She gives you a tour

The Mother Superior wastes no time after that, announcing that you were to be given a tour of the convent.

Like this? you wanted to ask, but the gag filling your mouth quickly warned you against making any vocalizations. Your hesitance must have shown on your face, however, as she gave you a sardonic smile.

"Don't worry child, this is nothing new to the other nuns. In fact, a lot of them needed even more help with their initiation."

This relieved you, but only slightly. The appraising, almost predatory look she'd gave you as she watched you try to speak through the rubber ball and the cloth had shaken you and made you feel even smaller than your petite frame. You felt humiliated, even though it was nothing ****, and the idea of other people seeing you like this made you flush prematurely. Part of you, though, wanted people to see it.

The office doors opened, and Mother Superior led you out into the hallway, you hesitating only slightly (as much as you didn't want people to see, the idea of what the older woman had hinted at a punishment being felt worse).

Your first destination was the dorms, where all of the nuns (because, Mother Superior explained on the way, there were only around twenty nuns here, meaning they could all fit in the collection of rooms easily). The idea of your own space, albeit shared, reminded you of the few belongings you had still sitting in your car, and again you almost piped up. Mother Superior seemed to catch the aborted squeak, however, and turned sharply to look at you.

"Just because you're gagged doesn't mean you can make noise without permission, child," she warned, and you shrank back at the sharp tone. "Since it's presumably your first time like this, I'll give you a warning, but you don't get any special treatment just because you're new."

You nodded hastily, relaxing as she turned away and made the rest of the journey in silence.

The dorms, as it turned out, consisted of four large bedrooms connected by a hallway. The hallway opened out into a common room, decorated modestly (and thankfully empty of any people) with heavy, old-looking drapes and what all seemed to be sturdy wooden furniture. Overall, the place seemed to have the same charm that a grandparent's house did, with muted floral patterns on any fabric and the general smell of dust (although the place itself seemed spotless).

"Since you're the newest initiate, you'll be staying in the biggest dorm," Mother Superior explained, gesturing to the door closest to the common room. "You are allowed to enter the other dorms if you're on cleaning duty, but any social visits must be kept to the common areas to retain privacy. If on cleaning duty, there will be a nun appointed as the supervisor for the dorms watching over you."

You wondered to yourself why there was such secrecy even in the convent, but you guessed if things like ballgagged nuns got out to the public there'd be a scandal. Still, you felt like you were stepping into something bigger than yourself. There were supervisors for cleaning? What could that possibly even mean?

Either way, your train of thought was stopped as the Mother Superior showed you the dorm. It seemed nice enough, with six beds placed around the room. They were canopy beds, allowing you at least some privacy, and the four poster frames seemed sturdy enough. You couldn't see anyone, but a few of the curtains were closed, leading you to believe they may be sleeping (although during the day, you had no idea why). Next to each bed was a nightstand with drawers, and a wardrobe. Like the rest of the church, it was spotless, although there was an air of oldness.

There wasn't very much to be said, except for Mother Superior pointing out that your bed would be the one closest to the door, and soon you were on your way.

Other locations of interest that were shown to you were the courtyard, where you spotted the first other nuns of the convent. They didn't notice you, however, as they were working in the gardens that made up the outside space. Among them was the elderly gardener who had let you in, her muted green jacket standing out among all the black.

Then, there was the main hall, where you were informed all of the religious services took place. Across from that was the kitchen, that the Mother Superior led you into with an announcement to the cook.

The cook was a woman almost as tall as Mother Superior (towering over you anyway), and she was fairly plump too. She seemed to be in her forties, and her slightly greying hair was pulled back into a bun as she worked. When she turned to face you, you could see her look you up and down in the same way the other woman had. Her eyes lingered on the gag between your lips, and you could swear there was almost disappointment there? The rest of her appraisal was definitely not, though, as she broke out into a smile.

"This the new girl, then?" she asked, and Mother Superior nodded. "I'd ask her to introduce herself to me, but clearly she made the safer choice. Shame, though, that we have to wait to hear her pretty voice."

You weren't entirely sure what she meant by that, but soon enough the conversation was over and Mother Superior led you into the dining hall.

There were more nuns there, and they noticed you straight away. There were women ranging from your age, possibly even younger, to elderly women, although none of them seemed disgusted or weirded out by your unorthodox accessory like you'd half-expected.

"And that concludes the tour," Mother Superior said kindly.