“c3″> 

“c3″>"Yes, they were living with her grandmother Gaia
and she spanked them and they were forced to live as mortals for a
whole season. It is said, that Apollo didn’t like it one bit
but Artemis came to live with the Amazons and that’s one of
the reasons why she now is protecting us. One of the pictures in
the temple tells this story. So, sometimes there are good things
coming from punishment."

“c3″> 

“c3″>"Yes, little one. So, you see, the Queen had no
other choice. It hardly hurt, I swear. I have to go now but
I’ll be back with some lunch for you
too."

“c3″> 

“c3″> 

“c3″>-x-x-x-x-

“c3″> 

“c3″> 

When
Xena finally arrived at Najara’s former hut, she found the
weapons’ master in the main room trashing the table with the
remnants of a chair. Chains and whips and canes, a leather harness,
several dildos, and lots of similar stuff were scattered on the
floor. Eponin’s eyes were red rimmed with unshed tears and
she was breathing heavily.

“c3″> 

“c3″>"We should go for a walk, weapons’ master.
There’s a small clearing about half a candlemark south. Queen
Melosa told me it’s rarely frequented. How about a sparring
session? I’m not allowed to weapons but we could do some
wrestling or hand to hand. You need to spend all this pent-up anger
and energy."

“c3″> 

To
Xena’s surprise the Amazon warrior didn’t argue, she
shrugged her shoulders and followed the taller woman. Eponin had
lots of energy to spend, and both women soon were covered with
sweat. Xena was late for lunch.

“c3″> 

It took
her the rest of the day to restore the hut to a semblance of order.
She burnt the canes, whips and other toys along with the destroyed
furniture, two blood stained mattresses, a worn out blanket, and
some linen shifts. The belongings of Thania consisted basically of
two partially torn sets of leathers and three sleeping shifts. She
scrubbed the floor and the walls, and finally placed a brazier in
the middle of the room scented with spices and herbs. All the other
blankets and sheets were bundled together, and re-transferred to
the village’s storage hut.

“c3″> 

She
found the scroll in the bedroom, and what it said was more than
enough to unsettle her completely. Until then, she had been able to
keep her temper at bay, together with her memories, but now…
Now she could use a good workout, a hard workout, or better a
really good fight. The scroll was squeezed between the bed and the
wall, and it detailed every punishment inflicted upon the girl
during the last two moons, every whipping, every thrust with the
leather phallus, everything.