating him and everything he did. She’d never be able to survive the time needed to find Gardal with her sanity intact if she didn’t hold firmly to that memory. It didn’t help at all to want to get to know more about the man, to ask why he said and did certain things. He seemed to have been worried about her during the attack by the big hunting cat, but that was undoubtedly because he would have to face her father if anything happened to her. It had to be for that reason, but she’d almost asked why her survival mattered. She’d stopped herself just in time, to avoid hearing what she knew perfectly well was the truth

  A knock at the door ended the time of teasing kisses, also causing Elissia to get too hastily to her feet. She stood fighting for control while the beast went to the door after lighting the lamp again, and by the time he returned with two platters and a drinking skin her blush had lessened a bit. Since darkness had fallen she hadn’t been able to see the man at the door very well at all, but he certainly hadn’t had any trouble seeing her. That there was actually nothing for him to see apparently made no difference to her inner self. She knew what had been done to her, and couldn’t get over the feeling that everyone else knew as well.

  “Tonight we have venison and baked potatoes for our meal, Seea,” the beast said as he set everything down on the table. “We’ll have to eat it all with our hands, of course, but that usually makes food taste even better. Why don’t you go and use the wash basin first.”

  Walking wasn’t something Elissia wanted to do, but moving at her own pace was preferable to being pulled along at his. For that reason she went slowly to the basin, poured water into it and washed her hands, then dried them again on the length of thick cotton cloth the beast must have put near the basin. When she finished she stepped out of his way, and he took his own turn at washing. When her slow movement finally brought her to the table he was only a step or two behind, something she found out when his voice stopped her as she reached for a small slice of venison.

  “No, now, you know better than that,” he scolded lightly, coming up beside her. “Civilized people sit down to a meal, they don’t help themselves on the run. There’s a perfectly good chair to your right, and I expect you to use it.”

  “Don’t you care anything at all about me?” Elissia blurted, all but wailing at this new demand of his. “I can’t sit in that chair, and you know it as well as I do!”

  “It won’t be comfortable for you, but you certainly can sit in the chair,” the beast disagreed at once, those dark eyes looking down at her. “Of course, you can always ask for your spanking first and then sit in the chair, but that decision is up to you. I want you to remember the lesson I’m teaching, but there’s no need to overdo it.”

  No need to overdo it. Elissia closed her eyes for a moment, knowing perfectly well that he wasn’t joking. If she didn’t obey him he would make her ask to be spanked, which would turn the process of sitting down into something ten times worse. And there was nothing she might do to make him change his mind

  “Can – can I give you a more detailed promise not to disobey you like that again?” she nearly begged, the only thing she could think of to say. “I’ll put it however you like, say it in any words you choose, but please – ”

  “Seea, no,” he interrupted, turning her gently around and putting his arms about her. “Saying things like that won’t do any good, so there’s no need for you to put yourself through it. I can’t let you talk yourself out of the full punishment, or you’ll immediately decide you’ll be able to talk yourself out of it the next time as well. I’m doing this for your own good, so I can’t afford to be less than firm about it. Some day you’ll understand.”

  He held her to him for a moment and stroked her hair, almost making Elissia believe that he really did commiserate with her suffering. But whether or not that was true, he’d certainly convinced her of one thing: he wasn’t going to change his mind under any circumstance. When Elissia found herself clinging to him in response to what really seemed like comfort, she forced herself to stop being foolish. Clinging was one of those things useless women did, and she wanted no part of it.

  “Go ahead now and sit down,” he urged when she moved back from him. “It will only be for a short time while we eat, and then you’ll be able to stand up again. And please don’t forget that I expect this to be a nice meal that we share.”

  Rather than uselessly muttering under her breath, Elissia moved over to the chair and carefully lowered herself into it. She gasped as her bottom made full contact with the chair, finding the sensation almost as bad as she’d imagined it would be. The worst part of those sensations was the way they made her feel about the beast, of course, wanting him with every fiber of her being. She didn’t want to want him, but even the feel of the leather strings against her skin under the trousers added to the rest. It was a waste of time wanting the man, but her body refused to understand that.

  The time of the meal was far from pleasant, but Elissia still had to provide “nice” responses to the beast’s table conversation. She’d been really hungry to start with, but the plain, unseasoned food combined with the rest to drive away all thoughts of hunger. She wasn’t even sure of what she said to the man she shared the cabin with, but it must have been acceptable. After what seemed like hours he sat back in his chair with a sigh of satisfaction.

  “That was really good, the meal and the company both,” he said with a smile. “Are you sure you don’t want to finish the last of the venison or have a little more wine? No? All right, then you can stand up again.”

  Elissia wasn’t foolish enough to jump to her feet, not when she knew what that would feel like. She raised herself slowly and carefully, but being fully erect turned out to be less of a relief than she’d been expecting.

  “You go on into the bedchamber now, and I’ll be there in a moment,” the beast directed as he also stood. “I’m more tired than I thought I’d be and may go straight to sleep, but I could be open to persuasion if you have something else in mind. It all depends on how strong that persuasion is.”

  He smiled again and moved away from her, leaving Elissia to briefly close her eyes before heading toward the bedchamber. She’d been told what she had to do if she wanted relief from what she’d been made to feel, and it took no talent at all to know in advance that persuading him would be less than easy. But she still had to try, or end up dying of need.

  Again the beast was good to his word, and it wasn’t long before he followed her into the bedchamber with the lamp from the front room and her saddlebags. He put the saddlebags down and closed the door, then put the lamp on the same small table he’d used earlier.

  “Yes, getting straight into bed sounds really good right about now,” he said as he turned from the lamp to stretch. “You don’t have any objections to my doing that, do you?”

  “Do you mean you intend going to bed without seeing to something important first?” Elissia asked, having thought frantically while she stood alone in the room. It hadn’t been hard to see that the bed was already made up, so even having to wait until it was useable would not have delayed him. “I thought you were more conscientious than that.”

  “What thing of importance are you talking about?” he asked as he watched her make her slow way over to him. “I don’t remember anything left undone.”

  “Then let me remind you,” Elissia replied, lowering her head as she stood before him – and refraining from calling him a liar. “I’ve been a very bad girl today, and because of that I really should be properly spanked. Are you going to let me get away with being bad?”

  “Letting a woman get away with being bad isn’t the best thing for her,” the beast allowed, making Elissia know he watched her closely. “But I really am awfully tired, so maybe we can t
ake care of the matter tomorrow.”

  “But by tomorrow I’ll have learned all the wrong lessons,” Elissia protested, suddenly not quite sure he meant to let himself be coaxed. “You know you don’t want me to learn the wrong lessons, so please spank me tonight!”

  By then she’d put her arms around him and rested her head against his chest. She couldn’t believe she’d actually said what she had, and even more, meant every word. She was frantic at the thought of his simply going to sleep, and as shocking as the revelation was, she found herself willing to do anything to keep it from happening.

  “I admire you for wanting to be properly corrected at the proper time,” the beast said after a pause that had scraped against her nerves. “I can’t in all good conscience let such admirable behavior go unrewarded, so let’s take care of the matter right now. Come with me.”

  He’d put his arms around her almost at once, and now he released her to lead her to the chair. He sat down and raised her tunic before beginning to open her trousers, and Elissia couldn’t believe the relief she felt. She was about to be given a hard spanking, and what she felt was relief! What had the miserable beast done to her?

  Whatever it was, there was more to come before it ended. The beast lowered her trousers and drawers and then put her across his knees, finally running his hand over her bare bottom. Every movement and touch made her want to gasp, but it was always possible that the wrong sound at the wrong time might cause him to change his mind. For that reason she swallowed a moan as he continued to caress her, and then that part of it was over.

  “Brace yourself now,” he warned as his hand left her bottom. “You were a bad girl today, a very bad girl, and this will be part of your punishment. It will probably be the hardest part, but you really do have to learn that lesson.”

  Before Elissia could offer to swear a blood oath that she had learned the lesson, his hand came down with the first smack. For some reason she seemed to have been expecting the spanking to be no more than a token effort, but the “Oh!” forced out of her at once made it clear that she’d been wrong. His hand had touched her far from gently, and the following smacks proved that the first hadn’t been a mistake. She writhed at the urging of the device even as she began to cry from the hard, punishing spanking, and the tears would have been wasted if they’d been a ploy. The beast had no trouble ignoring them as his hand continued to come down on her bottom in an even, rapid rhythm, making her regret everything she’d done and even thought about.