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, harsh police interrogation)


Chapter 14 - A summons from the Grand Duchess 

On Friday morning at the end of the second week in September, 
Maria Elena began her normal routine at home before reporting to 
the university for language tutoring and yet more hedge-trimming. 
However, no sooner had she reported to work and picked up the 
hedge trimmer, than her boss told her that she had a call from 
her Spokeswoman. The news was that she and her translator needed 
to report immediately to the Central Police Station. 

Although the man was speaking in Danubian, Maria Elena had 
learned enough of the language that she could understand what he 
was telling her. She knelt, was dismissed, and immediately 
located Cecilia in her office. The urgency of Kim's request 
worried both women, but they rushed to the University trolley 
stop to catch the next trolley going downtown. As usual, Maria 
Elena had to stand; her hands gripping the pole above her head 
and her body totally exposed to the other passengers. However, 
she had become used to the restriction and no longer really 
thought about it. As much as she would have liked to take a seat, 
she knew that seating on public transportation was off-limits to 
anyone wearing a collar.

A few minutes later, Cecilia and Maria Elena got off the 
university line transport, entered the Central Police Station, 
and ascended the steps to the third floor. When they entered the 
Spokeswoman’s office, they noticed two men wearing tunics with 
the Royal House emblem engraved on their chests. Both men wore 
ceremonial swords on sword-belts and sported ridiculous-looking 
hats with large feathers. Maria Elena knelt, trying as best she 
could to not laugh at the two men’s silly clothing.

One of the men pointed at Maria Elena while speaking to Kim in 
Danubian:

“Spokeswoman, is this the foreign criminal who was assigned the 
number 101025 by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of 
Danubia?” 

“Yes, Lord. She is my client, Criminal # 101025.”

“Excellent, Spokeswoman. You and your translator will have the 
honor of standing in the presence of the Grand Duchess of the 
Republic of Danubia and performing a service for Her 
Graciousness. You are ordered to bring your client to the Royal 
House and present her to Grand Duchess Anyia.”

Kim went pale, but managed to reply: “Yes, Lord. What time are we 
to comply with the wishes of the Grand Duchess?”

“Now. You will bring this criminal to the main entrance of this 
building, where one of the Royal transports will be awaiting the 
three of you.”

“Lord, I will accept the honor the Grand Duchess has bestowed 
upon me. I wish for one favor in return. I’d like 10 minutes, so 
I can do several things, including calling my supervisor to tell 
him you’ve summoned me, turning off my client’s collar 
transmitter, and dressing more appropriately to be in her 
presence. Can you grant me that favor, Lord?”

“It is inappropriate to keep the Grand Duchess waiting, 
Spokeswoman. But we will grant you that request.”

With that Kim and Cecilia saluted and the two Lords saluted back. 
The Spokeswoman left her client and her assistant kneeling in the 
front office, while retreating with Cecilia into the back office. 
She shut the door. As Kim dialed her supervisor, Cecilia 
whispered in English:

“What’s going on?”

“What do you think is going on? Anyia. Our ‘gracious’ Grand 
Duchess. That crazy bitch wants to ‘honor’ us by having us go to 
her place and see how ‘gracious’ she is. We get the privilege to 
escape from our own pathetic existence and see the true splendor 
that…”

Kim interrupted when her supervisor picked up. She quickly 
explained that she was summoned to go to the Royal House with her 
Colombian client and her translator and would not be able to make 
it an arraignment hearing she had with a new client in the 
afternoon. She vaguely hoped that the hearing would be too 
important and that Anyia would have to wait. However, her 
supervisor told her to immediately go to the Royal House and that 
he would call the committee to postpone her client’s hearing. Kim 
hung up. 

“How great. How fucking wonderful. Now Anyia even gets to mess 
with the arraignment schedule! In other words, I’ve got a client 
who’s sitting in a holding cell and he’s got to stay there until 
I get back…whenever that is!”

Cecilia said nothing, noting that her friend was seething with 
anger. The Spokeswoman opened her closet and began tearing off 
her clothes. She grabbed a linen dress from her collection and 
tossed another to Cecilia. There was no way the two women could 
wear everyday clothing if they were going to visit the Royal 
Family. From experience Kim knew that she needed to be prepared 
for suddenly having to change into fancier clothing and kept her 
office closet well-stocked with outfits.

Once Kim and Cecilia were properly attired in fine linen dresses, 
the Spokeswoman opened the door. Maria Elena was still on her 
knees with her forehead pressed to the floor. She didn’t have a 
clue what was happening.

After stopping on the ground floor to have the criminal’s collar 
deactivated, the three women followed the two Lords to a waiting 
minivan. In any other country a ride in a minivan would have been 
no big deal, but in Danubia, where privately-owned vehicles were 
illegal, to ride in a car was a luxury that few people had 
experienced. The Royal Family was a major exception to the 
prohibition of cars, because the Estate had several minivans at 
its disposal. Unlike nearly everyone else, the Royals and their 
servants never rode on public transportation.

The two Lords escorted the three women to a waiting van, where 
the driver and a kneeling naked male servant were waiting. As 
soon as everyone was on board, the vehicle pulled away and moved 
unimpeded towards the western edge of Danube City. The van passed 
Vladik Dukov’s house and the yellow sign that ordinarily would 
have marked the edge of Maria Elena’s world. It emerged into the 
Danubian countryside and descended into a valley, passing several 
potato farms and fruit orchards before turning off the main road 
and passing under an ornate gate. It continued along a tree-lined 
road that passed through a beautiful park. Finally the van 
stopped at a pretentious 19th-Century brick mansion that boasted 
a multitude of turrets, balconies, and towers. 

A man dressed in a tunic blew a horn as the van pulled up to the 
front entrance. Eight naked young men filed out of the door 
carrying Royal banners and lined up along a red carpet leading 
into the mansion. They draped the banners over the carpet, but as 
the two Lords and their guests approached each banner, it was 
lifted out of their way. Maria Elena noticed two details about 
the young men. Like the female servants she had seen at the Prime 
Minister’s house, all of them were quite handsome and in 
excellent physical shape. Also, the men wore ornate collars 
identical to the ones worn by Anyia’s personal escort.

Maria Elena and Cecilia still did not understand what was going 
on. Kim suspected that she did know, and her expression reflected 
a combination of anger and worry. She had noticed Anyia intensely 
studying her client at the Prime Minister’s residence. That gave 
her a very bad feeling, and the call from the Royal Household in 
the morning confirmed her concern.

The two Lords and the three women were escorted into a reception 
area. They stood at attention while Maria Elena knelt. The Lords 
were perfectly silent, while Kim and Cecilia were too intimidated 
to move or make any noise. The group remained still for several 
minutes, enough for Maria Elena’s body to start cramping from 
staying immobilized in an uncomfortable position for too long. 
Finally two of the female servants Maria Elena had seen at the 
Prime Minster’s dinner appeared and opened the doors to the main 
ceremonial chamber. As soon as the doors were open the servants 
knelt and put their heads on the floor.

Bewildered and frightened, Maria Elena followed her Spokeswoman 
and her translator to the main reception room. The room was the 
most attractive place Maria Elena had yet seen in Danubia, made 
from finely-crafted wood and decorated with amber, with stained 
glass windows covered with dark silk curtains. A red rug led to a 
throne in which the Grand Duchess was seated. Her naked 
attendants were kneeling on both sides of the red rug, absolutely 
still and expressionless. Their uncovered bodies sharply 
contrasted with the rich colors of the room and Anyia’s elaborate 
clothing.

Kim and Cecilia led their trembling companion before Dukov’s 
imperious daughter. The Spokeswoman pointed at the carpet, 
indicating that Maria Elena needed to kneel. Kim and Cecilia 
remained standing, but they had to salute Anyia before she would 
speak to them.

The Grand Duchess held a finely crafted leather switch, which she 
used to point and to threaten servants she felt were not 
performing to Royal House standards. She used it to point at 
Maria Elena and addressed Kim in Danubian:

“Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna, I am pleased that you have fulfilled 
your duty by bringing me this criminal."

Kim saluted and replied: “Yes Grand Duchess.”

Anyia reached forward and tapped Maria Elena’s bare back with the 
tip of her switch.

“I want to examine your client. Tell her to stand up and assume 
the prisoner’s stance.”

“Yes, Grand Duchess.”

Cecilia translated, telling the criminal to stand and face the 
Grand Duchess, then to spread her legs and put her hands behind 
her head. Anyia’s eyes scanned her exposed body. For a Latin 
American woman she was tall and light-skinned, but her jet black 
hair and dark eyes set her apart from women in the Danubian 
Republic. Maria Elena could tell that the obnoxious young 
noblewoman was fascinated with her. The Grand Duchess explored 
her body with light touches of the switch, poking one of her 
breasts, pressing her inner thigh, stroking her cheek, and 
placing the tip of the switch under her chin to make her life up 
her head. With a quick tap Anyia instructed Maria Elena to turn 
sideways, then with another tap instructed her to make another 
quarter turn to display her backside.

“Spokeswoman, tell your client to face me and kneel.”

Once Maria Elena was kneeling, Anyia spoke again:

“Tell your client to kneel forward, then to get up and get a tray 
from the kitchen. Tell her to pour me a glass of wine and to 
serve it to me. Tell her that she will bring me the wine on a 
tray, upon returning she will kneel without spilling the glass, 
and then she will hold out the tray to present the wine.”

“Yes, Grand Duchess.”

Cecilia translated the command, adding: “Please don’t mess this 
up. The trays are in the cabinet on the right side of the main 
kitchen door. Just say ‘vinokt’ and the cook will get you a 
bottle and pour you a glass.”

Still trembling, Maria Elena did as she was told. First she 
retrieved a tray, then approached the head cook and said 
“vinokt”, waited for him to fill a glass, and returned to the 
Grand Duchess. She managed to kneel without spilling the glass, 
in spite of being totally bewildered and terrified. When Anyia 
took the wine she spoke to Kim again:

“Spokeswoman, has this Criminal gone on trial yet?”

“Yes, Grand Duchess, she was tried and convicted about three 
weeks ago.”

“What are the crimes of which she was convicted, Spokeswoman?”

“Drug trafficking, cocaine possession, and violating her body, 
Grand Duchess.”

“Hmmm…so her sentence is…”

“She was sentenced to 35 years, Grand Duchess.”

“Good, a nice long sentence. Then, I want her for the Royal 
Estate. You will go to the judge who sentenced her and tell him 
that as of next Monday, the Ministry of Justice is ordered to 
surrender custody of this criminal to my representative. Next 
Monday morning you are ordered to take her to the Central 
Courthouse and have her collar removed so she can be fitted with 
a Royal House collar. You also will understand that from this 
point, any official working for the Ministry of Justice is 
prohibited from touching her. Do you understand me, Spokeswoman?”

Kim’s face went pale upon hearing the command, but she managed to 
respond: “Yes, Grand Duchess.”

Kim and Cecilia exchanged nervous glances. Anyia snapped:

“Is there a problem, Spokeswoman?”

“Grand Duchess, I’m…concerned about one thing. My client still 
doesn’t speak much Danubian. The only language she knows is 
Spanish. We’re working on that, but right now she needs to have a 
translator and…”

Anyia cracked her switch hard against the chair and stood up. She 
then pointed the implement at Kim, as though she were threatening 
to punish her:

“Listen, Spokeswoman…I don’t appreciate you arguing with 
me…questioning a decision I’ve made on behalf of the Royal House! 
You’re nothing but a low-level Public Servant and you need to 
remember that when you talk to me! Now, if you don’t think this 
criminal has the language skills she needs to serve the Royal 
House, then it’s your responsibility to fix that! The Royal House 
has made its decision and it’s your duty to do what you need to 
do to facilitate that decision!” She cracked the switch on her 
chair a second time before touching it to Kim’s cheek in a 
menacing manner. “Do you understand me, Spokeswoman?”

Kim’s eyes went wide with shock and anger. It was clear that both 
she and Cecilia were taken aback by the Grand Duchess’s outburst, 
tone of voice, and the fact she dared to physically threaten her. 
Maybe it was true that she was the wife of the Grand Duke, but it 
was also true that it was not the Middle Ages. Even if Anyia was 
Royalty, she had no business speaking to a Public Employee in 
such a manner. However, Kim remained calm. She took a deep breath 
and replied:

“Yes, Grand Duchess. I will do what I can to prepare my client 
for her duties in the Royal House.”

“Very well, Spokeswoman. I will overlook your vile display of 
disrespect. You are to inform your Ministry that this Criminal is 
now property of the Royal Family. I am granting you the privilege 
of temporary custody, pending her delivery to the Royal Estate.”

“Yes, Grand Duchess.”

“Good. Now you are dismissed. Make sure this criminal is properly 
cared for. I want her in top physical condition when she is 
brought to the Royal Residence.”

“Yes, Grand Duchess.”

Kim and Cecilia saluted the Grand Duchess before doing a crisp 
about-face. Cecilia instructed Maria Elena to get off her knees 
and follow them out of the room. The Colombian was totally 
bewildered, because she had not understood very much of the 
conversation between her Spokeswoman and that weird queen, or 
whatever the hell she was. She knew something very unpleasant had 
happened in that room, but didn’t have a clue what.

The two Lords presented Kim with three sets of documents printed 
on Royal House parchment and decorated with Royal House seals. 
The Spokeswoman was ordered to present one set to the Minister of 
Justice and the second set to the judge who had presided over 
Criminal # 101025’s trial. The final set would be placed into 
Maria Elena’s folder in Kim’s office. The documents officially 
transferred custody of her to the Royal Household once she was 
convicted. A representative of the Royal Family would show up 
next Monday at the Courthouse to collar her and transport her to 
the Royal Estate.

Maria Elena watched the proceedings with concern, every so often 
casting a pleading glance at her translator for an explanation of 
what was going on. Cecilia said nothing, because she was afraid 
to speak without being given any instructions to do so. However, 
the Dominican’s expression clearly indicated that something was 
not right.

Finally the Lords returned the three women to the minivan for 
transport back to the Central Police Station. Kim held a folder 
containing the Royal House documents as she took her seat. Maria 
Elena noticed there were tears in her eyes and her hands were 
shaking. Cecilia’s eyes were wide open and nervously looking 
around as the van quickly passed through Danube City on its way 
downtown. When the van stopped, Kim and Cecilia saluted the two 
Lords while Maria Elena and the naked servant responsible for 
opening the car doors knelt.

As soon as Lords had returned to the van and departed, Kim 
clenched her teeth and began trembling with rage. She calmed down 
enough to speak to Cecilia in English:

“That fucking megalomaniac! See what I told you? See what I told 
you? You didn’t think she was that bad, did you?”

Cecilia was at a loss for words: “I…didn’t…I mean…but how...I 
mean, what happened to her?”

“How would I know? I don’t know what happened to her! I guess all 
that nobility crap went to her head…It pisses me that the Grand 
Duke puts up with it…It pisses me…because they’re State 
employees, just like me…I mean, all that Royalty shit is just 
ceremonial…that’s all it is, Cecilia…ceremonial…and they’re 
nothing but a bunch of spoiled actors…She doesn’t realize…”

“So, what are you gonna do?”

“With Maria Elena?”

“Yeah…”

“I’ve got to turn her over. I don’t have any choice…”

“Do you think she’s gonna be OK?”

Kim thought for a moment.

“I don’t know. To be honest, I don’t think she’ll be OK at all. 
The Royal House isn't where she ought to be. I wanted her to have 
a normal life, and she’s not going to get that from our little 
‘Marie Antoinette’.”

“Can’t you talk to anyone?”

“To who, Cecilia? Who am I gonna talk to? The Prime Minster? He’s 
got his hands too full as it is and right now can’t afford a 
fight with the Grand Duke. To my supervisor at the Ministry? 
No…’cause he’ll support Anyia. It’s a tradition the Royals get 
the pick of any criminals they want…it’s a privilege that goes 
back eight centuries. I’m not going to be able to argue over 
who’s getting custody of Criminal # 101025, ‘cause no one’s gonna 
support me. Everyone will say she’s better off with the Royals 
‘cause it’s tradition and they’ll treat her nice…and they’ll say 
that because they don’t know what a crazy bitch Anyia’s turned 
into!”

“What about talking to Anyia, or the Grand Duke?”

Kim shook her head.

“Talk to Anyia? Anyia is worried about one thing in life, and 
that is, what’s the latest thing that can make her happy. The 
Grand Duke is worried about one thing in life, and that’s what’s 
the latest thing that can make Anyia happy. Everyone else around 
here is worried about just one thing in life, and that’s what’s 
the latest thing that can make Anyia happy. It’s all about 
keeping ‘Marie Antoinette’ happy.”

Kim calmed down enough to talk in a normal tone of voice and stop 
trembling from anger. She reflected:

“The tragic part of all this is that the Royals are still 
popular. Not much of Anyia’s behavior has leaked out to the 
public…yet. Once the truth gets out and the people become 
disillusioned with her…I don’t know what’ll happen. It’ll hurt 
the Prime Minister, I can tell you that, because she's his 
daughter…and the reputation of the Royal Family…”

“Then you need to talk him. You’re not doing any good by telling 
me all of this. You need to tell it to Anyia’s father.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right. I ought to talk to Prime Minister 
Dukov about Anyia. At least I can try to warn him. I can tell you 
though; this is not something he wants to deal with right now.”

“So…what about Maria Elena?”

“I’ve got to tell her. I don’t have the right to keep it from 
her. Anyhow, I’ll have to tell her to learn as much Danubian as 
she can over the next couple of days. I’ll try to put a positive 
spin on it, tell her she’ll be living in a nice place, that she 
won’t have to deal with the scheduled switchings, that she 
probably won’t even have to do anything that will get her hands 
dirty. It’s best that she go into the Royal Household with a 
positive attitude…”

“That’s not gonna happen, Kim…the positive attitude, I mean. 
She’s not gonna want to go there.”

“Like that matters? It isn’t what I want either, but I’m holding 
three sets of papers telling me that what I want, what I think is 
best for my client, isn’t worth shit.”

----------

Kim’s plans to sit down with her client and calmly explain what 
was going to happen to her went awry the moment the three women 
entered the Spokeswoman’s office. It turned out that Tiffany had 
gone into labor and it was unlikely she could be safely moved to 
a hospital. Fortunately the Central Police Station had a staff of 
doctors and nurses, so medical help was just two flights of 
stairs away. As a doctor and several assistants came into the 
front office, Kim and Cecilia moved a recovery table into the 
center of the room and tossed a sheet over it. The medical staff 
quickly took over and lifted the naked criminal onto the table. 
The Prime Minister’s second grandson was destined to be born on 
the third floor of the Central Police Station, in the very office 
where he had worked when he was a Spokesman himself.

Kim called Vladik to let him know that his wife was giving birth 
in her office, then turned to Cecilia and Maria Elena to dismiss 
them. There wasn’t any point in having them stay because the room 
was barely large enough for the medical staff, let alone any 
witnesses. Cecilia was not too concerned about Tiffany’s safety; 
after all, the child was her second and the medical staff helping 
her was comparable to what she would have had in the hospital. 
She would stay out of the way and congratulate her the next day. 
Kim would remain in the office and comfort her, because Vladik 
was too far away to make it time to actually see the baby being 
born.

----------

It was late afternoon when Cecilia and Maria Elena exited the 
Central Police Station onto the Central Plaza. With Kim occupied 
with her assistant, it was up to Cecilia to break the news about 
the Colombian’s pending transfer of custody. She decided that it 
would be best if they walked back to the university so they could 
talk. They would be walking for about an hour, which would give 
her enough time to fully explain what Maria Elena could expect.

Cecilia was not a subtle or tactful person, so she simply told 
Maria Elena what was going to happen the following week. At first 
Maria Elena simply thought that she no longer would be working at 
the university, but Cecilia corrected her:

“No. You’re not just changing your job. Your custodianship is 
being changed. The Ministry of Justice won’t have any control 
over you at all. Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna won’t be your custodian 
anymore because she can only be the custodian of a criminal who’s 
assigned to the Ministry. You’re going to be handed over to the 
Royal Family. They’ll be your new owners, so my guess is that 
your custodian is gonna be the Grand Duchess.”

“But I thought that…my Spokeswoman said…the Danubian government 
owns me.”

“They do, but if the Royals want a criminal, it’s a custom that 
the Ministry of Justice hands ‘em over. They have a special 
arrangement that’s a tradition. If they want you, they can take 
ownership of you at any time.”

“But…I don’t want to go there…to that house…”

“So? Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna doesn’t want you to go there 
either. She’s very upset, but right now there’s nothing she can 
do about it.”

----------

Tiffany's second son was born after a relatively short labor, 
which confirmed the decision of the doctor to have her deliver in 
Kim's office instead of transporting her to a hospital. However, 
as soon as it was clear that she and the baby were in good 
health, the medical staff moved both of them to the infirmary, 
for subsequent transportation to a nearby clinic. Vladik arrived 
on the scene, which allowed Kim to excuse herself and deal with 
her newest problem, the pending transfer of Criminal # 101025 to 
the Royal Family. 

Kim did not think she could prevent the transfer from happening, 
given that she had such short notice. It already was Friday 
afternoon and the transfer would take place on Monday morning. 
However, the Spokeswoman decided to file an official petition to 
have the transfer reversed, which would work its way up through 
her supervisor to the Minister of Justice. It was possible that 
the Prime Minister himself would get involved, given that the 
Grand Duchess was his daughter and Criminal # 101025 was the 
lover of his brother.

Kim cringed at the thought of involving the Prime Minister in a 
dispute between his brother and his daughter over the custody of 
a criminal, because the prospects of the affair blowing up into a 
public scandal were daunting. To file a petition was a very grave 
decision for her own future as well. There was a possibility that 
officially confronting the wishes of the Royal Family would cost 
her career. However, she felt that she had no choice, because she 
had taken an oath to pursue the interests of her clients to the 
best of her ability. If she failed to uphold her oath, she would 
be dishonored, and to be dishonored was much worse than to be 
unemployed. She felt that it was very clear that it was in Maria 
Elena's best interest to remain with Victor Dukov and continue 
her life working at the university.

Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna would do everything she could to have 
custody of Criminal # 101025 returned to the Ministry of Justice. 
She was determined that her stay with the Royal Family would be 
as brief as possible. She had heard stories about some very 
improper behavior going on at the Royal Residence...and knowing 
Anyia, she suspected that the stories were true.

