Thread: Love of the Desert [[ShadyxHoudini]]

Tahirah didn't need to look up to know when Hamadi had stepped into the room. The hushed whispers and conversations that stopped were enough to tell her that he had seen what she had done. Her initial instinct was the run, to push past the guardsmen and just run out into the cooling desert, past the pyramids and into the sand. But she seemed frozen in place until someone spoke - the harshness of their words made her twitch a little, even though she tried to remain as still as possible. Any wincing away or cowering, while perhaps entertaining, would have been considered dismissal and disrespect. Her eyes closed as she heard another voice coming from another part of the room. Public lashing? Was this supposed to be entertaining to them? Her eyes became harder to open as her head stayed down and she came to realization that Hamadi was going to agree with them. Her punishment would not only be severe, but public. Never once had she slipped up around him - and now he was going to make an example of her. Her body trembled slightly and her hands tightened into fists as the slave headmaster was rushed into the room. Tahirah could almost feel his eyes boring into her skin as she awaited her instructions or, more likely, to be carried off and down to the courtyard. It didn't take long. Seconds after the Prince had finished speaking she felt hands wrapped around her upper arms. The jerked her to the side and she managed a glance up, her eyes barely flashing in Hamadi's direction before she hung her head again, not bothering to struggle. Soon enough they were going down the steps, around a corner, and into the torchlit courtyard. The guards threw her into the middle and she stumbled a bit - but of course this time she managed to catch herself. Tahirah glanced up at the balconies above quickly, knowing all eyes would soon be turned down to her. Soon enough a large Egyptian man with short black hair came at her with a whip. It was made of thin, fine leather - and would hurt. She was forced to leaned against and grasp a large pillar with hanging plants on it, meant to serve as a decoration - tonight it would serve as her stake. A man walked up and unclasped the shoulders of her kalarsis and the cloth fell away, exposing her tanned back to the crowd but leaving her waist down covered because of the belt. He had dreamed about seeing her body, but never in this capacity. Her back was already slightly slightly scarred from her younger years, even though she had no been whipped in a long time. Even in the dim torchlight one could tell that she had been on the receiving end of the licks a time or two before - and it would be the first time Hamadi got a real glance at the pain she had endured. Meanwhile, upstairs, the headmaster of the slaves approached Hamadi. Prince... I realize that that girl has upset you on multiple occasions in front of your guests this evening. If your highness would like, I will reassign her to other duties and you may have a new personal slave, one of our best... he asked, his voice trailing off slightly due to the noise outside. Just then, Tahirah's cry could be heard, echoing slightly before disappearing. The first strike of the whip cracked against her skin and she tensed, her eyes welling up with tears, but she refused to scream. Her teeth gritted and her eyes closed as she heard the crack and felt the lick of the second strike, the warmth of a small well of blood slipping down her back - the second strike had opened a small wound. Luckily enough the whip was thin enough that it didn't do too much damage except for where it hit the same spot repeatedly. The third strike came down and she grunted softly, arching her back. Only seven more... she thought as her eyes closed, willing it to be over soon.