Maragana Girl
Copyright 2004 by EC
EC's Erotic Art & Fiction - http://www.ecgraphicarts.com/
EC's deviantART collection - http://caligula20171.deviantart.com/ 

(warnings: judicial corporal punishment, forced public nudity, sex between adults, 
references to drug use, references to violence)

Chapter 18 – Paths towards the Future

Malka Chorno's final integration into the criminal community came much more 
quickly than anyone could have anticipated and from a completely unexpected 
source, the owner of the Socrates Club. As he watched Malka and admired her 
muscular cop's physique, an idea popped into his head. He decided to approach 
former police officer about becoming a physical fitness instructor for the Club.

The Club's owner had heard predictions that winter would come early, which 
would force Danube City's criminals off the streets and seek refuge indoors. Many 
of them would lose any opportunity whatsoever to exercise, since no gym in 
Danube City admitted criminals as members. The Socrates Club's owner realized 
he easily could fill that need, since part of the Club's sprawling property included 
an empty armory. The building was a 300 year-old historical landmark and thus 
could not be torn down or renovated on the outside. The structure had sat empty 
for years, but now the Socrates Club could, with the simple installation of a heater 
and a new floor, convert it into a fitness center. The only element lacking was a 
criminal who knew how to conduct physical fitness training. That problem now 
was resolved with the addition of an ex-police officer to the club's clientele.

In the middle of September the Club owner called Vladim Dukov to relay his plan 
to offer a job to Malka. The former cop took a break from Victor Dukov's 
deliveries to see about the new position. The Club owner took her into the armory 
and discussed his idea.

"What I want is for the physical fitness program to be included in the Club's dues 
and room fees. It won't be a separate charge, because I know most of my clients 
couldn't afford a health club fee. But I think they'll come exercise if it doesn't cost 
them anything extra, and if they have a charismatic instructor. It won't cost me 
that much, since all I need to do is put in a floor and a heater, in a building I really 
can't use for anything else. If you agree to do this, what you do is up to you, as 
long as it's general fitness. It's your chance to stop being yelled at by that bicycle 
guy. You'll get to yell instead."

Malka quickly accepted the offer. She had plenty of time to give notice to Victor 
Dukov, since she still had to wait for the installation of the new floor. She also 
took advantage of the time to read over her old police training manuals and set up 
several exercise regimes for different tastes. She decided to set up two classes of 
general military exercises and one class of non-combative martial arts. Malka 
would lead the classes by exercising herself as she shouted commands. She would 
lead by example, showing her classes what she wanted with her own body. 

The gym was ready at the end of September, just as the weather was becoming 
too cold for Kim and Malka to continue delivering messages for Victor. The first 
Saturday night of October Malka stood on the stage of the Socrates Club for the 
only time during her sentence to announce her exercise classes and her schedule. 
She concluded:

"I have taken the entire exercise program for the National Police Academy and 
adapted it for you. I will work with you in the same way my instructors worked 
with my class at the Academy. That means, don't expect me to be nice, because 
'nice' is not how you get your body into proper shape. But I can guarantee my 
regimen will keep you fit and in better health. This is the chance for you not to 
become a bunch of fat slobs over the winter."

With that, Malka began her classes. Three times per day, six days per week, 
Malka's snarling voice could be heard on the street outside the old armory. 
Malka's classes started out full, but at the beginning many criminals came and 
left. By the end of the year the exercise groups had stabilized with a regular 
crowd. For the ones who stayed, Malka became something of a cult figure, the ill-
tempered ex-police officer who now dedicated her life to helping anyone who 
cared to spend time with her get into top physical shape. Kim and Eloisa attended 
Malka's late afternoon sessions three times per week and always left completely 
exhausted. They jokingly referred to the armory as "Malka's torture chamber"

Malka became a totally different person when she was instructing her classes 
from any other time during her sentence as a criminal. Malka was very quiet and 
almost shy when she was among Tuko's friends, or with Victor Dukov, or with 
her Spokesman. The exercise sessions gave Malka the chance to be her old self 
again. In her classes she was boss, period. She had a clear idea what she wanted 
from her students and very quickly snapped at the ones not performing to her 
expectations. She pushed her classes mercilessly, but she led by example, 
exercising in front of her students during the sessions. As she shouted commands, 
Malka's sharp eyes scanned her group for anyone using poor technique. She didn't 
interrupt her class for errant students, but after class she worked one-on-one with 
anyone she noticed who was having problems doing the exercises properly. 
Malka's own body was in constant physical movement, pushed by the woman's 
incredible drive and determination.

The ex-cop managed to settle into her life as a criminal largely because of her 
unusual relationship with her young boyfriend Tuko. Malka came from a very 
strict and upright family of small farmers. Prior to her arrest she had dated the 
same man for years in the traditional manner. In every sense Malka had been a 
hard-core traditionalist, only to have her world disintegrate during the days 
following Kim's final switching. Malka realized the loss of her old life was not all 
bad, because now she could do something she couldn't have done in the past, 
simply live life for herself and enjoy the moment. She did not need to follow any 
formal protocol with Tuko. She could joke with him and touch him where she 
pleased. At a moment's notice the two could run upstairs to an intimacy room. 
They could experiment with different sexual positions and wrestle, something 
Malka would not have dreamt of doing with her old fiancée.

When it came to sex, Tuko and Malka were evenly matched. Both had very strong 
sexual urges and pent-up erotic desires. Tuko had a stronger drive and physical 
endurance than anyone Malka had ever slept with previously. For the first time in 
her life Malka had a man who could keep up with her craving for sexual 
gratification. Very quickly Tuko learned to be rough with Malka, because that 
was what she wanted. During sex he pushed hard when he entered her, grabbed 
her hair when he kissed her, and slapped her bottom hard when he wanted to 
position her for a new sexual posture. Malka was every bit as rough with Tuko. 
She dug her fingernails into his back or bottom during intercourse, frequently bit 
him, and grabbed his penis and squeezed it, looking at him with clinched teeth 
and flashing eyes, warning him he'd better become erect quickly...or else. There 
were plenty of evenings that Malka and Tuko returned to the Club's main floor 
after sex with their bodies all marked up from their exertions. The other members 
of the group tried not to notice.

----------

Dukov's teenaged daughter returned home one mid September afternoon with a 
bit of a surprise, a classmate from the United States. The girl's name was Jennifer 
Thompson and she was a high school exchange student spending a year abroad in 
Upper Danubia. Jennifer was living with a host family, who had sent their own 
daughter to live with Jennifer's parents in the US. 

Jennifer was petite and quite pretty, with pale skin and short red hair. In the US 
had enjoyed sports and cheerleading. She freely admitted that the cheerleading 
had gotten her into a lot of trouble, as she ran wild with fellow cheerleaders and 
football players. Like Kim, in her high school Jennifer had been quite the party 
girl, which was why her parents decided to send her for a year abroad.

Jennifer was elated about going to Europe, where she had heard that societies 
were more liberal than even California, which was where she was from. She had 
not heard of Upper Danubia, but hey, Europe was Europe, so she expected to have 
a blast. No drinking age, lax drug laws, tattoos, raves…what more could a 17-
year-old want?

Jennifer's father had sent her to Upper Danubia knowing full-well what lay in 
store for his daughter. Yes, his little Jennifer would have a bit of a shock awaiting 
her when she started her high school in Danube City. Among the papers he signed 
was a release allowing Jennifer to receive corporal punishment while in school, if 
it proved necessary. Jennifer's parents gladly signed the release, and with that 
Jennifer was on her way to the airport.

Jennifer was somewhat taken aback by the conservative appearance of Danube 
City and its busy, but very quiet streets. The bars, discos and tattoo parlors she 
was expecting were nowhere in sight, but occasionally she did see a naked young 
person running around on foot or on a bicycle. Like Kim the year before, she 
wondered about that, but did not think to ask due to her lack of language. The 
only thing she enjoyed was swimming naked at her school pool, free from the 
hassle and discomfort of having to wear a swimsuit. However, that hardly made 
up for the lack of anything else exciting to do. She balked at her school uniform 
and her host family with their endless rules, formalities, and protocol. She didn't 
bother to study Danubian in her orientation classes and wrote angry letters home 
asking her father, what the hell was with this country...I thought Europe would be 
fun...this place totally sucks.

Jennifer's heart reserved a special resentment against Helga Tolkiv, the exchange 
program counselor at her school who always was telling her how to behave. 
Counselor Tolkiv was relatively young and quite attractive, but her long skirts, 
old-style braided hair, and tall statuesque figure made her a rather imposing 
woman. She spoke in a quiet, but bossy tone of voice, always using extremely 
correct English. She was Danubian to the core, very serious and obsessed with 
"honor". Counselor Tolkiv was Jennifer's main teacher, another aspect of her year 
abroad that grated on her.

Jennifer became popular in school, quickly making friends with several Danubian 
girls with similar personalities and interested in hearing about how wild life in the 
US was for high school students. Jennifer embellished a bit, as her classmates 
struggled to understand their American friend's stories given in English. Jennifer 
became the center of attention of the school's more rebellious girls and a growing 
source of concern for the school's teachers by the end of September. Both 
Counselor Tolkiv and the school principal began wondering how they could exert 
their authority over Jennifer and lessen her influence over her classmates. Finally 
it was Jennifer herself who provided the school authorities with a justification to 
make an example out of her in front of her peers.

In California Jennifer frequently had skipped class at her high school. No one 
thought anything of it because so many of her classmates did the same thing. No 
one in Jennifer's clique took school very seriously and the teachers were glad to 
be rid of the more troublesome students. Jennifer skipped class for the first time 
during the third week of the school year to smoke a cigarette in a nearby park. Her 
classmates marveled at her reckless courage, but Counselor Tolkiv gave her a 
very stern lecture about the need to stay in school.

"You are dishonoring yourself, the exchange program, and your teachers with 
your behavior. I trust you shall not dishonor us again."

Jennifer rolled her eyes. That act of disrespect earned Jennifer an hour standing in 
the corner while the teacher graded some papers. Unfortunately the lesson did not 
sink in.

Jennifer skipped class again the following week, but this time the consequences 
were far worse. As she sat smoking in the park, a police officer noticed Jennifer's 
high school uniform and detained her. He demanded to know which school she 
had come from, getting a response in heavily accented Danubian that she had 
been let out early by her exchange program coordinator. The story sounded 
unlikely to the cop, so finally he handcuffed her and took her to several nearby 
schools to find out where she needed to be. Jennifer was incensed at being 
paraded around in handcuffs, not yet realizing there was much worse to come.

Finally the officer led Jennifer to the correct high school and into the director's 
office. Jennifer could tell the principal was furious. He called Counselor Tolkiv to 
his office and berated her in front of both Jennifer and the cop. The woman gave 
the girl a hostile look, angry that Jennifer, after having been warned, was 
responsible for making her lose honor. On top of all that, the exchange student 
had committed a criminal offense by lying to the policeman and was facing arrest. 
Counselor Tolkiv stood at attention in front of the two men and addressed them in 
Danubian, after giving the American another quick, hostile glance.

"Officer and Director, my student has insulted our school and the honor of each of 
us. I wish to take responsibility for her actions and for assuring you this incident 
shall not be repeated. I request your permission to properly discipline her."

The principal looked at the cop, who reluctantly nodded. "That request is granted, 
Counselor. If you are willing to administer a proper punishment, I believe we can 
let this incident be forgotten."

Counselor Tolkiv then turned to the teenager and spoke in English. "I need to 
chastise you, Jennifer. I am unhappy about having to do this to you, but you have 
only yourself to blame. You shall suffer because of the choices you made."

Fear and anger swept through Jennifer as the cop led her to an unoccupied 
classroom. Counselor Tolkiv trailed behind, shutting the door as they entered. The 
cop took off Jennifer's handcuffs as her counselor issued her next order.

"Jennifer, you shall undress. Now."

"What?!"

"You heard me. You are to undress, immediately."

"Fuck you! I'm not taking my clothes off!"

The two adults were in no mood to argue. The cop grabbed Jennifer's arm and 
twisted it behind her back, as he pushed down on her neck in a grip that 
immobilized her. The girl's counselor pulled off her shoes and socks, then jerked 
her skirt and panties to her ankles. Jennifer then felt the buttons on her shirt 
coming undone one by one and her bra strap being unhooked. The cop shifted 
position to allow the teacher to pull Jennifer's shirt and bra off one arm at a time. 
The student struggled viciously, but in less than a minute she was naked. The cop 
twisted Jennifer's hands behind her back and put her handcuffs back on. 

The cop grabbed Jennifer's arms and pulled her upright. Counselor Tolkiv stood 
directly in front of her, face to face. The girl was resisting and breathing heavily 
as the cop held her tight.

"Jennifer, if you wish to struggle like a criminal, you shall be treated like a 
criminal."

The cop led Jennifer down the main hallway to the school basketball court as her 
counselor followed behind. To Jennifer's horror the entire student body was 
assembled on the bleachers. The school principal was standing next to a small 
chair and a microphone stand. The chair had a sinister-looking leather police 
switch on it. Suddenly Jennifer realized the seriousness of what was about to 
happen to her.

The two adults and their captive took position next to the principal. The cop 
grabbed Jennifer's arm firmly to keep her standing in position. Counselor Tolkiv 
picked up the leather switch and tapped it in her hand as the principal gave a 
rather long speech about the need to respect rules. Finally he concluded, pointing 
to the scared naked girl standing next to him.

"Among us is a person who thinks rules do not apply to her. I presume the fact 
she is an American makes her think she is special in some way, but she shall learn 
that in this school, a student is a student, and she shall be treated as such. She 
shall learn the rules apply to all of you. What we have is an act of insurrection, 
and its perpetrator shall be punished. She shall receive the maximum school 
punishment of 25 vigorous strokes across the naked buttocks with a standard 
leather switch."

The cop removed Jennifer's handcuffs and ordered her to lie across the chair. Her 
eyes wide with terror, Jennifer complied, realizing she only could make her 
situation worse if she continued to resist. Counselor Tolkiv took a pair of small 
leather straps that looked like thick watchbands from her pocket. She wrapped a 
strap around each of Jennifer's wrists and secured the girl's wrists to chair-legs. 
Jennifer's hands were immobilized, but, because this was not a judicial 
punishment, her legs were not tied down.

The counselor tapped Jennifer's bottom with the switch and struck her hard across 
both bottom-cheeks. As the stroke seared into her exposed flesh, the student 
screamed from the pain and the pure terror of what she was enduring. She had not 
yet learned that in Upper Danubia a person being punished normally tries to stay 
quiet as long as possible. Jennifer's high-pitched scream died down into a series of 
sobs as her counselor tapped her bottom and struck again. Once again Jennifer 
screamed as her legs kicked up and down from the sharp pain of the two strokes. 
The teacher did not wait, but tapped her bottom and struck hard a third time.

Counselor Tolkiv proceeded much more quickly than would have a police officer. 
This was a school punishment, not a judicial punishment. She struck, waited for 
Jennifer's scream to die down, tapped her bottom with the switch, and struck 
again. Each stroke was accompanied by a very loud shrill scream, followed by a 
lot of vigorous crying and fluttering of her lower legs. 

Jennifer was noisy throughout her punishment, as her Danubian classmates 
watched the affair with fascination. She had been something of a small celebrity 
among her peers because of her nationality and her defiant attitude about school 
rules. The Danubian teenagers had known that Jennifer was setting herself up to 
be disciplined. Several of them tried to warn her, struggling through the language 
barrier to get the American to realize that, if she pushed too far, she could expect 
to be switched. Jennifer rudely rebuffed the classmates who tried to caution her, 
so they simply waited to see how long it would take for her behavior to catch up 
with her.

The teacher struck the American harshly, but at the same time punished her fairly 
quickly and methodically. She felt somewhat sorry for the girl, knowing that what 
was happening was a horrible shock to her. Counselor Tolkiv did not enjoy what 
she was doing, but felt the switching was necessary to prevent the American from 
becoming a source of further disruption at the school.

Fifteen minutes and 25 strokes later, the punishment was finished. Jennifer's 
counselor bent down to unbuckle the straps immobilizing the girl's hands. Once 
her hands were free, Jennifer covered her face and continued sobbing. The 
American was in a lot of pain and totally humiliated. 

Counselor Tolkiv grabbed Jennifer's wrist and pulled her up off the chair. She 
placed her hands on the sobbing girl's shoulders to position her with her backside 
facing the audience. Her bottom was marked with 25 red lines and was beginning 
to swell. For a student her punishment had been harsh, however, any convicted 
Danubian criminal would have been glad to change places with her.

As the American stood with her face buried in her hands, her counselor moved in 
front of her to admonish her. "Jennifer, you must stop crying. You are 
dishonoring yourself by making such a scandal over a simple switching. 
Furthermore, we cannot release you until you are silent."

With a great effort Jennifer managed to stop crying after a few minutes. The 
school principal declared the punishment over and ordered the students to return 
to their classes. Jennifer had to remain standing with her backside facing her 
classmates until the last of them was out of the room. The students filed out of the 
bleachers row by row, walking past Jennifer's exposed backside as they proceeded 
towards the door to the main hallway. All of Jennifer's classmates, hundreds of 
them, got a good look at her punished bottom as they slowly filed past her.

Counselor Tolkiv then took her teary student to the school infirmary where there 
was a bed she could lie down on to recover. 

"Jennifer, if you need to cry, now is the time to do so. You may stay here as long 
as you wish, but once you recover enough to put on your uniform, I expect you to 
come to my office."

She left Jennifer's school uniform on a chair next to the bed, and closed the door 
to the small room. Jennifer cried for an hour, but finally got dressed and 
reluctantly went to the woman's office. The American endured a rather long 
lecture about responsibility and needing to set an example for proper behavior. 
The teacher finally released the girl for the day, but made it very clear to Jennifer 
that she expected her back in class the next day, on time, ready to study, and with 
her uniform presentable.

That night Jennifer sullenly returned to her host family, her bottom still quite sore 
from the welts. The two parents were incensed. They pulled a hard wooden chair 
out of the kitchen and ordered the American to sit down in the living room. 
Jennifer winced as the uncompromising wood from the chair pressed into her 
tender backside. For the next hour her host parents, using terrible heavily-
accented English, lectured their guest about personal responsibility and the need 
to safeguard her honor as Jennifer shifted in her uncomfortable seat and tears 
rolled down her cheeks. 

Once the lecture was finished and Jennifer was allowed to go to her room, she 
finally had time to give her situation some thought, without having any Danubians 
yelling at her. At first she wanted to call her parents in the US and have them 
extricate her from her year abroad. But as she picked up the phone, she 
reconsidered. How on earth could she explain this to them? 

Jennifer then realized she was mostly to blame for her own situation. She had 
chosen to come here as an exchange student. She had chosen to ignore Counselor 
Tolkiv and the school rules. She had no one but herself to blame for not bothering 
to do any research before signing the papers that finalized her exchange student 
arrangements. She now was stuck here in Danube City, facing the awful 
realization she had to make the best out of her life in this restricted country. 

Returning to school the next day was one of the hardest things Jennifer ever did in 
her life. At first she was mortified at the thought of having been switched in the 
nude in front of nearly 400 classmates. After a lot of nagging and threats from her 
host parents, she went to school almost in tears, expecting to be ridiculed by her 
peers. 

Jennifer quickly found out ridicule was not how Danubian teenagers usually 
treated a fellow student who had been punished. Such punishments were common 
enough in Upper Danubia and were the logical outcome of rebellious behavior in 
school. Instead, Jennifer's classmates somewhat sympathized with the American. 
Several girls calmly sat down with the exchange student and explained why she 
had been switched. Anyia reminded her they had tried to warn her and then added 
a detail that made Jennifer cringe.

"Counselor Tolkiv switched you because she had to. I don't think you realize that 
cop was going to arrest you for lying to him, because in our country that's a crime. 
They would have put you on trial and made you wear a criminal's collar for a year 
for telling him you had your school's permission to be out of class, and then 
refusing to say what school you came from. Counselor Tolkiv got you out of it; 
she jeopardized her own honor to prevent you from being arrested. You need to 
be grateful to her."

That afternoon Jennifer, nervously twisting her hands in front of her, apologized 
to her counselor and thanked her for preventing her from being arrested. The 
teacher responded:

"Jennifer, you shall thank me by applying yourself in your studies. If I see you 
improving in your ability to study and to speak our language, then you shall have 
shown me you are truly grateful. As for yesterday's punishment, the 
unpleasantness between us has passed, and I consider the matter ended."

Jennifer sadly nodded. "I'll try, Counselor Tolkiv."

Jennifer then went to the school library, where Anyia and her other friends were 
sitting and reviewing textbooks for an upcoming test. Jennifer pulled some books 
out of her backpack and surprised them by asking in her terrible Danubian:

"I'm a bit behind, I guess, with the classes. Could you help me get caught up?"

The other girls nodded and with that Jennifer became part of their study group.

----------

Jennifer spent much of the rest of her year in Upper Danubia hanging out with 
Anyia. The two girls quickly became close because of their very similar 
personalities. Anyia was a bit rebellious herself, but she knew where the limits 
were and how to avoid crossing them. That information was something that 
Jennifer very much needed to avoid going nuts in her new host country. Over time 
Jennifer began going over to Dukov's house, but it would be several weeks before 
she met Kim, given Kim's hectic schedule and late night music sessions.

One Sunday afternoon Jennifer went over to Vladim Dukov's house when Kim 
happened to be there. It was a bit of a shock seeing a fellow-American naked and 
wearing a metal collar, but at the same time seeing an American, any American, 
was a real treat for the high school student. Jennifer and Kim quickly struck up a 
conversation, both relishing the opportunity to speak in English. Kim told Jennifer 
her story and how she had been sentenced the previous year for marijuana 
possession. Jennifer was shocked.

"So…you've been like this for more than a year? For smoking a joint? I 
mean…they never let you wear any clothes…at all?"

Kim smiled and shook her head. "No clothes. They're very strict about that. I 
mean, I go to work everyday, I've been on TV, I've stood singing outdoors in front 
of thousands of fans, always like I am now. It's part of my sentence, but it's not so 
bad. After a while you kind of enjoy it, at least when the weather's warm."

The sight of Kimberly Lee made Jennifer able to put her own situation into 
perspective. It was obvious that what had happened to her at school was nothing 
in comparison with what had happened to Kim.

----------

Kim's 20th birthday passed in celebration, first at her job at the music store, then 
with the Dukovs, and finally at the Socrates Club. Sergekt was very affectionate 
and courteous to Kim, but at the same time she could tell he was very nervous. 
Finally, when the night was over and they left to return to Dukov's house, she 
found out why. Instead of simply leaving her at the door, he asked to come in and 
talk to her in Dukov's living room. Once inside he opened up a small cloth bag he 
had carried with him and pulled out a small carved wooden box. He swallowed 
and handed it to Kim. He then stood silent, according to Danubian protocol.

A bit bewildered, Kim opened the box. There were three items inside, a gold ring, 
a silver necklace with a pendant showing two griffins standing side-by-side, and a 
silver hairpiece with gold in-lays. Sergekt's birthday present was an engagement 
box. 

Kim's heart raced. She knew there had to be protocol for accepting these items, 
but she was not sure what it was. She took a deep breath.

"How…do we do this? I mean, what do people usually do in this country…when 
they get engaged?"

"You hand me the items, one at a time, starting with the hair-piece, then the 
necklace, finally the ring. You tell me you accept each one and I will put it on 
you."

Kim picked up the hairpiece and handed it to Sergekt.

"Sergekt, I accept this hairpiece with all my love."

Sergekt took the hairpiece and gently pushed it into Kim's hair.

"Sergekt, I accept this necklace with all my love."

Sergekt wrapped the necklace around Kim's neck and clipped the clasp shut.

"Sergekt, I accept this ring, with all my love."

Sergekt put the ring on Kim's finger. It fit perfectly, leaving Kim wondering how 
Sergekt knew her ring-size.

Sergekt then knelt, kissed Kim's right hand and then her left. He stood up, took 
both of her hands in his own, and looked into her eyes.

"You are the love of my present, and the wife of my future. You have my heart 
and in your hands you hold my happiness."

For a long time Kim and Sergekt hugged each other in the silent living room of 
Dukov's house. So it was done, now it was official. Kim was Sergekt's fiancé. 

It was painful, but finally Sergekt had to leave to go home. Kim felt bad for him 
because already it was well past mid-night and her partner had to be up early the 
next morning for classes. She watched Sergekt's bare figure as he quickly walked 
up the chilly street to the trolley stop. Kim was immensely happy, but also rather 
scared. She had thought about marrying Sergekt, but now to be formally engaged 
to him made her realize how seriously she had to take her life in Danube City. So 
this was it. There really would be no going back to the US, except perhaps to 
visit. Kimberly Annette Lee would give up her US passport and take a Danubian 
one, and return to her parents' house and her hometown as a foreigner. She was 
destined to finish her life in Upper Danubia, married to Sergekt Dolkiv.

The following morning Kim proudly wore her engagement items to the breakfast 
table and excitedly told the Dukovs about Sergekt's marriage proposal. 

Kim’s Spokesman had known about Sergekt's plans to marry her. Sergekt had 
asked his permission to propose, which he relayed to her parents in the US. It took 
some arguing and convincing, but finally the Lees reluctantly agreed to allow the 
proposal to go ahead. The decision was difficult for Kim's parents, because finally 
they had to formally accept the fact their daughter was not coming home at the 
end of her sentence. Following the conversation with her parents, Dukov went to 
the police warehouse and dug into his client's confiscated backpack to find a 
couple of rings to lend to her boyfriend to measure for a ring-size.

Dukov told his client that Sergekt's proposal was timed to allow him to marry her 
sometime shortly after the end of their sentences in July. He had followed 
Danubian protocol, first by dating Kim a year before proposing, then waiting 
another year before getting married. It was normal for Danubians to get married 
about two years after they first started dating. It was a common-sense approach, 
which allowed a couple to gradually build up a relationship over a two-year 
period before fully committing to each other. 

In spite of her excitement over being engaged, there was one huge 
disappointment. Unfortunately for Kim, the prohibition against criminals wearing 
jewelry applied to her engagement items. She could not wear them on the street or 
at work. However, at any family, social or religious function, she would be 
expected to wear the hairpiece, necklace, and ring to show her commitment to 
Sergekt. She wondered about the contradiction, but this was Upper Danubia after 
all, with its strange rules and customs.

----------

Whenever Kim turned on the radio station, she had to deal with the weird feeling 
of listening to herself, along with Eloisa and the back-up singers, featured in the 
collection of music currently popular. The group's song "The Wall that Divides 
my Soul" was well received throughout Upper Danubia, and had been featured on 
the radio since the beginning of the summer. Several other songs from the group 
received frequent play, including the still somewhat popular "Nemat mi biciklet", 
the title of which, when translated to English, loosely meant "The loss of my 
bicycle has left an emptiness in my life".

During October, Eloisa was more upbeat than Kim had ever seen her. Increasingly 
she was able to allow physical contact with other people to become part of her 
life. She had broken the barrier of being able to hold Dima's hand earlier in the 
year, but now she was able to hug both him and some of her closest friends. 
During conversations, if she wanted to make a point, she could lightly touch a 
friend's hand or shoulder. Eloisa and Dima knew that sex still was way beyond 
her psychological capabilities, but slowly she was moving in that direction. As the 
fall progressed and Danube City was pelted with cold rain, the change became 
evident in the music Eloisa was choosing for her band's rehearsals.

Eloisa increasingly was willing to experiment with the group's music. When 
Sergekt and three other musicians in the group proposed trying out more modern 
instruments such as electric guitars and synthesizers, they received the lead 
singer’s full blessing. "I'm willing to try anything, as long as you know how to 
play it and can make it work with what we have already. The only thing I ask is 
that you have a clear idea of how you would want to use any new instrument, and 
that you practice on your own before you bring it here."

Eloisa proposed something truly visionary for her group, something that 
completely surprised the others. She decided to re-record "The wall that divides 
my soul" in English. Eloisa was smart enough to realize the group had to have at 
least some of its music sung in English if they were to have any hope of breaking 
into the popular music scene outside Upper Danubia. That meant Kim would 
become the group's lead singer for a portion of the group's music and Eloisa 
would sing with the back-up singers.

Kim was dumbfounded by Eloisa's willingness to drop into the background. 
However, Eloisa's proposal reflected her mentality and her desire to place the 
needs of the group's music in front of her own notoriety. Eloisa wanted her music 
to succeed, period. If that meant putting someone else instead of herself at the 
lead microphone, so be it. As she explained it to Kim, "It's not just about the 15 of 
us on stage. I have to think about everyone who ever gave us a song to sing, and 
everyone who gave us themes speaking at the Club. This is about all of us."

Reluctantly Kim translated several songs based on themes she had brought to the 
Socrates Club back to English. To help Kim, Eloisa ordered her musicians to 
record instrumental versions of the group's music. Kim spent hours in the middle 
of the night quietly singing to herself, trying to see how different combinations of 
words worked with the group's music. By the middle of October she felt ready to 
present the English lyrics of four songs, "My bicycle", "The wall that divides my 
soul", "A question I cannot answer", and "That's all I'll ever be".

The first evening the group had to rehearse the English version of the four songs, 
Kim stood at the microphone alone, feeling horribly guilty. Before she cued the 
musicians to start playing, she looked over her shoulder at Eloisa, who was 
quietly waiting with the other back-up singers. Finally Kim sighed, tapped her 
microphone, and signaled the musicians to start playing. 

Once she started singing Kim's closed her eyes and shut out everything other than 
her task at the moment. Eloisa, on the other hand, was very attentive to what was 
going on around her. Her sharp ears listened for anything that needed 
improvement, the tone of a singer's voice, the timing of an instrument, a 
misplaced note. After the first session Kim realized how much Eloisa remained in 
charge when she went over a long list of changes she wanted from her musicians 
and singers. Maybe Eloisa did not know English, but she did know how the 
sounds coming from Kim's mouth should interact with the sounds coming from 
the rest of the band. Eloisa ordered her group to re-sing the music over and over 
until they got it right. Finally, one by one, the group mastered the four songs in 
English to Eloisa's satisfaction and recorded them.

Eloisa and Kim presented the English recordings to the music store manager to 
review. He was extremely impressed and could suggest no changes. Later, when 
Kim was alone with her boss, she expressed her feelings of guilt by displacing 
Eloisa as the lead singer.

"Kimberly, let me explain something about Eloisa. You did not displace her as 
lead singer. She knows what she's doing. She made you record these songs in 
English because she had to. The English versions are what will be played on radio 
stations in the EU. However, people will listen to you, and they'll want to hear 
more of your group's songs. They'll buy the CD. Then…they'll hear Eloisa's 
singing. That's the real music. They'll hear the real power of her voice, and our 
language, in your group's songs."

----------

Several music companies showed increasing interest in the group's music, 
especially now that the group had four songs recorded in English. Eloisa had 
become the most popular singer in Upper Danubia by that time, to the point there 
were real prospects of marketing the group's music outside of the country. 
However, there were a couple of hurdles the group had to get past before they 
truly could go international. One problem was their forced nudity. Obviously a 
group of naked singers could not produce videos for markets such as the United 
States and expect to be taken seriously or played on commercial television. The 
other problem was the simple fact the group did not even have a name.

Kim addressed the name problem first. She thought long and hard for a name that 
would have some meaning for the lives of the band's 15 members. Finally she 
settled on "Socrates' Mistresses". She ran her suggestion past the entire group, but 
there were no objections. Everyone simply looked at her quietly with trusting 
expressions, assuming that Kim, because she was from the US, knew everything 
there was to know about the music business.

Once the group officially had a name, events unfolded very quickly for the 
members of "Socrates' Mistresses". There were several televised concerts during 
the end of October. The group's shows began selling out, requiring them to 
schedule more performances. The group's reputation began to extend beyond 
Upper Danubia's borders, as foreign fans and tourists started crossing the border 
to listen to the group in Danube City's concert halls. At the end of the concerts the 
crowds started chanting:

"DOC-DOC ELOISA!...DOC-DOC ELOISA!...DOC-DOC ELOISA!"

Finally, at the beginning of November, an international recording company 
approached the group with a serious and attractive offer about the possibility of an 
international concert and shooting some videos. The offer presented the band's 15 
members with a huge dilemma. The restrictions of their sentences remained in 
effect until the following July: the prohibition against travel and the prohibition 
against clothing. Since fans could come to Danube City, the travel restriction was 
not as big a problem as was the group's forced nudity. Obviously any video taken 
of the band would be unacceptable in most foreign markets if the band members 
could not perform dressed. 

Spokesman Dukov, Spokesman Havlakt, and the owner of Kim's music store had 
to formally petition the Danubian Supreme Court to request a temporary lifting of 
the clothing restriction to allow the band to wear clothes during their video shoots. 
The court was reluctant to grant the request for a very legitimate reason; if this 
request were granted it would be unfair to other criminals who continued to make 
personal sacrifices because of the restrictions of their sentences. In the end 
however, the judicial panel decided to grant the request, since it was important for 
the band's future to shoot a video acceptable to markets outside Upper Danubia. 
The ruling stipulated, however, that the band could only put on their clothing 
during the actual videotaping. At all other times they had to remain naked.

The outfits the band would wear were the clothes they would formally receive in 
court during their de-collaring ceremony. That meant formal traditional dresses 
for the women and traditional tunics for the men. The band and the recording 
company had to present a formal schedule of video shoots to assure the judges the 
members would be dressed as little as possible. 

With that Kim was pushed into the forefront of "Socrates' Mistresses". She 
became the band's international face, the one member who could bridge the 
language barrier between the other members and the outside world. She sat 
nervously negotiating contracts, speaking in English and translating for Eloisa and 
the owner of the music store. She sat as the go-between for the concert hall 
owners in Danube City as the recording company worked out the final details of 
concert locations, lighting, acoustics and other endless details needed to make 
sure the live concert video-shoots went according to plan. Kim had to become 
forceful and knowledgeable, and overcome some very serious obstacles. Vladim 
Dukov or the music store owner always accompanied her, but Kim was under 
intense pressure because she was the only person legally capable of speaking on 
behalf of the other members of the band. Her biggest challenge was to force 
everyone to take her seriously, given that she was only 20 and often she was the 
only naked person in a room full of older people in business attire. In the end the 
recording company settled on two live concerts that would be filmed in front of 
international audiences, and the taping of eight studio performances, four of them 
in English. The videos would be used to promote two CD's containing a total of 
28 songs, which already had been recorded during previous studio sessions.

The studio video shoots came first. Throughout November the band spent their 
evenings practicing against backdrops and props brought in by the recording 
company. Once the issues of choreography, lighting, and acoustics were settled 
the band shot the footage for the eight videos during the first three weeks of 
December. For the first time in a year and a half Kim put on a dress as she sang in 
front of the cameras. The soft fabric of the long dress felt truly elegant on Kim's 
body, and she loved the way the dresses looked on her four female companions. 
Unfortunately, the women's dark metal collars took away some of the elegance 
from the dresses, but there was nothing anyone could do about that. She thought 
the guys looked a bit silly in their tunics. However, the main focus of the video 
would be on the group's singers, not the musicians, so the tunics really did not 
matter.

The final part of the video shoot project came with the filming of two live 
concerts in December, one on Christmas Eve and the other on New Year's Eve. 
Leading up to the concerts Kim and Eloisa were interviewed by several European 
news organizations about the band's history and the road to their popularity in 
Upper Danubia. The group's status as convicted criminals and conditions of the 
members' sentences received much attention and comment. One interviewer asked 
Kim if she had any thoughts about large numbers of foreign fans coming to 
Danube City to see the group perform live. Kim did have a significant comment 
and advice for the group's fans.

"I ask everyone who wants to come see us to remember something extremely 
important. The Grand Duchy of Upper Danubia is not Amsterdam. Drugs here are 
VERY illegal. I learned that the hard way. Please...please don't bring anything 
illegal across the border. I want everyone to enjoy themselves, and I don't want 
anyone's trip to Danube City to end the way mine did." Kim tapped her collar to 
emphasize her last final comment.

At the beginning of January the production company packed up its supplies and 
its workers returned west. The project was a huge success. The two concerts 
received very positive reviews in the EU press. The live concert footage, 
combined with the studio footage, gave the European production-company what it 
needed to make a series of videos to promote "Socrates' Mistresses". The bands' 
members folded their clothes and handed them back to their Spokesman. They 
wouldn't see the clothing again until the end of their sentences in July.

----------

The members of Socrates' Mistresses had spent a grueling two months as the year 
drew to a close. Not only did the band members have to spend their evenings 
occupied with the music video shoots, but they also had to fulfill their daily 
responsibilities to their employers and universities. The members' first obligation 
was to their jobs, since it was by working regular jobs that the criminals were 
complying with the employment requirements of their sentences. The music was 
of only secondary priority as far as the courts were concerned. On top of 
everything else were studies. All of the male members of the band were attending 
university classes. Sergekt had been the last one to enter classes, simply because 
he had not been able to decide on a career. Now, he too, had a full load of 
university classes, as well as a part time job and his commitment to Eloisa's band.

Kim, in spite of her overwhelming responsibilities of the moment, began to think 
about her own future in Upper Danubia. Perhaps her work with "Socrates' 
Mistresses" would last indefinitely, perhaps it wouldn't. She knew she had to 
study something else, have a back-up profession in case the musical one did not 
work out. It was Vladim Dukov who suggested a career for her, one that had not 
occurred to his client. At the end of December, just before the band's Christmas 
concert, Vladim asked Kim to come into his office and close the door. He 
questioned her at length about her plans and what she might do once she married 
Sergekt. Right away Kim realized that even if she had no clue of what she might 
do, her Spokesman did.

"Kimberly, we need to start thinking about our future, and this time I am not 
referring to the future of only you or myself. I am referring to the future of the 
Duchy. I believe you will perform a more significant role in the Duchy's future 
than you might realize."

Kim sat silent, wondering where her Spokesman was going with this. Dukov 
continued:

"Kimberly, have you contemplated attending the university?"

"Uh...no, Spokesman Dukov, I really haven't. My grades from high school were 
so bad I can't get in anywhere in the US. I figured I'd have the same problem 
here."

"You figured wrong, Kimberly. There are no impediments to prevent you from 
attending university classes here. I believe you must consider enrolling at the 
university and studying as quickly as possible, starting in January."

"But...what on earth could I study? I mean, what am I gonna do here if it's not 
staying with the music store or singing?"

"I have given that matter consideration, and believe I know what you should do, 
Kimberly. You will understand I am the only Spokesman in the entire country 
who speaks English. I believe we must have another, that is, another 
Spokesperson who speaks English and can properly represent foreigners 
unfortunate enough to offend our laws. I believe that after several years of 
training, you can become that person, the Spokeswoman who can fulfill our 
country's needs."

Kim's heart stopped. "Me? You want me to...to...become a Spokeswoman?"

"That is correct, Kimberly. I want you to consider that as a path in your life. You 
can determine if such a destiny is fitting as you study and work in my office as 
my apprentice. If you decide such is your destiny, you could speak as an 
apprentice on behalf of criminals within two years. I ask you to consider this path 
in life for a reason. The days of our country's isolation are ending. More and more 
tourists will be coming to visit the Duchy, and like you, some of them will fail to 
respect our laws. We will be obligated to convict and punish more foreigners; 
people who will need a compassionate and competent official to speak in court on 
their behalf. You will be able to speak from the heart, as a foreigner who was 
herself convicted and punished. Your clients will trust and respect you, as a 
person who suffered what they must suffer."

"But...how could I do that? I'd have to study law and all kinds of hard things. I 
mean...I'm not the world's greatest student."

"And you assume I would not make myself available to assist you?"

"But you think I could really do it, I mean, be a Spokeswoman?"

"I know that fact with certainty, Kimberly. The path of your life is what I 
envisioned the night of the equinox. I was shocked at first, but as I reflected on 
what I envisioned, the more it made sense to me. I believe it is your destiny to 
speak in our courts, just as it has been mine to speak in our courts."

Kim paused, suddenly remembering her own vision of Vladim Dukov during the 
Day of the Dead march, the one of him speaking to thousands of chanting 
supporters. She wondered if Dukov's career as a Spokesman was about to draw to 
a close, if life had much greater things in store for him. If that were true, then Kim 
felt obligated to help him as much as she could. She would help him by replacing 
him, by allowing him to leave his position with the security of knowing a 
competent person would take his place and fulfill his current responsibilities 
towards his clients. 

"I'll do what I can, Spokesman Dukov. I'll study and try to help you. You've done 
a lot for me and I do owe you."

With that Tatiana came in with a thick university packet. It turned out Kim was 
not the only person in the office who was destined to be a Spokesperson. Tatiana 
also was beginning her studies to become as Spokeswoman, with the goal of 
eventually returning to her home province and working in the provincial capitol. 
With that Kim realized she not only had a mentor, but she also would have a 
study partner. There was no reason, none whatsoever, why she could not 
eventually fulfill Dukov's responsibilities and become a Danubian Spokeswoman 
for the Criminal.

