The Courier
Copyright 2008 by EC
EC's Erotic Art & Fiction - http://www.ecgraphicarts.com/

(warnings: erotic discipline, sex between adults, medical fetish, 
forced public nudity, rape, harsh police interrogation)


Chapter 22 - Anyia’s transformation

As soon as Cecilia and Maria Elena departed for Merchant Victor 
Dukov’s house, Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna asked Officer Vladik 
Dukov to drive her to the Central Police Station. She ran 
upstairs and returned to her office with a list of tasks that she 
needed to accomplish to be ready for the next day. She began by 
notifying the former servants’ respective Spokespersons of their 
release and that they needed to show up to court the next morning 
to re-assume custody of their clients. The other Spokespersons, 
in turn, would have to notify their clients’ family members and 
make sure each had a home to go to Monday night. Former employers 
also would have to be notified, to make sure each of the 30 
criminals was gainfully employed within three days. 

After notifying her co-workers, Kim called the Ministry of 
Justice doctors and the single psychiatrist who worked at the 
Central Police Station. Before returning to court the criminals 
needed to have their medical histories updated…and the women 
needed to be checked for pregnancy. Kim desperately hoped the 
Royal Couple or Anyia’s two Lords had forced the female servants 
to take birth-control pills, but she had no way of knowing for 
sure without seeing whatever medical records had been kept at the 
Royal Residence. 

The psychiatrist had a very busy night ahead of him, because he 
would have to interview all 30 criminals before 8:00 the next 
morning. There were a bunch of psychological issues to work out. 
Kim reflected that an outsider such as Cecilia might have felt 
that it was unfair to keep former servants locked up in holding 
cells in the Central Police Station, but she remained convinced 
that the Royal Servants needed to have at least one night of 
transition before returning to their previous lives. Some of 
Anyia’s slaves had not used their voices for over a year, so even 
the simple act of talking or participating in a conversation 
would be difficult at the beginning. Most of them were 
traumatized and full of fear or hatred, some more than others. 
She knew that some would be full of self-loathing and might 
contemplate suicide.

Six of the former Royal Servants had been Kim’s clients. She felt 
that she needed to see them right away, so for her there would be 
no rest upon finishing her phone calls. She went into her outer 
office, opened six case files, and asked one of the cops on duty 
to go to the holding cells and bring up her clients. All six were 
foreigners; five young women convicted of drug charges, and one 
young man who had been part of a clandestine missionary group and 
was convicted of proselytizing a foreign religion. The six 
clients quietly knelt while their Spokeswoman explained what had 
happened.

“I don’t think anyone would have imagined that one person could 
have done so much harm in the position of Grand Duchess in such a 
short time as Anyia Dukov. I don’t know what to say to you, 
because that woman’s behavior went way beyond dishonorable. I’d 
like to be able to hold out some sort of reward for you, but I 
can’t offer very much. I will tell you that the conditions of the 
remaining part of your sentences will improve. Tomorrow each of 
you will get a collar with a brass ring, which means you won’t be 
restricted to the Danube City collar zone. Also, the Ministry 
thinks you’ve had enough whippings, so that’s over as well. All 
of your scheduled switchings will be canceled.”

Most criminals would have been elated to be told that they would 
be issued brass rings for their collars. Criminals who wore brass 
rings were the most privileged of anyone under ownership of the 
Ministry of Justice. The brass ring normally was issued under 
special circumstances to criminals considered exceptionally 
trustworthy or who had performed an act of heroism, or to 
criminals who in some way had assisted the Danubian police. 
Criminals who wore brass rings were forced to remain naked 
(nakedness was automatically required of anyone wearing a collar) 
but they were free to move about Danubia and did not have to 
worry about corporal punishments. A criminal wearing a brass ring 
essentially held the same position as a person performing Public 
Penance.

Kim looked at the reactions of her clients. The former servants 
looked at their Spokeswoman impassively, their faces devoid of 
any expression. She was not surprised, because Royal Servants 
were forced to hide their emotions. It would take several weeks 
and some counseling to convince them that it was all right to 
express themselves. She continued:

“You’ve been through a lot, and I think that issuing brass rings 
is the very least we can do to compensate you. Now, you will 
understand that in spite of your brass rings, you are still 
criminals serving sentences. I expect you to remember that. If 
any of you violates protocol, the conditions of your original 
conviction and sentencing will be restored.”

The tall German girl with the tattoo on her ankle shyly raised 
her hand:

“Spokeswoman, Lee-Dolkivna, I request permission to speak.”

“Yes Criminal # 100904?”

“What’s going to happen to the Grand Duchess?”

“Well, her parents will have to deal with her. To be honest, with 
the way they feel about her, I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes. 
The Prime Minister is so mad that he wanted her to be sentenced 
to Life without Honor. That won’t happen, mainly because of the 
public scandal that it would cause. The Grand Duchess is going to 
have some restrictions in her life, however. A lot of 
restrictions, from what I understand.”

----------

Maritza Ortskt-Dukovna spent the afternoon locked in a guest 
bedroom with her daughter. She wanted to talk to Anyia about her 
situation, but the only thing the younger woman wanted was a 
dress and to be let out of the room. Several times Anyia demanded 
a dress and her crown, props that could have given back some of 
her self confidence and feeling of authority. However, Marizta 
repeated the ominous news that it was unlikely she would ever be 
allowed to get dressed again. The Grand Duchess found that hard 
to believe. 

If Maritza was not willing to quit blocking the door, Anyia had 
nothing more to say to her. For a long time neither woman said 
anything, so the room was full of tense silence. Maritza finally 
gave up trying to communicate. She simply sat reading, with the 
hope that her presence would keep her daughter from trying 
anything stupid. 

Anyia remained shocked and incredulous that her mother would have 
been capable of punishing her with a belt on her own whipping 
post in front of her household staff. Tears rolled down her 
cheeks and her soul burned with humiliation. She sat on a chair 
looking out the window, every so often shifting uncomfortably on 
her bruised backside. She hated her mother for the crime 
committed against her, but said nothing because for the time 
being she was concerned about suffering another punishment. She 
wanted to avoid that, but as soon as the Grand Duke got home and 
could straighten everything out, she fully planned to get even 
with her parents.

Maritza could tell by the girl’s behavior that she did not feel 
any remorse over what she had done, but instead harbored a 
smoldering rage that fueled fantasies of revenge. She sadly shook 
her head. Anyia, you just don’t get it…it’s over.

----------

Shortly after Cecilia and Maria Elena left the Royal Residence, 
Vladim Dukov approached the room where his wife was watching over 
his daughter. He knocked. When Maritza opened the door the Prime 
Minister whispered to her everything that had transpired that 
afternoon, concluding that he and the Clergy members were ready 
to confront Anyia. Maritza whispered back that it was obvious 
that she still did not recognize how serious her situation was. 
He pushed open the door and raised his voice.

“Our daughter does not think I am serious. Very well, I will 
persuade her otherwise.” 

The tone of her father’s words unsettled Anyia. What happened 
next unsettled her much more. Vladik and his partner entered the 
room, grabbed the Grand Duchess, and cuffed her hands behind her 
back. Anyia struggled and screamed indignantly. Vladim stepped 
out for a moment and returned with a finely crafted leather 
switch. It was her favorite switch, the one she kept with her at 
all times so she could punish her servants on the spur of the 
moment. He held the switch to her face, touching it to her cheek 
like she had done so many times to her servants. Anyia took the 
warning and calmed down.

“Grand Duchess…” (He pronounced the title using a very 
contemptuous tone of voice…) “…you will come. I believe you wish 
to see your two advisors.”

With her brother and his partner firmly grabbing her by the arms, 
Anyia was led out of the room and downstairs to the main 
entryway. She felt her heart stop when she saw two prostrate 
figures in burial robes lying near the door. She was terrified 
and did not want to go any closer. Vladim signaled to his son to 
force her forward. The Grand Duchess struggled to get away, but 
she was no match for Vladik and his partner. They lifted her off 
the floor and carried her to the bodies. 

“NO! You murderer! You…”

Anger swept through the Prime Minister. He trembled with rage as 
his normally quiet demeanor snapped:

“Take a look at them, Anyia! Take a good look at the dead 
traitors! Take a look at my enemies, the enemies of my 
government, the enemies of our people, the enemies of Danubia! 
Take a good look at men who betrayed Danubia, who attempted to 
sell this country for Euros!”

“No…NO!”

“Take a good look, Anyia! These two are dead, because they wanted 
to sell our country! Sell it, Grand Duchess! They negotiated a 
selling price for Danubia and they signed a contract with Mega-
Town Associates!”

Dukov grabbed a folder that had been taken out of the car 
belonging to one of the Lords. He pulled out a very official-
looking document. He held it in front of Anyia and pointed to a 
figure in the text, an agreement that the two Lords would receive 
five hundred million Euros in exchange for conceding Danubia’s 
natural resources to Mega-Town.

“These two tried to sell Danubia for five hundred million Euros! 
They tried to sell the Realm of the Ancients, the land of your 
ancestors, the home of the people who love you, who are naive 
enough to think you care about them! If only the public knew, 
Anyia! If only they knew what a vile, contemptuous, dishonored 
creature you have become!”

The Prime Minister moved in front of his daughter and slapped her 
hard across the face.

“Oh! Did I defile your Divineness? Very well…just so there is no 
doubt…let me defile your Divineness again!”

Dukov laid a second fearsome slap across the young woman’s face. 
Before she could react, he grabbed her by the back of the neck 
and forced her face within centimeters of the grayish face of 
Lord Vidmarkt.

“Maritza, go get her crown and bring it to me!”

A moment later Maritza returned with Anyia’s finely-crafted 
crown. It was not the antiquity traditionally worn by Danubian 
Grand Duchesses; it had been special-ordered the year before from 
a jeweler in Monaco for a scandalous price. 

Dukov released Anyia’s neck, but Vladik and his partner still 
held her arms tight. What the Prime Minister did next shocked 
everyone in the room. He threw Anyia’s crown on the floor and 
stomped on it. He kicked at the pieces, scattering diamonds and 
sapphires. 

“If you think you will avenge yourself against me, Anyia, you are 
sadly mistaken! You will not have me killed, because no one will 
ever follow an order from you…ever! Dishonored traitors like you 
are not in a position to issue orders!”

To prove his point, Dukov grabbed Anyia’s switch and viciously 
struck her across her thighs. Anyia screamed from pain and 
fright. The Prime Minister struck her four more times before 
tossing the implement across the room. As Anyia continued to sob 
with terror, her father screamed:

“And that’s just the treason! How do you justify defiling your 
servants? How do you justify destroying Church documents? How do 
you justify trying to have your own parents killed? How do you 
justify spitting on your own mother? How do you justify all that? 
With your crown? Take a look at your crown! Take a look at what I 
did to it!”

Everyone present stood in terrified silence. In all the years he 
had served in public, first in the courtroom and then as Prime 
Minister, no one had ever seen Vladim Dukov lose his temper. He 
paused, noting the reddening welts crossing his daughter’s bare 
thighs. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He felt 
ashamed of his behavior, but he knew there was no way to undo 
what he had just done.

Everyone then noticed a change in Anyia. She slumped in the grip 
of the two police officers. Tears were streaming down her face as 
she contemplated the corpses of her friends and the scattered 
jewels of her crushed crown. Her father may have felt ashamed of 
his outburst and striking her across her legs, but it turned out 
that was precisely what was needed to break her. The illusion she 
had of her own grandeur melted away in an instant. Dukov noted 
the change as well. He resumed his normal tone of voice.

“Take my daughter to the sitting room and present her to Grand 
Prophet # 4.”

As Anyia was being led away the Prime Minister turned to the 
various servants and cops standing in the room

“Officers, please remove the corpses from this property and 
return them to their families. And gather up those jewels. I need 
them taken to the Ministry of Finance and secured in the vault.”

----------

Vladik and his partner dragged Anyia into the smaller reception 
room where the Priestess, Grand Prophet # 4, and several other 
Clergy members were waiting. The Prime Minister and his wife 
followed. They immediately approached Grand Prophet # 4 and 
knelt, touching their heads to the floor. It was strange to see a 
man in a business suit and a woman in a formal dress kneeling 
before a member of the Clergy, because normally anyone not 
performing Penance would be wearing a prayer robe. However, under 
the circumstances at the moment prayer robes were the least of 
anyone’s concerns. The Grand Prophet blessed the First Couple and 
told them to rise and take a seat. 

Vladik and his partner forced Anyia to kneel. The Clergy members 
immediately noted the same change in Anyia that the cops and 
staff in the main reception hall had noticed, that the Grand 
Duchess’s spirit had broken. She no longer was the cruel 
imperious mistress of the Royal Household, but instead a 
miserable and frightened young woman who was just beginning to 
understand the awful consequences of everything she had done over 
the past three years. 

The Priestess rose, carrying a folder full of confession 
statements from the Royal Servants, as well as statements from 
several members of the salaried staff who also had requested 
interviews with the Clergy. She picked out five of the 
statements, the ones that she considered the worst examples of 
abuse that Anyia had inflicted on those tasked to serve her. 

What followed was a formal hearing that would strip Anyia of her 
Royal Immunity. For the next two hours, the Priestess read the 
five statements in their entirety. She only interrupted when she 
came to a particularly grievous action or order the Grand Duchess 
had given, asking her if indeed the statement was true. Anyia, 
who knelt quietly with tears still streaming down her cheeks, 
repeatedly answered: “Yes, Priestess, that statement is true.”

Anyia’s parents and brother listened in appalled silence to the 
steady stream of protocol violations and bizarre behavior that 
had constituted Anyia’s daily routine since she assumed the 
crown. Listening was especially painful to her parents. They had 
known for several weeks what was going on in the Royal Residence, 
but to hear the details made them physically sick.

After two hours, the Priestess concluded by asking:

“Anyia Dukov, do you feel that your servants did anything to 
deserve the way you treated them?”

“No, Priestess, they didn’t. They didn’t deserve it.”

“Then…why? Why did you constantly beat and defile people whose 
only wish was to serve your desires and needs? Why were you so 
desperate to treat your servants as sexual toys and strip away 
their honor? How can you justify what you did to them?” 

“I can’t justify what I did them, Priestess. I just did it 
because it was what I enjoyed doing. That’s the only answer I can 
give you.” 

The Priestess looked hard at the Grand Duchess. Anyia’s simple 
response, along with her subdued behavior, indicated that the 
young woman’s transformation already had begun. The shock of her 
detention, being punished by her parents, seeing her co-
conspirators lying dead, and finally hearing her own actions read 
to her by a member of the Danubian Clergy, had broken the 
imperious view of herself that she had developed over the past 
decade. There was no need to break her any further.

The Priestess read a series of passages from the Texts of the 
Ancients concerning the plight of evil rulers. According to the 
Texts, it was clear that Anyia had violated the trust the Creator 
had placed in her. The violation of that trust superseded the 
Royal Protocol that had protected her up to that moment. 
Therefore Anyia’s Royal Immunity would be canceled. She would 
return to being an ordinary citizen, and thus be subject to 
trial.

“There are two separate sets of violations that you have 
committed. The first is the one that has brought you before me, 
the way you treated your servants. The Church will cancel your 
Royal Immunity so your father can address the second issue, the 
fact that you provided assistance to the enemies of the Danubian 
people.”

Dukov spoke next.

“Anyia, you will recall that four years ago Danubia was invaded 
by Mega-Town Associates. We placed the leaders of that operation 
on trial. Do you remember what happened to them?”

“They were sentenced to Life without Honor, Father.”

“That is correct, Life without Honor. A life of serving the pig. 
Do you consider their crimes against this country any more 
heinous than what you and your confidants were planning? I 
consider what you planned worse, because your predecessors 
attempted to take over the Realm of the Ancients through an 
honest force of arms. Nations have done that since the beginning 
of time. But your plot was not through force of arms. Your 
confidants wanted to sell Danubia. Sell it. And you intended to 
use your title and your relationship with your husband to assist 
that sale. So, my daughter…answer the question. Can you think of 
any reason you should not be put on trial, your actions and 
intentions publicly exposed, and you sentenced to Life without 
Honor?”

Anyia cried. For the first time she truly understood what the two 
Lords had been planning. They had befriended her, but the purpose 
of that friendship was to use her to take over the country so it 
could be sold, for what was a paltry sum of money. Five hundred 
million Euros for an entire country…really that was nothing.

“I…I don’t want to continue with my life, 
Father…I…couldn’t…couldn’t you have me executed instead?”

“But do you think you deserve something as simple as a clean 
execution? Because I don’t. What you deserve is not a simple 
separation of your body from your soul, Anyia; what you deserve 
is to spend the rest of your life serving the pig.”

Anyia sobbed and nodded. Dukov turned away, because his own eyes 
had filled with tears. He had said what he needed to say to his 
daughter, but it didn’t make him feel any better.

The Priestess realized that Dukov would not be able to speak 
again without his voice cracking. She came to his aid…with the 
offer from the Church that would spare Anyia her life, her title, 
and most of her honor.

“Anyia Dukov, you need to listen to me. You need to fully 
comprehend what you have done, and the extent to which the 
Destroyer took over your life. You need to understand the fate 
that you deserve. I believe you do understand.”

“I…I don’t know what to say, Priestess. I don’t know whether I 
understand or not…why…what happened to me…”

“I believe you understand more than you realize, which was one of 
many requests I had for the Creator that concern you. Now, there 
is something else that you must understand. The door has not 
closed on your life, Anyia Dukov, at least not yet. For a person 
with a damaged soul, you are extraordinarily lucky. You have a 
chance to be spared from everything you have done. Very few 
people with damaged souls have such an opportunity. You do.”

The Priestess and the Prime Minister exchange glances. He wanted 
her to continue:

“You will understand that the Danubian people do not know 
anything about your behavior and your intentions for the country. 
They are under the illusion that you are an honorable sovereign 
who cares about the well-being of Danubia above anything else. 
You have the opportunity to make that illusion into reality. You 
can assume a simple life of service to your country and to the 
Church and escape from who you have been up until this morning. 
You can set an example of humble service by accepting a collar 
from the Temple, an example for your fellow countrymen to follow. 
If you take the collar, you will escape from your sins, because 
you understand that once you are collared, no one will ask you 
about your misdeeds. You will be protected from yourself, from 
your own past.”

Performing Public Penance had been the farthest thing from 
Anyia’s mind, but she realized it did offer her an opportunity to 
escape from the multitude of crimes she had committed over the 
past several years.

“If you submit to Penance, you can remain in this house and 
continue your life as Grand Duchess. Your relationship with your 
subjects will be preserved. In fact it will be strengthened, 
because you will show yourself as a servant of the nation. You 
have the opportunity to redeem yourself.”

Anyia was silent for a long time. Finally she asked:

“Father, if you say what I deserve is serving the pig, that I am 
unworthy of even being executed, then…why are you sparing me?”

Dukov turned back to face her. His eyes were still full of tears, 
but he managed to maintain control of his voice.

“I can justify sparing your title by saying that the Danubian 
people have suffered many changes and many traumas since I became 
Prime Minister. Right now is not the time for our nation to lose 
the Royal Family, not on top of everything else that has been 
lost. I can say that, but that is not the main reason. The main 
reason is that you remain my daughter. In spite of everything, 
you are still my child and I still love you.”

“Even though I tried to have you killed?”

“Your mother and I are very hurt, but…I want to forgive you. I 
can forgive you if you make yourself worthy of being forgiven. I 
believe you can do that, if you wish. That is why we are sparing 
you.”

Dukov changed the subject slightly.

“I think…we all need to start over…and you need to start over 
with your husband. Redeem yourself and then go meet him for the 
first time. He is a weak person, but he loves you and is willing 
to sacrifice for you. No matter what you do, he will strive to 
accommodate your desires. You are destined to influence him and 
the future of the Royal Family. Why not make that influence 
something from the Creator instead of from the Destroyer?”

Anyia sobbed again, but managed to respond:

“Yes, father…I’ll do…what I can…to help my husband. I…what do I 
have to do?”

The Priestess responded:

“Anyia Dukov, you will come with me. We will walk to the church 
that is just outside the Royal Residence. We will arrive before 
daybreak so no one sees you. Tomorrow night we will walk again, 
and the night after that we will walk yet again. On the third 
night we will arrive at the Temple of the Ancients. Once we 
arrive at the main Temple, you will submit to the collar. During 
the days you will rest, but we will also talk to you, so that you 
understand what the Creator is asking of you. You will not assume 
the collar until you are ready, which is the purpose of our 
journey. During the three days and three nights of travelling, 
you will prepare yourself for your new life.”

Dukov spoke next.

“I will tell your husband where you are and what you are doing. I 
don’t think you should see him until you have completed your 
journey and assumed the collar.”

“Father…will anything happen to him? Please…he didn’t do 
anything…I was the one…”

“You will be held responsible for your own transgressions, but 
your husband has committed transgressions as well. He will have 
to come to terms with his actions, just as you will come to terms 
with yours.”

The Priestess and three Priests stood up. Vladik uncuffed his 
sister and helped her to her feet. She was unsteady after having 
knelt for such a long period of time. After a short prayer, the 
four Clergy members led the naked young woman to the door of the 
Royal Residence. They stripped of their garments, folded them, 
and handed them to Anyia to carry. The group silently set off 
into the darkness, walking in single file, to a small church that 
was about five kilometers away.

As they watched the departing group vanish into the night, Grand 
Prophet # 4 addressed the Prime Minister:

“Your daughter will be travelling with my Clergy for three days, 
Prime Minister. I understand that during that time you will be 
promoting your constitutional changes for the Royal Family?”

“That is correct, Grand Prophet. Three days should be enough. The 
Grand Duke already assured me that he will accept my proposals. 
I’ll have the legislation passed before Anyia returns to this 
house.”

The Grand Prophet smiled slightly.

“You didn’t think it would be this easy, did you Prime Minister?”

“No, Grand Prophet, to be honest, I didn’t. I was convinced Anyia 
would put up more resistance.”

“Then maybe you didn’t know her as well as you thought, Prime 
Minister. Did it ever occur to you that, in her conscience, she 
knew that her soul had been occupied by the Destroyer, and that 
perhaps she was deeply frightened? That maybe, even as we speak, 
her spirit is uplifted with joy at having been released?”

“I don’t know, Grand Prophet. I don’t know what is going on in 
her head right now. I’m sure she is relieved at being spared a 
fate of serving the pig, but I don’t know how much remorse she 
really has.”

“Remorse…no, Prime Minister…that will come later. But I can tell 
you that over the next three days she will feel the joy of being 
liberated from the grip of the Destroyer. I believe… that she 
must have felt she controlled everything around her, but in 
reality it was everything around her that controlled your 
daughter. Now, we have removed all those burdens and the only 
thing Anyia needs to worry about is herself. She will control 
nothing, and nothing will control her. That is the understanding 
she will achieve during her walk.”

“Grand Prophet…the thought of my daughter worrying only about 
herself is nothing new. Throughout her life, the only thing Anyia 
has ever worried about is herself…she never gave any thought to 
anyone else…or anything…unless it brought her pleasure”

“Ahhh…but when you say that your daughter only thought about 
herself, what truly concerned her was the material items in the 
Realm of the Living she could control. I repeat, she now controls 
nothing of the material world, and thus the material world has 
completely released its grip on her. When I say she will worry 
about herself, what I mean is…really worry about herself…deep 
down in her soul…I believe that will be a new experience for 
her.”

Dukov did not reply…he found it hard to accept that he did not 
know his daughter as well as he had thought, that perhaps his 
negative opinion of her was not justified. Noting his skepticism, 
the Prophet concluded:

“Three days from now Anyia will stand in front of the Temple of 
the Ancients and she will perform her first act of service to the 
people of this nation. Right after her Public Penance begins, she 
will present herself in front of a camera and speak to the 
Danubians. Following the advice of my Priestess, the Grand 
Duchess of the Danubian Republic will tell our people that she is 
wearing the collar to escape from the control that the material 
world attempted to place on her. The public will accept that 
explanation and respect her even more than they do now. Your 
daughter will be happy and liberated, not subdued and miserable 
as you anticipate. Most importantly, by presenting herself as an 
example of austere and honest living, she will assist you in your 
battle against Mega-Town Associates and everything they stand 
for. She will become an enemy of consumerism, and in doing so 
help move this country even further from what your enemies 
envision for its future.”

Dukov contemplated what the Prophet had just told him.

“You will witness illusion as it becomes reality, Prime Minster. 
Your daughter has been cast down, but now the Creator will lift 
her up. She will serve our people in ways you never could have 
imagined.”

----------

Anyia followed the four naked Clergy members away from her house, 
across the Royal Grounds, and finally through the gate that led 
to the outside world. Her backside was still sore from the 
punishment her mother had giving her earlier that morning. The 
welts on her thighs continued to burn. She could feel the aching 
numbness in her cheek where her father had slapped her. Her legs 
were tired and her feet hurt from walking barefoot on open 
ground. Her arms started to ache from carrying the clothing of 
the Clergy members who were leading her away from her old life 
and towards a new one. None of that mattered.

In spite of her fear and her physical discomfort, Anyia was 
increasing happy as her journey progressed. She had never been 
outside in the country at night before, so everything she was 
experiencing was totally new to her. Bats chirped over her head 
and owls hooted in the distance. There were very few lights 
during that first leg of her trek, so she could see the stars in 
their full glory. The cool night breeze caressed her bare body. 
Her life was one of pain and pleasure, and now a life of silence 
and peace. 

For the first time in her life Anyia Dukov felt that she could 
clear her mind. She no longer controlled what was happening to 
her, so she could let her spirit relax. For the next three days 
her Path in Life would to obey whatever the Priestess told her to 
do. Finally she would arrive at the Temple, take her collar, and 
start over with her life.

After an hour and a half of peaceful walking, Anyia could see a 
small church in the distance, the first stop in her three-day 
journey. She was immensely tired, but very happy. The words 
spoken to her earlier in the evening repeated themselves in her 
mind:

“The door has not closed on your life, Anyia Dukov, at least not 
yet. For a person with a damaged soul, you are extraordinarily 
lucky. You have a chance to be spared from everything you have 
done. Very few people with damaged souls have such an 
opportunity. You do.”
