Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 09:52:41 +0100 From: david smythe <mrdave64@yahoo.com> Subject: slaveboys of muravia ch 11 Slave boys of Muravia CH 11 From his position Aron had a view over the yard where a large number of slaves were gathered outside a low building. In addition to their heavy metal collars and crotch chains each one had very good strong, heavy boots on his feet and wide leather waist belts. The slaves were grouped in pairs, the slaves in each duo being about the same size and they were fastened together with chains between their collars. Over their heads were thick circles of leather falling over their chests and backs and on top of these more heavy chains passing over the shoulders and fastened tightly around their chests. The slaves' hands were manacled behind their backs and the wide bands around their waists were also linked together by a further chain. Aron was surprised to see that most of these slaves were not white; he had previously assumed that all slaves in this place were white and all Masters black. Some were white skinned but others ranged from light brown to nearly black. This was in complete contrast to his experience at the auction of pleasure slaves where all had been white skinned. Aron was rapidly beginning to realise that, in this society, all menial work was done by slaves, procured from any number of sources. His idea that slaves were white and Masters black was clearly wrong. A supervisor went around checking that each pair of slaves was safely and securely harnessed together. In his hand he carried a whip. Short chains hung from the centre of the chest chains and the supervisor took hold of one and led the pair across the yard to where various implements waited. There were many machines as one might see on a farm as well as the obvious ploughs rakes etc. and there were numerous carts of varying sizes all waiting for draft slaves to be attached. Aron watched as two pairs of chained slaves were led to stand in front of a rake. At the front of the rake was a horizontal metal pole which the slaves took hold of, the two pairs standing side by side. The chains linking their wrist cuffs were then locked to the pole. Further chains were fastened to those around each slave's shoulders. Aron could see that all of the other items for towing or pulling were all the same design at the front. As time went on more pairs of slaves were brought over and secured to the various machines and carts. The slaves had obviously been used to this type of hard labor for years. They had incredibly strong well developed bodies and leg muscles. They looked dirty as if they had not washed for days but they all appeared to have not one strand of hair on their bodies. David could hardly believe the inhumanity of it all as preparations for the day's labor continued. Clearly it was standard practice for slaves to provide all the power necessary in the fields even for pulling the largest machines. He watched, fascinated by the spectacle before him but at the same time conscious of the torment in his own muscles as he forced himself to maintain his posture his master demanded. Aron then noticed some other slaves were brought across from the waiting group. They were smaller and appeared younger. These now stood at attention at the other end of some of the machines that were equipped with handles at the rear. These slaves were simply collared with wrist manacles and chains. The overseers attached these to the handles so that the slaves could not let go. When all was complete the overseer clicked his fingers and the whole team knelt with their heads bowed low. The overseers in charge of each machine inspected the chains and straps securing their teams in great detail. There were some twenty teams ready for work in the fields and, when all the overseers were satisfied he watched the groups depart, ploughs, harrows, a small cart with boxes and much heavier carts, these being drawn by four pairs of chained slaves. Minutes later one of the teams began work in the field next to where he was standing and he heard the familiar sound of the overseer's whips urging the team into action and he watched the flying leather strike the backs of the struggling slaves. It was just moments later when Vazier emerged from the hut. He strode to examine Aron's posture and prodded him sharply with his whip. 'Belly sucked in tight slave' He barked. Then he stepped onto the back of the kneeling slave and mounted the cart. Seconds later another cart pulled up beside them driven by the owner of the farm. 'Let's visit the mill' said the man. Aron felt the sting of Vazier's whip as it slashed across his buttocks. 'Walk' he ordered. Simultaneously the slave secured to the second cart heard the same command as his buttocks felt the cut of the farm owner's whip. With the two carts side by side the two men discussed the contents of the consignment which would be arriving shortly; the farm was expanding and the equipment was urgently required. It was just a short time before they were approaching a very large building from which a considerable amount of noise was emanating. Once inside the entrance a sharp tug on their reins signalled the two slaves to halt. Aron dropped instantly down on one knee and bowed his head whilst his master alighted. The two men walked off together towards a large wheel which was slowly rotating. The wheel which rotated about a vertical axis had a large number of spokes protruding outwards and between each pair Aron counted eight slaves. Each wore a heavy leather harness and the slaves' hands were chained behind their backs. Two short chains attached to the harness were fastened to the spokes behind each slave so that they pulled the wheel around rather than pushed. It was obvious that this building was a grain mill as everything including the slaves was covered in white dust. Looking around Aron could see that there were four such wheels each with eight spokes and he quickly realised that there were in total 256 slaves powering the mill. To encourage the slaves in their task men stood at various places around the outside of the wheels ready and willing to apply their whips to any slave deemed to be slacking in his effort. The nearly constant crack of leather on flesh was almost as loud as the noise of the mill. Aron could see that all four wheels were liked by a system of chains to a large central shaft which disappeared through the ceiling and which was rotating at a speed faster that the wheels. He recognised the machinery at once as a grain mill but this one was powered by humans. Despite his own treatment as a pleasure slave he felt very sorry for these slaves and wondered how long the shifts were. It was very hot in the mill and the sweat was pouring off the slaves' skins making lines as it dripped from their bodies. With nothing to do but wait for his master's return Aron studied the slave standing next to him. He appeared to be about his own age. His skin was light brown, much like Asians back home. Almost certainly he was not a native of this country and must have been captured or traded from somewhere else. In addition to the familiar pony slave harness he was adorned with a multitude of rings and chains. His ears, nose, nipples and navel were all heavily ringed and numerous chains connected all of these. His head was enclosed in a tightly fitting harness and his reins were attached to the bit gag which filled his mouth. In addition to the slave brand on his thigh there was, tattooed across his belly, a large crest; it was a copy of the crest he had seen at the entrance to the farm and below this hung a steel cock cage similar to his own. The slave stood impassively, torso and back perfectly straight, his legs widely spread, his head bowed. It was a position Aron quickly adopted as they waited for the return of their masters. The noise in the mill was unremitting; the groaning of the machinery and constant cracking of whips giving it an air of unrelenting purgatory. To Aron it was a living hell for the slaves toiling within, straining at their chains in a desperate hope of avoiding the flailing whips of the overseers. To the owner of the farm it was music to his ears, his only expense the food necessary to keep his workforce fit and healthy. As he studied the spectacle around him Aron suddenly realised that the slave next to him had dropped to his knees. Quickly he followed suit as, from the corner of his eye, he saw his master and the farm owner approaching. Vazier ordered Aron to stand. The two men watched as he resumed his posture. Aron could see that his master was annoyed. Vazier lashed him twice across his chest and twice across his thighs. 'Pay more attention slave' he shouted above the noise of the mill. 'Clearly you need some more training. I shall see to it when we return to Madrango'. The two men conferred, the farm owner pointing to the attachment of the reins to his slave. Vazier smiled, pointing out the position of the attachment points to Aron's cock and the rings piercing his ball sac. The farm owner tugged on Aron's reins watching the violent jerking of his cock and smiled. After some examination of the scrotum rings he released the reins and ordered the two slaves to kneel. Then he and Vazier mounted their carts. Simultaneously the two slaves felt the slash of their owners' whips on their backs and they stood. Then another slash on their buttocks and the command 'WALK'. Aron was glad to be away from the noise of the mill but was in no doubt that he had displeased his master and would suffer for it later. It was just a week after returning from the water wheels that David found himself once more chained at the back of Rico's cart with uko at the front. Earlier his rear had been flushed out several times with warm water before he had been allowed to eat. With a slash of his whip across uko's buttocks he ordered him out of the yard. This time he drove his father's slave right into the city, to a point outside a magnificently ornate building which David later realised was The Prince's palace. He dismounted from the cart and caught hold of his slave's neck chain. As they entered the building they were greeted by a smartly dressed man. David instantly knelt placing his nose to the floor. The man greeted Rico with a smile and invited him to accompany him to meet the Prince whilst a much younger boy took hold of David's leash. 'Follow me slave' said the boy. The boy led David into another room where he ordered him to display. Then he instructed him as to exactly how to conduct himself when entering The Prince's presence. Satisfied that he understood his instructions he led him, crawling, to the doors of the reception hall. There they waited, he with hands on hips holding the leash, David kneeling, face and chest pressed firmly to the floor, buttocks raised high, thighs spread wide. The boy reached down and unclipped the leash from David's collar. Having no idea why he had been brought here, he was trembling at the thought of what might happen next. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a drum and the doors opened. The boy entered the hall leaving David in the humiliating position of ' kneeling display' and as he passed them the two slaves who had opened the doors bowed their foreheads to the floor in front of them. David had been instructed to wait for a signal from The Prince before entering the hall. It came some minutes later with the snap of his fingers and the deep voice of his command. 'Approach slave'. As instructed David crawled forward keeping his hands beside his face which maintained its contact with the floor. His knees remained widely spread which made his crawling difficult and humiliating. He crawled to a position some three feet from where The Prince was seated. Consistent with the instructions he had received at the hands of the young boy he immediately knelt up and bowed his forehead to the floor. Then he dropped to the floor in the full prostrate position; face down, on his belly with his chest and face pressed hard against the marble tiles. He stretched his arms and legs out to their fullest extent in a St Andrew's X position. Once again, he found himself trembling with trepidation. With his face to the floor, he could only just make out the grandeur of the room. In front of him at the top of some steps was a solid gold throne inlaid with ebony and mother-of-pearl. The man who occupied it was Prince. The walls of the magnificent room were decorated with jewelled armour and weapons and paintings. To the left of The Prince he could see his master, a slave standing behind him. To the right another slave crouched, his ankles chained to his naked cock. On the floor at the bottom of the steps a slave knelt with his head to the floor. David could see that both had recently been severely whipped from the blood oozing from vicious cuts on their thighs and buttocks. A young slave boy lay curled on all fours in front of the throne to provide the Prince with a footrest. To the side of the throne was another golden, chair, less ornate than The Prince's and seated on this was his master Rico. He too had a naked slave attending him. Around the walls of the hall he could just make out a number of alcoves and occupying each of these was a statue. All were of naked young and white skinned males. On each side of the hall men in fine clothes were seated, each with an attendant slave kneeling beside his chair. Suddenly, he became aware that The Prince was walking towards him. Within the range of his limited vision, he could see a pair of exquisite golden leather boots. Slowly the boots circle around him as The Prince appraised the slave prostrated on the floor before him. He felt the weight of The Prince's foot pressing hard between his shoulder blades. Then The Prince gave the order for him to kneel up. Quickly David scrambled to his knees and assumed the position as commanded. Then suddenly he felt his knees kicked wider apart. Once again the boots walked slowly around him stopping to appraise his body from all sides. David could not have known that The Prince was assessing him merely as an object to provide unlimited sexual pleasures to whoever owned him. For a recently imported slave he considered that his potential was indeed considerable. He remembered this slave from his recent visit to the auctions. Wanting to see more of the slave kneeling at his feet he gave the order for him to stand and bend to touch his toes. David instantly obeyed, spread his feet as wide as he could and bent forward. The Prince however was not satisfied at David's response. It was neither instant nor was the posture what he required. He was determined the slave should be taught a lesson in Master/slave protocol. Reaching to his belt he unclipped a short multistranded whip and raising it high above his head proceeded to bring it down hard on the back of David's thighs. David, of course, was unaware of The Prince's actions and was totally unprepared. He heard only a hissing sound above and behind him quickly followed by a loud 'thwack' as the lash cut viciously across his naked flesh. Instantly he became aware of a searing pain burning into his consciousness and a scream burst from his lips. This gave way to sobbing which wracked his entire body. He had been whipped before but the pain from the knotted strands of The Prince's whip was at altogether another level. It reminded him, if any confirmation was needed of the vicious cruelty of this country where he was now a slave for life. With his body shaking from the intensity of the pain in his back, David, heard the angry voice of The Prince. 'SPREAD THOSE LEGS WIDER SLAVE AND PLACE YOUR HANDS ON THE FLOOR, HMMM BETTER, YOU HAVE EARNED 10 STROKES OF THE SINGLE TAIL FOR YOUR FAILURE TO RESPOND PROPERLY'. Feelings of despair filled David's thoughts as he forced his body into the most humiliating and painful position. He could also feel the heavy weight of his imprisoned cock and balls as they hung suspended between his now widely spread legs. Totally subdued, David forced his legs wider 'till the strain in his groin overcame him. He was aware that The Prince was standing behind him. Then he felt his hands upon his body. They move slowly and firmly across his buttocks and then he felt a finger sliding between his cheeks and down to his balls. David gasped as they were tightly squeezed and pulled away from his body. Satisfied, The Prince then felt under his belly for his cock confined in its cage. Then the finger moved up again into his crack and upwards to his entrance where it stopped. David, felt utterly humiliated and shuddered as the finger continued its contact with the sensitive tissue around his anus. He had never felt more of a slave that he did at this moment. He moaned with embarrassment and mortification and this delighted The Prince. David suddenly gave an audible gasp of surprise and discomfort as the finger pressed against his opening, seeking to enter into his body. Involuntarily, his hole suddenly tightened up as a defence against the probing finger and to prevent any further intrusion. Standing, he lashed the whip down hard across David's buttocks once again and then replaced his finger at the entrance to his hole. 'Open for me slave' he said so that all present could hear and pushed even harder against the resistance still felt. Another lash and the finger returned. David's will was destroyed. Now there was little resistance as he opened his anus and the finger slid in. David felt the tears streaming from his eyes. They were tears of pain and tears of humiliation. He wriggled with discomfort and this earned him two hard slaps on the buttocks from The Prince's free hand and the command to remain still. Slowly the invading finger explored the slave's insides seeking out his prostate and, once found, the finger began a gentle stroking of the sensitive gland. Then the finger began a slow, piston-like movement in and out of his hole. David felt the involuntary contraction of his ass muscles as they tightly gripped the intruding finger. Overwhelmed he began to whimper. Soon the finger was withdrawn. The Prince then put his boot to the David's buttocks and propelled him forward to the floor. Terrified David heard The Prince's command. 'Stand and display'. David did not hesitate. Like lightening he scrambled to his feet and adopted the position. Nervously, he stood motionless with his feet spread wide apart and his fingers entwined behind his bowed head, He held his smooth, hairless torso rigidly upright so that it displayed his body to its full potential. With shoulders pulled back, chest thrust out, stomach sucked in and with both leg and arm muscles tautly stretched he hoped his compliance would be pleasing to The Prince. The Prince stood before him and placed the finger he had used to examine him to David's lips. Obediently David parted them, allowing the finger to enter. Then slavishly he sucked and licked it clean. The Prince smiled but said nothing. Then he placed the finger to the end of David's cock cage and smeared it with the glistening pre cum seeping from the end. Then back to David's lips which immediately opened. Once again David slavishly licked and sucked it clean. The Prince ordered David to his knees to lick up the pre cum which had leaked from his cock during his inspections and which now glistened in a small pool on the marble floor. Then smiling once again The prince ordered David to his feet. The Prince continued to smile as he watched the slave strain every muscle in his body to assume the position of display. Here was a new slave who had just learnt a valuable lesson, he thought to himself. David was now acutely aware of the number of people in the room. There were many men, his owner, Master Rico seated on a couch, a white slave kneeling beside him holding a tray of refreshments and another slave kneeling on the other side, this one holding a glass of red liquid. All of the men were seated and all attended by slaves, kneeling holding things or with their heads buried between thighs. Now he could see that what he had formerly thought were statues were in fact alive, living human statues posed in explicit postures of display. It was obvious that The Prince decorated his residence with slaves as one might have had pictures hanging on the walls at home. Five on each side they sat motionless, posed in explicit postures of submission on small circular platforms at the top of white pillars in alcoves. From the centre of each platform a wide plug extended, entering each slave's rear. The display slaves were decorated with head plumes, collars, rings and tassels in addition to leather straps buckled about their thighs, wrists and ankles. These ensured that they were unable to change their postures. Between their widely spread thighs ornate cock cages hung, glistening in front of ball sacs painted to match the color of their collars and plumes. High on their chests was the unmistakable circular brand mark of The Prince. The slaves stared straight ahead motionless on their pillars, their duty merely to decorate the hall. They would spend up to six hours at a time on the pillars and the colour of these slaves' decorations was changed on a daily basis according to the whim of The Prince. To David the thought of slaves used for such a purpose was now in no way surprising. In fact nothing surprised him now. In this world slaves were used for every purpose he could imagine. The whole display exuded opulence consistent with the wealth and exalted position The Prince held and the subjugation and utter humiliation of slaves under his control. David was also aware that The Prince was appraising his body. He sensed him standing behind him and then felt his hands caressing both cheeks of his buttocks. He trembled slightly under his touch. He realized that all of these men had observed his humiliating inspection of the floor. Then he felt the hands groping between his widespread legs and a finger moving up the crevice to his hole where, as previously, it stopped and slowly excited the sensitive anal tissue. He blushed at the public and intimate examination. Next, he felt the finger tracing the outline of the S brand on his left buttock before it moved to the angry, red welts left by the whip. He winced and flinched at the scratch of The Prince's nails. The Prince slapped him twice on his rump noticing his reaction. 'No movements slave' he said for all to hear. 'It is hard for a new slave I know, but such reaction is disobedience. The Prince then turned his attention to David's front. He stood back to observe every inch of the slave body perfectly displayed for his pleasure. Satisfied, he ordered him to lift his head and as he complied, he found he was looking directly into The Prince's face. Their eyes met momentarily before David quickly and deferentially lowered his gaze to the ground. In the seconds that their eyes made contact, the slave noted the Prince's features. He shivered imperceptibly as the eyes, full of arrogance and contempt, bore into him. From the cruel line of the man's mouth, he knew instinctively not to expect any pity or mercy and his heart dropped as he listened to The Prince's rebuke. 'Failing to keep your eyes lowered at all times as cost you another ten lashes.' He said. 'I thought you had learned your place in this society but clearly I was mistaken. You see the two slaves in front of you. I had them whipped, not for disobedience but for failing to be perfectly pleasing to me. A punished slave is always displayed publically as a warning to others. A slave who is disobedient can expect to be whipped to within an inch of its life'. Reaching forward the Prince placed his hands on either side of the David's head and examined his eyes and teeth before moving down over his shoulders to begin a slow, methodical examination of his body. The hands slid down over the David's chest, pausing to twist and tweak his, ringed nipples before tracing the outline of his prominent pectoral muscles. His hands continue their downward sweep to the ribbed abdomen where he pushed a finger rudely into the deep indent of David's navel. Satisfied, The Prince then cupped his right hand and wordlessly held it in front of David. He waited. 'A well trained slave will lift itself and place its cock and balls into the cupped hands of a Master instantly when the master holds his hands thus' he said for all to hear. David responded by thrusting his hips even further forward and placing his cock and balls into the upturned hands. The Prince smiled seeing that this slave at least could learn quickly. He slowly manipulated David's balls, gauging their size and shape, and then turned his attention to the cock, which he could see straining to escape from its steel prison. He could see the slave's swollen organ protruding from the collar and knew what discomfort he must be suffering. 'In time that pain will teach you to control your cock slave, you must realise that it is no longer available for your pleasure' he said sarcastically. Once again he smeared his finger with the pre cum dripping from the cage and then placed it to David's lips. Instantly David took the finger into his mouth and licked and sucked it clean. Satisfied with his inspection The Prince turned and returned to his place beside Rico. He snapped his fingers at the slaves kneeling on either side. They held up refreshments and wine, their arms raised high on either side of their bowed heads. 'Well my Lad' The Prince said, turning to Rico. 'I wish the slave were mine. I congratulate you on your purchase. I am sure we can accommodate you with your request. I assume I will have all rights'? 'Certainly Your Highness' replied Rico. We are grateful and very honoured'. 'Now the slave has earned itself twenty lashes of the whip. I wonder, would you like to administer the punishment yourself'? 'Yes Your Highness as you wish' replied Rico, excitedly. He had wanted to give his slave a severe whipping from the moment he collected it from the auction but his father had always stayed his hand. Now he would not even know what his son was about to do David's inspection had taken the best part of an hour and Rico was keen to stretch his legs, and arms. The Governor handed the whip, a long plaited single tail, to his young guest. 'I think ten on its back and another ten on its front would be appropriate' he added. Rico was not going to argue. Why should he? The Governor had just agreed to put his slave to the rowing benches in the Royal Galley for a period of a month. This he knew would develop its muscles and prepare it well for the pony training to come. The Governor snapped his fingers. Two slaves were instantly kneeling at his feet 'Lower the whipping bar and secure this slave for its punishment' he ordered The slaves bowed and crawled backwards to the side of the hall where they unfastened and lowered two ropes. Working swiftly, they soon had David in position with his ankles shackled to iron rings at ground level and both wrists fastened by chains to a cross beam above his head. Rico approached his slave and ran his hands quickly over his chest and stomach. Then moving behind he ran his hands over the back and buttocks. Immobilized David realised there was no point is struggling. He knew that the whip The Governor had chosen was capable of inflicting intense pain whilst not scarring a slave's body permanently. It was weighted at the end and was long enough to encircle a slave's body and wrap around his chest and belly. Thus the slave would feel the lash on both the front and back of his body at each stroke. Playfully Rico cracked it in the air causing David to flinch. Then he ordered the two slaves to begin to pull on the ropes and David felt the stress on his body increase as they pulled his arms upwards. Rico knew he was being tested and was intent on demonstrating to The Governor that, despite his young age he knew exactly how to whip a slave. He did not wish The Prince to think that he was in any way lenient with his personal pleasure slave or that he felt any sympathy for it. He therefore made sure that his slave's body was stretched taut to an acceptable level. He knew he must not have the slave sag under the application of the whip and, tightly stretched, he would feel the sting of the lash more acutely. Once more he ran his hands over the slave's body. 'More yet' he instructed the slaves on the tension ropes. Finally when he was satisfied with the tension he gave the order to stop and lock the ropes. David's body was now stretched taut with every muscle and tendon strained to its limit. Again Rico tormented his slave by rapidly snapping the whip through the air. He was only too aware that the loud crack of the whip was enough to make even a slave stretched taut in a whipping frame jump with fright. Without exception the men in the hall laughed at David's reaction to the sound. Once more Rico ran his hands over his slave's body in a final test of its tautness. Rico had learnt at an early age that the slave's body needs to be rigid so that there is no moving away from the lash when it strikes. Suspending a slave too loosely means there is an amount of give that minimises the full impact of the whip and, in front of The Prince, he was intent on making a good impression. Rico then spoke to his slave. 'Slave, listen to what I have to say and mark my words well. Before we begin you will kiss the whip to be used on you and thank your Master for correcting your errors. You will remain silent during your punishment or the stroke will be repeated. So you see it really is up to you whether or not you receive more than the twenty strokes which The Prince has decreed. When you are released, you will immediately crawl to The Prince and thank him for your punishment. Then and only then you will make the same gesture of obeisance to me'. Then he barked to the slave. 'DO YOU UNDERSTAND SLAVE? SPEAK UP!' 'Yes Master Rico' David replied. 'The assembly could not here you slave, speak louder' Through his tears David replied again. 'YES MASTER RICO' he said so that all could hear. Rico held the whip to his slave's lips and, petrified and trembling, he kissed it. Rico took up his position behind his slave. Then, with an expertise gained by much practice, he swung the whip making it whistle through the air. There is a loud `thwack' as the lash wrapped itself around the David's naked body and simultaneously he screamed in pain. 'You failed to keep silent slave, we shall begin again' shouted Rico. His anger at his slave's disobedience was feigned as he now had reason to give him one more lash and many more if he forgot again. Within seconds David's body shook as the whip encircled his waist, the weighted end slamming into his left buttock. This time he remained silent though one could just hear a sharp intake of breath at the shock of the blow. The Prince watched with satisfaction on his face as Rico applied the cruel whip to his slave's back and counted to himself as the number of lashes mounted. The thwack of the whip as, viciously it wrapped itself around David's body, echoed around the hall much to the delight of the men present. The sight of a slave under the punishment was always something not to be missed and Rico's use of the whip was something spectacular to watch. After the first ten strokes Rico paused and threw a glance at The Governor. The expression on his superior's face showed unmistakably that he was pleased with his young guest's performance. His slave's body was covered in angry red stripes from his shoulders to his thighs. The whip, initially landing in the middle of his back could strike him on his front anywhere between his nipples and his thighs. It all depended on the angle of the initial swing and Rico was careful to vary the angle for each new swing. For the second half of the punishment Rico decided to swing from the front and took up a position from which he could clearly see his slave's face. Standing slightly to one side he raised the whip and brought it down diagonally hard across his chest. The end of the whip wrapped swiftly around his waist and finished up just above his cock cage. An angry red line appeared across his belly. Despite the tension in the chains, securing him to the frame David's whole body convulsed. Desperately he fought the chains, trying to gain some relief. The anguished look on his face as he choked back his cry delighted Rico and was clearly evident to all of the men in the room. Their attendant slaves of course saw nothing. With their heads bowed low they knew that any attempt to break position would result in a punishment similar to the one Rico was dishing out to his slave. Stretched taut, he was unable to relax; there was no drooping of the shoulders or sagging of the knees to ease his suffering. For the next stroke, Rico aimed the whip at his waist, swinging it in a nearly horizontal arc. The tail wrapped around his buttocks, the end contacting his right leg, high up on the front of his thigh with a resounding 'THWACK'. David's arms wrenched at the chains and he nearly lost control, his mouth opening and closing, his nostrils flaring. He wanted to scream. He needed to scream if only to take his mind off the agonising pain which radiated from all parts of his body. Rico knew very well of a slave's desire to ease his discomfort in this way. It was a natural form of mental defence. The louder the slave screams the more it takes his mind off the pain. Insisting on silence from a slave under punishment merely adds to his mental torture. Not only can he gain no relief but also the mental anguish is increased as he fights the natural urge to scream.