The Spanking Station and the Guillotine [F/m]

(c) 2007 by Grace Brackenridge
[500 words]

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Corporal/capital punishments have more in common than alliteration. I feel the sadomasochistic ritual of formalized spankings and formalized executions unite common forces of domination and submission. IMHO, edgy. Regarding the guillotine, no pun intended.
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"Careful," cautioned Aunt Hilda as Michel and André followed her down the narrow stone stairs to her basement. "These steps can be treacherous."

The boys kept their hands on the wall as they followed the flickering candle down, down, down.

-- -- -- -- --

Michel and André felt lucky to spend the summer with their eccentric, imaginative great-aunt.

Jacqui, their mother, worried that Hilda might not be completely cured.

But the boys' father assured her that their sons had nothing to fear -- and much to inherit -- from the wealthy widow.

The jury could not decide whether the death of great-uncle Henri, his mind destroyed by Alzheimer's, was a mercy killing, as Aunt Hilda claimed.

Or cold-blooded murder.

Subsequently, Aunt Hilda volunteered for three years incarceration at a psychiatric institute; prosecutors dropped the charges.

-- -- -- -- --

"This is The Dungeon, boys," said Aunt Hilda, lighting a kerosene lamp.

Before her hospitalization, Aunt Hilda often visited the boys in Montreal, telling them tall tales of adventure set in her native Vancouver and often involving The Dungeon.

"This is my spanking station," she said, pointing to a wooden barrel secured to a wooden stand. "André, you play the naughty boy."

"What do I have to do?" André asked, giggling and stepping up to the barrel.

Hilda replied by pulling down his trousers.

Soon Hilda had draped André over the barrel, binding his wrists and ankles with tight leather restraints.

"Not too hard," pleaded André.

Hilda pulled down his briefs and swished her cane for practice.

"Don't be a coward!" laughed Michel. "It's just pretend."

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

André howled.

Hilda quickly freed the boy, who sniffled and rubbed his bottom. "Michel, my boy, it's too late for André, but I hope you learned something from your brother's punishment."

Michel grinned and nodded.

"As French Canadians," said Hilda, "you boys will find my next toy of special cultural interest."

She pulled back a musty drape to show a small replica of a guillotine. Measuring about five feet high and no more than a foot wide, the shiny diagonal blade reflected yellow light from the flickering lantern.

"Michel, you play the murderer!" said his great-aunt. "Let's pretend you killed Uncle Henri."

Soon Michel was strapped down on the narrow tilt board.

"Lift the top lunette," the aunt instructed André, pointing to the round hole where Michel's head would be inserted.

Aunt Hilda rolled Michel's tilt board into position and his brother eased down the lunette.

"Aunt Hilda, the guillotine is safe, eh?" complained Michel, looking down into the wicker basket, unable to move.

"Don't be a coward!" laughed André. "It's just pretend."

"Ready?" asked Hilda.

"Does the blade really move?" asked Michel nervously. "How far does it actually drop?"

"I'll show you," she replied, tripping the release.

The blade dropped and Michel's head fell into the basket with a sickening thud.

Turning to his surviving twin brother, Aunt Hilda said, "André, my boy, it's too late for Michel, but I hope you learned something from your brother's punishment."

Nice clean prose (very high praise from an English major!). Aunt Hilda is certainly an interesting character! I was a bit confused by the ending, though I understand it in the context of the superscription as being comparable to the spanking. I think the idea of juxtaposing the two punishments is one well worth exploring, though I would have loved to see the interaction between Hilda, Andre, and Michael more fleshed out rather than spending so many words on the back story. Also edgy for me, btw.

Wow. That's the first word which comes to mind. I think this story fits edgy very very well. It certainly squicked me a bit. Well written and clever, the author brings us something equally grim and humorous.

Now this was a truly edgy story, one that will stretch the limits of almost anyone's kink and I doubt anyone would find it titillating. Aunt Hilda is clearly deranged, and I wonder at her motive exactly. I mean killing your husband is one thing...killing a child is another. Even serial killers don't usually have such different types of victims, but that does make the story interesting.

I liked the duality of the scenes, how they played out identically but one boy was just spanked and the other...sadly, is killed. A very unique story; I can't say that I enjoyed it, or that it I would feel compelled to read it again, but it was unique and certainly caught my attention.

This story definitely qualifies as edgy, and the unhinged aunt character is very memorable. I like the way the two boys are portrayed as nervous but trusting until the very end, and the ending itself is a satifying shock. There is a lot going on here, and I think the various elements might gel better in a longer story. But the author did a great job generating creepy atmosphere, and held my interest throughout.

Wow! This was a well-written, strange and sick story. Yes, I must say it would have to be an edge story. As most of the time edge stories are sad. I bet the boy's daddy got a good licking when the boy's mom found out too. As he assured his wife, the boys would be safe. I wonder if Aunt Hilda did not secretly desire execution because of the mercy killing of her husband. Sad Michael paid the price for it though. As sick as the story was, it was well written, described and thought out. Written by a wonderful author.