Burn the Witch

Take One More

Humiliation, anger, and a teeny tiny bit of curiosity all warred within me. The last thing on my mind, when I went to work this morning, was to be punished. Now, I'm straddled on Alex's lap and being spanked like an errant child.

Although the way he caressed my back every time his palm landed tells me this was anything but innocent.

"This is considered an assault!"

Smack, smack!

Alex hit me in succession, one for each of my butt cheeks. I can feel the heat from his hand through my thin loose-fitting pants.

"And my question still stands. To whom would you send your grievances?" He asked.

I gritted my teeth because he was right. I'm completely at his mercy right now.

Another hit landed, this time, stronger than all the others. My butt stung and my body would've fallen from his lap if I wasn't being pinned in place.

"Sir!"

"I prefer if you call me Master. Do you know? Since you're my candidate apprentice and all."

Over my dead f*****g body.

I wanted to say it out loud and curse him to hell, but my eyes were teary now and I couldn't stop myself from sniffling. I shuddered, and tiny hiccups wracked my body.

Alex caressed my back once again, somehow rubbing the sting away. He stopped pinning me and instead placed his hand on my hair as if petting me.

In a soft voice, he asked, "Can you take one more? This is the last one."

I almost shook my head and say no, then I remembered the deal. Five hits for every mistake. If I couldn't show that I would follow any instructions, no matter how questionable they may be, he might use this instance against me.

I needed to show Alex that I have integrity, even if he's a perverted controlling asshole who spanks his employees during work hours.

"Yes, do it," I said, hating how meek my voice sounded.

A felt his hand leave my back and braced myself, but the hit was nowhere as hard as the first one. It still stung like a b***h, though.

Alex pushed me up, and I had to grip the edge of a table to stop myself from toppling over. My legs felt like jelly and my butt hurts. Silent tears were running down my cheeks and I'm sure I looked like a mess.

Alex stood up as well, then he gently grabbed my chin, his thumb rubbing the tears away from my cheek.

"You're such a good girl."

Oh, f**k no-

I was so f*****g close to slapping him when Alex stepped away and started moving toward the door at the end of the room. Perhaps it's a library since when he emerged a few seconds later, he was holding another stack of books.

"I want you to read these books as well. Same rules. Be here at 6:00 AM tomorrow. You are dismissed," he said, his face back to his impassive cold look.

He handed me the books and left.

I gaped at the space in front of me where he was standing only a few seconds ago. I think I know now why his assistant retired.

***

My days at Lucent White were pretty much the same as the first one. Alex would hand me books, tell me to study them, then give me a bunch of tests to gauge my mastery.

The infamous five-hits-per-mistake rule was also retained.

I lost count of how many times Alex pulled me on his lap to f*****g spank me. I'm only human, no pun intended. I'm bound to make mistakes. I thought the most hits I got for one session were twenty. Twenty!

Alex was a sadist, I'm certain of that now. I could see how much he was enjoying my punishments. I bet he sometimes purposely makes his tests hard just so he can punish me. What a prick.

Although, the spankings got bearable enough once I got used to it.

Used to it?

Wait, or am I into it??

I filed that question away for another time. I'm not ready for any self-revelations at this moment.

Alex usually entered the workstation at around 10:00 AM. Then he either stayed in the room I began calling the library, or at the shop. The only place I'm permitted into was the workstation. I never encountered or heard any customers going in, so I wondered if the workstation was sound-proofed or whatever, and by the time I entered or left, the shop was closed. Aside from when he was teaching me, I never saw much of Alex during my month-long employment.

Our routine changed one morning, when Alex handed me a bowl and an odd-looking spoon instead of books.

"I believe you sorted enough herbs already. It's time for you to make potions," Alex said, then he retrieved a few ingredients scattered around the tables on the workstation.

I vaguely remember them being the plants needed to make the tonic for abrasion.

"Can you still remember the steps?"

"Yes, boil, collect the steam, mix them, then sprinkle the Corydalis."

"And what is the most important rule of potion making?"

"Always be exact."

Alex looked at me for a long time as if he was double thinking whether or not to let me make potions. Suddenly, his head swiveled towards the door to the shop, and he sighed.

"You will know that you made it right when a minty mist appeared after sprinkling the Corydalis. Also, there's an unwritten rule for potion-making. Most of the time, defective potions cause the opposite of what they are intended for. A faulty tonic for abrasion will cause abrasive wounds instead of curing them," Alex said.

There was a slight crease of Alex's brow when he looked at me for the second time, but he schooled his features and eventually left me to my own devices.

Alright, time to get to work!

***

Twenty minutes later, I should've known that I did something wrong because making this tonic only needed about two-three minutes of my time.

My second mistake became apparent when I finally sprinkled the Corydalis, and instead of a mist, huge billowing smoke poured out of the bowl. It also didn't smell minty. The scent was more like burnt caramel.

Where did the caramel smell even come from?

The icing on top of the cake was the explosion that wracked the whole workstation a few seconds after, then everything went dark.