The Training (Part VI)

VI.-

In the slave pavilion, the Executioner was waiting for him. The German slave greeted him by bowing and kissing his feet, then retreated. Cuan was left alone.

The Executioner was left alone with Cuan, who waited with his hands behind his back and looking at the floor.

- Why did you speak with the other slave?

- Sorry, Sir, I regret it.

- There will be punishment.

- Yes, Sir, I deserve it - Cuan said, trapped by fear.

- Do 20 push-ups now, here!

Cuan obeyed and did them with the greatest dedication possible. He stood up and adopted the same submissive position he had already assumed.

- Hands behind your neck, spread your legs, and count, loud and clear!

- Yes, Sir - Cuan responded, and the Executioner used his whip and applied 30 lashes that Cuan endured with temperance, although they were intense and a painful novelty for him.

He counted them stoically, avoiding complaints, although he did so discreetly and on few occasions.

When the Executioner finished, Cuan's back skin was scorching and red.

- Thank you, Sir - Cuan said.

- Go trotting, shower, and have breakfast.

- Yes, Sir.

What did Cuan feel at that moment? He had spent the whole night with someone younger than him, wonderful and splendid, who had congratulated him. He had felt like he was doing the right thing, even happy, but this punishment and mistreatment by the Executioner had made him put his feet on the ground, reminding him of his condition and that he couldn't take pride in anything, that his natural state was discomfort.

They were harsh lessons, but he was learning them well.

He fulfilled everything he was told, and when he finished breakfast, the Executioner ordered him to follow and led him to the back of the main house, to the other end of the slave pavilion.

It was a kind of stable. The three slaves he had already seen (the Mexican, the Algerian, and the German) were already there; he was the fourth. Then the two Romanians arrived, all directed by the Executioner who gave the instructions.

The Romanians brought four boxes where the equipment the slaves would use that day was kept.

Yes, because the three slaves plus Cuan would form a team of animals that would be the traction for the carriage that the Master would use to take a walk around the extensive estate.

It was no minor matter.

The two most experienced slaves (the Mexican and the Algerian) would go in front, carrying the main effort of traction; behind them would be the German slave and Cuan.

To make the four form a well-coordinated team of animals, it was necessary to install a bridle on each one, consisting of a headpiece made of leather. The bridle was made up of: the testera, which was the main part that went around the slave's head in front of the ears, passing under the jaw; the frontalera, which wa...