Pillory

The next morning, the key twisted in the lock, and one of the guards entered. After barely any sleep in the cold room, Samia was taken from her cell, completely naked still, no clothes for her in sight. She was paraded along the bridges of the town, a crowd gathered, and grew larger the longer she was out. There were wolf whistles from the windows of the various buildings of Vernia as her bare feet slapped on the wood. Her tits and arse bounced with every step.

Even the women leered at her nude body. A pair of guards had hold of either arm, so there was no covering herself up.

“Let the little slut have her punishment,” a woman shouted. “Whore!”

Samia’s head dropped, and she tried to cover her face with her thick brown hair, but one of her captors pulled it out of her face, hanging it over one shoulder.

The damp bridges were cold on her feet, and her skin was chilly and gooseprickled.

A floating platform stood in the centre of the town. In the centre of it stood a pillory. There were four of fives guards nearby, and there must have been thirty people standing around the edges of the platform, all gathered here to see Samia’s naked body and to watch her squirm with whatever punishment she was about to be given. There must have been countless other townsfolk watching from the windows of the four-storey buildings above.

She was dragged towards the pillory. She didn’t resist as her neck and wrists were placed inside. The top was flipped over, trapping her, and it was padlocked shut.

There was little sound but a few gasps and the water slapping against the platform that she stood on. Nothing happened to her for a while, it seemed her punishment was to be displayed like this for everyone to have a good look at.

Her feet felt like blocks of ice, and much of her skin felt numb, yet her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Some of the crowd stood in front of her, trying to stare into her eyes. Most of them were behind her though. It was like she could feel their eyes on her exposed pussy and asshole.

She could only move her legs. She shifted from one to the other, and bent her knees from time to time.

Townsfolk passed by every so often, having a feel of her tits and ass, giving them a slap too. Some would slap her face. One or two had a stroke of her pussy. That made her quiver, but they didn’t put any fingers inside her, or rub her clit for too long. Some even slid a finger up and down her ass crack, making her wriggle uncomfortably.

She shivered from the cold, wondering when she was going to be questioned, or what other punishment might occur. The day was cold, cloudy. No rain, but her skin was frozen now.

The guards gave her some water to drink, and a few bites of bread. One approached with a pair of small bells. He smirked at her before pinching her nipples tight, and clamping the bells to both.

There was raucous laughter the next time Samia shifted her feet. The bells jingled. Someone came up behind her, slapping her ass a few times, then chuckling when she flinched and dinged the bells for all to hear.

As hours passed, Samia felt the sting of the cold on her skin and the dampness from the lake seeping into her bones. The crowds continued to jeer and mock her, but she held her head high. This was her penance for the sins she had committed, and she would bear it with dignity.

After what felt like an eternity, a group of town guards approached her. The leader, a burly man with a moustache that seemed to have a life of its own, stepped forward.

"Are you ready to talk yet?” he asked.

In his right hand he held a cat o’ nine tails, swinging it gently.

“I don’t know anything.” Samia gulped. She looked up at him.

The guard sneered at her. "You're lying to me, Shadow Blade. We know you've stolen Lord Barrington's jewels, and we won't let you get away with it. Tell us where they are, or it will be worse for you."

Samia's heart pounded in her chest, tears pricking her eyes. She knew she had to hold out; the Shadow Blades had already abandoned her, and she was all alone now.

"I don't know where the jewels are," she repeated, her voice quivering. "I was just... used. I was just their slut. Please, you have to believe me."

The guard's face twisted into a cruel smile. "We'll see how long you can hold out, Shadow Blade. The cold will be the least of your worries."

He stepped back and gestured to the other guards. They began to whip her ass and back, each strike burning like fire across her skin. Samia screamed and writhed in agony with each stroke of the whip. The guards enjoyed it thoroughly, as did the gathered crowd, all of whom had returned. Each whip stroke made Samia shift her feet, jangling the bells loudly.

“Let the whore have it,” a woman shouted.

“Tell us where your friends are,” the leader demanded.

Samia cried out in pain, but she refused to give in. They had no reason to believe she knew anything; she had only followed Lexo's lead and had no part in the actual theft. As the whipping continued, her body was speckled with welts and her skin felt like it was on fire. The bells rang out, singing loudly.

The crowd cheered and jeered, enjoying every moment of the public humiliation. Samia felt like a fool, she had let herself be used by the Shadow Blades and now she was paying the ultimate price.

As the whipping continued, something inside her snapped. She couldn't take the pain anymore, the humiliation, the betrayal.

Samia's voice rose above the sound of the whip, the bells and the jeers of the crowd. "I don't know where they are!" she cried.

The whipping didn't stop, but her words echoed through the town, reverberating in the ears of those who had watched her downfall. The chief guard, perhaps seeing the truth in her eyes, finally let up on the whip.

He didn’t release her though. The guards dispersed. Nightfall fell, and Samia wondered how long she’d be left out here. It turned so cold now, she felt like she might die from how freezing it was.

Though now, as the sky darkened, she had bigger worries.