Edwin Keeps His Composure

Edwin took a deep breath to steady himself. Easy, Edwin He thought to himself. He is only provoking you. After calming himself, he turned to Sir Engeram. "I can't make any assumptions on my lineage, sir. My mother died when I was but a young child."

"I heard being mounted by a horny equine can do that to a woman." The knight taunted Edwin again, eliciting for laughs from the attending audience. "How about we go dig your mother's body up and see if her whore of a body was wrecked by the thrusting of a horny steed, stableboy? That's assuming your master even bothered using the money to give the slut a proper burial."

Edwin felt his blood starting to boil, but kept as cool as he could. "I was too young to know that either. I'm afraid I can't help you with your inquiry, sir." The lack of reaction was enraging Sir Engeram and he lost his composure first. With a powerful swing, he backhanded Edwin across the face. His armored hand split open his lip and provided enough **** to knock him to the ground.

"Cheeky brat!" The knight hissed. He leaned over, grabbed Edwin by the collar and hoisted him onto his feet. "Fancy yourself better than me, do you? Let's see how high and mighty you act without a full set of teeth!" He brought his armored fist back to punch Edwin in the jaw, but another knight grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Stay your hand, Engeram." The second knight (Sir Rowan?) said. "Harding is more than capable of punishing the lad. Besides, I do not think our benefactor would appreciate his workers being too damaged to tend to their duties tomorrow." Sir Engeram opened his mouth to spout more angry words, but realized his folly and simply let go of Edwin's collar.

"Fine. But if the stable master does not do a thorough job, I will step in and show him how to really beat some discipline into this miserable slug." Engeram spat on the ground angrily.

"Just enjoy the show." Sir Rowan sighed and walked back with Sir Engeram to the semi-circle of knight huddled around a wooden post, usually used for tying up a horse. Edwin already know what was going to happen and let Master Harding lead him to the wooden bar.

"Assume the position, stablehand." Harding said simply. Edwin nodded; quickly removing his shirt and discarding it before placing his wrists across the wooden plank. Harding took two leather straps and tied Edwin's hands to the bar tightly. Edwin was know stuck in place facing the eager eyes of a dozen knights who were all sneering at him and cracking jokes. "Forty lashes." Harding's voice came from behind him. "Make a spectacle of it and it will be raised to ninty. Understood?"

"Yes sir." Edwin replied coldly. He took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself. He could picture the barbed whip undoubtedly in Master Harding's hands right now. He should be used to it by now, but the anticipation of that first strike always filled him with a feeling of dread. Just waiting for that first...

A loud crack filled in the air and searing pain tore through Edwin's heavily scarred back as he felt the whips jagged barbs rip through his skin. He went a bit weak in the knees and his finger nails dug into the wood. he bit his tongue until he tasted blood too keep from yelling out. Seeing Edwin's obvious pain caused many joyful shouts from the crowd. The young man just breathed through it. The first was always the worst.

Another crack and another searing jolt of pain. This one was easier; now that Edwin was re-familiarized with that whip's special brand of **** made it easier to withstand. Even if he did wince with pain, he managed to steel his nerves. He closed his eyes to try to go to a happy place. Back to the stables. Grooming the horses. Six more cracks filled the air and with each subsequent lash, Edwin was able to partition his mind so that his mind could drown out the mocking sounds of the crowd and the throbbing hurt from his back.

"Hey, refreshments!" He heard one of the knight say. "They really do know how to put on a show!" More laughter erupted from the crowd. Edwin came out of his trance to see three of the kitchen maids dolled up in outfits made to reveal as much cleavage as possible serving mugs of ale on large silver platters to the knights. Much to his chagrin, Edwin realized Anna was among the girls serving the drinks. Their eyes met for a second and Anna looked away shamefully. Edwin gritted his teeth; there was only one person on the whole damn estate he did not want to see him like this, and she was serving drinks to his audience. Part of him wondered if Master Harding arranged this on purpose.

Anna finally ventured a sad look back up at Edwin in time for another whip lash to tear across his back. Edwin gritted his teeth and stumbled a bit; he was so lost looking at Anna that he forgot his mental barrier to the punishment. Through the pain, he had noticed Anna stumble as well when the whip hit him and she almost dropped her platter of drinks.

"Hey, watch what your doing!" The knight next to her (Sir Cedric, Edwin noted) said angrily. "You're lucky you're such a hot piece of ass or I'd have you punished like that whelp up there." His mood lightened and he licked his lips. "Hell, maybe I'll just punish you myself." He reached out and grabbed a handful of Anna's rear. The girl looked shocked for a second, then just closed her eyes and let the knight cop a feel. The uncomfortable look on her face made it clear she wasn't doing it by choice. Edwin felt his anger rise up again and had to forcibly keep himself from shouting out and cursing the knight's name. Another lashing gave Edwin the distraction he needed to stay focused.

Thankfully, the knight stopped there and went back to drinking his mug while Anna quickly moved on. She averted her gaze from Edwin's eyes for the remainder of the punishment. Edwin pushed the embarrassment from his mind and focused on his happy place again. Back in the stable. Taking care of the horses. Anna was helping him wash and clean them. Then he would take the horses out for a ride, one by one. Anna would sit behind him, placing her arms around his chest. Feeling the warm sun and cool breeze riding across the expanse of the estate.

Although her felt every lash hit his back, the punishment was soon over and Edwin let himself drift out of his fantasy realm. He opened his eyes to see Anna and the other girls gone. The other knights were just staring at him. They look rather unsatisfied; Edwin must not have writhed enough in pain to match their liking. Edwin met Engeram's eyes to see if he would rise to the challenge as he promised, but the knight stayed in place as Harding released Edwin's wrists.

"Next time, clean the stables properly." Master Harding told him as the stableboy picked up his shirt. "You will not be returning to the servant's quarters tonight. I think it is fitting you sleep in the stables tonight and get a good appreciation for a clean environment. Now go." Edwin nodded solemnly and walked off the grounds as the knights heckled him. His back was stinging and felt like it was on fire, but at least he was free. He actually appreciated the long walk to the stables; the air had cooled as night progressed and felt good on his searing back.

He finally arrived at the stables and gingerly put his short back on to keep the wounds from getting infected with whatever might be on the stable floor. There was a basic cot he could sleep in, but the cold stone floor would feel good and hopefully help numb the pain. He didn't know if Master Harding knew how much he preferred to spend time in the stables, but sleeping the night here was actually preferable to him to spending the night in the servant's quarters.

Edwin went around to all the stalls and said good night to each horse before getting ready to lay down for some much needed rest. However, a sharp knock on the door interrupted him.