Chapter 4

Slowly, time passed. Inexorably, the semester inched onward, and bit by bit like the last remaining glow of the fading summer heat and the rustic color of the leaves, it was as if her life had settled into a new routine as Erika slowly grew accustomed. All the while the sessions continued, and twice a week without fail it would be over to either the couch or her room to spread her legs apart as her mother counted to seven. Almost like clockwork with the entire thing taking well over an hour to finish, and each time it happened it was as if another tool would be added to the collection. Brushes, fingers, feather dusters, and even a spare scrap of silk cloth for her nipples, over and over they would trace over the sensitive little bud between her legs only to stop right on the edge until she could barely even think. And like that, she would stare up at the ceiling as she clenched her fists and sobbed, and looking down at her from above, her mother would gently stroke her hair and promise her that the next time would be better.

It was all for her own good, she would say, in between the short breaks that they took every now and then, and she would eventually come to realize that as she got older. Then, pressing the plug back into her rear again, she would add another tally to the total and the cycle would repeat itself all over. Like an endless wheel of desire, spinning around and around as she felt her walls clamp down on nothing except empty frustration, and as three turned into four and four turned into five, the only thing she could do was close her eyes and pray for it to be over.

Thus, by the time her midterms finally rolled around, it was almost as if her nerves had been pushed to the very limits of their endurance and shot. Even the smallest touch in the wrong place now was enough to send a blush rushing up across her face, and she didn’t even want to think about the nightmare that was having to put her panties on in the mornings. Especially after an entire night of tossing and turning with the soft touch of the sheets feeling like agony against her skin, and against the painful ache of her indefinitely delayed urges and the beating of her heart, as the weekend rolled around yet again and she was summoned over for another round of her so-called training, it was with just a spark of firmness that she finally gathered up the courage to say no. Or tried to at least.

“No?” said her mother, “What do you mean, no? This is important for your purity you know.”

They were upstairs in her room this time, standing as usual besides the bed, and blinking in surprise, she looked over with a somewhat bewildered expression on her face. In response, Erika turned her head to stare down at the floor.

“But I just can’t take it anymore,” she said, the tears welling up. “It’s too much, and every time I have to do it, it just feels all swollen up inside and awful. Please, can we do something else? Just for once?”

She shuffled in place, her clothes already discarded, and clenching her fists together she tried to ignore the way the air seemed to brush up against her chest and her nipples. Already, the softness of the two perked tips were starting to feel sensitive, something of a wonder given that it had only been a couple of months, though whether it was a result of the stimulation they received or because of something else was hard to make out. Not that it seemed to matter anyways since the rest of her most intimate places were just as visible as she stood there with her hands by her side and her legs spread shoulder-width apart. Just as she had been taught whenever they were due to start. She had learned rather quickly after the first couple of times to avoid covering herself up lest it be taken as a sign of trying to touch herself where she shouldn’t.

A minute passed like that, and then another as she stood there awkwardly. Her hair hung down over her shoulders, the softness of the strands serving as a sort of veil to hide behind, and briefly she wondered when was the last time she had gotten it cut. It must have been half a year at least past when they had first started since her mother preferred for her to grow it out long. All the better to show off her virtue, she liked to say, and never mind what the rest of her classmates thought. Which, if that wasn’t a metaphor for something or another, then she didn’t know what was. A bit like what was happening now.

“Erika, dear,” she said softly, after what seemed like a while, “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“I-...,” said Erika.

“Anything inappropriate that you shouldn’t have been doing?” said her mother.

She took a small step forward, her eyes wandering down to the softness of her slit and the redness that lingered around the lips of her labia, and Erika shivered as she tried not to think about all the things that might have counted. Things like the way her stomach always seemed to tighten up whenever she had to wash herself down there, or how she would sometimes wake up to find a pillow trapped between her legs and the fabric of her pajamas pressed up against her crotch. And as if that wasn’t already enough to get her into trouble, there were those random flashes of heat that seemed to come over her nowadays whenever she felt someone brush up against her at school. Almost as if her body wanted to be touched, and she quickly shook her head against the thought.

“No,” she said, “It’s just that every time you make me do it, it just feels really weird like I don’t want it to stop.”

“What do you mean?” said her mother.

“I don’t know,” mumbled Erika, shrinking down a little bit more, “Like the last time it happened, well ... it’s like there’s this numbness that always appears deep inside. And then whenever you use the plug it’s like my parts down there get all tingly and then the feeling just keeps going and going and going, and even though I know it’s supposed to be good for me, it just feels so weird afterwards and my nipples get so hard and...”

Slowly she trailed off, the words growing softer and softer as her mother took another step forward, and she closed her eyes as she braced herself for what was sure to come. A punishment at least for admitting to such disgusting thoughts, and it wouldn’t be the first time either with how the last couple of weeks had gone. Already, she had the misfortune of experiencing a dozen or so strokes across her rear along with an entire hour of standing naked in the corner, and the entire thing wasn’t made any better by the way she had to stay still with the handle of the hairbrush they just used shoved up her butt. And with the rest of the inspection still to get through today, somehow she got the feeling that the frustration that always seemed to result afterwards was going to be even worse. Like a void inside of her that longed to be filled, and the feeling of which only got even stronger as her mother knelt down to reach between her legs.

“And where exactly does this take place?” she said.

“I-...,” said Erika.

“Over here?” she asked.

Her fingers moved in to trace over that one place at the top of her slit, and Erika desperately shook her head.

“No, I-...,” she said.

“Or is it here?” said her mother.

This time, the touch moved lower down to tap against the tight opening of her entrance, and immediately it was as if a lightning bolt had struck her brain as she gasped. Yes, right there! That was exactly where it hurt. And as her mother moved the very tip of her finger inside to press against the thin barrier of her hymen, it took her nearly every last ounce of her strength not to sink down and impale herself right then and there.

“Oh!” said Erika, “Oh, please. There, right there!”

She never got the opportunity to say anything else though as her mother immediately pulled her hand away at the cry, and turning her head to the side, Erika bit down on her lips as she felt her face flush red. It was hard not to whine against the sudden absence of feeling, especially as she felt her walls squeeze down against that one place where her mother had just been touching her between her legs.

“Well then,” she said after a moment, shaking her head, “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“I-...,” said Erika, “What do you mean?”

“This,” said her mother, as if it was perfectly obvious, “Clearly, you have a higher affinity for the devil than I had first imagined.”