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

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


Chapter 27 – Epilogue

Just one week after the Day of the Dead, heavy rainstorms swept 
across central Europe.  The rain continued unabated throughout 
October and the early part of November.  In December the rain 
turned into snow in the higher elevations.  By New Years Eve a 
snowstorm hit and soon all of Danubia was buried under a solid 
white veil of ice.  A major cold snap hit the Danubian Republic 
and the neighboring countries, a grip of cold that did not let up 
for three months.

As the winter dragged on and the snow kept falling, 
meteorologists started comparing that winter to the brutally cold 
winter 1942-43, during which the weather played a major role in 
determining the outcome of World War II.  All of the smaller 
rivers froze over completely, including the Rika Chorna that 
flowed from the eastern part of the country into Danube City.  A 
thick sheet of ice formed over the Rika Chorna Reservoir, which 
forced the nation’s power plant to reduce operations.  For the 
first time in many years Danubia had to import natural gas to get 
through the winter.

The cold was so severe that Danube City’s criminals were forced 
to wear their capes, which was considered a major humiliation.  
For several months the bright orange and yellow capes stood out 
among the mostly drab colors of civilians’ winter clothing.  Of 
course, the capes had to be taken off the moment criminals 
stepped into any building, so they were a major inconvenience for 
their wearers, as well as being an embarrassment on the street.

----------

Vladim Dukov became increasingly worried as the winter progressed 
and the snow-pack continued to build on the Danubian mountain 
ranges.  By the middle of February the snow on the mountains was 
at record levels.  Yes, right now the business was great for the 
ski lodges, but the Prime Minister’s worries went past ski 
season.  Spring was coming, and with it the snowmelt.  

At the end of February, the Prime Minister of Danubia stood on 
the top of the dam of the Rika Chorna Reservoir, along with the 
Minister of Energy and a team of engineers.  The frozen lake was 
full to capacity and the snow on the mountains had not even 
started to melt.  The Energy Minister and a couple of the 
engineers overheard their leader say to himself:

“This is the year…this is the year it’s going to happen.”

Dukov turned to the others:  

“We’re going to need to put everything we’ve got into trying to 
drain off this water.  I want evacuation plans set up for all of 
the towns along this entire region, because I can guarantee that 
we will need them.  I want a plan to commandeer all trucks and 
buses…everything this country has.  And we’ll need to rent some 
buses and dump-trucks from the other EU countries and bring them 
in.  I want bulldozers and backhoes…lots of them…and diesel…and 
experienced drivers.  I don’t care where you get them or how much 
it costs; we need them here by the end of next week.  And 
sandbags and cement pilings.  We need to get started on flood 
levies immediately.”

----------

Three weeks later the temperature rose and heavy rains fell 
across Danubia.  All of the nation’s criminals, along with all of 
the younger public employees, university and high school 
students, and army soldiers, worked feverishly on constructing 
levies and digging trenches.  The drafted crews worked 16-hours 
shifts as they battled a seemingly hopeless situation.  The rain 
poured down around the teams of workers as they shivered in the 
cold water.  It seemed futile to stop the coming flood, but 
everyone knew that the country had to at least try.

There was one thing the levee crews did not need to worry about, 
saving civilians.  Just hours before the flooding started, 
convoys of buses moved through the villages to evacuate the 
population.  By the time the area was under water the civilians 
already were safely out of the way.

There was flooding along the entire Rika Chorna valley, but the 
hastily constructed levies kept most of the water confined to the 
agricultural areas and slowly moved it towards the East Danube 
River.  Anyhow, the Prime Minister was not really worried about 
the situation in the valley.  His concern was the dam.  The 
spillways were filled to capacity and water was starting to flow 
over the top.  The rain continued to pour onto the mountains and 
torrents of cold water made their way through the thick forests, 
carrying mud and fallen trees into the lake.  On the news the 
Danubians watched their Prime Minister, in shirt sleeves and 
soaking wet, sitting with boat crews as they worked to try to 
keep ice and debris out of the spillways and away from the dam.  
It was vital those spillways not be blocked.  While sitting in 
his boat, Dukov was continuously on his cell phone, talking to 
forest rangers who were monitoring the hills above the reservoir.  
He knew that if those hills gave way and collapsed into the lake, 
there would be, at best, about 30 minutes to evacuate Danube 
City.

For a week the situation stayed the same…the countryside was 
flooded but most of the towns were kept dry.  Water continued to 
pour into the lake at about the same rate it poured out through 
the dam.  The water level rose along the East Danube River and 
completely flooded out the beaches and the forested area behind 
the Temple of the Ancients.  There was a moment during which the 
water was within a few centimeters of the platform where most 
people began Public Penance.  The docks were underwater and part 
of the industrial area of Danube City flooded, but fortunately 
the private residences and downtown area were spared.  There were 
scares, of course, and a few broken levies that were quickly 
fixed.  The nation held its breath…

The rain did not let up until mid April.  There was a week of 
hot, sunny days and slowly the water receded from the landscape.  
Eventually even the situation in the reservoir improved.  Water 
stopped flowing over the top of the dam and went where it was 
supposed to go, into the spillways.  Dukov, as always, was out on 
the lake in his boat with teams of engineers, constantly checking 
on the dam.  The cell phone was always in his hand, as he 
continuously called to monitor what was going on in the 
mountains.  News commentators noted that he was being reckless 
with his own safety, because if that dam were to give way, he 
most certainly would be killed.  To that the Prime Minister 
responded:

“I am just a single citizen of this country.  I have my job to 
do, just like everyone else I drafted to come here and assist in 
this effort.  In the eyes of the Creator, my life is no more 
important than that of anyone else.”

By the beginning of May, the flooding in the farming areas had 
partially receded.  Water still continued to pour off the 
mountains, but the dam’s engineers had managed to lower the level 
of the reservoir to a level that no longer put the structure in 
immediate danger.  Finally Dukov was able to leave the crews on 
the water and go into the mountains to examine the hillsides that 
overlooked the lake.  Forest rangers pointed out that the woods 
were heavily damaged and covered with fallen trees.  There were 
large portions of hillsides that barely were being held in place 
by tree roots.  One geologist commented:

“I’d hate to think of what would have happened had these trees 
not been here, Prime Minister.”

“This hill…all this dirt…it would have all gone down into the 
lake.”

“Yes, Prime Minister Dukov.  I think it’s safe to assume that’s 
what would have happened.”

“…and the dam would have broken.”

“Yes, Prime Minister.  Given the weakened condition of the dam, 
I’d say that would have been possible, yes…probable, in fact...we 
would have lost the reservoir.”

Dukov climbed down a hillside to where a large section of ground 
had pulled loose, but was held in place by the exposed roots of 
several trees.  He grabbed a root, sinking his fingers into the 
ooze that still covered it.  He knelt in the mud and closed his 
eyes, as the bewildered geologists nervously watched him.  

For the first time in seven years, the images of Danube City’s 
final moments were not present in Prime Minister Vladim Dukov’s 
mind.  That vision had tormented his thoughts and affected his 
decisions, but now, kneeling in the mud with his hands holding 
onto one of the real heroes of the flood, he tried to bring the 
image of destruction to his mind and couldn’t.  His question 
finally was answered.  What he had seen was not the inevitable 
future, but only something that could have happened.  It would 
have happened, but because the hills had not been deforested by 
Mega-Town Associates, the disaster had been avoided.

----------

Cecilia’s exchange program group was included among the crews 
that were tasked to build, and later to dismantle, the emergency 
levies that protected the towns from the flood waters.  Neither 
the Danubian government nor Cecilia were concerned in the least 
that the Americans were not Danubian citizens: the fact was that 
they were university students and all university students had 
been called upon to help out in a national crisis.  Anyhow, 
classes had been suspended during the flood, so there was not 
much point in staying in Danube City anyway.  The students got to 
see a part of Danubian life they never would have seen otherwise, 
so there were few complaints.  The only problem was that their 
classes resumed in May and would not end until July, so all plans 
for summer travel around Europe had to be abandoned.  As Cecilia 
pointed out, however:

“Don’t you be stressing about havin’ to stay here ‘till August, 
‘cause there’s a lot worse places you could be spendin’ your 
summer…like New Jersey, for example…”

Cecilia exchanged several e-mails with her US coordinator Dr. 
Halsey to try to figure out who was going to replace her as 
program director.  Halsey recommended that she try to find a 
candidate from the current exchange group, maybe someone who was 
planning on staying in Danubia past the end of the semester.  
Cecilia shrugged her shoulders…because that was easy enough to 
figure out: the one person who fit that description was Carmen.  
The outgoing director knew that her student was dating a criminal 
and that she had expressed regret about leaving Danubia.  Well, 
if Carmen took the director’s job; that would solve two problems.

The moment she got the offer from Cecilia, Carmen realized that 
her Path in Life was indeed to remain in Danubia.  That vision 
from the year before was no dream; it was to be part of her 
future.  She would stay in Danubia at least as long as Anthony 
remained collared, which would be seven more years.  Now she knew 
how she would support herself, by taking Cecilia’s position at 
the university.

----------

The days and weeks went by as the country continued to dry out 
from the flood.  What had been a wet disastrous spring turned 
into a pleasant summer.  The end of June was rapidly approaching 
and along with it the Summer Solstice celebrations.  As usual, 
Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna’s group “Socrates’ Mistresses” would be 
performing a live concert in the Plaza of the Ancients.  

Maria Elena went to the Plaza with Victor and a large group of 
others, which included Carmen, Cecilia, and other members of the 
exchange program and various boyfriends and girlfriends.  Jason 
was not with Cecilia because he had been invited to formally 
participate in the Church procession.  Cecilia had mentioned that 
was a huge honor, because as far as she knew, no other foreigner 
had ever participated with the Clergy in the main procession.  

Maria Elena knew another person participating in the procession: 
Grand Duchess Anyia.  The nation’s Grand Duchess traditionally 
played an important ceremonial role in the Solstice festival, and 
it was obvious that Anyia took her duties seriously.  Her 
behavior was a huge change from the previous year, when she had 
snubbed the Church by not even bothering to show up.

Everyone noted something else important about Anyia, that she was 
pregnant.  The nation now knew that the Grand Duchess was 
carrying the heir to the Danubian Throne.  Within a few months 
the Danubian Republic would be excited over the Royal baby and 
the symbolism that child would have for the future of the 
country.  To see that Grand Duchess Anyia was pregnant was 
something that most of the Danubians found comforting.  The 
public knew that, no matter what, the Royal Family would go on, 
in spite of whatever crisis they might have to overcome at the 
moment.  

The Grand Duchess was, of course, totally naked except for her 
Church collar.  She was the first Grand Duchess in three 
centuries who attended to her duties at the Summer Solstice 
festival while performing Public Penance.  The change of her 
behavior and her lifestyle affected the lives of many of her 
fellow Danubians.  A couple thousand young people, mostly women, 
but a few men as well, were following suit by wearing Temple 
collars.  As for the followers who had taken oaths to remain 
naked as long as the Grand Duchess remained naked, eventually 
they would come to be known as “Anyia’s generation”.

----------

It wasn’t long after the Summer Solstice that Jason’s Priestess 
asked him to bring his fiance to the Temple of the Ancients.  
Jason knew why: it was time for the couple to stop performing 
Public Penance and begin the process of returning to their normal 
lives.  The Priestess correctly assumed that her protege and his 
fiance would need at least a month to adjust to being “normal” 
before they left Danubia.  They would spend their final month in 
Danubia dressed in regular clothing and psychologically preparing 
themselves to return to the US.

The Clergywoman knew that readjusting to the United States would 
be harder than either Jason or Cecilia could possibly imagine.  
Perhaps Jason understood that it was the Creator’s intention that 
he return to North America, but doing so would be one of the most 
difficult tasks in his Path in Life.  In Danubia everything made 
sense, everyone had his or her place in society, and from day to 
day one could be sure of knowing what was going to happen.  To 
leave such a secure life for the chaotic and aggressive life that 
the US had to offer would be hard on anyone, and certainly on a 
couple who had lived the past five years of their lives in the 
Danubian Republic.

The Priestess regretted that Jason had to go back, because with 
another year or two of training, he would have made an excellent 
Priest for the Danubian Church.  However, the Priestess 
understood why Jason could never become a Priest, because there 
was no way that Cecilia would ever be able to join him as a 
Clergywoman.  It was Jason’s path in Life to be with Cecilia, and 
ultimately Cecilia would have to return to the United States.  
So, Jason’s Path in Life would be to return as well.

The Clergywoman reflected that there must have been some 
important reason why the Creator would have asked her to spend so 
much of her time mentoring Jason, even if his Path in Life was 
not to serve in the Danubian Clergy.  He would return to his 
homeland and apply what he had learned in Danubia to his own 
future and hopefully to the future of the US.  He was an 
intelligent and charismatic person and one of the best public 
speakers she had ever known.  His Path in Life would be to mentor 
the people surrounding him, and maybe that would eventually 
include all of the United States.  Anyhow, the Priestess was 
satisfied that her task with Jason Schmidt was complete.  Within 
a month they would have to go their separate ways, but throughout 
his life he would always carry her in his heart.

Jason understood what lay ahead.  He picked July 4 for the date 
that he and Cecilia would report to the Temple…an appropriate day 
to begin the transition back to being US citizens instead of 
guests of the Danubian Republic.  Cecilia had expected that the 
ceremony would be a big deal, in the same way that the Ministry 
of Justice always conducted a special ceremony for criminals when 
they were being de-collared and released from their sentences.  
As they made their way to the Temple of the Ancients, Jason 
explained that de-collaring with the Church was different.

“This is a private matter between us, the Priestess, and the 
Ancients.  It is not a public spectacle, unless we want to make 
it into one later on with a party or something.”

Cecilia may have been happy about her impending freedom, but she 
noticed that Jason seemed a lot more reflective.

“You’re…still not really happy about this, are you?”

“Well, to be happy or unhappy about what’s going on is kinda like 
being happy or not happy about the sun coming up every 24 hours.  
How I feel about it at the moment doesn’t matter, because it 
won’t change anything.  Our Paths in Life are to go back to the 
US.  I know that if we tried to go against the Will of the 
Creator and stay in Danube City, we’d end up being unhappy.  I 
know that for a fact.  Yes, I’ve enjoyed my time in Danubia and 
learned a lot and like being here, but in the end it’s not 
important.  Our lives here are over and next month we’re going 
home.”

With that the couple ascended the stairs of the Temple of the 
Ancients and made their way into the main chamber.  They took a 
pair of candles, lit them, and knelt, to let the Clergy know that 
they needed attention.  A minute later Jason’s Priestess showed 
up and led the couple to the back balcony of the Temple.  An 
attendant followed behind, carrying two prayer robes.

The two Americans knelt naked for the last time.  The Priestess 
took Jason’s hands, closed her eyes, and prayed.  For a long time 
the Clergywoman was perfectly quiet.  However, Cecilia noticed 
tears running down her cheeks.  Jason seemed to be fighting back 
tears as well.  At that moment Cecilia realized just how 
important Jason and the Priestess had been in each other’s lives.  
She said nothing, but inwardly she was glad to see that 
relationship coming to an end.

The Priestess regained her composure and ordered Jason and 
Cecilia to stand up.  There was a brief prayer before the 
attendant handed a key to the Priestess.  A moment later the 
collars were unlocked and off the couple’s necks.  Jason and 
Cecilia put on their prayer robes.  Already Jason looked 
uncomfortable in the garment, because it was the first time in 
four years he had been dressed at all.  He was a natural nudist, 
so having to return to wearing clothing would be a major 
sacrifice for him.

----------

A month later Jason Schmidt, Cecilia Sanchez, and her nephew 
Pedro Mejia, boarded a plane and left the Danubian Republic.  
Before they departed there were, of course, numerous parties and 
send-offs, including a state dinner at the Prime Minister’s 
official residence.  Finally all that ended, and the day came 
when Cecilia and Pedro left Victor Dukov’s house for the very 
last time.  A police van passed by the house to take them to the 
airport.  There were a final series of hugs before Cecilia and 
Pedro boarded the van and disappeared from lives of Victor and 
Maria Elena.  Perhaps they would return someday, but…if they did, 
it would only be to visit.  Everyone’s lives would be different.  
Everything would be changed.

----------

For the first time Victor and Maria Elena were alone in his 
house, truly alone.  Yes, they had been alone in his bedroom 
plenty of times, but very rarely had they been in the house when 
Cecilia or Pedro had not been there as well.  Now, except for the 
days when Victor’s sons came over as guests, the house would be 
empty.

As they stood in his front yard, Victor and Maria Elena were very 
nervous, not only because of the departure of the other members 
of the household, but also because each had something important 
to tell the other.  

Victor went first.  He handed a small wooden box to Maria Elena.  
When she opened it, she saw that it contained three pieces of 
jewelry: a silver hairpiece, a necklace, and a ring.  Following 
protocol, he stood at attention while he waited for her to 
respond.  

She understood that he was proposing to her.  To accept, she had 
to take the items out of the box, one by one, and hand them to 
him to put on her.  Once he had placed the three items on her, 
the couple would be formally engaged.  Maria Elena smiled and was 
hugely relieved as she took out the hairpiece and Victor placed 
it in her hair.  Next came the necklace, and finally the ring.  
When he took her hands she responded in accented Danubian:

“I have news for you too, Victor.  I just found out I’m 
pregnant.”

“I suppose that’s just as well.  I was thinking the house was 
going to feel terribly quiet with just you and me in it.”

Victor and Maria Elena walked towards the East Danube River.  
They crossed the university and stood on the beach, looking out 
over the water.  By pure coincidence a plane flew overhead, 
having just taken off from the King Vladik International Airport 
on its way to Frankfurt.  Victor commented that he was sure that 
was the plane carrying Jason, Cecilia, and Pedro out of Danubia, 
on the first part of their trek towards the US.

“I don’t envy them at all.  From what I know about America, it’s 
not an easy place to live.  I know it’s not somewhere I’d want to 
be.” 

Maria Elena cuddled up to Victor.  She took his hand and put her 
head on his shoulder.  They watched as the jet vanished into a 
frail vapor trail in the western sky.

“It’s strange, thinking about how those three are having to start 
over.  I couldn’t do it.  Too old…”

“You’re not too old to start over, Victor.  You are starting 
over.  I’m starting over too.  It’s all going to be new for 
us…the baby…being married…and…”  Maria Elena giggled:  “…having 
step-sons who are older than me…”

“…and you with your collar…we are indeed a scandalous couple…and 
you really want to spend the best years of your life putting up 
with an ill-tempered, tiresome old man?”

Maria Elena moved in front of Victor and kissed him.  She then 
moved his hand to her stomach.  There was just a hint of 
swelling, but that would change quickly enough.  They’d have to 
get married shortly, to avoid an even bigger scandal than the one 
they were causing already.  

“I want that more than anything, Victor.  More than anything.”

Because clothing was prohibited on the beach, Victor stripped off 
his clothes and folded everything into his shirt to carry.  The 
couple walked several kilometers the along the water’s edge of 
the river shoreline in the warm summer sunshine. 

It was dusk by the time they got back to the University District.  
In the fading light they returned to Victor’s house, ready to 
begin the next phase of their Path in Life.
