Dell sat straighter on her chair, forgetting about her food.

"But I! I didn't lie! I asked if you wanted to asses my theoretical level yourself, I didn't say my level was too low! You just assumed that's what I meant! ... Master."

He couldn't be serious. She was in trouble already?!

((I'll tell you if it comes to that, but I enjoy long posts and your writing in general, so it's good, don't worry. :) ))

"This is not an argument. You knew exactly what you were doing, consciously or otherwise, and you're only making this worse for yourself young lady."

Thad's demeanor was still calm as he finished the last bite of his breakfast, then wiped his mouth with a cloth he pulled from his robe.

"I'll go get everything ready for your wind control lesson. When I get back I expect to see clean dishes and a naughty girl bent over the table with her bottom bared. If I don't, this will be a very harsh first day of school for you."

He looked her straight in the eyes to see if she would talk back to him, before getting up to go to his study.

Dellana opened her mouth to protest, then closed it with a snap.

Well. He was not wrong. She just didn't think she'd get in trouble for such a subtle and weak protest. And manipulation tentative, all right, she could admit as much. But really, it wasn't like he tried to charm him out of it or anything!

Thaddeus ate his last bite of breakfast, while Dellana had hardly started. The speed at which he could swallow down food was impressive, noticed the girl in a recluse part of her mind.

He then spoke again.

"When I get back I expect to see clean dishes and a naughty girl bent over the table with her bottom bared. If I don't, this will be a very harsh first day of school for you."

Bared?
Bared???????????????

"B- bared, Master?" she asked, voice wavering, almost unable to grasp the concept.

He couldn't... Half naked? In front of a man? Why, how improper!... But he was her legal tutor, so... But still. The humiliation she felt at the mere prospect, the sick feeling of dread in her stomach, and worst of all, the heat she could feel gathering in her nether regions all told her being bare in front of him was a very very bad idea.

But it wasn't like she had a choice. And she didn't want a harsh day. It would be harsh enough when he realized she really couldn't summon a demon.

"B- bared, Master?" Thad hadn't even realized what he was saying and for a moment he wondered if she was volunteering. He got up and walked to the door. Maybe he had gone too far, but the expression on Dell's face told him this no-nonsense approach was clearly proving effective, so he barreled through. Turning, he continued his stern lecture.

"Yes ... bared, unless you want your master to pull those panties down for you. That is how willful, naughty girls are traditionally dealt with, is it not. Over their Bare Bottoms."

He put extra emphasis on those delectable last couple of words and mentally licked his lips. Then he turned and walked out, closing the door with a bang that was exactly loud enough to be intimidating, but not enough to bang the paint or make the cutlery fly off the shelves. A good wizard practices these things.

~~~

Thad entered his study and leaned against the door, catching his breath. This was a rather exciting turn of events, he thought. But not as exciting as the sight that might greet him as he reentered the kitchen. Assuming he still had an apprentice, that is.

The thought of loosing Dell so soon cut him deeper than he'd like to admit. He was acting rashly and gambling with a good thing, but Thad had never been the master of his own desires. And the mere prospect of the girl willingly submitting to this humiliation took his breath away.

Gathering his wits, Thad looked about his study, eyeing his shaving kit thrown haphazardly on the table. For a moment and with some glee, he pictured Dell dancing under the blows of the razor strop. No, that was way overkill. Besides, his own hands would much rather do the honours.

After a minute or so of contemplation, Thad sat down and focused his mind on the upcoming wind trial he had to put the girl through at some point. He figured she'd need time to think in the kitchen and he had to distract himself or he'd go mad.

((omg Thad practicing banging doors hard enough to be intimidating but ending up destroying half his house instead is an image I will never erase from my mind xD))

"That is how willful, naughty girls are traditionally dealt with, is it not. Over their Bare Bottoms."

Dellana let out a small whimper at his words, and quickly prayed that he hadn't heard, fisting her hands around her dress. He then left, banging the door.

The girl stayed motionless for a while, breathing deeply and trying to untangle her mixed feelings all while deciding what to do.

She could leave. She could always leave. While a Master was oath-bound to the apprentice, an apprentice could go the the council headquarters and ask for a new Master, no questions asked. But she really, really did not want to leave. Despite the conflicts and Thaddeus pushing her, and him punishing her like that, Dellana did not feel lonely, did not feel oppressed. Even now, she'd started eating again while she was thinking, the promise of a s- a spanking to come didn't even destroy her appetite.

So. She did not want to leave, and she could not argue with him. This had become extremely clear. Arguing with him when he'd already made up his mind was probably the worse thing she could do right now, as she was certain it would only make him harsher when he dealt with her. The solution was clear. Obey. Bare her bottom, bend over, and wait to be disciplined.

As soon as she'd visualised herself in that position, Dellana had a small breakdown. She started giggling with nerves and let herself bang her head against the hard wood of the table. Oh, Merlin. She was so screwed. The books she was sitting on wobbled at her sudden change in position, and she toppled over with them as they slipped, ending up curled on the ground, gripping one leg of the table and trying to stifle her snorts.

This was ridiculous. She should leave. She should hate him. And weren't those the exact same thoughts she'd had the first time he'd spanked her? Redundant, Dellana. Redundant.

She picked herself up, righted the books, and took the empty plates and pans over to the sink. She washed them, automatically, hardly registering what she was doing, before putting them away. She then wiped the table clean. She would have to lay over it after all, and she didn't want to get egg stains on her dress while she writhed around in (ᴀ̶ʀ̶ᴏ̶ᴜ̶s̶ᴀ̶ʟ̶) PAIN. Definitely pain. Merlin's fluttery robes. Pain.

Dellana stared at the table and circled it wearily. Which side should she bend over anyway? Not her back towards the door, that was out of the question. Her modesty made it impossible, and also, she wanted to see him coming. So on the opposite side, facing the door? Her behind would be pointed towards a window, but no one came around here anyway. She pushed his chair out of the way and gingerly bent over, placing her forearms on the table, and had a small breakdown all over again. She fell to her knees this time, gripping the edge of the table, and buried her face against one arm. Hellhounds have her soul. She couldn't do it. She couldn't.

((She's so cute, but the poor girl is only going to make it worse for herself >:D))

Thad stood in front of the kitchen door with a large, unbound tome on aerotheurgy under his left arm. His preparations hadn't taken long, but he'd given the girl almost quarter of an hour to obey him/run for the hills. He had contemplated scrying to see if she was still in the kitchen, but it seemed pointless.

Thad took a deep breath and opened the door in a most authoritative manner, ready to lay down the law on his uppity apprentice ... then immediately deflated like a balloon. The girl was gone.

Thaddeus cursed under his breath, walked to the table and slammed the book down with a hard thump. "GODS DAMMIT" he said loudly to himself, regretting pushing his luck with the girl. And he'd just started to like h-

"Dellana!" The name came out as a surprised yell as relief fought with anger at seeing the girl kneeling half under the table. Was she hiding from him?

"What do you think you're doing down there Young lady?"

Dellana didn't hear him step towards the kitchen, and she froze when he entered. Shit. She wasn't in position. She'd tried to obey, and failed, and now he was back, and...
He slammed something heavy on the table, and Dellana started.

"GODS DAMMIT!" he yelled, and it occurred to Dellana that he probably thought she'd left, when he walked around the table and seemed to be startled by her presence.

"What do you think you're doing down there Young lady?" he asked, his voice stern once more.

He sounded angry.

Dellana stayed silent.

She lifted her head and stood up, still silent, and bent over the table in one smooth motion, her elbows touching down, her head and chest hovering a bit above the smooth wooden surface.

"I... tried to bare myself, and couldn't," she said, her voice thick. "Forgive me. Will you please do it for me, Master?"

((I had completely forgotten the site has a friend-list system. It seems a bit strange for this kind of community, but thanks for adding me :D ))

The sight of Dell bent over the tabletop, precious and fragile, and her voice that sounded close to tears, mellowed Thad out immediately. She hadn't left, she was just scared. The poor thing was trying to be a good girl for him.

Without a word, he went around to her left side, towering over her. He put a big, warm hand on the small of her back, exceeding just enough pressure to keep her in place, but not enough for it to weigh her down painfully. His right hand found the hem of her skirt and pulled it up and over her behind. The table was a rather tall one and Dell had to practically stand on tiptoes to reach over it, making her bottom jut out rather perkily, a detail not at all lost to Thad.

Keeping the skirt trapped in place with his left hand, he rested his right hand on Dells left buttock, giving it a little rub and a squeeze.

"I know this must be difficult, but you realize I have to punish you for not complying. I'll be asking much more difficult things of you during your education." His voice was stern, not husky at all and he certainly didn't sound out of breath. Nope, nothing inappropriate was going on and he certainly wasn't enjoying the situation immensely. That would be wrong. Ahem.

Thad gave her a quick slap, right in the middle of her rump, across both cheeks. Not hard enough to really hurt, but enough to jolt her to attention. His thumb found her panty-waist and he leaned a bit forward, saying in a lower, but still stern voice.

"There will be no forgiveness without atonement. Now ask me again, ask for your master to pull your panties down."

Dellana held her breath as she waited for him to react. He walked around her, and placed his strong, warm hand on the small of her back, and she sighed, unconsciously relaxing under his touch, her forehead coming to rest between her hands. He ruffled behind her and hoisted her dress up, uncovering her underpants. She shivered slightly at the feeling of cool air against her legs, and braced herself for him to bare her, but he didn't. She gasped softly as he touched her, as he rubbed and squeezed his... Target.

"I know this must be difficult, but you realize I have to punish you for not complying," he said breathily.

She whimpered in response. She'd tried to comply. Shouldn't that count for something?

"I'll be asking much more difficult things of you during your education," he added.

Dellana huffed. This and training for wizardry were two vastly different things. It wasn't even comparable, why was he even trying to compare them—

"Ah!"

She inhaled sharply as the smack fell. She hadn't anticipated it at all. But what he did after that was what stole her breath away.

He leaned forwards, close, close enough that she could feel his warm breath against her hair, and he all but whispered his next scolding.

"There will be no forgiveness without atonement. Now ask me again, ask for your master to pull your panties down."

She almost moaned at the words, forcing herself to snap out of it. This was punishment. Punishment Dell. Wake up. Obey.

"Pl– please Master, pull my... My panties," she blushed violently at the word, "down," she almost whispered the last word.

Then she waited, his fingers tingling against her skin, hoping against all hope that she wasn't obviously wet yet.

There was a pregnant pause. If asked, Thad would have claimed he was letting the girl get to grips with the situation as a kindness before proceeding. Or he'd say he was dragging it out to make the punishment more effective; "The humiliation of being bared is an effective part of the punitive procedure and should not be done hastily" or something like that.

He definitely wouldn't admit he had to spend 10 seconds checking his mental wards, making sure he wasn't trapped in some kind of wish-fulfillment illusion, standing alone in his kitchen, about to spank his table, while a sorcerous rival or some gnomes were robbing his house.

"Ahem, very good Dellana. I will ... give you your spanking now."

Slowly, painfully slowly, he moved his hand down past her buttocks, still with his thumb hooked in her underwear, which dragged after his hand. White cloth gave way and revealed pale, soft, warm skin. Thad resisted the urge to lean heavily in order to get a better look, as more of those soft curves were revealed as well as (gulp) the valley between them.
"There we go" he said, as those perfect pale globes were completely freed from their linen prison. He left Dell's underwear resting around her knees and his hand went to rest on her buttocks, stroking them with a feather-light touch. Despite himself he shifted slightly to the right, giving him a better viewing angle of her posterior.

(What an absolutely bizarre place in the story I chose to go on hiatus, my god XD)