The Pledge Mistress
Copyright 2006 by EC
EC's Erotic Art & Fiction - http://www.ecgraphicarts.com/

(warnings: erotic discipline, sex between adults, medical fetish, public nudity, 
sexual hazing)

Chapter 5 - The presentation of the pledges

It was getting dark outside when Tracy and Heather returned to the pledge shower 
room wearing formal dresses. Heather was carrying a riding crop, which, 
combined with her severe-looking dress, gave her a truly intimidating appearance. 
The four pledges knelt yet again, ready to be escorted back to the Tri-Alpha 
ceremonial room. The most important event of the day still awaited them, the 
ceremony that would formally introduce them to the full membership of the 
fraternity and the sorority.

The four pledges and their two mentors quietly walked down the hallway to the 
Tri-Alpha ceremonial room. The room’s appearance had changed yet again. It 
was completely empty of people and the only furniture was single row of long 
benches set up on both sides of the room. Near the wall opposite the main door 
stood two empty podiums. One podium bore the Tri-Alpha coat of Arms and the 
other the coat of arms of the Four-Betas. The room was strangely lit with sinister 
dark orange lighting.

“OK, you four, on your knees, facing the podiums.”

The pledges did as they were told and sank to their knees. Tracy gave them some 
instructions.

“Pledges, Sergeant-at-Arms Heather is gonna be presenting you to the chapter 
president. You’ll stay kneeling until Sergeant-at-Arms Heather taps you with the 
riding crop. Once you get tapped, you’ll stand up and face the president. She’ll 
ask you for your name, you’ll give it to her, and then she will tell you to face the 
Four-Betas, who’ll be over there…” Tracy pointed at a row of benches. “You’ll 
face them, arms at your sides, ‘till you get tapped with the crop. Then you’ll turn 
around and face the Tri-Alphas. When she taps you again, you’ll face the 
president again and then kneel back down. Get it?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Tracy then did something that surprised Lisa. She leaned down and put her mouth 
close to Lisa’s ear. She whispered very quietly so no one else could hear:

“Pledge Lisa, what’s coming up after you get presented is gonna be real rough on 
you guys. I need you to help me on this. When the moment comes I need you to 
volunteer to go first.”

Lisa gave Tracy a very slight, quick nod to let her mentor know she could count 
on her.

The Tri-Alpha president, dressed in a tuxedo, and the Four-Beta president, 
wearing a formal evening dress, entered the room together and took their 
positions at the podiums. The Four-Beta president rang a hand-bell and the rest of 
the fraternity and sorority members filed into the room. The men and women 
quickly separated by sex and by class. The Tri-Alphas assembled on the right side 
of the room and the Four-Betas on the left side. The senior class sat on the 
benches, while the juniors sat on the floor in front and the sophomores stood in a 
row behind the seniors. There were over 80 people present, but their quick 
organization left the entire center part of the room empty. Everyone in the room 
was well dressed, the men in business suits and the women in dresses or business 
outfits.

The pledges looked around and exchanged nervous glances. Their large, well-
dressed audience made them even more aware of their own nakedness. The 
fraternity and sorority’s philosophy had intended for the pledges to feel so 
vulnerable and exposed, because vulnerability was an important part of a person’s 
transformation during the pledge process. The pledge’s body and soul were 
stripped bare while his or her character was broken down and then put back 
together. 

The Tri-Beta president again rang the hand-bell. The bell had the Four-Beta coat 
of arms engraved into the metal and looked like an antique. Lisa guessed that the 
bell must have been used in this ceremony for many years. That thought put her at 
ease, because she knew that whatever was about to happen to her and her 
companions had happened to everyone else in the room. If all of the 
upperclassmen could endure it, there was no reason why she and her three 
companions couldn’t endure it as well.

Upon setting down the bell, the sorority president got right down to business:

“Sergeant-at-Arms Heather!”

“Yes, President Alexandra!”

“We understand that you have brought us four persons who wish to share our 
journey through life!”

“Yes, President!”

“Very well, Sergeant-at-Arms! You will present them to us!”

“Yes, President!” 

Lisa felt the tap of the riding crop on her shoulder. She stood up, facing the 
podium and its elegant-looking occupant.

“What is your name, Pledge?”

“Lisa, ma’am!”

“Very well, Pledge Lisa! Present yourself to the women of the Four-Beta 
Sorority!”

Lisa felt the tap of the crop on her arm, and turned to face the women. She stood 
quietly for fifteen seconds as about 40 well-dressed women studied her body and 
face.

“Pledge Lisa! Present yourself to the men of the Tri-Alpha Fraternity!”

Lisa again felt the tap of the riding crop and turned to face the men. She stood 
quietly while 40 young men studied her body and face.

“Pledge Lisa! Face the podium!”

Again Lisa felt the tap of the crop on her arm. She faced the podium. The 
president pointed at the floor and Lisa felt a final tap, indicating she needed to 
return to her knees.

One by one, Heather tapped the remaining three pledges and they presented 
themselves in the same formal manner. Lisa had no qualms whatsoever about 
being naked in public, so presenting herself to her 80 spectators had been no big 
deal. However, the others were very scared and embarrassed. The public 
presentation did not put them at ease at all. Lisa glanced at Cherine, who was 
trembling and sweating.

The president of the Tri-Alphas spoke next.

“Gentlemen of the Tri-Alphas and Ladies of the Four-Betas. You have the honor 
of having been introduced to four young women who have chosen to seek to join 
us. Each of you will guide them with both support and firmness to prepare them to 
join our community. President Alexandra and I will hold each of you accountable 
for making sure that these four young women are ready to join us at the end of 
this school term.”

He turned to the four pledges and addressed them directly.

“The journey you are about to undertake is the same that each of the rest of us in 
this room has chosen to undertake. I look into your faces and see myself as I was 
three years ago: naked, kneeling, frightened, and thinking ‘what the hell have I 
gotten myself into?’ At least one of you is thinking about quitting, and if you 
choose to do so, we will not hold that against you. You are free to stand up and 
leave whenever you wish. Not everyone can make the journey into our circle, and 
we are determined that the people who join us are only the ones who truly want to 
join us. That is the purpose of the initiation process, and the reason why you will 
be subjected to very harsh treatment between now and the time we meet again in 
this room at the end of your initiation. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. We will now subject you to your first test as pledges. Each of you who 
wishes to continue will receive two items from us. The first item will be the 
restraints that you will wear at formal Four-Beta functions and whenever you are 
disciplined for violating any rules pertaining to your status as a pledge. Please 
keep in mind that I’m saying ‘when’, not ‘if’. Don’t think that you can escape 
punishment, because that won’t happen. Every pledge faces discipline. Every 
person in this room was at some point restrained and punished as a pledge, 
President Alexandra and myself included. The second item you will receive 
tonight, according to our tradition, will be a temporary mark on your left shoulder. 
Accepting the restraints and the mark will indicate your seriousness in committing 
yourself to our community. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir.”

President Alexandra spoke next.

“We are not going to just give you the restraints and the mark on your shoulder. 
You’ll need to ask us for them.”

Lisa realized that was her cue. The moment had come for her to volunteer to go 
first.

“Ma’am, Pledge Lisa requests permission to speak.”

“Speak Pledge Lisa.”

“Ma’am, I…I would be honored to wear the restraints and receive the 
mark…to…to continue my…commitment as a pledge.”

“Pledge Lisa, you will stand-up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As Lisa stood up a well-dressed member of the sorority walked up to Heather and 
handed her a black felt bag. Heather opened the bag and handed Tracy a black 
blindfold and a pair of handcuffs.

“Pledge Lisa, do you wish to continue your quest to become one of us?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Then you will accept this blindfold and these restraints. Until you are accepted as 
a full member of the Four-Beta Sorority, from this point forward you will wear 
them at all formal gatherings to demonstrate your acceptance of your status as a 
pledge. Do you understand and accept?”

“Yes, ma’am. I understand and accept.”

You will wear the blindfold and restraints whenever any officer of the Tri-Alpha 
Fraternity or the Four-Beta Sorority tells you to do so, for whatever reason. You 
will understand that whenever you are required to wear these items, you 
completely forfeit your right to exercise free will. Do you understand and 
accept?” 

“Yes, ma’am. I understand and accept.”

“Very well, Pledge Lisa. Hold out your hands to accept the restraints.”

With that Lisa held out her hands as Tracy laid the blindfold and handcuffs in her 
open palms. She left the items in the pledge’s hands exactly fifteen seconds, then 
took the blindfold and placed it over her eyes. Lisa felt cloth tighten slightly as 
Tracy knotted it behind her head. She felt the handcuffs leave her palms and the 
cold uncompromising metal wrap around her right wrist and click shut. Tracy 
took both of her hands and guided them behind her back. The metal closed around 
Lisa’s left wrist. She now was blindfolded, handcuffed, and completely helpless.

Lisa shuttered with fright. She had done the exact same thing to Ken many times 
over, but only once had she ever been restrained herself. Now here she was, 
cuffed, blindfolded, and naked, having forfeited her right to exercise free will. 
Through her own choice she had reduced herself to little more than a passive 
inanimate object, nothing except an extension of Tracy, or whoever happened to 
be controlling her at that moment.

“Pledge Lisa, you will kneel.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Lisa heard her three companions gasp with fright. She realized why when she felt 
the tip of the riding crop touch her upper left shoulder, about halfway between her 
collarbone and her breast.

“Pledge, Lisa, according to the tradition of our sorority, you must be harshly 
struck on the shoulder. The mark will symbolize your courage and your 
commitment to the rest of us. I will strike you in the same spot three times. Do 
you agree to be marked, in accordance with Four-Beta tradition?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Lisa felt the crop tap her shoulder a final time. She flinched, but tried her best to 
avoid moving. She felt a slight moment of air as Tracy raised the crop for the first 
blow.

CRACK!!!

“Uh…Uhhh!”

The blow seared into the tender skin of her shoulder as Lisa gasped, struggled 
against her cuffs, and tried to fight back the tears. The pain was a cruel burning 
that seemed to only get worse as her nerves registered what had just happened 
with her brain. Lisa trembled, because she still had two blows to go. She forced 
herself to kneel upright and nerved herself for the second stroke.

Through the burning of her injured skin Lisa felt tap of the crop a second time. 
She held her breath and winced as Tracy raised the implement to strike.

CRACK!!!

“Uhhh!…Er!…Uh!…Uh!…”

The burning felt white hot and totally consumed her thoughts. Lisa gritted her 
teeth and was gasping, totally shocked that something as simple as the tip of a 
riding crop could hurt so badly.

“OK, Pledge Lisa, just one more to go. You ready?”

“I…I…Yes ma’am…I’m ready…

CRACK!!!

“Ahhh…Ow…Ow!”

Lisa twisted and gasped as the pain from the final stroke settled over the first two 
strokes. However, she wanted to set an example to the other pledges by being as 
stoic as possible. She managed to quiet down within a minute, although her face 
under her blindfold was wet with tears.

“Get ready to stand-up, Pledge Lisa!” 

Tracy reached for Lisa’s arm and helped her to her feet. Lisa stood quietly, 
displaying a vivid red mark on her shoulder that was still swelling and getting 
darker. Tracy took the pledge’s shoulders and turned her to face the two 
presidents, then the sorority, then the fraternity, and finally the other three 
frightened pledges. The women’s eyes were glued to the raised welt that now 
marked Lisa as eligible to continue her pledge commitment.

“You will understand that all of us here had to accept the mark before we 
continued our journey into the circle of our sisters and brothers. Pledge Lisa now 
bears that mark and will continue her journey, if she so desires.”

Tracy paused.

“Pledge Lisa, you will kneel.”

“Yes, ma’am.

“You have earned the right to continue your journey with us. Do you wish to do 
so?”

“Yes, ma’am. I want to continue.”

“Then…congratulations, Pledge Lisa. You’re journey with us will continue.”

Lisa had expected to have her restraints taken off as soon as Tracy was finished 
presenting her, but her mentor left her kneeling cuffed and blindfolded. She 
shifted uncomfortably as her shoulder throbbed in pain. A mark. Yes, she was 
marked all right, with a very painful welt that would take more than a week to 
completely heal.

As Lisa squirmed from her throbbing shoulder and her uncomfortable position on 
the floor, there was an ominous silence while the other three pledges looked at 
each other and tried to work up the courage to be the next one to be cuffed and 
struck on the shoulder. Much to everyone’s surprise, it was Cherine who spoke 
next.

“Ma’am…I…I…I mean…Pledge Cherine…requests…requests permission…to 
speak”

“You may speak, Pledge Cherine.”

“I…I mean…ma’am…please… I…I would be honored to…to wear the restraints 
and get the mark…and…to continue my…commitment as a pledge.”

“Pledge Cherine, you will stand-up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

For the second time that night Heather handed Tracy a black blindfold and a pair 
of handcuffs.

“Pledge Cherine, do you wish to continue your quest to become one of us?”

“Y…Yes, ma’am.”

Cherine was shaking badly from fear. The sorority president interrupted to ask her 
a question.

“Pledge Cherine, from the looks of you I’d say that you’re quite scared right 
now.”

“I…I…yes, ma’am…I’m scared. I…I’m sorry.”

“Pledge, that is nothing to be sorry about. You’re afraid, and you’re facing your 
fear. That makes you not a coward, but quite the opposite, a very courageous 
woman. Real courage is not about not being afraid. Real courage is about being 
afraid but learning to get past it. That’s what you’re doing right now and I 
commend you for it.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.”

“Sergeant-at-Arms, you may continue.”

“Yes, President Alexandra.”

With that Tracy wrapped the blindfold around Cherine’s face and cuffed her 
hands behind her back. 

Cherine was every bit as scared as before, but the words of support from the 
sorority president took away the shame that she had felt from being so frightened. 
That support, and the inspiration that Lisa had given her, was just enough to keep 
her focused on getting through the upcoming ordeal. 

All day long Cherine had been wondering if she could possibly get through the 
pledge process. She had spent much of her time trying to figure out how to quit 
without causing too much of a stir for everyone else. That moment had passed. 
She would get through the pledge ordeal, just like she would get through being 
marked, because she knew that she absolutely had to. She realized that the Four-
Betas offered her the only hope she had of making a clean break from her past. 
She would become a member of this sorority and a friend of Lisa, she would 
change, and finally she would confront the ghosts of her childhood.

“Pledge, Cherine, according to the tradition of our sorority, you must be struck 
hard on the shoulder. The mark will symbolize your courage and your 
commitment to the rest of us. I will strike you in the same spot three times. Do 
you agree to be marked, in accordance with Four-Beta tradition?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Tracy raised the riding crop for the first blow.

CRACK!!!

Cherine screamed and jerked back. She started crying immediately, but to 
everyone’s amazement, managed to right herself. As her small body shook with 
sobs, she bravely knelt straight to position herself for the second blow. Tracy 
struck hard a second time, eliciting another scream and more crying from the 
suffering pledge. She waited for Cherine to catch her breath so she could deliver 
the final blow.

Tracy felt somewhat sorry for Cherine, much more so than she had felt for Lisa. 
While it was obvious that Lisa was by far the toughest member of the pledge 
group, in contrast Cherine seemed to be by far the most sensitive. The strokes 
would be much harder on her than they had been on Lisa, leaving Tracy 
somewhat concerned that Cherine still might not make it through the night as a 
pledge. 

However there wasn’t anything that could be done to ease the young pledge’s 
suffering, because for her to continue to be eligible as a pledge for the sorority, 
she had to have a painful and visible welt on her shoulder. Tracy was enforcing a 
tradition that went clear back to 1926, when the first Four-Beta upper class-
women marked their pledges in the same manner and then forced them to go out 
in public wearing flappers with low neck-lines. Since the very origins of the Four-
Betas, it was the mark on the left shoulder that distinguished a Four-Beta pledge 
from all other sorority pledges.

“OK, Pledge Cherine, just one more to go. You ready?”

“I…I…Yes ma’am…I’m ready…

CRACK!!!

Cherine screamed pitifully, but Tracy heaved a huge sigh of relief that the pledge 
had taken her final stroke. All she needed to do was recover enough to stand up 
and allow her mark to be presented to the officers and upperclassmen in the room, 
and then she’d be finished with her ordeal.

After several minutes Cherine stood up for Tracy and allowed her to be presented 
to the officers, the members of the fraternity and sorority, and finally her fellow 
pledges.

Pledge Cherine now bears that mark and will continue her journey, if she so 
desires.”

Tracy paused.

“Pledge Cherine, you will kneel.”

“Yes, ma’am.

“You have earned the right to continue your journey with us. Do you wish to do 
so?”

“Yes, ma’am. I want to continue.”

“Then…congratulations, Pledge Cherine. You’re journey with us will continue.”

Cherine struggled to quit crying as she knelt cuffed and blindfolded next to Lisa. 
She was traumatized by the incredible pain burning into her shoulder, but she had 
made it. She had passed the first serious test in her pursuit of joining the Four-
Beta Sorority.

----------

The marking of Bernadette and Kathleen went well and was over relatively 
quickly. The two women realized if Cherine could make it through the ordeal; 
there was no reason they couldn’t. Each stoically knelt to take her three strokes 
and afterwards each quietly knelt wincing at the burning pain in her shoulder. 
Bernadette cried quietly for a few minutes as she knelt, but Kathleen held up as 
well as Lisa and made no sound after receiving her final blow.

The four naked pledges, all of them blindfolded and handcuffed, continued to 
kneel quietly while the Four-Beta sorority members voted on whether or not to 
allow them to continue pledging. The vote was a formality, because normally no 
Four-Beta ever voted against a pledge who had made it through the medical exam 
and had successfully submitted to being marked. Crying was never held against 
anyone, because some women cried and some didn’t. What mattered was not 
crying, but instead the pledge’s willingness to follow orders and suffer on behalf 
of the traditions of the sorority. 

Following the vote, Tracy and Heather ordered the four pledges to stand up. They 
struggled to their feet, their legs stiff from having had to kneel so long. The 
Sergeant-at-Arms and her assistant then ordered the four women to stand next to 
each other, their eyes still covered and their hands still behind their backs. Tracy 
picked up the riding crop and Heather the black felt bag. One stood on each side 
of the naked women for a formal post-marking group photo of the pledge group. 
The four pledges couldn’t see anything, but they heard the camera go off several 
times as they stood with their two formally dressed mentors. The group photo 
documented an important event, that the pledges had passed their initial test and 
now faced a summer full of difficult but rewarding challenges.


