Red Feline was lying on the floor, seemingly unconscious, she could hear steps approaching, circling, as the man looked her over, indulging in the sight before him. It was not surprising, of course. She was beautiful, after all, and if he liked her suffering, then he had plenty to indulge in.

Still she felt it was she who was making him feel, think, act. It was in those moments when she was in a state of stillness that she could see better. She saw her wounded body as if she was seeing one of those images she brought to her in bed at night, just before she went to sleep.

She saw herself, but was also in her body, she felt every pain. The distance between her soul and her body was infinite, but small at tge same time.

Red Feline knew what was next, she saw how the Man in Black grabbed her bleeding wrists and pulled her up and dragged her to the frame.

The redhead didn't react, her head was leaning over her shoulder, she could not open her eyes. She felt her hand pressed against the frame and simultaneously the softness of the rope against her skin.

The recollection was clear, it was the same feeling Piroska had on her wrists as she stood naked, standing facing the cold pillars, waiting for the man to start the beating.

Piroska's heart was pounding, and she wondered if she would suffer her punishment with dignity. Like her courageous mother when she was executed, she only screamed when the pain overwhelmed her, when the fire smoldered her flesh.

Piroska was in the middle of her thinking when the first of the twenty lashes fell on her naked back. Her breasts touched the cold pillar, her nipples were erect and sensitive. There was a sense of pleasure she didn't understand. She became aware of her legs and belly pressed against the pillar.

When the first lash fell on her, she embraced the column with her body as if it was a lover, not that she would know what a lover was like, since she never had one. She had been selected to be the governor's mistress and she was still a virgin.

The second lash came just as quickly and she opened her legs slightly, instinctively, pressing her body against the cold pillar.

"Two.", she heard a slave girl count out loud.

Red Feline's left hand was firmly tied to the frame, she still didn't react, her free arm was just hanging at her side and when the Man in Black raised it, she felt the nail moving, touching her bones. The pain was so intense that she fainted twice.

Her body was almost resting against the metal net behind her, the nail was inside of one of the openings of the net. But when her body moved up or down or sideways, the metal net pushed the nail, making each move of her body a torture. Each breath was a source of pain.

There was no need for anything else, just being in that position was torture enough. But not for the Man in Black. The pain was intense and constant but not new. The Man in Black raised her right arm to the frame.

Red Feline let out a cry as her body was stretched to reach the other extreme of the frame, her arms open as if crucified. The Man in Black was using one long rope to tie her wrists tightly to the frame, she could feel the blood struggling to find a way to travel and feed her fingers.

The Man in Black reached down and pulled one of her legs to tie her ankle to one extreme of the frame, only her toes reached the floor in that position, she felt as if she was being stretched on the rack, again, as her body was being pulled, the nail made it's presence felt with intense shots of pain.