SARAH part 1 (f/f, F/ff, cons) by Helier WARNING This story contains scenes which are clear descriptions of spanking and other sexual activity. Personally I don't find them at all offensive but I'm willing to believe that some people might. Could I therefore recommend that this story is only read by adults who are entirely convinced that they can read such material with equinimity. THE FIRST STORY OF SARAH by Helier Sarah stood staring at Mandy, her mouth and eyes wide in amazement. Her big bosom was heaving with excitement and the note had all but fallen from her hand. "You want .." She gulped and her voice lowered to an incredulous whisper. "You want to ... smack my bottom?" She giggled nervously and her hand flew to her sweetly rounded buttocks, making Mandy's heart race. "I couldn't say it ..." Mandy faltered, her voice hopelessly tangled in her emotions. "I just had to write it down." When Sarah had asked her best friend what she wanted for her birthday she had expected it to be a record or books or something. She had already found it odd yesterday when Mandy was so hestitant then today a note ... "You don't have to," said Mandy. She took Sarah's hand to reassure her. "I won't mind but ..." "What?" murmured Sarah, breathlessly. "It's all I want really." Suddenly Sarah found herself blushing a deep red. The thought of having her bottom smacked by another girl - or by anyone at all - gave her a guilty thrill. It was close to her fantasises, especially those about Sister Angelina. In fact Sarah had never been spanked although she knew all about what it was like from listening to her friends. She loved hearing about it and would listen sympathetically to every detail while inside she was shaking with excitement. But it happened to other girls, not to her, and then only when they had thoroughly deserved it. Would she be able to cope? She found herself nervously clasping the legs of her shorts to stop her hands trembling. "But ... but won't it hurt?" she mumbled, playing for time. "Yes ... I guess so." A barely discernable fire flared in Mandy's eyes. "I might make you cry and ..." "Oh ..." "But I want it so much, Sarah. I really, really do." "Yes." Mandy and Sarah had been close friends since halfway through primary school. Now that they were both sixteen they admired each other enormously and spent all their time together. There was also a definite but unspoken physical attraction between them that was mostly from Mandy's side. Secretly she idolised her friend. Mandy had a pretty face, dark hair and a sweetly-formed body with little mound- shaped breasts and tight hips and bottom. But she was petite, decidely petite, which she did not see as an advantage. Mandy worshipped the generosity of Sarah's magnificent body. Sarah was tall and graceful, slightly and delightfully plump especially in her rounded belly, with strong ample breasts. Her hips filled whatever she wore with lush inviting flesh and moved in a fabulous rhythm when she walked. Mandy wanted to be like her but, knowing she never would be, she watched her for hours. She longed to grasp handfulls of Sarah, to love her and stroke her, to submerge herself in that beautiful body, but she was afraid. They had kissed a couple of times in odd moments of closeness but it had always been Sarah who had broken it off with a nervous giggle. Mandy was driven almost crazy wanting her. Once, in the showers after netball, they had been left behind and she had let Mandy kiss her breast. It had started as a joke but when it happened they both went quiet. Mandy pushed her face into the fullness of Sarah's breast, thrilled to feel the hardening point under her tongue and scarcely able to believe that Sarah was letting her do this - it was a blissful moment for her. What she couldn't know, of course, was that Sarah was lost in fevered fantasises of Sister Angelina and couldn't drag herself back to the present. This heavenly moment lasted what seemed like an eternity until Sarah took an extra deep breath and shook herself back to reality. She kissed Mandy's forehead and, laughing madly, bounded away in that exhilerated out-of- balance way she had, to get their towels. She was a big, slightly clumsy, incredibly beautiful girl and Mandy just couldn't wait for her any longer. It had taken all her courage to give Sarah the note but she couldn't hide anymore. Of all the things she had dreamed of doing with Sarah this was what she had wanted most and she just felt she had to take the chance. She waited breathlessly for what Sarah would say next. "Where shall we go?" Sarah finally asked. Her voice was quiet and her eyes were suddenly filled with tears. For a moment Mandy just stared at her. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was Sarah saying 'Yes' ? She whispered "Does that mean you'll ... ? Sarah smiled at her with a soft beautiful excitment that made Mandy practically die. "Happy birthday, my darling." Mandy lead Sarah up the back stairs and along the corridors into the loft of the old building of St Mary's. They walked together in silence holding hands most of the way. Almost the entire school was away that afternoon on a Sunday excursion. Only the senior girls who were studying were left behind but they were all in another part of the building. Up in one corner of the loft what what was usually known as the 'auxilliary'. It was really an additional laundry room where sheets and blankets were stored for the upstairs dormitory. No-one would be round there until the following morning and the loft was too remote from the rest of the school for them to be overheard. Needless to say it was also out-of-bounds but that would be the least of their worries if they were caught. When they came to the last narrow flight of stairs Mandy made Sarah walk in front of her. She wanted to be able to look at Sarah's creamy thighs and swaying hips. It seemed as though she had never wanted anything in her life more than she wanted Sarah to pull down those tight shorts in front of her and offer her bare bottom to be smacked for Mandy's pleasure. At the top of the stairs Sarah paused for a moment while Mandy passed her and opened the door. They faced each other and Sarah realised how excited her friend was. She was nervous but it pleased her to be able to give her friend something she so obviously wanted. Her eyes were shining like stars and, glancing down, Sarah even saw, beneath the sloppy T-shirt, how Mandy's nipples stood out bright and erect. Mandy took Sarah's hand and drew her into the 'auxilliary'. She closed the door behind them and watched as Sarah moved into the centre of the room. From the little skylight in the roof the late afternoon sun backlit the mass of her blond hair like a halo. Informal dress was permitted on days like this so Sarah had an elasticated white top that left her midriff bare and she wore her favourite cut-off denims. Her long brown legs were covered in blond hairs that shone in the strange light and on her feet she had white socks and her runners. The two girls faced each other for a moment, each drenched in the strength of the others presence and the knowledge of why they were there. They were both breathing hard. Mandy was almost overcome with the desire to go to Sarah and hold her but something told her that if she did, the moment would be lost. She had asked for this - it was up to her now to take control. "Sarah," she said, swallowing hard. "I want you to pull down your shorts ... and your knickers. You're going to have a spanking ... " "Yes," mumbled Sarah. " ... so I want you to bend over for me ... and touch your toes." Sarah looked at her, suddenly feeling tearful and embarrassed. She swallowed hard and bit her botttom lip. She wasn't sure if she could go through with it. She knew she had to do it - she had promised. She wanted to cry. She began to undo her shorts but then she just couldn't. "Mandy ... I don't know if I can just ... bend over. It's ... could I go over your knee?" Somehow she felt that the closeness of that would make it easier for her. Mandy understood. "Okay." They smiled at each other and Sarah knew then that she hadn't spoiled it for Mandy. Relieved she slipped her shorts down and stepped out of them while Mandy found a chair and sat down. Shyly Sarah moved to Mandy's side. She could feel her cheeks were burning with embarrassment and she wanted to get it over with quickly. She went to bend over but Mandy stopped her. "I can't smack you enough this way," she whispered. "It'll have to be the other side." "Oh, Sorry." Sarah didn't know whether to laugh or cry but she was now too tense to do either. She scuttled quickly around to the other side. Again she hesitated with her hands on the waistband of her knickers but then, taking a deep breath, she tugged them down to her knees and hastily bent over Mandy's lap. "Is this alright?" she mumbled when she felt she was in place. Mandy looked down at the tumbling mass of Sarah blond hair then slowly up the line of her back to where the little white top ended and the bare flesh began, over the soft plump mounds of her waiting bottom and down the pink nakedness of her thighs that the crumpled white knickers made somehow all the more vulnerable. She said at last. "I love you, Sarah." Sarah swallowed hard again, biting back the tears. "Yes," she whispered. Mandy's hand came crashing down on her bottom with a tumultuous smack. "Oh!" Sarah tried not to react but then quickly a second and third smack followed and she had to admit it did sting. A fourth and then a fifth peppery smack landed on her round bottom and she jumped a little. Sarah was in terrible confusion. She couldn't imagine Mandy wanted her to behave like a little child and yet the smacking she was getting made it very difficult to be grown-up about it. "Ow! Ow!" she squealed as more smacks rained down. Her bottom felt as if it were on fire and she couldn't keep her legs from kicking up. In a momentary pause she tried to pull herself together and was determined to stop making such a fuss but by the very next smack she cried out even more than before. She could help herself. It stung so much and she was sure it was getting worse. Didn't Mandy understand that soon she would be crying if it went on like this? But Mandy was on a swing between happiness and euphoria. Smacking Sarah was better than anything she had hoped for or even dreamed of. The sight of her beautiful friend's bottom squirming in pain just made her want to smack harder and when Sarah then began to sob, it was like heaven on earth. Soon Sarah was not just sobbing. Mandy had smacked her red raw from the tops of her dangling knickers to just below her little white top and especially on her poor bottom. Sarah cried and struggled. She tried desperately to behave well for Mandy but couldn't manage to do anything but plead for her to stop in long plaintive wails. Still Mandy smacked her. It seemed as though she would never be able to stop. Everything in her told her she should be kind to her friend but the boundless joy she got from Sarah's painful humiliation made it impossible for her. She was drunk with the pleasure of it and in the end it took all her willpower to bring herself not to prolong Sarah's agony. Finally, exhausted, she stopped and sat waiting. For a time Sarah continued to sob and couldn't move from Mandy's knee. She realised the spanking had stopped but the feeling in her bottom cheeks was like fire and it wasn't easy to stop crying when it hurt so much. She wished Mandy would put an arm around her to comfort her but perhaps she couldn't expect that. Finally she quietened a little and managed to lift herself up. Instinctively she put her hand round to soothe the sting in her bottom. Through her tears she saw that Mandy was still looking down to where she had been and she wondered how her friend would be feeling now. She wanted to reassure her but then she saw Mandy's eyes begin to trail slowly upward over her bare thighs, lingering on the blond thatch of her pubic hair, over her round belly and the voluptuous fullness of her breasts, up until their startled eyes met. "Sarah," Mandy breathed. "Kneel down." Without a thought Sarah did what she was told and no sooner had her knees touched the floor than Mandy stretched out her arms to gather her. Sarah lurched forward with a cry and all but disappeared into her friends embrace. "Darling. Oh, my darling," was all Mandy could say, over and over again. She was crying - they both were - and kissing Sarah's head and face. They held each other, their tear-soaked faces pressed tightly together. "I love you," Mandy murmured, softly, and finally their lips touched. Both girls were inflamed. Mandy's hands, slipping down to cup Sarah's burning bottom, seemed to turn all the pain to desire. Their mouths melted together and the kiss inflamed them more. They gave way completely to the flooding passion that filled their young bodies. To Mandy the overwhelming joy was being free to explore the sweetest body she had ever known; touching finally the breasts and thighs and sex of this girl she had desired nearly half her life; to kiss her mouth and bury herself in the softness of her neck; to fill her senses with the scent and feel of Sarah. For Sarah, her mind and body awash with confusion, it was just raw desire - that and the fantasy of Sister Angelina that flooded her mind now as it had day and night for the two terms since the young nun had arrived to fill Sarah's eyes with honey. For her it was Sister Angelina's soft hands and breasts she felt and all her pent-up longing and the delicious sting in her bottom and legs fed the fantasy. They sank to the floor in a delirium of sexual ecstacy. Sarah would have been alarmed to know how close Sister Angelina was to her at that moment. In fact the young nun was in the corridor right outside. She heard a scuffling coming from the direction of the 'auxilliary' and hoped for all she was worth that it was not what it sounded like. It had been a quiet afternoon with most of the girls gone. She had been able to get on with some marking and had even had a little sleep. The last thing she felt like now was having to intervene in some childish dispute. She quietly opened the door and peered in. Shocked she withdrew again, clutching the door for support. It was Mandy and Sarah rolling on the floor in a frenzy. Both girls had their knickers down. Mandy's bottom was half-uncovered and Sarah seemed to be wearing almost nothing at all. Sarah! Ever since she had got here she had felt strange about Sarah. The way this lovely girl looked at her made her heart flutter and she had to keep reminding herself that this was a child in her care. In a way it was almost a relief to see this - it made everything clear. Of course - Sarah loved Mandy and what she kept seeing in Sarah's eyes was the afterglow of that. They were together all the time, for heaven's sake. She was stupid to have been worried. And that pang she felt was a misplaced emotion - something she would have to tell in confession and pray about later. Mandy was a delightful soul and of course Sarah would love her. Plainly it had gone too far though and now they would need as much help and guidance as she could possibly give them. However there was a huge problem here. Sister Angelina could not bring herself to feel that a simple expression of love, however excessive, should ever be a punishable offence but Mother Mary Joseph had been most definite about this. Any girls caught in this sort of activity were to be sent straight to her and would be expelled. "We have a duty, " she said. "To protect the morals of the girls in our care. No second chances for any girl who would sink to such degradation." Unfortunately, Sister Angelina could not see it as degradation but only as love. Nor could she believe God would condemn it - after all they were his creatures. Surely to love each other was to love him. It had seemed unduly harsh when the headmistress had said it but now, thinking of Mandy and above all Sarah, she was appalled at the uncompromising severity of it. She decided to take another peep before making up her mind what to do. Surely it was possible that it was simply a moment of passion and that the moment had passed. Carefully she opened the door again and in a flash she knew she had to intervene. Sarah lay on her back, her eyes closed, her hands pushed down into Mandy's dark curly hair. Her feet, held together by the knickers round her ankles, were resting on the small of Mandy's back. Mandy was on her knees with her bottom sticking up into the air. Her short skirt just covered her but, beneath it, her baby blue satin panties were pooled around her knees. Her upper body was naked and pushed beween Sarah's thighs, her breasts delicately brushing the soft inside skin of them. Her face was nuzzled into Sarah's sweet blond thatch as her tongue gently explored the velvet depths of her lover's sex. It tore at Sister Angelina's heartstrings to destroy the beauty of their innocent pleasure but, in all conscience, she knew she must do her duty. The first either girl knew of her presence was when her firm low voice filled the room around them. "Mandy and Sarah. You will get dressed in your school uniforms and come to my office immediately." In horrendous panic Sarah whipped round. A flash of black cloth followed Sister Angelina as the door closed. Distraught, the two girls disentangled themselves and began frantically pulling up their knickers and finding their clothes. Sarah retrieved her shorts and turned to find Mandy clutching herself in the middle of the floor, tears pouring down her face. She ran to hold her, murmuring softly and urgently to her without any real idea of what she was saying. "Don't cry, Mandy. Don't ... don't ... " "It's all my fault," sobbed Mandy. "No, no. it's not ..." "We'll be expelled because of ..." "It'll be okay ..." "I'm so sorry." "Sssh ..." She held Mandy tight but her insides were churning. The unfulfilled desire combined with the shock of their discovery and the fear of what could happen to them was making her feel faint. "Mandy," she said and held the weeping girl out in front of her. Calming her own terror she wiped Mandy's tears and then kissed her long and deeply. She felt the panic flow out of Mandy's body and the desire was rekindled. "We must hurry," she murmured. "Are you alright?" Mandy swallowed hard. "Yes." "And whatever comes we'll take it together. Don't be afraid." They hurried down to the dormitory and changed into their school uniforms. They checked each other to make sure they were as tidy as possible and brushed each other's hair. They would both have loved to have taken a shower but they didn't dare delay any longer. Last of all they gave each other a quick little kiss before they left for Sister Angelina's office. It was strange how wearing their uniforms brought them both back to earth. It reminded them of what they now had to face and made the passionate kisses of such a short time before seem impossible. Something else had changed too. When that soft voice had brought their moment of bliss to a crashing halt their first concern had been the horror of having been discovered by a teacher. Now as they crossed the courtyard, carefully skirting the room where the other girls were, Sarah was thinking of the ramifications of it being Sister Angelina who had found them. She loved Sister Angelina and she had sent clear and undiluted signals to tell her so. What would happen now? If her signals had been recognised - and Sarah had spent so much time time convincing herself they were - surely Sister would see her now as cheap and sneaky - no better than a whore. How could she see her otherwise? Of course she had always known the young nun would be faithful to her vows but desperately Sarah had wanted to win her love and trust - to be worthy of her even if more was impossible. Now not only was she to lose the most beautiful love she could imagine but she was almost certainly going to be thrown out of school as well. They crossed the grass to Sister Angelina's tiny cottage in the grounds that also served as her office. Darkness was already falling and there was a light on inside. More than anything else Sarah wanted to turn and run - anything rather than face Sister Angelina and the ignominy of expulsion - but she had told Mandy they would face it together and she had to be true to herself even if everything else turned into a nightmare. They paused outside the door and exchanged fearful glances. Mandy was shocked at how miserable Sarah seemed to have become - it was as though she had suddenly lost all her courage just when she needed it most. Mandy gave her hand a quick squeeze and then it was she who mustered the strength to knock on the door. Sister Angelina came after a few moments and ushered them into her tiny sitting room. The two girls stood awkwardly in front of the sofa, not daring to sit, while their teacher looked at them reproachfully for what seemed like a long time. They hardly dared to meet her eyes. Finally she spoke in her low quiet voice. "I have have said many prayers since I came back to this room. I have prayed for you and a little prayer for me. And I have said a prayer for our school and for the girls who live here." Her voice became even lower. "You know that what you were doing was wrong, don't you?" Deeply ashamed Mandy raised her eyes for a moment. "Yes, Sister." "Sarah." Sarah's voice was hardly a murmur and Mandy could hear she was on the verge of tears. "Yes, Sister." Sister Angelina sighed. "Sit down, girls." They sat side by side on the sofa and Sister Angelina sat down opposite them. "I ... I cannot bring myself to condemn you for expressing your love of each other. I cannot believe that God would condemn you for it. Love itself can never be bad if it is shared and honest. But what you were doing went too far. You allowed yourselves too much. The church does not permit that. The school does not permit it - and neither can I." She paused to let her words sink in. "You know that you have broken a cardinal rule of this school." The two girls could do no more than nod. "My instructions are to refer any such incidents to Mother Mary Joseph and you realise what that means, don't you?" Both girls were looking at her now with big tear-filled eyes. "It means you would both be expelled." A big tear rolled down Mandy's cheek. Another followed and, in spite of her efforts to hold them back, within moments her body was shaking with sobs. Sister Angelina watched her for a moment and then held out her arms. "Come here, Mandy." Mandy went to her and Sister Angelina held her on her lap for a while as she cried. Sarah watched in agony wishing she was small like Mandy and could be cradled and stroked so sweetly. "Sarah, come over here." Sister Angelina patted a footstool next to her chair. It was one that had been left from the old nun that had occupied the cottage before her and she had kept it because it was beautiful and seemed to belong. Sarah sat on it and Sister Angelina put an arm around her and drew her in until all three of them were close. She stroked their heads in a very loving way while Mandy blew her nose. "You may love each other and you may, of course, express your love for each other. I believe God wants us all to do that in the ways that are right for us. But for as long as you are in this school you must do this in a sensible and restrained way. Can you understand what I mean by that?" The two girls nodded. Mandy was just listening and not thinking at all but Sarah was coming to the realisation that something strange was happening. At this moment they should be being marched off to the headmistress to be expelled but instead she was lying with her head at Sister Angelina's breast being told it was alright for her to be in love with another girl. She could feel a calm growing inside her. Somehow she knew that whatever solution the young nun came up with would be just and reasoned and she would accept it. "I'm going to offer you a punishment. Both of you. Not for loving each other ... but to help you remember that here, loving each other means helping each other to find restraint and good sense and never to forget where you are." She waited while they thought about what she was saying. "If you accept my punishment then what happened in the 'auxilliary' will stay between us. I will not report it and you will not be expelled." Both girls stared at her and Mandy let out a little cry. Suddenly they understood that she was giving them a way out. They both wept freely thanking her over and over and clinging to her as if she were life itself. Whatever punishment they had to face they knew could not be as bad as being expelled and left to face the disappointment and incomprehension of their families. She waited until they were calm and then spoke quietly to them. "Alright. Up you get. This is not going to be easy for you or for me but it has to be done. You understand that, don't you?" The two girls struggled awkwardly to their feet. Her words had made them nervous and given them an inkling of what she was going to do. In spite of that, it somehow seemed just - perhaps even more so than Sister Angelina realised. Mandy felt if they had to have a spanking of some sort she would certainly deserve it since it was her strange desires that had got them into trouble and so nearly expelled. She felt sorry for Sarah. Not only did she feel it wasn't Sarah's fault but she knew her friend must still be very sore. As it happened Sarah's state of mind was oddly confused. She was scared of the pain but on the other hand she was deeply happy and relieved. Sister Angelina had not blamed her but clearly loved her enough to help them out of the terrible trouble they could have been in. With this in mind she felt she wanted to be punished and would take it gladly. She could even feel herself getting hot at the thought of it. It seemed like a continuation of what was unfinished earlier. Sister Angelina was speaking to them now. Her voice was kind and quiet but quite firm. "Side by side in the centre of the room. Knickers down to your knees. Skirts around your waists - and I want you holding your ankles." The two girls glanced at each other and it was Mandy who was the first to lift her skirt and start pulling her knickers down. Sarah suddenly glanced at Sister Angelina looking a little panicky. "Sister ... Couldn't we go over your knee?" Sister Angelina looked at her, her eyes filled with understanding and some sadness. "No, Sarah. I'm afraid that will not be possible. This is something you are going to have to do on your own. Come along now." Sarah bit her lip but didn't hesitate after that. She reached under her skirt and pulled her knickers down as she had been told. Then together the two girls lifted their skirts high up on their waists and bent over to hold their ankles. Sister Angelina waited until they were still and then she went to a drawer in her desk. She took out a long narrow leather paddle and, flexing it between her hands, she walked around to the front of the two girls. "Heads up. Lift your heads, please." They obeyed her and immediately saw what she was carrying in her hand. "I had not thought to use this ever. It was left behind by Mother St Anna, God rest her soul. However I am convinced that the bargain we have made is just and therefore I will use it now with pride as I hope you will receive it. Remember it is done in love and cannot harm you - though it will most certainly be uncomfortable which is what is intended. Mandy, straighten your legs." "Yes, Sister." Mandy was already sounding a little tearful. "In two days time, on Tueday evening, you will return here to receive four strokes and on Thursday a further two. Tonight you will each receive six. Alright?" "Yes, Sister." Both their voices were uneven now and came barely above a whisper. "This afternoon when I entered the room. I saw bare backs and fronts of thighs and a bottom sticking high into the air.." Sarah felt Mandy shift uncomfortably beside her. "Therefore that is how you will be punished. You will each receive two strokes on your buttocks, two on your thighs ... and two on the fronts of your thighs. In this way we will remember both the excess and its remedy. Alright?" "Yes, Sister." Only Sarah's strangled reply came out. Mandy was already sobbing and couldn't speak. Sister Angelina took her silence for acquiescence and moved round to where their two bare bottoms were already trembling with apprehension and the strain of maintaining their awkward position. She positioned herself beside Sarah and laid the leather strap across Mandy's pale stretched skin. She would show no mercy to them. She loved them too much to let them off lightly. If she didn't give them something serious to think about, sooner or later they would be tempted again and then they would be beyond her help. The stiff leather strap cracked wickedly across the middle of Mandy's unprotected buttocks. "Oh!" The shock travelled through her body, snapping her head back. The wave of pain that followed twisted her voice into an agonised wail and brought floods of tears. Sarah gave Mandy a frightened glance and began to cry. She was ashamed of herself for being so scared. Sister Angelina bit her lip and looked at the awful red weal that was already forming on Mandy's skin. She realised how much pain she was giving this slender figure but she knew it had to be done. She steeled herself and gave her another stroke just as hard but a little lower. Mandy cried out and bucked, bouncing up and down in her agitation. Sister Angelina noticed one hand snaking up to the area of the pain. "No, Mandy," she said. "You must hold your ankles until I tell you otherwise." Ignoring Mandy's desperate wailing Sister Angelina stepped back now and prepared to give the same to Sarah. For the first time she noticed how red Sarah's bottom was. It puzzled her and for a moment she wondered about these two. Well, if they had been playing some sort of game she would certainly now teach Sarah what real corporal punishment was. She whipped the leather down and caught Sarah full across the reddest part of her bottom. Sarah roared with pain, rocking herself up and down in her effort to maintain her position. Unhesitatingly the young nun gave her a harder stroke in the same spot. Squealing loudly Sarah sank almost to the floor in desperation, still hopelessly holding on to her ankles. "Back up, Sarah." Sarah did as she was told. The pain was excruciating and she was crying openly now. Unexpectedly Sister Angelina gave first Sarah and then Mandy each a powerful stroke across the backs of their thighs. Without pausing she did it again but twice as hard, leaving both girls screaming with pain and dancing up and down clutching their stinging thighs. Mandy's knickers fell down to her ankles and she almost tripped over them with her frantic movement. "That's enough." Sister Angelina spoke quite softly but they quietened down almost immediately. "Now you know what comes next," she said to the two sobbing girls. "I don't want any fuss. Turn around and lift your skirts." They did as they were told and she looked at them. Mandy was horrified by what was going to happen to her even though she had already had four strokes on the other side. Sarah, strangely, seemed to have grown calm. It was as though being able to see what was happening calmed her and deep in her eyes when she looked up Sister Angelina began to see that loving glow that had entranced her since she first saw Sarah. Knowing she must not give way to her feelings she told them to kneel and bow their heads so they would see their punishment happening. They looked so contrite, kneeling up with their skirts held above their pubic hair and their thighs bare. Sarah's knickers still clung above her knees. Looking at them the young nun softened. She didn't want to hurt them like this and now, having them here in front of her, she told herself it seemed a little dangerous to strap them so near to their sexes. She went to Mandy and placed the strap across her thighs. She felt the girl stiffen and recoil with fear. Without great force she drew the strap back and gave her a mild swat across her legs. Mandy had expected more. She gasped and glanced up. Sister Angelina made the second a little harder but while tears rolled down Mandy's cheeks she managed to keep her lips pressed together and sobbed silently. Sarah glanced around fearfully. She saw how easy it had been for Mandy and wondered if the worst was being saved for her. But then she looked into Sister Angelina's eyes and knew it wasn't so. Something in the world was changing for Sarah and what she saw in Sister Angelina's eyes would stay with her forever. Just for a moment she saw in the eyes of her beloved teacher the passionate and unequivocal love that until then she had thought only she herself could give. She saw the longing, the warmth and the beauty she had always hoped might be there for her. Sister Angelina would never be hers - she belonged to her God - but a part of her would be Sarah's forever as Sarah would be hers. Sarah's eyes grew moist and shone with the love she now felt totally free to show. Sister Angelina seemed almost to smile at her. Scarcely taking her eyes from Sarah's she laid the strap across Sarah's thighs. The young girl's breathing deepened as she felt her heart beating faster. Sister Angelina drew back the strap and gave her a firm stroke across her legs. Sarah drew breath sharply and bit her lip but her eyes were unwavering. She knew her punishment was an act of pure love and she was proud of their love and wanted it more than anything. Her lips parted now as her breathing became fuller. She put her head back and pushed her hips forward, begging for the next stroke, raising her skirt until all her lower belly was exposed. Understanding what Sarah wanted Sister Angelina drew back the strap and brought it with all her force to blaze across Sarah's thighs. A soundless scream caught in the stricken girl's throat. Her body went rigid then began to tremble all over. Still Sarah did not lower her eyes and the glance between them seemed to last an infinity. It was all they would ever have and it was in the acceptance of this that Sarah ceased to be a child from that moment on. Love would be her life now and she would accept the pain of that and the limitations of it. She knew Mandy was staring at her in terror and that they still had more punishment in a couple of days time. She knew she would never be able to explain to Mandy what had happened and why she would not be afraid anymore but it didn't matter. Love filled her body and her stinging flesh; her heart was singing and all the world was alive with the certainty of love.