ROSES HAVE THORNS-Chapter 97 - The Spankening

"My ears must be deceiving me because I could’ve sworn I heard you say something utterly inappropriate." Kiana looked back at Emelie with a smile that was about to crack into a face of terror.

"No, your ears are working just fine, Kiana. You heard me right."

"Y-You want me to take off... my skirt? "

Emelie pointed her chin vaguely at Junior. "Our brave prince took his medicine like a man, or at least like a very loud toddler. If we’re being fair, and we must be fair in front of all these good people, the same rules apply." She returned a predatory grin toward Kiana. "Skirt off. If his was bare, yours has to be, too."

A collective gasp hissed through the street. One old man actually dropped his pipe, while a group of nearby mothers began hurriedly ushering their children away, though they themselves didn’t move an inch.

"... Mommy. Was the princess naughty? Why is she getting a spank?"

"... Oh my baby. Ask no questions, here no lies."

"... Goddess Bula, please vanquish the wicked thoughts that’s going through my mind."

The blood drained from Kiana’s face so fast it left her ghostly pale. Her hands also began trembling where they gripped the cold cast iron of the streetlamp.

"What... Y-You can’t be serious." She choked out the words in a fragile voice.

Kurt, on the other hand, felt a surge of pure, unadulterated panic. The situation was spiraling from "public embarrassment" into "exile-worthy scandal." He could feel the heat of a hundred judgmental glares burning into the back of his neck.

He then stepped between Emelie and the terrified girl. He looked at the crowd, then back at Kiana, who looked like she was one second away from fainting on the spot. "We aren’t doing that. This has gone far enough."

"But Kurt, the bet–"

"The bet will be settled with a small compromise!" He interrupted in a tone of finality, trying to sound more authoritative than he actually felt in the moment. "Look, just... the skirt. The princess can keep her panties on. That’s the deal. No bare skin, just the layers. Alright, Emy?"

"... Whatever. I just wanted you to get paid back in full after the shit you’ve been through. If that’s how you’re gonna collect your reward, then so be it." Emelie shrugged and took a step back to stand with Amy and Junior who was determined not to look away.

’Hm? She really gave up that easily?’ Kurt wondered.

Kiana’s breath was coming in short, jagged hitches. She looked at the crowd, then at her brother, and finally at Kurt. The logic of "just the panties" seemed like a lifeline in a sea of total humiliation. With shaking fingers, she reached for the fastening of her skirt.

The sound of the fabric sliding down and pooling around her ankles was deafening in the silence of the street. And the sight that was revealed to everyone was something that no one expected.

She stood there in her black garter panties.

"""".....""""

Complete silence. Except for one.

"PFFTAHAHAHAHAHAHA! As expected of our princess! I bet you came here knowing that you’re about to get spanked! Ahahahaha!" Emelie burst out laughing.

’What the hell is she wearing!?’ Kurt panicked internally. ’Can’t you wear normal panties!? How is this any different than you showing your bare ass!? Is this why Emy didn’t argue back!?’

Every single eye in the crowd traced the line of her legs. She leaned back over the streetlamp and buried her face in her arms, which hid the tears of pure concentrated shame that were finally starting to prick at her eyes.

Seeing that there was no way out of this, Kurt took a steadying breath, raised his hand, and prepared for the first strike.

’Lord. If you’re watching. Please don’t let Diana find out about this.’ Little did he know that there were reporters mixed in with the crowd, capturing every moment.

SPANK!

"Eeek!!" Kiana flinched.

The first strike landed with a sharp, fleshy thwack that made Kurt’s hand tingle instantly. The impact sent a ripple through her skin, a visible jiggle that didn’t stop until–

SPANK!

"Mmn!!"

Kurt quickly followed up with the second strike, which was even harder than the first. The sting was immediate as it radiated from his palm up his arm. Although Kiana’s entire body jolted at the first two strikes, she still bravely stood properly as she kept her face buried in her arms.

SPANK! SPANK!

"Nmph!!!"

As he continued, the sensation in his hand shifted from a sharp sting to a dull, throbbing heat. With every blow, he watched the soft flesh recoil and settle with the black lace straining against her skin. Kiana’s fingers were white knuckled on the pole, her body jerking forward with each impact.

SPANK! SPANK!

"Mmnhaah!" She let out a quiet gasp.

By the halfway mark, Kurt’s hand was glowing red as strikes five and six landed with more weight. He then noticed that Kiana was no longer trying to pull away, nor was her body trying to fight the strikes, but rather, it was absorbing them. Her breathing, once hitched, became heavy and slow as she arched her back in anticipation for the next strike.

SPANK!

"Hmnn!!"

’Wait a minute...’

SPANK!

"Haah~!!"

’HELLO?! Princess?! Are you enjoying this?!’

Kiana no longer flinched; instead, a low, guttural vibration started in her chest. It was a sound that wasn’t quite a sob and wasn’t quite a protest.

At this point, Kurt’s hand was heavy, almost magnetic. Every time he struck, Kiana leaned closer to him and arched her back in a curve that made the next strike even more unavoidable.

SPANK!

"Heeee~!"

The penultimate strike was the hardest yet. The impact was so deep that her entire frame shuddered at the sound of the crack. And a high-pitched, involuntary squeal escaped her breath, muffled only slightly by her arms. Her flesh was now a warm, radiating pink beneath the black straps.

The Final Strike.

’This is it.’

Kurt took a final, steadying breath. His own heart was racing, the sheer intimacy of the public act blurring his vision. He raised his hand one last time as the air around them felt hot and electric.

’This one’s for all the marbles. I’m sorry that you had to endure this humiliation, Princess Kiana. But I truly hope that you’ll walk away from this as a better person.’

He didn’t hesitate for the final one. He brought his hand down in a wide, forceful arc, landing the tenth strike with the full weight of the "Bet."

SPANK!

"AAAHH~!"

The reaction was instantaneous and devastating. Kiana didn’t just cry out in pain. Her head snapped back and eyes nearly rolled to the back of her skull, as a loud, resonant moan tore from her throat. It was deep and carried a tone of such overwhelming, visceral relief that the entire square went deathly still. This wasn’t the sound of a girl being punished; it was the sound of someone whose body had just betrayed her most private secrets in front of hundreds of strangers.

Thud

Kiana, whose legs felt like melted jelly, finally fell to her knees. Her chest heaved in exhaustion, and the black garter belt, which connected her panties to her leggings became damp with sweat, while Kurt stood frozen looking at his hand, which was still tingling from the final point of contact.

"... D-Did I hear what I just think I heard?"

"... What are those undergarments? And that... that noise? He’s clearly corrupted her. He’s a deviant."

"... What kind of ’bet’ leads to that? He looked so calm doing it, but the princess... she looked like she’d been waiting for that tenth one her whole life. Did you see her eyes?"

"... No! Shut up! Our lovely and innocent princess would never indulge herself in such acts!"

Suddenly, Kurt turned on his heel and walked away like a soldier in a parade. He didn’t look at anyone in the crowd; he didn’t look at the sobbing prince who was biting down on his shirt, and he certainly didn’t look at Kiana, who was still slumped on the ground, hair covering her face, breath coming in ragged, and bright red cherries on full display.

He simply kept his gaze fixed on the distant nothingness, refusing to let his eyes flicker toward the faces of the townspeople. And when he approached the thickest part of the gathering, the effect was instantaneous. The crowd recoiled as if he carried an invisible chilling aura that pushed them back.

’They heard it. They saw it. And they’ll never forget it. I just ruined the princess of this country’s reputation while also squandering whatever goodwill I could have potentially built up between them. Goodbye, Bloody One-Eyed Doctor. Hello, Princess Spanker.’

Finally reaching the end of the sea of people, Kurt turned towards the nearest alleyway and disappeared from their sight. Only then, once he was certain no eyes could see him, did his knees give a slight, traitorous wobble. He leaned his forehead against the cold, damp stone of a building and hitched his breath in a silent, desperate gasp of pure mortification.

"For shame! Oh, the shame–"

"Kurt! There you are!" Emelie walked in the alleyway with Amy following hesitantly behind her. "That was a bloody good show you put on." She patted him on the back. "I couldn’t have done it better myself, hahaha!" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"....."

"Oh come on. No need to be sad or ashamed. We would’ve done much worse things had we lost that fight. So stand proud, Spanker. You are a hero in my eyes." She smiled, trying to uplift his spirits.

"... I see. How’s the princess doing?"

"Junior immediately rushed to her side once you left. He’ll make sure that she’s okay."

"Good. Then if that’s all, I’m going back to the hotel where I can wallow in misery." Kurt walked towards the opposite exit where, hopefully, whispers of what he had done had not reached their ears yet.

"That’s fine. Amy and I will come with you. She’s staying with me for the week and still needs to unpack. Amy! Let’s go!"

"Uhm! O-Okay!" She trotted along while pulling her big yellow suitcase with one hand and covering up her flushed face with the other.