Red Feline let out a sigh, a deep sigh as she went into a world of darkness, where there was no more physical feeling. She closed her eyes and let her body just slump down, she no longer reacted to the lash falling on her body, she no longer heard the crashing sound of the leather on her skin.

But the lashing didn't stop, the Man in Black continued the flogging as if he had some quota to fill, one particular number to reach even if he didn't seem to be counting.

Still, Red Feline, free from the physical boundaries of her body, was no longer in both dimensions, she was now a spectator, watching her body hanging, spread open, severely punished, and could wonder if it was possible to go through such punishment and still be alive.

Perhaps she wasn't, perhaps she was now beyond the man's reach and free to live in any time she choose, bodyless, ethereal. Truly and cosmically free.

The Governor held Piroska's head for a moment. She was hanging from the soldiers' grip, refusing to support herself with her own feet, her arms raised and twisted.

Piroska kept her head down, she didn't move, she didn't react. Her chest heaved deep breaths, her legs trembled, drops of sweat rolled down her forehead, cheeks, and neck.

The Governor tried again to make her look at him, challenging her to repeat her previous action, wondering if she would spit at him again.

Their eyes met, for a moment, he was transfixed, her light green eyes were like two emeralds and shone just as powerfully. There was something else behind them, he could swear he saw fire burning inside her. For a moment there the Governor doubted he could break her, he even felt fear. But then he smiled kindly.

"You learned a lesson tonight. I will take care of you now.", he said softly.

One last lash fell on Red Feline's body, which already bore the marks of the hundreds of lashes she had received. Every part of her body had a bleeding line, her legs, her breasts, even her face.

The Man in Black stepped back to see the woman's body. He realized how beautiful she was, how fit and balanced every part of her body was, how it all fit together. Red Feline was happy to read those thoughts, or maybe she imagined what he was thinking, and then again, maybe that's what she wanted him to think.

She saw how the man put the whip away and stepped back to watch her in silence, his breathing calm and soft. His silence was not what she expected. She wished he would talk, she wished he wouldexplain to her why he was doing this, why he came into her secret life.

While at the same time, she had to admit to herself that it was she who came into his life, into his dwelling, because, obviously this old house was where he lived.

The Governor saw that Piroska was standing on her feet, no longer just hanging from the soldier's grip. Her naked body was tense and ready, her knees slightly bent, her head down again, as if she was humbly bowing to the Governor.

He reached again to raise her head. He was looking at the naked slave, at the contours of her body, at the shining red of her hair flowing to the sides of her shoulders and reaching her breasts. She was indeed beautiful and her character reminded him of the people he tried so hard to conquer.

She was, after all, like those tribes, those bandits that preyed on his soldiers for so long, cutting them down, one at a time. Never attacking with large armies, which they didn't have, only in small groups of men, like packs of wolves.

But now the Romans finally had control of the mountains and the valleys and they made it into a province, Apes Maritimae, which he had power over and which he ruled with a strong arm but a generous heart, when possible.

So he was willing to be tender to this rebel, a last remnant of those proud people they finally ruled over.

Red Feline hung unconscious, but she was breathing, she seemed to be resting, her head buried deep in her chest.

The Man in Black wanted to see her face, he wanted to make sure she was simply unconscious. He had so much in store for her that he didn't want her to go over to the dark side for good, not yet. He approached her and grabbed her hair to lift her head and to look into her eyes. There was something in her eyes, half closed, that stirred an emotion inside of him.

Red Feline saw into her own eyes through his. She felt the emotions of the Man in Black and she realized that they were deeply connected. They were almost the same, they had the same desire, as if they were meant to be together forever. He let her head fall.