Aareesha stepped through the ellipse and found herself in a large semicircular room. Behind her was the floating ellipse. Behind the ellipse, within the room, was a flat wall. In front of her was half of a large circular room of 100 foot radius. To her right was a rectangular casing with what appeared to be four crystal balls, each slightly smaller than her head. Large double doors and various other doors led out, but all were closed. She saw the ellipse behind her disappear, ensuring there was no escape for her.

She had stepped into elvendom. The walls were covered with intricate tapestries set off by complex stonework and statuaries. The floors were polished stone and carpet. Gold floor lamps with detailed carvings were topped with magic globes. Opulence was on display everywhere. Wealth, applied over centuries, can do much.

She briefly felt elated. When her city had fallen, she had thought elven civilization on the continent had fallen as well. She had imagined the few remaining elves on the continent were hiding from the humans in hills, ruins, and other desperate locations. She’d assumed each elf was alone or small groups. She’d thought everything about her former life had disappeared.

She suddenly had hope for an elven future. A future like the past. She imagined elven life continuing, one with nobility, finery, pleasure-magics, wealth, and honor. Perhaps, in this secret location, the elves could begin to take the continent back from the lowly humans. She was delighted to see she had been wrong before. Elven civilization had managed to continue in secret.

She suddenly felt ashamed of her clothing. She had spent nearly all of her life in such elven settings. In public, she would always wear shimmering flowy dresses in these settings, matched with priceless jewelry and elegant heels. Her glittering tiara had been her never-ending ticket to sumptuous fine dining and formal dances. In private she would wear short nighties made of costly silks, but only in private.

She was now dressed like a cheap prostitute. She was wearing a tight miniskirt and a tight crop top, both made of green cotton. She had no underwear. Her outfit covered little. Her tight miniskirt was humiliatingly short, while her crop top had a deep scoop and exposed the lower parts of her breasts. Her miniskirt had, once again, ridden up and was exposing some of her slit. She self-consciously pulled her skirt back down to cover her privates.

She wouldn’t have felt bad if no male elves were in the room. There was no such luck. Thirty male elves were in the room. One, draped in purple, looked up in surprise.

Aareesha was surprised as well. She said, “my Lord Intaanoo?” She made a brief curtsy, doing her best to protect her modesty.

She had known him for years. She remembered him as something of a coward. He was a full noble, but not a high-ranking one. They hadn’t liked each other much in the before times. She was glad to see someone she recognized, even if it was someone with mutual dislike. He was a male, but they were both nobles, so she had given him the greeting of title and brief curtsy required of her.

He scowled. “No longer. The proper form of address is ‘your majesty.’ I was crowned last week.”

Aareesha gulped. Male elves held forms of address and actions of greeting with deadly seriousness. An elf could be tortured for a minor error, or killed for a serious one. She’d made two errors. She swept her right foot wide behind her left. She grasped the sides of her skirt with her thumbs and forefingers. She yanked up her skirt as she dropped with her knees into a deep curtsy. She bowed her head in reverence, keeping her back straight.

She pleaded, “I desperately beg your pardon, your majesty. I only recently escaped from captivity by the humans. I had no idea you were now a king. I cast myself on your gracious mercy, your majesty.”

Aareesha knew she must not rise from her curtsy until he granted permission to her. She did realize that her deep curtsy was showing off everything below her waist. Her bare pussy and ass were completely exposed to everyone in the room. This was humiliating. She couldn’t help it. She didn’t dare deviate from the required form. Especially when she was also begging for mercy.

King Intaanoo replied, “There is no time for mercy in these days. We have limited resources. All must give their full service to the crown, without fail, or swiftly learn why they must. All must fulfill their role.”

Aareesha stayed in her deep curtsy and wanted to kick herself. Of course there would be new leadership when the original leadership was killed. Intaanoo had not been in line for a throne. He also wasn’t wearing a crown. She hadn’t mentally made the connection at first of his unexpected new role. Still, his purple clothing should have been a dead giveaway to her.

His rejection of her plea for mercy was unfortunate, but unsurprising. She had felt she had needed to try. A princess had some hope of leniency for mistakes in form, even though such leniency was rarely granted. She knew Intaanoo didn’t like her, so perhaps it had been pointless to ask. She was sure she wouldn’t like her punishment, whatever it would be. There were several options, none good. She was grateful that as a princess she was shielded from the worst forms of punishment.

Aareesha was confused by what he’d said. She was sure he had said “crown” instead of “crowns.” She thought that was an unusual mistake for him to make. That one mistake could be enough for the other kings to turn on him and kill him. After all, that wording implied that the other kings were not real kings. She wasn’t going to call him out on this mistake. It was quite unwise for a female elf to point out an error to a king. It was especially unwise for a female elf to point out a king’s error in front of other males.

King Intaanoo continued, “I’m well aware that you grew up as a princess. Your father and your brothers are now dead. The land of their estates, and the symbols of their house’s honor, are all lost. So you no longer have a claim to that title, or to nobility. You are Maidservant Aareesha, with all the duties and obligations of your lowly station.”

Aareesha thought, « oh shit. » She realized she was in real trouble. She immediately went to her hands and knees. She planted her forehead on the stone floor in a deep kowtow. Her skirt was up at her waist, with her lower privates fully exposed. She could feel her breasts had fallen out of her top. Her public indecent exposure was the least of her problems right now. She realized she had dreadfully miscalculated. She had incorrectly assumed she was still a princess.

As a princess, she had only needed to curtsy to the king as a greeting or as a request for forgiveness. As a maidservant, her curtsy was dangerously inappropriate. A maidservant had to kowtow to the king and wait for his permission to speak, in the rare cases where a maidservant was permitted in the king’s presence at all. A maidservant’s duties and obligations were crushing. There would be no hope for mercy to a maidservant. A maidservant would have no allies who could provide powerful favors later in return for a little mercy today.

Aareesha’s only hope for a return to her former status as a princess would be an appeal to one of the other kings. Intaanoo had never liked her. She knew Intaanoo would never grant such an appeal.

Intaanoo seemed to have anticipated her thought. He said, “now is the time for elven unity against the human vermin. Times are hard. Many have been lost. I am the only full noble of my rank who still possesses all the symbols of my house’s honor. This is a sign that the gods have chosen me as the sole king of the elves of this continent of Fourth. Maidservant, there will be no appeal.”

Aareesha quivered on her knees. Her only hope for restitution was null and void. Nothing good could come of her new situation. She didn’t dare speak to the king without his express permission.

Intaanoo turned to his side and said, “Saanteeli, take your new maidservant to her quarters. She is yours. She owes you her full and unlimited obedience. Instruct her on her duties. Discipline her for her improper address to me. Ensure every future lapse on her part is met by the full measure of the punishment she deserves. She is not to receive any mercy or grace. Those are weaknesses we cannot now afford. Take her away.”

Aareesha nearly vomited from fear.

Saanteeli brought her to a small room with a bed, night table, bin, and a paddle hung on the wall. It had a single door that locked on the outside of the room. No doubt the lock was intended to make it difficult for her to run away at night. He said, “I must attend other duties for about ten minutes. Get dressed in your new uniform. Throw away your current rags.”

He left. Aareesha looked at the bed. On the bed was a stiff short black skirt with generous lace and ruffles. It had a white apron and white frills. The short skirt primarily went out from her waist, it barely went down from her waist. It was designed to highlight her lower privates, not to conceal them. The only other item on the bed was a pair of black high heels. Aareesha removed her clothes and threw them in the trash bin. She donned the skirt and heels. Her skirt was long enough that it did cover her pussy if she and everyone looking at her were standing up. Her naked lower privates would be completely exposed whenever she started to bend over. She knew maidservants learned to bend over often. Her breasts were fully exposed, like all elven maidservants.

Aareesha gingerly touched her dildo and whispered, “master, can you hear me?”

Bon replied, “yes, loud and clear. What’s happening?”

“Master, I have been stripped of my nobility and demoted to being a maidservant. I now serve Saanteeli, a noble of some kind. A male elf named Intaanoo is now the elves’ sole king on this continent. I have no idea exactly where I am, master. I will need to remove and hide this dildo soon or it will be discovered, sir, master.”

“You may remove and hide the dildo. Learn what you can. Check in with us when it’s safe to do so. Do not let any elf discover you are enslaved to me or that you are trying to learn their secrets. Play along as you need to. I want you to eventually return to me without permanent injury.”

“Yes, sir, master. I will check in when I can.”

Aareesha was frustrated. She had no desire to obey Bon. Yet she was compelled to do her best to obey him and please him. Even when she was being ordered to betray her own species.

She gingerly pulled out the dildo, feeling pain as it scraped the inside of her cunt. She hid the dildo in the straw of the bed. She hoped no one would find it. If someone found it and determined what it did, she would be gruesomely killed as a traitor. Elven males knew how to torture a female elf to ensure she wished for death long before death was granted to her. She shuddered.

Aareesha faced the door, got on her hands and knees, and placed her forehead so it touched the floor. Her skirt moved with her torso, completely exposing her pussy and ass. Her required position was humiliating. At least she would be submitting to a male elf. This was not as humiliating as submitting to a human. Also, in spite of her efforts to resist them, she had some subtle desires to visibly submit to a male elf.

While she waited in her kowtow position she did her best to recall the many rules for maidservants. She hadn’t paid much attention to maidservants before. She hadn’t tried to learn all of the many rules maidservants were required to obey. She realized that her failure to learn those rules had been a dreadful error. She felt certain she would make mistakes she couldn’t afford to make.

At least, she thought, they couldn’t take away the fact that she was a high elf. That was entirely a matter of bloodline. She was the descendant of certain great and powerful elves. Nothing could change that. She felt her being a high elf made her better than most other elves, no matter what her official status was.

She also realized that being a high elf would not protect her. She was no longer protected by her nobility, status, or family. She had fallen too low in her status for other high elves to take risks to help her. What was worse, powerful elves like her ancestors had also made powerful enemies. She was now essentially unprotected. Other elves might choose to take advantage of her situation. Many elves might decide to enact cruel revenges on her for what they perceived as slights by her ancestors many centuries ago. Elves were notoriously good at quietly keeping and festering long-lived grudges.

Saanteeli returned in a few minutes. She said to him, “This worthless maidservant serves at your pleasure. What term of address must this worthless maidservant use for you?”

“You address me as ‘great lord.’ Perform your duties perfectly, without fail. I have no time to waste on mercy or kindness. You now live in Sanctuary. I shall adorn you as is appropriate for your new role. Follow me.”

“Yes, great lord.” Aareesha rose and followed Saanteeli, ensuring she never covered her bare breasts in any way. She knew a lengthy torturous punishment awaited her if she covered her breasts as a maidservant. The two entered a nearby room with a table.

Saanteeli said, “sit on the table. Hands behind your back. Stay still until I release you.” Aareesha sat on the table, put her hands behind her back, and stilled herself. She dreaded what she knew would happen next.

Saanteeli brought out an emerald necklace. Aareesha was all too familiar with what this necklace would do. She sat, unmoving, as Saanteeli locked the magic necklace into place on her neck. She was well aware that females could not take off the necklace. Only males could take a magic emerald necklace off females. Only males could use an emerald ring to enable or disable the torture caused by the necklace. Such magic helped ensure maidservants learned prompt and desperate obedience.

Saanteeli next brought out two gold hoops, each with a small gap in the hoop. Each hoop had three jingle bells attached. She clamped her own jaw down so she wouldn’t cry out during the next steps. He poured a stinging liquid on her right nipple. He poked a thick short needle through her right nipple, and with the needle threaded a hoop through her nipple. It hurt like fuck as he completed the process and clamped the hoop shut with some heat. Her right nipple was now pierced by a solid gold hoop. He performed the same pain-filled process on her left nipple.

“Wiggle your tits,” Saanteeli demanded.

Aareesha did. A loud jingling sound resulted. It would be hard for her to sneak anywhere this way. She had no easy way to remove the hoops piercing her nipples, either.

He pulled a metal stick out and rubbed a button on its side. Its end glowed white hot. Aareesha knew exactly what this was. A branding iron, no doubt with his family’s symbol. She gripped her hands with each other behind her back. Elven females were required to be quiet and still while they were being branded. Noble female elves were exempt from branding, but she was no longer a noble.

Saanteeli brought the branding iron’s hot end towards her and pressed the hot brand harshly into her right breast above her right nipple. Aareesha clenched her jaw in great pain. She noted that when other female elves were branded they did not have an excited rune imprint making them more sensitive to pain. He held the brand there for a moment while the sound of her sizzling skin filled the room. He pulled the brand back and rubbed the button again. He pressed the branding iron harshly into her left breast above her left nipple. He again held the brand there for a moment. He returned the branding iron to its holster. The raw pain continued from her seared breasts. She could smell the odor of her own burnt flesh. With effort she continued to stay quiet and still, as a good female elf must do during her branding. She quietly dripped many tears from pain and humiliation.

He brought his hands in front of her face, his right hand grasping an emerald ring on his left. He said, “You are now adorned for your role. You angered a male elf from your inadequate address. You angered not merely any male elf, but the king. You will now be punished for your disrespect and failure. You must learn to address all male elves with the proper respect they deserve, especially the king.” He stroked the ring. Aareesha could not control herself. She collapsed in writhing agony onto the table. She could again feel as if her whole body was burning in fire and freezing in ice, while her skin had the sensation of being repeatedly ripped off her body with hooks.

He left her there, in agony, for an hour.

He returned and stroked the ring again to release her. He then added, “down.” Aareesha moved like lightning. She couldn’t get her hands and knees on the ground fast enough. She touched her forehead on the floor in front of him. She declared, “thank you for teaching your worthless maidservant this important lesson. This worthless maidservant serves at your pleasure, great lord.”

“For your failure to properly address the king you will be punished that way, morning and evening every day, for a year. Do not make such an error again.”

Aareesha stiffened. She was glad he wasn’t going to kill or maim her, as was his right. Yet this painful repeated punishment would be awful. She replied, “Yes, great lord. Your worthless maidservant will strive to learn from your important lessons.”

“In addition, your position is inappropriate. Spread your legs much further apart. Press your forehead into the ground. Use your knuckles, not your hands. Keep your knuckles further apart, too. Your feet must never touch the ground in this position. Only your knuckles, knees, tits, and forehead may touch the ground. Your legs below your knees must be a 45 degree angle to the floor. Cross your ankles. I am disappointed.”

Aareesha again felt herself burning in fire and freezing in ice. Hooks ripped her skin. She collapsed in agony. He stood over her, appearing to enjoy her pain. After what seemed like an endless ten minutes, he released her. She assumed the position he’d described with the speed of the wind. She kowtowed before her lord, on her knuckles and knees, with her forehead pressed to the ground and her dangling injured tits touching the floor. She carefully placed her legs as directed, with her ankles crossed. The position hurt, as was certainly intended. She knew her emerald necklace would ensure any other position would hurt far worse.

Saanteeli stood in triumph over his vulnerable new toy.

Aareesha felt so exhausted by her torments and her painful position. She knew she had a required reply. She said, “Oh gods, oh gods. Thank you for teaching me this important lesson.”

Saanteeli’s face soured. He said, “‘me’? ‘ME’? You dare use the first person when speaking of yourself? Maidservants only exist in relationship to their guardian. You are not allowed to use the first person to refer to yourself. Stay in position, bitch. I will provide you further incentives to do better.”

She heard him take the paddle off the wall. A moment later her bare exposed ass received a harsh blow from the paddle. She couldn’t see when the blow would land. Her forehead was on the ground. What’s worse, male elves were much stronger and faster than female elves, so the shock from a harsh hit with a paddle was brutal. He gave her ass another hard blow. Another. Another. For five minutes he ensured her ass was bruised to the core.

He finally relented and said, “what do you have to say, bitch?”

She answered in tears, “thank you for teaching your worthless maidservant this important lesson.”

Aareesha shivered. Before Merifuge had been conquered, she had often been the beneficiary of the elves’ harsh ways. Being near the top was typically a good place to be. She was now near the bottom of the social ladder. In a harsh hierarchical society this was not a desirable place to be.

There was one question she felt she needed to ask. She had to know. Cowering before him, she asked, “Great lord, your worthless maidservant lives to serve you. May your worthless maidservant ask you a few questions?”

Saanteeli smiled over his kowtowing toy. He had enjoyed punishing her. He decided to indulge her. He said, “Bitch, you may briefly ask.”

“May this worthless maidservant be permitted to one day receive pleasure-magics? At least normal pleasure-magics? … Or even better, please, raw pleasure-magics? Please, please, gracious great lord?”

Saanteeli chuckled. “Mere maidservants do not normally receive pleasure-magics of any kind. To ensure obedience, maidservants normally receive harsher forms of enforcement whenever their guardians choose to apply them.”

Aareesha cringed as she thought about how he might apply those harsher forms of enforcement to her. She briefly bit her lip, futilely trying to hide her deep desires. She continued her plea, saying, “Your worthless maidservant knows this. Yet she was once a princess. Perhaps you would graciously make an exception in this case? She has received raw pleasure-magics before. A great lord such as yourself naturally understands why your worthless maidservant would make such a request. Please, may your worthless maidservant receive raw pleasure-magics? Please?”

Saanteeli malevolently grinned. He replied, “if you serve me with distinction, perhaps. It is possible. If you serve with distinction I will consider your request in a century. In the meantime, you should expect to receive many examples of those harsher forms of discipline.”

Aareesha thought, « oh gods! A century! A century before he would even consider her request? »

Aareesha knew she was completely at Saanteeli’s mercy. She also knew he had no interest in showing any mercy.