I closed my eyes to offset the terrible feeling I was being spun around.
Then, I opened them.
We were standing at a small forest clearing. The five of us - me, Max, Mrs.
Tain, Linda - and Grace. I didn't quite understand why Grace, of all the
girls, went with us.
"This is the Unknown Land?" asked Linda, curiously. "It doesn't look like
anything special to me..."
"You will see soon enough," said Mrs. Tain abruptly. "Now - we have to find
the castle."
"You don't know where it is?" I asked. "You were here before, weren't
you?"
Mrs. Tain shrugged. "I was, yes. But that was a long time ago. I don't remember
a forest being around here. The landscape had changed."
"Pauline could give us better instructions," sighed Max. "She was
always a bit of scatterbrain..."
Linda laughed. "Literally!"
She stopped laughing at once when she saw the look Max gave her.
"One more joke about my sister's condition," he said gravely, "and I'll make
your bottom blush."
Linda, amazingly, blushed in her face. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
"I'm sure you didn't," said Max calmly. "And in your own interest, don't."
"So where are we going to go?" I asked.
"Pick a direction," said Mrs. Tain. "You and Merta are... connected. If you
pick a direction, it might be the right one, the direction that takes us
to her."
I sighed. "OK, then... what about this?" I wanted to pick the direction towards
the sun - but as I was pointing my finger, my ankle suddenly twisted. I fell
to the ground and ended up pointing in a completely different direction.
Max laughed. "Now that's what I call a pick!"
And so we went on our way.
And nobody noticed that since we arrived, Grace didn't say a single word.
Soot called it "General Meeting". Rosey thought it was just a bore.
Pauline just scoffed a bit.
"What are we going to do now?" said Soot. "That's the question, isn't it?
Aaah - I shouldn't let them leave without me!" "Your place is here," noted Swarm. "Their logic was impeccable."
"What's with you, anyways?" said Soot, peeved. "Are you Max's little
sister or what?"
"Soot!" cried May. "No, that's all right," replied Swarm. "Let's just say... I used
to be ten years old. Before the Queen infused me with Raia's blood and transformed
me - in this. Now... I have no true age. Some parts of me... still feel like
a little girl, scared and vulnerable. But some parts feel much older. I can't
really describe it, you know. Humans... are used to being unique. To being
a single being, a single mind. I... am not. It's like having thousands, millions
of tiny minds all acting together." "Can it be reversed?" asked May. "Maybe," shrugged Swarm. "But if that happened, all I lived through
since the transformation would be probably lost. Max might get his true sistes
back, yes - but I... we... would cease to exist. It would be the same thing
as taking an adult person and restoring it into a child it once was. If it
would to be a child, a true child, the adult personality would have to die."
She nodded, as if reinforcing her decision. "Yes. However... inconvenient
this situation might be - I don't want to go back. I want to live, to go
on - even if I have to stay Swarm."
"You have trouble," said Linda.
Grace just shrugged a little. "No... not really."
"This nose doesn't lie," said Linda. "And I don't lie, unlike other
humans. What is it?"
Grace sighed. "Something bothers me. Something I said to Zack, yesterday."
"Ah, this again," scoffed Linda. "You always complicate things, don't you?"
"I was... making him miserable. I told him that Merta and Raia can't coexist
forever..."
"Well, they couldn't, right?"
"But -! It was me who awakened Raia so she could fight Nyx! And it was because
of that... that..."
"You don't know that!"
Grace turned around and found herself face-to-face with Mrs. Tain.
"Don't blame yourself," she said. "You couldn't know. No doubts Raia
had this plan a long time ago..."
"But I'm still blaming myself!" cried Grace. "For everything! For
Nyx, too - why did she have to die? She wasn't a bad person, not really!"
"If she had survived," said Mrs. Tain, "so could Spectre. She sacrificed
herself for you, Grace."
"Yes, but I don't think I deserved it!"
"And she was troubled by her memories," continued Mrs. Tain. "She wanted
to forget. Cry for her if you want, but I... I understand her decision."
She looked at the forest. "After this ends... maybe it will be my time to
go," she said.
"So - who is going to make dinner?" asked Soot.
"Shouldn't you do it?" said May. "You're the mother of the house,
now. Plus, you've lived alone for a long time - so you should know something
about cooking..."
Soot blinked. "Me? No way! I'm... not good in it. Can't you
do it?"
May shrugged. "OK - but you're cooking tomorrow, ok?"
"What do you eat, Pauline?" she asked.
Swarm raised her head. "Please, don't call me Pauline," she said.
"It brings... bad memories. And I don't eat the same way you do. I have
the ability to absorb any organic matter and gain nourishment from it - some
wood will suffice."
"Nonsense!" said Soot firmly. "What are you, a woodworm? You are going to
get a normal meal, just like us."
"What meal?" objected May. "Aren't we kinda short on the supplies? There's
same bread - going on stale now - jam made of who-know-what berries... some
flour, eggs... that's about it."
"Do we have any money?"
May hesitated. "Well... Max had quite lots of money in..." Suddenly, she
paled. "Oh no! Max's cart! It's still in the town!"
"Let's go there!" cried Rosey. "We can get a dinner in the restaurant!"
"But we can't just take his money!" protested May. "We would be in trouble!" I would be in trouble, she thought. A vivid image appeared in front
of her - being bent over Max's knee, seeing the ground below, and crying
and crying while her bottom hurt under slaps... "No trouble about that," said Swarm. "I know Max. He will understand.
Besides, where he is now, the money are probably the least of his problems.
Take part of them. I take the responsibility."
"Before we can do that, we must find the cart," said Soot. "It's there for
almost a day by now! Someone might rob it - or steal it altogether!"
"If that happens," asked Rosey in a hopeful tone, "can we steal it back?"
"Zack?"
"Yes, Grace?"
"I need to speak with you. Um... in private."
"No problem," smiled Max. "I'll just go over to Linda."
Actually, I was starting to worry. The forest was larger than I thought.
How could we be sure we are going in the right direction? For the matter,
how could we be sure we are even going in the same direction as before?
We could be walking in circles and never know...
"Zack..."
"Yes?"
Grace sighed. "Zack... I feel bad. Really bad."
I blinked. "Are you sick?"
She shook her head. "Not bad like that. I feel like I've done something bad.
I feel like I've hurt you and I blame myself for Nyx."
"It's not your fault," I said.
"Zack... what if Raia defeated Merta because of me?"
"Don't blame yourself!" I cried. "It might be my fault, too! I keep
telling myself that maybe I missed some signals that such thing is drawing
near, maybe I should tell her that I love her before it was too late - maybe...
maybe I should be just honest with her! Don't tell such things, Grace!"
"Why?" she sighed. "Are you going to spank me if I will?"
I hesitated. "Well... that is..."
"Because if you do," she continued, "I will keep telling them, you know.
Zack... I need a spanking."
"No, Grace," I said. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"Please! Not a big spanking, just a little one - I want to forgive myself."
"There's nothing to forgive, Grace."
"But I think there is! Please, take my paddle and spank me until I
cry... Because, you know, I can't cry for Nyx and Fia... I just can't!"
I took her chin and looked in her eyes. "Are you absolutely sure, Grace?"
She nodded.
"You really want me to give you a spanking?"
She shook her head. "No. I don't want a spanking, Zack. I just know
I need it."
"But this is not a good place," I said. "We're out in the open. The others...
would hear."
"I don't care," she said. "Besides, remember when I peeked at Merta? I never
got my spanking for that, either."
"You were punished," I pointed out.
"Yes," she nodded. "But all the same."
"I will ask the others, in that case," I said. "I... I'm not an expert on
feelings, Grace. But if they agree with you - I will give you your spanking."
"Thanks," she said.
"There's one more thing to take care of," said Soot.
The girls were going through the forest - even Swarm. Although she could
easily shapeshift to something with greater freedom of movement, she chose
to stay in human form for now.
"What thing?" asked May.
"Well, now when Zack and Max aren't here, who is going to take care of the
spankings around here?"
May jumped. "Hey, don't joke around," she complained. "Why should there be
any spankings?"
"We are all good girls," chimed Rosey.
"Ha! You wish!" smirked Soot. "I think I should be allowed to spank the two
of you - I'm the oldest one here!"
"No way!" yelped May. "I bet you would enjoy it way too much! We will just
be good - it's not that hard!"
"You always require some encouragement," laughed Soot.
"But not from you!"
"Don't take that tone with me, young lady!" said Soot with mock strictness.
"Or I'm going to turn you over my knee!"
May sighed. "Nobody will need a spanking here," she said with a conviction.
"You can't know that!"
"If it will be necessary, we will talk about it then," said May. "Can't you
talk about something else? You know what - I hate spankings! I hate them!
And yet I was getting them all my life! Is that fair? Dad, Zack - now even
Max! I want a reprieve - even if it's only short. My bottom needs a vacation."
"A spanking can be a reprieve from guilt, all right," nodded Mrs. Tain. "And
I think that Grace is the only one who can truly know whether she needs one
or not. If she thinks so, I'm supporting her vote."
"So do I," said Max. "She really seems to need a good spanking."
"And you, Linda?" I turned to the last member of the ansamble.
She shrugged. "If a spanking makes her happy, spank her! She's sad. I want
to see her smile again..."
"See?" said Grace. "They are all for. So..."
I nodded. "OK. You'll get your paddling. Once we find a suitable spot." On
an impulse, I offered her my hand. "Take it. I will hold you firmly so you
can't run away, and I will only let you go to turn you over my knee and spank
you. OK?"
She grabbed it eagerly. "OK! Thanks! I... really appreciate it."
"Finding suitable spot, thought, might be troublesome," said Max, gravely.
"Why?"
"Haven't you noticed? There are no stumps in this forest."
"Swarm?" asked Rosey. "How does the Queen's castle look?"
Swarm hesitated. "It's not a large castle. The Queen lives there alone,
just with us. She built it with geomancy..."
"Really? How?"
One of Swarm's fingers prolonged. She started to draw a diagram.
It glowed...
There was a stone block on the road, looking like a cube with sawed-off corners. "Truncated cube," explained Swarm. "Can be used as a building block...
That's the base of the castle. If you make two of these and put them together,
you can heat the join and they will fuse. She built it all this way. Actually...
it's not really a castle. It's more like a fortress." "Can they get in?" asked May, worried. "They should be able to. But if they can defeat the Queen - that, I don't
know."
"No stumps?" I repeated.
"Yes. And no proper roads. Just a forest."
"But there are broken trees and..."
"Yes, exactly. Some trees are broken. Some are uprooted. But none of them
were chopped down."
He looked very serious.
"You should let Grace go, Zack. It might take a long time before we find
a suitable sitting spot."
"Not at all!" cried Linda. "Look at this rock! That's perfect for spankings,
right?"
It was a moss-covered slab of stone just the right height for sitting. Grace
gulped when she saw it. I nodded and led her towards it. It was my duty to
supplement her resolve - which rapidly dwindled as the spanking was drawing
closer to her.
She suppressed a sob. She was determined.
"Well," shrugged Max, "what do you know? OK, we don't want to embarrass you
further, we will go aside..."
"No..." whispered Grace. "Please... let Linda stay here."
"Me?" asked Linda, puzzled.
Grace nodded. "Will you... hold my hands, please? So I couldn't cover my
bottom?" A picture of altogether different little girl, getting her just
paddling while she was holding her hands, passed through her mind.
I sat down and let go of Grace. She opened her bag and gave me the paddle.
"Use it well," she said, with a whimper.
She lied over my lap, and Grace sat down next to me and grasped her hands,
firmly. It was time.
I lifted her skirt out of the way and Grace lifted her bottom a little so
I could get her green panties down.
"Please... start," she said, simply.
And I did.
The town was a mess.
Although the water didn't actually hit it, it still demolished the piers
and destroyed many of the ships. And yes, there were even some riots...
The cart wasn't at the place Max left it.
"What are we going to do now?" asked May. "Any ideas how we might find it?"
Soot hesitated. "Well, I know some of the dealers here - I might ask..." "No need to do that," said Swarm. She looked around to ensure
nobody was looking, then she shrank.
She seemed to lose two-three years of age. The abundant matter dispersed
in the air as soft, black dust.
"And this is?" asked May. "I've sent my parts all over the town," said Swarm. "They see everything
and hear everything. If the cart is nearby, they will tell me." "Will they?" doubted Soot. "Trust me."
After a minute or two, she nodded. "It's parked in a lane, a few steps
in this way. But it looks... damaged, somehow. We have to investigate."
The four girls set on their way.
"Lucky man," said Max. "I don't think this has ever happened to me."
They were pretty far away, but the sound of a paddle hitting the girl's bottom
was unmistakable - and so was the sound of girl's reaction to such treatment.
"Only a very humble girl who feels truly bad can find the courage to ask
for it," said Mrs. Tain. "You know, it was more common in my days. Today's
girls just don't have the proper respect anymore."
Max laughed. "When you talk like that, you sound really old."
Mrs. Tain shrugged. "I suppose."
"You didn't tell him, I noticed."
Mrs. Tain hesitated. "Told what?"
Max sighed. "That was no rock they've sat upon, Mrs. Tain - it was a bench."
Mrs. Tain nodded. "Yes. It was."
"So? What's the point?"
"Max... this was a village."
"A village?"
Mrs. Tain nodded again. "I remember it. This used to be... my village. Look!"
Although the trees were obscuring the view, there were... houses, or remnants
of houses, barely discernible now.
"It must be abandoned for a hundred and fifty years at least," said Mrs.
Tain.
"What happened here? Did something... kill the people?"
Mrs. Tain laughed. "Oh no - nothing like that. They just left, that's all...
There was not enough of them..."
She looked in Max's eyes. "Tell me, Max... don't you think that there are
less children in the villages and towns then it used to be?"
"This is not a good place," said May. "I don't like it."
"But the cart is here, isn't it?" replied Soot. "And if something happens
- we have Swarm." "Thank you," said Swarm, maybe just a bit too sourly.
May looked inside. "The wares are all here!" she called. "But the money -
it's gone!"
Soot was already looking around.
"It's not here for long," she said. "This place is dirty - you can still
see the marks when they dragged it here."
"They?"
"Yes, it looks like two people did it... and there are some footprints -
they must've been kids! It would only take one adult to move the cart..."
She lifted something from the ground.
It was a button.
"From girl's blouse," she said. "Some thieving girls had stolen our
money!"
If she realised the irony of what she just said, she didn't show it.
"And just what can we do about it?" replied May. "Can Swarm find a girl with
a missing blouse button?" "I'm afraid that is beyond even my capabilities," said Swarm.
"Let's go in the sweets shop!" cried Rosey.
The look Soot gave her wasn't a nice one.
"In this situation, you are talking about a sweets shop?"
Rosey laughed. "You don't understand! Whoever the thieves were, they now
have a bunch of money! And what do girls like me do when they get money?"
Slowly, Soot's expression changed. She grinned.
"Rosey, that's a brilliant idea! Do you know where the shop is?"
Rosey nodded. "If we get the money back, you get me something good, OK?"
"My treat!"
I was gentle with Grace, although such a concept is a bit hard to apply to
a paddling. But I've tried. I built up the stinging slowly, until Grace was
sobbing and fidgeting all the time, and I tried to keep it level. To make
her whole bottom fully uncomfortable and to hold that uncomfortability for
some time. I spanked her slowly and deliberately, and each smack brought
out a gasp or sob. And after a while of this...
I suddenly increased both force and tempo, determined to bring out some tears.
This worked wonders. Bottom that slowly grew accustomed to a particular spanking
style reacted with a shock when faced with a sudden change.
Grace started to cry, and her tears were just flowing, as if a dam broke.
I slowed the spanking to halt, hold her on my lap, and just let her cry her
eyes out. Somehow, I felt this was really what she needed.
She gradually composed herself, she stood up and hugged both me and Linda,
but her tears still flowed - not only the tears brought up by spanking, but
the tears of sadness for Nyx, too. And for Fia - maybe even for Spectre.
Because - maybe everyone deserves someone to cry for him after he dies.
Max and Mrs. Tain came back. Max looked... shaken a bit. They didn't comment
on Grace's green panties, still tangled around her knees.
"Zack," said Max, "Mrs. Tain just told me... something important. And I think...
you should know, too. All of you."
"Yes?" I asked.
"Remember the problems Geomancers had with fertility?" asked Max. "Apparently,
it's not just them. According to Mrs. Tain... the human race is dying out."
There was a sweets shop and it was open. And yes, there were some girls,
eating, laughing and chatting.
Rosey came to the counter. The owner, a big, fat man, looked at her.
"Well, if it isn't little Rosey," he said. "I was very sorry when I heard
about your mother. Sad business. Want something? It's on me, for today."
"Maybe in a while," said Rosey. "Mister, my... friends here were in town
yesterday, with a cart. They left in a hurry after... what happened, left
the cart here... well, we found it, but the money that were in there are
gone."
The man nodded. "And?"
Rosey showed him the button. "We think some girls took it," she said. "And
- well, I thought that if I had a lots of money, I would spend it
here, so we wanted to ask..."
The man's expression froze. "I've thought there's something funny,"
he growled. "Ordinary girls usually don't have that kind of money!"
"So I was right!" squealed Rosey. "Who were they?"
"Stella, the cobbler's daughter... And butcher's Jean! When I asked them
where they got the money, they just left my shop!"
He hit the counter with his fist. "Damn thieving bunch! If I find them, I'm
going to..."
"Thank you, we will find them ourselves," said Soot quickly. "Bye!"
"You know those girls?" she asked Rosey when we were out. Rosey shook her
head. "Not really. They are both older than me - twelve or so. The butcher
is close to here," she said, "we can ask for Jean there."
"D..dying out?" I stammered.
Mrs. Tain nodded. "Yes. You don't notice it, but if you live as long as me...
and compare notes..."
She sighed. "There are too few boys," she said. "Surely you've noticed that?
There is almost twice as many girls born as boys - and this means many girls
won't find a man... they never have children... And even the number of children
is falling. The humans are disappearing - less than a percent per year, but
it adds up. In Raia's time, there was perhaps a million humans in this world.
Today? Less than one hundred thousand. This here... it used to be a village.
Inhabited area. But when the number of people grew too low, they left and
went somewhere where there were more people. It didn't happen at once. But
throughout the centuries... It adds up, it all adds up."
"Why is this happening?" I said. "Why are we dying out?"
Mrs. Tain shook her head. "I don't know. It's much worse because it's slow.
If we were disappearing fast, people would try to do something about it.
Have more children, explore, settle new lands... but they don't see any need.
This way... they think the world is staying the same. And eventually it will
stay the same - without us."
"No," said the butcher. "Jean is not at home. She's somewhere with Stella,
I expect. She comes home late these days..." He sighed. "Since her mother
died, she's a bit difficult.
"Damn right difficult," growled Soot, but May stopped her in time. "Thank
you very much," she said. "Bye!"
The family of the cobbler, who lived next door, was larger, including a living
wife and a Stella's younger brother, but they didn't know the whereabouts
of their daughter, either.
"And they're not even worried," grumbled Soot. "I would worry a lot
if Rosey just disappeared to somewhere."
"Maybe," said May, "it's time to ask for Swarm's help again."
Swarm shrugged. "Where should I search?" "Well, in the..."
Suddenly, two girls appeared at the end of the street. When they saw us at
the house, they turned and started to run.
"I know one of them!" cried May. "She was at the cart yesterday, she
was buying a hairbrush! That miserable..."
She started to run, but Swarm was even faster. Out of nowhere, she solidified
in front of the girls and caught them in her grasp.
They looked in terror as May and Soot were running towards them.
"I'm glad you stopped," hissed Soot. "Oh, girls, we have a lot to talk about..."
"There must be something we can do!" I cried.
Mrs. Tain shook her head. "There is not - everyone would have to act the
same. And we don't, not really... I've only had one child... and this seems
to be the trend."
"How long do we have?" asked Max.
"Oh, centuries more," said Mrs. Tain. "And it might reverse - but
somehow, I don't think so. But that's not the main problem here - if we don't
deal with the Queen first, we might have much less time than that."
I've nodded. "Grace?" I asked. "Are you OK now?"
"Y..yes..." she sobbed. Slowly, she crouched and pulled her panties up, yelping
with pain as she did so.
"I hope..." I said, "I didn't hurt you too much..."
"No," she said bitterly. "This was exactly right... ouch..."
"Do you feel better now?" asked Mrs. Tain.
Grace nodded. "Yes. But... it hurts a lot."
"Can you walk?" I asked. I was worried - did I use too much force?
"Yes," she nodded. "And I will prefer walking for some time, to almost anything
else."
She smiled, first in a long time. "Let's go."
Soot was positively scowling while the girls were trying to get out of Swarm's
grasp. That wasn't really possible, of course, since Swarm's fingerpoints
fused, transforming her hands in manacles.
"Well, we were asking around the sweets shop," said Soot in a fake friendly
voice. "You seem to have a lot of money. I wonder just where you got
it? Maybe from a certain cart?"
One of the girls started to cry, but the other just scoffed. "That bastard
deserved it! Dad sent me there to buy a hairbrush, and then thrashed
me with it!"
"So you stole his money?" cried May. "What did you think?"
"They are dirty money!" cried the girl. "He profits on the suffering of girls
like us! He's a pervert - noone else would have such a stall!"
"That's not true!" cried May. "He cares, he really does!"
"We just wanted... wanted to..." started the other girl.
"Stella!"
"We wanted to go to the pier!" she cried. "To leave this place, to go anywhere
else - anywhere where they wouldn't spank us, because we hate that, we really
do..."
She started to cry.
"We'll give the money back," she said. "We'll pay you from our pocket money
what we spent - just don't tell Dad, please! I don't want a spanking!"
May was in shock. Just a while ago she was saying along the similar lines...
but then, she didn't really deserve all those spankings she got, right?
Whereas these girls...
Slowly, it dawned on her that everyone sees his - or her - spankings in a
different light.
Suddenly, the other girl - must have been Jean - jerked her hand, and Swarm,
caught in surprise let go.
Jan broke into running.
"I won't let anyone thrash me! I won't!" she screamed.
Swarm let go of Stella. She stood, completely stunned, and she was still
standing there when May, on a sudden impulse, hugged her. Then she started
crying. May was just holding the trembling girl while Soot and Rosey set
to pursuit Jean.
What are we going to do with them? she wondered.
Among the ruins of the village, there was a house. That was completely unexpected.
It didn't fall down long time ago as the others did. But it looked old, nonetheless.
It even had the door.
Which opened, and a young man came out.
"Shawn!" I cried out. It was him - the guy who tried to kill Merta, several
times!
But my reaction was nothing compared to Mrs. Tain's.
She paled and slid to the ground.
Before she lost consciousness, she had managed to whisper a single word.
"Leik..."
End
of Chapter 20
Grace's Readers' Corner:
One mystery after another, I guess. Mystery number one - how it comes that
sometimes, a spanking can actually relieve you of the pain? My bottom
hurts terribly, but my heart is - finally - at peace.
Mystery number two - what is with humans of this world? Why are they dying
out?
And mystery number three - what the heck is Shawn doing in the middle of
the Unknown Land???
Some might be answered in the next Chapter - Guardian's Duty! So until then
- bye!
May's Readers' Corner:
I've always regarded spankings as bad. Only recently I started to acknowledge
that sometimes - they are necessary. But what's this? Just who are those
two girls and why are they so afraid of it? Really - we can't spank them,
of course, but what are we to do, then?
If you have some ideas... tell us!
May, signing off!
s 
May's Readers' Corner: