damhouder
Assistant executioner
Territio
Catherine tried not to flinch as the scribe read out her sentence: "Since the accused does not respond to gentle admonishment we have to proceed to the question." The two torturers, their faces hidden by masks, advanced upon her and roughly grasped her arms, leading her to the heavy wooden ladder leaning at an angle to the wall of the torture chamber that was in the same house where she was imprisoned. What an ordeal these last three months had been. Who would have known that one of the brats who always sneaked into her garden and orchard would come down with a cough that ended in his death. And just her luck that her spiteful neighbor to the west had to overhear Catherine as she cursed the children as they ran away "The Devil take you all."
Now here she was embroiled in a witch process and who knew how it would end. With the worst part of it being the humiliation at every step. Chained like a dog to the wall and forced to do her business in a bucket placed just a few feet from her. And a succession of guards coming and going all day and night, many making the lewdest of comments about her starting with being a whore to the Devil. It's true that she was no youngster anymore. Just last May she had turned 50, but she was still in fine condition. Nature had endowed her well, especially with large breasts and a round behind, with all of her hard labor keeping her from ever getting fat, but still pleasingly plump as her mother had once put it when she asked about her appearance when she was still a girl.
In the little village in Thuringia where she lived at least once a year there would be an accusation of witchcraft, especially during times of scarcity or when an unusually high number of children would die of something or another. In the other cell in the town prison was Anna Marice C.. also accused, but who had already confessed and was being tortured to find out the names of accomplices. Catherine shuddered at the thought that she had been named as one at the Sabbath conducted by the Devil. If that was true, she was already as good as gone.
Knowing herself to be innocent she had kept up a brave front all this time. And curiously to her even that was being held against her, with some of her guards telling her that it was certain proof of her guilt if she showed no tears or remorse. It was all no use how she behaved, with all assuming her guilt beforehand. At least she had been forewarned the last evening before her torture by the jailers wife, who she had been friendly and often gossiped with as to what would follow. The two torturers quickly got her out of the shift that was her only article of clothing, and lead her naked as the day she was born, in front of a roomful of men, all of whom she knew many years., to a framework made to expose anyone strapped to it to the maximum extent possible. She almost cried in her shame as she looked out and couldn't help but to hear the scribe observe "Look how she even now does not show remorse." After trying her to the framework the chief torturer produced a pair of shears and with no further ceremony began to cut Catherine's hair, starting with the hair on her head, then to her armpits, and lastly to the secret place only seen before by her husband. After what seemed to be an endless amount of time, the torturer then took out from his belt a knife which gleamed with its sharpness, and he then trimmed away what was left of her hair down to the very roots, leaving her hairless. Then they bound her eyes so that she could not see, and just as the jailers' wife had warned her, they began pricking her here there and everywhere, especially in her shameful parts in order to find the Devil's Mark. After what seemed an interminable amount of time, this stage ended much to her relief. The worst of it being that as they pricked her rear end she had felt a fart working itself down and she knew that if she were to release it they would accuse her of summoning the Devil to aid her.
At last this stage was over, but as she had been warned, with much worse to come. She felt the torturers unbind her wrists and ankles and remove the bandage from her eyes. None too gently they then lead her to what she knew would be the principle place of torment, the ladder. At the command of the torturer she began to mount the ladder, which had 20 rungs, with a roller at the bottom. Especially humiliating to her was how her body was so exposed being completely hairless. At the fourth step of the ladder, at the command of the torturer she turned herself around, facing outwards, and having a good look at all those in the room, noticing that many were leering at her. Her hands were tied behind her back with a rope running to the 3rd rung from the top, and another rope lead to a wheel fitted with a lever and cogs below her feet. Catherine knew that this torture would involve being stretched at the ankles which would force her arms to move upwards, eventually resulting in dislocation. The judge gave the signal to the torturers to proceed. Catherine then braced herself, but amazingly to her there was no pain, and the judge then ordered the torturers to unbind her.
As she was pulling on her shift she heard the judge order the scribe to write "The prisoner, since not enough evidence has been gathered against her, is now freed. Of course if anymore evidence mounts against her," he observed giving her a sour look, "she will be brought back here and we will then proceed to Tormentorum Realis not just the Territio Verbalis of today.
Later that day as she was being taken from her cell the jailers' wife whispered to her "Good for you. Anna Marie C. never mentioned you. " Catherine walked slowly from the prison back to her home. Several of those who saw her refused to acknowledge her presence, looking down at the ground or up at the sky to avoid her eyes. She knew that while she was free today she could be brought back into suspicion at any time. And having been touched by the executioner, she was now considered unclean by all, and not fit for decent company.
Catherine tried not to flinch as the scribe read out her sentence: "Since the accused does not respond to gentle admonishment we have to proceed to the question." The two torturers, their faces hidden by masks, advanced upon her and roughly grasped her arms, leading her to the heavy wooden ladder leaning at an angle to the wall of the torture chamber that was in the same house where she was imprisoned. What an ordeal these last three months had been. Who would have known that one of the brats who always sneaked into her garden and orchard would come down with a cough that ended in his death. And just her luck that her spiteful neighbor to the west had to overhear Catherine as she cursed the children as they ran away "The Devil take you all."
Now here she was embroiled in a witch process and who knew how it would end. With the worst part of it being the humiliation at every step. Chained like a dog to the wall and forced to do her business in a bucket placed just a few feet from her. And a succession of guards coming and going all day and night, many making the lewdest of comments about her starting with being a whore to the Devil. It's true that she was no youngster anymore. Just last May she had turned 50, but she was still in fine condition. Nature had endowed her well, especially with large breasts and a round behind, with all of her hard labor keeping her from ever getting fat, but still pleasingly plump as her mother had once put it when she asked about her appearance when she was still a girl.
In the little village in Thuringia where she lived at least once a year there would be an accusation of witchcraft, especially during times of scarcity or when an unusually high number of children would die of something or another. In the other cell in the town prison was Anna Marice C.. also accused, but who had already confessed and was being tortured to find out the names of accomplices. Catherine shuddered at the thought that she had been named as one at the Sabbath conducted by the Devil. If that was true, she was already as good as gone.
Knowing herself to be innocent she had kept up a brave front all this time. And curiously to her even that was being held against her, with some of her guards telling her that it was certain proof of her guilt if she showed no tears or remorse. It was all no use how she behaved, with all assuming her guilt beforehand. At least she had been forewarned the last evening before her torture by the jailers wife, who she had been friendly and often gossiped with as to what would follow. The two torturers quickly got her out of the shift that was her only article of clothing, and lead her naked as the day she was born, in front of a roomful of men, all of whom she knew many years., to a framework made to expose anyone strapped to it to the maximum extent possible. She almost cried in her shame as she looked out and couldn't help but to hear the scribe observe "Look how she even now does not show remorse." After trying her to the framework the chief torturer produced a pair of shears and with no further ceremony began to cut Catherine's hair, starting with the hair on her head, then to her armpits, and lastly to the secret place only seen before by her husband. After what seemed to be an endless amount of time, the torturer then took out from his belt a knife which gleamed with its sharpness, and he then trimmed away what was left of her hair down to the very roots, leaving her hairless. Then they bound her eyes so that she could not see, and just as the jailers' wife had warned her, they began pricking her here there and everywhere, especially in her shameful parts in order to find the Devil's Mark. After what seemed an interminable amount of time, this stage ended much to her relief. The worst of it being that as they pricked her rear end she had felt a fart working itself down and she knew that if she were to release it they would accuse her of summoning the Devil to aid her.
At last this stage was over, but as she had been warned, with much worse to come. She felt the torturers unbind her wrists and ankles and remove the bandage from her eyes. None too gently they then lead her to what she knew would be the principle place of torment, the ladder. At the command of the torturer she began to mount the ladder, which had 20 rungs, with a roller at the bottom. Especially humiliating to her was how her body was so exposed being completely hairless. At the fourth step of the ladder, at the command of the torturer she turned herself around, facing outwards, and having a good look at all those in the room, noticing that many were leering at her. Her hands were tied behind her back with a rope running to the 3rd rung from the top, and another rope lead to a wheel fitted with a lever and cogs below her feet. Catherine knew that this torture would involve being stretched at the ankles which would force her arms to move upwards, eventually resulting in dislocation. The judge gave the signal to the torturers to proceed. Catherine then braced herself, but amazingly to her there was no pain, and the judge then ordered the torturers to unbind her.
As she was pulling on her shift she heard the judge order the scribe to write "The prisoner, since not enough evidence has been gathered against her, is now freed. Of course if anymore evidence mounts against her," he observed giving her a sour look, "she will be brought back here and we will then proceed to Tormentorum Realis not just the Territio Verbalis of today.
Later that day as she was being taken from her cell the jailers' wife whispered to her "Good for you. Anna Marie C. never mentioned you. " Catherine walked slowly from the prison back to her home. Several of those who saw her refused to acknowledge her presence, looking down at the ground or up at the sky to avoid her eyes. She knew that while she was free today she could be brought back into suspicion at any time. And having been touched by the executioner, she was now considered unclean by all, and not fit for decent company.
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